ACI 3 «Прикладная медитация», занятие 1

Class One: Different Types of Meditation; Parts of Meditation
February 14, 1994

[prayer: refuge]
[prayer: short mandala]

[unclear] the first two classes were, were very technical, and they were. And I
think in a good sense. I mean, you learned the real definition of nirvana, the real
fine distinctions about bodhicitta, you did the logical proofs for emptiness, and,
and things like that. And they were difficult. And they were sort of mental,
mentally very difficult. And people did well, but they were very...it was a
difficult course. And people were saying, "How about something a little bit more
practicee?" So, we're gonna … we're gonna do meditation, how to meditate.
And this will come from the classical sources. The first book we use will be...it's
called [b: The Prayer of Samantabhadra]. And I'll spell it for you. [cut] ...this
prayer in, in the Kangyur and in the Tengyur...it's actually in both. And it's...so it
comes from very early Buddhism, maybe 500 B.C. And this prayer is the basis
for all later presentations of how to prepare for a meditation session...not, not
how to meditate, but how to get ready for a meditation session. What you have
to do before a meditation session for it to be successful. And that's the first
major subject of this study, which is the...how to prepare for a meditation
session. There are certain things you have to do before you sit down, that make
it more ... that make your meditation much more successful. If you don't do
them, it's very difficult to have a good meditation session. And, and this is
taught by the Buddha. This is 500 B.C. So those...we're going to go through
those...[b: The Prayer of Samatabhadra].        In that prayer he presents the
preliminaries: what you have to do before meditation. We're gonna do that
according to Tsong Khapa. Tsong Khapa wrote a commentary to it...

[silence]

I think Tsong Khapa is...I have to check [unclear]. I think it's these dates. He was
a Kagyu...who studied with a great Sakya teacher [Undawa]. And he's Ngingma
also. Later, Gelugpas came from him. But he was a Gelugpa in that sense...he
was the first. So his, his most famous students were three: the first Dalai Lama,
and Gyaltsab Je and Kedrup Je. And you don't have to know that. But one
day...these are all Gyaltsab Je's works, these are Kedrup Je's works and in the
middle are Tsong Khapa's works. It's about...Tsong Khapa's is about 10,000
pages and his two, two students are about 8,000 or 9,000 pages. It's incredible!
You, you could never study them in a lifetime. They wrote them. And they're
very deep...very difficult to, to get through. We spend in a monastery maybe
five years doing half of one of them. Very deep. Very wonderful. So we're
gonna study this prayer written 500 B.C. on the basis of his commentary. And
that commentary is found in the [b: Lam Rim Chenmo].

[silence]

It's the most famous book ever written in Tibetan, period. It's a thousand pages
long. {Lam rim} means: {rim} means "stages," {lam} "of the path." And {chenmo}
means "big." {Lam} means "path," {rim} means "stages" or "steps" and {chenmo}
means "big." {Mo} is a feminine ending. The great holy books of Tibet are...have
feminine endings, okay? Wisdom is feminine. So this is a, this is a...the {mo} is
just a female ending.

[student: Sorry, {chenmo} is?]

{Chen} means "big" and {mo} is actually a feminine ending. And that's his
presentation of all the steps you have to do to become a Buddha. And it starts at
the very baby steps and it goes up to the highest levels of tantra, all in one book.
There is no other book that has all of those in it. He, he, he collated the great
books of India. In the monastery we studied five great texts of Indian Buddhism
that were written from 200 A.D. up to 900 A.D. But this book includes all of it in
one book. So we're gonna take, we're gonna take our study of how to, how to
prepare for a meditation session from that. And that's part of the reading you
had in the back of your notebook. So we'll study that from the [b: Lam Rim
Chenmo]. So if I, if I were to ask you, name like the five major parts of
meditation, the first one would be getting ready, preparing for meditation. The
second...and by the way that, that has two parts: there's what we call the six
preliminaries, which is on your syllabus; and there's something we call the seven
ingredients, it's also called the seven-limb practice. And those two are what you
need to get ready for a meditation session. There are six activities that you do
before a meditation...and part of one of them involves seven steps. So that's
how you're gonna get ready for a meditation session. You have to do those to
have a successful meditation. You can't just flop down and meditate. You have
to gear yourself up. These are the things that get your mind...they disengage
your mind from your office and get your mind to meditation. There has to be
some gap there where you change gears. And these function to do that. Second
part of the practice of the study meditation will be the physical...a study of the
physical circumstances you need...the physical environment you need to
study...to, to do a successful meditation. And that's called the six conditions.
We'll cover that in the second class...the second week, I'm sorry. So, so far you
have two steps: one is pre-, preparing for meditation, and one is the physical
circumstances you need to meditate. Third will be the posture, the bodily
posture you need for meditation. And that's called the eight-point posture. It
has eight steps. How to put your body into meditation...how to get your body
in the right...physical...you know, the right physical...what do you call...posture.
That'll be in the second half of the second week. That will also come from the [b:
Lam Rim Chenmo]. And [b: Lam Rim Chenmo] is basically just a big patchwork
of earlier works. It, it isn't considered in Buddhism a big deal to write your own
book. It's considered very proper to plagiarize everybody else...who came
before...because they're omniscient. So how can you improve it? You can
change around the order for present-day people of your day, but you don't need
to write anything new. They, they knew everything, literally. So, why? It's not
a virtue to add to it or subtract from it. So he's basing his presentation on
Kamalashila who lived in the ninth century, and he wrote a huge book on
meditation. It's called [b: Gom Rim]. Kamalashila. You don't have to know that,
but if you're curious... Kamalashila lived in ninth century. He's famous for...he
was one of the Indian masters who came to Tibet. And when...he got to Tibet
and then a Chinese master reached Tibet at the same time; his name was
Huashang. And the Chinese master was teaching that meditation consisted of
emptying your mind and thinking about nothing at all. And Kamalashila was
teaching that, the opposite: he said meditation is an instrument or a tool, a
microscope for focusing the mind and then you must have a, a meaningful
object. It's not that you just try to empty your mind. We'll, we'll get into that.
There are results of that meditation. And there...that is a specific non-Buddhist
meditation. And it leads to certain apparently desirable results, but we'll talk
about why it's not very desirable. So they had a debate. The way you settled a
philosophical or a religious debate in the old days...and that's when debating was
serious. I mean, you would have a contest in public, and other masters and the
king of the country would attend. And whoever was...after like two or three
weeks of public debate each day, the king and his board of advisors would select
the winner. And if you lost, you'd have to join the school of the winner and all
your followers had to change religion. So it was very serious, and Kamalashila
won. And Huashang's...it's called Huashang {tawa}. The viewpoint that you
should meditate on nothing was expelled from Tibet. That teaching was not
allowed in Tibet. They had one other famous debate of the same kind about
which monk's system, which monk's vow system should be followed. There
were different system's of vinaya. And the school that won out was a certain
[Servastivadu] which is now prevalent in Thailand and other countries. So we
follow the same rules. That's, that's the custom that was prescribed for Tibet.
And that's the oldest system. So in meditation, we follow mahayana. As far as
our monk's system we are pure hinayana. Our, our vows and everything are
pure hinayana. So that's Kamashila.

[student: Michael?]

Yuh?

[student: Is, was a part of Huashang's...]

Belief?

[student: ...belief or doctrine that, that instant illumi-, that...]

I don't know. I haven't heard that he believed in satori or something. Is that
what you mean?

[student: Yah...that he taught instant illumination.]

I have not heard that. I haven't heard that. I, I don't know it all.

[student: So that wasn't a part of that whole debate?]

