So good morning to everybody. Good morning. Okay. So so this today’s session mainly for questia devand answer relation in relation to meditation and sutras. Because in the path, every Sunday morning, you have been you know, some of you have been, you you know, regular, you know, come to come to LBC and do meditation, you know, regular meditation every Sunday and Right.
Do recitation of very powerful sutras. So it is wonderful. But at the same time, you might have you might have some questions which you are not sure about what you are really doing. Even though so far as you are doing meditation, but maybe you might, have any, you might arise any doubt in relation to meditation. You might be reciting many sutras, but then at the same time, you might arise, you know, doubts in the benefit of reciting sutras or what really mean about.
So if you have any question in relation to this two area, so I will most welcome to ask the question. And and and before we start the q and a, so we do, we we set up the right motivation so that our this one one and a half hour or two hour session won’t be wasted won’t be wasted as the as the time is so precious, and the opportunity to practice Dharma is so precious. An opportunity to, have a time to practice Dharma is so rare, so so so rare. So so from your very, worldly busy schedules from business, from family, from many other concerns, you you able to make time to to to come here to share, called Dharma time. So it has so much benefit for the ultimate purpose to actualize the, enlightenment to become Buddha.
You know? So therefore, if we set the right motivation, we can able to do that. But if we don’t have the right motivation, then you you definitely might leave some positive imprint, but might not able to actualize the complete causes, which we can able to, use for the, achievement of nirvana or or the buddhahood. You see? So then from your heart now, you should think purpose of, my life, purpose of myself, being in this particular session, which is the Dharma discussion or Dharma q and a, is to to to implant the virtuous imprint, the Dharma imprint, the imprint of the Buddha’s teachings, such as the teaching of meditations and teaching of the sūtra.
And may that be a complete cause to eradicate, complete cause to purify the temporary and temporary, the slight, suffering after the unbearable suffering of the saṃsāra to completely purify. And may may it may my this very session to actualize the peerless happiness up to, fully enlightenment, which is state of the, enlightenment. Now for that purpose, that I’m going to, you know, remain in this session. So you should think you should express more. Wake up.
Wake Wake up. We have some questions here, but we rather you you ask yours first, then we’ll take the the other written questions later. So and, also, if the recommendation of this such you know, specific number is recommended by your guru, the respected dharma gurus, again, it has it has a, you know, a greater purpose, and it has a special meaning and purpose for that. So in that sense, it’s more effective to actualize the benefit of reciting that particular sūtra in one relation of you know, in the same cushion, in one sitting. So I ask you to recite seven times in the Heart Sūtra Just to recite in one sitting, in one one meditation posture, kind of one one motivation, and conclude with one dedication.
You know? Start with the one motivation. In the same sitting, complete the seven time, and dedicate. So that’s the most effective. So in the in the in the the, know, we are actually recite mantra seven times.
So but, normally, we try to recite while driving, try to recite whenever we’re free. Then after that, we just leave aside and we continue. Yes. There is a benefit, but not as effective as reciting on one cushion and completing that that prayer or that recitation, the amount of number with the with the dedication within that It’s really yeah. Definitely, there’s an impact on the motivation — positive motivation.
Whether whether every single action of virtue, whether it become a Dharma practice or not, is dependent on the motivation. And virtue, not necessarily, can be a Dharma. Dharma and virtue have to two different entities. If it’s Dharma, it’s definitely virtue. If it’s virtue, not necessarily dharma.
In order to be dharma, the motivation should be intended for the cause of liberation from entire six realm saṃsāra. And if you know, the intention is to focus on nirvana to become arhat, you know, to become a arhat, to or ever to become a Buddha. Then your mantra recitation become a cause of to free from saṃsāra. Your sūtra recitation become a cause for free from saṃsāra. But just recite the mantra, even though the holy Buddha’s mantra, but recite with the motivation of this very life saṃsāra purpose for this virtue, but it’s not a Dharma.
It won’t become a cause to bring you to enlightenment or nirvana, but it still help for even if if if but it still help for you to bring to higher rebirth, such as, again, as a human rebirth or higher than that. Or even this very life, you can able to experience some kind of comfort, some kind of happiness like you, you know, which which are which all not genuine happiness, not true happiness, but it’s a sensor temporary pleasure, temporary happiness, which called the samsaric contaminated happiness. Since we are Dharma practitioners, our motivation should always be initiated with the thought that the purpose of recitation of mantra, purpose of practicing, purpose of meditating is to be the cause for liberation, to achieve nirvana, achieve Buddha, by purifying or by eradicating the entire six realms of birth and death. If you have a proper motivation, then even not necessarily virtuous conduct, it is either the neutral conduct or either it is I I mean, the conduct is, like, non harmful, you know, you know, not not harmful conduct, which is not necessarily virtual conduct.
But once you when you engage into that action, if you have a virtue, if you have a Dharma motivation, even that can become a cause for the motivation. So not necessarily like like a chanting, meditating, or studying Dharma. Even, say, neutral conduct, let’s say, go to office, you need to drive driving car on the road. So before before you drive before you own the engine from the home, which is which which should motivate every single moment my driving from the up to office, including, you know, return back driving, may it be a complete cause to actualize freedom from entire saṃsāra and to achieve nirvana or buddhahood? It’s a perfect Dharma, and it really helps to purify saṃsāra, it really helps for you to get closer to nirvana.
So that is a neutral action, but because of the motivation, it become dynamic. It become virtuous. So so that’s why whatever aspect of life we have, like a family, work, and whatever different type of job that we are in, as long as our motivation we we know how to motivate, dharma motivation, all become dharma. If we don’t have a right motivation, if we don’t know how to say dharma motivation, even if we recite sūtra, there’s a danger of becoming a cause of saṃsāra. No.
A cause of saṃsāra. That’s why I said in the beginning, can be virtue, but still cause of saṃsāra. It is a virtue, but it’s not dharma. Dharma means must be cause for liberation. A virtue because the sūtra is a is a is a is a is a a positive entity, you know, a positive phenomenon.
