A   F A C I L I T A T O R ’ S   G U I D E   T O      

   

   

When  the  Iron  Bird  Flies  chronicles  the  unlikely  advent  of  Tibetan  Buddhism  into  America  and  its  capacity  to  influence  and  offer  effective  methods  for  dealing  with  life's  challenges,  whatever  the  background.        This  is  an  important  documentary  that  emphasizes  Buddhism's  ability  to  adapt  to  cultural  environment  while  maintaining  its  basic  integrity.  Tibetan  Buddhism  has  now  expanded  into  so  many  countries  and  wherever  it  lands,  it  remains  relevant,  applying  itself  as  a  potent  medicine  to  the  condition  of  suffering  which  as  a  human  family  we  all  experience.  

~Jetsunma  Tenzin  Palmo    

 Facilitator’s  Guide  written  by:  Helen  Berliner,  M.A.  in  Buddhist  Studies,  meditation  instructor  since  1975,  and  author  of  Enlightened  by  Design,  she  is  currently  a  senior  teacher  at  the  Mindrolling  Lotus  Garden  retreat  center  in  Stanley,  VA.  

 

With  additional  material  by:  Gavin  Kilty  lived  fourteen  years  in  Dharamsala,  India  and  studied  at  the  Institute  of  Buddhist  Dialectics.  He  works  full  time  as  a  Tibetan  translator  and  language  teacher.  He  currently  coordinates  the  social  network  of  ‘Old  Dharamsala  Wallahs,’  a  group  for  Westerners  who  lived  in  Dharamsala  in  the  seventies  and  eighties.  

     

©  Copyright  2013  Chariot  Productions  &  Pundarika  Foundation  

  2

 

WHEN  THE  IRON  BIRD  FLIES  STUDY  GUIDE    

Table  of  Contents      

I. What  the  Buddha  Taught  [Four  Noble  Truths] .......................................page  3  

II. How  Buddhism  Came  to  Tibet................................................................page  5  

III. The  Three  Yanas  ....................................................................................page  7    

IV. The  History  of  Buddhism  in  the  West,  Essay  by  Gavin  Kilty  ....................page  9  

V. Four  Reminders ...................................................................................page  12        

VI. Topics  for  Contemplation  &  Discussion ................................................page  14        

VII. Simple  Instruction  for  Sitting  Meditation .............................................page  18  

VIII. Glossary  of  Tibetan  Buddhist  Terms.....................................................page  19    

IX. Teachers  Appearing  in  the  Film ............................................................page  24  

X. International  Sangha  Websites  and  Resources.....................................page  25    

XI. Bibliography.........................................................................................page  28  

XII. Audio/Visual  Resources  &  Dharma  Archives ........................................page  30  

XIII. Transcript  of  the  Film...........................................................................page  31  

  3

 I. WHAT  THE  BUDDHA  TAUGHT  [FOUR  NOBLE  TRUTHS]    The  Buddha  was  not  a  “Buddhist.”  He  was  born  into  a  royal  family  in  India  some  2,500  years  ago  and  named  Prince  Siddhartha.  After  his  first  encounters  with  birth,  old  age,  sickness  and  death,  he  became  dissatisfied  with  palace  life  and  set  out  to  find  an  answer  to  the  question  of  suffering.  He  sought  spiritual  teachers  and  took  up  various  contemplative  practices;  on  the  shores  of  the  Nairanjana  River  he  practiced  various  forms  of  asceticism.  Not  satisfied  with  the  results,  he  finally  sat  down  under  a  tree—now  known  as  the  Bodhi  Tree—in  Bodh  Gaya,  until  the  answer  dawned.  It  was  then  that  he  became  free  from  suffering;  and  it  was  then  that  he  became  known  as  the  Buddha,  or  “Awakened  One.”      

Enlightenment  has  to  start  somewhere;  it  starts  with  the  natural  tendency  to  move  toward  happiness  and  away  from  suffering.    

                  ~  Dungse  Jampal  Norbu        Having  attained  enlightenment,  or  liberation  from  suffering,  the  Buddha  sought  a  way  to  communicate  this  experience  to  others.  He  realized  that  this  was  best  done  in  terms  of  one’s  own  experience.  He  understood  that  fundamentally  all  sentient  beings  desire  happiness  and  freedom  from  suffering.  Yet  without  exception,  all  human  beings  experience  four  basic  challenges:  birth,  old  age,  sickness,  and  death.    

 Birth  is  suffering,  aging  is  suffering,  sickness  is  suffering,  death  is  suffering,  association  with  unpleasantness  is  suffering;  dissociation  from  what  is  pleasant  is  suffering;  getting  what  you  don’t  want  and  not  getting  what  you  do  want  is  suffering.  In  brief,  the  five  aggregates  subject  to  grasping  are  suffering.                                     ~  The  Buddha  

 Faced  with  these  basic  facts  of  life,  the  Buddha  first  taught  Four  Noble  Truths:      1. Suffering:    All  human  beings  experience  suffering—not  just  obvious  or  extreme  

suffering,  but  a  subtle  quality  of  discontentment  in  every  moment.  Rich  or  poor,  young  or  old,  in  sickness  or  good  health—this  is  something  we  all  share.      

2. The  Cause  of  Suffering:  The  Buddha  realized  that  the  cause  of  suffering  is  habitual  grasping  and  fixation  based  on  a  notion  of  a  solid  self.  Continuing  to  live  our  lives  in  these  habitual  ways  creates  a  cycle  of  suffering  known  as  samsara.  Samsara  means  “to  spin”;  it  is  the  perpetual  spinning  of  suffering  depicted  in  the  Tibetan  Wheel  of  Life.    

3. The  Cessation  of  Suffering:  Understanding  its  cause,  we  see  that  suffering  ends  when  we  let  go  of  attachment  to  ego  and  its  habitual  tendencies.    

  4

4. The  Path:  The  actual  path,  or  “way,”  to  liberate  oneself  and  others  from  suffering  takes  the  form  of  various  methods  used  to  train  the  body,  speech,  and  mind  out  of  selfishness,  the  root  cause  of  suffering.  In  this  way,  we  naturally  go  beyond  “my  suffering”  to  the  liberation  of  others  as  well.      

The  Four  Noble  Truths  are  the  foundation  of  a  genuine  understanding  of  the  Dharma  and  Buddhist  path  of  practice.      

  5

 II. HOW  BUDDHISM  CAME  TO  TIBET  

 The  Buddha’s  teachings,  known  as  “Buddhadharma,”  have  never  been  limited  by  cultural  or  geographic  boundaries,  evidenced  by  today’s  study  and  practice  of  Buddhism  in  the  West.      

  To  the  extent  that  thoughts  go  on  occurring  to  beings,       There  is  no  limit  to  the  yanas  or  approaches  of  Dharma.      

                    ~Lankavatara  Sutra    From  its  beginnings  in  India,  Buddhadharma  (the  teachings  of  the  Buddha)  spread  throughout  Asia.  At  the  same  time  it  suffered  a  decline  in  India.  This  process  was  capped  by  the  12th  and  13th  century  Muslim  invasions  of  India,  which  eradicated  Buddhist  centers  of  learning  and  practice,  particularly  in  northern  India.  Meanwhile,  however,  the  teachings  had  traveled  to  Southeast  Asia;  to  the  North  through  the  daunting  Himalayas;  and  to  the  far-­‐eastern  lands  of  China,  Korea,  and  Japan.  Along  the  way  they  entered  Tibet,  the  Land  of  Snows.      Three  great  kings  shaped  Buddhism  in  Tibet:  Songtsen  Gampo  (c.  617-­‐698),  Trisong  Detsen  (c.  790-­‐844),  and  the  9th  century  king,  Tri  Ralpachen.  From  a  visionary  perspective,  these  three  kings  were  seen  to  be  emanations  of  three  aspects  of  the  Buddha,  namely  Avalokiteshvara,  Manjushri,  and  Vajrapani;  and  their  efforts  to  establish  Buddhadharma  in  Tibet  were  viewed  as  the  Buddha’s  enlightened  activity.  Thus  they  were  known  as  the  three  great  “Dharma  Kings.”    

Songtsen  Gampo,  the  33rd  king  of  Tibet,  along  with  his  two  Buddhist  wives,  the  Nepalese  princess  Bhrikuti  and  the  Chinese  princess  Wencheng—built  the  earliest  temples  and  brought  the  first  representations  of  the  Buddha  to  Tibet.  Songtsen  Gampo  mandated  the  creation  of  the  first  Tibetan  alphabet  and  the  translation  of  many  teachings  from  Sanskrit  into  Tibetan.  It  was  during  his  reign  that  the  Buddha’s  “Ten  Virtuous  Actions”  became  a  kind  of  constitution,  or  ethical  guide,  for  the  people  of  Tibet.    The  second  great  king  was  Trisong  Detsen,  the  38th  king  of  Tibet.  Said  to  be  an  emanation  of  Manjushri,  he  invited  great  Buddhist  scholars  and  translators,  such  as  Vimalamitra,  to  the  Land  of  Snows.  The  monk  Shantarakshita,  Abbot  of  Nalanda  University,  was  invited  to  establish  the  first  monastery  there.  And  when  Shantarakshita,  the  “Protector  of  Peace,”  met  with  insurmountable  obstacles  while  constructing  the  monastery  Samyé,  he  in  turn  asked  the  king  to  invite  the  Indian  tantric  yogi  Padmasambhava  to  Tibet,  to  subdue  obstructing  local  spirits  and  to  securely  plant  the  Buddhadharma  there.      So  in  the  8th  century—over  1,000  years  after  the  death,  or  paranirvana,  of  the  Buddha—Padmasambhava  brought  the  Buddha’s  teachings  from  India  into  the  vast  and  

  6

challenging  land  of  Tibet.  Known  in  Tibet  as  Guru  Rinpoche,  Padmasambhava,  the  “lotus  born,”  famously  tamed  the  local  spirits  and  won  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  people  through  his  teachings  and  manifestations  of  realization.  King  Trisong  Detsen  and  his  wife,  Yeshe  Tsogyal,  became  foremost  disciples  of  Padmasambhava.        The  third  great  Buddhist  king,  Tri  Ralpachen,  was  a  grandson  of  King  Trisong  Detsen.  Said  to  be  an  emanation  of  Vajrapani,  he  ruled  Tibet  from  815  to  838,  when  forces  threatened  by  the  spread  of  the  Dharma  assassinated  him.  He  is  known  for  having  built  one  thousand  temples,  and  for  inviting  many  Buddhist  scholars  and  translators  to  Tibet.  However  his  reign  also  ushered  in  a  period  of  persecution  of  Buddhist  teachings.  With  the  assassination  of  Tri  Ralpachen,  the  study  and  practice  of  Buddhism  in  Tibet  fell  into  disarray—but  in  the  10th  century  renewal  came.      Due  to  the  efforts  of  teachers,  practitioners,  scholars,  translators,  three  major  (the  Kagyu,  Gelug  and  Sakya)  and  many  minor  schools  of  Tibetan  Buddhism  evolved  in  addition  to  the  original  Ancient,  or  Nyingma,  school.    

     

  7

 III.     THE  THREE  YANAS    The  flowering  of  spiritual  realization  in  Tibetan  Buddhism  was,  from  earliest  times  until  present,  a  three-­‐stage  process  of  training  the  mind.  The  first  stage  is  based  upon  the  foundation  teachings  on  the  Four  Noble  Truths,  which  enable  one  to  liberate  oneself  from  suffering  by  understanding  its  cause  and  cessation.  Even  a  driven,  dissatisfied,  and/or  unhappy  mind  has  the  potential  to  attain  freedom  from  suffering  and  realize  its  full  potential—namely  enlightenment.    The  second  stage  recognizes,  through  study  and  the  practice  of  meditation,  the  basic  empty  nature  of  everything:  oneself  and  others—and  emptiness,  itself.  Emptiness  is  not  a  void.  As  is  said  in  the  Heart  Sutra:  Form  is  emptiness,  emptiness  itself  is  form.  This  deconstruction  of  the  delusion  of  a  solid  “self”  gives  rise  to  compassion  and  the  aspiration  to  help  others;  and  from  that,  the  Bodhisattva  Path.      The  third  stage  realizes  emptiness  and  energy  as  an  expression  of  wisdom  and  compassion,  which  is  embodied  in  a  physical  teacher.  Seeing  this  gives  rise  to  devotion  and  the  determination  to  realize  one’s  own  basic  potential—thus  leading  to  the  fruition  of  the  Buddhist  path.      

We  could  say  that  taming  is  related  to  the  Hinayana  path  of  practice;  transformation  is  related  to  the  Mahayana  path;  and  transcendence  is  related  to  the  Vajrayana  path.  All  three  lead  to  training  the  mind.  

                    ~Jetsun  Khandro  Rinpoche    These  three  stages—and  their  diverse  teachings  and  skillful  means—came  to  be  known  in  Tibetan  Buddhism  as  the  three  yanas:  the  Hinayana,  or  “narrow  path”;  the  Mahayana,  or  “greater  vehicle”;  and  the  Vajrayana,  or    “indestructible  vehicle,”  also  known  as  Tantra.  At  heart,  however,  their  sole  purpose  is  the  attainment  of  a  state  of  simplicity,  clarity,  and  kindness  through  taming  and  training  the  mind.      From  the  10th  to  the  20th  century,  the  three-­‐yana  studies  and  practices  were  variously  taught  in  all  the  major  lineages  of  Tibetan  Buddhism.  And  there  came  from  these  lineages  countless  realized  beings  and  the  flourishing  of  Buddhadharma  in  Tibet.      This  abundance  of  spiritual  riches  arose  from  ground  that  was  tamed,  seeded,  and  stewarded  by  Padmasambhava.  Then,  after  more  than  fifty-­‐five  years  in  Tibet,  Padmasambhava  took  his  leave—leaving  behind  pith  instructions  and  teachings  for  his  sorrowful  disciples,  so  they  could  find  their  own  way  to  ultimate  realization.  Upon  departing  he  said:    

 

  8

 The  love  of  Padmasambhava  has  no  rising  or  setting  [but  will    always  be  there].  My  compassion  for  Tibet  will  never  be  severed  [even  after  I  have  departed].  For  my  children  who  pray  to  me,  I  am  always  in  front  of  them.  For  people  who  have  faith,  there  is  no  separation  from  me.  

 It  was  the  great  spiritual  master  Padmasambhava  who  also  prophesized  that  the  Tibetan  people  and  their  religion  would  come  to  the  West–  

 When  the  iron  bird  flies  and  horses  run  on  wheels,  the  Tibetan  people  will  be  scattered  like  ants  across  the  face  of  the  earth.  

~  Guru  Padmasambhava  of  Tibet,  8th  Century        [References  for  this  section:  History  of  the  Dharma,  by  Dudjom  Rinpoche;  Words  of  My  Perfect  Teacher,  by  Patrul  Rinpoche;  A  Concise  History  of  Buddhism,  by  Andrew  Skilton;  and  Masters  of  Meditation  and  Miracles  by  Tulku  Thondup.]    

