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Lecture 1

[Rinpoche explains reasons for delayed arrival at Kopan]

If I explain why I didn’t make it from the beginning of the course, I think it will take months or years. In the beginning of the retreat in Dharamsala, there was some trouble for the people who want to do long retreat. They had trouble getting visa extensions, so I thought maybe if I go to see Indira Gandhi she might be able to help. That was the delay of the start of the retreat. Once you start retreat, you cannot break it. If you break it, you cannot do the completion. Even if you continue to do the rest of the mantra, since it has not been continued every day, it cannot count as having completed the retreat. So that took some time. Later on, it wasn’t sure, but if I went there it might take some time in Delhi, maybe several weeks, so we were not sure whether the retreat could be done before coming here or not. Finally I sent one geshe, Lama Yeshe’s brother, to meet Indira Gandhi. He tried, and some students went with him. Still the result of what happened is not clear. The long retreat was advised by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, so I thought, since this was the one time that His Holiness has advised us to do retreat, if the number of the mantras doesn’t get finished, it is kind of a shame, if the advice given by His Holiness doesn’t get done.

One reason I relaxed was because Jon Landaw, the universal teacher, was here—I think in one way that made me relax. If I came here from the beginning I think half of you might be in Kathmandu gathering in the restaurants or would have gone trekking or to Goa. You would have come all this way, collected the money, working for many years, come all the way from there to here, and then missed all the opportunity to listen, to be able to hear more teachings and to be able to meditate, to be able to reflect on the meanings of the teachings. So I think from my side I am very happy in that way.

This morning if you have some questions with answers that I know, then I start to tell. Maybe everybody already became enlightened, became Manjushri, but just manifesting as ordinary human beings.

Is there something or not? Yes, go on.

Student: Could you explain the meaning of the Heart Sutra?
(Laughter)

Rinpoche: (laughs) I’ll try. I don’t know about the Heart Sutra. The opposite of the Heart Sutra I will try. The opposite of wisdom, I’ll try (laughter). The opposite, the conception against wisdom and the view against the object of the wisdom, that I’ll try, okay? I don’t know about the Heart Sutra, but that I’ll try, okay?

What about the actions done out of shunyata, out of the Heart Sutra—those actions are the remedy to samsara, is that right? Those actions are the remedy to samsara, isn’t it? Heh? The actions that are possessed by the wisdom of shunyata cut off the root of samsara, is that right? Yes?

Student: Yes.

Rinpoche: I see. Then that doesn’t cause samsara? Doesn’t that cause samsara? It doesn’t become the cause of samsara?

Student: No.

Rinpoche: Does that become the cause of samsara or not?

Britta: No.

Rinpoche: Why? (Laughter)Why doesn’t it become the cause of samsara? Okay, then what about this: from that you can become enlightened; you can be liberated from samsara, right? But why can’t you get perfect human rebirth from that? You can get liberated from that, you can become enlightened from that, but why can’t you receive perfect human rebirth from this—if you can get the ultimate happiness, then why not the temporal happiness? Similarly, of course, you can receive the human body from that. No? Can’t you receive the human body from that?

Britta: If you wish for it, yes, if you have the wish.

Rinpoche: Right. So with virtuous actions possessed by shunyata, the right view, you can get human body? Right?

Britta: Yes.

Rinpoche: So if that causes you to receive the human body, it causes samsara.

Britta: Not necessarily.

Rinpoche: What? (Laughter) Not necessarily?

Britta: If I wish to attain a human body and have the wish of bodhicitta trying to help others, then the perfect human body is not samsara, no? Isn’t it just manifesting?

Rinpoche: Then all the bodhisattvas, whenever you generate bodhicitta, just by having bodhicitta you get liberated from samsara. Just having generated bodhicitta do you get liberated from samsara?

Britta: And with the right understanding of shunyata, having realized emptiness and then having realized shunyata, then you want to become…

Rinpoche: So if you have shunyata and bodhicitta, then just by that you are liberated from samsara?

Britta: Yes.

Rinpoche: To be liberated from samsara you don’t need to approach the arya path, the higher path—if that were so, whenever you generated bodhicitta there would be no need for those five paths, no need to go through the five paths, the path of merit, path of action, the right-seeing path, the path of meditation. So just by having generated bodhicitta, having realized shunyata, just by that, if you get liberated from samsara, it makes it unnecessary to follow this path of action, the right-seeing path, the path of meditation—it doesn’t give any purpose. Then you become an arhat or you become an arya being, an arya bodhisattva. Whenever the path of merit is generated, according to the Theravada, according to the lesser vehicle path, then you become already an arhat, having the wisdom of shunyata. According to the Mahayana path you would become already an arya bodhisattva. Already it would be—without going through the first, second, third bhumi like that—it would already be the eighth bhumi bodhisattva. Just by having bodhicitta and shunyata, if one gets liberated from the delusion. Yes?

Britta: (inaudible)

Rinpoche: No, no, no. Even from the path of action, the second path, you have to have the realization of shunyata—even from the path of action, from there. The wisdom of shunyata is the one that is the direct remedy for the disturbing thought obscuration. So it becomes the direct remedy to first of all the gross, and then the more and more subtle… it removes the subtle, it is the remedy to the subtle delusions and it removes and ceases the subtle delusions, gradually. So that is the way you approach it, from one to the higher and higher paths, in that way. Without wisdom becoming the remedy removing the disturbing thought, with method alone you cannot go to the higher and higher paths. So just by having bodhicitta and shunyata, you don’t get liberated from samsara, do you?

Britta: What always comes after the eighth bhumi?

Rinpoche: Once you have reached the eighth bhumi, you have removed the disturbing thoughts and obscurations according to the paramita path. One can eliminate the seed of the delusions. To cut and completely eliminate these you not only have to realize shunyata, but you have to have the wisdom directly perceiving shunyata. By developing that you will be able to completely eliminate the root of the delusion.

So just by having bodhicitta and the wisdom of shunyata one doesn’t get liberated from samsara, isn’t it? What? Does one get liberated from samsara just by that? With this human body that you receive, from the virtuous action possessed by the wisdom of shunyata, it is possible to receive human rebirth, actions done out of the wisdom of shunyata can cause the body of the happy transmigratory being, isn’t it? One can achieve this; one can receive the perfect human body from that. One can achieve or one can’t achieve?

Luke: Maybe not.

Rinpoche: Why?

Luke: Because the wisdom of emptiness will cut through delusions that can propel you into an unfortunate rebirth but will not cause a perfect human body. The merit you accumulate or virtuous karma from other past lives will propel you into a human body, but not the wisdom of emptiness.

Rinpoche: The wisdom of emptiness doesn’t cause the human body, the merit causes it?

Luke: The merit causes it, yes.

Rinpoche: Mm, so merit causes it. So merit is accumulated by what? Isn’t that merit accumulated because of the wisdom of shunyata? The action becomes virtue by the wisdom of shunyata. Heh?

Luke: The action becomes virtue by the wisdom of shunyata?

Rinpoche: Hmm. No? Then? Then? Then?

Luke: Karma, by following karma.

Rinpoche: By following karma? For example, let’s say—when you recite mantra, when you meditate on the deity, with no motivation of bodhicitta, and no motivation seeking the perfect human body in the next life, no particular motivation like this, just simply meditating either on the deity outside, or oneself as deity—being aware of the nature of that. From the three principles of the path, it is possessed by the wisdom of shunyata. So that action, meditating on the deity with the awareness of shunyata, that is not virtue? You see, the person may not have much idea, the person may not particularly think of karma. It is like this, it could be like this. A person who makes charity doesn’t know that from that good karma he will get a perfect human rebirth. The person doesn’t know, but he does—out of sincerity he did the actual action, created the actual cause to receive wealth in the next life or even in this life, to be wealthy or to receive things, or to fulfill one’s wishes. Things like that. He doesn’t know about, he may think this is generally a good action, but he doesn’t know so much about the results that he gets from that. He doesn’t expect it, but anyway he practices good karma, even without knowing the details he practices it, he put it into action. So anyway, he gets the result because he does the action, creates the cause, without particularly knowing details about it.

Even without a particular motivation to receive a perfect human body in the next life, just meditation on oneself as deity, meditating on the deity, being aware of the nature of the deity. That is similar to meditating on the emptiness of the “I.” That meditation, that action, it is virtue—no? Meditating on the absolute nature of the “I,” isn’t that virtue? That is virtue because that is the one that is a complete remedy to all the disturbing thoughts, especially to the root. That is the one that completely eliminates the root of all the disturbing thoughts, the wisdom of shunyata, the action meditating on emptiness. That which becomes the remedy to all the delusions, if that doesn’t become virtue then it becomes difficult, I think. What do you think, Claudio? Hmm? It must be clear, because doing much Chöd practice (Rinpoche laughs).

I think that is pure virtue possessed by the wisdom of shunyata. It is said in the thought-training teachings that accumulated virtue, “without being mixed with poison”—the poison is the wrong conception of true existence. Any time we accumulate merit or virtuous actions, we should be aware of the three circles. Whenever we accumulate virtue, it should be sealed with the right view. This means that whenever we accumulate virtue, if we accumulate virtue with the awareness of dependent arising, with the awareness that they [subject, object and action] do not exist from their own side, that is what is called “sealed by the right view,” non-truly existent, thinking and being aware that they are empty of existing from their own side.

The object to whom you make charity, the action of charity and also the subject, oneself, who makes charity: all three, be aware that they exist as merely labeled. Or the other way, be aware that, even if they appear as if they exist from their own side, in fact they are empty from their own side. In this way the virtuous action is not mixed with the poison of the wrong conception of true existence. The virtuous actions that are done, other virtuous actions that are done even out of bodhicitta, without the recognition or without being possessed by the right view of shunyata, those virtues in the thought-training are recognized like food mixed with poison. So it says in the thought-training commitment, the thought transformation commitment, “Avoid the food mixed with poison.” That means this. I think virtuous actions done out of bodhicitta, the wisdom of shunyata—in that way the perfect human rebirth is, I think, like the fruit from good minerals or good soil—everything is gathered, the tree grows well, and then one gets very tasty fruit. Like that, from these virtuous actions, possessed either by all three of the principles of the path to enlightenment or any one of them, that perfect human rebirth that one receives is much more perfect, more powerful to follow the path.

Anyway, you can check. You can meditate, you can check whether they are the cause of samsara or not, okay?

Those virtuous actions done with the three principles of the path, there is no reason why one cannot achieve enlightenment or liberation with those. Why not? Either the action is done with the actual realization or even if there is no realization, it is done with effortful meditation. Even if there is no actual bodhicitta, with the effortful meditation of bodhicitta, the motivation of bodhicitta; even though there is no actual realization of renunciation of samsara, but with the effortful, creative renunciation of samsara. Actions done with those are virtue.

Anyway you can check if one can get a perfect human rebirth from those, whether they are the cause of samsara or not. So that you can check, okay? Meditate. Any other questions? Yes?

Doug: Would it be possible for one type of shunyata to be both in and out of samsara, in the sense that you might be having a direct experience of shunyata, whereas the content of, or the shunyata might be focused on some sort of content of the awareness, such as anger, but understanding that from the perspective of inherent emptiness. So you would be participating in samsara, but from the point of view of emptiness, I mean, of shunyata, there would be the knowledge of the sort of interdependence or of the emptiness and that would lead back to the bodhicitta and the differences that one would normally create between oneself and others would be fully understood as not being inherently existent. And so the bodhicitta would be natural, and in that case if that were fully realized the contents of the participation in shunyata would not really be shunyata at all.

Rinpoche: [coughs]

Doug: In the sense that it would be as fully, from the point of view, fully in the shunyata...

Rinpoche: In the beginning it was shunyata, then later on that didn’t become shunyata any more. Anyway I didn’t get your essential point I think. So would you repeat again please?

Doug: No—I suppose I am asking for clarification.

Rinpoche: Yes, what?

