Transcript
[0:00] Song [singing] way
[0:09] [singing]
[0:11] song
[0:14] [singing]
[0:20] [singing]
[0:24] make [singing]
[0:26] a way
[0:29] Chance [singing]
[0:34] [clears throat] dream [singing]
[0:39] one [singing]
[0:45] [singing]
[0:51] [singing]
[0:53] way
[0:56] >> [singing]
[0:57] >> and
[1:01] to [singing]
[1:07] Oh, [singing]
[1:13] [singing]
[1:14] so
[1:17] make [singing] me
[1:20] say way
[1:23] Chy [singing]
[1:28] dream [singing]
[1:34] [singing]
[1:40] [singing]
[1:45] [singing]
[1:50] >> [singing]
[1:55] [singing]
[1:57] >> Song
[2:01] [singing]
[2:06] [singing]
[2:10] dead.
[2:24] I want you other way.
[2:39] [snorts]
[2:45] >> [clears throat]
[2:56] >> August.
[2:59] Get this one.
[3:10] >> Yeah.
[3:29] I guess she
[3:32] can change
[3:38] ago
[3:43] since
[3:46] the interim.
[3:50] He's taught us over Zoom. So, it's
[3:54] really wonderful actually
[3:57] here in person with Gal
[4:01] [snorts] and Katrina books who's a super
[4:04] trans
[4:06] and uh and just to let you know how we
[4:10] met Gisha. Um
[4:13] many years ago I went to see
[4:18] and I asked him who we should invite to
[4:22] come to the abbey to teach and he
[4:25] immediately said
[4:30] and so I followed up on that and
[4:33] >> [snorts]
[4:33] >> uh cause and effect cause and effect
[4:36] here we are today um very very happy to
[4:40] welcome
[4:48] Oh, can
[5:09] children linger?
[5:22] sugar.
[5:33] Yeah.
[5:48] Oh yeah. Yeah.
[5:51] >> Oh yeah.
[5:54] >> To the teacher endowed transcendent
[5:56] destroyer one that's gone for destroyer
[5:59] completely and fully awakened one
[6:01] perfect in knowledge and good conduct.
[6:03] One gaunt to bliss nor of the world
[6:05] supreme god of beings to be tamed.
[6:07] Teachers of gods and humans to you the
[6:10] bendal transcended destroyer glorious
[6:12] conqueror shakimuni I prostrate make
[6:14] offerings and go for refuge when oh
[6:17] supreme among humans you were born on
[6:19] this earth you pay seven strides and
[6:21] said I am supreme in this world to you
[6:23] who are wise then I bow with pure bodies
[6:26] form supremely fine wisdom motion like a
[6:29] golden mountain fame that blazes in the
[6:32] three worlds winner of the best supreme
[6:34] guide to you I bow [snorts] with a
[6:36] supreme Dream science face like a
[6:38] spotless moon color like gold to you I
[6:40] bow. You are immaculate. The three
[6:43] worlds are not incomparable. Wise one to
[6:46] you I bow. Great compassionate protector
[6:49] knowing teacher field of merit and good
[6:52] qualities vast as an ocean to the
[6:54] tatagata I bow. Through purity freeing
[6:57] from attachment through virtue freeing
[7:00] from the lower realms. unique supreme
[7:03] ultimate reality to the dharma that is
[7:05] peace I bow having freed themselves
[7:08] showing the path to freedom to well
[7:10] established in the trainings the holy
[7:13] field endowed with good qualities to the
[7:16] sa I bow do not commit any non virtuous
[7:20] actions perform only perfect virtuous
[7:22] actions subdue your mind completely this
[7:25] is the teaching of the Buddha a star a
[7:28] mirage a flame of a lamp an illusion a
[7:31] drop do a bubble, a dream, a flash of
[7:34] lightning, a cloud, see condition things
[7:36] as such. Through this merit [singing]
[7:38] may sensient beings attain the state of
[7:41] all seeing subdue the faults and be
[7:44] delivered from the ocean of cyclic
[7:46] existence perturbed by the waves of
[7:48] aging sickness and [singing] death.
[7:52] Om vajra ground mighty golden ground
[7:56] vajra
[7:58] the iron fence around the edge in the
[8:01] center
[8:03] the king of mountains in the east
[8:06] continenta
[8:08] in the south jamba
[8:10] in the west
[8:13] in the north kuru in the east are the
[8:16] subcontinents dea and vida in the south
[8:20] kamaran opera
[8:23] In the west
[8:25] mantrina in the north
[8:30] here are the precious mountain wish
[8:32] granting tree wish fulfilling cloud and
[8:35] proud harvest. Here are the precious
[8:38] wheel, precious jewel, precious queen,
[8:40] precious minister, precious elephant,
[8:42] precious horse, precious general, great
[8:45] treasure vase. Here are the goddess of
[8:47] beauty, goddess of garlands, goddess of
[8:49] gong, goddess of dance, goddess of
[8:51] flowers, goddess of incense, goddess of
[8:53] light, goddess of perfume. Here are the
[8:56] sun, moon, precious parasol and victory
[8:58] banner. In the center are the marvelous
[9:01] riches of gods and humans with nothing
[9:04] missing, pure and delightful. I offer
[9:06] these as a Buddha field to my glorious,
[9:09] holy and kind root guru, the lineage
[9:11] gurus, and especially to the venerable
[9:17] Please accept for
[9:20] my teachings. Please accept these with
[9:23] compassion for the sake of migrating
[9:26] beings. Having accepted them, please
[9:28] bestow on me and on the other sensient
[9:31] beings abiding as far as the limits of
[9:33] space your inspiration with loving
[9:35] compassion.
[9:38] This ground anointed [singing]
[9:43] with perfume.
[9:46] Flower [singing]
[9:48] stone mount maru
[9:53] for [singing] land sun and moon.ed
[10:00] Imagineed
[10:02] [singing]
[10:03] as a Buddha land and offer to you
[10:10] may [singing]
[10:13] be
[10:16] enjoy
[10:18] [singing]
[10:19] this pure land.
[10:23] Generable
[10:26] [singing]
[10:29] in the space of your truth [singing]
[10:34] body
[10:36] from billowing
[10:38] clouds of [singing] your wisdom and
[10:42] love. Let fall the rain [singing] of the
[10:45] profound and extensive
[10:49] dharma
[10:51] in whatever form is suitable for
[10:55] subduings.
[11:00] [singing]
[11:07] >> [singing]
[11:08] >> I take refuge until I have awakened in
[11:12] the Buddhas, a dharma and the sa by the
[11:16] merit I create by listening [singing]
[11:19] to the dharma. I will attain Buddhahood
[11:24] in [singing] order to benefit all
[11:27] sensient beings. I take [singing] refuge
[11:30] until I have awakened in the Buddhas,
[11:34] the dharma and the sa by the merit I
[11:39] create by listening [singing] to the
[11:41] dharma. I will attain Buddahhood
[11:45] [singing]
[11:46] in order to benefit all sentient beings.
[11:50] I take refuge until I have awakened
[11:53] [singing]
[11:54] in the Buddhas, the dharma and the sa by
[11:59] the [singing] merit I create by
[12:02] listening to the dharma. I will
[12:05] [singing] attain Buddhahood in order to
[12:09] benefit all sentient beings.
[12:14] >> Oh yeah.
[12:19] Oh yeah.
[12:47] Foreign speech. Foreign speech. Foreign
[12:47] speech.
[13:12] So um first gen would like to say that
[13:16] um he arrived here twice before right
[13:19] but for a period of time um was unable
[13:22] to come and at that time when he earlier
[13:24] visited um you didn't have this new
[13:26] Buddha Hall uh yet at that time. Um and
[13:30] we have been uh fortunate to be able to
[13:33] do teachings online. So keep that kind
[13:35] of continuity going. Um but it is very
[13:39] uh nice to come here again um and see
[13:42] this excellent uh Buddha hall um with an
[13:46] excellent abbis um surrounded by um this
[13:49] excellent assembly of um uh nuns and uh
[13:54] monks and we have uh lay practitioners
[13:57] as well. So um I really rejoice in this
[14:00] fortunate opportunity um to be here in
[14:02] really these excellent circumstances and
[14:05] conditions. I'm uh see this as a very
[14:07] fortunate opportunity and I'm very
[14:09] happy.
[14:10] >> Oh yeah.
[14:21] [snorts]
[15:15] Oh yeah.
[15:16] [sighs]
[15:17] So, um here uh I very much uh rejoice um
[15:21] in this new Buddha hall um that has come
[15:24] into being um through uh your great
[15:27] efforts um the as the abbot as well as
[15:29] all of the efforts um of you as the
[15:32] community for this to come into being.
[15:34] And so um as well as all of the donors
[15:37] and sponsors who support this and so I
[15:39] rejoice um in all of this. um this is
[15:42] something that um you know gives the
[15:45] opportunity for beings in the future to
[15:48] encounter these teachings of countless
[15:51] inconceivable holy beings, right? And so
[15:54] um having a place like this like this uh
[15:57] Buddha hall is something that will
[15:59] provide the kind of opportunity for
[16:02] benefit to beings through encountering
[16:04] those teachings in a genuine kind of
[16:06] setting. Um, and even though these days
[16:09] it seems like people are more caught up
[16:11] with wealth and fame and those kinds of
[16:14] things, maybe having an opportunity to
[16:16] hear a little bit of the dharma, to hear
[16:19] a little bit of something that leaves
[16:21] those kinds of imprints. This is
[16:23] something that can really bring mental
[16:25] peace and happiness for beings and is of
[16:27] great benefit. So in that I rejoice that
[16:30] you are providing this kind of space and
[16:32] opportunity for that benefit to beings
[16:35] in the future. Oh yeah.