       

  9

   IV.   WHEN  EAST  CAME  WEST:  Thoughts  on  the  Transmission  of  Tibetan  Buddhism  to  the  

Western  World          ~Essay  by  Gavin  Kilty    The  counter-­‐culture  decade  of  the  60s  was  experienced  differently  around  the  world.  For  many  of  us  in  the  western  world  it  was  a  magical  time  of  vision,  of  inner  and  outer  exploration,  of  seeking  new  spiritual  paths,  and  of  breaking  free  of  what  we  perceived  to  be  the  stifling  establishment  of  our  parents’  generation.  In  faraway  China,  revolution  was  also  in  the  air  but  it  was  carried  out  very  differently.    “Peace  and  Love”  did  not  really  play  a  part  in  China’s  counter-­‐cultural  attitudes.  Neighboring  Tibet  fell  victim  to  the  aggression  of  the  Chinese  “people’s  revolution”  when  in  1959  it  invaded  that  country.  Subsequently,  during  the  years  of  the  so-­‐called  Cultural  Revolution,  a  peaceful  and  happy  nation,  that  had  bothered  nobody  for  centuries,  was  battered  and  brought  to  the  point  of  extinction—all  in  the  name  of  equality.  Thousands  of  Tibetans  fled  their  beloved  homeland  to  seek  refuge  in  neighboring  India.      At  the  same  time,  the  cultural  revolution  that  was  happening  in  the  minds  of  many  young  people  in  the  West  led  them  to  seek  out  spiritual  paths  in  far  off  India.    Thousands  took  the  hippie  trail  to  the  East.  Many  traveled  by  the  famous  “magic  bus”  that  wound  its  way  from  Istanbul  to  Delhi.  In  their  explorations  of  the  Indian  subcontinent,  they  inevitably  came  across  the  Tibetan  refugees  who  were  desperately  trying  to  set  up  new  institutions,  such  as  a  government,  monasteries,  and  settlements.  For  many  westerners  there  was  an  immediate  attraction  to  the  Tibetans  and  their  Buddhist  way  of  life.  Those  who  were  refugees  from  a  capitalistic  West  saw  hope  and  salvation  in  the  Tibetans  who  themselves  were  refugees  from  a  communist  China.  The  Tibetans,  to  their  eternal  credit,  willingly  imparted  their  Buddhist  knowledge  and  experience  to  these  young  seekers  from  the  West    This  meeting  of  the  two  cultures—one  a  seeker  of  the  spiritual,  the  other  a  seeker  of  material  safety—was  a  seminal  and  highly  fortuitous  coming  together  that  would  initiate  one  of  the  most  important  transmissions  of  a  spiritual  tradition  in  the  20th  century—that  of  Tibetan  Buddhism  to  the  West.  It  was  fitting  and  auspicious  that  this  transmission  should  begin  in  India.  This  ancient  country  had  been  home  to  the  Buddha  and  many  other  great  spiritual  leaders.  Moreover,  centuries  earlier  a  similar  meeting  and  transmission  had  taken  place.  At  that  time  the  Tibetans  were  the  seekers.  They  had  traveled  to  India  to  search  for  gurus  and  masters  who  could  impart  to  them  the  great  texts  of  Buddhism.  Many  of  these  Tibetans  were  translators,  who  names  are  revered  even  now  in  Tibetan  society.  They  brought  these  precious  teachings  back  to  Tibet  where  they  were  disseminated  to  a  willing  audience.  The  rest  is  history.  Buddhism  spread  throughout  Tibet.  After  a  while  it  took  on  a  particularly  Tibetan  flavor,  although  the  essential  ingredients  that  traveled  from  India  and  Nepal  were  never  lost.      There  are  many  parallels  in  these  two  transmissions.  Both  involved  the  efforts  of  pioneers  who  translated  Tibetan  texts,  brought  them  back  to  their  countries,  set  up  

  10

institutions,  monasteries,  and  worked  to  settle  the  teachings  in  their  new  home.  However,  eighth  century  Tibet  was  a  very  different  time.    The  ancient  Tibetan  kings  took  an  active  interest  in  establishing  Buddhism  in  Tibet,  and  with  their  absolute  power  there  was  much  they  could  do.    Royal  patronage  helped  set  up  institutions,  and  decrees  were  issued  ordering  the  standardization  of  translation  terminology.  Although  there  existed  a  prevailing  non-­‐Buddhist  religion  known  as  Bon,  the  decision  from  on  high  that  Buddhism  was  to  be  the  new  state  religion  meant  that  its  resistance  was  short-­‐lived,  but  not  without  its  influence.    In  the  modern  western  world  authoritarianism  in  the  form  of  those  on  high  telling  us  what  religion  to  practice,  how  to  practice  it,  what  is  and  what  is  not  its  pure  form,  and  so  on,  is  discouraged.  Generally,  we  allow  individuals  the  freedom  to  decide  for  themselves—an  important  feature  of  democracy.    Moreover,  there  is  an  individualistic  streak  in  the  western  mind  that  encourages  independence  of  thought.  Deference  is  regarded  with  suspicion.    So  how  will  Tibetan  Buddhism  fare  in  the  modern  world?  Despite  the  general  liberal,  and  even  libertine,  attitudes  in  the  West,  the  form  that  Tibetan  Buddhism  is  taking  in  the  West  is  to  a  large  extent  still  determined  by  the  parameters  of  the  particular  Tibetan  tradition  in  which  it  originated,  and  by  those  Tibetan  teachers  who  have  made  the  journey  to  the  West  in  order  to  disseminate  the  teachings.  There  is  still  something  very  Tibetan  about  Tibetan  Buddhism.  This  ensures  that  the  tradition  remains  unchanged  while  it  finds  its  feet  in  its  new  home.  Therefore,  although  we  do  not  have  the  same  authority-­‐led  culture  as  in  eighth  century  Tibet,  it  seems  that  for  the  most  part  that  authority  is  being  exercised  by  the  Tibetan  teachers  in  the  West,  and  by  Dharma  Centres  who  mould  themselves  in  a  Tibetan  image.      Nevertheless,  there  have  been  some  suggestions  that  now,  some  forty  years  after  the  initial  transmission  began,  we  should  be  searching  for  ways  to  develop  our  own  “Western  Buddhism.”  Such  suggestions  have  even  been  made  by  Tibetan  teachers  themselves.  There  is  some  wisdom  in  that  suggestion.  Buddhism,  especially  Tibetan  Buddhism,  is  very  popular  in  the  West  these  days.  It  has  more  and  more  exposure  and  consequently  more  people  want  to  find  out  about  it.  These  people  were  not  part  of  that  great  hippie  trail  in  the  60s  and  many  have  never  been  to  India.  They  are  not  familiar  with  the  rituals,  traditions,  prayers  recited  in  Tibetan,  prostrations,  elaborate  offering  ceremonies,  and  so  on,  found  in  traditional  Tibetan  Buddhism.  These  external  aspects  may  have  the  effect  of  turning  people  away  from  Buddhism,  thereby  preventing  them  reaching  the  inner  essence  of  Buddhism,  which  is  the  Four  Truths,  the  training  of  the  mind,  the  development  of  love  and  compassion  and  so  on.  The  outer  aspect  of  Tibetan  Buddhism  is  immediately  apparent,  but  it  is  the  inner  aspect  that  is  the  most  important.      However  it  takes  a  lot  of  confidence  and  not  a  small  amount  of  insight  to  start  to  make  changes  to  a  solid  tradition  that  has  been  built  up  over  a  thousand  years  or  so,  and  which  is  backed  by  the  wisdom  of  many  a  great  Buddhist  practitioner.    First  it  has  to  be  decided  which  traditions  have  been  culturally  acquired  and  can  be  put  aside,  and  which  are  essential  or  at  least  beneficial  to  practice.  Could  some  be  replaced  with  western  

  11

equivalents?  If,  for  example,  the  prayers  were  recited  in  Western  languages,  would  something  be  lost?  Some  say  the  prayers,  especially  those  composed  by  Tibetan  masters,  chanted  over  the  centuries  carry  special  blessings,  and  that  to  recite  them  in  Tibetan  brings  greater  benefit.  Others  say  that  to  recite  in  a  language  you  don’t  understand  is  meaningless.  Some  people  say  that  the  form  of  Buddhism  in  Tibet,  and  even  in  ancient  India,  particularly  suited  the  eastern  mind,  but  now  it  should  be  adapted  to  suit  the  western  mind,  by  opening  its  doors  to  western  psychology.  Others  say  that  the  problems  that  affected  the  ancient  East  are  essentially  no  different  to  those  of  the  modern  West,  and  that  the  methods  for  dealing  with  them  do  not  need  to  be  changed.  Some  say  we  are  westerners  and  that  any  spiritual  path  we  follow  should  be  in  keeping  with  western  values  and  attitudes.  Others  say  that  our  western  values  have  failed  us  and  we  need  the  wisdom  of  the  East  to  help  us  out.    There  is  also  a  view  is  that  there  should  be  no  deliberate  attempt  to  “modernize”  Tibetan  Buddhism.    They  point  out  that  attempting  to  shape  Buddhism  to  fit  in  with  western  values  is  to  run  the  risk  of  watering  it  down  by  editing  out  the  unpalatable  parts,  and  that  Buddhism  will  become  subsumed  into  the  New  Age  culture,  or  simply  adopted  as  the  latest  fashionable  spiritual  path,  becoming  just  another  consumer  product  in  the  spiritual  marketplace.  Lamas  are  given  glossy  write-­‐ups  when  advertising  their  latest  course  or  retreat,  teachings  become  expensive  and  out  of  reach  of  those  who  are  financially  strapped,  tantra  is  promoted  as  a  quick  path  to  mystical  experience,  Tibetan  Buddhism  spawns  its  own  range  of  designer  products  such  as  meditation  cushions,  rosaries,  and  so  on.      Personally,  I  think  that  Tibetan  Buddhism  in  the  West  will  find  itself,  at  least  for  the  immediate  future,  held  by  tradition-­‐based  conservatism  as  well  as  straying  to  an  over-­‐liberalization.  That  seems  inevitable.  However,  Buddhism  is  a  flexible  religion  that  allows  for  a  certain  amount  of  shape  shifting.  It  lends  itself  to  be  molded  and  adapted  to  suit  the  needs  of  its  followers.  I  think  this  can  be  seen  even  now  in  the  countries  in  which  it  has  taken  hold.  People  are  of  types:  Some  value  the  power  of  the  intellect,  and  make  full  use  of  it  to  make  choices  and  to  resolve  doubts.  Others  value  the  power  of  experience  over  other  forms  of  knowledge.  Others  believe  strongly  in  the  power  of  ritual.  There  are  those  for  whom  devotion  is  the  key.  Tibetan  Buddhism  accommodates  all  these  types,  and  it  has  the  flexibility  to  appear  to  them  in  an  appropriate  form.  Therefore,  I  think  that  the  responsibility  of  those  who  were  part  of  that  great  transmission  of  Buddhism  from  Tibet  to  the  West,  and  also  of  those  who  came  to  it  in  their  own  countries,  is  not  to  overly  intervene  or  to  overprotect  but  to  keenly  watch  over  its  development  and  growth,  and  not  sit  back  when  rampant  abuse  or  contamination  of  the  doctrine  occurs,  or  when  the  efforts  and  accumulated  wisdom  of  centuries  of  Indian  and  Tibetan  masters  are  perverted  for  materialistic  and  selfish  ends.  I  believe  that  such  self-­‐regulation  coupled  with  the  flexibility  of  Buddhism  will  ensure  its  survival,  even  in  this  unregulated,  anything-­‐goes  western  world  of  ours.    

~  Gavin  Kilty,  Lama  Tsongkhapa  Institute,  Pomaia,  Italy,  2012

  12

 V.       THE  FOUR  REMINDERS      

Reflecting  on  the  preciousness  of  human  existence  and  the  strength  of  impermanence,  all  else  become  insignificant….  In  the  mini-­‐second  before  crashing  your  car,  which  worries  would  you  hold?  Then  you  see  that  all  those  hopes  and  fears  were  not  necessary.  You  see  the  insignificance  of  things.  Contemplating  impermanence  and  karma,  in  the  face  of  things  being  so  fragile,  how  can  we  not  be  aware  of  the  importance  of  not  misusing  this  life?    

                    ~Jetsun  Khandro  Rinpoche    [The  following  teachings  on  the  Four  Reminders  are  excerpted  from  This  Precious  Life  by  Her  Eminence  Jetsun  Khandro  Rinpoche.]  

 There  are  four  thoughts  that,  when  contemplated  carefully,  are  said  to  transform  the  mind.  They  are  sometimes  called  the  Four  Reminders  because  they  remind  us  of  the  basic  facts  of  life.  In  this  way  they  help  us  to  set  priorities,  and  they  act  as  “antidotes”  when  these  priorities  are  forgotten.  This  is  how  the  four  thoughts  bring  about  change:    1. Contemplating  the  Preciousness  of  Human  Existence—brings  an  appreciation  of  our  

human  body,  mind,  and  potential.  With  exertion,  we  can  actually  create  the  cause  of  genuine  happiness  and  benefit  for  others.    

2. Contemplating  Impermanence—brings  a  sense  of  urgency  about  not  wasting  that  potential  and  of  exerting  more  effort.  

 3. Contemplating  the  Suffering  of  Samsaric  Existence—enables  us  to  not  conceptualize  

selflessness  and  exertion.  Whether  we  read  about  it  or  actually  experience  it,  the  pain  of  sentient  beings  should  turn  our  minds  toward  exertion  and  effort.  Contemplating  both  impermanence  and  suffering  brings  a  strong  motivation  to  create  the  fundamental  ground  of  good  karma.  With  a  ground  of  good,  positive  actions,  we  can  attain  happiness  and  the  cause  of  happiness  for  others  and  ourselves.    

 4. Contemplating  Karma—develops  awareness  and  helps  us  to  understand  the  

intricacies  of  a  mind  that  continually  slips  back  into  habitual  patterns.  We  may  aspire  to  selflessness  and  freedom  from  habitual  conceptualizing,  but  just  talking  about  them  is  not  enough  if  we  lack  the  awareness  to  put  these  things  into  practice.  Contemplating  karma,  we  realize  the  need  for  the  support  of  constant  mindfulness  and  awareness.  We  also  understand  the  importance  of  aspiring  to  compassion  and  freedom  from  suffering  for  all  sentient  beings.  It  is  not  just  about  saving  ourselves  or  escaping  from  samsara.  It’s  about  the  exertion  we  put  into  bringing  all  of  our  human  endowments  to  fruition  in  order  to  be  of  benefit  in  the  world.  

  13

 These  teachings  are  not  meant  to  lead  to  paralyzing  fear  or  a  solidification  of  samsaric  suffering.  Instead,  they  enable  us  to  create  positive  circumstances  from  adverse  circumstances.  Because  our  effort  is  experiential  and  non-­‐conceptual,  we  can  put  that  effort  into  the  right  path,  the  path  of  genuine  compassion.  Compassion  arises  for  all  sentient  beings  who,  through  a  single  moment  of  ignorance,  are  stuck  in  painful  situations  that  they  don’t  want  but  continue  to  create.    These  contemplations  don’t  need  to  be  sequential  or  even  particularly  Buddhist.  The  Four  Reminders  bring  the  mind  back  again  and  again  to  the  ground  of  awareness,  which  becomes  stronger.  When  habitual  patterns  strike,  awareness  is  there  and  we  can  go  on  our  way  maintaining  even  greater  awareness.              

