Buddhist Teaching

Translator: At the end of the sermon today, I will be giving the oral transmission of the name mantra of our teacher Buddha, the mantra of Chenrayzig and Manjushri.

There is a practice at the beginning of a sermon usually to recite the Heart Sutra. Among the many and vast scriptures of the Buddha, the main are The Perfection of Wisdom Sutra, and translated into Tibetan were The Seven Mother and Son Perfection of Wisdom Sutras, the Heart Sutra being one that in brief form contains the essence of the Perfection of Wisdom sutras.

The Perfection of Wisdom sutras have two subjects or objects of expression: the one being the explicit teaching itself of emptiness; the other being the hidden teachings of the paths that involve the increase, higher and higher, of the mind that realizes emptiness.

Those who are able to recite the Heart Sutra along with us should do so; those who cannot should cause the meaning of emptiness to appear to the mind, or at least, to become mindful of the meeting of the emptiness of inherent existence.

(Recitation of the Heart Sutra in Tibetan.)

Then there is the practice of repeating the mantra of a fierce manifestation of the female form of the Perfection of Wisdom. In general, when we recite a mantra, we recite it moving the beads of the rosary toward us as a symbol of receiving blessings. But here, because the recitation is done for the sake of the removal of obstacles, one recites moving the beads outwards.

(Meditation and prayers)

Since our teacher Buddha (even to hear a single stanza of doctrine) gave up great resources and went through great hardship, we his followers, at the beginning or prior to hearing a sermon, make an offering of mind as a symbol of our offering up of all resources and so forth.

From the point of view of those who are listening to the teaching, those listening should have purity of body, speech and mind; and the person teaching the Dharma should not have any consideration for material things but a wish only to help.

(Tibetan prayers)

It should be within the context of refuge and the generation of a sense of altruism that one listens to the Dharma. And as we recite the refuge, in mind generation formula, you should reflect on the meaning of the refuge and the generation of the altruistic intention to become enlightened.

(Tibetan prayers)

Translator: I'm very pleased to have the opportunity to give a short lecture on the Dharma and I want to thank those who made the preparations for this. Nowadays in the world, people in various countries are getting to know each other better. There's getting to be more and more relations between them.

Dalai Lama: Between nation to nation, different ideologies, different countries.

Translator: This is a very good circumstance. By the fact that we have closer contact, we get to know each other's situation better.

Dalai Lama: And through that we can contribute something for mankind through common effort. That, I always feel is important and necessary.

Translator: So at the same time, we need to clearly recognize that the basic aim of all religions is the same. Since all religions are for the sake of taming one's own mind, of making one a better person, we need to bring all religious practice into a taming of our own minds.

It's not at all good and extremely unfortunate to use the doctrines and practices that are for the sake of taming the mind as a reason for becoming biased. Therefore, it is extremely important for us to be non-sectarian. As Buddhists, we need to respect the Christians, the Jews, Muslims and so on. And also among Buddhists, we shouldn't make distinctions that some are Theravada, that some are the Great Vehicle and so forth. We are all the same in having the same teacher. If we become lost under the influence of bias due to obscuration, there is no end to it. Therefore, we need to recognize that the religious doctrines are for the sake of taming the mind and use them that way.

Today I'm going to explain a little bit about Buddhist doctrine.

When Buddhists and non-Buddhists are differentiated by the way of View, they are differentiated by whether the person asserts the Four Seals, which testifies to a doctrine's being Buddhist or not.

And by way of method, Buddhists and non-Buddhists are distinguished by way of where one takes refuge. Still, it's definitely possible for a person who is a Buddhist to study Christian doctrines or Hindu doctrines and similarly, also for a Christian or a Hindu or someone in any other religion, to study Buddhism and to take out the good parts, the usable parts from each.

Therefore, among you today, those who are Buddhists will be hearing about Buddhist doctrines that can be useful to you; and among those who are not Buddhists, you can hear about doctrines that possibly could be used in your practice, too.

With respect to refuge, there are the refuges of the Buddha, doctrine, and spiritual community. Buddha is the teacher of refuge; doctrine is the actual refuge; and the spiritual community are helpers toward refuge. Therefore, for the actual refuge, one has to generate the doctrine in one's own continuum.

