Questions and Answers
In terms of the comprehensive result concerning one individual, what is the relationship of that to collective karma?
There is a slight difference when we speak of collective karma or collective actions and their results. For instance, if 30 people are on a bus and it goes over a cliff, all the people involved with that accident built up the karma or the potential for that collectively and individually. However, that is not a comprehensive result of an action. A comprehensive result of an action whether by one individual or by many would involve the environment. For example, it would concern living in a mountainous region or the nutritional value of the food in a country and things like that. It would not refer to a group of people involved in a motor accident. Although there are similarities and differences, if we want to think of them together, go ahead. In general, we can consider it that way, but if we want to be specific, they are not the same. Comprehensive results deal with the environment, while collective is both individual and collective. To repeat, collective karma would be like a group of people all having the karma to be together in the automobile accident, and not the environment that they are in during the accident.
We live in a society where we limit our behavior towards other people. For example, we might want to punch someone in the face and fantasize about it but not do it. What is built up by just imagining doing something to someone but not actually doing it?
Although it would not be the destructive action of actually hitting or hurting someone, it would be the destructive action of mind of having harmful intentions or thoughts of malice. It would come under the category of a mental action rather than a physical action. Still, it is negative and destructive but under a different category. If we are analyzing it in terms of the action of actually killing someone, it would not be a complete action of killing because the action wasn’t involved. If we are analyzing it from the mental side, of having a thought of malice, then it would be complete.
Are the karmic consequences of thinking of doing something rather than actually doing it lighter?
We can get into very specific types of analysis here. To have thoughts of malice can also have a ripening result of a worst state of rebirth, particularly if the object involved is our parents or someone who has been kind to us. A thought of malice is when someone has done something bad to us and we dwell on it obsessively. For it to be full and complete, we think that we can’t go on without going over and doing something horrible to this person. When we make that decision that we are really going to act upon the thought of malice, then that completes the destructive thought of malice. It has the various results, and the ripening result can be a worst state of rebirth.
The same is true in terms of killing. Killing can be motivated not only by thoughts of malice, but also a desire to eat meat, or the ignorance of wanting to make a blood sacrifice. If we are analyzing whether we will get the result of killing from an incomplete action of merely thinking of killing someone, the result, of course, would be lighter than if we were to actually enact the murder. However, we would still have problems that would result from thinking of killing somebody.
If we think of various laws, traffic laws for example, there are some offenses heavier than others. We have to really know the laws and the consequences of various actions. In the same way, we should have a clear idea of what is involved with behavior. Whether we call the action an incomplete murder or a complete thought of malice, it can be analyzed in different ways. We would derive results from it in different ways as well.
For instance, while walking around we step on little bugs. Although we have no intention of killing them, even so we are still taking a life. It may not result in being reborn in a worst state of rebirth, but nevertheless, it will have a result. We cannot say that it will have no result at all.
For instance, when one of the queens of King Tri Songdetsen died, the king was very sad and unhappy and was thrown into a terrible depression. Guru Rinpoche, Padmasambhava, was there at the time. He explained to the king that his state of mind was the result of swatting and unintentionally killing a mosquito biting his neck in a previous lifetime. The depression at the death of his wife was a result of that action.
All these fine points about karma, actions and their results are established and learned from the enlightening speech of the Buddha. It is not something that we can ascertain directly itself by logic. Therefore, we need to develop a great, confident belief in the speech of the Buddhas, and that in their omniscience they know all of the details.
We can develop this confident belief in the speech of the Buddha, that his words are valid, by thinking in terms of his teachings on voidness, his teachings on how to develop the dedicated heart of bodhichitta, and on how to develop a supremely settled state of mind, which is called shamatha or shinay. We can validate these things for ourselves by actually putting the teachings into practice. By doing so, we can develop all these insights and states just as the Buddha described, and this will confirm the validity of the Buddha’s speech.
