Серия «Сутра Алмазного огранщика», часть 4 — Девять посланий: неожиданный финал Камалашилы к «Сутре Алмазного огранщика» (2017, Даймонд-Маунтин, Аризона), занятие 3

[Speaker 1]
Good morning Dasha Hall. Let's do lion's dance. Turn off your phone please.

Russian? Louder? Okay.

Today let's go through the whole thing, alright? Which means we'll go up and we'll come back down, okay? And we won't dwaddle.

Dwaddle? Dwaddle. We'll go through it without much explanation, okay?

Clear your throat, blow your nose. So relax your shoulders, and relax your fingers. Try to keep your forehead relaxed.

I like to find a center point with my spine, so go left and right, and find a center, and then go back and forward. And I think you'll find when you hit a sweet spot it feels like your spine is weightless. And for me that's a little farther back than normal.

Same with your head. Your head is actually pretty heavy, and you have to balance it on the spine. Probably have to move it back a little bit.

Relax your fingers. Pull in your stomach just a little bit. Every time you exhale you can tighten your stomach a little bit.

Not crazy, but just a little bit. It helps keep your lower spine straight. I find when the weather is cold, which it's a little cold here this morning, I put my, I can put my hands in my lap, and the closeness of my arms to my body makes me warmer.

And then if the weather is hot, I put my arms out, and I put my hands on my thighs. You might find that your back stays more straight if you move your hands back on your thighs. And then you can come to a noise in the room.

We have a fan noise, and that's the desire realm. And follow that for ten breaths. And then come to the first form realm level, your heartbeat.

Then go into the heartbeat. you and observe the heartbeat from a distance, without any emotional involvement with it. you you Then imagine a grain of sugar, and put your mind inside.

Drop the heart. you you you Then imagine a vast lake. Drop a pebble in the middle, and see a ripple go each way inside your mind.

Come back to the center of your mind, turn on a light of awareness, and watch this clear light expand infinitely. Then simply shut off the mind, and block any thoughts that come. And now, turn off the mind, but allow thoughts to flow.

And bring one of your teachers in your life to sit in front of you. And then think of one of the things you love about them, one of the qualities you admire. Look onto the center of your mind, and see six or seven silver seeds, eggs, shining.

And then slowly one of them cracks open, and out of it comes an image made of light of this quality you enjoy in your teacher. And it passes to the outside in front of you, and settles on the teacher. And you realize that what you see in your teacher has been coming from you all this time.

And I must have planted those seeds partly, at least partly, in a past life. And go on an imaginary journey to recreate that past life, and use all the fleeting images that come through your mind, and any experience you've had in the last few days. You can use that material to make a movie of your past life.

So be creative. Feel unrestrained. Could have been any world, could have been in any body that you were wearing.

You could have been any occupation. But you are showing this good quality to other people. And that's the beauty of it, is that you're showing that to other people, and you're showing that to yourself, and you're showing that to other people, and you're showing that to other people, and you're showing that to yourself, and you're showing that to other people, and you're showing that to other people, and you're showing that to other people, and you're showing that to yourself, and then come back to the image of your teacher, and respectfully ask them to move to this side. and now imagine a teacher who looks the same in front of you, but this one is not coming from you, it's just accidental.

They have been created accidentally by accidental forces in the world, outer world, and you have met them by accident and there's no shared destiny with them, just random. And try to get a sense of how wrong that feels. Then cancel that impossible, random teacher and try to get a sense of how wrong that feels.

Get a sense of the space that's left behind in front of you when you cancel them, when you deny that they exist. Then there's a kind of space or availability, white movie screen in front of you, left behind by their absence. This is emptiness.

Try to put your mind into that space, try to hold it in the mind for as long as you can. Experiment with ways of relating to this space. It's not a physical space, it's the absence of a teacher who was impossible.

Try to leave the other parts of the world and your mind and try to enter this space and just think on it. Then you can ask your teacher to come back in front of you, the one who's coming from you. And I like to imagine that the, I like to picture the emptiness of the accidental picture, accidental teacher is still at the core of the real teacher.

It's the space in which they can exist. Then we'll do the second part of the lion's dance. We'll come down the eight levels, go back to turning off the mind and allowing, surrendering to any distractions that come.

Then seventh level, come down to turning off the mind but resisting random thoughts, feelings. Then bring the clear light, the great sphere of clear light, start bringing it back from the edges of the universe, back towards you, towards the center of your mind. Bring the ripples of the lake back.

Go back into the grain of sugar and come back to the heart beating in a vacuum, distance from you. Then back inside the heart beating, and then back into yourself, watching the heart beating in your chest. Then follow three long exhales.

Imagine each exhale is a golden-colored light, and with that light spreading out to this place, people in this place, people in this country, people in this world, and the breath, the golden light is touching them and sharing with them this beautiful knowledge that the world is coming from my seeds and I can make a perfect world. Three long exhales. You can gently open your eyes.

Take a stretch. Any questions? Any microphone?

[Speaker 2]
Thank you, Geshe-la. I'm having a hard time with level seven and eight, qi yang me. I don't—how can I turn off my mind?

It doesn't make any sense to me.

[Speaker 1]
Okay. Venerable Utpala said she's having trouble with seven and eight, which is called— seven is qi yang me, eight is du she me, du she me min. Seven is a famous argument over level seven because actually you cannot shut off your mind.

It's not possible. You're supposed to try. You will find something that feels like shutting off your mind, as if someone had conked you out, or you're in a deep sleep.

But, you shouldn't feel bad because actually you cannot shut off your mind. And, there was a big argument about it for many centuries, and some Buddhist teachers were teaching it as a path to nirvana, and they were teaching it as seeing emptiness, which it's not related at all, right? There's no connection at all.

But they misunderstood the meaning of emptiness, and they thought you could turn off the mind, but it's not—it's actually not possible. If you're watching the mind turn off, then the mind is on. And the harder you try to turn it off, the more you think.

So, you can imagine that the mind is turned off, and the point is to get extremely quiet. And you know, and I think it's interesting, probably your graduate students will write books about, you know, then why do you go to level eight, and why do you let the mind think of some things, and then try to pretend they're not there, and there must be some big meaning between seven and eight also. Like, to go from blocking the thoughts, which takes more effort and it's more noisy, to allowing thoughts to float through your mind, okay?

So, those two are very attractive. When I was in Europe recently teaching this in Romania, Romanians are very romantic. Probably romantic comes from Romanian, I don't know.

But, they were like, oh Geshe-la, now you really taught us meditation, you know? And I was like, no, these are the worst two, you know? These are the two famous mistakes that people make in history, and they think it's emptiness, and they think it's going to help them.

The karma of stopping and getting off at the seventh floor, or the eighth floor, the karma is very famous. The seed you plant by stopping at seven or eight is that you become forgetful, and you lose your keys, and you lose your cell phone, and you can't remember your social security number, and things like that, okay? It's a strange karma, and you don't want that karma.

You don't want to stop there, okay? Very famous karma, and a very famous mistake. So, don't be too attracted to it.

And you can't do it actually, but try. Other question?

[Speaker 2]
Yeah, thank you for your teaching, Geshe-la. I have a big confusion, because sometimes just shut down my mind, sometimes open the light. I don't know, every time in different level, I will feel that it's a little bit seems that I fall asleep.

Yeah, but it's different, because when I do tonglen or something, I will totally fall asleep, and it will be several hours later that I will come back. But every time I do the lion dance, no matter here or listening the record, I will hear that, please get back to your mind, or something like that. I can go back every time.