I haven't seen it. There, there are western scholars who believe that they knew it
took place. But we say it did, and it's always quoted. But I could check it for
you...in the computer. No I can see if in thirty thousand pages it's mentioned. I
doubt it. But I can check it. So that would be...what are we on now? The first
was preparing. The second was the place, you know, the physical place where
you're supposed to meditate. Third was how you arrange your body...how you
get your body ready. And then you can guess what the fourth one is. How you
get your mind [laughs] you know, what you actually meditate on. And then
there we're gonna have three, three steps. The first step is called the five
problems of meditation. These are five men-...typical mental states that come up
in your mind while you're trying to meditate. And you have to learn to identify
them. They are the classic...tricks that your mind plays on you when you're
trying to meditate.
[student: The five what?]

They're like the five...we call them the five problems of meditation. They are
five...you know, since two and a half thousand years ago, people who meditated
have had the same five problems, come up, and they come up in a certain order.
They're very predictable; people have spent their lives studying this, meditating.
And they have made this list. And these are the five typical problems that you
get while you're trying to meditate. Okay? Then there are what we call the
eight, the eight corrections. And these are eight different actions that you take to
stop the five problems...to block the five problems. So it's very useful. What
you're doing is you're like reading the car repair manual before you try to fix the
car, okay. It's very good; it's very useful. And while you're meditating, the
problem comes, and you already know what you're supposed to do. So that's
very useful. So that's again a part of the mental states. Then there are nine
mental states that result. There are nine stages you go through as you improve,
as your meditation gets better. It's still part of the mental process, which is
number four, right? It's still part of the mental process, meaning you get five
problems coming up, you use eight different methods to stop them, and by, and
during that struggle, you're going through nine deeper stages of meditation.
The ninth stage is the deepest stage. The first stage is where it's called...if, if you
drew a picture of your meditation, you would be like this: distracted, distracted,
distracted, distracted...one little block of concentration. [laughter] No, seriously.
It's called {menba tabu}. And then you get...and then later on...one of the later
stages it's more like this: you know, and, and the concentrated periods get thirty
seconds long, one minute long...we're talking real concentration. You know, and
it's literally that bad, at the beginning. You're lucky to have thirty seconds or a
minute of pure concentration. And then your mind wanders and you come back
to it. So we're gonna go through this process. So you'll be able to identify where
you are, mentally as you meditate...as you get better at it. To get better at it, you
must do it every day. It's exactly like exercise. And, and, and we'll talk about it.
But it's not something you can ever get or ever will get if you don't do a little bit
daily. And it doesn't mean like an hour. It means like twenty minutes or half
hour of good meditation. Otherwise you'll never get it. If you don't get it, you'll
never see emptiness. Impossible. You cannot progress through the five paths if
you're not in a deep state of meditation. It's impossible. Progression through
the five paths, going from one path to the other, always takes place during
meditation. So if you're not meditating regularly, it's impossible. You will
never...so, so you really have to do it. And I have to do it. I haven't been doing
it for a while. So as part of my game plan I would like start again, too. I, I was
good for many years. And then I got lazy. So I [unclear] it's a kind of excuse for
[unclear]. So you really have to...it's, meditation is a thing that if you're not
doing it regularly...you can miss a day a week or something, but if you're not
doing it like that, it's like weight-lifting or something...you'll never, you'll never
do it. You'll never get, you'll never get the results of it. And you can't see
emptiness unless you're on a very high level, you know. It's impossible. So, it's
really very nice to see it. We'll talk more about it. Nine, nine resulting states that
you get. Okay, by applying the...how many antidotes, corrections?

[student: The eight.]

To how many problems?

[student: Five.]

Okay. That's all right. Then the last part of the course in the last two weeks, we'll
be discussing the object of meditation. Okay? I think it's important to say
meditation is only a tool. Meditation is not by itself an end. It has no benefit,
religiously, spiritually, by itself. It has to be focused on a meaningful object.
Okay? By itself it has no...it has temporary side-effects that make you calm or
something, but, but they have no meaning spiritually. They will not remove
your suffering, they will not advance you in any way...meaningfully. It has to be
focused on something very meaningful. So the last two weeks we'll cover, we'll
cover meaningful objects for meditation. Okay? So we'll discuss the object of
meditation. What are you gonna aim this powerful tool at? 'Cause if it's just a
powerful tool that you're not aiming at anything, it's useless. It has no benefit.
So you've got five steps. I'll pick on people. Robin, first one?

[student: Preparation.]

Yah. [Gates] second one?

[student: [giggles]]

Okay.

[student: Study the physical environment.]

Yah, you know, what, what should the place be like, where you're gonna
meditate, right?
[Fran D.: The third one is the five-point position.]

Yah, how is your body gonna be when you get into meditation. Janet, fourth
one?

[student: What you actually meditate on.]

No. Fourth one was the mental state. Okay? See, the first three are, are...the
first is preparation, the second is the place...

[student: What to meditate on.]

I'm sorry. Did I say four?

[student: Yah, we have it.]

For four? [student: Yah.]

Awh, I'm sorry. I'll go over that again. First is the preliminary, the preparation:
what do you do before you go into your meditation.                Secondly is the
environment. Right? Third is the physical posture. How do you sit? Fourth is
the mental state's that are going on...the mental what do you call it? One is the
physical...number three is the physical postures, and then number four is the
mind state you go through.

[John: Mental activity.]

Yah.

[student: Is technique included in there?]

You could say it's the mental technique, yah. It's the problems that come up,
how you stop them, and then what stages will you go through if you do this
process well. And that's all the, the mental part of meditation...the mental aspect
of meditation. What's going on in your mind...in the, in the meditation. And
then number five is what are you gonna aim this meditation at? What do you
think about? You know, okay you really gotta concentrate. My boss...I said it
before...I mean he's incredible. His ability to concentrate is incredible. But the
object is not meaningful. So he has...by the way a non-Buddhist can attain
perfect meditation, according to Buddhist theory, and they do. You know, great
Hindu practitioners in India have, they've got perfect concentration. As a result,
they clairvoyance, they have special powers, they can see the future, or
whatever. But the...ultimately the object is not something that will remove their
suffering. But we say that a non-Buddhist can obtain a high state of meditation.
'Cause it's only a tool; it's only a focusing of the mind...which brings me to the
next subject. Tibetan Buddhism and Sanskrit Buddhism and Buddhism in general
has a lot of words for meditation. And I thought I would go through a short list
of them. This is on your homework, okay? 'Cause you're gonna hear lots of
different kinds of words. Their words in English are not finalized yet. And
you're gonna read books about Buddhism...they're gonna all...meditative
equipoise...mental coalescence...there's a lot of six-syllable words. And what are
the differences? You know, what are they? I thought I would just give
you...these are not debate definitions. They're not monastic textbook definitions.
But I'll give you the general gist of each different concept. 'Cause there are many
ideas...there are many words in Buddhism for, for meditation.                    Like in
Russian...Kay, Kay Merrick is good at that...it's like twenty words for foggy,
dark, unpleasant, moody...I mean there's all these words for dark and, you
know, I didn't like...I had to study in college and I, I didn't like the language.
There are a hundred words for, for dim, dark, foggy, you know. And Buddhism
is different. Buddhism has a hundred words for mind, a thousand words for
compassion, many different words for meditation. So it's good if you know the
difference between those words. You'll hear them thrown around. People
throw around shamata, samadhi, you know, and...you know, you don't know
what they're talking about, and I'm afraid they don't know what they're talking
about. So...after you study it you'll be able...you'll be able to tell. You'll study the
actual differences between them. So I'll start you out on some of them. [cut]
{Gomba}.

[silence]

If you have any inkling to learn a little...some people in this class should be in the
Tibetan class. They don't wanna fly. I hope some of you do. First word is
{gomba}. Say {gomba} [repeat] {gomba} [repeat]. {Gomba} is a word that comes
from {gom}, which is a different name, and it means to get used to something, to
habituate yourself to something...to get used to something.

[student: [unclear] {gom}?]

