Тайбэй, 2016, занятие 1

[Speaker 1]
Alright, hi. Thank you for coming. How this teaching happened, Gibson Chang came to my retreat center in Arizona, like two years ago, and he said, Geshe-la, why you never teach Dharma in Taiwan?

[Speaker 2]
Then I said, nobody asked me.

[Speaker 1]
Then he said, okay, I'm asking you. Then I said, okay, I will teach it. Then we didn't have much time in the schedule, because tonight and tomorrow night I have to teach DCI business talk.

But I said, maybe in the afternoon I can do. Then they said, what should we put on the poster? What are you going to teach?

Then I said, Chinese people like 金剛經, you know? And now in the world, everyone started to like 金剛經 also. Then there's only three great explanations of 金剛經, that I'm familiar with.

One is by a Lama named Choney Lama. He lived over 300 years ago, and he wrote a beautiful explanation. And I and my student Ellie, we translated it.

It's several hundred pages, and I want to publish in English, Chinese, Tibetan, and Sanskrit.

[Speaker 2]
But I couldn't find a good person to translate into Chinese from English.

[Speaker 1]
Understand?

[Speaker 2]
I'm hinting.

[Speaker 1]
If you have ... if you want to try, then I don't know, talk to Katie.

[Speaker 2]
Where's Katie?

[Speaker 1]
She's in charge of all my publishing. The second commentary is by Master Vasubandhu. And he's famous because he wrote Abhidharmakosha.

His half-brother is named Asanga. And he wrote down the great books, the five great books of Maitreya. And that's how the mind-only school started in China, for example.

Mind-only school came from those five books. Some of them. So, Vasubandhu wrote a small commentary to 金剛經.

It's only 30 pages. And he called the seven great subjects of 金剛經. Then a third commentary is by Master Kamalashila.

[Speaker 2]
He lived in India 1,300 years ago.

[Speaker 1]
He lived after Xuanzang.

[Speaker 2]
So, his great commentary—it's very long, 130 pages—it didn't reach to China.

[Speaker 1]
It wasn't translated into Chinese. So, I thought ...

[Speaker 2]
also it's most difficult.

[Speaker 1]
And the Sanskrit is lost.

[Speaker 2]
So, it only exists in Tibetan translation.

[Speaker 1]
That's my specialty. So, I thought ...

[Speaker 2]
I want to teach the hard one.

[Speaker 1]
But, I don't have anybody to teach it to. But, I have you. So, if you don't mind, we're going to study Kamalashila.

I said that in Shanghai.

[Speaker 2]
I taught them a little bit a few days ago.

[Speaker 1]
When I say, I will teach Kamalashila, then they're like, wow! They like Dharma better than rock and roll, I think.

[Speaker 2]
So, I decided to teach that today.

[Speaker 1]
Then I had a small crisis. Nowadays, we are teaching in many countries in the world. Like, we teach now ...

[Speaker 2]
we teach a lot of Muslim people.

[Speaker 1]
In Dubai, Indonesia, Malaysia. Muslim people are studying Jingang Jing with us. In Mexico, Seiji's country, and Haso's country, they are all Catholic Christian, strict.

And they also love Jingang Jing.

[Speaker 2]
The Congress of Mexico gave me PhD last year.

[Speaker 1]
Now, our whole world is on the internet.

[Speaker 2]
So, if I wear my robes, they cannot show it in a Muslim country. Or, it's uncomfortable in a Mexico country, for some people.

[Speaker 1]
So, I decided just to wear a rock star clothes, okay?

[Speaker 2]
So, I hope you don't mind.

[Speaker 1]
The Dharma is the same, okay?

[Speaker 2]
Outside color is different.

[Speaker 1]
Howdah? It's okay, how ma? Okay.

Then they can show the video in other countries. Okay, let's start then. We're going to mix this teaching ...

we're going to ... I'm going to talk a little bit, and then we'll do some meditation about what I said.

[Speaker 2]
Then we will go back and forth, okay?

[Speaker 1]
My goal in these two days is to teach you the first quarter of Kamalashina. One quarter.

[Speaker 2]
So, if we do Is it okay?

[Speaker 1]
Alright. After that, I want to teach you Vasubandhu.

[Speaker 2]
That takes two years. So, that's six-year plan.

[Speaker 1]
Then, if you're still alive, and if I'm still alive after that, we can do Choney Lama. That will take about five more years. So, eleven-year plan, okay?

So, I will just ... today and tomorrow, we'll just do the first quarter of Kamalashina.

[Speaker 2]
And it's the first time I taught it in the world. Because, Taiwan people, they are so cool, okay?

[Speaker 1]
You're amazing, you know. You helped me a lot for many ... ten years, now it's ten years I'm coming to Taiwan.

Starting about ... how many years ago? About eight or nine years ago, a big group of my students, they want to do three years silent retreat.

[Speaker 2]
Three years, three months, three days. Then we had a meeting.

[Speaker 1]
I said, if you stay in that small cabins for three years, three months, three days, don't worry about anything. I will find your food. They said, okay.

Then I got nervous, you know. This is almost one million dollars food. So, how did I get the money?

I came to Taiwan.

[Speaker 2]
Taiwan people, they understand about deep things, you know. They are hungry for deep things.

[Speaker 1]
And I like to ... I think three of those retreatants are here today. John Brady is here?

Where is he? Oh, his partner Connie is teaching in China today. She's teaching in Guangzhou today.

[Speaker 2]
And Captain Bill McMichael, he also finished three-year retreat.

[Speaker 1]
Scott and Orit Vasang, they served the retreat for three years. And without Taiwan, we cannot do it. American people are baby Buddhists.

They don't understand anything yet. They will give me five dollars and say, okay? So anyway, again we'd like to thank you for the three-year retreat.

Okay, let's start Kamalashila. We will have a break in the middle, and I'm going to go late, and I don't care if you're happy or not. Okay?

If you don't like it, you can sneak out. Okay?

[Speaker 2]
Halfway through, we will take a break.

[Speaker 1]
Pee-pee break. Okay, so let's ... first let's talk about Master Kamalashila.

[Speaker 2]
His name is very beautiful.

[Speaker 1]
Kamala means lotus flower, and shila comes from an old word shita, which means cool, meaning not hip, but cold.

[Speaker 2]
And it means ...

