Sun, 23 Jul 2006
Quaker Kids
I visited TMC again this morning for their usual Sunday practice. Some kids from a Quaker summer camp wer there. It seems that a visit to TMC is part of their regular schedule. So Khenpo Tsultrim gave an introductory talk and I've included my notes below. Michael and Drupon were back from their trip to Tibet. After the morning servie was over Michael talked about the trip informally and showed some of his pictures.
The main goal of religion is to become a good person and to obtain happiness and joy. If you do this, your practice is working. If you only get more suffering, it is not. Some people attach to temporary happiness, but the main point of religion is to gain permanent joy. The motivation of all religions is not to become rich or powerful, but to become peaceful. This is explained different ways according to each religion's culture. Buddhism and Hinduism are similar because they both come from India. Both believe in karma. Karma says non-virtue leads to suffering and virtue leads to joy. If you do bad things, their results come back to you. Even if someone tries to harm you and make you miserable, you should not be angry because the cause of your unhappiness is not entirely the other person's action, but also your karma. Buddha's two chief disciples, Shariputra and Maudgalyayana, visited hell, where they saw the leader of a religious group, who told them to go back and tell his followers not to practice as he had taught [animal sacrifice?]. They told his followers, but they did not listen. Then Maudgalyayana returned to tell them a second time The followers became angry and beat Maudgalyayana. Because of his karma, he was not able to use his psychic powers to escape and he died from his injuries. Even in a plane crash some survive because they don't have the karma to die. Others can die when they fall from a chair.
We're not saying just believe in karma, investigate and see if it's true. Look at your life and see what happens. You might think how can there be past lives when we can't remember them. But we can't even remember what happened yesterday. Some students learn a subject quickly because of their training from a previous life. This is a sign of previous lives. And some children like to hurt others but others don't. This is also a sign of previous lives.
In Tibet the name for Buddhism is "nangpa" which means insider. Of body, speech, and mind, the most important is mind. Tibetans have a saying, who criticizes you when you study really cares about you. But often we have a problem with criticism. It's also said we have eyes to watch others, but we should use a mirror to watch ourselves. The important point is to become a good person and peaceful. However much you have afflictive emotions you will have suffering.
Q: Could you explain the persons on that painting?
A: In he lineage tree the top is Vajradhara. He is not a person, but represents enlightened mind. His disciples were not monks, but yogis who wore crazy clothes and practiced secretly. Then Marpa the translator. The translators who brought Buddhism to Tibet practiced what they translated, so they understood the meaning. The word "norbu" literally means wealth son, but its real meaning is wish fulfilling gem. So it's important to understand the meaning like Marpa did. He studied during the day and practiced what he studied at night. So don't think that Marpa only understood the language. In Tibet only Marpa could translate the higher tantra called the Guhyasamaja.
Q: What is the significance of the bell and vajra?
A: The bell symbolizes body and speech and the vajra symbolizes the mind. So using them symbolizes offering our body speech and mind to the deity.