{Gom}. This is {ga}, this is {kha}. You can't hear the difference.
[student: So how can you tell the difference?]

Same. I, I'll tell you just to make it different for you. Let's say {gomba}. This is
the word I want you to learn. This one here: {gomba}.

[student: What does it mean?]

Verb. The verb is {gomgya}: to do {gomba}. This is the noun {gomba}:
meditation. This is one of the five or six words for meditation I'm gonna teach
you tonight.

[student: What does {gompa}, {gomba} mean?]

I wanted, I want you...this is what {gomba} means: {gomba} means to get used
to something. By doing it over and over again. That's what {gomba} means.
That's what the Tibetan word for meditation is.

[student: Do we say "habituation"?]

I like "habituation". If you don't remember that long word, I don't mind if you
say getting used to something. 'Cause that's what it is. The Sanskrit word is
[bavana]. You don't have to know that. It's, it's nice. You might see it in books,
you know.

[student: [unclear]]

Yah, {gomba}...meditate.

[student: [unclear] habituation.]

This is the Sanskrit word...for this. This is Tibetan. This is Sanskrit. This is the
Tibetan translation of this word.

[John: Do we need to know the Sanskrit?]

You don't need to know the Sanskrit. But I wanted you to know...we're gonna
get into samadhi, shamata...people are using those in English now. So I thought
I'd throw in the Sanskrit for those words, too. People aren't using [bavana].
Okay? This is the classic, this is the real...this is the overall word in Tibetan for
meditation. And if I ask you on homework describe it's general sense, you
should say, "Bringing an object to your mind repeatedly until you get used to it."
That's what it means. Mentally, you know, eyes closed, whatever...you are
bringing an object to your mind until you get used to it. It's said in Buddhist, in
Tibetan Buddhist texts that you do this a lot at work, with people you don't like,
you know. And you, you know you go home and you do bring them to mind.
You make yourself miserable. You know, say, God, I don't like that guy, you
know, he bugged me again today, and that's {gomba}. You're bringing him to
your mind; you're bringing his picture to your mind; you're bringing what he
said to you to your mind, or what he didn't say to you, or whatever, and that's
{gomba}. That is {gomba}. That is a kind of meditation. It means to bring an
object to your mind repeatedly...until it becomes burned into your mind. They
have this thing in computers: screen savers, right? Why? They're flying toasters.
Because if the same image stays on the screen too long, it burns itself into the
glass somehow...I don't know how.

[student: There's backing on the inside of the screen.]

That's medi-...meditation is, is exactly that. It really is that. You want to bring
that image up so often that it burns itself into your consciousness. And, and that
it comes back easily into your consciousness. That's {gomba}. So {gomba}
means habituation and it means to bring an object to mind repeatedly until it
gets fixed in your mind. And that's, that's one taste of meditation. That's one
meaning of meditation. So the general sense is that: bringing the object to your
mind again and again until it's burned into your mind or fixed in your mind.
That's the most general word in Tibetan for meditation. Yuh? This is another
word in Tibetan, which is the root of this word, and this word literally means to
get used to something. Like {komsha} means, you know, I taught my puppy not
to peepee on the floor. I have one nowadays in, in New Jersey...another one.
And she's {gomba} now to not peepee on the floor. That...they'll say {da
komsha}: now she's got used to it. She doesn't do it anymore. That's {komsha}.
Or you can say {chibu yoenya komsha}: he has become accustomed to coming
late. Did someone open the door?

[student: No.] [laughter]

Maybe Mel doesn't know how to do it. Does anybody here know how to open
it? Make sure he has the right key for the second door, also.

[silence]
Say {samten} [repeat] {samten} [repeat]. The Sanskrit word is: [dhyana].

[silence]

{Samten} is the fifth of the six, six perfections. There are six perfections. What
are they? Give me the first one. Anybody?

[student: Generosity.]

Giving.

[student: Patience.]

Nah, nah, nah.

[student: Morality.]

Those, those Americans, they don't need [unclear].          Morality.   Okay, giving,
morality...

[student: Patience.]

Patience: not getting angry.     There is no English word for it.       Number five?
Four.

[student: Effort.]

Yah. Effort.

[student: Meditation.]

Yah, number five is meditation. Number six is wisdom. So this is the word for
the fifth perfection, which is concentration or meditation. So see you're gonna
get like five different words for the same thing. There are no English words for
all these things. {Samten} means: first of all it refers to the fifth perfection...which
is meditation. Okay?

[John: The ability to concentrate [unclear]?]

Well, you'll learn what it is and you tell me.
[student: Is [dhyana] like the five [Dhyani] Buddhas?

They are called the five [Dhyani] Buddhas.

[student: And does that mean five Buddhas [unclear]?]

Yah, why they're called that is a long story.

[student: Okay.]

Usually I say long story when I'm not too clear about it myself. [laughs]
[laughter] They know that. Okay, {samten} is...I've seen it somewhere; I don't
remember what it says. There is an explanation. It's not very...it's not what it
sounds like. There's some...I remember it's not.

[student: Usually followed by, I can look it up in the computer.]

Yah, yah.

[student: Or it'll be in the fourth year.]

Yah, yah.

[student: We'll guess it in the fourth year.]

[student: Fourth year, fifth class.]

{Samten}. There's also...there are also four levels of meditation called {samten}.

[John: Is this a subdivision of this, or something else?]

Well, it is the fifth perfection, but the same word is used to describe four levels of
very deep meditation. Those four levels of deep meditation...the result of those
four kinds of meditation are to, are to be reborn in one of the four levels of the
form realm. Form realm. I'd better go over this. There are three realms. We
can only see one. There are two that we can't see. We are in the realm called
desire realm. The first Dalai Lama in his commentary on the [b: Abhidharma]
says, "This is a desire realm because all we think about are food and sex." We are
main-...one of our main interests is these two things. And that's why this is called
the desire realm. And you've heard desire realm many times. It's {duhkam} in
Tibetan. We are in that realm.

[John: That's the earth.]

It's not...this earth is in that realm.

[John: What else is?]

Mount Meru and the top of Mount Meru...there are certain deities that we can't
see. Certain deities in the desire that we can't see. The, the bardo people are in
the desire realm. Hell people are in the desire realm. We can't see any of them.
Buddhism doesn't say you can see them. Buddhism doesn't even say you should
claim they exist until you can prove them pretty well, logically. So you don't
have to believe in them right now. No, you shouldn't believe in them, until you
have some good proof. The next level up is called the form realm.

[student: What?]

We cannot see that realm...form. Why is it called form realm? They have...it's,
it's a place where they are, they are very beautiful...they are all some kind of
pleasure beings. They live in a state of high pleasure their whole life. They have
beautiful bodies, they have bodies like a rainbow, and they live in pleasure their
whole life. After that they go to hell. That's another story.

[Fran D.: [unclear] the god realm?]

It is part of the...god realm extends to all three realms. The bottom of the god
realm is in the desire realm. And then, like that. But I'm not...that's not the
purpose of this class. Just to tell you that if you did those four kinds of {samten},
which is the second meaning of {samten}, what was the first meaning of
{samten}? The fifth perfection, which is a Buddhist perfection. But if you did just
{samten}, just this meditation, the result would be that you would get born in
one of those four realms, which we can't see and I can't prove to you right now.
If you're interested in the third realm, which I didn't get to, it's the formless
realm. And those are mental beings: they have no bodies. They are purely
mental being; they have no physical bodies. That realm is not located anywhere
'cause they are wherever they think. All right? You can be here and be in the
f-...a formless realm being could be in this room...if his mind is here...'cause that's
the way they are. Yah.
[student: You have to be reborn, where?]

Wherever your mind is.

[student: No, in the f-...four levels of, the four levels...]

Oh, the four levels of the form realm.

[student: Four levels of the form realm.]