[16:40] >> So with that we'll begin.
[16:43] >> Oh yeah.
[17:15] So to begin with, as um Jayla Matsungaba
[17:18] has stated, this life of leisure is even
[17:21] more precious than a wish-granting
[17:23] jewel. That I have found such an
[17:25] existence is only this once, so hard to
[17:28] find. Yet like a flash of lightning, it
[17:31] is easy to vanish. Contemplating this
[17:33] situation, it's vital to realize that
[17:36] all mundane pursuits are like the empty
[17:38] grain husks floating in the winds and
[17:41] that we must extract the essence of
[17:43] human existence. I, a yogi, have
[17:46] practiced in this manner. You who aspire
[17:48] for liberation too should do likewise.
[17:52] >> Oh yeah.
[19:50] So this this life that we have um right
[19:52] now again as this says this life of
[19:55] leisure this life of leisure really that
[19:58] we have and the freedom of having been
[20:00] born as a human I mean we wouldn't have
[20:02] this kind of freedom if we were say born
[20:05] as an animal with the not able to listen
[20:08] to the dharma or say if we were born in
[20:11] a really remote area where the dharma
[20:13] hadn't spread we wouldn't have the kind
[20:15] of opportunities that we do right now we
[20:18] have all of the kinds of conducive
[20:20] conditions to be able to practice the
[20:22] dharma all of those freedoms from states
[20:24] in which we couldn't practice and then
[20:27] we also have the kind of endowments I
[20:29] mean we have the ability to hear the
[20:32] dharma we have the ability to
[20:34] contemplate the dharma the kind of
[20:35] intelligence to investigate that and we
[20:38] have not only those kinds of endowments
[20:41] or conditions from our own side but the
[20:43] sort of external conditions that allow
[20:45] us to practice. I mean we have um the
[20:48] Buddha came into this world and not only
[20:51] did the Buddha come and teach but the
[20:53] Buddha's teachings remain. I mean having
[20:55] like a Buddha hall like this with the
[20:57] opportunities to continue to be able to
[21:00] practice the dharma especially in the
[21:02] setting with other friends others who
[21:04] are practicing. This is something that
[21:06] is those kinds of external conditions we
[21:09] need to be able to practice the dharma.
[21:12] And so this kind of life with all of
[21:14] those freedoms with all of those
[21:16] opportunities or endowments is not
[21:18] something that we always have. This is
[21:20] something that comes about like just
[21:22] once is extremely difficult to find and
[21:25] that is because it's extremely difficult
[21:27] for us to accomplish the causes that
[21:29] lead to such a birth. So we have a
[21:32] achieved those kinds of causes in the
[21:35] past in order to have this life that we
[21:37] do right now. But we can't assume that
[21:39] we will have it in the future. It's very
[21:41] difficult to gain such a rebirth.
[21:45] Oh yeah.
[22:45] So as this verse says this life of
[22:48] leisure that we have right now is more
[22:50] precious than a wishfulfilling jewel.
[22:53] So, um, in the past it said that there
[22:55] were special kinds of jewels, right?
[22:57] That if you like, um, cleaned cleaned
[23:00] them, um, maybe through a process of
[23:02] sort of like this triple cleaning and
[23:03] put them up in a special kind of a
[23:06] space, they would, if you made requests
[23:08] of them, be able to bestow whatever
[23:10] kinds of desires, worldly desires,
[23:12] things that you might need upon you. But
[23:15] when we think about the kind of life
[23:17] that we have, um, we the sort of life
[23:21] rebirth with all of these freedoms and
[23:23] opportunities is something that's more
[23:25] valuable than even having hundreds of
[23:27] thousands of those wishfulfilling
[23:29] jewels. And yet this is something that,
[23:32] as it says, is found just this once.
[23:34] It's so easy. It isn't so easy to get
[23:37] such a life again, but rather something
[23:39] quite difficult.
[24:03] for
[24:32] doing
[24:52] Yeah.
[24:53] >> So this kind of life is said to be even
[24:56] more precious than say hundreds of
[24:58] thousands of wishfulfilling jewels
[25:00] because wishfulfilling jewels can only
[25:03] give us the kinds of things of this life
[25:05] like food and clothing and bedding and
[25:08] shelter. But they can't even bestow upon
[25:11] us the kind of lowest aim that we could
[25:14] achieve with this human rebirth which is
[25:17] gaining another good rebirth in the
[25:19] future. Gaining a human life in our next
[25:22] birth. So no matter how many hundreds of
[25:24] thousands of wishfulfilling jewels we
[25:26] have it can't even give us that let
[25:29] alone the kinds of middling scope or
[25:32] great scope aims that we can accomplish
[25:34] on the basis of this kind of life. I
[25:37] mean it isn't able to stop bad
[25:40] migrations or ensure that we have a
[25:42] happier migration. So this rebirth that
[25:45] we have even with only pursuing a good
[25:48] rebirth in the future is something that
[25:50] is far superior to that kind of
[25:52] wishfulfilling jewel or even hundreds of
[25:54] thousands of them.
[26:36] So this sort of precious human life if
[26:39] we were to use it only for the affairs
[26:42] of this life to get the kind of material
[26:44] needs met our food our clothing our
[26:47] shelter and so forth I mean that's such
[26:49] a waste right if we do all kinds of
[26:52] negative actions in order to ensure that
[26:54] we just have those kinds of things of
[26:56] this life. I mean there's really u
[26:59] nothing more wasteful we could do um if
[27:01] we only think of our life or think about
[27:04] the very life we have in front of us and
[27:06] are willing to do those kinds of
[27:08] negative actions just for those things
[27:10] of this life.
[28:15] Yeah.
[28:18] So, we don't normally think about how
[28:20] precious this kind of life is. We don't
[28:22] recognize its value. Like say if we were
[28:26] to um uh lose some money. um like if we
[28:30] were to um uh really uh use our life in
[28:33] a way that isn't um meaningful just as
[28:36] squandering it in meaningless affairs we
[28:38] don't really see that as a particular
[28:40] loss but imagine that we've made some
[28:42] kind of investment or we have some sort
[28:44] of money and we lose that money well we
[28:46] think oh no like I lost all this money
[28:49] we have a feeling of having lost
[28:51] something having squandered something
[28:53] that was valuable but in our innate way
[28:55] of thinking we don't have that kind of
[28:58] sense of the value of our life, right?
[29:00] If we squander some time doing something
[29:02] meaningless, we don't have that same
[29:04] sort of natural feeling of, "Oh, I
[29:07] shouldn't have done that." Whereas, if
[29:08] we lose money, we have that feeling of
[29:11] loss, right?
[29:13] [sighs]
[29:13] Oh, yeah.
[30:56] So we really need to think about how
[30:58] precious this human life is, how
[31:01] precious and how difficult it is to
[31:04] find. This is difficult to find because
[31:06] it's difficult to accomplish all of the
[31:09] kinds of causes that lead to such a
[31:12] rebirth. And so it's difficult to find a
[31:15] rebirth wherein we have to have
[31:17] protected the 10 non virtues. I mean we
[31:19] need ethical conduct in order to secure
[31:22] a human rebirth. But to have the kind of
[31:24] rebirth with all of the leisures or
[31:27] freedoms and all of those opportunities
[31:30] like meeting with the dharma, we need
[31:32] many more causes than just protecting
[31:34] ethical conduct. So to have this kind of
[31:37] rebirth with all of those causes
[31:39] complete involves accomplishing many
[31:42] different virtuous actions. And so this
[31:44] is something that is difficult to find
[31:47] and it is also quite easily lost. It um
[31:51] is like a flash of lightning. Right? Um
[31:54] it easily disintegrates or is destroyed
[31:57] now. If we had say all of the time in
[32:00] the world, okay, this thing is difficult
[32:02] to find but we have infinite time. Then
[32:05] perhaps we could go slowly about um
[32:08] trying to do the dharma or um practice
[32:11] whatever it is. But we won't remain long
[32:14] like a flash of lightning who really
[32:17] contains within it the seed of its own
[32:19] destruction. It just comes and then is
[32:21] gone. Um we really should uh think of
[32:24] how difficult it is for us to even be
[32:27] here at all and how easily this body,
[32:30] this life could be destroyed. We usually
[32:32] think of our body as being like sort of
[32:34] solid or tough, right? Like it's kind of
[32:37] here and it's not going to just
[32:39] disintegrate in a moment. But if we
[32:41] really begin to think about it, all of
[32:43] the causes and conditions that are
[32:45] necessary for us to be alive. If some
[32:48] small little thing goes ary, we're no
[32:50] longer alive, right? We are so
[32:53] dependent, contingent upon all of the
[32:55] coming about of these different causes
[32:57] and conditions for our very survival,
[33:00] for our existence. There's no certainty
[33:02] that we are going to remain forever.
[33:04] Actually, there's certainty that we will
[33:06] not and there's uncertainty about when
[33:08] that will come.
