Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 88-minute teaching, Geshe Kyab explores the twenty-ninth practice from the 37 Practices of the Bodhisattva: the union of calm abiding and insight meditation as the path to destroying delusion completely. He explains that calm abiding alone, which non-Buddhist practitioners can achieve, does not liberate from saṃsāra—only the combination with penetrative insight into the nature of reality does. Geshe Kyab then outlines the practical foundation: six universal requirements for all meditators including a favorable place, few desires, contentment, pure ethics, and freedom from distraction, followed by six additional Buddhist-specific requirements for those practising guru yoga. He walks through the five major faults that obstruct meditation and their eight antidotes, emphasizing that laziness is the chief obstacle and that Western students especially often expect swift results despite the months of consistent, disciplined practice required. This session addresses both lay practitioners and the ordained, with extensive examples drawn from Himalayan retreat contexts.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 2017 06 06.mp3
UUID: 8be6c481-8810-4a49-913a-3adde0089764
Teacher: Geshe Kyab
Collection: 37 Practices Tuesday (Geshe Kyab)
Date: 2017-06-06
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 88.2 minutes
Words: ~7,674
I go for refuge until enlightenment it to Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, the Supreme Assembly. By the merit of giving and other perfections, may I become the Buddha to benefit all sentient beings. May all sentient beings have happiness and causes of happiness. May all sentient beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering. May all sentient beings inseparable from happiness that is free from suffering.
May all sentient beings abide in equanimity, free from attachment for friends, hatred for the enemies. Reverently, I prostrate with my body, speech, mind, a pleasant cloud of every type offered actually and imagined. I declare all my negative karma. I rejoice in the merit of all holy and ordinary beings. Please remain until the end of cyclic existence.
Dedicate will of the Dharma for living beings. Dedicate all my merits. Page ninety seven. Short mandala offering. Mandra please.
Thank you. Now look at the text, book of thirty seven, Practices of the Bodhisattva. We approach practice number twenty ninth. Last few weeks we talked about the six paramita. Not everything.
Six paramita or the six perfections. Practice of generosity, practice of morality, practice of patience, practice of effort. So today is the practice of concentration. Then practice of wisdom. Practice of generosity, morality, patience, effort, or diligence.
Same thing. Then the concentration, concentration, then the wisdom. Six. Perfections. So now practice of concentration, which is the meditation.
So this one is the practice number twenty ninth out of the thirty-seven. Twenty ninth practice of the Bodhisattva. So if you look at the textbook, this is the union of higher insight into the true nature of reality. And single-minded, one pointed concentration, by knowing that it destroys the illusion completely, we should practice dhyana beyond the four samsaric dhyanas of formless realms. This is the practice of the bodhisattva.
Mainly this one is talking about calm abiding, which is the basic meditation. In addition with calm abiding and insight meditation, which is the analytical one, higher. In this translation, translated union of higher insight. Higher insight is the insight meditation or the penetrative insight. Sometimes different translations.
The Pali term is vipassana. So in Tibetan we call lhakthong. And in Sanskrit it’s called Vipassana. English translation is called the penetrative insight. So that’s called insight, sometimes insight meditation, which is the more wisdom.
So now here is the text saying union of higher insight. Union with higher insight as well as calm abiding, which is the basic meditation. Shine in Tibetan, and Sanskrit, śamatha, which is the basic meditation. Union with calm abiding and insight, meditation only can be able to destroy delusion completely. Only calm abiding, achieving only calm abiding cannot destroy the delusion completely.
So that’s why you need insight meditation as well. Vipassana is very important. However, in order to achieve or properly meditate insight, first you must really meditate calm abiding. And you must achieve calm abiding first. So that’s why in Tibetan, In Śāntideva’s, was also the book that says union with calm abiding and the insight can be able to destroy delusions completely.
So here is also. However, Śāntideva’s book says, first you must achieve calm abiding. Not saying you should not meditate both. Of course you can meditate sometimes calm abiding. You can meditate sometimes insight.
But here is what I’m saying is achieve main point of view. First you must achieve calm abiding, or you must possess calm abiding first. Then you can be able to achieve the second one. So then now you have both these perfect meditation. So then you can able to eliminate delusions completely.
But many, many practitioners, especially the non-Buddhist practitioners, maybe some Buddhist practitioners as well, mainly the non-Buddhist practitioners. There are many, many non-Buddhist practitioners, especially the Hindus, those higher practitioners, they achieved calm abiding. Yes, completely they achieved calm abiding. However, they have no achievement of Vipassana, or the insight one. So that’s why they cannot completely, really destroy the delusions.
