Dharamsala, Dalai Lama, Emptiness and Dependent Orignation

(The entry is divided into three parts- The Dalai Lama's Teaching, Review Sessions for Foreigners, and my own voice. Just as fair warning, the first two, written in summarizd bullet points, may be very dry, especially for those who have no interest in Buddhism. If you are interested, I would recommend scrolling to Day 8 and picking up one the recommended books listed. There is definitely something lost in translation, missing and miscontrued going through the filter in my brain)

When I arrived in Mcleod Ganj, I was picked up by Sunanda, a jovial woman who called me dear every time she addressed me, although she is probably only a few years older than me. Her family cares for a small hostel and runs two stores in the mountains. I am staying in their hostel, a small and simply furnished hut. It is located in Bhagsu about 1 km away from the main temple center where the teaching will be.
At this elevation, with colder harsher climates, there is no longer the annoying buzz of mosquito wings, but this is not a lifeless terrain. Here, there are tougher and huskier creatures. A cactii grows here that gives the same sting as a jellyfish. After a brief moment of intense pain, it subsides in numbness again. Here, there is also a rampant arachnipopulation, some larger than the size of my palm. One of these giants crept into my room to seek shelter and was really adamant on staying. After trying unsuccessfully to politely ask it to leave, I had to shove it out with a pole. At one point, it curled up in a lump underneath the bed, pretending to be a dust-ball, but I eventually convinced it that it was better off in the wilderness and it was so irritated by my prodding that it took off without saying goodbye and never came back again. Outside, there also a furrier and stouter version of the Chennai stray dog, which came sniffing at my door for scraps but soon turned away when it could smell none. So that was my encounter with the wildlife of Dharamsale the first day. Tomorrow I will get to meet the people.

Day 1
Notes from HHDL’s Teachings:

1. Dependent origination/causality is the basis of Buddhism
• Timeless existence proved through causality
• Suffering explained by causality – one’s actions lead to suffering (2nd Noble Truth)
• Our intended actions usually trigger emotions and reactions in us
2. Suffering falls into 3 categories
   
   • Evident suffering- painful experiences (physical)
   • Suffering of change- from the withdraw of pleasure
   • Conditional suffering- under the control of karma
3. All of these sufferings are rooted in our grasp of an indepently existing self can be dispelled by the understanding of reality. Because the defiled and suffering state can be eliminated, the pure nature of mind is luminous. The process is eliminated through the single-pointed meditation
4. There are two types of self-grasping
   
   • Person- belief that oneself is truly existent
   • Phenomena- belief that things around you are truly existent
5. Truth of the Cessation of Suffering (3rd Noble Truth)
   
   • How does one distinguish the invalid / valid mind? Those that have the true understanding of reality eliminate afflicted emotions to develop the valid mind. The valid is more forceful than the invalid
   • Emptiness of inherent existence. Things do exist but they lack independent existence
   • Tibetan text for enlightenment – Read “A Lamp to the Path of Enlightenment”
   • The Dhammapada and the Guide to Buddhist way of Life are taught by this course. They are one of the primary text of Buddhism.
6. Impermanence (Dhammapada Chap. 1)
   
   • Buddha benefits by guidance through speech, his perfect knowledge
   • The change of Impermanence occurs gradually in tiny millisecond decay. At the subabtomic level, these changes are evident. And at death, everything you own has to be left behind. So, neither your body or your material things are permanent.
   • The mind is infinite. Children who can recall past lives and the variations between siblings proves reincarnation and continuity of mind.
   • Buddhist believe existence evolved through constant cycles of coming into being and disintegration
   • The roots of samsara (the cycle of existence and suffering) is the grasping of the self, but where is the self- waking state? Dream state? Conscious state? Gross level of the mind is not self, nor is the subtle level, nor the clear light mind (state of enlightenment). The self is imputed from the mind and the body, it is not a separate entity apart from the mind and the body, nor does it reside clearly in one of these parts.
   • The path to nirvana transcends the affliction of illness and death
7. Desire (Dhammapada Chap. 2)
• There are two types of desires- the valid and invalid. The valid includes the desire to gain nirvana, the desire to help others, and compassion for others. It is not rooted in the self-grasping illusions. The invalid is the opposite.
• Similarly, there are two types of ego (good and bad), depending on the desire. Strong ego may compel someone to give his life for another or to do everything for himself. In the same way, there are good and bad anger, depending on where it is rooted.
• But as long as you follow your invalid desires, nirvana cannot be attained

