Серия ежедневной практики, курс 08 — Сутра сердца: медитация на пустоту (1998, Годстоу), занятие 8

[Speaker 2]
Today I am going to give you a brief introduction to the Tibetan language, which is a very important part of the Tibetan language, which is a very important part of the Tibetan language. I am going to give you a brief introduction to the Tibetan language, which is a very important part of the Tibetan language, which is a very important part of the Tibetan language.

[Speaker 1]
Based on what you feel yourself and what's happening to you yourself, you can guess that other people have just as many problems in their life as you do, and many people have more. And for me, I don't know about you, but it's the constant up and down. You know, like things look like they're going alright for a while, and then they change again.

And then you think you find something that makes you happy, and then it changes again. And then you keep trying different adjustments, you know, like you adjust your food, or you adjust your apartment, or you adjust your friends, or you adjust your activities, or you adjust your job. And you keep thinking that one more adjustment might do it.

And every time you make an adjustment, you're a little bit older. And you just keep getting older and older, and pretty soon it becomes obvious that the adjustments don't work. I don't know, somehow you still hope, and you keep making adjustments, and you keep thinking that, you know, if I just had a little more money, or if I just had a little more exercise, if I just ate a little bit differently, you know, stuff like that.

And you keep trying to adjust different things. And after, I don't know, about three decades or so, it becomes obvious that these aren't working. And each new thing you hope for, the same thing happens again.

And it doesn't seem to be adjustable in a normal way, and it doesn't seem to matter what kind of adjustments you make. Things don't change much from when you were much younger. And then you have to assume that all other people are in the same condition.

And, you know, I always think of walking down Fifth Avenue, and I don't know, it's around the 40s, and when you look uptown, it goes up to Central Park. And so you can see all these people's heads coming down Fifth Avenue, and there's thousands of them. And the heads are moving up and down, and you can't see anything else except the heads.

And then I think about what's going on in each head, and I look at each face, and there's this thing. I used to work in the 40s, then I worked in the village, and the faces were slightly different. Recently I've been going back to the Diamond District and looking in the 40s.

And especially in the 40s, there's this look, especially among the diamond dealers and stuff. And it's like this worried look, you know, like, are they going to pay or not? And there's this look on the faces that's really bad.

And then I try to see if anyone looks happy, you know, if there's anybody who looks like they're having a good time. These are people that I worked with and people that I know well. I walk down the street, I know ten people, and then it just looks different to me nowadays.

And everybody looks sad, and everybody looks tired, and everybody's hair is a little gray. And they just seem distracted by something. And then it occurs to me that nobody's having a good time.

And then you have to imagine that there are millions of streets like that around the world. And you have to picture that when you take these vows. When you take these vows, you have to think about your own situation and then multiply it times three billion.

And that's the amount of pain going on in the world. And it just has to make you feel bad. And maybe you could do something about it.

I said yesterday, and it's true, this realm is a mistake. What you see and what you're experiencing is an anomaly. It doesn't have to happen this way.

This is some kind of error. And we're living in this realm because of something, a mistake we made. A mistake in perception, actually.

And it's that number two. It's that meditation number two. We believe, we really believe, that the things around us are coming from their own side.

And you don't really believe that they are happening because of what you do and what you say. And you don't really believe that your mind is making you see all these things. And you don't really believe that if you changed your activities and your mind and your speech, that all those things would change.

And all that reality would change. And you wouldn't... You know, moving to another realm is not...

You don't get into a prefabricated machine and go to a different realm. It's not like that. This realm slowly changes and then you're in a different realm.

And it changes because you're purifying your mind. And then you're gone out of that realm. That realm doesn't exist anymore for you.

And we just have to do that. We have to move from there. Here to there.

And then the reason to take these vows. There are these vows. In the Pratimoksha vows, one day vows, that are very similar to these vows.

But there's a big... One of the big differences is that as you go through the ceremony this morning, you have to think about other people. And you have to use logic.

You can't tell directly if other people are having the same kind of hard time as we are. But logically, you can assume that they are. If they're in this realm walking around, showing those faces on 47th Street, they're probably just as hard off as we are.

And then you have to try to take these vows to help them. If you take these vows, and if you keep them, and if you get in the habit of keeping them, your reality will change. Because things are empty.

Sukaṃ bhava uttamaṃ nisita. Because the world is empty, because emptiness is the world. And then, after your life changes, and after your world changes, you can help other people in a real way.

Right now, you can give them food, or you can give them a place to stay, or you can give them some kind of comfort when they're in trouble. But you can't really stop their suffering right now. Because we don't know how.

And you can describe it roughly to them, but since we haven't done it ourselves, it's not very persuasive. And the idea is to take these vows, keep them, reach your goal, and then help other people. So keep that in mind while you take the vows.

Then recite these words after me. You don't have to get into vow-taking position yet, which is pretty torturous. But this is taking refuge and thinking about bodhicitta.

So please repeat. Ready? SANGYE CHUR DANG SOG CHOR LA CHANG CHUG PAR DU GYAP SU CHI DAG DANG SHEN DU DROOP LAI DU DAG GI CHANG CHUG SEM KYE TO CHOK CHUG DAR NA SHUG PA YI SANGYE CHANG CHUG SEM PA SUN DAG GI TSOG PE CHANG CHUG CHIR TENG NE CHANG CHUG SEM KYE TO That's one verb.

It says, until the day I become enlightened, I take refuge in the idea of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, which is everything I just spoke about. For the sake of myself and others' long-term sense, I will try to think like a bodhisattva. And you know what's coming next.

CHOK CHUG DAR NA SHUG PA YI SEM And then I ask the Buddhas and the bodhisattvas of the Ten Directions to listen to me. In order to achieve enlightenment, I'll start to think like a bodhisattva, and I'll start to act like a bodhisattva. And that's just a commitment.