Yah, by doing the four kinds of {samten}, those kinds of deep meditation,
without any meaningful object, if it's just that you're hung up on those four,
without any meaningful object, you will be reborn in one of those high deity
realms. Can you guess why? What, what gets you into the high realms is, is
great virtue...is great good deeds. Good deeds is defined as avoiding bad deeds.
[laughs] [laughter] Why do you thing that a person who's doing {samten} his
whole life would be avoiding bad deeds? He's not, he's not moving. And it's
famous, and there's a kind of morality called {sam-}, you know, morality that's
hooked to this. You can't do any verbal bad deeds 'cause you can't talk and
meditate at the same time, it's impossible. You can't do any physical bad deeds.
You can't move in meditative at the same time. And you can't have any really
bad mental bad deeds because your mind is single-pointedly fixed on a virtuous
object. So they, they do have a great rebirth, but it doesn't last, and it's not
desirable. But we'll get into that. Okay? That's called [dhyana].

[student: So...are you saying that's to be avoided then because as you said you
go to hell right afterwards, or?]

Well, that brings me to the next subject. If you want to see emptiness, although
your body is in this desire realm and although your basic mind state is a desire
realm person's mind state, to see...when you see emptiness, and you will see
emptiness one day, directly, which is actually what stops all your suffering...the
day that you see emptiness directly your mind, your concentration is in the first
{samten}...your mind is not even in this realm. Your, your base mind is in this
realm, but your, your concentration is actually on a higher level. And on that
higher level you have the ability to perceive emptiness.

[student: Which one would it be, then?]
The base mind, the supporting mental...the supporting brain is in this realm. The
body is in this realm. But the concentration is in a higher realm. So as you go
into that meditation on emptiness for the first time, which if you can achieve it in
this life is, is the greatest achievement...it's incredible...you feel a sense of going
up to that realm, mentally, and in that realm you see emptiness. And then you
come down out of that realm. And then you see what?

[John: Four noble truths.]

Four noble truths. You see, you see the different parts of the four noble truths.
This is the process. So your mind goes up to that level...first level...you see
emptiness based on that level, and then you come down. Your mind comes
down. You're sitting there, but you're not aware of your body. Okay? All right?
So that's the general sense of {samten}. So if I ask you...you should really say
three kinds of {samten}...three meanings of {samten}. The first one is as the fifth
perfection of the six Buddhist perfections. The second meaning is as that kind of
meditation, which if it's all you do, you'll be reborn into the form realm as a
deity. Yah, [F-O-R-M], so-called because they have beautiful bodies. And if
you're...the third sense of {samten} is the important one. On the first {samten}
level, with your mind in that level, you can see emptiness directly. Seeing
emptiness directly functions to stop your suffering permanently. You no longer
will need to get old, etcetera.

[John: So really the third definition is a clarification of the second one?]

They're all {samten}. But I'm just giving you the important places where they
come in Buddhist scripture, okay? All right.

[student: But some people bypass the seeing emptiness while experiencing these
four levels.]

Yah, you can waste...if you're concentrating on a picture of Vishnu or something,
mentally, you can reach a {samten}, and, and...

[student: Even maybe the second {samten}, say bypassing the...experiencing
emptiness.]

Even the fourth...yah, no, right, you would not perceive emptiness.

[student: Can you say what the four noble truths are?]
Yah, first one is...well, you tell her, Stillwell. Find it...it was on their test. I hope
to God that they remember.

[John: First noble truth is, is that life is dissatisfactory. And the second is that it
has a, a cause.]

Yah, suffering has a cause.

[John: And that there's an end to suffering, and that it has a cause.]

Which is the path, so that's the four. So the first one's suffering. Second one is
the end of suffering. Third one...yah? Third one is...the end of suffering. And
the fourth one is the path that leads to that end.

[student: Second one is?]

Where the suffering comes from.

[student: Cause.]

The cause of suffering...which is mainly your bad emotions. Hatred, jealousy,
desire, anger. And our other close friends. Okay.

[student: Would you please clarify one [unclear]?]

Yah, sure.

[student: When you said, "And that's diana."]

[Dhyana]. Do we have a Diana here?

[student: [Dhyana]. What? I missed...I heard everything else; I wrote it all down,
but...]

Well, the Sanskrit word is [dhyana].

[student: Oh, it's Sanskrit!]

Yah, I'm trying to give you that Sanskrit words because you will hear them.
You'll hear...you've heard [dhyani] Buddhas; you've heard [shamata]; [unclear];
you've heard [samadhi]. I just want you to, you know, someone says, "What's
[shamata]?" and "What's the difference between [shamata] and [samadhi]?" You
say, "Oh, I studied that."

[student: So [dhyana] is the Sanskrit word for {samten}.]

{Samten}. At least in Tibetan...it's a Tibetan...it's a translation of [dhyana].

[student: Would you also clarify again the three formless realms?]

Oh no, there's, there's three realms. There's three realms of suffering beings. By
the way the Buddhas don't live in these three realms. These are the three realms
of suffering beings. One realm you can see. It's the desire realm. That's where
we live. That's this world that you know. You've never seen the other two
realms. They are stated in scripture. After you see emptiness directly you will
understand that those realms really exist. You will experience them. Until that
time you can say the Buddha said they exist, I have studied them in many
authoritative scriptures, I can't tell you for sure if they exist. I haven't perceived
them directly. The second realm is the form realm. You can't see it. The third
realm is the formless realm. And you never will see it because there's no
physical matter in that realm. It's a mental realm. And the beings there have no
body. They're purely mental. {Nyomjuk}.

[silence]

{Nyomjuk} has three basic meanings. The Sanskrit word is not very common.
You, you probably haven't seen it. And you don't need to know this. I'm just
giving it to people who might wanna...when their friends ask them, "What's
{shamata}?" They'll say, "Yah, I know that!" It's called [samapati].

[student: This is the word for {shamata}?]

No, this is the word for [samapati]. [laughter] We got two more to go...three,
three more to go. By the way, in English, what do you use? You know, these
translators pull their hair out.       That's why I got this.         {Nyomjuk}.
{Nyomjuk}...you can think there are three basic kinds. This is a kind of
meditative state, okay? The first one is a, is a meditation which is going to end
you...which is going to make you reborn into the form realm. So in that sense
it's very similar to {samten}. It's meditation, which if that's all you do...and
Hindu, you know, saints do it...they, they just meditate on this kind of
meditation...it's very high...it's a virtue, it's a goodness, it's a good deed. Mainly
'cause you can't do any bad things if you're concentrating so strongly. You will
be reborn in the form realm. That's one kind of {nyomjuk}.

[student: So this is like your boss?]

Yah, I think so...mostly, if he never did bad deeds to get his money. But in the
moments that he's concentrating on money, yah, it's neutral. You know, he's not
really hurting anybody. So that's...by the way, I don't really know...who? God
knows. I, I don't know anyone's mind. He could be a Buddha. Sometimes I
think he is. You know, we don't know. We have to be careful. I just use him as
an example. I could use myself, but it's boring. Okay, form realm. The second
kind is {nyomjuk} which lands you in the formless realm, okay. These two kinds
of {nyomjuk}, we call causal {nyomjuk} because they are kinds of meditation
which cause you to be reborn in, in one of those two realms.

[student: The second one...I'm sorry...the formless?]

Formless realm...where you don't have any body. You're a purely mental being,
and you're in intense state of happiness. Some people mistake that for paradise.
You see, it's a very dangerous thing. Some people mistake...and, and even the
meditation is so pleasant that it's very attractive. And they mistake that result
for what you would call heaven or paradise. It's not a permanent heaven; it's not
a desirable thing. There's better ones.

[John: Is that the same as samadhi? [Samapati]?]

No, we didn't get to it yet. [laughs]

[John: It's not it.]