Still they do hold the delusions as attachment, anger, and some other mental afflictions. But they achieve calm abiding? Yes, absolutely. Mentally, physically, they really achieve what’s called mental and physical pliancy. Kind of a bliss.
They achieve that. But unfortunately, some of these practitioners, they are confused. They are confused. They think now they achieved liberation. They think this is the liberation.
This is now totally free from saṃsāra. So that’s their confusion. So then when they wake up, when they wake up from the meditation, when they look at their physical body, because they meditate, they meditate for thousands of years. When they look at their physical body and so is their hairs are so up and down because hair already grows up and down, so long hair. When they see some part of their hair, you know, cut by the rats, inside the cave.
And then they get upsetness. Rat cutted my hair. They get upsetness. When they get upsetness, or even angry towards the rat, then they feel like, wow, I have not achieved moksha, which is the liberation. So that means there is no liberation.
They also feel and get some wrong views. Or there is now, then there is no liberation because of their own confusion mind. See? Then sometimes they go down and born in the lower realms even though they achieve calm abiding. So now only the achievement of calm abiding is wonderful, but not enough.
So that’s why you must achieve the second one, which is the insight meditation, Vipassana, which is very, very important. Okay? But many of those nowadays talk about Vipassana. What I learned from the monastery is that many Hindu tradition does not have second meditation, only the first one. They can be able to achieve calm abiding, but they cannot achieve Viphyasana because they didn’t have this Vipassana meditation.
But nowadays you can see many, many different traditions. They talk about Vipassana, but remember, advertisement and actual achievement of Viphyasana is different. But in Buddhist texts, it’s very common, these two meditations. calm abiding, so is the Viphyasana, is very common. Okay, especially in Tibetan Buddhism.
Shamatha and lhakthong like that. Must be. So that’s why you look at the text. This is the union of higher insight into the true nature of reality, which is the Viphyasana can be able to see and perceive true reality, nature of reality, nature into the true nature of reality. And single-minded, one pointed concentration, which is the calm abiding.
By knowing that, it destroys delusion completely. See? calm abiding is achievement of calm abiding is, for example, you’ve got the candlelight. You turn on the candlelight, but now you try to see the wall, those painting. But that candlelight is there, and you are trying to see the wall painting.
But then there is also some wind coming. Candlelight is moving. Very difficult to see that wall painting very clearly. Very difficult to see. There’s no clarity.
You can see something because the light is moving by the wind. So that’s why you couldn’t see something but cannot see very clearly. There’s no clarity there. But then second one is the Vipassana, candle light is there, also wind is not there. There’s no wind, and totally you can see that painting is very very you know, obviously, very cleanly you can see.
Lot of cleansing, very mass like a you know, it’s a lucid or whatever you call very clean like a high definition. That’s only Viphyasana. calm abiding is still see but not so clearly like that. So that’s a different calm abiding in the Viphyasana. Viphyasana is still like seeing like 3D, high definition.
So that’s why the Viphyasana is very, very important. Without Viphyasana meditation or achievement of Viphyasana, we cannot free from the saṃsāra. I mean, we cannot, yes, you can. I mean, yes, I would like to say we cannot free from the saṃsāra, so we cannot achieve fully enlightenment as well. Okay.
We cannot achieve liberation, which is some of these practitioners. They are confused. They thought they really achieved liberation. Unfortunately, when they see all their long hair just cut out because of the rats, Some they see their next life going to be the lower realm because with clairvoyance they can see their own next life going to be the reborn in the lower realms. So that’s why they feel like, oh, there is no really such a thing, liberation.
And they get these wrong views. This is not a problem because there is no any teachings to free oneself from the saṃsāra. Problem is they don’t meditate Vipyasana or the insight one. They only just when they feel mentally and physically such a bliss and pliancy, so then they think it’s such a peace, you know. Then they think this is the liberation.
So now, today I will put down the calm abiding. Here the calm abiding is not easy to achieve. Okay, this here is the cultivation, requisites for quiescence, which is the calm abiding. Mental quiescence means calm abiding. Okay.
And there are six requirements which are very, very important. There are six requisites that must be cultivated in order to achieve quiescence, which is the calm abiding. So these six requirements are general. General means everyone. Buddhist meditator as well as non-Buddhist meditator.
This is very, very important to have these six requirements. First one is staying in a favorable place. Then the next one is the having few desires. Then the being satisfied with what one has. Then the avoiding the disturbance caused by being involved in many activities.
Then the having pure having a pure moral practice. Then the finally and overcoming thoughts about sense objects and other things. Now, whether we can achieve calm abiding, you know, staying in on a flat, or meditating or not. So now this is now answers here. Okay.
