Given their premise, given the premise in neuroscience, brain science, that consciousness or awareness is states, the psychological states are states of brain and so therefore we have to find out whether at that point of clear light whether there is still a function of brain or not. Last question. Do sentient beings have free will? According to the Buddhist explanation, since individuals themselves are spoken of as masters of their own fate, and also all living creatures, living beings are believed to possess this

[01:21]

primordial Buddha within themselves, the Samantabhata, the potential or seed of enlightenment within themselves, so therefore our future fates are in our own hand. What greater free will do we need? Good, thank you. Now let us do a meditation for about two minutes on love and compassion. You do the meditation and I'll take a rest. The importance of compassion is such that, as Chantakirti mentions in his Madhyamaka

[02:56]

Avatara Supplement to the Middle Way, that compassion is like a seed. In the beginning, for one's practice, it is like a seed, and during the actual process of the path, it is like the moisture and the fertilizers that give rise to the growth of the sprouts, and during the resulting state of the Buddhahood, it's like a ripened fruit which could be enjoyed by all sentient beings. So compassion's importance extends not only at the beginning, but also during the path, and also at the resulting stage as well. Now, having cultivated such a compassion, and induced by such a compassion, then one

[03:56]

develops the bodhicitta, altruistic aspiration to attain enlightenment. As for the method of generating bodhicitta, there emerged in India two major techniques, the technique of seven-point cause and effect method of atisha, and equalizing and exchanging oneself with others, a method developed by Master Shantideva. In atisha's technique, atisha received the transmission of both these methods. So it is very effective and beneficial to engage in a method or technique which combines

[05:06]

both of these two different traditions. Training one's mind through equalizing and exchanging oneself with others is very powerful. It is, in fact, designed for bodhisattvas who have greater mental faculties. This approach is particularly very effective in India's age, when we train our mind according to that approach. Now, as a result of applying either of these two techniques or combined techniques of the

[06:09]

two traditions, once you have had a slight experience of bodhicitta, a realization of bodhicitta, then in order to reinforce the generation of this altruistic aspiration, if you do it through a ceremony of taking what is called the aspirational aspect of bodhicitta, then it will be very stable and powerful. So we will do that by...

[07:12]

by all of you here repeating after me the verse which I will recite. And while doing the repetition, you should think in your mind that for the benefit of all sentient beings, I will aspire to attain enlightenment, complete enlightenment. And with that kind of motivation, if you generate this attitude, it will be very stable and firm. And this will also remind you in the future when you engage in the task of working for others, it will always remind you of the pledge that you have made at this point. So those among you here who have keen interest and respect and who consider themselves as

[08:13]

Buddhist practitioners and particularly Mahayana practitioners, they could do this type of reflection, and those that do not consider themselves as Buddhist practitioners may not do the visualization or reflection. With that, visualize that in front of you above in the space, there are all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. And imagine yourself being surrounded by all living creatures, sentient beings, and reflect upon their suffering nature and thinking that, like myself, they also have the natural instinct to be happy and overcome sufferings. And then develop the courage that may I be able to take upon myself the responsibility

[09:25]

to help all of these sentient beings get rid of the sufferings and undesirable experiences. And then, induced by such a sense of responsibility, you take the pledge that I will put this ideal into proper practice and I will work in relieving these sentient beings from the sufferings. With these reflections, repeat after me. Dage tsing-so jig-pa sanam-ji. Drona pen-gyur sang-gye dro-pa-la-syok.

[10:27]

Sang-gye shraddha-togye shra-na-la. Kyang-shok par-tog dan-nyam gyab-so-kye. Dage tsing-so jig-pa sanam-ji. Drona pen-gyur sang-gye dro-pa-la-syok. Now, having generated this altruistic state of mind, now, from the depth of your heart, you should make a pledge that, from now on, I shall always be a good human being,

[11:31]

and I shall help other sentient beings whenever the occasion arises, and if not, at least I will restrain from harming others. To have that kind of pledge and commitment from the depth of your heart, and to be able to live within such an ideal as a result of having taken this, having generated this altruistic mind, is very important. Now, having generated this altruistic state of mind, now, being satisfied with that aspiration alone is not enough. Now, that type of altruistic ideals or principles should be put into action. And this action refers to the practices of the six perfections. Now, in short, the Buddhisatva's way of life or practices is a union of method and wisdom.

[12:38]

Now, what is meant by method? Here it refers to practices like reinforcing one's generation of altruistic mind of enlightenment, and motivated by that, engaging in skillful means of helping others, like generosity, maintaining pure morality, and so on. And wisdom here refers to reinforcing and developing one's understanding of emptiness. Now, in the perfection of vehicle, the union of method and wisdom is spoken only in terms of factor of method, method supported or complemented with the factor of wisdom, and understanding of emptiness, wisdom supported or complemented with the factor of method. So the unification of the two factors is not deep.

