karma

21 Homages to Tara: Verse 9 Commentary Khenpo Tenzin Norgay

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Thupten Shedrub Gyatso, who was a Tulku  in one of the Palyul Monasteries, wrote this commentary.  His present incarnation, Rago Chogtrul currently lives in Tibet.

Translation by Khenpo Tenzin Norgey ~ Spring, 2004,
Palyul Retreat Center, Mc Donough, NY USA ~Wood Monkey Year 2131

Homage to you, who holds your fingers marvelously
In the mudra symbolizing the Triple Gem at your heart.
Swirling masses of light adorn you,
Permeating every direction in beautiful circles.

The ninth praise is homage to Sengdeng Nagi Drolma,Tib the “Tara of the Rosewood Forest” who protects from all kinds of fears.  Her color is dark green, with the dazzling radiance of emeralds.  Her right hand is in the boon-giving mudra, and the thumb and ring finger of her left hand holds a blue lotus engraved with a wheel.  Her remaining fingers are held gracefully upright at her heart in the mudra symbolizing the Triple Gem [i].  The swirling wheel of light, (a metaphor for protection) adorns her like the finest of garments, and it protects like a shield against all torments.  Likewise, all beings of the world in ten directions are protected from all kinds of fears by the all-pervasive light that beams from her body, clearing their fears in a display of extraordinary radiance.

The eight kinds of fears are:

1. The fear of elephants represents the power of ignorance.  When ignorance grows strong, one ignores the law of cause and effect, indulges in alcohol, (here the use of alcohol is a symbolic of wrong view) and becomes crazy.

2. The fear of iron chains symbolizes habituation to lust and desire that bind together the senses and their objects.

3. The fear of pishaca demons signifies the doubt that steals the life force of nirvana, as it moves in the sky of ignorance, and the doubt that harms the understanding of ultimate meanings.

4. The fear of rivers (floods) is a symbol of desire, acting savagely.  By the possession of spirits, the current of desire carries beings towards samsara in its tumultuous waves of birth, sick, aging and death caused by karmic wind.

5.  The fear of fire represents the power of anger that burns the forest of virtue.  Anger is the cause of anxiety, which in turn causes quarrels, disputes, and partialities.

6.  The fear of robbery corresponds to the wrong views that steal the treasure of the supreme goal.  This causes one to wander aimlessly in the barren ground of wrong view, (and to) believe in extremes and low ascetic practices.

7.  The fear of reptiles represents jealousy, the poison of intolerance of another person’s prosperity.  Jealousy results in everything becoming a cause for agitation.

8.  The fear of lions.  Signifies pride, the conceit of holding high ones own views and conduct.  Pride causes one to (metaphorically) develop claws as sharp as a lion’s to belittle others.

These and their casual factors are the eight fears.

Another set of eight fears, which are the fruition of secondary afflictions are:

1. The fear of punishment by kings caused by self-infatuation and harming others.

2. The fear of foes is caused by hypocrisy, gloom, sloth and excitement.

3. The fear of evil spirits is caused by dishonesty and deceit.

4. The fear of leprosy is caused by lack of shame and dread of blame.

5. The fear of being lonely is caused by disbelief.

6. The fear of poverty is caused by stinginess.

7. The fear of thunder is caused by anger and enmity.

8. The fear of failure is caused by indolence and carelessness.

 

Homage is paid to the lady who protects us from these two sets of fears.  The inner meaning is that her wheel of the three primordial wisdom-minds, (the wisdom-minds of emptiness, clarity and compassion, illustrated by the mudra symbolizing the Triple Gem) eliminates the nine bonds and other afflictions, which is a cause for accomplishing the fearless vajra of self-cognized luminosity.

 

[i] Triple Gem  ~ Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.  Buddha as the teacher of refuge, the doctrine as actual refuge, and the spiritual community as support for practice.