Doug: When you were talking about food mixed with poison, for example, the image that I had was of an understanding of shunyata which is direct, but which is also participating in some sort of samsara in the sense that you might be using your wisdom of shunyata to look at something like greed or some other karmic formation that has arisen.

Rinpoche: The shunyata of wisdom which participates in samsara looking for some of the reasons for greed or something?

Doug: No.

Jon: The understanding of shunyata had been focused on the delusion.

Rinpoche: Yes. Then? Yes, then? Then?

Doug: That would be kind of like mixed with poison, in the sense that the shunyata is the pure understanding of emptiness but because the realization is not full, the conclusion can still be the object of one’s awareness from the point of view of shunyata.

Rinpoche: If is not full, if it is not complete, if it is not wisdom, if it is not the wisdom that ceases the inherently existent… whatever is focused on the delusions, if that wisdom does not see, doesn’t realize the attachment or whatever delusion as completely empty from its own side, then it is not—in that way I wouldn’t call that the wisdom of shunyata. The wisdom of shunyata is the one that completely eliminates the root of samsara, the ignorance holding the “I” and things as truly existent.

Doug: So then, so my sort of clarification....

Rinpoche: Just half… being aware of, for example, anger, attachment and ignorance, and realizing that these are of an impermanent nature, helps at least to realize shunyata of these delusions, to see the complete emptiness of them. It leads to that. It benefits that, it leads to that but it is not the wisdom of shunyata.

The wisdom, even more subtle than that, that these delusions exist without depending on their continuation and parts, even the wisdom that sees the emptiness of such as that inherent existence of those delusions—or you can say “I” existing without depending on the parts, without depending on the continuation, the group of aggregates and the continuation of aggregates, the “I”—even the wisdom that realizes that the “I” that exists without depending on the group of the aggregates and the continuation of the aggregates is empty, even that is not… well, it could be the right view according to other schools. If you talk about these different levels of wisdom as shunyata, it depends on which school. But actually, in practice—this doesn’t mean that those others are not practices, but that the ultimate, essential thing, which we should not miss, which we should understand and practice—that which actually, directly harms and eliminates the ignorance of true existence is the wisdom of shunyata according to the Madhyamaka School. There are four schools, the fourth is the Madhyamaka School or Middle Way School, which has two divisions the last of which is Prasangika. Realizing emptiness according to the way the Prasangika School explains it is the complete emptiness. That is the complete emptiness. Otherwise there is always something left out.

All the previous schools are very helpful and become steps towards realizing the complete emptiness, that which becomes the direct remedy to ignorance, the root of samsara. The previous ones, the shunyata of those other schools is not complete emptiness. According to them they are complete emptiness but in reality they are not. If you are going to talk about what is the ultimate, the one that really, completely eliminates the root of samsara, it is the Prasangika view. That is what we should understand, practice and be aware of in our everyday lives.

So, according to those other schools, I don’t remember the Sanskrit terms—what are they called? Sautrantika, the Mind-Only School and even the Madhyamaka School, rang.gyu.pa, the Svatantrika—their views of shunyata are not complete. They are half, something is correct, something is not correct. But the higher and higher schools… the Chittamatra, the mind-only doctrine, the Mind-Only School, their view, their shunyata is much more pure, with less wrong conception and so it becomes that much of a remedy to the root of samsara. There are two Madhyamaka schools, the rang.gyu.pa and the tan.gyu.pa, Svatantrika and Prasangika; the rang.gyu.pa view of shunyata still is not complete, there is something left that they have to realize as empty. Their view becomes that much remedy to the ignorance of true existence.

The best remedy, which can directly eliminate ignorance, is the u.ma tan.gyu.pa, the Prasangika. Their view of shunyata is complete emptiness, there is nothing left. The object of the wisdom of shunyata, according to the Prasangika, in the object of that actual wisdom of shunyata there is not one single refuting object left. Such as things appearing as permanent and clinging to that, and things appearing as existing alone—those very gross refuting objects, objects of those gross wrong conceptions. Such as the “I” existing without depending on the group of the aggregates or the continuation of the aggregates; and even “I” having some existence from its own side. Much more subtle than before, that it should have some existence from its own side—even that becomes completely empty in that wisdom of shunyata. It realizes that even what appears or what one clings to as having some existence from its own side is completely empty.

So what I am saying is you do actions with wisdom that sees impermanent phenomena as impermanent. Actions done even with the right view of those other, previous, schools, that the “I” and things are empty of existing without depending on the gathered base and its continuation; and empty even of having existence from their own side. Even [actions done with] the wisdom that sees “I” and other objects are empty of existing without being labeled, that the “I” existing from its own side without depending on the thought labeling, is empty; realizing just this emptiness. This is according to u.ma rang.gyu.pa, what is it called? Svatantrika.

As mentioned, the Madhyamaka has two schools; the wisdom of the first one, Svatantrika, their view of shunyata, is more subtle than the previous schools. Their refuting object is the “I” existing only from its own side. That “I” only exists from its own side, purely exists, completely exists from its own side, without the thought labeling it. That is their refuting object. So realizing the Svatantrika view of shunyata means realizing that the “I” existing only from its own side—completely existing from its own side, without depending on the thought labeling it—this “I” is empty. For them it is complete emptiness. This is their view of shunyata.

So now, for the Prasangika, the “I” existing completely from its own side, as it appears, only existing from its own side without the thought labeling it—realizing that that is empty is not sufficient, it is not full emptiness. Why do they believe that that Svatantrika view of emptiness is not full emptiness? Because that would leave some existence from the side of the “I.” The “I” is labeled but there should be some existence from its side, otherwise the “I” would become non-existent.

It is the Svatantrika’s view that from the side of the “I” there should be some existence, there should be something, some existence from its own side, otherwise, how is it possible that it can exist? Okay?

This Svatantrika conception… sometimes, even though we talk about the Prasangika’s view of shunyata, if we analyze, if we check our own belief, our own conception, if we watch it, intellectually we may accept the Prasangika’s view—whatever is explained in the text we may accept intellectually because it is in the text—but if we really check, if we apply the Prasangika’s view, their definition of the way things exist, dependant-arising, to our present view, the way things are appearing to us now and the way we cling, if we relate it to our own experience, our present ignorance, we will find it difficult to accept. It is difficult to see, difficult to accept the definition of the Prasangika’s view, their definition of the way things exist. We have been trapped by the ignorance of true existence, we have been living in it, we are completely overwhelmed, we are completely obscured, like the energy of the drug that completely pervades the blood, bringing hallucination. Like that example, there is hallucination.

We were born with this simultaneously-born ignorance. As it has not been completely ceased in a past life, we were born with it. Like this, from beginningless lifetimes, from beginningless rebirths, we have been completely trapped inside, trapped in prison, like animals trapped in a net—what do you call it, where you catch birds and tigers? Yes, a cage. Like that. We have been trapped in this cage of ignorance, completely overwhelmed or completely obscured, from beginningless rebirths. We have always fallen into that as there is no Dharma wisdom, no wisdom of shunyata. So this view, “I” and the aggregates, the whole thing, even though they are dependant, even though the smallest atoms do not exist from their own side, existing as merely labeled, appear as if they have some existence from their own side. As we have been trapped under the control of this ignorance from beginningless rebirths, all the time until now, whatever appears, appears as truly existent. So we have become used to this view.

The conclusion is, for us it is hard to accept things—flowers, tables, persons—as existent but having no existence from their own side. How can they exist if we cannot point them out, if we cannot find them on that base?

For example, for this brocade to exist without having some existence from its own side, as it appears to me now. In order for this brocade to exist, it has to have some existence from its own side; it is not only merely labeled. It is not only merely labeled. It is easy to accept that it is labeled, this is logical—as long as the mind is not crazy, not wild, crazy, it is obvious that it is labeled, that is easy to accept—but we cannot accept that it is merely labeled. For us the belief or the appearance of things existing from their own side is so strong, when we hear “merely labeled” it looks the same as saying, “There is brocade on this microphone.” “There is cheesecake in front of you.” It is like that cheesecake in front of you, now. It is like that—when we hear “merely labeled,” when we add the word “merely,” this extra word, then it is very hard to understand. For us, it falls into the extreme. For one who doesn’t have the infallible understanding of the meaning of the Prasangika view, who doesn’t have the experience of shunyata, it is like falling into the extreme of nihilism. You cannot accept how the “I” exists; that the “I” exists on these aggregates or that the brocade exists on this base, you cannot accept it.

This subject will come again; it will be repeated, with more details.

The conclusion is the way things look to our perception, how things appear to us, according to our beliefs and perceptions in twenty-four hours daily life, for us and even for the creatures, the way things appear and what we cling to, you see, all these are truly existent—in our view. Things that are of an impermanent nature appear as permanent. We believe in them as permanent and, not only that, things appear by themselves, without depending on a cause. Things exist alone without depending on parts. Things that are dependent on a cause appear as if they exist by themselves; they appear like this and we believe them to be so. Things that are dependent on their parts appear as if they existed alone, without depending on their parts, and we believe that they are like this, existing without depending on their parts, the gathering of the base and the continuation of that.

Also, there is the appearance, and there is the view, there is the conception of things existing without depending on the impression, which was collected or planted on the mind, being experienced. In reality, things are dependent on the impression that was collected in the consciousness and then was actualized, materialized or experienced. Even though things are like this in reality, [our perception is that] without depending on the impression that was collected on the consciousness, things exist from their own side. Even though they are labeled, they appear to exist from their own side, and we cling to them. We believe that things exist without depending on experiencing the impressions that are planted in the consciousness.

Also there is the appearance and we believe, that things only exist from their own side, without depending on being labeled by the undefective, valid mind. We believe that what appears to the mind is valid, completely existing from its own side—even though it is labeled, there should be some existence from its own side, which is not merely labeled. When we see people, when we look at people or at material objects now, we’ve got conceptions and appearances all piled up. All of these are gross, wrong conceptions; all of these are the gross and subtle refuted objects. In regards to how all sense objects appear to us and what we believe: we believe that something that doesn’t exist, exists, and something that exists, we believe doesn’t exist.

So that is how it is; that is the conclusion. The way it looks, if you analyze by understanding these teachings and the views of the different schools, the wrong conceptions, shunyata, and all that—if you relate it to your own experience, if you relate it to your own views, apply it and try to recognize it—it is like this. We are possessed by not just one hallucination but many hallucinations, so many different levels of hallucinating mind and wrong conceptions. There are hallucinations of oneself, the subject, the object and the action—the whole thing is an hallucination, piles of hallucinations, double, triple.

So now when you think well, when you meditate well like this, deeply, relating to one’s own conception or views, you can see that one is completely crazy, possessed by the mara or the spirit of the wrong conceptions, completely crazy. This is the same as the person who is occupied by a spirit and sees various things around. Like a person who sees very beautiful gardens on a precipice. Or a person who sees a road where there is no road. Like that, we are completely uncontrolled, completely overwhelmed by piles of so many wrong conceptions; obscured and overwhelmed.

In this way, when you know how things exist in reality, and what appears to you, what one believes—it is something else, completely something else, completely something opposite to, other than the way things exist now, for you and others.

So what happens, according to our present [state], before we realize shunyata by training the mind in that, before seeing things as illusory, before realizing the subtle dependent arising, for us what exists—in reality, the way the “I” exists, the way the rice and the chapatti or the vegetables on the plate, the potatoes, the way things exist in reality, being labeled, being merely labeled—for us that is non-existent. And for us, what exists is only existence from its own side; anything that exists is existent from its own side—besides this, besides true existence, there is no other existence. That is how it is according to our everyday life, our wrong conceptions, how things appear to us.

So all those different levels of the negated or refuted object—even though they do not exist in reality, even though these things are actually, in reality non-existent—to us one hundred percent they exist this way. If anything exists, it has to exist from its own side. That is how it is according to our wrong conceptions.