[13:53]

This type of unification of method and wisdom is not ultimate. And this type of unification of method and wisdom, as explained in the sutra system, is not ultimate and not refined. There is a more refined and more ultimate unification of the two in the tantric system. In the tantric path, the unification of method and wisdom is brought to such a depth and such a refined state, where both the factors of the method and wisdom are complete or present within one entity of a single consciousness. Although there are many unique features that distinguish tantra from sutra, but this is one of the primary distinguishing features. The unification of method and wisdom in an indivisible manner is one of the primary distinguishing features of tantra. The unification of method and wisdom in the tantra can be achieved in such a refined state or such an indivisible manner,

[16:17]

because in the tantric meditation, especially in the deity yoga, one's ordinary aggregates of body and mind are dissolved into emptiness. First, the individual reflects upon the empty nature of one's aggregates of body and mind, and then dissolves not only the super-imposed status or mode of being on that, but also the very appearance of one's ordinary aggregate of body and mind, dissolves the very appearance into emptiness. And from within that emptiness, the individual arises into a divine being. Taking that divine appearance, that divine being as an object of meditation, and then you reflect again upon its empty nature. So here, within one meditation or meditative state or state of mind, you have meditation on both the deity body and also apprehension of its empty nature. So you have both the deity yoga and the meditation on the deity and understanding of emptiness,

[17:20]

complete and present within one entity of the mind. Now, this unification of method and wisdom in such an indivisible manner, that is to say that both of the factors of method and wisdom being present within the entity of a single consciousness

[18:21]

is common to all the tantras, and also the three lower classes of tantra, kriya, charya, and yoga tantra. Although there are certain differences among them in the subtleties of the yogas and so forth, for instance in the case of the yoga tantra, one speaks of four types of mudras. Up to this point, the mode of approach in one's spiritual pursuit

[19:26]

has been explained from the point of view of the six jhanas. In Dzogchen terminology, in the Nyingma terminology, we speak of nine jhanas or nine vehicles. And the first three are called... The first three are the sravaka vehicle, pratyagabuddha vehicle, and buddhasattva vehicle. These are called the sutra vehicle. These are called the outer vehicle. And the next three are kriya, charya, and yoga tantra. These are called the... The tantra is divided into two, the outer tantras and inner tantras. And the first three classes of tantra, these being kriya, charya, and yoga tantras, are called the outer tantras.

[20:32]

Now, up to this point, the basic approach in one's meditation, particularly on emptiness, apart from the presence or absence of deity yoga, the basic meditation on emptiness is same and similar in all these six vehicles. Now, in the highest yoga tantra, although the object emptiness itself, there is no possibility of having differences in subtleties, but from the point of view of subjective experience of the emptiness, there is differences in the subtleties that are experienced. So, from the point of view of the objective emptiness itself,

[22:12]

often it is spoken that on the question of the view, the doctrine of emptiness, there is no difference between sutra and tantra. But from the point of view of the subjective experience of the emptiness, there is a difference in the view of emptiness between sutra and tantra. Now, the difference between the subjective experience of emptiness, according to the sutra practice and highest yoga tantra practice,

[23:14]

emerges from the fact that in the highest yoga tantra, much emphasis is placed on dissolving the conceptual states of mind, the gross levels of mind, so that the state of mind could be brought down to such a depth of level where the fundamental innate mind of clear light could become manifest and active and can perceive and focus on emptiness and perceive it. And once that is realized, then the subjective experience of emptiness becomes very powerful and much different from the kind of mind that is employed in understanding emptiness in the sutra system. Now, although the basic aim

[24:46]

of utilizing the innate mind of clear light in realizing emptiness is the same in both the approach of the New Translation School of Tantra and the Dzogchen system, but the difference lies in the methodology or rather the approach. In the systems evolved from the New Translation School of Tantra, the emphasis is more on utilizing the gross levels of mind, the conceptual state, thought processes and so forth, while utilizing their energy and these states of mind in understanding emptiness, at the same time trying to dissolve them so that eventually the understanding of emptiness could be brought down to such a depth where the fundamental innate mind could become manifest and realize emptiness. Whereas in Dzogchen, right from the beginning, one avoids having to utilize and employ these gross levels of mind,

[25:48]

the conceptual state, thought processes in understanding emptiness, but rather utilizing, making manifest the clear light right from the beginning. So it's in a way something like touching it with your bare hand, so to speak, experiencing the clear light in a very experiential way. And it is from this point of view, the last three yanas or vehicles are spoken of, these being the Kepa Mahayoga, that refers to the...

