Dharma Talk by Living Buddha Lian Sheng excerpts from Achievement of Rainbow Light Body, Translated by Yuan Zheng Tang, True Buddha School

• GOOD AND EVIL,
• HOW SHOULD CULTIVATORS VIEW MONEY?
• SPIRITUAL LEVELS AT FOUR DHYANA HEAVENS
• RAINBOW LIGHT GREAT ATTAINMENT
• CULTIVATING ONE PRACTICE FOR LIFE
• TRUE MEANING OF EMPTINESS
• MYSTIC POWERS
• Bad and Good Depend on the Individual Person's Interpretation
  by Lama Zopa Rinpoche

GOOD AND EVIL

Dharma talk on 20/3/92

(page 31-32 Achievement of Rainbow Light Body volume five) Translated by Yuan Zheng Tang

I talked about what is good, and the eight fields for cultivating blessedness a few weeks ago. I like the analogy used by Patriarch Je Tsongkapa on what is good and what is evil in his book "a treatise on the stages of walking the Bodhi path."

To him, whatever you do for the benefit of others is considered good. By so doing, the fruits that you reap will be sweet. For such acts will lead you to selflessness. Therefore altruism is selflessness!

To him, transgression of the five precepts of killing, telling lies , stealing , sexual misbehavior and taking intoxicants is itself not an evil act. It is whatever you do for your own good that is evil. By so doing, the fruits that you reap will be bitter.

For such acts will encourage your attachment to material wealth and enhance your quest for egoness.

Therefore our understanding on the issue of good and evil should be :

Good -- altruistic -- sweet fruit -- selflessness.
Evil -- self-beneficial -- bitter fruit -- egoness.

Just take a few minutes to brood over these questions :
Why do we kill ?
Why do we steal ?
Why do we lie ?
Why do we drink intoxicants ?
Why do we have sexual misbehavior ?
Are they not done for self-benefit and personal desire ?

Therefore he concluded that whatever we do, if they are done for our own benefit, there are always evil. If we always do things to the benefit of others , eventually a kind of selflessness will develop -- therefore such acts are good deeds.
Bitterness is self-beneficial, while sweetness is "egoless." This was what Patriarch Je Tsongkapa explained in his book on what is the difference between good and evil and its relation to self-benefit and benefit for others.

Sometimes the line between good and evil can be very thin. To distinguish them more easily, maybe we can use the concept as expounded by Je Tsongkapa.

Om Mani Padme Hum

HOW SHOULD CULTIVATORS VIEW MONEY?

Dharma Talk on 14/12/90 (page 142-145 Achievement of Rainbow Light Body volume two) Translated by Yuan Zheng Tang

Tonight I will be speaking on how should cultivators view money.

It is a fact that a lot of cultivators do not like to talk about money in the first place. In the olden days, many cultivators would only use paper to wrap themselves up. Some of them did not even want to live in a house. They only used pine wood to cover their roofs. A Zen monk by the name of "bird nest" was noted for living in a tree. It was even recorded in "Hua Yan" Sutra that twelve monks had made vows not to touch any money in their life time ! Why ?

At first, many cultivators stayed in temples or shrines. But they were condemned as "fighting for the properties of temple!" Since money was the main cause, they decided not to live in a temple. Then they lived in between the graves. But that also did not work out. Many people assumed that "whenever there is a burial, the cultivator will extort money from the geomancy master or the bereaved family."

Again, the misunderstanding was caused by money, to they moved again. They lived under the trees. But some woodcutters started to worry : "Maybe they want some money from me ." Again, it was a financial issue.

Eventually, these cultivators moved to an open space. As the area was so wide, there was no tree in sight. But it was considered a transgression of precept. Why ? The area was too wide and spacious as if it was owned by the cultivators. So they decided to define a boundary for themselves, by not lying down when they slept - to observe the precept of "not to sleep on a wide bed."

This way of sleeping is known as "Bu Dao Dan" in Chinese - it is still widely observed by many monks, as the cultivators do not want to have anything to do with money. Sakyamuni Buddha was able to forego all his wealth before his spiritual cultivation, as he believed without any wealth, he can concentrate better. Therefore a lot of cultivators followed his footsteps , they distributed their wealth before their ordinations. But the modern cultivators are not the same. They accumulate a lot of money like rich businessmen so that they can build grand temples .

Which is the right way ? Giving away wealth or accumulating wealth.