On the basis of that, we can have confidence in the validity of the Buddha’s speech regarding the teachings on karma. Even though we cannot actually validate by logic the teachings on karma, because we can validate by logic so many other aspects, we can feel confident that the things that he said about karma were also correct. Since we basically have respect for the Buddha’s teachings, we take the Buddha’s word as valid. Whereas if we were speaking to a group of people without this respect or belief, just saying that we should follow the Buddha’s speech would not sit well with them. They will ignore such advice.
I have a question on physical actions and mental thoughts. If I was to offer a 100 bars of gold to the Rinpoche or if I were to merely visualize offering this gold to Rinpoche, what is the difference in terms of karma?
There is a difference in terms of the result of what the person is receiving, an actual gift or an imaginary one. The results would be much stronger if we were to actually give the gift instead of just visualizing giving one.
I have read that there is no negative karma that cannot be cancelled by positive action. I was wondering with the example of the action of the man who built the stupa and complained and criticized but then had a change of heart and offered the golden bell. To my simple mind the action of giving of the bell would have cancelled out the action being critical and complaining while building the stupa.
It is possible to purify and eliminate having to experience the results of destructive actions that we have done. By offering the golden bell and feeling remorse at having complained all the time did, in fact, lessen the results of having to be reborn in one of the worst states. He was simply reborn as a deformed dwarf. He did not have the full power to purify himself completely. It could have been done, but in that case it was not.
When we purify ourselves of various potentials, although it is possible to eliminate completely all the negative potentials, it is quite difficult to do. Often there is some remainder that we have not been able to get rid of completely. In the example of the dwarf, although the offering of the bell eliminated some of the potential, there was still some leftover. The same can be seen in the example of the queen and her attendants who burnt the pheasants nest. We have to examine the situation.
If by leaving a bad situation, we can move into a better one, one that affords us all of the conditions for working towards becoming a Buddha, one where we can put all our energies constructively toward that goal, and if that is our intention, then it is better to leave the bad situation and go to the better one. If that is not the case, and we just want to leave because we don’t like the bad situation, it is better to stay with the bad situation and let the karma become exhausted.
There is no reason, of course, to stay in a bad situation. If we have the ability to leave and go to a better one, do so, as in the example of the many people fleeing Tibet. If we can leave something bad, make use of our precious human life. If we have no ability to change, then while living with that situation there are many different ways to change our attitude. By practicing and building up a good attitude toward any situation, we can see it as a way of exhausting the negative potential that we have built up. There is no reason to stay in a bad situation just for the hell of it. Particularly, if we are in a bad situation and we have the ability to help others, then it is good to remain in that bad situation. However, if we have no ability to help others and our ability to improve ourselves spiritually is also not very great, then there is no reason to stay in the bad situation. It is just a waste of our life.
Is it true that the Buddhas are ready and able to appear and be with all sentient beings, regardless of sentient beings’ behavior towards them? Does that mean that they are with everyone and we can’t see? Why do they manifest to some obviously and not to others?
We have to have built up the potentials to be able to meet the Buddha from our own side. It is not coming from the side of the Buddha alone. For instance, His Holiness the Dalai Lama comes to the West and gives teachings. Some people are able to attend and receive them and others are not. That is the result of the potentials that they have built up.
Why is it that some people have ample food and drink and others always have problems?
Does the effort have to come from us?
Of course. In order to meet with the Buddha, we have to put in a lot of effort from our side. The various beings in these accounts have done a lot of work in previous lifetimes in order for them to have the opportunity to meet with the Buddha.
There are some people who work very hard to meet the Buddha and they don’t get the opportunity. Why is that?
It is because they have not purified all their negative potentials.
That is correct. If we have not purified ourselves of certain potentials, then we won’t meet the Buddha.
Rinpoche talked about the void form. Can Rinpoche explain a bit more of how that is composed in terms of the three kayas?
A void form can be either in the aspect of a Sambhogakaya, a Body of Full Use, or a Nirmanakaya, the Emanation Form. We have the two different kinds.
What are the causes for sentient beings to be steeped in suffering? How does one get out of that cycle? Is it perhaps developed purely by interaction or does it have to be that skillful means, such as rituals, are involved?
