Teaching Transcript

Discovering BUDDHISM at Home
Awakening the limitless potential of your mind, achieving all peace and happiness
SUBJECT AREA 3
Presenting the Path
Teachings
by Ven. Robina Courtin
3. Presenting the Path 1 Discovering BUDDHISM at Home
3. Presenting the Path
Contents
Session 1 Session 2 Session 3 Session 4 Session 5 Session 6 Session 7 Session 8 Meditation One: Renunciation Meditation Two: On Emptiness Meditation Three: Bodhichitta Detailed Contents of the Teaching Sessions 4 31 78 103 124 156 170 214 230 232 234 237
Session One
by Ven. Robina Courtin The Path to Enlightenment The Lam-Rim: From Junior School to University
Buddhism: From India to Tibet
Were going to be talking about the path to enlightenment. What does that mean? Well, theres various ways, various packages of presenting Buddhas teachings. The key thing with Buddhas teachings, of course, is that they are meant to be experiential. Theyre meant to be something that you put into practice. Thats the point of listening to it. Its like if this were a cooking class; we know that the point of it finally is to go away and make cakes, right? If it were just to sit here and listen and fill our heads with recipes, wed feel a bit disappointed. So sometimes, when I think of spiritual practice, weve made it quite complicated, we think of it as something complicated. We think of it as rather esoteric. So we hear on the one hand that Buddha says lots of things look at the number of books about Buddhism, probably more than about cooking these days, so many. But always, if you look in your cooking books, theres always the recipe there and if its just only words and all about the theory, youd think: Well, what on earth can I do with this? How can I make cakes from this? How do I learn? Its all too much theory. How am I learning from this? And so this is very easy to think about Buddhism; its very easy to think about all religions. Theres lots and lots and lots of words. All the people giving lectures, all the people giving sermons, and all this stuff. (Homilies. They used to call them sermons. Doesnt a priest give a sermon any more? Its a homily.) So, then its easy to be confused. And if we look at all the Buddhist books, even the practical ones, the simple ones, how do I put this into practice? What do I get from this?
Lama Atisha
One thing marvelous in the Tibetan tradition is the way the teachings have been packaged. And it really comes from this person called Atisha, back in the eleventh century, around about then, a great Indian master, saint, scholar, practitioner, meditator. He was invited by the Tibetan King. There is a very long and marvelous story about how he got there. He lived the remaining fifteen to seventeen years of his life in Tibet. Well, one of the things that he did was that he wrote this little text called Lamp for the Path. Its a deceptively simple little text. What essentially he did was, he had been in Tibet for a while and he could see that they had kind of lost the plot. Buddhism had been there for a few hundred years by then. There were already these marvelous practitioners in Tibet, extraordinarily great yogis, holy beings,
people getting realizations. But somehow, if you look at Buddhas teachings extensively and deeply, all the philosophy, all the things that Buddha talked about, and all the things the Buddhist masters over the centuries, from the time of the Buddha up to that point had talked about, the commentaries on Buddhas teachings, the extensive philosophy, the extensive psychology, the extensive esoteric teachings, its an enormous body of stuff and very easy to get lost in it. Its like finding hundreds and hundreds of books on all levels of cooking, but you cant see where the recipe is in there so its very easy to get confused. So he very kindly wrote this little text and what he did was he took the essential points from all of Buddhas teachings and he presented them in a very orderly way.
The Graduated Path

Of course, the way you present information about cooking is that it has to be an orderly way and the orderly way has to be in terms of the cooking capacity, the simple ones first and the more advanced as you go along. Thats nothing surprising. Anything weve ever learned in our lives, we start in grade one and we graduate. Whether its six-month course or a weekend course, or a twenty-year course, you start at the beginning and you keep getting better. You can track your progress cant you? Its something we are very, very familiar with. But I think we are not familiar with it when it comes to spiritual paths. We dont think like that. In other words, we go searching for a cooking course, but we dont go searching for a graded course on how to get enlightened. It sounds very strange because we mystify religion. I think we mystify spiritual teachings. The moment we hear the word spiritual we lose our common sense. Really. Then we necessarily think of spiritual as something beyond ordinary. We think of it as some special feeling. We think of it as something that happens when you close your eyes and cross your legs, something mystical, a vision, a special kind of dream. Oh, I had a spiritual experience! well say. It really is not appropriate. Its inappropriate to think this way. We also think of it as completely hit and miss. Not in a graded sense. Somehow, you just are a very spiritual person, we say. So what do we mean by spiritual and what was Atisha doing in this text? What did he present? Well, the lineage of practice, the method or lineage of presenting the Buddhas teachings that is known as the Lam-rim in Tibetan, the Graded Path, is what has come from Atisha. We are talking here from the point of view of one of the four main lineages of practice in Tibet called the Gelugpas. Over the centuries, different great masters, different great lamas. . . (the term lama is equivalent to the Sanskrit word guru, I think I have heard it translated as. . . ma is the female ending actually and I have heard in this context that it means something like high female or high mother. The Sanskrit word guru means heavy with knowledge.) So all the great masters or lamas or gurus over the centuries have developed, in different ways, the teachings and the particular tradition here is known as Gelugpa, which is starting from Tsong Khapa in the fourteenth century or so. It is directly coming in the tradition of the way that Atisha practiced and emphasized the practice in the eleventh century. So, this lam-rim then, whats it all about? What is it? I think what well do tonight is give a very brief overview, a conceptual overview. Then the pieces of it well put together in the weekend.
Lord Buddha
So then, its the eleventh century by now ... but first, who is Buddha and how did Buddhism get to
Tibet? Very briefly, lets mention the historical context. It was something like 500 years before Christ, I think, that Buddha was around. He came out of the Hindu tradition. He was this Prince; people know roughly speaking the clichd bits of his story. There was this Prince who eventually started to question very deeply the meaning of life, the meaning of his own present life, his enormously rich and marvelous life, and realized that somehow he wanted to understand the nature of reality, he wanted to understand how to go beyond suffering. He could see that everybody was fraught with suffering, at one level or another. And so he left his kingdom and he went off and practiced the various ways that were current at the time by many great ascetics. Theres a very strong tradition among the Hindus to leave home and live very ascetic lives, seeking liberation (they used the same word). So, Buddha went and tried various methods and joined different groups of people and continued to develop. Found various great teachers. Went to the point of the knowledge of those teachers and they said they couldnt take him any further. Continued to find teachers and eventually he started to realize that none of the current teachings that he was finding actually answered the questions he had. So he eventually continued to practice finding the truth, so on and so forth. He eventually became enlightened, as they say, developed all the realizations, removed from the mind all the misconceptions we are going to talk exactly about that. And then he taught for the remainder of his life, something like 30 years. He was 80-something when he passed away. So, thats Buddha, very brief. Buddhas teachings of course existed in India and then, already by the third or fourth century, there were so many traditions set up, so many establishments of practice and study. By then the Chinese had started to come; theyd heard about it. People, travelers, had learned about the Buddha and I think that the beginning of Buddhism strongly developing in the other parts of Asia, China, Japan, all around there, Tibet in something like the seventh or eighth century. It took until 1959 I think for Tibetan Buddhism to come to the West. There were trickles of Westerners; its only really exploded, it would seem, in the last 50 years in the West, with the Tibetans coming.
Lama Tsongkhapa
So, here we are in the eleventh century; theres Atisha. So let me get to the fourteenth century and we have Lama Tsongkhapa, this lineage lama of our tradition. He was really big on the lam-rim. So the way were presenting the teachings here in this packaging known as the lam-rim, the Graded Path, is according to the tradition of Tsongkhapa.
The Structure of the Lam-rim

Using really ordinary terminology, lets just look at this structure. Well do the pieces tomorrow and Sunday. So, if you go for a cooking class, you know the goal - the goal is to learn how to make cakes. Its very obvious that if you join a course, its usual that you know what you want to graduate in. It mightnt be so when you go to school or to college, you kind of pick your courses, youre not really sure, but as you move along, you got enough options, to eventually focus in on some topic. But here, like cooking, you fairly much know you want to learn cooking, youre inspired about cooking, you know about cakes, youve tasted cakes, youve seen other people making cakes. Id like to learn that, please. Id like to learn how to make cakes. So, then you go find a course, dont you?
The Goal, Enlightenment

So, here what is that we are trying to achieve? What is the result of this graded course, this lam-rim, whats the result of this path, this course? Well, its the word enlightenment or the term buddhahood. This term enlightenment is used by lots of people in lot of traditions in lots of different ways. First of all, as we already know, when it comes to math and science and making cakes, weve got to be very clear about our terminology. If you start making a cake recipe, and it says a half teaspoonful of this, and a gram of that, you know youve got to go check up the meaning of a gram and the meaning of a half a teaspoon, otherwise youll make a mess. So we do understand very naturally in our daily, ordinary life the necessity for precision, for accuracy. Again, thats something were not used to thinking about in spiritual terms. We all bandy the word enlightenment about and assume were all speaking the same language. Its like we all bandy about the word called love. I say I love you, you say you love me, and we actually think we are communicating. But if we actually defined our terms, weve probably got two completely different meanings. So, Buddha is really big on accuracy, hes big on precision, and the Tibetans are past masters at this, I tell you. They dont know how old they are; they talk about an arms length if I ask something like how long? So, theyre not so clear and accurate about those things, but hey, any of the ones who have studied, they know exactly the definition of love, the definition of enlightenment, exactly this and its not this, and it is that, and therefore this. And thats not meant to just be intellectual, just like learning a recipe precisely isnt intellectual. You need it to get the cake. So the Buddhas approach very much is that and, as I said, the Tibetans especially, the way they have developed and practiced the Buddhas path.
A Bird Needs Two Wings: Wisdom and Compassion

Okay, enlightenment, buddhahood, what is it? Well, its the name given to what the Buddha would say, from the Mahayana point of view. . . because there are two main approaches to Buddhism, there are two wings of the bird: Buddha says a bird needs two wings, wisdom and compassion. Really, broadly speaking, we can say the wisdom wing is all the, what we call the Hinayana approach to Buddhism, which is the Buddhism thats developed in countries like Burma and Thailand or known very commonly as Theravadan Buddhism (Theravadan Buddhism is one of the only remaining of the eighteen sub-schools of what is known as this wisdom wing, the Hinayana, which has its very specific goal. The other wing is the compassion wing. These two together, the combination of these two, this is the Mahayana path, the Mahayana course, and the goal of that is this enlightenment. The term used here, according to the Mahayana Buddhists is the term enlightenment. What Buddha is saying is every living being has just necessarily the potential to achieve buddhahood, enlightenment. The goal of practicing this course not this weekend, we wont get it by Sunday! But I mean, we might if we are really ripe and ready. This course that were describing this weekend, the accomplishment, the end result, the culmination, is ones own buddhahood, ones own enlightenment.
What Is the Mind?

So, what is that? What is that? The simple way to say it is that it occurs in your mind, where it occurs is in your mind were going to be discussing all of this in its place. In part of the overview well discuss
that, tonight; that it occurs in the mind. So, if this is potential that weve all got, no choice about it, Buddha says: that if you exist, then its your potential. If it occurs in the mind, and the part of us that has to do the job is the mind, not your toenails and not your nose, and not your fingers, but your mind, then we better know what the mind is. So, lets look briefly at that. Well get in to more detail in the second stage of this course. What is the mind? Well, mind in Buddhism is used in a much more broad way than we tend to use it in our own culture. It is used synonymously with the word consciousness, one. Two, it isnt physical. So if youre a Christian, or a Muslim, or you talk about some non-physical part of you, its known as the soul. But Buddha doesnt use that term at all. He would use the term mind, but it would incorporate concepts, feelings, thoughts, emotions, unconscious, whatever you want to call, what you even like to refer to as the spiritual part of yourself, whatever you like. All of this is your mind. The whole spectrum of your inner experiences is your mind, and in Buddhas terms it is necessarily non-physical. It isnt the body. Its not the brain. Well go into more detail about that, but were just stating this now. It isnt the brain. So, this enlightenment is the potential of your mind, this Buddhahood. What does that mean? Well its, simply speaking, the full development of your mind from the point of view of the positive qualities. Buddha would say they are actually innate to us, and these words we all know: love, compassion, wisdom, joy, contentment, whatever. That is our natural potential, the full development of these, beyond which you cant develop them further.
Developing the Positive

This is an interesting concept because we dont even talk like that. We know the words, but we dont talk like that in our ordinary daily life. We tend to think were born with a certain amount and we stuck with that much and thats it. What to do? But the Buddhas deal is very much that we can develop that part of ourself to phenomenal degrees and this course is all about that.
Getting Rid of the Negative

So that also implies, well, it certainly does here, this Buddhahood, when youve achieved it, this enlightenment, not only will you be fully developed in all your positive qualities, but necessarily, youll be completely removed from all the negative ones. All the negative qualities will be completely removed from your mind because they are the ones that hold back the positive ones. And what are they? We all know the words: hate, fear, jealous, depressed, anxiety, wish to kill, low self-esteem, attachment, anger, pride, you name it, we all know the words. So the complete removal of all of those. Now that is quite a shocking concept. In fact, psychologically speaking, its quite radical to state that. None of us would think we can totally get rid of that because we just assume, along with our positive qualities, we are born a certain way and thats just the way it is. You just have to do your best, you know. We dont think in terms of growing that part of us, the positive qualities, whereas we do, for example, when it comes to cake making. You are not born as an innate cake maker, but youve got the potential and you go learn the course. Youre not born as a mathematician, but you can learn it. Youre not born as Mozart, but, hey, you can become like him. We have courses, dont we? But we dont have courses on how to become more loving, more wise, more compassionat. Look at the
stunning degree to which we can learn piano. We are phenomenally brilliant, arent we, in the West, technically brilliant in the things we can achieve, but we dont have that level of technical brilliance when it comes to emotional things; and thats Buddhas specialty. Hes brilliant at helping us develop to phenomenal degrees what we would say are the emotional, which we ought to be hungry to get. I mean, the courses on Buddhism should be packed with people. We mightnt all want to be mathematicians, and we dont necessarily suffer because we are not a mathematician, but hey, we all suffer in terms of jealousy, and confusion, and depression and want to kill and lie and steal, you get my point here. We should be packing Buddhas courses. Buddhas specialty is emotions, the mind, and the capacity of the human to phenomenally develop the positive parts of ourself. So, enlightenment is the term used to refer to the mind of the person who has done the job of perfecting their own positive qualities and absolutely removing the negative. Now those words just themselves are kind of understandable, nothing shocking about the words, but its a shocking concept. But when I tell you more precisely more detail of the qualities of the person who has achieved those things, then it really sounds insane. Because we usually refer these qualities that I am about to tell you about to a person called God.
No Creator
Now, Buddha says there is no such person as a creator, which is what we mean by God, but he certainly doesnt say that there arent superior beings. He uses the term, in Sanskrit, Arya being, the superior being, and this is the term for the ultimate, the final superior being who has done the job of becoming a Buddha. So he has no problem with describing the qualities.
The Qualities of a Buddha

Ill come back to tell you now the qualities of a Buddha. It sounds like God. Sounds like God, and we would only think one person has it and thats God the creator, and theres no way, youd say, that we could become this way. If you go off to some person and ask for a course in how to become like God, theyll lock you up and put you on a pill; definite. But this is what Buddha is saying. The fully developed person, fully developed in the wisdom wing point of view: they use the term omniscience. But its interesting, a teaching I was going to this morning from one lama from another tradition, he said the meaning of the word in Tibetan, its very broad here, is: accurate cognition, meaning knowing exactly what is, seeing as it is, which is very interesting. Seeing something as it is: how cute, well think. And this really gets us into how Buddha talks. Were going to be unraveling this, but the way Buddhas saying, roughly speaking now, is because of all that neurotic stuff inside us, it completely blinds us from really seeing how everything is, and completely causes us suffering. So, when we utterly remove this suffering and delusions, we are in touch with exactly how everything is. Omniscient, we could say literally knowing everything, but it would mean this, too: seeing perfectly the minds of others, seeing exactly how things are, at a level of knowing or cognition that, again, is radical in comparison with what we everyday think of in scientific and ordinary psychological terms. Buddha is radical in what he is asserting: the levels of cognition that we can achieve. And he would say that is just the nature of the mind. So, when the mind is fully developed in the wisdom wing, one sees the minds of all beings, one sees everything as it is.
Then theres the compassion wing. When thats fully developed, you can say the mind of this person, this consciousness of this enlightened being, has absolute empathy with all living beings. Not a fraction of distinction, not a fraction of discrimination; infinite compassion, love, affection for every being, equally. Which is, again, pretty insane. We find it hard to love even one person well. So, what Buddhas saying, again, this is our natural potential. Its the nature of mind to be this way. Its just our nature, so we need to develop it. But theres another quality, too. They even call it omnipotence, infinite power: the effortless ability to do whatever needs to be done to benefit all living beings, because the job of a Buddha, the heart job of a Buddha, is infinite compassion. Theres the wisdom that knows exactly what and how and where and what and who. And then theres the capacity to do what needs to be done, to perfectly benefit all beings. So, were talking a bit like God, like we talk about God, omniscient, all-knowing, all-compassionate, allwise, all-pervading. And then, indeed, because the mind is not physical, when its fully developed, this Buddha-mind, it is just necessarily pervading wherever there is existence, which is a really interesting concept, because that is, for sure, only what God does. God is everywhere, we say. Well Buddha talks just like this and he would say thats the capacity of a person called a Buddha, which is the potential of every one of us. Not to be just like it, not like this; and hes not saying a Buddha is a creator. So theres many similarities, but fundamental differences in explaining. These words are quite different.
Buddha-Nature
So, what Buddha is saying is this is, just naturally, the potential of every being. . . and the term in Tibetan for sentient being is interesting, its mind possessor. A sentient being is a mind possessor, sem-chen, mind possessor. Sem is mind and chen means having. So, if you are a mind possessor, if you possess consciousness, then this is your potential. Its like if it is an acorn, it just naturally is a potential oak tree. Its not as if you come along and you force oak tree-ness into it and now suddenly your acorn becomes an oak tree. It is just naturally, by its existence, an acorn, in its nature is a potential oak tree. So, if you are a living being, in your nature you are a potential Buddha. Its not just for the Mother Teresas, you know. This is how Buddha talks.
Enlightenment Is Do-able
So, the culmination of this course, this A-Z course to enlightenment, is this perfection, is this enlightenment. So, naturally, you start at Grade One. Then, when you have accomplished this, you go to Grade Two and so on and so forth until, eventually, you have achieved it. It is as practical as that. The Buddhas approach is that type of practicality. Its not this mystical, cross-your-fingers-and-hope-forthe best sort of hit-and-miss affair that we think of as spiritual. Do you see what I am saying? And its extremely important to think this way because its really a sigh of relief, actually. We all know we want to be loving and kind. We all know we dont want to be mean and depressed. We kind of dont really know how. We sort of think well, weve heard about this thing called meditation and somehow, if you close your eyes, and put the incense on, and make the light low, so the musics sweet, somehow something will happen inside called spiritual. Its very kind of strange, really. You understand what Im saying?
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Its not like that. The Buddhas approach is not like that. He says its a really tough job, but its a do-able job and you start at the beginning and you just keep going. You just keep going and you will get there. We all know practice makes perfect. We all know practice makes perfect. Well, the saying they have in Tibetan is that Nothing gets more difficult with familiarity. Its a different way of saying it. What a relief! The more you do it, the better you get at it. What a relief! It should give us great courage. So, in a way, its good to know this at the starting point that the goal of all of this is to achieve this Buddhahood. Because why? Because, hey, youre a living being and this is the potential of your mind. They say we possess Buddha-nature. Buddha says this term. We dont talk like that, right? We dont say, oh, yes, an acorn possesses oak tree-nature. But we know exactly the meaning, dont we? Its a quaint way to put it. This is how these Asians talk, Indians probably, you know, just a bit of the terminology. Wed say: thats a potential oak tree. Well, youre a potential Buddha. Very simple. Thats what it means. You possess Buddha-nature. Its not a little Buddha in there, hiding from you, for you to find. Like theres not a little oak tree in there that, when you find it itll suddenly explodes into life. We know that. You understand. An acorn is something that when you give it the right causes and conditions, the sun, the water, the soil, and time and patience, it will just naturally become an oak tree. The same here. The same here. Its something very organic and natural, whereas, again, we dont think like that. We think its something youve got to force. So, okay, this lam-rim, this packaging of Buddhas teachings, presented in an orderly and experiential way, is what we will be presenting this weekend in a very speedy way. One lama in Wisconsin, who is a professor at the University, hes retired now, Geshe Sopa. I think Wisdom Publications has published now, soon, the third volume of his commentary on the lam-rim. Its not huge, the books, but he took 25 years to teach it, 25 years! Gradually, really slowly, really in depth, taking one of Tsongkhapas texts. So, well speed through and just touch on the main points in a day and a half or two days or however long a weekend course is. Okay, so far, so good? Makes sense? And if weve heard it a thousand times before, does it make even more sense? Because thats the point. Thats good. We need to hear this, again and again you hear it. Just like with your piano, you keep practicing the same thing. You dont say, Oh, yeah, I did the C Major scale, yesterday. Give me a new one, please.Youve got to keep practicing, dont you? Thats what we mean by practice! So, a part of the practice is keep hearing.
The Three Scopes: Junior School, High School, and University

Okay, so, lets talk a little bit more about the mind. But first, this packaging, its really like, the way they talk about it in Tibetan is divided into, as they call it, three scopes. The meaning of that is, the scope of someones potential, is according to your level of capability. Now, we understand that. So we can see the junior school is a certain series of things that are taught according to the level of capability of that type of person, isnt it? Junior school. So, then you graduate to high school. And then you graduate to university. And then you have your post-graduate. Well, I can say that thats an exact, a perfect analogy, for the packaging of the lam-rim. Theres the first scope, which they call the Lower Scope, theres the Medium Scope, and theres the Highest Scope; junior school, high school, university, and then theres, within the university, youve got the post-graduate, which is tantra.
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Using this other analogy of the two wings of the bird, how those three scopes fit in, and its a perfect way to fit: the wisdom wing is the first and the second scopes: the junior school and the high school. So, if you were just to complete that, your goal would be your own liberation. And the term often used to refer to that, although it has a deeper meaning too, is the word nirvana. So, nirvana isnt some kind of holy place up in the sky that you got to give up sexy samsara for, kind of reluctantly. All pure up there, you know? Nirvana is not equivalent to Heaven or something. Nirvana is a word that really is quite abstract in meaning; the meaning is powerful but almost abstract conceptually: its freedom from suffering.
The First Two Scopes: Junior School and High School

So, the first two scopes, junior school and high school, thats the wisdom wing. And what you would have achieved if you have achieved that is you would have removed to a phenomenal degree, but not completely yet, all the gross levels of all the delusions, all unhappiness, all the ego, if you like and we are going to go into this very much.
Root of Samsara
The ignorance, the root of this, is this deep, deep, primordial ignorance in us, the Buddha says, that causes us to not be in touch with reality. Remember one of consequences of this wisdom, one of the achievements of the Buddhas mind, is to be completely in touch with reality, omniscient. So, right now, were way out of touch with reality, Buddha says, because our minds are completely polluted by all the delusions. One of the things youve achieved when youve achieved this nirvana is, for sure, the wisdom wing, which means, not totally though, but pretty much, removed the gross degree, all the nonsense of the ego, which, just naturally means that you are now extraordinarily blissful, content, fulfilled person free from suffering to an enormous degree, an amazing being. You are liberated from suffering, thus the term liberation. You are liberated. You are freed from suffering. Hey, pretty astonishing person.
The Third Scope: University

But theres more you can do. So, if you just practice the wisdom wing, youve done your junior school and your high school and youre finished. Youre a pretty stunning person, but there is still more potential. So, you can go on to university and you can then really accomplish the compassion wing. And the unique characteristic of this is, just by the very nature of the word, is its connected to others. So, you could say very much the purpose of the first one is for yourself. And dont underestimate that. Dont think thats something small. I mean, if we even began just to think about ourselves in an appropriate way and do the things that were beneficial to ourselves, wed be stunning beings. Right now, Buddha says, were harming ourselves constantly and, of course, were going to be discussing this. Or as my mother would say, youre own worst enemy. Well, Buddha would agree. Were our own worst enemies, Buddha would say. Youve gone beyond masses of this when youve done the wisdom wing, if youve just done that, junior school and high. The compassion wing, you start to look around and realize that everybody is in the same boat. You start to develop this phenomenal capacity to encompass others, to reach out to
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others, to utilize what youve learned in junior school and high school now for the benefit of others. You help them do the same thing.
Postgraduate
And then you want to go to postgraduate. All that is really is then you are moving along so radically on this path, moving on, becoming an amazing person, getting rid of all the nonsense in yourself, becoming an amazing being, free to a huge extent from your own suffering, now able to do the same thing to help others, developing, developing, developing, but then you can enter the post-graduate one, the esoteric teachings, Buddhas tantra. The goal of this is the same, to become a Buddha, but its a really more sophisticated level of practice, a much more speedy way to now finish accomplishing your goal of Buddhahood. Propelled by this immense compassion for all the sentient beings who are in this same boat of suffering as we are, ourselves. So, youve got your three scopes.
Buddhas Approach to Changing the Mind

Okay, thats one lot of stuff that Ive said. Another thing now to talk about is really to try and get our heads around just the approach that Buddha takes, where hes coming from, in terms of just how he talks, because I think, already, in the room, if weve not heard this before, lets say, weve got a lot of concepts about what we mean by spiritual, by what we think what practice means. Maybe we have heard it, but weve still got a lot of concepts. And so lets see how Buddhas talking. Okay? What hes saying is, and Ive already implied it quite a bit, said it directly, too, is that weve got this potential in our minds, in our consciousness, so what is it, right now, that is preventing me, this second, why is it, at this very moment I am not a Buddha? Why is it I am not fully developed in the two wings? Why is it my mind isnt pervading the universe, seeing everything as it is, encompassing all beings? What is it? What are the things that are preventing me? Well, its stuff within the mind. Right? The potential of this consciousness of mine is to be absolutely pure and clear and all expansive and wise and blah, blah. So, right now, its completely polluted. Its a good analogy. Buddhas saying this: its polluted by, as Ive been saying, these unhappy states of mind, the components of ego. Okay, what is the mind? How do we talk in ordinary terms? When we say the mind, we say the word think, thoughts, concepts. We understand that very easily. Then we have words called emotion and we sort of point here [the heart] for this. Then we do confuse things by then saying there is another part of us called spiritual. Its almost like a third part. Buddha doesnt talk like this. In fact, what he says, what hes implying, spiritual means, youre being spiritual when you are recognizing and acknowledging and beginning to change your neuroses. If youre working on your attachment, if youre working on your anger, if youre working on your jealousy, hey, youre being spiritual. Now, we would call that psychological and we go to a therapist. But if we want spiritual, we go to a Tibetan lama and we think thatll sort of give us something different and theyll give us a mala and well say mantras and well see Buddhas: we think thats spiritual. But, if you hear about psychology from Buddha, about anger and jealousy and depression, we kind of think: thats not spiritual. But thats what Buddha means by spiritual. You even would, indeed, get from
a Tibetan lama. . . look at all the pictures in the paintings here: youre going to get pictures and malas and prayers until they come out your ears, so much! But even that is not necessarily only spiritual. Theyre simply a whole set of tools that one can use, which are actually from the post-graduate level, from an esoteric level, from the advanced level, that we can utilize to help do this constant job of getting rid of the junk, developing the good. Its always psychological. Buddha is only talking psychologically. Its just that his view, his assertion of what we can achieve psychologically is pretty stunning when you hear about enlightenment. Its not as if suddenly when youre just dealing with ordinary depression, thats psychological, and when youre dealing with enlightenment, thats not psychological, thats spiritual. Thats a real misconception. All of it, as far as Buddha is concerned, is psychological because all of it is all the time to do with the mind. And we know the word mind is used in context of psychology. Its just that the word wasnt coined back then, was it? You know, Buddha didnt use the word psychology. I mean, who invented it? The Greeks. Its Greek language. We utilize it. We bandy it about now in our culture. So, for Buddha, psychological and spiritual, theyre synonymous. Its the same meaning. Because what youre doing, the job that you are doing as a Buddhist, is psychological. If youre working on your mind, how can you say its not psychological? Its just that his view of psychology and this is my way to say it is radical. He is far more outrageous in what he is asserting we can achieve, psychologically. But, you know, if you talk about Buddhahood, like Im saying, you go to your therapist and say I want to know how to get enlightened. Oh, you better go find a Tibetan lama, theyll say. But theyll say, Thats not psychological; Im here to help you with your daily life, as if, again, that was sort of separate. The way to say it, really, is we have an understanding of psychology to some degree in our culture. In fact, there are many models of it, but I would say that they are all very firmly based in the Western or materialist view of the mind being the brain, of the fact that you are made by someone else, that you are created by your parents, and its not called spiritual. Whereas Buddha is using the term spiritual, the practices that we label spiritual, but all they are are tools to help you develop psychologically all the way to enlightenment. So, were talking about the mind.
Becoming Our Own Therapist

So therefore, okay, in the mind, the mind, one of the major jobs of a Buddhist and this is really in the high school; in junior school its not even too much talked about, the mind, ok. In junior school were dealing with even more fundamental things like body and speech, understanding basic laws about how things work, like karma, cause and effect. So, when we go to high school, the second scope, we really start becoming our own therapists, as Lama Yeshe would put it. Not joking, you know? Not joking. Exactly the point. Deeply understanding this mind of ours, really beginning to unravel it, really learning very profoundly how it functions, and distinguishing between the so-called positive and negative, because thats the real nitty-gritty of the job. So, okay, if the mind is the main thing we have to work on, how do we change the mind? What are the tools Buddha is using? So, really, you could say what youre learning to do as a Buddhist is change the
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way you think. So, Buddha, really, I would say hes a supreme cognitive therapist. Theres a type of therapy in the West called cognitive behavioral therapy, isnt three. The Buddhas really saying exactly this: hes saying what we think impacts upon what we do and say, which impacts upon what we feel, which, therefore impacts on what we do and say, and therefore impacts upon the world, and so forth. It all comes down to the mind. Buddha, too, has far more radical ways of talking about the mind because he doesnt assert a creator, which is a shock if you think hes spiritual. We only have two options on this earth, one is youre a materialist and one is youre religious. And if youre religious, you posit a God, you posit a creator. Well, Buddha doesnt. He doesnt assert a creator. He just doesnt say there isnt one. His whole explanation of how things are is, absolutely, he has a way of describing exactly how things come into being, why I am the way I am, why universes, why happiness, why suffering. And his creative principle, if you like, is called karma, which you learn in junior school, so well do that tomorrow morning. Its explaining, its utterly based on the understanding of ... karma is absolutely based on the understanding of what the mind is. Your practice is to do with changing the way you think. And again, really you could say, Buddhas understanding of thinking, of concepts, he goes to much more subtle levels. He is saying that our minds are riddled with misconceptions, but deeply packed away, so deeply that it takes a long time to unravel them. We can see even the level that we begin to unravel our minds, we go off to our therapist. To begin to see what were feeling is extremely painful, isnt it? Because weve not looked most of the time in our life, its not part of our culture to investigate what we think and feel until its too late, until its kind of some problem. Buddha is dealing exactly with that. And, again, the methods that Buddha uses these kind of very skillful, sophisticated psychological techniques called meditation they are psychological techniques that enable one to go very, very deep, to plumb the depths of this mind of ours, to really become an amazing skillful therapist of your own self. Its very really, definitely true. Im using very Western terms, but we understand these words. But even saying, more than anything, when it comes down to it, were learning to do cognitive therapy. We are learning to radically de-construct the elaborate conceptual constructions that Buddha says our minds are. It is radical, really, what were attempting to do. And its scary as hell, because we all know that even a little bit of therapy, even a little bit of looking at your feelings and taking responsibility is painful. We know this. So thats that. Another little piece thats important, extremely important.
How to Listen to These Teachings

Dont Believe a Word Buddha Says
Buddha, he okayd religion, no problem, religion yes, but not creator, as I said. So, his deal is, Hey, please do not believe a single word youre going to hear this weekend. The whole point of Buddhism is absolutely not to do with believing something in the way we understand beliefs. Im not criticizing that approach. Im just saying that Buddha doesnt take it.
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So, for example, we all know well you dont know but Im telling you! that I was brought up a Catholic, okay? So we all know, as a Christian lets say, God is seen as the creator of the universe, the creator of me, the creator of good, the creator of the laws of morality, and so therefore God is to be obeyed. Now, Im not complaining about that; Im just saying thats not how Buddha talks. I mean, I was talking to an old Catholic friend of mine years ago, and I said what is it that defines something as a sin? in Buddhist terminology, a negative action. He said it necessarily is something that goes against the will of God. Now, thats very reasonable. If God created the universe, that means he created the law dont kill, or dont lie. So, if you do it, what youre doing, why you did a bad action is because you went against Gods will. Thats totally valid. It fits. But its not the Buddhas approach. He didnt create. Buddha would say dont kill, for example, in the junior school teachings. But hes not saying dont kill because he said so. He is saying dont kill because he has found, from his own experience, that the action of killing is something forget about the harm it does to others it comes necessarily from a negative place here, therefore is leaving a negative imprint or seed in our own mind, which will then necessarily ripen in the future as my suffering. So, yes, its sort of like, your mother says, Dont go near the fire! when youre a kid. And you probably will say, Why not? And she will probably say, Because I say so. Well, its good enough. It works, doesnt it? It prevents you from getting burned. But eventually you have to learn, dont you, that the real reason she says dont go near the fire isnt because shes said so, its because you will get burnt. Now, if you, for the rest of your life, here you are, 30, 40, or 50, not going near the fire because Mummy said so, thats a little bit unintelligent.
Check It, Test It

Im not being rude about Christianity; Im not trying to say that, but you get my point. Eventually, you know, and your mummy hopes, you will learn the real reason not to go near the fire. So, your mummy might, you know, Buddha is saying dont kill. Good enough even to respect that, but youve got to know why. And thats the Buddhas approach. So, hes saying dont just believe me; check it out for yourself. So, again in just the same way, we understand, very comfortably, in our culture that what we mean by science is not something that we must believe. We know perfectly well, if Im Einstein or if Im Mr. Soand-so, the apple one what was his name? Mr. Newton. If Im Mr. Newton, and Ive been telling you about my latest findings about gravity, you know that I just didnt have a vision of it last night or got revealed by somebody. You get my point here? Youd chuck me out the door as a bit of a maniac, if thats the case. You understand my point? And therefore, Im not demanding that you believe me, you people. You see my point here? You know that. You know that Im a person, Mr. Newton, who has, from my own experience, from my own observation, has observed, has seen something and has articulated it, and Ive labeled it gravity, its a law, and Ive put it all down. See my point? So, you didnt have to take it away. You can believe me if you like and I think, frankly. . . You check this: we say, Oh, but its scientific. Excuse me, when was the last time you checked on gravity? As a proof? When was the last time you checked on E=mc2? When was the last time you verified Einstein? So, we really just go around believing Einstein. We say, Oh, its science. Well, excuse me, its someone elses science, not yours. Youre just believing it, just quoting it because someone told you. So, actually, we act just like we do all the time, but we say, Oh, I dont
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believe anything, I dont have any beliefs. Well, nonsense! So Buddhas approach is exactly like the scientists in this context, which is a big surprise, because we dont think of religion like that. So, Buddha is not a creator. He did not invent what is called Buddhism. He didnt create it; make it up, in other words. He articulated it, yes, but based on what? His own experiences. His own observations. So, hes presented it. And he doesnt mind if we dont like it. You can be rude about Buddha. He doesnt mind. You wont get kind of hanged, like in some religions, if you criticize God. He doesnt take it personally. Its very reasonable. Lets say youre here tonight and you havent heard this stuff before and you think its a load of rubbish. Its totally reasonable to walk away and say thanks a lot, goodbye, Buddha. He will not mind. He doesnt want you to stuff yourself full of whats called Buddhism. He wants, he demands, that you think about it, listen to it, and then eventually prove it. Get the proof of the pudding, taste it thats if you want to and then you continue to apply it in your life because it works.
It Must Be Experiential
Finally, again, the point is, its got to be experiential. Youve got to see the results. Its got to be a method that youll use to help you become a happier, wiser, more compassionate human being. Thats the purpose of all of this, to finally achieve your full potential, so that you can truly be of just spontaneous benefit to others.
Take It as a Hypothesis
So, do not believe a single word you are hearing. Take it, in other words, like any decent scientist, take it as a hypothesis. We get quite anguished, lets say we hear about, especially Buddhism, Im talking about reincarnation. Its huge one in our culture because its just seen as kind of ridiculous. More and more people these days do talk about it. Lots of people who do call themselves Christians just naturally, have the view of reincarnation, but it utterly, when you want to look at the big picture of Buddhism, it absolutely is at the center. You cant have Buddhism and the whole picture, Buddhas whole deal, without hypothesizing continuity of consciousness, the non-physicality and the continuity of whats called mind or consciousness. Nothing of his teachings lots of things you can apply but if you want to look at the big picture, you have to take this as a hypothesis. And so taking something as a hypothesis is very reasonable. Scientists do this. A really good scientist is one whos got a mind thats open enough that can take something that initially is weird and then work with it. You understand my point? Otherwise, you have tunnel vision. So, thats a really important point. Take it as a hypothesis. You dont have to squeeze it inside yourself. You dont have to believe it. No ones asking you to do this. But at least give it some thought, youve got to say the words and act as if, in order to follow through on what Buddhas saying: if it were true that the mind is this and this, therefore this, therefore this, therefore this. If it were true. So then the Buddhas approach is that you take that onboard and like anything, you learn about it first conceptually. Dont you? You learn the theory of cakes, first conceptually. Its got to fit, conceptually. Then you can get the fruit, then you get the result. So, same here. And eventually, Buddha says, we can verify it for ourselves, within our own mind. Eventually. We can. So, take it all as a hypothesis.
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Hear the Teachings as Personal Advice

Another way they say to listen, thats really valid to listen, to summarize: listen to this as if it were personal advice just like youd listen to a recipe: its personal advice so you can go and put it into practice. Well, its the same here. Listen to it as personal advice. Like I said, you mightnt like it as personal advice, in which case you dont have to do it. Youre the boss, not Buddha. Thats the approach.
The Three Pots

Theres a very nice, sweet way that they say it, of how to listen. They talk about dont be like the three kinds of pots. Dont be like, I forget the order, but dont be like one kind of pot, or a mug, or something, that is upside-down. Nothing will go in. Useless. Waste of your time. Dont be like the pot thats got a hole in it, sort of like in one ear and out the other. And dont be like a pot thats full of dirty, yucky stuff because whatever goes in gets polluted by it. So, in other words, be very open, focused, listen, keep it inside, process it, and really keep the mind very open. Thats the one of not having dirty stuff in there, dont have the mind all polluted, full of misconceptions and strong views already, What do you mean this? and What do you mean that? I dont think thats true, thats rubbish. No scientist would get very far with a very closed mind like that. So, have the mind wide open, taking it as a hypothesis, thinking it through to the extent that we would want to because we are, finally, again, the boss.
The First Preliminary Contemplation: The Nature of the Mind

One more piece here tonight as overview for tomorrow, for the beginning of the business tomorrow. This is really the first point because given. . . the first thing well want to talk about on this course, on this graded course, given that everything were going to be doing, what one does on this path to enlightenment, this course of enlightenment, is the mind doing it, okay, helped by the body and the speech theyre like the servants of the mind. The mind is the crucial point, whats inside here. Given that its the mind that will be doing the job, lets look a little bit more at what the mind is and what its not. Just a reminder, okay? So this brings us to the very first kind of contemplation, the first thing to think about. Because all of this stuff well be presenting is stuff to think about, to think about. Thats all. To think about and process. Theres a way of doing that in formal meditation and we call it analytical meditation. So, when you go away at home and process the recipe, if its a quite complicated one, you just wouldnt go and turn your incense on and turn your lights down low, put the music on, and sit cross-legged, would you? But, why not? Because the point of doing that forget the music and the incense, theyre just romantic the point of sitting with your eyes closed, first of all, the point of sitting cross-legged is not because theres anything innately special about crossed legs. Its just because thats the way that Asians do it, and Buddha came out of Asia. We know that. It happens that theyve found, especially from the esoteric point of view, where they deal with the subtler physical energies, that theres something very conducive about being cross-legged for the capacity of the mind to go quite subtle. And Buddha, indeed, is asserting we can go quite subtle with our minds in meditation. So, there is something useful in that, but if we cant do that, its really no big deal. There is an advantage, though, in why you close your eyes and subdue your senses. Its not because its holy. Its practical.
Discovering BUDDHISM at Home 18 3. Presenting the Path
Because if you want to sit down there yourself, even if you had a problem during the day and youve got to go think about it, you dont go and think in the middle of the freeway. You probably go to your room and sit down or lie down and you try to think the problem through, dont you? So you can work it out and come to a conclusion. Well, thats called analytical meditation. Okay? Thats what it is. Youre using your mind to think something through to come to a conclusion. Very simple.
Analytical Meditation
Its just that this approach, the Buddhist tradition of meditation, there are very sophisticated ways of doing that very deeply. But it is simply that function, its a conceptual function, a function of our conceptual mind. And so the way to process all of this stuff that youre going to listen to is mentally, that is to say, first of all, think about it. And then, you see, within the tradition of meditation, these very sophisticated psychological techniques, you need in the analytical mode, to sit there and then really go very deeply, but the capacity to go deep in your mind is what you achieve in the first mode of meditation. There are really two main modes, although thousands of techniques. The second mode is where you utilize the capacity to analyze, to really cut through the misconceptions, cut through all the ego nonsense. Right? Really deeply be your own therapist.
Concentration Meditation
But what gives you the ability to do that very deeply is the achievement of the first mode, which is simply called concentration meditation. So here its important, its helpful for us to know, even just initially, the way the Buddha would assert far more refined more subtle levels of awareness, or of conscious awareness, of mind, if you like, than we would ever posit as possible in our Western culture. A couple of years ago, in New York, His Holiness the Dalai Lama was participating in one those many Mind and Life conferences. Maybe youve seen. You should look on the web. Its very marvelous. Over these last fifteen or twenty years hes been meeting with all the best brains in the West on these scientific topics about the nature of the universe and the mind. Its just incredible. I mean, these Tibetans are very highly educated in Buddhist psychology, philosophy, metaphysics, and so on. Its remarkable. And so, all these conferences and a lot of them have been published. Theyre excellent books to read, just wonderful. The main topic I think it was in Boston, or Harvard or somewhere the main topic was the capacity of the human mind to concentrate. So okay, the Western scientists were coming up with their findings. It was probably that six seconds was the maximum. And they probably defined what they mean by concentration. Well, theres the Dalai Lama and the other Buddhists presenting the Buddhist case from their own experience: the human mind has the capacity to concentrate for several months. Now, they know hes been around long enough and theyve heard from other scientists that hes been doing this for years, thats hes not some nutter, hes not some idiot. So they kind of got to take him seriously. But its so shocking! Why? It is simply this: its because in the West we are convinced that mind is the brain. Therefore mind is physical. We dont assert, the scientific model doesnt assert something with confidence that is not physical because you cant observe it with a microscope, you cant observe it with the senses. Youre with me here, roughly speaking, right? So, the Buddha would necessarily say that mind is not physical. And he would talk and this is taking a very nice approach from the esoteric teachings,
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the post-graduate, tantra, a very nice little model of the mind. They talk about gross consciousness, gross mind; and that, effectively, is conceptuality and sensory experiences, which obviously means, which obviously function, these two ways we function, our mind, function in dependence on the presence of a body. Right? But thats all we talk about in the West. Thats it. We dont talk about anything more subtle. Right? There is only the body. So, then obviously there can only be six seconds, because the conceptual mind, we can see, is very limited in its capacity. Its very limited, too, in its capacity for memory. I mean, most of us, we would say, Oh, come on, past lives? I dont remember a past life. Dont be ridiculous! Well, Im sorry to tell you, you dont remember most of today! What are you talking about? You check. Were not surprised by this. We dont expect to remember every second, but we dont. So why is because, using Buddhas reference, because the conceptual level of mind is completely gross, completely limited in its capacity for awareness. And, like were talking here, if you really can assert for a moment the capacity to be fully developed, enlightened, that is to see all beings minds, to pervade the universe, etc., then Buddhas being pretty stunning in what hes saying we can achieve psychologically. So, its a bit of a difference. So okay, so this gross level of awareness, which is necessarily the conceptual and the sensory, which can only function in relation to the presence of a body. This is clear. But the Buddha is making this very clear point that conceptuality and sensory awareness arent the function of the body, the brain, theyre a function of consciousness, which exists in dependence on the presence of brain and body. Its a crucial point. Not just splitting hairs. So, then youve got the subtle consciousness, Buddha would say. Now this is a whole realm that we dont even touch upon in the West because we dont assert it. And in Buddhas terms, it doesnt function in dependence upon the presence of the body. And this is where, for example, people have out-ofbody experiences, people have near-death experiences. I mean, its universal. There must be countless people whove had this similar kind of experience, but, of course, we cant accept it in the Western model because its not a function of the brain. How can your brain leave itself, you know? You see my point. How can you be sitting on the ceiling? How can your brain sit on the ceiling watching the body down there? We know thats not possible so we hear these people have these experiences, but its sort of weird because it doesnt fit with our very strong conviction that mind is the brain. So okay, it fits though, absolutely perfectly with the Buddhas proposition that the mind, the consciousness, has the capacity to go to more refined, more subtle levels of awareness. Now, in Buddhas terms, you can achieve that through these concentration meditation techniques. And these are around for thousands of years. He didnt invent them; he took them from the Hindus. I mean, they dont mind; they dont think hes rude. Theyre happy to share. They like each other, the Hindus and the Buddhists. But, one is able. . . this is why the Dalai Lama is saying that one can stay at that level for months. Not a joke. This is a common experience among meditators who have accomplished this single-pointed concentration, as they call it. And that level of mind, consciousness, is what we experience in our dreams. Weird. Its very weird, our dreams. We go to that place. Youre fast asleep. Youre not feeling anything with your body, but you have these very vivid experiences. Youre not seeing things, youre not smelling things. Your body, your senses are virtually dead when youre in very deep sleep. So, there you are dreaming these vivid experiences. Thats your mind. How can you say its not? Thats your subtle consciousness.
Now, meditators can access that level, but they have its like they wake up at that level, but theyre able to be completely controlled at that level. Whereas for us, were kind of dragged along by our nose in our dreams, arent we? Its rare to have complete control. You see my point. You go here, you go there, weird experiences, you fly, strange things happen. And we wake up, you know, like weve been dragged there. We didnt go there on purpose. You understand my point here? We dont have control like we do in our daily life, to the extent that we have control. So, thats your subtle consciousness, so thats the, if you like, thats where we access our subtle consciousness, but we dont know how to use it. Meditators can go to that level. That already sounds abstract. Well, why would they want to go there, for Gods sake? Isnt it? We can talk about that later. Okay, then, we have very subtle consciousness and we never access that, virtually never. But it occurs, Buddha would say, every time we die. Were going to talk about those too. So, these subtle, more refined levels of consciousness, of mind, and the Buddhist techniques of concentration, meditation of these skillful techniques. I mean, a Communist could do them. Theyre not religious in the sense we mean that, in their nature. Theyre practical techniques; enormously difficult, but absolutely doable. Anyone can achieve it: accessing a more refined level of awareness. And that level of mind doesnt depend upon this body for its existence. In order to get the job done of deconstructing all the elaborate misconceptions in the mind that Buddha says have been there a long, long time, due to the way we see the world now which he says is completely phony, completely misconception, completely mistaken we can only really do that really well at a more refined level. So, we must necessarily in our progress on this path, whether its this life or the next, or whatever, we must access this more refined level where we can really do the work radically. But theres masses we can do already at the gross level. Dont think theres not. You dont need to have single-pointed concentration in this life in order to make enormous progress, psychologically/spiritually. Theres no question.
Insight Meditation, Using Analysis

So, the second level of meditation where the real work happens they call that insight meditation. The tool we use is called analysis and the subtler your concentration, the deeper your concentration, the more refined your concentration, the deeper you can do analysis. And I am talking, again, about a very sophisticated level where we can really work out what the hell is going on and get rid of the nonsense and change the way we think and do our cognitive therapy.
Beginningless Mind
So, one more point about the mind then, and this is something, if you think about entering junior school, there are certain things to think about, to prepare, sort of, like in terms of their level, theyre not really simple but they are a little bit like preliminary things youve got to do in order to really prepare yourself for junior school even. Its not quite like kindergarten here because its really quite difficult concepts, but theyre things that are good to think about and hear in order to really hear, to begin to do to enter into the various stages of the practice, the stages of hearing about junior school and so on and so forth. The first one is about the mind so Im already touching on that. Im already touching on that. The very nature of mind, that its not physical, crucially that its not made by someone else. Okay, so that means
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Buddhas, first of all, asserting that theres no such thing as a creator, like God. Not asserting that there arent higher qualities like Ive just described, but hes saying the job of a superior being isnt to make others, isnt to make universes. Then, the other thing that the Buddha would disagree with is the materialist model. You know, youre either a person who thinks that God made you or, equally, youre a person who thinks that your mummy made you, arent you? We all just assume that our mummy and daddy made us. So, you might as well say that they are your creators. Thats what the materialist world says. You began in your mothers womb and that the one thing you could say, probably most religious people and most materialists agree upon, is that you began in your mothers womb and somebody else made you. You were a twinkle in somebody elses eye. So they make you. Buddha would say well, I mean hes not rude; Im being very direct here, hes very polite but he would say thats an insane concept. He would say its just demented. But dont just believe that, check it out and find out whats true is what he would say. But Buddha would say that its just not on that your parents made you. They give you a body, no problem. So, of course, we say in the West that they make you because we only say that weve got a body. There isnt any other part of you. So, if youre a Christian, at the time of conception, God puts the soul in there, into that egg and sperm and thats what turns you into Robina. So, if youre a materialist, you are only the egg and sperm. They come together for whatever reason and they stick together. The rest goes down the toilet, isnt it? But these two stick together and they begin multiplying and thats now Robina. Well, the Buddha would say that consciousness goes into that egg and sperm. What consciousness? Whose? Well, lets start here. Robina Courtin, age 61, nearly, Sagittarius, nearly 61. But for Tibetans, the moment you are born, you turn one, actually. So, I was born in December, 1944. That means Ill be 63 this year, I think. Yeah, they kind of have you a year ahead. The day youre born, you turn one. So, if youre born in December, you turn one and the next new year, which is February the lunar calendar, you turn two. So you are two at the age of three months. No one knows when theyre born, but they all say youre born in that year. Maybe they are not sure of that, sometimes. Anyway, never mind. Heres Robina, this person, 61 years old. So, what is my mind? Buddha would say, first of all, in my way of putting it, that the difference between dead Robina and a live Robina is the presence of consciousness, the presence of mind. Not a soul; consciousness, the living part of Robina. Why her body doesnt turn into stinky stuff overnight is because of the presence of living consciousness, which is uniquely Robinas. So, that means what? Its a word referring to the sum total of what was millions more than what were manifesting, but just all the thoughts, feelings, emotions, unconscious, subconscious, the whole deal of Robinas personality. Right? The way to think of your mind is not so much this box of stuff that you put things in. Its more, really the word mind is much more dynamic, kind of subjective word in Buddhas terms. Its the process of your thoughts and feelings itself. Its your very experiences themselves.
Mental Continuum, a River of Mental Moments

A term they use a lot is, they call it your mental continuum. So, you know perfectly well, its not surprising to us, we know perfectly well that Im existing today. We can deduce logically that I was
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existing yesterday. And we know absolutely I was existing back until whenever it was, right back to conception. We go back there. So, the Buddha would talk about the mind, Robinas consciousness, as this chain of mental moments, going back, back, back, back, back, back, back, back, isnt it? You know if you had perfect memory, thats what youd do: youd trace this second to the previous to the previous, until all the way back, to your mummys womb. So, the Buddhas talking very much about your own mind, your thoughts, your feelings, your emotions. Its your continuity of mental moments. Yours. What ever is in there is yours. Its yours. It doesnt come from your mummy or your daddy and it doesnt come from other people. Well talk very much about this when we talk about karma, which is the culmination of junior school, the first scope of practice.
Mind Is Ones Own

This consciousness is ones own. This is something that gets deeper and deeper and deeper as one goes along as a Buddhist. You really learn to own what you think and feel. Its yours. Its your mind. If you trace it back and back and back and thats a very good meditation to do, just conceptually you go back and back, back and back and back you get back to the first moment of conception. Of course, if you are a Christian, you know that a previous moment, wherever you were, that God made you. If you are a materialist, you know that your sperm was in your daddys body and the egg was in your mummys body and you didnt exist. Thats it, isnt it? Thats the two main views on the earth. Well, Buddha has this third one. He says you cant be made by someone else. He gives all these reasons why, but well talk about this. Im saying the point here. But the consciousness, this river of mental moments, its its own entity. Its its own entity. And you can trace that river of mental moments back to a moment before conception, and a moment before that, and a moment before that.
The Law of Cause and Effect

So whats the simple law applied here? Its the law of cause and effect. Buddha is completely into the law of cause and effect and when he uses this in relation to beings, its called karma. And thats the culmination of junior school. Well go into the details, but its really the law, according to Buddha, that determines the experiences of all sentient beings. Its the creative principal, you could say, in Buddhism. This cause and effect principal, in general, though, were all very good at it the West and we understand perfectly well that what we call a microphone is just a process of a series of cause and effects, isnt it? When it was first made, it came from this, which it came from that, a metal and then this, and then that, then that came together, and then the screw. Theres countless numbers of conditions and causes that have to come together that culminate in what we call a microphone. We understand that. Its a process. You go back and back and back. Well, the same with the mind: cause and effect. What is in here is coming from the previous moment. Simply, even in a technical sense, it comes from the previous moment and that existed because it came from the previous moment, its like chicken and egg. You keep going back.
Where Do I Come From?

So okay. We have this very powerful question on this earth: where do I come from? When was the first moment? So, the materialists very comfortably assert that the first moment is Mummy and Daddy making you in the womb. The beginning of Robina was then. And the Christians and the Muslims have
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it that God created you, so Robina began then, too. So, of course, we just assume that this is the only view that is available in the world, that you began somewhere; you began as a first moment. Buddha says its not on to have a first moment. Its a nonsense question. He said its a misconception. He says its a wrong question. Its an invalid point. Its not possible that things can begin, I mean in the ultimate sense, big beginning: the moment before there being nothing, which is the meaning of begin. We think that: that before conception, nothing about Robina; there was no anything about Robina. Suddenly, there becomes a Robina. The same with Christian teaching. Buddha doesnt think this way at all. He says that its not on. So, he asserts cause and effect and so, if you assert, in this sense, if you have cause and effect, in thinking in terms of Robinas consciousness, this moment comes from the previous moment necessarily. We know that if this moment of Robinas consciousness existed, it came from the previous moment. We know that. We can deduce with absolute certainty that there was a previous moment, cant we? You see my point here? Take that point. Its a very powerful point. So, then you know if, in addition to the previous moment, at four minutes past nine, we know it came from three minutes past nine. So, if it existed at three minutes past nine, we can deduce with absolute certainty that it had to have come from two minutes past nine. The microphone, the rose, the table, even the universe. Keep going back with this mind of ours; you get back to the first moment of conception, when we instinctively, desperately want it to be the beginning. Buddha would say: no, the consciousness which is embodied in this egg and sperm, which itself has now grown into a body, right? that consciousness, if it existed in the first moment of conception, and its its own nonphysical entity, it has to have come from a previous moment of itself. It has to have. Taking again, remember this is the hypothesis, the concept of consciousness being non-physical, it cant come from nothing. It cant suddenly be nothing there. Meaning it cant be causeless. We know that in the physical world. We love the idea. We accept the idea that suddenly, there cant be suddenly nothing and then suddenly a microphone. We know its a process of cause and effect. This came from this, which came from this, which came from this, which came from this. Even the universe, as His Holiness said in one of those talks with scientists, he said, Big Bang? No problem. Just not the first Big Bang, thats all. Because, even in all the Buddhas teachings about the nature of the universe and theyre very articulate teachings on so-called physics, science, all the rest, within Buddhist philosophy, blah, blah even the matter is beginningless. They talk in terms of earth, air, fire, water, the subtle matter, it manifests as gross universes, and so on and so forth, but you cant have a first moment of anything. Buddha says its just not on if you posit cause and effect as a rule, as a principle, and we certainly do in the material world, Buddha does it in the mental world, emotional, mental, the mind. So, Buddha would therefore assert youre mind is beginningless. Its not just a cop-out. You cant come to another conclusion if you posit the law of cause and effect, because if every time you say: if it exists now, if theres a chicken, it has to have to have come from an egg. And if its an egg, it has to have come from a chicken. Thats logic. If this moment of mind exists, we know it has to have come from a previous moment. But emotionally, its not satisfying because we all frantically want a first moment. And Buddha would say this frantic wanting of a first moment is a product of these deep misconceptions we have in our mind, wrong philosophies, basically, deep within the bones of our being, which well investigate in high school.
Okay, so thats enough tonight as an overview. So maybe youd like to ask me a couple of questions. But, were going to go through all these details more deeply in the weekend. So, any questions?
End CD 1, Begin CD 2
Questions and Answers

Student So, why cant God be the moment before? Why cant our consciousness be Gods consciousness manifesting in us as our mind? Ven. Robina Ok. So, how did God begin? What was the cause of God? Student Well, God is infinite, then before. God had. . . Ven. Robina But, Buddha would assert cause and effect, which means something comes from something, which came from something, which came from something, which came from something. And Buddha would assert that there can be no exceptions to this. Buddha would say that. So, lets just talk in these terms. Buddha would say, from that simple point of view, there cant be a thing that exists outside the law of cause and effect. Buddha would say that. Its not possible. Its not possible. If theres a person, a being called God, then there has to be a cause for that cause. Not cause in a big bang sense or a creation sense, but cause and effect process. We know this microphone wasnt created by a magician. It was created by somebody, but theres millions of pieces that have to come together. You can trace the microphone right back to when it was metal and that came from something, which came from something, and that came from something, which came from something. We understand that when it comes to the physical world, dont we? You dont say there is a being who just created a microphone, like that do you? You dont say that. This came out of a person, do you? Well, then, Buddha would say the same way talking about God. He would say its a superstition. Now, thats not being rude, if you assert a God. He doesnt think its bad to talk about this stuff. He would say its superstition and misconception to think there can be a thing that isnt a product of the law of cause and effect. Student It would have to be, then, something superior to God that created God, he would say? Ven. Robina Who would say this? Student Well, Buddha would say. Ven. Robina No, he would say that there cannot be such a thing. Everything that exists has to be a product of its own process of cause and effect. Thats why Buddha, in a simple way, is why hes saying, hes asserting that there cant be something out there that isnt a produce of cause and effect. You see, in the way were talking here, which is a very common view, there is something outside the ordinary law of cause and effect, and we call that God. Buddha didnt talk like this, but, at the same time, Buddha talks about omniscience and infinite qualities
of infinite compassion, consciousness pervading the universe, which is how we talk about God. But Buddha would say you can become that, which is also a shocking concept, because we think of God as always being that and coming from nowhere. In the world, we would say that God is beginningless, although we dont use that term. Well, Buddha would say everything is beginningless. He doesnt say its a special quality, to be beginningless; its just how it is. We give it a holy meaning, if we talk about a creator. Do you see what Im saying? I mean, they study this stuff for thirty years and then go meditate on it. You see what I mean? Student Its going to take me a while. Ven. Robina Thank you. And the fact of the matter is the Buddha would say that we have to prove that what hes saying is true. As the Dalai Lama has said at some point: if you progress along Buddhas path practice what he says, and keep developing your consciousness, going to ever more subtle levels, getting realizations if eventually you can prove that Buddha is wrong, you must reject Buddha. This is the Buddhist approach. Someone else? Student You mentioned that Tibetan master, the master of the eleventh century. Ven. Robina Atisha. His name is Atisha. He is an Indian master who went to Tibet. Student Is that available? Ven. Robina Oh, yes, there is a book. You would have it here. There is a book, with commentary by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, given a couple years ago thats published. I think its free. Do you have free copies of that book? By Geshe Gyeltsen or something. Its a commentary on that one. Whats that one His Holiness published free? Illuminating the Path to Enlightenment. Its published free. It was a teaching His Holiness gave and its a commentary on that text by Atisha. But the fact is there are lots of commentaries. The way to do it, the simple book he wrote is in very kind of glib little kind of text in poetry form, but then all the books published after it are commentaries or explanations of it. And thats whats important to have, the explanations. So, this one, for example, by the Dalai Lama; but there are hundreds, probably, published that are commentaries on that text or on the actual packaging, this whole lam-rim, you understand? Student So, Im curious. In Buddhism are there levels of consciousness of the mind that actually are beyond causality? Ven. Robina No. Whats your name? Student Rita. Ven Robina So heres Rita and we would assert that Rita has a body here. Its got a consciousness, inside. Its labeled Ritas consciousness, right now. And the potential of this consciousness, this mind, is to be fully developed, to become a Buddhas consciousness. And so that is a cause and effect process. Its like how you get an acorn into a magnificent oak tree is you give it water, and soil, and sun, and time,
and this, and that, and it eventually will manifest. The same with you, so lets say you are following the Buddhist approach. You do this, and you do this, and you do this, and you do this, and eventually you will become a Buddha. And then your mind will be fully developed, pervade the universe, there will be nothing it doesnt know, no consciousness it doesnt encompass, no being it doesnt have compassion for, it is completely limitless in its capacity to do this and that. That is the ultimate development, the Buddha would say, beyond which you cant develop further. It is only because of the process of cause and effect that you became that. Its something you become. Again, in Christian and other terms, theres a very strong view that God is beyond causality, has always been that way, and isnt a product of cause or creation. Buddha would say theres nothing out of that law, but we sort of hear it as a limitation. The Buddha would say that if you met a being who was a Buddha, heard and saw their qualities, that is like God. You might as well say its God. But its something you develop into. So, theres nothing that doesnt occur outside. . . if there is something that occurs outside. . . no, it cant exist if it occurs outside the law of cause and effect. It cant exist. In an abstract sense, in a more technical way, there are certain ways of talking about things that arent, and thats a different discussion; lets not even get into the thing here. Theres nothing that doesnt occur the way they use the term is nothing that exists that doesnt arise in dependence upon various factors. They use the term dependent arising. Everything is a dependent arising. Nothing can exist without depending upon something else before it, or different things, there are many levels of dependent arising. Everything is interdependent. Buddha would say that something that exists out of that cant exist. Exactly, that is the teaching of what God is: that God is beyond the law of cause and effect, is not a dependent arising and thats exactly what philosophically Buddha is arguing with. Thats his big argument with the Hindus. Thats how he came out of them historically. Do you see what Im saying? I mean to be thought about hugely, thats the whole point. Student So, would you speak about emptiness, now? Where does that fit in? Ven. Robina Sure. Well. What? Five minutes? That really is the culmination of high school, but its taught, or we are going to be teaching it, in university. We teach it at the end of university, but its implied all the way through. So, lets just sort of summarize it here. Really, you could say that this whole business of emptiness, dependent arising, cause and effect, causality, continuity of things, is absolutely at the very heart of all of Buddhas approach. This is the very central thing of his whole approach to how things exist. So, let me just try and answer that point quickly, we can go into more detail later. Theres a very nice little kind of way that Tsongkhapa, who is the fourteenth-century lineage lama of our tradition, who really is taking Atisha seriously and all this lam-rim is very much his specialty. His has a very marvelous way that he presents this business of emptiness. First, lets not get too caught up in that word because it can sound so abstract and esoteric, but, really, generally speaking what Buddhas saying, broadly speaking, what Buddha is saying is this and Ive been trying to say this already: what Buddhas saying is that actually, everything is a certain way, the
world is a certain way. We are a certain way. Things exist in a certain way. But right now, were like as blind as bats. We cant see past our own noses. We dont see how things exist, he says this. He said and this is kind of confusing already because we already get puzzled. What do you mean we dont see how things exist? I mean, theres a pillar, theres a clock. What you are talking about? But, hes saying that our minds, being caught up in all these misconceptions, all this pollution, all this ego junk: one, it causes us suffering, but two, it causes us to be out of touch with reality. And we are going to talk about this more. Definitely. So, generally speaking, hes saying were living in La-la Land. Were not living in relation to reality. Things dont exist the way we think they do. This is how they say, which, as I said, is puzzling, but one unravels it as one goes along and begins to see how Buddhas talking. Therefore the job is to remove from the mind the things that cause us to see things in a wrong way, which is the job. So, as were progressing, were removing all the misconceptions, were removing the anger, removing the fears, removing the junk from the mind, and the ego-grasping and all the junk which causes suffering and which prevents us from seeing things as they are. Theres a very particular way he talks. At the deepest level of the pollution in the mind, the function of that part of the mind is to project and this is the God business things as having an inherent, from its own side, nature. So, this whole business of a causeless creator, Buddha would say, philosophically speaking, thats the exact thing that he is saying: that its not like that. And so we do this, we reify everything, he says. We see everything existing out there as if it were causeless. Now, it sounds confusing. We dont think we do this, but hes saying we do this. Its the nature of this very primordial ignorance, deep in the bones of our being, that projects causelessness onto things. An experiential way of talking about this is we all go walking around feeling like innocent victims, like it was done to us, everything is always done to us. Even life was done to me. I mean, excuse me, someone else decided that theyre going to cut me out into a shape with their cookie-cutter; Im made by someone else. My mummy and my daddy, a creator they make me and plonk me on this earth. No wonder we feel like victims! I think were right to feel like victims. How dare my mother and father, less than perfect people, dump me in this lousy world with a lousy mind, full of anger and jealousy and then make me responsible for it! I mean, I think were right to feel like victims. This sounds funny, but you kind of get my point. Buddha would say: deep in the bones of our being, the view we have of the world is setting us up for dramas and problems. We think that were made by someone else, he says, but its a misconception and so we reify everything as out there, having inherent nature, not being a product of cause and effect. And thats certainly how we think of ourselves. Who do you think you are? How dare you do this to me? Im an innocent victim. The nature of ego is innocent victim. The self-pity me, as Lama Yeshe calls it. All of this emotional junk, Buddha would say, is a product of this deeply ingrained misconception that everything has an inherent thingness. So the concept of a creator is a direct product of this misconception. So, that is not like it is. The word empty merely means it isnt like that. Empty means its not there, isnt it? What is empty,
what isnt there, is that way of existing. Thats what it means, really. Its right at the heart of all the way he explains why we suffer, all the way he explains how come the world is the way it is, and therefore is at the heart of all his methods for how to give up suffering. Who else would like to ask a question? Student I just wondered if you recorded mantras on your iPod? Ven. Robina Well, I record all my prayers in here. These days Im trying to get fit and lose weight so I walk around for an hour and a half around San Francisco listening to my iPod, but all my prayers and my practices, probably some mantras, are in there somewhere. You mean you want some? You can manage, yeah.
Retreat Mode
I think thats enough for tonight. So those of you who are doing the course, we can, kind of at night time, make it like retreat mode, which means, the moment you walk out this door, youre on retreat mode, which means you mind your own business, you dont talk to anybody, you act like youre here on your own, you look straight ahead, you go do your own thing, you walk, you go to bed, you lie down, you look at the sky, you read a book, but dont talk, okay? Retreat mode is like that. Its very helpful and to try to absorb and think about or process whatever youve heard so far, really keep it internal and dont talk until breakfast time. Thats really good to do that. Okay? If you are living here and working here, if youre going to be talking, just for the energy of everybody else around, try and do it out of the way. Thats all. It mightnt be so easy because people who dont live here want to go home, so once you get to your room or something, attempt to do that. Its not like a law. No ones going to punish you if you dont. Its a recommendation because it could be useful, thats all. Its a useful technique to help you process this stuff and the point of this is to process this stuff. After the end of breakfast, you can chat away.
See Your Dreams as Dreams

So, the other little thing, a bit of homework for tonight, if you are doing the course, if you want to anyway. Before you go to bed, you make a strong aspiration, as the lamas put it, to see your dreams as dreams. The way they talk, they talk a lot about how everything is illusion, this stuff is like a dream; so you practice observing that youre dreaming as you are dreaming. Its a very powerful thing to do, but when you think of dreams, we get very absorbed in that thing as if it were real and we wake up and we say, Oh, it was only a dream, what a relief or how sad, it was only a dream. When youre a little kid, you had something delicious in your dream, youre so excited and you wake up and its not there. I remember that. But like life, its a bit the same. We get so absorbed, because of our delusions, Buddha says. So, practicing seeing your dreams as dreams is very beneficial. And its also good to remember your dreams, because you can learn about your mind, all the stuff underneath, your subconscious for sure. And then the other thing to think, for your homework, is to make an aspiration before you go to sleep that, when you wake up if you do wake up, dont assume you will, a lot of people wont wake up tomorrow morning, they will die, but because we grasp at ourselves as so real and solid we dont think that were going to die. Its kind of a shocking idea to us. So, assuming that you will wake up in the morning, if you do, the moment you come back into consciousness, notice that youre still alive. Its sounds like a joke, really, but its actually well talk about it more, tomorrow in junior school its very
helpful because it reminds yourself that everything changes, everything is impermanent. So, when you wake up in the morning, you think, How amazing, Im still alive in this body with this life and these conditions and this mind. How fortunate I am! I must make the most of it. Listen to Buddhas teachings, think about the meaning, do some meditation, so I can develop my qualities so I can be of benefit to others. Its an amazing way to start the day. His Holiness the Dalai Lama says do some practice in the morning beginning even like that, the moment you wake up, puts your whole day into the right channel. Thats the way to start, even as you wake up. And then make the strong aspiration, regardless of whats happening you might wake up anxious, or depressed, or fearful, whatevers there, you know the junk thats always around just think, Okay, whatever it is, may I make something positive of today. It can be very constructive. Its a really good way to start the day. Thats it.
Dedication
So, lets do a little prayer that we call dedication and all it means is dedicating for the benefit of all sentient beings whatever virtue, whatever positive energy weve created today and thats the karmic business. The Buddha would say theres no single thought or action or word that we do, say, or think that doesnt leave an imprint in our mind. It doesnt just disappear into space. Every single thought really does count. Its like a seed you plant. So, weve planted all these seeds, two hours, nearly. How many seeds youve planted, how marvelous. As much as weve heard, weve planted that in our mind. So we make this aspiration. May it ripen in the future, these seeds, as my own enlightenment, no matter how long it takes. Why? So I can be of benefit to all beings, which is my job then, no choice. Dedicating to others. And the second little prayer is just making the aspiration that compassion grow and grow in the hearts of all. Ge wa di yi nyur du dag La ma sang gy drub gyur n Dro wa chig kyang ma l pa De yi sa la g par shog Jang chhub sem chhog rin po chhe Ma kye pa nam kye gyur chig Kye wa nyam pa me pa yang Gong n gong du phel war shog All right. Thank you, everybody!
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Session Two
Motivation
So, lets just start by putting some thoughts into our mind. You know, surprisingly we can and actually choose to think some thoughts. We tend to think, Oh my gosh what can I do, these horrible thoughts came? Well we can put our own thoughts in, we can decide, were the boss, its our mind. What were trying to do basically is think differently. So think! Okay, just think: I really do, I know I want to develop my own qualities, I know I want to suffer less. This is definite. And, Id really like to be able to benefit others. That would be amazing. So Buddha says: You know what? You can do this, aand you cant imagine how far you can do this. So we think, May this action here, this sitting together listening to Buddhas ideas about happiness, about suffering, about how things are, all of this stuff, all of the questions we ask, may listening to this strongly develop in my mind my potential. May I take some tools from this to develop this amazing potential so that I really can be of benefit to others, all the way to perfection, to Buddhahood, enlightenment as Buddha would call it. May this action of being here together doing this be a cause for exactly that result. Well just sing a little prayer, the second two lines sort of express that. The first two lines are expressing our reliance upon the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, so, if we are Buddhist already we have that in our heart. If not, thats cool, we leave it. Sang gy ch dang sog kyi chog nam la Jang chub bar du dag ni kyab su chi Dag gi ch nyen gyi p tsog nam kyi Dro la pen chir sang gye drub par shog
Overview So Far
All right. So last night we just kind or touched on various crucial points as a sort of a background, as a sort of a context for understanding better this packaging of Buddhas teachings, this lam-rim, these stages of the path.
How to Listen
So again, reminding ourselves the way to listen to this is to listen to it as advice or to at least to know it is advice. Whether you can put it into practice, thats up to you, but listen to it as advice. Not listen to it as interesting information to fill your head or not listen to it as advice for someone else. Oh I wish my husband was here, he needs this! I mean he very well might need it, Im sure we all do, but youre here, so its advice for you, Okay? Because we love to fix everybody elses problems.
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The other way to listen, remember, is to take it with a grain of salt. To hear it as Buddhas views from his own observations, so its got some stability like as if it were Einstein from all his work now presenting his findings. Well, thats the way to think of it; and that you have respect for this person, so you listen very carefully, and take it as a hypothesis. If you want to go further with it, you dont have to stuff it inside yourself and believe it; you take it as a hypothesis and you act as if. Thats exactly what a good scientist would do. Well, if it were true that the mind is a beginningless continuity and if it were true that this, and this, and this, and if it were true that Im not created by someone else, well then, therefore this, and therefore this, and therefore this. But if you try to squeeze your brain by thinking you know there must be a creator, but Im trying to understand karma as well, you will crash into them, it will crash. Youve got to have a very open mind. This is the way to think about it. Whats going to happen here is were presenting, as we have already so far, how Buddha thinks, presented from the point of view of the way the Tibetans have been been practicing it over centuries, coming from the lineages of the great masters in India going right back to the Buddha himself.
First Preliminary Contemplation: The Nature of the Mind