[26:51]

Mahayoga, that is the development stage, and Anuyoga, that is the completion stage, and the third yana, which is the great completion stage, Dzogpa Chenpo. But according to the systems evolved from the New Translation School of Tantra, at the division of highest yoga, tantra is made according to terms like father tantra, mother tantra, and non-dual tantra. And when the divisions of highest yoga tantra is made

[28:22]

within the classes of father tantra, mother tantra, and non-dual tantra, the division is made on the basis of highest yoga tantra, and how the tantras emphasize a certain subject matter. For instance, for empowerment, the vast empowerment is to authorize the practitioner to engage in the practice of generation stage, and the secret empowerment is to authorize the practitioner to meditate on the clear light. The secret empowerment authorizes the practitioner to engage in illusory practice, so therefore it is a means for purifying, transforming one's speech. So from that point of view, any tantra that emphasizes for its subject matter

[29:29]

the practice of illusory body is spoken of as father tantra, and any tantra that emphasizes the practice of cultivation of clear light, which relates to the third empowerment, which is the wisdom-knowledge empowerment, is called the mother tantra, and any tantra that emphasizes equally these two aspects of the completion stage, illusory body and clear light, and which is associated with the fourth empowerment, which is the word empowerment, these tantras are classified as non-dual tantras. Although all the tantras belonging to the highest yoga tantric clan do deal with all the four empowerments, but due to the differences on their emphasis on certain aspects of these empowerments, the classifications of father tantra, mother tantra, and non-dual tantra is made on that basis.

[30:34]

Now, to respond to one of the questions, the question asked about the difference between Mahamudra and... ... Now, to respond to the question on Mahamudra, which came earlier, when we talk of Mahamudra, one should understand that there are different levels of Mahamudra that one speaks of. Mahamudra that is common to both sutra and tantra, and Mahamudra, which specifically refers to the practice of clear light, associated with the third empowerment, that is the wisdom-knowledge empowerment, and another level of Mahamudra, which refers to the union of illusory body and clear light. Mahamudra that is common to both sutra and tantra,

[32:19]

and Mahamudra, which specifically refers to the practice of clear light, associated with the third empowerment, Now, the significance, as I spoke earlier, the significance of emphasizing the practice of clear light in highest yoga tantra, is to enable the practitioner to utilize or employ the fundamental innate mind of clear light into understanding emptiness, to realizing emptiness, so that it could provide you a very unique wisdom of realizing emptiness. And when we talk of meditating on certain things, generally speaking, there are different types of meditations. For instance, like meditation on emptiness, or meditation on selflessness,

[33:24]

where the connotation is emptiness and selflessness is taken as an object of that meditation, and then you reflect on it, and you apprehend it. Whereas there are different types of meditations, like meditation on love, and meditation on compassion, which is a totally different category. Here in the second category, when we talk of meditation on love, we are not speaking of taking love as an object, but rather we are aiming to transform our state of mind into that state, a state of love or compassion. So meditation on clear light is also like meditation on love. Here we not take clear light as an object, but rather we generate our mind into the state of clear light. We will leave it at that today. Tomorrow we will talk about Dzogchen. Clear light.

[34:50]

Can you relate examples of the experience of clear light? Experience of clear light. Thank you, thank you. We will do a dedication at the end. Thank you.

[35:59]

Thank you. Thank you very much. It says in some ways that this teaching of Dzogchen is said to be for this particular time, as according to the prophecies, as the time becomes more and more difficult. Like for example in ancient India, let alone the Dzogchen teachings, even the Tantric teachings were rather unknown. And in Tibet the Tantric teachings were known. The Dzogchen was rather secret. Now the Western Dzogchen is coming to be known, which means that it is wonderful the Dzogchen is being known, but it also means how difficult the time is. Do you understand what I am saying? And so, therefore, the people have the capacity to understand Dzogchen. And sometimes there is a danger of being presented rather simplistically.

