Базовый курс ACI 3: Прикладная медитация (2019, Аризона), занятие 5

[Speaker 1]
We're starting. I'm very glad that you are now watching our lesson, and I'm very glad that my translator Maria is ready to translate in Russian, and I hope that it helps you, that today we are talking about meditation and the problem of meditation, and how to fix about it. Okay, now you translate.

[Speaker 2]
So, we start a class on meditation for a Russian-speaking audience, and we're broadcasting from Diamond Mountain University.

[Speaker 1]
This is the ... I think it's the largest retreat center in the United States. We tried to find the most empty place in America.

So, we have 30 beautiful meditation cabins in the desert in Arizona, and in the desert you have to have a cowboy hat. And you got to have cowboy boots. So, we're hoping ...

all the cowboys in Arizona, we meditate with our boots on, and with our cowboy hats. It's good if you have a cowgirl. All right, so we're going to talk about the typical problems in meditation.

Five problems in meditation. And, you know, you expect if there are five problems, and we're going to go for one hour. So, if there are five classical problems in meditation, everybody gets these five problems.

It doesn't matter what country you live in. Every human mind that meditates, you will have these five problems. And it's interesting, if there are five problems, you expect five solutions, right?

But there's eight solutions. Okay, five problems, eight solutions.

[Speaker 2]
Very famous, okay?

[Speaker 1]
And we just finished the last hour. We called NYAMS SPYI. NYAMS SPYI means experiential explanation of the problems.

And we actually did a meditation together for one hour, and we tried to repeat the problems in the actual meditation. So, I have a suggestion for Tim, the ACI director. In the next hour for our Gold Club broadcast, we'll be describing the problems from the ancient book.

But I suggest that we will send out ... Maria can translate. There's a one-hour meditation you can do to go through the nine stages of meditation, and you go through all the problems.

And you learn how to fix them.

[Speaker 2]
So, we'll be posting that online in the next ...

[Speaker 1]
by tomorrow night?

[Speaker 2]
Okay, согласны?

[Speaker 1]
Okay. All right, and we'll put it up online so you can actually practice these problems, and how to fix them. So today, I'll just talk about them, but I encourage all the Gold Club members do the actual meditation.

What's the meditation we used?

[Speaker 2]
tong len, which is giving people comfort, taking away their problems.

[Speaker 1]
Who did we do the tong len on?

[Speaker 2]
On yourself.

[Speaker 1]
Okay.

[Speaker 2]
There's a special tong len you can do.

[Speaker 1]
If you have an important meeting this afternoon, if you have to give a teaching this afternoon, it's very helpful in the morning. Do the tong len on yourself in the afternoon, and then the afternoon me, this afternoon, will get a big injection of energy from the morning me. So, in that one meditation online, you can learn to do this, helping yourself later in the day meditation, and at the same time you can experience all the meditation problems that I'm going to talk about.

So, we're in the middle of an ACI teacher training. The students here in Arizona at the retreat center, which is completely full this week. There's not any other place to stay.

Even all the bears and the wild pigs, we asked them to move out. So, I'm going to actually go through the actual homework questions, and that way you can finish your homework also. And I have exciting news for all the Russian-speaking audience listening.

We are making plans for ACI teacher training in Europe, and there'll be a Russian language and German language. So, purposely we arranged for a Russian woman to marry a German guy. And they are cooperating.

They got married here actually, and so we'll be starting those programs soon. Okay, so here we go. First of the five meditation problems.

The Tibetan word, I don't know, everyone likes it around the whole world. Say le lo. Le lo.

It sounds like what it is. What does it mean? Lazy.

Le lo.

[Speaker 2]
Lenivly?

[Speaker 1]
Yeah, le lo lenivly. Okay, ochen pohosh. Okay, so it's very similar.

Okay, so le lo means ... okay, now listen. When you teach it, this is a teacher training, right?

Don't call it laziness. Okay, put on your second husband ... second wife?

Accent? I don't feel like meditating today. I didn't have a good sleep last night.

I had a fight with my husband yesterday. I'm very busy today. You know, oh, my stomach a little bit upset.

Then the first meditation problem is making excuses why you don't have to meditate today. And it sounds like that. It's like, I don't want to meditate today.

I don't feel like meditating today. What's the last sentence that mind always says, just before they go to breakfast? Sugeng got it.

[Speaker 2]
But tomorrow, I will definitely meditate.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, got it? Does it sound familiar? Yes?

Okay, so there are four solutions to le lo.

[Speaker 2]
Say depa, dumpa, tsulwa, shinjang. depa, dumpa, tsulwa, shinjang.

[Speaker 1]
depa, dumpa, tsulwa, shinjang. Okay, very famous, okay? That's why you have eight solutions to five problems, because the first problem has four solutions, okay?

The first problem has the three extra solutions, okay? Okay, depa, okay? In Sanskrit, it's shraddha.

Shraddha. Pa, pa ruski, nazyvayu, serdza, da? Heart.

S-R-D, serdza. In English, cardiac. Same, same root.

Cardi, C-R-D, serd, serdza.

[Speaker 2]
Same as in Russian, okay?

[Speaker 1]
And the word shraddha comes from serdza. Shraddha, serdza. So, Russian is very close to Sanskrit, which is very cool.

So, Russian speakers, you are super cool. Okay, it's easier for you to learn Sanskrit. Shraddha means faith.