Gesha Dorje’s Review Class (For Foreigners):

1. There are three nontheistic religions- Buddhism, Janism, and ____
2. Out of these three, Buddhism is unique in is addressing this question “Is the self monolithic, eternal, and independent? The answer is no.
3. The self is not distinct from the mind or the body. If you body is sick your “self” also is sick, you cannot say that “only my limbs are sick, my true self is fine.” Similarly, if your mind is affected, your “self” is also affected. And since, the body and mind are not monolithic, neither is the self
4. Dependence of self. The solid and independent “self” is created by the mind.
5. Buddhism accepts the existence of the self, but in a very different way from other religions. The sustenance innate mind travels and passes between the bodies. It exists in 2 state- dormant and manifested. Between bodies, it is in a dormant state. This contrasts with other religions which believes that the “self” is always completely manifested. The “self” cannot be distinguished from the body and mind. It is subjectively imputed from the two. The self exists like a rainbow, although it may appear to be real and concrete when you start to analyze it and observe it at a closer distance, it starts to blur.
6. Answers to Q&A
• The powerful self or ego can manifest both in selfishness and in compassion
• Compassion is also impermanent. It is cultivated through practice. However the seed of compassion is always present in people. It shows in their love for oneself and family. (I had asked this question and someone later elaborated on this answer, saying that the Gesha was not completely accurate. When one reaches the state of buddhahood, then compassion is permanent

Day 2
Notes from HHDL’s Teachings:

1. Six roots of affliction- Sangsara, ignorance, aversion…doubt
• But doubt is not necessarily bad if it leads to examination and the revealed reality
• Buddha himself asked his followers to testify and examine his teaching before accepting them “Don’t embrace the branches by relinquishing the roots.”
2. Different types of study exist 1) Blindly following the acts /teaching (not advised) 2) discrimination between interpretation and truth
   
   • Buddhism is closer to the “science of mind” than traditional religion
3. There are two different types of mind 1) one which is compassionate and wise 2) agitated mind. The first one is always clam.
   
   • Training cultivates the compassionate mind
4. Craving (Dhammapada Chp.3)
• When pointing to defects of craving, attachment to body can trap one in Samsara. The karma of Samsara is developed through the 8 links of attachment and a 9th link of desire. Our suffering is caused by the karma of non-virtuous actions (a list of 10)- ill-will, covetousness, anger (harmful form), etc.
• In order to for the cessation of suffering, we have to recognize that there are 3 types 1) evident suffering, physical or mental pain which even animals desire freedom from 2) suffering of change, which all people want freedom from 3) conditional suffering, which the body is the cause of, as it is under the influence of karma.
• It is ignorance, and self-grasping that cause these three forms of suffering, and the direct remedy for it is Wisdom. Although compassion is positive for our Karma, without wisdom, compassion is also impermanent. This is why religion is seen as a form of refuge from suffering like a raincoat from the rain. (at this point, it was beginning to drizzle). The practice of virtuous actions will lead to favorable births, but to be completely free we need reflection. So cultivate wisdom in order to guard ourselves nonvirtuous action. With wisdom, we have caution.

