LAM RIM TEACHINGS VOLUME II INITIAL SCOPE thoroughly revised edition

Gehlek Rimpoche teachings 1987 - 1991

Jewel Heart Transcripts 2005

Jewel Heart First edition 1993; revised 2005

© Ngawang Gehlek All rights reserved.

CONTENTS

HOW TO TAKE THE OUT OF LIFE: INITIAL SCOPE

VIII Precious Human Life: Embracing Our Life 5

IX of Death: Facing Death Realistically 25

X What follow Death: The Sufferings of the Lower Realms 55

XI Going for : Taking a Safe Direction in Life 65

XII : Actions and Their Consequenses 97

APPENDICES 125

Questions and Answers 127

Outlines 135

Charts 142 - Chart 3: Six Desire Realms - Chart 4: Form- and Formless Realms

Root Texts 145 - The Three Principles of the Path – by Tsongkhapa - The Foundation of All Perfections – by Tsongkhapa - Odyssey to Freedom in 64 Steps – by Gehlek Rimpoche - Lines of – Dudon – by Tsongkhapa - Lamrim von – Lamrim Dudon (German) - Seeking Inspiration to Realize the Stages of the Lam Rim – from Chöpa

LITERATURE 163

INDEX 175

Crossroad

VIII PRECIOUS HUMAN LIFE: EMBRACING OUR LIFE

Introduction Human life, found but this one time, More precious than the wish-fulfilling gem, So hard to regain and so easily lost, Is brief as a flash of lightning. Seeing this, discard worldly activity like the husk of a grain And strife day and night to take life’s essence. I, a , did that myself; You, O liberation seeker, should do likewise. Je Tsongkhapa, Song of the Stages in [Lamrim Dudon], vs. 10

When you are going through this particular path, three most important steps are involved.1 Step one is: knowing the difficulties of samsara and the qualities of .

Samsara. Samsara means the circle of life: going through one life after another, birth followed by death and death followed by an intermediate state [Tib. ] and then by birth again. The continuation of that is what is basically referred to as samsara. If you ask yourself what my samsara really is, it is again the con- tinuation of that. Not only of me as this person, but the continuation of taking one identity after another. Samsara is: the continuation of taking an identity by the forceful power of karma and delusions. That indicates that we don’t have the control. There are who have control over their future : those who really have a true recognition of the true , of emptiness, but are not free from samsara yet [Skt. aryas]. That continuation of one life running after another, like the arms of a clock, is samsara; the discon- tinuation is nirvana. Basically you could say: samsara is suffering and nirvana is peace.

The wish for freedom. The first thing here is seeing the circle of life, seeing what problems we face, what sufferings we have. Suffering is almost the nature of the life we have. By seeing that carefully and by also seeing the qualities of nirvana, one develops a certain important wish to be able to obtain nirvana. We have a basic feeling of seeking peace and we recognize that having sufferings and pains is not having peace. We seek peace; not having peace is feeling miserable and difficult, and having peace is feel- ing nice and relaxed. Take that into a broader picture. See how far the difficulties that we face cover our life, and how far peace covers our life. Try to distinguish the area of suffering from the peaceful area. See the problems here and see the qualities over there. Then raise the question, “What do I want to do now?” Look carefully and then say, “Hey, that is great. I want to end this, I want to end the pains and prob- lems that I constantly experience. If there is another state, I would like to have that state.” You develop that by an intelligent way, which means: balancing and judging what is here and what is over there and then making the decision on the basis of: what is good for me. That is the first step.

1 Rimpoche most probably refers to the three principles of the path: 1) determination to be free, renunciation, seeking freedom or love for oneself; 2) or altruistic ; 3) wisdom or the right . 6 Lam Rim Teachings

What blocks us from freedom. When we try to get that first step, what problems will block us to reach it? The problem that blocks the first step, is nothing but attachment: the attachment to the comforts we ex- perience, not necessarily the material comforts alone. How do they become obstacles? We probably spend a tremendous amount of time fulfilling the desires of the physical, mental and spiritual comfort feeling, or at least we spend a tremendous amount of energy and time on maintaining its status quo. We put a lot of time and energy into material comforts, which is probably meaningless. Not because in the end it is emptiness; it is meaningless even just as it is. On top of that we want mental comfort. And we also seek spiritual comfort. We think we are working for spiritual benefit, but if you dig deep into it, it could be simply attachment. Attachment of bringing me to either state of comfort, material or spiritual or emotional. That is how attachment blocks the true comfort the individual can really get at the end. These states somehow pull all your attention. By knowing that, by thinking about it and meditating on it, you’ll finally be able to see what is really good and what is really bad, what is really suffering and what is really a cessation of suffering. From there one can make the decision of seeking true peace, nirvana. Renunciation. Somehow in the Buddhist tradition what you seek is presented the other way round; instead of presenting what you want, things are presented in terms of what you don’t want. Instead of say- ing: seeking nirvana, we say: renouncing samsara. Instead of saying, “You can be happy and great this way and that way”, Buddha goes on saying, “Hey, this is suffering, that is suffering!” That is the way Buddhism introduces things. Glued to samsara. Attachment to this life is easier to renounce than attachment to the future lives. Par- ticularly those of us who claim to be seeking a spiritual path, seek a future-life benefit. To Buddha attach- ment, whether for this life or future life, is attachment. It is bad, it is an obstacle, it is a delusion, it is the glue of the continuation of suffering. If there is no attachment, there will not be a continuation; if there is no con- tinuation, the individual will not stick to samsara. There are two major glues to samsara: one is attachment for this life, the other one, even bigger and more difficult to separate, is attachment for future lives.

Embracing our life. That is, accepting our life with its qualities. What makes it possible to have such a for- tunate, precious life? How is such a precious life found, by what cause and by what circumstances? And how long will it last? Meditating on these points will make you loosen your attachment for the comfort of this life. Precious human life, gained but once, Has great potential, but is easily lost. Empower me to remember this constantly And to think day and night of taking its essence. Je Tsongkhapa, Foundation of All Perfections Precious human life. When you read here ‘precious human life’; what does it mean? Obviously we are not talking about the mere fact that human life is precious. It is true, human life is precious, but we are talking here about much more than that. We are talking about the value of the life that we, you and I, have here to- day. We have to see the specific qualities of such a life as we have, the capability and the opportunity, in the traditional way counted as eighteen different qualities2 of a precious human life. Not only seeing it, but seeing it well, will help to recognize it preciousness. We all know how precious human life normally is. In addition to that we have extra-ordinary quali- ties, mixed with opportunity. We have the opportunity to end the continuation and the sufferings of having one life after another. We can end that for good and achieve something greater, the greatest stage [buddha- hood]. That is the real quality. And that quality is not shared by every human ; it is not shared by all our educated colleagues and friends – even your roommates may not share that. We do have that quality, and that is really important, but it is very fragile. This is the basis of the opportunity, counted in these eighteen qualities. This is the key.

Gained but once. You may not be able to take advantage of all these qualities if you don’t have the oppor- tunity. Even if you have the opportunity right in front of you, somehow you may not be able to take it; just

2 Eight leisures and ten opportunities. See page 9ff.

Precious Human Life: Embracing our Life 7 because your priority is different, because you are not interested, because you don’t believe it. That is what I mean by: it is very fragile. On top of that we have a very shaky ground. We don’t see the qualities of nirvana, because that is something to be experienced. You can’t talk much about how nirvana is; it would be like a blind person describing to another blind one what white looks like. Our ground is that shaky. Therefore, the interest and the inspiration to get that is limited. If you look carefully into the whole circle of life after life, this precious life is obtained once in a blue moon. That also is very fragile, because of the conditions and the atmosphere around. It was said to be fragile in , it is even more fragile in the west: extremely fragile. If one has love for oneself, one should really take care of that. Point one here is: recognizing and ac- knowledging the qualities. Try to gain benefit of it, try to habitually build the appreciation of preciousness. That is what you should do. That helps you to be protected from the fragile condition. Not only is our precious human life fragile from the atmosphere point of view, it is fragile as our life itself is fragile. Who knows how long one will live? You can lose your life by death any minute. You can lose the preciousness of your life by the influence of friends, by pressure in the work, by family pressure. All of those will contribute. And if you lose it once, can you easily get it back? This precious life is like having a shirt with a sentimental value, you really take care of it. If you see it in that manner, it will help to loosen the strong attachment for the comfort of this life. Embracing life will give you the inspiration to continue with the practice.

Great potential. The potential is to be able to cut the continuation that brings suffering after suffering. In a Buddha has mentioned: If you would have saved the corpses of the lives you went through, The universe would be too small to contain them. If you would have saved the blood of the lives you went through, The ocean would be too small. That indicates how much we have gone through those sufferings. The sufferings that we have in our life, are nothing compared with other lives. The life we are enjoying here, is one of the good ones, and even in this life we experience so much suffering and pains. So what about other lives? The ending of this continuation of suffering is in our hands. Buddhism provides the opportunity to do that. That makes it great. Very few spiritual paths will offer this. Many of the so-called spiritual paths will offer you comfort in life, health, wealth, mental peace or a little bit of psychic powers. offers getting free from samsara. Above that introduces you to go deeper and go to the point of saying that even nirvana is suffering, too. They bring in the ultimate state of a buddha, the enlightened state. That is totally free. If this life is so valuable and precious, can you achieve the buddha stage within this lifetime? says, “Yes, you can” and makes it possible. That is what Vajrayana offers.

Easily lost. We do have a great potential but we can easily flip off it or get burnt out. Any excuse we may have and I don’t think anybody else loses with that except the individual. Then there are external things, like life-threatening events and illnesses. Also there are conditions. Some people really like to go this path, but somehow can’t do it, because of external conditions. The common threat to our life is death; it’s hanging over our heads like an axe. We really are ready to go any minute. Death doesn’t need an appointment, it catches you right there. In one way our body is strong, sometimes no matter what has happened you still exist, but in another way it is very fragile; a tiny little thing goes wrong and that is the end of it. The conditions for dying are countless and the conditions for survival are few.

Meditation. The purpose of meditating on this is nothing more than trying to loosen the attachment for this life, showing you how meaningless the comfort things are. By recognizing this, what do we expect to gain? The desire to take full benefit out of this life. Like a businessman takes every opportunity to make profit, likewise you have a great opportunity to get benefit and if you cannot take it, you are a fool. Not only should you take the opportunity; you also should not waste time.

8 Lam Rim Teachings

Not being able to take the benefit out of this precious human life, is an obstacle. The basic obstacle is not being interested. Another one is laziness, which is here: wasting time. Wasting time to gain that value and doing something else. We know what is good for us, but somehow we cannot get to it, we are distracted and do something else. Sometimes we purposely do things to avoid it, sometimes we are forced to. That is laziness, even though you may be very busy. That laziness will make you part from what you really want to do. Here you have to recognize the value of the life, embrace the life, acknowledge the qualities and also see how difficult it is to find such a life again if you lost it. It is not like changing clothes. We do favor reincar- nation, no doubt, but not having reincarnation is best! We can’t achieve anything better than that.

Reincarnation. Reincarnation raises sometimes very ‘romantic’ with people; they think it is like go- ing to the bathroom and coming back or like ‘changing clothes’. It is not like that. There is definitely rein- carnation, but it is very complicated. When you reincarnate you will be totally new. There is a tiny little part of you that you call your ‘self’, a very subtle ‘thing’ that continues, but the rest will be all new: new body, new identity, new nationality – if a human being at all – new look, new friends, new opportunities, all conditions new, everything totally new. You do not recognize anyone, you do not remember anything. Very, very few will have some memories, but if so those memories are often shaky and incorrect. Some may say, “Yes, I remember my previous life.” They close their eyes and get all sorts of funny pictures and call that a memory of a previous life. You say, “I exactly remember that situation and what it looked like and later when I saw it, it was the same.” It could be a glimpse of a certain part of memory, but nothing of that is continuing; it is a totally new situation. It almost seems like you are not the person. Almost. From the practical point of view, you are a different person. From the identification point of view everything is new. There is very little continuation. Yeshi Thabkye told it is almost like one candle lighting an- other candle: the continuation is the fire which goes from one candle to another. It is a new candle, new wax, new candle holder, everything different. If you are a Vajrayana practitioner, you know. All these twenty-five gross points have to be absorbed during the death stage. Absorbed is the word we use, but actually you are separating from, forgetting, loos- ening. Before you die you begin to forget everything of this life. We see that, we see it with dying people. We say that he or she no longer recognizes the friends. What is happening is that the memories are loosen- ing. Recognition is based on our memory. Memory is a mental faculty. We drop all the faculties, so the memory is going too and finally you leave the body and everything is gone. It will be totally new and eve- rything will develop anew. And it is very hard to get the same type of opportunity.

Beginning of the path. What we need is a mind of seeking benefit from this great condition. Here is the be- ginning of the path. The guru-devotional practice is the root of all development. This subject is the begin- ning of the path. The first path is embracing the life. The first thing is: you see what you have and how valuable it is and recognize it. And then you see: if I lost it could I easily find it again? No, definitely not. The chance of having these conditions is very little and the chance of getting different conditions is very big. Therefore while we have this in hand, you want to be better than a fool, so you do something. The Ka- dampa masters have said: Somebody finds a bag full of gold dust. The guy is very happy and carries his gold dust on his shoulder. There is a hole in his bag, and wherever he walks the gold leaks away. If that happens to you, how sorry you are going to be. You should feel more sorry than that, because the value you lost is far beyond the value of the gold.

Practice The essence of what you hear or read you bring into your head. And when you say in your , “Precious human life, gained but once…” you should be able to bring up the important points, the punch points, and see how it affects your rough mind. Present the ideas to your rough mind with a little punch and see how much you mind accepts them. Once our mind accepts something, it gets incorporated and as a result your way of living and your habitual patterns will change. Each one of these changes that take place, will affect your life positively. Your output will be different and will have a stronger . It affects the individual and others too. Helping others means: helping through this way, the spiritual way. That is how it should work. That is called practice, the essence of practice.

Precious Human Life: Embracing our Life 9

1. Taking the essence out of life3 a. Embracing our life – recognizing our precious human life This is not the introduction of life, we all know. Buddhism introduces the leisure and opportunity part of life. We are all busy people who are constantly short of time, so we need the leisure and the opportunity in our lives. These are the qualities we have in our lives. According to the teachings of the Buddha we have eight leisures and ten opportunities, even though we say we don’t have time. i. The eight leisures4 What are the eight leisures? Actually the life we have just now, just here, is really a very, very important life. In the teachings Buddha has given an example. If a very poor man has a very big lump of gold and he does not recognize it as gold but uses it as a cooking stone, it is very wasteful. Similarly we don’t recog- nize the importance of this life and we definitely waste a tremendous amount of time and energy. Instead of getting ultimate benefit we try to gain temporary benefit. This is how we waste our time. Not by doing nothing; that is very rare, we always do something. But not doing the correct thing is how we waste time. According to there are four non-human leisures (or leisures from the point of view of be- ing a non-human), and four leisures of humans (or leisures from the point of view of being a human). 1) Upholding wrong views, 2) Being an animal, 3) A or 4) Being born in hell, 5) Being without a Victor’s teachings, 6) Being born in a remote place, or as barbarian, 7) Or as idiot or mute 8) Or as a long-lived god. Any of these rebirths is one of the eight Faulty and unfavorable states. Because you have gained a favorable state Free of these, strive to prevent yourself From being born in these ever again. Nagarjuna, A Letter to a Friend [Suhrlekkha], vs. 63-64

1) Not being a hell-being [Skt. ; Tib. myel wa] If we were born in the hell realm today, we would have a tremendous amount of pains, sufferings and mis- eries. Therefore there would be no time for us to do our practice properly. When we don’t have time we cut out our practice. Since we are not in the hell realm we have one of the leisures. Suppose you have a cigarette burning on your head, then it is impossible to do meditation. The hell realm is so terrible! I have to talk about it. The general idea of a hot-hell realm is like having a red-hot burning Chinese wok, putting a little rat in it and trying to fry it – then see how much suffering the rat will have. If in my own normal body somebody would forcefully try to fry me – Hitler put so many people in the gas chambers and Mao Tse Tung did the same thing – and you would tell me, “Go and meditate”, would that be possible? It would not be possible at all. Similarly, if you are in the hell realm, the suffering of the hot hells and the cold hells is a hundred thousand times more than being totally burned on an ordi- nary human level. So, practice is almost out of the question when you are born in the hell realm. Luckily, at this moment we are not born there, so we have time to practice. That is a leisure.

2) Not being a hungry ghost [Skt. , Tib. yi dag]

3 Literature: Pabongka , Liberation in Our Hands, vol. II, p. 72-95; Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, p. 307-325; Tsongkhapa, The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, Lamrim Chenmo, vol. I, p. 117-128; L.S. Dagyab Rinpoche, Achtsamkeit und Versenkung, p. 94-108; Geshe Rabten, The Essential Nectar, p. 196-201, p. 67-78; Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, An Anthology of Well-spoken Advice, p. 140-162; Geshe , Joyful Path of Good Fortune, par. 121-143; Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, Tibetan Tradition of Mental Development, p. 39-48; Geshe Thubten Loden, Path to Enlightenment, p. 197-224; Kathleen McDonald, How to Meditate, p. 62-67. 4 Other translation: eight freedoms.

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Similarly, if we were born as a hungry ghost, we would not be able to practice. What happens when you are very hungry? Suppose you did not get food for two or three days. You have come from a distance, you are really hungry and reach a place where you see a house. The door opens and you go in. They welcome you and say, “Welcome.” You say, “I am hungry, please give me some food.” They say, “Very good but let us have some meditation first and then we will give you food.” Probably you will not be able to bear it and really can’t meditate. If you sit down you probably only think, “Food! Food!” Nothing else. No way. Similarly, if we were born today as a hungry ghost, what would we do? We would be rushing around everywhere, trying to find even a single drop to drink. The sufferings of the hungry ghosts are so painful. You have no idea how hard it is. Their problem is that they are always hungry and they can’t get anything because of their karma.

The example of the glass of water. In ’s Guide to the [Skt. Madhyamakavatara], an example is mentioned. Suppose you have a glass of water and you look at the glass of water, what will happen when you have a human being, a samsaric god and a hungry ghost there? For a human being this glass of water is a glass of water and he can drink it, it serves the purpose of a glass of water. For a sam- saric god this glass of water is a glass of nectar and it serves the purpose of nectar to him. Hungry ghosts will not see this glass as a glass of water. They will see a mixture of blood and puss and cannot consume it at all, even if they try it forcefully. They are so hungry and so thirsty, yet if they drink it they catch fire within their body and it gets even worse. It is because of karma that this happens. This is not a joke or a lie, it is truly what happens. Some of the hungry ghosts are even in the human land, people encounter them sometimes. Some of them are tremendously rich, yet they cannot use their wealth, they are hungry all the time. They are de- scribed as having a huge stomach, almost like a little hill. The hands and legs are thin like straw. They have knots in their throat, three or four, so nothing will go through. Their body is very thin and completely covered with dust. From time to time fire flames come out of their mouth. When they look at a river, by virtue of their karma the river dries out; they cannot consume the water. There are also some hungry ghosts which are powerful; that is different again. In general these are the sufferings of the hungry-ghost level. But it is better than the hell realms. If we were born a hungry ghost today instead of being a human being, we would not have the leisure to practice ; that would be difficult. You know, the hungry ghosts and the samsaric gods do have some karmic power: they know, they can think, they can understand. If they could do a little more practice they could cut samsara, they could cut their terrible life and get a better life. However they can’t do it. They can’t hear it, they can’t understand it, they don’t meet with the teachings, they don’t get the teachings and they can’t practice. It is so painful. They know it and that makes them to suffer even more. Today, fortunately, we are not a hungry ghost. If so there were no time for us to do any practice. We are not a hungry ghost, we do have time. That is a leisure.

3) Not being an animal [Tib. du dro] If you were born as an animal, what would happen? What can animals know? They are very intelligent, no doubt. But no matter how great their intelligence might be, they are not like us. We are much more intelli- gent than they are. If you have to teach a dog a single word, like taking refuge, or Amen or Mani Padme Hum, it is almost impossible. And thinking is even beyond that. I know there are animals which are very intelligent, but it is not like we are. That is it. We have a life that is not really pressured by the suffer- ing of the hot and cold realms nor by any realm such as the animal realm, so we do have a tremendous amount of leisure time.

4) Not being a longevity god [Skt, ; Tib. lha] Longevity is gained by the people who do a lot of concentrated meditation, who sit and sit and sit. By con- centrating, you know, watching the mind and sitting, you gain some power to suppress delusions. Longev- ity gods have that power, but not from the right motivation. One of the lucky brought them to that level, which is even higher than that of ordinary samsaric gods.

Precious Human Life: Embracing our Life 11

When they are born longevity gods they think, “Yes, I am born in the god realm” and when they die they recognize they are dying. In between that they sit in . There is complete harmony, tremen- dous peace and they are sitting there, doing nothing, quiet, no noise, even more quiet than the woods. It is like – I have no experience – if you smoke something. They get an active mind twice: when they are born and they acknowledge they are born, and when they die and they acknowledge they are dying. In between that they will sit for millions of human years, until the samadhi power is over. Again, it is karmic power, it is a samsaric level. Until the good karma they have built up is exhausted, they will sit there in complete harmony, with no pain, no misery, no feeling; almost like a vegetable. They don’t even recognize what is happening. When the power of karma is finished then, “Oh, I am dying, where will I be born?” They do not even have time to actually think. Shariputra had a disciple who died and was reborn as a samsaric god. Shariputra chased him up there in the samsaric god level, but that disciple had ‘forgotten’ his practice, he was not interested in study. He just raised his hand and ran away. They have no time because they have pleasures. When there is too much pleasure the pleasures will draw your attention and you can’t do anything. Like I do, I watch television. I have never seen television in childhood; that is why I am fascinated and I do nothing else.

Can you see it? Please open your eyes. If you have no intellect, you have harmony and peace alone, it can be like being a vegetable. A lot of people think harmony and peace and tranquility is something great, is a spiritual achievement. Certainly not! The lucky karmas bring that. When I say lucky karma I hope you do know: good and bad works are good karma and bad karma. But, if a karma has no influence of bodhicitta, of renunciation, or at least seeking a better future life, then no matter how powerful it may be, it is no direct cause for liberation or enlightenment. Being wealthy, born as a Rockefellers son or something, is one way to use such lucky karma. Another way is this longevity god vegetable-like life – a sort of pleasure the body and the mind are sort of soaked in completely. That is all. Since we are not born as a longevity god, we do have time, we do have leisure. These are the four leisures from the non-human beings’ point of view. Out of the human beings there are also four.

5) Not being born in a place without dharma If you are born and you have no contact with the dharma whatsoever then it is again not a leisure, it is not having the opportunity. If you don’t hear a sound of the dharma at all, no matter in whatever place you are born, it is missing an opportunity. If you had been born before Buddha appeared in this world, then the teachings would not have been available. So then, although born as a human being, having all other qualities, as the teachings were not available, you would not have the opportunity. We are fortunate enough of not having taken birth before enlightened beings appeared in this world. So we have that leisure.

6) Not being born in a place where you can’t practice You know, there are also places where by law you cannot practice dharma or by nature you do not even get to know about it. Or even if you know it, you do not have an interest in it whatsoever. All these are other disadvantages for us. Since we are not in that category, we are very fortunate to be able to practice and to be able to cut the root of all our problems and develop total enlightenment. So you should really think every time, “Ah, I am not in that category, so I am fortunate!”

7) Not being mentally disabled Even when you are born in a central place (that is from the Buddhist point of view a place where the teach- ings of Buddhism are growing and four practitioners of Buddhism are available), even when you are born there but you would be disabled, then even though the teachings are available and you may have a little bit of karma to connect with all this, you cannot practice dharma. We are fortunate enough not to be born dis- abled. Mental disability is more important here than physical disability.

12 Lam Rim Teachings

8) Not having wrong views Wrong viewing is this. Although you may be born intelligent, although you have been educated and every- thing is perfect, you say, “Well, what is this nonsense about future life? Who has proved it scientifically? Who has seen it? Where is Buddha? Where is Jesus Christ? All this is a joke; this is just to cheat people. There is no such thing as past, present and future lives, nor . It is just to make you afraid of dying, to create fear, and if you can prove that you are not going to die everything will be disman- tled.” No. You do need fear, sure, but you don’t need the fear of dying. You need the fear for the conse- quences of bad work coming on you. That does not necessarily come in future lives; that can come in this life also. That fear is needed, not the fear of dying. Some people will tell you, “Oh, this Buddha, enlightenment, dharma, God, it is all rubbish.” Then there are persons who will try to convince you that there is no such thing called karma. This is called logta: you don’t believe or accept it till it falls on you. It does fall on one’s body sometimes. When you have to pay with your own body, your own experience, it is really hard. It is not paying money out of your pocket; it is paying out of flesh and bones, experience and feelings. But then there are people who refuse to accept anything until its experience falls on their body. By that time it is too late. Wrong view is one of the worst non-leisures. If you are suffering in the hell realm, in the hungry ghost realm or in the animal realm there might be a small way to work yourself out, even though not com- pletely. But if you have the wrong view, there is no way you can do anything! That is why the wrong view is considered to be so bad. There are people who have this. I don’t blame them. They have their own way of thinking, their own way of understanding. I cannot say they are wrong, although according to the many of the great masters, according to what they tell us, according to the words they have left us, it is. The teachers say this is a danger and this will really hold you back from all your practice. All the oppor- tunities you have just now will be wasted by this one only. You may be in the hell realm burning in a hot charcoal fire, but you can still think, “How can I get out from here?” You can pray and do things. Even though there is no way to practice the whole path and develop and so forth, it is still possible a little bit here and there. But with the wrong view you will never be able to do it!

9) Ninth leisure Then there is another one, a ninth non-leisure. It is not a wrong view. People with this non-leisure do ac- cept dharma is there, liberation is there, enlightenment is there, but even though they accept it, they don’t take the matter seriously. They take the method as .5 They build up knowledge only. They have quite good information from here and there, yet this information remains as information, to talk or write about or to build a name with, but not to develop oneself. With that mind the person sits at this side and the information is on the other side. Like a computer that gives all the information when you push a button; you can use it in any manner. But that won’t do, that won’t do at all! This is another non-leisure, because in such a case you collected all the information, stored it and built it up, and yet you still have such a rough mind. A person with a rough mind is someone always thinking of things like, “How can I build up? How can I take advantage? How can I do this, do that?” Always concen- trating on “How can I, how can I?” in the wrong way. If you have every Dharma information collected in a computer and you leave it over there, it will have no effect on the individual whatsoever! Intellectual knowledge only cannot help you! It harms you in the long run, it drags you down. Not only that. That way you are also misusing the spiritual information. You may say it is for helping somebody, but in it is not helping anybody, only ‘helping’ yourself to gain money or something. That is also the ninth non-leisure. We have to say that we are fortunate enough not to be in that category. We have to think, “I am fortu- nate enough not to be a wrong-viewer. I am fortunate enough not to be misusing spiritual information by printing it out.” That is what we call looking outward instead of looking inward. When you look outward you will have an outside effect. You can look at various things. If you only want to collect information on the spiritual path, you’ll find there is no shortage of Tibetan resources. In the Library of Congress there are one hundred and thirty thousand different volumes are available so far. And that is not even one percent of the available literature. There is no shortage. But information will not help. Information must mix with

5 For a slightly different interpretation see volume I, index entry ‘ninth laziness’.

Precious Human Life: Embracing our Life 13 your mind and the mind must be soaked in it and then you become a better person. That is where spiritual practice comes in. This ninth one I told you is really a danger for us. The more knowledge, spiritual information you get, the more the danger will become. So please be careful! I beg you. Really, if you want spiritual develop- ment you have to be careful on that point. If you really don’t care to have spiritual development, if you simply want to be somebody, okay, go ahead, I don’t care. But if you want spiritual development, really think carefully, be careful! ii. The ten opportunities6 They are divided in: ƒ five that pertain to self ƒ five that pertain to others.

Five favorable conditions that pertain to self Being human, being born in a central region, having complete sensory faculties, having reversible karma, and having faith in the source. , Sravaka levels [Yogacarya-bhumi]

1) Being a human being We are born as a human being; that is the most important endowment that we have. Out of the beings of the six realms, the human beings are the best. They have the capability of doing anything they want to do. If you want to use this capability to build a good life and become rich, healthy and famous, you can do it. That is one way of putting your aim. If you put your aim in a different way, if your aim is to get better, it is possible for you at the human level: 1) If you want the guarantee that your future life is not going to be in the lower realms, at the human level you can do it. 2) If you want to obtain the level, cut samsara totally out, gain control over living, dying and re- birth where and when and how, get the control in your own hands, at the human level you can do it. 3) If you want to obtain the ultimate enlightenment within the very short period of this lifetime, with the practice of Vajrayana7 that also is possible at the human level. Even at the level of the samsaric gods you can’t do those things, but at the human level you can. So, it is very important to be a human being.

Wish-fulfilling jewel. The great masters have compared the human life with a wish-fulfilling jewel and they found it even more valuable than that. If there were such a thing as a wish-fulfilling jewel, then what can it do? It can cure you from illnesses, give you a little more money, fulfill a little wish here and there, that is all. It will not be able to help you not to be born in a lower realm in the future; not at all. Within your human life, with your efforts, you can definitely do better than a wish-fulfilling jewel. Suppose you put a wish-fulfilling jewel equal to your body-size on one side of pair of scales and your human life on the other side, and suppose you have to make a choice, which one will you choose? As a material person you choose the jewel, because you can wear it and you can get enough money for it to live comfortably after that. As a spiritual person you will definitely not choose that; you will choose the human life, because it enables you to achieve ultimate enlightenment. So, to be human is so important You really have to realize how important it is. We tend to ignore it. That is why Buddha said: A poor man found gold but did not know it was gold. All the time he used it as stone for the stove to cook on. It remained there and he remained poor throughout his life. Just like that, if we do not recognize the value of our life, we’ll keep on wasting it.

6 Other translations: ten fotunes, the ten enriching factors, the favorable conditions, the ten endowments. 7 Using maha-annutara practice.

14 Lam Rim Teachings

2) Being born in a central region, where the dharma is flourishing You are born in the center. That means: a place where the four-fold assembly of practitioners of Buddhism are available. That means: full-fledged monks [Skt. bikshus], full-fledged nuns [Skt. bikshunis], male and female lay disciples8. Earlier in India they used to call as a central place, the place where Buddha was born and where Buddha taught. But that was further explained and proved to be wrong. It says: Wherever the teaching is, wherever the practitioner is, that is the central place. In other words: wherever you are, is your center. You are in the center. If you practice you are in the center of practice, if you do not then the central place is left out for yourself. One of the disciples of a Kadampa lama went to his teacher and remarked to him, “It is so bad nowa- days. It is a degenerated age, a dark age. People are so bad and this and that. It is so terrible.” This Ka- dampa lama, called Geshe Potowa, replied: Whether it is a degenerated age or a dark age in general does not matter. We must see that we ourselves are not degenerated. We must see that we ourselves are not in a dark age. The general Buddhism does not belong to us. Whatever our individual practice is, that belongs to us. If we are degenerated in our individual practice, then we are in a degenerated age. Whatever the year is, what- ever is happening in general does not matter. That is what the Kadampa geshe said and that is true. Whether there are practitioners, whether there are teachings available, if we have our own individual prac- tice we have our individual center there. If we don’t have an individual practice, we don’t live in a ‘central place’. That is it.

3) Having complete sensory faculties9 Having all senses available. That is also very important. A lot of people think, “Oh, as a practitioner the senses are not important.” They are. [They enable you to listen to and study the dharma, think about it and meditate on it.]

4) Having reversible karma [This point refers to not having wrong views as a result of irreversible karma10]. I already explained the wrong view in the eight leisures.

5) Having faith in the sources That is having faith in the Buddha, dharma and . Some people may think, “He says that if you do not do that, there is no way to develop spiritually.” I am talking about the things I know, and so I am talk- ing from a Buddhist point of view. I do not mean that other traditions don’t have a path. No. I am talking here about total enlightenment. I am not talking about ordinary liberation, I am not talking about a slightly better life, I am not talking about security for a future life, I am not talking about the right or wrong sight on God, I am talking about the ultimate enlightenment. This is the path we know, and it has Buddha, dharma and sangha as objects of refuge. The most important refuge is the Dharma, because that is the medicine against our neuroses. So, faith in the sources means: faith in Buddha’s teachings, packaged in three ‘baskets’: the teachings directly deal- ing with wisdom [Skt. ], the teachings directly dealing with insight and meditation [Skt. sutra], and the teachings directly dealing with and rules [Skt. ].

These are the five favorable conditions from the point of view of the individual. Now the five that pertain to others; from the point of view of time.

Five favorable conditions that pertain to others

8 Traditionally instead of lay disciples novice monks and nuns are mentioned. 9 Buddhism recognizes six sense-organs: the five well-known sense-organs plus the mind. 10 This refers to the five extreme negative karmas – the five limitless non-. See Glossary.

Precious Human Life: Embracing our Life 15

That a buddha has visited, that the sublime teaching is being taught, that the teaching remains, that there are those who follow it, that there is caring for others. Asanga, Sravaka levels [Yogacarya-bhumi]

6) Being born in the time of the Buddha That means, being born in the time that Buddha appeared.

7) Being born in a time that the teachings are available Suppose you were born before Buddha. You wouldn’t know the teachings; no dharma would be there. Even if Buddha came but you died before he gave his teachings, it did not serve any purpose. We are for- tunate that we don’t live in that period. If you were born after the Buddha and the teachings were gone, practice would not be available. Then, again, it would be a dark age. We are fortunate not to live in that pe- riod. We are born after Buddha in the period that the teachings are available. Even though Buddha is not actually here today, his representatives, the spiritual masters, the sangha, are available. Therefore it is as good as having Buddha alive.

8) Being born in a time that the teachings still remain Not only has Buddha been living but the teachings remain continuously. What is meant by that? If the books are available, it does not mean the teachings are available. The books have information but they do not have the teaching. Information alone can never develop a spiritual path, can never develop a person! It has to be realized. That is very important.

9) Being born in a time that practitioners of the dharma are available Not only is information available but also there are practitioners available. Practitioners who practice themselves and who develop themselves and who can show the path to you. That is why not only the teachings are available but also the practitioners are available. The path is available to you. Normally it is said it is a degenerated age: only the teachings, the messages, are available but there is not really much practice and development available. But, whether practical development is available or not depends on the individual. As I have been telling you earlier, it is the same thing: it is the individual who really has to build himself up and when you have that development within you then it is the result period of the teach- ings of the Buddha, not the cause period of this teachings.

10) Being born in a time that there is caring for others and results are available Not only are the teachings of the Buddha are available these days, but the essence of Buddha’s teachings has been presented by a number of different scholars and saints. They have gained a tremendous amount of experience and clarified and taught in detail. And not only that. The great teachings of Tsongkhapa really have a tremendous amount of benefit for us. It looks like I am making sectarian propaganda, but the true thing is that wherever there is a problem of spiritual development, wherever there is hardship, Tsongkhapa has provided a way to work on it. He taught special techniques11 and fortunately different traditions are now picking up those techniques. We are really fortunate not only to be living during the teachings of the Buddha, but to have special techniques, which were taught by Buddha, practiced by many scholars, further developed by Tsongkhapa, tested by many of his disciples and proven to be correct. This is how the great masters cared for others and all that is still available. We should really feel fortunate to be in that.

What is dharma practice? Now you should think quality-wise. You may think that the life we have today is rubbish, you may think is useless, hopeless and helpless. But think carefully: this is the life in and with which you can really achieve

11 On the level: the nine-round meditation on mindfulness of death; the eleven stages for the development of bodhicitta. On the Vajrayana level: several techniques.

16 Lam Rim Teachings all the results and qualities. The opportunities and the endowments I talked about, are really available in this life. One has to recognize that. There are people who collect all the information but they do not apply that to their mind. The mind becomes rougher and rougher, the information becomes richer and richer. Then what will happen? That person becomes wild by dharma information and when you become wild by dharma information, you can- not control your mind. At anything you will apply to the mind, the mind will reply, “Yes, yes, I know that.” There will be no way to develop your mind. At any information you go, “Yeah, yeah, I heard about that, I read this and this, but no, no…” What will happen? As a result the mind becomes very, very hard. There is no way to help on that. What is real dharma practice? Your mind has to become soft. You have to have mental development. Mental development develops within you. You know it when it develops. When you don’t know it, you don’t have it! It changes your way of thinking, it changes your way of working, it changes your way of - plying things. If you are someone who always gets angry, and if by the dharma information your thinking and your meditation, your anger has become less, it is helping. If you are a very proud person and if by ap- plying dharma your ego is loosening and your pride comes down, it is helping. But if instead it is boozing up, then it is harming. This you have to know. When you get angry and you have no hesitation to shoot somebody, but if by building up this information you think, “Hey, what about it?” and you have a hesita- tion, then it is great. It means the dharma is working, the spiritual path is taking effect. If you are a proud person and by collecting this information you think, “Hey, yes, I know about this but it is not affecting my mind much, I realize that” and the pride is then going down, it is wonderful; it is working. But if you still go, “Yes, I know about that, I heard about it, I read it here and there”, it doesn’t help. Actually, you’ll find nothing which you never heard or read before. Even said, There is no path which nobody can tell you, which nobody taught earlier. Information is available. If your aim is just to get the information and that is all, and you don’t apply it, what is the use? It is like visiting a museum. You see the collection, you know everything about it and you go, “This is this, this is that”, like a guide. Does that help? No. You must have the information with you and apply it to yourself. Your mind has to be soaked in it. You have to develop. You have to become a better person. That is how you have to do it.

Meditation on the recognition of my precious life What I have been talking to you about until now was an explanation of what the eight leisures and the ten endowments are. Now I will give you a short and practical way of meditation. That conclusive meditation is as follows. You sit down and meditate, you visualize that you are in a certain category. You put yourself in the category of the hell realm, you imagine the suffering and all these things. And you say, “If I were really born in a hell realm I really would have tremendous pains of heat and cold. There would be no way for me to do anything. Just now I meditated in that way, but I am not really in the hell realm yet; therefore I am happy, I am really fortunate that I have the opportunity to practice.” Similarly you visualize yourself in the hungry-ghost realm. Similarly you visualize yourself in the animal realm. Similarly you visualize yourself in the realm of the longevity gods. And you say, “If I were born as a samsaric god then I would have a lot of pleasure and playing, and I wouldn’t want to think of misery and problems and suffering, so I would have no spiritual development. I am fortunate not to be born as a samsaric god, because there is such tremendous pleasure and everything, that I would not be able to do dharma practice. Therefore I am fortunate to be here. Even when born as a human being, suppose I were born in a place where there is not a sound of dharma, where not a spiritual sound can be heard.

Precious Human Life: Embracing our Life 17

Or, even when I would hear it I wouldn’t like it, I wouldn’t want to practice. If I were in that cate- gory, again, I would not have the opportunity. If I were deaf, dumb etc. I wouldn’t have the opportunity. If I can’t read, if I can’t hear, how can I learn, how can I get the information? There is no way. And even if I am born in a central land, a center of practice, but I have a wrong view, then I will not even take refuge, I will not even have the opportunity to say a single . I have enough fortune not to be in that category. Even if I am born as a human being and know of the buddhadharma, if I were a slave of somebody who didn’t give me the opportunity to rest for a single minute, I would not have the opportunity to practice. I am fortunate enough not to have that. Even if I have the opportunity; if I am very wealthy and I have to spend all my time worrying about money, if I am a person who is in charge of a big cooperation where I have to carry all re- sponsibilities, then I don’t have much opportunity to do anything. Similarly, if I am a businessman totally involved in clever business all the time, if I spend all my time thinking about how to make money, then the spiritual development is the last valuable thing to me and everything else is more important: to open my store, to stick to my deal, etc. When opening the store is more important than having a spiritual practice, then, again, I am not having the opportunity. Then, of course, even if I consider myself to be a spiritual practitioner and carry the name of a spiritual practitioner, but do not know what is spiritual, how to develop, what is the path, what are the involvements, again, I don’t have the opportunity. At least we know what our aim is, we know we are going to learn it, we know what the paths are, how we are going to reach up there, what the ways are. Since we have all this, we are fortunate. Then, even nowadays, when I am so much influenced by attachment, so much influenced by anger that my practice cannot go straight, when I am tied by anger and by attachment that pull me way backwards, again I am losing my opportunity. I am fortunate enough not to be under this category. Even though I consider myself to be a practitioner: if I do not practice, always run around doing pujas and organizational things for other people, then I also do not have the opportunity to practice dharma, because the time is mostly spent on this. Even when I know the path and I have the information but I somehow cannot apply the informa- tion to my mind, I am losing the opportunity. Just now I have such a great opportunity. If I want to do a good dharma practice I have all the op- portunities, I can do it. I don’t have to depend on some or some single little practice. Here I have a complete and perfect path, where I can learn, think and meditate. Even if I’m still only pretending to be thinking, pretending to be meditating, it is already very fortunate. How happy I am. How fortunate! How wonderful that I have this opportunity. I realize, again, this opportunity is not given in the hell realm because of the sufferings. This op- portunity is not given in the hungry ghost realm because of the hunger and thirst. This opportunity is not available in the animal realm because of the lesser intelligence. This opportunity is not available to all human beings because of many things: e.g. being too rich, having too much work, having too much business. Even education will push my opportunity away. Some opportunity I lose because of playing, some opportunity I lose because of watching television and some opportunity I lose because of being too talkative. Most of it is laziness. The time will come that the body and the mind are not capable any more. Within this short time, if I keep on talking and gossiping, then I lose the opportunity. Although I know a little bit about dharma but if I cannot have a good renunciation, a good giving up of the life, that is also withdrawal of opportunity.

18 Lam Rim Teachings

I am fortunate not to be caught in this withdrawal of opportunities. And if I am, somehow I have to make best use of it: I must not lose the necessities of life, yet I must take time to practice. I’ll have to learn it and try to live with that. Not only do I have the opportunity but I am also endowed, rich: rich with the body, with enough material to live, rich with wisdom, with enthusiasm, rich with faith, rich with a spiritual master, with the teachings of the great Tsongkhapa. All this I have. To have eighteen important things together at one time is almost impossible. However, the impos- sible has become possible with me today! I recognize that and I am very happy about it!” b. Understanding its value – contemplating the importance of this life i. Ultimate benefit Ultimately what do we want? Every single living being wants happiness, with or without realizing it. What we don’t want are miseries and problems. Look at anybody. Whether they like it or not, whatever they do, they do for their happiness. Whether it really brings happiness or not, they think they are working for hap- piness. No matter to whom you look, everybody is working for happiness. It may actually be creating mis- eries or problems – who knows? That does not matter; still it is a sign that everybody wants happiness. What is happiness? Peace? Harmony? Pleasure? Plenty of money? Wealth? Health? Health is impor- tant and so is wealth, but it is not happiness. We don’t really know what happiness is, yet we are looking for it. We work for wealth because it seems closest to what we can get as happiness, because we can buy anything we want. But we also have to realize there are certain things which you can’t buy. ƒ Ultimate happiness means: lesser pain, lesser possibility of miseries and problems. If possible it has to be total enlightenment, being totally free of faults and have total knowing. What the western under- standing of God is, you can think of as enlightenment. That is the best, if you can do that. Don’t be afraid to aim for that. ƒ Then secondly: total liberation from samsara, the circle of . ƒ Then, at least a guarantee not to fall in the lower realms in the future. These are the good, medium and ‘bad’ happiness. Other things are not happiness, even though you may think so. Take anything in this world. Wealth gives you misery, heat gives you a problem, cold gives you a problem. When it gives you a problem, it is the sign of being in the nature of misery. For example: when you are feeling hot you want to be cold, so you go outside and take a few deep breaths until you start shiv- ering, then you want to go in and get warm again. Companionship, money, wealth, sex, anything we con- sider to be happiness is not happiness, because it brings pain, which is the sign of it not being happiness. There’s pain because of too much of something, or because something does not work exactly the way you want it to, so you get hurt, you get misery and problems. Those are the clear signs of these things not being happiness. That means you must look for happiness beyond those, beyond what we can see and feel. Unfortu- nately we are in the samsaric karmic result. Samsaric karmic results by nature collectively produce a pain- ful area, so whatever you do, it has pain. You have to see beyond that. That is why I introduced to you the good, medium and ‘bad’ level. These are happiness, because too much of it will not give you pain and there is not something which doesn’t work the way you want it to; everything is perfect, no fault. Total enlightenment is totally faultless; that is the best Even the arhat level, being liberated from sam- sara, is okay; you gain quite a lot of control, you really don’t have much pain there. There may be direct pains and there may be indirect pains. You know what direct and indirect pain is? Direct pain is like being sick yourself and indirect pain is like the pain you have when somebody else is sick. So, happiness is where there are no faults, where there is no suffering. When you really want benefit, you want ultimate benefit and this can be obtained within this lifetime. Particularly with the Vajrayana practice, with the great teachings of Tsongkhapa [you can achieve it]. It is said, If there are a perfect spiritual master and a perfect disciple together, can be produced like with Play-Doh. Like that. If there are a perfect spiritual master and a perfect disciple together, buddhahood – the best level – can be produced like you can make something out of play-doh. If not, the second level of cutting through

Precious Human Life: Embracing our Life 19 samsara can be achieved. If not, then at this time at least you can achieve the guarantee of not falling into the lower realms. ii. Temporary benefit Temporary benefits are also important. As I mentioned to you, not falling into the lower realms or achiev- ing whatever kind of life you want – as a samsaric god or a human being – you can achieve by this. A good future human life can be achieved on the basis of good morality. You can have a perfect morality, at least on one point, for example on non-killing. That is something you can also achieve in this lifetime. The direct cause for a good wealthy future life is generosity, which you can create in this life. If you are stingy in this lifetime you’ll be poor in the future. Not only in the next life. Even in this life you can see that if you are stingy you become poor, if you are generous you become rich. If you want good compan- ions, you have to have good patience. If you don’t have good patience, you won’t have good companions. Patience also brings good looks. So, whatever you want, good retinue, beauty, whatever, it can be achieved in this lifetime. In short, Buddha said: Anything you want to achieve, a better rebirth, like being born in the god realms or wealthy in this life, you can do yourself. If you work there is nothing which cannot be delivered by this body. This life is something which can deliver you anything you want to. If you want to become a king in a god realm you can do it. You know, there are god kings. I am not talking about a type of being, but in the god realms there are kings. Even if that is what you want, you can achieve it – as the story will tell you.

Longdol Lama. In the seventeenth century there was a great master, called Longdol Lama. In the begin- ning he was very poor. Later on people gave him so much that he became one of the wealthiest Tibetans – just an old monk. But he never kept his wealth, he never thought it belonged to him, never. He had donated the biggest golden butter lamp, which is in the front of the central image of Chow in the central temple of . When I was a kid, about eleven or twelve, standing next to this lamp I was almost just as big. It was a huge one; three people had to lift it; pure gold. He never thought money was his, he just distributed everything. He wore filthy, torn clothes all the time and he gave away everything to the monasteries, monks, nuns and beggars. The Longdol Lama distri- bution was really well-known. He used to pile his things up and after a year he started his distribution. First he gave golden objects to the images, after that he made a distribution to the monasteries, after that he made gifts to the beggars. He used to distribute to the beggars something like a hundred kilo of barley flour, a hundred kilo of wheat flour and a hundred kilo of butter. Never before in history had there been gifts like Lama Longdol’s. At the end of his life he made a request to the Third – he did not go there but sent somebody with some gifts – asking whether his wish could be fulfilled or not. The Panchen Lama thought for a little while and answered shocked, “What?! I didn’t realize this old little monk has such a big desire.” What was he wishing for? To become the king of . He had devoted his total lifetime to this. Spiritually he was very highly developed, qualified to be the king of Shambhala, and he really wanted to be that. That is why during his lifetime he had done nothing else but giving. The Panchen Lama told the messenger he was shocked about the desire of the old little monk, but however, “Please, tell him it is guar- anteed and fulfilled.” So, even if you want to become the king of Shambhala, this life can provide it.

In this life you can develop bodhicitta and become a Mahayana practitioner; no other life can do this. said: Bodhicitta can only be developed by human beings. It cannot be achieved by the gods, Not by the hell realm people, nor by anybody else, like nagas, , rakshas and all others. A human being can really develop this. Look at . A naga king wears jewels and has a tremendous wealth, whereas Milarepa didn’t even have food to eat, that’s how poor he was. But Milarepa achieved ul-

20 Lam Rim Teachings timate enlightenment and the naga with all his wealth is still an animal. The between the naga and Milarepa is the value of the human life and what can be achieved through that. iii. Moment to moment benefit Even every second is important. Day by day, hour by hour, second by second, every moment is important. If you do something for one hour a day (purification, accumulation of , meditation), you can really achieve a lot. If you don’t do this then the time has been wasted. It will pass, hour by hour. Like with me; when I’m watching television one show after another will come; there is no end to it. If you really do something, with an hour of effort daily we can really solidly build a cause for ultimate enlightenment, a cause for liberation, everything. This life is so important. If you waste it, it is really regretful. When you do not realize how important it is, you can afford to waste it, but when you realize it you can’t.

The example of the Treasure island. If you waste your time, what happens? In the Buddha has given this example. A group of people goes to a treasury island, to collect jewels. You go with them and reach the island, you find the treasure yet you keep on playing, gambling and making debts and then you come back with empty hands. Then you are considered to be a crazy chap. You went to a treasure island with others, everybody came back with a lot of jewels and you returned with debts, because you’ve just been playing and gambling there instead of collecting. How wasteful it is.

By chance we have all the leisures and opportunities, and we have come here in this life. If we do not use the result and instead create a lot of non-virtues, debts, and go back again, we’ll have to suffer. This is how you think about the importance of life: ultimately, temporarily, and even its importance each hour and each second.

Meditation on the value or importance of this life Whatever I need, temporary or ultimately, I can achieve within this lifetime. I have a wonderful and fantastic life. This life, this body and this mind, are capable of delivering whatever I want, temporary or permanent. Whatever happiness I want in this life, this body is ca- pable of delivering. Day by day this life is important. If I can accumulate merit and do purification for one day, or even for a few seconds, if I can purify [bad karma] and create good karma, how important the ul- timate effect on me will be. My life is of much more importance than gold or silver. With gold or silver I can buy what money can buy but nothing beyond that. But the life I have here can deliver me much more because with this life I can achieve ultimate enlightenment. Therefore finding gold or silver is nothing; finding this life is much more important. Even millions of wish-fulfilling jewels cannot protect me from falling into the lower realms, leave aside gaining liberation or total enlightenment. On top of that, wish-fulfilling jewels can bring thieves and robbers, more danger, more to protect; they can create more trouble than help. So it is good that I don’t have a single wish-fulfilling jewel. But I have my wish-fulfilling life, which can fulfill all my ultimate and temporary needs. It is an important life, I am fortunate to have this. Not only that. I am fortunate to develop a mind with which I can practice. As the mind develops I can do , concentrated as well as analytical meditation together. From the ordinary level here, stage by stage up to the ultimate enlightenment, I can do overviewing meditations, I can do concentrated meditations, I can do analytical meditations, I can develop all the paths within me. This is fortunate. How happy I am. How fortunate I am. And I keep in mind: there is no that this life will continue for ever and I’ll find it again in the future.

Precious Human Life: Embracing our Life 21 c. Appreciating the rarity – contemplating how it is difficult to find The teaching tradition tells you three things about the difficulty of finding a precious human life: the difficulty from the viewpoint of the cause, an example of this, and the difficulty from the viewpoint of its nature. i. By cause – morality Basically anything that is good in our life is not that easy to come by, it’s expensive and it is difficult to sustain. Likewise, the human quality (which is a fantastic quality) doesn’t just come about without a cause; it takes a lot before it comes about, a lot of time and energy and lots of other causes. Otherwise every sin- gle sentient being would have been a human being. There wouldn’t be any cats or dogs anymore; the cock- roaches would be the only other beings left! There are a lot of other living beings around. Why then, are we human beings? Because [in the past] we happened to have created enough positive karma for us to be- come humans. When we talk about karma, we are talking beyond what we can understand with our normal human sense. For that we rely on what the enlightened beings see and what they say. What did Buddha say makes it possible to get a human life? The fundamental base is to have a perfect morality. On top of that a number of different positive karmas are needed to make this human life perfect. If we look within ourselves, we know how much perfect morality we have. We know that, so we can judge from there. As much seed as we sow, in autumn that’s how much we can expect the yields to be. We cannot expect anything we didn’t sow to grow. Nor will we expect a miracle to happen; if we sow chili, we certainly won’t expect it to grow sweet fruit! We know that doesn’t work. If we compare this to our sub- ject here, it works in a similar fashion. We cannot expect something to yield any result, if we don’t first put in something [as a cause]. To become a human being again we need a perfect morality. ii. By example – the blind turtle12. To illustrate just how difficult it is to find it, the Buddha gave he example of the blind turtle and the yoke. Somewhere on the vast oceans of the world floats a yoke, and somewhere in these oceans lives a blind turtle. This creature has to come to the surface of the water to breathe once every hundred years. According to the Buddha, the chance that this turtle would emerge from the sea with that yoke around his neck is bigger than the chance that a sentient being will be born a fortunate human being. iii. By nature [E.g. We can see there are far more non-humans than humans. It’s far easier to fall into a lower rebirth, than to reach a higher rebirth. So, from those points of view obtaining a precious human life is very rare].

When you meditate on this, try to think of two things. If these [positive karmas, especially perfect moral- ity] are the causes required for becoming a perfect human being, then how many of these causes are with me already? From that, you can judge whether or not you’re going to have a perfect future life. Whenever you do a Lamrim meditation, always go over the previous outlines and also the outlines to come. If you want to, you can do that by means of the Foundation of All Perfections or by means of Over- viewing the Stages of the Path in the Lama Chöpa. But wherever you are, you always concentrate on it! Like today’s material. Whatever I discussed here is no joke. I am giving you material to concentrate on, so try to review whatever I said. Particularly concentrate on the concluding meditations I gave. Concentrate properly on it. Until it has an effect on your mind you have to keep on concentrating on it.

12 Literature on the example of the turtle and the yoke: Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in Our Hands, vol. II, p. 89; Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, p. 319-320. Shantideva, A Guide to the ’s Way of Life, ch. 4, vs. 20: “The Buddha has said that like for a turtle to insert its neck into a yoke adrift upon the vast ocean, it is extremely hard to attain the human state.” Same work, note on p. 193 [sutra unknown]: “O monks, suppose that this great earth were to become an ocean upon which a sin- gle yoke were being tossed about by the wind and thus being moved from here to there. If under that ocean were a blind turtle, do you think it would be easy for it to insert its head into that yoke when it rises to the surface only every hundred years?” “No Lord, it would not”, replied the monks. The Lord then said, “In a similar fashion, O monks, it is extremely hard to obtain the human state.”

22 Lam Rim Teachings

Signs of development The signs of development for embracing the human life, are: 1) Appreciating the capabilities and becoming quite happy by realizing that it is sheer luck: how fortu- nate I am to be able to be in this condition. 2) Recognizing the importance of life will make you feel a pinch when you waste time. 3) Seeing how it is easily lost it will almost be impossible for you to sit idle. These are the signs. These are the spiritual developments of the beginning stage. When the person is on the level of developing that, it is becoming part of one’s life, it is adopted as a path. The inner development signs are shown by external actions. When it becomes part of you, your attitude and behavior will change. That is what I mean when I say, “When inner development comes, outer signs will show it.”

2. How to take the essence out of life That has: a) Initial scope: training the mind in the stages of the path common with the lower level b) Medium scope: training the mind in the stages of the path common with the medium level c) Mahayana scope: training the mind in the Mahayana stages of the path

The first part has two: i. How to develop the motivation: seeking happiness for future lives. ii. Actual method for achieving happiness in future lives The first part has two: 1) Mindfulness of death: facing death realistically 2) The suffering of the lower realms13

13 See overview Lamrim outlines on p. 135 and detailed Lamrim outlines on p.136.

“Kings will leave their estate, and retinue. Beggars will leave their begging bowl and stick.” medieval block print by Hans Holbein

IX MINDFULNESS OF DEATH: 14 FACING DEATH REALISTICALLY

Human life, … … so easily lost, Is brief as a flash of lightning. Seeing this, discard worldly activity like the husk of a grain And strife day and night to take life’s essence. I, the yogi, did that myself; You, O liberation seeker, should do likewise. Je Tsongkhapa, Song of the Stages in Spiritual Practice [Lamrim Dudon], vs. 10

Introduction: motivation and levels of the path For the benefit of all mother sentient beings I would like to obtain ultimate enlightenment. For that reason I will listen to these teachings. Not only listen, but think, meditate, practice, develop and ul- timately obtain enlightenment through this practice. After having obtained enlightenment I will come back and help all sentient beings, lead them through this path. With such a thought kindly listen to these teachings.

Mahayana scope. If you don’t generate this pure thought, then whatever time you spend here, will not be- come dharma work, will not even become a virtuous work. When you do generate such a thought, even sitting here idly will become a direct cause for obtaining enlightenment. The motivation that you generated makes the difference!

Medium scope. If you have the motivation of only cutting samsara and obtaining nirvana, then the activity you do here, the time you spend here thinking and listening and sitting, will become a Hinayana practice, common with the medium level. It will be a cause for liberation, nirvana, arhatship; not a cause for enlightenment.

Lower or initial scope. If you are just thinking of a good future life – I mean a future life after death – then it will only become dharma work. It will become a lower-level activity and it will be a cause for obtaining a good future life only. If you don’t even have that much thought, if you just like to listen or to see what is happening, without any good motivation or good thought, out of curiosity or whatever, it will not be dharma work. Then the re- sult will be according to the motivation, whatever it is. Since by nature this thought is virtuous, it will probably become what we call lucky karma, which may give you a little benefit in your life, in this life be-

14 Literature: Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in Our Hands, vol. II, p. 97-138; Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, p. 332-361; Tsongkhapa, The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, Lamrim Chenmo, vol. I, p. 143- 160; Hélène van Hoorn, Een Kaarsvlam in de Tocht; L.S. Dagyab Rinpoche, Achtsamkeit und Versenkung, p. 109-135; Geshe Rabten, The Essential Nectar,p. 201-205,p. 82-90; Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, An Anthology of Well-spoken Advice, ch. 6; Ge- she Kelsang Gyatso, Joyful Path of Good Fortune, p. 144-172; Geshe Thubten Loden, Path to Enlightenment, p. 225-253; Glenn Mullin, Death and Dying, the Tibetan Tradition; Lati Rinbochay and , Death, Intermediate State and Re- birth; Kathleen McDonald, How to Meditate, p. 68-88. 26 Lam Rim Teachings fore dying or a in similar type of life in the future. That is how it works. So, the best opportunity is to opt for enlightenment. Generate a thought in that way. Every action you do thereafter, benefits the bodhimind, as Shantideva says, And for him who has perfectly seized this mind With the thought never to turn away From totally liberating The infinite forms of life, From that time hence, Even while asleep or unconcerned, A force of merit equal to the sky Will perpetually ensue. Shantideva, A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life [Bodhisattvacharyavatara], ch. 1, vs. 18-19 Once you have developed or generated this pure thought, then even going to sleep or just sitting idle will become a good virtuous activity and a direct cause for enlightenment. It is the thought, the motivation, which makes the things different. Do kindly be careful on this.

1) Mindfulness of death: facing death realistically a) The disadvantages of not remembering death i) Our mind won’t turn towards the dharma This afternoon, I wanted to call someone, I tried to get the number from my watch which has all these numbers in it, but when I tried a sort of ‘zjimm’ came and everything disappeared: the time, the numbers, all was gone. It did not even take a minute; I was just watching it and suddenly it was lost. That little ex- perience reminded me: when we look at each other we see people doing things and suddenly, the next moment… gone. It happens a lot. We experience it every day. Maybe not personally, but we see it here and there. We all know that, right? Some people say, “When the time comes we go, okay that is it.” That is true, when the time comes, people go. But, is the time coming to me? Normally we never think about it. We keep ourselves so busy and – excuse me I must say it here – most of us are busy for nothing. Really. You may say, “That is not right, I am making money and time is money, so I am a busy fellow.” If money would be our purpose then you would be busy for something. But if money is not the answer, you are probably busy for nothing. As long as we are preoccupied with this life’s concerns, we won’t remember the dharma practice. The Seventh Dalai Lama says, This body, produced by a hundred auspicious deeds, More precious than God’s own crown jewel; And this human mind of unsurpassed potential, Found now at last and so difficult to regain; Directed at the things of this life alone, Guided solely by crazy darkness and delusion, Never once mixed with teachings or insight, To the vacuum of fruitlessness forever are lost. You who toss spiritual aims to the wind, You, crazed by evil spirits of greed, Forget all tales of the glories of And begin now to prepare for death. With nothing but false experiences of reality How can your mind be beyond fear? By years, months and days life slips away As the powers of body and mind steadily fade. Inspiration for Meditation upon Death15

15 Seventh Dalai Lama, Songs of Spiritual Change, p. 62-63. Also see the beautiful meditative poem Meditations on the Way of , p. 58-61, and in: Glenn Mullin, Death and Dying, p. 218-222.