  14

 VI.      TOPICS  FOR  CONTEMPLATION  &  DISCUSSION        

      All  happiness  in  the  world             Comes  from  wishing  happiness  for  others.         All  suffering  in  the  world               Comes  from  the  desire  to  have  happiness  only  for  oneself.                           ~Shantideva      

1. Contemplate  the  Four  Noble  Truths:  suffering,  the  cause  of  suffering,  cessation  of  suffering,  and  the  path.    From  your  own  life  experiences,  how  do  you  understand  and  describe  the  Four  Noble  Truths?    

 • In  the  film,  how  does  Khandro  Rinpoche  define  the  ‘basic  quality  of  suffering  

that  we  all  have’?  Is  Robert  Chender’s  approach  similar  when  he  describes  the  First  Noble  Truth  as  ‘a  quality  of  all  pervasive  dissatisfaction’?    

• Why  is  selfishness—with  its  grasping  and  clinging—seen  to  be  the  root  cause  of  suffering?    

• From  this  point  of  view,  what  is  the  ultimate  remedy,  or  cure,  for  suffering?    • How  would  you  define  ‘ego’?  

 The  seed  of  happiness  is  to  completely  let  go  of  attachment  to  ego.  It  seems  a  little  contradictory  to  find  happiness  for  oneself  by  forgetting  oneself.  [But]  it  seems  to  let  go  of  that  attachment  would  be  absolute  joy.    

                      ~Dungse  Jampal  Norbu  Namgye    2. All  sentient  beings  want  to  be  happy  and  to  avoid  suffering.  But  ego’s  habitual  self-­‐

cherishing  creates  a  perpetual  cycle  of  suffering  called  ‘samsara.’    • What  is  the  role  of  the  mind,  or  thoughts,  in  creating  happiness  and  suffering?    • What  is  the  benefit  of  training  the  mind?    Why  is  meditation  such  a  good  way  to  

train  the  mind?    • What  does  Geshe  Kelsang  Wangmo  mean  in  the  film  when  she  says  her  main  

obstacle  is  ‘self-­‐grasping  mind’?  • How  does  the  inherent  nature  of  one’s  mind  differ  from  thinking?  Consider  the  

view  of  the  bodywork  taught  by  Reginald  Ray  in  the  film.    

Meditation  practice  in  the  Buddhist  tradition  is  about  “changing  your  mind,”  which  means  transcendence  of  mind.  When  the  ordinary  mind  goes  from  a  state  of  ignorance  to  awareness,  absolute  truth  can  arise  unimpeded  by  the  sense  perceptions.  This  is  the  intention  of  meditation  practice.  

              ~Jetsun  Khandro  Rinpoche  

  15

 3. In  the  film,  Choegyal  Rinpoche  says,  “The  Cultural  Revolution,  destruction  of  Tibet,  

(was)  actually  proof  for  us  of  the  real  value  of  Buddha’s  teachings.”  What  do  you  think  he  means  by  this?    

4. Discuss  Reginald  Ray’s  view  that  the  experience  many  in  the  West  are  having  of  the  increasingly  unpredictable  nature  of  life  in  contemporary  society  is  a  way  to  “open  the  spiritual  gate.”  

 5. Think  about  the  distinction  between  genuine  Dharma,  as  you  understand  it,  and  

culture.      

• To  what  extent  are  cultural  customs—e.g.  gender  roles,  leadership  and  economic  opportunities—shaped  by  ego’s  habitual  patterns?    

• How  do  these  issues  relate  to  study,  practice,  and  realization?    • What  role  do  they  play  in  shaping  the  various  forms  of  practice—and  do  some  

traditional  forms  have  a  timeless,  universal  quality?  • What  does  Alan  Wallace  mean  when  he  says,  ‘Buddhism  can’t  remain  a  museum  

piece.  It  has  to  fully  integrate  into  western  society’?  • How  does  this  relate  to  Lama  Tsultrim’s  statement,  ‘It  can’t  remain  Tibetan  

Buddhism  forever–it  has  to  become  the  Vajrayana  tradition  as  it’s  expressed  in  the  West.’    Do  you  agree?  Why  or  why  not?    

  The  purpose  of  all  the  different  forms  of  teaching  and  learning,       practices,  sadhanas,  rituals,  and  so  on  is  to  provide  a  path  to  the       realization  of  inner  essence,  which  is  absolute  truth.    

                    ~Jetsun  Khandro  Rinpoche    

6. What  are  the  benefits  of  Dzigar  Kongtrul  Rinpoche’s  translation  school,  and  the  work  of  E.  Gene  Smith  and  the  Tibetan  Buddhist  Resource  Center’s  digital  archive  of  Tibetan  teachings,  in  the  transmission  of  Tibetan  Buddhism  in  the  West?    

7. Discuss  Chokyi  Nyima’s  view  of  the  importance  of  tradition  and  the  memorization  of  texts  in  the  study  and  practice  of  Tibetan  Buddhism  when  he  says,“Tradition  is  very  important...Everything  needs  to  be  within  yourself”?  

 8. Contemplate  the  following  lines:  

 My  dream-­‐like  form  appeared  to  dream-­‐like  beings  to  show  them  the  dream-­‐like  path  that  leads  to  dream-­‐like  enlightenment.  

                      ~The  Buddha    • This  verse  is  recited  in  the  film  during  Tsoknyi  Rinpoche’s  teachings  at  the  month  

long  retreat  in  Crestone,  CO.  What  do  you  think  the  Buddha  meant  by  it?    

  16

• What  is  your  experience  of  the  dream-­‐like  nature  of  reality?      

9. Buddhist  teachings  do  not  hold  that  states  of  mind  originate  in  the  brain.  However,  for  better  or  worse,  the  brain  certainly  affects  our  states  of  mind;  likewise  our  states  of  mind  affect  the  physical  organ  we  call  the  brain.  The  scientific  term  neuroplasticity  describes  this  relationship.        • How  does  neuroplasticity  relate  to  the  traditional  Buddhist  approach  to  personal  

transformation  and  ‘changing  your  mind’?    • What  are  some  of  the  effects  of  meditation  on  the  brain  as  described  in  the  film?      

 10. Roger  Ash  Wheeler  states  in  the  film,  “Yes,  the  mind  does  have  the  capacity  to  

change.”  We  also  see  Bridget  Bailey  undergo  big  life  changes  when  she  enters  retreat.  How  does  her  journey  relate  to  his  statement?  What  do  you  see  as  the  transformation  she  makes?  

 • What  do  you  think  Elizabeth  Mattis  Namgyel  statement,    “the  point  of  practice  is  

to  engage  our  life”  means  in  the  context  of  retreat?  • Consider  the  other  characters  in  the  film  and  the  journey  their  lives  take:  Geshe  

Ani  Kelsang,  Fleet  Maull,  Wendell  Garrett,  among  others.  • Do  you  see  changes  from  practice  manifesting  in  your  own  life,  or  those  of  your  

friends?    

10.   Gavin  Kilty’s  essay  in  this  guide  discusses  his  60’s  generation  “seeking  new  spiritual     paths,  breaking  free  of  what  we  perceived  to  be  the  stifling  establishment  of  our     parents’  generation.”  How  do  you  experience  the  spiritual  quest,  and  the  cultural     environment  in  which  it  exists  today?    

• What  is  your  relationship  to  the  poles  he  describes  happening  to  Tibetan  Buddhism  in  the  West:  ‘tradition-­‐based  conservatism  and  over-­‐liberalization’?  

• What  teachers  and  views  in  the  film  do  you  feel  most  aligned  with?  Which  do  you  not?  Contemplate  why.  

• Is  a  genuine  Western  Tibetan  Buddhism  possible  today?  What  do  you  think  it  would  it  look  like?  

 11.   How  is  Enlightenment  defined  in  the  film?  Is  Enlightenment  as  discussed  in  the  film     relevant  in  today’s  world?    Do  you  think  Enlightenment,  as  it  could  manifest  now,     would  be  the  same  as  the  Buddha’s  Enlightenment?    

• Consider  Lama  Yeshe  saying:  ‘You  don’t  know  the  nature  of  your  mind’–and  Dungse  Jampal  Norbu  asking  his  father  to  show  him  the  nature  of  mind.  

• What  do  you  think  the  nature  of  mind  means  in  this  context?    

  17

12.   What  is  the  relationship  between  “The  Me  Program”  [Fleet  Maull]  and  the     statement  that  “All  compounded  things  are  impermanent”  [Dzongsar  Khyentse       Rinpoche]?    

•   Do  you  experience  this  relationship  in  your  own  life?      13.  Matthieu  Ricard  suggests  that  dharma  and  meditation  can  be  applied  widely  

throughout  modern  society  to  great  benefit:  in  education,  jails,  many  professional  situations–and  we  see  through  Fleet  Maull  its  application  in  hospice.  Another  well-­‐known  area  of  East-­‐West  collaboration  is  psychotherapy.  What  other  secular  applications  of  Buddhism  do  you  see  in  contemporary  society?  

 • What  do  you  think  are  the  most  helpful  ways  Buddhist  philosophies  and  

methodologies  are  currently  being  applied?    • In  what  ways  do  you  see  the  potential  for  “watering  down”  the  teachings  as  

Ethan  Nichtern  of  the  Interdependence  Project  (NYC)  talks  about  in  the  film?    

14.    Do  you  agree  or  disagree  with  Anam  Thubten’s  statement  that  “Perhaps  the     Western  Buddhist  teachers  would  have  a  easier  time  to  communicate  with     Westerners  because  they  all  share  the  same  cultural  language,  value  system,  and     even  philosophy  too”?      15.   Contemplate  this  statement  made  by  Dzigar  Kongtrul  Rinpoche:    

The  only  remedy,  to  me,  at  a  global  level  and  individual  level,  is  this  new  revolution  of  care:  interdependent  care.  That  revolution  could  possibly  save  one's  own  life.  And  we,  as  human  beings,  could  save  the  planet.  

 • How  does  selfishness  and  ego’s  self-­‐grasping  relate  to  the  well  being  of  the  

planet?    • How  could  the  practice  of  altruism  help  to  change  the  future  of  the  planet?  • What  is  Bodhicitta?  What  do  you  think  Gerardo  Abboud  means  when  he  says,  

‘It’s  not  mere  compassion,  it’s  the  energy  of  compassion  that  spreads  out  and  things  change’?    

• How  does  His  Holiness  exemplify  this  ‘energy  of  compassion’?  Discuss  other  examples  of  individuals  who  exemplify  the  same  energy.      

      Love  and  compassion  are  necessities,  not  luxuries.           Without  them,  humanity  cannot  survive.                           ~Dalai  Lama  XIV  

 

  18

 VII.    SIMPLE  INSTRUCTION  FOR  SITTING  MEDITATION      

      When  asked  the  way  to  enlightenment,  the  Buddha  himself  said:           Meditation.            ~Anam  Thubten  

 

It  is  always  best  to  enter  into  the  practice  of  meditation  with  personal  instruction  from  a  teacher.  You  can  begin,  however,  by  following  these  simple  guidelines.  The  practice  of  sitting  mediation  works  with  three  basic  aspects:  Body,  Speech,  and  Mind:    

Body—refers  to  the  physical  meditation  posture.  Sit  in  crossed-­‐legged  seated  position  on  a  cushion.  You  may  have  seen  meditators  in  full-­‐  or  half-­‐lotus  posture  (with  one  or  both  feet  resting,  soles  turned  up,  on  top  of  the  thighs).  If  you  can  work  with  this  posture,  that’s  good  but  not  necessary.  To  support  concentration,  the  most  important  thing  is  not  to  be  in  pain.  It  is  also  important  for  the  spine  to  be  straight,  but  not  rigid.  The  hands  rest  palms  down  on  top  of  the  knees,  and  elbows  and  shoulders  are  relaxed.  In  the  beginning,  you  may  want  to  close  the  eyes  as  you  begin  to  pay  attention  to  the  breath.  But  once  your  mind  has  settled,  it  is  good  to  open  the  eyes,  keeping  the  gaze  relaxed  and  slightly  downward.  All  the  senses  are  open  but  not  necessarily  engaged  in  or  distracted  by  whatever  presents  itself.  One  small  detail:  the  mouth  is  slightly  open—so  slightly,  the  lips  may  not  appear  to  be  parted—with  the  tongue  resting  lightly  behind  the  upper  teeth.  This  relaxes  the  jaw  and  neck  and  allows  the  breath  to  flow  easily.  If  you  have  any  physical  problem,  please  sit  on  a  chair  with  your  feet  on  the  floor  and  apply  the  rest  of  the  points  of  posture.      

Speech—refers,  here,  to  the  breath.  As  you  sit  in  meditation,  allow  your  attention  to  rest  on  the  breath,  gently  bringing  your  awareness  to  the  breath  as  it  comes  in  and  goes  out  of  your  body.  Do  not  try  to  control  or  change  the  breath.  Relax.  When  the  breath  ends,  the  in-­‐breath  will  take  care  of  itself.  There  are  many  ways  to  work  mindfully  with  the  breath:  these  including  counting,  following  in-­‐  and  out-­‐breaths,  and  so  on.  But  the  most  basic  approach  is  to  just  be  aware  of  the  breath  without  altering  it  in  any  way…just  breathing  in  and  breathing  out…mixing  the  breath  with  space.  

 

Mind—will  go  about  its  business  as  you  follow  your  breath.  The  approach  here  is  called  “touch  and  go.”  As  thoughts,  feelings,  and  other  sense  perceptions  (sights,  sounds,  smells,  tastes,  tactile  sensations)  arise,  just  notice  (touch)  what  arises,  and  then  put  your  attention  back  on  the  breath.  If  you  like,  you  may  label  whatever  arises  as  “thinking”  (silently,  to  yourself)  before  returning  to  the  breath.  The  point  here  is  to  be  aware  of  your  body,  breath,  and  mind—without  getting  stuck  or  carried  away  or  distracted.  In  this  way,  habitual  ways  of  perceiving  and  being  in  the  world  are  ventilated.  The  mind  becomes  more  open  and  thoughts,  emotions,  and  other  sense  perceptions  loosen  their  grip.        