So if that was a phenomena, you indulge with either your speech or either your body or either your mind, means you create the action in relation to that that positive phenomenon, which is the sūtra sūtra. So that become if that is the motivated to to to to just get a temporary happiness, yes, we will achieve temporary happiness. But that temporary happiness is still a samsaric phenomenon. Let’s say, like like like I mean, I think about about one month, about two months ago, you know, LBC will start to offer if you request LBC office to to to to share the information to all the rest of the family members the sister, so in a kind of prayer. So in such a cases, each individual, when you receive the kind of information, in order to bring immense of benefit for that particular person, just I can pray, and also to bring immense of benefit for yourself by participating in that prayer is there’s two way.
Either powerful dedication only to liberate that particular person from the suffering and to to to liberate into a fearless happiness. Ultimate happiness. Ultimate happiness is not within. I didn’t happen I mean, we don’t say Buddhahood, but it is Buddhahood. So that become a pure Dharma.
Because of that pure motivation, one month for a recitation dedicated for that particular person become a pure Dharma, and that naturally helps you to become closer to the world. Like that. Or in another way, the moment somebody requests prayer from you, you just dedicate you just motivate. May whatever prayer that I’m going to recite, may it be a complete cause to eradicate from this person, start from this person to all the number that’s being whatever problem, suffering, we pacify, and actualize liberation from the start, from this person to every single thing. This is even greater.
So since this is a greater inspiration to the altruistic mind and the merit that you accumulate, the power of the prayer is so forceful, so powerful. So the person for whom you dedicate receives very, very effective benefit from your prayer, and you yourself progress faster. It’s like like like there’s a big push motivation. Motivation and dedication is similar. Motivation is that what you’re going to do for this purpose to for for to free from suffering and to achieve nirvana.
When you complete the action, may whatever the mantra recitation I did, may it be complete cause to actualize free from saṃsāra don’t know much about Hinduism. Maybe I don’t know at all about housing, but definitely Buddhism is not Hinduism. Buddhism, Buddhism should qualify by the either of the three different stages of the meditation. Whatever practice we engage should be qualified by either of the three different type of renunciation. Means whenever you engage in Buddhism I I mean, whenever you engage in the Buddhadharma Buddha Dharma practice, either the purpose is to to purify his very life’s saṃsāra, suffering, and to actualize higher in future lifetime.
Or if you if if if if if more slightly greater than that attitude, then the purpose of engaging in Buddhism is to actualize total purification of entire aspect of saṃsāra and to actualize nirvana. This total freedom from entire six realm beings saṃsāra. Means to be reborn as a human, as a god, as a demigod, as an animal, as a hungry ghost, as a hell being. The total freedom. The purpose of practicing Buddhadharma is the total freedom from the six realms — to take rebirth in the six realms — to suffer.
Then then greater than that, the purpose of practicing Buddhadharma, purpose of becoming Buddhist or engaging Buddhism practice is while having this precious human body, I must bring the greatest benefit to liberate not only myself from six realms of saṃsāra, but liberate entire entire beings from the entire six realms of saṃsāra. Not only yourself, but rest of the others also. You got all your family member, friends, your enemies, your strangers, everybody, including insect, germs, worms, everybody. Every every every living beings to be free from the six realm saṃsāra by seeing you and their condition in this suffering world is no different. So so Buddhism should be qualified with these three different at least the three different either of these three different thoughts.
So based on that, then Buddhism categorized into three different type of practitioners or three different labels of the practitioners. We call the three scopes or three capable beings. Very weak. It’s like kind of like a great initial, very weak, you know, the person engaging with the dharma. They are they are they are not ready to, you know, they are not ready to motivate, to purify entire saṃsāra.
They are first they’re concerned of they are totally renounced or feel very bad about this very life’s saṃsāra. So they don’t want anymore such life. Rather, they want to and and also they they don’t want to born into a such as hell. You know? Just born in a human being or at least only suffering.
I don’t want to born for is worse. So therefore, at least don’t want to born anymore, don’t want to be reborn there, don’t want to. So at least at least may I able to be born as a human being or or god or, you know, on a. So that’s called the small capable being. But in small in in a category of small capable being, the mental capability is in the small capable being.
The middle capable being, plenty greater kind of courage. You know? Even I take higher rebirth as a human and god, even if I take rebirth, exactly like now, me as a human being, next life next lifetime, still suffering. Still still in the in the in the in the circle of suffering. Rather, I I must put effort to purify entire aspect of saṃsāra, entire rebirth of saṃsāra, including a rebirth of human being and gods.
So I want a total liberation from saṃsāra. So that that kind of mentality practitioner for the middle capable being. You know? And and the practice is such like Four Noble Truths. Such as Four Noble Truths, you know, are are the teachings that which which are relevant for those practitioners to enhance their courage.
You know? And the higher capable being the most courageous practitioner. Then or, you know, I you know, you know, your condition of such a poor suffering condition reflect on every single other living. They’re equally suffering as like me. So therefore, by understanding that all are interconnected in the relation with me, all are, you know, in the past lifetime since there is a past lifetime, all of the other beings, sometimes they have been my mother many times.
Sometimes they have been my most kindest person, kindest relative, kindest parent. So, therefore, right now, I can see I’m the most fortunate one because I have wisdom. I understand. I made dharma. I know how to handle, how to apply antidote to really to purify saṃsāra.
Therefore, I must work for everybody, not only for myself. So I must eradicate, purify entire saṃsāra within myself and within every single living being and leave myself and all living being by myself alone with a full effort after the enlightenment, and that is called the great capable beings. And the teachings are great compassion, bodhicitta. Oh, then a thousand. So thousand thousand honestly, I think I’m not in a position to don’t know.
I don’t I don’t know. She’s you see? But but but from the from from the other aspect, you know you know, I can say I I I one person assume from the outer aspect. No. They’re praying to.