First one is saying staying in a favorable place. So this one is very, very important to find out the nicest place. Here it says favorable place is the favorable place, favorable friend, you know, also favorable friend. And also this one is very, very important to search first. For instance, if the place that you meditate, mainly these are not talking about the inside the cities.
These are mainly the remote area, which is the many people go to those area, remote area, and they meditate. So here in Adelaide we have Dathün Ling in Kangaroo Island, considered as a really remote area. Generally speaking, it is really not a remote area as a Himalaya Mountains. But at least in here, if you compare meditating in the Adelaide City or the meditating in Kangaroo, Dathün Ling, Kangaroo Island, Dathün Ling, Kangaroo Island is much better. Because my own experience, I was there.
Although Kangaroo Island, Dathün Ling, they built a beautiful house, even though they have a kitchen there, beautiful kitchen. Everything, cabinet there. Or you can have in the winter also this oven. You can have a warm, you you can put some woods there and warm it yourself. There are two rooms.
I don’t know. Maybe my room is only two rooms. Inside one is the inside room where you can meditate. Outside one is where you can sleep. And the other side is is dining room also.
And the kitchen is the other side. You have a bathroom. Wow. If you have such a room, we can meditate for ten years. It’s like an apartment actually.
Yeah, it is a little bit rural, but what I’m saying is there is electricity also. I think that one is very luxury, my point of view. But here we are talking about the cave in the mountains. No power, you know, and no kitchen separate. One small tiny cave, that is your bedroom, that is your dining room, or I don’t think it is bathroom, bathroom must be outside, But that is also your kitchen, your meditation room, everything.
You need to cook there, you need to sleep here, you can meditate here, or you may sit there, you may die there. That’s it. But maybe the bathroom is outside, you know. Are pliancy of bathrooms. I’m talking about bushes.
It’s a much, much open bathroom. You don’t need to really have a totally open bathroom. You can have so much space. No problem at all. But I’m just saying that is not my teaching actually.
But favorable place is the place that you need to check is there any robber or thief or not. There are maybe some dangerous animals or or dangerous animals. And also it’s good to have clean water. Also the best thing is to try to search someone really meditated before. Someone really meditated, great practitioner meditated there, achieved calm abiding.
I think that is the best place. But then if you find out that place is someone meditated, but then he or she maybe broke his vows or maybe did something wrong, I think better not to meditate inside of that cave because there are something negative. So see many things you need to check out in order to become a successful meditator. Place is very important because that is the place you will going to meditate. You will going to be there for many, many months, you know.
Then it’s also good to have some other meditators near you, some good friends, and someone, I mean, good meditators sometimes get together discuss calm abiding meditation, which is also help you. So something like staying in the favorable place is just there are many things we need to talk about it, but just leave it that way. Then having few desires. This one is they’re talking about the, you know, not so, so many things. Just having few ones, almost like a contentment for pure desire, because less desire is very, very important.
Now, the question is, dethyling Kangaroo Island room is quiet. The same kitchen as what I have in my flat. Bathroom is there. Do you think it is having fewer ones or not? We need to ask questions.
But what I’m saying is under the circumstances situation, generally speaking, that one is much better than here. Absolutely yes. But here is the having few ones. Contentment for few desires. Similar, being satisfied with what one has.
Similar. Just satisfied with what one has. If you are not satisfied, then you may be doing too much activities. That’s not good for a meditator. Then avoiding the disturbance caused by being involved in many activities.
So this is another thing. We must avoid many other activities, like mundane activities. Know, whatever people do regularly. Must avoid Especially the many activities that really disrupts your meditation. Then the having a pure moral practice.
If you are lay people, ten non virtuous actions must be stopped. You are ordained monks and the nuns, so you need to, on top of the ten non virtuous actions, vows, if you are novice monks and nuns, thirty-six vows must be pure. Fully ordained monks, two fifty three. Fully ordained nuns, more than two fifty three. All these vows must be kept purely, perfectly, cleanly.
Most important thing is on top of the ten non virtuous actions. Lay people, ten non virtuous actions, as well as if you took the lay vows, so then you now understand what I mean. Those are your moral practice. So having a pure moral practice, meditator without pure ethics, there is no achievement. Is the foundation of all good qualities.
Without ethics, there’s nothing I mean, the foundation or the principle. Ethics is the principle in order to, meditate successfully. Okay? So ethics is very, very important. And overcoming thoughts about sense objects and other things.