Both can be right, but the latter is more difficult as we can be distracted by money. Many cultivators told me: "I can only seek ordination when my wife has no financial worries ."
"After my family is well taken care of, I will renounce the world."
"I must have at least US$1 million , before my ordination."

What I am afraid of is that they may die before they can accumulate enough money. Therefore it is very difficult to save up adequate money before commencing cultivation.

As rich cultivators, have we transgressed any precept ?

No , we have not. We can accumulate one kind of wealth known as "purified money" on these conditions :

first, make a Bodhi vow to save all sentient beings;
second, use the money for propagation of Dharma.

Sakyamuni Buddha once said : "Even if we transform the whole Mount Meru into seven types of treasure to reward a Bodhisattva who has done great deeds , it is still grossly inadequate - just like a grain of sand only." It is not a problem for a Bodhisattva to enjoy all these treasures !
Remember these two prerequisites:

First, a Bodhi-vow must be made.
Second, the money must be used for Dharma propagation .

While a Bodhisattva can enjoy all kinds of wealth, we ordinary cultivators can only enjoy the "bare necessity" in life. We should not accumulate wealth beyond this point. This is the right view a cultivator should have towards money.

Why do we want to accumulate wealth this life ? It must be for the propagating of Buddhdharma and succoring of all sentient beings . Otherwise wealth will be meaningless. If future, if you are rich, you must remember to use your money for the right causes.

Om Mani Padme Hum

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CULTIVATING ONE PRACTICE FOR LIFE Dharma Talk on 16/03/91 (page 314-317 Achievement of Rainbow Light Body volume two) Translated by Yuan Zheng Tang

All schools of Buddhism have their own inherent strengths and weaknesses. Do we have to specialize in one practice or many practices ? Do we have to learn from one school only or many schools ? The general criticism on these different schools is as follows: Hua Yan school is too mysterious. Wei Shi school engages in too much empty talk. Pure Land school adapts too many expedient ways. Vajrayana school inherited too many Brahmin practices, and is too similar to heresy. Zen school is too crazy. The Zen masters are fond of shooting , scolding , and beating their disciples for no rhyme or reason. Every school has its own peculiarity . Hinayana is accused of being narrow minded - "seeking self-realization only." And Mahayana is faulted as too ambitious just like "empty flowers." - make a lot of Bodhi vows to succor other sentient beings, like the reflection of flowers in the water.

All schools of Buddhism have their righteous tendency and deviations. Do we have to learn all their teachings ? Or just the teachings from a certain school? Taking these into consideration , there is no perfect fit in the religious studies. Then, how do we learn Buddhism ? We must observe and take part in the activities organized by the different schools. Then choose one of the practices as our life-long cultivation objective. There are many practices for us to learn, take Tantric fortune god practices as an example -All of you heard of yellow fortune god, red fortune god, white fortune god, and black fortune god, ........ Padmasambhava's money tree practice, Dragon King treasure vase practice --- and other fortune god practices expounded by the various Isvara gods. Many disciples wrongly believe that the latest practice taught by their guru must be more powerful than that taught earlier on. So they discard what they have learned earlier, and concentrate fully on the new teachings. This is a wrong approach. they should take part in all, but choose only one practice to cultivate for life. Cultivating the eight personal deity yoga is the same. You must observe the characteristics of all the eight personal deities carefully, and choose one that is compatible with your nature. By concentrating your effort on your chosen practice for life, you may experience psychic response . Once this state of accomplishment is achieved, you can master the rest of the practices with ease. Since there are many schools, you can do a comparative study and decide one school that is suitable for your spiritual cultivation. Again, choose one of the practices from amongst the many practices taught in that particular school, and concentrate your effort wholeheartedly. If you have any spiritual response, you are considered an accomplished cultivator.

Once you have mastered one, you are the master of all.

Many cultivators practise wrongly now. They engage in Zen mediation for a while, and switch to reciting the name of Amitabha Buddha. When they hear that a Tantric master will be conducting a consecration ceremony, they will go and receive empowerment from him and start the cultivation of Tantrayana.

Later on, when they learn that the future Buddha - Maitreya Buddha will focus on "Wei Shi"(mind only), they change their school again. Last but not least, when they are told the World of Hua Yan is even more fascinating than the Western Pure Land, all of them will join the Hua Yan School. In conclusion, observe all the schools and choose one to follow. Then experience all the practices and choose one to focus : You must have the determination to do well and never give up half way. Once you have mastered the one practice you have chosen, you will be the master of all - 10 schools, even 13 schools.

