Серия ежедневной практики, курс 10 — Мантра Чже Цонгкапы (Ганден Лхагьяма) (1998), занятие 8

[Speaker 1]
This is the continuation of session 8. Satsang with Maitreya Drupal Malu, Ujjamze Samvinda Gacchang Kepe, Utsukhe Tsongkhapa Sang Trape, Shambhla Suvangya Nibme Tsewe, Gacchang Chepe Thibme Jambe, Namo Jambayang Drupal Malu, Ujjamze Samvinda Gacchang Kepe, Utsukhe Tsongkhapa Sang Trape, Shambhla Suvangya Nibme Tsewe, Gacchang Chepe Drupal Malu, Utsukhe Tsongkhapa Like sitting tricks. You seem to sit really well.

What's your secret? Sitting trick for me that works really well, I've done this in yoga, when the body is feeling heavy or hurting or dense or whatever, I just think of the inner body and the inside as if there's a string going up the middle of my body, just pulling me up slightly. It's a very, very subtle thing.

You just shift it really slightly, so it's not moving a leg or whatever, but it just breathes some light into the whole situation. It helps a lot, and I do that maybe ten or more times in a sitting session.

[Speaker 2]
I also do similar, but I would add down. It might strengthen you.

[Speaker 1]
You can take up and down at the same time. Right. I actually put the butter on my chest.

It was one morning, and I woke up with it, and it got hot, and it really burned away. It was nice. When did you wake up with the butter?

I just woke up one morning, and I couldn't exhale completely, and it was before the first meditation. It was like 4.45, or when did you wake up? I put the butter on, and then by the beginning of the meditation, it actually was warm, and it loosened it all up, and then I started to actually take care of it.

And I drank lots of water, and it helped me. I just feel like I was dressed up enough. Can I ask a question?

Sure. You talked about an hour of deep meditation. Do you mean visualization?

Yeah, you can do one point of visualization. It can be a visualization. So you mean it's best for...

That's a good place to start. So it can change? Well, later it would become a concept, like emptiness or something like that.

But to start learning Jogam, one-pointed meditation, a visualization is very good, and this one is perfect. Just fix your mind on a single point of it, like Jataka sitting on your head, and make it perfect. One trick I did in the beginning, when I wasn't very fast with the mantra, and I wasn't counting on it, so I found if I was just using the knowledge to try and count all five lines, that I would get stuck and trip over the next line.

So I just started using one bead per line to kind of help it move along. And that... That's what it's also for.

Are these the people that did 5000? And I also have a question about the meditation object. In the text, it says you're supposed to stay on it for at least six months, like the same one.

Do you... Oh, I think it's true. I mean, the Lamrim says that you should stay on a single object for like up to six months or something like that.

But I'm just saying, you're not supposed to skip around and change objects every day, because then you don't get good at any of them. But I think once you get good at one, and to me, I get good at it, and then about two or three weeks later, I get dry on it. And then I...

I don't think there's any particular month, you know what I mean? But I would... When you get dry on it, and it's not moving anymore, then I would...

Personally, I move on. And usually it's three or four months. And then I'll just change my whole morning practice.

I'll do a different... You know, I'll do a different... I'll do Vajrasattva for a while, and then I'll change it every...

Personally, I find about three months, but maybe it's different for different people. But I don't mean... The Lamrim does warn you not to flit around from visualization to visualization before you get good at the one you're on.

So it's okay that... Say you do your one hour or 45 minutes or however long you can handle it. So for some time, can you feel comfortable and good with one...

Even within one practice, and then maybe switch to a different part of the same practice? Or then maybe switch to a different part in a different practice? So it's okay to switch, but that's what counts as good?

Yeah. As long as you don't switch before you're ready. Yeah.

And also, I think much more dangerous and much more typical for Westerners is to try to do too much. I mean, choose one. I think more dangerous than many meditation objects is much more typical is that people get five initiations and they're rushing through.

They're just reciting it, which in my mind has very, very little effect on your mind. It is a blessing. It's a good thing.

Like to do Tundruk and recite it is a big blessing. But if you don't examine your vows, if you don't do the book, which is the meaning of Tundruk, then I can't see that it will have much effect on you. And I've interviewed many Americans who've been practicing for 10 or 20 years, and they say, you know, I kept my commitments.

