When I was young, my father and mother used to send me to school to learn how to make guns. When I was in school, I met my father's friend and he taught me how to make a gun. When I was young, I had a dream that I would become a monk. I had a dream that I would become a monk. When I was young, I had a dream that I would become a monk. When I was young, I had a dream that I would become a monk. So far out of the four precepts on parting from the four attachments, attachment to this life and attachment to existence in general, were dealt with in the last lecture.

[01:16]

And dealing with this parting from those two attachments covers the basis of the entire Hinayana doctrine. And today we're going to deal with the next two attachments that we must part from. And the phrase that is the fifth instruction of this teaching that says, if you care about your own welfare, or if you care more about your own welfare, then this is not bodhicitta, or this is not bodhisattva attitude. then this phrase covers the basis of the Mahayana doctrine. And basically the idea is to, having seen that samsara is in fact pervaded by suffering, then you must realize that all beings within samsara are extremely closely connected to you and all beings are in fact like your own mother and have been your own mother in previous lifetimes many times.

[02:17]

And so thinking this, that all your mothers within samsara, within this realm of existence, are struggling with a deep feeling of suffering, frustration and confusion, then you generate compassion for all of them and see that your own freedom, your own liberation from samsara would be futile, would be of no particular great benefit. And so the motivation has to be stirred and aroused within you to rescue all sentient beings from samsara and to deliver all beings without exception to the state of Buddhahood? I'm going to tell you a story. I'm going to tell you a story. He said, if you don't want to go to the temple, you can't go to the temple.

[03:36]

I said, if you don't want to go to the temple, you can't go to the temple. He said, if you don't want to go to the temple, you can't go to the temple. I said, if you don't want to go to the temple, you can't go to the temple. He said, if you don't want to go to the temple, you can't go to the temple. I said, if you don't want to go to the temple, you can't go to the temple. He said, if you don't want to go to the temple, you can't go to the temple. And so what is the nature of this thought of establishing, of wishing to establish all beings in the state of Buddhahood? And what is the method to generate it? And basically seeing that, you see very clearly from seeing the state of samsara that your own welfare, your own liberation is not so important and that you must work for the benefit of all beings. And to give rise to this instantly is very difficult.

[04:36]

So we take a gradual approach by first developing compassion and love for one's own mother. And so out of compassion, which is the thought of wishing that a being, in this case your own mother, should experience no suffering, and having that kind of compassion that she should have no suffering, out of that arises love. which could be defined as the wish that your own mother would experience happiness and well-being. And so these two aspects of loving-kindness, that is compassion and love, is what we have to develop. So firstly, you may use the example of your own mother, think of your own mother in this way, and develop intense compassion and intense love, or you may rely upon, depend upon another person that you love very dearly, And out of that compassion and love, then you begin to increase it, and you develop a sense that you are sending your compassion and your love to your close relatives and your friends, and then to your whole family and all the people around you, and the whole community, the whole society, eventually the whole world.

[05:53]

And at some point you take this love and compassion to be something extremely vast, where you direct it equally to all sentient beings without exception, whether they are friend or enemy, whether they are close or far or whatever. And so building up, generating your compassion and love, you work in this way until it becomes something extremely vast. In the beginning, when I was a child, I had a dream that I was going to become a monk. When I woke up in the morning, I saw that I was going to become a monk. When I woke up in the morning, I saw that I was going to become a monk. When I woke up in the morning, I saw that I was going to become a monk. In this way, you will be able to get rid of all your negative thoughts.

[06:56]

You will be able to get rid of all negative thoughts. And out of the same love also arises compassion, this works both ways. And compassion is, this is what we define as being the very strong wish that beings be free from any kind of suffering, that they shouldn't experience suffering. And we develop this towards all sentient beings within the six classes of existence, and particularly we, to be able to give rise to this compassion, we have to connect very profoundly with the actual suffering of individual beings. And so we perceive, we imagine beings, particularly beings in a experiencing the hell realm type experience where all is extremely painful and extremely terrifying.

[08:09]

And we actually look very deeply into what kind of suffering that may be and the full extent of that suffering we have to try to actually experience it to the point where we are completely overcome with compassion for those beings. And so we think that first may our own mother never have to experience any kind of suffering like that and then build that, increase that so that we feel that our own father and then all our relatives, may they be freed from that kind of suffering and extend it out in this way until we encompass all sentient beings without exception. with this overwhelming sense of compassion that they never have to experience any kind of suffering. I don't know.