[33:15] [clears throat]
[34:46] So here when we think about it we have
[34:48] um in this rebirth we have a body and we
[34:51] have um a mind which at death will
[34:54] separate but when we think about the
[34:56] kind of continuity of this body I mean
[34:58] there will be a material material
[35:00] continuity and when we look at the past
[35:03] of our body, we can trace the kind of
[35:06] material continuity. I mean what came
[35:08] about from um the egg and sperm of our
[35:10] parents and them from their parents and
[35:12] them from their parents. We can trace if
[35:14] we look at the body um way back in terms
[35:17] of its continuum. And so too when we
[35:20] look at the mind, the mind has taken up
[35:24] various different bodies um being sort
[35:26] of in a dependent relationship with them
[35:29] um having various degrees of clarity of
[35:32] our consciousness and so forth and
[35:34] abilities to contemplate and we have
[35:37] been taking up all of these different
[35:39] rebirths since beginningless time. So
[35:42] it's said that there's no good rebirth
[35:44] that we haven't experienced. We have
[35:46] taken birth in the realm of like Brahma
[35:49] and Indra and experienced all of the
[35:51] kinds of excellent pleasures of the
[35:53] gods. There's not a single of those that
[35:56] we haven't experienced. We have
[35:58] countless rebirths since beginningless
[36:00] time. And so too, there's not a single
[36:02] type of suffering that we haven't
[36:04] experienced within some sorrow. We have
[36:07] gone through it all. But the one thing
[36:09] that we have not had is really this
[36:11] thought of pursuing definite happiness.
[36:14] taking the essence of this life by
[36:17] really getting out of the kinds of
[36:19] causes that lead to those renewed
[36:21] experiences. So really we need to make
[36:25] an effort at not just pursuing the
[36:27] normal things but instead pursuing that
[36:30] definite real lasting happiness.
[37:28] Foreign
[37:39] speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech.
[38:11] So as Jama Matsungapa has said that this
[38:14] life of leisure is again more precious
[38:16] than a wishfulfilling jewel found just
[38:19] this once in like lightning easily
[38:21] vanishes. Though contemplating this
[38:23] situation, it's vital to realize that
[38:26] all mundane pursuits are like the empty
[38:28] grain husks floating in the winds and
[38:31] that we must extract the essence of
[38:33] human existence. Now um here the
[38:36] activities that are just for this life
[38:39] that are only thinking about the affairs
[38:41] of this life, our mundane pursuits are
[38:43] sort of like the husk of grain. When you
[38:45] have something like rice or any other
[38:47] kind of grain, there's husks on those
[38:49] such that if you were to sort of like
[38:50] toss them in the wind, those husks would
[38:52] blow away. There's nothing left. There's
[38:55] no sort of essence to them. And so too,
[38:58] the kinds of affairs of this life, just
[39:00] getting our food and clothing and
[39:02] reputation and so forth have no real
[39:04] essence to them. Um, and it were it
[39:07] would be different if it were the case
[39:09] that say we ended at death, but that's
[39:12] not how it goes. There will be a
[39:14] continuum to our consciousness as the
[39:17] kind of material elements that composed
[39:19] our body will also continue on. Right?
[39:22] There's the conservation of matter. So,
[39:24] however it is that those transform, they
[39:26] don't become non-existent. And so, too,
[39:29] our mind stream will continue on taking
[39:33] new rebirths. And so we should make an a
[39:36] an effort at those kinds of activities
[39:38] that are not just in pursuit of these um
[39:41] essenceless sort of like the husk of
[39:43] grain material or u mundane pursuits but
[39:47] rather should make an effort to pursue
[39:49] those kinds of causes that have a
[39:51] lasting benefit that are directing us
[39:53] towards our um true lasting happiness
[39:57] the state of liberation and omniscience.
[40:00] >> Oh [clears throat] yeah.
[40:38] >> [snorts]
[41:48] >> So in terms of taking the essence of
[41:50] this life, we can think about it in
[41:52] terms of the kind of initial uh scope of
[41:55] middling and great. I mean at the very
[41:58] uh least the kind of initial scope of
[42:00] motivation is trying to use this rebirth
[42:03] in order to secure a higher rebirth
[42:06] again in the future to be able to
[42:09] continue to develop on the basis of
[42:12] continuing to gain births that allow us
[42:15] to practice with those kinds of
[42:17] qualities. And so the way in which we
[42:19] are able to um increase and love
[42:21] [cough and clears throat] in such a way
[42:23] is really by abandoning all harmful
[42:27] activities of body, speech and mind.
[42:29] Anything that gives suffering to others,
[42:32] anything that is harmful, we are trying
[42:34] to avoid. And as much as we are able to
[42:37] trying to do what is beneficial to
[42:40] others through our body, speech and
[42:43] mind. Um and really this is motivated by
[42:46] attitudes of love and compassion. Um
[42:49] right in recognizing that when something
[42:51] harmful is done to us that's painful. It
[42:55] gives us difficulty. It gives us
[42:56] suffering. And so therefore we don't
[42:58] want to inflict that upon others. We are
[43:01] going to avoid anything that creates
[43:04] suffering for others. And so too in the
[43:07] way that we want to be happy, we are
[43:09] going to try to create the causes for
[43:11] others happiness. So really love and
[43:14] compassion are the motivating forces
[43:16] that allow you to abandon negativities
[43:19] and really pursue virtuous positive
[43:23] actions. And so um here this kind of
[43:26] pursuit of a good rebirth in the future
[43:29] for based upon and really all of the
[43:32] Buddha's teachings can be subsumed into
[43:34] these attitudes of love and compassion
[43:37] of compassion of wishing to free others
[43:40] from their suffering and all of its
[43:42] causes as well as the kind of attitude
[43:44] of love that wishes for their happiness
[43:46] and trying to bring that about and for
[43:49] the being of initial scope. This is
[43:51] really about ensuring that they create
[43:54] the causes for a good rebirth and
[43:57] abandon anything that would lead to a
[43:59] lower rebirth.
[44:01] Oh yeah.
[44:12] Fore! Foreign! Foreign!
[44:52] Foreign
[44:55] speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech.
[44:57] [clears throat]
[46:26] So here when it comes to um training our
[46:30] minds in love and compassion, we really
[46:32] have to begin with those closest to us
[46:35] like with our family um right uh with
[46:38] those whom we interact with on a regular
[46:40] basis. Um so as it is uh said we should
[46:44] have respect for our mother and father
[46:46] right and have regard for those like our
[46:48] our children or others in our family as
[46:51] in we need to really apply these
[46:54] attitudes of love and compassion in our
[46:57] interactions with our family. We have to
[47:00] begin there and begin to widen it out.
[47:03] Um so we try to not harm in any way. We
[47:07] try to do things that are beneficial. Um
[47:10] and whether that is again beginning with
[47:12] the family or if you are in a larger
[47:14] society in a group um here at the the
[47:17] abbey you know to be able to live in
[47:19] community um it requires us to really
[47:22] implement the attitudes of love and
[47:24] compassion in our interactions. And so
[47:27] that's where we start. We begin with
[47:29] those with whom we live, um, those with
[47:32] whom we work, right? And we begin to
[47:34] then expand that out to include our
[47:37] neighbors, to include all of those that
[47:40] are in our community, all of those that
[47:41] are in our state and so forth, all the
[47:44] way until we get to the point of all
[47:46] sentient beings. And we're really able
[47:48] to have the kind of attitude that
[47:50] encompasses all sentient beings when we
[47:53] say, "May all sentient beings be free
[47:55] from suffering. May all sentient beings
[47:57] have happiness. May they never be
[47:58] separated from the joy that is free from
[48:01] sorrow. And may they abide in a state of
[48:04] equinimity. When we're saying those
[48:06] kinds of things, we're actually really
[48:08] encompassing all of those beings when we
[48:10] train our minds in that kind of
[48:12] sequential process. And so here, being
[48:15] able to rejoice in the good that others
[48:18] experience. Having this attitude of joy
[48:21] is something that is so important. when
[48:23] we see um things going well for others,
[48:26] we see them have excellent wealth or
[48:27] excellent qualities, excellent
[48:29] education, they have power, they have
[48:31] something that is good rather than
[48:33] feeling any kind of jealousy towards
[48:35] that, we really sincerely rejoice in
[48:38] that. We feel happy for their happiness,
[48:40] right? And to develop our equinimity um
[48:44] when it comes to again developing the
[48:46] kind of uh closeness to others, we begin
[48:50] with those to whom we are close, right?
[48:52] our friends, our family. Um, but when it
[48:54] comes to equinimity, we can sort of
[48:56] train in a way that we begin with those
[48:58] that we don't know, right? We're trying
[49:00] to get to a place eventually where we're
[49:03] close with all of them. But to not be
[49:05] making these kinds of distinctions
[49:06] between, oh, I'm close to them and far
[49:09] from them. Um, but rather in the way
[49:11] that like you you have developed love
[49:14] that encompasses all sentient beings,
[49:16] such that you're not seeing one as close
[49:18] or one as distant. um in the way that
[49:20] you might um see someone that you've
[49:22] never even met.
[49:24] >> Oh yeah.