One more time. Two more times. SANGYE CHUR DANG SOG CHOR LA CHANG CHUG PAR DU GYAP SU CHI DA TANG SHEN DU DU BLE DU DA GYI CHANG CHUG SEM KYE DAW CHOK CHUG DAR NA SHUG PA YI SANGYE CHANG CHUG SEM PA SU DA GYI ZOPE CHANG CHUG CHI HENG MEH CHANG CHUG SEM KYE DAW One more round.

Try to think about the people in New York. It's easy. Big bunch of stressed out looking people.

SANGYE CHUR DANG SOG CHOR LA CHANG CHUG PAR DU GYAP SU CHI DA TANG SHEN DU DU BLE DU DA GYI CHANG CHUG SEM KYE DAW CHOK CHUG DAR NA SHUG PA YI SANGYE CHANG CHUG SEM PA SU DA GYI ZOPE CHANG CHUG CHUG HENG MEH CHANG CHUG SEM KYE DAW Next part of the ritual is to bless the place and to bless the offerings that we've made. In the monastery we often get up early and do one of these ceremonies. The sun is coming up in India and our temple is too small.

It's not like Serb days. Maybe some day we can build a bigger one. Very, very crowded.

Normally it's called a sumjel. You're supposed to have one row at a time. Nijel means you don't have room so you pack another line on top of the first line.

It's like somebody's rear end is on your knee. Sumjel means it's packed triple. And that's how a Serb-based temple is right now.

So you just actually sit three people in one person's space. And then you have these robes on. Each person's body makes so many BTUs and then the sun is beating down on the temple.

It's incredibly uncomfortable. You're just pouring sweat off you. You can't move and your legs are getting crushed.

It's really hard to concentrate. And it seems like all Buddhist rituals are supposed to be like that. So try to concentrate.

You'll be hot. You'll be tired. This is like special torture.

I don't know why they did this. Try to concentrate. It's very hard.

And try to concentrate on the meaning of it. They say when you take a vow, imagine that you're in a room alone with the Buddha. So you can pretend that the person up there is the Buddha.

And then you imagine that there's nobody else in the room. And you're swearing something by yourself. And it's a lot more powerful if you think of it that way.

This is a ceremony where you turn this place into a beautiful, beautiful crystal palace. And the ground is made of precious gems. Lapis lazuli, actually.

Lots of pyrite. And then everything around you is beautiful and clean. And the people around you are bodhisattvas.

And those people up there are all buddhas. And you're going to take a vow in a place like that. And you put out these incredible offering things.

And then you multiply them in your mind by a zillion. And they're covering the whole sky. And that's the conditions under which you take this vow.

So don't think you're in God's door with all the lime sticks and stuff. It's someplace special and something special. And just in your mind, change the place.

And imagine that you're by yourself. And they let you come into this palace. And there's all this host of high beings.

And you're about to take a vow before that. So we're going to change the place into that. Ready?

TAMSHAK DUNI SASHIDA SIGMA LASSO MEPHA DANG LAK THUL THANG YANG BINDOL YE RANG SHIN JAMBO NAGYUR CHIG PHA DANG MEEN CHEPA TSE MOSU SHAM DANG YI GYI DRUG KUN SANG CHU DRIN LANA MOK NANG THEG KHAM KUN CHEPA GYUR CHIG Now we say a special mantra and it turns the place into that. OK. Ready?

OM NAMO BHAGAVATE VAJRASARA RAMADAME TATTAGATAYA ARHATE

[Speaker 2]
SAMYAK SAMUDAYA

[Speaker 1]
TANYATA OM VADRA VADRA MAHA VADRE

[Speaker 2]
MAHA TEJA VADRE

[Speaker 1]
MAHA BIDYA VADRE MAHA BODHI CHIT VADRE MAHA BODHI MANDAPAM SANKRAMNAM VADRE SARAKAM AVALALAM VISHUDANA VAJRASOHA VAJRASOHA

[Speaker 2]
KONDO SUMDIB

[Speaker 1]
KONDO SUMDIB DEMBADAM SANGYADAM

[Speaker 2]
CHANGYUR SAMYAK

[Speaker 1]
THAM CHEN GYI

[Speaker 2]
THAM CHEN GYI

[Speaker 1]
KHIRIN LAPTAM SOGNYI SOGNYI YAZODZOPE YAZODZOPE They say if a if a high being stands at the edge of the Ganges river and speaks truly speaks the truth and says if it's true I haven't ever had a bad thought in my life may the Ganges river flow uphill like the Mississippi it will turn around and flow backwards and that's called an act of truth so these words are very beautiful, they say if it's true that everything in this room is empty then may it all become this crystal palace and may all these offerings multiply and cover the whole sky if it's true that everything in this room is empty, so that's automatically true and it's all finished and all offerings are all over the sky this is where you actually have a picture that you're taking the vow in front of all the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas, okay so when you say the next words, imagine that you've invited them because their nature is mostly mental they can come here in an instant in fact they knew about a million years ago you were going to ask so they're all ready, they combed their hair and everything and so say this verse and imagine that they're here maybe you can't see them now, maybe you can but they come here we go ma lu sem chen gun gyi gun gyur chen dru de pung chen mi se jom ze pha nu nol ma lu yan dar kyen gyur te jom den kor chen neng dir

[Speaker 2]
shek su sun

[Speaker 1]
the next part is the seven part preparation, we do it every time we meditate I take you through it every time you do gamma and hagyama you go through it, so this is a very short verse to accomplish the same thing, ready gosum gupe gane chak chalo ngo shang yu dru chir chen ma lu

[Speaker 2]
bun

[Speaker 1]
ton le me sak di dun tam je shak

[Speaker 2]
di dun tam je shak

[Speaker 1]
kye pa kye wa nam la jay yi ran korwa ma tong kha du le chuk ne do la chuk ne korwa korwa dan dak chen gye nan chang gyur chen bo