[09:15]

I don't know. And so, as we develop this experience of immeasurable love and compassion for all sentient beings, there is a way to practice that and develop it even more. And this is by learning to develop the wish that whenever you think of any kind of suffering, you think, well, may all that suffering ripen in me right now.

[10:26]

May I take all that suffering upon myself, all the suffering of all sentient beings. And then when there's any kind of experience of pleasure, or joy, then you wish that may this pleasure and joy pervade all sentient beings. And you imagine that it's like you give away all your joys and merits and virtues and happiness and so on to all sentient beings. And imagine that it's like the sunshine that illuminates the darkness of suffering and ignorance for all sentient beings throughout space. And so you develop this intention of transferring your own benefits and joys and happiness, giving all that to others, and taking all the sickness and strife and struggle and pain of all sentient beings, taking it onto yourself. And so you develop the will to actually do that. And so developing this love and compassion in a very profound way, you may actually be at the point where

[11:33]

you say it out loud, may all the suffering of all beings come to me. May all my joys and virtues go to all sentient beings. And these are, this is the ways that were taught by the great Nagarjuna, who taught how to develop this attitude of transferring your virtues and happiness for other people's suffering and pain. And so with the, actually with your speech, you say it, that you wish to do that, and with your mind you make the wish that you would be able to do that. And in this way, you develop this extremely profound intention to benefit all others. Dalai Lama... I'm not sure if it's true or not, but I think it's true.

[12:35]

I don't know if it's true or not, but I think it's true. In the beginning of the month, I was in the hospital. I was in the hospital for three days. I was in the hospital for three days. I was in the hospital for three days. Here, we have a lot of people who have come from all over the world. We [...] have a lot of people who have come from all over So some people, upon hearing that you need to develop this kind of profound motivation in order to attain enlightenment, they may turn back and they become afraid and think, well how could you possibly want to take over the suffering and sentient being upon yourself?

[13:52]

And this is something terrifying, this is something very horrible. And it's perfectly normal that you might have that kind of thought, that kind of fear. However, you must rest assured that actually what you are doing with this practice is developing the intention or the will to be able to do that. That nothing can actually take place where you can draw into yourself all kinds of sickness and so on through this practice. But what you are doing is by developing the intention to do that, you are conquering your own selfish nature and developing a profound sense of altruism. And that is the effect of that practice. So you needn't worry that you're going to lose all your own happiness and joy, and all you're going to end up with is a sort of a writhing mass of pain, or something like that. And anyway, later, as you develop this attitude and it actually works, so that you become a bodhisattva with the powers of the bodhisattva, then you can actually remove

[15:01]

the suffering of beings and take it onto yourself, but you don't experience it in the same way because you've become a bodhisattva. And you gain the power to be able to do that. And furthermore, the great bodhisattvas who've reached the very high levels of attainment are able to give away their own limbs and their own eye and their head and so on. to other beings and because of the power of their realization and their prayer then they can actually just give their eye to a blind person and that blind person will be able to see by that gift. But the way that the Bodhisattva actually works and performs that is something that's based upon very high levels of realization. KANYE WOLFE, JAPANESE MONK So that concludes the discussion on the topic of

[16:24]

the third attachment, which is attachment to one's own welfare. Attachment to one's own welfare would be not engendering the true bodhisattva attitude. And so fourthly, the line of the fourth, dealing with the fourth attachment is, if clinging arises, then it is not the view. So in order to be able to attain Buddhahood, you have to realize the view of emptiness and see the empty nature of all phenomena, self and phenomena. So if you have attachments to phenomena, and particularly to your own love and compassion as being something real, then you fall from the view. You do not have this supreme, ultimate view of emptiness, which is what is required to attain Buddhahood. So this view of emptiness is attained through resting the mind in its own natural state, through perceiving the ultimate nature of the union of clarity and emptiness, and resting the mind in that state and seeing all things from this platform of emptiness, and this is what is required.