Choosing What to Accept and What to Reject – Venerable Gyaltrul Rinpoche

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The following is from a teaching given by Venerable Gyaltrul Rinpoche at Kunzang Palyul Choling:

We must take care not to fall prey to actually disbelieving the infallible truth of the law of cause and result, not to hold incorrect or wrong view, which would be again, thinking that there is no truth to this law.  If I practice Dharma, for example, there will be no good result, so why should I bother, these types of attitudes.  If I accumulate non-virtue, if I just do whatever I want, if I engage in negativity, there is no lower rebirth, it doesn’t matter.  And so, thinking in this way is definitely the wrong direction.  All of us must know this and focus on the Buddha’s teachings, initially, the Four Noble Truths, the truth of suffering, that there is non-virtue. We all know that there is suffering, because we are experiencing that and knowing the truth of the cause, that there is the cause to the result of our suffering and so Buddha taught the truth of the cause of suffering and the truth of suffering is the result of that cause and so now, while we are free to do something about accepting and rejecting, that’s precisely what we should do.  If we have intelligence, we would figure out that is the way we would lead our life.

Believing in the laws of cause and result is virtuous.  Not believing in the law of cause of cause and result is non-virtuous and so that marks the difference between being noble and a wholesome individual on the path of wholesome conduct or being ignoble or going into the wrong direction.  So when we are going into the wrong direction, because of not acknowledging the law of cause and result and engaging always in non-virtue then that’s why we get left behind so to speak.  There’s not much progress in our life.  When we notice everyone else is going along and having some positive directions and some progress and we’re not, this is the reason.

By going to school nicely and being wholesome and having dignity, careful in what we do, then we will come to know this truth, we will see how this works in our life by observing, by listening, by checking.  We will see the truth of the law of cause and result.  If we don’t come to know that and see that in our lives, then we’ll always be overwhelmed by the passions and poisons of the 10 non-virtuous results, which includes desire and jealousy, anger, delusion, based on those passions, killing, stealing, adultery, lying, slander, gossip, ill will, craving, incorrect view, all of these non-virtues will proliferate, based on delusion because of not knowing the law of cause and result.  And so by not knowing this, then we are always accumulating causes for lower rebirth especially in the three lower realms of the hell beings, the deprived spirit beings and the animals, where there is inconceivable suffering.  These are the real places of samsara, the places of rebirth in samsara, these lowest realms, where there is no happiness.

Like for example, in this life, if one takes the life of others, then it shortens one’s own life and it also brings about many different illnesses and diseases.  The reason that we have a short lifespan or we acquire some disease or illness is because of having taken the life of others in the past as well so that affects us in this life.  From having stolen, then in this life, no matter how hard one tries, one is always poor, lacking endowments, lacking abundance, never quite being able to get it together financially.  So this is the ripening, the fruit of the cause.  These things don’t come about for any other reason.

So that’s why now it’s so important to listen to one’s parents and to follow the guidelines of whatever religious tradition one believes in.  Certainly there is good in all spiritual paths, so whatever one is able to believe in, learning that, contemplating, thinking carefully and following the guidelines of knowing, coming to know what to accept and what to reject so that qualities can develop in your own stream of mind to become a decent person and to have a happy life, otherwise, not following any guidelines, not believing in anything, having no discipline, just doing whatever you want, being careless, it’s really worse than an animal.  Even an animals don’t do that.  And so it may seem, if you are still young, that that is OK, you can get away with that, because temporarily you are still under your parent’s wings so parents are taking care of you and feeding you and giving you shelter and you are still young so you not sick yet and in fact you don’t even think about it or worry about it, you have no fear of death.  Even if the Lord of Death came before you, you would be fearless because you are still young and everything is great.  But sooner or later, when all of that shifts and changes, because it will, then sickness comes, poverty comes and everything turns upside down if you haven’t learned how to be a decent human being who knows how to follow rules and practice what to accept and reject.  Everything turns upside down and everything becomes like your enemy and when you die and go to lower realms, it’s also even worse and so that’s why it’s so important to think about these things now while you can, while you are able to.

Understanding Cause and Result: an Introduction by Venerable Gyaltrul Rinpoche

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The following is an excerpt from a teaching given by Venerable Gyaltrul Rinpoche at Kunzang Palyul Choling:

Today I’m going to give an overview of the preliminary practices and how to do them because there are many little children and maybe parents would like their children to learn some Dharma.  I would imagine you have that hope.  Otherwise, what else is there to do for the little naughty things that they should learn? I will speak about the preliminary practices also for those of you who are new. Those of you who have heard these teachings before, it’s no problem to listen again for however much we can hear the Dharma, it should help us and improve us.  So Dharma is not necessarily ever repetitive.