You know, praying to But but it’s definite in the holy gods. You know? Holy gods. You know? So so in that sense, there’s no there’s there’s no qualification of refuge.
So since there are no qualification of refuge, the border, whether you are Buddhist or non-Buddhist, it it it clarify whether you have a refuge or whether you don’t have. So you have refuge, you are Buddhist. To worship spirit and the holy god or take refuge under the holy god and spirit. So from there, you can say, I could be wrong, but my understanding, Hinduism is totally different from Buddhism So I think I think it’s that kind of a situation. As long as you don’t take there’s no need to take refuge because you already have the most supreme refuge.
There’s no no need. You know? So but but you have to respect others’ way of living life. So if you if if if, like, your parents ask you to even put a joss stick, I think you should listen to your parents to put a joystick, and you should you should happily do it. And you use your your your ability of invoking of the huge objects such as Buddha, and you you you offer the incense as a charity.
I mean, you can say it’s an offering. You know, making offering is not not not a. Taking a deal. You know, you make a offer here. We we should make offering to sentient beings, any sentient beings.
You make charity to any sentient beings. You should respect any sentient beings. And, of course, we show God and and spirit We show we can we respect. We we make charity. You know?
So it’s up to you. If you’re offering orange, you think, oh, this is big charity for you. If you feel that he he or, you know, the god or whatever is higher than your spirit, your own mind, who you think, who you feel, and you say, oh, this is my offering to you. It’s okay. You know?
Interesting. And it’s my offering to you. But it’s it’s not a it’s not a he or she. It’s not a object of your your freedom from saṃsāra. Not a object not a object of rescuer for you from.
So so so you see. So when you have Buddha Dharma in your heart, when you need any help, when you need when you need any help, you can actually voice out to request help from your Buddhadharma since they are the Supreme, and they have the ability. So but if you forget about Buddhadharma, you try to you know, you you you would think that the spirit and you you you even though you are not saying, but inside your heart, actually kind of discount the path respect to Buddhadharma. It means you are discounting this power. So that naturally discount your faith, discount your your conviction in Buddha’s ability.
You know? And by that, it it never hurt Buddha. But it it just it just motivation for you again. It’s not a it’s not a You still need? No.
It’s not a re re ritual. I mean, the prayer is kind of, like, inspiration, expressing the inspiration from your heart. May all living beings abide happiness and cause us happiness. May all living beings, you know, free from suffering any causes. These those are the immeasurable expression, immeasurable thoughts.
So before you do any ritual pujas, if you motivate, if you sincerely express from your heart, whatever ritual practice you do is pure Dharma. But if you just chant but never expressing from your heart, then Just bring up. I mean, just a prayer itself, you know, has some benefit. But since we are already residing, why not we take the hundred percent benefit from that? You know, it doesn’t mean that no benefit at all.
Yes. There is benefit. Even without motivation also have some benefit because it’s already blessed mantra, blessed prayer. You know, when the when the the great beings compose the kind of prayer, they make immense of prayer for that. They make immense of dedication.
You know? Let’s just say example, one word. May whoever recite this prayer be liberated. That kind of, you know, liberate the entire suffering. That kind of, like, pure motivation is a compulsive thing.
So when you recite, definitely receive benefit. But but if you have a good positive motivation, you will have a hundred percent benefit. All the man all the Buddha’s mantras. All the Buddha’s name mantras. All the Buddha’s spoken sutras are all in one taste, but in different labels.
And Buddha have spoken those different mantras, different sutras for for the based on the different abilities and different karmic abilities of the being. So therefore, if you have a opportunity to consult with somebody who can who can who can kind of, like, check, you know, how can can how to say, can can can do observation, you know, what prayers and mantras of Buddhas are more karmically connected. Person. That’s why that becomes and all the Buddhas, the blessing come through this mantra to this person if there’s such opportunity. But if not, any mantra as long as Buddha’s enlightened mantra, any mantra come into your mind first, that is the most popular.
But since we are already known so many mantras, already we are already confused and already discount many mantras, this is better. That is no good. Already, yeah, already already in this stage. Okay. Then the recommendation is recite compassion with this mantras.
Because, you know, the compassion, you know, compassion is is always face towards others. Compassion is not about yourself. Compassion is selflessness. Compassion is the heart or the the effort is dedicated for others’ welfare. You know?
And compassionate Buddha, whenever we talk about compassionate Buddha, whenever we talk about compassion, it’s all about concern of other. There’s no kind of, like, a a trigger in your mind. It’s something doing for yourself. Whenever you do that mantra, it’s kind of something relation with other, you know, others. You see?
So because of that, since there’s no no since there’s no concern of self-cherishing, self-centeredness, when you recite this mantra and dedicate to anybody, you become very powerful. So the power comes from the selflessness. Whenever you are whenever whatever you do things for other, when you are do unconditionally or selflessly, it’s always very powerful. But let’s say, Tārā. You know, Buddha have Buddha manifested in Tārā, in the form of, what do you call, the activities.
Buddha manifested in the Mañjuśrī. Mañjuśrī says to enhance wisdom. So it’s like, enhance your wisdom. Enhance your activity. So there’s somehow, you know, if you if you you are not not very precise to make it clear, naturally, you are you are the self centered or involved.
But when we talk about compassion, it’s what naturally, it’s about other. So because of that, the recommendation comes So over there, the compassion Buddha. Then another thing is, the compassion Buddha’s mantra, six six syllables. Six syllables. Six syllables.
When Buddha have spoken this mantra, when Buddha had spoken and Buddha manifested his ability into this six syllable mantra, Each mantra is Buddha himself dedicated as an antidote to purify the suffering of each of the six realms. There are six suffering realms. God, demigods, you know, as a human being, animal, hungry ghost, and hell. Six realms. These are the suffering realms.
