WHEN THE CHOCOLATE RUNS OUT

INSTITUT VAJRA YOGINI LAVAUR NOVEMBER 1–7, 2013 WITH VEN

2 Contents

1. The Path to Enlightenment, From A–Z 5 2. Unravelling Attachment and The Other Delusions 17 3. How We Create Karma and How to Purify It 25 4. The Ten Non-virtues and Their Results 41 5. Dedicating Ourselves to Others 43 6. When We Stop Clinging to the I There is No Longer a Basis for Attachment 49 7. Purification: the Practice of Vajrasattva in the Context of the Four Opponent Powers 59

Produced for use by the students of FPMT’s Institut Vajra Yogini during a retreat with Ven Robina Courtin, November 1–7, 2013.

institutvajrayogini.fr

Gratitude to Wisdom Publications for “The Path to Enlightenment”; and to Yeshe Wisdom Archive for “Dedicating Ourselves to Others” and “When We Stop Clinging to the I, There is No Longer a Basis for Attachment”.

lamayeshe.com wisdompubs.org

Cover “This is Lama Yeshe’s Altar Carried Always With Him”: a photo by Ven Robina Courtin of a framed picture of Lord Buddha, with writing by Lama Zopa , from the altar in the Hayagriva Room at Tushita Retreat Centre, Dharamsala, .

4 1. The Stages of the Path to again and from many angles in a clear and intelligent way with a finely focused mind Enlightenment – in other words, by analyzing them – we are compelled to reassess at ever deeper levels the fundamental assumptions that we hold as truths and that Buddha has shown to be completely untrue. Before we practice Lord Buddha’s Eventually, we undergo a paradigm shift Tantrayana teachings, we need to have in the way we perceive ourselves and the prepared our minds by studying and world. Buddha says that the extent to practicing the various stages of the path, which these assumptions are out of sync lam-rim – a packaging of Buddha’s with how things actually are is the extent teachings, unique to , based upon the to which we suffer and the extent to which, elucidations of the eleventh-century Indian therefore, we harm others. Thus, a master Atisha. consequence of practice is the ending of In the lam-rim the essential points of suffering, – a psychological state, Buddha’s extensive explanations of not some place like heaven. The lam-rim is psychology and philosophy are extracted presented according to three levels of and presented from A to Z in such a way practice. The first two scopes, as they are that they can be internalized, experienced called, are practices shared by the as something relevant to one’s life – which teachings of Lord Buddha, and is the point of all the teachings. As Lama the third scope is the presentation of the Tsongkhapa, the fourteenth-century components of the path to founder of the tradition, says in one enlightenment. of his poetic texts on the lam-rim, Songs of According to Mahayana , just Experience, “All the teachings are to be as a bird needs two wings to fly, we need taken as sound advice as there is no both the wing of wisdom and the wing of contradiction between scripture and compassion. In order to develop the practice”. wisdom wing – mainly accomplished in It is easy to be captivated intellectually the first two scopes – we work on our own by Buddha’s ideas about reality but to minds; the main beneficiary is oneself, but forget to taste them, as Lama Yeshe would indirectly others also benefit. In order to put it. It’s also easy to not know how to develop the compassion wing – taste them. The type of meditation that one accomplished in the third scope – we uses to internalize these ideas, advocated continue to work on our minds, but the by Lama Tsongkhapa, is called analytical main beneficiary is others. meditation. Simply, analytical meditation is a THE PRELIMINARY method for familiarizing oneself – the CONTEMPLATIONS meaning of the Tibetan word for 1. NATURE OF MIND meditation, gom, is “to familiarize” – again The first point to become familiar with – and again with the various approaches using the approach of Lama Zopa taught by the Buddha, bringing them from Rinpoche – is the beginninglessness of the the head to the heart, until they are one’s mind. And especially for Westerners, this own experience and no longer merely demands that we understand the nature of intellectual. mind in a conventional sense. “The In other words, by sitting still and workshop is in the mind”, as Rinpoche thinking about Buddha’s views again and puts it, and as long as we’re not clear about

5 exactly what the mind is and what it is not, nature, what it really is. We have no choice we won’t make much progress in our but to give it the appropriate conditions to practice. enable it to become what it really is, an oak According to Buddha, “mind” refers to tree. And so with sentient beings: we have the entire spectrum of our internal no choice but to develop our innate experiences: thoughts, feelings, emotions, potential for perfection. tendencies, personality characteristics, That is to say, we can develop all our unconscious, subconscious, intuition, good qualities – such as love, compassion, spirit; all of this is known as mind, or generosity, wisdom, and so forth – to a consciousness. It is not the brain, it’s not state of perfection beyond which we can’t physical. It does not come from anyone develop them further. This state of else, neither one’s parents nor a superior perfection, Buddha says, is our natural being. state. The only other option is that it comes from previous moments of itself, that it has 2. THE VIRTUOUS FRIEND its own continuity, and thus is Recognizing that we have this innate beginningless. This present moment of potential, we need to find someone to mind has to have come from a previous show us how to develop it. There’s nothing moment, which itself has come from a we know that we haven’t learned from previous moment, and so forth. Like the others, so it goes without saying that to chicken and the egg, we cannot find a first develop our perfection in the way that moment. No matter how far back we trace Buddha describes it, we need to find a the continuity of our mental moments, qualified teacher. whichever moment we get to, that moment Having found the teacher, we need to can’t simply have begun on its own, out of devote ourselves appropriately in order to nowhere; it must necessarily have come get the maximum benefit from the from a previous moment of that very relationship. In short, the heart of this continuity of mind. Thus, we can never practice is to see the guru as the Buddha. find a first moment. (And it’s the same It is said that the real benefit that comes with physical energy, the universe itself. from a teaching is not so much from the As His Holiness the said in teacher’s knowledge but more from our discussion with scientists: Big bang? No own confidence, our faith, that the teacher problem. Just not the first big bang, that’s is the Buddha. And we will have this all.) confidence only if we have thoroughly and As a starting point for practice, it’s also intelligently checked the teacher before crucial to understand the ultimate nature committing ourselves. If we’re half- of this mind of ours. According to hearted, or overly sentimental, there will Mahayana Buddhism, every living being be no stability in the relationship, and we possesses innately the potential for won’t be convinced that the instructions perfection, for Buddha hood. The term in are valid. We are moving into uncharted Tibetan for sentient being is sem-chen, waters, so we need great confidence. The literally, mind possessor; and according to responsibility is ours. Buddha there is not an atom of space where there are not sentient beings. 3. THIS PRECIOUS HUMAN Each of these beings is actually a Having found a teacher, we need to potential Buddha (in , “fully energize ourselves to want to develop our awake”) in the sense that an acorn is a innate potential; the desire to do so doesn’t potential oak tree. That is the acorn’s come naturally. Lama Atisha, the eleventh-

6 century Indian master who wrote the text can end at any moment. The assumption of Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment upon permanence is deep within us. The idea which Lama Tsongkhapa’s lam-rim that our friend who has cancer is dying teachings are based, recommends that we and we are not is absurd. As Lama Zopa contemplate how fortunate we are that as Rinpoche points out, “Living people die human beings we have such excellent before dying people every day”. conditions: an intelligent mind, a healthy By contemplating that our death is body, access to valid spiritual paths and definite, that our time of death is uncertain, teachers, and so forth; and that we are free and that the only thing of any use to us at of the appalling conditions that the vast death is the accumulation of virtue within majority of sentient beings experience. our minds, we will radically increase our This human life is a rare thing to have. wish not to waste this life. According to Buddha, human beings represent only the tiniest percentage of all 5. THE SUFFERING OF THE LOWER living beings. In The Tibetan Art of REALMS Parenting, one Tibetan lama was quoted as Given that we could die at any moment – saying that whenever any human male and “Best to think that I will die today”, says female are in sexual union, billions of Rinpoche – and given that there are consciousnesses that have recently passed countless imprints of negativity, the away (from all realms of existence) are potential causes of future rebirths, on our hovering around, desperate to get a human beginningless minds, it is not unlikely that rebirth. our next rebirth will be a suffering one. By If we were to realize how hard we must contemplating the sufferings of such have worked in our past lives to have beings as animals, hungry ghosts, and hell obtained this good-quality, one-in-a-billion beings, we can develop a healthy revulsion human body and mind and this collection for those types of rebirth. of conducive conditions, we would be All living beings are experiencing the extremely humbled and would find it results of their own past actions. As Lama unbearable to waste even a single moment Yeshe says, It’s not as if someone in a place of this precious opportunity. called Hell built that iron house, lit the To waste this life is to use it for blazing fire, and thought, “Aha! I am anything less than the practice of morality waiting for Thubten Yeshe. Soon he will – and the minimum level of morality is to die and come here. I’m ready for him!” It is refrain from harming others. To use this not like that. Hell does not exist in that life even more skillfully, we could remove way. The reality is that at the time of death, from our minds the most deeply held the powerful energy of the previous wrong assumptions about how things negative actions of that being, existing as exist; and, even more skillfully still, we imprints on its mind, is awakened, or could fulfill our innate potential for activated, and creates that being’s perfection by attaining Buddha hood, and experience of intense suffering, which we then be able to work unceasingly for the call Hell. Hell does not exist from its own benefit of others. side; the negative mind makes it up.

THE LOWEST SCOPE OF PRACTICE 6. IN BUDDHA, , 4. DEATH AND AND Having primed ourselves for practice, we Whom can I turn to give me the methods now contemplate how this precious and to prevent such a suffering situation? We rare human life is extremely fragile and can have great appreciation for an excellent

7 doctor, but if we’re not suffering, we won’t us of having to experience the results of go out of our way to consult him. But our negative karma in the future”, as Lama when we discover that we’re sick, we will Tsongkhapa says in his Songs of eagerly turn to him and his medicine. Experience. Recognizing that we’re suffering, we Given that we’ve had countless lives in contemplate the qualities of Buddha, his the past and that many of the karmic seeds medicine, and his practitioners, and, based in our minds from those past lives are on our wish to get rid of suffering, we turn likely to be negative, and given that to them for support. Especially we turn to suffering comes from negative karma and the Dharma, Buddha’s medicine, the that we don’t want suffering, it follows methods he taught that we will apply. The that we would want to remove the Dharma is the real refuge. negative karmic seeds from our minds before they ripen. 7. KARMA Purification is a psychological process. Now we actually begin to practice: we “We created negativity with our minds”, apply Buddha’s instructions on how to says Lama Yeshe, “and we purify it by avoid suffering. We learn to know what to creating positivity”. The four opponent practice and what to avoid. According to powers are regret, reliance, the antidote, Buddha, everything we say, do, and think and the promise. is a karma, an action, that will necessarily First, we need to regret the harm we’ve bring a reaction, a result, in the future. done in the past to others, because we do Every thought, word, and deed plants not want any more suffering in the future; seeds in our minds that will necessarily we’re fed up with suffering. Second, we ripen as fruit: negative actions ripen as need to rely upon the Buddha and his suffering, positive actions ripen as methods; we also rely upon the sentient happiness. There is nothing that living beings whom we have harmed by beings experience that isn’t the result of developing compassion for them, aspiring what they’ve done before. With karma, to become a Buddha as quickly as possible, there is no one sitting in judgment, since only then can we really know how to punishing or rewarding us. Actions bring benefit them. Third, we apply the antidote their own results; it just naturally happens, in the form of a purification practice. This according to Buddha. is like taking the medicine for our karmic Given the simple logic that we want illness – and Buddhism has a medicine happiness and don’t want suffering, we cabinet full of medicines. Finally, we make learn to abide by the laws of karma – the promise, the determination not to natural laws, not created by anyone. What create these negative actions, not to do we are now is the result of what we have harm, again. done, said, and thought before, and what “We can mold our minds into any we will be in the future is thus in our own shape we like”, Lama Zopa Rinpoche says hands. We are the boss. One might say that – and that we are “insane”, not to do this for the Buddha, karma is the creation practice every day. principle. It is not enough, however, Having a strong appreciation for the merely to refrain from creating negative logic of karma, based on thinking about karma; we need to take care of the karmic death and impermanence and the lower seeds already in our minds, planted there realms and on going for refuge in the since beginningless time. Thus, we begin to Buddha, his Dharma, and Sangha – all “have great respect and esteem for the four based on the preliminary three opponent powers, which can fully purify contemplations – we can be assured that,

8 at the very least, when we die our and its causes (the fourth). It’s extremely consciousness will continue to experience practical. an environment conducive to happiness. This needs a lot of inner investigation: Psychologically, this is the basic – but the clarity, precision, and depth of analysis nevertheless amazing – level of practice. A that we use in scientific discovery is what person of this level of capability is a Buddha demands we use to discover the mature human being possessing a healthy nature of our minds, karma, emptiness, self-respect, who recognizes that their and the rest. actions bring consequences to themselves, There are three kinds of suffering: the and who thus wants to avoid committing suffering of suffering – ordinary, everyday any negative actions. At this level of suffering and pain; the suffering of change practice, there is not yet any talk of – what we usually think of as happiness; compassion for others – that belongs to the and all-pervasive suffering – the condition third scope. First, we need to develop of being propelled into this universe, with compassion for ourselves. this body and mind, all of which are This is the beginning of renunciation, products of desire and the other delusions, the first principal aspect of the path to and thus are in the nature of suffering. enlightenment. The causes of suffering are two: karma, our past actions that set us up to meet this THE MIDDLE SCOPE OF PRACTICE suffering situation, and the delusions, our 8. SUFFERING: THE FOUR NOBLE present neurotic responses to our situation. TRUTHS The punch in the nose, for example – At this point, we are now subdued enough, which is what we normally think of as the and aware enough, to delve more deeply cause of our suffering – actually plays only into the way our mind works; to a secondary role, according to Buddha. My understand in a more sophisticated way past harmful actions are the main reason Lord Buddha’s model of the mind. We I’m being punched now, and my angry now truly become our own therapists, as response to the punch is the main reason I Lama Yeshe would say. By familiarizing will suffer in the future. Thus, the ball ourselves with the , for keeps rolling. However, once we establish example, we can fully develop the actual causes of the problem, we will renunciation. know how to solve it. The third noble truth is Buddha’s We need, then, to become very familiar assertion that it is possible to be free of with the way our mind works. We start by suffering. This is another way of stating, learning to distinguish between sensory according to the Mahayana Buddhist consciousnesses and the mental approach, that we all possess the innate consciousness. Then, within mental potential for . So, if it’s true consciousness – our thoughts, feelings, and that it’s possible to be free of suffering – emotions – we need to distinguish between and Buddha is not talking the way most the positive states of mind and the religions talk, that this can only be negative. And then, crucially, we need to achieved after we’ve died, in heaven with understand how all our emotions are God; he’s talking psychologically – then conceptually based. Anger, attachment, we need to discover precisely what jealousy, and the rest are elaborate suffering is (the first noble truth), we need conceptual constructions. They’re stories to discover precisely what the causes of made up by our minds. suffering are (the second), and then we The root cause of our suffering is the need to know the way to stop suffering state of mind called ignorance (often

9 known as self-grasping when it’s related to only to more craving. In our culture, it’s oneself). the junkie who is said to have a problem Effectively, however, attachment is the with attachment while the rest of us are main source of our problems in day-to-day “normal”. According to Buddha’s model of life. It’s the default mode of the mind. Yet, the mind, attachment and addiction are when we hear Buddha say that we can’t be synonymous. Due to our attachment, in happy unless we give up attachment, we other words, we’re all addicts – it is simply panic and think, as Lama Zopa Rinpoche a question of degree. puts it, “You mean, I have to give up my Buddha says that real pleasure, or heart, my happiness?” This is because we happiness, is the state of our minds once confuse attachment with love, happiness, we’ve given up attachment. It’s our natural pleasure, and so forth. state (attachment, anger, jealousy, and the The main cause of the second kind of rest are thoroughly unnatural, according to suffering, the suffering of change, is Buddha), it lasts, and it isn’t dependent attachment. The experience of pleasure I upon something outside of ourselves. Who get when I eat chocolate cake is, in fact, wouldn’t want that? nothing other than suffering. Why? Contemplating the four noble truths First, the pleasure doesn’t last: again and again will eventually bring us to Attachment is completely convinced that it a genuine renunciation of suffering and its will, but the pleasure inexorably turns into causes. As Lama Zopa Rinpoche says, we suffering – the more cake I eat, the more will have achieved renunciation when “just disgusting it becomes. the thought of another moment of Second, the pleasure I experience is attachment is so disgusting, it’s like being nothing other than suffering because it’s in a septic tank”. adulterated, not pure. The pleasure is The person at this level of capability is dependent upon delusions: I need to get an extremely wise, joyful, loving person, something in order to be happy. And third, and utterly content, regardless of whatever the pleasure is actually suffering because, happens in their life. This renunciation, the as our mothers told us, “The more you get, first of the three principal aspects of the the more you want”. I don’t actually get path, is the culmination of practice of the satisfaction when I eat the cake, which is first two scopes. what my attachment expects. In fact, I get dissatisfaction instead, as my yearning to THE GREAT SCOPE OF PRACTICE eat cake is even greater next time. The accomplishment of renunciation is the Attachment goes to extremely subtle sound basis for the development of love, levels. It’s insidious. As Lama Yeshe says, compassion, and eventually, bodhichitta, he could tell us about attachment “for one the second principal aspect of the path. whole year”, but we’ll never begin to Without being fed up with my own understand it until we’ve looked deeply suffering (renunciation), based on the and carefully into our own minds and understanding of why I’m suffering (my discovered the intricacies of it for past karma and present delusions), I ourselves. Attachment is a honey-covered cannot develop empathy for the suffering razor blade: we are convinced it’s the of others (compassion) based on the prelude to pleasure, but in fact, it leads to understanding of why they’re suffering nothing other than pain. (their past karma and present delusions). The pleasure we get by following The culmination of this scope of practice attachment is the pleasure of the junkie: it is bodhichitta: the spontaneous and doesn’t last, it is contaminated, and it leads heartfelt wish to become a Buddha as

10 quickly as possible because the suffering of a person who helps me – not my next door others is unbearable, knowing that only as neighbor, me. An enemy is someone who a Buddha can one be effective in harms me, and a stranger is a person who eliminating the suffering of others. neither harms nor helps me. Consequently, Bodhichitta comes from the we feel attachment for the friend, aversion development of great compassion: not only for the enemy, and indifference toward the is the suffering of others unbearable, but stranger. We are blinded by these views. one feels the responsibility to remove it, Until we can go beyond these deluded just as a mother knows that it is her job to interpretations and come to see our relieve the suffering of her child. His enemies, friends, and strangers as equal, Holiness the Dalai Lama calls this great our hearts can’t grow genuine love and compassion “universal responsibility”. compassion. As Lama Zopa Rinpoche says, Great compassion comes from the love we feel now (for our friends) is compassion: the finding of the suffering of indeed love, but it’s unstable because of others unbearable. being based on attachment. There are Compassion is developed after love, strings attached: as long as you help me, of which is the wish that others be happy. course I will love you, that is to say, want (Khensur Rinpoche Jampa Tegchog has you to be happy. pointed out that, depending on the person, We need to argue with our ego’s views, sometimes compassion is developed before gradually seeing the illogic of them, love.) discovering that in actual fact our friends, The foundation of all these is enemies, and strangers, from their point of equanimity, the awareness that friend, view, are completely equal in wanting to enemy, and stranger are actually equal, be happy. from the point of view of their each This equanimity is the stable foundation wanting to be happy. on which to build genuine love, Of the various meditation techniques compassion, great compassion, and used to develop these amazing states of bodhichitta. mind, the series known as exchanging self We now meditate on the eleven with others is considered to be the most techniques for developing bodhichitta. powerful. Lama Atisha received these instructions of exchanging self with others 10. ALL SENTIENT BEINGS HAVE from his guru Serlingpa in Indonesia. As BEEN MY MOTHER Pabongkha Rinpoche points out in Recognizing that our mind is Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, after beginningless, it follows that we’ve had Lama Atisha received these teachings, they countless previous lives in which we have were kept secret, as they were considered been connected to all beings countless to be so far beyond the capability of most times. It’s a matter of numbers. This ordinary people. contemplation is a practical way to expand Another way of developing bodhichitta, our mind to encompass all others. In order which comes from Lama Tsongkhapa, to open my heart to these countless faceless combines the techniques taught in beings, it helps to think about how they’ve exchanging self with others with those of all been my mother in the past. In the West, the sevenfold cause and effect instruction, we might think this is meant to make us eleven altogether. miserable, as we tend to think that our 9. EQUANIMITY mothers are a main cause of our suffering. Friend, enemy, and stranger are labels It’s helpful, then, to contemplate the many invented by the ego. A friend is necessarily ways in which our mother has been kind.

