Today we are going through the teaching of Yun Tin Tzu and I felt it was very important for the students here in the West to review what is really, whether we have really touched all aspects of our spiritual experience genuinely. We seem to, as part of the nature of the samsara mind, to always have a very immediate seep experiences and jump and always to live more

[01:24]

like in a state of future mind. It's very hard to be in the present mind. So, it seems to have lost the connection with the present minds and constantly living in a fantasy world, in a spiritual fantasy. And those are happening because of lack of background, background of knowledge. And this whole spiritual path knowledge is the knowledge of mind, to understand the mind and how to heal that mind step by step. And when we jump too fast, we miss important experiences, even though they may be small. Even though they may not sound very exciting, like

[02:30]

some in the West and in the East also, always people like to hear something extremely profound all the time. Something which would radically make a change, a right instant, an instant enlightenment. But instant enlightenment will not happen if one has not understand very deeply inside the mind to be present. And the world presence, actually what we really have to come to the conclusion, what we really have to understand is the being in the presence of the every moment, being in the presence of that state of space, openness, allowing. But how to allow? That's a great deal of, again, a question. We may seem to allow something

[03:39]

with identification. It's the point of that inner state, it's quite something. We may think, okay, I'm going to allow space. You just sit there and then you create a lot of projection. That is your ego's projection. That's your still duality projection. And kind of that, many things in the state of the mind where one could have sidetracks. Those are called sidetracks and there are many dangers on the path where one can fall onto the sidetracks, mistaking what is the true nature and duality. It's kind of very tricky and complication from that point. And you can see that

[04:42]

spiritual path, one has to come with a tremendous compassion, strength to oneself. Before we talk about others, one has to really see oneself and to have that willingness to work on the spiritual path. Because many people, they start a spiritual path on the path a little bit and you have some exciting experience, instant flashing experience. And then we seem to, again, lost from that point. And again, we are living in the future. And again, we are struggling. The moment we go back into the past or future,

[05:50]

actually going back into the past is a projection of the future. One cannot really go back to the past. It's a projection of future. But the projection will discriminate a past and a future. So there is a constant struggle, a constant struggle, an unlimited, ceaseless struggle always happening in ourself. And simply we get lost from that presence. We simply get lost from that presence into the future, into a fantasy realm. That's called fantasy realm. And now it's very hard, you know. I mean, we all know how hard it is to be in a presence. It's not an easy thing. It's not an easy job, what you could say. Or it's not an easy thing to just to be in their presence, to allow the flow of their presence. It's extremely hard. And again, we get seduced back to our old projections, back to our old phenomena world.

[07:02]

We get seduced back into that. And we indulge into the same thing. Because we did not, part of that why we get seduced and we completely surrender into that old pattern, is because we haven't really understood what really enlightenment means. And one did not experience that presence also. And one did not understand the value of that. And value one would not understand as long as one has a really good understanding from the very beginning stage of the teaching, what we would say like a Hinayana teaching, the basis of the suffering, the confusion, the causes of them, the human rebirth, all those things. As long as we really did not understand that how precious and how difficult to attain those states and how much we have at this point that we can do something in our life for our own

[08:10]

sake, we can do something. When we did not understand those values, then we get seduced back into the fantasy again. So it's not easy. You see, it's not easy. It will require some, it will require some, a great deal of support of knowledge and your willingness to practice to come out of that confusion, a big part of confusion, to get out of that is going to require a great deal of sacrificing and strength in oneself. As I said, you can be in presence. We are constantly fighting. Every mind is constantly. One of the reasons why we cannot have a blissful experience, why we cannot have a joyful experience, why we cannot be lively, because we are constantly hungry,

[09:15]

constantly struggling, constantly in our mind, we are planning, we are, you know, just rushing, [...] no time to digest. We are not allowing any time to digest, any time to experience fully, even that simplistic thing. That simplistic is the most profound enlightenment, actually. So therefore, being on the roof, one has to climb the first step to the second step to the third step. It's not like a ball that you just hit it on the ground and it will be up. Of course, that also will require a lot of skillful in how to let the ball go up on the roof. Similarly, a lot of our sidetracks happens when we really don't understand the gradual path

[10:22]

and when we don't understand lack of knowledge, to put it that way, lack of knowledge and it does not give you the inspiration, the lack of knowledge, doesn't give you the inspiration and the values to see that state, which is beyond the concepts, which is beyond the fabrications, beyond the struggling of our mind. But we should not lose courage. We should not lose courage. One really has to understand that by hearing, by having more knowledge, by having more experience into your meditation, one would get into that state much more profound. You will have a much further, deeper experience than before. You will have much more sense of confidence in yourself than before

[11:27]

and you are able to experience a joy at the same time in your mind, truly understand what really the nature of the triple gem means. But it's hard, you know, because to experience truly that nature is so hard because we cannot just sit. That is the problem. And the reason why we cannot just sit is we are used to this, walking all the time from so many lifetimes, from a continuation of unbreakable, unbreak walking throughout lifetimes, struggling, struggling, struggling, struggling. And that has taken so much energy. And actually, when we see that, when we get to that point, we get very tired. We get frustrated. And we get so frustrated and we do not want to accept that frustration also.