Okay. So before you enter, you could say before you enter junior school, already there are various things that are necessary to think about, sort of preparatory. One of which weve done already, the point about the mind, so the first main thing to think about, especially for us in the West because we have such a different view, is the very nature of what mind is. What is mind? This view that its beginningless, this view that its your own and that its not physical. And finally, that its got this marvelous potential. This is kind of really important for us to hear in order to then listen to what Buddhas saying, listen to these various stages of the path. So again, this mind, this consciousness, these words we use to refer to our thoughts, feelings, and emotions, unconscious, subconscious. Using that little model of the mind taken from the esoteric teachings: youve got gross level, subtle level, very subtle. We live at the grossest level, which is the conceptual and the sensory, which functions in relation to this body but which is not the body. This is the crucial point. And we in the long-term need to plumb the depths of this mind and go to more refined levels of the mind, sort of like accessing the microscope of your mind, in order to do the job through meditation techniques of completely deconstructing all of the nonsense and getting in touch with how things exist, thus removing ones own suffering, thus enabling us to benefit others. This is the way one does it. So okay, this mind of ours has this potential, as we said yesterday, has the potential innately; its what defines it, in fact. Its not as if this potential is a choice: Well, I might choose to be a musician, but I think Id rather be a footballer. Here its like you dont have a choice. The very nature of what your mind is is to become fully developed, to be completely free of nonsense, a Buddha. This is how Buddha is saying. Just like the very nature of what an acorn is, what defines an acorn is its oak tree nature. You cant turn it into a pear tree. You cant decide, Oh, I think Ill turn it into a table. You cant. Its nature is to be an oak tree. Thats it. So our mind, its nature is to become completely free of all the nonsense, totally developed in all of the positive qualities. So okay, this is the first point to think about. And true, the crucial point of its beginningless. And to just get our heads around this conceptually is
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the main thing; you need to think about it. Thinking about your mind as this continuity of mental moments, thinking of it as uniquely your own. That is to say all of the thoughts and feelings and emotions. Were going to talk about this a lot in the second scope of practice. But were so used to thinking now that we are made by someone else. And Im angry because she did this, and Im jealous because he did that. So we sort of disown our thoughts and feelings and think everyone else put them there somehow. Whereas, the Buddhas view here is whats in here is mine regardless of what triggered it, its mine, its my jealousy, my love, my compassion. So then think of it as sort of habits within this continuity of mental moments, in this mental continuum.
Meditating on Beginningless Mind

So the real particular point here to contemplate, and its very good to do a little meditation on this, is like going back in your memory, going back to yesterday, the day before, the day before, recalling the day before, get back to when you were two, one. Imagine yourself in your mothers womb, and then get to the moment of conception and then, given that youre going back in this cause and effect process, links in a chain, dependent, this existence of this very moment is coming into existence in dependence upon the previous, just necessarily. It cant come out of nothing. So when Buddha talks about cause and effect hes not talking about the big capital C cause like a magician or like God. Hes talking about it in an organic moment by moment sense. This moment is the fruit of the previous moment. That moment is the fruit of the previous moment. And you keep going back and you get to the moment of conception remember, taking it as a hypothesis. Your mind isnt made by someone, its got its own continuity, and you cant go back to anywhere other than the previous moment, can you? You have to go back to the previous moment before your mummys egg and sperm meet. So your consciousness, in other words, is what Buddha is saying and clearly at a subtler level; it cant be at the conceptual level because the bodys not existing then; the more refined level of mind, which we dont recall, simply because its that comes to a previous moment. And you have to go back to a previous moment. So its in a simple linear past and future and present sense, now its present and you go back and its called past and you keep going back. So like I said we have this deep instinct that there must be a moment when we began, when someone created us, like a magic wand. Whereas, we know perfectly well if were looking at this cup were not trying to find the creator of this cup are we, in that same sense. We have that feeling about ourselves, its very curious. Why would we do this? Whereas a cup, we know from the materialists point of view, its a process of cause and effect. And you know if you knew very well how cups come into being, you could label and sit down and say, Well, this came from this, and this came from the previous moment, and this and that, and then when it was clay in the mountain, and that came from this, and that came from that. Theres a logical organic process going back and back. You dont look for some creator somewhere that sort of manifests a cup out of nowhere, which is what we tend to think about ourselves. Now Im not being rude about it, we do think about ourselves that way because thats the teaching of most religions. Okay, so Buddha has a different view, thats all. So the mind is beginningless. Why is it beginningless? Emotionally a shocking concept. Because if you are positing the process of cause and effect, if youve got this and it comes from that, if that is there it
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must have come from that, and if that is there it must have come from that, then you cant have a first that, can you? You cant have a first that. You cant have a first cause because in the very nature of cause and effect, cause and effect demands a previous cause. So you cant find the first one. So, conclusion, Buddha would say: mind is beginningless. Its not as if he cant see the beginning, he just says, Oh, well. . . He is saying it is beginningless. You cant have anything else, if you posit cause and effect. Such an interesting point to think about as a preliminary. Just to contemplate this. Because when Buddha talks about mind and how things happen, its on the basis of this.
The Second Preliminary Contemplation: The Need for a Spiritual Teacher

So then the second point to contemplate, to think about and this is added into this little package that Atisha created back in the eleventh century, as I mentioned last night; the second one is actually inserted in here as a very important preliminary to really practicing well by the fourteenth century Lama Tsongkhapa, the one whos the lineage lama of our tradition. And this is the one of contemplating the necessity for a spiritual teacher. And the way, having found one, as they would put it, to devote oneself to a spiritual teacher. So, why do we need one and what is it? Again, when we mystify all of these Asian things, we see all of these pictures of gurus and people kowtowing and prostrating and all of this stuff and it seems kind of scary and mystical. Well lets deconstruct it, lets strip it away and look at the very heart of it, at the point of it. I think if we look at our lives we can see that theres nothing that we have learned, nothing, that hasnt been taught to us by someone else, or that we havent learned from another source like a book or watching somebody. Theres virtually nothing. Since we were little children, our mummies taught us how to tie our shoelaces, wipe our little bottoms, and go to the toilet and get out of bed, put our clothes on, simple little things. Since then whatever we have learned has been taught by someone else. And so its fairly obvious, its the easiest way to learn something, isnt it? Its the most practical. The quickest way to learn something is go find someone whos done it before, whos good at it, and ask them, Show me please. Its obviously the quickest. Its silly and arrogant to think, Im going to teach myself. I mean you will spend many hundreds of thousands of dollars and enormous number of years researching how to make a cake instead of just asking your Mum. If you didnt want to refer to anybody, Im going to find out myself, and learn it, not even referring to anything. Think my point here: coming up with it myself by experimenting. How foolish! Theres a lineage of cake gurus out there its called your Mummy, your Grandma, your Great Grandma it just goes back and back. And that is all a lineage of gurus means. The Buddhas talk about that a lot. Theres a line of people who know how to do it, teaching each other. You go one to the next to the next. Its a very reasonable thing, and its really stressed in the Buddhist tradition. The lamas when they would give a teaching, they would say theyve learned this from their own lama who got it from him. And even when they publish a book, they published this whole family tree that goes back, and back, and back, and you can trace it right back to the Buddha. This indeed shows the authenticity of something. Its very reasonable, its very good to see that something is tried and tested.
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How to Find a Teacher

So I always use this simple example of how I first learned to make a cake from my mother, as an example of the benefit of having a teacher and how it works, and how in the Buddhist approach they would suggest to you how to go about finding one and the appropriate way to have the relationship with the teacher. And again just strip it right away, to make it very practical. So lets look at it. The very first thing is you have to know you want to make a cake, you want to get enlightened; you have to know that. And you can see we all know, from the time we were children and sent to school we hadnt made that clear decision that we wanted to learn math, wanted to learn to write. So of course we were dragged by our noses and resisted mightily, because we didnt make the decision. But maybe some of us. . . I remember a time myself when I was eleven or twelve and made the decision I wanted to study, suddenly everything changed, because now I wanted to. So I went in, deep in. Because in my mind I had decided, I want to learn this. That, you can see, is a very obvious point; youve got to know you want. So with me and making cakes, I think I was 26 when I decided I wanted to make a cake, I wasnt five. I was living in London and I was a bit of an old hippie and I think I wanted to make a carrot cake. I remember I went home to Melbourne to see my Mum and family and I said, Please Mum, show me how to make a cake. Well Im sure she was totally delighted having waited 21 years for me to ask; and knowing my mind that Im so proud and arrogant, she hadnt try to force me. So she was delighted to show me how to make a cake.
Check the Teachers Qualities

So lets look at that. Why did I ask my mother? Well, believe me, it wasnt because I was being kind; I wasnt so kind. Its because I knew she knew how to make cakes. So how did I know? Because I tasted them, in this case because I tasted them. Okay, so its a slightly different example from choosing a spiritual teacher, because you probably havent tasted anything yet. So what are the major ways you would then check on a teacher? Well its obvious that one of the ways to check is you check on their reputation; within whatever realm that they live you check are they respected as a teacher by other people who seem to have a good reputation. You have to get a general sense of this, if you can. So from that point of view its fairly easy to check the Dalai Lama isnt it? I mean, you ask any Tibetan and you can see immediately that hes valued as a very marvelous teacher. Everybody says hes a great scholar, hes a great practitioner. And then you look at the way people respond to him, and then you look at people whove known him over the years, who have talked to him, whove been with him: they see he is kind, compassionate, hes consistent, he puts his money where his mouth is. So its fairly easy to see because hes a very well known person. But maybe not so easy with others who arent so well known. So its clear, whether you want to learn how to make a cake or whether you want to go learn how to make a shirt, youre going to do this kind of checking, arent you? Youre not going to just jump in emotionally and get all overexcited when you go to hear about some cake maker because you think hes really handsome, Oh wow, hes so divine. He must be a brilliant cake maker. He makes me so happy. I mean theres no logic. Hitler made a lot of people very happy. They got completely overexcited. Well,
look where he led them. So youve got to use your common sense not just your emotions. So its obvious if you want to make the cake, youre not going to jump into some course unless you even check a little bit. Its just a reasonable, we all do this. This is exactly what Buddha is saying. But again unfortunately because we mystify religion and get all sort of excited about it and lose our common sense, we do think of it in emotional terms. We go to some talk of some teacher and we get all excited, because he moves our hearts, we get all overexcited and we conclude he must be a good teacher. Im sorry theres no logic there. Youve got to check more, and be more grounded and more careful about it. Youve got to know that what he is teaching is what you want to learn. Youve got to know that hes valid. Youve got to check his reputation.
Check Their Students

Youve also got to check his students, thats a very good way to learn about his qualities. When it came to my mother, when it came to finding a cake maker, a cake guru, I checked my mothers students, meaning my sisters, who knew how to make cakes. They could make good cakes too, and they learned where? From my mother. Theres some evidence.
Check Their Peers

You check her peers; they said she knew how to make cake. I did all of this intuitively not thinking about it, but its actually what we do. I checked the peers, I checked the students, I checked the cakes. So why do you need to do this? Its very obvious. Because I had no basis experientially for deciding that when my mother finally said, Okay, darling, now get the flour and put the two eggs and do this and do that, I have no experiential basis, do I, for judging what shes saying? I cant tell experientially that shes right. Do you see my point? Its very simple. But if I had checked on her, I can be confident from an inferential point of view, from an intellectual point of view, having done my checking, I can be confident that what she will tell me is valid. Because I wont understand it, I wont have any way to know experientially whether its two eggs or nine eggs because I dont know that. You see my point here; its an extremely important point.
Dont Mystify
I think were almost more serious about finding a proper cake maker then we are finding a spiritual teacher because we mystify it. First we dont even think, Well, why do I need a teacher? Because we think spiritual is like feeling, like emotion and something magical happening. Its almost insulting. So if youre thinking from the Buddhist point of view, from the point of view here, what youre trying to learn to do is become enlightened. This is uncharted territory. We dont even know how to understand our own depression, our own anger, and our own fears. I mean Buddha would say our minds are riddled with misconceptions about who we think we are, whats possible. So what he is suggesting, this potential, is something quite insane actually, from an ordinary point of view, so youd really better check carefully whether a person is valid in their capacity to lead you to this thing called enlightenment. Youve got to really do some checking, oh my goodness. And there is no hurry.
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You Need to Be Confident

The crucial point of the checking is that you, you have to be confident. I had to be confident that when I sat in the kitchen I remember the moment, I remember the day, I remember the kitchen, I remember the house. And I remember the cake: it was an apple and walnut cake, it wasnt a carrot cake. Really its very interesting. Why do I remember it so vividly? Because it was the first time that cakes became real for me. And thats the point of a teacher, thats the simple function of a teacher. Its the human component. We all know that we can sit and read books about Buddhism, but then when we go to His Holiness the Dalai Lamas teachings, suddenly it becomes real. Its coming out of the human mouth, from a person whos valid, who has the direct experiences. So its got some real life, sort of like a switch has been turned on, it becomes alive. Thats the function of a teacher. Its not just something intellectual. Because anyway, we have human hearts, we need to have our hearts opened, we need to open our hearts. And so to have a relationship with the person who embodies these qualities, who is valid, this is very, very powerful. But we have to have the confidence before we can enter into that; extremely important to be confident. Because when they start saying do this and do that, youve never heard it before, you have no basis for judging whether it is valid from its own point of view, but you have to have confidence that this person is leading you in the right direction. So if I had then sat down in this kitchen and my mother had started to tell me how to make this apple and walnut cake and then I started saying, Well what do you mean two eggs? Why not six? And what are you talking about this amount of flour? and I started arguing with her, what a waste of time; my time and her time. I didnt know how to make cakes. I checked on her, I wanted to make a cake, everything was set up so I sat there and I did what she told me. So then as you go along, you start internalizing your cake guru, you start internalizing, because your mother has told you how to do it, so you remember the instructions, and next time youre able to do it without her showing you. And you recall that she said do this and do that. Youre still tentative but now slowly you begin to develop your own experience of it, and then you begin to verify it for yourself: Oh, she was right, if you put too many eggs itll go this way. If you put too much flour, itll be that. Shes right, she said this. Look, now Ive proved to myself. Thats when it becomes your own experience. I remember I learned martial arts when I was living in. . . it doesnt matter where, New York it was, in the Seventies. I had done some before and I chose this teacher because the particular group suited me, not because the person was a valid teacher. Well then, for a couple of years I was studying with this teacher. Then I went to Melbourne and continued studying in a new place, and I had already gotten a couple of belts in New York. But the new teacher put me back to the first belt, the white belt. I was completely insulted! Then I realized that I had learned wrongly. Because I didnt use my intelligence to choose, I based my choice of a teacher on the wrong things. I didnt check enough. So for two years I wasted my life learning wrongly, so I had to go back to square one.
Confidence: With Faith

This is a very interesting small experience. Now were talking here in Buddhist terms, countless lives.
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Were talking something deadly serious. So it makes so much sense, its so practical. We need to check very carefully. And until we are confident, until I was confident, that it was valid, that she was valid, then you dont start. Until you are confident and you have to have a basis for your confidence. This is very interesting: someone recently reminded me of the evolution of the word confidence. Its Latin, with faith, con fide, with faith or something, I think fide has got something to do with faith, doesnt it? Thats a very interesting word isnt it? We say faith and it makes us scared; confidence is kind of like, Yes! Well, faith in Buddhist terms is exactly that: its confidence. Confidence is something based on your own checking, isnt it? Your own wisdom, your own assessing. Youre really confident now that that is right, youre really confident that person is valid because you have checked up. You have checked up. You have checked up. Thats the point: because you have to make the decision. We run around doing what everyone else says, we just believe what everyone else says. We think were so scientific but whens the last time you checked what was on the package? That there was so much protein, so much fat, or have scientifically researched your food to prove that it was right? Of course you didnt! You believed it. Oh, it says right here on the package. Oh but its all scientific! Excuse me, but you didnt do the checking; youre just believing it. Blind faith. Blind faith. So we live our lives with blind faith, actually, and then we wonder why we get into trouble. Some lovely person, hes gorgeous. . . and then we get into trouble; and you deduce logically from this that he must be a nice person. Then six months later you find out hes a creep. Oh, I wish I would have known what he was like six months ago. Well, excuse me, it was all in there; you just couldnt see it because you were blinded by your own delusions. So weve got to use our intelligence.
Having Found a Teacher, How to Devote Oneself

So, okay, having found our teacher one can have many then what is the way, what is the skillful way to get the best from that relationship? What is the skillful way? Therere very extensive teachings on this in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and if you study this stuff more extensively youre going to see this, and its very hard to strip away the way of presenting it to get to the very heart of it. The most difficult approach to develop, which is said to be the key to success, broadly speaking, is: the more confidence I can have in my mother, in other words the more totally open I am to her, which I can only have if I have checked up and have confidence, the more open I am, the more I see her as just the best cake maker in the whole world, the more likely I am to become a really good cook. So if I get my delusions in there, if I get my own the ego and nonsense in the way, its kind of like sitting there and thinking, Shes a good teacher, but thinking Im not so sure, I dont really like the way she teaches me that, and do you really think she knows what shes talking about? and questioning and arguing who am I harming? Myself. Im blocking myself off from really getting the knowledge. So the more open, the more pure, if you like, the more unstained, the more clear like a mirror my mind can be, and seeing her in the best way possible, the more likely I am to become, very quickly, a very good cake maker. Now thats reasonable, we understand that. Now to put that in these terms here, the way they say it is, the practice is to see your guru as the Buddha. To see your guru as already fully enlightened, as perfect. Thats the way it is said, what I just said is thats the way to say it. That sounds very different to us, that sounds quite difficult.
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And one old lama. Ribur Rinpoche, someone who you might know, said this is the most difficult practice. The way they say it in the text is the basis of all our realizations, the basis of our capacity to develop and become a Buddha. is this capacity to have this pure attitude towards our teacher. So its a really tough one. Tough because in our world, with our delusions, with our attachment and our neuroses, and our criticism and our judgment, and our fears and our lack of trust and all of the nonsense polluting our minds, we see everything through that filter, we see people through that filter. So if Ive got a deluded mind, an arrogant mind Im going to see my mother and think, Huh, huh, who does she think she is? Whats she telling me this for, and what do you mean this, and oh I dont think shes a very good cook, a very good cake maker. The more deluded I am in seeing her, the less likely I am to learn how to make great cakes, because Im imputing my own junk on top of her. So with a teacher, having checked, having confidence, then beginning to practice. and then verifying it for ourselves, we increase our confidence/faith in the practice, in the path, in the teacher. The more we can imagine this is the Buddha himself manifesting in this human form, its like an embodiment of the Buddha, the more we are able to think that; whether or not the person from their side is a Buddha, the more I can think that; the more likely I am to succeed, the more likely I am to get the benefit. Thats the essential point. So maybe enough for that now, we can talk more and then the more we say we can refer back to this one.
The Third Preliminary Contemplation: This Precious Human Rebirth

So, okay, the next one to contemplate that kind of primes our mind to really begin to practice. . . All of the things were talking about, by the way, every single word being said here, the way to practice this stuff is to think about it. That is practice. Dont think that practice is some mystical thing that happens when you close your eyes, thats somehow practice, and that listening to teachings and thinking about it is not practice. Its a real misconception, its a dualistic thought, a misconception. Because the more we understand that what were trying to do is change the way we think, then there are just levels, thats all, levels of practice in relation to levels of thoughts, levels of capacity, of our awareness. So clearly, as Im saying, in the long term we need to access subtler and more refined levels of our mind, which we never even touch now, that are mystical to us now. In order to really pull out the roots of the misconceptions, to really deconstruct the delusions, weve got to start where we are, which is at the grossest level. So one thinks these things through, thinks them through. Indeed there are formal ways, as Ive mentioned already well talk more about this in sitting, having done some concentration, and then going to your analytical level. Its just thinking in a more formal way and a more deep way, without so much distraction, thats all. Because this is where clarity comes from, its clarity and comfort and confidence in these things, having thought them through, that brings results in the mind, that brings the results. So the third point to think about to kind of prepare our minds, to energize us to want to practice, to want to continue to think about these things and these processes and to develop ourselves, is from Atisha himself. He says we need to contemplate the preciousness of this human life. So again in the text its all laid out in a very organized way in terms of eighteen different points that Im just going to
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talk about very generally, in a very tasty way. The whole point here is this: Atisha is saying hes taking it straight from the Buddha of course. The Buddhas teachings are saying that weve got this human life, and we know from the Buddhist point of view its not coming from a creator, no one else gave it to us, mummy and daddy didnt invent us, God didnt invent us, the Buddha, as we are saying, is saying that our consciousness is going back and back and back, and human life is just one option of the many possibilities of experiences, many possibilities of lives and were going to talk more in detail about that later. Human is just one. And the Buddha would say that human is maybe not the happiest level of life, happiest type of experience, but its certainly the most useful, because we have a few qualities that other types of lives mightnt have. For example, an animal is a type of rebirth thats a sentient being, an animal is a sentient being, a mind possessor, according to Buddha; and there are all sorts of other beings that are disembodied that most of us cant experience like spirits, and all sorts of beings. Buddha would say humans, were like .000001% of all living beings, a minuscule percentage this 6 billion humans. So what the Buddha is saying and what Atisha is sort of framing here is that we should contemplate how extraordinarily fortunate we are from our own past hard work to have won the lottery of getting a human life. When we talk about karma well go into this and more detail, but lets just say here the main point is to contemplate the preciousness of this life from the point of view of its being an opportunity to practice. Were born in a country thats got spiritual teachings. We are born with a reasonably healthy body, and a reasonably sane mind. Weve got reasonable conditions; we arent sitting there starving, grasping, trying to find one grain of rice: you cant afford to think about developing your mind when cant even develop your body. Were not completely overwhelmed by huge delusions, very deeply ignorant mind full of fury and rage and wanting to kill and steal or whatever. Weve got an enormous number of extraordinary good conditions, external conditions and internal ones, basically, that we just totally take for granted. Why do we take it for granted? Because we think someone else gave it to us. So we think, Oh yeah, Im human, big deal. Oh yeah, Im fortunate. But we dont think really think were fortunate, frankly. We think were unfortunate, were always comparing ourselves to others. We think others are more happy, others are better, others are more intelligent, our own innate sense of low self esteem is interpreting in such a mistaken way. So the Buddhas approach here, Athishas approach is, Hey, we should be so blissful. The more we contemplate the preciousness of this human life, various advantages weve got, what it does is give us the energy to not waste it. Im so fortunate, this is as precious of an opportunity as Ive got, its like a lottery, I must not waste it, I must use it to develop my potential. Thats the energy that comes from contemplating this type of point.
The Lowest Scope, Junior School: Grade One Death and Impermanence
So it leads naturally and organically to the next point, which is the first point in junior school, which is, taking Buddhist teachings. . . So what Atishas done is take from all the extensive teachings of the Buddha, on this business of whats called impermanence, this change, which is based on the concept of cause and effect. Buddha is basically saying everything is in a state of flux, everything changes. So
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we kind of go, Duh, all right, I know that. So Buddha takes a very extensive approach to this and its a major point in Buddhas teachings. And he talks about it at a gross level and at a more subtle level, the subtle level is much harder to see and one does indeed need to realize this. But the point that Atisha gets us to contemplate here is at the gross level and in particular the level of our own death. And his reasoning is, coming organically and naturally from the previous contemplation is because, Hey, this life is so precious and Ive worked so hard to get it and now Ive got this opportunity and this opportunity and this one, and Im so fortunate, I dont want to waste it. Then you begin to contemplate the impermanence of this life because hey, it could end at any moment. And this will increase ones wish to not waste it, increase ones wish. Thats the purpose of contemplating here at this point the impermanence of this life. So lets look at the context, or the framework, Atisha would recommend that we use to contemplate death, my own death.
Death Is Definite
The first point is that death is definite. So you think about, from all the points of view although its something we intellectually know, which is very obvious that whoever comes into being necessarily dies. Death is definite, death is definite. Intellectually, he says we know it, but the point is this that Buddha is saying: emotionally we cling instinctively, intuitively to a strong sense of our being permanent, unchanging. Intellectually its clear to us; emotionally were living in denial of it. And remember across the board, what Buddha is saying is, we have within the mind, our mind, a whole series of misconceptions about how we think things are, but in fact were not in touch with how they are. And so what Buddha is saying is, Excuse me what Im presenting is how things are he doesnt think thats being arrogant: hes telling you how things are, but hes not asking you to believe it, remember. So by hearing his approach as to how things are, clearly what it does is it smashes in the face of how we think things are, and this is where the practice is. Seeing how we think things are and taking his view and learning to think it through until eventually it goes, Oh I see, it is like this. And then the way we think things are will begin to decrease. Because he says its a mistake, but thats for us to find out.
Eveything Changes
So how he says things are: everything is impermanent. Theres not a single thing in the existence of the universe that is a product of cause and effect that doesnt change. The very nature of cause and effect is that it changes. In fact the subtle level of impermanence is in the very coming into being of something, inherent in that is the passing away of it. You cant have one without the other. You cant have cause without effect therefore you cant have anything that exists that is within the process of cause and effect that doesnt change, that doesnt finish. Come and go. Come and go. So okay, death is definite. How you contemplate this, how you think about this. . . When you hear about somebody dying, your first response is, Oh! Were so shocked. But I just talked to them yesterday! Do you understand my point? So that thought is coming from the misconception that somehow instinctively we thought that they were alive, you know. As long as we think, Lama Zopa Rinpoche says, we think, I am a living person, Im a living person. And Mary, I talked to her yesterday! She was a living person, how could she have died? Were shocked.
A Dying Person
But Aunty Mary in the hospital, Oh, shes a dying person. Look how we talk about dying people, in hushed tones. We look at them sadly, Oh, how are you Aunty Mary? We talk about Aunty Mary only in relationship to her dyingness, the sickness; shes no longer a real person, is she? Shes a dying person. You dont even want to include her in parties. Think about it. And this is because we have this misconception that somehow this dyingness is something that defines her, whereas livingness defines me. I mean what a joke! As Lama Zopa says: Excuse me, living people die before dying people every day! You see my point? I mean its so clear, its marvelous. But we have this misconception and we dump that onto people. I mean even when we think of a person whos dying, we think thats permanent. A friend of mine and her husband, they split up, and then he was diagnosed with some virulent cancer and was going to be dead in six weeks, so she went back to him to help him die. Well excuse me, he didnt die! She kept waiting! Well excuse me, hes a dying person, two months later, three months later, then six months later hes still alive. So she had to leave him again. You understand my point? I mean he didnt die according to schedule, he was a dying person and he didnt die. And now two years later hes totally alive, hes a living person, hes changed categories. He didnt die. I mean we are so silly, you see my point. So death is definite and its something that is just natural. So when we hear that Mary died, its no surprise, it reminds us. Thats the way to think about it. Wow, Buddha is right. Death is definite, theres nothing certain. Wow, look at that. Everything that comes into being necessarily dies. But because of the ego grasping, this primordial misconception, because of massive attachment, the main voice of the ego, we frantically dont want to disappear. We want to be me. So we cant bear to think that I will change, that I will die. So we have this big fantasy. Intellectually it would be silly to argue with it: Oh of course Im not going to die! We know we will. But emotionally its like that. We might as well say were not going to. Thats why were shocked. Death is definite.
The Time of Death Is Uncertain

The second point, getting closer to home now, is, hey, the time of death is not certain. So even though we do factor in death to some extent we have insurance policies and those types of things, and life insurance and things like this, pensions; and we read all about old people. We know were going to be that eventually if were not already old people. Still, even if were old, we havent scheduled death in, have we? Well next week is the dentist, and the week after that is death. Or even five years time. We can plan vacations even if five years, but we dont schedule death. No way, because even though we do know we will die, that death is definite, we dont like to think of the time of death is uncertain. Why? Because I still feel like a living person. How can I be dying next week? Not possible. I feel alive. Look at the silly way we talk, well not silly, but its an indicator of our misconceptions. Oh I feel so alive, well say. Meaning we feel very good. Well excuse me, happy people die. You understand? Healthy people die. Young people die. We might think, Well, Im not going to die yet. Im not old. And you keep adjusting that, dont you? I mean, when I was 40, 61 was old. Now, 80 is old. Where is Betty? Betty is old, she is 75. Arent you?
Betty Im 74! Unless you add a year for the Tibetan calendar then Im 75. Oh, Betty is old, shes 74. But she doesnt think she is old. She probably thinks her grandmother is old or somebody who is 85 is old. So we all just keep adjusting because we dont like to put ourselves into that category. Dying people are over there, old people are over there, because we have this deep instinct of grasping at permanent me.
Face Reality
So weve got to face reality. And the fact is, that sounds rather cruel. What do you mean: Face reality? We think fantasies are nice. Well, Buddha says fantasies got us into big trouble. Thats a fantasy to think I wont die. Not because hes trying to be cruel and sort of rub our noses in death. But he is saying that given our consciousness is a continuity that didnt begin at the time of conception, and given that it will continue, and given that everything we say, do and think will leave seeds in the mind that will bring future results that will be my experiences this is the view of karma, which we will talk about then it just makes a lot of sense that death is an extremely important moment in your life. Because its going to be a transition from this body to another body. Its a bit of a scary transition. We should be used to it, weve done it a million times, the Buddha says. But were not mentally used to it because were clinging so powerfully to this one.
Living in Denial
And to cling to anything so mightily, you know that with our cup, cling to our Grandmas cup: its so precious, youve got insurance on it and its up there and so dear to you and you look at it every day. I mean you understand my point? How we have all our possessions. But its nature is to break, you cant avoid that. But we live in denial of that because weve imposed all of this beauty and marvelousness and value onto it. And so look what happens when it does break. You have a mental breakdown. You live in denial and you start freaking out. Youve got to blame, youve got to sue somebody and its so painful. And then we think were suffering because the cup broke. We think we suffer because the person died. Its not true. We suffer and this is Buddhas point because we have a fantasy that it wont break, because we have a fantasy that she shouldnt die. In other words, were not seeing reality. Across the board this is how Buddha is talking. We are not facing reality. We dont see things as they are. We live in denial of things. We are not only not seeing how things are, were imposing a fantasy onto it. So this simple meditation here we are trying to do: using Buddhas view of whats real, were giving it a go, were thinking about how he says things are and attempting to make that the way we think, in order to argue with egos entrenched mistaken views. So its a practical reason. So the time of death is obviously uncertain. We all know were going to die. Even that we can get to face. But then if I ask each one of us, Okay, stick it into your schedule. Come on, do a ten-year schedule now, work out your schedule for your life, your plan. Now factor death in please. I mean, what a joke. Dont be ridiculous.
Of Course I Wont Die Today!

Now even more instinctively of course, were going to say, Of course I wont die today. Tomorrow? Of course not. Next week? No, come on, dont be ridiculous! There is this story about this astrologer, actually a Tibetan astrologer, who had done his own chart or something, and according to the chart he
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was going to die today. His own chart. He sat there completely, totally, Where did I make a mistake? He was totally convinced he was wrong. And what happened was, while he was trying to work out where he had made the mistake, convinced that he was wrong, the story is that he had this pokey thing and he was playing with it in his ear while he was thinking. And the window blew here and it hit him and he killed himself. He died that moment. But the immediate impulse was, Of course its a mistake. How can I die today? And any one of us if we dared to think that thought and really go into it and make a meditation out of it, to use our creative imagination like we would use our creative imagination, especially when we were younger, we might use our creative imagination to think of this gorgeous person and fall in love and have this beautiful dress and think for hours about it, imagining something, you see what Im saying? So some of these contemplations youre using that skill, your creative imagination, to imagine that youre going to be dead. Imagine four hours time, Im going to be. . . Forget about it! We dont even want to do it. But if we did, weve got good imaginations, we could do it. But its too scary to us, we dont want to go there, because we cant bear the thought that we could die. And then to do the processing wed have to do, like the people up on that building, think of the vivid stories, and the wives and husbands talking to each other, and I love you, I love you, before they were burned alive in that building. I mean youve really got to speed up the process of giving up attachment and recognizing impermanence when youve only got a few minutes. So what Buddha is saying is, we can have the luxury while weve got this precious life to contemplate these things. To recognize the reality that the time of death really is uncertain. Most of us, probably Betty can speculate, being 74, that its possible that she could probably die sooner than a 20-year-old. But there is no certainty. I think I read about that footballer that died, a young man, you know. Whatever the reason was, he died. Now, believe me, he didnt expect to die. No way, Im young. No way, Im healthy. No way, Im happy, we think, fantasy, fantasy, fantasy. Lama Zopa says, Best to think, I will die today. If you really want to practice, best to think, I will die today. Because then you wont waste your life. Thats the point Atisha wants from us by contemplating these things right here, because it will energize us not to waste this precious life, not to waste this opportunity.
What Is Important at the Time of Death?

And that brings us to the third point, the crux of it. At the time of death, at the moment when this consciousness. . . at the grosser level. . . and the process of death I will go into very briefly. At this moment when the mind will eventually leave this body, what is important at that moment? What is useful to me in that moment? What will be useful to that consciousness that will leave this body and take another body, according to Buddha; what will be useful? Thats not the way we think of death because we think of death as the end of this person, and we see a big black hole that well sort of go into that no one knows about; and thats how we think of it. We think of death from the point of view of the observer. We should think about death from the point of view of this consciousness moving forward to another body, another house, youve got to go to an-
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other house soon. So its a bit of a difficult transition. So clearly, the more attached you are to this house, the more painful it is to move. Look at those poor settlers in Israel, look at the suffering they went through. For whatever reason, just leaving that situation, the fury, the blame, the torture, the agony, the suffering, the anguish they went through. If we never confronted impermanence, our own, and never thought about death, the definiteness of it, the uncertainty of the time of it, well then thats how death will be, death will be a very scary time. I remember a friend of mine, Lenny, who used to live around here and worked for years as a hospice worker, she said its sort of a given that most people die with fear. She said the ones who didnt die with fear were those who had some kind of spiritual path. My feeling is there its not because theyre such a high practitioners; you think about it, the only people who think about death are spiritual people, because they talk about God or heaven. Nothing wrong, Im not complaining. Materialists, why would we think about death? Because as far as the materialists view is concerned you disappear when you die, theres nothing left. So theres no reason to think about death. You see my point? Theres no reason to prepare yourself for that event.
Prepare
Whereas if you are a religious practitioner, Catholic lets say, you are preparing for that event because youre going to go to God soon. If youre a Buddhist you prepare for that event because youre going to move from this body to another one. So its an important event, its a very important event thats going to happen in your life: your death. Like moving from your house, you prepare an awful lot for that. Look at the simple things we do that will happen in the future that we have to prepare for. We dont just say, Oh, when it happens Ill deal with it. Thats how we think about death. Just dont want to know about it. I mean, we prepare in the most elaborate ways for the smallest things that are going to happen in the future. Especially if you dont know how to do it. Like your driving test. You dont just say, Oh, when I get to the driving test Ill manage it then. Dont be ridiculous! Youve got to train now, you know, its obvious. Its such a simple point. So if you think of death in this sense, not as some black hole that I will go into, but as simply a transition. This is the Buddhist approach. From this body to the next. Clearly a very important event to prepare for. And Im not talking about having your nice coffin, the way people prepare, and the nice plot, out there. Were not discussing that. Thats just for your body. By the time your consciousness leaves your body its just a piece of ka-ka, so dont worry about it. The main point from Buddhas point of view is to prepare internally.
How to Prepare?
And how do you prepare for death? It doesnt mean youve got to imagine when youre dying, although thats helpful. Youre not preparing for death by thinking about death. Youre preparing for death by knowing about impermanence now. How do you prepare for your driving test? By driving a car now. You see my point, its obvious. How do you prepare for death: by thinking about impermanence in this way. Bringing yourself to face the reality of it. The conclusion from this is it wakes you up. Its like a wakeup call. Its a wakeup call. And thats the point that Atishas stressing here: to prepare ourselves. In other words change the way we think now
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and therefore change the way we live our lives, because thats how you prepare for death, thats how you prepare for this event. You put all the steps in place. Like you prepare for the wedding, you prepare for the driving test. You do the steps now and so when the day comes itll just ripen in a natural way. So this third point is, at the time of death what is it useful to me? Well, given Buddhas assertion that this consciousness of mine didnt begin at conception and goes back and back and back, and that it will not end at death, will continue just naturally its indestructible this consciousness of ours, Buddha would say given that whatever I have said, done, and thought in this life, and in infinite previous ones, necessarily leaves a seed in my mind that just doesnt disappear; and given that seeds ripen in the future, and in this context here as ones own experiences so that you can quite literally say that Buddha is saying we are the creator of ourselves: what Im experiencing now is the fruit of my past actions, and the more I do, say, and think now produces my future experiences and actions; and all of the seeds Ive already planted but havent yet ripened this is karma will ripen as my future experiences. Given that negative states of mind we havent discussed this yet but we will necessarily leave seeds in my mind that will ripen as suffering its just a natural law, Buddha says. Buddha is saying that there is this natural relationship between my suffering and my negative states of mind, and there is just this natural relationship between my happiness and my positive states of mind; its not punishment or reward, its just something very organic. So, given that my positive seeds, my positive actions of body, speech, and mind the word karma actually means action leave a seed in my mind that will ripen as my happiness in the future. And given that my negative seeds will ripen as my suffering in the future just naturally. And given that I dont want suffering I realize that, I know that by looking at my present suffering: I dont want any more please. And given that I do want happiness, then it follows logically doesnt it: at the time of death the only thing that is of any use to me is the positive seeds in my mind. Thats it. The body will finish, the body is useless.
Princess Diana
Princess Diana died at 36. I always think of her. This gorgeous aerobiced body, totally in love, everything is perfect, blissful, blah, blah, blah. She died. Little old ugly body now turned into ka-ka. So at that moment, the only thing that was any benefit to her or anyone else, is that the seeds that she can access at that moment that will ripen, that will produce some more pleasing experiences when she dies. The very minimum is this. So if thats true, then I had better prepare now by living my life in a reasonable way: by trying to remove the negative seeds that I have already planted and by trying to develop the positive ones. This is reasonable, based on these assumptions. So at the time of death, when it comes, I must be ready, I have to be prepared. And the way to be prepared is by having thought about it, therefore, when it comes Im not shocked because I know its natural that I die. And Im prepared because Ive lived my life by continuing to move on the path and practice. The main point here to realize at the time of death is the thing that really is of benefit to me is my virtuous imprints. The negative ones are worse than useless: they will ripen as suffering. The things that I now see as most important in life, Buddha would say and you analyze it according to his view and its clear they are totally essenceless. The things we do take as the purpose of life, you
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ask most people, its almost like a mantra: health and family are the main point of our life. Everyone will say thats the point of life. Well, the Buddha would say we are missing the point by saying that because at the time of death if they were so crucial they would be a benefit to us, but they are useless. Your family, your husband, your children, your possessions, your nice house, your nice body, your health, your reputation, money in the bank, all the things we spend all our time. . . because we believe in everybody elses propaganda that thats the security we are needing; we believe in the materialists propaganda, which we are part of, we buy into it. But at the time of death all the things you spend your life thinking all are important and are sustaining and upholding are of no use. They crumble. Theres nothing. We all say at the time of death you cant take it with you, its a very profound statement actually, but we kind of treat it like a joke. Its very profound when you really get to learning some of this, and this is the thing to get from this point here. So what does this mean? We dont have to be fundamentalist about it and chuck out the husband, and chuck out the kids, and chuck out the reputation, and chuck out our money, no, no, no. Just change the way you see them. Change your attitude towards them. Thats the real point, thats what practice is, and were going to discuss that. Give up attachment to the house, the family, the body; give up the jealousy, the fear, the neurosis, the blaming. Because those imprints in your mind will be there when you die and you do not want those. But you do want your virtue and your kindness and your generosity and your patience and your non attachment seeds to ripen. So you dont wait until then to do it, its too late. Start sowing now. Thats how you lead your life. By recognizing that its going to change, that it is definite, the time of it is completely uncertain, so you might as well be ready when it does come unexpectedly. It wont give a warning: Youve got ten more breaths left Robina, you better get ready. We might have; wed be lucky. Its actually very fortunate, if you get sick before you die, because youve got time to prepare. Thats actually really the Buddhist approach. Youre very fortunate if youre on death row. I mean, from this point of view. Youre forced, hopefully, to prepare. Although many of my friends on death row all agree, they still grasp at themselves as permanent, all the time hoping theyll get out, still living in the fantasy of being a living person.

Okay, any questions about what we have discussed so far? Student My daughter couldnt make it but she really wanted to come. And she would like to ask this question: how do you choose a spiritual path and how do you know that youre on the right path? Which I think goes along with finding a spiritual teacher. Ven. Robina Absolutely, its exactly the same approach. Okay, let me ask you the question; this question is for your daughter. Ask your daughter, How would you choose which music school you would go to. Just say some practical answers. You answer now, tell me what you think. Student This is my other daughter, she can tell you.
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Ven. Robina Okay, so you answer that. Tell me what you think. Lets say you like music, so just give me a little process, imagine the steps youd have to take to choose the right music school. What would you do? Student Youd research in a book about the school. Youd visit the school, youd take it a tour, youd talk. Ven. Robina And all the time youre doing this youre checking up, arent you? Well is this what I like, is this what I want? Is this the place?Are these the teachers? Youre checking all the time, youre processing, arent you? And then at some point, youre going to become quite confident. Do you not think: this is the one I want. Would you not agree? Youve done a lot of checking, havent you. Its exactly the same with a spiritual path. Just that youve maybe got to check more deeply, because its not something so well known, maybe, even in this culture: Buddhism, for example, lets say youre going to factor in the Buddhist school you might like to go to. Youve got to check very carefully, but its the same process. Theres no difference. Its not something to be mystified. You check, you think about it, you read, you look at things, you go, you think, you talk to people, until you have some kind of confidence. And that might take time, but thats fine. Theres no rush. And as you move along you keep narrowing options down. Do you see? Would you not agree with this yourself ? So have this discussion with your sister. Whats her name? Student Suzanne. Ven. Robina Will you tell Suzanne that. Yes? Student Well you be teaching a practice this workshop that will be helpful to us in removing the seeds? Ven. Robina Yes, absolutely, thats coming in the end of the junior school, which will be before lunch, no it wont be before lunch, it might be just after lunch. So yes, we will be doing that today, definitely. It will be discussed how we create karma, and how we purify it. Its a really a major practice that we do. Yes, well do exactly that. Someone else? Yes? Student So when you started talking, you were talking about the mind being beginningless. So, we are practicing to become more enlightened. When we do assume that someone is able to achieve the enlightenment. So what happens then? Ven. Robina To their mind? Student Yes. What happened to the Buddha? Ven. Robina I understand. These teachings here would say that consciousness, an individual beings consciousness thinking in terms of this continuity of mental moments, like in a linear sense, thats all, past, present, future it is necessarily beginningless, and it is necessarily endless. So, I forget your name again, what is your name? Student Azar
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Ven. Robina Okay, Azar. Here is Azar, we label this particular package Azar. But at the time of conception, at that moment before conception, we know that she wasnt called Azar because the package wasnt existing, but the consciousness was. And a few weeks before that it was in a previous body, Buddha would assert, so it was called something else, and you go back and back and back. So lets move you forward now and lets say you enter the path, youre moving forward, practicing this way, the Buddha would say, and eventually you will completely remove from your consciousness all your obstructions, all your delusions, all the misconceptions, and your consciousness will become an enlightened consciousness: it will be totally in its pure nature, it will pervade the universe, it will know that which exists, it will be compassionate, all this, blah, blah. So the energy of a Buddha is such that it cant help but continue to be manifesting in countless forms throughout countless universes for the benefit of all sentient beings. Mightnt be necessarily looking like a Buddha; could be Joe next door, could be a Buddha manifesting as an ordinary Joe. The ant across the road that you pick up and save could be the Buddha manifesting as the ant. I mean, the capacity of an enlightened consciousness is limitless in its ability to benefit others in whatever form. So its just unceasingly doing this, manifesting in many ways. There is a tradition in Tibet, as we know, of recognizing formally the reincarnation of a previous consciousness. So, for example, my teacher Lama Yeshe, who was the founder of this organization that Im part of, this center, he is now said to be a 20-year-old Spanish boy. When Lama Yeshe passed away actually the funeral happened at Vajrapani, our other center over there they track his consciousness and the lamas checkup and they go to the Dalai Lama, he selects from the list, he goes, There he is, theres the reincarnation. So there is this formal way of recognizing one person who is the reincarnation of a previous person. But, the Buddhas teachings would say as you progress spiritually, as you progress removing all of this stuff from your mind and increasing the capacity of your consciousness to be powerful and compassionate and wise and all this stuff, moving towards your perfection, you are continuing to increase your capacity to manifest in different forms in different universes, simultaneously, to benefit others. This is just the job of beings becoming enlightened and those who are actually enlightened. Spontaneously, you cant help but do that, to benefit others. The function of the compassion wing, which is perfected in the enlightened being, is simply empathy with others, finding their suffering unbearable, and based on the wisdom wing, which knows what and how, can then know how to benefit them. The job of a bodhisattva, who is a trainee Buddha, is to benefit others. And the job of a Buddha is just to continue to do this. Thats the action part. You understand what Im saying? You dont just sit in some little place and say, Now Im enlightened now, goodbye. Thats the bodhisattva path thats the compassion approach. Do you see? Student Yes. I was thinking we do have a lot of suffering, so we work to get rid of the suffering and then, that in fact we wouldnt come back. I mean when we reached enlightenment we would not. Ven. Robina No I understand. Thats a very good point. Because the wisdom wing, the goal of the wisdom wing thats known as Hinayana Buddhism, Theravadan Buddhism the goal of that is to do that. Not even just to do that, but necessarily what will occur at some point in your progression on the wisdom wing is you will have uprooted the major seeds of all the misconceptions and delusions, which
are really like the cause of continuingly been compelled to take a rebirth, so then youve cut the causes of this you no longer will need to be reborn, just necessarily. But if youre also practicing the compassion wing you will actively choose to be reborn because you have enormous compassion for others and cant bear to leave them behind. And now that youre so advanced and so wise you know how to help others now, and you have the power over being born where you want and how ever many forms you want. Youre no longer something that youre in the thrall of. Student Lovely to see you again. I was in your workshop on depression and anxiety and because Ive suffered all my life from depression and anxiety and still am at this very moment. But this is my dilemma, I think I brought it up before. Now, I hear very clearly what youre saying about sowing different seeds, because what gives me anxiety, fear, depression. Now, what really bothers me is, can we overcome something like that mental illness, change the patterns when we have a pretty serious mental illness. And what really troubles me is not being able to do that. And this mind of mine goes on and in the next life on. Ven. Robina So whats the particular question? Student Can you overcome it, if youve got mental illness? Ven. Robina Whats your name again darling? Student Joan. Ven. Robina Joan, Buddha would say were all mentally ill, but its just a question of degree. Which is the Buddhist approach. Whereas often in the West we think over there a person is mentally ill, but Im normal. Well, Buddhas view of normal is actually far more advanced than our view of normal, and a really normal person is a person whos gone beyond all suffering. So were all in the same big boat, and weve all got mental illness, its just a question of degree. And the point to this, the point that Buddha is making, who hes addressing all of this to, is all of us. Because were all mentally ill, he is saying; were all deluded, were all suffering. So this is what Im talking about. This is the whole point: we can overcome it. Do you see my point? The whole point of this is its a path of how to go beyond suffering. So the point is this too, Joan, its a crucial point and were going to talk about it more, and you have heard it before. The status quo is what weve brought with us. For you theres the depression, thats the day-to-day stuff. But then also what youve brought with you and what youve got now is the other seeds for wisdom, and a wish to change, and kindness, are you with me? These two are living hand in hand. Youve got some capacity, on the one hand, as you said, even now youve got this depression, all this aching, painful stuff inside you, and thats the fruits from past stuff. But youre using these other parts of you to sow new seeds in your garden. So theres always this point when you start your garden its full of weeds. Isnt it? You go to your garden, its completely overgrown and its a disaster area. So we know we can change it. But its not going to be instant, its not going to be suddenly in the next second and you think about it, and now suddenly its going to be full of oak trees and beautiful peach
trees and little rose bushes. Theres going to be a long period when youre going to be overlapping. Isnt there? All the junk from the past is still there, youve got to get your hands dirty and get in there and pull them out. But youre now a bit more hopeful. Even though still when you go back out to your garden and its full of junk, but now youre more hopeful because you know you can change and youre sowing new seeds in there, and you even can visualize what it will be like in a years time. And eventually it will come to the point when finally all of the old seeds are finished and youve now got your beautiful garden. Youve got to be brave in that period when youve got the two together. Are you seeing my point Joan? And thats the point here, and were going to talk more about this. The tragedy of the ego is whatever the status quo is we identify with it: Oh, my God, look at my disgusting garden! Its impossible. I cant change it, this is a disaster, I look at it every day, this is what Im born with, its not my fault, who did this to me, Im a hopeless, I cant stand it. You get my point here? We totally dont understand but, hey, its the fruit of seeds we planted and that tells us we can change them. So then we begin to get confidence and we have to learn to bear the pain like an ache in your body or an ache in your mind. When we stop identifying with the ugly garden and realize we can have a beautiful garden, you start to get more courage. Then the pain itself just gets less. The pain comes from believing that I cant change it. This is who I am. Oh my God, Im stuck with this. The terror comes from that. When you start to realize its not permanent, you can start sowing new seeds, and you can start pulling out all this junk, you start to get excited about the process then. And so you start identifying less with the garbage and more with the potential. Thats what we have to learn to do. And thats the part thats painful, because where we are frantically wishing it would go away. Whether its a pain in our head or a pain in our heart, you see my point here? And thats very much the exact way to think about it. See there is this period when youre going to be having both, you cant help it. But we just have to be brave and stop identifying with the junk and start identifying with the potential. Thats the point we have to do. Then you can have pain and suffering and no one else needs to know about it. Youve got some karma to be able to present yourself nice as well as moaning and complaining all the time. Youve got to continue to identify with that part for yourself and slowly that will become who you are. And the other one will just wither away because youre not giving it power. You see my point? Student Thank you. Ven. Robina Yes, BJ? Student You said earlier there is no first thought. Where does God play into all of this? Ven. Robina Well this is the Buddhist approach. We discussed it briefly last night and well say it more here. And youve heard it here before, havent you? Youve been here before havent you? Weve met. Student Two weeks ago in San Jose. Ven. Robina Okay BJ, okay darling. You mean by God, you mean a creator dont you? Student Right.
Ven. Robina Okay. We touched on it last night and we said a little bit more here even about the qualities of a person who is fully enlightened. You know, broadly speaking it sounds like the way we describe God. Fully developed in wisdom, they call it omniscience, your consciousness. Secondly, your consciousness being nonphysical just naturally pervades wherever there is existence, which means you know whatever there is. Third, you have infinite compassion for all living beings as if they were you, infinite, infinite compassion. And then also this capacity to effortlessly do whatever needs to be done, including as I said here, to manifest your consciousness in any form thats necessary in any universe for as long as it takes. Now thats pretty intense, right. You could say, we dont talk about God that way, but it sounds pretty big. Well thats how they describe Buddhahood, enlightenment. So the difference is this: one, Buddha would say, the job of this being is not to create, theres no such thing. Buddha says its a mistake to think a being creates things. He says its just not on. Okay, thats what one has to think about, by studying all of this stuff and looking into it deeply. Anyway, Buddha is saying things dont need creating. Because BJs consciousness is existing now and we trace it back, this moment coming from a previous, coming from a previous, this cause and effect process, you get to the first moment of conception of BJ in her mummys womb, and then we have to trace it back to a previous moment. A Christian would trace it back to God, a materialist would trace it back to Mummy and Daddy. You see my point? Thats why you could say that materialists and religious people agree on at least one thing, that youre born in your mothers womb and someone put you there. The Buddha would say no, that your consciousness we can trace it back to a moment before you were in your mothers womb, your consciousness was existing then. And if it existed then, it had to come from a previous moment. And if it existed in that moment, it has to have come from a previous moment. You trace that back a million years: Well, maybe I began then. No, no, no because if your consciousness existed then at that moment, you can only trace it back to a previous moment. Then you go back to another million years. Well, maybe I began then. Ive got to have begun somewhere. God help me. Not possible. You dont need creating, your consciousness is beginningless. Creator is a misconception, Buddha says. But the qualities of omniscience and enormous power and compassion, they are definitely existing. But the Buddha would say its not just one person who has it, called God, whos always been it, but we can all become it. Because the Buddha is asserting cause and effect. The other views are asserting something out there from its own side, not cause and effect. Buddha says nothing can exist like that. Do you see my point? Student In reference to what you just said, would it be fair to say, about consciousness that something to the effect that the all is the one and the one is the all? If each individual has that potential, could we say that potential is the same as all? Ven. Robina Okay, thats a good point. When Azar fully develops her consciousness and she completely now is limitless, pervades the universe and knows everything and is infinitely compassionate with all beings and is just pure consciousness, and BJ is the same youre not going to bump into each other in the sky. So yes, her Buddhahood and your Buddhahood you might as well say, you can say, there is one Buddha, but countless trillions of sentient beings can become the Buddha. And you become the same Buddha as BJ does. You can say like that. But then each of you from your own countless karmic connections and countless beings are going to manifest in millions of different forms throughout the
universe. So from that point of view you can say there are millions of emanations of the Buddha. This is one Buddha consciousness, but there are individual consciousnesses that become that. So you can say like that, yes. In other words, this whole thing of millions of different sentient beings all separate, and the ego enforcing that, this sense of me and you and others and good and enemies and friends, they are all made up by our deluded minds. And when eventually we have gone beyond those misconceptions its like we would all be one, you could say like that, yes, without being cosmic about it. Student When you mentioned concentrating on impermanence, like within four hours I might be dead, and then say I do that, and all of a sudden here it is Monday morning and this is also about attachment and give up the house and all the things we work for and its Monday morning and Ive got to go to work. So can you address the reality of living in this world and giving up attachment, the house.... Ven. Robina Yes but sweetie pie, the crucial point here is, excuse me you have a name not just sweetie pie. Student Catherine, but sweetie pie is fine. Ven. Robina Ven. Robina Okay Catherine this is the point, if you could get such realizations from that realization of impermanence and thinking about it you could very well, like the Buddha, give up his family, give up the kingdom, go off to the mountains and use that time to get enlightened. He suddenly focused and didnt want to waste time. Thats great! But we dont all have the appropriate conditions in place to do that. So, but you dont have to do that in order to give up attachment. At the time of death, Catherine, lets say, has got a life, and a family and money in the bank and she has all these things, but if she thought about impermanence, she sees it as a grain of salt. She sees it as essenceless. Youve got it because you use it, but when you die you can give it up easily. Youre going to have to give it up then, whether you like it or not, but you dont have to fight about it, fight yourself because youve practiced giving up, grasping at it. Youve practiced giving up clinging to it. Youve practiced giving up the jealousy in relation to the husband because you realize it can change at any moment. So you live life seriously but its like living it very lightly. But seriously at the same time. Because youre not grasping at it as real and permanent. So that doesnt mean you have to move an inch out of your house. You keep doing what you have to do. Its internal, the real practice is internal. You see my point? Student Im so often not even aware of the attachment. Ven. Robina No, were not, Catherine; thats the interesting point. When everything is going nicely in our life, normal life, ordinary life, we dont think of it as attachment; we just think its a normal life and its called pleasure, reasonable. But when you lose a piece of it, check out what happens were going to go into this in more detail later - thats the real powerful testing point. When we lose the thing, then freak out. Student Later will you address some of the practices at that time? What to do? Is it meditation? Ven. Robina This is what Im talking about here. Again, it takes time to hear this. The practice is listening to all this and internalizing it. Thats practice. There are formal ways to internalize it, like Im saying,
but in the end its every second of the day. Because right now, you think about it, we walk around life seeing things in a certain way. We believe this is this, and trees are this, and people are that, and thats this, and George Bush is this, we have all these views; we have an elaborate conceptual construction in here. We have elaborate philosophy already about the world, dont we? So all were trying to do here is take Buddhas view of seeing things, to the extent we want to, and bring that into our minds and have this to be the view of how we see things. And so how you do that is by listening to it first, and then arguing with the entrenched views, and then you begin to see which one you think is reasonable, and gradually youre changing the way you see everything. Formal meditation, were going to talk about this and do some, there are certain tools that are very powerful that enable us to do this but finally, the bottom line is doing that job day to day, second by second. Student When you meditate on the quality of emptiness, or the Buddha consciousness, Buddhists talks are lot about loving kindness or bliss, all these things. But Christians talk about the essence of all the universe as love, its just so, the word love is not really used in Buddhism very much, but I know its there. Ven. Robina This is the compassion wing, this is university, were still at junior school, the wisdom wing. Were you here last night? Student No. Ven. Robina Okay, I gave some overview last night. Its coming. The way I presented last night, the whole course is a path to enlightenment from A to Z. And like anything you learn, you start at junior school and go to high school; its just an analogy. They even talk about this whole path in the concept of the three scopes of practice: the wisdom wing is the first two scopes, junior school and high school. And this is what were talking here, beginning with impermanence: all the work you do on your own minds, you put yourself together in order to then begin to develop the compassion wing, which is the way you benefit others. Thats when we start talking about love and compassion and all of the techniques of how to develop it. Its coming, okay? Student Alright. I just wanted to get a sense more of what that love is. Ven. Robina Well talk about that when we come to it. Were now in junior school. So by tomorrow afternoon well be doing that, well be at university. Thats where it fits in. Student Will you tell your story about your life, how you chose your teacher? Ven. Robina If you want to hear that. Its just that I wont tape that. You see, what this course is meant to be, you see our organization has this two-year correspondence course called Discovering BUDDHISM. This is the third module called Practicing the Path. Practicing the Path, module three. But the trouble is the CD theyre using now, I talk so fast, the recording was terrible and they couldnt understand very well. We thought wed do it again. So Ive got to stick to the structure and Im trying my best to do that. So anything out of that, well turn the recording off, or people wont have to transcribe it. Yeah, I can talk about that if youd like. At some point. An appendix. So its break time now, if you feel like a break. Have a little wriggle. Take fifteen minutes and walk up and down.
Overview
So lets continue. So reminding ourselves again of this packaging that were talking about. Weve very briefly looked at the three kind of preliminary things to get our heads around in order to really prime our minds to want to practice. The first was the beginningless of this mind, its nature, not being created by others, and its potential. Some sort of a starting point is important. Then of course, we looked very briefly at the whole approach to finding a spiritual teacher, a lama, a guru, the necessity for this, and then the way, I mentioned just very roughly, I mentioned the appropriate way to get the benefit from that relationship. And then we looked at this point that Atisha recommends we contemplate again and again to energize us to want to practice: thinking about the preciousness of this life and we worked so hard to get and has all these marvelous conditions that at the moment we take for granted because we dont really see them as a result of causes and conditions, but are so beneficial if compared to other types of rebirth. Even within this human realm we are so fortunate. Look at the enormous suffering of so many humans, no chance to practice the spiritual path. The whole point of thinking about this precious human rebirth is to give us the energy to not waste it, which means to use it to develop our marvelous potential. Then we entered the first part of the first scope of practice, of the first grade in junior school if you like, and thinking about impermanence, one of Buddhas a major teachings. But the way Atisha presents it is in the context of, it follows naturally from thinking about the preciousness of this life, because we then contemplate how yes, indeed, it is precious but, hey, it is impermanent. It is definite it will stop, it will end, this life. The time of when it will end is completely uncertain, no one knows, although our fantasies think its a long way off in the distance. And then the third point being, what is the point at the time of death is to have the mind completely ready, having given up attachment, given up all the neurosis, letting go of all the grasping and all these things, so the positive seeds in the mind can ripen at the time of death, carrying our consciousness along to the next life so that we can continue bopping along our path.
The Lowest Scope, Junior School: Grade Two Suffering of the Lower Realms
So this leads us to the next contemplation, which again is helping us get some context and to prime our minds to really want to begin to practice, to put our money where our mouth is, which is the end of the junior school part, which is the end of the first scope, which is where we abide by the laws of karma, which well talk about and will come to in a minute. Here we now contemplate, given that my consciousness, given that I could die at any moment, and given that my consciousness goes back and back and back and back, and its had countless past lives, and given that there are delusions in my mind, ego grasping and the other delusions, it follows logically that there are countless negative imprints in my mind that I have created from my past lives, not to mention those of this life, that I havent pulled out of my mind, that I havent pulled out, that I havent uprooted. And that these could ripen as enormous suffering lives at the time of death. So given this, I should contemplate a little bit the likely possibility of suffering realms of rebirth in order to get a very strong sense of not wanting them. So this is where Atisha takes from all of Buddhas extensive teachings on I suppose youd call it cosmology, on the way the universe is, how the universe is structured, the kind of lives, the possibilities, the realms of existence, all of this. So what Buddha is asserting, in general, is a whole spectrum of
possibilities of mental experiences, just one of which is the human. In Christian teachings, for example, its just humans who have a soul. Youre born as a human and then when you die, only you have got a soul. There are also animals, we all can see this, but according to Christian teachings they are made by God but they dont have a soul and theyre really there for the benefit of humans, which is why its fine in most cultures to kill them. But the Buddhist approach is theyre sentient beings like you and me, they are sem-chens, they are mind-possessors. Which is they possess the same potential, their minds, too, are beginningless, their minds, too, have the potential to be enlightened. Its the nature of every mind that exists and in Buddhas terms, like I mentioned this morning, humans are just a tiny, tiny percentage of all sem-chens, of all minds that exist.
Superior Beings and Sentient Beings

And as I said, theres this whole spectrum of possibilities, of types of mental experiences, rebirth as we would call them, realms of existence. So you could divide the whole universe into two kinds of minds: those that are the superior minds, those that have realized emptiness all the way up to Buddhahood, highly advanced spiritual practitioners, theyre known literally as superior beings except Buddhism we put plural on that, not singular. Superior beings, and theres levels of them all the way to Buddhahood, all the way to perfection. And then youve got ordinary beings, those in samsara as they call it and the defining characteristic of an ordinary being is this primordial ignorance is still within their minds. The defining characteristic of a person thats beginning to be an arya being is the removal of the seeds of that primordial ignorance, meaning the realization of emptiness. And well discuss this point later.
Three Realms
So within samsara, those minds that possess this primordial ignorance, propelled by this ignorance to do all of the crazy things that we do, then you can say there are three realms of existence. The most advanced level within this, having ignorance still so being ordinary beings, not out of samsara in other words, they are called formless beings. And their consciousness is to have no grosser energy and the beings born like that are in this state as a result of a lot of concentration meditation, but not used skillfully because they have not removed the delusions from their minds. This lasts for a long time, and they talk in terms of eons. But its sort of a useless type of rebirth, because eventually the karma runs out, the gas tank runs out, and then this ignorance ripens again as suffering lives. Further down the spectrum youve got form beings, slightly grosser with some of the grosser physical energies, but still pretty subtle beings. And they are also the result of some meditation. Then the third level youve got what they call the desire realm. And thats divided into six, and we are in that one. And all these are realms, its not like places you could fly an airplane to get to. There what we call dimensions, I suppose, if we speak in science fiction terms, the dimensions, the levels of existence. And theyre all consciousnesses. Buddhist view would say theres not an atom of space where you wont find sentient beings. There are countless, countless trillions of consciousnesses.
Six Realms
Within the six, within the desire realm, which is a grosser level of rebirth, you have got six. And the peak of those, the best suburb in the desire realm, if you like, is called the god realms. And that really
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is, the closest thing to say about that is its the equivalent of what the Muslims call paradise, the Christians call heaven and so on. And in Buddhist terms its the result of karma; you get born there, no one puts you there. Theres no concept of creator, theres no concept of being sent somewhere by someone else, judging you, youre good, youre bad. Karma takes care, as Lama Yeshe says. Its a natural law, Buddha says. So beings in this god realm, theyre very blissful beings; the result of a lot of virtue you get born there. Subtle light bodies. We have this physical energy and it manifests in different ways. So when a lot of morality and virtue has been created and doing a lot of good to others, your mind just naturally will be born as a god. This is like paradise; its like heaven very blissful, extremely blissful. Because the grosser energy is very subtle, the mind is more subtle, and its the fruit of virtue so it lasts a very long time. But this is where Buddha would argue that that type of rebirth, he would argue with the Christians and Muslims, they would say that type of rebirth is the culmination where youre in heaven with god. Buddha would say youve got a blissful experience of god realms yes, but its not the end result. You havent removed ignorance from your mind yet and that eventually will run out, the karma will run out, the gas tank will empty, and youve still got ignorance so youll be born in the suffering realms again. This is Buddhas point. So further on the spectrum youve got a couple of those god realms, thenm you have the human realm. Buddhism would say theres more than one, but here we are in one of them, so whatever. This is still the result of virtue, it is the fruit of virtue, to be born as human is the fruit of virtue. But in general you could say its of less virtue then those born in the god realms. But the Buddhas point would be, nevertheless, its a much better rebirth from the point of view of wanting to practice. Because you havent got such bliss, youre not so blissed out, to be caught up in the thrall of all this bliss, not realizing youve still got the delusions in the mind but theyre not manifesting so you dont notice it. Its just like for us now, even relatively speaking, if weve got a fairly good life in this human realm, we call that happiness, and we get all, Isnt this great, isnt this wonderful, I have this lovely husband, everything, I have no reason to do anything, why should I want to practice the spiritual path? I havent got any suffering. But suddenly he drops dead on you or goes and chooses a younger model, leaves you and chooses a younger one. Suddenly now the pain and suffering is evident and painful, and thats because of attachment which blinds us from seeing the happiness is not really happiness. So the human realm is a marvelous one to have if you want to pull yourself together, if you want to practice, if you want to realize, develop amazing love and compassion, all these marvelous qualities. If you want to realize wisdom and get rid of all the delusions its the best rebirth to have. So then further along the spectrum you have the animal realm, which we can see is a very occupied realm of existence. You probably have more mosquitoes in one summer then you have in the entire human realm on any one given moment. So clearly there are countless beings, sentient beings, born as a mosquito, as an ant, as a tiny creature, as little creatures in your body. Ive heard recently that under your arm pit you cant imagine the number of sentient beings that are there, which is really quite shocking to us. Not to mention the elephants and the giraffes and the birds, I mean theres an awful lot of them isnt there? Its very obvious. Then further along the spectrum youve got an even worse, even more painful suffering realm called
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the spirit realm. And we are familiar with this from the point of view called the poltergeists and you see those movies, and the people being possessed and all that stuff. Theres an advertisement on television for the latest one. There are all kinds of these beings, spirits and intensely suffering beings. Some very powerful, some very manipulative; and this is a very occupied realm of existence. There is a whole group of them they call hungry ghosts. The suffering in general of the animal realm, the main delusion is this one of the really profound ignorance, deep, deep ignorance, which is the root of all of the ego for all of us. The animal way of experiencing is extreme suffering very narrow, well talk about this a bit, narrow, narrow state of mind, very deeply suffering state of mind. The prevalent energy of the spirit realm, of all the kinds of spirits is this huge attachment, huge grasping. And even further along the spectrum, the energy of which is mainly the enormous suffering of anger, the result of that is the hell realms, theyre called the hell realms. So it is interesting and will look over the centuries at the different spiritual paths very many similar points here: they talk about heaven, they talk about hell, its obviously peoples experience to observe these beings, coming from high beings experiences, of seeing these different realms. Many people can see spirits. I remember in England years ago, I met a lot of spiritualists, a group of people called spiritualists that were really prevalent around Lancaster. I think spiritualists developed from there from the Victorian times. And I remember this one lady could see these weird dog spirits, all the time seeing other beings. So from peoples experiences we can see they exist. But of course it doesnt fit in the Western materialist model; we just think these people are wacko and take no notice. But the Buddha would agree that there all are all kinds of beings. So clearly, Buddhist approach has a different way of explaining the levels of them and how you get born there. Thats the crucial difference. The Buddha would say all sentient beings have a beginningless continuity of consciousness, not one of them is created, no such concept. And every single one of them at any given moment is experiencing, just necessarily, the fruits of ones own past actions. We put ourselves in our different realms of existence. We create our own reality Buddha says by our own actions. And were going to talk about that in detail when we get to karma. So right here, coming to the point now, the main contemplation, the main thing to think about, having thought about impermanence and death, having thought about this precious human rebirth they kind of follow on you think about human rebirth: Wow, I must not waste this because its so precious, I must use it to practice. Then you think about how it can change any moment and you could die. Oh my goodness, youre even more energized to practice. And then you think about, Well now, look at the options for me when I do die, if I were to die now. Look at all the negatives seeds in my mind due to the countless past lives and I could get an enormous suffering life, like an animal birth for example. So, okay, this is a brand new concept for us. Most people who even think about reincarnation dont think its possible to be anything other than a human because we identify with this package. But the Buddha is saying there is nothing innately human or male or female or dog or anything else about any of us. Consciousness at the time of death. . . I meant to discuss that, I forgot. Its part of the death one. Ill have to do it. I never do things in the right order, I forget. Well do that.
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Back to Grade One: The Death Process

At the time of death, by the time youve thrown off all of the Robina-ness and the human-ness and the Australian-ness and all of the female-ness and all the other things we identify as being the real me, by the time you get to the point before the consciousness leaves the body, that package has finished, gone. Human, Robina, Australian, female has gone, finished. Theres only the consciousness left with all the imprints, all the seeds that I have planted as Robina and indeed all the seeds Ive planted in the past that havent yet ripened, so that all thats left is your very subtle consciousness, they call it the clear light consciousness. They also call it the indestructible consciousness. And, its like the repository of all the karmic imprints, or, if you like, its your consciousness programmed of whatever you have said, done and thought. So, lets just go through now the death process, roughly speaking, in order to then talk about how the life, at the time of death the mind leaves the body, can take different types of rebirth and just the way it might be able to take, lets say, an animal rebirth or a spirit rebirth or a hell rebirth. Because, thats the context of this particular contemplation here you see. So okay, roughly speaking and these teachings about the process of death are actually, the way its described, is taken from, I could keep using the analogy, from the postgraduate teachings, which is tantric teachings, the most esoteric teachings, the most advanced sophisticated teachings, where they deal very much with the subtlest physical energies as well as the subtler mind and so on and so forth. So this little approach about the death process is taken from there. So they describe the death process roughly in terms of eight stages. And various things occur at each of these stages. So the aim of this type of explanation would be for when youre really an advanced practitioner, these great yogis who are able to access their very subtle mind using concentration meditation and are very much able to harness the energy at the more refined level of their physical energies as well as their mind; theyre able to completely take control of this process. Finally when they pass away, they are able to pass away with absolute control going through the stages of death and choosing their new rebirth. Theyve got this power. And one is able to develop these skills. So, what is this process that the body and the mind go through?
Gross Consciousness
Very roughly, the first stage of the eight, various things occur at each stage. So at the first stage, they call this dissolution, the dissolution of the different levels of our energy, they finish, they cease. So the very first thing to occur, at the first stage, is the ceasing of the earth element. By the way, this is whats most interesting, that this process thats described is exactly what happens every time we go to sleep. The tantric teachings describe in detail this process of the physical energies dissolving, ceasing to function, the various levels of our sensory capacities ceasing to function, the various levels of our mental capacity ceasing to function, is described in great detail in the teachings; were just doing it briefly here. But its what occurs every time we go to sleep, every time we go to sleep. Because its seen as something very natural. Tantra is describing in detail these energies that were talking about. So the first thing to cease functioning is your earth element. So that we can see when were wide awake and wound up the earth element has the function of the weight and the heaviness and the strength of the body. You can all see when youre beginning to become tired your body gets very heavy, doesnt it?
It feels very heavy. And so what occurs at the time of death this occurs at sleep too but is more radical at the time of death the earth element ceases to function. And so physically, or experientially, the feeling here is of the body becoming very heavy, like sinking into the bed, sinking into the earth. We have that feeling when we go to sleep. At the same time, the eye consciousness ceases to function. Now you check this. Youre sitting there talking to someone and youre becoming very tired and youre struggling to stay awake as theyre talking to you, right. And your eyes are open but youre really struggling but youre not really seeing them are you? You understand? Because what is happening is your eye consciousness is ceasing to function, its absorbing inwards. If you look at the whole experience of becoming very tired, theres this very powerful impulse to go in, you just cant resist it. You want to sink into that unconsciousness, dont you? You see what Im saying? Its a very powerful thing. So whats occurring is the eye consciousness is ceasing to function; you can see this. Youre struggling to stay awake in your eyes. You know when youre driving, youre struggling to keep your eyes open but its really, really, hard and you cant focus on what youre seeing because all of the energy is absorbing inward. So this is what happens at death. The difference is when youre in your car you can stop and walk around and wake up again. But when death is coming you cant reverse the process because the karma has now finished and death is coming. So this occurs by the way, this process, for everybody but sometimes its super quick like if you die in a car accident. Other times its more slow. And the ideal is to have it be more slow because if youre a practitioner you want to be aware of this at least. Only the great yogis really are aware of it, that these stages are occurring. It happens for us but its very spontaneous. The more we can be aware, the better we can die, the more peaceful we can be at the time of death. So then at the first stage also what is occurring is the ceasing of other parts of the mind as well. They talk about a certain capacity of the mind to be aware of many things at once. This ceases. Thats clear isnt it? When youre nodding off to sleep and trying to listen to that person trying to see them even you cant even hold anything thats going on. Your mind cannot hold it. Youre just absorbing in very deeply. Its hard to resist that isnt it? So the various parts of the mind and body are ceasing to function. Theyre dissolving as they say. So thats the first stage. In the second stage the water element ceases. The liquid in the body begins to dry up. If you look at the opposite end of the spectrum when you wake up in the morning, all of your elements come back into place, at first your body feels very heavy doesnt it? Because youre earth element hasnt come quite back into play yet. Your eye consciousness, your eyes when you wake up is kind of all dry isnt it, and you want to have a drink ,because the water element is only beginning to come back. Its a bit slow to come back into life again, from sleep. All of the elements have got to do their thing, as well as the senses have all got to wake up. And after a bit, we get all sharp and awake again. At the first stage, theres a subtle thing that occurs that only the great yogis are aware of but its very helpful for us, and we do this in meditation; we go through this process imagining it, in the beginning thats how you practice. So you imagine now, at the first stage theres this very subtle sign thats an indicator for yourself that this occurred, and that is you have this vision of, like a mirage, its very
subtle. When you faint this also happens. Its like a mirage. Most of us when we go to sleep were not aware of all this, just kind of boom all suddenly. Eight hours later you just wake up, you dont even notice the process. But its all there for us to be aware if were practitioners. So theres this mirage that occurs thats an interplay of water and earth, because right now the earth element has ceased and now the most prevalent is the water element. So now the water element ceases. The liquids dry up at the second stage. Also what happens at the second stage is the ear consciousness ceases to function. So here I am talking to her and not only can I not see her, suddenly I lost that last fifteen seconds; I have no memory of what she said because I didnt hear it. We all have that experience. This is whats occurring: your ear consciousness is ceasing to function. At the same time this last one I always confuse the order, Im sorry to mislead you, I will check on it and bring the notes after lunch there is this capacity of the mind to distinguish between pleasure, pain, and indifference. I mean, who cares? When youre nodding off to sleep, who cares? So normally this very vivid capacity we have to be able to distinguish in daily life when were wide awake is not so clear now, its ceased to function. And also what occurs is the, its a subtle sign here, its like smoky, sort of a bit like steam. When you think about it, its a bit like the interplay between water and the next one which is fire. So when water and fire its like steam, isnt it. Thats how they say its a subtle sign of steam or smoke. The next stage, third, and this is a seamless kind of experience, now the nose consciousness ceases to function. The capacity to distinguish between, I think its between friends, enemies, and strangers, people you couldnt care less. Aunty Jane over there, whom you adore. and mean old cousin Fred over there, you couldnt care less. Whereas in life, very vivid: enemies, friends, strangers, very vivid. The minds very sharp when were in the awake mode, the live mode. Here, everything is absorbing. The mind is narrowing, narrowing, throwing off aspects of this package. So the nose element, the nose consciousness, the smell, the fire element now, the heat in the body begins to cease. And the subtle sign here is, what you see is sparks. Its like an interplay between fire and air. They say its like fireflies, sparks in a fire. So by now you cant hear, you cant see, your earth element has ceased, something like lead and cant move, the heat, the water element, the heat element, youre ceasing; Robina is gradually deconstructing, ceasing. The pieces are gradually all falling apart. Because there are many pieces that all come together to form a person, arent there? Like many pieces have to come together to form a cup. So now, the next stage, fourth, is the breathing stops. Even through this process, the breathing is getting heavier, the out breaths are getting longer, the in breaths are getting shorter and now what happens is the breath goes out and no longer comes in. So, the air element ceases. The tongue consciousness, taste, ceases and the body tactile consciousness ceases to function. You check when youre asleep and someone taps you, you cant feel it. Okay, if they punch you really hard youll come back awake again. But, the senses have ceased. Isnt it? And if youre in a very deep sleep theres no hearing, theres no smelling, and theres no tasting. Theyve ceased. Your mind is absorbed in this darkness of sleep.
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So now the tongue element, the taste consciousness, ceases. The air element ceases, the breath stops and the tactile consciousness. And the capacity of mind to even know who you are, whats important, in other words this whole sense of Robina, who I am, all this stuff we hold so strongly to when were wide awake and alive, and our memory is very sharp. There is this very elaborate story we have about who I am, and what I think, and my politics and my music, you understand, all this sense of me and my life, this is finished. No longer any sense of who you are, the importance of anything. Forget it, all gone. Youve like completely lost your memory is a way to put it in our way of saying it. And also this tongue, one lama said, he was very sweet: this tongue you see, it turns short, it turns blue at the root and gets very short and hard he said that This tongue, which spent its life gossiping, is now useless. So, by now youre ready for the body bag, as far as the West is concerned; youre dead. But youre not dead yet, according to Buddha. So please leave the body alone. This is one of the really important things if you want to help people at the time of death. The Tibetan Buddhist approach in different traditions they talk in different ways its really important to make the situation as conducive as possible for a peaceful death, for the person dying. That doesnt just mean having their bodies look all nice. It really means keeping the environment very appropriate, not having rubbish and rabbiting on and talking and gossip in the place, bringing all your own junkie emotions to the person. Its completely their experience. To have it very quiet, if they are a practitioner, youd have people saying their prayers for them, because when youre in that process you cant remember anything. So unless your own practice is very deep inside you, you wont be able to access it. I mean my friend, the one I mentioned before who had virulent cancer who got together with his wife again, and then they separated and then again he was very sick with his cancer, Id ring him again every now and again and say his prayers to him because he couldnt hold it himself. He was on morphine anyway, it was very difficult you know.
Helping Others at the Time of Death