11 11a. CONTEMPLATING THE 13. SEEING OTHERS AND MYSELF AS KINDNESS OF THE MOTHER EQUAL At the moment, with our deeply held Because of my delusions, instinctively I see wrong assumptions – that I didn’t ask to my views, my needs, as more important get born, that who I am has nothing to do than the views and needs of others. But with me, that my mother and father made there is no logic to this at all. In reality, me, and so forth – it seems reasonable to there is not a fraction of difference between blame our parents for our problems. Also, me and others, in just the same way as even our view of kindness is mistaken: we there is no difference between friend, think of someone as kind only if they do enemy, and stranger. Everyone else wants what we want. However, if we understand to be happy and doesn’t want to suffer, just that a person is kind when they make the like me. Just ask them; this fact is not hard effort to help us, then it’s clear our mother to prove. Even if I have low self-esteem, I has been kind in a myriad of ways. Even if don’t really see others as more important she gave me away at birth, her kindness in than me; actually, I resent them. Always, not aborting me is extraordinary. I’m full of an overriding sense of self. If all beings have been my mother, then they have all been kind to me in a vast 14. THE DISADVANTAGES OF number of ways. CHERISHING MYSELF MORE THAN OTHERS 11b. CONTEMPLATING THE From the point of view of the wisdom KINDNESS OF ALL BEINGS wing, the main cause of our suffering is An even more profound way to expand self-grasping, the instinctive clinging to an our hearts to encompass others is to inherent sense of self. From the point of contemplate the ways in which all beings view of the compassion wing, the are kind to me. There’s nothing that I’ve instinctive wish to take care of myself more used in my life that hasn’t come from the than others – the attitude of self-cherishing work of countless living beings. I can’t find – is the problem. the beginning of the number of beings All my problems with others, in my involved in the making of this book I’m personal relationships or at work, are holding: the trees the paper came from, the because of putting myself first. Even in a people who cut down the trees, the relationship with another person in 12 creatures who died, the people who Becoming the Compassion Buddha which I shipped the trees, the driver of the truck, feel like the victim, this too is due to my the people who made the truck; those who past negative karma toward that person, made the paper, who cut the paper, which I created out of self-cherishing. wrapped it, those who made the wrapping; those who built the store where I bought 15. THE ADVANTAGES OF the book…If it were not for every one of CHERISHING OTHERS MORE THAN them, I would not have a book, clothes, MYSELF food, even a body. Everything good in my life comes from having put others first in the past: I have 12. REPAYING THEIR KINDNESS money because of my past generosity, I have no choice, then, but to try to repay people like me because I’ve been kind in the endless kindness of these countless the past, they trust me because I’ve spoken mother sentient beings, but for whom I the truth. Putting others first is why I feel would have nothing. I would not even good right now. exist.

12 If putting others first is what will make 19. BODHICHITTA me happy, then how illogical of me not to Bodhichitta is the spontaneous and do so. As His Holiness the Dalai Lama has heartfelt wish to become a Buddha as said, “If you are going to be selfish, be quickly as possible because only when we wisely selfish: cherish others”. are enlightened will we be qualified to do the job of perfectly guiding others away 16. TAKING UPON MYSELF THE from their suffering and to the perfection SUFFERING OF OTHERS: of their own buddhahood. One who has DEVELOPING COMPASSION completely accomplished this sublime state Using the meditation technique called tong- of mind is a . One of the len (giving and taking), we visualize a indications of having accomplished suffering person or group of people in bodhichitta, of having become a front of us. This technique can be done bodhisattva, is that the thought of “I” no conjoined with the breath: when we longer arises in the mind; thus, one exists breathe in, we imagine taking into only for the sake of others. It is said that ourselves the sufferings of others. even the breath of a bodhisattva is for the Pabongkha Rinpoche recommends that sake of others. With this realization of we start in the morning: after we rise, we bodhichitta, we will have accomplished the visualize taking upon ourselves our own second of the three principal aspects of the afternoon headache. Then we move on to path. taking on the sufferings of our dearest We now practice the six perfections of friends, then those of our enemies. the bodhisattva: generosity, morality, Eventually, we take on the sufferings of all patience, enthusiastic perseverance, living beings in the various realms. We meditation, and wisdom. The first four are imagine that this suffering comes into us accomplished in relation to sentient beings, and smashes the rock of self-cherishing at the last two in one’s meditation. our heart; as a result, we imagine that all others are now free of their suffering. 20. GENEROSITY We practice this by giving things to those 17. GIVING MY HAPPINESS AND who need them, even as small as a GOOD QUALITIES TO OTHERS: mouthful of food to a dog; giving advice to DEVELOPING LOVE help people’s minds; giving what is called When we breathe out, we imagine giving fearlessness by rescuing creatures from our happiness, wealth, health, good imminent death, for example, or by qualities, and merits to our friends, then to liberating people from prison, as Pabongka our enemies, and then to all living beings. Rinpoche suggests. How marvelous that they are now happy! Sometimes it’s easier to give advice than to give money to a homeless person, for 18. GREAT COMPASSION example. We should learn to give what’s On the basis of these meditations, we difficult to give – and perhaps we could gradually become convinced that it’s our give five dollars, not fifty cents. job actually to take away the suffering of A sign of having perfected generosity is, others. If not me, then who will do this? for example, the ability to effortlessly give Contemplating in this way will eventually our body to a starving animal (assuming, lead to the profound attitude of of course, that there’s no other supply of bodhichitta. food available - aren’t trying to prove anything). In one of his previous lives, Lord Buddha happily gave his body

13 to a starving mother tiger who was about 23. ENTHUSIASTIC PERSEVERANCE, to eat her babies. Right now, we’re not OR JOYFUL EFFORT even capable of giving, as Lama Zopa Without enthusiasm, we can’t succeed at Rinpoche has said, “one tiny, tiny drop of anything in our lives, especially blood to a mosquito”. buddhahood. The main obstacles are the three kinds of laziness. 21. MORALITY The first is the ordinary laziness of In our practice of the wisdom wing (the being too tired. We assume sleep is a first and second scopes), we focus on the necessity, but there are countless great morality of refraining from harming practitioners who have gone beyond the others. In the practice of the third scope, need for it. the compassion wing, we focus on actively The second kind of laziness is what we benefiting others as well: we work to help usually call being too busy: putting off the homeless, the suffering, the sick, the doing what we need to do. It feels like a poor, the dying – whoever crosses our path virtue, but is, in fact, one of our biggest needing help. obstacles to success. The third kind of laziness is the deeply 22. PATIENCE held belief that I’m not capable. It, too, Patience is not merely gritting our teeth feels like a virtue; it seems as if we are and waiting for unwanted things to go being humble. But as long as we think that away. Patience is a courageous state of we can’t achieve our potential, we will mind that happily welcomes the difficulty. remain stuck in our comfort zone, never There are three types of patience. First, moving forward. In any case, it’s simply there’s the patience of accepting the harm not true: we all possess the potential to be a that people do to us. The main reason we Buddha. It’s our nature. get so upset is because of our deeply held wrong assumptions that it is unfair for 24. MEDITATION others to harm me, that I don’t deserve it, Calm abiding, or mental quiescence, is the that it has nothing to do with me, and so state of mind of a person who has achieved forth – Lama Yeshe calls ego “the self-pity single-pointed concentration in meditation. me”. Buddha says it has everything to do There are two kinds of meditation, and this with me: I created the cause to experience is the accomplishment of the first kind: it, so I have no choice but to accept it. By concentration meditation. thinking in this way, I purify my negative Single-pointed concentration is a subtle karma as well as develop a brave and level of conscious awareness, during which happy mind. the grosser levels of conceptual and There is also the patience of accepting sensory awareness have necessarily ceased. sickness, problems, and so forth that come It is a state of mind not even recognized in to us, for the same reasons as above. Lama Western models of the mind, but one that Zopa Rinpoche says that “the thought of Buddha says we can all access. liking problems should arise naturally, like The main obstacles to our achieving the thought of liking ice cream”. calm abiding are the two extreme states of And finally, there is the patience of mind that we gravitate between during gaining assurance in the Dharma, as meditation: over-excitement and dullness. Pabongkha Rinpoche calls it. The person who has accomplished calm abiding has gone beyond even the subtlest levels of these two states. The mind when it’s single-pointedly concentrated is

14 extremely refined, very sharp and clear, First, we need to comprehend the and utterly still. Sensory awareness and Buddha’s explanations about the way gross conceptuality have completely ignorance and the other deluded emotions ceased. The meditator can effortlessly function and about the way the self and access and stay in that state of mind as other things actually exist. Then, using the often and as long as they like. The microscope of our mind, accessed in single- experience of mental quiescence is also an pointed meditation, we probe and analyze extremely joyful one – far more blissful, again and again in the second mode of according to Lord Buddha, than the best meditation, called insight meditation, how sensory pleasure we’ve ever had. this ignorance is a liar and a cheat: that it’s been hallucinating the fantasy self all 25. WISDOM along. In the subtlety of concentrated The essence of the perfection of wisdom is meditation we deconstruct ignorance’s the development of special insight into fantasies, eventually discovering, emptiness. With the subtler level of experientially and irreversibly, the absence conscious awareness gained in calm of the fantasy self. As His Holiness the abiding meditation, we can identify and Dalai Lama has said, it’s not as if we find counteract the primordial misconception, the ego and then throw it out – it was the wrong assumption held deep in the never there in the first place. What we find bones of our being, about the way we is its absence. The discovery of this absence ourselves and the world around us exist. is the experience of emptiness. This misconception is called ignorance, and keeps us locked into the cycle of With this, we will have accomplished the suffering. third principal aspect of the path, the view This ignorance is not merely of emptiness. unawareness of what’s actually happening So unbearable is the suffering of others, but a state of mind that actively makes up we will now happily embark upon the its own fantasies. It is impossible to see skillful practices of the Tantrayana, which through the elaborate projections of will enable us to very quickly become our ignorance with our usual gross conceptual real self – a Buddha. level of mind; we need to access the microscope of our mind to do that, using By Ven Robina Courtin; the Editor’s the techniques of calm abiding. Introduction from Lama Yeshe’s Becoming the Compassion Buddha, Wisdom As mentioned above, the extent to Publications. which we are not in touch with the way things are is the extent to which we suffer and, in turn, the extent to which we harm others. Ignorance, ego-grasping, is the root neurosis, the primordial root cause of this suffering. Its main function is to cling to a separate, limited, and fearful sense of self, and its voices are attachment, jealousy, anger, pride, depression, and the rest. As long as we follow these, we are acting completely against our nature, Buddha says; we will always suffer, and we will cause suffering to others.

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16 2. Unravelling Our Delusions environment – they are merely catalysts for our experiences, not the main event. The main thing is our own mind, our own emotions, characteristics, personality traits, tendencies: our own very being itself. The Buddhist view is that we’ve all got Investigating, unravelling, and extraordinary potential to cultivate our transforming this is the Buddhist approach minds, our consciousness. It’s not some to psychological work. special gift that only some people have; it’s innate within all of us. BEING OUR OWN THERAPIST But potential for what? Not something According to this model of the mind, holy, like heaven in the sky, or next life, psychological states fall into three but potential to eliminate entirely fear, categories: positive, negative, and neutral. depression, anxiety, neediness, low self- Leaving aside the neutral, the positive esteem and to fully develop love, states, which are at the core of our being, contentment, compassion, clarity, courage are necessarily the cause of own wellbeing and the other qualities we want so badly. and happiness, and the basis of our That’s the meaning of nirvana. capacity to benefit others. The negative, It is something very earthy, so tasty, not which are not at the core of our being and something vague and mystical. thus can be removed, are necessarily the This potential exists, simply, in our cause of our unhappiness and the basis of minds, our consciousness. Therefore we our harming others. need to learn how to access our own mind. The key job, then, is to develop the skill Sounds simple enough, but it’s not a job to look inside, to be introspective, in a clear we’re educated to do. It is not our habit to and disciplined way, so that we’re then look inside, much less know deeply and qualified to do the actual job of changing well what’s going on there. our emotions, of distinguishing between the positive and negative. To become our WHAT IS THE MIND? own therapist, in other words, as Lama From the Buddhist point of view, the word Yeshe puts it. “mind” covers the entire spectrum of our Not an easy job. First of all, we’re not inner experiences: thoughts, feelings and educated to look into our minds. Second, emotions, unconscious, sub-conscious, we only notice we’re angry, for example, intuition, instinct, even what some might when the words vomit out of the mouth; or call soul – all of this is our consciousness. that we’re depressed when we can’t get out And this, as Lama Zopa Rinpoche puts it, of bed one morning. Third, even if we do is where the workshop is. This is what we look at our feelings, often we can’t tell the have to become deeply familiar with in difference between the positive and the order to cultivate our marvelous potential. negative: they’re mixed together in a big Mainly what we’re familiar with, what soup of emotions – and a puréed soup at. we run to in order to understand our lives, And one of the biggest obstacles is that is the outside world, the past – the people we don’t think we can change them: and events and objects – which we’re they’re so concrete, so real: “I’m born this convinced are the main cause of our way, what can I do about it?” We so happiness and suffering. fiercely identify with the neuroses, This is okay, and necessary, but not believing that they’re the real me. We even enough. Our parents, our genes, the think they’re physical. And anyway, who boyfriend, the boss, the external wants to look into their mind? “It’s not my

17 fault, is it? I didn’t ask to get born! This is problem. My friends on death row in how we all are! What am I supposed to do Kentucky told me that they receive visits about it?” from an old Catholic man who, after thirty Everything conspires against our doing years of grief and rage after his daughter this job. was murdered, finally realized that the main reason for his suffering was his rage, NEGATIVITY IS NOT INNATE his anger. To give ourselves the confidence to even Delusional The other characteristic that start, we need to think about how the these unhappy states of mind possess is negative states of mind are not at the core that they’re delusional. We’d be offended if of our being, they do not define us, they someone accused of that, but that’s exactly are not innate, and thus can be removed. what Buddha is saying. The extent to This flies in the face of our deeply held which our minds are caught up in assumption – one that’s reinforced by all attachment, anger and the rest is the extent contemporary models of the mind – that to which we are not in touch with reality. the positive and negative have equal He’s saying that we’re all delusional, it’s status; that they’re natural; they just are just a question of degree. who we are. If you ask your therapist for In other words, anger, attachment and methods to get rid of all anger, jealousy, the rest are concepts, wrong concepts. It attachment and the rest, they’ll think seems like a joke to say that these powerful you’re insane! emotions are based in thoughts, but that’s We can be forgiven for thinking the because we only notice them when they negative, neurotic, unhappy emotions are roar up to the surface as emotion. at the core of our being: they certainly feel Perhaps we can see the disturbing like it! We identify totally with them, aspect of them, but rarely the delusional. follow them perfectly, truly believing this They are distorted assessments of the is who I really am. This is the irony of ego. person or the event that we are attached to or angry with; they’re elaborations, NEGATIVE STATES OF MIND ARE exaggerated stories, lies, misconceptions, DISTURBING AND DELUSIONAL fantasies, conceptual constructions, So, if the negative, neurotic emotions are superstitions. As Rinpoche puts it, they the source of our pain and the positive decorate on top of what is already there ones the cause of our happiness, then we’d layers upon layers of characteristics that better learn to distinguish them. This is the are simply not there. Bad enough that we very essence of the job our being our own see things this way; the worst part is that therapist. we believe that these stories are true. This is What are negative states of mind? They what keeps us locked inside our own have two main characteristics (which the personal insane asylum. positive ones necessarily lack) and these Understanding this is the key to are indicated by two commonly used understanding our negative states of mind synonyms: “disturbing emotions” and and, therefore, how to get rid of them. “delusions”. Disturbing Even though we can see that ATTACHMENT AND ANGER COME anger is disturbing to oneself – just look at TOGETHER an angry person: they’re out of their mind! The delusion that runs our lives is – we fiercely live in denial of it; or we attachment. It’s a profound dissatisfaction, deflect it, so determined are we to believe neediness; a primordial sense that that the external catalyst is the main something is missing, of being bereft,

18 lonely, cut off. It’s just there, all the time, in actually feel empty, bereft. And so that the bones of our being. neediness, that bottomless pit of yearning, And this is where aversion, anger, the that hunger: that’s attachment. And it’s the exact opposite of attachment, comes into main voice of ego, it is constantly there, play. The split second that attachment is moment by moment; not just occasionally thwarted, doesn’t get what it wants – and there, but constantly there. that’s a thousand times a day – aversion This attachment, this desire, being a arises. Then this is expressed externally as misconception, makes the mistake of anger or internally as despair and believing, a million percent, that that depression. Attachment and aversion are delicious person, that gorgeous taste, that utterly linked. Being a fantasy, attachment lovely smell, that nice feeling, that idea – is not sustainable; the bubble has to burst, that when I get that, when I have it inside and it has nowhere to go but aversion (or me, then I’ll feel full, then I’ll be content. ignorance, which manifests as boredom, That is what desire thinks. indifference, uncaring). This is so hard to see how desire is In our never-ending efforts to keep the deluded. And it is not meant to be a panic at bay, we hungrily seek the right moralistic issue. As soon as we hear these sounds, smells, tastes, feelings, thoughts, words we feel a bit resentful, “What do words, but the split second we don’t get you mean – I’m not allowed to have them, aversion arises, exploding outwards pleasure?” That’s how we feel. But as as anger or imploding inwards as Lama Yeshe has pointed out: we’re either depression, guilt, hopelessness, self-hate. completely hedonistic, and grasping and shoving everything in, or we’re completely DELUSIONS ARE LIARS puritanical. And the irony is that they are At the root of this, as Buddha calls it, is both coming from a misunderstanding of ignorance: marigpa in Tibetan: desire; they both come from ego. unawareness: a fundamental unawareness Buddha is not being moralistic. He is of how we actually exist. The function of not saying we should not have pleasure – this “ego-grasping”, as it’s called, is to the reality is he is saying we should have isolate and concretize this universe-big masses of pleasure, joy, happiness, but sense of self, a deluded sense of “I”, a naturally and appropriately, and, totally fabricated sense of I, whose nature incredibly, without relying upon anything is fear: paranoid, dark, cut off, separate, external. This is our natural state when alienated, and overwshelming. we’ve depolluted our minds of the This instinctive, pervasive sense of an neruoses, in fact. independent, self-existent, real, solid, Right now, because of the definite me-ness, totally pervades misconception that desire has, we have got everything – there is not an instant when it the wrong end of the stick. Desire thinks is not there. It’s at the deepest level of that the delicious chocolate cake, that assumption, beneath everything. It is gorgeous thing is out there, vibrating always there, informing everything we deliciousness, demanding that I eat it – think and feel and say and do and nothing coming from my side at all. We experience. don’t think out mind plays any role at all. And the main voice of this I is “I want”. We think that it’s all happening from the Why? The vivid sense of a separate, lonely cake’s side, all the energy is coming from I manifests as a deep sense of missing the cake. something, not being enough, not having enough. And that is the irony of ego – we

19 OUR MIND MAKES IT UP we have no control – cake is this incredible And the thing is that we don’t see this powerful thing, and I just have to have it. process! The fact is we are making up the What choice do I have? That is attachment cake – attachment has written a huge story talking. Attachment gives all the power to about cake and what it will do for us. It is a the outside object. Which is why we feel complex conceptual construction, an like a baby. That’s the victim mentality. invention, an elaborate view, an And victim mentality, the one of interpretation, an opinion. hopelessness, the one of no control, that’s We’re like a child, as one lama said, the voice of attachment. Literally. That’s who draws a lion, and then becomes afraid exactly how attachment functions. of it. We invent everything in our reality, Attachment is giving all the power to that and then we have all the fears and the object. It sees this truly delicious divine paranoia and the depression and the thing, which in reality our mind has made grasping. We’re too much! up, and then we believe it and then blame But we make up that cake, we make up it. the enemy – we made them up ourselves. This sounds pretty cosmic, but it is literally ATTACHMENT IS NOT A FUNCTION true. This doesn’t mean there is no cake OF THE SENSES there – there is. And it doesn’t mean that “We make the body the boss”, as Lama Fred didn’t punch you – he did. We need Yeshe would tell us. We totally follow to distinguish between the facts and the what the senses feel. We assume the fiction: that’s the tricky part. delicious cake is an object of the senses – of It is hard to see this, but this is the way course, it is; but what we think we see isn’t delusions function. And basically they are what’s there. What appears to the sense of liars. What attachment is seeing is simply sight, for example, is not a delicious cake not true. What attachment is seeing simply but simply the shape and colour of the does not exist. thing. “Delicious cake” is a story made up There is a cake there, but what we think by the mental consciousness, specifically is cake and what cake actually is are attachment. This is a crucial point. hugely different. This is interesting. And Let’s analyze. What is being because this is hard to understand experienced in relation to that cake? What indicates how ancient it is within us. are the states of mind? One of them is the What we’re seeing or experiencing, senses indeed – we smell it in the kitchen, what we are grasping at – delicious cake so there’s our nose sense. Then there’s the from its own side that will make me happy touch, the sight, we see the shape and color – is a total lie. It doesn’t exist like that at all. when it comes to the table; then we touch There is a cake there, it is brown, it is it, the hand feels it, then there’s the taste square: that’s valid. And this is what’s consciousness, the one we’re wanting the hard to distinguish – the correctness, and most. So four of the five senses are the incorrectness. What is actually there involved in the experience of that cake. and what is not there. That is the job we The senses are like dumb animals. Our need to do in knowing the way delusions tongue doesn’t experience the hunger for work and therefore how to get rid of them. the cake, it doesn’t leap out of our face and grab the cake desperately; even our hand ATTACHMENT IS THE VOICE OF THE doesn’t, although it looks like it. The hand VICTIM goes out to the cake, but not from its own Another characteristic of attachment is that side. So what does? It’s propelled by the it is the voice of the victim. We truly feel neurotic need to get the cake in the mouth.