Some people who are not familiar with the subject may not have it clear, but I am thinking to explain details on this subject, not only talking but also to really meditate, relating to our own experiences.

Thank you so much. Please have a good lunch!

Lecture 2

Normally when the lamas give lam-rim teachings, they begin with the lineage lamas of the graduated path to enlightenment, the lam-rim, the Heart Sutra and then the preliminary practice. This is the traditional way. So here we will do a short preliminary practice before the teaching on the Heart Sutra, the Essence of Wisdom.

It is said in the teaching that meditating on shunyata is the best protection. There is nothing better than this for protection from dangers, from interference. And even for life danger, for any interference. This is also for the interference of not allowing the development of Dharma wisdom; explaining the teaching, listening to the teaching, reflecting and meditating. Meditation on shunyata is an excellent method to prevent these interferences.

As there are inner interferences, or inner mara, disturbing thoughts, so also there are outer mara. There are devas of the white side, who are helping Dharma practitioners, those accumulating virtue, and there are the black side—non-human beings of the black side—who interfere with those who are accumulating virtue, with those who are trying to develop the mind by practicing the holy Dharma.

Therefore, the Heart Sutra is recited to prevent all those obstacles. While we are reading this, as much as possible we concentrate on the meaning. Even if you don’t understand the meaning, even just to hear it, even just to recite the words becomes a powerful method to eliminate interferences.

[Rinpoche reads the Heart Sutra.]

Lama Tsongkhapa, who is the Dharma king of sentient beings in the three realms, who is the crown of all the learned, realized ones of the Snow Land, said in the teachings, The Three Principle Aspects of the Path to Enlightenment:

The essential meaning of all the Victorious One’s scriptures, the path that is admired by the Victors’ sons, the door of the liberation for the fortunate beings, that, as I can, I will explain here.

The first verse; “victorious one” is Buddha, victory because Buddha has defeated all the disturbing thoughts. We are defeated by delusions and therefore are under the control of delusions, so not only are we not free from samsara but we have so much confusion, so many problems in everyday life. Even though we are trying to practice Dharma, even though we have met the Buddhadharma, we are unable to practice as we wish. It doesn’t happen as we wish because of so many obstacles. We don’t have complete control over the delusions, we haven’t achieved complete victory over the disturbing thoughts and the obscurations, which disturb us from seeing all the three times’ existence.

By practicing Dharma, not letting the mind come under the control of disturbing thoughts, Shakyamuni Buddha, the founder of the Buddhadharma, as well as Lama Tsongkhapa himself, defeated them. They kept the mind away from that, protecting themselves from disturbing thoughts by always, twenty-four hours a day, watching the mind. So through practicing like that, as it is said in the Bodhisattvacaryavatara:

What is the use of many other practices, or many other activities, except the practice of protecting the mind? What is the use of many other things, many other activities, many other practices, except the practice of protecting the mind?

For example, let’s say this: one person may do many prayers a day, many sadhanas, long sadhanas, but watching the mind, controlling the mind is left out, that is not practiced. The actual practice is left out, that is not practiced. The actual practice is left out; the essential practice is left out. Controlling the mind, watching the mind twenty-four hours, thought transformation and lam-rim are not practiced, especially when one is with certain people and in such circumstances that cause the disturbing thoughts to arise, that make one completely crazy. Not only is one completely crazy with the ignorance of true existence, not only that, as I explained yesterday, but also crazy with attachment, crazy with anger, crazy with pride, jealous mind—double, triple hallucinations. Like this, crazy. Then the person can’t do any practice, leave aside remembering the lam-rim meditations or the teachings on thought transformation that one has received—one can’t remember, one gets completely overwhelmed by those things. The mind is completely like a water-flood, like a city that’s completely covered by water, flooded, like that. Or like a person who is covered by snow, by an avalanche.

Then, because the mind is so painful, the body is also not comfortable. Mentally one is not healthy, not fit, and there is much pain, much confusion, so the body gets sick. This is also a cause for the body to be unhealthy. There are heart attacks and many other things such as cancer and TB; worry and fear and disturbing thoughts become causes and conditions for these things.

We should think of lam-rim practice as the essential thing, or of thought transformation as the essential practice of Dharma. If one doesn’t think that this is the way to live the life—as important as eating or having a means of living, that incredibly important in everyday life—without it the danger of death will happen. We feel discomfort from not having a means of living, naturally we feel that it is extremely important to have food and drink; without that there is no comfort. So, like that, this is even more important. We have to think of the lam-rim practice, remembering the advice of the lam-rim meditations, the lam-rim teachings and those incredibly skilful methods of Mahayana thought transformation. We should keep this in our hearts as more important than place and food, more important than a means of living.

If one has not received or one has not met the teachings, then that is another question. If the person has no understanding, there is no opportunity to practice. Until he meets the teachings, until he comes to know the teachings, there is no opportunity to practice, to stop the life-confusion, the problems; to control the disturbing thoughts; to transform the undesirable things into desirable things, the undesirable conditions into desirable conditions; to transform problems into happiness, and suffering into happiness. That person has no opportunity to practice. For we who have met and received the Dharma, the graduated path to enlightenment, it not only brings some kind of peace of mind for a while, one or two hours, a little bit of calmness, like those psychological methods. Those people who help others to stop depression, aggression and problems are very kind and have this education to help others with what they know. While the person is playing in the sand or making a drawing, because the mind is distracted by that there is some kind of small calm; the fears and worries or the depression are a little bit weaker, whatever the person has, because the mind is distracted. But if just continuously doing sand-play for weeks and months and years and years, thirty or forty years, doing sand-play for life worked, then those who are artists wouldn’t have attachment. If this really stopped mental confusion, being overwhelmed by various disturbing thoughts; if doing this made fewer and fewer disturbing thoughts, and more and more mental peace, then people who spent their whole lives being artists wouldn’t have any attachment. They would have incredible peace.

The conclusion is that those methods are good and, with whatever the person knows, if he is able to benefit others for even a few days, even a few hours, make a depressed and aggressive person calm for even for a few hours, for one or two days, this is very kind and very good. But putting the lam-rim into practice, particularly the profound, highest, extremely skilful Mahayana thought transformation, immediately cuts off confusion, the dissatisfactory mind, the flames of anger burning inside. It pacifies those painful minds, the very tight mind, all the painful minds—jealousy, miserliness, pride—all these things, those wrong views, those different types of wrong views that lead only to samsara, that lead only to the unfortunate realms, the rebirth of the suffering transmigratory beings. The more and more one practices lam-rim, immediately the cause of the problem is controlled. The cause of the problem, disturbing thoughts, is controlled. By practicing lam-rim, you took the mind away from the disturbing thoughts, the cause of the problems.

Those Dharma practitioners, those lam-rim practitioners, with anybody and at any time, watch their minds, practice Dharma; their minds are oneness with Dharma, there is no gap, no space; there is no space between their mind and Dharma. Nevertheless, even if one has received the teaching on lam-rim, since one does not practice, since one doesn’t put it into action, almost one person can fit in the gap between one’s own mind and Dharma! There is a big space. Instead of the mind being oneness with Dharma, it is oneness with the delusions, oneness with anger. If it is not oneness with anger, it is oneness with attachment or with the uncontrolled dissatisfied mind. If it is not oneness with that, then jealous mind, if not that, pride.

As long as the actions, the cause of the problems, get controlled and pacified, and don’t get the opportunity to arise, the more the practice is done, day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year, the anger becomes weaker and weaker and weaker. Even in the case of a person who is unbelievably impatient, so impatient, incredibly impatient, so that in one day he spends most of the hours angry, whenever there is a small disturbance, the mind is so easily overwhelmed by anger. The person feels a kind of oneness with it, his mind is oneness with it, sort of mixed with it, sort of impossible to separate away from that, kind of impossible; similarly, with the dissatisfied mind, the attachment. The person feels, “This is life, this is how my life is, and there is no way that I can live my life some way else. Without this dissatisfied mind and anger there is no way that I can live, that I can survive. Without this I can’t survive.” Like this. Complete oneness. He finds it impossible that this mind could be separated away from this confused mind, the disturbing thoughts.

However, if the lam-rim practice is done, gradually even the extremely dirty cloth, that is completely covered by dirt so that you can’t see even the cloth, becomes clean. Sometimes you may see this in the East, if you go to Tibet. Nowadays I don’t know but in the past you could find it. You can’t see the cloth—it is completely covered by dirt but, with perseverance, knowing that the cloth can be separated from the dirt, the more and more you attempt to wash it, it becomes more and more clean. Afterwards the cloth is completely separated from the dirt and becomes completely clean.

So similar to this, by practicing lam-rim more and more, after a few years, even though there is still anger rising, while before it lasted for many hours or many days, months and month. Even after two or three years of practicing lam-rim, patience and thought-transformation, even though there is anger when there is some very undesirable thing happening, even though the anger arises, it doesn’t even last one minute. For a few seconds your mind is controlled by the anger, but then it disappears.

As you practice more, you need less and less effort to remember thought transformation and lam-rim. Then after some years you can’t even remember, it becomes natural when undesirable things happen, when other people criticize, whatever happens—a sudden disease like a heart attack—practicing Dharma becomes natural. Practicing the remedy, lam-rim meditation, becomes natural. In the early times, you found so many objects of delusion—whatever objects you saw. Later, there are fewer and fewer objects of delusions. That’s how, by practicing lam-rim, and particularly by practicing shunyata, by eliminating the root of delusions, the ignorance of true existence, one eliminates all other disturbing thoughts. That’s how by practicing lam-rim one achieves liberation: the great cessation of the obscurations, the great nirvana, sublime happiness, full enlightenment.

So, “I must go back to the root. What is the use of doing many other activities, doing many other things, doing sadhanas but finding no progression in the mind? Reciting mantras for many years—that isn’t knowing how to practice Dharma.”

What Shantideva is saying is that if one had been practicing Dharma, the mind would be getting better and better. However much retreat one did, however many recitations one did, many millions, all this, it shows that these things—saying prayers all day, all these long sadhanas—these things did not become Dharma. Something was wrong in the practice. Something went wrong, something was wrong, something was missing. When you did these things there was something missing in the mind. That is why the mind hasn’t got better. It is supposed to get better day by day, month by month, year by year—less anger, less jealousy, less dissatisfied mind—but it doesn’t happen; on the contrary, these even increase. So then, Shantideva has advised that what is missing is protecting the mind, watching the mind all the time, guarding or protecting the mind from the disturbing thoughts. That real Dharma practice, that practice of lam-rim, is missing. Lamrim practice is missing. The practice of thought-transformation is missing.

So therefore, however much any outside things are done, there is not even comfort, there is not even peace—while one is saying the sadhana, while one is doing the prayers, there is not even comfort, not even peace in the mind. The mind is so distracted and overwhelmed by anger while one is saying the sadhana, or by all the other disturbing thoughts, even during the time of the sadhana. I don’t get surprised when I see people doing prayers all day long, reading scriptures, sadhanas, all day long sitting reading scriptures, doing the prayers. For me it is not a surprise, because it could be possible that the person is saying the prayer, doing the action out of worldly concern, which means that the action doesn’t become Dharma practice. It doesn’t become holy Dharma, it becomes worldly Dharma. The motive is worldly concern, done either with anger, with attachment, with poisonous mind—then the action is non-virtue. Doing meditation, fasting for months and years, living in a solitary place in the high mountains; that alone is not a surprise. If it becomes Dharma, if whatever that person does becomes holy Dharma, then that is good, that is what is needed. That becomes the cause of happiness, which he wants. So somebody doing this doesn’t surprise me. Whether it becomes the cause of happiness, the cause to find the body of a happy transmigratory being, whether the person’s action becomes the cause of liberation, whether the person’s action becomes the cause of enlightenment, is dependent on the person’s mind, dependent on the person’s attitude when doing the action.