I’m not saying that I am learned.  I am just repeating what is found in the scriptures, in the Dharma books.

Initially it is very important to believe in the law of cause and result, which is referred to as karma, the truth of karma.  For as long as we are human beings, on the path of the vehicle of humans, that is the basic view—believing in the law of cause and result.  If one doesn’t believe in this, then what would that be like?  That would be like thinking there is no result based on what we caused, that there is no ripening of our actions or thoughts. To believe like this is considered to be an incorrect view, a mistaken view. So again, to reiterate a mistaken view would be thinking that if I do something good, the result will not necessarily follow in harmony with that cause.  If I do something bad, if I accumulate a non-virtue, the result will not be suffering—just not believing that this is how things work.  So that’s considered to be incorrect understanding or a mistaken view.  It’s very important to know that believing in the truth of cause and result to be infallible is the basic view of a human being.

A human being means an individual who has the capacity to think, to speak, to understand, to comprehend, to comprehend the meanings of words in a deeper sense. So, as long as we are born in this kind of body as a human, then if we believe in a religion or a spiritual pursuit, the basis is believing in the law of cause and result, which means believing that the seeds that you sow are what you will receive.  This seems to be the basic view for all religions, not just Buddhism.  Throughout the entire world, anyone who is following the path of righteousness, or that which is worthy of believing in, has to believe like this.  If not, I can’t imagine that that would be a religious pursuit.

Disbelieving in cause and result would be like becoming a communist.  A communist view is that, for the most part, this is not worth considering, although, even communists would tell us don’t steal, don’t lie. There are certain disciplines that were enforced that are also based on the notion of cause and result because they are saying if you do this, such and such negative thing will occur. So don’t do that based on that reason.  In other words, the idea is that through this particular cause that result will occur.  And so, that is actually cause and result, even though they claim that this is not a valid view.

I wonder what the children think this means.  This means, according to your level, following the truth of what it is your parents tell you not to do.  Like if your parents say don’t touch fire, the reason is because if you touch the fire, you’ll burn your finger.  So that’s why parents say don’t touch fire. Because according to cause and result, touching fire means burning your finger and suffering. Or if parents tell you don’t kill bugs or if they tell you don’t steal or don’t lie or don’t drink or don’t smoke, or go to school, then if you listen to your parent’s advice, then that means that you will be responsible, good and noble.  If you don’t, you will be irresponsible, ignoble and there will be problems.  Likewise for adults.  Keeping the rules of the government means that your life will be smooth.  Keeping the rules of the Dharma as a Dharma practitioner—the words of honor and the vows—means that your practice will go well.  But if there is no discipline to check in this way about the law of cause and result, following what is right and wrong carefully, then just thinking, “Well, I am just going to do things my way,” then that really is just becoming crazy, becoming silly or stupid and showing that you don’t have any qualities at all.  Someone who follows rules nicely is someone who develops wonderful qualities. The inability to be able to do that really comes from inflated ego or pride, which is just great self-cherishing based on delusion.  Of course, children don’t know this yet, so children need to be told and guided, but adults do know this and they should know how to guide themselves.

That is why there are always rules and guidelines in life in terms of a country, our area, our families, our school, the military, the church, the temple.  Human beings always have rules and guidelines and regulations to observe.  Even animals have their own rules and guidelines.  That’s why we must learn what these are and follow them.  In terms of Dharma practice, that means with seeing and contemplating and learning so that we can be able to identify and acknowledge mistaken directions.  So rather than that, just thinking, “I am so great, I know everything, I don’t need to learn anything,” is like a mountain sheep with big horns, really not so great.  Even if you are rich, even if you are a great scholar, if you have great pride in this way, you are just shaming yourself.

But please be careful.  It’s not enough to just know how to play.

That’s why it is so important to study and contemplate, especially if one does not know these things.  America is a very good country because in the schools children are taught how to be decent human beings.  They are given many amazing opportunities, inconceivable opportunities, to learn many different things.  That is not the case in other countries;  these opportunities don’t exist.  So we have to think about the possibilities of our environment and how fortunate we are and appreciate that and make the most of it.

