Day Six: Remembering death

Just to mention a few words again the section, then at any rate, no matter how long it takes time, no matter how difficult it is, I must achieve full enlightenment in order to liberate sentient beings who has been my mother, kind numberless times, in beginningless rebirth, free them from the oceans of samsaric suffering and lead them in full enlightenment by myself alone. And then, to do that, first, then need to actualize the path, the graduate path to enlightenment, therefore, I’m going to listen the holy Dharma, the Lama Atisha’s teachings, the originator of the Kadampa tradition and Lama Atisha’s teaching, The Jewel Garland of the Bodhisattva’s Advice, The Jewel Garland.

So yesterday, to mention a few words on that. Abandon sleep and drowsiness and laziness and always attempt the perseverance.

So last night I mentioned for especially beginners, us, then to, how important it is to remember impermanence-death. As I mentioned here, especially for us beginners, as it is mentioned in the benefits of remembering impermanence and death, that by remembering impermanence and death that one is able to overcome the delusions, that which is so difficult, that which we have habituated, have been under the control of delusion from beginningless, time without beginning, from beginningless samsaric lifetimes. So, one is able to, by remembering impermanence-death, one is able to overcome this, destroy. And then one is able to, by remembering impermanence and death, one is able to generate, begin to practice Dharma, generate the path. And also continue Dharma, continue actualizing the path and able to complete the Dharma practice. And also by remembering impermanence and death, one is able to complete the Dharma practice, and complete the path, achieve enlightenment.

So, it’s so important at the beginning, when one begin Dharma practice, to remember and it’s so important to remember this also in the middle, so important to remember even at the end to complete. And then at the time of death, when the death comes, then one die so happy, so joyful, so happy. Not any doubts or fears, not any doubt, whether one will reincarnate in the lower realms, not having any doubt. And on top of that, extremely joyful and happy mind.

So it’s also very helpful that, to have these quotations written to remind you, when the mind is distracted to remind you to bring to Dharma, your mind to bring into Dharma. So such as these verses, write down, make card and then put round the room, also helps to, so ?help ?giving, saying Hi! Saying Hi, from these teachings it says Hi! Hi, you don’t get distracted, then explain the reasons. Even the Bodhicaryavatara, words from Bodhicaryavatara. Or Karab Gomchung, one of the Kadampa geshes, Karab Gomchung explained like this, it’s similar to one of the Bodhicaryavatara, By depending on the human boat, one get crossed over the great river of suffering. Such this boat is difficult to find again, so when it’s found, don’t be lazy. So this is, basically Bodhicaryavatara, but this is Karab Gomchung saying. So write this nicely and then put, make a nice card, put round the rooms, like that, it reminds you. Then when you see this, when you see these words immediately you’ve got to something, you have to bring your attention back to, from the object, delusions, or distracted with the appearance of this life, grasping, clinging, whatever, then let go and then bring the mind into renunciation, the first lamrim, renunciation to this life. And bodhicitta, right view, however, like that. And then guru devotion. With those attitudes, purifying the mind or purifying the defilements, negative karma, collect merits, meditate on the path.

And then also, in the Bodhicaryavatara it says, Which one, tomorrow and the next life, which one will come first? Not sure. Therefore, it is worth to attempt for the next life, than rather attempting for tomorrow, working for tomorrow’s happiness, better attempt the happiness of future lives, the long run, all these coming future lives, not just one.

Then, also Karab Gomchung also mentioned that, The happiness of the upper realm and the sufferings of the three lower realms at the present we have the choice. [pause] Think this, reflect this together. Means, also in Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo’s, the great enlightened being, Heruka, Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo’s Calling the Guru from Afar, there it talks about, in each second that one has freedom, one has choice, one has freedom to, one has choice, the sufferings of the lower realms or the happiness of the upper realm, the deva, human realms. So it means one has freedom to not be reborn, to stop the rebirth in the lower realms and to receive the rebirth, to receive the body of the happy transmigratory being. I don’t remember word by word there, the words of the stanza of Calling the Guru from Afar, so after this then it says, so when one reflect this, it reminds the guru. So that means who gives you the opportunity, this incredible opportunity in each second, that you have choice, you have freedom to not be reborn in the lower realms, and to achieve at least the happiness of upper realm. I mean the choice is not only that, the choice is also, you can create the cause in this second, in every second you have the choice to create the cause to achieve liberation from samsara. Not only that, in every second you have incredible choice, freedom to create the cause to achieve enlightenment. So, however, so as Karab Gomchung mentioned, this.

