Gen-la explained that there are the two-fold
teachings of Sutra and Tantra. The Tantra does not only limit to Tantra. In
Tibetan, Tantra is “Nga”. It also means Mantra. That carries the meaning of
protecting the mind. Therefore, in this sense, all the sutric teachings are also
included in the word Tantra here.
For Sutra teachings, there are three paths – the path of the lower capability
beings, the path of the medium capability beings and the path of the superior
capability beings. All this sutric teachings are included here.
“Having prejudice” means that we despise Dharma. We do not agree with what
the Buddha says. We do not believe that the Three Jewels have the power to
protect us. All the Dharma is useless. Meditating on the Lam Rim will not help
us. If we think like this, it is called having prejudice view.
In the phrase “breaking our vows and offending protectors”, protectors refer
to the worldly gods as well as those who are enlightened such as Mahakala,
Palden Lhamo and so on. Offending them by despising their existence. We think
that it is useless to make offerings to them.
When we possess such views and prejudice, or when we feel suddenly sick, we
have stroke or paradise. Also, when we encounter spirit harm, we need to realise
that these are the results from causes of having broken our vows, which include
the vows of the layman, monks and nuns, and the vows of the Tantric commitment.
And having offended protectors and having despised the Dharma. Also, thinking
that some paths of the Lam Rim, for example, the lower path is useless and we do
not have to practice them.
Polio and strokes are sickness, physical discomfort. We can think of it in
two ways. Firstly, that it came from our body. Another one is caused by spirit.
Prejudice view is also called distorted view or wrong view, denying the
teachings of Buddha. We deny that by practicing Dharma we will eliminate
delusions.
Question:
For a Shravaka practitioner, his tripitaka text does not mention about
Mahayana teachings. He follows the Buddha-dharma but does not believe in
protectors or Kuan Yin. Is that a fault or prejudice in this case?
Gen-la:
We
can think in this way. In some religions, they do not have teachings that
describe killing of animals for sacrifice as a fault. In reality, it will cause
harm. Similarly, even though it is not mentioned about protectors etc. in the
Hinayana teachings, if a person despise the protectors and other Mahayana
teachings, there will be a fault. In ancient India, there were two famous
brothers – Vasubandu and Asanga . Vasubandu, who was the younger brother,
mastered all the Hinayana teachings. Because he never saw any Mahayana
teachings, he thought that Mahayana teachings did not come from the Buddha. He
criticised the Mahayana teachings. Later when he had a chance to come across
Mahayana teachings, he realised that he had committed a great mistake. He
regretted and wanted to cut his tongue to cleanse his negative karma. When he
was about to do that, his elder brother, Asanga stopped him. He said that by
cutting the tongue, it would not wash away the negative karma that had been
created. “What you need to do is to compose a text to propagate the Mahayana
teachings.” Vasubandu listened to his brother’s advice and finally composed a
great text called Ahbidharmakosa.
Just because we do not know something, that does not mean we would not be
subject to the natural Law of Karma.
Question:
What does breaking vows mean? Does it mean that if one who has taken
refuge, then subsequently become a Christian and throw away one’s alter and
Buddha image?
Gen-la:
After we have taken refuge in the Triple Jewels and then abandon it, this
is considered the heaviest offence.
Question:
Does the results ripen this lifetime?
Gen-la:
Not necessary. It could ripen in the next life and after that.
Maybe in the past, when someone takes delight in practicing the Dharma, we
distract them from practicing the Dharma. We cause them to abandon practicing
the Dharma. In this life, it will become our turn. Someone will say something
and we will feel that Buddhism is no good and we would rather believe in other
faith.
Question:
How do spirit harm us?
Gen-la:
Can be in various ways. They can harm us physically or enter our body and
harm us. In Tibet, there are a lot of cases like this.
Question:
Why do they harm us?
Gen-la:
Spirits also want food. Sometimes they harm people for that. Some spirits
kill a person because they don’t like the person.
Question:
Many of us come from so-called Buddhist-Taoist background, whereby we
made offerings to various worldly gods. Now that we know the meaning of taking
refuge in the Triple Jewels, would there be any fault if we stop making such
offerings to the worldly gods?
Gen-la:
There is no fault in stopping to make offerings to them. However, because
you used to make offerings to them, if you stopped doing that, they may cause
some harm to you. If they get angry, they actually create negative karma.
When we lack all control over where we must
travel
And always must wander like waifs with no home,
This is the wheel
of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have
done.
Till now we have disturbed holy Gurus and others
And forced them to
move from their homes or their seats;
Hereafter let’s never cause others
disturbance
By evicting them cruelly from where they
reside.
We have to travel from one place to another. This is
not our wish. Like the merchant or people without homes, they have to travel
from one place to another with no homes to settle down. Having these conditions,
the causes are that in the past, we have disturbed our holy Gurus and other
people. We actually forced them to leave their houses, to leave their
seats/thrones. Wondering from one place to another means that we are borne and
lived in this country but then, we are chased away by high officers to move
somewhere else involuntarily.
What we should do from now on is to think, whenever there are people or
animals that need shelter, we should give them shelter. We should not chase them
away from their homes.
