Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche – Teachings at Losang Dragpa Centre, Malaysia, March 2013
An extremely rough, unedited, first draft transcript typed simultaneously with the teachings
17 March 2013 – Long Life Puja
Losang Dragpa Centre, Malaysia
I thank you very much for the long life puja, the long life puja of course as many of you must know, has the seven limb practice which comes before the lam-rim meditation or any other practice, every day we recite, every day we have to recite it, practice it, part of that is requesting for a stable life, for a long life, before requesting to turn the Dharma wheel and the dedication, and today the long life puja is elaborated form of that practice, long life puja is the antidote to the negative karma of disturbing the guru’s holy mind done either in this life or past lives, those negative karmas get purified, as well as breaking the advice, heaviest obstacle for awakening the mind, for enlightening the mind, to liberating the mind from delusions, to enlighten the mind, to develop realizations, Dharma wisdom, for the happiness, temporary happiness and ultimate happiness which are obstacle for success, antidote for purifying those negative actions. This long life puja I felt very sincere, not just acting, very sincere from the heart. As I used to mention, not that I’m free, that I have overcome karma and delusions, the cause of suffering, it is not that I have overcome them, am free from them, from death and rebirth, I’m just a very ordinary person under the control of karma and delusions, but since we have Dharma connection, I’m nothing special but we have a Dharma connection with each other, guru praying for disciple, disciple praying for guru has strength because of connection, also parents praying for children, children praying for parents due to blood connection has power for success, those who share the same materials, same house, same materials in the house also those people’s prayers have power to pray for friends, people, with whom you share the house, what is in the house you share, so praying for each other has power. As I mentioned long life puja sincere from the heart I felt, so that would have power. I have no special qualities, nothing, so due to Dharma connection, you praying for me it has power. I want to take the opportunity especially after I got stroke, diabetes have for long time but after stroke so many unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable, pujas, liberating animals, Amitabha Buddhist Centre how many? I forgot. It was mentioned during the long life puja. 170 million animals got liberated from being killed, lives saved, not only saved, those big fish by trunk circumambulated the center, holy objects, and small ones around many stupas and holy objects, as how many holy objects are there they created that many causes of enlightenment by the power of virtuous motivation, bodhichitta which causes to achieve enlightenment, but here by the power of the holy object for the animals to create cause of enlightenment, so how many holy objects are there by going around one time create so many causes of enlightenment, liberation from samsara, good rebirth in next life and so on. Then other places, in particular in Tibet also many, many goats and yaks in Tibet, many, many animals were liberated, I don’t have the whole list in my mind, I think the pujas I think saving lives is really, really good one, unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable, I don’t think abbots or Tibetan government officials I don’t think even one, by dividing all the pujas in four, all the pujas and liberating animals, doing practices individually and in group, all the monasteries, by dividing the practices in four, even one completed, even government people, abbots, lay people, very small pujas are done for them, but since I got a stroke so many people did practices individually and in group, monasteries, centers, also in Tibet, everywhere, so I want to take the opportunity here today to thank all of you for your prayers, the mantras you recited, Medicine Buddha, long life, the practices you did individually and in groups, for all that I want to thank you so much, very, very much, I want to take the opportunity to thank you for that, for all the practices you have been doing for a long time. And generally didn’t close your mind, instead of closing mind, open mind you gave freedom to yourself, you guide yourself, you make the sun shine in your life, not darkness, you make the sun shine in your life, when you learn Dharma in the center, when you learn Dharma in the center from the qualified teachers, geshes who studied their whole life in the monasteries the Buddha’s teachings, Nagarjuna, those pandits, their commentaries and teachings, Lama Tsongkhapa and the great enlightened beings of Tibet, great lamas and meditators, many commentaries and valuable teachings, they studied them all their life and practiced, so you studying from them which they have done for their whole life so really possible so that you have great, great, great opportunity to learn the teachings of the Buddha without mistakes, so giving freedom, more you learn Dharma it gives sun shining in your mind, dispels darkness of ignorance and more and more sun shining the enlightened awakened, those words, the enlightened awakened not ignorant giving more and more sun shining, Dharma wisdom in your life, in your heart, not only by learning, the same thing by practicing as much as you can so really unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable, just about one time received this human rebirth, this precious human rebirth, even without talking about perfect human rebirth with eight freedoms and ten richnesses, then what Dharma you learned from those qualified teachers you put in practice in daily life and create cause of happiness in future lives, for example, practicing morality, charity, dedicating merits, receive all happiness of future lives, good rebirth and so forth, then also perfect human rebirth and so forth, to be born in pure land where you can become enlightened, then taking initiation, practicing the very high , very precious, most precious, very high mahanuttara tantra path, then giving opportunity, great opportunity to yourself, you give opportunity to yourself, great opportunity by practicing Mahayana tantra, not tantra, not vajrayana which is not Mahayana, that is wrong vajrayana, which is Mahayana, vajrayana which is not Mahayana is wrong vajrayana, just in case, wrong vajrayana, that vajrayana doesn’t exist. To be born in pure land where you can become enlightened so fast. Not only that, ultimate happiness liberation from samsara, from oceans of samsaric sufferings, then full enlightenment peerless happiness, total cessation of gross and subtle mistakes of mind, complete realizations, understanding, omniscient mind, as many as possible every day and night you take opportunity to do Dharma practice, not only time of meditation but also during the eating, walking, sitting, sleeping, doing job all the time become Dharma, become cause of happiness up to enlightenment, then try as much as possible, so that is really, really, really, really, really, really good, really, really soooooooooooooooooooooooooo fortunate, I make chanting for this, I make a tune for it, but really truly soooooooooooooooooooooooo fortunate, unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable, without, not