[Speaker 2]
Faith.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, you have faith, but special meaning of faith. Okay, and when I explain the four solutions to the first problem, I like to talk about your high school. Okay, it happened to me in high school.

You see a nice-looking girl, you remember? It's our 50th anniversary this year. Anyway, how does it happen in high school?

First, you look at the girl, or the boy, you know, say, she's pretty cool, you know, and in your mind you are making a list. Okay? Oh, her hair is cool.

She's body is so cool. Her voice is so cool. And when she looks at me, it's so cool.

So this is how you're supposed to think about meditation. Okay, people who meditate, they're so calm.

[Speaker 2]
They can focus their mind.

[Speaker 1]
They are always smiling.

[Speaker 2]
They always wear a cowboy hat.

[Speaker 1]
Just kidding. Okay, and they do better business also. Okay, because they can focus on things.

For problem solving, meditation is fantastic. And for controlling your emotions in your business, meditation is incredible. The businessman or a businesswoman who doesn't get upset when the business has a problem will become super cool business person.

And much more wealthy. And you know, it's not the goal of life to collect money. We just ...

Nick, our teacher, just had a baby a few days ago, right? I was there. I refused to come in the room when the baby come out, but just after I come in the room, I'm in the room.

So I can say, I'm sure that you come into this life naked, and you go out of this life naked. You don't carry money in with this life, and when it's time to go, you have to leave the money. And you're naked.

[Speaker 2]
But, if you have focus, you can be more successful in this life, and you can help more people. Okay?

[Speaker 1]
So meditation can help you become financially successful.

[Speaker 2]
And before you leave naked, you can help more people.

[Speaker 1]
My diamond business, I think a total we spent five million dollars on saving the ancient books. Five million US. So it's useful to make money.

Okay, and this broadcast is being done for the Gold Club Russian speakers. They're from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, other countries. That's why I put the Ukrainian and Russian national colors on my shirt today.

And so those people listening to this broadcast, they have a club of over 1,000 people now. A lot of Ukrainian people. They're all donating at least one dollar per month, and so far they have raised more than a hundred thousand dollars US.

One hundred and eighty? And John Brady over there, we have the same air conditioning, and we spent together, we spent 32 years saving the ancient books. They have input all the ancient books from ancient India.

4,600 books. They're online, they're free, and we are translating them. Okay, and we are ...

they found, they just found 300,000 books in Mongolia. And Christina Kasica, who's also there. And we also have some of our Sanskrit experts here today, Vimala Sperber.

And Aisha, where's Aisha? I think Aisha might be taking care of ... oh, hi.

So, we have a very strong international team, and because of the Gold Club's help, they can feed their kids. Where's your kid? Well, bring him in.

[Speaker 2]
We got to show him on there.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, so of course we have to ...

[Speaker 2]
our staff works, I don't know, like 90 hours a week.

[Speaker 1]
We pay them like 10 cents an hour. But it has ...

[Speaker 2]
even the 10 cents have to come from some place.

[Speaker 1]
So, we're very grateful for the help, and we have many, many refugees in India. They are typing the ancient books, and we have a very cool project in Europe. For the refugees from countries like Syria, Afghanistan, other countries.

[Speaker 2]
And they are learning a skill to support themselves and their families.

[Speaker 1]
I believe they are one of the first refugees in Europe to legally work on their new skill, which is sewing. We teach them how to use sewing machine. And they are using sewing machine to make book covers for the ancient books.

And we are paying them, and they have to make 300,000 book covers. Okay, and the director of that project is here, Noor Ibrahim. Can you come up here?

[Speaker 2]
Can you come?

[Speaker 1]
I thought you might like to see where all that money's going to is our Sanskrit expert, Aisha, and her son, Kylie, and because of your help we're able to pay our staff. So thank you Kylie. His dad has another project.

Where's his dad?

[Speaker 2]
Oh, Anatole Nguyen.

[Speaker 1]
They got permission from the government of Mexico to start training 23 million children.

[Speaker 2]
So the Congress has voted to support it, and they will be teaching kids to drink healthy green drinks. In the morning, each kid will get a green drink to ...

[Speaker 1]
because obesity, childhood obesity, too fat, it has spread in Mexico from the United States.

[Speaker 2]
So, I think over 50 percent of kids are overweight, and they will get ... they will get diabetes, they will have heart problem. They will die young.

[Speaker 1]
We already know their future, okay? And it's spread to China. American food.

[Speaker 2]
KFC, Starbucks, McDonald's, 20,000 shops opened in China, and they are teaching kids to eat bad food.

[Speaker 1]
I think there's a McDonald's in the Kremlin, near the Kremlin. I saw it.

[Speaker 2]
Teaching Russian kids to eat bad food.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? So, this is very good for your meditation. Okay?

[Speaker 2]
Eat well.

[Speaker 1]
Have a green drink every morning. You don't need to eat a big breakfast, and it will help your yoga a lot.

[Speaker 2]
I'm sorry, your meditation.

[Speaker 1]
Yoga also help you meditate.

[Speaker 2]
Okay, so first quality to fix Laila. I don't feel like meditating today.

[Speaker 1]
Think about how cool it's going to be when you learn to meditate. It's like admiring a girl in high school. Then what's the second step in high school?

[Speaker 2]
You have to decide, I want that girl.

