Venerable Namgyel's Online Sangha

It is important to see the destructive nature of emotions, how they harm the mind and body, in this way we become motivated to work on and transform the emotions.   

According to Buddhism, we need to deal with disturbing emotions (delusions) with a skillful "middle way", as opposed to the two unskilful ways, the expression or suppression of emotions.

 Expressing emotion (acting it out with family or friends) creates a situation that you need to fix with those you have acted out your emotion on. When you suppress emotions you are pushing negative emotions down which can cause physiological problems.

The Buddhist way of dealing with emotions follows the middle way, by either first acknowledging the emotions when they arise in the mind to avoid suppressing them or by working on them within the mind through applying antidotes.

CONTEMPLATING SUFFERING

When you create suffering potential within the mind, that potential can be purified, if it's not purified suffering will be experienced. If it's experienced in this life and becomes habitual behavior at the end of life the suffering will appear strongly in the mind and will be probable propelling karma into the hell realms. Conversely, if you are very kind during your life then kindness would be the propelling karma into heavenly realms.

WHAT ARE HELL REALMS?

Hell is an experience of the mind, there. A collective of beings who have created similar karma to suffer. One who has created the potential to suffer needs a being who will bring about suffering, so it is the mind that creates the torture and a collective of beings who have created a similarity of karma suffer together believing that it is indeed a realm that exists, but when we analyse it we understand that it is a figment of the mind, not truly existing from the perspective of emptiness but seemingly existing (in such a way as a rainbow does).

TRANSFORMING SUFFERING

How we respond to suffering depends on whether we mentally rise up or whether we go down. Do we go into depression because of problems that we encounter, or can we use suffering positively as a way of realising that it is indeed true that samsara is suffering, that no matter where we are in samsara, whether in god realms, human realms or hell realms, enhancing the determination to get out of samsara through changing ourselves, mentally transforming suffering into a positive response to the world (samsara) through the act of renunciation of the causes of suffering.

DHARMA OR DRAMA?

1. Building up our dharna practice
2. Testing our practice
3. Rejoicing in our dharma progress
4. Appreciation of emptiness teachings

SAMSARA TO NIRVANA

1. Comprehending our ignorance
2. Getting in touch with our suffering
3. The antidote to suffering is wisdom
4. Comprehending the emptiness of suffering

THE SUPREME ANTIDOTE TO SUFFERING

Comprehending dependent origination is the supreme antidote to the sensation of suffering that changes the way that we respond to samsara,

"Dependent arising has a profound implication, it connotates that if one is not satisfied with the mere appearance of an object, but seeks through extended analysis the actual object to which the imputation is affixed, one does not come up with anything among or separate from the basis of imputation of that object that can be said to be the object" - Dalai Lama.

ANALYSING THE "I"

We say "I", as if the "I" is the owner/controller of the situation and body because we use the label "I" over and over, so in end, we start to believe the "I" really exists unless we analyse the existence of "I", if we analyse the existence of "I" we can't find it and if we don't analyse it we think the "I" really exists.

The 12 Links of Dependent Arising

1. Ignorance
   
2. Compositional action
   
3. Consciousness
   
4. Name and form
   
5. The 6 sources
   
6. Contact
   
7. Feeling
   
8. Craving
   
9. Grasping
   
10. Existence
    
11. Rebirth
    
12. Ageing and death
    

RENUNCIATION

Renunciation isn't related to the appearance of your surroundings. it is the self-cherishing state of mind that diminishes as your heart opens when walking on the Bodhisattva path accompanied by a deep understanding that all sentient beings deserve our compassion.

THE SUFFERING OF PAIN

The experience of unpleasant feelings, the manifest suffering which is easy to identify, such as pain in the body and emotional suffering. We need to be aware of the pain and suffering within samsara.

THE SUFFERING OF CHANGE

Suffering and its alleviation (happiness), both have the nature of impermanence. We attach to happiness which we want to be permanent, if we don't analyse the change between suffering and happiness, we don't accept that this is the way of samsara and we don't proceed to comprehend the concept of renunciation.

