Course XI: Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life, Part Three, NYC, Oct-Nov 1997
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ACI 12, Class 1
971014-1
PLEASE NOTE: Any Tibetan is totally written by what it sounded like. Therefore, correct spelling is not guaranteed.
Prayers
About 12-13 hundred years ago. And, uh, this will be the ninth and the tenth chapter of the book. We’ve covered the first 8 chapters this year so far. Um, this book is not even taught in the monastery. It’s not part of the Geshe course, you know, uh, it’s not considered one of the five great books that’s in the monastery. And normally a monk at Sera or at one of the other monasteries, great monasteries, would study this on the side, like during visits by His Holiness the Dalai Lama or by in the old days by one of his … teachers. Um, so why do we spend a whole year on it? You know, um, it’s really perhaps the most important- one of the most important books in Buddhism. And it has survived since the early times of Buddhism, and people, you know, millions of people have studied it and it’s a very, very important book. Uh, if you have to perhaps decide what’s the most important chapter in the book- it’s the 9th chapter. Uh, so you’re about to study the most important chapter of one of the most important books ever written by man, or whoever (laugh), uhh, it’s a great honor to hear it, you know, it’s very difficult to get to hear it. I think you remember the story that we told when Master Shantideva taught this, uh, particular chapter, uh, in the monastery. He started to write off the throne that he was on. And only a few people even heard the end of the chapter. Uh, only those people who could read his mind, uh, and could follow him as he floated into the air, uh, away from the monastery, uh, heard the 9th chapter and there was this big argument about whether there was a 10th chapter or not. So, you’re about to hear the 9th and 10th chapter and I promise not to fly away. Uh, (laugh), and uh, you have to get in your mind what’s going on in this chapter. This chapter is about emptiness. It’s about the meaning of emptiness. Uh, when you look back on your life, you know, when you get old, you should get old, ok, and uh, when you look back on your life and you think about what happened in your life. Uh, if you can see emptiness directly in this life which is about 20 minutes or something. It takes about 20 minutes. The real Tonglam, direct experience of emptiness on the path of seeing. It takes about 20 minutes of a human life. I think you can count that, and you can count your first experience of real boddichitta which takes less than that- takes maybe 5 minutes, and then, uh, you can count if you ever have any tantric realizations, life of kirim and zogrim(?)- the two levels of tantra. Uh, they would take a kirim experience would take a few minutes and a togrim (?) experience would take a little bit longer. But, you could look back on your life after 60 or 70 years and say- those are the only times in my life that were important. You know, that few minutes in my life was the only important time in my life. Uh, the rest was just moving from one of those realizations to the other, you know, physically, and in time. But, if a Buddhist looks back at their life, at the end of their life, and if you can say: I’ve seen those things for half an hour or something, uh, that’s, that’s the only meaningful thing that ever happened in your life. You know, that, that’s a very profound statement, you know, that when you look back on a whole human life uh, from the time you were born that those were the only really important things that happened. Those were the most important things that happened. And you can easily see that, and you can easily uh compare to the rest of your life make thousands, millions of times more important than only the other days of your life- are those few minutes. And the whole purpose of being a Buddhist is to try to get to those few minutes, is to try to make those few minutes happen. If you can make them happen, you won’t suffer anymore. If you can make the direct perception of emptiness happen in this life, you see your future lives, you know uh which life it will all end. You see your own enlightenment. Uh, you see the Buddha. And you see all of these things directly. You know them. And no one can ever convince you anything else, you know. You know that you so them, and that’s, that’s the nature of that experience. And from then on, you will not have any major sufferings. From the moment you see emptiness directly there won’t be any major bad thing happen to you in your entire existence ever again. Uh, it can’t happen after that. You know major problems, you’ll get minor problems. You’ll have to die like six more times. (clear throat) But that’s all. And that’s nothing, ok, I mean, those are, that’s the power of that experience. If you reach it. Kirim or Tzorim. If you have those, uh, experiences, then you have the direct knowledge that in this life, very soon, you can become a complete Buddha. As, enter some kind of paradise. So really those are all that matters in your life. The rest is just logistical support. You see what I mean: eating, sleeping, friends, family, job, your body, uh, your mind. Everything else is just conditions for those to happen. And they don’t mean anything more than that, you know. If they can lead you to that experience then they had some meaning. And if they can’t, if you don’t get to one of those experiences, they probably didn’t have much meaning. Which is like a pitch for coming to this class, ok. This class for that, you know, the only reason for the ninth chapter is to try to get you to see emptiness directly. That’s what you’re here for. Uh, so so, and it’s very rare to hear the 9th chapter, and it’s very rare to hear it explained, uh, at all, so in the benefits I like that. So don’t don’t uh, it’s