[Speaker 2]
ngo

[Speaker 1]
I took my vows already this morning and we'll start the actual ceremony for taking the vows it's a custom you visualize that that I'm a Buddha to make it easier I put Tara here so you can imagine her sitting there and you can and you can bow to her you have to make three prostrations now and imagine that there's an enlightened being sitting here now you take the taking a vow position if it's comfortable for you you can kneel with your right knee on the ground ok if it's more comfortable you can do the chicken gesture as Rinpoche says, which is like squatting ok if neither one is comfortable or if in the next few minutes you start to concentrate on your knee and not on the vows then for goodness sake sit down alright and don't let it ruin your vow taking ok, so it's not the point is to be a tough guy the point is to concentrate on the vows so if you don't feel comfortable just sit down ok if you can stay up on your knee it's great or you can squat, it's the same thing but if you start to think about your knee or you start to go like that just sit down ok, alright concentrate on the vow and not on your knees, alright and concentrate on all the people in New York and try to think of at least a few people specifically that are suffering who you know ok, and dedicate it to them this is a mudra for taking vows ok, put your right hand and your left hand and you close it like that and you put it at your heart keep that motivation and we'll repeat this three times ok, this is the words of taking the vow please repeat after me, ok chok chuna chukpe sangye dang chanjusemba tamche dagla gongsusu chitangungi deshinshepa dachomba yandapajokpe

[Speaker 2]
sangye

[Speaker 1]
tachangshetabu nambochembo chavacheshi

[Speaker 2]
chepachepa korporwan rangidun jesutopa sipakundu

[Speaker 1]
jowa yongsusepa yandapekka laparnamba jowe tuk laparnamba jowe shirabjin dedaki

[Speaker 2]
semchintamcheki

[Speaker 1]
dungyichir pembarchawe chirdang duwarchawe chirdang mugimepar chavachir nemepar chavachirdang changchupgi chokichuna yongsuzopa chavachirdang lanamepar yandapar jokpe changchup ngepartopar chavachir sojongyandapar zepa deshindu dak now repeat your name if you have a refuge name use dak repeat your name ok shegiwe kyang dundine sungte gc sangnima ma shakipadu semchintamche gedungyichirdang pembarchawe chirdang duwarchawe chirdang mugimepar chavachirdang nemepar chavachirdang changchupgichunam

[Speaker 2]
yongsuzopa yongsuzopa chavachirdang lanamepar yandapar jokpe changchup ngepartopar chavachir sojongyandapar

[Speaker 1]
lawangkyo ok one more time actually two more times after the second time I'll tell you what you're saying

[Speaker 2]
chok kyi chuh, nam, yong su dzok par, chah wey chir dang, ranam mey par, yan dapar, dzok pe, chang chuh, ngepar tok par,

[Speaker 1]
chah wey chuh, sojong yan dapar, dzepar dey shin du, dak, repeat your own name, she gyi wey, kyang, dun din ne, sung te, ji si sang ni ma, ma shak yi par du, sem chen tam je, dun gyi chir dang, henpar chah wey, chir dang, towar chah wey, chir dang, mugye mey par, chah wey chir dang,

[Speaker 2]
ne mey par, chah wey chir dang, chang chuh gyi chuh nam, yong su dzok par, chah wey chir dang, ranam mey par, yan dapar, dzok pe, chang chuh, ngepar tok par, chah wey chuh, sojong yan dapar, lan wan gyi o.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, I'll tell you roughly what you're saying and then we'll do it the third time. chok chuh na shupe sang gyi dang, chang chuh sem par tam je, da la gong so so, may all the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas of the ten directions listen to my request. ji tong gung gi dey shin she, par dak chok mo, yong dapar dzok pe sang gyi, dak chak shi tabo, just like the Buddhas of the past and the Bodhisattvas of the past, and there's a special horse that has a special power and they compare that to an arhat, lam bo chen bo, chah wey che shin, chepa chepa, they have big capacity, like a great elephant or like a great horse, special mythical horses and elephants, okay, who can carry huge loads. That means vehicular capacity is translated into Sanskrit as yana, and then they're big, so it's Mahayana, all right. Like those beings, chah wey che shin, chepa chepa, they perform the activities and they did what they had to do.

That's a code word for an arhat, a person who has removed all their mental afflictions, okay. kur porwa is also a code word for an arhat, they dumped their load, okay. rang gi dun je su topa, they were able to achieve their own goals.

chepa kun du jor, yong su sepa, they cut off the ties that kept them in this realm of suffering. yan dapay ka, they speak true words, their hearts are free, their minds are free, they, for the sake of all beings, to help those beings, to free those beings, to remove hunger from the world. You see, I used to work for the farm workers for years.

We picketed and walked in front of supermarkets for years. And we were thinking it would help all the people in the world and maybe it would stop all the hunger in the world and poor people and like that. And you see, if you do it this way, it really works, you know.

You can have the same motivation and you really could remove all the hunger in the world if each person in the world kept their vows. And if each person in the world developed compassion, then, then that really could work. And, and it's very satisfying to know that, that it really is possible.

You know, during my 30s I was doubting it and then during my 40s I'm like, yeah, you can do it. If you understand emptiness you can do it. You can remove hunger from the world.

It's possible. ne me pācāyacīr You can remove illness from the world. You can bring every being to perfect enlightenment.

lāna me pāyāndhāpa-zopi-cāñca- ngepa-dhāpa-cāyacīr You can bring them to perfect happiness. And for that purpose, those holy beings of the past took these vows. dhākmaṅghi-dhīṣī-jeya-vikāṅga And little old me, whose name is such-and-such, du-dhīne-suṅde from this moment, today, jīsī-saṅghī-mahā-māśhāraki-pāṇḍu until the sun comes up tomorrow morning, in order to, for the sake of other people, in order to help them, in order to free them, in order to stop hunger in the world, in order to stop sickness in the world, in order to bring all beings to perfect enlightenment, in order for that, I also will keep the vows.