So when you see this teaching, this stanza written there, when you see that, then you see how each moment, each second is so precious, so you have incredible, unbelievable, so precious, you have incredible freedom, that you can accomplish all this. So, of course, without delay even a second one, that the one way is to practice Dharma, there’s no other way to achieve all this happiness without practicing Dharma.

And also it’s also helpful, somebody who passed away, to have their belongings. If you have, that’s also very useful to remind, impermanence and death. Somebody who passed away, their belongings, anyway, if you have, because it reminds you every time. So I could be, so as I mentioned last night, I could be like this person, gone. Doesn’t exist in this world, gone, gone to next life, from here gone to next life. So this year, this month, this week, even today, within an hour I could be like this.

So I think you did Medicine Buddha puja this morning, but I forgot to mention the name of the person, the student who passed away. It’s Peter, the big, fat Peter, from Holland. Huh? Anyway, his famous name is Peter. His famous name is Peter. I don’t know the rest, Peter something, but anyway, if I describe, the fat Peter, the big belly. Anyway, so suddenly, so this morning, this morning he died? Our time morning? [Inaudible comment from Ven. Rog.] Oh, I see. So, he went into coma yesterday, so died this morning. So did short prayer during the preparation time for him. So that Medicine Buddha puja this morning that you did is actually, unfortunately didn’t get to mention the name, but it was for him. So the Medicine Buddha puja, practice, is always good, yeah, such this most critical time, like that, or even for any problem, but such as this most critical time, then that one of the best things you can do is Medicine Buddha puja to help that person. Because Medicine Buddha in the past did so many prayers for us sentient beings, and to pacify this problem, that problem, to have this happen, that happen, so many prayers in the past, and so anyone who recite my name mantra to have this effect, to be free from this problem and to have all this peace and happiness. So Medicine Buddha, so during bodhisattva’s time, did so many prayers like this, then after achieved enlightenment, there Buddha has so many qualities, but one of the qualities, ten powers, so one of the powers is power of prayers, so because having achieved the ten powers, one of the powers is the power of prayer, so once this power of prayer is achieved, then the name and mantra has all those powers, as during bodhisattva’s time intended, motivated like this to be able to benefit for all sentient beings, to free them from the sufferings immediately and to have all the happiness.

So, it is similar why Thirty-five Buddhas’ names, by reciting, so many eons, reciting just one time, then so many eons of negative karma get purified, it’s the same. They generated bodhicitta when they were bodhisattvas to benefit for sentient beings, particularly to purify the negative karma, they motivated in the past and so then when they become, their name to have those powers, to purify sentient beings’ negative karma, so many eons of negative karma. So, then, they achieved enlightenment and then they achieved power of prayer, so that’s how their name has so much power. By reciting one time that so many eons of negative karma get purified, like Guru Shakyamuni Buddha’s name, if you recite one time, it has power to purify 80,000 eons of negative karma. Then in some texts, even more numbers are mentioned, negative karma get purified. So this Lama Atisha explained, why reciting Thirty-five Buddhas’ names has so much power.

The dezhin shek-pa metog päl la chag tsal lo, this Tathagata, Glorified Flower, so if you recite this name once, it has power to purify 100,000 eons of negative karma. And if you recite this twenty-one times, the mantra of this, OM ?PUSHPA PUSHPA PUSHPA SOHA, so twenty-one times the name and the mantra and then you, recite this one a flower and then you offer flower to the stupa, then this helps for success, to have success.