If the person doesn’t do those actions with any of those attitudes and lives life just in a little bit different form, then only the outside of the person’s life is different from the person who works in the city or those who are butchers—who do not practice Dharma, who do not know Dharma, who do not practice Dharma, whose life is lived all the time with worldly concern, living the worldly life. That one just looks different from the outside but actually, he is the same, living a worldly life, since the person is doing retreat and all those things with worldly concern. Whether the person recites mantra or not; whether the person does prayers or not; whether the person takes the traditional form externally—if he watches his mind, when his mind is overwhelmed by delusions then immediately, without delay, as it is said in the Eight Verses, he tries to defeat the disturbing thoughts, tries to make them weaker, tries to control them by whatever method he uses—I think, that is the main surprise. So practicing lam-rim is the main surprise. I have lost my point!

Anyway, I think, instead, those lam-rimpas, those lam-rim meditators, spend most of their time meditating on lam-rim during break times and session time. It is called “break time” because the person is not sitting, practicing like that, but the mind is continuously watching the mind and not letting it be under the control of the disturbing thoughts, while he is seeing people, while he is doing activities. Actually, he is continuously practicing lam-rim. It is like a session, the difference is just that one is sitting and one is not sitting.

The skilful lam-rim meditators, who actually want to have some achievement in the mind in this life—to finish some realizations, to approach as much as possible the attainments of this path in this life—what they do, how they spend most of their time is in meditation on lam-rim, training the mind in bodhicitta; this is the first thing. Then they do the commitments that they have taken from their guru—also, of course, that has to be done. I think when you have progression in shamatha, tranquil abiding, when the concentration lasts longer and longer, even the commitment to recite long sadhanas and all these things—which are commitments, which you promised to do during the initiation time—once you have started a realization of shamatha or tranquil abiding, once there is some progression so that it can last more than four hours, then it is allowed and more important to continue the concentration, rather than not doing the concentration and saying many prayers. At that time it is not so skilful to do many prayers and all those things. Once you have some realization, you can continue that and in that way you can accomplish realizations in this life. If you do those other things without continuing [that realization], that is unskillful, and you can’t make progression. So it is allowed.

It is not by laziness that they cut down their commitment. Not by laziness. Because you continue this realization, you are able to accomplish, completely overwhelm the delusions and in this way, with great insight, you can have that realization—you receive all the realizations of the Mahayana path like rainfall. That way one achieves enlightenment quickly, and is quickly able to eliminate the obscurations and achieve enlightenment, so one can do quickly the works for other sentient beings, extensively. The final goal, the main aim, is to be able to do the extensive works for other sentient being quickly. So when you have some level of shamatha realization, if you do these other things and you don’t do the concentration, it takes a longer time on the path to generate the higher stages. Therefore it is not skilful, so one is allowed to cut down.

With the lam-rim practice—renunciation, bodhicitta, these things—with this practice, on the basis of this, saying prayers, doing sadhanas, reciting mantras, all those things easily become Dharma, extremely beneficial, and bless the mind, transforming the mind quicker. They help to have quicker lam-rim realizations—retreat, sadhana, mantra, all those things. The lam-rim meditations make these practices pure; the activities of each day become the cause of liberation, the remedy to samsara and the cause of enlightenment. Those mantras, prayers, retreats and meditations on the deity help one to have quick realizations, to complete the graduated path to enlightenment quickly in one’s own mind.

So by watching the mind, if you find out that there have been many years with no progress, even though you are doing many other things, in that case you stop those other things and put the main effort into lam-rim, thought-training and lam-rim. Spend the life in the lam-rim, living life in the lam-rim practice rather than living the life in dry words—saying, reciting dry words. “Dry words” means the mind not becoming Dharma.

Now I will make the conclusion of what I started. This verse shows the renunciation of this life and the renunciation of all samsara. Worldly concern leads to the lower realms, causes rebirth in the lower realms. So renunciation refers to renouncing the cause, renunciation of the result, of the lower realm, and the renunciation of all samsara, the realms of the human beings and the devas, those who are under the control of delusion and karma.

Then the second line, entering the path admired by “the Victor’s sons,” bodhisattvas, shows bodhicitta. Without renunciation one cannot achieve liberation; without the bodhicitta that is revealed by the second verse, one cannot achieve enlightenment. Without shunyata, which is revealed by the third line, the door of liberation for fortunate beings, one cannot cut the root of samsara. So therefore, especially if you don’t have the tantric realization of the two stages, the most important thing this time is to practice lam-rim.

By practicing lam-rim, the three principles of the path to enlightenment, one is able to complete the realizations of tantra and then achieve enlightenment. In this way, by practicing lam-rim, all the wishes get fulfilled—all the temporal wishes and all the ultimate wishes get fulfilled. There is nothing that you can’t accomplish; there is no happiness you can’t accomplish by practicing lam-rim. There is nothing. What we want is happiness, what we do not want is suffering. To stop suffering, to obtain happiness we have to create good karma—we have to eliminate, we have to stop creating negative karma and we have to purify the negative karma that was accumulated in the past. So that is lam-rim practice. In this way life becomes highly meaningful.

I think I will stop here. I meant to do the motivation, but didn’t!

Thank you very much.

Lecture 3

If the wish, the aim we have is happiness, if what we want is happiness and what we do not want is suffering, if we want to have freedom, to prevent and end the suffering, we have to know the cause of suffering and we have to purify the cause of suffering that has been accumulated.

One has to purify the negative karma, the disturbing thoughts and the ignorance of true existence by generating the remedy, the path. By knowing the cause, one stops creating the cause of samsaric suffering. Then, one has to recognize the infallible cause of happiness. Even if one doesn’t accept reincarnation, future lives or happiness beyond this life, and even if one doesn’t accept enlightenment, since one wishes for happiness in this life, one has to know how to develop it, how to practice. Those understandings are Dharma wisdom, so one has to know the holy Dharma.

Buddha’s teaching contains the complete explanation—whatever happiness, temporal or ultimate, whatever one wishes—the whole method is explained in wisdom and method, by explaining these two. So if one’s aim is to receive a good rebirth in next life or happiness in future lives, one should understand the teachings of lam-rim, the graduated path of the lower capable being. In that way, by closing the door of the rebirth of the suffering transmigratory beings, one is able to receive the body of the happy transmigratory being. If one’s aim is to achieve liberation from the bondage of karma and disturbing thoughts, one has to follow the graduated path of the middle capable being. Then, if one’s aim is to achieve full enlightenment, one should follow the graduated path of the higher capable being.

As it was explained in the three verses this morning, from the teachings of Lama Tsongkhapa, the Three Principles of the Path to Enlightenment, renunciation leads to the happiness of future lives and to liberation. Then these other two, bodhicitta and shunyata, the graduated path of the higher capable being, also lead to enlightenment. Just generally dividing the subject into three, like this, the way it is set up in the lam-rim. On the basis of the root, after having found the qualified guru then correctly devoting oneself with thought and action; then, by reflecting on the perfect human rebirth that is highly meaningful and that is difficult to find again in next life; then, even the perfect human rebirth that one has received now, which is highly meaningful and difficult to find again, generally doesn’t last a long time, it doesn’t last forever. It is even uncertain when we will separate from or leave it—it can happen at any moment. So when death happens, even though the body is completely disintegrated, ashes, the consciousness does not cease, it continues. As that continuation of consciousness didn’t have beginning, it doesn’t have end. The continuation of this doesn’t have an end, where it completely stops. There is no time that the continuation of consciousness completely stops; there is no such thing, as it didn’t have beginning.

So the consciousness migrates to one of the six realms according to karma. At the time of death if the good karma is stronger, more powerful, then the consciousness migrates to the body of the happy transmigratory being. If the negative karma is more powerful, the consciousness migrates to the body of the suffering transmigratory beings. There is not a third way for the consciousness to migrate. There are only two ways for the consciousness to migrate.

Knowing the sufferings of the evil-gone realms and those transmigratory beings—and having aversion, wanting to protect oneself from the suffering of those realms, then finding the body of a happy transmigratory being—one practices refuge and moral conduct, such as the ten virtuous actions. One completely relies upon Buddha, Dharma and Sangha and practices moral conduct. The essential thing is protecting karma, making the vow to not commit a certain number of harmful actions, to not do things that harm others, making the vow to not commit actions that harm others and harm oneself.

Then, reflect on the true cause of suffering, how even the realm of the human body and the deva realm experience true suffering, rebirth, old age, sickness and death—all these things, all those other problems—and are under the control of karma and disturbing thoughts. Then, with aversion for all of samsara, in order to achieve liberation, practice the essential path of the three higher trainings: the higher trainings of moral conduct, concentration and great insight.

Then, one has strong aversion, unbearable renunciation for one’s own samsara; wishing to be free from this, seeing one’s own samsara, oneself being in samsara like being in the center of a fire, and not having the slightest attraction for any of the samsaric perfections and enjoyments. One feels strong aversion to one’s own samsara and such a strong wish to be liberated from this, then, by seeing how other sentient beings, from whom one received all one’s own three times’ happiness and perfections, who are kind in all the three times; by seeing how they, like oneself, are suffering in samsara, being obscured; unbearable compassion wishing other sentient beings to be free from the suffering of samsara, from the obscurations, and to cause that by oneself, arises. Like the mother who has a beloved son or daughter who fell into the fire. She feels it is so unbearable—right this minute, right this second she wishes the child to be free from the suffering of being burnt and to liberate the child from being in the fire. No matter how hard it is, no matter how long it takes, in spite of all that, she has the complete determination to save the child, to liberate the child from the problem of being burnt in the fire. So like this, feel great compassion for all sentient beings who equal the sky, every single sentient being.

Also, even if one achieves liberation by completely eliminating the root, true suffering and the true cause of suffering, karma, and even the seed of the disturbing thoughts—still there is shedrip, fully-knowing obscurations, obscurations that prevent one from fully and directly seeing all past, present and future existence. There is still dual view because of the impressions left by the disturbing thoughts, which are called the shedrip. Therefore, there is no omniscient mind. So arhats, even though they have incredible unbelievable psychic powers, clairvoyance and incredible realizations, still cannot see the inconceivable secret actions of the buddhas or subtle karmas that were accumulated an incredible length of time ago. There are karmas that they cannot comprehend or see, including subtle karmas. Like why, as it is explained in the teachings, the peacock has different colors, or butterflies’ designs—different colors on the wings, various figures. The cause of each of those spots, figures on the wings, is subtle karma.

I think it must be similar, our enjoyments; this is my idea—it must be similar to the flowers that we have at the house, that we enjoy, our own karmic view of those flowers. They have particular shapes on the flowers and the leaves—very fine figures, many different figures. Each plant has a very different design—“design,” or what do you call it? Like for example [Rinpoche picks up a flower] something like this is completely different, and on this one, the leaves have so many different figures. So each has a cause—the reason we enjoy this flower, our karmic view of this flower, and such a particular shape, the leaves have particular shapes and very different figures inside, like that. Why should it have such a particular leaf? Why is this particular one, and what is the karma of each different leaf?

It is so interesting when you look at the outside things. Our karmic views, our enjoyments, the results of our karma—if we watch, if we look at them in detail, it is so incredibly interesting; one wonders how one created the karma. It looks like these flowers have mind, wanting to be that way, kind of having mind, kind of manifested or created. They created it in that way; it was their own idea. Like the artist or like the architect, like the architect’s mind. Each of these plants, these enjoyments, what we see in our karmic view, what we enjoy—all this came from our mind and all this came from our karma, so it is incredibly interesting that each plant, each flower, has a particular shape, all those details. How? For example, how did one karma make it grow like this? It is very interesting. It is related with one’s own mind. It has to do with one’s own present mind and past mind, past karma. So as it is said in the text, in a similar way those reasons for each one, the karma of each detail should also be subtle karma, for each different leaf. This is normally what I think, what I feel, what I think.