[37:41]

To say if you just leave your mind naturally, you are Rigpa. Yes, we all have the Pramodhya Buddha nature, the Pramodhya Samantabhadra, the Buddha nature. But if you just leave your mind naturally, you see, since our Pramodhya Buddha nature is not very clear, when you leave your mind naturally, our pure Buddha nature is not very clear. So that's why we need purifications. Even though at the absolute level, on the Dzogchen level, there is, as you say, you are being realized just by simply resting in the state of Rigpa, but to find Rigpa is difficult. We can get occasional glimpses of it through our meditation, which also shows... I mean, some of us, when we have that kind of experience, we kind of congratulate ourselves. That's also good, because we have that nature. But we mustn't be too excited about it either, because it's just a pleasure. I remember when my master, Dujum Rinpoche,

[38:42]

when I first was recently teaching from him, I had this extraordinary experience when everything that he said was in the text happened. And I got really excited. I said, Dujum Rinpoche, it's all happening, it's all happening, it's all happening. He just said, calm down. It's neither good nor bad. And what was extraordinary about that is that he just brought me right down to the ground, right down to the reality. Because sometimes with experience we can kind of float away. And that experience is a good material for realization, but experience is not realization. So that's why you see, I think, in the kind of way that His Holiness is teaching about, talking about the different jhanas, all these things, in some ways it's very difficult to... in some ways that you see, really to realize Dzogchen. But even though Dzogchen is very simple,

[39:43]

it could be misleading. But yet at the same time when you hear, like sometimes there's a tendency among some, I know, that when you begin to hear very tough teachings, you'll be slightly discouraged. Do not be discouraged. Just continue, [...] slowly, slowly, slowly, you begin to understand. It's like a language. If you stay in the country long time, after a while, you begin to understand what they say. First it's just gibberish, but then slowly, slowly you begin to make sense. And then when you begin to make sense, there's a kind of a joy. And then also joy of staying on, and joy of discovery. As you begin to discover more and more, then this inspires you further to persevere on the path. Because one thing in the West, people have the karma to meet the Dharma. I think His Holiness Dalai Lama said this, I think, a few years ago in Los Angeles, but people don't have sometimes karma to continue on the Dharma. That's why I think I always remember the sayings

[40:47]

of this great master Gambopa. In the form of prayer he offered, in which he says, grant your blessings so that my mind may be one with the Dharma. Grant your blessings so that Dharma may progress along the path, or be successful in one's life. Or grant your blessings, especially that one is quite a difficult thing in the West. Dharma be successful in one's life. First at the beginning, it's a little bit easy, but when it really gets down to nitty-gritty, in everyday level, if you don't see signs of progress, then you see one begins to become, in Tibetan it says, shun, is one who becomes a bit bored. You see, you practice for, like for example, maybe, you've been practicing Dharma for years, but your friends have become managers of big companies, for example. Whereas, you've not even become a Lama. So, there is such thing. It's not so much what you become on this level, it's what you become inside.

[41:48]

Inside. Inside. Slowly, slowly. Actually, you don't change, but you learn to live with yourself more. That's what happens. That's what happens slowly more. Just live with yourself, and go with the life. I think there are some teachings saying, how can Dharma help us in our life, to cope with, is as you have more view. You see, view is like the eye. If you see more, you see more. You understand more. And what we need to develop is understanding. And love and compassion, which is only speaks of so much. But then also the compassion and love develops with understanding. That's Absolute Bodhicitta. If you have really the view, for example, the Absolute, that is the state of Sopocampo, then you see, from out of that state of the wisdom realization of emptiness, comes a tremendous compassion for all those who have not realized. That's why in Dzogchen it's said, the meditation is the union of wisdom and compassion. That's what the name Khyentse is, or Khyentse Vajra. Clear?

[42:51]

So that's why, you see, slowly, slowly. But then if you speak very practically, first of all, you see, what is difficulty with us is mind. Even though we have Rigpa, mind is the problem. That's what clouds us. So then what we need to do is, we need to slowly, because mind is rather unstable. It's like in the Pardo state. It's not stable. That's why we do practice of meditation, like simple practice, like watching the breath, is to bring mind more into focus. When you bring mind into more focus, bring more stability, then out of that stability comes clarity. If there is no stability, clarity is not so much used. You are clear sometimes. People who are very, very clear, intelligent, not stable, are not very useful for them. For others it's useful, but for themselves not so useful. So what is important, you see,

[43:56]

is to be, your clarity should be useful for you. Your clear light should be useful for you. So in that respect, it is, you see, the practice of like, basic practice like Samatha, this practice is very important in terms of grounding. That's the meditation training. Then the training of the mind, receiving the teachings. This is what is called, through the wisdom, listening and hearing, you develop the wisdom of contemplation and meditation. As Khyentse Rinpoche often puts it, more and more you listen, more and more you hear. More and more you hear, and deeper and deeper you reflect, then you see, deeper and deeper your meditation becomes. So in that respect, first you listen to the teachings, then you begin to hear. Same teachings you begin to hear differently as you begin to hear them. Then you contemplate and reflect. Then meditation becomes a different flavor, because you have a kind of an insight,