[18:05]

CHEN PHUONG NON ENGLISH JAPANESE LANGUAGE So the effect of this clinging or grasping at phenomena as being something real and substantial, as being actually something is created,

[19:11]

is that you fall into one of the two extremes of what we may call nihilism and eternalism. So on the one hand, if you grasp at the idea that all is emptiness and that there is... Sorry, I've got to get the order right. So if you grasp at the idea of the eternalism of thinking that everything is definitely real, substantial and existing, then because of that clinging fixation upon phenomena and your own awareness as being something, then you cannot attain liberation. This is the obstacle to liberation. If on the other hand, then you fixate upon the idea that nothing is really existing, that everything is completely void of any substantial nature, that everything is nothing, that has no meaning and so on. then you fall into the extreme of nihilism and you cannot, also you cannot attain liberation, you cannot even attain the freedoms and pleasures of the higher realms.

[20:36]

And so these two extremes are to be released. Fixation upon either of these two extremes. And so you simply rest the mind in this state of non-duality that is not dwelling upon things being or not being. So, firstly, to fixate or grasp at the idea of external phenomena as being real and substantial, and expressions of that erroneous idea, such as believing that there's some kind of God that created the world, this is completely erroneous and an obstacle to realization.

[22:05]

Or believing that the five elements that compose all of the universe, ourself and all the universe. Thinking of this as something substantial that has been created is erroneous and is this kind of fixation. And furthermore to think that your own awareness is something that is created and that something is real, that it is real, this is erroneous. And so what we have to realize is that all of appearance all of the external appearance, all of the appearances of the five elements and of your mind's nature itself, this is mind created. It is all is mental projection. And this is the basis of the realization of the view of emptiness, of considering all phenomena as being mental projection. You know, you [...] know, Then they come in and say, oh, you listen.

[23:32]

You listen. [...] So the process of establishing this recognition of this view that we must attain is firstly by recognizing that all phenomena is mental projection. And then secondly, we realize that all phenomena, which is mental projection, is illusory.

[24:34]

It's just like a dream, that it's insubstantial. And so the third level of this perception, the true perception of reality, the third level is to realize that all this illusory appearance has come about through interdependent occurrence.

[25:38]

So that everything arises based upon causes and conditions. And nothing can arise just by itself without some kind of cause and condition. So actually all appearance is the composite of many different kinds of causes and conditions. And so this is the third level of this perception. And fourthly is when you are able to rest the mind in its own natural state and see that all appearance, all awareness is indescribable, that there is no label that you can possibly attach to any experience or any phenomena, and so therefore you experience directly what is. And this is the fourth level that's called inexpressible, ineffable, or it may be away from any kind of descriptive characteristics. And so going through this process of developing the view of reality in this way, then we arrive at the ultimate view of emptiness, which is seeing mind's nature and seeing the nature of reality, which is no other than Buddhahood.

[26:53]

Then the young man said to me, he said, I don't know what to do. He [...] said, I don't know So then, Nyamsa Lenga, Nyamsa Tendra, Rangda Dzongkha, and Tungpa Yama. Mewang Dzogchen, Yip Tungpa. [...] Mewang Dzogchen, Yip I don't know how to say it in Tibetan. I don't know how to say it in Tibetan. I don't know how to say it in Tibetan.

[28:09]

I don't know how to say it in Tibetan. [...] I don't know So, in essence, the path that is prescribed by the great Sakyapas is first is to recognize all appearance as being mental projection, then to realize all mental projection as being illusory, then to realize that all illusion is being composed of various causes and conditions,

[29:10]

and then to realize that all causes and conditions are void of any descriptive characteristics. And this is the supreme path to enlightenment of developing this view of emptiness. And this view of how to see appearance can be exemplified with 32 different examples. But the most easy to understand example of this is the example of the rainbow. So you're saying that all appearance is like a rainbow. And because the rainbow, although there is something definitely there, you see with your eyes there is a rainbow. However, this rainbow is mental projection and it is indescribable because The rainbow itself is not, there's nothing, no substantial thing that you can say this is a rainbow that is separate from say the rainfall or the sunlight or the eye of the perceiver or all the various conditions that go to make that rainbow.