Then, by distance—there are examples, but I don’t need to mention, anyway, there are stories—even though arhats have incredible psychic powers and clairvoyance, the arhat still has not removed the four causes of the unknowing mind, so he cannot perfectly guide the sentient beings. He cannot see the subtle karma or the karma that was created such an incredibly long time ago. Since he cannot see it, he cannot guide. Like the story about the old man who was over eighty and became an arhat; after he was over eighty he became a monk and practiced Dharma. He was unable to be guided by the arhat Sharipu but he was able to be guided by Guru Shakyamuni Buddha. Under Buddha’s guidance he became an arhat.

Also, the two arhats, the Great Path and the Small Path; the arhat, the Small Path was so incredibly ignorant when he was a young boy that when he had memorized OM he forgot BU, and when he had memorized BU, he forgot OM. And SIDAM—when he memorized SI he forgot DAM. Even to memorize one stanza took months. Even the shepherds who looked after the animals memorized it by hearing it so many times but Small Path never learned. So he was kicked out by his elder brother, who was an arhat. He was unable to guide him. But Small Path met Guru Shakyamuni Buddha and he explained everything and Guru Shakyamuni Buddha guided him. Guru Shakyamuni Buddha let him clean the shoes of the monks. When the monks went inside the prayer hall, doing prayers and meditation, the shoes were left outside. Then Guru Shakyamuni Buddha told him to clean the monks’ shoes. He told the monks, as they came in and out of the prayer hall, to recite beside him, “Avoid dust and avoid stain.”

Just the words themselves are funny but they have meaning. “Avoiding dust” means avoiding the obscuring thoughts, obscurations; “avoiding stains” means avoiding the shedrip, even the subtle obscurations. So the monks recited it as they went in and out of the gompa and, as he cleaned the monks’ shoes, he was able to memorize this.

He was told by Guru Shakyamuni Buddha to clean outside the monastery. When he finished cleaning the ground on the right side of the monastery and started to clean the ground on the left side of the monastery, the right side filled with dust. Then, when he has finished cleaning the left side and started to clean the right side, the ground on the left filled with dust. This was Guru Shakyamuni’s blessing, way of subduing, way of guiding, way of purifying his ignorance. He kept cleaning back and forth like this, on and on, and while he was cleaning outside the monastery he was able to remember this one stanza, which took him months to memorize. He also realized its meaning and realized shunyata. Then he gave teachings on that one stanza. He gave commentaries. He became the best among the arhats, among Guru Shakyamuni’s disciples—the best teacher, explaining Dharma; a skilful teacher. Anyway, he became an arhat in that life. So like this, his older brother who was an arhat was unable to guide him but Guru Shakyamuni Buddha guided him and he became an arhat.

Like this, to free all sentient beings from suffering and lead them into the sublime happiness, because what they want is lasting happiness, the best, that happiness that lasts longer, the best. So that is enlightenment. Among the happinesses, what they want is the highest, which lasts long, which never degenerates. That is enlightenment. So, to lead the sentient beings to this state, to accomplish this work for other sentient beings—now, one cannot guide even one sentient being. One has no ability to perfectly guide even one sentient being. As one is not liberated from all the fears or obscurations, one cannot liberate others from all the fears and obscurations.

The one who can perfectly guide other sentient beings is only Buddha. Therefore, there is no way to guide other sentient beings other than oneself achieving enlightenment. To achieve this aim one is practicing bodhicitta, the six paramitas practice. The conclusion is that, without talking about the previous aims, if one’s aim is to achieve enlightenment, to accomplish the extensive works for other sentient beings, if the aim is to be able to perfectly guide every sentient being, then there is no way other than lam-rim practice. If this is the aim, what we want to accomplish, there is no other way except training the mind in the graduated path to enlightenment.

To achieve this goal, it should be the way of the fully enlightened one with the complete experience—by following the path, having achieved omniscient mind, completed all the realizations and liberated himself from all the obscurations—the teachings that Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, the fully enlightened being taught and the pandits analyzed. They checked whether it misguides one or not. They analyzed whether there was any mistake or not, they checked. Many great yogis put it into practice; they actualized the graduated path to enlightenment revealed by Buddha. As Buddha, they practiced and they also became enlightened. They had the same experience that Buddha explained.

In this way it is proven that, as we practice lam-rim meditation, as we study the teachings, as we understand and practice the meditation, we are able to control our mind, our disturbing thoughts. Great satisfaction and happiness comes in the mind, increasing, which wasn’t there before. There is more and more happiness in one’s life. In this way, doing even a little practice of lam-rim meditation, that much experience comes; there is that much mind control, there is that much peace. In this way, there is that much faith or devotion that the Buddha is a true founder, because as I practice his teachings, it works, it benefits the mind. Like this, it is proven. The pandits checked it. Many great yogis put it into practice and they also reached enlightenment. So like this it is identified or proven that Guru Shakyamuni Buddha is the perfect guide, a true founder, by recognizing that the teaching is true, not misleading.

So if we follow and practice some other teaching that was not shown by Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, by a fully enlightened being, which the great yogis and pandits have not practiced, which they have not analyzed then, without checking, we might reach somewhere that the yogis and pandits have not achieved. We might achieve something strange, some strange goals.

If such is our goal, then the path in which we should train our minds or should dedicate our lives to should be like this path. Then there is no misleading. Many others who practiced and reached it had the same experience, enlightenment. There are so many uncountable examples of those who practiced the teaching, who were able to separate the mind from the obscurations and achieved omniscient mind. There are so many proofs. If there is no such proof and, without checking, without analyzing before dedicating one’s life to that practice, if one does that practice without checking, it could be a great loss or a great waste of life.

I am just going to start the part of the shunyata subject, then I will leave it there. In order to listen to teachings such as this on the graduated path to enlightenment, those that were revealed by Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, that have no betrayal at all from their own side—as long as one doesn’t betray from one’s own side—to listen to this teaching, the attitude of the lower capable being, wishing to receive temporal happiness or happiness in future lives, or even the attitude to achieve liberation for oneself, is not enough. One should have the bodhicitta attitude to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings.

To listen to the lam-rim teachings, the attitude should always be the attitude of bodhicitta, at least the creative attitude of bodhicitta. Think, “At any rate I must achieve the state of omniscient mind in order to free all sentient beings from suffering and lead them into the peerless happiness, enlightenment. Therefore I am going to listen to the commentary on the graduated path to enlightenment.”

The subject that is after shamatha is great insight. I thought at first to explain the Heart Sutra, the Essence of Wisdom but after I changed my mind, to give a brief explanation on great insight as it is explained by Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo’s disciple, Togden Rinpoche. This is one very effective lam-rim, short, not so many pages, but it contains so much and is very effective.

I heard some stories about this lama, Togden Rinpoche. I heard he was Nyingmapa in his early life. He was learned among the Nyingmapa in those early years. He thought that he was an expert on shunyata. He knew all the teachings on shunyata, he was an expert. In another place there was a lama called Denma Locho. I am not sure whether it was this present one, maybe it was the past life, I’m not sure. Denma Locho was also very learned. Togden Rinpoche came to see Denma Locho to debate or to check on shunyata. He asked questions and they discussed shunyata.

Before this, he thought that he was extremely learned in the shunyata teachings. He discussed it with Denma Locho. As he returned to his country, he thought all the time of the discussion that he had with Denma Locho Rinpoche. When he had gone halfway to his place, something made him return to see Denma Locho again. He then recognized that his understanding was wrong, what he thought about shunyata was wrong. He went back to Denma Locho Rinpoche, who told him, “If you want to realize shunyata, you go to Lhasa. There is a great lama in Lhasa, an excellent lama, Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo. You go to see him.” So he went to Lhasa to meet Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo. After that he lived the ascetic life; he lived so many years practicing lam-rim under the guidance of Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo. He meditated, I guess, above Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo’s monastery.

Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo is one quite recent lineage lama of the lam-rim teachings. Many of the people here are familiar, but those who came here for the first time may not know. He is the root guru of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s root gurus, His Holiness Trijang Rinpoche and His Holiness Ling Rinpoche, and also many of our gurus, including His Holiness Zong Rinpoche, a recent lama who did unbelievable work teaching sentient beings so widely in many places in Tibet. And unbelievably clear; uncountable numbers of beings, hearing teachings from Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo, so many disciples actualized the lam-rim path. They actualized the lam-rim path and became great masters, revealing extensive sutra and tantra teachings with complete experience to many disciples. Again, from these lamas, so many realized disciples happened. Again, many of these lamas gave teachings to so many thousands and thousands of disciples. It happened like this.

Togden Rinpoche meditated in the cave that belonged to Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo, above Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo’s monastery. I don’t remember the name of the cave. He lived the ascetic life, meditating in the cave. Then, whenever he had an experience, he came down to the monastery to make offering of his realization to Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo. Then again he went back to meditate. He did this for many years. One day, after some time, Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo asked him to come with him. Somewhere there is some kind of a water pool, where Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo took baths. That day, Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo asked him to come with him. So he went there with Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo. He offered service, rubbing and cleaning Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo’s holy body in the swimming pool. While he was rubbing Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo’s holy body, offering service, suddenly the colors of his holy body transformed, changed, and there were kind of bumps or pimples coming out of the holy body. Little bumps came out of the holy body and while he was rubbing they became bigger and bigger. Then, after some time, he saw Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo completely in the particular aspect of Buddha called Heruka. He saw him completely in this aspect.

Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo told Togden Rinpoche, putting his hand on his back, “This is my present for you.” Then, I guess, he dissolved or whatever it is. It could be like this. Maybe it was the right time. His karmic obscurations had become thinner by doing the practice correctly, as he was advised by Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo. And then he offered service and that purified his negative karma, the impure karmic obscurations. His seeing Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo as Heruka, as the actual Heruka, could be a sign that the impure karmic obscurations had become thinner.

Without understanding the teachings, without putting it into practice, you can’t discriminate whether it is misguiding or not—without studying, without understanding, without analyzing. One should completely study, as extensively as possible. Completely study. Then you know, you have more wisdom to discriminate whether there is such a thing as enlightenment or not. Without studying, without understanding, you have no wisdom to judge, you have no wisdom to discriminate. I think a quick way is that the more one understands the Buddha’s teachings, the more one has studied, the more one understands, especially by practicing; from that, experience comes. So I think one is also able to discriminate, prove through experience. The actual way to prove it is through practice. By putting it into practice, the experience comes. That way one gets proof. In that way one is able to judge other teachings not shown by Guru Shakyamuni Buddha. One is able to judge those that are correct, those that are misguiding and those that are not misguiding. One is able to judge. Among all those various practices, any other teachings or religions, one is able to judge which are right, which benefit; whether they benefit, whether they cause happiness or not, without taking much time, wasting much life by studying other teachings.

To be able to discriminate takes much time, to have perfect wisdom, to be able to discriminate all the practices that can benefit others, which is the right and which is the wrong practice. Of course the best is that if one has intelligence one can study all the religions in the world; then, as one knows all the Buddhadharma, just by knowing the basic lam-rim teaching, by knowing that and by having practiced, one has the basic wisdom to judge and discriminate which are right and which are wrong practices, so one doesn’t follow blindly or get discouraged, or waste one’s life. So, one needs continual study and analysis. The best actual proof comes by putting it into practice. Studying the words alone doesn’t bring realizations.

Yes, I think I stop here.

Thank you.

Lecture 4

[Reading the Heart Sutra]

We are going to do the short preliminary practices. The reason is to purify the obstacles, so that the listening, reflecting and meditation practices may become effective for one’s own mind, to generate the graduated path to enlightenment, to be able to complete it in this life; at least to be able to approach half of the realizations of lam-rim, the graduated path to enlightenment, in the mind; to be able to start to generate the realizations of the path to enlightenment in this life. To purify the obstacles to develop the mind and for the virtuous or positive mind, or the good heart to develop, to continue and to increase—for that we need to accumulate the cause, merit, so these different preliminary prayers or meditation contain essentially the method for purifying the obscurations and defilements, and accumulating extensive merit.

