‘Everybody Needs Universal Compassion and Wisdom Education’: An Interview with Lama Zopa Rinpoche on UECW [Unedited Transcript]

EDUCATION

July-September 2012

In December 2011, Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave an interview to Universal Education for Compassion and Wisdom (UECW) at Root Institute in Bodhgaya, India. Matteo Passigato filmed the 90-minute interview (available to watch online). Lama Zopa Rinpoche gives advice on the elements of UECW’s name and vision.

UECW is an FPMT program of secular education for people of all ages and cultures. Until recently, UECW was called Universal Wisdom Education (UWE) and before that it was known as Essential Education (EE) as well as Universal Education (UE). The Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom (FDCW) is the FPMT international project that oversees UECW.

Here is the unedited transcript of the interview.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche:  Hello all my dear, most precious students. Anyone who listens my [laughs], my Mickey Mouse talk [laughs], Mickey Mouse speech, advice, Mickey Mouse advice. So, I want to say hello to everybody.  I hope you can understand what I want to say. 

So, to make yourself better, happy, and the world, the rest of the universe, happier, better, happier, more peace, more meaningful. That. [laughs] Thank you.

Student: Thank you, Lama Zopa.

Student:  Elaborate the questions. Please can Lama Zopa share his thoughts about Lama Yeshe’s vision for UWE [Universal Wisdom Education]? Can Lama Zopa explain the name UWE for us?  Why is UWE important? What can we each do as individuals to create a more peaceful world? What is Lama Zopa’s advice for children and parents who want to develop a good heart?

Rinpoche:  Merci beaucoup, gracias, [laughs] xièxie, thank you.

Okay, there’s one question, I don’t know the question. Why UE [Universal Education] important? 

Student: Important.

Rinpoche: Okay, that is very important.  Why UE is very important?  So, to understand that is important. So, actually my talk would contain many of the answers to all those questions. So that is why the questions read at the beginning.

I was not involved in, during Lama Yeshe’s time, I was not involved in UE.

Of course, the aim is, of course, is, the, for better world, better universe, for happier and more peaceful, more meaningful. Not harm each other, no harm each other, helping, benefitting each other, bringing happiness to each other. That’s what it is. Bringing the self, individual and whole world into higher and higher happiness. That is the aim. 

So, the rough story. There’s an, there’s an American girl called Connie, university student, Connie. She likes very much to teach school children, young children, she like very much to teach, and of course, now she is a nun. She has been a nun for a very long time. So, her interest, and then, by me and Lama Yeshe discussing, so what it came out is that, this Universal Education. So then, many students got excited. So this happened a few years, but I was not involved at that time. And Lama Yeshe did not have a book, did not have concrete idea planned like this or a book, not, wasn’t that. But people, very, very excited, the students in many countries. They make magazines or newspapers or things like that.

So, the importance of this, so this, that everybody in this world, of course, we, everybody, want happiness and we, all the living beings, do not want suffering, of course. And happiness, not just one level, all the different levels, higher and higher happiness, the highest, of course! Just what everybody wishes and also depends on, then they know, such levels of happiness, or not. 

This has been a long time ago, many years ago since Lama passed away, many years ago. I don’t know what year?

Ven. Roger [Rinpoche’s attendant]: 1985

Rinpoche: I was leaving to Mongolia from Wisconsin, Madison, Geshe Sopa’s my teacher, Geshe Sopa’s center.

I was supposed, I was invited in this meeting, this very large meeting, religious meeting in New York, to read letter from His Holiness. His Holiness was stopped to, by mainland China. It was, His Holiness was stopped, saying that ‘don’t invite him in that meeting,’ that very big, religious meeting. So I could not go, because I was going to Mongolia.  But Kyabje Ribur Rinpoche was invited to read the letter from His Holiness in that meeting.

So that’s a very large meeting, ran by, the, some swami or some rich Hindu family, but people from various religions were invited there. There was a great, great, very heavy scold to mainland China from one Indian lady at the beginning in the case of they stopped His Holiness to come there, to invite there.