[44:57]

transcendental insight. That's from the mind. Then the meditation itself, as His Holiness Dalai Lama always says, training of the mind is to, as an antidote to the gross distractions of life, as the meditation is to work with the subtle distractions of the mind. So together, it is the discipline. So first to simplify, quietly like, you know, meditation. And once that's done, then you see, as my master Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche used to say, the problem is not the sky, or the sun is not shining, it's the cloud that's obscuring. The problem is not the rigpa, it's the marigpa, not seeing. So that's why in order to remove that, that's why we do meditation. And then through the practice of meditation, through the practice of shamatha, grounding, then comes the clear insight of Vipassana. And through that clear insight, then, as His Holiness was saying, in the Dzogchen, the investigation,

[45:59]

in the Madhyamak approach, of investigating, where does mind come from? Where does it go? Where does it stay? Well, first of all, to realize that actually, samsara, nirvana, everything is my mind. Because many people actually even don't realize that. It takes a while to realize that. Sometimes it requires quite a lot of experience to realize even that degree that the mind is the most important thing. Some of us are very much materialistic in a sense that we really believe in outside. We don't really regard, you know. I mean, even though we say that mind is important, but really speaking, we believe more outside. Do you know what I'm saying? And so you see, through this kind of investigation, which is not an intellectual investigation, but a meditative one, done in the Dzogchen, it is said, through three things. The body, the perfect posture, the speech remaining silent, and the mind transforming the motivation. And then you do the Guru Yoga, invoking all the masters of the Dzogchen religion,

[47:02]

their blessing enters into you, and then as you're inspired by the Guru Yoga, then you enter into the practice of meditation, this meditative investigation. Then through that kind of analysis, which is not an intellectual, but a meditative one, then one goes and sees one's master. That's why when you do it, there are two types of ways it's taught. Dzogchen can be taught publicly, or rather it's called Tsogye, publicly. Or it can be Tsogye, it can be taught student to student, experientially. When His Holiness mentioned Khenpo Makchun, this great Dzogchen, Khenpo Makchun, he was extraordinary in giving the experiential, the step-by-step process in which it instructed this many day for this, this many day for that. It's also important that these people should know, even though these texts are rather secret, they're not really taught, because they're not even written down on paper, they're kept in the year to year. Even this master, Khenpo Makchun himself,

[48:03]

he received it when he was 21 years of age, around 20, and he only wrote it down when he was 40. And even at the age of 40, he remembered every word his master said, because it really retained the purity, even the colloquial and the kind of the slang that his master used, he writes it down without correcting even the grammar. This is clear. So then you see, you go and master and master step-by-step. You ask him, like sometimes in Tibet, there are quite funny stories about saying, how is mind, and somebody's meditating, and the cat jumps, oh, mind is like a cat. Master says, go back again. Like that, you see, you investigate. But of course, in the West, it's much more sophisticated. And then you go back, and then once you've really found, discovered, the certain understanding of that the emptiness of mind, which has to have become a realization, as Khenpo Rinpoche says, when you realize that there's no longer mind at all, in its true sense, then that non-finding is finding indeed.

[49:03]

And that, in some ways, if you relate with a little bit of Zen, like it's similar to Quan approach, which kind of purifies. Then, once that's been thoroughly done, then the master introduces. Of course, along with other purifications. In some ways, that when you start talking of Dzogchen, it is somewhat understood that one has done the other practices, the other yanas. That's why, as Holiness presented today, he has come to the inner tantras, Maha, Anu, and Ati. Even in the Maha Yoga, Anu Yoga, and Ati Yoga, there, in some ways, like the Maha Yoga and Anu Yoga are relatives of Dzogchen. Cousins. But they are, strictly speaking, Dzogchen is Ati Yoga. And even, see, so that you see, when you reach to that level, the Dzogchen itself has its own preliminary. Like, for example, on the mind level, the preliminary on the examining nature mind. And here, of course,

[50:05]

very much the Madhyamik approach is used, because Dzogchen is not different. It is said, there is a very famous saying, the ground is Madhyamika, because the view, the ground is Madhyamika. But the path, or path, is Mahamudra. And the fruition is Dzogchen. Fruition. It's the same emptiness, but on the ground, the view, it is Madhyamika. But the method is Mahamudra, and the fruition, the actual realization, as Khyentse Rinpoche often puts it, is the actual wisdom mind of the Buddhas. When Buddha became enlightened, that his actual state of wisdom mind, the meditative state, I mean, we can never say the meditative state, because Buddha is not meditating, because he has reached to that level, beyond meditation. That state of the wisdom mind of the Buddhas is called Dzogchen. Like, as we get into realization under the Bodhi tree, when he said, When he said, When he said, I've realized this profound realization,