See, we must be overcoming sense objects, thoughts about sense objects. So that’s why I think the do you say all these objects of sense consciousness really, really must be overcome. Otherwise, you see some beautiful things, then you feel inside you feel some desire, like a covetousness, which is not good. You hear some good musics, that you may feel to have that musics. How can be a meditator can have such a feeling?
That’s not good. Or you may smell something, some kind of a, you know, perfume or good odors you may feel to have. You may attach that. Or so is the tongue consciousness. You may feel to eat different different food.
No, no, meditator, you cannot have, you cannot be have menu options. Or today I will cook Thai food. Tomorrow I will cook Indian food. The day after tomorrow I will cook Japanese sushi. You cannot do that.
Too much desire, see, because of the tongue consciousness. Must be overcome. And then, of course, physically. You know, the tangible objects. So it must be overcome.
So, of course, you need to eat certain food. But you shouldn’t have many, many, many options. You need your food. I mean, you need to eat right food, healthy food, of course. But what I’m saying is you shouldn’t have many, many desire towards the food.
If you do, then the problem. So then you feel, you know, or then when you cook, you may be very much busy to cooking different, different dishes because of your desire. You cannot do that. So I think the best thing is the roasted barley powder. Very, very easy.
You can cook tea or just boil the hot water. You may have some tea and maybe some butter. And have some ghee maybe. Have some cheese, dry cheese. You know, I think these are the best.
Very easy. It’s not going to take a long time to cook. It’s very easy, actually. Now it says calm abiding is the After following all these six requirements, then once you meditate calm abiding, you need to meditate except going to the bathroom, or sleeping, or eating. You are supposed to be meditating consistently like that.
Except. Going to the bathroom, eating, and sleeping. Must be meditated consistently. Then if you do meditate consistently, continually, without forgetting the instructions. If you meditate properly, you will achieve calm abiding within six months.
There is hope. Now we are not achieving calm abiding even though ten years, twenty years, one full lifetime, must be many, many mistakes we have been making. I think maybe not meditating properly. Maybe there’s no instructions that you are not following, or maybe you had the instructions. Maybe you forget it.
Or maybe the place that you are meditating is not the right place. Many, many obstacles for us. Maybe you are very busy. You are maybe a very busy mom, busy father, busy aunt. You know, possible.
Maybe you may have a big family, difficult to meditate. Or maybe you are not interested at all. Then that’s very different. See? Many obstacles for us.
So that’s why the all these obstacles, you know, you know, happen to be because of the attachment, desire, problem is really desire. We have so much desire. Really, we do. If you really check it out, how much desire we have. So much.
Just for food. Look at that. And also they sometimes see sight when you see some of the things. Watching television. Playing those computer games.
Some people do. So much desire. When you see something, now you feel, I must have that. See? Then the musics.
Sometimes we call it the dharma musics. But after all, so much desire, even the dharma music also, you know. Good to listen to the dharma music, but it depends on your motivation. If you look at it this way, so much desire, because of that, we have no because of the desire, we become very much active, busy, and active towards mundane activities. Then there’s no time to meditate.
See? There’s no time to meditate. And then also another thing is the laziness. It’s the major obstacle for meditating. Laziness.
And sometimes, let’s say some people who meditate maybe now little hopeless. Possible. Because they are the one who are not meditating properly. They feel like I don’t think I can achieve calm abiding. But they feel like a hopeless.
See? There are many, many, many obstacles. And most main obstacle is the, of course, laziness and I will give you a list later. Also, I can see many times the one common obstacle for all my students is how do you say it? expecting quick achievement.
People expect soon achievement. When you meditate, just achieve it. It’s very much we are hoping to achieve calm abiding as soon as possible. It’s not going to happen. So that’s another obstacle.
Especially my westerner students. Because of your culture, is fast, fast, fast. Remember? McDonald’s, KFC, those fast food drive, buy, eat, drive, buy, drink. That’s not going to happen.
You can buy food, driving, eating, of course. You may be busy. You you have no time to cook. But calm abiding achievement or calm abiding is not like a McDonald’s or KFC or fast food. Not like that.
It takes time, you need determination, you need patience, tolerance, very, very important, after having the instructions. This is what I can see to many, many of my western students. Everything is very, very fast, you know. There is no achievement of enlightenment meditating a few days. No.
Absolutely not. Then we all already achieved enlightenment or calm abiding before having all these teachings. It takes time. That’s why the patience comes. Tolerance comes.
So first, before you actually go out there, wherever you go, in the Himalayan mountains, or the Kangaroo Island, or any other place. These are the must be requirements. See, we get many, many, many higher, higher, higher, higher teaching, but we don’t take care of this one first. Here, this one is the first we must take care of. But this one is the six requisites.