So, I'm not sure that whether I am really sleeping, or I am into some level that I'm— or otherwise, I am following your instruction or something. I'm in confusion.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, when I do number seven, I always think of Je Tsongkapa. There's a famous story that he was doing level seven in the temple with, you know, like 500 other monks, and then he did shut off, I mean he came close to shutting off his mind, and then they rang the bell, and everybody else left, and he stayed there because he couldn't hear anything, because his mind was shut off. Then that night, like ten hours later, somebody found him in the temple, he's still sitting there with his mind shut off, and they're like, wake up, it's over!

And sometimes I worry about that, like I'm very worried that I'll miss breakfast. So, yeah, there must be some part of your mind that is still listening, right? To the recording, because when I say come back, you come back.

So, yeah, I think there are many levels of the mind, and we are going quieter each time, and I don't think you're completely asleep, I don't think you're asleep, I think your just mind is going down to a quiet level, and that's fine, that's part of the exercise. One day I fell asleep completely and hit my head on the wall, and that's a different thing. That means you didn't have enough sleep the night before.

So, you're just kind of moving to a lower state of consciousness, quieter place, and that's fine. And if you do it really well, maybe we'll find you in your cabin next week, still sitting. So, that's fine, don't worry about it.

It sounds good to me, it's okay, yeah. You're not asleep. It's not sleep.

There's a weird thing about four kinds of consciousness, waking consciousness, deep sleep, dream sleep, like that. Probably you're going down to dream sleep, something like that. Okay.

Thank you Geshe-la. Thanks for coming. By the way, Will is one of the first students here, and he did all the tile on all the windows many years ago.

Thank you for that. Thank you. So, my question, level nine, we cancel out the boo-boo teacher, and for me there's a boo-boo me there, and the eggs are boo-boos, and I want to see where, and so as I go down, where does all that come from?

[Speaker 2]
Where does that arise from?

[Speaker 1]
Yeah, good. So, what Will is saying is that not only do I normally have a feeling that these things around me are not coming from me, but that also applies to me, my own awareness of myself. I don't have a full appreciation that my own thoughts are coming from seeds, and the person meditating is coming from seeds, and the meditation is coming from seeds, and you can go there if you want, that's okay, that's called the three spheres, and you can, if you have time, you can appreciate that the person meditating is also coming from seeds, and you can, I think it's very fruitful to picture that the meditation itself is coming from seeds, and obviously the object is, the Lama is coming from seeds, but there is a practice where you examine how all three are coming from seeds, and you can cancel all three who are not coming from seeds, and that's a beautiful meditation, and that's a good place to go. They say it's particularly useful when you're angry at somebody, or you're upset at somebody, that you can, there's a school of thought, sung dang sung dzin gyi tse ma, dze shen gyi tongwa, that says when you feel upset at somebody, you should reflect that you put yourself here. You put them here obviously, but, you put them in the room, but you also put yourself in the room.

So, on two, in two ways, the only person to blame is yourself. You created them, but you also put yourself in the same room with people that you don't like. Okay, so.

Yeah, that's called three spheres, that's fine. That's a, that's really nice to think about if you can. Yeah.

And, and don't feel lost, okay? Don't feel like, oh there's nothing there, or there's nobody there. Actually, as we're going to learn today from the verse, the person you always felt was there was never there.

That's scary. You see, that's scary that you spent all these years with Will Mead, who didn't exist, you know, protecting him, caring for him, and, so don't feel lost or, you know, that the meditator is gone somehow. Actually, you just found the real meditator for the first time, so you should feel some kind of comforting.

[Speaker 2]
Is it dipping, does that arise out of a greater consciousness that ...

[Speaker 1]
Yeah. The awareness of ... that will's coming from seeds arises from ...

we just studied it last week. Millions of years of good seeds. To realize what's going on, finally, comes from millions of years of good seeds.

And, the text we were reading last week was by whom? First Panchen Lama. Devil debates an angel.

And he said, the only way you could have made enough karma to hear this teaching this week was that you served a teacher, and you helped a teacher spread the teaching. So, that's why we ... during the meditation we focus on a teacher instead of a pizza, or ...

watermelon, okay? Because it's ... it's automatic good karma to think about your teacher.

And, according to the Panchen Lama, First Panchen Lama, that's the only way to get enough karma to hear someone teach the Diamond Cutter Sutra. One more question. Thank you Tim.

Thank you Geshe-la. My question is, when you teach level ... DCI level 7, you teach us full space.

[Speaker 2]
And, now in this retreat, you teach us lion's dance. And, these two meditations also help us, support us to see emptiness directly. So, what's the connection between these two?

[Speaker 1]
And, if we just have one hour, so, what's supposed us to do? Which meditation we should do? Or, if we have two hours, what we'll do the first, and what will be the next?

[Speaker 2]
Okay, good.

[Speaker 1]
Thank you. The fourth kind of space in the Four Spaces Meditation is real emptiness. After playing with three kinds of things that you might mistake for emptiness.

And, the emptiness of the Lama who's not coming from you, the Bubu Lama, is the fourth kind of space. So, that's where the two meditations connect. We studied last week, again in the First Penchen Lama's text, we learned ...

well, we were trying to finish 25 wrong meditations on emptiness. He taught ... he reviews 25 mistaken meditations on emptiness.

And, he spends some time talking about doing the wrong kind of meditation on us. Meditation which is called nam kha tabu. Nam kha tabu means space-like meditation.

So, there are three classical mistakes about what does space mean when you say space-like meditation, which means meditation on emptiness. There were, in history, three classical wrong ideas. And, when you teach somebody meditation, there's a tradition to explain the wrong ones also.

Then, they won't do it, you see what I mean? Then, they won't make that mistake and start trying to do that kind of meditation. You see, you explain ...

he explains 25 wrong kinds of emptiness meditation, then he only gives one correct one, okay? We didn't get to it, number 26. So, there are three wrong ideas about what does space-like meditation mean.

One is what? Anybody? Lowest one.

Blue sky. Like, I should ... and you hear people ...

you can read books, you know, people who didn't get training, and they'll say, think about the blue sky, it'll make you happy, you know. And then the second kind? Outer space, you know, space means the infinite black place where stuff is sitting in it.

Third one? Third one much more difficult. The place where the clock is sitting, right?

I take the clock out of the space, I put the clock back in the space, there's a space here, place, where I can put the clock, I can take the clock out. That space is a little bit better because it's the absence of something, it's a negative thing. But it's the absence of something which really exists, you see?

And that's not emptiness. Emptiness means the absence of something that couldn't exist. And I like to give the example of a credit card, I have a ...

I like to take people out to dinner, because I like to eat dinner, and I say, I'll take you guys out to dinner, and then I go out. This is a DCI emptiness teaching. You ...

Then I'll change my clothes, I'll put on my black pants because they look nicer, and I'll leave my credit card in my blue pants. Then when I get to the restaurant, we eat, and then I say, don't worry Nick, I'll pay for dinner. And then I reach in my pocket, and I'm like ...

And then I realize I left my credit card in my other pants, okay? But that's not the end of the story. What's the end of the story?

It was a Discover card. This is a special kind of lousy credit card in America for people who can't get a credit card. And just when you touch it you pay interest like thousand percent.

You know? And ... it's a not ...

doesn't work. It's a stupid credit card. It's a credit card that's not a credit card.

Understand? When you forget that kind of credit card, that ... that's emptiness.

See? Because it doesn't work anyway. Even if I brought it, it doesn't work.

Okay? That's emptiness. Okay?

Third kind of space is the absence of a union card or a master card that works. Okay? That's not emptiness.

Emptiness means the thing you thought was there doesn't work anyway. It's not real. It's not a real credit card.

Okay? It doesn't matter if it was there or not. Okay?

So, that's the fourth kind of space. So, my suggestion is ... the fourth space in meditation is shorter.