Mindfulness of Death; Facing Death Realistically 27

We have a strong hold for food, clothes and a good name. We suffer because we have a strong holding onto either all three, to two or some to only one of them. Even those who claim to be spiritual practitioners may have that. Take a person like me. I cannot give up food, I cannot give up clothes, and naturally I look for a name, a good reputation, too. ii) Even if we remember the dharma, we’ll fail to practice it Je Tsongkhapa said in his Lamrim Chenmo: Everyone knows death will eventually come. Yet they cling to the thought “I will not die today, I will not die today” right until the moment of dying. Your deep desire will be for living rather than dying. Therefore you’ll get all these excuses, “Yes, I am sure I have to go, but not for a while.” You may even agree, “Yes, there is no certainty about the time of death,” but on the other hand, another part of your mind is planning something for next year or the year af- ter or maybe ten years after. This is our mind and how it functions. You do remember the dharma practice, but you don’t do it. iii) Even if we practice, it won’t be a solid practice There are persons who can give up food and clothes, but very few people can really ignore their name. Whatever we do, we always like to let the people know that we are somebody. We let the people know, “I am different, I am extraordinary, I am more capable.” This we have very strongly. Even people who sit in caves, who have shut their doors completely, who don’t meet anybody, even those sort of great practitio- ners who sit for twenty, thirty years in the mountains without meeting anybody, still have this problem. They can’t give up their name. They always hope that somebody knows they are existing in that cave and somebody will carry the message down to the village or the town. They hope that somebody will say, “He or she is great up there.” This hope even those people have, who are really giving up everything, who are living in a cave for twenty, thirty years. Some people can even give up food totally and live on pills. There is a pill called ‘essence’. Tibetan Buddhists do that very often. There are pills made out of flowers, out of stones; you eat one pill a day and then you don’t have to eat any food. A number of western people are doing that these days. Even those people would like to see that people know they are doing this. I have even seen a photo of a man living on pills and they tried to publish it. That is again because he couldn’t give up his name and hoped to become famous. The problem occurs because of not thinking or not meditating on impermanence and death. Ac- knowledging death and dying and the thought of impermanence has not developed within that individual. Therefore all this is done and all of that is against spiritual development. If you have a high spiritual development and your name becomes known through that, it is a different matter. But when people go out of their way to build their name, it is against their spiritual development. It blocks the spiritual development; it obstructs. Yet we will not give it up. It is very hard for us to give it up. We just stick to it, we hold on to it, we will even die for it. Why do we do this? Because our mind is not properly trained. In other words, we do not protect ourselves. We submit to our mind, we submit to the ob- stacle in the form of temporary benefit. That is why we get these problems. Even when you do dharma practice, you won’t do it properly because you are seeking short-term benefit. In other words, it is attachment for comfort, attachment for fame. That is what you are holding onto. That is why your dharma practice cannot be proper. Because it has attachment, it does not become a proper practice. iv) There is no perseverance Even when you try to do your practice properly, without mindfulness of death there is no proper continua- tion, no perseverance, no persistence, no pinpointing, you are not putting energy in it. Whatever you do, your practice will not be able to benefit you, because by not developing the understanding of imperma- nence, the continuation of putting strong effort into it will constantly be weakened and your continuation

28 Lam Rim Teachings of practice will be disrupted. And when it is disrupted it doesn’t give you much result. It has to be built up. Continuously! The three qualities of looking far ahead, being open-minded and being in tune, you have to keep con- stantly. Make constant efforts. You should not have a one-time renunciation. That will make you do it for a few days and then you forget about it. Why? If you don’t have the impermanence properly developed, your practice drops. So, unless you have constant efforts you can never get a result. Meditating one or two hours or a few days will not help. You need to do it constantly, every day, year after year, no matter what your occupations are. It doesn’t have to be too long. It can be short but really concentrated. Continuation is very important. If you drop it in between, nothing can happen; whatever you have built up a little bit, dis- appears and you have to start all over again. And that will not help. Do you understand? That disadvantage will come if you don’t think about impermanence. The moment you think about impermanence, death and dying, it will push you towards putting efforts in and efforts will continue. Just now when we do a good dharma practice or anything, we get tired. We cannot put much effort in it be- cause we are not thinking about impermanence.

Examples. There was a great Kadampa geshe called Karagpa. He always meditated on impermanence so he did not have time to do anything, even not to cut the grass. In Central Tibet you have these little thorn bushes. You can cut them and make a very strong fire from them. If you don’t cut them, they prick you everywhere. This geshe did not even have time to cut the thorns near the entrance of his cave, because all the time he was meditating on impermanence. He meditated to the extent that he couldn’t even afford to spend time to cut the thorns out of the way, because, as he said, “There is no time, death is coming, so I have to practice.” Some of these great Kadampa meditated on impermanence so long. I will tell you one incident. Kadampa teachers not only used to make offerings, they made a almost every day. Once one of the had forgotten to make a fresh mandala: he had made a mandala offering and left it. And you know how dusty Tibet is. The wind blows all the time and houses had no glass. So the mandala had become covered with dust. Drom Rinpoche, who was the commonly accepted teacher after the death of Atisha, came by and saw that the mandala had a lot of dust on it. Drom Rinpoche looked and said, “How come your mandala has a lot of dust on top of it? What are you doing?” “I have been meditating a little bit and forgot about it.” Dromtönpa replied, “Atisha had more and better meditation than you have, however in all my life-time I have never seen a dusty mandala offering by Atisha.” So, the great Kadampa lamas thought a lot on impermanence and sometimes they overlooked every other thing and spent twenty-four hours on it. Look into Milarepa’s biography16, Milarepa didn’t have time to stitch the bag in which he put his bar- ley flour, the staple food. He said, “If I stitch this, I waste my time for practice.” Half of the food ran out but even then Milarepa didn’t have time. This is how the earlier masters were really careful. Nowadays we don’t, we really don’t. Kedrub Je and Gyeltsab Je were Tsongkhapa’s most important students. After the death of Tsongkhapa Gyeltsab Je was acting as his chair. Kedrub Je was slightly young, he liked to enjoy life, go for a picnic, meet people, be nicely dressed and so forth; he was that type of person. Gyeltsab Je was very simple, just the opposite. One day Kedrub Rinpoche invited Gyeltsab Rinpoche for a picnic. He couldn’t refuse the invitation and he went. Kedrub Rinpoche had all his students together, was playing games, all sorts of things were going on and they were enjoying the picnic. Gyeltsab Je did not enjoy it at all; he very much wanted to go back. But Kedrub Je kept on saying, “Please, relax, sit and relax.” After some time Gyeltsab Je took off his hat and when Kedrub Je told him to relax, he said, “No time to relax” and showed his completely grey hair, meaning: it is time to die. Kedrub Je couldn’t say anything, quickly packed the picnic and they went back. That is what happened.

For us dharma practice is the last thing to do. Right? Almost. The most important thing is of course our bread and butter. Then the ambitious activities come, then this and that. So the dharma practice is the last one. Whenever we have the chance and the time, we do it, maybe; we can’t afford to spend two hours.

16 Lhalungpa, The Life of Milarepa.

Mindfulness of Death; Facing Death Realistically 29

That is because we really didn’t think properly about impermanence. And I do not believe such a thing gives really much result either. Not only this. If you have thought about impermanence carefully, every virtuous work you would like to do, you’ll be happy to do. With a hundred percent solid mind put together you like to do it, and that really gives you a different result. This benefit is not going to be there, because by not thinking of impermanence and death you can never put solid efforts in the dharma practice. v) We will be ruined by focusing on this life Not only will your practice be ruined, it will also ruin yourself. It ruins the individual person. How? By not thinking about death, every activity we do will be of benefit for this life only. Everything. When you are in your twenties and thirties you may be thinking that your future is in the forties and fifties. If you are in your thirties and forties you may see your future in the fifties and sixties; and if you are in your fifties you may be thinking your future is in the seventies and eighties; like that. This is the future we make for our- selves. This shows how little our mind is. This shows how pitiful our thoughts about ourselves are, how short views we have. If you don’t believe it, check your mind, that is what we do. Why do we have this thought? Because of not thinking, because of not meditating on impermanence, death and dying. In short, if the way we think about our future is, “If I do this I will be suffering at this age” everything will serve for the benefit of this life only. Even when you do some good work it will also be spoiled. It will not benefit your future, the hard life we have to face in a number of different lives; it will not act as a cause for nirvana, and the question whether it acts as a cause for enlightenment, does not even arise. This is how it ruins the individual. This is our life, our habit. Life after life we are ruining ourselves. If we would not ruin ourselves, we would be out of samsara, by now our limit would be different: we would have control over our life, be born when we want to, die when we want to, we would know exactly what we are doing and we could control it. We can not just now, because we keep on ruining our life; that is the habit we have. It is because we do not have development on being mindful of impermanence and death. If you put every effort into something comfortable for this life, then you will get angry with anybody who comes on your path. To anybody who is helping you in that direction, you develop attachment. Your aim is maybe to become rich, famous, wealthy and comfortable, so you put all your efforts into that direc- tion. Everyone who tries to block that direction becomes an enemy you get angry with; to anybody who is helping you in that direction, you develop attachment. In short, every single discomfort in your life, fighting, getting angry, getting upset, having low feel- ings, feeling guilty, is also caused by this. When you don’t meditate and don’t think carefully about death and dying, you will get all this. vi) We will have regret at the time of death This sixth disadvantage is the worst: at the time of death it makes us die with a tremendous regret, espe- cially those of us who think they are on the spiritual path. We think we are on the spiritual path and we give the picture to other people that we are a spiritual person. But what happens is that every effort we are putting into the spiritual field will always be for the benefit of this life, either to make more money or to make a name, to build attachment, to build hatred, whatever. And all of a sudden somebody will come and say, “Hey, it is time for you to go.” By that time you realize, “I have to go. All the efforts I put in, whatever I have built, power, wealth, empire, is no longer valid for me.” We can see that because of the little spiritual knowledge we have. We all will know: that cannot help. Then what exactly will help? Good karma, good virtuous work, which we don’t have. When at the time of dying you really count and see all the efforts you made throughout your life, the big empire you built, the wealth, friends, retinue or companions, all that cannot help. Then what can help? Only a good dharma practice. And if you count within you and you will not find a single solid one, then what will hap- pen? Then you’ll think, “My God, I wish I could live a few more days and could do something.” All this you will begin to think at that time, which is really bad. You can’t do anything then. Geshe Kamapa has said,

30 Lam Rim Teachings

One should be frightened of dying now, and when the actual death comes one should be traveling through it comfortably without any fear. But for us it is the opposite direction: just now we don’t care, but when the actual death comes we scratch our chest. That is what will happen. Actually, we have to be afraid of death now and at the time of dying we should not be afraid. This is very important – really. Look at all these great masters who have developed. They were really afraid of dying from the beginning. Look into the biography of the famous Milarepa, how scared of dying he was. Really, so much. But at the end he said, “Now I am not afraid.” I was so scared of dying That I ran away into the mountains. Now I developed myself, Even when death comes, I am not afraid. We do it the other way round. We refuse to think about it just now. And when we do think about it, some people will say, “Thinking of death is a ’s trick.” That is not right. This is not a religion’s tech- nique, but it is definitely affecting our life. Particularly against wasting our time this is the best method. This is why the sixth disadvantage of not remembering death is: at the time of death you will really regret it. Unfortunately those of us who are in the spiritual field, who know a little bit about what is good and what is bad, and those of us who also know what is going to be the future, will really regret it at that time. Then what to do? Then it is too late, much too late. At the time of death, no matter how rich you are, you leave everything; nothing can go with you, you go totally empty-handed. When you are really dying then you will know, “Now I am going to die.” Then you will really be afraid and you will have regret. At that time, when you find some spiritual teachers, you request them. And that is it. But it is too late by then, really. At that time you will say, “If I can escape the death this time then I will definitely do something, very definitely.” That is what we do all the time, you know. But then, in case you get better, you forget. All these things are happening because our mind is really not developed on this stage.

By not meditating on death we get all these disadvantages. The worst one is that at the time of death you have a tremendous regret. You know you had the method, you know you had the opportunity, you had every chance, the best that could ever be there, yet somehow you forgot about it and you let it go. Now it is time to die and you never know what is going to happen. We more or less know we have a tremendous amount of non-virtues that are bound to give results, but then it is too late, just waiting for minutes. That is what happens. That is the disadvantage. b) The advantages of remembering death i) Death meditation leaves the strongest imprint This first one is an important benefit. Buddha himself has said in the Mahaparanirvana Sutra, Of any footprint in the mud, the strongest imprint is from the elephant. It is strongest and heaviest, and sets best. Of all thoughts, the thoughts on impermanence and death Are the best to leave imprints on your mind. You understand what I am saying? No-one can leave a stronger mark than the elephant, because he is so heavy. Little puppies can even fall into that footprint, because it is huge. Similarly, no matter what thought you may use, what can really make a dent in your mind is the thought of death and dying. That is why Buddha recommended that. If we want to have a good future life, then we need to have a lot of morality, generosity, etcetera. In short, what can really bring a good future life is the practice on the three stages of development, that reach

Mindfulness of Death; Facing Death Realistically 31 up to enlightenment. That is the only thing which really gives benefit for future lives. No other benefit can get that. Try, meditate on anything, it won’t help you, I tell you the , honestly. Try to meditate on any- thing – leaving these three stages aside – meditation can build a tremendous amount of spiritual develop- ment, but every spiritual development will not necessarily give you permanent happiness. Sitting medita- tion can suppress all different delusions, to the extent that you almost totally forget about it, and it can give you tremendous harmony and pleasure. However, it is never the permanent solution, because if something happens you get a fall-back. In this path, the Lamrim stages up to enlightenment, every stage you obtain will after some time be a permanent stage and you never get a fall-back. Just now, yes, you can go up and you can go down. But af- ter some time it can become a permanent stage. When we call something dharma practice, we mean this, we don’t mean anything else. This one really gets you a perfect result; that is why it is important. And you will be able to put efforts into it, because of [remembering] impermanence. How was Milarepa able to do it? He did kill a lot of people, but he had regret. What really caused it? He saw somebody very close to him dying. That really made him think and he went into dharma practice. You can read this in Milarepa’s biography. Also look into the great mahasiddhas17, the great, fully developed persons. They are carrying skull cups, thighbones, skull damarus. This is not to show how fearful they are. It is to remind them of death and dying. Even on the level of those great you have to be constantly mindful of dying. To medi- tate and think of dying is very important from the beginning, it is very important in the middle, it is very important even in the end. It is one of the most important things you have to think about throughout. Also in the monasteries of those who practice sutra only, the yellow monks in Thailand that keep the vinaya rules18, you find drawings of skulls. And I am sure every religion has it. I am not familiar with other relig- ions, but when you look into Christianity or any other religion, I’m sure they have it too, otherwise there is no way you can go. They have to have it.19 Chen Ngawa20, one of the great Kadampa masters, has said, If you cannot meditate on impermanence or the dying stage in the morning, most of the day will be wasted by worldly activities, this life’s activities. Another master, Zangtsun , said, If I don’t meditate impermanence in the morning, till noon all my work goes for the benefit of this life. If I do not meditate on impermanence, death and dying during noon, then till the evening it works for this life’s benefit. If it goes for the benefit of this life, then it is not a proper dharma practice. ii) It is a powerful antidote to attachment and anger If you have a strong meditation and development on impermanence and dying, it is very powerful. It is like a hammer to hit attachment, to hit anger. When you are thinking of strong attachment, attraction for a person, a house, a benefit, anything, and you come in here and you remember dying, then, “Yeah, I forget about it, I’d better do something to bene- fit the future.” It can really hit you like a hammer. If you do not have that, your mind will sneak out anywhere, “This is good but I’ll do this and this.” All this sneaky business will be there. Remembering death can really hit you like a strong hammer: attrac- tion for a person, for a house, for money, for anything you have built up, will be cut by this. It is really powerful.

17 Great Vajrayana practitioners. 18 Rules of monastic discipline. 19 The catholics used to have such reminders. The carmelite monks always had a skull in their room and a skull standing on the dining table. At the beginning of the 40-day preparation for easter, a cross with ashes is given to the people with the words: “Remember, you are born out of material and you will return to dust.” In old medieval churches you see skulls in the wall and you see mural paintings with the dance of the death. All to remind people of death and impermanence. 20 1038-1103.

32 Lam Rim Teachings

That is a benefit: to cut the delusions. Also it is powerful to build merit. Not separate, but together. That is because every effort you’ll put in you’ll do wholeheartedly, no fifty-fifty business. It really pushes the person. That is the powerful benefit you get. iii) We will turn towards the dharma – important in the beginning Remembering death makes you to start practicing dharma. So it is important in the beginning. iv) During the stages of development we won’t fall back It is also important in the in-between periods, the period that you are practicing. Because you will become lazy, you will not be able to continue, you will withdraw, all sorts of escapes are there. All of those will be overcome by remembering death. People like us, we are in the in-between stage. In the in-between stage it is also very important, because it will really push you in. It will not let you draw back, take steps back- ward; it will push you into practice. v) We will attain the goal of enlightenment – important at the end At the end it is also important. Remembering death makes you complete your practice and pushes you to- wards enlightenment. This thought makes you to obtain enlightenment. That is why Buddha said, “It is the best thought.” It really pushes you, brings you in touch with total enlightenment. You are going to with- draw in between everywhere, because of laziness, because of lots of this and that, but this mind will really push you, put you in touch with total enlightenment. Are you getting me? So: in the beginning it is important because it gets you in touch with the dharma. In the in-between period it is important because it will make your practice perfect. And it is important in the end because it will see to it that you obtain enlightenment. vi) We will have no regret at the time of death Now lastly, just the opposite of the sixth disadvantage (which was: at the time of death you will have a lot of regret), here the benefit is: at the time of death you die happily and willingly, with satisfaction. That is the advantage: dying happily, willingly and satisfied. How? When death comes, some people will be very happy to die, because they are sure that this is the stage for them to obtain enlightenment, or whatever. Looking forward. Great Longdol Lama was always looking forward to it. He has said, I am not scared of dying. The body of an old monk in the early morning I will change into a young god in the evening. Buddha himself has said, If you are a best dharma practitioner You should not be hesitating to die. If you are of least quality You should not have regret at the time of death. How? Well: “I did whatever I could and I purified enough, I did whatever I could, so now when I die it is okay, I have no regret for whatsoever.” Milarepa said: I was scared of dying and ran into the mountains. And now I have developed, I understood the nature [of reality], So when the death comes I am not scared. Now to conclude: You have the six advantages and the six disadvantages. You have the six advantages of remembering impermanence in general and the death in particular and six disadvantages of not thinking, not meditating, not gaining the development of the impermanence in general and the death in particular.

Mindfulness of Death; Facing Death Realistically 33 c) The actual meditation on death i) The nine-round meditation on death This is very important! It is one of the special qualities that Tsongkhapa introduced. As I always say, Tsongkhapa’s teaching has extraordinary qualities: wherever there are difficult points he has extraordinary techniques to apply. The nine-round meditation here is such an extraordinary technique that Tsongkhapa introduced. It is based on the texts of Buddha’s teachings. It is special, because your mind can really poke into it. And it is very important not to mix up the outlines. In one teaching you are not going to be perfect at all, but you can reach to some extent. I may have received the Lamrim teachings some thirty times. I cannot claim I meditated and developed, but I attended the teachings at least thirty times. When you hear it for the first, second etc. time; every time you hear it there is an extra thing that develops within you. When you think and meditate it benefits you. It is also interesting that when the spiritual masters give the teachings they don’t discuss the same thing all the time. They talk slightly differently here and there. That is why you always pick up something [new]. Foremost important, particularly when you are practicing, is not to mix up the outlines. The outlines are actually not outlines, but the steps you take. These are spiritual steps. This is the spiritual staircase, really. With each of these outlines you take a step, you take a higher step, and then ultimately you reach to the enlightenment. It will really lead up to that level. That is how it works. The nine-round meditation has ; three reasonings for each root, and three resolutions. The three roots are: ƒ Death is definite. ƒ There is no certainty of the time you are going to die. ƒ At the time of death nothing but dharma can help.

(1) First root: death is definite (a) No power can stop it

The death stage will definitely come and there is nothing that can really stop it. We have to die; there is no way we can live forever. Why? Because of three things: The body. No matter what type of body you obtain, there is no way it can ever remain. The place. There is no place where you don’t die. You may think things like going to Shangrila and not die. In the old American system you could reach to Shangrila and become younger and all this. That is not there. The method. There is also no method which can really keep this body together, keep it serviceable forever. These are the three why we die.

Now you have to think: Death is definite; whatever body I have, whatever place I go to, whatever method I apply, no matter what I do, there is nothing which can really protect me from dying. A good body will not protect me from dying, because Buddha himself has said: Since Buddha and all the Hearers21, And all Solitary Realizers22 too, Give up the bodies that they have, It’s definite that common folk do so too. The Tibetan , ch. 1, vs. 25 When buddhas, disciples of the buddhas, , and everybody have to give up their body, then for ordinary persons, for common people like us there’s no question: we have to give up our body. Buddha had found the best body, the vajra body, unshakable, unchangeable, the union [of compas- sion and wisdom, of relative and absolute], but he too went through the event of death. The great masters,

21 Skt. Sravakas. 22 Skt. Pratyeka buddhas.

34 Lam Rim Teachings the mahasiddhas in Tibet, India and everywhere, have come and although we may talk about them as if they are still there, they have all gone. If a person like Buddha, if the bodhisattvas, the great and arhats, if even those who have really found a vajra body have to die, then what about common people like me, how can I survive? I will definitely die.

Buddha’s death. At the time of the death of the Buddha, one of the best disciples of Buddha, Shariputra, and a couple of hundred thousand great disciples of Buddha died just before Buddha. They knew the Bud- dha was dying and as they could not bear to watch it, so they decided to die before him. Finally, when the actual time came for the Buddha to die, Buddha told his disciples, “Put a bed near the trees in the place called Kushinagari.” Kusha is the name of a grass and nagari is Hindi for place, so ‘the place where the kusha grass grows’. He asked his disciples to put a bed in between two trees and then he lay down. Buddha’s last two disciples. Now one of the last two that became disciples of the Buddha, was not a human being Triza23 was so much attached to music that he was playing music all the time and during his lifetime Buddha could not do anything but applying some kind of magical power and then give teachings through the strings of his musical instrument. This Triza was a horse-headed king of the ghandharvas, ce- lestial musicians. They are non-human beings who live on the smells of burned food; that is the only thing they eat, they can’t eat real food. Through Buddha’s manifestation there, Buddha making beautiful music [on an instrument without strings] and giving the teachings that way, Triza finally understood and obtained the arhat level. The other one was an anti-Buddhist scholar, Subhadra24. [He heard that the flowers in the garden had withered]. He thought, “What is happening and why is this happening?” Then he understood it was because of Buddha about to pass away. He left his home to see Buddha and arrives just before the latter was dying. He first demanded to see Buddha, he saw Buddha, and when he knew Buddha was dying, he died before him. These were the two last ones to become disciples of the Buddha during his lifetime]. Arhats dying. Just before Buddha died a lot of arhats started dying. There were only four hundred and ninety-nine left. They did not want to see Buddha die when he was going to disappear physically for a while. Even the great Shariputra could not see his friend dying, so he died first. Then Buddha had to make a rule: no power person [Skt. arhat] should die before Buddha died, and then they all stopped. Actually, these arhats were in reality capable of talking to Buddha even after their death, were capable of being to- gether, being aware and all this. However, to give a guidance for the future disciples they did all this. These are the teachings and indications telling us that if even at that level they have to do this, then why not me? That is effective to us. Finally, when he was about to die, Buddha told his disciples, “It is very hard to see the body of an enlightened being. Now you have to look properly, this is your last chance.” Buddha took off all his clothes and then all the disciples looked at him, observed the body of an enlightened being. And Buddha’s last words

23 “Then there remained for the Teacher two disciples whom he had to convert personally, - Subhadra and Sunanda [Pramudita; Tib. Triza]. In order to subdue the latter, the Lord took a lute with 1000 strings and a frame of Vaidurya stone. Then, having transformed himself into a , he appeared before the doors of Sunanda and proposed a match in the skill of music. He gradually cut off all the strings with the exception of one, but the sound nevertheless remained the same. Finally, the Buddha cut off the single string that remained, likewise. But in the empty space the sound continued to ring as before. The pride of Sunanda was thus humiliated and he was greatly astonished. The Teacher then appeared in his true form, and Sunanda, full of faith, made his salutations and sat down in order to hear the Teaching. And, as the Lord preached the Doctrine to him, Sunanda came to the intuition of the Truth.” Obermiller, The in India and Tibet, by Buston, p. 55. 24 “At that time there was in Kusanagari a Parivrajaka, named, Subhadra, who, as it was said, had attained the state of an arhat. This one heard that on the bank of the Mandakini pond the flowers of the Udumbara garden had withered and that the cause of this was that the Buddha was about to pass away into Nirvana. Thinking that it was the time to get his doubts cleared, he went to Ananda and asked five times, but was not admitted (into the presence of the Buddha). The Teacher, as he knew about this, said: ‘This is the last time that I have to speak with a heretic. Therefore, let him come.’ And, after he had spoken many a word to the delight of Subhadra, he said; ‘O Subhadra, when I attained the age of 29 years, I became a monk and then, for one-and-fifty years, have practised every possible virtue. O Subhadra, the religious discipline in which the eight-membered Path of a Saint is wanting, does not bring about the four results attained by an ascetic. But if the eight-fold Path does exist, then these results are realized. Apart from this (eight-fold Path) there can be no real attainment of saintliness.’ And as he spoke thus (Subhadra) came to perceive the Truth, became ordained by being addressed with the summons: ‘Come here’ and attained arhatship. And then, thinking that he ought not to witness the Teacher’s departure, he blessed the five sacred places and passed away into Nirvana himself.” Obermiller, The History of Buddhism in India and Tibet, by Buston, p. 55-56. In the sutras to be found in: Ma- haparinibbana Sutra. Max Müller: Sacred Books of the East, vol. 11: Buddhist Suttas, p. 103-110.

Mindfulness of Death; Facing Death Realistically 35 were: “Everything is impermanent.” Impermanence is the first and also the last teaching of the Buddha, the last word Buddha really said during his appearance in this world. Buddha himself has said: All created existing phenomena are impermanent.25 These are the last words of an enlightened being. Think: of all the great arhats at Buddha’s time, thousands and thousands died; they followed Buddha. Only four hundred and ninety-nine were left. After Buddha seven regents26 came, eighty-four mahasiddhas27, the six ornaments and two excellences28 of great masters. Even in Tibet there is a tremendous amount of great masters, including Guru , Tsongkhapa and all the founders of the different sects. None of them are alive now, they are all gone; only their name is left. Also in the west you have had many spiritual masters and all of them are gone; one after another. No one is living permanently. So, how can I be living forever? It is impossible. Even the great Pabongka, who lived almost in our period and has given his teachings in Tsang where thousands of people attended all the time, is no longer there. Even our own masters, like Kyabje , Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, Song Rinpoche, Gomo Rinpoche, all of them are gone now. Nobody lives. So, there is no hope for me of living forever.

It is for an important reason we have to say all this. Because our mind will tell us that we’ll be living, even though we’ll deny this. Or perhaps you will not deny it, but you will say, “Yes, we all die, definitely, I know, everybody knows this.” But, knowledge is one thing and action is another thing. You act as if you are going to live forever. That is why it is so important to think and meditate in this way. Today we are here, we are talking dharma and all this. But for how many years? In another fifty years probably nobody will be living. Fifty years may be too soon, but really, we can guarantee you that in a hundred years none of us will be living. Right? People then may say, “My grand-uncle or great-grand- uncle or auntie, so and so were interested in , they used to attend the teachings.” They may talk, but most probably none of us will be living in about fifty, sixty years from now. In every part of the world the people who are existing today, will not last. In about a hundred years everything will have changed. Even the structures will have changed. Impermanence is not as difficult as emptiness. By looking at it we can understand it. In other words, whatever we do, there is no way to protect ourselves from death. Spiritually there is the biggest hope but this is ruled out. Then materially: is there protection from death? No. Buddha has said, Wherever you go, there is no place But that death can find an entry: Not earth, nor sky, nor ocean deep, Not far within the mountainside. The Tibetan Dhammapada, ch. 1, vs. 26 Story on the inescapability of death. During the Buddha’s lifetime there was a king called Pakyebu. There was a big war and the caste (the cast Buddha belonged to) was attacked by Pakyebu. At that time one of the best disciples of the Buddha with regard to magical power was Maudgalputra29. He said to Bud- dha, “I can take out one of my hairs, tie all these troops together and throw them out in the ocean. Should I do that?” Buddha said, “No, you can’t do that. I know you have the power to do that, but you should not. No matter what you do, all the , all those of Buddha’s caste that are going to die, will die. Even when the attack does not come they will die.” Maudgalputra did not believe what Buddha said. Buddha said, “Alright, if you don’t believe me, let us take three girls out of them.” They took three girls. One girl Buddha kept with him, in his begging bowl, an- other one they put somewhere on , where Indra and Brahma kept her, and the third one was put in some universe behind the sun. By evening, when the war was over, all Sakyas had been killed and all three girls had died. Even Buddha, who had obtained ultimate enlightenment and had cleared all non-

25 Part of the four Buddhist seals: 1) all created phenomena are impermanent; 2) all contaminated phenomena are suffering; 3) all phenomena are empty; 4) Nirvana is peace. Literature: Gehlek Rimpoche, Odyssey to Freedom, steps 21, 36, 39, 40. 26 Kashyapa [Tib. Wösung], Ananda, Sanavatsa, Upagupta, Dithika, Krishna, Mahasudarsana. 27 See Keith Dowman, Masters of ; Songs and histories of the eighty-four buddhist siddhas. 28 See Glossary. 29 In Sankriet called .

36 Lam Rim Teachings virtues, said he had a tremendous backache that day, a leftover of some collective karma. Conclusion: When the time comes, no matter where you are, you will die.

To put it briefly: no-one can run away from death. You cannot buy off death and return, you don’t have the power to fight and attack the death. Death is something you cannot escape by running away, nor by power or strength. You may say that a good body and good exercises will prevent you from dying. No. Lions are supposed to have a tremendous power; their claws can even destroy an elephant’s head, but when death comes the lion also will die and the elephants will die too. Our wealth? If you collect a lot of wealth you may think your wealth will be able to protect you from death. It is not possible. Not only us. The great kings with tremendous wealth, if they could have prevented dying by using wealth they would have done so; but they could not, they are all dead. In short, Buddha said to a disciple in the Instruction Given to the King Sutra, Death is like this. Suppose there are huge mountains coming from the four directions, strong mountains, which can’t be broken. They run towards the center and squeeze a person in between them. If two mountains come, from the right and the left, from east and west, and meet in the center, anything that is in the center will be crushed. Death is like that. When death comes nothing can escape. O king, it is like huge mountains clashing into each other. There is no way small things can survive in between. Just like that death will come and people will go. There is no way out. The king asked the Buddha, “What are the four mountains?” Buddha answered: The four mountains are ageing, illness, dying and weakness [or decay]. What does ageing do? It destroys youth. What does illness do? It destroys health. What does physical or mental weakness do? It destroys our activities. What does death do? It destroys life. You can’t run away by running quickly, you can’t stop it by power, not by wealth, nor by material means, nor by mantra or by medicine. These four cannot be stopped. That is the first reason: you will definitely die. You have to meditate on this and get yourself acquainted with definitely dying. Intellectually we know we are not going to be an exception, but practically we can- not take it. We refuse to accept it. Our principle mind will refuse to take it, because it is something we don’t want. When there is something you deeply don’t want, the principle mind will refuse to accept it; be- cause you don’t want it, because you don’t like it. The intellectual information or knowledge is there, but the principle mind will not accept it, because it is not a good thing. You don’t think it is good for you, so therefore you don’t like to accept it. The only way to get through it is by meditating, get it in your mind, get used to it and then become convinced. No forceful convincing, no blank convincing, but with reasoning. The first reason here is that death is definite, because there is no way you can escape it. You can’t run away, spiritual power cannot stop it, material power cannot stop it, military power cannot stop it, financial power cannot stop it and there is no place to run away to. Keep on thinking on these reasons and try to find another reason to proof that you are not going to die. You’ll never find a solid reason without cheating yourself. If you can find it, it is alright. But you are not going to find it. And when you are not going to find it, it should convince you as an intelligent person that it is definite that you will die. When you have a reasonably good reason the principle mind may accept your suggestions. It is very hard, though. When the principle mind does not want something then it doesn’t accept it. Intuition will tell you, “No, no, no, that is wrong.” Always. You may think, “If Buddha died why do we want to be a buddha?” Buddha died in physical form, but not in the absolute sense. Even we ourselves, when we die we live. We don’t disappear, we live. That way Buddha lives. But as Buddha, as the fellow we normally refer to, he died. That does not mean he is no longer there. When I die I’ll still be there, when X dies X will still be there. Don’t you ever think you will disappear, because you won’t. It is not like blowing out a candle. When you blow out the candle, the light goes, it disappears, nothing is left, the light is gone. But it is not like that. Remember, I quoted from the

Mindfulness of Death; Facing Death Realistically 37 teachings of Buddha himself, saying, “When even Buddha’s disciples gave up their body, ordinary persons like us will definitely have to die.” All these quotations are important reasons. By doing that reasoning, your understanding of definitely dying and your normal saying of “Oh yes, definitely I am going to die” will be two different things. Knowing the thing and getting one’s mind af- fected are really two different things. Everybody knows we have to die. Right? But when you think, when you give reasons, then you will really be knowing it, your mind will get soaked in it, you will become con- vinced and that is something solid you gain. That will make a difference. In order to do that you have to think for yourself, you have to get yourself a small short conclusion. Then you meditate on it. And then this itself will stir you up, push you to the next step automatically. To convince yourself of a short conclusion you use logical reasons, quotations and examples. These three make your conclusion solid. If you draw a wrong conclusion it cannot be solid; it will be shaken by the quotations, by the logical reasons and by the examples. That indicates it is wrong. And when it is not shak- ing, when it becomes proof-strong, that indicates it is correct. That is how it goes. To put the moment in motion is very important. Once you have done that, it moves itself. Of course in between you withdraw, you get upset, dislike it, all sorts of things we do, for sure. But somehow you have to get yourself to manage, push through and then it goes.

(b) We can’t add to the lifespan There is no addition on whatever length of life we have. Whatever life-karma we have from the beginning, how many years we’re supposed to live, is already given to us and it can not be extended beyond that. If you are supposed to live eighty years, you have [a maximum of] eighty years. You cannot really extend it much beyond that, maybe a few months, half a year or a year, but that is the maximum you can go, really. What was originally allowed, karmically, no ordinary method can really increase. You may not be able to go through the whole thing that was first laid out by the karma. There can be temporary blockages and disturbances that overpower and then we go [even before the karmic life-span is exhausted], but we can never add to it, also not by doing longevity pujas. When the life-span is short, the life-power is short, the strength is short and the energy also is, you can’t do much. If one of them is miss- ing you can do something, but with all four missing there is nothing that can be done. There is no addition to be put on life; it goes down day by day. This is the second reason: you cannot add, but it gets exhausted. If you have a rice store in the kitchen and you keep on using it every day with- out adding to it, then one day you are going to run out of rice. Right? Similarly we have this life-store within us, and there is no way we can add to it. It goes minute by minute, second by second and we don’t realize it. Right? Whatever life-karma has been given, is there and we use it minute by minute. We go closer towards , the Lord of Death; closer and closer to the time of death. Shantideva said, Remaining neither day nor night, Life is always slipping by And never getting any longer, Why will death not come to one like me? Shantideva, A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life [Bodhisattvacharyavatara], ch. 2, vs. 39 Day and night we don’t rest, we go on running and nothing can be added up, so how can you live? You have to go. Life is like putting water in a bucket, it’ll be filled up drop by drop. In the sutra, the example of weaving is given: Just like yarn that ever shortens As it is being intertwined With the threads of an outstretched loom, Such is a mortal being’s life. When the weavers weave cloth, they have the long strings fixed at a certain length; then they weave the woolen thread in between filling it up. Similarly, how long our life’s cloth is going to be has already been decided. The woolen threads just fill up the length you have. When it has reached that length it is finished. Just like that in our life the original length is there. We only keep on doing the activity of different things and after some time it will be completed and then that is it. The Seventh Dalai Lama said,

38 Lam Rim Teachings

From very birth, life pauses not for a moment, But races onward toward the great Lord of Death. Life is a walk down a wide road leading to death; A melancholy scene, a criminal being led to his execution. Melancholy Visions of Imperfection From the moment we were born, we did not have the freedom to rest for a single minute. We run towards Yama, the Lord of Death. Not only do we run, but we run with all our energy, like horses in a horse race. We call ourselves living beings, but we are in the category of dying. This is sad but it is the reality. We don’t think about our situation, but if you think carefully it is like being a sentenced person taken to the electrical chair; every step gets you closer to the death. Ever since we were born, we did not have a single minute to rest; it is going in the direction of death. That is the Seventh Dalai Lama’s meditation and his conclusion. Buddha himself said in the sutra: Just like a herder with a stick Who drives the flocks into the fold, So age and sickness drive all humans On to the place where they will die. The Tibetan Dhammapada, ch. 1, vs. 17 I you are going to take a sheep to the slaughterer, every step that sheep is taking, is going towards ending its life! Similarly every human being’s life is like that. We are like lamb to the slaughter. That is what Buddha says. In short, ever since we were born we have been looking, going and traveling towards dying. What- ever we had as a previous life is finished and gone. Whatever is left is very little now. With every second we are breathing in and out, every minute, every hour, every day, every week, every month, every year we are finishing our life-time, we are using it and our ‘left-over time’ is getting shorter and shorter; second by second. And then one day it says, “Hey, now the time has come to go, you have to go.” So we cannot for- get about dying and relax. No way! Even when you sleep, you may sleep very comfortably in your bed, however, in reality your life is not sleeping; it is running towards the death.

So, for the second reason I have given you the original karmic quantity, that is consumed minute by min- ute. I gave the quotation of the Bodhisattvacharyavatara. Also I gave the Seventh Dalai Lama’s example of everybody running towards death; even though they are called ‘living beings’, everybody is going on the path of dying. Then Buddha himself gave the example of animals taken to the slaughterer’s house to be slaughtered. All of these you have to think about. Here you really have to think; to think and mix it with your mind. Only thinking for a short period while you are sitting here, will not help. One short thinking in your house will also not help. A constant effort of thinking on this, day by day without breaking any single day, adding up, that will help. You have to remember that. You have to really put time and effort in it. That is why from the beginning you have to look very far, be very open-minded, and be in tune – three qualities. It needs constant efforts. And once you get it, you can take it easy. Till then you have to work hard.

(c) Even while we live we don’t have time to practice Even while we are living we do not have time to do a proper practice. We will definitely die and while we were living we did not have the chance to do something properly. How? Our life is very short, we all know that. Say you live for sixty years or something. Out of sixty years, thirty years we sleep. That may be too much but almost; fifty percent you don’t sleep, but I take fifty percent, people do sleep more than they think they do. Then we eat, chit-chat, relax, take a bath, go shopping, whatever. So actual dharma practice gets very, very little time. According to the traditional teachings it is said that even if you do four sessions a day for thirty years, the actual time you devote to the dharma will only be five years. The great Pabongka used to say, We do birthday celebrations and new year celebrations, we do very good celebrations, but actually it is not really a time to be celebrated, but the time to feel bad about, because we have come one year closer to dying.

Mindfulness of Death; Facing Death Realistically 39

The great Gungtang Jampelyang, an Amdo lama, was asked by his disciples to write his biography; be- cause they wanted to know about his life. He said, My first twenty years I spent like a kid, thinking as a kid. Then I was saying things like: “I will do it, I am going to do it.” That I did for twenty years again. Then: “Oh, now I am too old, I couldn’t do it, sorry.” In that way I passed another twenty years. This is how I wasted my life. This is my biography. The first twenty years we don’t even think of doing dharma practice, because we are kids. Then we’d like to do something and we waste a tremendous amount of time. In the west particularly you really don’t know what to do. You don’t really have good guidance, for sure. Then you copy this, do that, funny things here and there, you do all things mixed up and you get nowhere. And that wastes a tremendous amount of time. Then, when you really get good dharma or something, you say, “I would really like to do something, really, really!” On the ‘really, really’ you go for twenty years. Or that may be too extreme (laughs). Then when you become a little older you say, “Now I’m too old, it’s physically not possible, I can only pray that in my future life I can do something.” That is how we waste a lot of our time. All this is because we don’t think about impermanence. When we really want to do dharma practice, we have to do it straight away. We should leave the laziness and all sorts of delaying activities behind and do it straight away. Some have already reached the time to say, “Now I have to regret it.” When you be- come physically old, then there comes a time you really can’t do it. Since we are not that old, we don’t re- alize what ageing really means. There will definitely come a time you can’t do it, even if you want it, be- cause it won’t be not possible physically. That time will come, definitely. Every day we create some kind of activity which delays us from enlightenment. What is dharma prac- tice? To get enlightenment with the best method you can get. We are delaying from that. So really, before Yama comes, we have to put in an effort. Purchok Ngawang Jampa, one of the great masters, has given an interesting example: Suppose you have a big collection of grain put in a storage place where you have a lot of food. Suddenly you come to know a big river is coming from somewhere. Then the best thing you can do is to collect out of that grain as much as possible. You have to pick up whatever you can. You can’t say, “I will take it out later and watch it now first”, because the river will take everything away and you will be left with nothing. However, if you try to take out as much as you can, then, if you are lucky, you may be able to take the whole. If you are not lucky, you may be able to take out fifty percent or three quarters. Even if you only get a handful out, it is better than nothing. Life is like that. Dharma practice and getting results is like putting grain in storage and then when you know the river is coming you collect as much as you can before it comes. You can’t sit there and say, “Look, I’ll collect a little later.” There won’t be ‘a little later’, because the water will take the grain away. That is what Purchok Ngawang Jampa says. Just like when you see the water coming and you need the food and you have to take as much as you can, similarly you see that death is coming, you know the enlightenment result is in front of you, and you have to take as much as you can now; otherwise it will go.

This third point is not really a reasoning. It doesn’t really tell you why you are going to die, but it gives you the thought that even while living there will be no time to practice dharma and one day you have to go. Even if we live sixty years, we sleep and chit-chat and all this time is deducted from the actual practice. Even if you practice solidly every day for two or three hours, still your life-long practice will only be five to ten years. There is not really much time to do dharma practice. Especially in America where people are so busy, there really is no time. You give a lot of different names to different days and different events and then, you know, it makes yourself automatically busy. You have commercial reasons coming in and all sorts of obligations and that makes you busy. All because just sitting idle will be very boring. It may be even shorter than five years, definitely. You have to think very carefully and finally when by saying, by thinking on different reasons very strongly, you’re really moved, really moved, then you decide you have to pass a resolution.

40 Lam Rim Teachings

First resolution: I have to do dharma practice The resolution which you need is dharma practice, spiritual practice to carry on. Something to help you is needed. So, by thinking about these three reasons you have to conclude: Death is definite. Definitely I am going to die. So, I will do a dharma practice, I need to practice dharma now. (2) Second root: The time of death is uncertain The second root is: uncertainty of the time. Why is there uncertainty of time?

(a) On the southern continent30 there is no fixed lifespan Generally, if you are born in a different universe there is a fixed time. There are galaxies where people are supposed to live a thousand years, or in other universes five hundred years. They have this originally fixed age. We don’t. This is the galaxy where you have no certainty of lifespan. There is no certainty about how long you are going to live. These days there is even less certainty than in earlier days. Earlier people had the same type of behavior, so there was a sort of average time they could live. These days that certainty is weakened because of our own behaviors; food habits, chemicals, traffic etc. In short, you can’t plan: “I’ll do this and this first, and after that then I will really do a solid dharma practice.” You cannot delay your dharma practice. That is what I am trying to tell you. You can’t say, “This month I’ll do this, next month I’ll do that, and then after that I will do that, that, that.” Gungtangba said, “All of these arguments will cheat you, will let you down.” Because in worldly activities there is no end. It is like the old man’s beard, the more you shave it the more it grows. Remember those examples. These are the funny things, but funny things make you remember more easily. At daybreak many people can be seen, That evening one is gone from sight; At evening many people can be seen, Next morning one is gone from sight. The Tibetan Dhammapada, ch. 1, vs. 7 In short, if we live one or two months we have to achieve a good purpose for a future life; if we have one or two years to live then we should achieve a permanent strong benefit for the whole of different lives and if we have a little more than that, we try to achieve enlightenment. That is what we pray for. When you wish and pray you don’t pray to get rich; that is against spiritual practice. One does not wish to become very popular or famous. If you let your mind go it will take you that far, it will want you to become rich and become the most popular person. But the moment you start seeking that, you are not going on a spiri- tual path, but you are going in the opposite direction. So don’t. What you really pray for, what you wish is: “If I live one or two months I’ll have a solid achievement for the future life; if I have one or two years I’ll gain some solid achievement for the rest of my lives and if I have more than those few years I will see that I obtain enlightenment. May I be helped. I wish I could do that. May I be blessed to be able to do that.” That is what practitioners pray. When you pray you don’t pray: “May this purpose of mine become good and my business go better.” These sort of things you don’t pray for. This is the short conclusion you have to draw out of: there is no certainty about the length of life for people of this universe. And particularly these days it is really very hard to have a long life. You never know what is going to happen all of a sudden.

(b) There are many more things that contribute to dying than to living Then the second reason for the uncertainty of death is: there are so many things that can cause death and there are so few things that contribute to living. Actually, human beings are so important and there are so many of them, but we also have different spirits around with us, ready to take our life, because that serves some kind of purpose for them. Then there are so many illnesses we are exposed to. What protection do we have? And so many obstacles to ourselves. Not only that. Our body is constituted by four elements. How do the elements work within our body? A great master gave the example of putting four snakes in one basket. If you put four snakes in one basket,

30 Jampudvipa. See Glossary.

Mindfulness of Death; Facing Death Realistically 41 one tries to eat the other and finally whoever is the strongest will have eaten all the others. Our body ele- ments are just like that. Whichever is the strongest will overpower the other elements within our body. That is why we get sick; that is why we have trouble: because the elements are not properly balanced. They go out of balance because one of them becomes stronger and overpowers the others, like the one snake eating the other snakes – and that causes our death. In other words, [as is said by Nagarjuna], The causes of death are many, Those of staying alive are few. These too can become the causes of death. Nagarjuna, The Precious Garland [Ratnavali], vs. 278 Right? If you eat the wrong things you die. In short, Nagarjuna has drawn the conclusion: […] you are living amidst the causes Of death like a lamp standing in a breeze. Nagarjuna, The Precious Garland [Ratnavali], vs. 317 Our life is like a candlelight put outside when the wind is blowing. We may be able to survive for some time, but then the wind will blow too much and the light will go out. That is Nagarjuna’s conclusion for this second reason.

(c) Our body is very fragile Now the third reason of this second root: our body is very weak. The body is so weak: any minute one of the elements can stop, any minute something can happen. You can say, “We have very few causes for liv- ing and so many causes for dying and even those who help us to live can also cause us to die. That is true, but if I have a very strong constitution, then although a lot of things may cause the death, I can face them and I can overpower them.” We may think that way, but our life is not strong at all. We may do a lot of ex- ercise and think we are very strong and healthy and all this, but that strong, healthy person can easily die from a little wrong injection. Our body is so weak. No matter how strong you build it up, you can’t stand against a single injection needle. One needle put in a wrong place and you’re gone. It does not even have to have the injection chemicals in it. The whole universe, with strong earth, strong mountains, everything will go. Nagarjuna says, The earth, Meru and the oceans – even these physical Bodies are to be consumed by seven blazing Suns, leaving not even dust. What need to Speak of such a frail thing as the human body? Life, being susceptible to many harms, is more impermanent Than a wind-blown bubble of water. Most wondrous Is the leisure of inhaling one breath, having Exhaled another, and awakening from sleep. Nagarjuna, A Letter to a Friend [Suhrlekkha], vs. 57, 55 So, the whole universe, the mountains, the trees, everything around us is going to be burnt one day and will totally turn to ashes. When that is going to happen, how in the hell can you think of living? In short, Nagarjuna said, “Our body, no matter how strong it may be, is as weak as a bubble in water.” The bubble looks nice, it pops up, then you touch it a little bit and ‘splash’ it goes. Our body, no matter how strong you and I may think it has become, totally depends on the little air that we put in the balloon, like a bubble. The bubble has a little air in it, you touch it and it goes. Similarly, no matter how much strength we build up by physical exercises, it is only the air which matters. If you lose the air, you’re finished. That is how you go. Nagarjuna further says, “It is interesting that we can go to sleep and keep on breathing, wonderful!” This is the situation of our body, the elements, and in addition to that, the bad spirits around, all the different illnesses we are exposed to, all the wrong food that we eat, the wrong behaviors we have. When you add all this up it is really a wonder sometimes how we can wake up and still be alive. That is the con- clusion Nagarjuna draws.

42 Lam Rim Teachings

Second resolution: I must begin now What does this point, the uncertainty of death, do? This will introduce to you something like: your enemy is coming to catch you definitely and you have no idea when that is going to happen. From the moment you know that, from that moment onwards you have to put all your efforts into how to protect yourself from that enemy. If you have an enemy coming to kill you and you don’t know when he is going to come, you can’t sit there idle and frightened; that will not help. You have to get whatever protection you can. Simi- larly, this uncertainty will let you know that your enemy, the death, is certainly coming. So, get prepared, get prepared. And don’t just get prepared; get prepared right now! You may say, “Oh yes, I would like to prepare myself but first I have to do this, second I’ll finish that, and then I will do it”, but there is no certainty. It is like the old man’s beard, the more you shave it the more it grows. You cannot say, “I do this, this, this and when I am finished I will do a good dharma prac- tice.” Never. This is the point where you lose the battle. Death is uncertain, you know your enemy is going to come, you don’t know when he is coming, it could be the next minute, or the next day, next week, next year, next decade. Who knows? But you know death is definitely going to come, so get prepared. If it comes next minute you should be prepared accord- ing to that. If it comes in two to three months’ time you know what to do, in three years time, you know what to do. That is how you have to get yourself prepared.

(3) Third root: At the time of death only the dharma is useful Or: at the time of death nothing can help except your relation to God.

(a) Our possessions can’t help No matter who you may be, you may be Indra or Brahma in the gods’ realm, or a universal monarch in the human beings’ realm, whatever you may be, at the time of death you cannot take a single servant, not a single bodyguard with you. Of your wealth, jewellery, security, whatever it may be, you can’t take a single thing, that won’t help that day. Especially the securities won’t help. The securities are so important to us and that definitely will not help that day. Even if you are a king you can’t take anything; nor can you when you are a beggar. Beggars in Tibet have a begging bowl and a beggar’s stick as their hand implements. Why? To kick the biting dogs. He or she has to leave that. We have a saying in Tibet, The kings will leave their estate, land, retinue, queens, children, ministers. And the beggars will leave their begging bowl and stick. Buddha has said in the sutra called The Living Tree Sutra, You may have food stores for a hundred years, But the day you die, you go with an empty stomach. You may have enough clothes to wear for a hundred years, But the day you die you go naked. Not only naked. When you think of it carefully, even the body goes; the body which we consider so impor- tant, the body born with us. We tell each other, “Look after yourself, take care.” Take care of what? The body – what else? That also, even though it was born with us, you have to leave. Shantideva says, Leaving all I must depart alone. But through not having understood this I committed various kinds of evil For the sake of my friends and foes. Shantideva, A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life [Bodhisattvacharyavatara], ch. 2, vs. 34 It says: when you have to go you have to leave everything, including friends and enemies. As I did not un- derstand that I had to leave everything, I created a lot of non-virtues for the sake of the person I liked and for the sake of the person I disliked. In other words, like and dislike has created me a problem. Like as at- tachment, dislikes as hatred and from there I manipulated everything. Look into all the delusions and non- virtuous actions, they are only created out of like and dislike. What else? That is why in the Bodhisattva-

Mindfulness of Death; Facing Death Realistically 43 charyavatara Shantideva says, “I created a lot of non-virtues by simply not knowing that when I go I have to leave everything.” He continues, At birth I was born alone, And at death too I shall die alone; As this pain cannot be shared by others, What is the use of obstacle-making friends? Shantideva, A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life [Bodhisattvacharyavatara], ch. 8, vs. 32 When you are born, you are born alone; when you die you’ll die alone. The sufferings you have to face, nobody will take a share of; nobody will take them away from you, so why do you have to create the causes of suffering for the sake of others? Mostly we create non-virtues – mostly. For the sake of others also. Like and dislike is based on the people you like and dislike, goes for and against. Actually we create non-virtues mostly for the sake of others. One of the great masters saw an old man rubbing a big stone [to get it into a certain shape] and he said to him, “What are you doing here? What are you rubbing that big stone for? You have to leave and go.” Whatever you are doing, whether you are going to fulfill it or not, you have to leave that and go. That is what it is. When you go, all this wealth that you have accumulated, the security you kept on collecting and accumulating, you leave. You don’t even have time to say goodbye, you just go.

(b) Our family and friends can’t help The second reasoning of this third root is: friends and retinue, nothing can help. You may have servants, children, family members, parents, students, teachers and relations as close to you as though a piece of your heart, but no matter how many you have and no matter how many of them stand around you – some try to hold you at your hand and some at your leg, some at your head – whatever they do, nothing can help. Nothing. You can’t take a single one of them. You will go through the bardo period by yourself. A quota- tion for this from the great Mitri Yogi. When he was meditating in India, under a tree in the forest, the ruler of that country passed through and asked him, “Give me a teaching.” He said, Great man, no matter how rich you are or how wealthy you may be, When you leave for another life in another world, you go like the arhats. When the arhats go on a passage, they go all by themselves, single. That is why the Buddhist monks in south-east Asia always walk alone and don’t look this or that way. This told the king, “When you really go traveling into your future you will go like a monk who is walking all by himself, alone, without looking right or left, all by yourself, alone, with no sons, no queens, no ministers and no soldiers.” Shanti- deva says, When seized by the messengers of death, What benefit will friends and relatives afford? My merit alone will protect me then, But upon that I have never relied. Shantideva, A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life [Bodhisattvacharyavatara], ch. 2, vs. 41 When you are caught by the agents of the Lord of Death, Yama, what can friends do or what can masters do? The First Panchen Lama said: The friends that you like from your heart, Will be separated permanently and forever; This is the day when you separate permanently, forever. That is how friends can’t help. Suppose we know that we are going to die this winter. Then there is no use for us to make preparations and plans for next spring and summer. No use. When we go say to India, Singa- pore or , we make preparations, we prepare ourselves, but we don’t prepare ourselves for the much more difficult journey, on more distance than Japan or India. We don’t. Not only that. Not only do we have to go, we have to go all by ourselves – alone. No help, no companion, all by yourself. You do not carry your American Express cards with you. You don’t carry anything, not even your body, you leave that.

44 Lam Rim Teachings

At the time when you die, suppose all the mountains became gold, all the human beings became your friends, that would not help. All the mountains may become gold, but you can’t take a single one. All the human beings may become your friends, but no one can help you. You leave your relations, friends, com- panions and all this.

(c) Even the body cannot help The body which is born with us and which we always take care of, also goes. The body we’re worried about for catching a cold, worried about when getting overheated, when we poke a single needle point into it we can’t bear it. We take care of our body as though the body were a wish-fulfilling jewel. On our body we worry so much, we spend so much time on it. That also you have to leave and go. The First Panchen Lama says, Such a thing, which you cared for so much, nourished and brought up, Will let you down the day that you need it most. The body will let you down, because the body has become unserviceable. So you die. This is how you have to think on: ‘Nothing can help’.

What can help? Only dharma can help Then the question rises: What can really go with you? What will happen? You can’t take money, you can’t take friends, you can’t even take your body, so what is going to happen? Then you begin to get scared. The scaring really comes here. It is not the dying, but when you think you can’t carry anything, nobody, noth- ing, then you begin to get scared. People talk about: “I am afraid of dying.” Dying is dying, so what? Here you really should think carefully and then you begin to get scared. But then, getting frightened and shivering will not help. You need to think on this. If you don’t think on this, you don’t get the proper fear of death. You may get superficial fear, that won’t help, you need the real fear of death. There’s no need to be scared of dying because it is a natural process, a natural phe- nomenon. What is really scaring, is that nothing can go with you, that you can’t take anything, not even the body, and that you don’t know what is going to happen. That is the scaring thing. Gungtang Jampely- ang said, The guide on the path which you don’t know and which you have to go, is the dharma. The requirements, like the food you need when you travel for a long time, is the dharma. The person who leads you on the hard path, the difficult path, is the dharma. So: From now it is proper to devote body, mind and speech to dharma practice. When Milarepa was meditating, sitting in the cave, there was a kind lady who always came to feed him. One day he said, O Nyama Peldarbum, Listen, rich woman, The next life is of much more difficulty and longer in distance than the present one. Have you prepared? If you have not prepared, then do so. Generosity is your guide, so do it. Morality is the guide, so do it. Patience is the guide, so do it. Enthusiasm is the guide, so do it. Concentration is the guide, so do it. And wisdom is the guide, so do it.31 Milarepa has this long, long thing going on. Generosity, morality, patience, enthusiasm, concentration and wisdom. Yes. That is what Milarepa told that old lady. But we don’t have to think of what the old lady does. What we have to think about is: what am I going to do? What is bound to happen to me? No matter

31 Song of Milarepa. In: Stephen Batchelor, The Jewel in the Lotus, p. 130-131. Ook in Garma C.C. Chang, The hundred thousand songs of Milarepa, p. 145-146.

Mindfulness of Death; Facing Death Realistically 45 how many people are around, trying to hold you at the head, at the leg, at the hands, no matter how many tubes we have around, the machine breathing for you, it is not worth it, you will be gone. Actually, no matter what they are doing, there is no way to hold you. So, you think, “When I can’t hold it, I have to go and I have to leave everything. I have to go through the bardo but I have no idea where I am going.” When you think really carefully, then it is really scaring. As Gungtangba said, “The dharma can guide you, the dharma is the only thing you can use.” Why? Be- cause it is a karmic principle. Dharma here means the dharma practice. Dharma practice builds virtue, virtue gives the result. The good can help you, the bad will harm you. That is what happens. You only take good and bad with you, not as good and bad, but as an imprint of good and bad. Say, when you kill somebody and because of your action that person or that animal dies, when the mind separates from the body you get a stain, an imprint, on your . It is like when you go and borrow money from the bank; they will make you sign a piece of paper, and they keep the piece of pa- per you have signed. As though nothing has happened you forget about it. But they will not forget, they will see that and they will catch you eventually. Similarly here, the moment you do something, you ‘sign’ it on your consciousness; the good deeds as well as the bad deeds. This is called an imprint. It works twenty-four hours a day actually, not only at the time of death. What will happen to the effect? When do you feel it? The feeling will come at the time of the death. That is why it is said, “Dharma is the guide, this is the material you need.” It is not literally a guide; no- body will appear there and guide you, no. Suppose you die without building up a proper benefit, a proper solid something to carry with you; then your death is no different from that of an ordinary dog dying in the street. Then, value-wise a human being dying in a house on a bed and an ordinary dog dying in the street, is the same thing; you go shoulder to shoulder, no difference. But if you can build up some solid thing to carry with you, if you have good dharma, good virtuous activities to carry with you, then it is different. The dog has nothing to carry, but you have something to carry. There the difference comes. I don’t want my death to be like that of a dog in the street. If I have to go like that it is very unfortunate. Particularly if I know a little bit about what will happen, if I know a little bit about good and bad, if then I die like the dog in the street, it is most unfortu- nate. Right? You can only build up a difference if you work now. At that time it is too late, you can’t do anything. Preparation now is so important for what will happen then. If you are busy building up your empire, you’ll leave your kingdom and go. If you are busy building up whatever you are building up now, the store, the bookshop, whatever, you have to leave it and go. But if you build some virtue, you can carry it; that is the difference. That is why it is important to look to the next life, rather than looking to this life.

Third resolution: I must commit myself to benefit future lives “From now on I will not hold on to any worldly benefits. I will totally dedicate myself to, commit myself to my future benefit. I will put the next life’s benefit as a major aim. I will practice dharma!” That is very strong. Actually the resolution is just to practice dharma, that is all.

Practice In short, the nine-round death meditation has three roots; each root has three reasonings and a resolution. If you lose this, there is no way you can really meditate. Somehow you have to get it in your head. You cannot go on meditating while looking in notebooks – you cannot. You will not be able to remember eve- rything, so you have to make your own short something, easy for you to practice, easy to remember. On every outline from now on, by thinking on every point, you have to get some kind of short conclusion for yourself. These are the steps, you know. We talk a lot, and I even give you a short essence for meditation, but on every point, every single point you are touching (you may call them outlines or point or breakdowns) you have to get a little resolution type of thing for yourself once. In other words: you have to get the essence, some abbreviated version, some kind of synopsis of every outline and then think on top of it.

46 Lam Rim Teachings ii) Meditation on the aspects of death Probably I am going to be a little bit disappointing to you here. What you are expecting to hear or what you want to hear about the dying stage, you are probably not going to hear, you are going to hear some- thing else. It is very, very important to train and guide your mind in the direction of a dharma practice by this dy- ing-stage meditation. What you are supposed to say here is: it is definite that I am going to die one day. What will happen when I die? How is it going to happen? What I am going to talk about here is presumably an average experience. Not necessarily everybody experiences this, and this is not necessarily the only experience either. It is a sort of average description about what will happen. On the basis of that we will talk.

Say you are badly ill. No matter what medicine or medical treatment you try, it doesn’t help. Instead of helping it goes worse and worse. In the Tibetan Buddhist system, you know, sometimes we do little rituals and prayers. By the help of the praying and the rituals, sometimes medical things which don’t work, can be effective. We have two methods carried out: the normal western homeopathic, allopathic or Tibetan medical treatment and a spiri- tual treatment which is doing rituals and prayers. If neither side does help and the doctors give up, the friends have lost hope. Sometimes they not only give up hope, but they start packing up behind you. They do that, don’t they? I am sure they do. Say the doctors have given up. How do you know the doctors have given up? They talk to you in a sort of two different languages. And also your friends will start talking to you in two different languages. The persons who care for you, your nearest, dearest ones, will try to say, “You’ll be alright, no doubt, blah blah blah”, but on the other hand you can read in their eyes that you don’t have much chance. The moment he gives up you see the doctor less, and when he sees you he only just gives a routine look. On all these sort of things you can definitely see it. When you are left alone with yourself, helpless, you know you are going to go into the future life. Normally what do we do? We pray. At that time what you really need to remember is the teachings of the spiritual masters.

You have to visualize this. You don’t have to visualize your friends taking your things (laughs), but you yourself on the bed. The doctors talk to you a little nicely and so do the friends. And then you begin to feel the heartbeat is starting to get less in your body. You breath is going faster and I believe the nose collapses. In particular you lose your shine. Normally people have some kind of shine, but just before death you no- tice they lose it and when you can look at it you can really see the person is not going to last very long. Sometimes when you see weak people you say, “He looks like a corpse.” Like that. By that time – particularly as a person with a little background of spiritual practice – you remember all the bad things you did and you regret them. And when you try to find a solid work, something you will really be able to carry and rely on, it is quite difficult to find it within you. And, of course, there is pain, physical and mental pain. Then gradually you start to experience the dissolving of the element systems. Some people will have fear, other people will have hallucinations, see different things. You do get a lot of hallucinations, whether you express it or not. Some of the hallucinations are nice, comfortable, happy and wonderful, but some are miserable ones, terrifying. Within that the duration of what we call ‘this life’, ends.