So I thought at that time that purpose of this big religious meeting was for peace in the world.  Probably, I think different religion, I think to bring peace, to not have conflict in the different religions, things like that, to not destroy, to not destroy the other temple, then these temple, all these things. So, at that time I thought, at that time I thought, so even though I wasn’t involved in the Universal Education even after Lama passed away long time, so I thought: everybody in the world cannot become Buddhist, cannot become Muslim, cannot become Hindu or so forth, in the teaching of any religion. But you need to bring some method, education to this world to, for the better life, for the better world, more happiness, solve all the problems, cause of unhappiness. So, I thought that need to bring, use another method to use in the world. So I thought Universal Education, which Lama Yeshe started, I thought this, how important it is, something for general to accept, can make sense.  I see more and more important this one.

I see more and more important: to stop war, to stop war in the countries, in this world; famine, disease, torture, economical problems, also dangers of fire, windy, dangers of water, tsunamis, earthquakes, earthquakes, so forth, all this. It’s called ‘natural disaster’ but it’s not natural. It’s not natural. It’s come from the mind. All this came, all this came, did not come from outside, looks like that, but it comes from the mind of the people, minds of the living beings who are living in this world.  This, their experience, that, whatever they experience, good or bad, comes from their mind. Their good experience come from their good mind, good heart. The bad experience come from their bad mind, bad heart [laughs]. So simple, that. So it’s not natural, not natural, so in other words it came from lan.dé.  Lán is the action, dé is result.  Action, effects, action, effect. Effect will comes through the action.  After the action, then there’s the effect. Good and bad, depend, so the action’s bad or good. So lan.dé, action, effects. So lan.dé, So  therefore, it came from the mind [laughs].  And then, mental factor. Then other thing is the karma: lá the action, then the effect, this effect. So, not natural. Not natural.  Before you, before the effect happens, you can purify, you can stop, you can stop, purify by the mind, by the mind which produces the problem, which create the cause of those problems. So thinking, also this same mind, same mind, as mind, also stop. Can do that, can stop.

For example, Dharamsala, where his His Holiness Dalai Lama lives. Quite a number of years ago, there would be volcano’s eruption and probably tens of thousands of people, probably millions, Himalayan region will be erupted and the mountains and lot of, lot of people will die.  So much destruction was going to happen. So there’s one young Tibetan lady, came from Tibet. So, His Holiness; she is one oracle, but there are quite a few oracles. So His Holiness asked her, she has power to stop all the danger, this huuuuge danger. So she built a stupa, around His Holiness Dalai Lama. Stupa, but something different. There’s also Kalachakra stupa. So, important place, build stupa: Norbulingka; and all the children, the whole school, one I think; few are different places.

So, she told me everything. She is a very young girl, but she is, her mind, therefore, her inside education, or inside her mind, is beyond, for us common people’s mind. So she can see all this destruction, unbelievable. And so she told me, she described everything to me. So after, she built all this, she said, still, still the earthquake will happen, but very small, has to happen, small one. Even though the large one, unbelievable destruction, so many people die, even though that was stopped, they were able to stop, so she said. So it happened, all those stupas built and then small earthquake happened. I heard maybe only one cow, lower Dharamsala or somewhere, died.  So, example, like that.

Also in Taiwan, big, big, what you call – danger of the wind?

Student: Hurricane? Typhoon?

Rinpoche: Huuuge typhoon was coming, so I think she might be at the beach or something, she was able to stop that, the huuuge typhoon.  I met two or three days ago, I heard the story before, but two or three days ago I met a Taiwanese boy who was a monk before, and he told me this. Completely got confidence, to, her name is Khadro-la, completely for a moment, she was able to, she stopped this huge typhoon in Taiwan.  So these are the real actual stories to give you an idea.

So if there are people like this in the world, whose inside, whose mind is beyond us ordinary beings, whose incredible compassion, power and wisdom, like that, can stop, can stop, the world, those world problems, what going to happen, what they call natural disasters, but again they’re not natural. Why? Why? Because these – in the West, these, Dharamsala, Himalayan mountains, typhoon Taiwan – all these called ‘natural’ in the West, but they can be stopped because they’re not natural. They can be stopped. The reason, that’s why it can be stopped, all this ‘natural’ can be stopped [laughs].  So in the world there’s many dangerous things, but I believe there are many people like this, like Khadro-la, think, these things, some of these things can be stopped. So many people, so many thousands of people, millions of people, have so much happiness long life.