You know? And when you're teaching people, I think it's good to start with that. This kind of lion's dance, minimum, it took us an hour.

It took 50 minutes. And I think it's for when people are stronger in their meditation. We didn't do three parts of it yet.

There's three more parts. They're called tu gel gyi ting yin dzin. And we're going to do that slowly every time we meet together.

We'll make the meditation more detailed. There's three more parts that we have to do. Okay?

That's my suggestion. The first meditation you should teach people is what? Well, breath ...

doesn't ... yeah, tong len. Okay?

Giving and taking. Okay? That's the first one.

That should always be the first one. Because that really helps people. Is that meditation in direct contradiction to the misperception of the world?

You got to think about it. Because selfishness is somehow linked to misunderstanding emptiness. Okay?

You have to think about that. Okay? Alright, let's go to the ...

you guys need a break I think. PP break. Okay?

Let's take a PP break, then we'll come back and do ... what do we have to do? Maya.

Good. Okay. Illusion.

Number ... yeah, we finished karma, love, and money. We finished star, cataract, and butter lamp.

Now we go to illusion. Okay, take a break. Have it.

Tomorrow, those two guys, girls, will be standing at the door, and you have to give them the verse to get in the class. I'm not kidding. Okay?

Got it? So, your ticket tomorrow to the class is this Sanskrit verse. Okay?

You don't have to sing it, because some people's singing is pretty bad. Okay? Okay?

You guys on? Okay, you have to come a little bit early tomorrow. So, you cannot get in the class unless you can say this.

Okay? Then I'll teach you a principle in the monastery. When you don't know the verse, you ...

you go, ... Then the teacher goes, okay, okay. It's called Wawa.

It has a name, it's called Wawa. You think all those monks are all singing the same thing? No.

Okay? Serious. Pretty serious.

Okay? Alright? So, come a little early, come five minutes early tomorrow, because there'll be a line.

Okay? Alright. Okay, we were doing the illusion part.

We said it's going to have nine parts. I was talking to Veronica, I don't know if we can get to the scripture. So, maybe we do five Kamalashilas.

I'm not sure yet. I'm not sure yet. We'll see.

Okay? We'll see how it goes. Okay?

Okay. First one. What's this third group?

Third group? Second group? Call.

Yeah, nice. How you taste the world. What's the first group called?

Yeah, what is your world like? It's like a star, it's like an eye problem, and it's like a lamp. Okay?

That's how your world is like. Now we reach the second group, which has how many members? One.

And it's how do you taste your world? Okay? And there are nine parts.

So, Vasubandhu, Master Vasubandhu, Master Kamalashila, Jamyang Shepad Dorje, Joni Lama, they all like to say our taste of the world, how we experience things, is mistaken. Okay? We don't understand where things are coming from.

Okay? We don't understand where things are coming from. Okay?

For example, the green drink. Some people say, oh, delicious. Some people, like me, say, oh, terrible.

Then, both the people who say it's good and bad, they feel like the taste is in the cup. They don't realize taste is coming from their mind. Okay?

From seed, which they planted last week, last month, last life. Okay? We don't know.

Okay? So, the first idea about the illusion is that all the things we taste in the world, meaning experience. In Buddhism, taste means experience.

All the things we taste, we are making a mistake. We don't understand where they're coming from. Okay?

That's the first one. That's the most important meaning of illusion. If you want to improve the taste of the green drink at Diamond Mountain, don't talk to the cook.

Okay? Talk nicer to other people. Talk more sweetly to other people, and then your green drink will taste good after a while.

Okay? Because it's coming from you. Alright, second one.

Tendar Tharamba said, this especially applies to pleasure and pain. Okay? We think it's coming from the object, but it's not.

That's an illusion. It's always coming from us. Good feelings, things that make us happy, and things that make us unhappy, both are coming from us.

Okay? And we don't understand that. Okay?

So, what's the difference between the first one and the second one? In the second one, we are more talking about pleasure and pain. Where does pleasure come from?

Where does pain come from? Okay? In the first one, we're just saying all the stuff you experience is really coming from you, but it doesn't look like that.

Okay? Third one. Kerup tenpa danggye— sorry, kway chok tenpa dun me.

He likes the explanation of maya by... especially that the lower middle way school likes to talk about. Okay?

So, the lower middle way school likes to talk about magic trick. Magic trick. And if you've ever been to India in the village, if you ever lived in a village in India, there are these traveling magicians, and they come into town, and everybody gets really happy.

They all... because they don't have TVs and... at least they didn't used to have TV.

And I've seen them. They're amazing. They're great magicians.

And they come and they do some magic for about an hour, and everybody comes out of their house and they all stand in the street and they watch the magician. Okay? And they will take a...

a small piece of stick, like smaller than that, about that big, and they will throw it on the ground. Okay? Then they have a mantra.

This is the old meaning of the word mantra. And they have a special kind of powder, and they go... and they blow the powder on the people, and they say mantra.

And then... it's weird, something happens to your eyes, you know? And you can see a horse from this thing, you know?

And sometimes they will make a beautiful pony, and all the kids are like, oh, pony! You know? And sometimes they will make a wild horse, and everybody's like, ah!

You know? So... this is...

a famous example in the lower middle way school. Okay? And they talk about...

who sees the horse, and who doesn't see the horse, okay? And who believes in the horse, okay? And then they talk about someone who came...

they came out of their house late, and they didn't get the mantra, and they didn't get the powder. Okay? So, there's three possibilities.

The people who came out of their house first, who heard the mantra, and they got the powder in their eyes, do they see a horse? Do they believe the horse? Yeah, okay?

That's first example. Okay? Does the magician see a horse?

Yeah, he got the powder, he got the mantra, he sees a horse. But does he believe the horse? No.

Okay? And the third possibility? The person who came later, they're like, why is everybody laughing, or why is everybody running?

I don't see anything. They don't see horse, and of course they don't believe in it. Okay?

So, how do these compare to illusion? Okay? How do these compare to illusion?

Most people in the world are like the people who got the powder and they got the mantra. Okay? They think the green drink taste is coming from the green drink.

Okay? They see the taste, and they believe it's in the green drink. Okay?

Then, how about the magician, oh sorry, how about the person who comes later? Who are they like? They are like an Arya.

Somebody told me I shouldn't say I'll kiss you, so... I'll give you a star. Okay?

That's great. The Arya, they don't see the illusion, and they don't believe in it. They see what's real.

Okay? They see there's no taste. She wants to know why I changed.

Siri is asking me, what do you mean? Geshe? She calls me Geshe.

Okay. Okay, so Arya, a person seeing emptiness directly, they don't believe it, and they don't see it. They don't think it's coming from the drink.

Okay? Now, what about the magician? That's more difficult.

Yeah, an Arya who came down out of the direct perception emptiness. Then intellectually, they understand the taste is not coming from the drink, but they still taste it. Okay?

It still tastes like that. They still feel like that, but they know there's wrong. They know that's an illusion.

Okay? They know they're crazy. Okay?

It looks like the taste coming from the green drink, but they know it's a wrong feeling. They know their equipment is broken. Okay?

They know there's a scratch on their eye. Okay? They don't believe it.

So, that's Khoangchand Tenpa Dunme. And what he wants to emphasize is that... in number three, okay?

In number three, the emphasis is that... on the wild horse and the pretty horse. Okay?

The emphasis is on number... in number three, the emphasis is on the beautiful horse, the pony, or the wild horse who is dangerous. Okay?

All of our fears and all of our hopes are false. Okay? All of our fears and all of our hopes.

We are reacting to the second husband. Okay? There's nothing there.

Okay? Anytime you have a big fear about the future, anytime you have a big hope about the future, it's all mistake. Okay?