According to the path of Buddhaist practice now, the subject of non-virtue involves ten specific non-virtues: three of the body, four of the speech and three of the mind.  These ten are meant to be abandoned. And then the opposite of that non-virtue is meant to be engaged which becomes the virtue—the ten virtues.  By abandoning and engaging, then, there are two steps and one is able to accumulate two good deeds.  In terms of the first non-virtue of the body—killing—by avoiding, abandoning killing, one has accumulated the good deed of that abandonment; and then by going on to save life, one is performing or engaging in the virtue, which is the opposite of killing. So there are two, not only just one, not just only abandoning killing, although that is one stage in the virtue; then protecting and saving life is the second, which completes that.  In the case of stealing, not only just abandoning stealing or taking that which is not given, but going on to express generosity, to be generous in various ways.  In the case of adultery, not just only abandoning adultery, but going on to practice discipline. So these are the three non-virtues of the body. And the corresponding virtues of the speech, of course, not just only abandoning lying, but always trying to tell the truth and so on like this.  Each non-virtue has its opposite, which is the virtue.

https://www.tibetanbuddhistaltar.org/2011/09/ten-virtues-and-ten-non-virtues/

The Trap of Delusion

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The following is from a series of tweets by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo:

Nowadays so many people describe themselves as Buddhist but aren’t, as they do not practice what the Buddha taught. And don’t understand. I hear it is like that with other religions, philosophies, as well. It is easy to use the words, and much more difficult walking the talk.

It seems to me that if you have an enemy you fight with, then in truth, you have already lost the war. That is because the “enemy” is actually within; the real problem is our own poisons. Hatred, pride, greed, ignorance, jealousy, doubt, these are the true enemies, the real cause for all wars. I dare say that if we all conquered our “inner demons” our outer troubles would be defeated also, as what we perceive “outwardly” is our own consciousness, our own mind stream. Cause and effect, karma. We literally are trapped in a bubble of our own delusions.

Yet, people call themselves Buddhist with no attempt to pacify their own hurtful and negative tendencies. Some deny rebirth saying Buddha never taught it. Some feel that even though in Buddhism the path is considered “life after life,” Enlightenment can happen instantly, with no causing factors. Nothing happens instantly with no cause!

One guy I read sits under a tree every day, thinking he is Buddha. Yet if anyone disagrees with his words he is rude and hateful. And the rant begins. There is seemingly no understanding that compassion and kindness have anything to do with practicing Dharma. I enjoy watching this kind of thing as a “case study,” wondering how a person could fall down so far. And how it can happen that Buddhism is so misunderstood by people who call themselves great practitioners, scholars, etc and never look in the mirror to see what is really going on. These are the prisoners of their own, self-made war.

The prison is samsaric delusion. Even in a jail cell a person can be free. If the situation is such, change the mind to dissolve the bars that harm us all! Altruism is the way, charity, love, ethics and a genuine caring for the welfare of all beings equally. The inner jail always falls before the “outer” jail ever does!

OM MANI PEDME HUNG

OM AH MI DEWA HRI

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Norbu Lhamo.  All rights reserved

Cultivating a Sense of Humor

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The following is from a series of tweets by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo:

Did a dog bite you? Did food poison you? Did a gun face your face? Did you suffer? Do you suffer the suffering of suffering? Did you burn? Did you freeze? Did you starve for love? Did the FBI or the police or the mighty wolf blow your house down? Got a cold? Welcome to the glorious gift of duality.

Samsara- we are here together only relying on our own karma. Suffering of suffering, because we cannot let go. No use to complain, I found. Better to go on strong, find your way. Why feel sorry for yourself? He who learns to laugh at himself will never cease to be amused! Haha!

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Norbu Lhamo.  All rights reserved

The Law of Karma: Explanation by Khenchen Tsewang Gyatso

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The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Khenchen Tsewang Gyatso given at Kunzang Palyul Choling on Ngondro:

The law of cause and effect, or karma, has been explained a number of times by Jetsunma and myself.  Whatever exists in this world is just the creation of oneself.  There is logical proof and proper reasoning for this, and one can experience it for oneself.  There are many examples that prove everything is the result of one’s own karma combined with one’s present life conditions.  If you never do any harm to any sentient beings, you will not suffer.   It is definite.  In this lifetime, if you never say anything bad to someone, then this person is not going to do anything bad to you because you have not created any problem.  When you create problems for another, then the other person also feels unhappy and gets angry, and then he creates problems for you.  It plays back and forth and creates many troubles.  That is how the law of karma works.