[51:08]

but to whosoever I might explain, no one is going to understand this. When he reached to that, he had realized this realization of Dzogchen, which in many ways is very personal, which cannot be communicated in some ways through words, because words are just metaphors. And what association we have, and how much we can hear through words. Even these words now, everybody hears differently. So that the student who really knows how to hear, then it's communicated. In Dzogchen there are stories of extraordinary ways it's communicated. Like when Patrul Rinpoche introduced to Nyochi Lungtok, which the story I mentioned in this book, he said, Do you see the stars in the sky? Do you hear the dog barking from the Dzogchen monastery? Do you hear what I'm saying to you? He said, This is the nature of Dzogchen. What he said was quite ordinary, but what was extraordinary is that in the very ordinary words what was communicated was quite extraordinary, because words are not important. What's communicated is really the nature of everything. Because even in ordinary words, like the dog,

[52:08]

do you hear the dog barking? Even that, do you hear the dog barking, has the dharmata. So when the master who has the realization, that's when Dzogchen says, authentic master, authentic student, and authentic lineage of introduction. Not anybody can introduce. An authentic master, authentic student, and authentic lineage of introduction. Even an authentic master may introduce to an authentic student, but if there's not a lineage of authentic introduction, he or she may not really get it, may be rather baffled by that, would not really come over. So that's why these three authenticities are very important. Authentic master, authentic student, and authentic introduction. When such an introduction or the meeting of mind or heart takes place, and at that moment something extraordinary happens, which of course we cannot say. Is this helpful?

[53:17]

Not a little clap, that's not the point. So therefore you see, the thing is, I think the important thing is, the important thing is, you see, more and more to abandon, more and more to let go, because the greater the view is, more we can let go, more easily, there comes a kind of a humor, kind of a humor, kind of an inner chuckle, as Khyentse Rinpoche says. One is constantly bemused by the seriousness of the situation. You see, it is a kind of an inner relaxation that begins to free you, because as His Holiness was saying today, sometimes it's very difficult, I mean, it's extremely difficult to translate. You must sympathize with translators, that a translator, His Holiness says, is an excellent translator. But to translate His Holiness is almost impossible. It's impossible. And His mind is extraordinary. So if you don't get it, it's fine, because many of us don't get it also.

[54:23]

So it's fine. But the main thing is, you see, what you do is, you just, you see, feel His presence. It's His, who He is, what He is. Not so much who He is, what He is. And really relate to His compassion, and His, His Dzogpachenpo nature. As you sit, if you communicate that way, then you see, you receive something. Particularly tomorrow, when you receive empowerment. Because teaching is one thing, I mean, He says that, because He's very open, and He says, well, those of you who are not really Buddhists, or who are, as Americans call, hard Buddhists. Just hard Buddhists, not real Buddhists, but hard Buddhists. You can just listen to it academically, but when you receive empowerment, it's rather difficult to receive academically. Like you cannot eat academically. You have to eat it, you see. So therefore, certain amount, of course, even, I think sometimes He says that

[55:25]

eases your mind, because maybe some of you are a little bit tense, and you know, sometimes people say, I don't want to be a Buddhist, but can I practice? He says, fine, you can practice. Then afterwards, you see, they don't say they want to be a Buddhist, but actually they're practicing, so it's fine. You don't have to have a particular name, Buddhist. That's not, actually Buddha was not particularly, Buddha didn't have a particular axe to grind. He didn't particularly come to teach Buddhism. As long as he was able to help and realize the Buddha nature, he was quite happy. That's why, in some ways, the openness of Buddhism, for other, all other religions, is because of this, from this perspective. Is this clear? So where are we? Here and there. And so, you see,

[56:26]

the main thing is to, as I was saying, when he's especially always giving empowerment, especially when he gives empowerment to Padmasambhava. I'm sure he's going to mention something about Padmasambhava, his importance, but then also I have tried to write a little introduction here, inspired by the teaching of Khensa Rinpoche, because I never try to teach on my own. I always use the inspiration of my masters. You see, Duryodhana Rinpoche, an extraordinary master. Duryodhana Khensa Rinpoche was a great living master. In some ways, he was the teacher of his own list. And, by Master Nyamahin Khensa, he was my inspiration, and he was the teacher of Duryodhana Khensa Rinpoche, whose name's cropped up today, time and again. In fact, the whole teaching was based on, in some ways, the approach of Nyamahin Khensa's teacher. Anyway, so inspired by that,

[57:28]