[12:32]

We just want to forget about that. We don't want to hear about it. We don't want to think about that and we just deceive ourselves. It's the self-deception to oneself. One does not work what is really happening. We seem to, because somehow we have lost our presence, we punish ourselves as being something not worth it, seeing as oneself as a failure. And then we look for something promising, that someone can just give you a promise that you will be happy or you will be next lifetime, you will be born in such and such. And we see ourselves as a failure, to simply put it that way. That's what has happened to us. And now, it is very precious, you see, in the teaching of Yantze, which goes,

[13:42]

which this week, the teachings will be, it's not, the teaching of meditation will be much later on, but this is a very gradual teaching which explains the values of our life, the values of the teachings. And a lot of time I know in the, in the West, in the East, both places, I mean, we always like to have the best, you see, and everybody has right to have the best, actually. Everybody has the right to be greatest. Everybody has the Buddha nature. Everybody has the enlightened nature. But we seem to not pay attention to details. And some details can be very, very

[14:45]

great blessing to us, when we really pay a detail to something which we usually think not very important. We seem to already have a fixed idea in our mind, what is important and what is not important. And somehow it has deceived us also. Not all the time, it has proven something good. And as we know very well, that how our state of life is at this present situation, because we have our fixed ideas how to live in our life, what to do things, what we think is right, and many times it has proven something opposite. So those causes have proven very difficult experiences in our life. So, there are a lot of sidetracks. And Dharma practice, spiritual practice, is in a way,

[15:56]

is not difficult, and in a way it is difficult. It's not difficult if one is willing to do it. And it's difficult if one is not very sure. It's like it is very difficult for Buddha to be a samsara mind. Buddha really have to try hard. To try to a non-dual mind to be duality is very difficult. And for duality mind to try as a non-dual, it may seem like difficult, but if we truly understand the value of that, and we see the value, one has to see the value. One really has to see the value, how important it is to have the experience of light, free from ignorance, and how much price we pay in being living in a darkness.

[17:06]

And we have to understand how the whole project, the whole project one has to see. To plan a very good building, we need a very good project. We need the engineering, we need the structure, the element, then you need an astrologer if you want to make much better, who can fix out all this timing and the whole thing, and then it can be very well. Similarly, the spiritual teaching also, you know, is the learning of the foundation of our evolution, actually. There's the spiritual path in Buddhism. It's to learn oneself, that's all it meant spiritual. It does not require a person to convert. There is no conversion, or there is no something strange, mystic happening behind you. It's not like that. What is really on this path

[18:14]

of spiritual we are doing is to learn ourself, learn our body, learn our mind, learn how it begins, you know, how this confusion happens, each relationship with this emotion, relationship with our present situation, so we can have an understanding in ourselves and have a better and a true experience than always living in a false experience. So, I'm not discouraging you, but at the same time it's very important that you should be open and willing to follow that nature, you know, that you have to discover that nature within yourself and to know that nature one has to understand how difficult, first of all, all the circumstances are to happen. We are not fallen by a rainfall from the clouds. We are born here with the tremendous karmas,

[19:26]

which we even cannot mention. There are so many karmas we cannot mention at this stage. We are not just a production of just something like a popcorn where you put it in the pot and it just pops out. It's not like that. And even the popcorn, when it pops out, has a lot of work has gone before. Someone has to put the seed and we have to take proper care of the weather and then so many things, so many things has to be perfect and perfect care so that we can eat that popcorn in the movie theaters, you know, or wherever. So, we are not something fallen from the sky that which most people would just think that here I am and that's it. But we really never look inside, inside ourself. So, therefore, many of our problems are unsolved from that.

[20:26]

I think this is very important. This time in our work during the teaching, I want everyone to really look into ourselves, you see. So, therefore, I thought this teaching is essential. This is not, it does not, this is not a particular Mahamudra or Dzogchen teaching. This is a teaching from the stages, it goes to stages, from the Hinayana stages to the Mahayana stages to the Vajrayana stages. One could say the entire nine jnanas approach from this teaching. And the reason why the nine jnanas is shown because we need that. We just cannot understand just like that. And you should understand that. And one has to work from that point, the values of the inspiration, the values to reach that state so that we can

[21:32]

completely solve a lot of our problems, tremendous great problems. Just knowing the nature of their mind a little bit solves a tremendous great problem. Though it may look quite differently to a samsaric mind, it may look, it may not look very romantic to a duality mind, but it would be very romantic to a non-dual mind. And we just, we know that being romantic from the ordinary situation, the way we usually project and the way we get the feedback from that kind of mind, state of mind, there is always a separation, there is always a state of struggling, there is hardly a moment to be free.

[22:37]

You see, so there are many, many things which will come this point, come this time. And so if you'd like to write notes, please write notes. For instance, myself, I've done many practices in Buddhism. I've done a great deal of practice from the Vajrayana teachings to the practice of Mahayana to practice of meditation to practice of different, different things. And now I come to really appreciate the details, how much we miss a great deal of enlightened states. I'm not talking the ultimate enlightened, but great deals of lights and enlightened state when we do not pay attention to how, when we take things as granted, when we do not understand how difficult those have been to acquire.

[23:39]

And we do not seem to value those states, then we do not value anything. Even you have a good experience sitting next to a great teacher, a glimpse of experience of emptiness, a glimpse of experience of other nature, but again you would take it as granted because you have just seen it for a glimpse and then after some time that kind of experience will again start to fade away. And when that happens, again we live in our three times. Again we start processing, cooking up the world, cooking up the world food of the three times, past, present and future, entertaining all those foods of the three times because one cannot simply be into that state. First of all, one is not used to it for a long, long time, one is used to that dualistic mind and now to be for a moment with the blessing of the

[24:45]

teaching and oneself able to recognize that one would not see that value because your strength is so weak. Because it's only happened like a flash. It's like a flash to you for a moment and that flash is gone over and again you go back to the same old habitual way which you are before, same old world. So one has to learn to value things. You see, one has to learn to value how difficult from the beginning, let's put it this way at this point, the precious human rebirth and all these things. And when we really pay a deep examination into them, when we examine them, when we see their values, we are going to value everything. And then by valuing that, it will support, it will be the main blessing to remain in that state of

[25:47]

enlightened mind. And then being in that state after some time, freeing all the crazy confusion, obscuration, then one would be able to be free from the experience of confusion. But until that we are always losing, we are always on the sidetrack. You already know how many teachings you have received from so many teachers. And why you are again on the same way back? You're again on the same place where you are before. Why? Why are you on the same way back? Because one did not know, one have not really tested their value. Because one has disrespected the other values. So again it will happen in the future,