Okay? And that's what you're vowing to. All right?

We'll go through it one more time. Starting to feel a little like Sarah May Temple. At the end of it, I'll snap my fingers.

Okay? And you have to have what we call toblo. Toblo means, you have to have a strong feeling that you just got the vows.

And actually, according to Buddhism, something different has grown inside you. Like there's actually some physical thing has grown inside you. And you have to understand that.

And you have to be happy. So the minute I snap my fingers, you have to see this, like this golden thing has grown inside of you. And you'll have it for the next 24 hours.

And be happy. Okay? When you hear that, see this golden thing inside of you and then be happy.

Okay? Okay, one more time. CHOG CHUN NA CHOG CHUN NA SHUG PAS SHUG PAS

[Speaker 2]
SANGYE DAM SANGYE DAM CHANG GYUR SEM PA CHANG GYUR SEM PA THAM JE THAM JE DA LA DA LA GONG SU SU GONG SU SU JI LTAR NGON GYI JI LTAR NGON GYI DE BZHIN ZHES PA DE BZHIN ZHES PA DRA BCOM PA DRA BCOM PA YANG DA PA YANG DA PA ZHOG PAS ZHOG PAS SANGYE SANGYE DA CHANG SHI DA CHANG SHI DA BU DA BU LAM BO CHEN PO LAM BO CHEN PO CHA WAI CHE SHIN CHA WAI CHE SHIN CHE PA CHE PA CHE PA CHE PA KHOR POR WA KHOR POR WA

[Speaker 1]
RANG GI DE

[Speaker 2]
RANG GI DE CHESU THO PA CHESU THO PA SIPA KUN DU SIPA KUN DU JOR WA JOR WA LANG BAR GYURL LANG BAR GYURL

[Speaker 1]
OK, have a seat, relax, OK? At this point, you actually recite the vows and say, I won't do this, and I won't do this, and I won't do this, OK? We only recite this once, and I'll go through it with you first, OK?

It's like the fine print.

[Speaker 2]
Okay.

[Speaker 1]
Teng ne so chu mi cha shing. Today I will be very careful about not taking the life of any other being, okay? Not harming any other being, physically.

Shen gyi no yang, lang mi ja. I'll be very, very careful with the things that other people own. I won't steal, I won't in any way take what has not been given to me, okay?

For us, frankly, it's little things, you know? You're not gonna kill anybody in this room today, probably. So you get it down to very fine things, you see what I mean?

Like if you see something that somebody might slip on, you know? If you're driving and the road is dangerous, you slow down and things like that, I mean, it's the attitude of respecting life and looking ahead and anything that might endanger another being. Something on the floor that you might move out of the way in case someone else might slip on, or some small things like that, and when that becomes the level of your morality, your world starts to change, okay?

So it's not like you're okay if you don't murder anyone today, okay? The exercise is to get very, very sensitive to anything that might endanger another being's life, and you start looking ahead and you start doing tiny, tiny little things, you know? Don't give people food that would hurt them, or things like that.

And as you get more and more fine with your morality, then your world starts to change. So, your whole holy bodhisattva action that makes you enlightened, that changes your reality, might be moving a bag out of the way in the temple on a regular basis, or something like that. It's not like you're going to be Superman and go save thousands of beings' lives or something.

I mean, people think that, you know, all sentient beings, you have to go help three billion people at once or something. It's not like that. The level of morality that will make you enter a Buddha realm is accomplished by moving a bag out of the way on the floor that somebody might trip on, and by being that sensitive to your morality, okay?

You're not going to steal, I mean, you're not probably going to embezzle your company's funds, but you might make a phone call that you didn't pay for, or things like that. So long as you do so, you cannot enter the other realm, you see what I mean? Your sensitivity has to come down to the level of, uh-oh, whose pencil is this on my desk?

This wasn't here this morning, this is not my pencil. I have to find out whose pencil this is and get it back to them, you know? And it's not that there's some god up there, because there's not, who's going to punish you for taking a pencil.

It's not the point. If you get your morality down to the point of making sure the pencil gets back to who owns it, that will cause you to enter a Buddha realm. And so, for the sake of yourself and other people, find out whose the pencil is and get it back to them, much less other kinds of stealing, okay?

And doing that on a regular basis, happily, joyfully, purely, not thinking it's a big obligation or something like that, it shoves you into a Buddha realm, and you can do it. But you have to get down to that level. So the point of taking vows today is, for one day at least, be very sensitive to all these issues.

And even on a little, tiny basis, try to be very, very sensitive to what might hurt someone else or what might hurt someone else's property, okay? Thugpe chugyan mi chugyi, for the length until tomorrow morning, no sexual activity of any kind, okay? Dzoggyi chugyan mi ma, what's wrong with sexual activity, right?

In one way, it's one of the greatest pleasures in this realm, right? And all the pleasures in this realm, the good feeling you get from the good things in this realm, like a Michael and Zoe's milkshake, is a metaphor for what you can have later. I mean, it gives you, when they describe Buddha paradises, they don't say, oh, everybody is sitting there, refusing Michael and Zoe's milkshakes, you know, and they have this spiritual inner strength and renunciation, and when they see a Michael and Zoe's milkshake, they don't enjoy it at all, you know, it's not that, obviously, you know, they're always describing Buddha paradises as joyful, ecstasy, bliss, happy, you know, the point is that the good things in this world, you know, a child's face, Michael and Zoe's milkshake, sexual activity, they are beautiful, and they are blissful, and they have good things about them. The point is that they end, and you get old, and you die. So it's not like you're trying to refuse all the good things in this world, it's that you're trying to enhance them, and make them better, and make them go further.

