Teaching Dharma

My very dear one,
Regarding your question about how to spread Buddhism to people, there are different ways, but according to my observations, it depends very much on the people. For instance, university students use reasoning, not just faith, so for educated people one needs to explain Buddhist philosophy, especially about the mind. For instance: What is the absolute nature of the mind and the conventional nature of the mind?

You can present the ultimate nature of mind, emptiness, the clear light, the nature of the Buddha, which means the potential to be fully enlightened, which is free from all the defilements, gross and subtle, and which has all the qualities and all realizations. This is how you can liberate all numberless sentient beings from all sufferings and their causes and bring them to full enlightenment. You may need to study this a little, so you’ll need to read books on these subjects.

Then you can present the conventional nature of the mind, which means the mind and its functions, what the mind can do, also reincarnation, the mind that continues from life to life, how the body stops but the mind continues. For example, it is like the flame of a butter lamp—when the wax burns down you pour in new wax, but the flame still continues. Or, it is like when you light one candle from another, using the flame and then the flame continues. It is similar regarding the continuation of the mind. This doesn’t mean that one’s past life is in the present now, it doesn’t mean that. One’s past life happened and one’s future life will happen. Then you can teach subjects like karma. All these subjects are regarding the conventional nature of mind. These are deeper ways to introduce Buddhism.

A short way to introduce Buddhism is you can say, like His Holiness the Dalai Lama always says: The view of Buddhism is dependent arising and the conduct is not to harm others, and on that basis to benefit others.

One very special thing about Buddhism is compassion, toward not only poor people, but also rich people, without discrimination, white or Black or any other nationality, for all human beings, any type, in numberless universes. There is also compassion for every single animal and insect, for the tiniest creature that you can see only in a microscope, for other beings that ordinary people are not aware of. There is also compassion for every hell being. hungry ghost, worldly god, and many other beings. There is compassion for all other sentient beings. The aim is to have compassion for everyone, not only for one’s friends, but for one’s enemy, those who harm you, too. We also have compassion for strangers; for those who are devoted to and worship Buddha and for those who do not believe in Buddha, for everyone. We aim to stop harming others and to benefit others, because nobody wants to suffer and everyone wants happiness—this is just a basic reason.

This goes back to the main philosophy of Buddhism—that everything is a dependent arising, whether permanent phenomena or impermanent phenomena. Everything exists in mere name, merely imputed by the mind, therefore everything is empty of independence, of existing from its own side, from inherent existence. This is the ultimate nature of everything, and everything is functioning; everything exists and is functioning while it is empty, functioning in mere name. This last part might be a bit hard for people to understand unless they have a lot of merit.

Then, you can also explain about the Four Noble Truths. This is a basic teaching on how to end your suffering, which means how to end the cause of suffering—delusion and karma. The cause of suffering is delusion and karma and this can be ended. How? Because there is a true path. Buddhism explains very clearly how to proceed on the path.

Not only Buddha achieved liberation, which is the cessation of all sufferings and their causes, by actualizing the path, but numberless great yogis, holy beings, and Buddhist scholars also achieved the path, not just on blind faith, but through analysis of the Buddha’s teachings. They achieved total liberation and full enlightenment. The root of this was generating great compassion for all sentient beings.

This gives you a wide view of Buddhism, an idea of how you can begin and finish the path quickly, how to liberate beings from all sufferings and to achieve great liberation, perfect bliss. Then you are fully qualified to liberate all numberless sentient beings from all sufferings and bring them to full enlightenment. I think this gives people faith and a general picture of Buddhism.

These things go into the very foundation and details, are the basis for the Four Noble Truths, the nature of mind, the function of the mind, reincarnation, and karma. The very important thing is that you read many books by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, public talks, and many books about Buddhist philosophy. Listen to and study His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s public talks and general talks, and you will learn many things and how to explain things to people, how to give advice for life.

These are good books as well, the first three are my books:

• Ultimate Healing
• Transforming Problems
• The Door to Satisfaction

These might help people who have problems; it is like medicine for their minds.

Also, there are Lama Yeshe's books, lamrim books, lojong books, A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life by Shantideva, Advice for Life—these are sayings of the Buddha, and any book by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Generally, in your daily life, you can bring compassion into conversations, with children and adults, with anybody, as much as possible. This reminds you and reminds others.

With much love and prayers...

Student's Letter

Dear Rinpoche,
I have a few questions if that is OK. I have a little dilemma here at the Dharma center. They want me to teach the Tantra Module of the Discovering Buddhism (DB) program. I was not too keen because I barely see myself as a teacher, and certainly not one that should teach tantra. But it was announced anyway. First I thought I could get away with just mainly talking about the mind, but now they are asking for this, and from one side I feel obliged.

I know of course that the tantra module is part of the DB program but I do not feel comfortable talking to them about tantra for many reasons. I think most of them are relatively new students, even though they have done all the modules of the DB program. Here, they spend four evenings on each module.

I also think that many of them have not received a proper initiation yet. I looked in Lama Tsongkhapa's commentary on the tantric vows about breaking a vow by revealing secrets to those who are not a suitable vessel. It seems quite difficult to actually break this vow because quite a lot of conditions need to be there. Is that correct?

But even if it would be OK from the point of view of the vows, I feel it would be presumptuous of me to talk about tantra. I have checked in my mind and it just does not feel right. I even feel uncomfortable talking about selflessness of self to them because I feel it would make them afraid; at least of subtle selflessness.

But then, on the other side, maybe I am seeing it too narrowly and maybe there is some karma ripening to give them some inspiration to practice the Dharma by talking a little about tantra with them?

Do you have any advice? I would be very grateful.