Story of the smuggler. A few years ago there was a sick man in India in a hospital. He developed those hal- lucinations quite early. When they had brought an image of the Buddha from somewhere, the first thing he said was, “Please, remove that image!” He felt that image was jumping on him, so he was getting knocked down. Then the family very much hesitated and finally they had to remove it. Even after removing the im- age he had constant visions: “I can’t breathe, there are a thousand different images coming over me!” This fellow was a smuggler. He used to buy the images from Tibet and sell them. He smuggled antiques. If he just would smuggle antiques, it would be okay, but this fellow used to – as was revealed later – sell images and things out of the temple to rich western collectors. They would go to the temple together and then he would sell things off to them. After some time he stole them and sold them. That was his major job, that is

Mindfulness of Death; Facing Death Realistically 47 how he became wealthy. Once he was caught. He sold an old image from a remote area in the north of Ne- pal. There was an image of Avalokiteshvara. He sold that to an American collector from New York, I don’t know at what price. He was supposed to deliver that image in Hongkong. His Holiness the was invited to Nepal and the Karmapa always had a big show round and all this. After that he used the same car in which he drove the Karmapa, he took that same Mercedes and seven of them went to that place to remove the image. They said there was only one guard, so they got hold of this fellow, although they didn’t kill him. He was hesitating a little bit, which was a good thing, and he did not do it. They tied him down somewhere and tried to remove the image. But they couldn’t remove it. It had some very strong ground touching down to the earth, really. Below the foundation of the temple, it was really touching down somewhere. Finally, they got some kind of axes and cut it out. They broke the whole thing between where they could not dig any more, they broke it, put it in the car and drove away. It took a long time to do all this and by that time the guard got himself free. He started ringing that big bell and all the villagers went down, got hold of the car and so he was caught. He remained in jail for six months, that is all. When he died he had this hallucination of feeling that a tremendous amount of images, bundles of images in sacks and boxes were put on him, so he could not breathe any more. That is why he kept on yell- ing for two days. This happens. Some people have funny things and some have very nice, wonderful vi- sions. When you die you get that.

Choir of monks. People who have positive karma do have interesting things. I witnessed one person dying in Delhi. We all knew he was going to die. On the day he really was going to die, he started losing his memory and said, “Rimpoche, where is this choir of monks? I can hear them saying all these prayers, I can hear the music going on, where are they?” Then he closed his eyes, and asked after his wife, saying, “What happened with her? Could you please tell her to hurry up, we have to catch the plane.” Then again he switched back, “Oh, they are saying prayers now, I can hear them”. Things like that happen.

The question rises: when that happens to me, what do I do? On that you have to meditate very carefully [now]. Meditating here means imagining. You imagine how you’re going to go, how things are functioning with you. All these different hallucinations will come and within that you will end what we call ‘this life’.

Imaginative meditation on the dying stage, intermediate state32 and the lower realms I will give you a short formal meditation, based on Pabongka’s notes.33 I will read it to you. You should not listen to it as an external thing. It is an important meditation you have to do. You have to visualize yourself in that situation, visualize yourself doing this, visualize yourself going through this process. That will really stir us up.

Dying stage At that time Pabongka Rinpoche prays to his master: I am very weak, helpless, please look at me. Throughout my life I cheated myself, now I am help- less, so please help. I have to remind myself; it is the time for me to keep the essential advice in my own heart. I think carefully from the bottom of my heart of my own situation. From the limitless beginning of samsara up to now, I have taken countless lives: happy ones, sad ones, bright, miserable and good ones. I have experienced them, but I didn’t help myself, I didn’t achieve anything at all which helps myself. This is the time to make some good virtuous efforts. Although I may look a very efficient and clever person, in reality I have been most stupid. Why have I been stupid? I have wasted my time playing like a child, wasted my time for this life’s benefits only. A child plays with things out of which it gets benefits for a short period. Similarly, whatever I have been doing was of benefit only

32 Tib. bardo. 33 This meditation is based on Pabongka Rinpoche, Heartspoon, Encouragement through Recollecting Impermanence.

48 Lam Rim Teachings

for this short life; so actually, the efforts I have been putting in were like those of a little child. Not realizing that, I showed myself as an intelligent person. But in reality I’ve been stupid. If I were not stupid I’d know this life is very short, the time is going to come. Why do I waste a tremendous amount of time and energy for gaining benefit in this life only? That is the sign of stupidity. While I am playing like a child, all of a sudden the fearful death will come and then I’ll regret, I’ll have a terrible regret. Such a time will come on me for sure. We all have in mind: “I am going to die for sure, but not for a while, not just yet.” We keep on saying that and we will be busy working for the benefit of making money, a better position, what- ever luxury benefits this life. And while I am lost and caught in that, suddenly the fearful death will come and say, “Hey, it is time for you to go now, right now.” While I am thinking that it won’t be for a while yet, I will get that all of a sudden. Though we prepare for tomorrow and tomorrow, there will be a time I have to go right now and there’ll be no tomorrow, no time to wait for tomorrow. One day the death will come, saying, “You have to go now.” Even though I may be preparing for tomorrow, I won’t have time for tomorrow to come. It can happen while completing my work, it can happen while drinking a cup of tea from which I took half a sip, or I may start eating food and have eaten only half the plate, the other half may be left. Forget about the work, even a plate of food or a cup of tea I won’t be able to com- plete. No time left. Death will come in between, I have to leave half the cup and go. Time will come on me like that one day. The last day of lying down on your bed, you lay down like a tree. You will not be able to turn around your body because you are so weak. Still you try to call your closest friends to come and take your hand, you try to reach to them, try to pull them. Time will come on me like that one day. The time for me to wear these clothes is only today. No matter what cloth I may have put on my body, I will go far away and my body will be left. Whatever is left of the body will be like mud or rock. And there will be a time that I see my own corpse for the first time. Time will come on me like that one day. Your last talk, when you want to say something to the person for whom you care most, is sad words. You try your best to speak out, you’re so weak but still you force yourself to talk, your tongue is al- ready drying up, so the other person cannot understand what you are saying. They cannot under- stand, you realize that and very sadly you have to go. Time will come on me like that one day. Those who are very close in my heart, my friends, relations, my companions, all of them, may be standing around me, but the end of being together is separation. They will all, while crying, get separated from me forever. That time will come on me one day. What will happen thereafter? While we cannot be separated for a short time from our friends and all those we care for, at this time you have to separate for ever. While they are crying you have tremendous different hallucinations. Also you have physical pain in the body and also you have pain on the mind. But you are helpless, weak. In that way we will end the life. That time will come on me one day. By about this time a very kind compassionate master or friend will try to remind you, make you think of virtue, think of good work, think of your spiritual masters. And if you have your spiritual master there he’ll try to guide you, no matter what happens. You can hear it half, you can under- stand it half and half you can’t understand it. With sadness, while regretting you have to go. That time will come on me one day. The breath is going in and out faster and faster with quite a noise, and finally it will end as though the string of the guitar is cut: “Bang!”, finished. Just like that it will end suddenly. That is how this life ends. That time will come on me one day. The body which we cared for so much, which we really enjoyed and looked after, which is so pre- cious to us, will now be called corpse and people will avoid it, thinking it is no longer the body. It will be put in a coffin. That time will come on me one day.

Mindfulness of Death; Facing Death Realistically 49

Normally we can’t even bear incense burning on the body, but then the body will be totally burned by fire. The fire will burn all the flesh and the bones and finally a little left-over dust and bones will be collected. The body which normally cannot even carry a thick, heavy cloth, will be buried under the ground. That time will come on me one day. There will be a time our nice, sweet name, is decorated by using the term ‘the late so and so’. For your friends, your relations and your retinue, it will be time to cry. All your belongings, your hat, your clothes, your shoes, everything, will be distributed in the ten directions. You yourself alone will reach the bardo stage. Sadly you go through the bardo stage, sadly. While you are in the bardo there is wrong functioning of the four elements, so sometimes you feel very fearful. You go through fearful sounds. Sometimes you feel carried by extreme air. Actually they are all hallucinations. You’re not really being carried, but because of your non-virtuous actions you get all differ- ent feelings. Not at the time of the death stage but at the time of the bardo stage you get all these different feelings if you have not kept your elements at an equal level. If one of the elements is slightly higher, say air is slightly higher than the water or fire or earth, then you feel that you are caught in the middle of a storm, you can’t put your feet down, you’re really carried in the storm of air. If the fire is a little higher you get a burning sensation and the feeling that you are caught in the middle of a huge forest fire or something like that. If the water is higher then you feel that you are caught in the middle of an extreme sort of typhoon. Those sort of feelings you’ll get. And if you are good, then you’ll have good feelings too. It is not always bad feelings at the time of death. Sometimes it is very happy, pleasurable. The sign that you are going to get good or bad feelings is: if you are seeing a light and whiteness then you’re going to have somewhat better feelings. If you have the feeling of darkness it is the sign of the bad. That is what happens.

Bardo or intermediate state I may get a feeling that the mountains have broken into pieces and that a tremendous amount of earth falls on my body. I can’t even move from that. When I get those feelings what can I do? There may be the feeling of being caught in the middle of wild, stormy waves of water in the ocean. When I’m caught in between that, I can’t get out of that. When I experience that how can I help myself? There may be the feeling as though caught in a huge forest fire and the sound of burning is so strong that my ears almost burst. When I experience that how can I help myself? Then the air. I may get the feeling of being carried by some kind of storm, caught in the middle of a storm and I can’t even put my feet down. I’m sort of really carried in a storm of air. When I experi- ence that how can I help myself? At the end of that what happens? Then suddenly out of this air you’re caught in a stream of karmic air – le . (Mind you, talking this is always based on people with a lot of non-virtues.) A kind of strong reddish wind will push you out of that. You notice le lung coming towards you and you start running; you’re getting out of that, but you’re still going. You’re chased by that strong karmic wind and suddenly you reach the darkness, you encounter the darkness. We call that: ‘being re- ceived by the darkness’. And when that happens, how can I help [myself]? When I experience that how can I help myself? Received by the darkness, you’ll be caught by the messengers of the Yama, the Lord of the Death. These messengers will catch you and take you. They are not supposed to be kind persons. They are fearful, wrathful, give you very fearful appearances, and you don’t have the power to do any- thing. You will be pushed and when you don’t go they get you. Their equipment is very harmful and painful on your body, a thousand times more painful than the electrical sticks of the police. So you experience a tremendous amount of pain at that time. When I experience that how can I help myself?

50 Lam Rim Teachings

Where will they take you? They will take you in front of Yama, the Lord of Death. And what do you do there? The mirror of karma will reveal all your deeds. In front of Yama the good and bad is counted and that will not be so easy. We wasted our life. We cheated ourselves by attachment and hatred and manipulating. At the end of our life it will be cleared by Lord Yama in the mirror of karma. When that happens how can I help myself? Now the bad karmic result will fall on me; it is the time for me to pay my karmic debts. When that happens how can I help myself? Myth. The mirror of karma is a myth. I can’t say it is not true, but it is a myth. I don’t believe that there is really such a thing called Lord of Death standing there. I really don’t think there is such a thing where you are weighed for what you did, where the ‘white’ and ‘black’ deeds are weighed. There would not even be time to handle the millions of people. Look into the drawing of the six realms34. All these are myths, to tell you the truth. I think, this is just to get a picture or an idea across to the people, like all do.

But what does really happen is that your karmas link. Your good and bad actions – in thoughts, words and deeds – connect you to the next karma. Karma is imprint, the imprint is on your consciousness, the con- sciousness connects to the result that is due to happen. It links up. The end of our life is really concluded here. We manipulated the people in our life, because of attachment and because of hatred. This is how we pass our life. We are cheating ourselves. It is really made clear when you die. Your actual cover will be removed then, you’ll be exposed, the truth will be exposed. We waste our lives manipulating. That will be exposed at that time. Anyway, let’s go through with this myth.

Rebirth: possible next life Suppose you fall into the hell realm. Every direction is supposed to be on fire, the ground, everything. In that fire they burn your bare body. When burning there, how can I help myself at that time? There are certain hell realms where a lot of weapons fall on you. They cut you into a number of pieces and even then you don’t die, you still have to experience the sufferings. How can I help myself at that time? You’ll be burned in boiling water. Even then you don’t die and have to experience this pain. How can I help myself at that time? You will be burnt so much that you cannot separate your body from that fire and even then you have to continue. How can I help myself at that time? The cold hell realms that are talked of are so cold! Your body is totally frozen and it cracks at a hundred thousand different places in your body. And even then you don’t die, you have to experi- ence it. How can I help myself at that time? Suppose I were born in the hungry ghost realm and I had to remain hungry for years together. Even then I don’t die and have to experience the pain of hunger. How can I help myself at that time? Suppose I were born in the animal realm and while alive another animal would eat me, swallow me alive. How can I experience and bear that? How can I help myself at that time? So, when the sufferings of the lower realms actually fall on me, then how can I help myself? Please, do not let it go under the influence of laziness. Be aware of all the situations mentioned above. It is time for you to work, to put some kind of ‘bone’ in your heart and work. This is the time. Not only is it the time for you to do it, but it is getting late already. Please start now! From now on! What do I have to do? What do I have to do now?

34 For an overview of the six desire realms see chart 3 on page 142.

Mindfulness of Death; Facing Death Realistically 51

This is the great teaching of my spiritual master who is my spiritual father, the essence of Tsongkhapa’s teachings, which has a complete combination of sutra and tantra practice. It is time for me to gain experience and realizations on this. See who comes first: your achievements on this or the death? You compete with the death day by day and by competing gain whatever spiritual development you can gain. That is what you have to do. This is Pabongka’s experience, his own meditation notes on the dying stage. I cannot give anything better than that. Those who have taken formal refuge, in your meditation practice you are supposed to go up to the time that you are born into the hell realm, experiencing all these pains and then you say: It is very hard; luckily I am not born there yet, I am only visualizing now, imagining. But it is al- most the same as if I were born there, because I have a perfect karma to be born there. Before it ar- rives I would like to avoid that. Therefore I take refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha: Namo Buddhaya, Namo Dharmaya, Namo Sanghaya (… x) Similarly you do with the hungry-ghost level, similarly with the animal level. If you do this it will be perfect refuge-taking. In short, whatever I mentioned earlier, may be a myth but you cannot look at it as a myth, because it is true; it is only a matter of time before we all have to go through it. You know, I know, we all know. We think our time will not come for a while, but while we are thinking so one day it suddenly says, “Hey, it is time for you! Yes, now, right now!” Then there is no time to wait, not a single minute, you can’t even call somebody. When the death really comes and tells you, “Hey, it is time now”, there is no time for you to complete your work, there is no time for you to complete your account, there is no time for you to complete your study, there is no time for you to complete your letter writing, there is no time to make even one telephone call, there is no time for you to say even a single word to somebody else; you have to go. The actual conclusion on our worldly activities is given by the death. Until the death puts that to a stop we’re not going to stop, we are in a habit, we will never stop. Death is the one who really puts a stop. So you leave everything. If you look at the great masters, the great spiritually developed persons, they have started a lot of ac- tivities, writing books, writing biographies etc. which they have not completed, left it half. We see that very often in collected works. When you look into the people, nobody has completed his work. The busi- ness people left their business incomplete and went. The therapists have not treated somebody properly, not finished the therapy, and they went. In short, you go into some gathering alive and you will be carried out as a dead body. You go and see a movie; you walk in as a human being and you’re carried out as a dead body. This happens very often. And that is bound to happen to me sooner or later. I think it is later, but while I am thinking, “Later, later”, it will come all of a sudden and I will not even have time to take a sip of water, I have to go. It is so fearful, so wrathful and so powerful; you can’t do anything, you just have to leave. Even a sentence you cannot complete. That happens. Before that happens I have to compete myself with the death to gain a benefit. The benefit I can gain once and for all, is the perfect path, which is referred to by the great spiritual masters as parchin [Skt. pa- ramita] ‘gone beyond’ or ‘the only father’; like the Christians do too. It is the essence of Tsongkhapa’s great teaching, which has sutra and tantra complete, with which you can totally overcome all troubles and delusions and you can obtain total enlightenment. And if you can’t obtain enlightenment right now, at least try to gain control over this process. That is what you have to do.

Outlines to come The outline that will come now is on the future life or lives; the lower realms will come. I do not know whether I like to discuss the lower realms as detailed as they are – maybe not. Let me put it this way. Sup- pose the death comes first and you have nothing to show, you have no solid background, have no solid thing to hold; if so what will happen? If you are lucky you connect to good karma, if you are unlucky you connect

52 Lam Rim Teachings to bad karma. Suppose you fall into bad karma, suppose you fall into the lower realms, into the hell realm, then what will happen? How can you get out? It is almost impossible. Then going for refuge comes into the picture. When you can’t help yourself, then you take refuge. When you don’t have the power in your own hands, you take refuge. You take refuge to a perfect object. To whom do you take refuge? That is entirely up to the individual. The Buddhists recommend to take ref- uge to Buddha, dharma and sangha. There are a million of different reasons why, but I won’t go into detail now. Just one simple thing. Why do we take refuge to Buddha, dharma and sangha? As far as Buddha is concerned, he was just like us from the beginning. He was not an extraordinary supernatural person. He was just like us, equal to us. He went through, experienced all this and also he gained buddhahood and the power to be able to help. Therefore we take refuge to the Buddha. We take refuge to the dharma, because the actual protection is really given by the dharma. We take refuge to the sangha, because it is the helping community. Therefore we can take refuge to Buddha, dharma and sangha. When you can’t help yourself you take refuge. When you can help yourself you don’t have to take refuge. What is the cause for taking refuge? The fear of falling into the lower realms, the fear of suffering. To whom do you take refuge? To the perfect cause, himself being free from all these miseries, problems and pains; himself having gone through it and gained experience. That is that. After taking refuge what happens? It is like going to a doctor. When you are sick you go to a doctor and you say, “Hey, I am sick.” Then he says, “Oh, you got something wrong, jaundice; okay, take these pills.” Just like that, when you go to the Buddha, dharma and sangha and take refuge they don’t have the power to send you up or down. They tell you, “Hey, take this medicine of karma. If you do good you will be good, if you do bad you will be bad, you will suffer. Just now to avoid that you take the medicine of karma.” That is how it works.

Practice In your practice at this moment you have to concentrate on the Lamrim stages of development. And you may or may not gain experience, some of you may a little bit, some of you may not, but when you gain experience, then we will also give you the Vajrayana practice. We cannot give you Vajrayana practice unless you have a basic Lamrim practice, including the Mahayana sutra path. In Vajrayana practice, what will happen is: instead of going through ordinary death it will be substi- tuted by extraordinary death. Extraordinary death is a different from normal death; it is planned, you go through it and then death really becomes a path, a dharmakaya path. The dharmakaya path will have to substitute the ordinary death. You don’t go through the death, you cheat death and substitute it by the dharmakaya path. This will be done through a Vajrayana practice. But in order to reach there you have to do this Lamrim practice. It is a long way, so we have to com- pete with time. This meditation is in order to make you realize that we have to compete with time. And in order to use the time we have to realize that we normally put our priorities on everything to benefit this life. That, if you count it, boils down to money and name. Money and name are your ultimate projection and goal. But that is a delusion;. that is hallucinatory. Money, no matter how much you have, you cannot take when you die. It will cause a tremendous fight and misery among your friends and family members to whom the money will belong. The name, promotion, is equally not important. At the time of death, no matter what you are, you may be the president of the US, a senator or a congress man, you may be a presi- dent of a big corporation or a simple cook in a restaurant, at the time of death your position does not help. The president will have no bodyguard, the president of the corporation won’t have money; they’re equal in death, totally equal. So whatever priority we are putting now is a mistake. We put priority to everything except dharma; spiritual things we do as the last thing. Like, “I have to do this and this and then, when I have time I’ll do it.” Right? My business comes first and after the business, if I have time, I will put a little dharma in. The project is always our worldly life, because our life is put up in such a way that it forces you to do this. It is forcing you because you have to pay the bills. But, you can pay the bills to a certain extent if you create reasonable bills. If you created unreasonable bills then you have to work in an unreasonable way in order to pay the unreasonable bill and when you do that you lose all your time to do a dharma practice.

Mindfulness of Death; Facing Death Realistically 53

The setting of the priorities one has to be very careful about. What do this impermanence and remem- bering dying and death remind you of? Do not choose the wrong priorities. That is what it is. We always have the wrong priority. Wrong priority will lead you to doing the wrong things. Once you are involved in doing the wrong things, one thing leads to another and it always goes wrong. We have to face that, chal- lenge that and give ourselves a little time to practice. That is it. Sometimes in our tradition, in the Tibetan Buddhist system, when a person dies you go and ask the lamas to do prayers, to guide. They do give a guidance, sometimes they call you and say, “Hey, you are dead, and you have such and such feelings, this is indicating you are dead, and this and that.” And we also do that very carefully. However, if while alive we are talking to each other and cannot properly understand about the dharma and the stages, it is very hard to understand it at that time, when you are dead. You can- not really rely on that. When you cannot really rely on that it doesn’t mean you should not do it. You should do it, because it may help. But it is better if you do it right now yourself, when you can.

For today we stop here. I’d like to finish the whole Lamrim with you people, not the tantra part but the su- tra part. I’d like to. But, on the other hand, it is not about how much I can finish, it is about how much you can come up to. Each individual will definitely have different experiences, will have different feelings and stages. We have to discuss that individually as well. I am also confident just now. There may be only con- fusion now, but there’s nothing more to discuss. The confusions will go away; if you just stick around a little while the confusions will get solved by themselves. So I am quite confident just now. Whatever has been taught, do kindly put into practice. Practice makes perfect. Go over the medita- tions repeatedly. If you want to be perfect you have to practice.

Inferno: the envious immersed in freezing water medieval block print

X WHAT WILL FOLLOW DEATH: THE SUFFERINGS OF THE LOWER REALMS35

There is no certainty that, after death, lower rebirth does not await you. Je Tsongkhapa, Song of the Stages in Spiritual Practice [Lamrim Dudon], vs. 11 Do kindly generate a pure thought, your motivation, as short as possible: For the benefit of all mother-sentient beings, I would like to listen to this path, practice and obtain enlightenment as quickly as possible and for that I would like to listen to such teachings. For your practice to become a pure higher-level practice, it is important to have a higher-level motivation. The recommended motivation is the altruistic mind. If you do not have the influence of the altruistic mind, no matter what motivation you try to make, it will not become the highest. Why? Because it is not for the benefit of all other living sentient beings. When it is not for the others it is selfish; when it is selfish it is not a Mahayana or higher practice. These are interlinked. If it is not for the service of other beings, then there is no need even for ultimate enlightenment. Sim- ply the ordinary enlightenment [i.e. liberation, arhat level], just being free from sufferings, would be enough for one’s personal sake. Buddha never recommended that. Therefore we are geared towards ulti- mate enlightenment, the highest of all, totally dedicated for the benefit of others. When you raise that motivation in the beginning, from that time onwards you should keep a pure - tivation. I very often mentioned that there are two activities: the activity of the beginning and the activity of the end. The activity of the beginning is the motivation. Whether the total work you do is going to be of higher, lower or medium quality, depends on the motivation. So, please, do not ignore this! Even though it is a sort of normal routine practice you do every day, it is important. Do not ignore that. Have a good pure motivation.

Introduction After death, what will happen to me? Today is a bad day, we have to deal with the sufferings, also of the hell realms. As I mentioned to you, death it is not like blowing out the light of a candle36. When you blow the candle, the light is gone, finished. There is no continuation of light. But we, living beings, are continu- ing. When there is no continuation there is no life. While we are alive we have a continuation and when we die we don’t lose life. We lose this life, but we don’t lose the whole life. We lose our individual life, yet we continue. If there were no continuation, every human being would be like machine-made; all of the same model, like e.g. a Chrysler Skyline, manufactured in a certain class and year. If manufactured we should all look the same. But we are not manufactured. We all have different personalities, a different character, a

35 Literature: Tsongkhapa, The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, Lamrim Chenmo, vol. I, p. 161-175; Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in Our Hands, vol. II, p. 139-177; Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, p. 361-393; L.S. Dagyab Rinpoche, Achtsamkeit und Versenkung, p. 136-145; Geshe Rabten, The Essential Nectar,p. 205-212,p. 91-104; Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, An Anthology of Well-spoken Advice, par. 84-95; Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Joyful Path of Good Fortune, p. 173-189; Chögyam Trungpa, The Myth of Freedom, p. 19-40; Geshe Thubten Loden, Path to Enlightenment, p. 255-275; Gehlek Rimpoche, Odyssey to Freedom, steps 24-30; Dante Allighieri, Divina Commedia. 36 See page 36. 56 Lam Rim Teachings different way of thinking, different behavior, a different look, a different voice, different thoughts. This is a clear sign that we are a continuation, we are not manufactured. We occupy a certain body which we get from our parents. It is almost like renting an apartment. You rent an apartment, live in there and call it home. You function there and when the lease is up you leave the apartment and get another one and you call that home. Similarly we got this body borrowed and we live in here till our lease is up. Then we go into another one and we call that home. This is a clear sign that every- thing we consider to be valuable for us, is meaningless. Do you get me? It is meaningless. We are simply living in a borrowed apartment which has two arms and two legs and a mouth to use. Like an apartment has a bathroom, a bedroom and a kitchen to cook in, similarly we borrowed a body which has a mouth to speak, ears to listen, eyes to look and a mouth to eat. Very similar. We are living in a rented house. And we continue in that rented house until our lease is up, whether we like it or not. If your apartment is torn down, you move out of it and move into the next apartment. Similarly, when a body cannot function any more the occupant moves out and finds another body.

Two possibilities. What are the possibilities of another body that you can find? There are two possibilities: a body of a higher category (which is the category of pleasure, a pleasurable life), or a body of a lower category (which is the category of suffering). These are the only two we can get; we cannot get a third category. Why? We have not gone out of samsara, we are stuck within that circle of existence and it has nothing more to offer than either a pleasure place or a suffering place.

Where am I going to go? In which category am I going to fall? I can guess myself and so can you. You don’t have to go and see somebody to ask, “Where am I going to go my next life?” You don’t have to go and see a lama to tell you where you are going to be born next. (Tibetans are very fond of doing that.) You don’t have to go to a person in trance to ask, “Where am I going to be reborn?” Buddha has already told us two thousand five hundred years ago where we are going. We can find out ourselves. How? By judging our own behavior, our own thoughts, our own deeds. That is the most important. Whether the deeds are going to be good or bad depends on the thoughts, so we have to judge our own deeds, our own thoughts, our own behavior. These are the things from which you can find what your next life is going to be. Buddha has said in the sutra: Whether your next life is going to be pleasure or pain Depends on your actions of virtue or non-virtue. So choose. Avoid non-virtues And build virtues as much as you can. False securities. What do we consider as our great securities in the material world, what material things do we consider a security? When you feel insecure you run towards making money. Why? Because you be- lieve money is a security. A lot of people do that. A lot of people when they feel insecure go for alcohol, a lot of people when they feel insecure go for drugs. Those who go for alcohol or drugs do not even under- stand money as a security. They don’t even start running for making money but rather look for an escape, hide, so they don’t have to deal with things, don’t have to think about them, get away from them. But you can’t get away from it, you are caught right in the middle of it. You have to face it, always. Running for money is a clear sign that you believe money is the real security. What I do when I feel insecure, I say Om mani padme hum, because I believe that is the security. That really shows how it is. I do not know whether saying a mantra is a security or not, but I am sure money and drugs are not a security. We waste a tremendous amount of valuable time for the sake of wealth. But at the time you need it most, it will let you down. For sure. You know this, I know this, we discussed it all the time. The day you die you will not be able to buy even a drop of water. The day you die you cannot sign a single cheque, you cannot use your credit card. Your credit, your deposit, your account, every single thing will let you down. That shows how unreliable the worldly things are to us. But that doesn’t mean you have to throw them away. No. You have to have a respectable, reasonable living. That is the relative existence. If you lose the relative truth it will be like losing one eye; if you lose the absolute it is like losing the other eye. Neither of them you can lose, you have to have them both in balance, but you must realize that wealth is not security, that it is not the answer, that it is not the ultimate.

What will Follow Death; the Sufferings of the Lower Realms 57

We say we need our savings a little later. That is what we say, but what we really need is being very open-minded and openly looking where to go in our future. And you have to think on that a lot. How to think? Think on what you are doing, what you are thinking, what your actions are. Are they good or bad? If it is bad you are going towards bad, if they are good you are going towards good. That is how you think.

No control after death. Let us say: when the time comes, where are we going to go? We have no control over ourselves. Although we created the cause, we lost the control. You are at the mercy of somebody else who will drive you. If we had control, who would choose the lower realms, who would like to choose the suffering lands? Nobody. Right? I am not going to choose it. None of use would choose that if we had the control. But there are people who are down in the hell realms and other lower realms. They also didn’t choose that. At the time they had no choice, they landed there. Who sent them down? Not God. God doesn’t send people to hell, for sure. But you yourself, your own karma, makes you go. Because, you know, what happens is: the karma is followed. At the time of death you have nothing to hold on to. In hu- man eyes you are invisible. You are carried around and a lot of things are happening. You will be follow- ing what is shown to you, your karma, the karmic path, that is all. Some myths may tell you you can’t find a place to go and therefore white and black lines appear to be followed. These are myths, in other words a kind of ‘pictures’ or a way of saying. What you are really following is your karma. Like the honeybees follow the flowers and the butterflies follow the light, that way we follow our karma. What is karma? Karma is your own action. It is whatever you created. Every- thing is dependent arising, remember? Every result is a result of some cause which we created and you are simply following that. If we have a lot of good karma, a lot of bad karma and a lot of mixtures, which one are you going to follow? Whichever is strongest among them; that one gets you. The weak one cannot get you, the strong one can get you. If it is of equal strength, then whichever you are used to, that one gets you. We are used to non-virtues, we are not used to virtues. For something virtuous you have to work on, it is hard, you have to force yourself. But if there is a non-virtuous thing you enjoy doing it, it is wonderful, because you are used to it. The same with everything. Therefore, if there is an equal amount of virtuous and non-virtuous work, whatever you are used to is going to catch you. These are the basic rules of karma, which Buddha already told. So, you judge what you have, you judge what you are used to and automatically you know where you are going to go. That is how it works. Every non-virtue is happily done, you enjoy doing it, and when you get a chance to do it you even enjoy it afterwards, cherish that. That makes all non-virtues strong and perfect, every virtue weak and in- complete. If under these conditions I die today, it is almost certain that I am going to fall into the lower realms. (When I say ‘I’ you think of yourself. Okay?) For 99.9% I am certain to fall into the lower realms. So what to do? Actually it is very important to clear all this non-virtue, to purify and clear it before dying. If you can at this moment. Because this is the situation: today I am sitting in a nice place, we are talking with nice people, enjoying life, and if tomorrow when I wake up I find I have fallen into the hell realm, what will I do?

Death – bardo – next life. How does death come, how does bardo come? Death will come all of a sudden, like falling asleep, the bardo will come like a dream, and when you wake up the next life has started. That is how it goes. When you fall asleep: zum, go! Right? Ordinarily death is like that. Then the bardo comes: all funny dreams come in, sometimes you’ll enjoy it, sometimes you’ll be terrified, sometimes you’ll have nightmares – all these sort of things. The bardo has a lot of nightmares, it also has a lot of pleasures. It de- pends on the different persons, on their karma. The moment we wake up from that, what will happen? If I went to sleep in bed and had a bardo like a dream and then I would wake up in the hell realm, what would happen? People do not like to think about hell, people do not like to hear about hell. I don’t blame them. Peo- ple in the west have taken advantage of expressing hell as a threat, as far as I understand. That is why you don’t like to hear about it. It is not a threat; it is a possibility. And every possibility should be looked into. If you do not look into it, you won’t know it. Avoiding to hear it, avoiding to understand it, will not help us not to fall into it at all.

58 Lam Rim Teachings

Renunciation. Besides that, if you don’t look into the sufferings, there is no way you can gain renuncia- tion.37 No way. So it is important to meditate on the sufferings. As a matter of fact, meditation on suffering is the most important technique Buddha ever gave. As I always say: when Buddha obtained enlightenment, he said: Deep, peaceful, perfectly pure, luminous, uncompounded, and like nectar is the Dharma I have obtained. Even if I were to teach it, it could not be known by another. Certainly, I must remain silent in the forest.38 So everybody was waiting for his nectar. The moment Buddha opened his mouth, the nectar he threw was: suffering. That was his nectar. The First Noble Truth is the truth of suffering. That is our reality. It is our reality, so you cannot forget it.

Hell realms are there, you cannot ignore them. It is not Christian-manufactured, no! It is there, it is one of the possibilities. But it is not permanent! Again, I tell you, it is not permanent. People go there for a short period. Some people even go there for a second and come back. It is said ‘like the bounce of a ball’. That is the shortest period people go there. It is not permanent at all. For some people it is a very, very long pe- riod too, semi-permanent. But some are very short. It is like in human life: you may live there for a few minutes, you may stay there for a few hours, a few days, a few years or a hundred years. That is it. But if you avoid thinking on that, it won’t help. You must look into the possibilities. I never heard of the division of hell realms in Christian teachings. It must be there, but I don’t know.39 Similarly, the Bud- dhist teachings present a lot of divisions, and today we have to deal with those.

2) The sufferings of the lower realms40 Heavy non-virtue leads to the hell realm, medium non-virtue produces rebirth as a preta, a spirit, and when it is not so heavy it produces rebirth in the animal realm. a) The sufferings of a life in hell Normally in the formal teachings one would explain the different types of suffering that we experience in the lower realms. When we hear about these things and we compare it to our human experience we cannot really believe that we can suffer in hell like that. But the Buddha did not teach the sufferings in order to scare people. There was another purpose. Those various visions we have in the hells are karmic visions. Hell is not some world existing by itself. That is clearly stated by Shantideva in The Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, where he says, “Who has created the iron platform where you are stretched out on?” And he said, “Who has created those appearances of man and woman you are attached to and you want to run to but you can’t reach?” Shantideva replies to this question saying that Buddha says those visions are created by one’s own negative mind, that means created by one’s own karma. Who intentionally created All the weapons for those in hell?

37 First one of the Three Principles of the path to enlightenment: 1) Determination to be free, also called ‘renunciation’, also called ‘love for yourself’, 2) the altruïstic mind of enlightenment, 3) wisdom. 38 Lalitavistara Sutra, The Voice of the Buddha, ch. 25. 39 The Bible and the Christian theology speak about hell without making formal divisions, but describe it in terms of ‘eternal fire’, ‘eternal ice’ and ‘eternal darkness’. The Christian tradition, however, has passed on many images of hell in which there is a differ- entiation. There is Dante’s Divinia Commedia, which describes many hot as well as many cold hells: the deeper you go, the more suffering there is and the suffering corresponds to the evil done. The medieval painters, like Breughel and especially Jeroen Bosch, depicted the gateway of hell as the mouth of a monster and painted tortures in great variety, again related to the vice done on earth. The visions of Hildegard von Bingen show a variety of hell pictures, too. , a theologist and mystic from the 18th century, described in his book Heaven and Hell, that it is not God sending one to heaven or hell, but it is one’s mind itself that automatically ‘chooses’ the direction, depending on the state of mind built up during one’s lifetime. 40 The paragraphs of the hell, and animal realms are taken from , The Wheel of Existence.

What will Follow Death; the Sufferings of the Lower Realms 59

Who created the burning iron ground? From where did all the women (in hell) ensue? The Mighty One has said that all such things Are (the workings) of an evil mind, Hence within the three world spheres There is nothing to fear other than my mind. Shantideva, A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life [Bodhisattvacharyavatara], ch. 5, vs. 7-8 The sufferings in the hot hells41 In some teachings it is said that the hot hells are located below this earth in the southern direction and the cold hell in the northern direction. Some people say that this is related to the fact that on our earth the southern direction is more hot and the northern direction is more cold, but some other lamas say that actu- ally there is no relation at all between the place where you experience hell and this world. With regard to the type of birth that those hell-beings take, they take rebirth like the gods. They do not take birth via the womb of the mother, nor from moisture, nor from eggs. They have spontaneous birth without relying on external conditions. Some experience of suffering in hell is like the experience of suf- fering that one undergoes on a blazing, burning platform. 1) There is a part of the hells that is called Continual Resurrection. There the hell-beings are in the pos- session of weapons, and when they meet each other they start to fight straight away and throw their weapons at each other. They get wounded, their limbs are cut off and so on. Because of their karmic life force they do not die, but fall down on the ground and remain there until a voice in space says, “Get up again. Be born again.” Then they regain strength and start to fight again all during the day. It is said they experience death a hundred times a day and they experience being born a hundred times. There is no real death occurring to them; they are always alive, but the experience is that of death and being born again. 2) Below there is a part of hell that is called Black Line. Why is it called so? The sentient beings are stretched down on a blazing platform and then there are certain (hell workers) that have some red-blazing iron ‘instruments’ to make measurements on the bodies stretched down. When they ‘measure’ a body like that, it turns red and afterwards it will have black lines of being burned. After having taken the measurements, they cut you along the lines. There is also the question whether those hell workers are real beings. Some say these yamas are a kind of spirits, but they themselves are not hell beings, because when they walk on the blazing ground they don’t get burned. Some other expla- nations say they are no real beings, they are not even spirits, but just visions that those who are tor- tured have at that moment. 3) Below there is another part of the hells that is called Assembled and Crushed. One finds oneself at a certain point between two mountains, one coming from the north and one coming from the south. These are blazing mountains having the aspects of the sentient beings that one has been killing most frequently. If one has been killing cows those mountains appear as cow heads, if one has been killing sheep, those mountains appear like sheep heads. So the two blazing mountains come and one gets burned and crushed in between, but one does not die. You just have the experience, but you remain alive. 4) Below there is another part of the hells which is called Lamentation. At a certain point you find your- self walking and you enter a house. This house is made out of iron. Once you are in all doors close and the house gets on fire outside and inside. You are burned and you are crying for help. 5) Below there is another one, called the hell of the Great Lamentation. You enter a house of iron and there is another house of iron inside. You get in, it closes and you are burned again. 6) Below there is another hell, the Hotter Hell, in which the sentient beings are speared from the bottom to the top of the head onto burning iron spears. 7) Below there is the hell called Even Hotter. There you are impelled on a burning trident that passes from the bottom to the top of your body. One point comes out through your head, the other points through the shoulders.

41 For a more detailed description of the 18 hells and their relation to our actions, see the works of Pabongka Rinpoche and of Ge- she Ngawang Dhargyey mentioned in note 35 on p. 50.

60 Lam Rim Teachings

8) Below that we have the hell of No Respite [Skt. avici], the last and deepest hell. There you blaze with fire. Fire is coming from the four main directions and the four intermediate directions and you are burned by that fire. You are just within the flame; you are living within the flame. If you look from outside you just see a flame, you don’t see anything else.

The sufferings in the cold hells Then there are the eight cold hells. There the ground is like ice and you are living on such a ground with- out clothes, day and night, without the light of sun or moon. The first three hells kind of belong together. 1) The first cold hell is called Blisters, ‘goose skin’, not like we get, but very big. 2) The second hell is the one in which your skin cracks, called Burst Blisters. 3) The third one, the hell of Sneezing [also called Brrr] is colder again. 4) In the hell of Moaning [also called Hue] you are so freezy you don’t even have the power to sneeze – there is just a moaning sound coming from the throat. 5) In the next one, the hell called Chattering [or Frozen Jaw], you don’t even have that power, your teeth are just chattering. 6) Then you have the hell in which the cracks in your skin become very wide. [It is called Blue Utpala because after cracking your body has the shape of that utpala flower.] 7) The next one is the hell in which the cracks in your skin make ‘drawings’. [It is called Red Lotus after their shape.] 8) And the eighth one is ‘cracks all over’. [It is called Shattered Lotus.]

The sufferings in the two secondary or neighboring hells Altogether they make eighteen. The first secondary hell is called the peripheral hell because it is outside the hot hells. And the second is called partial hell, existing in the human world, like in the ocean or in other parts where beings experience extreme sufferings. One particular hell realm looks like a big forest. There are beautiful trees, with beautiful flowers and leaves. But in actuality they are razor-sharp leaves. You are sitting under the tree and when you look up you see all your loved ones, your near ones and dear ones, in the higher parts of this huge tree. They are calling out to you, “Hey, come up, come up. It is nice up here. There are beautiful flowers and beautiful fruits. We are enjoying ourselves here!” Then you try to climb up, but you can’t get through. You get cut and wounded by all these branches and leaves, but yet you are determined to go on. You know how stubborn we can be. You really want that little pleasure up there and you try to drag your body there. But by the time you get there, you are totally chopped and cut and all your loved ones are suddenly down there on the ground. Now you think, “Oh, it is easy now to get down.” But as you climb down, all the razor sharp leaves are facing upwards, so you get cut again. This is the hell of the “razor-sharp leaf” forest [Tib. lo ma].42 b) The sufferings of a life as a hungry ghost Then there is the location of the pretas, the hungry spirits, which is said to be located under this earth. There are different kinds of spirits. Those who experience suffering from hunger or from thirst or from both: the typical suffering they have is being unable to enjoy the excellence of the food or even being unable to find food.43. Some pretas see different trees of food; they run but suddenly yamas appear around the tree, holding weapons and not allowing them to pick the fruit. And even if they find some food, since they have a very small throat, that food cannot go through or even if it goes through, since their belly is very big it is like nothing has gone inside. There are some other types of pretas, who as soon as the food arrives in their mouth in their experi- ence it changes into fire. So they do not have the power to enjoy the food in its real aspects, its real quali- ties. Even if they find some water, when it arrives in their mouth it changes into pus or blood. The vision that one has, accords to one’s own karmic [tendencies].

42 Shantideva, A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, ch. VI, vs. 46. 43 The beings there are depicted as having long necks with knots, which makes it nearly impossible to swallow anything.

What will Follow Death; the Sufferings of the Lower Realms 61

Example of the glass of water. When you take for example a glass of water and you put three types of beings in front of that water – a god, a human being and a hungry spirit – then the god will see the cup of water as nectar (he will experience every atom of it as nectar), human beings will experience it as just normal water and pretas will experience it as blood or pus or urine. They also suffer from heat and cold. Nagarjuna says in the Fundamental Wisdom that for ordinary human beings when the summer is very hot the moon in the night gives a refreshing effect on the body and when we are very cold in the winter, the sun gives a nice warm feeling to the body, but the pretas do not have those kind of experiences. In summer the sun is unbearable for them and also the light rays of the moon are burning. They also suffer from weariness and fear.]44

Now when you meditate on these sufferings and imagine them, you should not imagine them up to the point where you start feeling completely depressed, but if you have some in the possibilities of such suffering, it helps you to have a more wholesome behavior, to avoid those actions that cause rebirth in those states. c) The sufferings of a life as an animal Then in the animal world you can see what kind of experiences of suffering they have. Mainly they have the experience of being eaten: smaller animals are eaten by bigger ones, in the ocean or outside. Animals are killed by humans although they do not harm human beings. For example the deer live in the forest and are very quiet by themselves, but still humans go there and kill them. Just by looking we can see what kind of experiences animal existence can have. When we, human be- ings, get sick there is somebody who cares for us, we have some kind of assistance. But animals do not have power on their own life and when they get sick there is nobody to help them, they don’t receive assis- tance. Although there are some animals that are taken care of by human beings, they are mostly not taken care of so they can be safe, but to become fat enough to be eaten. So they have that kind of destiny of ex- ploitation. Of course, there are some animals that live so close to human beings that humans somehow feel uneasy about killing them. Since they are so close they develop a kind of good attitude towards them. The main characteristic is being confused, being dull and ignorant. Also animals suffer from heat and cold and from hunger and thirst

Conclusion on the lower realms Now think. Somehow we have to go and find another form. What kind of form is it going to be? A good one or a bad one – who knows? If you are lucky you get a good one. If you are unlucky you get a bad one. Let’s say you die and suddenly find yourself caught in a hell realm. Then what is going to happen? You are in a hot hell and the ground is burning. Think, when in a hot summer you walk on the beach, how the hot sand is burning you? Now, in the hot hell, the burning iron is the ground you are walking on. That is not enough. Fire is everywhere, every wall you look at is on fire. Even the roof is on fire. Everything is burning. What can you do? It is good to think about that. You can do virtually nothing. You can cry, scream and yell. You can’t bang against the wall, because that will burn you more. It has been helpful to me to observe what happened in a Chinese restaurant. They put living chickens on burning charcoals. This is hurting them so much that they pull out all their feathers from out their bod- ies and put them under their feet. But it is not helping. Finally they die. The real delicacy of chicken leg is coming from that. Likewise, think, “I am in hell. My feet are burning. If I lie down all my body is burning.” The only thing you can do now is to take refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. The cause of taking refuge, the fear, is this. It is the fear of falling into the lower realms. Also, think about the cold hells. Actually, forget about the cold hells. Just think what it would feel like if you would have to stand out in the snow naked for twenty minutes. In the cold hells you are stuck forever in extremely low temperatures, your body is cracking and becomes a piece of ice. Then think about the surrounding hells. There is that swamp. All your friends and relations are on the other side of the swamp. They call out to you, “Poor you, you are suffering over there. Come over here.”

44 Classes: Obstruction from Knots, External Obstacles, Internal Obstacles. See chart 3 on page 142.

62 Lam Rim Teachings

You try to walk through that swamp but it is full of razor blades which cut your body into a million pieces. Then, by the time you get to the other side, all your friends and relations are on this side. You have to go back and forth like that. And these sufferings are still the light ones.

Becoming aware of the sufferings will help us to avoid those actions which can produce rebirth for us in those states of suffering. So it will help to develop a kind of awareness which prevents us from going into unwholesome actions. When you do not wish to experience a certain result, then you first of all must not create the cause for it. Just wishing will not be enough not to experience the result we are creating the cause for. Also, on the other hand, if one is not aware of the possible sufferings produced by our confused actions, one may not have the awareness to change these actions. Therefore, in order to avoid the bad ex- periences and to change the course of our actions, one must contemplate the karma. Buddha himself has said one time: My doctrine is to avoid unwholesome actions, to practice all that is positive, and to control one’s own mind. Therefore, by hearing those things we should actually develop belief in the sufferings that we can experi- ence as a result of the different actions. If we believe, this will help us change the course of our actions. Total belief in the words of Buddha [can help us]. Therefore, being aware of those sufferings, one should avoid non-virtuous actions and practice positive ones. With regard to the last part of the statement of the Buddha (taking control over your own mind): this means one has to separate one’s own mind from disturb- ing conceptions such as attachment, hatred and confusion, and to develop certain qualities of the mind, like faith, enthusiasm, consideration for oneself and consideration for others up to the point that those qualities of the mind also reflect their result on the behavior, on the actions of the person.

Practice Meditation on the sufferings is so important, it causes our hard mind to be moved. In order to move this hard mind we need very strong meditations on the sufferings. It also helps us to reduce our pride. Depression is generally bad, but sometimes you can use your de- pression. When you feel very low and depressed, it is also good to use it to avoid pride, use it to reduce your ego. When you think “I am somebody, I am the number one”, have a good depression; that will bring it down. When depression becomes part of life, make use of it; don’t suffer under it but make use of it. Realize “I am nobody”, use it to cut your pride, use it to cut your ego.

Meditation on the lower realms Visualize yourself lying on your bed. Your breath is shortened and shortened and finally it cuts. Before that you pull your friends, expressing that you cannot be separated. However, you have to separate forever. Forever you have left your wealth, your name, your position, your friends, your relations and companions. When that happens what do I carry? Only my karma, the bad and the good karma. If I were lucky enough to be able to connect with good karma it is okay, but in case I am unlucky, if I am con- nected to bad karma, what kind of feelings do I get? After going through each one of the four elements, having delusions and the wrong feelings, sup- pose I would be born in the hot hell realm. I may burn to the extent that separation between my body and the fire cannot even be seen. And even then I will not be dead; because of my karmic power I still have to continue experiencing the burning. If that happens how can I help myself? If I would be born in a cold hell my body is cracked into a thousand different pieces, frozen and cracked, and even then I cannot die, I still have to experience the cold. What can I do if that hap- pens?

What will Follow Death; the Sufferings of the Lower Realms 63

I may be a hungry spirit for years together. When I am hungry here for half an hour I cannot bear it. Then if there I have to remain hungry for years, will I be able to bear that? No. If that happens it is too late. If I become an animal, somebody can eat me while I am alive, solidly; the whole body gets swal- lowed and chewed. The biggest suffering on animals is that one eats the other while still alive. When that happens to me, will I be able to bear it? If I am not able to bear all this, it is in my hands right now. Right now if I make my way, I can do it. I am still alive, I have a path, I have a practice, I can gain realizations. These practices can guar- antee me a better life, better comfort. Why don’t I do that? Not only do I have to do this, I have to do it right now. Not only do I have to do it right now, I am almost being late. I have to do it immediately. I have to compete with my death day by day and gain benefits. Otherwise I’ll lose. I’ll lose this time. If I lose this time I will be lost for a long time. I must make sure that I won’t lose. That is what you do.

Refuge tree in the center: Buddha Sakyamuni to his right: the method of and Asanga. to his left: the wisdom lineage of and Nagarjuna at the back: Buddha surrounded by the blessing lineage in the front: root guru and other direct teachers down the tree: lines of , buddhas, bodhisattvas, arhats, dakas, and dharma protectors

XI GOING FOR REFUGE: TAKING A SAFE DIRECTION IN LIFE45

(There is no certainty…) But there is certainty that the Three Jewels have power to protect you from it. Therefore, base yourself upon refuge And let not the refuge precepts degenerate. Je Tsongkhapa, Song of the Stages in Spiritual Practice [Lamrim Dudon], vs. 11 As you all know, I talk to you here on the basis of the Buddhist path. I talk to you as a Buddhist and I am trying to present the method to you. I am not trying to make you a Buddhist; I am trying to present to you the Buddhist way. I also try to present to you the qualities of the Buddha, the qualities of the dharma and the qualities of the sangha. Then, whether you do or don’t want to be a Buddhist is your choice. Nobody is going to force you, don’t worry about that.

Outlines ii. Actual method for achieving happiness in future lives. That is about how to obtain benefit for future lives. It has two: 1) Going for refuge: taking a safe direction in life. Taking refuge to Buddha, dharma and sangha is the door to protection, entering the practice of Buddha’s way. 2) Karma: actions and their consequences. The root of all happiness is to try to develop a profound un- derstanding of and faith in the karmic system. a) The causes for refuge There are two causes for refuge: fear and faith. Fear: three levels of fear 1) Lower level: the fear of falling into the sufferings of the lower realms. 2) Medium level: the fear of the sufferings of samsara in general. 3) Mahayana level: the fear of being unable to bear the sufferings that all other living beings are going through. The Mahayana refuge must have great compassion. Faith If you have proper faith – don’t think of blind faith but of a sort of perfect understanding – and you can rely on Buddha, dharma and sangha, they will never let you down whenever, wherever or however you

45 Gehlek Rimpoche, Odyssey to Freedom, step 32. Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in Our Hands, vol. II, p. 179-226. Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, p. 394-428. Tsongkhapa, The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, Lamrim Chenmo, vol. I, p. 177-207. L.S. Dagyab Rinpoche, Achtsamkeit und Versenkung, p. 146-160. Geshe Rabten, The Essential Nectar,p. 212-214,p. 105-111. Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, An Anthology of Well-Spoken Advice, p. 227- 302. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Joyful Path of Good Fortune, p. 191-228. Geshe Thubten Loden, Path to Enlightenment, p. 277- 319. Kathleen McDonald, How to Meditate, p. 126-133 and p. 141-143. Chögyam Trungpa, The Heart of the Buddha, p. 85- 107. 66 Lam Rim Teachings need them. That is true, I base that on my own experience. If you have a proper, profound refuge, if you can really totally rely on Buddha, dharma and sangha, then whatever may happen, you’ll never, never be let down. That is my own experience, and Buddha, dharma and sangha and all the Buddhist lineages have also guaranteed that. But it depends on ourselves. If we sort of halfway rely on them, it will work out halfway; if we totally rely on them, it will work out totally. However, relying on Buddha, dharma and sangha doesn’t mean that you don’t have to do anything else. It doesn’t work like that. We have to rely as well as work.

The example of the fruit. I’ll give you an old traditional Indian story, called The annuli fruit. It is about a man who has proper faith and says, “If I have a positive attitude and thoughts, everything will work out positively.” So he goes and lies down on his back under a fruit tree, opens his mouth and keeps saying posi- tive thoughts: “That fruit will fall into my mouth, it is going to fulfill my hunger and thirst and also it is something special.” He just doesn’t want to get up and pick the fruit, so the fruit never falls into his mouth. b) Who to take refuge to – the objects of refuge i) Identifying the objects of refuge It is so important to know the objects of refuge. If you try to take refuge without knowing the object of ref- uge, it doesn’t work very well. One must know what one is doing. One must know to whom one takes refuge.

The story of the official. There was a Tibetan diplomat who became the governor of Eastern Tibet, , Amdo. When he was governor down there and responsible for everything, a delegation from a monastery in Eastern Tibet came to visit him. Normally the people representing the Tibetan government have politi- cal activities, they don’t have many dharma activities and dharma duties, but somehow this group of monks, representatives of the monastery, asked him, “What are the Three Jewels and where are they, your Excellence?” He didn’t know what to say; he had no answer to their question. But saying that he didn’t know would be very embarrassing for him. He was eating some food, so he kept on chewing, thinking what to say. They kept quiet so he had to say something, and after some time he said, “Well, as I know Buddha, dharma and sangha are the Three Jewels.” That was okay. Now the second question was: where are they? He said, “As far as I know – he was still eating – these Three Great Jewels are living in the sky above us in a mandala of glass from which light radiates.” Although he was a clever fellow who thought a lot, that was what he answered. The fellow had no idea what Buddha is, what dharma is, what sangha is. That is possible. It has been happening earlier in India, in places like , it happened in Tibet too and it is happening here nowadays. A lot of people claim to be a Buddhist but they don’t even know what really Buddha is, what really dharma is and what really sangha is. I keep emphasizing this, because this is the doorway and when you don’t get through the doorway there is no way you can do anything in- side. So it is important.

Buddha Buddha in Tibetan is Sang gye. That means: the one who has cleared all the blocks [gye] and who is fully awakened, who is fully developed or who fully knows everything [sang].

Absolute and relative. We talk about the relative buddha and the absolute buddha or about the causal bud- dha and the result buddha. The absolute buddha is your result buddha. The result buddha will have devel- oped within ourselves when we are fully developed. That is the ultimate refuge. As we don’t have our result buddha within us yet, we have the causal buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha and all other enlightened beings. The object of the result refuge is the buddha that you and I are going to be in the future. The causal refuge is a buddha who has already obtained buddhahood. Those who are already enlightened, like Gau- tama Buddha or Amitabha Buddha or the Medicine Buddha, all those thousands of different buddhas are the causal refuge. Why causal? Because through their help, through them as a guide we’ll be able to de- velop our result buddha. That is why we are taking those enlightened beings as cause. At present we don’t have that true future buddha of ours, it is not yet developed. It is within us in the form of a seed; it is not yet there in an active form. When it is not there in an active form, you cannot take

Going for Refuge: Taking a Safe Direction in Life 67 refuge to it. You cannot take refuge to something empty, so therefore you take refuge to the causal buddha, the buddha that helps us to develop our own result buddha. Our own result buddha is the absolute object of refuge. Because that is what we are going to obtain, that is what we are aiming for. When you get that, you are totally protected. That is why it is the absolute object of refuge. But in order to reach that stage, a causal buddha helps. Therefore the causal buddha is the one who we take refuge to. And he or she represents our future buddha, too.

Here you should really meditate. You have to find your own object of refuge, which means you have to find your own refuge Buddha.

Representation. The Buddha on the picture here is the representing figure. All images and pictures are symbols. With or without picture, wherever you are, Buddha is. Whenever you put a little effort in your development – whether you are Buddhist or not makes no difference to Buddha – all buddhas help and try to help in whatever best way they can.

Dharma When you say “dharma” I don’t know what picture people in the west have in mind. A lot of people think dharma is whatever you practice. I don’t think that is dharma at all. Meditating is not dharma. Saying man- tras is not dharma. Or you may think that saying and meditating together, to gain double benefit, is dharma. It is not. It is an activity of dharma, but it is not dharma. Many people will say that dharma is the knowledge in the books: information-, practice- and development knowledge. The Tibetans will look at the books that are rolled into yellow cloth and put on shelves. Again, I don’t believe that is dharma. Each one of them has to be my: my buddha, my dharma, my sangha. Then what is my dharma? The qualities you gain.

Let me present the qualities of dharma straight from the sutra: Dharma is virtue. It is virtue from the beginning, it is virtue in between, it is virtue in the end. It is meaningful, has good words, is clear and complete. It is pure. One sees the benefits. It clears the illnesses. It is continuity. By seeing and looking itself it fulfills a lot of purposes. All the learned people possess that. Wherever in the you see the word “learned” [Tib. kepa], it means a person with practice and development, not a person who is rich in information, like the tape-recorder carriers. Buddha has presented it well: dharma is what learned persons possess, what they earned, what they developed. They possess spiritual development. The spiritual development is the actual dharma. The actual dharma is not the dharma you practice; your meditation is a method, is working towards dharma. Suppose you have a very good meditation, like absolute concentration without any obstacle. Without any obstacle means: without any additional thoughts, non-dual, completely concentrated on emptiness without any obstacles. That is the highest peak of concentration. As a result of that you will block [the de- lusions]; you will get cleared from a lot of delusions that are the direct opponent to that clear concentration on emptiness. By having that concentration overpowering those obstacles, you will be cleared of the delu- sions and the imprints of the delusions. For each delusion and the imprint of the delusion that is cleared, you obtain the positivity of it. That very positivity within you is your spiritual development and that very positivity within you is your dharma. When it is completed, at the level of buddhahood, your dharma is perfectly developed. Until then you are building your dharma day by day. Your practice builds up. Even if you sit fifteen minutes a day, in those very fifteen minutes you are making virtuous efforts, totally directly fighting against non-virtues. And when that gains power over the non-virtues you gain positivity. At our ordinary level we may only simply be getting merit and virtue, which is not much of wisdom. But that virtue is also a kind of little dharma within us.

Check your development. So, your dharma is your spiritual development; your spiritual development is dharma. So you check your spiritual development, see if your qualities progress. Don’t expect to have a

68 Lam Rim Teachings good quality from the beginning – no way. However, there should be something. If there is nothing then it is nothing. If there is something then there is hope, then you are on the right track. Otherwise you’ll be wandering in the open air: there is nothing to measure, there is nothing to limit, there is nothing to see, just simply wandering. Then you get, as we say, Even if you are carried by the river stream, you still think you are swimming. That is what happens when there is nothing to measure.

These are the qualities of the dharma. If that is what you are getting, fine. If you are not getting it, you are in trouble.

Absolute and relative. As I told you: the absolute buddha is our future buddha. Similarly, the absolute dharma is the spiritual development that we have and will have; the total complete spiritual development is going to be our absolute dharma. Until then we have relative dharma, which represents it. And as we borrowed Buddha Sakyamuni as causal buddha, we also borrow Sakyamuni Buddha’s spiritual develop- ment as our causal dharma, which is the relative dharma.

Representation. As Buddha is represented by pictures and images and your own mental picture, dharma is represented by books, by teachings, by your meditation (both analytical and concentration meditation); even the dharma words you are writing down represent the dharma.46

Sangha47 Absolute and relative. A true or absolute sangha is someone who has become an extra-ordinary person [Skt. arya; Tib. phag pa]48. Until then, no matter what we do, we are not true at all. This is not only a Mahayana idea, it is common with the Theravadins too. This is what Buddha has mentioned in the Tripitakas.49 What is the level where you become a true sangha? When you see the true dharma, the true nature. According to the Buddha that is shunyata, emptiness, the true nature of phenomena. When you see that truly, then out of the five paths you are on the level of the third, the path of seeing [emptiness]. The mo- ment you see emptiness, then even if you are in animal form, you will become an extra-ordinary person, a true sangha. All other persons who have obtained that level are also true sanghas. The first two are ordinary-level paths; the last three are extra-ordinary paths50. At the seeing-level you really see emptiness as you see with your eyes a glass of water in front of you. At that level you become what is called in a true arya51, an extra-ordinary person. Till then, no matter what you see – you may see ghosts, devils or gods – you are not an extra-ordinary person according to the Buddha, you are as ordinary as I am. That is what it is. Until then, you may see something, you may communicate with formless people, you may feel or see it, all this is there. But that is your karmic power, a sort of intellectual spiritual development, no doubt, but it does not make you an ex- tra-ordinary person in the sense Buddha has described. For that you have to see emptiness.

As long as we don’t have true sangha, it is represented by more than four fully ordained bikshus or bik- shunis52. That is why in some translations you see “best assembly” or “highest assembly.” I believe Bud- dha taught that when you have more than four full-fledged bikshus one of them is bound to be an extra-

46 For respecting the representations, see page 90. 47 Maitreya, Uttaratantra (Changeless Nature), first vajra point: “The assembly of those who have understanding and thus do not fall back has unsurpassable qualities, since their vision of inner primordial wisdom, which knows correctly and knows completely, is pure.” 48 For the eight qualities of knowledge and liberation, see Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in Our Hands, vol. I, p. 185. 49 Three ‘baskets’ or collections of Buddha’s teaching: teachings on morality [Skt. vinaya], teachings on method and wisdom [Skt. sutra] and teachings on [Skt. abidharma]. Also see Glossary. 50 For the five paths see page 71. 51 Don’t confuse this with the word arhat. An arya is someone who has realized emptiness, on the third out of five paths. An arhat is someone who has completed the five paths of Hinayana and has therefore been freed from suffering. 52 Monks / nuns.

Going for Refuge: Taking a Safe Direction in Life 69 ordinary person. That was during his period and that is why four or more Buddhist monks are called a conventional or relative sangha and are an object of refuge. That is why in the Buddhist culture they have so much respect for monks and to nuns too. Like we respect the image of the Buddha we should also pay respect to the Buddhist monks and nuns, because they represent the absolute sangha, those who have seen the true nature.53 ii) Why the objects of refuge are fit for refuge You may think, “Alright, these are the three objects you have mentioned, but what makes you sure they are fit to be objects of refuge? Okay, we understand he is a buddha, but what is it really that can make me take refuge to Buddha? Why don’t I take refuge to something else, to some external quick activity or something?” There are people who take refuge to external objects; some take refuge to spirits, there are people who take refuge to the samsaric gods, there are people who take refuge to the protectors who come when somebody is in trance. All this is there. At our level we are very poorly informed about the objects to which we should take refuge, whether the object is fit to take refuge to or not. Especially in the west we are very poorly informed. When we see a little bit of power, the power of reading others’ , the power of reading the future, the power of chan- neling etc., we intend to take refuge to it. Please think carefully: don’t we do that? We say, “Wow, that is great, something extra-ordinary!” We do take refuge to external objects a lot. Some people take refuge to stones and some take refuge to trees. There may be a spirit in there, but whether that spirit is good or not we don’t know. I did mention to you what problems can occur if we take refuge to a spirit, like the person with the goiter54. These beings are not fit to take refuge to. We think that what is extra-ordinary is great, we think channeling is something fantastic, but it is clearly mentioned by Buddha that you cannot take ref- uge to these types of beings. The reason is: sometimes they help you, sometimes they harm you. You don’t want to take refuge to somebody who is going to harm you. You need somebody who is able to help you. Not only able to help you a little bit, but able to help you to obtain the highest spiritual development, which is buddhahood. That somebody you need.