[30:19]

So you can't say that there's a rainbow is one thing. That it's a combination of various causes and conditions that have come together And actually it is the mind that projects this idea of a rainbow. So there's something there and yet there is nothing there that you can say that it is substantially this particular thing. There's nothing that you can isolate and identify. And so this example of the rainbow that is somehow this union of emptiness and appearance is the example of our view of reality, of phenomena. maṅgala-tāvāri maṅgala-deśe maṅgala-tāvāri [...] maṅgala-

[31:37]

And another example is the moon's reflection in water. And so, if you have like several bowls of water, then you can see that the moon appears to be in each one of these bowls of water. However, you know that this is mental projection. It's not true that the moon is in each of these bowls of water. This is mere mental projection. And it is illusory that the moon, the reflection in the water, is not the moon in the water. This is an illusion of the moon appearing to be in the water. And then furthermore, if you were to drain the bowls of water, or it was to be turbid water, then you would see no moon in the water. So not only is it mental projection and it is illusion, it is arising out of a variety of causes and conditions that produce this appearance, this illusory mental projection of there being moon and water.

[33:27]

And so if you were to drain the bowls, the moon doesn't then dissolve back into the sky or dissolve into the water. It's gone. As soon as the conditions that produce this reflection, as soon as one of them has disappeared, such as the moon not rising or whatever, then the whole illusion has vanished. but it hasn't vanished into any particular place, it is just no longer. And so, because it is mental projection, and then because it is illusion, and then because it's caused by this combination of various causes and conditions, there is no substantial reality in it, and there's nothing that you can say about it, that this is something real and existing, therefore, it is beyond the reaches of descriptive characteristics. So this completes the four levels of this view of emptiness that we are discussing.

[34:27]

So, if you don't want to do it, don't do it. If [...] you don't want to do it, don't do it. Another example is of the seed that The seed, if it's placed in the earth and has warmth and water and moisture, then it'll make a sprout.

[35:54]

But you can't say that... One, you can't say that the seed is something different from the sprouts. So you can't say that the seed turns into a sprout because there's all kinds of conditions that are required to make the sprout other than the seed. like you putting it into the earth or the presence of moisture and warmth and sunlight and so on to make it sprout into a plant. And at the same time you can't say that the seed is one thing and the sprout is another because there is no, like, you cannot isolate the two things. So therefore the sprout is the, arises due to the combination of various causes and conditions. And in itself, you cannot say that this is a substantial thing that is separate from warmth in the soil, or soil itself, or moisture, or the person planting it, or the seed itself.

[36:59]

So you can't really separate this sprout from any part of its conditions that produced it. And so therefore it is undefinable, it is indescribable. And so in this way, this demonstrates that all phenomena, all appearance is also in this way. First it is mental projection, secondly it's illusion, thirdly it's the a combination of various causes and conditions that give rise to any particular appearance. And fourthly, there's nothing that you can say about it to define it and describe it as being a particular thing. Therefore it is without any self-nature. In the beginning, when I was a child, I was told to read the Qur'an.

[38:00]

I was told to read the Qur'an. [...] I was told to And then a way that you can determine for sure by logical analysis that in fact all experience is mental projection is if you take a particular individual who is embroiled in a great deal of strife and suffering, who may be at war or who may have had some kind of loss, who may be in pain and so on.

[39:10]

This person is experiencing a great deal of suffering and you come to that person and for a moment you speak very sweetly, very nicely, and you distract that person from all that kind of suffering and turmoil, and say very sweet things and nice things to that person, for a moment that suffering and pain and everything will be transferred, will be changed into happiness, a moment of happiness. So therefore all of that suffering was that person's mental experience. that was produced by that individual's mind, because the words that you say that suddenly change that suffering into a moment of happiness and rejoicing or whatever, those words themselves don't have any particular power, but it's the mind of that person who, upon hearing the word, changes the projection of experience into something else.

[40:13]

And likewise, you may have a person who is a very cheerful, happy person who's completely content and everything, and you go up to that person and you say something very mean, something very rude, and insult that person very deeply to arouse their anger, that person his mental experience completely changes and that person will experience very physical sensations that will accompany the new arising of anger and frustration and pain and feeling of injury and so on. And all of these experiences, both the experience of happiness and the experience of pain and injury, are both obviously the mental perceptions of that particular person. They are mentally projected. Your words that cause the change in that person's attitude don't have any power in themselves, but the mind of that person does something with those words to change into a different kind of experience.