So its really marvelous if youre a practitioner to have people around you doing your practice for you. Or you can even have a CD where you hear the chanting, where you hear the stuff. The Buddhist approach in general is anything we hear or experience through our senses leaves a very powerful imprint on the mind.
Helping Animals
And this is a very marvelous way to help animals at the time of death, too. They dont understand the Buddhas teachings or the Dalai Lama talking about this or that, or the mantra, but it leaves a very strong karmic imprint in their mind. And also for an animal, its very important to allow them to die peacefully, not just to kill them when they get sick. Well talk about this when we talk about karma actually. But its very helpful for the animal to die in a peaceful state of mind, where it can feel confident, where your presence makes it feel less fearful, where it can hear positive things, and leave a positive karmic imprint in the mind, same with the person. The best thing you can offer a person. So by the time you stop breathing, it could be a couple more days before your consciousness leaves. So now, your gross consciousness and the body that comes along with the gross consciousness, which is like the vehicle of that consciousness, the grosser level is ceased completely. And thats what happens with sleep, but obviously its not that subtle at sleep because the breath is still there. But its the same process, its just that death is more dramatic, the breath completely ceases, the earth element com-
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pletely ceases and you cant reverse it.
Subtle Consciousness
So now then the subtle consciousness is there and, if youre a practitioner, youll be very conscious and aware at this point. I think even when youre not a practitioner, you could still be conscious and aware. So thats why its very appropriate not to just dump the body in a bag now and chuck it in the ground. Youd leave it for a couple of days. Its really important not to disturb the person. Youd have prayers happening, youd have people doing their practices, youd almost treat it like a shrine room, very respectfully for this person. Whats going on during this process is very slowly, gradually, the subtle consciousness ceases, one keeps throwing off. . . There are detailed descriptions of this in a book called Death, Intermediate State and Rebirth. A very excellent book that describes this process. They might have it in the shop, I think. It goes into more detail; more technical, it goes into more detail about the different levels of the mind. So here the subtle consciousness just gradually ceases to function. At the same time the subtler physical energies, they talk about, in tantric terms, like in yoga, they talk about the subtler energies, the wind energies, the liquid energies of what they call the kundalini, the red one, the white one. The grosser levels of these are like the blood and the sperm that are in the male and female bodies, but at the kundalini level, the subtle level, weve all got all of these. And we have a subtler nervous system, they talk about 72,000 subtle channels in this nervous system. Theyre not visible tp the eye but they are subtle physical energies. And the way they talk in tantric terms is the consciousness rides in these channels. So when where wide awake and all the energies are existing, all awake, our consciousness is going through these various channels along with wind energy. So as were dying or going to sleep, it absorbs and all coming gradually out of all the other channels into the central channel. So now all of the energies have gathered into the central channel and, through the stages of becoming ever more subtle, they talk about the white kundalini, which is mainly residing here at the crown chakra, gradually goes down to the heart chakra. And this is the fifth stage, theres some subtle signs there that the yogis can recognize, like a vast white sky, they say. Then the red kundalini, which is residing at the naval chakra, which is the source of all the heat in the body, rises up, comes to the heart chakra; then there is like a vision of red sky. Very simply, how they talk. This is a gradual process. And then the mind just keeps getting more subtle, more subtle, more subtle. Then, like Im saying, the great meditators are able to go through this whole process with complete control. They do it in their meditations. A person who is deeply absorbed in single-pointed concentration is effectively doing what occurs naturally in sleep and death but they are in control of it. And they are able to follow through with their consciousness, all the way to an ever more subtle degree, being conscious as they get more subtle and more subtle. Whereas, by the time we stop breathing, were snoring, and unconscious for a few hours. Occasionally we might wake up, mightnt we, into our subtle consciousness where we have a few dreams, but theres no control, we cant work with any of it, whereas the great yogis can. So gradually the mind gets more subtle, more subtle, more subtle, the white vision, the fifth sign, the sixth one is the red one, and then the two come together at the heart chakra, where they talk about the very subtle consciousness residing. And then, the seventh one is like when theyre [the white and red energies] covered somehow, they say. And its now like dark, like a complete unconscious state; like a
faint, very subtle, subtle. And then there is just this black vision if you like.
Very Subtle Consciousness

And then finally, the eighth stage occurs. This is when the mind is now ready to leave the body. They call this the very subtle consciousness. Its the subtlest level of your conscious being, beyond which it cant be subtler. Its known as indestructible consciousness, its known as the clear light consciousness. And weve completely lost the plot by then, no awareness whatsoever, completely finished. Robina is totally finished, all the package, all the pieces of Robina, like Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall, completely deconstructed, finished, all gone. All that is left is the very subtle consciousness. And so, what happens now is the mind is now ready to move out of the body and move into its new rebirth, propelled spontaneously, naturally, by the force of ones own karma. Theres no concept of any one up there judging and putting me from here to there. Its just a natural, logical natural process, as Buddha would say, very organic. So okay, go back to the point before you stopped breathing. At that point, already the mind is more subtle. I mean, when youre very, very sick I remember one time in India, I had a fever, a very high fever, and I had hepatitis and malaria together, right. I was very sick and one lama said I was close to death, actually. And I remember I was still conscious, I was still alive and conscious, but it was like I was going towards death, because I recall that my mind was very, very sort of sensitive and I just had to think of somebody who was living in London and I knew what they were thinking. Because thats what happens. Buddha would say clairvoyance, the capacity to access our more refined level of awareness, the ability therefore to see the minds of others, to see the past and the future, to see beyond the gross sensory capacity, is a natural consequence of practice. So this would occur, and this occurred for me at that time, I recall it. When my energies were becoming more subtle, my mind, the subtler mind, was more vivid, therefore was unencumbered by the grosser senses, which is what prevents us from seeing the minds of others. You understand. So you could say a person in this life has got clairvoyance, even just random moments of it, its because of some past meditation where weve accessed the more refined and level which is capable just naturally of seeing other minds and seeing the past and future. Its just a more refined level of awareness. Do you understand? So by the time you stop breathing, already your mind is pretty subtle and already by now too, very powerful grasping is rising even if youve practiced. There is a very powerful grasping, which is just so strong, that then activates the karmic seed that is most prevalent from the way you have acted in your life that will be the main cause of your next rebirth. So just roughly speaking, you could say that if you spend your life being aware, being conscious, practicing like what were talking here, being aware of impermanence, giving up attachment, giving up delusions, doing some practice, purifying your karma, then you could say that virtue is very prevalent. Youve practiced virtue. Just like if you have practiced driving, when you get to the driving test you spontaneously drive, because youve practiced it. Its just obvious. So if youve practiced morality, and practiced giving up harming, and practiced giving up lying and practiced all these things were talking about, then at the time of death that virtue will be natural for you. Virtue, a very powerful morality karmic seed will ripen. Morality in Buddhist terms is defined as an action that doesnt harm another. Or even more proactively in the compassion wing, which well talk
about, the love and compassion wing, where you actively benefit others. So if youre in the habit of doing all this, youve programmed yourself. So by the time youre dying morality will just naturally ripen; then it will be encouraged to ripen because you wont have so much fear. When fear is there, and well talk more about this, fear is linked naturally to the ignorance in the mind, the delusions. So if fear is there, because youve never thought about death, and you havent practiced, you just followed your depression, and followed your jealousy, and followed your anger, and followed your badmouthing, and followed your gossiping, Im not talking about being Hitler here, and this is going to very powerfully activate one of the negative seeds in the mind, of which we have countless from countless past lives that arent ripening in this life. So its all ripe and ready. And the negative seed will ripen and that will throw your consciousness, on autopilot, and it will find its way to one of these suffering realms like a lion mummys womb, strong aggression from having killed in this life, from strong harming others. Very powerful negative karma will ripen and it will throw your consciousness on autopilot into a lion mummys womb, or into whatever the type of experience might be due to the karma you have created. So if its a virtue, your consciousness will find its way to another human realm, for example. So, what occurs before that is your consciousness enters what they call an intermediate state, which really is just like a dream state; its just the same type of experience as a dream. And we know with dreams they can either be very nice, or they can be very scary. In general, we cant control them. You kind of get thrown about in your dreams all over the place, you fly, you go down here, weird things happen, nice things happen. Its rare that you feel youve got complete control over your dreams. The great yogis are able to do this. So, for most of us what will happen is, youre propelled by the force of your past karma, the one that ripened before you stopped breathing lets say it is morality, that powerful virtuous karma what will occur is your consciousness is now on autopilot, you go completely unconscious, you get the clear light mind and suddenly you wake up in a dream, you wake up in the intermediate state, the bardo. Just like you do when you go to sleep, you wake up in this strange experience. But now theres just this instinctive sense Robina is gone, Robina is finished but there is still this powerful sense of identity, because thats ego grasping, theres a strong sense of I-ness, but theres no longer a basis to grasp at, Robina is finished. So there is an enormous amount of, they say, terror and fear and a very powerful grasping, instinctive grasping, to find another basis for the I to plonk itself on. So its almost like you are frantically looking around for another rebirth. And so, lets say its strong morality, and they say this bardo can last up to seven human weeks. If a human being were observing, from the point of view of the experience of seven weeks, it would be seven weeks human time, it could be up to that, before that consciousness takes another rebirth; or it could be just a second, it depends on the person and their karma. So if youve got the karma to be born a human, well its kind of hard to find a human rebirth, its very rare. So again, just do the numbers. If were talking about trillions of mosquitoes and ants and rats and all the creatures we can see and the vast majority of all creatures that live in the ocean; so theres an awful lot of possibilities out there of being reborn as an animal, a fish. I remember watching one of those animal shows, and I remember one of these creatures is a little insect under the earth. She was basically a baby machine. She gave birth
to millions of creatures in her lifetime. Now if youre human, if youre lucky, some people had twenty babies, its rare, isnt it? So its obvious, just from the numbers point of view, its harder to find a human rebirth than it is to get a mosquito rebirth. Its just kind of clear. So I remember one lama, in a very nice book called The Tibetan Art of Parenting that Wisdom Publications published, and talking to the Tibetan mothers and how they approach rebirth and how they approach getting pregnant and how they do when they have the babies, its a very interesting book actually, the The Tibetan Art of Parenting, or maybe The Art of Tibetan Parenting, I cant remember, Wisdom Publications publishes it. So I remember in there one lama was quoted as saying, at the time of two human beings in sexual contact, obviously male and female human beings in sexual contact, billions of consciousnesses are all hovering about trying to get in. Its kind of a hilarious prospect, isnt it? But billions, clearly from all the realms of existence. And so weve got a human rebirth, I mean even just that alone is just so mind blowing for me. Weve got a decent one, weve got a human rebirth, we won the lottery. I mean its just stunning. Because the Buddhist view would be, if you compare with all the options, like Im saying before, this human one, is the result of enormous merit. Even though we look at the human realm and its pretty crummy. I mean, look at what we do with this precious birth, look at what the humans are doing. Nevertheless, to just get one is the result of enormous morality. And, were going to talk about that when we talk about karma. Were coming to it, leading up to it.
Back to Grade Two: The Suffering of the Lower Realms

Now lets talk about how you get reborn as a lion, because now this brings us to the contemplation here to think about the suffering of the lower realms as a wakeup call for us not to want that type of rebirth, in order to go to the next contemplation, to think, Okay, what am I going to do about this? So were taking ourselves step by step through each of these points. All right, so, lets just say we wasted our life. Weve had a really precious human rebirth from our past morality but we had various karmic imprints that caused us to continue to kill and to lie and to badmouth and to get depressed and jealous and again, not talking about Hitler here, Im talking about a lot of ordinary humans like all of us. So we got the decent life from the past but then we also got all the various imprints from the past, which we just take for granted, so we just follow them. Which is how we mostly do; we dont try to change ourselves. Most people in the world, with respect to all of us, whatever is there we just take it as the status quo and we follow it. Youve got a tendency to be jealous, you get jealous. You dont think you can change it. Youve got a tendency to be angry, you get angry. You dont think you can change it. Youve got a tendency to kill, its kay to kill. I kill this, kill this, kill this until we just follow all our negative imprints. So of course, by the time of death weve never thought about it, the mind is freaking out the negative seeds ripen very strongly, especially the killing one, which is the most intense negative action, its the most harmful. So thats going to ripen and what will it do? It will put your mind on autopilot and before you know it, you get to the intermediate state. But not for very long; you have not much waiting around here, because there are plenty of lion wombs available, or panther wombs or tiger wombs, very aggressive powerfully harmful animals, with respect to them. And suddenly you find your mind now ...
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The Intermediate State

Okay, what happens in the bardo is most interesting. Youre in this bardo, intermediate state, kind of looking around for another rebirth, desperate to get another basis for another I; its all kind of instinctive and intuitive, not much volition here. And then because of your karma this will ripen for you and then suddenly they say its almost like you have a vision of the mummy and daddy in sexual union so, human or whatever, here were talking lion. So because of the karma, the karmic imprints, and secondly because youve got a strong connection with these two particular male and female lion mummies and daddies, youve got strong karmic connections with those consciousnesses who knows? from twenty-two lives ago, when you were born together, who knows what, its highly complex. No ones running this show, by the way; karma takes care. Its a natural law. Its just the way things are, Buddha says. So what happens is you have this powerful vision of mummy and daddy lion in sexual union and because this is your karma due to your very strong aggressive killing karma to ripen, you will be attracted like a magnet. It will look really delicious, it will look very attractive and you will run like a magnet to rush in there. Then you will get reborn in that womb. Thats how you get reborn. It looks attractive to you because you run towards it; so your consciousness goes there, propelled there. So now, your very subtle consciousness, along with your very subtle physical energies ... Okay, at the gross level youve got this consciousness, mixed with this body. They are separate entities but they are joined together and they depend upon each other. When the body ceases, your subtle consciousness exists and thats to do with the subtler energies, thats mixed with the kundalini energies, the wind energies. When all that ceases youve got your very subtle consciousness, which is now mixed inextricably with the very subtle wind energy, and this very subtle wind energy is like the building blocks of the next life, of the next physical energy. The very subtle consciousness is like the building blocks that will join with the new rebirth, like in the lion mummys womb.
Born as a Lion
So the very subtle consciousness goes from the bardo into the lion mummys womb and the very subtle wind energy, which is just spontaneously part of your mind is with your mind, its not part of it this will now mix with the egg and sperm of the lion mummy and daddy. So then your consciousness will begin to develop: all the karmic imprints will take on lion-type imprints and the body will join with the lion, you will turn into a lion, your wind energy will grow and develop into the lion physical energy, so you end up with a big hairy body and big claws. I mean, look at the claws, ready-made for what? For killing. As His Holiness says, Heh, look at our hands, theyre made for affection. But lion claws, theyre ready made for ripping the guts out of buffaloes for breakfast. And its very soon that little baby lions will be just naturally doing that. But, all the imprints are in there. The karmic imprints that were in the mind from the past, that you begin to develop as a human that were there from the past as well, now hugely manifest as this lion. Lion is just the fruit of past actions. So, shes got this very powerful grasping, which we all have, but in the lion a million times more powerful, animals a million times more powerful. The energy of this ignorance is literally this very profound deep instinctive sense of self. It gives rise to huge attachment to getting what it wants, huge aggression as a tool to use to get what it wants, huge jealousy or whatever
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it is you can look at psychologically that lions manifest.
Buddhist Psychology Refers to All Living Beings

Buddhist psychology refers to all living beings, by the way, not just humans. It doesnt take too much to look at a cat and a dog and by using the same words and this is not, what is the word, anthropomorphizing, its not doing that one. The Buddha would say, the way he talks about the mind, is what we all have. So we can see aggression in our lives, we can see attachment; attachment is this manipulation to get what you want; we can see the methods we use to get what we want, which is harming others. You can see this in a lion but kind of to the nth degree. And that is a lions nature, the karmic imprints are so powerful and she doesnt have a choice, thats the tragedy of a lion, an animal rebirth. The miracle of a human, if were lucky is, weve got access to a few other options, because thats the good thing about a human rebirth. We call that making choices. We can see how hard it is to make choices, but weve got it. Mummy lion, you can tell her a thousand times a day that buffalo doesnt like to have its guts ripped out for breakfast. Mummy lion cant hear you. She doesnt have the capability.
The Suffering of a Lions Mind

Now whats interesting, her consciousness is like ours insofar as its beginningless, endless, nonphysical, not created and possessing Buddha nature. But while she is a lion, she cant access her virtuous states of mind. They are like totally buried under the forest of weeds of aggression and ego and all the other stuff. And they are the only option she has, because karma, more than anything is like habit we are going to talk about this but she is just totally programmed to do what a lion has to do. And, therein is the suffering, thats the suffering. Were not just talking the suffering of the buffalo here. Were talking the suffering of being an animal, at this deeper level. Okay, you can look at the suffering of being an animal, just in terms of it being used as a servant of humans, of its having no choice: the poor cow out there cant go get a nice warm house; the poor sheep cant go get its dinner. I mean the limitation of having an animal birth. But at this deeper level looking at the suffering of the mind of an animal, this is how the Buddha would talk. The suffering of your cute little doggie woggie, whom we are so attached to, the suffering of your little cats mind. Okay, we fantasize, and perhaps Buddha would say its fantasizing, how our animals are so cute and so gorgeous and so special and, Oh, my cat sits with me every time I meditate, and its so this and its so that, you know. Whatever. But you know, put us all in a worst scenario and youre going to see, not the real person, but youre going to see the delusions. So when hubby leaves me, then watch what arises, the pain, the hurt, the jealousy but at least we can work with it. You put a cat in a situation where its got a little mouse, Im sorry, your little cute cat who likes to meditate with you is gone out the window. You now have this vicious little creature who delights in harming the mouse. Now thats called a suffering mind, Im sorry to say. Look at the dog. Its a very cute little dog, so loyal and so devoted. But look at the dog when it hears a weird noise outside, look at its eyes when its screaming and barking in paranoia. It hasnt got enough intelligence to know its just somebody coming home. I mean theyve got other qualities, theyre quite
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sensitive with their senses, but were talking the mental consciousness here. So the Buddhas view is, hey, to be born as an animal is an acute, an enormous suffering. And the vast majority of sentient beings, if you compare, seem to be having that rebirth, due to their past karma. So the whole point here is and Im just talking the animals. Sure have compassion, which is coming later in the more advanced one, but right here, right now, this is not the way we think at all. This is a strange approach to have this: Oh my goodness, look at this suffering. I do not want that, thank you very much, I no way want to be reborn like that when I die. So its really priming your mind: from having thought about precious human rebirth, thinking how I must not waste it, then thinking, Oh my goodness, it could change at any moment, I better not waste it even more. And then thinking, What are the options when I die? Well I better not waste it at all!
The Lowest Scope, Junior School: Grade Three Refuge

Oh my goodness! Whom can I turn to? And that brings us to the next thing to contemplate; whom can I turn to give me the methods to avoid this type of intense suffering? Which I do not want, thank you. I mean, we dont think like this at all. But were tracking this very carefully step by step. Organically, each point leads to the next, leads to the next. So the next point here would be to contemplate what is simply called Refuge. Because were talking here in the Buddhaist context, the Buddhas path. So refuge in what? Go for refuge they say. Well, the term also used is reliance, you rely upon. So if you use the analogy here of: someone just tells you that particular food youve been eating is actually going to cause you this terrible cancer. No, cigarettes is a good example because were all attached to our cigarettes right. I mean, I used to smoke 80 a day. Totally attached to cigarettes. I couldnt care less about lung cancer. Because I was so wanting my cigarettes, so totally in the moment wanting that quick fix. So its conceivable, and this is what happens to quite a few of us, that you then hear about the suffering the cigarettes cause and so youre prepared to look at the movie, to look at the diagram, to look at the lungs, to look at the holes in the throat and the things that happen, and if youre really skillful and youre brave enough, youll say, Oh my God, I dont want that. Wont you? You could say, okay youre using fear tactics. But when youre so attached to something, so caught up in something, we need to use fear tactics to help our minds get a bit of common sense. And as a practical one, in the beginning you dont believe, Oh dont be ridiculous, cigarettes cause cancer? Oh come on. Then they show all the evidence, they show the movie, they show the black lungs and the sickness and you think, Oh my god, I dont want that. So then you think, Well, whom can I turn to? Wheres the doctor who can give me the antidote to this? You understand the point here, the thinking. So this is the thinking here, the process of the thinking. So the next step is whom are we going to turn to to give me some methods to show me how to prevent
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this type of gross suffering. Were not even discussing compassion yet here. Were not even discussing anything even more advanced than knowing about your mind. This is why its called Junior School. So, in this context were turning towards the Buddha, the Buddha is our doctor. So whats the Buddha? Weve talked a little bit the qualities of a Buddha. A fully enlightened being. So here were talking Mr. Shakymuni Buddha, the person two and a half a thousand years ago who brought whats called Buddhism to this world at this particular time. In Buddhas terms hes not the first Buddha and he wont be the last, in terms of being a founding Buddha. So what were taking refuge in, what we rely upon, is the Buddha; we think about him: who he is, his qualities, his capacity. Then we look at his teachings, because if hes a decent person hes giving reasonable teachings. We look at his methods, his teachings, the Dharma; they use the Sanskrit word, Dharma, which is referring to the spiritual teachings. And thats the stuff we actually put into practice.
Relying Upon the Three Jewels

So we rely upon the Buddha, we rely upon the Buddhas teachings thats what were going to use to begin to change the way we are in order not to have this suffering. This is the very first level. And we then rely upon what they call the Sangha, which is our spiritual community. So well continue this after lunch. Well talk about refuge after lunch and then karma, which is when we begin abide by the laws of karma, this is when we now begin to actually practice. Were sort of priming our minds all the way through here, but when we begin talking about karma, thats where you start to practice; thats where you start learning what it is you should refrain from doing in order to prevent from having that suffering, and what it is you should actively try to do in order to develop happiness. This is where you begin to practice. Well do that after lunch.

So before that, just ten minutes, would you like to ask questions about what we discussed so far? Yes? Student Im only going to ask this and you promise not to jump all over me, its that kind of question. Ven. Robina So, youre really serious? You want me to promise that first? No, Im sorry you have to not ask then. Student Okay Ill ask it anyway. You talk about the human rebirth as being the rebirth where you have choices, where you can attain enlightenment, and Im reading an interesting book right now where its talking about our evolution and it mentions some people, Darwin, to a point where through fossils and scientific research we have evolved, whether its from the ocean. How did rebirth occur before if there is such a thing as evolution and we werent human at one point and its quite obvious as a species will probably become extinct: 99.9% of the species vanish from the earth so how can, can you speak on that? Ven. Robina You mean how to reconcile Buddhas view with this view? Student Yes.
Ven. Robina Okay, good. Okay, if we look at the materialists view, which is the one you just described, youre speaking from the external point of view of shapes and forms and universes. Its like looking from the outside we can see this is this, then it grew to this, and then it became this, and then soon it will all disappear. So theres no contradiction. Buddha has detailed teachings on universes and how they come into being and the types of beings that occupy those universes and that particular form will finish and then that and that. But here were talking internal evolution. That is a brand new concept as far as the materialist world is concerned. Theres no talk like this. Also, with respect, theres no talk like this in Christian terms because theres no talk of, you know you didnt exist before you were born. So, were talking from an internal point of view. So if you think of it this way, youve got billions of consciousnesses, forget this universe now, theres billions of consciousnesses and there are all doing and saying and thinking things depending on what type of form theyve got. And each one of those actions, and thats the meaning of karma and were coming to that, this is really part of that leaves a seed in that consciousness. So then that consciousness is conjoined with a certain level of physical energy. Like Ive been describing, the very subtle wind energy with the very subtle consciousness and then propelled by the karma or the habits of that consciousness, it will go to a certain type of birth in a certain realm of existence. So here were talking the ones we can know about, that we look in front of us, we can see humans and animals dont we? They are the ones, the only two which we can see it, seems like. Theres trillions of tiny little creatures and big fat ones like giraffes, and so on, and then so called human. But if you think of it in this internal way, its just a shape. A human is just a form that consciousness has created from past actions. So the hands, these hands, theyre the fruit of virtue because, look, they dont have claws. We can have very long claws, but even our very long claws cant rip, we know how they break all the time. The bane of ladies lives isnt it, the breaking of long fingernails. I mean, I know when I used to have red ones. no matter how strong they were they would just snap. You couldnt rip the guts out of anybody. That is an evolutionary thing karmically, not an external evolution. Internally, morality ripened in this consciousness, so it propelled that consciousness towards a human realm that happened to be on this piece of thing we call earth, its not the only one Buddha would say. And my wind energy and my mind conjoined with my mummy and daddys with Teddy and Agness egg and sperm, and then my mind went into a human body. But its just a shape, its arbitrary, its a shape. And so in Buddhas view, a human shape is the fruit of some virtue and a lions shape with claws is the fruit of a lot of aggression. So in time, these shapes will disappear from this earth. But hey, minds are beginningless and minds are constantly creating karma, so were constantly creating new universes all the time. So yes indeed we can look externally and see that maybe at some point on this particular piece of earth there werent anything as we call it humans but we were all bopping away in other realms, if we were human in past lives. So the we here isnt the way we talk in the West about the we like in terms of family lines, or the we in terms of like we were a monkey in the past. If youre a human you werent a monkey. A monkey is an animal birth. But maybe what you can say is the shapes on this earth gradually evolved and so then eventually it got to a point where they shape was a reasonable human, and then what we call human consciousnesses started getting born into this shape, and then it started developing into humans. You understand what Im saying a bit? Thats the way, how to fit the Buddhist view with the external view. Does that make sense?
Student Yes. Ven. Robina So eventually, of course, this piece of earth, it will degenerate and finally explode and be nothing left, but as long as the karma exists, as long as consciousness exists and were creating karma and weve got delusions, were going to keep creating our own universes. So hell for example, it always sounds so shocking; as Lama Yeshe said, hell is not some place where the devil is waiting saying ha, ha Im waiting for Lama Yeshe. Hell is a type of experience of enormous suffering created, its the manifestation of the mind of that sentient being. So we, in that sense, literally create our own universes. So when I talk about karma after lunch, one of the ways our karma manifests is called environmental karma, meaning the physical world we occupy. Its not made by God or superior beings, it doesnt just pop out of a big bang. The energy that determines the shape even of this world, whether its beautiful, or ugly, or polluted, or volcanic, or whatever, is the sentient beings who occupy it and experience it. We are the creators of that by our past negative karma that we are born in a place where everything is going to explode. And then eventually this universe will cease but as always as long as theres consciousness, which is endless and beginningless, but so too is physical energy endless and beginningless. If you talk in terms of the earth, air, fire, water the beginning of this universe is just subtle physical energy, subtle wind energy, and then gradually it develops into this universe not from a superior being doing it, not from its own side, but propelled by the force of the karma of the sentient beings who have created the cause to have this planet. Were the creators of it, karmically, in an evolutionary sense. Do you see? Student Yes. Ven. Robina Yes? Student I was just going to say about this comment then that the scientists that come up and say that the human form has come from previous animals, they dont really look at consciousness at all. Ven. Robina No precisely, thats the point. We only see it as an external, thats exactly right. Student Its something that they dont even look at. Ven. Robina No. We have mostly. . . we have been taught science. . . they dont have to contradict, but its such a huge view and we in the West believe we have almost found the truth, and all these stories of evolution; its quite shocking if youve got that view and youve seen it as the truth and youve taken that assumption for so long to begin to change it. Its very scary. So its very interesting even now, theres a lot of talk isnt there, people who are strongly Christian and believe in a creator, they say evolution just cant fit with that. Thats why there talking about trying to bring the Christian teachings back in, and the God one, and scientists will mostly say that you cant believe in God if you really believe in science. And in a sense its true, because theyre so contradictory. But, if youre really skillful, theres no contradiction between this view.
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All it is Im saying as a Buddhist, I dont deny that theres so-called evolution, in a sense; there are certain fundamentals that I would disagree with. But if you have a view of karma its an added component, thats all. It doesnt contradict the evolution of this realm at all. But it has a few series of very basic assumptions that are quite different. So it takes time for the mind to get around all the stuff, but theres no fundamental contradiction. Student Because the scientists are looking mainly at something thats physical. Ven. Robina Thats exactly right. Thats exactly right. And thats why, its so interesting, that many scientists see that the world is so amazing and their conclusion is that it must be created by somebody. Many scientists go towards the creator one. But people I think like Einstein go more towards the one, the Buddhist one, which is cause and effect, interdependent arising. Its very interesting. Yes? Student So this discussion has answered a question Ive always had about cosmology, about theres all these beings wanting to be born into better rebirth theres only so many humans but the human population is booming and the animal population isnt doing so well on this sphere. I dont have to worry about that too much because there are other things going on ... Ven. Robina Its a tiny, tiny part of it. Student But OK so thats the result type thing Ven. Robina But this is the point of it, only a few animals are ceasing, only a few species. Theres millions of fishes and insects, dont worry about them, theres plenty of them. Student Mosquitoes for sure. And fleas. Ven. Robina And cockroaches. And bacteria, there you go. Student I think the thing thats always troubled me is that meditating on the precious human rebirth, I always really have to focus on the preciousness of the situation of the human rebirth because I look around and I just see so many humans that dont have a clue. I have a hard time reconciling that I need to concentrate on that as one of these stepping stones. Ven. Robina It seems to me that something even like nuclear energy, this amazing energy, can be harnessed and used for good. But it can be used for bad. So we dont have to be fundamentalists and chuck it out. Well the same with the human. Just because humans can make a mess of this life doesnt mean that a human birth itself bad. We can certainly, by finding one example of one good human, like Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, one human being thats enough for us to see, okay, theres a possibility there. The fact is its the potential of the human mind that is the thing you want to strongly have. The potential, the capacity to change, thats the miracle. Of course we use it, unfortunately, to do harmful things but its not concrete, doesnt have to be this way. Student It seems so odd that so many beings would push so hard to get into the human rebirth and then just squander it.
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Ven. Robina We dont push so hard to get into it. We dont even think about it. We just get it. We just get it and then because we have a view of self-existence, because we have a view that doesnt understand cause and effect, and thats the big tragedy when we talk about karma well talk about that one thats huge. And this is the reason eventually to have enormous compassion for sentient beings. Yes? Student I whats in a situation where a man who was working on property in a retreat center that I was managing collapsed one day. They took him to the hospital and they CAT-scanned him and saw something, so they immediately admitted him, so he was already on life support, then and then they were planning to give him an MRI and get a better look at what was going on in his brain. And before they got him into the MRI he had a massive brain stem hemorrhage and went brain dead. But they decided to keep him on life support until his family could arrive to be at his bedside before they pulled him off the life support. And to make a long story short, that took four days because they were emigrating from Mexico and it was hard to get them up here. And in the meantime, other relatives and friends were showing up and there was so much disturbed emotion around him while he was on life support and I didnt have much input into the whole decision but it was so disturbing. Im just wondering if that process damaged his mind? Ven. Robina First of all, if you can just imagine yourself, happening to yourself. So whats happening too is we look like were brain dead because we define life by the presence of brain activity, but if youre using the Buddhas view, you define life by the presence of consciousness there. So the grosser level of consciousness for sure has ceased. In a coma means being like asleep, but we know that when youre asleep you can have dreams. So no doubt a person like that is vividly, their dream mind is very vivid and it also means you can be very vividly aware of your surroundings. I remember a time doing a retreat, in fact, when I would go to sleep after lunch and I would be in the dream state vividly dreaming, but Id be totally aware of all the things going on as well. It was a very interesting experience. Ive never had it before or since. Totally aware of all the noise, the people talking, everything that was happening, but completely dreaming at the same time. Now that can be very common for people who are so-called brain dead. Theyre consciousness is there and theyre hearing what is going on and seeing what is going on, as well as having all these weird dream experiences so theyre very vividly aware. So of course, there they are freaking out. Not quite knowing whats going on, but sort of being aware of it. And Ive heard even evidence of somebody who told these experiences after he was unconscious, told in detail all the things the doctors did, what they said, because thats exactly whats happening. So this is why, from the Buddhas point of view, its so important to treat the place so purely and to give them confidence and to do their practice and to allow them to be calm because if youre not practiced, your freaking out right then. And youre thinking what the hell is going on. Youre in panic mode. You cant talk to anybody, you dont know whats happening, and everyone is all screaming and crying, your mothers there, your husbands there, your wifes there, oh my god your minds in a freak out mode, isnt it? So of course it can be disturbing, extremely disturbing for this person. Whereas if the person is aware of this then youd be even speaking to them and saying positive things and giving them positive things and so their mind can calm down so they can die with peace when they pull the plug on them. Student I noticed the nurse whispering and encouraging.
Ven. Robina Good! There you go. Very good! Perfect. Student I felt the need to leave. Ven. Robina Of course they should have left. But people are not aware of this, you know. Were just kind of completely self-centered. Oh my God, my husbands dead! You know, like, excuse me back away. Its his gig, you know. Give him a break. Absolutely, youre very right. Its very important. So in that sense theres so much you can do for the person when theyre dead, when theyre so-called dead, brain-dead. And even when they are actually dead, the body with the breathing stopped, their consciousness is still there. Thats why from the Buddhist view its so important to make it so appropriate, so peaceful, so conducive, because its so powerful for the mind, especially if the person is not prepared for this death. Its a huge shock to have this thing happen, its a big shock to us, of course it is. Yes? Student My question kind of dovetails after yours. I work in an emergency room and oftentimes we have people die suddenly, traumatically, and just the environment has limitations. A Buddhist man dying suddenly and the priest came, he couldnt burn incense because it would put out the fire alarm and then we have bed availability issues. I was just wondering about the two days beyond the body dying, how important is environment in terms of allowing, supporting the consciousness? Ven. Robina Well ,you know, the ideal scenario is that one. Thats why weve been trying to start here a hospice. The little two rooms are meant to be for people that come here to die. I dont know if weve got people in it at the moment, so that they can have that kind of approach. But one friend of mines father passed away and the wife, theyre both Buddhists, but she sort of freaked out of course, and rang the hospital so that the ambulance came and put him into down here somewhere. And so we came in and we started right then, we were with him before he stopped breathing so we were doing all these prayers, which is what he wanted, talking about Buddhist. Then we couldnt take him home, unfortunately, because already hed been gone to the hospital. So the daughter and I, we made sure that the ambulance didnt move him very roughly, took him very carefully in the body bag into the mortuary and then we worked out with the mortuary a way to leave him there as long as possible. So, now they wouldnt let us go overnight and do prayers and things, so they kept him all day, then we put him in the fridge and they agreed to play some CDs of the Gyutoto monks chanting in the fridge, along with the other bodies. So we assume they did it. Then they allowed just a few more hours the next day for people to come along and do prayers. So you just stretch the law as much as you can. In the hospital no, but in the mortuary they didnt mind doing it. But it had to be within twenty-four hours, there was some law that its got to be not more than twenty-four hours out of the fridge, so the fridge part didnt count. We added our hours from the first day and the second day, so it almost went to the two days. So, the best you can do. But the best, of course, is what many people do now is to die at home. And so what they do is they just dont call the hospital, they dont call the ambulance for two days. They dont call the doctor. Just let the person alone, you know. Student Whats the story about, youre saying, the different realms. I mean the dimensions. Youre saying
as a Buddhist you check that out, check everything out. Ven. Robina Think about all this yes, check it out. You mean think about all this stuff ? Student Well yes, where is the proof of other dimensions. Ven. Robina I understand. Student That is why we have a, we choose our guru carefully. Ven. Robina Let me talk about this when we talk about karma. Its a totally perfect question, but lets talk about that after lunch. Its a good point and Ill bring it up when we talk about the karma point. So lets just finish with a little dedication prayer thinking, Okay, weve listened so far to this concept of a continuity of consciousness, to the nature of mind, its beginningless, nonphysical, not created and its potential, especially of Buddhahood. Weve contemplated the concept of this one of needing a teacher and how to check them and judge them and how to devote oneself. Weve looked very briefly at the thought of this perfect human rebirth and how to be energized not to waste it. We then thought about therefore, on from this, how it could finish at any moment, so thinking about death and impermanence. We looked at the death process itself. And we looked at the concept of given that I could die at any moment and given that Ive got countless karmic imprints, the potential for future rebirth, and we looked a bit at those, and we looked particularly at the one of the suffering of being born as, say, in this case of an animal, as one of the lower realms, so to get a strong sense of wishing, thank you very much, whom can I turn to to give me the methods and well discuss this later, the one of turning to Buddha for refuge. So far this much. These seeds have gone in and weve thought about these. May they ripen as quickly as possible in the development of my own amazing potential so I really can be of benefit to all suffering mother sentient beings. Ge wa di yi nyur du dag La ma sang gy drug gyur n Dro wa chig kyang ma lupa De yi sa la g par shog Jang chub sem chhog rin po chhe Ma kye pa nam kye gyur chig
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Kye wa nyam pa me pa yang Gong n gong du phel war shog
Blessing the Food

So one last little thing is just the way to think about our food. Well call it a blessing, whatever you like. But instead the usual way we think about it, we see it there, we think, Oh I like that, I dont like this and its just attachment and we just shove it in, politely of course, but just wanting it. Its for ourselves. So here we think of it differently. We first imagine that there is just oceans of food there, not just a little tiny bowl, think about the loaves and fishes, we imagine its just multiplied to vast oceans of food, and then we just think, just imagine, using your creative imagination, all beings of the universe, the whole of the universe full, all the Buddhas, all the holy beings, all the suffering sentient beings, trillions of them all of them, all of them experiencing the joy of receiving this food. Were so happy to offer it to them, imagine this. La ma sang gy la ma chh De zhin la ma ge dun te Kun gyi je po la ma te La ma nam la chh par bul Then, as Lama Zopa Rinpoche says, blessing the food and offering it like this, just this very brief one, he said once youve done this, the bigger your stomach, the better. So please enjoy.
Discussion
So listen, get into groups of like four people will do. Just grab three other people, sit anywhere you want, go where you would like and for that hour, take any one of these pieces of information that youve heard so far. Weve touched on about seven topics. Dont discuss karma yet because we havent talked about it. But discuss the one of the lower realms, the possibility of this, discuss, maybe beginningless mind is really good, the mind being nonphysical and no creator. Take that one and just discuss and just jump in there and all talk and all bring up something and come to some conclusions and then bring any questions. Are you all hearing me over there? Its really useful. And a second point, at lunch you dont have to be all serious but you can talk about the weather and the gossip anytime you want, make even lunchtime talk about this stuff. Make it fun, I dont care, but use the time as much as possible. This is really making the most of the time. And then we can talk more when I see you back. Thank you very much everybody.
End CD 3
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Session Three
Ven. Robina Okay, so just a few questions based on your discussion group and then we can carry on with our topics. Any conclusions from your discussion group? Was your discussion useful? Yes? Okay, questions from the discussion group? Student Ann and BJ and I have questions on the mind and the first one is how is the mind formed through cause and effect? Ven. Robina How do you mean by that? Whats the question? What do you mean formed? Student Well, thats exactly the issue. It seems like the mind is not material. So then, how is it formed because you said it is formed from the previous moments? Ven. Robina In the sense of understanding the dynamic process of cause and effect, then thats true. So, you want to know what is mind? What is its substance? Student Yes, because it doesnt seem like you use the example of a cup or a microphone that that is formed and that I can see through cause and effect. Ven. Robina Yes. Student But, it seems like the mind isnt like that. Ven. Robina Well, already its quite hard because in our scientific way of talking we dont posit anything we cant see, taste, touch, smell or hear. Right? Isnt it? So, already its difficult. So, all we can do is use analogies really. Okay, Buddha would say theres matter and theres mind. There are two types of phenomena. Thats it. Matter and mind. So, matter we would say is the stuff we know out there in the universe or this body is matter, right? The rose, all the things that are the objects that are made up of they would say this thing here is made up of four elements. Okay, in our current scientific terms they use different terms for the components but youd say earth, air, fire, water and all of matter, in Buddhist terms is described in terms of the four elements. You could say this. Its certainly called that in tantra. So, youve got the very subtle matter thats linked inextricably with very subtle consciousness when the body leaves us, as we talked at the time of death. Thats very subtle wind energy; and the very subtle energy of this universe, from the time it first began was very subtle wind energy and its the building blocks, its got the four elements within there and then
in manifests in whatever form, based on karma. So theres matter and then theres consciousness, which is non-matter, it is not material, it is nonphysical, cannot be seen, tasted, touched, smelled and so on. So even without getting too intellectual about it, then lets just assume for a moment that part of us that we call jealousy and that part of us that we call love is non-matter. Lets just assume that for a moment. The real point about how its formed you can see yourself: have you not observed in your own behavior that when you do something often, it gets easier? Have you observed that? In other words, it becomes a habit. So, the more you get angry the easier it is to get angry. Well theres the answer. Thats how its formed, by cause and effect. Never mind the intellectual thing of is it brain or even if its not, who cares? Thats your experiential proof of cause and effect when it comes to the mind. Thats the real point. You can see if you practice the piano, practice becoming familiar with music, you get better at it. Your hands then can play the notes better. But your mind is really familiarizing with the music, isnt it? The more you think about it, the better it is. The more you do your math, the better you become at it. Thats cause and effect. Thats cause and effect, thats how mind is formed. Is it not enough as an answer? What do you think? Student I think so. Ven. Robina Okay, good. Go on Betty. Student How is the mind a made thing? Ven. Robina Same answer.
Overview So Far
Okay, what have we been through so far?
The First Three Preliminary Contemplations

We have looked at these three things to contemplate as a background to give us a decent context for wanting to enter into the first grade of junior school, the first scope of practice. The first one, which is very much coming from the tradition of Lama Zopa Rinpoches way of presenting the Dharma since the Seventies to Westerners, which is to introduce the whole concept of mind from day one. Normally we dont talk about mind until high school, the second scope, and we havent even got there yet. But, its helpful if were discussing the mind to know what on earth it is were discussing. And of course, so to see the mind in the conventional sense that its beginningless, that its a process of cause and effect, that its not physical, that its not created, and that its got this marvelous potential. Thats a really good starting point, which we discussed. Then we went to the necessity for a teacher, which is taking the point that Lama Tsong Kapa in the fourteenth century introduced as a preliminary contemplation as a basis for then wanting to practice. The necessity for a teacher and having found one, having searched in the appropriate way, having found a valid teacher, then how to devote oneself effectively to that person. For what reason? Not for their sake, but to get the benefit for ourselves, which is to help ourselves become a Buddha as quickly as possible.
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And then we take Atishas first preliminary contemplation, in order to even want to practice hes saying we need to really start looking at this precious human rebirth, this thing we totally take for granted, which we assume, especially in our culture, is something that someone else gave us. Like I was plonked on this earth by someone else, cut out by somebody elses cookie cutter; as if somehow our life was done to us. Thats how we think. But Buddha says, Hey guys, you did it to yourself, and its an amazing thing you did. You practiced really hard in the past and youve got this extraordinary series of circumstances that are so rare. If you compare, just do a little bit of market research, you compare with other humans, you compare with other realms of existence, you compare with the ants and the fish and the tigers, youre going to see youve got a pretty amazing set of circumstances that are tragic to waste. Wasting means what? Getting the essence from it. So what is that? Using it to help yourself develop your qualities and become a Buddha. Thats how you take the essence. By understanding what something is, you know how to use it, dont you? So by understanding the nature of this human life, that its the fruit of virtuous karma and that it provides you with opportunities, then you dont want to waste it. Which we discussed.
The Lowest Scope: Junior School

So then that leads you enter grade one of junior school, in the very first scope. The thing that Atisha wants us to do after having contemplated this perfect human rebirth, he says, but you know what it can end at any moment. So we look at death and impermanence: that death is definite, the time of it uncertain and at the time of death the only thing thats of any use to us is the virtuous seeds in our minds planted during our life in response to the things of our day to day life: our possessions, our children, our loved ones, our job, our body. Practicing virtue, at least refraining from creating nonvirtue in relation to it, which means attachment, pride, anger and all the other neuroses, thus preparing ourselves in this way for death. When death comes its not a surprise, we recognize that its impermanent, we recognize that death is definite, we recognize that the time of it is uncertain so we are truly ready when it comes, so its a breeze. Dying is not a problem. Dying with a happy mind: virtue ripens, and you keep on bopping, propelled by the force of your karma. So then of course, we contemplated after this: given that my mind is a continuity that didnt begin and will not end, and given that whatever I say, do, and think is the karma that I sow in my mind that will ripen as a future experience of mine, and given that I dont want suffering and do want happiness, then it does follow that Ive had countless past lives therefore had countless opportunities for the negative seeds in my mind now to ripen as future suffering. So we looked very simply at the possibilities of suffering rebirth according to Buddha. Animal birth, we just touched upon that one and that needs a lot of looking for us. First we dont think we can be born as one. Second, we dont think theyre suffering; we just think they are who they are and thats who animals are. So Buddha would say its the fruit of enormously negative karma therefore has produced enormous suffering, which means theyre going to. . . just mentally and physically extreme suffering. So even looking just a tiny bit at some of the animals. We discussed the lion briefly and try to see how it is suffering. Because remember, Buddhist psychology refers to all living beings not just humans. So in the same way that we can see theres a gross level of suffering were going to talk about that in relation to we humans, when we go to high school, the second scope but with animals the same. Lets
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say we will have compassion for the animals who have their claws chipped off, their beaks broken, and theyre sitting in little hen houses all day, which indeed is an acute level of suffering. We can have compassion for the animals, for the pigs how theyre killed. You can look in the slaughter houses; its appalling. Thats absolutely right. But we dont ever bother to have compassion for the little pussywussy cat sitting with his little diamond collar eating livers for breakfast every day because we think little pussy-wussies are cute. Actually, theres a reason to have enormous compassion for that little pussy cat because of his mind, simply because of its mind, the state of its mind. This is the example of the lion. We dont have compassion for the buffalo that get eaten alive by the lion because we only have compassion for animals that humans harm. Its most fascinating. We watch those animal shows and we think: Oh, isnt this fascinating, this is nature. Oh, look at those animals eating each other. I saw recently this great big fat bear in Canada just ripping the guts out of this fish. No one has compassion for a fish, but if you saw a human do that, uh-uh-oh, youre going to have compassion for that fish; maybe not a fish but for a dog or something. Because were so irrational in the way we see suffering. The little poodle youre so attached to suffers when someone is mean to it and kicks it. Then why do you think the buffalo isnt suffering? Why is because were so used to calling it nature. Oh its just nature. I mean, its just not very realistic, its not very deep. I mean theres an animal in the mouth of a lion, excuse me, thats suffering. Not to mention, the deeper level, the suffering of the lion having that mind, being propelled to harm in that way, suffering right now under very incredible delusions, and suffering in the future because of her negative karma. So who wants to be born like that? Thanks a lot, no way. So the idea is to have a very strong wish to not be born this way, to not have this kind of suffering. Thank you very much. So whom can I turn to? So here we talk about refuge. We take refuge as they say; you rely upon the Buddha, his medicine the Dharma, and the spiritual community in the support of your practice.
Refuge Again Absolute and Relative Three Jewels

So just very briefly on refuge. You could say that they talk about ultimate Buddha, relative Buddha; ultimate Dharma or absolute Dharma, relative Dharma; absolute Sangha, relative Sangha. Its kind of very simple.
Absolute Buddha
This is, as weve discussed already, is when you have become fully developed. Your consciousness becomes enlightened, your consciousness becomes free of all the pollution, your consciousness completely pure. The wisdom wing: omniscience, pervading space, because finally how can something non-material be confined by space or time or matter. It cannot be. Just think about it conceptually. So necessarily when youre fully developed, your Buddha consciousness, your enlightened consciousness, your mind, which is the continuity of this very mind now, stuck in this body, its just a question of time, when its fully enlightened it necessarily is knowing wherever there is things to be known. Meaning it is
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pervading the universe. It cant be confined. It is everywhere. Your awareness, your mind, unpolluted, seeing things as they are. Second, infinite compassion, the compassion wing: infinite empathy with every living being from countless lives of practicing and perfecting love and compassion, affection for others love is may you be happy. Love is just delight and affection for others and a wish they be happy. Compassion is this pain and empathy with their suffering that developed to an amazing degree of a sense of responsibility that its my job to make others happy, its my job to take away their suffering. And we will discuss this in university, third scope. Fully developed in this beyond which you cant be developed further. Infinite empathy, love, compassion for every living being equally. Your mind will be full of this. Third, the quality of this immense power to do whatever needs to be done. This is the Buddha. So were talking here Mr. Shakyumuni Buddha of 2500 years ago who accomplish this goal. And then his teachings; he then put forth based on his own experience. So thats the Dharma. The absolute Buddha is that very consciousness, thats it, pervading the universe.
Relative Buddha
Now as far as being useful to sentient beings is concerned, its useless to us because were not subtle enough to experience that mind. We cant communicate with that mind. So out of great kindness, the Buddha manifests in a form, in forms, for the benefit of others. So he manifests as the person known as Shakyumuni, a person we can see, we can hear. Thats the relative Buddha. The form that the Buddha consciousness takes.
Absolute Dharma
Then youve got the absolute Dharma. That is the actual realizations, the actual knowledge or realizations in the mind of a superior being, not just the Buddha, but there are levels of superior beings. From the moment you first realize emptiness, from the moment you first have a non-conceptual realization of emptiness, all the way on up, the progression, ladder of development to Buddhahood they are superior beings. So the knowledge or experiences of the Dharma within their minds, their realizations, that is the absolute dharma.
Relative Dharma
But again, we cant access those minds. Were not subtle enough. So out of kindness these holy beings write them down on pieces of paper. Thats called books. How kind they are. Its like Bach: the musics inside him, isnt it? Its his own realizations of all the music. Well, you know he can sit there smiling at you, you cant get it can you? So out of kindness he puts it on pieces of paper called little notes, explains it all, so you can replicate it and then you can access your own music. Thats the relative dharma, the words in the book. Thats the real Dharma, the one we need most. You could have twenty-two Buddhas in front of you all going blah, blah or all smiling at you. No use. But they give you words, thats the medicine. So the Dharma is the real thing you rely upon, its the medicine, thats what you take. You can go to the doctor but until you take the medicine nothing changes.
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Absolute Sangha
Then youve got the absolute and relative Sangha. The absolute Sangha, the spiritual community, are simply those Arya being, those superior beings. But you wont recognize them, it could be the homeless person down on the corner on Ocean Street. You see this smelly old homeless person, you dont know if its an arya being. You cant tell because were not clairvoyant.
Relative Sangha
So the relative Sangha is monks and nuns, those who are living in the fullness of the vows of Buddhas commitments of morality. This institution, if you like, that Buddha has emphasized is crucial. He would say that the presence in one place of four fully ordained people is the criterion for the presence of the Dharma, the living Dharma, in one place. The ordained monks and nuns represent the living Dharma. Thats the relative Sangha. Broadly speaking we can say here is our spiritual community, ordained or not. But in order for the Dharma to be alive, its dependent upon the presence of four fully ordained monks and nuns. This is why in the Asian tradition, which is where Buddhism came from, theres a great appreciation for the Sangha. In fact theres a story in Tibet about some terrible King, some wicked King, destroying the Dharma in the country. And there were only a few monks left and they were so desperate to keep the Dharma alive in Tibet by keeping alive the number of Sangha in Tibet that they snuck over from the border in China to get one of the Chinese monks in order to participate in an ordination in order to keep the number right. And out of respect they must have worn blue they have this blue thing on here [on the donka, the shirt Tibetan monks and nuns wear]. Out of respect, to honor that Chinese monk. Thats Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. So, a person can choose if they want to formalize their commitment to being a Buddhist and so there you formally take refuge, as they say. In front of somebody, a very short little ceremony where youve listened to the teachings, you try to practice them, they make sense to you, you have respect for this person called Buddha, his Dharma, the Sangha, and you decide, Im formally a Buddhist. You take refuge, you commit yourself. Then at the same time, you commit yourself to a series of vows. So briefly here lets talk about vows, extremely important for Buddha. He puts a big stock on vows.
The Importance of Vows

A vow is what? A vow, all it is is a strong internal commitment to do something. So when you go: Oh I must go on a diet, I must eat less. And you keep eating too many chocolate cakes, and one day you go: Oh I must go on a diet. One day you decide; thats a vow. Thats all. Then you know, look how it protects you. Once youve made that commitment, then youll do it. So a vow, when you take it formally, because its a helpful way to remind yourself of your commitment.
No Killing
Theres a series of five vows that a lay person would take when they take refuge and that is: you vow not to kill, of course it means with intention, because the reality is were killing all the time. Just breathing
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youre breathing in sentient beings; driving, walking, eating your veggies. All those little creatures have died growing and picking the veggies. Even if youre a vegetarian, countless beings have died just by your presence. Its unavoidable, we cant help it. So the vow here is to not kill with intention. You intend not to kill sentient beings. And this is really stunning. Its a rare and precious thing, youre like a jewel on this earth. Because you can even see with most religions they say its okay to kill non-humans, and its okay to have wars in certain circumstances. But the Buddha would say and this is why the Dalai Lama is an amazing example for this earth just dont kill. It cant benefit. Its only harmful. It comes from a delusion. The vow never to kill for the rest of this life is an incredible and marvelous commitment. You are like a precious jewel on this earth.
Not lie, not steal ...

... dont indulge in sexual misconduct and dont drink alcohol and drugs. Thats five vows, you can take any or all of these. When we come to karma well talk more about this whole practice of morality, as its called. So when you take refuge you might well take these five vows, you commit yourself to this. Lama Zopa Rinpoche, he praises the taking of vows so much, he says the power of vows is stunning. You could have a person, for example, who doesnt have vows but is practicing day and night, doing so many practices but he doesnt have the vow not to kill. Then you have another person merely keeping purely their commitment, their vow, not to kill, which theyve taken formally in front of a lama. He said the second person creates infinitely more virtuous karma just naturally. Why? Because simply and this is Buddhas teaching, he says this, and I want you to think about this carefully, its not evident to us that when the person who doesnt have the vow, its only when the person who doesnt have the vow decides not to kill that ant that they say, that they create the very strong virtuous karma of nonkilling. The mere action of non-killing is something very powerful by the way. Its so powerful. It sounds passive, dont kill. The active action of non-killing is very incredible. Because you look at the suffering on this earth from creatures harming each other. When you have that intention at that moment you see the ant, thats when you create the virtue of non-killing. But a person who has the vow not to kill, every second that vow is in their mind stream and theyre keeping it purely, youre constantly creating the virtuous karma of non-killing. So this is the power of vows. And its an easy way to practice, to accumulate virtue, to purify negative karma. Okay, thats enough for that.
The Lowest Scope, Junior School: Grade Four Abiding by the Laws of Karma
So now weve decided were going to rely upon the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. And we now get to the next point where we finally put our money where our mouth is: we begin to actually practice now, actually practice.
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All this has been a preliminary to get us totally primed, logically leading us, step by step, internally, logically, leading us to now want to practice. Okay, Im relying upon the Buddha, Ive seen hes a valid guy, I want to do what he says. What does he say? He says, Honey, abide by the laws of karma. Whats karma? Karma means action, in Sanskrit. Its got this dynamic implication of reaction: action, reaction. And Buddha is saying everything we do, say, and think, every microsecond of what we do, say, and think is a karma, which leaves necessarily a seed in our consciousness, our mind. That necessarily, being a seed, ripens in the future as our experiences. So in this sense, quite literally, we can say from moment to moment we are sowing the seeds of our future experiences and from moment to moment we are experiencing the fruit of our past seeds. So, we are the creators of ourselves, Buddha says. No one did us to us. The more you take the Buddhas view of the mind, consciousness, our own, no creator, karma, the more you see what Buddhas saying: that we are the creators of ourselves. No one made us, its a bizarre concept for Buddha, the ultimate in the victim mentality.
A Natural Law
There are many ways of talking about karma. Its a law. As I said about Mr. Newton and the apple, the gravity thing, he didnt invent gravity. We know perfectly well that he didnt create gravity, he didnt make it up; he didnt have it revealed to him in a dream; he didnt have a vision of it. This is what we think about spiritual stuff. Its so bizarre. Someone has a vision and they go out and say, This is the truth. Excuse me! Wed check out Mr. Newton and Mr. Einstein if they said this. We know theyve done a lot of work in observing things and theyve come up with some conclusions and have articulated it. And then its up to us to go prove its true. (Were slowly coming to Catherines point.) So Buddha says this is a natural law like gravity.
If You Sow the Seed, Youll Get the Fruit

So one of the things about this law is that you sow a seed, you get the fruit. And you know what?
If Theres the Fruit You Must Have Sown the Seed.

Sounds so simple. Quite powerful when it comes to experiences. Because thats not how we think. And also we can see logically using the analogy of seeds, seeds multiply.
One Small Seed Can Bring Many Fruits.

These are some simple principles about karma. The energy expands.
Negative Thoughts and Suffering, Positive Thoughts and Happiness

Another fundamental law of karma and again this is something absolutely natural and organic, this is not a moralistic statement, and because were used to thinking about it this way, its hard to hear it, what Buddha is saying. As I said before, Buddha is saying theres this really natural relationship within me and my life and my mind between my negative imprints, my negative tendencies and my own suffering. Theres just this natural relationship. Its not punishment, its not unfair, its just how it is. And theres a very natural relationship between positive seeds, positive imprints, positive states of
mind, positive actions and my happiness. In fact, Buddha says, negative actions ripen as suffering, positive actions ripen as happiness. Not punishment and reward, its just how it is, Buddha says, from his observation.
The Ten Non-Virtuous Actions

So okay then, what is a negative action? Besides the five vows that you might take when you take refuge, here theres a simple packaging of the ten non-virtuous actions Buddha would recommend we avoid doing. Why? Were not discussing compassion yet, this is coming later; were not even beginning to discuss compassion. The reason at this stage that were totally caught up in is our own happiness. Dont underestimate that. We get so holy: Oh that doesnt sound very spiritual, Im supposed to benefit other people blah, blah. Buddha says you cant begin to benefit others until you can benefit yourself, and you cant begin to benefit yourself until you know why youre suffering and what causes you happiness. This is what were very occupied with here, in the wisdom wing. So hes recommending there are ten things at this level of practice, the basic level, already profound, there are ten things we should attempt to avoid indulging in, getting involved in, to protect ourselves from future suffering. There are some of the body, some of the speech, and some of the mind. The mind is the bottom line when we go to high school and get into the second scope, were really beginning, like I said, to become our own therapist, to begin to look deeply into the mind because there, right there, are the sources of the suffering and the sources of happiness. We become deeply familiar with our mind. Here were not deeply going into the mind but were looking at the general laws of karma and learning to avoid misusing our body and speech and indeed beginning to protect our mind to some extent.
Zip Your Lip and Keep Your Hands to Yourself

But the very first level of practice here is mainly zip your lip and keep your hands to yourself. Its to do with the body and the speech. The great Kadampa masters and all the students in the generations after Atisha in the eleventh century in Tibet, they have this lovely saying: When youre with others, watch your behavior just like our grandmas used to tell us. And when youre on your own, watch your mind. Because the very first level of practice and here in the junior school were talking this level of practice, very first level is youve got to control your body and speech. Look at this world. Its body and speech that create the problems, isnt it? We can deduce, and we will discuss this, that the mind is the source but we can see the actual doers of the problems are the body and the speech. And you can imagine that if this world could have this understanding that there are implications to oneself of ones own actions, thus control our body and speech what a blissful world we would live in. Can you imagine? Never a harmful word, never a harmful action. What an amazing paradise we would live in. Can you imagine? And this is the first level of practice. Oh my goodness. So now again if the real job of the wisdom wing is in high school in the second scope when we become our own therapist, to deeply learn about our own mind and were going to talk about that how can I possibly begin to become familiar with my anger if I cant control the crazy speech? I mean, its impossible, isnt it? If you cant control your body and speech, theres no way you have any skill to observe whats behind it. Because they are such a loud noise, the body and speech are the grossest level
of our being. So if thats totally berserk, forget about seeing your own mind. Impossible. So in order to even begin to do some meditation to start looking into your own mind, to become your own therapist, youve got to control your body and speech. If you have berserk body and speech you cant even sit for more than thirty seconds, right? You go berserk, you go even more berserk. So the first level of practice is just control your body and speech. This much alone, amazing. I cant describe how incredible. Its for your benefit but, hey, look at the lucky rats and roaches: they get a life if you stop killing. It benefits them. Theyre sort of the indirect beneficiaries of the practice of the wisdom wing, youre the direct beneficiary. And thats perfect. But it benefits others if you dont lie, others benefit. If you dont kill, others benefit. The purpose here is because this will protect you from future suffering. And were trying to get in touch here with our own suffering, with what causes it. We dont want the future suffering right, remember we talked. So to protect ourselves, like those cigarettes, once you establish the result of smoking cigarettes youll stop smoking cigarettes. Maybe you havent given up your attachment to cigarettes yet, which is in your mind. No worries. First stop putting the smoke inside.
Three Negative Actions of the Body

So, dont kill. So that this body, speech, and mind: actions of the body, I dont kill, no sexual misconduct, and dont steal. Thats your body and speech isnt it. Dont harm others in that way. No its not sexual misconduct, not there. Its not called that. Whats the list, come on somebody? I havent got a clue. Student So the first is dont kill and second is not to steal. Ven. Robina Then? What is it? I dont think its sexual misconduct, we dont talk about that in the ten non-virtues. What is it? No, thats the five vows when you take refuge. Theres a different packaging. Oh Im so sorry. Anybody got a list there, Im completely hopeless. Ill have to get it later. What is another way with our bodies that we harm others? It should be so obvious. I dont remember. Lets assume it is for a minute. Well check up.
Four Negative Actions of the Speech

So then youve got your speech, which is dont lie, dont go just blah, blah a load of rubbish stuff, dont just go with rubbish coming out of your mouth with no concern of whether the person wants to hear it and has no essence, youre just rabbiting on. We spend most of our lives doing this. Dont. . . thats called gossip, idle talk they call it. Dont use harsh words and then dont bad mouth behind, making trouble, making divisions between people, divisive talk. We can see we mightnt run around with our bodies doing too much harm but we sure use our mouths. We do a lot of harm with our mouths. Dont you think? So really protect your mouth. So just this body and speech alone. Three of the body, four of the speech, and three of the mind. And the mind is the beginning of working on your mind; really, its just a way of presenting avoiding what they call the three root delusions: ignorance, attachment and aversion. The three root delusions and were gonna talk about this in more detail in high school.
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Three Negative Actions of the Mind

So here the commitment is to not have strong craving, to refrain from strong craving, that really unhappy, obsessive, hunger craving for something else, for something, either somebody elses or something. Its just really painful. Its an exercise of attachment that is not helpful to us. Then to refrain from ill will. Not even just saying anger, anger is the source, ill will is wanting to harm others in the mind on the basis of anger. Thats not even saying to dealing with anger, just to refrain from ill will. And the third one is a very gross level of ignorance, is wrong view. This very superstitious, narrow-mind, like an eye for an eye, a really ignorant mind thats functioning very strongly in the world. So many ways. Really deep kind of ignorance, understanding of things. Just backing away from these a little bit. So just abiding in this way by these ten things. Buddha would say, Hey, this is a perfect way to abide by the laws of karma. Without even going into it much more deeply, if you just lived your life this way: blissful. Youll be more blissful, youll be more relaxed, youll be more calm, and youre sowing all the most positive seeds in your mind that will ripen in the future as happiness so you can keep on bopping on your spiritual path. Just this, this is the first level of practice.
How Karma Works

But lets now talk a little bit more about karma and how it works. A way I find very helpful to talk is by presenting the four ways that our karmic actions from the past ripen in the present or indeed, the four ways that our present actions ripen in the future. Because theres nothing much we can do about the ones that are ripening now, except understand them as a basis for protecting us for the future. You learn from the weeds in your garden now.
The Four Ways That Karma Ripens

1. The Fully Ripened Result
So okay these four ways. One is the way that karma ripens is the realm of existence that you get born into. So we discussed the process of the sentient beings who led, who followed their delusions, followed the killing, followed the badmouthing, and then dies with a lot of fear, the anger rises strongly at death, that killing karma ripens and it throws their consciousness on autopilot into a lion mummys womb. The fully ripened result is the first way that karma ripens, and its the type of rebirth we get. So in our case, we can deduce that a very powerful morality karmic seed ripened at the time of our past death, nourished most likely by lots of very powerful aspiration, which is all they mean in Buddhism by a prayer, strong aspirations to get a good life, strong aspirations to have a reasonable life, and reasonable qualities and a reasonable future perfect human rebirth so we can continue to practice, nourished by lots of virtue, kept no doubt in the context of keeping vows of morality so the very powerful virtuous karma ripened and found its way to our present mothers womb. Even just getting a human rebirth is the fruit of morality. The perfect human rebirth component is all the other aspects of the life which are other ways that are karma ripens. First getting a decent human rebirth is the result of strong morality. Now, Mother Teresa and Hitler got one of these didnt they? Theyre both human with noses and eyes
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and legs, and they speak and have intelligence and so on. But thats about where the similarities end isnt it? If they both sat in chairs all of their lives and didnt open their mouths and didnt act, youd see okay, one has a funny mustache and the other ones the nice skinny old lady, but you wouldnt see much difference between them. right? So its when they speak and act that you can start to see the other ways that their karma has ripened. First way that karma ripens is just in the form you get born into. In the case here were talking human birth. The karma was an action of morality, good karma.
2. Actions Similar to the Cause

So then the second way that karma ripens is in terms of the personality and tendencies that we have. This is called actions similar to the cause. Actions, meaning karma, similar to the cause, hear the words. If you look into your mind and you see you have a tendency to be angry, well that is an action, a karma, similar to the cause. Which is what? Its almost you could say a result similar to the cause. Anger is similar to the cause, which is anger. In other words this is a way of describing your tendencies. Very simple. Look into your mind and you see youre a bunch of tendencies, a bunch of habits: generous, kind, loving, mean, fearful, depressed, angry, want to kill, want to lie you name it, were a bunch of tendencies. Now this is what we call our personality isnt it? So, of course in the West, we think Mummy made it this way; God made us somehow and gave us this personality and then we make our choices. Well, Buddha says, You made you, sorry, you made you. Your mummy didnt make you, your Daddy didnt make you. The commonest thing we say is, Im like this because my Daddys like this, Im like this because my Mummys like this. Buddha would say, Not true. You can be similar but the reason youre similar is because its not so much that she made you this way, its that she is that way and you are that way because you each have created similar causes in the past that even brought you together to be parent and child. Then of course her acting in that way brings up those tendencies in you. But if you didnt have a tendency to be angry, you can have an angry Mummy until the cows come home, it wont make you angry. Anger has to be a tendency in you in order for you to be responding to someone elses anger. So in this sense, quite literally Buddha is saying our mothers and fathers dont create us. Clearly they play a major role. Theres no doubt about that. Theyre not the main one, thats the point, and will go into this in more detail in high school. So the second way our karma ripens is in the experience is similar to the cause, or the results similar to the cause, or the actions similar to the cause, which is the tendencies within us, positive or negative, all of them. The entirety of our personality is a bunch of habits that we have brought with us from having practiced them in the past. Its something very reasonable. If you play piano well, youre not surprised that youre good at it because you know youve practiced it for ten years. When I was a little girl, if I were brought up as a Buddhist I wouldnt be surprised by my tendency to be angry because Id know I must have practiced it really well. Another friend of mine, I always quote this story. We live around children and we can see that they stomp on the snails and harm the creatures, Oh well, theyre just kids. Theyve got to be taught otherwise. Nonsense. A friend of mine with a three-year-old son, she was taking the lice out of his head and he was in tears. Mummy, Mummy, leave them alone, dont hurt them, its their home. He was begging his mother to leave the lice alone and not harm them. She didnt each him this. My mother didnt teach me anger. They were tendencies in our minds. This poor little Mr. BTK man, this awful
man who did these awful things. Whats his name? Student Carl Rader. [Dennis Rader is the serial killer who called himself BTK who tortured and killed many people in Wichita Kansas from the 1970s onwards]. Ven. Robina That gentleman, you know who Im talking about. Mr. BTK, that poor man. The Buddha said hes not some guy who is born in hell and should go to hell forever, which is what everybody thinks. He has got these incredible, appalling tendencies in his poor little mind since his conception. Now where did he get these? You check the animal realm. You check those animal shows that we think are so fascinating, Oh, this is nature. And then you see it from this point of view, from the Buddhas point of view, not being mean about them, having compassion, you look at how they torture each other. You look at how monstrous all those creatures are to each other. I mean its a nightmare. It is torture all the time, ripping each other up into pieces, alive. Unbelievable suffering. We never think of it this way. But thats what it is, those tendencies. But this Mr. BTK, obviously brought those tendencies with him very vividly into this life such that when hes a little boy even hes torturing and harming. So of course he has to hide it, the world doesnt approve. He has ego, he wants to be loved by everybody, so doesnt want to go around shouting he tortures and kills people. Its a powerful tendency in his mind. Just like Mother Teresas tendencies are powerful tendencies in her mind from her past practice of those things. In this sense we are literally the creators of ourself, Buddha says. We bring with us a few of our tendencies, some positive, some negative. Were fortunate, arent we, that ours are pretty minor negative ones. But even then we look into our minds and we feel so ashamed of so many strange things that pop up in our minds, peoples weird fantasies and things. Were scared to talk about them. We dont know where they come from. This is me, we think. Theyre a bunch of tendencies from the past, whatever they might be.
3. Experiences Similar to the Cause

The third way our karma ripens is called the experiences similar to the cause and this is all the stuff that happens to you, that people do to you. How people see you, how they treat you, they kill you, they lie to you, they steal from you, they love you, they give you money, they take care of you, they protect you, they save you, they harm you, whatever it might be. Theres not a single experience any sentient being has that isnt the fruit of their own past karma. This is a fundamental law according to Buddha.
4. Environmental Karma
The fourth one is environmental karma. Even the way we experience our external environment, not even meaning the trees; whatever it is, this room, we collectively are experiencing probably fairly reasonable harmonious karma, non-harming karma. The walls arent dripping with mold, the temperature is not so outrageous, the sound is relatively quiet, so its quite peaceful environmentally. This is the collective result of this particular group of our own past actions of morality.
Nothing Is Random
Now if we were sitting in a house full of noise, stinky smelling stuff, ugly stones and rocks, smashed up things, violence, thats the fruit of negative karma. Nothing is accidental, nothing is random, according to Buddha. It cant be. In just the same way that we understand this when it comes to what we call
science. Gardens, we know perfectly well, every single tiny, wierd thing growing in that mass of green stuff in that garden has a cause. Theres a logic to it, theres a science to it, theres a law to it. Its not just random. Just because we dont know what the cause is we cant just say, Ah, well, theres no cause, its just the way gardens are. Weve got a handle on cause and effect when it comes to science. Were useless when it comes to internal, when it comes to cause and effect from Buddhas point of view. And if you think about it: the way you experience the environment, how it is in response to you, is a result of your karma. The way other people see you and treat you is a result of your karma. The way your own tendencies and imprints and habits are your own karma. And the very form you have. So youre the creator. Not in the magic wand sense as we think about a Buddha or a magician. Not like that. In an evolutionary sense. We might say Mr. Smith of Smiths Microphones that creates the microphone, but we know its not just some magical thing. Its process of cause and effect, you take this, and put this, and process this and it goes to this, intricate putting together of many causes and conditions is what produces the microphone. Well the intricate coming together of many causes and conditions is what produces Robina. Shes not some invention of somebody. Buddha says that superstition. So any questions about karma? This presentation it very briefly but any questions about karma then we can go into it a little bit more?
The Four Conditions in Place for an Action to Bring a Fully Ripened Result
All right. So lets talk a little bit more then about the mechanics of how we do actions, how we create karma. Create is a difficult word because we put magical meanings onto it. Just do, thats it. Whats this process of sowing karmic seeds? How does it work? Theres many ways of talking about this but I find this a quite useful way. In order for any action we do, lets say an action of killing that ant, I always use that example, lets say theres an ant on my kitchen sink, in order for the action of killing that ant to leave a seed in my mind that brings the fully ripened result of future in this case, suffering rebirth and indeed many as a result of that, because remember one seed brings many fruits, karma expands in order for that action to be a fully ripened result that is to say for it to ripen at the time of my death and to throw me into a lower realm, there need to be four conditions in place when I do the action. The first and the most important is 1. intention, is the mind engaging in the decision to kill. Intention actually is synonymous with the word karma, which is really interesting. Action, intention: its mind, finally. Of course, we use our body and speech to carry out that intention, dont we? The first one that needs to be in place is the intention to do it. Then of course, there has to be the 2. object, in this case a living ant. Then there has to be the 3. action, in this case killing the ant. And then there has to be the 4. result, in this case the death of the ant. Roughly speaking. Actually they say the death has to occur, for it to be a fully ripened result it has to occur before you die. Technically.
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With Intention: The First Main Factor: Motivation

So now lets look at intention, this is the most important. So once there is the intention to kill the ant we then now have to dissect that intention and we see there are many factors playing a role in that intention. And in fact the main one of all is the reason why you will kill. Its so utterly coming together at one moment for us, we dont analyze it like this, but if we do break it down we will see very obviously if I have an intention to kill an ant there must be a reason Im going to kill the ant. And the obvious reason mostly is what? How dare that ant be on my kitchen sink. Whats that state of mind? That is called aversion, which is the state of mind that is, when its more volatile, called anger. Now you wouldnt think youre being angry with the ant but thats basically what it is. Aversion is the direct opposite of attachment. Attachment is the overdeveloped dependence upon something as being a cause of your happiness and then a hankering for it. Were going to go into this in high school. Aversion is the direct opposite. How dare that ant be on my kitchen sink.Aversion is the response, in fact, when attachment doesnt get what it wants. And thats aversion. Expressed strongly, its anger. Okay, I mightnt smash the little ant with fury and rage, but theres certainly aversion there, meaning dislike of that ant, and its based on attachment. How dare it by on my kitchen sink disturbing my peace. Thats aversion. Now thats a pretty intense state of mind. Its far more powerful than attachment. Attachment is the source, but aversion, and therefore anger, is the most violent therefore the most harmful, therefore the deepest negative karma. Just naturally. So the motivation, the reason I want to kill the ant, the reason I intend to is because of aversion. Its obvious.
Motivation Is Most Important

So the motivation is the most important one. The motivation determines, in fact, the actual quality of the action and determines the karmic result, the quality of the karmic result. The motivation is the main thing.
What Makes an Action Negative?