There's lots, okay? That's why I'm going through this.

[student: Is there a particular object with {nyomjuk}?]

They can pick objects, like the typical objects in Hinduism are, you know, Shiva's
form, or Vishnu's form, or Indra's form...things like that. But the basic thing is
that you don't create any bad deeds while you're doing it. No verbal, physical or
mental bad deeds.
[John: Why are they in bliss when they're doing this meditation?]

One side effect of meditation, and not the object of meditation, not the goal of
meditation is called {shinjan]. And {shinjan} means very, very pleasant physical
sensations, and very, very pleasant mental sensations, which in, at some points
are a distraction.

[John: What causes...]

They're not desirable. You could explain it in the higher teachings which I can't
get into right now.

[John: Posture...]

We talked about it at the end of the last class, in the last class, if you remember.
I, I, I have to distinguish between the common path and the uncommon path.
Right?

[John: Right, right, right.]

Okay, but that is related to that.       And that's why that practice involves a
meditation.

[student: {Nyomjuk} is related to the {shinjan}?]

I didn't get into that...no, no. So, so far we have two kinds of {nyomjuk}. One is
a kind of meditation that if you do it and you don't do anything better, you end
up being born in the form realm. According to Buddhist scripture I can't prove it
to you. I can't even prove to you that it exists. And that's part of Buddhism.
You have to admit what we can't see. The second kind of {nyomjuk} is the one
that makes you born in the formless realm. The third kind of {nyomjuk} is called
cessation meditation. Cessation meditation. And this is a state in which you can
put yourself where your mind is almost shut down. And, and in some schools it
was believed that that was nirvana, that that was the end of suffering. And, and
we'll discuss it. It's not really it. Your mind is still going on in a very, very subtle
manner. But the gross mind is almost shut down. And, and you can stay that
way for a long, long, long time.

[student: So when you say your mind, you're talking about...]
Fifty-two functions of your mind...which we'll study later. [laughs] Mainly,
sensation and discrimination. The ability to feel things. And the ability to
discriminate between different objects. Those are shut down to such a, a subtle
level that it's close to nirvana. It is not nirvana. But it was taken to be nirvana,
and it's, it's called cessation meditation.

[student: [unclear] perception?]

It, it actually shuts down all of your mental processes to a very, very, very subtle
level. But mainly those two. Those are...that's the big deal because those are the
two mental functions out of the fifty-two which get you in trouble. You like
your friends; you don't like your enemies. You like what feels good; you don't
like what feels bad.

[Nina: Is sensation another one?]

Sensation and discrimination. The ability to I like this person, I don't like this
person. He's my friend; he's my enemy. This is warm; this is cold. Yuh?

[student: Are you saying that this was mistaken for nirvana because it resembles
nirvana, or because the people who mistook it for nirvana didn't understand
nirvana, and it doesn't resemble nirvana? Namely, if you're not discriminating
and you don't have sensation, that's attributive nirvana?]

No, but it's, that, that...I guess that was...that's sort of close to being...there are
Buddhist schools which we talked about when we studied nirvana last time
which believe that when you achieve nirvana, your mind and your body are
actually discontinued. The word is discontinued. That's not {rangrik}, that's not
what the actual truth is. That's not what nirvana is. What is nirvana? Heyhey!
Regina? Definition of nirvana...remember? How're you gonna get there if you
don't know what it is? [laughter] Stopping...what? Stopping?

[Regina: Mental afflictions...]

Yah. What was the rest of it?

[student: [unclear]]

Yah, it's, it's stopping your bad thoughts...all of them...permanently, because you
saw emptiness directly. Through seeing emptiness directly; as a result of seeing
emptiness directly. That's the definition of nirvana. So you can achieve nirvana
this evening...you look the same to me; you look the same to everybody else.
You don't disappear. You know, there is another kind of nirvana, right?, where
you do dis-, I mean...you get rid of the suffering kind of body. But that's another
story. Basically nirvana means permanently removing your bad emotions,
which would mean you'd never suffer again. So they mistook that for that.
There were schools of Buddhism that said nirvana was the discontinuation of
your body and mind, which is not the case. They were lower schools that taught
that. And that's what most Western people think when they hear nirvana.

[John: So the earlier two were causal meditation because they cause rebirth in
those, in those two realms.]

And the third is a kind of deep, deep, deep, deep meditation...

[John: So it's cessation meditation, but does it cause...]

It's called cessation meditation, but it's not the true cessation meditation.

[John: You still have a rebirth; you still cause a rebirth.]

Yah, so it's not real cessation.

[John: So it's still a causal meditation.]

It's called cessation. It's a cause in a sense, but it's not the cause [unclear].]

[John: Not the same cause, yah.]

Those of the ideas, the three ideas of {nyomjuk}.

[John: Is, is there a rebirth associated with this meditation or not?]

You would be reborn if that's all you did. It's not a...it doesn't get you to nirvana.
It's not nirvana. It's not even cessation. It's called cessation. You got two more,
then we'll take a break.

[student: But there's nothing associated with that like, you know, you would call
'em causal? Is that what you said [unclear].]
I said there were three kinds of {nyomjuk}. The first two we called causal
because they cause a high rebirth. The third one has nothing to do with the first
two. The third one is a cessation. It's a Buddhist practice. You get so deep into
meditation that your mind is almost shut down. It's not a...it's mostly lower
school; it's mostly hinayana, abhidharma; it's not a desirable thing. In fact, in
some scriptures it's described as a, as a distraction.

[student: Cessation meditation?]

Yah, 'cause it's not cessation. It's just that it's such a deep state of meditation.
Supposedly you can stay in it for hundreds of years.

[student: Are you telling us that all of these different types of meditation, but
these are not necessarily the ones that we're [unclear]?]

Nope. We'll get to the real ones. But these are things you will hear about, and
what you should know about.           And I want you to get a flavor for
meditation...how deep it is. I mean there are so many kinds...so many...the [b:
Abhidharma] has hundreds of pages of what goes on. They have an analysis of
what kinds of thoughts control what kinds of other thoughts...every variation,
every permutation. It takes page after page after page. If you're translating it
you get dizzy, you know. You can't have a virtuous thought after this bad
thought unless you're thinking this other thought. But what can follow that
thought, you know, and...they go on, you know. This is {shine}...the Sanskrit
word is...

[silence]

You always see this in relation, linked with this...

[silence]

[cut] [END OF SIDE ONE]

[SIDE TWO]

[John: Is that the Sanskrit?]

Yah, I'll check my computer. It looks like it [unclear] but I'll check it for you. You
almost always see [shamata] connected with [vipashyana]. In Thailand they call
it [vipasana] or something. [Vipasana].

[student: [Vipasana].]

That's more from the Pali. So they're all related. Same, same thing.

[student: And they also use [bavana].]

[Bavana], yah, oh yah? 'Cause...so, if you wanna get the flavor for this word for
meditation, think of it in terms of a union between [shamata] and [vipashyana].
These two are always married. Okay? {Shine} and {paktong} are Tibetan.

[John: In a sense if you're doing that kind of meditation you also are doing...]

We'll talk about it. [Shamata] is the very, very, most...it's the, it's the highest
evolution of meditation, the most powerful state of meditation...the highest
evolution of meditation, the highest form of meditation. There's many kinds of
{gomba} or {samten}, {nyongjuk}, but, but {shine} is number one. {Shine} is
really when you get very, very, very good. This is {shine}. This is [shamata]. It's
a very, very powerful state of meditation, which is linked with [vipashyana],
which means the perception of emptiness...wisdom. {Hlaktong}, which means
exceptional insight...{hlak} means exceptional, {tong} means seeing...is focused on
emptiness. It's a very high form of knowledge, which is seeing emptiness.

[John: So this is not [vipashyana] meditation?]

It is.

[John: It is.]