My Interjection:
In the morning, I sat down for breakfast next to a lady speaking in Cantonese. My interest and ears piqued and I turned to her to ask “Le he Guangzhou yun ah?” It turns out she was also from New York and was a student of a famous Tibetan Scholar, the 10th reincarnation of one of Dalai Lama’s teacher. He moved to New York very early on in order to spread the teaching to the west and there he started a center. In the afternoon, after the teaching, I went with Ling and her family to their teacher’s transmission of an ancient canon. For 3 hours, nonstop and vigorously, this 85 year old man recited the Tibetan text. Although we could not understand it, Ling assured us that he is planting this canon as a seed in our mind so that later it can take root when the right conditions arise. The teacher also had a runny nose, so, during the session, the rapid transmission of the cannon was interspersed by sniffles. The higlight of the transmission was during one of the more severe and prolonged sniffles, when he started giggling and laughing at himself.
After the transmission, I went with Ling and co. to dinner. In their company, they had an elderly Japanese woman name Rikko who still wore her hair in pigtails. She was extremely funny and blunt, and told us her “mosquito story,” relating how Buddhism had affected her after only one year. She said that one day, after many months of attending teachings, when the weather was getting hotter, a mosquito flew in her room and latched on to her arm. She was about to splat it into infinity but the Buddhist teaching of compassion suddenly came to her and she had to pause and reason over whether it was right to kill this mosquito. Finally she told the mosquito, “today I will practice Dharma and let you live, but next time, you are a dead mosquito.” Shortly after the mosquito flew away, then a fly came buzzing in also. Rikko was so exasperated at the prospect of another moral dilemma that she didn’t want to reason anymore, so just grabbed a newspaper to whack it.

Day 3
Notes from HHDL’s Teachings:

1. Buddhist patience is the most cherished quality. Without patience, nothing can be achieved With patience, illusions disappear, and mind is calm, resting in illumination Dhama-kaya is achieved through nondiscrimination
2. In Dhammapada, it says to seek the friends of the wise. The human body is perfect for enlightenment. Achieved through a teacher. It is not enough to think about selflessness and impermanence intellectually, we also need to dedicate time to it through meditation and action. The process is accumulated over many lives. To find the right teacher, one’s body, action, and mind should manifest virtue. Dispel the fear of death. In the Stories of Buddha (34 Jakata Tales), the emphasis is on the use of intelligence to eliminate ignorance. Intelligence is the primary faculty. Also it important to have the desire to help others gain buddhahood, holding the welfare of other over one’s own. The three most important points that we need to practice to become a Bodhisattva - Great compassion, Wisdom of Emptiness, Dependent Origination
3. In the minds of the Bodhisattva, their compassion is greatest for their enemies. This is counter-intuitive to the modern way of thinking.

Gesha Dorje’s Review Class (For Foreigners):

1. The blueprint to the subtler level of satisfaction, or Nirvana, is of two types
   
   • Personal liberation (the desire to free oneself)
   • Buddhahood (the desire to free others)
2. The path is revealed through 4 Noble Truth:
   
   • 1.Truth of Suffering – If a sickness is not evident, the means to cure would not interest us. In order to have the urge to free ourselves, we need to know identify the symptom. If we had tuberculosis and was unaware of this, even if we happened to at a tuberculosis seminar, we would not pay attention to the speaker, because we do not think it relates to us.
   • 2.Truth of Cause of Suffering- Just as a doctor would, to eliminate a sickness, we need to first identify the cause of the syptoms.
   • 3.Truth of Cessation of Suffering- We need to then identify the possibility of cure. Only with this knowledge, do we have hope and strive for the object
   • 4.Truth of Path to the Cessation of Suffering- The prescription for the cure
3. The goal and intention is far more important than these labels.
4. How the mind creates suffering and how it can be release
   
   • Mental Fabrication is the misconception of true/independent existence of unreality (i.e. belief that a things does exist) and it is the initial trigger of pain
   • Mental Fabrication -> (leads to) Conceptualization
   • Conceptualization of objects is in our minds, which tends to exaggerate or distort them (i.e. the value of things)
   • We can control conceptualization by seizing our afflictive emotion, leading to nirvana. In order to do that, we must first subdue Mental Fabrication through the understanding of emptiness and the reality that there is no independent existence. This will lead to Nirvana
5. The Four Noble Truths- explained in the context of conceptualization, mental fabrication, and emptiness
   
   • Truth of Suffering- It is caused by afflictive emotions and our respective karma
     Truth of Cause of Suffering- Stems from the misconception of independent existence
   • Truth of Cessation of Suffering- By eliminating our view of independent existence
   • Truth of the Path to Cessation- By cultivating the wisdom that realizes the reality of dependent origination. Once you have this wisdom, ignorance cannot exist and suffering must disappear.
6. Role of prayers and mantras (why do we need them if we can already deduce emptiness and dependent origination through logic) - all teachings of Buddha are means to trigger the wisdom of emptiness and impermanence. The repetition of mantras helps us to seek the wisdom of emptiness by keeping alight the “desire” towards enlightenment
   

