SIX BARDOs TEACHING (Part 3)

(A brief teaching by H.E. Tai Situ Rinpoche, Nov.1982 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

 3. Bardo of Meditation.

And this explained into 3 basic principles - the body meditation, the speech meditation, the mind meditation.

Here when we say the body samten. In Tibetan we say samten means "Ting". This is proper way of sitting, proper way of situating the body. Naturally develops the "tingism" the samten, the meditative state. Example, when we go to a temple, the surrounding of temple is peaceful. Inside of the temple is clean. The Buddha's image is beautiful.  Kind of simplicity, kind of natural calmness, naturally develops - and this is the body, the physical aspect of "tingism".

The other opposite of that when we go to a disco, full of crazy music and all this funny thing, light etc. etc. everybody is jumping like monkeys. They make you also shaky and that is the reason you shake your own and that is the way how the body "tingism" is necessary. The right way of sitting, like cross-legged, straight body etc, it isn't just an eastern culture, it isn't only a kind of - I think here you all know, but in the West, America and Europe when Buddha-dharma came there first about 15 years ago, people don't really understand that because they only sit on the chair. Their legs are quite stiff and when they sit cross-leg you know there must be one feet between their knee and ground – and it hurts them. Then they say that this is eastern kind of culture. It doesn't suit with western kind of habit. We say 'No, no, it isn't. It is based on the human coordination of body, speech and mind. For the mind to be in peace, in calmness, in the "tingism" in the samten, body has to be situated properly. Then we can make it simple, we have so many simple examples that, when you eat you must sit straight and eat.  If you lie on bed and eat it will throw you up. This is the way. When you sleep you must lie down. If you stand and sleep, you fall down, may break your leg you know. Anyway that is the body "tingism".

And speech is saying right word. All the prayers, all the chanting, all the mantras they have many levels. Some are just basic words. Some are more kind of key word but anyway all of them are words, the speech "ting ism". It situates the body in a most profound posture and speech in a most profound word. And that is the right way of saying. Naturally you know, if we say to somebody "I respect you", the person feels good, naturally. If you say "I hate you", the person feels bad, naturally. It is the word power. A person sings good song with good voice.  It makes you feel good and calm down, yes? A person sing with bad voice; usually these days it is the fashion, sing with bad voice - like vomiting - like coughing - like crying, you know, and that this makes people feel unbalanced and crazy and feel bad, naturally. That is the way the effect of the sound that saying the right word is the speech "tingism".

And now the third, the mind tingism. This is thinking right. Mind rest in the peace.  Mind rest in the nature, thinking compassion, loving kindness towards the others.  Thinking devotion, faith, trust towards the ultimate truth and which is related with that Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, the right thing, the right path, the right guidance. This is the way of body, speech, mind “tingism”, the meditation, the samten. To be able to do this properly, not only when you sit down and meditate, even when you walk, when you work, when you eat, when you cook, when you talk, when you sleep - all the time. Always there is better, way to do it and doing it in a better way, having mindfulness and awareness.  That is the Samten Bardo, the Bardo of Meditation.

Briefly about H.E. Tai Situpa and Karma Kagyu Lineage

H.E.12^th Tai Situ Rinpoche (born on 15^th Feburualy1954) founded the Palpung – Sherabling Monastery in Northern India in the Himalayan Regions. He is the Root Guru of the present 17^th Gyalwa Karmapa.

The 11^th Tai Situ Rinpoche was the Root Guru of 16^th Gyalwa  Karmapa and the 16^th Gyalwa Karmapa was the Root Guru of 12^th Tai Situpa. By tracing back to the past, the two of them took turn to be Guru in one life and became the disciple in the next life. This is the way how the lineage is kept unbroken from Guru to disciple in the Karma Kagyu 

This lineage was founded by Vajra Dhara (Dorje Chang), sambhogakaya form of Buddha Sakyamuni, who taught Tilopa , an Indian Mahasidha. And this lineage from India continued to Tibet unbroken until the present 12^th Tai Situ Rinpoche who is the only holder of the Special Oral Transmission Lineage of the Karma Kagyu Tibetan Buddhism. When a person receives this Special Oral Transmission, he or she will get immediate good experience in his or her meditation practice. According to Rinpoche, to receive this Special Oral Transmission Blessings, the devotee’s Karma must be ripe at that time. This blessing is powerful because it comes from the whole Karma Kagyu Lineage.

SIX BARDOs TEACHING (Part 2)

(A brief teaching by H.E. Tai Situ Rinpoche, Nov.1982 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

2. Bardo of Dream

Here the principle of this bardo is explaining that which makes us able to understand whole universe, whole life, whole experience as a dream. The principle here is 3, the samsaric dream, the life dream, the sleeping dream, three of them. From beginningless time until the realization of ultimate, which is Buddhahood, this is the dream of samsara.

No matter which realm we belong to, no matter what kind of individual we are, anyway we are dreaming.  The all aspect of trips of ego even we are an animal still we have “I”.   Even if we are a human being, still we have "I". Even if we are a deva still we have "I". We can be rich one; we can be poor one; we can be people of different nation and different culture, always we have "I".  This “I”.... we wake up from it when we achieve the enlightenment. That is the only time when we are free from this "I" totally and that is the samsara dream.

