«Дар освобождения», курс 14 «Красота учителя», занятие 1

[Говорящий 1] (0:00 - 3:11)
What I thought we could do is, if you have any questions, we can do question and answer. Okay? When I heard about this lama thing, it seemed too extreme to me.

In America, we keep a little distance from the teachers, you know? We don't get too close to our teachers. It's just American custom, I think.

Then it took me... I had some questions about this, and it wasn't comfortable for me in the beginning. Then later I found my teacher, right?

Or I recognized my teacher. And it became a different relationship. Not like in the school.

Something higher than that. Then I lived with my Tibetan lama for 25 years, and I cooked all every day. For eight years I cooked every day.

Wash all the dishes. Wash all his laundry. I built his house with my hands.

That's what happened to my hands. And I paid for his house. And I went to work to support his projects.

Nineteen years to support his projects. Then that relationship became something different, and it was something like living with the Buddha or something. And for me it was the greatest thing in my life.

So, you have to think about it. For me it was very difficult at the beginning when they start teaching all this thing, I was uncomfortable. Twenty-five years later, I think, oh, I'm the luckiest person in the world.

So, that's my own experience. I was uncomfortable in the beginning when they talk about all this. Any questions?

If we don't have questions, I can go. Maybe we have microphones? No, they don't hear you.

Let me give you a microphone so we can get that.

[Говорящий 2] (3:13 - 3:18)
So, I guess my only question is, I'm very new to this. I guess I can stand up.

[Говорящий 1] (3:19 - 3:20)
Yeah, good.

[Говорящий 2] (3:20 - 3:55)
So, when we're talking about karma and giving, in just giving to the llama versus giving to a dog and animal, why is there so much greater karma to that versus giving just to anybody? Why is there so much supreme or more karma going to be given to you by giving to your teacher or the Buddhas versus maybe poor or people mistreated or things along that lines? Just because I see that so many llamas get so much, and I'm not saying that, but there's so much that should be given to everyone, and everybody has that inside of them that needs.

[Говорящий 1] (3:56 - 14:25)
So, why is it said to be we get more karma from giving to a llama versus somebody who's dying, struggling, or could really use that? And I'm new to this, so thank you guys for letting me ask the question. He's asking the question of why it's much better to give, it generates better karma to give something to your llama than to support people in need, other types of people, and he gives the example that sometimes llamas have a lot of things, and people in need need a lot of things, and why is it better to give to a llama who seems to have more than to give to someone who seems to have less?

Okay, first I'll answer from the DCI, people who came to DCI program. There are three ways to make a powerful gift. What is the three objects which are powerful?

Well, what's the first one? Do you remember? Someone who helped me before.

Who helped you most in your life? Mother and father, right? Then according to this tradition, if you have a choice to help a stranger, or you can help your mother or your father, then to help your mother or father is more powerful.

It plants a more powerful karmic seed for you. And I think you brought up a really good point. The monk who fed his llama's dog and canceled the dinner for all the monks, what's better than that?

Yeah, do both, okay. So, in this system, we like the idea that you have your cake and you eat it also. When you have a choice between doing two good things, we say your mind is cheating you.

You should find a way to do both of them. Invite the dog and the monks to dinner. Like that.

So, I like your question. What's the second kind of person to give a gift to which is very powerful? Someone who's in trouble.

Yeah, someone who's like starving. And the scripture also says, who doesn't have another person to help them. So, two things.

If they are going to starve or they're going to lose their house, and especially if there's nobody else going to help them, then if we help them, it's much more powerful. What's the third example? People who help others.

Someone who is helping other people. Then I always think about, there was a doctor who used to come to the village where I used to study, and they used to help several hundred people, poor people. Then if I give a donation to that doctor, it's like I am giving a hundred people a donation.

So, it's more good karma to help a person who is helping many other people than just to give the help to one person. But why is the karma so powerful for your teacher? If the person is a qualified teacher, in this tradition, we said they should know the whole path.

They should be able to teach everything from beginning to end. And we said the end was you, the student becomes a Buddha. Then it's supposed to be that a Buddha has the power to teach you how not to die.

How to stop suffering in the whole world. So in this tradition, we believe this planet is only half finished. Every planet has an evolution.

You start like a dinosaur and you are eating each other. Halfway to the end you are eating animals who cannot defend themselves. And you are having war and poverty.

Then as you evolve, as the planet evolves, in the end, there is no death. They don't have the word muerte. They don't have the word for death.