[41:20]

And this shows conclusively that all experiences are mental projections. When I was young, I didn't know the meaning of the words. [...] KHENPO TSULTRIM LODRO And furthermore we may take another example.

[42:22]

Suppose you have what you imagine to be a tree. And you think this is a tree or a tree trunk. And you have a perfectly solid idea of a tree. But then you cut down that tree and you turn it into lumber and you can make that lumber into a building or it could be chairs or tables or all different kinds of things. And so the idea of a tree is your own mental projection. There is no thing that you can identify as a tree that is something real and existing and that is separate from your own perception of it. That that idea of a tree is your projection. And likewise the table, now you're calling it a table. It's the same stuff that the tree is made of but now you call it a table or you call it a house. you label various, all phenomena in various ways. So the mind is constantly labeling out of its habit of claiming all things to be substantial and real and existing and giving them names and labels and so fixating upon appearances being real in this way.

[43:31]

However, if you realize that all of this is just mental projection, that it's just your mind putting labels onto things that are insubstantial, then you realize the illusory nature of phenomena and see that all things are in fact mental projections. And furthermore, that which projects this idea of appearance that is your own awareness itself, you have to examine that and see, well where is this awareness? Where does it reside? And you can't find it in the upper part of your body or in the lower part of your body.

[44:42]

And then look, see, does it have a shape? So does it have a shape? Does it have a color? Does it have a location? Does it have some kind of substance to it? And you find that there is nothing, no kinds of descriptive characteristics that you can put on this very awareness itself. So you look into this mind's own nature and see it in that way. that it is actually completely void of any descriptive characteristics. It is away from the whole realm of description and discursiveness. And so to see that, to see that, you realize that the mind, you cannot say that the mind is not existing, that there is nothing there, but yet you cannot find it and you cannot describe it in any particular way. It is this union of emptiness and appearance. And so this mind that you have, this awareness you have, until total realization of Buddhahood, it is always there.

[45:47]

And this very awareness itself that is free from any kind of descriptive characteristics and yet is somehow there, that is what is called the ultimate bodhicitta. That is what is called mind's true nature, and this is what is meant by this ultimate view of emptiness, is to see mind in this way. So how can you realize this mind through nature? How can you develop this view? So firstly you have to start by going for refuge in the Three Jewels and praying for blessings to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, and making offerings and developing your sense of generosity.

[47:05]

And you build upon that and develop your love and compassion for all beings to the point where bodhicitta is actually born in your mind, where you have the intense arousing of the motivation to gain liberation for the benefit of all sentient beings and to liberate all sentient beings. So based upon that very powerful development of virtue, especially of this bodhicitta of love and compassion, then this view of emptiness will arise by itself. And at the same time you have to apply yourself to the technique of meditation on the two levels of meditation which are calm abiding and profound insight. In the past, we used to go to the shrine of Shrine of Alhamdulillah. In the past, we used to go to the shrine of Shrine of Alhamdulillah. In the past, we used to go to the shrine of Shrine of Alhamdulillah.

[48:11]

In the past, we used to go to the shrine of Shrine of Alhamdulillah. In the past, we used to go to the shrine of Shrine of Alhamdulillah. KHENPO TSULTRIM LODRO You may think that there is some kind of jhana. So how is it that you practice these two aspects of meditation, of calm abiding and profound insight, and firstly to deal with the calm abiding

[49:29]

The best method, or a method, is to place in front of you a statue of the Buddha, or a blue flower, or a blue piece of cloth. And the idea of the blue is very good because blue is an extremely soothing color, and it's not clashing to the eyes, which red might be. And that would, if you're looking at something red, then the eyes become agitated. So the blue color is very soothing. And at the same time the blue color has a profound connection because blue is said to be the color of dharmakaya. And so you staring at the blue cloth is like staring into dharmakaya. So placing that in front of you, you meditate upon it with your body upright and straight. And the position of the body is extremely important. It is said that if the body is straight, then the veins within the body, the energy veins within the body become straight.

[50:54]

When they become straight, then the wind or the vital energy or nervous energy within your body becomes straight and calm. And because of that, your mind becomes straight and calm and very poised. And if your body is hunched and agitated in some way, then so will be the nervous energy with your body, and your mind also then becomes agitated. So the mind is very closely connected with the body. So with the body in an upright, relaxed position, and the eyes half closed, you stare into the depth of this color blue. and allow the mind to rest, come to rest in its own space within that. Shubh chetra bhava.