So om mani — god, demigod. Each one, all, like, you say, god, human, demigod. So each each mantra taking care of the all the six six realms suffering beings to purify their their karma and their suffering. That’s this mantra being as an antidote. You know?
So it’s a very impartial. It’s really a means of compassion, great compassion. The moment you recite this mantra, it’s naturally dedicated, you know, unconditionally and impartially and to to every single living being. Because all the living beings are I mean, all the samsaric, suffering beings are within six realm. All are there.
You see? So when you recite this mantra, naturally, you are actually helping all the six realm beings. There’s no no partial kind of attitude. So, again, the mantra becomes so powerful, and the the benefit is so great, you know, because of that because of that. Relation the the the particular concerned person has with any Buddha.
If you see if you if you are quite sure that person, when you say your mother has a karmic relation, the karmic affinity is stronger with Śākyamūni Buddha, Best is to recommend any practice to do with Śākyamūni Buddha. This karmic is so easy to digest, so easy to bring the meaning, so easy to understand. You know? You see? But we but we hardly we will we will notice that.
Hardly we will understand the karmic affinity of different Buddha, different mantra. So so then in that case, now reflect to yourself, you know, through proper understanding, through proper understanding of the qualities of the Buddhas. Okay? So then whatever Buddha that comes first and most yourself have to come to an affinity, most effective, you recommend that prayer and that mantra that Buddha to do your your your your concern is is how to do it. Otherwise, we should have a lot of checking.
So just sometimes, you know, go ahead and check for okay. Whatever comes as. So it’s ninety nine percent can be incorrect. So but but at least better than nothing. It’s all good.
But But my motivation is, like, I I always think better than nothing. Let let do let her her or her do something, some good thing. Don’t get it wrong. It’s not because of I know how to But but then again here, of course, if you if you know the karmic affinity is the best. Yeah?
If not, then, as I mentioned earlier, it’s it’s you need a conviction and faith enlightened. White umbrella, deity practitioner, one old man, circumambulating the Potala palace every day. You know, chant the mantra. So all the the we call the either you can say mandala is on his crown. The person working, you know, the the mandala of the White Umbrella is traveling together.
But the mantra is absolutely upside down. So the Dalai Lama thought, because he his concentration, his faith, and conviction is already shaken. You know, before that, he have a single pointed conviction and faith in White Umbrella Buddha, and he have a single pointed conviction and faith. That mantra is a completely correct mantra of the of the of the, you know, of the Buddha of the Buddha. So like that.
So you see, if you want to receive benefit from sutras, mantras, Buddhas, the fundamental thing is we really need faith and conviction. You know? Even like a huge we all why we don’t achieve our prayers? Why why why many why most of time tell our prayers, pray the Buddha, tell our prayers? Just because we don’t have faith.
We don’t have conviction. You know? We we we we no. We don’t have to do that. The faith and the the conviction in him is is less than a half person, less than one person.
So that but our our prayer, our asking request is more than two hundred percent. You know? So so so it’s no way we can we can drain the drain the prayer. But if you really have a hundred percent faith and conviction in this ability, you pray. There’s nothing is impossible.
Anything can be influenced. It is a definite. So the fold is within us. Okay. Can we go to the other?
In some in some meditation systems, the the practitioners visualize a wheel of light circling them before they start as a form of protection. For a Buddhist, is it advisable to just sit down and do meditation for purposes of protection, or should we invoke the triple gem and recite the refuge prayer? So this this is in relation to meditation. So in Buddhism, there’s many different levels of meditation. First, they categorize into a true.
Still meditation and analytical meditation. Still meditation is focus concentrate. You know, you choose the object and concentrate. Analytical meditation is to analyze through through through a reasoning, through a knowledge of the the you know, to to to understand the criteria of of the object, you know, the quality of the object, the definition of the object. Some some some calmness by by blocking entire gross mind and and using the one single purpose such as light, then it’s okay.
If that purpose is okay. But that is not a ultimate meditation. That is not the that is not the the meditation that we recommend you to do all the time. And there is a benefit from that. But but if you spend entire rest of your life just focusing on the light, your your life is totally rested.
You might obtain some kind of concentration. Like, life is totally rested because you are almost, like, in a neutral state. You are not creating any negative karma. You are not creating any positive karma. Means you are not creating any virtue, any merit.
Totally rested. But concentration is needed. So if you want to do any concentration meditation, you must must engage right motivation. Not necessarily engage involve refuge object, but must engage right motivation. I’m doing this still meditation focusing on light for me to actualize single pointed concentration so that I can able to actualize entire stages or rather just using tree or water or sun.
Rather, you use scripture letters or rather you use holy mantra sound, or rather you use Buddha’s holy image. So from the object side, it will bring the benefit of the accumulation of merit in relation to your effort of concentration on that. Normally, the object not have normally, the normally, your your side has to engage with the action to create merit, not the object side. But in this, the object has a great impact to accumulate merit because of your concentration is in relation to that object. So therefore, by meditating on his nose, his eyes, head, and his face, it has a great impact on planting the wholesome imprint in Buddha’s the imprint of Buddha’s qualities, Buddha’s holy body. Buddha’s right.
It’s it’s like that. So it is not wrong for for for for some some meditator, they sit down immediately in they involve means not involve. They they immediately try to visualize the light. So maybe they’re trying to train concentration. Maybe.
May maybe. If that’s the purpose, they are not wrong. But if you do too much on that, you’re wasting time. So you should you should you should do, but do in a limitation. You know?
You should understand yourself, you know, how much time that you need to put effort for a conventional merit or at least use the right motivation to focus on doing that. But you are training in the single-pointed concentration, over nine stage there’s a different stages. Over nine stage, then you will, in fact, able to have some flavor. You you able to have some kind of control on your your your physical elements. And and I’m I’m sure definitely, that you can able to control your mind.
You know? So so if if any of us here who really wish to train in single-pointed concentration, you need first, you need to find a conducive place to do a retreat. Then you need to find a a conducive condition master or somebody that will to whom you can consult the techniques. You know? Then you need to have a conducive time at least six months.
