เพินกับซกเชน การเข้าถึงจิตตรัสรู้จากมุมมองของทิเบต T & Eng

ลำดับตอนที่ #9 : part 2

This is a clear example of generosity. Used in the right purpose, the right result will happen. Somebody is hungry on the street, if we only think how poor that person is, how miserable he is, that is not going to help him at all. But if we give him only one or two baht, depending what we have, then we make real changes happen.

Whatever is the state of your mind without any attachment and actually help him that is really beneficial. As for ignorance, we have to develop understanding of the situation. Try to see things as what they really are. Think about this in daily life. This is the practice of integration of the antidotes in our daily life. So this is a short way on how to apply the antidotes.

Now we jump to Dzogchen. How many of you are aware of Dzogchen? How many have heard about Dzogchen? Maybe nine or ten or twelve. In the Dzogchen it’s the ninth stage, the highest and most secret teaching. That is also connected with how to overcome ourselves from the poisons. Free ourselves from the sufferings and so forth. It is highest, easiest and simplest but also most complicated because it is so simple.

So in Dzogchen when you have anger, for example, you don’t try to eliminate it through the antidote, nor to transform it in the tantric way, but you leave it as it is. It seems very easy to leave anger as it is, but it’s not as easy as we think or as we say. Often we say don’t bother me leave me alone. We say leave anger alone by itself. But you don’t know how to do that. If you are in that capacity in leaving anger by itself then anger will not bother you. Anger will be liberated by itself. Before going with ‘leaving me alone’ I think I should talk a bit about Dzogchen. In Dzogchen there are three categories.

Three levels or categories of Dzogchen emphasize three different aspects. The first one is Mind Dzogchen. Here is the emphasis is on the awareness aspect of Rigpa, or the primordial mind. The second one is Emptiness Dzogchen, which emphasizes the emptiness or the spaciousness part of the mind. The third part is the integration of the two, explaining or describing the inseparable integration of the awareness and the spacious parts of your mind.

These three emphasize different points, but in reality there are aspects of your own mind. According to Dzogchen, everything is pure from the beginning. Primordially it’s totally pure. That pure beginning is the true nature state of our own. According to Dzogchen, there is the base, path and result of practice of the path. Sutra also has the same base, path and result as well as tantra. According to Dzogchen, the pure from the beginning condition is the pure potential Buddhahood that is within each and everyone of us.

Each of us has the purity and the potential for full Buddhahood from the beginning. Potentially Buddhahood is within us. What is wrong with us, the reason why we are what we are at this moment, is that we have not yet manifested and discovered it. We have not recovered or found out our inner Buddhahood, even though it’s within us. That pure from the beginning is the base. We then need that introduction from a qualified master who realize the nature of the true mind which is pure from the beginning, enlightened from the beginning. We still are not yet Buddhas because we have not discovered ourselves as pure from the beginning. It is like cloudless sky, which is an example of something that is purely existing without clouds from the beginning.It is clearly open, you can see everything.

In the daytime it’s the open sky. All of a sudden all the clouds arise. They hang around in the space of the sky; they also dissipate themselves.These clouds are in fact our thoughts, our dualistic thoughts, ignorant thoughts. Defilements spontaneously arise. This is like clouds which spontaneously arise. They come by themselves and go by themselves, within the sky itself. so that means, the capacity of our true nature of mind is pure from the beginning, but all the thoughts that arise within us are deluding us. The sky, however, is not affected by black clouds or yellow clouds.

The sky is pure from the beginning. It is only temporarily distracted by the clouds. If you leave the clouds alone, they go away like the clouds that go by themselves. But if you know how to leave it alone it’s very easy, but you don’t know how leaving it alone sounds like a big effort. I don’t know if I am making sense to you or not.

I tried to make some sense but if not I am helpless. You have to make effort into understanding what I mean. What I am trying to say is that “leaving it alone” means you don’t chase after thoughts. Chasing thoughts will lead us a long journey. Don’t follow the thoughts that arise. They have no limits and schedules. They just arise spontaneously. If you follow each and every thought there will be no end to it. You will be driven crazy.

An example is driving a car on a freeway. Beside you there will be buses, trucks of various colors and so on. No matter what you don’t follow what’s inside each car to find out what kind of car that is, how fast it is going, and so on. If you follow your thoughts this way sooner or later you will have an accident. Normally you don’t do that.

No matter how many thoughts are arising, no matter how many cars are there on the freeway, it does not bother you or them. Everyone is one their highway, focusing on one point of the path. It is like what I am saying here. If we know the way we are without modifying it, then we are there with the essence of leaving it alone. Without any modification, any change, just leave it exactly as it is.

This is actually what Dzogchen means. When we leave our thoughts alone, our true mind emerges out of the clouds. This is who we really are. We should know mind, the nature of the mind, the energy of the mind, then we link all those what we have talked about, such as the Five Aggregates and so on, in order to see how it all comes.

Each of the schools and paths that are available are there in order to help each and every individual who is fit at particular level of the path. No path is better or worse than any other. Everyone is good at its own level and best at its own level because each has wisdom to give us and to lead us and benefit us It is like this building.

You may see I like the roof or the ceiling of this building, but if the roof and the ceiling are not supported by the foundation, everything falls down. So each level of the teaching has its own purposes. The true sources of happiness is not up on the roof but here at the foundation, basic inner quality, and Dzogchen emphasizes that. Dzogchen tries to be direct and

simple without explaining too much.

