«Дар освобождения», курс 22 «Ретрит безграничной удачи», занятие 13

[Speaker 1]
Okay, I'm just going to review some of the ideas we went over.

[Speaker 2]
After I finish, Osiris is going to pick some names.

[Speaker 1]
No pressure, no pressure. We're just going to give you a microphone where you're sitting. You don't have to come up here.

You don't have to come up here. And we'd just like to ask you to tell us one thing which you learned, one thing you're going to take home with you. So you can start thinking about it now.

What's one nice thing you think you will take home with you? Okay, so here's what happened in the last ten days, besides cappuccino. We reviewed the nine death meditations that we taught last retreat.

Last retreat we didn't quite finish them, and then we went to them during this retreat. They are in your book between the kamalashila and the shorter meditations.

[Speaker 2]
It's called the nine traditional meditations on death.

[Speaker 1]
Then that teaching, so I'm just going to review the teaching. Traditionally, we teach three principles of death, and each one has three reasons. Okay, so nine total.

First one, I'll give you your book back afterwards, okay? First one, it is certain that you are going to die. Then when you say the three principles, at the end of each principle you should say the word because.

[Speaker 2]
And then there's three reasons.

[Speaker 1]
So, why is it certain that you are going to die?

[Speaker 2]
Number one, because death will come and nothing can stop it.

[Speaker 1]
You think you can stop it, but you can't. Okay, where's Gina?

[Speaker 2]
Gina?

[Speaker 1]
Her father went yesterday for ... operation is okay, or today? Today.

Tomorrow.

[Speaker 2]
Okay.

[Speaker 1]
Then we try to stop death. We even let the doctor cut my body. Okay, cut my body.

I don't want to die.

[Speaker 2]
Cut my body.

[Speaker 1]
And we try to stop death. But if the seeds are finished, the death will come. Nothing we can do can help.

My dentist in north Arizona, he found out I used to be in the diamond business. I think he heard about my book or something. Then he thinks I have money.

So, he's like, you need a ... extra treatment. Then he cut my mouth up.

It's terrible. So, with money you can't stop death. And you will have more suffering because the doctors will ...

they will make new treatments that you need. Then second one. Like a candle, our life is always getting less.

You are born with a debit card and you are using it up. And there's no way to recharge the debit card. The pen je kyi le, the throwing karma from your last life.

Like all things which are thrown in the sky, it must come down.

[Speaker 2]
Third principle.

[Speaker 1]
I think Stanley taught it.

[Speaker 2]
Even in the time you have left, you won't practice.

[Speaker 1]
Gungtang Lama's meditation. First twenty years of my life I didn't understand I should practice. Then I learned about Dharma.

Next twenty years of my life I thought, I should really practice soon. The last twenty years of my life, why didn't I practice? You don't have much time.

If you take out sleeping, eating, pooping, and the Facebook, internet time you have to spend, by the way, in a fire offering you should not use your cell phone. I'm going to take all the cell phones. If I see someone with a cell phone in a fire offering, I'm going to throw out the fire.

Okay? Comprendo? Next year.

Except me. Okay, just kidding. Not kidding.

[Speaker 2]
Okay. Second principle of death.

[Speaker 1]
You don't know when you're going to die. Then what should you say? Because, what do you say, por qué?

Number one, in some, there are many worlds in the universe. In some of those worlds, you have a deng. You could live for one thousand years.

But in the world we live in, nobody can tell you, oh, definitely you will have seventy years, or definitely you will have fifty years. We don't know. The time of death is also uncertain, because as we learned, the things that can kill you are many, and the things that keep you alive are very few.

And everything that keeps you alive can also kill you. Doctors kill more people than cigarettes, I think. You know, they make mistakes.

And cars which are supposed to take us, they're supposed to help us go places, they also kill people. The food which we need to live kills many people. In America, 65% of people are overweight.

We're thinking, Anatole and Aisha, we were talking yesterday about a plan to have a school to teach you how to eat. So even food is killing many people. And unfortunately, the big American companies are exporting their food to Mexico and to China.

Like KFC and McDonald's. It's hurt many people. Third principle, our bodies are very fragile.