[26:50]

it's the same thing. And therefore the like practice of Wundro, the gradual teachings, is emphasized because one learns to value everything. One learns to respect. And by respecting that, one finally comes to the stage where one can respect one's nature. And it's a question of completeness. And there is no chance we can jump somewhere. Problem comes when we are jumping. Problem arises when we are impatient. And spiritual path, one has to allow all the patience, all the space. You can never allow space for, if you do not allow space, then you don't have an understanding realization. The world realizations

[27:53]

come from allowing the space. And within the space, the value is understood, and the life is understood. And then our enlightenment is also understood. So I see a lot of sidetracks. It's been a sidetrack for, sidetrack, I've seen the sidetrack in myself, and I can see the sidetrack in you also. And it has happened in the past, it has happened, it will happen in the present, and it will happen in the future, if we do not really learn to value the beginning. And those are very important. We have to learn, and we have to actualize, and so that we can change our life to a better life, and then from a better life to an enlightened state. And that's what

[28:58]

what we could say, advice from the spiritual friend. And you should all take it seriously. As much as you take seriously the meditation teaching, the, and while you're not able to be in the state, it's because you have missed this biggest point. So one has to go very carefully. There's so many sidetracks, there's so many sidetracks. And now in the teaching of Yönten Tzu, Yönten Tzu means the treasure of knowledge, treasure of knowledge. Now, knowledge means understanding, you see, and it's a valuable

[30:08]

understanding. It's not, it's called valuable understanding because it heals, and it has a virtuous state, and it has a positive experience. So therefore it's called a treasure, Yönten, a knowledge. We are not, it's not the knowledge of destruction, it's the spiritual path, it's the knowledge of clarity, the knowledge of enlightenment. So in approaching the knowledge of enlightenment, we all go through different, different kinds of experiences in our life. Some are not used to the knowledge of enlightenment, because the whole approach at the beginning seems to be far away, because mind is used to,

[31:16]

used to caught in entertaining oneself in a duality way. And so therefore I said, you know, it's very hard for Buddha to learn this samsaric way. And for a samsaric being, being in the state of duality for so long time, now to have, to hold that presence, let's put it that way, to be into the presence, just being into the presence of the most natural state, becomes very hard at the beginning stage. So sometimes when we go to hear teachings, you know, sometimes there is a people in, there are some people in Tibet, they say, oh the best sleep they get is while they are reciting the mantra. Because the mind, and if they go to see some kind of fleshy dance, or something very,

[32:25]

kind of duality phenomena, then they will get excited, all their eyes are 20 times open than usual, and you know, all their, everything is open like that, and getting completely into it. And when they really go to the presence of their most important state at the beginning, it's kind of weak, and one feel like sleepy, or you know, one just think, what is happening, you know, like that. And those are all obscurations. Those are the obscurations, one does not experience the values. Now those who have experienced that state, they are always in the greatest joy in being within that state. And the duality seems to be the biggest problem for them, because it's not the true nature, and it's just like a complete crazy.

[33:27]

So the, but you know, and then again a smart person may ask, oh then it's like abstract, you know, it's like a relative, relative, whatever it be, some intelligent person, oh then it's relative for, maybe dualistic is very perfect, you know, for somebody, and non-dual is perfect for somebody, one may say, because we are so, we are very smart. So we may also ask kind of this question, oh then it's, especially in Tibetan society, everyone should do whatever one feels the best, so therefore duality should be good for somebody, you know, let them be duality, and it's the constitute of the United States, that everyone has the right to be what they have. And non-dual is good for somebody, so let them have that. And that's, you know, again, a lot of things, a lot of sidetracks, difficulties are there.

[34:44]

Now the reason is, you know, duality and non-duality is a very different state. Duality is a state where every confusion projects, every fear and uncertainty, and fear and uncertainty happens because not seeing the true nature. So therefore it's called the confusion of duality. Now absence of that uncertainty and fear is called the non-dual state, that is called the enlightened state. So therefore there is a big difference in those two. One is absence of fear, and one is in the fear. And one who did not see that, one who have never experienced that state, and then that person start to mediate, become the judge, you know, saying that you have the right to be duality, and one you don't have the right to be non-duality, is the person who is like ignorant.

[35:48]

The person who can, who has the state of the enlightened state, would naturally respect and would tell that person, of course it's better for you to have the absence of fear and uncertainty. While the other person does not know the depth of their mind, cannot see that fear and uncertainty is caused by duality, therefore he would say it's the law of the United States that everyone has the right of their religion. Of course everyone has the right of religion. But it's important that we should help each other in solving our problem. Not fooling around. There are so many ways to fool around. There are so many sidetracks in fooling around. And we should get to the point, even sometimes it's difficult, and it could be painful, but we should do our best from the heart. We should help them in the best understanding and knowledge

[36:53]

and experience we have to our friends and to our fellow people. And we cannot do that if we do not know ourselves. And if we did not experience ourselves, we cannot even tell them how that state is. So, it's certainly a long way to go. It's certainly some way to go. It's not, there are a lot of sidetracks and a lot of distraction on the path and a lot of distraction. Are those seduction and distraction similar thing? There's no difference between a seduction and a distraction. All those sidetracks are there where a person can fall all the time and breaks. We are constantly breaking our neck, constantly breaking our hands. Something is breaking all the time in our life. Therefore, we have all this problem. If we are not falling on the sidetracks, then we should be like in a sky,

[37:55]

opening up all the time, you know. It's just like a light, light energy. There seems to be a lot of obstruction, you know. Banging your head on the wall, hitting your legs on the wall, constantly breaking and breaking and breaking. And we get so tired. And then we try to give advice to each other, you know, say that you do this, you know. So, the whole thing becomes very suspicious question. So, now, in the teaching of Buddhism, Buddhist teaching as you heard in many other teachings, begins with the teaching of recognizing and accepting