Doesn't mean you shouldn't want a nice future, it doesn't mean that. If you want a nice future, just plant it. Okay?

You don't need to have a hope, you just do it. Okay? And you don't have to have a fear about someone you don't like, just fix them.

Okay? So, a person who understands the illusion can have a sane life, happy life, no more crazy emotions. Okay?

They know where things are coming from. Okay? Got it?

So, number two, sorry, number three, the emphasis is on the pony and the crazy horse. Okay? Stop having hopes, stop having worries about the future.

Okay? You don't have to hope, just do it. Just plant it.

Don't think, maybe I'll get rich next year, or maybe I'll find a partner, or maybe my partner will change next year. Don't hope, just do it. Just plant it.

Okay? Alright. Number D, number four, that's from Geshe Michael, that one's free.

Okay? It means, I just wanted to remind you of the meaning of illusion in Buddhism. Okay?

We don't believe everything's like illusion, so you should do what you want. Okay? We don't believe that.

We don't believe nothing matters because everything's illusion. That's not the meaning of illusion. The meaning of illusion is a discrepancy between what you see and what is real.

Okay? That's the only meaning of illusion. What you think is there doesn't match what is really there.

And that's the only meaning of illusion in Buddhism. Okay? It looks like the lousy taste of the green drink is coming from the cooks in the kitchen, but actually it's coming from me.

Okay? So, that's the meaning of illusion. That...

So, what should be your reaction to that meaning of illusion? Yeah, I have to be a nice person. Okay?

Someone who understands emptiness, automatically, the sign that they understand emptiness is that they understand they have to be nice to other people. No choice. No choice.

It's making my world. Okay? A sign that someone doesn't understand emptiness is, oh man, nothing's real, just do what you want.

You know? Everything's... devoid.

You know? I can eat as many your jowls as I want. Okay?

The sign that someone doesn't understand emptiness is they think illusion means nothing matters, or I don't have to be a good person. The sign that someone does understand emptiness is that they know they don't have a choice, they have to be a good person. Okay?

Alright. So, that's number four, is understand the basic meaning of illusion. The way it looks, and the way it is, don't match.

Okay? I like to call it discrepancy. Okay?

Number five was what I told you for number four. Okay? Number five is the three people involved.

The magician, the first spectator, and the spectator who came later. That's number five. Okay?

Number three is the pony and the stallion. Okay? So, I little bit...

I said number five too early. Okay? Number five is the three different kinds of people.

Magician, spectator, and later spectator. Arya, the indirect perception, Arya after direct perception, and normal people. Okay?

Number five is that. What's number three? Magic pony, magic horse, all your hopes, all your fears.

Okay? Our illusion. Okay?

Every worry you ever had was unnecessary. Okay? We were in Ukraine last month and we were talking about this and it means every person you ever got angry at or every person who ever upset you wasn't there.

Okay? And that means that every war that was ever fought was fought against an enemy who wasn't even there. Not in a metaphorical sense, in a real sense.

There was no enemy there. Okay? The enemy you thought was there was not there.

The husband who yelled at you from his side was not there. In World War II hundred million people, thirty million in China died for nothing. Okay?

For nothing. No purpose. The enemy wasn't there.

Okay? It's crazy. Okay?

It's the tragedy of of war. Okay? There's no enemy.

Okay. What number are we on? A, B, C, D, E, F.

Six, yeah. Okay. This is a cool one, of course they're all cool.

This is how Master Chandrakirti wants to talk about it. And especially he's commenting on the 400 verses. Chatur Shataka, who wrote it?

Aryadeva, who was the student of Nagarjuna. Okay, so Nagarjuna had a student named Aryadeva. He wrote a book called 400 Verses.

And Master Chandrakirti, who's like the greatest commentator on emptiness ever, he gives two nice examples that I thought you would like to know. Okay? One is, and he says this illusion is all about empty hopes.

He focuses on empty hopes. You have hopes, you are chasing things in your life. Goals, empty goals in your life.

Okay? That's number six. What...he has two examples. Okay? Number one, a dog comes up to you and they're hoping for a piece of food or something, and you... I like to...you know, you go like this, you take a rock, and you go...

and then they're like... you know, and then you're like... and they go...

and then you throw the rock, and then they run after the rock, and then they're like... you know? Okay?

So, Chandrakirti uses that example. For us, chasing illusions. Okay?

Maybe I can get... maybe the stock market will work next year, or maybe I should use real estate. Okay?

What's Geshe Michael say about stock market? Open the newspaper to the stocks, get a pen, stand over the newspaper, drop the pen, whatever the pen hits, buy that stock. Okay?

But first, help another person start their business. Then the stock will succeed. Okay?

Understand? It's not coming from the stock, it's coming from you. Okay?

So, a person who studies the stocks, talks to the experts, looks at the statistics, chooses carefully a stock, they are... a dog chasing a rug. Okay?

They are a dog chasing a rug. Okay? Maybe it worked, maybe it won't.

It doesn't matter. Okay? The experts don't matter.

If the experts knew which stock to buy, they would buy the stock and they wouldn't tell you. Understand? Okay?

If they knew, they would just quietly buy the stock and make more money. Okay? They don't know.

Nobody knows where the stock going tomorrow. Nobody in this planet knows. Okay?

Drop a... help someone else start their business, then buy any stock, it will succeed. Okay?

You will make money. Okay? Don't chase rocks.

Don't chase rocks. Can you show the picture for this meditation? It's a...

we're on meditation number 21. Okay? What's the picture?

Yeah, it's a baby and the mother is putting a... So, Chandrakirti says, oh, you want another example? It's the...

the baby who gets... the mother sticks their finger in the baby's mouth. Then they're like, oh...

it's like the rock. No milk. Okay, got it?

I asked Veronica, is it really like that? She said, well, they don't really expect milk, but anyway. Chandrakirti was a monk, he didn't know.

It's like sucking on a finger to get some milk, okay? Like, after a while the baby is like, this isn't working. You know?

Okay? So, to buy the stock based on the expert is like sucking on a finger to get some mother's milk. Okay?

Those are the two famous examples. That was... number...

six, okay? Number seven. Kwayangchok Tenpa Dume goes one step more.

He says, by the way, the thing about the finger in the baby's mouth, okay? He says, don't trust successes that you get if you don't understand them. Don't trust successes you already got if you don't understand them.

Be careful, okay? Everybody gets some success because of their old karma, okay? Then they get successful, like people who make a famous song from their old karma, and they become famous for a while.

Then they try to make a second song. Second albums are always terrible, right? Because their karma finished, okay?

They don't know why they were successful, okay? If you want to be a successful singer, what do you have to do? Specifically, huh?

Yeah, be friendly. Yeah, congratulate the other singers. Promote the other singers.

I have a lady, she came to me, she said, I want to be a famous actress. Then I said, okay, then you have to help other actors. She's like, no, no, no, we compete.

You don't understand. When there's one role in the movie, 400 people get in line in Hollywood, or a thousand people get in line, and we have to compete with each other. I said, well just, just try it, okay?

Just try it. She got an Academy Award nomination, okay? She came here, she studied here.

Remember? So, she helped other people. She made a little school to help young actors, okay?

Alright. So, number seven is, stop misunderstanding where your successes come from, okay? Your past successes, okay?

Everything good in your life so far came from your seeds. You helped somebody else. Don't misunderstand your successes.

Which also applies to your appearance, your body, you know, your education, your country. They all came from Joe. Who's Joe?

Your past life. I like to call him Joe, okay? It's not you, okay?

Who gave Geshe Michael blue eyes? Joe, I didn't do anything. I was born like that.

You see what I mean? Okay? It's past life, okay?

So, understand where things come from, then you won't be disappointed. You won't be the dog with the rock, okay? You can make your future successes, okay?