I tried to say something about what they have, from what I've heard from them teach on Dzogchen. And then also on Guru Rinpoche, what Gyoshin Khen Rinpoche has spoken of. He's going to come in a few moments and be with us also. So you see, the main thing is, main thing what's important is for you to just to, when you receive empowerment of Guru Rinpoche, just to feel that he is Guru Rinpoche, feel his really presence and communicate, connect your heart with him, and receive the blessing of his wisdom mind. Especially for very simple people. There was a very great master called, Dzogchen master called Andam Rupa. He had a method which he taught for very simple people. I think it was quite extraordinary in some sense. He taught a method in which to consider, especially when you have a perfect teacher, to consider that perfect teacher as the Buddha. That was the only thing. And in the case of Dalai Lama, he is the Buddha. Even though he says I'm a simple Buddhist monk. It's the real Buddhists

[58:29]

who say they are simple monks. So therefore really, to communicate, if you merge your mind one with him, merge your mind, then your mind becomes a little bit like his. Like if you put your hand into the water, it gets a little bit wet. If you put your finger into the fire, it gets a little bit burnt. If you put your mind into his oneness, you know, you become a little bit inspired by his compassion and his blessing. That's why in Tibetan we call his oneness, kundu. Kundu means his presence. And in his presence, to communicate, to receive the heart, even if you don't know the words so much, even if that's bad, don't let that put you off. You know what I mean? And if the air-conditioning is not so good, or, you know, if it's a little bit hot, or a bit noisy, don't worry so much about that. Because it's quite a unique occasion to be able to be here, to share this in some way is quite historic. It's something that I just can't believe. What his oneness

[59:30]

when he said, this is kind of like, maybe like a fleeting, like a dream. I think it's quite true. It is a dream. And we might wake up in the middle of it. So, you see, the main thing is to just quietly let go, abandon your thoughts. And also in one's life, remember the reason why I said this is because this morning when his oneness was talking about the Dzogchen meditation, he says, in the Dzogchen meditation there's nothing to hold on to. Nothing to protect, you see. Because nothing to protect. Normally when you meditate there's something to hold on to. And Dzogchen is just the view, nothing to protect, nothing to hold on to. As you have more and more that kind of, how would you say, that kind of carefree abandonment, and just quietly allow all your thoughts, emotions to settle in the natural state. Then there is the Tibetan saying, if you keep, if you don't stir the water it will become clear. If you keep the mind

[60:32]

unaltered or if you don't stir the water it will become clear. If you keep your mind in an unaltered state it will find its peaceful nature, its Buddha nature, its co-emergent wisdom. So that when you leave your mind naturally at ease more and more, then there is a more likelihood of your Buddha nature manifesting. And that's why sometimes when we practice we can experience a goodness, a compassion, a bodhicitta, a Buddha nature, a little bit maybe. Not the full compassion maybe a bit of a whiff, smell of rikpa, far away. But nevertheless a kind of a taste, a foretaste. And this should be like an inspiration which keeps you. This is the reason why we practice. When we experience that nature this is the inspiration. The inspiration is your practice. And as you begin to practice, practice helps you understand more, the understanding broadens your vision of your meditation. And then meditation helps

[61:33]

to be liberated in your life. And then you see even though you may be the same, but the way you deal with things is slightly different. Even though the arising is the same as before, the difference is in the essence and the method of liberation. So I think that's enough. And then I would like Khen Rinpoche to come and the Dzogchen Rinpoche to come and Khen Rinpoche perhaps will also say a few words because he is an extraordinary also Dzogchen master. And then we can practice a little bit after that. But we won't go too long because also the staff here would not like it to go too long. And I'm sure you too don't want to go too long. And then also we are fortunate because there is a very good translator who was the translator

[62:33]

for Kallal Rinpoche. He is an excellent translator and he will translate for Nushkin. So, we will have to wait

[63:57]

a little bit longer. Khen Rinpoche will now say a few words Khen Rinpoche will now say a few words for Nushkin.

[64:59]

So, first we will practice it for a little while by chanting the Manyagri Mantra without the mics. Chanting Manyagri Mantra Chanting Manyagri Mantra

[66:29]

Chanting Manyagri Mantra Khen Rinpoche says, I feel very fortunate that we have all had the opportunity today to gather together in the presence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama the Dalai Lama to receive this very profound teaching of Dogen Great Perfection. This is a particularly auspicious occasion because His Holiness is no ordinary teacher. He is universally regarded and accepted as an emanation of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva embodied in compassion of all Buddhas. And this makes us a very fortunate and very very holy occasion to be able to come together as a group and receive such profound teaching from such an authentic and realized teacher. At this point I would also like to express my appreciation to the Venerable Sogyal Rinpoche,

[68:22]

who himself it might be noted is recognized as the rebirth of one of the close students of Padmasambhava a teacher in the 7th 8th century whose name was Dujum Dorje and particularly I am impressed by the energy that Sogyal Rinpoche has displayed in his activities to bring the Dharma to the West to spread and establish the teachings of the Buddha here in the Western Hemisphere so that it may once again shine like the sun throughout the lands of the West and I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to him for all of the preparation that went into his gathering and for all the work he has done establishing connections with all of you that brought you to this event. Thank you very much.