They forgot the word for death. They forgot the word for war because there has not been that thing. The people who make this evolution happen, if we can give one of them a dollar, then that's very powerful.

Most powerful karma. Now, part of your question though, in every religion, I mean in many religions, good people make offerings to the church. And they make offerings to the priests or to the monks.

I think the new Pope Francis, Pope Francis, very cool guy, like everybody from Argentina. And I heard one of the first things he did was cancel a project to spend $500,000 on his house. The bathtub was going to cost $25,000.

And when he became Pope, he canceled the project. And I believe he's living in a dormitory. To me, this is, I think, follows all religions.

The teachers shouldn't accumulate money, things. All of us who get things from our karma, we should reinvest them. When money comes to me, then I should give more, give more.

But to accumulate money, in the diamond business we say you stop the money. You stop it. It gets stuck.

It gets stuck. You have to spend. When you spend in more economy, more people are helping.

When you spend, more people get help. Don't hold money. Jigme can tell you, I'm very good at, she's always coming to me, Kishla, your account is negative $500.

I'm like, okay. Jigme can testify this, that I'm very good at giving money, and she's always telling me, hey, your account has negative $500. So, if you understand karma, you should turn it fast.

Turn it over. As soon as the money comes to you, then give more. I think that's part of my answer.

Okay. Another question? For the video, it's good.

[Говорящий 2] (14:29 - 14:41)
In the list that you gave us about the karma is less to more powerful, where mom and dad are?

[Говорящий 1] (14:43 - 14:43)
Okay.

[Говорящий 2] (14:45 - 14:48)
In the list of...

[Говорящий 1] (14:55 - 15:53)
It's a good question. Everybody understand the question? There's a list, if you give to animal, you get a small karma.

If you give to human, you get bigger karma. If you give to the person who understands little bit about emptiness, you get more karma. Then, who understands more about karma, bodhisattva who wants to save the world, and all the buddhas.

And then, your own teacher, your personal teacher. Then her question is, where does mom and dad fit in there? Definitely in the human part, I think.

[Говорящий 2] (15:55 - 15:55)
Seriously.

[Говорящий 1] (15:59 - 18:31)
But every... Most mother and father, almost all mother and father teach their children many things. Those things which they taught you are automatic for you.

I remember in first grade, I don't know how to tie my shoe. I had trouble with this. It's automatic for you, but it's difficult.

Then I remember, always I can't figure it out, I'm always trying to tie my shoe. Then my mom taught me. Before that, I was always embarrassed in school because I cannot tie the shoe and always it's open.

There are probably ten thousand things like that which your mother taught you. You don't remember that she taught you. You just do it.

I think without a mother... I was in Mongolia. I was in Mongolia.

Sorry, I went. We're having mother advertisement. I was in...

You remember teaching him to tie the shoe? I was in Mongolia. We were walking down the street.

Then there is a sewer cover, metal sewer cover. And suddenly it goes up. Then I'm like, what's that?

What's in there? I asked my friend, Mongolian friend, what's in there? I don't know.

Wait. And then the cover goes up, up, up, then cover goes off. Three little kids run out.

Like this big. But they look like a rat. They are walking like a rat and they are acting very fast and very crazy like a rat.

Then he said, who is that? What are they doing?

[Говорящий 2] (18:33 - 18:34)
You know.

[Говорящий 1] (18:34 - 24:47)
These are the homeless children. No parents. In Mongolia it's very cold.

And they live in the poopoo under the street because it's warm. And they smell like poopoo. And you can't get close to them.

They will bite you. Anything they can steal, they will steal from you. They are like an animal.

Outside they are human. But their behavior is like a wild animal. Then if we didn't have a mother, we would be like them.

That's how many things your mother taught you. Wearing clothes. You don't bite the people you don't like.

This is called self-control. No, your mother taught you those things. You don't remember.

You think you are a good person but you are not. You will bite people if your mother didn't teach you. So, my opinion, I put mama and father up here.

They are like my lamas. Then if you follow this logic, after a few weeks, you will have trouble to find anyone who is not your lama. I think that's a good place.

Good problem. Okay, maybe one more question? So, my question is, this is my trouble understanding this.

When I think of my parents, I think of something of myself. So, if we are saying that the karma should be planted on others, my parents are me. I believe they are part of mine.

So, it's like a selfish way of understanding this. What I'm saying is that when I think of my parents, I think that they are part of myself. So, we understand that to plant the karma, you have to plant it on others.