Well, that's a misnomer, you see? And you'll have to study it.

[John: Yah, I'm confused about that.]

You'll have to study it. You'll have to study it. That's why it's called {hlaktong}.
And we will study this. But you always see these two linked together. Okay?
When you hear [shamata], you should think [vipashyana]. 'Cause they are
linked together. The goal...one of the highest goals is to have them linked
together...is to have this incredibly powerful instrument focused on...emptiness,
wisdom.

[John: And that's all it means.]

Wisdom and...yah. I'll give you a definition sometime. But basically this is what
you're aiming for. This is the goal of your meditation. You wanna reach
[shamata]...in and of itself it's not such a big deal. You want it to be imbued with
[vipashyana].     You wanna have wisdom that has this powerful ability to
concentrate...on emptiness; and that's what [shamata] is...in it's highest form.
There are many other...many other forms, but this is the one you're...this is the
one you're shooting for. Basically, these are the fifth and sixth perfections at
their highest level.

[student: Fourth one right?]

Fifth and sixth.

[John: Perfections.]

[student: Oh, perfections.]

Meditation and wisdom.      Those are the two highest forms of those two
perfections. When you reach the two last perfections, that's what they will be.

[John: So when you said the perfection of a perfection of...]

Perfection is a difficult word. It doesn't mean the ultimate...form of that thing. It
means something else. It's {paropa chenma}. You've had {sherab paropa
chenma}. You know what it is. What is the perfection of wisdom? Does it mean
the Buddha's wisdom? Does it mean the ultimate evolution of wisdom? What is
the definition of perfection of wisdom?

[John: It's...]

Oh, you got in trouble. [laughter]

[John: It's, it's understanding emptiness joined with love or bodhicitta.]

Under the influence of compassion, to perceive emptiness. This is the perfection
of wisdom. It can happen long before you become a Buddha. So perfection
doesn't mean...perfection is an attempt to translate the Sanskrit word [paramita].
It's the Tibetan word {paropa chenma}, which means to go beyond...to reach the
farthest end. But it, it's a difficult translation. It doesn't mean the final evolution,
'cause it's not omniscience. You can have the perfection of wisdom long before
you reach the Buddha's mind state. All right. Last one before you get [unclear].

[silence]

{Tingendzin} [repeat]. {Tingendzin} [repeat]. {Tingendzin} [repeat].
[Samadhi]...very famous, right? Very famous word. The definition...the broad
definition, and I'm not giving you precise definitions, probably because I don't
know them by heart...is {tsechu}, {sem tsechu}, which means one-pointed mind.
One-pointed state of mind. I'm gonna tell you what one-pointed means, because
I wondered about it for years.

[student: Pointed?]

One-pointed state of mind. Okay? And I, I finally found these classical
references. One- pointed means one object. The meaning when they say in
Buddhism one-pointed state of mind is one object. You're able to keep your
mind on one object...tightly, strong. That's {tingendzin}. That's the definition of
[samadhi]. It's just the ability to keep the mind on one object.

[student: But how does that differ from [shamata]?]

We'll talk about it. Okay?

[student: Are you gonna give us the Sanskrit for it?]

Yah, it's [samadhi]. [Samadhi]. [Dhi] means mind; [sama] means equal.
[unclear] The San-...the Tibetan word is difficult to translate.             {Tingen}
means...like {wotingting} means vivid green. It's a green which is pulsating
or...it's a very rare...it's a very special word in Tibetan. When you, you're driving
in Switzerland and you're driving and you look over and there's one of these
Swiss meadows, with this incredible vibrant green...this is called {woting},
{wotingye}. So {tingye} means like this incredible, vibrant color usually. And
{dzin} means to glow. So all these Tibetan words are difficult to translate...
{samten}...they, they don't...you know, translators who don't know Tibetan very
well struggle with the meanings of the units of the word, but they don't have
any...they have a nice flavor, but they don't describe one-pointed mind. You see
what I mean? So don't get too hung up on the...on the meaning of the words,
themselves. You'll, you'll get lost. They don't mean...they don't have much to do
with what the thing is. They came from the old tradition of translation...like
{konchok}, which in, in ancient Tibet in which they translated the feeling of the
word and not the meaning of the word. And most of those translations were
later banned. Some of them have survived. So {tingendzin}, [samadhi].
[Samadhi] means the ability to keep the mind one-pointed. So what's the
difference between [samadhi] and [shamata]? [Shamata] is the highest evolution
of this. You can have {tingendzin} at work. You know, if you're...you can have
especially {tingendzin} watching a movie or reading a good book. When you
start to slobber...I mean if you've ever reached that, if you play music for
example...if you really get into it, you know, you find yourself...you're so into it
that, that you're drooling and you don't know it 'cause you're not thinking to
close your mouth. That's {tingendzin}. And you can have it. Everyone gets it.
Every mind has {tingendzin}. {Tingendzin} is the state of mind that every mind
has. It's just either developed or not developed. A bug has {tingendzin}.
{Tingendzin} is one of the states of mind that accompanies all other states of
mind. Every being who's conscious has some ability to concentrate.

[John: The idea is that it's only for a split second perhaps?]

Yah.

[John: Whereas in, in the {shine} you can do it for...]

And then {shine} is the...you know, the highest evolution of this innate ability to
concentrate.      So everyone has {tingendzin}. Everyone has some part of
[samadhi]. That's stated in the [b: Abhidharmakosha]. It's one of the ten states
of...it's one of the ten mental functions that every conscious being has...all the
time. Yuh?

[student: So what is it that different between [samadhi] and {samten}?]

Yah, [samadhi] is, is just your ability to concentrate, that you already have.
[Shamata] is when you practice, practice, practice, practice until you are able to
keep your mind in deep meditation...so deep that it goes to a higher realm and
you see emptiness. So...

[student: It's more, more...]
...powerful. It's that, it's that, it's that ability to concentrate. It's the [samadhi]
which you have, taken to it's highest level through practicing, and you can do it,
because your mind is plastic. Your mind is moldable. Of all things in the world,
your mind...if you expose it to the wrong things, it's gonna be coming out a
month from now. Don't worry. It must. It will. Your mind is very
influenceable. Your mind is like silly putty. You have to be very careful what
you expose it to, you know. But the...on the good side, if you, you know, expose
it to a good object repeatedly...which is, what?

[student: {Gom}.]

It, it must come out a good result later. You know, that's why it's, that's why it's
proven in the [b: Pramanavartika], Dharmakirti's classic work, that you can reach
the ultimate state of compassion. 'Cause your mind is influenceable. Your mind
is not...your mind is fluid. If you keep exposing it to a holy object it must
become holy. And if you keep exposing it to TV well, what do you expect?
[laughs] [laughter] No, your mind is like a mirror. And whatever you put in that
mirror, whatever appears in that mirror often enough, the mind must become
that nature. So your mind is very... It's very dangerous. You don't want to
infl-...to expose it to...to things which are not nice, you know. Yuh?

[John: So is that why they say, when you say you're doing calm-abiding
meditation on the breath, for example, versus calm-abiding meditation with an
object of concentration as a Buddha...that it's more virtuous to concentrate on the
Buddha because by concentrating on the Buddha, your mind becomes
holy...that's...is that the extra virtue they talk about?]

Yah, oh yah. There's a kind of [samadhi] you can do. There's a famous example
in India of a man who stayed in a cave and he meditated that he had horns. You
know, bull's horns. And he did so good that when tried to get out of the cave, he
kept hitting his horns on the side and couldn't get out. You know, mentally he
couldn't, couldn't get out. And he was..he couldn't get out of the entrance of the
cave. And they say, "You know, great, great in the sense of meditating. Useless
in the sense of the object. You know, why didn't you pick a better object?...to, to,
to {gom}, to habituate your mind to. That's a classic example. Yuh?