I say, what did you do? And they say, I recited, you know, And then I say, well, what else did you do? And they say, I don't know.

I kept my commitment, you know. And they're not different. They didn't improve.

They didn't make any progress. Nothing's happening in their life, you know. Because the meaning of those things is to visualize them, you know, and slowly and perfectly.

And then the meaning of Tundruk is to stop and check your vows and write down how you're doing and things like that. So I'd say much more dangerous is trying to do too much in the morning. Pick, make a sweet practice and stick to it for a while, but don't try to...

Even in the Tibetan monasteries, we do three hours of reciting in the morning in the tsong. And they'll do three dhakis, four dhakis. And personally, I can't imagine how anyone can concentrate, you know, in three hours straight.

And I can't judge other people. I don't know what other monks are thinking, but a lot of them are asleep. Or, you know, like that, you know.

And I can't imagine that you can do it, unless you're highly advanced or something, that you can quickly recite GANG NENG THAG RGYAL MA, you know. GANG NENG THAG RGYAL KUN GYI THUG RGYAL NERA DGAR SHOS PA PUN YOD CHEN TZE ZHIG GIS RGYAL MO KUN GYUR LO SEM DAG ZAD DANG PHRAD PA NER DU ZHUGS SUG That's how fast they go for three hours. And I just imagine that each abbot, over the course of the last 500 years, said, you know, this is a really important prayer.

We should do this one in the morning, too. And then, somewhere around the 18th century, it became impossible to concentrate on it. You know, I don't know.

But I, personally, I think Americans should, you know, you should do something slowly, nicely, sweetly. Take an hour, you know, like that. I'm just warning you against jamming too many things into your daily practice, okay?

No, we only take suggestions, not questions. Okay. Oh, that's not fair.

[Speaker 2]
Suggestions. My thing was just with the sitting, just to stay with this topic. At the beginning, I really prompted them with the knees and with the back and whatever.

I mean, it was just urgent. And you have this urge, then, just to put one cushion more on her and one cushion more and one more and so on. And then, I think at the evening of the first, January 1st, I just put them all the way and I just said, think like this.

[Speaker 1]
Think like this, nothing more. And it worked perfectly.

[Speaker 2]
Probably a topic that would be different for others, but it's just to change the pattern from putting something underneath to come to the normal position of like a chair, like I'm sitting right now, which is more like a chair, so it's like you have to feel a bit convenient. So, putting something under, just try to reverse it and just try to put something away. Doesn't quite, maybe working, maybe not.

I don't know.

[Speaker 1]
Maybe the muscles change. He starts first. Thomas?

I have one. I had a night where my brain was just really hyper and I was going from object to object. And I just couldn't concentrate.

And I was starting to feel sort of giddy and frustrated. And so, I started singing. And I started doing the invocation and it worked really well immediately.

And then, I did the entire practice in a musical. And it worked so well. And I had like showgirls and stuff.

And I had fireworks at the end.

[Speaker 2]
And stuff like that. It was great.

[Speaker 1]
You win. That's digitally. Okay, Thomas, let's move on.

[Speaker 2]
Is that a surprise?

[Speaker 1]
Yeah, it is. I had this thing that really worked when the visualization started to feel really sort of artificial and forced. And I was really glad.

And it was what Keshla said before about the Buddhist there. Because of the quality of the Buddhist mind, they're completely there. It's not like something we're faking.

And that really, like all of a sudden, I'd be like, Oh my God, I'm so much better.

[Speaker 2]
Thank you.

[Speaker 1]
I remember that story. I think his daughter was in retreat for like years and years and years and meditating on Maitreya. And like suddenly, finally, you know, he's all frustrated.

And he keeps trying to leave and coming back and leaving and coming back. And suddenly, you get this vision of Maitreya. And Maitreya's like, Look, I've been here the whole time.

Look, he's been on my road. Obstacles that we're not seeing. It's like they're just right there.

And that would help really.

[Speaker 2]
Yeah.

[Speaker 1]
I was finding that there was a lot of getting a lot of stuff to visualize and, you know, the whole preliminaries and everything. And I really wanted to be connected to all of it and feel it all. So I spent some time learning the mantra, you know, and not worrying so much about getting the visualization perfect.