After the Buddha became enlightened the teachings were present and lasted for 12 years without any fault or deterioration. During that period of time there were two different ways of getting ordination. The current method, what is translated as present-tense ordination, a literal translation of the term, refers to an ordination received as a group of monks or nuns. That is the type that we have now. However in the 12 years, there was the type of ordination ceremony that occurred almost miraculously. In this case, the Buddha would call forth various individuals who automatically became monks and nuns after a few questions.
The Buddha would ask, “What is totally constructive and virtuous?” The answer was that the state of liberation is totally constructive. Next, the Buddha asked, “What is the method for achieving this totally constructive state of liberation?” The answer was to have respectful belief. The Buddha was pleased with this answer, and as a result of the Buddha being pleased that person immediately received ordination. By the power of pleasing the Buddha, of his answer, this person received full ordination and his clothes automatically changed into monks’ robes.
For the 12 years after the Buddha’s enlightenment, the teachings did not decline, there were no faults, and monks or nuns were not ordained through a formal ceremony, but by present-tense ordination.
The way in which the present-time ordination began was as follows: There was a woman who had extreme faith and respect for the Buddha but was unable to travel and come into his presence. The Buddha did the ordination ceremony and then sent a monk as a messenger to where this woman was staying. The messenger got there and passed this on, that the Buddha had done the ordination ceremony and that she had received the ordination in that way. It would be similar to a lama doing an initiation and then sending a monk out. The potentials for this woman were not completely built up to meet the Buddha. Nevertheless, the Buddha was able to use skillful methods to ripen this situation into the woman into being able to receive ordination.
Could you please say something about the benefits of saying mantras?
There are many benefits to saying mantras. In this world there are three things that are extremely powerful: medicines, machinery and mantras. We can see the power of machines, in that through them it is possible for a man to go the Moon. With medical advancements and hospitals it is possible to cure different diseases. However, the power of mantras is much greater because the benefit is not just in this lifetime but future lifetimes as well. They have broader beneficial effects than either machinery or medicine. There are some people who say a lot of mantras and then blow on the plant, and the plant will dry up. There is that kind of power from saying mantras. Although we cannot see most of the benefits of mantra recitation, nevertheless, the benefits, especially in future lives, are great. Many things that are most harmful to us are invisible, such as germs. Likewise, the things that help us most are invisible.
There was a great Nyingma lama whose mother was reborn in a cauldron of molten copper, in a hell. While the mother was alive, no matter how often her son tried to teach her to say om mani padme hum, she was very stubborn and refused. He made a deal with her that each time her door opened and the doorbell would ring, she would have to say om mani padme hum one time.
His mother also had a cloak that she wore, and he sewed a little bell to it. Each time that would jingle, she would have to say an om mani padme hum. However, to avoid having to say om mani padme hum the mother would sit very still so that she did not move her shoulders and the bell wouldn’t jingle.
Later, after the mother died and was reborn in a cauldron of molten copper, in a hell, there were hell guardians who stirred the pot with a huge stick. The stick would sometimes hit the side of the pot and make a dinging sound. Because of the instinctive habit built to say om mani padme hum whenever she heard a bell ring, she muttered an om mani padme hum when the stick hit the side of the cauldron. Because of that, she and all the other people in the cauldron with her were able to get out. Mantras have that kind of power. Now each time the doorbell rings here, we too will have to say om mani padme hum.
I find it very hard to recite om mani padme hum.
Rinpoche says that you can start when the bell rings. Each time it rings, you can recite the mantra one time. It might pay off. Rinpoche says he is just playing with you.
Beginning of the Practice Session
The session begins with setting up the proper altar and so forth, sitting down in the proper seat and examining our motivation. After this, we engage in the practices of this particular method starting in terms of taking refuge, or putting a safe and sound direction in our life.
Refuge
First imagine around you all the male beings represented by your father to your right and all females represented by your mother to the left. Imagine friends behind you and enemies in front. Then, visualize the object which is going to provide a source of safe direction or refuge for you and everyone. The object that you visualize as your source of direction can simply be your root spiritual master who incorporates all the sources of safe direction, all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. You imagine him on top of a throne which is supported by eight lions. On top of that is a lotus and on top of that, a moon and then your root, peerless spiritual master as all the sources of safe direction or refuge.