You know? Then you need to before going there before going to retreat, you need to do so much accumulation of merit and purification. It came from the popular idea that if you do meditation when you feel when you come back from work, put down your bag and then you sit down and start meditating, you open up your mind, will it be prone to disturbance? I think this is the this is where it’s coming from. And disturbance, you sit down and you just try to, like, concentrate on light and or concentrate on your breathing.
So those are is to neutralize your mind, to calm your mind is beneficial. It’s okay to do. But if you are doing this for purpose of accumulation of merit, it does not matter for purpose. And but if that you feel most effective meditations to calm yourself and have some peace, then why not you do right motivation before going into this meditation? Because even in general, our meditations, first, we introduce Is it advisable to meditate when one is feeling very depressed or very sick?
Oh, it’s very important. When you feel depressed, when you feel sick, well, meditation is the most effective to to to cure sickness, to cure the depression. You know? And there, you can you you should apply both meditation, still meditation and analytical meditation. Still meditation is to to try to block the thought of disturbing thoughts such as depression thoughts.
Try to block using focus mind towards the object such as breathing or such as light, such as Buddha’s image. You know? Breathe in. Breathe in. Breathe out.
You you your mind is always trying to remember, you know, the the the follow the breathing inhale. Follow the breathing exhale. You know? So do five minutes. It really helps to release the depression.
It really helps. You know? Then once once you are slightly calmed down, slightly, like, kind of, like, from the depression, you you you you become slightly awakened, then you do analytical meditation. It means, oh, depression is wrong. Depression is no good.
Depression is harmful. Depression is negative. You know? And then first of all, you think, why is depression coming to my mind? How how that happens?
Then you start to analyze the cost. All the depression came because of somebody disrespect me. I see. Now I realized the depression came from somebody disrespect me. From there, suddenly, my mind becomes very low.
Started feeling like nobody, you want to use this as a cause for liberation. Uh-huh. Then it’s my karma. You know? So definitely, I I I caused depression to in relation to other things in the past.
That’s why I’m facing depression. This karma ripen on me. Without cause, no result. So this is a result of my past karma. So now I now I should be smart.
I should be a smart boy. You know, I must purify this karma. May all the other beings’ depression, suffering, that may be sufficient of my depression. May whatever happiness I have offer dedicate to all other living beings. It sound like it’s unrelevant, but just by thinking that, your depression will disappear because because that helps to build upon the positive karma.
You So so one of the teaching to to clear all this is to remember karma and to do purification. Whatever understanding on the purification you have, you should apply there. Is happening to us when we meditate? Apart from being more quiet inside and a bit more aware of some of the teachings, is there anything else that is happening? Oh, it’s a it’s a very big thing happening.
You know, it’s like wisdoms are enhancing. You start to feel that your mind is, like, getting clearer. Start to understand what is negative, what is virtue. And sometimes you will you will totally go into a peace, you know, total peace until you feel that your body is really on the space, floating. You know?
But we cannot do meditation to float ourselves in the space. It’s long way, but it will come. It’s not a not a right not a direct explanation, but you can also interpret this way. You know, from the picture, you can see. You know?
It means that you are your your mind will be totally enlightened. You will be so happy. You are doing meditation to accommodate, you start to feel that, yeah, I really I can send this and the the merit is accumulated, you know, and the purification is happening. And and you feel like content how do you feel satisfaction? And that will not happen in the in the initial part, you know, gradually with with some experience.
And, of course, there’s one stage when you really very, peace and mental peace. First, through the meditation, you bring the physical peace, and that physical peace generate a mental peace. Normally, mental peace generate a physical peace. But in this med in in this conversation meditation, physical sense sense of peace help to bring the inner mental peace mental peace. Then you can able to sustain in that peace and such a wonderful happiness.
If you want one hour, you can stay one hour. If you want twelve hour, you can stay twelve hour. You want month, one shot, whole month, no food, nothing. Sometimes during meditation, one senses a very warm light in front. What is this?
Is this just inner heat moving or something else? Yeah. I mean, individual individual. Some that’s after doing meditation, it’s to the the element inner element. No.
Inner element, outer element also. It’s all interconnected. So due to that, you know, the in many cases, doing meditation, it’s always do say? Okay. Hits the.
Of the concentration to certain chakra, especially if your concentration touch to the navel chakra always, what do you call it, on the heat. You know? Then because of that, you start to feel like like, you know, like, very reddish red color, like, the or maybe orange color or something, like, going around your face, you know, around here. When you close, just start you open your eye also and start to see, like, light softening. Then sometimes people say, oh, I see Buddha.
I see this. Not not really. But, actually, it’s the it’s it could be your your the Buddhas in the form of life. You know, the Buddhas, the divine beings, really come in the form of life. Form of life, then either in rainbow light, either in circle light, channel chakras in relation to we call body mandala, Buddha’s Buddha’s holy body.
You know? Then then the demons comes. You know, demons are delusion. That comes. Then that project some kind of lights around.
Then that that that kind of, like, distract us to see, oh, that is a Buddha. Then because of that, we sometimes even get into If you see Buddha, don’t talk. Don’t say. Don’t tell. You know?
Don’t even have to, you know, rejoice. If you feel frightened, that means something is not right. If you feel frightened, you may deliver you some purification. If you you after meditation, suddenly you see Buddha in front of you, some people get frightened. So that means it’s it’s a Buddha will bring effect of suffering to other.
Even frightening anxiety is suffering. You never. So if there’s such kind of effect come, you immediately look into yourself. I must do great protection. So then you do something to get about this.
You to be as don’t declare. Don’t declare. No? If you know your guru, who is you you already dedicated to consult in that kind of experiences, to upgrade, or to to receive proper guidance. Yes.
