«Дар освобождения», курс 24 «Пустой Будда — высшая защита», занятие 3

[Speaker 1]
You guys have a microphone for questions? Would you like to do some questions? No?

Anybody have a question? Okay, Nick will choose, or Hasso. Any question, okay.

Don't be shy. Okay.

[Speaker 2]
Hello teacher, how can I improve my relationship with my mom? Hello teacher, I would like to ask how can I improve my relationship with my mom?

[Speaker 1]
What's the problem?

[Speaker 2]
Chinese I feel like it is difficult for me to open my heart to my mom, because when I don't open my heart to my mom, she will criticize me already.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, good.

[Speaker 2]
It doesn't matter if I open my heart to her or not, anyway she will criticize me.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, good question. Let's go back to the phantom husband. Okay, the husband criticized his wife, right?

And the nice thing about kong shing is that husband is not coming this way. Husband is coming this way. Husband is coming from me, and mom is coming from me.

So, if mom is coming from mom, then probably you cannot change her.

[Speaker 2]
If mom is coming from mom, then you have to ask mom, let's sit down and talk.

[Speaker 1]
You know, I don't like it when you criticize me. And maybe she will listen, maybe she won't listen. But if mom is kong, if she's empty, it means how I see her is coming from me.

[Speaker 2]
What I see is coming this way.

[Speaker 1]
Then it's very fun, because you can change her without talking to her. You don't have to tell her you are changing her, you just change her. Then there's no argument, you see?

So, if she's coming from me, from my seeds, then I just have to change my seeds. And she won't have a choice. She will have to change.

It's much more peaceful. So, like I had an office in New York in the diamond company.

[Speaker 2]
We have 800 employees, just in New York.

[Speaker 1]
Then every time one of them is not acting good, I will see what are they doing. So, if one of them is criticizing me, that seed is inside of me. Maybe I yelled at my kids.

So, I have to take out that seed. And then the worker will change. So, if you see a tree, it means there must have been a small seed before.

The tree is your mom, and she's criticizing. But the seed must be inside of you. So, you are criticizing other people, but much smaller.

Tree is like 300 kilos, 500 kilos. Seed is half a gram. So, there must be inside of you, you are doing some small criticism of other people.

If you find it, and you take it out, she will change. So, this system is very cool. No fighting, no talking.

You can change her without telling her you are changing her. So, find someone that you are criticizing, and stop it, and she will change. So, this system is unbelievable.

If things are empty, you can change everything. Okay? How much?

[Speaker 2]
Okay.

[Speaker 1]
Thank you. Okay. Other questions?

[Speaker 2]
Kusala, this afternoon you talked about four parts of Buddha's body, and the third one is mental body. And I don't know if I understand it correctly. When you say that the mental body is Buddha's mind, which means that we should think like Buddha.

And what if I haven't reached enlightenment, and I couldn't think like Buddha. So, what's the real protection? Yeah, good.

Can you just translate by yourself? Okay. 我的问题是我们今天下午讲到佛的四个身体, 然后讲到第三个身体,就是说佛的智慧身。

那么这个智慧身就是说佛陀的意识。 那如果我们还没有证悟的话, 我们其实并没有佛陀的意识。 那什么是真正的保护?

就是我还没有像他那样的时候, 什么在保护我?

[Speaker 1]
Okay, nice question.

[Speaker 2]
很好的问题。

[Speaker 1]
当我们见到空性的时候, 空性, 有些东西是缺失的。 如果我回家, 然后房子里有两个先生, 他们就开始指责我。

[Speaker 2]
其中一位是从我而来。

[Speaker 1]
那这位存在吗? Yeah, that one exists. 它就像笔一样, 它是从我的种子出来的。

Okay, what about the other husband? The husband which I didn't create. Does he exist?

He doesn't exist. Okay, I had a question this afternoon, I forgot to ask you. There's two husbands in the kitchen when you come home.

[Speaker 2]
One exists.

[Speaker 1]
That's the one that's coming from the seed that you yelled at your kids last week. The other husband, who's not your fault, I didn't do anything.

[Speaker 2]
That husband doesn't exist.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, now I'll ask you a cool question. You get upset at one of those husbands. Which one?

Always the one which is not there. Why can't you get upset at the husband who is there?

[Speaker 2]
Why can't you get upset at the husband who is there?

[Speaker 1]
Because you understand, oh, oh, he's coming from my seeds. Oh, I yelled at my kids last week.

[Speaker 2]
That's why he's criticizing me.

[Speaker 1]
If you think like that, you cannot get angry at husband.

[Speaker 2]
Who should you get angry at? Yourself. Go in the toilet, close the door, look in the mirror, say, you're a phantom.

You are stupid.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, that's true. Okay, so I'll tell you something interesting. Every time in your whole life that you got angry or upset, you were angry or upset at something which didn't exist.

All conflict on this world, all war, is towards people who don't exist. Okay? And when you understand that, you are focusing on, oh, that husband does not exist.

[Speaker 2]
The one who didn't come from me, the one who comes from himself, oh, that one doesn't exist. Why am I talking about that? What's the connection to your question?

There's something interesting.

[Speaker 1]
Human being, non-Buddha, cannot focus on both husbands at the same time. Not possible.

[Speaker 2]
Not possible.

[Speaker 1]
While we're thinking about this husband doesn't come from himself, at the same moment, we cannot think, he's coming from me. If you know the words in Buddhism, you cannot focus on dependent origination at the same time that you focus on emptiness. So, things exist in dependence.

[Speaker 2]
Means, he's coming from my seed. Emptiness means, he's not coming from his side.

[Speaker 1]
First one is positive.

[Speaker 2]
He's coming from my seed.

[Speaker 1]
Second one is negative. He's not coming from his own side. One human mind, at the same moment, cannot focus on both.

But Buddhist mind can focus on both.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
But which one does he like better? Guess.

[Speaker 2]
Yeah, he likes kongshin.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, he or she enjoys looking at kongshin.

[Speaker 2]
Which kongshin? How many kongshins in this room?