not, you’re not uh, this is not like one of those uh, they hand out those fliers around the city, I forget what they’re called- adult learning thing, annex thing- something like that. You know, like, this is not like how to write a good movie script or uh, a new yoga class, or or healthy living class, or. The point is not that. Just don’t think of this as a class. I mean, we call it a class- it’s not a class. If you get what’s going to happen what’s going to happen in the next 10 classes uh, you become a totally different kind of being on this planet and you will, and because of that experience you will not suffer in any major way again- period. I mean, it’s really like some kind of threshhold in your life if you can hear the 9th chapter. If you understand what it’s about. And if it leads you to see emptiness directly then you don’t need anything else in the world actually. And you can die happily. You know, and you will (laugh)ok. So don’t miss one of these classes, ok, uh, don’t don’t you know- there’s no other reason for your life really, you know, there’s nothing else in your life that matters uh, like emptiness. There isn’t anything. Uh, don’t kid yourself, ok. If you miss more than two, don’t come, OK? Uh, that’s a deal. I mean there has to be a certain energy in this room. And it has to be that people are committed to, to learning emptiness and to seeing emptiness. So, if you think you’re going to miss more than 2 classes then come on Friday night and there’s little lesson..ok? But people in this room now, if you stay, uh, don’t miss class, ok? And if you miss more than two, then as a point of honor, just stop and don’t come. And come back on Friday, you’re welcome to come on Friday, ok. But there has to be a certain level of energy in this class and a certain level of commitment. If you miss if you miss more than that then it means you don’t understand what we’re talking about at all. It means you don’t get it. And probably you could come on Friday night, Maybe in a few lifetimes you can get another chance, ok? Laugh. I’m not kiddin, ok?Uh, it’s a commitment. And and I’m not saying it for my benefit, you know, I, uh I’m just saying that in your life the things that happen; the events that come in your lifetime- very special opportunities compared to which you should cancel everything else. Where other things just don’t matter anymore. Even if they seem very very important. Uh, if you really know what’s going on. If you get that kind of event happening to you or that kind of opportunity, you should cancel everything. And just do that , you know. If it happens that something like that comes close to you, you should grab the opportunity and not even hesitate and cancel the other things. Even if they’re virtuous; even if they’re Dharma things. Uh, if you have an opportunity to understand these few things in your life. If you have an opportunity to experience them in your life then you should just cancel the other things, ok? Alright?
Uh, what does seeing emptiness do for you? What can it do for you? Uh, I’ll read you the definition, here, let me see. No more writing in my terrible handwriting (laugh). Now you have no excuse to uh, make your handwriting better, Ok, uh. Copy that. All the Tibetan I put up on the projector is on your homework, ok? So…..Um. By the way, this class is going to be a little tougher than the last one,ok? The 9th Chapter is hard. And, uh, I decided, I saw G.I.Jane the other day and uh, I got inspired by that drill sergeant, and uh, I’m going to kick a little but in this class. Uh, so, you gotta work hard. And don’t go home and think you’re not gonna work hard, because you have to work hard. And you’ll learn something. Cause if you don’t work hard you won’t learn anything, alright? I’m gonna make you work hard. Or you’ll leave.
They have this bell in the movie that you could ring if you were gonna give up, you know, Ah (laugh).
Say Dun (Dun) Kangshi (Kangshi) Numsu Du (Numsu Du), topay (topay) chima (chima) sopa (sopa) chopa (chopa) [all Tibetan here and hereafter I’m ot 100% sure of…]By the way you could do this in Tibetan track or you can do it in English track. Uh, if you do it in Tibetan track, you have to memorize everything that goes up on the board, ok? And you should, ok? You really should try. If you want to you can try to memorize just the English letters, alright, until you get to know your Tibetan letters. But you should really try, ok, if you’re on the boarder and you don’t know quite what to do, just do it. Ok, you have a lot better chance of seeing this emptiness in this life if you can learn Tibetan and read all the other scriptures about it, ok? Much better chance. If not, just for fun, and I don’t care about intellectually I don’t care. You know, if you, if there were hundreds of Lamas being nice today who could explain these things in English, and if all the books were already translated it wouldn’t matter. Uh, but there’s only about 10 good translations on this subject. There’s probably ten thousand books that exist on this subject. You gotta learn Tibetan. Don’t be lazy, just do it. Especially the people who are administering this class, ok, uh, so say: I don’t have to learn that because I’m making the announcements, so I’m uh doing the xeroxing, or I helped set up the altar. Uh, forget it. Of all the people here, you should be the best, ok? You should work the hardest. It means you’re gonna get a little less sleep for six weeks or something, ok? It’s no big deal. You will regret it later if you don’t do it. These classes will not last forever, you know. We are very luck right now. We have a place, we all have a human body that didn’t die yet, uh, you’re very lucky. (unclear)will not go on, uh, forever, so you have to take the chance when you have it, ok? Uh,
Dun means- in this case it means that thing- that object. Normally it means meaning. Uh,
Kangshi means which; that object which, Kangshi.