[69:34]

When we refer to the Dharma, the Buddha Dharma, we are speaking of a tradition that goes back two and a half millennia to the occasion on which the Buddha Shakyamuni appeared in India and first promulgated the teachings that we now know as Buddhist tradition. It was this event of the appearance of the Buddha Shakyamuni in India which is often metaphorically compared in the teachings to the rising of the sun in the same way that the sun dispels darkness in the world the appearance of the Buddha dispelled the darkness that lies within the hearts of all beings. Once the sun had risen, once these teachings had appeared in the world, the development

[71:22]

of tradition generation after generation of people who followed these teachings, who realized the point of the teachings, who became models of behavior and conduct and practice of others. Thousands of people, thousands upon thousands of people, who attained the fruit of these practices on various levels of Yama's Buddhism, who attained the stage of the Karhaka through Vinaya practice, who attained the stage of the Great Bodhisattva through Mahayana practice, who attained the stage of the Siddha, who realized the state of the Bodhisattva, who Tantra path. Through the work of these practitioners and scholars, generation after generation, thousands upon thousands of people, practicing studying and realizing these teachings, the tradition of Buddhism came to spread throughout all of the Eastern Hemisphere, influencing virtually every culture to some extent

[72:22]

in Asia. . [...]

[73:25]

. [...] During his grave he set about putting this vision in motion briefly into actuality. He invited scholars and teachers, not only from India, where Buddhism began, but also from China

[74:57]

and other areas surrounding the Tibetan Plateau, where Buddhism had already spread. He made what attempts he could to bring those scholars and teachers from all parts of the Buddhist world to Tibet, to bring them together into the capital, where they could meet, to engage and translate all of that literature, all of that heritage, into the Tibetan language. And with the inception of the Buddhist tradition in Tibet, here began a millennium of peace and benefit to the Tibetan people, a thousand years in which the effort being made, the emphasis was upon harmony, was upon building peace, was upon building cooperation, was upon bringing benefit to all beings in that part of the world. And it was during this millennium of peace in Tibet that great teachers such as Narada attained complete enlightenment through

[75:58]

their diligent practice of teaching Buddhism. It was during this millennium of peace that great scholars and meditators such as Longchenpa attained the final result of the rainbow body, the total transformation of the physical body into light at the moment of death through the practice of these teachings. So over this period of roughly one thousand years, many people appeared who, through their practice, many thousands of people, through their practice attained these states of realization, these great dramatic states of transformation. We might mention also the great Tsongkhapa founder of the Buddha tradition, the Sakya Pandita, the Sakya Pandita. All of these luminaries, all of these great teachers of these various traditions, appeared during this thousand year period of peace and prosperity that took place in Tibet, largely during this millennium of peace and prosperity.

[77:02]

Thank you very much. So we have the situation in Tibet, the roof of the world surrounded as it is by an almost inevitable barrier of stillness, an environment in which for a thousand years this spiritual tradition has been practiced and studied and taught and meditated upon and realized by thousands and thousands and thousands of people, where the role of government, the role of the rulers

[78:32]

has by and large been one of supporting and encouraging the development of the spiritual tradition. There are even cases in Tibetan history of kings and rulers in certain areas giving their lives, giving up their very lives to invite teachers and spread these precious teachings. And this entire corpus of Buddhist teachings that has developed in Tibet remains intact to the present day. The foundation has not been undermined, the very pinnacle has not been destroyed. The entire corpus of teachings is intact. And this, Khenpo gives to the world. We think of our tradition of Buddhism as a gift that we have to offer the world. And all that we would ask, we as teachers of the Tibetan tradition, is that

[79:40]

you accept our offering, enjoy it, make use of it, benefit from it. So a person might ask, well, what is this? What is this Dharma of which you speak? There's nothing more or less than our own minds. There is no Dharma beyond one's own mind. There is no Dharma beyond one's own mind.

[81:04]

There is no Dharma beyond one's own mind. This mind that we all experience, when we say one mind, or when we think I have a mind, I have a mind.

[81:51]

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