Why Buddha is fit to be an object of refuge In whom all faults are truly absent, Forever and in every way, And in whom all noble qualities Reside in every form completely – In him alone it is proper For one of sound mind to take refuge, To praise him and venerate him, And to dwell in his very teaching. Matricheta, One Hundred and Fifty Verses of Praise Why is Buddha fit to be an object of refuge? A very simple solid reason: he himself is free from all the pains and miseries and all delusions and the imprints of delusions within samsara and even within nir- vana. This may sound very strange to you. How come there is pain in nirvana, there is suffering in nir- vana? “Nirvana is peace” is one of the Buddhist seals55. However, it also has problems. Buddha is free of the problems of samsara and nirvana both. He is totally cleared from anything that is to be cleared and he is totally developed, therefore he is a buddha. Therefore he is fit to be taken as an object of refuge. Is that strong enough? You don’t want anything in between. When you take a guide, you want a guide who knows everything inside and out. You want a reliable guide. You don’t want a guide who knows how to take you to the first floor and doesn’t know how to take you up to the second floor any more. You want somebody who really knows everything totally.

53 On your altar, as a symbol to represent the sangha, you may put a . 54 The story of the goiter is told in chapter VI (volume I). Also see Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, An Anthology of Well-Spoken Ad- vice, p. 232. 55 Four buddhist seals: 1) all created phenomena are impermanent, 2) all contaminated phenomena are suffering, 3) all phenomena are empty, 4) nirvana is peace.

70 Lam Rim Teachings

ƒ Buddha has freed himself. ƒ Buddha is skilled in the means to free others from all fears. ƒ Buddha has great compassion, equal for everybody. ƒ Whether you helped him or not, Buddha always helps all the sentient beings. If you take refuge to somebody who has nearest and dearest ones, you get into trouble. That fellow is go- ing to do something good to those who are near to him or who are helping him or her, but not to those who are not helping him or her, they are kept distant. Buddha doesn’t have that. Whether you worship or not, Buddha is always there. Buddha is ready to serve the anti-Buddhists also. Individuals may think, “I am an anti-Buddhist”, but Buddha is there and whenever he or she gets a chance a buddha definitely helps. The question whether or not doesn’t arise, it is their commitment. What is their commitment? ƒ They generated bodhicitta56 and committed themselves to helping all sentient beings. ƒ They worked hard, purified and accumulated merit for the sake of all sentient beings. ƒ Finally they obtained buddhahood for the purpose of helping other sentient beings. So, they have their commitment from the beginning, in between and even at the end. The purpose of ob- taining buddhahood is helping. Therefore they are there. Whether you are anti or not, they are there to help. Therefore Buddha is fit to be taking refuge to. Are these three strong enough reasons?

Why Dharma is fit to be object of refuge Then you may say, “Okay, Buddha I understand, but why dharma?” Very important. The true protector to protect you is the dharma, not the Buddha. When you take refuge to Buddha what does Buddha say? “Alright, I try to help you, but: Buddhas cannot remove the suffering by hand. They cannot wash away non-virtues with water. They cannot transfer their realizations. They can only express their experience of the true path.” That is what it is. If he could transfer onto us his spiritual development, he would be the happiest person doing so, because of his commitment. And not only he. When we talk about a buddha you have to think of all enlightened male and female buddhas. They would be very happy to transfer their spiritual develop- ment. But unfortunately they cannot. The only thing they can do is share their experience. There are many activities of the buddhas, there are the twelve principle events57 and the life-stories, like the Jatakas58 and , but the most important activity of enlightened beings is the speech activ- ity. Why is the speech the most important activity? Because speech can share the experience. The experi- ence Buddha gained is not something you can see in black and white. You cannot take X-rays of a bud- dha’s body and buddha’s mind and show them. No. It is something you can only communicate. The best way of communication human beings have, is talking to each other. So sharing the experience is a speech activity. Sharing their experience is what the buddhas can do. That is why I am telling you Buddhism is based on Buddha’s experience. So the experience of the buddhas is the thing. Buddhas are sharing their experience, showing the path, which steps to take first, what obstacles there are and how to overcome them. That is the only thing that is left for them to do. A little magical power here and there will only help people to have a little faith in them. What do the great masters do? They tell you little jokes, share little magical things of which you think you are the only one who knows. By sharing a little bit of that, they hint to you that they know everything and that you also can understand that much. What they try to say is, “Have a little more, come a little closer.” That is what they do. Speech represents the dharma. What does that do? It makes you think. Then what happens? When you think you develop and then you get your dharma within you. When you get your dharma within you, it protects you from anger-hatred, it protects you from attachment, it protects you from ignorance.

56 The strong aspiration and commitment to become enlightened for the sake of all sentient beings. 57 See Glossary. 58 Aryasura, Jatakalama.

Going for Refuge: Taking a Safe Direction in Life 71

Ignorance, attachment and anger-hatred are our three individual enemies. Why are they enemies? Be- cause they have made us suffer life after life. Even today we are suffering. Even today each of the pains we experience, [at least] the mental pains, is either due to anger-hatred, due to attachment or due to or to igno- rance, the basis of all. If you can show me one single pain which is not caused by either one of them, I will bow to you three times. But you cannot. Every individual pain that we have is caused by them. If we cannot overcome them now, then what? They have made us suffer so much – life after life, according to the Buddha. You know what? If of the different lives that we have taken, we would have saved the heads and piled them up, the heap would be bigger than Mount Everest. And that many lifetimes we have suffered, we have died all because of those . Today is the opportunity to know that and to overcome it, because we have the method. If we do not use it, what is going to happen in the future? Whenever you have to fight, don’t fight among each other. Fight with your anger, attachment and ignorance. Even if you fight them a little bit, you can gain a little positivity inside. And that little positivity is your dharma. That is your seed and that builds up day by day, like drops filling a bucket. If you have the bucket it goes: drop, drop, drop and after some time the bucket is filled up. Similarly day-by-day developments have to be saved. That is why it is said, “There is no in- stant development.”

The five paths59 One should really talk about how the actual meditational practice really works, the antidote to the delu- sions and all this, based on the five paths and the ten bhumis. That is the proper way of doing it. But if we do that, it is going to take a very long time and the five paths and the ten bhumis will come later too. But briefly I should mention the five paths here, because if you become a practitioner and you don’t know any- thing about the five paths, from my point of view it is not fair to you. Although you won’t lose any practi- cal point, you should know it. Actually there are fifteen paths here: five at the lower level, five at the medium level, five Mahayana paths. All five carry the same name [in the different levels]. ƒ Path of accumulation of merit ƒ Path of preparation or action ƒ Path of seeing ƒ Path of meditation ƒ Path of no-more-learning.

Path of the accumulation of merit [Tib. tsog lam] The first path is the merit that you accumulate. So the first action you take when you are really on the path60, is the accumulation of merit; very simple. Accumulating merit means accumulating both kinds of merit: relative merit and absolute merit. As Nagarjuna has said: There are two kayas or bodies in the buddhahood and each body or kaya needs its cause.61 Relative merit. That is the accumulation of all merit that is not dealing with wisdom. Out of the six parami- tas62 the first five are the accumulation of relative merit; they are not dealing with wisdom. Relative merit means: any good virtue that you are directing towards the ultimate achievement and which is not dealing with emptiness. Look into the Buddha’s previous-life stories, the Jatakas. When Buddha saw a tigress dying of hunger, he couldn’t bear its suffering, so he chose to give his own body to the tigress. But when he realized the ti- gress was too weak to kill him, too weak to take his body herself, he cut his wrist and had the tigress lick his

59 Literature: Gehlek Rimpoche, The Perfection of Wisdom Mantra; Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, Tibetan Tradition of Mental De- velopment, p. 187-201; Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Joyful Path of Good Fortune, p. 528. 60 In Mahayana one enters the first path when one has developed bodhicitta. 61 When Buddha is described in terms of two bodies, they are: 1) the dharmakaya or wisdom body or truth body, referring to the mind of a buddha; 2) the rupakaya or form body, referring to the body of a buddha [of which sambogakaya or nirmanakaya are aspects]. 62 Also called the six perfections: generosity (dana), morality (sila), patience (ksanti), joyous effort (virya), concentration (dhy- ana), wisdom ().

72 Lam Rim Teachings blood slowly. Then the tigress built up strength and gradually started eating.63 This sort of generosity is ac- cumulation of merit in the category of relative merit; it is not in the category of absolute merit. In the same way any other thing you do when there is no influence of the understanding of emptiness, becomes relative merit. Every virtue we do is relative merit.

Absolute merit. That is the accumulation of wisdom. And in Buddhism, for wisdom we can almost say that means dealing with emptiness. One of the reasons why Vajrayana is such a fast path is that whatever you do is always a combination of relative and absolute merit. With everything you do on the relative part you’re also accumulating on the abso- lute part. With everything you do on the absolute part you’re also accumulating on the relative part of it.

Eon. In Buddha’s life story in the it is said that Buddha first developed the bodhimind64 and then accumulated merit for three countless eons. Not lives, they said, but eons. One eon has how many lives? According to the Abhidharmakosha, the metaphysical books of Buddhism, in one countless eon people’s average age goes up and down from ten to eighty years. Now it is about eighty (although accord- ing the Buddhist text it is a little lower than that) – it is a sort of average. The decrease of the average life- span from eighty to ten is going slowly and is called slow-down, from ten to eighty it slowly increases and that is called slow-up. One slow-up and one slow-down makes one eon. I mean, that is almost countless years. In one eon one thousand buddhas come, dark ages come and all this. So three times like that, three times countless, is really very, very far away, completely sort of impossible. The path of accumulation has three levels: small, medium and big.

Path of action or path of preparation [Tib. jor lam] That is actually putting efforts in [in getting acquainted with emptiness on the basis of concentration]. Here you begin to get some understanding of what emptiness is. You begin to figure out the relationship be- tween emptiness and dependent origination. This path has four stages: heat, peak, patience, best dharma. In layman’s talk: every effort you put in towards accumulating merit, meditating and cutting through delusions, is putting efforts on this stage. In a sense the Lamrim stages of development are a preparation path [although at the level of the real Mahayana paths, this is the preparation for the path of seeing].

Path of seeing [Tib. tong lam] Actual seeing. The path of seeing has two levels: – the actual seeing – the aftermath: the effects afterwards.

The actual seeing path. That is: you really encounter emptiness. You see the emptiness eye to eye. That is why it is called the seeing path. Lots and lots of people think this is enlightenment. That is totally wrong, it is not. You have only obtained the seeing path. The example given for seeing emptiness is: “like water in water.” The observer of the emptiness and the object you are observing – that emptiness itself – is like wa- ter in water, there is no separation. You have really become a part of emptiness and emptiness is a part of you. You are really seeing it, feeling it, you are mixed together, inseparable. And there is no other distrac- tion at all; you are totally absorbed in it. That is the real seeing path. Almost total ignorance is cut when you obtain that level. How do you obtain that? The accumulation of merit and the actions you put in make you reach that level. The first path leads you to the second and the second leads you to the third, that is how it works.

The aftermath. Having had that encounter with emptiness, the after-effects come. I can’t say emptiness really, that is wrong. You have encountered with wisdom, you have experienced wisdom, you have gained wisdom. However, the moment you draw your mind away from there, the moment you focus on some- thing else besides that emptiness, you are obtaining the after-effect. The after-effect is the cessation: when

63 Story to be found in: Stanley Frye, Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish, ch. 2. 64 The mind seeking buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings, commonly called the Mahayana mind.

Going for Refuge: Taking a Safe Direction in Life 73 you cut the ignorance the cessation you have obtained is this. The moment you go away from the direct encounter with wisdom… What makes you go away? When you are directly encountering that, it is eating the ignorance up. And when that is finished,, your work is actually done. Like a saw goes “zzzz” when it cuts, when is has gone through the material, it stops – “brrrt.” Just like that it is cutting the ignorance and when it is over, it stops. When it stops you begin to encounter other things. When you are totally absorbed in emptiness you don’t see anything else, you don’t see other persons, you hear nothing, you see nothing, you say nothing, you are totally absorbed in it. The moment you get up, the moment you begin to see something, the mo- ment you begin to hear something, the moment you do something, you have obtained the cessation and the after-effects come. The after-effects of seeing and [your mode of being] before you encountered the seeing, are two to- tally different things. The seeing path is the actual path; it is the real thing you’re dealing with. Not only that. When your are on the seeing path you cut the ignorance, and you automatically cut the rough effects of all other delusions, like hatred, attachment and anger; all these you’ve cut. But that doesn’t mean the person is totally free of it. No! After that the person does get angry, after that the person does get jealous, but there is no strength in it. You get impatience, jealousy, anger, everything, but there is no strength in it any more. Every one of the negative forces is weak. But the person is not totally free. That is why I am telling you it is not enlightenment. If it is a Mahayana path this is your first bhumi. Bhumi is ground, it actually means “the soil.” You have obtained a stage. You didn’t get a chair before, but now you’ve got a chair (laughs). You obtained the first stage. You have to go nine more. Out of ten bhumis seven are impure stages and three are pure stages.65

Path of meditation [Tib. gom lam] Whatever meditations you do after that, will be work on the meditation path. What you do is actually the same thing you were doing before – there is no special thing to do here. Again you have to put efforts in, accumulate merit by actions you carry on and meditate. This path of meditation is even more difficult that the seeing path. In the seeing path you are cutting everything roughly, you cut the ignorance from the root. Here you are cutting the imprints of the delusions, the “smell” of it. I used to talk to you about the garlic and the garlic smell. It is easy to throw the garlic out, but it is difficult to get rid of the smell of garlic. Similarly here it is easy to cut the rough part of the ignorance, but it is very difficult to get the imprints out. That is really hard. There are a lot of different stages to go through. The cessation of that becomes “no- more-learning.” The path of meditation has nine stages or bhumis.

Path of ‘no-more-learning’ [Tib. mi lob lam] Then you are okay. If it is Mahayana level, then you have obtained buddhahood. In it is arhat-level.

Cessation. The cessations that you obtain are the real dharma, that is the spiritual development. Now let’s go to the layman’s work briefly. Take the Lamrim, the stages of development, what we have learned so far. Let’s take impermanence as an example. When we study, meditate and really get sort of absorbed in impermanence, then afterwards, when you look at a person, you see him as “weak.” Why? It is not a real solid person, the person is ready to die any moment; that is what you see. When I say weak I don’t mean physical weakness, but sort of ready to go to pieces. That is a cessation. What did it cut? The strong permanent “I” you always look at, that has been cut. That is not empti- ness, that is only impermanence. You don’t even get a smell of emptiness here; it is simply the imperma- nence. The permanent solid “I” has been really shaken, because you see the person in pieces, you almost see him fall apart. That is a cessation. It is the cessation of perceiving oneself as a permanent forever exist- ing “soul.” That wrong view, that wrong manner of thought has been cut by meditating on impermanence. We have talked about impermanence, we know about it, so we can do that. It goes similarly on every level. First you are learning; you learn a certain level. Then you think and meditate on that. Then what you gain is the shaking of wrong thoughts. And by shaking the wrong thoughts you establish something. First you don’t establish it solidly, you have doubts and so on, but

65 See Chart 6: The Bodhisattva Paths and Stages (volume IV).

74 Lam Rim Teachings gradually it becomes stronger and better and better. That is how it really works. Gaining the cessation of impermanence itself is the dharma within us, if we get it.

Why Sangha is fit to be object of refuge The sangha also is very important. The sangha is like a nurse. The old usual Buddhist metaphor is: Buddha is like a doctor. Dharma is like the medicine. Sangha is like the nurse. Although the doctor diagnoses the illness and gives you the medicine, if you are not properly cared for you can’t get better. You need care, particularly for the illnesses that we possess, the illnesses of anger-hatred and attachment. We have been sick of that for a [countless] number of lives. And to get better is very hard. So you do need a sangha, a sangha to discuss things, to clear your doubts, to help each other, to promote each others’ development and also to serve as an example.

Noblesse oblige. In a place like ours, where you don’t have the ordinary representative sangha66, we can consider ourselves a sangha community. I don’t see anything wrong with that. Particularly those of us who have bodhisattva vows or Vajrayana vows can consider themselves a sangha community. I think that is okay. But when you consider yourself a sangha community you have to behave like a sangha. The quali- ties you need in the sangha are described in the sutras as follows: They should be well-behaved. They should not be fighting among themselves, but always working harmoniously together. They should be the object other people can bow down to. After you have taken refuge to Buddha, dharma and sangha you have joined the community of the Buddha and once you joined the community of the Buddha you are an object other people can bow down to. But if you behave badly, what do you think happens? Think about it for a minute. You people come and listen to me for a number of years now. Suppose you see me robbing banks and all this, what would you think? “This is a terrible chap, we never knew he was like that, what a disgrace, we’d really like to throw him out.” Right? Similarly, when you follow Buddha’s community, when you follow the pure life Buddha led and the purity of the sangha that has been there for two thousand five hundred years, when you are within that lineage and you’d invite bad thoughts from or about others, how bad would that be. You are then not only accumulating bad karma onto yourself, but you are also developing bad karma for others. Not only that. The sangha is the object for others to bow down to and develop merit on. You become the field of merit for other persons. If the field of merit misbehaves, then what will happen? These are the kind of thoughts or reasons you put to yourself. And when you like to do something bad, when you like to take an additional glass of wine and it becomes unlimited drinking, or you like to take drugs on which you lose control of your mind – which I am sure nobody does – think before you do that! An object of refuge taking drugs, what would that bring? Think about it. When we are having the opportunity to follow the path of the great Buddha and to follow a path which for over two thousand five hundred years has been led by many people (that counts not only for Buddhists but for all spiritual masters that we follow), when we are claiming to be a spiritual person and the non-spiritual persons see us doing something wrong, we are disgracing not only the Buddha, but all other spiritual persons too. How much bad karma we build up by that. These are the reasons for yourself to use when you want to do something wrong; then give yourself a little time to think and decide.

Here we stop. Meditate for ten or fifteen minutes. I am not going to conduct. It is up to you, you know how to meditate. Your homework is meditation, too. Think on the qualities of the Buddha and on what Buddha really is, on the qualities of the dharma and on the qualities of the sangha.

66 See page 68.

Going for Refuge: Taking a Safe Direction in Life 75 c) How to take refuge Well, I know how to take refuge, because I took refuge. When the Chinese kicked me out of Tibet in 1959 I took refuge. It made me take refuge, because when I crossed the Himalayas there was no other place for me to go. If I would go back the Chinese would shoot me or put me in jail. I couldn’t go back, so I had to go to India. Whether the Indians would allow me or not, I had no other place to go. I was forced to go to India and if I wanted to stay in India, I had to prepare one thing in my mind: to obey the laws of India. Right? That is how I took refuge to India. When you take refuge to Buddha, dharma and sangha, I think it is in the same way. Rely on them to- tally and obey the laws of Buddha, dharma and sangha. That is the , the karmic law. That is how you take refuge. As I always say: just saying “I take refuge to Buddha, dharma and sangha etc.” will not help. We do that a lot. A lot of people go to a rinpoche or geshe and say, “I would like to take refuge.” You repeat the formula three times and they say, “Now you have taken refuge. Very good.” Some will give you a certifi- cate, some will give you a new name and I truly don’t believe that has become taking refuge. You have to know why you want to take refuge. Do you have the causes for taking refuge? Remember I mentioned the fear and the reliance? If you rely, knowing the Buddha, dharma and sangha, they’ll never let you down. It depends – if you rely. And you have to know the advices too, which come later. If after that you still think you can take refuge, then I will be very happy to be the instrument to provide you with the opportunity to take refuge, without doing a detailed ceremony and without certificate and name. I don’t believe you can show the certificate when Yama, the lord of death comes. When death comes, if you then remember Buddha, dharma and sangha, you will be protected from falling into the lower realms. That is the commitment of Buddha, dharma and sangha. That is why you are given the advice to remember the qualities of Buddha, dharma and sangha very often.

I must share with you a story here. In Jewel Heart Holland, there is a medical doctor. She had a terrible ill- nesses – a very big problem. Because of this illness, she used to faint. When I went there, she told me, “I realize I have nothing.” I said, “How?” She said, “I’m a medical doctor, I know I’m going to die, and what I’m thinking is: what can I do for myself? I can’t think of anything else except refuge, and that’s a very low level and so I have nothing.” I said, “You’re lucky you can think of refuge! That itself is good enough. That will make sure, at least, that your next life will be good.” i) Taking refuge by knowing the qualities of each of the Three Jewels Qualities of a Buddha Qualities of body, speech and mind of a buddha There are many ways to take refuge. One way is: knowing the qualities and then taking refuge. There are a lot of qualities. If you look in the sutras you find a tremendous variety of Buddha’s qualities mentioned; they are countless. When we talk about a buddha, a supreme and fully awakened person, we are not talking about somebody that we can see and think of [as a person we know]. We are not talking about any sort of living guru, we are not talking about that at all. “Fully enlightened” means that it is beyond imagination. Really, the qualities are beyond our comprehension, particularly the mind qualities, the mind which knows all things to be known.

Quality of the mind.67 Look at ourselves. When you try to visualize, you might find that when you concen- trate on an image, you can see the nose clearly but you will not see the mouth. And when you see the mouth clearly, you cannot see the nose. (If you look at something your eyes may see mouth and nose to- gether, but I am not talking about that.) This is a practical problem; if you sit for two minutes you’ll know it, I don’t have to discuss that. This is the limit of our mind. In the fully awakened mind the limit is: no limit. If there is something to be known, it is known alto- gether. Whatever is happening in this universe is totally seen simultaneously and clearly; everything hap-

67 For the qualities of the Buddha’s mind, also see Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, Anthology of Well-Spoken Advice, p. 257-262 and Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in Our Hands, vol. II, p. 195 and 296-309.

76 Lam Rim Teachings pening in every universe, in a hundred thousand different universes or galaxies, is seen together in one second. If you think of that for a minute, isn’t it incomprehensible? Can you believe it?68 We are not talk- ing about any sort of person around here who claims to be a guru. No. We are not talking about an ordi- nary person who is able have some external out-of-this-world contacts, I am not talking about that. People who are channeling see somebody and get messages – how important we consider them, how much money we pay for that, don’t we? I am not talking about that! The qualities of the Buddha are not like that. It is beyond imagination, beyond our limit, beyond everything to be seen or thought of!

Not only that. Even when we talk about the quality of seeing everything together, we only talk about the relative part of it. When you look at a man you see him from face to feet. That we see clearly, but we see only the relative part of it, the external part. The fully awakened mind, however, sees not only the external part, but the internal part too: the internal mind, the thoughts, the causes, what the future is going to be. All of that is seen simultaneously, like looking through a glass. The awakened mind can look through the body, the body doesn’t block anything inside; when looking through the result, the result doesn’t block the cause and the cause doesn’t block the result. They don’t even have to look through. The moment they see it, they see all things together. It is beyond our imagination, really. That is the extra-ordinary quality of the Buddha’s mind. Even a tenth-bhumi bodhisattva, a bodhisattva who is going to be a buddha next, does not have that capability. He or she may have the capability of seeing many things together, understanding many things together, but seeing the relative part and the absolute part together, they don’t have. Because of this sort of quality the praise of the mind is so important. That is why we pray in the Ganden Lha Gyema, Your mind has the intellect that comprehends the full extent of what can be known Full extent means: you know everything there is to be known, not only in this universe but in every part of existence, at the higher spiritual level, at the lower level, in the hell realm, anywhere you can imagine. It is like for us looking at a watch and seeing what time it is. In 8.44 we see the 8 as well as the 44 together without difficulty. They see that way, they know that way. When we seek buddhahood we really seek that extent.

Quality of the speech. The speech also has a lot of qualities. In the Ganden Lha Gyema it says, Your speech, with its excellent explanations, becomes the ear-ornament for those of good fortune. What is really the quality of the speech that Buddha has? When you look into old Indian texts, some say that in Buddha’s lifetime Buddha spoke in , while others say he spoke in Sanskrit. That is what they argued about. Even today we try to find out in what language Buddha really spoke. But what Buddha really did is different. He may have spoken in one language, but it was heard in different languages, like when in the United Nations somebody speaks in one language and people hear it in different languages. But in Buddha’s speech there was no translator involved. All people thought Buddha spoke in their own mother tongue. That is the extra-ordinary speech quality of a buddha.69

Quality of the body. Tremendous qualities are there, even just by looking. Buddha’s body has thirty-two major marks and eighty minor signs70. I will not go into that. If you want to know, read the Abhisamaya- lankara (Ornament of Clear Realization)71; it will tell you exactly what they are: the color of the skin, the color of the lips, the shape of the ears, the – all this.72 In the Ganden Lha Gyema it says, Your bodies are radiantly handsome, with glory renowned.

68 Things like that are described in the . See e.g. Thomas Cleary, The Flower Ornament Scripture, a translation of the Avatamsaka Sutra, p. 1489ff, which is part of the 39th book, called Entry Into the Realm of Reality, that describes the quest of the spiritual seeker Sudhana. 69 For the sixty or sixty-four qualities of the Buddha’s speech, see Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in Our Hands, vol. II, p. 315- 320 and Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, Anthology of Well-Spoken Advice, p. 250-257. 70 The reflections on a external level of the inner perfection. 71 By Maitreya. Translation in English: E. Conze, Abhisamayalamkara. The marks and signs listed on p. 98-102. 72 Short description of the marks and signs in Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in Our Hands, vol. II, p. 308-314. For a brief com- mentary on the thirty-two major marks see Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, Anthology of Well-Spoken Advice, p. 242-250.

Going for Refuge: Taking a Safe Direction in Life 77

In practical form: a buddha’s body is not an ordinary body; it is able to develop in us great faith, it will en- able us to start liking the person. I don’t know how many people are familiar with this, but if you meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama, you notice that he has an extra-ordinary quality. Everybody who sees him likes him. He doesn’t have a magic power for that. They like him because of the way he looks, the way he smiles, and people get some kind of special feeling. It may have a little bit to do with psychological ef- fects, because he is known as Dalai Lama and there is publicity that might influence it; however, other people also get publicity and when you look at e.g. Ronald Reagan you don’t get that feeling. A special sort of feeling you get, not only with the Dalai Lama, but with all these developed persons. When you look at their faces, you know this is some different person. You get a better feeling, you get something out of it. I don’t know how to describe it. I am sure each one of you has experienced that. It depends on this person’s development and on your own karmic relations, your opportunity. If some- body gets little and someone else gets a huge [feeling or benefit from the contact with such a personality], that doesn’t mean that person is more or higher in spiritual development than this person, no! It also de- pends on your karmic relations, it depends on all sorts of things. But the feeling you definitely get. Where does that come from? That is the body quality. Buddha has totally developed that. I’m talking plain, simple language, avoiding all philosophical debates, otherwise I’ll get into trouble.

Buddha and . When you look in the Buddha’s life-stories – not the stories of the previous lives, the Jatakas, but the present-life stories, the – you see that even his enemies, those who really tried to destroy him, when seeing Buddha face to face, could do nothing. His own cousin Devadatta was always trying to challenge him. One time Devadatta ate a tremendous amount of poison, trying to prove himself to be equal to Buddha. If the Buddha can eat that, he thought, he should be able to eat the double amount. He ate a tremendous amount of something which can turn out to be poison. So he got very sick, ter- ribly sick. And when he was really sick and almost dying, Buddha said, “If it is true that I have not a single anger against him, that I have not a single jealousy against him, may he get better.” By saying that he got better. That is what really happened. So even he, when looking Buddha in the face, couldn’t say anything.

Buddha and the mad elephant. There was a king who tried to kill Buddha. He had a mad elephant that they used during the war in India to kill the enemies. Such a mad elephant has on his tusk a sort of wheel that goes round and with that they catch people and kill them. When Buddha was coming he sent this mad ele- phant out. His disciples and all people with spiritual developments around him fled away and Buddha was left alone there. When Buddha was left alone there he didn’t run away. He raised his hand and when he did that, the elephant saw five lions instead of five fingers put up. Looking at the lions the mad elephant sur- rendered totally. That is the body quality a buddha has.

Buddha’s body is such a beautiful body. It is not beautiful in the sense of beauty you develop attachment to, but beautiful in the sense of having all full qualities. You know what I mean? Buddha has full quality which not only gives you harmony and pleasure, but also guides you on this supreme path. And also he has the body-quality which is supreme power. Leave aside the combination of body and mind, even the body alone has this particularly quality. That is why Buddha is special. When I am talking about Buddha Sakyamuni’s qualities you have to understand all other enlightened beings have the same qualities, okay? These are the qualities and that is why Buddha is fit to be an object of refuge. He himself, or she her- self is free of all sufferings. If he or she would not be free of all sufferings, he or she would not be able to protect itself from the mad elephant.

Buddha and the poisoned lunch. One day Buddha and his disciples were invited by a group anti-Buddha people who had prepared a poisoned lunch. They wanted to poison them hoping everybody would die. They had also done something to the ground where Buddha and the disciples had to walk on. In the front- yard they had made a deep pit, with fire underneath; they had put some soft material on top and all that covered with mud. So, when they would walk on that, they would – “zoop” – go down. That is what they had prepared. Buddha had accepted the invitation. Buddha was very disciplined and his disciples too; they ate only one meal a day and that had to be before noon. So they went [with empty stomachs]. Buddha gave order

78 Lam Rim Teachings that day that nobody should walk in front of him. He would be the first person to walk into that household. Everybody should walk behind him and not only that, everybody should follow and take exactly the same steps Buddha would take. Now those people were all waiting for Buddha to fall down. There Buddha came and walked in front. And on every spot he [was going to touch] a lotus came up. He walked over the lotuses and so did his dis- ciples. Nobody fell down; they all went across and into the house. Then those people who intended to harm him, all regretted it very much and said, “Well, he is definitely a different person…” etc. Then Buddha and all the disciples were waiting for the meal. The shade of the sundial showed that it went near noon. The time was almost about to go, they were all waiting and no food was served. Buddha kept on saying, “Bring the food now.” But they didn’t bring any food as they had no unpoisened food to serve. They could prepare new food, but they wouldn’t be able to get it ready in time. So Buddha said, “I know what you did. Bring whatever you have.” They apologized and said, “Look, we put poison in it.” Buddha said, “I know that, bring it, serve it to everybody, it doesn’t matter.” Then Buddha blessed the food and ate. Everybody ate the poisoned food and nobody got sick; it was perfectly okay.

These are the signs that Buddha himself was free of all the pains and miseries. When you’re free from the pain and the miseries then you’re fit to be taken refuge to. This is the example: If two people are in the wa- ter being carried away by the current, the one man in the water cannot take refuge to the other one.

What do we do? We don’t really take refuge to the correct object. Instead of that [we choose a false ob- ject]. If we see strange phenomena, strange appearances – hey talk to you and you get a little information – we think it is great. We think this is a person or object that you can rely on, that you can get all information from that you want. That might be right for small little things, because those beings have the karmic power to see certain things. But it will not be right to take refuge to them, because they are not free from all pain and miseries. Most of them are from the category of what we call “ghosts” or “spirits.”

Help from a spirit. I’ll tell you an interesting story. It is not about a bad ghost, but a good ghost. In my childhood I was sick one day. I was terribly sick of a meat poison and it was really painful. After having been sick for a few days, the pain moved to another part of my body. We didn’t have surgery in Tibet. Ul- timately we had somebody who could get into trance and contact a sort of not very powerful protector. This happened in my monastery, Drepung. So by the time he came, I was very sick. I don’t remember how much pain I was having, but I do re- member I got a room and a little sort of wooden bed in which you can sit and sleep. Near the pillow they put two or three cushions covered with brocade and that fellow sat there, wearing a certain costume. He went into trance and came up and started touching somewhere and squeezing up and down; that I do re- member. After some time he put a little sort of thumb-ring on my body, started sucking, took things out and threw them in the glass. Among other things I recognized some things I’d eaten a few days before. Af- ter that the pain had gone, just like when a thorn is taken out. Then he called the cook and scolded him for wrong cooking. He had to come back three or four times and then two months later I was totally better. Later the Chinese asked me to go and visit China in one of those visiting groups. I asked that particu- lar medium, “What should I do, should I take the Chinese invitation or not?” He said, “I don’t know, I don’t ‘see’ China, let me go there and see there and I’ll let you know. If you call on me after about three days, then I will tell you exactly what is happening there.” So, you see, that trance power is limited. They have the time-limit, the space-limit, all different limits. They can get various informations if they want to, but if the information is protected by a spiritually developed person, there is no way they can get it. Buddha doesn’t have that limitation. That is what I am trying to say.

Two unique qualities A Buddha has two unique qualities73 [according to Maitreya’s Uttaratantra; Tib. Gyu Lama74]:

73 Maitreya, Uttaratantra, (The Changesless Nature) first vajra point: “Being uncreated and spontaneously present, not a realiza- tion due to extraneous conditions, wielding knowledge, compassionate love and ability, buddhahood has the two benefits...”

Going for Refuge: Taking a Safe Direction in Life 79

1) The completion of self-purpose [he has completed the five Mahayana paths]. 2) The completion of the method for others: knowledge, compassion and power.75

Three qualities The qualities that Buddha enjoys and that are important reasons why Buddhists recommend to take refuge to Buddha, boil down to: 1) treasure of knowledge [Tib. kyen-pa] 2) treasure of compassion [Tib. tse-we] 3) treasure of power or capability [Tib. nub-wa]76

So, when you praise somebody, the ultimate praise is to count these qualities. That is why you have to praise by body, praise by mind, praise by speech. But at the same time the body is mind, the mind is body, the body is speech, the speech is mind and body. That is the special extra-ordinary quality. The extra-ordinary quality of a buddha is the mind-and-body combination; wherever the mind is there is the body, wherever the body is there is the mind. Mind functions as body and body functions as mind. Buddha is also referred to as “totally awakened” or “totally enlightened” or “all-knowing.” If there is something to be known it is known to the Buddha; when it is known to Buddha, Buddha’s mind is there; if Buddha’s mind is there, Buddha’s body is there. So if we do something good, Buddha is there, always ready to help.

Four-bodies and five-wisdommed We also talk about the qualities of the Buddha in terms of the four different bodies of a buddha: ƒ the dharmakaya, the truth-body [divided into - svabavikakaya, the nature truth body - jnanakaya, the wisdom truth body], ƒ the sambhogakaya, the enjoyment body, ƒ the nirmanakaya, the manifestation body. Buddha not only has the four kayas, but there are also the five wisdoms77. I will not go into these wisdoms; that will come a little later. But you will read books and there you always see Buddha referred to as four- bodied78 and five-wisdommed.

So, the quality of the Buddha cannot be measured with one’s talk. It is the quality of love-compassion, knowledge, power and that is tremendous. Particularly Buddha’s power is limitless and effortless. Once you are enlightened you can do all sorts of fantastic things. For example, Buddha has the power to fit all hundred thousands of different universes into the size of one sesame seed without reducing the size of the universes and without increasing the size of the sesame seed. It looks funny and some people will say, “By imagination you are doing it, but actually nothing is happening.” That is not right. I’ll give you an example.

Story of Milarepa and the yak-horn.79 Milarepa’s disciple Renchungpa went to India to get some extra- ordinary teachings which the lineage in Tibet did not have. There he got quite a lot of teachings and line- ages. Particularly longevity [practices] and things like that he brought back to Tibet and he presented them to Milarepa as a gift. By that time Renchungpa thought, “I not only learned everything from him as far as

74 Translation into English: Ken and Katia Holmes, The Changeless Nature. Translations into English with commentary: , The Uttara Tantra, A Treatise on Buddha Nature; Arya Maitreya [Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé and Tsul- trim Gyatso], Buddha Nature, The Mahayana Uttaratantra with Commentary; Geshe Thupten Loden, Buddha Nature. On buddha nature also see Gehlek Rimpoche, Transforming Negativities, ch. 1 and 2. 75 For these qualities, also see Gehlek Rimpoche, Odyssey to Freedom, step 32. 76 For these qualities [Tib. mkhyen brtse nus gsum] also see chapter II (volume I) under the heading ‘Qualities of a Buddha’. 77 See Glossary (volume I). 78 There are several ways of counting the bodies of a buddha. When three bodies are mentioned, it is: dharmakaya, sambogakaya, nirmanakaya. For the division into two bodies also see note 61. 79 Garma C.C. Chang, The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa, p. 421-441.

80 Lam Rim Teachings knowledge is concerned, I have built everything he knows and in addition to that I went to India and met a great number of Indian masters. Now I may be better than he, probably I am.” That is what he thought. Then all of a sudden a strong hailstorm came up [manifested by Milarepa]. Renchungpa and Milarepa were staying somewhere in the middle of nowhere, there was no tree, no rock, nothing, and this huge hail- storm was coming. Renchungpa was hit right and left and got soaked completely. He looked around for Milarepa, but Milarepa was not there, gone. Suddenly he heard Milarepa singing. Milarepa always sang, he was always singing his teachings and conversations in songs. Renchungpa looked up and down and couldn’t see Milarepa. Then he saw this lit- tle yak-horn lying in the field and the sound was coming from that, so he looked inside and saw Milarepa sitting in that yak-horn. The size of the body of Milarepa had not shrunk, neither had the yak-horn become bigger. He was just in there and his song was: If the son is equal to the [spiritual] father, come inside this hole. There is a great open space in here, come and join me. The hailstorm doesn’t come in here, here is a nice little warm place, Why don’t you come in? If the son is equal to the father why don’t you come in? That’s is what Milarepa did [to reduce Renchungpa’s pride]80.

This is a sign that enlightened beings don’t have limited power. They can do whatever they want to do, as long as it is not dealing with the other person’s karma. If you become a buddha, you can do everything you really want to do, you don’t have to put efforts in it. This is example-wise how Buddha has that much power, compassion and knowledge.

Qualities of the dharma You will also find those in Maitreya’s Uttaratantra [Tib. Gyu Lama], which is a little hard to present. They are divided into two again: ƒ The qualities of cessation: inconceivable, non-dual and free of concepts. ƒ The qualities of the path: purity, clarity and remedy.81

The qualities of cessation. The cessation of suffering is the third Noble Truth. The qualities of cessation are: Inconceivable. The first quality is called unimaginable. Why? Because when you obtain that very quality of the cessation you cannot describe it in words, neither can you catch it by thoughts. It has a much deeper meaning. It is beyond the capacity of words to describe it, and beyond the capacity of ordinary thought to recognize it82. That is what you get. Not two or non-dual. The second quality is non-dualism [literally ‘not two’]. Don’t misunderstand this. Dualistic is an English word which has been used on various different levels in the spiritual path, so you will hear the same word for different meanings. Keep that in mind. Keep that open from the begin- ning. Here, as a quality of the dharma, being non-dual means the following. With ordinary people like you and me every thought, everything we do, has as its cause the influence of karma as well as of delusions. When it has become real [result] dharma, one of these [causes] will be missing; and when one is missing the duality is not there, it becomes one. Again, I do not know what you are thinking when you hear the word ‘delusions’. I am thinking of non-virtuous thoughts and ideas which influence one’s pure mind, which make the clear mind impure, mixed and confused. We have that going on effortlessly – unless you are ‘somebody’. When the dharma comes up, one of these [causes] will be missing. When one of them is missing this dualistic presentation, that dualism, will go away. I am not talking about emptiness, not at all. In emptiness we use that same word dualistic, but although we use the same word here, it has a different meaning. So the delusion will go

80 Ref. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Joyful Path of Good Fortune, p. 491. 81 The qualities of the dharma refer to third and fourth Noble Truth: the truth of cessation and the truth of the path. In the Utta- ratantra refuge is explained in terms of its fruition. (Ref. Thrangu Rinpoche, Buddha Nature, p. 21.) 82 Conceptual minds cannot understand true cessations, exactly, because true cessations have to be directly experienced in order to be understood. Ref. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Joyful Path of Good Fortune, p. 202.

Going for Refuge: Taking a Safe Direction in Life 81 away, at least there is no direct influence, therefore there is no direct interference. When there is no direct interference there is no direct presentation. When there is no direct presentation there is no direct percep- tion, so the dualistic is missing. Incomprehensible or free of concepts. The third quality is that it will grow more and more. It will grow, it will not go down. There is a tremendous amount of room for growth. We cannot make our anger grow any more, because we have it fully developed. If we handle it, the only result is that it will go down, it cannot go up. But this quality can go up, there is unimaginable room for growth. It is sort of incompre- hensible.

The qualities of the path. The path to the cessation of suffering is the fourth Noble Truth. My dharma has to be pure, my dharma has to be clear, my dharma has to be the antidote, okay? An example. Let us say you look at the light. The light is pure. Why do you say it is pure? It is pure of something: darkness. All the darkness has gone in the light. By nature light has no darkness, it is free of darkness. That is why it is pure. Light is also clear; there is no obstacle [so objects are seen clearly]. It is also an antidote: when you turn on the light, the darkness is cleared, so light is the direct opponent of dark- ness. Right or wrong? This light is a simple example we can understand. Similarly you look at the dharma: its spiritual quality has to be pure, clear and having the power to clear the unwanted negativities. Purity refers to being pure of delusions, pure of negative emotions. Clarity refers to the clearance of the dualistic view. Like light makes you see, when the dualistic view is removed you can see more clearly. Remedy or antidote. The dharma will be the antidote for the negativities like anger-hatred, attachment and confusion-ignorance. A spiritual development which has those qualities, is called dharma. If somebody has spiritual power but does not have those qualities, then it is not yet proper, not yet pure, not yet clear. Of course there are stages within it: pre-matured, fully matured etc. But if your spiritual development has the depth of being clear and being pure, and has the power to cut delusions like the dualistic view and all this, it has the pure quality of dharma. That is what we call my dharma as object of refuge.

Qualities of a sangha True sanghas have two qualities: ƒ The ability to see ƒ The ability to help

It’s important to know the qualities of the Three Jewels. Buddha. When you see the qualities of the object and then you look at the Buddha, at whatever pic- ture you have you see a different Buddha, you see the qualities behind that person. You are projecting be- hind that picture the quality of effortlessness, of unlimited knowledge, of love-compassion and power, etc. Dharma. Then you will see that the dharma is the development which enables you to get the unlim- ited love-compassion, unlimited knowledge and unlimited power of buddhahood. What really makes you become a buddha is the dharma you practice, nothing else. That is the quality of the dharma. Dharma makes you think more, gives you a better understanding and guides you in the proper direction. Sangha. Then you will see that sangha is help and example. When you see a sangha who is practicing and gaining development, then this draws a good example to us. When you look at somebody else who is able to do better than you, who is really becoming a nice person, then it gives you encouragement. Sangha does that. These are the real qualities. Knowing those, you take refuge in them. Knowing that no other persons than enlightened beings, no other action than spiritual development and no other persons than sangha can do better, makes me realize there is no other person who can help me better.

Actually, if you look at a buddha, you cannot have somebody who does better. (Don’t think of only Sakyamuni Buddha, but of the totality of enlightened beings, whether Buddhist or otherwise.) You cannot find better than that at all, because any other person, even though they may have some power here or there,

82 Lam Rim Teachings is limited. Buddha’s quality is limitless. If you see that they have these qualities, as I mentioned, then you can rely on them. Like when you know that someone is capable of doing something, when you know that he or she can do it, you can rely on that person. That is what it is. That is relying by knowing a buddha, sang-gye.83 A buddha is also called jang-chub. Jang means perfection. Suppose you try to memorize something. Then first you have to listen to it, then you have to put efforts in saying it. After a while you don’t have to do that any more, it just comes automatically because you got used to it. That is the jang, we got perfection on it. Buddha is jang [Skt. bodhi]. He has developed perfection on the path. He not only learned or walked the path, but he got totally perfect on the path. All cessations and all developments he perfectly obtained by going the path. That is the chub: the cessations have been perfectly obtained. So jang-chub means: he perfectly conquered the negative and perfectly obtained all the positive paths.

Main activity of a buddha. After obtaining enlightenment the main activity of buddhas is sharing their ex- perience. Buddhas carry out thousands of different activities, but out of those, which one is considered the most important? The activity of the speech. Why is the speech important? Because that is the best method for reaching us, for communicating with us. If a buddha became a great magician and could share a lot of magical powers, we could consider it great and then that is it. But the speech is the one which lasts with us. We can read, we can study and can meditate on it, try to gain developments, throw it away, play with it, everything.

Field of merit. By remembering his kindness and compassion [Buddha acts for us as] a field of merit. He is also an object to rejoice in. Anyway, think of Buddha as perfect, think of Buddha as a truthful fellow, as a perfect field of merit. Why do we make offerings to the Buddha? It is not that the Buddha needs our offer- ings, he can very well manage without. But it is there for us to accumulate merit, it provides us with an op- portunity. Why do you have to serve the Buddha? It is not that Buddha needs our service, he or she can definitely manage without our service, but it is an opportunity for us to gain merit. Remembering the kindness of the Buddha and rejoicing in his words, remembering the activities and mostly the speech activity (which is the sharing of his development), and also using him as a field of merit to whom you can make offerings, to whom you can bow down, whom you can render a service, and then rely on that, is actually taking refuge to the Buddha. Similarly with the dharma, the real thing you have to gain. When you take refuge to the dharma you take refuge to it as an object that you are going to gain, that you are going to take. And when you take refuge to the sangha, you use it as an example. ii) Taking refuge by knowing the distinctions within the Three Jewels Example. The example given here is a boat crossing the water. Buddha is like the captain, the dharma is like the boat and the sangha is like the crew. Knowing that, accepting Buddha, dharma and sangha as a perfect object of refuge, accepting it from the bottom of your heart, is how you really take refuge. If you have committed some kind of big crime and you know someone who can really help you and you are posi- tively sure about that, you are going to that person and you will say, “Look, I made a mistake, but please help me, protect me and I’ll do whatever you say.” Like that you rely on it. iii) Taking refuge by accepting the objects of refuge Accepting Buddha as a guide, accepting the dharma as the real protector, accepting the sangha as a real helper – we already covered that. iv) Taking refuge by not choosing false objects of refuge Once you gain that, you are unshakable by your own understanding. It is not blind faith or brainwashing. With your own understanding you are unshakable. When somebody says, “Hey, what is this talk about Buddha, what about this enlightenment, I am also enlightened because I encountered with this and that, I saw the light”, it won’t shake you. Or if you hear, “Buddha is nothing, rubbish, who knows if there really is

83 For the meaning of sang gye see page 66.

Going for Refuge: Taking a Safe Direction in Life 83 such a person called Buddha; Buddha is useless, why don’t we worship this little piece of straw instead of Buddha, that is more effective, forget about Buddha, let’s take refuge to a hungry ghost”, then you are un- shakable by yourself. Because you know the quality of Buddha, you examined the other one and that doesn’t have the quality. And when it doesn’t have the quality you know it is not fit to be an object of refuge, so you don’t accept it. On the other hand, if you find somebody other than Buddha Sakyamuni who fits all the qualities, you accept him or her as a buddha. Because of this reason I keep on saying: enlightened beings are enlightened beings, it doesn’t have to be Sakyamuni Buddha. So you gained the idea how to examine, you have an un- shakable position, you will be able to examine others. That is one way of taking refuge. Unshakable. Dharma too. You can develop an unshakable reliance from your mind, and your reliance will not be able to be shaken by anything else, when you know the dharma’s qualities.

The story of Matricheta.84 An example. Earlier there was a great non-Buddhist scholar who had a debate with . After he had lost his debate he ran away and started flying in the air. So Aryadeva chased him in the air. Finally they came to the edge of the atmosphere. By that time Aryadeva told this scholar, “Don’t go beyond that. If you do so you will be damaged and also you will damage the future people here.” He wouldn’t believe it. “If you don’t believe it, throw your hair up there”, Aryadeva told the scholar. He did so and it got stuck there somewhere, so he had to come down. Aryadeva caught him, drew him down and put him in prison – not a real jail, but some old library where the books were all mixed up, with pages missing etc. He was locked up in this sort of temple-room. As he was a learned fellow he started reading all pieces of Buddhist texts. So he was reading that Buddha had prophesized that a fellow would come, debate and lose, and that he would afterwards become of great service to the sentient beings and to Buddhism and would later become an arhat. “That must be me! How can that be possible?” So he began to think and actually learned the quality of the dharma while he was imprisoned. He really picked it up, after all he was a learned scholar, an educated person. He wrote a praise to Buddha: I gave up all other teachers and I bow down to you, Buddha. Why? Because you have special qualities. And you have no faults. The more I think of the other teachings, the more I respect your experience teachings. That is what he said. There are a lot of his sayings, but this is one of the major ones. He really goes on every point of the path. One of these points says: Buddha doesn’t really encourage people to develop the seventeenth stage samadhi85 where you reach the ultimate top [of concentration], but still you can generate sufferings and fall down again. The quality of dharma here is, however, that you do not put the emphasis on developing a strong samadhi, but you develop it up to the point where the mind gets totally under your control86. And after that you develop maha-vipasyana rather than concentration. This is one of the qualities of the dharma this particular person has written about. Here you are able to cut the root of samsara, the circle of existence. So if you know these qualities of the dharma, then you know all the other things are not equal to it.

Levels of refuge As I told you in the beginning, there are different refuge levels87: the lower-level refuge, the medium or Hinayana refuge and the Mahayana refuge. When you are aiming at Vajrayana practice, the refuge taken should be a Mahayana refuge. Mahayana refuge means that on top of the refuge, you have to have com-

84 Rinpoche tells the story of the debate elaborately in chapter XXIV (volume IV). The story of the debate is also to be found in ’s Speech of Gold [new title: The Central Philosophy of Tibet] on page 36-38. This name needs a check with Rinpoche. 85 Samadhi means meditative absorption. For the stages see chart 4 on page 143. 86 The stage of mental pliancy [Skt. shamatha; Tib. zhinay]. 87 See page 65.

84 Lam Rim Teachings passion towards every sentient being, at least artificially. Proper refuge you can get; on top of that you should have at least artificial compassion. Those who have the real compassion, great! When you add up artificial compassion then you see the Buddha differently. You don’t see the Bud- dha as Buddha over there, you see it as something that you are going to become.

Ordinary and extra-ordinary refuge When you look at the Buddha as a person who has already obtained this stage, when you look at the dharma as the cessations somebody has obtained, when you look at them and take refuge, it is ordinary refuge. When you look at Buddha Sakyamuni and his cessations as something that I am going to obtain and you take that as your real goal, you decide that, and you look at the dharma thinking “the cessation is something which I have to obtain.” When these two are taken as your goal (“I need to obtain that”) and then you take refuge, it is extra-ordinary refuge.

The sign or measure of really having taken refuge When you really have refuge, not out of mind, not out of artificial thoughts, but as a result of meditation, spontaneously, then that is the sign you have the refuge. In other words: if you keep on making it, telling yourself, working on it, then as a result of your efforts you get it without effort. The mind will really pick up, “Buddha has this quality and is the real one, the dharma has this quality and is the real one, and sangha also.” You have to put some effort in it, but when you develop you automatically pick it up. Then the real refuge has grown within you. That is the measurement of whether the real refuge has grown within us or not. When you have that, you have refuge. When you don’t have that, no matter what you do, you may have a hundred thousand ceremonies with trumpets blowing and incense burning, you may say “I take refuge to Buddha, dharma and sangha” a hundred thousand times, there is no grown refuge. If with our thoughts and understanding, and with the mind moving together with the words we say with our mouths, we are really shaken to the bottom of our hearts, if we are really moved, then we have taken refuge. Actually we have obtained ceremonies, names and certificates, but we have not obtained the actual refuge. How do you measure that obtainment? Like you measure your length with a yard-stick, here you have a measurement too. If you are spontaneously looking at Buddha, dharma and sangha, not artificially made up with qualities, not as an image, but if you instantly think of Buddha as with the qualities; when you think of dharma and you don’t think of teachings or books, but really think of the spiritual develop- ment and the cessations, when you think of the sangha as an example, then this is really moving straight, I mean, then you get it. Until then you have not got it. That is how you measure it.

Practice This is briefly, quite good, with quotations, the essence of the refuge-taking. Now let’s discuss what you have to do here. Just listening to me and taking notes will not help you at all. What you really have to do is analyze it. On whatever I say to you, just give yourself time and think and analyze. Make a short essence of it and then meditate on that. That is how you actually develop your refuge-taking. Of all my blah blah talks, get the total picture within you and concentrate on it. Before you get the correct thought, you analyze. Your analyzing is analytical meditation. You don’t really have to sit down, but analyze it. After analyzing you have to concentrate on whatever point you have got; you concentrate on the essential conclusion you drew. That concentration will bring you that sponta- neous look on Buddha, dharma and sangha; it will bring the reliance to you. When that has come, you may or may not have had a ceremony, but you have taken refuge. Think, meditate! Do not forget what I said, it is really important. Try to analyze it and get the essence. When you get some short essence out of it, meditate on that. I cannot put it in you; that won’t help. You have to find it. You have to discover that Buddha is real buddha, you have to find the dharma is real dharma. You have to find it, then it means something. This is what you do and then you concentrate.

Going for Refuge: Taking a Safe Direction in Life 85 d) The benefits of taking refuge i) We become Buddhists Whether you are a Buddhist or not is whether you have refuge or not. Until then people may claim to be a Buddhist, but are not, no matter how much they do. You may get a Buddhist teacher, a Buddhist monk, an abbot or a high lama, you may wear a Buddhist costume or enjoy Buddhist facilities, but until you’ve taken refuge you are not really a Buddhist yet. ii) We establish the foundation for further vows You build a base to be able to grow all further Buddhist vows. That is why it is said, “Refuge is the base to all vows.” Non-Buddhist vows you may be growing, for that you don’t have to be a Buddhist. iii) We can purify negative karma All non-virtuous actions that we accumulated will become thinner and softer, almost finishing. You may wonder how refuge can clear the non-virtuous actions accumulated before. There is an example. During the Buddha’s lifetime there was a king, Ajatashatru, who killed his own father, king , who had obtained the state of a non-returner. What does that mean? You have the five paths, the ten bhumis and the four result-stages [in Theravada]: stream-enterer, once-returning to samsara, non-returner to samsara, arhat level. This father had obtained the stage of a non-returner and the son killed him. When you physically kill your parents you commit an unlimited non-virtue and killing an arhat is an unlimited non-virtue too.88 Kill- ing a person who has obtained the state of non-returner is not really an unlimited non-virtue, but close to it. So this king almost got a double unlimited-killing karma. But his non-virtuous action could be cleared by taking proper refuge. This is the example given.89 iv) We accumulate a great amount of merit In one of the sutras it says: If the virtue or the merit by taking refuge to Buddha, dharma and sangha would get a form, the three different universal levels90 would be too small to contain it. v) We are protected from harm inflicted by humans and non-humans No one can harm you, you get good protection. That is really true. Especially black magic cannot harm you if you have taken good refuge. The ghosts cannot harm you.

Story about refuge and ghosts. A teacher and a student were living somewhere. One day a thief came, and they caught the thief. They got a stick and hit the thief three times, saying, “I take refuge to Buddha – bang, I take refuge to dharma – bang, I take refuge to sangha – bang!” They hit him three times and let him go. It was a big stick, so it was quite painful. The thief went and kept on saying, “I take refuge to Buddha, I take refuge to the dharma, I take refuge to sangha, I am glad there is no fourth and fifth, otherwise I would have got more.” He spent the night under a bridge and kept on mumbling to himself, “I take refuge to Buddha, I take refuge to the dharma, I take refuge to the sangha, luckily there are only three.” Now that bridge was used by ghosts and at night there was a big traffic of ghosts going up and down. I don’t know about America, but you see the ghosts in Tibet. In my childhood I used to see them a lot, par- ticularly in a certain retreat area near a mountain peak, where they have a guest-house, far away between Sera and . I had a nice little cave there, with two or three rooms and a kitchen and all this. The cave is still there, but the house collapsed. I used to sit and do my retreats there. Below that in the open field the ghosts used to come at night, a lot of them, they had a need to. Sometimes you could see them. Everybody sees them, not just me. How do you see them? You see little fires, not fire-flies, but little round fires, sometimes burning, sometimes not burning. It goes on the ground “rrrrrj”, like that. And when you call them, they all immediately start coming in and become a huge round circle and sit for a while.

88 Five limitless non-virtues: see Glossary. 89 For the story of King Ajatashatru see Gehlek Rimpoche, Odyssey to Freedom, day two. 90 Realm of desire, realm of form, formless realm.

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And when I sat there and offered the left-overs from tsoh they used it straightaway, you can really see it. All these fires come up just outside your protection ring. When you meditate you have a protection ring; wherever you put that, just outside that, they will come. Sometimes you hear them “chch.ch.” Then they even try to walk through. This bridge was one of heavy ghost-traffic; nobody could go there at night. And this fellow was there alone, sitting underneath the bridge, mumbling “I take refuge…” repeating it over and over again. And the ghosts could not go through! vi) We are prevented from taking rebirth in lower realms vii) All our temporary and ultimate wishes will be fulfilled The Sutra of the White Lotus carries boundless things on it. The essence of that is, as Buddha said: If one takes proper refuge to Buddha, dharma and sangha it ultimately leads you to nirvana. No matter how much you try to get away from it, it will bring you there. When somebody tries to grow a fruit tree with good soil, with proper care and the tree starts growing, then no matter how much he keeps on shouting “I don’t want that tree”, it will not do any harm to the tree. Similarly, if one takes refuge to Buddha, dharma and sangha, no matter how much you keep on denying the spiritual developments, they will come up of their own. viii) It helps us obtain enlightenment as quickly as possible Refuge leads to enlightenment, the ultimate benefit, what else do you want? This needs a little explanation, because you may say, “How does taking refuge to Buddha, dharma and sangha help an individual to obtain enlightenment or have a better life in future? How does that work?” Taking refuge in Buddha, dharma and sangha creates a karma. That karma has two important results. Firstly it is action-oriented, meaning: whatever cause you created, a similar type of action-oriented result you will get91. So by taking refuge to Buddha, dharma and sangha [as a cause], helping oneself to be pro- tected from the negative forces, from falling into the lower realms and all this, you get the protection as re- sult of it. How are you going to get this protection? Our mind is such that whatever you are used to the mind automatically follows. If you watch your own mind you’ll see that is what happens. Whatever you are most used to the mind automatically picks up; it almost becomes routine. So, if whenever we encounter difficul- ties, we take refuge, the mind automatically picks it up and remembers the objects of refuge. Tibetans are so accustomed to that. Whenever they have a difficulty automatically they say “Kön-chog sum…92”; they im- mediately think of it. So the mind gets used to it. When we get our minds used to remembering, almost relying on Buddha, dharma and sangha when- ever we have difficulties or even otherwise, then when the time of death comes you will also remember the Buddha, dharma and sangha. The King of Samadhi Sutra says: By getting one’s mind used to thinking of Buddha’s physical shape, images of the Buddha, actions of the Buddha, Buddha’s mind, Buddha’s thought and Buddha’s activity, you get used to it. When you get used to it, you always remember it whenever you have a problem.

Refuge at the time of death. The benefit of remembering Buddha at the time of death is one of the most important things that Buddha achieved by accumulating merit, purifications and all this. He has prayed and achieved that: “Those whoever pray to Buddha, may be protected.” This sort of action has been his prayer and his work; it has been result-oriented, therefore we get the benefit by remembering Buddha and we won’t really fall into the lower realms; we get protected. This is not only a religious belief. It is also logically right. How? The virtuous mind, the positive or good mind, will always bring the good; the evil mind will always bring evil actions. The immediate mind will determine whatever the next mind is going to be. So the positive mind brings positive thoughts and the

91 Direct result. For the different types of results see page 116. 92 “I take refuge in the Three Jewels.”

Going for Refuge: Taking a Safe Direction in Life 87 positive thoughts bring more positive thoughts again. So when you remember Buddha, you are not going to remember a negative thought immediately after that. By not thinking negative thoughts at the time of death the negative karma an individual has, cannot be linked up to. You know, each individual has a tremendous karma. We have lots and lots of karma that we have created and we are continuously creating: good and bad karma. So now it matters which one is going to be clicked. At the time of death it is so important where your mind is going to be clicked. If your mind clicks with some kind of bad or evil thoughts or evil activities, then the next immediate action or whatever that will come to you, is going to be a bad one, because bad brings the bad and good brings the good; that eve- rybody knows. If you are thinking of Buddha, dharma and sangha or something like that at the time of death, it won’t bring a bad thing immediately. Therefore, whatever may happen, no matter how bad a per- son may be, if at the time of death you remember Buddha or something, that immediate thought will bring an immediate better thought, so you will be able to link to a better existence. At least it is going to be better for us one lifetime; that at least. That is the benefit. The sutra itself says: Good karma links to good karma, therefore it brings a better life. Not only does it bring a better life, that life will also bring some kind of benefits similar to those in the life which had the benefit of having protection from the Buddha, dharma and sangha. It also links to creating good karma. And ultimately it leads to obtaining enlightenment. In short, by taking refuge to Buddha, dharma and sangha regularly, by remembering it whenever you have difficulties, you will also remember Buddha, dharma and sangha at the time of death. Remembering this brings about a good thought and that good thought brings a good result immediately: the mind will be linked up [to good karma]. That is why you’ll get a better [next] life, with protection. A better life will lead the practice, the practice will lead towards enlightenment. I think that covers the benefits.

Practice Today we have covered such important points: please do meditate on it, do meditate and do think. Don’t just let it come in one ear and go out via the other; that will serve no purpose. The efforts you put in com- ing here, driving a long or short way in bad weather or in snow, should not be wasted. Actually we should meditate now, meditation in a group is also good. But you can also do it by yourself. When you have a one-week gap, meditate on it every day. Do a short seven-limb practice, sit down and think. Thinking is meditation. Do that. e. The advices when having taken refuge i) General advices (1) Rely on a proper object of refuge After refuge-taking one has to rely on a perfect object of refuge and whatever represents that object. You have to see the good qualities of the representation of the object you take refuge to. By taking refuge to the dharma you have to remember its importance. By taking refuge to the sangha you have to see the sangha as a guide and a helper. Let them be an example for your behavior and move towards that direction.

(2) Discipline yourself Behave yourself. If our eyes, ear, nose, throat – if any of our doors draws the mind’s attention, is moving towards the wrong direction, you have to control yourself in order not to let it go into that direction. One way of putting yourself in a proper direction is disciplining yourself. If you cannot really control your mind, then you forcefully control it. That means you cut the contact by putting your mind in a different di- rection. Actually the reason for taking monks’ and nuns’ vows is to cut oneself from the object which draws you away from your actual points. If you cannot control your mind in any other way, then what you do next time is to avoid contact with that object. If you can’t control your anger, then avoid the object of your anger. If you can’t control your attachment, avoid the object which brings you attachment. If you can’t

88 Lam Rim Teachings control your lust, then avoid contact with the object which brings you lust. If you cannot control your mind then you have to take drastic actions of controlling. That is where discipline comes in the picture. You may raise the question: “Won’t suppressing be bad?” Suppressing bad thoughts may be bad. However, when you cannot manage without suppressing, then it is better not to have it for the time being, rather than submitting yourself to it. What happens is, people don’t know how they really act. No one really thinks “I have been controlled by anger, attachment, lust etc.” No one would like to acknowledge, doesn’t really know it. But without you knowing it they control you, you are really subjected to them. So to avoid that, don’t have contact with the object which brings these things. That is why one of the Buddhist teachings is very strongly based on discipline. These are the general advices after taking refuge to dharma.