[Speaker 1]
shila means being nice to other people, because that makes everyone cool.

[Speaker 2]
No fighting.

[Speaker 1]
So, his name means like the morality of the lotus. Then that has a deep meaning. When we meet a person who is keeping their morality, if the phone rings again, you have to pay me a thousand dollars.

Not NT, American dollar.

[Speaker 2]
So, when you meet a person who's keeping their morality very well, when they walk past you, that little wind comes off their body, and you can smell some sweet smell, like a lotus flower.

[Speaker 1]
So, the smell of the lotus flower is not very strong, but it's very exquisite.

[Speaker 2]
There's no other flower smells like that.

[Speaker 1]
And if you meet a very holy person, you can smell some very subtle beautiful smell comes from them.

[Speaker 2]
So, that's the meaning of Kamalashila's name.

[Speaker 1]
But shila in Sanskrit also means the Tao, or the way. So, his name can also mean the way of the lotus. Then, what is the way of the lotus?

Then in America, we don't have lotus, okay? Maybe in the museum or something.

[Speaker 2]
Then, first time I saw lotus was in India.

[Speaker 1]
I took a plane to a big city called Bangalore.

[Speaker 2]
That city doesn't have sewer system.

[Speaker 1]
All the poo-poo pee-pee goes directly outside the city to a big lake. And the main highway goes past this lake. So, to go anywhere from Bangalore, you have to drive directly past this big lake of poo-poo.

Five million people's poo-poo, you know? And it smells terrible. Then, I was driving in the back of the car like this.

Then, I saw lotus flowers, you know?

[Speaker 2]
They're growing in the poo-poo lake, you know?

[Speaker 1]
And I'm like, stop the car! Stop the car! Why?

I want to get one of these lotus, you know? Then I get out, you know? Then I start to go towards the lake, you know?

The driver said, you don't want to do that. I said, but I want the lotus, you know? He said, give this kid, you know, fifty cents.

Tell him to get the lotus, you know? And they walk out in the poo-poo, and they pick some lotus.

[Speaker 2]
Then I look at that, I said, I'm glad I didn't do that, you know?

[Speaker 1]
But the smell of the lotus is unbelievable.

[Speaker 2]
Pure smell.

[Speaker 1]
Then, how can poo-poo make that smell? That's the dao of the kamala.

[Speaker 2]
The lotus flower takes the worst smell, and it changes it to the most beautiful smell.

[Speaker 1]
Then, Buddhist people ... Buddha said, we should go to the dirty places.

[Speaker 2]
Difficult places, you know?

[Speaker 1]
And we should act like a lotus. And we change that bad situation to most beautiful situation. So, a real Buddhist person, they should seek the problems, and they go directly to where's the problems.

Other people are like, oh, there's a problem. I don't want it, you know?

[Speaker 2]
I don't want it. You know?

[Speaker 1]
Buddhist person's like, oh, there's a problem.

[Speaker 2]
Maybe I can do something. Maybe I can help. And after a Buddhist person works on this poo-poo for a while, it will become the most beautiful smell.

[Speaker 1]
So, his name means we should act like a lotus. Kamalashila means we should act like a lotus. Then he starts his explanation of Diamond Cutter.

He said, why did ... why did they call this book Diamond Cutter? If you know the jing kang jing, there's no diamond in the sutra.

Nobody mentions a diamond one time.

[Speaker 2]
Then, why they called Diamond Cutter?

[Speaker 1]
Then there are three famous explanations. I'll tell you one of them, maybe tonight. Tonight we talk about how to see kongshin directly.

[Speaker 2]
And I'll talk about it tonight. But Kamalashila says a very interesting thing.

[Speaker 1]
He said, this book is called Diamond Cutter because your spiritual life follows the shape of a diamond. Then all ...

[Speaker 2]
all people, it doesn't matter where you country you live in or what is your religion, their inner life has five stages.

[Speaker 1]
And Kamalashila says those are similar to diamond. Then when I translated this part, it was difficult. But I worked in the diamond business for 19 years, so I know what he's talking about.

So, first I'm going to show you a picture of a single diamond crystal. You have that? I don't know.

[Speaker 2]
Yeah, this is a single diamond crystal.

[Speaker 1]
It has eight sides, and you can see the shape like on the ...

[Speaker 2]
when you play cards, you can see the diamond shape. And when you cut this diamond, which you can only do with another diamond, you cut the top off, and then you make it round.

[Speaker 1]
And then you make 57 sides, and it becomes like ... for jewelry diamond.

[Speaker 2]
But sometimes the diamond grows together, and we call it twin diamond. This is a twin diamond, and it's very common. The two crystals grow together.

[Speaker 1]
Then usually diamonds have a grain, like this wood has a grain. And because of that grain, you can cut it. If you follow the grain, you can cut it.

[Speaker 2]
But when two diamonds grow together, the two grains mix—mix up. Then nothing in the world can cut that— nothing in the universe can cut that diamond.

[Speaker 1]
There's nothing that can cut that diamond. So, this is the really powerful diamond.

[Speaker 2]
We're going to go back there.

[Speaker 1]
Come on, Kenny. Then this diamond has different width. At this point, it's very fat, and then it gets thinner here, and then here it's very thin.

Then it gets a little bit fat again, and then it gets very fat again. So, Kamalashila says this is the shape of your spiritual life.

[Speaker 2]
The first part takes a long time. Second part is faster.

[Speaker 1]
Third—that's okay, I like it. I'll take it though. Thank you very much.

Okay, you like—I like my hand.

[Speaker 2]
This part is seen—very short time. And this part is longer.

[Speaker 1]
And then this part is very long. The name of diamond in Sanskrit is wa. Vajra, okay?

Vajra, okay? Let's see the next slide. Okay, understand?

[Speaker 2]
This shape comes from the twin diamond, and this is called Vajra. We call this Vajra, okay? This is why that shape came.

[Speaker 1]
Then this part is thicker. This part is thinner. This part very thin.

This part thicker. And then that's the thickest part. So, there are one, two, three, four, five different widths, and these represent the spiritual life of every person who ever lived in the world.

By the way, I'm sorry this room is cold. I told them to make it cold. Why?

[Speaker 2]
My staff flew from many countries. They have bad jet lag, especially Mexico.