But such a realized being, such a being like this, like: you don’t see star in daytime because sun come out, you don’t see any star, so like that, so like that, very rare [laughs]. So you can stop before happening.  So there are methods, I’m sure many of these methods, even know before, which can be done, and you have to know exact what method.

And just to let you know, California, there is supposed to be huge earthquake, huuuge earthquake, California. So probably, I don’t know, thousand, thousand, thousand millions people will die. So I was quite concerned. If there is something we can do now so that all those people’s lives can be saved, like we save the animals, we can save also human beings.  So I asked her what can be done. So she predicted what can be done and I thought it’s like waterfall, wow, so fast; for me, it’s difficult to write. So she explained: build a stupa. But stupa, this stupa is not normal stupa that people know, what the people know. It’s totally different, what she said, what came in her mind, so she explained everything. So we have in the letter, written down, and also she marked the names where to build, but best thing is she come there and see the land, and then she point out where to build. That’s the best thing. So we are planning to try that.  So is not natural.

Ok, so now, so now, going back.  So after this great meeting, the Universal Education for me become very important, very important.

The need of this, to spread this, to make the people’s minds more compassionate, more compassionate.  One person in the world generate more compassion, one person in the world, in the country, generate more compassion, one person in the family, wow, what less harm to others, living beings in the world, living beings in different, in all the universe, in this world, in the country, the family, more compassion, do less harm, less and less harm, more compassion in the world. And more, and more correct wisdom will come, more correct wisdom will come, can develop, correct, correct wisdom.

So now look at, now think this: what happiness, what peace, happiness, so many universe, in so many universe, so many living beings, from life to life. Unbelievable. Then, in this universe, this country, this world, this country, this family, wow, what happiness, so much happiness, peace, this one person who develop more compassion brings more and more happiness. So this is how.  Wow! What a value! What is the value of that?  Wow, wow, wow! Can you imagine? Wow, wow! Amazing, amazing, amazing. Amaaaaaazing!

So compassion, there’s compassion, there’s compassion, all the, all the, all other universal beings, living beings in all the universe, in this universe, this country, this world, this country, this family, do not receive harm from this person.  And because with this compassion, wisdom gets developed, so there are others who are numberless, starting from the family, they receive all the happiness. Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow! Happiness, temporary happiness now, happiness, temporary happiness of future lives, even in future lives, temporary happiness. Then ultimate happiness, ultimate happiness, cessation of, cessation of the action and the anger, delusions, anger, attachment. Then the ignorance. Cessation, complete cessation of that. So, all the ultimate happiness.

Then now, full enlightenment, peerless happiness, full enlightenment. Wooow! To all numberless living beings, numberless universe. All the living beings living in the universe. Wow, wow, wow! So all this happiness that came because, with compassion, wisdom can be developed, correct wisdom. So what happiness!  Can you imagine! Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow! What this one person, what he can do, what she can do, to help others? Most amazing, most amazing [laughs].  Grande, grande.

So, motivation: selfish, no compassion, selfish. Oooh! All the harms, numberless universal other beings, this universe, this world, this country, this family, all the harms, harms if the motivation selfish. Oooh! Numberless beings, they receive harm from you. Wow, wow, wow, wow! Can you imagine? If you have power, if you have power, influence and power, for example, in this world, in this world, one person who has influence and power killed millions of people, killed millions, millions of people. It happened historically many times, not just once, many times, it happened already.  Can you imagine? Still, still it is showing through movie, through, in TV channel, still it is shown, those millions, how millions of people, how they were killed, children burned in the fire.  Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow! By the influence of one person, one person with the power, influence, because the motivation: self-cherishing thought, no compassion to others. Ooooh! There’s a good example. So that’s why to develop compassion, to develop compassion, through that, then wisdom, you can see even one person, how, so important in this world, in this universe, world, this country, this family. Wow!