20 The mental consciousness, in other words. pieces in when it comes, and then being The thought. It is the story about what is depressed when we eat too much? Why all chocolate cake, and I need chocolate cake, this rubbish? Because we have these all the stuff about chocolate cake that is delusions. Suffering doesn’t come from chattering away in the mind. That is where pleasure, it doesn’t come from the senses. the delusions exist. Attachment is not a It comes from neuroses in the mental function of the taste. It is simply not consciousness. But right now it’s virtually possible. How can it be? Our tongue impossible for us to have pleasure without doesn’t feel neurotic. Our tongue doesn’t attachment. feel grasping, our tongue doesn’t feel, “I want to have more cake”, it is just a ATTACHMENT TO A PERSON doorway through which this bunch of It’s the same with people. Let’s look at the thoughts, these concepts, this sense of “I” person we are attached to, the person we grasps at the experience, isn’t it? That is all. are in love with – even more dramatic. So the senses do not experience Again, this soup of emotions, which we attachment. It is a logical fact. never analyze, never deconstruct. I can say, “I love you”. That means I WE ARE JUNKIES wish them to be happy. Totally So of course for aeons we have had the appropriate. Unbelievable, virtuous. The mistaken assumption that satisfying the more of this the better. We will only get senses is the way to get happiness. So right happiness if we keep thinking that. “I want now, we are totally dependent on sensory you not to suffer”, that’s called objects. We are all junkies, it’s just a compassion. Generosity, maybe you’d like question of degree. We can’t imagine to give the person something. Generosity, having pleasure unless we get that fix. That in its nature is a virtue, necessarily the fix is any one of the objects of the five cause of happiness. senses. Which makes it sound quite brutal. So, love doesn’t cause suffering, But unless we can start to look into this compassion doesn’t cause suffering, the and cut through this whole way of senses don’t directly cause suffering, working, we will never break free of happiness can’t possibly cause suffering – suffering, we’ll never becomes content, so what does? The cause of suffering is the satisfied, fulfilled. Ever. Which is why, the attachment, first of all, the neurotic sense basis of practice, the foundation of all of an “I”, a hungry “I” that sees this realizations, is morality. Discipline. It person, grossly exaggerates their value to means literally practicing control over the me, gives too much power, puts the power senses. And it is not a moralistic issue; It’s “out there” in that person, just like the a practical one. The aim is to get as happy cake, which implies that we are devaluing as possible. This is the aim. the power of ourself. We’re giving all the power to this person, like it’s all out there, NOTHING WRONG WITH PLEASURE! this person, vibrating, so delicious, so This happiness, this pleasure, is not gorgeous, this is exactly how it feels. So deluded. If pleasure were deluded, we attachment is hungry and empty and bereft might as well give up now. Pleasure, and lonely. And is completely convinced happiness, joy are totally appropriate. that having that person is going to make So where’s the problem? Why do we me happy. suffer? Why are we frantic and anxious What attachment does is exaggerate the and desperate, fantasing about the cake beautiful qualities of the person, it is before it’s even there, then shoving two exaggerating our sense of an “I” that needs

21 that person, because attachment thinks that WHAT IS ANGER AND WHAT IS if I don’t get that person then I am not ANGER NOT? happy; because we don’t believe we can be A perfect question. And the perfect happy inside, we have to have an object. answer, which I heard from a lama, is: Sttachment then starts to manipulate this “Anger is the response when attachment person, expects massively that this person doesn’t get what it wants”. But what is it will give me happiness. not? It’s the same with the person we loathe. Anger is not physical. Anger is part of We really believe that that person, from our mind, and our mind is not physical. It out there, from their own side, exists in dependence upon the brain, the independently, definitely, is an awful genes, the chemical reactions, but is not person, as if ugliness is coursing in their these things. veins along with their blood. We hear their When anger’s strong, it triggers huge name, it appears awful, we see their face, it physical symptoms: the blood boils, the appears awful. The discomfort in our mind heart beats fast, the spit comes out the is huge. We think the discomfort, the mouth, the eyes open wide in panic, the unhappiness, the hurt, the anger, the pain, voice shouts. Or if we experience aversion we actually think and believe they are as depression, the body feels like a lead doing it to us. weight; there’s no energy, a terrible inertia. But it’s a lie. It’s our own anger that And then, when we boost our seratonin, causes the person to look awful, the anger the body feels good again. that makes us so miserable. But these are just gross expressions of what, finally, is purely thought: a story GOING BEYOND ENEMY, FRIEND, made up by our conceptual mind that STRANGER exaggerates the ugly aspects of the person Usually the only person we wish to be or event or oneself. happy – that’s the meaning of love – is the Recent findings prove what is explained person we are attached to. And the only in Tibetan Medicine: that what goes on in person we are attached to is the person we the mind affects the body. love. So we assume because they come Anger is not someone else’s fault. This together, they’re the same thing. It is just doesn’t mean that the person didn’t punch not accurate. We need to start going me; sure they did. And it doesn’t mean that beyond those limits, which is so scary. punching me is not bad; sure it is. But the When we start practicing equanimity, we person didn’t make me angry. The punch analyze: enemy, friend, and stranger – we is merely the catalyst for my anger, a try to cut through this narrow self-centred tendency in my mind. If there were no view of attachment, ignorance and anger, all I’d get is a broken nose. aversion. Anger does not come from our parents. Right now we assume it is normal that We love to blame our parents! Actually, if when a person is mean to me, I don’t like Buddha is wrong in his assertion that our them. So we call them enemies. And we mind comes from previous lives and is assume it is normal that when a person is propelled by the force of our own past nice to me, we call them friend. And when actions into our mother’s womb; and if the a person is doing neither, they are called materialists are right in asserting that our stranger. That’s the reality of the entire parents created us, then we should blame universe, isn’t it? We need to go beyond them. How dare they create me, like this one. Frankenstein and his monster, giving me anger and jealousy and the rest! But they

22 didn’t, Buddha says. (Nor did a superior Remove it from my mind! Recognize that being – but we dare not blame him!). They there is one cup and stop believing the lie. gave us a body; the rest is ours (including Simple. our good qualities). Of course, the lies that believe that I’m Anger isn’t only the shouting. Just self-existent, that delicious objects make because a person doesn’t shout and yell me happy, that ugly ones make me suffer, doesn’t mean they’re not angry. When we that my mind is my brain, that someone understand that anger is based on the else created me – these lies have been in my thought called aversion, then we can see mind since beginningless time. But the we are all angry. Of course, if we never method for getting rid of them is the same. look inside, we won’t notice the aversion; What’s left when we’ve removed the that’s why people who don’t express anger lies, the delusions, is the truth of our own experience it as depression or guilt. innate goodness, fully perfected. That is Anger is not necessary for what’s natural. compassionate action. His Holiness the Dalai Lama responded to an interviewer PRACTICE IS PAINFUL who suggested that anger seems to act as a Real practice is painful – real practice. motivator for action, “I know what you Until it is painful, it is not practice, we’re mean. But with anger, your wish to help just playing safe. We’re just keeping our doesn’t last. With compassion, you never nice comfort zone. Practice has to threaten give up”. something – it has to feel painful. Just like We need to discriminate between good when we are overweight, we decide we are and bad, but Buddha says that we should going to get thin and beautiful, and we criticize the action, not the person. As start doing push-ups. It has to be painful at Martin Luther King said, it’s okay to find first. We know that if the second we start fault – but then we should think, “What feeling pain from doing pushups we stop, can I do about it?” we will never benefit from doing them. We It’s exactly the same with seeing our can always pretend “Oh I did my pushups own faults, but instead of feeling guilty we this morning”, but if the second they should think, “What can I do about it?” started being painful, we stopped, we Then we can change. Anger and guilt are know that if our muscles don’t hurt, they paralyzed, impotent, useless. will never get strong – it is logic. Giving up Anger is not natural. Often we think we attachment is like that – it has to be need anger in order to be a reasonable painful. human being; that it’s unnatural not to Until then, we are just being in our have it; that it gives perspective to life. It’s comfort zone – we’re playing safe, thinking a bit like thinking that in order to that being spiritual means smiling and appreciate pleasure we need to know pain. being holy and having a pleasant manner. It is just not so. Until we stretch, until we But that’s obviously ridiculous: for me to go beyond our limits, we won’t get better appreciate your kindness, you first need to at doing anything. We really get our body punch me in the nose? strong when we go beyond our limits Anger is not at the core of our being. every day. How do we become an Being a delusional state of mind, a lie, a accomplished pianist or anything? We misconception, it’s logical that anger can be have to go beyond our limits. That’s what eliminated. If I think there are two cups on spiritual practice is – we have to stretch my table, whereas there is only one, that’s our limits. a misconception. What to do with the This means we have to be facing our thought “there are two cups on my table”? attachment every day, feeling the pain of it,

23 seeing it. And then, the second we start to we are is the product of our thoughts. It is do that, somehow we become fulfilled, simply a fact. This is what karma is saying. satisfied. That is what is interesting. When No one else made us into anything, we we start to give up being a junkie, we start made yourself. As Lama Zopa says, we can to become happy. We begin to taste our mould our mind into any shape we wish. own potential. As long as we continue to Practice is, in the beginning, every day, follow attachment, which is so deep, we is motivation, motivation, motivation. I will never be happy. want to do this, I am aspiring to that. When we start every day, we wish “May I PRACTICE STARTS WITH be useful, may I not shoot my mouth off to MOTIVATION too many people”, etc. Even this is so So how to begin? It all comes from profound. We have to value the thought, motivation. We can start the day by value the mind, it is so powerful. Like the deciding we will begin, be very Dalai Lama says, we are then on the right courageous. It starts from the thought. We track for the rest of the day. Don’t tend in the West to dismiss thoughts. We underestimate that. If we really got that, say, “It’s only in the mind”, we give no we would be so content, knowing we were value to the mind, even though we are sowing the seeds for future crops of caught in it. We give no value to just happiness. It is like we had a big open thought. field, and we are sowing seeds for the The point is, that if we really future. That’s practice. That’s how we start. understand this fundamental, and easily We shouldn’t fret, “I’m hopeless, I’m provable, truth that every thought useless”. We are too concrete in our programs us into what we will become, we thinking. So we start with the motivation, would be so happy to have positive start with the thoughts, and we go into the thoughts, and be content with them. day, and bring that awareness with us. Because of two things; first, everything that Watch our mind, be careful of the rubbish, we do comes from the thought that we try not to shoot our mouth off too much, think. If I am going to get up and walk out try to be a bit useful, rejoice in the good the door, what is the first thing that has to stuff. At the end of the day, we look back, happen? My legs don’t just jump up and we regret our mistakes and rejoice in our walk out, my mind has to say “I want to efforts, and then go to bed with a happy walk out that door”. So what does that mind. That’s one day of practice. One day mean? How do we walk out a door? The at a time. It is organic, and it’s humble. We first thing is to think “I want to walk out start one day at a time, and slowly, that door”. something develops. So every day, you’re saying “I want to be compassionate, I want to be beneficial”. From teachings by Ven Robina Courtin. You’re aspiring, and then you’ll act. It is no mystery. That’s how we become pianists, footballers, a cook – or a happy, beneficial person. It starts with the thought, the motivation, the aspiration. So we just start our practice with powerful sincere motivations. We are sincere, after all; we do want to be these things, loving, compassionate, etc. Genuinely wanting, seeing the reasonableness of having a compassionate thought, seeing the reasonableness of turning around a negative thought. Not thinking that thought doesn’t matter. What

24 3. How We Create Karma botany down, you know very well – we and How to Purify It know – the very nature of a law, once it’s been established and you’ve proven it, then you know it’s predictable. You know you do it every time, you’re going to get the same thing every time. If you know how to make a cup of tea, you’re not CAUSES AND EFFECT surprised when you get a cup of tea every The fundamental law that Buddha says time. It’s not like, “Wow, another cup of runs the universe is known as karma: the tea came…I’m amazed! It worked”. Once law of cause and effect. No-one created it, you know laws, you can relax. It’s how it’s a natural law, like botany, it just works. come we have such a brilliant universe. It’s Like gravity, it just works. how come we get computers and gardens – Minds create karma, which, strictly because we know the laws. It’s something speaking, means intention. Minds function, we really understand, you know. minds act, minds, body and speech do things, leave imprints on the mind, which WE CREATE OURSELVES ripen as future experiences; that’s the But when it comes to religion, we lose our meaning of karma. common sense. We think it’s all to do with So things that minds do based upon mystique, and this, and faith, and cross neuroses, based upon ignorance, based your fingers and hope for the best, and no- upon delusions, leave imprints in the mind one knows – and then we live in total fear. that distort and harm that mind and will We live in superstition. It’s so shocking to ripen in the future as suffering for that hear what Buddha’s saying; it’s so unusual mind. This is found from Buddha’s for us, because the only religion we’ve experience. And the positive things that known, and I’m not criticizing now, is the minds do, based upon the virtuous states religion of creators: if God created the within it are what make that mind content universe then my job is to do what God and pleased and happy and will ripen in says – it’d be rude to stick your nose in the future as the happiness in that mind. God’s job. Do what God says. That’s the This is a natural law – like you put rose creator religion, but that’s not the Buddhist seeds in the ground, you’re going to get a one. Buddha’s not demanding we do what rose bush – guess what? You put a weed he says. He’s simply pointing out from his seed in the ground, you’re going to get a own experience what works, and if you weed. So, you put negative seeds in your have any interest in this, you check up on mind, it’ll manifest as suffering. You put what he says and give it a go. That’s the positive seeds in your mind, it’ll manifest approach, I tell you. It’s up to us; we’re the as happiness. Given that we all want boss, not Buddha. It’s so important to happiness and don’t want suffering, then remember this. We thank him; he’s a useful this is our main concern. We better learn guide, you know. the laws of botany, learn the laws of And so what he’s saying is, we can learn karma. It’s very simple. It’s very down-to- the laws of the universe. Not just a few earth. It’s very grounded. It’s not mystical, philosophers can learn it – every one of us and nothing to be afraid of, you know. needs to, because that’s what practice is, is Because it’s a doable, reasonable thing, applying those laws; and the fundamental then you can predict the results, and this is law that runs everything is called karma. the part that’s a big surprise to us. We It’s called cause and effect. We understand know perfectly well, if you get the laws of it, like I said, when it comes to the physical

25 world – we get this. We know, once you So, okay, as Lama Yeshe says, “We know the law of botany, we know you can create negativity with our mind, so we can predict the results – it’s very reasonable, purify it by creating positivity with our no-one’s surprised. So, the same with mind. They call it “purification” which karma. And this is a shock to us, because sounds a bit abstract; it just means, you we assume it’s unknowable, a mystery. No know, “doing your weeding”, that’s wonder we live in fear! all…got to do the weeding and grow the What karma is is knowing the laws of flowers. That’s it. what seeds to plant in your mind so that in the future you’ll get happiness and what THE FOUR WAYS IN WHICH KARMA seeds not to plant in your mind so that you RIPENS avoid suffering. So, logically, we don’t 1. THE TYPE OF REBIRTH, IN OUR want suffering and we do want happiness, CASE HUMAN we better learn the laws of botany, it’s very There are four ways in which our karma simple – so simple it’s a joke, you know. In ripens. If we look at our life now, we can the beginning, of course, we’ve got to have divide it into four different results. One is some confidence in it, based on one’s the very human life that we have – that’s research on Buddha, research of the , the result of what they call the main or the the teachers, who embody Buddha’s throwing karma. In fact, in our case – being teachings, but eventually from your own human – we can deduce it was a very, very experience you start to find it out and have powerful practice of morality. And confidence in it. morality, bare-bones morality, is the first level of practice, which is the mere PLANT THE RIGHT SEEDS AND DO refraining from harming others, etc., but THE WEEDING especially not killing. So, it’s really do-able and practical. But not only that; it’s not enough, as Nothing mysterious. Therefore fear would Lama Zopa says, just being a good person. be alleviated. You know, if you go and do The times are so degenerate, there’s just your garden, if you know botany, you not enough oomph in those karmic seeds, don’t live in fear and panic of whether or so he says it’s most likely that we’ve not a rose will come; you know you put the practiced that morality in the context of a seed in the ground, it’s a rose seed, you spiritual path and, not only that, but in the give it the nourishment, you wait for a context of keeping vows of morality – time, you put a bit of sunshine on it and which we can discuss – in our past life. you know a rose will come – it’s not So, we built up a lot of habit in the surprising. You don’t get a big shock, you mind. We programmed our mind with know. You predict it; and you know how morality. And then we died peacefully, long it’ll take, so you just relax. Karma’s such that the karmic seed that ripened at like this, surprisingly. We’re so used to the time of our death was a very potent believing no-one knows what’s going to morality karmic seed nourished by all the happen, we think that’s scientific. “Oh, other virtue that then programmed our well, no-one knows”, we’ll say – as a mind, which was on autopilot when it left scientific truth. Buddha disagrees and says the body to run not more than a few weeks you can work it all out, you know. Okay, it later to our own present mother’s human takes time… the laws are quite complex; womb. but it’s all there in the teachings for us to This is the first way our karma ripened. check if we want. We got a human life. And really that should blow our minds, if we think about