So from looking at this, lets go a bit further into this now, analyzing just why a negative action even is negative. If Im a Christian, I will say a negative action is that which God says is negative. You do what he says. Im not complaining, but thats the Christian view. And its not the Buddhas view. So, broadly speaking, Buddha would say, Dont harm others. And the simplest reason is, Hey, they dont want to be harmed. I mean like duh, you know. Check yourself, its very obvious, its a very good way to lead your life. But lets look into it more intricately, because we could say that killing is harmful; its very obvious no being likes to get killed, no being likes to be lied to, no being likes to be stolen from. This is fairly evident. But this is interesting because that is not enough though in order to determine whether the action you did was negative. This is a really crucial point. Its extremely important. In general, Buddha would exhort us all dont kill, dont harm, dont badmouth, dont lie, dont steal, dont this, dont that. Good enough. If you want to accept that, good enough. Fantastic already. But if you want to get more deeply into really understand the mechanics of it and I think its extremely important, we must do that to see why he says it we can look into these things and see what
it is that makes something negative. So were going to do this more intricately when we look at the mind in high school coming after karma. In general we can see, if we just get a bit of a sense of what we think of as negative actions in this world, we pretty much agree: killing, lying, stealing, badmouthing, theres fairly common agreement. But that does not mean then when you kill that you necessarily create negative karma. Why? There are various things. Lets take an example of Paula. Lets say Paula has an ant on her kitchen sink but lets say she has no idea its there. Shes chatting to her little daughter and being kind and giving her daughter her dinner and she mistakenly kills an ant. She has no intention to kill right? Therefore no motivation to kill. But the object is there, she does an action, and the ant dies. But theres no intention. You could argue she creates virtually no karma, good or bad. You see my point here? Its very obvious. Karma is intention mostly and then followed through with the body and speech. Whereas my ant: I intend, I see it, I have aversion, Who do you think you are! Kill! Now as far as the ants are concerned they couldnt care less whether you know or dont know. Theyre both dead, right? So from the point of view of objectively looking, two ants are dead; but from the point of view of the doer, very different karma created. And it makes sense from this point of view. Its very interesting isnt it? You create virtually no karma because your mind didnt engage in it. Student The being of the ant, depending on the degree of sentience, it would register the difference. Ven. Robina No and thats not the issue here. I doubt very, very, very much. Lets leave this for a minute. No questions for a sec, let me finish the little picture then we can talk about it. So okay, in general the point Im trying to express here most of all is how we as individuals create our karmic actions and this is what we really need to be aware of in order to protect ourselves. This is the main issue here. Were not discussing the ant here. Thats okay, your point is fine, but the issue here is the karma that we create and how we determine what karma we do create and how we begin to protect ourselves. So another scenario could be Jennifers got an ant on her kitchen sink and this little ant has got its legs mangled because she has somehow hurt it by accident. And there she is reaching out with compassion: Oh this poor little ant, I cant believe it, Ive hurt this little ant, look at it suffering. Her little heart is opening up with compassion. So then she thinks, like a lot of us do: Oh I must kill it and stop its suffering. So then she has an intention to kill, right? Theres an object there, the ant, she does the action and the ant dies. But look at her motivation. So again a third ant is dead, it doesnt care, it knows no difference. Three ants, three dead ants. From an observers point of view, three murders over there: Paula, Jennifer and Robina. But from the point of view of each of our minds, one had no motivation and no intention, one had a pure motivation and one had a lousy motivation therefore, karmically each of our actions leaves a different type of seed in the mind and will ripen in different ways. So karma is not punishment, is not reward, its an organic natural law. If theres complete un-knowl3. Presenting the Path 93 Discovering BUDDHISM at Home
edge in your mind you can almost say you create no karma. If theres compassion in your mind you could say you create almost good karma. And aversion in mine, I create bad karma. So meaning, what we think is what does that to our mind. We are the doers of that thing. So again, in general we can assert, Buddha would say, dont kill, that killing is labeled a negative action. Thats a correct statement. But you can see when it comes to the person who kills, you dont know, mind your own business, back off and dont judge. But when it comes to yourself, you can learn to see deeply. This is extremely important.
Compassion Is Not Enough

An interesting issue with Jennifers scenario, from Jennifers point of view, she even probably created some good karma because her compassion was so strong and her wish to save this ant from suffering was so strong. But, as His Holiness says, Compassion is not enough or Lama Zopa said this I think you need wisdom. Meaning well, is not enough, as Rinpoche says. You need wisdom.
We Need Wisdom
So what does that mean? Well in this case, that means you have to have the wisdom. . . Okay, let me use an example. Normal ordinary life we know perfectly well if theres some kind of action were going to take, we need to know the consequences of it, dont we? Before we take the action we need to know the consequences. We need to be well informed. Lets say you go up to Nepal and all the people have got cataracts, a lot of people have got cataracts up there. And lets say you go to Nepal and you see all these people with cataracts and you go: Oh my goodness, these people with cataracts, I cant believe it, Ive got so much compassion, I wish I could help them. Right? Now then you rush off with your scalpel, starting to cut their cataracts out. But you didnt check that youre not a surgeon yet. Now we would never do that, would we? We are not so stupid that we would suddenly realize were not capable of helping. Our heart is breaking, wed like to help but youre not informed. You havent got the wisdom to know how. So theyll thank you for leaving them with their cataracts. We would never do that. We understand that really well, dont we? Now when it comes to killing an ant, because were not used to thinking that an ant has got a continuity of consciousness, and were not used to thinking of ants with karmic imprints in their minds, and were not used to thinking of an ant just like us determining its future life based, not it determining, but its future life determined by what is arising in its mind at the time of death. Were not used to thinking this way, but this is the Buddhas view. An ant just like us. If it dies with a freaked out mind then we can fairly much deduce that if its already got its little mangled legs, its poor little mind is freaking out and then Jennifer comes along and stomps on it even more, then its going to be freaking out even more. So its more than likely that its going to ripen its negative karma, which will cause it to go from the frying pan into the fire to even a worse life. So if youre thinking in that point of view, then just to kill it is just a self-serving action. Not trying to be mean about it. We all do this. We mean well, but we havent got the wisdom to know if it really will benefit that sentient being and that means of course in terms of its future life, which is the Buddhist idea. So its a big issue really. And this is the same with killing your grandma too, putting your little doggie down as we call it, putting it down or going to sleep, all these euphemisms. Its the same issue. Youve got to have enough wisdom.
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In fact, often in the teachings Buddha would say before you really know how to benefit sentient beings, which is the compassion and love wing, youve got to have clairvoyance. Which is a shocking concept, but this is very much how Buddha talks. Youve got to have the skill to really actually see the mind and the karma of those sentient beings before you really know how to benefit deeply. But of course its a relative thing. If youre not a doctor, but you know some small thing you can do to help a person with their cataracts, you do that much. So the deeper your wisdom, the more you can benefit. The same here. So you mightnt need to have clairvoyance but you have enough sensitivity because maybe youve got some confidence from karma that you know better to protect the ant and put it in a safe place and blow a mantra and protect it at least so it can die a fairly peaceful death without being eaten up by another creature. So thats the best you can do. But allow for its own karma to ripen in its own way. If you can have more knowledge, then you act more. This is the approach here.
Motivation Behind All Our Actions

So the point Im really making here though is, in terms of the actions we do every split second, every one of them is motivated by something. Just naturally. Your mind is always motivated by something. The trouble is when it comes to stuff that were very habituated to do, the usual stuff we do, the negative stuff especially, because were so hardwired to do it from much practice, we dont even break it down. We dont even notice we have the intention; we dont even notice we have a motivation, its just all on autopilot. And this is why we need to slow the whole process down into slow motion and begin to observe our mind very, very deeply, which is why you have to do concentration meditation so you develop the skill to see yourself really clearly and to deconstruct your motives, your intentions, why you do things and begin to change it. This is what youre supposed to do. Its a very intelligent process, actually. Now another under the heading of intention, motivation is the key factor that actually determines the quality of the action in terms of the karmic result that we will get, not someone else judging you, nothing to do with it. I can think of some of our friends in prison I know from discussions with them, those whove told us what theyve done and we never asked them but like one guy I know whos killed. And when he talked about it Ive known him for years now, hes a very sweet guy and enormous good heart but very foolish and so actually he ended up killing somebody in defense of someone else. And you could even tell from how he talked about it there wasnt too much anger there but there was really a wish to harm, to defend. It was a dumb action, you know. So now hes got a life sentence. So hes called a killer, hes a murderer, and anybody who thinks about him is going to wish he goes to hell, and so on and so forth. But you know his intention wasnt so severe. It wasnt really to harm, it wasnt brutal. As far as the world is concerned, a killer is a killer is a killer but each person is different. Each person has got a different set of reasons, and a set of motivations. Until we know that person intimately, we cant afford to say too much. We cant afford to judge, we dont know.
With Intention, the Second Main Factor: Habit

So theres another thing under the heading of intention, another factor that plays a major role in the karma we create, and that is the extent to which its habitual. And this is a very powerful one. Why most of us dont even notice what were intending, much less motivating, for many of the things we do, is
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because were on autopilot doing them. Theyre just second nature. You look at the last time you killed a mosquito in the summer lets say we used to do this maybe. Even while youre just chatting away being friendly; you dont sit there having this intention, Im going to kill that mosquito. I hate that mosquito with great passion like the Israelis and Palestinians kill each other. Not that kind of high peak loathing. Its just spontaneous. If someone said, What a cruel person you are so angry. Im not angry, Robina. They werent, it was habit, thats why. It was so spontaneous it was second nature.
The Fisherman
One of the examples I often think of is a friend of mine whose son was a fisherman all his life. Since he was a little boy she said he was attracted to the water like a magnet. He even called himself Salmon. All his life he was a fisherman. So for him, because he had this deep habit to kill that he brought with him from past lives because it was so habitual he didnt ever think of it as bad. Even now most people who go fishing ... I remember watching something on Fox television, one of those dudes, one of those very volatile people on Fox television. Im not complaining about Fox television, Im just saying about one of these people. I dont know what his name was but he was very volatile and very conservative. And he was interviewing one of the PETA people, about how theyre now finding evidence that fish suffer. Well, this guy was just absolutely panning the PETA man, calling him a stupid idiot, and you fool, and he laughed at him and thought he was the dumbest person in this universe that he dared talk about protecting fish. It was like hilarious. And you can imagine all the people that have that same view would agree, idiot PETA maniac, fool, thinking that fish suffer. Well, most people think that. I dont think it takes to a rocket scientist to check a fishs behavior. I saw on the television recently, listen to this one, somewhere in China where the need to have the freshest fish is paramount so theres a way, this big fish, they cook the fish without killing it. They serve it on the plate and its being eaten, taken its flesh off. And its little mouth is going [open and shut, silently]. Because all it can do is do this. Now if it was a pig, a pig would make a very big noise and youd be embarrassed to eat it alive because it would be so disturbing to your mind. But because fish dont make a sound and its little body cant move very much, its mouth is just going [open and shut]. Its being eaten alive. The thing is, bad enough that the fish is suffering, that it cant express it, but our ignorance that we cant see that that is suffering. Even the guy who told the story on the American television channel, most people would laugh. Because theres unbelievable ignorance in our mind about what a sentient being is and how it suffers. Its amazing isnt it? Its fascinating.
Habit Blinds Us
Ignorance is incredible because thats coming from the habit. When the habit is so strong to do anything, including good, you do it spontaneously. So this little boy, age three, having compassion for the lice: that stands out for us because its so unusual. That means he had compassion habitual in his mind from past practice. Just spontaneously compassion at the age of three. Most of us: the opposite. This is the killer of habit because you dont even know what youre doing. And this is the tragedy about negative karma, negative karma is that the more habitual the negative action is, the more easy it is to do
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it, naturally, the more you meet the conditions, the more you meet the fish in other words, to kill. And therefore the more blinded you are from even seeing the fish is suffering, because this is how the mind works; and its very fascinating. Were again going to go more deeply into this in the second part about the mind. One of the consequences of the habit to do something, when were attached to doing it, one of the consequences is because what we do with habit is what gives us pleasure, we go towards it like a magnet. Whatever you go towards like a magnet is to satisfy attachment and then what it does is trigger a good feeling in your mind, your pleasure. So that blinds you from seeing the harm youre doing to others. So I used to get really angry, harm people with my mouth because I was so caught up in my own righteousness, you understand, we all know that one, that you dont even notice that you harm that person until afterwards when you calm down and you feel mortified. Someone else with patience is standing right next to you and they can see the suffering of the person youre shouting at, but at that time you cant see it. Were all familiar with this. And this is the killer of the habit to do negative things. It blinds us even from seeing the harm were doing because were so caught up in our own stuff, our own junk, our own righteousness, our own attachment. So BTK, exactly this one. He knows what he was doing was wrong, but as he said it was his sexual fantasies. So Im talking about the mind more now but were going to go into this. We do what we are attracted to doing. So it happens to be that for some people they get their kicks from torturing. Animals get this. We get our kicks from having sex with people or enjoying our chocolate cake, the normal stuff and we dont get criticized for this. And thats okay, Im not criticizing anybody. But some poor people bring these animal tendencies with them and then of course, theyre the ones that are evil monsters. But he couldnt stop doing it because he got such a pleasure from it. Thats not an excuse. Check yourself last time you couldnt stop getting angry. Joan talks about her depression. Its there like a constant tune in her mind. Its not a question of not stopping it, its just there all the time because its so strong, some karma from the past. Its just there. So this is where Buddhas view, of understanding karma very clearly, understanding objectively what is morality and what is killing, what is lying, why is it bad and then you have it as a basis and you use that to look at yourself. Then you start to see what your own tendencies are and you realize you do have a tendency to kill and you see how you go towards it like a magnet. And you have a tendency to lie, and get depressed, and do this, and do that, so objectively you realize, okay, I dont want to do this, its an old habit so Im going to slowly start planting the new seeds. You dont make it go overnight but its an effort to go against it. As we all know, that point where these two meet, thats practice.
We Follow Our Tendencies

To practice youve got to go against the status quo. Youve got to look at the status quo and see what is valid, what is not. Because you also might have a strong tendency to be generous. Dont stop that, increase it. But youve got to have a good reason to. The good reason we use now for continuing to do something is because its our personality and therefore we think its good. We use the wrong logic. Its good if its beneficial to others and its motivated by a pure reason. So generosity, keep doing it. Fantastic! Anger and lying, stop because its not fantastic.
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It needs a lot of precision and a lot of analysis and intelligence to really see your mind carefully. This is how karma works, its very interesting. And every sentient being, from your lions, to your humans, to your giraffes, to your BTKs, to your Hitlers, to your Stalins, to your Mother Teresas, all the same law. A bunch of tendencies and so we follow our tendencies. We think this is who I am, I made this way, I didnt ask to get born, OK thats cool. So the naughty ones you try to hide because no one will like you but you keep doing them, then you have guilt and so we just keep going in circles. Its crazy. Its incredible. So the point Im making here is the four things that need to be in place in order for an action we do to bring the fully ripened result. Killing has to be the intention, the object, the action, the result. The intention has got a motivation. If its a negative motivation and its a habit, then youre just in the mode of killing. This is why most people kill mosquitoes, kill rats, kill roaches, kill fish, kill bears. Look at the human world: most people kill something, they mightnt kill humans. People in the wars, snipers, multi-murderers, they have the tendency to kill, humans in this case. So its okay if youre in an army, youre given the right to kill. But my gangster friends, the Mexicans in the prisons, there are not given the right so theyre called gangsters, their called evil. But the guys, the snipers in the Army, theyre given medals. So in Buddhas terms, karmic terms, its so arbitrary. Youve got the karma there, you could say that a person who is in the army, who is a sniper, whos got the karmic tendency to kill and is very good at it gets a medal. Thats the experience similar to the cause of good reputation. So they kill, which is a tendency, which will cause them to have enormous suffering, even though its legal. But theyve got the karma to be respected for it; thats a separate set of karma. A person in prison whos a gangster whose killed a few people, I know a few of them, theyve got the tendency to kill but theyve also got the bad reputation because theyre called a gangster. Its outside the law. So theyve got the bad experience similar to the cause, a bad reputation, and theyve got the tendency to kill. And theyre not respected for it. But the killing is the same. Okay, let me finish just a little bit more and then well have questions about karma.

Okay now a few questions about karma before dinner. Yes? Student I remember an example of a man I think it was World War II, he didnt want to kill but he ended up being a soldier and he knew in this particular situation that he if he didnt kill a small number of enemy soldiers that hundreds of his own would be killed. Ven. Robina Okay lets analyze it. He had the intention to kill right? There were objects there, living beings. He did the action and they died. Now, what was his motivation? Try and imagine. Student To protect his own people. Ven. Robina Now whats George Bushs motivation for killing the Iraqis? Just keep looking at it, Im not
trying to be smart or anything. Lets analyze it carefully. What would be George Bushs motivation for killing the Iraqis? What do you think? Give him the benefit of the doubt, whats his motivation? Whats his motivation from the good point of view? To protect Americans! Student Or his way of life. Ven. Robina Whatever it might be. So what would be the motivation of the Israelis to kill the Palestinians? To protect their people. And what would be the motivation of the lion to kill the tiger? To protect its people. Now, whats new? Thats why people all kill each other. Now the thing is in the Western world we would say defending others is a reason to kill. But the Buddha would make it more subtle and he would say its not enough. Everybody kills for that reason. You have attachment for this group, so you defend them. You hate that group, so you kill them. Thats not virtue. Thats delusion. Thats how come the Dalai Lama doesnt kill anybody. Because it doesnt help. Okay then, there are infinite variations on that variation you just gave and we can discuss that more carefully but in general here, the main thing that makes an action of killing virtuous is the motivation, compassion not for someone else, but for the person youre about to kill. Now thats a rare thing. You see my point? Thats what the compassion is. Not for someone else, everyone has that. Osama bin Laden has enormous compassion for his people. I think hes an amazing person but he has this immense rage towards the Americans and all the infidels, so thats not compassion. You just destroy your compassion. Unfortunately thats the level of compassion we all have now. When I was a political activist I had enormous compassion for all the poor people, but to that extent I hated all the rich. I had enormous compassion when I was a feminist for all the women, but I hated all the men. You just cant do that, you know? You look at a man who kicks a dog, you have enormous compassion for the dog. Next second you want to punch the guy in the face. And its the victim mode. So real compassion, which is the one the Dalai Lama is talking about, which is Buddhas one, youve got to have compassion for the person in front of you and then maybe theres some benefit because its for their benefit. Otherwise its not for their benefit. Now that guy in the army, it would seem to me from hearing the story you just said, he was reluctant. He didnt want to harm anybody. But you see he can probably even kill people reluctantly, so you say he probably didnt create that much karma because his mind wasnt full of aversion. Youve got to see whats in the mind. Its not superstition. He didnt have aversion really for those people. From what you just said, it doesnt sound like it. To that extent, he didnt create very negative karma. So every person is different weve got to look at it so carefully. Yes Joan?
Eating Meat
Student What about your karma if you eat something that someone else has killed? Ven. Robina Lets analyze the action. So there in front of your plate is a piece of flesh, right? That we know was the body of an animal one time. So lets look at it. Did you have the intention to kill?
Student No. Ven. Robina Was there a living being there, in front of you right there? Student No. Ven. Robina Did you kill a sentient being? Student No. Ven. Robina Did you ask someone to do it? Student No. Ven. Robina But it was done along there somewhere. Someone else did it, right? At some point. Student Yes. Ven. Robina Did the animal die before you? Student Yes. Ven. Robina Okay, so that ones in place but the other three arent. Now this doesnt mean that everything we do doesnt have some karmic result. You cant say it doesnt because everything really is interdependent. Theres no question. And if we look at say for example, lets take for example in India. Tibetans have always eaten yaks and things, meat. There are very rarely vegetarian. Its just the way their culture was, very little food and they never when out and killed anything but if there was meat there they ate it. So in India though, when they all lived down in the monasteries there, many of the local shopkeepers started killing animals in order to provide the meat for the Tibetans. So His Holiness was almost in tears, someone told me. This has to stop, you cannot do this. So that would be really heavy. If youre literally helping create an industry where you can see it so starkly where there wasnt one because most Hindus dont eat meat where they actually started killing the goats so the Tibetans could get their meat, this was really, really heavy and His Holiness said absolutely this is wrong. Not being like the Pope or anything but just giving them advice as their father. So in that case, you could say, it would be quite heavy karma. Where literally beings are getting killed directly for you. Now various things in place here. Another factor would be this, a friend of mine in Australia, a monk in Dharamsala, an Australian called Max, he was a member of one of the biggest butcher families in Australia. So, mega rich from what? Killing probably hundreds of thousands of animals. He never did it but he got all of his riches and his good life and his education and his nice sports cars from it. So Lama Yeshe said to him when he became a monk, You never touch meat. No way. Because he had such a strong connection with killing that for him to eat meat would have been a heavy action. Now you could say that someone else whos got no karma with killing and no tendency to kill and never kills and has never had anything to do with killing then to eat meat sometimes, no big deal. So there are so many variations. So many factors youve got to take into consideration.
Student Its in the butcher shop anyway. Ven. Robina Thats not the point. Thats still not the point, were not talking about, were talking more about our own self and the role we play and the karma we have and the tendencies we have. Thats the main issue. So yes, that is another factor. Lets say in the West, you could probably say, that if you eat meat or dont eat meat, itll make virtually no difference to the industry. So of course if its the power of numbers and suddenly five million people stop eating meat, it would make a difference. Its true. If we live in India, that one monk stopped eating meat made the man go out of business. This is ... so you could say it had a big impact. So there are so many variations. Again, theres no saying that theres not some karmic responsibilities. There always is for everything we do, theres some result, theres some connection. In general they say the further away you are from the killing, the weaker the karma. Equally with something good, the further away you are from the action, even though youre connected, the weaker. So for example, the atomic bomb. Theres a lot of history recently, stories about those atomic bomb guys on Hiroshima. The closer you are to the action, the actual bombers, the pilots, the heavier the karma. The further away, the little secretary who worked over there in the thing that processed the letters that came from the people, the scientists, blah, blah, blah, she was still connected but much weaker karma. So everything is relative, everything is important for us to look into it and take responsibility, everything is related to what our tendencies are ourself and our own particular position in the thing. Theres many factors involved.
The Karma of the Fish

Now another important factor, which we never think of in the West, is even if we all stop eating meat, it might not impact upon the industry one bit because animals have the karma to be killed so strongly that theyre are always going to meet a killer. Its a real interdependent scenario. That fisherman, since he was a little boy when he went to the river with his strong intention to kill based on his past karma, the fish were lining up with their little mouths open because they had the karma with him to be killed by him. I went fishing wants to impress a boyfriend who was a fisherman. He was pulling them in every minute. I couldnt get one. I had an intention but I didnt have any karma with sentient beings to have the karma to be killed by me. So I got no fish. So the thing is, probably you could say if we stopped eating meat, which is the usual reason in the West to why we should just stop the industry which is great, its fantastic motive, its a pure motive even if it doesnt stop, its a pure motive, its an amazing thing to do, but dont be fooled into thinking it will stop, because animals still have the karma to be killed and fishermen have a very powerful karma to kill. You talk to some fishermen, not criticizing, looking at karma, theres this immense addiction to doing something. Even fishermen go fishing and they put the fish back. Theyve got to do the process of getting the fish. So the fish will still have the karma to get killed and you end up with a glut of fish no doubt. Which is okay, its not the point here. Killing or not killing them is not the point in the way. Its depending on the tendency we have. So the more strong your compassion to think I must stop eating meat because of compassion for those
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creatures, thats amazing karma for you. Someone else might stop eating meat because they dont like the red blood in their body. Its just completely attachment. Thats nothing virtuous. Some people will be vegetarian but, excuse me, theyll have even organic vegetables that. . . theyre going to bring in this creature to kill that creature so they can have nice pure veggies. Thats actually heavier than eating meat. Using sentient beings to harm each other so you can have pure veggies. Excuse me, how sinister can you get. Theres many ways to see all this. The bottom line is first, were talking about not harming others; then were talking about based on whats in our mind the karma we create in relation to the actions we do. So its quite intricate. It needs a lot of internal looking, its not some absolute answer to everything. Like fundamentalists black and white. Not like that at all. Its time for dinner. So think about dinner, its going to be vegetarian but dont think youre so holy because theres no meat there, because thousands and thousands and thousands of insects have died in the picking and the growing of these veggies. So lets remember those sentient beings who gave their lives for us to have nice fresh veggies, as well as think of the people who cooked it and all the kind people whove done it who shopped and everything and drove there and to and from and all the rest. Think of all the kindness of all the beings. And think of this food as oceans of nectar, not one little plate, and then think of very happily offering it. Now just imagine a whole universe full all the Buddhas and all the holy beings and all the suffering sentient beings, all the humans and gods, animals, pretas, hell beings, bardo beings and all of them experiencing the joy of receiving this food which we happily offer. Lama sang gy lama chh De zhin lama ge dn te Kn gyi je po lama te Lama nam la chh par bl
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Session Four
Motivation
Reminding ourselves of our motivation: We want to do this action of listening to the teachings about karma, to do this meditation on purification, so that we can develop our qualities, so we really can be of benefit to others, no matter how long it takes.
How Karma Works 2

So lets continue about how karma works and about how to purify it, and then we can do the practice. As Im saying what Buddhas view is: there is nothing that isnt a product of cause and effect, causes and conditions, cause and effect, that isnt, theres nothing that cant change. Nothing is permanent. So again, you could say there are similarities between the Christian views, for example of other realms, insofar as when you die you might go to a pleasing experience called heaven and an unpleasant experience called hell. The difference in Buddhist terms is they dont last. Karma is sort of like how much gas you put in the tank is how much mileage you get; so how much karmic energy you put in your tank is how much result you get. A lot of generosity karma ripens in receiving lots of things, having lots of things, getting things when you need it. Morality might be the cause of getting a human life but thats just a human life. The cause for having anything at all on this earth, having even one cent to call your own, this is the fruit of generosity, of giving. The extent of the generosity karma is the extent of the ripening of the karma. Like we think in terms of money and things like this, its a very practical energy. This amount of energy put in gives you this amount of stuff.
Karma Runs Out

The Christian view of heaven is its forever, its the end result. Buddha would argue with that and say its not. It will end, and as long as there is ignorance still in the mind then you will continue to have rebirth. The same with the suffering rebirth, its not forever. Karma runs out, finishes. So, the same with our own life: we might have something go really well, a relationship works for a certain while. Everything is going along and we think its permanent: Oh, I found my soul mate, the love of my life, and then before you know it five years later, ten years later, it all finishes and youre just stunned. You cant believe it. Its finished. No matter how hard you try you cant make it happen again. Karma finished. Theres nothing left. Its like the gas tank ran out, theres nothing left. Karma is like that. Something that could last a long time, it could last a short time. Things change. We can see this. One day youre really rich and famous the next day you want to kill yourself because youre the worst in the world. I mean look at these people going to prison now, being rich and famous and successful and now the bottom of the pile, accused of fraud. A couple of these guys got 25 years,
the Tyco guy and the other one, the Enron person. Twenty to twenty-five years in prison. Effectively theyre going to die in prison. Things change. Karma ripens. So you could say that the experience is similar to the cause of being seen as very successful and of being respected lasted for a while and now the other karma is ripened. You can have all these different things happening in one life; we can see this. Just because youve had it for a while doesnt mean its going to last forever. Things change.
There Are Causes for Everything

So as I was saying before there are causes for everything we have. Its not just a random thing. Suddenly we get money, Oh Im so lucky, I won the lottery. No such concept. Oh Im unlucky, I got stolen from. No such concept. Being stolen from is the experience similar to the cause of having stolen. Winning the lottery is the karmic result of having been generous. People not paying their debts is the result of having stolen, something like that. Whatever it is we experience we can look at the action and we can look at the experience and its not too difficult to see the karmic cause of it. What it might have been. They say that one of the causes of being beautiful, being seen as very pleasing, is patience. The cause of having anything is having given. The cause of people trusting your words, even if youre lying is having spoken the truth in the past. The cause of people not trusting your words, even if youre telling the truth, is youre having lied in the past. Its got an obvious sort of logic.
Why Good Things Happen to Bad People

So again, remember, in this life itself there are three different ways your karma ripens. There is your tendencies; how people see you and what they do to you; and there is the way you experience your environments. You could have one really good one, like living in a very peaceful, beautiful peaceful environment but everyone hates you. You could be living in a really disgusting environment but have a really good reputation. You could be very rich but have no one ever pay their bills. You could be very poor but people give you things. They dont all fit, it doesnt fit that you have that good experiences similar to the cause along with the good action similar to the cause. It can be a mixture. This is why bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people.
My Mind Is Mine
The general thing to get our heads around, the thing we need to get used to, is the idea that my mind is mine, that whatever I say, do and think is a seed in my mind that will ripen in the future, and that whatever I experience now is the fruit of my past actions. There are many causes and factors that have to come together to produce anything, just like we know with the microphone. Its not just one thing. Countless things have had to come together, the work of many, many people have had to come together in whats called a microphone. The same with this person. Many, many, many factors involved, many conditions, many causes, many things have had to come together in order to produce this person and in order to produce my experiences. Not just one thing. Whereas you think about how we look now, we think its one persons fault why something bad happens. Were very tunnel visioned. There are many factors that come together. So the approach very much here and again, remember were talking on the wisdom wing which has to do with ones own benefit, were not discussing compassion yet, were not discussing benefiting others yet. Thats advanced, that comes eventually. Thats the compassion wing thats like university and like I
said, we are still in junior school. And its very step by step. The main emphasis here is on learning to see that we want to avoid future suffering so we want to learn to abide by the laws of karma, know what to do. Beginning at this point of karma is where we begin to put our money where our mouths are, we begin to practice here: abide by the laws of karma: dont kill, dont lie, dont steal, dont badmouth, dont gossip, dont this, dont that, because you dont want the future suffering.
Its Not Hit and Miss

In other words, the beginning of recognizing karma is already pretty incredible; its developing this very strong confidence that you are the producer of your own future experiences. Rather than this view even if you do think of reincarnation we think its just kind of pot luck, hit and miss, no one really knows why, what; you just kind of cross your fingers and hope for the best. I mean, you dont think of your garden like that. It would be very superstitious, wouldnt it? You have to know what seeds to plant and you can predict what fruits you want. In fact, the very wishing of those fruits determines the choice of your seeds. So its exactly the same here. There is not a fraction of difference. Same principle applies.
The Need to Purify Karma: The Four Opponent Powers

So not only do we need to create. . . refrain from creating more negative karma, we also need to pull out the seeds that we have already planted. Given Buddhas view that our consciousness is a beginningless continuity thats going back and back and back, and its had countless lives and it goes without saying, in Buddhas view anyway, weve had all kinds of suffering lives and done all kinds of negativities, been animals before, been lions before, been dogs before, harmed others before so theres lots of karmic seeds in our minds that havent yet ripened. And so obviously, while weve got this decent human life, we can make some choices to refrain from harming others. We can also use the opportunity to pull out the seeds weve already planted before they ripen. This is common sense. We call that purification. Thats called purification. And theres four steps, the process itself consists of four steps. And really its a psychological process; its your mind engaging in a certain way. Very much that. As one of my friends in Adelaide [Australia] calls it, you can say its the four Rs: Regret, Reliance, Remedy and Resolve. Its called the four opponent powers. The words are obvious, the four powers. As Lama Yeshe says, What purification is is the power of your regret, the power of reliance, the power of the remedy, the power of the resolve. Its the intensity of your own mind engaging in these four steps that is what purifies the karmic seeds you have planted in your mind. So, if Im a Christian, God made me. so therefore, the purification of my sins is dependent upon Gods forgiving me. Its a crucial point. Here its got nothing to do with that. Of course Buddha forgives, hes a nice guy. Hes compassionate, of course hes going to forgive you but that isnt the issue here. Thats not the point. Thats not the point at all.
1. Regret
The point is you engaging in this process of first regretting, taking responsibility for having said and done and thought, or said and done first this and this and this action. So what you do is, like were going to do tonight, is you check your day. You check back on your day what you said, what you did with your body and speech that might have harmed others. So lets say we had a fight with somebody, we can
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really look at something there. Really regret that we said those words and did that thing. But what is really, really important here to cultivate and this is an attitude that we do not have, so it really takes us time to consciously cultivate this is this very appropriate attitude of regret.
Not Guilt
Right now, because were still caught up in ego very strongly, because were so caught up in the a huge attachment to be loved by others and to be approved by others this is a very deep one and we will talk about this tomorrow then we have enormous attachment to how people see us. Therefore we have guilt. And guilt is mixed with the aching sense that we did do something wrong, but the guilt is like a very hopeless attitude that beats ourselves up and feels very impotent and is very mixed with this fear of being rejected and all of this kind of thing, fear of what other people think of us, and were desperate for them to tell us its okay so we will feel relieved. Were desperate for this. Unless we get forgiveness from somebody, we never really feel any better. So were very reliant upon someone else telling us were okay. And the Buddha would say. . . well, the attitude here is not that one anyway. Its very much to do with yourself. His Holiness was one time was asked the difference between guilt and this regret. He said, Guilt is looking into the past and saying, I did this and this and this and this and I am a bad person. Beating yourself up and we all know this very, very well. We recognize we did this and this and this, but we usually make it worse than it is. We exaggerate it and we feel so bad, but we feel so hopeless. We stay stuck in it, like impotent. Its not useful; its a useless state of mind. It drags us down. And really in a sense you can say, its actually not taking responsibility at all. Because were addicted to guilt, were addicted to self-blame. Its very interesting. Thats ironically a function of ego. So regret, as His Holiness says, is very simply its recognizing yes, indeed, I did this and this and this, but then you think, And what can I do about it? So its a hopeful attitude. Its a courageous attitude because youre taking responsibility, youre acknowledging you did in fact say those words and you did in fact do that action and you did do this and you did do this. Youre right, I did! But the regret here is so specific.
Like Taking Poison

What it is here is this: its just like if youve just eaten your dinner and someone says, Theres poison in it. The attitude of regret that you would have then is exactly the attitude of regret that we have to cultivate here. In other words, you say, Oh my God, what a fool! I cant believe Ive taken poison! Quick, wheres the doctor? You rush off to do something about it. You dont sit there going, Oh, Im a bad person, I ate poison, Im so stupid, I ate poison. Every day youre getting sicker and sicker and, Oh, Im such a bad person, I ate poison. I mean, how useless right? Youve got to do something about it.
Reliance on the Doctor

So regret is an attitude that acknowledges that you did something, but because you have the view of karma and this is the point you acknowledge, Oh, my God, what a fool, I did that. If I leave that seed in me its going to ripen as my suffering and. hey, I dont want more suffering. Quick, wheres the doctor? Turn to the Buddha. Thats the attitude.
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Consequences for Ourself

And I tell you we dont have this because. . . why we dont have is because we have no sense in our life, emotionally and mentally, no sense that there are any consequences to myself of what we do, say and think. We know it when it comes to food we eat and cigarettes we smoke and things we do that affect the body are you hearing my point here? We know theres a consequence to eating bad food, we know theres a consequence to myself of smoking cigarettes, but we dont really know that theres a consequence to myself of lying and stealing and killing. We kind of think if we get away with it and no one sees us its okay. Its a bit like that, this attitude. We dont notice there are consequences to ourself of what we do and say with our body, speech and mind in terms of our own happiness and suffering. This is the view of karma.
Blame or Denial
So its a very marvelous view actually. Its sort of something very organic. Its very powerful, because it demands you take responsibility. Because the usual mode we have is this guilt or this blame. What do you mean, I ate poison? Its his fault! Go to the doctor, Robina. No! I didnt do it. Its his fault! Thats how stupid we are. Guilt is just as stupid. We also have the other one, we have denial. What do you mean I took poison? I did not! We either have guilt, blame or denial. I mean, how useless. This one is: acknowledging it, as painful as it is, but recognizing its just an old karmic habit, recognizing that it doesnt define you this is extremely important but its nevertheless a habit. And that the doing of it is what deepens it in your mind and thus causes you to continue to have suffering. And you know what, youre tired of suffering. Youre fed up with suffering. So actually this attitude of regret is not beating yourself up at all. Its a really healthy attitude that acknowledges there are consequences to yourself from what you do, say and think and it actually acknowledges a very sound sense of selfrespect. Because you know you dont want more suffering, and you are tired of suffering. I deeply regret this from the depths of my heart. I regret killing others. I regret killing. I regret lying. I regret stealing from others. I regret harming them because I dont want the future suffering of the seeds that will ripen in my future. So youre not looking at others yet. This is the second step here; we look at compassion in the second step of this practice. This first one we have to cultivate, its like compassion for yourself, based on the recognition that what you do and say and think produces your happy or suffering experiences. So its quite tasty, you know. Its very grown up. Take responsibility. But for kindness, not the usual habit of beating ourselves up. So we have to consciously change the words. Say these words: I regret this because I dont want the future suffering. Regret, in and of itself, has no meaning. Why do you regret? Usually its because someone wont like us anymore, because were fearful of being rejected, its totally self-centered. Here, its because were taking responsibility. So its something we have to cultivate. So you really could say that it does demand, doesnt it, that you have a good relationship with yourself, a respectful relationship. Its extremely important. This is the first step. Its so important. If you cant acknowledge youve taken poison you cant do any of the future steps. You cant find the doctor. You cant take the remedy. And you cant resolve to never do it again. So youve got to first acknowledge that youve done it, said it, thought it.
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So the first thing you do, we contemplate just the things we said and did today with our body and speech that harm others. Then we think of the main things in this life, the old ancient old habits weve got. Then we think of our mind, the anger, the depression, the jealousy, the fear, the low self-esteem: we deeply regret these. Even if theyve not harmed anybody else, theyre harming me. I deeply regret having all this nonsense in my mind. Whatever I did in the past that caused me to have this habit, I regret it from the depths of my heart because I dont want future suffering. Im exhausted. I know that. So then, of course, if it makes sense to you, you can regret whatever you must have done the rest of this life that you dont remember. Most of the things weve done in this life we have no memory of. Whatever Ive done, you think, that has harmed sentient beings in this life with my body and speech I regret from the depths of my heart, because I dont want those seeds to ripen as my suffering.
Regret Past Life Actions

And then of course you can think, Whatever Ive done since beginningless time with my body and speech in countless past lives that have left karmic seeds in my mind now, that I dont remember, of course I dont, but given that my mind is a continuity I must have sown a lot of seeds so I regret them from the depth of my heart. Anything Ive ever done to harm any sentient being with my body and speech; and all the delusions and the ignorance and all the delusions, I regret these from the depths of my heart. Very strongly. Acknowledging, regretting for my own sake.
2. Reliance
So then the second step, reliance. Whom can I turn to, to give me the methods that I can use to purify my mind? This is reliance. Its got two parts: the first part is called refuge. This is the attitude, we mentioned it already, of relying upon the Buddha and so on and so forth: reliance. But let me describe this again, be very clear about it. If we are Buddhists already we bandy this term about. Oh yeah, I took refuge last week. Oh yeah, Im a Buddhist, I took refuge. What does it mean? Lets use the poison analogy again. Lets say you havent taken poison but youve heard about some amazing doctor in Timbuktu who can cure every poison possible, whos got every antidote. You hear about this doctor right. And you go, Oh, thats interesting, yeah sure. And then youll forget all about it. You dont really care because you havent taken poison, because you dont need him. Now watch what happens when you need him, when youve taken poison. Oh my God, whos that doctor again? And youll do anything to get there, you dont care. Now youll absolutely listen to every word he says, youll take his words seriously and youll totally rely upon him because now you need him. Why? Because you dont want suffering. Will this exactly is the attitude of refuge, a person whos wanting to take refuge, rely upon the Buddha. Why would you want to rely upon the Buddha? I mean, what do you want the Buddha for? Think about it. Not because hes just some nice handsome guy. The reason you want to rely upon the Buddha and practice what hes saying is because youve looked into the mind, youve heard about his teachings on karma, and it makes some kind of sense, and you know you dont want suffering, so you know that you need his methods.
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He doesnt purify you, he doesnt make it go away. You do. You need him because of his method, like you need the doctor. But you do the work. So in that sense you rely upon the Buddha. So this first part of the practice, and well do it tonight, you visualize in this case, above your head the Buddha in a certain way, blah, blah, blah, reminding yourself of your reliance upon the Buddha whose practices you wish to use to purify your mind. The second part of reliance is actually where you develop compassion for sentient beings. So why is that called reliance? It sounds curious. Reliance in the sense that youre trying now to develop compassion this is now the compassion part youre now wanting to develop compassion for sentient beings, to think about their suffering. Not your own, thats the first one. You think about their suffering, you think about those you have harmed, you think about those who have harmed you and your heart is reaching out to others now. You have empathy for them. So in the sense here that youre trying to develop huge compassion for others, you need sentient beings, dont you? You need suffering sentient beings. Theyre like grist for the mill. In that sense, its a quaint way to say it, you rely upon sentient beings because you need the presence in your life of suffering sentient beings in order for you to generate, to activate this strong compassion. Compassion isnt some abstract things in your heart. Youve got to think about it and see suffering beings in order for the compassion to come. So, in that sense, you need suffering sentient beings. As one old Lama Geshe Sopa said, bodhisattvas, these highly advanced practitioners, They need their enemies. To develop such compassion you need enemies. Well talk about this when we go to university tomorrow. So the first part is refuge and the second part of reliance is compassion. So you think this way, you contemplate that, the suffering of others and you make the determination I must purify myself for the sake of sentient beings.
3. The Remedy
The third one is the remedy, you take the medicine. So really you could say in this tradition there is a whole medicine cabinet of medicines that you can select. The particular practice well do tonight, the visualization of the Buddha in the aspect of Vajrasattva, and the recitation of his mantra, is said to be a very potent medicine. All the Tibetan lamas really praise it as a very powerful medicine. But, anything here could be the remedy. Going off and helping others, saving the lives of animals, helping the sick, doing something good for others: everything you do thats the opposite is the antidote; thats something that purifies. The particular practice is if course said to be quite powerful; mantras are said to be very powerful so why not conjoin those with something else. Often you can see in your own life youve got the old habit to lie, you can do your purification but in your daily life you can resolve not to do it. But now lets say you kill. Lets say you want to purify killing from having killed in the past, from having an abortion or killing fish or killing all the ants and the roaches or whatever. You regret, you do the purification, you do the practice, but particularly in your own life youd make the effort to go and save the lives of a few animals. Go buy some worms and pop them into the earth instead of having them killed for fish bait. Thats very powerful, I tell you, very powerful.
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If youve got sickness, sickness karmically is the fruit of having harmed others in the past, its the experience similar to the cause of having killed in the past. So by purifying your karma plus going and helping others, helping sick people, can be a powerful direct antidote to that type of action. So you do the practice.
4. The Resolve
The fourth one, as one lama said, is really the most important. Its the resolve to change. So here I think you can say its like the first step, it really does demand that you have a good relationship with yourself, a sense of self respect, and here particularly a sense of recognition, a confidence, that you can change. I think when we look at ego were so stuck in this sense of hopelessness. Im stuck with this, this is who I am. What can I do? So much anguish because of this. Well, Buddha is simply saying its just not true. Things change, its not true. It is whats happening now but you can change. Thats part of the reason so many of us are feeling so hopeless. We dont think we can. So this fourth step is very much understanding the process of karma again and the power of the mind, power of intention. We all know, like I mentioned before, you want to go on a diet but you dont really make a decision to, and so you keep eating too much. Until one day you finally decide then you make this strong determination to change. Thats this fourth step. Thats resolve. You take hold. Based on your confidence that you know you can change you, realistically. . . the things that are really ancient habit, you be very realistic with yourself. Lets say you have a habit to be angry and speak bad words, shoot your mouth off. You know you cant say, For the rest of my life Ill never be angry, Im determined. You cant say this. You cant even maybe say for twenty-four hours. But you maybe can say for five hours; or if youre going to go to bed after you do the practice maybe you can say for eight hours, because youll be asleep and you wont get angry. So youll keep your vow, wont you? Its very realistic and youll feel in the morning very confident because youve kept your vow and the next day maybe you can take it for ten hours. Step by step you take yourself very realistically, you dont just be panic mode. Were usually in panic mode. Oh my God, Im angry again, Im so bad, I cant stand it. We get all freaked out. Were not really realistic about it. If youve taken refuge and if youve taken vows, then you would definitely reiterate your vow: I will never kill again, I will never lie again. Now, we might be scared to say that because we think well how can I be sure? But the point is this: its like when you do AA, youre really doing it for twenty-four hours. Every twenty-four hours youre reiterating that you wont lie, kill, steal for the rest of your life. Every time you do that its like doing pushups every day. You keep getting stronger. You keep strengthening that very determination. Thats how it grows. Its not stuck in stone that youre a killer for ever more or angry. You can change. And so by saying I will never do again you keep reiterating that, you strengthen that capacity. And that is what protects you from doing and saying it next day, just like that vow not to eat, too much food, you know. It protects you. When you go to eat the piece of cake again you remember your commitment, so you keep it and your hand stays in your lap. Thats how vows work. Thats how this resolve, this determination to change works. Its based on confidence in yourself, courage, determination. And it is what makes you change. As Lama Zopa Rinpoche says, We can mold our minds into any shape we like. Its very powerful.
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And when we begin to taste this capacity it is very empowering, because we start to realize I can do something with myself. Im not a victim of circumstances. Im not produced by other people. I can make choices. And that gives enormous confidence, enormous courage. So its a very powerful practice actually. Its a very, very powerful one. But youve got to give yourself the space and time to do it and to think internally, and, as I said, to develop this relationship with yourself: a kind relationship, a confident relationship, a courageous relationship. Its a very powerful practice, I tell you.

So thats what well do. So would you like to ask some questions about karma, any kind for just a few moments? We can answer those and then we can do the practice. Student I do have one question. Ven. Robina What, Sweetie Pie? Student The purification, is it of the karma from today or is it for past karma as well? Or cant we do anything about that? Ven. Robina Well if you look back at what I was saying, Joan, about regret. So from what I said there, what can you deduce from that do you think? How does it sound, what does it sound like Im saying? What do you think? Student For everything. Ven. Robina But can you see, what was I saying it regret? Tell me what you heard with regret. What was I saying? Its interesting to hear what you heard. What did you hear me saying when it came to regret? The first step. Student Im not quite sure. I heard so much today to be quite honest. Ven. Robina Okay. Regret is the acknowledging of various things we might have said or done today, today for start, that have harmed others. Then of this life. So if you think of things that youve done to harm others in this life? Not to be personal about it, but yes, can you for example? Student Oh yes. Backstabbing. . . Ven. Robina You dont have to confess. Im just asking, you can imagine there are some things in your past in this life, even yesterday, day before, day before last week, last year, ten years ago, that you might have done to harm others. You can remember some of those things. Student Of course. Ven. Robina Right. So remember, if the karmic thing is the way Buddha says, every time you did that you sowed that seed in your mind. And as long as you havent taken it out its growing, and growing,
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and strengthening and getting stronger, and its going to manifest as the habit to keep doing it. Or manifest as that kind of thing happening to you. You understand my point here? Student Yes. Ven. Robina So its like a seed you have planted in your mind. Right? So now if you can imagine youve had countless lives, lets say, as Buddha says you have, and youve been animals and youve killed many beings in the past and youve done all those kind of actions too, lets imagine. So then youve sown those seeds in your mind. Unless weve pulled those seeds out, unless weve purified those seeds, theyre working away inside us getting stronger and stronger and will one day manifest as suffering. You with me? Student Yes. Ven. Robina This is a simple way of talking. So now, you dont want suffering in the future do you? Student No way. Ven. Robina You know that because you dont want your present suffering right? So the attitude of regret is acknowledging that youve said and done and thought this thing and this and this and this and acknowledge your old stuff and then you say, I regret having done this because I dont want the future suffering. Youre acknowledging it, youre owning it. Its the first major step. Do you understand my point? So you acknowledge whatever the seeds are in your mind that you havent yet pulled out. You mightnt remember them but it doesnt matter. You see my point Joan? So were thinking of all the countless past seeds that havent yet ripened that are waiting to ripen. You cant purify the seeds that have already ripened, its too late. Its grown. But we regret the things that havent yet ripened. But we regret this. . .because a part of this process is owning it, taking responsibility, acknowledging I did do this, and I have done that, and I do do this, and Ive got this old habit. Rather than all the guilt and the denial and the blame and all the other rubbish we have. You hear my point? Student Yes. Ven. Robina Okay, so thats the first step. Then you think, Well, whom can I turn to to give me some methods that I can use as the medicine here. In this context were talking about the Buddha being our doctor. You with me? Thats the second step. And then you begin to think about compassion for others. The first one is like compassion for yourself. You with me? So you have compassion for others now, those you have harmed. Even by just being the way we are how weve harmed others, even without intention. All the ones weve harmed we have compassion for them. And we have compassion for those whove harmed us, which is tougher, but very important. Why? Because they are going to suffer in the future for the harm theyve done to us. So we have compassion for them. So we think we must purify ourselves for their sake the first one is for our own sake. Then the third step is you do the practice. Its like the medicine you take. And the fourth step is you make the determination to change. Thats like sowing the new seeds in the garden. You with me? Student Yes.
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Ven. Robina Does it make sense now? Student Absolutely. Ven. Robina Okay. Go ahead sweetheart. Student On one level it seems like a very simple thing like a give and take type of thing where it seems like a very balanced thing if you steal from somebody then you will be stolen from and that type of thing. But then on another level it seems like a rather complex thing, because in the grand scheme of our lives, I was just wondering how do certain seeds become placed where they are placed? Ven. Robina Sure. Its sort of like talking about the simple principles of botany: you grow a seed, you have the earth, you give it water, the sun has to shine and then it will grow. Thats fairly easy to understand. If youve never heard of botany before, thats a good start, isnt it? So thats the principle of how botany works. Well, karma is like that; we speak about it in a simple way. But if you want to start working out exactly why and when, and this amount of temperature, and that amount of sun, and that particular time on that particular thing, with the soil this way and turned that way, its highly complex. The mechanics of it. Right? Same here. So we dont even discuss the mechanics. Were discussing the principle. Thats enough for us. I think so. When we get more advanced and we have more realizations, we start to see this ourselves and over the years too, as we keep thinking about it and understanding it, we get more subtle understanding, like anything you do for more and more and more time. You get a more subtle understanding. So we start with the simple principles, which is good enough for us to think about. Do you understand? Yes? Student Its not really a question. I havent taken my vows, kind in the state that you described: I dont want to take them because I think I cant keep them. So for the past three weeks Ive been meditating twice a day and Ive been doing this purification meditation every night. And whats curious to me is that my life generally seems to have miraculously improved somehow. Its very calm. Nothing seems to be going wrong. Im thinking, Is it what Im doing or is the shoe about to drop? Im really quite astonished because Ive never felt this calm and focused. I mean I still make a lot of mistakes, you know, I lose my temper very quickly; and I try to be as conscious as I can. But what Im asking is, while were talking about karma because Ive always had this idea that we do all these things and its for the next life. Its not going to happen now because weve sown so many seeds. How long am I going to have to meditate? Several lives?This practice Im doing its really quite astonished me and Im asking am I exaggerating this, or? This is what Im unsure about. I dont know. Ven. Robina I think there can be a whole lot of different responses. One of the results of doing some practice, of changing our minds, can be exactly like you say. But equally it can also be getting worse: more suffering, more misery, more dramas happening. Depending on what karmic seeds are there just close to the surface that your practice is activating to come out. The dirt has to come out as Lama Zopa says. So with some people its the opposite. They have disasters. But its a sign of purification. But so too, exactly, is this. Nothing wrong, enjoy, be happy. Dont assume it will last forever, things are impermanent. And I think what happens in your practice is we can go through phases. A whole level of stuff we do and things are really calm and then we have a whole new level of garbage coming, and then you ... keep
going deeper and deeper I think. So yes, of course its the result of practice. Just rejoice and delight and be happy about it. Theres no need to grasp at it. Im not saying that you are, but things change. Student But thats my tendency. Ven. Robina Well, we all are, we all do. Oh, now Ive found happiness, now finally everything is okay. Oh wow, phew! Thats what we do. We cant help it. Its very deep. This is the grasping at permanence, very deep delusion, very instinctive. So we just do the best you can, enjoy; and when it changes learn from it, its okay. And all you really see is over the years we get better and better at accepting change, not so much drama you know? Right now we have a mental breakdown every time something changes. But you just get used to it. Its okay, its fine, you just see it for what it is you enjoy, you rejoice, you be happy, you keep practicing and you just keep accepting what comes with a more equal mind. So its great; sounds fine. Someone else? Yes?
Student Im just curious what happened to Salmon? Ven. Robina Okay. Ive told the story many times before actually. This friend of mine, Jess, came to see me when I was in Kopan, in 1992, our monastery in Nepal, and she came into my room crying. She had been hearing the teachings of karma from Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Ive known her for years and she was in tears because she said just recently was the fifth anniversary of the passing a way of her beautiful boy who died five years before, when he was 29. Hed been scuba diving. And he was a fisherman. And he died, so she was just getting over the grief of this and then shes hearing about all the teachings about karma and then like a lot of people thinking, Oh well, he died doing what he was doing. She got very happy for him and all this, and now shes thinking about karma and the way Buddha talks and its all a very different view and it made her completely miserable. She was in tears of grief for this boy that he could be in the suffering realms. It was interesting. She talked about this boy and how since he was a little tiny boy he had this strong tendency to kill, to fish. He went to the river like a magnet, he even called himself Salmon. He loved fishing; he was in heaven in his boat. He became a professional fisherman, for thirteen years a professional fisherman. And then he died scuba diving when he was 29. So its interesting to use him as an explanation of how karma works. On the one hand, you could say there he is with a lot of morality, due to past morality he gets born as a human and a really good life. He has very good experiences similar to the cause, good family, good friends, good environment, born up north there somewhere by the sea, very good environment, many good experiences similar to the cause; much good environmental karma, many good tendencies, kind, compassionate, wise boy, a lovely human being. But he had this unfortunate tendency to want to kill, like so many people. And then because its in a culture that doesnt fault killing its cool to kill, most of our religions even say its cool so he doesnt find fault with it. Because its a habit: he cant see the suffering of the fish: thats the tragedy, that means you cant stop because why would you? Youre propelled by the force of your karmic habit.
So there he is, he goes fishing and hes a successful fisherman, because all the fish come. If the fish didnt come he would have stopped, because he wouldnt want to keep going out there and get no fish and get no money and hed starve to death. Getting the fish was the sign of success, as far as he was concerned whereas, as were talking here, all the fish coming is the karma of the fish to be killed by him; its very personal karma. So because the world sees it as good he saw it as good; because he had the habit, he couldnt see the suffering he was causing. And this is an interesting point: his mother, who didnt have any tendency to kill, she wasnt a fisher person, she went fishing with him just once to please him. She said it was so distressing in this boat, seeing these fish clearly really unhappy. To her it was clear the suffering they were experiencing. Of course she didnt want to say anything, hed just think she was stupid, and he wouldnt have heard her anyway. But he couldnt see that suffering, and this is the point Ive made before. One of the tragedies of the habit to do something negative is youre so caught up in doing it, youre so enthralled by it, youre so attracted to doing it, it gives you some kind of pleasure but it blinds you from seeing the harm youre doing to others. And thats the tragedy of it. So he couldnt see the suffering. For thirteen years, for all his life, for probably twenty-five years of his life seeing flapping fish, never seeing them as sentient beings, never seeing it as suffering, therefore never stopping. You understand? Not criticizing but this is the tragedy of all of us. So he dies ... So, hes born with a human life, which is the fruit of morality. He has this very powerful tendency to kill, which is the fruit of the habit, its the habit of past killing, which he brings with him. He then lives near a river so he runs to the river, finds it attractive because of past connections; loves to go fishing, loves the sea and all these things. So then he kills and kills hundreds of thousands of fish, never sees it as doing harm so never regrets it, never sees the suffering, blinded by it, never seeing all the karmic seeds hes planting in his own mind that will ripen as future suffering for him, never seeing this because we dont think like this; it really needs thinking about. So then the karma of past killing ripens for him and he dies young. Using killing as one example of the four ways that karma ripens, remember? If killing ripened at the time of his past death he would have got a lion rebirth or the fish rebirth or something, but he got a human rebirth. So we can deduce from this that morality was the Throwing Karma that brought the Fully Ripened Result, in this case a human life. But then he had the other three kinds of karma. So he had the first one: the tendency to kill, which is the Action Similar to the Cause. So he spontaneously followed that because it was a habit in his mind, never questioning it. Secondly, when he was twenty-nine, he got the Experience Similar to the Cause of killing, which is you die young, or you get killed, or you get sick. Well, he died young and he got killed. Probably the fish ate him up, who knows what happened down there. So this is the result of past killing. The habit to kill is the result of past killing. The environmental result he didnt have that, the environmental result of killing is the food is really polluted, the water is polluted, whatever you eat doesnt nourish you, it makes you sick; the environment itself is opposite to nourishment. Thats the karmic result of killing from the environmental point of view. So clearly, he had the two: the Action Similar to the Cause, which is the habit to kill,
which continued to increase his habit, just deepened and deepened and deepened and deepened his habit to kill; and secondly he got the experience similar to the cause of killing, he died young, he drowned scuba diving. So hed never thought about impermanence, like the rest of us, never thought that killing was negative, like the rest of us. So there he was, no doubt, in the water freaking out down there, drowning. Who knows how he died? They never found his body or anything, I dont think. You can only imagine the suffering of his mind at that time, freaking out completely. So then the karma of killing, which was so strong a tendency would have easily ripened as the main karma, which would have thrown him into suffering lives. Now the interesting point I happened to say to his mother, Go and see Geshe Lama Konchog, this lama and great yogi and master who lived at Kopan who passed away a few years ago, a great meditator, very realized they say. And so I said go and see him, just ask him. They very rarely tell you what they see, these holy lamas, many of them are clairvoyant. So she mentioned the name of her boy to him and just wanted to know what had happened to him when he passed away. So he kind of accesses his inner computer and he said, Ah yes, first he was born in the animal realms and now hes in the hell realms. Now what was interesting this is incidental now ... first its very rare that they tell you these things, especially a mother but what was interesting ... Often when I tell this story I say that it was really good for her to hear this and she said, in fact, it was; I saw her years later. Because she said when ... she said to him, Oh, my God, what will I do for him? he kind of almost laughed and said, What do you mean, him? He said, Everybody! because there are countless sentient beings suffering. And that was very strong for her mind to have this compassion for all sentient beings. So, its interesting. Its a really good example of how karma works. Take it or leave it, you dont have to believe it, Im just telling you someones experience. So Ive still got Catherines question in mind how do we verify all this and it will all come tomorrow. Okay?
How to Purify Karma: Meditation on the Four Opponent Powers

Just relax, well do it short. Close your eyes because its helpful to focus. And its just a way of thinking, each of the steps, Ill lead you through, you just think a certain way. Thats all youre doing, theres nothing mystical. The third step is you visualize a little bit and do some mantra; if you know the mantra, you join in. If not, I say it and you focus and you visualize what Im saying. So, okay be very relaxed. Just check the posture well talk about this more tomorrow check the posture for meditation. Weve not really discussed this at all or really done any yet but well do a bit tomorrow. Well do a bit now here. Sitting Theres a very appropriate way to sit that makes it conducive for the mind to focus. Theres nothing holy about sitting with your eyes closed and your legs crossed, its just convenient. If its not, you sit in a chair, its okay. If youre sitting in a chair, try and not to have your back resting on the back, keep your back up straight yourself, hold up your own back. Thats important. It keeps the mind very focused.
Sitting
There are eight main points for the sitting posture. The ideal scenario, they would all say, is to be sitting in the 1. full lotus position. Theres something very, very good about the energies in the body when we can really do that. If we cant, thats really fine. All these channels we talked about earlier, they all function very nicely if we can have the body like this. If you cant thats fine, you just sit as you wish. If you cant sit on the floor, sit on a chair, but like I said, if youre sitting on a chair you have your feet firmly planted on the ground and your back is nice and straight, because thats the second point: your 2. back should be really straight. So really its a nice combination of having your bones really strong and upright, almost some tension in your bones, very strong. But the muscles and all the flesh hanging on the bones should be completely relaxed. Its a way of saying it okay. They dont say this in the text but you check that out, its quite practical. Your 3. shoulders, the third point, very upright but not tense. Your muscles, relaxed. Relax your muscles, your shoulders, your abdomen. We hold so much tension in our abdomen; we dont like to look fat. Were so used to holding our muscles in. Relax the muscles, relax the muscles of your shoulders, relax the muscles of your back but have your back absolutely ramrod straight. Shoulders square but muscles relaxed. They say you should think of your spine like an arrow, absolutely straight. And the coccyx is the head of the arrow pointing into the earth. The 4. hands in the meditation gesture or mudra, left underneath, right on top, thumbs touching. Your 5. head should be slightly forward, not thrust back, chin tucked in. 6. Lips apart, tip of the tongue resting behind the top teeth, breathing through your nose. Now it doesnt say this but its really very obvious, we hold so much tension with our breath, we breathe in a very shallow way, right at the top of our chest. So breathe, not loud, but strong complete breaths all the way down to your abdomen, feel your abdomen go in and out. Just for a couple of minutes. Just to check the breath. Breathing through your nose. So now final point is your 7. eyes. All the holy beings, all the meditators, say actually its best to have your eyes open. But most of us probably are so scattered, we dont have enough concentration, its too distracting. So have your eyes closed. But your eyes should be looking down as if you were looking at the ground along your nose. 8. Bring awareness to breath So for a couple of minutes lets just sit in this posture very relaxed, very unselfconscious, and bring all your awareness to the breath. Well just do a couple of minutes of breathing meditation. All your awareness to your breath at your nostrils as you breathe in and out, that sensation. Just focus on that very simply as if your life depended on it. Youre not going to miss one in or out breath. Think like this. Thats the job, just to watch the breath, nothing else. Just to watch the in and the out breath for a couple of minutes. Thats it.
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The Actual Meditation on the Four Opponent Powers

Okay now we can do these four steps. Just engage our mind in this way of thinking.
1. Regret
The first one is regret. So why dont we just think about, say to ourselves the various actions with our body and speech, lets say if we have done any today, yesterday, generally speaking maybe, the habits you have in this life with your body and speech that harm others. Just sort of recall them. Theres a nothing esoteric about this, just speak them to yourself: yeah, okay, I lied; I did this; I did that; had an abortion when I was 23 ... just a few things. Contemplate the things that youve done with your body and speech that harm others. Regardless of your reasons it doesnt matter. Just remember them and say them. List them in your mind, a catalog. And think I regret doing these, I really do because and this is the point now because I dont want the future suffering. These have left karmic seeds in my mind, a habit to do these again and again and this is harming me. I dont want more suffering, Im tired of suffering, and I know that by looking at my own suffering now. I dont want more of this. I dont want more of this. I dont want the harm that others do to me because thats the result of my own past actions, I dont want to continue doing these things because that causes me so much pain and hurt, I dont want more suffering, not to mention lower realms. Its so clear. Thats the feeling to get for yourself, this kindness, this strong recognition that I dont want more suffering. Im tired of it. So of course I regret it from the depths of my heart, I regret these things that Ive done and said and all the things I dont remember in this life that Ive done to harm others. Of course I regret them. I dont want more suffering. And all the delusions, theyre the things that definitely just harm me. I mightnt speak those things but my own depression, my own fears, my own jealousy, my own paranoia, my separateness from others, my arrogance, criticizing others, all the stuff thats floating around in my head. My attachment, my neediness, my anger, my hurt, I regret all of these painful states of mind. Look at how they cause me suffering right now. Not to mention the habit to continue of continuing to have them in the future, future, future. Totally I regret these. How can I not? Because I am so fed up with suffering and I dont want more. And then think of all the things if this makes sense to us - think of past lives, this continuity of consciousness. Countless lives as animals, just that alone can you imagine the harm we must have done so blindly, so ignorantly to other sentient beings. Just completely brainwashed by our own past actions to do these things. I regret all of this. Theres no question. How can I not? From the depths of my heart I regret. Theres no way I want future suffering from these. Theres no way.
2. Reliance
a. Refuge
So now, what can I do? Whom can I turn to, to help remove these seeds from my mind before they ripen in the future as my suffering? So here we are using the Buddha as our doctor. We rely upon the Buddha, rely upon his methods,
relieved to have these methods that we can put into practice for our own benefit. So imagine above our heads the Buddha in this particular form there are different ways the Buddha manifests. First level according to the first two wings of the bird, the Hinayana part of the path, the wisdom wing, its like the monk, the classical image of the Buddha in monks robes with that top knot, holding a bowl, thats the classical image: that represents the first level of practice, which is subduing the body, speech and mind. But here were taking it from tantra and were going to visualize the Buddha in what they call the bodhisattva aspect which is as you see in the other pictures wearing all these like Indian royalty, silken clothes and earrings and necklets and all this type of stuff, all very beautifully decorated. Thats the bodhisattva style. So we imagine the Buddha in this way. Hes sitting the same way we are, above our heads, hes got a white light body, everything is radiant white, sitting on a white lotus, sitting in full lotus position imagine this. Just imagine it. Everything is made of light. In his left hand he is holding a bell which represents the full development of the wisdom wing, and in his right hand he is holding what they call a vajra or dorje (Tibetan) which represents the compassion wing. And they are crossed at his heart which represents the union of these two, which is complete Buddhahood. Its a very beautiful face, sweet, radiant face, sweet compassionate mouth. And the ear lobes, neck and arms and feet are decorated like you see in the paintings. Everything is made of light, radiant light, white light. Infinite compassion, think of this. He is the embodiment of compassion and wisdom. So if you have a spiritual teacher already, youve committed yourself to someone who you call your lama, your spiritual teacher, you imagine its actually their mind, their consciousness manifesting as this Buddha for your benefit. It makes it very personal, truly seeing the guru as the Buddha. If you dont have very vivid visualizations, dont worry about it. Just imagine it, thats all. Youve got to start somewhere, you know. Feel the presence of his enlightened energy above your crown, full of compassion, full of love, full of wisdom. Only wants you to be happy. Like your most precious loving friend.
b. Compassion
So now we go to the second part of this reliance and its really just its own thing. Its where we think of compassion for others. The first step of regret is where we think of compassion for ourself, but now we think of others. This is like the compassion wing part. So we think of those we have harmed: our parents, unkindness to them, our friends, our husband, our wife, our sisters, our brothers, our dear friends, strangers, people we didnt like, so many people weve said mean words to, weve rejected, weve been unkind to. Think of all those few we can think of weve harmed with our body, with our speech. I know how they feel. Think like this. I know what its like to suffer and Ive harmed them. I must change. I must purify this karma so I can only benefit others. Definitely. Now think of those whove harmed you. Much harder. Why would you have compassion for them? Because we think of karma, we know their own harming of others is what will cause them future suffering. For this reason we have compassion for them. Due to their ignorance, theyve done these
harmful things and because they dont have the view of karma either, they dont think they have anything to regret; they hold onto the anger, the resentment that will only cause them suffering. So we deeply have compassion for them. We must purify ourselves for their sake too.
3. The Remedy
So now we turn to the third step, the remedy, we take the medicine. We do a little visualization and reciting of a mantra. This is the medicine were taking, the remedy.
Purifying Negative Karma of the Body

So just imagine from the heart of Lama Vajrasattva, Guru Vajrasattva, above our heads, he sends very powerful like a hose of energy that comes from his heart and hooks around, its a bit complicated making it work, hes sitting quite above your head so it hooks around and comes under him and comes into your crown. Imagine this. This powerful nectar, like a hose of energy, so strong that arcs around and comes into your crown and fills you completely so strongly, forcing out, just imagine this, all the imprints of all the harm youve ever done with your bodies. First stage of purification. All the harm youve done with your bodies, the stealing, the killing, the sexual misconduct, all this, imagine this, all the karmic seeds and this forceful, blissful, energy coming from Lama Vajrasattva forces it out through all your lower orifices and you think of it like filthy liquid. Disappearing into space not one atom left, gone completely. Imagine this, really want this. And Ill recite the mantra three times. If you know it, join in and if not then focus on the visualization and the sound of the mantra. OM VAJRASATTVA SAMAYA MANUPALAYA / VAJRASATTVA TVENOPATISHTHA DRIDHO ME BHAVA / SUTOSHYO ME BHAVA / SUPOSHYO ME BHAVA / ANURAKTO ME BHAVA / SARVA SIDDHIM ME PRAYACCHA / SARVA KARMA SUCHAME CHITTAM SHRIYAM KURU HUM / HA HA HA HO / BHAGAVAN SARVA TATHAGATA / VAJRA MAME MUNCHA / VAJRA BHAVA MAHA SAMAYA SATTVA AH HUM PHAT (3 times)
Purifying Negative Karma of the Speech

So now again this time Guru Vajrasattva very compassionately sends this nectar from his heart chakra, forcefully entering through your crown and this time filling us very powerfully and forcing out through the top parts of our body all the imprints of all the harm weve ever done with our speech. All the bad mouthing, the gossip, the harsh speech, all the behind words, the political words, the criticism, the judgment, all these little things that we do that we think arent so important but somehow build up and they harm people, many people. They destroy our own minds, my goodness. So all of this you imagine forcefully being forced out through the top part of your body, pushed up by all this nectar. Just like Lama Yeshe says when you turn a tap on in the sink all the junk in the glass comes to the surface, doesnt it. Imagine like this. Disappearing like filthy liquid into space, disappearing way over, gone, not one atom left. OM VAJRASATTVA SAMAYA MANUPALAYA / VAJRASATTVA TVENOPATISHTHA DRIDHO ME BHAVA / SUTOSHYO ME BHAVA / SUPOSHYO ME BHAVA / ANURAKTO ME BHAVA / SARVA SIDDHIM ME PRAYACCHA / SARVA KARMA SUCHAME CHITTAM SHRIYAM KURU HUM / HA HA HA HO / BHAGAVAN SARVA TATHAGATA /
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VAJRA MAME MUNCHA / VAJRA BHAVA MAHA SAMAYA SATTVA AH HUM PHAT (3 times) Not one atom left, full of this radiant nectar, filling up, so blissful, all the negative karma of speech gone, all the negative karma of the body gone. Imagine this, want this.
Purifying Negative Karma of the Mind