Numsu du topa means: if you perceive it directly. Numsu Du means directly. Numsudum.
Topa means to realize it or perceive it.
Topa- by that perception.
Chima means purity, everything in pure. Meaning your mental afflictions: jealousy, hatred, anger, desire are called impurities. And also eventually, the obstacle in your mind that prevents you from being a Buddha. Ok, there’s an obstacle in your mind that prevents you from being a Buddha. If you can remove that impurity you’d be able to see all the objects in the universe at one moment- in one moment. You’d be able to see everything in the universe. And you’d be able to appear anywhere in the universe that you want to appear, ok, and that’s, that’s Chima, meaning impurity is also removed. Chima means impurity.
Sopa means, I translate it as finished off. Like, completely finished. Ok, completely finished.
Sopa Chopa means it functions to do that. It does that. It does that thing. So how shall we translate this in English? Pause. I’ll try to do it the way I did it. Ummm: that object which is such that- that object which is such that if you realize it directly, it allows you to finish off every impurity, ok? It’s the object which if you realize it directly, allows you to finish off all your impurities.
That object is emptiness, ok? Another word for emptiness is ultimate reality. Ultimate reality. You can only perceive it directly in a deep deep state of meditation, with a lot of training, ok? And the whole experience of perceiveing it directly it takes in this life time for example, it could take like 20 years to get ready and then you see it, you know. Seeing takes about 20 minutes in deep meditation. In fact, if you can make contact with that reality it’s a separate reality; it’s a different reality, it’s a higher reality, ok? If you can make contact with that reality, it will stop in you every impure thing. You won’t, eventually it will stop your mortal body. You won’t have to die anymore. It will stop your bad thoughts even before that. You will not ever be able to have jealousy anymore. You won’t be able to get upset anymore. You won’t be able to have an un, un, a bad day or an unhappy thought- impossible, totally impossible. But the only way to do those things is to make contact with this higher reality- ultimate reality- emptiness. It’s a higher reality. And and to have any hope of reaching those things you must make contact with it. You must see it directly, ok? If you see it directly- if you make contact with it before you die, these things will start to happen. You know, your mental afflictions, your bad thoughts, your bad emotions will start to disappear one by one. Get less and less and less and then finally finish. Eventually, the body itself will start to change into a higher body, ok, into like a body of light. And that cannot- that’s all triggered by making contact with this thing. What does it mean to make contact with it? You know, do you touch it or something like that? No. In meditation, you make contact with it with your mind. With your mind, you make contact with ultimate reality. Just doing that for 20 minutes has the affect that for the next 7 lifetimes you can remove all of your bad thoughts, all of your suffering, and if you practice tantra, uh, in this lifetime, you can remove all those things, ok? In this lifetime you could remove all those bad parts of your mind and also your very body will start to change, and your body will change into a different body. And your world will change into a higher world, ok? And that’s all made possible by making contact with this object, ok, and that’s the definition. I mean, that’s the description of ultimate truth, ultimate reality. That thing which if you make contact with it, every impure part of your being will be changed, ok, so you must make contact with that. It’s only 20 minutes, it’s really weird, you know, 20 minutes in the presence of this object is enough to put you on the path. In the stream- it’s called stream mentor. It’s enough for you to enter this stream. And then you’re on your way out. It’s like on a conveyor belt or something. You don’t have a choice actually. From that moment on you’re on your way out. And that’s the direct perception of emptiness. This is the quality of ultimate reality; this is the quality of emptiness,ok, um. How does it do it, ok? How does it function that way? What happens after you see emptiness directly? Ok? That happens to be the first homework question.