[38:59]

the state of our mind as it is at this present state. And that is to say that at this present state, most of the people are going through a difficult time, which is suffering, going through a painful time, going through a state of uncertainty, going through a state of fear. That is called the suffering. And it's very important to understand so that we would value, that we would not do this again. You see, once we know the suffering, and once we have understood the root of the suffering, then it's important. If you don't want to get the same kind of problem, you should not do. You see, one should not do that kind of thing. Unless you want to have the same experience,

[39:59]

then it's your choice. But nobody really wants to go through a painful experience again. Therefore, one has to change certain way of behaviors. One has to change certain ways of thinking, and certain way of behavior, even though it may be not very comfortable, and not very easy. It's not very easy at the beginning, but it's easy at the end. Really not difficult. It's hard to sit in a cross-leg at the beginning, but you enjoy, you know. I enjoy sitting in. I even sit in this cross-leg when I'm in the restaurants. It feels so comfortable. So, similarly, nothing is there which is impossible. Nothing is there which is hard. We can train ourselves. We can have a presence of mindfulness

[41:00]

and a respect and value if we are to help ourselves. If we are to manifest, as I said, very important. We are all in the path of Mahayana. I'm not saying that none of you are Hinayana or Kirin. But it's important to have a compassion to yourself. See, before we generate this great compassion, you know, which we hear all the time, before we generate this great compassion, manifest the compassion to yourself so you do not do those things which will make you go through a suffering. And that's very important. If you do the things which will make you suffering, you will go through the suffering. And that's what the Dharma teachings are. It doesn't, you know, and we know that what we like to do is always something different.

[42:01]

We like to be very crazy. That's what we seem to enjoy. And it's great if you enjoy, you know. It's not that I'm saying you should not enjoy. You should enjoy. But that kind of distraction does not bring us through a true state of happiness. It creates a tremendous uncertainty more and more because the whole actions has been something not, it has been something quite different. So much minds, every experience is the experience of mind. Mind getting caught up into a tremendous net of this, like a spider web, you know, like a butterfly which sees the light as something beautiful, like a house. And they all go there and they all die there. It's that kind of distraction.

[43:03]

So therefore it's called the confusion of suffering, the confusion of samsara mind. And so therefore the first thing in the teaching it begins is to recognize our suffering and where that suffering begins because we deceive ourselves. We did not recognize ourselves. We did not respect. We did not, we have lost the fundamental respect and therefore we have lost respect in every other thing. We do not trust ourselves. And now we do not trust ourselves. Not only that we have completely seen as our failure and then we take refuge in every other doctrines in the world which tells us fear, which tells us about that. And then, I mean, it's like, you know,

[44:04]

really very, very poor state of mind. I've seen in some comic, it says the poor earthly weaklings, like that kind of state of mind. Then we have no sense of confidence, no sense of clarity. Then we constantly listen, you know, whoever will say, someone telling a story from there, you just go and hear right away and say, right. And then someone from there will say something, you just go and say, right. And someone saying something there is just going to say, you have no sense of, you know, trust in yourself, no sense of right. And someone saying, oh, you are created by a Bhagavan or God. Yes, you know. And someone say, no, you are not created the next week. Right. And then someone say, you are. And constantly, you know, constantly just going from, it's like a volleyball, you know, where they throw from the other side to the right side to the left. Constantly like that, no sense of trust

[45:04]

because one is completely got lost from that state of the enlightened state. So, we becomes very vulnerable, you know. We are very vulnerable. At this stage, we are really fragile. So, it's so important to deal with people. It's not easy, you know. You really have to, like, touch carefully. Is it okay or not? You know, it's like that. And it's very difficult. And we have to, to help each other. To help each other, one got to be very sensitive. And one should be also at the same time open and strength inside to really to hear the teaching and digest the teaching and then actualize that. It's difficult. I mean, everyone is fragile. So much emotion, you know. If someone say shit,

[46:05]

immediately you will get red face and angry. If someone say, oh, you are wonderful, immediately you will show a smiling face. Now, look at that kind of mind. So, where is the strength? How can one trust oneself? The question is, there is no way one can trust oneself. And, you know, all these things happens because, oh, there's been a big problem. So, to heal ourself, that completeness, not we create some kind of dignity or some kind of trust, but one can see oneself totally. That's what we need. And those will all gonna happen if you are true to yourself

[47:15]

and if you are willing to make some changes in the pattern of your way of thinking. Like for a very lazy person who wants to be a great doctor or psychologist or someone. It cannot be as long as the person is not willing to change that laziness. One has to give up that attachment to that laziness. And then one could make some changes. So, similarly, to give up our suffering, one has to respect the law of nature, which means the law of karma. And that's very important. We can all be in the highest meditation state. We can be in the state of Dzogchen nature.

[48:18]

We can be in the state of Mahamudra or Madhyamika, whatever you may call it. But we like to be in that state. We like to be in the state of that higher profound teaching while our situations are very easy and comfortable. And when something really bad happens to you, then you just want to give up. And then you will go back to the old dualistic pattern and you will fight. Now, what is... Now, again, where one has lost the trust, and again, what is a practitioner? One is not a practitioner. We are calling ourselves, oh, I'm doing the practice. And those kind of things are very important that we should really pay a lot of attention to our life.

[49:21]

We should observe our state of mind. Time to time. It is important that we wake up from this state. I'm really telling you, you've got to observe your mind before you go into really any higher meditation. There are time when we do meditation and there are time when a lot of time we don't do meditation. A lot of time we get engaged into ordinary relative stuff. And during those time it's important that we be careful and observe and respect the law of karma which happens. And when we are ignorant in the law of karma, then we would not have respect. And then again, we are in the same old pit of that confusion. The suffering manifests, reflects back to us endlessly. And the meditation is also weak

[50:22]

because you have not found the respect in the law of karma. We do not know to respect the law of karma, so therefore you do not know to respect the ultimate presence of your true nature also. So, it needs a very proper care. And we should really observe ourselves throughout our times, the way our mind functions. And when there is something wrong, we should correct it also. Well, we all heard a lot of great teachings. So we say, oh, I don't need the correction. I just come, let it go. But you don't need to correct it. Don't let it go, you know. I've also noticed, you don't let it go. You just hold to that, you know.