This should be complete with all the various causes for taking safe direction. We should have a state of dread of being reborn in lower states, a state of confidence that this object of refuge can provide a totally safe and sound direction to guide us out of that, and likewise a state of compassion wishing for everybody else to find such a safe direction.
Verse One
With these three causes complete, we should totally turn our mind to that direction and completely entrust ourselves to following that direction. That is what it means to take refuge. We do that by reciting the first verse of the actual six-session practice. In English, in this translation, it states:
From the Buddhas and masters from whom I’ve received the highest empowerments, the Dharma of inseparable method and wisdom they show, and both Sangha divisions abiding in it, I clearheadedly take safe direction.
We recite this verse three times, and while doing this we imagine that lights and nectars flow from the object of refuge providing safe direction. They enter us and everyone around us and purify all the various difficulties and obstacles. First, they purify all our sicknesses that leave us through the lower orifices in the forms of things like scorpions, snakes, spiders and so forth.
Then imagine another round of lights and nectars flow from the object of refuge and purify our obscurations, defilements and various types of pollution. We imagine that they all leave us in the form of puss, blood and excrement. Additionally, all our negative potentials leave us in the form of soot and inky, dirty water.
Then again imagine that lights and nectars come, these can be either white or yellow, whatever you like, and they fill our body again. We become filled with all the positive potentials to be able to attain all things.
We can do all of this in four different rounds. The first round, when reciting this verse, imagine that it purifies all the negativities, obstacles, sicknesses and potentials of body. The second round we would do in terms of speech, the third for mind and the fourth for all the remaining obscurations of body, speech and mind altogether.
Each round can consist of seven repetitions, which would make 28; or it could be three each which would make 12; or 100 each, which would make 400; or even just one each making four. However, if we do this in this process of four individual rounds, then it’s very beneficial.
Even if we don’t practice with this particular verse found in this text, but just recite, “I go for safe direction to the spiritual masters, to the Buddhas, to the Dharma and to the Sangha,” something like that either in Sanskrit, Tibetan or English, whatever, with this type of visualization, then it is very beneficial.
When we recite the taking of safe direction from the spiritual masters, we imagine that it also purifies us of all the negativities that we have built up with any of our spiritual teachers in terms of insulting them or treating them badly.
When we take safe direction in the Buddhas, it purifies all the negativities built up with respect to the Buddhas. For instance, this would include selling Buddha statues, putting them on the floor, stepping on them or putting them into a pawn shop.
In terms of refuge in the Dharma, it purifies us with respect to the spiritual teachings. Examples of this are selling the Dharma, selling books, stepping over books or even using any printed matter, like newspaper, in a disrespectful way, such as to clean the floor or wrap the garbage.
Regarding the spiritual community, the Sangha, we purify ourselves in terms of insulting them, name-calling, getting them to wait on us and various other types of negativities that can be accumulated. It is important not to accumulate negative potentials with respect to the spiritual community. These can be quite serious, particularly in terms of the possessions owned in common by a spiritual community, such as a Dharma center’s land, buildings and artifacts.
For instance, in Tibet various things are cooked and prepared in certain types of clay crocks. There was a monastic community which had, as their common possession, a clay crock. There was someone who used it in a sloppy fashion, carelessly and without permission. That person was born as a type of animal in the shape of a crock. This is the type of thing that we can see sometimes in coral or in sea creatures that have a weird shape. Prehistoric animals sometimes have a shape that is similar to a crock. For instance, rebirth can be in the shape of a large salad bowl. We may have seen creatures, such as a sea anemone, that is in that shape. There are many disastrous things that can follow from misusing the property of a spiritual community.
Verse Two
Then the next verse is:
From this moment on, till my purified state, I reaffirm my bodhichitta aim, heighten my pure resolve and get rid of grasping for “me” and “myself, the possessor.”