Both non-Buddhist meditators and Buddhist meditators need it. As I said, calm abiding is not only just the Buddhist meditation. calm abiding is the union with Buddhism and non Buddhism. Okay, now, next one is another. On top of this one, there are another six requirements.
These are the persons who do Guru Yoga practices, especially the Buddhist people who do Guru Yoga. So now here is this one. Cleaning the room or place of practice. So then the of course you need to clean first your room wherever you practice, which is very, very important. Then arranging symbolic objects of refuge and pure offering because these are the only Buddhist people do.
non-Buddhist people, they need to place the set of the Buddha’s image or the Buddhist approach image. So that’s why here I’m talking about arranging symbolic objects of refuge and pure offering. Then sitting on cushion and maintaining the sevenfold posture of Vairochana. Then they visualize the merit field. Then offering the seven branch practice and the mandala of universe, then the making powerful supplication and prayers from one’s heart.
So these are the six requirements on top of another six requisites for the Guru Yoga practitioner. Very, very important. Because Guru Yoga practitioner must be Buddhist, must have Buddhist vow. I’m giving you different, different Okay, two different things. So that’s now you have your own choice.
Must be Buddhist. And if you are lay person, you must have lay vows. Very important. Then also the Bodhisattva vow, tantric vows, which go higher and higher. If you are fully ordained monks and nuns, then I know they need talk about it.
They understand that. So these are the six different requirements for Guru Yoga practitioner. Now altogether twelve. First six that I mentioned to you before, which are the only non-Buddhist practitioner as well as Buddhist practitioner. But this one is the non-Buddhist practitioner, I mean non-Buddhist calm abiding meditator.
You don’t need all of this. You can still achieve calm abiding. Okay. These are the Buddhist practitioners, before those six, they need it because they are already preparing to meditate after achieving calm abiding, which is the wisdom one. Because here you need to do many, many prayers, many, many offerings.
When I say prayer and offering, we are not talking about prayer and offering, just general prayer and offering. To one’s a guru, Buddha, and other gurus. We need to do these supplications and prayers to get the blessings from the guru. Of course, then you need one proper guru, that you must be devoted he or she, which is very, very important. Devotion is also very important in this point.
Then you need to learn the meaning of guru devotion. I may do as much as I can when I am going to teach the foundation of all good qualities. At that point, I will teach you some different gurus. Okay? On how to do the guru devotion things.
But today, for this point, you need a guru that you can rely on him or her, which is very, very important. Then of course you need to do supplication to get the blessings from the guru. Because many, many of my western students do not understand, even though they came to Buddhist Center for many, many years, still they don’t understand some of the things, most important things. Because of the nothing to do with the good or bad. It’s just the culture.
I did say this before. It is very, very important to accumulation. Accumulation of merits. Accumulation of virtues in order to achieve something. You are practicing something, but we are not having any achievement.
One problem is that we are not accumulating merits. We had accumulation of merits, but our merits are decreasing. Decreasing, but there are no new merits generating or accumulating. Remember, as I mentioned, the bank deposits. When you deposit three thousand dollars in your bank, which is good, but then now you are, you know, every day you are using plastic card when you go to Foodland, to shop there, Kohl’s or supermarket, you are using this credit card and cash.
You draw cash from the ATM. You are using, using, using. Dollars three thousand is decreasing, decreasing. There are no new deposits. There is no accumulation of new cash or checking your balance that you had.
But only the decreasing now is three thousand dollars One day only two thousand dollars then after sometimes one thousand dollars after sometimes maybe nothing. That’s a merit. I’m just giving you an example. We had tons and tons of merits, of course. That’s why we were born as a human being.
But then we are really decreasing our merits, having luxury apartments and flats and mansions and expensive cars and expensive food, expensive clothes, expensive kings, jewelry and rings, and expensive computers, shoes, ladies’ bags, paying thousands of dollars. So that decreases our merits. Then are no new merits cumulative. That’s a problem now. But of course, you are rich.
Good for you. That’s your own karma. Your own previous merits, virtues. That’s why you are rich. You have this luxury life.
I’m not saying I’m jealous. Absolutely not. That’s good for you. That’s because of your own previous, you know, great merits you accumulated, virtuous actions, you know, you did it. So that’s why you became such a rich and you have luxury life.
Wonderful. But same time, if you also accumulated more merits, More, more, more. Tons of, tons of merits. Then this will also help your practice also. I’m not saying becoming rich is bad.
Absolutely not. Share some of your belongings. Share it with others. See? That’s why the practice of generosity comes.