Everybody’s happiness depend on him, depend him, depend him, everybody’s happiness. Temporary happiness, now up to full enlightenment, all, can you imagine? To this one person. Motivation. Wooooooow!

Therefore we, everybody, has the responsibility of all the living beings’ happiness, peace, peace now, peace now, then up to full, then life after life, while you in samsara, life after life, all the temporary happiness, peace, all the good things, and then ultimate happiness, total, complete cessation of the karma, the action, the delusion, the root, the ignorance. Amazing. So and then complete peerless happiness of full enlightenment.  Wow, wow, wow! So we, everybody, has a complete responsibility: happiness of all living beings.  We, everybody, complete responsibility to free everybody from suffering. Responsibility – so that’s the very keeeey.

Sorry my words.  Because of my sickness, my voice change.

So that’s very, very key for this education, importance, importance of UE education. Very, very, most important education. So that’s why, need this, because the ‘universal,’ it’s called now ‘wisdom education’ but I want to add word compassion, ‘universal compassion wisdom education.’ So that’s something everybody can accept and really can enjoy.

So, why it’s called ‘universal.’ It’s something, it’s something, [laughs]. If you have mind, if anybody has a mind –even ants, even ants, even lice – everybody needs universal education, everybody needs universal compassion and wisdom education. Everybody has a mind; want happiness, do not want suffering. Everybody.  So that’s why ‘universal.’  This compassion and wisdom, this, what, subject, what even the ants, lice, what the tiny insects have to learn, have to practice, not only you and me. [laughs] So, universal, compassion, compassion and wisdom education. 

So, wisdom is the correct act, correct act. From correct act, then happiness come. The action is not correct, then suffering comes. That’s the result, it’s effect of the action: negative, suffering comes; suffering to you, suffering to others who are numberless. You are one, but others are numberless. Oooh! Like this. So very, very important; wisdom. Unbelievable important.  If correct wisdom: happiness to you, happiness to numberless other beings. Oooh! Wrong action, action wrong, the wrong wisdom, then suffering to you, suffering to numberless beings. Okay, so now correct wisdom, here the correct wisdom. Correct wisdom, so that comes from where? Comes from compassion, comes from the mind, compassion. Universal compassion and wisdom education.

So there, the education. Education.  There is something to learn. Certainly, anybody who want happiness, then must learn. So the name. So there’s one question about meaning is this, ___ this, okay, importance, like this.

So then, so then, there should be some materials, so I was wondering what can be done.

So, a thought came in my mind. I had one teacher, one great scholar, great geshe from Sera Je, Geshe Rabten Rinpoche, great scholar many, many disciples. He’s also great yogi, you know. What he teach, he has experience, he meditated on; great experience. Geshe Rabten.  So he used to keep this book, this book he used to keep very special, this book, small book, written with hand. Sixteen Human Dharma and the Ten Divine Dharma; ten virtue. So this, he keep it very special, composed by the Dharma king of Tibet who is embodiment of compassion Buddha, Chenrezig; Songtsen Gampo. He wrote it as constitution for all the Tibetan people, constitution for Tibet.  So the people have to follow this, people have to follow this.  Oh, so very incredible, unbelievable, incredible, so this came from Buddha, Compassion Buddha, Chenrezig. So, this Sixteen Human Dharma: what to practice, what people practice, came from Chenrezig. So it’s very precious, very blessed.

So, I went through that, Sixteen Human Dharmas, those subjects, and I made very simple, simple explanation by myself, simple explanation. At the Land of Medicine Buddha, and some children gathered, some parents gathered, some students, so I read. So my wish is to be read by some intelligent people, different countries, they go through that, they can contradict, but also they give a clear explanation. So, we collect and then we make book from that, so that it can be very beneficial to the world.  So, then, not exactly many intelligent people check and write, but more or less, little bit happened, so what is existing now is from that [refers to 16 Guidelines]. So, there’s a root, there’s a root, what I’ve gone through again with some older students. Now what does make book accessible to the world nowadays? And that’s a sort of commentary, like that.

So now, my idea about Universal Education. Okay.