It doesn't take much to kill a human body. It's not like a car or a table. Okay, third principle.

When you do die, only one thing can help you. The Dharma which is in your mind, you can take it with you, but the other things you have to leave here. Number one, because, by the way, I made a mistake on C.

C at the end, it should say because. Maybe you can add it. It should say because.

First one, it doesn't matter how much money you have. You cannot buy five more minutes. No amount of money can buy five more minutes.

Number two, the people you love, they can stand around you in the deathbed, they can hold your arms and your legs, and they can cry and say, please stay, but they cannot help you. You come in alone and you leave alone. Third principle, even the body which you spent so much effort, you did asana for the body to make it beautiful and strong.

You suffered to or reach yoga class day after day. To make a nice body. And then he's like, bye bye, I'm going.

So those are the nine traditional death meditations. And you will find them in the book Before Kamalashila. Now I'm going to go through Then we started the hell realms.

[Speaker 2]
Why did we start the hell realms?

[Speaker 1]
Because one of the choices you have after you die is to go down.

[Speaker 2]
If you go down, there's three choices.

[Speaker 1]
What are they?

[Speaker 2]
Hell realm, hungry ghost, and animal.

[Speaker 1]
So traditionally, we study those three first.

[Speaker 2]
Starting with the worst one. The hells.

[Speaker 1]
Then what's the second worst one? Be careful, be careful. Animal.

This is ammunition for debate ground. You can embarrass your opponent either way.

[Speaker 2]
If they say animals, you have to look very innocent when you debate. Oh, animals? They suffer more than hungry ghosts, really?

Then that's wrong, right? Hungry ghosts suffer more. If they say hungry ghosts, then you can say, oh, they are more stupid than the animals?

[Speaker 1]
Than the animals?

[Speaker 2]
Cannot learn Dhamma? Suffering more than animals? Then you can ...

This is how we debate.

[Speaker 1]
Okay. Then in the hell realms, if you remember, there were four big subjects.

[Speaker 2]
What's the first one?

[Speaker 1]
My lama had a car accident, it hurt his throat. He always sounds like Star Wars.

[Speaker 2]
No. Star Wars? Darth Vader.

[Speaker 1]
What's the first one?

[Speaker 2]
Yeah, hot hells. How many? Eight.

[Speaker 1]
Is the worst one closer to us, or the worst one is farther away from us?

[Speaker 2]
What's the first one?

[Speaker 1]
Yeah, get back up.

[Speaker 2]
Get back up.

[Speaker 1]
What's the worst thing that happens there? I mean, what's the worst feeling?

[Speaker 2]
Something feels very bad there.

[Speaker 1]
When you open your eyes, what's the first thing you do? Anything, anything you can use.

[Speaker 2]
You start to hit people.

[Speaker 1]
Any object on the floor, anything. You pick it up and you try to kill the ... You take the baseball hat and you try to kill somebody.

Second hell. Black lines. Thignac.

[Speaker 2]
People burn black lines on your body.

[Speaker 1]
What do they do with the life? It's like you go to the butcher shop and they have the cow picture with the this is filet mignon, this is the ribs, this is the chuck roast. But what's the worst thing about those parts?

Yeah, you still feel everything.

[Speaker 2]
Even after they cut them, you still feel it.

[Speaker 1]
Okay. Okay. Sorry.

I lost it. Okay, what's the third one? Yeah.

And you run between two mountains and then suddenly the mountains collapse. What's the weirdest thing about this hell? Yeah, the mountains are shaped like the heads of the animals you killed for eating.

Sheep head or cow heads. What's the next one? Yeah, screaming.

We compared it to something that happened recently in the world. Yeah, in Syria a soldier was put into a cage. Iron cage.

And they burned him inside. Then just scream. Screaming, cannot get out, cannot do anything.

[Speaker 2]
Next hell.

[Speaker 1]
Bigger screaming, yeah. What's the irony of this hell? It's just like our own life.

Yeah, you have hope. You work really hard and you break out of the cage. Then you find out that little cage was inside of a bigger one.

It's just like a lot of relationships I've had. You solve a small problem and then suddenly there's a bigger problem. Okay.