Okay. Number... eight.

I just wanted you to know that this particular word in Buddhism, tasting and experience, I wanted you to know the history of these words in Tibetan. ROL NYANG BA, ROL NYANG BA It comes from a famous reference called BU'I PHYI LA GRANGS KYIS NYANG BA BU'I PHYI LA GRANGS KYIS NYANG BA Licking honey off a razor blade. Licking honey off a razor blade.

Okay? It's a famous Buddhist expression, okay? You know, you think...

like especially, let's say adultery. Let's say you're attracted to someone else's wife or husband, and then you think, oh, I will be happy, you know? I can take this wife or husband from this other person and I will lick the honey, right?

But under the honey there's razor blade, okay? And you will hurt yourself. You will cut yourself.

That's the other meaning of this word in Buddhism, okay? Tasting the taste. It means be careful about the things you...

be careful to not do bad things to get good things, okay? Because that's like a razor blade under the honey, okay? It's a terrible image, right?

Somebody should make a movie. Number...nine? I like to teach number nine from the Geshe examinations. So, you study for 20 years, 25 years.

You do a couple of pre-Geshe examinations, and then you do your Geshe examination. And it takes about two, three weeks. All the debaters in the debate ground have to question you separately.

In my debate ground there's 1,500 people. Then they question you in groups, because sophomore class, junior class. And...

but the last question is always in the temple, main temple. And the old Geshes, who...they don't have to come to debate ground anymore, because they're so smart. Some of them keep coming, they can't stop.

Until they die, they keep coming. But they're not supposed to come. They sneak in.

And... the last day they give everybody a Geshe hat. Even the kids, the seven-year-old baby monks, they get a Geshe hat.

Like, the hat's like this big, you can't see the kid. And they give everybody a Geshe hat. They keep...my monastery keeps 1,500 Geshe hats in a box. Everybody gets a Geshe hat the last day. Okay, okay. Then they ask you the last question, you know, and the last question is always the same.

And they say, does the pain in this world, war, hunger, death, disease, does it... will it ever have an end? You know, is it possible it will ever have an end?

You know? And then the answer is always the same. And the answer is, yes.

You go, yes. You know, like you never heard the question before. Yes.

And then they say, why? Then you say, because truth is stronger than illusion. Truth is stronger than illusion.

Illusion will always fail. In time, illusion will always fail. The second husband will always be unmasked.

You will understand the second husband. Sooner or later, after many lives of suffering, okay? You will understand he was never there.

Because truth of emptiness is stronger than lie, illusion. Okay? Okay.

So, and then everybody takes off their Geshe hat and they throw it like a frisbee. And there's 1,500 Geshe hats going like this in the sky. It's the most beautiful thing.

All these Geshe hats. And then, then you're a Geshe. Then everyone has to try to find their hat.

And it takes like an hour. You say, that's mine. No, that's mine.

Okay? So, last thing about the illusion is that it will always collapse. It will always collapse, okay?

Sooner or later, everyone will become enlightened, okay? Because illusion doesn't stand. It can't stand, okay?

Against emptiness, the illusion will fail. Sooner or later it will fail, okay? And everybody will be happy.

Alright, we have another ... Oh, we have quite some time. Do you need air conditioner?

Raise your hand. Ah, it's not hot enough yet. Okay.

Alright. Alright. Can we put the verse back up?

What's the next one? Avashyaya. Okay, say Avashyaya.

Avashyaya. Ava, you know it means down, okay? The Sanskrit prefix Ava means down.

Downwards, okay? Okay. Shiyaya comes from a root called shi, which means to ...

coagulate ... Something wet becomes ... Like if you blow your nose in here, for ...

for 20 minutes it's goopy, then later it gets hard. That's called shi. Okay, the root shi.

Booger getting hard? Something like that. Okay, jello, stuff like that, it's called shi.

So, Avashyaya means the dew which forms on the grass, okay, in the morning. Okay, on the tip of the grass, the little water, one drop of water, is Avashyaya. It came down and formed on the grass, okay?

It's called Avashyaya. I was talking to Veronica, the ... the one word in English that comes from shi is scholar, because they sit on their butt all day and they coagulate.

School comes from that. So, those of you who hated school, you were correct. It means to sit for a long time.

It's called shi. Sit comes from that. So, shaya comes from that, Avashyaya.

Avashyaya, okay. This one's pretty easy. There's only four meanings, okay?

By the way, let's do a illusion impermanence check. Illusion impermanence check. The star is which one?

Illusion or impermanence? Both, good. How about the ...

the eye problem? Both, because the last quality was it's low buddha, it's removable, it's impermanent, okay? Karma Rabbi Marban, the lamp?

How ... I can understand how it's impermanent, right? How is it like an illusion?

Yeah, that's pretty good. Even though it's ... it still functions even though it's empty.

I'll go for that one, okay? Karma Rabbi Marban. Gyuma?

Illusion? Huh? Is that illusion or impermanent?

Both, okay? Both. How is it impermanent?

Last Geshe question. Last Geshe question. Okay, got it?

So far, the Buddha's mixing impermanence and illusion. He's trying to show they are connected. We're going to talk about it more later, okay?

Okay, so, Master Vasubandhu, Kamala Shila, Jamyang Shepa, Choney Lama, they say everything in your life is like the dew on the grass, okay? When the sun comes out, it never lasts, okay? The dew on the grass never lasts.

So, the first meaning for Master Kamala Shila, for Vasubandhu, it's just simple impermanence, okay? Dew cannot last, especially at Diamond Mountain, okay? It will not last, okay?

Tendar Sarambha, who seems to be a little bit pessimistic, he says especially the good things in your life, okay? So, that's number two. For him, the dew especially represents the good things in your life, okay?

It's hard enough, life is hard, good things don't happen very often, and when they happen, they disappear quickly, okay? Alright? Normally, if you're...

if you understand the pen, you can reinvest and you can keep it going. For how long? Indefinitely.

That's a Buddha paradise, okay? If you understand that the good things in your life are coming from your seeds, you can just keep planting the seeds, okay? And that would be a Buddha paradise, okay?

No end. Alright. Number three, Tendar Sarambha says, by the way, the dew doesn't just represent impermanence, it represents that those good things in our life are unstable.

They can flip in a few minutes, okay? They're not just impermanent, they can become suffering in five minutes, okay? A beautiful relationship can turn to a lifelong hatred in a few days, okay?

They...it's... what do you call it? It's unstable, okay?

Things that come from seeds are unstable. Now, this part I... I'm going to spend some time on the fourth one, okay?

And for me, when I first read... and I was talking to Veronica about it, when I first read the Diamond Cutter Sutra, and I got to the end, and I read this verse which is so famous, I felt disturbed by it. I said, I don't understand, he's trying to teach impermanence, or he's trying to teach illusion?

Because it's not clear, you know? Like, candle looks like, to me, impermanent. Illusion or dream, those are...

he must be talking about emptiness, right? So, I... I used to be very confused by this verse.

Some things are obviously impermanence, like the dew on the grass, and then some things are obviously emptiness, like illusion or dream, okay? Then it disturbed me that he's... and I asked many lamas, and I didn't get a good answer, you know, I was a little bit...

like... nobody gave me a good answer, which made me think nobody worried about it before. And...

then... Master Dharmakirti gives a good answer, okay? Dharmakirti, okay?

Logician. Famous Buddhist logician. Adam's translating his stuff for the next ten years.

He... you will know he's finished with his book when he gets a bald spot. Okay.

Alright. And Master Dharmakirti, in his most famous book, which is called... Pramanavarttika, which means an explanation of correct perception.

An explanation of correct perception. Most famous Buddhist book on logic. Source of all Buddhist logic.