26 it from the Buddhist point of view. Because you’re good at music or good at killing, or we have this grasping at self, this deeply good at lying or good at generosity or or ingrained misconception called ignorance, good at maths – it’s just a bunch of habits; that clings absolutely without question to it’s your habits from your past practice of self and everything being self-existent, and those very things. We come fully then since because we only live at the gross programmed with all our habits from the level of our mind and we don’t have any first second of conception. They’re ours, memory, and then we get born to these not our parents’. You might share some parents and we’re told that our parents with your parents; you’ve both got them made us or that God made us, so we just because of past habit, and then you came believe it all; we never question this – we together. But they’re your habits, baby. maybe question the one about God, but we certainly don’t question the fact that our 3. OUR EXPERIENCES parents made us; that’s an absolute truth The third one is all the stuff that happens to for everybody in the world. Even if you’re us; all our experiences, how people see us. Buddhist, you still blame your parents if If they don’t believe our word it’s because you’re depressed or things go wrong: “I of our past lying. If they think we’re very didn’t ask to get born, it’s not my fault”, beautiful, it’s because of our past patience. you know. It’s really too much! The If they pay their bills to you, it’s because of Buddha would say it’s got nothing to do our past not stealing. If they’re generous to with your parents – your depression’s us, it’s because of our past generosity. If yours. Your anger’s yours. Your love and people harm us, it’s because we harmed compassion and being good at football, them before. If people are kind to us, it’s too, are yours. You can’t blame Hitler’s because we were kind to them before. little old Austrian housewife mummy for Everything, as Lama Zopa puts it, is our creating a maniac. Don’t be ridiculous – it’s own karmic appearance. Everything. Hitler’s own past stuff. Our parents do not Without exception. Everything. Karma create us. They give us a body – how kind! doesn’t just “happen” sometimes. It’s not The rest is ours. like as if botany applies in gardens just sometimes. By definition, a garden is the 2. OUR TENDENCIES product of the law of cause and effect So this is the second way our karma ripens. called botany; by definition a life is the You get the human life – the result of your product of the law of cause and effect hard work. I mean, if we stopped taking called karma. Everything in your life is this life for granted, and started to analyze your garden: if it’s there, you planted it, all Buddha’s teachings and look into karma, the flowers and all the weeds. and reminded ourselves of this, it would blow our minds. But we take our lives for 4. OUR ENVIRONMENT granted. This is what believing in self- And the fourth one is called environmental existence causes. We’re like as thick as a karma. Even the way the external post, you know. We just accept the status environment impacts upon us – whether it quo, without question. We sink into kind harms us or helps us, nourishes us or of this sleep mode, taking things for damages us, whether we live in a granted. disgusting smelly place or a lovely, sweet So, this second way the karma ripens is place; if you have volcanoes, if you have all the tendencies inside your mind. pleasant weather, harmful weather, They’re yours, too; they’re just a bunch of whatever – environmental karma. habits, basically. Very simple. Whether

27 WE’RE THE BOSS All the fuss and bother we go through. All the way we experience the physical We’re ridiculous. world; all the way we experience sentient Of course, easy to say, but very hard to beings and how they treat us and see us see this, mainly because we’re addicted to and love us and hate us; all our own the samsaric way of interpreting life. tendencies and even our humanness – my goodness, this is the result of our past PURIFICATION IS A work; it’s like we’re our own creators. Not PSYCHOLOGICAL PROCESS kidding. This is Buddha’s view. It’s kind of So, like all this work in Buddhism, this tasty. It’s kind of powerful. It’s kind of process of purification is practical, it’s outrageous. It’s kind of radical. psychological. So a really easy way to So, what’s the experiential implication remember is – and I like this one – is to call of this? We’re the boss. We did it. We’re in it the “Four Rs’. There’s different orders, charge. No one else to blame. You did it. you know, but I like this particular order. You are the responsible for all the good The first one is Regret, the second one is things that happen to you, for all your Reliance, the third one the Remedy, the goodness, and your morality, and the fourth one, Resolve, the determination to people who are good to you in your life make changes. and your kindness and the good things that happen. You did it. When we can own 1. FIRST OPPONENT POWER: REGRET the good stuff, it’s easy to own the bad So the first one is acknowledging, you’ve stuff. Makes you courageous. got to acknowledge, you know, if you’ve So, you take stock of this garden – you got a sickness, you’ve got to recognize look at your life, and you see the crummy what it is, don’t you? As long as you live in things that happen. You see the people denial of the sickness, there’s nothing you who lie to you. You see the people who can do; you can’t go further. You’ve got to harm you. You see the people who don’t first acknowledge there’s a problem. And pay their bills to you. You see the bad you’ve got to be sick of it, fed up with it. things that happen to you, and you go, “Do And then you’ve got to want to change it. I like this?” and you go, “No, I don’t”. And And then you use the practice as a then you go, “I wonder what caused it?” medicine to try and prevent it, to try and and then you go, “Well, it must have been purify it and heal it; and then you have to my past actions similar to this. Oh, drat. So make a determination not to do it again, what can I do about it?” And then you go, because you don’t want the same sickness. “Well, I’d better stop doing it, hadn’t I, if I It’s pretty reasonable. You’ve first got to don’t want it in the future. And I’d better acknowledge you’ve got cancer, and regret clean up the seeds I’ve already planted that all that smoking. “I’m sick of this suffering. haven’t yet ripened”. This is crazy, I don’t want this”. Then you It’s so practical. It’s a half a dozen do something, you know, to purify it. Then thoughts, but instead look at the dramas you determine never to do it again. This is we experience when things go wrong – reasonable; it’s practical, it’s common shouting and yelling and depressed and sense. angry and blaming people and cursing and So, the good analogy to use here is fear and all the drama. We’re kicking and having taken poison. Trouble is, but when screaming like crazy children, refusing to it comes to our moral stuff, we get – we accept the simple reality that “This is my make this other whole set of rules and we life, I did it, what can I do to change it?” get all guilty and ashamed and neurotic and all this thing, you know; we’re

28 ridiculous. Completely ridiculous. We’re ACCOUNTABILITY like children. But the same things apply So we’ve got to be accountable. And so, and that’s why it’s a good analogy the this whole process is based upon the lamas use and I like to use this one: this is understanding of karma. It’s based the analogy of having taken poison. completely on the recognition that you So we know perfectly well, if you don’t want suffering. This first step is all announce, you know, “Robina! There’s about yourself. poison in your dinner!” your instantaneous So, we have guilt, now, which beats response, you know, would be, “Oh! What ourselves up. “I’m just a bad person”. And a fool!” Then we’ll instantly say, “Quick! that is just the natural one that we run to. Where’s the doctor?” Blame or guilt, we run to these spontaneously because they are a natural BLAME, GUILT, DENIAL response to having ego-grasping, of having Now, we don’t do that. We’re dumb, when this ignorance that clings to the self- it comes to doing things like getting angry existent me. It’s this dualistic state of mind and killing and lying and stealing and that naturally blames others, or naturally getting depressed and harming others and blames yourself. And we have to really all the rest of the rubbish we do. Not to conquer that. We have to argue with that mention the torturing and everything, if wrong view. And this is the view of we’re a torturer. What we do instead is accountability. This is the view of karma – equivalent to saying, “Who put poison in cause and effect. my dinner?” I’m going to try and find the That’s why it’s an excellent way to think person to blame, and then you go and try about in order to loosen the grip of ego- to work out who to sue, because they put grasping. In other words, it’s one of the poison in your dinner. Meanwhile, you’re first examples of dependent arising. dying. But all your thoughts are for Karma. The first example, remember, of blaming. How dumb can you get? I’m dependent arising is cause and effect – that happy to blame a person, but meanwhile, things exist in dependence upon causes take care of yourself first, please… So and conditions. Well, karma is a perfect blame is pretty useless, which is our typical example of that, the first level of mode. dependent arising. Which is a perfect way Another typical mode is guilt – “Oh, I to think about in order to realize ate poison. Oh, I’m such a bad person. I ate emptiness. It loosens the grip of this poison”. Every day, you’re getting sicker frozen, concrete, set-in-stone me. Either and sicker…”Oh, I’m such a bad person, I poor me, it’s usually the poor me that bad ate poison”. We love to live in this one. things happen to; or “I’m a bad person”. So Completely useless. Complete waste of we’ve got to really argue with that time. Totally impotent. It’s the same as instinctive feeling, which is very mistaken. blame, but you’re the person you’re And that’s why His Holiness – so blaming. One is anger, one is self-blame. sweetly, when he was asked one time – They’re the same problem. Totally useless. what’s the difference between guilt and The third one, even more ridiculous – regret. It was such a sweet answer, but and we love this one –“Robina! There’s quite profound. He said: “Guilt – you look poison in your dinner!” “There is not!” We in the past and you go, “I did this and I did call it living in denial. that and I did this”, and then you go, “and I’m a bad person”. That’s the response. They come together for our mind right now and we don’t see them as separate.

29 We assume that if I’ve done bad things, I check up what you’ve done that day to must be a bad person. That’s how we harm others with your body and speech. think. That second thought is the view of And maybe we don’t do that much to harm ego, the view of ego-grasping, that over- others – but you know, we do some things. exaggerates the badness, and paints the You bad-mouth your husband, you talked entirety of myself with that brush. about your girlfriend behind her back, you The same with blame. “You are a bad know… you took the pencil at work and person. You did this and you did this and you never returned it. I mean, maybe you did this and you’re a bad person”. you’re not going around torturing and This is what all delusions do; they killing too many people, but whatever it is, exaggerate. And it’s just not accurate. you’ve got to acknowledge it. “I did do this Forget being not morally right – it’s just and this…” And then you check the main not accurate. It’s an exaggeration. It isn’t things throughout this life – maybe you accurate to conclude because you’ve killed had an abortion, maybe you went fishing, and lied and stolen, that you’re a bad maybe you’re a hunter: you acknowledge person. You’re not. That’s mistaken. Your it, and you regret it. actions are bad, no problem with that. And this is regret; regret is this whole That’s clear. That’s more precise. attitude that has: one – acknowledges that Meanwhile, anyway, simply speaking, you did it, two – “I regret this. Why? as His Holiness says, “Regret – you say the You’ve got to say it. Because you know same thing. You say, “I did this in the past, what? I don’t want the suffering that will and I did this, and I did this…” but your come from that if I leave that seed in my second thought – and we have to cultivate mind. Because if I do leave that seed in my this consciously, it doesn’t come naturally mind – that poison – it will ripen as my – the second thought is different. So suffering and – hey! – I do not want instead of saying, “…and I’m a bad suffering”. person”, you then say instead: “What can I So you’ve got to speak this out, because do about it?” You change the thought. We this attitude does not come naturally. Even have to cultivate that view. if we say the word regret, it still feels like So, the added part about what regret is, guilt. So, we have to spell it out to make it therefore, is actually it’s like – the simplest a new thought. It’s a really crucial point, I way to put it in our words – it’s like tell you. It’s not enough just to say, “Oh, I compassion for yourself. Like the poison – regret killing and lying and stealing”. It the reason you say, “Oh my God, what an feels like guilt, so you’ve got to change the idiot! Quick, where’s the doctor?” – it’s words. “I regret this. I regret stealing that obvious. You don’t have to state it. You pencil, because I don’t want to have – you know that poison will cause you suffering, know, the simple thing about karma is, and you know you don’t want suffering. everything you do, you leave a seed in Therefore you go, “Oh, what an idiot! your mind that can ripen as that experience Where’s the doctor?” Not, “Oh, aren’t I for yourself in the future. Even just this – bad, I ate poison”, and you stay stuck in it. you know you don’t want – you just have It’s just plain idiocy, isn’t it? So, we have to to think; do I like being stolen from? Nope. cultivate this view. What causes people to steal from me? I must have stolen from them. So if I’ve just WE HAVE TO SAY THE WORDS stolen a pencil, then I’ll get stolen from in That’s why in this first step, when we do it, the future. I don’t want that. It’s just logic; we have to say the words. You know, you you’ve got to think it through, if you apply sit down at the end of the day, and you the law of karma, you know…and that’s

30 your choice, you don’t have to. This is said, “It’s going against the will of God”. Buddha’s view, that’s all. That is what defines a sin: something you So you’ve got to be logical. Think it do that is against the will of God. Now, through. Make it real for you, not just some that’s reasonable if God is the creator, and religious feeling. Not some weird, guilty that” reasonable if you are a Christian. feeling. That’s useless. It’s practical – I That’s appropriate. That’s correct. But regret having done this because I don’t that’s not the definition here. Completely want to be stolen from, I don’t want different. Going against Buddha’s views is suffering, I’m sick of it. Yet again I’ve shot not what defines something as negative. my mouth off – shouted at people. I’m sick It’s got nothing to do with Buddha! of this habit…first of all, too, you can even That’s like saying, “Why is smoking right now see the suffering and the hurt it bad? Oh, because my doctor told me not causes you, the pain of that anger, you’re to”. Excuse me, that’s absurd. Your feeling all caught up in it and fed up with doctor’s merely a messenger. The reason it and you’re so sick of it. You’ve got to feel smoking’s bad is because it’ll hurt you, that pain and be fed up with it. “I’m sick of dear. Well, why is killing a bad action? this suffering… I’m sick of this boring What defines it as bad is really simple; it’s habit”. because it harms another. Buddha says this And we’re just talking here of the habits is a conventional truth that you can prove that we do that harm others; we’re not quite quickly. You just do your market looking at just our own problems yet. research in this world, in this room and We’re looking at the actions of our body you ask around, “Do you like getting and speech first – what we do to harm killed, stolen from, lied to, kicked in the others first – killing, lying, stealing, bad- teeth?” Everybody will say no. mouthing; there’s only so many names for So we can deduce logically that a them. You regret them. Remember the negative action is one that harms another, things, your old habits in this life – you because you’ve just proven it by agreeing know, maybe you’re addicted to sex and we don’t like it. That’s what makes it you harm people with your sexual negative, people! Not somebody on high, attachment; but you look at the suffering it’s not set in stone…it is not, in other you’re causing yourself… And this is the words, self-existent. It is a dependent key point again; this is the key point here. arising. It’s empty, as well. That’s what it means. That’s Buddha’s view; it’s a natural THE BUDDHA’S VIEW OF MORALITY law. So, what a negative action is is one You see, this is a very interesting point, that harms another. let’s look at this a bit more – Buddha’s But in this very first stage of practice view of what morality is. It’s a really where you regret doing actions that harm important point to think about. The usual others, the reason first – you have to hear view we have about morality, which is this point – the reason here in “Regret” is why we’re like children and resisting it not for the sake of others; it’s for your sake. mightily, is because we think it comes from So, a negative action is defined as an action somebody on high forcing it upon us: that harms another; but at this first step, either God or our mother or the judge or you regret it because – guess what – your the police, you know. We think it’s done to doing it programs your mind to keep us. doing it and to have it done to you, not to It isn’t like that, not for Buddha. If I’m a mention being born in the lower realms. Christian, and I asked a Catholic priest this So, you regret it because you don’t want the – “What defines something as a sin?” He suffering. This is a crucial point. We’ve got

31 to understand this, not just be vague about course, for those of us with vows, deeply it. “Oh I do my Vajrasattva practice, oh I regret our broken vows, etc. That’s it. And regret lying, killing…” We don’t even give you regret – and you say, “I regret this it thought, you know, we just wishy-washy from the depths of my heart because you gloss over it. know what, I’m sick of suffering and I So a negative action is defined as one don’t want all this misery any more. I don’t that harms another, but at this first stage – want to keep feeling this way and I don’t and this is the very meaning of the first want the karmic results for me”. It’s level of practice in Buddhism – in the first genuine, then and you can say this because scope of practice, junior school, I like to call you know it’s true. You know you don’t it – His Holiness uses this analogy as well: want to be killed, lied to, bad-mouthed, the way the teachings in the lam-rim are kicked in the teeth, stolen from; you know structured, it’s like the education system. that. Well then, regret having done it In Tibetan medieval language they call it yourself, because that is the cause. the first scope of practice; I like to call it Then, of course, you can say, “And I junior school, you know. So junior school regret anything I have ever done, since level of practice is to control your body and beginningless time to any sentient being”. your speech. So, the reason you will regret And if Buddha is right in asserting, as he killing and lying and stealing and bad- does, that we’ve had beginningless lives, mouthing – and there’s not that many that we’ve had countless lives as animals, actions you do with your body and speech and that mightn’t be the most suffering life, that harm others, sexual misconduct, lying, but that’s where we do the most harm; killing, stealing, you know, shouting at animals just in their nature harm and get people, harsh speech, talking behind backs; harmed. Look at one whale; opens its there’s only so many… you can think of mouth for one mouthful of one breakfast them easily enough, and you regret them. on one day and forty million creatures go “You know what, I’m sick of this suffering, in! And you get guilty cause you killed one I’m sick of the pain it causes me right now person! Get some perspective, please… and I do not want the karmic fruits of this That’s a lot of sentient beings. So they live in the future. No way!” in a killing environment; they live on Then it makes it very real for you, killing, animals do. So, the harm we’ve because it’s about yourself. Don’t feel bad done to sentient beings as animals is about this. Don’t feel guilty, like I should inconceivable in comparison to what we’ve just be having compassion. Compassion’s done as humans. university, people – that’s the great scope! So if our minds are beginningless and You’ve got to recognize your own we’ve had these lives, we’ve done suffering before you recognize the countless things and that means those suffering of others. You’ve got to be sick of karmic seeds are on our minds now. So, your own suffering – this is what you better regret them, because you know renunciation is – you’re sick of your own you don’t want that suffering again! “I suffering. That’s why you’ve got to regret anything I’ve ever done to any contemplate what these ridiculous things sentient being since beginningless time”. that we do, do to ourself. Don’t gloss over Regret the lot! Because I do not want this step, it’s extremely important. suffering – we’ve got to add that thought. So, you regret the things – you “Because I am sick of suffering. Because I remember the things, today, yesterday, this do not want suffering”. You’ve got to say life – the things you’ve done with your that. That’s what makes it real, and not just body and speech to harm others, and of

32 some nice religious feeling. Not just guilt. teachings is Shakyamuni, the monk, you That’s regret. know. And that’s actually the And then of course, if you’ve taken manifestation of that level of practice, vows, lay person’s vows – pratimoksha junior school and high school. The vows in other words – vows of individual manifestation of completely subdued body, liberation, pratimoksha – the vows you speech and mind. That is what the monk is take for junior school and high school – if a manifestation of: that level of practice. you’ve broken those, then you deeply In the bodhisattva path, the Buddha regret having broken those. If you’ve taken manifests as like, gorgeous, you know, bodhisattva vows, then you deeply regret jewelry on his arms and ears and throat, having broken your bodhisattva vows. If and silken clothing; they call it the royal you’ve taken tantric vows, you deeply aspect. This is coming from , where regret having broken your tantric vows, that’s a whole different discussion and it because these are lifelong vows. So you has to do with enhancing the senses and regret these, hugely, because you don’t energizing them, you know. It’s quite want the suffering. different, another level. So, Buddha in that aspect is called Vajradhara, or in Tibetan, 1. SECOND OPPONENT POWER: Dorje Chang, who is blue; Vajrasattva is a RELIANCE white aspect of Vajradhara. a. REFUGE I asked Lama Yeshe, “Who’s Now you think, “Well, good! Whom can I Vajradhara?” and he said, very simply, turn to? Where’s the doctor, please?” So “He’s the biggest Buddha, dear”. I was you turn to Mr. Buddha. He’s our doctor. very proud to know I liked the biggest Second step: Reliance. There are two parts Buddha! So basically, that’s the tantric in Reliance: the first is reliance upon the aspect of Shakyamuni Buddha, and he’s Buddha; that’s called Refuge. So what does blue. that mean? Let’s look at this again, But for purification practices, we use carefully. If I’m a Christian, I would rely another aspect of Vajradhara – he looks the upon God, because he’s my creator. So same, but he’s white, and he’s called how I get purified is by requesting him to Vajrasattva, and it’s to do with emptiness. forgive me. Well, Buddha will forgive you; He’s particularly to do with emptiness, he’s a nice guy, I promise. But it’s got because realizing emptiness, is when nothing to do with purification. Nothing. you’ve finally cut the root of the delusions, It’s nice to be forgiven, but it’s not the and that’s when we actually purify our point. It is not the discussion. Quite minds. Until then – this purification different. practice – we are simply stalling the So we rely on Buddha as if he were the ripening, we’re weakening the seeds, we’re doctor – he’s got the methods; he’s got the like burning them, we’re not ripping them medicine. So, “Thank goodness I’ve got a out completely. Until you’ve realized decent doctor”, you think. And you do a emptiness, you will never rip out little prayer, you visualize Vajrasattva – the delusions, you’ll always have more particular practice here is we’re going to be suffering… you’ve got to stop their doing – mentioning – and the one that all ripening, though, and that’s what the the lamas praise; this particular purification process does. So, one relies manifestation of the Buddha in the upon Vajrasattva. bodhisattva aspect called Vajrasattva. He’s So, one visualizes him above one’s head, like the main Buddha. The main Buddha in and then one takes refuge, says a prayer the teachings and all the regular remembering the Buddha, grateful to have