So every time, of course, when I come to Holland, but also Peter he comes, I think also he, I don’t know when he was here, I don’t know, I’m not sure when was he here in recent years, Bodhgaya, I don’t remember. So, I don’t know, last time before I saw him, oh, France, oh, he was in the course, that’s right. I don’t know whether he was there for the whole course or some part of it, but he was there, that was my last time seeing him. Anyway, so now, that’s the last time to see him. Maybe he wanted to meet me, but I’m not sure. I was trying to remember, that time, recently in France. Maybe he wanted to meet me and discuss, I’m not sure. [Inaudible comment from Ven. Rog.] Yeah, met? I met him? Or he met me? Anyway, so I guess, Roger says I did meet him. Yeah, I don’t remember what topic the discussion was.

So anyway, so that student from Holland, so he left this world, gone already. So suddenly become coma yesterday, so died. So, like that, oneself could happen like this, could happen. So somehow fortunate didn’t happened. I mean it could happen to oneself a long time ago, could happen like him, to oneself, could happen like that a long time ago, and then already died a long time ago. Not sure where the consciousness is by now, if it happened a long time ago, last year or anyway if it happened, not sure where the consciousness would be now, where you would be, oneself would be now, can’t say. So by now, [pause] could be born as a snake, eating mouse, constantly eating like that, a mouse, due to negative karma constantly, there’s no other food, can’t eat vegetables, the leaves, so the karma is like this, have to eat, have to kill other sentient beings. Or born as a worm and completely, totally in filth, attacked by the ants, completely covered by ants and nothing you can do, how much pain. When one ant bite to our feet, somewhere on leg, how painful it is. And now this fragile worm completely covered by ants and eaten, bites all over the body, can’t do anything, there’s nothing can do, so could be like that by now. Or a bird that, born as a worm, then already bird beak, already you are inside that bird’s beak, already you are inside the mouth of the bird, in the beak, half hanging out, or a little bit hanging out, the rest inside. So already chopped with the sharp beak on the body, that nothing you can do except suffer, so, could be like that. [pause]

Well, this is also explanation of karma. I think might be Africa, I think I saw on the TV that there’s a wood, there’s a kind of old wood, this wood going like this, a trunk going like this, then growing up here. So where the branches comes there’s a hole, there’s a hole inside. So, this white worm stays inside, inside the wood, but it is some distance. It’s not on the surface, there’s some distance, so it’s really, the karma is unbelievable, incredible. The bird, the bird’s beak is not long, not like the humming bird, humming bird is long, that can go through the flower, there’s enough long according to this flower that kind of grows like this, so it fits exactly inside that. So, but here, the bird’s beak not enough long to go through, because the white worm stays quite a bit down. So what the bird does is this. On the same tree there’s sticks, there’s kind of like, longer than this, stick, growing from that tree, so then the bird, one tiny stick, like when you clean, the tooth-stick you clean, something like that, or longer than that, so it’s growing from that tree. So the bird breaks, like that, with the beak it breaks, to this size, exactly that ______, breaks, the bird with the beak breaks and then the bird uses that stick, some kind of, like that, so he uses to put through. So it takes a little bit of time, it doesn’t get the worm immediately, because that worm’s head is brown, this thick skin, so when he hits to that, he doesn’t get, so it takes a little bit of time, bird’s like this. So then, trying after two or three times, then he gets it, then probably worm moves around, then of course the stick goes through the body. Then the bird takes out. Then the worm is on the stick. So then bird takes the worm then he flies away. Then either a different bird or, one or two birds did that and that was shown on TV. So, it’s incredible karma. Also, I mean the stick, that length of stick exactly fit down there, and it also just grows there, just on the same tree. The bird breaks that, very, breaks that with the beak and then puts through, like this. So it’s amazing karma. Everything’s there. So anyway, so, by now we could be like that, today, this hour, could be like that.