[51:58]

Maitreya bhava. Shubh chetra maitreya bhava. And the Jews say, nothing more, nothing more, nothing more. And so, when you allow your mental attention to drop into this, just simply gazing into this blue, then many obstacles may arise, such as various kinds of discursive thoughts, thinking about different things and so on.

[53:12]

And so you find that your attention span is very short. We're just gazing into this blue. And so, at that point, what you do is like, to begin with, you draw your mind very focused and just fix it upon the object of your meditation, whatever that may be. In this case, the blue cloth. And as you fix it in this way, your attention then you relax the mind into its own nature. So you fix the attention and relax. And then after a short period of time, various thoughts and discursiveness will arise. So to begin with, you don't have to try very hard to force your attention to remain in this way, because this will become very irritating. that you actually allow yourself a certain degree of distraction and then once again you focus the mind very directly and sharply on the object of the meditation and then relax and then gradually you'll be able to, as thoughts arise, you return your attention to the object of the meditation and relax and in that way you develop the habit of meditation

[54:40]

without expecting too much in the beginning. So not trying to do it for too long of a period. And so a beginner may be deluded by the idea that By meditating, trying to meditate makes the mind even more agitated than before, and it appears that the mind is racing, that there seem to be many more thoughts and so on.

[55:45]

But in fact this is not true. What it is, is that you've finally noticed that your mind is extremely absorbed in discursive thinking and so on, and you become more aware of the thoughts. It is not true that suddenly there is more. So it's the The very beginning part of success in meditation practice is this appearance that the mind seems to have many more thoughts than usual. This is not the case. It is merely the mind becoming aware of its contents. The last one. KHENPO TSULTRIM LODRO

[56:56]

And so the second level of experience on the path of calm abiding meditation is when there appears to be long intervals of very little thought, of no thought. And then suddenly there's a gush of thought where you feel like there's a long time where you're completely relaxed and there's this experience of no thought. And then suddenly you can no longer relax. It's like this unbearable gush of thought that's coming forward, a rush of ideas and so on.

[58:22]

And this is the second degree of development, like the second development on this path of karma binding. How do you do? See the rising, going up, going down, rising, going down. See the changing, going up, going down. See the rising, going up, going down, rising, going down. So this second degree of maybe you could say of becoming adept at this kind of meditation is that there's no real cause for there being periods of calm without any thought and then suddenly a lot of thoughts.

[59:34]

It's just happening that way. It doesn't seem that there is any particular thing that is making that happen. And the third degree of the practice development in the practice is when there seem to be like these long periods where you can sit very comfortably and at ease without being disturbed and without thought and then suddenly based upon some kind of external condition something happens where suddenly your mind is racing and you can't stop thinking about certain things And there's like a rush of thought that takes place based upon an external condition. So that without some kind of condition, without something happening, you could sit quite contentedly without discursive thought for a very long time. And so this is the third degree of development of the path of calm abiding, which is called

[60:41]

Resting on the table. So it's like, you may call it like a resting from thought. So it's like thoughts will only come when certain conditions arise to generate that. That's what I'm going to tell you. Namo Avalokiteshvara. Namo Avalokiteshvara. And so, we're kind of missing an analogy that goes with this at the same time that I'll try and fill in now, which is that the first stage is like a stream, a bubbling stream.

[62:22]

And the second stage is like a river where there's periods of calm and then suddenly there's rapids. Yeah, that's the second stage. And the third stage is when there's very long periods of calm. And then sudden rapids. And the fourth stage is like an ocean with a lot of waves. And at that time, the fourth stage is like you're meditating. And even though there is thoughts and ideas or emotions or whatever that are being experienced, still your mind is resting within its own nature and it is undisturbed by discursive thinking. So the thoughts have no longer any power to distract your attention. And this is just like even though you have a storm upon the ocean, the bottom of the ocean is completely indifferent to all the crashing waves that take place on the surface.

[63:30]

And this is like you've attained a degree of depth within the meditation where no matter what occurs you still reside happily, peacefully within mind's nature. And the fifth stage on this path of shuneya, path of calm abiding, is likened to a completely calm ocean where you reside completely peacefully within mind's nature, where, and it's just like this ocean with no waves, so there's no thought, no agitation whatsoever. And at this point then, if you apply, the mind is fit to apply the view of seeing the union of clarity and emptiness, of seeing very deeply to mind's true nature. I love...