[49:26] [snorts]
[50:50] So here the Buddha Dharma is really for
[50:53] the benefit of beings, right? Um for the
[50:56] benefit and happiness of beings. The
[50:59] Buddha came into the world in order to
[51:01] teach the dharma and the dharma is for
[51:03] the sake of bringing about happiness um
[51:06] for uh beings. So um we often talk about
[51:10] um the the sort of first auspiciousness
[51:12] being when um through the dharma we can
[51:15] create harmony. When we are able to have
[51:18] harmony to really have um uh love and
[51:21] compassion for others such that we
[51:23] create a kind of community that is in
[51:25] harmony that's how we accomplish
[51:27] happiness. That's how we accomplish all
[51:29] of our aims. And so really the benefits
[51:32] that come from developing love and
[51:35] compassion are something that make us
[51:38] happier in the short term. I mean this
[51:40] is something where when we treat others
[51:42] with love and compassion we are happier.
[51:45] Our minds are more at ease and those
[51:48] around us that we interact with are
[51:50] going to be happier are going to be more
[51:53] at ease. And so that's the kind of
[51:55] temporary benefit that comes or the sort
[51:57] of temporary happiness I should say.
[51:59] Whereas the long-term benefit is the
[52:01] ripening result that will come in future
[52:04] lives. We will experience the sort of
[52:06] ripening result of that.
[52:38] Foreign
[52:41] speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech.
[53:01] forchech.
[54:02] >> [clears throat]
[54:26] [snorts]
[55:21] >> foreign.
[56:28] So here Um when we think about taking
[56:31] the essence of this life um the middling
[56:35] level of that is wherein one looks at a
[56:37] rebirth as a human or a god and sees
[56:40] well even that kind of a birth is going
[56:43] to be in the nature of suffering because
[56:45] so long as I'm uncontrollably taking up
[56:49] aggregates due to karma and the
[56:51] afflictions I'm going to experience
[56:54] suffering. So uh from the point of view
[56:57] of the being of middling scope they see
[56:59] the fault of engaging in karma right
[57:02] engaging with our afflictions and our
[57:04] karma. Even if someone is to take a
[57:07] birth as a human or a god which is
[57:09] really what a being of the initial scope
[57:12] is striving for. This is something that
[57:15] is still under the control of karma and
[57:17] the afflictions and therefore in the
[57:19] nature of suffering. A being of middling
[57:23] scope wants to get out of that cycle
[57:25] entirely. Wants to stop creating karma.
[57:28] Wants to stop those afflictions that are
[57:30] driving it because they recognize that
[57:32] so long as one uncontrollably takes up
[57:35] the aggregates due to karma and the
[57:37] afflictions, you will experience
[57:39] suffering. So they give rise to this
[57:41] kind of desire for liberation, a mind
[57:44] striving for liberation and come to
[57:47] recognize that really all of our
[57:49] afflictions, our anger, our pride, our
[57:52] jealousy, our competitiveness, these can
[57:54] all be traced to this grasping at an
[57:57] eye. this self-grasping
[58:00] where since beginningless time we have
[58:02] been holding to there being a kind of
[58:05] autonomously intrinsically existent eye
[58:09] something that has like this kind of um
[58:11] and sometimes we translate it as self
[58:13] like in as in the context of
[58:14] selflessness although it's not just the
[58:17] the the self of the person but this is
[58:19] applicable to all phenomena that they
[58:21] don't have this kind of autonomous
[58:24] nature existing objectively in and of
[58:27] themselves
[58:28] And so again, it's not just us as a
[58:31] person, but all other phenomena. We
[58:33] could talk about the sort of essence or
[58:35] nature of a a pot or a pillar. And in
[58:38] particular, it's that kind of autonomous
[58:41] nature or essence that doesn't actually
[58:44] exist. And so a being of the middling
[58:46] scope is striving to realize
[58:48] selflessness, the lack of this that in
[58:51] order to dismantle that whole system of
[58:54] holding to a self which then gives rise
[58:56] to all of our various afflictions. As it
[58:59] is said, as soon as we have this thought
[59:01] of I we hold to my side and then we
[59:04] grasp at the other side and from there
[59:07] our our afflictions go wild. Basically
[59:10] we give rise to attachment to our own
[59:12] side and aversion animosity toward the
[59:15] other and thereby we are like holding
[59:18] ourselves our side as more important and
[59:20] looking at the other side as less
[59:23] important right um and so as soon as we
[59:25] have this thought of I we distinguish
[59:28] into these categories of my side and
[59:31] other side um we hold them to be
[59:34] existent like in and of themselves uh so
[59:37] we distinguish between friends and
[59:39] enemies And really we get into this kind
[59:41] of pattern of we hold ourselves as most
[59:44] important, my side as most important and
[59:47] look down on the other side. We make
[59:50] these distinctions in all kinds of
[59:52] different ways. We could really um say
[59:54] like, well, I was born in the east and I
[59:56] was born in the west or I'm of this type
[59:58] of person. I'm of that type of person.
[1:00:00] I'm this religion. I'm that religion. We
[1:00:02] use all kinds of different ways to make
[1:00:05] these kinds of distinctions. But when we
[1:00:07] think about it, we've taken birth in
[1:00:09] different circumstances due to our
[1:00:11] karma, right? This isn't something that
[1:00:13] we should observe and make value
[1:00:15] judgments about, but rather we should
[1:00:18] see a being of the smiddling scope does
[1:00:21] see that the fault is with our
[1:00:23] afflictions, with our afflictions and
[1:00:25] karma. As soon as we hold to an I and
[1:00:28] then have attachment to my side and
[1:00:31] animosity toward the other side, we
[1:00:33] engage in all of these kinds of karmas
[1:00:36] and thereby perpetuate our cycle of
[1:00:38] rebirth. So by seeing the faults of the
[1:00:41] afflictions, by trying to eliminate that
[1:00:44] kind of grasping at an eye through
[1:00:47] understanding selflessness and
[1:00:48] emptiness, um then they are able to
[1:00:51] pursue um their own liberation and in
[1:00:54] the course of doing so really eliminate
[1:00:57] that kind of viewing of some as being um
[1:01:00] you know good or bad or kind of I am
[1:01:02] important and others as lesser. But we
[1:01:04] come to recognize that we we all have
[1:01:06] that kind of sense of importance. Uh and
[1:01:09] we are all equal in that.
[1:03:56] >> [snorts]
[1:04:20] >> So when it comes to the sort of uh
[1:04:22] greatest meaning that we could extract
[1:04:24] or the sort of essence that we could
[1:04:26] extract uh from uh this life uh when we
[1:04:29] think about the kind of situation that
[1:04:31] we are in within samsara, right? All of
[1:04:35] the various types of sufferings that we
[1:04:37] have experienced since beginningless
[1:04:39] time and how it is that if we don't
[1:04:41] change course, we are going to continue
[1:04:43] to likewise suffer throughout samsara.
[1:04:47] When we have really contemplated this
[1:04:49] and are unable to bear it, we generate
[1:04:52] this attitude of renunciation of a kind
[1:04:54] of revulsion wherein we'd want to
[1:04:56] definitely get out of samsara. But to
[1:04:59] just think of ourselves to just say
[1:05:02] like, "Oh, well, I'm going to pursue my
[1:05:04] own liberation is really unsuitable."
[1:05:07] When we look at those beings who have
[1:05:09] been so very kind to us in this life,
[1:05:12] our mothers, our fathers, our friends,
[1:05:14] our relatives who care for us, um, we
[1:05:17] really recognize that forgetting about
[1:05:19] them and just pursuing our own aims
[1:05:21] isn't suitable. That isn't something
[1:05:23] that we should do. And really when we
[1:05:25] think about those to whom we have a
[1:05:27] great deal of affection in this moment,
[1:05:30] it's just for a moment, right? When we
[1:05:32] think about the course of all of the
[1:05:34] lives that we have taken in the past,
[1:05:37] this life is just like the blink of an
[1:05:39] eye. And so all of those other
[1:05:42] lifetimes, we have had beings who acted
[1:05:44] as like our kind mothers, fathers,
[1:05:47] friends, relatives of this life, right?
[1:05:50] And other than our not knowing where
[1:05:52] they are, I mean those loved ones that
[1:05:55] have passed away from this life, they
[1:05:57] could be quite near us. We just don't
[1:05:59] recognize them having transferred lives,
[1:06:01] having shifted lives. But we can't look
[1:06:04] out at other beings and point to a
[1:06:06] single one and say, "Oh, well, they
[1:06:07] weren't very kind to me or they have
[1:06:09] never acted toward me with great
[1:06:11] kindness." Because we honestly have had
[1:06:13] those relationships with every single
[1:06:15] being. So to make that kind of um leap
[1:06:19] from seeing all without any kind of um
[1:06:22] recognition and to recognize that all of
[1:06:25] these beings have acted as like our kind
[1:06:28] mothers and fathers, we shift into
[1:06:30] really caring about wanting to get rid
[1:06:33] of their sufferings as well to be able
[1:06:35] to um get them out of this situation of
[1:06:39] samsara. And so not just wanting to
[1:06:41] pursue our own aims, we give rise to
[1:06:44] this thought of wishing to be of benefit
[1:06:46] to others, but really in order to do so,
[1:06:49] we need to become a Buddha. We need to
[1:06:51] pursue this state in which we have
[1:06:53] eliminated all faults and developed all
[1:06:55] good qualities, particularly all of the
[1:06:57] knowledge of what to adopt and what to
[1:07:00] abandon in order to be able to
[1:07:02] unobstructedly work for the benefit of
[1:07:04] sentient beings. So with this kind of
[1:07:07] recognition that at current time we
[1:07:09] don't have that ability but we have the
[1:07:12] chance to develop such an ability to
[1:07:15] pursue that state of Buddhahood. We
[1:07:17] should therefore set a kind of
[1:07:18] motivation thinking that I am going to
[1:07:21] pursue that state of complete
[1:07:22] enlightenment in order to be of benefit
[1:07:25] to other sentient beings and thus
[1:07:27] extract the greatest kind of essence of
[1:07:29] this life.