Or born as tiger. Such terrifying, if the tiger doesn’t eat, if the tiger is vegetarian, if the tiger eats vegetarian then it’s very beautiful animal, if it’s vegetarian then it’s very nice animal. There’s nothing terrifying, there’s nothing terrifying, then it’s very beautiful animal. But because eats other, the manner, grabbing other animals, eating other animals, so terrifying, unbelievably terrifying. So when the tiger runs, those animals run, then the small animals, like calf, buffaloes, something like that, so race ?away, the weaker ones left out. And then the mother tiger or father tiger, I’m not sure, jumps on the, jumps back side, bites. Then after some time, the buffalo can’t manage, then lay down, can’t manage, so much pain. So once the animal lay down, then all the family, whole family comes, children of the tiger, whole family comes to eat. It’s not dead yet. So by now we could be like that also, can’t tell.

Could be, by now could be those lobsters, by now we could be lobsters and in the restaurant, in those what do you call? Glass or something? No. Aquarium, in those tanks, right now could be there, then somebody, then very ?tied, somebody comes with the gloves, someone chooses this, somebody’s choosing you, some business people come, some people come, Oh, I want this, and points you. Then with the gloves comes, then go in the boiling hot water, unbearable hot, boiling hot water. So makes screams, screams for I don’t know how many seconds, then that’s it. So, by now one could be also like that.

Besides the lower realm beings, even, I think I mentioned already, even we’re born a human being, even one is born human being, but ordinary human being. Never met Dharma, no idea of, totally, not even one Dharma wisdom, not one single understanding of Dharma. No opportunity to practice in the whole life, and no opportunity to practice Dharma at all in the whole life, even the person lives for seventy or even a hundred years, however, so if one is born like that, even born a human being but like that, no opportunity at all to learn Dharma, leave aside practicing, even just to learn, even just to get wisdom, no opportunity. So that ordinary human being’s life like that, can’t bear, it’s so unbearable. Even it’s a human being, but like that. So unbearable. Total misunderstanding what is the cause of happiness and what’s the cause of suffering, totally wrong knowledge. So even did some intellectual study, but it’s total wrong knowledge of what is cause of happiness, what is cause of suffering. So can’t bear that life, even being human, even one is born a human being, but like that. You can’t bear that life even for one day. Can’t stand to be even, to be like that a human being but no opportunity to practice Dharma at all, no knowledge of Dharma at all, even for one day. So this is very good to think, put yourself in those places and then feel how it is. Then it makes you to appreciate so much this present perfect human body, have met Dharma and taken the opportunity to practice, follow the teachings. So it’s like a dream. Incredible joyful, unbelievable happy thing. But also it means to not waste even a minute, even a second with this perfect human body by practicing Dharma, so it’s incredible waste, as I mentioned before. Not only lost billions, zillions of dollars, greater loss than, one minute, second, wasted this precious human body not having practiced Dharma, greater loss than having lost billions of zillions of dollars, then even much more than whole sky filled with wish-granting jewel.

So, if you are doing Medicine Buddha meditation, made this Medicine Buddha meditation in the daily life or if you are not doing but to help him, the most difficult time, most critical time that either possibility to be born in the realm of the happy transmigratory beings, then there’s incredible danger because of all the past negative karmas, then to be born in the lower realms. So when yourself dying or dead, the breath stopped, so now, reached in the intermediate stage, towards the lower realm, journey to the lower realm, the intermediate stage of the lower realm appeared, actualized, so even while you’re in the intermediate stage, the most terrifying karmic appearances, the violence ?upon fire, ?house with the fire burning, and like tornado or the wind like a cyclone, the result of delusion, the impure mind, so and it’s unbelievable strong violence, waves, or earth, like mountains coming over one’s, pressing or coming over, falling down on oneself, unbelievable terrifying vision, the appearance of negative karma, even in the intermediate stage.