Pramanavarttika, okay? In there, he has a... verse about it, okay?

Because it's confusing. By the way, in the sutra... in the other sutra where the Buddha teaches this verse, okay?

Which is called the Kaushika Sutra. And I don't know if anybody noticed it, but I did. Just before he gives the verse, he says, let me tell you something about emptiness.

And then he says, THAR DAG GA'A THIM MA RNAMS DI PO MA YIN PA SHES He goes like that. Okay? So, in that sutra, Buddha seems to think he's talking about emptiness.

Because he says, let me tell you something about emptiness, and then he says the verse, okay? So, to me that means, Buddha thought he was talking about emptiness. Okay?

And by the way, there's a secret version of this verse in the Kalachakra Tantra. And it's from the... it says from the Diamond Cutter Sutra in the Kalachakra Tantra.

And there's twelve metaphors. So, if you pay extra, I'll give them to you later. Okay?

Just kidding. I'll give them to you later, okay? The Kalachakra Tantra quotes the Diamond Cutter Sutra, this verse, and gives twelve.

Twelve different metaphors, okay? On the other hand, as I mentioned, it's a custom in Buddhist monasteries for thousands of years, before the teacher teaches, they're supposed to say, ,GANG MA RAG PA'I RGYUN MI NUS, ,RGYUN MI GZUGS PA'I PHYIR BU DANG, ,MI DANG LO DANG, ,RDUN DU BU DE'I GZHUGS BYAS DANG, ,DE DAG DAG, Like that. What's that mean?

It means, this teaching is impermanent. The students are all going to die. The teacher is going to die.

The temple will fall down. You know? Then, in ancient tradition, this verse, a teacher is supposed to say it before they start the teaching, so they don't get a big head, so they don't get proud.

Okay? They're supposed to say, Then I'm going to die. Tonight?

Tomorrow? We don't know. Don't think you're a big Lama.

You know? Tomorrow they may be dressing you in the big Lama's clothes before they burn you. Now, you're supposed to think like that.

Okay? So, traditionally, this verse has been used for both purposes. Emptiness, because Buddha introduced it that way, but in the monasteries for thousands of years, people use it for impermanence.

So, my question, is there a connection? And Dharmakirti said, yes. Okay?

I found it. Took me a long time. Some Lama, one of the tutors of the eighth Dalai Lama, he found it.

Okay? Here we go. ,DE PHYIR MI RTAG LAS SDUG BSNGAL, ,SDUG BSNGAL LAS NI BDAG MED GSUM, Very famous line from Dharmakirti.

Okay? And he says, suffering comes from impermanence, and emptiness comes from suffering. So, they're all connected.

Okay? That's Dharmakirti. I'll say it again.

Suffering comes from impermanence, and self— emptiness comes from suffering. Okay? Emptiness comes from suffering.

So, Dharmakirti says the three are connected deeply. Okay? The three are— Then he says at the end, he says GSUM.

What's GSUM mean? Buddha said so. Okay?

Buddha said so. Then I went looking, okay? In John Brady's database, which has every Buddhist scripture from India in it, I went looking, Buddha didn't say it.

Then I'm like, come on. Buddha didn't say that. Then I was sleeping, and I was like, oh, duh, he did say that.

Buddha taught the Four Truths, right? Each truth has four parts. Okay?

There are sixteen parts to the Four Truths. Okay? Very, very famous.

Okay? Each truth has four parts. Okay?

There are sixteen aspects of the Four Arya Truths. Okay? Each one has four parts.

What's the first truth? Suffering. Okay?

Truth of suffering. And the four parts are mitak, dungyal, tongpa, dhagme, impermanence, suffering, and emptiness. Okay?

Buddha said that. Okay? That's three, there's two kinds of emptiness.

Okay? Emptiness of things, emptiness of people. Okay?

These are the four parts of the truth of suffering. Impermanence, suffering, and two kinds of emptiness. Who said there's a connection?

Buddha. When? Where?

Xiaoping. Sarnath. First teaching.

Okay? They went there. She and Candy went there.

It's the first teaching he ever gave. Okay? He said, things are impermanent, things are suffering, and there's two kinds of emptiness, and they're all connected.

Okay? Where? In the first truth.

In the first teaching he ever gave. In the first sentence he ever talked. Okay?

Got it? Okay. And I like the summary of this teaching that was given by TSE CHOG RING YONGS RIM YOD ZHIG RGYAL ZAN Born 1713.

Died 1793. He was the teacher of the eighth Dalai Lama, Jampel Gyatso. Born 1758.

Died 1804. Okay? Ready?

Anybody know... you guys know? What's he famous for?

YONGS RIM YOD ZHIG RGYAL ZAN Yeah, I will... I'm not supposed to say that. I will pat you on the back.

Yeah. He's very famous. He wrote 2,000 pages of history of the Lamrim Lamas.

Every Lama of the Lamrim, starting with Buddha. He wrote their life story. Very beautiful.

Very correct. So, if you're a teacher and you want to know... if you're teaching about like the story of the dog and Maitreya, it's in...

the best one's in there. Okay? You just go to that book.

Parts of it have been translated. Okay, here's how he explained Dharmakirti. Got it?

U MED LTA BA BSGOMS PA'I TSE If you want to meditate on the Middle Way, if you want to meditate on the Middle Way, okay? DE PHYIR MI DAG LAS SDUG BSNGAL SDUG BSNGAL LAS NI BDAG MED GSUNGS You should study Dharmakirti. Okay?

You should ask Adam. Okay? Why?

Because Dharmakirti said things are impermanent. Because they're impermanent, they're suffering. And because they're suffering, they are empty.

He said. Who's he? Buddha said.

Dharmakirti says Buddha said. Okay? Then what's that mean?

Okay? YONGS SU'I GNYER ZHIG RGYAL TZAM says, I'm going to explain these lines to you. And he does a beautiful job.

Okay? Ready? THOB MAR MI RTAG BSGOM NAS If you really want to understand the Middle Way, you should start with the Lam Rim.

You should come to the Lam Rim retreats. Okay? Because you will be meditating first on impermanence.

Okay? Then you will be able to stop the baby gaccha. The most baby gaccha there is.

What's the most baby... What's gaccha mean? The thing that emptiness is empty of.

Okay? The bubu lama. Not the husband who's not coming from you.

Okay? The discover credit card. Okay?

Then, the lowest kind of emptiness is to understand that nothing lasts. Okay? Relationships, positions, bodies, countries, they don't last.

The lowest kind of ignorance is to believe things are going to last for a while. Okay? Everyone whose country was ever attacked, they always thought it was going to be the next day.

They weren't quite ready. Okay? Los Angeles could be wiped out next month.

Okay? The North Koreans are close. That will be the end of the United States.

That will be the beginning of the end of the United States. And every country that ever fell down, which is all the countries, they always thought they're going to last a little longer. You know?

Nobody thought Los Angeles will disappear next month, but it's possible. Okay? It can happen.

It's close. And everybody who lost their country always thought their country was going to last a little bit longer. Okay?

That's the lowest kind of ignorance. Oh, this will last a little... I'm not going to die today Geshe-la.

We still have some classes. Okay? I have to clean out my retreat camp.

I have to pack. I already paid for the plane ticket home. I'm not going to die today.

Okay? Everybody thinks that. The absence of that is the lowest kind of emptiness.

Okay? There is no lasting thing. If a country can...

If America can finish next month, your body can finish in a day. That's not a big thing. Okay?

Got it? So, he says, if you meditate on impermanence, okay? Then you can stop the lowest kind of ignorance, which is to think that things are still going to last for a while.