[51:24]

If it's something bad, you hold to that for a long time. And there we are talking, you know, we are entertaining ourselves with that word called let it go. So, those are all sidetracks of spiritual path. You know, don't be fake spiritual. Be a true spiritual person. Be true to oneself. Then you can trust yourself. You can see the value to yourself. And if you start using those words, or then you have a big fight with somebody, let's say. And then, again, you do not want to respect the law of the karma. Because you are not, you do not have that knowledge. You do not have the experience also, you know. You're so confused that you do not know to respect the law of karma. Same time, you do not have any realization, you see. One who does not have realization,

[52:24]

one does not have respect to the karma. But one who has realization, one would have, one has respect to every details. And then at the same time, there when a very big problem, circumstance happens, then you say, then you bring your memories, you know. That if you go through a hell of a problem, oh, forget it, I have a great time, you know. Just doesn't matter. Or you bring the certain books, certain psychologies, you know. Or it tells, you know, such and such. So just try to, you know, think like that. Never somehow really knowing how to clean the state by presently letting it go. Letting it go means the person is ready to accept the depression. That's what really letting it go means.

[53:25]

Person is ready to eat everything as well as the depression. One is ready to allow the space for depression also at the state. And we have no room for depression, you see. The way our mind is, we have no room for pain. We don't want to hear pain. We don't want to hear all the suffering. We have no room for depression. Only thing is beauty and light and colorful and magic and miracles. And how can we trust ourselves? When the time will come for us to see ourself, for us to really know ourself, when we are constantly running away, trying to escape from these situations which are so real, which are so fact, that we do not know how to relate to this situation. So never the time will come where we can trust ourselves.

[54:29]

Insightly, deeply. So there is a great deal of sidetracks. And it's very important that one has to understand and one needs to make some changes. Therefore the teachings are, if there is no need for changes, if you think that you are perfectly fine and you don't need to make any changes from your way of life, then there is no need to come here to hear this teaching. But if you really see that, you see your present state, that which is, if you see your present state as a state of uncertainty,

[55:31]

as a state of confuse, as a state of which has lost trust in yourself, then we need to make the changes by approaching the right step. Which means we learn to value every small detail. We learn to respect everything. We learn to respect ourselves and we learn to respect the others. Which may be different for a person who does not know to respect before, now has to change to see that experience of the other side of the suffering. And that willingness one should have on the path of Dharma. And to actualize that. Actualize that approach in one's life. And by approaching step by step, and then those experiences will naturally come.

[56:35]

You don't have to look for an experience. The true experience is never look, it comes by itself. Like the experience of suffering, by creating that cause of suffering, the suffering comes by itself. You never ask for the suffering to come. We are even trying to throw away all the suffering. We even don't want to hear the word suffering. We don't want to hear the depression. But they come. Because why? We did it. And they come. And when we don't do it, even you ask for them, they won't come. So that is what is important. You see, the teaching. Many great teachers in the past say, by the hearing of teaching, one is getting distance from the suffering. One gets distance from the suffering.

[57:37]

By hearing the teachings, one goes away from the experience of pain. And ultimately, one gains the state of enlightenment. And how do you get the state of enlightenment? Not just by trying to think of that, but simply by actualizing. Very simple. Then it happens. Every moment is simple, and that simplicity has that enlightened state. That's very important to know that. Every moment has the simplicity. The Dharma teaches, the teaching of the enlightened state, explain that moment, how to allow the space for everything, and how you have to learn to let that go also. And how to be yourself at that stage. And not to get distracted by all these afflictive emotions. And how you have to free those states. All these are in the teaching. And you have to actualize this thing when things are really happening real to you.

[58:39]

Otherwise, when to do those things? When someone hits you, that's the time to tolerate. Otherwise, when you're going to tolerate? By thinking? When someone says a bad word to you, you know, that's the time for a Dzogchen meditator to see that state as emptiness, the voice of emptiness. The sound can be heard, but there is nothing substantial. So there's a very strong presence in our mind. Very, very strong. Tremendous trust and strength it has. The compassion mind is based on an enlightened mind. The highest enlightened mind has such a strength that nothing can compare to that state. And it may seem that sometimes the enlightened mind seems to get losing, but it's not losing.

[59:41]

It has such a strength. If someone beats an enlightened being, they may not fight back. The compassion is very strong. And not necessarily every compassion mind, there are levels of compassion mind. The ultimate compassion mind is called the ultimate Bodhisattva. And that transcends the duality. That is the enlightened mind. So there's a great tale of compassion manifesting. And there's also great relative compassion also. For instance, like Pope John Paul. He's a great compassionate man, I think. Very good compassionate. I do not know him personally, but I believe he is a great compassionate person. He was shot and he pardoned that man. Well, everyone wants to kill that man who tried to assassinate him, but he tried to pardon that person. And those are a compassionate act. So to reach to that ultimate state of Bodhisattva mind,

[60:57]

first we have a lot of work to do. You know, we have a lot of homework to do, it seems like. We have a lot of work to do on the ground. Before we try to touch the roof, we haven't touched the ground very properly. And we are constantly trying to show ourselves that, oh, I can go on the roof because we try to show like the influence, you know, show like the tickets. Well, I have received this initiation from such and such Lama. Why not? I can be there. It's like we are trying to show those influences, deceiving ourselves. We do not see that we are deceiving ourselves. Oh, I'm not a Hinayana. My mind is very big. You know, I'm practicing in Zen Buddhism. I'm practicing in Tibetan Buddhism. They're all Mahayan Buddhism. You know, I'm not a small mind. I'm a Vajrayana plus, you know, and kind of those, we are bringing those names as a credential

