Gampopa Center

There will be no class Sunday August 23rd, as the recent rains have caused problems at Michael’s house.

The Annapolis Capital ran an article about Lama Phurbu Tashi in their Thursday paper, which you can read online. I want to correct two mistakes in the article, one big and one small. The article infered that Lama had 200 students! Our correction is that Lama has encountered 200 students in Annapolis, with these he made a spiritual connection. Of these two hundred people he has a core group of serious students now.  I think we would have a hard time fitting 200 people into Michael’s house every week! The small error is that the name of the Palpung monastery was misspelled. You can read the history of the Palpung monastery on the web, it is the largest monastery in the Karma Kagyu tradition in East Tibet (Kham). There’s not so much information about the Gangkar monastery on the web, but there is a picture of the Gangkar monastery on Flickr.

The third of the Seven Points of Mind Training covers the main practice of relative bodhicitta. This is the practice of sending and taking. But before explaining this practice, Lama discussed the motivation for engaging in this practice. Before we practice, we should think about the kindness of others. We were born naked and helpless in this world and if not for the kindness of others, particularly our mother, we would not have survived. There is no one whose life does not depend on others, not only humans, but also animals. Lama asked, “How many people worked so that we can enjoy a cup of tea?” Our enjoyment often comes at a cost to others. So if we think about that, it will become easy to share with others when they are in need.

The next step is to give whatever good things we have to others. Lama explained that this attitude is like a mother who is willing to bear hardship for her child. Without this attitude the practice of sending and taking could seem scary. But with this attitude, we will practice joyfully.

Sometimes people wonder if they actually take on the sufferings of others through the practice of sending and taking. Lama explained that our suffering is the result of our karma and not even the Buddha can remove karma. If they could, we all would have been liberated long ago. The primary purpose of practicing sending and taking is reduce our ego clinging, not to immediately benefit others. If you practice with the intention of helping others and do not see them helped, you might give the practice up. If the practice helps others, that is good, but that is not the primary purpose of the practice.

Lama gave the empowerment for Vajrakilaya on August fifth. On the Tibetan calendar this was the full moon date and also the celebration date for Gampopa, but I don’t know if these were factors Lama used in choosing the date. Vajrakilaya is the wrathful form of Vajrasattva and is especially powerful in removing obstacles and obscurations. According to the empowerment text, many scholars and siddhas in India achieved realization through this practice and Padmasambhava swore to its power. In the dharma ending age, when other practices lose their effectiveness, Vajrakilaya will retain its effectiveness. So it is a valuable practice, if you understand its significance and practice it with the right attitude, that is, bodhicitta.

This a continuation of Lama’s teaching on The Seven Points of Mind Training. The following is my summary of his teaching, based on my notes.

The second point covers ultimate bodhicitta. Ultimate bodhicitta is the truth that you realize through the practice of mahamudra or dzogchen. It is the result of the practice of relative bodhicitta. It is not easy to realize from experience, but can be understood through reasoning. When you strike a gong the sound arises not only from the gong, but also through having a properly functioning ear and mind. The sound is interdependent, a result of causes and conditions, and has no existence apart from them. This interdependent nature of everything is called emptiness. So this is the intellectual explanation, but the real experience only comes from meditation.

Emptiness is not nothingness, it means what we take as real is only an elaboration created by our minds. In that way, all phenomena are like dreams. This includes everything we apprehend through the senses. Turn inward and look at the mind which apprehends these phenomena. Settle the mind in itself. If you are thinking about the mind, that is just words. What is seen is beyond words. Mind itself is also empty. But the apprehension of this emptiness is also only emptiness. So you should release that apprehension and rest in unborn awareness. Lama explained that this is a little difficult to understand, but with practice everything becomes easier to understand.