The next hell reminds me a little bit of the Roman Empire. Why? They crucify people.

With a pole, iron pole. They stick it up your bottom and it comes out here. And it's on fire.

So it cooks your insides. Then number seven.

[Speaker 2]
Hell of more heat.

[Speaker 1]
And, I don't know, nothing special about that one.

[Speaker 2]
Eighth one.

[Speaker 1]
Yeah, Avicii, lowest hell. If you have to say one sentence about the lowest hell, what's it look like? I want to hear more.

Yeah, you cannot divide the people from the fire. Okay, you cannot see where the people are. They're inside the fire, but you cannot separate the fire from the people.

How do you know there are people? They're like ... They are making noise.

Okay, that's cheerful. Alright, let's go back to the hells. The second big part of hell is surrounding hells.

The other hells are separated this way. But these hells are like four areas like a circle. Connected to each hot hell.

[Speaker 2]
Question.

[Speaker 1]
A short question. I believe so. I believe so, yeah.

[Speaker 2]
It's like when you go to a big shopping mall, especially in China, and you go to the biggest store, and from each story you can walk out to the mall, and you get confused.

[Speaker 1]
Kage Bay, this big shopping mall in Berlin. Yeah, you can say that. I agree.

Okay. What's the nasty thing about the first of them? Yeah, I mean, we all know that your leg is burned when you ...

but what happens when you lift your leg? Yeah, the leg grows back before you take the second step. Why are you even ...

able to run out of the hot hell? Yeah. Okay, Stenya, if you're going to say that, I want to know the Tibetan verb.

It goes pap papap, pap papap.

[Speaker 2]
In Tibetan, sap tu sung, sap tu sung.

[Speaker 1]
But it has a B-S-R-A-B. Burs sap tu sung.

[Speaker 2]
Karma got like old jeans. Little thinner.

[Speaker 1]
Then you can see the exit from the hot house. After you get out of the embers, what thing in Brazil can remind you of the next hell? Yeah, piranha fish in the Amazon.

Because the next hell is a swamp of dead corpses. How far down do you fall? Yeah, up to your neck.

And then these animals start to bite you. The next one has three parts and they are all considered one surrounding hell because something is similar about them.

[Speaker 2]
Yeah.

[Speaker 1]
Some kind of cutting things.

[Speaker 2]
Okay.

[Speaker 1]
The first one reminds me of why I'm so sad I was born a boy because I have to do something every day.

[Speaker 2]
Waste my time.

[Speaker 1]
Okay. Scott, every time he shaves, it looks like he came out of that hell.

[Speaker 2]
I don't know why.

[Speaker 1]
So first one is, it's like anywhere you run, there's a razor blade standing up. If Buddhism is true, then all of us have been there many, many times.

[Speaker 2]
And part of you remembers.

[Speaker 1]
And that's why we see in the horror movies, we see things like this. It's because those guys who make those movies, they are remembering a little bit. The second of those knife hells reminds me of the French Revolution.

[Speaker 2]
Why?

[Speaker 1]
Yeah, guillotine. Then the leaves of those trees become swords and they fall down. So you see a tree and you're like, oh, let me go sit under the tree.

[Speaker 2]
Then the leaves become swords and they drop.

[Speaker 1]
The next one is especially sad because you hear something. Yeah, you hear your mother calling you. You hear your family.

And you try to climb up a tree.

[Speaker 2]
Shalmali tree.

[Speaker 1]
Sanskrit word.

[Speaker 2]
It's kind of like a pineapple or a rose.

[Speaker 1]
But as soon as you get up pretty high, those bumps become knives. And at the top of the tree, something pleasant is waiting for you, which reminds me of the Mexican flag. There are birds waiting to poke out your eyes.

Dig out your brain. What's the last one?

[Speaker 2]
Fourth one.

[Speaker 1]
Yeah, it's a river. And you cannot cross it. And again, there are many creatures in the river eating you.

In the other texts, they add something. There are guys waiting on the shore.

[Speaker 2]
And even if you reach the other side, they're waiting for you with a sword.

[Speaker 1]
And they push you back into the water with the sword. Okay, next hells. Cold hells.

