The Dalai Lama Visits the Bodhi Tree

Participating in Prayers by the Bodhi Tree
January 17, 2018

Bodhgaya, Bihar, India - His Holiness the Dalai Lama left the Tibetan Monastery under a sunlit blue sky this morning. He drove the short distance to the Mahabodhi Stupa, where the Great Prayer Festival of the Nyingma Tradition began today. This was His Holiness's third visit to the Stupa during his current stay in Bodhgaya. Once more he stepped through the stone railings surrounding the inner circuit on the west side next to the Bodhi Tree and walked round to the inner sanctum, where he paid his respects before the statue of the Buddha and lit a lamp. He then completed his circumambulation, smiling and waving to people gazing through the railings, and took his seat facing the Bodhi Tree and the Seat of Enlightenment. To his left sat Lamas like Kathok Getse Rinpoche and to his right the current Ganden Tripa and his predecessor and others. Hanging before them were two thangkas depicting the fourteen Dalai Lamas.

In association with the ongoing Prayer Festival Namgyal Monastery had organized a collection of prayers and praises to be recited in gratitude to the line of Dalai Lamas. They began with a praise to the Buddha known as a ‘Daily Practice in Three Parts' and continued with Tsongkhapa's ‘Praise to the Buddha for Teaching Dependent Arising', the ‘Supplication to the Buddha known as Drumbeat of Truth', the ‘Praise to the 17 Masters of Nalanda', the ‘Clouds of Ambrosial Blessings' by Trulshik Rinpoché, which reviews the qualities of the line of incarnations of Avalokiteshvara that include the Dalai Lamas, the ‘Invocation of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas' with its associated rite of ablution, the ‘Cloud of Offerings', the ‘King of Prayers' (the Samantabhadra Prayer), the ‘Invocation of the Dharma Protectors of Tibet, the ‘Sages' Song of Truth—a Prayer for the Spread of the Teachings without Sectarianism', the ‘Words of Truth' and the ‘Prayer for the Flourishing of the Dharma' by the Buddha.

The whole recitation was concluded with a verse composed by His Holiness :

May whatever is undertaken by those malevolent beings—

Be they visible or invisible—who due to their perverse aspirations

In the past, are hostile to the Buddhist teachings,

Be uprooted by the truth of the Three Jewels.

Back at the Tibetan Monastery His Holiness met with a group of 170 professionals from all over Vietnam.

“Whatever your specific occupation, whether it brings benefit or does harm depends on your motivation,” he told them. “If you’re self-centred, working as a teacher may seem to be good, but the reality may be different. As I said, everything depends on your motivation. The Buddha always emphasised that we need to purify our minds, so we need to analyse what kinds of mental state are helpful and which bring us trouble.

“Mental afflictions like anger, hatred and jealousy are harmful because they disturb our peace of mind. Medical researchers have also observed that constant anger and fear undermine our immune system. To reduce anger we need patience and tolerance, but the most effective step is to cultivate warm-heartedness. In addition, it’s important to think about the oneness of humanity—how we are all the same in being human. Because I think of myself as just another human being, with nothing special or different about me, whoever I meet I also think of similarly as another human being, no matter what their race, faith or nationality might be.

“Buddhists accept the idea of life after life and the key to achieving a good rebirth in the future is to lead your present life in a meaningful way. And that entails doing no harm and being of help to others.”

original link & photos: https://www.dalailama.com/news/2018/participating-in-prayers-by-the-bodhi-tree

Dalai Lama Says Restrain Yourself from Extreme Self-Centredness

‘Thirty-seven Practices of Bodhisattvas’ and Avalokiteshvara Preparation

Bodhgaya, Bihar, India - Arriving at the Kalachakra Maidan early this morning, His Holiness the Dalai Lama first of all took a seat next to the teaching throne, facing in the opposite direction towards the pavilion containing the Avalokiteshvara mandala. For more than half an hour he undertook the preliminary procedures to prepare himself to begin to grant an Avalokiteshvara empowerment later in the morning. Once they were complete he sat on the throne.