I learned the mantra so that I could get that and say that mantra while I was doing all the visualization. So I kind of spend time on seeing the pictures and not worrying so much about the mantra and just getting each thing time.

[Speaker 2]
Like Kelly, I found it difficult to recite the mantra and visualize at the same time. So I would cut them. It was difficult to have some camera come to me in a form.

[Speaker 1]
So I had to put him on the beach and he's just coming out of the surf.

[Speaker 2]
I don't care. I didn't catch that.

[Speaker 1]
Yeah, he'd be hanging out. I noticed that when I asked him in the afternoon, he asked me nicely.

[Speaker 2]
I was like, okay, I'm ready.

[Speaker 1]
The sleep issue. During the meditation or after? By the way, you get this when you don't sleep for two nights.

Then you think you're reaching some new plateau. No, and then you don't have to sleep. And that's wrong.

And then you're going to go crazy about two nights after that. So it's a fallacy, which you're about to say, I think. But if you don't sleep for two nights, do something about it.

Because you're not reaching some new spiritual state. You're just about to take your clothes off and run around. It's important to know that.

It's important to know that. I told a few friends that one of the dreams this night was that I'm teaching dharma to a very stubborn friend who would be the last one to hear dharma. A successful person on Wall Street.

And he was listening. And he really wasn't interested anymore. So I thought, oh, it works.

The other comment I had was about the silence. I mean, there was silence, but it wasn't always kept. And I myself broke it several times.

But there were times where I really wanted silence around me. Because I was still in that meditative state. And it really bothered me that people weren't sensitive to that.

So maybe the notion is that the silence isn't just for your own practice, but it's also respecting other people's practice. And I myself broke it several times. But just stressing that point at the beginning.

I'm still processing. I had a problem with the visualization. Patrick said, when you said that they've been following you all around.

I saw it another way. I saw that you were saying they've been following me around in people in my life. I just thought of Bob Dylan's eyes.

Because I had a problem with my train, I was like... A lot of things changed in the second day. Three or four days.

I don't remember. I lost half the time. I was confused when it was over.

I was like, what? I had a lot of pain in the beginning. I had a lot of pain in my back.

And I realized I didn't prepare to go on retreat at all. I went home and went through crazy stuff. I literally got on the airport and met Michael and came down here.

I think that it's important to take the time to really... I learned to take the time to go on retreat. And the thing that you said about the state that you were in caused a lot...

I just felt like I walked in like this to the retreat. I'm a homeopathic list. I took a lot of Adderall.

Which I haven't taken in years and years and years. And I use a heating pad, which I'm totally against. I was so happy that there was...

And that really helped me. And I took them intensely for one day. And then it let me get past it.

So that was really nice.

[Speaker 2]
It helps you enjoy. Whatever way comes, if you enjoy it, it works better.

[Speaker 1]
I think I just was told this stuff before. Not to fight the pain. And if it causes stress, better react to it.

So be really gentle on yourself. There's a whole repertoire in Geshe-la's talk. There's many, many things.

It's just what works out for Todd. Something will come up. Hearing for the first time about bubbles...

It was like a good barometer of bubbles. Several things helped. What Geshe-la said helped.

Also, I did get about a quarter cup of coffee. And that helped a lot. I had a feeling that I was falling, even when I was standing up.

Just like I was moving down. And somehow it really helped. It worked really good.

I don't know. Maybe it's the data. When I was getting dull.

It helped a lot. I think the thing that really helped me was... I had trouble visualizing.

So what I did was I tried to get to know him from Kapa. In my own way. And...

He sort of had a personality. And I tried to get to know him in that way. I tried to respect him.

I didn't want to see him like this. It might have just been my own thing. I wanted to know him as a person.

So I tried to develop a relationship with him. I had many conversations with him. This was good.

Having conversations with him. And... I think really also being very...

When it got really difficult, I found that... Really asking for help is the biggest thing. And like...

From my heart.

[Speaker 2]
What's that?

[Speaker 1]
The phone rang one day. It's from Kapa. A couple of things.

One thing that was a real breaking point for me. I was feeling bogged down by my mental approaches. I was feeling really, really like...

This is hopeless. I'm going to hell. And then...