[Speaker 1]
That's called DUM PA. It's the second solution to laziness. It's the second solution to, I don't feel like meditating today, but I'll definitely meditate tomorrow.

Shakespeare said, tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in its penny pace from day to day to the last syllable of recorded time. It means you're tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.

[Speaker 2]
Never finish.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, so second solution. Yeah, I want it. I want that girl.

Who's the girl? Good meditation. Good, oh wow, looks cool.

I can get rich, I can get peaceful, I can help other people. I can help other people.

[Speaker 2]
I want that.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, that's a decision. Okay?

[Speaker 2]
Admire it and decide to get it.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, then with the girl in the high school, there's a special system. So, hundred years ago, when I was in high school, we don't have online anything. We don't have computers, so we had to carry books, and each class has a separate book, and those books are heavy and thick.

So, you get a big tetrad? Notebook? Tetrad?

Notebook? Oh, big notebook for all your classes. One to keep all your notes.

[Speaker 2]
You're set.

[Speaker 1]
Then you have a big notebook. Tetrad. And you put the ...

[Speaker 2]
you pile the books on it, and you walk around the school like this.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? Now, how do you meet a girl that you chose her and you want her? You arrange to go around the corner when she comes around the corner, and you bang tetrads.

You bang notebook, and all the books fall down, and then she will get down, she will ... she'll be like, I don't know what I'm talking about. Then you have to say, I'll help you, I'll help you.

Oh, here's your book. Here's your book. Do you want to go out with me on Friday?

Do you remember? Do you remember?

[Speaker 2]
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, then, so the third solution is do something. Okay? Do something to get it.

Okay?

[Speaker 2]
Work hard. Work hard to get meditation. Every day.

I don't care how you feel.

[Speaker 1]
If you feel good, do your meditation. If you feel bad, do your meditation. If you had a good sleep, do your meditation.

If you had a bad sleep, do your meditation. If your body feels great, do your meditation. If your back hurts, and your leg hurts, and your stomach hurts, do your goddamn meditation.

Understand? That's number three. If you do that, you're going to get the date.

[Speaker 2]
You're going to get ...

[Speaker 1]
ah, at the Japanese restaurant on Camelback Avenue. Was it Japanese, right?

[Speaker 2]
Mongolian.

[Speaker 1]
Even then I had a seed. Even at that time I had a seed for Mongolia.

[Speaker 2]
Our first date.

[Speaker 1]
Yeah, and then it feels so nice. Okay? That first ...

it's so beautiful. Okay?

[Speaker 2]
And that's the fourth correction to laziness, le lo.

[Speaker 1]
Because you work hard in your meditation.

[Speaker 2]
Right?

[Speaker 1]
You knock down her books many times.

[Speaker 2]
Then you get to go on the date, to the Mongolian restaurant. Then you go to the garden, and it feels so nice. Okay?

[Speaker 1]
shin jang means your mind and your body are really strong to meditate. You did your yoga.

[Speaker 2]
You drank your green drink.

[Speaker 1]
You meditate many times. You suffer, right?

[Speaker 2]
You suffered.

[Speaker 1]
And then you get the result. And when you sit down to meditate, it's like someone giving you a massage of your mind and your body.

[Speaker 2]
You sit down to meditate and you're like, ah. And the mind feels totally happy. Okay?

[Speaker 1]
That's the fourth correction to, I'll meditate tomorrow. Because you want to meditate. Okay?

[Speaker 2]
You are making excuses to meditate.

[Speaker 1]
Like, in the afternoon you're like, maybe I could just do a little bit more.

[Speaker 2]
I mean, I finished my meditation this morning. I did a good hour.

[Speaker 1]
Anatole's always doing that with yoga, I don't know. I didn't reach this level yet. Okay?

But in the afternoon, he was ... he and John Brady, yesterday, you sneak outside, do some more poses after that yoga class. Nastyashchi sumashchi.

[Speaker 2]
Real crazy?

[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Okay, so the fourth correction to laziness. Ah, this feels so good.

Thank you.

[Speaker 2]
Then you get addicted to meditation, and that's a good addiction. Okay?

[Speaker 1]
So, we finished the first problem, and we finished the first problem solution, which has four parts. Okay? deppa dzunpa tsulwar shinjang.

Okay? You admire that thing.

[Speaker 2]
You want to get it.

[Speaker 1]
You work hard to get it and spill their books, and then you get the result. It's the Mongolian dinner and afterwards. And you feel happy.

It feels so good. Okay?

[Speaker 2]
Then you don't have that problem anymore.

[Speaker 1]
Somebody says, let's meditate tomorrow. I'm doing it today! You know?

[Speaker 2]
Your friend says, come on, let's just meditate tomorrow.

[Speaker 1]
Like, why wait till tomorrow?

[Speaker 2]
Let's do some extra meditation this afternoon.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? Like that. Okay?

Alright, second problem. Say, damgak jepa. This is a famous code word, secret word.

Damgak jepa means, I forgot the instruction of my teacher.

[Speaker 2]
That's the second problem. I forgot my teacher's meditation suggestions.

[Speaker 1]
That's the second problem. But what it means is, you lost, in your meditation, during your meditation, you lost the object which your teacher gave you.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
So, one of the first important things in meditation is selecting your meditation object for today. And that's why it's so important to have a meditation teacher, and they will give you a suggestion.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
I know you have an important meeting today, so I suggest you meditate tonglen on yourself in the afternoon.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
So, what's the And that's your meditation object. So, you close your eyes, you know, and you say, okay, my teacher gave me a meditation object. I'm supposed to meditate about my this self afternoon.