The main thing is to change the mind, change the mind. The better, better life, more happiness, meaningful life, better life. So it’s all through the mind.  So for the good heart, to have many books, produce many books, about good heart, develop good heart, many. So, already we have some. So, so much comes from His Holiness’ advice to the people, to the public, many practical advice. And also the thought transformations. So much lam-rim from the Buddha’s teachings, also many. How to develop the good heart.  Here, of course, there’s complete. So to choose from the person, also non-Buddhist, from Christianity, from different, person who is like San Francisco, no Saint Francis …

Ven. Roger: of Assisi. 

Rinpoche: Saint Francis, like that, or Mother Theresa, or who is person of great compassion in this world, who helped, who benefitted, who brought happiness to many millions, millions of people.  What they said, what they say, what they practice, to have their words of compassion, like that. It’s not only Buddha’s teaching. No. But others, other people from the world. So, the other one, many books, like that.

Then the second thing, about helping the parents and children, there’s one question, helping children and parents [laughs]. Okay. So these books, the one thing, the one thing, what, show, show life story, show the life story, acting the life story.

Ven. Roger: Drama

Rinpoche: Drama. Children, children doing drama of Saint Francis of Assisi, Mother Theresa, or so forth, Gandhi-ji, from different religion, from different countries. Buddha’s, some of the Buddha’s past life stories, those about good heart.  Unbelievable – you do good things for others but you receive harm from others, then, how do you do? Buddha did, Buddha cherished those sentient beings, Buddha cherished even more the others, the one who gave you harm in return for your benefit to them. Buddha cherished more, generate more compassion. All that. Those stories. Then different bodhisattvas. His Holiness Dalai Lama and many person, many person of the world from different countries, person of great compassion who benefited many millions of people. So to act, to learn the action, drama, the life story. So, hoping the children’s way of thinking later to become like those, to become like those. So, develop great compassion and benefit, bring happiness to so many living beings in the world. So to happen, that, looking, looking for that goal. So like that.

And then also, that way, parents also, they learn because they look, they learn, also to develop compassion for the parents. So, parents – so unbelievable, unbelievable important, their life become very important, unbelievable, most important example to the children.   So they have to be very good, for them to develop compassion – wooooow! – to develop wisdom, so they must learn the Universal Education, not only children. They must learn also, because they’re example for the children, for the kids, because missing such a universal education, compassion, the wisdom education, because missing that.

So for example, Australia, so many kids become drug addict, drug addicted, and so many things. And even for the government, so that even for the government, become difficult, because so much person, so many person. Oooh! More and more some person, even for the government, difficult; beside difficult for parents, take care, they don’t know how to take care of children. Ooooh! So, Universal Education, very needed, very necessary, so this, this is where, themselves, to practice, and they become example for children.  Because I asked question: where they spend more time, school or at home? And they said they spend more time with the parents, however, I was explained. So, parents has big responsibility; after they make children, they have big responsibility to take care of children well.  So it’s very important, they, to have compassion and wisdom, very important; and to develop. Then it becomes worthwhile why they made children, why they made children, then become worthwhile.  Otherwise [laughs] they made the children, they made children, they cause suffering to children; children cause suffering parents. So this is what happens, like that….[laughs]

And then, third, philosophy. Also, of course, philosophy from other, more older philosophy. Main thing is the philosophy from the Buddha’s teachings, philosophy. Because Buddha’s teachings, philosophy, is like scientific, it’s all scientific, not blind faith. It is all scientific: because this is, that is. Because this is; it’s all scientific. So I call, the study of the philosophy, the big subject, is the big subject, is the subject of philosophy. So the philosophy I call the ‘science of mind,’ I call the ‘science of mind.’ It’s like that. You know you are studying this [Lama Zopa holds a toy mouse in his hand], you are studying this, whether there is actual mouse or not the real mouse, or. By checking, by checking; actually, actually, you should know, studying your mind, checking here, studying your mind. So, there is a false mouse [laughs] and so, comes in your mind, there is false, false mouse. So studying your mind, so, however, I called the ‘science of mind.’ Okay? Like that. I’m not [laughs]___. So much about ultimate reality of things, ‘I,’ how things, ultimate reality and the truth, ultimate truth and the illusory truth and the truth of the all-obscuring mind, all that. There are many subjects. And the study of the mind, study of the mind; mental factors.  So, the mind has many details. There’s 51 mental factors, 51 mental factors, then principle consciousness, so then they should just study about the mind. So, all this: very, very scientific. Very, very scientific. Then, so this develops wisdom, this ‘science of mind’ to develop wisdom. 