ALL-PERVASIVE SUFFERING

To comprehend all-pervasive suffering it is best to meditate on the contaminated aggregates as discussed in The Heart Sutra. When we look at forms we label them without understanding their nature, for example without appreciating the flower"ness" of a flower. We then need to do this with the body bringing us to the comprehension of the emptiness of being, and that karma caused by self-delusion is responsible for the all-pervasive nature of suffering. When we understand this we will naturally arrive at renunciation.

WHY THE BUDDHA TAUGHT SUFFERING FIRST

• Know the suffering then there is nothing more to know.
• Abandon the source then there is nothing more to abandon.
• Attain the cessation then there is nothing more to attain.
• Meditate on the path, then there's nothing more to meditate on.
• Suffering, its cause, cessation, and path are to be known, abandoned, attained, and practiced.

THE EIGHT SUFFERINGS

Suffering is related to Karma

Each time we take rebirth we experience sufferings related to

1. Birth
2. Aging
3. Sickness
4. Death
5. Meeting the unpleasant
6. Separation from the pleasant
7. Not getting what is desired
8. The five contaminated aggregates are in the nature of suffering

REBIRTH AND SUFFERING

We create the causes to experience the results we get. So the Buddha says we should create the right cause to achieve positive results. The right result is to not have contamination.

So we monitor our minds to be aware of thoughts, speech, and actions. The actions that we do towards others become less harmful, which gives space for the heart to be aware of others suffering (not just our own suffering), then natural compassion starts to arise.

THE SIX SUFFERINGS

In cyclic existence we have

1. Uncertainty
2. Dissatisfaction
3. Discarding your body repeatedly
4. Being born again and again
5. The constant change of status
6. Loneliness

THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS WHEEL OF DHARMA SUTRA

Each of the four noble truths has four parts, making up sixteen aspects of the four noble truths.

True suffering has...

1. Impermanence
2. Misery
3. Emptiness
4. Selflessness

True source has...

1. Cause
2. Source
3. Strong production
4. Condition

True cessation has...

1. Cessation
2. Pacification
3. Abundance
4. Definite emergence

True path has...

1. Path
2. Knowledge
3. Achievement
4. Deliverance

HOW DO WE ACHIEVE LIBERATION FROM CYCLIC EXISTENCE?

We achieve liberation from cyclic existence through realising the third and fourth noble truths, true cessation, and true path. Realising them depends on first realising the first two truths, namely true suffering, and true source. You need to understand true suffering to be the very nature of cyclic existence and then you are motivated to escape.

WHAT IS CYCLIC EXISTENCE?

To be liberated from cyclic existence we need to know what cyclic existence is. As a human being, you have five aggregates,

1. Form
2. Feeling
3. Discrimination
4. Compositional factors
5. Consciousness

We have form but we're not form.

We have feeling but we're not feeling.

We have discrimination but we're not discrimination.

We have compositional factors but we're not compositional factors.

We have consciousness but we're not consciousness.

These five aggregates are the basis of the label "person", a person is dependent on five aggregates.

Cyclic existence is the five contaminated aggregates of every ordinary being arising from contaminated karma and delusion. An ordinary being is distinguished as one who has not attained the path of insight. A sentient being is anyone who has not attained Buddhahood. It's ordinary beings who suffer in cyclic existence.

HOW DO WE ACHIEVE LIBERATION FROM CYCLIC EXISTENCE?

We achieve liberation from cyclic existence through realising the third and fourth noble truths, true cessation, and true path. Realising them depends on first realising the first two truths, namely true suffering, and true source. You need to know true suffering to be the very nature of cycling existence and then you are motivated to escape.