And you focus on Michael in the afternoon, and after one minute, by magic, it changes into ponchik. Russian croissant.

[Speaker 2]
Russian churro. Yo chow.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? Like, here's Michael in the afternoon, then suddenly he changed to Russian donut. Okay, understand?

That's the second meditation problem. Okay? You lost the object.

This afternoon, Michael changed into a Russian donut. And you're not sending Michael energy anymore. You are planning how to get a donut after meditation.

Okay? Then you have to apply the fifth correction, which is the correction to the second problem. And it's called chenpa.

Say chenpa. Okay? So, in Arizona, where we are right now, in this area, all the cowboys grow cows.

That's why they're called cow-boy. So, they keep cows, and actually they let them go in the desert.

[Speaker 2]
And once a year, they collect them.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? The collection method is very interesting.

[Speaker 2]
You get a big cow truck, you drive through the desert slow, you have a big bag of carrots, and you go, carrot! And you throw a carrot.

[Speaker 1]
And then the cows are like, carrot! And they come to get the carrots. And then you say, oh, you can have a second carrot, just get in the truck.

It's kind of sad. I watched him do it.

[Speaker 2]
I've seen it.

[Speaker 1]
Then there's always one or two cows, very similar to Word. What you ask them to do, they don't want to do. Then the cowboy has to take the cowboy rope.

It's called lasso, yeah. And you throw it at the cow, and it goes over their head, and then you ...

[Speaker 2]
it takes a lot of strength to pull them on the shoulder.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? Now, your mind is just like a wild cow. You are the cowboy.

That's why it's important to meditate with your cowboy hat on.

[Speaker 2]
Then, when your mind goes to the donut, then you have to catch it.

[Speaker 1]
Pull it back to this afternoon's Michael. So, the Tibetan word tenpa, it means pull that rope.

[Speaker 2]
Hey, come back here.

[Speaker 1]
You can, I promise you, you can have a donut after meditation. I promise. No green drink for you, honey.

I promise you a big donut. We'll make Anatole drink the green drink.

[Speaker 2]
We make Anatole to drink the green drink, and we Then you pull your mind back. Now, I'll tell you a meditation trick, okay?

[Speaker 1]
And I, we talked about it this morning.

[Speaker 2]
Don't fight with your mind.

[Speaker 1]
You will lose. Okay?

[Speaker 2]
Talk to your mind.

[Speaker 1]
Persuade your mind. Okay?

[Speaker 2]
Yeah, donut is great.

[Speaker 1]
Delicious. And I promise we'll eat one after meditation. So, that's decided.

You don't have to think about it anymore. Okay? I don't lie.

I'm telling you the truth. You will get a donut after meditation. So, don't worry about it.

[Speaker 2]
Don't forget we have a meeting this afternoon.

[Speaker 1]
You know, we got to get ready for this meeting. Let's get back to Michael.

[Speaker 2]
Okay, so talk to your mind.

[Speaker 1]
It doesn't work to fight. Okay? You have to persuade your mind.

Okay? If you say, don't think about donuts, don't think about donuts, nobody in the world likes to be told what to do. Your mind is just like that.

[Speaker 2]
Don't get bossy with your mind.

[Speaker 1]
Nobody likes it. Okay? Be clever.

Be a good boss. Oh, hey, that's such a good idea to eat a donut. Let's get one after meditation.

[Speaker 2]
Decided.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? Okay? Alright?

Now, you happy? Yeah, I'm happy. So, what are we going to do now?

Okay? Like, talk to your mind. Okay?

Alright, so second solution, which is really the fifth solution to the second problem.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
Bring your mind back.

[Speaker 2]
What was the second problem?

[Speaker 1]
I lost the object. I started thinking about donuts.

[Speaker 2]
Alright, third problem.

[Speaker 1]
Say, chingu. Chingu. By the way, Russian speakers, don't worry, I will try to finish in the next 15 minutes.

Maybe. Okay, third problem. It's called sleepy mind and busy mind.

Okay?

[Speaker 2]
Third problem has two parts.

[Speaker 1]
Sleepy mind and busy mind. So, you know, I studied meditation for 30 years with my teacher, and I lived with him in the same house. And I told my ...

one morning I told it, he said, how's your meditation? I said, I don't know, I always get sleepy, you know. I told these guys, one day even I fell asleep, I hit my head on the wall.

[Speaker 2]
I came to breakfast with my teacher, I have a big bump on my head.

[Speaker 1]
He's very smart, he's Geshe, Geshe, Geshe, super Geshe.

[Speaker 2]
Say, ah, looks like you got sleepy, problem number three.

[Speaker 1]
You fell asleep and hit your head on the wall, right? And I was so embarrassed, I'm like, yeah. He said, why you get so sleepy?

I said, well, I didn't get much sleep last night, you made me fix the, you know, sidewalk. So, I didn't get much sleep last night.

[Speaker 2]
Then he said, every meditator needs to sleep well to have a good meditation.

[Speaker 1]
Then I remember I asked him, can you teach me deep, secret, tantric method not to sleep? He said, no. He's the very famous answer to all my questions.

[Speaker 2]
No. He hurt his throat in a car accident before I met him.