Then the other thing is to learn to help people. Yoga, the meditation’s always there, then astrology, astrology and then [Rinpoche is coughing, long pause]. Astrology and feng shui, there are many things to help people.

Student: Take a break and drink something?

Rinpoche: Okay, yes

Student: Take five minutes.

Student: Are you tired, Lama Zopa?

Rinpoche: Not

Student: Okay?

Rinpoche: Okay [laughs]

Student: Are you okay?

Rinpoche: Now this, 40 minutes?

Student: Yeah.

Rinpoche: Forty minutes.

Student: Yeah fifty, it’s okay. Whatever. It is so interesting and precious.

Rinpoche: No most, most finished, most finished, maybe just a little bit.

Now most finished.  Now just a little bit.

[Teacher Training: Question]

Student: Lama Zopa? When, before education, before education the teacher needs to take the best from the kid and to take, to let arise the knowledge and compassion, the wisdom from the kids, they have to put in context the nature of the mind with reality.  So do you have a suggestion for that? How to put the children’s, to put in this context to let arise their own wisdom?

Student: It’s only one ___ I’d like to go deeper, but He’s almost finished.

Rinpoche: The question, you have to ask the question again.

Student: So in order to, as the teacher, to have the teacher to have the correct view the correct method so let’s say, as you say, we have to develop from the kids the knowledge, the wisdom and the nature of the mind. So that as you said, it comes when the mind comes in contact with the reality, so can you say something more to help the teacher to let the kids, to let arise this kind of wisdom with this method?

So the question is, if you have a suggestion for the teacher actually in order to achieve the goal?

Rinpoche: The question, question, question there? Question is there or no? 

Ven. Roger: Is Lama Zopa not clear on the question?

Rinpoche: No, question, is it recorded or not?

Student: Yes

Rinpoche:  The teacher, the teacher himself or herself, have to learn well, has to learn well, and the teacher has to explain correctly the reality, reality.  And then the teacher has to, teacher has obliged to learn correct as teacher was explained correctly, then the teacher can show the students reality, but it is not easy.  It takes skills, it needs vajra wisdom skills, it needs much skill. Then the students will learn, will, gradually will learn.  It depends if teacher is skilled,   learned, how much wisdom teacher has. So the teacher has to, teacher, has to be taught correctly, so might explain well, so that. Yes! Definitely possible, it’s just, for some it takes time, but definitely, eventually, definitely possible.

Khunu Lama ___[recites verse in Tibetan]. There is no phenomena that doesn’t become easy if one’s trained in that. There is no phenomena that doesn’t become easy, there’s nothing that doesn’t become easy, okay?

Thank you very much. Oh there is more.  Sorry, sorry, sorry.

So, there’s something more here. So, these are the, my, what I thought the basic idea of the universal compassion and wisdom education [refers to outline given above].

So later, then this happened. About seven of these, is basic, very basic, happened before Sixteen Human Dharmas.

So, first one’s kindness, kindness. Practice kindness daytime, night-time, to any sentient beings, not only human beings, not only human beings, animals, creatures. To every sentient beings, to every sentient being, not only animals, hungry ghosts, then hell beings, suras, asuras, any sentient being; toward them, practice kindness. So, with the good heart, you practice kindness, thinking: the other person, other sentient beings’ happiness, free them from, free that sentient being from suffering. You being kind just one time, it gets result, it gets result, affects many, many, many lifetimes; so many lifetimes there’s the happiness, success, happiness.