That kind of activity in this realm, at a certain level, it harms your body, and it's very much a basis for strong emotions, negative emotions on many people's part, and so for this day, I will concentrate on higher pleasures. The Sakyapandita said, dewa chung la chapa ye, dewa chenpo to misi, if you're focused on short-term little pleasures, you'll never get the big ones, okay? And so for one day, you decide not to focus on the little pleasures that you enjoy while you're dying, but you concentrate on the higher pleasures.

The little pleasures are great, they're wonderful, who can deny it? In your heart, you want them to go on, and you want them better than they are now, and you will get them, and they will be like that. And I think it's foolish to say that those things are not somehow attractive and wonderful, and the whole point is that your heart tells you that you could reach a point where they could always be like that, and where you and your friend wouldn't be getting old, and dying, and being jealous of each other, and angry, and possessive, and things like that.

The idea is to take those pleasures and make them pure. So for one day, you abstain, and you think about making it a higher pleasure, okay? Like that.

Mi chok chen dzung gi tsik kyang mi ma wu, I won't lie to another person today, at all. This specifically refers to lying about your spiritual life, okay? You're not going to claim that you saw emptiness to somebody openly if you didn't see it, but you might be doing your book and not admit the real things, and you might choose something that's not so serious, because you just don't want to admit the ones that are really serious, okay?

And now, for today, put the real thing, okay? Kyun ni ma mu nyer ten pe, chung ni yong su, pang wa cha, today I'll give up the use of all intoxicants or drugs, okay? Scripture clearly says, drugs which are made from alcohol, and drugs which are made by men, like cocaine, or things like that.

Is coffee a drug? Is tea a drug? I suppose on some small level.

His Holiness and Khen Rinpoche drink tea a lot, and coffee, and it's probably okay. So I don't think you have to worry about that. But specifically in scripture, alcohol and drugs, why?

They lower your sensitivity to the things we talked about. They lower your inhibitions, but at the same time, they lower your awareness, and you're not able to concentrate on whose pencil this is, and you're not able to concentrate on things like that, and you start to lose it. And it's expensive, and it has no other benefit.

So, not today, okay? Tri-dhan ched-do mi-cha-shin, this is a vow where you can't use, and you can't sit on a chair which is higher than one true, okay? For me, it's a foot and a half.

Your truth may be longer or shorter, I don't know. And then I know Westerners who obsess on it, you know, like they sit down in a chair and they leap up, and this is keeping morality, you know? And it never felt good to me, it felt like, you know, what's the point?

The point is luxurious things, okay? I mean, I think it would be a Lexus, or a fancy suit or something like that, okay? And it doesn't include, and Thich Nhat Hanh Rinpoche, who wrote this particular ritual, in the back he says, you know, come on, if it's necessary for your livelihood to dress up in a suit, then you do, and you don't break the vow.

You don't have to go grubby to work because you took your Mahayana precepts this morning, if that is the standard costume for your profession, you know what I mean, that's okay. And if your job requires that you wear some nice earrings to a meeting with your client, then that's not what we're talking about. We're talking about, you know, being attached to your appearance and to your clothing from your own side, and not because you're trying to, you have to do that in conjunction with your livelihood, okay?

So it means be very sensitive today to the holy concept of not owning anything, okay? The sacred concept of not having anything that you own, okay? It's liberating, it's wonderful, you know?

I don't have any money, I don't own anything, I don't have any place that I own, I don't own anything, you know, I'm at the mercy of mankind and I'm free, you know what I mean? And that doesn't mean grubbing off of other people, okay, alright? A Buddhist is required to have an honest, sufficient, as far as you can try to do it, livelihood, and it's not a Buddhist practice to impose on other people and grub off of other people, and that's not what it means to be free of possessions, you know?

That's a kind of immorality, if you think about it, you are stealing resources from other people who, and I'm assuming people who don't want to give it to you, okay? I mean, it's okay to stay in someone's living room for about three weeks, and then, okay? But when it becomes a hardship for them, you're stealing from them, you see what I mean?

And so, not owning things doesn't mean that, you see what I mean? It's your responsibility to have a decent livelihood that's honest and doesn't hurt other beings, and that allows you to do your practice in a comfortable, safe environment. We have a monk's vow against taking our food that we've begged and going in the forest, Central Park, where we might get mugged, and eating it there, there's a vow against that, you see what I mean?

Your responsibility is to have a livelihood that gives you a safe, clean, healthy place to practice and take care of your body, and not impose on other people. And then on the other hand, don't own anything, you know? Be free of possessions, and don't own other people.

And that's a kind of liberation, and your mind will be much clearer, and you'll be able to get there much faster, okay? So, it's a balance, like all things, okay? So, it's not jumping off a chair that's higher than that, okay?

It's the whole concept of not owning anything, alright? And not possessing other people and other things, okay? Dey shin du mayin be se, du mayin be se means untimely grub, and that means, in this case, we can't eat after noon, okay?

I was in Sri Lanka, I took the vows in the morning, this is a Hinayana version, and I was with some government officials, and we went to a special government house, and there was a caretaker there, and he said, oh, you're a monk, I said, yeah, he says, and you took vows this morning, right? I said, yeah. He says, don't worry, I know what to do, and he ran and got two huge baskets of avocados and peaches and other things, and he got a mixer.

You're not allowed to have solid food, okay? So he got a mixer, and he mixed it up to just barely a paste, you know, and then he filled like four huge bowls with it, and he said, here, eat this, you know, and I didn't quite know what to do, you know? The point is, no heavy food, no solid food after lunch, and there's all these debates, can you have pure juice or not?

Do you have to cut it with water? By the way, I mean, traditionally, you can't have milk, okay, pure, milk only, okay? I don't know, milkshake, I think, is okay.

They usually don't have too much milk in them, but it's, I mean, again, try to get the meaning of the vow. Don't become anal about your vows, okay? I mean, try to get to the meaning of the vow.