[1:07:31] >> Oh yeah.
[1:08:13] foreignch.
[1:09:34] So here um we are going to be looking at
[1:09:38] um this aspirational prayer for taking
[1:09:41] rebirth in sukuvati pure land um and the
[1:09:44] text uh that goes with that by um
[1:09:46] Jamatona called opening the door to the
[1:09:49] supreme pure land. So here this is
[1:09:52] something that we have the ability to do
[1:09:56] right in terms of thinking of our um
[1:09:58] capacities. We have the ability to
[1:10:00] create the kind of causes um for
[1:10:03] Buddhahood in this very life. We have
[1:10:05] the kind of ability the capacity to
[1:10:08] create the causes to be born in a pure
[1:10:11] land. And there are various different
[1:10:13] kinds of uh pure lands. Um we have like
[1:10:16] tushita or sukavati or other uh sorts of
[1:10:19] pure lands. Um and Sukavati or the the
[1:10:22] land of bliss is in particularly
[1:10:25] conducive to the cont the continuity of
[1:10:29] practice due to the blessings of
[1:10:31] Amitaba. Um so uh again when it comes to
[1:10:35] various pure lands there are different
[1:10:38] pure lands. Um this is one of them
[1:10:41] Sukavati or the land of bliss and it is
[1:10:44] one in which when we are born there we
[1:10:47] are never going to come back down right
[1:10:50] we will continue to pursue and develop
[1:10:53] qualities um by being born in a
[1:10:56] conducive environment surrounded by
[1:10:58] those who are also practicing and able
[1:11:01] to directly receive teachings from the
[1:11:03] Buddhas themselves. And so here training
[1:11:06] our minds as much as we are able to in
[1:11:09] the kinds of trainings for the three
[1:11:11] scopes of beings and if we make the sort
[1:11:13] of aspirational prayers to be born um in
[1:11:16] sukuavati um in this life we ab
[1:11:19] absolutely have the capacity uh to do
[1:11:21] so. Um so with that as kind of our
[1:11:24] motivation uh we should set our
[1:11:26] intention for listening uh to these
[1:11:28] teachings thinking that this is
[1:11:30] something that we are going to um pursue
[1:11:32] and that also that we have the capacity
[1:11:34] to.
[1:11:36] Oh yeah, this one.
[1:11:52] Got it.
[1:12:15] Foreign
[1:12:17] speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech.
[1:12:37] >> [snorts]
[1:12:37] >> Foreign
[1:12:47] speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech.
[1:13:32] So um here uh this um uh aspirational uh
[1:13:36] prayer as well as the kind of um
[1:13:38] description of sukavati that comes um
[1:13:41] before it here um the text name um here
[1:13:44] is called an aspirational prayer for
[1:13:46] taking rebirth in the in Sukavati pure
[1:13:49] land called opening the door to the
[1:13:51] supreme land. Um so here um this uh is
[1:13:55] going to give a kind of uh description.
[1:13:57] I mean there are various different
[1:13:59] prayers to be born in uh Sukavati and of
[1:14:02] course we are basing um these teachings
[1:14:04] on the prayer by Jaya Monsunga as well
[1:14:06] as this text that goes with it. But
[1:14:08] there are others who have composed
[1:14:10] prayers like Nagarjana for example. And
[1:14:12] so um it will begin by talking about um
[1:14:15] sort of sukuvati describing um what is
[1:14:18] uh sukuvati uh like um what is the kind
[1:14:21] of external environment like what are
[1:14:23] the beings within it like are they like
[1:14:26] the beings within our sort of worldly
[1:14:28] realm um what is the kind of uh uh sort
[1:14:31] of container and its contents and so
[1:14:33] forth. And so um here based upon again
[1:14:37] the Buddha has taught has made uh sort
[1:14:39] of special aspirations uh for uh these
[1:14:42] degenerate times right um in which uh we
[1:14:45] live um although they will continue um
[1:14:47] to degenerate. Part of the degenerate
[1:14:50] era involves the proliferation of our
[1:14:52] various afflictions, anger and hatred
[1:14:55] and jealousy and competitiveness and
[1:14:58] pride and so forth. And so there have
[1:15:00] been kind of special aspirations um made
[1:15:03] prayers and aspirations by the Buddha
[1:15:06] and also by um Buddhi Buddha Amitaba um
[1:15:09] also referred to as Amitas um or of long
[1:15:12] life um that he made these special
[1:15:15] aspirational prayers for beings during
[1:15:18] this degenerate age um and then took uh
[1:15:21] enlightenment or went to enlightenment
[1:15:23] within that realm. And so this is how
[1:15:25] the the pure land of sukavati came to
[1:15:28] be.
[1:16:00] Foreign
[1:16:04] speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech.
[1:16:24] Foreign
[1:16:32] speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech.
[1:17:42] Fore! Foreign! Foreign!
[1:18:03] >> [clears throat]
[1:18:22] >> Soch.
[1:20:14] >> [clears throat]
[1:20:16] [cough]
[1:20:16] >> So um here uh to take um a step back um
[1:20:21] and uh talk about uh the Buddha um the
[1:20:24] Buddha Shakimuni who came um to uh this
[1:20:27] world um uh he displayed attaining
[1:20:30] enlightenment here um but Buddha
[1:20:32] Shakimuni was actually a supreme
[1:20:35] emanation body, right? So he displayed
[1:20:37] these various deeds such as um uh you
[1:20:41] know renouncing the householder life and
[1:20:43] going through various austerities and
[1:20:45] then ultimately attaining enlightenment.
[1:20:47] Um and this is something where it isn't
[1:20:50] actually the case that um the Buddha
[1:20:52] initially um attained enlightenment um
[1:20:55] uh in uh Bodga Gaya but rather when we
[1:20:58] think about stepping back to look at um
[1:21:01] the sort of state of enlightenment and
[1:21:03] the three Buddha bodies we have um the
[1:21:08] uh supreme
[1:21:10] enjoyment body and it is actually the
[1:21:12] case that after accomplishing three
[1:21:15] countless eons worth of accumulating
[1:21:18] merit. Um uh the Buddha initially uh and
[1:21:22] every Buddha initially attains
[1:21:24] enlightenment um in the realm of
[1:21:27] Akenishta um in the one below none. Um
[1:21:30] and it is the case that um they with the
[1:21:34] attainment of enlightenment there
[1:21:36] establish the kind of um enjoyment body
[1:21:39] as well as the supreme emanation body
[1:21:41] and the the dharmakaya and are remaining
[1:21:45] within this kind of um beautiful pure
[1:21:48] realm surrounded only by bodhic sattvas
[1:21:52] and so forth. um and have the kind of
[1:21:54] like uh the realm and the retinue and
[1:21:56] all of those qualities have been
[1:21:58] established based upon the accumulation
[1:22:01] of merit again over three countless eons
[1:22:03] which also includes um establishing this
[1:22:06] kind of incredible body that is
[1:22:08] radiating light in the form of a deity
[1:22:11] um radiating light and now this is
[1:22:13] something that's kind of beyond our
[1:22:16] world we could say in that if the Buddha
[1:22:18] um uh were to uh the sort of supreme
[1:22:21] enjoyment body were to show up with this
[1:22:23] light, it would probably knock all of us
[1:22:25] out. We couldn't handle it. Um we
[1:22:27] wouldn't be able to see that. And so um
[1:22:29] it is the case however that from that
[1:22:32] state of uh enlightenment, the Buddha
[1:22:35] then while the enjoyment body remains
[1:22:38] within Akenishta, we have this supreme
[1:22:40] emanation body that then displays the
[1:22:44] various deeds of enlightenment. And so
[1:22:47] um when we talk about emanation bodies
[1:22:49] of the Buddha in general there can be
[1:22:51] three types of those. There are supreme
[1:22:54] emanation Buddha supreme emanation
[1:22:56] bodies um like that of Buddha Shakimuni.