DE'I RGYUD BYANG NAS After you get used to that lowest kind of emptiness, THAR BROS PA'I THA THAMS CAD DANG BRAL BA'I UM MA'I LTA BA BSGOM PA LA SBYUGS PA DANG Then you're ready to start on higher kinds of emptiness. Okay? Like the husband who didn't come from me.

Okay? You start with the lowest kind of emptiness. The world is empty of things that are still going to last a while, Geshe-la.

Okay? Then you... you get used to BGAGS BYA, cancelling BGAGS BYA.

Geshe Michael who's going to last for a while still doesn't exist. You get used to that emptiness, that space. No, doesn't exist.

Then you can move to higher BGAGS BYAS. What's the highest BGAGS BYA? Second husband in the kitchen.

Okay? A husband who's yelling at me because he wants to, because he's stupid. He's a phantom husband.

Okay? Alright? Okay.

LAM THU MONGS Now, he doesn't stop there. Okay? He just connected impermanence to suffering to emptiness.

He should be finished, but he says, by the way, you have to go further after you cancel the second husband. That's not the end of the Buddhist path. Okay?

If you want to wait millions of years to become a Buddha, you can stop there with the husband. Okay? Okay?

But, if you really want to become a Buddha, SNGAGS LAM LA LOB SNGAGS LAM Huh? Yeah, you have to study the secret teachings. You have to study the secret teachings.

Okay? LOB TSE NA'ANG Then go back to impermanence. Okay?

Of you, of your body, of your life. Okay? Why?

You don't have time. Okay? You got to get this thing done now.

Okay? If there's a path that will work in a few years instead of a few million years, duh! Okay?

You should be doing that. Okay? You should be doing that.

Okay? Secret teachings. Okay?

Now, this is really cool. Okay, ready? I'm going to teach you some secret teachings, because you're here.

I'm not going to announce I'm teaching secret teachings, and then the lazy people will come. Okay? I'm going to teach secret teachings to the people who came for the Lam Rim.

Okay? And I'm not going to announce we're doing secret teaching. Ready?

Cut the lights? No, it's okay. Eh, it's okay.

They're not listening. It's free. Okay.

What's the gak ja in the secret teachings? Yeah. Something ordinary.

Normal. Okay? It's a wife, or a husband, who's not the Buddha.

Okay? In the lower teachings, normal teachings, we are canceling the husband who didn't come from me. Okay?

In the gak ja, in the lower teachings, normal teachings, is the husband who didn't come from me. That's the gak ja. But when you...

if you want to become a Buddha in one lifetime, you got to move up to a higher gak ja. Okay? It's like moving from the gak ja of will last for a while, to the gak ja who didn't come from me.

Got it? Lower gak ja, lowest gak ja, a country which will still last for a while. A life which will still last for a while.

It doesn't exist. Cancel it. Do something now, okay?

That's the lowest gak ja. What's the middle gak ja? Yeah, a husband who's not coming from me, and then that's a higher emptiness.

Cancel that husband, that's a higher emptiness. Okay? Now, you want to go the highest emptiness?

What's the third gak ja, highest gak ja? A husband who is not already a Buddha. Who is not already a Buddha.

Okay? In the secret... if you want to get enlightened in one lifetime, you have to go to that emptiness.

Who's not there in the kitchen? In the highest one. Who's not in the kitchen?

Yeah, a husband who is not already a Buddha. Geshe-la, my husband is not a Buddha, he yells at me. Okay?

And for that you need... Why don't we meditate on the Lama's bad quality in the lion's den? It doesn't help you, okay?

Don't smell fart twice. If you're sitting next to Tim and he had some bad food yesterday, and you smell something, he make a boop-boop-boop, then you don't go like... Is that you Tim?

Is that you Tim? Don't do that, there's no benefit, okay? Just kind of...

Just kind of move away a little bit. Get your air from the other side. Okay?

So, it's a principle in meditation that you should meditate on something sweet, something beautiful, okay? Somebody's good quality. Don't waste your time in meditation thinking about Tim's fart yesterday.

Okay? It's not going to make you Buddha. Okay?

Don't waste your time. I mean, just an example, okay? Everybody farts, okay?

So, it doesn't help you, okay? Now, is your husband really Buddha? Yeah, to be honest, you can't prove it, and you can't prove it's not true.

To be honest, let's be honest, unless you can read his mind, unless you can see past and future lives, you don't know. Let's be honest, okay? If you're a normal person, we don't know, you know?

Yeah, maybe he's husband, maybe, sorry, maybe he's Buddha, maybe he's not Geshe-la, I don't know, okay? Is it possible, if he's Buddha, that sometimes he will say bad word to you? Yeah, possible.

I mean, I'm not saying it's a proof, okay? Possible he's just normal stupid guy. It's possible, okay?

And normal stupid guy will say stupid things, okay? We can accept that. But, if he's a Buddha, is it possible sometimes he will say bad things to you?

Yeah, what... if he does, if he's a Buddha, and if he says bad things to you, why is he doing it? He's forcing you to think about GONG ZHING.

He wants you to understand emptiness, okay? I mean, it's possible. Possible he's just stupid guy, okay?

Each is possible, okay? Now, using the lion's dance example, okay? Of the teacher, is it more useful to believe, is it more useful to think probably he's Buddha, or is it more useful to think probably he's stupid guy?

Okay? Which is better for you? Yeah, okay?

That's tantra, okay? You want tantra? You didn't even have initiation, maybe.

That's tantra, okay? Why are we talking about that? Because this writer says, move up to a higher Gagya, okay?

He says, not only is impermanence connected to suffering, connected to emptiness, but they're all connected to higher Gagya, okay? The husband who's not a Buddha, okay? So, what's the higher emptiness?

That's the higher dependent origination. What's the higher emptiness? There's no husband in my kitchen who's definitely not a Buddha.

Okay? That's the highest emptiness, okay? Got it?

Is it true? Is it true that there's no husband in your kitchen who is definitely not a Buddha? Yeah, it's true.

Unless you can read his mind, you know, and the Buddha's not showing you a different mind. Okay, got it? So, that's very beautiful.

He says, that... that solved the problem of the last verse of the DZIN GANG CING. Is it about emptiness, or is it about impermanence?

They say yes. Bo, bo. Every, every nine thing is about bo, emptiness and impermanence.

Why Buddha teach two different things? Geshe-la, that's the first thing he ever taught in his life. It's the first thing he ever said when he got enlightened.

He said four parts to the first truth. MI RTAG SDUG BSNGAL SDONG PA DANG MED Impermanent, suffering, and two kinds of emptiness. Okay?

It's the first thing he ever taught. Get used to it Geshe-la. It's not so weird that he mentioned it in the Diamond Cutter Sutra.

Okay? You don't know it's the first thing Buddha ever taught? Okay, got it?

And then, if you're going to follow this Lama, this famous Lama, you have to go higher. Impermanent, suffering, empty, and not, not Buddha. Not, not Buddha.

Okay? Highest gac cha. Highest kind of emptiness.

Got it? Cool. Now I can't think anything else to teach you.

I say let's stop there. Okay. There's also ...

Oh, okay one more. I'll give you dessert okay? Buddha also taught that idea in the Guhyasamaja Tantra.

Okay? What we just talked about, everything, is in the Guhyasamaja Tantra. Okay?

And ... it's in another book. Okay, ready?

That's the last thing, okay? I know I have 15 minutes, but I'm just being dramatic. Santana Antara Siddhi.

Santana Antara Siddhi. Who said that? I will pat you on the back.

Santana means mind stream. It also means good music. Antara means other person, other person.

Siddhi means proof. So, many people ask me, Geshe-la, if things are coming out of my seeds, then I'm very lonely person. Why?

Because I'm the only person in the world. Why? I'm making all the other people.