There is a certain occasion that you can declare to your guru, but with the such sort of total humbleness in the in the in the in the motivation of you wish to seek a correction. You know? You you need to seek a correction, then you will see your advice from the guru. Good. But if you go to see a guru with the intention, guru will say, yes.
You already see Buddha. But guru happened to say, you see demon. You’re just so disappointed. So although there are many questions here still on the list, if you have any questions arising from Geshe la’s answer, know, there’s one sūtra called Diamond Cutter Sūtra. It’s one of very forceful purification practice.
You know? So in many cases, when you recite this sūtra, it really helps to purify the intense intense obstacles, intense suffering and obstacles of karma. But if there’s any definite karmas that will is it is in you and but by reciting this sūtra to purify those definite karmas will will will ripen now in will will manifest now in the form of, like, suddenly after reciting so many where you become, like, be be more agitated, angered, more become more impatient, or become more lazy, or or or have some wrong views. For that time, you always have to have insurance, one of the portion of your mind. This is good sign.
So therefore, I make sure don’t let my emotion to get anger. Make sure my mind not to go under influence of laziness. So one of the portion of my always should remember, remind yourself to be more focused. Oh, that that sūtra is bringing so much purification in me, and those definite karmas are ripening now. How fortunate I am, which karma supposed to be maybe experiencing the hell.
And it’s now it’s just ripening in the form of just just a small anger, one temporary anger. Even my destroyed merit, but it’s just like in the form of bearable suffering. You know? We’re supposed to experience unbearable suffering in the hell. Is it all?
But So after one, two time, You can sometimes you even don’t know don’t know how to differentiate whether this is Buddha’s name or whose name or whose name. And the sum of the names are long until, you know, it’s too very bad. You see? So so so here, when you decide to trust, you’re not necessarily need to of course, if you understand how wonderful you are, you can contemplate. Yeah.
It’s always good. But it is not kind of like we never thought that we must understand in order to actualize the benefit of reciting sūtra. Just need to recite it and it itself as the great power. That’s why many of the sutras, even during Buddhist time, there’s no commentary. All are, like, kind of like a like, you’re coming in to do recitation.
There’s no, like, commentaries, the sūtra is is the, you know, the the stages of the path. Either will come in the philosophical form or either it come in a sometimes a structured Buddha’s teachings. You know? So the sutras are spoken in relation to the purification of different occasions, different different people. Let’s say the sūtra of cutting grass on there.
Oh, and the yeah. Cutting grass. So there’s, you know, group of people cutting grass, killing so many insects. So then Buddha sit there and they start to speak sūtra. And then then after that, his disciple compile those sutras.
And in relation to that or this sūtra, it’s very effective to purify when you go to cut grass, when you go to farm, when you recite the sūtra, it’s very, very powerful. But they’re intended for the purification of that particular operation. So, like or there’s a I think there’s somebody who is, Some Buddha forms are quite complex. What is the purpose of meditating on such a complex image, and how does this help us to overcome afflictions? Okay.
So yeah. I mean, there is also a deities, you know, many many hands, hands, many colors, you know, many legs, many Indian, many many animals, you know, all sort of things. Yeah. The thing is, different problems without manifesting such kind of such kind of image. You the holding’s different implements, like holding a knife.
You know, sometimes holding a knife is not to not to fight or not to kill, but is to to to emphasize the wisdom, you know, even from the image, even from the implement, the wisdom realizing emptiness. So it all has a has a meaning to learn. You know? So we cannot just simply judge. Holding knife is what?
To fight. Holding knife is to to to gain a meditation in our heart if you wish to engage in a practice of different devotion if you want to make very simple, just meditate on Śākyamūni Buddha. You know, he’s the emanator. If you practice Śākyamūni Buddha, you practice if you you practice entire Buddha. If you practice gentleman Buddha’s, practice eighty four thousand teaching.
You practice entire. You see? Before I says three capable being. Three school. The teaching three for the three capable being.
Entire Buddha teaching is included within this three. So again here, in the word, you see, it says muni. But in Sanskrit, the meaning of muni means sage. So when you recite, you have to recite muni ye muni ye. Always have to pronounce ye.
Ye means yana. Muni means sage. Maha means great. Maha yana means great vehicle. Great yana.
Like so you see, when you when you recite just a Śākyamūni Buddha mantra, entire eighty four thousand teaching, the three scopes of teachings all involved in. When you have to recite a mantra, you have to meditate. You know? So you wanna be simple? Yeah.
Okay. Another advice is how many deity you know? How many deities you practice? But we always have Some some tantric deity images are in the mother father position. Although we are taught that this represents the union of method and wisdom, still the image might activate some afflicted thoughts in the meditator.
So how is this form of representation useful for meditation? Yeah. If bodhicitta, and emptiness. Then after having that, you must receive a initiation. You know?
And after initiation, you must receive a total explanation of why father, mother, all these implement, why wrathful, why got so big teeth, why got big nose, why got big eye, why got big eye, every single detail explanation, then only you should do medication on. So so just one one one one meaning just one from from hundreds of reasons. One meaning is the in the picture, you appear father, mother in the union. That is that is, again, is for the purpose of visualization of the the union, the with the wisdom concept, not a female, not a ordinary lady. And which one realizing emptiness is true.
No. But the clear light mind, which is emptiness, and bodhicitta, which is called great bliss. You know? And that’s why this to become Buddha, you need the union. Means we union doesn’t mean, you know, the the the normal father, mother sex or whatever.
But the union doesn’t mean like, union means emerge The two entity, method and wisdom, emerge in one more. They’re called union. Yeah. Only then you can become Buddha. Means what is the method?
Why the who is the father? Father is the method, which is Buddhism. Great compassion is the method. Mother, the the the human image, the mother is a wisdom. The pure mind.
The emptiness. Mistake! The moment you look at the, you know, the hundred day is the, you know, father, mother, union there. And especially if you think, oh, oh, I should have a, you know, a practitioner. I know if you are single, you say, I should have wife.