[Speaker 1]
Yeah, as many as there are things in this room, there are that many kongshins in this room. This pen has its own kongshin, because it doesn't come this way. It has its ...

doesn't come this way. Okay? And the microphone has.

And the computer has. And my toe has. And the coffee has.

Okay, and you have. Every hair on your head, I have less than you, has its own kongshin. There are thousands of kongshins in this room.

Buddha's always looking at those. Especially the kongshin of his other three bodies, other bodies, okay?

[Speaker 2]
Of his physical body. He's thinking about that a lot.

[Speaker 1]
So, if you want to take refuge in Buddha, like you said, you have to try to think like Buddha. When you don't get angry at the husband, and when you decide not to call the husband stupid, even though all husbands are stupid, then you are taking refuge in Buddha.

[Speaker 2]
And you are thinking like Buddha. So, it's not so hard.

[Speaker 1]
Okay?

[Speaker 2]
You can do it with your husband.

[Speaker 1]
Find somebody who's really stupid, like your husband.

[Speaker 2]
Practice with him.

[Speaker 1]
In Buddhism, we think it's very nice to have a partner. Because all day they are making you upset. And you can think about emptiness all day.

Okay? Alright.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
So, that's what it means to think like a Buddha. By the way, the compassion of Buddha ... So, of course Buddha is thinking about emptiness all the time.

But Buddha is also thinking about compassion. In the case of the woman who came home and her husband called her fan tong, what's the compassion? It's like this.

How many arguments you had in your whole life? In your whole life, how many people did you get upset at? During my life, how many people got killed in war?

Okay? I don't know. I can't guess.

Hundreds of thousands. Okay? If you understand emptiness, you realize they were killed for no purpose.

The person who killed them didn't understand emptiness. If they understand emptiness, they will not kill the person, because they will understand the person coming from them, they will kill themselves maybe.

[Speaker 2]
So, if you understand emptiness, it's easy to feel sad about human beings.

[Speaker 1]
They are killing people who are not there.

[Speaker 2]
Whole day, they are unhappy.

[Speaker 1]
Whole countries are angry at someone that doesn't exist. And when you go like this ...

[Speaker 2]
Ah, that's so sad.

[Speaker 1]
Every person on this world who had argument today was having argument with someone who doesn't exist. It's so sad.

[Speaker 2]
Then, if you understand emptiness, compassion is automatic.

[Speaker 1]
Oh, so sad.

[Speaker 2]
How many wife fought with their husband today?

[Speaker 1]
How many husband fought with their wife?

[Speaker 2]
The wife they are fighting with is not there.

[Speaker 1]
Ah, so sad. Okay? So, if you understand kong shing, compassion is automatic.

So, if you start to think about kong shing, you are halfway thinking like a Buddha.

[Speaker 2]
And then when you go, everyone's mad at someone who's not there. That's the second half of Buddha's mind.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? Alright. Good question.

Thank you. Let's do one more. Hasso's choosing.

[Speaker 2]
Yeah. Hello, teacher. Hi.

May I have two questions, please?

[Speaker 1]
That's twice the price.

[Speaker 2]
Yeah, the first one is at the practice before dinner, I was with my partners. He said that he wanted to get focused. He easily forgot something.

So, he told me that he used meditation and yoga. That is one of the methods that he used to do. And then, both of us, we are wondering that meditation, is it a good way?

No, we finalized that that is a bop. And then we thought that, because in your book, meditation is very powerful. And, of course, it's powerful.

But, applying here, is it a bop or is it Captain John?

[Speaker 1]
Good, okay, good. Good question. Is meditation old man bop or Captain John?

Okay, good question. Yeah. Can you take refuge in meditation?

Will meditation protect you? Two answers for one question, how's that? There are three types of meditation.

Not just one. If you took DCI number ... what is that?

[Speaker 2]
Three?

[Speaker 1]
Three. We call shargom, chegom, jogom. So, there are three ...

Generally, there are three different kinds of meditation. Shargom ... I have a friend, Jeffrey Tso, in Taiwan.

He's a big manager for Dupont Corporation.

[Speaker 2]
Every morning, he does shargom.

[Speaker 1]
It means he make a list of what he has to do today. So, the first kind of meditation, it's just, I have to do this today, I have to do this today, I have to do this today. Then, second kind is called chegom.

It means problem-solving meditation. My mother is criticizing me a lot. How can I fix it?

What should I do? Then, during the meditation, you ask yourself this question, and you think about mom's emptiness. That's the second kind of meditation.

[Speaker 2]
Problem-solving.

[Speaker 1]
Third kind is called jogom. That's what you think when you say meditation. In Sanskrit, they call ekagra.

[Speaker 2]
Ekagra means a single point. Keep your mind on one object.

[Speaker 1]
So, Connie loves ... She taught us last night a jogom.

[Speaker 2]
You just bring your teacher's face to your mind, and you keep your mind on it. Try not to think of anything else.

[Speaker 1]
Sometimes if you're hungry, the teacher's face will turn into a hamburger.

[Speaker 2]
Sometimes if you're hungry, the teacher's face will turn into a hamburger.

[Speaker 1]
So, you try not to change the teacher's face. Those are all a kind of Captain John. And we're going to talk about it tonight.

Thank you, Geshe.

[Speaker 2]
They're all Captain John.

[Speaker 1]
Good question.

[Speaker 2]
And the second question. Actually, I have an IVF. I have a son, which is I did IVF to have him.

And then at that time, I have the hypnotherapist who helped me to have the treatment. And then that's why at the first time, I got a baby. So, I consider I'm lucky.

So, in my job now, I'm thinking that I would like to give back. It means that I will go out to help those who want to have a child, or those who want to be a mom. So, I'm wondering, is that a fertilized soil?

Because those who are going to be a mom or already a mom, I think that is a very fertilized soil. Is it correct?

[Speaker 1]
You want to translate? Is it fertile soil to help women who want to have a baby? Okay.

Those of you who study DCI, you know there are three ways to make... Three ways? Three good places to plant a seed.