The meaning of the vow is that you feel hungry in the evening, and you start thinking about it, and it clears out your mind, it clears out your body. Fasting is very good from that point of view, and your mind gets more clear, and you start to feel hungry, and you can think, well, I'm doing this for other people, okay? We don't believe in Buddhism in flagellation, or we don't believe in harming your body for the sake of others, okay?

That's considered a very wrong view in Buddhism. You have to, for the sake of others, you have to keep your body healthy, and fit, and happy, so you can practice well. But as you get hungry in the evening, then you can dedicate that small pain to other people, and you can think about other people, and you can think about removing the hunger of the world, and things like that.

And also, it's very clear for your mind. People who reach a certain spiritual level don't have to eat much anymore. They don't have to sleep much anymore.

And then we're sort of emulating them, okay? Their concentration and their morality sustains their body, and they don't need those other things so much. Then you have American Buddhists who, without the level of concentration and morality, try not to eat anything, and feel miserable, and get skinny, and...

That's not the point, right? So, if you want to practice those practices, make your life pure, keep your book well, meditate properly, and then there'll come a day automatically when you don't need to eat or sleep much. And do it that way.

Don't do it the other way, you see? Don't say, I'm not going to eat or sleep for three days because I want to be a yogi, you know? And you'll just get sick, and you'll bother other people, okay?

All right? Let it come naturally from your practice, and it will come. Buddhists don't have to eat, they don't have to sleep.

And slowly, as your body changes, that'll happen also, okay? Chittam, chittam chenwa gyan dan ni, kar dan lu sok pa wan chan. Don't wear colognes or perfumes.

That's a kind of luxury. It's a kind of being fancy, you know? Buddhists should be clean and neat as much as possible, but then don't go beyond that to put on scents and makeup and things like that, okay?

If it's necessary in conjunction with your livelihood, even on a Thekchen Sojong Day, you're absolutely allowed to do it, okay? It would look bad in the board meeting if you had B.O., then you're absolutely allowed to do it. It's part of your work costume, okay?

Chittam, chittam chenwa gyan dan ni, also all kinds of ornamentation on your body. Kar dan lu sok pa wan chan, kar dan lu sok pa wan chan means no dancing or singing or playing music during this day, okay? And T.J. Rinpoche is careful to say, except for sacred music, and except for sacred dance. Now what's sacred is a big debate, right? I have students who say, well, most of my students say any music they want to listen to is sacred, you know? But, you know, and I don't disagree with that, actually, to a certain extent.

I don't think that there's something special about organs or about dhammarus, which is more sacred than saxophone, you know? I don't think so. I don't see why that would be logically true.

But no kind of singing, dancing, playing music frivolously and without great, holy, sacred purpose, and you know the difference, okay? And I believe that you can play rock and roll, you know, I believe Hendrix can be sacred if you do it under the right circumstances. But don't kid yourself.

You know, no, I'm not kidding. Why should it be less sacred than Bach, you know, I don't know. But don't kid yourself, okay?

Examine your motivation for playing that music or dancing that dance. And if it's right, it's fantastic on Sojong Day, no problem, okay? And Trijang Rinpoche says that, okay.

Chittar darchon tatuni, soju laso, mi che tar, de shin soju laso, pang. So I'll try to emanate those holy beings of the past who have kept these vows, and I'll give up these things also, okay? Lame chandra, nyur top shok.

And so may I therefore attain Buddhahood quickly. Dungang mang chok jikten dyr, sipay chole dor shok. And may I, may I get myself and others across the ocean of suffering, okay?

Okay, chicken gesture again. This is just one time, okay? Okay, please repeat after me.

teng ne sok chok, mi cha shing, shen gyi no yang, lang mi cha, chikpe chok yang, mi chok ching, jung gi tsik yang, mi ma o, gyur ni ma mu, nyer teng pe, chang ni, yong su pa wa chak, chik teng che tong, mi cha shing, de shin du, ma yin pe se, chik dang teng wang, gen dang ni, kar dang lu sok, pa wa chak, chik dar dra chok, tak du ni, sok chu laso, mi

[Speaker 2]
che tar, de shin sok chu, laso pang, la may chang chu, nyer top shok, dungang mang chok, jikten dyr, sipay chole dor shok.

[Speaker 1]
Get a little comfortable now. We do a mantra of morality, and we do it twenty-one times. And while you do it, think about the day and think about keeping those vows, okay?

Don't let your mind wander during the mantra, okay? I'll say each part and then you repeat after me, and after a while you'll get used to it, okay? OM AH MOGA, SHILA, SAMBARA, BARA BARA, MAHASHUDA, SADHU, PEMBA BINDO GYATI, BUTSA DARADARA, SAMANTA, AVALOKITE, HUMBE SOHA.

OM AH MOGA, SHILA, SAMBARA, BARA BARA, MAHASHUDA SADHU, PEMBA BINDO GYATI, BUTSA DARADARA, SAMANTA, AVALOKITE, HUMBE SOHA. OM AH MOGA, SHILA, SAMBARA, BARA BARA, MAHASHUDA SADHU, PEMBA BINDO GYATI, BUTSA DARADARA, SAMANTA, AVALOKITE, HUMBE SOHA. OM AH MOGA, SHILA, SAMBARA, BARA BARA, MAHASHUDA SADHU, PEMBA BINDO GYATI, BUTSA DARADARA, SAMANTA, AVALOKITE, HUMBE SOHA.

OM AH MOGA, SHILA, SAMBARA, BARA BARA, MAHASHUDA SADHU, PEMBA BINDO GYATI, BUTSA DARADARA, SAMANTA, AVALOKITE, HUMBE SOHA. OM AH MOGA, SHILA, SAMBARA, BARA BARA, MAHASHUDA SADHU, PEMBA BINDO GYATI, BUTSA DARADARA, SAMANTA, AVALOKITE, HUMBE SOHA. OM AH MOGA, SHILA, SAMBARA, BARA BARA, MAHASHUDA SADHU, PEMBA BINDO GYATI, BUTSA DARADARA, SAMANTA, AVALOKITE, HUMBE SOHA.