Om Mani Padme Hum

 

MY TALKS ON "RAINBOW LIGHT GREAT ATTAINMENT
Dharma Talk by Living Buddha Lian Sheng on 01/07/96 (page 10-13)

Today I am going to talk about "Rainbow Light Great Attainment" which is the highest spiritual level to which a Tantric cultivator can aspire to achieve.To begin with, what is "Rainbow Light Great Attainment"? It can take a long time to explain it. In form, it is the lights of rainbow. And, in abstract, it is the most profound "cosmos-consciousness". When a Tantric cultivator is able to have union with the cosmos-consciousness, he is said to have achieved the "Rainbow Light Great Attainment". Spiritual cultivation is a big undertaking in life, as all the cultivators can see the transient natures of all the passing events. When a person makes up his mind to do cultivation, he is at the peak of his career. The "Rainbow Light Great Attainment" I am talking about is the spiritual fruit that all cultivators seek - an ordinary human being is able to have a union with the cosmos-consciousness. First, I would like to briefly explain the difference between "Tantrayana" and "Sutrayana" Buddhisms. Permit me to use an analogy. Sutrayana is like a classroom where you learn all the theories about Buddhism. And Tantrayana is like a laboratory where you put what you learned in the classroom to experiment. In short, while Sutrayana stresses the importance of theory, Tantrayana emphasizes the significance of actual practice. Hence the former is like a classroom, and the latter a laboratory. "Rainbow Light Great Attainment" is the highest spiritual level a Tantric cultivator can aspire to achieve. Upon attainment, many inconceivable events will unfold. The accomplished cultivator will be able to radiate "purified lights", and bring brightness wherever he goes. If he so wishes, he can even summon help from the mysterious cosmos-consciousness. Many highly competent cultivators are known to have radiated rainbow lights from their bodies, and caused many rainbows to appear in the sky before they departed from this Samsara world. The Tantra taught by True Buddha School has the same effect. All accomplished cultivators will be able to summon the rainbow, and cause strange phenomena to appear in the sky. And they are able to have unions with the cosmos-consciousness also. Before I began the first lecture on this series of talks on "Rainbow Light Great Attainment", an unusual Vajrasattva appeared. He was holding a Vajra on his right hand and a bell on his left. When he threw his Vajra into the sky, a huge rainbow light appeared. It's my aim to let everyone (cultivator and otherwise) know the true meaning of "pure cultivation". As spiritual cultivation is very important in life and a genuine effective way of cultivation is hard to come by, I sincerely hope all of you would treasure this "Rainbow Light Great Attainment", since it is the most profound Dharma taught by Tantrayana School of Buddhism. That's all for today.

Om Mani Padme Hum

SPIRITUAL LEVELS AT FOUR DHYANA HEAVENS

Dharma Talk by Living Buddha Lian Sheng on 24/07/96 (Page 172-176)