I should have Then how about all the monks? How about all the nuns? All the great practitioners are monks. Well, many great practitioners are monks. Oh, many great practitioners are monks.
And, you know, Lama Tsongkhapa, he obtained it enlightenment within one lifetime being a fully ordained monk, practicing the the most secret tantric practice. It’s nothing to do with female. Nothing to do with female. But the wisdom concept means to arise from understanding your emptiness, you arise the the the companion of the clear light mind, companion of emptiness mind. The emptiness mind, embarrassed was it em embarrassed?
Embrace. Embrace. Embrace. Embrace. Embrace.
Embrace to the matter bodhicitta, then become oneness. They call it union. Is it so so I have to understand symbolism. And so so this is only one explanation from thousands of explanation on that. But the those thousand of explanation only can ever be revealed when you have an initiation.
When you first, you understand the meditation. Then second, you understand bodhicitta. Then you understand emptiness. You know? And without that practice, no good of it.
Without the tantric practice, without the highest level tantric practice, no good of it. Say that you you never engage in the tantric practice until the last of the nine ground. If tomorrow morning, you’re going to become Buddha today or or five minute before five minute later, you’re going to become Buddha. At least five minutes time that you really have to get into a tantric practice, highest tantric practice. Without that, Buddha was not possible.
Okay. It’s so important. But you know what mean? It’s it’s so important and so complexity and the sweetest part. But in order to actualize that benefit, the Lamrim, the three scopes, without understanding that, it’s really it’s, like, very scary.
Looks very scary. Union out there and put on the altar, it’s gonna look very, very tiny. That’s right. And then You get my message? Yes.
Thank you. Some Vajrasattva retreaters report that while doing the three month retreat, they experienced great anger arising within them. Why does this happen, and why this particular affliction? It is similar to in relation to just now the sūtra. It’s a Diamond Cutter Sūtra.
It can be similar similarly. One reason can be similar. Another reason, because you didn’t know how to do proper retreat. You know, you you you must be re doing retreat in stress. You are you know, retreat is supposed to be holiday.
It’s like a holiday. My guru, you all of them say, if you want to go for a trip, you She got acquainted in the peace. You can do not do. Overdue. So that that is a real vocation.
You know? My guru all the time say, go to a trip, you are going for a vacation. No. It should be like that. Go to a trip, stand up.
You know? Oh, you are. So I know. You’ll be when you come out from retreat, it’ll be very scary. When when when when you do a proper retreat, when you come out from a tree, the the the mind becomes like rock becoming cotton.
And the mind, when you look into yourself, you are such a gentle, such a calm, such a peaceful, There are there are different types of retreats. Some are based on mantra recitation. Some are deity based. Some are based on text. Although the motivation for all retreats would be bodhicitta, if we think should we be thinking of bodhicitta during the retreat as this might interrupt the visualization or the chanting?
So it’s very important for all of us because we might do retreat one day retreat, one hour retreat, one day retreat. So it’s very very important. You know? Of course, motivation As a mind, must be. That’s the greatest thing.
You know? But then during the retreat, they said to count the recitation of mind. Supposed to count hundred thousand or recitation sūtra ten times. So the advice in the teaching, you know, the advice of the gurus, they say, you must contemplate on the meaning. Contemplate contemplate let’s say let’s say you want to complete one hundred thousand or mani mantra retreat.
So when whenever whenever you go into a session, it means that whenever you go into retreat task, first, Do you understand the meaning of the mantra? You meditate on the meaning of the mantra. One. Then you you meditate stages by stages of the mani mantra. And maybe five minute, you meditate on good devotion.
Or Buddhist quality, or compassion, loving kindness, emptiness. So when you feel tired, when you feel all the destruction is coming, my meditation can be focused. And your body also feel tired of focusing, you know, on all of, you know, this meditation. Then for the mala and chant the mantra. So if you can manage while chanting, you can also meditate.
But quite difficult to handle. Quite challenging. You have have you have account properly also. You know? So so therefore, you just you just just decide on track.
But but there are practitioners who can able to combine two together on chant and meditate together. You know? So but in in in in most cases, it is quite difficult. So first meditate, when you feel tired, then come and count the mantra. So that means, really, there’s no chance for you to rush for you to complete the marathon.
So, normally, stress comes because you fix your time. Say, I must finish hundred thousand in one week. So so a what do call? So so there’s a there’s a recommended teaching from Lamrim for for this is to when you feel, I call it dullness. You know, whenever you do meditation you think of suffering of lower realms, suffering of health, you know, you’re really, like, so intense.
You know? You you you feel kind of like a depressed not a different you cannot have a depressed, but your mind excitement your bring down. So those are the two recommendations. It helps. But for me, if I’m sleepy, I pinch.
Just to take from that. I heard someone say that and I tried it once, and I thought it was quite good. They say, you feel sleepy during meditation, to imagine, like, a small ember, a small ember at the lower part of the abdomen. And then to shoot up a kind of beam of white light right up through the crown, it is Yes. Also, that’s a that’s a technique.
Yeah. So it’s a yeah. So this is also one of the one of Maybe we choose this one. Finish the question first. The next one is it is advised that one should do a retreat on the same cushion.
Is this to be taken literally? If you want to do a retreat for the greatest benefit, yes, take you take it literally, and you should do a strict retreat. But you want to do just, you know, schedule and you don’t want the hundred percent benefit then, of course, you you can go out and about, working all the time, working all the time. You know? You can do whatever you like.
But you really want to get the hundred percent benefit? Yes. We should You have to use the the same spot. Because this cushion, you have to before retreat, you need to bless the cushion. You need to bless you need to stand the cushion until that the cushion and the ground, you need to touch it.
You know? When you before going to retreat, cushion, and the and the ground touching this. So there’s there’s a blessing, prayer, is to consecrate cushion and ground Okay. I’ll finish this one, then I’ll finish it. Okay?