The practice of morality comes. See? One of the practices of morality is called morality of welfare of the sentient beings, helping others. One of the practices of generosity, there are different practices of generosity. The practice of generosity, welfare of the sentient beings.
You can help other sentient beings. See, When you do that, you are accumulating more merits, especially in this month if you are a Buddhist or even though you are not Buddhist. Same thing. In this month is the very, very important Buddhist month for Buddhist people. It’s called Saga Dawa.
Saga Dawa is the main — Saga Dawa is the, I think, after a few days, which is the full moon Tibetan lunar calendar, I will check the yes, this one, Friday, June ninth, the Saga Dawa, Buddha’s birth enlightenment in Parinirvana day. Buddha took birth that day, and Buddha attained enlightenment same date and month. Buddha also went parinirvana, which is the Buddha passed away, date and month, full moon. So that’s why the Saga Dawa, or Buddha’s birth enlightenment, Parinirvana day is one of the most important day in Buddhism. But then we do this full month, not only just the ninth date of June, I mean date, June ninth, which is the Friday, which is the actual Saga Dawa.
But we do celebrate this full month. We don’t eat the animal meats. Absolutely not. And we don’t eat also certain other food. And good to be avoid eggs if you can, but sometimes egg is not the meat, I don’t know.
But if you consider eggs are also meat, don’t eat it. So also you need to avoid the certain mundane activities that people regularly do. You need to avoid it. Do more meditations. Do more practices this month.
Especially they do say many, many mantras. So that means everything that whatever my point is whatever you do virtues. Whatever you do in this month, the virtues multiplies. It means accumulating more virtues, accumulating more merits. How beautiful.
But I’m not saying only this month. Of course you need to do everyday practice. What I’m saying is especially this month. Yes. Monasteries, Tibetan societies already started Saga Dawa weeks ago.
But then Friday ninth is the actual Saga Dawa, then people go to the monasteries, the temples. They do many, many of these offering things. And they do also the giving donations. They go to the monasteries bringing the oils to do butter lamps, you know, that’s what we call butter lamps. And also candles offering things, flower offering things, food offering things.
And they go to the monasteries, do offerings to the monks some food, and dinner, and lunch, bread, and tea, little amount of money, monks’ hand, thousands of monks. So that’s the day people do that. People already start it, many people. Especially the full moon day, we do that. So why do we do that?
Because of the merits. Cumulative merits are very, very important. So see, what many Westerners do not understand. And the Buddhist book says if you want to achieve this cup of achievement, or to have some realization, this full cup of realization, you need to accumulate merits, maybe the ten cups of merits you need in order to achieve one cup of achievement. That’s how much you need.
So that’s why the puja is also very important. We do offerings here, Lama Chopa puja, sixteen Arhats puja, Medicine Buddha’s puja, and Purification puja. There are many, many, many, many, many pujas, which is the English translation they call ritual, you know, we do here. But not many people show up, interestingly, really, even though some people are considered Buddhist, but I cannot see. Am I right?
Yes. Yeah, I can see it. And some of the wonderful people come, but many people don’t come. See? That’s why now is no pain, no gain.
Sometimes we need to go through some pain even though you may not that much time. Sometimes we need to come and do things right. So that is why there is no pain, no gain. In order to gain something, you need to go through some pain, some difficulties, which is very important. Another thing is it says, you reap what you sow.
You harvest what you plant. See? How can we complain, oh, it’s hopeless. I meditate many, many months or years. I have no achievement.
Of course not. Because so many things are missing. Especially here, the first thing is missing these twelve different requirements. non-Buddhist people may be missing six requirements. Buddhist people may be missing twelve different requirements, I think.
Okay? Now here are the obstacles. five faults and ten antidotes. Laziness, which I mentioned before. Laziness is one fault for meditators.
Forgetting instructions is the second fault for meditators. Then the mental dullness and agitation, non application of antidotes, over application of antidotes. So these are the five faults for meditators. When all these five faults are, you know, occurring, then here are the eight antidotes that must be applied. A faith, aspiration, enthusiastic perseverance and ecstasy as antidotes to laziness.
When you feel laziness, these are the faith is very important. Then aspiration is very important. Why you are meditating? So that’s why the determination, enthusiastic perseverance is very important. So is the ecstasy.
Because you need faith. You need something that is why I am meditating. So these are the you need to really build up. Faith, aspiration, enthusiastic perseverance, and ecstasy as antidotes to laziness. If you do have a faith, aspiration, enthusiastic perseverance, and accuracy, so then your laziness decreases.
Now we feel laziness when it’s time to meditate because we have no enough faith. No aspiration, enthusiastic perseverance and ecstasy. So that’s why when we really try to meditate, we feel laziness. Then the other fault is forgetting instructions. So this one is the antidote, is the mindfulness as an antidote to forgetting instructions.