[Speaker 2]
First is who... Yes, sorry. The first fertilized soil is who help us a lot.

[Speaker 1]
Yes, someone who helps you with parents, teachers.

[Speaker 2]
The second is the people who can help others.

[Speaker 1]
Good.

[Speaker 2]
And the third one is who need emergency help.

[Speaker 1]
Yes, so those three kinds of powerful...

[Speaker 2]
So, I consider those who are going to be a mom or is a mom is the second one.

[Speaker 1]
Yeah, they are helping other people.

[Speaker 2]
They're helping the kids, and then the kids will grow up, and then it means I can help own the generation.

[Speaker 1]
Is it correct? Yeah, so very powerful.

[Speaker 2]
Thank you. Thank you, Geshe. Thank you.

Okay, good.

[Speaker 1]
Let's go back to the text, okay? Let's go to page 205B.

[Speaker 2]
Okay, okay.

[Speaker 1]
205B. And I'm just going to read it. It's the definition of Dharma jewel.

Okay, and it says, CHOS KHO YIN GYUR LA DON DANG PA'I CHOS KHO YIN GYUR NI SGO SLANG GANG RUNG GI SDUG PAS PHAG PA'I THUGS RGYU GYI RNAMS SBYANG LDAN PA STE SGOG LDAN SHES PA RANG BRJAN RJE GYI PAR BYED MED LAM GYI NGO RGYAL GYI SDRUG PA LAS BRDUL LU'I CHA LA BYED This is what is a Dharma jewel.

[Speaker 2]
So usually when you say Dharma, people think teaching. Today Xiaoping was telling me, oh, Chinese people, when they go to Dharma talk, they try not to eat meat. Okay, so if I ask you, what's the meaning of Dharma talk?

[Speaker 1]
It means, oh, they are talking about Buddhism. That talk is Dharma.

[Speaker 2]
That book is Dharma.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, usually when you say Dharma, you think it means teaching, but there's a difference between Dharma and Dharma jewel. Okay, Dharma jewel, one of the three jewels, is different from Dharma. So, generally, Dharma means teaching, but Dharma jewel is a special kind of Dharma which protects you, which has power to protect you.

So, I'll give you an example. You heard about four truths in Buddhism. Okay, and in English they often mistranslate Four Noble Truths.

It's a mistake, the word is a mistake. They are translating Sanskrit word Arya, Arya.

[Speaker 2]
Okay, Shatrur Arya means Four Arya Truths.

[Speaker 1]
So, in Buddhism, word Arya here doesn't mean noble.

[Speaker 2]
It doesn't mean noble.

[Speaker 1]
That's a mistake. It means someone who saw emptiness directly.

[Speaker 2]
In Sanskrit, it's called Arya.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, so these are four truths that Aryas also understand.

[Speaker 2]
And this is the foundation of all Buddhism.

[Speaker 1]
First one, everything's suffering.

[Speaker 2]
Everything is pain.

[Speaker 1]
There are three kinds of pain in the Upanishad.

[Speaker 2]
And when they say shanti, shanti, shanti, a lot of yoga teachers say this.

[Speaker 1]
It refers to the First Arya Truth. Everything is pain. And there are three kinds of pain.

du-ngel gi du-ngel, gyurway du-ngel, khyapa duje gi du-ngel. And that's why we say shanti three times. It means may I put it to rest.

First one, du-ngel gi du-ngel, it's like headache, or your backache, or how you feel after Lady Ruth's yoga class.

[Speaker 2]
Not really.

[Speaker 1]
Actually, I felt quite good. But don't tell Lady Ruth. Okay, that's called the pain of pain.

Second kind of pain is called gyurway du-ngel. It means pain of change. And the example in the ancient sutras is a good pizza.

Okay? Second kind of pain. Why?

Because after a few hours you will get hungry again.

[Speaker 2]
Or a beautiful boyfriend.

[Speaker 1]
You know, you spend many years to find them. You marry them, and six months later you divorce. Just everything changes.

Even nice things change. And that's the second kind of pain. When you apply the second kind of pain to your own life, that's called khyapa du-che gi du-ngel.

It means the pain which is everywhere. It means everyone will have pain. You know, you see these big guys, big politicians, or very wealthy people, and you think, oh, they are having fun.

All the people who came to this hotel, not in this room. Young people who saved their money and came here to have fun. Within 24 hours it changes, okay?

And they find out the beach cannot make you happy. It cannot make you have a beautiful relationship. Any problems you have at home you are going to have on the beach also.

So, they bring their problems to the beach. Okay? So, that's called suffering which is everywhere.

Every person in this world is dying, and they will lose everything they have.

[Speaker 2]
Okay? That's the first truth.

[Speaker 1]
Everything is pain.

[Speaker 2]
What's the second truth?

[Speaker 1]
There's a reason for the pain. Okay? There's a source of the pain.

You know, you come home, and the floor is covered with water. Then you have a choice. Okay?

You can get some towel and clean it up, or find out what's leaking and turn it off before you clean up the water. Otherwise the water will just come again. So, the third truth, well, the second truth, is that everything has a source.

[Speaker 2]
All problems have a source. And that leads to the third truth.

[Speaker 1]
If you turn off the source, you turn off the problem.

[Speaker 2]
Okay? It's possible to turn off the problem. That's the third truth.

You can turn it off. Fourth truth.

[Speaker 1]
What?

[Speaker 2]
There's a path to turn it off.

[Speaker 1]
Yeah, number four. You can do it different ways.

[Speaker 2]
There's two ways to teach the four truths.

[Speaker 1]
Why are we talking about that? Definition of Buddha jewel ... sorry, Dharma jewel.

Okay? It's the last two truths.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
It's possible to turn off the pain. And there's a way. Okay?

That's the last two of the four famous truths. Now I'll give you an example. Okay?

So, I've been teaching the pen for, I don't know, how many years? 15 years? 20 years?

Something.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
When I take the pen out of my pocket, my old friends, they go like this. They fall asleep immediately. They know they can sleep for five, six minutes.

