Mind Training, 2011, part 6

Okay. Alright. Yeah. Oh, okay. Okay.

So we will now meditate for one or two minutes on generating the motivation to listen to these teachings. Whatever deed one engages in, one must initially generate the motivation to do so. If the motivation is a good motivation, the deed itself becomes virtuous. If the motivation is a non virtuous motivation, then the deed itself becomes non virtuous. In this context, the motivation one should generate is a motivation to eliminate self-cherishing and to enhance cherishing others, specifically to wish to attain first the state of a Bodhisattva and ultimately the state of full and complete enlightenment for the sake of all other sentient beings and then to lead them oneself to that state.

But this is a motivation. You should listen to these teachings. So we are present born as human beings and this is most fortunate for practicing Dharma. Now generally speaking in the West, we like to have children and we enjoy the idea that children will be born. This was not at all the viewpoint at among the scholars of Nālānda monastery in India.

Because in India, in those days, having children was dangerous both for the mother and for the child. And the viewpoint of the great scholars of Nālānda was that the very instant of birth actually is an instant of aging. From that instant onwards, aging starts. Therefore, dependent on birth, the sufferings not just of birth itself, was awful in those days, but of aging, of sickness, and of death arise. The great Tibetan practitioners and scholars adopted the viewpoint of the masters of Nālānda.

And therefore, they considered that initially, to put an end to suffering, one had to put an end to birth. Having put an end to to birth, one put an end to aging, in turn, an end to sickness, and then in turn, an end an end to death. Otherwise, if one does not put an end to birth, then birth leads to sick to aging, aging to sickness, and sickness to death. Now, this refers to ordinary beings. We as ordinary beings, when we are born, experience such suffering because our birth occurs under the power of karma and affliction.

It does not refer to and such beings who do not experience suffering. In sūtra, is said that to put an end to suffering, one must put an end to ignorance. Since from ignorance arises karma and affliction from which suffering arise. So putting an end to ignorance through meditating on emptiness enables us to put an end to suffering. On the other hand, if we do not meditate on emptiness, then we cannot put an end to ignorance and we cannot put an end to karma and affliction.

Therefore, by extension, we can’t put an end to suffering. As Ārya Nāgārjuna said, he who has not understood emptiness, for him, the meaning of liberation does not exist. So one might ask the question, if one is born, is it necessarily the case that one will die? For ordinary beings such as ourselves, which are born under the power of karma and affliction, it is necessarily the case. This is a given.

On the other hand, the holy beings such as the Buddhas, the Bodhisattvas, the Arhats who are not born under the power of karma and affliction, then it is an open question. So ordinary beings like ourselves experience birth and dependent on karma and affliction. This is not the case for the holy beings. So, the 12 links of dependent origination are actually the foundation of cyclic existence, and the first of these 12 links is ignorance. It is through ignorance that one accumulates karma.

Therefore, if we are unable to put an end to the first of these links, to ignorance, we are unable to put an end to the whole cycle of the 12 links of dependent arising. To put an end to the first link, which is ignorance, one must meditate on emptiness. Meditating on emptiness is therefore fundamental. If one has realized emptiness, one is able to put an end to cyclic existence. If one does not understand emptiness, is not possible to put an end to cyclic existence.

Regarding death and what happens at the time of death. At the time of death we leave our old body behind. It is akin to throwing it away, but the mind moves on. In the same same way as someone driving in a car walks out of the car and goes into another car and drives on. In the same way, the mind moves on in another body.

It is not the case that at death one ceases to exist. Mind, the mental continuum, proceeds until the state of full enlightenment. It is eternal and infinite. After dying, one can either move up to the higher realms or down to the lower realms. One moves up to the higher realms, dependent on practicing virtue, abstaining from non virtue, and purifying previously accumulated non virtue.