With respect to the doctrine refuge, there are two: The True Cessations and True Paths. True Cessation is an extinction into the expanse of reality of any portion of the contaminated actions and afflictions that issue forth suffering -- this extinction being brought about by their antidote. When one becomes separate from a cause of suffering, (since one has gotten rid of the cause), there is no way for that effect to appear. Therefore, this type of cessation is forever.

Therefore, the actual refuge is a True Cessation and the True Paths are those factors, which achieve those True Cessations, which induce those True Cessations. Thus, this is why these two are posited as the actual refuge.

Even from the level of a common being, there are factors, which are similar in nature to True Cessations and True paths. For instance, nowadays we have coarser equivalents of restraining coarser objects of abandon. Thus, the actual refuge is to be generated in our own continuum.

In order to generate it in our continuum, we need a teacher of that refuge, and that teacher must be fully qualified. For that person to be fully qualified, it is not just by way of the excellence of the person or not, but by way of the advice that the person gives, that the person can be said to be fully qualified. Therefore, there are Four Reliances: -- The first is not to depend on the person, to depend on the doctrine. Then not to depend on the words, but to depend on the meaning. Then not to depend on the interpretable meaning, but to depend on the definitive meaning. And then, in terms of the mind, which comprehends the definitive meaning, one should rely not on a consciousness that is affected or polluted by dualistic appearance, but you rely on a non-conceptual, non-dual wisdom consciousness. Therefore, the teacher Buddha himself said, "All monks and nuns, you should accept my teaching not out of respect but having analysed it finely, in the way that a goldsmith analyses gold -- rubbing, cutting and melting it." Therefore, one should analyse the teaching taught by the teacher and if that teaching is without error, then one can rely on it.

Then in order to practice the doctrine well, one needs a model that one can look up to. Thus, there come to be three refuges.

Now with respect to the Buddha in whom one is taking refuge, there is no such thing as a Buddha who always was a Buddha from the very beginning. Rather, a Buddha depends on causes, these causes being the practice of the True Paths and True Cessations while that Buddha was still on the path of learning.

The refuge of a person of the Low Vehicle is done within an attitude of wishing for oneself to be free from suffering. However, in the sublime science, it is said that the refuge of a person of the Great Vehicle is with an attitude of not just seeking freedom from suffering for oneself, but seeking freedom from suffering for all sentient beings and going for refuge until enlightenment. Thus, the refuge as it is explained in the bodhisattva scriptures, has its root in compassion. When one, from the depths of one's heart, has an attitude of going for refuge to the Three Jewels, then one becomes a Buddhist.

From the point of view of behaviour, there are three vehicles: The vehicle of Hearers, the vehicle of Solitary Realizers, and the vehicle of Bodhisattvas. In general, the mode of procedure of the path of Hearers and Solitary Realizers is mostly the same. However, there is a difference in the strength of will and in the amount of effort. In general, it is explained that both practice the Thirty-Seven Harmonies of Enlightenment. In general, they take as their basis, a system of ethics for the sake of ceasing harming others, and then achieve a meditative stabilization that is free from the faults of excitement and laxity; and then generate the wisdom that differentiates the nature of phenomena; thereby realizing the coarse and subtle Four Noble Truths. Thereby, they remove the afflictions.

Then if one asks -- once one achieves liberation from cyclic existence, is one to remain in the expanse of reality, which is an extinguishment of the coarser aspects of true sufferings and their causes, or is there something further to train in?

Among the Four Schools of Buddhist tenets, there are schools that do assert that there are three final vehicles. However, when analysed with fine reasoning, it can be established that there is only one final vehicle. One who is abiding in the expanse of peace has not fulfilled that person's own full development, and thereby, is not able in a full way to be of help to others. Therefore, the person still has to train in altruism with the thought and attitude of wishing to achieve omniscience.

So then, what is the mode of achieving Buddhahood of the Great Vehicle?

The differentiation of the Great and Small Vehicles is done by way of the presence or absence of this altruistic intention to be enlightened. Therefore, no matter how highly developed one is, if one does not have this altruistic intention to become enlightened, one is not a person of the Great Vehicle. Therefore, it is explained that the root of the Great Vehicle is the altruistic intention to become enlightened. As Maitreya says in The Ornament for Clear Realization, "The altruistic mind of enlightenment is the wish for complete Buddhahood for the sake of one's object of intention, that being the welfare of others."