Okay? Because they got tired of hearing about it. Then, actually, if you hear a good explanation of the pen, and if you understand it, you cannot be born as an animal after you die.

It's not possible. Okay? You cannot go to hell.

It's not possible.

[Speaker 2]
If you understand the pen clearly, something happens inside of you.

[Speaker 1]
All the seeds to have a bad rebirth, they're like short-circuit electrical ...

[Speaker 2]
and they don't work anymore.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? It's like you plugged your hair blower into the 220 and it's a 110.

[Speaker 2]
You went to Thailand and you put the American hair dryer into the ... and all those karmas are short-circuited, and they can't work anymore.

[Speaker 1]
Just from understanding the pen clearly.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
Got it? Now, that burned out all the seeds' electricity. Is that one of the four truths?

Yeah, which one? You can say number three. You know, you can stop the problems.

Permanently. People say, oh, Buddhism doesn't believe in permanently. It's wrong.

[Speaker 2]
Okay? Yeah, if you understand the pen clearly, forever, for the next many million years, you cannot be born as an animal.

[Speaker 1]
Forever. That's called, in Buddhism, that's called A-stopping.

[Speaker 2]
It's permanent. It's called A-stopping, and you have it, and you keep it forever. Okay?

It's called A-stopping. What stopped the seeds? What short-circuited them was understanding?

[Speaker 1]
Pen. Okay? So, in Buddhism, the last two truths, very famous.

Understanding, and stopping. Okay? Understanding, and stopping.

Understand where the pen come from, and then you will stop those bad seeds forever.

[Speaker 2]
Forever.

[Speaker 1]
Why are we talking about that? Because that's the definition of the Dharma Jewel.

[Speaker 2]
You understand kongshing so well that you burn out all those seeds.

[Speaker 1]
Forever.

[Speaker 2]
Okay? Got it?

[Speaker 1]
That's the real Dharma. That's Dharma Jewel.

[Speaker 2]
Okay? Cool? Is my talk tonight Dharma?

[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Is the book that we are studying, is it Dharma? Yeah.

Is it Dharma Jewel? No. It doesn't protect you directly.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
Yeah, it's the thinking that protects you.

[Speaker 2]
Okay? It's the understanding inside your own mind. It's real Dharma.

[Speaker 1]
When you say, I go for refuge to the Dharma, it means I go for refuge to this idea, to this understanding. Will it protect you in the kitchen when your husband is yelling? Yeah.

How? You will not yell back. Okay?

Oh, I know why you're yelling. You're yelling because I yelled at my kids last week. I'm not going to yell at you.

You are stupid. You did make a mistake tonight. You are wrong to criticize me, but I'm not going to say anything, because I don't like to see you like this.

I don't want to see you like this again, so I'm not going to plant another seed. Then you just protected yourself, and that's Buddhist protection.

[Speaker 2]
Buddhist protection. And when you think like that, you are a Buddhist. Okay?

And until you think like that, you are not a Buddhist.

[Speaker 1]
So, how many Buddhists in the world? Not many. Okay?

Not many. Again, in Christian, which I love.

[Speaker 2]
You become Christian, you just get the water on your head, you are Christian.

[Speaker 1]
No, that's the definition. We call it baptism. And they put the water on your head, you are Christian for the rest of your life.

But it's harder to become a Buddhist. You have to come home, husband yells at you, you start to yell back, then you're like, I don't want to see him like this again. I think I'll just be quiet.

Okay? Got it? Then at that moment you become Buddhist.

[Speaker 2]
And if you don't think like that, you're not a Buddhist. So, maybe there are very few Buddhists in the world. We can say there are two kinds of Buddhists.

[Speaker 1]
One is people who go to Buddhist temples, they think they are Buddhists. And the other kind is people who don't get angry at their husband because they don't want to make a new bad husband.

[Speaker 2]
And those are real Buddhists. Okay?

[Speaker 1]
Got it?

[Speaker 2]
So, I think it's harder to be a Buddhist.

[Speaker 1]
Do you have ... now ... So, we just talked about people who think they are Buddhists, but maybe they are not Buddhists.

I'll ask you a deeper question, because many are Chinese, and Chinese like deeper questions. Is it possible to not think you're a Buddhist and be a Buddhist?

[Speaker 2]
Yeah. Anyone who uses kongxin, according to Buddhism, is a Buddhist. Even if they don't want to be a Buddhist.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? Good. Alright, so Dharma Jewel is understand kongxin directly.

Okay, so now I have another question for you, then we'll take a break. Okay, if you understand the pen, did you ... do you understand kongxin?

Yeah. Yeah. It can help you to not yell at your husband.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
You ... pen's coming from me. Geshe-la goes like this.

Then you can go to your husband, you can go ... You know, you coming from me, I understand. Or when your mom criticizes you, you know, you are coming from me.

My lama used to tell me, if you really want to irritate the people who hate you, love them.

[Speaker 2]
It really ...

[Speaker 1]
it really bothers them. Like, you are stupid.

[Speaker 2]
You're like, I love you.

[Speaker 1]
They're like ... Okay? If you really want to hurt them, you tell them how much you love them.

Okay, so that's Dharma. Now, technically, a person who understands the kongxin of the pen, okay, on a deeper level, they didn't reach Dharma jewel yet. It's a little more difficult.

[Speaker 2]
You have to see kongxin during meditation.

[Speaker 1]
And that's more difficult. Okay? And we'll talk about it.

We'll talk about it a lot. But, if you understand the pen, you all ... you just about reached the Dharma jewel.

Okay?

[Speaker 2]
So, work on the pen.

[Speaker 1]
Alright. Mmm, this is something. So, any ...

the state of mind of a person who sees emptiness directly is the Dharma jewel. Now, Sangha jewel is easy. Guess.

What is real Sangha jewel? First I'll tell you what's little Jimmy Sangha jewel. Okay?

Basic, lower definition of Sangha jewel.

[Speaker 2]
The community. The community.

[Speaker 1]
By the way, if you're Jewish, it might interest you to know the Sanskrit sang, sam, which means together. It came into Latin as kom, like committee or combine. But how did it come into Greek?