[Speaker 1]
He talks just like Star Wars all the time.

[Speaker 2]
Don't ask me for the secret method.

[Speaker 1]
All people have to sleep. Even the big lamas have to sleep. If you don't want to be sleepy in your meditation, try sleeping on your bed.

Then I'm like, wow, that's such a good idea. So, how to fix the third problem? Well, partly, you should get enough sleep.

And don't eat before meditation.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
Green drink is fantastic.

[Speaker 2]
It will give you energy.

[Speaker 1]
It will give you energy during your meditation. So, you know, but don't eat food before meditation. You'll get sleepy.

Okay, the other problem 3B, the second part of the third problem, is your mind is too busy. It wants ... mainly your mind wants to think about what you have to do this ...

today.

[Speaker 2]
It's trying to think about what you have to do today.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? And again, my suggestion is don't try to block it. Don't yell at your mind.

Nobody likes to be yelled at.

[Speaker 2]
Stop thinking about what we have to do today.

[Speaker 1]
Then your mind will just think more things you have to do today. Okay? So, learn to talk to your mind as you should talk to your children, because the mind that doesn't meditate is very similar to a bad kid.

Oh, oh, we're so busy today. Yeah, we have a lot to do. I mean, you're going to do this, and this, and this, and this, and this, and this.

And just after your meditation. After your meditation.

[Speaker 2]
So, let's focus on the meditation, you know? And then definitely we're going to do all those things.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? So, don't fight with your mind. You will lose.

[Speaker 2]
Talk to your mind.

[Speaker 1]
Yeah, we got so much to do today. Let's think about it after meditation. You know, we will stay in the meditation seat, and we will have a special post-meditation meditation about all the things we have to do today.

Now let's go back to our meditation.

[Speaker 2]
Okay? So, talk to your mind.

[Speaker 1]
Now the classic solution for problem number three is called the smoke alarm. Yeah, so we have these special machines, and when there's smoke in the room, the machine ... whenever Veronica makes enchiladas, and there's a lot of smoke, then the smoke alarm will go beep, beep, beep, beep.

[Speaker 2]
Okay? So, you've got to have a mental smoke alarm.

[Speaker 1]
So, you should install one now. Okay?

[Speaker 2]
And that smoke alarm goes off. It watches the mind. That's what happened to me and John Brady.

We meditate a lot.

[Speaker 1]
We put the smoke alarm up here, and we use it a lot, it overheated.

[Speaker 2]
That's how you can tell the great meditator.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? So, that smoke alarm has two jobs. If I get sleepy, or if I start thinking about all the things I have to do today, then the smoke alarm goes, danger, danger, beep, beep, beep, danger, danger, beep, beep, beep, you're not meditating.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
Good. All right, then there's some other subjects we can study later about subtle dullness and obvious dullness.

[Speaker 2]
We're going to go to problem number four.

[Speaker 1]
Say, DUN NI BYAS PA. DUN NI BYAS PA.

[Speaker 2]
So, if you're married, you know about smoke alarms.

[Speaker 1]
Smoke alarm in your house never go off during the day, always go off when you're sleeping. I think they put something in the factory, they put some clock inside. When the battery gets low, and it goes beep, beep, beep, beep, every 20 seconds, the most irritating sound for sleep which exists, right?

Did it happen in your house? The battery got low, and it goes beep, then you're like, you're like, did you hear something?

[Speaker 2]
You're both sleeping, you both Did you hear something?

[Speaker 1]
No. Let's go back to sleep. Beep, beep, beep.

Then there's this fight, you know? Husband-wife fight.

[Speaker 2]
Who's going to put the battery in the smoke alarm?

[Speaker 1]
Listen, I have an important meeting tomorrow.

[Speaker 2]
I need to sleep.

[Speaker 1]
That means you put the battery in the smoke alarm. You know that, right? Now, what's the most stupid thing you can both do at that moment?

[Speaker 2]
Nobody takes responsibility.

[Speaker 1]
Let's just go back to bed. We'll fix it in the morning, right? That's du mi chepa.

[Speaker 2]
We'll fix it later.

[Speaker 1]
Then you both have bad sleep whole night. Beep.

[Speaker 2]
Beep.

[Speaker 1]
Beep. I mean, if it goes beep, beep, beep, that's okay, but this beep, beep, beep. Beep.

[Speaker 2]
So, the worst thing you can do, problem number four, you don't take action when you have to take action. That's problem number four.

[Speaker 1]
Guess what's the solution?

[Speaker 2]
Take action. Okay.

[Speaker 1]
So, homework question four is very easy. Somebody has to get out of bed and put a battery in the smoke alarm. And somebody has to go into the mind and tell the mind to shut up, in a nice way.

Okay, don't be sleepy. Don't think about donuts. That's why that teacher said, don't think about monkeys, you know.

Okay, so that one's easy. Okay, now we're almost finished.

[Speaker 2]
Two more minutes.

[Speaker 1]
And again, we're giving this special class just for you Gold Club people, because you are so cool in the whole world. You are the best organization for fundraising ACIP. Thank you.

And thank you to Maria and her husband Peter.

[Speaker 2]
Where's Peter? Peter?

[Speaker 1]
Thank you for organizing.

[Speaker 2]
It's a lot of work, and we're very grateful, okay?

[Speaker 1]
And we are actually using the books which you save. So, we can go deeper and deeper if we have more books, okay? And they have covers.