OM AH MOGA, SHILA, SAMBARA, BARA BARA, MAHASHUDA SADHU, PEMBA BINDO GYATI, BUTSA DARADARA, SAMANTA, AVALOKITE, HUMBE SOHA. OM AH MOGA, SHILA, SAMBARA, BARA BARA, MAHASHUDA SADHU, PEMBA BINDO GYATI, BUTSA DARADARA, SAMANTA, AVALOKITE, HUMBE SOHA. OM AH MOGA, SHILA, SAMBARA, BARA BARA, MAHASHUDA SADHU, PEMBA BINDO GYATI, BUTSA DARADARA, SAMANTA, AVALOKITE, HUMBE SOHA.

OM AH MOGA, SHILA, SAMBARA, BARA BARA, MAHASHUDA SADHU, PEMBA BINDO GYATI, BUTSA DARADARA, SAMANTA, AVALOKITE, HUMBE SOHA. OM AH MOGA, SHILA, SAMBARA, BARA BARA, MAHASHUDA SADHU, PEMBA BINDO GYATI, BUTSA DARADARA, SAMANTA, AVALOKITE, HUMBE SOHA. OM AH MOGA, SHILA, SAMBARA, BARA BARA, MAHASHUDA SADHU, PEMBA BINDO GYATI, BUTSA DARADARA, SAMANTA, AVALOKITE, HUMBE SOHA.

OM AH MOGA, SHILA, SAMBARA, BARA BARA, MAHASHUDA SADHU, PEMBA BINDO GYATI, BUTSA DARADARA, SAMANTA, AVALOKITE, HUMBE SOHA. OM AH MOGA, SHILA, SAMBARA, BARA BARA, MAHASHUDA SADHU, PEMBA BINDO GYATI, BUTSA DARADARA, SAMANTA, AVALOKITE, HUMBE SOHA. OM AH MOGA, SHILA, SAMBARA, BARA BARA, MAHASHUDA SADHU, PEMBA BINDO GYATI, BUTSA DARADARA, SAMANTA, AVALOKITE, HUMBE SOHA.

OM AH MOGA, SHILA, SAMBARA, BARA BARA, MAHASHUDA SADHU, PEMBA BINDO GYATI, BUTSA DARADARA, SAMANTA, AVALOKITE, HUMBE SOHA. OM AH MOGA, SHILA, SAMBARA, BARA BARA, MAHASHUDA SADHU, PEMBA BINDO GYATI, BUTSA DARADARA, SAMANTA, AVALOKITE, HUMBE SOHA. OM AH MOGA, SHILA, SAMBARA, BARA BARA, MAHASHUDA SADHU, PEMBA BINDO GYATI, BUTSA DARADARA, SAMANTA, AVALOKITE, HUMBE SOHA.

OM AH MOGA, SHILA, SAMBARA, BARA BARA, MAHASHUDA SADHU, PEMBA BINDO GYATI, BUTSA DARADARA, SAMANTA, AVALOKITE, HUMBE SOHA. OM AH MOGA, SHILA, SAMBARA, BARA BARA, MAHASHUDA SADHU, PEMBA BINDO GYATI, BUTSA DARADARA, SAMANTA, AVALOKITE, HUMBE SOHA. There's a final verse that we do, a verse in honor of morality.

Okay, please repeat. PHYIM GYI TSUL KHRIM GYUR MED CHING TSUL KHRIM NAMBAR DAG DANG DE LOM SEM MED PAS TSUL KHRIM GYI TSUL KHRIM PAR PHYIM GYI TSUL KHRIM GYUR MED CHING May my morality be pure and without fault. TSUL KHRIM NAMBAR DAG DANG DE May it be absolutely clean.

LOM SEM MED PAS TSUL KHRIM GYI May my morality not be stained by some kind of... LOM SEM means... LOM means to have delusions of grandeur, okay?

And, like, bother other people with your morality, okay? You gotta be careful about that. There's a word in English called officious, meaning, you know, you can't sit on the chair like that, it's two inches too high, you know, and you're just bothering other people with your morality, you know what I mean?

And it should be personal, quiet, something you do for yourself, for yourself, for other beings, you know what I mean? And not be another kind of way of... irritating the people around you, okay?

LOM SEM MED PAS TSUL KHRIM GYI TSUL KHRIM PAR PHYIM TSUL KHRIM May I perfect my morality, okay? Down to the pencils and the bags on the floor, okay? One last thing here.

He goes into a short explanation of the vows. And I think that the thing I'll just go over quickly is the difference between this vow... This is called THEG CHEN SO SBYONG.

THEG CHEN means Mahayana. They call it One Day Vow, but the real word is SO SBYONG. SO SBYONG means to fix your mistakes in the past.

SO SBYONG means to purify your life and your mind, okay? Life-fixing purification Mahayana vows, okay? Something like that.

One Day Mahayana Vows, okay? And he discusses the difference between these. And there is a set of Pratimoksha Vows, One Day Pratimoksha Vows, NYE NYE Vows.

And we'll just... He points out some differences. And by doing so, he gives you some other details of the vows that you're expected to keep today.

LEN PA'I YOD MIN DA DENG GI KHYAD PA MIN DA SANG PA'I KHYAD PA MIN DA JI RANG LEN PA'I CHOGA MIN DA LANG NAS SUNG TSUL MIN DA THAR DE BU THAR DE BU DUB TSUL MIN DA WA'I KHYAD PA DUM MA YOD DO These are the differences between these vows and the Hinayana version of these vows, okay? What are the differences? By the way, I'm not putting down Buddhism as practiced in Sri Lanka or Thailand or other so-called Hinayana countries.