33 a Buddha, and then grateful – if one has a things carefully; it’s practical, you know, lama – who manifests as the Buddha for psychologically practical. our benefit, you know, to show us the way. That’s what refuge means. So refuge is like b. COMPASSION this, you know: you rely upon the doctor. The second part – the second part of Now, you’ve got to look at what it Reliance is where you have compassion for means, rely upon the doctor. Why would those you have harmed. It’s a bit curious you rely upon a doctor? Because you need that it’s called reliance. The lamas put it their medicine; it seems kind of obvious – like this: here we are, now wanting to not because they’ve got a cute nose, or cultivate compassion for the suffering of something. So you go to a doctor because others. Whom do we rely up, or need, in one, you know you’re sick or you don’t order to accomplish compassion? Suffering want to get sick; and two, you’ve checked sentient beings, of course. If we never meet up and you realize this doctor has the a suffering sentient being, how could we medicine that you need. So you rely upon ever cultivate compassion. It’s in this sense their advice. It’s perfectly reasonable. So that they say we “rely upon” sentient this implies here having thought about the beings. Buddha, and wanting to rely upon the In the first step, it’s like I said, it’s like Buddha, because you want his medicine, having compassion for yourself. You’re not because he’s going to forgive you. regretting the harm you’ve done for your Because you want his methods; that’s what sake. Now here, what you nees to cultivate reliance is, that’s what taking refuge is compassion for those you’ve harmed, means. and you regret for their sake and want to So, in other words, if you’ve taken – you purify yourself for their sake. But you can’t know, you can have the Buddha there, but have that until you’ve got the first one. if you’ve never thought about suffering, Compassion is based upon this first one, in and you haven’t regretted anything you’ve Regret. You can’t have compassion for the done wrong because you haven’t thought suffering of others until you’ve got this real about suffering and its consequences, then sense of renunciation for your own the Buddha will be pretty meaningless to suffering. It’s impossible, you can’t. You’ve you. So, in other words, if you haven’t got to have this one first. taken poison, or you don’t realize you’ve Why? Very simple. Renunciation has taken poison, you might have heard about two parts: The first one, the first part is, some amazing doctor who’s got every you are sick of suffering. Now, we all antidote to every poison on earth, and you know that – we’re all sick of suffering. But go, Oh, how interesting. But how boring. the second part’s crucial: you now know Who needs him? You don’t care. But check why you’re suffering – your past negativity when how you feel when you’ve and your delusions. When you’ve got these discovered you know you’ve taken poison; two, that’s renunciation. And all you’re going to hang on every word that compassion is, is these two – but instead of doctor says. So, reliance on the Buddha is yourself, it’s applied to others. One – you based upon the recognition that you’ve got see people suffering, and you find it these imprints in the mind that you want unbearable. But, two – you now know why to pull out real quick. In other words, that they are suffering; and that’s the big shift you need – you’re suffering, you’re sick of here. You don’t have compassion because suffering, and you need the doctor’s they’re poor innocent victims, which is the medicine. So one has to think of these only people we have compassion for now – we love to have compassion for innocent

34 victims, usually animals and children. Not So you have compassion now. You like that – quite different here. You have think of those you’ve harmed, and you compassion when you see suffering know what it’s like to suffer so you know because – two – you now know why they what it’s like for their suffering. You are suffering: because of their karma and caused it, so you regret for their sake, now. their delusions: they, like you, are the Compassion for others. And if you’re brave source of their own suffering. When you enough, you have compassion for those can do it for yourself – you’re sick of who have harmed you, because they’re suffering, and you know why you’re going to suffer in the future. And of course, suffering – then you want to change. So the dynamic of all this is you know – you now you see others suffering and you know you caused them suffering in the know why they’re suffering. It’s a crucial past – that’s how come they’re causing you difference and one has to cultivate it suffering now – it’s just obvious. When carefully. Again, it’s completely based on you’ve got karma down, you can own it so the teachings of karma, so one has to think strongly. of this so carefully, analyze it so carefully. In 2003 I remember, in New York, I was Because the feeling we have now is guilt there for a conference that Richard Gere and shame and hate and blame, you know. had organized: a bunch of ex-prisoners, Our compassion now on based upon when His Holiness was there. Twenty ex- there being no karma. We only have prisoners who had been meditating in compassion for innocent victims, because prison, you know, twenty of them: black we assume the cause of suffering is the and white and male and female, Puerto horrible oppressor. Buddha says, “Wrong Rican and Mexican and the whole works, a view”. Actually, when you’ve got this view cross-section of American society; people of compassion, you’ll have even more who’d been in prison and had done some compassion for the oppressor. That’s a fact. kind of meditation. So people like me were Why? Very logical. It’s like a mother for invited as well. We had this very nice talk her junkie kid. Everybody else hates him – all day, just a lovely conference, you he lies, he steals, he’s a pain to be around; know? And they all met His Holiness. but the mother, her heart breaks for him. Why? Because he is causing himself WITH THE VIEW OF KARMA, NO suffering. That’s the basis of compassion. BLAME, THEREFORE NO ANGER So, you see people who are the victims So, among them they invited also two of harma, you realize it’s the result of their young Tibetan nuns who’d been tortured own past actions and your heart breaks for and sexually abused in prison for a couple them, but you have even more compassion of years, basically for just being nuns. So for the people who caused it, because the they were telling their experience. And people who are the victims are just there were tears, you know. So first of all it finishing their suffering; the ones who was really obvious to all the Americans caused it are just beginning their suffering. that the suffering of the nuns was more So, once you’ve got this first for yourself, than all of theirs put together; very clear, which is renunciation: I’m sick of suffering, these two young women. But secondly, it I know why I’m suffering: karma; then it’s was really clear they weren’t angry, which easy then to have compassion for others. was a big surprise. Because we just assume You can’t get it properly until you’ve got it – because we have a victim mentality, and for yourself. This is a reasonable because we think we’re innocent victims, psychological kind of progression, and all and we think suffering is caused by others of it’s based on karma.

35 – we assume anger is normal; because lying, you make a special point of telling anger is blame, isn’t it? the truth. You must do this anyway in your But if you have the view of karma, you life. They are necessary. don’t have blame. You’ve got to hear this. But here, in this step, the very powerful They weren’t blaming. They were sad. If practice, very powerful antidote, remedy – you’d given them a key, they would’ve and one has to think about why it’s happily walked out of that ugly prison. powerful, not just because it’s religion, you Anyway, at the end of their talk, they said know – this very potent medicine of – big surprise, you know, again, because of visualizing Vajrasattva and saying his the view of karma – they said, “And of . This is said to be a very powerful course, we had compassion for our medicine that works at a very deep level of torturers, because we knew we had your mind, you know. So, one does this harmed them in the past”. visualization of Vajrasattva purifying the So, this is a huge point for us. This is various actions of your body, speech and why we can’t just gloss over karma, we’ve mind and reciting the mantra. That’s the got to really give it thought. And this is the third step. basis of all of Buddha’s teachings. This is the basis of emptiness, even – cause and 4. FOURTH OPPONENT POWER: effect. If we look at Buddha’s view – his RESOLVE philosophy – carefully, you cannot gloss And the fourth one – as Pabongka over karma. It is a way of spelling out the Rinpoche says – is the most important, this law of cause and effect. Really think it Resolve, or the determination to change. through – it’s the basis of all practice, it’s Now, if you can’t own responsibility for the basis of compassion. what you’ve done wrong, you can never determine to change, cause you don’t want 3. THIRD OPPONENT POWER: THE to own it. When you’ve got this regret, and REMEDY this determination to change, you’re really So then, the third step: you think – so now becoming accountable. You’re really you take the medicine. You apply the growing up. You’re becoming mature. And antidote. You take the Remedy. So here – you’re becoming your own friend. That’s you know, you can say in Buddhism, why this practice is so crucial to do. Not there’s a whole medicine cabinet of just to gloss it over, say, “Oh I’ve done my remedies, but all the lamas in the Tibetan Vajrasattva …” That’s not enough, traditions praise this particular meditation, I tell you. That’s just not enough. You’ve this particular visualization, this particular got to think through these four steps. It’s mantra as a really potent medicine. Often psychologically really profound. It’s being this step is simply called “applying the your own therapist, as Lama Yeshe puts it, antidote”. I’m not kidding. Things really shift if we So, you know, anything here would can do this properly, because this is where apply. If you’ve got a habit to kill, you we get the courage to know we are in make a point of saving lives. You go get a charge of our life and we can change. bunch of worms and instead of having Because it’s the power of our own will, our them killed being bait, you release the own determination to change. worms. It’s a powerful thing to do. Or one of your practices could be, one of your So this fourth step, again, is so practical: antidotes could be to help sick people: you make determination not to do again. anything you do that’s opposite to the So, if you have taken vows – I will never thing you’re regretting. If you’re regretting kill, I will never lie, I will never steal –

36 you’ve taken those five lay vows, and pushups every day. It’s obvious; you keep they’re lifetime vows, so obviously you getting better at it. It’s practical need to reiterate that vow. Every time you psychology. say “I will never kill”, it’s like digging that Then, of course, you don’t lie to groove deeper in your mind. So, it’s not yourself, as Rinpoche says. If you’re not enough to say, “Oh, yeah, I took vows ready to say I’ll never do it again, if you twenty years ago. Twenty years ago I haven’t taken the vow, and you’re still vowed I wouldn’t kill, but you’ve never going fishing every day or going hunting. thought of it since. It’s like saying, “Oh, Or let’s say getting angry is a really deep I’m a pianist, I played piano twenty years habit. Don’t lie to yourself and say “I’ll ago”. You’re not, unless you do it every never get angry again”; you’re not ready; day. See, again we see these things as so it’s plain foolish. Be realistic. So, maybe self-existent. It’s not enough. It’s an you’ll say, “Okay. I see the reasonableness ongoing, dynamic daily thing. of not getting angry. I’m going to give it a If every day you say, “I will never kill”, go. I won’t get angry for five hours”. Or I mean, excuse me, guess what the result you might say, “I won’t lie for ten hours”, will be? It’s hardly rocket science. If every – and because you’ve got to go to bed soon, day you say it, that protects you every day when you’re asleep, you won’t lie, believe from ever killing. It’s obvious. It’s so me; you’ll keep your vow! You be realistic; embarrassingly obvious. But we forget it’s an incremental thing, and you’ve got to these things. So you need to reiterate your take this seriously on board. That’s why vows. I will never kill. I will never steal. I you can’t just do your mantras and think, will never lie. I will never whatever they “I’ve done my practice”. It’s not enough. are, you know. I will never break my It’s a serious psychological procedure that bodhisattva vows. I will never break my you’re involved in. Practice is real; it’s you tantric vows. You need to say this every dealing with your own mind. day. Reiterate your commitments. And it’s not just because you’re hoping YOUR OWN RUBBISH God will make you good or Buddha will So, you know, you give yourself a timeline. bless you; it’s you training your mind. Like And when it comes of course to, you know, if you do pushups every day, guess what? your inner qualities, your inner things that You keep getting better at it. We harm you only, and I didn’t mention this in understand it when it comes to creativity Regret, but the same; it mainly talks about and art and learning things, we just think regretting actions that you do to harm this is “religion” so we don’t understand others, but of course you can think of your why I should say every day I’ll never kill. own rubbish: your own angry thoughts, Because you’re training your mind in that your, you know, sexual fantasies that are direction! Because everything comes down destroying you, your own attachment, to the thought. All you’re doing by your own – you know – depression. You becoming a Buddha is programming your can deeply regret these because it’s mind with positive thoughts. That’s all, obvious the suffering it causes you; people! It’s nothing more secret that that. because you’re sick of the suffering. And And so this is why they say a vow – it’s here, you maybe can’t say”, I’ll never be nothing abstract, a vow – it’s your mind, depressed again’; it’s not possible, if you’re intentionally deciding daily, I will do this caught up in the middle of it. But you or I won’t do that. In other words, you’re make some decisions for yourself; realistic, practicing that by thinking it, like humble decisions. “Okay. I’m going to practicing piano every day, by practicing

37 watch my mind like a hawk. I’m going to EACH OF THE FOUR STEPS PURIFIES do my best tomorrow”. ONE OF THE FOUR WAYS THAT Even you can say, “I’m going to do my KARMA RIPENS best not to speak the words to my This is how you change. This is what husband” for example. Because when purification is – these four steps; not just we’re feeling all our problems, we want to doing a few mantras mindlessly. You’ve vomit it all out to the person we’re closest got to do all four steps, because each of to. We can’t hold it ourselves, so we have these four steps purifies one of each of the to dump it on somebody. I’m not being four ways that karma ripens; they’ve got horrible about us now, we need to talk to their particular function. people, it’s true, but sometimes we’re So, for example, regret is so tasty in addicted to talking about it, which terms of what it purifies – I mean, all of reinforces it. So, maybe the way to help us them altogether purify everything; but with our – let’s say your angry thoughts or regret has a particular function. So you your jealousy or your depression, which know, let’s say, someone bad-mouths you we always want to talk about to other at work, and you’re freaking out about it. people – we always put ourselves down, You know you did nothing wrong and “Oh, I’m no good, I can’t do this…” it’s just these mean people are talking about you vomiting it out, you know; because we’re behind your back and it’s so distressing, not able to hold it ourselves. So maybe we isn’t it? You feel so impotent; you feel you can vow – at least: I can’t say I won’t be can’t do anything about it. And you feel, depressed, I can’t say I won’t be angry It’s not fair, I didn’t do anything. But then again, but at least I can vow that for you have to remember, when you sit down twenty-four hours I won’t speak the words and do your regret, “Well guess what, to anybody else. This is profound. This is Robina, if this is happening, logically, I amazing; really shifts something inside us must have done it before, otherwise it for our own benefit. Totally for our own wouldn’t be happening to me now”. So, benefit. then what do you do? You think to See, it’s sort of like a session of therapy, yourself, “I regret whatever I must have you’re doing before you go to sleep. It’s so done in the past life – who knows which worthwhile, I can tell you. Because life – that is now ripening as this particular normally, we love to talk to ourselves suffering. This Regret purifies the karma about ourselves, but it’s always negativity; called experiences similar to the cause, beating ourselves up, or all resentful which is this exact stuff that’s happening to because no one loves me and it’s not fair you. Of course, mainly it is said that Regret and I’m better than they think I am. It’s purifies the experiences similar to the always ego talking; we never do it the cause occurring in a future life, but don’t constructive way. But this practice is really be surprised if you see changes right now. constructive thinking; really being your If you consciously think of this particular own therapist, really being your own boss, event that is occurring right now, and you really being accountable, and really being deeply from your heart whatever I must courageous. This fourth step is really have done in the past life – and of course, courageous, you know. one doesn’t remember it – that is now ripening at this moment in these people bad-mouthing me, that first of all makes you more courageous, instead of like a victim, because you realize there is a cause in your past life that you don’t remember,

38 like those young nuns who knew this, so Okay, let me use the example of those you become more brave, and you accept it nuns in Tibet. There they were being more; rather than feeling “it’s not fair, why tortured and sexually abused in a prison, are they doing it and …” The victim is so right? Now, normally speaking, with the strong in us; whenever the harm happens. usual view that we have of “I didn’t ask to So this regret can even help shift things get born, it’s not my fault, I don’t deserve right now. But in general, regretting lying, this…” we would literally have a mental regretting killing, regretting stealing; breakdown, wouldn’t we? Just about, we whatever it is, they will ripen. They will would. And we’d be angry, we’d be purify the experience happening to you, freaking out, we’d be raging, we’d want to especially in the future. They’re cleaning it blame, we’d want to sue…look at the up for the future. They’ve got a very real mental torture we’d have in relation to function. those kinds of things. The second one, Reliance, it purifies Now, their response – they weren’t environmental karma. So my feeling is, I angry, and they even had compassion. don’t quite understand this one, but it That is literally coming from seems like it maybe is the compassion understanding karma which is meaning aspect, because, you know, as the lamas they created the cause, this is not who I say – they have this saying – that “the really am; and karma is dependent arising, ground that you fall down on that hurts and dependent arising is the flipside of you is the very ground that you rely upon emptiness. to stand up”. So the very sentient beings Because, if you look at the normal ego you have harmed are those sentient beings response, the way we have ego now, – you need to generate compassion for: you Lama Yeshe calls it “the self-pity me” – rely upon them in that sense. So they say and I’m not trying to be cruel, now. But it this purifies environmental karma. is the way we suffer. And if we analyze, if The third one – doing the mantra, doing we unpack self-pity, unpack anger, you see the actual practice – that purifies the lower it is “poor me, I didn’t do this, I don’t realm karma – being reborn in the lower deserve this, why is this happening, there realms. The future suffering lives. is no cause, I don’t understand it, why me, And the fourth one is obvious. The one of what did I do to deserve it”. Would you determining – if you say every day, “I will agree this is the way we think about never kill again”, guess what that purifies? suffering now? That is coming from the The tendency to kill; it’s so obvious. And philosophy of “I didn’t ask to get born”. this is the most important. That’s coming from the philosophy of “no cause and effect”, of “no karma”, of being THE BEHAVIORAL IMPLICATIONS OF an “innocent victim”. That’s the WORKING WITH THE CONCEPT OF philosophy of the world. That’s why we EMPTINESS have our freaking out now. Q: Say I’ve learned to understand the If you have the view of karma, it causes concept of emptiness. How does that next you to own responsibility for this thing make the leap to feeling less fear, guilt… that’s happening: you’ve made your bed and now you’re lying on it; which means Ven.: I understand. Initially, it doesn’t there’s no fear, which means you’re seem evident to us, doesn’t it? This is why confronting it, which means you’re you’re asking the question. That’s why accepting it, and then it even means you another way to put emptiness is to see can have compassion. So that’s a very things as interdependent. different way of interpreting a situation,

39 isn’t it? And all of this is implying: after that before you completely finish it all therefore this is not existing from its own and become a buddha; but you’ve made side, therefore it isn’t causeless. Because the this major shift at that point. That’s the real way we have ego now, it’s all causeless. purification. That’s when you cut the root. “Why is this happening?” and panic and It takes time to think this stuff through, fear. And that’s because we are grasping doesn’t it? primordially at “innocent victim me” who didn’t ask to get born. Teachings of Ven Robina Courtin at Osel That’s a way of expressing emotionally Shen Phen Ling, Missoula, Montana, 2011. how it feels to have ego; whereas if you have this other one, it’s more spacious. You recognize why. You know you did it. It’s more spacious and it’s linked to interdependence, which is the flipside of emptiness. One has to think about it again and again and again. It’s a practical thing, you know. It sounds so abstract, to hear about “understand emptiness”. It really means to see interdependence; and karma is a perfect example of how things exist in dependence upon various causes and factors and things, you know. Does it make sense a little bit? So, thinking about interdependence is the way to put it. Saying “emptiness” seems a bit abstract, because interdependence is the flip side of emptiness, because the way ego is, “grasping at the self-existent me” – this is the label for it – is the one of thinking there’s no cause, thinking it’s not my fault, thinking “poor me” and therefore the panic and the fear and the rage and the guilt and the shame and all the junk that arises when bad things happen. Does it make sense a bit? And so finally, when through meditation and practice after years and years and years, and much analysis and logic and thinking and meditating, one finally gets the direct insight into emptiness. That’s when we finally have seen directly the absence of this fantasy “I” that we’ve been clinging to for so long. That’s when you cut the root of delusions. Because there’s no longer the misconception of the I. Therefore there’s no longer fear, no longer anger, no longer attachment. I mean there’s a way to go

40 4. The Ten Non-virtues and Environmental Result Food, drink, Their Results medicine, and crops are scarce, always inferior and low in nutrition or potency; they are hard to digest and cause disease; most beings around you die before reaching the full life span.

There are four ways that karma ripens in 2. STEALING future lives: Experience Similar to the Cause You don’t 1. The Fully Ripened Result, which is have enough to live on or make ends meet; the type of rebirth our consciousness will what you do have is all just common take when it leaves a previous body at the property with others. time of death.

2. The Action Similar to the Cause: all Environmental Result Crops are few and the words, thoughts and actions we do in far between, have no power to remove any one life are due to the habit of having hunger, spoil, or never come up; dry spells done them before. stay on too long; it rains too much: crops 3. The Experience Similar the Cause: all dry up or die off. the things that other people or beings do to us, or all the things that happen to us. 3. SEXUAL MISCONDUCT 4. Environmental Karma: even the way Experience Similar to the Cause The the world is for us: polluted, beautiful, people who work around you are earthquakes, etc; all this is due to the unreliable; you find yourself having a lot of collective karma of the sentient beings who competition for your partner. Your experience that environment. relationships, all kinds, don’t last.