It is through this that one prevents lower rebirth. Therefore, one must engage in practices such as taking refuge, because through doing this progressively over time, one’s sins, one’s faults will decrease, and eventually one will be purified, one will be pure. The signs in dreams which indicate a higher rebirth are dreaming that one drinks milk, or that one washes one’s body, or that one overcomes or slays a black or evil person, or that one encounters one’s spiritual teachers. In every single case, these are signs that will not be reborn in the lower realms, and one should rejoice. The cause for not being reborn in the lower realms is relying on the triple gem.

The Buddha who teaches the Dharma, the Dharma which is the actual refuge, and the Sangha which are the companions who practice the Dharma. When we speak of Dharma, what is meant here? We mean practicing virtue and abstaining from non virtue. And it entails practices such as practicing the Lamrim, and practicing as much as we can. And therefore, one must go for refuge to the triple gem.

And to do this, one must have both wisdom and faith. One must have the wisdom which understands the qualities which are infinite as space of the triple gem, such as the wisdom, the love, and the power of the triple gem, and one must also have faith in the triple gem. So if one goes with a single pointed mind for refuge in this way, then one has refuge. Otherwise, as Rinpoche explained last night, last time in his story of the old lady who said to the wandering yogi, I will rely only on you and I have only faith in you. You are my refuge among all beings.

And then on the slide turned to her daughter and said, keep an eye on him. He just might steal something when my eyes are turned. This was a clear indication that the old lady lacked faith. So in the same way, if we make prostrations to the Buddha, and we say we have refuge, but it does not come from the depths of our heart, then we lack refuge. So what we need is to depend simultaneously on wisdom and on faith, and to address the triple gem and say, whether I myself move upwards or downwards, whatever happens to me, I will rely on none other than you.

Then, dependent on this, we accumulate virtue and purify all forms. So, as Vasubandhu said in the Abhidharmakosha, to summarize this from within karmic deeds, there are 10. This is a very concise presentation, which is designed for practice, and is a matter of making the vast concise understandable. It refers to the 10 virtuous deeds which are to be practiced, and the 10 non virtuous deeds which are to be abstained from. There are principally 10 non virtuous deeds, three of the body, four of the speech, and three of the mind, which are to be abstained from, And this is the very essence of the Buddha’s advice, to practice the 10 virtuous deeds, and to abstain from the 10 non virtuous deeds.

And dependence on this, one will not be reborn in the lower realms. Otherwise, if one does not behave in this way, there is great risk of being born in the lower realms. Therefore, this practice of engaging in the 10 virtuous deeds and abstaining from the 10 non virtuous deeds is said to be the means to be freed from the lower realms. And therefore, a being of the small scope practices the 10 deeds and abstains from the 10 non virtuous deeds to be freed from the lower realms. But that very self same practice, abstaining from the 10 non virtuous deeds and practicing the 10 virtuous deeds with the motivation of being freed from cyclic existence in general, is none other than the practice of the being of middling scope.

That very self same practice engaging in the 10 virtuous deeds and abstaining from the 10 non virtuous deeds with the motivation of leading all sentient beings to the state of full enlightenment is none other than the practice of the being the great scope. Therefore, this practice of the practicing the 10 virtuous deeds and abstaining from the 10 non virtuous deeds is the essence of the practice of all three vehicles. This practice of karma and causality is the essence of the practice of the being of small, middling, and great scope. Okay? And therefore, one must not just practice one day and put things aside, one must practice every single day and then progressively one will move upwards over time to the state of an Arhat, a Bodhisattva and a Buddha.

Otherwise, there is no means to progress upwards. So wisdom must increase incrementally. Otherwise, if we do not practice, there will have been no benefit to these teachings. In the same same way, as there is no benefit to a meal which has not been eaten We will now pass onwards to the Wheel of Sharp Weapons in your text, page 37, the very bottom line, the blue text. When fancies arise as defilements and demons, since it is you having accumulated sins regarding deities and mantra that the sword of evil karma has revolved back upon me, at present I will crush all evil fancies.