(3) Have a compassion-oriented attitude Buddhism is compassion-oriented. Once you have taken refuge to the dharma, what dharma really wants you to be is very compassionate. You have to be a very compassionate person. When you are very com- passionate you cannot harm anybody, you avoid harming any other creature. Not only human beings, but all other creatures as well. Now the question of being vegetarian comes in. When you can manage, fine. It all depends on how you can handle it in your mind. If you can handle it in a nice way then everything is permitted. But if you cannot handle it, then you go tighter and tighter. So by taking refuge to the dharma you have to avoid harming; forget about killing, avoid even harm- ing all other creatures, including human beings.

(4) Remember Buddha, Dharma and Sangha From time to time you have to remember the Buddha, dharma and sangha. ii) Advices concerning each of the Three Jewels in turn (1) Negative advices (a) Do not take refuge to worldly gods – Buddha One of the most important negative advices is that after taking refuge to Buddha [or, for that matter, to any enlightened being] you cannot take refuge to any spirit. Period.

(b) Avoid causing harm to other sentient beings – Dharma The dharma advice is not harming other creatures. This is harming other creatures on purpose, especially by trying to be mean and calculating, “If he does this, I will reply with this a, b and c”, like you play a game of chess to win and make the other side lose. In harmful planning lies a danger of losing your refuge.

(c) Avoid getting influenced by non-virtuous or irreligious friends – Sangha An advice of taking refuge to the sangha is to avoid non-virtuous friends. If you can help your non- virtuous friend, help him develop, by all means you have to do so, go and help! But if you see that you cannot help and instead there is a danger of harming yourself, deluding your mind, developing suspicion, wrong views, wrong thoughts, then you’d better avoid it.

You don’t make the judgment on the basis of the personality, but you make the judgment on the basis of the action and the effect you get from the friend. It has nothing to do with that person, the point is: how is it affecting you? If having that person as a friend is harming you, particularly on your spiritual path… Let me put it simply– if it brings your delusions up and it doesn’t help to build your positive attitude, then this is a non-virtuous friend to you and you have to avoid him or her. If you can help him or her without harm- ing yourself, then you really have to go all the way and help. But if you can’t help the other without harm- ing yourself, if it is affecting you, then for the time being you’d better leave. Because we are just like little seeds growing. We are not fully developed trees, we’re like seeds, like little sprouts, the first leaves coming out of the soil. They need a lot of care, any wrong doing can destroy

Going for Refuge: Taking a Safe Direction in Life 89 them. So a non-virtuous friend is one of the most harmful things here for an individual [at this stage], be- cause people influence people. Say you have a friend who drinks a lot; even if you are not drinking and you go with that friend, you also pick up a little drink: “Nothing harmful, it is good, it is a medicine for you.” And then you take a little more, a little more, and ultimately you become a drinking chap, a drunkard. Similarly with drugs, similarly with all these other things. If that is affecting you in a negative way, then it is a non-virtuous friend. Vice versa, if you are affecting somebody else in a negative way you yourself become a negative friend to that person. In that case, either you change your attitude or your behavior, or you take care not to harm the other person. The same goes for everything: anger, hatred, attachment, you name it. If it helps you to think more, if it helps you to meditate more, if it helps you to do non-killing, if it helps you in not-lying, not-cheating and not to be mean, if it helps you not to get angry or not to develop attachment, then it is a positive friend. That is the ‘negative advice’ of taking refuge to the sangha. These negative advices [what to avoid] are very important. I can’t say they are more important than the positive ones [that tell you what to do], but they are definitely very, very important.

(2) Positive advices (a) Pay respect to the Buddha Nagarjuna has said, “By taking refuge the positive advice is: pay respect to Buddha Buddha’s images and pictures.” Here, when I say Buddha, please remember that I am not talking about Sakyamuni Buddha. I talk about the total of what Buddha is, you have to remember that. So any image of an enlightened being you have to give highest respect to. You should not be disrespectful, because you’ll create bad karma. Have respect and also avoid difficult situations [with regard to the representations]. The image of the Bud- dha has no feelings at all, so it makes no difference to the image what you do with it, but from your point of view, to gain a proper merit, you have to see to it that even an image or picture or whatever it is, is not left in a disrespectable place.

About images. You can’t say “This is bad or this is good” about images of any enlightened beings. When Atisha was in Tibet, one of the great Tibetan masters, a great meditator, asked Atisha about an image of Manjushri, which he brought. “Atisha, how good is this image? If you say this image is good, somebody will give four gold-coins for it, then I will give this image to so and so, who would like to have this im- age.” Atisha replied: I do not know whether Manjushri has bad images at all. Manjushri figures are always good, there is no bad Manjushri figure. But if you want to know the quality of the art, how it looks like Manjushri, then I’d say its quality is medium. As an art-quality it is medium. That answer made a lot of people think. Why did Atisha not say, “This image is not good” instead of say- ing, “The quality of the art is medium”? Why does he have to add “the quality of the art”? A lot of people debated and asked Atisha. Atisha answered, “By being an image of an enlightened being, if you call it ‘bad’, it is against the advice of taking refuge. Therefore I will not judge anything good or bad about the image at all, but I would say the artwork is medium or lower!” This is how even a great teacher as Atisha takes care. Mind you, jumping over images etc. is totally prohibited. It creates bad karma.

The story of the Buddha image and the rain. There is an interesting example of what happened early in In- dia in Nagarjuna’s period. There was a little image of the Buddha, somewhere near Bodhgaya. The stupa had been destroyed and there was a little Buddha image left in a place where the monsoon rains wetted it all the time. Somebody went around this stupa and said, “Hey this is so difficult, the Buddha’s image is left totally in the rain, I must do something.” He looked around, couldn’t find anything and then saw a dirty old torn shoe. He picked up that shoe and put it on the head of the image of the Buddha, so it was protected from the rain. The rain stopped, the sun started to shine and somebody else passed by and remarked, “How bad to put that dirty shoe on Buddha’s image” and he removed it.

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Later Nagarjuna was asked about this and he said, “Both have built a merit, because the first one had a good intention and he couldn’t find anything else to protect the image of the Buddha from the rainfall, so no matter whether it was dirty, that person built merit because of protecting the image. The second person, who removed that shoe, also removed it with the good thought of ‘How can such a dirty thing be put there’. So it was also done with a good intention, a good motivation. So both have built merit.”

(b) Pay respect to the Dharma Similarly with the book. By taking refuge to the dharma, you have to give respect to the written language through which the dharma teachings and its meanings are communicated to us. So, any dharma objects or dharma documents or things written on dharma should not be left on the bare ground, not be jumped over, not be put under your feet, not be put under your seat, not be put together with your shoes and things like that; that is disrespectful. I have noticed people are taking notes about dharma and then put it under the chair etc. Every time you do this, you create bad karma, tremendous bad karma. I felt so bad and a sort of pain, but I guess it is my fault, I didn’t reach to the level here to tell you. So, please be careful with that. You are creating un- necessary bad karma on you. How good is our dharma respect? One of the great masters said, If you find a full-written page of dharma paper fallen into the toilet, you may not bother much, but if you find a hundred-dollar note fallen in the middle of the toilet, you’d do anything to get it out, you would even jump into the toilet to get it out, even if you would get completely soaked, even then you’d go in there and take your hundred-dollar note out. But we will not do that to take some dharma note out. So when we have that attitude then our respect to the dharma is shakable.

(c) Pay respect to the Sangha You have to respect the sangha no matter what may be. In the Buddhist tradition you have to pay respect to those who have taken a vow, the monks and nuns, no matter what the individual person may be. From my point of view I have to respect them, because they are Buddhist monks and nuns. Particularly a group of four or more is an object of refuge, so you have to give your highest respect. What they are doing indi- vidually is their responsibility; if they create non-virtues it is their problem. As far as I am concerned, my problem is that I have to give respect to them. You have to respect the sangha community. And it is not correct to say “This is our monk, we respect him more and that one is their monk, we respect him less.” You can’t do that. That is creating a division among the sangha community. Doing this creates a lot of non-virtues. Creating a schism is one of the five limitless non-virtues. So one has to be very careful with the sangha community. Not only do you have to respect the sangha of the yellow-red robed monks or nuns, but also your fel- low travelers on the spiritual path you have to respect – you have to, you can’t avoid it. Not only that; it counts for everybody, every human being, every sentient being. Always try to see the qualities of the people and not the bad part of them. If you start looking at the bad part critically, there is an endless bad part. If you look from the quality point of view, you’ll get something very good out of it. And if you are trying to think of all the faults, then everybody will be very ‘faulty’, because there is no person without faults. If you look from the ‘fault’ point of view you get all the faults all the time. Buddha’s cousin, Devadatta, always saw a false Buddha, whatever he did he saw fault in it: “He did this and that is to cheat, he did that and I can do much better, etc.” If you look from the fault point of view then everything is faulty. But if you look from the quality point of the people, everything becomes quality. So why should we choose to get bad karma by looking from the faults’ point of view? Don’t. Don’t look ‘fault’, give respect to others. Always see the beautiful part of somebody, see the good part of the people. And if you are good, everybody will be good to you, I guarantee you that. And if you are bad to some- body, vice versa you get the same result.

Going for Refuge: Taking a Safe Direction in Life 91

Story of the eighteen-headed fish.93 I tell you something from the Vinaya Sutra. During the Buddha’s lifetime a strange thing happened. Out of the Ganges river a fish with eighteen different heads was said to have appeared. Everybody went to see it. Buddha went there too and so did the anti-Buddhist teachers, of which there were a lot at the time of the Buddha. People did not respect the Buddha as we do today. At his lifetime many were very critical towards the Buddha. So the anti-Buddhist teachers said, “Hey, Sakyamuni Buddha goes to see the eighteen-headed fish. He likes entertainment.” Buddha said to them, “Let’s go there together.” But they didn’t want to, because they wanted to be serious, not liking entertainment. Bud- dha went there and blessed the fish, so it was able to speak in the human language. Then he said, “Aren’t you Shedbu Serkya?” The fish acknowledged it. Buddha said, “Your guide in non-virtues was your mother. Right?” The fish acknowledged it. Then the people asked Buddha what all that was about. And Buddha told the story. During the period of a previous Buddha, Kashyapa, there was a big debate between two groups and this fish was at that time a very intelligent and learned scholar. He knew he was going to lose the debate with Casaba’s disciples, but he didn’t want to lose it. His mother said, “Don’t worry; if you lose the de- bate just tell bad things about those disciples, like, “You look like a dog and you are a dog” and “you look like a pig and you are a pig” and “you look like a parrot and you are a parrot.” Give each one of those eighteen disciples such a kind of name and treat them like that. These disciples are well disciplined and well behaved, so they will go away and then the people will think you have won the debate.” That was the mother’s advice to her son. He followed it exactly and the people thought he’d won the debate. As a re- sult of that, however, he took rebirth as the with eighteen heads, all of different animals. Not only he took rebirth that way, also he remained in that physical form during the whole period of Buddha Kashyapa teach- ings, which must have been thousands and thousands of years. That is the example Buddha gave. So, it is not good to call people names and become a bad loser without knowing it. Particularly when having taken refuge to the sangha, saying, “The sangha community is like this and that” is supposed to be very bad. iii) Advice concerning all Three Jewels in common (1) Take refuge repeatedly, remember the qualities of Buddha, dharma and sangha A positive advice is to remember the qualities of Buddha, dharma and sangha very often and rely on them during all your activities. As explained before, rely on them by remembering the qualities of Buddha, by remembering the qualities of the dharma, by remembering the qualities of the sangha and by generally re- membering the Buddha, dharma and sangha. Take refuge as much as possible. Three times a day and three times at night is recommended.

(2) Remember the kindness of Buddha, dharma and sangha and offer the choice part of your food Offering whatever you eat or drink first to Buddha, dharma and sangha. Particularly at the period of eating, you can always make offerings. It is not that by your offerings Buddha is filling his stomach; if we don’t make offerings the buddhas won’t get hungry. However, we gain merit. That is why we make offerings. Also we should not make offerings which have not been blessed. The system of offering is: first you bless the offerings and then you offer. So you offer to Buddha, dharma and sangha whatever you eat and drink. If you make offerings three times a day this builds up a tremendous amount of merit, like single drops finally filling up the bucket. The offering prayer you can say is:

OM AH HUNG, OM AH HUNG, OM AH HUNG. I and my circle, throughout all of our lives, May we never be separated from the protection of the Three Precious Jewels. By continuously making offerings to the Three Precious Jewels, may their blessings be obtained. Buddha, the peerless Master, Dharma, the peerless Protector, Sangha, the peerless Helper. We make these offerings to the three precious Protectors. OM AH HUNG.

93 The story is told in extense in Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in Our Hands, vol. I, p. 156-158; Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, p. 170-172; Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, An Anthology of Well-Spoken Advice, p. 218-219.

92 Lam Rim Teachings

What you visualize or think is this: Not only this plate I am offering, but this plate multiplied according to the Samantabhadra94 system: the whole universe filled up with the best offerings available. All that I offer to Buddha, dharma and sangha and all enlightened beings. When you are eating out you don’t have to say it loudly or do anything, but just do it for yourself. We make the offerings to Buddha, dharma and sangha, because that is the supreme field of merit, the best field from which you can get merit. Therefore you should not have an insulting attitude, you should not be not-paying attention, it should not be influenced by laziness, you should make offerings properly. Even if you are offering a bowl of water, you should make it with great respect. Don’t just bang the bowl on the ta- ble, you know. Don’t pour the water from high up like a cow pissing (which is the traditional example here), it should be done low down and with all respect. An example given here is this. Once a king had recruited a new butler. Old ones can become quite close to the king and sometimes may not be so respectful. But a new one, on the first day, will do whatever is best, won’t he? So as a newly recruited butler to the king, in that manner you have to make the offerings: the water, the light, the flowers, whatever. Some people may say, “Well, look, I am very poor, I have noth- ing to offer, so I cannot develop merit.” That is not right. You have a tremendous way. You can offer any- thing you can imagine. In Shantideva Bodhisattvacharyavatara it is written in detail: I offer now to the Tathagatas, To the Sacred Dharma, the stainless jewel, And to the Sons of Buddha, the oceans of excellence, Whatever flowers and fruits there are And whatever kind of medicine, Whatever jewels exist in this world And whatever clean refreshing waters; Likewise gem-encrusted mountains, Forest-groves, quiet and joyful places, Heavenly trees bedecked with flowers And trees with fruit-laden branches; Fragrances of the celestial realms, Incense, wishing trees and jewel trees, Uncultivated harvests, and all ornaments That are worthy to be offered; Lakes and pools adorned with lotuses And the beautiful cry of wild geese, Everything unowned Within the limitless spheres of space. Creating these things in my mind I offer them To the supreme beings, the buddhas as well as their sons; O compassionate ones, think kindly of me And accept these offerings of mine.95 That is really how you can make offerings. And some say, “I have nothing to offer, I am poor, my best is a glass of water. Please take that.” That is also possible to do. But when you make such offerings, saying “I have nothing to offer, because I am poor” and you do have things, that is not right. You should not offer “the blue part of the butter and the yellow part of the green vegetables.” You should not say, “Well let’s offer that, because it has gone bad anyway.” That creates] bad karma rather than good karma.

94 The bodhisattva Samanthabhadra multiplies his body into a thousand bodies. Each body has a thousand heads, each head has thousand tongues. That way he offers praises. Likewise he offers innumerous clouds of offerings. is described in the last section of the Sutra [part of the Avatamsaka Sutra]. See Thomas Cleary, The Flower Ornament Scripture, p. 1503-1518. Also see Tsongkhapa, The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, Lamrim Chenmo, vol. I, p. 95-99. 95 Shantideva, A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, ch. 2, vs. 1-6.

Going for Refuge: Taking a Safe Direction in Life 93

(3) Encourage others to take refuge Also try to develop refuge in other people, to put them in touch with the Buddha, dharma and sangha and talk to them about the qualities of the Buddha, dharma and sangha, and try to help them in whatever way you can.

(4) Remember the benefits and take refuge each morning and each night Once you have taken refuge that is what you are supposed to do.

(5) Rely on Buddha, dharma and sangha in all your activities This is most important. Rely on Buddha, dharma and sangha, follow their principles.

(6) Do not give up the Three Jewels, not for the sake of life or merely as a joke This is a difficult one and an important one. What happened is this. Earlier, during the Buddha’s lifetime, a bunch of lay people who had taken refuge to Buddha, dharma and sangha, were beaten up by certain anti- Buddhists or anti-spiritual persons, who said, “Unless you give up that Buddha dharma and sangha, we are going to kill you and if you give up, we’re not going to kill you.” But these people chose not to give up; even when it would cost them their lives, they were not going to break the principles of the Buddha, dharma and sangha. So they were killed, but each one of them obtained a higher samsaric-god’s life. That was what Buddha witnessed and has told about. That is what we should try to follow. Also for a joke’s sake you should not give up. That is the highest extreme at the serious side and the lowest extreme, even for a joke’s sake. Some people say unnecessarily, “I swear by the Three Jewels.” This may not be very relevant to the western people, it is very relevant for eastern people.

Practice If you want to go into detail, then here the real practice is: combine meditating on the sufferings and taking refuge. You meditate on the sufferings in every realm of samsara, the eighteen different hell realms, the hungry ghost realm, the animal realm, the human realm and the human beings’ problems, the samsaric gods’ realm and its problems. Meditate on all their problems and then take refuge to Buddha, dharma and sangha to protect yourself from those problems. 1) You meditate that you are already in that condition. 2) You think, “I am not in that condition yet; however, I have every cause of coming in that condition, therefore it is the same as if I already were in that condition.” 3) You think Buddha, dharma and sangha have the power to protect you. They have love-compassion and they will do whatever they can. They will do whatever needs to be done. “I am okay, I can rely on them.” If you meditate on the sufferings and the refuge together, it will be a sort of combined practice of the first noble truth, the truth of suffering, and the refuge. This is one of the important techniques you do. And then, as in every meditation, as I told you, you have to do the two meditations together: analyti- cal meditation and concentration meditation. Analytical meditation will bring you the subject on which you meditate or the object on which you meditate. Once you find the subject and object on which you meditate, then you concentrate. Then you have to sit on it and concentrate, concentrate on it till you get in- fluenced. This is how you get your spiritual developments. On every point you have to do this.

Meditation on refuge You first visualize the object of refuge on your crown, as a witness, as a protector, as a representa- tion [of your own future buddha]. Generate pure thoughts. The cause of taking refuge is fear, fear of falling into the lower realms. I imagine that cause is al- ready on me. Let me imagine I have taken birth in the lightest hell realm. I look around and see all its difficulties and problems: physical and mental pains, unbearable conditions. I take refuge to Buddha, dharma and sangha.

94 Lam Rim Teachings

Then you say: Yes, I have imagined that I have already taken rebirth in the hell realm. I developed fear; however, actually I have not taken birth in the hell realm yet. I am still a human being. That is true, but I have all the causes. If I don’t take care of the cause, it is as good as having been born there already. And if I am unable to purify these causes before I die, then it is very much pos- sible that I will take rebirth in one of those lower realms. But luckily Buddha, dharma and sangha are the equivalent-less protectors. If I rely on them I’ll be okay. These have the quality of knowledge, compassion and power. I am fortunate that such a method is still left for me to protect myself.

I take refuge. I pray very strongly96, Namo Buddhaya, Namo Dharmaya, Namo Sanghaya. (3x or more) Sang gye chö dang tsog kyi chog nam la I take refuge to Buddha, dharma and sangha Jang chub bar du dag ni kyab su chi Until I obtain enlightenment. Dag gi jin sog gyi pä sö nam kyi By practicing generosity and the other perfections Dro la pän chir sang gyä drub par shog May I be able to obtain enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. (3x) Kön chog sum la kyab su chio I go for refuge to the triple gem. Sem chän tam chä dag gi drol I shall liberate all sentient beings. Jan chub nä la gö par gyi To lead them to an enlightened state Jan chub sem ni yang dag kye I generate purely an enlightened motive. (3x) Then light radiates from the heart of the protector and goes through all space. It reaches to the hell realm, it reaches to the hungry ghost realm, it reaches to the animal realm and to each of their suf- ferings and pains. It reaches to the human level, to the human beings’ pains. Each one of them you visualize strongly, you concentrate on their pains. And each one of their pains, when you think about that, you get scared, you get a scare yourself. Every time you get scared you take refuge. Namo Gurubhye… Though I have committed a lot of ‘crimes’ I try to purify whatever I can and to develop good vir- tue. I have Buddha, dharma and sangha as my protectors behind me. Namo Gurubhye…

That is actually how you should do it. Then it really works. You create the cause, you develop the fear and the moment you really get the frightening fear, you take refuge. That refuge-taking is really a perfect ref- uge-taking.

With this you have the combined meditation, analytical and concentration meditation. Both are needed. If you don’t have analytical meditation you are simply sitting there empty, which does not serve many pur- poses, except that it brings you harmony and a stable mind – a good thing, but it will not really bring you a proper spiritual path’s development. It does bring you a development but if you don’t have the concentra- tion meditation then all your thoughts will be going, one after another, flying around. That is also not right. Once you find the subject-[conclusion] you should concentrate on that and sit tight on that till you get used to it, okay? That is how you do it.

Refuge-taking I have totally completed now. I am only trying to share whatever knowledge I have, I am only trying to share whatever I have been taught. If I have a little experience because I have been doing something, I am trying to share that here. I try not to go away from the principles of the teaching, to com- municate to you as best as I can. So please try not to forget.

96 Choose either one of these three refuge prayers.

Going for Refuge: Taking a Safe Direction in Life 95

Practice Using the outlines. When you meditate, concentrate, try to develop yourself, think briefly on every point of the outlines from the beginning. Then you may spend time on whatever Lamrim-point you got to. There you are sort of struggling, trying to gain insight. After that you overview the points to come. You have to do the overviewing meditation, otherwise it is not going to help you much. When you look through every point it is very important not to look into your notes but to look into your mind. We are not training our eyes, we are training our mind. It must affect the mind. Therefore you must see to it that whatever we teach you gets settled in your mind. With these talks we provide you with material to think. By thinking on it you will find a result. When you find the result, that result should be the object of your [concentrated] meditation and that way you will get it. So please: first is listening or reading, second is concentrated thinking and third is meditation and concentration. Okay?

The importance of meditation. We are meeting once a week. And if from Friday till Wednesday you forget what we did on Thursday, I am quite sure it is not going to help you much. After some time you will get frustrated. But if you keep on thinking on it, at least a short period once a day, and then meditate on it, that is very important. I repeatedly tell you, you have to meditate, you have to, and you should do both: ana- lytical and concentration. If you do not have concentrated meditation, your stability of mind can’t be developed. If you don’t have analytical meditation, you will not have a subject on which to concentratedly meditate and you will lack the stages of development. Say you are only concentrating on the images of the Buddha or on the breath or anything; that is what we teach when the zhinay level comes: concentration on the breath, concentration on an image, concentra- tion on anything. There are six mental powers, four kinds of attention and nine stages.97 When you do this it will bring stability to the mind. Without stability of mind you cannot achieve mental stability [Tib. zhi- nay]; without mental stability you cannot focus on the subject. If you don’t have a subject on which you meditate concentratedly, the stages will not develop. So it is important to combine them. I hope everybody will be able to follow that. And if any individual has a problem to discuss – not in the group but individually – I will be more than happy to do so. Because spiritual problems need individual attention, not only group attention; they need individual attention and group support.

That is what I would like to say and as I mentioned to you all the time, your spiritual practice, every spiri- tual activity that you are doing is a fight with the delusion, a fight with the anger, the attachment, the ha- tred and ignorance. That is the negative force, that is our enemy, our mind’s enemy. Making a smooth mind is making yourself free from those things. If you do this you are achieving a better life or coming closer to God, or whatever you like to call it. That is really how the spiritual path works.

97 See Chapter XXIV (volume IV).

“As a man sows a seed, so shall he reap the fruit.” Flower Ornament Scripture [Avatamsaka sutra] p. 1471 a charcoal by Vincent van Gogh

XII KARMA: ACTIONS AND THEIR CONSEQUENSES98

Also, consider the workings of black and white actions; Practicing correctly is your own responsibility. I, a yogi, did that myself; You, O liberation seeker, should do likewise. Should you not find a suitable rebirth, It will not be possible to progress along the path; Cultivate the causes of a perfect rebirth, Appreciate the importance of purifying The three doors from stains of evil. Cherish the power of the four opponent forces. I, a yogi, did that myself; You, O liberation seeker, should do likewise. Je Tsongkhapa, Song of the Stages in Spiritual Practice [Lamrim Dudon], vs. 11-12 Chandrakirti very clearly stated that no other cause can bring a perfect rebirth99 except morality. There is no cause other than moral discipline For the high status100 and definite goodness101 Of ordinary beings, those born from the speech [Skt. sravakas102], Those definite in self-enlightenment [Skt. pratyeka buddhas] and Conqueror’s Sons [Skt. bodhisattvas]. 103 Chandrakirti, Guide to the Middle Way [Madhyamakavatara], ch. II, vs. 7 So, whether you are an ordinary person or a disciple of the Buddha – a sravaka, a pratyeka buddha or a bo- dhisattva – in order to have a good future life the only cause is morality, nothing else. In our ordinary level perfect morality is the root for a better life. At the path level it is the root for de- veloping the altruistic mind [Skt. bodhicitta]. At the bodhisattva level it is the only root that brings buddha- hood. So morality is important throughout the stages of development! If a perfect morality is the only cause to bring a good future life, how do we create good morality? How does that work with us at our level, the common with the lower level? We have to know what black karma is, what white karma is, what positive and what negative karma is. And knowing alone is not enough, after knowing you have to protect yourself from getting involved or indulged in black karma and when your have indulged in it you purify it within twenty-four hours. Even if it is more than twenty-four hours, purify it.

98 Literature: Gehlek Rimpoche, Karma, Actions and their Results; Tsongkhapa, The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, Lamrim Chenmo, vol. I, p. 209-259; Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in Our Hands, vol. II, p. 227-278; Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, p. 429-470; Gehlek Rimpoche, Odyssey to Freedom, steps 33-34; L.S. Dagyab Rinpoche, Achtsamkeit und Versenkung, p. 161-185; Geshe Rabten, The Essential Nectar,p. 214-216, p. 112-117; Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, An Anthology of Well-Spoken Advice, p. 303-362; Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Joyful Path of Good Fortune, p. 229-266; Ge- she Thubten Loden, Path to Enlightenment, p. 321-377; Jack Kornfield, A Path with Heart, p. 272-286; Joseph Goldstein, ‘A Bud- dhist view of Karma’, in V. Hanson ed., Karma, Rhythmic Return to Harmony, p. 61-68. Goldstein and Kornfield, Seeking the Heart of Wisdom. p. 111-121. 99 With the 8 freedoms and the 10 endowments. 100 Rebirth in a higher realm. 101 Liberation from cyclic existence [attaining nirvana] and omniscience [buddhahood]. 102 Also called ‘hearers’. 103 Transl. ref. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Ocean of Nectar, p. 85. 98 Lam Rim Teachings a) Karma and its results in general i) The four general characteristics of karma ƒ Karma is definite: actions are certain to produce similar consequences. ƒ Karma is fast-growing: the consequences are greater than the actions. ƒ One cannot meet the consequence if one has not committed the action. ƒ Once an action is committed, the consequence cannot be lost.

(1) Karma is definite Karma has this quality: whatever karma is created will bring a corresponding result. For example, if you keep on indulging in killing, the result will be something unpleasant like losing your life. The example here is: if you take seeds of a red pepper and try to make the pepper sweet by growing all sorts of sweet fruits around it – no way. Nor will mixing the seeds work. Sweet seeds will grow sweet fruit, sour seeds will grow sour fruit and hot seeds are going to grow hot peppers. Similarly, every action that we take will create a different result. We cannot say, “We have done this much good and this much bad, let us hope that we can square it up.” The Tibetan saying is, “You cannot kill the fish and be generous to the dog.”

The story of the singer. At the time of the Buddha there happened to be a wonderful and famous singer, a lady who had a tremendous voice. Everybody loved her singing. But whenever she had a performance, a curtain was put up and she would sing from behind the curtain. The reason was that she had a terrible ap- pearance, the ugliest appearance you can imagine. Now somebody went to Buddha and asked him, “What is this? This lady sings so beautifully, every- body falls in love with her songs, but the moment they see her, everybody moves back two steps, that’s how terrible she looks.” Buddha said, “In one of her previous lives she happened to be a man who worked on building a stupa. He hated what he had to do. He kept on cursing it, saying, ‘What a nonsense it is, this funny building here. It is so big, it will never be finished, what a terrible thing to do!’ When it was finally finished he thought that it was not so bad and he regretted saying bad things about it. To make it right he bought a beautiful golden bell out of his salary and put it on top of the stupa as a decoration. Now, because of the karma cre- ated by saying these terrible things her appearance is terrible, but the golden bell made her voice great.”

In other words, for whatever cause you create, you will get a similar result. Nagarjuna emphasizes, From non-virtues come all sufferings And likewise all miserable realms. From virtue come all happy realms And the joys in all rebirths. Nagarjuna, The Precious Garland [Ratnavali], vs. 21

(2) Karma is fast-growing A lot of people will think: when I create one little karma I will have one little result. But I don’t believe that is correct. Buddha said, “No.” He said, “When you create one karmic cause it multiplies day by day, every twenty-four hours. It keeps on multiplying, unless you put a stop to it.” So one little karmic cause you created could have a hundred different results coming. It is like business. In a good business you in- vest a little bit and it multiplies and you get a lot back. Here the same principle operates. Buddha gave the example here of how a small seed can grow into a huge tree. Also, a drop of poison can take a life or a tiny pill can cure a disease. Small actions can bring big results; not only externally, but also internally it grows triple the rate. If you leave negative actions unpurified, they grow tremendously.

Resolution on the first two points When you meditate on the karmic functioning and you realize how karma is definite and how karma is fast-growing, there are certain resolutions which you have to make. For that, there are no reasons given

Karma:Actions and Their Consequences 99 here, like we have reasoning at other points. In karma mostly you have to rely on the quotations, the words of the sutras. As I told you before,104 Buddha went to the extent of saying, The sun and the moon can fall on the earth, The waters can dry and the earth underneath the water can rise up, The mountains can go under the water, However, Buddha will never tell lies when he is talking about karma. King of Samadhi Sutra [Samadhi Raja Sutra] Because there is no reasoning available he had to go to this extent. Normally Buddha is a person who al- ways says, “Do not buy it because I said so.” However, on the karmic law he had to say this. He had to go to that extent, because karma, particularly the subtle karma, is more difficult to understand than emptiness. Emptiness can be correctly understood on the third level of the path of the bodhisattvas [the path of see- ing], but karma cannot be understood properly until you are fully enlightened. That is why. Karma is a very subtle subject and difficult to understand. And it can only sort of get absorbed by us by means of reli- able quotations from the sutras and other sources.

When you meditate on the first two points, what you really need to resolve and pass on as a resolution is: to decide to give up all different non-virtues and to create virtue as much as you can. Even the smallest of small non-virtues should be given up and the smallest of small virtues – you know, the tiny little one, the almost not even worth one – should not be ignored and should be built up. You know, during the Lamrim meditations, at every outline you have certain conclusions which you can meditate on. Now here there are no such conclusions [given], but what you have to resolve, what you really conclude by yourself, what you take as your resolution for covering the first two outlines, is: give up non-virtue – no matter how small it may be –, create and build up virtue as much as you can – no matter how small it may be. Deciding that, is what will really be affecting you on this matter.

(3) We cannot meet with a karma that we did not perform This is an important point. The Buddha’s point of view, when he presented the subject of karma, is this: the pleasant or the unpleasant things, whatever we experience, either on our body or on our mind, are not the result of them being created by some external forces, they are not the result of an unrelated cause. You know, certain people have the view that things that happen to us are a kind of punishment from this or that person, or a gift from this or that person, or they say it is the creation [by an outside creator]. These sort of things, Buddha emphasized, are unrelated causes. That means that if you do not create a certain karma then no matter what you do, you cannot meet with the result.

Examples. The example Buddha has given is that during a war people get killed. It is possible that the per- son on your right and the person on your left side get killed, but somehow you escape. There are external forces like a crash or a house catching fire, or nowadays you can think of plane crashes and all these dif- ferent things, but certain people die and certain people do not die. So Buddha has categorized all this as: the individual person has not created the karma of dying or no karma of dying has yet ripened on that per- son and that is why he escapes. What about protection powers? If protection has been given to the individual person and that person got it before his or her karma started ripening, it helps the karma not to ripen, but once the karma has started ripening, no matter what protection you may have, you die. I mentioned to you the other day105 that during the war of the Sakya cast Buddha took four different kids and hid them in different areas, but in the end they found all of them dead. Even Buddha himself had a terrible back-ache. “Because of lack of karma”, he said.

Nagarjuna’s death. How did Nagarjuna die? It is very funny. Nagarjuna could not be killed by a knife or sword. Finally he said [to the ones that tried to kill him], “I have only a little karma left, if you get a little

104 See chapter III (volume I) heading: ‘How Lamrim helps’. 105 See page 35.

100 Lam Rim Teachings piece of grass and put it around my neck to strangle me, I’ll die.” That is how Nagarjuna died106 and this is how karma really works.

The story of “Grown from the fire.” If you look into karma you’ll find interesting things. Early in India there was a benefitter who supported the Buddhist monks during the Buddha’s period. He was called “Grown from the fire.” Now there were some funny rules in India that time: if the husband died they burned the wife together with the dead body. And in some cases when the mother died, they put the son on the fire with her to burn them to death together; they do that. In the case of this benefitter his mother died and he was put there on the fire together with her. Somehow he did not die. He escaped and later became a monk and an arhat. Buddha always gave that as an example. This man had not created any karma of dying in the fire and that is why, no matter how much he was put there, he could not be burnt.

The story of Serbehu. Another interesting story is about one of the sixteen great arhats, Serbehu. The fam- ily had a son and the moment the son was born a small little golden elephant was born in their store. This elephant passed seven heaps of dung and all of them were out of gold, so that the family became very rich. Now the king came to know this, confiscated the elephant and took it to his palace. But when the elephant reached the palace it started sinking into the ground, went underground and reappeared back at the other place. This was repeated seven times. So with all his power the king could not take away this golden elephant from the Serbehu family, not in seven times! That happened because the king did not have the karma of enjoying the gold from the ele- phant’s dung.

The story of the hunchbacked servant. There was a king called Gyalpo Sharpa. He had a queen, Tsunmo Gosangma, who had obtained the development of the non-returner stage, meaning that she was not going to return [in samsara] again. She had five hundred retinues of whom most – except one, a hunchbacked servant – had obtained the path of seeing107 and had the power to fly in the air. Once their place, a wooden house, caught fire. Everyone flew into the air: rrrrt, they went like a group of birds leaving a tree. The hunchbacked servant was left behind. She had to escape to save her life. She started running around and finally found a safe place by jumping into the toilet, an old Indian-style one, well-dug down about two or three storeys deep. She jumped in there and escaped. The five hundred reti- nues started flying but some of them found they could not fly very far. The queen started meditating: what is happening and why? The karmic result they had to pay, had started ripening. So she said, “If you do not honor your own karma who else will?” And they all jumped back into the fire and were burned.

These are all ancient stories. There are a lot of those true stories that happened at the time of the Buddha and they show how karma works.108 If you look into Buddha’s works and teachings, you see he does not sit up there and start talking, but some incident will take place and then somebody will ask Buddha, “What is all this and what is the reason why this happened?” And then Buddha tells them, “This is the reason, so and so was earlier in that lifetime in such and such a place, this was his name and then that was his name, he did this and that, and that is how it has worked out.”

(4) A karma that we did perform does not lose its power to bear fruit Once an action is committed, the consequence cannot be lost. No matter how small the things that you cre- ated might have been, the results are bound to come up. The sutra says: Everything is collected and then when the time comes the result will definitely be given, no matter what may happen. Although so many years may have passed, it doesn’t turn bad, it doesn’t get rotten, it doesn’t become old, you can’t throw it away, nor does it disappear because it is too small.

106 Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, An Anthology of Well-Spoken Advice, p. 314. 107 For the five paths see page 71. 108 These stories are called Jatakas. To be found in Stanley Frye, Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish.

Karma:Actions and Their Consequences 101

The story of the poor arhat. There was an arhat who was very poor during his lifetime. Actually during the Buddha’s time none of the monks had any wealth at all, they totally depended on whatever the people would give. Whenever they went begging somehow this one never got any good food at all. And even if he got something he lost it somehow; either his bowl turned upside down or fell or something. Even when he was sick and about to die he could not get anything proper to eat. He only got some ashes that had to be mixed with water, and he had to eat that and died. So, although he had reached the arhat level where he had cut samsara, he had to experience this. That was some funny karma that he still had. Buddha always gave that as one of the examples in his teachings.

The story of Pegye. Chimda Pegye109 was a very strong supporter of the Buddhist order during Buddha’s lifetime. However, from all the arhats no one could give him any teachings or make him meditate; they could not do it at all. The reason was that the arhats could not find any virtuous seed within him. It was too small, so they could no see it. Only buddhas could see it. It was so strange that the arhats kept on saying, “There is not a single human being who does not have any buddha seed within the person, but in this one, even though we looked back a thousand years, we cannot see anything at all.” All arhats agreed on that. Buddha said, “No, look carefully.” Then they came after the Buddha and said, “It is beyond our limit, we cannot see it.” Then Buddha said, “When Pegye was once taking off a life he was reborn as a fly; look into that.” And they said, “Yes, we see that; he was born as a fly but we see nothing there.” Then Buddha went on, “That fly is strongly attached to cow-dung; look into that.” They said, “Yes, we see him on the cow- dung but we see nothing more.” “Well, that cow-dung happened to be carried by a river stream and when it circled a round temple, that crossing created a small little seed, so tiny that even arhats cannot see it. But, no matter how tiny it might have been, it has not been destroyed.” On the basis of that tiny buddha seed Buddha could build up Pegye and as a result Pegye obtained the arhat level within his lifetime.

The story of the pig and the dog. Then there is another funny story from the time of the Buddha… A pig was chased by a dog. The pig started running for his life and the dog chased it. There was a great stupa, built in India during the Buddha’s lifetime, and the pig who was being chased by the dog ran around the stupa, but the dog got the little piggy and killed it. The result of this running around the stupa that one time brought him an immediate rebirth in the samsaric-gods realm. So, when you look into the karma and you look in detail, even though it may look very small, it can have a tremendous effect on an individual.

The story of Shariputra and Maudgalyayana. Maudgalputra [Skt. Maudgalyayana] was one of the greatest disciples of Buddha, especially in mystical power. If you see pictures of the Buddha you often see two dis- ciples standing by his side. One is Shariputra, outstanding in wisdom, and the other one is Maudgalputra, who is outstanding in the mystical power. How did Maudgalputra die? That is a very funny story again. There was an anti-Buddha teacher who had been teaching something wrong all the time, and died. So out of curiosity Maudgalputra thought, “How did this fellow die and where is he being reborn?” And he started following him through his magical power. Now this fellow had taken rebirth in the hell realm. He had some disciples who were doing prayers to him down there as an object of refuge. But the more they did their prayers the more and the heavier sufferings he got down in the hell realm. Maudgalputra saw him there and they recognized each other. He asked Maudgalputra to send a message to his disciples, saying, “Please stop praying to me, because that is really getting me into trouble, I got the wrong path!” He said, “Maudgalputra, please go back and tell my followers, please tell them that!” Maudgalputra was very powerful in mystical power, but not witty you know; he was a sort of straightforward person. Straightaway he ran to their places and said, “Stop, stop! I’ve got a message for you. I went down [to the hell realm] and I saw this and that.” But they got so angry with him! They were called stick-holders and each one of them had a stick in his hand, because they would teach religion by us- ing a stick and beating people up. So they got hold of Maudgalputra and beat him up completely; they to- tally broke all his bones. They beat him like you beat the clay before you use it, totally mashed him up like mashed potatoes.

109 Shrijati. See Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, An Anthology of Well-Spoken Advice, p. 310-314.

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Just before he died Shariputra came to know this and reached there. Shariputra also went by mystical power, otherwise there was no way to get there. So he picked Maudgalputra up, put him in his robe and carried him back. And he asked him, “You are considered to be most important on mystical power, why didn’t you show your power?” Maudgalputra said, “I could not even remember having the power so how could I have used it?” So they went to the Buddha and said, “Look, he is the most outstanding one on this power and he got beaten up and now he is going to die.” Buddha said, “Yes, he is going to die. That is his left-over karma which has to be paid and this is what he’s doing. Don’t think I did not know about it, I knew about it but he has to go through it.” So even the great Maudgalputra got beaten up and died. In Tibetan mystical power is called dzün trul. Dzün is the mental motivation and trul is the actual magical thing happening. Without having the mental motivation you cannot physically do anything at all. When they talked to Maudgalputra he said, “When I can’t even think of dzün how can I have the trul done?” So there was no way, he couldn’t even think about it. Buddha said it was the result of Maudgal- putra cursing his own mother.

So, if you create any one of those bad karmas and you do not try to purify it by applying the four powers, then it is definitely bound to get the result. But if you create the four powers of purification and try to pu- rify it, then it’s different. Again, it is purifyable! It is always purifyable. It is impermanent. When some- thing is impermanent in nature it is changeable. If it is permanent it cannot change, but karma is imperma- nent. However, karma is also definite! When we say “karma is definite”, we mean: when you have the original cause and the temporary aggravating cause [instigator] is created, then it is bound to give the re- sult, no matter what you do. Even if you involve all the power in the world you will not be able to stop it.110 But anything you can apply the four powers for purification on before the temporary instigator has been created, is purifyable, because it is impermanent. That is it.

Where do you look for the sources that describe karma? There is a sutra called The Hundred Karmas [Skt. Karmasataka Sutra], then there are the Vinaya Sutras, the Jatakas and the Abhidharma. Those are the ma- jor works that talk about karma. That is enough of the historical evidence to show the last two points: a) one does not meet with the result of a cause one has not created and b) if the cause is created one is bound to meet with the result. So this is enough to give you a proper understanding, enough inner material for you to think or meditate on.

Resolution on the last two points What you really have to do here is come to your resolution on the second two points: all the non-virtues one would like to purify. You have to resolve yourself, “I will purify all the non-virtues that I committed.” There is no way you can escape creating non-virtues. We have to try our best but there is no way to live without creating non-virtues actually, so you have to purify. If you purify it, it works. So therefore you re- solve here, “I will purify all my non-virtues. I will save all my virtues, so they will not be destroyed by an- ger.” The four antidote powers purify non-virtues and vice versa anger destroys virtues. You know, nega- tive forces have their power and positive forces also have their own power. So each one of them has a bul- let: the positive forces have the four-power bullet to destroy the negative, the negative forces have the an- ger bullet to destroy the positive karma. So what you have to resolve here is, “I will purify all my bad karma and I will save my good karma, I will not let the anger destroy it.” This is the resolution one has to reach. When I say resolution I do not mean something like the “I passed that resolution because everybody agreed yes.” No, not that way. You have to pass the resolution from the bottom of your heart, so that it af- fects you in your life. It is not like passing a resolution on a piece of paper, it is not like a person’s New Year resolution, it is more than that. You have to move your mind by those meditations and when your mind is moved, you finally pass a resolution from the bottom of your heart and it will affect you. Okay? That is it.

110 So there are two ways in which ‘karma is definite’ is used. Also see page 98.

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Outlines. These four outlines are given to understand karma better and to resolve on the karmic function- ing within you. Don’t lose your Lamrim outlines. If you lose the outlines all my talk will be external talk to you, because you won’t have a base for it. When you have the outlines there is a vase to pour into. The moment you think of the outlines it will give you some rough idea about what is behind it. Then, when you listen to the talk everything is collected [in a framework] and when you meditate you will be able to do the whole of the Lamrim stages in a short period. This is the whole idea of the outlines. If not in detail, you must at least keep the general outlines so that you have a base to collect everything on; otherwise it will be an external thing. ii) Divisions of karma How does karma affect one’s life? It affects the way of thinking and the way of acting through our body, through our speech, through our mind. Body, mind and speech have been referred to by the Buddha and the ancient Buddhist scholars as the three gateways. Virtues and non-virtues depend on action through the body, action through the mind and action through the speech. It is impossible to totally tell: this is good, this is bad. However, roughly Buddha has sort of put them together into the ten different actions. The source for that is ’s Treasury of Metaphysics [Skt. Abhidharmakosha]. It says, We cannot talk about black and white karma in detail, We will explain it roughly and there are ten. These ten virtues and non-virtues concern all people. It is not a especially for monks; it is applicable to everybody, from the top to the bottom. Shantideva has clearly stated in the Bodhisattvacharyavatara, Although wishing to be rid of misery [Beings] run towards misery itself. Although wishing to have happiness, Like an enemy they ignorantly destroy it. Shantideva, A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life [Bodhisattvacharyavatara], ch. 1, vs. 28 There is not a single human being who does not want to give up all the pains and sufferings, yet everybody is creating causes of pain. There is not a single person who does not want happiness, peace, harmony and pleasure, but by the force of ignorance everybody is destroying his own happiness like that of his enemy. What is happening to us? We are destroying our future pleasures and we are creating our future pains. That is mostly because we don’t really know in detail what is good and what is bad. Some know but still want to ignore it and some think, “I am so stupid, I am the most ignorant.” But you are not! In the general karmic system everybody is ignorant. Very few people really know [karma]. We are ignorant because we don’t know how to properly differentiate between the good and the bad path and so we create all sorts of things. Buddha and his followers drew the conclusion of the ten virtues and the ten non-virtues. These are divided into: three actions by body, four actions by speech, three actions by mind. Body, mind and speech are the only three by which we create good or bad. Through body: killing, stealing and sexual misconduct. Through speech: lying, divisive speech, slander, idle gossip. Through mind: covetous mind, mind of harm- ing, wrong view.

(1) Four constituents for a complete karma Every virtue or non-virtue has the same principles. For an action to be completed, it has to have: ƒ the base ƒ the thought ƒ the action ƒ the completion.

(a) The base Let us take killing as an example. For educated people this may sounds silly, but it is important to know. The base is the object that you are going to kill. If you are going to kill Mr. X, then Mr. X is the base. If you are going to kill a sheep, the sheep is the base.

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(b) The thought That has three divisions: concept [correct discrimination or recognition], motivation and delusion.111 Concept/correct discrimination/recognition: to conceptualize the person or whatever you’re going to kill. For example: in killing the general, the base is the general, whoever he may be. In time of war com- manders will say, “Kill every enemy, kill everybody of the other side you can see.” Then the base is eve- rybody and the concept is: recognizing that everybody as an enemy. But if you want to kill Mr. X and wrongly conceptualize him (e.g. take Mr. Y as Mr. X), you have the wrong conception. Lawyers know how to fight that; it is wrong concept. Motivation. Then there has to be the right motivation – which in this case is wrong, of course. –In or- der to complete the karma of killing you have to have the motivation of killing. Delusion. That you need too. In killing you get all three poisons. Attachment naturally. Being attached to the lamb’s meat or to its skin, to a fur-coat or a fur-hat, is attachment: unless you kill that animal you can’t get that coat or that hat. So wanting the skin or the meat or the bone, whatever, is attachment. Anger too. When you fight with an enemy and you kill your enemy, anger is involved. You get angry and kill, right? So the anger is there. And ignorance. There is particularly ignorance there.

Ignorance – the story of Angulimala. There are certain wrong teachings that say, “As much as you can kill, that much you’ll be closer to liberation.” If you look into the Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish you find the story of Angulimala112. In Buddha’s time there was somebody who had a bad guide, who told him, “Kill one thousand human beings in one week, cut off their thumbs, put them on a string and wear that. When you have reached one thousand, come to me and I will liberate you.” So, this fellow went off killing. He killed nine hundred and ninety-nine human beings. However, he could not get the last one because they all knew he was killing everybody and ran away the moment he came around, and he did not want to kill his mother. Then suddenly Buddha appeared there as an ordinary monk wearing yellow robes, moving slowly. Angulimala said, “Oh good, now I can kill this one and I don’t have to kill my mother.” So he started chas- ing him. But although the monk was moving very slowly, Angulimala could not catch him! After some time he got tired and yelled, “Hey, wait!” Buddha said, “I am waiting, come faster.” He said, “I am com- ing, you wait!.”… This is how it started and eventually Buddha was able to help him purify his non-virtues of killing nine hundred and ninety-nine human beings in a week! And he obtained the arhat level. So this is ignorance! The ignorant person is told to do the wrong thing and does it. In killing all three delusions are present: there is attachment, there is anger and there is ignorance. But you don’t need all three in order to complete it, having one is good enough to complete the delusion part.

(c) The action Action does not need the handling by yourself, nor does it have to be through sword or bullet. It can be through poisoning, through mantra power, through anything, including issuing the order of killing or mak- ing somebody else to do it for you. Whether you pay money or not, making somebody else to do it is also an action of killing. It is even worse, because there is a double action involved: you get a completion of killing and the person you have hired will also get the complete karma of killing. You might as well do it by yourself; that would be less costly. In Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakosha it says, What will happen during the war? What happens to the soldiers and what happens to the generals? Each individual soldier who killed, has the complete killing karma, but if the unit kills a hundred people the commander of that unit gets the karma of killing a hundred people, even though he did not physically kill. He issued the order, so therefore he has the karma of killing a hundred.

(d) The completion The person who you are killing has to die before you die. If you die first, you don’t get the karma of kill- ing. But if he or she or the animal dies before you, the moment that one is dead while you are alive, you

111 Skt. klesha; Tib. nyong mongs. English: delusions, afflictive emotions, disturbing attitudes, German: Konflikterzeugende Geistesfactoren, Vergifte. 112 Stanley Frye, Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish, p. 180-195.

Karma:Actions and Their Consequences 105 get the karma. If two people are involved in fighting and one dies one minute earlier than the other, the last one that dies is much more a loser, because he or she gets the heaviest karma. If you had the wrong conception then you may think, “Hey, I wanted to kill A, but I killed B instead, don’t I have a karma of killing a person?” You do. But you don’t have a complete karma of killing A. You do have the karma of killing a human being, though. So, don’t think it is a loophole where somebody can say, “I’ll think of killing B by striking A.” That won’t work. I really want to discuss this in detail, because I think it is needed. I noticed some teachers try to avoid talking those virtues and non-virtues, because people may get hurt. That is why in the beginning we avoid it, but now it is really time to pinpoint it.

(2) Black karma: the ten non-virtuous actions (a) The actual presentation of the non-virtuous actions Non-virtues through actions of the body ƒ killing ƒ stealing ƒ sexual misconduct Killing What is killing? I think we talked about that already. Like each one of the ten, killing has the four constitu- ents of base, thought, action and completion. The base: if you are killing a goat then the goat is the base. The thought has been divided into: motivation, recognition or perception, and delusion. Motivation is the wish to kill and recognition is recognizing the object you’re killing. I already mentioned what happens when somebody wants to kill Mr. A but killed Mr. B. by mistake, and we also talked about the delusion. It has the attachment (like in the case of the goat for meat, skin etc.), then we also have anger and there’s killing through ignorance. Remember the Angulimala story113 and at some places they do have rituals of sacrificing. If I remember correctly, when I was in Delhi a couple of years ago in one area they were building a bridge and the bridge kept on collapsing all the time; naturally because they didn’t use good material. They try to use the cheapest possible materials, they don’t use cement or steel, and they try to pass the requirements by giving a gift to the engineer in charge of the examination. That is what they tried to do and the bridge collapsed several times. So ultimately the person in charge thought he had not done the sacrifices and thought that was not right and he had to do that. He went and got a young kid of about five years old and sacrificed it there, cut its neck and squeezed the blood out. He did that. And they thought nobody would know. But somehow the police came to know and he was arrested. That sort of thing happened. It is what you call superstition. Such killing is strongly influenced by ignorance. Also action I discussed the other day and I gave you the example of a commanding officer issuing the order to kill the people.114

The story of the goat, the sheep and the ox. This is a very famous story in the traditional teaching system, based on a true story. It is a little booklet, written by a very famous scholar and saint of around seventeen hundred, Gungtang Jampelyang. The title is: A few Buddhist practitioners needed the ox, the sheep and the goat for one meal; a story. I’ll cut the long story short. There was a Buddhist practitioner who was saying, “May all mother sen- tient beings be in happiness, may they not have pains and miseries” and this and that all the time. He also kept an ox, a sheep and a goat and he fed them. One day the goat told the sheep and the ox, “Hey, why do you think we have been fed so much lately? We have been overfed, what do you think it is?” The sheep and ox replied, “Well, the person that is keeping us is a practitioner, has a mala in his hand and prays every morning with his eyes very [devotional], indicating that he is thinking and meditating and having very pure

113 See page 104. 114 See page 104.

106 Lam Rim Teachings thoughts. So probably he felt compassion towards us and started overfeeding us.” The goat said, “If that is true I’ll be happy, but I have my suspicions.” So the ox intervened and said, “Hey, don’t we hear every morning: ‘may all mother sentient beings remain happy and not be separated from happiness and the source of happiness, may they never suffer’ and this and that? Doesn’t he pray that every morning? He does that. So that shows he is trying to be good to us. Don’t worry about it.” The goat said, “Okay.” But after a little while a butcher came to visit. So the goat became even more suspicious and said, “Look, I feel very uncomfortable, I am sure they are doing something funny.” The ox and the sheep said, “No, no, we talked about that before, didn’t we go through it? Sure the butcher must be requesting the practitioner but he will definitely reject, because he has been saying all this.” “Okay”, the ox and the sheep agreed, so they kept quiet. But the goat was not satisfied; he quickly went near the window and started listening. The practitioner asked the butcher to kill the animals, saying, “No, you must do it. I can’t do it, you have to do it and you have to do it as quickly as possible, if possible even today.” The butcher said, “No. I am too busy, I can’t do it, please excuse me.” But the practitioner kept on insisting and the goat heard this. So the goat went back to the others and said, “Look, now they are talking about it, he has a guest coming and he needs meat and is asking the butcher to kill us. I told you.” The ox and the sheep said, “No, it can’t be true, I can’t believe it, can I? It cannot be true.” At about that time the practitioner came out, with the mala in his hand and started to check whether they had enough fat or not. And so they told him, “We heard this and so if possible, since you are praying every day, don’t kill us, please save our lives, we really want to live, we don’t want to die. But if you can’t accept it, don’t let him do the killing, please kill us yourself. There is no point in creating a double killing: you get a total non-virtue of killing and the person you hire also gets a non-virtue of killing. So do it yourself.” He did not agree. Suddenly the butcher came, tied the hands and legs of all three animals, got a huge hammer and hit the ox on the head. The ox made a huge noise and at the meantime the butcher also cut through the stomach of the sheep and the goat, put his hands in and started to pull out the intestines and all this. Now, the sound of misery the ox had produced had been overheard by the buddhas and bodhisattvas everywhere and they explained to their retinues and disciples, “In such and such an area, in such and such a place, a person named so and so, who is taking refuge to Buddha, dharma and sangha and praying every day, has issued the order and got somebody else to kill these three little animals who had done nothing wrong. So these animals have experienced pain and this is what that noise is. By doing that this very practitioner not only committed a non-virtue, but he also disgraced the teachings of the Buddha and his fellow Buddhist practitioners.” It is one of the saddest stories that the buddhas and bodhisattvas shared at that time. It was simply for the sake of a meal. That is what killing of animals does. And then also the animals that you have kept and fed every day, that talk, share things with you… Not only the individual person got a non-virtue but he also got another person to create a non-virtue.115

So, if you could stop or at least develop a hesitation to killing sentient beings… We don’t have much danger of killing a big animal, but we have a lot of danger of killing insects, cockroaches, flies, mosquitoes and all this, so we have to be very careful. Try to avoid it as much as possible, that will be great for you and for others too. The great Pabongkapa traveled in the eastern part of Tibet during his lifetime. There these old monas- teries had a funny system of killing a lot of animals, because of feasts that had to be arranged in the monas- teries at certain times. Wherever the great Pabongka traveled he stopped and was able to persuade the monks not to indulge in the tradition of that system of killing animals. He sort of changed the feast from a meat feast into a vegetarian one. He has been able to do this, and later on, at one of his great teachings in Lhasa, he said, “Well I have not done much virtuous work in my lifetime – and that was a humble state- ment – but one thing I feel happy about is having been able to change those habits of the religious organi- zations; that was one of my best achievements.” And His Holiness Trijang Rinpoche, one of my late great masters, also used to say, “I have done no virtues, I have nothing to carry as good virtue.” However, he always felt comfortable because he had trav-

115 For a discussion on eating meat, see the chapter Questions and Answers.

Karma:Actions and Their Consequences 107 eled to an area in Northern India, close to , where a number of monasteries were having a similar system of killing animals during the year because of certain feasts to go through. He persuaded them not to do that any more. “That is one of the virtues I think I can carry when I go”, is what he always said. So for ourselves also, we should try to avoid killing. The closest danger we have is insects, all these flies and cockroaches and all these sort of things. Try to avoid it as much as you can. It is never totally, for a hundred percent avoidable, but when you have to do it then purify it. There is no way we can always avoid negativities completely; we cannot always do the right thing. Even when you drive a car, you are involved in killing. We can be vegetarians – which is a great thing be- cause it contributes to decreasing the killing of animals – however, even vegetarians have the same prob- lem. Vegetables don’t really grow in the only. If you dig in the ground, you also kill insects, no question. So sometimes you have no choice. Every single thing we do, even though it is positive, has nega- tive aspects, all the time. In this case, human life is more precious than that of insects or mice. So you have to do whatever you have to do and then you purify. Well, I guess that is enough about killing.

I already mentioned the completion of the killing the other day: the person or the being has to die before you die.116

Stealing The base is that which is owned by and belongs to somebody else. Stealing here is only stealing of valu- able things: money or articles or something. I don’t know anything about thought-stealing, stealing of ideas. Anyway, my commentary says, The base is the article or whatever you steal and it is something you don’t own, somebody else owns it; it does not belong to you, it belongs to somebody else. The thought also has three factors: recognition, motivation and delusion – like before. The recognition is important here as well as the motivation. If you don’t have a motivation of stealing, but somehow it came to you (like when you have no wish of stealing a certain article but it sticks to your bag or something), it is not a complete stealing. In the vinaya rules you find very funny examples. If a monk would like to steal somebody’s robe and he finds two robes hanging together at one branch of a tree [and he accidentally takes both] – now this is old Indian Vinaya Sutras – he gets the complete stealing of one robe, and of the other one he gets half. Those are the technical points. That is how motivation and recognition are both necessary. Delusions: the anger or hatred, attachment and ignorance, all three are involved in stealing. For example in the case of the robe you could be angry with your enemy, not wanting this article but really wanting him to suffer, and the robe is available. This is how anger works in stealing. Attachment is the normal thing. When you see somebody’s beautiful thing and you want to get it by hook or crook, then the attachment makes you seek the opportunity to do that. Then there is ignorance also. There are certain non- Buddhist systems in India – I don’t know, this is funny – that say: if Brahmins become old and cannot protect their own possessions, and you could steal from the elder Brahmins, you can gain their powers. So people go after that, stealing from the real old Brahmins. They do that and that is the ignorance; they don’t know about it. The action can be any action. It doesn’t necessarily mean you have to pick something yourself. If there is some distribution and people take double of what they are entitled to [it is stealing too]. Last year I saw on TV how somebody was collecting a lot of social security checks on different names and different addresses. That is stealing. That action is a complete action of gaining the non-virtue of stealing, because you are taking something you are not entitled to. You also steal if you are in a position of awarding a punishment and you award a punishment (in terms of money or whatever) which is not really proper. Say a person committed some mistake and he or she should have been punished by ten dollars. If you punish them for a hundred it is over-punishment and that is also considered stealing.

116 See page 104.

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Not paying tax is another one that works in that direction. When you have to file your income tax and you hide things, I belief it is stealing. Sometimes people say, “Hey, this is so beautiful, I have always been really interested in having some- thing like this. Where can you buy this and where did you get it?” If they make the other person say, “If you like it why don’t you take it?” then they sort of make the person give it to them. If honestly given that is fine, but making the person uncomfortable so that he will say, “Take it if you like”, is also stealing. This is particularly dangerous for persons like me. If I say, “Yours is so beautiful, very nice, where did you get it…” they easily say, “Please, have it.” That goes for every person who teaches the spiritual path. In short, anything that is taking something valuable away from a person [is stealing]. It has to have value, if there is not much value then it is not.

Where do you draw the line of mine and thine? What really counts is: when you dedicate it to somebody else, when your mind decided, “It is no longer mine, I am going to give it to him or her”, it is no longer yours. To proof this the Vinaya Sutra (Sutra on Vowed Morality) says, The moment you dedicate it, it is no longer yours; it is separated from you. The moment I think, “Hey, ten dollars, I think I am going to give it to you”, I decided to give it to you and it is yours, it is no longer mine. Even when I am not giving it to you or I didn’t even tell you, even when I am not taking it out of my pocket or there is no cheque with your name written on it, it is dedicated. According to the Buddha the line is drawn there. (Of course, selling is different: till you get the money you don’t give it.) Who owns something when the person is dead? Whoever he has dedicated it to. If he has not dedicated it, then whoever is inheriting. If there is nobody inheriting it is the general society.

The completion of the stealing. You have to gain the acknowledgement of, “Hey, I got it, it is mine now.” When you get that, the action has been completed and it is the time you get the bad karma of the stealing.

Sexual misconduct117 This is an interesting subject. What does sexual misconduct mean in the Buddhist field? The word that is used in Tibetan is log gyem, log par gyem pa: wrong-doing. Base, motivation or thought, action, completion; all the ten non-virtues have the same on that. Thought also has: recognition, motivation and delusion, all three. In addition to that time, place and person are added here. Time. a) Having a sexual contact with a pregnant woman [at the end of the pregnancy] is considered to be sexual misconduct. b) On a commitment or a vow of not-involving in sexual activity, being involved in it. He or she who has the vow, has broken the vow-commitment then. It is not a promise, but a vow- commitment. A vow-commitment means: having taken a vow of not-involving in sexual activities for whatever time: a lifelong, a month-long, a week-long or a twenty-four-hour vow. With these sort of vows contacting during that period is considered to be one of the two wrong times; it is time-wise wrong. Place. A temple and all these type of places are considered place-wise wrong. Person. And the wrong person is the mother, the father etc. If you are a Buddhist monk or novice, any sexual activity is considered to be a misconduct because it means the vow is broken.