The second dream is the life dream. Life dream is known as dream of Karma.  According to our individual we experience the dream of Karma. Even about the same thing, sometimes we are happy about it, sometimes we hate it; sometimes it helps us, sometimes it bothers us. Nothing is certain; nothing is real, always fixed, as true existence.... everything change. About the same thing, various people have various aspects of way of looking at it, affect by this. This is the life dream.  It starts when we are born.  It ends when we die, but another one will start. This is the life dream.

Now the sleeping dream. The sleeping dream is dream of sub-conscious.

According to what kind of sub-conscious we have, we will dream that.  Sometimes we dream about the future. Sometimes we dream about the past, but will not dream anything which has nothing to do with us. Whatever we dream has something to do with us. May be we imagine that way. May be we have this experience before. May be we have karma to experience that in future. Because of that sometimes dreams come true. This is the sleeping dream. We wake up from this when we wake up in the morning. And now in this teaching the practice is first to realize the unrealness and the illusion of the sleeping dream. You have awareness so that your dream cannot fool you anymore. You can control your dream instead of dream controls you - and since you have this freedom completely, then you will have certain amount of freedom in the life. This life dream cannot control you anymore. You can control your life dream. The miracles of great realized beings also come in this point.

Here I want to make a little comment under miracle and the magic. People, it is very simple, but still people make mistake between the miracle and the magic. The miracle is ultimate quality that is ultimate freedom. The magic is relative kind of performance.

You know how to do things by learning the material tricks, or the important powerful substance, or the special words or the strong imagination can make things happen, but that is not always happened when we do. That is involved with hope and fear. Hope that “I want to do it”; “I want to do it successfully”, and fear that “May be I will not succeed this time”, and this is always involved with the "I" the ego. That is why there is hope and fear. It is interesting - interesting things to watch, but there is not really a quality which benefits you ultimately. Even the magicians themselves have full of suffering, full of desire, anger, ignorance, everything but their greatness is that they know the trick. They know the key. But we can learn one thing from the magic. It proves us, all the samsara is illusion. Because of this illusion, magic can also be performed. If it isn't illusion, nothing can happen behind of what is there. 

And the miracle, miracle is freedom. It has nothing to do with hope, nothing to do with fear. It has nothing to do with ego. How less your ego is, that profound your miracle is. People see miracle. People experienced miracle but they don't recognize it.  The miracle, simple miracle of profound teaching of Buddha - this can change life of a being who is suffering one, who is evil one, into life of the most kind being, just by moment of right understanding. This miracle of the simple basic Dharma can change whole world into peace. Simply people know one of the very simple first step - understanding - the basic loving kindness and compassion to each other as a brother and sister. Then, how the violence, all kind of wars, and how those things can happen, not possible. And one simple basic point of Dharma, this miracle changes whole world into peace. If being are capable of learning this and accepting this, and more than that the performance of the miracle, you know, how the past great yogis -- have been done, those things are also freedom. For example, they are having the freedom of the life dream. Same as we can have the freedom of the sleeping dream quite easily.   In your dream you see a fire. You know you are dreaming. You know you are in your little room - there is no fire. You see your hands in your dream but your hand is dreaming hands; not really physical hands. You put your dream hand on your dream fire for 5 hours, it will not burn your finger. It will not burn your hand but this is not magic! This is miracle. The miracle of the great master of the past are performed that way. They have the freedom because they have realized the ultimate. Because of that, nothing makes any different for them. That is the way how the miracle is performed.  Miracles are not limited. All the time it is limitless - and then, since one have the freedom of the life dream, then that is the beginning of the freedom of the samsara dream. The total development of the freedom and the awakening of the samsara dream are known as realization of the Buddhahood. And this is the principle of the Bardo of dream.

Briefly about H.E. Tai Situpa and Karma Kagyu Lineage

H.E.12^th Tai Situ Rinpoche (born on 15^th Feburualy1954) founded the Palpung – Sherabling Monastery in Northern India in the Himalayan Regions. He is the Root Guru of the present 17^th Gyalwa Karmapa.

The 11^th Tai Situ Rinpoche was the Root Guru of 16^th Gyalwa  Karmapa and the 16^th Gyalwa Karmapa was the Root Guru of 12^th Tai Situpa. By tracing back to the past, the two of them took turn to be Guru in one life and became the disciple in the next life. This is the way how the lineage is kept unbroken from Guru to disciple in the Karma Kagyu 

This lineage was founded by Vajra Dhara (Dorje Chang), sambhogakaya form of Buddha Sakyamuni, who taught Tilopa , an Indian Mahasidha. And this lineage from India continued to Tibet unbroken until the present 12^th Tai Situ Rinpoche who is the only holder of the Special Oral Transmission Lineage of the Karma Kagyu Tibetan Buddhism. When a person receives this Special Oral Transmission, he or she will get immediate good experience in his or her meditation practice. According to Rinpoche, to receive this Special Oral Transmission Blessings, the devotee’s Karma must be ripe at that time. This blessing is powerful because it comes from the whole Karma Kagyu Lineage.