[Speaker 1]
If the room is warm, they will fall asleep.

[Speaker 2]
So, the rest of people, I'm sorry, it's for them. I know, because I used to sit there.

[Speaker 1]
So, what are the five parts of our spiritual career?

[Speaker 2]
It's always the same, okay?

[Speaker 1]
The long period in the beginning on the left, how long is that one?

[Speaker 2]
If I say billion billion years, it's not enough. Okay?

[Speaker 1]
Countless lifetimes.

[Speaker 2]
No beginning. You cannot count those years. Then during that time, your life is a mess.

Born, get old, work, build a house, make family, then get old, lose house, lose family, die. Over and over again, okay? Billions of years.

We all did that.

[Speaker 1]
Then in this life, if you are lucky, you will have a big disaster.

[Speaker 2]
Something bad will happen. In my case, in a short time, my family has six people.

[Speaker 1]
Four brothers, mom and dad, and we are six. In about a year, when I was, I don't know, 20 something, mom died, brother died, father died. Boom boom boom.

[Speaker 2]
Okay? Then I go crazy.

[Speaker 1]
Oh, I have to understand why. Why do people live? Why do people die?

[Speaker 2]
What are we supposed to do with this life? Just eat, poo poo, work, die. Then what's the meaning?

[Speaker 1]
I went crazy, you know? And this is the first stage, on the left. Okay?

[Speaker 2]
It takes many years. It's many years of the ones you love.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? So, most people don't start spiritual life until they have big problem. If you are lucky, you will have the big problem when you are 20.

Then you have time to learn what to do. So, that's the first step, is pain. Okay?

Second step, on the left side. This is ... you find the way to get out of your problems.

That fang fa is kong shing.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
Someone has to teach you kong shing.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
So, the second part of the Vajra, it represents someone taught you about kong shing. Then that can take ... for me, it took 25 years.

[Speaker 2]
I'm going to save you time. I'm going to teach it to you in four minutes.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? You can save 21 years and 363 days or something.

[Speaker 2]
Okay? Okay, you ready?

[Speaker 1]
Ta-da! Okay? Then many people ask me, Geshe-la, why every time you come to Taiwan you teach the same thing?

I'm teaching you how to think about kong shing. And I'll tell you something which I cannot tell in a business talk. If you understand the pen correctly, and you apply it to yourself, then you reach the second stage.

Pretty high. Inside the second stage, pretty high. If you reach that understanding of the pen, it's impossible for you to go to a bad place after you die.

[Speaker 2]
You cannot become animal. You cannot go to hell realm. So, you think it's okay?

Five minutes on pen?

[Speaker 1]
Yeah, that's okay. Okay? Understand?

[Speaker 2]
That's why I repeat it every time.

[Speaker 1]
In Buddhist philosophy, we call it jor lam ser. Jor lam ser is that level.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
Alright.

[Speaker 2]
So, I'll do it very fast.

[Speaker 1]
Pay attention. Then next life you Okay. Then we teach it by asking questions.

[Speaker 2]
And if your DCI teacher, which are the first few rows here, or if you want to become a DCI teacher, which is the rest of the rows, then watch how to teach it. Then you can teach it in your kitchen to your mother.

[Speaker 1]
You can teach it to your kids. Okay? And maybe you save them from hell after they die.

[Speaker 2]
It's a big thing. Okay? So, don't just learn what I say.

Learn how I say it. And teach it to other people.

[Speaker 1]
Maybe you help them a lot after they die.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
Okay, here we go. Our last question, you answer. Don't be like British Airways vice-presidents, which I taught a few years ago.

[Speaker 2]
I said, give me good answer.

[Speaker 1]
Are you ready? They said, yes, we're ready.

[Speaker 2]
I said, what's this thing?

[Speaker 1]
Okay? Don't be like British, especially you Hong Kong people. Okay?

Give me a good, you know, Taiwan answer. Okay?

[Speaker 2]
A little bit lively. Okay?

[Speaker 1]
What is this thing? Let's try again. Otherwise I'll send you to London.

[Speaker 2]
What is this thing?

[Speaker 1]
Yeah, good.

[Speaker 2]
Second question. If that door opens, that little puppy dog comes up here, and I go like this. I show the dog this thing.

What will the dog do with this thing?

[Speaker 1]
He'll bite it. Next question. Does the dog see this as a pen or not?

No, it doesn't see. They see it as chew toy. The human sees a pen.

The dog sees a chew toy.

[Speaker 2]
Who's correct? Yeah, both, okay? Why?

Dog can chew, it's okay! He enjoys it, he uses it. I'm happy.

Human can use the same thing to write something. Okay, may-oh-wen-tee.

[Speaker 1]
It's okay, everyone's happy.

[Speaker 2]
Next question. If I put this thing on Kay's chair, and everybody goes out, humans all go out, all the dogs go out.

[Speaker 1]
No humans here, no dogs here.

[Speaker 2]
They close the door. It's very quiet in here.

[Speaker 1]
At that time, is this a pen or is this a chew toy? Which one? Good answer.

Every country, same answer. There's a problem in India. In India, this means very good, very good.

[Speaker 2]
Okay, it means at that time, it's not a pen yet, and it's not chew toy yet. What do we call the name of that?

[Speaker 1]
Kongxing, okay? Okay? That's kongxing.

Somebody tell you, you can see kongxing if you close your eyes. Everything's black, black, black.

[Speaker 2]
That's ridiculous, okay? It doesn't help you.

[Speaker 1]
Someone say, close your eyes, don't think about anything.

[Speaker 2]
This is kongxing.

[Speaker 1]
Just follow the thoughts that go in the mind, you know? Don't think about anything.

[Speaker 2]
This is kongxing.

[Speaker 1]
I went with my teacher—I lived with my teacher for thirty years. One day, we went to Brazil.

[Speaker 2]
Then he told—asked the people, what is kongxing?

[Speaker 1]
Some guy raised his hand.

[Speaker 2]
I read a book—already I know he's a mistake, you know?

[Speaker 1]
I read a book—kongxing is to close your eyes.

[Speaker 2]
Don't think about anything.

[Speaker 1]
Then my—I translate for my teacher.

[Speaker 2]
His face go like this. Then he said, if that's a kongxing, then to reach nirvana is very easy. Just drink six qingdao beer very fast, then you don't think about anything.