You  don’t  have  to  turn  away  from  your  life  to  realize  the  teachings;    you  have  to  turn  towards  your  life.         ~Reggie  Ray  

  19

VIII.    GLOSSARY  OF  TIBETAN  BUDDHIST  TERMS      Avalokiteshvara  –  The  deity  beloved  to  Buddhists  as  the  embodiment  of  infinite  compassion.  In  Sanskrit,  "Avalokiteshvara"  means  "the  lord  who  looks  upon  the  world  with  compassion."      Blessings  –  In  Tibetan,  literally  “splendor  waves”  or  “gift  waves,”  conveying  the  sense  of  radiant  atmosphere  that  comes  toward  one  when  opening  to  the  teacher  and  lineage.    Buddha  –  “Awakened  One”,  Sanskrit  for  an  individual  who  attains  complete  enlightenment.  When  we  speak  of  “the  Buddha”,  it  refers  to  the  one  who  most  recently  discovered  the  path  to  enlightenment,  Prince  Siddhartha,  who  lived  in  India  in  the  6th  century  BCE  and  became  known  as  the  Buddha  Shakyamuni  upon  his  enlightenment,    Buddha  nature  –  The  essential  nature  of  all  sentient  beings;  the  potential  for  full  enlightenment.  Since  all  beings  have  Buddha  nature,  they  have  the  potential  to  become  Buddhas  through  spiritual  practice.    Bodhicitta  –  Sanskrit  for  “mind  of  enlightenment”  or  “heart  of  enlightenment”.    Commonly  translated  as  “Awakened  heart,”  it  is  the  principle  of  loving  -­‐kindness  and  compassion,  which  cuts  through  selfishness  and  gives  rise  to  thoughts  and  conduct  that  benefit  others.    Bodhisattva  –  Sanskrit  for  “one  who  exhibits  bodhicitta.”  “Bodhi”  literally  means  blossomed  in  Sanskrit,  and  “sattva”  means  a  heroic  mind.  Thus  Bodhisattva  refers  to  those  who  commit  themselves  to  the  path  of  developing  compassion  and  loving-­‐kindness  in  order  to  liberate  all  sentient  beings.    Compassion  -­‐  The  determination  to  free  all  sentient  beings  from  suffering  arising  from  the  egoless  insight  that  “I”  and  “others”  are  not  separate,  and  that  the  suffering  of  others  is  not  different  from  one’s  own.    Devotion  –  In  Tibetan  Buddhism,  the  relationship  between  teacher  and  disciple  is  of  paramount  importance  as  the  teacher  is  the  tangible  representation  of  the  Buddha  and  his  teachings.  Devotion  to  the  teacher  is  made  up  of  faith,  love,  trust,  respect  and  a  longing  for  the  wisdom  the  teacher  can  transmit.    Dharma  –  This  is  a  Sanskrit  term  most  commonly  used  to  refer  to  the  teachings  of  the  Buddha.  Specifically,  it  refers  to  the  wisdom  or  “truth  of  things  as  they  are”  underlying  or  inherent  in  the  teachings.    Dzogchen  –  Tibetan  for  “great  perfection,”  it  refers  to  the  highest  teachings  which  emphasize  natural  ease  and  the  direct  or  intuitive  perception  of  reality  rather  than  fabricated  effort  and  rational  analysis.    

  20

 Ego  –  The  notion  of  a  truly  or  intrinsically  existent,  independent  self  or  that  which  we  call  “I”.  Fixating  on  this  belief  is  often  called  “ego-­‐clinging”  or  “self-­‐grasping.”  Thus  it  is  the  cause  of  suffering  and  the  obstacle  to  liberation  from  suffering.      Egolessness  –  The  absence  of  independent  or  intrinsic  existence,  either  of  oneself  or  of  external  phenomena.  Egolessness  is  a  fundamental  tenet  of  Buddhism  and  is  one  of  the  “Three  Marks  of  Existence”,  the  other  two  being  suffering  and  impermanence.    Emptiness  –  a  rough  translation  of  the  Sanskrit  and  Tibetan  terms  sunyata  and  tongpa-­‐nyi,  that  refers  to  the  infinitely  open  basis  of  experience  out  of  which  all  things  arise  and  that  is  beyond  our  ability  to  capture  through  words  or  concepts.    In  the  film,  Gene  Smith  looks  up  the  word  tongpa-­‐nyi  in  the  database  of  the  Tibetan  Buddhist  Resource  Center  and  finds  it  referenced  in  almost  1,000  texts,  which  demonstrates  how  important  tongpa-­‐nyi  is  in  Tibetan  Buddhism.      Enlightenment  (freedom,  liberation)  –  Knowing  reality  as  it  is.  Synonymous  with  Buddhahood,  it  is  the  complete  realization  of  the  innate  potential  or  Buddha  nature  that  is  inherent  in  all  sentient  beings.    Four  Reminders  –  Four  thoughts  which  one  contemplates  in  order  to  turn  the  mind  toward  reality  as  it  is:  the  preciousness  of  a  favorable  human  birth,  the  reality  of  death,  the  unerring  law  of  cause  and  effect,  and  the  pain  of  confused  existence.  The  Four  Reminders  are  contemplated  by  monks  and  nuns  before  beginning  any  daily  practice.    Four  Noble  Truths  –  The  subject  of  the  Buddha’s  first  teaching  and  often  considered  to  be  the  foundation  of  all  Dharma  teachings.  The  Four  NobleTruths  are:  (1)  The  Truth  of  Suffering  (sometimes  translated  as  Dissatisfaction)  (2)  The  Truth  of  the  Origin  of  Suffering  (i.e.,  Ignorance).  (3)  The  Truth  of  the  Cessation  of  Suffering  (i.e.,  Enlightenment).  (4)  The  Truth  of  the  Path  Leading  to  the  Cessation  of  Suffering  (the  Eightfold  Path).    Geshe  –  In  Tibetan,  meaning  “virtuous  friend.”  This  word  is  used  for  the  highest  degree  of  Tibetan  Buddhist  monastic  education.  The  degree  is  emphasized  primarily  by  the  Gelug  lineage,  but  is  also  awarded  in  the  Sakya  and  Bön  traditions.    Guru  –  (Sanskrit)  Spiritual  teacher  and  guide.  The  guru  is  of  central  importance  in  tantric  Buddhism,  as  the  one  from  whom  a  practitioner  directly  receives  the  teachings,  initiations,  blessings  etc.    Hinayana  –  Sanskrit  for  “narrow”  or  “lesser,”  this  refers  to  the  foundation  of  the  spiritual  path,  and  emphasizes  investigating  mind  and  its  confusion.    Impermanence  –  the  core  Buddhist  belief  that  all  phenomena  are  subject  to  change  and  

  21

decay.  In  Buddhist  philosophy,  impermanence  is  one  of  the  Three  Marks  of  Existence,  the  other  two  being  suffering  and  egolessness  (lack  of  inherent  existence);  the  reason  why  futile  attempts  to  create  permanence  cause  further  suffering,  and  why  the  “me  project”  mentioned  in  the  film  never  works  out.      Interdependence—the  interconnectivity  of  all  phenomena  generated  by  impermanence  and  karmicly  conditioned  relationships  of  cause  and  effect.  The  idea  that  all  things  in  existence  are  connected.  Sometimes  referred  to  as  dependent  origination  or  dependent  arising.  The  Dalai  Lama  describes  it  as  “that  which  arises  in  dependence  upon  conditions,  in  reliance  upon  conditions,  through  the  force  of  conditions.”    Karma  –  Sanskrit  for  actions.  The  law  of  cause  and  effect  according  to  which  all  experiences  are  the  result  of  previous  actions,  and  all  actions  are  the  seeds  of  future  experiences.    Liberation  –  see  Enlightenment.    Lineage  –  An  unbroken  chain  of  direct  transmission  of  teachings  from  master  to  disciple.    Mahayana  –  Sanskrit  for  “great”  or  broad,  this  refers  to  the  stage  of  the  spiritual  path  that  emphasizes  universal  Buddha  nature  and  the  wisdom  of  egolessness  and  compassion.    Manjushri  –  The  deity  in  Buddhism  who  is  associated  with  transcendent  wisdom.  Manjushri  is  often  depicted  wielding  a  flaming  sword  in  his  right  hand,  representing  transcendent  wisdom,  which  cuts  down  ignorance  and  duality.    Mantra  –  (Sanskrit)  Literally  “mind  protection.”  A  mantra  is  a  combination  of  sacred  seed  syllables  or  a  verse  which  both  invokes  and  embodies  in  sound  the  qualities  of  a  specific  deity  or  aspect  of  enlightenment.  A  mantra  protects  the  mind  from  ordinary  perceptions  and  conceptions.    Meditation  –  A  method  to  familiarize  oneself  with  one’s  mind  and  mind’s  essence  by  first  resting  calmly  and  freely  without  being  disturbed  by  rising  and  dissolving  thoughts  and  emotions.  Through  this  process  one  reaches  the  state  of  insight  into  the  nature  of  reality.    Mind  –  Key  concept  in  all  Buddhist  teaching  which  distinguishes  between  thinking  mind  and  mind  essence.  Thinking  mind  is  the  dualistic  state  that  gets  caught  up  with  or  absorbed  in  perceived  objects,  believing  whatever  one  happens  to  think.  The  nature  of  mind  also  refers  to  undeluded  mind,  the  fundamental  nature,  the  Original  Face,  Buddha  nature.    

  22

Neuroplasticity  –  Also  known  as  brain  plasticity,  neuroplasticity  refers  to  changes  in  neural  pathways  and  synapses  which  are  due  to  changes  in  behavior,  environment  and  neural  processes.    Neuroplasticity  has  replaced  the  belief  formerly  held  that  the  brain  is  a  static  organ.  Offering  scarf  (katag)  –  A  common  part  of  many  Tibetan  rituals,  such  as  welcoming,  farewells  and  congratulations,  katags  are  traditionally  offered  as  a  mark  of  respect.    Pointing  out  (the  nature  of  mind)  –  A  direct  introduction  to  the  nature  of  one’s  mind  by  a  qualified  master.    Prayer  Flags  –  Found  only  in  Tibetan  Buddhism,  prayer  flags  are  pieces  of  fabric  in  five  symbolic  colors,  imprinted  with  prayers,  mantras  and/or  images  of  deities.  As  they  flutter,  they  are  believed  to  bless  the  surrounding  environment  with  their  prayers    Prayer  Wheel  –  A  cylinder  mounted  on  an  axis,  and  filled  with  paper  scrolls  on  which  are  printed  large  numbers  of  mantras.  Spinning  the  cylinder  is  believed  to  be  similar  to  saying  the  enclosed  mantras  aloud.  Prayer  wheels  vary  from  small  and  hand  held,  to  large  ones  mounted  in  rows  in  walls.    Retreat  –  withdrawing  from  everyday  activities  in  order  to  undertake  intensive  spiritual  practice  without  distraction.  Retreats  can  be  done  individually  (solo)  or  in  a  group.  The  exact  practices  vary  between  the  different  schools  of  Tibetan  Buddhism.    Rinpoche  –  A  Tibetan  honorific  term  for  teacher,  Rinpoche  literally  means,  “precious  jewel.”    Samsara  –  Sanskrit  for  “cyclic  existence”  or  repetitive  confusion.  Traditionally  it  is  described  as  consisting  of  birth,  death  and  rebirth,  being  propelled  by  negative  emotions  and  the  karmic  force  of  one's  actions  and  characterized  by  suffering,  impermanence,  and  ignorance.    Sangha  –  Sanskrit  for  “one  with  virtuous  motivation,”  this  refers  variously  to  followers  of  Buddhism,  to  Buddhist  monastics  (nuns  and  monks),  and  to  those  who  have  realized  the  Buddha’s  teachings  (“noble  sangha”).  It  also  means  a  community  of  practitioners  who  study  with  a  Buddhist  teacher.  With  Buddha  and  Dharma,  Sangha  is  one  of  the  Three  Jewels  in  Buddhism  to  which  a  practitioner  goes  for  refuge.    Shantideva  –  An  8th-­‐century  Indian  Buddhist  scholar  at  Nalanda  University  who  was  the  author  of  the  Bodhicharyavatara,  commonly  known  as  “The  Way  of  the  Bodhisattva”.    Sentient  beings  –  In  Tibetan,  drowa  ‘groba,  literally  “movement,”  signifying  a  mind  and  holder  of  that  mind  experiencing  the  intensity  of  samsara,  while  longing  for  happiness.    

  23

Tantra  –  Sanskrit  for  “continuity,”  this  refers  to  Vajrayana  teachings  and  practices.    Ten  Virtuous  Actions – Consist  of  abandoning  the  ten  negative  actions  and  practicing  their  opposite,  in  three  categories–  Body:  (1)  The  Abandonment  of  Killing:  (2)  The  Abandonment  of  Stealing:  (3)  The  Abandonment  of  Sexual  Misconduct;  Speech:  (4)  The  Abandonment  of  Lying;  (5)  The  Abandonment  of  Divisive  Speech;  (6)  The  Abandonment  of  Abusive  Speech;  (7)  The  Abandonment  of  Idle  Speech;  and  Mind:  (8)  The  Abandonment  of  Covetousness;  (9)  The  Abandonment  of  Harmful  Intent;  (10)  The  Abandonment  of  Wrong  Views.    Tibetan  Wheel  of  Life  –  A  traditional  representation  of  the  samsaric  cycle  of  existence.  The  diagram  is  said  to  represent  inner  psychological  cosmology  and  functions  as  a  map  to  internal  processes  and  their  external  effects.      Vajrayana  –  Sanskrit  for  “indestructible”  or  diamond-­‐like  path,  it  refers  to  the  highest  Buddhist  teachings  which  emphasize  the  clarity  and  direct  aspects  of  phenomena.  Sometimes  called  “Tantra,”  Vajrayana  was  the  form  of  Buddhism  most  practiced  in  Tibet.  Considered  the  most  direct  path  to  Enlightenment,  the  Vajrayana  path  relies  on  an  unbroken  transmission  of  teachings  from  teacher  to  student,  ritual  practices,  and  emphasizes  the  role  of  devotion  for  a  practitioner  to  fully  awaken.      Vajrapani  –  One  of  the  deities  of  Buddhism.  He  is  the  protector  and  guide  of  the  Buddha  and  represents  the  power  of  all  awakened  ones.  His  special  power  is  to  destroy  human  delusion.    Yana  –  Path  or  vehicle.      Yogi  (masc.)  or  yogini  (fem.)  –  someone  who  practices  tantra.  Often  refers  to  someone  who  has  already  attained  stability  in  the  natural  state  of  mind  through  tantric  practice.  Yogis  and  yoginis  can  be  both  monastic  and  lay  practitioners.      