Now imagine from Guru Vajrasattvas heart this time he sends very powerful beams of light, like laser light, that enters into our crown, instantly filling us. Instantly dispelling all of the negative states of mind, which are the source of our own suffering and the source of the harm we do to others. That means the root ignorance, this primordial misconception about self, the ego grasping, then the attachment, anger, pride, depression, jealousy, fears, all of this. We imagine totally full of this radiant light. Dispelling the darkness instantly as Lama Yeshe, says just as when you turn on a light in a dark room, the darkness is instantly dispelled. Imagine this. OM VAJRASATTVA SAMAYA MANUPALAYA / VAJRASATTVA TVENOPATISHTHA DRIDHO ME BHAVA / SUTOSHYO ME BHAVA / SUPOSHYO ME BHAVA / ANURAKTO ME BHAVA / SARVA SIDDHIM ME PRAYACCHA / SARVA KARMA SUCHAME CHITTAM SHRIYAM KURU HUM / HA HA HA HO / BHAGAVAN SARVA TATHAGATA / VAJRA MAME MUNCHA / VAJRA BHAVA MAHA SAMAYA SATTVA AH HUM PHAT (3 times) Radiant light filling up. So delighted by doing this, like relief. Imagine it.
4. Resolve
So now the fourth step, the most important actually, if you think about it, the one that helps change. We mold our minds into whatever shape we like. So we think, okay, so if weve taken vows already, Ive taken a vow not to kill, vow not to steal, great! I reiterate these. If weve taken other vows like bodhisattva vows, like tantric vows, all of our vows we make this powerful commitment: I will never break my vows again. I will never kill, never lie, never steal, never this, never that. Strongly determine, happily determine to not break my commitments, break my samaya with my teachers, with my spiritual brothers and sisters, my various commitments if Ive taken initiation, all of this. Powerfully, powerfully keep wanting to not break my commitments. So now if we havent taken these vows and we think its possible say: Okay, I will never kill again. With intention, right. Amazing, we can do this. If not, its just fine. I will never kill again, I will never lie again, I will never steal again. With intention. If we can say this, great. If not we give ourselves a timeline. We must be very realistic about this not just sort of beating ourselves up. Its a very practical thing. Like the AA people say, twenty-four hours, day by day. So lets say we have our old habits, our old really junkie habits the things that harm others and the things that of course the harm ourselves, habits internally and the external habits with our body and speech. We each know ourselves very well. So make a determination maybe for 24 hours: I will not bad mouth, for 24 hours. I will not lie for five hours. I will not be angry for a month. Even just take one of our old things and make a determination. Give yourself a timeline and a strong commitment. Its so powerful because that commitment itself is the cause of your capacity to not do it. Not external circumstances, theyre strong, but our mind can be stronger.
So just for a second do your own contemplation. One thing youd like to give yourself a little timeline on. Really strong. And its between you and you, you know? No one else has to know about it. Its your mind. Youre the boss. And in general I will do my best and be honest with myself, know I can change, take them one step at a time, be brave, be courageous, be sincere, make effort to see my mind, to see my actions, and to know I can change. Step by step. How marvelous. Im not stuck with who I am.
Dissolution
So now imagine Lama Vajrasattva, so delighted, like a loving friend, a loving parent, so delighted with us. He dissolves now, you imagine, into white light, the lotus, his body, everything into white light, radiant light that enters through our crown chakra just in front of our spine. Enters into us and imagine comes to our heart chakra where our very subtle consciousness is residing and there merges with our own mind. Just imagine this. This radiant white energy. The Buddhas mind, Lamas mind, my mind: same thing.
Dedication
And now we finish with a dedication. Thinking, How fantastic! Throughout the day listening to all these things, trying to process it, analyze it, think about it, aspire, have courage in my potential, wish to benefit others all of this, how marvelous. This marvelous purification practice we have done, so incredible, so powerful. We dedicate all of this, the sowing of all these seeds, for the sake of sentient beings. And when we do become a Buddha, who else will we benefit? Other sentient beings. So this is for them. Long term, thats why were sowing the seeds. And may compassion, we think, grow and grow in the hearts of all.
Conclusion
So now go into retreat mode. This is really good; its really excellent to do this, this one night; absolute silence. For your own sake. Decide to look just straight ahead; they say yogis look straight ahead. Like youre here on your own, thats the best way to think. Youre here on your own, even if youre sharing a room; youre on your own. Theres no need to be polite. No need to chatter away. Just that we feel nervous sometimes, we feel we have to. But act like youre on your own. Watch your mind, relax, read, go to sleep, go for a walk or whatever you want to do, youre on your own. Thats the way to think. And just process, relax. You dont have to think about anything, let it all sit there, think things through, do what you wish. Seal the lips, thats retreat mode. And retreat mode is also thinking youre on your own, acting as if theres no one else around. Its the best way, its perfect, very freeing for the mind. Just be with yourself. So then when you go to sleep make strong aspirations to see your dreams, to be aware of your dreams as youre dreaming and then of course to remember them, its useful to remember them sometimes.
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Secondly, when you wake up if youre so fortunate as to wake up notice that youre awake, be amazed and delighted recognizing that youre totally impermanent, you have no idea when youre going to die, it could have been today but it wasnt. You didnt wake up in a lower realm, as Lama Zopa said one time. How fantastic! So may I make the most of this precious life, these marvelous conditions that I worked so hard to get so I can keep listening to Buddhas views, think about the meaning, aspire to practice, for my sake and the sake of other sentient beings. In the morning you do this. Then be silent again until the end of the first session. So helpful to be this way, it makes the most of the time. Like a little retreat. So thats it. Thank you everybody. Good night.
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Session Five
Motivation
Well here we are again. Please notice youre still alive. Did you remember to do your homework this morning and notice it when you woke up? It does sound funny to us, doesnt it, but its very practical. So lets just be delighted here: we mightnt feel it but lets start by thinking it. Delighted that we are still alive, that this gas tank of morality that we spent so much energy and time and effort filling last life, which is the main cause of the even why our breath continues to go out. . . Not because youre young or healthy, theyre not the main reasons, theyre secondary reasons; the main reason is past morality, and the main cause of our having a life and the main cause of our having a wish to practice a spiritual path is from incredible practice in the past: many aspirations, many wishes, a strong understanding of morality, of benefiting others. And this is why we are sitting here right now thinking of more than merely eating, sleeping, and going to the toilet which if you break down most life, thats it, thats the summary of it. So how amazing, how fortunate! And how tragic to waste this opportunity, how tragic to waste it. So how to get the essence from it, as they would say, is to use it, as Lama Tsong Kapa says, to use it as a tool for enlightenment. So just sing our little prayer, the first two lines expressing our reliance upon the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, so if you feel you are a Buddhist then you reiterate that in your heart; and the second two lines expressing this altruistic motivation, this wish to use this life to make an altruistic motive, use it for enlightenment, which means so I can become a Buddha, so why? so I can be of spontaneous benefit to others, to fully develop my true nature of empathy and love for others: this is what we really are, mixed with wisdom: the compassion that wants to benefit others mixed with the wisdom that knows how. This is what a Buddha is. And this is our nature, our potential. So may the action of continuing to listen to Buddhas teachings, this lamrim, cause exactly that. Sang gy ch dang sog kyi chog nam la Jang chub bar du dag ni kyab su chi Dag gi ch nyen gyi p tsog nam kyi Dro la pen chir sang gye drub par shog
Overview So Far
So okay, so far we have looked at the first three things as a preliminary for beginning the course to enlightenment, entering junior school.
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The Nature of Mind

The first one was to get some background for us, which we need especially in our culture because we have such different view about what the mind is, about what the mind is, to understand this: in general, that it is something that is not our body, that it is not something created by others, it is something that is absolutely our own. Its a name given to all the contents, thoughts, feelings, emotions, unconscious, subconscious, intuition, instinct, you name it. This is mind, consciousness. That its beginningless, because its a product of cause and effect. This is the law that Buddha says everything that exists functions according to. Its a natural law. And everything, not just flowers and trees and moons, which is how we think in the western world, but everything, especially all our thoughts, feelings, emotions and experiences, are all to do with cause and effect within the mind itself. So thus the mind keeps going back and back and back. The continuity of it itself is a product of cause and effect. If its cause and effect then it cant have a first moment. So this mind of ours is beginningless. As soon as you say it began then, which means it began out of nowhere, then its not cause and effect. Then the whole thing collapses. So given the hypothesis of cause and effect, then mind is beginningless. Theres no other option. But also its extremely important to understand its potential. What is the mind in its nature? What is mind in its nature? Its potentially a Buddha. Thats what our mind is. Whats an acorn, Mum? Oh darling its a potential oak tree. Thats what it actually is, isnt it? It is brown, it is small, it is cute, you can shine it up and use it as jewelry, its true, but its not what it really is. So we are human, we are this, we are female, we are Australian, and we are that, we are something, we are a nun, but thats not what we really are. What we finally are is a potential Buddha. So thats our job. We become a nun, we are Australian, we are female, we are this, we are that in order to help us become a Buddha. Because thats what we really are, finally. That defines us. This is how Buddha talks. So it gives us some courage. Because Buddha would say our mind is naturally pure, meaning this. Its like water. When you say water you mean that pure, clear stuff. You dont mean the pollution in it, thats not water, is it? Thats an additive, it doesnt belong. Well thats here. The virtues, if you like, the positive qualities, they are who we really are. They are our nature, they are what define us, and their full development is what a Buddha is. The delusions, theyre there, loud and clear: check it out. But they dont define us; theyre like pollution, theyre additives. This is a crucial point to get our heads around, that Buddha is making. Confidence to move even one inch forward and our life is based on this idea. So we thought about that.
The Need for a Spiritual Teacher

The next point we think about is the one that Lama Tsong Khapa inserted into this packaging that Atisha developed in the eleventh century; he put this point in in the fourteenth century. He said its really important to think about the need for the teacher. In the texts, its presented very formally and in very great detail, about the need for a guru and how to find one and then how to devote oneself. We just touched very broadly on the main points: the necessity for a teacher and how we go about looking for one. Then the general point having found one, based on our strong confidence this person is valid, is worthy, is valid, can lead me to enlightenment, and then developing the attitude this person is the Buddha. They are the Buddha. And to this extent, I will progress. To the extent of my capacity to do this. One old lama, Ribur Rinpoche, said its the most difficult practice.
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Preciousness of This Human Life

Then we went into Atishas point to prime our minds to really begin to practice, to think about the first step, which is impermanence. He says think about the preciousness of this human life and have a sense of not wishing to waste it, which gives us the energy to even want to practice. We talked about that. This life, weve got so many advantages; and we just do some market research and compare with just other humans, how fortunate we are. Born in a country thats relatively free, weve got a relatively good life, relatively good health, relatively good mind, good conditions, friends, support, leisure, the time to think about other things than eating, sleeping and a going to the toilet or killing others or all the stuff that preoccupies the world. How fortunate we are. So how tragic to waste this precious opportunity. Because all it is really you think about the perfect human rebirth, this so called perfect human rebirth, its a resource. And we all know the meaning of a resource: its something you use to get something. To think of yourself like this, we dont normally because were so caught up in the ego, so caught up in I. We cant get a sense of what the purpose of our life is. So thinking of it this way, you think of yourself as the fruit of an awful lot of morality, so you kind of created this marvelous thing, yourself, and then we spend the rest of life worrying about it. Its like having a knife and getting anxious and shining it and keep shining it and keep sharpening it and keep looking at it and putting it away and taking it out and thinking whats the purpose of a knife and whats the meaning of it and putting it away, doing this, doing that, playing with it, never quite getting what the purpose of a knife is. We kind of waste our lives like this. What am I? Who am I? Whats the purpose of my life? So we shine ourselves up and make ourselves fat, change the shape here, and get that and put this and have another house and put ourselves in it and do all these things, preoccupied with the thing itself. Its so obsessive, so narrow-minded. Get some space. We are this marvelous resource, this marvelous tool that we created, so lets use it skillfully. So right now we use it to eat, sleep and go to the toilet, when you break it right down. Well, dogs are much better at it than we are actually. Theyre very skillful, they dont waste much time and it doesnt cost any money. Really and truly theyre very, very skillful at eating, sleeping and going to the toilet, which is what we do when you break it all down, if were not using our lives skillfully. They dont have to have a house; they just lie down and go to sleep. Then they stand up again, its so unattached if you think about it. But we create entire universes. They say that bedrooms are getting bigger and bigger these days, more grand, more magnificent. Scientists develop mattresses now, just so you can sleep. These great yogis dont sleep at all. According to a Venerable Roger, Lama Zopa Rinpoches attendant, for Rinpoche sleeping is a disgusting waste of time. He doesnt need a mattress, he doesnt need a bed. We spend all that time sleeping and all that time having to go to work. . . getting educated first so that we can go to work so that we can get money so we can buy food, basically. And build a house to keep this thing in, isnt it? Not joking, its sort of true. And then of course, thats the best we can do in this life so we make it more and more important. The type of work we do gets higher and higher, thats the peak of this society, to have a really good job, a really good profession, being really respected doing this
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and this and this, and when it finally comes down to it in this commercial world we live in, scientists are building mattresses, scientists make toilet paper, scientists develop advertising on screens for toilet paper. So all the skills we use are turning into things to wipe our bottoms and things to put in there that go out into the toilet and so you have to wipe your bottom when its finished. I mean, think about it. Break it all down. Its kind of harsh but you cant say its not true. Well, its kind of a waste of this life. Buddha would say what a tragic and tragic and terrible waste. Sure, wipe your bottom, okay, nothing wrong; keep clean, nothing wrong, but have a bigger purpose to life. When you remember your true nature, remember your potential, when you know what your nature is, you know what your potential is, then you use your life to develop that potential. Its very obvious, so simple you know? That doesnt mean youve got to be all holy and go to the mountains, you dont have to. You can if you want to, its a great. Thats the way to go quickly. Meanwhile stay in your nice house, keep your bottom clean and do all those things and eat yourself nice food and have a good education, but have a bigger reason for it. Im doing this, why? So I can develop myself, so I can have space and time to hear the teachings so I can get enlightened. So I can benefit others. Thats your long-term goal. His Holiness in general says do what is most beneficial. Always. And if you have to choose between short term benefit and long-term benefit, choose the long term, if you can. And of course, in this context, future lives, your long term potential. Then you enjoy the process. You can have your food and you can have your nice pleasure and you can have your nice house, but thats not the purpose, which is what attachment says: thats the purpose of life, family, this, this. No, something bigger is the purpose. Its a very reasonable view. If you get so caught up in junior school that this is the purpose of life, if you forget youre getting into junior school so you can go to high school, you lose track dont you? You get obsessed with grade one. Youre doing grade one, great youve got to do it. But its gone soon and you move to the next step. Why? Because youre moving to the next one. Why? So youre moving to the next one. Why? So you can graduate. You have a long-term perspective there. Thats how were thinking here. Get some perspective. So for this reason lift ourselves up out of the misery and the fears and the panic and the worries and the dramas and the toilet paper and all the rest and have this bigger view because thats our true nature. Thats why, its something practical, not something holy, its practical. Because we wont be happy until weve totally removed all the nonsense from our minds and become who were really are. Who we really are is a Buddha. Not it yet. Like an acorn is not an oak tree yet, but its so tasty to say, its as if the oak tree-ness is there bursting to get out. Its like that. When weve have that view, weve got a longterm perspective. We need that. So thinking about this precious human rebirth gives us that idea and causes us to have the energy to want to not waste this precious resource. Its a precious resource, dont waste it.
Grade One: Death and Impermanence

So then that primes our mind ready to enter grade one, where we start to contemplate impermanence. Atisha takes from Buddhas extensive teachings on the nature of how things are in their nature: changing. He takes the particular point about death, our own death, and we contemplate the definiteness of death, the certainty of death. The very nature of coming into life implies death. Death is part of life. We see it as something alien and separate but its part of life. Should be factored in, its something natural. Weve got to factor it in you know. Do things in the context of the definiteness of my death.
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And then of course, the second point is the uncertainty of the time of death. Oh my goodness, I better be ready just in case. Just like youve got your driving test coming up but theyve told you we dont know when its going to be, well let you know. So youve got to be ready just in case it comes tomorrow. Its very obvious, its very simple. Its an example we understand so easily, all the things we prepare for and plan for. Isnt it? We can understand it. You know youre not sure when the appointment is going to be, you know youve got to be ready because it could come tomorrow, boom. Now Im ready. So its the same with death. You dont even get a warning with death. Well, not likely. Youre lucky if you do. Youre fortunate if you do get warning, doctor says. But even then theres no guarantee youre going to die in the six months they give you. Like my friend, he didnt die in the six months. He stayed alive. And another friend of mine on death row is preparing for his death but also going through all these appeals to try to get out, get out, get out and he dies of leukemia. Comes from behind, grabs him. Wasnt prepared for it. Friend of mine went to Los Angeles to help his father die of cancer and he got better. Theyre are all cheering and having parties and he dies of a heart attack the next day. These arent jokes, they all sound so cute. They only sound so cute because were so entrenched in the view of permanent me, undying me, living me. So weve got to shake that. Come to terms with reality, and then theres something natural no longer fear, just natural. So be prepared for death. Knowing I could die at any moment. So then the crux of it is knowing whats important at the time of death. Or given this perfect human rebirth, given this stuff were talking here, this whole viewpoint, then whats important clearly is the virtuous imprints in my mind. Thats it, thats all that matters at that time. Nothing else. Negative imprints are worse than useless. The house, the family, the toilet paper, the gorgeous mattress, the husband, the babies, thats useless at that time, at that moment theyre no help to you. Whats a help to you at that moment, given that your mind continues, is your virtuous imprints. So you better start storing them away now. Very practical.
Grade Two: Suffering of the Lower Realms

So we then moved to the next point in thinking that, Given I could die at any moment, given that Ive had countless lives, and Ive had countless suffering lives where Ive created very much negative karma. . . its just the way it is, were all like it, Buddha says, join the universe. Every living being is like this. What with these countless of imprints. Just a few of the positive ones have ripened to be this package for this life; just a few of them, just a few of our good qualities, as well as a few of our bad. But weve got masses of other negative ones there, from all the heavy past actions weve done; its just how we all are. So if they do ripen, theyre going to ripen as quite acute suffering. And so we looked a little bit, taken again from Buddhas teachings about the whole universe and the realms of existence, we looked a little bit at the suffering of the lower realms. Atisha says we need to contemplate, to think about, the suffering of being just even an animal which is one we can see. Hell beings and spirits sound too abstract for us. But animals, right in front of our face. Use them as a contemplation, use them as a meditation and think differently. Take Buddhas view about what an animal is and just look at it differently, instead of the usual view we have, just remove our own view, because Buddha is saying our view is incorrect and thats for us to find out okay? So he is saying what an animal is, a lion, a tiger, a dog, generally speaking to get that type of a rebirth at the time of death is the fruit of a very negative karma
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ripening. Depending upon the quality of the negative karma youll get that type of life. So a lion, you can see, has much more aggression than say, what are some animals that arent very aggressive? Maybe there arent that many. Student An elephant. Ven Robina An elephant is not aggressive? Excuse me! You see elephants when theyre angry? Theyll destroy anything in its path. Student A bunny rabbit. Student A deer. Ven Robina Deer dont fight when theyre angry? Look at those big antlers. They fight with each other over the girls dont they? Student A rabbit. Ven Robina Rabbits dont fight? Student Penguins. Ven Robina Penguins they dont fight? They dont hurt each other? Student [?] Ven Robina Well there you go. Thats all of it, there you go, join the club. So they have anger. Any animal that doesnt, is not aggressive? Can we think of one? Anyway its an interesting thought. Student Ants. Ven Robina Ants arent aggressive? Look up close, theyre monstrous. They eat each other alive, they do terrible things. They get their dead brother over there they cant wait, they start eating him before its even dead. Anyway never mind. We can kind of see there are some maybe a little more passive than others. There not all predators like the lion are they? Like that anyway, in that way. So, never mind, the point here was, depending on the negative karma, born as different kinds of animals. So looking at just the animal as an example. So how to understand an animals suffering? Theres the obvious one, the very obvious one, of just having not much choice, especially the animals that are used by humans. Forget the others, forget the wild animals; even just those animals being used. But really if you look at even the animal that hasnt got much control over its life. It cant go get its breakfast if it hasnt got food, if its locked up in a pen somewhere it cant do much, theyre pretty hopeless. So the general thing about an animal is its prevalence of incredible ignorance. The same ignorance as
ours, this primordial clinging to a sense of self, but multiplied a million times, such that they mainly function on delusions, they are completely programmed by their delusions. Theres very little virtue. A virtuous state of mind, remember and were going to now go to deeply into this today in high school, we better hurry were running out of time weve got high school and university to do yet, OK Ill speed up on this one. We went through the animal birth weve talked about that. I wont carry on about that. So we think about the suffering of the animals so that we can think wow, thank you very much, I dont want that.
Grade Three: Refuge

So then think whom can I turn to to give me the methods to not be born this way. We turn to the Buddha, we take refuge, we rely upon the Buddha, Dharma, Sangh as we said.
Grade Four: Karma

Now we began to look at what Buddha says. What are his instructions, what is his medicine, now we begin to put our money where our mouth is. Now we begin to practice, we abide by the laws of karma. This is Buddhas deal. Karma: cause and effect. Karma is meaning cause and effect when he refers to sentient beings. Cause and effect is the law as far as Buddha is concerned: we know this in the West from our science, we accept that. Buddha is referring to it in relation to the mind and sentient beings experiences, and when he refers to that he calls it karma, and it means action, as we talked. Every single thing that we say, do and think is an action that brings a reaction. It leaves a seed and brings a fruit. Necessarily everything. Theres nothing that isnt a karma. Nothing we do, say or think that isnt a karma. Everything necessarily is. Just its nature is that, its nature is that it will leave a reverberation or a seed that will bring a type of experience in the future.
Karma expands
Tiny seeds bring many fruits. If you sowed the seed, youll get the fruit. If the fruit is there you must have sown the seeds. Simple points, but if we can start to apply it, its very powerful in our life. Then we touched very briefly on the ten non-virtues, using this as a little guide for living your life. Minimally, at this stage of practice refraining from doing the negative things. Already this is sublime, level of practice, sublime. Harnessing our energy first, beginning to control the body and speech and, to some extent our mind, in this first scope. So the consequence of this and we just practiced this first stuff, if we left school after junior school, if we really take karma away with us, based on thinking about the other things, and abided by the laws of karma: didnt harm, didnt bad-mouth, didnt lie, didnt kill, didnt steal, controlled your mind a bit, youd be a blissful person. And, you wouldnt harm others. Theyd be happy. Its an amazing way to live your life. Minimal level, junior school.
The Middle Scope: High School

But we can go further. So we move into high school. Weve got some control over our body and speech now and a little bit over our mind and now we start to look more deeply into the causes of suffering. One way you could present this second scope of teachings, the second scope of practice, this high
school, is the four noble truths. Wed look more deeply here at what is suffering, the first noble truth is theres suffering. So looking into what is suffering in a deeper way and then looking at the causes of suffering based on the recognition that we can be free of it which is the third noble truth. And the fourth one is doing it.
The Suffering of the Higher Realms

So were getting more deeply here now into suffering. The first level we just talked about the suffering of the lower realms. Here were now looking at even the suffering of having even this life. The suffering in the mind, or caused by the mind. So lets look at this one.
First Noble Truth: There is Suffering

The first noble truth is that there is suffering, Buddha says. In your face, there is suffering. There are three kinds. The first kind is the gross kind of suffering. Basically, the unhappy things happening. Being starving, hungry, living in a war zone, people being mean to you, all the things we call ordinary daily life suffering. And if you think about it very simply, its when you get what you dont want or when you dont get what you want. Thats what we mean by suffering. In our ordinary daily life. Our life is fraught with that. Its very clear.
The Suffering of Change: What We Call Happiness

The second level of suffering in the first noble truth is we dont even call it suffering, and this is the kind where we really begin to look more sophisticatedly now at the way the mind works and become our own therapist. This second kind of suffering Buddha calls it simply the suffering of change. But it refers actually to what we mean by happiness. So all Buddha it is saying is, the happiness we have now is like a honey-covered razor blade. Its actually in the nature of suffering. Because simply speaking, when we get it, it doesnt last and then it changes into what we mean by suffering. Well look into this, just quickly. Its extremely important to understand Buddhas deal, because this really gets into that real tasty approach. . . Karma is one, Buddhas unique approach, this one too is very precisely Buddhas marvelous approach to the mind.
Understanding Why We Suffer

So, to understand this more deeply we need to go into the second noble truth, which is the causes of suffering. Hey, what are the causes? Because if the third noble truth, again as we have talked about in the beginning, if as he says in the third noble truth we have the potential to be free of suffering, we have the potential to be all the way to Buddhahood. If its true, then we better know what suffering is, so we can acknowledge it and recognize it. And then we better know crucially, the causes of it. Just like Buddha is saying, Hey girls and boys, your water is not innately polluted. It can be free of pollution. Its as if with ourselves we just kind of grasp onto the suffering as if it were part of ourself. As if it were who we are. Were all born this way, what to do? well say. Its just the way life is you know. What to do? Buddha says, No. Thats like thinking your water is just naturally polluted, pollution is just part of water. What to do? You put the sugar in and hope for the best, cover the taste up, you know. No, no,
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he says, You can remove the pollution, its not innate to the water. Thats kind of a revelation to us.
We Give Equal Status to Good and Bad

In the West, when we look at who we think we are, at our very nature of self, at the person, we give equal status, you check this, we give equal status to the negative and the positive qualities. We give equal status as far as the person is concerned, the very nature of the self, to anger, love, jealousy, all the good and all the bad. We say, Well I didnt ask to get born. We all start in our mothers womb, somebody else made us, and we dont really know why were like this. Its just the way we are. Were all like this, its just the way we are. Buddha disagrees as you can see. We bring it with us, we do have these things, but he is saying the positive qualities, they are who we really are, they are innate to us, they are the core of our being and the negative ones arent. Its a very interesting point. It needs a lot of thinking about. It gives us all the encouragement to want to do something about it. So if its true I can be free of suffering, and if its true I now know what suffering is, then I better know what causes it. If its true my water will be free of pollution and if I now can recognize what pollution is, I have to mainly know what causes it, because then I can stop doing it. Thats the crucial one. So what are the causes of suffering? Weve talked already, karma is one of them. If something is the result of cause and effect. then youd say whats the main cause of the microphone? Well, youre going to find hundreds of causes, arent you? Youre going to find hundreds of things that came together in order to produce the microphone. You cant just have one. Lets say Mr. Smith made it. We would. . . Oh well, Mr. Smith made it so its a Smith microphone; Mr. Smith created the microphone. But it cant just have that. Its not just that. Its got to be many other things that Mr. Smith had to have: all the other helpers, and the workers, and the people, and the miners, and the this, and the painters, and the designers, and the cutters, and everybody that brings together the microphone. You can blame one person if you like, its Mr. Smith. We sort of do like that. Why are you suffering Robina? Mary punched me. Mary is like the creator of my suffering. But there are actually hundreds of things that had to come together. Hundreds of things that had to come together in order to produce that particular experience called Mary punching Robina. We know it but we hardly even think about it. Because were so obsessed like tunnel vision with the creator of my suffering. There, out there, self-existent Mary, unfair, poor innocent me. She did it. Thats how we think. Buddha says this same view, of God made the world, is the same view. Its the same type of attitude. Its like obsessive, self-existent, one thing created everything. Obsessive, self-existent, one person created my suffering. Obsessive, self-existent, one person created my happiness. Why are you happy Robina? Oh, Joe was kind to me. Joes the cause of all my happiness. Unrealistic, Buddha says, obsessive, tunnel vision, too fanatic, not accurate. There are many factors that come together to produce anything. Countless. Now in relation to learning to get free of suffering, we have to take two main ones. Theyre the ones that if we change those, thats the source, thatll help everything else crumble, and we can get out of suffering. And these two, Buddha says, are both inside ourself, which already is shocking for us. Because Why are you suffering Robina? Its Joe. I mean we think totally that and Im an innocent victim, arent I? How dare you do that to me? Check how we feel. Its very deep inside us, this
innocent I. Self-pity me, as Lama Yeshe calls it. Quite cruel almost, but you check it. Its very true. In other words, we dont factor ourselves into anything when it happens. We dont factor ourselves into anything in the experience of the chocolate cake. We just think: What can I do, this delicious chocolate cake out there. Look at it. Its vibrating deliciousness at me, begging me to eat it. Im just an innocent victim, I cant help it. You check, its how it feels, isnt it? Its how it feels. Thats how we think about suffering as well. Im this innocent victim and things happen to me, things get done to me. I mean, my life got done to me, didnt it? Someone did it to me. Thats how we think. Thats the ego mind. Thats delusion Buddha says, its victim. Its fantasy, its not accurate. So he says we can be free of suffering. There are many factors and causes for it, but there are two main ones we have to focus in on. And if we change these ones, hey, thats the source of enlightenment, its the cause of enlightenment. So the two are both inside myself.
Past Karma
Lets say Joan punches me in the nose. Then the explanation for why this happened, and the first one is the big one, Why me? We dont have an answer for that on our earth usually. Why me? We never can find the answer to this. Why me? Buddha has an answer. He says its your past action, Robina. Twenty-two lives ago, when Joans consciousness and yours knew each other, and who knows what the relationship was because thats how come you even are together again now; theres no way youre going to meet a person if you havent got a karmic connection with them, its not possible. Its bizarre. Its not random. There is a cause for everything. So we must have some connection. Secondly, why she harms you is because you have harmed her. Simply speaking. Remember, if the fruit is there you must have sown the seed. The fruit is: being punched. I must have sown the seed. If the fruit is in your garden you must have sown the seed. You dont think, Who put that seed in their garden? Look at that fruit in mine! Of course its not! If its in your garden, its your fruit, you must have sown it. So this is in my garden, its my punch, if I get punched its my garden, its my fruit, I must have sown the seed. Its logic. So the first cause of my suffering is my past action, my past karma. I set myself up to be punched. This is the same for happiness, by the way. But we never ask,Why do good things happen to me? Do we? You check this. Why do bad things happen? Because the ego in us is obsessed with all the bad things, obsessed with the victim, obsessed with poor me. We never ask why the good things happen; we dont even think theres a reason. We dont care. We just grasp at it and want more. You understand? Its very interesting. But we should ask. And thats what should blow our minds. The fact that were just sitting here right now in this group, relatively harmonious, a peaceful environment, and everythings kind of fairly pleasing in this nice place and nice food and people taking care and the pleasant garden and no ugly noises, no ugly smells, this is like a miracle. This is the fruit of phenomenal virtue on the part of every single one of us, and we must have created it collectively because here we are experiencing the fruit collectively. This is a collective karma, meaning each of us has created the cause to be here together discussing this type of thing in this environment from way who knows back when. So we should be weeping in tears of gratitude at our past virtue, every time even the smallest good thing happens. But you know what we do instead; we grasp at it and have attachment. Its my right, gimme. And then when we dont get it, absolute fury.
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So this shows how bizarre we are, Buddha says. No sense of responsibility, no sense of cause and effect. The karmic view puts you squarely in the center of every experience you have. You are the creator of it, youre the main cause. Many factors, yes. You are the main cause. Not Joan. Its a very powerful view actually. Takes time really because our view now is absolutely different. Its the exact opposite.
The Main Cause of Suffering: the Delusions. Understanding This Is the Main Practice in the Middle Scope, High School
Now the second cause of my suffering, which really is the first one, is then in response to the punch the ego rises, the self-pity, innocent victim, how dare she, who does she think she is, anger, resentment, hurt, punch her back. What happens then, I sow another seed in my mind, strongly grasping at it: sow in there, dont pull it out, creates more punches in the future. This is samsara. This ball keeps rolling.
Two Levels of Practice

So in relation to the two main causes of my suffering there are two levels of practice. The first one we already talked about, the karmic one, is pull out the karmic seeds. In the long-term, all the ones that Ive planted up until now we have to do the job of doing the practice of purification, like we did last night, in variations of this approach. The attitude of pulling out the seeds before they ripen. But the most immediate level of practice now, in the first level of practice, karma, the immediate level of practice is just: dont respond, dont punch. But in relation to the second cause of suffering which is the delusion that responds to her, karma is the first one and delusions is the responding based on the misconception, all the nonsense. The delusion, here we say the most urgent level of practice, as Lama Zopa Rinpoche says, is to work on the mind. So first even work on your body, dont punch. Then, work on the mind. Like I said yesterday, this is more sophisticated than working on the body. The working on the body is the first level, at least dont punch. Refrain from punching, even if your mind is boiling. Simply speaking here, dont respond with a punch because at least you dont harm another and sow heavy negative seeds in your mind.
Be Your Own Therapist

Then , in this second scope, in high school, the nitty-gritty, tasty, tasty, tasty level of practice is learning to be your own therapist. Seeing your mind, noticing the anger rising and learning to work with that and change it. Thats the real immediate practice to do. And this is whats so difficult. So to even see whats in our mind is already difficult for us. Right now in our culture because were not used to looking at our mind, its not part of our education, were brought up and educated to, like I said, wipe our bottoms, tie our shoelaces, do this, do that, go to school, learn math, we use our intellectual capacity to an incredible degree in this culture, but we dont learn emotional things. We dont learn how to see our mind. We dont learn techniques where we can look into the mind and understand it, be our own therapist. No way. The way we think of therapy in the West, the way we think of psychology in the West, is were all born this way, you do your best, you struggle along, and if things get so bad then you have to go find a therapist. The very nature of going to a psychologist or a therapist means you really feel bad about that
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because youre such a disaster area now. Its sort of like were just brought up to just hop into a car and get onto the freeway. No one teaches you to drive; its just the way life is, you dont drive. And then if you have a crash you have to go find someone to help you. Well, its a bit backward isnt it? If you learn how to drive, how skillful. You can avoid the crashes when they come. Thats all Buddha is saying. From day one, start to know your mind. Be taught about your mind. Be taught about your body and speech, be taught about your mind. Its your mind, its your anger, its your jealousy, darling, its your love, its your compassion. You have this potential so then can you imagine being brought up with this plus the capacity to see what youre feeling and thinking well before the crash. Well by the time were twenty, were going to be an amazing human being, arent we? Can you imagine? Not to mention 60 and 70 and 80.
Victims
So all this undealt with garbage inside us, which weve never known how to process, which weve never seen, and then we spend our lives blaming everybody else for it, then we blame someone for making us. Talk about victims. Buddha doesnt use this word but, oh my goodness, its a perfect description. Everything is done to us. And then we dont know we can change, were stuck with it. No wonder we feel guilty. No wonder we have panic every day. Because weve buried it comfortably or weve pushed it away mightily. For those of us who have a lot of depression or fears, its because weve buried it all and have been terrified of looking. Because we havent been taught. So its all pushed away there, so its got to come out somewhere, so it manifests as panic and fears and all the stuff that we have; depression, all these internalized things, repressed, packaged, shoved in. Its kind of interesting. I can see a person like myself whos very volatile in my life. I didnt suppress it, you know? Okay, I did. We all suppress so much. We all dont see so much of what is going on inside of us, thats clear. But even at a relative level I can see in my family, the seven of us, seven siblings, all diagnosed as manic depressive, this is like back in the sixties. I mean, I think the psychiatrist thought hed won the lottery finding an entire family, a whole kind of case. And all of us were called manic depressive. Three of my sisters, one after the other in their early twenties had total mental collapse. Completely insane. But I could see with me I didnt repress anything, I was violent, angry, scream, kick, hit, express everything out my mouth the moment I felt it. So the advantage for me was I didnt repress too much so I didnt go crazy. I probably made everybody else go crazy. Im thinking of myself you know. I dont have depression, Ive not had that or loneliness, or say fears, that kind of thing. At a subtle level, we all have it; Buddha is saying thats how we all are. Im just talking at a grosser level. But Ive had lots of explosive, thats the energy that Ive had to control, my explosiveness and my harming others with my mouth and so on. You see my point? So I can see with some other people who say have fears and depression maybe theyre very kind people and arent angry and dont harm others but the flip side for themselves is whatever is arising in there, because you need to be a good person and a kind person, theyve pushed it down. You see what Im saying? You recognize dont you Joan? It makes sense what Im saying doesnt it? Its interesting. Im only saying Joan because shes talked about it. You can see with Joan shes got a very kind, friendly persona, friendly approach, she doesnt go about shouting and yelling at people. Have you in your life? Joan No.
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Ven. Robina There you go, you see. So its interesting, isnt it, just psychologically. So were all cut out from the same thing we are just different shapes thats all. Weve all got some kind of fears, depression, anxiety, love, hate, this, that. This is the Buddhas deal. Each of us has got our own particular kind of recipe. So in general, the point here is, Im getting to the two main causes of suffering, the ones we need to look at and work on. The one thats the more abstract for us but is the Buddhas explanation of how karma. . . even why I meet Joan, why does she harm me: past karma. So owning that already is very powerful; it causes me to be less fearful in the response because, when you really internalize the karmic one, already just that is a cause for not being angry. A friend of mine who was in Tibet, was tortured, abused, his father murdered, his brother murdered, he finally escaped. Incredible suffering. And I said, Do you ever get angry? He kind of laughed and said, Angry, what for? Thats a shocking answer, isnt it? Even more shocking what he said then. He said, What for? Its our own fault. All he meant was: its karma. But he has so integrated the view of karma in relation to both the good and the bad that for him its just something natural, in the bones of his being, like innocent victim is in ours. So if you really know that you set the causes for something, why would you be angry? Because angry is, How dare you do it to me. Im an innocent victim. You see my point? Its very interesting. So when youve really internalize the one of karma already that psychologically is profound for you. You dont feel such a victim. Because you own the fact that youre part of this scenario. Where something went wrong, where the person harmed you, with a red lights and the person stole from you. As a Lama Zopa says you see it as your own karmic appearance; you dont see it as something out there that youre an innocent victim of, that you didnt create the cause for. And when its the good stuff, its just the same. You own the good stuff as well. So this both lessens attachment and lessens anger. Because you feel a part of it, you feel connected to it rather than an innocent victim outside of it, which is what we feel now, both with the bad things and the good. This is how ego works. Kind of interesting.
So looking into the two causes of suffering and then of course working upon both, doing the purification of the karmic seeds from the past and then learning to know your mind well, become your own therapist. So lets look at this. So what are the delusions? What are delusions?
How the Mind Functions

Well, theres all these terms that are synonymous, in Buddhist psychology. First of all youve got mind, the biggest category. Then within mind you can say youve got two things, two different ways of dividing it. This is important. Youve got mental consciousness, mind, or sensory. Now as far as the west is concerned, thats only one because youve got the body and the brain is the mind, so theres nothing beyond that. Its all the body, its all the brain. We know we have mental and sensory but its all the physical, we say its all physical.
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But as were saying here, as we can see Buddha is saying, theres mental consciousness, theres consciousness and theres body. Two separate things but linked together. Within mind you have two ways the mind functions. One is mental, which is thoughts and feelings and emotions, intellect. Then one is sensory, which is the experiences of the mind through the medium of the body. This is the way to say it. So technically, in Buddhist terms, eyeball is not what sees things. The eyeball is just the physical medium through which the mind, that part of our mind, functions in order to perceive shape and color. Its not just splitting hairs; its a very major point. Ear consciousness is that part of our self, of our consciousness, mind, that functions through the medium of our ear, through the drum and all that business, in order to perceive sound.
The Senses Are Like Dumb Animals

So the sensory consciousness is really very limited. Its got a very limited capacity. But we make the body the boss as Lama Yeshe says. Big mistake. For example, we will say, Oh wow, look at that delicious chocolate cake. And we will say, We will see a delicious chocolate cake. We smell a delicious chocolate cake. Technically not true, according to Buddha. Eye consciousness perceives only shape and color. It has no more capacity, it doesnt know. The word know or cognize are the same meaning, and thats the function of mind. Mind cognizes, consciousness cognizes, and it cognizes in various ways, knows in various ways. Eye consciousness cognizes only two things: shape and color. Ear consciousness, it cant hear divine Miles Davis. Id say, Oh wow, thats Miles, I can hear Miles there because Im a big fan of Miles Davis. But ear consciousness doesnt know that. It only knows or perceives or cognizes sound. So theyre very dumb animals, theyre like dumb animals, the senses. Theyre very limited, very limited level of capacity of awareness. But we give them so much more power because we dont have such a good understanding this is using Buddhas approach to how the mind works. So he says we have the senses, yes we do, you see their very powerful. Theyre the interface between me and the world, arent they? Without the senses we have no way of experiencing anything because this is the level we function at. Were living in a sensory universe now. Buddha calls it the desire realm. We have this gross body thats the interface between us and others, its very gross. So, senses are limited.
The Workshop Is In the Mind

Then we have mental consciousness. So actually whats happening when we meet the chocolate cake is a whole pile of things. Ill use this as an example in a minute of how the mind works. So okay, weve got sensory consciousness, which have very little capacity and Ill explain the relationship in a minute then we have mental consciousness. And thats where the workshop is, as Rinpoche says; thats where the workshop is. Thats what we have to become familiar with, thats what we have to get to know deeply, and thats where we have to be our own therapist. And thats what we have to change, because thats where the potential for enlightenment is. And thats where all the potential for suffering is. This is the point. So even knowing the sensory is not your mental is already powerful. So you dont get fooled by what the senses tell you. Its an extremely important point to really become a good practitioner. So now lets leave the senses alone, now lets look at the mental. Ill come back to the senses in a minute and the function they play in relation to the chocolate cake. Then we have the mental consciousness.
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Positive and Negative

Now, within the mental consciousness you could say there are three components: positive states of mind, negative and neutral. Thats it, no fourth category, very simple. Lets forget the neutral and well home in now on the negative and the positive. And these are our business; this is now where we are really beginning to move along on this path, now were getting into the real nitty-gritty of the real work of being a practitioner. All the time abiding by the laws of karma, thats fundamental, but here we begin to look into the nitty-gritty, really look deeply into the mechanics of the cause of all our happiness and all our suffering, which is our own mind. So now were beginning to see how it works. So we look at the negative states of mind and the positive. We talked a bit yesterday, when we talked about karma, how Buddha sees this. Not as something moralistic, not as some statement from on high that Buddha has decided, Thats a good thing and thats a bad thing, and you better do this and not do that because I say so, which is the Christian view. Not criticizing again, but its very logical. I mentioned, I think, a discussion with a Catholic friend of mine years ago: what is a sin, what is a negative action, what defines it? He said, Its that which goes against the will of God. Now thats perfect if theres a creator, thats correct. You shouldnt question. Its correct, do what God says. Perfect. Perfect. But thats not the story here. Buddha says, like we talked, a negative action is something, simply speaking, that harms others. Its very simple, thats what defines it, in general. Remember we talked? But then of course, we looked at how we create karma, and just because a negative action is that which harms others, it doesnt follow that when you do that action that youve created negative karma and the example being when you had no intention to kill the ant. The ant died, so it is yes technically a negative action. But you didnt create negative action, because there was no intention. So we looked at that part which is really important again to understand. But in general here, how you define a negative action, karma, is in that way. So then, we can say when it comes to a negative action that harms another, theres various things playing a part. Theres your mind mostly, first of all, which is the intention, and then the motivation. Where the motivation comes in, thats the negative state of mind. In the case of the killing, the aversion, thats the negative state of mind. So everything we do with our body and speech is propelled by the mind. Okay, in the case of killing the ant it wasnt because theres no intention there, it was an accidental thing. But in general, when we do negative actions theyre propelled by a negative state of mind, which is the motivation. So the negative states of mind, therefore, are the ones we have to learn to understand, because theyre are the ones were trying to change. By knowing the way the negative states of mind function, it tells us what the positive states of mind are. But here were still in the junior school and high school, in the wisdom wing, were still focusing on understanding the negative, were still focusing on refraining from the negative. Theres no big talk yet about doing the positive. That actually is more advanced: the love and the compassion, which were coming to, is university. Because its on the basis of harnessing and controlling and knowing our own mind and our own body and our own speech, which is this one. We are understanding here how to not harm with our body and speech, were learning how to understand the negative states of mind. We need to understand this, just like when Buddha tells you your water can be depolluted, youve got
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to start now getting your hands dirty, dont you? Wading into that disgusting water, testing out what it is, finding out the nature of the pollution. Youre not just sitting there thinking, Oh yes, its nice pure water, dont talk about pollution, I dont want to talk about pollution. Youve got to taste the pollution, youve got to get in there and really get yourself dirty in order to understand the nature of the pollution and to know what causes it, so you can remove it. Youre preoccupied with the pollution. Are you seeing my point? Youve got to be. Why though? You see your reason why. So you can finally have pure water. And then the compassion wing is like you even purify more the pure water and develop love and compassion and all the positive qualities. So we are preoccupied here with the negative ones, which is why often when we get caught up in this we can get very depressed. Oh God, Buddha goes on about suffering all the time and negative states of mind all the time, cant we talk about something nice please? But were still working out all the pollution here, weve got to know about it deeply. You cant just pretend its not there. Do you see my point people? Are you seeing my point?
What Is a Negative State of Mind?

So okay, lets look at then what is a negative state of mind. Well, there are various synonyms as I said. One is called disturbing emotions Theres very many terms. Theres destructive emotions, disturbing emotions, mental afflictions, theres all these different terms, you might see them. There are all referring to the same thing: negative states of mind.
Two Main Characteristics

So there are two main characteristics that these negative states of mind have. And one is indicated by this term disturbing emotion. So even if we became familiar with just this, it would give us great courage to want to go beyond it because this is what suffering is. Just the suffering of being angry, just the suffering for yourself of being jealous, being depressed, being this, being that. Its so obvious, isnt it, its so clear that its so painful for you. Not discussing anyone else here. Its painful, its painful, its a disturbing emotion. So thats the same as a negative state of mind. So as soon as we hear negative we kind of get guilty. But dont think like that, be brave. Just hear it okay? Another characteristic, and this is a really tasty bit, another characteristic that these negative states of mind have is that they, and this is indicated by another term, another synonym, is the word delusion. Delusion. So if someone accused you of being delusional, like if someone said to Joan, God, youre so delusional Joan, shed be really hurt. Im not insane, Im not delusional! But actually again using Joan as an example because shes talked about her depression, or me talking about my anger then Buddha would say when were caught up in the depression or were caught up in the anger, at that time we are very delusional. You look at yourself when youve got your depression. Everything is so fearful, isnt it? Youre fearful, youre scared, youre panicked. Its like the world is this awful place. Then when youve calmed down it looks quite different, right? So while youve got your depression or while Im in my anger and freaking out and shouting at this person whos feeling so hurt, the world appears a very bizarre place. Monstrous and out there against you and suffocating and the heart is beating. Well thats just plain old delusional. Excuse me; youre insane while youre doing that.
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I mean if someone said to me or Joan youre insane, wed be very hurt. But Buddha is saying that. He is saying that being caught up in any one of these negative states of mind, to whatever extent and for however long, to this extent we are insane. To this extent we are delusional. To this extent we are out of our mind, all these words we say.
Were All Insane: Its Just a Question of Degree

So in our culture, we just take as a given that everyone has a bit of anger, a bit of this, a bit of that, and we call that normal. So we bring in the delusions into our normality. Buddha just has a more radical, more refined view of what is insane, what is delusional. Are you seeing my point? He says were all delusional; were all insane, its just a question of degree. And that really is the best way to say it. Which is quite shocking, because what it also implies is the level to which we can be amazing. If we just take as normal a bit of anger, a bit of jealousy, a bit of this, a bit of that and thats a rounded normal person, then you cant really move very far from this, youre stuck with that. So by saying that all attachment, anger, pride, jealousy, is delusional, is also saying that we can get rid of it. So he is more subtle in his assessment of how we are crazy and he is more subtle in his assessment of how we can be so amazing. You see my point? Thats the flip side. Its very interesting, what he is saying.
Ignorance, Ego-Grasping: the Root Delusion

So delusional simply means, youre out of touch with reality, youre not seeing things as they are. Its very obvious, when Joans caught up in her depression and her fears, you cant see past your own nose, can you? Youre just freaked out about I, isnt it? This overwhelming sense of I, and thats the point about the negative states of mind. Because theyre rooted in the main delusion, this one called ignorance. This primordial, and its like a deep instinctive, so instinctive that we dont even know its there, we cant even label it, we dont even name it, because its just constantly there. Its like a constant pain thats there; were never free of it so we just assume its normal. And that is this ignorance, the deepest one, the root of all our suffering. Psychologically speaking the root even of any of the other ones: attachment, depression, anger, fear, theyre are all just variations on the theme. Theyre all the voices of this ego-grasping, this ignorance known as ego grasping. And this is what Buddha means by being in samsara: having this ordinary. . . and this second kind of suffering. The first kind, we dont have the first kind of suffering too much in relation to say, war zones or starving countries; weve got a very happy life in comparison. And this is the point that Catherine was making earlier. And this is Buddhas point about the second kind of suffering: We dont think we have much suffering if we hear the word suffering. But when we hear the second kind of suffering is even having the happiness we have, and the sign that its suffering is when it goes look how you feel. Total panic, total freak out; when he leaves you. When youve got him, you dont even think youve got attachment and were going to talk about attachment more you dont even think youre suffering. But when he leaves you its unbearable pain. Well, the Buddha is saying that the one that we call happiness, which is having him and having all the happiness, is actually totally linked to the other one, because if you didnt have attachment, when he left you you wouldnt have any pain. So the happiness we have now is completely linked to the suffering we have now. We are swaying between both.
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And if you look at daily life, a thousand times a day, you get happiness, the green light comes, Oh Im happy! you know? The red light comes, now you get suffering. Each is linked to the other. So lets look at this process because this is called attachment and aversion, attachment and aversion.
Attachment and Aversion

There are three main delusions, Buddha says. The root of them all is this ignorance, which is the root, root, root, the mother of them all, this primordial grasping at this sense of self and the sense of everything as having an inherent nature, like we talked, out there, existing causelessly from its own side. Thats how we think about self.
Attachment: the Main Cause of Suffering

The main voice of that is attachment. So lets look at attachment because effectively, in the four noble truths, attachment is the main cause of all our suffering. So lets look at that. The two main characteristics all the delusions have: one is the disturbingness, they are disturbing when youve got them, and two is theyre delusional, theyre liars, theyre liars. Another way to say as we talk is, when youre caught up in it, youre seeing things that arent true. When Joan has got her depression things appear in a way that isnt accurate. Its like shes put her really dark, ugly glasses on. Everything looks horrible. Same with anger, same with pride, same with jealousy, same with all of them. Theyve all got their own flavor. Theyre all liars, there all voices of the primordial ignorance, theyre all voices of ego-grasping, and theyre all liars. And then we believe in the lie and we follow it. Thats samsara. So lets look at the root one, not the root, root but the root one effectively for day to day life, and thats called attachment. And this is really difficult because when we use even this word in our culture we use it interchangeably with the words love, happiness, joy, pleasure. So please, throw out all your definitions, all your assumptions now and listen to this view, because Buddha used this word in a very specific way.
The Function of Delusions

In general all the delusions, another way of describing it, is they exaggerate, distort certain aspects of what their object is. So anger, when its strong in the mind, simply the state of mind is really aversion, when aversion is there, the thing, the person, the situation that youre averse to appears more ugly than it really is. And so equally when attachment is in the mind, the function of attachment is to exaggerate the delicious qualities of something. So when attachment is in the mind, the thing or the person or the situation that youre attached to, that youre kind of a hankering after, appears more delicious than it really is.
The Chocolate Cake

So lets use the chocolate cake as an example. So whats extremely hard here now because were so on autopilot with this process, with this mode were into, its so ancient within us, were so brainwashed to be caught up in these delusions they all happen spontaneously. We have practiced them literally to perfection from life after life after life. So to deconstruct this is extremely difficult. You need to really have the microscope of your mind on to it. And that means youve got to have concentration medita-
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tion, because youve got to look so carefully, so carefully; and you cant even do that unless youve even heard the teachings about what these all are so that youve got a label for what youre seeing. Like you cant do gardening and until you know the names of what you see, youve got to study botany first. Well, here were talking Buddhas botany. So whats happening with the chocolate cake is a bit like this, theres a whole bunch of things going on, and were going to include the senses here, too. So the normal way is like this. Inside us, we have this aching kind of neediness, and this is the energy of attachment by the way, but we just take it for granted. Theres always a sense of wanting something more, always a sense of something missing, always a sense of not sure, maybe theres something missing, theres this aching feeling and it usually manifests as low self-esteem, and Im hopeless, and Im no good. Do you understand my point? Theres this constant aching kind of neediness for something and it manifests itself in a million ways. Thats attachment. Its real subtle actually. The word attachment sounds so simple. Oh I love chocolate cake! Thats just the tip of the iceberg. Its coming from this aching sense of missing, of lacking, of not having. And so it manifests as incredible neediness, yearning, neediness in a neurotic sense. And its just there all the time. So depending upon the kind of karmic imprints you have, the kind of habits you have with certain kinds of phenomena and things from past lives, that will then attach itself to that type of thing.
Attachment Selects Its Objects

We watched a movie last night about, I was supposed to be doing my retreat but I was watching a movie. I watched that one, have you ever seen De-Lovely, that Cole Porter picture. Have you seen that? Its kind of interesting because you could see this rarified, in a worldly sense, world he lived in, very rich, he was always surrounded by beauty. He seemed a very lovely man, very kind, very patient, very sweet, he didnt get angry, but this massive attachment, wed say in Buddhist terms this massive, aching, yearning, neediness, for something. So never satisfied with just one person, he had this one and that one, and this one and that one. But always attached to beauty, needing, hungry for beauty and nice pleasing things around him. But this aching missing something inside of him, you could see it very clearly. Now a junkie has dumped their attachment on to heroin. So thats got a certain kind of consequences, look at it. Another person is constantly needy for people to love them. Oh shes so needy, well say, this little emotional needy person who needs other people to approve of them. Frankly, thats the one weve all got deeply. They say the need to be approved of or known, approved of, is the deepest attachment of all. They talk about the yogis in the mountains, whove given up sex, drugs, and rock and roll, theyre still thinking about what the people down in the village are thinking about them. Its interesting, but that can be very strong for some people.
Furries
Some other people its money, for others its power, for the Furries its their stuffed toy. Have I talked about that in this class? Ive been reading about it. Theres a whole lot of people now calling themselves Furries, Pushies all these sort of words. Their main object of sexual engagement is there stuffed toys. And they identify themselves as animals, but in a cute cartoon like way as animals. So they all have these conferences in hotels and they all wear their raccoon tails and they are Joey Raccoon, Mary Fox and they do all these things. So if you think of it karmically, which we dont in the West, but the Buddhas
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explanation you think of the preoccupation we have, and especially since the thirties and forties and fifties, with cartoons. What are cartoons? The personification of animals. Thats the function of attachment. Weve embellished and exaggerated to an insane degree, which we think is harmless and just fantasy, the concept of a mouse and a duck and a fox, all these animals right; weve personified them so its this cutesy thing that everybody, all children, we think its wonderful. Well the Buddhas explanation this is me speculating but using karma as the logic why, one of these boys, when he talked about his own experience when he was six years old or seven, he was at the sports at school and he got turned on by the Mickey Mouse mascot, not by all the girls kicking their legs in the air. Of course, he thought he was weird. He doesnt know why hes like this. And its the same for BTK (Dennis Rader), Im sorry for that gentleman, since past lives torturing animals, harming, he brings his strong imprint with him to where he gets his sexual. . . his attachment is to harming people. You see my point? Its the same logic. A person like this little boy, who gets turned on by Mickey Mouse mascot, meaning attachment: sees a shape, a shape right, ears, a big mouth, big eyes, right? So all it is is a piece of cloth cut in a certain shape, which we now with familiarity call Mickey Mouse because weve been brainwashed into Mickey Mouse. Im not blaming Mr. Disney here, Im just talking how karma works. So its a form now thats a very real form and shape. You can imagine from past lives a lot of incredible fantasy attachment mind, ordinary. . . thats what we mean by creativity even, it functions like this. As a child preoccupied for hours thinking about and wanting and yearning your little Mickey Mouse, and your little bear, and your little tiger, and your little this, and its sowing powerful imprints in the mind. So next life, attachment so strong we call it sexual. Thats all. Attachment is attachment is attachment. Very strong involvement in certain activities, yearning for, attracted to doing it, it develops into this huge attachment next life. It multiplies from life to life like a million times. So theres this little boy turned on now, little thing stands up, when he sees Mickey Mouse now. Now my friend when he was six years old, my Greek friend Panos, in Athens, whos totally into sex he says Im allowed to talk about it. Id almost feel guilty when it Id mention it, but he says, Please, you have my permission, Robina. He said when he was six, walking along the street in Athens with his Mummy and he sees a naked lady on a poster in the cinema and he says to mummy, Mummy, why is my penis standing up? Same for him. It wasnt Mickey Mouse mascot, it wasnt torturing, it was a ladys body. Now we call that normal and, with respect, we call that a gift from God; we call it a sacrament, we call it a special gift from God. Im not being rude now, but the Christians would say that this one of sexual union is a gift from God. Well, Buddha would say its attachment. So much so from so many lives hes been brainwashed in liking female forms, seeing them as far more delicious than they really are because if you really analyze it, its just two pokey things with a thing on the end and a hole up here and two legs. You get my point? You really dissect it like the Mickey Mouse mascot. You understand my point here? Attachment is such that now just sees it and everything works its little job, the little thing stands up and things happen. This is how karma works, this is how attachment works. So then you make it far more than it is, thats how attachment works. So of course, because we are born with it and its instinctive as we would say and all instinct is, in Buddhas terms, is the habit of thinking and thinking and thinking from past, past, past that something is a certain way to the point
now where it happens spontaneously. Thats all instinct is. And then we take it as true, we see it as true. The guy who loves the Mickey Mouse mascot, he always thought he was weird, now hes suddenly gone on the web and found thousands of people all over the world, especially in this country, who all agree with him. So suddenly now because its what he feels, he says, Now Ive finally found who I really am. But thats how we all feel about everything. We take it as real. I remember when this young white supremacist boy talked about how when he first read Hitler. Finally I found who I really was, finally I found the truth. He spoke all the words that I knew were true and that were in me, now Ive found it. Because he had karmic imprints, thats all. He had karmic imprints from those types of thinking, so it comes together and this life, hes got those instincts, rising up, all those thoughts, and then he reads Hitler and it becomes real for him. Thats how we are all. But because what were born with is instinctive, and because its instinctive, and because we believe someone made us like this, and Mummy and Daddy made us and I began in Mummys womb, which reinforces the view of no cause and effect, we reinforce that view, we think this is who I am, it feels good, it must be right. So that the Furry finally feels good about having sex with his Mickey Mouse toy, or whatever it is. BTK never felt good because he knew it was wrong because he had a conscience, he knew, but it was the karmic imprint so powerful he couldnt say no to it. Why? Because he got so much intense pleasure from it, so called pleasure. Now we all do this and thats why Buddha is saying the pleasure we get now, which is the junkie mind basically. Were addicted to certain things. BTK was addicted to torturing and killing. Little Mickey Mouse man was addicted to his Mickey Mouse, seeing it more than it really was, seeing it as good. Were addicted to a female form or male form, or whatever it might be, or food, or this or that, or whatever the object might be. And then, because its so strong in us and comes spontaneously, it feels so real we believe its true, we have to follow it. Right? This is samsara. So the point the Buddha is making is: yes, we have these instinctive things due to past actions, but weve got to step back, look in the first stages when youre learning in junior school about karma: What is right? What is wrong? Why is it? What is this? What is this? You have a basis now, you have a basis of what morality is, and then you refer that to where youre at. So then you notice you want to torture people or even just want to get angry: you recognize this is not appropriate, but you see its a karmic imprint. You dont beat yourself up; you know youve got some work to do so you start to change. But youve got to have a reference point.
If It Feels Good
The reference point we use now is, for whether something is good or bad, is Oh it feels good. I mean how childish can you get? If youve got good imprints from past virtue and you are naturally generous or naturally kind, that will make you feel good. Now please go for it. Dont do it because it feels good, do it because youve checked against your basis of morality and you know its a valid action. Are you seeing my point here? You want to be very rational about it. Then we have to refer where we were at in relation to that, and not get guilty like we do now. Oh Im so bad, Im this, Im that. Okay, Joans story, from past karma, some reason, whatever the cause are, this depression, these fears come. It isnt who I really am, it is just there, theyre negative actions, they are coming from ego, dont put yourself down, its just the way I am, but its not who I really am, I can grow new little seeds in me
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and so meanwhile, you bear the pain but you dont follow it. As Lama Zopa says you dont believe in it. Meaning you dont believe in the story it tells you: that the world is horrible and it is awful and it is this; that the Mickey Mouse mascot is divine, the chocolate cake is so gorgeous, that I must have it, which is what attachment is saying. Frantic. And then the energy of neediness is strong there, and the story is on top of it, so youre ready-made to shove the cake in. The other lie about attachment, the big lie that attachment tells us, is when I get it, then Ill get happy. Thats the killer. When I follow it, then I get happiness. So then theres this deep instinctive belief that when I get the cake, when I do the torture, when I get the Mickey Mouse mascot, when I have sex with that girl, then Ill get happiness. We have to have the object; the energy of the attraction is so violent, isnt it? When its a very strong attachment. All this is attachment. The energy is so intense, meaning, were propelled by the force of our karma. Its like this force behind us pushing us towards doing the torture, towards eating the cake, towards having sex with the object, towards whatever it is that were attached to. That force we feel, like weve got no choice. A friend of mine in prison whose now got a life sentence in California where theyve got the three strikes thing, the third felony you get arrested for, even petty theft, stealing the video, the third one: life sentence, mandatory. It was even upheld in a referendum last year. All the people in California voted to keep it in. So he said to me, Robina. . . hes got a family in Saratoga who lives in a rich house, doesnt need anything, he said, Ive never understood in my life why. I saw myself walking into this house. I didnt want to steal that television. I saw myself taking this television, I didnt want to take it. No one believes that. Everyone goes, Oh you cheat, liar, youre just a thief. But thats how karma works. Look at yourself and your own garbage things. You dont want to follow that thing, but youre propelled towards it, arent you? Thats how karma works. When you understand, and use karma as your reason for explaining it, it at least gives you some ability to bear it. Rather than the one we usually have, Oh my God this is who I am, I dont know how I got born this way, this is just how I am and I cant not do it. So again, the way attachment works is. . . is from the past karma, the imprint, the habit of doing it. It causes you then to meet those types of things and people and experiences again, it causes you to see them as more divine than they really are, coming from. . . then this hankering and this empty sense of missing something, which is the energy of attachment. The more that, the more divine it looks, therefore the more you believe it, When I get it then satisfaction will come. It will relieve the pain of the emptiness. So we get the object.
The More We Get, the More We Want

But you know what? Thats the junkie mode. We all know, as my mother used to say to me, The more you get, the more you want. Thats the Buddhas point. Thats the tragedy of attachment. We truly believe that when I get it then the satisfaction will come. Its like an ache, a pain and Ive got to get that thing to assuage the pain. Thats the junkie mode. So were all junkies, its a question of degree. Were all deluded; its a question of degree. Were all insane; its a question of degree. This is how Buddhas talking. And attachment, this one, is the one thats the main one. If we didnt have attachment, theres no way we would have anger. Because anger is the response when attachment doesnt get what it wants. If youre so hugely driven towards getting that thing look at a child, the attachment comes and like little
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three-year-olds, theyre sort of naked, theres no control over their emotions yet. Were much the same, were still a three-year-old in here, but we at least control the way we appear, we sort of do it politely. But were still like a three-year-old in there. And so when the three-year-old, when someone else, Johnny her brother, comes to take the cake, she bursts into tears, stomps and yells, because she didnt get what she wanted. Thats anger. And were still doing it, look at us. But we justify it philosophically now, we justify it psychologically. Anger is the response when attachment is thwarted. Attachment is beneath even anger. There would be no anger if there were no attachment. No way, not possible. Its very interesting.
Attachment Is a Liar
So, the function of all these delusions is they are liars, they are strongly imprinted in us, theyre habitual. They are liars in the sense that they make the thing seem more delicious than it is. Theyre liars in the sense that they make us believe that if I get it or do it, Ill get happy. The energy of attachment is this ache, this pain you look at even when its just the cake, youve got to put it in, its so painful, you feel so distressed. So we shove it in. But we all even know that its not happiness, because the more we do it the more miserable we get not to mention fat and everything else. So thats the junkie mind. This is the attached mind. Its very interesting isnt it, youve got to admit.

Its time for a break but lets just have a few questions about this business. Student [Can you be attached to practice?] Ven Robina If it is that attachment, what weve described, to practice, then its not practice, if it is that. Wanting something, aspiring for something, focusing on getting something isnt necessarily attachment. So in other words its the obsession, the neurotic, neediness, exaggerating, distorted. You can be totally focused on getting something and never give up and its not attachment. Its clear, you see the benefits of it, and you work hard to do it. Thats not attachment. In other words, you and I could decide we want chocolate cake and we go to the caf. And we both look like, Oh yes, great, lets have chocolate cake! it looks the same. But lets look at each of us when the carrot cake comes. So I will get upset and angry and how dare you, who do you think you are, I wanted chocolate cake. I was expecting it. So one of the energies of attachment is huge expectation, belief that I better get it. And all caught up in it and then freaked out when I dont. Now you might say, Oh, thats cool, I can handle carrot cake, and you proceed to enjoy. That means you didnt have much attachment to it, you just simply wanted it. Thats different. Now right now, we cant even distinguish these two. We assume theyre the same. So then we hear weve got to give up attachment and we chuck the baby out with the bathwater and think weve got to walk around saying, Oh, I dont care, chocolate cake, I dont care. Thats indifference. Thats depressing. You see my point? Part of that process maybe needs to be, to say, I dont care. Its helpful. But in the end, you can still prefer chocolate cake. Australians prefer Vegemite. Tibetans prefer yak cheese. They are cultural things so when I have my vegemite on my toast its really delicious but Americans think its disgusting stuff. So it depends often on your habit.
Its hard to see the attachment when were doing the thing. But the proof of it is when you dont get it, or the proof of it is when the husband leaves you. You dont even know its attachment until you miss the object, until you dont get it. Thats why if were really trying to practice in our life, the best time to practice is when you dont get what you want. Its a marvelous, marvelous point. Incredible, actually. Very brave. Yeah? Student When you talk about cultural differences, just playing devils advocate again here. Just for an example, say there were these villagers in South America and now the missionaries come and they want to put their ways, Christianity or whatever. Well these villagers may be for them stealing wasnt an issue, because there was a knife for the village and when someone needed it, they took it and they used it for a while and then when someone else needed it, it wasnt my knife. So when these missionaries come and the villagers say, Oh, thats a really nice knife over there, so Im just going to take it or use it for a while. And the missionary might think, thats stealing, and punish them. Ven. Robina So, whats the point youre asking? Student So, what Im saying is, the villagers they steal or whatever it is, but for them its not stealing. Ven. Robina So, whats the point youre asking? Student So, is that just not for the villagers, theyve not in their own mind, have not sinned or created any bad karma, but from the missionary its a different view so are they creating bad karma or what? I guess my question is how do we distinguish between you say when somethings feels bad or when youre harming somebody, thats bad karma? Creating bad karma. Ven Robina No, no. We talked about it yesterday. What determined whether you create bad karma, it was intention and motivation. So whats your question? Student Where did we come up with what is harmful and what is not? Ven Robina Whos we? Student In our society, the culture ... Ven Robina I dont know about that. You have to ask the Christians. The answer, I said it before, according to Christians, what is bad is what God said is bad. So whom are you asking about? It depends on who youre asking about. Thats the Christian answer. Thats the Muslims answer, I think the same. Ive given you the Buddhist answer. How you determine what is good or bad in general, in the Buddhist view is what is harmful in general is what harms others, thats a negative action. But whether you do a negative action is based on your intention and motivation for doing it. Thats how you determine. So even if you could say I could give you some money which in general is called a good action, but my motivation might be really manipulative. Because lets say youre rich and Im really manipulative and really sneaky, and Im pretending to be kind to you, and actually my motivation is really mean and ugly,
I dont create any good karma at all. You get money, youre fine. I dont create any good karma. I create negative karma because my motivation was so manipulative. Theres no good karma there at all. It looks like one, its phony. Her action of killing the ant with no intention, no motivation, looks negative but is not because her mind. . . This is the intricate point that Buddha is making is to do with motivation and intention. Thats what determines it. How did Buddha come up with, as you put it, that harming another is a negative action, well its fairly logical. Just do some market research and ask people do they like being harmed. 100% answer no. Thats enough proof. Thats a negative action; its very clear, simple. Its based on sentient beings wishes. They dont like being harmed. Thats a really valid thing. To use that as your basis, just dont harm others. Its fantastic. Its incredible and its logical, its not religious, its logical. Thats the Buddhas view. Student I watched a program last night on DVD on Tibet and what happened. In the Chinese eyes, they were brainwashed propaganda into believing that they came into Tibet to help the Tibetans. Wasnt there a feudal system, the way they were treating their own. Im just saying the people who immigrated to Lhasa in Tibet were thinking they were doing a good thing. Ven Robina Those were the words they were saying, but if we look into, I think, without too much clairvoyance you can look into the actions of the Chinese and I would say their words are those, but the motivation was anger, violence. With respect, you could say these Muslim terrorists who really believe it is good to kill infidels. Sure their reason says this and this, but its pretty empty. The real one is violence. You see their anger, theres enormous anger there. Its evident; theyre not even pretending its not anger. Its enormous anger. Thats the real reason. Thats psychologically whats happening. We put philosophical and political words on top of that. Like my gangster friends in prison. Their philosophy was it was good to kill your enemies. The reality was internally, violence and anger. Words is one thing. Whats really happening, motivation is internal, psychological. Its fairly easy to distinguish it. You see what Im saying? We believe our own propaganda, you know. Because I think if youve got a karmic imprint to do something, youve got to call it good. For a while when I was a bit of an old hippie and a political activist I decided Id start stealing. So the karmic reason is the karmic imprint from having past stolen, it was a negative one, it was greedy, it was to do with myself, but I had to call it good. So I said it was good. I said, Oh political, these rich people, blah, blah, blah, and so I felt justified. But it was a fantasy I put on top of the reality, which is simply the karmic imprint to harm others, to take what I want. See what Im saying? So for ourselves, thats what we have to look at. I think without being arrogant about others, we can deduce it fairly quickly. Just look at the faces of those Israelis and those Palestinians. Thats not kindness. Theyre not compassionate, theyre not feeling calm. They might have their politics but thats built on top of their delusions. Theyve made it right to kill others, to harm others because of this and this. Politics is just words and were all political and we believe our own garbage propaganda. Its terrible.
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Yeah? Go, Sweetie. Student You say that theres a difference between attachment and preferring something or having desire for it. Ven Robina Well the words desire and attachment in Buddhist psychology are synonymous, so ordinary words in English, lets say to want something to aspire to something theyre completely different. Student The differenc is, or how to distinguish whether its attachment is your reaction to it ... Ven Robina Well thats a good way for us to see it because we cant see it while were in it. Student So if you have something youre aspiring towards and it doesnt happen, if you feel disappointment, is that attachment? Ven Robina Thats a sign of attachment, yes. Student Not to have attachment you just let it go and not have any? Ven Robina No, its far more subtle than that but theyre good enough words. Attachment is unbelievably pervasive, its extraordinarily subtle, it goes so deep down into our psyche, way more than we would ever think of when we use the word attachment. We just see the grossest levels of it, when we think of the chocolate cake or something. Its extremely subtle. To be really free of attachment youd be a highly realized person, youd be a very evolved being. Do you see what Im saying? So the energy of attachment is that. The expectation: as soon as I think I want it, we expect it to happen, we manipulate to make it happen, we talk about control freaks: thats attachment. Expectation: thats attachment; manipulating to make it happen: all of thats attachment. They would say now were mainly motivated by attachment. It sounds a bit depressing, but its so subtle within us. Yeah? Student With attachment, if youre in a relationship and you break up or your mother dies, is there a normal sadness or a normal. . . without it being really attachment? Ven Robina I understand. Again remember were talking about attachment here at a very incredibly subtle level. The reference point being here the freedom from all delusions. If you were to meet a person who is free of all delusions and that means would have the compassion wing fully developed, would have enormous love, compassion, empathy for others, that would be a stunning person. So Id imagine, lets say, I think I used the example of the Dalai Lama. He is said to be a highly evolved being, I cant prove he is. . . but whatever, so that means he has no attachment, no anger, no pride, no jealousy, no delusion, no ego-grasping, has enormous love and compassion for others. Okay, lets assume hes like this. So when he talked about his mother dying, he cried. Now, when we cry, because we strongly grasp at I, and we therefore have attachment and all the others, even to a minor degree, its still I based. When he cried its probably out of compassion. Theres no grasping at any sense of I. When youve given up attachment you dont walk around looking indifferent and cold. Youre full of love and affection and warmth, and hes in tears daily with all his Tibetans coming, suffering, he cries with compassion for others when he sees their suffering. But theres no
neurotic I involved in it at all. Student And only he would really know that it was either compassion or attachment? Ven Robina What do you mean only he would really know? In our own minds, you mean? No, we need to learn to know, thats what wisdom is. Student He would know his own mind ... Ven. Robina Yes, he would know himself, yes. Absolutely, yes. Student I would know which is it is Im doing. Ven. Robina This is why this job here of being your own therapist, as Im talking, which were really learning in high school here, in the second scope of practice, where we learn about the causes of suffering, we learn about the delusions. We need to listen and listen and listen to the way Buddha talks about them, think and think and think more and contemplate more the difference between the positive and the negative, recognize and distinguish between them. Its not how we talk in the West; and its a very marvelous approach, and it just takes time, processing and the more you know it well, like anything when youre really a great musician, a very intricate knowledge you can have. So you just keep learning it, keep thinking it, keep studying it, keep meditating on it and your knowledge and your awareness keeps growing, keeps growing, keeps growing, and you keep uprooting at ever more sophisticated levels, the way the delusions function. Right now its like were this one big soup of emotions. Not only are their chunks of soup, were pureed soup. You cant even distinguish one piece of something from another. Love and attachment for us are virtually synonymous right now. Anger and righteous trying to make something better are synonymous for us right now; we cant distinguish. So weve got to do a lot of inner checking, inner looking, and not be scared about it, not be fundamentalist to about it. Its just a very marvelous thing to do to have this level of self-awareness. This is all Buddha is talking about. Yeah? Student Im still trying to grasp the attachment. Ven. Robina Alright, Sweetie Pie. Go. Student If someone creates an expectation ... Ven. Robina What do you mean? Student Say they were going to do something and then they dont do it, then your response to that is? Ven. Robina Im sorry, Im confused now. Youre talking about someone else or yourself ? What are you talking here? Student It seems like theres expectations ...
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Ven. Robina But Sweetie, are you talking about yourself or someone else? What are you talking about now? Student Lets say theres someone who says theyre going to do something for you or with you, and they dont do it. And your response to that. . . They dont follow through, and your response to that could be anger, disappointment, confusion. Is all of that. . .? Ven Robina Of course, thats a sign of attachment, Sweetie. Of course it is! Thats the point. In other words, our ordinary life is suffused with attachment. Ordinary things that we take it as ordinary, that we take for granted and assume its normal, Buddha is saying is mental illness. So weve got to adjust our view of mental illness. Were all mentally ill. Yes, youre mentally ill, thats right. You get depressed, you get sad, you get upset, you get disappointed, youre mentally ill Babe. Thats what Buddha is saying. Youre right, yes. In other words hes saying its possible to not be like that. Thats the marvelous point hes really making. Its possible to be not angry, not depressed, not jealous, not upset, not freaking out, not attached. Thats the thing thats so shocking to hear, and thats all Buddha is saying. Take away all the religious terminology thats what he is saying. We have the potential to be absolutely free of suffering, thats his point. Its hard for us to hear this because we just assume, This is normal. When people want to, Kill this BTK! say things like, May he burn in hell forever! we say Oh, its normal. Excuse me, its a heavy, deluded, because there is no recognition that they have any part in that thing; they are all innocent victims. And thats how we all think. This is why Buddha says we are all suffering. We dont factor ourselves in: were innocent victims. Innocent victims get angry, innocent victims have resentment, and depressed, and how dare and expectations. Im this innocent thing, Wow dare you dont turn up! What right do you have? Who do you think you are, not to turn up for our appointment at six oclock. Like Im an innocent victim. You did it to me. Thats how we are. Thats samsara. Student You were just saying that right now our mind is more like a soup. Ven Robina What I meant was, right now for us, all our emotions and our thoughts and our concepts are all just mixed together in a big confusion, because weve never looked, weve never distinguished, weve never even had a thought that we could. So right now, we start to look, its very hard to see one bit from another. Its hard to distinguish until its very, very loud. Right now we dont even know were angry until the words are vomiting out the mouth. Joan doesnt really notice her depression well, she does because its there most of the time but often a person wont even know theyre depressed until one day you cant get out of bed. But what Im getting at is, its been going on for so long, so deep, so down, and so far so many tiny millions of things happening, and because were never looking down there, we only notice it when its really loud. Its like you dont even know you cant drive until the crash is about to come. How stupid. So right now its impossible to see one bit from another. Student So but my question is how do we go about doing this? Ven Robina Darling thats the job! Thats what Im talking about all day! Student I know, but the thing is were so unconscious with what were doing, how do we?
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Ven Robina Okay, let me ask you a simple question. Youve got a great big fat garden there, absolutely entangled in weeds and this and that and flowers and roses, and its a great big fat mess. You cant see one piece from another, right? And you know no botany. And youve assumed this is normal. And every day you look at it and you get depressed, and miserable and guilty and hopeless, and what to do and I cant do anything, and I dont know what to do. Well, how would you start going about changing it? You tell me. What are the steps? Practical, what are the steps? Student The only thing I know from a practical point of view is when a negative. Ven Robina Talk about the garden please. Use that as the example. Tell me simply what would you start, the very first step, what is your very first step? Student If I could recognize the weeds, see thats the problem. Ven Robina Okay, now wait. One step at a time. How would you learn to recognize the weeds? What would you do? Student Id have to ask somebody. Ven Robina Youd go to otany school dear! Meaning, youd ask somebody. Thats your first step, isnt it? But even before that, youve got to know its possible, that you can weed this garden and to change it and turn it into something marvelous. We dont even know that right now. So right now the status for us is, weve got this great big entangled, weeds, full of weeds, overgrown stuff inside us. We assume this is who I am, we assume its normal. We feel the pain of it every day, we never even look at it why would we? we assume its normal. So this is what life is. So suddenly one day you hear that you can start to change it into some marvelous garden, and the very first step is, Oh wow, its possible! Thats your first step. Then you have to go learn to know how to recognize what you are seeing, because youve never looked because its looked so ugly, you cant bear to look at it. Youve got to start now investigating it. So just looking at it is not enough, youve got to go to botany school where you learn the names. So now when you look, because youre now brave to look because now you know you can change it, and youve got some courage now, you can start labeling all the pieces. But youve got to do a lot of work first. So thats my point here. When we hear attachment and love now, we hear them as the same thing. So right now, Im looking in there and I cant see a rose from a weed because I think theyre the same, they look so similar. So I keep making the wrong mistake about what it is, its good, its good. Then I suddenly learn, One is a herb and one is a rose, a weed and a rose, I start to learn by writing them down separately and thinking about it and learning it and memorizing at theory school, That is what a rose is and that is what. . . I see, its got these characteristics. Now I look again and I begin to see, Oh, I see, thats attachment, thats love. Theyre different. It takes time. Its a very intricate job Im talking about. So then you keep doing that. And then part of the process here is, bearing. . . once you begin to understand you can change it, now you look at the same old garbage, you dont mind so much anymore. Before, we were hopeless and couldnt bear it so it was painful to look. Now were brave to look because we know we can change it. So you start by
going to botany school and here were talking Buddhas psychology, not Jung not Freud. They all use the same words, but, my goodness, theres a different understanding of them. So thats up to you. If you want Buddhas, youve got to listen to Buddhas teachings on the mind, youve got to listen to the Buddhas model of the mind. And then youve got to start meditating on it and thinking about it, and thinking about it, and thinking about it, and slowly, slowly, slowly youll get more and more skill. But every time you look, youll see more clearly. Its a very gradual step-by-step, intelligent, disciplined process. Do you see? Thats how you do it. But its not magic overnight. We are so attached to being happy that when we hear spiritual practices, when we get attached to meditation and some fantasy that when I do it, it will all go away. Its just the same as attachment to chocolate cake. Im not saying that youre saying that. Im just saying. Its a long-term thing, were in for the long haul. But its a precise, clear, intelligent, disciplined activity Im talking about. Student The specific thing I was thinking about was motivation actually. I think about my own motive, my reason for wanting something, I can never really clarify why it is Im doing something. Ven Robina Well, dont worry. You dont have to accept the status quo; you change your motivation, you make it what you want it to be. Its your mind, you can decide what you like. Just because the status quo is youre confused about what your motivation is, who cares what it was. Decide what you want it to be. Its very simple. What do you want it to be? What do you want your motivation to be? Student To be helpful. Ven Robina Right. Student I dont know if by doing a particular task that particular task that Im thinking of is really helpful. Ven Robina Sweetie Pie, theres two things there. A bird needs two wings. Compassion is the wish to be helpful. Thats what compassion is. Compassion is defined as when you see someone suffering you see it and you feel their pain. And then the bigger one is, May I do something about it. So youre saying that. How marvelous! Thats compassion wing. But compassion is the wish to help others, but compassion is not what gives you the skill to help others; thats wisdom. Wisdom is what youre doing when were talking right here. What weve talked up until now is all the wisdom wing. You put yourself together: the more clear you can be, the more clear you can understand your mind, and your nonsense, and your confusion, the more clear you can be about yourself and put yourself together. That informs your compassion because what wisdom gives you is the ability to see ... your heart reaches out, thats compassion. But wisdom, which is the work you do on your own mind, removes all the junk from your own mind so you can see past your own nose now, which means you can see what would help. And you do that. But that comes from wisdom, not compassion. So you have to have the motivation. Thats why we always start everything with a pure motivation. Whats my motivation? You state it, youre making a new motivation: I am doing this, I am doing that,
I want to do this so I can develop my qualities, so I can be of benefit to others. That becomes your motivation and that informs everything you do. And then you develop the wisdom: by getting rid of your own junk you get two things: 1. your own happiness, and then 2. you get wisdom, you get clarity, you see whats going on. That gives you the ability to choose, I know with confidence this will help: one word, one action or doing nothing. Thats wisdom. Thats what gives you the ability to know. Your motivation is the wish to help. Your wisdom is the skill to do it. Theyre two things. Student I guess Im in too much of a hurry to get the skill. Ven Robina And thats called attachment. No. Thats attachment. Student I see. Ven. Robina Thats attachment. Thats what makes us feel anxious and in a hurry. Its like attachment to see the plant grow, youre kind of anxious every day that its not coming up. Im sorry, its got its own laws and it will come when its ready. You feed it, you do the right thing, you do all the causes and conditions, it will come when the time is right. Thats what patience is. Student Yes. Student Im thinking of how to apply this. When you talked about first of all stemming the karmic habit in body and speech, refraining from the habit. To me at that point, if I have a habit of attachment or aversion and I recognize that, then it can be a signal theres some delusion at the root of it. Ven Robina Well the delusion is the attachment and the aversion, so what do you mean besides that? Student What I mean is not acting out of the aversion or attachment and looking inwards: Why am I reacting this way or Why do I want to react this way? What is the actual delusion. Ven Robina What you mean is what youre looking at is the attachment and trying to understand how it functions? Thats the way to say it. Student Yes. Ven. Robina Yes, thats your job. Student Instead of acting it out. . . Ven. Robina Yes, thats your job. Student But when something is really subtle and I cant tell whether its attachment or love, if I could ask myself that question of: If I dont get this, am I going to be disappointed? Ven Robina Thats right. Good point. Thats a good test. Yes thats right, a good way to do it. Shes saying that when she sees the impulse to follow attachment or follow aversion, she doesnt want to follow it with her body and speech, and then she wants to look inside and check it out. Is it good to check ... the
test if its an attachment, If I dont get it, how would I feel? Thats a good way to think. Because then you know thats attachment. But the point is this also: we need to be doing this job all the time this is being your own therapist, an ever deepening knowledge, an ever deepening skill at it. But at the same time weve got to be. . . like when youre in a relationship with a person and theres enormous affection there and you love the person very much, its inevitable theres attachment, too. And its impossible to expect yourself to be in that relationship and have no attachment, just like that. So youve got to be brave to know youve got to engage in the relationship, and engage in the thing, and engage in the activity with the pure motivation, and then you catch the attachment when it comes and you work with it. Sometimes, if its really heavy attachment to something like heroin, you cant do that. The object is so intense it will destroy you: best to say no. Cut right away. But some objects, its okay to be with them because its a good person, so dont be scared of attachment, because you mitigate it with the love and the constant good motivation. Dont be scared of the attachment, dont treat it fundamentalist, Oh God Im a sinner, look at me. Youve going to have it for a long, long time, but be in the middle of it but constantly grow the love, and grow the patience, and grow the generosity, and motivate purely, and then purify as well and then by having it you learn about it. Student Thats very helpful ... Ven. Robina Dont avoid, dont be scared. I mean if its a destructive thing, like a really heavy action youre attached to, best to absolutely say no. No choice there. Weve got to say no to some, definitely, for our own sanity. Like torturing: just dont do it. Weve got to have enough skill to know. Student But if its wholesome enough ... Ven. Robina If the person is a good person and a good relationship and theres something good there, its going to come with the junk. By having it youll learn about the junk, so it will be like grist for the mill. Go for it. Do you want a quick break? Ten minutes, or fifteen.
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Session Six
Motivation
All right, lets carry on. Lets carry on! Carry on please. Remembering our motivation. This is a point about motivation. Its a very good point that we were saying before, look into your motivation and try to work out what it is. Dont worry about the past one, who cares? Its probably deluded. Its okay. So, we start a new one; its our mind, we can mold our mind into any shape we like. We can decide what to think and we have to start with a thought. As Lama Zopa says, Everything exists on the tip of the wish. You start with the thought. So you think: I want this action, I am going to do this eating ... This is why you are going to think before you shove the food in, before you do the thing. Why am I doing this? So that I can you answer your own question so that I can become a Buddha, so I can benefit sentient beings. Its the most far-reaching motivation you could possibly have. Its the most extensive, the most expansive, and why not have the longest-term motivation. It might seem so far off. First of all, where are we going to go? You are going to go to Paris. But, you wouldnt say Im motivated to get to Santa Cruz; and you do all the plans and you get to Santa Cruz; and you stop, and you are going to start again. And then you are going to get to San Francisco, and you are going to do all the things and you go to the agent and get the things, get the tickets, drive to San Francisco. . . and then youve got to start again. Now Ive got to get to Los Angeles to get the flight to Europe. Then, Ive got to start all over. . . Its ridiculous, to do like that. So, you have a long-term motive. My motive is Paris. So, all the plans you make are towards that. You motivate; therefore, you plan. Your goal is Paris and then you do all the preparation that when you get to Santa Cruz you keep going; and you keep going to San Francisco, Los Angeles, you keep going, because youve motivated all the way. You are motivated all the way. Why am I doing this? What am I existing? Why am I eating my dinner? Why am I having sex? Why am I helping others? Why do I do my job? Because I want this action to be an altruistic action. I am doing this so I can develop myself, so I can be of benefit to others, so I can lead them to enlightenment. That transforms that action into a cause for that result. Otherwise, its just attachment action, which means its a poisonous thing inside you. Its ridiculous. This is a very marvelous way to transform everything we normally do from attachment into something sublime. In other words, before you shove the food in the mouth. . . the status at the moment is of course Im eating because I want it, Im eating because Im attached, Im eating because I want to be healthy, Im eating because Im greedy. Thats my motivation right now. Thats attachment motivation. Thats the old one. Now, Im going to make it new. Before I shove the food in, Im going to say, okay, like we do for lunch: this is oceans of nectar. I imagine that. Its my creative imagination. I think of all the people having the pleasure of having it, all the holy beings, all the suffering beings: May they be happy. Thats incredible. That transforms the whole action. It transforms the action. Remember the
motivation determines the quality of your action, not the action itself. But, we can make a new motivation. Were not stuck with the old one. Its our mind. In the beginning, of course its phony. Of course, you dont feel compassion for all beings when you offer the food in your mind to them. You still feel attached. Thats okay. Youre changing. If you every day had this pure motivation, what will become stronger? Your pure motivation. Eventually, youll become a compassionate, wise person. Youre weakening the attachment. If you keep reinforcing the attachment, it gets stronger. This is very skillful. Its like when Im talking with Joan and the depression, you accept this as the garden right now full of all the weeds and my attachment to my garbage, but I dont follow it. I change. Okay, Im going to eat it, before I put it in for me, Ill imagine doing it for others. In the beginning, youre faking it until you make it. Thats practice. When you hop on that bike at the age of three, youre faking it until you make it. When you start playing the piano, youre faking it until you make it. Its not phony. Its actually how things work. So, thats how you do here, with your mind. You motivate. So, were doing this action so we can become a Buddha. So we can benefit all sentient beings.
Junior School Again: Suffering and Its Causes