[1:22:59] Um there are those and I don't know that
[1:23:01] I'll get the exact word but sort of like
[1:23:03] um birth emanations when um the Buddha
[1:23:06] takes um rebirth as say an animal even
[1:23:09] um is among animals displays that kind
[1:23:11] of um same habits and characteristics um
[1:23:15] in order to guide beings in that way. He
[1:23:18] might be um taking rebirth as taking on
[1:23:21] the emanation of say a wild animal. Um
[1:23:24] and then there are those that are sort
[1:23:26] of like skilled emanations that have
[1:23:28] some kind of particular um knowledge or
[1:23:32] skill. Uh there are stories about kings
[1:23:34] that had this kind of um particular
[1:23:36] skills. I mean we need those beings who
[1:23:38] are able to do the sort of worldly arts
[1:23:41] and sciences and trades, right? We need
[1:23:43] to have roads and build houses and all
[1:23:46] of those kinds of things. And so
[1:23:48] actually the Buddha can emanate in those
[1:23:50] kinds of forms as like trades people or
[1:23:53] other types of beings um that lead
[1:23:56] sentient beings to enlightenment. So
[1:23:58] when we think about the supreme
[1:24:00] emanation body and the way in which the
[1:24:02] Buddha demonstrated various deeds that
[1:24:05] also included going through six years of
[1:24:08] austerities of going through these kinds
[1:24:10] of practices wherein it was said that
[1:24:13] fasting or doing some sort of washing
[1:24:15] and purification would eliminate your
[1:24:17] negativities. And the Buddha saw that
[1:24:19] that was not the correct path and
[1:24:20] instead turned to the middle path
[1:24:23] recognizing that our body needs to have
[1:24:25] strength and vigor in order for us to be
[1:24:27] able to pursue the path. And so um
[1:24:30] therefore um he acted in such a way as
[1:24:33] to demonstrate the kind of error of
[1:24:35] those extreme austerities. Um and here
[1:24:38] uh when we think about um the this uh
[1:24:41] kind of emanation um body of a Buddha um
[1:24:45] it is the case as well that Amitaba
[1:24:47] Amitas is also a supreme emanation um
[1:24:51] Buddha when they come into this world
[1:24:53] right as opposed to the um enjoyment
[1:24:55] body.
[1:24:57] Oh yeah.
[1:25:03] Thailand.
[1:26:00] >> [snorts]
[1:26:07] >> Foreign
[1:26:15] speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech.
[1:26:32] >> [snorts]
[1:26:35] >> Yeah,
[1:27:04] same Foreign
[1:27:11] speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech.
[1:27:57] So uh here there are those um who follow
[1:28:01] uh the kind of foundational uh vehicle
[1:28:03] for example in Burma and Thailand and so
[1:28:06] forth um who don't um uh accept the
[1:28:08] Mahayana and they would say that the
[1:28:11] Buddha is not some kind of an emanation
[1:28:14] um right but that uh Buddha uh
[1:28:16] Shakyamuni um actually came to this
[1:28:19] world and actually followed this kind of
[1:28:21] a path. So here again in the here in the
[1:28:25] sort of um foundational vehicle
[1:28:26] tradition it's not as though they don't
[1:28:29] have um or value the importance of love
[1:28:32] and compassion and develop those
[1:28:34] qualities although not to the extent of
[1:28:36] the Mahayana. However, um those
[1:28:39] traditions and they very particularly
[1:28:42] highly value the vinaya and have
[1:28:44] preserved that in great detail. They
[1:28:46] would say that the Buddha was not an
[1:28:48] emanation but the Buddha was an ordinary
[1:28:51] being who came into the world who uh
[1:28:54] left his house who um uh you know
[1:28:56] pursued six years worth of austerities
[1:28:59] and through his personal development
[1:29:01] attained the state of enlightenment in
[1:29:03] this life. And so, um, it it makes them
[1:29:07] maybe kind of uncomfortable to hear him
[1:29:09] described as being like an emanation
[1:29:11] body, as if the Buddha isn't a real
[1:29:14] person. It's almost like he's a
[1:29:15] holograph or something like that. Um,
[1:29:17] but this is not uh what um the the
[1:29:19] Mahayana or the the sort of universal
[1:29:22] vehicle uh would be asserting. Um,
[1:29:25] however, this this gets co-opted um this
[1:29:28] language of emanations sometimes by the
[1:29:30] Hindus that say, "Oh, yeah, we get it.
[1:29:32] um Buddha is an emanation of Vishnu um
[1:29:35] the creator of the world. So we
[1:29:37] understand what you're talking about. Um
[1:29:38] but that's not what we're saying here.
[1:29:41] When we talk about um the Buddha
[1:29:43] Shakyamuni as being a um supreme
[1:29:46] emanation body, that is something that
[1:29:49] comes from that again complete enjoyment
[1:29:53] body. The body within which the Buddha
[1:29:55] attained enlightenment in Akananisha
[1:29:57] that's sort of like the mother that then
[1:29:59] is able to um project uh various
[1:30:02] einations.
[1:30:04] And here if we kind of have doubts or
[1:30:06] questions about that we should think
[1:30:07] about when when we bring our mind to its
[1:30:11] highest point to its full culmination
[1:30:13] when we have removed all faults and
[1:30:16] developed all good qualities our mind
[1:30:18] has capacities that can't fit in our
[1:30:21] ordinary mind right um when we have
[1:30:24] developed to that extent I mean look
[1:30:26] what scientists are able to do through
[1:30:27] the manipulation of matter and particles
[1:30:30] it seems almost inconceivable and so
[1:30:32] when we think about the mind and when we
[1:30:35] take the mind to those sort of highest
[1:30:37] states what it is capable of is really
[1:30:40] beyond our current understanding. So
[1:30:43] here those of the universal vehicle
[1:30:45] would assert that yes the Buddha is a
[1:30:47] real person and I mean not really
[1:30:50] existent but a real person um in that he
[1:30:53] previously attained full enlightenment
[1:30:56] that complete enjoyment body in
[1:30:58] Akanishta and it is from there that he
[1:31:00] then displays these deeds in order to
[1:31:03] benefit disciples.
[1:31:24] Oh yeah. Yeah.
[1:31:27] >> So um again just to give the title um it
[1:31:31] is the aspirational prayer for taking
[1:31:33] rebirth in sugati pure land called
[1:31:36] opening the door to the supreme pure
[1:31:38] land. And just as a note, this contains
[1:31:40] the prayer that we normally refer to as
[1:31:42] um taking rebirth in the land of bliss.
[1:31:45] Um but it has a little bit extra to it.
[1:31:48] And um it begins then uh with homage to
[1:31:50] the glorious guru Mjugosha. Um paying
[1:31:53] homage to Mushri.
[1:31:56] Oh yeah.
[1:32:32] Foreign speech. Foreign foreign foreign
[1:32:33] speech.
[1:33:04] >> [clears throat]
[1:33:24] [snorts]
[1:33:25] >> So um then we have the um expression of
[1:33:28] homage. So uh we may be following some
[1:33:30] of those outline points but not all of
[1:33:32] them. Um here it says then through your
[1:33:35] extraordinary deeds you bestow
[1:33:38] inexhaustible glory upon beings through
[1:33:42] remembering you once you dispel the fear
[1:33:44] of the lord of death through your
[1:33:46] constant loving kindness you always
[1:33:48] think of us like your children to you
[1:33:51] Amitias guide of gods and humans I pay
[1:33:54] homage so here through your
[1:33:57] extraordinary deeds through
[1:33:59] demonstrating the 12 deeds and so forth
[1:34:01] all of those activities ities that are
[1:34:03] for the benefit of others. You bestow
[1:34:06] inexhaustible glory upon beings as in
[1:34:09] you give virtues right or you inspire
[1:34:11] two virtues which brings about that kind
[1:34:14] of inexhaustible glory for beings and um
[1:34:18] through remembering you once um you
[1:34:20] dispel like far away um the kind of fear
[1:34:23] of the lord of death that fear that
[1:34:25] normally we experience at the time of
[1:34:28] death through remembering um Amitias we
[1:34:31] are able to dispel that far away through
[1:34:34] your constant loving kindness. You
[1:34:36] always think of us like your children in
[1:34:39] the way that like a mother who only has
[1:34:41] a single child has that special kind of
[1:34:43] care and love. That is the way that
[1:34:45] Amitaba or Amitias looks upon all other
[1:34:48] beings and through to you Amitias God's
[1:34:52] guide of gods and humans I pay homage.
[1:34:55] He is the guide in that he leads us out
[1:34:58] of the lower realms and out of samsara.
[1:35:01] Um so to him to Amitas um I pay homage.
[1:36:54] So here that was the homage uh for the
[1:36:57] prayer itself. I know this gets a little
[1:36:59] confusing um because we have uh this
[1:37:01] this text opening the door to the
[1:37:03] supreme land um which we actually do
[1:37:06] have partially translated for everybody.
[1:37:07] I believe that's been sent out. But this
[1:37:09] is talking um we're these first two
[1:37:11] verses are from the actual prayer for
[1:37:14] rebirth in the land of bliss itself. And
[1:37:16] so the next um line uh is then um or the
[1:37:20] next verse is then the pledge to
[1:37:23] compose. And so he says here, I shall
[1:37:26] express as far as I am able through the
[1:37:28] power of loving kindness some
[1:37:30] aspirational prayers for rebirth and
[1:37:33] sukavati the supreme pure land that has
[1:37:36] been repeatedly and perfectly praised by
[1:37:39] the lord of sages. So um here uh the
[1:37:42] lord of sages the Buddha in multiple uh
[1:37:46] sources in multiple sutras um has uh
[1:37:50] repeatedly praised this as being a
[1:37:52] supreme pure land. There are many
[1:37:55] different pure lands. Um but sukavati
[1:37:58] comes about really due to the special
[1:38:01] aspirations and powers of the prayers of
[1:38:04] Amitias Amitaba. um for there to be this
[1:38:08] kind of a land in which beings are
[1:38:10] easily able to get there or like through
[1:38:13] um the kind of uh powers of their prayer
[1:38:15] it is something that will be accessible
[1:38:17] to them. Um so uh here this is um
[1:38:20] praised um again we see the praise of
[1:38:23] many different um uh pure lands but
[1:38:26] sukavati is praised in particular um and
[1:38:29] especially described in the sutras by
[1:38:31] way of the causes that lead to such a
[1:38:34] rebirth in that land. Oh yeah.