Sin, S-Y-N.

[Speaker 2]
So, if you follow the Greek root, which comes from Sanskrit, what would you call a place where people come together? Synagogue. So, Sangha and synagogue are the same word.

Place to come together. Okay?

[Speaker 1]
So, what is Sangha jewel? If Dharma jewel is anyone ... is the mind which saw emptiness directly, what's the real Sangha jewel?

[Speaker 2]
All the people who did it.

[Speaker 1]
Whether they have robes or not.

[Speaker 2]
Okay? The lower definition of Sangha is like five full monks together. It's the lower definition of Sangha.

[Speaker 1]
The higher definition of Sangha is the community of all the people in the world who saw kong shing directly. Can you be Sangha jewel without being Buddhist? Yeah, I think so.

[Speaker 2]
And you don't know you're Buddhist, it's okay. Okay? You saw emptiness directly, but you don't know you're Buddhist.

[Speaker 1]
You can be Sangha jewel. So, I'll tell you something cool, then we'll take a break. All over the world, every day, hundreds of millions of people, they say, I take refuge in Buddha, I take refuge in Dharma, I take refuge in Sangha.

If in this class, you see emptiness directly, you become the person that they are praying to. Cool? Understand?

[Speaker 2]
It's cool.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? Hundreds of millions of people. Okay?

If you work hard in this class, you become Dharma jewel, your mind, and you become Sangha jewel. Cool?

[Speaker 2]
Buddha jewel takes a little more work.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, cool? Alright, let's take a break.

[Speaker 2]
Oh, one more thing.

[Speaker 1]
Tomorrow, anybody have a rosary? I just need one. You can throw, we throw them in the month.

Tomorrow, we're going to do some debating.

[Speaker 2]
Buddhist debating.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, and you're going to need a rosary. So, Venerable Jigme, she got a few hundred from India. Are they here?

[Speaker 2]
They're not here yet? Yeah.

[Speaker 1]
Oh, well, there's some coming from India. I think maybe they're here already. But as soon as they come, if you don't have one, you should get one.

You shouldn't go to a war without a gun, and you shouldn't go to debate without a rosary. Okay? You're supposed to hold it on your left arm.

[Speaker 2]
Okay? So, you need one.

[Speaker 1]
And then, we count. During the debate, we count. Tell me the three jewels.

Buddha Jewel.

[Speaker 2]
Dharma Jewel. Sangha Jewel.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, so you need a rosary for tomorrow.

[Speaker 2]
Then, you can practice in your sleep. Okay, that's why Buddhist people wear a rosary. Normally, it's on your left hand.

In America, a hundred years ago, if you want to have a fight, you have to have a cowboy hat, and a gun.

[Speaker 1]
You wear a gun.

[Speaker 2]
In the monastery, if you wear a rosary, it means you want to shoot somebody.

[Speaker 1]
It means, come on, debate with me. Okay, so, I saw some yoga teachers wearing them, you know? It's kind of funny.

In the monastery, it means, fight with me.

[Speaker 2]
Come on, see?

[Speaker 1]
Just ask me a question.

[Speaker 2]
Come on.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, so, be careful when you wear them.

[Speaker 2]
That's what they're for. If you look at the old pictures of Dharmakirti, you know, he's here.

[Speaker 1]
And you always wear it on your left hand.

[Speaker 2]
Nobody puts it on their right hand.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, good? Alright, let's take a break. Thank you.

Okay, we'll start again. Now we reached the new part of the book that we didn't do last retreat.

[Speaker 2]
Okay.

[Speaker 1]
So, I will follow the book more closely. I will say it in Tibetan first. And just relax.

Open your mind.

[Speaker 2]
Let the words come in.

[Speaker 1]
I'm just planting seeds for next life. Okay. GENDAN KHONG CHOG NI What is the jewel of the Sangha?

RIGS BZHUGS KYI YIN LENG RIGS BZHUGS KYI YIN LENG RGYAS PO KHANG ROL NA LDAN PA'I PHAGS PA'I KHANG ZAG DE DON DANG PA'I GENDAN KHONG CHOG DANG Anybody who saw emptiness directly, and who has any of the eight qualities of understanding or freedom. Understanding here means like understanding the pen. Freedom means like you don't have to be born as an animal ever again if you understand the pen.

There are four qualities of understanding, and there are four qualities of freedom. So, you're going to learn them in your debate class, but I will give them to you just shortly. And it's not part of the book.

I got it from another book.

[Speaker 2]
Okay, first one.

[Speaker 1]
There are eight qualities. CHOS NI NGON TSUM DU RTOG PA NI JI LTA BA RIGS PA means a knowledge of how things are. And that's the direct perception of emptiness.

By the way, it can only be done in a deep meditation. There are some stories of this guy saw emptiness while he was cutting wood or something like that.

[Speaker 2]
Not possible.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? It can only do in deep meditation. And generally, you have to meditate about an hour a day to see emptiness directly.

So, if you don't want to be Sanga Jewel, there's an easy way to avoid it. Don't meditate for an hour every day.

[Speaker 2]
Then you will never be Sanga Jewel. You will die before it happens.

[Speaker 1]
Okay. Second example. CHOS NI DE SEMS CAN THAMS CAD LA SKYA BAR RTOG PA NI JI GNAS PA RIGS PA means a knowledge of what things there are.

And that's a knowledge that all the people you meet have their own emptiness.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
All the people you ever meet have their own emptiness. In a way, all the people you ever meet are like an empty mirror. And when you come in front of them, you see yourself.

Okay? Every ... You want good news or bad news?

Let's start with bad news, okay? Every irritating person you ever met in your life is a perfect reflection of you. What's the good news?

[Speaker 2]
Therefore, you can change them.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, like in my building in New York, I did a 19-year Dharma experiment. I want to make 800 people perfect. One by one.

And I think I did it, okay? Except for that one guy, okay? He's not coming from me.

Okay. In our retreat center, there's a joke. Somebody come in, you know, after a meeting?