If I do something good to my parents, I'm actually doing something good to myself. It means like, when you give help to your mother and father, they are yours. They belong to you.

It's my mother, my father, right? So, it seems like the karma is self-interested. Wouldn't it be better to help a stranger?

To help someone else's mother, someone else's father? Because, in a way, they are me. So, we have an idea in DCI teaching.

In Russia and Bulgaria, it's called ponchik, ponchik. In Mexico it's called churro. In China it's called yojiao.

Why does Geshe Michael know the name of the sweet things in every country? I don't know. But, I'll talk about what you said, and it's true.

What you said is true. There's a bigger question about karma. The theory of karma.

It says, if I want something good, then I must do something good for somebody else. Mostly, karma must be collected with other people. Karma is like an echo.

You need a wall. You cannot make an echo without a wall. Or, if you want to play basketball, you need a floor.

You hit the ball, the ball hits the floor, and the ball comes back to you. Then if there's no floor, you can't have a basketball game. Then why do you need another person to make karma?

And why does karma come back to you? And the more you understand karma, the faster it comes back. This is very interesting.

If you go to five DCI programs, then you understand more about karma. Then for you, your karma will ripen faster than a person who didn't go to those five courses. I need the ...

Shelby, you have that yo chow? I got some yo chow today from Shanghai.

[Говорящий 2] (24:50 - 24:51)
Just demonstrating.

[Говорящий 1] (24:51 - 28:24)
I'm not eating, just demonstrating. Came from Shanghai. Somebody understood what I wanted.

I suggest I take one, and you also have to show me an experiment. We have to do an experiment. Just give one to every two people.

One for every two people. She needs help. I think someone has to help her.

We'll see if Guangzhou team brought enough or not. Okay, you can experiment later. I will start to talk about it.

So, does Geshe Michael like this thing? Yes. That's why he knows the name in every country.

Then the Guangzhou team, they brought a lot, but they don't know so many people are coming. So we have a problem. There's only one yo chow for every two people.

Then I have to think about, should I give it to Alejandro or not? Then of course your mother taught you, it's nice to give to other people. In the school they taught you, this is a good thing to do.

In the church or in the temple they taught you, this is a good thing to do. We had four brothers. Of course mothers always say, you must share, you must share.

But in practice, when she buys cookie, that night you have to wake up at midnight and eat all of them. Because the other brothers will eat also. You have to be the first one to open the package.

In this system, in this tradition, if Geshe Michael loves this thing, what should he do? I don't have choice. I don't have choice.

I must give it to him. If I want this to go into my mouth, I must put it in his mouth. If I want in the future to come into my mouth, I must put it into his mouth.

Now, question for you. Is my mouth separate from his mouth visually? Visually.

[Говорящий 2] (28:25 - 28:25)
Are they?

[Говорящий 1] (28:29 - 52:41)
Yeah, they are. My mouth is over here, his mouth is over there. Okay, but next question.

Functionally, is his mouth different from my mouth? No, it's not different. If I want this yota to go into my mouth, I don't have a choice.

I must put it in his mouth. So, the mouth is one mouth. Now, to me the most interesting thing at this idea, inside this idea, to me the most interesting thing, who loves languages, who loves many languages, at this moment, it breaks down.

Everything breaks down. Every language in the world breaks down. I gave to him.

I didn't give to him. I gave to me. Geshe Michael gave yota to Geshe Michael so that Geshe Michael will have yota.

Okay? Got it? So, what are you doing?

I'm giving Geshe Michael yota. Who are you? Geshe Michael.

Who is he? He's Alejandro. You didn't give Geshe Michael yota, you gave Alejandro yota.

No, no, I put it in my mouth. No, that's his mouth. No, it's not his mouth, it's my mouth.

It's we mouth. Okay? A la Michael.

No, language. Try to understand something. When this world evolves more, every human language will change to fit the new reality.

I gave yota to me so that I can have yota. Then we eat yota. We gave we yota.

Okay? Got it? That's the truth.

The other languages are mistaken. Every human mind is mistaken. All the time.

And the language reflects that mistake. All the languages in the world are broken I, me, this is already broken. Sorry, I, me and you.

Why are we talking about that? We were talking, why does karma, why do you need a basketball, why do you need a floor? Why do I need to give him yota to get yota for me?

Why? Can you guess? Why, why if I give him yota, suddenly I will get ten yotas?