[Speaker 1]
Because that's not kongxing, okay? This is kongxing. Okay, now you stay here, I'm going over there.

Then Geshe Michael come back—actually, K come back in first. Then Geshe Michael's coming up. Hi K, how are you?

[Speaker 2]
How you doing?

[Speaker 1]
Oh, what's that thing?

[Speaker 2]
Then, when I see it, what does it become?

[Speaker 1]
Pen.

[Speaker 2]
Good. So, right here—I'm trying to drive Maria crazy.

[Speaker 1]
Oh, Stanley. At this time, it wasn't a pen. It was kongxing.

[Speaker 2]
It was kongxing.

[Speaker 1]
It was kongxing. Kongxing. Became pen.

Okay? Now, next question. That pen which just became pen—is that come from pen, or that comes from me?

Yeah, good. Why? Because if the dog comes to see K—sorry—if the dog comes to see K—okay, it becomes chutor.

Okay? So, it must be coming from the dog, and the pen must be coming from me.

[Speaker 2]
How does it come from me? I have a seed in there.

[Speaker 1]
I did.

[Speaker 2]
How did I put the seed there?

[Speaker 1]
I watched myself give a pen to K. Okay?

[Speaker 2]
Easy.

[Speaker 1]
That's kongxing.

[Speaker 2]
Alright?

[Speaker 1]
If someone teach you that—by the way, everything's like that.

[Speaker 2]
These flowers, this building, your family, your country—coming from you. Everything coming from you, because you planted the seed.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? So, if you understand that on the Vajra, you reached second part—this part here. Now, third part—very exciting.

[Speaker 2]
If you learn to meditate deep, and you studied kongxing a lot with the DCI, especially this time I'm teaching how to see kongxing.

[Speaker 1]
It takes 20 minutes.

[Speaker 2]
Okay? And if you see kongxing directly in the meditation, your body starts to change, and you will become a Buddha quickly. Okay?

Don't have to die. Can help billion people.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? So, just 20 minutes, if you see kongxing directly. In that 20 minutes, your body starts to change, and quickly you will become Buddha.

[Speaker 2]
Okay? So, this DCI level tonight, tomorrow night, weekend retreat.

[Speaker 1]
Really, you have to come. You have to come. You have to come.

[Speaker 2]
You have to come. You have to come. Okay?

[Speaker 1]
If you don't have money, borrow from Jack. Okay? Just kidding.

You have to come. Okay?

[Speaker 2]
If you see it directly, your body starts to change.

[Speaker 1]
And you don't have to die.

[Speaker 2]
And you can help millions of people at the same time. Okay?

[Speaker 1]
Then, to learn that is the most precious thing in your life. Okay? Okay, again, where's the Vajra?

We have to take a break. Billions of years.

[Speaker 2]
I don't know, six months. Someone teach you the pen. 20 minutes, in the middle.

Then gets long again.

[Speaker 1]
This is how long it takes your body to change.

[Speaker 2]
Okay? Step four, your body starts to change. They have tests in the monastery.

[Speaker 1]
Are you on step four? I think so. Did you reach step four?

I think so. Is your body changed to Buddha?

[Speaker 2]
I think it's starting.

[Speaker 1]
They will take a big needle for knitting.

[Speaker 2]
They'll ask you to hold out your arm, and they'll go ...

[Speaker 1]
Then you can check, okay? Don't try it.

[Speaker 2]
American people will all run out and buy it tonight and ...

[Speaker 1]
Okay, but your body starts to change. It takes a few years.

[Speaker 2]
Then you reach level five. Rest of time, rest of all time, you are Buddha.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? So, this is countless years on the forward end. This is countless years.

[Speaker 2]
In the backward end.

[Speaker 1]
And this is, I don't know, ten years study, meditate. That's why this book is called Diamond Cutter. Okay?

[Speaker 2]
Comfortable? Comfortable.

[Speaker 1]
Now we're going to start our five-minute meditations. Then after that, maybe we take a break. Scott, I need the inside app thing.

The timer. Okay, I'd like to drive him crazy. I didn't mention it before.

[Speaker 2]
So, everyone's addicted to cell phone.

[Speaker 1]
If Buddha's teacher tell you don't use your cell phone, you're not going to listen.

[Speaker 2]
So, I'm going to trick you.

[Speaker 1]
You will put a meditation app on your phone.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
This is a ... I don't know this meditation group, but the app is good. So, for the meditations, you can do Kamalashila's 25 meditations.

But for a timer, this one's super cool. They did a good job. Okay?

And you set the time, and it will make some noise at the beginning.

[Speaker 2]
And then, you could say five minutes or ten minutes or five hours, and it will ring again. So, I really want you to get it.

[Speaker 1]
It's very expensive. How much? Free!

She's like, free!

[Speaker 2]
Okay? It's free.

[Speaker 1]
You have to get it during the break, I don't care.

[Speaker 2]
You cannot come back without it.

[Speaker 1]
I will give your seat to somebody else. Okay?

[Speaker 2]
That's the information. Just get it.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? If you don't have iPhone, it's okay. You can use an old bell.

Okay, so we're going to do a meditation, and we'll sit down.

[Speaker 2]
When you sit in a chair to meditate, you can do this way, but it will bother the person next to you.

[Speaker 1]
So, we're just going to do it this way. Okay, so sit up straight.

[Speaker 2]
Sit on the edge of the chair.

[Speaker 1]
Relax your shoulders. Turn off your cell phone. If you want to lose a thousand dollars, don't turn it off.

Okay?

[Speaker 2]
Please turn off your cell phone.

[Speaker 1]
Turn off your cell phone.

[Speaker 2]
Now.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? Alright, then we're going to meditate for five minutes. What's the meditation?

Every meditation has to have a meditation object. The meditation object for this meditation, you're going to check those five parts of the Vajra. Let's put the slide up, just so in case people don't remember.

Okay?

[Speaker 2]
And you're going to ask yourself—where am I?

[Speaker 1]
Am I step one? Am I step two? Okay, where am I?

Which of the five levels I reached?

[Speaker 2]
I will remind you.

[Speaker 1]
First level—you didn't hear about the pen yet, and your life is messed up. Second level—you heard about the pen. Third level— inside deep meditation, you saw kongshin directly.