[61:58]

to prove that we are something better. And while we completely forgot the values underneath. And there are many people I also know, you know, there are a couple of, they're in the East also, people like that. And there's also Western students I've seen in Nepal. You know, they get to Nepal and they wear those Lama's white yogi clothes and they drink all the day. And, you know, and some of them even smoke hashish and they think, oh, I'm great realized, you see. There's nothing, everything comes and goes. I ask you one day, everything comes and goes. And while there is a small, if there's a little bit of fight going on, then all their fat turn into red, you know. I mean, immediately there is no presence presence of really letting it go. It seems at that time they have, you know, the only best way to visualize this,

[63:00]

that person is trying to, you know, give you a teaching probably. It's the best to imagine. Otherwise, there is no, maybe it's a teaching of like Tilopa, the great Tilopa dealt with Marpa, to Naropa or to Marpa, to Milarepa, you know, tremendous dreadful and insulting is shown to liberate them. So unless they are enlightened, you know, by my own confusion mind, I'm interpreting, I don't know. Otherwise, it's like that. So one should not live with a false experience, false interpretation. One should live with the life experience and respect that life experience, no matter what. Respect that life experience, even if you have the state of true quality of enlightened state, great. If you don't have, just respect what you are and do it from that point.

[64:00]

That is important. Do not try to believe in our faults. Do not try to live something which you are not and thinking you are. That is, you can never go one step further if you do that. And that's become Rudra. How person become Rudra? By thinking which one is not and thinking one is great, becomes the greatest Mara. That's how the true danger comes when a person did not experience the true state and then thinking I'm very great and grasping to that. And then it's very dangerous. Then no teaching can benefit after some time because you have heard this teaching and you have heard that teaching. You show all of this to, those are all become like the credit for your ego and why you think you are enlightened. They will all become a credit to show one's ego how great one is. Oh, I've done this meditation, it didn't happen. Oh, you know, I've done this meditation,

[65:01]

I have that experience. Oh, I have really great experience. And there is no sense of enlightenment. The more the person is enlightened, the more simple they are, you see. And some are rightful. Like Marpa was very rightful to Milarepa. And some are rightful, some are not rightful. But one will experience how the energy manifests, how the teaching manifests, whether a person has really have the state or not. So very important, one should not live in false experience. Do not try to make it yourself. You don't have to be shy of yourself. We shouldn't, there's no reason to be ashamed of oneself, who one is. Respect that who one is. And by respecting, you will see the enlightened state. And then you will come to appreciate yourself more and to work yourself in a true way.

[66:02]

That's important. I know a lot of times the whole system of the duality samsara mind is to fake up. We try to fake ourselves, you know, by bringing the influence, you know, and then by doing this and by covering up this. Everything is almost all the time fake up. Always faking up, you know. All those, you know, like a movie stage actors, you know, where they put all those cosmetic, you know, and all those clothes. So trying to be something which one is not, you know. It's like Ben Kensley trying to be Mahatma Gandhi. Well, it's a movie, but you know, trying to, the whole thing is like, it's more like a big stage of superficial stage, a big stage of something which we are trying to show. And it's very dangerous in the state that it can happen. At the beginning, it's okay. When you're in the beginning stage of spiritual path

[67:06]

or any path, it's okay. When you first go to your office to work, you're fine. You know, you do not know anything in that office. You're very friendly to everybody. And everybody kind of see you as friendly too. But then after some time you see where the power is coming from, you know, how you can get to that power and which person to, which is the right person and the wrong person to talk, you know, kind of those things. And that, and when that happens, then you see there's a big struggle and then a lot of pain. Similarly, in the spiritual path, at the beginning when a student approaches, very good. Beginner's mind. So Zen, Suzuki Roshi, one Zen teacher said, beginner's mind, Zen mind, and the beginner's mind, the best mind. It's important we should have a mind like that child or mind like the beginning. When you first go to your class, which is open space, which you allow.

[68:06]

But after sometimes, because the mind, understanding the mind is so complicated. One does not understand. So therefore one does not trust yourself. You see, how difficult to understand the mind. One does not trust. It is such a degenerated, you know, as I said, how weak we have been. So then one does not know how to trust. So at the beginning, a spiritual path, a student come and student kind of be very nice. It's very open. And then after some time, you know, this teaching, you know, kind of that teaching, you have heard many teaching and you have practiced very little, or you may have practiced little, but you know, it takes a long time to clear up those confusion. And then after sometimes you will start to live in a false. Then you see the, you see the like, you know, to become a guru, to like become a guru. It's like, it's like being crazy to a lot of people. Um, because they see that, oh,

[69:10]

the teacher sits on a higher throne, he get their respect. And so therefore, why not me? I will also do the same thing, you know, and then because I heard this teaching, I have that initiation, I have this thing. So I can also do, do the same thing. In that way, we are living in a very dangerous situation, which a person can become the Rudra. It's easy for a person to become Rudra. And then the price you pay will be in this life. You don't have to wait to going to the next life. In this life, one will go through a tremendous pain and suffering inside, craziness. And next life, of course, there will be so much suffering by doing such a thing. It's not easy. So never to be false. To be what one is, that is the greatest thing to live. It is the greatest dignity to live. One who can, it's like I saw in Zen teaching books,

[70:16]

the person who cannot bow down, the teacher who cannot bow down to the other person who bows down, has no self-realization. But that does not mean the teacher has to bow down. It's an example from that point, where we have to be truly truthful in our presence and should not live in a false state. And this is something really very difficult. It's very tricky. You would not notice in yourself happening that. That's the biggest danger. The biggest danger comes you do not notice in yourself. And therefore, advice from the teacher and a spiritual friend is important from that point, so we could be on the right track. We do not get fooled on the wrong track. That is the biggest danger. You do not notice yourself.

[71:18]

If you can notice that happening, it's great. It's a blessing. But when you don't notice that happening in yourself, then the biggest danger comes in the life. The biggest danger comes. And I'm warning you because I've seen that way. And it has been taught by all the teachers in the past, how it can be. And it is something for a state of duality of mind. It's very easy to get excited to one's own phenomena and one would start making that phenomena into all different kinds of projections. It's very part of that confusion. It seems to be natural in a way, to put it that way. And it's a very dangerous step. So always, you know, your only work is your enlightenment. And your enlightenment, remember, is based on your true experience and expression of yourself. It is not based on anything other than the truth.