[65:02]

And so this discussion upon the departing from the four attachments concludes with the expression that may the benefit and virtue of this practice be dedicated to the seven classes of sentient beings that they attain full enlightenment and be freed from all suffering and so on. And so the text concludes with this dedication prayer. And the seven classes of beings means that as well as the six classes of beings that you may be familiar with, which is the hell realms, hungry ghosts, animal realm, human realm, demigods realm and gods realm, there is the seventh realm which is the beings in between realm. And it's the, so all beings that are in a state between death and rebirth making seven types of experience that beings are subject to.

[66:39]

So we all have to think that you, the reason that you're doing any dharma, listening to discourse or doing any kind of practice is in order to benefit these seven kinds of sentient beings. And so at this point we conclude the discussion upon the parting from the four attachments. And at this time if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. He is the Lord of Heaven and Earth. He is the Lord of Heaven and Earth.

[67:42]

He is the Lord of Heaven and Earth. He is the Lord of Heaven and Earth. Then, the Tathagatagarbha said, I don't know what to do. [...] On the level of a beginner then, you are practicing developing the will to do this which is in order to alter your own selfishness and it's to be able to overthrow your own selfish preoccupations and your own clinging, cherishing yourself above others so you're doing this as a visualization and you're imagining please may I be able to take the suffering from this other person into myself and may it be

[69:32]

become my suffering. But actually, apart from it altering your selfishness, you don't actually experience the suffering. You're just doing this to overcome your selfishness. When you attain the realization of avadha-suffer, then you can take the suffering away from another person and take it onto yourself. And if you're able to take it on to yourself, you're completely happy to be able to do that. There's no reason why you should not want to take the suffering upon yourself, because you become both self and you recognize the illusory nature of all phenomena and see this as emptiness. And so, for the visualization of imagining that you're taking the suffering of others upon yourself, then it's good to imagine that as you take it upon yourself that it dissolves into emptiness.

[70:35]

Before you become a bodhisattva, is there any benefit or serving purpose to actually You mean, can you do it at all? No, is there a benefit for anyone? To the other person or to yourself? To the kindness. KHENPO TSULTRIM LODRO The benefit of it is actually this profound benefit of developing a great sense of altruism and you develop this sense of virtue that you really care for other people and this is a very purifying experience to have that kind of feeling and this definitely does benefit yourself and others because

[72:28]

That's the very positive karma that is generated within this connection of yourself and others. And it's a very virtuous thought. So the idea is to develop powerful virtuous thought, which is a very positive influence on yourself and others. And, you know, you don't really want to use Dharma or Shakyabhuta. You don't want to do a heavy Dharma trip on them. Because that usually is like poison. It just drives them away. And one of the examples we should use logically now is just reaching out and saying nice things and alleviating their suffering.

[73:29]

It's something you want to turn around, you want to make better, and yet it's not a good situation. Are you encouraging the situation by being kind and being helpful? At the same time, if you go in there trying to change it, you get just the opposite reaction. So, it seems that you're supposed to be kind and helpful. You just directly see what it is when you say, well, Buddha says this, Buddha says that, yeah. But you have to have skillful means. I guess speaking sweetly and helping them, but how far? To what extent? So you mean, should you avoid some situations because you couldn't benefit? I don't want to avoid sarsara and nirvana and not differentiate.

[74:34]

I want to run away from these people. I'd like to help them somehow. However, how do I do it? I'd affect their mahamudra in a skillful way. Oh, you want them to realize mahamudra? I want them to change. I'm trying to make them change. I am a monk. [...] When I was young, I used to read a lot of Koran.

[75:37]

I used to read a lot of Koran. When I was young, [...] I used to read a lot of Koran. Well, there's nothing that you can say kind of instantly that, you know, say something that would instantly make somebody suddenly good, you know, that doesn't exist. So you have to approach these kinds of situations in a very gradual way, so that if you come into a situation where there's, you know, a lot of anger or viciousness or whatever, then you just have to be patient.