[Speaker 2]
Fourth level—your body started changing already.

[Speaker 1]
Fifth level—you are already Buddha. So, we don't know—the person sitting next to you—we don't know what's their level.

[Speaker 2]
Maybe they are Buddha. We don't know. But, I want you, during the meditation, check your life.

How far did I reach? Okay, ready? Five minutes.

No moving. No coughing.

[Speaker 1]
No sniffing. Okay, no checking your iPhone.

[Speaker 2]
Okay, here we go.

[Speaker 1]
Keep your eyes closed, please.

[Speaker 2]
Take three deep breaths.

[Speaker 1]
We're supposed to take a break, but I'm not going to take a break. Let's do a few more minutes, okay? So, in the beginning of the Jingang Jing, it says Buddha came to Shravasti, and he went to the Jetavana, and inside there he went to the Anathapindada.

[Speaker 2]
Then, Kamalashila says this is very important.

[Speaker 1]
Why?

[Speaker 2]
The name of that place— and I've been there—the city's name is Shravasti. That city was buried many years ago, and they found it, and they dug it up.

[Speaker 1]
Why? How?

[Speaker 2]
Xuanzang's book.

[Speaker 1]
He said, go 500 li this way, turn left, go 30 li, then go 2 li, and you will find Shravasti. And it worked.

[Speaker 2]
So, I was there, where Buddha taught the Jingang Jing, in 2000 years, on January 1st.

[Speaker 1]
Then in America, there was a rumor. When 2000 years start, at midnight, because computer cannot count zero-zero year, zero-zero, all of the computers will go crazy.

[Speaker 2]
Also, the computer which holds the nuclear bomb, all those bombs will fly, and the world will stop.

[Speaker 1]
So, I decide to go to Shravasti.

[Speaker 2]
I will sit where the Buddha taught Jingang Jing.

[Speaker 1]
Then I will be there at midnight, and if the world ends, I will have a blessing to be in that place. I was a little bit nervous. We went one hour before.

I'm watching the clock—1159. Then, nothing happened. I check my watch, you know.

Even an iPhone can go slow in India. So, okay, 12.01. Okay, nothing blew up. Then, so that place, Shravasti, the name means famous.

[Speaker 2]
Shrava means famous.

[Speaker 1]
Then, Kamalashila says it's called Shravasti for two reasons. Number one, it's the place where Buddha likes to hang out. So, like me and John, we like to hang out at Starbucks.

If we become very famous, later they will change the name from Starbucks to Shravasti. And also, after the Buddha passed away, that place where he taught became like stupa. Any place where people discuss kongshin correctly, automatically becomes a stupa.

Even if it looks like a Taiwan theater. So, like 15 minutes ago, this place became stupa, okay?

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
And that's famous. So, they called this place Shravasti. Then, there's a park inside.

It's called Jetavana. So, Jeta is the name of a famous politician and rich man in those times, and businessman.

[Speaker 2]
He was very wealthy, and he liked Buddha's teaching.

[Speaker 1]
So, he asked Buddha, you know, do you have a place to teach? Buddha said, not really.

[Speaker 2]
Then he said, there's a fantastic park. Let's get this park for you.

[Speaker 1]
Then Buddha, I don't know what he said. He probably said, okay, let's try, you know? Then Prince Jeta went to the owner of the park.

I like to buy this park for Buddha, so he can teach and he can live there. Will you sell it? The guy said, no.

I don't know who's this Buddha guy. Then Prince Jeta said, Kamalashila says ...

[Speaker 2]
Jeta said, I have an idea.

[Speaker 1]
How about I take diamonds, buckets of diamonds, and I spread them on the whole park? So, you cannot see the grass under the diamonds. This park is big, it's like the park at the bottom of a 101.

[Speaker 2]
Then, if I cover the whole thing with diamonds, so, you cannot see the grass through the diamonds.

[Speaker 1]
Will you sell it to me then? Okay. Okay, so, he did it.

He paid this many diamonds. Later, the book said gold, but Kamalashila says diamonds. So, Prince Jeta bought that park for Buddha to teach in and live in.

So, so far we have two Sanskrit words. Shravasti is the name of that city.

[Speaker 2]
Famous place.

[Speaker 1]
Then Buddha went in the Jingangjing beginning, he's in the Jetavana. He's in the Jetavana, this garden of Prince Jeta. And he went to sit at the Anathapindada.

So, anatha—a means in Sanskrit, a at the beginning of the word means no, not. Natha means protector, someone to take care of you. Pinda—pinda means food.

And the last da, the da—pindada—da means to give.

[Speaker 2]
So, in this part of the park, they will give food to the poor people. So, Kamalashila says, this park has a good balance.

[Speaker 1]
On one side, there are unbelievably wealthy people who cannot pay to put diamonds on the whole park, but they are using the money to help the poor people.

[Speaker 2]
So, this park represents the balance between world work—business—and helping other people. Then, why Buddha taught Jingangjing in this park? It's because this park has a spiritual balance.

[Speaker 1]
We have to do business to help the world.

[Speaker 2]
This theater was made by businessmen.

[Speaker 1]
If you want to build a big theater to have Dharma teaching, don't ask the monk to build it.

[Speaker 2]
They will mess it up. You need a businessman, okay?

[Speaker 1]
But the businessmen should support the Dharma, and the poor people. They should serve the poor people. In the India, the kings make the food for the poor people.

[Speaker 2]
Then Kamalashila says, why did Buddha come to this park? The next thing in the sutra, they talk about who came to hear this teaching.

[Speaker 1]
It was 2,500 Bodhisattvas. Then, Master Kamalashila says, this also shows balance. What kind of balance?

Buddha's life is balanced. Sometimes, because it's a garden, he's quiet in nature. So, good Buddhists, sometimes we should go to the quiet place in nature, and we should do our meditation and our practice.

[Speaker 2]
Then sometimes, we should be out in the world with thousands of people, and help them, and become friends. So, Kamalashila says, why did Buddha teach Jingang Jing in that park?

[Speaker 1]
He wants to show balance.

[Speaker 2]
We should have a balance in our life.

[Speaker 1]
Sometimes, we should go alone, quiet, like Bill and John, and do the three-year or, you know, one-week retreat. Don't say you're going to do retreat later. Many people told me, Geshe-la, I'm very busy right now.