The law of karma is very, very subtle and very, very strict, no corruption.  Whether one is very rich or a great philosopher or a very great doctor or a very great scientist or a very great modern technologist, whoever, there is no corruption of the karma.  Whatever you have done, you will have to bear it.  What you have not done, there is no way that you can experience it.  Even if you wished to experience it, there is no way to do it.  It is very, very subtle and very strict, and it has very good justice.  There is no way that it can forget anything, that it can lose anything.  Everything is fully imprinted, like the hard disk on your computers.  Everything is there.  Our mind and our actions, our body, speech and mind are like the floppy disk, and they are constantly putting things on the hard disk, where it stays.  When you need something, you switch disks, and it comes out.  When conditions happen, then it is ripening back to you because you have already inserted something in the hard disk of karma.  You have put it in there, so never can that get lost or corrupted or erased.  Fires cannot burn it.  Waters cannot wash it.  Winds cannot carry it away, unlike computers, which fires can burn.  Your whole hard disk with 10 years of programs, when it is burned, it is gone like that.  But none of the five elements can harm the karma computer.  No one can harm it.  When conditions happen, it will definitely ripen back to you and you alone.  There will be no mistake.  Mr. A’s karma will not ripen to Mr. B, and Mr. B’s karma will not ripen to Mr. A.  Those sorts of things are not going to happen in that way.  It is very subtle, very strict, very just.  No corruption.  It cannot get lost, cannot be burned.  Everything is so organized, much, much better organization than your schedules.  When there are proper conditions, then that is going to ripen to you.  That is the actual life process.  That is experienced by all sentient beings.  That is the law of karma.

Impermanence and Death: a Teaching by Khenchen Tsewang Gyatso

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The following is an excerpt from a teaching given by Khenchen Tsewang Gyatso at Kunzang Palyul Choling on Ngondro:

Precious human birth does not mean everyone who is born as a human being.  It doesn’t mean that.  There is precious human birth and ordinary human birth.  Those who don’t do any kind of practice, those who don’t even try to go to church on weekends, those involved in New Age groups or modern ways of belief, or those who enter into some kind of entertainment and waste their lives in that manner—that is just an ordinary human birth.  You really must have accumulated some merit in your previous lifetime.  You must have done some kind of purification in your previous lifetime.  You must have made some kind of connection with the Dharma and your lamas. That is why you are here.  Otherwise there is no possibility.  That would never, ever happen.  So since you have a precious human rebirth, you must immediately think,  “I should not waste it.  I have to get some advantage from this opportunity.”

Then how can one do it?  You must then think that all phenomena which are composed of cause and condition are impermanent.  Impermanence does not just mean that everything comes to an end.  Impermanence means that each and every moment is impermanent. Each and every moment of our lives we are becoming older and older; we are getting nearer and nearer to death.  If you waste even one hour, you are one hour closer to death.  If you spend your weekend enjoying yourself, still you are getting nearer to death.  Whenever you sit idle, still you are getting nearer to death.  Even if you do practice, still you are getting nearer to death.  Even if you don’t do anything, still you are getting nearer to death.  You are always getting nearer and nearer and nearer.  Every sentient being who is born is subject to death.

At the same time, death is uncertain.  You can see many examples.  Someone will say, “Just yesterday he was talking with me, and then last night he had an accident.”  Or somebody shot him or killed him or whatever.  There are so many conditions that may bring death.  If I cannot do actual practice and if I do not have something I can carry with me, then tonight if something happens, what can I do?  What are you really going to carry with you?  You cannot pack up like when you get divorced or when you get mad at your friends and you say you’re going to leave and you take your suitcase and pack all your clothes and everything and whatever money and credit cards you have and you leave and go some other place.  When death comes, you cannot do that.  There is no way that one could do that.  Up until now in this world, even the great popes, even Milarepa, even Shakyamuni Buddha, even His Holiness Karmapa and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, they left all their belongings behind.  Even His Holiness Karmapa left his black hat behind, even his body.  Never mind about an ordinary sentient being who cannot carry all those things.  Even the great Christian popes who passed away, could not carry anything.  All the great ones and not so great ones—when death came, nobody could pack anything, nobody could carry anything along.  You could not even make a phone call.  “I’m coming very soon, so could you please reserve a place for me?”  There is no way that one can do that.  You say, “Oh please, you save a better place for me since I am coming very soon.”  Or you want to make a phone call to heaven.  “Oh God, please save a place for me.”  So you have to realize that life is like that.