I can't believe it, you know? Everybody in that meeting was stupid, you know? Then everybody else goes ...

Understand?

[Speaker 2]
The world is a mirror.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, so that's the second one. Everything you see, every person you meet, is like a pen, or like the husband in the kitchen.

[Speaker 2]
What you see is always coming from you, and from nobody else.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, so ... How to know you are successful in your Buddhist practice? You meet more and more nice people.

Okay? They are the thermometer of your own mind. Okay, so slowly, as you practice, you should have more and more sweet people around you.

[Speaker 2]
And if that's not happening, there's a problem with your practice.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, so, you know, people ask me, how do I know if I'm practicing good or not? Do you have more nice people around you than last year? If you do, your practice is getting better.

If you don't, you have to change your practice. Okay, third one. Yeshe denyi soso rang rikpa means you understand that you understand.

Okay? Many people came to me, Kishla! What?

[Speaker 2]
I think I saw emptiness directly.

[Speaker 1]
I say, you didn't.

[Speaker 2]
I say, you didn't.

[Speaker 1]
Why? You know. Everybody who saw emptiness directly knows they saw emptiness directly, because knowing you saw emptiness directly is part of seeing emptiness directly.

If you're not sure, you didn't. So don't ask me. Okay?

All right? It's part of the experience that you know you saw it, and you don't have to ask anybody. I'll tell you something interesting.

The first day you see emptiness directly, you see it as much as a Buddha sees it. So either you see it, or you don't see it. If you see it, you see it as much as anyone else ever saw it.

Not ninety percent or eighty percent. Not possible.

[Speaker 2]
Okay? And the purpose of having these classes twenty-four retreats now, is to see it directly.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? It's the main goal. Okay?

All right.

[Speaker 2]
And it takes a lot of work.

[Speaker 1]
It's not easy. Okay?

[Speaker 2]
But you can do it.

[Speaker 1]
Everybody here can do it. If you understand the pen, you're at eighty percent.

[Speaker 2]
Okay? I'll tell you something.

[Speaker 1]
To be in the room when someone explains the pen, I know you feel it's irritating when you're in the room for the 100th time that someone's explaining the pen.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
But the karma to hear someone explain the pen, you are one person out of a hundred million people.

[Speaker 2]
Okay? Only one person in a hundred million people has this karma. Okay?

So next time you feel you're not special, think about it.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? You're about one person in a hundred million. Okay?

[Speaker 2]
One hundred million?

[Speaker 1]
Yeah.

[Speaker 2]
If you're in this room, so you can little bit, you know, I'm special person.

[Speaker 1]
You are special. Okay? To hear it one time in your life is extremely rare and extremely powerful.

Okay? If you hear it once, you cannot stop. Okay?

Nobody can stop you.

[Speaker 2]
Okay? You will become a Buddha very fast. Okay.

[Speaker 1]
So those are three. First one. I like Chinese people.

They take notes.

[Speaker 2]
Not like ... Chinese people.

[Speaker 1]
Okay. They actually retain something more than a day. Number one.

Yeah, saw emptiness directly. Number two.

[Speaker 2]
Understood everybody has it.

[Speaker 1]
Number three. They know they have the first two. Okay.

Those three are kinds of knowledge. And they free you from three kinds of problems. So, here's number four.

You have less attachment to things. Okay? You have less attachment to things.

This is a long subject. It's late. You're tired.

You're going to be more tired tomorrow. Okay, so let's do it tonight. Okay.

It's about the idea of attachment. You know, many people came to me, they say, I feel bad. I say, why?

They say, I'm a bad person. Why? I have attachment.

Why? I love my husband. I love my kids.

I love my parents.

[Speaker 2]
I'm very attached to them.

[Speaker 1]
So, I think I'm a bad Buddhist. I have attachment. That's a big misunderstanding.

[Speaker 2]
Okay.

[Speaker 1]
You're supposed to be attached to your husband and your kids and your parents.

[Speaker 2]
If you're a good Buddhist, you're supposed to love them. You're supposed to want to keep them.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, so forget that idea of attachment. Okay? It's wrong.

We showed the picture of Amitabha in Amitabha's paradise this morning. Right? Remember?

Was Amitabha like this? Or was Amitabha like this? Okay, they're like this.

Is there any ugly thing in that painting?

[Speaker 2]
No, everything's beautiful.

[Speaker 1]
Does Amitabha want to stay in Amitabha's paradise? Of course. Is that attachment?

Yes. Is it bad? No.

What, you want Amitabha to go to hell or something? Amitabha should stay in Amitabha's paradise. Okay, that's correct.

So Geshe-la, what's meaning here, number four? Freedom from attachment. What's it mean?

Okay, so I have these special pens. I like to bring them on the tour. Because it's easy for me to sign a book.

It's a little bit fat. It's easy, it looks nice when I sign the book, you know? So I carry many of these pens with me.

Am I attached to them? I am. I like them.

What's correct attachment, and what's wrong attachment?

[Speaker 2]
If someone comes to me and says, Geshe-la, I like your pen, and I have correct attachment, it means I want more of these.

[Speaker 1]
What should I do with the pen? I should give to them. You keep it.

Okay, when my hand opens, and I see my hand open, it plants a seed in my mind. From that seed will come at least ten pens. So if you're attached to something correctly, you should give it easily.

Because you will get more. Okay? That's why I always give yo-taos and donuts to people.

I'm not nice guy, I want more. Okay? That's correct attachment.

Here, it's a freedom from the obstacle of attachment. Wrong attachment. Here's wrong attachment.

Xiaoping said, I like your pen. Oh, really?

[Speaker 2]
I hope you get one.

[Speaker 1]
Okay. That's stupid attachment. I lost a chance to make ten more pens.

Okay, understand? It's not liking the pen which is wrong. It's thinking that to keep it, you will keep it.

Okay, got it? Is it wrong to like things? No.

[Speaker 2]
A guy asked me after the class, I went outside.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, he's not in the class, okay? And he said, you're Geshe Michael. I said, yes.