I have met many, many monks and teachers from those countries who are absolutely Bodhisattvas. And I've met many Tibetan Buddhists who seem to have a very selfish attitude. You know what I mean?

It doesn't matter. I'm not... We're talking about Hinayana as an attitude in any country.

And we're talking about Mahayana as an attitude in any country, okay? Not... And you'll find both attitudes, it seems like, in every religion and every country, okay?

Here are the differences. LEN PA'I YOD MIN DA BA NI YIN NI GYI REN YIN NYEN CHE SOG TU DANG YIN MIN THEG CHEN GYI GZIN GUR ZHING REN NI GYI REN The difference in the person you take the vows from, if you take the Hinayana version, you have to take it from somebody who at least has lifetime layman's vows. In order to take a one-day vow in Hinayana, you have to take it from...

In the Pratimoksha system, you have to take it from a person who has taken those vows, at least the vows of a lifetime layman. The Mahayana vow can be taken from anyone who holds it already and... REN NI GYI TEN GYI DRUNG DRON LANG KYANG SKYE BA'I You can also take it by yourself in front of a Buddha image, okay?

So that's a difference in the two vows. That's one difference. You can even give this vow to yourself by...

at home, in front of a Buddha image, okay? By imagining that the Buddha is there. TEN GYI REN PA'I YOD MIN DA BA NI NYEN GYI GZIN GUR ZHING REN NI GYI REN THEG CHEN GYI GZIN GUR ZHING REN NI GYI REN PA'I YOD MIN THEG CHEN GYI GZIN GUR ZHING You can take the vows.

A Hinayana vow cannot be taken by a person with a higher Pratyumoksha vow. So a full monk, or a novice, or a nun, or a novice nun, or a student nun, we can't take a one-day Hinayana vow because it's a lower vow, okay? REN GYI BA GSUM GYI GSUM GZIN GYI REN NI GYI GZIN GUR ZHING And it would actually push the higher vow out of your mental continuum.

So we're not allowed to do that. THEG PA CHEN PA'I SO SBYONG GYI REN DO MA NI But, anybody can take Mahayana one-day vows. And he says, wonderful if monks and nuns take them.

SANG PA'I KYE PAR MIN DO BA NI REN NI GYI REN GYI REN DO MA NI REN GYI GZIN GUR ZHING REN GYI SO SBYONG GYI GZIN GYI GZIN GYI GZIN GYI CHEPA LE There's a bathroom there, if you need some water, okay? If you need. A Pratimoksha vow is taken...

The main reason to become a monk or a nun is that you are tired of this suffering and you want to remove your own negative emotions. That's the motivation for taking robes. The motivation for taking this vow is what we spoke about before.

You want to reach total enlightenment so that you can be of serious benefit to other people. And that's a difference in the motivation. GYI CHEN LANG PA'I CHO GA MAN DOR NI NYAN GYI GZIN GYI DO MA NI The way in which you take the vow is when you take a Hinayana vow, you take refuge first and then you go ahead and take the vow.

When you take a Mahayana vow, one-day vow, you are pledging to emulate holy beings who have come before. And so there's a difference in the attitude while you're taking the vow and like that. It's not so much, you do take refuge, but that's not all.

The main flavor of the vow is that you're trying to emulate holy beings who came before. LANG NAS SUM SUM DOR NI How do you keep them is different. NYAN NAY LA SHANG YOD PA PANG GO PA SHED PA ME He says, you don't see any explanation in the Hinayana one-day vows that you are definitely committing not to eat meat during that day.

But, THEG PA CHEN PA SOJONG DOR MA LA ME When you take this Mahayana vow, you must give up eating meat for today. Okay, so you must finish your meal. You cannot have except, you can only have one meal today.

Have a noontime meal. There's a debate about whether you have to start by noon, which means you could eat the rest of the day, I guess. Or whether you have to finish by noon.

I think it's, I mean, as far as I understand it, the intent is to eat once around noon and, you know, don't get anal about, it's 12.01 and I, and you're halfway through a row, you know, and, you know, do it joyfully, happily. You should finish before noon. It's good if you can finish before noon.

Okay. It's a kind of mindfulness to finish before noon. And then finally, the result that you get.

In, technically, in the Pratimoksha system, in the system of monks and nuns, you are, your goal is to reach your own personal nirvana, your own personal destruction of your own suffering. And the goal here is to reach a full Buddha paradise, so that you can show other people how to do it. Okay.

So, you won't have breakfast, but you can have, you can have tea, juice, water, watery milk products, okay, but shouldn't be any hard food. Have one nice meal before noon and then stop. And then as you start to get hungry in the evening, think about why you did it and what you're trying to achieve with it.

And then as you start to hum your favorite tunes, you know, I do it constantly, and I'm like, you know, and it's, try to stay aware. The point is to try to stay aware of your morality, very, on a very detailed level today. And then tomorrow you can go back to normal, okay.

So, so for, so for one day, you know, try to concentrate on, on being sensitive. This is owned by somebody else. Maybe I won't hurt it, you know.

This creature is trying to get across the floor. I'll help him out the door, you know. And, and I'm gonna try to keep mindful so I won't blab a lot, joke a lot, sing a, you know, sing songs, play the radio to distract myself.

I'll try to concentrate on something, you know, and try to fix my mind on, on what I'm doing. And, and that's the whole mood of the day. Should be joyful, okay.

I mean, sometimes I take Techen Sojong with a group and it feels like a funeral that day, or something, you know. I mean, it's like cool, you know. And, it's gonna purify your mind and your world will start to change.

And this is just a little warm up, you know, like that. So, just be happy about it. You know, don't be grumpy that you're not gonna get any dinner or something like that.

Okay. All right, you ready? We'll do it.

[Speaker 2]
All right. This is the end of session seven.