[72:22]

So if you value your enlightenment, you value your happiness, you have to be in your true, accept your true state. Who you are at this stage and to work onwardly. And it's not your worry, you know, you should not worry that, you know, well, we do have the concern for the happiness and for the enlightenment of other beings if you have the true respect in yourself. But if you lose your own truth and you try to be someone false, whatever you're doing is false also. Don't try to think at that time what you're doing for others is great. Everything is messed up there. A food with a poison is a poisonous food, no matter where we put, you know, it's not going to be a Amrita. It's not going to be a nectar food. Similarly, when we are false, when we are in that confused state, trying to, you know,

[73:23]

and trying to be more than that as a spiritual advisor, as a someone to, you know, and it's the most dangerous thing at this stage. Unless you are doing as a friend, that is fine. Because there's a big difference between a teacher and a friend. A friend can be someone you can both be a little bit honest, but there are also friends also not honest. But let's put it that way, the friends on the spiritual path is more better friend, who would be more friendly, you know, talking, relating to oneself, each other in a much more true way. While a friend on a non-spiritual way would be doing something different. So similarly, you should all be like, you know, spiritual. That's called the Sangha. That's called the spiritual friends. So important each one should talk with their openness, you know. One should not be impatient if someone is saying stupid. If someone is saying a question which is not profound, that shows you are again

[74:27]

not accepting your true nature at that time. There is nothing... What is profound? That person who is going through asking, let's put it that way, if someone asks a stupid question, that is the most profound question for that person. And one should respect that. And one should work on that. You would work with that if you know to respect your nature at that time. But if you do not know, you may think, oh, that person, did someone ask, or how is the question good? Did they ask you an important question? I mean, that shows that there is no true sense in oneself. And there are so many things missing, as I said. That's how unconsciously happening, how tricky our mind is. We would not recognize it. It's very, very, very tricky. So a spiritual friend should discuss among each other, we as a friendly, not as a guru, not as a teacher,

[75:28]

not as a lama. Because if you are fully enlightened, you can do that. But if you are not enlightened, then it's better to have the idea in your mind, if you think you are a friend, nobody thinks you are higher or you are lower. The enlightened teacher do not have that concept at all, that one is lower or one is higher. They see everyone as the same. They are in that ordinary state, to put it that way. They just, for them, it's nothing something like, you know, or just like that fabricating imagination of a colorful miracle. For them, it's that every moment is a very simplistic and complete, completeness, openness. There's no such thing as something obstructing. And not having that experience and trying to be something is very dangerous. And it's very, and I can see that happening

[76:30]

in the West more than in the East. Because there's a certain reason, in the East it's hard because in the East there are so many, you know, traditionally, Buddhism has kept very well. And then, you see, there are so many, so many lamas and so many great teachers. And they all know that, you know, how their state of, how their state reflects. Even they have, you know, it's not that some of them have met and know each other well or some of them don't. But they are pretty much understood, recognized. And in the West, it seems that, you know, like the person I met in Nepal, you know, that person has done many years of practice. I would say three, four years, five years, or maybe eight years.

[77:31]

And then really not touching to the point because somehow one has misled oneself. And it's very sad, you know, it's really, really sad. It's sad for that person. And it's sad for seeing that also, you know, it's something very sad. And besides, in this society, a person is encouraged in the education system to express oneself. So it's great to express oneself. This is what we need. But one should, there are limits. The limits are the truth. One should not falsify. That's the constitution of the United States. But when it's interpreted by our wrong idea, we think, oh, I can express while we are telling all these lies. False. Then it's dangerous. That should not happen. And that's not even written in the constitution, you see. So things like that is very dangerous thing to happen. And because somehow

[78:33]

our world is getting degenerate, there are less and less enlightened teachers are there, and there are more and more, a lot of people, those who do not know at all, appointed as teachers. So it's a very dangerous situation. Very dangerous. There are teachers today becoming graduating from universities, like the many Christian priests. And of course, there must be some great bodhisattvas but the basic university, we know how it's in the university. You all know that. And how can one simply become a priest who is to show a way to somebody else in their life and just graduating and having a diploma, and there you go out in the world. Now from today, I'm the priest. It doesn't work like that in Tibet. There is no diploma paper in Tibet.

[79:38]

We don't have any diploma paper. So it doesn't work like that. It's based on the true experience of realization. It is not based on a theory. It's not based, because theory cannot go through every detail of that experience. One cannot. No matter how much you can work out, there will be more frustration, and more nervousness will manifest. They cannot be touching each step by step how it is, it will go. So it's a very degenerate time also what we are going. So, you should check me also. It says in the teaching, it's not, you know, one has to check. Excuse me. And, so, most important thing,

[80:39]

one has to be true, always. We should not live in a false state, into a, we should not live which one is not. So therefore, the whole practice, spiritual practice, is the path of the true, is a person who is ready to do the work by truthfully. That's called a spiritual path. But one cannot be on the path of truthfully if one is faking oneself. And it's easy to fake even unconsciously, as I said, because the dualistic mind is such a complicated mind. The more you look inside yourself, the more you will get disgusted in a way. That's the nature when we find into that state how we are. And it's good, it's good and great to feel that disgusting. If you don't get disgusted to that, then you will never

[81:39]

understand the value of the other side, the enlightened state. So therefore, understand that depression or suffering is so important. And when you see the disgusting state, then for the first time you know what is samsara. For the first time you really know where your problems are coming from. For the first time you are really seeing that, you know, how you can, how to work with that. And then meditation teachings are, you know, taught how to work with the depression. In Hinayana, you know, how that persons respect the law of the karma. And in Mahayana, in the Zen teaching, how a person let those depression go. And in the Vajrayana, how the depressions are allowed and let it go. And you know, that kind of states. So each have a very living experience. The teachings have a living experience today. That's one,