By cultivating "Rainbow Light Great attainment", we are able to accumulate merit, increase our wisdom as well as transcend all our sufferings in life. Am I talking about the theoretical benefits or what? Today I am making the confirmation that all the above-mentioned benefits can be verified personally. "Four Dhyana heavens" is a term often found in Buddhism. And each of the four Dhyana heavens has it's own characteristics. In the first region, we will experience bliss - eternal happiness. In the second, our body will emit pure and clear lights. In the third, we will remain in quietness and stabilization. And In the fourth, we will treat all sentient beings as equal. What is the bliss that we experience in the first region? When we are in deep meditation (Dhyana), our body will accumulate a lot of energy known as Qi in Chinese. By lifting this energy through our central column, we will experience a certain kind of sensation known as Qing An (pliancy) or Fa Xi (Dharma happiness) in Buddhism. "How do you know you are enjoying the bliss in the first region?" I always asked those who claimed to be in this region. "I do not know how to explain, but I am happy all the while!" From Tantrayana point of view, when Qi enters our central column, there will be a vibration, resulting in an inexplicable comfort. This is known as bliss. It is a bliss only those who do spiritual cultivation have the opportunity to experience it personally. All True Buddha cultivators and those who have achieved the "Rainbow Light Great Attainment" can verify the existence of such bliss. If you are interested in what I have just mentioned, you must do cultivation like me. Having been through the first region first hand, I really know the feeling of pliancy and Dharma happiness. I will also teach you the way to enter into the second region of Dhyana in the near future. By means of bright spot and psychic heat, we will be able to ignite the lights in our body. After which, all the filth and karmic hindrance will depart from us. With a clean body and a purified mind, we can radiate shining lights. It is a kind of divine feeling that has no equal in this Samsara world. In this region, our pure body will show brightness and radiate glistening lights, and all our actions are free from contamination. We will feel that we are leading lives of deities. In the next region, we will be able to have a union with the great void and remain in meditative stabilization. We will realize the true meaning of "emptiness" in the universe. Our mind will remain quiet and immovable; and our wisdom will increase swiftly. With undivided focus, our mind would have transcended this world. This is the manifestation of cultivators in this region. Let me recap: The first region - bliss The second region - purity and brightness The third region - Quietness and stabilization Most ordinary people would lose their temper at the slightest provocation. But those who are able to enter into the various stages of Dhyana heavens are different. They will not lose their cool as they have transcended all the human feelings and resided in a stage of immovability. In the fourth region of Dhyana heavens, we will know the real meaning of equality. When we look at the Samsara world, we can't help but laugh loudly. Why? Everything is equal. There is no difference between love and hatred. Feeling does not exist. To us, all sentient beings are one and the same. There is no human anxiety to face in the stage of equality. All human beings have in-born Buddha natures. Love and hatred should be treated as illusions and bubbles. In the stage of equality, our personal feeling does not bother us; and our wisdom will increase by leaps and bounds constantly. We will be able to see the whole world with a helicopter view from the great void. And we can experience all the different characteristics of the Dyana heavens. "Rainbow Light Great Attainment" is such a magnificent Dharma that few others can rival. In future, I will talk about other spiritual levels that are more superior to it. That's all for today.

Om Mani Padme Hum

 

 

THE TRUE MEANING OF EMPTINESS

Dharma Talk on 23.02.93 (page 57-59 Achievement of Rainbow Light Body volume six) Translated by Yuan Zheng Tang

Today I am going to talk about some of the misunderstandings of the word "emptiness". As we know the word "emptiness" is actually considered "the origin of all truth". Although the topic was discussed time and again , we never really explained its true meaning. Hence many disciples are still unsure about the true meaning of "emptiness."

The first misunderstanding is: "Emptiness means nothing is existent." If this view is correct, then we don't have to know about Buddhism, as there will be no Buddha, no heaven, no hell, and no Samsara world. All things animate and inanimate do not exist. To go a step further, we can forget about the law of karma, cause and effect, and six realms of existence, as these are not real. This extreme view on emptiness is considered "obstinate emptiness" in Buddhism. In short, since nothing is real, there is no necessity to learn Buddhism. We must not commit this grave mistake.

The second misunderstanding is: "Material world is unreal and immaterial world is real." What do you mean by this ? As all materials existing in this world are subject to decay- human beings, all forms of animate and inanimate things are no exception, they are not real (non existent). Only phenomena that do not exist in reality are real. Therefore, mind, soul, sense and truth that do not assume any forms are considered a reality. This is also a common heterodox view.

The third misunderstanding is: "Then it is best to leave emptiness or otherwise alone." We may think that the best way is leave them alone, as it is not necessary to engage in the debate of emptiness and reality. As long as we do not attach ourselves to either of the views in our spiritual cultivation , we are on the right path.. Actually our insistence on non-attachment to either view is itself an act of attachment - I must admit there are many people who hold this view. This is a wrong belief which is similar to saying "Mind is Buddha; Non-mind is non-Buddha." What then is the right view ?

Emptiness actually does not concern itself with existence and non-existence. It simply means "we must get rid of our spontaneity completely." That is to say , we have to seek our human nature, so that we can reach out to our mind and let our true nature emerge.

Emptiness has nothing to do with the existence and non-existence of the material world. By seeking the truth inside ourselves, the truth of universe will appear in no time. It is pointless to debate on the contradictory views, instead we should concentrate our effort on seeking the answer within ourselves.

Buddhadharma teaches us to be free from our spontaneity, this is where the truth lies. We should not engage in the endless debates on material or immaterial, and existing or empty. When we are able to do so, our true-self ( Buddha nature ) will emerge - and this is the ultimate aim of spiritual cultivation for all Buddhists.