by comparing to lower realms, just comparing to human beings in this world we are unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable, so fortunate, wow, wow, wow,, really so fortunate, we have to realize this, not just talk, we have to realize we are so fortunate, if you have realization of perfect human rebirth this is what your realization, soooooooooooooo fortunate to have this human body which we have now. So thank you. Doing more and more Dharma practice, more and more, also for the past thank you very, very, very much from my heart, really seriously, it looks like I’m joking but I’m not joking, I’m not joking, really, it is really unbelievable so thank you. I think the center really helped, the center really helped, really very, very, and the different teachers who have been in the center teaching Dharma, philosophy and especially lam-rim, how to meditate. You know as a Buddhist, as non-Buddhist and also as Buddhist generally meditation, just called meditation doesn’t mean it has value but lam-rim meditation, oooooooooh that, eight worldly dharmas then extra worldly Dharma is meditation just to calm the mind, another eight worldly dharma, I mean it is okay for beginners however lam-rim meditation, the lam-rim, foundation of tantra the three principal aspects of path and guru devotion, oh those bring to liberation from oceans of samsaric sufferings forever, just one time you achieve it is forever, there is no change, again and again need to practice Dharma, bodhichitta and achieve enlightenment, realization of emptiness and meditation even no realization but correct meditation on emptiness, your actions, whatever you do becomes antidote like even eating food, walking, sitting, sleeping, doing job, doing with meditation even not realization of emptiness but correct understanding of emptiness so doesn’t become cause of samsara, it become remedy to samsara, it becomes remedy like medicine to ignorance the cause of samsara as I mentioned before so this is very, very, very important, remedy to ignorance, wow, wow, wow. Becomes cause to achieve liberation even not enlightenment, so bodhichitta can achieve enlightenment, that is really, really so. Your good karma, past life good prayer so good karma, the center is really great, great, unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable benefit, I didn’t say much before so today I’m saying that, the center is really, really, it is for the six realm sentient beings for their happiness, temporary happiness and ultimate happiness and enlightenment, in particular for the sentient beings of this world, temporary happiness, ultimate happiness, and enlightenment, I really, really, great, great, I see great, great so much benefit in so many different ways, even the hospice, not only teaching but in many ways we are helping, giving advice to people with problems, also people who have problems giving advice, giving lojong, the special advice, the problems of life how to utilize in the path to enlightenment, the problems, difficulties, the things you don’t like you use in path to enlightenment, you use for developing bodhichitta and emptiness, whole path from guru devotion to enlightenment is lojong but in particular lojong use problems as support, use bad conditions to support bodhichitta, and absolute wisdom, use for that, means to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings, difficulties and problems use for benefit of sentient beings, this is the best psychology, really, really, buddha’s psychology, the whole lam-rim, in particular the lojong is the Buddha’s psychology, the best psychology, so great benefit in so many different ways, you have been doing practice as much as you can every day, I also see many people offering mandala, that is very good, normally I don’t see much but here many people offering actual mandala so that must mean you also do mandala offering in the house so that makes me very, very happy. So also that. generally and in particular since I got stroke you did prayers and practices for the guru to live long so thank you very, very much. What was I going to say? If you rely upon me even though I don’t know anything, I’m like a blind pig, pork, pig, pork or pig, what do you say? Like a sheep, sheep is very ignorant, pork or pig, you rely upon me so from my side I pray, from my side I pray as much as possible. Then I want to say, I forgot. Then it is very good, in the world in the FPMT centers, 16 human Dharmas are quite done, many places in the world people they like very much, but so far I didn’t hear much about the 10 virtues, the 16 human Dharmas are done. Songtsen Gampo made constitution for Tibet, he is embodiment of Chenrezig, the king of Tibet, there are stories about him. There is a story, Songtsen Gampo is embodiment of Chenrezig so when Jokhang temple was built, the lion-face, making lion face with wood outside the door, the people who came inside to serve wine to the king Songtsen Gampo actual manifestation, the people carving the wood are his manifestation, those workers and people offering chang (wine), I forgot the main story, I think, I don’t know what happened, the people offering chang got distracted and some chang dropped on the ground, on the floor, then because of that the carpenter who was making the lion face with wood hit the axe on the nose of the lion so the nose was cut, in the Jokhang door there is the lion face carved in wood, so there was this story, he was the king’s manifestation, this is what happened. The one who offered chang dropped it on the floor, I think got some distraction. But also in Tibet two disciples came to take teachings from Songtsen Gampo, two disciples maybe from Kham, lower place in Tibet, I don’t remember the people’s names, two young people, getsul, monk I think, getsul living in 36 vows came to take teachings, heard so much and came to take teachings from Songtsen Gampo in Lhasa but on the ground saw big piles of human heads, those who did killing and stealing and so forth, those engaging in negative karmas, basic precepts who broke them, the negative karma created by breaking basic precepts, they were killed and there was a big pile of human heads due to king punishing them, the two young monks saw this and got heresy to Songtsen Gampo so didn’t ask for teaching, I think they met Songtsen Gampo and Songtsen Gampo gave them a big sack and then that big sack when they reached their home, I don’t know how many days but they took it home, when they opened it was big sack of gold, but they didn’t take teachings due to heresy, in reality Songtsen Gampo is not punishing separate person from his mind, they were all his manifestations, because he was Chenrezig Compassion Buddha all those persons who did killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, all those basic negative karmas, who created and then punished, all of them were his own manifestations, he punished his own manifestations and piled up in huge pile their heads, the two monks didn’t realize this so didn’t take teaching, Songtsen Gampo was really the best, he made a constitution for the people in Tibet, so many of his manifestations created those negative karmas then he punished them, put in a big pile, huge pile of human heads which benefited the country of Tibet for people to follow the righteous actions, good karma, to not engage in those heavy negative karmas.