                                        Keeping a Karma Diary 

positive negative 

8 am  

10 am

12 pm 

2 pm 

4 pm 

6 pm 

8 pm 

Set a timer to remind you every two hours, to STOP. Pause in the midst of your busy life, and look back over the last two hours. What happened? Positive, then negative. Just a few words or a sentence. If you are monitoring karma, you would write in 8am, negative: Killing, and in the positive, did you save lives? 10 am Sexual misconduct in the negative and respecting others’ bodies in the positive…continue with the other eight karmas. Alternatively, you could take one karma every day, starting with Killing and Saving Lives, continue each day with the next one. At the end of the day, sit comfortably, go back through the day from the last entry, rejoicing in the positive and regretting the negative and making a decision on how to purify the negative karma you have found.

Venerable Namgyel Offers Us Continued Guidance  On The Teachings Of Karma Covering...

LYING

Lying comprises of...

• The object - another person able to understand you
• The intention - discrimination, the unmistaken recognition of the content of the lie
• The motive - to fully intend to deceive somebody
• The delusion - attachment, anger, or jealousy.
• The action - speech or non speach actions causing others to believe something that may not be true
• The completion, the moment when someone understands and believes your lie

DIVISIVE SPEECH

Divisive speech is speech intended to divide a relationship and separate those involved.

• The object - two or more people who share a relationship,  where divisive speech is used to cause damage to the relationship situation or schism
• The Intention - the discrimination, correct recognition of the parties involved and their relationship, and that your speech can go against them
• The motive - the state of mind where you fully intend to cause disunity
• The delusion - attachment, anger
• The action - undertaking to cause either separation or prevent a reconciliation
• The completion - when the parties understand and believe what you have told them.

HARSH SPEECH

Comprises of...

• The object - any living being that can be hurt by what you say (or the feeling behind it in the case of animals)
• The intention - discrimination, correctly identifying the object to be insulted.
• The motive -  to fully intend to speak harsh or abusive words
• The delusion -  attachment, anger, or ignorance/speaking uncontrollably through the force of habit
• The action - Speaking rudely, harshly, critically, abusively, insultingly, with a negative intention
• The completion - When the other person understands and is hurt by your words
  
  

IDLE GOSSIP

One of the easiest negative actions to perform comprising of...

• The object - something insignificant, meaningless and unimportant which you are treating as significant, meaningful, and important
• The intention - discrimination in viewing whatever you wish to say as significant and important and meaningful, even though it's not.
• The motive - the state of mind in which you fully intend to gossip and indulge in idle talk (which has the tendency to turn negative).
• The delusion - the primary delusion is the ignorance of not understanding that what you have to say is meaningless and unimportant
• The action - to speak without purpose, which is a great waste of time and stimulates other delusions to arise and can start to turn negative
• The completion - having spoken the words
  
  

WHAT IS KARMA?

Karma is often referred to as "cause and effect", however, the meaning of the word karma in Sanskrit means just action. it's implicit that when there is action something will happen in return. It covers the action that you are doing, the cause, the imprints made onto the mind from the actions motivated by delusion, and the results of those actions. The law of karma is, therefore, the law of cause and effect and referrers to the inevitable production of a certain future result by any action. An understanding of karma is the key to creating the future result you may wish to experience.

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY

We grasp onto a self that we think exists, that doesn't exist because we have grasping and attachment, and then we cherish the self which seems to give us satisfaction but creates more dissatisfaction which continues the cycle of samsara because we thought we were satisfied but we weren't so then we want more, and more is karma (cause and effect) which potentially creates more suffering.

KARMA IS THE CREATOR

All beings experience happiness and suffering, the very environments they live in are created by karma. In Buddhism, there is no creator God, so in Buddhism, we get closer to the pure clear nature of the mind that is perfect, compassionate, and wise, but at the moment we are further away from it because of karma and delusion that cover up the perfect and pure nature that we all have. If we want to get rid of karma and delusion we need to know what karma is, and we have to do that ourselves with the assistance of the teachings.

UNDERSTANDING THE DHAMMA JEWEL

The actual refuge is the Dhamma. The Dhamma is the path. The path in Tibetan Buddhism includes incredible analytical meditations that antidote delusions, bringing about deep realisation, love, tolerance, an opening of the heart, a deepening concentration, and experience of this realisation.

