We’re up to verse 65 in the literal version and 66 in the old poetical version. So, the old version is:
We have gained lofty status and ranks of prestige, yet our knowledge is poorer than that of a ghost. We are considered great gurus, yet even the demons do not harbor such hatred or clinging desire or as closed-minded an outlook as we seem to have. Trample him, trample him, dance on the head of this treacherous concept of selfish concern. Tear out the heart of this self-centered butcher who slaughters our chance to gain final release.
Then in the literal version:
Our status is lofty, yet our qualifications are less than those of a ghost. We’re (considered) great gurus, yet our attachment and anger are coarser than those of a demon. Crash, really crash down, right on the head of (this) ruinous concept! Deal the death blow to the heart of this butcher, a “true self,” our foe.
“Our status is lofty” – in other words, we have a very high position in life, in community, in our business or whatever it might be – it could be in a circle of friends, any type of situation in which externally we have a high position – but we don’t really have the qualifications and so “our qualifications are less than those of a ghost.” That could be referring to anything actually in terms of, first of all, in business – you pretend that you have the confidence to do something and yet you don’t; so you’re just pretending. Why are you pretending? It’s to try to get ahead. What’s behind trying to get ahead? A solid, a big idea of a solid “me” – that, “I’m so great and I have to get ahead and I have to have people respect me and love me and look up to me,” and so on. But this doesn’t necessarily have to be only in terms of a business situation, or being a teacher, or some government official, which also could be the case that we are an official and we get a high position that actually we’re completely incompetent, so we’re just on a power trip.
But I think it could also be in terms of in a group of friends that we sort of push ourselves up to being the leader and so people look up to us and see us as a leader, but actually we don’t really have the qualifications for that; we just want to be number one, be the boss. Again, this is based on this strong concept of a me that has to be pushed ahead and placed on the top of everybody. That obviously creates problems – if we’re just on a power trip or a trip to try to be the famous one, be the one that gets all the attention and so on. How can we really help others if we don’t have the qualifications? Now, of course, there are people who have a high status – somebody like His Holiness the Dalai Lama, but he has the qualifications, and he is not pushing himself to be on top in order to show off and to be admired – not the slightest. You know, His Holiness has a skin problem and very often he’s scratching, and he scratches on stage in front of a huge number of people. You know that somebody like His Holiness has enough self-control and concentration not to scratch. So, that makes me think that he’s scratching on purpose in order to demonstrate to people that he’s a human being like anybody else. He’s really very much against people looking up to him like a god and so he scratches, and it really looks very funny in a sense. But I think it has a great purpose and teaches us a great lesson of humility.
This verse is referring to pretending, pushing ahead, getting a high position, when we really don’t have any of the qualifications for it. Or you might be born in a high position, and you don’t have the qualifications. People are born into rich families, and they are given the family business to take over – the son of the owner – and they don’t have the slightest idea of what they’re doing. This happens. There are also – even within the Tibetan system – people who are recognized as reincarnate lamas, but they don’t really have the qualifications in that lifetime. With the line of tulkus – these reincarnate lamas – they’re not enlightened beings, they just have reached a high specific point in their practice, but they still have a lot of karma, including negative karma. Out of the karma that they have, what is going to ripen in any particular rebirth depends very much on the circumstances: the people around them, how they’re raised, certain things that might have gone on at the end of their previous life. His Holiness always emphasizes that these lamas with these big names, these big titles, must not depend on their title and their name, but they have to prove themselves in this lifetime by their own qualifications. That’s very true. So, we can see people going around with these big titles – “lama,” for some Westerners as well.
This I think is a good example, actually; this term “lama” that people have been using recently – actually it was started by Kalu Rinpoche so it was a legitimate thing – he said, okay, people that have finished a three-year retreat, some of them maybe may use the name “lama.” But “lama” in that context has to be understood as a village priest. People who did these three-year retreats would go in a village and they basically in the three years learned to do all the rituals, because in the three years – in not the Gelugpa tradition, but in other traditions – you just do a little bit a few weeks or a few months of different practices. You learn the rituals and then they go around in the village and do rituals in people’s homes and there would be called “lama” with that definition. But someone who has those qualifications and then uses the title “lama” to be equivalent to someone like the Dalai Lama – I mean, that’s a lama. A lama is an incredibly advanced, highly realized master and that doesn’t mean just because you’ve learned the rituals in a three-year retreat, you have actually any realizations, or accomplishments, or qualifications. So, that’s an example of, “You’ve gained a lofty status” – you’re using this big title, and some can be very proud and push themselves – “I’m great lama, lama, lama” – what I call the great white guru trip – and what are their qualifications? Not very many. One has to be very careful about the qualifications and be humble.
But then being too humble is also a fault; that also, I think, is phony. I find that that is just as much an ego trip as being too arrogant, putting on a show of being humble – “Oh, I’m nobody.” I had introduced this person to their teacher and have recommended that they study with their teacher and so after that they were always, “Oh, I’m so wonderful,” and whenever they would see me, they’d bend over like a Tibetan with a high lama and even stick their tongue out the way that Tibetans do. I mean, just absolutely ridiculous, absolutely. That was totally an ego trip, it was putting on a show of how humble I am. Again, you just tell them, “Stop being ridiculous.”
There is a difference though between somebody doing this to a Dharma teacher and, let’s say, a little kid looking up to you as a role model and idealizing you, whether you’re the parent [or someone else]. You teach little kids to make tables and stuff like that – they could look up to you as a role model and in a sense worship you; this happens with little kids or teenagers who have an idle worship type of thing. I mean, the extreme, of course, is with a movie star or a rock star, but they can do that with ordinary people too and then, again, it’s all about how you act on your side. If you play into that role – “How wonderful I am” – and have every order everybody around to do things for you, that’s no good. I always take the example from His Holiness the Dalai Lama – I mean, that’s my great inspiring example – he treats everybody like they’re his close friend, doesn’t matter who they are. You just treat people like your friend and show them that you’re a human. But if a child is looking up to you – I mean, no matter who looks up to you – you have a responsibility to lead in a proper way but without pretending.
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