[1:38:42] Oh yeah.
[1:40:17] So here um again this pledge uh to uh
[1:40:21] compose um and in our English it goes
[1:40:23] kind of in a different order but um this
[1:40:26] supreme pure land that has been
[1:40:28] repeatedly and perfectly praised by the
[1:40:31] Lord of sages. is um so here uh there
[1:40:34] are various sutra sources and primarily
[1:40:37] for um Sukavati um there is uh and I
[1:40:40] believe the name is farther down but um
[1:40:43] uh the array of um Amitaba's uh uh land
[1:40:47] I'll get the actual name and then
[1:40:49] there's a shorter um like arrangement of
[1:40:52] the um uh realm of Sukavati. There are
[1:40:54] primarily two um uh sutra sources here
[1:40:58] that describe um the kind of qualities
[1:41:00] of um Amitaba's realm. Um and this is
[1:41:03] something again praised um by uh the
[1:41:06] sages uh by the lord of sages um as
[1:41:10] having supreme qualities while also
[1:41:12] being easier for beings to take birth
[1:41:15] in. Um so this is kind of like the
[1:41:17] supreme among supreme uh lands, supreme
[1:41:20] pure lands. And um Jayla Matsongapa out
[1:41:24] of his power of loving kindness for his
[1:41:26] disciples says then that he will express
[1:41:29] or explain as far as he is able um some
[1:41:33] aspirational prayers for rebirth in
[1:41:35] sukapati. So there are multiple uh sort
[1:41:37] of uh kind of prayers that we could uh
[1:41:40] give and he will explain some of them.
[1:41:44] >> Oh yeah.
[1:42:06] No.
[1:42:10] l
[1:42:13] so um here the um uh expression of
[1:42:16] homage and the pledge to compose are
[1:42:18] considered part of the prayer itself
[1:42:20] right um but then we will have a section
[1:42:23] um as I think you can see um in this
[1:42:25] text although we we kindly do have a
[1:42:26] translation of that from some of the
[1:42:28] students um that uh there will be then
[1:42:32] before we pick up with the rest of the
[1:42:34] prayer to be reborn in the land of bliss
[1:42:36] a kind of description of um suka vati of
[1:42:40] Amitaba's pure land going into um the
[1:42:43] kinds of descriptions that are laid out
[1:42:45] in um the array of Amitaba's pure land
[1:42:48] sutra. Um and there's another sutra
[1:42:50] again the array of sukavati. Um and so
[1:42:53] here following the kind of description
[1:42:55] of that we will get back to the actual
[1:42:57] um prayer itself.
[1:43:00] >> Oh yeah.
[1:44:16] foreign.
[1:45:13] So um here um and again looking at um
[1:45:16] the the kind of description of uh that
[1:45:19] we have um in this opening the door to
[1:45:22] the supreme land. It says then uh within
[1:45:26] the stainless scriptures the victorious
[1:45:29] lords spoke many times about the arrays
[1:45:32] of pure lands of emanation bodies that
[1:45:35] were perfectly formed in accordance with
[1:45:38] the mind generation and aspirational
[1:45:40] prayers made when they were previously
[1:45:43] training in great waves of bodhic sattva
[1:45:46] deeds. So um here in um multiple
[1:45:49] scriptural sources, stainless scriptures
[1:45:52] um the victorious lords. Now this can
[1:45:54] refer to Buddha Shakimuni but also other
[1:45:57] Buddhas. Um so we see in various uh
[1:46:00] scriptures the kinds of descriptions of
[1:46:03] the arrays of pure lands of emanation
[1:46:06] bodies um that are formed as a result of
[1:46:10] the kinds of practices and aspirations
[1:46:12] that are made on the path of training.
[1:46:15] Right? So when one has first generated a
[1:46:19] mind of enlightenment um and then due to
[1:46:21] that trains in the various bodhic sappa
[1:46:24] activities and makes as well aspirations
[1:46:27] to be of benefit for the uh for all
[1:46:30] sentient beings and accordingly again
[1:46:32] through their enlightenment is able to
[1:46:36] establish that kind of uh pure uh land.
[1:46:38] And so here there are scriptures
[1:46:40] describing the various uh kind of
[1:46:42] qualities of the environment like we
[1:46:44] could describe the environment around us
[1:46:46] as having forests and so forth. So too
[1:46:49] uh within these pure lands um it's going
[1:46:52] to describe the external environment the
[1:46:55] kind of um beings that inhabit that and
[1:46:57] so forth the various qualities um of
[1:46:59] those kinds of uh pure uh lands. Now um
[1:47:02] the the sort of uh pure uh land in which
[1:47:05] a a being attains enlightenment that's a
[1:47:08] kind of pure land um that we as ordinary
[1:47:10] beings don't take uh um rebirth within.
[1:47:14] However, we can be we can pray and be
[1:47:17] reborn within those kinds of realms that
[1:47:19] are established through the aspirational
[1:47:21] prayers of bodhi of Buddhas.
[1:47:28] foreign.
[1:47:58] So this continues saying though however
[1:48:01] regarding this sukavati pure land the
[1:48:04] lord of stages sages spoke extensively
[1:48:07] about the array of good qualities of
[1:48:09] that pure land. So although there are
[1:48:11] all of these many different pure lands
[1:48:13] it is the case that there is a more
[1:48:15] extensive elaborate description of the
[1:48:18] kind of environment of sukavati and its
[1:48:20] various qualities.
[1:48:44] Foreign
[1:48:57] speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech.
[1:49:16] So again, although um however regarding
[1:49:19] um this uh Sukavati pure land, although
[1:49:22] the Lord of sages has spoken of
[1:49:26] countless different pure lands, um this
[1:49:28] pure land of Sukavati was spoken about
[1:49:31] more extensively um in terms of the
[1:49:33] array of good qualities of that pure
[1:49:36] land. Every sugata as well from
[1:49:39] countless other pure lands spoke many
[1:49:42] praises and in dependence on that it is
[1:49:46] said that limitless bodhic sappas have
[1:49:48] been born in this uh pure in that pure
[1:49:51] land. Uh so here um it's uh the case
[1:49:54] that even though there are countless
[1:49:56] pure realms um there is something uh
[1:49:58] sort of special supreme about sukavati.
[1:50:04] Foreign
[1:50:06] speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech.
[1:50:57] Yeah.
[1:51:00] So um here it says um and in this pure
[1:51:05] land as well when formulated from the
[1:51:07] perspective of persons in the present
[1:51:10] and future it is said that it is
[1:51:13] necessary to generate intense
[1:51:15] aspirations to go to sukavati. So here
[1:51:20] when we think about um again there have
[1:51:22] been as it spoke of um countless bodhic
[1:51:25] savas limitless bodhic sappas who have
[1:51:27] been born in this pure land um and when
[1:51:31] we think about it from the perspective
[1:51:33] of persons now and in the future um we
[1:51:36] can create the kind of causes to be born
[1:51:39] there and one of these causes is this
[1:51:42] kind of um uh intense aspiration um
[1:51:47] really like may I be born in this realm
[1:51:50] of sukavati, may I too go to that land,
[1:51:53] may I create the causes for such a birth
[1:51:56] and so forth. So uh one of the kinds of
[1:51:58] causes that leads to birth in sugati is
[1:52:01] to generate such intense aspirations.
[1:53:17] >> [clears throat]
[1:53:43] >> So moreover from the perspective of what
[1:53:46] has been said by the Buddha in many
[1:53:48] sutras. Um so here uh this sutra's
[1:53:51] ritual manuals and duranis about being
[1:53:54] reborn in sugati in the context of its
[1:53:57] good qualities methods for being reborn
[1:54:00] in that pure land have been extensively
[1:54:03] taught. Um so here uh where it says um
[1:54:06] in the sutras uh if we look at just
[1:54:09] exclusively um sutras um there are those
[1:54:11] that are not connected in any way with
[1:54:13] vadriana and even these talk about the
[1:54:16] kind of qualities of um sukavati and
[1:54:18] here um what's been translated as ritual
[1:54:21] um manuals what I'm hearing um gisha say
[1:54:23] is the kind of um like expression of
[1:54:26] realizations right so in people's um
[1:54:28] expressions of realizations um tok um
[1:54:31] this is also something that uh is
[1:54:34] expressed. We see um teachings about
[1:54:36] sukavati as well as in those kind of um
[1:54:38] daranis uh or um texts sutras dealing
[1:54:43] with those as well. Um so we see lots of
[1:54:45] description about being reborn in uh
[1:54:48] sukavati in terms of its good qualities
[1:54:51] um and the ways in which one is able to
[1:54:54] take birth there, the methods for that
[1:54:56] and it does not appear that persons in
[1:54:59] the present time are unable to
[1:55:01] accomplish these. So um it would be one
[1:55:03] thing if they described this and then it
[1:55:05] was like but you're not able to do it.
[1:55:07] Um but it is not impossible for us right
[1:55:10] um this these descriptions are here and
[1:55:12] it is also within our capacity to do
[1:55:14] this.