Even now, we have like in seed form, a type of this good mind or warm heart, and this has to be made better. No matter who it is, any sentient being, oneself or any other, simply wants happiness and doesn't want suffering. Each of us has human rights.

How is it that we have human rights?

We've had from the very beginningless time, a mind thinking "I" in relation to our mental and physical aggregate. Even though this "I" cannot be found under analysis, it very definitely exists as something that brings help and harm and undergoes help and harm. Naturally, with this feeling of "I", we have a wish to have happiness and not to have suffering. This itself serves as the reason why we have the right to achieve happiness and get rid of suffering. This type of right exists with all sentient beings. Everyone is the same in naturally wanting happiness and not wanting suffering.

So, let's meditate a little.

Dalai Lama: My usual technique is according to Shantideva's book. There are certain techniques, which for myself are very useful. So let us meditate on it.

Now visualize you, yourself, as a third person -- neutral.

Translator: Visualize yourself as a neutral person in the middle; and visualize on your right side, your own self, who is only seeking for his or her own welfare. Selfish, doesn't think at all about other people, and one who will take advantage of anyone, anytime, whenever one gets the chance. One who is never content -- greedy.

Now on the other side, the left side, visualize a group of persons or animals who are really suffering. Great suffering. They need some help.

Dalai Lama: Now we think: both sides have the nature of desire to be happy. They want happiness and do not want suffering. Both sides equally have the right to be happy and equally the right to get rid of suffering. Now you think wisely, not selfishly -- even if selfish, it must be wise selfish, not narrow-minded selfish. Now think. Everybody wants to be a reasonable person. Nobody wants to be stubborn, foolish. Nobody wants that kind of person. So we want to be a good person -- a more reasonable, logical, rational person.

Then you think whether you join the right side -- one single person, selfish, greedy, no contentment. Stupid person. Or will you join or make alliance to this side -- more people, needy people and helplessness. Now, where will you join? This side or this side? Think.

Translator: Everyone wants to be noble whether one actually has those qualities or not. Everyone wants to be noble. Will you join this side or that side?

Dalai Lama: So, in this technique, this training, naturally, our heart will join this side, the majority's side.

Translator: As much as you come closer to the majority, so much do you become farther away from the selfishness. Because the meditator of this is yourself, your own sense of altruism will increase and increase. If you practice this way daily, it will be helpful and beneficial. It helps a lot if, when you heard of or have seen some particularly stricken person, to put that person in that group of those who have been stricken -- because it's not then just your imagination but something that is true in fact -- and then you can meditate on that person.

Dalai Lama: This will definitely increase your altruism of kindness.

Then, another thing --

Translator: There is another technique. Visualize someone who has helped you a great deal, a friend in this lifetime. Visualize someone who has harmed you a great deal in this lifetime. And visualize a neutral person who has neither helped nor harmed. When you suddenly view these three, you have three different attitudes. One, thinking "This is my friend" - a mind of attachment, desire. One, thinking "This other one is my enemy" -- a mind of hatred. And another mind of neglect for the neutral person. But then if you think about it, there isn't any definiteness with respect to friend and enemy, not even considering other lifetimes. A friend early on in one's life can become one's enemy later on; one's enemy early on can become one's friend. Thus when you search for the reasons for being desirous or hateful with respect to a particular person, it appears that it's extremely short sighted.

We consider people who only look to the short run to be senseless, whereas those who think in deep ways are more respected. Thus, there isn't any point, just in terms of the short run, of generating desire and hatred, right? In another way, if you wanted to be desirous or hateful, what help is there in that?

For instance, if you generate strong hatred in your own mental continuum, does it harm the other person? It doesn't, doesn't it? It just makes your own mind disturbed. It doesn't harm the enemy. Therefore, if you're really going to be wise, you should seek to harm your enemy within a calm mind -- not making yourself excited or depressed or anything else.

Similarly, when we become desirous with respect to a friend, what is it that we are desiring? Is this for the sake of resources? We are desirous of resources; however, there isn't any millionaire or billionaire who is without worry is there? There are many, even though they are extremely wealthy, who have great worry! Therefore, it's not just by the power of resources that one can become happy.

Then, there's also desire that's generated with respect to the body, the physical. But we have to make the body beautiful with many artificial means. If you really think about these artificial things, they aren't very attractive, right? One should be thinking about what is really beautiful. Now where is real beauty anywhere in our body?