I was like, I'm never going to get out of my house. For some reason, my mind looked at the story of this guy who killed all these people and still reached all these high spiritual realizations in this lifetime. So I was like...

Yeah, I'm going to go on, right? For 999 people. I'm like, I can kill anybody that I remember this lifetime.

I can do it. I can do it. And I was just like, I just got this really kind of kick-ass attitude about it.

This is enough. This is just enough. And I'm just going to do it.

I'm going to be like that guy. I'm not worse than that guy, probably. He probably had some hatred in his heart when he was killing at least one of those people.

So then he had that, and he could still be happy. That really helped me. I just got this really kick-ass attitude about it.

I mean, just from thinking of people who did it. That was really cool. And the other thing is to get really good exercise every day.

That was so good. I just made myself do it. I was tired.

I felt sick. And I was like, I'm going to exercise more than I did for half an hour. And it really helped my meditation.

That's good. Maybe a pleasure.

[Speaker 2]
One time I went to the kitchen at night, and I ate a whole bunch of butter.

[Speaker 1]
And it felt kind of weird, because there was a sign on the door that said, you know, stuff only. I just took some butter out, so I could just eat it whenever I wanted to. Is that right?

He thought I was a mice. Did it help? Yeah, yeah.

I didn't want to wake up with this feeling in my stomach or just having eaten before I went to sleep.

[Speaker 2]
So I stayed up for a really long time trying to fall asleep. But I couldn't. And so I went to sleep right away.

[Speaker 1]
One meditation, when we finished, I was really spaced. When I walked through the hall, all this stuff around the hall freaked me out. And I said, this is a really dangerous place.

I'll handle it all. I'll go like this, and I'll get out of here. But it was like, if someone really freaked out, that was really dangerous, I think.

So I'm just thinking, maybe if it was all cleared out. Let me explain the hall, okay? The hall and the library, part of the contract we have with the previous owners is that we preserve, excuse me, his papers and his degrees and stuff.

And they're supposed to come and organize them and sort of put them in a big photo album, and we can put it in the library somewhere. Maybe we could put a curtain over it. Yeah.

I think what I'd like to see, if someone ever wanted to work on it, is a brief description of his holy deeds, you know? He saved maybe five million children or something. I mean, that's something.

And that's enough. You don't need all the dancing medals and stuff he got. You know, and put it in the hall.

You know, make it a beautiful, peaceful thing in there.

[Speaker 2]
It would be really nice.

[Speaker 1]
I knew that, on the other hand, if you had a lot of lumen, you could go read that stuff and it would bring you right down. I mean, it could serve both purposes. I would like to see it cleaned out.

We kind of... The previous owner has been ill, and so the work that she was supposed to do, and we didn't want to impose on her by saying, you know, hurry up, because she's been ill, but we'll try. Maybe nobody covered it.

Yeah, we could cover it. Yeah, I read that one plaque 50 times. I found when I was reading the plot and it was getting a bit dry, that I started remembering the words in English.

And they're so beautiful. That made it really important. And also, I hit the coffee with them.

Lil, reduce me. Reduce me. It just didn't help me a lot that the food was so good.

Not too delicious. Stand here. He didn't like the food.

I thought after the first meditation, the nap was key. I mean, because I had incredible dreams. Especially it seemed like the most powerful meditation for me was the first one in the morning.

And the dreams were just so, they're just so vivid, you know. Yeah, you have to remember the kusha, okay? Like all that stuff.

It helps a lot. It makes it very great. I always seem to have a, like I dream a lot, and every time I put that kusha under my bed, it like freezes.

I don't remember anything. You know, like every time. It's weird.

It's supposed to work the opposite. The kusha. Michael?

[Speaker 2]
Oh. Keshi, Michael was really right on. I really appreciate that.

You have to see the, visualize the image as a real being. And so special. Another thing that was good is to perhaps make offerings.

It's coming from the sheet that you want to present. Then it's real being to you. I think it's difficult to do the three in to the kitchen.

Instead of visualizing. I'm busy writing socials. So that's why it's good.

Maybe that's why it works.

[Speaker 1]
So I think that was a good idea. Yeah, I think we canceled the work for people. I think it's important not to work when you're in a deep retreat.