Day 4
Notes from HHDL’s Teachings:

1. The stronger the sense of the self, the greater one’s anger or unhappiness. The same situation which would anger a person with a strong self. A situation that would anger a person with a strong self would be calmly handled by someone with a less pronounced sense of self.
2. Buddha taught at a number of different levels and variations, depending on his audience. He did not think everyone could accept the ideas of selflessness so for those people he adopted his teachings of compassion and dependent origination to include the self. Similarly, for others, it is easier to accept the existence of God and a Creator, rather than causality. Every way is fine and it does not matter which way someone chooses, as long as it brings the individual happiness. All religious teachings have one common precept, which is universal love- offering love to all sentient beings. The most important thing for individuals is to be genuine/sincere in their following, whichever religion/tradition they choose. Without sincerity and earnest though, then the religion becomes just a mere habit.
3. However, although everyone has a choice of what to follow, it is most adviseable for people to follow the tradition that they are born to in order for them to avoid confusion. So for most westerners, it is better that they follow Christianity as they are more familiar and comfortable with idea Creationist idea. Of course, there are exceptions.
   

Gesha Dorje’s Review Class (For Foreigners):

1. If we are not staying at one place for long, for example, if we are only visiting Mcleod Ganj for a week, would we spend our time decorating and accumulating things for our room? No, we would devout our time to planning where we are going and what we are doing next. Similarly, as our life is only a short span of time, we should not spend so much time accumulating things, and focus more on planning our destination -> the freedom from suffering.
2. The reduction of ideals. Buddha adjust teaching for students at different level. Accept the tradition which you are most comfortable with
• Five aggregates are loads carried by the self -> The self does not exist apart from the five aggregates -> Nothing exist but the mind, everything is part of the mind -> Everything, including the mind, does not exist truly and independently
3. Four seeds of Buddha (Dhammapada Chap.12:5-8)
   
   • All composite things are impermanent
   • All contaminated things are of suffering nature
   • Everything is of the nature of emptiness/selflessness
   • Transcending sorrow is nirana
4. The source of all perverted views is viewing everything with dependent originated nature as independent. Four perverted views:
   
   • Viewing impermanent things as permanent
   • Viewing suffering as happiness
   • Viewing empty nature as clear nature
   • Viewing selfless nature as self
5. Q&A Answers
• What is a devi-god? Reality is categorized into 1) Evident phenoma (that which physical and tangible) 2) slightly hidden phenoma (that which is not easily understood but can be deduced through reason such as the nature of emptiness 3) Absolutely hidden phenomena (untestifable truth). Devi-gods fall under the last category
• Is the prescription of Buddha right for all people? What if you simply want to alter your state of mind? If you want to alter your state of mind, LSD. Otherwise, if you want liberation, Buddha.
• Is nirvana the discontinuation of self? No, it will continue after enlightenment.
• What is the consciousness like after Nirvana? There are many different levels of people reaching nirvana, just like there are many different levels of training/skills in professors. Those who have been freed from suffering (the initial stage) are able to perform incredible feats like meditate for a few years without food, drink, or breathing. Their meditation is only disturbed by the appearance of Buddha. When he sees that, he realizes that his attainment is not complete. Only when he has attained the great compassion for all sentient being, does he become a true Buddha. The person who is merely freed from individual suffering teaches others in repayment to the Buddha for this freedom. However, in the highest state of Nirvana, the Bodhisattva teaches other, driven only because of his compassion for all beings.

My Interjection:

I’ve been lucky to have this chance to attend DL's teachings, but apart from the day-to-day teachings, I’ve also had a chance to meet a lot of interesting personalities. In this tiny area, during this short span of a few days, I’ve met a lot people who share the same sense of skepticism about the consumerism, and the same idealistic tendencies. In short, I am in lost land of free love and hippies.