For example, you cheat one person, it is said, by great scholar, great scholar, Indian great scholar, a holy being, Aryadeva, the point is mentioned: if you cheat one sentient being, some person, you will be cheated in one thousand lifetimes, so you will suffer one thousand lifetimes if you cheat somebody, as a result. So if you benefit, to somebody, being kind to somebody one time, you will experience the result, benefit, happiness, you will experience thousand lifetimes, like that, so much happiness.  So like that, unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable. So there’s the cause, the cause and effect, they are like this. So many lifetimes, happiness, success, you can see, comes from that, just one time your being kind to somebody. Your being kind to somebody, when there’s problem for that person, the problem, you help, kind, then you enjoy the happiness, success for thousand lifetimes, many lifetimes. Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow! So kindness. So, first, kindness is the goal. Unbelievable, amazing, makes you, makes you very happy, happy. So, like that, psychological, also happy. You’re happy, making me happy, and I make others happy.

The next one, kindness, next one. Rejoice.  Next one, rejoice. So, in the daily life, when you go to the market, when you go to, when you go to outside, somebody has a beautiful car, rejoice: ‘How wonderful, that person has a nice car.’  Somebody has found a beautiful friend, rejoice: ‘Oh, how good it is that person is beautiful.’ Somebody has a beautiful apartment: ‘Oh, how good it is that that person has such a nice apartment.’ So you rejoice, or whatever good things the other; somebody has great success in business, so rejoice: ‘How good it is. How nice it is.’ So, everything. Realizations, whatever, the achieved realizations, whatever, then become free from samsara, the ultimate happiness, achieved full enlightenment, the other living being: rejoice. So like that. There is so much to rejoice when you go out. Anyway. So many good things, where you can rejoice.  So this way, so this way, this rejoicing is the virtuous thought, is the virtuous thought, so you collect merit all the time.  You’re rejoicing other living beings’ collecting merit, positive actions, you collect so unbelievable merit, unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable merit.

So, this way, psychologically, you keep your mind always happy, psychologically it keeps you, it keeps you happy all the time. All the time happy. The other mind, the jealous mind, no rejoicing is jealous mind, jealous mind makes you suffer, then you harm other, those other people, you harm, they suffer. The, you see, this life you harm, then you suffer for, you suffer for thousand lifetimes, thousand lifetimes or more. You see, this one time action, your harming to somebody, will cause the result. By this one cause, harm; result: one thousand lifetimes more or more, receive harm, like that. So then, here, you rejoice. Then you, one thousand lifetimes more, you enjoy, you have happiness and then even ultimate happiness, full, ultimate happiness, the blissful state of peace for oneself, and then full enlightenment, you achieve, so unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable. So, rejoicing, so this is very important, especially in the West.  Many people are so depressed in the West. So therefore, this practice of rejoicing, always; good things for other people, you rejoicing. So keeps the mind always happy, you protect your mind, keep your mind always, keep your life happy.  And also when your mind is at peace, you are able to help others, you are able to make others happy, so it’s a very good, beautiful practice.

So next one is patience, so as I mentioned already here, one person, historically happened many times, one person who has influence did not practice patience, then they harmed many million people, killed many million people, that historically happened, many people, like this. Ooooh! So, big way, like this. However, as I mentioned before, patience.  So if there is patience, then numberless living beings in this world, this country, the family don’t receive harm from you. They don’t receive harm from you. So, they don’t receive harm, they receive peace, happiness, peace, from you.  Can you imagine? Numberless living beings, starting from the family. Wow, wow, wow!  So important. 

Then next one. For example, the family, if you don’t, even non-believer, non-believer, you need to practice patience, even non-believer. You don’t practice patience, you want to live together with your companion, you want to live together, so if you don’t practice patience, then you get angry, then you harm the other person, bad speech, bad mind, bad speech, then physically harm. Then that other person get angry, then harm you back. Then doesn’t last, you can’t enjoy, doesn’t last, the relationship and then the person leave you.  Ooooh! So if you want to stay long time living with this person, you need to practice patience. You practice patience, then no bad speech, no bad harm. No harm, at least no harm. Then on top of that, benefit to the person, so that person can enjoy with you, person experience happiness.  So the relationship can last longer.