A group of Mongolian monks gave a stirring recitation of the ‘Heart Sutra’ in their native language. When they were finished most of them offered His Holiness the sapphire blue silk scarves favoured by Mongolians. They were followed by a mixed group of Japanese who chanted the ‘Heart Sutra’ again in Japanese to the rhythmic accompaniment of a ‘mokugyo’ – a wooden fish bell. Elderly monks of Namgyal Monastery offered the mandala and the threefold representation of the Buddha’s body, speech and mind.

“First we’ll read the ‘Thirty-seven Practices of Bodhisattvas’, His Holiness announced. “Because the author Togme Sangpo lived at the Ngulchu Hermitage, Ngulchu was added to his name. He was also referred to as ‘Gyalsay’, which means ‘son of the conquerors’, to indicate that he was a bodhisattva. One of his contemporaries was Buton Rinchen Drub who had pains in his arms and asked Togme Sangpo, as a bodhisattva, to blow on them in blessing. He apparently experienced some relief as a result.

“Another story about Togme Sangpo tells how he was robbed on a mountain pass of offerings that had just been given to him in the village below. He was good-hearted enough to warn the robber which direction to take to avoid the patrons who had donated the offerings in order to keep out of trouble.”

The first verse of the text advises listening to teachings, reflecting on them and then meditating on what has been understood to thoroughly familiarize the mind with it. His Holiness remarked on Buddha Shakyamuni’s courage and determination to engage in spiritual practice for countless aeons. Once he had attained enlightenment he taught the path from his own experience. Where verse 10 advises ‘develop the altruistic attitude’, His Holiness asked, “If you remain selfish, who will trust you? The more altruistic you are, the more you will also fulfil your own goals.”

He told the story of a monk from Labrang Tashi Khyil who was due to be executed by Chinese soldiers in Tibet. He asked the executioner to wait and made a prayer to his spiritual master—“Bless me to take on the negativities of others and give whatever excellent qualities I may have to them.” He then told the soldier, “Now you can shoot me.”

Verses 15 and 16 correspond to the ‘Eight Verses for Training the Mind’ and verses 18 and 19 counter pride. From verse 25 the author explains the six perfections—generosity, ethics, patience, effort, concentration and wisdom. His Holiness drew attention to the first lines of verse 36, ‘whatever you are doing, ask yourself, “What’s the state of my mind?” He observed that Togme Sangpo’s text is very useful for people otherwise swayed by anger and attachment.

Telling the audience that monks of Dzongkar Chödey had asked him to give the transmission of a text he had written called the ‘Inseparability of the Spiritual Master and Avalokiteshvara’, His Holiness read it. He pointed out that some understanding of emptiness is essential before engaging in the practice of tantra. He mentioned that emptiness was explicitly taught during the second turning of the wheel of dharma, which deals with the object clear light. During the third turning of the wheel, in the Tathagata-garbha or Buddha Nature Sutra, he taught about the subjective clear light of the mind.

He noted that all states of mind have a basis of clarity and awareness and that both object clear light and subjective clear light are employed in Highest Yoga Tantra. He remarked that object clear light corresponds to emptiness of intrinsic existence, emptiness of self (rang-tong), while the subjective clear light of the mind is empty of other (shen-tong).

His Holiness then read from the same booklet a sadhana and a prayer to Avalokiteshvara to guide practitioners from life to life.

Following Nagarjuna’s definition of the fourfold sangha as consisting of fully ordained monks and nuns as well as lay men and women holding precepts, His Holiness offered to give lay person’s precepts to those who wished to take them. He followed this with the granting of bodhisattva vows following the style and ceremony described in Asanga’s text, ‘Bodhisattva Grounds’. His Holiness recalled receiving bodhisattva vows, which he now renews daily, from Ling Rinpoche here in Bodhgaya. Prior to that ceremony Ling Rinpoche had taken them afresh before the statue of the Buddha inside the Mahabodhi Stupa.

“The main practice in relation to these vows,” His Holiness clarified, “is to restrain yourself from extreme self-centredness, to avoid indulging in a self-cherishing attitude. If you can do that, you won’t breach the 18 root downfalls or the 42 secondary commitments.”

His Holiness then proceeded to go through the preparatory procedures for the Avalokiteshvara empowerment that he will give tomorrow. This included distribution of ‘protection cords’ and pieces of purifying kusha grass. Reminding his audience that the appearance of the Buddha and his teaching is as rare as an udumbara flower, His Holiness urged them to rejoice that they had been able to hear apt instructions, and to take the lay person’s vows, bodhisattva vows, as well as the preliminaries for the Avalokiteshvara empowerment.