It's so lonely. You know? They're all in my head, Geshe-la.

I'm just living in my head, and there's no other people. Because you told me, lamas coming from my seeds, then it's lonely in here. You know?

Everybody around me coming from my seeds. You know? I must be the only person in the world.

Then that's super lonely. Okay? Somebody asked Dharmakirti.

Okay? Same lama. Same lama.

Somebody asked Dharmakirti, am I alone? You know? Is the whole world, you know, coming from me?

Am I alone? Then some of my students in Beijing asked me this question, and Dr. Wu asked me this question. Then, we had a ginseng pizza party.

Dr. Wu got some really good ginseng, we put it on pizzas, and we had an all-night teaching, and it was really fun. You should try it. Uh...

We should make a ginseng pizza stores in the US. So anyway, we read this scripture, and the answer is, yes, you are making people, but they are other people. You are making them as outside people.

Therefore, they are not you, and they are separate from you. Are they coming from you? Yes.

Are they coming from you as people in your head? No. Are they coming from you as people who are outside of you?

Yes. Are they coming from you as people who are outside of you who are not connected to you necessarily? Yes.

Can you fight with those people? Can you get married to those people? Yes.

Okay. Are you marrying yourself? No.

Okay, got it? Okay, that's his answer. Now, in that book, he quotes himself.

Okay. ,'DU BYED SDUG BSNGAL LA SGOGS NAS, ,SDUG BSNGAL BSGOM PA GSUNGS PA YIN, ,SNGAL GYIS DE YANG RKYEN LAS SKYES, ,DE NYID BDAG MA'I LTA STE YIN, ,RTOG NYID BDAG BA'I SDUG BSNGAL RGYUR, ,BSGOM PA LHA MA DE SDUG BSNGAL YIN, ,DE PHYIR MA DAG LAS SDUG BSNGAL, ,SDUG BSNGAL LAS NYID BDAG MA'I GSUNGS, The last two lines are the same as his more famous book, which is called, yeah, Study of Accurate Perception. Okay, he quotes it again.

He says, Buddha said, things are impermanent. Therefore they are, and therefore they are. Then he explains the verse again in this book.

Okay, ready? You neck, you can't get any of this without John Brady and Nick. You should get them.

Alright. ,DU BYED SDUG BSNGAL LA SGOGS NAS, Okay. Sanskirtas are suffering.

Things that were put together by causes and the causes that put them together are suffering. ,SDUG BSNGAL BSGOM PA GSUM PA YIN, You should meditate on this suffering. ,SNGAL GYIS DE YANG RGYEN LAS SKYES, ,SNGAL GYIS DE YANG RGYEN LAS SKYES, ,DE NYID BDAG MA'I BDAG DE YIN, My own suffering has come from the same causes, and you can also read it as my own Buddhahood came from the same causes.

Okay? Buddha. ,DE NYID BDAG MA'I BDAG DE YIN, You want to know what's the foundation for seeing emptiness?

Understand impermanence and suffering. Okay? ,SDONG NYID BDAG BA'I SGRUB PAR GYUR, The understanding of emptiness, which is based on an understanding that nothing lasts, will free you from the wheel of life.

Okay? Got it? ,GOM PA LHAG MA DE DON YIN, There is no form of meditation in Buddhism which is not connected to this.

Okay? There is no form of meditation in Buddhism which is not founded on view of emptiness based on suffering, based on impermanence. Any other meditation is not Buddhist.

Who said that? Buddha. Okay.

,DE PHYIR MI DANG LAS SDUG BSNGAL, SDUG BSNGAL LAS NYID BDAG MA'I GSUNG, That's why I taught that suffering is based on impermanence and emptiness is based on suffering. Okay? Last comment, then I'll let you go.

By the way, what do we teach people at the SCIM teacher training? There's three skills to being a great teacher. Number one, know your subject perfectly.

Number two, get familiar with the students, know their past, what they need. Number three, let them out early sometimes. Okay.

,SDUG BSNGAL GYI SDUG BSNGAL TZAM LA BSGOM NAS, ,SDUG BSNGAL BSGOM PA GSUNGS PA NI MA YIN TE, This is Dharmakirti. He says, when Buddha taught that you should meditate on suffering as the foundation of seeing emptiness. Okay?

He wasn't just talking about SDUG BSNGAL GYI SDUG BSNGAL. Suffering of suffering. How many kinds of suffering are there?

Three. First one? Suffering of suffering.

Classical example? Headache or backache. Okay?

Second kind of suffering? ,RGYOR BA'I SDUG BSNGAL, Suffering of change. Classic example?

A good meal at a good restaurant. Okay? Third kind of suffering?

,KHYAB PA'I DU BYED KYI SDUG BSNGAL, We can say the human condition. The human condition. Everyone has to get old.

Everyone has to die. People you like, people you don't like, famous people, anonymous people, powerful people, little people, sick people, healthy people, young people, old people, all the same. Okay?

They all have the third kind of suffering. They will die, and they will get old. So, no reason to hate other people.

We are all in the same bad... Titanic. Okay?

Alright. ,DOD CHAGS RNAMS DE'I TZAM GYIS ,DOD CHAGS KYI DE NYAMS PAR GYUR BA NA, ,CHOG SO THUNG BA DANG BRAL BA'I SGO NAS, ,CI NAS KYANG DU BYED KYI SDUG BSNGAL, ,DE YANG DAM DANG MAR, He says, Dharmakirti says, the reason the Buddha taught emptiness based on suffering, based on impermanence, is he didn't want people to think the only kind of pain is the pain that hurts right now. Okay?

He didn't want people to fall into the trap of thinking that the nice things in your life are not pain. Okay? Got it?

And, we kicked butt on... What were we on? Yeah, the do.

We finished the do. But, in finishing the shortest most obvious one, okay? We also finished what?

We finished the mystery of the verse. Why is he mixing up examples for impermanence with examples for emptiness? Okay?

Is he confused? You know? Is Buddha confused?

You know? He can't get his... his metaphor straight?

Okay? So, just to review, we used the simplest one, the do, as an excuse to go answer that question, mainly from Dharmakirti. Okay?

Mainly from Dharmakirti. Okay? So, you can appreciate now why these things come together.

Things that are obviously illusions, like dream or illusion. What's the dream here? Svapna.

Okay? We'll talk about it tomorrow, hopefully. Okay?

And, maya. Okay? Why is he mixing illusion metaphors with avasyaya, which is what?

The do on the grass. Why is he mixing them? Now you know why.

Okay? You... you are now an expert on the connection between impermanence and emptiness.

Okay? And by the way, what happened in the meantime from that teacher of the eighth dhyanama? What happened?

From the teacher of the eighth dhyanama? Yeah, we connected it to the higher teachings. We connected it to the higher teaching.

He said, because those impermanence meditation emptiness meditation, suffering meditation, will kick you up to the higher teachings. Okay? Where the Gagya is a husband who's not a Buddha.

The Gagya is a husband who's not a Buddha. Okay, one last question. If you can answer it, you get to go home six minutes early.

How did he connect that to the secret teachings? Do you remember? We were talking about impermanence, suffering, and emptiness.

Why did that lama connect it to the secret teachings? What was his segue? What was his bridge?

You're close, you're close. Yeah, you don't have time. You don't have time.

Okay? Here, impermanence. Okay?

If you don't have time, you should study Vajrayana. Okay? If you don't have time, you should go straight to Vajrayana.

Okay? So, I'm sneaking Vajrayana into the Lam Rim because I want serious students for Vajrayana. I don't want to announce we're doing Vajrayana and a bunch of unserious people who were too busy to come to just Lam Rim.

Understand? Alright. You are the hardcore people who are smart enough to come to Lam Rim.

I mean, most of you.