Okay, now the last problem, number five. It's very cool. So, when I started in our diamond business, we had only three people, and we have a tiny little office with one small table.

We had three diamonds also.

[Speaker 2]
Yeah, three diamonds. We tried to sell one, whole day.

[Speaker 1]
Then next day, still three diamonds. Later, we do ... we process three hundred thousand diamonds every day.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
And we became the ... one of the largest jewelry companies in ...

[Speaker 2]
it was the largest diamond jewelry company in the world.

[Speaker 1]
What's the secret?

[Speaker 2]
Meditation. We know the five problems.

[Speaker 1]
We know the eight solutions. Okay? And we use them.

Okay?

[Speaker 2]
All day long.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? We are meditating all day long.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
The mind is focused.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
Problem number five, you are very lucky if you get it. Why I talk about the diamond company? We had a big factory.

[Speaker 2]
We make thirty thousand rings every day.

[Speaker 1]
We found out later, every woman ... average every woman in America has five of our rings. Actually, one lady has ten, one lady doesn't have any, you know.

But average, every woman in America has five of our rings. Then the factory is very big, you know, and the factory manager was a very funny guy. His name's Kenny Lautman.

He's from New York. He talks from New York. Lautman, but maybe I'll get in trouble.

So, New York people, they talk like that. Maybe you know someone who talks like that. They don't say coffee.

They say, coffee? You want some coffee? So, why am I talking about that?

The factory manager. The factory manager. He always say, listen Geshe Michael, if it ain't broken, don't fix it.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
A very famous factory manager statement. It looks like that machine's making noise, you know, boop-boop, bring it in.

[Speaker 2]
If it ain't broken, don't fix it. In English we say, don't mess with it. Don't try to fix it.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, leave it alone. If it breaks, fix it. But if it's too wicked, just leave it alone.

What's problem number five? You try to interfere with the meditation when it's already going well. Now, you guys are not going to have this problem, but just in case in the future.

Okay, the meditation's going very smooth. Tell the smoke alarm, take the battery out of the smoke alarm. Okay?

Don't, do not check the meditation. When the meditation is flowing, let the meditation flow. So, what's solution number five?

Say it, no, say it with a New York accent. If it ain't broken, don't fix it. Got it?

Okay, so that concludes our special gold club meditation teaching. There's lots more you can learn. You can learn to be a meditation teacher.

We will, with Tim and the other jigme, other ACI staff, with the help of Peter and Maria, they will bring teacher training to Europe, and we look forward to you in Europe?

[Speaker 2]
Vizier.

[Speaker 1]
Vizier in Europe. Evropa. Ni tolko Ukraina, ni tolko Rosia, ni tolko Kazakhstan.

Okay? Vizier. Dla Vizier.

Okay, so, all right? In the meantime, you cannot teach meditation unless you are meditating.

[Speaker 2]
Don't try to fake it.

[Speaker 1]
The student can smell. You teach the five problems very nice. You teach the eight solution very nice, but you are a nervous, unpleasant person.

Then the student is like Dharmakirti, they have logic. Oh, they are teaching meditation. They are nervous, and they get upset easily.

Therefore, they are not meditating.

[Speaker 2]
So, you can start your meditation teacher training today, and do your meditation.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, thank you for listening. We're going to go to the homeworks. There's some, we've been skipping around so we can have a nice show for the Spanish speakers and the Russian speakers, and now we got to go back, and let's make sure we covered all the homework questions.

Okay? So, I'm going to just go back through the homeworks and and I'm going to pick out the questions we didn't talk about. I'm on homework number five.

There's one question we didn't finish. Which, say, ney cha, sel cha, ngar cha, sel cha, sorry, ney cha, sel cha, ngar cha. So, these are three kinds of fixation on the object.

Your mind is glued to the object by three different levels. Okay, your mind is glued to the, we talked about it a little bit yesterday when we talked about the ... the kiss in the movie.

Okay, now we're going to go to more details on the kiss in the movie. Okay? So, ney cha means staying on the object.

Okay? If you want to use a fancy word, you can say fixation. You are fixated on the object.

Okay? You have fixation. Are you eating, are you eating popcorn?

Yes. Where? Where are you eating popcorn?

At the movie. You're in the movie. Okay?

You're watching the movie. Are you watching it very closely? Not until the kiss comes.

Okay? So, that's called ney cha. Ney cha means, are you at the movies?

Yes, I'm at the movies. Okay? Okay, got it?

Then sel cha means fixation with clarity. Clarity. And the example they give in the scripture is, this is ney cha.

Okay? You are kind of holding the, you are holding the object, but not so seriously. Okay?

Got it? Then sel cha means better, but not very strong. Okay?

Then say ngar cha. Ngar cha is like that. Okay?

Here's ney cha. Ney cha. Sel cha.

Ngar cha. Okay? This is when they kiss kiss.

This is when they're getting ready to kiss. This is the whole movie. Okay?

Are you in the movie? Yes. That's called ney cha.

I'm sitting in the movie. Then sel cha. They are getting close enough to kiss that the popcorn slowed down.

And then ngar cha, they are kissing and no one's eating popcorn. Okay, got it? Three levels of fixation.

Okay? Ngar is an interesting word in Tibetan. Dr. Word, do you want to explain it?

Do you remember? That's too bad. Yeah.