Lene is my seat neighbor at the teaching. She lives in Denmark where the liberal social welfare- free healthcare and education (up to university level) means she can live happily in an unfettered existence with only a seasonal job at a museum shop. In the states, this job would mean she was living day-to-day, barely able to make rent. But since, her country is much kinder, she is able to travel abroad half the year. She has scarlet red hair and brilliant green eyes, and her face is shaped by the easy carefree life she had. Her happiness is so strong, that you see it etched around her eyes where her smile is formed. She is very beautiful in her perfect contentment with life.

Alex is a German I met after the most recent review class. He was the one who asked the question about gaining altered state of mind through Buddhism. Alex is on a mission. He has lived most of his life in a small village, where he passed his existence without much question, perfectly content, living like every other German youth- beers, flirting with girls, and the occasional puff of ganja. But he said the ganja started to make his question reality and the truth of perception and he wanted to know more. This questioning kept disrupting his content state of existence. He experimented with other drugs but they did not give him the answer he sought. So he began to learn about religion. He first turned to Christianity, as it was the most accessible but found conventional Christianity offered a very narrow interpretation of the world (although Gnostic Christianity, a much older form that has been stamped out is much closer in philosophy to nontheistic religions). He was dissatisfied so he delved deeper, into Shamanism, Hinduism, and finally, Buddhism. He was admitted to a university in Munich where he is currently studying theology. As he progressed, he also decided to forgo all drugs. Because, he now believes they have certain spirits and forces that he does not understand. Shamans take drugs with full awareness, but “we who do not understand the law of karma that controls causes and effects, tend to abuse these drugs without much regard for the spirit that gives them their potency”. According to him, you have to give something back, appreciate the sacrifice and intake. Otherwise, thoughtless consumption of them will bring negative karma. For the same reason, he has given up meat and eggs. He found that by doing so, he became more aware and thoughtful about eating. He is very different from my initial impression of him as a big blond guy who enjoys rugby and pub. His wants to learn this practice, so that he can find a way to help his friend “who are unhappy because they work so many hours at jobs that make them miserable to make the money to buy the stuff they hope to make them happy”.

Elliot is a really soft-spoken willowy guy. His introduction to the Dalai Lama’s teaching is pure serendipity. His father is an art professor in Pennsylvania and had won a grant to study Indian tribal art. So after he left his job at Ashoka Foundation, he hitched along and prolonged his stay well after his father has left. The thing that struck me most about this guy was his steadfast trust in humanity. Dharamsala was deluged by hawkers and touts attracted to the scene of wealthy westerners in a stupor from the preaching about loving kindness. There was one Indian man who hung around Elliot a lot, lavishing him with affectionate hugs, even walking down the street with his arms around Elliot. It is actually a normal sight to see Indian men with arms around each other as a sign of friendship public (and far less common to see Indian couples do the same) The surprising thing for me was that Elliot seemed comfortable with this also. After all, American men tend to guard their masculinity as firmly as Muslim women guard their modesty. One day while I was walking down the street with Elliot and his Indian companion, the latter told us that he had a terrible mishap with his scooter that day, running out of gas, and losing his wallet. My skepticism bred in NY was immediately suspicious of his story. But Elliot offered 100 rupees so this guy can get home. I know my qualms about this guy are probably right. But nevertheless, meeting Elliot made me feel like Scrooge on Christmas Eve. Perhaps sometimes I'm too quick to judge.

Day 5

Om mani padme hum...dadadum


Day 6
Dalai Lama spent the on blessings and commitments. It felt a bit like a mass meditation session. Everyone was asked to repeat the same chants, and then focus their thoughts on compassion and emptiness. I saw in this video once “What the Bleep is It All About?” that a few thousand people meditating one day was able to lower violent crime by 20% in the notorious D.C.
Review Class