So, here we are again, and were here in the high school mode here, talking about the mind. Looking in the context of the four noble truths, in particular looking at what suffering is, looking very briefly at the second kind, mainly in terms of the second noble truth, which is the causes of suffering. So, the first type of suffering is the gross kind: getting what you dont want. The second kind is getting what you do want, but through the medium of attachment. Because lets face it, its the only way we get happy now, isnt it? Is the getting of what we want. So, were living in a junky world where were forced to get the junk, and thats what we call happiness. Suffering is when you dont get the junk and happiness is when you do. All Buddhas pointing out is even the getting of the junk is in the nature of suffering and we know this when we think of junk. We dont know it when we think of chocolate cakes and people and life, because we say thats normal: of course thats happiness. So, we take it as a given that you have happiness when you get the things you want, and you get sadness when you dont. We think thats life. Buddhas saying thats suffering, and we can go beyond it. We can get more profound level of happiness if we can give up attachment. So, of course its like when you go to botany school and you learn about that weed and you do drawings of it and its just on a page on its own, its easy to see it and identify its qualities. If you go to your garden and you try to identify it when its mixed up with the other things, its very hard, isnt it? So, when we have love and attachment right now, its extremely hard to distinguish because for so long we think of them as the same. So, here we are trying to see it in a new way.
Love and Attachment

So, there you are in this relationship: the child, the friend, the husband, whatever it might be. So like were saying, dont back away from it because you shouldnt have attachment. Youll do nothing and youll be paralyzed, you just become frozen and youll cut your heart off. Weve got to be brave and know that, given that we do have attachment, we cant expect it to go overnight. Then, we choose a reasonable relationship, a reasonable job, good friends, at least friends who wont harm you. In other
words, if you are attached to a person who beats you up every day, then kind of dumb. Its like being attached to heroin, youre hurting yourself. But, if youve still got attachment, you might as well at least choose an object that wont be that destructive. In the end, youve got to go beyond, in the sense of attachment, going beyond attachment. But, at least if youve got a friend who is kind and is loving and whos working on their mind too, well thats a reasonable relationship. Nothing wrong; go into that. Of course, youve got attachment, but then you use the relationship to help you distinguish, and every time they do what you dont want, every time they dont get up on time, every time they dont meet you on time, every time they eat their breakfast too loudly, every time they do the tiniest things that annoys you, then you know that you are grateful, because thats showing you your attachment. Because annoyance is just a simple little sweet word for aversion. We say annoyed, frustrated, irritated: thats called anger. Lets give it its proper name. Just a mild version of it, thats all. Because aversion is a response when attachment doesnt get what it wants. Because what you want is to hear no sound when hes eating his breakfast. Thats what you want. You are attached to getting no sound and then if you hear slurping, its irritating, right? I mean I cant imagine how you all sleep with people every day, and they fart and they snore. I mean no wonder you have aversion for your partner! Its asking too much of yourself to keep thinking of them as divine and gorgeous when they fart and snore! I think you should have your own room. Really, I think people really demand too much, you demand too much of yourself in relationships, living one inch away from this person. Youre demanding too much. I mean the guys in prison, they kill each other when they are in their cells in the security-housing unit, I mean I dont blame them. Id kill somebody if I was sitting in an eight-foot by ten-foot cell, twentythree hours a day, years on end. So, its too much, you are expecting too much of yourself, I think. When we have so much attachment and irritation and neuroses, no wonder relationships all break up. No wonder 65 percent of American relationships, and thats the ones that are called marriage legally, break up. Im not surprised.
Protect Yourself From Your Attachment

So, this is something interesting, too. The more you know your own mind, the more you know the extent of your attachment, your irritation, your annoyance, your this, your that, your own delusions, then you protect yourself. You give yourself an appropriate condition that doesnt exacerbate them too much. Its just common sense. Its being practical. You dont beat yourself up because you are attached if you are living with a person every day. I mean you wouldnt expect an alcoholic hear the words carefully to give up attachment to alcohol while continuing to drink alcohol. You wouldnt. You know its insane. A person whos aware enough of their own mind that they need to remove themselves from the object. This is extremely important. Conditions play a major role. Your mind is the main thing, weve got to start giving it power; but, its not the only thing. The condition called the alcohol, the drink, is a major condition that activates your attachment, and its so intense that you must remove yourself from it.
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Now, some relationships we need to do the same thing. Some people they say, Oh, we love each other so much but we cant live together. That means youve got so much attachment and so much aversion you fight all the time because your attachment is so intense, and therefore your aversion is so intense, you are always in each others faces. Well, then you cant live together. Youre right. Separate, much better, more healthy, better for yourself. The person you fight with so much at work: maybe it really is just best because you cant handle the amount of anger you have. And you dont blame yourself, you just know you cant handle it. Dont leave it because you think the persons a creep. Thats the usual way we leave. He is so horrible. I must leave the job. Dont blame him. Blame your own anger. He might be a creep but your anger is whats causing you so much suffering and your anger is what causes all the problems, not his being a creep. Thats his problem. Your problem is your anger. And this is the business about karma and about your own mind, this incredible clarity we have to develop that enables us to see this clearly, to enable us to see this, to distinguish myself from the other person, to distinguish my part of it, to see my part, my thoughts, my feelings, my emotions, my junk and to distinguish it from that persons. Right now with the delusions, were locked into the other object. Were so caught up we cant see that what Im thinking. . . we think that what Im thinking is his stuff, and we cant even distinguish between what hes doing and what Im thinking. We think its the same thing and thats what delusions do. They absorb into the object. Attachment so absorbs into the object that you cant distinguish yourself from the object. Thats the one; thats the killer of attachment.
Chocolate Cake
So, lets get back to the chocolate cake. Whats happening here is this. You see the cake: the eyes see the shape and the color. That instantly like I mean this is all happening in sort of a millionth of a second, all this stuff, its so perfectly programmed inside us, we do it to perfection the eye consciousness perceives shape and color, that triggers instantly the mental consciousness where the memory is stored from having eaten and seen and touched and tasted this thing before. So, it pulls up the label chocolate cake and its accurate. Its fine: this is a chocolate cake. You even could be a professional cook and just by looking at it, triggering your memory and your knowledge, you could actually deduce that its a really good chocolate cake. Thats a relative reality; nothing wrong with that. Thats a fact. It triggers in you because youve eaten it before and because youve had pleasure, because its triggered pleasure before and again the key word is it triggers the pleasure, technically. Right now we think its the main cause of my pleasure. We think the pleasure comes from the chocolate cake. This is not correct. You could say that the chocolate cake is merely a catalyst. It triggers your capacity to experience pleasure. Thats the way to say it. So that memory is there. You recall having had pleasure. So, all of this is fine. None of this is delusion yet. None of these little thoughts that have arisen all so instantly in the mind, theyre not delusion. This is fact: Its a fact its chocolate cake; its a fact its shape is a round thing; its a triangle; its this, its a good one; youve had it before; it triggered pleasure none of that is a mistake. None of that is delusion. But, the trouble is what also is triggered instantly along with all of this is attachment. And its so powerful it permeates all the other things, so the overall experience is attachment. And that means instantly you see it, it appears self-existent, out there, having this inherent deliciousness, like as if deliciousness is inherent in the cake, as if when you made it, you put a spoonful of deliciousness along with the chocolate and the eggs. Its like, in other words, you check, it looks delicious to you out there,
doesnt it? It looks delicious, like it is delicious, in itself delicious. And you believe it a 100 percent, right? You believe it. You dont ever doubt that. And you believe the cake is delicious. . . So in other words, you dont think for one split second that the delicious cake is a story that your mind is making up. We dont think that.
Chocolate Cake Is an Elaborate Story

But thats what Buddhas saying. Thats what Buddhas saying. That actually, we are making up an elaborate story. So, we cant argue that its not a cake. It is a cake, relatively speaking, theres a relative level here. It is a cake, its not a toilet. It is delicious. Its not an ugly one. If you are a professional cake maker, you can relatively speaking say that. They are facts. Theres no argument about that at a relative level. But, the energy, the experience we have of it, is mainly informed by the ignorance, which sees it as inherent, not just inherent delicious, but inherent cake thats an even harder one to see. We see it as inherently delicious if we have attachment there. Lets say you have aversion to chocolate cake; lets say you get really sick if you eat chocolate cake. So, when that person sees it, itll be a whole other story, the eye consciousness perceives shape and color, it will trigger the label called chocolate cake, it will trigger the memory of having had it, it will trigger the disgust and the horrible experience that was triggered by the having of it. Right? So the overall experience that you will have will be then formed by the aversion that is triggered instantly. So, how now the cake appears to you is something disgusting. It appears from its own side out there, inherently in and of itself, disgusting, as if you put a spoonful of disgusting-ness into it when you made it. Thats how it appears to you. So, each of us believes our own picture, dont we? Its a picture because clearly the cake cant be simultaneously disgusting and delicious, can it? Like it cant be simultaneously chocolate and carrot cake. Its either chocolate or carrot cake. So, weve both got it correct. Check, check, it is chocolate cake. Weve got that right. But, then one person puts a lie onto it and says its ugly, another person puts another lie onto it and says its delicious and they are the stories made up by the mind. Even more subtle, we can even say that were projecting chocolate cake onto it. But, actually theres no chocolate cake from its own side: thats a deeper one. Were looking at our attachment as a liar now; but seeing that one tells us how even ignorance is a liar, and thats another discussion. Attachment or aversion are liars, how they project their own story coming from our own experience, our own story, and our own stuff. So, you know when a racist sees a certain person of a certain race, they see somebody disgusting. When a person of that same race sees that person, they see a person who is lovely. Again, as our mothers would tell us, all these secret little Buddhist clichs that our mothers have, Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Deliciousness is in the eye of the beholder. Ugliness is in the eye of the beholder. It is so obvious. Its profound, that statement, but we just say it like a cute thing. But, its absolutely the point.
So, of course we dont think its like this. We can hear it now, rationally. But, because were brainwashed into attachment, we just go into it, automatic, default mode. Theres no questioning. Were brainwashed. Were totally programmed to see it like this. And then of course this is the point, as Lama
Zopa Rinpoche says Bad enough that you see it in a way. . . that its not, meaning gorgeous, delicious, or ugly, whatever it might be, the story you project. Bad enough you see it this way, but the worst part is you believe its true. Thats the point. Thats what keeps us locked into samsara. Thats the trick, to catch that and, as Rinpoche says, Everything is your own karmic appearance. So, for someone like me whos got the habit of being angry, then people will appear to me as very annoying and ugly and horrible and destructive and this and that. Bad enough I see them this way, but its because of my karmic appearance, from my habit, but the worst part is if I believe Im right. Then, Ill hold on to it. And look at the world, thats why we have wars.
Dont Believe in Our Karmic Appearances

So, the practice is to see the old habit coming strong, you keep seeing these ugly, awful people but, when you are practicing, you then catch yourself and think: Its true, I see them this way and Im feeling furious. And when you can calm down a bit, you can start to say, But its not true, Robina. Things dont exist how you see them. This is just your anger talking. Theyre not really like that from their own side. That doesnt mean they didnt harm you; thats another discussion, too. We are not saying they didnt harm you. But, anger is the response, its a certain way of interpreting a person who harms you. Attachment is a certain response to a cake believing that it makes me happy. So, Buddhas not saying when you put the cake in your mouth it doesnt trigger some pleasure. Hes not arguing with that. What hes arguing with is this over-exaggerated view of it, that its from its own side delicious and when I get it, it is the main cause of my happiness. In other words, the junkie mind, that interpretation, hes arguing with that. And, even just this, to distinguish these two things is quite difficult. And, Ill say well, What do you mean? He did harm me. Buddhas not saying that. Hes not saying the person didnt harm me. Hes saying my anger, my over-exaggeration of his ugliness, my saying hes this, hes the cause of my suffering that is not true. Thats whats not true.
Attachment Lies
It is true its chocolate cake. It is true that relatively when you put it in your tummy it will trigger pleasure. Thats not a lie. But, the rest of it is a lie. From this we make it more than it is, from this we say, It is the cause of my happiness and when I get it, Ill get this and then I must do this. . . and we manipulate to get it, and then we freak out when we dont. All that is the lie. Its like we over-exaggerate the whole thing. Thats how delusions work and thats what we have to catch. This is how we have to see things. This is being your own therapist.
Watch the Mind All the Time

So, its like youve got to be on the case all the time. Its not just every now and again, sitting on your cushion, being holy. This is your full on day-to-day job, because delusions are occurring all the time. So, being your own therapist is what you are supposed to be doing all the day. Thats the point. And like any job we start to do, its difficult in the beginning. You just stumble and you feel very tired doing it, but eventually you get used to it, and do it naturally and thats when youre really beginning to practice ... Not beginning, thats when you are really getting some more experience from the practice, when you
really can see your mind, have the courage to see it, change it right there, or struggle with it, work with it, and move forward. Thats practice. Student So when you were talking about your Tibetan friend, he definitely could say, Yes, I was harmed. Ven Robina Yes, my Tibetan friend who was tortured in Tibet and in 1987 participated in some of the demonstrations there. All the monks and nuns were demonstrating and he got arrested, got tortured. Then he left the country, and his father and brother were murdered. So, theres no argument, of course, he knows he was harmed. But, the point is because he had the view of karma deep in the bones of his being its just what he sees as the truth, like we see the opposite is the truth even as its happening to him, he completely knows hes part of that; hes an interdependent part of that scenario, that due to past suffering, he has now created the cause to be harmed. So, he just knows that. As its happening even, he knows it. Theres not a problem in his mind interpreting it in this way. Because thats his interpretation of it, he doesnt get angry. Because anger you look at the words of anger. Look at the words. How dare they do that to me? Now, that means I didnt do anything to create it, doesnt it? It means I didnt do anything to deserve it. Do you see my point?
A Few Lives Between Punches

So, its sort of like. . . I remember years ago when some bloke, when I used to hit guys when I was a very radical feminist, and theyd say something to me in the street and Id punch them in the nose or other places on the body. Im serious, I did! So, I remember this particular man: he punched me back! I was very surprised because they usually didnt do that. But, it was very interesting because I was running on the street and he was running after me after Id punched him in the nose for saying something to me. And then he hit me back. Now, lets just say someone hadnt seen me hit him first ... Or, lets just say people did see me hit him and then they saw him hit me back. And then, if I started saying, Who does he think he is? Who do you think you are? How dare you hit me? They would have all laughed, right? But, Robina you hit him first. What are you talking about? Do you see? Well, thats karma. Its just that it was two and half lives ago. Thats the problem. Student So he could go through the suffering of being harmed physically. Ven Robina He would feel the pain. He would feel the pain, yes. Student And he doesnt feel the added psychological damage of the anger. Ven Robina No anger. Thats exactly right. That is the point and thats whats shocking because we think they come together, because we all have the view of the innocent victim. So I remember again, two years ago in New York I was participating in a conference with a whole bunch of ex-prisoners that Richard Geres foundation had invited His Holiness and also invited all of them and all the people who had worked with Buddhism during their incarceration. So, a couple of people like me were invited as well. And what was very interesting, they all had their own experiences, their own dramas, their own sufferings, struggling with their racism and different things, really in the same way as all of us, lots of anguish and drama and suffering and Why? and all this painful stuff we all have using the Buddhist explanation, because we dont have an understanding of why it happens.
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Thats the major reason we have so much anguish. Why? Do you see? So, there also at the conference were two young Tibetan nuns who totally had this Buddhist view, in their minds, in their hearts, it invests their practice, it informs their practice. So, there they are talking about their experience of being tortured daily, physically, sexually brutalized daily in prison. For however long, I dont remember the details. I dont remember. Now, it was really clear to look at them, to hear them, first that their suffering was far worse than everybody elses. It was also really clear they werent angry. They werent full of anguish. Their eyes werent tortured and full of pain and Why? and drama. They werent on serotonin, they werent seeing psychiatrists, they werent having mental breakdowns, they werent depressed because the view is, because the view of karma. The karma is the basic one. It explains why you have a situation. You are able, therefore, to bear it because you know youre not an innocent victim, because youre brave enough, its a confident view. A victim is not confident. Because you have this view. . . you dont want the suffering; you please would rather walk out the door. Its not comfortable to be tortured, for Gods sake. But, you dont have all of this other psychological junk on top of it. So, because they had their practice and they had their compassion and they had their stuff, theyre able to, it gave them courage and strength to bear it. And they even, because of the view of karma, had compassion for their torturers. And they said this, but they didnt do it in a big sort of smarty-pants way; it was very humble. I mean thats a very different way of seeing things. In other words, this is what Buddha is saying: everything is to do with how you see it. So, the chocolate cake, look at the example: its how you see it. Even the prison, even the torture, its how you see it. Finally, that is emptiness actually: that, from its own side, nothing has an inherent nature this way or that. Everything, Buddha says, is our own projection. Our own: from imprinting, from habit, from interpreting according to delusions, things that come to us, we meet them, the harm comes. We interpret it that way and we keep reinforcing it that way. That keeps deepening samsara. But, everything has come from our own past experiences and everything even is interpreted by our own minds. As Lama Zopa Rinpoche said to several people who write to him from prison, he writes back to some of them, he said to one, Its how you label it. People in Tibet spend years attempting to find a little, smelly, dark cave locked away on their own, locked away on their own, and they call it heaven, they call it hermitage. Okay, its not quite the same when theres lots of noise in a prison where its very angry and violent. But, its how you label it. So, if you look at all the labels, you label, you believe youre a criminal, you believe this, you label yourself, that you are labeled in prison, and somebody else is doing it to you. All this elaborate stuff we have. Well, of course, its suffering. Of course, its pain. All of our lives were like this, were all these victims in these self-imposed prisons that we think other people do to us. Student Your Tibetan nun friend would be much freer ... Ven Robina Darling, they dont have such a thing as post-traumatic stress. Its a new concept we made up in the West. Its called neurotic mind. Im not being mean about us now. Its just simply called having attachment, anger, anxiety, fear, thats all it is. All these things we call even the manic-depressive label, the bi-polar label. Its simply having attachment and aversion. In the attachment mode ... we have a thousand bipolar episodes a day. When you get what you want, the mind gets all over-excited. So, when
youve really got a very extreme mind, you get very over-excited and you think youre Mozart, you think you can fly in the sky. Thats the really up-mode of the maniac attachment gone berserk with no thermostat. And then, where does it go? Its an inflation, its not an accurate state of mind to think youre Mozart and that you can fly in the sky. Do you see thats a really extreme level of attachment? Eventually, where can it go? It can only bubble up and burst. It cant go anywhere but deflate. Down to Oh, my God. So, that high you go, you go that down. So, when you get the green light, you get the up mode of the bi-polar. When you get the red light, you get the down of the bi-polar. So, we have a mini little bi-polar episode a day, thousands of them. You see my point here? Im not trying to simplify this, make it simplistic. Using Buddhist psychology, all the experiences we have can be explained, by utilizing, by talking these states of mind. So, post ... whats the word again? Student Post-traumatic stress. Ven Robina And thats when you are feeling anxious and neurotic and fearful because theres something horrible that happened, right? Student Like a thunderclap would remind you of the bombs. Ven. Robina Its called ego-grasping, okay? Its called ignorance that clings to self-existent me, that then brings up fear when it doesnt get what it wants, and attachment and all these things, and then when really bad things happen and Im not saying that bad things dont happen to us; Im not trying to make it little here. But, this can be explained in this way. So, if you are able to process what happens to you when it happens, you dont have fear, depression, anxiety, serotonin, post-traumatic stress, hate, blame, or anything else. You dont have it. This is not saying its easy; Im not saying that. Student But theres no residue because you didnt make the distorted interpretation in the first place ... Ven. Robina Yes, thats the point. Thats right. Here in the second scope were looking at ... the first scope we look mainly at the karmic one, leading up to karma, and we have to see cause and effect: that what we do, say, and think will produce results. We look particularly at the doing, saying and thinking of negative things: harmful things to others result in future suffering for us. We dont want suffering, so we back away from doing harmful things to others. We arent even analyzing it much on the first level of karma. Youre not going into it too deeply. You are looking at it fairly reasonably and realizing that doing things that harm others with your body, speech, and mind are what will bring harm to you. What comes around goes around, as we all say. So, because you dont want further suffering, you start to control yourself. You start to watch your body, speech, and mind. Now, we move to the second scope where we start to look in a more sophisticated way, having got a bit of a handle on our body and speech, were looking at a more sophisticated way, at the deeper causes of even the karma, which is the mind itself, the delusions themselves. We are looking at what the characteristics are of these delusions.
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The liars, the misconceptions ... and why they are called negative because they cause us, okay, why they are called negative is because they are coming even from the powerful sense of self, powerful me, inherent from my own side, this separate, lonely, bereft I-ness, which then gives rise to strong neediness to make that I happy, which then causes us to manipulate this and that, to get this and that, to shove it in to make me happy, which then causes me to get angry when we dont get what we want, and causes us to get angry and to harm the people who thwart us, who thwart our attachment, which is called anger and aversion. And, then brings us to depression, which is internalized aversion, which brings us to pride which is an over-inflated sense of who I think I am, and all these other delusions. They all come like this. And these are the source of our actions of body and speech, which sow seeds in the mind but ripen as future suffering and so the ball keeps rolling. So, we try to understand deeply the workings of the mind here. And, this is really the day-to-day job, incredible.
Attachment
So, attachment is this over-exaggerated, distorted, neurotic misconception that sees the thing or the person or the event as more than it really is, Out there from its own side, such that if I get it, Ill get happy. And then, such that if I dont get it, I get angry. Thats what anger is. Aversion is a response to thwarted attachment, basically, to whatever degree you have it.
Other Delusions
So, lets look at a couple of other delusions just for a bit of help. We hear the word pride quite a bit, arrogance. So, if were accused of being arrogant, its not very comfortable, is it? Or proud, having pride in the arrogant sense. So, its difficult when we hear this because we think, I dont have pride. I have low self-esteem. I think Im terrible. We all have low self-esteem. In fact, His Holiness the Dalai Lama when he heard about the extent of low self-esteem in our culture, he said, Thats a mental illness. And its true. We have enormous low self-esteem, self-loathing, guilt. But, its a bit painful to hear it but its the flip side of pride. Low self-esteem is the down mode of when you feel like youre being deflated, when someone hurts you or insulted you. So, we wouldnt have low self-esteem if we didnt have arrogance and pride. This is a very curious thing. You check, its very true. So, whats interesting is we have all of these different words. We say confident, self-confidence, for example. And, we say humility. So, humility is almost like a dirty word because it seems like you lower yourself even more. Having humility seems like low self-esteem to us and then, having self-confidence sounds like pride. So, then we think weve got to give up pride, weve got to give up self-confidence. Then to have humility means weve got to have low self-esteem. So, we make it all confused. But, lets look at these.
Delusions Are the Voices of I

First of all, any of the unhappy states of mind, any of the delusions, any of the misconceptions the delusions are misconceptions but, they have this component of being emotionally disturbing, right? Any of the disturbing emotions, any of the misconceptions or delusions, their one main thing is
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theyve got the very loud voice: I. Theres a better way to say it: they are the voices of I, but the neurotic, fearful, grasping, fantasy I. And the energy of I is fear. The energy of this neurotic I is fear. And the more we look into all our delusions, the more well see theyre completely based in fear. Fear of I not getting what it wants. I has to get what it wants. I being insulted, I being less than I really am, I am not that, I, that fearful, panic I, thats the neurotic I that we grasp at one million percent as real, which Buddha says is a complete fabrication. And this is a very hard thing to see.
Pride and Low Self-Esteem

Im not talking about that I yet, because of this, we have the other things: attachment, anger and then pride. So what is. . . pride or arrogance is again as a delusion, a delusion we are talking about here not a virtue, its the state of mind which is based on obviously the over-exaggerated I and is the attitude that I am more than I actually am. So, its an over-inflated sense of your being better at something or more important at something. And, it works in a very subtle way and its quite pervasive actually, and its there all the time. And, its like in terms of whether you are more beautiful, more tall, more short, more whatever it might be; it could be the tiniest thing. And its always. . . when its in the mind, and it is there much of the time, its always referencing everybody else in relation to this. So, when theres that type of mind, when we see other people who are more happy, and more beautiful, and more rich, what does that bring? Oh, I must be no good. Thats what low self-esteem is. So, were always looking at others and always comparing with others. So then because we think they are more happy, and more famous, and more beautiful, and more thin, and more this, and more intelligent, so then low self-esteem comes. I am no good. But, its nonsense. Both the feeling that you more important and the feeling that you are less important are both distortions. Theyre both delusions. Theyre the flipside of the same coin. So, we think of low self-esteem as whatever, some kind of a virtue almost. But, its not. Its an appalling state of mind. Its awful. But, its the same quality as arrogance. Arrogance is looking in the mirror and saying, Oh, Im so beautiful. Low self-esteem looks in the mirror and says, Oh, Im so ugly. The reference for both is I and theyre both a mistake. Do you see? Theyre both exaggerations? All delusions exaggerate. Pride exaggerates your beauty. Low self-esteem and self-hate exaggerate your ugliness. Theyre both distortions. Theyre both not accurate. Do you see my point? And, low self-esteem is the result of deflated pride. It is deflated pride. If you didnt have arrogance, you wouldnt have low self-esteem. This is a very interesting point. So, a simple little example, you could think of two people, lets say coming into a crowded room, theyre both gorgeous, both beautiful. One has self-confidence, lets say, and one has pride, lets say. Because self-confidence, and why Im using this word here, is not deluded. Its not based on the neurotic I. Its not comparing. Its not fearful. Its simply content with what you are. Dont think of it as arrogant. We think self-confidence and arrogance are the same. But, self-confidence is being content with who you are and its not based in fear. You understand? You are happy with who you are. Youre content with it, and its not comparing with others. Youre content in yourself. So, okay the two people who are so totally gorgeous lets say they are best in their field or something, lets say. And one has got not much arrogance and is very self-confident and very contained in themselves and very relaxed. That means that person walks into the room and they are very un-self-con-
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scious. They are happy to meet other people. They are happy to meet people who are more beautiful than they are. They delight in this person. They want to learn something from this person. They have no fear of what people think. Theyre content. And, that very contentment and this is again a characteristic of non-ego is like when you are not self-conscious, when you are un-self-conscious. You understand? When its just natural, and you are not thinking of me. You are actually thinking of others, in a very natural, un-self-conscious way. The arrogant person is walking in utterly absorbed in I, fearful, panic-stricken, worried about meeting someone whos better, worried about what people are thinking. Thats pride. And terrified of being seen as less, almost waiting for the insult, and then when they discover someone more beautiful or when someone says, You are not so beautiful: devastated, collapsed into low self-esteem. I am so bad. You understand? Thats pride. So, the delusions are linked, are the voices of the neurotic I and their energy is fear and theyre selfconscious. Theres a sort of vivid I-ness. But the virtues, theres no sense of self-conscious I.
Virtues Are Peaceful

In fact, virtue ... its very interesting. If the two main characteristics of the delusions are: one, they are disturbing, that is when you have them you are very uncomfortable, and two, they are delusional, theyre liars, then, the two characteristics of the virtuous states of mind are simply that they are not disturbing and they are not delusional. Theyre not disturbing means when there is more love in your heart for another, even for a moment, than there is attachment, youre not disturbed, youre feeling quite peaceful. In its nature, virtuous states of mind makes us peaceful, make us relaxed, calm. Nonvirtuous states of mind make us fearful, panicked, unhappy. So, if lets say Joan and I are chatting away and having a friendly talk and each of us is listening to the other and were saying yes, yes, and I laugh when she tells me a nice story and she delights in something that happened to me that means you could say at that moment were loving each other. I mean it sounds more dramatic than we would think because we think love is lovey-dovey, huggie-feely; attachment, in other words. But, love really means Im delighting in Joans happiness. Love really means shes delighting in mine. Thats it and its very un-selfconscious and very kind of friendly. So, when love is more prevalent between us, just in that sense, what would be the experience? Theres no vivid sense of me. Im noticing Joan. Shes got no vivid sense of her. Shes more noticing me. Theres not a vivid sense of she and me. Theres more a sense of we. You understand? And, its very harmonious, very friendly, easy-going, no dramas. Now, watch what happens when we start to argue. Suddenly, the we has gone out the door. Theres now a vivid Joan and a vivid Robina, isnt there? Im feeling all hurt and I, I, I, and shes feeling all hurt and I, I, I. Shes saying, You did this, Robina. You, you, you, and Im saying, You did this to me, Joan. You did this. Were all suddenly dumping on each other. Theres a separateness and its painful and disturbing, isnt it? You see? Again, the characteristics of the delusions is theyre disturbing and its coming from the neurotic I. Its I, I, fearful, painful, embarrassed, self-conscious, and its delusional, lies, fantasies. The characteristics of the virtues is that theyre not disturbing and you know what? theyre not delusional, which is an
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interesting point. It means theyre not liars. And, why is that? Because Buddhas saying everything anyway is interdependent; everything anyway is existing interdependently. So, when youve got virtue in your mind, theres a sense of interdependence, isnt there? A sense of connectedness. Well, thats how things are. That is how things are. So to some extent, not fully yet because we havent realized emptiness, to some extent when youre being kind and harmonious and peaceful and friendly and generous and loving, even a small amount, to that extent you are seeing things as they are. Theres a sense of connectedness. As soon as the delusions kick in, theres a sense of separateness, concrete, separate, inherent, me-ness, she-ness, bad-ness, good-ness. Its delusional. Do you see?
Humility and Self-Confidence

So, the person whos got self-confidence has the quality of humility. Humility is what? Humility is delighting in someone elses qualities, praising someone else, happy to see their good qualities. Its very interesting. I remember years ago watching on the television in Australia a program, before I was a Buddhist, a program about some famous people. And the two people on it that I was watching, one was an Australian cricketer cricket is huge in Australia like in England and India and Pakistan and those countries, all the British Empire. Cricket is huge so, this cricketer called Donald Bradman, hes famous in Australia, hes like your Babe Ruth or your Michael Jordan, back in the 1930s. And then there was another, I was totally into ballet when I was a kid, so this famous English ballet dancer called Margot Fonteyn, right? So, I remember watching both of them and they were interviewed and it struck me even then, and I didnt have Buddhism, but it struck me that first of all they were at the top of their field; they are seen as the best. But, they were both incredibly humble and not like in a slurpy way; really kind, un-arrogant, friendly, praising other people. And, you could tell everybody adored them. They had such a good reputation. Another person whos a really brilliant actor, is not angry. Hes kind and polite and people adore that person. Its so obvious because arrogance and anger really are mixed together. Atisha, who wrote this little text that the lam-rim is based on, he has this little saying and I always get them mixed up and they both work. He said, The best patience is humility. He might have said, The best humility is patience. I think they both work perfectly. You check. They really go together. So, humility is a good quality and it comes with self-confidence. Low self-esteem is a lousy quality and it comes along with arrogance, the flip side of arrogance. Its very interesting to think of it this way. And its painful because we all have low self-esteem. But, its linked to the concrete I and thats how we suffer: this concrete I-ness. So, all the time were referring ourselves to others and we keep seeing, as I said, people more happy, more beautiful, so that makes us that much more miserable because we always sort of see it in reference to ourselves and its meaningless. Its absurd. Thats how ego works.
Offering Lunch
Its lunch time. So, lets think of our lunch differently. The status right now because of being brainwashed for countless lives, is its something out there, delicious from its own side that Im craving to put into my mouth because Im hungry. So, its just mindless attachment. We want to make a different action. Were still going to be attached, but we make it different before we put it in. We dont believe in appearances, so we think of it as empty. We think of it as having no inherent nature, its just like the
chocolate cake: its a projection of our minds because of habit, so we then see it this way. So, we dont believe it. It doesnt have an inherent nature, in fact. So now imagining, we transform it in our minds into an ocean of blissful nectar, an ocean of it, in the sky. And then we think of offering this to all the holy beings, all the Buddhas, all the bodhisattvas, all the holy beings. And then we think of all the suffering, sentient beings, and all the realms of existence, all the gods, humans, animals, pretas, hellbeings, all the suffering beings, all ignorant of cause and effect, all causing themselves unbearable suffering, all not knowing why, all suffering so intensely and continuing to harm each other. Such compassion for them. So, we make this aspiration that they all delight in this and get everything they need, all the happiness they need and that it removes all of their suffering. Delighting in this. So happy to do this. Lama sang gy lama chh De zhin lama ge dn te Kn gyi je po lama te Lama nam la chh par bl The bigger your stomach, the better now. Enjoy it.
Dedication
So now, we just dedicate this thinking, this talking, this aspiring, this analyzing, this contemplating weve just done since this morning, how marvelous. All these seeds weve planted in our minds. May they ripen we remind ourselves of our motivation may they ripen in the future as quickly as possible in the development of my marvelous potential, my Buddhahood so I really can be of benefit to countless living beings. May this be the result of this action. Please enjoy your lunch and see you very soon.
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Session Seven
Motivation
So, okay why are we doing this? What do we want our motivation to be? Why are we doing this? We know we want to develop our qualities, we know we want to be more happy, less neurotic, less miserable. We know that, and were beginning to get confidence that its possible. So isnt this marvelous? And then we look at others and we see theyre in the same boat. We know they want the same, so we want the same for them. Thats compassion. So on the basis of developing our own qualities finally all the way to Buddhahood, may we be able to benefit every single sentient being. How amazing! For this reason we listen to these teachings, process, think about, all the rest.
Overview So Far The Three Preliminary Contemplations

All right. So weve been through, weve looked at the very nature of our mind, the fact that its got this marvelous potential to be perfect, to become Buddha, is its natural state. We must develop into it, we must become it. We can do that because its changeable. The virtues inherent within us, virtues are innate, they are like at the core of our being, they are who we really are. And the negative qualities arent. Our mind is our own, its nonphysical. It doesnt come from a creator, doesnt come from parents, is our own. Whats in our mind is ours and it goes back and back and back, and its the process of cause and effect, chicken and egg, and it will continue to move forward. So then we looked at the necessity for a teacher to show us how to do this job; a person who is qualified, who is valid. We need to check very carefully, very stably, in a very grounded way, check on the qualities, check on the path, check on the teachings, check on the students, check on the reputation, check on all this until we become very confident that first this is the path you want and these are the teachers and we are prepared to trust them to lead us to enlightenment. So then, seeing them as the Buddha, practicing this. Then, moving to the next point that Atisha asks us to contemplate, which is the preciousness of this marvelous opportunity we have right now: this life, this leisure, this space, this time, this intelligence, this healthy body, this situation that were in. Its not random; its the fruit of enormous merit on our part. We set ourselves up to have this marvelous opportunity so lets not waste it. Lets use it as the resource that it is to help us get enlightened. How incredible.
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Junior School: the Lowest Scope

Grade One: Death and Impermanence
So then we contemplate: Yes indeed, it is precious, but my goodness, it could end at any moment. It will in fact end at any moment, the time of our death is completely uncertain, and at the time of death the only thing that is of any use to us is our positive qualities, not the negative ones, not all of our possessions, not our reputation, not our money, not all of this stuff that we spend so much energy on.
Grade Two: Suffering Rebirths

So then we contemplate even more that we will die at any moment and all of these negative karmic imprints from countless past lives could very well ripen as extremely suffering rebirth, causing us to completely lose the plot, completely lose it into all sorts of suffering experiences, thus no way we can practice, no way we can transform ourselves.
Grade Three: Refuge

So we dont want that kind of suffering so we turn to the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha. We utilize these tools in our life to help us develop our qualities. And so then we finally begin to practice.
Grade Four: Abiding by the Laws of Karma

The culmination of this first scope, this junior school level of practice, already profound, is to abide by the laws of karma. So we listen very carefully to Buddhas teachings on what to not do and to what to do, what to avoid and what to actually practice. So we learn the basics of the ten non-virtuous actions, to refrain from these; and just living this way already, marvelous. You wont harm others, they benefit and you benefit directly. Because the negative seeds wont ripen, that when you die, because you thought about it, your mind will be happy, the habit of practicing virtue will naturally ripen the virtuous karma, it will throw your mind on autopilot into a really good rebirth where you can continue to practice your spiritual path. Very practical. Just like if youre a gardener and you can decide what seeds you plant because you know the fruits of those seeds and so you can even have a plan of fifty years time. You can show me your empty ground now and say, Look Robina, in fifty years I will have this and this and an oak tree here and at peach tree there and roses there. And Ill say, Oh, wow, youre clairvoyant. But youll say, No, no, no I just know botany thats all, no big deal. Well the same here, the laws of cause and effect. Its a law, its practical like that. If you want to have a really good life, you practice morality: dont harm others, dont kill, dont lie, dont kill. If you want to have people trust your words then dont lie. If you want to be born with a very fine healthy body then dont kill. If you want to be born and have people trust what you say then dont lie, as I said. If you want to be born with enough things to have in your life so you can keep on practicing, youd better be generous. Its really practical, bring it down to earth. Stop mystifying all this stuff. Were so mystical, so confused. Buddha says its practical you learn to know what to do so that you get that result; you learn what not to do so you dont get that result. Just like you do with food, with
gardening, all the things we understand in the ordinary physical world; we live by these laws. But when it comes to our spiritual practice, when it comes to goodness and badness, we completely lose the plot, and live in fear, you know. So silly.
High School: the Middle Scope

Then we moved to the second scope, we moved to high school now and we started looking more deeply, more sophisticatedly at the deepest causes of suffering, which is in the mind, which is even the cause of why we create karma: the mind, the mind itself. We need to understand the mind. We began to look a little bit at this, understanding positive states of mind, negative states of mind. Understanding how the negative ones cause us suffering, are disturbing, and are deluded. How they function, how they are liars, how they lead us up garden paths, and how the tragedy is because they are so familiar, we are so familiar with them, we believe in what were seeing. As Lama Zopa says, Everything is our karmic appearance: the people we meet, how we see them, how they treat us, has all to do with our past actions. We get sucked into it. Then we feel like a big victim, They did this to me, they did that to me, not fair, poor me, I didnt ask to get born, its not my fault. So, we begin to grow up here, we begin to get more mature, we begin to grow up. We get courage to see ourselves, to take responsibility, and all the time the reference being our own marvelous potential. Just seeing your own negative qualities in and of themselves will make you depressed; we spend our lives doing that. To see negative qualities in the context of the fact that you can change them and become positive: wow! Thats fantastic. So we looked more deeply at how even the nature of this life is suffering, too. Not just having the grosser level of suffering but even the subtle level of suffering, this one of that even this happiness we have now is nothing other than suffering, because its motivated by attachment. Its like the happiness of a junkie, its polluted.
Our Potential To Be Free of Suffering, Full of Happiness

Whereas what Buddha is saying, this concludes this high school, Buddha is saying, actually, if we look at the third noble truth, if we look at our potential, the potential we have for happiness, very simply, is phenomenal, phenomenal. Far more radical in his view of what we can achieve then we ever think possible in our ordinary western world. He says you cant imagine the levels of contentment, fulfillment, bliss, clarity, joy, happiness that we can achieve. Not in a hysterical sense of happiness like we think about it; but we cant even find words for it because it doesnt even come into our experience at all. But if you can even just imagine not having a fraction of attachment, anger, pride, jealousy, fears, confusion, being unbelievably courageous, being extremely wise, seeing the minds of others, being very blissful, very joyful, your mind absolutely under your control, no crazy thoughts, no crazy nonsense, no deluded emotions, being very relaxed, very funny, very blissful, very kind, very loving, very compassionate, can you imagine? We understand the words. Buddha says we can become this.
Renunciation of Suffering and Its Causes

So following this contemplation in this second scope of practice in high school, what we get is an even deeper, more powerful wish to go beyond suffering. They call this renunciation. So weve finished the
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wisdom wing now. The culmination of this all together is a very profound renunciation. So simply speaking as Lama Zopa Rinpoche says, youve got renunciation, youve accomplished it when just the thought, just the thought, of another moment of attachment is so disgusting to you its like being in a septic tank. In other words, when were so advanced and our understanding is so refined, even just a moment of attachment, the thought of it even, is so revolting because weve so deeply understood how it causes so much pain and suffering to ourselves and how it causes all the other delusions and all the gross suffering in the end. Thats the source. So, its pretty amazing.
The Miracle of Renunciation

Another way to say it is the wish to give up not happiness, never think this; its such a mistake but to give up suffering. But crucially, by finally now understanding that the delusions and karma, my delusions and my past actions, are the cause of my suffering, now I have some confidence to know how to change it. Thats the miracle of renunciation. So if you were to complete just this wing, youd achieve nirvana. Youd meditate on emptiness, youd cut the root of even the deepest delusion, the self-grasping, the ego-grasping, eventually perfect that, and you would achieve liberation from suffering. No longer need to be reborn; finished, achieved enormous bliss, your own liberation, as they call it. But here were realizing now we have this renunciation, we have this wish to achieve liberation, this wish to get the hell out of suffering because we so deeply understand it. We know what suffering is and we know why were suffering. Thats the miracle.
Back to the First Noble Truth

So go back to the first noble truth for a minute because I didnt complete it there. There were three kinds of suffering. We looked at the first two. We didnt even go into the first one; its sort of an obvious one, the gross suffering. Getting what you dont want, being in a war zone, people being mean to you, having cancer, being sick, so a very obvious sense, thats clear. The second kind we looked at is the suffering of the happiness we know, which is the happiness of a junkie. The happiness that comes when we get the attachment object, which is nothing other than suffering because, hard to see it when you get it, but when you dont get it thats the sign that it was the happiness of attachment. But the third one, and we didnt mention it, is called all pervasive suffering. Its even more subtle, even harder to recognize. So using the junkie analogy, its a bit like gross suffering is the suffering the junkie gets when they cant get the junk: extreme, intense pain. Subtle suffering is when you get the junk, its the illusion of happiness, but all it is is a brief respite from the gross pain. And every time you get the junk it increases your need to get more junk. So the lie of attachment is when I get the object Ill get happy, but in reality what you get. . . as my mother said, The more you get, the more you want. Actually what youre doing is increasing your attachment, which is the killer. This is the second kind of suffering. The third kind is a bit like youre born into a world constructed of junk, with a body and a mind that are the body and mind of a junkie. So in order to simply exist you are forced to ingest junk. Being locked into that scenario, thats all pervasive suffering. So being born with this mind, these delusions, into a
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desire realm and basically the world is the five sense objects being forced to ingest them in order to even survive, and without it, its insanity. That is the third level of suffering, all pervasive suffering, like no choice. Born into this world in the first place, into the desire realm in the first place. You could say that by working on your gross delusions, on aversion, on anger, you cease the first kind of suffering. By working on attachment, you cease the second kind of suffering. By working on ignorance and realizing emptiness you cease the third kind of suffering. Does that make sense? Student Could you recap that again please? Ven Robina Gross suffering is when you get bashed up and harmed and raped and hurt and dont get enough money and live in a war zone and starving: the gross suffering. By giving up aversion and harming others, you stop this one. The second one, more subtle, by giving up attachment, you stop the second kind of suffering: the suffering of change. By realizing emptiness, by giving up ignorance, the root delusion, you stop the third one. Altogether, thats liberation. Again, remember this is Buddhist religion, but call it psychology, because theres not a single thing that weve talked about here that isnt about the mind. Do not pretend its not the mind were talking about here. Its just that Buddhas got a far more different and maybe more radical, I would say, more sophisticated view, of just what mind is and what its capability is. Do you see my point? So then when we think of it as mind, we are forced to bring it on the earth, not just lah-de-dah-de-dah. Not just hear its something we better believe. Youve got to do it you know. Its extremely important to hear it like this. Okay, thats the second scope, this is high school. Already youre becoming a pretty amazing person. Youve controlled your body, speech and mind, youve really harnessed it, youve got incredible confidence in yourself, you know that what you experience is the fruit of your own past actions, youve really got a harness on your delusions, youre not giving power to them, youre learning to be already an amazing human being. Youd be an amazing human being if youve accomplished even a little bit of all of this. Step by step, we are moving forward, psychologically progressing.
University: The Great Scope The Development of Love and Compassion and Eventually Bodhichitta
So now you can say we can afford to look past our own nose now and see everyone else is in the same boat. Look at all these people harming each other. Why? Because they think they are the cause of their suffering. And look, they dont realize that what theyre doing is going to harm themselves in the future. This alone, this ignorance of karma alone is such a profound reason to have compassion for others. You never had that until you have compassion for yourself, which you get from thinking about karma in the first and second scope. So to really have compassion and were going to now go into the various little techniques to get this love and compassion that Buddha says we have the capacity to get but just in general compassion means seeing the suffering of others or seeing that what theyre doing will cause them suffering, and your heart reaching out. Thats compassion. Love is seeing others and wishing them to be happy, delighting in their happiness, wanting them to be happy; thats love.
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So that really the entire compassion wing is the development of love and compassion, again though, to degrees that we cant even conceive of as real. Why? Because Buddha would say, once we have grounded ourselves in the first two scopes, junior school and high school, and weve got such a profound understanding now of what causes suffering, what causes happiness, for ourselves, of course it applies to all beings. So now we can open our hearts, beginning even easily to expand our consciousness to encompass others and continue all the way to opening your heart until eventually youve encompassed all beings without exception, see their minds perfectly and only wish, spontaneously, to benefit them as long as samara exists. Its all to do with love and compassion, this is the point. And this is the action wing. Its like the wisdom wing is where you put yourself together. Like wisdom is you go to school and learn how to become a surgeon. Compassion wing is the action of cutting off the cataracts. You can have compassion but you cant do that without the wisdom. So youve got to have both. You cant have one wing. You need both wings. Wisdom wing is not enough, just becoming liberated yourself from suffering is not enough. Youve got to also have the one of wanting to help others, because were all in the same boat. So once you put the mechanics of it all together in the first and second scope, easy to do the compassion wing now. Youve got a sound basis.
What Is Compassion?
So lets just in general look at compassion right now and look at what we mean by it in the ordinary world. Based on our assumptions of someone making us, of things happen unfairly, of being evil people over there, and nice people over here, monsters over there, victims over here, this is the view we have of the world. So with this view, look at the people we have compassion for now: we have compassion for those we love, for those were attached to, sorry, we love them too. And we have compassion for the victims, dont we? So put those two together, we have compassion for the victims that we are attached to. So if youre a fanatic Osama bin Laden person youre very compassionate for your people, and theyre the victims. To that extent, you have hate for those who do it to you, because your philosophy tells you that they cause it. So then, you feel righteous in dropping bombs on them killing them, collapsing buildings, killing as many as possible, calling it a noble action. This is the killer, this is the wicked thing about religion: how we turn it into something as a tool to suit our own delusions. Its so naughty you know. Equally, you get some fanatic American, Christian, I dont care what label you have, who truly believes that Americans are these victims and these monsters Iraqis and these monster Osama bin Ladens are these evil people, and we must drop bombs on them so therefore you justify it with your Christianity, calling it good. You have compassion for the victims called America and to that extent you hate the oppressors. Look at the world, look at your own life, look at rats and dogs and cats, we all do it. This is the view of the world, and Buddha is arguing with this view. He says its completely insane. So having done the first and second scopes, having looked at karma, the law of cause and effect, and at the way the mind works, we then are very comfortable in taking responsibility for our own stuff and really developing ourselves and really growing up. Its easy now to look at the whole world, all the victims, all the oppressors and see them all in the same boat. This life, as a victim, next life you are the
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oppressor. The oppressors of this life are the victims of a past life, and will be the victims of the future. The victims of this life are the oppressors of past life and will be the oppressors of the future. We just go round and round and round. You hit me then Ill hit you. Oh, but she hit me! Oh no, then you hit me back. But she hit me, its her fault. Look at us all, never taking responsibility. Thats the reason to have compassion for sentient beings, thats the Buddhas point. Not because youre attached to this group and you feel sorry for them. Thats not really compassion at all. Its better than nothing. Its better than hating two groups; at least you only hate one group. But to hate two groups is even worse. But its not much help because in the end the aggression, the anger towards the oppressors, and the wrong philosophy that they are the main cause of the suffering of the victims, thats what puts you deeper and deeper and deeper into the bigger hole of samsara. Because Buddha would say its a misconception.
Compassion for Those Who Do Harm

So what is real compassion? Well, compassion has to be equal for all beings for it to be genuine compassion. Compassion is simply seeing that others are suffering or this is the point that others are causing themselves suffering by doing stupid things. So from this point of view it sounds shocking to say this for the world, but you check actually youd have more compassion for the pilots on September 11 than you would for the victims. In one way you can see this, in this sense: the victims are experiencing the fruits of their past harming, the extent of their suffering you can only imagine the extent of the causes, who knows what life when that caused that suffering. So they now have just finished that suffering by having that terrible result, theyve purified that. The very having of suffering is the finishing of those seeds. Thats logical. The fruits that fall off the tree, thats the finishing of that seed, isnt it? So if you have suffering, thats the fruit of your past negative karma. Then if you have it, its now finished. This is one attitude to have very much and well talk about it in this wing, compassion wing. This is a very marvelous attitude to have towards your suffering: its the fruit of your own junk coming past, coming up, now you experience it: Oh great, what a relief. There was this rabbi, a Kabbalah rabbi that I was in a conference with a few years ago in Florida, said because he said they have a view of karma also he said they have this saying that every time something bad happens you think: Great, one less debt to repay. Its a really good view, you know. Thats the view here. Thats how come those nuns can be so stable in the face of that suffering, those Tibetan nuns. They know it is their own seeds ripening so then you bear them. That gives you the courage to bear them and even to be grateful that its now finished. So then you have the pilots coming with their huge philosophy, of justifying enormous rage, justifying killing as many people as possible, as being a religious action and a cause for them to go to heaven I mean talk about deluded, I would argue then have far more compassion for them because theyre suffering is going to be infinitely worse than the suffering of those victims in the future. They set themselves up for unbearable suffering in the future. So its a bit like everyone else cant stand that junkie kid. Hes a liar, he steals, people cant stand him
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being around, but the mother, her heart breaks for that junkie kid, doesnt it. Because why? Because she can see he is causing himself suffering. Thats the real compassion. Then of course, it includes the ones who are victims, because of course you have compassion for the victims. Of course you have compassion for the dog whos being kicked but again this is the point the reason you have compassion is because that dog out of ignorance set itself up to be a dog and to be harmed because of its past actions. Thats the reasoning for the compassion. Like the mother for the junkie kid, she sees what he is doing, or even if she sees this kid suffering, she knows that he is suffering because of his own habits, that he is the cause of his own suffering. This is the real one, because you got this in the wisdom wing; youve really got this one down. Youre not falling into the dualistic trap of victims and oppressors. Then easily youll have compassion for the guy who kicks the dog, because out of his ignorance, he doesnt realize that hes causing himself to have future suffering. When weve got this attitude, which we can all only get from the karmic one, which is in the first two scopes, you have a basis now, a sound basis for very solid profound expansive compassion.
Limited Compassion
Trying to develop compassion without the wisdom wing is developing the deluded view of compassion, which we have now, which is only for those who we are attached to and only for the victims. Youre still not even beginning to address the anger, the blame, all the nonsense, the wrong philosophy. This is the approach here, you see.
1. Equanimity
So whats the very first step we need to apart from the wisdom wing on the compassion wing itself, what is the very first practice we need to do? Its called equanimity. Im going to go through now a little packaging of eleven different points, eleven things to contemplate, again in a psychologically orderly way, one leading onto the next, which leads to the next, that culminate in the development of what is called bodhichitta. The recognition of karma is the culmination of the first scope and the recognition you dont want future suffering. The culmination of the second scope is this deep renunciation. The third scope, theres two actually, the one of bodhichitta and also the one of realizing emptiness well talk about that but the one of bodhichitta is the culmination of this incredible development of love and compassion. So what bodhichitta is is an aspiration actually. The words go like this: I must become a Buddha as quickly as possible because the suffering of sentient beings is unbearable. So bodhichitta is the aspiration that you must become a Buddha as quickly as possible and its based on the development of this phenomenal love and compassion that youve got. So its this driving force, its like the force that drives you now to become enlightened as quickly as possible. It becomes a single-pointed focus for you. They say from the first moment of accomplishing this bodhichitta in your mind, the first moment you accomplish that quality, theres no longer the thought of I arising in the mind. Already you are beyond I. No longer the thought of I, only the thought of others.
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What Is Equanimity?
So lets start at the very first one of these eleven. The first is called equanimity. So all these words we all know, theyre all just English words, whereas Buddha is big on defining his terms. Like, if you learn math youve got to define seven, youve got to define two, you can just make up your own definition; youd be very confused. So here weve got to be really clear the definitions of these terms. In this context, what equanimity is is again, a very specific state of mind. And what it is is the heartfelt, when youve achieved it, when youve accomplished it, its the heartfelt recognition that enemies, friends, and strangers and lets face, it theres no fourth category enemies, friends and strangers are equal, are equal. Now, from what point of view? Were not all equal in terms of being fat or thin or long-necked. Were not all equal in terms of intelligence. Theyre all equal in their wish to be happy. Check this out. Even thinking about this statement we can begin to see how it makes sense.
Enemies, Friends, and Strangers

But right now of course, we dont see this emotionally because our world is made up of enemies, friends and strangers. And who are they? They are the objects of our three main delusions, the three root delusions. Ignorance, and the object of this ignorance and the way it functions here is just this deep indifference is what we call strangers. The object of our aversion are called enemies. The object of our attachment, theyre called friends. So friends, enemies and strangers, isnt it? And you wont find a fourth category. You think. There are those you like, whom you are attached to. And who are they? Simply, theyre the ones that do what you want. Not being mean or anything, thats just it. They do what you want, they suit you, they agree with you, they like what you like, they appear pleasing to you therefore, and so theyre the ones you can afford to love. Theyre the ones you can say Okay, I want you to be happy. So you do love them, its true, we do have some love, but as Lama Zopa says our love right now is unstable or as we would say, its got strings attached. Very nice statement. Because why, because its only for those were attached to. Look at animals for us, look at how were relate to animals. Its very obvious. You can have incredible compassion for that little cute poodle remember a few years ago was it San Jose somewhere? Some road rage bloke got out of his car and went over and stuck his hand in and grabbed her little poodle off the front seat and chucked it into the traffic, and it died. Now he was practically hanged. Now if that had been a rat, people would have called him a hero. You see my point? Look at the difference. The Buddha would say, Excuse me, rat or poodle theyre both sentient beings, they both want to be happy, they both deserve being loved, but because were attached to poodles, we call the man a naughty man. Because we hate rats we call him a nice man. I mean, how arbitrary can you get? Isnt this very bizarre? Isnt it? So we say we are attached to certain types of people, were attached to what we call our husband or maybe not, who knows. Were attached to our children or were attached to whoever the person is, generally speaking because they suit my needs. So, whatever reason a thing called a poodle, if I like poodles, they suit my needs so I become so attached to it. So then what do I do? I impute all sorts of qualities onto that poodle which, excuse me, it just doesnt have. Like with the chocolate cake. You make the poodle far more gorgeous than it really is. Look at it. Our pets, its embarrassing what we do.
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We call it love, we call it compassion, we call it helping animals. Even PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) who love animals and dont want them to be harmed, I bet they dont care about the insects. I dont think they care about the insects. I dont think so. There are many people who are very pure vegetarians who dont care about the insects. They will use them to kill each other so they can have nice healthy veggies. You see my point? We always limit who we love and who we dont. The Buddhas deal is theres not a single sentient being on this earth whom we shouldnt have compassion for and love for. This is something already that hes saying, its not just humans, its not just the humans that support us, its not just a few animals, its every single sentient being. Its a very big basis: all the mind-possessors because theyre all in the same boat. Theyre all being born human one life, animal the next, spirit the next, hell being the next, theyre enemies the next, theyre friends the next, but fundamentally theres some things that we all share: the wish to be happy, the wish not to suffer. Its established, this, think about it, see how its logical first.
How to Meditate on Equanimity

Then practice. You visualize in front of you, imagine in front of you, right in front, eyeball to eyeball your enemy. The person at the moment you dont like and usually it can easily be our Mum or our Dad or ex-husband; its often a person whos been our friend, now theyre our worst enemy. The person whom just when we look at their face appears so uncomfortable to us, makes us feel miserable, makes us feel all distressed, all guilty, all angry, all hurt. Its so fantastic: the more you dislike this person the better for this meditation. These are all meditations, by the way, its very surprising, because we think of meditation as some trippy thing where you close your eyes and you visualize something like a Buddha or you watch your mind or something. But and were going to talk about this in a minute concentration meditation, and you go to the second one and you do visualization and you do analysis. This is all youre doing. Youre taking these things youve heard and you think them through in a very careful, clear way in order to trigger a feeling for them. Thats meditation. Well talk about this in a minute, its coming. So equanimity, essentially as I said, its the attitude that, when youve really got it, heartfelt, a genuine, easy recognition that in fact enemy, friends and strangers are equal. The method you use to come to this conclusion, you use all sorts of arguments just to argue with egos view, egos entrenched view: real enemy out there, real friend, real stranger. So theres all sorts of things you can do. You can look at the enemy and you can think okay, you look at your catalog of reasons why now you call them enemy, why now you have anger towards them: because they did this, this, this and this; we use all this logic. Well, like weve been talking already, Buddhas really basically saying, Excuse me Robina, just because someone is mean to you theres no logical reason to hate them. Its completely unnecessary. Which is so shocking to us, because we absolutely believe thats logical. The world lives this way. In other words, in this equanimity meditation what were trying to do is get a bit of space between ourself and these three people. See them separately from me. Right now we see them as extensions of myself: the friend is an extension of me, so my friend whom I want to be happy, whom I totally adore; we cant even separate them from ourself. Aversion the same. We see people only in terms of what they
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do or dont do to me. A friend is a person who helps me, an enemy is a person who harms me, and a stranger is a person who does neither. You think, very simple. So how do we feel about each? We have attachment for the one who suits my needs. We have aversion for the one who harms me and we have a profound uncaring and indifference towards 99.9999% of all the rest of them who are the strangers. Why? Because they dont affect my life. Who could care? Cant even look at them, theyre so boring. Isnt it? This is how it is, this is how we are. And these groups keep changing. The delusions stay the same. The stranger of yesterday is now the friend of today. The stranger of yesterday is now the enemy of today. The friend of yesterday is now the enemy of today. The enemy of today is now the friend of today. We can see, we constantly go back and forth, because things change. And then we believe in that latest label. The one we were totally adoring six months ago, made us faint with pleasure, now he leaves us cold as ice; hate him. Look at him, If only Id known what he was like six months ago. Isnt it? Just because our eyes are now seeing something different. Were so silly arent we, its embarrassing. Basically to get this equanimity, you put in front of you these three people, and they can be different people at different times, and you just go through, enemy first and you go through different things. Its not permanent, Robina, six months ago he was my friend. How could he inherently be an enemy? It cant be like this. You try to argue with yourself to sort of shake your very entrenched view. Yes, he did do this to me, he did do that to me, but whats that got to do with it? That doesnt mean he doesnt want to be happy. When you loved him, you knew he wanted to be happy and you tried to make him happy. He has not changed. You just use logic to argue with yourself to see how this entrenched position is mistaken in its assessment. This is what youre trying to do, get away a bit, get some space. Friend You look at the friend; the same type of logic applies. You look at this person, you think shes a lovely person because she does this, this, this and this for me. Of course shes a lovely person. She is a lovely person, thats why I like her, because shes lovely. I mean, excuse me, you just have to find a few things about her that you know that she does that is mean to other people. We dont care about this because shes not mean to me. We even would defend her and what she does.
Enemy
Look at the enemy. You just have to argue to see how hes not inherently an enemy you just have to remember that hes got a nice girl friend who thinks hes gorgeous. Hes got some kids who love him. His boss thinks hes great. You know this, but you dont want to think this. Its not comfortable, because theyre stupid to. They cant see the real person like you can. So we dont like to think of that but its very profound logic. You look at every group of people who support each other, who are friends. They all agree on the same group of enemies and they all support each other in that view. But it should be enough to blow your mind, to prove that there cant be an inherent friend. If some people dislike this person then there cant be an inherent friend there. Like there cant be the cake, delicious and ugly simultaneously. Theyre both projections of the mind. So enemy and friend are projections of the mind. Im talking a lot here, but you use certain simple arguments to break down egos entrenched view. You think for example this person who you totally adore, whom youre in love with, and he smiles and hes
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so happy and you know hes happy because you make him happy. Wow, amazing isnt it? Incredible feeling. So all youve got to do is practice, remember just think hes happy tomorrow and you look at him being happy, and then you notice that hes happy now because she makes him happy, not me. Hes still happy. You should be so happy for him. But now you want to kill him because suddenly someone else is making him happy. Hes not smiling now. . . the same smiling as yesterday or the week ago, or the month ago, or the six years ago when he smiled at you and was blissful. Now hes smiling still blissfully but its no longer you whos causing it. But hes still happy. If you really want to have love, may you be happy. Of course its very painful: oh my God.
Stranger
So we can see our mind is so limited by attachment, aversion and, of course, indifference. You hear about a stranger, a person who you dont know means who neither harms nor helps you: you just dont care. Totally cant even look at them, cant even spend long enough to read the story in The New York Times about this particular country whose name you cant even say, about the particular suffering you go to the page and look at the football scores or something because they are strangers to you. Theyve neither harmed nor helped. But many Americans will look avidly at all the Iraqi news because the Americans are in there you see. So its attachment and aversion, enemies and strangers. Look at the Israelis and Palestinians, its amazing. Israel is so tiny you could jog across it without getting too puffed out. Its hilarious, so small. Look at the energy there of these people, all believing its their land, fighting over it, hating each other, and then putting all their philosophies onto it. Frankly Im not being rude about anybody but I think if you think youre the chosen people, already youre in big trouble. I mean really I think youve got to be in big trouble if you start to think this. I dont care whether you call yourself Christian, Jewish, Hindu or Muslim, or Buddhist for that matter. Thats really a very difficult statement: the chosen people. Oh my God. But everybody thinks this, they all think their special. Mormons think their unique and special, the Seventh Day Adventists completely convinced that theyre right. The Catholics totally believe theyre right. No doubt fundamental Buddhists are completely believing theyre right. Everybody has this concrete, fixed view were right and these poor people down there who arent. I mean, its crazy. So equanimity is this attitude that moves yourself away from these three a little bit, using a logical arguments to break down egos illogic. Theres no inherent enemy, friend or stranger, there just projections of your delusions. That objectively these people are the same. If I put up here in front of you my enemy, my friend, and my stranger, you wont notice any difference. You cant tell. Theres no big E engraved on the forehead of the enemy. Theres no wings on the friend. Youll put your own projections onto them. They have noses and arms and legs and toes and fingers, they all want to be happy, they all go to the toilet, they all get depressed, they all get constipation. Theres equality there, its very easy to see it but were so tunnel vision in our views, believing in our own karmic appearances.
2. Everyone Has Been My Mother