  24

 IX.     TEACHERS  APPEARING  IN  THE  FILM    Tsoknyi  Rinpoche  Anam  Thubten  Dzigar  Kongtrul  Rinpoche  Jetsün  Khandro  Rinpoche  Phakchok  Rinpoche  Dzongsar  Khyentse  Rinpoche  Chökyi  Nyima  Rinpoche  Lama  Tsultrim  Allione  Elizabeth  Mattis  Namgyel  Geshe  Kelsang  Wangmo  Fleet  Maull  Reginald  Ray  Gerardo  Abboud  His  Holiness  the  14th  Dalai  Lama  Togden  Yogi  Achos  Tashi  Lama  Choegyal  Rinpoche  Rita  M.  Gross  Matthieu  Ricard  Lama  Thubten  Yeshe  Chögyam  Trungpa  Rinpoche  Jann  Jackson  Khamtrul  Rinpoche  B.  Alan  Wallace  Richard  Davidson  Geshe  Kelsang  Damdul  Yongey  Mingyur  Rinpoche  Robert  Chender  Khandro  Lhamo  Tseringma      

  25

 X.     INTERNATIONAL  SANGHA  WEBSITES  AND  RESOURCES      The  following  is  a  list  of  websites  of  the  sanghas  shown  in  the  film,  and  related  international  sanghas.    The  Chögyam  Trungpa  Legacy  Project;  a  work-­‐in-­‐progress  to  gather  the  oral  history  of  Chogyam  

Trungpa  Rinpoche;  www.chronicleproject.com/        Chogyur  Lingpa  Foundation:  conducting  humanitarian  projects  dealing  with  healthcare  and  

education  under  the  guidance  of  Phakchok  Rinpoche.  http://www.cglf.org      Dharmata  Foundation:  center  for  practice  and  study  of  Buddhism  in  Point  Richmond,  CA,  formed  

in  2005  under  the  direction  of  Anam  Thubten,  as  a  container  for  the  international  spiritual  community  following  the  teachings  of  Buddha  and  lineages  of  great  Buddhist  masters.  http://www.dharmata.org      

 Dharma  Ocean  Foundation:  to  embody  and  offer  to  others  the  unique  path  to  enlightenment  

taught  by  Chögyam  Trungpa  Rinpoche;  creating  a  living  continuity  of  the  practice  lineage.  Reginald  Ray,  director.  www.dharmaocean.org      

 www.dharmasun.org  :  online  Tibetan  Buddhist  teachings  and  resources;  selected  teachings  by  

Chökyi  Nyima  Rinpoche  (e.g.  Saturday  Talks);  as  well  as  Buddhist  Advice  and  teachings  on  Buddhist  classics  by  other  qualified  teachers.  www.dharmasun.org    

 Gampo  Abbey:  monastery  of  Shambhala  International  offering  residential  programs  for  

monastics  and  lay  practitioners;  including  the  Söpa  Choling  Three  Year  Retreat  Center;  and  Vidyadhara  Institute.  http://gampoabbey.org    

 The  Gere  Foundation:  Its  mission  is  to  alleviate  suffering  and  advocate  for  the  people  of  Tibet.  

http://www.gerefoundation.org/            His  Holiness  the  14th  Dalai  Lama:  the  official  website  of  His  Holiness  the  Dalai  Lama,  the  spiritual  

leader  of  the  Tibetan  people.  www.dalailama.com/    Institute  of  Buddhist  dialectics:  for  higher  education  of  Tibetans  in  exile,  combining  traditional  

Tibetan  disciplines  and  modern  Western  subjects.  http://www.ibdindia.org        The  Interdependence  Project  (IDP):  a  secular  approach  to  Buddhist  study  and  practice,  

combining  mindfulness  and  interdependence  with  activism,  arts,  and  media.  http://theidproject.org    

 Karuna-­‐Sechen:  overseeing  health  care,  education,  and  social  services  for  underserved  

populations  of  India,  Nepal,  and  Tibet;  founded  in  2000  by  Matthieu  Ricard.  www.karuna-­‐Shechen.org  

 

  26

Khoryug:  the  enviromental  protection  initiative  of  His  Holiness  Karmapa  XVII.  www.khoryug.com.      

 Mangala  Shri:  the  Mexican  sangha  of  Phakchok  Rinpoche.  http://www.mangalashri.com      Mangala  Shri  Bhuti:  under  the  spiritual  guidance  of  H.E.  Dzigar  Kongtrul  Rinpoche;  dedicated  to  

bringing  beings  to  liberation  from  suffering  through  the  study  and  practice  of  Buddhadharma.  Included  here  are  the  dharma  activities  of  Elizabeth  Natthis-­‐Namgyal;  Dungse  Jampal  Norbu  Namgyel;  and  the  Guna  Institute  Shedra  and  Vairochana’s  Legacy  Tibetan  Translators  degree  program  located  in  Bir,  India.  http://www.mangalashribhuti.org      

 Prison  Mindfulness  Institute:  founded  by  Acharya  Fleet  Maull,  author,  consultant,  dharma  

teacher  and  social  activist  and  founder  of  the  Prison  Dharma  Network.  www.prisonmindfulness.org    

 Mindrolling  Lotus  Garden:  established  in  2003  by  H.E.  Mindrolling  Jetsün  Khandro  Rinpoche  to  

provide  a  beautiful,  inspiring  environment  for  personal  retreats  and    the  study  of  Tibetan  Buddhism.  www.lotusgardens.org  

 Naropa  University:  a  Buddhist-­‐inspired  liberal  arts  university  and  recognized  leader  in    

contemplative  education,  in  Boulder,  Colorado,  offering  undergraduate  and  graduate  programs.  http://www.naropa.edu    

 Pundarika  Foundation:  manifesting  the  timeless  wisdom  and  compassion  of  Dharma  in  the  

modern  West,  under  the  guidance  of  founder,  Tsoknyi  Rinpoche.  http://www.tsoknyirinpoche.org      

 Rangjung  Yeshe  Institute:  an  international  university  for  Buddhist  Studies,  founded  by  Chokyi  

Nyima  Rinpoche,  accredited  through  Kathmandu  University;  offering  courses  in  Buddhist  philosophy  and  Tibetan,  Sanskrit  and  Nepali  languages;  combining  traditional  Tibetan  Buddhist  teachings  with  a  modern  perspective.  http://www.shedra.org              

 Spiritual  Care  Programme:  an  international  program  for  non-­‐denominational  education  and  care  

for  living  and  dying  inspired  by  Tibetan  Buddhism  and  the  teachings  of  Sogyal  Rinpoche  in  The  Tibetan  Book  of  Living  and  Dying;  with  dedicated  centres  of  care  in  Germany  and  Ireland.  www.spcare.org      

 Shambhala  International:  a  global  community  for  practice  and  study  of  Buddhist  and  Shambhala  

teachings  with  an  emphasis  on  creating  enlightened  society,  under  the  spiritual  leadership  of  Sakyong  Jamgon  Mipham  Rinpoche,  www.shambhala.org;  http://www.mipham.com/      

 Siddhartha’s  Intent:  under  the  direction  of  Dzongsar  Khyentse  Rinpoche.  

http://www.siddharthasintent.org/    Tara  Mandala  Retreat  Center:  guided  by  Lama  Tsultrim  Allione,  in  Pagosa  Springs,  Colorado.  

www.taramandala.org    

  27

Tergar  International:  making  the  ancient  practice  of  meditation  accessible  to  the  modern  world,  under  the  guidance  of  Yongey  Mingyur  Rinpoche.  http://tergar.org/        

The  Triratna  Buddhist  Community:  formerly  the  Friends  of  the  Western  Buddhist  Order  (FWBO),  founded  in  London  in  1967.  http://www.lbc.org.uk/fwbo.htm    

 Tushita  Meditation  Centre:  an  international  centre  for  study  and  practice  of  Tibetan  Mahayana  

Buddhism,  in  Northern  India,  founded  in  1972  by  Lama  Thubten  Yeshe.  http://www.tushita.info      

 Zopa,  Lama,  and  Lama  Yeshe—http://www.fpmt.org/teachers/yeshe/jointbio.html            

  28

 XI.   BIBLIOGRAPHY    This  informal  bibliography  offers  a  selection  of  books  authored  by  those  featured  in  the  film,  and  readings  related  to  discussion  topics.  Please  visit  the  authors’  websites  and  the  “Audio/Visual  Resources  and  Dharma  Archives”  list  below  for  more.      Allione,  Lama  Tsultrim:  Feeding  Your  Demons,  Little,  Brown  and  Company,  2008;     Women  of  Wisdom,  Snow  Lion,  2000    Chodron,  Ani  Pema:  Living  Beautifully  with  Uncertainty  and  Change,  Shambhala,  2012;       No  Time  to  Lose,  Shambhala,  2007;  Start  Where  You  Are,  Shambhala,  2001    Chokyi  Nyima  Rinpoche:  Present  Fresh  Wakefulness:  A  Meditation  Manual…  North       Atlantic  Books,  2004;  The  Bardo  Guidebook,  Wisdom,  2004    Dalai  Lama  XIV,  H.H.  Tendzin  Gyatso,  Beyond  Religion:  Ethics  for  a  Whole  World,     Mariner,  2012;  The  Art  of  Happiness  (Anniversary  Edition),  Riverhead,  2009    Davidson,  Dr.  Richard:  The  Emotional  Life  of  Your  Brain,  Hudson  Street,  2012;  The    

Mind's  Own  Physician:  A  Scientific  Dialogue  with  the  Dalai  Lama…  (co-­‐editor),  New  Harbinger  Publications,  2012    

Dzigar  Kongtrul  Rinpoche:  Uncommon  Happiness,  North  Atlantic  Books,  2009;  Light       Comes  Through,  Shambhala,  2009;  It's  Up  to  You,  Shambhala,  2006    Dzongsar  Jamyang  Khyentse  Rinpoche:  Not  for  Happiness,  Shambhala,  2012;  What     Makes  You  Not  a  Buddhist,  Shambhala,  2008    Fields,  Rick:  How  the  Swans  Came  to  the  Lake,  Shambhala,  1992    Gere,  Richard,  Pilgrim,  Bullfinch  Press,  1997    Gross,  Lopon  Rita,  Buddhism  after  Patriarchy,  State  University  of  NY  Press,  1992;       A  Garland  of  Feminist  Reflections,  University  of  California  Press,  2009    Kessel,  Brent—It’s  Not  About  the  Money.  Harper  One,  2009    Khandro  Rinpoche,  Jetsun:  This  Precious  Life,  Shambhala,  2005      Mattis-­‐Namgyal,  Elizabeth:  The  Power  of  an  Open  Question,  Shambhala,  2010    Maull,  Acharya  Fleet:  Dharma  in  Hell,  Prison  Dharma  Network,  2005    Mipham,  Lama  Ju,  Ways  of  Enlightenment,  Dharma  Publishing,  1993    Mipham  Rinpoche,  Sakyong  Jamgon—Running  with  the  Mind  of  Meditation,  Harmony,    

  29

  2012;  Ruling  Your  World,  Three  Rivers  Press,  2005    Patrul  Rinpoche.  The  Words  of  My  Perfect  Teacher,  Yale  University  Press,  2010    Phakchok  Rinpoche,  Keys  to  Happiness  and  a  Meaningful  Life,  Lhasey  Lotsawa       Publications,  2012      Rahula,  Walpola.  What  the  Buddha  Taught,  Grove  Press,  1974    Ray,  Reginald:  Indestructible  Truth,  Shambhala,  2002;  Touching  Enlightenment,  Sounds     True,  Inc.,  2008    Ricard,  Matthieu:  Happiness:  A  Guide…,  Little,  Brown,  and  Company,  2007    Shantideva  (trans.  Padmakara),  The  Way  of  the  Bodhisattva,  2006    Smith,  E.  Gene:  Among  Tibetan  Texts,  Wisdom  Publications,  2001    Thubten,  Anam:  The  Magic  of  Awareness,  Snow  Lion,  2012;  No  Self,  No  Problem,  Snow       Lion,  2009    Trungpa  Rinpoche,  Chögyam:  Cutting  through  Spiritual  Materialism,  Shambhala,  2008;     Shambhala:  The  Sacred  Path  of  the  Warrior,  Shambhala,  2007;  Born  in  Tibet,       Shambhala,  2000    Tsoknyi  Rinpoche:  Open  Heart,  Open  Mind,  Harmony,  2012    Wallace,  B.  Alan:  Dreaming  Yourself  Awake,  Shambhala,  2012;  Stilling  the  Mind,     Wisdom,  2011    

  30

 XII.    AUDIO/VISUAL  RESOURCES  AND  DHARMA  ARCHIVES    Dharma  Ocean  Download  Store—for  the  teachings  of  Reginald  Ray,  spiritual  director  of       Dharma  Ocean.  http://store.dharmaocean.org/downloadstore/index.cfm      Tibetan  Buddhist  Resource  Center  Library–Founded  by  E.  Gene  Smith,  the  Tibetan  Buddhist  

Resource  Center  is  dedicated  to  the  preservation,  organization  and  dissemination  of  Tibetan  literature.  http://www.tbrc.org/#home  

 Great  Path—offers  a  comprehensive  set  of  audio  and  video  teachings  of  Ani  Pema       Chödrön.  www.pemachodrontapes.com/store      Kalapa  Recordings—See  Shambhala  Media.        Lama  Yeshe  Wisdom  Archive—archiving  and  disseminating  the  teachings  of  Lama       Thubten  Yeshe  and  Lama  Zopa  Rinpoche.  http://www.lamayeshe.com/      Learn  Out  Loud  audio  books:  Internet's  largest  directory  of  audio/video  learning       resources,  including  the  Dalai  Lama  XIV.  http://www.learnoutloud.com      Mindrolling  Lotus  Garden:  audio/video  and  transcribed  teachings  from  Jetsun  Khandro     Rinpoche’s  international  tours.  www.Lotusgardens.org/teachingsonline/            Shambhala  Archives:  one  of  the  largest  collections  of  Tibetan  Buddhist  teachers  in  the     West,  including  Chögyam  Trungpa  Rinpoche  and  Sakyong  Mipham  Rinpoche.       http://www.archives.shambhala.org/    Shambhala  Media:  for  the  teachings  and  culture  of  Shambhala  and  Sakyong  lineage.     https://www.shambhalamedia.org      Shambhala  Publications:  independent  publisher  of  books  and  audio  for  enlightened       living.  www.shambhala.com      Sounds  True—for  audio/video  titles  about  spirituality,  including  Ani  Pema  Chodron  and       Reginald  Ray.  www.soundstrue.com        Tara  Mandala:  audio/video  teaching  archive  of  Lama  Tsultrim  Allione.       www.taramandala.org            

This  is  Buddhism  coming  to  the  West  and  we  should  rejoice    in  our  good  fortune.    And  we  should  probably  do  something    with  that  good  fortune.                             ~E.  Gene  Smith  

 

  31

 XIII.  TRANSCRIPT  OF  THE  FILM  

 [00:00:07.25] Music begins [00:00:16.29] (background sound) [00:00:21.20] (background sound) [00:00:58.09] When I was a little kid I always was interested in "What is this all about?" (laughs) you know the big questions. [00:01:07.03] Sometimes I'd wake up very early in the morning and just sit outside because it was so quiet. [00:01:13.11] Sense of loneliness, sense of isolation, sense of running out of time , that's always kind of been in the back of my mind. [00:01:32.02] I wouldn't say any of us were Buddhists then. But we were slowly evolving into something that was, was Buddhism. [00:02:59.20] Everything has two sides, so unfortunate side is we lost country, fortunate side is dharma went all over the world. [00:03:27.24] I grew up in Tibet, do you know where Tibet is? [00:03:30.05] (woman) Tibet, China? [00:03:31.20] Ah, Tibet, yes [00:03:32.13] (woman) Yes, Yes [00:03:50.10] To a certain degree maybe we were just too comfortable, up there in the mountains, in the Land of Snows and doing your own little thing over there [00:04:01.25] To be sort of shaken out of that state, to investigate furthermore something is good for the Tibetans also. [00:04:12.23](Oy yay yay.) How are you? [00:04:19.04] No place to sit [00:04:24.10] Como estas? Bien [00:04:28.06] This is the action man. [00:04:39.01] Anyone would have mentioned Buddhism 10 years ago, I'd be like whatever...you know..Let's go party.