Om Mani Padme Hum

 

MYSTIC POWERS

Dharma Talk by Living Buddha Lian Sheng on 27/08/97 (Page 189-193)

Today we shall talk about mystic powers - It is not a subject that we should refrain from discussing.Tantrayana School is also known as Shen Tong School - (A school that is full of mystic powers). How do these mystic powers come about? We can possess mystic powers through spiritual cultivation. Phenomena that are inconceivable, unpredictable, and have no logical explanation by human minds can be considered a manifestation of mystic powers. All Tantric cultivators believe that upon full concentration, our mind can generate certain kinds of Dharma power. As this source of energy can be put to good use, they are collectively known as Shen Tong or mystic powers. It is a well-known fact that a Buddha will possess six kinds of mystic powers. Do people who are not as enlightened as Buddhas have some form of mystic powers? I believe they may have too. Let me put it this way. An enlightened person is sure to have mystic powers. On the other hand, some lesser-enlightened cultivators may still have some mystic powers. My conclusion is: "Those who possess mystic powers are not necessarily enlightened; while those who are enlightened will definitely have all the six mystic powers." You may want to ask me whether I have any mystic powers? Let me refrain from answering your question for the time being. The fact was. In the ritual held at the Hong Kong Municipal Square, I promised that I would make a person who had been confined to a wheel chair stand up without any assistance. And true enough, a child who was wheel chair bound for the past three years did what I promised - many reporters witnessed this miracle. One of the reporters insisted that I should grant him an exclusive interview. He said: "I saw what really happened; it is really a powerful ritual!" As the reporter was sitting next to the child on wheel chair, he was bent on talking to me. One of Guru Lian Man's relatives also carried his child to attend my ritual on that night. The child had a big and prominent tumour on his head. On the second day - not after a few days -, the tumour just subsided and disappeared leaving no trace at all. In fact the child has fully recovered from his illness. This was another proof that the ritual that night was really effective and powerful. Frankly speaking, the ritual should be better called "A ritual of mystic powers!" It is very lucky for people who have attended such a magnificent ritual. Among the participants, there was a person, whose was suffering from bone problem. His spinal cord had been crooked for a while. He heard his bones cracking during the ritual. When he returned home, he was surprised that his backbone was straightened without any operation. To tell the truth, it is very difficult if not impossible to take part in such a wonderful healing ritual. I was asked by Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to fast for a few days before I performed the rituals. I only drank some water melon juice. That was why I was able to accomplish such a wonderful feat at the ritual held at the Hong Kong Municipal Square. I had cultivated many sessions of Dharmas continuously for three days and three nights - Almost to a stage of semi-unconsciousness. In order to unleash all the Dharma powers, I had to concentrate fully and confined my movement; hence I was only semi-conscious for those few days. It was really a magnificent ritual. There were many miracles. These psychic responses were manifestations of mystic powers in this world. The clairvoyance of knowing the future derives from the wisdom of discrimination. An accomplished cultivator will be able to accomplish everything he sets out to do at will. He will be able to know other's thought. He will be able to see things far away. He will be able to hear even the voices from the universe. A person who has transcendental power will be able to know everything about his past lives. He can even transform his physical body elsewhere. I used the same means to visit certain places the other day. My audience was really impressed, when I told them what I had done. I did not have to pay for my journey. I used the mystic power of "Shen Zhu"(Divine feet). What I saw on my trip was just like any ordinary day. I could recall the voices of pedestrians, their discussions. I could even recollect the look of the Pinang seller, what his stall looked like. I bought some newspapers from him. All these scenes were still very fresh in my mind. What I have just described was a mere manifestation of a mystic power known as "Shen Zhu". The last category of mystic power is commonly known as Lou Jin Tong in Chinese. It is a mental stage When we can get rid of all our worries, there is no contamination (leakage in our cultivation) and karmic hindrance in what we are doing, our wisdom is said to be equivalent to the perfect wisdom of a Buddha. In short, Lou Jin Tong is without any flaw in our behaviour. Let me repeat, when there is no worry, no contamination, and perfect wisdom, this is a manifestation of mastering the "Lou Jin Tong". Master all the six mystic powers and be considered enlightened, achieving Buddhahood. That is all for today.