All positive and negative actions of body, Environmental Result You live in a place speech and mind bring all four results (not where there is urine and feces all round, necessarily at the same time). and mud, dirt, filth; everything stinks, and Here is a summary of the ten non- everywhere seems unpleasant and virtuous actions that one should refrain distasteful. from, and their karmic results.

The Fully Ripened Result of all non- VERBAL ACTIONS virtuous actions is rebirth in one of the three lower realms: animals, spirits, hells. 4. LYING The Action Similar to the Cause is the Experience Similar to the Cause No one habit to continue to do each action. The believes what you say, even when you are Experiences Similar to the Cause and the speaking the truth; others are always Environmental Result differ for each deceiving you. action.

Environmental Result Your work in PHYSICAL ACTIONS cooperation with others fails to prosper

and people don’t work well together, 1. KILLING everyone generally is cheating one another Experience Similar to the Cause You get and is afraid, and there are many things to killed; your life is short; you get sick easily, be afraid of. and have little energy.

41 5. DIVISIVE TALK find the help you need; you are always Experience Similar to the Cause You hurting others, or always being hurt by easily lose friends; people around you are others. always fighting one another; people Environmental Result You live in a world around you have an undesirable character. of chaos, diseases spread, evil is Environmental Result The ground where everywhere; there is plague, conflict, and you live is covered with obstacles like you have fear of your country’s or others’ fallen tree trunks, thorns, stones, sharp external military; there are dangerous broken glass; it is rough, dreary, and there animals, and you are surrounded by are no streams or lakes or water springs; harmful spirits, thieves or muggers, and the earth is parched and poisoned, burning the like. hot, useless, threatening; a place where there are many things to fear. 10. WRONG VIEWS Experience Similar to the Cause Your 6. IDLE TALK personality is dominated by stupidity; you Experience Similar to the Cause No one become a person who keeps harmful views listens to you. No one respects what you (like “an eye for an eye”); you become a say; no one thinks your speech has value. deceitful person.

Environmental Result Fruits don’t grow, Environmental Result You live in a world or grow at the wrong times, seem ripe where the single highest source of when they are not, have frail roots; there happiness is steadily disappearing from are no leisure places like parks, glades, the earth, where people think that unclean pools of cool water; and many things and suffering things are actually nice and around make you afraid. happy; where there is no place to go, no one to help, nothing to protect you. 7. HARSH SPEECH Experience Similar to the Cause You will From teachings by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. always hear distressing words.

Environmental Result you will be born in a desert country.

MENTAL ACTIONS

8. CRAVING/COVETING Experience Similar to the Cause Your personality is dominated by desire; you are never satisfied with what you have

Environmental Result Every good thing you manage to find starts to get worse, decreases as seasons, months, days pass.

9. ILL-WILL Experience Similar to the Cause Your personality is dominated by anger; you always find yourself without help, or never

42 5. Dedicating Ourselves to want to succeed in the business of collecting merits, you must have Others . With bodhicitta you become so By Lama Yeshe precious – like gold, like diamonds; you become the most perfect object in the world, beyond compare with any material things. From the Western, materialistic point of I think it is absolutely essential for us to view, we’d think it was great if a rich have loving kindness towards others. person said, “I want to make charity. I’m There is no doubt about this. Loving going to offer $100 to everybody in the kindness is the essence of bodhicitta, the entire world”. Even if that person gave attitude of the bodhisattva. It is the most with great sincerity, his or her would comfortable path, the most comfortable be nothing compared with just the thought, meditation. There can be no philosophical, “I wish to actualize bodhicitta for the sake scientific or psychological disagreement of sentient beings, and I’ll practice the six with this. With bodhicitta, there’s no East- paramitas as much as I can”. That’s why I West conflict. This path is the most always say, actualization of bodhicitta is comfortable, most perfect, one hundred the most perfect path you can take. The percent uncomplicated one, free of any best Dharma practice, the most perfect, danger of leading people to extremes. most substantial, is without doubt the Without bodhicitta, nothing works. And practice of bodhicitta. most of all, your meditation doesn’t work, Remember the story of the Kadampa and realizations don’t come. who saw a man circumambulating a Why is bodhicitta necessary for success ? He said, “What are you doing?” in meditation? Because of selfish grasping. and the man answered, If you have a good meditation but don’t “Circumambulating”. So the geshe said, have bodhicitta, you will grasp at any little “Wouldn’t it be better if you practiced experience of bliss: “Me, me; I want more, I dharma?” Next time the geshe saw the want more”. Then the good experience man he was prostrating, and when he disappears completely. Grasping is the again asked what he was doing, the man greatest distraction to experiencing single- replied, “One hundred thousand pointed intensive awareness in meditation. prostrations” “Wouldn’t it be better if you And with it, we are always dedicated to practiced dharma?” asked the geshe. our own happiness: “Me, me I’m Anyway, the story goes on, but the point is miserable, I want to be happy. Therefore that just doing religious-looking actions I’ll meditate”. It doesn’t work that way. For like circumambulation and some reason good meditation and its isn’t necessarily practicing dharma. What results –peacefulness, satisfaction and bliss we have to do is transform our attachment – just don’t come. and self-cherishing, and if we haven’t Also, without bodhicitta it is very changed our mind in this way, none of the difficult to collect merits. You create them other practices work; doing them is just a and immediately destroy them; by joke. Even if you try to practice tantric afternoon, the morning’s merits have gone. meditations, unless you’ve changed It’s like cleaning a room and an hour later within, you won’t succeed. dharma means making it dirty again. You make your a complete change of attitude – that’s what mind clean, then right away you mess it up really brings you inner happiness, that is – not a very profitable business. If you the true Dharma, not the words you say.

43 Bodhicitta is not the culture of ego, not the substitutes others for self. culture of attachment, not the culture of It creates space in your mind. Then even samsara. It is an unbelievable if your dearest friend forgets to give you a transformation, the most comfortable path, Christmas present, you don’t mind. “Ah, the most substantial path – definite, not well. This year she didn’t give me my wishy-washy. Sometimes your meditation chocolate. It doesn’t matter”. Anyway, is not solid; you just space out. Bodhicitta your human relationships are not for meditation means you really want to chocolate, not for sensory pleasures. change your mind and actions and Something much deeper can come from transform your whole life. our being together, working together. We are all involved in human relationships with each other. Why do we With bodhicitta you become so sometimes say, “I love you”, and precious – like gold, like diamonds. sometimes, “I hate you?” Where does this You become the most perfect object in up-and-down mind come from? From the the world, beyond compare with any self-cherishing thought – a complete lack of material things. bodhicitta. What we are saying is, “I hate you because I’m not getting any If you want to be really, really happy, it satisfaction from you. You hurt me; you isn’t enough just to space out in don’t give me pleasure. That’s the whole meditation. Many people who have spent thing: I – my ego, my attachment – am not years alone in meditation have finished up getting satisfaction from you, therefore I the worse for it. Coming back into society, hate you. What a joke! All the difficulties in they have freaked out. They haven’t been inter-personal relationships come from not able to take contact with other people having bodhicitta, from not having again, because the peaceful environment changed our minds. they created was an artificial condition, So, you see, just meditating is not still a relative phenomenon without enough. If that Kadampa geshe saw you solidity. With bodhicitta, no matter where sitting in meditation he’d say, “What are you go, you will never freak out. The more you doing? Wouldn’t it be better if you you are involved with people the more practiced dharma?” Circumambulating pleasure you get. People become the isn’t dharma, prostrating isn’t dharma, resource of your pleasure. You are living meditating isn’t dharma. My goodness, for people. Even though some still try to what is dharma, then? This is what take advantage of you, you understand: happened to the man in the story. He “Well, in the past I took advantage of them couldn’t think of anything else to do. Well, many times too”. So it doesn’t bother you. the best dharma practice, the most perfect, Thus bodhicitta is the most perfect way most substantial, is without doubt the to practice dharma, especially in our practice of bodhicitta. twentieth-century Western society. It is You can prove scientifically that very, very worthwhile. With the bodhicitta is the best practice to do. Our foundation of bodhicitta you will definitely self-cherishing thought is the root of all grow. human problems. It makes our lives If you take a proper look deep into your difficult and miserable. The solution to heart you will see that one of the main self-cherishing, its antidote, is the mind causes of your dissatisfaction is the fact that is its complete opposite – bodhicitta. that you are not helping others as best you The self-cherishing mind is worried about can. When you realize this you’ll be able to only me, me – the self-existent I. Bodhicitta say to yourself, “I must develop myself so

44 that I can help others satisfactorily. By much about enlightenment and things like improving myself I can definitely help”. that. We have a long way to go to such Thus you have more strength and energy realizations. Forget about enlightenment, I to meditate, to keep pure morality and do don’t care about Buddhahood – just be other good things. You have energy, practical. If you can’t help others, at least “Because I want to help others”. That is don’t give them any harm, stay neutral. why Lama Tsongkhapa said that bodhicitta Anyway, what I’m supposed to be is the foundation of all enlightened telling you here is that bodhicitta is like realizations. atomic energy to transform your mind. Also, bodhicitta energy is alchemical. It This is absolutely, scientifically true, and transforms all your ordinary actions of not something that you have to believe body, speech and mind – your entire life with blind religious faith. Everybody into positivity and benefit for others, like nowadays is afraid of nuclear war, but if iron transmuted into gold. I think this is we all had bodhicitta, wouldn’t we all be definitely true. You can see, it’s not completely secure? Of course we would. difficult. For example look at other With bodhicitta you control all desire to people’s faces. Some people, no matter defeat or kill others. And, as Lama Je what problems and suffering they are Tsongkhapa said, when you have enduring, when they go out they always bodhicitta all the good things in life are try to appear happy and show a positive magnetically attracted to you and pour aspect to others. Have you noticed this or down upon you like rain. At present all we not? But other people always go about attract is misfortune because all we have is miserable, and angry. What do you think the self-cherishing thought. But with about that? I honestly think that it indicates bodhicitta we’ll attract good friends, good a fundamental difference in the way these food, good everything. two kinds of people think. Human beings As His Holiness the Dalai Lama said are actually very simple. Some are a recently, if you’re going to be selfish, do it disaster within and it shows on their faces on a grand scale; wide selfishness is better and makes those whom they meet feel sick. than narrow! What did His Holiness Others, even though they are suffering mean’! He was saying that, in a way, intensely, always put on a brave face bodhicitta is like a huge selfish attitude because they are considerate of the way because when you dedicate yourself to others feel. others with loving kindness you get a lot I believe this is very important. What’s more pleasure than you would otherwise. the use of putting out a miserable With our present, usual selfish attitude we vibration? Just because you feel miserable, experience very little pleasure, and what why make others unhappy too? It doesn’t we have is easily lost. With “great help. You should try to control your selfishness” you help others and you help emotions, speak evenly and so forth. yourself; with small it’s always ‘me, me, Sometimes when people are suffering they me and it is easy to lose everything. close off from others, but you can still feel Remember, Atisha had over 150 their miserable vibration. This doesn’t help teachers? He respected them all, but when – others with even momentary happiness he heard the name of one – Lama forget about leading them to Dharmarakshita – he would come out in enlightenment. To help the people around goose-bumps. He explained this by saying, you, you have to maintain a happy, “I received many teachings from many, peaceful vibration. This is very practical, many great gurus, but for me, Lama very worthwhile. Sometimes we talk too Dharmarakshita, who gave me the

45 bodhicitta ordination and teachings on the sitting quietly meditating the next. method and wisdom of bodhicitta and the Everything takes time and space. It is much six paramitas, was the most helpful for my better to r have a quiet, blissful cup of life”. This is very true. Sometimes coffee, And don’t pressure yourself either; techniques of deity meditation are that too is very bad. Don’t punish yourself extremely difficult, but bodhicitta when you are too tired to meditate: ‘I meditation is so simple, so incredibly should be meditating; I am very bad.’ You profound and real. That’s why Atisha destroy yourself like this. Be wise. Treat would shake when he heard the name of yourself, your mind, sympathetically, with his main teacher of bodhicitta. loving kindness. If you are gentle with The main point, then, is that when you yourself you will become gentle with contact Buddhadharma you should others so don’t push. Pushing doesn’t conquer the mad elephant of your self- work for me, that’s why I tell others not to cherishing mind. If the dharma you hear force themselves. We are dealing with the helps you diminish your self-cherishing mind, not rocks and concrete; it is even a little, it has been worthwhile. But if something organic. the teachings you have taken have had no effect on your selfishness, then from the In a way, bodhicitta is like a huge Mahayana point of view, even if you can selfish attitude because when you talk intellectually on the entire lam-rim, dedicate yourself to others with loving they have not been must use at all. kindness you get a lot more pleasure Do you recall the story of Shantideva than you would otherwise. and how people used to put him down? They used to call him Du-she-sum-pa, The Western environment offers lots of which means one who knows how to do suffering conditions that act as causes for only three things: eating, sleeping and our actualizing bodhicitta, so life there can excreting. This was a very bad thing to call be very worthwhile. For example, it is someone, especially a monk. But that’s all much better to subdue an adversary with that people could see him doing. However, bodhicitta than with a knife or gun. When he had bodhicitta, so whatever he did, attacked, you can practice loving kindness. even ordinary things, was of greatest We could also do this in the monasteries of benefit to others. Lying down, peacefully, Tibet, where there were often horrible he would meditate with great concern for monks. Don’t think that Tibet was full of the welfare of all living beings, and many only holy people – we had unbelievably times, out of compassion, he would cry for wild monks there that nobody in authority them. Westerners need that kind of could subdue! If you would try to control practice. Fundamentally we are lazy. Well, them wrathfully they would get only more maybe not lazy, but when we finish work aggressive. But arya bodhisattva monks, we are tired and don’t have much energy people who had completely given left. So, when you come home from work, themselves up for others, would treat them lie down comfortably and meditate on with loving kindness, and the wild monks bodhicitta. This is most worthwhile. Much would calm down completely. They would better than rushing in speedily, throwing feel, “This man loves me; he has great down a coffee and dropping onto your compassion. He has given up everything meditation cushion to try to meditate. It for others and has nothing to lose”. In that doesn’t work that way; your nervous way aggressive people would be subdued, system needs time and space. You can’t be without authority but with bodhicitta. rushing through traffic one minute and There are many stories about this kind of

46 thing, but I’m not going to tell them now. You people are young, intelligent and Perhaps you think they’re funny, but it’s not satisfied with what you have in your true—you can conquer your enemies, both own countries. That’s why you are seeking internal and external, with loving kindness further afield. And now you have found and bodhicitta. It is most worthwhile and that most worthwhile of all things, there’s no contradiction bodhicitta is the bodhicitta. totally comfortable path to liberation and But it is not an easy thing. Easy things enlightenment. bore you quickly. It is quite difficult, but In his text Lama Chopa, the Panchen there’s no way you’ll get bored practicing Lama says, “Self-cherishing is the cause of it. People need to be most intelligent to all misery and dissatisfaction, and holding actualize bodhicitta, some, though, have no all mother sentient beings dearer than room for it. “Forget about yourself and oneself is the foundation of all realizations have a little concern for others?” they’ll and knowledge. Therefore bless me to ask. “That’s not my culture”. It is very change self-cherishing into concern for all difficult to change holding yourself dear others”. This is not some deep into holding others dear instead – the most philosophical theory but a very simple difficult task you can undertake. But it is statement. You know from your own life’s the most worthwhile and brings the experiences without needing a Tibetan greatest satisfaction. text’s explanations that your self- After practicing some meditations, such cherishing thought is the cause of all your as impermanence and death, for a month confusion and frustration. This evolution you’ll say, “I’m tired of that meditation”. of suffering is found not only in Tibetan But you’ll never get tired of meditating on culture but in yours as well. bodhicitta. It is so deep; a universal And the goes on to say meditation. You’ll never get tired of that we should look at what the Buddha bodhicitta. did. He gave up his self-attachment and You have heard of many deities that attained all the sublime realizations. But you can meditate on, many deities to be look at us we are obsessed with me, me, initiated into – Chenrezig and the rest. me and have realized nothing but What are they all for? I’ll tell you – for unending misery. This is very clear isn’t it? gaining bodhicitta. As a matter of fact, all Therefore you should know clean clear tantric meditations are for the how this works. Get rid of the false concept development of strong bodhicitta. That is of self-cherishing and you’ll be free of all the purpose of your consciousness misery and dissatisfaction. Concern manifesting as a being with a thousand yourself for the welfare of all others and arms so that vou can lend a hand to a wish for them to attain the highest thousand suffering beings. If you don’t like realizations such as bodhicitta and you’ll to manifest yourself this way you can find all happiness and satisfaction. relate the meditation to your own culture and see yourself as Jesus. Chenrezig and Bodhicitta is the most perfect way to Jesus are the same: completely selfless and practise dharma, especially in our completely devoted to serving others. twentieth century Western society. It is Remember what happened the first time very, very worthwhile. With the that Chenrezig took the bodhisattva foundation of bodhicitta you will ordination? He vowed to guide all definitely grow. universal living beings to enlightenment from behind, like a shepherd. “I do not want to realize enlightenment until first I

47 have led all mother sentient beings there first. That will be my satisfaction”. He worked for years and years, leading thousands of beings to enlightenment, but when he checked to see what was happening he found there were still countless more. So again he worked for years and years and again when he checked there were still so many left, and this cycle was repeated until finally he was fed up and thought to himself, “For eons and eons I have struggled to lead all sentient beings to enlightenment but there are still so many left. I think it is impossible to fulfil my vow.” And because of the intensity of his emotion his head split into eleven pieces. Then Amitabha Buddha came and offered to help, and blessed him to be successful. So I’m sure some of you people can be like Chenrezig. The main thing is to have strong motivation. Even if it comes strongly only once, it is extremely powerful. It is very rare to have this kind of thought. A mere flash is so worthwhile; to have it for a minute for a day. . .