The differences between the paths and the levels may be due to how many explanations one is giving. One may be very talkative, whereas another is less so. Sutra tells you a lot because it uses a lot of words to explain things to you so that you understand. Dzogchen, on the other hand, is built up on the understanding of Sutra and does not need that many words. It is like you are upgraded from Grade 6 to 7, 8, or 9 or 10.

The upgrade is a result of your own realization and understanding; this is your internal upgrading. When you are fit on the Dzogchen level you don’t need that many explanations. You simply know how to be within yourself. So making effort, the process of putting effort to realize the true nature of mind based on Dzogchen, that is the path to Enlightenment. We call it Buddhahood of Base and Buddhahood of Path. The process of realizing the true nature of the mind is known as the Buddhahood of Path.

Then when you are transformed from the process of practicing to discover the true nature of mind, when you are experience the naked face of reality, this is the result of Enlightenment. Some of them are able to achieve the rainbow body. We have to learn to understand Dzogchen. That is very important traditionally that you have buit on the foundation of the teaching, knowing about the laws of karma, the laws of dependent arisings and other things, also about the preliminary practice, how to integrate the practice into your daily life. Then you are able to get the result of the practice. Anybody can achieve the result if they keep on practicing.

This is not limited only to us Tibetans. It may be true that, due to climatic conditions, Tibetans are a hardy people. But each and everyone of us has Buddha nature within us, I have it and you have it. I may have a bit more understanding that you do, but having the potential of Buddhahood is the same in everybody. If we do not have the same potential then there is no point practicing the Dharma at all.

This is like churning butter from milk. Since butter is already there in the milk, churning it will eventually yield butter. But if you churn water, you keep on doing it and you won’t get butter. The potential of the butter is in the milk but not in the water. You need to put in the effort. Bodybuilders can show their muscles because they have the potentials.

Actually we do have the same potential but bodybuilders practice it to realize theirs. It is the matter of how much effort we put in so that the innate potential will be realized. So, time is over. I think somebody has questions? Now we are having the question period.

Question: I have one question about what you are saying. We should not chase after thoughts. Otherwise we’ll be lost. but I think we also have to be aware of the thoughts that come into our mind. Otherwise we can’t leave them alone.If we can’t be aware of the thoughts then how do we know that they are there to be left alone. So my question is how can we be aware of the thoughts so that we know what to leave alone?

Rinpoche: In order to notice the arisings of thoughts, we need to categorize them into two sections. At the general, nonmeditative level, thoughts cannot be looked into and grasped, so what we need is mindfulness. When you are engaged in action, physical, verbal, mental, you need to be mindful. Mindfulness is what alerts you if your physical, verbal or mental action is heading toward the right direction or not. If you are just watching that does not help at the wisdom level.

What is the difference between merely noticing thoughts arise and not noticing thoughts arise. The point is not whether you are noticing or not noticing the thoughts; the point is whether you are chasing after them or not. Mindfulness in day to day basis is very important. If you are mindful of what you are doing, that means you are disciplining your bodily, speech and mental action. This means you are making sure you are not making any harsh language or things like that. You don’t gossip anything to anyone. This can be done through mindfulness.

At the meditation level, it’s not important where thoughts come. The importance is yourself, to realize and discover yourself, your true self. Thoughts arise because they are spontaneous. Does that make sense to you?”

Question: Thank you for your bright exposition of the Dharma. My question is when one realizes the Great Perfection, but the minds that exist in this world still need healing. So why does the mind of Great Perfection still need healing?

Rinpoche: Self realization does not need healing. Self realization heals you. When you have that realization it heals so many things, In the Tibetan way, we say ‘Dzog’ and ‘Chen,’ what this means is Great Perfection. Completion of Greatness is complete within you. Something that is discovered that you already have from the beginning.

There was a lady living in a cave of gold, but she felt that she was very poor. One day a yogi came and told her that she was very rich. The old lady said that she was so poor and was upset by the remark. The yogi said where she lived was whole gold and showed her why. When she realizes that, she knows that she is the richest person in the area. It is very much like that. The quality of richness is there always. The problem is only that the old lady did not recognize that to be gold. We are full with the potential within each of us.

When everything is completed there is nothing to perfect because everything is already perfect. Therefore it is important to realize the Great Perfection, to realize what is already there within us which does not need any healing since it is complete already.”

Question: What is the difference between Dzogchen and

Zen?

Rinpoche: I don’t know much about Zen Buddhism, but from what I know superficially there are a number of similarities. For example, in Zen Buddhism they are practicing watching the wall and not trying to follow thoughts these are some of the similarities I think. In this talk we discussed the inner Buddhahood, the Enlightened Mind that is already in you.  

Most importantly we have been talking of making ourselves enlightened by ourselves. These are important. So I would like to leave it with some recommendations for practice. First of all try to be a good human being. Be honest, compassionate and generous. Do not harm anybody or anything.

If you can’t help them, at least don’t harm them. Secondly don’t steal anybody’s properties. If you can’t give things to others, at least don’t steal things from them. Try to make your lives spiritually meaningful, more connected with the spiritual. Every morning dedicate positive things, and during the whole day make a wish that you will always be of benefits to sentient beings. You will be helpful to any being in different ways.

After the end of each day before going to bed, appreciate the day that you have not harmed anyone and have not disturbed anyone. Appreciate that you day was a positive one. And sleep with a dedication to the welfare of the whole sentience beings. That is how your day should be concluded. This is already a practice. Whole day is within the context of practice. You are within the practice of the Buddha. So we are making a dedication, especially to those who are suffering in Philippines, Iraq and other places.