Om Mani Padme Hum

Dharma Talk by Living Buddha Lian Sheng excerpts from Achievement of Rainbow Light Body, Translated by Yuan Zheng Tang, True Buddha School

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Bad and Good Depend on the Individual Person's Interpretation
by Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Bad and good depend on the individual person's interpretation. In general, if you are able to spend your life collecting more virtue and less negative karma, that's a good life. Even spending half the life this way is quite good. Spending even one quarter of the day creating good karma is better than spending the whole 24 hours creating only negative karma. So today, if you are able to create more virtue than negative karma, that's a good life. Even though you might be exhausted, even though you might have almost died from practicing Dharma, you had a good life today.

Naropa, for example, had to experience the 12 great hardships and the 12 small hardships under the advice of Tilopa. And Marpa would not allow Milarepa to come to teachings and initiations; he received scoldings and beatings only, no sweet words like "you are such a good disciple" or "you have done excellent practice"; he only received Marpa's wrathful aspect. Then Milarepa had to build a nine-story tower by himself, alone, and not just once; he had to tear it down and build it three times. Because of doing these intensive preliminary practices and following exactly his guru Marpa's advice without having any negative thoughts towards him, Milarepa became enlightened in that life.

That's the best life, you see, the best life. The definition of a bad life and a good life is very important, because if you don't know you will be very confused; if your connotation is wrong you will go in the wrong direction. The result of this will be no attainment, no realization. The result will be that the mind is empty.

There is an interpretation of bad and good life according to attachment, according to ego. Then there is an interpretation of bad and good life according to the point of view of Dharma wisdom, the wisdom understanding karma, understanding lam-rim. Of course, they are totally opposite.

The common thing in the world is to follow the interpretation according to attachment. So if one has more success, more wealth, more external development, then that's regarded as a good life: more and more things, more friends, more children, then grandchildren, then their children—the more there is happening, the more successful the life. So that's one view.

Of course, everyone is looking for peace of mind and satisfaction in the heart, but they have no idea how to get it. Their methods are through external development only. Even though they really want peace and satisfaction, because of lack of spiritual education, Dharma education, they don't have methods, they don't have knowledge of practice. So they end up just as the Rolling Stones sang: "I can't get no satisfaction."

So from my point of view, unless you have renounced attachment you will not find satisfaction. You could be living in life-time retreat, or in the monastery or nunnery following the moral disciplines, having sacrificed a lot of the pleasures of this life, a lot of comfort, in order to live in pure morality, but if the mind is still suffering, it's because it didn't renounce attachment, it is not separated from attachment clinging to this life. You didn't make the mind free, so the mind becomes friends with attachment clinging to this life, the mind associates with the thought of the eight worldly dharmas.

Therefore, even if the body is in retreat or in the monastery, the mind cannot enjoy following the moral discipline or the meditation practices. There's no peace, no happiness in the heart. As the mind has become friends with attachment, you cannot give up this life's comfort to practice Dharma. Then it gets difficult to follow the advice of the virtuous friend, it gets difficult to do service for the monastery, for the monks and nuns, and it's difficult to serve other sentient beings.

Even though there is not yet any happiness in the mind because you have the attitude of attachment clinging to this life—you're stuck with that, not with Dharma—nevertheless, your mind is protected from obstacles because you are trying, you are practicing morality. Then you can have great peace and can practice Dharma without obstacles. It's the same with somebody doing long retreat, or someone who's serving the virtuous friend or other sentient beings. What I am saying is that even though your motivation is more stuck with attachment and even though you mightn't experience any happiness in your heart yet, it is still a good life because your practice of morality brings good results, a good rebirth in the next life. Even though your mind is not completely pure, even though the mind is not completely renounced, it is still a good life.

Of course, it takes time for this to happen. You need very intense and continuous meditation, especially on impermanence and death related to karma and the lower realms, and the general suffering of samsara, particularly the lower realms, and the preliminary meditation, the perfect human body, how it is highly useful and difficult to achieve again.

Or you could do the opposite: give up this life and think, "Oh, it didn't make me happy." After many years of practicing and studying Dharma—philosophy, highest tantra, anything that can be explained by qualified teachers—after all that I didn't find happiness, so I'd better try something else." You give up everything, and what you tried to abandon before, for all those years, now you have all of them. You are without rule, without discipline—you become a free guy.

So now you have a lot of physical comfort, wealth, friends and so on and you believe you have enjoyment; in fact it is a hallucination because the uncontrolled mind is the motivation. When you don't think of the motivation and the future karmic result, this new life appears as pleasure. But if you think of the motivation and karmic result, then you realize it is not really a happy life.