48 6. When We Stop Clinging to example, when you say “I”, instead of pointing here [at your chest], point at this the I, There is No Longer a table; label I on this table. Basis for Attachment So now, you have labeled I on the table, By Lama Zopa Rinpoche but where is that I on the table? You cannot find I on the table. Even though you label I on the table, you cannot find it anywhere, on any corner of the table, inside the table, above the table – you cannot find I anywhere. Not only that, WE CANNOT FIND THE I ANYWHERE but this corner of the table is not I, this Let’s concentrate for a few moments on other corner is not I – no part of the table is what I’m saying. [Silence.] We believe, “I I. Even all the parts of the table together am here, in this building”. We believe, “I are not I. am in America, Soquel, Land of Medicine So now, like this, it’s exactly the same, Buddha, Land of Medicine Buddha, Land exactly the same, even though our mind of Medicine Buddha! I’m in this gompa, constantly labels I on this association of I’m in Vajrasattva retreat, I’m on this body and mind [Rinpoche pointing to his cushion, I’m in pain! I’m tired! I’m sleepy! chest], constantly, twenty-four hours a day, I’m exhausted from a long day! What is he labels I on this association of body and talking about? What is he mumbling mind, exactly as in the example where about?” Anyway, thinking like that. your mind labels I on the table – even if We think there’s a real one, a real I, a you label I on the table, you cannot find I real me, here doing Vajrasattva retreat, or on the table – the table is not I, nor is I on listening to teachings. Here, sitting on this the table, inside the table, or anywhere chair, or on this cushion – a real me else; you cannot find I on any part of the listening to teachings. Now, I is your label; table, and even the whole thing is not I – in me, I. the same way, I cannot be found anywhere You point to your body and label it I: “I on the association of body and mind. If you am going out”. You don’t pick up a book look for your I, you cannot find it, from the and point to it and say, “I am going out!” ends of your hair to the tip your toes – No. You point to your body and apply the your little toes, your big toes – nowhere label, “I am going out”. can it be found. You cannot find your I And as your mind does the activity of anywhere. It is neither inside your nose thinking, you label, “I am thinking”. nor on the tip of your nose! I’m joking! As your mind meditates, “I am Anyway, I is nowhere to be found, not meditating”. By first thinking what kind of even inside your body. activity your mind is doing – for example, Normally you believe I to be inside, but it’s wandering – you say, “I am wandering. even if that’s what you normally believe, I am not meditating”. “Are you meditating apprehend – that there’s a real I inside the now?” body, there’s a real me inside the body – if “No”. You check the mind, then you you look for it, you cannot find it. When say, “I am wandering”, or, if it is you start to analyze, it cannot be found. meditating, being transformed into virtue Where is it exactly? Look for it. Where is it by analytical or fixed meditation, you say, exactly, inside the body? Where is it “I am meditating”; you call, or label, it, “I exactly, inside the chest – the part of the am meditating”. body where we normally believe the I to In exactly the same way as in this reside? It’s somewhere there, within the

49 body. We don’t think that the I is outside – I. From that, you can understand, or get the we think that it’s inside, inside the chest. idea of, the rest. But if you try to identify exactly where the I is located, it cannot be found. There is no SUBJECT & OBJECT CANNOT BE ONE particular location. You can’t find it. If you Even this association of body and mind is look for the I, you cannot find it or its not I. As the texts state, the aggregates – particular location. this association of body and mind – are Even though you normally believe that what is received. the I is there, somewhere inside your body, They are what is received, and I is the inside your chest, if you really check inside receiver. I received these aggregates this where it is, its exact location, you cannot time; I is the receiver. I is the subject who find it. receives these aggregates, who has received, or taken, them. The I is the SUBTLE DEPENDENT ARISING receiver. Can you say “taker”, that I is the When you think that the nature of the I is taker? Like take-away food! I is to be taken dependent arising, subtle dependent away, like take-away food! I is to be taken arising, the real I that appeared to you at away. Anyway, I’m joking...well, there is a the beginning and that you apprehend, way in which this can be true. disappears. It immediately becomes empty. In Tibetan, we say nye-wa lang-cha lem- It becomes empty, as it is empty in reality. pa-ko. Nye-wa lang-cha: what is to be taken, If that real I that appeared to you were true the aggregates. The aggregates are what is – that you believed at the beginning to to be taken, and I is the taker, who takes really be there – if that were true – them. I is the subject and the aggregates according to the way in which it appears, are the object, what is to be taken. I is the the way in which you believe – if that were taker of the aggregates. Nye-wa langcha, true, then even after analysis it should still and lem-pa-ko; lang-cha is what is taken and be there. Even after your analysis of its lem-pa-ko is the taker. dependent arising, it should remain. You So, there are two. The I created the should be able to find it. But it is not there. cause of these aggregates; the continuity of Even when you meditate on the this I created the cause of these aggregates, chakras, a real I seems to exist, but there is this samsara. Then this I has received, or no real I existing in this body the way it taken, these aggregates. So the aggregates appears to exist, the way you apprehend, are what is to be taken and I is the taker. or believe, it to exist. That I is not there, Subject and object. Therefore, they are not neither on the body nor inside the body. one. Therefore, the aggregates are not I, The body is not I; nor is the mind. Even the cannot be I, the subject. association of body and mind is not I; these Because aggregates are what is to be aggregates are not I. taken – the object. I is the taker of that Without going through the object. So they cannot be one. or lam-rim analyses of Similarly, an ax and the tree it cuts emptiness – for example, if the aggregates cannot be one. One is the object, the other are I, then what happens, what illogical is the subject, so they cannot be one. The consequences arise? If the body is I, what cutter – the ax – and what is to be cut – the illogical consequences arise? If the mind is wood – cannot be one. The wood that is to I, what illogical consequences rise? – be cut is not the cutter, the ax. without going through all those detailed analyses, what I have just mentioned gives you an idea of how the aggregates are not

50 POSSESSOR & POSSESSION CANNOT argue in court, “I didn’t do it – the body BE ONE did it; the mind did it”. If what you did In that way, there’s one reason. The other was criminal or something for which you’d reason is similar. [We say] “My aggregates, get punished, you could say, “The body my aggregates, my aggregates”. Even from did it; the mind did it. I didn’t do it”. But if the common, language point of view, “my it was a situation where you had aggregates” shows that the aggregates are something to gain, then you could say, “I the possession, and my, or I, is the did it”! possessor. “My aggregates, my mind, my Say your body did something that body”. Even normal language shows that normally brings millions of dollars, but these two are completely different; two nobody saw it. If your I had no relation to completely different phenomena. They are your aggregates, you could say, “I did it”! not one. They are totally different Since doing the action that brings millions phenomena. “My aggregates, my body, my of dollars didn’t depend on the body or the mind” shows that they are possessions, mind doing it, you could take the credit, “I and from that it follows that my, I, is the did it. I should get the money”! You could possessor. argue like that. If there were something Again, through that reason, you can see good to gain, something that you like or that there’s no way in which the want to acquire, you could say, “I did it”. possession, that which is possessed, can be But if what you’d done were criminal or the possessor, I. subject to punishment, you could say, “It There is no way. The two are totally wasn’t me”! different phenomena. They don’t exist Anyway, I’m saying that if the I existed separately, but they exist differently. separately from the aggregates, it could be very helpful. You could do that. Maybe THE LABEL & THE BASE CANNOT BE you could still argue, “I didn’t do it ONE because I cannot find the I anywhere. I Perhaps another thing to mention is this. cannot see the I, so how could I have done The aggregates, the association of the body it?” I’m joking! and mind, is the base to be labeled, and I is What I’m trying to say is that since the the label to be applied – what the base is to aggregates are the base to be labeled and I be labeled with. Again in Tibetan, I is is what is labeled on them – the aggregates dagchö, the label to be applied, and the are the base and I is the label – they are two aggregates are dag-shir,what is labeled, the totally different phenomena. Therefore, base to be labeled. The aggregates are the they are not one; the aggregates are not I. base to be labeled, and I is the label, what is labeled on the base. Thus again here, one THE MIND IS NOT THE I is the base, the other is the label. Two Similarly, the mind is not I. It’s the same – totally different phenomena; two totally you can use all those reasons that I different phenomena. They don’t exist mentioned regarding the aggregates, with separately, but they exist differently. the mind, to understand that the mind is If they did exist separately, it would not I. Your mind is not you. My mind, your help a lot if you were a criminal! mind – that shows it is not you. Your mind It would help a lot. Because then you is not you; my mind is not me. could say, “It wasn’t me that did it; it was If something that the I possessed had to the body. I didn’t do it”! Or you could say, be I, were the I, then everything you “This mind did it, not me”! You could have possessed would be you. Your car would many arguments! In court! You could be you. Your kaka would be you!

51 It’s exactly the same with the table, as I that they – the label, I, and the base, the mentioned before. You can find the I aggregates – are two totally different nowhere on these aggregates. Neither are phenomena. the aggregates the I. Exactly the same. Even though you label Now, even if you have one hundred I on the table, you cannot find I on the percent understanding, or recognition, that table. The table is not I. Exactly as you the base, the aggregates, is not I, that the I cannot find your I on the table even though exists nowhere, I would not call that your mind labels the table I, exactly like having realized emptiness. In other words, that, even though your mind labels I on the you understand through the four-point aggregates, you cannot find I anywhere on analysis, the analysis of the four vital the aggregates. Neither that, nor are the points, that if the I is inherently existent, it aggregates I. should exist either as oneness with the When you get a feeling that the aggregates or as completely separate from aggregates are not I, when you cannot find them; it has to be pervaded by being either I on the aggregates, this understanding oneness with the aggregates or existing makes very clear what is the base and what separately from the aggregates. But simply is the label; you are able to differentiate. understanding that the inherently existent I Now you are able to differentiate between is neither oneness with the aggregates nor the base and the label. After this analysis, does it exist separately from them – having you are able to differentiate what is the a clear idea that the aggregates are not one base and what is the label I. with the I but also don’t exist separately Before, it was unclear to your mind; from the I – this awareness alone, the these two things were unclear. His ability to distinguish between label and Holiness the Dalai Lama would say those base, is not the realization of emptiness. two are mixed up, as if the table were Even if you had this awareness – the ability mixed into the base, as if the table were to distinguish label from base – even if the inside the base. difference between the base and the label His Holiness used to say had become clear for your mind, still I that the definition of the object to be would not say that you had realized refuted is the appearance of the base and emptiness. the label as undifferentiable. When you realize emptiness – not just For your mind, in your view, the base that there is no I, not just the feeling that and the label – for example, the base to be there is no I – you should feel something labeled “table” and the label “table” itself – very intensive. It should be very much are undifferentiable. His Holiness Ling more than that. Your understanding Rinpoche explained during a commentary should be something very intensive. Not on the Seven Point Thought just the feeling that there is no I. The Transformation at feeling should be something very deep; the many years ago that this is the object to be feeling “there is no I” should be very refuted. intensive, very deep. You should feel as You are unable to differentiate between you would if you’d had a vision that you the label and the base. Your mind is very had received a million dollars, that confused. Your mind is in a state of somebody had put a million dollars into confusion. What appears to your view is your hands, and you had totally, one that these two – the base, the aggregates, hundred percent believed that you actually and the label, I, are undifferentiable. Now, had all that money – and then suddenly through this analysis, you can see clearly realized it was just a hallucination! It’s

52 gone! Like that, suddenly you realize that table, the general table – not the inherently it’s not there, it has totally gone. existent table but the general table, the What you have believed, were one labeled table – looking to see if any part of hundred percent convinced of, and so the table is the table – it’s not that – or if strongly clung to, grasped at, is suddenly, perhaps the whole collection of parts totally non-existent. together is the table – it’s not that either – There’s nothing to grab onto, nothing to and only after all that, then thinking that hold onto. Suddenly, it’s totally non- the table does not exist. It’s not that kind of existent. Nothing of what you have been experience. Nor is it like analyzing the holding onto, cherishing as if it really body to find if the I is inside the body or on exists, is truly there. Nothing of what, so the aggregates, or understanding that the far, you have never had any doubt about, aggregates together are also not the I, then, have been grasping at continuously, after all that analysis, at the end, coming to holding onto like a cat grabbing a mouse – the conclusion that there’s no I. all its claws clutching tightly together – Because you cannot find it, thinking that nothing of that I exists. Suddenly, that there is no I. It’s not just that. about which you have never had any doubt since beginningless rebirths – even WHEN YOU SEE EMPTINESS, THERE since this morning or since you were born IS EITHER UNBELIEVABLE JOY . . . into this life – suddenly, it doesn’t go The right way of perceiving that the I is anywhere. Suddenly, there’s nothing there. empty is an extremely deep, intensive Maybe it’s gone to the beach! Or to the experience, but there are basically two mountains! To a retreat center! Anyway, it kinds of experience you can have. You can doesn’t go anywhere. feel incredible, that you have discovered Just there! Suddenly! You realize there the most precious thing, such as a wish- is nothing there. Suddenly, it is not there. granting jewel. Or like a person who has You realize that it’s totally non-existent. been looking for or waiting to meet a dear Totally non-existent. friend for many, many years – praying, There’s nothing to hold onto. It’s lost. wishing, to meet that person for many Totally lost. Just right there – where it was years – and then, after all these many – totally lost. Not that it’s gone somewhere, years, suddenly meeting that friend. Or but right there, it has become totally lost. like you’ve been waiting to get a billion There’s nothing to hold onto. You feel dollars for a long time and then suddenly something very intensive – not space, but you get the money. In other words, when empty, like space. During that time, there’s you see emptiness, you feel unbelievable no dual view, there’s no “this is I and that joy; incredible joy that makes you cry. is emptiness”; no “here is the subject, perceiver, realizer and there is the object, . . . OR UNBELIEVABLE FEAR emptiness”. It’s not dual; non-dual. At that The second kind of experience is one of time, the view that should appear should unbelievable fear, incredible fear. Not just be non-dual, not “this I is meditating on any kind of fear. Not just the fear of being emptiness, seeing emptiness. Oh, that is attacked by somebody; not that kind of emptiness”. fear. It’s a very deep fear; something deep Instead, there should be a very intensive inside your heart, in the very depths of understanding, seeing very intensively that your heart. A very deep fear. The other . . .the I is empty. It’s not just thinking that fear is not fear of losing the I – something there’s no I; it’s not just that. It’s not like, is going to happen to this I, but it’s not after searching for the table, the labeled losing the I. The ordinary is fear that this

53 real I is going to receive some harm, but they’d found an unbelievably precious here, something that you’ve believed in – jewel, and less intelligent practitioners who not only from birth but from beginningless feel fear when they realize emptiness. At rebirths up until now – something that that time, you should not try to escape you’ve believed in one hundred percent, from this fear – trying to do so is your only now, only now you realize that it’s greatest obstacle to realizing emptiness. not there. Only now you realize that it’s Instead, you must realize that this is the totally nonexistent. one time, the one opportunity, to realize This can cause an incredibly deep fear emptiness – the only wisdom that can to arise. directly cut the delusions, the root of As I often say, even when you recite The samsara, the gross and subtle defilements, Heart Sutra, when you say the words, “No bringing liberation from samsara and full ear, no nose, no tongue...no ice cream! No enlightenment. Knowing this, you must go coffee, no chocolate, no cigarettes, no through the fear; you must complete your drinks...!” – if fear comes into your heart experience. Go through the fear like when you say “no this, no that”, if fear crossing a river. arises, that’s a good sign. Fear arising Otherwise, if you block your own means your recitation of The Heart Sutra, progress the one time that you have the The Essence of Wisdom, is hitting, or opportunity of realizing emptiness, if you touching, the root of samsara, hurting it. run away from that, like running away Your recitation of The Heart Sutra has from teachings, from meditation courses, touched the root of samsara, ignorance; has especially my meditation courses – of hit it. course, those are good to run away from! – Your recitation of The Heart Sutra, your if you run from the fear that arises when way of thinking when you recite The you realize emptiness, that is no good at Essence of Wisdom, is fitting – like an arrow all. or a bomb. As an arrow hits its target, as a bomb or a torpedo hits its target, the BUT DON’T BE AFRAID THE I WILL enemy at which you aimed, like that, your DISAPPEAR; THERE IS ALWAYS recitation of The Heart Sutra, those CONTINUITY OF THE LABEL I teachings on emptiness, your way of However, you never have to worry about thinking, your meditation, has hit its the I ceasing, because the I never ceases. target, the object of ignorance, the The I that is the label never ceases. The I inherently existent I – the I that is never stops, never ceases. Why is there apprehended by simultaneously-born always continuity of the I, the label? Why ignorance. You have hit the target you’re is there always continuity of the self? supposed to hit. The target that you are Because there is always continuity of supposed to hit with the arrow or bomb of consciousness. Even after enlightenment, your recitation of the words of The Heart the consciousness continues forever. Sutra and thinking on their meaning is the Even though the body might change – object to be refuted, the inherently existent one body stops, another body is taken – the I. continuity of consciousness is always there, Fear in your heart means that you have even after enlightenment. Therefore, the hit the target. continuity of the I never ceases. It always The texts explain that it is highly exists because the base, the continuity of intelligent practitioners who have the consciousness, always exists. experience of incredible, blissful joy, tears Therefore, thinking, “I’m going to cease, running down their cheeks, and feel as if I’m going to become non-existent” is

54 totally wrong. defilements. When that feeling arises, the appearance of losing or having totally lost your I, you CONCLUSION: THE I EXISTS BUT NOT shouldn’t be worried that that appearance HOW WE THINK IT DOES means you’re falling into nihilism. Because Just to conclude now – before we all go to of that appearance, you should not be sleep! – as I mentioned before, how when worried that you are falling into nihilism – you label I on the table, it’s not there – in just as you should not be worried that the I exactly the same way, when the mind is becoming non-existent. There are two labels I on these aggregates, it’s not there things – one is the fear of falling into either. The aggregates are not the I; the I is nihilism; the other is the worry, “I am not there. I exists, but it’s not there. The I becoming nonexistent”. that is labeled by your mind exists, but it’s You should not be scared of those not there. Even that is not there. Even that. things. If you do get scared, you’ll block Besides the real I that you believe to reside yourself from realizing emptiness; this one in the heart, inside your body, not being opportunity to realize emptiness will have there, even the I merely labeled by your arisen and you’ll have blocked it yourself. mind, which does exist, is not there either. A very clear commentary on the I’m not saying it’s not here [in this room], by Ketsang Jamyang (I’m not I’m saying it’s not there [on your hundred percent sure that’s his name), aggregates]. which is regarded as a very effective So now, the I that is merely labeled by teaching, explains why this appearance of the mind exists. That is here, that exists, the self becoming non-existent happens. It but even that cannot be found on these happens because it has to happen. aggregates, on the base of the aggregates. It Furthermore, it is a sign that there is no doesn’t exist on these aggregates. The inherent existence on the I, the merely merely labeled I exists because the base, labeled I. There is no inherent existence on the aggregates, exists. In the same way, the that I, and the experience of its becoming base, the aggregates, which are merely non-existent shows, proves, that. When imputed, exists, but it doesn’t exist on the you have this experience, you see the gathering of the five aggregates; it doesn’t , the Madhyamika, view. You exist there. The merely labeled aggregates see the Middle Way, devoid of the two exist, but they don’t exist on the collection extremes of nihilism and eternalism. of the five aggregates. They don’t exist there; they cannot be found there. So that’s REALIZING EMPTINESS IS THE FIRST clear. The merely labeled aggregates STEP TOWARDS LIBERATION cannot be found on the collection of the I would say that realizing that the object of five. They don’t exist there. ignorance – the concept of the inherently In exactly the same way, for each existent I – is empty, realizing the aggregate – for example, the aggregate of emptiness that is the negation of the object form, the general aggregate of form – it’s to be refuted, is the first step towards exactly same. The same logic applies. The liberation. merely labeled aggregate exists but it I’m not saying that by that alone you doesn’t exist on that base. Empty. It doesn’t have entered – of the five paths to exist there; it’s not there, not existent on liberation – the path of merit. I’m not this base. The aggregate of form does not saying that. But it’s like you’ve taken a step exist on the collection of the limbs, either in towards liberation, because that wisdom is all their parts or on the whole collection the main thing that directly ceases the together. So there’s no question about the

55 inherently existent, real aggregate: it because its base exists – but it doesn’t exist doesn’t exist anywhere. on that base. So that’s the same. Then, if The real one appearing from there – the you analyze the pleasant feeling, the aggregate, the general aggregate of form – suffering feeling, the indifference, you exists nowhere. Similarly, if you go to the cannot find those feelings on their base. parts of the limbs, to the arms, head, legs, Similarly with the aggregate of cognition – stomach, and so forth, all those merely you can do the same analysis, but neither labeled ones exist, but they don’t exist on can cognition be found on its base, even their own bases. Even the merely labeled though merely labeled cognition exists. head cannot be found on the collection of It’s also the same thing with the its parts, the brain and everything else. If aggregate of compounded phenomena. you look for head, it cannot be found there. It’s also labeled, merely imputed, Like that, it’s the same for the arms, the because its base exists. Subtracting feeling legs, the main body – everything down to and cognition from the fifty-one mental the atoms – that which is merely labeled factors, the rest are called the aggregate of exists, but it doesn’t exist on its own base. compounded phenomena, labeled that, but Even the merely labeled atom exists, but it that aggregate cannot be found on that doesn’t exist, cannot be found, on the base. collection of the particles of the atom. And Finally, it’s the same with the aggregate it’s the same for even the particles of the of consciousness. Merely labeled atom – they can’t be found on their own consciousness exists, but it cannot be found base either. on its base, like a carpet on the floor. The Thus, everything from the I down to the merely labeled consciousness doesn’t exist particles of the atoms, or, from the general like that. The mind, which knows aggregate of form down to the particles of phenomena, which does the function of atoms, which appears as something real, is continuing from one life to the next, not there. It’s totally empty; every single perceiving merely the essence of the object, thing is totally empty. What appears to that knowing phenomenon, she-pa, your view, your hallucinating mind, seems because that mind exists, your mind labels to be something real, from there – but it’s it nam-she, consciousness. But using the not there. same analysis I mentioned before, neither Starting from the real I down to the real that consciousness nor the split seconds of particles of the atoms, what appears is not consciousness can be found on their there; it’s totally empty – not space, but respective bases. like space; totally empty, non-existent. Therefore, starting from the I down to That was form. How about the the split seconds of consciousness, each aggregate of feeling, that which is labeled aggregate – form, feeling, cognition, on the thought, the mental factor that compounded phenomena and experiences pleasure, indifference and consciousness, down to the split seconds of suffering? It’s the same with the aggregate consciousness – everything that appears to of feeling – the merely labeled aggregate our mind, to our view, as real, as of feeling exists, but cannot be found on its something real existing from there, is base. It’s also the same with the aggregate totally non-existent. Normally, after of cognition, which discriminates making all this analysis, you should phenomena as bad or good, as this and meditate on this emptiness; let your mind that, as friend and enemy, fat and skinny, dwell in it for a while. Looking at long and short, and so forth. The merely everything as empty, let your mind stay in labeled aggregate of cognition exists – that state of emptiness for as long as