Someone will take me to the churreria in Guadalajara, in Tlacopaque. Piedra Catino. Why?

Karma, but why does karma work? Why does it work? Yeah, because finally I'm doing the right thing.

Because finally? I'm doing the right thing. Finally I'm feeding who?

Ala Michael. Got it? Got it?

Finally I'm doing the right thing. First time in my life. Not because my mother told me to.

Not because my mother said, share everything with other people. The reason is higher, higher reason. Because I understand he is me.

If he doesn't get yota today, I didn't get. Understand? If I have one yota, if I eat it myself, Ala Michael didn't get yota.

Then I broke the law, I broke the law of the universe. I'm only feeding half of me. It's like if you are cold, you just put a sweater on this side, but you don't put a sweater on this side.

Come to the talk tonight, I'm cold. Wait, you come to the class tonight. I don't know why I feel so cold.

Yeah, what's wrong? I don't know, I just feel cold. Maybe if you put the whole sweater on all of you, you feel warm.

Hey, now I feel warm. Duh! My ballet teacher, she always says, duh!

It means you are so stupid. He's my other half. I have to feed him to get food.

For me. That's why karma works. Why you need another person to get for yourself.

He is you. Finally when you understand, and you give him a yota because you want it yourself, then finally you are doing the right thing. Not morally correct.

It's just correct. You will get what you give. Then it comes back, okay, finally I came back to your question.

I'm very slow sometimes. Is there any mother and father who is not your mother and father? Is there any father or mother who is not your father or mother?

There's no woman in this world who is not your mother, and there's no man who is not your father. According to this idea. So I agree with what you said.

If I think, this is my mother, this is my father, and I just help them, then I won't develop ... I will be cold. So I agree with you.

Higher karma. Much more powerful karma. It's a powerful karma to give to your mother and father.

It's more powerful to understand everyone is your mother and father and give to them. So I like your question. Thank you.

Okay, let's do ten minutes. Great questions. Sometimes when I'm in China, I think only Chinese people ask good questions.

But when I come to Guadalajara, then I know ... they ask really good questions here. Which is better?

I don't know. Okay. Are you ready, Adam?

We're on Yipa? Yipa? Okay.

So Geshe Michael made a mistake, which is very unusual. We only finished one benefit up to now. Now we reach the second one.

Before what I told you was first and second benefit, it was only two halves of the first benefit. So the first one has two parts. You get close to the Buddhas if you do what your teacher teaches you.

And you get close to the Buddhas, to Buddhahood, sorry, if you what? Make offerings to the teacher. So those are both only the first benefit.

Together they are the first benefit. I made a mistake, okay? So let's go to the second one now.

RGYAL BA RGYAS PAR RGYUR BA RGYAL BA RNAMS RGYAS PAR RGYUR If you find a teacher, and if you have affection and you do your practice, all the Buddhas will be happy. You will make all the Buddhas happy. So this is number two.

And that one also has two parts. Okay, here we go. First part.

BSAM LUGS means how you think about that. Number two. Here's the first one.

CHOG CHUD SANGS RGYAS RNAMS KYIS RANG LA CHOD DON PAR ZHES KYANG Even if all the Buddhas in the universe want to teach you, you can't see them. And you don't have the karma to meet them. There was a Buddha walking on this planet before.

Jesus walked on this planet before. We didn't have karma to meet him. We didn't have enough good karma.

We are like in the basketball, the second team. Second team, they are worse than the first team. Each basketball team has two sets of players.

The main player and the second player. Like soccer team. So we didn't get to be on the first team.

We were not disciples of Lord Buddha or Jesus. Then he says LONG KHU LTA ZHONG LONG KHU LTA ZHONG It means forget trying to see what the Buddha looks like in his own paradise, or her own paradise. They are sitting right now, all of those Buddhas, men and women, they are sitting in their paradise.

But we cannot see them. Not only that, LTA ZHONG means not only that. SOGS SKYE LAS BDAG YIN CHE LA SNANG DU RUNG BA'I CHOG GI THUG BU SMOS SU BYAS BA'I RGYAL BA TZAM YANG MED PAS Buddha has their main body who lives in their paradise.

Then they have a Buddha, every Buddha has a body that they avatar, right? You saw the movie so you understand. They send other bodies to many planets to teach people.

Then we call it Coke Classic. Coke Classic. Buddha Classic.