He said, oh, I read your book many years ago. I didn't know you're here, you know? Then he said, can I ask you a question?

I said, yeah. Then he asked me a half hour question about sex.

[Speaker 2]
Then I'm like...

[Speaker 1]
Then he finished, you know? Basically, the question is, is it okay to have sex? I said, is it okay your heart beat?

He said, yeah. I said, okay, it's okay to have sex.

[Speaker 2]
With your... with your heart beat? With your wife, you know, properly, happily, kindly.

That's great, no problem. It's not against Buddhism. Okay?

Enjoy your life.

[Speaker 1]
Make your wife happy, make your husband happy.

[Speaker 2]
That's great.

[Speaker 1]
That's fine, no problem. It's not attachment. Okay, got it?

There's some Buddhist school that says like this. Equanimity. Don't feel good.

Don't feel happy. Don't feel sad. Someone kiss you?

Someone hit you? Then this is supposed to be Buddhism. It's not.

Okay?

[Speaker 2]
You should enjoy your life.

[Speaker 1]
You should help other people to enjoy their life. It's not wrong to enjoy things. If you understand gong shing, you will enjoy things more than other people.

Me and Scott went surfing last year. You know, people are like, what? Buddhist teacher?

Surfing? I said, why not? It's fun.

[Speaker 2]
Okay, no problem. Okay, understand? It's not attachment.

Attachment means ...

[Speaker 1]
Okay, like that. It's stupid. You won't get more pain.

[Speaker 2]
Okay, understand?

[Speaker 1]
Okay, so stop the wrong kind of attachment. It's the fourth quality of the Sangha jewel. Fifth quality of Sangha jewel.

You refuse to accept limits. For example, okay, there are many economic systems in the world.

[Speaker 2]
Capitalism. Communism.

[Speaker 1]
Socialism. Many, many kinds of ism.

[Speaker 2]
They're all the same in one way.

[Speaker 1]
They see the world like a big pizza. Okay? Capitalist system.

There are eight pieces of pizza, and we should compete. Me and Xiaoping should compete. I should try to get five pieces of pizza, and she only gets three pieces.

Kandaji should fight with McDonald's. Shimbaka should fight with Coca-Cola. Okay?

This is capitalism. Try to get more, and don't share with other people. You know, sometimes socialism ...

Let's split the pizza into 376 pieces. Everybody will get half bite. Okay?

Those are two different systems, and they have limits. There's only one pizza, it's only this big, it has eight pieces, and we have ... economy means, how do we split the eight pieces?

What's Buddhist economics? Give the pizza to her. It will make two pizzas.

Okay? What to do with two pizzas? Give them to another person.

You make four pizzas. Okay? It keeps expanding.

No limit. When you understand that, you reach the fifth quality of the Sangha Jewel. There are no limits.

In Tibetan or in Sanskrit, it's called a Sangha.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
Tokme, a Sangha. That teacher's name from India, a Sangha, doesn't ...

[Speaker 2]
It's the same thing.

[Speaker 1]
His name means, his name means no limit. Most famous teacher in China, I think. Okay?

From India. His name means no limit. Everybody can have ten pizzas.

We don't have to fight. We just make more.

[Speaker 2]
Economy is unlimited.

[Speaker 1]
Your knowledge, who you can be, is unlimited. When you understand it, then you got part of Sangha Jewel. Okay, number six is a third kind of freedom from lower motivation.

Okay? What do you want in your life? What do you want to achieve?

You know, oh Geshe-la, I would like to be happy. I want enough money. I want to have a nice family.

I like to be healthy, not too many wrinkles. I like to have energy. Inside, I like to have peace.

Then I'll be happy. It's not enough. That's lower motivation.

Okay? You can't be happy if all the people around you are unhappy. Okay?

It's not possible. Okay?

[Speaker 2]
If you're the only person in this room who's happy, you won't be happy.

[Speaker 1]
We all have to be happy. If you want to be happy, you have to make everybody happy. Or you have to try.

That's a secret to be happy. Okay? So, lower motivation, I want to be happy.

Higher motivation, listen, I want to make all beings happy. Then my lama said, he gave me examination, you know, what's lower motivation? I want to be happy myself.

[Speaker 2]
What's higher motivation?

[Speaker 1]
I want to make every living being happy.

[Speaker 2]
Then suddenly he asked me a question.

[Speaker 1]
Are you one of them? Yeah. Okay?

So, higher motivation doesn't mean you have to give up your happiness. It's important to understand. Some Buddhist people think, I have to make everyone else happy except me, then I'm a good Buddhist.

It's wrong for me to want to be happy. Real Buddhists should make everybody else happy, and then they should not be happy.

[Speaker 2]
That's a big mistake.

[Speaker 1]
The best way to make other people happy is to make yourself happy first. Then people will copy you. There's a way to use the four steps to get a boyfriend.

I mean if you're not married already. Okay? You're supposed to go and visit lonely people.

Okay? And that will plant the seeds to ... you got the Oslo?

How long is it going to take you to get ... I don't know. Okay, I'm going to show you a video.

Okay? And it's an answer to a question. And then we're finished for tonight.

Many DCI people already saw this video. I was in Norway. One young man asked me a question.

[Speaker 2]
Geshe-la, how do I use four steps to get a girlfriend?

[Speaker 1]
Number one, tell me what you want. I want a girlfriend. Number two, find someone else who's lonely.

For example, the loneliest people in the world are in the nursing homes. If you need to find a lonely person easily to find a girlfriend, you can go to the nursing home. They are full of lonely people.

[Speaker 2]
Super lonely.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, step number three, take them out to a movie once a week. Okay, make them un-lonely once a week. That's step number three.

What's step number four? Yeah, when you go to sleep at night, think about two different things. Number one, you know, I'm happy I'm helping a lonely old person.

Number two, I'm happy I'm using a new system to get a boyfriend which is more intelligent than going to nightclub. Okay?

[Speaker 2]
Then try it. Okay? You ready?

[Speaker 1]
Yeah, okay, so I told the young man. Then he's very strange young man. Why?