56 possible. That’s extremely good, very which is the only one that can cut the one effective. particular root of samsara: the ignorance, the hallucinating mind that – while there’s DWELL IN THIS EMPTINESS OF NON- no I on these aggregates, including the EXISTENCE FROM ITS OWN SIDE inherently existent I – through negative So that’s reality; that’s how things are. This imprints left on the mental continuum, is reality, so let’s place our minds in this projects on to these aggregates the state for a while. Concentrate for a little bit appearance of an inherently existent I and on this conclusion that the whole thing is then believes it to be true; the ignorance totally empty. Everything – from the I that believes this inherently existent I is down to, and including, the particles of the true, that it really exists. atoms and the split seconds of This particular root of samsara – the consciousness – is totally empty from its ignorance that apprehends the I, which is own side. merely labeled by the mind, as existing [Long meditation.] from its own side, as not merely labeled by The final thing is that it’s totally non- the mind – can be cut only by this specific existent – from its own side. It’s totally wisdom, only by this right view, this non-existent, but non-existent from its own wisdom, this right view. Only by side. So the second part of that expression generating that can you be totally liberated makes the way of thinking or the from samsara, from the entire ocean of experience correct – seeing it as not just sufferings of samsara, which are divided empty, non-existent, but empty, non- into three – suffering of pain, suffering of existent, from its own side. change and pervasive, compounded Like this, the nature of everything else suffering. Within samsara, there are the in existence – forms, sounds, smells, tastes, specific sufferings of each realm and the tangible objects, hell, enlightenment, general sufferings of samsara, such as the samsara, nirvana, happiness, suffering, six, the four and the three. life’s gains and losses, virtue, non-virtue, The specific sufferings of the six realms everything – is totally empty, non-existent. include those of the eight hot hells, the But, non-existent from its own side. eight cold hell sufferings and the six or four neighborhood sufferings. WHILE EVERYTHING IS EMPTY, THEY The sufferings of the hungry ghosts – DO EXIST – MERELY LABELLED BY the heavy suffering of hunger and thirst, MIND and on top of that the suffering of heat, So, while things are empty – everything is cold and exhaustion. The animal sufferings totally empty from its own side – they – extreme stupidity, being eaten by one exist. They exist in mere name, by being another, being tortured, heat and cold. merely labeled by the mind – which also Human beings’ eight types of sufferings – exists in mere name. Things exist as merely the sufferings of rebirth, old age, sicknesses labeled by the mind, which itself also exists and death; the inability to find desirable in mere name. Everything is unified with objects; even if found, the inability to find emptiness and dependent arising, as Guru satisfaction in them; and on top of that, the Shakyamuni Buddha realized and Lama fear and worry of separating from them; Tsongkhapa praised highly. Lama and finally, the five types of sufferings of Tsongkhapa himself also actualized this the aggregates. The sufferings of the sura emptiness – which is unified with and realms include the heaviest dependent arising, subtle dependent sufferings of the devas – the five signs of arising – this right view, this wisdom, impending death, always fighting with and

57 getting controlled by other, more powerful, bodhisattvas and all other sentient beings, devas and getting banished. may bodhicitta, the loving kindness It is only with this wisdom, this compassionate thought – letting go of the I particular right view, the Prasangika view, and cherishing other sentient beings, who that you can be totally liberated from the are the source of all happiness and success oceans of samsaric suffering – all the for myself and all other sentient beings – specific sufferings of each samsaric realm, be generated in my mind and in the minds and the three, four and six general of all sentient beings, without even a sufferings of samsara. By ceasing the cause second’s delay, and may that which has – delusion and karma – you can achieve been generated increase”. the sorrowless state of total liberation from Dedicate for all virtuous friends to have samsara, and only with this wisdom, the stable lives until samsara ends and for all Prasangika view, can you also eradicate the their holy wishes to succeed immediately. subtle defilements, achieve full “Due to all the past, present and future enlightenment and be able to do perfect merits collected by myself, buddhas, work for all sentient beings, leading them bodhisattvas and all other sentient beings – to enlightenment as well. which are totally non-existent from their I’d better stop here, otherwise we won’t own side – may the I – which is also totally finish until tomorrow morning! nonexistent from its own side – achieve To escape from this hallucination, to be Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s or liberated from this hallucinating mind, we Vajrasattva’s enlightenment – which is also take refuge and keep precepts. Refuge is totally non-existent from its own side – and the very foundation of the Buddhadharma, lead all sentient beings – who are also the gate through which we enter the totally non-existent from their own side – Dharma path. to that enlightenment – which is also We take refuge and vows to make totally non-existent from its own side – by certain that we practice, to make sure that myself alone – which is also totally non- we devote ourselves to actually practicing existent from its own side. Dharma. That is the fundamental reason “Due to all the merits of the three times for taking refuge and vows. In order to collected by me, buddhas, bodhisattvas liberate others from the hallucinating and all other sentient beings, from now on, mind, ignorance, first we ourselves have to in all my future lifetimes, may I be able to be liberated from the hallucination, from offer extensive benefit to all sentient beings the hallucinating mind, from all these and the teachings of Buddha just like Lama sufferings that we have been caught in Tsongkhapa did, by having the same since time without beginning, for qualities within me that Lama Tsongkhapa beginningless lifetimes. Thus, refuge and had. precepts are the basic means, the very “I dedicate all my merits in the way foundation of the path, for liberating both greatly admired by the buddhas and ourselves and others from the bodhisattvas of the three times and hallucination, from the hallucinating mind, realized by and from all suffering, and gaining the ultimate ”. happiness of the highest, full enlightenment. Teachings of Lama Zopa Rinpoche given during a Vajrasattva retreat at Land of DEDICATION Medicine Buddha, California, in 1999. “Due to all the past, present and future merits collected by myself, buddhas,

58 6. Purification: the Practice The reason to regret is based on the logic of karma: We experience everything due to of Vajrasattva in the Context our past karma, our past actions; so having of the Four Opponent Powers harmed others we ourselves will necessarily experience suffering in the future. Thus we cannot bear the thought of the future suffering that we ourselves will experience. And who wants that? We There is no negativity that cannot be know from the present suffering that we purified. The purification process is do not want it, so the logic is, therefore, to basically a psychological one. As Lama remove the karmic seeds before they ripen Yeshe says, it is our mind (and on the basis as future suffering. of that our actions) that create the Go through the three non-virtuous negativity and it is our mind that action of the body and four of the speech, transforms it by creating positive energy. regretting those we remember and those Although we rely on Buddha’s methods we don’t, in other words all the harm we for the purification, it is not as if it is have ever done to any sentient being since Buddha purifying us or forgiving us; we beginingless time. ourselves do the purifying. If we have taken vows, then we must We purify by applying, the Four regret having broken them specifically: Opponent Powers. pratimoksha vows, bodhisattva vows, tantric vows. THE PRACTICE For all of these, think like this: “I regret Prostrate three times then sit. Bring your from the depths of my heart having mind to a quiet state. harmed others, broken my vows, etc., because I do not want the future suffering. 1. THE POWER OF REGRET I am sick of suffering”. Sincerely regret, from the depths of your Then think, “What can I do about it? heart, anything you have done to harm any Whom can I turn to?” living being, on this day, in this life, in all past lives. 2. THE POWER OF RELIANCE As Lama Zopa Rinpoche says, “Not a. Refuge We rely upon, turn to, the only that, but continuously I have also Buddha, the doctor, who has the methods been breaking my pratimoksha, that we can use the purify. It’s not that we bodhisattva, and tantric vows. Worst of all, need Buddha to forgive us; we purify I have created the heaviest of negative ourselves by relying upon his methods. karmas in relation to my virtuous friends – Visualize Vajrasattva above the crown of getting angry at them, generati ng wrong your head. He is your guru manifesting in views, having non-devotional thoughts this aspect for your benefit. towards them, harming their holy body, He is in the bodhisattva aspect, radiant, and disobeying their advice. blissful white light. He is adorned with “Having these negative imprints on my jewels and silken clothes. He’s sitting mental continuum is unbearable. It’s as if cross-legged on a white lotus, which I’ve swallowed a lethal poison. I must although born out of mud is untainted by practice the antidote right away and purify mud, just like our enlightened potential, all this negative karma immediately, which is born out of our delusions but is without a second’s delay”. untainted by them. His face is radiant and beautiful. His eyes are long (horizontally)

59 and peaceful and full of love and Then remember those who have harmed compassion for you. His mouth is red and you: have compassion for them because very sweet. His hair is black and held up in they will suffer as a result of the harm they a top knot. have done to you. Guru Vajrasattva’s right hand, holding a Make the strong aspiration to do this vajra, which represents compassion and practice of purification for the sake of all bliss, is at his heart; his left, holding a bell, these sentient beings. “I must purify for which represents the wisdom realizing their sake”. emptiness, is resting in his lap. On a moon disk at Guru Vajrasattva’s 3. THE POWER OF THE REMEDY heart stands a HUM encircled by a garland This is the actual medicine, the doing of the of the hundred-syllable mantra. actual practice of purification. There are Think: “Vajrasattva is my root guru, the three stages to the meditation, and it holy mind of all the buddhas, the consists of visualization and recitation of dharmakaya, who out of his unbearable mantra. compassion, which embraces me and all other sentient beings, appears in this form a. Purification of body to purify me and all others”. Guru Vajrasattva very compassionately Now invite the wisdom beings to merge sends powerful white nectar, like coming with your visualization, the commitment out of a hose very forcefully, from his being: imagine light goes out of from the heart. It arcs around and enters your crown HUM at Guru Vajrasattva’s heart to all the and pours into your entire body, filling ten directions and hooks the energy of the you completely. It keeps coming and it body, speech and mind of all the forces out of your lower orifices all the enlightened beings of the universe. This harm you have ever done to any living light comes back and dissolves into the being with your body in the form of inky heart of Guru Vajrasattva, who now liquid, which pours out of you and embodies all their energy. He is even more disappears into space, not one atom left. brilliant and blissful than before. Feel completely purified. Now, say a prayer of refuge: Recite the mantra as you visualize (3 or 7 or as many as you wish): To the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha OM VAJRASATTVA SAMAYA MANU I go for refuge until I am enlightened. PALAYA / VAJRASATTVA DENO PATITA / By this practice of meditating on Guru DIDO MAY BHAWA / SUTO KAYO MAY Vajrasattva BHAWA / SUPO KAYO MAY BHAWA / ANU May I reach Buddhahood so as to RAKTO MAY BHAWA / SARWA benefit all sentient beings! MEMPAR YATSA / SARWA KARMA SU TSA MAY / TSITAM SHRIYAM KURU HUM / HA b. Compassion In order to develop HA HA HA HO / BHAGAWAN / SARVA compassion, we need to rely upon other TATHAGATA / VAJRA MA MAY MU TSA / beings, the very beings we have harmed VAJRA BHAWA MAHA SAMAYA SATTVA / and who have harmed us, by developing AH HUM PHAT! compassion for them. Think in particular of people you have Then be delighted that all the harm you harmed recently; and in the past; and then, have ever done to any sentient being with in general, all beings we have ever harmed your body is completely purified. And since beginingless time. think that there is no way you could do

60 anything but benefit others now with your dispelled. So, just as the light hits your body. heart chakra, the darkness of the negativity of your mind – all the attachment and b. Purification of speech neediness, the anger and violence, the Again, Guru Vajrasattva very happily depression and resentment and jealousy sends powerful nectar from his heart and bitterness, etc. – all instantly dispelled, chakra. It arcs around and forcefully enters not one atom left. your crown, filling your entire body, this Recite the mantra as you visualize this. time forcing up to the top of your body all the negativity of your speech, which overflows and disappears into space, not OM VAJRASATTVA SAMAYA MANU one atom left – just like, as Lama Yeshe PALAYA / VAJRASATTVA DENO PATITA / says, when you turn on the tap in the sink DIDO MAY BHAWA / SUTO KAYO MAY and fill the dirty glass, all the junk in glass BHAWA / SUPO KAYO MAY BHAWA / ANU comes to the top and overflows. RAKTO MAY BHAWA / SARWA SIDDHI So imagine that all the gossip and harsh MEMPAR YATSA / SARWA KARMA SU TSA speech and useless speech and lying and MAY / TSITAM SHRIYAM KURU HUM / HA talking badly about others behind their HA HA HA HO / BHAGAWAN / SARVA backs – all this is purified by the powerful TATHAGATA / VAJRA MA MAY MU TSA / nectar filling you. VAJRA BHAWA MAHA SAMAYA SATTVA / Recite the mantra as you visualize this. AH HUM PHAT!

OM VAJRASATTVA SAMAYA MANU Again, be delighted that all your PALAYA / VAJRASATTVA DENO PATITA / delusions, which are the source of our own DIDO MAY BHAWA / SUTO KAYO MAY suffering and the cause for why we harm BHAWA / SUPO KAYO MAY BHAWA / ANU others with our body and speech, are RAKTO MAY BHAWA / SARWA SIDDHI totally purified, gone, finished. MEMPAR YATSA / SARWA KARMA SU TSA Think: there is no space in your heart MAY / TSITAM SHRIYAM KURU HUM / HA now for anything but love and kindness HA HA HA HO / BHAGAWAN / SARVA and forgiveness and wisdom and bliss and TATHAGATA / VAJRA MA MAY MU TSA / compassion. VAJRA BHAWA MAHA SAMAYA SATTVA / AH HUM PHAT! d. Purification of even the imprints of negativity of body, speech and mind Again, feel so happy that your speech is This time imagine that Guru Vajrasattva now completely purified. And imagine sends light again and it fills you that it’s not possible that you could do completely and eradicates even the subtlest anything but benefit others with your imprint of negative energy from your speech. mind. (It’s like once you removed the garlic from a jar, you still need to remove c. Purification of mind the smell.) Again recite the mantra. Third, Guru Vajrasattva now very compassionately sends powerful beams of OM VAJRASATTVA SAMAYA MANU laser light from his heart chakra, which PALAYA / VAJRASATTVA DENO PATITA / arcs around and enters your crown chakra DIDO MAY BHAWA / SUTO KAYO MAY and fills your entire being – just like, as BHAWA / SUPO KAYO MAY BHAWA / ANU Lama Yeshe says, when you turn on a light RAKTO MAY BHAWA / SARWA SIDDHI in a room the darkness is instantly MEMPAR YATSA / SARWA KARMA SU TSA

61 MAY / TSITAM SHRIYAM KURU HUM / HA oneness”, as Lama Yeshe would say. HA HA HA HO / BHAGAWAN / SARVA Meditate on this. TATHAGATA / VAJRA MA MAY MU TSA / VAJRA BHAWA MAHA SAMAYA SATTVA / Next, as Lama Zopa Rinpoche AH HUM PHAT! recommends, meditate on the emptiness of the three circles: “In emptiness, there is no Now feel you are completely purified, I, creator of negative karma; there is no not one atom of negativity left in your action of creating negative karma; there is ; even the subtlest obscurations no negative karma created”. Place your to omniscience have been removed. mind in that emptiness for a little while. In this way, look at all phenomena as empty – they do not exist from their own side. 4. THE POWER OF RESOLVE The fourth step in the purification process, and such a crucial one, is the determination DEDICATION PRAYERS not to harm with our body, speech and Finally, dedicate all the merit, the positive mind again. Without this, we keep doing energy, you have created by doing this the same old things. The determination, the purification to all living beings: aspiration, to not harm again is like a beacon that guides our body, speech and As a result of the three-times’ merits of mind in new directions. Remember, as myself and others, Lama Zopa Rinpoche says, “Everything May bodhichitta – from which the exists on the tip of the wish, the happiness of all sentient beings aspiration”. comes – If you have taken vows, then think, “I Be generated in the minds of self and will never break my pratimoksha vows. I other sentient beings without delay, will never break my bodhisattva vows. I even for one second. will never break my tantric vows and And that which has been generated, commitments”. may it increase. As for our other old habits, if we can’t commit to never do them again, then don’t As a result of the three-times’ merits of lie to ourselves, as Lama Zopa Rinpoche myself and others, says. So think carefully and then decide to May emptiness be generated in the refrain from them for a year, a month, a minds of self and others sentient day, even a minute – whatever is realistic. beings, without delay, even for one Then in general vow to make the effort to second. avoid the others. And that which has been generated, This determination not to do again is may it increase. what gives us the strength to change. As a result of the three-times’ merits of CONCLUSION myself and others, Guru Vajrasattva is delighted with us. May I, who am empty form my own Wanting to merge with your mind, he side, melts into white light and absorbs into you Achieve Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s through your crown. Think: “My guru’s enlightenment, which is empty from body, speech and mind, Vajrasattva’s its own side. body, speech and mind, my own body, And lead all sentient beings, who are speech and mind: same thing”. “Union- empty from their own side,

62 To that enlightenment, which is empty and stable realization of the ultimate from its own side, nature of phenomena As quickly as possible, by myself, alone. SUTO KAYO MAY BHAWA please grant me Whatever dedication the Victorious the blessing of being extremely pleased Ones Gone to Bliss with me Of the three times have admired as best, I shall also perfectly dedicate in the SUPO KAYO MAY BHAWA bless me with the same way all these roots of virtue nature of well developed great bliss So that I may perform good works. ANU RAKTO MAY BHAWA bless me with the Because of the past, present, and future nature of the love that merit created by me and by the leads me to your state Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and sentient beings, SARWA SIDDHI MEMPAR YATSA please May I, my family, students, and all grant all powerful att ainments sentient beings SARWA KARMA SU TSA MAY please grant all Be able to actualize completely in this virtuous actions very lifetime Lama Tsong Khapa’s path of unified sutra and tantra, TSITAM SHRIYAM KURU please grant your Which is pure like refined gold. glorious qualities May this pure teaching of Lama Tsong Khapa HUM the vajra holy mind Spread in all directions and flourish forever. A HA HA HA HO the five transcendental wisdoms ------BHAGAWAN one who has destroyed every THE MEANING OF THE MANTRA obscuration, attained all realizations, and passed beyond suffering OM the qualities of Buddha’s holy body, speech, and mind; all that is auspicious SARVA TATHAGATA all those who have and of great value realized emptiness, knowing things just as they are VAJRASATTVA the being who has the wisdom of inseparable bliss and emptiness VAJRA MA MAY MUTSA do not abandon me VAJRA BHAWA the nature of indestructible SAMAYA a pledge that must not be inseparability trangressed MAHA SAMAYA SATTVA the great pledge MANU PALAYA lead me along the path you being; the great being who has the pledge, took to enlightenment the vajra holy mind

VAJRASATTVA DENO PATITA make me AH the vajra holy speech abide closer Vajrasattva’s vajra holy mind HUM the transcendental wisdom of great DIDO MAY BHAWA please grant me a firm bliss

63 PHAT! clarifying the transcendental wisdom of inseparable bliss and emptiness and destroying the dualistic mind that obstructs it

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THE FOUR TYPES OF KARMIC RESULTS THAT THE FOUR OPPONENT POWERS PURIFY

1. The power of regret purifies the experience similar to the cause, which, let’s say for killing, is to get killed, to die young or to get sick.

2. The power of reliance, Refuge and bodhicitta purify the environment result, which for killing is living in a place where the food and medicine are not conducive to good health.

3. The power of the remedy, in this case the visualization and recitation of mantras – or whatever action one does as the actual antidote – purifies the throwing karma that causes birth in the lower realms.

4. The power of the resolve or determination not to do again purifies the action similar to the cause, which in a sense is the worst result: it’s the habit to keep killing, which propels one back into the lower realms.

By Robina Courtin, based on the teachings of her lamas, Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

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