So now the next one, patience. Contentment.  So very important, patience. Oooh! Practice of patience. Then, contentment. Now, contentment, very important. Look at in the West.  Because there’s no contentment, so many young people involved in drugs and then can’t do this normal, even the normal, can’t do even the normal work, making money, cannot do. Life’s completely, life is completely destroyed, completely become useless, like rotten vegetable [laughs] like rotten vegetables, vegetable has no mind.

So then, the old people. Even million, billion, even million, billions of, people, dollar, million, billions of dollar, people who have million, billion, zillion dollar, who has. So even that person need to practice contentment. I see in TV, in American, many people, people who are millionaires, they go to prison because some thousand dollars, something, they are not truthful, they are not sincere because of, you’re going to lose some thousand dollars or something, you just lie, then somebody who angry to you, tells. Then you go to prison, you go to prison. Then people think you’re bad, you end up life in prison. So many million and million, millionaires, these people, you see different time, like that, so even they need contentment.

So therefore, practicing contentment is very important, satisfaction and contentment for young people, for old people, both, old people, very, for peace and happiness, contentment very important. And then next one is… next one.

Student: ___. Apology?

Rinpoche:  Oh yeah, yeah apology. So if sometimes, a negative thought, negative speech, negative action, something happens, immediately apologize. Then other people don’t have grudge, bad mind to you. Happy, happy mind. Then you have happy mind, you have good relationship.  Oh, that’s so good, nothing bad, each other, so clarified, cleaned, immediately, so brings happiness, brings happiness. So good.

Then, forgiveness. Somebody do something wrong to you, angry, or angry bad speech, whether it’s with the body, whatever they did, whatever they did, forgiveness, you forgive.  In America, in America there was one person who was shot six times and he did not want the other person, who shot, to go to prison.  He didn’t want, he don’t want to put in prison, very good. One man was shot six times but he didn’t want the person to go to prison. I don’t think he met Buddhism, that person, but just don’t want this. So that’s good.  So the other person is very happy.  So, then he was so much happiness, so much success, so much happiness in this lifetime.

Then another lady, one lady, her daughter was kidnapped, and sex, and then killed by the man. But she didn’t want to kill that man. She didn’t want him to go to prison.  She didn’t want to kill him, even though he killed her daughter, raped and killed her daughter, and she: forgiveness.  Unbelievable! In America. I don’t know if she learned Buddhism or not.

We should practice like that, we should try. Not somebody hit you, you hit like that, [play acts hitting himself; laughs] as hard as possible [laughs].

Then courage, last one. Courage. Then, by thinking, the mind, the nature of the mind is not oneness with the delusions, attachment, anger, ignorance, not oneness with these delusions, mistakes. Temporarily, temporarily obscured, but not oneness, so that’s why, that’s why we can be free. Whatever suffering, whatever problem, we can be free. We can be free, because the nature of this mind, not oneness. It’s temporarily obscured, but not oneness. It’s separate, so that’s why this is buddha nature, the mind, the ultimate nature of the mind is buddha nature, so we can be free, any problem, any suffering: we can be free. So it is said, so, therefore we should not worry. It is said by great scholar, great bodhisattva, great holy being Shantideva, said like this [recites verse in Tibetan]. So now this, very, very important here.  If something which can be mended, which can be mended, which has method to try something, then what is the point to worry.  Nothing worry, you do it.  You do it. You do it. If there’s some method, what’s the worry?  You don’t do, and just worry: no meaning.  No reason. No point. You do it. You do it. But if something, which no method at all, what is the use of worrying.  Don’t worry. You accept, no worry. 

This is courage. And so forth…I’m sure there is much more, but this is basically some idea, to give some idea, courage. For example, my house, I want to be gold, my house to be, whole building, to be gold and diamonds, that cannot be.  So better to accept, better to accept whatever it is, even made of bricks, whatever.  Then you’re happy, peaceful, happy, otherwise, diamond, does not become diamond; worry – no point, it’s useless. So that way, that is courage. Okay.

Thank you very much. I’m sure.

So, everybody: please enjoy your life with good heart and with wisdom.

Okay, thank you very much.

And make the world better.

Make your life better so that the world can become better.  [laughs]

• Tagged: lama zopa rinpoche, mandala, uecw, universal education
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