In one sense, life is very long.  You can experience lots of things.  In another sense, life is gone like that.  When death comes, what one can carry is just whatever accumulation of merit or whatever negativity one has done.  That is the only thing that comes with you.  Even if you don’t want it, it is stuck there and will be coming with you.  So you have to realize that life is uncertain and death is uncertain.  At any moment it can come.  When you really consider that, you really get scared, goose bumpy.  Then you really get motivated to do practice.  Then your sleepy way of thinking and laziness and everything is gone just like that.  You cannot feel so tired if death is coming like that.  Then you can make yourself so alert. You can generate so much courage in yourself.  “Why can’t I do 100,000 prostrations in a month?  Why can’t I do that?”  Then you can have that kind of courage within yourself.  Otherwise you say, “Other people are out enjoying the weekend and going here and there and I am stuck here doing prostrations. I get pain in my legs and my knees and pain there. When can all this be finished?”  Then it feels really difficult.  When you really see that death is coming, then you can bear it.  If you think about that, then that will really help you to apply yourself into practice with full energy and with full courage.

Karma and Purification on the Path

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The following is from a series of tweets by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo:

I personally know a story about a young lady who took robes of ordination as an Ani years ago. Deep habitual tendencies caused her to fall off her path and break the vows very seriously, more than once. As a lay woman she continued the pattern, there was so much rage in her, the events seemed neurotic, obsessive. She was determined to ruin her Teacher, as she imagined the downfall was her Teacher’s fault. The breakage seemed to spiral and worsen until she lost friends, and suffered terribly, as did the ones she attacked. It was a terrible mess! But she went to other Lamas and asked for advice, and to become their student. All told her she must return to her own Tsawei Lama and make amends.

How terribly difficult when so much damage to so many had been done. But she persisted. Correcting lies, doing purifying practice, applying the proper antidotes. She went to retreat and was welcomed and treated kindly. Her Guru had already taken her back. Except for one elder Lama who, when she served tea, poured it on the ground and said “you may not serve me!” as he himself had witnessed what she’d done personally, and had known the effect on all. She accepted and bowed low, wondering why everyone didn’t treat her just the same. But it was through that Lama’s activity she was instantly able to see the depth of her betrayal and was able to make confession without leaving out any details at all. She was given kind instruction from His Holiness Palyul Karma Kuchen Rinpoche and is now taking advanced teachings, much happier and her mind continues to be freed from the imprisonment of the cycle of hatred, greed and ignorance. Stage by stage she grows more free!

She repeatedly asked why she was so compelled, so intensely obsessed with harming her Teacher and Dharma. The answer, repeatedly, was a real kicker. In past lives she had made up her own path and convinced (skillfully) others to follow and practice what she taught. So in this life, although she is skillful and brilliant, it was impossible for her to keep the robes of the Buddha or to follow the path of Buddhism nicely or purely. It will take time to repair, but she is diligently applying herself. She was instructed to tell truth always and make an unshakable commitment to never behave that way again.

There is always a way to purify mistakes, but so much better to never make them in the first place. To try to teach a made-up path that causes downfall for others results in great mental instability and even insanity. Emotional equilibrium is lost. And it continues into future lives. Suffering of others is experienced by the false teacher. You will always know them by their current lives and experience. Sadly, still ignorant, they cannot see it for themselves. Karma is real, if you believe it or not. And you are experiencing it right now, and will continue until Supreme Enlightenment.

One more thing. I am so proud of her. And love her so deeply, she is a miracle.

Copyright © Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo.  All rights reserved

Cause and Effect: Examining Circumstances

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The following is an excerpt from a teaching by Khenchen Tsewang Gyatso on Ngondro, given at Kunzang Palyul Choling:

There is not one single sentient being who wishes to suffer.  That is very obvious.  Even scary animals, ghosts, and evil spirits don’t really mean to harm anybody.  They are in search of some kind of happiness.  They are looking for some kind of peace.  An evil spirit or consciousness wanders here and there and creates some kind of problem for someone.  Then that person becomes possessed by the evil spirit and there are lots of disturbances, all due to the search for happiness, but without knowing what the actual cause of happiness is.  How can one really have actual happiness?  How can one really have a peaceful life?  How can one have a happier life?  One has to understand the actual cause.  Due to ignorance, all sentient beings do not know that. Each and every sentient being wishes for happiness, but not knowing the cause of happiness, all kinds of karma, actions, thoughts, and afflicted mind, arise and worldly things are done which result in problems and suffering.

