Tenzin Ösel Hita, Losang Dragpa Centre, Sengalor, Malaysia, February 2015. Photo courtesy of Ldc Fpmt Facebook.

On February 19, Tenzin Ösel Hita, the recognized reincarnation of FPMT founder Lama Yeshe, made a surprise visit to Malaysian center Losang Dragpa Centre to participate in its Guru Puja for Losar, Tibetan New Year. Just before the puja began, Ösel gave a short talk, which was transcribed by Carolyn Chan and edited by Yeo Puay Huei and Mandala for publication on FPMT.org:

“I just wanted to mention something quickly. The prayers that you are reciting refer to emptiness. I read somewhere not so long ago that quantum mechanics actually says 99.999% of atoms are empty. When we talk about material things, that which we can really touch or is tangible is only 0.001% of the atom. This means that if only the tangible parts of all the atoms of human beings were put together, all 7 billion humans would fit in a single sugar cube. Can you imagine that? Scientists are saying that all 7 billion humans could fit in a sugar cube. That is how ’empty’ we are.

“It is very funny how in this age, spirituality and quantum mechanics are coming together. Their paths have finally crossed. We are living in an age, a very, very big crystal age where thousands of years have passed and people have evolved a little bit. Times have changed: science has evolved, spirituality has evolved, but people are not ready for this kind of information.

“Three thousand years ago in Egypt, there was a pharaoh called Akhenaten. He started a revolution because he could not agree that there were many gods. He tried to explain to the people that the real god is within yourself. You possess the path within yourself. He was way ahead of his time. People did not understand. People were not prepared for that. So there was a huge revolution. Now here, 3,000 years later, we are actually ready for this kind of thinking. We have passed the Dark Ages, we went through the Middle Stone Age, we have been through World Wars. Now, finally people have the means to see all of these and learn from past mistakes. So, we are very lucky to be here at this age, today, everyday; this moment is very lucky. Of course, we think of the time as it is. Time has changed as it is. 

“When talking about spirituality, we say that time is precious. We are here, with the precious human rebirth, possibly only once because they say human rebirth is like a turtle which comes up from the ocean bed only once every 100 years. In that vast ocean is a floating ring and this turtle comes up only once every 100 years. What are the chances of it placing its head through that ring? That is how difficult it is to get the precious human rebirth. That is the metaphor Tibetan Buddhism gives us to understand how lucky we are. This is something for us to cherish all the time.

“But then, we live in a society where the education system teaches us always to cherish ourselves and to think about ourselves, ‘me, me, me,’ right ? Capitalism is based on that. If people stop thinking like that, capitalism will fall apart. So, I am not saying this is good or bad, I am only saying it is good to be aware of this. Because the moment we stop only cherishing ourselves, we can actually start cherishing other people. When it really happens, it really starts feeling good. If everybody did that, thinking about the person next to you before you think about yourself, what a beautiful, lucky place. There will be no war, no famine, no hardship. You should really think about this and check it out. The more you think about yourself, the more you are going to suffer. If you think about the person next to you more than yourself, all you have is happiness. Your well-being will be linked to the universe, linked to karma and linked to human mind. Buddhism says this, so I do not have to say it. All of you know it. I think this important point should be put into practice and not just doing meditation or reading a book or coming to a puja, although these are also very good in making imprints and keeping us on the right path.  

“The most important moment is when you put this cherishing others into practice, then it is like the phrase, ‘When the shit hits the fan,’ it spreads everywhere; it’s a strong metaphor! Keep the middle path. Think about the other person more than yourself. Even if you are suffering, forget about that. Think about the person next to you. For me, it is very easy to say, but very difficult to do. I also have a lot of suffering, difficulties and many frustrations. When these happen, I would do my best to think about the other person. But even then, it is so hard. After I make all the mistakes and mess up everything, I sit down and think, ‘Ah! I wish I had thought about it before. Now it is too late.’ Still, you can learn from your mistakes and slowly, slowly make an effort to be a better person and try to make the person next to you happier. This is my advice from my experience and difficulties that I have gone through. We are all going through this in the same way. So it is not like I am speaking and you think I am enlightened – blah, blah, blah – because I am not. (Laughter) I am of the worst quality.  

“You know we cannot change the world, but what we can do is change ourselves. And that is the first step. So, we focus on that, OK? That’s the first step.”

Find a short video excerpt taken from this talk on YouTube, made available by Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

The Big Love Fund supports Ösel‘s educational endeavors. You can follow news and updates about Ösel on the Ösel Hita news feed.

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