  32

[00:04:48.24] When I started reading about it, I thought it was really depressing, it was like, suffering, the cause of suffering. I'm 19, from New Hampshire. I wasn't really thinking about suffering very much, so I thought no, I don't think I'm interested in Buddhism. [00:05:10.22] It seems a little odd that a tradition that's been hibernating in the Himalayas could be so relevant to a modern Western lifestyle but fundamentally it is. [00:05:22.16] Well because it’s dealing with the same exact issues. [00:05:27.24] You know? Why am I so sad? [00:05:36.18] However the civilizations over the last 2,500 years have changed, the human emotions and human neuroses in essence has not changed. [00:05:49.13] The Buddha asked all these questions like, the Buddha's main question was how do you find happiness in this? Old age, sickness, death, uncertainty, suffering. [00:06:09.20] It was a totally incredible thing for me to come in contact with a tradition that 2500 years ago, a normal person, like us, decided that he was really going to take a serious look at this question of suffering. [00:06:29.04] (talking to child) You’re going to spin around at the party? [00:06:30.27] I was born into a place of profound privilege, I mean just mind-blowing good fortune, you know, in the world I was born into, so you know, we didn't really have any problems. [00:06:47.00] And yet we still suffered. [00:06:51.27] When I was like 17, I ran away from home, and I pretty much was a street kid for about 4 years. There was times when I was hitchhiking in the desert or I was just totally alone and going through really hard times, you know, I'm on the side of the road just getting rained on, you know, probably then was the first time that I actually thought anything about you know, how I relate to other people, how can I help other people, and how we're interconnected and all that stuff. [00:07:21.17] You know, definitely at that point, you see people, they got all this stuff, and it's like, "well, shoot, I ain't got nothing, I'm pretty well fine, you know," I mean like... what's up with that? Really kind of made me question some things. [00:07:33.04] (Tibetan conversation) [00:07:41.05] I don't even think being a nun is the best thing for everyone, it's just for me, individually, it's just very helpful

  33

[00:07:51.22] My greatest obstacle? First, understanding Tibetan culture, that was really difficult and getting used to it, and being able to feel comfortable, and being a woman has been very difficult. At the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, in my class, I was the only woman, so it was very, very lonely sometimes, extremely lonely. [00:08:20.01] When I was first locked up in that jail, literally when the cell door slammed shut, it was like, just a kind of total awakening to all the denial I'd been in about so much of my life, and my son was 9 years old at the time and I was just devastated by the decisions I'd made and how I'd let my teacher down, and my family and the community and so forth, and it was just like undeniable, and so I just became driven to radically change everything. [00:08:58.04] It doesn't matter what role you play or what condition you are in, because conditions are very unreliable, sometime the Universe is smiling upon us, and sometimes it changes. [00:09:18.02] That whole world is learning that there's no certainty, no security. [00:09:23.14] ["a cascade of selling swept over the markets, by just after 3 o'clock, investors were just dumping shares"] [00:09:30.02] Everything 's happening so fast, it's unbelievable. [00:09:36.05] The illusion of control that we've had in modern western culture is largely disintegrating, and the experience of reality we have of now, where you don't know what's going to happen next. [00:09:49.08][ "Unbelievable display of Mother Nature's it's frightening, it's also awe inspiring, .."] [00:09:57.17]Other cultures have had that, I mean, that's just the way it's been throughout all human history. [00:10:04.26] And that does open the spiritual gate. [00:10:10.21] To imagine Buddhism taking root in the culture of the 1950s, or early 1960s - impossible - there was just this monolithic American culture it was unquestionable, it was successful, it was unchallenged. [00:10:35.09] It really did feel to me from the time I was about 4 or 5 that I had somehow gotten dropped into the wrong family. [00:10:44.15]Whatever we've been told is the truth, the way the world functions, what we are, all the givens, through childhood, at some point are dissonant with something inside of us. [00:11:01.06] When I was quite young, when I was 15, I remember becoming aware of being aware. One night I was sitting out on the roof of our house at the lake, I was listening to the pine needles, the white pines there, dropping onto the roof. Something changed for me about life.

  34

[00:11:24.17]I mean, that's how people were back then, they were coming out of a very strict sort of world, and this just was a seismic shift that was happening for people. [00:11:56.03] We were part of a generation of people who basically said "I want out." [00:12:02.08] That impulse was certainly selfish, it wasn't "I want to save the world" it was "I want this suffering to stop inside of me." [00:12:14.05] India was kind of flavor of the month. The Beatles had just been, and everyone wanted to go to India, and Baba Ram Dass and Timothy Leary and these people had popularized this whole idea of eastern spirituality. [00:12:29.18] I was not going to India for tourism, I was really looking for something. I really was fed up with western culture, I said "I really need something new." [00:12:44.24] Then I heard about these buses that you could get on and go from England to Nepal...drive… to all these countries that you know you wouldn’t think about driving through now, like Iraq and Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan... [00:13:20.21] We didn't think about the dangers, we didn't think about the risks; it was what we had to do, we had to do. [00:13:30.13] I had absolutely no idea about Hinduism or Buddhism, nothing really. Then on the way, I met one American, and he been already with the Tibetan lamas in Nepal and he was talking to me a lot about Kathmandu, Nepal, and all the Tibetans, and the Tibetans and the Tibetans.... [00:13:52.01][Newsreel: "High in the Himalayas, Tibet's religious tradition is personified by the Dalai Lama. These are films of the Dalai Lama taken in less troubled times."] [00:14:07.28] ["News now reaches the world that 20,000 Tibetans have risen with him against their Chinese overlords."] [00:14:17.06] ["Two days after the Lhasa uprising, the Dalai Lama escaped from his palace. The Dalai Lama's escape sparked an exodus of refugees as tens of thousands of Tibetans followed him into exile."] [00:14:33.23] (not in English) [00:14:37.05] In 1959 he came from Tibet. [00:14:42.03] It took almost one month all (the) time walking. We walked all the way. [00:14:51.07] And then sometimes we came through snow mountains, day and night, on horses. [00:15:04.00] Sometimes we were caught by Chinese army and put for a short period in prison.

  35

[00:15:21.19] When the Dalai Lama left Tibet I was still in high school and somehow I heard the news on the radio that he had left Tibet and entered India and somehow there was some sense that this was something special. [00:15:35.11] ["Thousands crowd the railway station in New Delhi to welcome the Dalai Lama"] [00:15:44.04] ["Speaking in Tibetan the Dalai Lama charges that the Tibetan people are being exterminated, that their culture and religion are being stamped out."] [00:16:10.17] Actually, the Cultural Revolution, destruction of Tibet, actually proof for us of the real value of Buddha’s teachings. [00:16:45.04] When I first arrived in Dharmsala I struggled up the hill with my rucksack. I came to a large rock on which were written the letters Om Mani Padme Hum - but I didn't know what they were. [00:17:01.04] If we go down to this, through here...oh, look at that. [00:17:07.12] I lived in there. [00:17:09.29] Dharamsala in those days was really just flattened tin cans and little shops, people selling their old clothes and stuff. [00:17:20.09] It was a one horse town. There were no jeeps, there were no cars. [00:17:25.04]This is the Tibetan amala who I loved, that's me. [00:17:30.02] It was really the Tibetans that got me, the main thing was just the warmth of the people, that feeling of joy, and I could not figure it out, because most of them had lost everything. Some of them had seen their own families killed in front of them. [00:17:50.10] They were working on roads. That was what I found amazing about Tibetans. It was the ability to adjust from being a prince or a nobleman, to having nothing. [00:18:10.08] We found that all of our preconceptions, the things we had been trained as children as to what was proper, what was desirable, were not desirable. [00:18:26.13] Then I became close and attached to Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and spent, I don't know 13 years non-stop with him. [00:18:33.19] There's a Tibetan expression that you cannot stand parting away from someone, like Khyentse Rinpoche.

  36

Even like, in the day, just to go away from him you felt you were missing something very precious. And that's not very common in life. [00:18:53.23] When I got to Kathmandu I heard that there was this lama there named Karmapa. I was really fascinated by him and started going to see him and so well I thought “he's a monk, I should become a nun, that would be following his example”. That was really why I became a nun. [00:19:19.10] When I went first time to Nepal and first time I met the Dharma, that was in Kopan Hill. [00:19:28.13] There was a lama teaching and this lama was Lama Thubten Yeshe and he would teach in English. [00:19:36.07] You cannot just jump such inner freedom sort of like.. like.. you cannot jump like this… [00:19:42.16] He had this kind of odd English, that he'd learned from hippies. [00:19:50.02] Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa first taught Westerners in '71. [00:19:57.03] And it just started to blossom - these Westerners climbing up the hill, over rice paddies to get up there. [00:20:11.11] We had a month of teachings and then contemplating on these teachings. [00:20:17.09][ You know, since you were born, you know, ok you say, you know, my mind is that that, my mind is that… You've no idea what is your mind. Isn't that silly? Everyday using my mind that blah blah blah blah - but you don't know what is your nature of your mind.] [00:20:38.21]And that was a shock for me, because I had never thought that you could have wisdom, you know, like, without thinking, and I was sick of thinking, I was completely sick of my thoughts and my mental state, and I was looking for some breakthrough. [00:20:59.15] So that really gave you the opportunity to work with the nitty gritty of the mind. I think that one of the big realizations for me during that month was “Yes, the mind does have the capacity to change." [00:21:37.05] We’d read quite a few books about Tibet. Tibet was somewhere very kind of remote, but then the news got around among the people that there was going to be a lama, was going to turn up in Kensington. To have a lama turn up was quite extraordinary, cause we'd never imagined that would happen.

  37

[00:22:02.19] Well I was in the market for a teacher, and an old friend wrote to me and said "I'm coming to Los Angeles with this great teacher and you must absolutely must see him." He spoke in a downtown, really shabby old Embassy Theater, I think it was called, and he walked on the stage, and I was electrified. [00:22:24.15] Sit on the cushion, but don't make a big deal about that now you are going to meditate. Just sit down. And relax. [00:22:38.28] When I met Trungpa Rinpoche, I probably cried for 2 hours.. . um, a sense of having met something that was so deeply precious to me and not having any idea why. [00:23:01.08] Trungpa swept through American just like a rocket. He starts travelling all over the country. [00:23:12.07] He teaches right away, all the time. [00:23:18.23] He knew when the Chinese invaded Tibet, it wasn't just a question of taking the teachings out and putting them under your robe and getting the hell out of the country; it was a question of bringing that living wisdom to a brand new culture thousands of miles and a completely different language away. [00:23:40.28] And giving up, opening, surrendering from that part of you actually plays a very important part because finally you begin to actually let go of your aggression, and you begin to hear much better and see much better when you give up more and more of this uptightness holding you back..... [00:24:02.20] A Dharma that was not some kind of specialized cloistered monastic Dharma, but a Dharma that was fully integrated with society and with life. [00:24:16.13] He dove into Western life, he drank, he smoked, he broke all the rules. [00:24:23.23] People were always so outraged by him. [00:24:28.10] He was a fantastic artist, as a calligrapher, as a flower arranger, as a photographer, as a writer, as a poet, and that was one of the things that was enormously attractive about him. [00:24:49.04] The interesting point is in Tibetan tradition, there's no word for artist. [00:24:56.02] And so he was immediately working with a new energy, the energy that said "Okay, tell it to us, give it to us, tell us what to do, we'll make it happen." [00:25:12.22] And he had every confidence that we would get it. [00:25:27.01] I spent a lot of time in some kind of retreat context and also traveling with him. And then I'd go off and be a crazy person. Smuggling cocaine in South America. It was actually coming back from Japan, with Trungpa Rinpoche, that I got

  38

pulled aside. I knew I was either gonna go on the run or I was going to prison for a long time at that point, and he told me I should stay and face it, and he said that even if I was in prison for a long time I could still practice and I could still work with him as my teacher. [00:26:01.24] It wasn't until years later in prison really that I was able to finally do what he'd been asking all of us to do for a long time which was really do the practice and really integrate it so that we weren't just trying to get this contact high from him but to really be able to generate that within ourselves. [00:26:29.25] I remember when I came back from India and I wanted to go to a Tibetan place and the only place in the entire country was in Freehold, New Jersey. And then you think about what there is now. [00:26:59.28] It was as easy as putting "Buddha and Los Angeles" on Google search, and a couple centers came up. [00:27:40.29]I've always my whole life been against real estate. I grew up with these great teachers, never owned anything. And always these teachers telling us "Pambhasambhava said if you want to go down to the hell realms, have students and a monastery. " That's how we grew up. [00:28:04.07] Even this place, none of us have any clear idea of how it happened. [00:28:10.29] A very strong group of people that were friends. We started a little group and we just practiced and studied together. [00:28:18.06] Rinpoche would come, she came back yearly and the students became more and more and then it became known as the Baltimore Retreat. [00:28:24.11] And they ended up paying a lot of money for every rental place that the retreats were held. [00:28:29.12] I said we're paying so much rent, we're doing so much work, why don't we find some place permanent? [00:28:45.18]And then they called me to come and look at the land, there was no strategy, or no something anything ....it just happened we walked in through the door, there was a husband and a wife who were living here. It was a hot day, there was a nice swimming pool. There was a horse stable which they envisioned to have retreat rooms over there. [00:29:05.01] You have to get the zoning board to give you an ok, and then you have the whole county council. The zoning board meeting, one of the members said, "Can you tell us how Buddhism relates to our Lord Jesus Christ?" So I gave a little talk, impromptu, saying we're all basically looking for openness, compassion. The next meeting - and the place was packed - there were people who had strong objections to

  39

us being here, but by and large everyone there, they all said "No, this is about religious freedom. You have to let these people here." At that moment I said "I'm proud to be American." [00:29:49.25] Since then it's been done, and we've been having our annual retreats over here. [00:30:22.17] I do liken the sort of spread of Dharma from India to Tibet that happened between the 7th and the 10th century to when it went from Tibet via India to the West. Marpa, and the great translators, they did make the arduous journeys to get to India; they walked for days and months even and they went back again and helped spread the Dharma. [00:30:50.25] I mean these guys had it tough, you know, but they did it. They did a good job of translating it from Sanskrit into Tibetan, and did it without Microsoft Word or any other kind of editing processes. [00:31:05.21] Most of my training so far is in Tibetan- Tibetan grammar, a little bit of history, some Dharma, little bit of debate, it's just getting started. [00:31:23.18] Me, I got the easy way, you know. Dictionaries on my computer, all kinds of stuff. [00:31:38.25]It's astounding to think that, you know, a year ago, we couldn't read a line of Tibetan. Kongtrul Rinpoche was with us and he taught us the letters, he taught us how to say the sounds, he taught us how to write the letters. [00:31:55.06] One thing that I thought I can actually do to help the Buddha Dharma, transplant it in the west, is to train a group of students to become Dharma translators. [00:32:15.28] I thought since I'm going to be giving the traditional training to my son, you know, why not sort of invite some of the students to join him. [00:32:29.15] The last time that I went to see His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, he told me "Your son, regardless of whether he becomes a monk or a lay practitioner, make sure that he becomes a teacher of the Buddha Dharma." [00:32:50.14]My upbringing was nontraditional. I was 10 years old. He was in the living room, and I walked up to him and I was on the floor, I kneeled and I said " What is, Dad, what is the nature of mind?" And he said, okay, "I'll show you. So look at me. Look at me very closely." A few seconds passed. A few more seconds, I started saying "what should I be looking for? What's going on ?" And suddenly he shouted, flat out in my face, one massive cry and my mind was - it felt - my body was paralyzed and my mind completely cleared of everything. Just out of pure shock. And he said, "See, that's it. That's it."