So when youve got your head around this a little bit, this is the very first one of these eleven techniques, the next one to contemplate, to think about and this is a very curious one actually. Its really just a numbers thing, you think about how all sentient beings have been my mum; then you think of the
kindness of the mother; and then you think I must repay their kindness. There are three little things here and all were doing is progressing psychologically; theyre just ways of thinking. Theyre little techniques that were using to help our mind change. So, this first one is equanimity: on the basis of the recognition that all are equal in the wish to be happy. You now have a sound basis for wanting them to be happy, which is what love is. If you dont really see that all beings want to be happy, you dont have a basis for loving them because love is: may you be happy. Love is: may you be happy. Youve got to see they all want happiness first, then you have the space to begin to love enemies and love strangers. Now, no space; no logic. This is the logic. So the next one is outrageous, its really getting your head around the numbers: given that Buddha says weve all got continuity of consciousness, every single sentient being, every single sem-chen is a mindpossessor, a living being, their consciousness necessarily is beginningless. So just do your numbers. It follows logically if it were true, then every single sentient being we would bump into them countless times. It just goes without saying. If you just do a few little numbers on your computer. If there are countless living beings and weve all had countless lives youd be able to compute quite quickly that weve all bumped into each other countless times. Even theyd been my mother countless times. So mother is just a choice here because mother is considered to be a person whos been very kind to us. For many of us this seems like an oxymoron. So weve got to do an extra hard work and seeing even how our mother is kind and well do that in a minute. So good enough this one, you just get your head around the numbers one, which, again, is so expanding for the mind. And to see it as logic based on the hypothesis, remember that Buddha says our mind is beginningless, that Buddha says there are countless sentient beings, all of whose minds are beginningless. So it follows logically that theyve all been my mum. I mean its insane, but it fits with the logic.
3. The Kindness of the Mother

So then you think of their kindness. The mother is kind. Now how is the mother kind? Now this is a very interesting point, because my feeling is, you check now, with our usual narrow view of attachment and all the rest, what we even mean by kind is really faulty. You check what we mean by kind. I go to the caf and I order chocolate cake and I get it and she gives me a discount and a bigger piece: Oh, you are so kind! She gives me a small piece or gives me carrot cake: I do not call her kind. So in other words, a persons only kind when they do what I want. You check. Thats what we mean by it; it is so wicked. Now you know yourself, when you work hard at your job and the boss is really mean and ugly and doesnt thank you because you dont do what they want, you are mortified and feel so sad because you know you worked so hard, but he doesnt thank you, because you havent satisfied him. So he doesnt call you kind at all, but youve been very kind, in fact. Youve struggled away; youve done your job. That little waitress, she took as long to say, Hello, my name is Sarah, Im your wait-person, or whatever they say, and take it over and write your little note, and go to the cook and hang it up, and he puts the thing on the plate and she this is in Dennys anyway, I watched them and then a knife, and she comes over, and she puts it into the machine, she comes over, she gives you things, she gives you water with ice all that work, for carrot cake or chocolate cake: same work, same kindness. Shes worried
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about her own problems, worried about her constipation. Shes kind, either way. So kindness has got nothing to do with whether you get what you want, excuse me. Already hearing this, we can see our mothers are kind. I dont care how neurotic, how ugly, how maniac, how deluded they are. Weve all got Mummies like this, to some degree. Join the human race duh. Mummies are cut out of the same cloth as you, theyre called deluded sentient beings. But again, its very interesting; we have this view that Mummy made me. We have this view that Mummy created me. So already its not surprising we blame our mothers. I think you should blame your mother, quite frankly, if she did really make you. If it is really true what we say in the West, that she literally created you, your Mummy and Daddy lets say, if you really look at the implications of it, its quite profound. Then I think it is absolutely right that a person who is deluded, paranoid, jealous, angry, limited, selfish how dare she make me with my anger and my jealousy because its their fault, they made me and then throw me out on my own in this world and say, now its my responsibility. I mean we should be up in arms. We should be killing every one of our mothers, I agree. In our psychology, we sort of do blame our mums, but we feel bad about it because we know we turn into mums eventually as well. But actually, I think if your mother really did make you, you are right to blame her. Think this point through, its very interesting. How dare she! I mean its a fascist thing to do; to make me with all my delusions and give me a lousy life. Oh my God. But the fact is Buddha says she didnt make you, Robina. She is sitting there having sex with your Daddy and you come along. Shes minding her own business and you come along. Dont blame her. You set yourself up, honey child, from countless past lives with this person, to have this mother whos mean and paranoid and ugly and depressed and hurts me. I was just recently having a conversation with this person about her Mummy and were all the same because weve all got Mummies like this. At some point we hate our mothers and see their delusions so vividly. I remember the day, I remember the moment, my mother fell off her pedestal for me. Do you understand what Im saying? The moment when she stopped being like this perfect goddess, like you think your Mummy is when youre little. I remember the moment I started seeing that she was an ordinary human being and I found fault, and it was devastating. But thats what we do, we reify our mothers, we put them up there like they are God, just like we think of God, I swear, as the creator. We darent blame god, but we love to blame our Mummies. Now this is not saying that our mother isnt deluded, isnt angry, isnt jealous; more than likely we are right; she is. But there is no reason to not thank her for her kindness. So that means weve got to start searching the things that she has done that have been supportive of me, that have helped me. You dont have to be a rocket scientist to do that. Excuse me. Even if your mother gave you away at birth, you have every reason to continue to weep with gratitude at her kindness. You know what? She didnt kill you. There are probably millions of abortions every year, millions. Ive heard figures somewhere. You could even probably argue that there are more sentient beings, more humans who get conceived who die before theyre born than those who get born. I bet. Now we are very fortunate. Look at us, still alive. And the first cause of this is our mothers decision not to abort us, the first cause, the main cause. Not the main, the main one really is our past
morality, but here we look in terms of the relative reality and try to look at our mother and see a reason to see how shes kind that it didnt occur to her to abort her daughter. I know I had an abortion when I was 23. I was unquestioned about it. I did no way want this kid. I didnt think of it as a kid. My sister Judy, when she was 17 she got pregnant and she decided she wouldnt have an abortion. I even encouraged her to. Me and my other sisters said, Come on, Judy, have an abortion. She didnt want to. Back in the 60s. She was brave, she had the daughter, and then she had it adopted. Now its very interesting, Judy was part of the process in Australia, litigation to get mothers and daughters, adopted and adoptees, that business, to meet each other. So she ended up finding Rachel, her daughter. And for a while she was part of the family, but then eventually Rachel continued to have her anger and she gave up on Judy, and she hates her and she will not write to her and she returns her gifts when Judy sent something to her for Rachels new little child, Judys granddaughter. All I know is, Judy, I know her reason ... She decided not to have an abortion. In spite of encouragement by everyone else, she decided she would have this daughter. She had the daughter, she gave it away because she figured she wasnt qualified. She was 17; it was difficult ... whatever the reasons but her motives were pure. Now this daughter, because shes so fixated on her mean mother who gave her a way at birth, so obsessed with that, she cant really see the real story: that Judy was kind. Judy did what she felt was best, and shes never forgiven her and Judys heart breaks even though shes 55 now, her heart breaks still. Shes worked with it but her heart breaks at this rejection for this child she spent her life trying to find and truly she does have a strong affection for. Thats heartbreaking. Especially from a mothers point of view you know. Its very interesting. So our mother, whos angry and deluded and neurotic and dominating and all these things, right, youre absolutely right, she is those things. But its only because we feel such victims and Im not being mean about it because we feel so enslaved, so fearful, that all her delusions all they do is trigger our own. You know, its our fears, its our stuff, its our inability to know what we think and feel. So we blame her for it, of course. And were right in what were seeing, but her suffering appears so much worse to us because we havent dealt with our own suffering. When weve dealt with our own suffering in the wisdom wing, its easy to see youre crazy mother, your deluded Mum and you have such compassion, because youre no longer enslaved in that victim role, because youve put yourself together. So then we can easily see the mother, the kind things shes done. She fed us, she sent us to school, she showed us how to wipe our bottoms and tie our shoelaces. Even you could say theres more reason to think of her kindness, because if she is deluded, is mean, is angry, and is paranoid, she put up with me when I was squalling like a kid, and wiped my dirty bum. That was much harder work for her then if shed been a compassionate, kind person. So, to make an effort to get out of bed when she was thinking about herself and all miserable. So how grateful we should be to our mother. Its so clear really. Because of our own delusions we cant do it, its too painful for us. And when youre deluded yourself, that is like you put your deluded glasses on and all that does is attract whatever delusions there are in a person, all we see are their delusions. The more deluded we are, the more we see other peoples delusions. It goes without saying. The more virtuous we are, the more we put our good glasses on, the more we can see, the virtues come to the fore. What we see in a person is a reflection of our mind, not whats there. It is there with them but were not saying the whole picture. Thats the point. When we see friend, were blinded. We only see the gorgeous things, all sparkly, we cant see their delusions. When
we see enemy, we cant see their virtues all we see is their delusions. Its our doing you see.
4. Repay the Kindness of the Mother

So, our mothers are kind. So if all sentient beings have been our mother, then it follows logically that all sentient beings are kind. So then it follows logically of course I must repay their kindness. The more you think of a persons kindness, the more you have the wish to repay it. This is clear. When you really see a persons kindness, when theyve done a big favor for you, you really want to do something to repay their kindness. So when we start to think about the kindness of the mother, we want to repay the kindness. Not just to the Mum of this life, which we think about, but now were talking about all sentient beings. We must repay their kindness. Oh my goodness. So clearly, this is a very radical process; step by baby step we do this type of thinking in meditation, as well as in our daily life, shifting all the misconceptions from the mind now that we believe are the truth: slowly, slowly. So then our heart naturally begins to open, open, open, open. This whole compassion wing is a continuous opening of this mind to encompass all others, finally. Step by baby step.
Exchanging Ourselves for Others 5. Others Are Equal to Me

Then we continue I might get these steps a bit mixed up, but never mind. So now, the next one we think about is how we try now. . . like we did in the very beginning, we tried to see our enemy, friend and stranger are equal, now we try to see how all others are equal to me. Same type of thinking, but now the reference is myself. That all sentient beings and weve now thought about them as all wanting to be happy, all been our mother countless times, their kindness, want to repay their kindness now we begin to actually be even more radical now and we move into a whole set of practices that is called exchanging self for others. Its an amazing radical quick way to help us quickly develop incredible levels of love and compassion. To now exchange self for others.
On the Wisdom Wing: The Main Obstacle Is Self-Grasping

As a sort of a background for this, in general you can say in the wisdom wing the main obstacle to the development of wisdom which is finally the realization of everything having no inherent nature, and everything being interdependent, and so on, and so forth is whats called ego grasping. Primordial grasping at this self-existing me-ness, which in fact is the source of all the things we do wrong and the mistakes we make and the delusions.
On the Compassion Wing: The Main Obstacle Is Self-Cherishing

Effectively though, in the compassion wing you can say the main obstacle to the development of compassion, love and finally bodhichitta, is what they call simply self-cherishing. We cherish self most. So its self-cherishing, or as we would simply call it, selfishness, which is so painful to hear that word, means putting me first.
Now, this is just natural and instinctive as long as we grasp at the self. The very grasping at the self, which is the primordial misconception, is even what gives us a sense of being a separate person from others, which is what then causes us to even invent enemies, friends and strangers out there, separate from me. Its a complete delusion. So naturally having this view, we obviously put self first automatically, instinctively, naturally, automatically. And so were trying to conquer that. So here, we are trying to exchange self, I, for others, meaning beginning to develop love and compassion for others more than ones self. Now this whole approach is very interesting because if we come to this approach with a lot of selfloathing, a lot of low self-esteem, having not done much work on the wisdom wing, then were going to mis-hear this. Theres a little exchanging self for others text called The Eight Verses and in one of those verses it says, When youre with others, think of yourself as the lowest of all. Well, like weve already talked, already we do that. Well excuse me Buddha, I already hate myself, what do you want me to do? I already do this! What do you mean? So clearly the person who wrote that text, Langritangpa, talking from this point of view of exchanging self with others approach, doesnt mean that.
A Suitable Vessel
So its obvious as Pabongkha Rinpoche, the author of one of the lam-rim texts that we all use quite a bit called Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, what he says is that in order to hear these types of teachings, this exchanging self for others teachings, in the appropriate way, you need to be a suitable vessel. And all he means by that is a person whos done the work of the wisdom wing. A person whos put themselves together in the wisdom wing. Understood karma, taken responsibility, developed therefore, an amazing sense of your own self, a lot of self-confidence, an ability to know that you can change, a sense of responsibility. Its only that person who can hear this instruction properly: put yourself as the lowest of all; exchange yourself for others. Its an outrageous thing to say. So what are some examples of this because we dont normally think like this on our earth. But I think mothers are a good example. So sure, theyre totally motivated by attachment, but they do on the basis of that still have massive love and compassion for their babies, theres no doubt. I remember watching a movie years ago, a documentary, about all the outrageous things that mothers would do in order to save their children. I mean jumping into floods, running into burning houses, lifting up entire cars, doing the most insane things. Do you see my point here? Now if you think about that for a second, if you think about the state of mind of that person, running into a burning house, there is no way a person with fear, timidity and low self-esteem could do that. Think about it for a second. Youve got to be a very courageous person, even for five minutes, dont you? Youve got to be really not thinking of yourself because if you start to think, Oh my god, Im running into a fire, thats the end of you. You back away. You see my point here? So for that mother, at that time, so overwhelmed by the suffering of that child in that fire, literally not thinking about herself for that few minutes. You think about it, it has to be this way doesnt it? Well, that is what here is being talked about as the capacity that weve all got eventually when we truly have exchanged ourself for others, when we become a bodhisattva. When truly it is only others we ever are thinking about. I mean its hard to think even this is possible. Its so out of the realms of what we think is possible psychologically. We would not trust that if we heard that a person was like this all the
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time. We wouldnt believe its true. You see my point? Because we dont think its possible, because we factor in self-centeredness as something natural and normal, whereas Buddha says we can go beyond it. So this whole exchanging self for others, and this begins with this particular technique and there are a few more after this of this eleven, this is from this approach. This radical, paradigm shift, complete shift, in the whole way you see everything. Youre beginning in this one to truly practice seeing others as more important than you. Its scary as hell to even begin to think about it, especially if we have so much self-clinging already, which we do. But at least we can begin to think about it, to see the logic of it, because its the quickest way to smash self-cherishing, but even the self grasping. It quickens, it hastens the whole process of removing the misconceptions of I. The real point of this here is to radically shift our emphasis away from this instinctive sense of self and doing what it wants all the time to doing what others want, to seeing others, to putting them first.
Two Is More Than One

So theres all these little kind of techniques they use of ways of thinking, of practicing. Like you think for example, it sounds so silly but theyre small little things you use in your mind to try to see the logic of this. If you had the choice between $1.00 and $2.00, one apple and two, in general wed prefer two. If you want to buy one house or two houses for the same money of course youd take two. Youd get excited; youd feel like you got good value for your money. So then, two sentient beings is more than one isnt it? Im one, theres two over there. Conclusion: theyre more important. Now its so ridiculous, its so simple, you cant fault it but its too hard for us. Its like excuse me, what are you talking about? You cant even hear it properly. Because were so overwhelmed just naturally by the ego-grasping that clings to me as self-existent, which brings the attachment and the selfishness and all the stuff that just naturally arises in us, that we think is normal. So were talking something pretty incredible here. Were trying to shift others to be more important, so we begin to think this one. Begin to see others at least first as equal to me in wanting to be happy and this you cant refute. Thats fairly easy to prove. Then we start to exchange self for others after weve done the first one. First, in your meditation you practice this. And then, in your daily life when a situation arises and you want your way about something, you practice, giving the other person their way. Were not talking big a high things up here were talking little tiny baby little incremental steps. This is how you grow anything, isnt it? You go from grade one not from grade one to grade twelve, you go to grade two first. You step up organically, logically. So you practice in your daily life actually trying to put others first.
Putting Others First, But Because of Attachment

Now this is interesting because a lot of us do this already but you know what, its mixed with a lot of attachment. A lot of us have very much a lot of vested interest in benefiting others as our means for getting what we want ourselves. And again Im not being mean about it, but a lot of people are much more self-centered and truly go into what they want and just go ahead and do it. Other people have the same attachment but theyre attached to other people loving them so deeply, attached to being seen as a good person so strongly, they will run around sacrificing their lives for others. But this is not healthy, its not healthy. Do you see my point here? Does it make sense what Im saying? So weve got to know our own mind well. So you could saym for example, in a relationship where a
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person has really been a victim and shes married to say some brutal guy who beats her and does all these things, its very common in relationships of all kinds. So she is really like running around constantly putting him first, trying to make him happy because shes terrified, that hell blow his top again, you know. But its not really coming from a pure place, and shes terrified, and shes not looked at herself. Shes got enormous aversion in there for him, but she never expresses it until one day, she goes berserk and shoots him. So thats not healthy, thats not whats being recommended here. So weve got to know our own minds well and maybe, if youre that kind of person, what you need to do is speak up; thats what you need to learn to do. Speak up, establish some courage. So weve got to be careful in understanding this really properly. Exchanging self for others, seeing others as more important. Because if you have low self esteem and you think others are more important, youve got a problem. Thats not whats being said. You have to be a confident, together, brave, courageous person who takes responsibility, who is not a victim, that kind of person, thats how we have to be. Then, the putting others first is really profound. Letting go of your own stuff, Oh sure, of course, please, youre right. Of course, please, you have it. Tiny baby things like this. Thats a perfect example of putting others first. Giving up self-cherishing. Giving up self-centeredness.
6. The Disadvantages of Cherishing Myself More Than Others and 7. The Advantages of Cherishing Others More Than Oneself
So the various contemplations here, then, are to contemplate the suffering to yourself of being selfcentered and then contemplate the benefits to yourself of cherishing others. Just little things like this to really just remind yourself for your own benefit still. His Holiness often says things like: You want to benefit others? Practice compassion. You want to benefit yourself ? Practice compassion. Or he says: You want to be selfish? Be wisely selfish, benefit others. Very good point.
Tong-Len: Giving and Taking 9. Taking Upon Myself the Suffering of Others: Practicing Compassion, and 10. Give Away All My Happiness: Practicing Love
So you keep moving through all these little techniques and they culminate in the practice that really is at the heart of this approach of exchanging self for others. And this is a simple little practice, technically; emotionally, unbelievably difficult to do it really well, to really get the result. And this is the heart of this whole technique. And thats called, in Tibetan, tong-len. It means simply giving. . . tong means giving, len means taking. So what is this practice? Its very easy. You visualize in front of you lets say your dearest friend at first, the person you adore, the person you love very much, even very attached to and you imagine them with some suffering. They might actually have some suffering but you imagine them with some suffering. So this technique: please hear it carefully, because we often misunderstand it. What it is is a method for developing love and compassion. Thats it, love and compassion. What is love again? Remember, love is the wish that others be happy. But we are trying to develop here an even more profound level of love
where we say: Hey, its my job to do it. Thats the unique characteristic of this bodhisattva path, this extraordinary level of not only do I want people to be happy but I say its my job to do something to make it happen. You put yourself in responsibility. His Holiness calls this universal responsibility. Then. . . were trying to develop compassion, which is, May you not suffer, but you go the next level which is called great compassion and that is: Its my job to take it away. This is the one of the bodhisattva, this incredible sense of responsibility. If youve achieved nirvana on the wisdom wing and you have cut the root of samsara, youve gone beyond the delusions, when you die youll just zap into bliss for a few eons; you wont get reborn again, because your motivation has been I must get out of samsara, I must get liberated. If youre a bodhisattva, you do the same work but your motivation is, I must become a Buddha for all sentient beings, so even when youve finished the job, youre going to get reborn spontaneously, because your motivation has said, Its my job to take away their suffering, its my job to make them happy. Its the unique one, its very amazing. So this tong-len is a method for developing this. So what it is really is a little technique that youre using to help you smash your own self-cherishing, to help you radically smash putting self first. Practicing imagining totally taking upon yourself the suffering of another and giving them all your happiness; youre practicing doing this. Now, hear this carefully. The aim of this meditation is not to take on the suffering of another. It is not to give them your happiness. You cant do that. But its imagining youre doing it as a technique to help you radically get rid of self-cherising and hugely develop genuine love and compassion. Now, does that make sense? Maybe you should ask me questions before we continue about that if you want to. Any questions so far? Student I just want to clarify, its taking on, imagining taking on the suffering of others and giving them your happiness? Ven Robina Yes, thats the point.
How To Do Tong-Len
What youre doing is youre using your breath, real simple. One way to do it is you imagine a rock at your heart and thats your self-cherishing, thats your concrete self-centered, poor me in there, and you want to try and smash it. Its just a little technique youre using, a way of thinking, visualizing, creative imagination. So then you use your breath, you breathe in first, you do the taking first and you imagine all their suffering, like a headache lets say, you just think when youre breathing in, youre breathing in all their headache, all their yuck and it comes like yucky smoke. And it comes into your nose. And youre imagining as youre doing this, youre not thinking: Oh, Im taking on their suffering, oh I better get ready for it, all clenching like that. Thats not what youre concentrating on. Youre not thinking of I at all, like the Mummy and the fire. Youre thinking of the persons suffering. So youre doing this, but youre focusing on the person: Oh, what a relief theyre free of suffering now. I cant believe it. Im so happy theyre free of suffering now. As you take it away, youre thinking, Oh, what a relief, look theyre free of suffering, theyre headache is gone, Im so happy.
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You see my point? Thats what youre thinking. Meanwhile, like the mother, youre almost not even noticing: Hey, I can handle it, dont worry. I can handle it: smash your rock. Youre thinking about, Isnt it marvelous, theyre free of suffering. Just like it was your most precious child. Many parents say, Rather me than them. Thats what youre thinking here. Youre imagining this, so happy that theyre free of suffering and meanwhile you bring it into you and it smashes your self-cherishing. Then you think, May I give them happiness now. Im going to give them whatever Ive got: my health, my wealth, anything. You just imagine it, breathe out blissful white light. And you imagine them receiving it. Oh, so happy that theyre happy now. I mean, this is how we think about ourself, its very interesting. We know how to think this when we alleviate our pain. We are so happy our pain has gone, right? We know how to think that. And when we get something wonderful were so delighted, arent we? Well we are trying to think exactly this for others. Thats it. We know how to think like this for ourself: so, exchanging yourself for others. Its so simple. So of course we have to practice this. Even if we do have people we love enormously, we dont love them to that extent. I dont think I love anybody that, when theyre happy, Im so blissful like when Im happy. I dont think Ive ever had that. Does anybody have that experience? You understand what Im saying here? Especially if you have incredible suffering for so long, the relief, the bliss of no longer having it thats what were trying to have for others. But the difference is, one extra piece here, is were saying, I can bear it, I can do it, I can take it. Thats the technique. The aim of this, eventually when youve done this again and again, and again and again, and again and again and again, is you just keep getting better at it until eventually dont be surprised that you will be able to give your car, give your money, even give your life for another if you needed to, because youve practiced it. Student Its like, fake it till you make it. Ven. Robina Fake it till you make it! Everything is fake it till you make it. Learning everything is faking it until you make it, but thats all were doing here. Were using these simple little ways of thinking, kind of like youre brainwashing yourself into becoming compassionate and wise. Nothing wrong with that. You see my point? Because Buddha finally says its all to do with how you see things. Weve brainwashed ourselves for countless lives to the point where the views we have of the world now are instinctive we dont think theyre even views. But were trying to shift those and replace them with these views; this attitude, this one of wisdom, the one of compassion, the one of love, the one of karma, the one of emptiness, the one of all this other business a different way of seeing the world. Thats all were doing really, its nothing mystical. The culmination of this is you will become a Buddha, infinite compassion for all sentient beings, infinite wisdom, no fraction of ego left, youll see their minds perfectly and youll never stop benefiting them. Thats the point. And thats whats attainable. And this is the method of how to get there. Its grounded, doable, its down to earth, its in your face. Yes, the results are pretty mystical. You can say this, if you were to meet a person who was a Buddha and could see all their qualities, it would be mind blowing. So yes, you could say its mystical, but the methods are practical. And this is why I think its so shocking in our culture and we fall into the same
trap where we mystify spiritual stuff. So thats tong-len, thats the heart of all this stuff. All these little ones up till now, which you contemplate again and again, you come to this one and this is where you do the radical paradigm shift. The conclusion of this is extraordinary compassion for others, such that you for sure only want to take their suffering away, and complete affection, enormous affection. The beginning of love is simply the thought: may you be happy. But as you keep developing it, it grows into enormous affection, it grows into feeling. Right now weve grown jealousy and anger and all these into feelings, havent we? Were trying to change that. We develop loving and compassionate feelings but the feeling is the result of having thinking it, and thinking it, and thinking it, and thinking it, until eventually its spontaneous, where it becomes automatic.
11. Bodhichitta
So then, from this bodhichitta comes. Because realize now that your compassion and love are so enormous now and you see the suffering of all sentient beings, you see them causing themselves suffering, its unbearable; like theyre your most precious children. But you realize, you check,I want to take away their suffering but am I qualified? Im not. So here now is bodhichitta. I must become enlightened, I must become enlightened as quickly as possible because the suffering is so unbearable. So, in other words, bodhichitta is the result of the enormous love and compassion and its the determination. So right now, we try to have bodhichitta as our motivation but its a phony one. Of course it is, its faking it. Were talking here now when we get it, actually, when its an experiential, direct, actual, spontaneous drive, and from that moment forward theres no longer the thought of I. Youve been letting go second by second all the way up here but finally no longer a thought of I, no longer a thought of I. You truly have exchanged self for others. You truly now exist for the sake of others, but youve got more work to do. You havent finished, you dont become a Buddha yet. Youre pretty stunning but you havent become a Buddha yet. So youve got more work to do, more work to do, more purifying to be done, more obscurations to remove from your mind, more realizations to develop. Its a pretty major sign post, milestone.
The Six Perfections of a Bodhisattva

So now, we keep moving, we keep moving. And now we move into a group of practices called the six perfections, and all youre doing is continuing to keep practicing, keep practicing, but its just packaged in different ways, kind of components of your practice. Were still in university here. We might not have time for postgraduate today. Ill mention it in passing. So, okay, youre continuing to do this, youre so focused, youre so amazing, you practice incredibly. This is probably countless lives, depends on where youre at. So you continue to practice now in the context of these six perfections, the six perfections of a bodhisattva; youre perfecting. The first one is called generosity; the second is called morality; the third is called patience; the fourth is called enthusiasm or enthusiastic perseverance, or joyful effort; the fifth is called concentration, the sixth one is called wisdom. So lets go through these.
So you can say that the first four are where you finally perfect the compassion wing; its all the work you do in relation to others. The compassion wing is totally to do with working with others. You can do this in your meditation as well, in the mountains, but the focus is others. In the wisdom wing the focus is yourself. In the wisdom wing you are not thinking about others, youre thinking about yourself, but in a really healthy way. Taking responsibility, stopping blaming others, youre backing away from others, youre looking at your mind, youre knowing it very deeply, youre becoming your own therapist, youre controlling your body and speech, all for your own benefit. So the focus is I, necessarily, the correct way to see it. And its for your benefit. The second one, the focus is others. Youre thinking of others, theyre the reference point for everything your thinking: others. This is the compassion wing. So the first four are where your perfecting the compassion wing, the last two are actually you perfecting the wisdom wing. Its taught in this way here. If you were just doing the wisdom wing only, youd do the concentration and wisdom there and youd finish that. But here its taught as the last two perfections of the bodhisattva. Basically, the bodhisattva is bopping around from life to life dealing with sentient beings, doing all these things of practicing these first four and then in their meditation practicing the last two. Perfecting the wisdom wing where they finally cut all the misconceptions, all the delusions, the root delusion from the mind by realizing emptiness; and then in the first four theyre constantly working in relation to sentient beings developing this generosity, developing patience, developing the others. Lets talk about those now.
1. Generosity
So the first one, generosity, is very interesting. Lama Tsong Khapa, the fourteenth century lama, says in one of his lovely lam-rim texts, very poetic little verse text called Songs of Experience, and he says, Generosity is the wish-fulfilling jewel with which you can fulfill the hopes of all sentient beings. Its the basis of the activity of the bodhisattvas in that it develops the selfless and undaunted courage to lead all sentient beings to enlightenment. That seems like a lot for generosity. So what does it mean? It means that its the doorway to connecting with others. Giving. Because right now we dont give much at all. We only give anything to people were close to, and then usually only what we dont want, or whats easy to give. So what were doing here is a major way to smash the I, you think about it, break down the barriers between yourself and others. Really have this very profound sense of responsibility to give sentient beings what they need. According to your ability of course, but you keep developing this. So theres different levels of giving. Giving material things. Then theres a second level, which is more profound but often for us we find it easier, is giving advice, giving spiritual advice. We love doing that. We are great at doing that. Well give anybody advice! But give five dollars? Not so sure. So giving is this way, when you ... practice seeing others and seeing what they need and, if you can, you give. And you practice it, you consciously practice giving. And its a powerful way to break down the barrier between self and others. Its powerful. . .Because attachment, one of the functions of attachment, of course, is what we call possessiveness: this is mine. And we identify that thing, that person, that house, those possessions, that money in the bank, its like an extension of me, isnt it? Its the
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nature of attachment, its what it does. So of course, Im not going to give mine away. If Ive got extra of it, fine. If Ive theres anything left over we think in terms of money if theres anything left over at the end of the month after Ive paid my phone and paid my cable and bought my food and bought this and been to the movies and done that and have a massage and given money to my friends and this and that, then I might give something. Thats how we think. But maybe the way we ought to think giving money is very hard for us in the west because we concretize it so powerfully. One Tibetan Lama said once, Youre very generous in the West but not with money. Very curious. So money is the thing we know so well. We reconcile everything at the end of the month. If we reconciled our good and bad karma every month, wed be Buddha by now! We have no clue how many negative karmas weve created, or positive. We all know how many cents weve spent or how many were owed. Its the thing we can get our head around, the numbers.
Money Is the Fruit of Generosity

Well, money is a name we give to the fruit of generosity from past lives. Thats all. Thats it. Its the name we give to the fruit of generosity. Its having the resources to do things for ourselves; and all of that is the fruit of generosity. So when we even understand this we will be sad not to give, because all were doing is using up the money in the bank and not investing more. Because being generous creates more seeds for you to continue to get. Okay, you dont do that only for that reason, but when we understand that we would be sad not to give, because we are just using it up, using up our merit. How sad. They say bodhisattvas when they give something they feel like we feel when we get something. So happy to give. So giving, its obvious, is a major way to open your eyes and connect with others, and then to have a sense of responsibility. The commonest way we think about homeless people, wed rather avoid them. We have this long thought, Maybe theyre junkies, and maybe theyll buy alcohol, maybe theyll buy guns, maybe theyll buy heroin. . . If we do give money, we want them to buy what we want them to buy, like a banana or something. We practically want a contract with them before we give them anything. They might not do what we want! How dare they! Well maybe you have an open mind and you decide in advance, before you go downtown, you bring, not your dollars, excuse me, not even your fives, maybe a few tens: fives would have been twenty years ago, hundred years ago, fifty years ago, would have been generous. But you just decide.
Budget Giving into Your Life

So first of all, one of the attitudes to have is you budget giving into your life. You dont wait until, If I have enough left. . .; you just decide, like the Mormons, they give ten percent. I think its very powerful to do this. You just decide, Im going to give something. Like anything, its painful and the beginning, of course it is. But you start. You factor it into your life, Okay, Ill decide Ill give fifty a month to homeless people, whatever I want, just decide. Itll be nervous in the beginning, but be practical, but really see your resistance to it, really see the pain it causes you, the panic that comes. We all feel so poor. We all feel so poor.
Happy to Pay Our Debts

Another point that I think is amazing to practice generosity and this is not talked about in the
Buddhist teachings because there were probably a few debt collectors then, but you look at our lives now, everything is based on debt, isnt it? Everybody has credit cards, everything we do you pay with credit cards now. You get your service and at the end of the month you pay for it. Your cable, your phone, everything, all your utilities, everything you do is paying at the end of whatever it is. So I think an amazing way to practice generosity, before you even begin to give extra, you start practicing and Im serious being happy to pay your debts. Its an amazing way to start changing your attitude. Im not even asking you to give more. Im asking you to really develop the habit of thinking, Im so happy to pay my Visa bill. Arent these people kind, theyve given me the opportunity for one month, theyve given me credit for one month. Of course, theyre making money out of it, but from your point of view, isnt it marvelous that you can get money just like that. I know when we need money for the prison project, Ill use my credit card. Im so happy I can borrow five thousand dollars, borrow two thousand dollars. Arent they generous? Poor homeless people, how come theyre on the street? Why theyre on the street is because they have no credit. No one trusts them. Most people live in far more debt than most homeless people. But theyve got credit because they have a good reputation. So they can afford to be living in ten, twenty, fifty thousand dollars worth of debt. Homeless people have no debt. But they cant even get credit. Thats how come theyre on the street. Im not on the street because of the kind of Visa company, because of the kind bank, for whatever reason they trust me. You should be weeping in tears of gratitude to the bank, to these people, these institutions, for trusting you enough to lend you their money. You should be so happy to pay this debt plus their twenty-two percent, whatever they want. Im serious. But you check our mind, resentful, paying our bill. Resentful to pay the phone bill, resentful, we hate paying bills, because we are not generous, because we dont like giving. Were happy to take their service; the phone, the T-mobile, their company, their thing, their this, their that, were happy to have all this, its our human right, but we dont like to pay our debts. I mean, excuse me, no wonder were miserable, no wonder weve got poverty mentality, no wonder we dont get any money. Im not even asking you to give more, just be happy to pay what you owe every month: your mortgage, your this, your that, be happy to pay it, generous, so grateful. I tell you, that alone is amazing practice. You begin to relax now and start to give more. Because its our mind that is the problem; its our mean, tight, greedy, grasping, poverty-mentality thats the problem. We all think were poor. Its unbelievable. Student Since were supposed to have countless debts with sentient beings and you said its very easy to give things were not attached to, but if theres something very precious, whatever it is? Ven. Robina What are you talking about? Whats the question? Student When youre thinking in meditation of sharing everything with sentient beings, its really hard to think, Ill give, gladly, my car or my house. How far to do you go with that? Ven Robina Im not saying that you do that though. Im not saying to do that. Why dont you just start being happy to pay what you owe? Thats what Im saying. Be happy to do this. Start where you are and then you progress naturally. Theres no point in thinking things that you cant think yet, like you cant carry a weight thats too heavy. Im not trying to say you think ... you can say that if you like, if you want to you could. Nothing wrong with that, if you want it, thats fantastic. So you give something, but Im
saying two different things. Budget in some giving but really began to think differently, all you have to do is think differently. And remembering that giving now, the present now giving nourishes your past giving seeds, which will ripen as getting. I swear. I swear.
Giving Is the Cause of Getting

Our prison project weve been going for nine, nearly ten years now weve never had any money, but weve developed and Ill say the courage, in our prison project, to say not, Oh, we cant do that, we cant help those prisoners, we havent got any money, which is the usual view. We say, We must do it, and then we find the money to do it. And I swear, nine years, weve not gone broke it yet. Every month weve never known if well have enough money to survive. We now have a budget of eighteen to twenty thousand dollars a month, we have benefactors, we have five, six, seven staff, we pay some salaries. Were doing so many things. Thats one point. The second point, what we do we are basically a Dharma center, Liberation Prison Project, but our guys are in prison, thats all. We get 300 letters every month, weve got 300 people banging on our door desperate every month for dharma. And they cant just receive a poster and then come to a course. We have to find out their address, find out what kind of books they can have. We have this very complicated database because its so difficult to serve prisoners: you have to know what weight paper, whether they can have staples, whether they can have hardback, whether they can have this, five books, two books, you have to have an invoice, you have to pay for it, so much complex information about every single one. Then we have to buy books from all the publishers, weve got 300 titles, we have a person fulltime wrapping the books, going to the post office, sending the books. We give them away. We are generous, unbelievably generous. We never think for one second if we can get anything. So I think our generosity alone is a cause for why we receive anything. Ive really learned this. And I feel very confident in saying what Im saying. We never beg. I dont ask people, I know people whove got money, I dont ever beg, ever, ever. Its up to them to want to offer. Often you see people who arent so rich give lots of money, but people who even have quite a bit of money might give you a hundred dollars. But you thank them, youre so grateful, youre not being mean, never not grateful. But you can see that generosity has got nothing to do with having anything. Poor people give us sometimes a thousand dollars. Prisoners send us five dollars; they get fifty cents an hour. So themselves, they send us money. Theyre so grateful. The one thing is we never beg, I never beg, and we give. So far, weve still survived. Nine, ten years, its amazing, Im amazed.
Generosity Opens Us To Sentient Beings

So generosity is an attitude, and its a way to open yourself to sentient beings. Because we think about money all the time, but for myself, only for myself, for me and mine, thats it. Not being mean about it, Im only talking from my own experience, thats how I can say it. Oh, by the way, when youve perfected generosity, weve just talked about one kind, when youve perfected generosity you can give your life for another. Blink of an eye. Thats the level of generosity that theyre really talking about. When your own life, easy, falling off a log. As Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche hes teaching over at Vajrapani right now said one time: The action of cutting off their hand for a person whos this developed, for a bodhisattva, is as inconsequential as a leaf falling off a tree. Now thats insane, isnt it?
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The logic of this is such compassion, such empathy with the suffering of others, like a starving animal, to feed a starving animal and thered be no butcher shop around the corner; they wouldnt cut it off if there were, thats stupid, bodhisattvas arent stupid but if theres no other food, No worries mate: eat. And its as inconsequential as a leaf falling off a tree. One, because theyve practiced all this compassion; but two, because theyve got wisdom. Theres no way in the world, if youre still grasping at I, and you havent realized emptiness, that you could do this. With ego, compassions got a really low ceiling. Beyond ego, compassion can soar limitlessly. Thats the level to which we can develop giving, generosity. Even this body is meaningless, who cares because theres no longer an identity; ego-grasping, I: finished. Theres a story of one of the past lives of the Buddha where he saw a starving tiger, and the tiger Mummy, she was about to eat her babies, she was so hungry. And he gave his own body to the Mummy because he had such compassion for her, for the negative karma she would create by killing her own babies. Without a second thought, his entire body. Many stories in the lives of the great saints, the great bodhisattvas (bodhisattva is like the word saint) of giving their bodies completely, not a problem. So gone beyond ego, so gone beyond self-cherishing, this is the level of which Buddha says we can develop.
2. Morality
So the next one is called the practice of morality. Well actually, from day one all were talking about is morality, but there are two kinds of morality. Theres the morality of the wisdom wing, which is refraining from harming others, and thats the main emphasis on the wisdom wing. Refraining from harming others in the very first scope and then, in the second scope, learning to know deeply about the causes of suffering and so refraining from the delusions. Refraining from those, thats the first level and thats already stunning. The second one, in compassion wing, is actively benefiting others. So already just refraining from harming, like I said, thats a pretty stunning prasctice. When you stop killing, youre helping yourself because youre not creating negative karma, but my goodness, the lucky rats and roaches get their lives. Cheers all around. So here were talking mainly now the practice of morality, continuing to do this of course, but now actively benefiting others. So whom do you benefit? Well you benefit the poor, you benefit the sick, you benefit those in prison, you benefit the crazy, you benefit whoever needs to be benefited. Thats called helping others. Its very simple. So like with generosity, you dont have to panic and think, Oh my God, Ive got to give everything away, Ive got to give away all the things I cant give. No, you start where you are, but you begin to think differently; you think it first. Youve got to train in your mind first before you do something, same with giving. So like with generosity also, how about factoring in, how about budgeting in some morality time, some helping time into your life. Again we will always say, When Ive done this and Ive done that and had a massage and my meals and done this and paid this and gone to work, then if theres any time left, I might help somebody. Budget it into your life.
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Helping a Stranger, Helping a Friend

And of course, we love to help our friends; we love to help our lovers, and our friends and our families and all that. Thats okay, but like with generosity, as one lama said, Giving a hundred dollars to your best friend or giving five rupees to a smelly beggar giving five rupees to a smelly beggar is an infinitely superior action, because it was difficult for you. Helping your friend is great. Well how about helping strangers? How about helping enemies, if you can? But meanwhile, start where you are. Reach out of yourself, thats what all of these are about; reaching out of the self-cherishing to see others. The generosity is about that and the morality is about that: helping others. You decide a certain amount you do every week or every day, or you keep your eyes open and you see who needs helping, you notice and you reach yourself out of yourself, and you do that. Thats it, practice it, practice it, practice it. Morality, benefiting others.
3. Patience
The next one is patience, and this is very interesting. In fact, theres a whole level of practice in the exchanging self for others stuff, back at tong-len, theres a whole approach to practice called transforming problems into happiness. We can talk about it here because it really is the practice of patience. So lets look freshly at patience, because we have such misconceptions about it. Mostly now I think what we mean by patience is what we really mean by irritation and frustration, kind of waiting for that horrible thing to go away. Thats not patience, thats irritation. Patience is really a very powerful state of mind, a very courageous state of mind, believe me.
What Is Impatience?
Lets look at impatience, lets look at anger, even just aversion or impatience or anger or irritation or annoyance, all these variations. Lets look at those. Really look at it carefully and youll see that its the response to something that you just cant bear. So really, its like panic mode comes, you just cant bear this thing. This things going to destroy me if I have it. Its like a big fear, the red light, Oh my God, this red light, I cant stand it! Or the person being mean, not to mention things like being tortured, forget that one; were just talking ordinary little baby daily examples. So you think like this, you look at ordinary daily life: a thousand times a day youre going to meet something that you dont want: the red light, the mean person, the unkind thing, the ugly noise the husband makes when he eats his breakfast. I mean, baby, baby little things, were not talking big major things yet. And just notice your response, and we never even really think of this. Were always getting irritated, getting annoyed, and that means in the mind, Oh this wretched thing, why is it like this, it shouldnt be this way, who does he think he is? We mightnt be expressing big anger, but we dont think its anything terrible. We just say, Oh well, its just normal life. Were doing it a thousand times a day. Thats called anger. Its the opposite to patience.
What Is Patience?
So whats patience? Patience is not just gritting your teeth, waiting for that mean thing to go away. Patience actually is a really brave, courageous attitude that welcomes that thing; that doesnt just put up with it, Oh, all right then, passively, which is how we think about patience. Be patient, come on!
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Put up with something. No, no, no its an active, active state of mind that says, Great! Great! You welcome it. Why? Very simple. Not because youre a masochist, but because its the most powerful way to purify attachment. Because attachment is the neediness to get that green light, get what you want. So welcoming the opposite, welcoming the carrot cake when you ordered chocolate cake, not just putting up with it, and cursing under your breath, actually actively greeting it, going into it, welcoming it, being happy its there. This is amazing, as Lama Zopa says: its like we need to learn to like problems like we like ice cream. Not just putting up with it, actively welcoming it. I mean, it sounds a bit crazy but its a very profound and its the quickest way to change your mind. Its the quickest way to really be happy. I mean it, its amazing, its amazing. If we can be brave enough, once a day, try it. Not just put up with it, welcome it. Because the fact is, remember, aversion, irritation, annoyance, upset, all these things, anger are all responses to thwarted attachment. So if attachment, as Buddha is saying, is the real source of our suffering, and we talked a lot, enough about it before, then we should be so happy when we get an opportunity to purify it. And you purify it when you dont get what attachment wants. Its very simple. Its so simple.
Putting Up With the Pain

I think this attitude of transforming problems, its just like Lance Armstrong, its like all these amazing sports people. Lance Armstrong loves problems, he loves the high mountains, he loves the pain. Hes not a masochist. If he didnt, he wouldnt be a good cyclist. You see my point here? If he didnt welcome that tough pushing against his muscles, which is called pain, its very simple, if he didnt welcome that and see it as a good sign, if he resisted it and hated it, he would be insane and he wouldnt even be a cyclist. He wouldnt go that far, hed stop. Are you seeing my point?
Emotional Pain
We understand this when it comes to things like achieving being a cyclist or I read about years ago in San Jose, this group of young guys who were getting ready for their IPO (Initial Product Offering), of their start-up. They worked for nine months, eighteen hours a day, seven days a week. That was called pain, thats called being tired, exhausted, worried, anxious, thats extreme suffering. But they were happy to do it because they knew the result would be fantastic. Lance Armstrong was happy to have that pain. I remember reading in the New Yorker about the level of pain that he experienced, an article about him; amazing. It would be like torture. He welcomed it, he didnt just put up with it. He went into it and was glad. Why? Because it was countering his weak muscles, which is why he couldnt be a cyclist so he needed that pain to go up against in order to be a better cyclist. Its so simple.
Welcome the Problems

So here we are talking emotional pain. Now this is the one we cant bear. Were like babies in response to what we dont like. Then we get angry, we blame other people, we sue, we do all these things. Weve just got to learn to welcome the problems. Now Buddha has a wonderful saying Shantideva says it I think, If you can change something, hey, change it, no worries; if you cant, why bother? Give up, why care? So if you can change something, you dont have to sit there and be a masochist and have pain, if you can change it, great. But if you cant and I tell you much of the time we cant; the red light is a simple example. If you could just with some magician mind go click and turn it to green, please do so, dont worry, do it. But we mostly cant, so then you might as well be patient for that two minutes. And thats not like we think of it in the world, as I said passively putting up with it. Thats a weak mind.
Its delighting. Okay, if you dont even notice the red light because youre busy chatting away, you have no practice to do, it doesnt matter, theres no problem. But if you see yourself getting all tight and thats why by the end of the day we are so exhausted because were going from the attached mode to the aversion mode a thousand times a day. So were resisting, and we curse, and we hold on, and we try not to get angry, and then were kind of tight and tight and tight. No wonder were exhausted by the end of the day! Our mind is doing all this nonsense. So we have to practice first seeing the thoughts and then reversing, changing the thoughts, just changing the words. In the beginning you dont believe the words: that youre happy that the light is red. But eventually you will, believe me, if you say it often enough. Itll be something that you get good at, you get courageous at. Like the tough cycling, like working eighteen hours a day, seven days a week; you get used to it. And then really, you become brave. So it is a brave attitude, its a very courageous attitude. Welcoming problems, dealing with problems: the problems that come from people being mean to you and the problems that come from obstacles in your life. We have all these. We dont need to ask for problems, they come on our head like rain every day. Its a very profound state of mind, patience. Its amazing.
The Sign of Having Accomplished Patience

So they say in one of the texts that youve accomplished patience this is again pretty insane level youve accomplished patience, youve perfected patience, when in the face of even everyone on this earth harming you, lying to you, stealing from you, even killing you, you happily work in response to that harm for their benefit. Thats the test. I mean just even think of one person, the person as it says in The Eight Verses, that person to whom youve been so kind to, when their mean to you, when you can bear that and be happy knowing youve purified your karma, and its made you stronger and wiser, and you welcomed it. Thats amazing I tell you, incredible. So much of our daily suffering is from so much anger, no patience in the way were talking here. No brave mind, were not brave, were like children. And then because we have the victim mode we totally get into the suing, blaming mode. So were full of so much anger and ill will, not just impatience, anger and ill will, wanting others to suffer. Its terrible, look at the world, so shocking.
Cognitive Therapy
So were talking here mental, were talking here mind, were talking here thoughts, were talking here cognitive. This is cognitive therapy were talking here. Huge.
4. Enthusiasm, Joyful Effort

So the fourth one is called enthusiasm, joyful effort, enthusiastic perseverance. This is very interesting this one. And its a really interesting to look at it in the context of the opposite states of mind: and this is simply called laziness. This is quite surprising, but youll understand it when I talk about it.
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So okay, enthusiastic perseverance, whats that? The opposite is laziness so lets look at the three kinds of laziness.
a. The Gross Laziness: Cant Be Bothered

The first one is what we all mean by laziness: cant be bothered, too much effort, got to have a sleep, got to have a rest. Lets look at those guys who worked eighteen hours a day, seven days a week. If they had this first kind of laziness, they wouldnt have made their IPO in time. So they had to go against their deep impulse to have to sleep. So because they were so focused on their goal, they bore the suffering, which is patience, but they persevered through the tiredness. They didnt give up, they kept going even though they were exhausted; they kept going and kept going and kept going, dragging themselves out of bed every day in other words, enthusiastically doing it, because they could see the benefit. Thats enthusiasm. Even the first kind of laziness, we can see we have that one so deeply, because were such children, were such babies: as soon as we feel a bit tired, we have a mental breakdown. Really, we almost collapse. We panic, were going to have stress and anxiety, and were going to burn out. Weve got to relax and have a massage, and be calm and look at the trees, and go away for the weekend and go trekking, because you cant bear the thought of being tired. I mean excuse me, check when youre really attached to somebody, when youre younger, into drugs and having parties all night: you went all night spacing out, dancing, smoking, exhausted in the morning but really happy, right? Your body was exhausted but your mind was happy. It just proves what you can do. So those guys ended up tired, exhausted, but somehow part of their mind was happy because they knew they were achieving their result. Thats enthusiasm. So who cares tired? I used to do kung fu, our Chinese teacher. We would do pushups on our knuckles, practically dying on your knuckles. He said, Relax! Its just your body. Relax! Its just your body. Because when your mind is strong, the body is just this: so it gets tired, who cares? Its not your mind that gets tired. Okay, your mind, because it depends upon the body, if your bodys exhausted, of course our mind is spaced out. Its true. But if you really can train and be happy with it, and really train your mind to stay focused, and be happy even though your bodys tired.
Slaves to Our Bodies

You see, were such slaves of our bodies, the moment we have a pain, we have a mental breakdown, the moment we have tiredness, we have a mental breakdown, because were so terrified of pain, which is attachment, desperately wanting to feel good. But if were really courageous, Lance Armstrong, dont tell me he didnt feel exhausted. He had enthusiasm. He joyfully made effort to go against the tiredness and the exhaustion because he wanted the goal. So its clear, if your mind is strong your body will do anything. So this is the attitude to develop. Like I said of those IPO guys, if they just gave into their need to sleep every night, Oh I have to have my eight hours sleep, otherwise forget it, theyve wouldnt have made their IPO, they would have been a failure. So they had no choice, they had to go without sleep. So if you really want to achieve something, then you will do that.
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So the point were talking here is the in the context of the great bodhisattvas, who have enormous compassion for sentient beings, and so for whom the thought of sleep is, as I said before for Lama Zopa Rinpoche, a disgusting waste of time. Because every time their sleeping theyre not doing anything to help sentient beings. I know it sounds like a joke, but they have that level of compassion.
Geshe Lama Konchog

Now theres a great yogi, Geshe Lama Konchog, and Ill tell a couple of stories about him. He was an amazing practitioner from the time he was a kid. Just an extraordinary being. And then he went off to the mountains and meditated for twenty-five years. For years he didnt eat and he didnt sleep. Now this is possible. First of all these guys who are so highly developed, theyve got such control over their subtle energies and their mind, plus so full of enormous compassion, bodhichitta, a high being basically, gone beyond ego, incredibly developed in all these things were talking about. So for him, his first few years in this little cave up in the mountains, six feet of snow in the winter, where Milarepa used to meditate, didnt even have a front on it was so small, only four feet high, couldnt stand up in it. He did his own meditation practices on his particular deity, Vajrayogini practice, from two in the morning until eight at night. A few breaks, I suppose, in between. And then from eight at night until two in the morning he would prostrate. So he didnt sleep.
He Lived on the Energy of the Air

And, theres this practice: the Tibetan doctors make this type of medicine, they call it chu-len, they get all the essence from the rocks, and the flowers, and all those things and they mix it, and its especially blessed and all this, and the great yogis especially live on these. You just eat this stuff; taking the essence it means. You drink it with water and thats it. Youre very skinny but very strong. He didnt even live on that chu-len, he lived on wind chu-len, he was able to live on the essence of the air. So he ate the air, sort of thing. So he didnt eat and he didnt sleep. I mean, its insane in our ordinary terms. That indicates for him the level of his realizations: the level of his bodhichitta, the level of his compassion, and therefore, without doubt the level of his enthusiastic perseverance not to mention patience, not to mention morality, not to mention generosity, not to mention all the wisdom wing. Step by step. So its really good, I think, for us to really look at what we can achieve. Sure we cant do it yet, but dont panic. The five-year-old kid who goes to see Michael Jordan or whoever the latest basketball star is, is totally inspired. He cant even bounce a ball yet, but he holds that vision of his potential and he never gives up. Thats enthusiasm. Thats enthusiasm. So thats the third one in this sense, and Ill talk about it later.
b. Too Busy; Procrastination

The second kind of laziness is real scary, its really depressing. Oh, Im too busy. I cant do it, Im too busy. In other words, its procrastination. And I think we are all masters of procrastination. And what do we procrastinate? Forget about spiritual practice; look at our daily lives. We put off doing the things we dont like to do, that take too much effort. We go towards the things we prefer to do. Bone lazy basically, but this is a subtle level of laziness. You might work really hard. In terms of spiritual practice ... You might not have the first level of laziness, you might work really hard, but youre doing things you want to do, youre doing the things of
eating, sleeping and going to the toilet and making money and doing all of this. Oh, my practice? Im too busy; Ill do it when I have time. Were talking in terms of our spiritual practice now. It always comes last. Thats the second kind of laziness. But in general, we recognize it as procrastination. And what do we procrastinate about? The things we dont want to do. So weve got to really watch our minds. This is a real subtle kind of laziness. Because you will never achieve the goal, ever, if you have that.
c. Im Not Capable
The third one is even more sneaky, even more subtle, more pervasive and its the one that truly, deeply ingrained in the ego believes, Oh, I cant do that. We almost think of it as a virtue. Its like two kids go to the basketball, they see Michael Jordan, amazing basketball, wow amazing, amazing, or whoever it might be, your great hero, Tiger Woods or somebody, hes golf, and you watch and you watch, and you think amazing, and you go home and one kid says, Im going to become like that, I can do it. They cant even bounce the ball, cant even pick up a golf stick, they dont care, they know they can do it. They persevere through the gross kind, they learn to practice, to focus, to go against the tiredness; they learn to put it first, they dont procrastinate, they dont put it off, they keep doing it, believing they can do it. Thats the three kinds of laziness conquered. The other kid goes to the gym for a while, gives up. Cant be bothered, too much effort, need a sleep, no time. And then he says Im too busy at school, I cant do it. And then hes really saying, Oh, I cant do it, I cant be like Michael Jordan, thats just Michael Jordan. Well, excuse me, we recognize these dont we? The three kinds of laziness. Therefore conclusion: no enthusiasm, no perseverance, no effort, no joyful effort. Were desperate to stay in our comfort zone. Its too scary for us to move. Wed rather just be comfortable, which is basically attachment. Desperate to be comfortable, to have a nice comfy money in the bank, do a few nice things, and think a few nice thoughts, and maybe go to a class if I feel like it every now and again, and maybe meditate when I feel comfortable, maybe read a book every now and again, and maybe give a few people something, only when its comfortable, only when its comfortable. Were desperate to not get outside our comfort zone.
Go Beyond Our Comfort Zone

But practice, by definition, is going beyond your comfort zone. Practicing anything, basketball, cycling, practicing Dharma. Going beyond the status quo. And the trouble is were so wicked, we lie to ourself. Its like going to the gym. . . we say, Oh, I did my practice. But its like going to the gym and you decide you want to do pushups, because someone says youre going to get really fit and healthy if you do pushups. So you start doing pushups, or you go on the thing at the gym, and then as soon as it gets uncomfortable, you stop. Oh good, I went to the gym. Yeah, I went to the gym today. But in fact, you know perfectly well if you stop doing pushups the moment it hurts, your muscles will never, ever change. Well thats what were like with our practice. So no wonder we dont make progress, no wonder we still get angry and jealous and neurotic, because we dont push against the stuff. We dont push up against our junk and go beyond it. We dont test ourselves really. We dont taste the pain, because were terri-
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fied, because were lazy in these three ways. You understand? We all recognize. In other words, we hold ourselves back. Therefore, we have these terrible regrets. Our head is full of ideas, what we want to do, but we just cant put it into practice because of these three kinds of laziness. The putting off one especially, and the one most of all: Oh, I cant do it anyway. Its just not possible. Single pointed concentration? No, I cant do that. Were such babies. Practice is going beyond what we can do already to something we cant do. Its just nature, its what it means. We love to say all the prayers: Oh may I become a Buddha to benefit all sentient beings. Its so easy to say this. But when it comes to being patient or doing a little job for somebody that we feel we cant do: Oh, no I cant do that. Then we say our prayers: Oh, may I benefit all sentient beings. Thats enthusiastic perseverance anyway.
5. Calm Abiding and 6. Special Insight

Now we come to the last two, which is concentration were talking meditation now concentration and wisdom. So across the board here you can see how Buddhas talking is this: hes saying: Hey guys, from my own experience I have found it to be so that things change, death is definite, your consciousness is continuity, you could possibly be born in the suffering lower realms, you have this, you do this, karma is the law that determines whatever happens, all the experiences you have are the result of your past actions, the delusions are the main cause, attachment is this. . . all these things, all of this is a series, Ive been presenting all weekend, a series of words, saying words: presenting Buddhas view about the mind, about happiness, about suffering, about how to achieve happiness, about how to remove from suffering; its a series of techniques. Ive been telling you all these recipes basically. Its a bunch of recipes youve been hearing. So of course the puzzle for us is always, How do I put these recipes into practice? How do I internalize this information? How do I make it my experience? This is what we often are puzzled about.
The Meaning of Meditation

Well, the word meditation means to familiarize. Thats it. So when Tibetans say meditate, meditate theyre saying familiarize your mind, familiarize your mind, familiarize your mind. Thats what they say: familiarize. Thats the word they say: gom, familiarize. Familiarize with what? Clearly, your mind. Youre working on your mind, remember? Meditation is a function of your mind. Remember your mind is your consciousness, your mental consciousness. So youre familiarizing your mind with what?
Familiarizing Our Mind with How Things Are

Well, two ways of saying it. With how things actually are, remembering that the attachment, anger, pride, jealousy, fundamentally the ignorance, all are not seeing things as they are. So first you can say we need to familiarize our mind with how things are.
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Familiaring Our Mind with the Positive

Another way to say it, which is just a variation on it, is to familiarize your mind with virtue, with the positive qualities. So that implies, doesnt it, that our minds at the moment are familiar with how things arent; were caught up in the delusions. And it implies that we are familiar with the non-virtues right now, with the delusions, with the negative states of mind, the anger, fears, depression, jealousy, blame, ignorance, this, that.
Meditation Is Cognitive Therapy

So we need to change the way we think. We need to do cognitive therapy. Meditation in Buddhist terms is cognitive therapy. Not joking. So there are two main ways to meditate, two main modes of meditation thousands of techniques two main ways. The first one is this one called concentration. The technical term in Tibetan translated as calm abiding. The culmination of this kind of meditation is that you have accessed the subtler level of your consciousness, which we dont even posit as existing in our culture, remember? When youve used these tools, these meditation techniques, youve developed a very subtle, more refined level of awareness thats absolutely effortlessly able to focus, effortlessly able to focus. If you look at our minds right now, theyre all over the place arent they? We just assume this is natural. The moment you wake up, your minds off on a thousand different journeys. And we feel like were being dragged by our nose in all those different directions. We dont even tend to think we can have any control over those directions; we really think like someone else in there is pulling me along, isnt it? Because our minds are so uncontrolled. We have never tried to control them. And we dont even think we can in our culture. We dont get taught techniques at school how to control our minds, because we dont understand. This technique is from the Hindus, five thousand years old, Buddha didnt invent this. He took it from the Hindus and he used it and perfected it. Its a very skillful psychological technique. A communist could do it. Its got nothing to do with what we think of as religion. Its a really practical technique that enables us to focus the mind and then to really plumb the depths of this mind of ours, go way beyond the conceptual, which is all we think as existing, and the sensory, to a far more refined level of awareness.
Insight Meditation
So the reason to do this isnt just to feel good. The reason to do this, its sort of like youve now sharpened, honed your mind to this amazing tool. So like any tool youve got to use it for something. So what do we use this sharpened, focused mind for? In the second mode of meditation, which you can call insight meditation. This is the meaning of the word vipassana. In different traditions, and especially the Buddhist tradition, they call it simply vipassana. They use a certain way of focusing on sensations of the body, the breath and so on and so forth, but were not discussing that here. Were talking about the mental consciousness. Were talking about reorganizing the way our mind sees things. Thats all. Cognitive, thats what were talking here. So first of all, this capacity in the first mode to focus the mind is pretty amazing. When youve really
accomplished this, or if you saw a person who had accomplished this, they would look as if they were dead: virtually no breath, no activity at all. Because their mind has gone to a much more refined level of awareness that we dont even think of as existing in the West, because in the West we only talk about the conceptual and the sensory. Thats it. But the Buddha is asserting, as Im saying, theres far more refined levels. So when youre at this very subtle level, or even at a fairly refined level, you can use this its still conceptual, you can use it still conceptually, but its so skillful. If you can sort of think right now our mind is like water completely turbulent with thousands of fish all floating around making it a big, big mess in that water. Our minds like that all the time. Well, your concentrated mind is like water, absolutely still. And the fish is able to move through it with complete stillness and not even make one tiny ripple. Well thats the capacity of conceptuality at a far more refined level when its completely in control, this amazing level of mind, this capacity we have to analyze things in the second mode, in the most incredible sophisticated way, very quickly, to cut through all the misconceptions, all the crazy thoughts, all the nonsense, all the misconceptions of anger, attachment, and fear, finally all the misconceptions of ignorance that cling to this self-existent solid primordial me-ness. So, concentration meditation youre training the mind to cease going completely berserk all over the place, following all the nonsense thoughts. Already in the wisdom wing, already at the point now, youve harnessed this crazy mind, youve harnessed the negative emotions to the degree that youre an amazing person already. So youre keeping practicing simultaneously while youre doing all this work your concentration, your concentration, getting it better, getting it better, getting it better. Ideally, to go to the mountains for a couple of years and youll achieve this calm abiding, this single-pointed concentration. Whether you do that or not, still you keep progressing in this way. So the more subtle your mind is able to get to, the more refined, more capable, the more easily you can do the second mode, which is where you do the actual work of changing the way you see things. Where you do the actual work of familiarizing your mind with what is reality, with the positive. So its called insight.
The Meaning of Insight

So whats in the meaning of the word insight? Look at it very simply. We dont talk like this in a daily way, but if youre sitting there listening when youre a little girl and the math teacher is telling you about arithmetic and he explains how you add things and subtract things. In the beginning, its a bit puzzling isnt it? Youre kind of listening and listening. And then at some point youll go: Oh, I get it! Thats an insight. You heard some information, you process it intellectually, and then suddenly youve got a feeling for it. It means you got it, the light went on. That is insight. Are you hearing me? Its very simple. So all were talking here is insight into karma, impermanence, and all the things weve talked about. So the classical way you would take this information that weve talked about in your formal meditation session would be this: one, you would sit down, do your focusing to the extent that youve got it; two, you to go to the insight mode, youd take the topic you want to think about, meditate on in other words impermanence, death is definite, those three points remember youd take that and youd focus and youd think through the various points utilizing whatever your experiences are to enhance that particular point.
And at some point you keep doing this, your mind gets more subtle youre going to get deeper and deeper insight into the truth of this, just like you do with the math or anything else. Theres nothing mystical. You see my point here? Its very practical, its not mystical. And the same with all these meditations on equanimity, seeing the mother as kind, love, compassion, tong-len. Its exactly the same. The stronger your clarity, your concentration, the deeper your insight, the more easy it is to go through the different things, the more easy it is to visualize the enemy, the friend, the more easy it is to think through the things youre with me? the more easy it is to trigger the genuine feeling of that. So when you do that when you get the feeling, you stop this little analysis, and you hold that feeling and then you revert back to the concentration mode and now you concentrate on the feeling. You hold that feeling.
Insight into Emptiness

So they say eventually you go evermore deep, evermore deep, evermore deep, and eventually when youre meditating on emptiness which I am now going to talk about, which is what were trying to get insight into, which is the sixth one here you finally get the insight intuitively, directly, non-conceptually into the meaning of emptiness. You finally get it. So then if you focus on that and you perfect that, you keep focusing on that until eventually it becomes completely oneness with your mind. Do you understand the process Im describing here? Its very, very simple. We mystify it with all these words thats the problem; meditation, visualization, all this stuff. In other words, concentration and insight are things we know already all the time, whether youre learning math or youre learning how to make a cake. Its just you dont sit down like this, cross-legged, do you, and think about the recipe. Because youve got to use your hands, you see? But any knowledge, if you want to get it experientially. . . Mathematicians, they know it first intellectually then they know it experientially then they can really be very creative with their math. Youve got to have concentration; if you cant concentrate, you cant do anything. So were talking here concentration at a much deeper level and then we can get the wisdom, the insight, into how things are finally. The sixth one, insight, but particularly into the development of wisdom. So what does this mean? As you can see, all across the board, all the way weve been talking about how Buddha is saying: Hey guys, you see the world this way, this way, this way, as permanent, someone created you, your Mummy and Daddy made you, you began in your mothers womb, theres no cause for any of your suffering, its all somebody elses fault, you blame people. . . All the way, we all see as normal. Hes saying, I dont agree with you. I think its like this. And he presents his way of seeing how the world is. So being a Buddhist means you listen to what Buddha says, you think about it, and then you keep processing it yourself and trying to verify what hes saying to see if you agree with him. Thats what you have to do. Thats what youre doing, across the board. Were trying to get insight into what hes meaning until eventually its experiential for us, until weve eventually familiarized our mind with that, that now its like water and milk now mixed together completely, you cant distinguish. Thats how they say. So the final thing we absolutely have to get insight into, which is what cuts the root of all the nonsense, finally, is this one called understanding emptiness, developing wisdom. Its the culmination of the wisdom wing in other words. So now let me say across the board what Buddha is saying is, he is suggesting weve got really crazy ideas about how the world is. Were completely mistaken, he says. And because we have these mistaken views, thats why we suffer, he says. Thats why we suffer, thats the point.
So in other words, the extent to which our minds are caught up in the nonsense is the extent to which we suffer and is the extent to which we harm others. So, we have to try and get in touch with reality.
Many Levels at Which Things Exist

Another way to put this, then, is that theres many levels at which things exist. So lets give an example. If we look at this cup right now, from Buddhas point of view, first of all we have to establish conventionally its label. So we all agree, many of us say mug, but we can say cup pretty synonymously cant we? This is called a cup. Now we agree because in the English language you have to be clear. If you call it a knife, youre going to be in trouble if someone says pass the knife and you pass this. You just wont communicate well, right? Weve got to know its labeled a cup. But even to know a cup, you have to define it. We dont ask this, we dont ask, Oh, whats the definition of a cup? We might in philosophy class, but youve got to do that in order to communicate. So when youre a little kid: Mummy, whats a cup? Well, she might say, Its that china thing over there with a handle on it. And you will see it but you dont quite get it. What is it, Mummy? What is it? Youll persevere. So what you really want to know is: what is its function. What does it do? Whats its job? That really tells you, finally, what the cup is. A definition has two parts. A definition has the first part, which tells you its character. So here its that white clay thing. That tells you its character, its nature, its stuff. But then the second part of a definition tells you its job, and thats the key. Its the thing that holds your tea. I get it, now I see. Whats an acorn mum? Its that little brown thing with a hat on it. Shes not wrong is she? But youre not satisfied because you dont know what it is yet, really. What is it? Its a potential oak tree. I get it. So youve got to know what something is, youve got to define it and then youve got to agree conventional reality is that you all agree this is a cup. If we didnt agree, then there wouldnt be a cup, would there? Its just a comfortable agreement, we agree its a cup. Then we can all communicate. But the trouble is, Buddha says, we then grasp at it as being real from its own side, independent, inherent, in and of itself, real cup. This is the problem. So Buddha would say things exist conventionally and ultimately. So he would say you have no problem: conventionally, there are trees and cups and goods and bads and Hitlers and Mother Teresas, and once you know what youre talking about, they are relative realities; you cant say theyre not true. And youve got to establish these things before you can begin to talk. This is language. The trouble is though, because we have this deep primordial ignorance in the mind, he says, this profound unawareness that not only is unaware of how things really exist but projects its own nonsense onto things. And this particular ignorance, which is the one that is the root even of attachment, anger, pride and all the rest, it projects onto this thing which we conventionally call a cup, a whole bunch of qualities it doesnt have: specifically, inherent cup-ness. Now this is abstract for us. We dont see that our mind does this. Even when were told about it like this, we dont think that we do that. Were not thinking were projecting real inherent cup-ness onto it. It sounds completely abstract. We dont notice that were doing this at all, but this is what Buddhas saying were doing spontaneously all the time, all the time. So to recognize were doing this is quite subtle. Now to recognize even attachment, as we talked before, is quite subtle. Its there all the time, its real sneaky. This is a million times more sneaky. Its just there; its the default mode of our mind. Its just
there pervading everything we see, do, say and think. Its never not there for a split second. Its just always there, informing everything we see, and so thus everything we see and everything we do, Buddha says, is built on a mistake. So weve got to deconstruct this nonsense Buddha says. Clearly here were talking heavy duty intellectual work, but its utterly experientially based; never think of it as only intellectual. Thats no use. Youve got to squeeze your brain a bit in order to get to the experiential level of it.
The Final Way That Things Exist

Before even this one, this is the deepest one, this is the final way things exist final, ultimate, has the same meaning; ultimate is not some holy word. The ultimate, the final way things exist is in terms of this emptiness, which were moving into slowly. So before that we can even see, as Buddhas talking, theres different levels at which this cup exists. He says its impermanent. Now already, we can even see here we impose something onto this cup that it doesnt possess, especially when its Grandmas lovely antique cup upon the mantel piece there, thats been there twenty-sever years or thirty-nine years or whatever. Youre projecting a whole bunch of meaning onto this wee old cup that it just doesnt have. And especially youre projecting desirability onto it, which is the story attachment makes up; youre projecting value on to it, which is also attachment; youre projecting permanence, unbreakablity, onto it because you cant bear the thought of its disappearing. Do you see my point here? These are all, as Buddha calls it, wrong views, but they are at the emotional level for us and so spontaneous we dont even know were making these mistakes. So across the board, Buddha says were not seeing things correctly, which is why we have to familiarize our mind with how things are, and across the board from day one this is all were trying to do. So we project permanence onto this cup, we project beauty on to it, if were attached to it, all these things. As Lama Zopa Rinpoche says, in general what the delusions do is decorate on top of what is already there, layers, upon layers, upon layers of qualities that arent there. And then weve done that so often that we now believe they are there. So a racist really believes that that particular color person is a revolting person, whos evil and monster and this and this. They really believe their story, dont they? If youre not a racist you can see that that ignorance is just not true. Its a fantasy made up by their mind. A person whos really in any way deluded, you can see if you havent got that delusion and youre more realistic, you can see that theyre making up a whole story. That its just not true what theyre seeing. Thats what Buddha is saying about all of us, to one degree or another, with all these layers upon layers upon layers of delusions. So our job across the board from day one is to deconstruct the fantasies and reconstruct our mind in keeping with the reality. First intellectually, already thats fantastic; then experientially, then beyond the words, then youve got the truth. Experientially. The deepest one of all, the deepest liar, the deepest delusion is the one called ignorance. Its marigpa in Tibetan, it means unawareness. This primordial unawareness of how things really do exist finally that also makes up its own fantasy.
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The fantasy that attachment sees is delicious, divine cup. The fantasy that aversion sees is ugly, revolting cup. The fantasy that permanent grasping sees is unbreakable cup. The fantasy that ignorance sees is cup-ness, inherent cup. Now this is where its abstract because we dont see this one. We dont hear it. We cant see that we do this. But he is saying we do this to everything, especially to ourself. No, not especially, but to ourself and therefore to everything else. This is how Buddha is talking. The colloquial way to refer to this ignorance is ego-grasping, ego-grasping. I-grasping, self-grasping.What we have to realize Buddha says, get insight into, know, cognize, is how the cup actually exists. Its very interesting. Because Buddha says were projecting onto the cup things that it doesnt have, in particular this quality of existing as an inherent cup-ness, because we project that, then very much he talks about how it isnt this way, and thats why the word emptiness is a negating word.
Conventional and Ultimate

So lets look at the wording emptiness. What does that mean? Its so simple. Lama Tsong Kapa, this fourteenth century lama, whose teachings are the basis of what Ive been discussing all weekend, coming from Atisha, coming from the Buddha, has a marvelous way of talking about how to understand emptiness, really grounds it. Using the Buddhas teachings on what they call the two truths, as he calls it. So that means conventional, how things exist conventionally, how we all agree relatively. And then ultimate or final or actual. So ultimately, finally, Buddha says, cups lack, are empty of which is the phrase they use, its sort of quaint we dont talk like that lack, are empty of existing from its own side, existing as an inherent cup. So again remember, we dont think we see that, so listen to it for a moment. Its a sort of like someone telling us that something lacks being an ooh-ha and we never even thought it was an ooh-ha first place. So its kind of dumb to hear it, its strange. Why is Buddha telling us that it doesnt exist from its own side? I never did think it did, for Gods sake. But hes saying we do think this and we have to discover that. The word emptiness is very simple. If youre not color blind, you will see this fork as not red isnt it? Now you will say: Yeah, sure its not red. You wont say but youll understand the meaning, It lacks red-ness. Its kind of cute to say it that way, but you know perfectly well the meaning. Well, even more so I can say, It is empty of being red. Again you dont say it this way, but you all know what Im talking about. Well thats the way Buddha is using this terminology, thats the way they phrase it. He says everything that exists lacks this particular way that our ignorance thinks things exist. So its a bit like youre color blind and every time you see white, you see red. And someone keeps coming along and saying, Robina, its empty of being red, Robina its empty of being red. You get the meaning? Youve only ever seen it as red though youve never, like not as if for one second today you see it as how it really is and then you go back to seeing it wrong again. Then youd understand quite easily that its white, it is not red, it is empty of being red. I mean it is white, its empty of being red. When it is not red, it is helpful to hear that its not red, its helpful to hear its empty of being red. Theres not much point in Buddha saying, The fork is white, the fork is white. Its true it is, but you need to hear that its not red, because thats what youve got to focus on, because thats the mistake youre making. So this is like attachment, when you say the person youre so attached to you think is so divine, youve got to say, Theyre not divine. It isnt meant to make you feel miserable. Its trying to point out to you, Robina, what youre seeing is not true. Youve got to be pointed the mistake out. So when he says,
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Its empty of being something, he just means, It isnt that, baby; it lacks the thing that you think its got. The difficulty of course here, is that this ignorance projects self-existence onto everything that exists, and Buddhas says thats the source of all suffering, thats the source of all samsara. Now thats whats hard for us, a big leap to make. When we hear this and then we think about all our suffering: Oh yeah, the cause of all my suffering is because I grasp that everything is self-existent, thanks a lot! It doesnt make any difference to us, right? Because we havent got our head around it. Well, thats why it takes time. Okay, speaking colloquially and actually weve been implying this view all the time talking, its always there, inside all the teachings, but now were being explicit about it. So Buddha says ultimately the cup is empty of existing from its own side, inherently, in and of itself, blah, blah, blah, which are the projections that ignorance puts onto it. It isnt like that, he says. It lacks that. That is absent from it. But conventionally, It is a cup, baby. But even short hand more, he would say its empty of being cup. Here he says: Hey its a cup. So okay, its kind of like crash in the middle. It is a cup, its not a cup. Cmon, make up your mind! But, he says, no contradiction. So of course, its all a question of getting your head around this. So let me say these few things first then Ill talk more colloquially about it, to get a kind of taste for it, but we need to know the words.
Three Levels of Dependent Arising