Here, the term fancies refers, for instance, when we are reciting our commitments, when we are meditating, or trying to engage in virtuous deeds to the arrival of evil minds, sinful motivations, a wish, for instance, to steal something, to fight with someone, to engage in sexual misconduct. This is a very big obstacle for a Dharma practice. And when these fancies arise as defilements and demons, in other words, when they manifest as defilements, defilements here refer actually to diseases which are defilements such as certain forms of paralysis or stroke in which as a result of these past deeds, we are partially paralyzed, we limp, we hobble. Or demons. Demons here refer to worldly and supermundane gods manifesting under the power of our own non virtuous karma as demons or as our enemies.

And they manifest in this way and give rise to various non virtuous minds within us which trouble us. Then on page 38, since it is you having accumulated sins regarding deities and mantra. So here the deities are deity practices and mantra does not refer to reciting mantras like, it refers to the practice of secret mantra and sins accumulated with respect to the vows and the pledges. That the sword of evil karma has revolved back upon me, so this happens as a result of these in past lives or in this life. At present, I will crush all evil fancies.

This means that one must generate here good faith in the Dharma. Moving onwards to the next verse of the root text on page 38, the very bottom. When sent impotently a wandering, since it is you having chased gurus and so forth from their abode, that the sword of evil karma has revolved back upon me. At present I will expel no one from their land. So here, when we are sent impotently or wandering, this means when we are without any power, powerlessly set adrift, and in our own land, we lack any freedom or authority.

We lack a place to live, and we wander, expelled from place to place, evicted from house to house, on and on. Since it is to having chased gurus and so forth from their abode, this actually is very much, as per Jesus, the experience of the Tibetans to the present day, who have been expelled from country to country. They have fled their own country. India is not their country. They have no power, no authority, no freedom.

Then they have to do the worst of jobs, and again and again get expelled and expelled. This is who having chased gurus and so forth from their abode in this life or past lives. This can refer to chasing not only gurus but one’s parents, one’s friends, acquaintances, other sentient beings, even animals such as dogs. Then moving onwards to page 39, that the sword of evil karma has revolved back upon me. This is a result experienced.

At present, I would expel no one from their land. So at present, I would expel not only not the teachers, but no parents, no friends, no sentient beings from their land precisely because otherwise, I myself will later on have to wander homelessly. In the following stanza, on page 39, in the middle of the page, when unwanted frost and hail occurs since it is because of not having protected correctly pledges and ethics, the sword of evil karma has revolved back upon me. At present, I will purify pledges and so forth. So as you know, lay people have to pay attention to crops and so forth.

And should frost occur, for instance, the crop will not give its expected yield. Likewise, should hail occur, it can totally destroy a crop. Hail is the work or it is precipitated by spirits, very powerful pretas who reside in space and who cause the precipitation of rain as huge chunks of ice, which cannot only destroy crops completely, but for that matter, they are so large sometimes that they can even kill a human being. So this causes tremendous hardship to lay people and to farmers, and this is the result of what is explained in the second line. It is because of not having correctly protected pledges and ethics.

These are pledges and ethics which the lay people have taken, that the sword of evil karma has revolved back upon me. At present, I will purify pledges and so forth. Here, the meaning of purify is actually to protect and to keep pledges and so forth. And moving onwards to the stance on page 40, when bereft of wealth despite strong desires, since it is through not having practiced generosity and having made offerings to the triple gem that the sword of evil karma has revolved back upon me. At present, I will put effort in both generosity and offerings.

So this refers to people who have strong desires. These are people who lust for everything. They want money. They want also to eat well. They want to own their own business, they want to have their own house, everything they see they desire, and yet they are never able to get what they want.

And they eventually end up as beggars facing tremendous hardship as a result. This is the karmic result of the non virtuous karma explained in the second verse, since it is through not having practiced generosity and having made offerings to the triple gem. Generally speaking, both practices here are part of the practice of generosity, but the first not having practiced generosity refers to practicing generosity towards sentient beings. And when one practices generosity towards a triple gem, that is referred to as making offerings. So this refers in the case of sentient beings to not giving things to sentient beings, to not helping sentient beings, and in the case of making offerings to the triple gem, this refers to the sort of behavior which we see very often, where oneself, one eats very good food, but does not make any particular offerings to the Triple Gem, or just offers a bit of water to the Triple Gem saying this will do the job just fine.