  40

[00:33:53.23] Mom do you know that herb packet? [00:33:56.04] What herb packet, honey? [00:33:59.16] We didn't push him in the Dharma, Rinpoche also wanted to give him Western education, and then give him a choice of what he wanted to do after school. [00:34:12.11] Actually it was a very logical choice...to not go immediately into college and to go to the Himalayas to study. [00:34:31.24] If I'm going to go on the route to a Western education, I want to at least have the seeds of happiness. [00:34:51.03] To me Tibet is like, for I guess a thousand years almost, you had all these brilliant masters, every generation produced these legendary meditators and scholars. [00:35:05.25] It just staggers the mind to imagine the combined willpower and brain power that was directed towards the single goal of developing spiritual technology for freeing the human mind. [00:35:26.19] You probably had more books in Tibet than you did in any other society. They were manuscripts, so there was maybe one or two copies in the entire country. But they contained teachings that would disappear if that one copy was disappeared. So we began a project in India...Tibetans would come in, they'd say "I have this manuscript." We'd say "Okay, we'll buy 20 copies of it." So they took it out and they had this old technology where you'd have the glass plates. And these books, then, became the basis of what we studied. But there was a problem. They're disappearing, they're fading. Then I decided well why don't we do something else. So, we put it on the web. We've got over 10,000 volumes [00:36:33.22] that anybody can download. The word for emptiness is what's called "tong-pa nyid" , "tong-pa nyid ". Where do we find "tong-pa nyid"? See, it's found in 966 texts. [00:36:56.15] If we look at this expansion of Buddhism coming out of Asia and then we see Buddhism has already evolved. It has not stayed static any where for the last 2500 years, it's always assimilated, adapted for the particular cultures and so forth. Now it's adapting to world culture. [00:37:13.07] The point of east-west meeting was, I feel, not only religion, not as a religion, but simply the science of mind and western science. [00:37:30.11] I've had the conjecture that looking at brain changes associated with meditation is something worth doing for decades. It is quite remarkable how close a parallel there is between our modern understanding of neuroplasticity and the Buddhist notions of transformation. [00:37:56.11] In simple terms neuroplasticity means that the brain can change in response to experience.

  41

[00:38:01.18] I'm just going to line up, come straight down....and the first sensor...be sure the midline is set correctly. [00:38:10.21] For meditation, for example, prefrontal cortex is one of the main areas that we look, left and right. [00:38:18.18] Our brains are constantly being shaped, wittingly or unwittingly, and we can leave the shaping of our brains to happenstance, or we can take more responsibility by actually training our mind in a way which will promote more healthy qualities of mind. [00:38:44.26] They did my brain test ...they invited me to America to do braintest...and finally my picture came out on the National Geographic…on the cover. [00:39:02.05] And so now we see, as in this Mind and Life meeting with his Holiness the Dalai Lama, we see the traditional Buddhist teachings are brought into a completely modern contemporary context. [00:39:13.25] [Alan has talked in detail about what he presented as the...] [00:39:18.12] This is a time when the Tibetans also can benefit from the strength of western culture. [00:39:25.05] Religions are always changing, and there's a huge change when you cross a cultural frontier. [00:39:30.23] There's always the core in the Dharma that brings me back. But there are cultural influences that put me off. [00:39:40.17] Particularly around some women’s issues. [00:39:44.06] There's a lot of denial and ignoring, because it's painful to know that the religion you've given your life to has this really major flaw. [00:39:56.06] The male privilege of Tibetan Buddhism traditionally - it's incredibly intense. [00:40:01.11] Male chauvinism is one of the oldest habitual patterns in the world. And I don't think it's going to go that easily. [00:40:12.08] You look even here in this Western community- for this ceremony there's not a single woman in the front row. When you set up your whole system so that women don't end up trained well enough to sit in the front row, there's a problem. [00:40:30.13] Right now, there's no Geshe degree for nuns.

  42

[00:40:39.29] Geshe is basically a degree that monks get, usually monks, yeah monks get, when they have studied the main five texts. There's a lot of debate about giving that title to nuns who are now doing the same studies. [00:40:56.25] It's really...it contradicts Buddhism. It's not helping Buddhism. It's actually interfering Buddhism. And these are the sort of the cultural habits, if possible, should go. [00:41:10.22] That is one of the major things the West has to offer Tibetan Buddhism is a new way of seeing women and a way of examining the cultural influences on the Dharma. [00:41:20.28] Because we perceive true existence, because of that very powerful mind, ignorance, it colors all our experiences.. [00:41:26.16] I've traveled so much in the world , and I have seen that until and unless we give equal opportunity in terms of education, in terms of anything for women, you’re not going to achieve very much. [00:41:43.04] So you could say with karma, of course, strictly speaking, karma is action, the action that ... [00:41:52.04] Buddhism must fully integrate into the 21st century. We can't just take it as a museum piece. [00:42:06.18] The system doesn't port over perfectly, the system that they set up there...it doesn't mesh perfectly with our society. [00:42:14.04] Everything seems to be very flashy, you know, coming from this like Wow - these paintings and stuff like that. [00:42:21.18] When I first came and saw all these white middle class Americans bowing to this Asian man, I'm, like, this is so weird. [00:42:31.22] The form of - like the religious form - like, why is it you have offerings. It was an irritating quality of it, where I always have to look at the chart. That's what I mean - I have to look at the chart - it's not integral to my being. [00:42:51.12] These questions of how much is culture and how much is Dharma. Definitely distinctions need to be understood by the student. I would really encourage the students to really do this - but I would think Western people are wasting their time when they are ironing the scarf...trying to unfold them and fold them. That's a bit of a waste of time. [00:43:29.14] Even I thought before tradition isn't - I thought, not that important, tradition. Now when I really look and look, tradition is very important. Like,

  43

example, memorizing the root texts. I thought, many westerners are "Why do we need to memorize the text. It's too much energy - in West we do not do this anymore." [00:43:54.26] Chokyi Nyima, the whole kind of thing he has going on, is this idea of scholar-practitioner, and he emphasizes that in every teaching he gives. [00:44:02.23] When we grow up we really - the teachers said if you don't remember the root text you're empty. Anybody asks any questions, "Wait wait where's my book.. sorry today I can't say anything because my book is not here, my notebook is not here." Everything has to be within oneself. [00:44:20.15] I like challenges, so this kind of thing where you can just like, practically, it's a very pragmatic religion, you can work on yourself in a way everyday, every moment of your life. [00:44:31.05] [(Music/lyrics) Be Present, Be Now, Be Awake, No matter how. Be one, you're free to give. Stop illusions, and learn to live.] [00:45:08.13] Less intensity, ego might not like it. So when you have high, top, peak intensity, ego is so enjoy. [00:45:17.03] Coming to the Dharma it's no problem, you can come from anger, you can come from jealousy, you can come from woundedness, you can come from curiosity, and you can come from anything - you can come. Once you come, then you have to be open. You cannot hold on one thing, you have to be open-minded. Then you see how the path goes. [00:45:47.17] As Buddha said, um, [00:45:51.26] my, [00:45:52.20] my form, [00:45:58.29] my dream-like form appeared to dream-like beings to show them the dream-like path that leads to dream-like enlightenment. [00:46:09.08] One more time... I love that - it's like nectar for me. [00:46:13.15] My dream-like form appeared to dream-like beings to show them the dream-like path that leads to dream-like enlightenment. [00:46:42.17] I'm in Mexico. I’m wearing the Mexican style of dress to show where I am. [00:46:56.03] I travel with Rinpoche mostly when he travels to the west, which means Europe, the Americas, so I get to be in a very close proximity with Rinpoche, and not only listen to the teachings but also see how Rinpoche puts the Dharma into everyday life.

  44

[00:47:17.18] I can be staying in my student house, or friend's house, or hotel, I try to act like I'm sitting in my home. [00:47:27:00] “Stylish hair” [00:47:27.05] You go into that. [00:47:28.00] UhHuh [00:47:28.10] You ask a question, I answer, so all the time you feel connected with me. [00:47:36.26] Whatever limitations we might have as to our space, our mind - this is how I am , this is how I deal with things - when you are with these people, they sort of like ask you or do things to move you away from that comfortable point, right? [00:48:01.00] It’s intense. It's just their way of manifesting their wisdom, it's just about being natural all the time. [00:48:11.10] Thank you very much, I enjoy a lot. [00:48:13.17] Rinpoche does a lot of his activities quite spontaneous [00:48:18.18]and so I was thinking that we were going to be late, you know, in the morning...Rinpoche is calm, as he always is, and calms me down, of course. [00:48:33.15] So good to have you here. [00:48:34.24]Yes, thank you. [00:48:36.29]We're almost ready. [00:48:38.05]Okay. Five minutes more? Uh Huh. [00:48:41.02]Yeah [00:48:41.23] In the 21st century, how to teach, you don't have to change teaching, you don't have to change the meaning of teaching. It's just a matter of how to present. [00:48:50.20] Welcome. I would like to introduce meditation. [00:48:57.05][Music: We exist In a state of perpetual interdependence... samsara...welcome to the interdependence project?] [00:49:10.14] Honestly, if an American's only option was to study completely traditional Tibetan Buddhism then I don't think many people would be interested in Buddhism. [00:49:18.15] [I haven't registered, we came to the Open House last week..]

  45

[00:49:20.16] At the same time, what we found with the Interdependence Project is that people want teachings to be accessible and relevant to their life. They don't want them watered down. [00:49:29.08] Welcome to the Interdependence Project. Mindfulness practice is the basis of what we'll be talking about for the next 10 weeks. [00:49:39.06] Perhaps the Western Buddhist teachers would have a easier time to communicate with Westerners because they all share the same cultural language, value system, and even philosophy too. [00:50:00.16] I started out being very conservative as a Dharma teacher. But I actually am starting to feel that it's not very good for Western students to try to encourage them through a path that has so much form. And the reason is that their lives are already so packed with form. It wasn't that way in Tibet. In Tibet there was a lot more space as a culture but in the West it is, every minute is filled with form, so to give them more form doesn't really seem to work that well. [00:50:35.24] So we're going to do a practice now that involves breathing in to the lower belly. Feel the space opening. [00:50:47.13] In breath. [00:50:50.23] Filling the lower belly, medium to full breath. [00:50:55.11] Through the body work what we find s it gets Western people out of their heads. [00:50:59.19] [Notice the sense of emptiness...] [00:51:01.27] And when you live in your body in that way, it's so much more compelling and liberating than thinking. [00:51:15.09] I knew I really wanted to do this retreat center...From the age of 19, I'd always been asking permission to my teachers. But I felt that I had a different experience as a Western woman and that I needed to honor that. I had to make my own decisions and my own mistakes and see what happened. At least here at Tara Mandala. [00:51:52.25] There's a certain neo-generation of people that really realize they don't want to go into the corporate world and that they want something substantial and inner. [00:52:03.29] [ I got there, but then it's like my heart stopped again and I can't do anything] [00:52:08.16] And those people are attracted here and then they become practitioners.

  46

[00:52:27.24] I'm kind of a funny combination of being very traditional and at the same time very experimental. [00:52:39.26] Angry, sad, fierce [00:52:45.00] Angry and sad and fierce. [00:52:49.22] It can't be Tibetan Buddhism forever. You know it has to become the Vajrayana tradition as it is expressed in the West. [00:53:02.03] But I always struggle with these questions because I have such a respect for the tradition. I love it. I don't want it to be harmed or diminished. And I want to make sure the depth is happening. [00:53:20.16] Tara Mandala, that's my primary goal - is depth practice. [00:53:28.15] It seems Sangha is like family. Every Sangha, every community have their own personalities. [00:53:41.21] Basically there's something for everybody. [00:53:46.00] My love of Buddhism is one of first memories that I have. [00:53:55.10] I believed for a long time to be spiritual that you be very serious and to not enjoy life. So I had lots of those concepts and ideas that I had to drop. [00:54:11.18] And then the way I'm teaching, I let go of a lots of beautiful forms. [00:54:19.02] It requires tremendous sense of our effort, activities to have lots of images - big altars, so I'm quite lazy and also in some sense minimalist. [00:54:36.02] It's not me delivering another lecture, this is about going inside. Open our heart and be honest to ourselves first. [00:54:49.02] One of the questions that we might like to ask is : "Why am I not free right now?" [00:55:00.04] So I let go of lots of forms and focusing more on the heart of Buddhist teachings which is very profound yet very simple. [00:55:27.00] The foundation is the Four Noble Truths - there is absolutely no way you can get any understanding of the Dharma without it really being sort of squeezed from the essence of a thorough understanding of the Four Noble Truths. [00:55:44.04] What are the Four Noble Truths? In four words, there's suffering, the cause of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path. [00:56:18.00] From the Buddhist perspective we're all trapped in this sort of wheel of existence called "Samsara."

  47

[00:56:30.03] The idea is -this is sort of the First Noble Truth- that life is suffering. [00:56:35.10] Going about things in the old ordinary way will lead to suffering period. [00:56:44.17] …Productions [00:56:47.23] I feel like people spend so much time focusing on -like - their career or their bodies or what they look. Hello!!! People spend such little time focused on our minds. [00:57:04.28] Today is my last day of work. I'm going to meet my other friends for a going away drink and dinner and it's going to be really fun and I just can't believe that I'm actually doing this, its actually happening. And I hope I don't screw up and miss my flight or anything . I need to cancel my Equinox membership. I need to… [00:57:26.25] The First Noble Truth is a quality of pervasive dissatisfaction, let's say. Agitation and discomfort are inevitable. Suffering is inevitable. We're all going to die. We know it intellectually , yeah sure, I'm going to die. But, tonight? [00:57:55.10] How do you feel about me going on retreat? [00:57:57.01]Ummmm I think you’re going to turn into the Unabomber. [00:58:02.18] Can I have a drink on my tab? [00:58:04.02] My teacher used to always say "Listen to the sound of sadness and the heightened resonance of laughter." [00:58:15.26] Suffering is like that. [00:58:18.02] I would define suffering as a condition of the mind that involves an inaccurate perception of reality which leads to disturbance that is in the mind and the brain and the body. [00:58:38.13] At times it seemed like I was having a great time. But I was really depressed really in the back of my mind all the time. [00:58:49.24] What I call new epidemic is alienation, loneliness, depression, disconnected feelings. Everything in the kind of pragmatic world, it's all taken care of. In one's mind, lots of suffering. [00:59:15.12] The inner experience of my sort of inner engine racing through my day at its worst can be incredibly painful. I can move into a mode where I feel like I'm actually perpetuating the problem, like I'm really making it worse, and so I go and I feel like I'm feeling bad and then I don't want to feel bad so I kind of reject the fact that I'm feeling bad which means I'm not really being present with what I'm really feeling which is feeling bad. And then in the meanwhile I don't want anybody on the

  48

outside to know that I'm suffering. So I try to keep a really cool look "Okay, everything's fine, you know, there's no problem." [00:59:52.04] So, you know, I've got my children and my wife and my colleagues that I work with and not to mention people that are sharing the road with me as I race down the street in my car feeling this way. [01:00:02.20][Two screenings on one night ] [01:00:08.22] About like 6 months ago I was applying to business school and I just really couldn't do it and I realized that I really wanted to do something else with my life. [01:00:22.20] So I'm going to be gone for five months. [01:00:25.12] [Background: long black sweater things - body sweater, body sweater, yeah] [01:00:28.25] And I'm going to be doing a retreat by myself basically in the mountains. [01:00:35.02] I'm going to go before I have kids and a house and a mortgage. I'm gonna go and really focus on myself before it gets too crazy. [01:00:44.08] For human beings it's very good to understand subtle discontentment in every moment. [01:00:51.19] That's the whole quality of suffering that we all have. [01:00:58.18] And so when Dharma says "Everything is suffering" it's that that you are looking at . [01:01:08.06](music)No I want to sing a song I know the words to. [01:01:15.17] The combination of speed, of instant gratification, it's very painful and all my struggles up to that point and even today deal with the fact that I want things to be fixed in a certain way. [01:01:32.13] You're entitled to be happy all the time, I mean that's the fundamental message of America , I think, the American dream. If you get more, you'll be happier. If you get different, you'll be happier. And that if you're not happy something's wrong and we can fix it. We'll fix it with a product, we'll fix it with medication, we'll fix it with entertainment. [01:01:55.18] The expectation that if we just try harder we can hit the pleasure button, you know, and we'll get the M&M that's going to fall down the chute. It really is very compelling way to spend one's day, you know, from one thing to the next. [01:02:14.29] And it's not okay to be restless, to be empty, to be bored, to be sad, to be angry, it's just not okay.