So here is the mindfulness is the mindfulness itself. Something is the, you know, you remember. Many times people really, they heard the instructions of how to meditate calm abiding, but they already forgot it. They already forget it. Not anymore instructions in the mind.
So that’s why mindfulness comes. Mindfulness will help you to not to forget instructions. So then now how I am able to develop mindfulness. So that’s why you need this contemplation. Once you hear the instructions, you need to contemplate the instructions again and again, again and again without losing the instructions, without losing the whatever instructions your teacher gave you.
That’s what you need to do. Then you can be able to really, you know, have this strong mindfulness, which is then you solve the one major problem. Then the alertness as an antidote to mental dullness and agitation. Mental dullness and agitation is another major obstacle or fault for a meditator. So that’s why the mental alertness comes.
Vigilance. Awareness. A lot. A lot is the you need to alert, meaning you need a watchful mind. Is there mental dullness is coming or not?
Or my mind is agitated or not? See, dullness, mental dullness is the becoming more sleepy, also really how you say it, means very much actually sleepy and very much down. Couldn’t hold the object. Very much down or depressed, maybe, you know? That’s dullness.
Mental dullness can be positive, can be negative. Agitation is the agitated, like a distraction. You are distracted because agitation is still part of the attachment, desired attachment. You agitate it because of the past desire. Now when you meditate, sometimes goes.
Mind agitates. So that’s why there must be balance, mental dullness and agitation, in order to balance. Alertness is very important. Watchful mind. Remember, our mind is monkey mind, and that monkey mind needs another mind alertness.
Watchful. Is my mind in the right place or wrong place? Something must be watchful. That one is still called mental alertness. Vigilance, mental awareness, same thing.
Then the next application of antidotes to counter their non application when it must be applied to the antidote, so then you must be applied to the antidote. But then if you have non application, you’re supposed to be applying the antidote if you not applying the antidote, so that’s another fault. Or application of antidotes to counter their over-application. If things are good, if your mental state is even, mental dullness and agitation is not there, then you shouldn’t be applying application or you shouldn’t be very pushy. If you do that, then another fault, non application of antidotes to counter their I’m sorry, I’m putting this to yeah.
Yes, application of antidotes to counter their non application. Mainly you need to apply the application when you need it. If you don’t, so that’s the application of antidotes to counter, there are non application. Application of antidotes to counter their application. Point is the one is the you must be applying antidotes.
When mental dullness is there, you must be applied antidotes. If you are agitated, you apply antidotes. If you don’t, that is the fault. But an over application is also another fault, not good. Then if you if you over application, then another problem appears.
So that’s why everything must be balanced is very, very important. So these are the five faults and eight antidotes. Unfortunately, I cannot finish. Next week maybe I will go now here is the most important thing is here. Mental settling.
There are below ten ones. Forget the number ten. It’s a computer. Not my mistake. Computer did it.
Only nine. Actually, there’s no actually ten. So these are the actions I will do next week. So these are the actions of meditation. You are going to know really, really.
But before that, some of the things we need to talk about, but I will do this detail and also as much as I can. And also how I say make a little easier way. That is going to be next week on Tuesday. Okay? Thank you very much.
Now, break. If I will keep all these teachings in here. Say it again. When you are in an adult state of mind. Dullness.
Dullness state of mind. Uh-huh. I have lost alertness. Alertness is lost. Okay.
How do I find it? How do you find the mental alertness? Alertness? How do you so that’s why the alertness is the you need to make this habit. It’s very important.
You need to alert before dullness. Dullness is there or not. Agitation is there or not. That’s why you need to alert. Once you are in the dullness, I think this actually comes in the next week.
We need to talk about, we need to go each other with these nine levels. So we need to talk about this is the mental dullness, now you need to do this. All those applications come. I will give you more details next week. You can all go.
You need to come next week. Okay? Good. Anyone? So here is exactly the application for the when mental dullness, you know, occur, the application needed to be applied.
Non application for so that these are the we need to talk about now. I mean next week. More of those, each of these nine levels. Okay? You will understand.
But now if I just give you, then everything is like this, you know, goes. You have to go this way. Anyone? Higher insight is the Vipyasana, insight meditation, more analytical meditation. Like selflessness, meditation of selflessness, meditation of emptiness.
So these are the we are talking about more analytical meditation than just setting mind on the object. calm abiding is not analyzing. calm abiding is just the mind setting one particular object. Here is the Buddha’s image. So that’s next week we need to talk more about that one also, you know, Also how can you find the object also.