Rinpoche's Response

Dear one,
If it inspires the person to have more faith or practice Dharma, I think it is good to talk on the introduction to tantra. Of course, it depends on the subject. If you think or feel the person could lose his or her faith or that heresy might arise, then it is better not to talk about tantra. That is the reason we are asked to keep it secret. We need to protect the minds of sentient beings because there can be the danger of a negative mind arising. My own example is, with western people, the best way to introduce Buddhism is by having them analyze emptiness, but how subtly you explain this depends on how capable you think the people are.

Explaining emptiness is like science—it doesn’t require belief, so, in actuality, explaining this way first can give more faith. Talking to one individual can depend on karma, but if you are talking to a group you have to make some judgment overall of what is best, and this is sometimes not easy.

I am sure there is a lot of explanation in the introduction to tantra which you can read, and I think you can explain a little about the meaning of kaya—the four completely purified results. You can give the basic introduction of how tantra is the quick path to purification and accumulation of merit and not talk about the stages themselves. You can also explain in a general way the stages of purifying ordinary death, bardo and rebirth and how the actual purification comes with the completion stage.

The ultimate secret is Dharmakaya, the subtle unification, where subtle means not just unification of body and mind but the subtle way of actually explaining it.

With much love and prayers...

Normally, if people want to do a daily meditation practice, they can do Shakyamuni Buddha meditation. It’s also very good to do Medicine Buddha, Chenrezig mantra, and Vajrasattva.

If they do Medicine Buddha practice, it takes care of their lives. Of course, the main reason to practice Medicine Buddha is to achieve realizations of the path to enlightenment. But, in the meantime, it takes care of their life, and their problems get solved along the way.

Then, Chenrezig practice, reciting OM MANI PADME HUM, has vast benefits—unbelievable purification, collecting so much merit, and enabling one to achieve enlightenment very swiftly. Therefore, if one doesn’t do the meditation-recitation of Chenrezig, reciting the mantra, it is like throwing away so many wish-granting jewels. Or, it is like having a human body, but not being a human being. It is so essential to have this as a practice in daily life.

New students can also do Vajrasattva practice, especially if their minds are full of problems, and they want to be healed.

Then, it’s very important to read the lamrim. Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand is a very good book to study. They can read other Dharma books, but the lamrim is something to go into in depth, since it is the actual, complete path to enlightenment. They can keep training in that, and can also read other Dharma books that are commentaries on the lamrim. They can also read books with different advice that is harmonious with the lamrim. For example, when you read books on high levels of tantra it is still harmonious with the lamrim.

Generally, in the lamrim the emphasis is on avoiding all forms of non-virtue. But for the bodhisattva who has reached high levels of tantric realization, the main goal is to benefit sentient beings, and the way to benefit sentient beings on the higher tantric levels can be by engaging in actions that were previously forbidden. For example, drinking alcohol, eating meat, and being with a woman—if one is male—or a man—if one is female—can become a quick path to enlightenment. Whereas before these things were all obstacles to generating the path, when one has reached a very high level of tantric realization, they can become the quick path. Books that explain these things are harmonious with the lamrim.

Ven. Roger used to organize trips for old people when he worked in Sydney. He would hire a bus and then drive them out into the countryside for an outing, to get them out of the house, so they could have a good time. Old people spend so much time sitting within four walls, and might not have so much to think about, to rejoice over. Maybe the things that they rejoice about are the things they used to do in the past—their family and all the pleasures they used to have, that they don’t have any more. They are not able to think over all the virtuous actions that they have created in their life and rejoice in those, so life for them can be quite sad.

One day he organized a trip and I went along. There was a house by the sea and one of the monks dressed up as a clown, but I don’t think it was so suitable for the old people. That’s more for children. I put some thangkas on the wall to help put imprints in the people’s minds. Some of the people didn’t really notice, but others were very happy to look at the thangkas. You could see that there was a connection.

That’s how it is in giving teachings as well. When you are teaching people, some have very strong imprints from the past that are ripening, and they can understand what’s being said and get very involved quickly. For others, it takes a long time. You just have to try to plant a seed now and plant a seed later, year after year, even life after life, that can ripen in the future, so that gradually they get closer and closer to Buddha. Gradually, there are more and more imprints. For some people, from life to life, you just give a little imprint, and the quality of mind gradually gets better and better. It’s like when there are many different kinds of container, some big, some small, some medium: You can only pour into the container according to its capacity. That’s how it is with teaching as well, with guiding students. You can only give according to their capacity to receive. You can’t reveal all the teachings at once. It is a gradual thing. Even Buddha had to wait to show the entire path to sentient beings. It takes time. Gradually, they are able to receive more and more. You can’t reveal the complete path all at once.

That’s why some people may have a connection with you, but are not necessarily able to make a connection with your teachers or the high lamas and geshes or other teachers. So you have to keep guiding them. Whenever you are in the area, arrange a talk for them, to keep Buddhism alive for them. Also, give them meditations to do and Dharma books to study in the meantime, while you are away. Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand is a very good book for them to study. Or they can meet together in town as a group to go through teachings and discuss things. Sometimes it’s difficult to do things alone, but if people meet in a group that helps to get things done. Then they can transcribe teachings and make a book, and they can go to talks by other Western sangha.

Whatever you are teaching, be it Vipassana meditation, breathing meditation, whatever, the emphasis should always be on generating the good heart, on caring for others and cherishing others. In this way, many people’s minds will be transformed into a good heart, bringing so much peace, happiness, and joy into their lives.

This will bring peace and happiness into the world and to many other sentient beings, which makes this life meaningful and helps us practice the good heart.