Let's talk about some of them.

[Speaker 2]
First one, it's called blisters.

[Speaker 1]
Second one, the blisters open. Third one, you're just making small sounds.

[Speaker 2]
Fourth one, even smaller sounds.

[Speaker 1]
You're like frozen into ice.

[Speaker 2]
Fifth one, can you show me?

[Speaker 1]
Chattering. Teeth are like... Okay.

Sixth one, reminds me of a flower.

[Speaker 2]
Blue lotus.

[Speaker 1]
Your skin breaks open like a blue lotus.

[Speaker 2]
Seventh one, red lotus.

[Speaker 1]
So in Sanskrit language, the blue one is utpala. Utpala. We have a nice nun in Arizona.

Her name is Utpala. And the red lotus is called padma. Like om mani padme hum is padma.

Eighth one, big padma. Big, big lotus flower. And your skin breaks open that big.

Then we talked about partial hells.

[Speaker 2]
The fourth big part of hell.

[Speaker 1]
And then I want to hear from you. But the thing which I think about is that only in this part of the scriptures we hear about these weird rebirths like a wall or a broom. So if your karma is strongly enough, very strange things can happen.

And you always thought the last time you had an argument with your husband, the living room became a hell on earth.

[Speaker 2]
And now you know it's true.

[Speaker 1]
So there can be little places, little pockets in your life where it's like a hell on earth. Okay, last thing. Senor, ultima cosa.

[Speaker 2]
Cosa.

[Speaker 1]
We had two special classes. One was Master Kamalashila and one was about the path of preparation when you reach the point that you cannot go down anymore. So I asked Adam, I asked you to choose some of the pictures from the Kamalashila class at random.

And we're not going to embarrass everybody because I know it was a long time ago, but if anyone would like to volunteer to describe a photo, we'll give you the microphone. Anybody want to talk about Candy from Singapore? Ready?

You have a mic? She's going to explain this photograph. We need a translator.

Come on, quick, quick, quick. Okay, short sentence. I think in Geshe-la.

This is a special diamond. It's extremely hard, strong. Nothing can cut it.

Because it combines together. It represents five paths. It says the thinnest part on the left side is the hardest.

It represents the first path is the path of accumulation. It represents the disaster we encounter. The widest part is the second path.

The path of preparation. And then it gets smaller. It's the third path.

The path of seeing. And then it gets wider again. It's the path of habituation.

And then again it becomes thinner and smaller. The path of normal learning. Nirvana.

Another meaning is that it's the shape of a Vajra. Thank you. I just want a small addition.

[Speaker 2]
The two fattest parts on the end are the first and the fifth path.

[Speaker 1]
Because the first one goes back forever. You've had disasters for beginningless times. And the fifth one goes on forever.

Because after you reach Nirvana it stays forever. So that's why they're the fattest part on the two ends. Alright, Adam, give us another one.

One more. Well, we didn't cover that one. Yeah, I was lazy.

[Speaker 2]
We didn't cover this one.

[Speaker 1]
We covered this one and it's the most important one. Anybody want to talk about it? Hassel?

Oh, Anton. Let's do Russia.

[Speaker 2]
Thank you, Geshe-la. So this photo represents the certain seed which is great in the cocoon. Which carries our feeling of ourselves.

A feeling? A feeling of ourselves. And it helps us to understand what happens when we see emptiness directly.

So, during this direct perception of emptiness, due to this experience some of this cocoon is in certain ways damaged. Which means it helps us inevitably to change our being into another quality.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, thank you. Okay, last question. We also studied the path of preparation.

[Speaker 2]
It had four parts.

[Speaker 1]
During the first part your meditation gets very good. You start to understand the four Arya truths.

[Speaker 2]
During the second part you start to understand the pen.

[Speaker 1]
What good thing happens at the second part because you understand the pen? No? Something stops at the...

you cannot do something after the second level. Huh? You're Stanley, you got it?

No more what?

[Speaker 2]
Lower realm.

[Speaker 1]
No, that's the third one.

[Speaker 2]
Doubt.