So conventionally, the three levels at which the cup exists as a dependent arising, as they call it, or dependent origination or interdependently. So interdependence or dependent arising is the flip side of the emptiness. These seeming contradictions in fact are saying the same thing from two perspectives. We see them now as directly contradictory. So one of the things is we have to see them more and more as meaning the same, as implying the same thing. Theyre two approaches to the same thing. And this is Tsong Kapas particular marvelous approach to get emptiness. So lets talk about it.
Dependent upon Causes and Conditions

So cup, the first level of dependent arising as they call it, cup comes into being or originates or arises moment by moment, arises, comes into being, establishes itself as a cup, in dependence upon actually countless causes and conditions. Now weve already talked about this a lot when we talk about cause and effect. Its the same thing here except were talking cup not person, like I talked about the microphone, the same way. We can say we see a cup, all finished, readymade. What Buddha is saying is our ignorance instinctively grasps at it as being a cup from its own side, an inherent cup, in and of itself cup-ness, possessing cup nature, in its blood and bones, inherent. Which means we think instinctively that it isnt a product of cause and effect, its not a product of conditions. Now we know it is intellectually, so we dont think we think it is this, but Buddha says we do. So one way to contemplate how cup is a dependent arising as a direct way to realize how therefore it is empty of existing from its own side is to think of all the causes and conditions. So you begin, you cant find the beginning. I remember years ago, Geshe Tekchog who was going to come here but isnt now, theres a wonderful monk here now, you should go to his teachings if youre here, Venerable Steve. Hes fantastic, hes lived in Sera Monastery for years; we studied together a long time in England, under
this lama whos coming later, and Steves a great teacher too, and a very good translator. So anyway, when we studied together years ago from this lama, in class, in logic class or whatever it was we were in, he used the example of Robina which is probably why I remember it. And he said you cannot find the beginning of the causes and conditions for the existence of Robina, once you start you cant find the beginning. This is really interesting, lets look. Whats the main cause of this cup? You can find many but I always think of the designer, the Mary Smith who designed it. We know perfectly well, when we analyze it, theres no cup unless Mary Smith visualized it and put it out there and sent the design to the factory and instructed them what to do. This cup didnt fall out of a tree like this; it didnt come out of the sky readymade. We know perfectly well Mary Smith invented it. Now, this sounds really silly but this is very true. Mary Smith has a mother, right? Theres no way thered be Mary Smith if there werent Mary Smiths mother. So Mary Smith is one of the conditions for the existence of this cup. Now Mary Smiths mum had a mum and already you can see where Im going. You cant find the first mum, its like cause and effect; you cant find the first mum. Youve got to keep going back. Thats just one track; one of the causes of this cup is Mary Smiths mum. You see my point? Because each thing is dependent upon the previous for its existence. As Geshe Tekchok said, Everything in the universe, up to the first moment of Robina, is a cause and a condition for the existence of Robina. And when you start to think this way you cant argue with it, you can see its true. So of course, the point is to see the experiential implication of this not just some interesting intellectual trick. Its the one of cause and effect. As soon as you posit this, you have to posit that. And as soon as you posit this, youve got to posit that. And as soon as you posit this, youve got to posit that. But what we do is we freeze everything in these permanent inherent moments and say, There is this self-existent thing, like as if it was separate. Now this, I think, is a really good way to talk about ourself, and Ive been doing it all weekend; in fact, Ive been talking about emptiness all weekend. How this sense we have of self-existent I, the victim I, the poor me, the self-pity me, the one that has everything done to me you see my point? the sense of hopeless me, ignorant me, bad me, useless me, me that no one loves, its not fair they do this to me: that is this one. Grasping at I as none of the things that I have done as being anything to do with it. Meaning, when you think of karma, you think of well, I did this, and therefore this, and therefore this, I did this and this and this and this and this and that culminated in this. So when you have the view of karma you have the view of cause and effect. When you have this, youre lessening the grasping at innocent victim me. Are you seeing the point Im saying? We do this to cups, we do it to everything. We freeze it in space, there it is, inherent out there, no causes, no conditions, un-independent, frozen in space. Buddha says this is a mistake we make. So we can see it experientially with ourselves. This is ego. This is ego. Self-pity me is ego. Buddha means by ego, the grasping at me cause-less. Everything is cause-less, everything is not fair. That means no causes. That means I didnt do anything to cause it to happen. And Buddha says you cannot find the beginning of the causes you have put together to cause all the goodness and all the badness of your life. You are the cause, karma, this dependent arising, like this with a cup. So weve been talking about it all weekend nonstop. Actually, its implied all the time. So the conclusion, the point is this, the more you contemplate cause and effect, karma, the more you realize: Hey, therefore I am empty of existing from my own side. There is no inherent suffering, theres no inherent enemy, theres no inherent friend, its all causes and conditions. Theres nothing to
cling to. This is why that Tibetan friend of mine isnt angry, thats why those Tibetan nuns who were tortured daily werent angry, because they werent having the victim, which means they understood causes and conditions, which means they understood karma, which means they put themselves squarely in the center of their experiences as one of the major causes from past: before you did this, you did this, you did this, you did this, you set up this, you did this, and now youve got the fruit: cause and effect. So attachment and aversion are the direct responses of the grasping. Because the more you think youre an innocent victim and all these good things happen, because you want good things, youve got to grasp and greedily grasp after them, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme. If its aversion: How dare you do this to me? Thats self-existence. And then it brings aversion to the ugly things, attachment to the nice things. So as you give up this ignorance you give up attachment and grasping, they just fall away. Attachment and aversion they fall away, disappear into space. Because this ignorance, this grasping, is the root.
Dependent upon Parts

So this is the first level: dependent arising. The second one is even more tasty, more internal, more subtle, more interesting. Its that: the I arises in dependence on its parts. Theres no I apart from the parts, and you cant find I among the parts. The same with this dependent arising here. There is no cup apart from the causes and conditions, you cant find cup among any one of those causes and conditions, but cup is nothing other than all of those causes and conditions. But theres no cup apart from them, same with this one.
Dependent upon the Mind Labeling

Whats I? Its a label. What it is is the name given to this set of parts. We think, I have a nose, I am fat, I am so beautiful, I have a head, I am angry, I am depressed. The reference point is this real, solid, concrete I that possesses these things, isnt it? You with me? So its just like if we say my table has a cup on it, well, its very reasonable isnt it? You can say theres a table and theres a cup. And its easy to say the table possesses a cup. But we say I have anger, so that implies that theres an I and theres the anger that it possesses, you with me? Well, Buddha says, Sorry you cant find that I, baby, Its just the way of talking. Its a way of talking. You check, you analyze. What Chandakirti says is youve got to look for the I, youve got to look for the I you grasp at it, because it doesnt exist the way you think it does. No way, mate. They say, okay, lets start stripping away all of the components of I: my nose, my anger ... you imagine, you do a little story, you do a little meditation, you visualize a little mountain of all your physical parts: the blood, the peepee, the ka-ka, the bones, the this, the that, you strip it away, you strip it away. Then you imagine stripping away all of the pieces of your mind: your anger, your love, your kindness, keep putting away, keep putting it away. Now we think were going to find this poor little naked embarrassed I-ness, the bit that owns these pieces. Thats how we think, thats how we talk. Thats how we feel, dont we? I did not do that. I am not angry. I am so beautiful. You see my point here? Its even interesting how we talk. But Buddha says you keep searching, you will not find anything apart from all your thoughts, all your feelings, all your love, all your compassion, all your Buddha nature, and your parts and your nose and your bones and your pee-pee and your ka-ka you will find all those, relatively speaking, but theres no I
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apart from all of those. Now this sounds sort of simple really, hearing that, but the more we get that, the more we lessen the grip on the sense of a self-existent real solid I-ness that can be found, that we have to protect and nurture and worry about, and feel insulted and want and hunger and grasping and anger and lie all this, to protect. Finally, the more we get this one, we realize that I, Robina, cup, good, bad, are labels, are names made by the mind. Theyre ideas, theyre language, made by the mind and imputed on the bunch of parts. That everything is made by our mind. This is how Buddha talks. Everything is made by our mind. This is the toughest one, and theres not much time to talk about it. This is the one, so difficult to hear. So these are the three ways that Tsongkhapa would say things exist interdependently, things exist in terms of dependent arising, that we need to think and think and think about and meditate and meditate and meditate. Its just one approach. It is a way to think but there are other ways of meditating on emptiness, and we still have to talk about that yet; concentration, I havent even begun to talk about it yet.
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Session Eight
Analytical Meditation: The Method of Thinking about Dependent Arising in Order to Understand Emptiness
So lets just touch a little bit on the three ways of understanding dependent arising, which are the marvelous ways to help think in order to trigger this is the whole point here, this is the relationship the more you think about dependent arising, the more it triggers the feeling, the realization, that things are therefore empty of existing from their own side. Thats your method. So in other words, we talk about meditating on emptiness, we kind of think: emptiness, its not this and its not that and its not this. What do you mean by emptiness? But a very practical way to meditate on emptiness is by utilizing your concentration meditation, you go to your insight mode, you use this method of analysis, you take whatever you have heard and thought about dependent arising and you think it through. You take a certain thing: yourself, a cup or whatever, and you simply ponder it. So whats going to happen: the more you focus, the more sharp your mind, the better your analysis, the deeper your insight, it will trigger, you will get a strong sense for it. And the more deep you go in your meditation, the deeper that sense, that feeling for it, that insight into it will come. So what thinking about dependent arising triggers is the recognition: Oh, I see there is no I from its own side, there is no cup from its own side, which is what ignorance thinks. So the thinking about dependent arising is the method for realizing emptiness. As Lama Yeshe puts it, Its the king of logics to prove emptiness.
Concentration Again
So lets look a little bit more we didnt do this lets look at the fifth one: concentration, a little bit at the method for how to develop single-pointed concentration. The process is described in nine stages. Its this gradual process of developing, as I said, a very sharp, focused awareness. Awareness is the word thats really used to refer to the function of your mind. So the word awareness, the word cognition, or the word to be aware, to cognize, to know, these words are all the same meaning. And thats the job of the mind. So when you define a cup: its made of clay and its job is to give you tea; when you define mind: it is clear, meaning its not physical, and its job is to be aware. Thats its function, its function Its non-physical and its function is to cognize, to be aware. Finally, to be aware of what? That which is actually existing; not the fantasy. Right now through the medium of attachment, anger, pride, jealousy all the way down to the deepest ignorance, we are aware of things that these minds are making up; were not aware of the truth. This is how Buddha is saying. So in concentration meditation, youre developing this awareness to be absolutely clear, sharp and still and Im talking as Ive said many times to a degree that we dont even posit as existing in our Western culture. Its uncharted territory for us. But lets hear the words, its interesting.
Excitement and Dullness

So the process of developing this, as I said, is described in nine stages. One simple way to describe it is in the context of lessening the two main problems: the problem of the mind that is the over-excitement, when the mind is over agitated, over thinking, over conceptual, blah, blah, blah, excited mind. And you could say, in a way, thats attachment energy, speaking very loosely. The mind when its very sharp, in day to day life, when youre very up, youre very up, your minds really sharp, really focused, really clear, isnt it, and you rush about. You understand what Im saying? Its a good quality, actually, but because its so much linked with us to over-exaggerating and attachment, it eventually goes berserk. And then we go crashing down into what mode? Into the mind that is dull, depressed. We understand these two modes in our daily life. In meditation, these are the two main obstacles. The excitement one is simply the mind thats overagitated, you cant keep it quiet; we all know that. The other extreme in meditation, you sit down and you close your eyes, and you try to meditate, and within three minutes youre asleep. Thats the other extreme, thats the really gross level of what they call dullness. Are you hearing what Im saying? The mind is all dull and spaced out and its not clear about anything. Thats a disaster, thats useless; its the opposite to awareness. But when the mind is over-bright and sharp and going all over the place here and there, and cant keep still, its insane, you cant keep it quiet. Its like a busy kid. So the whole process of developing concentration is the process of going between these two. Bringing it away from all the crazy over-excited to make it become quiet, and bringing it away from the dullness to be sharp. So its interesting, look at the good quality of the over-excited mind. Its sharp and clear, isnt it; very sharp, very bright, very clear. Now look at the quality of the dull mind. Its very still.
Calm Yet Clear

So the quality of calm abiding, which is the final point when youve achieved this concentration, is when the mind on the one hand is absolutely still but absolutely sharp and clear. So its a combination of getting the best from these two berserk things and combining them. Its a simple way to say thats what concentration is. When youre doing the practice, its a constant thing of bringing the mind back from being overexcited, and then as soon as you do this you get the mind to be calm. But as soon as you get the mind calm, the mind becomes dull. Then you have to bring it back from being dull, and as soon as you do this, the minds over excited. So its constantly bringing the mind to find this invisible spot between these two. Its a very colloquial way of talking about it, what concentration is. And so when youre doing very purposely this type of meditation to get this concentration, it takes enormous effort. Venerable Rene, if any of you have a chance to go to his teaching, he is resident over at Vajrapani, and hes a meditator, has been for twenty years. I remember interviewing him years ago in Mandala magazine about his meditation; he did a year and a half retreat one time, basically hes a professional retreater, since the eighties hes been doing this. Hes a very special person, very holy, very humble. I think hes a really holy being. Venerable Rene: hes based at Vajrapani, hes teaching quite a bit, more and more these days. So really check out his stuff please, hes very special to go to. He leads retreats, hes very humble.
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Happiness Is Our Natural State

Anyway, the point is we interviewed him years ago, fifteen years ago, ten years ago, maybe eight, and I remember there he described that he was in this retreat trying to get this single-pointed concentration. Its a good interview to get: I dont know if you will find it on the web. Anyway, Ive got it if anyone wants it, you can always e-mail me. One of the things thats very interesting about this, its just an interesting point to make, you know how all the time talking about how Buddha says our good qualities are our natural state. Thats who we really are, theyre at the core of our being and that they have a natural relationship with happiness. So Buddha is really saying weve got to the potential to be really phenomenally happy, peaceful, joyful, content, fulfilled, whole, whatever words you want to use. This is just something very natural to mind, Buddha says. So this is whats interesting: happy mind, happiness, in the sense were talking here, of being a peaceful mind, is the extent to which your mind is not caught up with anger, attachment, fear, neurosis, worry, all the dramas. And so we can see that even when our mind is quite peaceful, its still this residual anxiety there. We dont really feel very peaceful states of mind, because the mind is always there with the over conceptual nonsense, right. So this is the point Im making here. Venerable Rene pointed this out in his meditation, and you can read it many times, but its nice to have a person you know who experienced this. They talk about when your mind gets more subtle in meditation what youre just necessarily doing is youre subduing all the crazy thoughts. You literally get to a point in your concentration meditation when theres no such thing as a thought just arising spontaneously like we do now. Crazy stuff just constantly comes, doesnt it? We just think its natural and its always attachments or fears or worries or anger or jealousy or resentment, all the stuff. If you really could slow-motion your mind down, youd be able to see the character of each of those thoughts. And it always has to do with the I and all those worries, you understand. But when your mind is getting more focused, and he said even he maybe just got to the fifth of the nine stages, and he said theres no question, and Im paraphrasing, that the bliss, the joy, the contentment, whatever words you want, that his mind experienced, even at that level, was infinitely superior to any pleasure hed ever experienced through his senses. So all that points to is when the mind, even temporarily in meditation, is free of all the neurotic thoughts, its extremely peaceful and blissful. This is technical, its not some hit and miss thing. So what Buddha is saying is when youve gone beyond all delusions, you will never have neurosis again, it truly is gone completely, this is what hes saying we have the capability to achieve. But even just saying temporarily, if you have a good focused meditation, with a person like that its not a hit and miss thing. When youve really accomplished singlepointed concentration, you go to that one every single time. Youve got it. Its not like you just get it sometimes.
Advantages of Concentration
They say the advantages of even having developed just single-pointed concentration not even describing realizing emptiness yet, were not even describing getting rid of all your delusions yet were simply saying having developed to this level of mind, already, as Lama Yeshe puts it, you have an extraordinary sense of well being. And its not that kind of deluded attachment one, its a very genuine one. You really have gained control over the delusions to a huge degree. You can put your mind exactly where you want, how you want, really down to the tiniest thought. Its like this effortless thing that
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youve accomplished which is a stunning idea. Its an amazing idea actually. But this is what Buddha is saying we can achieve. And even just from single-pointed concentration, as Lama Yeshe puts it: your body feels extraordinary. Theres an extraordinary relationship between your body and mind, everything feels very comfortable, very light. You know when youre feeling miserable, your body feels so heavy and anxious and everythings tight, you understand? This is just something thats the result of single-pointed concentration. So the point here is the aim of it isnt just to get the pleasure, but its just showing and reiterating this point that Buddha is talking about our mind, its not just some religious experience but something very, very real.
Prerequisites
So theres a whole series of prerequisites to indicate to yourself that youre ready to go to the mountains to do this, speaking metaphorically well, it usually is going to the mountains, because then you can have a really conducive environment. They say one of the things to be even ready to go off to do single-pointed concentration, and it could take a couple of years, it depends on the person, youve got to be really already well practiced in all the stuff weve been talking about so far. Really subdued your delusions, really comfortable with whatever youre given, have no society responsibilities, not care what food you eat, not care what clothes you have, really very content. You have an unbelievably content mind, with no worries about food or this or that. Because if youre sitting up in the mountains trying to meditate and youre worried about everyday things of course its a joke, you cant. Youve got to be way beyond all that. Youve got to have an environment where its really peaceful, very pure, the water is clean, and the food is good and youve got good support of friends who can cook for you and support you, because its the best you focus just on your meditation. Best, they say, to be in a place thats been blessed by the presence of holy beings, been blessed by the presence of other great meditators. It gives something at a more subtle level, meditators really are aware of this, it makes a very big difference to the place.
Blessed By the Presence of Holy Beings

I remember again Venerable Rene, he said in his interview that ... when I interviewed him I was interviewing him at our monastery in Nepal in Kathmandu, in the valley there, and its up on a hill. And its relatively peaceful but its quite busy really and you can hear the stuff, cant you. Down in the valley you hear all the Hindus waking up in the morning with their four-, five-thirty prayers. And you hear all the monks chanting, you hear lots of noise, you hear stuff going on. But he did his year-and-a-half retreat at our center up in the mountains near Grenada, in Spain, where Lama sel was born. Its a holy place, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has blessed it and everything. But he said when I interviewed him at Kopan, he said his mind more easily could become more subtle at Kopan, more easily. Because its said to be a very holy place. Thats something you mightnt see an obvious level; you look at Kathmandu, its a totally polluted place, but they all say, the holy beings say its a very blessed, special place even though its polluted. At a subtler level its very, very potent with blessings, its hard to see that sometimes. This is something very interesting. So they say especially if its a place where lots of meditators have been before its a really perfect place to do some practice.
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So I think that will do about concentration. Are there any questions about that? Does it make sense a little bit what Im saying? So as you can hear, its a very technical thing were talking about. I say even a communist could do it, technically youre right, but the prerequisite for doing this and this is the point, the main one is that youve not even begun to work on your mind, if you havent even begun to look at your delusions and look at your anger and look at your jealousy, and youre overwhelmed by all the garbage, forget about trying to get concentration. Youre not ready to go to the mountains yet. Youre ready to start practicing in your own house, but forget about achieving it. Youve got to have gotten to a certain degree of complete renunciation and not caring about the ordinary worldly things, really have gone beyond that, and not to be caught up in the usual junk of lots of the anger, jealousy and fears and dramas. If you have all that, forget it. You see my point?
Analytical Meditation: The Method of Thinking about Dependent Arising in Order to Understand Emptiness 2
So then, when youve perfected this calm abiding as they call it, shine in Tibetan, samatha in Sanskrit, then easily once youve received all the teachings on emptiness, youve done all the practices, then you can go away and meditate on emptiness and you get realizations. You get your insight into emptiness. So the way here, what you have to employ in your second mode of meditation, which is the insight mode, is the thinking about dependent arising. So theres lots of different ways to meditate on emptiness actually, and the very classical way they describe to do best is to see the emptiness of the I, this I that we grasp at; to see how the I that we grasp at is a fantasy.
The Two Extremes

So, its sort of tricky here because as soon as we hear the I is empty of existing from its own side, we hear Buddha saying there is no I, we hear these words no-self. So, as soon as we hear that now, with our deluded mind, we chuck the baby out with the bathwater and we think, Oh well theres no I. We go too far. Its not like that. Then as soon as we hear dependent arising, hey, that something exists, we grasp at it. Oh, thank goodness, there is an I after all. These are the two extremes that Buddha talks about all the time. He says our mind is constantly going between these two extremes; and weve got to find the middle way. Youve got to find the middle way. Its almost like an invisible point between this is my way of saying it between on the one side there is no I from its own side but on the other side there is an I, and that these dont contradict. Right now, when we hear it these two, because were hearing them wrongly, we hear them as a complete opposite. We hear there is no I, there is an I. Come on Buddha, make up your mind! But actually, its an extremely subtle understanding, even intellectually, to get to see how theyre not contradictions; in fact they support each other. In fact, what Tsong Khapa says is this: youre on the right track when every time you think about emptiness, it reminds you, Ah-ha, that means dependent arising, and every time you think about dependent arising, it reminds you, Ah ha, that means emptiness. So let me just say some more about that. Its like right now whenever we hear the I is empty, there is no
self, blah, blah, blah, we get very nihilistic and we chuck everything out, and then we think, Ah well, its all empty, nothing matters, and thats a really common mistake among Buddhists, among all of us. As soon as we hear its empty anyway, its sort of saying, Oh well, it doesnt matter. And thats the classical wrong approach to understanding emptiness. In fact, in all the teachings in all the traditions, especially in the monasteries were they study very deeply all this philosophy, theres incredibly refined amount of philosophical debate. And in fact, over the years, the centuries, all these different ways of interpreting just exactly what does exist and what doesnt; in fact, the different traditions all posit different things, and it needs an enormous amount of wisdom and discipline and skill to really get it precise and accurate and not chuck out too much, equally not to keep too much. Does it make sense?
Emptiness Means Dependent Arising

Tsongkhapas approach is this: whenever we hear ourselves thinking this is me paraphrasing when we think, Oh well, the I is empty, theres no I anyway, immediately its a nihilistic one because already were thinking, Well, it doesnt really matter. Oh well, theres no this, theres no that, it doesnt matter. Thats too far, its wrong. Hes not saying that. Buddha is not saying that. So what we have to think when we think that, whenever we think the I is empty of existing from its own side, it doesnt have an inherent nature, its not this, its not that, what we have to think is: that means, Robina, that actually it arises in dependence upon causes and conditions, it arises dependent upon parts, its merely labeled; we have to force ourselves to say those words.
The Middle Way

So a kind of a graphic little image I have for my mind is what we think of as the middle way, which is when youve finally got the realizations, when theres no contradiction between dependent arising and emptiness, no contradiction between appearances and emptiness they say finally only the omniscient mind has this: the Buddha. So weve got these two extremes: nihilistic, self-existent, something inherently there. So what weve got to do is when we say its empty, which is the correct words, and then we go to far to the wrong extreme over here, weve got to consciously bring ourselves back in towards the middle way, if you like, and say, But hey, Robina, no, no, no that means its dependent on causes and conditions, it exists in dependence on its parts. It doesnt mean theres nothing there. So youre forcing your mind towards the middle way. Every time youre thinking, Its this, its that, its this, dependent arising, and youre start to grasp at it as self-existent, what youve got to do is force yourself to go towards the middle way and say, That means, Robina, theres nothing from its own side. Its really an excellent practice just to think like this. Im not even talking about meditation yet; just to think like this. Much of the work youre going to be doing is processing it during the day, walking, talking, driving and so on. Of course, when youve got your good focus and your good time then you can sit this way and do it really well.
There Is No Cup
So its like this, another way to talk about it. Buddha is saying, this is how he talks, from the side of the cup, from the point of view of the cup, from out here, from here, he says there is no cup, he says you cannot find anything of this cup that isnt dependent arising. Theres nothing solid, theres nothing pointable, theres nothing findable, theres nothing in and of itself, theres nothing inherent, in this cup
that makes it cup, which is what ignorance thinks. Not just thinks but instinctively holds and believes one million percent intuitively.
Nothing Other Than the Parts

So one approach, just in our thinking and so on, to get to this is to think that how therefore cup, in relation to its parts, or I, I am nothing other than my parts: my this, my that, my Buddha nature, my love, my hate, my jealousy, my bones, my blood. I am nothing, there is no I, theres no part of I, theres no I that is not dependent upon something. Theres no I thats inherent in itself or independent, frozen in space, findable out there. Theres no I apart from, for example, the parts. You cant find I among those parts. The I is nothing other than the parts. So causes and conditions, karma, which weve been talking all the time, is the way to think: therefore there is no poor me from its own side; therefore there is no mean, ugly enemy out there from its own side. Causes and conditions, the first one, parts the second one. The subtlest one, the real meaning, subtle dependent arising, is that I is the name given by the mind, imputed by the mind on the valid parts, in this case Robinas parts. But, from the side of the parts you cannot find one atom of Robinaness. Finally, they say, Buddha says, Robina is a name. Robina is made by the mind.
Made By the Mind

Even from the point of view of cause and effect you can say that Robina has constructed I. Thats a really practical, really simple way to think. What is a microphone? Well, Mr. Smith designed it, and Mary put this thing, and somebody else did that, a piece of metal came together, and all these people working hand in hand, putting it all together, the many causes, the many conditions came together and, boom, manifesting now as a microphone. So microphone is the name given to the coming together of all those parts. Now its all made by the mind, isnt it? It didnt come out of a tree this way. Its a construction, its a conceptual construction. Mr. Smith invented it and people made the parts, they put them together, they named it this and it functions. Its made by the mind. Theres nothing from the side of microphone thats not made by the mind. Everything is labeled by the mind. But, nevertheless it functions as a microphone. Thats the conventional nature. It functions as a microphone. So think of yourself. We think of ourself already now we have, this misconception Buddha says, this false view that someone made me. So Im constructed by someone else out there who plonked me on this earth. So of course, Ive got no sense that Ive got anything to do with myself. Im just this victim. People made me, people do things to me. Thats how we think. Thats ego, thats egos story. Thats the story of ignorance. Buddha says wrong view, its cause and effect. That Robina is the product of past Robinas work. She did this, then she did this, she created that, she did this, she did that, she did this, all these causes and conditions were set up and now theyre manifested as a shape called Robina. So Robina is made by her past work. Robina is made by, finally, her mind because all the actions Robina it did in her past lives with her body and speech come from the mind. So we are constructed by our mind. Not a joke. We are the fruit of our past thoughts. We are made by our mind. You cant say were not. Think about it. In other words, whats Hitler? Hes nothing other than all the culmination of his anger, his this, his power, his misconceptions, his wish to harm, his delusions, his fantasies, his nonsense, his funny this, his funny that, his kindness to dogs, his whatever it is, all the bits and pieces, all coming from the past
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imprints left in that continuity of consciousness which we label Hitler now. Every single one of the things that is manifesting now is a product of Hitlers thoughts. Hes the culmination of his own thoughts. What is a Buddha? A Buddha is empty too. A Buddha has no inherent nature either. A Buddha is a dependent arising as well. A Buddha is made by the mind as well. Whose mind? The beings mind. So from countless lives the person known Shakymuni Buddha did this, and did that, and practiced this virtue, and did that that one, and accumulated this merit, and purified that karma, and did this thing, and that thing, and eventually what does it do? He culminated in the shape called a Buddha. He was the product of his own thoughts, therefore his own actions. So its obvious we are made by our own mind, in this sense our own self, we are produced, we are the product, of our own past thoughts. This is the meaning of karma. This is cause and effect. Already thats profound. And what gives us encouragement. If I produced me as I am now, hey, I can produce whatever I damn well want. I can become a Buddha. Why not? Just do the right things. I can have a magnificent garden, just sow the right seeds. Its very simple, no need to panic. Its easy; just learn to know what to do. Sure its tough but just learn to know, learn the methods, learn to know what seeds to plant and what seeds to not plant. Thats it. Then youll get the fruit. So we are all the fruit of our own past actions. Thats karma and thats cause and effect and thats a powerful way to prove that theres no Robina from her own side, which is what ignorance thinks. Everything is this way, everything. So this suffering experience. Lets say Im in prison, lets say Im in prison unfairly. In this horrible place, lets say. People harming to me, people mean, on hit lists, Ive been a gangster in the past, all this unfairness happening, all this drama. So of course I will be miserable if I think Im here unfairly. Of course Ill be out of my mind with rage because they did it to me, its not fair. Meaning, there are no causes as far as Im concerned. Im an innocent victim, unfair. Thats how we think. Thats why we suffer.
Its How We Label It

So theres this wonderful story this woman I read about in a yoga magazine who was on death row. For seventeen years she was there; she got out eventually, she was innocent. So there she is innocent and shes on death row. So for the first few years, out of her brain with rage. Can you imagine? But slowly, amazingly she began to read about yoga and she began to realize, she said, she decided that the only thing she knew she could change was her mind. Her mind was hers. This is pretty amazing actually. So she decided she would practice and she even kept her practice private. No one knew, she kept it deeply private. So she said I decided, I am not a prisoner, I am a monk. I am not in a cell, I am in a cave. Thats pretty profound, right? Thats the point about emptiness: everything is as you label it. This is another whole approach, this is a subtlest approach. Its how you label it. If you label it bad, you will suffer. If you label it good, you wont suffer. Now we dont think its like that. We think something is inherently a cause of suffering. How can you label it good? We believe prison in its nature is bad. But its very obvious if that woman for those seventeen years can become very blissful, very content, very happy because she labeled her experience differently. This is the power we have to develop, because we are paralyzed right now in believing in how things appear to us because someone told us this and because it appears this way, so it is this way.
Buddha says theres nothing from its own side in anything. Its not meant to be all flippant: Oh well, Hitlers really good after all. Thats not the point. Were not discussing whether Hitler created negative karma or not were discussing how we see Hitler. Were discussing how we see things, this is at an even deeper level now. This is the third one: looking at how we label things. So for eons and eons, weve been labeling things a certain way. The whole experience about the Furries, or torture, or a female form, like we talked before. Because one person has habituated from life to life in labeling a female form as good and desirable so, of course, when hes six years old his little thing stands up. Hes programmed. Do you see my point? The other one, the Furry, because hes programmed himself to see an animal form as good from past karmic imprints, when he sees Mickey Mouse, his thing stands up. When another person with a familiarity with torturing in the past brings those karmic imprints to his present life, he gets pleasure when he harms people. Its how they label it, its very obvious. Those examples prove its how you label it. Theres nothing inherently good or bad in any one of those three experiences. Now another discussion is from the point of view of what the woman is and what the Mickey Mouse is and what the person being tortured is; thats another discussion. But how the people see it is a projection of their minds, is labeled, is made by their minds. So then based on how they see it, they experience something. The trouble is we think it is that. We think it is that. When I see the chocolate cake and I get all excited and want to put it in my mouth, and I salivate, and I cant wait to get it in there, its because I label it as good. Ive made it up as good. Ive called it good, Ive seen it as good for so many times that now it becomes good and it triggers my pleasure. So Ive given it all that power. All Buddha is saying is from the side of the cake there is no such thing as a delicious chocolate cake. Its something made by my mind. On the basis of this, I then feel something, and then I believe it. And thats how we stay in samsara. Student And so with the labeling, when Im out of this body or my body is finished and then the mind continuum is there, what makes my mind continuum different than Robinas? If theres not a place, there are no atoms that are making up my mind, if its all empty. Ven Robina What makes Catherines mind different from Robinas at the relative level is the seeds shes planted in it, and you will be propelled by the force of those habits. That will propel your mind in a certain direction. Student I guess Im getting stuck on the soul or the atman, that this is carried with me to the next life, this mental continuum. What is different between that and the Catholics soul and the Hindu atman? Ven Robina Okay, I see what youre saying. Its not so much that there isnt something existing and thats why when Buddha said that there is no soul, hes not being nihilistic and saying, Theres nothing there. Like, Oh my God, there isnt the soul, youre an atheist. He is saying theres something, of course he is; its called consciousness. But its how it exists. Thats the argument. So the discussion of the Hindus and the discussion of the Christians is that the thing that they label soul is some inherent, in and of itself, existing from its own side entity, that is not impermanent and is not the product of causes and conditions. Its how it exists that the argument is.
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Superior Beings
So even you could argue when we look at a superior being from the point of view of Catholics and a superior being from the point of view of Buddha, you could be vaguely saying it sounds the same: omniscient, omnipotent, all compassionate, pervading the universe. So its describing how it exists, and what the Buddha is saying is it doesnt exist inherently, whereas the Christians would say it does exist inherently. This is the point. So the difference also here is Buddha would use the word mind to refer to everything thats in there, whereas the Christians would say theres this unique piece thats made by God thats called soul. Do you see my point? Its more a discussion of the way it actually exists and functions.
Searching for the I in Meditation

Theres another way. The way they classically teach how to meditate on emptiness is in relation to looking for the I. So heres the deal: Buddha says, Sorry guys, there is no inherent I, the one you cling to, but he says its not enough that I tell you this, you better go prove it to yourself. Right? They use this analogy, they say its like youve lived in this apartment block all your life and youve utterly believed all your life there is a thief around somewhere in the apartment block. On the basis of the belief in the presence of a thief, whom youve never seen, but whom you totally believe is existing, therefore on the basis of the belief in the thief you lock your doors, youre paranoid, when somethings missing youre convinced the thief took it, youre always looking around corners, youre always living in fear and drama, right? Well Buddha says the belief in the self-existent I brings all the fears and the dramas of samsara, but its a fantasy made by our mind. So its not enough just to hear that theres no thief. Youve believed for so long theres a thief. As far as youre concerned, there is a thief, its absolutely true for you. But then Buddha says, So, come on, prove it to yourself. Prove it to me. Come on, go find it. Point it out to me. So hes saying weve got to go searching for this self-existent I. He is saying its not findable. He is saying it is a fantasy made up by our mind, this self-existent I. Hes already telling us for how many hundreds of years theres no I, but we go oh, duh, yeah? We continue to believe there is an I because weve been grasping for so long. So one of the processes for finding out whether this is true is the very first step and much of the work has to occur here, its very sophisticated actually is really watching yourself every day, watching your mind, checking up your experiences, you begin to find out for yourself how you think this I actually exists because youve got to have to search for it. Buddha says if youre going to search for this I, for this thief in your apartment block, youve got to establish what he looks like first; you cant just go running around accusing everybody of being a thief. Youve got to have really a lot of precision in knowing precisely how the thief looks, given youve never seen him. This is a very simple analogy.
Identifying the Thief

So youve got to really get a good sense of what this thief is before you begin. So they say youve got to learn to establish the object to be negated. So the object to be negated is the self-existent me. So the first thing youve got to do this takes the longest time; once youve done this one, its easy, youre on the way there youve got to establish to yourself with great confidence just how this self-existent I
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appears to you, how it seems to you, how what feels to you. In other words, youve got to get a really good sense of what it is, and then you have to proceed to look for it. It sounds very funny. Look for the I, it sounds hilarious. But youve got to have a lot of precision to do this, I tell you its very, very precise. The way Pabonka Rinpoche describes it is, he says youve got to catch it out of the corner of your eye. And so a really good way to do this, this is interesting, all the time were carrying with us this instinctive sense of self, mistaken sense, but its real quiet. When someone insults us, hurts us, something really mean happens, then it strongly rises, the sense of I. So they say even when you sit down to meditate to begin to search for the I you should consciously remember a situation of being insulted or hurt, because what it will bring is the pain of that I, and then youve got to watch it and try to get a real sense of how it appears to you. Real subtle this one. Once youve got confidence in this then its easy to search for it. Until you know what it looks like you cant search. You see my point? Although you can do this meditation whenever you like, you can sit down and start looking for the I, when youre really hurt is a good time, when youre really upset, when someone has insulted you, theyve left you, theyve accused you, and theres this painful feeling: I did not do that, I am not this, that hurt is so strong, so intense like you could eat it, its so intense. But that feeling is not the I, its the strong pain that comes from believing in the I. So what weve got to do, even when we have that kind of pain, when its I have been so insulted, even then just start looking for it. Where is this I thats so hurt? So using the thief analogy, once youve got the sense of what the thief looks like then youve got your parameters very clear about where youre going to search. Then once youve established what the thief looks like the search will only take so long. Theres a definitive search there within the apartment block. So you do from the very top under the tiles, behind the walls, under there, in the toilet block, I mean, you understand my point? You search definitively until you can search no longer. Its very simple. Now what will you end up finding? There are two options. Theres only two options. Student Youll either find a thief or you wont find a thief. Ven Robina Or the second one, what will you find, put it in a positive way, what will you find? Student Youll find the hurt feelings. The feeling of being left or whatever or attached or that hurt feeling. There it is. Ven Robina But what theyll say is when you do this really strong search for that I thats so hurt this is my point when you do the definitive search for the thief, you will end up finding the absence of the thief. You will find that you cant find the pain. Right now we think the pain is something really real, physical pain, mental pain. We believe in it utterly. But when you start to do this meditation even on something like pain you keep looking and keep looking and eventually you cannot find the inherent pain that we are living in fear of or believing in. So in terms of the very I that were fantasizing about or using the analogy of the thief, think again the thief story, youve decided what you think the thief looks like. Youre now going to search within your apartment block for this thief. You do a definitive search. Youve only got two options. As His Holiness the Dalai Lama says you either find the thief and you throw him out, or you find definitively, finally, that there was never a thief in the first place. So thats the point about emptiness, its got a very potent meaning that, they talk about how you see emptiness, you realize emptiness. You find finally the lack of the thing that youve always believed was
true. Its a very powerful sense that you get, a realization. This finding of the absence of it, that it was never there in the first place. Are you hearing me, the words?
Finding the Absence of Something

A good example when I was a kid my mother used to have little different pieces of things up on the mantelpiece from my grandma, from Nanny; my grandma was Nanny. I remember one of them was this set, this pair of polar bears, little china polar bears. And so every day you just look and always the polar bears are just there, you take them for granted, dont you? When youre a kid you just expect the polar bear to be there, you expect it to be there every day. And one day I looked and I got a shock because what I saw was in fact, there was just one polar bear there but what I saw was the absence of a polar bear. Are you hearing my point? If youd walked into the room because you didnt even know there was a polar bear there you would never have missed one. You would have just seen one polar bear. Because I was expecting two and I saw the absence of one so I saw: Oh, wheres the polar bear? This is a bit like emptiness. Meaning, the difference here is there was a polar bear once but here Buddha is saying there has never been a self-existent me, but for eons we have clung to it and everything is based on the belief in it: all our attachment, anger, pride, jealousy, everything, our rebirth, all the wars, all the dramas, everything is based upon the belief in this self-existent I. Everything is done to defend it and support it, but its never existed in the first place. And so the finding finally of the absence of that fantasy I is pretty intense. You see what Im saying. This is the words, anyway. One keeps doing these things, all these steps, you keep perfecting, keep perfecting, until youve completely perfected each of the first four perfections and then you perfect your concentration and then perfect your insight into emptiness and then you just keep perfecting, perfecting and then finally, you achieve omniscience. Finally, you completely perfect all of this and you have now removed even the subtlest imprints from your mind, the delusions, even the subtlest smell of them, and you finally become a Buddha. This is how they say, speaking very simply. So thats the path to enlightenment from A to Z.
Postgraduate: Tantra
So what you do along this path, youd be continuing at some point and youd realize well before this you could have started this you know you can go to postgraduate school where you can do this stuff much more quickly. You can practice certain techniques that are very sophisticated that will help you speed your way to enlightenment. And thats tantra. And that will do about tantra. So weve sort of finished. Are there any questions? Student Could you say that causes and conditions are how things really are and emptiness is how things are not? Ven Robina You could say that dependent arising, causes and conditions, is one of the ways that things exist conventionally, but emptiness is how things are finally. In fact, emptiness is how things are finally,
ultimately. Lets just say weve all realized emptiness and all developed bodhichitta and all become enlightened and weve all led each other to enlightenment, now were all enlightened. There would necessarily be not a single atom of existence of anything. Thered be no need to be because everything that it exists in terms of matter is the fruit of delusion. So when therere no longer sentient beings, there are no longer any conventionalities. You dont need them. Not that well ever see this, it will probably be an awful long time before everybody becomes a Buddha. Theres always matter, but it manifests in the shapes and forms it does: hell realms, human realms, this realm, that realm, because of delusions. So theyre all conventionalities. There will be no longer any need for those once your mind is completely pure. But finally too, you could say though, that emptiness and dependent arising are really meaning the same thing. When youve really got subtle dependent arising, mere label, you might as well say its emptiness. Emptiness is dependant arising; dependent arising is emptiness, when it comes to a thing. Were talking about the emptiness of a thing. Not in an abstract sense. So in order to even find the emptiness of something you have to first posit the thing. Form is emptiness; emptiness is form in The Heart Sutra. Any other questions people? About anything at all now.
How to Set Up a Daily Practice

Okay, so let me just talk now a little bit about how to set up a daily practice, how to internalize all this stuff. Im sorry to use always simple examples but its so important if you are trying to become this amazing, sophisticated gardener, whos really sophisticated and knows everything very deeply, youve got to do an awful lot of intellectual work first, dont you? Youve got to go to university, and go to botany school, and learn all these things, and study hard, and memorize it all, and really become familiar intellectually before you can do a decent job. You do it gradually, you do both. Well its the same here, Im sorry to say. This is what spiritual practice according to Buddhism is. If you really want to become this amazing Buddha, which Buddha says finally is your main potential and many people who are Buddhists arent necessarily aiming for that but were talking that way here. Many people who are Buddhists think of Buddhism as just a way to calm your mind down and watch their breath. Im not criticizing that, but thats sort of like a tiny part of grade one. Thats fine, better than nothing. But this deal here, which is the tradition in the Tibetan monasteries, the monastic universities, which comes from the great monastic universities in India, takes the whole caboodle, from A to Z, all the way to omniscience, to enlightenment. So thats very much the tradition in Tibetan Buddhism. So if you recognize thats your goal and you want to aim for that no matter how long it takes, then youve got a lot of work to do. Youve got to get studies, and come to do the courses, and hear about the teachings, and hear about the mind, and hear about this, and hear about karma, like Im talking here a summary this weekend. But then what you do is you have to learn how to internalize that, to make it your own experience, how to make it that its your experience. And thats where the techniques of meditation come in as a very marvelous tool. Another way to say it, your job is finally to bring your mind into sync with how things are. So here were talking about the way Buddha says how things are and what a Buddhist is is obviously a person who
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concurs with Buddha. You see my point, otherwise you wouldnt be doing it, so take that as a give here. So what youre doing, even as you go along familiarizing your mind with what Buddha says, part of the process is not just blindly believing it as you go along, filling your head with the knowledge, youre processing it. Just like with botany. Youre not just blindly believing it, youre checking it out. They tell you do this and then you find out from your own experience: Oh wow, it is that way. You test it, you taste it, you make it real for you. So what practice is is this constant ongoing listening to what Buddha said, thinking about it, meditating on it, and doing other practices that support that until you get: Oh I get it, thats what he said, I see now, thats how it is, right I get it, I verify it. So Im talking about looking at the process of how to internalize all this, which is the process of verification. So when we think of spiritual practice, we tend to think that, if youre a good Christian of course you think about it; you go to your Bible classes, and you think about what Jesus said and you do think about. And finally, you believe and thats okay. But you think about it and I think you still verify it for yourself arent you really? If youre really serious, you are doing that. But certainly, if you look at botany theres no way youre just going to believe that something is something. What you do is you listen to the teachings, you come home, you write in your book, you think about it and then you start putting your hands on in the garden and then you test it, dont you? You say, Oh wow, thats true. Dont you do that? And if you discover its really wrong then you will stop. You wont do it. Thats what the Dalai Lama says you should do with Buddhism. Its a gradual process. You cant prove reincarnation straight away. Its only when you get clairvoyance from meditation that you develop a subtler mind that you finally can see the past; its really finally then that youve verified experientially, but youve got an awful lot of stuff to do intellectually, conceptually before there, which can be very, very reaffirming. So I can say to you I havent got clairvoyance but I can certainly say whatever thinking Ive done and clarifying and putting into practice what makes sense to me up until now: so far, so good. Im comfortable to say so far, so good. Im comfortable to say for me, no contradiction yet. Because its a process. So its like trying to prove that E = mc2. Well, maybe youre only at grade five, but so far, so good. The multiplication works, the addition works, the subtraction works, the algebra works. Its an ongoing process of verification. That is what practice is. So when you can think about karma, I cant prove past lives yet, but all I can say to you is this, for my mind, that the presentation of cause and effect, the presentation of karma, the presentation of mind being nonphysical, the presentation of there being no creator, the presentation of not being created by my Mummy and Daddy, the presentation of all of that experientially for me has already had an enormous impact. So far so good, why should I complain? Keep moving and as long as I keep moving, the very process of moving through it is the verification of it for yourself. So just like with math, you go to all your math classes you just dont bring it all home and memorize it blindly, do you? You dont just learn only every single thing in the math teacher says, in the beginning you do you learn your ten times tables or whatever you do, but eventually you are really working with it experientially, creatively, arent you! Do you see what I mean? Then youre making it real for yourself. Thats how you progress. The same with music, the same with cakes, and hey, the same with Buddhas teachings. You make it real for yourself.
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So practice hugely consists of listening, thinking about it, listening, thinking, and then finally, in your concentrated meditation when you get that and it might not even be in this life and thats okay you directly realize it as the truth. So youve got to go according to your own level, you keep moving gradually step by step by step, according to your own pace. So another way to talk about the whole thing, about practice, is this: the heart job, like Ive been saying, of being a Buddhist is working on your own mind, changing your mind, finally comes down to being your own therapist. But then youve got all these other practices like prostrations, and water bowls and all the holy things, all the stuff that you think, Oh, God where does that fit in? Whats that got to do with it? Very often we can think thats practice: Oh Ill do my prostrations, thats practice. Hearing the teachers now, thats not practice. So we kind of get all confused and cant put all the pieces together. But if you think of it like this, another good analogy for my mind is this: what is the essence of basketball? Its getting the ball in the hoop. Finally, everything comes down to that, if you think about it, doesnt it? You get the highest score, the number of times you get the ball in the hoop. But look at the complication of what basketball is and all the things youve got to do. Youve got to learn to bounce the ball, and be fit and have this, and eat this way, and do jogging and do this, youve got an enormous amount of work, and then be part of the team and you mightnt ever even yourself be getting it in, but finally everything comes down to that. But if you start losing the plot a bit and you start thinking that basketball is bouncing a ball or basketball is jogging, youre loosing the plot. So lots of people think Buddhism is about calming the mind, Buddhism is about watching your breath, Buddhism is about being mindful. I mean, its completely losing the plot. Getting the ball in the hoop is changing your mind into seeing the truth. Thats it. Thats the bottom line. So, you can say all the other things you do lets say you went to Michael Jordan. Hey man, please show me how to get the ball in the hoop. Thats the idea, right? Get the ball in the hoop. And hell say, Okay, for five years youve got to do this jogging, and eat this food, and do this, and have this discipline, and go this every day, and come and bounce the ball a thousand times, and do your skipping rope. And you say, No, no, no man, you didnt hear me, I want to get the ball in the hoop. And he will repeat his answer. Are you hearing my point here? So get all of the practices, all of the things we do in purification, and this and that, and the water bowls, and the stuff that is in the Tibetan tradition, theyre these various practices you will do that finally help you work on your mind. Youve got to take those as and when you feel comfortable. Dont just jump into prostrations or jump into water bowls, it might have no meaning. But theyre things that are actually said to be very powerful purification practices that can help you really deeply remove the junk from your mind that makes it easier next day to control your anger. So theres many ways of working on your mind, many levels of working on your mind. Do you understand what Im saying? We take on those practices as and when were ready. Thats up to us; were the boss not the Buddha. Do you see? I think were finished.
Morning Practice
So okay I didnt say, morning practice. So your practice in a day consists of some formal practice because it really helps our mind to have a discipline, a formal practice where you focus on something
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morning and night; its really good. His Holiness says it starts your whole day and the right direction if you do something in the morning. And then night time you finish with the four opponent powers. If you did just this much at night youve done a marvelous thing. I tell you, its the most profound practice, its incredible practice, the four opponent powers.
Evening Practice
So then at night, the perfect meditation before you go to sleep is the Vajrasattva, four opponent powers, or some variation of that. And as Lama Zopa says, we are insane not to do it every day. Morning, its a really good discipline to start the day with something. Dont think, Oh well, when I have my breakfast, when I do this, then Ill do it. Because before you know it, you wont do it. So its a really good discipline, Ive found, to do it before you do anything else major, before you have your breakfast, before you do anything. If you live in a house with other people or with children especially, it might be more difficult but its just like anything, once you decide and it does need discipline it doesnt come naturally, you dont want to. But its really excellent even if its ten minutes. And I think the components of a good meditation, you could do a visualization type one, we didnt do any of these this time. You could do visualizing Tara, the female Buddha, or Chenrezig. You can do something like that very simply, short, or you could do something like just visualize the Buddha, take refuge, just read a few things, say a few mantras of om mani padme hum and then finish. Even just something small to begin the day with. To have a good combination of some concentration even for two minutes try to focus on your breath, some thinking about something, like you take something to read, you read it, you process it, in the quiet of your own seat. And then you dedicate. Thats it. I swear. Thats the simple way to start. Then of course you can develop that, make it longer, you can start to take initiations, if you feel like it from lamas, you start developing your practice. You add components to this structure. But something short in the morning, or long its up to you, but be consistent. To do one hour one day then do nothing the next is not helpful. Better to do ten minutes every day and then you build it up solidly. Does that make sense?
Dedication
Okay lets dedicate again. Lets just think how fantastic all been together, all this virtue we created. Virtue is just a word meaning good qualities thats all; listening, thinking, analyzing, being harmonious, talking together, sowing very marvelous seeds in our minds, how fantastic. So may they ripen as quickly as possible, as quickly as possible, so I can become a Buddha so I can really truly be of benefit to others no matter how long it takes. Keep this as your long-term goal. It doesnt matter how long it takes. Its amazing. Okay. Thats it everybody. Thank you so much, very kind.
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Meditation 1
Renunciation
Prepared by Ven. Constance Miller
Preparation
Start by taking just a minute or two to focus on your physical body, finding the most beneficial position with your spine straight and erect, a position in which you can be aware and awake, but not stiff or rigid. Feel the weight of your body, its substantial, earthy character. Become present in the moment and place where you are. Now continue with a 5-minute breathing meditation. Focus the attention on the breath (the sensation of the breath flowing in and out at the opening of the nostrils). Let all thoughts go, like clouds in the sky. If distractions arise, be aware of them without getting involved and without judgment, then gently bring the attention back to the breath.
Motivation
Create an altruistic motivation for the meditation session. Without developing a fully renounced mind, there is no way at all to escape from the ocean of cyclic existence and thus to reach full enlightenment. We have been fumbling around in cyclic existence since beginningless time, suffering horribly and unable to free ourselves, much less others. The fully renounced mind is the foundation of the paths to liberation from samsara and enlightenment; it is essential to achieving these states. So think that you are meditating not just for your own well-being or peace of mind or good reputation, but you are taking the time now to meditate and develop a fully renounced mind to reach the state of enlightenment where you can most skillfully benefit all beings.
The main body of the meditation

The meditation on renunciation is based on all the meditations of the lower scope (perfect human rebirth, death and impermanence, sufferings of the lower realms, karma, refuge) and the middle scope (the sufferings of cyclic existence [of all six realms as well as the general samsaric sufferings], the causes of suffering: the mental afflictions, the four Noble Truths, the twelve links of dependent origination). The fully renounced mind is the mind that rejects or gives up not only suffering itself, but more importantly, the causes of suffering: karma and the mental afflictions. To achieve a fully renounced mind, we must understand cyclic existence thoroughly; we must understand in what way all levels of cyclic existence are in the nature of suffering; we must understand what is suffering and what are the causes of suffering.
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(1) Contemplate the 6 realms of cyclic existence, one by one. Contemplate the sufferings of each realm from the hell realms to the highest god realms, especially focusing on the sufferings of the three lower realms. Contemplate the causes of rebirth in each of these realms. Come to the firm conviction that there is no rebirth anywhere in cyclic existence that is not permeated with suffering and brought about by our being under the control of the delusions and obscurations of our minds. Come to the conclusion that that you no longer want to ever be born in cyclic existence again. Fix your mind on this conviction as long as you can with a concentrated mind. (2) Contemplate the different types of suffering, especially the 3 sufferings: the suffering of suffering, changeable suffering, and pervasive suffering. Come to the final and firm conclusion that all experience, all existence that is under the sway of karma and the delusions is in the nature of suffering. Fix your mind on this conviction as long as you can with a concentrated mind. (3) Contemplate the different mental afflictions one by one, especially the 6 root delusions: attachment, hatred, ignorance, pride, jealousy, doubt. These are the root causes of our creating continuous negative karma, and thus the causes of our beginningless suffering. These mental afflictions have caused us again and again to take horrible rebirths in the lower realms, suffering interminably and unbearably for eons and eons. And if we do not renounce them, reject them altogether, they will cause us to take similar suffering rebirths again and again in the future. Since you understand that to be liberated from all suffering means that you must renounce these causes, completely and forever, come to the strong conclusion that you never want to be under the control of the delusions and the resultant karma again. Fix your mind on this conviction as long as you can with a concentrated mind. Having genuinely generated this thought within you, stop all thinking processes and simply remain concentrated on this determination with single-pointed focus, allowing it to absorb into the deeper levels of your mind.
Dedication
Having made this effort to achieve a fully renounced mind, may I in every moment renounce and overcome the causes of suffering, that is, every mental affliction in my mind. May I be swiftly liberated from samsara and progress to the state of supreme awakening in order to lead all other beings to that supreme state.
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Meditation 2
On Emptiness
Preparation
Start by taking just a minute or two to focus on your physical body, finding the most beneficial position with your spine straight and erect, a position in which you can be aware and awake, but not stiff or rigid. Feel the weight of your body, its substantial, earthy character. Become present in the moment and place where you are. Now continue with the 9-round breathing meditation (see the instructions in the module How to Meditate.) Let all thoughts go as you focus on the breath as you inhale and exhale through each nostril, breathing in white light and breathing out black smoke.
Motivation
When the mind is calm and focused, create an altruistic motivation for the meditation session. Think that you are meditating not just for your own well-being or peace of mind or good reputation, but you are taking the time now to meditate and develop the wisdom of emptiness in order to attain the state of enlightenment where you can most skillfully benefit all beings and lead them as well from suffering and to enlightenment.

Now think I, I. Allow the feeling of I to grow. Focus on the sense of I, or me. One way to bring up this sense of I is to generate a strong emotion for example, bring to mind an instance in which you felt strong anger or strong fear. Now allow a small part of your mind to subtly act as an observer, observing this sense of I. (That observer must be very sneaky and subtle, otherwise, this sense of I tends to disappear.) How does the I appear? As one with the body? As completely separate from the body? As one with the mind? As completely separate from the mind? Often, the I appears as something independent, separate from, the mind and body. Is this appearance accurate and true? Lets investigate. What is this I? Is it the body? The whole body? A part of the body? Is it the head? The heart? The brain? If it is any of these things, how could then we say my head, or my heart, or my brain, or even my body? Contemplate this for awhile.
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Now think: Is the I the same as the body, or is the I the possessor of the body? If the I is not the same as the body, is it completely different? If the I is the possessor of the body, does that mean it is completely independent of the body? Something separate? Contemplate this for awhile. Can the I exist without the body? Think about this. Now think: Is the I the same as the mind, that which perceives and thinks and experiences, both perceptually (through the 5 senses) and conceptually (through thinking)? Is the I the same as the whole mind? As every moment of the mind? If the I is the mind, which moment of the mind is it? Which part of the mind? Contemplate this for awhile. If the I is the same as the mind, why do we say my mind? Is the I the possessor of the mind? Is the I completely different from the mind? Completely independent of the mind? Something separate? Contemplate this for awhile. Can the I exist without the mind? Think about this. The I is neither one with nor completely separate from the body. The I is neither one with nor completely separate from the mind. What is it then? How does it exist? The appearance of the I as something completely independent of the mind and body is a complete illusion. It is a completely false appearance. And this appearance gives rise to all the afflictions of the mind, all the delusions and resulting karmic actions. This false appearance is the root of our samsara and our suffering. This false appearance is completely deceptive, and the I that appears to exist in this false way DOES NOT EXIST AT ALL. Thus, the very subtle I that does exist (conventionally) is COMPLETELY EMPTY OF THIS FALSE WAY OF EXISTING. The I is completely empty of independent existence, or of inherent existence. The I is a mere imputation, a mere label, that depends on the base of the body and mind. Contemplate this strongly. Once you have come to this conclusion, allow all your thinking process to stop and merely concentrate on this understanding with singlepointed focus, so that it can penetrate into the deeper levels of your mind.
Dedication
Due to the merit and positive energy of meditating to understand the emptiness of the I, may I, who is merely imputed by mind, and all sentient beings quickly generate all positive qualities of kindness and compassion, which are merely imputed by mind, and remove all negativities and obscurations of self-cherishing, which are merely imputed by mind, from our mindstreams. May the wisdom of emptiness annihilate all my wrong views and completely cut the root of samsara in my mind and the minds of all sentient beings. May I swiftly awaken to the state of supreme enlightenment, which is merely imputed by mind, and lead all other beings, which are merely imputed by mind, to that very same supreme state.
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Meditation 3
Bodhichitta
Preparation
Start by taking just a minute or two to focus on your physical body, finding the most beneficial position with your spine straight and erect, a position in which you can be aware and awake, but not stiff or rigid. Feel the weight of your body, its substantial, earthy character. Become present in the moment and place where you are. Now continue with a 5-minute breathing meditation. Focus the attention on the breath (the sensation of the breath flowing in and out at the opening of the nostrils). Let all thoughts go, like clouds in the sky. If distractions arise, be aware of them without getting involved and without judgment, then gently bring the attention back to the breath.
Motivation
Create an altruistic motivation for the meditation session. Think that you are meditating not just for your own well-being or peace of mind or good reputation, but you are taking the time now to meditate and develop the mind of bodhichitta that seeks to attain the state of enlightenment where you can most skillfully benefit all beings and lead them as well from suffering and to enlightenment.

Start by imagining that you are surrounded by all sentient beings, who are in the form of human beings. Your father is seated on your right, your mother on your left. Behind you are all your friends and family members those you are close to. In front of you are all the sentient beings that you have difficulty with or that you dislike your enemies. Surrounding you in all directions as far as you can see are all remaining sentient beings. They are all seated and facing you. Briefly review the meditation on equanimity, in order to develop such a state of mind as a basis for the following meditation. There are 2 meditative methods to develop bodhichitta in the mind. Choose one of these methods and contemplate the points sequentially to bring your mind to the state of bodhichitta. The first is called the Seven Techniques of Mahayana Cause and Effect. The points are as follows: 1. Seeing all sentient beings as having been my mother 2. Remembering the kindness of all mother sentient beings
3. Determining to repay the kindness of all mother sentient beings 4. Generating loving kindness toward all mother sentient beings 5. Generating compassion toward all mother sentient beings 6. Developing the special attitude of universal responsibility 7. Generating the mind of enlightenment, bodhichitta The second method of developing bodhichitta in the mind is that of exchanging self with others. The points are as follows: 1. Equalizing self and others 2. The shortcoming of the self-cherishing attitude 3. The benefits of cherishing others more than oneself 4. Generating loving kindness toward all mother sentient beings 5. Generating compassion toward all mother sentient beings 6. Exchanging self and others: Taking and giving (tong-len) 7. Generating the mind of enlightenment, bodhichitta Once you have contemplated all points in order and reached the last point, bodhichitta, make this determination: I must reach the perfect state of enlightenment as quickly as possible in order to bring all kind mother sentient beings to the unequaled peace and happiness of that awakened state. Enlightenment is a state of perfect compassion, perfect wisdom, and perfect power, all these three in balance. Only when I am enlightened will I be able to see perfectly the exact needs and propensities of sentient beings, and thus be able to guide them perfectly and lead them to enlightenment. For their sake, to free them from every suffering and bring them every happiness, I must reach the awakened state of a buddha. From now on, this is where I shall direct all my energy in every moment of my life. Having genuinely generated this thought within you, stop all thinking processes and simply remain concentrated on this determination with single-pointed focus, allowing it to absorb into the deeper levels of your mind.
Dedication
Having worked to develop this pure mind of bodhichitta, may I quickly generate all positive qualities of kindness and compassion and remove all negativities and obscurations of self-cherishing from my mind. May I swiftly awaken to the state of supreme enlightenment and lead all other beings to that supreme state.
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Detailed Contents of the Teaching Sessions

Session 1
The Path to Enlightenment The Lam-Rim: From Junior School to University Buddhism: from India to Tibet Lama Atisha The Graduated Path Lord Buddha Lama Tsongkhapa The Structure of the Lam-Rim The Goal, Enlightenment A Bird Needs Two Wings: Wisdom and Compassion What Is the Mind? Developing the Positive Getting Rid of the Negative No Creator The Qualities of a Buddha Buddha-Nature Enlightenment Is Do-able The Three Scopes: Junior School, High School, University The First Two Scopes: Junior School and High School Root of Samsara The Third Scope: University Postgraduate Buddhas Approach to Changing the Mind Becoming Our Own Therapist How to Listen to These Teachings Dont Believe a Word Buddha Says Check It, Test It It Must Be Experiential 4 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 7 8 8 9 9 10 10 11 12 12 12 13 13 14 15 15 16 17
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Take It as a Hypothesis Hear the Teachings as Personal Advice The Three Pots The First Preliminary Contemplation: The Nature of The Mind Analytical Meditation Concentration Meditation Insight Meditation, Using Analysis Beginningless Mind Mental Continuum, a River of Mental Moments Mind Is Ones Own The Law of Cause and Effect Where Do I Come From? End CD 1, Begin CD 2 Questions And Answers Retreat Mode See Your Dreams as Dreams Dedication
17 18 18 18 19 19 20 20 22 23 23 23 25 25 29 29 30
Session 2
Motivation Overview So Far How To Listen First Preliminary Contemplation: The Nature of Mind Meditating on Beginningless Mind The Second Preliminary Contemplation: The Need For a Spiritual Teacher How to Find a Teacher Check the Teachers Qualities Check Their Students Check Their Peers Dont Mystify You Need to Be Confident Confidence: With Faith Having Found a Teacher, How to Devote Oneself The Third Preliminary Contemplation: This Precious Human Rebirth The Lowest Scope, Junior School: Grade One: Death and Impermanence 31 31 31 32 33 34 35 35 35 36 36 37 37 38 39 40
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Death Is Definite Everything Changes A Dying Person The Time of Death Is Uncertain Face Reality Living in Denial Of Course I Wont Die Today! What Is Important at the Time of Death? Prepare How to Prepare? Princess Diana End CD 2, Begin CD 3 Questions And Answers Overview Lowest Scope, Junior School: Grade Two: Suffering of The Lower Realms Superior Beings and Sentient Beings Three Realms Six Realms Back to Grade One: The Death Process Gross Consciousness Helping Others at The Time of Death Helping Animals Subtle Consciousness Very Subtle Consciousness Back to Grade Two: The Suffering of the Lower Realms The Intermediate State Born as a Lion Buddhist Psychology Refers to All Living Beings The Suffering of a Lions Mind Lowest Scope, Junior School: Grade Three: Refuge Relying Upon the Three Jewels Questions And Answers Blessing The Food Discussion End CD 3
41 41 42 42 43 43 43 44 45 45 46 47 47 55 55 56 56 56 59 59 62 62 63 64 66 67 67 68 68 69 70 70 77 77 77
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Session 3
Begin CD 4 Questions and Answers Overview So Far The First Three Preliminary Contemplations The Lowest Scope: Junior School Refuge Again Absolute and Relative Three Jewels Absolute Buddha Relative Buddha Absolute Dharma Relative Dharma Absolute Sangha Relative Sangha The Importance of Vows No Killing Not Lie, Not Steal Lowest Scope, Junior School: Grade Four: Abiding by The Laws of Karma A Natural Law If You Sow the Seed, Youll Get the Fruit If Theres the Fruit You Must Have Sown the Seed One Small Seed Can Bring Many Fruits Negative Thoughts and Suffering, Positive Thoughts and Happiness The Ten Non-Virtuous Actions Zip Your Lip and Keep Your Hands to Yourself Three Negative Actions of the Body Four Negative Actions of the Speech Three Negative Actions of the Mind How Karma Works The Four Ways That Karma Ripens 1. The Fully Ripened Result 2. Actions Similar to the Cause 3. Experiences Similar to the Cause 4. Environmental Karma Nothing Is Random End CD 4, Begin CD 5 78 79 79 80 81 81 81 82 82 82 83 83 83 83 84 84 85 85 85 85 85 86 86 87 87 88 88 88 88 89 90 90 90 91
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The Four Conditions in Place for An Action to Bring a Fully Ripened Result With Intention: The First Main Factor: Motivation Motivation Is Most Important What Makes an Action Negative? Compassion Is Not Enough We Need Wisdom Motivation Behind All Our Actions With Intention, the Second Main Factor: Habit The Fisherman Habit Blinds Us We Follow Our Tendencies Questions And Answers Eating Meat The Karma of the Fish
91 92 92 92 94 94 95 95 96 96 97 98 99 101
Session 4
Motivation How Karma Works 2 Karma Runs Out There Are Causes for Everything Why Good Things Happen to Bad People My Mind is Mine Its Not Hit and Miss The Need To Purify Karma: The Four Opponent Powers 1. Regret Not Guilt Like Taking Poison Reliance on the Doctor Consequences for Ourself Blame or Denial Regret Past Life Actions 2. Reliance 3. The Remedy 4. The Resolve Questions And Answers End CD 5, Begin CD 6 103 103 103 104 104 104 105 105 105 106 106 106 107 107 108 108 109 110 111 114
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How To Purify Karma: Meditation on the Four Opponent Powers Sitting The Actual Meditation 1. Regret 2. Reliance a. Refuge b. Compassion 3. The Remedy Purifying Negative Karma of the Body Purifying Negative Karma of the Speech Purifying Negative Karma of the Mind 4. Resolve Dissolution Dedication Conclusion
116 117 118 118 118 118 119 120 120 120 121 121 122 122 122
Session 5
Motivation Overview So Far Nature of Mind The Need for a Spiritual Teacher Preciousness of This Human Life Grade One: Death and Impermanence Grade Two: Suffering of the Lower Realms Grade Three: Refuge Grade Four: Karma Karma Expands The Middle Scope, High School The Suffering of the Higher Realms First Noble Truth: There is Suffering The Suffering of Change: What We Call Happiness Understanding Why We Suffer We Give Equal Status to Good and Bad Past Karma The Main Cause of Suffering: The Delusions: Understanding This Is the Main Practice in the Middle Scope, High School 134 124 124 125 125 126 127 128 130 130 130 130 131 131 131 131 132 133
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Two Levels of Practice Be Your Own Therapist Victims End CD 6, Begin CD 7 How the Mind Functions The Senses Are Like Dumb Animals The Workshop Is in the Mind Positive and Negative What Is a Negative State of Mind? Two Main Characteristics Were All Insane: Its Just a Question of Degree Ignorance, Ego-grasping: The Root Delusion Attachment and Aversion Attachment: the Main Cause of Suffering The Function of Delusions The Chocolate Cake Attachment Selects Its Objects Furries If It Feels Good The More We Get, The More We Want Attachment Is a Liar Questions And Answers
134 134 135 136 136 137 137 138 139 139 140 140 141 141 141 141 142 142 144 145 146 146
Session 6
Motivation Junior School Again: Suffering and Its Causes Love and Attachement Protect Yourself From Your Attachment Chocolate Cake Chocolate Cake Is an Elaborate Story End CD 7, Begin CD8 Dont Believe in Our Karmic Appearances Attachment Lies Watch the Mind All the Time A Few Lives Between Punches Attachment 156 157 157 158 159 160 160 161 161 161 161 165
243
Other Delusions Delusions Are the Voices of I Pride and Low Self-Esteem Virtues Are Peaceful Humility and Self-Confidence Offering Lunch Dedication
165 165 166 167 168 168 169
Session 7
Motivation Overview So Far The Three Preliminary Contemplations Junior School: the Lowest Scope Grade One: Death and Impermanence Grade Two: Suffering Rebirths Grade Three: Refuge Grade Four: Abiding by the Laws of Karma High School: the Middle Scope Our Potential to be Free of Suffering, Full of Happiness Renunciation of Suffering and Its Causes The Miracle of Renunciation Back to the First Noble Truth University: The Great Scope: The Development of Love and Compassion and Eventually Bodhichitta What is Compassion? Compassion for Those Who Do Harm Limited Compassion 1. Equanimity What Is Equanimity? Enemies, Friends, and Strangers How to Meditate on Equanimity Enemy Stranger 2. Everyone Has Been My Mother 3. The Kindness of the Mother End CD 8, Begin CD9 174 175 176 177 177 178 178 179 180 181 181 182 185 170 170 170 171 171 171 171 171 172 172 172 172 172
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4. Repay the Kindness of the Mother Exchanging Ourselves for Others 5. Others are Equal to Me On the Wisdom Wing On the Compassion Wing A Suitable Vessel Two Is More Than One Putting Others First, But Because of Attachment 6. The Disadvantages of Cherishing Myself More Than Others 7. The Advantages of Cherishing Others More than Oneself Tong-Len: Giving and Taking 9. Taking Upon Myself the Suffering of Others: Practicing Compassion 10. Give Away All My Happiness: Practicing Love How to Do Tong-Len 11. Bodhichitta The Six Perfections of the Bodhisattva 1. Generosity Money Is the Fruit of Generosity Budget Giving into Your Life Happy to Pay Our Debts Giving Is the Cause of Getting Generosity Opens Us to Sentient Beings 2. Morality Helping a Stranger, Helping a Friend 3. Patience What Is Impatience? What Is Patience? Putting Up with the Pain Emotional Pain Welcome the Problems The Signs of Having Accomplished Patience Cognitive Therapy 4. Enthusiasm, Joyful Effort a. The Gross Laziness: Cant Be Bothered Slaves to Our Bodies Geshe Lama Konchog He Lived on the Energy of the Air
3. Presenting the Path 245
185 185 185 185 185 186 187 187 188 188 188 188 188 189 191 191 192 193 193 193 195 195 196 197 197 197 197 198 198 198 199 199 199 200 200 201 201
b. Too Busy: Procrastination c. Im Not Capable Go Beyond Our Comfort Zone 5. Calm Abiding 6. Special Insight The Meaning of Meditation Familiarizing Our Mind With How Things Are Familiarizing Our Mind With the Positive Meditation Is Cognitive Therapy Insight Meditation Meaning of Insight Insight into Emptiness Many Levels At Which Things Exist End CD 9, Begin CD10 The Final Way That Things Exist Conventional and Ultimate Three Levels of Dependent Arising Dependent Upon Causes and Conditions Dependent Upon Parts Dependent Upon the Mind Labeling
201 202 202 203 203 203 203 204 204 204 205 206 207 208 208 209 210 210 212 212
Session 8
Analytical Meditation: The Method of Thinking About Dependent Arising in Order to Understand Emptiness Concentration Again Excitement and Dullness Calm Yet Clear Happiness Is Our Natural State Advantages of Concentration Prerequisites Blessed by the Presence of Holy Beings Analytical Meditation: The Method of Thinking About Dependent Arising in Order to Undersand Emptiness 2 The Two Extremes Emptiness Means Dependent Arising The Middle Way 214 214 215 215 216 216 217 217 218 218 219 219
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There Is No Cup Nothing Other Than the Parts Made by the Mind Its How We Label It Superior Beings Searching for the I in Meditation Identifying the Thief Finding the Absence of Something Postgraduate: Tantra How To Set Up a Daily Practice Morning Practice Evening Practice Dedication End CD 10
219 220 220 221 223 223 223 225 225 226 228 229 229
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Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition Education Department
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Teaching Transcript

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Discovering BUDDHISM at Home

Presenting the Path

Discovering BUDDHISM at Home

3. Presenting the Path

3. Presenting the Path

Discovering BUDDHISM at Home

Discovering BUDDHISM at Home

3. Presenting the Path

The Graduated Path

3. Presenting the Path

Discovering BUDDHISM at Home

The Structure of the Lam-rim

Discovering BUDDHISM at Home

3. Presenting the Path

The Goal, Enlightenment

A Bird Needs Two Wings: Wisdom and Compassion

What Is the Mind?

3. Presenting the Path

Discovering BUDDHISM at Home

Developing the Positive

Getting Rid of the Negative

Discovering BUDDHISM at Home

3. Presenting the Path

The Qualities of a Buddha

3. Presenting the Path

Discovering BUDDHISM at Home

Discovering BUDDHISM at Home

3. Presenting the Path

The Three Scopes: Junior School, High School, and University

3. Presenting the Path

Discovering BUDDHISM at Home

The First Two Scopes: Junior School and High School

The Third Scope: University

Discovering BUDDHISM at Home

3. Presenting the Path

Buddhas Approach to Changing the Mind

Becoming Our Own Therapist

Discovering BUDDHISM at Home

3. Presenting the Path

How to Listen to These Teachings

3. Presenting the Path

Discovering BUDDHISM at Home

Check It, Test It

Discovering BUDDHISM at Home

3. Presenting the Path

3. Presenting the Path

Discovering BUDDHISM at Home

Hear the Teachings as Personal Advice

The Three Pots

The First Preliminary Contemplation: The Nature of the Mind

3. Presenting the Path

Discovering BUDDHISM at Home

Insight Meditation, Using Analysis

3. Presenting the Path

Discovering BUDDHISM at Home

Mental Continuum, a River of Mental Moments

Discovering BUDDHISM at Home

3. Presenting the Path

Mind Is Ones Own

The Law of Cause and Effect

Where Do I Come From?

3. Presenting the Path

Discovering BUDDHISM at Home

Questions and Answers