Преображение и служение другим (2014, Сингапур), занятие 1

[Speaker 2]
So, a few years ago I had the pleasure to go to Rachel House. And we have a prison program that we do. We teach meditation and yoga in five prisons in Arizona.

And it's not very fancy. You just go in and you do it. But when you come out, you have this strange...

You feel very, very happy and very, very good. And it's like unquestionably good. And it's a good thing to do.

And when I went to Rachel House, it was the same feeling.

[Speaker 1]
So they are giving palliative care to children with HIV and cancer. And I went there and I saw the nurses and we had some time together. And it was beautiful.

And then you got again that feeling. It's so uncomplicated good, you know. And it was just really beautiful.

And I brag about you all over the world. I guess my transformation is... We have tonight five people here who just came out of a three-year retreat.

So they've been silent. Can you raise your hands? They've been silent for three years, three months and three days.

And they had very difficult times. They had very difficult circumstances there. And they were just telling about the bears that broke into their cabin.

And they had a very dangerous fire. And they had a tragedy there. And it was very difficult for them.

And in my own life, my own what you would call transformation, I think it's been some kind of maturity or some kind of greater wisdom. I think when you hit 60, you become smart. And it takes that long.

And I had some kind of major understanding in the last five years or something that there's nothing else to do. You know, some people complain about you or there's some problem with your sponsors or something. And then you feel discouraged.

And you go home and you're like, I can't believe that they're criticizing me when all I'm doing is trying to help people. And then you're like, oh, okay. You complain, you whine for like three days.

And then you're like, well, there's nothing else to do, you know. And you just get back and you just keep doing it, you know. So I think if you're going to be a do-gooder, my Lama used to say this, Mike, there's two good businesses in the world, you know.

And I'd say, what's that, Rinpoche? He entered the monastery when he was seven. And he said, the first good business is alcohol, selling alcohol.

I said, what are you talking about? You never had a drink in your life, you know. He said, no, but think about it.

When people are sad, what do they do? They drink. And when people are happy to celebrate, what do they do?

They drink, you know. I said, okay, Rinpoche, I know you're just kidding me, you know. What's the second good business?

He said, being a do-gooder, you know, helping, serving people is a good business, you know. I said, why? He says, you always got customers, you know.

Everybody needs help all the time. And if these people are complaining about you, these people need help. It doesn't matter, there's always someone who needs help.

So, you're never unemployed, and you're just helping people all the time. And then, from the viewpoint of 60, and having been through many ups and downs in do-gooding, I can tell you, it's the best thing to do. There's no other game in town, there's no other thing to do, you know.

It's totally bliss, to do good stuff and help other people. And then you will... In Tibet they say, when you decide to do good things, you're gonna have obstacles, they will come.

Like you're sticking your head up, and they will, it's called gonyon. They will go head-smashing. They see who sticks their head up, and then they try to stop it, you know.

And you will... The more good stuff you do, the more trouble. And when you expand from 9 to 20, you'll have 110% more problems.

Definite, you know. And when you start trying to train all the nurses in Malaysia, sorry, Jakarta, you'll have 100 more problems. And when you start a college or something, you will have more problems.

And you just have to get used to it. That's the way it is. You know, you have to expect it, and you have to greet it, and say, oh, I was waiting for you, you know.

Okay, there's a tragedy and there's a problem, okay, I'm ready. You know, and you have to be good-natured about it, and happy, and just greet it with a smile, you know. Because there's nothing else to do.

And then I'm happy to report that if you keep it up over many years' time, it has a profound effect on your own happiness. And your own life becomes like very, very magical, and very, very beautiful, and extraordinary things happen to you, and extraordinary people come to you, and your life becomes like a miracle. Every single thing in your life is a miracle.

So there's nothing else to do. You must serve others. There will come problems the more you serve.

But the whole process is that it makes your life perfect, it makes your life magical. And then you just gotta be like a soldier, and you have to say, let's make it happen, you know. And it's fun, it's really fun.

And if you don't do that, you're missing a big part of life. And if you do it, then these beautiful things happen in your life, and your life—miracles happen every day. And it's a beautiful life.

So keep going. Don't even pause. Just when something happens, just go, you know.

Okay? Just keep going. That's all.

Thank you.