What I am saying is that, according to my interpretation, a happy life is when you have a good motivation and your actions bring good results. As I mentioned before, Naropa and Milarepa had so much hardship but it brought a fantastic future, the best future. So that is the best life.

But in the West the interpretation of a good life is whether or not it makes me happy now. Now! This moment. Today. One is involved in the psychology of cherishing oneself, which gives you so much inspiration that you are important. But practicing Dharma is not rejecting yourself, it's actually the best way to take care of yourself.

Practicing renunciation helps you become liberated from samsara, so that's what you need, otherwise you experience suffering again and again, without end. And practicing the right view, emptiness: that's the best way of taking care of yourself because it cuts the root of suffering. And what else do you need? What is better than this? What else is there that is better than this?

Therefore we must rejoice that we have met the precious Buddhadharma, especially lam-rim, the integration of the entire 84,000 teachings of the Buddha, and that without any confusion we can practice and achieve enlightenment.

Besides all this, we are able to do so much service for other sentient beings. Without talking about meditating on the stages of the path, practicing purifying negative karma, collecting merits, without that. Therefore we should rejoice.

http://www.lamayeshe.com/our_teachers/Lama_Zopa/goodandbad.htm

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What is right and wrong?

There is no standard by which to judge something to be right and another to be wrong. Opinions differ according to the nature of the individual and according to the surroundings. They are again ideas and nothing more. Do not worry about them but get rid of thoughts instead. If you always remain in the right, then right will prevail in the world.

Q. Will not right conduct be enough to secure salvation?

A. Salvation for whom? Who wants salvation? And what is right conduct? What is conduct? And what is right and what is wrong?

Only when the reality is known can the truth about right and wrong be known.

The best course is to find out who wants this salvation. Tracing this 'who' or ego to its original source is right conduct for everyone.

Intention - Motives

...whatever is done lovingly, with righteous purity and with peace of mind, is good action. Everything that is done with a stain of desire and with agitation filling the mind is classified as bad action.

Means to an End?

Do not perform any good action [karma] through a bad means, thinking 'It is sufficient if it bears good fruit.' Because if the means is bad, even a good action will turn out to be bad one. Therefore, even the means of doing actions should be pure.

p212 Be as You Are - The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi.

see qi, enlightened living, no-thought

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In the Nyingma tradition, Tulku Urgyen held the complete teachings of the last century's three great masters: Terchen Chokgyur Lingpa, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Kongtrül Lodrö Thaye. He had an especially close transmission for the Chokling Tersar, a compilation of all the empowerments, reading transmissions and instructions of Padmasambhava's teachings, which were rediscovered by Terchen Chokgyur Lingpa, his great-grandfather. Rinpoche passed on this tradition to the major regents of the Karma Kagyü lineage as well as to many other lamas and tulkus.

http://www.shedrub.org/main/lineage-guru/tr-bio.htm Tsok-nyi Rinpoche

Tsoknyi Rmpoche the third is an important lama of both the Drukpa Kagyu and Nyingma lineages. He was born in 1966 in Kathmandu, Nepal, to the family of the mahasiddha Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, who holds the Tsangsar Family Lineage, a special family lineage of tantric yogis which, by tradition, originated through the union of a deva and a human. Tsoknyi Rinpoche's great great grandfather was the treasure revealer Chokgyur Lingpa and Rinpoche has been trained in that family tradition by his father since an early age.

The Sutra on the Unlimited Life of the Threefold Body - In the "Sutra of Unlimited Life..." Manjushri poses questions to the Buddha on the source of the Buddha's teachings and authority. Answers relate to Shakyamuni going through 41 stages of enlightenment and hearing the Dharma directly from Mahavairocana, the "Great Sun" Buddha, (Eternal/Cosmic Buddha). Mahavairocana in turn receiving Dharma teachings from "the beginningless and endless original Buddha who is one mind and one thought." Who in turn heard teachings from "the beginning and endless original Buddha of no mind and no thought." The sutra assures us there is "no Buddha above and beyond" this Buddha. This Buddha is the fundamental reality and nature of all, that in whom we live and move and have our being. The sutra points to all beings are Buddhas just as they are, the direct experience of the fundamental reality through meditative concentration (samadhi).

"The supreme path of all Buddhas Has the marks of perfect light and eternal abiding Those who enter meditative concentration together with the Buddha In the same way realise the mind of enlightenment (bodhicitta)."

 

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