I’m going to the sūtra recitation session. So should please continue. Yeah. Okay. In the diamond cutter sūtra, it is said that recite the sūtra will bring problems to us at a faster rate but in a more mild form.
This brings some fear to some people but they still recite it. So is it still beneficial to recite a sūtra with negative mind? No. Never recite sūtra with negative mind, and sūtra will never bring problem. Even small problem.
Okay. Sūtra is helping for you to purify. That’s why there’s some some manifest. Actually, it’s experiencing the problem inside. The only thing is we’re not aware.
The sūtra, like, kind of like a purifying big thing, and the small small thing is just spotting. You know? You know? Just one small spot coming from your eye. That’s why you have to do it all nice.
But then people start to interpret that sūtra is during that time, during that period, you know, the the the the person to whom they would have spoken this sūtra, you know, what what so foresee the intensity of whatever. This is such a heavy karma, You know, such a heavy karma. But whatever explained there, it is compared to the heavy karma he’s supposed to experience. It’s nothing. But when when you see the word, it’s like like, you know you know, scary like that.
Yeah. But okay. The sutras were written by arhats who listened to the Buddhist teachings and wrote them down. Are all sutras written in this way? Sutras are some, yes, the arhats, you see, they store it in their concentration.
Then after that, they they transcribe it. You know? But that is Buddha’s Buddha’s own word. There are some sutras. The the teaching, the words came when the wind blew to the tree and the tree shook, and all the sound came into the words of different sutras.
Recited from memory. Yeah. Memory. Yeah. Which which, again, this is memory.
It it very extensive concentration. Because because the concentration, the memory cannot make mistake. And I would normally, memory can be mistake also. Know? So it would have to be hundred percent precise accurate.
Okay? The perfection of wisdom sutras are accepted only by the Mahāyāna and not by the Theravadans. How do we explain that the perfection of wisdom is the authentic teachings of the Buddha? Oh, yes. She has Sūtra is definitely authentic teachings of the Buddha.
It’s a it’s a the main teaching which Buddha spoken Buddha taught when he turned the second wheel of Dharma in Rajgir. The place is Rajagriha, and the sūtra when he was teaching. And, unfortunately, many of the Theravadan disciples are unable to attend that teaching because they are not the courage to listen to the Mahāyāna teaching, are and the merit is not not capable, not enough. That’s why Buddha has chosen this teaching to teach the disciple of Buddhist. Those are already ripened karma to become Mahayanists, and those are many are already Buddhist, loving kindness.
All Theravadans practice loving kindness. You know? The only difference is and they have a term other practice, compassion also. But the only difference is great compassion. You know?
The great compassion, Compassion, all the practitioners practice compassion. It’s the essence of teaching. So then My actually, the difference between the two. It’s what? The difference between compassion, I guess.
Great compassion is we call the compassion, which is which is a granting protection. It means by myself alone, we’ll ever deliberate entire number of things to the liberation. But the compassion is, you know, may all living beings liberate from entire. every day, morning to night, for those years without breaking even one day.
And she has only one motivation. I think I think I think she she she able to she able to grasp entire Lamrim in there. You know? I think I think so. I don’t know.
You know? But, I mean, she do receive many other teachings for her commitment and her retreat. So I’m sure she’s doing the Dharma by reciting the sūtra by integrating entire Lamrim. So when she passed away, It is said that all conceptual sinking has the fault of duality. It’s true.
Meditator and object. And this is a form of ignorance. Yes. And yet during meditation, we are encouraged to meditate on labels, which are also concepts. So is this a contradiction?
No. Concept and conceptual perception is different. You know, Conceptual thinking. A conceptual thinking is inherent thinking. Inherent existing phenomena. Inherent existing on phenomena in in in the instant label. You know, now I see you, I talk, everything everything is a conceptual conceptual perception. It’s supposed to be a non conceptual level.
The meditation should be done in non conceptual level. But for the initial stages, it’s very difficult. It’s almost impossible. So therefore, at least to familiarize with the stages of the heart, and that itself help us to kind of bring some kind of benefit to reduce the conceptual obscurations and increase the wisdom to understand the nonconception No. If you have received Yamāntaka initiation, you can go for commitment retreat, But that is not a sufficient of doing a retreat for the commentary because commentary has a different commitment.
Let’s say as an example, you know, let’s say that the tradition that what I what I have, when I receive Yamāntaka initiation, I have to do immediately hundred and ten thousand plus fire puja as commitment retreat as a commitment retreat initiation. After I receive the commentary, I need to do four hundred thousand. To the five fire pujas. Yeah. The only when you receive the commentary by guru, then only you can read the commentary.
Without receiving the commentary even if you have initiation, you are not access to it. You are not access to to to the to the to the commentary. Even you have a initiation, you have a commitment. You mean you have done commitment retreat? I see.
So the person who’s taken the initiation cannot read the commentary until permission is No. Until that you receive the commitment retreat or commentary. Okay. Until we receive the commentary, but we do we need to also do the retreat on the commentary before? No.
Not before. After. After we receive the commentary, we need to to or commitment or commentary. Like I said, like, just initiation, commitment is hundred and ten thousand plus five fire pujas. After commentaries, then only but then it’s still I’m not access to commentary, but I can do the short sadhana.
But then I think oh, yeah. I only can do short sadhana. I’m not supposed to do the long sadhana. Unless the guru okay. Say, you should do the long term.
Otherwise otherwise, not permitted. You have to receive the commentary, then only you access. You receive the commentary, then you are access to the to to to read the commentary, and you are access to read the long. But that’s not complete because you should do the commitment retreat for the for the for the commentary, which is four hundred thousand plus each, one hundred thousand. If you are doing four hundred thousand, break four times, four, five for that.
If you are doing four hundred thousand, one shorter time, one fire puja for that. Okay. Do all commentaries involve So after when you’re over this stage, then black and white and red appearance comes. Then that is the crucial moment for us to link our subtle mind to the realization of emptiness. Thank you.
Lisa. Never. I stop.