I think that Americans really don’t like to hear about suffering in the teachings.  You like to hear only about having a happy and prosperous life, about enjoyment.  You are always trying to find some kind of modern technology, some different way of doing things, because you are really trying to find happiness.  Maybe if I climb a mountain, I can enjoy life more.  Or no, maybe I’ll go bungee jumping!  That may be more enjoyable and will bring some happiness.  In that way, everybody is trying each and every thing just to experience happiness, just to experience some kind of peaceful mind. There are so many religions, so many masters, so many yogis who have appeared. When a Hindu teacher comes, then everybody goes there and listens to the yogi teaching about prana, some kind of breathing, some kind of meditation, because they think,  “If I go to this teacher, maybe I can get some kind of solution so that I can be happier.  Maybe I can have some kind of path.  Maybe I can really get something so that I can maintain a happier life.”

So everyone does whatever we do 24 hours a day. And whatever we are doing, whatever we talk to people about, it’s all in search of peace and happiness.  Not knowing the actual cause of happiness, one thinks something else may help, so one creates all kinds of karma, causing problems which ripen for oneself.  It is like a reflection, or an echo when you shout in a cave.  The same ego shouts back to you.  When you look in the mirror and make a face, the image makes the same face back at you.  In the same way, the actions one has done to other sentient beings, ripen back.  This is the cause of samsara, or cyclic existence.  Whatever peace or happiness is attained is very temporary and limited.  While worldly peace and happiness is temporary and of short duration, at the same time, one experiences lots and lots of difficulties, lots and lots of problems. One experiences suffering and struggles very hard before one can have a little bit of peace and happiness.

So experience one’s own life and others’ lives.  Sit aside and watch the universe, watch sentient beings. Watch how all these sentient beings fare.  Everything is the result of one’s own karma or whatever action one has done.  In this way, when one thinks about the suffering of sentient beings, then one could think, “How can I really apply some kind of method or practice so that I can become fully perfected, so that I may not have any more suffering—no miserable life, no birth, no death, no sickness, no old age?  How can I get rid of all this?”  There is a teaching which explains how one can really enter into a very strong practice, a practice which would produce results very fast, a practice which may have a very special skill, a special technique, so that one can have realization in this lifetime.  If one could really generate Bodhicitta or Awakening Mind, then one would feel like he really needs to get enlightened.

Advice on Cause and Effect

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The following is from a series of tweets by Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo in response to a question from a student:

There are mixing karmas there. Gossip is straightforward, considered a deep non-virtue resulting in loss of respect, being victimized in the future, having confused or unintelligible speech in future, if about another Dharma practitioner it is a breakage of vows and samaya. Downfall, surely.

If the man or woman allows him/herself to be supported financially and is well and not addled (is competent) they will be weak and impoverished in the future, and that person will have the burden of paying for others as well. Hardship. In Dharma there is no non-virtue in the wife taking the conventional man’s role. But not contributing anything of value to society is a non-virtue. Not giving to charity and such is selfish, and both combine to insure future extreme poverty. Dependency on society’s institutions to survive.

Being pompous is a sign of feeling small and weak and needing to destroy or put down others to make oneself powerful. It is a truly weak person. Rebirth as jealous god realm, or being pathetic with no hope or help is the result. No kindness will come, little love or respect.

Karma is exacting and what I describe as karmic results will be modified by particular arising causes. Such as lack of ethics, excuses to not change, or lack of will to be a better person. Karma will be lighter if person puts in effort but makes little progress. That too is a result from previous causes. Actually cause and result arise interdependently so the result is already born, separated only by the illusion of time.

Whew! Big question. I feel that last bit is a teaching. For all. Now my thumbs are aching so I’m outta here! Love to all!

OM AH HUNG BENZAR GURU PEDMA SIDDHI HUNG

OM MANI PEDME HUNG

OM TARE TUTTARE TURE SO HA

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