Медитация 9

[Speaker 2]
Let's do a meditation.

[Speaker 1]
So, I don't know, when I was 21 or 22, I was in India studying. Then my mom had cancer, and so I came back to America to take care of her. And I asked a lot of people, including some big lamas, is there any good teacher in America to study with?

And someone told me, oh yes, there's this lama right near Princeton, right near my university.

[Speaker 2]
So, I asked him if I could ...

[Speaker 1]
I went there to study with him, and it was a small Mongolian temple.

[Speaker 2]
And Mongolians are Tibetan Buddhists.

[Speaker 1]
By the way, Scott and Arit, we'll do that presentation in the afternoon, okay? For sure. Okay, and there were about 15 old Mongolian monks there.

The youngest one was 70. And you know, I remember one, he taught me ... sometime I'll give you his picture.

[Speaker 2]
He's Inner Mongolian, and he was a good Geshe.

[Speaker 1]
So, he taught ... when Rinpoche was busy, he would teach me. And he had tuberculosis, and they cut out part of his lung in the refugee camp.

So, he's always like this, you know?

[Speaker 2]
He's like ...

[Speaker 1]
and teach me like that, you know? And ... so, everybody thought he would die early, you know?

Then everybody else died first.

[Speaker 2]
Fourteen monks died first. Then he died last.

[Speaker 1]
Out of order. So, you know, we meet old people, like in the nursing home.

[Speaker 2]
And I also have my old lady, you know, you guys know. And she's 90 now. And you know, I go to visit her, and everybody's thinking she might die soon.

And you hold her hand, and somehow you feel superior to her.

[Speaker 1]
You're old.

[Speaker 2]
You can't remember anything.

[Speaker 1]
I'm younger. I can remember what I did yesterday. And you hold her hand, you know, and you ...

what do you call it? You're condescending. In English we say condescending.

You know, you're so old and sick, and I'm young and intelligent and very busy.

[Speaker 2]
But, but we don't know who will die first, okay?

[Speaker 1]
When you're holding the hand of the 90 year old, you know, maybe next year she will be telling people about this nice boy Michael that she used to know. And it happens, you know.

[Speaker 2]
And I've seen it happen many times.

[Speaker 1]
My brother died 40 years before this old lady. Is he?

[Speaker 2]
And he was young. Expert surfer, and a pretty famous scientist, and died, you know. So, we don't know.

There's no order. Things are crazy, okay? So, don't think just because you are young.

You have any deng? Guarantee that you will die later.

[Speaker 1]
Okay?

[Speaker 2]
You might die first, okay?

[Speaker 1]
So, that's the meditation we're going to do this morning. It's Connie's meditation.

[Speaker 2]
Okay, here we go. Please turn off your cell phone.

[Speaker 1]
Then relax your forehead. Relax your mouth. Pull in your stomach slightly.

[Speaker 2]
Smile a little bit.

[Speaker 1]
Relax your eyelids.

[Speaker 2]
Soften your fingers.

[Speaker 1]
Straighten your back. And then please come to your breath.

[Speaker 2]
We'll count 30 slow breaths.

[Speaker 1]
Then please invite your Lama to come and meditate with you. And please think of some beautiful quality that your Lama has that you would like to develop also. And think of something that you did yesterday that you are not happy about, and confess to your Lama.

And think about something nice you did, or you saw somebody else do something very nice yesterday, and tell your Lama about it, and be happy about it. Ask them to teach you. Ask them to stay in your life.

Okay, then we'll start the meditation. I'd like you to think about the people who are close to you—older people, people who are your own age, and people who are younger than you. And sort of check in your own mind, who do you think might die first and who do you think might die later?

Like, choose four or five people including yourself. And then I'd like you to switch it.

[Speaker 2]
And imagine that the healthiest and youngest one dies first.

[Speaker 1]
And then the oldest and most sick one dies last. And this is also your WeChat assignment for today. To WeChat, what did you decide?

Who's young and will die first, and when will you die?

[Speaker 2]
And who's the older one that will die last? Then, we'll start five-minute meditation.

[Speaker 1]
Then please take three deep breaths. Each exhale, give away the good karma of your meditation. Then you can take a stretch.