Practice It is easy to talk, make a joke and laugh about it, but when you act: every action, every moment that we act, affects us. Really. That is why I said from the beginning: sometimes you can even think Buddhism is not really a religion in the western sense – but it is action. Really, karma is the most important practice! Practice does not necessarily mean one has to sit tight in some corner, have a certain posture, wear differ- ent things and carry a mala in hand; practice does not mean that at all. Practice means: to be aware of your actions and try not to have these black karmas committed by yourself. You cannot totally stop committing

117 Also see Tsongkhapa, The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, Lamrim Chenmo, vol. I, p. 220-222.

Karma:Actions and Their Consequences 109 non-virtues; that is impossible. But every time you committed or every day, make a point of purifying your negativities. That is a good practice. It affects one’s life; it is an action of thought. If you do that you get some virtue and it is good for all of us. Do see to it kindly. Thank you.

Up to now, as far as I am concerned, you had quite good information on a lot of things. I do not know how you are coordinating these teachings within your mind. I am not concerned much now about what you know, but what I am concerned about is: are you using what you know, are you meditating on the subjects we are discussing? This is so important! And also: do not get used to listening to me. It is almost time that you live this portion within you. So, you should be able to do everything by yourself. It is almost time to get it into you. Are you capable of doing that? Each one of you has to ask that to yourself. If you are not, where is your problem? In order to make ourselves aware of what we are doing we need to update our outlines. At least some brief outlines you need. You can fill in your own outlines and it does not necessarily have to fit in detail with what we are giving. But you must have brief outlines, otherwise you go off the road and your path is lost. You are traveling, you know. You are moving. If you lose your outlines you will get lost: then you’re not moving and going somewhere, but roaming around as if you had been thrown somewhere into space. So keep your outlines within you.

Non-virtues through actions of the speech: ƒ lying ƒ divisive speech ƒ slander ƒ idle chatter Lying What is lying? If you see something and say, “I have not seen it.” Everybody knows this, we don’t have to talk about it. That is lying. However, lying also has a number of different levels, like white lying and black lying. If there is somebody who is trying to kill someone else and he says, “Hey, did you see so and so?” you are not supposed to say, “Yes, I saw him.” Even though it is a lie you are supposed to say, “No” or say something else, or draw the attention of the person to something else. Say a man is chasing a dog with a gun and comes up to you and asks, “Did you see a dog here?” Well, you are not supposed to say, “Yes, he has gone there.” Then he will chase and kill the dog. So instead of that you say, “Well, which dog? Where? Which one? What color is it?” or something like that, so he gets fed up and says, “Get lost.” If you don’t have to tell the wrong direction then you don’t, but if you finally have to say it, you may. These are the small little things I am talking. But one has to be very careful. Spiritual lie. There is one very important lie, called mi chö lami dzun, the spiritual lie. That is considered a very heavy lie. That is: somebody who does not have any spiritual development pretends “I am some- body.” Why is this so heavy? Because that can mislead a lot of people. And misleading people within their life is very harmful for that individual person. Because of the opportunity, because of the chance a human life has. By sheer luck each one of these human beings has been able to obtain the quality that one can use for a better life and you have distorted that, you have wasted their time, you guided wrong. So, what they suffer, what they pay, the consequences for that loss, all that makes it much heavier than saying anything wrong like “I did not see….” With this one thought one has to be very careful!

The base has to be a person who is able to understand what you are saying. Telling a lie to a lamb does not become a lie because the lamb won’t understand what you are talking about. The question rises: what about a mad person, a person who is crazy? I don’t think one will be able to complete a non-virtue of lying to a totally mad person, because they may not be able to understand, so you’ll never be able to get the message through. Delusions involved are all three: anger, attachment, ignorance. Naturally through anger you tell lies, because you want to harm somebody, so you make things up. Through attachment you also tell lies, because you want to look good to someone.

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The action is anything that is communicated to the other person. It is not necessary to use words; you can also make a big lie without saying anything.118 How does the completion work for this karma? When the person on the other side understood what you talked about or what you tried to indicate, then this karma is completed. Whether the person you or does not is not important. As long as the other person understands what you are trying to say or trying to indicate, the lie is completed.

Divisive speech This is also considered non-virtuous because it disturbs the peace and harmony of the community. Don’t think of a community as a big community, even a group is a community, even two people is a community. You are making the other person suffer by an act of yours and that is why it becomes a non-virtue. Divisive speech is not non-virtuous by itself. It is non-virtuous by the other things like the thought and the action. Actually, for it to be divisive speech it needs the desire to create disharmony, to create trouble between people. When you say a lie – or even the truth – with the motivation and for the purpose of creating disharmony, then it becomes divisive speech. It is any speech that you make for the purpose of creating disharmony – out of jealousy, anger, attachment, or whatever – to cause disharmony between two persons, in a group or in a community. And even between religious sects, like, “I am totally dedicated to your sect and this and that sect is bad.” If it is done for the purpose of creating disharmony even these things are non-virtuous. And how does it complete? It does not need the community to fight, nor to destroy the harmony. The moment the people understand what you are talking about, your work is completed, your karma is completed. Whether that really created trouble there or not is a different matter, it is of no concern for the completion of your karma.

Slander [hurtful speech, abusive speech, harsh speech] Here the mind has to want to hurt the other person. You know, some people use the worst language possible to somebody just to get at them. You know what I mean? Some people use the excuse, “I had to draw the attention; that is why I did it.” It is not drawing attention; you really wanted to hurt that person by using all possible words. When the other person has more patience then it gets worse and worse and worse. The motivation, the desire, the thought is to hurt. And the action does not necessarily have to make use of harsh words. You can do any character assassination in a very polite way, “How wonderful he or she is and how great, but there is no human being who has no faults…” In a very polite way with a little indication, you throw in the thing, you know, and very intelligent people will pick it up. Someone who is not so smart may not even pick it up. You may do it in a very subtle way and also very politely, but you did it. Completion: the moment the other side understands, it hurts naturally. So that completes it. Now on the other hand, if with the motivation of help, with a desire of getting non-virtue out of the people, you use a little harsh word it is okay. Not trying to get the other one hurt, but trying to make the other one improve, you can use harsh words. However, pretending to help, yet trying to dig to the bottom of the heart is not right. Under the pretence of helping trying to screw things up, is not right.

Idle chatter [senseless speech] Idle gossip or senseless speech itself is by nature not a non-virtue. Not at all. But it can become non- virtuous because it can harm you. Why? It wastes your time. Wasting time is very harmful for us. Therefore it is put in here. How does this non-virtue complete? Wasting your time completes it.

Non-virtues by actions of the mind There are three non-virtues specifically mentioned for mental [actions]. These have no body or speech action at all; these three happen only at the thought level.

118 Like by not speaking when you should, or by gestures. Ref. Tsongkhapa, The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlight- enment, Lamrim Chenmo, vol. I, p. 222.

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ƒ covetous thinking ƒ harmful thoughts ƒ wrong view

Covetous thinking That is wishing. If somebody has a good jacket and then you wish that it would become yours. The article does not have to belong to you, it does not necessarily have to be an article, it can be the name, anything; sort of really seeking it. If you have the desire to be very famous all the time, that is this. Wanting spiritual enlightenment is not a desire in that way; it is seeking. You must make the distinction. Seeking spiritual enlightenment is seeking your development. Fame is the wrong development. If you get fame, fine, you don’t have to reject it. But as a spiritual person it is not something you’re going to work for. Therefore seeking fame will bring non-virtuous actions to you and will create a lot of inconvenience and trouble to your own mind. You have to go out of your way to do all sorts of things, this will force you to do all this and that is not going to produce a positive result. You may call it positive because of wanting money and a name, but that is totally different, that is not the spiritual path. Then you’re going the other way. What is the motivation here? “Well I wished I’d become the owner of that article, name, fame” whatever. Wishing to have the ownership of anything particular you look for. Everything is done in the mind; there is no action by body or speech. Then the action. That mind develops further, becomes stronger and you would really like yourself to be associated with that, you acknowledge it stronger. You do not only wish to have it, to become owner, but you become more associated with it, it sort of possesses your mind. It becomes one step stronger then wanting it to belong to you. You know what I mean? It is very simple, you can think of anything, you can think of a boyfriend, a girlfriend, all this. I am sorry to bring such funny examples but it is true. Then the completion is even stronger than that. By hook or crook you’re going to go for it. That completes the action. You know what I mean? You decide to go for it by hook or crook. It is totally in the mind, no action of body is done. With building a castle in the air you get all this.

Harmful thoughts [malice] Now here again all three: thought, action, completion – again, all on the mind. The motivation: seeing some opponent of yours falling down, bringing unfortunate incidents, seeking unfortunate incidents for the other party. You know what I mean? Like when competing with somebody, “Hey, I wished his car broke down.” Wishing something goes wrong with the other person when you try to compete, that is the motivation. Action is: through mind you try to work for it; you mentally plan how to do this. Completion. You don’t have to do it. When you make the decision, “I am going to create that obstacle for those people”, then this karma is completed. It does not have to involve any physical action at all. It is only mind. Now you see how mind is very delicate, how important it is, how a lot of karma completes without any action. Without even moving a finger you can do all this. This is why the mind is so important in our lives in bringing good and bad karma.

Wrong view I don’t think we have a problem just now getting a wrong view. In the example given from the Buddhist tradition wrong view is to think that karma does not work, that there are no [two] , that there is no enlightenment. These are the wrong views. I do not think it is applying to us. Because we don’t know yet whether karma is there, whether buddhahood is there, whether enlightenment is there. This point is apply- ing to the person who worked hard, tried to develop spiritually, has developed something and then sud- denly doesn’t realize his or her fault and really thinks this way.

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I’ll give you a very straightforward example. There are a lot of people who have samadhi power.119 For example, if you do a lot of concentrated sitting meditation, it brings you harmony in the body as well as in the mind. Not only do you gain concentration power, you also gain a tremendous pleasurable feeling. With this strong concentration power you can really concentrate days together without any disturbance. You don’t get hungry at all; you’ve got all the energies because of what is called the “food of samadhi.” You may also gain things like being able to read people’s mind or being able to tell what is going to hap- pen in ten days, in a month, in a year or even ten years later – depending on the level of samadhi. Now some people misunderstand that. They gain a little samadhi power, a little bit of some spiritual power and interpret that as enlightenment. They claim, “I am enlightened.” Then what happens? After some time that samadhi power finishes, some of the power gets exhausted and you get a fall-back; you be- come the same old stupid person. So then you think, “Hey, this enlightenment business is totally wrong, it is really not there.” This is a true wrong view. This is what is talked about here. For us, that question does not rise. If you get total buddhahood, enlightenment, there is no fall-back. If you get totally free from samsara, there is no fall-back into samsara. Total enlightenment has no fall-back.

With that we have now completed the ten non-virtues. Why have we been discussing the non-virtues? Why do we need to know the non-virtues? Because we need to avoid them. That is the simple reason. Not only that. When you avoid them you gain positivity. And that positivity is a fundamental base for you, for me, for all of us. That is why it is so important to know.

Practice What I really want you people to do now is: to meditate! You have to meditate now. Please! I do not mean sit, no! You may think meditation is to sit cross-legged and then sit there, no! I mean you have to think about this, think on every step of the outlines. Every step, every outline, has a short conclusion presented and you have to find by yourself whether that conclusion is making sense to you or not. Till it makes sense to you, you have to work. You have to work within your own mind. That is what I mean by meditation; that is what I mean practically. Many of you are doing retreats and that is great. It helps you to get to the point where you really think. Get to the point; that is what its whole purpose is. Otherwise you’ll not be able to bring what you have learned down to the ground. That is what is very important. If you need short words to say120 you can say them. When you are alone go slowly, and think at every word you say. You may stop at each verse and think. You can’t do that in a group, but individually you can. You have to think. Think! I don’t even use the word meditation because that may confuse you. Spend some time with proper preliminary work121 and then think. And think on the [given] conclusions. And whenever you find yourself not agreeing with these conclusions, you have to work with yourself, raise questions or discuss, because then there lies your problem. You have to recognize the problem. If you don’t think, you have no problem; if you think you are full of problems. And if you don’t work with your problems you don’t get your spiritual developments. It is high time for you people now to think. Please! Think! Think! Think! That is what it is. I don’t care how you think, whether you sit cross-legged and think or you sit upside down and think; whatever way you do it does not matter. What is important is that you affect your mind. Why? Our mind is so used to going the non-virtuous way that whatever little chance you get, you go away. And in order to get affected on that, you have to think. That affects your mind. When it affects your mind it affects your action, when it affects your action it affects your life, when it affects your life it affects your karma, it affects your future. Are you getting me?

119 Samadhi: meditative absorption. Also see Glossary. 120 E.g. Odyssey to Freedom prayers or Ganden Lha Gyema; both have the overviewing Lamrim meditation Foundation of All Perfec- tions. 121 Taking refuge, offering the Seven-Limb Prayer etc.

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I can do nothing at this point; you have to do it. I can pour the information into you, but you have to do it. I can help, I can discuss with you and if you build up negative resistance – that is bound to happen, it is nature, it has to be – I should hear it.

(b) Factors that attribute to their heaviness or We have finished the ten non-virtues, but what we have not finished is talking about their heaviness and lightness. How does it become a heavy and how does it become a light non-virtue? That is really what the individual should be concerned with. There are a number of different ways of measuring.

(i) The nature of the action If you look, you find there are seven non-virtues committed through body and speech. Of those seven the first ones are heavier and the later ones are lighter. For example, killing is by nature more heavy than stealing. That is simple, we all know that. What is the reason why by nature killing is heavier than stealing? Because it causes more. It pains more, it harms whomever you committed it to, more. There is no individual who will not choose losing his property or money over dying. Generally life is much more precious and dear to people than wealth. Therefore killing is by nature heavier than stealing. Similarly, in the other two by body and the four by speech the first ones are heavier and the later ones are lighter. The three of mind are the opposite; there the first ones are lighter and the later ones are heavier.

(ii) The thought or motivation Then also there is a difference in the motivation, the actual thought. Thought has very strong delusions and lighter delusions. The stronger delusion has a much more heavy [influence] than the lighter delusion. Let’s say two people committed the killing of an animal. One is very angry, chases the animal, crushes it and kills it; the other one kills accidentally by driving a car and hitting a duck on the road. These two are equal as to killing; however, the killing with strong anger is heavier than the accidental killing, because the last one is a non-virtue by nature only and the first one is also non-virtuous by motivation; the motivation makes the difference.

(iii) The preliminary action This also determines the heavy- or lightness. In the case of killing, it depends on whether you give much trouble before you kill, like catching the animal and torturing it, or just let it die. Say you get a bedbug at the middle of the night. It irritates you and you get up, get hold of it and throw it out or kill it. If you just get it and kill it, okay, it is killing. But suppose you catch it and then, “This is the one who did not let me sleep all night last night and now here it is…!” You sort of keep on rubbing it and torture it as much as you can and finally you kill it. If you measure it: even though both are killing, both are the same type of living beings, tortured killing is heavier. That means you have to “pay” more than in the case of no-torture killing. It is the kind of action that makes the difference.

(iv) The base The base is complicated. We can just leave it.122

(v) The frequency If you are always doing it, then it is heavy, because you have been committing this non-virtue with a sort of regularity. That is another reason for why it gets heavy. I do not know what the reason is: because you get used to it. That is why they said butchers have much more heavy non-virtue than others, not only because they kill, but because of regularly killing chickens or whatever. Always doing it becomes a kind of second nature. Then after some time you may like doing it. Many people have picked up that bad habit; it is so easy to it pick up.

122 See Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in Our Hands, vol. I, p. 255.

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(vi) The absence of antidotes There is no person on earth, unless you are enlightened, who does not commit non-virtues – nobody. No matter how much you act, how holy you may think you are, humanly it is not possible not to get involved in non-virtues. Though you may not want it, knowingly or unknowingly, when you drive a car, how many insects will die, particularly if you drive on a dirt road? How many do you crash? When you drive at night, how many insects will die on your windscreen? You cannot avoid it. You are not purposely doing it but you cannot avoid it. It is not possible. So it is good to purify it as much as possible. And if you try to purify every day it works just vice versa. If somebody is committing one particular non-virtue all the time it becomes heavy. Similarly if you purify every day, it becomes light. And that is why Nagarjuna says, If intelligent people commit non-virtues, it will be like throwing a flat sheet on the water. Unintelligent persons may have the same amount of non-virtues, but it will be like throwing an iron ball in the water, it will just go down. What does intelligent and unintelligent mean here? The person who tries to purify and the person who does not try to purify. They are not talking about intellectual capacity. With a person who is trying to purify all the time, no matter how much he or she has, it will be like a flat sheet floating on the river and with a person who does not try to purify it is like a little ball thrown in the water, it will go down. That is another measurement of the difference between the lightness and heaviness. Let’s say both are equal, let’s say you have equal virtues and non-virtues: an amount of killing and an equal amount of saving lives. If it is equal what will happen to you? Whichever is heavier gives you the result first, Whichever is lighter gives you the result later. However if it is equal, then whichever you are used to. So if you are used to committing more non-virtues than virtues every day, the non-virtues will give a result faster than the virtues, because you are closer to them. When you are used to something it becomes easy to you, it becomes like automatic. When you are not used to it and you try, you have to push yourself and then it becomes hard. That we know by experience. The karma works in a similar way; that is simple. If you are used to both, virtues and non-virtues equally, again, what happens then? Whichever is closer to you. By knowing this now, what do we learn? We learn a trick. The trick is: there is no way you can avoid non-virtues, no matter how much you try. We should always try to avoid them, but it will still happen. So, we try to purify it as much as possible, every day. Just before going to bed purify everything. That is one of the major practices you should do every night before you go to sleep. If you forget it, it does not mean you can skip it tomorrow. Well if you forget it today it is too bad, tomorrow morning you purify it. And tomorrow evening before you go to bed you purify again. Purification is not at all difficult. It is just a two-minute job. It has a tremendous profit for the individual. So one should really do it.

About the mind at the time of death The mind is very funny and tricky, but, you know, mind is impermanent. It changes from minute to min- ute. The present-minute mind is the result of the previous-minute mind. Today is the result of yesterday. If you did something yesterday you’ll get a result today. You applied for a certain position yesterday and you get the result today. Like that, it is a cause. Similarly, the mind immediately before is the cause for the mind immediately after, and the mind immediately after is the result of the mind immediately before. So the mind is a thing that brings the other, like a friend pulls a friend. Similarly, the virtuous mind brings virtues and the non-virtuous mind brings non-virtues, normally. Do you get this? If you are applying for a certain position somewhere and a number of people are applying for it and you see your friend and you know he is good, you pull him.

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I don’t know whether they do it in the US but it happens a lot in India. By 1963 we found that in the Indian foreign ministry, almost from the secretary to the Indian government, completely everybody was a Mannon. That was the result of a few years before when there was a big boss who was a Mannon and started pulling all the Mannons in; so in the sixties we saw only Mannons there. And in the late seventies we saw all Calls there. That is the example. The good mind pulls the good one and the bad mind pulls the bad one; that is the general rule. Clear? Keep that in mind. Now a question rises. During the period of death there is a mind. What is the nature of that mind? Is that mind by nature virtuous or non-virtuous? Actually it is neither virtuous nor non-virtuous. That very mind is a very, very subtle mind. It is so subtle that neither virtue nor non-virtue can influence it. It is neutral. The period of death itself is a very, very short period. And that neutral-mind period is a very short pe- riod. The trick is to be able to apply a virtuous mind before death as much as possible. Immediately before death let the mind be fully occupied by virtuous thoughts and activities. Then there is a fifty percent chance of that virtuous mind being able to connect your mind to a virtuous karma immediately after you come out of the death period, which I call a subtle period. In normal English language you say the period of shock. That mind is not able to transform by nature, because it is in the shock period, very subtle. It may not be able to perceive anything. So, the mind immediately before death has a very strong influence on which karma you’re going to click to. If you build up a strong virtuous force just before death, either you yourself or your friends or anybody at that period, it pushes the subtle-shock consciousness to click into good karma. So there is a possibility – I cannot say a hundred percent, I cannot say eighty percent, but there is a more than fifty percent chance – of getting it linked up to good karma. This is the last resource, the resource we can easily apply and it is the sort of easy trick that can be applied on karma by you and by others.

Every day you see people around you dying, so this is what one can do. Particularly people who are sort of waiting to die, when you prepare them you should prepare them in that direction. It is also so important that the mind should not have any attachment. That is very important, because attachment is so strong and at the death period our mind will be in the shock state. The attachment pulls it and so you sort of hang around, you don’t go. I don’t mean you don’t die – you do die, but you hang around. It is like the rabbits in late autumn in Tibet. All the green grass is gone, totally gone and all becomes white. But the rabbits still hope to find a little bit of green somewhere. That is the example. Everything is given up, yet you have not given up your hope, you try to hold on. If there were a possibility of green grass growing in the mid-winter out in cold weather, well you could hope. But no matter how much you hope there is no use. Similarly here, it is a hundred percent sure that you have to go; no power on earth can hold you back. So there is no use of looking back, no use, just prepare to go. That has to be. And you should not think, “O my God, I am dying and now I won’t see this, I won’t see that, I am not going to have this etc.” This is the worst thing one can do to oneself. Another thing is friends saying, “Oh you’re going to die, don’t leave me.” That is another bad thing that affects the dying mind [which will think], “I have to go but now what to do?” Instead of helping it is harming the person.

The story of the shar [butter tea]. I’ll give you a very funny example here. There was a very famous Amdo lama called Gungtang Jampelyang, a great poet, a great learned person and a great saint. During his period there was a monk who had a real fancy for butter tea. He had been collecting tea for thirty, forty years. He was about to die but he did not die. Somehow he was holding and people approached Gungtang Jampely- ang. And Gungtang Jampelyang thought probably he has an attachment for butter tea and nothing else. So he went to him in his room, started talking to him and said, “How are you?” He said, “Well I am not very good, I think I am dying.” “Yes it would be nice if you could go to the pure land of .” And he said, “What is there?” “Well, Tsongkhapa is there, Maitreya is there, Atisha is there and I also heard there is great shar up there!” He said, “Really?” “Yes, I heard that, a lot of shar up there.” “O, I see.” And he died. Just the butter tea was holding him back. Attachment does that.

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The story of the shirt. One of my great late masters, Gomo Rinpoche had a very special practice through , called “the Uncommon Inconceivable practice.” Through that, when you have to go, you really go. Two of his disciples said, “Okay, it is time for me to die.” A date was fixed. One of them had a servant from North India, whom he bought a ticket for going back home. Now, for one of them everything worked perfectly, but the other one did not die. Gomo Rinpoche was waiting. He got a message saying that one fellow died and that the other one didn’t die. He started inquiring, “What happened?” “Well, he has been taken to hospital.” And at the hospital they said, “He is in his room; by hook and crook he wants to get through.” What had happened? Unfortunately that fellow had got a new shirt and he was stuck to that shirt. Gomo Rinpoche said to him, “Please give me that shirt.” He took the shirt and tore it apart in his presence. The next day that man passed away peacefully. A little attachment to a small, fancy-looking thing, a new shirt, even that makes people hold on. Avoiding attachment is really terrible. If that holds you back a long time what will happen? The elements of the body can no longer host the consciousness, so it will collapse while the consciousness is not ready to go. So, you will be reborn not as a human being, but probably as a spider roaming in that house or a cockroach; or you could even be a squirrel around that house. All sorts of things are possible because of the pulling of the attachment, and especially attachment for one particular thing.

The story of the snake. There was an early Indian ho saw a snake roaming around through a skeleton in a cemetery. The snake happened to be somebody who had a strong attachment for the person who died and was always moving around inside that person’s skeleton. The person was dead and there was only a skeleton left, but the snake moved around and went through the eye sockets and went round and through etc. That is what happens too. So attachment is very, very dangerous, particularly at the time of dying.

When it is time for you to go you have to go. You have to go just like a bird flies from a stone. When a bird sits on a stone and somebody throws something, the bird goes: rrrrt, nothing left. The stone does not belong to you, nothing is left. In that style you should be able to die.

(c) The results of non-virtuous actions You may think: one non-virtue has one result. No, unfortunately not. Each one of them has at least three different results: ƒ the direct [or ripened] result ƒ the results corresponding to the cause: o experiential corresponding result o behavioral corresponding result [habitual patterns] ƒ environmental result.

(i) Direct [or ripened] result123 Some examples are: you kill one, you pay one, finished. Or you steal somebody’s property and you loose something, okay, finished. Direct result or environmental result both are finished [after that].

(ii) Corresponding results The earlier results can be bad, however, the corresponding result, the result corresponding to the cause is much worse.

Experience common with the cause. Let’s say you killed a sentient being (don’t think of a human being). Say, with the direct result you fall into a hell realm and after that you are reborn as a human being. In that human being life your life will be shorter and you’ll have more illnesses. Although you have paid the direct result already [by the hell realm], this corresponding result lingers around and gives you a lot of trouble later.124

123 Not explained here by Rinpoche. See literature. 124 For the results corresponding to the cause of the other nine non-virtues, see Tsongkhapa, The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, Lamrim Chenmo, vol. I, p. 236; Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in Our Hands, vol. II, p. 256; Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, p. 452-453.

Karma:Actions and Their Consequences 117

Action common with the cause: habitual patterns. The experiential corresponding result is not too bad, but the behavioral result is much worse. From the moment you’re born, the moment you start acting yourself, you’ll like to kill. Some kids like to do something good all the time; some kids like to do something bad all the time. That is the result of this behavioral result. This is the worst one, because this is what really makes you go round and round and round. This is the actual circle [of samsara]. That is why we always say, “You are used to it!” This “we are used to it” is nothing more than behavioral corresponding result. Some kids keep on stealing all the time. Why? Behavioral corresponding result. Some have to tell lies all the time, whether it is needed or not. Behavioral corresponding result is the actual circle, you know. That is how things started moving. It is the worst result! It goes both ways, also for virtuous behavior. Some kids are in the habit of doing good things all the time and some just want to do bad all the time. That is simply this; only this. The good way as well as the bad way.

(iii) Environmental [or collective] results That is the common usage like the place, the universe and the things people use commonly. The universe, the country, the city, the town, the house, things that you share, is the collective result. Collective results of non-virtues are things like the nutritional value of the food going around, the power of medicine going around etc. E.g. the collective result of killing is that you get more diseases going around and lose the nu- tritional power of the food. There are results for each one of them.125 For killing this, for stealing this, for lying this etc., but it is not so important. Generally you can understand the collective result, also sometimes called ownership result.

(3) White karma: the ten virtuous actions (a) The actual presentation of the white karmic paths The virtues and the non-virtues follow the same principles. We discussed the ten non-virtuous, and just the opposite of them is the ten virtuous.126 Now you may think: if I don’t kill and sit here do I have non-killing virtue? No, you don’t. The virtue of not killing comes when you see somebody and you have an opportunity to kill that one – that is the base – and you have a mind with the desire of killing and then you think, “Hey, killing is bad, the result is this and that” and you hesitate, you motivate yourself not to kill it and finally decide, “It is bad, I am not going to do it.” When the final decision is taken then you have a complete virtue of not killing. A ‘trick’ on this is taking a vow. Vows are very important: especially the and the Vajrayana vow. When you take a vow you say [e.g.], “I take a vow of not killing.” You are fulfilling that vow as long as you are not killing. Therefore, if you can use it properly, you [continuously] get the virtue of not killing. That is why this vow is very important in every religion. So taking vows can be an advan- tage. Just because of the vow you’re gaining benefit. That is [one of the reasons] why a vow is impor- tant.127

(b) The results of the white karmic paths They have, like the non-virtuous actions: 1) Direct or ripened result; 2) Corresponding results, 3) Environmental or governing results.128

Practice I do hope you people meditate every day. Really, I do hope you are meditating on each of those points. That is so important! For example, you have to meditate on the nature of the non-virtues and on the heavi-

125 For the environmental results of the other non-virtues, see Tsongkhapa, The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlight- enment, Lamrim Chenmo, vol. I, p. 237-38; Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in Our Hands, vol. II, p. 257; Pabongka Rinpoche, Lib- eration in the Palm of Your Hand, p. 453. 126 Some details: Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in Our Hands, vol II, P. 259-260. 127 Mind you, on the other hand killing while you have a vow ot not killing, makes it heavier. 128 See p. 116 and Tsongkhapa, The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, Lamrim Chenmo, vol. I, p. 238-239; Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in Our Hands, vol. II, p. 259-260; Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, p. 45.

118 Lam Rim Teachings ness by nature, by thought and by action of each one of these non-virtues. And now go back to the virtues. That is the opposite of it, just the direct opposite: killing – not killing; stealing – not stealing; lying – not lying. Just simple: the opposite is the virtue, the same thing as black and white. You have to concentrate on each one of them. When you concentrate on the non-virtues then you have to look back, “How much killing have I done? How much stealing have I done? How much did I lie?” Think on all this and then purify the non- virtue and decide not to do it again. Even if you can’t decide, just make up your mind and say, “I won’t do it.” Just for the sake of making it up. That itself will build a tremendous benefit to the individual. Look back into all these times you did it, from the beginning just up till now.

Go back and forth: from the non-virtues go back to the general karmic rules. And then go back to the dying stage, then to refuge. Before the refuge you think of the reason why you have to take refuge: because of fear of falling into the lower realms. From the lower realms naturally you have to go back to imperma- nence, then to the value of the life and naturally to the root of all development, the proper guru-devotional practice. You have to do the mental exercise backward and forward. And from each one of those points you draw your own conclusions. For the conclusions we have simply presented ideas, we have given little hints of each conclusion. You have now to think and meditate, try to see whether that conclusion is coming as suggested or not. When you think, what do you get? Do you get resistance? Do you get rebellion? Do you get hesitation? Do you get depressed? Or do you get a wandering mind? Are you developing doubt? Are you developing hesitation? Are you developing a sort of fear? Are you developing the thought of “I know nothing”? Or are you developing “I know everything”? What are you developing? That is important. Each one of them will be either result-oriented or problem-oriented. If it is problem-oriented we have to deal with it. If it is result- oriented it is okay, you can go ahead and meditate. b) Some specific teachings – side effects129 i) Four factors affecting the strength of the results: [1. the field, 2. the agent, 3. the things done, 4. the intention] ii) Throwing karma and completing karma: [1. throwing or projecting karma: it is definite and propels us into a higher realms if it is virtuous and into a lower realm if it is non-virtuous; 2. completing karma: it is indefinite and determines the life circumstances] iii) A higher rebirth with eight special attributes130: c) After thinking about actions and their consequences, how to practice After knowing the karma, what do you do? Now we’ll discuss in general the actions that one should take and in particular purification by the four powers. i) General practice: behaving properly In general, what do you have to do? During the meditation you have to think on, to find out and concentrate on: what are non-virtues really? What do they do? What effect do they have on the person, on me as an individual?

129 These are some of the remaining subjects on karma, either not taught by Rinpoche or because of missing tapes. To fill in those parts, see Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, An Anthology of Well-Spoken Advice, p. 345-356; Tsongkhapa, The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, Lamrim Chenmo, vol. I, p. 239-246; Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in Our Hands, vol. II, p. 260-272; Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, p. 455-470. 130 Also called ripening qualities or maturation qualities: 1) a long life, 2) physically healthy and handsome body, 3) be born in a good family, 4) being wealthy in material sense and in terms of a wealth of friends, 5) honesty and credibility, 6) having a reputa- tion of outstanding qualities in helping, 7) having ‘masculine’ powers such as being strong, brave and dispassionate, 8. strength of body and mind.

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I even went into great detail on what a delusion really is and how it affects you, remember? Think on all this, do the analytical thinking on it very carefully and recognize: this is a non-virtue because it immediately affects the purity of mind like this and ultimately it gives me results like this, so this is a non- virtue. Take each point, like killing, stealing etc. And then you convince yourself, “These are really non- virtues, these are the problems.” When you are convinced beyond doubt then you have to draw a conclusion. The suggested conclu- sion is, “This is non-virtuous, this is the troublemaker and I don’t want it. I will refrain from killing, I will not kill.” And then think and hold on to it, “I will not kill, I will not kill!” Keep on concentrating on this strongly for a long time. And as a result of concentrating for a long time on this you get not only [the in- sight] that your previous knowledge on killing was bad, but you get very strongly convinced that one should not do it, “Not only do I just know it is not right, but I clearly know it because of this result, because it immediately affects this, because of this and this and this.” Like that, you do each one of them. When you have that, when you have a strong realization of the point, when you are strongly realizing it, it helps the individual not to indulge in that. Every time when a chance comes, your mind will be immediately alert, saying, “Hey, I must avoid this.” Then it becomes effective to the person. ii) Particular practice: purification by the four antidote powers (the four R’s)131 As I mentioned to you earlier: we try our best not to get involved in the non-virtues but it is almost impos- sible that you remain a hundred percent pure. Particularly, the more vows you have, the harder it becomes. Then what do you do? Once you have problems, what will happen to the individual? Will the individual be totally doomed? No, no! There is no person who never had any non-virtue, none for whatsoever, including Buddha Sakyamuni during the time he was an ordinary person. Everybody commits non-virtues. Once you have committed non-virtues it does not mean that you are lost for ever. It never, never means that. You did commit some non-virtue, it has its own repercussions, you have to pay, you have to suffer for whatever you did, and you also have obstacles for your development for sure, but still you can purify it. There is no thing which cannot be purified. Buddha has given five limitless non-virtues [also called the five heinous crimes or the five crimes with immediate retribution after death]. Those are: 1) killing your own father, 2) killing your mother, 3) killing an arhat, 4) attempting to kill a buddha (but you can’t kill a buddha), 5) causing division in the sangha. Even if a person has committed these five non-virtues, even then that person can purify them and become pure. Therefore the question of “lost for ever” does not rise. You should not do it because of, “Hey when I do it I can purify it.” No, that is not right! When you break your leg you can go to the doctor or whoever and they can put the bones together and you can walk again and you’ll be alright, but it is different from a leg that has never been broken. Similarly here too. You can purify everything but that does not mean you can go ahead and do it because of that. No, that is not right. You should avoid it as much as possible, but you can’t help it, you’ll still get non-virtues. In case you still get it, the provision of purifica- tion is there. They have given four examples. There were [the lustful] , Buddha’s nephew, and there was Angulimala, who killed 999 people132. There was King Ajatashatru [Tib. Makyedra],133 who killed his own father and by that got two: not only killing his father but also killing [someone who was almost] an arhat. But even so he purified it and became an arhat himself. And then there was Udayana, another person in Buddha’s life, who had killed his own mother and even then had been purified and eventually became enlightened. So there is no such a thing as, “I committed some non-virtues and now I am lost for ever.” This is never, never, never the case. There is no such a thing like what they say in the west: I am guilty and I got this guilt and this and that, feeling bad all the time, feeling helpless. That is also not true. It is bad, but not hopeless. There are always ways and means you can help it. This is the karmic law. If you accept karma you have to accept the purification also. If you don’t accept karma then that is it; that is a different story altogether. Karma functions, yes it has all the different punishments they talk about, but it also gives the

131 Kathleen McDonald, How to Meditate, p. 178-186. 132 For the story, see page 104. 133 For the story, see Gehlek Rimpoche, Odyssey to Freedom, day two. Geshe Wangyal, The Door of Liberation, p. 19.

120 Lam Rim Teachings provision for purification. So there is no reason to feel helpless, to feel bad and to keep crying or sort of feel doomed. There is no reason for that. So what you really have to do is purify. You have to apply the four powers.

(1) The power of the base or the power of Reliance or Recognition There are a lot of different explanations on the base. But from what is accepted through this teaching line- age, the base is: the person on whom you have committed the act. You cannot commit non-virtues other than on living beings. If you steal you have to steal somebody’s property, if you kill you have to kill a liv- ing being, if you lie you have to lie to somebody who is a living being, you cannot lie to rocks. Every vir- tue or non-virtue is done on a living being. Therefore the base is a being. Beings are divided into: enlightened beings and non-enlightened beings. You have to take care of both. The enlightened beings will not carry a label saying, “I am enlightened.” If they did it would be easy for us, but they don’t. Therefore you have to have a method to take care of both compartments. So both taking refuge [to enlightened beings] and meditating love-compassion [on non-enlightened beings]. You cannot meditate love and compassion on the enlightened beings, because they will laugh at you. Neither can you take refuge to non-enlightened beings, because they can’t help you, so you do both of them. That is why we have these four lines with refuge and bodhicitta both. That is the reason why it is repeated everywhere: San gye chö dang… I take refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha until I am enlightened By practicing generosity and the other perfections May I be able to obtain enlightenment For the benefit of all sentient beings. Every time we repeat this, it is because of these two reasons.

(2) The power of Regret You need a very strong regret. This is the example. Three people eat the same food and all get poisoned. One dies, one is about to die, the third one is not yet sick. So the last one will have a strong regret. “One is dead, one is about to die and nothing happened to me yet, but it is bound to happen any minute now.” So he regrets very much [having eaten that food]. That much regret you have to develop. The first regret you feel is the emotional regret. That is not the proper strong regret. When you keep on thinking on it, you really develop a strong regret. But you have to take care this will not bring you emo- tional problems either. A little bit is needed, though – Buddhist spiritual practices cannot be emotion-free, then they won’t work. A little bit of emotion is needed.

(3) The power of non-Repetition or Restraint When you develop regret then not wanting to repeat it will come automatically. Why do you develop regret? Because you have to develop the non-repetition. If you really get hurt you are not going to repeat the action, you just won’t want to. When I was a kid I ate one of those fresh smashed oranges, made like a hamburger-type of thing with the skin and sugar on it. The Chinese used to sell that in Lhasa. I ate a lot of them and I got sick, terribly sick. Since then I could not even stand the smell of oranges, for ten years I could not even touch an orange, you know, it was terrible. Like that. When you have a strong regret then when you even see it, you just don’t want to have anything to do with it. Whatever strength of regret you develop, that much strength of non-repetition you develop.

(4) The power of the antidote or action or Redirection Any virtuous action is recommended. The practice of the Thirty-five purification buddhas, however, is the most important thing you can do. Saying their names, prostrating and all this are mostly recommended for our level134. I don’t think I have time to really talk about these thirty-five different buddhas. Actually each

134 Also called: Sutra of the Three Noble Heaps, Triskandhadharma or The Bodhisattva’s Confession of Moral Downfalls. Kath- leen McDonald, How to Meditate, p. 196-202.

Karma:Actions and Their Consequences 121 of the thirty-five different buddhas has a different hand gesture [Skt. ]. Each of the has a meaning for purification. So if we had a lot of time we should discuss it, but I don’t think we have the time, so let us not go into it. Every time you do a and say the names of the thirty-five buddhas and all this, it is also recommended to do the collecting of light and liquid coming from the object of refuge, and washing away the non-virtues. Three systems of visualization. For the coming of light and liquid there are three systems. 1) The tube- light comes out and liquid comes within that, like when water is poured. The light and liquid come in through your crown and fill up your body; your body gets filled up with the liquid from the bottom and all obstacles go out via the upper parts. 2) The light and liquid come as a type of waterfall, which pushes all obstacles downwards and out. 3) You collect all the obstacles at the heart level and they get swept away by one strike of light and liquid. Each one of them has a different purpose, but let’s not go into detail; what- ever you do is okay. You do it with the recitation. The mantra recitation you can also do with this visualization135.

Now please pay attention here, this is so important! Temporarily you have to think you have been purified. You have to have the positive attitude of “I have been purified.” Don’t ever doubt at that moment. Whether actually you are purified or not purified depends on how strong your regret is. It depends on that. What really happens is that one purification is not going to clear it. Even though at every point you think you have cleared it, it is not going to be cleared. You have to do it repeatedly, as much as possible.

Signs of purification. When you do all this, you get the signs of purification. For example in your dreams you may get signs like: a lot of dirt going out of the body, a lot of unwanted insects going out of the body, the whole body becoming light, flying through the air, sunshine, climbing onto a mountain top, reaching a mountain peak, wearing white clothes. All these type of things are signs of your efforts of purification working. The opposite is a problem: instead of unwanted insects leaving the body they are getting in and attacking, instead of wearing white wearing black, instead of cleansing yourself you keep on washing but you can’t wash it, it gets dirty again and again, and instead of going up to the peak it will be the bottom of the mountain, you can’t even climb up. These are the opposite signs. You have to keep on repeating the purification. Then when you are getting the good signs, it becomes more and more clear to you. First it may come at the dream stage, then it may begin to really happen, you’re feeling it and after some time you yourself know that you are quite clear. Normally during the teachings we will tell you, “At this moment you are totally purified.” Yes, it is true at that level. However, at our ordinary level, since we have discussed the sutra path ‘common with the lower level’ here, we have to talk totally on the ground. Totally on the ground means that we are not on that level of instant happenings, we don’t have that level. Therefore we have to keep on repeating it, working hard. And when you do this, all these signs will come and it will be more and more clear. That is how one gets cleared.

These four powers are there, but you have to apply them very often. Doing it once does not mean anything; you have to do it repeatedly. As a matter of fact, if you do it every day, particularly before you go to bed, before you fall asleep, it is very, very useful. And for those who are going to be Vajrayana practitioners, it is recommended to say twenty-one Va- jrasattva recitations before going to bed. It is not a commitment, it is recommended. If possible twenty-one times the hundred-syllable Vajrasattva mantra. If that’s not possible, just say Om Vajrasattva Hum or Om Vajrasattva Ah twenty-one times, that will do. But do it with the strong thought of purification. Or do pros- trations. Whatever you do, if you could make a habit of purifying before you fall asleep then it becomes automatic to you. When it becomes automatic to you it becomes very useful. I guess about this much I have to say.

135 Kathleen McDonald, How to Meditate, p. 178-186.

122 Lam Rim Teachings

Conclusion of the first practice of the Lamrim: Common with the lower level With the people who have been studying here constantly from the beginning up to today, we have now completed the essence, the most important parts, of the common-with-the-lower-level practice. As far as the study is concerned, as far as the talking is concerned, as far as the listening is concerned, we have done it not very detailed but not too short either, reasonably well. We have pointed out all the outlines. From each one of them we have presented the essence. Each one of them we have tried to prove by giving quotations from the sutras, by giving examples and by sayings of the earlier great masters – we combined these three together. What is left now, is for the individual to practice. It is time for you to exercise individually (or collectively). It is a mental exercise you have to do. When you do physical exercises you get physical fitness; when you do mental exercise you get mental fitness. That is what it is.

Up to here we talked, talked, talked. And you meditated or did not meditate, I don’t know. But you have listened, you have picked up very good information and you have very good friends around you, as well as a guide. So you had every opportunity. We talked about the importance of our life, how rich it is, how full of leisure it is, how impermanent it is and how miserable it is in the lower realms. We talked about the ways in which one can protect oneself from falling into the lower realms by introducing the refuge-taking. And as even refuge alone won’t do, after refuge-taking the karmic system was introduced. And up to here you have heard it and you have thought about it.

From the Buddhist point of view, the future life, next life, is more important than the present life. The pre- sent one is short, is not going to be very long, you won’t live forever. If we compare this life with the fu- ture, the future is much more important for us. Although you have to live in the present, if you compare present and future, the future is more important [to work for]. If you compare: ‘With this I am going to be happy today, but I’m going to suffer for the rest of my life’ and: ‘I have a little problem today, but I’m go- ing to be happy from tomorrow onwards’, nobody who is intelligent enough will chose the first possibility. This is very similar; if you really look carefully deep down, you’ll see it. This life is definitely important; I am not denying that. However, if you compare it this life with the future… This life somehow we manage. We can see, we can think, we can touch, we can plan, we can move into the wanted direction. Afterwards we won’t have a direction. And it will be longer – a long, long way. In this life at the most we’ll have some sixty to eighty years to go. That is nothing compared with total span of lives. Countless millions of years we lived earlier and if we don’t do something right now, then another countless millions of lives afterwards will come. Gone is gone, so what is going to come is more important. I don’t know whether you people like that or not, but to me it is true. Buddha found it is true. And to all the spiritually developed persons it is true. So the lowest goal is to develop that for the future, to make the future life more comfortable or easier, more beneficial, rather than having difficulties, sufferings, be helpless and hopeless.

Now what result do you want out of this? You are looking for a sincere thought – not an artificial one, but a spontaneous thought of “Hey, what we considered happiness for this life is not really happiness. Our fu- ture life is more important than the present life and it is necessary for me to do something for the purpose of the future life.” That is what we are looking for. In other words: if you are forced to make a choice be- tween the benefit of this life and the benefit of the future life you should be able to choose the future bene- fit. If you keep on listening, gaining understanding, meditating analytically and concentrating [on your conclusion], then [after some time] you’ll say, “All things that we consider so important for this life, particularly our name and fame, are a little less important than before. They’re almost like side-effects: if they are there it is okay, if they are not there, it is not that important.” Normally it is the benefits for this life which really cause us to drive ourselves beyond the limit, and which make us do anything to get what we want: some people totally aim for money, some for manipula- tion, some for being famous and some people totally spend their life wasting time. The effect [of your practice up to] here should be: all these things which you used to consider so important before, have slightly less effect on you and have become less important. You are aware of the long span of future lives

Karma:Actions and Their Consequences 123 you will have to go through and you really see, “Hey, there is a problem with [aiming for goals of] this life only. I have to pay attention: [taking care of my] future life will be more important. It is a true fact, that will be more important.” If your aim used to be to become famous, to become a celebrated person, “I want to be the top of the world, my name should appear in all media”, and by listening to this and thinking on this, there is a change in your attitude and in your thoughts, then you are beginning to achieve results. If that is not there then your are not achieving. So what we really want here is: the purpose of this life should become less important. And it is true: even if you become the most famous person in the world, what do you gain? It only lasts a short period. And still, fifty percent of the people will not like you. There is not a single person of whom everybody says, “Hey, wonderful”, except maybe for Mother Theresa, although even she has problems and people who do not like her. And then, how long are you going to have that? Forty years, fifty years? Sixty years? At the utmost you’ll get a hundred years to live; then you are gone, you are dead, and you will be something else, a pig in the street or a cockroach in the kitchen. So, what is the use? And that goes on and on and on, years and years and lives and lives together. And that is me; it is not a different person. It is the same person. It has a different label, a different face, a different nationality; it is a different creature, yet it is the same person. So, is it worth for us to sacrifice the long, long period that we have to go through for a little purpose here for a couple of years? Think along those lines. And unless you are most stupid, you cannot say, “Hey, I am willing to sacrifice the future for enjoying life here.” Unless you are crazy, you cannot say that. If you are crazy of drugs, if you are crazy of sex, if you are crazy of killing, then you can sacrifice a total, long, long life, saying, “If I have this short period here then I sacrifice the whole thing.” But a sensible, an intelligent person will never do that. After all, we are educated, sensible and intelligent. We are not a stupid, crazy, worthless or reckless person. So we should be able to choose the right benefit for ourselves.

The sign of development If this thought is affecting you, then you are beginning to get the first spiritual development of the com- mon-with-the-lower-level practice. This is the sign that it has grown within you. If you really see, “This is less important, my future is more important”, if you see this more than your common sense is telling you, more than you are used to thinking and if you are becoming more affected by it, then that is the sign that you have the beginning of spiritual growth within you. Even without going into a long meditation, even while listening to the teaching itself, it can develop. That is why in the Lamrim teaching it is said, The first spiritual development can even come during the teaching period.

APPENDIX

Questions and Answers - Chapter IX: Mindfulness of Death 127 - Chapter XI: Going for Refuge 130 - Chapter XII: Karma 132

Outlines - Basic Lamrim Outlines 135 - Detailed Lamrim Outlines 136

Charts - Chart 3: Desire Realms 142 - Chart 4: Form- and Formless Realms 143

Root Texts - The Three Principles of the Path – Lam gyi tso wo nam sum 145 - The Foundation of All Perfections – Yön ten zhi gyur ma 146 - Odyssey to Freedom – in 64 steps 148 - Lines of Experience – Lamrim Dudon 150 - Lamrim von Je Tsongkhapa – Lamrim Dudon 155 - Seeking Inspiration to Realize the Stages of the Lam Rim – from Lama Chöpa 159

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Chapter IX: Mindfulness of Death: Facing Death Realistically Audience: (About reincarnation and wanting to bring the energy of enlightenment into the world.) Rimpoche: We have built a tremendous strong attachment for samsaric pleasures. To see that as faults is very hard. The desire to leave samsara will only come when you see the faults of samsara. If you say just now that you have to have the desire to leave samsara, that desire is superficial just now, because we have not really seen the actual faults of samsara. I don’t think we should try to add up any superior activity which under the disguise of superior thinking could go as an obstacle for development. Automatically one will be brought back. Why? The bodhisattva- or Mahayana mind will bring you back. That brought the enlightened ones back to work in the human level or at other different levels. Mostly they are brought back in the human level. The way they are brought back and we are is different. We are brought back by the power of karma and delusions. The enlightened beings, the buddhas and bodhisattvas, are brought back by their compassion, their prayer and their commitments. It is not the delusions and the karma that brings them back. That is the difference. At this moment best is not to think on those lives just now, because it could become an obstacle in a superior disguise. Okay? Audience: (…) Rimpoche: The people who gained realizations, say that samsara is like a needlepoint. Being in samsara is almost like sitting on the sharp point of a needle. Anything can go any moment, nobody knows; the whole world can blow up any minute. This is possible, it cannot be ruled out. The individual world can be blown up, the collective world can be blown up. That is why it is said: samsaric pleasures cannot be relied upon, it is unreliable pleasure. It is important to take all these Lamrim outlines together: you not only think of the death business, but also consider the importance of life, the value of the human life and how it is difficult to find. All of them have to come together, otherwise your practice will be too extreme on one side. Espe- cially one has to balance the importance of life and the impermanence. Audience: (About getting emotional while doing the meditation.) Rimpoche: We found a good name for that; we call it ‘hairy renunciation’. It happens and it brings a lot of emotions; a lot of people cry. It is a kind of renunciation, you see the faults and develop that. It is not a real renunciation, though; it is not seeing the faults enough, you see a lot of faults emotionally, you get emo- tionally upset, which is a good thing. The Lamrim teachings say it comes as a blessing. Really, it is said that it is due to the blessings and due to the karmic relations that it is developed. It is called ‘hairy renun- ciation’. Why is it called hairy? Because when you feel something intensively, your hair stands up. It does not last very long, so it is not a solid thing developed yet, but it could become a solid renunciation. When it becomes a solid renunciation you don’t cry; that goes beyond emotion. In the Lamrim meditations people do cry, even in the Lamrim teachings they cry a lot. And some people are very happy as well. There are times when you might be happy and also times that you are very upset. It starts with a lot of emotions, it definitely does, because the emotions are there and unless you go through them, you do not really get to the deeper levels. So it is okay, don’t worry about it. Audience: (…) Rimpoche: Hairy renunciation is developed by your own effort as well as by blessings. Blessings don’t necessarily have to be from a supernatural source. Take an example. For Buddhists the ultimate is Buddha, 128 Lam Rim Teachings not Buddha Sakyamuni but buddhahood, like God up there That definitely has no power to send the people up and down; that is for sure. Why? If there were such a power, we would have been sent up. Enlightened beings have compassion and all this, for sure. But there must be some blockage. When there is a blockage, it means they don’t have the power to overrule that. Do you know what I mean? The lawyers raise objec- tions when arguing in the court. They raise objections, but the judge has the power to overrule them. When something cannot overrule the block it is the sign it doesn’t have the power. Buddha doesn’t have that power, for sure. He has not the power to make me go up or down; that is in my hands. What has he got to do with that? Really. Audience: (About reincarnation, a future life.) Rimpoche: It is hard, but you cannot deny there is a future life. No one can deny. Twenty years ago about this past, present and future life probably most educated scientists would call it rubbish. Today the intelligent scientists are really looking for it and try to find out what is really happening. They could not find scientific explanations. But they also know there is something. Definitely. As well as we know. We know a lot of evidences. People remember previous lives, so much. A reincarnation story. Some years ago there was a kid in India, near Dharamsala. I was living in India, that is why I know. That kid, the moment he started speaking, was telling his parents all the time, “You are not my parents; you are not my father, you’re not my mother. I have to go and see my father, I have to go and see my mother.” His parents got fed up with it and said, “Alright, where are your father and your mother? We’ll go there.” They took him. And he took them to the bus, through another three of four towns, to a place called Sharpur. When they landed there the parents asked, “Where is your mama or papa?” And that little kid, who could barely walk, led them through that village to some kind of suburb and they saw a yellow house there. So the parents asked, “Is this your house?” “Our house is beyond that, underneath. This is where I was knocked down by a bus.” There was a bridge near the house and near the bridge two or three years before some sixteen-year-old girl had been knocked down by a bus-driver. Nobody knew who knocked the girl down, she died there. And the kid said, “I was knocked down by so and so, driving car this and this.” He told everything. Then they started asking the people if some girl died. They were told, “Yes, yes, some years ago a girl was knocked down by a truck or a bus.” Then the kid took them further more down and there was an old lady looking through the window and the kid started calling her name and ran towards her. She said, “Who are you?” and he said, “I am so and so.” Then the old lady started crying and said, “So and so has come back!” It happened to be her grandchild, the girl who died. By that time the tam-tam had started already and a lot of people had collected near the house. Villagers started saying, “So and so has come back.” Then they went inside the house. The parents were not in. And that little boy introduced his new parents to a photograph, “This is my father, this is my mother, this is my sister.” By that time the grandmother was crying, so the parents had come back. Then that boy started asking, “Where are my bangles?” The previous one was a girl, you know. So the mother brought out the bangles and showed them to the kid. He said, “One bangle is missing.” Then he started asking about the previous class-mates and about his schoolbooks. It is like this little fellow did not really have to study, he had the knowledge already. In maths for example he was having the high school level of A-standard, this fellow, and no damage of memory at all. He remembered exactly as a girl coming from that bridge, and the bus coming and the driver not seeing her and she shouting the name of the driver. And suddenly it went blank. He couldn’t remember anything beyond that, it just went blank. And after the blank, he said, there were all sorts of funny things. It was like being carried by some sort of river-stream, flowing through the air, and after some time realizing he got stuck, couldn’t go anywhere. By that time he/she was already in the womb of the new mother. So the first thing you really have to do, is give it the benefit of the doubt. Don’t accept it. Give it the benefit of the doubt, leave it open and start to observe it. Okay? Good. Audience: (About becoming sleepy during the concentration meditation.)

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Rimpoche: This is what we call a sinking problem. A wandering mind is finding yourself looking through boutiques, seeing varieties of shirts, maybe selecting somebody else’s books, thinking of different informa- tion, “So and so said this and so and so said that.” What you told is a rough sinking problem, not a subtle one. Not a big problem at all. Just what you have to do is bring you focus back. And if it happens con- stantly, quite often, then it is recommended to stop the meditation for a while. It is okay, everybody has to face that. Getting sleepy happens, does not matter. Audience: (…) Rimpoche: There is nothing wrong with re-thinking. Go back and think carefully and find out. Most important things you should not rule out, keep all the possibilities open and then start to look through it. That is how you really build up solidly. If you accept something superficially, because: “Everybody said so, so I have to take it for granted,” it is a soft base; you don’t have a solid base, so things can fall. “I said so because so and so said it in a book, or so and so great master has mentioned it,” is not right. Whatever I feel, whatever I can understand, can get, I collect. The information the people give you, you try to put together and see what happens. When it is going against the established facts, there is something wrong and we have to check what step to take and how to do. Right? We know we are wrong because it is really an established fact. However we can’t say we are wrong and then throw it away. We have to convince our- selves how to find the best way to take it. That you have to do. Don’t get angry. What is the use of anger? Don’t get angry. No use. Moreover you lose a lot of virtue through that; really it is very expensive. The best thing is to sit down and re-think. Audience: It says: This is the day when you need help the most. Can it help? Rimpoche: Yes! Don’t rule that out. Buddha or God or whosoever it may be, can help. But help is help, not a guarantee. You know what I mean? Help is help. They cannot guarantee. Audience: (About dying in a hospital and prolonging life by medical interferences.) Rimpoche: If you can be alive as a human being then every single minute of living is valuable. But if you have to live like a vegetable and instead of you the machine breathes, it is not worth. Your mind, whether it is active or not active, is only known to you. If your mind is active, the mind feels, can understand what is happening, can acknowledge, surely life should be saved. If it is not active it is not to be saved. Audience: (About the machine breathing.) Rimpoche: Who knows what is breathing? Who knows who is breathing there? There are millions of dif- ferent spirits around too. They take the opportunity as well, you can’t rule that out. Who is really certain the particular person is still there? There are people who return from that, yes. Dying is not totally one stage, no. There are people who even without machine help have returned from death. We have quite a number of biographies in which they report what they experienced. One of them I published. When I pub- lished it I read it and it goes quite far. It even sees other people going through. The author accounted even one spiritual master who was passing through. She had accounted about fifteen or twenty different people that she knew had gone through. She was watching them dying and going through it. And some people had priority and others had to wait. That is what she reported. Normally they say: no priority, but some people had priority and she had to wait. The priorities were given on the two extremes, the extreme of white karma and the extreme of black karma. The extreme black karma is so busy to go through as fast as possi- ble; they don’t have time to hang around in the bardo period. And extreme white karma also doesn’t have time to hang around; that sort of priority they had. She reported of some sort of tunnel you have to go through. Audience: Is it better to die alone? Rimpoche: No. What you need is a real good friend around, who can remind you of virtue, who can re- mind you of your supreme field of refuge, buddhadharma, good thoughts, the sound of Om mani padme hum or even any good thoughts. And a good one can even tell you, “Now you will be experiencing this, you are taking that step, then you will experience this, then you will experience this, you think this at that time” etc. I can’t tell you this here just now, because it is not appropriate. After you have taken the initia-

130 Lam Rim Teachings tions I can talk to you easily in a better way. Before that I cannot. But ask those people who are practicing Vajrayana, they do that every day. So they get used to it the time they need it. Audience: (About people crying at the deathbed.) Rimpoche: Even if the individual mind is prepared and you may think, “Okay, I have taken care I have to go,” even then if somebody is trying to hold you back it attracts. Really, by someone crying the dying person will have second thoughts, so instead of helping it harms. If you have to cry you may cry outside, you can cry wherever, but just don’t do it in there.

Chapter XI: Going for Refuge; Taking a Safe Direction in Life Audience: Can delusion appear by itself? Rimpoche: Why not? We always have delusion automatically functioning with us without putting any ef- forts; that is true. That is why I told sometime somewhere we have ultimate achievement of anger, attach- ment and hatred. Our anger, our attachment, our hatred will have no room for further development; it is fully developed. Therefore we have automatically delusions going on all the time, without putting efforts, without realizing. Audience: Is there room to grow? Rimpoche: Let us take anger, my anger, Gehlek Rimpoche’s anger. Do I have any room to grow it within me? There is no room. It is fully grown. And then you take up patience, say, “Do I have the room to grow patience?” Plenty of room! because it is short in me. Therefore, you see the patience within me has room to grow. Just having room to grow needs not necessarily be a good quality. But this patience can reach to the level of enlightenment. There is unlimited room, which makes it a good quality. Audience: What about the imprints of the delusions? Rimpoche: What is the need just now? My suggestion is just now not to bother about the imprints, because we actually have the garlic in our hands, so the first point is to throw the garlic out [not the garlic smell]. The first thing we really have to encounter is our anger, attachment and hatred, but instead of individually taking them out, we encounter the root, which is ignorance. What do we do as a practitioner? If we are overtaken by anger we challenge the anger. If we are overtaken by passion, we challenge the passion. The same for the others. If we are going to be overtaken by any of them, we challenge that. If that is not the case we try to cut the ignorance. That will be less work and more fruit. That is dependent on the individual. If we are overtaken by anger or whatever, we handle that. If that is not the case we touch the ignorance. That is the goal, that is actually where to cut. We don’t have to cut them all individually. What do imprints really do? They block you to become totally enlightened. Buddha said that the real ‘garlic’, the rough action, like the real anger, makes a disturbed mind, disturbs all the peace within, makes you look like a monkey’s backside. When that becomes too much, then you have to deal with that. If you try to deal with that via the ignorance, it probably will not go. We have to cut the direct anger and even when you cut it, you do get angry. But that anger doesn’t last long and is not powerful enough to disturb the person. Even if it disturbs, it is just for a short period and you immediately overcome it. Actually when you really cut it, you cut it, but that influence is still ringing. That is the imprint I was talking about. The same goes for the passion. Audience: (About the difference between the benefits ‘temporary and ultimate wishes will be fulfilled’ and ‘quickly obtaining enlightenment’.) Rimpoche: It is the traditional system to list them all up. Sometimes many of these [dedications] are very similar. The last one means: to obtain enlightenment quickly; the other one has in addition to enlighten- ment the temporary things. There is an example given here. If I remember correctly there was somebody taken by a tiger and he was supposed to have taken refuge to Avalokiteshvara by remembering Avalo- kiteshvara and praying to him. And somehow suddenly the tiger left the person and went somewhere else. So even temporary wished can be fulfilled. That answers why Buddhists take refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha in case of problems with the elements.