Buddha Classic is, you know, shave head, and sitting in India two and a half hours. Five thousand years ago. Those who are learning Tibetan, this is called CHOG GI THUG BU.

Say CHOG, SKYE, THUG BU. THUG BU means a Buddha which is emanated from the home Buddha. Home Buddha in the paradise sends out many other Buddhas.

So we didn't have that karma. That body which they send out, certain kinds of bodhisattvas can see it. And certain kinds of people who didn't see emptiness yet, they can see an avatar.

They can see. If they have pure karma. They call it LAS BDAG.

Here it's called LAS BDAG. Be careful because the BDAG is also a plural, but here it's not a plural. It means pure.

LAS BDAG. Yeah, but here it means pure. So we don't have that karma.

NGOS SU BYAL BA'I LAS MED We don't have the KEL BA. We don't have the KEL BA. So there's an idea in Buddhism.

Stay with me for five more minutes, then I'll let you go. There's a beautiful idea in Buddhism called KEL BA. Say KEL BA.

KEL BA. KEL BA means you have enough good karma to see something special. Like maybe you go to Starbucks, and two people go to Starbucks, and you meet Rob Hagerty is making coffee for people.

Which is why he couldn't be here. And then suddenly one of you is like, God, this guy is unbelievable. Look how kind and how sweet this person is.

Then the other person says, I don't know, he just seems like a regular guy. Right? Okay, understand?

If you have KEL BA, you will see beautiful angels behind the Starbucks counter. If you don't have KEL BA, people who don't have KEL BA always say that same thing. No, it's just a regular, just a regular guy.

Regular. They just regular or normal. They say normal guy.

It's just a normal person. Regular. They use this word a lot.

Normal. In this tradition, especially in Tantra, a big sin in ... usually a big sin is to kill somebody, right?

To kill a person is a big sin. In Tantra, to say just a regular, just normal. It's a bigger sin than killing somebody.

And you will learn more about that. But you must have KEL BA. KEL BA you can say good luck or something, good karma.

You see special things. You see special people. RANG BYAG GI KEL BA MA RGYUR means we didn't have enough KEL BA to meet the Buddha when the Buddha was on this planet.

Then ... I don't know, when I was young I hear all these stories about Jesus. Then I asked my mom, can I meet this guy?

Mom said, no, you're too late. Yeah, I always feel bad about that. I always say, I wish I could have met him.

That's KEL BA. We didn't have enough KEL BA. So, I'll tell you one last thing, then we'll stop.

When a Buddha wants to help you, Geshe Michael, when Buddha wants to help Geshe Michael, first Buddha will check inside Geshe Michael. How much KEL BA does he have? Then they will match your KEL BA.

How much good karma does Geshe Michael have? Then I can decide whether I should look like a Buddha or not. Should I look like a classic, Coke classic Buddha?

No, he doesn't have enough KEL BA. He will say, I am a regular guy. Maybe I should emanate some special Hare Lama to Geshe Michael.

Like an Arya, an Arya. Someone who saw emptiness directly. Let me send Geshe Michael an Arya who saw emptiness directly.

Does he have enough KEL BA to understand who this is? No. They have to make all these decisions, you know.

How much KEL BA does he have, Geshe Michael? Oh, there's a little bit. I will show as his high school girlfriend.

Make out with him in the back of the car. And I will throw a ... How do you say make out?

Buscar. A bazooka, a fajicín. In the back of the car.

Then slowly I will show him who I am. Maybe it will take forty years, I don't know. But they are very patient.

So they will start at your level. What you can handle. What you can see.

They will start there. So, very often they will come as what? Your teacher.

Okay, your teacher. Maybe look like mom. Maybe look like your high school teacher.

As your KEL BA gets bigger, then they can come as a human Buddhist teacher. As your KEL BA gets bigger, then they can come as an angel. As a real Buddha.

So it depends on your KEL BA. Okay? Why are we talking about this?

What was the second benefit? Well, what's the second benefit of having a teacher? They'll be happy.

They'll be happy. If you treat that teacher well, if you sincerely try to follow what that teacher says, then the Buddhists will be happy. Oh, they are so happy.

Why? The teacher is the Buddha. Okay, got it?

Alright. Is Geshe Michael Buddha? I didn't say that.

I'm not, I'm not. But if you have KEL BA, I can, to you I can look like a Buddha. I don't have KEL BA to see myself as Buddha.

Right now I look like that. Later maybe, I hope so. Alright, okay, we'll continue this evening.