He actually tried it. Every year, 20,000 people listen to the four steps.

[Speaker 2]
Two or three of them try it.

[Speaker 1]
He tried it. Okay? Then, like two years after that, he sent me this video.

He said, this video Geshe-la is being shown on Norway national television. Several times every day. The video was made by the Norwegian government.

It was paid for by the national telephone company. It's, I think, two minutes long. They are speaking Norway language.

I don't understand what they're saying. There's one word I learned. Shino.

Shino means in Russian, paruskiya te kino. It means, go to the movies. So, I'm going to show you the movie.

Why? Because the sixth quality of the Sangha jewel is equality. No more limitation.

No lower motivation. Look at the advertisement from Norway TV. See if you can guess what's happening.

[Speaker 2]
Okay.

[Speaker 1]
Surprise. Surprise.

[Speaker 2]
What in the world am I doing at the cinema? I'm 80 years old.

[Speaker 1]
That was the last time you were at the cinema. The last time you were at the cinema. It's been a long time.

I've been to the cinema a lot, but it's become less and less. After all this time.

[Speaker 2]
It's an experience for us. We have so many experiences.

[Speaker 1]
They were so happy and grateful. It was so fun to meet them and hug them.

[Speaker 2]
It's an experience when you're 86 years old. It's a great cavalier. It's an experience like we did when we were young.

[Speaker 1]
She came up to me and said she didn't want to be separated from me. The cavalier took me in his arms and kissed me on the cheek. Then I felt, this is very strong.

What happened in Norway? Norway. One young guy decided to try a new system to get a girlfriend.

He tried the four steps.

[Speaker 2]
He got a wonderful girlfriend.

[Speaker 1]
Then his friend came. What did you do? Tell me, what's the address of the nightclub?

What's the website? Is there any more girls like that? Where did you get her?

What did he say?

[Speaker 2]
Nursing home.

[Speaker 1]
She looks so young. No, you don't understand. I collected seeds in the nursing home by taking care of lonely persons, and then I ...

my girlfriend's coming from my mind. Oh, I thought you had a real girlfriend. No, no, she comes from my mind and I can kiss her.

Okay? Real. Real girlfriend comes from my mind.

[Speaker 2]
Like a pen. Then his friend tried it.

[Speaker 1]
Then he got a girlfriend.

[Speaker 2]
Then friend's friend tried it.

[Speaker 1]
Then became girlfriend revolution in Norway. Everybody's going to nursing home. There's a long line of young people at the nursing home.

[Speaker 2]
You have any old ladies?

[Speaker 1]
Yes, they're busy. Can I make appointment? Yeah, okay, two weeks she's available.

Okay, something happening in Norway. No more lonely young people. No more lonely old people.

Seriously. And the government will pay you if you're a young person, the government will pay you to go to the nursing home. That's an advertisement.

If you bring an old lady to the movie, both tickets are free. National telephone company's paying. What happened?

That one young man made himself happy first.

[Speaker 2]
He made himself successful first. Then everybody copied him.

[Speaker 1]
Then it spread like virus.

[Speaker 2]
He became Dharma virus.

[Speaker 1]
Now everyone going to nursing home. Old ladies are too busy. I saw that movie already.

Okay? In New York, there are many drug dealers. You can see them.

I don't know why the police cannot see them. They're like this. You know?

Everybody can see them.

[Speaker 2]
I don't know why the police can't see them.

[Speaker 1]
Now in Norway, it's not drug dealer. You got the phone number? Yeah.

$50. How old? She's 92.

Okay? Understand? Make yourself happy first.

[Speaker 2]
Find the secret.

[Speaker 1]
Kongshin. Emptiness. Use it yourself first.

Then people will copy you. Automatically people will copy you.

[Speaker 2]
Whole world will become happy.

[Speaker 1]
You know, in every Buddhist temple in the world, we are supposed to go there. SANGS RGYAS CHOS RANG TSOR GYIS MTHONG RANG LA DANG PHYIR BAR DU DANG NYID RGYAS TSOR GCIG DANG GIS CHEN TSOR GYIS PA'I SEMS NAM GYIS DANG LA PHAN CHOS SANGS RGYAS RUG PAR SHOG DGE BA'ADI DGE BA KUN SEMS RNAM YIN SHES TSOR RDZOGS SHING SEMS RNAM YIN SHES MED CHUNG BA'I DANG PO KUN YID RTOG PAR SHOG Okay? Everybody pray for all living beings.

Okay? They say you're supposed to love all living beings. Then you know, you're supposed to go to temple and think about everybody.

This system is more powerful. Okay? This is real love.

It's not, I wish the world will change. In Norway, it changed already. There's no lonely old people.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
How did it happen? One young man tried four steps. Then virus spread.

Now there's much fewer lonely old people in the whole country. And there's much fewer lonely young people in the whole country. Is that love?

It's real love. It's not this one. Okay?

It's real love. Hundreds of thousands of people are not lonely who used to be lonely. Okay?

So if you really love people, then become Sangha Jewel yourself.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
Change yourself. And it will spread. How many people came to the talk tonight on a horse?

How many people got to Phuket on a horse?

[Speaker 2]
Raise your hand if you came on a horse.

[Speaker 1]
Why not? Geshe-la, airplanes a little more convenient. Okay?

They didn't have to make a law against horses. They just made an airplane. Now nobody use horse.

If everybody use nursing home, nightclubs will die. Dating websites will die.

[Speaker 2]
Okay, understand?

[Speaker 1]
Why? Because it works better. It's like airplane compared to horse.

Nightclubs are stinky. Websites are weird. You get weird people on a website.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
Fly in an airplane. Don't use a horse. Okay?

Use the four steps. Don't use nightclubs and websites. Okay, last thing.

I'm sorry we're late.

[Speaker 2]
But I'm not sorry.

[Speaker 1]
How many of the eight qualities of the Sangha Jewel did we finish? Six. Seven and eight are weird.

I'll tell it to you in ten seconds. Number seven is the first three are knowledge. Number eight is the next three are freedom.

[Speaker 2]
Good night.