We are going to make the preliminaries very short. Refuge, then bodhicitta, then the four immeasurables, like the Jorchö. The meditation is the same as the Jorchö, just short prayers. With refuge, purifying those particular and general negative karmas accumulated by sentient beings; purifying the particular negative karmas accumulated with the holy objects, and generating the realizations of Guru, Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. And then, after the four immeasurable practices, you have generated bodhicitta and the merit field is extremely pleased.

The visualization is simply Guru Shakyamuni Buddha as the embodiment of all the Gurus, Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. And then, according to whatever you are familiar with, your individual choice, you can do the elaborate visualization as it is explained in the Jorchö. After the four immeasurables, having generated bodhicitta and made the strong determination to lead sentient beings to enlightenment by oneself, quicker and quicker, taking the whole responsibility, the whole job, the whole responsibility to work for others by oneself, to bear the hardships. This pleases the merit field extremely, and then the merit field—either as in the Jorchö for the seven limb practice, if you are going to do another visualization—Guru Shakyamuni Buddha absorbs into your forehead and blesses your three doors. Your three doors become in the essence of Guru Shakyamuni’s holy body, holy speech and holy mind. If you are not changing, like in the Jorchö practice, into the second visualization, then just a replica of that absorbs into that. But still you are Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, in single aspect, just one merit field. You can keep it like that.

Then the seven limb practice.

By explaining details of these preliminary practices, there is so much—again, it will take much time. So perhaps those who are in lam-rim retreat, either one of the geshes or somebody can explain it elaborately, which is extremely important. These Jorchö practices are extremely important—these are the ones that bring realizations. So do the seven limb practice as much as possible, slowly and with meditation with each limb. Say them very slowly and meditate on each of the practices. If you are doing it alone, you should spend as much time as possible on those important practices—the seven limbs, mandala offerings—with details, as you can remember from the commentary. Not just saying the words, the seven limb practice not being just words, or the mandala offering just words. In this way, the more elaborate the visualization, the more details one can think of, one can meditate on, the more extensive merit one accumulates, the greater the purification that is done. So, say one line and think, meditate. Say one line, then meditate. That is extremely good, effective for the mind. Like when you have much pain, you take the tranquilizer, which kills the pain. Anyway, after the prayer, the practice that you do in this way, you also feel, “I have done.” You feel satisfaction. You feel, you find that what you did was meaningful.

Then mandala offerings, then the three requests for the three great purposes, then the prayer to the lineage lamas; here we do a very short prayer. Yesterday I think the lineage lamas’ prayer was the mahamudra lineage lamas? I think so, but I think it was auspicious. Even though that is not the normal lineage lamas’ prayer that goes with the Jorchö, I think it is very, very auspicious to get the blessings so that we can quickly eradicate ignorance, the root of samsara. We do a short prayer, meditating, thinking about the meaning of the prayer, and white nectar beams emit and purify all the obstacles of the sutra and tantra path, to help us generate the realizations of the profound and extensive path of sutra and tantra.

Then a replica of Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, the embodiment of all the lineage lamas, up to the direct guru, absorbs into you and you generate all the realizations from guru devotion up to enlightenment, all the extensive and profound paths within your mind. And also think the same thing happened with all other sentient beings. They are purified. A replica absorbs and they generate the complete realizations of the sutra and tantra, the profound and extensive path.

After that, Guru Shakyamuni Buddha descends onto your crown, and you recite the mantra TADYATHA OM MUNÉ MUNÉ MAHAMUNAYÉ SOHA, purifying you and other sentient beings. You can do that. Also, those who have done the practice of generating yourself as Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, you become Guru Shakyamuni Buddha and then you send beams from the syllable MAM to the sentient beings and purify them. After the special bodhicitta, immeasurable, special bodhicitta, those who have been doing this practice of generating yourself as a deity, those who have received initiation and have been doing this practice, then the same thing—you send out beams and at the tip of the beams you emit Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, who sits on the head of each sentient being, purifies them, and then they become oneness with him.

Then you feel great rejoicefulness, “How wonderful it is that I have enlightened all the sentient beings in the essence of Shakyamuni Buddha.” After the special bodhicitta, just keep a little bit of space to think this. Something similar can be done at the end. Then the mandala offering, and the motivation, refuge and bodhicitta.

The lama says, “Due to the merit of explaining the Dharma [Tibetan…].” The disciples should say, “Due to the merits of listening to the Dharma may I receive enlightenment for the benefit of all the sentient beings.” Like that.

[Prayers]

[Mandala offering, requesting prayer]

Requests for accomplishing the three great purposes: “I am prostrating to the Guru, the Triple Gem, relying upon, taking refuge. I am requesting you to grant blessings to transform my mind. I am requesting you to pacify immediately all the wrong conceptions from the wrong views toward the Guru up to the subtle dual view, and to generate immediately all the right realizations, from devotion to the Guru up to the unified state of no more learning, enlightenment, within my mind and the minds of all sentient beings. I am requesting you to immediately pacify all the interferences, all the outer and inner opposing conditions that interfere with practice, to complete the graduated path to enlightenment.”

IDAM GURU RATNA MANDALAKAM NIRYATAYAMI [End of mandala offering]

Without need to amplify the motivation with quotations, because it takes much time, please generate the motivation of bodhicitta, thinking like this: “At any rate, I must achieve the state of omniscient mind for the benefit of all the kind mother sentient beings. Therefore I am going to listen to the commentary on the graduated path to enlightenment.” So please listen to the teachings by generating at least the creative or effortful motivation of bodhicitta.

This teaching on the graduated path to enlightenment is for the fortunate being to go to enlightenment. It is a teaching that was well expounded by the great propagators Nagarjuna and Asanga. It is very profound advice, the essence of Lama Atisha, incomparable, magnificent Lama Atisha, the great pandit, and Lama Tsongkhapa—as if the essence of their understanding had been taken out. This lam-rim teaching is set up as a graduated practice for one person to achieve enlightenment. It contains all the importance of all the 84,000 teachings shown by Guru Shakyamuni Buddha.

In this lam-rim teaching, in order to show the reference of Dharma, the qualities of the authors, the qualities of the lineage lamas are explained, particularly Lama Atisha, from whom the title, lam-rim, started, since Lama Atisha wrote Lam.dron, the “root,” or the “lamp,” of the path. It doesn’t mean that there was something missing, that there was some teaching missing until Lama Atisha came to Tibet. There were the complete teachings but there wasn’t such a teaching as the Lam.dron, the lam-rim, how a person can practice the three—the teaching on the lesser vehicle path, the paramita path and the path of secret mantra—without confusion to achieve enlightenment. [There wasn’t] one text that reveals this, that guides the practitioners without confusion, that gives a clear understanding.

So Lama Atisha wrote Lam.dron, all the teachings of the three vehicles revealed by Guru Shakyamuni Buddha, for one person as a gradual practice to achieve enlightenment. It was written according to the confusion happening in Tibet at that time, according to the request by the nephew of the king of Tibet. The king was the one who actually invited Lama Atisha. He was caught and put in prison by an irreligious king. He went to find gold offerings to offer to Lama Atisha in order to invite him to Tibet to give teachings, in order to stop the problems, all the confusion about not knowing how to practice sutra and tantra together, as a gradual practice for one person. People found much confusion. Those who practiced sutra thought that they could not practice tantra and they criticized, and those who practiced tantra criticized sutra. There were many problems, much confusion—they found it contradictory.

The king felt these problems to be unbearable, so he went to find gold to make offerings to Lama Atisha The king, maybe in one place in Tibet or Nepal, was put in prison by an irreligious king, who confiscated all the gold that he had found. The king gave up his life to invite Lama Atisha to Tibet, and to revive the Buddhadharma. He gave up his life, he passed away in prison. He asked his nephew to invite Lama Atisha.

Then the nephew requested Lama Atisha. He didn’t ask Lama Atisha to give tantra teachings; he didn’t request Lama Atisha for teachings to fly or to make miracles. The nephew requested Lama Atisha to give teachings on refuge and karma—basic things, the root of happiness. He requested very important teachings, the essence of the Dharma, the root of the happiness of sentient beings. He explained all the problems to Lama Atisha about what was happening in Tibet so, according to that, Lama Atisha wrote the Lam.dron, the Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment. This was particularly concentrated or aimed to subdue the minds of the disciples, the sentient beings who are the objects to be subdued. That is why the lam-rim teachings, all the time, even though one may get interested in other very extensive philosophical teachings—like one can get interested in science, just talking about it, one may get interested—but actually to have fear of the delusions, to know the shortcomings of the delusions and to have the fear of creating negative karma, to get actual encouragement, seeing the shortcomings of negative karma and the disturbing thoughts and the condensed method; the advice that is easy to understand to control the mind.

In this way, by recognizing delusions and their shortcomings, by realizing the difficulty of attaining a perfect human rebirth, by realizing impermanence and death; knowing these things one sees that one has opportunity and one has met the teachings, so one feels encouraged to do the practice of pacifying the disturbing thoughts. It is extremely effective. Any lam-rim teaching that is set up on the basis of the Lam.dron is extremely effective to pacify the mind, which is under the control of delusions.

Then, also explaining the qualities of the authors and the lineage lamas, one sees how they are holy beings, and pure. Also, by knowing their biographies one knows how to practice Dharma.

His Holiness Serkong Rinpoche used to advise me this way on the question of how to practice Dharma. The answer to that question, how to practice Dharma, how to practice lam-rim, Rinpoche used to give a very simple answer: you just follow what those lamas practiced. It is very simple. How the lineage lamas such as Milarepa, all those great yogis and lineage lamas, practiced Dharma, you just follow that. “Isn’t it? Isn’t it?” Rinpoche was saying to me, “Isn’t it? Isn’t it?” That’s all. There is nothing more than that. There is not something other than that. This is a very effective answer. Very condensed but it contains the whole path to enlightenment, because those lineage lamas of the lam-rim have generated the whole path, from beginning to end. A very tasty answer! Knowing their biography inspires us. As they have the actual experience of the realizations of the graduated path to enlightenment, it gives great inspiration, because you find examples of others who have practiced and have achievement. You find examples, and it gives great inspiration for oneself to make strong determination.

I think the main point with Dharma practice is determination. The whole thing is dependent on determination, I think, determination. Just simply, one way of thinking, determination, I think the whole thing is determination. In one way it looks very, very simple, so simple, incredibly simple. When you think one way, it is extremely simple. One way of thinking—it is so difficult. When your mind is near the delusions, when your mind is closer to the side of the delusions, then when you look at Dharma practice, it is very difficult, so difficult—you find it like rock. When your mind is a friend of, or more on the side of the delusions, then when you look at Dharma practice, you see it as very difficult, like a rock. But I think, the other way, when your mind is more Dharma, the Dharma wisdom, when you look at it from that side then, in a similar way, I think you will find it easy, very easy.

I think it depends a lot on the mind, the delusion or the Dharma wisdom—which side you take more, which side you are near. It depends which side you are taking, on which side you are. So, dependent on that, you can find it very difficult or also find it very easy. The more your mind is on the side of the Dharma wisdom, bringing it to that side, usually, when you look at the delusions and the shortcomings, the incredible waste of life, such as the human life, the precious human body that can do much extensive benefit for oneself and for others, temporal and ultimate, so much. One can accomplish the three great meanings, which other lower realm beings cannot do, cannot achieve, and the length of time, the opportunity that you have is so short, so short. So far it has been wasted and the time that is left is so short. It is not certain if you have even one year or even one month to practice. It is very uncertain. Even to make sure that you will be alive the next hour is difficult. To make one hundred percent sure that we will be alive the next hour—we will be human beings, practicing Dharma—we cannot say. Even in the next hour, even tonight, in the next hour, we cannot say.

If you think from the heart, it looks like that conception of permanence that you feel in the heart, here, that I will live long—without logical reason, even if death is going to happen tomorrow, even if death is going to happen today. Even if the car accident happens, when you ride in the car, or even when you get into the car, even that hour in that car when you are going to die—there is no opportunity to come back home, but when you start to drive from the garage of the house, there is still this wrong conception of permanence that, “I will live long,” “I will live for so many years.” Even though that was the last day to be a human being, whether it is a person practicing Dharma or not practicing Dharma, that is the end of driving the car, the last drive.