I will come to your three ... free 10-day Thailand beach retreat in December 2016. Maybe next year.

Don't talk like that, okay? Why Buddha taught in the park?

[Speaker 2]
Why does he live in that park? It means that sometimes you have to be quiet, and go to the quiet place, and do retreat. And then, after that, you should meet many, many people, and you should help them.

[Speaker 1]
So, we're going to do one last five-minute meditation, and then we're going to take a break. Okay, so please get ready for meditation. Turn off your cell phone.

Buddha also turned off his cell phone in the Jingang Jing. They forgot to write it. They forgot to write it.

[Speaker 2]
What are we going to meditate about?

[Speaker 1]
How can I reach balance in my life, which Buddha reached? How can I find a quiet place for meditation?

[Speaker 2]
And how can I find a busy place to help people?

[Speaker 1]
How can I balance busy and quiet? Okay, ready?

[Speaker 2]
Five minutes.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, we'll set the timer.

[Speaker 2]
Keep your eyes closed. Take three deep breaths.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, then open your eyes. Get this timer, okay? Learn to do five-minute meditations.

Okay?

[Speaker 2]
You're very busy. You don't have one hour to meditate, but if you get this timer, you will do five minutes.

[Speaker 1]
Then you'll say, that was fun. I think I'll do another five minutes. Then you will do another five minutes.

[Speaker 2]
I think you will do twelve.

[Speaker 1]
Then you trick yourself to do one hour of meditation. It works, okay? I tricked Geshe Michael today, yesterday, to do one hour meditation.

Okay?

[Speaker 2]
Just try it. I'm teaching you 25 meditations in these two days.

[Speaker 1]
Just five minutes each.

[Speaker 2]
Okay. Okay, we start again.

[Speaker 1]
In the Jingang Jing, the next thing that happens is Buddha goes to Shravasti city, or near the city, to ask for food. Then actually, Buddha's body already changed. We talked about it.

He's step five. He doesn't have to eat anything, but he wants to give example for two things.

[Speaker 2]
First of all, that old monk's custom—you go to ask for the food, you eat one bowl of food, and you must finish before 12 o'clock.

[Speaker 1]
And then after that, you don't eat. Then why in the Sutra, Buddha goes to ask for food?

[Speaker 2]
He wants to show us a good example.

[Speaker 1]
In the modern world, especially in America, overeating is a big problem. People eat too much, and then they eat bad things. It's interesting, the food which comes from killing the animal is the most unhealthy food.

Beef, chicken—they have a lot of cholesterol.

[Speaker 2]
They have a lot of fat. Also, milk products.

[Speaker 1]
Eggs are the highest cholesterol. So, if we can be careful how we eat, your meditation will be much better, and your health will be much stronger.

[Speaker 2]
So, Buddha's giving us a good example. And I'm sorry to say American people are the worst example.

[Speaker 1]
And they are exporting their bad food. Kandaji.

[Speaker 2]
McDonald's.

[Speaker 1]
Okay?

[Speaker 2]
Those are not good for you.

[Speaker 1]
Give you a heart attack, diabetes. Okay? We should follow the example of Buddha in the Jing Kang Ching.

Eat a little bit good food. Then in the Sutra, it says he put his bowl down, and he doesn't eat again.

[Speaker 2]
It means eat enough to be strong, and then stop. To control our mouth is very difficult. Talking and eating both.

So, Buddha's giving us example. Simple lifestyle.

[Speaker 1]
Is it okay to be rich and be a meditator?

[Speaker 2]
Yeah, it's fine. You can help many people. You can have comfortable place to meditate.

That's fine, but don't buy too many things for yourself. Like, have a shoe. Comfortable, you know?

Don't have sixty pairs of shoes in your closet. They can be expensive, it's okay. But don't buy too many.

Don't have two cars, okay? Then it's more pollution, and you have to think about it more.

[Speaker 1]
To have too many things hurts your meditation.

[Speaker 2]
So, Buddha's trying to teach us, eat small amount healthy food, and don't own too many things. It's just more trouble.

[Speaker 1]
People ask me, Geshe-la, you had a very successful company.

[Speaker 2]
You must have a very big house.

[Speaker 1]
I have the smallest legal house in my province. The land is one-sixth of an acre. It's very small.

Why? I hate to clean a house. If I have a house with 12 rooms, I have to clean 12 rooms.

I'm not stupid, you know? If I have three cars, I have to do three insurance, three registration, three certification, three taxes.

[Speaker 2]
I don't want that. I want one nice car, and I want one nice small house. Okay, and Buddha's giving us example.

[Speaker 1]
What happens next in the Gengkan Ching? Buddha meditates, and they actually, they talk about the correct posture. It says a Buddha sat up straight, because if you meditate like this, then you get sleepy.

If you meditate like this, I start to think about yo-tiao.

[Speaker 2]
You'll have extra thoughts that come in your mind. If you're straight, then the chi moves nice, and your meditation is very good. So, that's the next thing that happens in the Gengkan.

[Speaker 1]
Then, the monks and the bodhisattvas come for teaching. By the way, I'm going to go until 4.15, okay?

[Speaker 2]
We're going to go until 4.15. Less than half an hour, okay? Okay, because I want to finish more, okay?

[Speaker 1]
If you have to go to a train or meet somebody, you can stand up. It's okay.

[Speaker 2]
It's not impolite, because I'm doing overtime.

[Speaker 1]
Next thing, Subhūti stands up. Subhūti is the student of the Buddha. Many of the sutras come because somebody asked a question.

Many sutras' name is the sutra asked by Kay, or the sutra asked by Michael from Germany, or they will give the name of the sutra like that. Then, Subhūti, you're supposed to go down on one knee. You're supposed to drop your robe, and you're supposed to cross your hands, and you're supposed to ask a question with respect.

[Speaker 2]
Then, Kamalashila says this is very important.

[Speaker 1]
Why? Because the question is asked by Buddha's student, it shows that Buddhism goes by lineage.

[Speaker 2]
The lineage starts in the first minute of the sutra.

[Speaker 1]
Buddha doesn't sit down and start talking.

[Speaker 2]
Student must ask the question. So, it starts like that, okay?

[Speaker 1]
And it shows a proper how to start. And it shows the student should show respect. Then, Subhūti starts his question.

