First of all,
To all of my Dharma friends,
Greetings.
Tashi Dele.
I hope that you are well and I hope that you are happy.
So we will be continuing today with the sequence of 20 or a little over 20 lamrim stages of the path meditations.
Last time we spoke about the preciousness of the human rebirth,
The human body and we also covered topics like the potential of the mind.
And so today,
Whether we're at number 4 or number 5,
Gai Shusati is not sure,
But the topic is sure,
Today we will be speaking about death and impermanence.
So in terms of today's topic which is death and impermanence,
Especially perhaps for people who are not so experienced or haven't heard this before,
It might seem like a strange topic to think about,
Like something a little bit heavy.
But the thing here is that actually if we develop a real feeling and understanding for this topic of death and impermanence,
Then what this will do is it will give us a great capacity to be able to diminish the problems of samsara that we encounter.
It will even allow us to be more relaxed people.
And in addition,
If we really know,
If we really comprehend this topic of death and impermanence,
If we really know this,
It will help us to fully appreciate connected with the last topic,
This human rebirth which is more precious than a wish fulfilling jewel.
With the comprehension of the topic of death and impermanence then we will be determined not to waste that precious opportunity.
And so then in terms of speaking about contemplating or meditating on the topics of death and impermanence,
We could speak about the course aspect of death and impermanence.
And so first we begin by an understanding of the coarser aspects of impermanence,
Of outer and inner things.
And then on this basis,
On that basis,
We develop an understanding of the more subtle aspects of impermanence.
So Geshe-la is quoting a verse from Lama Tsongkhapa where he talks about a precious human rebirth with all of the freedoms and richnesses.
He mentions that such a human rebirth is something that is rare,
Difficult to find and also has great meaning.
It is said that if one can develop a determination of the preciousness of this,
Then that awareness of the precious human rebirth and its rarity will be like the very best kind of teacher.
So that's just kind of a brief recap of that topic.
And so Geshe-la said if you want to hear more extensive presentations of these topics,
Then you are very welcome to listen to his more extensive classes which we usually have on Sundays.
And so now we will turn to meditation on this week's topic.
So wherever you are sitting,
Let's just take a moment to put the mind and the body into a relaxed state.
So as we settle the mind,
It's just like setting a glass of water with a lot of particles or sand down and all the sand and the particles drift to the bottom.
Similarly when we settle our mind,
Then it will become clear like that water,
Allowing us to perceive all objects.
So let's turn to this meditation on impermanence and let's meditate on how we perceive the container of the outer world.
We see this world with its mountains,
Forests and so forth.
When we look at them,
It seems that they are stable,
That they are always continuing in the same way.
And when we look at that,
What kind of feeling is arising in the mind?
Similarly if we turn the attention to ourselves and we think of ourselves last year and this year,
This ignorance grasping at the self gives us the impression that that version of ourselves from last year and the version of ourselves now is the same.
That way of thinking or perhaps we could say that way of seeing,
It is something that is fundamentally not correct.
So how is it really like?
What is the real way that things are?
Well if we think of a tree,
We first think about a seed in the ground that first brings forth a sprout.
Then slowly,
Slowly the tree grows more and more leaves come out and it becomes very beautiful.
As the tree continues to grow and thrive,
There may be flowers or beautiful fruits on it as well.
Slowly as the tree ages,
The leaves begin to fall off.
It begins less and less capable of producing fruit.
The fruit becomes poor quality and so forth.
And just similar to that tree,
If we think about our own experience,
There is that manifestation when we are just born.
Then as we grow,
We reach our prime where the body seems very stable,
Very strong and so forth.
But then eventually,
Just as that tree fades and becomes old and withers,
Then similarly our body becomes impacted by impermanence and death.
So this is just the nature of samsara,
This is the way that the body goes.
There is nothing kind of exceptional about that,
It's the way things are.
And because this is the situation of samsara,
This reality of death and impermanence,
Then before death comes,
While we have this human rebirth in our hand,
We want to make it something valuable.
Also if we think about this eventual problem that we'll face of death,
It gives us a very realistic view.
If we think about how serious that problem is,
Then the little inconveniences,
The minor things we endure,
They won't seem so important.
We'll have perspective.
For the things that we're attached to in this life,
When difficult emotions arise,
When we exaggerate and grasp onto those things,
We'll see that there's really no point to doing that because everything will fade in light of impermanence and death.
And similarly,
The difficult emotions,
The false projections that we have,
They too are subject to impermanence.
They're in a state of flux and will fade away because they are not the way things really are.
If I really respect and see this topic of death and impermanence as something that is important,
Then before I reach that difficult time,
I must be determined that I can develop positive mental qualities and I will definitely bring forth those positive mental qualities.
And if I am able to reach the ultimate positive mental qualities,
Then through that I will be able to overcome death and impermanence.
So this wish-fulfilling,
Jewel-like human rebirth,
Which is like a boat which will allow us to cross the vast ocean of samsara to liberation,
To freedom,
I will definitely use this wisely in the instant that I have it,
Before death and impermanence come.
So Geshe-la is just explaining that in terms of the attachment or the grasping to this life,
In order to be able to counter this,
To stop this,
The two most effective contemplations are about the human rebirth with the freedoms and richnesses as well as the contemplation of death and impermanence.
So if we really see death and impermanence as something heavy,
Something difficult,
Then we can think that,
Okay,
Well,
In light of that then the other temporary problems,
The small problems that I am experiencing in samsara are not so significant.
And because those are relatively small,
Then before I come to the point of death and impermanence,
I will bring forth positive mental qualities.
So if I do that,
Then when the time of death comes,
I can make it so that it is just like moving from one house to another or one hotel room to another.
So thinking of those benefits,
Then please cultivate happily.
So that was a brief presentation of this topic.
Yeah,
Thanks.