Dalai Lama: Now you see, investigate. Check our hair, our skin, our blood, our flesh, our bones -- every point.

Translator: There isn't anything that's attractive. It is due to our own ignorance or obscuration that we're viewing something that really isn't beautiful as beautiful.

For instance, the very beautiful food that we're very attached to -- when we put it in our mouths and chew it up a little bit, if it comes out of our mouths again on the table, on the plate, is it still beautiful? Your friends will right away cover their noses.

Dalai Lama: Same food, same food. Now you see, we consume these beautiful and tasteful foods, and wine and alcohol, very priceless, minute by minute, hour by hour. All these beautiful things transform into human waste. Now nobody thinks the bathroom is the cleanest place. It is something dirty. But this dirty does not come from outside; it comes from our own physical body. So all the real bathroom is here. (Gestures to his body). All these dirty things are made here, not outside. So if you regard the bathroom and these things as something dirty, something unhygienic, then the truth is here, not outside. All the beautiful material is the resource of that material. So think, it helps.

To have a strong attachment toward your body, toward other's body, towards food, towards material, towards money, towards house -- all these things are strong attachments -- strong greedy feelings. Somehow it will decrease.

Translator: This is not pessimistic or negative. There's no way of gaining a great victory or winning a whole lot by generating desire.

Dalai Lama: So, more desire -- more discontentment. You may face more problems. Less desire, self-discipline, self-control will bring you more peace. We want peace. We do not want problems.

Translator: There isn't anyone who wants problems. But maybe there are lawyers who are looking for problems. (Laughter.)

Dalai Lama: Nobody wants problems. Nobody wants a disturbed mind. Everybody wants happiness and peace and calmness -- peace and calmness being the only true contentment. Self-discipline, self-control -- not through money, not through discontent. So, like that -- like that.

Translator: So then, there isn't any point in desire, right? So then, there isn't any point in getting desirous or angry. So then, there isn't any point among these three people that you're visualizing in front of you, to be desirous to one, and hateful to the other. You need to think this way and make them equal. Then, once you've made them equal, there's something new to think.

Dalai Lama: Just like me, these three persons also want happiness and do not want suffering. Same position, same condition.

Translator: And as before, because everyone wants happiness and doesn't want suffering, therefore, we have to help them. This is how one generates altruism.

So first one cultivates in meditation an attitude of equanimity, and then meditates on all sentient beings as being mothers, as being fathers, brothers, sisters. Once one generates this attitude of equanimity towards the three beings, having gotten over the desire and hatred, one needs to remove the factor of neglect that can be present when people are viewed equally.

This is done in two different ways: one, through generating a sense of altruism, wishing to help those beings because they want happiness and don't want suffering. And the other is to reflect on the kindness of those beings toward oneself. That is reflect on how sentient beings have been kind and helped oneself -- they have been one's father and mother and so forth over a continuum of lifetimes. It would be unsuitable to neglect them - proper to help them, and thereby, train in an attitude wishing for health and happiness for sentient beings.

When one gets used to these types of thoughts, the mind can be gradually changed. Even someone who is extremely selfish at the beginning of cultivating such attitudes, gradually, will become less and less selfish.

So then, this is how one generates a sense of altruism toward others. If one is going to help others, how can one bring about such help? For helping others, there are the four means of gathering together students or helping people: one is to give things to them: the second is to speak pleasantly; the third is to behave in accordance with that. One is to set forth to others -- how to behave, that is to say what should be adopted and what should be discarded; and the other is to put into practice oneself, this teaching of what to adopt and what to discard.

The first -- giving or charity to others -- is very helpful. Nowadays when there's a national disaster or some sort of disaster, the giving of aid to people is extremely helpful. The activity is very good but also the motive must be good, too. If the motive isn't good, if it's for the sake of getting a big name for oneself, then that isn't good.

Then the second is to speak pleasantly to others. One shouldn't use harsh words and so forth that would cause others to become uncomfortable. One should speak with meaningful talk.

If it's a situation in which someone else is suffering a great deal, where one cannot help that person in a practical way, one needs to mentally think of giving away one's own happiness and taking upon oneself the other's suffering, and through this, generate a strong sense of compassion for this person who is undergoing strong suffering. That is to say, if one has a wish that this sentient being be free from suffering; but is unable in any practical way to bring this about, in one's own imagination, one could imagine that one removes that suffering from the person to oneself. Then having done this practice, which emphasizes the compassionate side -- taking suffering from the other to oneself. One can do the practice of emphasizing love, of giving one's own happiness and so forth to that person.