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In 1948 I believe, a big mountain burst and a big river came down and many of the towns in Tibet were wept away. There was a big monastery, Tashi Lunpo, there and the water was coming to that side. They got all the monks together, facing that huge ‘mountain’ of water. They intended to do pujas but somebody said: No, don’t do pujas, take refuge to Buddha dharma and sangha. Finally they agreed to do this refuge ‘Lama Sangye…’ ‘I take refuge to the guru, yidam, buddhas, bodhisattvas, dharma and sangha’. The huge amount of water that was coming in their direction then suddenly swung the other way round. If you rely totally on Buddha, Dharma and Sangha and take refuge properly, it is not possible that you won’t be protected. So, taking refuge benefits, protects, particularly if you take refuge on time. Here ‘on time’ is very important, because of the karmic law. The karmic law is such that once giving the result was started, you cannot reverse it, because karma is definite. Before that, if you are on time you can definitely be protected. It is not that refuge-takers are safe and non-refuge-takers are not safe; I didn’t say that. Audience: (…) Rimpoche: Not necessarily all Tibetans take refuge to Buddha, dharma and sangha; not necessarily all monks take refuge, that is what I am trying to tell you all the time. Atisha said: You may even be wearing a yellow robe, and facing down, you may have become a very senior monk and look down from a big throne while every body is facing up to you, but it is possible that you don’t have a properly grown refuge. It is possible that you look like a great arhat, look down [from the high throne], however your refuge is left behind the door. It may not be bad to mention something here. Don’t get scared of what I am going to say. If you are seriously following the spiritual path it is not easy; you get tremendous problems. You have a lot of problems to come. I am not trying to scare you off, you will not have problems which you cannot handle, but you will have a lot of problems, from any angle. Why? It is not the that brings the problems. It effects us to cut the bad karma’s; therefore we experience a lot of problems. It is reducing our bad karma. If you look at it, it is very strange. Many of them, even heavy karma, which very well could have brought you to a hell realm for quite a long time, could be substituted by having only a simple head- ache during one morning. That is what Buddha himself said, it is mentioned in the sutras. And the Tibetans believe sutras are Buddha’s words, though not written down by himself. So that is true. And people who are in the spiritual path, will have a lot of problems, you get a lot of problems. But each problem that you face is worth it; because it is cutting your karma. Audience: (About previously having taken refuge to Christ, about being Christian and Buddhist.) Rimpoche: You have to know what refuge taking really means. This is important and I am willing to dis- cuss it with you, because a lot of people will have a lot of questions and a lot of thoughts. When you take refuge to Buddha one of the negative advices is that you cannot take refuge to others, particularly spirits. You know, in this world, what is happening, a lot of people like to take refuge to anything super-natural that they see. It may not even be super-natural, it may just be a non-human activity. People are bound to take refuge to that. What happened in Tibet? There are a lot of those semi-ghosts, semi-gods, a lot of people come into trance, will tell you all sorts of things that come through channeling and many of them are very effective. If you ask them to help you with this and that, they will do it. Also when you ask then about what is going to happen, you get very good information. But whenever you get big and very important information, information dealing with and leading you towards your spiritual development, then they give you mostly wrong information. That is because they are not able to see it properly, or they see it the other way round. In other cases, in daily questions like: “What is going to happen tomorrow? Will I get a promotion or a raise of salary?” they are very good. So a lot of people do think, “Hey, this is ultimate, this is seeing beyond my limit, there is a power, so therefore I really have to take refuge to it, that is the real buddha, if that is not the real buddha then where is he?” That sort of attitude I believe we had earlier very strongly among the Tibetans. That is why this [advice] has become a very heavy one. If you are a true Buddhist, even in the U.S. here today, it is important to pay attention here, because people are carried away by immediate results. See to it that you yourself will not be carried away by that!

132 Lam Rim Teachings

When the earlier Indian masters taught, “After taking refuge to Buddha you cannot take refuge to others,” then the question rises, “Do I have to totally avoid them or what do I have to do?” No, you don’t have to avoid them at all. What you have to do is: you don’t take refuge to them, but you can seek help from them. The example given here is: you are working for somebody, getting a salary, are totally working for somebody, you are totally dependent on this person, or you hire somebody to do a particular job for you; both are permissible to one individual. Am I communicating with you or am I not? You may work for somebody, your livelihood may totally depend on someone, that is like taking refuge. At the meantime you may hire somebody else, “Do me this, this, this” or go and ask a friend, “Do me a favor and do me this.” So, it is permitted to seek help for a certain particular thing; that is permitted, that is not cut out. However, you cannot rely on it for your total spiritual development, enlightenment and guidance towards that. Taking refuge means: totally rely on. When you take refuge to Buddha, dharma and sangha, you rely on Buddha, dharma and sangha and you don’t have a double thought about it. If you have double thoughts your purpose cannot be fulfilled. If you have a needle with two points you won’t do any sewing; if one point goes through the other gets stuck. That was the example given. But that doesn’t mean you cannot use them. You can always use them provided you know how to do that. If you don’t know how to use them, then you’re finished, then they’ll use you. This is how it works. Therefore after taking refuge it is not that you can’t totally do anything about others. You can do whatever you want to, provided you know how to do it. In the case of spiritual practice, if you think something is wrong you should point it out because it will be too expensive to the other person. In the spiritual practice you don't say much: ‘You are wonderful’; you don't butter. Buttering does not help at all and it can create a lot of problems, like pride, so and forth. The good points you see, if you want to mention them, they appreciate it and rejoice. But the wrong points you always have to show, particularly among friends for that is the purpose of the dharma-friend. That does not mean you get angry, ‘So-and-so said this to me’ etc. Then it is not a dharma-community, not a sangha-community. And also, the dharma-community discussion remains within the dharma-room. Don’t take it outside, do not misuse it outside, it should remain there.

Chapter XII: Karma – Actions and their Consequences Audience: (About eating meat and karma of killing.) Rimpoche: Don’t worry about that. I am going to give a bit of a selfish statement, but: in order to get you the killing karma you had to order, say, “I want meat and please kill for me” or you kill it by yourself. Or you say, “I want to see this one dead, would you do it for me?” You do not get the karma of killing be- cause you do not particularly have the desire, the motivation and the acknowledgement of those thoughts; all three you don’t have. Therefore it is not. That was the argument between Buddha and Buddha’s cousin Devadatta. Devadatta always insulted Buddha all the time and Buddha lived such a life that whoever gave whatever to him he ate. When people gave him meat he ate meat, when they gave him fish he ate fish, when people gave him rice and vegeta- bles, he ate that. He ate whatever, because people gave it to him. His cousin was jealous of the Buddha and was always trying to say, “I am better than him.” He thought for a while and he introduced the idea of not eating meat and he announced, “I am better than Sakyamuni; he talks love and compassion but he still eats meat; I don’t and so I am better in the love and compassion.” Buddha’s answer was, “I did not kill any- thing for my purpose and I did not ask anybody to kill, but people had killed already and the meat was available and they gave it to me and I ate it.” That was his answer. Similarly the buying of meat from the grocery and so and forth. I don’t think that will have the karma of killing. But I don’t recommend you to do it. To be vegetarian is very good, I am not objecting to that. Don’t misunderstand. But in order to get the karma of killing you have to go to a particular butcher and say, “Look I need a big complete cow or buffalo, I store it in my deepfreeze and use it throughout slowly, would you have something cut and clean it up for me?” That definitely has a karma of killing, because you particularly wanted a cow for you and you asked somebody to do that for you. Audience: (…)

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Rimpoche: I don’t think the restaurant will wait till twenty people come in to kill a cow in order to get a piece of steak, do they? I am talking very logically here: the motivation has to go before the action of killing. I think by that time the cow is already killed, it has gone into the butchers shop, the grocery shop, from the grocery shop into the restaurant or the general supplies; it is already gone by the time we went inside. I am not defending it, please don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that it is good that you eat the thing, but I don’t think you get the karma of killing, because there is no motivation for killing and you don’t even have the action there. It is already killed and that being is dead and once it is dead it is dead. You can’t kill it twice. So, I don’t think there is any karma of killing, but I am not saying it is good. Audience: (About the karma of stealing.) Rimpoche: Pricing high has nothing to do with stealing. Why? If the person wishes to buy he can willingly buy, you are not forcing to buy, you are not forcing a person to separate from their wealth by buying something, you are not making them to do it. It is willingly buying. I don’t think it has the karma of stealing. Audience: (…) Rimpoche: Monks do take a vow, definitely. A person like me, I took the vow and broke the vow (laughs), The general vow of a Buddhist monk has a lot of things. There are three levels of Buddhist monks, for male as well as for female. The male-novice vow has 26 and the full monks [bikshu] vow has 253 com- mitments for male and 364 for females. Whether everybody can honor them properly or not that is another question, but they are there. Very basically, four of these are called root vows. If as a monk you got those commitments broken, it is called you lost the vow, gone for ever. That is: stealing, killing, extra-ordinary lying, and sexual misconduct [Tib. log gyem]. All these are [Hinayana] sutra vows. Bodhisattva vows come on top of that; it has its own commitments. And then there are Vajrayana or tantric vows, which, again, have their own commitments. So, it is very easy to take initiations and go into Vajrayana it but it is difficult to honor the commitments. Discussion Rimpoche: I have a question. Anybody may answer. What is non-virtue? … Why is it negative? Audience: It produces obstacles and brings delusions. Rimpoche: What does that mean? What is a delusion, what does it do? It makes one’s mind impure and illegible, improper. If you go further with: what is proper and what is not proper, and what is pure and what is impure, that is a different matter. But, it makes one’s mind unable to use it for bringing good karma as much as you want to, it gets the mind distorted. When you have pure water and you put some- thing in it, it becomes unclear and impure. Similarly certain actions make your mind lose the quality of its purity and certain actions make you unable to do certain things. Take for example anger. No matter how clear you are, how sincere you are and how much you are trying your best, if suddenly somebody irritates you badly and you get your mind worked out, and when you seeing yourself after that, you see that this pure quality, the purity of this mental point, is gone, it is destructed. You see what I mean? Think with your own experience. This sort of action is an example. I am giving it as an example, not as a definition. That is how you think and get it within your mind. And there are certain subtle delusions, which you may not be able to understand, but still have their own influence. Whether we understand it or not, it influences our mind. When it influences our mind we don’t have that clarity, that purity, that ; it is disturbed. That comes back, taking us away from dharma, taking us away from virtue; all these are the result of that. Now you really get some kind of idea of what non-virtue really means. Generally we say, “Yes, killing is non-virtuous.” Yes, no contradiction, everybody accepts that, fine. But, that has to be linked to something within us. What does it mean to me? What does it do to me? How does it affect in my mind? Do you get it? Audience: (About self-defense.) Rimpoche: [Hurting someone else] is a non-virtue, for sure, but even then it does not mean that you sit there and let yourself be killed, no. Killing is a non-virtue, but that does not mean if somebody is going to kill you, you say, “Then I have to fight back and kill him or her and then it will be a non-virtue.” Don’t make yourself as expensive as that, no! You have to protect yourself. That is self-defense. There is non-virtuous, for sure. But that does not mean you have to avoid the problem. You can’t, they’re killing you. So it would

134 Lam Rim Teachings be a great waste for you at this moment. We talked earlier how precious life is, how important it is and what we can do with it, what we can achieve; all these opportunities would be just cut and that is too much distor- tion, so you have to defend it. It is non-virtuous – no doubt. It is unfortunate circumstances, but there are ways and means of purifying. It does not mean you have to sit there. You got what I mean? Audience: (About breaking vows.) Rimpoche: Yes, we break the vow. We break the vow because we are not perfect, we are bound to break a vow. Rules are meant to be broken. So the purification is given; the purification is there all the time, is all the time there to help us, to save us. Sorry for the word, but the purification really saves, it is true. There is no non-virtuous which cannot be purified if you purify it properly. None for whatsoever. There is no vir- tue, again, which cannot be destroyed. Again it is equal: there is no virtue which cannot be destroyed, there is no non-virtuous which cannot be purified. Why? Because it is impermanent. That means it is changeable and so, everything is possible. If it were permanent it would be too bad, because that cannot change, but when it is impermanent it is changeable.

BASIC LAMRIM OUTLINES

Lamrim is: ƒ the complete Mahayana dharma system that leads the fortunate person to enlightenment ƒ the path re-opened and reconfirmed by the great masters Nagarjuna and Asanga ƒ the essence of the heart practice of the great Atisha and Tsongkhapa ƒ the container of the essence of all teachings of the Buddha, laid out in order and easy to follow

I. Quality of the source II. Quality of the teachings III. How to listen and how to teach IV. How to practice: actual methods for spiritual development A. The root of all development [foundation of the path]: WHOLEHEARTED COMMITMENT TO A SPIRITUAL GUIDE B. How to train the mind from that development basis: 1. Taking the essence out of life: PRECIOUS HUMAN LIFE: EMBRACING OUR LIFE 2. How to take the essence out of life: a. Training common with the lower level: seeking happiness for the future life How to develop the motivation CONTEMPLATING DEATH CONTEMPLATING THE SUFFERINGS OF THE LOWER REALMS Actual method to obtain happiness in future life: TAKING REFUGE TO BUDDHA, DHARMA AND SANGHA DEVELOPING FAITH IN THE LAW OF KARMA b. Training common with the medium level: seeking liberation How to develop the motivation CONTEMPLATING THE SUFFERINGS OF SAMSARA Actual method to get liberated SEEING THE CREATION OF SAMSARA: KARMA AND DELUSIONS WALKING THE PATH TO LIBERATION c. Training on the Mahayana path, highest level: aspiration to enlightenment How to develop the motivation DEVELOPING THE AWAKENING MIND [bodhicitta] Actual method to become enlightened: TRAINING IN THE PARAMITAS THE UNBIASED OUTLOOK ON REALITY [shunyata] 136 Lam Rim Teachings

DETAILED LAM RIM OUTLINES

Lamrim is: ƒ The sublime Mahayana teaching, the complete dharma system that leads the fortunate to enlightenment. ƒ It is re-opened and reconfirmed by the great maha-pandits Nagarjuna and Asanga. ƒ It is a profound teaching containing the essence of the wisdom of the great Atisha and the Dharma king of the three worlds, Je Tsongkhapa. ƒ In this the eighty-four thousand teachings of Sakyamuni Buddha without exception have been concentrated into a graduate practice that enables any individual to achieve enlightenment. This is the one path all the buddhas have taught.

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I. Quality of the source: presentation of the outstanding development of the Lamrim masters, in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of this teaching tradition A. Buddha 1. Qualities of a Buddha 2. The Life of Sakyamuni Buddha B. The lineages from Buddha to Atisha 1. The Indian Masters 2. Atisha’s life story a. Where and how Atisha was born b. The qualities that Atisha developed during his lifetime c. After developing those qualities what service Atisha gave i. in India ii. in Tibet C. The Lamrim lineage 1. The lives of the Kadampa masters 2 The life of Je Tsongkhapa 3. The Lamrim lineage masters from Tsongkhapa onwards via Pabongka Rinpoche, Kyabje Trijang and Kyabje Ling Rinpoche to Kyabje Gehlek Rimpoche.

II. Quality of the teachings: the presentation of the exceptional qualities of the Lamrim teachings in order to generate appreciation A. Four main qualities of Lamrim 1. All the teachings are realized to be free of contradiction 2. All the teachings are recognized as personal instruction 3. The Conqueror's underlying thought is easily comprehended 4. Harmful behaviors will stop B. Three additional qualities of Lamrim 1. It is the essence of all the Buddha’s teachings, with nothing left out 2. Lamrim is laid out in such a way that it is easy to practice 3. It brings together all the Buddhist traditions

III. How to listen to and how to teach the dharma, that has these two qualities [of source and teaching] A. How to listen to the dharma 1. Thinking of the benefits of listening to and studying the dharma 2. Generating respect for the dharma and the dharma teacher 3. Avoiding the three faults of listening and studying 4. Cultivating the six helpful attitudes B. How to teach the dharma 1. Thinking of the benefits of giving the teachings 2. Being respectful to the Master and the dharma 3. Developing proper thoughts and actions 4. Knowing whom to teach and whom not to teach

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IV. How to practice; actual methods for spiritual development A. The root of the path – wholehearted commitment to a spiritual guide 1. What to do during meditation periods a. Preliminary activities: the six preliminaries i. Creating the environment 1) Cleaning the place 2) Stetting up the altar ii. Preparing the offerings 1) Laying out the offerings 2) Blessing the offerings iii. Correcting the motivation 1) Taking a comfortable meditation seat 2) Taking a comfortable meditation posture 3) Creating mental space 4) Generating the right motivation 5) Visualizing the objects of refuge and taking refuge 6) Generating the bodhimind [bodhicitta] 7) Enhancing the bodhimind by the four immeasurables iv. Creating the Supreme Field of Merit v. The practice of the seven limbs and mandala-offering vi. Supplication tot the Field of Merit for instruction b. Actual session: meditation on the subject - Need for a spiritual master - Qualities of the teacher: Hinayana, Mahayana, Vajrayana - Qualities of the student - Proper relationship i. The benefits of relying on a spiritual guide 1) It brings us closer to enlightenment. 2) The enlightened ones are pleased. 3) You get protection from anti-spiritual friends and spirits/demons. 4) Harmful behaviors will stop. 5) Your insight and realization of the paths and stages will increase. 6) Life after life you will be guided and protected. 7) You will not fall into the lower realms. 8) All your temporary (future lives) and permanent aims (enlightenment) will be achieved. ii. The disadvantages of not nor relying on or improperly following a spiritual guide 1) By insulting your guru, you insult the enlightened ones. 2) If the relationship has been damaged through anger it destroys eons of virtue. 3) Even with Vajrayana practice you can’t achieve anything. 4) Even with the most intensive Vajrayana practice you are simply creating the cause for rebirth in the hell. 5) Your prior spiritual development will decrease. 6) You will experience mental misery 7) You go towards a future in the lower realms. 8) Life after life you will never meet a spiritual guide. iii. How to treat the spiritual guide through the mind 1) The root practice of cultivating faith a) Why we should regard our spiritual master as a Buddha b) Why it is possible to regard our spiritual master as a Buddha c) How to regard our spiritual master as a Buddha i) Vajradhara affirmed that my spiritual master is a Buddha ii) The spiritual master is the agent for all Buddhas’activities iii Even nowadays Buddhas and bodhisattvas are acting on behalf of all sentient beings iv) Our are unreliable 2) Developing respect for the spiritual master by remembering his kindness a) Remember the spiritual master is kinder than all the Buddhas b) Remember his kindness of teaching dharma

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c) Remember his kindness in blessing our d) Remember his kindness in attracting us into his circle iv. How to treat the spiritual guide through action 1) Offering material things 2) Showing honor and respect 3) Following the instructions exactly c. Conclusion: dedication 2. What to do between meditation periods a. Consolidation b. Conditions for concentration and insight to develop B. How to train the mind from the basis of relying on a spiritual guide 1. Taking the essence out of life a. Embracing our life – recognizing our precious human life i. Eight leisures 1) Not being a hell-being 2) Not being a hungry ghost 3) Not being an animal 4) Not being a longevity god 5) Not being born in a place without dharma 6) Not being born in a place where you can’t practice 7) Not being mentally disabled 8) Not having wrong views 9) Ninth leisure ii. Ten opportunities or favorable conditions 1) Being a human being 2) Being born in a central region, where the dharma is flourishing 3) Having complete sensory faculties 4) Having reversible karma 5) Having faith in the sources 6) Being born in the time of the Buddha 7) Being born in a time that the teachings are available 8) Being born in a time that the teachings still remain 9) Being born in a time that practitioners of the dharma are available 10) Being born in a time that there is caring for others and results are available b. Understanding its value – contemplating the importance of this life i. Ultimate benefit ii. Temporary benefit iii. Moment to moment benefit c. Appreciating the rarity – contemplating how it is difficult to find i. By cause ii. By example iii. By nature 2. How to take the essence out of life a. Initial scope: training the mind in the stages of the path common with the lower level i. How to develop the motivation: seeking happiness for future lives 1) Mindfulness of death: facing death realistically a) The disadvantages of not remembering death i) Our mind won’t turn towards the dharma ii) Even we remember the dharma, we’ll fail to practice it iii) Even if we practice it won’t be a solid practice iv) There is no perseverance v) We will be ruined by focusing on this life vi) We will have regret at the time of death b) The advantages of remembering death i) Death meditation leaves the strongest imprint ii) It is a powerful antidote to attachment and anger iii) We will turn towards the dharma – important in the beginning

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iv) During the stages of development you won’t fall back – important in the middle v) We will attain the goal of enlightenment – important at the end vi) We will have no regret at the time of death c) The actual meditation on death i) The nine-round meditation on death (1) First root: death is definite (a) No power can stop it (b) We can’t add to the lifespan (c) Even while we live we don’t have time to practice (2) Second root: The time of death is uncertain (a) On the Southern continent there is no fixed lifespan (b) There are many more things that contribute to dying than to living (c) Our body is very fragile (3) Third root: At the time of death only the dharma is useful (a) Our possessions can’t help (b) Our family and friends can’t help (c) Even the body cannot help ii) Meditating on the aspects of death 2) The suffering of the lower realms a) The sufferings of a life in hell b) The suffering of a life as a hungry ghost c) The sufferings of a life as an animal ii. Actual method for achieving happiness in future lives 1) Going for refuge: taking a safe direction in life a) The causes for refuge b) Who to take refuge to: the objects of refuge i) Identifying the objects of refuge ii) Why the objects of refuge are fit for refuge c) How to take refuge i) Taking refuge by knowing the qualities of each of the Three Jewels ii) Taking refuge by knowing the distinctions within the Three Jewels iii) Taking refuge by accepting the objects of refuge iv) Taking refuge by not choosing false objects of refuge d) The benefits of taking refuge i) We become Buddhists ii) We establish the foundation for all vows iii) We can purify negative karma iv) We accumulate a great amount of merit v) We are protected from harm inflicted by humans and non-humans vi) We are prevented from taking rebirth in lower realms vii) All our temporary and ultimate wishes will be fulfilled viii) It helps us obtain enlightenment as quickly as possible e) The advices when having taken refuge i) General advices (1) Rely on a proper object of refuge (2) Discipline yourself (3) Have a compassion-oriented attitude (4) Remember Buddha, Dharma and Sangha ii) Advices concerning each of the Three Jewels in turn (1) Negative advices (a) Do not take refuge to worldly gods – Buddha (b) Avoid causing harm to other sentient beings – Dharma (c) Avoid getting influenced by non-virtuous or irreligious friends – Sangha (2) Positive advices (a) Pay respect to the Buddha (b) Pay respect to the Dharma

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(c) Pay respect to the Sangha iii) Advice concerning all Three Jewels in common (1) Take refuge repeatedly, remember the qualities of Buddha, dharma and sangha (2) Remember the kindness of Buddha, dharma and sangha and offer from your food (3) Encourage others to take refuge (4) Remember the benefits and take refuge three times each morning and each night (5) Rely on Buddha, dharma and sangha in all your activities (6) Do not give up the Three Jewels, not for the sake of life or merely as a joke 2) Karma: actions and their consequences a) Karma and its results in general i) The four general characteristics of karma (1) Karma is definite (2) Karma is fast-growing (3) We cannot meet with a karma that we did not perform (4) A karma that we did perform does not lose its power to bear fruit ii) Divisions of karma (1) Four constituents for a complete karma (a) The base (b) The thought (c) The actions (d) The completion (2) Black karma: the ten non-virtuous actions (a) The actual presentation of the non-virtuous actions (b) Factors that attribute to their heaviness or lightness (i) The nature of the action (ii) The thought or motivation (iii) The preliminary action (iv) The base (v) The frequency (vi) The absence of antidotes (c) The results of non-virtuous actions (i) Direct or ripened result (ii) Corresponding results (iii) Environmental results (3) White karma: the ten virtuous actions (a) The actual presentation of the white karmic paths (b) The results of the white karmic paths b) Some specific teachings - aside effects i) Four factors affecting the strength of the results ii) Throwing karma and completing karma iii) A higher rebirth with eight special attributes c) After thinking about actions and their consequences, how to practice i) General practice: behaving properly ii) Particular practice: Purification by the four powers (1) The power of the base or recognition or reliance (2) The power of regret (3) The power of non-repetition or restraint (4) The power of the antidote or redirection b. Medium scope: training the mind in the stages of the path common with the medium level c Mahayana scope: training the mind in the Mahayana stages of the path

I. A. 1. a. i. 1) a) i) (1) (a) (i)

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142 Lam Rim Teachings CHART 3

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ROOT TEXTS

The Three Principles of the Path – Lam gyi tso wo nam sum Je Tsongkhapa (Lozang Dragpa) [1357-1419]

Homage to the Great Masters 1. Heart of the Buddha’s teachings, Path praised by Bodhisattvas, Gateway to liberation, This I will explain as best I can. 2. Not addicted to samsara’s delights, Fulfilling the mission of this precious life, Pursuing the fully reliable path, Listen with a clear mind, you fortunate ones. 3. Lacking the determination to be free, You remain stupefied by samsara’s delights. Since obsession ropes all beings to samsara, First free yourself from it. 4. Wonderful is this life, short its nature. Don’t cheat yourself with fleeting pleasure. Deeply contemplate the certainty of karma And the constant suffering of samsara. See beyond the cycle of lives. 5. No longer craving fantasy, A steadfast desire for liberation, Attaining these two is the first breakthrough. 6. Seeking freedom for yourself alone Can never bring the exaltation of peerless Buddhahood. Therefore the wise develop bodhimind. 7. Swept away by four raging rivers, Tightly bound karmic chains, so hard to escape, Trapped in the iron cage of self-grasping, Shrouded by pitch-black ignorance, 8. Born again and again in endless cycles of life, Constantly tortured by the three sufferings, All our mothers are in this plight. Please generate ultimate compassion and love. 9. Without opening the wisdom eye Seeking freedom and generating bodhimind Cannot cut the root of samsara. Strive to see interdependence. 146 Lam Rim Teachings

10. Whoever sees that cause and effect Can never fail in samsara and beyond And destroys all Has entered the path that Buddha enjoys. 11. Interdependent appearance - infallible. Emptiness - inexpressible reality. As long as these two seem separate, Buddha’s insight is not understood. 12. Perceived simultaneously without alternation, Seeing infallible interdependence Destroys objective identity. With this, the analysis of wisdom is complete. 13. Further, appearance eliminates the extreme of existence. Emptiness eliminates non-existence. Emptiness itself is cause and effect. Understanding this protects from these extremes. 14. Once you understand the essence of the three principles, Maintain solitude and great enthusiasm, my child, And quickly achieve the ultimate mission of life. Translation Jewel Heart, version August 6, 2002

The Foundation of All Perfections A petition to the lineage gurus for instant realization of the stages on the spiritual path Je Tsongkhapa [1357-1419] The foundations of the path 1. Following a kind master, foundation of all perfections, Is the very root and basis of the path. Empower me to see this clearly And to make every effort to follow well. 2. Precious human life, gained but once, Has great potential but is easily lost. Empower me to remember this constantly And to think day and night of taking its essence. The practice common to the lower level 3. I must remember that death is quick to strike, For spirit quivers in flesh like a bubble in water And after death one’s good and evil deeds Trail after one like the shadow trails the body. 4. Understanding that this most certainly is true, May I discard every level of wrong And generate an infinite mass of goodness. Empower me to be thus continually aware. The practice common to the medium level 5. Sensual gluttony is a gate to suffering And is not worthy of a lucid mind.

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Empower me to realize the shortcomings of samsara And to give birth to the great wish for blissful freedom. 6. And empower me that with mindfulness and alertness Born from thoughts ultimately pure, I may live in accord with the holy Dharma, The way leading to personal liberation. The practice of the Mahayana level 7. Just as I myself have fallen into samsara’s waters, So have all other sentient beings. Empower me to see this and really to practice Bodhimind, that carries the weight of freeing them. 8. Yet without habituation in the three moralities, Thought-training accomplishes no enlightenment. Empower me to know this deeply, and intensely to train In the various ways of the great bodhisattvas. 9. And empower me to pacify distorted mental wanderings And to decipher the ultimate meaning of life. That I may give birth within my mindstream To the path combining concentration and wisdom. Entering into tantric practice: 10. One who trains in these common Mahayana practices Becomes a vessel worthy of the supreme vehicle, Vajrayana. Empower me that I may quickly and easily Arrive at that portal of fortunate beings. 11. The foundation of what then produces the two powers, Is the guarding of the pledges and commitments of tantric initiation. Bless me so that I may have uncontrived knowledge of this And guard my discipline as I do my very life. 12. And bless me so that I may gain realization of the main practices Of the two stages of Vajrayana, essence of the tantric path; And, by sitting relentlessly in four daily sessions of yoga, Actualize just what the sages have taught. The dedication 13. Empower me that the masters who have unfolded the sublime path within me, And the spiritual friends who have inspired me, may live long; And that the myriads of inner and outer interferences Be completely and utterly calmed forever. 14. In all future lives may I never be parted From the perfect lamas or the pure ways of Dharma. May I gain every experience of the paths and stages And quickly attain the stage of Vajradhara. Translation Glenn H. Mullin

148 Lam Rim Teachings Odyssey To Freedom in 64 Steps - by Gehlek Rimpoche 1 Create a sacred environment. 2 Arrange symbolic offerings. 3 Position body and mind. 4 Envision Supreme Field. 5 Express praise, entreat qualities. 6 Present symbolic and boundless imagined offerings. 7 Purify all that is negative. 8 Rejoice in all that is positive. 9 Seek guidance. 10 Request to remain. 11 Dedicate effort. 12 Ask for inspiration and blessings. 13 Acknowledge the spiritual master. 14 Investigate qualities of the spiritual master. 15 Reflect on qualities of the student. 16 Cultivate pure relationship. 17 Embrace human life. 18 Understand its value. 19 Appreciate the rarity. 20 Face the inevitability of death. 21 Thus all created phenomena are impermanent 22 Realize death’s time is uncertain. 23 Wonder what happens after death. 24 Contemplate Bardo. 25 Avoid hell rebirth. 26 Avoid hungry ghost rebirth. 27 Avoid animal realm rebirth 28 Remember limitations of human rebirth. 29 Avoid demigod rebirth. 30 Avoid samsaric god rebirth. 31 Know what can help and harm in life and death. 32 Take refuge.

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33 Consider: Positive actions bring positive results. 34 Consider: Negative actions bring negative consequences. 35 Recognize suffering. 36 Thus all contaminated phenomena are suffering 37 Determine causes of suffering. 38 Seek liberation. 39 Thus all phenomena are Empty 40 Nirvana is peace 41 Expand your scope. 42 Cherish others. 43 Foster Love. 44 Ripen Compassion. 45 Commit wholeheartedly. 46 Aspire to Enlightenment. 47 This great mind is the doorway. 48 Be generous. 49 Embody discipline 50 Practice patience. 51 Persevere. 52 This completes the Path of Accumulation 53 Remember concentration. 54 This completes the Path of Action 55 Engage wisdom. 56 This completes the Path of Seeing 57 Celebrate the quality and rarity of Vajrayana. 58 Rely upon the Vajra master, enter Vajrayana. 59 Uphold vows and commitments. 60 Practice in Generation Stage. 61 This completes the Path of Meditation 62 Perfect in Completion stage. 63 This completes the Path of No More Learning 64 Enjoy the Freedom of Ultimate Union

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Lines of Experience The abbreviated Points of the Graded Path, Lam rim bsdus don, by Je Tsongkhapa Namo Guru Manjugoshaya Paying homage to the lineage of gurus 1. I prostrate before you, Buddha, Head of the Sakya Clan. Your enlightened body is born out of tens of millions of positive virtues and the perfect accomplishments. Your enlightened speech grants the wishes of limitless beings. Your enlightened mind sees all knowables as they are. 2. I prostrate before you, Maitreya and Manjushri, supreme spiritual sons of this peerless teacher. Assuming responsibility to further all Buddha’s enlightened deeds, you sport emanations to countless worlds. 3. I prostrate before your feet, Nagarjuna and Asanga, embellishments of our Southern Continent. Highly famed throughout the Three Realms, you have commented on the most difficult to fathom ‘Mother of the Buddhas’ according to exactly what was intended. 4. I bow down to [you], Dipamkara Atisha, holder of a treasure of instructions, as seen in your ‘Lamp for the Pathway to Enlightenment’. All the complete, unmistaken points concerning the paths of profound view and widespread action, transmitted intact from these two great forerunners, can be included within it. 5. Respectfully I prostrate before my own (two) spiritual masters. You are the eyes allowing disciples to behold all of the infinite scriptural pronouncements, the best food for those of good fortune to cross to Liberation. You make everything clear through your skilful deeds which are moved by intense loving concern. The exceptional qualifications of the Lamrim tradition: 6. The stages of the path to Enlightenment have been transmitted intact by those who have followed in order both from Nagarjuna and Asanga, those crowning jewels of all erudite masters of our Southern Continent, and the banner of whose fame stands out above the masses. As following these stages can fulfill every desirable aim of all nine kinds of beings, they are a power- granting king of precious instruction. Because they collect the streams of thousands of excellent classics, they are indeed an ocean of illustrious, correct explanation. 7. Atisha’s text makes it easy to understand how there is nothing incompatible in all Buddha’s teachings, and makes every scriptural pronouncement, without exception, dawn on our mind as a personal guideline. It makes it easy to discover what Buddha intended and protects you as well from the abyss of ‘the great mistake’. Because of these four benefits, what discriminating person among the erudite masters of India and Tibet will not have his or her mind be completely taken by these stages of the path,

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arranged according to three levels of motivation, the supreme instructions to which many fortunate ones have devoted themselves. 8. Although there is much merit to be gained from listening to or reciting even once this brief manner of Atisha’s text in which can be included the essential points of all the scriptural pronouncements, yet it is certain that you will amass even greater waves of beneficial collections from actually teaching and studying the sacred Dharma containing within. Therefore you should consider the points for doing this properly. The importance of relying upon a spiritual master: 9. Then after (having taken refuge), you should see that the root cause excellently propitious for as great a mass of good fortune as possible for this and future lives is proper, zealous devotion in thoughts and actions to your sacred Guru who shows you the path to Enlightenment. Thus you should please him by offering your practice of exactly what he says, which you would not forsake even at the cost of your life. I, the yogi, have practiced just that. If you would also seek Liberation, please cultivate yourself in the same way. The practices of the lowest scope of spiritual application: 10. This working basis of a human form endowed with liberties is superior to a wish-granting gem. Moreover, such is only obtained this very one time. Difficult to acquire and easily lost, it passes in a flash like lightning in the sky. Considering how easily this can happen at any time and realizing that all worldly activities are as immaterial as chaff, you must try to take advantage of its essential significance at all times, day and night. I, the yogi, have practiced just that. If you would also seek Liberation, please cultivate yourself in the same way. 11. After death, there is no assurance that you will not be reborn in one of the three unfortunate states. Nevertheless, it is certain that the Three Jewels of Refuge have the power to protect you from their terrors. For this reason, your taking of refuge should be extremely solid and you should follow its advice without ever letting your commitments weaken. Moreover, your success in so doing depends on your considering thoroughly which are the black or the white karmic actions together with their results, and then living according to the guides of what is to be adopted or rejected. I, the yogi, have practiced just that. If you would seek Liberation, please cultivate yourself in the same way. 12. The fullest strides of progress in actualising the supreme paths will not come about unless you have attained a working basis of an ideal human body that is complete with all eight ripened favourable qualities. Therefore you must train in the causal virtuous actions that will preclude your attainment of such a form from being incomplete. Furthermore, as it is extremely essential to cleanse away the stains of black karmic debts and downfalls from broken vows tarnishing the three gateways of your body, speech and mind, and es- pecially to remove your karmic obstacles which would prevent such a rebirth, you should cherish continually devoting yourself

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to applying the complete set of four opponent powers which can purge you of them. I, the yogi, have practiced just that. If you would also seek Liberation, please cultivate yourself in the same way. The Practices of the intermediate scope: 13. If you do not make an effort to think about true sufferings and their drawbacks, you will not properly develop a keen interest to work for Liberation. If you do not consider the stages whereby true origins of all suffering place and keep you in cyclic existence, you will not know the means for cutting the root of this vicious circle. Therefore you should cherish exuding total disgust and renunciation of such existence, while knowing which factors bind you to its wheel. I, the yogi, have practiced just that. If you would also seek Liberation, please cultivate yourself in the same way. The general practices of the man of highest scope [Mahayana]: 14. Ever-enhancing your Enlightened Motive of Bodhicitta is the mainstay for the Supreme Vehicle’s path. It is the basis and foundation for great waves of altruistic conduct to bring you to Enlightenment. Like a gold-making elixir, it turns everything you do into the two collections, building up a treasure of merit gathered from infinitely collected virtues. Knowing this, the Bodhisattvas have held this supreme precious mind as their innermost mental bond. I, the yogi, have practiced just that. If you would also seeks Liberation, please cultivate yourself in the same way. In particular, the six paramitas: 15. Generosity is the wish-granting gem by which you can fulfill the hopes of sentient beings. It is the best weapon for cutting the knot of miserliness. It is the altruistic conduct which enhances your self-confidence and undaunted courage to help everyone towards Enlightenment. It is the basis for your good reputation to be proclaimed in the ten directions. Knowing this, the wise have devoted themselves to the excellent path of completely giving away their body, possessions and merit. I, the yogi, have practiced just that. If you would also seek Liberation, please cultivate yourself in the same way. 16. Moral discipline is the water to wash away the stains of faulty actions. It is the ray of moonlight to cool the scorching heat of the delusions. It makes you radiant like a mount Meru in the midst of the nine kind of beings. By its power, you are able to bend all beings to your good influence without recourse to mesmerizing glares. Knowing this, the holy ones have safeguarded, as they would their eyes, the rules they have accepted to keep purely. I, the yogi, have practiced just that. If you would also seek Liberation, please cultivate yourself in the same way. 17. Patience is the best adornment to wear for those with power and the perfect ascetic practice for those tormented by delusions. It is the high-soaring eagle as the enemy of the snake of anger, and the thickest armor against the weapons of abusive language.

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Knowing this, the wise have accustomed themselves, in various ways and forms, to the armor of supreme patience. I, the yogi, have practiced just that. If you would also seek Liberation, please cultivate yourself in the same way. 18. Once you wear the armor of resolute and irreversible enthusiastic perseverance, your expertise in the scriptures and insights will increase like the waxing moon. You will make all your actions meaningful for attaining Enlightenment and will bring whatever you undertake to its intended conclusion. Knowing this, the Bodhisattvas have exerted great waves of joyous effort, washing away all laziness. I, the yogi, have practiced just that. If you would also seek Liberation, please cultivate yourself in the same way. 19. Meditative concentration is the king wielding power over the mind. If you fix it on one point, it remains there immovable like a mighty Mount Meru. If you project it, it can permeate any virtuous object at will. It leads to the great exhilarating bliss of having your body and mind be applicable to any virtuous task. Knowing this, the of mental control have devoted themselves continuously to single-minded concentration which overcomes the enemies of mental wandering and dullness. I, the yogi, have practiced just that. If you would also seek Liberation, please cultivate yourself in the same way. 20. Discriminating awareness is the eye with which to behold profound Voidness and the path by which to uproot ignorance, the source of cyclic existence. It is the treasure of the genius praised in all the scriptural pronouncements and is renowned as the supreme lamp that eliminates the darkness of the closed-mindedness. Knowing this, the wise who have wished Liberation have advanced themselves along this path with every effort. I, the yogi, have practiced just that. If you would also seek Liberation, please cultivate yourself in the same way. The practice of concentration and wisdom combined: 21. In a state of merely single-pointed meditative concentration, you do not have the insight which gives you the ability to cut the root of cyclic existence. Moreover, devoid of a path of mental quiescence, discriminating awareness by itself cannot turn back the delusions, no matter how much you analyze them. Therefore, on the horse of unwavering mental quiescence, the masters have mounted the discriminating awareness that is totally decisive about how things exist. Then with the sharp weapon of the Middle Path , devoid of extremes, they have used wide-ranging discriminating awareness to analyze properly and destroy all underlying supports for their cognitions aimed at grasping for extremes. In this way they have expanded their intelligence which has realized Voidness. I, the yogi, have practiced just that. If you would also seek Liberation, please cultivate yourself in the same way. 22. Once you have achieved single-minded concentration through accustoming yourself to single-pointedness of mind, your examination then of individual phenomena with a proper analysis

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should itself enhance your single-minded concentration settle extremely firmly, without any wavering, on the actual way in which all things exist. Seeing this, the zealous have marvelled at the attainment of a union of mental quiescence and penetrative insight. Is there need to mention that you should pray to attain one as well? I, the yogi, have practiced just that. If you would also seek Liberation, please cultivate yourself in the same way. 23. Having achieved such a union you should meditate both on space-like Voidness while completely absorbed in your meditation sessions and on illusion-like Voidness when you subsequently arise. By doing this you will, through the union of methods and awareness, become praised as someone perfecting the Bodhisattvas’ Conduct. Realising this, those with the good fortune to have attained Enlightenment have made it their custom never to be content with partial paths. I, the yogi, have practiced just that. If you would also seek Liberation, please cultivate yourself in the same way. Entering into Vajrayana practice: 24. Renunciation, an Enlightened Motive and a correct view of Voidness are necessary in common for achieving supreme paths through either of the two Mahayana Vehicles of practising causes for Enlightenment or simulating now the results you will achieve. Therefore once you have properly developed like this these three principles paths, you should rely on the skilful captain of a fully qualified Tantric Master as your protector and set out on this latter, speedier, vehicle across the vast ocean of the four classes of tantra. Those who have done so and devoted themselves to his or her guideline instructions, have made their attainment of a human body with all liberties and endowments, have its full meaning by achieving enlightenment in their very lives. I, the yogi, have practiced just that. If you would also seek Liberation, please cultivate yourself in the same way. The dedication: 25. In order to accustom this to my own mind and also to benefit others as well who have the good fortune to meet with a true Guru and be able to practice what he or she teaches, I have explained here in easily understandable words the complete path pleasing to the Buddhas. I pray that the merit from this may cause all sentient beings never to be parted from these pure and excellent paths. I, the yogi, have offered prayers just for that. If you would also seek Liberation, please offer prayers in the same way.

This concluded ‘The Abbreviated Points of the Graded Path to Enlightenment’, compiled in brief so that they may not be forgotten. It has been written at Geden Nampar Gyelwai Monastery on Drog Riwochey Mountain, Tibet, by the Buddhist monk, Lozang Dragpa, a meditator who has heard many teachings.

Translation: Robert F. Thurman

Appendices: Root Texts 155

Lamrim – Kurzfassung für die Praxis – Je Tsongkhapa Lamrim Dudon136 1. Verehrt sei der König aus dem Sakya-Geschlecht, Dessen Körper aus Millionen hervorragender Qualitäten geschaffen ist, Dessen Worte die Wünsche unzähliger Lebewesen erfüllen, Und dessen Geist alle Existenz sieht, wie sie ist! 2. Verehrt seien Maitreya und Manjushri, Die größten Söhne dieses unvergleichlichen Lehrers, Die alle Aufgaben des Buddha auf sich genommen haben Und in den verschiedensten Arten der Verkörperung an unzähligen Orten wirken. 3. Verehrt seien Nagarjuna und Asanga, Allbekannt in den Drei Bereichen und Zierden von Jambudvipa, Die den Sinn der schwer zu ergründenden erklärten, wie er ist. 4. Verehrt sei Atisha, Schatzhalter unverfälschter, vollständiger und essentieller Unterweisungen Über den Weg der tiefen Sicht und der weiten Handlung, Die wohl überliefert sind von den Pionieren Nagarjuna und Asanga. 5. Verehrt seien alle Lehrer, Die das Auge sind, das Wort des Buddha zu erkennen, Die den Weg zur Befreiung für die karmisch Begünstigten darstellen Und die durch geschickte Mittel und Mitgefühl das Wort des Buddha klar darlegen. 6. Lamrim, der Stufenweg zur Erleuchtung, Tradiert von Nagarjuna und Asanga, Den beiden Kronjuwelen aller Gelehrten dieser Welt, Deren Ruhmesbanner über allen Lebewesen weht, Ist die höchste Unterweisung - der König aller Wunschjuwele Da er die Wünsche der Wesen vollständig zu erfüllen vermag, Und ein Ozean guter Erklärungen, da tausend Flüsse überragender Werke darin zusammenströmen. 7. Lamrim läßt die Lehre widerspruchsfrei erkennen, Und die gesamten Schriften als Unterweisung erscheinen, Läßt die Gedanken des Buddha mühelos erfassen Und schützt überdies vor dem tiefen Abgrund schwerer Vergehen. Daher ist Lamrim die höchste Unterweisung, Auf die sich viele karmisch begünstigte Wesen unter den indischen und tibetischen Weisen stützen. Wo gibt es einen Klugen, dessen Geist nicht hingerissen wäre von den Drei Wesen des Lamrim? 8. Bedenke, durch nur einmaliges Rezitieren oder Hören dieser Essenz aller Schriften, Erwirbt man ebenso umfassende Verdienste Wie durch Hören oder Erteilen ausführlicher Dharma-Unterweisungen. 9. Um nun ein Fundament guter Zeichen für jegliche Art von Wohlergehen in diesem und auch in späteren Leben zu legen, Ist es von großer Bedeutung, auf richtige Axt und Weise

136 Transliteration: lam rim bdus don

156 Lam Rim Teachings

- mit aller Kraft im Denken und im Tun - Einem wegweisenden, verehrungswürdigen Lehrer zu folgen. Wenn du dies erkannt hast, dann erfreue ihn dadurch, völlig seinen Worten gemäß zu handeln Und ihn auch dann nicht aufzugeben, wenn es um dein Leben ginge. Ich, ein Yogi, habe so praktiziert; Mögest du, der nach Befreiung strebt, genauso praktizieren! 10. Das menschliche , das zu erlangen beinahe einmalig ist, Schwer zu erreichen und Vergänglich wie ein Blitz am Himmel, Ist höher zu schätzen als ein wunscherfüllendes Juwel. Hast du diese Tatsache erkannt und begriffen, daß alles weltliche Tun dem Hochwerfen von Spreu in die Luft gleicht, Dann gib Tag und Nacht dem Leben einen Sinn. Ich, ein Yogi, habe so praktiziert; Mögest du, der nach Befreiung strebt, genauso praktizieren! 11. Es gibt keine Gewißheit darüber, nach dem Tod nicht in eine schlechte Wiedergeburt zu geraten, Vor deren Schrecken nur die Drei Juwelen wahren Schutz bieten. Festige daher vertrauensvoll deine Zuflucht und verletze nicht deren Gebote! Da alle karmische Frucht von der Art deiner Handlungen abhängt, Bedenke wohl die Folgen einer jeden deiner Taten. Ich, ein Yogi, habe so praktiziert; Mögest du, der nach Befreiung strebt, genauso praktizieren! 12. Solange du kein vollkommenes menschliches Dasein gefunden hast, um höchste Dharma-Praxis auszuüben, Solange wird kein großer Fortschritt zustandekommen. Versuche daher, die Voraussetzungen für ein solches Dasein zu schaffen. Um die Drei Tore von Vergehen und Verstößen zu reinigen, ist es von größter Wichtigkeit, die karmischen Verblendungen zu beseitigen. Praktiziere darum ständig und vollständig die Vier Kräfte! Ich, ein Yogi, habe so praktiziert; Mögest du, der nach Befreiung strebt, genauso praktizieren! 13. Wenn du dir nicht die Mühe machst, das Leiden zu erkennen, Dann entsteht nicht der wahre Wunsch nach Befreiung. Wenn du nicht begreifst, daß die Ursache des Leidens das Tor zu Samsara darstellt, Dann wirst du nicht erkennen, wie du die Wurzel von Samsara durchschneiden sollst. Daher ist es wichtig, daß Überdruß und Entsagung gegenüber Samsara entstehen und zu erkennen, was die Wesen daran fesselt. Ich, ein Yogi, habe so praktiziert; Mögest du, der nach Befreiung strebt, genauso praktizieren! 14. Die Verwirklichung von Bodhicitta ist die tragende Säule des Mahayana-Weges, Ist Grund und Stütze für überragende Taten, Ist alchemistisches Prinzip für beide Arten der Ansammlung Und die Schatzquelle umfassender Verdienste. Nachdem die heldenhaften Bodhisattvas dies erkannt hatten, machten sie Bodhicitta zu ihrer essentiellen Praxis. Ich, ein Yogi, habe so praktiziert; Mögest du, der nach Befreiung strebt, genauso praktizieren!

Appendices: Root Texts 157

15. Freigebigkeit ist das Juwel, das die Wünsche der Wesen zu erfüllen vermag, Ist die schärfste Waffe, um den Knoten des Geizes zu durchschlagen, Ist eine Bodhisattva-Tat, die allen Mut verleiht Und die Melodie, Ruhm in alle zehn Richtungen zu verbreiten. Nachdem die Weisen dies erkannt hatten, machten sie sich zur Gewohnheit, Körper, Reichtümer und Verdienste ganz zu verschenken. Ich, ein Yogi, habe so praktiziert; Mögest du, der nach Befreiung strebt, genauso praktizieren! 16. Ethische Disziplin ist das Wasser, das den Schmutz übler Taten hinwegwäscht, Ist das kühlende Mondlicht, das die Qual der Hitze der beseitigt; Läßt die Menschen herausragen, wie Berg Meru unter den Bergen herausragt, Macht sie verehrungswürdig und wehrt alle negativen Kräfte ab. Nachdem die vollkommenen Wesen dies erkannt hatten, hüteten sie dieses makellose Gesetz wie ihr eigenes Auge. Ich, ein Yogi, habe so praktiziert; Mögest du, der nach Befreiung strebt, genauso praktizieren! 17. Geduld ist der kostbarste Schmuck für die mit Kraft Versehenen, Ist die beste Askese für die von den Kleshas Gepeinigten, Ist der Garuda für die feindliche Schlange des Zorns Und der feste Panzer gegen die Waffe rauher Worte. Nachdem die Weisen dies erkannt hatten, gewöhnten sie sich an die Rüstung höchster Geduld auf viele Arten und Weisen. Ich, ein Yogi, habe so praktiziert; Mögest du, der nach Befreiung strebt, genauso praktizieren! 18. Hat man die Rüstung unbeirrbarer und beharrlicher Bemühungen angelegt, Dann wächst die Weisheit, die auf Lernen und Erkennen beruht, wie der zunehmende Mond. Alles, was man tut, wird mit Sinn versehen sein, Und was immer man begonnen hat, kommt wunschgemäß zu Ende. Nachdem die Bodhisattvas dies erkannt hatten, Übten sie sich in Fleiß - frei von jeglicher Faulheit. Ich, ein Yogi, habe so praktiziert; Mögest du, der nach Befreiung strebt, genauso praktizieren! 19. Samadhi ist der König, der den Geist beherrscht; Läßt man ihn ruhen, ist er unbewegt wie Berg Meru, Läßt man ihn los, wendet er sich allen Objekten positiver Vorstellung zu Und bringt die Glückseligkeit, die aus der Beherrschung von Körper und Geist ensteht. Nachdem die höchsten der Yogis dies erkannt hatten, Praktizierten sie ständig Samadhi, der den Feind namens Zerstreutheit besiegt. Ich, ein habe so praktiziert; Mögest du, der nach Befreiung strebt, genauso praktizieren! 20. Tiefe Weisheit ist das Auge, das die Leerheit erblickt, Ist der Weg zur endgültigen Vernichtung der Wurzeln von Samsara, Ist der Schatz aller Vorzüge, der in den Schriften gepriesen wird, Und bekannt als die strahlendste Lampe, um die Nacht der Unwissenheit zu erhellen. Nachdem die Weisen dies erkannt hatten, verwirklichten sie unter großen Anstrengungen diesen Weg. Ich, ein Yogi, habe so praktiziert; Mögest du, der nach Befreiung strebt, genauso praktizieren.

158 Lam Rim Teachings

21. Einsgerichteter Samadhi allein ist nicht imstande, die Wurzeln von Samsara zu durchschneiden; In gleicher Weise kann Weisheit ohne Shamatha die Kleshas nicht beseitigen, wie sehr man auch analysieren mag. Wenn der Reiter der Weisheit – unbeirrbar im Seinszustand – auf dem Pferde unerschütterlichen Shamathas sitzt, vernichtet er mit der scharfen Waffe des Intellekts der – des Mittleren Weges – Alles Festhalten an extremer Vorstellung. Das umfassende Wissen, das durch die rechte Analyse entstanden ist, Erweitert das geistige Vermögen, die Leerheit zu erkennen. Ich, ein Yogi, habe so praktiziert; Mögest du, der nach Befreiung strebt, genauso praktizieren! 22. Durch die Übung einsgerichteter Konzentration erreicht man natürlicherweise Samadhi; Aber auch durch korrekte Analyse und differenzierte Erkenntnis, Indem man unbeirrt und unbeeinflußt im Seinszustand verweilt, kann Samadhi entstehen. Meine Bewunderung gilt denen, die das erkannten und daher Shamatha und Vipashyana gemeinsam zu verwirklichen suchen. Ich, ein Yogi, habe so praktiziert; Mögest du, der nach Befreiung strebt, genauso praktizieren! 23. Mein höchstes Lob gilt denen, die über die beiden Leerheiten – über die raumgleiche Leerheit im versunkenen Zustand und Über illusionskörpergleiche Leerheit im Wachzustand – meditierten Und durch die Vereinigung von Weisheit und Methode über die Paramitas der Bodhisattvas hinausgelangten. Daher erzeugt der nur einseitige Weg Unzufriedenheit in denen, die Befreiung suchen. Ich, ein Yogi, habe so praktiziert; Mögest du, der nach Befreiung strebt, genauso praktizieren! 24. Wenn man den allgemeinen Weg verwirklicht hat, der für die beiden höchsten Wege – Sutra und Tantra – nötig ist, Und man mit Hilfe eines guten Kapitäns auf das große Meer der Schriften hinausfährt, Dann hat das menschliche Dasein aufgrund der vollkommenen Unterweisungen einen Sinn erlangt. Ich, ein Yogi, habe so praktiziert; Mögest du, der nach Befreiung strebt, genauso praktizieren! 25. Um den eigenen Geist daran zu gewöhnen und um für die anderen Begünstigten hilfreich zu sein, Habe ich den vollständigen Weg, der die Buddhas erfreut, mit einfachen Worten erklärt. Mögen alle Wesen durch dieses Verdienst niemals getrennt sein von dem reinen und vollkommenen Weg! Dafür habe ich, ein Yogi, gebetet, Auch du, der nach Befreiung strebt, bete dafür!

Kolophon: Diese Praxisanweisung für den Weg zur Erleuchtung ist in knapper Notizform verfaßt von einem, der viel gehört und gelesen hat, dem zurückgezogenen Mönch Lobsang Drakpa, im Kloster Drok Ribo Che, Ganden Nampar Gyalba. Translation: Panglung Rinpoche

Appendices: Root Texts 159

Seeking Inspiration to Realize the Stages of the Lam Rim – from Lama Chöpa Guru devotion as root of all development 50 Precious Lama, supreme field of good fortune, Root of all goodness and joy, my Protector, By the power of my offerings, respect, and prayers, Gladly bless me with your care. Generating interest in future lives 51 Knowing that life’s liberties and opportunities Are found but once and quickly lost, Inspire me to grasp life’s essential meaning And not be distracted by pointless activities. Method of achieving fortunate future lives 52 Aghast at the searing blaze of suffering in the lower realms, I take heartfelt refuge in the Three Jewels. Inspire me to intensify my efforts To practice virtue and abandon vice. Generating interest in self-liberation 53 Violently tossed by waves of addiction and karma, Devoured by three sea-dragon sufferings, Inspire me to develop the fierce determination to be free From this endless fearsome ocean of samsara. Method of achieving fortunate future lives 54 Having ceased to view this unbearable prison Of cyclic existence as a pleasure grove, Inspire me to raise the victory banner of freedom, By practicing the Three Higher Trainings, the treasure of extraordinary beings. Developing bodhicitta 55 Recognizing that all suffering beings are my mothers, Who have raised me in kindness again and again, Inspire me to develop authentic compassion, Like a mother’s love for her only child. 56 No one wants even the slightest suffering, Or is ever content with the happiness they have; In this we are all alike. Inspire me to find joy in making others happy. 57 Seeing that the chronic disease of self-cherishing Is the cause of my unwanted suffering, Inspire me to put the blame where blame is due And vanquish the great demon of clinging to self. 58 Cherishing beings and securing their happiness Is the gateway that leads to infinite excellence. Inspire me to hold others more dear than my life, Even when I see them as enemies. 59 In short, the naive work for their aims alone; While Buddhas work solely to benefit others. Having weighed the faults against the benefits, Inspire me to be able to exchange myself with others. 60 Since cherishing myself is the doorway to all downfalls, And cherishing others is the foundation of everything good,

160 Lam Rim Teachings

Inspire me to practice from my heart The yoga of exchanging self and others. 61 Therefore, supremely compassionate Lama, Inspire me to take the bad deeds, imprints, and sufferings Of all beings to ripen upon me right now, And to give to them my happiness and virtue So that all beings may be happy.(x3) Remaining Lojong points 62 Even if the world and its beings, filled with the results of negative actions, Pour down a rain of unwanted suffering, Inspire me to take these miserable conditions as a path, Knowing that this burns away my negative karma. 63 In short, whether conditions seem favorable or unfavorable, Inspire me to make a habit of happiness, By increasing the two types of Bodhimind Through practicing of the five forces, essence of all . 64 Whatever happens, may I use meditation at once, Applying the skillful methods of the four techniques. Inspire me to take advantage of this fortunate life By practicing the commitments and precepts of training the mind. Wishing form of spirit of enlightenment 65 ‘Give and Take’ mounted on the breath is the magic device Bringing love, compassion, and the special mind. To save all beings from this world’s great ocean. Please bless me to awaken true Bodhimind. Actual spirit of enlightenment 66 Restraining the mind with Bodhisattva vows Is the one path traveled by Buddhas of all three times. Inspire me to strive sincerely to practice The three moral disciplines of the Mahayana. The Paramitas 67 Inspire me to perfect transcendent generosity, Through improving the mind that gives without attachment, Transforming my body, wealth, and good deeds from all time Into whatever each being desires. 68 Inspire me to perfect transcendent moral discipline, By keeping, even at the cost of my life, My self-liberation, Bodhisattva, and Vajrayana vows, And by collecting good deeds and helping others. 69 Inspire me to perfect transcendent patience, Even if all the beings of the world Become abusive, critical, threaten, or even kill me, Undisturbed I will work for their benefit. 70 Inspire me to perfect transcendent joyous effort, By striving with tireless compassion for supreme enlightenment, Even if I must remain for many eons In the deepest hell fires for the sake of each being. 71 Inspire me to perfect transcendent concentration, By abandoning mental sinking, wandering, and excitement, And meditating in single-pointed absorption On the true nature of reality – emptiness.

Appendices: Root Texts 161

72 Inspire me to perfect transcendent wisdom, Through practicing space-like yoga in equipoise on the ultimate, Joining the bliss of supple ecstasy With the insight that discriminates what is. 73 Inspire me to complete the perfection of illusion-like aftermath, Realizing inner and outer phenomena lack true existence, Yet still appear, like an illusion, a dream, Or the reflection of a moon on a clear lake. 74 Inspire me to understand Nagarjuna’s meaning, That there is no contradiction, but rather harmony Between the unfailing interdependence of cause and effect And lack of inherent existence in this world and beyond. Vajrayana 75 Inspire me to embark on the swirling ocean of tantra Through the kindness of my navigator, the Vajra -holder, And to cherish more than my life My vows and commitments, roots of attainment. Generation stage 76 Inspire me to practice the first stage, the simulated yoga That transforms birth, death, and bardo into the three Buddha bodies, So that when ordinary perception and conception become pure, Whatever arises may manifest as my Yidam. Completion stage 77 As you place your feet, oh Glorious Protector, At the very center of my heart’s eight petals, Inspire me to actualize in this very life The paths of clear light, illusion body, and their union. Forceful transference of consciousness 78 If my death should come before I enter the path, Bless me to reach a Pure Land Through applying the instructions on the five powers, The supremely forceful method of transference to buddhahood. To be the first disciple 79 From birth to birth, please bless me, oh Protector, Never to be separated from your loving care, And, as the foremost of your disciples, To hold every secret of your body, speech, and mind. To be among principle disciples 80 Grant me the good fortune to be the first in your circle Wherever you manifest as a Buddha, And to accomplish spontaneously, without effort, All temporal and ultimate needs and wishes.