UNDERSTANDING THE SANGHA JEWEL

The Sangha Jewel is a Superior Being, One who has attained the path of insight, with complete concentration devoid of the slightest agitation or dullness. Their concentration is so powerful it is as if they become one with the meditation object and because they have perfect concentration they have control over the four elements.

WHAT HAPPENS UPON TAKING REFUGE?

Accepting the Three Jewels as the ultimate refuge. Placing wholehearted faith in the Three Jewels and not relying on worldly gods, spirits, and ordinary beings as an ultimate source of refuge as they aren't free from cyclic existence and therefore cannot be totally reliable as a refuge. Looking at who can take refuge, are those from other religions able to take refuge?

THE STAGES OF TRAINING

We should train ourselves by relying on The Buddha, listening to the highest doctrine (The Dharma), applying thoughts accordingly, practicing in harmony with the teachings, acting with undistracted sense organs, practicing the basic, teachings, keeping the vows purely, acting compassionately towards other living beings and at all times being earnest in offering to the Three Jewels.

Extract from Fundamental Potential:

The Four Buddha Bodies. Through the continued development of the potential, finally, the two surpassing aspects of perfection will be attained. The two surpassing aspects of perfection are the surpassing perfect benefit for oneself, which is the attainment of the Truth Bodies of a Buddha, and the surpassing perfect benefit for others, which is the attainment of the two Form Bodies of a Buddha. The two Form Bodies of a Buddha are the complete enjoyment body and the emanation body. The two truth bodies are said to be subtle bodies because they cannot be seen by sentient beings. They are thus primarily of benefit for oneself and are referred to as Buddha's‘ bodies of benefit for oneself’. The two form bodies are called gross bodies (when compared to the truth bodies) because they can be seen by sentient beings as they display their actions of teaching the Dharma and so on. They are thus primarily of benefit to others and are referred to as Buddha's‘ bodies of benefit to others’. The division of the four bodies of a Buddha into gross and subtle is made on the basis of whether they can be seen or not by sentient beings. The visual consciousness of an ordinary sentient being is able to see Buddhas’ emanation bodies but not complete enjoyment bodies. The visual consciousness of a superior Bodhisattva sentient being is able to see complete enjoyment bodies. However, neither of these is able to perceive a Buddha’s wisdom truth body directly. Only a Buddha can perceive this directly. It is true, however, that a superior Bodhisattva is able to perceive both aspects of the Buddha’s natural body, the intrinsically pure nature body and the adventitiously pure nature body. However, because he does so only by way of mental consciousness and not visual consciousness, the division of the Buddha’s bodies into gross and subtle according to whether they are ‘seen’ by sentient beings or not remains accurate.

With thanks to the late Acharya Geshe Loden.

Medicine Buddha Puja

IDENTIFYING THE OBJECTS OF REFUGE

Two types of Buddha Jewel: The conventional Buddha Jewel & the ultimate Buddha Jewel. The Buddha’s holy omniscient mind, simultaneously perceiving past, present and future, karma, delusions & personality of all beings & all elements of existence.

DHARMA

Definition of Dharma Jewel - completely purified truth in the continuum of a Superior being. With any of the "8 qualities": Inconceivable, free from "either" or "both", non-conceptual, pure, clear, antidote to the "3 poisons", freedom from attachment, & true cessation. true path.

THE SANGHA

The Sangha refuge is a Superior being possessing any of the 8 good qualities of realisation and freedom. Superior being is one who has attained the path of insight, gaining realisation of the non-self existence of self and phenomena.

THE BUDDHA IS AN OBJECT OF REFUGE

The Buddha is a suitable object of refuge because the Buddha is free from all fear, has the skillful means to free others from fear, great compassion & great equal love for all without discrimination, benefits all sentient beings.

THE QUALITIES OF THE BUDDHA

The Buddha's Body - 32 major and 80 minors signs. The cause of these 112 signs is a major accumulation of positive karma and merit. Buddha Potential - All living beings have the potential to become enlightened, all have “Buddha nature” - the pure nature of the mind.