This wrong conception is there just before the accident happens, just up to the danger of the accident. Therefore, what you think is not logical. It is not logical, it is not true. So this conception is nothing to rely on, one can’t use this as logic. You can’t use this wrong conception for logical reasons.

I did one retreat here before I left for Dharamsala, by myself alone. Maybe there were spirits in the room—anyway, I didn’t have other realizations, but it was very beneficial for my mind to realize that so far life has been wasted, relying upon the lam-rim teachings written by Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo or Lama Tsongkhapa’s lam-rim.

We have had many courses so far, like this. I don’t know which number you have started, I have no idea. Seventeen or? Yes, seventeen. That many human beings in the West met the Dharma and started practicing lam-rim, the infallible path to enlightenment. Then they developed their understanding starting from that. Then also they had the opportunity to practice tantra, by hearing lam-rim, by practicing lam-rim. However, actually, those are of no real benefit—no real benefit for sentient beings. When people are saying how good it is, all this is cheating, I discovered all this is cheating. What good activity it is doing these things, all this, I discovered during the retreat, is all cheating, cheating oneself. That was my discovery in the conclusion of my retreat.

So you see, while there is such an incredible opportunity as this, having a human body, having met the virtuous friend, having met the teachings. The conclusion is that if you cannot have a better mind than the animals, if you don’t have a better personality than these other creatures—who don’t have opportunity to listen, reflect and meditate, and try to understand teachings—one can understand what one has, and if one does not put it into practice, it is very shameful. How does one say? With? With other creatures? Heh? “In front of them.” Yes, that is right, in front of them. If one doesn’t have a better life, a better attitude, a better mind than them, then it is shameful in front of them.

Then comes qualities of the advice, the lam-rim teaching. Then, how to listen to teachings and how to explain the teaching, the correct way of explaining the teaching and the way of listening; in this way, by knowing the things that are explained in the Lam.dron, the correct way of explaining, the correct way of listening, the teaching becomes very beneficial for the disciples and the teaching that the disciple listens to goes inside the heart, it benefits. Like the effect of medicine. By taking it correctly as was advised by the doctor, as it was prescribed, the patient recovers from the disease. Then we recover from the disease of the disturbing thoughts. In that way, one is able to approach liberation.

Then how to lead the disciple: the actual advice of the lam-rim teaching. That starts with the root of the path, the way of relying on or devoting oneself to the virtuous friend.

Then following the graduated paths of the lower capable being, the middle capable being and then the higher capable being; this part is the subject of the higher capable being. The higher capable being’s path contains both the general path and the particular path, of secret mantra. It is said in the Madhyamaka teaching, in the last part of the sixth chapter: the king of the swans who has developed the light wings of the two truths (the truth of the all-obscuring mind and the absolute truth; “developed” means having realized.) By flapping the wings in front of the other swans, the swans of the capable beings (these capable beings, in one way might be those lower bodhisattvas, the ordinary bodhisattvas.) With the strength and power of the wind of virtue, it crosses the ocean to the infinite qualities of the victorious ones (means buddhas.) So, this aryan bodhisattva, on the sixth bhumi, having developed understanding of the two truths, like two fully developed wings, and with the strength of the strong wind of much accumulation of merit, crosses the deep ocean of samsaric suffering, which has no beginning, and goes to enlightenment, which has infinite qualities.

Having understanding of shunyata, the three principles of the path to enlightenment and the general path in the mind—renunciation, bodhicitta and shunyata—we then practice the two stages of tantra. First there is the generation stage. By practicing these stages with the wisdom of shunyata, it will not become the cause of samsara but instead will become the remedy to samsara. Then there is the second stage that can be explained in five divisions: seclusion from body, seclusion from speech, seclusion from mind, illusory body, actual clear light and union of learning. “Seclusion” means seclusion from the ordinary body, ordinary speech and ordinary, gross mind.

Previously, with the gross wisdom understanding shunyata the mind concentrates on shunyata. Now in this second stage of tantra, the subtle mind concentrates on shunyata. Through this seclusion from the gross impure mind, one achieves the illusory body. The illusory body has two types, the impure and the pure illusory body. It takes one or three countless great eons to accumulate the merit in the Paramitayana path to attain enlightenment. But this practitioner of tantra who has the impure illusory body is able, without the need of three countless great eons, to finish accumulating all that merit in that life with the impure illusory body. Then he achieves the clear light.

The clear light has two stages, two types: after the impure illusory body there is the clear light of meaning. This is the same as the Paramitayana right-seeing path, directly seeing shunyata. This is the substitute of that. Then, by training the mind in that, one achieves the pure illusory body. This wisdom, the clear light of meaning, cuts off the nyon.drip, the disturbing thought obscurations, and one achieves the pure illusory body. Then again one meditates on the clear light, then achieves the unification—the clear light and the illusory body are unified and one achieves the path of unification.

And then again one meditates on clear light, the vajra concentration, concentration like the vajra, and that cuts off the subtle dual view, which interferes with the achievement of omniscient mind. The absolute nature of the stream of consciousness at that time is completely pure, not even obscured by the subtle dual view, it is completely pure. So that is the actual enlightenment, what is called enlightenment: the cessation of the obscurations, of all the stains. That is the greatest nirvana, great liberation. The consciousness is able to see all the three times (past, present and future) existence; is able to read every single thought of the sentient beings at the same time, and is able to see all the three times existence at the same time—all the different personalities, the different capabilities and intelligence, every single method that fits each sentient being.

So not having subtle dual view, subtle obscurations, the Buddha, that enlightened being, has perfect power, the complete power to guide sentient beings. He does this effortlessly, without effort of body, speech and mind. Like the moon rising: it is only one moon but wherever there is water, oceans, streams and even dew drops on the grass, there are billions, uncountable numbers of reflections of that one moon appearing. Even though the moon does not have the motivation, “I will reflect in all the waters,” all the reflections automatically happen like that, as long as there is no cover on the water. If there is a cover then the reflection cannot happen.

So Buddha, without any effort, automatically does the work for the sentient beings by manifesting in various forms, hundreds of thousands of different forms, even to guide one sentient being. With various means, he reveals the teachings as is fitting or gives material things in various ways. Whatever fits—being a butcher, being a king, being a minister, being a judge; He is not only a Dharma teacher. He can be crazy, a prostitute, or even manifest as a spirit—there are many ways to lead sentient beings to enlightenment.

The conclusion is that all that can happen by understanding shunyata—the point is that. Now gross wisdom understands it, but then you will attain the second stage, the subtle mind. The obscurations that cut off the dual view are eliminated by developing the wisdom of shunyata possessed by the method. In the Paramitayana path this is done by bodhicitta and in tantra by the stage of generation and also the illusory body. With the support of method and wisdom, one achieves the dharmakaya and the rupakaya. The dharmakaya arises from wisdom and the rupakaya from method. This is how one has the possibility to achieve enlightenment in a brief lifetime—within a few years.

This is due to the skillfulness of the method of bodhicitta, and the more skilful method of tantra.

Thank you!

[Dedication prayers of bodhicitta]

Lecture 5

…much more merit than making charity of one’s own life to the sentient beings in the three realms, even more than leading the sentient beings of the three realms on the path of virtue, bringing them into the ten virtuous practices. With the idea to meditate on shunyata, making even a few subtle steps with the attitude to go to that place to meditate on shunyata, is much more merit than bringing that many sentient beings into the practice of the ten virtuous actions.

Even just bringing up a doubt on the subject of shunyata breaks samsara into pieces—I mean that even bringing up doubt harms the ignorance of true existence. Even bringing up doubt about the object of ignorance of true existence: whether what we see now here, what appears to our senses, the sense objects, the way that things appear as truly existent is real or not. Bringing up doubt about whether what you see with your experience is true or not—“Maybe this is false, maybe all this, the way things appear, the way these objects appear to me, maybe all these are false, maybe this is not real as it appears real, from its own side.” Even just bringing up doubt harms the root of samsara.

First I will go over the text. There are many quotations with the text, from great different Indian and Tibetan pandits, and highly realized yogis. Going over those, reflecting, reading those precious words and reflecting on their meaning, is very effective for receiving blessings, very effective for the mind. And relying upon their words is no mistake.

About great insight and wisdom: practicing this, explaining the selflessness of the person, then explaining the selflessness of existence, then how to generate great insight from that. At this point, when we hear about the two selflessnesses, those who have heard and studied Madhyamaka should remember and understand. Two selflessnesses: the selflessness of person and the selflessness of existence. The selflessness of existence means existence. When you talk about the two selflessnesses, this second one, the selflessness of dharma, of existence, doesn’t mean the outside sense objects. It means the aggregates, the base of the “I.”

I remember, when His Holiness was giving teachings on this point, sometimes people would find it hard to translate this second one. It was just a matter of maybe this person couldn’t remember. It just simply looks like you are saying the selflessness of all existence, the selflessness of existence, cho.kyi dag.me, selflessness of existence. The term looks like the whole. The selflessness of person, the “I” is mentioned, so it looks like [it refers to] all the rest, the other existences, sense objects; but it doesn’t means that. Here, in this case it means the base of the “I,” the aggregates.

Explaining the selflessness of the person involves two things: the way of doing the equipoise meditation and the second one, in the break time how to perceive everything as illusory—subject, object, action, everything, all the six sense objects, how to perceive them as illusory.

The way to do equipoise meditation like sky (laughs) like space: the first thing is the importance of realizing the gak.cha, the refuted object.

If the refuted object is put into words, there are many different terms, different ways of expressing it, relating to the “I” as truly existent, and each one has a great sense. Each one, if you think well—with correct translation, with correct words, exactly according to the Tibetan—gives clear identification of what that thing is that doesn’t exist, that which we have to realize is empty: true existence.

You see the “I” that exists from its own side as real, it appears to you there, if you look at the “I” now, if you watch your “I.” For example, if you don’t have the thought labeling the aggregates, “I am sitting here... I am sitting here,” if you don’t have this thought, first you see the aggregates are sitting. The sitting body appears, what it is doing is sitting—this is what appears. Then the thought labels the aggregates, “I am sitting.” So that’s how the “I” exists and what it is doing is sitting. The “I” that is doing the action of sitting exists. It exists depending on these aggregates; the body doing the action of sitting then, by this condition, the thought appears, labeled there on the aggregates, “I am sitting.”

Now, without that thought, without that motivation, there is no “I” on these aggregates. Without that thought there is no “I,” “I” doesn’t exist on these aggregates, there is no way the “I” can exist on these aggregates—okay? So as there is no way that “I” can exist on these aggregates, there is no way “I” can do the action of sitting. Even though there are the aggregates, the body is sitting, if there’s no thought labeling it, there is the base sitting but there is no thought, there is no motive labeling, “I am sitting.” So in this way “I,” the one who does the action of sitting, it looks like is not from the side of the aggregates, not from the side of the base, but it looks like it is from the side of the thought. From the side of the thought, “I am sitting.” The “I” that does the action of sitting exists from the side of the thought, from the side of the mind, under the control of superstition, by the force of that; under the control of superstition and this thought that labels. It is under the control of the thought, the superstition—the “I” imputed on these aggregates is merely labeled on these aggregates.

When the aggregate, the body, does the action of standing after sitting, it appears that the aggregate, the base to be labeled, the body, is standing. Again there is the superstitious thought, under the control of the superstitious thought, “I am standing. Now I am standing.” It is merely labeled on the base, on the aggregates, the body standing—on that appearance. So, according to the aggregates doing the actions, the thought of superstition labels, “I am doing this and that.”

The thought merely labels, “I am doing this and that” on the appearance of the aggregates doing different actions, according to that.