There are many different objects. So my answer is yes. Meditation of selflessness, meditation of emptiness, so these are the higher level, how do you say, they are meditation. That’s the meaning of that. Can you turn off that?
Yeah, this one is very strong. And my left ear is not so good. That’s directly in my ear, you know. Go ahead. Like, especially my generation and younger, we’re so distracted by so many things.
Releasing attachment, like, being able to view it as attachment, I find easy, but So, yeah, that that that’s exactly the I already gave you. There are six requirements. Having a few ones, that’s what need. Being satisfied with what one has. Avoiding the disturbance caused by being involved in many activities.
So here, everything’s answer is here. So these are the you need to adopt if you really, really, seriously want to meditate. So all these six requirements are very important. Exactly. Now here is the saying.
Now you are also saying that’s a problem. Busy, so many friends and family, and so many things that they want, and really don’t need it. So these are all problems. First of all, you need to ask questions yourself. What really am seeking?
Honestly, you must be honest with yourself, not just making it up yourself. Do you understand what I mean? You must be honest yourself. Ask the question, what I really am seeking? So do you have faith on this meditation?
So all of these are really think about very seriously. So if you do have a strong faith, then there are many things that normally distracting you. Maybe now you can be able to stop it. See, it’s not simple, this meditation. We think it is simple.
Absolutely not simple. So that’s why living away from the cities is very important. You must need to go to some rural area. Of course, you cannot do that until you are ready. See?
You need preparation. You need to understand. You need all these instructions. I’m not saying understanding, but just understanding. Really, deeply understanding all the instructions.
Then if you do have all this preparation, then the best thing is to get out from the family life, get out from the society, get out from the city. Within the family, within the society, in the city, it’s impossible. We can meditate, which we do, but not so much achievement. It feels good sometimes, you know, temporarily feels good, but there is no really achievement because of the noise. Another thing is the children, husband, wife, this and that is not easy.
But I’m not going to recommend to you to leave your friends and family. I cannot do that. You are the one who needs to check it out first. You are the one who needs to decide it, but you need to decide it wisely. Not just the sometimes people do deciding things without understanding any, know, how do you say, instructions of meditation.
People are just deciding things. That’s not good. Once you are in that place, wherever you go, maybe you’re by yourself. Maybe if you forget something, no one else helps you. That’s why before you go there, must have all this preparation.
First of all, these six requirements are the most important. See? Your answer is everything is inside the six requirements. Go back. If you have a note, think about it one after another.
Read another book also. Then you can get all the answers. Then you can check out your own life. You can put your life inside the six requirements. Can I?
See? That’s what you need to do. That’s why many people leave friends and family, society, become monks and nuns, because many things are that reason. But as I said, I’m not going to recommend it. You are very young now.
I wouldn’t say become a nun. Not yet. It must come from your heart. Not like someone else is telling you what to do. No.
It absolutely must come from your own heart. Not from your mind, but from your heart. Then you will be a good nun. Next question. Benefit the practice?
Absolutely, yes. Achievement of calm abiding, I’m not sure. Because of my own experience, it was very difficult. That’s why every year, when I go to India from the United States, I do retreats for one or two months in Sikkim. Even though I’m not in the Himalayan mountains, in my own house, but I have a separate nice room quiet, much better than the retreat in Florida.
You can hear all this noise from your neighbour, cars are running here and there, phone rings, or there is an emergency, blah blah blah. It’s difficult. Sometimes you feel a little upset. Why are they not leaving me alone. Please leave me alone, I would like to do my practice.
But I’m not for Florida, I’m not for myself, I’m for the people. What can I do? So my life is I do it, so I need to understand. But sometimes when you are meditating, when you really try to do it, you can hear the phone rings. That’s why I made rules.
Until ten thirty, no phone call. My phone is turned off. Until ten thirty am is the last time, except for emergencies. But if it’s an emergency, nowadays it’s much better. You can send a message, you know, is good, than ringing like this.
Much easier. If the message comes, you can hear a little beeping sound, which is good. You can just check it. If something is an emergency, of course. If something is not an emergency, forget it.
It’s difficult. Yeah, there is a benefit, of course. Absolutely a benefit. But, achievement in the city’s area, I don’t think so. It’s difficult.
First of all, these six requirements are not there for us. Okay? Any questions? No questions? Then the dedication.
Page thirteen. Lama of Dharma, we are going to seek from him. Disposition of those to be subdued, make sure, in the light of your well spoken advice, certain condensed edition, essence of the Buddha’s teachings, or foremost holy lama to you who are supremely. Oh, lama, please please live. Thank you very much.