For example, a monk in a monastery not studying and behaving well, causing
trouble to himself as well as others, if the abbot want to expel him thinking
that he is too troublesome, then the abbot is creating negative karma. Because
the motivation is not good. However, if he thinks that the monk will cause
trouble and disharmony, etc. then there is no fault incurred.
Another example is that if someone is causing trouble in the country and the
prime minister thinks that “I must chase this person outside the country because
he is just too much.” With such angry thoughts and the prime minister chased
that person away then he would have created negative karma. But if he thinks
that for the benefit of his people, for the peace of the country, then he
expelled that person. In this case, he incurred no offence. Similarly if we
kicked out animals from the places they lived, this is also creating negative
karma.
When the crops in our fields are continually
plagued
By drought, floods and hailstones, insects and frost,
This is the
wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have
done.
Till now we have failed to honour our pledges;
Hereafter let’s keep
all our moral vows pure.
These are natural calamities – drought, no rain,
floods, etc. all the plants and crops died. When all these happen, we received
no harvest at all. This is because in the past we have failed to maintain our
vows and keep our vows pure. What we should do is to honour our vows so that we
keep them all pure. Keeping our vows pure, we will be able to keep our mind pure
and be at peace. If we break our vows, our minds will become muddle and dull.
For example, somebody tells us to steal something, or else we will be killed. We
should be happy to keep our vows pure even if our lives are threatened. We
should be determined to keep our vows pure even if it cost our lives.
When we are poor, yet are filled with much greed
and desire,
This is the wheel of sharp weapons returning
Full circle upon
us from wrongs we have done.
Till now we have been misers, reluctant to
share.
The offerings we have made to the Three Jewels were
meagre;
Hereafter let’s give with a generous heart.
Some people are poor and destitute. Yet they have
high hope to accumulate wealth. They work very hard and try all sorts of
methods, do business to accumulate wealth. But all their efforts fail and they
remain poor. Why is this happening? In order to become wealthy, it has to come
from a cause of being generous. This is because in the past, we had been a
miser, and had been unwilling to share with others. We did not practice giving,
we did not practice generosity and we did not make offerings to the Three
Jewels.
Question:
[Question not audible] Gen-la: For Verse 36, here we only refer to the
crops dying. For those who are not farmers, this verse still applies. The main
thing is the cause of not keeping vows pure. It will cause whatever we want to
achieve to fail. We may work very hard but no results come. This can apply to
many other situations. For this verse, it specifies a certain situation.
However, it can refer to other situations generally. If everything were to be
said exactly, the causes and the results, then it will be endless. We need to
think very carefully about this.
Question:
[Question not audible]
Gen-la:
Here, it says that having all these problems is due to not holding the
vows pure. However, does that mean that all such problems come from the same
cause? No, it’s not. It is only one of the causes. Back to Verse 37, we are poor
and yet we have much greed and desire. We want more things but we are not able
to get them. What we need to do is to practice generosity. When people are in
need we must practice generosity. We give to them whatever they need. We also
need to practice making offerings to the Three Jewels. If we have the money, we
should buy good qualities goods, and a lot of them. If we have a lot of money
and yet we choose poor quality offerings and we buy only a few. This becomes
impure offerings. For people with not much money but buy offerings with generous
heart, this becomes pure offerings.
Question:
[Question not audible]
Gen-la:
It
depends on motivation. If both of them make offerings – the rich one offering
big incense and the poor one offering small incense, with the same pure
motivation, then both of them get the same results. But if the one who is not so
rich and do not offer the bigger incense out of miserliness. If he can afford it
but think only to make small offerings, then the results obtained will be
smaller.
When our bodies are ugly and others torment
us
By mocking our flaws, never showing respect,
This is the wheel of sharp
weapons returning
Full circle upon us from wrongs we have done.
Till now
we have made images lacking in beauty,
By venting our anger we have made ugly
scenes;
Hereafter let’s print books and make pleasing statues,
And not be
short-tempered, but be of good cheer.
This verse refers to having all sorts of physical
defects – our limbs and arms are deformed, the organs do not grow properly, we
are blind or deaf, etc. Other people abuse and belittle us because of that. They
treat us with contempt and never show us respect. Why is this happening? Because
in the past, when our Gurus and those who have taught us Dharma, had various
physical defects, we had looked down on our Gurus. Because of this, we do not
take teachings from our Guru seriously. Because of belittling our Guru in the
past, we have obtained the same results in this life.
Another cause is that of making holy images and statues in an improper
manner. Because of that it become a cause for us to obtain an ugly body in the
future. Also, not being respectful to the texts. We trade the text like trading
other goods. We don’t take care of the texts well and put them on a clean place.
We throw them everywhere. Sometimes we burned them. Having an ugly body comes
from all these causes.
From now on, let’s respect all the statues and all the scriptural texts. When
we make statues or draw thangkas, we should make good ones. We should respect
and show appreciation towards the holy objects. Towards people, we should also
think that the nature of their mind is pure. If we think like this, we will not
get angry with them. We should treat them well.
Having good appearance is also important. For example, sometimes before a
high Lama appears, everybody will be talking about the good qualities of the
Lama. Sometimes when the Lama has physical defects and people lose faith when
they see him. It influences people’s mind. When we are together with other
people, we should be mutually patient.
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Note on authentication
Pek Chee Hen prepared and edited the original typescript from
the tape recording.
@ Losang Dragpa Centre, September 2001