As he climbed into the car to return to the Tibetan Temple, His Holiness turned to wave to the crowd that had apparently been transformed into a field of kusha grass.

original link & photos: https://www.dalailama.com/news/2018/thirty-seven-practices-of-bodhisattvas-and-avalokiteshvara-preparation

Dalai Lama Discusses Human Values

Talking to Bihari Students & Inaugurating the Wat Pa Buddhagaya Vanaram Temple

Bodhgaya, Bihar, India - A cheer went up from an estimated 7000 local Bihari students when His Holiness the Dalai Lama stepped onto the stage at the Kalachakra Maidan this morning. He had been invited to address them by the Alice Project, an educational foundation set up by an Italian,

After offerings of welcome had been made, His Holiness was requested to release Giacomin’s latest book, ‘Universal Ethics’. Giacomin then gave a welcoming speech in which he explained how he had met His Holiness in Dharamsala more than 30 years ago. His Holiness told him then that it would be excellent if he could continue to work with education in India. Consequently, the Alice Project, focused on sustainable education and a culture of peace in an intercultural and interreligious school, was launched in Sarnath in 1994 with branches established later in Bodhgaya and Arunachal Pradesh.

He said that a major aim of the project was to find a solution to the current crisis in education that results in students showing a lack of discipline, poor attention and a general fall in academic performance. One reason for this is that modern education tends to have materialistic goals with too little time given to inner values. The Alice Project schools make a point of providing opportunities for meditation and exploring ways to lead a happy life.

“We have to know our own minds and reach beyond the limits of selfishness,” Giacomin asserted, “and we have to realise there are no barriers between ourselves and others. We focus on the inner change from which discipline and altruism are born, which also provides for improved academic performance. It is possible, as His Holiness has urged, to revive the ancient knowledge of India and combine it with modern education. On behalf of the students and staff of our schools, I’d like to thank His Holiness for meeting us here in this sacred place.”

“Good morning everybody, did you all sleep well last night?” His Holiness asked from the podium, “I hope everyone’s mind is fresh and alert.

“It’s a great honour for me to be here and I’m happy to meet so many members of the younger generation, as well as my old friend from Italy who has been trying to fulfil our educational goals.

“Time is always moving on; it never stands still. The past has gone. Only a memory remains, and the future has not yet come, which gives us an opportunity to create a better world. Young people like you represent the future. It rests on your shoulders and in your hands.

“Basically, in order to be happy, every living thing, even these flowers, despite their having no mind, wants to survive. For human beings and animals trying to survive is a part of trying to be happy. All of us want to lead a happy life. Since we human beings have such marvellous brains we have the ability to think over the past, to learn from it and to plan for the future. We’re also able to look at reality from different angles. So, we need to use our brains to explore what brings us unhappiness and suffering and what makes us happy.

“Education is a key factor because education increases our ability to think and analyse how things come about. Although none of us wants problems we face a host of them, many of which are of our own creation. Our existing modern education is inadequate for ensuring that as individuals, families and communities we are happy. This is something we need to think seriously about. One of the reasons is that our existing education tends to have materialistic goals, whereas for humanity to be happy depends on peace of mind. We have to give serious thought to how to incorporate inner values into our education on a secular basis.

“These days I am committed to trying to revive ancient Indian knowledge about the workings of the mind and emotions. We need to understand better how to tackle our negative emotions through reason and analysis from a strictly secular point of view.

“There is a long tradition of karuna and ahimsa in this country and one of the ways they are expressed is in the thriving of religious harmony. At the same time India’s secular stance of showing equal respect to all religious or spiritual traditions makes it a model for others to follow.

“You young students shouldn’t just accept what you’re taught. You should think about it, analyse it, examine the reasons behind it, and compare it to other points of view. This was the spirit of Nalanda, the great University that flourished in Bihar. Think about how everything is dependent on other factors.

“As I said, the future is in your hands. You young people have the opportunity to make a better world, but you’ll have to make an effort. I may not live to see it, but if you make the attempt, in 20 to 30 years the world could become a much more peaceful place. Education is one factor, but within that we need to pay more attention to tackling our disturbing emotions. This will entail adopting a sense of emotional hygiene corresponding to the hygiene with which we protect our physical health.”