It is possible that this mental practice could be helpful to the other person if one has a special karmic connection with that person. But even if that isn't the case, it helps to advance practice within one's own mental continuum. When one gets used to this practice of taking other's suffering to oneself, and giving others one's own happiness, one can eventually do this with the inhalation and exhalation.

There is a limit to such altruistic practices of giving gifts to others and taking on their suffering to oneself. The reason for this limit is that the experience of pleasure or pain by another person is due to the karma or former actions of that person himself or herself; thus, there's a limit to how much oneself can do for another. Thus, the other person needs to come to know what to adopt and what to discard in his or her own practice in order to bring about happiness.

So it's taken some time, hasn't it? (Laughter)

Therefore, the other person needs to know what to adopt and what to practice. Therefore, oneself needs to know how to teach that person what to adopt and what to discard.

In order for one to be able to teach this to another, one needs to know (oneself) these topics. Thus, as long as some object of knowledge is hidden to oneself, one cannot bring to full extent this helping of others. Therefore, it is impossible to bring the full extent of help to others without achieving an amnesty and consciousness, which knows all phenomena, both this mode of being of phenomena and the various phenomena themselves.

It is by way of knowing the varieties of phenomena and their mode of being that one comes to know what is appropriate to teach beings in accordance with their disposition, tendencies and so forth. It is by way of knowing the varieties of phenomena that one knows the disposition of what is appropriate, and it is by way of knowing the mode of being of phenomena, that one knows exactly what the antidote is to suffering and so forth.

Therefore, one needs to generate a mind seeking the omniscience of Buddhahood for the sake of one's object of intent, that is to say the welfare of others. Within this altruistic intention to achieve enlightenment, one needs to train in the deeds, that is to say, the Six Perfections. This is the motive procedure of the Great Vehicle as set forth in the bodhisattva scriptures; and similarly, also, one must cultivate in meditation the Thirty-Seven Harmonies with Enlightenment.

For instance, the cultivation of the Four Establishments in Mindfulness, say mindfulness of the body, when one does it in terms of one's own body, then that is the mode of the procedure of the Low Vehicle. When one does it in terms of the bodies of all sentient beings, that is the mode of the procedure of the Great Vehicle.

Taking what I've explained here as a causal condition, you should then look into these matters in the great texts. Without hearing and thinking, one cannot perform profound meditation. Still, without meditation, mere hearing and thinking won't help. Therefore, one needs a union of hearing, thinking and meditation.

I'll now give the oral transmissions.

First is the name mantra of our teacher Sakyamuni Buddha and within being mindful of the exalted body, speech and mind of Sakyamuni Buddha, repeat after me:

OM MUNI MUNI MAHAMUNI SVA HA

Then the mantra of Chenrayzig: speaking in general or main terms, Chenrayzig is "mani", the physical manifestation of the compassion of all Buddhas; and Manjushri is the physical manifestation of the wisdom of all Buddhas. If one recites "manis," it helps a great deal to improve one's own mental continuum. When one explores it in detail, the meaning of OM MANI PADME HUNG is very vast. In essence, it is a technique of improving the goodness or altruistic nature of one's own heart and mind.

As Chandrakirti said, "Great compassion is very important in the beginning, middle and end. It is the very source of all the great, good qualities." Thus, within mindfulness of generating the physical manifestation of such compassion, repeat after me:

OM MANI PADME HUNG

The next is Manjushri who is the physical manifestation of the exalted knowledge of all Buddhas. Without wisdom, a mere altruistic mind won't bring about great benefit. When the altruistic attitude is accompanied by wisdom, that factor of wisdom can cause the altruism to become realistic. And within thinking that Manjushri is, in general, the manifestation of the wisdom that knows all phenomena, in particular of the wisdom that knows the actual mode of being of phenomena, repeat after me:

OM ARAPACANA DHIH

So that's the sermon for today. I've not kept to the practice time; it's taken a half-hour too long.

Dalai Lama: As I mentioned before, we must practice kindness. That is the route. If you practice these things, you will get benefit, inner peace, and as a result, your companions, your neighbours also feel some benefit. So, this is the essential practice.