[student: You just said, "Calm-abiding meditation, which we have not...which
one would that be of this?"]

I'm not, I'm not gonna touch all these English translations. I, I give up. Calm-
abiding is a translation of {shine}, which is [shamata]. And {shi} means peace and
{ne} means to stay. It does not mean to put your mind in a nice, pleasant,
buzzed-out state. And that's why you gotta be careful about that. [Sham] does
mean peace, but it's, it's a particular kind of peace. I would prefer that you think
of [shamata] as a powerful gun than as a cotton candy, you know. It's a
powerful weapon, aimed at the right object. It's not like, "Heh, man, you
know." [laughs] [laughter] And I'm afraid that the word is...you see it's one of
those old translations. It kinda tends to intimate that it's just a pleasant, peaceful,
calm-abiding...no, if anything, it's a fierce experience. It's a very powerful
telescope aimed at a, at a very holy object, and the result is an atom bomb, you
know. It's, it's a different kind of thing. Okay? Have some tea. And there's
some soup. If you didn't have any dinner before you came, you're welcome to
have some soup. We'll start in ten minutes.

[cut]

I'm just gonna give you the names of the six preliminary practices, and then I'll
explain them next week. But in the meantime, I'd like you to memorize them,
okay? Not in Tibetan, just in English. {Chaksel} is number one. {Chaksel} means
prostration, bowing down. I remember the first time I had to do it, I didn't want
to do it, I didn't like to do it. I was brought up as a Christian, and in the Christian
religion one of the things says you will not bow down to craven images... And I,
I felt uncomfortable, I didn't do it for a while. And I don't regret that I didn't do it
for a while because I didn't know what it meant and it didn't feel comfortable to
me. {Sel} means to look for something. {Chak} means the hand. It's the, it's the
honorific word for hand. It's used for a high lama's hand. And it means to look
for something from the hand of somebody...to look for a gift from his hand. So
it means really that you are...showing your respect. And we'll go through the
whole thing. And it has a lot more meaning than just getting down on the floor.
And if it's not comfortable for you, don't worry about it. We can't do it here
anyway. [laughs] [laughter]

[student: One at a time.]

Yah, yah, yah, yah. [laughs]

[student: Is it good for your lower back, the prostrations?]

It has a lot...we'll talk about it. But I'll tell you this: when you perceive emptiness
directly, when you come out of that, you'll understand the meaning of
prostrations for the first time. And you'll get down and you'll bow because you
saw something incre-...you saw something that deserves a bow.

[John: Could you just tell us about it? [laughs]]

And it will be, it will be, a natural reaction to what you saw, and you will get up
and start prostrating. And you'll...at that moment you'll know what it is. And I
think before that you never really know what it is. You'll want to get down on
your knees in front of those [unclear]. And that's just something that we'll talk
about. {Chepa} means offering. This is a mistake. I mixed up the...the
homework says don't mix up the seven and the six. I did. Scratch the first one.

[student: Oh no.]

Sorry.

[John: I ran out of paper!]

I learn one thing from [unclear] ...

[John: Hey, can I have a piece?]

You know that the...the homework says don't confuse the six and the seven.

[unclear]

Yah, right.

[student: Is that one the seven?]

It's one of the seven, but you're not going to do the seven tonight. I just want
you to know the six.

[student: And what is this the one of the two of?]

The six things that you have to do before you start meditating. I messed up.

[silence]

I'm making it simple; it's a long sentence. {Mikam sama} means that you, you
get up and you, you tidy up the room. You make the room clean. Anila and me
are not too good at this. [laughs] But you...it's, it's actually...we'll talk about it,
but it's very important, actually. So, when you get up in the morning, you're
ready to start your meditation, first thing is to tidy up everything. Make your
bed, sweep the floor. In the monastery, you know, five o'clock you see all these
monks out with these little brooms doing the floor of their house. And it's
already spotless, but this is part of the meditation. And it has a specific purpose
and I'll...we'll talk about it. It actually gets you ready for meditation, physically.
So that's cleaning up your room...sweeping and making everything nice. Tidy.

[student: Where you meditate only...not the whole house.] [loud laugher]

Yah, yah.

[student: I know when I have to study...I don't want to study, I clean up the
whole house!]

Yah, yah, that could be a distraction. {Chepa} is offering. Offering is a short
word, but actually you, you set up an altar, and you put out certain images and
things like that. And then you put out some pretty offerings. And we'll talk
about it.

[silence]

[John: Awwh.]

Sorry.

[John: Quick draw.]

Which one was it? Which one did you need?

[student: {Chupa}.]

{Chupa}. [unclear] do you need it in Tibetan?

[student: Yah.]

Did you miss it?
[silence]

{Chabdul} means going for refuge. If you were in the last class you did, you
know, you know it, well. And {semkye} which is trying to develop the wish to,
to become a Buddha so that you can help all beings. It's what they call bodhicitta.
It's the wish to become perfect so that you can help all beings. It's the wish to
achieve your own paradise so that you can really help other people. That's sort
of a pleasant task. You know, it's not as nasty as it's...achieve everything you
ever wanted to help other people. [laughs] That's okay. [laughs]

[John: First part's pretty good.]

That's not so hard. All right. And, and implied here, and you should write it in
your homework...implied here is that you take the proper posture, before you
do that. Okay. So you...

[John: Meditation posture?]

Yah. You're setting down the right kind of seat. And you're placing yourself on
that seat in the proper position. And then you, you try to think these two things.
So I didn't write out the whole thing 'cause, you know, I didn't want to hold you
up.

[John: Try to think two things?]

These two: taking refuge and bodhicitta. And that's expressed in the prayer we
do every class, before every class. You have that in your notebook. It has the
same title at the top: {kyabdro semkye}.

[student: What was that word you said, {bodhi}?]

{Bodhicitta}, which means {bodhi}...which means Buddha mind, {bodhi} mind,
which does not refer, which the other students all know 'cause they studied the
definition. {Semkye damche la mikshin rangyi do doshan dungye dungbe techen
jukku riksum mepe yikkyi tsowa nogu chepa chen tekche summa sema}. We,
we did the whole thing, All right? Definition of it. Basically, the wish to achieve
paradise for yourself so that you can help other people. So you can really be of
some help to other people, because when you do that you become omniscient.
You know all the problems they're ever gonna face in the next fifty years. And
then you can really help them. {Kyabdro semkye}.
[silence]

Okay, {tsokshin}. {Mikpa} means to visualize. {Tsokshin} means a, a big picture
with all the lamas in it...all the lamas who have passed down the great two
lineages since the beginning of Buddhism in this planet. What are the two
lineages? Emptiness and compassion. So you're visualizing the ma-, major
lamas who have passed this down to us. And we'll talk about it. To si-...put it
simply this. That's put very simply.

[silence]

[student: To visualize all the Buddhas in the lineage...that's what you mean?]

In the...of the two great lineages, which is emptiness and compassion. They've
come down through different lineages. I mean the major...every lama had both.
There were many main teachers of the...

[silence]

{Drup} you know, right? {Nyumdrup shedrup}? Do you remember from last?
You didn't have the Tibetan. {Drup} means obstacle. Okay? Spiritual obstacle.
Two different kinds. Fran? Come on...

[Fran: What was the question?]

Two kinds of obstacles...do you remember?

[student: Obstacles to omniscience?]

That's the second one.

[Fran: And bad thoughts.]

Yah, and bad thought obstacles. One describes the kind of obstacle; one
describes what it's obstacle-ing. Okay? The first one which is bad thought
obstacles, are what prevent you from reaching nirvana. Things like anger. And
the second kind which are obstacles to reaching omniscience, prevent you from
becoming a Buddha. They prevent you from knowing all things. Subtle kinds of
ignorance. {Dripjang} means to purify those obstacles. To clean yourself of
those obstacles.