Aside from how boring it is to watch TV. But I think when you're in a deep retreat, I think it's very good to try to get someone else to take care of those things. It says in the retreat manual.

I felt enormously grateful because I kept wanting to help and saying, well, I'm not supposed to work. And they were working so hard. And I was so grateful.

It was like, gosh, you know. It was amazing. Everybody was working so hard.

Like Amber. Amber. Amber.

Amber. Great. It's actually Amber's turn now.

Maybe after she stops streaming. I just wanted to say good afternoon. Thank you for letting me help.

Because although I wasn't able to do this retreat, maybe how it was supposed to be, I was really excited to help reconstruct toilet. And I'm really thankful for my administration. It's great.

It's okay. I think my mind is great. I found it really helpful.

I found it nice that this was a group retreat. Because I did all this meditation and meditation went well. And I could concentrate.

And then I got up. Of course. I was so happy that these people were passing my way, sometimes meaning something very nicely, with a good motivation, but came at the wrong time or whatever.

And so I was so happy that I could control that. I'm not a saint already. Though my meditation went well.

And I could control, okay, how far am I really? Am I lying to myself with this nice meditation which I had once? And then right after that...

And to practice your vows. That was very helpful to me, even though, of course, sometimes silence was broken or things happened. You couldn't concentrate.

You didn't know where to do your other practice and stuff like that. But I happily took that and had this control, this measurement. And I don't know how that works.

If you are in deep retreat, like six weeks, you think, oh, I'm making it. Wow, I'm getting better and better. And then you come out, and then boom!

So you have a real shock after six weeks. I would get from a real shock after six weeks. And then see my first afflictions still being there.

So now I get going back and forth and could refine it every time. Now you have to be really careful. Now try again.

And then go back to meditation. And then go out and try again. How alert am I right now?

How far can I see? OK, this is an empty situation. So look at it really.

That was nice. I enjoyed that. I really enjoyed that.

Wake up.

[Speaker 2]
I know, I know, I'm joking.

[Speaker 1]
Well, sort of like Elizabeth, you know, at first I thought, you know, I actually struggled a lot. And I kept thinking, actually when the nectar first was coming down, I was very nauseous. OK, I'm right next to my lama, and I'm getting nauseous with nectar.

I'm definitely going to hell. And a few things helped. And one was to stop looking at the visualization, which I'm not very good at anyway, and really think about the mantra, and especially some of the talk, you know, kind of attacking my mental afflictions and saying, now wait a second, then you're saying that you're mind only, right?

Because something isn't going to change, right? Because... So, junkie help.

And the other thing that helped was all of you, presence, everyone working. Because it felt like, you know, I owed it to really work. And so I couldn't get up.

I couldn't stop. And I actually got to a place where I knew I was going to have to get. That was kind of scary for me, and I couldn't have done it without everybody here.

And I thanked everybody.

[Speaker 2]
Just one question to this. You said also you started this debate in your head. Is this something, like, per accident, or something which you should try to avoid, or something which you said it's good to do?

Because I had also, just one day, I had really a big debate in my head. And afterwards, I was very happy about it, because it helped me very much. Is this something which belongs to the practice, or is it something which you actually say it's more turning you away from what you're supposed to do?

[Speaker 1]
I don't think it's a distraction. I think it's a jiggle. You know, that's a real jiggle.

When you're arguing with your own mind, that's a big jiggle. I wouldn't say it's a distraction. There's this thing of turning distractions into the practice.

You know, if you start thinking about your mother, and then practice on it. I find it really helpful to know why something should happen. Like, how much of laughter is because of the wounds?

Or how much of anger, or like that, is because of lack of faith, or meditation?

[Speaker 2]
And I think it would be useful to know more what lack of faith means, and what are the other kinds of things you can expect, and not waste time thinking of them as self-existence.

[Speaker 1]
Any other questions? Yay! I just wanted to say thank you.

I've only been to God's door three times. Each time I've been working to help things happen for other people. And I honestly don't know if I know how to have a retreat in any other way.

And so thank you. Because my lessons, many of them are learned outside of this room, but it was just really nice. And meditations came, cleaning dishes, and putting things together furiously and quickly, and then coming in here and getting a feeling of what was going on.