Understanding the suffering of the lower realms and cyclic existence.

DEATH IS CERTAIN

Death will definitely come, Life span cannot be increased, but decreases continuously. Death will come regardless of whether you have made time to practise Dharma. The Conclusion: Death is definite, therefore I must practise the Dharma.

THE TIME OF DEATH IS UNCERTAIN

The life span of beings in this world is not certain. There are more factors conducive to death than to life. Our bodies are very fragile. The Conclusion: The time of my death is uncertain; therefore practise Dharma immediately.

WHEN DEATH COMES ONLY DHARMA HELPS

Friends cannot help at the time of death.
Wealth cannot help at the time of death.
My body cannot help at the time of death.
The Conclusion: I must practise Dharma purely as only this can benefit at the time of death.

DEATH IS CERTAIN

Death will definitely come, Life span cannot be increased, but decreases continuously. Death will come regardless of whether you have made time to practise Dharma. The Conclusion: Death is definite, therefore I must practise the Dharma.

THE TIME OF DEATH IS UNCERTAIN

The life span of beings in this world is not certain. There are more factors conducive to death than to life. Our bodies are very fragile. The Conclusion: The time of my death is uncertain; therefore practise Dharma immediately.

WHEN DEATH COMES ONLY DHARMA HELPS

Friends cannot help at the time of death.
Wealth cannot help at the time of death.
My body cannot help at the time of death.
The Conclusion: I must practise Dharma purely as only this can benefit at the time of death.

Death & Dying Part 1 - Led by Lillian

NOTES BY VENERABLE NAMGYEL FOR THE LAM RIM TEACHING ON IMPERMANENCE AND DEATH. 23RD AUGUST 2020. 

Shantideva said: Leaving all, I must depart alone. But through not having understood this, For the sake of my friends and foes, I have committed various kinds of evil. 

Faults of not meditating on death are under the following headings: 

1) You will not remember the Dharma. 

2) You will not practise the Dharma even if you remember it. 

3) Even if you practise the Dharma, you will not practise purely (see 8 worldly dharmas). 

4) Your practise will lack persistence. 

5) You will preclude yourself from liberation by performing non-virtuous actions. 

6) You will die full of regret. 

Nagarjuna said: Knower of the world! Gain and loss, Pleasure and misery, fame and disrepute, Praise and denigration, to these eight worldly dharmas, Retain a level head. Do not let them influence your mind. 

The eight worldly dharmas are: 

1. Being pleased when receiving wealth. 

2. Being displeased when losing wealth. 

3. Being pleased when experiencing pleasure. 

4. Being displeased when experiencing misery. 

5. Being pleased at being famous. 

6. Being displeased at being in disrepute. 

7. Being pleased when praised. 

8. Being displeased when denigrated. 

Advantages of meditating on death: 

1. Your actions become very beneficial. 

2. Your Dharma practice becomes powerful. 

3. It is important in the beginning, 

4. The middle, 

5. The end. 

6. You will die with a peaceful and happy mind.

"You have created incredible causes and conditions in order to experience this precious human rebirth..."

PRECIOUS HUMAN REBIRTH

In past lives we've created the conditions to obtain this precious human rebirth, to meet the Dharma, and practice the path to enlightenment

THE EIGHT FREEDOMS

Clarifying making this life 'precious', if these freedoms are present, then Dharma practice is accessible to develop compassion and wisdom.

THE TEN ENDOWMENTS

The conditions  to recognise and eliminate suffering and progress through the Bodhisattva path to Enlightenment.

"You have created incredible causes and conditions in order to experience this precious human rebirth..."

PRECIOUS HUMAN REBIRTH

In past lives we've created the conditions to obtain this precious human rebirth, to meet the Dharma, and practice the path to enlightenment

THE EIGHT FREEDOMS

Clarifying making this life 'precious', if these freedoms are present, then Dharma practice is accessible to develop compassion and wisdom.

THE TEN ENDOWMENTS

The conditions  to recognise and eliminate suffering and progress through the Bodhisattva path to Enlightenment.