If he lived nowadays, he Buddha, you're so cool. Buddha is really cool, you know? And you give us guidance, you direct us, and you help us.

Because of that, you are super cool. Then, Kamalashila says, what kind of guidance does the Buddha give? And he says three kinds of guidance.

[Speaker 2]
The very first thing, Buddha tells us, you have to in this lifetime, you must find a teacher, okay?

[Speaker 1]
It's very difficult to learn meditation from internet. There's a blessing come from the teacher to the student. It doesn't go Wi-Fi.

I don't know why that blessing stopped, it cannot go Wi-Fi. You have to see teacher's face, and teacher will touch your arm. There are many things that are not in words from the teacher.

[Speaker 2]
So, Kamalashila says, first guidance that Buddha gave us, it's to help the people, to encourage people, you got to have a teacher.

[Speaker 1]
Then it doesn't have to be Geshe Michael, okay? If everybody tries to wear the same pants, there will be a problem, okay? Like, if I try to wear Maria's pants, you know, it will be too tight.

[Speaker 2]
Or, I don't know, if I try to wear some fat guy pants, they will fall down. So, you have to find a teacher who fit you, okay? And you have to check which teacher fits you.

But you have to find a teacher.

[Speaker 1]
How do you find a teacher? Yeah. You want to be DCI teacher?

We have a training program.

[Speaker 2]
But, you don't have to do it. I'll teach you how to be DCI teacher.

[Speaker 1]
Anytime someone asks you a question up here, and they will continue by the way after the program. There are two things you have to do.

[Speaker 2]
Number one, try to look very smart.

[Speaker 1]
Listen to the question like that. Then after the question finishes, you look down like you are thinking very deep, you know.

[Speaker 2]
Then say, I have idea for you. Four steps. Plant the seed with the four steps.

[Speaker 1]
Number one, decide what you want.

[Speaker 2]
Number two, find the other person who wants the same thing.

[Speaker 1]
Number three, Penny, help them—Eric—help them for one hour a week. Okay? That's all.

Step number four, be happy that you planted a seed. That's all. So, if someone asks you, say Seiji, they're going to ask you a question.

He's one of our teacher from Mexico. Oh, Seiji, I have a question, you know.

[Speaker 2]
How do I find my teacher? Then he will go like ...

[Speaker 1]
four steps.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
Okay?

[Speaker 2]
So, you don't have to go to India and get diarrhea to find a teacher. Just do the four steps. Then they will come to you.

Same as money.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? That's how to find a teacher. The second way that the Buddha directs student, teach them kongshin.

Third thing, teach them kongshin. Second thing, sorry.

[Speaker 2]
Third thing, encourage them to help other people.

[Speaker 1]
And that's all. Okay? That's all.

So, how does the sutra begin? So, Bodhi says to Buddha, you really helped us.

[Speaker 2]
You gave us guidance. You taught us to find a teacher. You taught us to study kongshin.

[Speaker 1]
And you encouraged us to help other people. Because of that, Buddha, you are super cool. Then Subodhi asks a question.

This is the main question of the sutra. The answer to the question is the whole sutra.

[Speaker 2]
So, Bodhi's question has three parts. Number one—oh Lord Buddha, how should we live? Second question—how should we practice?

Third question—how should we think?

[Speaker 1]
Then Kamalashila said ... he gives the answer a little bit too early. The answer to the first question— how should we live?

[Speaker 2]
He says, we should live in hope of helping other people. We should hope in our life to serve other people. That's how you should live.

[Speaker 1]
Then, how should we practice? Do all of your practice with the understanding of kongshin. That's all.

And then, how should we think? Then Buddha says, never forget kongshin. Then that's enough.

[Speaker 2]
Whatever ... everything you do—business, family, meditation—don't stop thinking about kongshin.

[Speaker 1]
That's how to live. That's how to practice. That's how to think.

And that's the rest of the sutra. Then, so Subhuti asked a question. Then Buddha starts his answer.

[Speaker 2]
It doesn't say in the sutra, but I think he did this first.

[Speaker 1]
Then he said, uh ... you asked a good question, Subhuti. Then Buddha says, listen, and I will explain.

Listen, and I will explain.

[Speaker 2]
Then Kamalashila says, oh, this has big meaning.

[Speaker 1]
Buddha means, if you listen correctly, I will explain. It means, if you don't listen correctly, I won't explain. Then Kamalashila says, this is the famous teaching about the three teacups, which the picture is in your paper.

There's a very famous teaching called the three teacups. After 1,000 years later, it became part of the ... sorry, yeah, about a thousand years later, it became part of Lam Rim teaching.

Lam Rim. What's it mean, three teacups? I better not use it.

Okay. It says, don't be like three bad teacups. Student shouldn't be like three bad teacups.

[Speaker 2]
What's the first one? Teacup is upside down.

[Speaker 1]
If you want to give this person some tea, if the teacup is upside down, it will just spill off the top. It won't go in.

[Speaker 2]
What's the meaning? Student's heart should be open. Student's mind should be open, ready to receive the wisdom.

They have to really want it.

[Speaker 1]
So, they have to say, teacher, please teach me.

[Speaker 2]
And then they have to open like a flower.

[Speaker 1]
You put that wisdom right here. Okay? So, student must be open to new ideas.

[Speaker 2]
Okay? Some people are afraid of new ideas.

[Speaker 1]
They don't want to hear new ideas.

[Speaker 2]
It makes them nervous.

[Speaker 1]
Geshe-la, I'm happy with my old miserable life. I don't want a new problem. Just try, just listen.

That's the first quality of student—should be open. Then if that teacup already has an old Starbucks coffee in it, and you try to put in some fresh tea, it's not going to taste very good. One of the worst tastes in the world is a Starbucks coffee mixed with green tea.

Probably you made it by accident one day. What's it mean? If the student won't give up old wrong idea, and they want to mix it with the new idea, it's going to taste terrible.

So, the student shouldn't try to keep the old stupid ideas.

[Speaker 2]
Okay? First, clean out the cup.

[Speaker 1]
Then it's open and fresh. Okay, teacher, what you teach me, I will try fresh new ideas. What's the third teacup?

Do you know? It has a crack in the bottom. Okay?

You put in the tea, and then ten minutes later the tea is everywhere. There's a problem. There's a crack in the bottom.