[82:39]

that's how the, I really feel so, in a way, so grateful in our world that the 2,500 years old teaching of Buddha is not an ancient teaching. It's a living tradition. It's something that when we do it, simply it's not, you know, that enlightened state is not a gift of nobody. It's simply, we have that fundamentally and that we can experience when we were introduced to that. And when we can do it, we can manifest that. And we can get out of that, that whole darkness of duality. So, this is something if you, you know, when we really value the teaching, one should be ready to make those changes. And to start with, many times I've told before,

[83:40]

you should give a time for yourself every day. You should give a time where you can, it's a time for yourself. Because you have to go to work. You have to go outside in the world. And, and seems that we are always trying to live outside of ourself. And the moment you have, it's a, you need a peace and quiet time. Very important for you to have a quiet time in your life. That is the healing time. Okay? We can label it as a healing time. The time when you do meditation. The time when you do sit quietly and then you, then you, you know, observe your mind. And then you integrate the teaching which your teachers taught. And then meditate, you know. And, and then you have a complete experience

[84:41]

into those stages, step by step. And that is the only time which you have for yourself. And then gradually that will manifest into many aspects of your life, even you are not conscious about it. The strength of the enlightened mind will manifest into while you're working in your office and while you're doing, going other ways. It will also manifest once in a while you will have a tremendous space, you know. And that will come gradually. But that will come when, when you have started to work very truthfully, you know. When you work completely. So, the first stage for us, for a student to think in the mind is the enlightenment. You should not have the idea that, you know, this is the teaching which I understood and I'm going to teach to other people. That's too early. So, let's leave that earlier of teaching to somebody else. Just first relate to oneself and digest to oneself, eat it yourself and help yourself

[85:41]

and heal yourself. That's what you need at the beginning stage. But a lot of times, you know, we seem to have, oh, I hear this teaching, so somebody like, some people like to hear this teaching so they can write a book about it, you know, make a fame. And that's called seeing the teacher as a deer and oneself as a hunter. And that is not right on the spiritual path. You cannot heal because, again, in the name of spiritual, you are deceiving yourself. It's a self-deception because you do not allow the true space of Dharmakaya and you bring the ego there. You bring your ego there. You entertain your duality in the name of, in the name of spiritual. So those are the wrong approach. And one should not approach the teaching like that. One should approach the teaching just seeing oneself as the patient who is sick

[86:41]

with all this conflict of duality, the conflict of our tremendous fabrication and tremendous, you know, there's so many things you can see. Your falsifying state of ourself. Because we are, the problem is, the problem really with us is we did not, we have never given us to be, you see, in many Tibetan teachings, in Tibet, we were called, you are nothing. That's how we were taught very early age. While in this country, you are taught you are the greatest. And there we are taught you are nothing. One time my teacher beat me and he called me, what do you think you are? You are nothing. And you are nothing. And so when a person comes to the stage,

[87:42]

to the lowest point where you are nothing, you have nothing to lose. Well, then it's over. And that's where we need to get, you see. But here we are decorated with the false. Oh, you're somebody. You already have all these false, false ideas of yourself, which is completely getting lost from our awakened state. And then plus making much more colorful to that. So therefore, when you start, oh, how great you are. So the teaching, you know, sometimes very insulting over there. But the point is to relate, to see oneself clearly. So we are taught you are nothing. You are like a speck of dust of the river Ganges. In river Ganges, the atoms dust are millions, you see. You cannot even count. And you are just like one of the speck. Now, what were you? So like that kind of thing,

[88:43]

it's not insulting somebody, but insulting to the point of the ego, to the point where one sees that when you get to the lowest of lowest, there's nothing to lose. But the fear is there when you think which you are not, then there's the fear or there's a fear manifestation of losing something. But actually, it's the play of the mind. We are really playing at that time. So we're living in a very superficial state. And it seems very simple, you know. Why? Okay, so we just give up. But it just doesn't go just like that until we have recognized that very clearly. And by recognizing it, now you know that valuable. You really see the truth that how falsifying, how untruthfully we are living and why it is important for us to give it up and make some changes. That is what I mean valuable.

[89:44]

But you won't see that state as valuable as long as you don't understand it. So that's how the dharma approach is, you see, very striking and it needs a tremendous openness and truthfulness in between the sanghas in between one Cell and one Relationship between your cell, you and yourself is the primary thing. When you and your relationship is truth, then everything is truth. When you and your relationship is not truth, then everything will falsify. And then when you and your relationship is truth, the sangha relationship with your teacher, it will be truth, then there's a meeting of the true enlightened minds, the true truth mind, that's the greatest initiation and that's how the enlightenment happens at that stage, in a very direct way.

[90:50]

So your legs must be tired now, please have a break for five minutes. All the teachings on the path, it's like taking medicine all the time, it's like taking medicine all the time. Your teachings can be a very good medicine when you're taking it, but when you don't take your medicine, it's not very good. Similarly, when we just simply take

[91:56]

the medicine of the dharma, then it heals the pain and suffering of the mind, because we integrate it, taking means we are integrating it, we are ready to, at that stage, to take it and we are taking it, we involve ourself into the whole process of taking the medicine, which means integrating and actualizing the practice, the teaching into the practical life. Now, as we begin, that the whole teaching on the path begins by recognizing and confronting the true point, which is the suffering. And this is worked from the Hinayana teaching to Vajrayana teaching, actually. One may think that, oh, the Four Noble Truths is only a teaching for the Hinayana, it's the only Buddha's first taught teaching for the Hinayana disciples

[93:03]

in Benares, and that is the teaching of suffering, first is recognized suffering, then go to the causes of the suffering, and then to being absence of that, free from the causes of suffering and suffering, and then the path to work on to be free. So those are the Four Noble Truths. But also in Vajrayana, that does not mean that the suffering is only in the teaching of the Hinayana. This is the main thing, which works in the Hinayana.

[93:42]

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