And not necessarily, like, now I'll sit back and we'll all put our notes together, and try to get what we need, in order to take away what somebody can do, then we keep it. Thank you for letting me serve you. Drowsiness and dullness is a big problem in this age, in this age.

[Speaker 2]
And, uh, the mantra came in handy, that it was a perfect antidote to bring a dragon on my leg. That's a good story. That's a good story.

I really appreciate it.

[Speaker 1]
I don't even know. I started saying, it's going to take at least two years to memorize it. I'm still getting the result today.

Well, being a man, the average guy, 99% of my life, I'm only concentrating on my genitalia. And the fact that I made it through eight days, some of it. What can I say?

I'm beautiful, I pray to the Buddhas, and whatever happens, the reason why, well, I won't go into it. I got into a medical condition out of nowhere. That's it.

I don't know how it happened. I was really dumb, I was out of my mind, nobody got crazy and got naked. I was out of my mind, I meditated more, and nobody got crazy and got naked.

Thank you. I pray to the Buddhas, for help. Obviously, my retreat was quite different than yours.

Mine started about four months ago. And, I don't know, I guess, the people that are the staff people have an advantage in one respect, because we're not present in the way that you are. But on the other hand, I think it's important for us to dedicate the virtue that we're earning.

And maybe we won't do the meditation in this retreat, but hopefully that will carry over into the future. I find it very helpful to do these types of retreats, coming from a Zen background, because that's a big focus in that practice, is serving others. And I urge people who might be interested in volunteering at Costco, we have several people who came here as cooks, home-cooked food cooks and so on, to take the opportunity to do that, because it can be a lot of fun and a challenge as well.

Thank you. I just think everybody made a really good group. It was a really powerful group effort towards a very holy goal.

And it was very inspiring for me to sit here with everybody who were thinking about such holy thoughts. It was really great. Thank you, everyone.

We're way over time, but it was really important for everyone to have this opportunity, because I know sometimes people are very quiet, and until they are given a chance, they have such beautiful things to say. So, sorry for going over time. Kelly wanted to say one thing.

Actually, I really forgot this, and I think everybody in this room can relate to me, because we were talking about it. One of the biggest things that helped me was watching Vishla, and watching him blow his nose. Watching him do all these things, like pass chocolate around the tree.

These things that I get so intense on myself about, that actually I don't help myself by getting so high on myself. So, watching Vishla do all these things that allowed me to feel normal and okay made me just so much at such ease with myself. And I think everybody in this room, I think, just really felt that way, watching and impressed by it.

It's true. Do you have any comments? Do you get the most out of him?

I always get the most out of everything, because you humor me. Just thank you very much. Truly, I think I'm the luckiest person here, and I get the most virtue.

And I think just the most blessing. For me, it's a very holy time, and I feel very fortunate to have you people, and that we're all together is very rare, and for me it's just very much a blessing. So I often feel that I'm the person getting the most.

So I thank you for that. That's all. We have another topic for today.

Oh, the free list?

[Speaker 2]
Wait, wait, wait.

[Speaker 1]
Hold on a second. I'll just put the batteries in. Wait a second.

I know we're running late. We're going to have a short free list. Five minutes.

How about ten minutes? Any comments about your list? The only comment I have is to do it tomorrow.

Start tomorrow. And don't break the day. If you don't break the first five, six days, you'll get in the habit.

If you give yourself a day off in the next week or so, you can forget it. So start tomorrow. It's the most important thing.

Just anybody. This is a question that a bunch of us have been asking ourselves. We weren't sure if that was right, at home and on the tree.

At home when you're out there, and is it different on the tree? Yeah, it's about eating the cookies. I think it's very dangerous to get into the habit.

Personally, it's a very bad thing to eat them while they're on the tree. And then personally I think it's very dangerous even afterwards. To me, the best offerings are totally selfless and no self-interest at all.

Like take a dollar bill and throw it in the ocean or something is a good offering to me. I think ideally not to use them yourself is the purest way to make offerings. What about when people give you cookies from their altar?

Then I think it's okay. But I just wouldn't get in the habit. I don't think you have to worry about upsetting other people and say I can't eat the cookies.

But I think it's a bad habit. Offerings should be totally selfless. Nothing in it for yourself but an offering.