[student: So it's only to clean yourself of the spiritual kind?]

Yah, what else? You can take a bath. But you're already sitting down. [laughs]
[laughter] {Tsotsak} I wasn't gonna say it [unclear]. Okay, {tsoktsak}: {tsok}...
{tsok} means good deeds; {tsak} means to gather them...to gather power of
goodness...to gather together the power of goodness. So one is getting rid of
something negative, and one is building up positive power. These are, these are
conditions that are gonna make your meditation succeed. And it really works.
And if you don't do it, the meditation doesn't work. It's very interesting. And
we'll talk more about it. This...there are seven ingredients to this, to this
preparation. And we'll talk about it next class. These are also called the seven
limb practices. In this case the word limb should be translated as {gyer}. Limb,
like a limb of a tree, refers to the branches as opposed to the trunk. And it has
no meaning in this case like that. The Tibetan word is that, and a lot of people
translate it that way, but it has no meaning like that. It's a, it's in a way it's a
mistranslation. Because the Tibetan word and the Sanskrit word have many
other meanings than limb, you know. So {dripjang tsoktsak}. There are seven
steps to that...we'll talk about it next time.

[student: So it's number six now?]

Yah. [cut] The Tibetan word is the same...requesting. This is requesting
blessings, you could say. My lama doesn't like the word blessings because he
thinks it's too...it's a little too Christian and too vague. But this is a specific action
you can take that other beings in the universe who are already enlightened can
actually affect your mind state...and the way that your mind state improves...the
rate at which your mind state im-...improves.

[John: I thought it was impossible for any enlightened being to...]

If you...if you do it well it's...it can help your...it can help. They say the ring and
the hook. If you have the ring and the hook comes, okay. If you don't have the
virtue, it's impossible. Basically you're creating it by doing enough goodness to
have it happen.

[John: You had, you had said in the last class it's not possible for the Buddha or
an enlightened being to...from, as an external source to do something to you
other than provide you with...]
It's possible if you're in...it's possible for example for you to see a miracle happen.
You have the virtue to see a miracle happen. And that's why I forget who it
was...could walk on the water and the next guy to get out of the boat fell into the
water, you know.          [laughs]       The first one had...I don't remember their
names...but the first one actually had the virtue to see it happen. And the second
one didn't have the virtue to see it happen. Because it's empty; because of
emptiness. Emptiness makes it possible for this to occur also. But it's a long
story. Basically it's impossible for any other being to change your karma or take
your karma without teaching you and then you do the actions that make your
karma change. If, if that weren't true we wouldn't be here.

[John: So they can only teach you; they can't do anything to you.]

Basically not. Basically not. But there are certain conditions under which if you
have the proper attitude and the proper virtue...if you have the goodness
basically for it to happen, they can assist you and help your mind state become
more receptive...

[John: By teaching you.]

By you requesting...by, by an actual blessing. But it's...basically it's impo-,
basically for someone else to take your karma is impossible. If they could, they
would have and we wouldn't be here. The proof is that we're here. You know,
the proof that they can't do it is that we're here.

[John: It sounds to me like you're saying that they can do it a little bit.]

They can do it if you have the virtue for it to happen. In the same way that... if
you have... They can do it if...

[John: You just said they couldn't do it.]

If you're good enough to see them do it. How's that?

[student: There are stories of their teachers setting up situations for their
student's enlightenment.]

But you see it couldn't happen unless you have the karma to see that there's a
person setting up such a situation. So we had this debate in Arizona, you know,
we even wrote the Dalai Lama like three times. You know he, he talked about it
twice and we still, you know, we still have the argument. Basically any miracle
can happen if, if you have the goodness to make it happen...if you have the
goodness to perceive it. And those who have studied emptiness understand that
more than the people who haven't. You know, miracles are possible. They do
occur. And it's possible for me to see a miracle and a person sitting next to me to
see nothing happen. And that's...that is not contradictory and it's...both are
seeing reality. Both have valid perceptions of reality. And so that...you'd know
that if you studied emptiness. Okay, those are the six...I wanna go over them in
English, and so let's make sure we all have the same words. I, I've never really
worked too hard on translating it. The first one was...what are we gonna call it?
Prostrating.

[student: No!] [unclear]

We'll say cleaning your room. All right? What your mother always wanted you
to do. And it's a lot more than that, but we'll get into it.

[student: Where you meditate you say cleaning is...[laugher] It's very important
it's like you're cleaning your whole house.]

Yah. You know, when I was translating it I came to...the word is the place you
stay and I was wondering should I put room or house? Cleaning your room.
What was the second one?

[student: Offering.]

That's easy. Third one?

[student: Refuge.]

Taking refuge and...

[John: Generating bodhicitta.]

Developing bodhicitta.

[John: With the proper posture.]

[student: Which one?]
You can say with...but no, it's really two separate things. Taking refuge and...

[student: Which one are we on?]

Number three has two parts. Taking refuge and...

[student: Generating...]

We'll call it generating; I like generating. Generating [bodhicitta], which means
getting thoughts of...you'd like to become...you'd like to reach a paradise to help
other people. And, and [bodhicitta] is a short word for that. Bodhicitta is the
Sanskrit word for mind, and [bodhi] means that enlightened kind of wish to help
other people. Okay? So we'll call it...what are we gonna call it? Taking refuge
and generating [bodhicitta]. But I don't like generating too much.

[student: Developing?]

I won't pick on it.

[John: With proper meditation posture.]

Yah, and by the way, you have to write that in your homework, okay? Taking
the proper pos-...taking...what are we gonna call it?

[student: [unclear]]

[John: Seven point...]

Taking the proper posture, and...

[student: Before meditating...before thinking...]

Number three has three parts. Taking the proper posture, comma, taking
refuge, comma, and generating [bodhicitta], which is a Sanskrit word which
means a wish to become a Buddha so you can really help other people. That was
number three. Okay, what was number four?

[student: Visualizing [unclear].]
That's nice. Visualizing the lamas, visualizing the lamas of the two, of the two
great lineages. That was number four. Visualizing the lamas...it's actually a lot
more than two, but the two is minimum, okay? Of the two great lineages. And
you know what they are. They're all the teachers through whom the emptiness
teachings have come down to us from the Buddha; and all the teachers from
whom the teachings on compassion have come down to us. And in the actual
painting there's...sometimes you get somebody on both sides, you see? I mean
this lama was involved in the, the chain of lamas through which the emptiness
teachings came...have come down to us personally; and this lama was also
happened to be in chain of the teachers through whom...the major teachers
through whom compassion has been taught. Obviously they've all taught both,
but there are, there are main lamas who, whose careers were...okay I'm gonna
end emptiness. Yah.

[student: Is that [unclear] the merit field?]

Yah... That was number...

[student: Four.]

What's number five?

[student: Seven ingredients.]

What was it called before that though? Oh, cleaning ob-...purifying obstacles,
and...

[student: Gathering good deeds.]

Gathering good deeds. I like that. Okay, so number five is it? Is, is purifying
obstacles, and...gathering good deeds. Yah, that's five. And that process has
seven steps which we will study next class.

[student: Doing good deeds.]

Yah, gathering the power of good deeds. And we'll talk more about each one. I
just want you to know the names.

[student: We should know the Tibetan?]
You, you...no, you don't need to know the Tibetan. Just know the English. If
you wanna know the Tibetan come to tomorrow night? Okay? [laughs] It's too
much for you. Just learn those names. Just learn the six names. I need to learn
them, too. Obviously I don't know them very well. Number six?

[student: Requesting blessings.]

Yah, we'll say requesting blessings. Okay, that's it. Sorry it went over, but you
guys talk too much. Now you get your homework. You must do your
homework. Don't do it, you know, the afternoon...[cut]
940218-1.aaa
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Course III: Applied Meditation