facilitator: Larry Fallon

Note: There is a rough transcript of Khandro Rinpoche’s teaching on the 4 Foundations of Mindfulness referenced in these notes.

I highly suggest everyone go listen to the whole talk from August 27 at 3 PM.  Since it seems rude to edit one’s wisdom teacher, what I did was took some clips from different sections of contemplation of body, feelings, mind, and phenomena. I will play these in 4-5 minute segments.  Then we spend 3-4 minutes contemplating, and then talk about what it is like. Otherwise, it isn’t practice; it is just us running our mouths.

Being that it is Pali, not Sanskrit, it was not translated into Tibetan until fairly late. Came through other commentaries.  This being Pali – the language Buddha spoke – it’s very much how he communicated. This describes how they practiced as monastics and forest dwellers. 

Feast practice in the Vajrayana came out of Hindu feast practice. In Ancient India, the “pure” Brahmin were shocked by eating meat and drinking alcohol.  This shock is lost on us. It seems to us more like having people over for dinner.

What we are eating is our neurosis, our ego. It is fixation, doubt and bullshit.  We are gobbling up our dark, conflicted energy and transmuting it to enlightened energy.  The notion of feast is ENJOYING all we normally avoid and turning the tables, extracting the essence of our experience.

Earthiness, community and celebration are important for feast.  Celebration of what we have instead of wanting more. It works with the obstacle of poverty mentality. 

Trulshig Rinpoche has died at age of 87. Supreme head of Nyingma lineage. Held up the vinaya, ordained over 10,000 monks. Every time a great teacher like this dies, the foundation of buddhadharma shakes. More important that we practice. Reflect on this precious fleeting existence and the fragility of life……

Best supplication and offering is to practice as effort as possible.

We have been talking about certain aspects. The essential points of Creation and Completion so one may see enormous skillful means of Vajrayana as precious, through recognizing sadhana as skillful means, one may let arise in mind stream, and become support to practice. Fundamental nature of awakened emptiness and awakened nature of every other arising. Due to lifetimes of karmic arisings, impulses become strong, mind wavers from not having certainty of view we try to understand. In order for wavering to be destroyed, indestructible confidence must arise as in mind stream.

 Lung for Krodhi Kali Troma Nagmo (Black Vajrayogini) and Tummo – Khandro Rinpoche

I have hijacked jestunlas morning session. (laughs)  I hardly know of anyone, even living among learned people, who understands the correct liturgy as well as jestunla. At the same time, receiving explanation from her is very nice. This year’s Creation and completion is a review for older people.  In the last few years, have been a gap btwn the “entering the vajrayana” and those calling themselves senior practitioners. There is a gap – a little but needs tweaking. These topics I hope to cover in the morning and other days going into this week. Very important to strengthen your understanding of your path of practice. even in the winter, when you had your retreats, when you refer to yourself as Dzogchen practitioner, is very dangerous., if you call yourself Dzogchen practitioner, you must be one, label must be one,.

We have been talking about Creation and Completion practice. Spend today’s time working – many of you have studied Creation and Completion, generation and conclusion, Utpatti and sampanakrama, – the material regarding mechanics of how to cultivate the right view of visualization practice, mantra practice, and dissolution practice. You are familiar with some of these sections, but mainly for those learning how to relate to Creation and Completion. Today, I will work on the various stages, technical aspects.

I found it very useful to go from the description of the Skandhas in “Indestructible Truth” by Reginald Ray.  We start out with a feeling of existing, being a me – my body, my mind.

“These analyses require that we suspend the ordinary division of experience into “self” and “other,” “inside” and “outside,” “body” and “mind,” and observe instead from the perspective of dynamic fields of sensory experience.” – pg. 131, ”Ways of Enlightenment“

 If we examine our experience, we find fields of experience, without any need for the existence of a self. The reason we study the categories, like the Skandhas, is to break the hold of the belief that we are unitary. 

(editor’s note: This was part of a teaching Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen Rinpoche gave at TMC Frederick the weekend of October 1-2, 2011.  This  Lord Jitgen Sumgön Guru Yoga was covered and practiced the morning of the first day before Rinpoche taught on his text “Prescriptions and Prohibitions: Their mode of abiding”.  I plan to get those notes up in the near future.  Khenchen Rinpoche had previously taught more extensively on A Guru Yoga that Brings the Dharmakaya onto the Path at TMC in the Summer of 2009. – JTR/LWWD)

…Nowadays, more than ever before, we need that wisdom we can apply in our daily life. Many levels of practice. If you want to go on retreat, you can go on retreat. If you want to go for years, you can like Milarepa. You can read his life story. He utilized the optimal power of the human capacity in that very lifetime because of that he achieved the ultimate benefit. That why the precious human life has so much ability, opportunity it is there, if you choose. If can’t go in retreat, you can in daily life. While walking. 

The first section of Khandro Rinpoche’s book “This Precious Life” is called ‘Entering the gateway.’ Here she lays the groundwork before moving into the 4 reminders.  The rest of the book is essentially the 4 reminders, also known as the Four Thoughts that Transform the Mind.   She starts (pg. 17) with the First Reminder: the preciousness of human existence.

Contemplating the preciousness of human existence brings a genuine appreciation of our human body, mind, and potential. With exertion we can create the cause for genuine happiness and benefit for others.

This precious human existence is like an udumbara flower, difficult to attain.

If found, it is of greater benefit than the wish-fulfilling jewel.

However, having attained such· a precious existence just this once,

We do not accomplish the ultimate aim of great’ benefit,

But instead waste it meaninglessly.

Guru, embodiment of the Three Jewels, look upon us with Compassion.

Bestow your blessings so that. We fulfill the meaning of this precious existence. 

 

Why the focus on the preliminaries? Rinpoche focused only on them before the empowerments.  She always focuses on them so much.   Why?  If you get the basics in a deep way, a physical “submitting to the universe” (R),  a cleansing occurs that opens up.  The four reminders are the tent stakes. J Can have the most expensive tent, but without good stakes, it can still blow away. There are common spiritual crisis, and unhealthy behaviors that the 4 Reminders are the remedy. One year Rinpoche challenged some newer students, asking them to  bring out suggestions  of problems and issues.  She could say which reminder’s weakness could be responsible and why to every single one.

“To bring about the fruition of this precious human birth, you need to remember death and impermanence.”