  49

[01:02:25.24] I've been in this place. I say you only you focus to yourself and your suffering and your suffering is the most biggest in the whole world wide. We have a thousand people dying by hunger, but you don't see that as suffering. Definitely is focus to your ego. Who taught that? Buddha Shakyamuni taught that . In his teachings. You want to reduce your emotion , then reduce your ego. [01:02:57.23] This is my 16th year at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics. The first 10 years I really struggled. [01:03:05.27] All these studies they're like an analytical meditation where we have to go through - we analyze we analyze , like how does that apply? and how does that really work? And, you just totally apply it to your own life. There's just no way around it. [01:03:21.10] All the difficulties I went through, I mean of course there were a lot of external circumstances like when my classmates didn't treat me the way I wanted to. In the end it was really my self -grasping attitude that was in my way, I mean , it was like I got angry and yeah, it was totally that. So my main obstacle has always been self- grasping mind. [01:03:44.07] I'm my own biggest obstacle is what it comes down to, you know. It gets discouraging, you know, especially when I first started learning Tibetan and it's hard and I'm just like "No one understands me" and you know, whatnot...the wandering brains and my thoughts and everything - you know, it's just me, you know. [01:04:01.28] It's just like so much preciousness in your life, then any small scratch, any small thing, may be a small hindrance, you cannot take it, you want to preserve "me" perfectly. But there’s no perfect. [01:04:22.16] And I think the culture has grown so much into emphasizing “Your needs, your life, your fulfillment “ over anything and everything being served. [01:04:39.17] And then we have suffering because it doesn't work. Because you have impermanence and the "me " program never quite works. It never works out. [01:04:48.18] If only we realize that all compounded things are impermanent we would not shop as much as we are shopping now. And because of that the earth is going down the hill. Ecology has a problem. World is going crazy because of the economy. And all because, we forget . [01:05:27.18] In this culture, we don't want to talk so much about the impermanent reality. [01:05:34.07] So, all talking about solid reality. [01:05:36.19] [Investors also poured into gold which rose 61 dollars Monday to hit a record of more than 1700 dollars ]

  50

[01:05:45.28] We think world is permanent, beautiful, something but then, it's not like that. [01:06:06.08] So our minds have a natural tendencies that you like to go into black and white. It's not really black and white. [01:06:21.02] Things are not the way they seem. And that's the basic issue, that's what Buddhism is all about: things are not what they seem. [01:06:31.29]Okay [01:06:35.02] I’m going to give you a big virtual hug. [01:06:37.19][Ohhh, Virtual hug] [01:06:39.20] And then I'm like incommunicado on Sunday. [01:06:44.19] [Okay, be sure you got that] [01:06:45.19] Okay, yeah. [01:07:12.16] How do we get happy now? That's the Third Noble Truth. [01:07:18.03] Some people say, "Oh, Buddha never spoke of happiness." But the whole Four Noble Truths is about the absence of happiness and how to get rid of that, so what do you get in the end? Genuine happiness. [01:07:54.07] There's certain moments as a practitioner, there are times that I can feel very....very, very good, very very free somehow, very free. [01:08:07.25] Enlightenment, I don't know, I don't know. [01:08:14.09] There’s view and then of course practice that's why Buddhism was very important like that…. [01:08:22.10] The seed of happiness is to completely let go of the attachment to the ego. [01:08:29.21] And it seems a little contradictory to find happiness for oneself by forgetting oneself. [01:08:43.26] It seems to let go of that attachment would be absolute joy. [01:08:52.11] And then you already received all the blessings. [01:08:56.15] The inner work that you do if you really engage with the Dharma, I believe strongly now, that that is true happiness, it comes from within you. It genuinely comes down to how you are and how you see the world and how you choose to respond. And you have your episodes, and explosions and revert back to the past but you get a way of looking at that.

  51

[01:09:35.13] I'm assuming that enlightenment is when you are absolutely free from all kinds of fixation, obsession, paranoia, judgement. [01:09:53.10] That stuff is extraneous to who we are. Do you know what I mean? So whatever it is that is extraneous falls away, there's this natural way of being. [01:10:49.18] The most amazing miracle, the best fun that we should not miss...in this journey called human life is actually that - coming across this extraordinary openness inside you, the sudden realization in which everything is suddenly clear. [01:11:24.20] We do experience this all the time. It's the quality of just being present in our body, right now. The point of meditating is to notice them. [01:11:51.26] I'm in this cell block with 5 cells, 2 men to a cell and it's just chaos - radios and tv and yelling and screaming and fights. I couldn't sleep. I was having nightmares. My mind was constantly racing through all these scenarios of how I couldn't have gotten caught and what I could have done...my mind was just crazy. [01:12:13.01] But I was sitting. I remember one night I would say I'd been sitting probably 4 or 5 hours, and my mind just kind of stabilized in a very powerful way. Even at that moment there was just absolute chaos. But my mind wasn't moving. My mind wasn't being moved or drawn to any of it . And at that moment, there was a tremendous sense of confidence that arose, that no matter how difficult this prison journey was going to be, that I could do it. [01:12:49.18] Buddha himself actually said, when he was asked what is way to the Enlightenment, he said "Meditation." [01:13:01.23] In the beginning, you might like to pay attention to breath. Simply notice that you’re breathing in and breathing out. [01:13:17.05] And whenever you notice yourself thinking, whenever you realize it, label that as thinking, but then gently bring your attention back to your breathing. [01:13:29.27] So you can close your eye, open eyes, doesn't matter . [01:13:36.09] You get space or not space doesn't matter, you let go. You say now I'm going to think spaciousness, rest there like that , that's it. [01:13:46.17] The meditation practice develops then you see the Buddha’s teaching become alive. [01:13:52.11] The spacious around you becomes a whole like universe space - like looking to your blue sky.

  52

[01:14:00.06] In Sanskrit one of the translations of the word meditation is familiarization. Virtually all forms of meditation involve the meditator becoming more familiar with her or his own mind. [01:14:12.27] Why does my mind work that way when I could - wait, what do I have to do to change it so it's not making that same mistake over and over again, getting me into trouble and making things lousy. [01:14:24.11] I know when I do this other thing, things get better and things are expansive and I'm happier and everyone else around me seems to be happier. So, just literally mind-training . [01:14:39.08] It's a practice. And I think it's a really good word for it . [01:14:57.08] Over and over again, daily. [01:15:03.05] The more you do it your mind and your body literally like it… like food, like oxygen. And look forward to it. [01:15:19.21] The reason why I'm in this path and why I wake up everyday and I think about meditation and I think about sitting and I actually do it is because this very moment I want it to be one of openness. [01:15:38.12] You sit for 10 minutes a day, that's great, you sit for 30 minutes a day, that's great, you sit for an hour a day, that's great. What if you sit for 3 months? [01:15:56.18] I don't know how the "me" that was (like) in New York in a great apartment, going out every night, smoking, drinking, whatever....I don't know how that person had enough "chutzpah" - I don't know - something - to be like "I'm leaving everything I know." [01:16:18.03] In the beginning it’s very tumultuous, usually. [01:16:23.18] It's like you can't relax with more than 10 percent of your mind. So you're kind of still managing your experiences. Then after some time you can experience maybe 20 percent. It's like you relax a little bit more. Then maybe 30 percent. And then you go through periods that are very, very difficult. [01:16:47.19] Sometimes after a while you can just completely relax and let - it doesn't matter what - happen. [01:17:05.21] I just came in from the snowstorm, and that's my teapot going off - and, I'm going to make lunch now. [01:17:17.18] We think again we're leaving life but I really think the point of practice is to engage our life. But I think when we're busy we don't actually engage our life. So we need to actually sit down and be with our mind in this intimate kind of way.

  53

[01:17:32.28] There's no external input, you know, there's nobody there, there's no guy not looking at you in the right way. There's no approval or disapproval from your boss, there's no, parents to say anything. And for me for the first three weeks, I just cried. [01:17:57.12] I had everything I could possibly need. It was just me. And yet I was in despair. [01:18:14.01] But I've realized that the source of all my pain and suffering comes from inside. And it comes from my mind. And that's the same for everybody. And that means that we all do so much unnecessary suffering. [01:18:42.09] You know if you can show that short term, four, eight weeks, half an hour a day, already makes significant change in your heart, in preventing depression, so this is a great service. And then much longer - 10,000, 50,000 hours of meditation, there are deep changes in your brain, the functioning of your brain. [01:19:09.18] When we examine these long-term practitioners, we do see that their brains are different in from the get go. [01:19:19.23] With these long term practitioners, it's just a kind of stable bedrock of equanimity. [01:19:27.10] There's a kind of panoramic awareness where you're able to just take in the large presence of the moment. [01:19:48.10] For me from the point of view of practicing all of this, it's how naturally and easily can I continue to let go and let go and let go and open up to what I'm really feeling without judgment, without some big story, without some big effort. [01:20:50.06] Then people might consider more seriously our bringing this in a secular way as His Holiness recommends. In education. [01:21:05.02] In jails [01:21:06.04] (So I'm going to play you the beginning of the chanting). [01:21:10.00] All kinds of professional situations. [01:21:18.03] Where my practice is meeting my professional life more and more even with my most anxious clients, just being there and helping them breathe. [01:21:28.11] (This shows you definitely have enough so let's prioritize things that give you joy in the present moment rather than trying to build more for the future that may never come.) [01:21:37.10] So it's very powerful for Western people because you don't have to turn away from your life to realize the teachings. You have to turn towards your life. [01:21:53.15] Ah, my life right now is, you know, like "Bees Knees", right ? [01:22:01.06]I guess part of it is that I'm comfortable with it now.

  54

[01:22:10.06] If you stick with it eventually something, something's going to happen. If something's not happening then you have to do the reflection, like "Yo, what's going on?" [01:22:23.21] You know, there's not too much other things (you know ) that complicates life at least at this point. [01:22:31.25] I'm just doing what I want to do. [01:23:12.06] Today on the occasion of the IBD Rima Geshe graduation ceremony I would like to take the opportunity to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart. This event I feel is an invaluable symbol of educational privilege and opportunity for women. And I greatly appreciate the opening of this new door for women who have completed their studies in Buddhist philosophy. [01:23:48.00] Happiness is kind of a, a funny word or loaded word, but for like the last 9 years of my time in prison my abiding state of mind became one of tremendous cheerfulness and joy which was kind of bizarre, I had to keep it to myself. [01:24:05.21] Kind of the burden of our whole "me" thing kind of dissipates or falls away altogether at least for a second or two. And, we're just there. And, there's no problem. [01:24:21.28] One thing I'll say is that all the hospice training in the world doesn't prepare us to lose our loved ones. [01:24:29.16] I often joke, that you got through the floodlights and the watchdogs and everything and we still found our way to each other. [01:24:38.24] Most of us keep all these little defenses up or these little parts of ourselves that, you know, "you can't go there, Dharma, that's my territory. " Denise couldn't do that . When she found out she was faced with dying, she just let it in. [01:24:51.16]Anger and fear will absolutely do you no good. [01:25:02.03] For the last several months our home just became a retreat center and a practice community. [01:25:23.07] Denise died in 2008, September 3rd. When you see it in these kind of "rubber meets the road" situations, you really get this tremendous confidence in how powerful the Dharma is, how transformative it is. [01:26:06.20] So when I started I knew that some transformation would take place. I had no idea the depth to which. I think what happens is, you break down what seems real and what is real. And what I think you get to, or try to get to, is that the only thing that's real is that you're aware. By far what you give up is absolutely no

  55

comparison to what you gain. It's like - completely pales in comparison. Even though my hair was pretty. [01:27:08.01] Mommie. [01:27:14.21] I really think Dharma helps people. [01:27:17.05] Daddy. Baby. [01:27:20.10] Actually helps them in their lives [01:27:23.00] I'm so happy that you're all here. It's so sweet of you to come. [01:27:28.15] Imagine that a cure for suffering has been found. And think for a minute what a big deal that is . [01:27:39.18] This may be the time in which Buddhadharma can do the greatest good. And also the time when there is the greatest need. [01:27:48.04] Because it actually gives us skillful means by which we can transform our own suffering and increase our capacity to stay present in a world that may become much more challenging. [01:28:09.28] What's really needed is relatively realized people - at whatever level of realization- out in the world showing up and being helpful. [01:28:41.29] I think the future of Buddhism is really in the West. [01:28:48:00] Future teacher. Future teacher. Future teacher. Future teacher. Future teacher . [01:28:52.01] Dharma is a healing path not a fixing path, (you know ) and a healing path, I think, has more to do with our ability to bear witness. [01:29:08.12] Bodhicitta is you’re acting, thinking, selflessly for others. [01:29:14.16] Whatever I'm struggling with, you know, the magic of knowing that you can transform that moment. [01:29:22.21] The person who cuts you off on the freeway and the grocery clerk who's kind of chomping her gum and ignoring you when you say "hi". You just have no idea . [01:29:31.29] It's not mere compassion. it's like a kind of energy of compassion that spreads out and kind of influences people, and things change.

  56

[01:29:48.26] If you have more love, it's better. If you have healthy love, even better. If you have compassion, that's better for you , better for others. If you have an insight that when your conflict comes inside of you, you know how to let it go that's also a good thing. [01:30:06.15] This is Buddhism coming to the West and we should rejoice in our good fortune. And we should probably do something with that good fortune. [01:30:49.09] The only remedy to me in a sort of global level and an individual level is this new revolution of a care, (you know) interdependent care. [01:31:08.17] And that revolution could possibly save one's own life. [01:31:19.17] And we as a human being, can save the planet. [01:31:27.07] We are forced to be enlightened. Otherwise it would drive us crazy. [01:31:37.12] From now on I will ask you to sit now and then in silence and ask this question: "Am I ready to let go of everything?"