In, it's a, it's a cool word. It means certain kinds of steel will keep the sharpness. And some kinds of steel don't stay sharp.

Okay? So, some kinds of steel, damask steel, not damask, damask. It keeps the sharp.

Okay? You use it many times, it will stay sharp. That's called ngar.

That's called ngar. We say that knife has ngar. Okay?

So, if you're meditation, it always stays sharp and it cuts the object easily. That's called ngar cha. Okay?

What moment in the movie? Yeah, when they're all... Okay.

I don't know, they never stay on that part very long. They never show the whole kiss. I don't know.

Okay. I don't know why. Okay, let's see.

We finished homework five. We finished homework... Oh, here's a good question on homework six.

Okay? Which I didn't give you. When you get sleepy, we talked about it briefly.

Seng tupa. Say seng tupa. How to bring your mood up.

Okay? Your mood is a little bit low. You feel tired, like this afternoon.

And your mood is not like you're tired, you've been here for a week and you know. So, your mood is not... It's not like you just had a coca-cola or something.

You're just like, uh, okay. Then there's three methods to bring up the excitement in your mind. Okay?

Three methods in the ancient books for bringing up the... And they're in order. What does that mean?

Good. Yeah, try the... I'm glad I didn't offer money.

Try the first... Try the first one. If it doesn't work, go to the second one.

If that doesn't work, go to the third one. If that doesn't work, quit. And eat a big dessert.

Okay. All right, number one. Yeah, they say, release...

Release the focus a little bit. Like go more towards the sky, and don't go to the sugar crystal. Okay?

That's, by the way, that's why we're learning those eight. And I think when we start to jump around those eight, then you have a different opinion what those eight are. You see?

You say, oh, they're not a flow. Yeah, it's true. They're not a flow.

They are just exercises, you know? First you do the twist, and then you do the stretch, and then you do this compression and abs. Okay, they're different exercises.

So, if you skip around, you will have a better understanding of what they are. They are not a flow. They are not meant to be a meditation.

Okay? When you get very good at meditation, and you want to warm up, you do your sak jang, collect some good karma, confess some bad karma, then do some... Oh, sugar crystal.

Okay, I got to do this. I don't know. It's just who I am.

I'm sorry. JB will appreciate it. Okay.

Let me try a different one. Oh, that's better. So So Well, I'm standing next to a mountain.

I chop it down with the edge of my hand. Okay. Why?

It means I'm a sugar crystal, and now I'm the sky. Okay, got it? I'm standing next to Mount Everest.

Hey, but I knock it down. What else you got? Oh, Mars?

You know, Mars finished, you know. Do you want me to take care of Jupiter? You know, it means it's interesting because he didn't meditate, or maybe he did, I don't know, but the idea is suddenly you're big as the, your mind is big as the whole world, and you can hit the Mount Everest and knock it over.

Oh, I'm sorry. And then sometimes you're a sugar crystal, and they lost you at Diamond Mountain. You know, where's Geshe Michael?

I don't know, he's in one of these pieces of dirt. Which one? I don't know, we lost track.

Yeah. Do you get that feeling when you're going to sugar crystal? I feel like someone's going to, everyone's going to forget where I am.

You know, someone's going to put me in their tea. I'm like, I'm over here. Okay, so if you get sleepy, the first method is expand.

Go to the ocean, go to the sky. Okay, five and six, right? Level five and six.

Okay, if you get sleepy, that's the first thing to try. Okay, that's the first thing to try. I'm as big as a mountain, I can chop it down with the edge of my hand.

Okay, I love that line, it reminds me of formless realm. Okay, if that doesn't work, then think of something inspiring to you. Okay, think of something inspiring to you.

We said someone you love, right? But the classic example in scripture is that to think about, in the United States right now, I don't know, there's 350 million people. In this room, there's a hundred.

Okay, then so, you are one in how many? You are one in three million. Out of three million people, you are one who has karma to be here.

Okay? So, if you feel low in the meditation, and you try to become the ocean, and you try to become the sky, but you still don't feel, I'm not talking sleepy, okay? Sleepy, all you can do is sleep, okay?

But if you feel down, you don't feel inspired, you don't feel like meditating, you're starting to wonder, maybe I'm wasting my time over this desert, you know? Why did I, why did I come here? I don't remember.

You know, like maybe this is a big waste of time, you know, and you start to feel a little sad, or I don't know, not depressed, but pre-depression? Almost depressed. And you're just down, you know, and you don't feel very special.

You don't feel Diamond Mountain is very special. And you like start to wonder, why I spent all the money to come here? And then they want more money, you know?

They're always fundraising. It's not fundraising, it's fun raising. Then they say, think about the odds against you being here, okay?

There are, there are, how many you guys did? Two, three million people are not here, and you are the most special person out of three million people, okay? So, and your body, inside your body, inside your body, there are 50,000 parts.

Inside your body, there are 50,000 parts, and you have all of them, and they are working, and they will not last forever, okay? Something, one of the 50,000 parts will break, and then slowly you will get cancerous, okay? It's almost impossible for a human body to not break, okay?

We, we made jewelry in our factory. Jewelry has two parts, the diamond and the ring. And it's not like a computer, it's not like a Toyota, you just have to put the diamond in the ring, and that's, that's the whole production process.

We had 30% failure. 30% the rings will break, or something will happen, the stone will fall out, okay? That's with two parts.