1. All composite things are of the nature of emptiness/selflessness
   To cultivate wisdom which understands this nature, eliminate mental fabrication, conceptualization, afflictive emotions, and samsara karma
2. Difference between emptiness and selflessness. Understand emptiness with a list of questions, using this table as an example
• Does the table in front of you exist? Yes
• How does it exist? Does the table exist the way it appears to our mind? (Not sure)
• How does it appear to your mind? It does appear in our mind to be completely solid, however the object may not exist very solidly. The table as a solid independent object exists only in the mind.
• To test whether the table exists objectively and absolutely, ask the question ”where is the table?” You will say “right here”, but if you try to touch it, you can only touch/point to a part of it and not the whole. None of the parts can be called the table, but then if remove these parts, the table no longer exist. Conclusion: The table does not exist independently and objectively and the table is not discernible from one of its parts.
• The inability to find the table as discernible in one of its parts is called selflessness. The inability to discern the table as independently existing from its parts is emptiness. For this argument, we can discern that all existence is subjectively imputed by the mind.
3. Q&A Answers
• So if none of the parts that touch is the table, then what is it? The parts that we touch are just atoms, or even further then that, quarks. And we can delve even deeper then that in directional parts. But if we explore it this way, we will only get lost in it and lose sight of our path.
• Is it possible to experience Nirvana without compassion? Understanding emptiness will naturally give rise to compassion. True understanding also cannot exist without compassion, referring to the great compassion for all beings, not the seed compassion that we have for friends and families

Day 7
The blessings continued today. Before it started the Dalai Lama asked the Tibetans to apply their meditation and learning to everyday dealings, in their businesses and jobs. He said, without that practice, the prayers itself will eventually change from “Om Mani Padme Hum. Om Mani Padme Hum” (prayer for compassion) to “Om Money Money Money.”
Review Class

1. Question from audience: if the nature of reality is subjective, how can any of my belief be incorrect?
• Everything that exists is necessarily mentally imputed, but everything that is mentally imputed may not necessarily exist.
2. Review of Dependent Origination:
• Many students of Buddhism mistake the ideas of emptiness to mean nihilism. But it is the opposite. The other side of emptiness is dependent origination, which can be explained on three levels 1) causality (results can only come about by dependence on causes 2) dependence on parts. (Everything that we experience exists by dependence on its parts) 3) Mere dependence on designation (designation by thought, for example, a seed is said have a potential to become a tree, however we don’t know the tree to exist yet so it is only be mental projection that we imagine these future trees).
• Dependent origination rejects independent existence by its logic and so from this conclusion, we can derive the nature of emptiness. There is existence, but it is not independent because it is so intricately interwove into the universal law of causality.
  

Day 8
Dalai Lama’s Session was reading from theJakata Tales.
Review Class

1. Recommended reading to understand dependent origination/ emptiness:
   
   • Narjuna’s Fundamental wisdom of middle way
   • Ocean of Reasoning (a commentary on the above)
   • Great Treatise on the Steps to the Path of Enlightment (Vol 1: karma Vol 2: altruism Vol 3: wisdom)
   • How to See Yourself as You Really Are (Dalai Lama)
   • 9 Chapters to the Shantideva’s guide to Bodhisattva’s way of life
   • Bodhisattva
   • Calming the Mind
   • The last 4 books and the Vol 3 of the Great Treatise will help with meditation.
2. Recommendation for meditation
   
• There are two traditions for cultivating the mind, you can either do them separately or in combination
• The first method is called equalizing exchange of oneself for others. During meditation, try to embrace others as yourself. “All happiness is derived from wishing benefit for others. All suffering derived from wishing benefit for oneself.”
• The second method is called the seven fold cause-effect to generate Bodhisattva. Here are the thoughts that you should focus on during meditation 1) recall all beings as having been one’s mother (in order to do this one must believe in reincarnation) 2) Recalling the kindness of all these mother beings 3) Repaying the kindness of all beings 4) Viewing all beings in light of affection 5) Great compassion 6) Altruistic intentions 7) Boddhisattva (this last one is the result of the previous six).
• To combine the two methods, you can start with the second method, and after the third step (Repaying the kindness of all beings), switch to equalizing exchange of oneself for others.
3. Q&A Answers
• How to meditate without absorbing negative thoughts/energy? The gradual escalation of this practice will lead to a cessation of negative thoughts
• How is reincarnation possible if the self is merely designated by the body and the mind and once we die, there is a new body and mind? Although the body is exchanged between lives, our mind is carried forth.