In responding to students questions His Holiness pointed out that consciousness has no beginning and that our experience of happiness and suffering is due to our own karma. He confirmed that anger is the factor that most often disturbs our peace of mind, whereas karuna or compassion is its polar opposite. With regard to religious practice he said it’s fine for individuals to think in terms of ‘one faith and one truth’. However, as far as the wider community is concerned we need to accept that there are several faiths and many aspects of the truth. He reminded his audience of his admiration for India as the only country where all the world’s major religious live together in harmony.

The practice of concentration and insight—shamatha and vipashyana—common to many of India’s indigenous spiritual traditions has given rise to experience in transforming the mind. It is understood that suffering results from mental afflictions like anger and hatred. Their source is ignorance and to counter that we need to cultivate wisdom.

His Holiness left the stage to the students’ fulsome applause. He then drove the short distance to the Thai Bharat Society’s Wat Pa Buddhagaya Vanaram Temple behind the Mahabodhi Stupa compound. He was received on arrival by Phra Bhodhinandhamunee and Dr. Ratneswar Chakma and paused to watch graceful Thai dancers reminiscent of offering goddesses giving a welcoming performance.

His Holiness turned down the offer of a ride in an e-rickshaw and circumambulated the temple on his own feet along with his hosts. He blessed the Sangharaja Kuti on the way. Inside the richly decorated new temple with its gilded statues of Buddhas and Arhats and scenes from the Buddha’s life painted on the walls, His Holiness sat with the senior monks. Verses of refuge and the Mangala Sutta were recited as the dancers performed once more.

Dr. Ratneswar Chakma formally welcomed His Holiness, who he described as a model of compassion. Phra Bhodhinandhamunee declared the Thai Bharat Society’s intention to provide opportunities for all comers to learn and practise meditation in the new temple.

When it came to His Holiness’s turn to speak, he acknowledged that historically the Pali Tradition derives directly from the Buddha’s first teachings, which make its followers the most senior disciples. Followers of the Sanskrit Tradition also rely on the Perfection of Wisdom teachings that came about as part of the second turning of the wheel of dharma.

“I have great respect for all our Dharma transmissions, just as I respect both theistic and non-theistic religious traditions, because humanity benefits from them. Today, even scientists are showing interest in what Buddhism has to say about the mind and emotions. The knowledge we’ve kept alive remains relevant because it can help reduce our negative emotions and the power they have over us.

“Discussions I’ve had with scientists have been mutually helpful. One of the few casualties has been my belief in traditional Buddhist cosmology. However, it’s clear to me that the Buddha came to teach the Four Noble Truths not to map or measure the universe. He introduced a realistic approach to suffering, an approach that is also scientific. I’d like to see scholars, scientists and practitioners gather here and sit in a circle to discuss the content of the Tripitaka, the three collections of scriptures.

“We have to study if we are to understand what the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha are, what the cessation of suffering is, how to achieve it and what the path implies. Of course, we also need to understand selflessness.

“In the 70s, some of our monks went to Bangkok where they learned Thai as well as participating in various aspects of practice. They’re old now, but we could send young monks again and welcome Thai monks to our monasteries. Tibetans could learn Thai and Thais could learn Tibetan. There are some Buddhist teachings only available in Pali and others only available in the Sanskrit tradition. We should engage in research and an exchange of experience. We need closer relations and a common effort to present Buddhism in the 21st century.

“The essence of Buddhism is compassion or karuna. Since the world needs more compassion we should look into how we Buddhists can contribute to it. It’s not a question of converting others to Buddhism, but of seeing how we can contribute to human peace of mind, by, for example, showing how to tackle our negative emotions. That would really benefit humanity.”

Following a vote of thanks and a presentation of gifts, everyone present was invited to partake in a sumptuous lunch which offered a choice of delicious Thai and Indian food. When that was over and a series of commemorative photographs had been taken, His Holiness returned to the Tibetan Temple. Tomorrow, he plans to offer Bhikshu ordination to 60 monks.

original link & photos: https://www.dalailama.com/news/2018/talking-to-bihari-students-inaugurating-the-wat-pa-buddhagaya-vanaram-temple