So that is the “I” that exists, the merely labeled one. That is the “I” that exists. Merely labeled on the aggregates by the thought, that is the “I” that exists, that is the “I” that does all the activities, experiencing happiness, experiencing suffering, practicing Dharma. So the “I” that exists is the merely labeled one, on these aggregates, by the thought. That is the reality, that is how “I” exists; but it does not appear to oneself in that way. How it appears to oneself is that it exists from its own side. That is how it appears. That is how it appears to oneself, as truly existent. This “I” that exists from its own side is one hundred percent true, real, so there is a truly existent “I.” The term is den.par druk.pa, in Tibetan, which means truly existent; or rang.shin kyi druk.pa, which means it also exists by its own nature. It exists naturally, spontaneously, which means without depending on other causes and conditions; without depending on the base of the aggregates, the base to be labeled, which is called dak.shi, and also without depending on thought, or, under the control of thoughts. Without depending on the base, without depending on thought labeling, the “I” naturally exists; it exists by its own characteristics, rang kyi tse.nyi druk.pa, and rang wang kyi druk.pa; “I” exists from its own side. So there are four importances and the very first thing is the importance of realizing the refuted object.

For us, without depending on the base, without depending on thought labeling, there is no “I,” there is no “I” existing, okay? There is no “I” that does an action. In fact, even though the “I” appears in that way, as truly existent—the truly existent “I” is doing an action—this is what doesn’t exist on these aggregates. This is what is empty, in fact. The object of ignorance, the truly existent “I” is empty, but it appears as if it exists. So we have to refute this by using logic.

There are seven types of discriminating, clarifying logic, different types of logic. However, there is nothing that is not contained in the logic of dependent arising. By using logic we have to refute, we should see the object of ignorance, the “I,” the truly existent “I” that appears from above these aggregates, as empty. The truly existent “I” is empty.

This real “I” appears from its own side, and this is the gak.cha, the refuted object, okay? Realizing that this is empty—that, itself is realizing emptiness, the absolute nature of the “I.”

Then after this, develop this wisdom realizing the absolute nature of the “I.” The more one meditates on this emptiness, the more and more one gets a stronger, definite understanding of how the “I” exists. There is more and more definite faith or understanding that the “I” exists. So one realizes how the “I” exists. One realizes the subtle dependent arising of the “I.”

There are two truths. “I” has the absolute truth and the truth of the obscuring mind. By realizing the absolute truth of “I,” one is able to realize the “truth of the obscuring mind” of “I.” The whole thing is dependent on, at the very beginning, realizing the truth of the all-obscuring mind of “I,” the subtle dependent arising “I,” how “I” exists. To get a definite understanding of this, how the “I” exists on these aggregates, to create this result in your experience, to have this result, depends on having infallible understanding of the emptiness of “I,” the absolute truth of “I.” That depends on infallible recognition of the infallible refuted object—that which one has to realize is empty.

If you make a mistake from the beginning in terms of what you have to realize as empty, the refuted object that you have to realize is empty—if you didn’t recognize the infallible, unmistaken refuted object—then there is a danger of falling into nihilism. You cannot accept how “I” exists on the aggregates. You cannot make this conclusion after using the four analyses, these four important points of logic.

After using what is explained in the teachings, you have finished all the words but you don’t know what to do after that, you don’t know how to bring it to a conclusion. The truly existent “I,” the object of true existence, is left there inside like a rocky mountain—nothing touches it, not even a mark or a scratch, nothing happened. While going inside the heart, you have finished all the words, but you can’t bring it to the conclusion that the “I” exists. You are supposed to come to that conclusion, you see. Your meditation on shunyata, doing the four analyses, is supposed to help you have more faith in understanding that “I” exists; to bring up more and more definite understanding that “I” exists on these aggregates. That should be the conclusion, the result. The reason your meditation on shunyata didn’t lead to that conclusion is because you made a mistake, it shows that the emptiness you are thinking of and meditating on is not the right emptiness. That is due to the mistake in the beginning of not having recognized the infallible refuted object.

Such a meditation, which doesn’t lead to complete emptiness, which doesn’t lead to the conclusion that “I exist,” is the realization of the second truth: the truth of the all-obscuring mind. That is because of not having recognized the infallible refuted object. What you search to realize as emptiness is not the truly-existent “I.” Not checking “is the truly-existent I really this?”, whether the merely-labeled “I” exists or not, is what happened. Not the truly-existent “I” but the “I” alone, the labeled “I”—what you have been searching for as empty is something other than the truly-existent “I.” That’s the mistake.

Believing what you feel inside, the real “I,” “this ‘I’ is the meditator”—this is not lost. “If this is lost, then no more meditator, then I cannot become enlightened. I cannot get chocolate if this truly-existent ‘I’ is lost, if it becomes empty. This cannot be, this ‘I’ inside is not what I have to realize as empty. This is me, this is me.” Thinking, “This is not the one I have to realize, what I have to realize is something else.” This is the mistake. “If this becomes empty, then there is no more I, I will be ceased,” being afraid like this. That is the greatest mistake and interferes with realization. Even though it is so easy to realize emptiness, realizing emptiness is just a matter of recognizing the refuted object—that is the very first thing, the very first importance. It is just a matter of recognizing the correct refuted object, just a matter of that. Once you have recognized that you have got it; you have got what you have to realize as empty.

It is like having recognized the thief who has been stealing from your house since you were born until now, who is always stealing things. So far you didn’t recognize him and then, among these people, once you have recognized the thief unmistakably, it is in your hands to do whatever you want to do—explode him or whatever. Once you have recognized him, you can make him not exist. Like that, realizing shunyata is just a matter of recognizing the unmistaken refuted object. Once you have recognized that, it is just a minute, it is just a second to realize the emptiness of the “I,” relating to the existence of the “I.”

His Holiness Trijang Rinpoche used to advise that bodhicitta is much more difficult to realize, that shunyata is just a matter of skill. Bodhicitta is very hard to realize, to generate but shunyata is just a matter of being a little bit skilful. If one is a little bit skilful in the way of thinking, immediately one can recognize the refuted object. One is able to realize it, thinking on the right point.

Lama Tsongkhapa’s disciple Khedrub Rinpoche said in his teaching that by using the four analyses or the four importances, I think, word by word, exactly I think it might be a little bit, “reaching the emptiness, reaching the empty,” which means empty of form, substantiality. It is not the emptiness realizing that the refuted object doesn’t exist; it is not realizing that the refuted object is non-existent. This is not understanding emptiness, this is just understanding the words of the logic, analyzing the four important points.

We do the meditation on shunyata and using logic we search, and check the “I” with the four important points. Then, after finishing the words, we don’t come to the conclusion and don’t reach the complete emptiness, realizing that the refuted object is non-existent. This is the complete emptiness—not reaching that, not coming to that conclusion, you don’t see the connection. In your meditation on emptiness, checking the “I,” meditating that the emptiness and the “I” exist, you cannot make the connection. The “I” existing is something else. Your meditation on emptiness, checking on the “I,” trying to see emptiness, is something else, there is no connection at all.

If the meditation is correct you should find the link, you should find more and more faith that “I” exists. That is why the question comes, “I used all the four analyses, everything that the book has, I used it, I finished and after, I don’t know what to do.” That is why this question comes.

If your meditation is correct from the very beginning, if the refuted object is correct—that is why, from among the four importances, the very first importance is to realize the gak.cha, the refuted object. If the very first importance is done well, if you didn’t miss the first importance, understanding the refuted object, if your meditation came to the right point, then all the rest, the analysis and checking, goes to the right point. In this way it leads to the infallible right view, emptiness; it comes. You realize the complete emptiness of “I,” that “I” is completely empty. The truly existent “I” is empty, completely, from all the parts. The truly existent “I” is completely empty. Not even an atom of truly existent “I” is left on these aggregates, completely, from all the parts.

Like when you see the emptiness of the truly existent mug, realizing and meditating on the emptiness of this mug. This mug appears from every atom, it does not appear from half—some part of the mug appearing as truly existent and some not. Not like that. As the table is completely covered by this brocade, like that the mug is covered by the truly existent view. From every part of the mug there is the appearance of true existence. So when you realize complete emptiness, as everything, the whole part appears as truly existent, so from all the parts, the whole thing, it is completely empty. The whole thing, which appears as truly existent, is completely empty of true existence. The whole mug, which appears as completely existing from its own side, is completely empty from its own side. Nothing, not even an atom exists from its own side. Complete emptiness.

When you see this complete emptiness, by that cause, without need to think, without need to push yourself, “Oh, I exist, I exist,” without need of effort, the answer comes in your experience. Realizing complete emptiness, that the truly existent “I” is completely empty, that “I” exists on these aggregates—the definite understanding of this comes within your mind naturally, as a result, without choice. Because you have realized the infallible emptiness of “I,” there is no choice. Without choice you get the answer in your mind, the definite understanding that “I” exists. Rather than being words, it becomes your experience. Rather than imitating what the text says, that “I” exists by being under the control of name—before it was just words, now it became your experience, it is real. It became so obvious there is no way to change this. It became your realization, your experience. So no matter how much others say that “I” doesn’t exist, no matter how much others misguide, teach wrong views, that the “I” doesn’t exist, you don’t get misguided. There is no way to change, no way to have wrong conceptions, falling into nihilism or accepting the philosophy that the “I” doesn’t exist.

One meditation you do like this. This is also helpful I think. It is a very simple meditation, but I think it is very helpful to realize or recognize the appearance of the “I.” First you can just do breathing meditation, if you want, then, after that, as you breathe in, you can think, “What am I doing?” You can question yourself, “What am I doing?” Then, “I am sitting.” Okay. Now this “I” that does sitting, how does it appear? I think there is no danger that we think that the “I” is outside. I think the main problem is inside, not outside. Some people say that but I don’t think it is true, I don’t think he watched his own “I” enough. Anyway, there is this kind of dark room. Then look at the “I,” that of which you believe “I am sitting.” Look at it for some time. I think you can spend as long as possible, then, after some time, think of having sunlight, the room having light after the sun has risen. Then make pilgrimage inside the body with light, like the room having light in the daytime. Then just travel inside, where the “I” is. When you think that you have light inside, like light in a room, at that time also think “how does ‘I’ appear, what is happening to my experience?” As you watch, in regards the appearance of “I,” is there any difference from before, the previous one? When it was very dark?

Then you travel to the head and feet and hands, and check. If you feel like a helicopter going to the snow mountain checking for the person who fell down, in an avalanche, if you feel like that, that there is some “you” traveling around, going back and forth. If you feel like that, then you just concentrate right on top of that, on the “I” that is traveling. Right on top of that you focus your mind. Think, “This is what is called the refuted object.” You point to that. Then the more you try to be aware, be aware…

Like the appearance of one million dollars in your hand now. Look in your hand in the meditation mudra, in there is the appearance of one million dollars, there is an appearance which is in fact empty. Remember that example—even though there is the appearance, there is not even a small corner of a dollar, so remember that example and then apply that to that “I” that is traveling. Then put more awareness that this is actually empty, the recognition of this. Put more awareness that this is empty.

So maybe tomorrow morning there will be no “I”—so then you don’t have to take the ordination in the morning, freezing. The “I” has disappeared. There is no “I,” so there is no need to freeze and take the trouble of hunger in the evenings, and the fear of eating food after twelve o’clock. During the ordination time we say, “I won’t eat food after twelve-fifteen,” making the vow… I’m joking.

One time I think, Geshe Sopa Rinpoche said—this is not particularly related to the eight Mahayana precepts, this is speaking generally—Geshe Rinpoche said that the strict way is to eat before twelve o’clock, to not eat after twelve. Then the lighter way is, “One should never eat after one o’clock.” When one takes precepts especially, if it is more useful to talk, that is something else, otherwise it is good to not talk during the time of eating. You do meditation practice, making offerings, keeping silence, and try to transform all the actions into virtue. In this way, eating doesn’t take much time.

Thank you.

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