[76:41]

the way you can help the situation is by keeping your cool and being patient and by that gradually you'll develop a connection with that person whereby you can say something that will somehow just calm them down one notch and then gradually by you keeping your patience and not trying too hard to say you shouldn't do that like really trying to lay down rules on a person, you just practice patience and respond in a patient way and this will result in that person gradually responding to you to a point where eventually you will be able to give some dharma type input. trying to mediate the situation, trying to do both sides of it at first, but then you try to change it, you know?

[77:46]

That's what he said. Go ahead. Could Ricochet just mention what, something about the weekend retreat? What he has in store for us? So, I'm going to tell you about this. Well, the weekend seminar will begin with the empowerment of Chenrezig and it will be followed with the explanations of how to do the practice and covering the whole principles of the practice

[79:19]

center, and developing the vision of oneself as deity, which includes the arising stage, the consummation stage, and which I will be giving the teachings on the Mahamudra. So the whole weekend will be an entire transmission of how to meditate, and that's largely the only method. Before we get to Mahamudra, because I have a couple of questions. If you have received such an empowerment before, then you are empowered to come to the teachings.

[80:38]

However, there is various different kinds of empowerment of Chenrezig. and the one that Rinpoche is going to give is a combined empowerment which combines the Mahamudra instructions within the empowerment. So the Mahamudra transmission takes place within the empowerment and then the whole thing will be explained in the subsequent sessions. So it's very good if you can come to the empowerment. But if you're not able to come for schedule type reasons then by all means you're welcome to come to just the other sessions. What is Saturday and what time is it? Well the empowerment is at 10am on Saturday morning till noon or so and then from 2 till 4 in the afternoon is the teaching session and then Sunday morning is 9am till 11 and then 2 till 4 on Sunday afternoon.

[81:54]

The Empowerment Saturday morning is continuous teaching on weekend. Continuous teaching. Right. Any other questions on this topic? I have a question on what we talked before. I didn't hear that the Buddha said that nobody can take your karma. by the department. And you have to work with the agency, with all the foundation. But they... So, to explain then, what is kind of a thing, because it's... That's what the Buddha said, what... He justified it, When I was young, when I was young,

[83:07]

There is a saying that if you don't do good deeds, you will be punished. If you don't do good deeds, you will be punished. If you don't do good deeds, you will be punished. If you don't do good deeds, you will be punished. They depend on you. They depend on you. They depend on you. Very simply that the relationship between you or sentient beings and the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas is what causes the benefit.

[85:08]

So that if you have really profound faith and like decreased emotional defilements then you can definitely receive great benefit and blessings from the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to be able to wake up yourself, to work your own path. But if you have inferior faith in the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and your own emotional defilements are extremely powerful, then it's very difficult for you to receive the kind of blessings, the kind of help that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are putting out without any kind of, you know, without any kind of intention. So that if your own faith is very strong,

[86:13]

then it's as if the Buddha's power and blessings becomes very strong and can create benefit. But if your faith is very weak, then it's as if the Buddha and Bodhisattvas become very weak. So in this way, beings have to actually work out their own thing. But at the same time, the more they're able to develop faith in the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, then the more benefit they can actually receive. You see the point? My wish is the salvation of all sentient beings. I wanted to receive their self-knowledge so that you all develop faith in the Holy Sepulchre. That's how it works. Today, the sentient being is given a runaround. So yes, because by means of this practice of considering the welfare of others more than yourself, then you diminish your own selfishness.

[87:59]

and your own fixation upon your own self and so on. And because of that, because it has the effect of decreasing your cherishing your own self, then you decrease your ego clinging and fixation. And then you find that faith and devotion and love and compassion naturally start to come up very strongly within your mind. And as that happens, and you increase it with more of that same practice of love and compassion for all beings, then you see very clearly the nature of Dharma, and you see how the whole thing works, and you have amazing, powerful faith in the Dharma because it's so wonderful and so on. And so by doing that practice, you really start to develop faith, devotion, and everything. Why is it that we feel an attraction to hearing the Dharma and seeing the Dharma?

[89:20]

This is because you have a connection with Dharma established in previous lifetimes. What if we have no concept of previous lifetimes? We had a previous lifetime. Where do you know? Why is it we have... Is there really so much value in replacing So what's the question? Can you make it into a question? Well, maybe just comment on that.

[90:24]

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