What's that mean? You teach the student the pen on ... what's today?

Wednesday? Tuesday?

[Speaker 2]
Tuesday? Yeah. Then on Wednesday they come back to learn Kamalashila, and you say, do you remember the pen?

It means no.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? They cannot keep it ... knowledge inside.

You put the knowledge in, and it just leaks out. Next day they don't remember anything. That's why I gave you an expensive color photo sheets.

Buddhist tradition, you're supposed to look at those sheets three times before tomorrow. When you eat dinner, put it there, look at it while you're eating. Don't get it on the sheet, it's a bad karma.

Then, when you go to bed before sleep, look at it one more time.

[Speaker 2]
Next morning when you are sitting in the important room, check it one more time.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? If the motivation is strong, it's not a bad seed. Buddhist tradition, you're supposed to look at this page three times before tomorrow.

If you want to be a super good student, five minute meditation each one of those pictures. Okay? So, why can I give this whole lecture for, I don't know, six hours without looking at the paper?

Because I meditated on it many times. Okay? That's the three cups.

Then, take a photo of each of those photos.

[Speaker 2]
Okay? Keep it on your cell phone.

[Speaker 1]
Then, okay, you are on the way home in the subway. Set the timer.

[Speaker 2]
Five minutes.

[Speaker 1]
You know, start it. Then, go to the photo of the three teacups. And on the subway, you can meditate about the three teacups until the bell rings.

[Speaker 2]
I did this many times on the subway. Three things happen.

[Speaker 1]
Number one, one day someone stole my wallet, I didn't notice because I'm meditating. Number two, one day the bell didn't ring, I missed my stop, I went to the end of the train.

[Speaker 2]
End of the train line. But, number three, I learned the subject very well. Now it's in my mind.

[Speaker 1]
Okay?

[Speaker 2]
So, take the photo of each picture. And then, you can do meditation anywhere. Okay?

[Speaker 1]
They say the plane to Beijing is going to be late. All the passengers except Jack and Jessica are upset. They're like, haha, cool, we get to do some meditation in the airport.

[Speaker 2]
Okay? It's very powerful. You can learn this subject very well.

So, Buddha said to Subodhi, listen, and I will explain.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? I thought you'd like to know what Subodhi's name means. There's two translations.

One is Rabdha Jowa, one is Rabdha Jowa. Okay? Then, what does Rabdha Jowa, Rabdha Jowa mean?

What does his name mean?

[Speaker 2]
Su means good. Bodhi means came out.

[Speaker 1]
Then it means it's a very common Buddhist word to leave the world.

[Speaker 2]
Then he left the world.

[Speaker 1]
His name is Mr. Left the World.

[Speaker 2]
Then, what does that mean?

[Speaker 1]
Then many people don't understand. Oh, I have to divorce my wife.

[Speaker 2]
Leave my kids.

[Speaker 1]
Quit my job.

[Speaker 2]
Go to the mountain.

[Speaker 1]
Just meditate. Find a cave, you know. I tried it already, it's stupid, okay?

Ban da? Ben? Fe chang ben.

Yeah, it's a bad idea. I went to the cave in the mountain. I didn't find Buddhahood, I found 100 spiders.

They're like ... forget it, okay? I have a 40 years meditating experience.

I also did three-year retreat in one room. I didn't see the people cooking, for example. They will put the food under the door.

[Speaker 2]
I don't have electricity, I don't have toilet, okay? Food come under the door.

[Speaker 1]
One special garbage bag go out the door. Okay, if you see one of those, don't open it.

[Speaker 2]
If you see that bag, don't open it. Okay?

[Speaker 1]
Poop will go out under the door.

[Speaker 2]
So, I have a lot of experience meditating, and I can tell you, you need a comfortable place.

[Speaker 1]
Small, comfortable, nice house, that has a good door that the spiders cannot visit you during meditation.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
Small, nice refrigerator. Okay? You need these things.

So, when we say Subhuti left the world, it doesn't mean he divorced his wife and he leave his job. It doesn't mean that.

[Speaker 2]
It's not going to help you.

[Speaker 1]
Your problems are not going to go away because you leave your house.

[Speaker 2]
Okay?

[Speaker 1]
You take your problems here, in here, everywhere.

[Speaker 2]
Okay? If you go to a cave, your problems will be there, because they are coming from you. So Geshe-la, what does it mean Subhuti left the world?

[Speaker 1]
Subhuti left the world where we believe that things are coming from themselves. Okay?

[Speaker 2]
Subhuti left that world. Okay? You can leave that world and still have a job.

You can still have a good family. Okay? That's not the meaning of leave the world.

[Speaker 1]
Okay, now the real good part begins. That's why you have to come back tomorrow. Why?

Because Buddha says something very controversial. When Subhuti says, what should I do? What should I think?

How should I live? Buddha says, there's just one thing you have to do.

[Speaker 2]
You take everybody to Nirvana. That's your life's work.

[Speaker 1]
You take everyone to Nirvana, and when they get ...

[Speaker 2]
when you take them there, nobody reaches Nirvana.

[Speaker 1]
Okay? Very controversial. We'll explain it tomorrow.

Buddha said to Subhuti, your job, just one job, take everybody to Nirvana. Danshi. Danshi.

But, after they reach Nirvana, nobody reached Nirvana.

[Speaker 2]
What's that mean?

[Speaker 1]
You have to come back tomorrow.

[Speaker 2]
Last thing.

[Speaker 1]
I went to Mumbai. I need Auret and I need Jamie.

[Speaker 2]
Come on up. A six-year-old boy in Mumbai taught me an important joke.

[Speaker 1]
If I tell you, you will remember the Jing Kang Jing. There were three friends in Mumbai. One's name is somebody.

[Speaker 2]
His name is somebody.

[Speaker 1]
One's name is nobody. One name is crazy. It's just like Jing Kang Jing.

[Speaker 2]
Then, very bad thing happened.

[Speaker 1]
They got in a big fight. Very bad fight. Then, one of them called the police.

[Speaker 2]
Oh! Something happened! Something happened!

What happened? You won't believe it, it's terrible. What happened?

Somebody killed nobody.

[Speaker 1]
Then, the police said, Are you crazy?

[Speaker 2]
Yes, how you know?