Even the pleasure you might get a week later from an old cookie or something. I think even that. So what should you do with them?

They say throw them out where someone won't step on them or walk on them. And there's a big debate whether you should offer them animals or not. Rinpoche says no, you should not.

It'll make them sick. It's too powerful for them. But then he throws them out in the woods in his backyard and animals can eat them and he likes that.

So I think not purposely feed it to animals. But to put it in... They say in a body of water it's perfect.

Like the ocean or a lake. Or leave them in a forest or something like that. But definitely not to throw them out with the regular garbage.

I think in Manhattan... I put them in a separate bag and I put the bag in the garbage. There's not much else you can do.

I think you have to just treat them special. You're never supposed to walk on them or step on them or anything like that. How about bringing them to the workplace for other people?

That's great. Big mix-up.

[Speaker 2]
It's arshan.

[Speaker 1]
In Mongolian they call it arshan. In Hindi, prasad. It's a good idea.

Yeah, serve it to your friends. Take them to work is great. I treat them the same as often.

In your mind you've already committed them to offering. Coming out of the tree is really difficult for me. I want to stay in the tree.

Doing a list really helps me in the sense that I'm moving that energy that I've created in my retreat and moving it onto something really positive in my life. It doesn't make it feel so empty when I move out of the tree. That's what I think.

A comment about the principles, the goals. I found myself when I was doing that, I have been thinking about these things for a while now and it was pretty set already before I came here. I was just organizing things.

Then when I looked at it, I said, this is very reasonable, but really what I want is not so reasonable. I didn't dare to put it on the list. I know I can't do much about it this year, but then I put it.

There's something there far away.

[Speaker 2]
What seems to me very important is to keep it flexible. I think it's good to have an outline or something like this to follow, but you will have your daily changes and you will have necessities to do something on it.

[Speaker 1]
It shouldn't be a cage for yourself. It shouldn't be something which you can hold on, but it should not be something which restricts you. I think that's very important for myself.

[Speaker 2]
If you make them and you have the idea, you put all the things that you learned in there, it can be something which restricts you too much. I guess for myself it's very important to say, this is the way I want to and I try to go this way, but I have to do it on a daily basis. I have to know today, what, what, forever.

[Speaker 1]
Just an example, if something is going on in a job and you have a project which is really important, you can probably change something in your schedule because you go home later or something like this. You have to be flexible like this. Often you can't just cut the things off.

Same way the other round. I think if the meditation is going really well and you sit there 15 minutes longer, it's great. So for me it's very important not to say it's a restriction, but as a kind of guideline.

Oral blessing, and it's important to have your mind in the right place. So get comfortable, and then listen carefully. Then the blessing comes from hearing it, and then you pass it on to other people.

And I think what's beautiful about Tibetan Buddhism to me is that the Lung and the teachings have come so purely through the lineage from teacher to student ever since Lord Buddha. It's clearly what Lord Buddha taught is what we're being taught, and to me that's very, it's amazing over two and a half thousand years unbroken. So then to take a Lung or to receive a Lung is an additional responsibility on your part to pass it on and not let it, not let the lineage dead-end with you, okay?