This verse refers to the action of dedicating or rededicating our heart to others and to achieving enlightenment. In other words, we reaffirm the aim to have a dedicated heart of bodhichitta. This should be done complete with the feeling of love, wishing everyone to be happy, and with compassion, wishing everyone to be free from all their sufferings and problems. Likewise, it should be done with a state of exceptional resolve in which we take on the responsibility: “I will do something to make everyone happy and eliminate everyone’s problems.” From all of this evolves the actual state of a dedicated heart.
We see that even if we have this exceptional resolve, we don’t have the ability to do this. Who does? A fully-enlightened Buddha has the ability; therefore, we know we must achieve that state in order to help everybody. For that reason, we dedicate our heart purely to others and to enlightenment with this verse of the generation of bodhichitta.
The last point in this verse, “Get rid of grasping for ‘me’ and ‘myself, the possessor,’” refers to trying to forsake the grasping with which we misconceive and grasp at things to exist with true identities, in terms of these truly existent categories of “me,” and “mine,” and so forth. By doing this three times each day and three times each evening this fulfils three of the practices to bind us closely with Vairochana, namely those of taking refuge and safe direction three times each day and three times each night.
Four Immeasurables
After this we do the practices of building up as a good habit the four immeasurables: immeasurable love, immeasurable compassion, immeasurable joy and immeasurable equanimity. The verse reads:
I shall meditate now that all beings be endowed with happiness, parted from grief, have the joy of remaining always blissfully aware and equanimity toward everyone as equal.
There are four immeasurable attitudes to generate, and each of these four immeasurables has four aspects. The first aspect is the intention; the second is the aspiration for it to happen; next is the state of exceptional resolve that “I am going to do it and bring happiness to everyone.” The fourth is making a request to the spiritual masters, “Please, inspire me so that I will be able to do this.” These four aspects or steps apply to each of the four immeasurables.
Applying this to the first immeasurable of love, there is the intention and the aspiration or the wish for everyone to be happy, the exceptional resolve and the request to the spiritual masters. The next immeasurable attitude is the development of compassion, the wish for everyone to be free from all their problems and suffering. This is likewise developed with the four-step process. The third immeasurable attitude, joy, is thinking how wonderful and joyous it would be if everyone were always to be happy. Again, that is generated with the four steps. The fourth immeasurable is for a state of equanimity, that there be no attachments and repulsions, and that everyone will be even and fair. Again, set the intention for equanimity, the aspiration and wish to do it, the exceptional resolve, “May I do that,” and the request of the spiritual masters for everyone to have a cause for this equanimity.
This practice fulfills two of the four practices to bind us closely with Padmasambhava, the practices of giving of love and the practice of giving freedom from fear.
Now as a quiz: What are the four aspects involved in the first of these, immeasurable love?
Intention, inspiration, exceptional resolve and the request of the gurus.
Can you give a little bit more elaborate explanation rather just than a list of the words?
“May all beings be happy,” is the first one. Second is, “I wish that all beings be happy.” The third is that I shall take responsibility for doing this.
The actual wording in a more expanded form would be as follows:
For the first one: “How wonderful it would be if everyone were to be happy.” The first is the simple statement of the intention. The second is the wish or aspiration, “May everyone be happy.” The third is the exceptional resolve, “I will take responsibility for everyone to be happy.” The fourth is the request to the spiritual masters for inspiration to do it.
Bodhichitta
Continuing with the text:
To free from the fears of samsara and complacent nirvana all wandering beings, I take hold of the mind that wishes to gain an enlightened state, and from this moment on, till becoming a Buddha, I shall never forsake it, though my life be at stake.
It says that in order to free everyone from the fears of compulsive existence referring to samsara and also the state of complacency, we wish to achieve a state of a fully enlightened Buddha. This is the way of dedicating one’s heart to enlightenment, thinking that in order to help everyone, we wish to become a fully enlightened Buddha. This is the way of dedicating one’s heart or developing bodhichitta.