Oneself eats fancy food and offers nothing of value to the Triple Gem. It should be exactly the opposite. Oneself should eat the poor bits, the worthless bits, and whatever is of value that one should offer. This is a case because the Triple Gem has space like qualities, and therefore one accumulates tremendous virtue if one is able to offer things to the Triple Gem. Therefore, the behavior engaged in here where one does not practice generosity, does not make offerings to the triple gem, matures in poverty in this life.

Butcher would like to point out that in the monasteries in the old days when he was there, they were very poor. They had nothing to eat, and yet they made offerings to the triple gem. So in the self same way, as a peasant understands or a farmer understands that he cannot get a crop if he doesn’t sow the seed, likewise, we should understand that without offering, there is no wealth. So on page 40, the bottom stanza, when vile of body and abused by my companions, since it is because of having poorly made representations of the Buddha in anger, that the sword of evil karma has revolved back upon me. At present, I will make deities with long-suffering patience.

All of us know that we like people who are handsome, hale, strong of body. They please all. When, however, we ourselves are small and swarthy, we are crooked, we have a long nose and an ugly face, Then this is the and we are as a result of this abused by our companions. Our companions here refer to our parents, to our friends, who say what an ugly character, what an ugly man or woman, and criticize us as a result of this. This is the karmic result of what is explained in the second line, Since it is because of having poorly made representations of the Buddha in distorted anger, this refers to making badly statues.

And it is a big risk for statue makers when they make statues which are too small, or they make statues which are crooked. And they do this generally because they lack patience, they lack forbearance to make a beautiful shape for the statue. So we can see for ourselves that when we are angry our faces become ugly and unpleasant to look at. So in dependence upon poorly made representations and anger, the sword of evil karma revolves back upon us. Therefore, we take the resolve at present to make deities beautifully and well with long suffering patience, in other words, without any anger.

So, there is an account in Lamrim, where he says, of the karmic result of this sort of deed. It is the account of Nyendra Des, which means melodious but of hideous face. This was This was is probably one of the architects who a worker for a great Indian king of yore who wanted to perform a vast deed of generosity and said he would build a stupa as large as the land an elephant could drag a string around, a cord around. Then elephants can travel far and wide, and this was a huge stretch of land. And the worker said to the king, this is absolutely impossible.

There’s no such thing as building a stupa of that size. But the king started the job, and the worker eventually finished the stupa. And standing on top of the stupa, he thought to himself, the king was right. We finished the stupa, and I accumulated great non virtue by telling him this was impossible. So to purify my non virtue, I will place a silver bell on top of the stupa.

And he made a beautiful silver bell and placed on top of the stupa, so it would ring when the wind passed. In his next life, he was reborn as a hideous dwarf, black of complexion, who could only walk crouched over, and who was so ugly, people could not stand to look at him. However, as a result of having offered the bell, he had the most beautiful voice, and beings would just come and close their eyes and listen to him speak. Do you have one question today. Please ask a good question, he says.

Yes. Japanese have both shared or common karma and individual specific karma. These events are due to due to their shared or common common karma, the earthquakes, tsunami, the problems with the atomic and so forth. And as Rinpoche says, it is probably because of great non virtuous deeds committed in the past with an extremely evil intent, such as using poison gas and poison against others, dropping bombs on others, torturing and inflicting great suffering on others, that as a karmic result of this collectively, they experience this now. Specifically, in which he says, they dropped a lot of bombs on civilians, then as a result of this, the earth itself erupts in return.

This is a result of non virtuous karma and as a result of this, they experience great hardship. To understand the specifics of the details of karma and causality. So, we ourselves, he says, we just play with this a bit. Specifically, says in this land, he has heard that the roads were destroyed. And this is a result of destroying others’ roads.

Okay. And since many people have been killed, we must make good prayers. Okay. Thank you.