All right, here we go, okay? This will be the full version, and someday you should get teachings on the other lines that we didn't do yet, okay? lo du tu, gyal sa nga we gen gyur lek she sung, drab e bel gyal tha mer dze bel gu, dun du dun be dun den la cha dzang, yu wan chö yin na dzok med do dang, du shin du be na sel tri chab song, mo sham yu tu chö tin gyal tsong de, sunam shin chok kyur dang chö pang bu, gang she thong me dun yin sa ba yin, lu nga yi gyen mi gye chig gye dang, kye pa dam pa sum gyin mi tun chong, nin yin gyur pa drab pe sol sol shong, ning men dun de man tu drum la tun, chuk kye pang pe dang chok dun yun chong, gun pa gyur kye lap chen tse pa la, da cha tsam pa thap pe yi rang ngong, chhe tsum nam ma dam pa kye nam gyur, gyur kuk kala khen tse chun tsen tri, chhe da tsam pe du gyur dzin ma la, zap kye gyur gyur cha pa ap tu su, dak kye gyur nyur sa pe gyur wan di, den dang dro wa kun la kang pen dang, kye pa gyur tsum no sam drab pa yi, dem pe nim go rin du se gyur shok, tu sam gong pe sherab pe du su, chhe tsum tsam pe lo du gyur dzin su, chok dang tun mon gu du tsa du zu, nyur du kye rang dab pa jin gyur lo, de chen neng gyur ye she ja du zu, ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, nyur du kye rang dab pa jin gyur lo, tu sam gong pe sherab pe du su, chhe tsum tsam pe lo du gyur dzin su, chok dang tun mon gu du tsa du zu, nyur du kye rang dab pa jin gyur lo, de chen neng gyur ye she ja du zu, ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, nyur du kye rang dab pa jin gyur lo, tu sam gong pe sherab pe du su, chhe tsum tsam pe lo du gyur dzin su, chok dang tun mon gu du tsa du su, nyur du kye rang dab pa jin gyur lo, de chen neng gyur ye she ja du su, ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, nyur du kye rang dab pa jin gyur lo, mi me tse we de chen chen re si, ti me gen pe wang po chen pe yang, du pe ma le chom tse sang way da, ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, mi me tse we de chen chen re si, ti me gen pe wang po chen pe yang, du pe ma le chom tse sang way da, ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, mi me tse we de chen chen re si, ti me gen pe wang po chen pe yang, du pe ma le chom tse sang way da, ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, mi me tse we de chen chen re si, ti me gen pe wang po chen pe yang, du pe ma le chom tse sang way da, ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, mi me tse we de chen chen re si, ti me gen pe wang po chen pe yang, du pe ma le chom tse sang way da, ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, mi me tse we de chen chen re si, ti me gen pe wang po chen pe yang, du pe ma le chom tse sang way da, ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, mi me tse we de chen chen re si, ti me gen pe wang po chen pe yang, du pe ma le chom tse sang way da, ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, mi me tse we de chen chen re si, ti me gen pe wang po chen pe yang, du pe ma le chom tse sang way da, ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, mi me tse we de chen chen re si, ti me gen pe wang po chen pe yang, mi me tse we de chen chen re si, ti me gen pe wang po chen pe yang, du pe ma le chom tse sang way da, ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, mi me tse we de chen chen re si, ti me gen pe wang po chen pe yang, du pe ma le chom tse sang way da, ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, mi me tse we de chen chen re si, ti me gen pe wang po chen pe yang, du pe ma le chom tse sang way da, ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, mi me tse we de chen chen re si, ti me gen pe wang po chen pe yang, du pe ma le chom tse sang way da, ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, mi me tse we de chen chen re si, ti me gen pe wang po chen pe yang, du pe ma le chom tse sang way da, ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, mi me tse we de chen chen re si, ti me gen pe wang po chen pe yang, du pe ma le chom tse sang way da, ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, mi me tse we de chen chen re si, ti me gen pe wang po chen pe yang, du pe ma le chom tse sang way da, ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, mi me tse we de chen chen re si, ti me gen pe wang po chen pe yang, du pe ma le chom tse sang way da, ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, mi me tse we de chen chen re si, ti me gen pe wang po chen pe yang, du pe ma le chom tse sang way da, ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, mi me tse we de chen chen re si, ti me gen pe wang po chen pe yang, du pe ma le chom tse sang way da, ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, mi me tse we de chen chen re si, ti me gen pe wang po chen pe yang,

[Speaker 2]
du pe ma le chom tse sang way da,

[Speaker 1]
ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, mi me tse we de chen chen re si, ti me gen pe wang po chen pe yang, du pe ma le chom tse sang way da, ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, mi me tse we de chen chen re si, ti me gen pe wang po chen pe yang, du pe ma le chom tse sang way da, ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, mi me tse we de chen chen re si, ti me gen pe wang po chen pe yang, du pe ma le chom tse sang way da, mi me tse we de chen chen re si, ti me gen pe wang po chen pe yang, du pe ma le chom tse sang way da, ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, du pe ma le chom tse sang way da, ngun zin tri pe tri ma sa du su, sem nyur te tsam drab wa gyur du su, sing This is the end of session eight. You have been listening to the Jetsun Kappa retreat with Geshe Michael Roach recorded live at Godstow, Connecticut, in December of 1998.