[1:55:44] Yes. Okay.
[1:55:55] Fore!
[1:56:08] Foreign! Foreign!
[1:56:26] Foreign speech. Foreign speech.
[1:57:25] Moreover, since in since some pure lands
[1:57:29] are defiled by the five degenerations,
[1:57:33] it is easy for those born there to
[1:57:36] decline. line. Um uh so uh here uh when
[1:57:40] we think about um the kinds of uh time
[1:57:43] of the five uh degenerations um which
[1:57:46] seems very much like our our world now
[1:57:48] uh right where we have a kind of
[1:57:50] degeneration in time and in terms of
[1:57:52] beings and in terms of uh the various
[1:57:55] afflictions that arise for them the
[1:57:57] various kinds of degenerative views that
[1:58:00] we have. Um and we also have in this
[1:58:02] kind of degenerate time a way of like we
[1:58:05] give rise to one affliction and that
[1:58:06] sort of sets off another affliction and
[1:58:08] sets off another affliction. Um and so
[1:58:10] we get more and more of this kind of um
[1:58:13] uh decline or this degeneration. And so
[1:58:17] um here it is the case that sukavati um
[1:58:20] is uh is especially like a a field in
[1:58:24] which those born in this time of the
[1:58:26] five degenerations can be born in um
[1:58:30] that pure land um that is unaffected by
[1:58:33] those kinds of um uh various
[1:58:36] degenerations. So here when we think
[1:58:39] about the kind of prayers um that the
[1:58:41] Buddha um made to come into the world
[1:58:44] and to just uh display various deeds for
[1:58:47] the benefit of sentient beings and the
[1:58:49] kind of extensive the vast benefit that
[1:58:51] he was able to affect through the time
[1:58:54] um that he came. If it were the case
[1:58:56] that um say these kinds of purlands were
[1:58:59] subject su to such degenerations um it
[1:59:02] would they wouldn't have the kinds of uh
[1:59:05] good qualities um uh that they do or if
[1:59:08] it were the case as uh it says here um
[1:59:12] uh bec uh in some it is difficult to be
[1:59:15] born because of the waves of excellences
[1:59:18] of the environments and its inhabitants
[1:59:20] such as being filled exclusively with
[1:59:22] assemblies of bodhic sattvas. So here if
[1:59:25] it were the case that we had to give
[1:59:28] rise to uncontrived bodhicittita in
[1:59:30] order to get into sucavati that would be
[1:59:33] quite difficult right it's difficult for
[1:59:35] us even to develop uncontrived
[1:59:37] bodhicitta so um if it were the case
[1:59:40] that we necessarily needed that kind of
[1:59:43] uncontrived bodhicitta to uh get into
[1:59:45] zukavati that would be quite uh
[1:59:47] prohibitive right but that is not the
[1:59:49] case here
[1:59:51] >> oh yeah
[1:59:53] foreign.
[2:00:32] Fore! Foreign! Foreign!
[2:01:13] >> [snorts]
[2:01:14] >> So and in order that those born in
[2:01:17] Sukavati are certain to be in some
[2:01:21] assembly of genuine practitioners. Um
[2:01:24] and then in brief then in brief since
[2:01:28] those with the greatest aspiration for
[2:01:31] some pure land quickly take birth in
[2:01:34] that pure land and since the people in
[2:01:38] this would have much devotion for
[2:01:40] sukavati. It is appropriate that we make
[2:01:43] aspirational prayers to take rebirth in
[2:01:46] a Buddha field and primarily visualize
[2:01:50] sugati pure land. So um here in order to
[2:01:54] that um those born in Sukavati are in um
[2:01:58] are certain to be some assembly of
[2:02:01] genuine practitioners like in order that
[2:02:04] the kind of assembly within Sukavati be
[2:02:06] filled with genuine practitioners. Um it
[2:02:09] really is up to those that are have the
[2:02:12] strongest kind of devotion and
[2:02:14] aspiration to make those sorts of
[2:02:16] prayers um in order to be born in such a
[2:02:20] Buddha field um and to as well uh
[2:02:22] primarily visualize that pure land.
[2:02:26] Oh yeah.
[2:02:46] forchech.
[2:03:20] Yeah,
[2:03:45] More
[2:04:35] Foreign
[2:04:44] speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech.
[2:05:04] forchech.
[2:05:54] Fore! Foreign! Foreign!
[2:06:55] >> [clears throat]
[2:07:40] [cough and clears throat]
[2:07:43] >> So um then uh we turn to through
[2:07:46] establishing what kind of cause is one
[2:07:49] born in that pure land. indicate you
[2:07:52] might
[2:07:55] >> um and so it is just um as it appears in
[2:07:58] um and here we have the the correct name
[2:08:00] of the sutra. is confusing because we
[2:08:02] have the sutra of the array of amitaba
[2:08:05] pure land and then there's the sutra of
[2:08:07] the array of sukavati which is a shorter
[2:08:10] sutra which is not this one that we're
[2:08:12] quoting from right now but they're very
[2:08:13] similar and so here uh from um the sutra
[2:08:17] of the array of ammitaba pure land um it
[2:08:20] says oh Ananda some sentient beings
[2:08:24] repeatedly contemplate that the tatagata
[2:08:26] in many ways um repeatedly contempl ate
[2:08:30] that to tagata in many ways generate
[2:08:33] immeasurable roots of virtue and
[2:08:36] dedicate them after generating the mind
[2:08:39] of awakening. So um here when it comes
[2:08:42] to uh thinking about the causes that
[2:08:45] lead to our being born in sugati first
[2:08:48] is making those kinds of aspirational
[2:08:50] prayers right um uh repeatedly
[2:08:53] contemplating this realm repeatedly
[2:08:55] calling it to mind paying um mental
[2:08:58] attention um to that and then through
[2:09:01] generating um immeasurable uh roots of
[2:09:04] um merit um we dedicate them after
[2:09:08] generating the mind of awakening
[2:09:10] Um so here this is something where our
[2:09:13] form I mean most of us probably don't
[2:09:16] have uncontrived bodhicitta right or
[2:09:18] uncontrived mind of awakening but we can
[2:09:21] generate this through effort we are
[2:09:24] making effort at this whether we are
[2:09:26] trying to generate this kind of attitude
[2:09:28] through the sevenfold or six-fold cause
[2:09:30] and effect method of really reflecting
[2:09:33] on the kindness of the mother and
[2:09:34] reflecting on all sentient beings having
[2:09:36] acted with such kindness and recalling
[2:09:39] that kindness wishing to repay it.
[2:09:41] feeling a kind of affection and then
[2:09:43] feeling love and compassion such that
[2:09:46] our attitude is one of wanting to take
[2:09:48] on their suffering ourselves to
[2:09:50] eliminate that um uh with our own power
[2:09:53] or whether we are doing this through the
[2:09:55] equalizing and exchange of self and
[2:09:58] other we are making an effort at
[2:10:00] bodhicitta right um it hasn't yet become
[2:10:04] uncontrived or uh totally natural
[2:10:06] without any kind of effort needed but it
[2:10:09] is the nature of our find that doing so
[2:10:12] effort over time will become something
[2:10:15] that is natural, right? With that kind
[2:10:17] of effort, we can eventually get to the
[2:10:19] point in which we it is natural. We
[2:10:22] don't have to think about it. And so
[2:10:24] this is the kind of um work that we
[2:10:26] should be doing. And when those who
[2:10:29] aspire to be born in that world system
[2:10:31] are appro approaching the time of death,
[2:10:34] then that tatagata arhot perfectly
[2:10:37] complete Buddha, Amitaba, completely
[2:10:40] surrounded by many assemblies of monks,
[2:10:42] having looked at the pure land before
[2:10:44] him, remained there. And those aspiring
[2:10:47] to be born there have looked upon the
[2:10:49] Bavan Amitaba will tr will die and
[2:10:52] transmigrate with a mind of exceptional
[2:10:55] clarity and hence will be reborn in just
[2:10:58] that very world system of sukavati.
[2:11:01] [snorts]
[2:11:02] So here um it is the case that if one um
[2:11:05] when you are at the point of death
[2:11:08] through having contemplated sugati many
[2:11:11] times over the course of your life you
[2:11:13] can imagine um now whether we actually
[2:11:16] enter the presence of um all of the
[2:11:18] tatagatas or sugatas and ammitaba you
[2:11:21] imagine that you are in their presence
[2:11:24] and if one is able to recall this at the
[2:11:27] time of death imagine being in the
[2:11:29] presence of this tatagata arhat
[2:11:32] completely perfect Buddha Amitaba
[2:11:34] surrounded by an assembly of monks um
[2:11:37] and really recall that pure land they're
[2:11:39] able to die and transmigrate with an a
[2:11:42] mind of exceptional clarity and hence
[2:11:45] will be reborn in just that very world
[2:11:48] system of sukavati
[2:11:52] >> so our time is up for right Now
[2:12:02] due to this merit may we soon [singing]
[2:12:05] attain the awakened state of Guru Buddha
[2:12:09] that we may be able to liberate
[2:12:12] [singing]
[2:12:13] all sensient beings from their
[2:12:16] suffering.
[2:12:18] May the precious body [singing] mind not
[2:12:20] yet born arise and grow. May that born
[2:12:24] have no decline, but [singing] increase
[2:12:27] forever more.