[Speaker 1]
No. If you reach the second level you can never get so angry that you destroy your good karmas. Okay, you cannot get that angry.

[Speaker 2]
You can still get angry. But not that angry.

[Speaker 1]
That angry means you get so angry you destroy a lot of your bank account of good karmas.

[Speaker 2]
Why?

[Speaker 1]
It has to do with two husbands.

[Speaker 2]
Anybody want to explain? If you understand the pen.

[Speaker 1]
Microphone? Mr. Synapse wants to explain. Why can't you get as angry if you understand emptiness?

[Speaker 2]
Hello.

[Speaker 1]
Thank you, Yashoda. So, the whole path of preparation is concerning our understanding of emptiness.

[Speaker 2]
And as we move closer to the direct perception of emptiness, our understanding of emptiness and dependent origination become more perfect.

[Speaker 1]
Intellectual understanding moves generally from external objects to subjects.

[Speaker 2]
Even though when we have the direct perception of emptiness, we realize the emptiness of ourselves first.

[Speaker 1]
So, as far as the two husbands is concerned, there's always two objects before we become an arya. That thing that could never exist, would never exist, and will never exist.

[Speaker 2]
The thing that is happening for no reason at all. And then, there's a thing that's always present and always present and always exists. And that's the objects in our world that come from the seeds we planted from how we treated others.

[Speaker 1]
So, on the path of preparation, we start to realize that everything coming from us and it lessens our capacity to ever get very angry or to misunderstand objects so badly that we can ruin our bad karma.

[Speaker 2]
Our good karma. Okay.

[Speaker 1]
Thank you. So, if you understand, when your husband calls you stupid, if you understand it's coming from you called your kids stupid last week, your anger is... you still can get angry, but it's less.

So, it cannot destroy your good seeds after the second level. Third level, because you understand completely... Okay, remember?

Completely the emptiness of the pen. It destroys your bad seeds? No.

Okay? It damages them. So, those seeds are still there.

They don't take up any space because they are not physical. And they will never open. It's like having a wart on the inside of your skin.

[Speaker 2]
You still have it, but nobody can see it.

[Speaker 1]
That's okay. I can live with that. Okay, so try to work very hard.

All of you, obviously, we can all see that everyone who spoke today could be a teacher.

[Speaker 2]
There's something going on there. Somebody's having pain. What's going on?

[Speaker 1]
Somebody's, you know, in pain. Go. Who is it then?

Maybe? Yeah. Okay.

They'll take care of it. It's okay. They're going to take care of it.

She got nervous. It's okay. So...

I can't remember. I also lost me. When you get to the third level, so you have lots of seeds inside, but they will never open.

And you are just carrying them around.

[Speaker 2]
So that's good. And that's the purpose of this class. You studied the hell realms.

You know you can go there. And every person in this room is capable to be a teacher. And we saw that just today.

Every person who spoke was a beautiful teacher. In Buddhism, we say that every person has the seed to become a teacher. So I ask you, you know, study well.

[Speaker 1]
We have a college for teachers in Arizona.

[Speaker 2]
Think about coming there. Finish your ACI courses, which I'll handle as teaching, and become a teacher. Everybody in this room can teach.

And they should teach. We'll try to organize how to become a teacher.

[Speaker 1]
So the last thing I'd like to say, then we'll take a vacation. If you can teach it pretty good to another person, they will not go to the hells.

[Speaker 2]
They cannot go to the hells. Cannot become an animal. Cannot become a hungry ghost.

So I ask you, to the best of your ability, and without being a missionary, you must be a missionary. Yes, you have to believe me. In a happy, friendly way.

[Speaker 1]
You don't have to talk about Buddhism.

[Speaker 2]
I don't care. Teach Panism.

[Speaker 1]
You must become a missionary to teach Panism. And just share it with people.

[Speaker 2]
Don't get mad at your husband. He's coming from your seeds. Explain it.

[Speaker 1]
And then you can really help the whole world.

[Speaker 2]
In your life, I saved a person's life once. I feel so happy. Every time I think about it, wow, I saved human life.

[Speaker 1]
But you can save many.

[Speaker 2]
You can save many. So please work hard. And please teach.

Thank you.