This dedicated heart has two aspects, aspiring and involved. What has just been generated in the first part of the verse is the aspiring heart. Our heart aspires to this goal. The next section is the involved heart, “From this moment on, till becoming a Buddha, I shall never forsake it, though my life be at stake.” In other words, we don’t just aspire but also give a pledge that we are not going to give up that aspiration until we achieve enlightenment, even at the cost of our life. These are the pledged and aspiring dedicated heart.
If we are actually going to have this pledged state of a dedicated heart and we pledge never to give up our dedication until we actually achieve enlightenment even at the cost of our life, then there are five things to train in. To merely have an aspiring heart does not have these five points for training.
Five Points for Training in Pledged Bodhichitta
Does anyone know what these are?
One is to remember the advantages of bodhichitta in the morning and three times at night. Another is to reaffirm and dedicate ourselves to bodhichitta three times in the morning and at night.
You have two, and we have three more.
Is it that we do prostrations and make confessions?
We are going to have a very large list if we start counting confession and prostrations.
The third is to build up networks of positive force and deep awareness. These are the collections of positive potential, sometimes called the collection of merit, and the bountiful store of deep awareness, also called the collection of insight. Making offerings and so on comes under that category. This includes offerings to higher beings, the dedicated beings, and likewise making offerings to the various elemental spirits, protectors and so forth. We also help others as much as we can with awareness of the nature of reality.
The fourth is to never give up on any limited being, never to feel that anyone is hopeless and that we cannot help this or that one. We never give up trying to help anyone, or at least wishing to be able to do so, no matter how difficult he or she may be.
The fifth is to give up the four “dark” actions and practice the four “noble,” or “glowing,” ones.
Four Dark Actions
The first of four dark actions is to never deceive or fool our spiritual teachers, parents or the Triple Gem.
Secondly, don’t ever say nasty words to a bodhisattva. In fact, never fault or be contemptuous of bodhisattvas since only Buddhas can be certain who actually are bodhisattvas.
The third is to stop causing others to regret anything positive they have done.
The fourth is not to be hypocritical or pretentious with others. In other words, don’t hide faults and pretend to have qualities. Don’t have ulterior motives; in other words, rather than having an exceptional resolve to help all beings, we have hypocritical motives. It is good to know these words, hypocrisy and pretentiousness, and the differences. To hide our own thoughts and limitations and pretend we have no faults involves both hypocrisy and pretentiousness. Pretentiousness is showing off to make everyone think that we are great, showing off qualities, whether real or not, to gain favour and so on.
Four Noble Actions
The opposite of the four dark actions are the four noble actions. The first is that rather than ever deceiving our spiritual master, we never do anything deceitful or disrespectful, even as a joke. Instead, always be honest, especially about our motivation and efforts to help others.
The second is that rather than saying anything nasty to a bodhisattva – and only a Buddha knows for sure whom that might be – instead, with a pure view, recognize everyone as our teacher. Even people who act in crude and distasteful ways, can teach us how not to behave.
Thirdly, rather than causing anyone to regret any positive noble things that they might have done, if others are receptive, encourage them onto the vast-minded practices of the Mahayana. Instead, act to always encourage positive behavior.
For the fourth noble action, rather than deceiving others with hypocrisy or pretentiousness and showing off, we should always be honest with others. Instead, take responsibility to help others and always be honest and frank about our limitations and abilities.
These are things that we have to really practice. If we ever hope to have success in tantra, then we have to have all studied and mastered these aspects of sutra. If we want to build a wall and if we don’t have good plaster or foundation, we are never going to be able to build it. Likewise, if we want to have success with this tantra deity practice, then we have to have very good foundation in sutra.
There was a great master of the lam-rim, the graded path, and whenever he gave tantric initiations, he would always spend the entire time talking of the lam-rim. People would complain and say that this lama knows nothing of tantra because all he talks about is the lam-rim. However, the great master said that people didn’t really understand. This lama truly knew the essence of tantric practice.
That is why I am spending a lot of time here on the things that come at the beginning of the practice. Without these, we will never get much success or progress with the actual practices of the Kalachakra deity that come later. We have to be mindful of all these things, studying and practicing over and over again.