However, while one is dying or dead, such a most critical time, need so much help, so if somebody from the human realm, if somebody’s praying for you, how that is so kind, somebody’s praying from human realm, somebody’s praying for you, so kind, how that incredible need, help, oneself. No question then if one is born already in lower realms, experiencing most unbearable, unimaginable suffering, then no question. So therefore, using oneself as an example, if oneself is in that situation, so must pray, pray for him. Anyway, this is generally, whenever a student in this organization passes away, when you hear, must dedicate your merits or must do your best prayers. Generally, not only somebody died in the organization, a student died, but when you hear, while you’re watching TV and the news that you see or by newspaper explain, how many people died, so recently, just now, one or two days ago, Iran, there’s so many thousands, how many? Twenty-five? Thirty thousand people died by earthquakes, in Iran. So the whole city built with mud, the traditional and completely they are destroyed by the earthquake. So like that, whenever we hear something like that from TV or, immediately one should pray, immediately, Due to all the three time merits collected by me, by others, may all of these people who died be born in pure land of buddha, where they can be enlightened, or may they receive a perfect human body, meet a perfectly qualified Mahayana guru, Mahayana teachings, and may they achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible. Even it’s not a student in the organization, but even like this, must pray immediately. Not just I’m going to pray after some time, not like that, but immediately, as soon as you hear, pray. Anyway, that’s our duty, duty or job or practice, responsible.

Also it’s very good to recite OM MANI PADME HUM, immediately to recite some OM MANI PADME HUM for them or whatever mantra you recite. So can do that, pray and then maybe chant some mantra. [pause]

So, also it is mentioned in the, I don’t remember which teaching, but one of the texts that gives advice in the life, this abandon laziness, your life get distracted in meaningless things. “One who’s craving in small pleasure cannot achieve the great pleasure, or great happiness.” Yeah, one who’s clinging, craving the small pleasure won’t achieve the great pleasure. So great pleasure is everlasting happiness, liberation from samsara, if one clings, crave samsaric pleasure, which doesn’t last, so if one crave to that then that becomes, that itself becomes obstacle to achieve the great pleasure, the everlasting happiness, that never changes, that never decreases. After you have removed even the seed of delusion, the seed, the imprint, that gives rise to delusion and which motivates karma, and then results all the suffering of samsara, so by removing even the seed of delusion, then there’s no cause to rise delusion, there’s no cause for suffering, to suffer again. So therefore, everlasting happiness. When that happens then impossible to suffer again, so, everlasting happiness. So, all the peerless happiness, the full enlightenment, the completed bliss.

So craving a small happiness, a small pleasure, cannot achieve the great pleasure, so great pleasure, the liberation from samsara, peerless happiness, full enlightenment. So that itself become obstacle for that. So because, if your wish is to achieve liberation from samsara, everlasting happiness, and everlasting happiness, the full enlightenment, then one has to let go. You can’t have both. It is said that two needles, two-pointed needles you can’t sew, so that’s one example used. So, you put one leg this road, you put one leg, or feet, leg or feet, I’m not sure, you put one this road, you put one leg this road, you can’t do it. You want to go this way, at the same time you want to go this way. You want to go that way, at the same time you want to go this way, so that can never happen, that can’t happen. So if your goal is to achieve liberation from samsara, full enlightenment, then the desire clinging in the small pleasure, that has to go, that has to let go. So, in order to achieve greater, in order to achieve this everlasting, great pleasure, the everlasting happiness, total liberation from the whole entire oceans of samsaric suffering and cause and especially everlasting happiness, the full enlightenment, so you have to give up the small pleasure, this life, no question about this life comfort, but even the whole entire samsaric pleasure, which is transitory, on suffering feeling one’s own mind just label pleasure, just only that, so, which doesn’t last. What it is is that and even that doesn’t last.

So this quotation is also, is advising, is a means to not be lazy. So when you crave for small pleasure, then you let go, you give up the great pleasure of liberation from samsara, full enlightenment. When you become lazy, that’s what is happening.

So just that much on that. I’m not going to spend the whole time on these verses. So, still a little bit more what I talked last night.