Translation: Jewel Heart

LITERATURE

I Sanskrit and Tibetan Works Aryadeva, Four Hundred Verses, Skt. Catuhsataka Translation by Karen Lang in Aryadeva’s Catuhsataka; on the bodhisattva’s cultivation of merit and knowledge. Copenhagen: Akademisk Forlag, 1986. Translation and commentary by Gyeltsab Je in: Sonam Rinchen Geshe, Yogic Deeds of Bodhisattvas, Ithaca: Snow Lion Publ, 1994. Aryasura [also see: Asvaghosa] Jatakamala. Translation: Marvelous Companion: Life Stories of the Buddha. Dharma Publ. 1983. Translations: Jatakamala or Garland of Birth Stories, Laurier Books 2000. Asanga, [also see: Maitreya]. Bodhisattvabhumi Translation of a chapter: Willis, Janice Dean, On Knowing Reality: The Tattvartha Chapter of Asanga’s Bodhisattvabhumi. New York: Columbia University Press, 1979. Asvaghosa. [=Aryasura]. The Buddhakarita Translation in: Müller, Max ed. Sacred Books of the East. Volume 49: Buddhist Mahayana Texts. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass 1988. Translation by E.H. Johnston, The Buddhacarita or Acts of the Buddha. Delhi: Motilal Barnasidass, 1992 Translation by Edward Conzé in: Buddhist Scriptures, selected and translated by Edward Conze, Penguin Classics, London: 1959. Asvaghosa[=Aryasura]. Fifty verses of Guru-devotion. Translation by Alexander Berzin and with commentary by Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey in: Wangchung Dorje, the ninth Karmapa, The Mahamudra eliminating the darkness of ignorance, supplemented by Asvaghosa’s Fifty stanzas of Guru devotion. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1978. With commentary of Je Tsongkhapa, transl. : Tsongkhapa, The Fulfillment of All Hopes; Guru Devotion in Tibetan Buddhism, Boston, Wisdom Publ. 1999. Asvaghosa, [=Aryasura]. Jatakamala Translation in: Speyer, J.S. The Jatakamala or Garland of Birth Stories of Aryasura. Delhi: Motilal Barnasidass 1975. Atisha [982-1055]. A Lamp on the Path to Enlightenment; Skt. Bodhipathapradipa, Tib. Byang chub lam gyi sgron ma, commonly known as Lam don. Translation [source not mentioned] in Jewel Heart Meditations vol. II, part. I: The Indian Masters, as: A Lamp for the Path to Purified Growth, p. 89-99. Malaysia: The Dharma House Society. Translation by Losang Norbu Tsonawa & Andy White in: Dreloma IX-X, Drepung Loseling Magazine. With auto-commentary of Atisha: annotated translation by Sherburne S.J., Richard. A Lamp for the Path and Commentary, by Atisha. Wisdom of Tibet series-5. London: Allen and Unwin, 1983. With commentary: Sonam Rinchen, Geshe, Atisha’s Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publ. 1997. With commentary in: Tenzin Gyatso, 14th D L, Illuminating the Path to Enlightenment, Long Beach: TLD Publ. 2002. Atisha [982-1055]. A summary of the Means for Accomplishing the Mahayana Path. Skt. mahayana patha sadhana varnasamgraha. Tib. theg pa chen po lam gyi drub thab yi ger du pa. Translation by Glenn Mullin in: Doboom , Atisha and Buddhism in Tibet. New Delhi: Tibet House, 1983. The same translation in: Jewel Heart Meditations vol. II, part. I: The Indian Masters, p. 69-85. Malaysia: The Dharma House Society. Atisha [982-1055]. A Letter Garland of Stainless Gems. Translation by Glenn Mullin in: Doboom Tulku, Atisha and Buddhism in Tibet. New Delhi: Tibet House, 1983. Atisha [982-1055]. A Guide to the Two Levels of Truth. Translation by Glenn Mullin in: Doboom Tulku, Atisha and Buddhism in Tibet. New Delhi: Tibet House, 1983 Atisha [982-1055]. The Jewel Rosary of an Awakening Warrior. Skt. bodhisattva mani avali. Tib. jang chub sem pa nor bu treng wa. Translation in: Geshe Namgyal Wangchen, Awakening the mind of enlightenment. London: Wisdom Publ, 1987. p. 147-151. With commentary in: Rabten, Geshe and Geshe Dhargyey, Advice from a spiritual friend. London: Wisdom P. 1986. p. 99-137. The same translation of the verses in: Jewel Heart Meditations vol. II, part. I: The Indian Masters, p. 101-107. Malaysia: The Dharma House Society. Avadana. Ksemendra [11th cent.]. Bodhisattva Avadana Kalpalata, Wish-granting Vine of Bodhisattva Narratives, Translation of several stories in: Dreloma, the Drepung Loseling Magazine as a series under the heading Stories from the Pasang Trishing. Karnataka India: Drepung Loseling Library Society Publ, 1978-… 164 Lam Rim Teachings

Avatamsaka Sutra Translation: Cleary, Th. The Flower Ornament Scripture. Boston: Shambhala, 1986. Buston. History of Buddhism, part 2. Translation: Obermiller, E. The History of Buddhism in India and Tibet, by Buston. Delhi: Sri Satguru Publ, 1986. Reprint Paljor Publ. 1999. Chandragomin, Twenty Verses on the Bodhisattva Vow, [Skt. Bodhisattvasamvaravimsaka; Tib. Jang chup sems pa dom pa nyi su pa]. With Commentary: Sonam Rinchen, Geshe. The Bodhisattva Vow. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publ. 2000. Chandrakirti [7th century]. Guide to the Middle Way or: Supplement to the Middle Way, Skt. Madhyamakavatara. Translation in: Huntington. The Emptiness of emptiness, Delhi: Motilal Barnasidass, 1991. Translation in verse of the chapters 1-5, that deal with the first 5 paramitas, in: Hopkins J. Compassion in Tibetan Buddhism. This translation to be found in the appendix of this work. Commentary by Tsongkhapa: Illumination of the Thought, an Extensive Explanation of Chandrakirti’s Supplement of the Middle Way. Translation [of chapters 1 to 5] in: Hopkins, J. Compassion in Tibetan Buddhism as Way of Compassion by Tsongkhapa. Ithaca New York: Snow Lion, 1980. Transl. and Commentary to the complete work: Gyatso, Geshe Kelsang. Ocean of Nectar. Tharpa Publ, 1993. Translation in prose of the sixth chapter, out of ten, that deals with the paramita of wisdom, by Stephen Batchelor in: Geshe Rabten. Echoes of Voidness. London: Wisdom Publ, 1983. Chekhawa, Geshe [1102-1176]. The Seven Point Mind Training, Tib. Lojong donduma. Transl Michael Richards in: Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in the Palm of your Hand. Boston: Wisdom Publ. 1991. With Commentary: Rabten Geshe and Dhargyey, Geshe. Advice from a Spiritual Friend. Trans. by Brian Beresford. With Commentary: Gyatso, Geshe Kelsang. Universal Compassion. London: Tharpa Publ 1988. With Commentary: Gomo Tulku. Becoming a Child of the Buddhas. Boston: Wisdom Publ. 1998. With Commentary: Chödron, Pema. Start where you are. Londo: Shambhala, 1994. With Commentary: Khyentse Rinpoche, Dilgo. Enlightened Courage. Peyzac-le-Moustier, Editions Padmakara 1992. With Commentary: Kongtrul, Jamgon. The Great Path of Awakening. Boston, Shambhala, 1987. With Commentary: Nampkha Pel. Mind training like the rays of the sun. Dharamsala, LTWA 1992. With Commentary: Tharchin, Geshe Lobsang. Achieving Bodhicitta. Howell: Mah Sutra & Tantra Pr, 1999, p 61-253. With Commentary: Trungpa, Chögyam. Training the mind. Boston: Shambhala, 1993. With Commentary: Wallace, B. Alan. A Passage from Solitude. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publ. 1992. With Commentary: Wallace, B. Alan. Buddhism with an Attitude. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publ. 2001. Dalai Lama I Gedun Drub [1391-1475]. Training the Mind in the Great Way. Translation by Glenn H. Mullin. Ithaca: Snow Lion 1992. Dalai Lama I Gedun Drub [1391-1475]. Praise to for protecting from the eight fears. Translation by Martin Wilson in: In Praise of Tara; Songs to the Saviouress as Praise of the Venerable Lady Khadhiravana Tara. London: Wisdom Publ, 1986. Dalai Lama III [1543-1588]. Essence of Refined Gold. Lam rim gser zhun ma. [A commentary on Tsongkhapa’s Small stages of the path to highest enlightenment]. Translation by Glenn Mullin with a commentary of Dalai Lama XIV in: Dalai Lama III, Selected works of the Dalai Lama III; Essence of Refined Gold. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publ. 1983. Dalai Lama V [1617-1682], Sacred Words of Manjushri, commonly referred to as the Lam rim Jampel Zhalung Translation of the perfection-of-wisdom chapter by Jeffrey Hopkins: in The Fifth Dalai Lama, Practice of Emptiness. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1976. Dalai Lama VII Gyelwa Kalzang Gyatso [1708-1757] Songs of spiritual Change. Translation by Glenn Mullin. Ithaca New York, Snow Lion, 1982. Dharmarakshita [10th-11th century]. The Wheel of Sharp Weapons. With Commentary: Dhargyey, Geshe Ngawang. The Wheel of Sharp Weapons, by . Dharamsala: LTWA 1976. The same translation of the text in: Jewel Heart Meditations vol. II, part. I: The Indian Masters, p. 35-67. Malaysia: The Dharma House Society. Thurman, Robert A.F. and Wise, Ted., Circling the Sacred Mountain., New York, Bantam Books 1999. Dhammapada. See: . , Drop of Reasoning [Skt. Nyayabinduprakarana]. Translation: Th. Stcherbatsky. Buddhist Logic. New York: Dover Publ, 1962. Dharmatrata. The Sayings of the Buddha. Translation: Sparham, Gareth. The Tibetan Dhammapada. London: Wisdom Publ, 1986. Discourses of the Buddha. Long Discourses of the Buddha. Translation of the Digha Nikaya Translated by Maurice Walsh. Boston: Wisdom P. Middle-Length Discourses of the Buddha. Transl of the Majjhima Nikaya. Transl. Bikkhu Nanamoli. Boston: Wisdom P. Connected Discourses of the Buddha. Transl. of the Samyutta Nikaya. Transl. Maurice Walsh. Boston: Wisdom Publ. [1079-1153]. The Jewel Ornament of Liberation, Annotated translation: Guenther, Herbert V. The Jewel Ornament of Liberation, by sGam po pa. Berkeley: Shambhala, 1971. Translation: Khenpo Konchog Gyaltsen Rinpoche, The Jewel Ornament of Liberation, Ithata: Snow Lion Publ. 1998. Gandavyuha Sutra or Stalks of Array Sutra.

Literature 165

Translation: Cleary, Thomas. Entry into the realm of reality; the Gandavyuha, the final book of the Avatamsaka Sutra. Bos- ton and Shaftsbury: Shambhala 1989. Ganden Lha Gyema. With commentary: Gehlek Rimpoche. Ganden Lha Gyema; the hundreds of deities of the Land of Joy. Jewel Heart 1992. With Commentary: Gyatso, Geshe Kelsang. Heart Jewel. London, Tharpa Publ. 1997. With commentary: Thupten Zopa, Gaden Lha Gyema; the hundred of deities of the land of joy.Kopan 1996. Guntang Konchok Dronme, Lama [18th century]. A Conversation with an Old Man and a Youth on the Nature of Death and Impermanence. Translation: Mullin, Glenn. H. Death and Dying in the Tibetan Tradition, p. 82-94. London and New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1986. Gyeltsab Dharma Rinchen, see: Aryadeva: Four Hundred Verses. . See Prajnaparamita. Jatakas, The Garland of Birth Stories. Translation: Speyer, J. The Jatakamala or Garland of Birth Stories of Aryasura. Delhi: Motilal Barnasidass 1975. Translation: Stanley Frye. Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives 1981. Jamyang Shayba [1648-1721] Great Exposition on the Middle Way; Tib. Uma Chenmo. Translation in: Hopkins, J., Meditation on emptiness, London: Wisdom Publ, 1983. Kadampa Masters. Essential Advice of the Kadampa Masters. Translation of three quarters of the work of Tsunba Jegom Kadamthorbu, Precepts Collected from Here and There as Essential Advice of the Kadampa Masters: Stephen Batchelor, The Jewel in the Lotus; a guide to the Buddhist Traditions of Tibet, p. 71-102. London: Wisdom Publ 1987. Idem as Kadampa Precepts in: Wangyal, Geshe, The Door of Liberation, p. 76-112. New York: Lotsawa 1978 Kamalashila, Stages of Meditation, Stk. Bhavanakrama, Tib. Gom Rim. Translation with commentary: Dalai Lama [XIV], Stages of Meditation. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publ. 2001. Khedrub Je [1385-1438]. A dose of emptiness, Tib. sTong thun chen mo. Annotated translation: José Ignacio Canbezón. A dose of emptiness, Albany: State Univ. of New York Press, 1992. Lama Chöpa see: Panchen Lama I. Lankavatara Sutra. Translation: Suzuki, D.T. The Lankavatara Sutra. London: Routledge and 1932; Boulder: Prajna Press 1978. Lalitavistara Sutra [Buddha’s Life story]. Sakyamuni Buddha. The Voice of the Buddha, Lalitavistara Sutra, 2 volumes, Dharma Publishing 1983 Langri Tangpa [1054-1123]. Mind Training in Eight Verses, Tib. Lojong Tsigyema. Translation by Jeffrey Hopkins in: Dalai Lama XIV, Kindness, Clarity and Insight. Ithaca: Snow Lions Publ. Translation: Rabten Geshe and Dhargyey, Geshe. Advice from a Spiritual Friend. Trans. by Brian Beresford. London: Wisdom Publ, 1984. This translation is to be found in the appendix of this work. With commentary: Sonam Rinchen, Geshe. Eight Verses for Training the Mind. Ithaca: Snow Lions Publ. 2001 With Commentary in: Gyeltsen, Geshe Tsultrim. Keys to great enlightenment. L.A: Thubten Dhargyey Ling Publ 1989. With commentary in: Dagyab Rinpoche, Aus dem Leben der alten kadampa-meisters, heft 3, p 27-34. With commentary: Leisner, Regine. Das Denken umwandeln, Chödzong, Langenfeld, 1994. With commentary: Tharchin, Geshe Lobsang. The Essence of Mahayana Lojong Practice. Mah. Sutra & Tantra Pr 1998. With Avalokiteshvara practice in: K. McDonald, How to meditate. London, Wisdom Publ 1984, p. 160-170. (Longchen Rabjampa) [1308-1363]. Kindly bent to ease us. Annotated translation in three volumes: Guenther, Herbert V. Kindly bent to ease us. Part one: Mind, part two: Meditation, part three: Wonderment. Dharma Publishing 1976. Longchen Rabjampa [1308-1363]. The Four-Themed Precious Garland. Translation by A. Berzin: Longchen Rabjampa. The Four-Themed Precious Garland; an introduction to . Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1979. Same Text translation in: Stephen Batchelor. The Jewel in the Lotus, a guide to the Buddhist Traditions of Tibet. London: Wisdom Publ 1987 Maitreya/Asanga. The Ornament of Clear Realization, Skt. Abhisamayalamkara [one of the Five Treatises of Maitreya]. Conze, Edward. Abhisamayalamkara. Series Orientale Roma VI. Rome: Is.M.E.O., july 1954. Thrangu Rinpoche, Khenchen The Ornament of Clear Realization. Delhi Sri Satguru Publ. Maitreya/Asanga. Uttara Tantra. (Mahayana uttara tantra sastra) Tib. Gyu Lama; [one of the Five Treatises of Maitreya] Annotated translation by Kenneth and Katia Holmes: Maitreya/Asanga. The Changeless Nature; The Ultimate Mahayana Treatise on the Changeless Continuity of the True Nature. Scotland: Dharma Drubgyud Dargay Ling 1979. Translation and commentary: in Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, Buddha Nature, The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra with Commentary, Ithaca: Snow Lion Publ. 2000. Translation: A. Berzin. The Furthest Everlasting Stream, by Maitreya. copyright: LTWA 1986. Amsterdam – visit of H.H. the Dalai Lama – 1986. Translation E. Obermiller, Uttaratantra: The Sublime Science of the Great Vehicle to Salvation of Maitreya. Commentary: Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, The Uttara Tantra: A Treatise on Buddha Nature. Delhi: Sri Satguru 1994. Maitreya/Asanga. Mahayanasutralamkara, together with its commentary by Vasubhandu Translation by R. Thurman, The Universical Vehicle Discourse Literature. Columbia University Press 2004. Milarepa [1040-1123]. The Songs of Jetsun Milarepa. Translation: Chang, Garma C. The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa. Boulder: Shambhala, 1977.

166 Lam Rim Teachings

Translation: Nalanda Translation Committee, in: The Rain of Wisdom, Boston: Shambhala Publ 1980. A few songs to be found in: Stephen Batchelor. The Jewel in the Lotus, a guide to the Buddhist Traditions of Tibet. London: Wisdom Publ 1987. Nagarjuna [1st century B.C.E.]. Treatise on the Middle Way, Skt. Mulamadhyamakakarika/Madhyamakashastra. Annotated translation by David Kalupahana. Nagarjuna, The philosophy of the Middle Way. State University of New York Press, 1986; reprint Delhi: Motilal Barnasidass, 1991. Translation by Kenneth K. Inada, Nagarjuna: Mulamadhyamakakarika. Tokyo: Hokuseido Press, 1970. Translation by F.J. Streng. Emptiness, Nashville and New York: Abingdon, 1967. Philosophical translation by Ramchandra Pandeya & Manju in Nagarjuna’s Philosophy of No-Identity. Delhi: Eastern Book Linkers, 1991. Translation and commentary: J Garfield, The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way: Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika. New York, Oxford University Press, 1995. Translation by Stephen Batchelor, Verses from the Center, 2000. Nagarjuna [1st century B.C.E.]. Sixty Stanzas on Reasoning, Skt. Yuktisastika. Translation and study in: Lindtner, Master of Wisdom; Writings of the Buddhist Master Nagarjuna. Dharma Publishing, 1986. Nagarjuna [1st century B.C.E.]. Seventy Stanzas on Emptiness Skt. Shunyata spatati karika nama. Translation and study in: Lindtner, Master of Wisdom; Writings of the Buddhist Master Nagarjuna. Dharma Publishing, 1986. With Commentary by Geshe Sonam Rinchen: Komito, David Ross, Nagarjuna’s ‘Seventy Stanzas’, a Buddhist Psychology of Emptiness. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publ. 1987. Philosophical translation by Ramchandra Pandeya & Manju in Nagarjuna’s Philosophy of No-Identity. Delhi: Eastern Book Linkers, 1991. Nagarjuna [1st century B.C.E.], The Precious Garland, skt. Ratnamala or Ratnavali. Translation by Jeffrey Hopkins in: Nagarjuna and the Seventh Dalai Lama. The Precious Garland and The Song of the Four Mindfulnesses. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1975. Also in the newer editions of Dalai Lama XIV, Buddhism in Tibet. Nagarjuna [1st century B.C.E]. A Letter to a Friend, Skt. Suhrlleka. With commentary by Ven. Rendawa Zhonnu Lodro. [14th century]: Tharchin, Geshe Lobsang, and Engle, Artemus B. trans., Nagarjuna’s Letter. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1982. With commentary of Lama Mipham, translated by Leslie Kuwamara: Nagarjuna and Lama Mipham, Golden Zephyr; Instructions from a Spiritual Friend. Emeryville: Dharma Publishing 1975. Nagarjuna [1st century B.C.E.]. The Accumulations for Enlightenment, Skt. Bodhisambhara. Translation and study in Lindtner, Master of Wisdom; Writings of the Buddhist Master Nagarjuna. Dharma Publishing, 1986. Nagarjuna [1st century B.C.E.]. Exposition of Bodhicitta, Skt. Bodhicittavivarana Translation and study in Lindtner, Master of Wisdom; Writings of the Buddhist Master Nagarjuna. Dharma Publishing, 1986. Nagarjuna [1st century B.C.E.]. Hymn to the Buddha Transcending the World. Skt. Lokatitastava Translation and study in Lindtner, Master of Wisdom; Writings of the Buddhist Master Nagarjuna. Dharma Publishing, 1986. Nagarjuna [1st century B.C.E.]. Hymn to the Inconceivale Buddha, Skt. Acintyastava Translation and study in Lindtner, Master of Wisdom; Writings of the Buddhist Master Nagarjuna. Dharma Publishing, 1986. Nagarjuna [1st century B.C.E.]. Stepladder Aspiration. Text in Jewel Heart Meditations Volume II, part. I: The Indian Masters, as The Aspiration called the Staircase made by the exalted Nagarjuna, p 27-34. Malaysia: The Dharma House Society. Nagarjuna [1st century B.C.E.]. The commentary to the ‘Declaration of downfalls of an Awakening (Warrior)’, Skt. Bodhi- pattideshanavrtti. Partly translated by Brian Beresford in: Dhargyey, Geshe Ngawang a.o., Mahayana purification. Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1980. Pabongka Rinpoche [1878-1941]. Liberation in the palm of your hand, Tib. Lam rim nam grol. [oral 24-days meditation course, written down and edited in Tibetan by Trijang Rinpoche. Translation by Michael Richards. Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in the palm of your hand. Boston: Wisdom Publ 1991. Translation by Geshe Lobsang Tharchin and Artemus Engle. Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in Our Hands. Howell New Yersey: Mahayana Sutra and Tantra Press, vol I, 1990. Pabongka Rinpoche, Kyabje [1878-1941] [Advices on Lamrim on request of Konpo bKrasrab mchogsprul rinpoche]. Translation: Dagyab Kyabgön Rinpoche, Erfahrungsunterweisungen zum Lamrim, Erlangen: Chödzong, 1991. Pabongka Rinpoche, Kyabje. Heart-Spoon; Encouragement through Recollecting Impermanence.Boston, Wisdom Publ. 1995. Translation into German: Dagyab Kyabgön Rinpoche und Cornelia Weishaar, Stachel im Herzen, eine Aufforderung sich der Vergänglichkeit bewust zu bleiben. Erlangen: Chödzong, 1991. Panchen Lama Lozang Choekyi Gyeltsen [1569-1662; first Panchen Lama]. The Easy Path; Lam rim de lam. Translation into German: Dagyab Rinpoche and Cornelia Günther Weishaar: Lam Rim De Lam, Chödzong 1992. Commentary: Dalai Lama XIV. Path to Bliss, London: Wisdom Publ. 1991. Panchen Lama I. Lozang Choekyi Gyeltsen [1569-1662]. The Guru Puja; Tib. Lama Chöpa. Translation: Berzin, Alex a.o. The Guru Puja, Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1979.

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With Commentary: Dalai Lama XIV, Tenzin Gyatso, The union of bliss and emptiness; a commentary on the Lama Choepa Guru Yoga Practice. Transl. by Thubten Jinpa. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publ 1988. With commentary: Gyatso, Geshe Kelsang. Great Treasury of Merit; a Commentary to the Practice of Offering to the Sdpiritual Guide. Londsn, Tharma Publ. 1992. Panchen Lama II. Lozang Yeshe [1663-1737] The Swift Path. Lamrim Myurlam. Translation of the preliminary prayer by Michael Richards as An Ornament for the Throats of the Fortunate in: Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in the palm of your hand. Boston: Wisdom Publ. 1991. Translation of the preliminary prayer by Geshe Lobsang Tharchin as A Necklace for the fortunate in: Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in Our Hands. Howell New Yersey: Mahayana Sutra and Tantra Press, 1990. Panchen Lama IV. Losang Palden Tenbey Nyima [1781-1852]. Instructions on (Tsongkhapa’s) Three Principle Aspects of the Path: Essence of all the Scriptures, Quintessence of Helping Others. Annotated translation by Geshe Lhundup Sopa and Jeffrey Hopkins. Cutting through appearances.; Practice and Theory of Tibetan Buddhism. Ithaca, Snow Lion Publ. 1989. Patrül Rinpoche, The Words of My Perfect Teacher. Shambhala Publ. 1994. Patrül Rinpoche, Dämonen des Geistes; vom Umgang mit Hindernissen. Langenfeld: Chödzong 1995. Prajnaparamita Sutra; Heart Sutra. Translation: Allen Ginsberg for Jewel Heart. To be found in the appendix of this work. Translation in: Jewel Heart Meditations Volume II, p. 13-16. Malaysia: The Dharma House Society. With commentary: Rabten, Geshe. Echoes of Voidness. Transl. S. Batchelor. London: Wisdom P, 1983, p. 18-45. With commentary: Gyatso, Geshe Kelsang, Heart of Wisdom. London: Tarpa Publ 1986. With Commentary: Tharchin, Sermey Khensur Lobsang. The Key to the Treasury of Shunyata. Howell, MSTP 2002, p. 229- 341. Translation: Conze, E. Buddhist Texts through the ages. Boston: Shambhala, 1954; p. 152-153. Lopez Jr., Donald S. The Heart Sutra Explained; Indian and Tibetan Commentaries. Delhi: Sri Satguru P. 1988. Lopez Jr., Donald S. Elaborations on Emptiness: uses of the Heart Sutra. Princeton: Pr. University Press 1996. Nhat Hanh, Thich. The Heart of Understanding: Commentaries on the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra. 1988. Prajnaparamita Sutra; Three Hundred Stanza Perfection of Wisdom Sutra; The . Translation: Raghavan Iyer ed, The Diamond Sutra. London: Concord Grove Press, 1983. Prajnaparamita Sutra; Eight thousand Verse Perfection of Wisdom Sutra. Translation: Conze, E. The perfection of wisdom in eight thousand lines and its verse summary. San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation 1973. Prajnaparamita Sutra; Eighteen Thousand Verses Perfection of Wisdom Sutra. See: Conze, Edward. The Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom. Berkeley: University of California 1973. Prajnaparamita Sutra; Twenty-five Thousand Verses Perfection of Wisdom Sutra. Translation: Conze, E. The Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom. Berkeley: University of California 1973. Rice Seedling Sutra, The, Skt. Arya shalistamba nama mahayana sutra. Sutra of the Shalu tree. Translation: Stanley Frye in Dreloma, The Drepung Loseling Magazine, XIII, p. 35-44; Karnataka India: Drepung Loseling Library Society Publ, 1978-. This translation is to be found in the appendix of this work. Saddharma Pundarika Sutra. See: Sutra of the White Lotus. Samdhinirmocana Sutra (one of the Buddha's core teachings on the nature consciousness, ) Translation: John Power, Wisdom of Buddha; the Samdhinirmocana Sutra. Berkeley, Dharma Publ. 1995 Translation: Thomas Cleary, Buddhist Yoga: a Comprehensive Course. Boston: Shambhala 1995 Commentary: Jnanagarbha's Commentary on Just the Maitreya Chapter from the Samdhinirmocana-Sutra. Ed. John Powers 1998. Sakya , Ordinary Wisdom, ’s Treasury of Good Advice. Boston: Wisdom Publ. 2000. Shantideva [687-763], Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, Skt. Bodhisattvacharyavatara. Translations: Stephen Batchelor. A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life; by Shantideva. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives 1982. Translation: Santideva. The Bodhicaryavatara. Translated with introduction and notes by Kate Crosby and Andrew Skilton. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. Translation: Santideva. A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life. Translated from the Sanskrit and Tibetan by Vesna A. Wallace and B. Alan Wallace. Ithaca, New York: Snow Lion Publ. 1997. Translation: Shantideva. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyavatara.Translated from the Tibetan by the Padmakara Translation Group. Boston: Shambhala, 1997. Translation: Shantideva. Eintritt in das Leben zur Erleuchtung Transl. Ernst Steinkeller, München, Diederichs Verlag 1997. Commentary: Gehlek Rimpoche, Shantideva’s Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life. Detailed commentary, each chapter being a volume. Jewel Heart, 2003: 5 volumes published. Commentary: Roach, Geshe Michael, Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, Part I, II and III; Course X, XI and XII. New York: The Asian Classics Institute, no date given. commentary on selected verses. Commentary: Gyatso, Geshe Kelsang. Meaningful to Behold; view, meditation and action in Mahayana Buddhism. London: Tharpa Publ, 1986. 1980. Commentary: Tenzin Gyatso, The . A Flash of Lightning in the Dark of Night: A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life. Boston: Shambhala, 1994. commentary on selected verses. Commentary: Geshe Yeshe Tobden, The Way of Awakening, Wisdom Publ. 2005.

168 Lam Rim Teachings

Commentary on the ninth Chapter: Dalai Lama, Practicing Wisdom. Wisdom Publ. 2005. Commentary on the ninth Chapter: Dalai Lama XIV, Transcendent Wisdom. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publ 1988. Commentary on the ninth chapter: Wisdom: Two Buddhist Commentaries on the Ninth Chapter of Shantideva’s Bodhi- caryavatara (Khendchen Kunzang Palden, The Nectar of Manjushri’s Speech. Minyak Kunzang Sonam, The Brilliant Torch.) Peyzac-le-Moustier, France: Padmakara, 1993. Shantideva [687-763]. A Compendium of Instruction, Skt. Siksa Samuccaya. Translation: Bendall, C. and Rouse, W.H.D., Siksa Samuccaya. Delhi: Motilal Barnasidass, 1971. Vyuha Sutra. The Land of Utmost Bliss. Translation: Müller, Max ed. Sacred Books of the East. Volume 49: Buddhist Mahayana Texts. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass 1988. Sutra of the Three Noble Heaps, Skt. Triskandhadharmasutra. Translation: Jewel Heart Meditations Volume II, part. I: The Indian Masters, as The Confession of the Bodhisattva’s downfalls, p. 18-25. Malaysia: The Dharma House Society. Translation: Rabten, Geshe. The Essential Nectar, p. 247-250. Translation and practice: McDonald, Kathleen. How to Meditate as The Bodhisattva’s Confession of Moral Downfalls, p. 196-202. London: Wisdom Publ, 1986. With commentary excerpts from: The Commentary to the Declaration of Downfalls of an Awakening (Warrior) by Nagarjuna, and oral commentary of Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey, Geshe Rabten and Lama Zopa, in: Mahayana Purification. transl. and ed. Brian C. Beresford. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1980. Sutra of the White Lotus, Skt. Saddharma Pundarika nama mahayana sutra. Translation: Bunno Katto. The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law. [transl. from Chinese] Tokyo: 1971. Translation: H. Kern. Saddharma Pundarika, The Lotus of the True Law. [transl. from Sanskrit]. New York: Dover Publ 1963. Also the same in: Müller, Max ed. Sacred Books of the East. Volume 21: Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass 1988 [both the original translation of 1884]. Sutra on the Ten Grounds, [Skt. Dasabhumikasutra]. Annotated translation: M. Honda, An Annotated translation of the Dasabhumika’ in D.Sinor ed. Studies in Southeast and Central Asia. Satapitakaseries 74. New Delhi: 1968, pp. 115-276. Translation of [the same or a different?] The Ten Abodes: Cleary T., The Flower Ornament Scripture, [Skt. Avatamsakasutra] vol. 1, p. 384-403. Boston: Shambhala, 1986. Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish. Transl.: Frye, Stanley, Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives 1981. Togmey Zangpo. The Thirty-Seven Bodhisattva Practices. Translation: Jeffrey Hopkins, The Thirty-Seven Practices, printed for the event of the Initiation in Switserland, 1985. With Commentary in: Gyeltsen, Geshe Tsultim, Keys to great enlightenment. Los Angelos: Thubten Dhargye Ling Publ 1989. With Commentary: Tegchok. Geshe Jampa, Transforming the Heart; the Buddhist Way to Joy and Courage. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publ. 1999. Tsongkhapa [1357-1419]. The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment Tib. Lamrim Chenmo. Tsong-kha-pa, The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment; Lamrim Chenmo. Transl. Comm. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publ. 3 Volumes. 2000-2004. Translation of the three sufferings and the six sufferings, translated by Martin Willson in: Rabten, Geshe. Essential Nectar. London: Wisdom Publ 1984. Translation of the bodhisattva section: Wayman, A., of Tibet. State University of New York 1991. Sri Satguru Publ, Delhi 1992. Translation of the last two chapters translated by. Wayman, A. Calming the mind and discerning the real. New York, Columbia University Press 1984. Translation of the sections on special insight by Napper, E. Dependent Arising and Emptiness. Boston: Wisdom, 1989. Translation of the dedication prayer by Martin Wilson in Rabten, Geshe. Essential Nectar, p. 265-266. Commentary: Geshe Lhundup Sopa, Steps on the Path to Enlightenment. Vol. I 2004, Vol. II 2005. Commentary: Yangsi Rinpoche, Practicing the Path; A Commentary on the Lamrim Chenmo. Tsongkhapa [1357-1419]. The Middle Stages of the Path to Enlightenment; Tib. Lamrim Chungba. Translation of the last two paramitas: Thurman, Robert A.F. ed. Life and teachings of Tsongkhapa as: The Middle Length Transcendent Insight, p. 108-185. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1982. Tsongkhapa [1357-1419]. The Small Stages of the Path to Enlightenment; Tib. Lamrim Dudon (nyam gur). Translation in: Thurman, Robert A.F. ed. Life and teachings of Tsongkhapa, as Lines of Experience, The abbreviated Points of the Graded Path, p. 59-66. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1982. Translation by Glenn Mullin as Song of the Stages in Spiritual Practice in Jewel Heart Prayers, volume I, p. 28-34. Maleysia. This translation is to be found in the appendix to this work. Translation in Geshe Wangyal, The Door of Liberation, Novato: Lotsawa 1978, p. 164-171. With commentary by Dalai Lama III [which again is commented on by Dalai Lama XIV]: Mullin, Glenn, Selected works of Dalai Lama III; Essence of Refined Gold. Commentary to the introductory part: Thurman, R. The Speech of Gold, p. 3-173. Delhi: Motilal Barnasidass, 1989. Translation and commentary in: Tenzin Gyatso, Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Illuminating the Path to Enlightenment, Long Beach TLD Publ. 2002.

Literature 169

Translation: Panglung Rinpoche, München. To be found in the Appendices of this work. Tsongkhapa [1357-1419]. The Three Principles of the Path to Highest Enlightenment. Tib. Lam tso nam sum. Translation by Jeffrey Hopkins and with Commentary of the fourth Panchen Lama [1781-1852]: Sopa, Geshe Lundup, Cutting through appearances; practice and theory of Tibetan Buddhism. Translation: Thurman, Robert A.F. ed. Life and teachings of Tsongkhapa, p. 57-58 Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1982. Translation with instructions for meditation by the fourth Panchen Lama in: Wangyal, Geshe. The Door of Liberation. Novato: Lotsawa 1978, p. 127-160. Translation by Michael Richards in: Pabongka Rinpoche, Liberation in the palm of your hand, p.762-764. Boston: Wisdom Publ. 1991. Translation in: Wangchen. Geshe Namgyal, Awakening the mind of enlightenment. London: Wisdom Publ, 1987. With Commentary by Pabongka Rinpoche: Tsongkapa. The Principal Teachings of Buddhism. Translation by Geshe Lobsang Tharchin with Michael Roach. Howell New York: Mahayana Sutra and Tantra Press, 1988. Transl. and commentary: Sonam Rinchen, Geshe, The Three Principal Aspects of the Path. Ithaca, Snow Lion P. 1999. Commentary by Gehlek Rimpoche. The Three Principles of the Path to highest enlightenment, a commentary in tuesdaynight teachings. Jewel Heart, 1994. Tsongkhapa [1357-1419]. The Foundation of All Perfections, Tib. Yön ten zhi gyur ma. Translation by Glenn Mullin in Ganden Lha Gyema, the hundreds of deities of the land of Jo.y: Jewel Heart 1992. Translation by Martin Willson in: Rabten, Geshe. The Essential Nectar. London: Wisdom Publ 1984. With a short commentary of Kushri Kabchu Sudhi in: Geshe Wangyal: The door of liberation, Novato: Lotsawa, 1978. Translation in: McDonald. Kathleen, How to meditate, p. 156-159. London: Wisdom Publ. 1984. Translation in: Gyatso. Geshe Kelsang, Joyful Path of Great Fortune. London: Tharpa Publ. 199, p. 570-71. Translation with commentary in: Tsongkapa, Preparing for Tantra, The Mountain of Blessings, Howell, Mahayana Sutra and Tantra Press, 1995. Tsongkhapa, [1357-1419]. In Praise of Interdependent Origination (or: The Short Essence of True Eloquence) Translation by Thurman, Robert A.F. ed. Life and teachings of Tsongkhapa as Praise for Relativity, p. 99-107. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1982. Translation by Thurman, Robert A.F. The Speech of Gold; reason and Enlightenment in Tibetan Buddhist Teaching, p. 175- 184. Delhi: Motilal Barnasidass, 1989. Translation and Commentary: Tharchin, Sermey Khensur Lobsang, The Key to the Treasurt of Shunyata, Howell: Mayahana Sutra and Tantra Press 2002, p. 17-223. Tsongkhapa [1357-1419]. Ocean of Eloquence. Tsongkhapa’s Commentary on the Yogacara doctrine of mind. Transl. G. Sparham. Suny 1993. Tsongkhapa [1357-1419]. The Rosary of Supreme Healing Ambrosia. Translation by Thurman, Robert A.F. ed. Life and teachings of Tsongkhapa as Supremely Healing Nectar Garland, p. 213- 230. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1982. Tsongkhapa [1357-1419]. Destiny fulfilled; Tsongkhapa’s education as a song of realization. Translation of this auto-biography in verse by Thurman, Robert A.F. ed. Life and teachings of Tsongkhapa, p. 40-46. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1982. Tsongkhapa, [1357-1419]. The Essence of True Eloquence, Tib. Drange Namje Lekshe Nyingpa; The discrimination of de Definite and Interpretative Words of the Buddha. [Prasangika Madhyamika philosophy.] Translation with introduction by Thurman, Robert A.F. Tsongkhapa’s speech of gold in the essence of true eloquence; Reason and enlightenment in the Central Philosophy of Tibet. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass 1989. Tsongkhapa [1357-1419]. Illumination of the Thought, an Extensive Explanation of Chandrakirti’s Supplement to the Middle Way. Translation of the chapters 1-5: Hopkins, J. Compassion in Tibetan Buddhism as: Tsongkhapa’s Way of Compassion. Ithaca New York: Snow Lion Publ 1985. Translation of chapter 6 interwoven with Chandrakirti’s ch. 6 of the Guide to the Middle Way, translated by Stephen Batcholor in: Geshe Rabten, Echoes of Voidness, part II. Tsongkhapa [1357-1419]. A Brief Exposition of the Main Points of the Graded Sutra and Tantra Courses to Enlightenment. Translation in: Stephen Batchelor. The Jewel in the Lotus, a guide to the Buddhist Traditions of Tibet, as A Brief Exposition of the Stages on the Path to Enlightenment. London: Wisdom Publ 1987. Tsongkhapa, The Fulfillment of All Hopes; Guru Devotion in Tibetan Buddhism, [Text and Commentary Ashvagosha’s Fifty Verses of Ghuru Devotion], Boston, Wisdom Publ. 1999. Tsongkhapa, Great Exposition on Tantra., Part I. [Tib. Ngag rim chen mo]. Translation by Jeffrey Hopkins: H.H. the Dalai Lama, Tsongkapa and Jeffrey Hopkins. Tantra in Tibet. Ithaca: Snow Lion 1977. Tsongkhapa, Great Exposition on Tantra. Part II-III, Tib. Ngag rim chen mo. Translation by Jeffrey Hopkins: H.H. the Dalai Lama, Tsongkapa and Jeffrey Hopkins. Deity Yoga (formerly: The Yoga of Tibet), Ithaca: Snow Lion 1987. Udanavarga. The Tibetan version translated by Gareth Sparham: The Tibetan Dhammapada, Sayings of the Buddha, compiled by Dharmatrata. London: Wisdom Publ, 1986. Rockhill, W. Woodville. Udanavarga: A Collection of Verses From the Buddhist Canon. [reprint from 1884] New Delhi: D.K. Publishers’ Distributers, 1982.

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Vajracchedika or Diamond Cutter. Translation in: Müller, Max ed. Sacred Books of the East. Volume 49: Buddhist Mahayana Texts. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass 1988. Vasubandhu, Abhidharmakosha, Treasury of Metaphysics. Translation of volume 1 and 2. Dr. Subhadra Jha, The Abhidharmakosha of Vasubandhu. Patna India: Kashi Prasad Jayaswal Research Institute, 1983. French translation: L’Abhidharmakosha de Vasubandhu. Traduit et annoté par Louis de la Vallée Poussin. 6 Vols. Paris, Paul Guethner, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1931. Société Belge d’Études Orientales. ofwel: anastatically reproduced with a new preface by Etienne Lamotte, 7 vols. Brussels: M’elanges chinois et bouddhiques, 1971. nirdesa sutra. Translation and Introduction by Thurman, Robert A.F. The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti, a Mahayana Scripture. University Park and London: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1976. Translation by Luk. Charles, The Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra, Boston: Shambhala, 1990. Yeshe Gyeltsen, Tsechog Ling Yongzin [1713-1793]. Lives of the teachers of the Lamrim precepts. Tib. Byang chub lam gyi rim pa’i blama brgyud pa’i rnam thar… etc. New Delhi, Ngawang Gelek Demo, 1970. Based on readings from this book is the series: Aus dem Leben des alten -Meister by Dagyab Kyabgön Rinpoche, L.S. Langenfeld, Chödzong 1991. Up to now three booklets are published. Yeshe Gyeltsen, Tsechog Ling Yongzin [1713-1793]. The Necklace of Clear Understanding; an Elucidation of the Working of the Mind and Mental Events. Translation by Herbert Guenther and Leslie Kawamura. Mind in Buddhist Psychology. Berkeley: Dharma Publ. 1975 Yeshe Gyeltsen, Tsechog Ling Yongzin [1713-1793]. Four small texts. Translation in: Guenther, H.V., Treasures on the Tibetan Middle Way. Leiden: E.J. Brill 1969. Yeshe Tsöndrü. The Essential Nectar of the Holy Doctrine. Translated by Martin Wilson and with commentary of Geshe Rabten in: Rabten, Geshe. The Essential Nectar: Meditations on the Buddhist Path; London: Wisdom Publ, 1984. With commentary: Tharchin, Geshe Lobsang. The essence of nectar of Yeshe Tsöndru. Library of Tibetan Works and Archives 1979.

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INDEX g refers to the Glossary in volume I lit refers to the Literature in this volume

quoted, 89 Bodhisattvacharyavatara refuge, 131 (Shantideva). lit A attachment bodhimind even during sleep, 26 abhidharma, 14, g and death, 29 death, 37, 42, 43 Abhidharmakosha (Vasubandhu), and dharma practice, 27 hell, 58 72, 104, g, lit and friends, 89 misery, 103 karma, 103 and karma, 104 offerings, 92 (Maitreya), 76, antidote to, 6, 31 body lit avoiding object, 87 fragile, 41 absolute and relative blocking freedom, 6 rented appartment, 56 Buddha, 66 glue to samsara, 6 Brahma. g Dharma, 68 positivity, 71 and Indra, 35, 42 merit, 71 to this life, 29 buddha sangha, 68 to this or future lives, 6 absolute and relative, 66 Acarya. g Avadana, 77, lit causal and result, 66 Aggregates. g Avalokiteshvara, 47, 130, g commitment, 70 Ajatashatru, king, 85, 119, g Avatamsaka sutra, 96, g, lit family. g Akanishta. g Avici hell. g four bodies, 79 Amitabha. g awakening. g mind-body combination, 79 Ananda. g our own future, 66 anger B Buddha, 66–67, g, Also see stories, and karma, 104 quotations. and path of seeing, 73 bardo, 49, g death of, 34 antidote, 31, 81 like a dream, 57 great compassion, 70 avoiding object, 87 meditation, 49–50 last two disciples, 34 destroys virtue, 102 bardowa. g object of refuge, 69–70 fully developed, 81 beginning, in between, end, 70 qualities positivity, 71 behavior body speech mind, 75–78 Angulimala, 104, 119 and spiritual development, 22 three, 79 animal. g Beng, Geshe. g two, 78 leisure from being, 10 bhumi. g quoted, 13 suffering, 61 bikshu. g after enlightenment, 58 arhat. g birth. See rebirth can’t wash away, 70 dying before buddha, 34 Bodhgaya. g death, 30, 32, 33, 35 four result stages, 85 bodhi, 82 impermanence, 35 level, 73 bodhi. g karma, 62, 99 arya, 5, 68, g . g next life, 56 Aryadeva, 83 bodhicitta. See bodhimind refuge, 86 Asanga. g bodhimind, 26 we go through many lives, 7 in refuge tree, 64 and being human being, 19 respect, 89–90 quoted, 13, 15 Buddha, 72 vajra body, 33 . g bodhisattva. g buddha nature. g . g and morality, 97 Buddha Sakyamuni, 64 atachment back in human level, 127 refuge, 66 at the time of death, 115, 116 stages. g buddhahood, 69, 71, 73, 97 Atisha. g tenth bhumi, 76 Buddhapalita. g and mandala offering, 28 vows, 74, g . g on images, 89 Bodhisattvabhumi (Asanga). lit 176 Lam Rim Teachings C disadvantages not remembering, Buddha dharma sangha, 74, 82 26–30 continuation of life Catuhsataka (Aryadeva). See Four dying stage meditation, 47–51 candlelight, 8 Hunderd Verses expierence reported, 129 death, 37, 38 cessation, 73 inescapable, 35 four mountains, 36 qualities of, 80–81 life-prolonging interferences, 129 Kadampa lamas, 28 . g mind at the time of, 114–16 Milarepa, 28 Chandragomin nine-round meditation on, 33–45 faith quoted, 19 only the dharma can help, 42 fruit, 66 Chandrakirti ordinary and extra-ordinary, 52 hell quoted, 97 reminders, 31 bounce of a ball, 58 Changeless Nature (Maitreya), 68, what happens after, 55, 57 human life 78, 80, lit dedication. g fragile as candlelight, 41 channels. g degenerated age, 14, g goldbag with a hole, 8 charts delusions, 80, 130, g, g wishfulfilling jewel, 13 1 Historical Overview. vol. I and karma, 104 karma, 99 2 Basis, Path and Result. vol. I and samsara, 5 perception 4 Form- and Formless Realms, imprints, 67, 73, 130 glass of water, 10 143 what it is, 133 precious human life 5 Twelve Links of dependent arising, 57, g blind turtle, 21 Interdependent Originiation. depression, 62 gold, 9 vol. III desire. g treasure island, 20 6 Bodhisattva Paths and Stages. determination to be free. g regret vol. IV Devadatta, 77, 90, 132, g having eaten poison, 120 7 Bodhisattva Paths, Stages and Dhammapada, 33, 35, 38, 40 samsara Practices. vol. IV dharma, 67–68, g needlepoint, 127 Chen Ngawa, 31 absolute and relative, 68 wordly activities, 40 Cittamatra. g cessation, 80–81 clear light. g five paths, 71–73 commitments. g help at death, 44 F compassion, 88, g object of refuge, 70–74 faith, 65 and refuge, 65 qualities of, 80–81 fear completion stage. g respect, 90 and refuge, 65 concentration, 72, 83, g dharma practice, 15–16 three levels, 65 nine stages, 95 levels of motivation, 25 Field of Merit, 82, g object, 95 time put in, 38 five basic precepts. g power, 112 dharma protector. g five great subjects. g use a subject, 95 . g five limitless non-virtues, 119, g wandering or sinking mind, 129 dharmakaya, 79, g five main philosophical texts. g Conqueror. g Dharmakirti. g five paths, 71–73, g contaminated. g dhyana. g five . g covetous thinking, 111 discipline, 87 , 5, 79 divisive speech, 110 Form- and Formless Realms D Drepung, 78, g chart, 143 dullness. g Foundation of All Perfections dakas en dakinis. g dying stage. See death. (Tsongkhapa), 146–47, lit Dalai Lama, 77, g four antidote powers. g Seventh E four bodies of a buddha, 79 quoted, 26, 37 four buddhist seals, 69 death, 24, 57, Also see stories, ego four Buddhist seals. g quotations, examples. and depression, 62 four classes of tantra. g advantages remembering, 30–32 loosening, 16 four constituents for a complete and attachment, 115, 116 eight leisures, 9–13 karma, 103–5 and dharma practice, 45 eight worldly dharmas. g four continents. g and dharmakaya, 52 eightfold path. g four general characteristics of and karma, 29, 87 eighty-four mahasiddhas, 35 karma, 98–103 and refuge, 75 emptiness, 68, 72, g Four Hundred Verses (Aryadeva). and regret, 48 enlightenment, 112, g, Also see lit and spiritual master, 48 buddhahood. four immeasurables. g and Vajrayana, 52 direct cause for, 25, 26 four mindfulnesses. g antidote to attachment, 31 eon. g four mountains, 36 aspects of dying, 46 equanimity. g four Noble Truths. g Buddha, 34 eternalism. g four purification powers, 120–21 definite, 33–40 examples four reliances. g

Index 177 four result-stages, 85 I Karmapa, 47 four schools of tenets. g karmic air, 49 four ways of birth. g I, 73, g Kasyapa buddha, 91 four ways of ripening others mind. g idle chatter, 110 kayas (bodies of a buddha). g future life. See next life. ignorance. g dharmakaya, 79 and seeing path, 72 four kayas, 79 Angulimala, 104 nirmanakaya, 79 G illusory body. g sambhogakaya, 79 Gampopa. g images, 67, 89 Kedrub Je, 28, g Ganden Lha Gyema. g impermanence, 74, Also see death. killing, 105–7 Gelugpa. g imprint, 30, 50, g, Also see and eating meat, 106 generation stage. g delusions. King of Samadhi Sutra, 86, 99 generosity indestructible drop. g cause of wealth, 19 Indra. g L geshe. g inherent existence. g ghandharvas, 34, g initiation. g Lam Don (Atisha). See Lamp for the ghosts, 78 Instruction Given to the King Sutra, Path to Enlightenment and refuge, 85 36 Lama Chöpa. g gods. g intermediate state. See bardo Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment longevity, 11 Ishvara. g (Atisha). lit samsaric, 10, 11, 69 Lamrim. g Gom Rim (Kamalashila). See Stages J Lamrim Chenmo (Tsongkhapa), 27, of Meditation lit Gomo Rinpoche, 116 Jambudvipa. g Lamrim Dudon (Tsongkhapa), 150, gone beyond, 51 jang-chub, 82 155–58, lit Also see Song of the Great Treatise on the Stages of the Jatakamala (Aryasura). lit Stages or Lines of Experience Path to Enlightenment Jatakas, 71 Large Sutra of Perfect Wisdom. See (Tsongkhapa). See Lamrim Jewel Ornament of Liberation Prajnaparamita sutra Chenmo (Gampopa). lit laziness Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of and precious human life, 8 Life (Shantideva). See leisure. See eight leisures Bodhisattvacharyavatara K Letter to a Friend (Nagarjuna), 9, Guide to the Middle Way Kadampa masters, 28, g 41, lit (Chandrakirti), 10, 97, lit quoted, 8, 14 lhagtong. g Gungtang Jampelyang, 115, g . g life-span, 37 quoted, 39, 44 Kamapa, Geshe,, 29 Lines of Experience, 150–54 guru yoga. g Kanjur. g Ling Rinpoche. g Gyeltsab Je, 28, g Karagpa, Geshe, 28 Living Tree Sutra, 42 karma, 52, 57, 96, 118, 132–33, g, logta. See wrong views. H Also see stories, quotations, Longdol Lama, 19 examples. quoted, 32 habitual patterns, 8 and death, 87, 115 longevity god karma, 117 and eating meat, 132 leisure from being, 10 happiness, 103, 122 and lifespan, 37 love, 55 what it is, 18 and refuge, 86, 118 lower realms, 58–63 harmful thoughts, 111 and samsara, 5 meditation on, 62–63 hearers. g cause for liberation, 11 lung. g Heart Sutra. g complete, 103–5 lying, 109 hell, 50 definite, 98, 102 spiritual lie, 109 and karma, 58 environmental result, 117 cold hells, 54, 60 fast-growing, 98 M hot hells, 59–60 four characteristics, 98–103 impermanent, 58 habitual patterns, 117 Madhyamakavatara (Chandrakirti). leisure from being in, 9 heavy or light, 113–14 See Guide to the Middle Way sufferings, 9, 58–60 irreversible, 14 mahamudra. g Hinayana. g lucky, 11, 25 Mahaparanirvana sutra, 30 human life. Also see precious human mirror, 50 mahasiddha(s), 31, 34, g life next life, 87 eighty-four, 35 possibilities, 13 purification, 85, 119–21 Mitri Yogi, 43 Hundred Karmas, 102 results, 116–17 Mahayana. g hungry ghost. g sources, 102 path(s), 71 leisure from being, 10 stories, 100 refuge, 65 suffering, 10, 60–61 ten nonvirtues, 105–13 scope, 25 ten virtues, 117 Maitreya. g

178 Lam Rim Teachings mandala. g . g prayer mandala offering, 28 ninth leisure, 12–13 food, 91 Manjushri. g nirmanakaya. g Precious Garland (Nagarjuna), 41, mantra. g nirvana, 5, 25, g 98, lit . g Mahayana viewpoint, 7 precious human life, 4, 6, 9–22, Also Matricheta, 83 suffering, 69 see stories. quoted, 69, 83 non-virtue(s), 67, g beginning of the path, 8 Maudgalputra, 35, 101 and different realms, 58 cause of, 21 meditation. g Buddha's can't wash…, 70 easily lost, 7 analytical and concentration, 95 division, 103 fragile, 7 and suppressing delusions, 31 sangha, 90 gained but once, 6 insight meditation. g ten, 105–13 great potential, 7 wandering/sinking mind, 128 unlimited, 85 leisures, 9–13 meditation guided used to, 57 meditation, 16–18, 20 bardo, 49–50 non-virtuous friends, 88 moment by moment benefit, 20 dying stage, 47–51 Nyingma. g ninth non-leisure, 12–13 importance of life, 20 obstacles, 8 lower realms, 62–63 opportunities, 13–15 precious human life, 16–18 O rarity, 21 rebirth, 50 obscurations. g recognizing, 9–18 refuge, 93–94 obstacles signs of development, 22 mental abiding. See zhinay precious human life, 8 taking essence out of, 9–22 mental wandering. See meditation. washing away, 121 temporary benefit, 19–20 mentally disabled Odyssey to Freedom, 148–49 ultimate benefit, 18–19 leisure from being, 11 omniscience. g understanding its value, 18–20 merit. g One Hundred and Fifty Verses of previous life. See reincarnation. absolute and relative, 71 Praise, 69 pride merit field. See Field of Merit. outlines, 103 divine. g Meru. g how to use, 95 priority, 53 method. g overview, 135, 136–41 Purchok Ngawang Jampa, 39 Middle Way. g pure land. g Migtsema. g purification, 119–21 Milarepa, 19, 28, 31, g P four powers, 120–21 quoted, 30, 32, 80 Pabongka, 106, g signs of, 121 next life, 44 meditation, 47 visualization, 121 yak horn, 79 quoted, 38 purification buddhas, 120 mind Padmasambhava. g at time of death, 114–16 Pakyebu, 35 Q Mitri Yogi Panchen Lama, First quoted, 43 quoted, 43, 44 qualities morality pandit. g body speech mind, 75–78 and future life, 19, 97 Panglung Rinpoche, 158 Buddha, 79 and human life, 21 path(s) quotations root, 97 accumulation, 71–72 and meditation, 37 mudra. g action, 72 biography Gungtang, 39 five paths, 71–73 bodhimind N meditation, 73 human life best, 19 no more learning, 73 Buddha naga, 19, g qualities of the, 81 images, 89 Nagarjuna. g seeing, 72–73 not lying, 99 death of, 99 and delusions, 73 remembering, 86 eight leisures, 9 three levels, 25 death, 26, 27, 29, 33, 37, 39, 43 in refuge tree, 64 person advice king, 36 quoted, 90 extra-ordinary, 68 born alone, 43 death, 41 positivity, 71 Buddha, 32 karma, 98, 114 Potowa Geshe, 14 criminal to execution, 37 Nalanda. g practice. See sprititual practice and footprint elephant, 30 Nanda, 119 dharma practice. going naked, 42 Naropa. g prajnaparamita. g gone from sight, 40 nectar. g Prajnaparamita Sutra. g, lit herder with stick, 38 next life. Also see rebirth, Prasangika. g kings and beggars alike, 42 reincarnation. pratimoksha. g meditate morning…, 31 more important, 122 Pratyeka buddha. See solitary Milarepa, 30, 32, 44 ngondro. g realizer Nagarjuna, 41

Index 179

no place to hide, 35 renunciation, 6, 11, 152, g, Also see quoted, 16 old monk young god, 32 wish for freedom. Shariputra, 11, 34, 101 prepare now, 26 and lower realms, 58 shastra. g degenerated age, 14 hairy, 127 Sherab Senge. g Dharma, 67 respect shunyata, 68, 135 deep, peaceful..., 58 Buddha, 89–90 . g respect, 90 Dharma, 90 sign of development impermanence sangha, 90–91 embracing human life, 22 last word of Buddha, 35 root texts lower level, 123 karma, 62, 87, 98, 104 Foundation of All Perfections, refuge, 84 iron ball, 114 146–47 signs of purification, 121 lower realms Guide to the Middle Way. vol. IV six ornaments, 35 hell, 58 Lamp for the Path to six paramitas, 71, g morality as cause, 97 Enlightenment. vol. I six realms, 50 next life, 56 Lamrim Dudon, 155–58 skandhas. g offering, 92 Lines of Experience, 150–54 slander, 110 precious human life Odyssey to Freedom, 148–49 Solitary realizer. g bag of gold dust, 8 Rice Seedling Sutra. vol. III Song of the Stages, 5, 25, 55, 65, 97 bodhicitta, 19 Seeking Inspiration to Realize the soul, 73 gold, 13 Stages of the Lam Rim, 159– spirit, help from, 78 rebirth 61 spiritual development non-leisures, 9 Seven Point Mind Training. vol. IV actual dharma, 67 refuge, 85, 86 Thought Transformation in Eight check, 67 behind the door, 131 Stanzas. vol. IV levels of, 25 can’t wash…, 70 Three Principles of the Path, my dharma, 81 samadhi, 83 145–46 your dharma, 67 spiritual master, 18 spiritual master, 18, 48 S representative, 15 R richness, 18 Sakya. g spiritual practice, 117 Ratnavali (Nagarjuna). See Precious Sakyamuni. g, See Buddha. fight, 95 Garland samadhi, 11, 112, g Stages of Meditation (Kamalashila). realms. g Samantabhadra, 92, g lit rebirth. g sambhogakaya. g stealing, 107–8 controlled, 5, 13 samsara, 127, g stories lower realms, 58 definition, 5 Buddha meditation, 50 glue to, 6 death of, 34 refuge, 52, g, Also see stories, sangha. g Devadatta, 77 quotations. absolute and relative, 68 last two disciples, 34 absolute and relative, 66 behavior, 74 mad elephant, 77 advices, 87–93 community, 74 poisened lunch, 77 and ghosts, 85 object of refuge, 74 teaching by music, 34 and karma, 86 pointing out things, 132 tigress, 71 and non-virtuous friends, 88 qualities of true, 81 death and purifying negative karma, 85 respect, 90–91 butter tea, 115 benefits, 85–87 true, 68 choir of monks, 47 Buddha, Christ, 131 two qualities, 68 inescapable, 35 causal and result, 66 securities shirt, 116 causes, 65–66 false, 56–57 smuggler, 46 false object of, 78 seeing path, 72–73 karma how to take, 75–84 and delusions, 73 Angulimala, 104 levels, 83 Seeking Inspiration to Realize the eighteen-headed fish, 91 meditation, 93–94 Stages of the Lam Rim, 159–61 fly on cow dung, 101 objects of, 66–69 self, 8 goat, sheep and ox, 105 ordinary extra-ordinary, 84 self-cherishing. g golden elephant, 100 sign of having taken, 84 self-existence. g Grown from the fire, 100 three levels of fear, 65 self-grasping. g hunchbacked servant, 100 to external objects, 69 self-purpose, 79 Maudgalputra’s death, 101 to others, 131 sentient being. g Pegye’s small seed, 101 tree, 64 Seven Point Mind Training pig around stupa, 101 why Buddha fit of, 69–70 (Chekawa). lit poor arhat, 101 regret, 29, 120 sexual misconduct, 108 Sakya war, 36 reincarnation, 8, 127, 128 Shantideva. g, Also see snake in skeleton, 116 Renchungpa, 79 Bodhisattvacharyavatara ugly singer, 98 mandala offering, 28

180 Lam Rim Teachings

Milarepa three poisons. g two stages. g yak-horn, 79 Three Principles of the Path Vajrayogini. g precious human life (Tsongkhapa), 145–46, lit Vasubandhu. g Longdol Lama, 19 three qualities of a buddha, 79 quoted, 104 refuge three realms. g vegetarian, 88, 106, 107, 132 Buddha image, 89 three scopes, 25 Vikramashila. g ghosts under bridge, 85 Treasury of Metaphisics Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra. lit Matricheta, 83 (Vasubandhu). See vinaya. g mountain burst, 131 Abhidharmakosha Vinaya Sutra, 108 official, 66 Trijang Rinpoche, 106, g vipasyana, 83 reincarnation, 128 Tripitaka. g, g visualization. g samsaric god, 11 Triza, 34 vows, 74, 85, 87, 117 stupa. g Tsongkhapa. g breaking, 134 Subhadra, 34 quoted, 18, 27 of monk and nuns, 133 suffering, 58–60 Tushita. g animal, 61 twelve principle events, 70, g hells, 58–60, 60 twenty-two bodhicittas. g W hungry ghost, 60–61 two accumulations. g wandering or sinking mind, 129 Suhrllekha (Nagarjuna). See Letter two excellences, 35 Wheel of Sharp Weapons to a Friend two qualities of a buddha, 78 (Dharmarakshita). lit sutra. g two selflesses. g wisdom. g Sutra of the White Lotus, 86, lit two truths. g wisdom being. g Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish, wish for freedom, 5 104, lit U what blocks us, 6 wrong view, 14, 73, 111 T Udayana, 119 leisure from having, 12 ushnisha. g tantra. g Uttara Tantra (Maitreya). See tantrayana. g Changeless Nature Y Tara. g . g Tathagata. g V Yama, 38, 43, 49, 50 ten bodhisattva stages. g . g ten directions. g vajra body, 33 yidam. g ten non-virtues, 105–13, g Vajradhara. g Yogacarya-bhumi, 13, 15 ten opportunities, 13–15 in refuge tree, 64 yongdzin. g ten virtues, 117 vajra-master. g Thabkye, Geshe Yeshi, 8 Vajrapani. g Theravada. g Vajrasattva, 121, g Z thirty-seven practices. g Vajrayana Zangtsun Yerpa three baskets, 14 and death, 52 quoted, 31 three higher trainings. g obtaining buddha stage, 7 zhinay, 95, g Three Jewels, 65, 66, 88, 91 relative/absolute merit, 72

GEHLEK RIMPOCHE

Born in Lhasa, Tibet, Kyabje Gehlek Rimpoche was rec- ognized as an incarnate lama at the age of four. Carefully tutored by Tibet’s greatest living masters, he received specialized individual teaching at Drepung Monastery, the nation’s largest monastery. In 1959, Gehlek Rimpoche was among those forced into exile, fleeing the Communist Chinese who had occupied Tibet since 1951. While in India, Rimpoche as a member of a group of sixteen monks, was chosen to continue spe- cific studies with the great masters who had escaped Ti- bet, including the Dalai Lama’s personal tutors. At the age of twenty-five, Rimpoche gave up monastic life. In the mid-70’s, Gehlek Rimpoche was encouraged by his teachers to begin teaching in English. Since that time he has gained a large following throughout the world. Coming to the U.S. in the mid-80’s, Rimpoche later moved to Ann Arbor, MI and in 1987 founded Jewel Heart, an organization dedicated to the preserva- tion of Tibetan culture and Buddhism. Today, Jewel Heart has chapters throughout the U.S. and in Malaysia, Singapore and the Netherlands. A member of the last generation of lamas to be born and fully educated in Tibet, Gehlek Rimpoche is particularly distinguished for his understanding of contemporary so- ciety and his skill as a teacher of . He is now an American citizen. Gehlek Rimpoche’s first book, the national bestseller, Good Life, Good Death, was published in 2001.

JEWEL HEART

Jewel Heart is an educational and cultural center whose doors are open to all. Its purpose is to transmit the essence of Tibetan Buddhism in an authentic and accessible form. Jewel Heart provides guidance and practical methods to anyone interested in spiritual development, as well as to those who wish to follow the traditional Buddhist path.

The name Jewel Heart was chosen to represent the organization because the heart is the essence of the hu- man being, and the jewel something of great value – considered precious. Through embracing the preciousness of our life and developing our qualities, inner peace will grow, and our actions will be influenced by compassionate concern for others. It is to this end that Jewel Heart dedicated its efforts.

The Jewel heart logo contains three graphic elements: the spinning jewel wheel, the lotus, and the flame. The central wheel symbolizes the three jewels of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. The Bud- dha represents our potential for enlightenment. The Dharma is the spiritual development within each in- dividual. The Sangha is the community of those individuals, who have developed wisdom, act as guides. In nature, the lotus rises from the mud, yet remains pure. Similarly, we are capable of rising above ordi- nary conceptions and putting love and compassion into action in daily life. The flame that surrounds the jewel wheel represents the fire of wisdom, consuming all obstacles and bringing insight.

JEWEL HEART Head Office: 207 East Washington Street, Ann Arbor MI 48104, USA. Tel. (1) 313 994 3387 Fax: (1) 313 994 5577. Homepage: jewelheart.org

JEWEL HEART Chapters are to be found: • In USA in Ann Arbor, Chicago, Cleveland OH, Lincoln NE, New York, and San Francisco. • In The Netherlands in Nijmegen, Den Bosch, Tilburg, Arnhem and Utrecht. • In Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, Gerik and Panang, and in Muar. • In Singapore.

JEWEL HEART P.O BOX 7933 ANN ARBOR, MI 48107 www.jewelheart.or