You have 50,000, okay? For you to be alive right now is a miracle. It's a total miracle.

50,000 parts are cooperating, okay? And it doesn't last very long, okay? It's very unusual to be healthy enough to come to Diamond Mountain.

It's very unusual. So, you are one in three million people. Probably there's a couple hundred thousand people who would like to be here, but they can't.

They physically, they can't do it, okay? Got it? So, you're supposed to feel special.

And I got teachings this morning about I will be ultimately happy if I just take care of other people, okay? So, for have someone tell you that, you are one in 10 million, okay? You are one person in 10 million who heard the truth, okay?

You want to be happy? You want to get what you want? You want to have a good life?

Then focus on other people. Take care of other people, okay? And to hear that is more rare than to get the 50,000 pieces running, okay?

Got it? So, you should feel a little more inspired right now, okay? You, you are here, you don't think you're special, but you are, okay?

I can see it. Okay, when I see each person I know you are special. You are one in, in the world, you are one in a hundred million.

In the world you are one in a hundred million. You, each person here, you think, you think you are normal people, but you are wrong. I can see something, okay?

That you don't see about yourself. You are special, okay? Each person here, you are one in a hundred million, okay?

So, think about it sometimes, okay? Think about it. You are so special.

You practiced a million lifetimes to get here, okay? Okay, so when you think, oh, I feel tired today, or I don't, you know, why did I come out here in the desert? They don't even have a shower.

So, by the way, don't complain about the shower, because they will ask you for money. Hell yeah, we're going to put a shower, we just need five thousand dollars. So, just be quiet about the shower.

Are you okay without a shower? Oh, I'm fine. That's fine, no problem.

So, in the meditation thing, I'm special, okay? That's all. You are special, okay?

You just didn't think about it. From here I can see. I can see your face.

I can see each person, okay? Okay, if that doesn't work, okay, there's a emergency method. And they say, go take a walk, okay?

And that's not a good idea. It's called the emergency method. You're allowed to break your meditation, if you have to.

You're allowed, okay? A good meditator will sometimes take a walk, so their meditation will be better, okay? So, it's a method.

It's a proved jing sutra method, okay? If you're totally having a bad day, then for goodness sake, get up, take a walk, okay? Don't sit there and have a bad day, okay?

Like, get up, break the meditation, because that's the best thing you can do, okay? Emergency, emergency, emergency, emergency, okay? They give you three, four choices.

Number one, take a long walk. Number two, go sit under a tree that's cooler than your room. Number three, walk to a high place.

Like, we have lots here. We don't have any level place actually. So, anywhere you go, you're going to go up.

So, go to the top of a mountain and just look at, look at this beautiful place, okay? And so, this is very lucky to be at Diamond Mountain, okay? That's a very famous meditation solution, is to go to the top of the mountain.

Walk, you know, here it's not so far. It's a 10 minute, 15 minute walk. Walk to the top of one of these ridges, and just look around, and that improves your meditation, okay?

All right, and the last one he said, did I say throw water on your face? Okay, throw water on your face. My cabin, the hot water is broken.

And every time I take a shower, my mind gets very clear, you know? I don't know why bad words come out when the cold water hits your back. It doesn't come out when you hit the front.

Okay. And I don't know why in the desert the water is so cold. I can't figure it out.

Okay, anyway, okay. Now, suppose your mind, next homework question, there are also three methods to calm your mind down, okay? And usually, somebody said something to you, okay?

Somebody said you're stupid, or you know, there's some problem, usually problem with the other meditators. The favorite meditation upsetter is the other meditators, okay? It's all the same, every meditation center, the main meditation problem is the other meditators, okay?

Somebody will upset you, and your mind is shaky, right? And you can't stop thinking about it. How do you slow down the mind?

How do you calm down the mind? Three traditional methods. Number one, again, expand the meditation.

Use the empty space, use the ocean. Get out of a tight focus. Open up the focus, open up the focus, okay?

You can imagine being on a mountain, okay? Top of a mountain. If your mind is still too busy and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, then there's a very famous solution.

Start making a list of all the people you know who died. Okay, start making a list in your mind of all the people you know who died, and when you're younger it's a shorter list, when you're my age it gets longer, okay? So, I used this in my three-year retreat.

I actually kept a piece of paper with dead people's name on it, and I started with four or five friends who died when I was in college or high school, and then I couldn't think of many. And then I thought, oh yeah, there's the other guy, yeah, there's one more, and then suddenly it's a hundred people. I'm like, oh my god, it's a lot.

So, when you talk to my, when I talk to my old lady, she's like, they're all dead. All my friends are dead. I'm the last one.

So, then your mind will come down, okay? Yeah, some other meditator looked at you today. You know, when you're in a deep retreat with a hundred other people, fifty other people, right JB?

How do you insult somebody? You're like, and then they're like, and you're like, okay? Then for two days you can't forget it.

I can't believe he at me, and she also at me. Okay, so, start to think about death, okay? Then the other stuff seems small.

Then other problems. Oh, I have a, I have, my shower is cold water. Yeah, but your mother died.

Oh, okay, I got it. Okay, got it? It brings your mind down, okay?

Now, if that doesn't work, traditionally, start counting your breaths again. Okay, start counting your breaths again. Okay, one, two, three, you can go to Abhidharma school.

Four, okay, okay, just count your breaths. Okay. Good, we finished that homework.

That finishes homework six.