[ralis]

Longchenpa’s The Precious Mala of the Four Dharmas
Tsegyalgar East.

 

I rarely if ever cut/paste, but Norbu makes several salient points that are worth noting.

 

http://melong.com/?p=2852

 

When I read this first part, I was reminded of the incessant cut/paste, deferring to Malcolm and RongzomFan. The vast amount of quotes are a collection that does more harm than good and I seriously doubt will be useful to most readers here.

 

 

In general, we have many of these kinds of problems with our distractions. For example, some people are interested in the teachings and there are some teachers giving teachings and explaining and we go and say, “Oh, how nice, many explanations I like, these teachings are fantastic.” We write down what the teacher said, but why are we writing it down? We are writing it down because we think it is interesting and one day we want to do something, but that ‘one day ’ never comes. And then tomorrow another teacher comes and we receive more teachings, so instead of applying what we had written down, we think, “Oh, there is a teacher and teaching and they are going there and this teacher is also explaining, giving many nice things”, and you write down the second collection, the third and fourth collection, all the life we are only making a collection. The idea is that one day we want to do this, otherwise we don’t write it down. But this famous one day never arrives and our life is passing. One day we arrive at the end of our life and at that moment what we have is a collection of paper. We are not integrated and we did nothing concrete. This is something dangerous in our lives; with distraction we go on that way.

Even if we have a very nice collection, we cannot bring it to the bardo. When we die we leave all. It is not even useful for our children, at least if it was something of use for the future generations, for our children, but it is not useful because children want to do just like you did, because they are children and they have their lives. They want their own collection. So then our teachings and what we learned in a lifetime become useless. We must not become like that. Then it becomes like chos lam du slob pa, what we learned – at least a small thing becomes something useful in our lives. Concrete. Then any kind of teaching becomes something really important. So this is the conclusion of the second argument. You must not lose the essence when you go after words and many explanations.

 

Norbu's comments on mixing money with the Dharma.

 

 

In general, everything is related to position and economics. Someone says, “Oh, we are interested to do a kind of dharma center and dharma publicity”, and then, “Oh, there is a fantastic teacher, it is not necessary that you receive particular teachings, all you have to do is be in front of this teacher, and you can receive a blessing and you can almost have realization.” I have seen a lot of this kind of publicity in the West. They are doing that to make money. Many people come and then they do a kind of dharma center and live comfortably. So this is not dharma. We must understand this kind of problem otherwise we have problems later. It is better we open our eyes and follow the teaching and then there is not this kind of problem.

 

A comment on teacher/hero worship which he has reiterated for decades.

 

 

We must understand that we are living in the limited condition of the human being. Good and bad always exist. Many years ago when I went to Greece, they were talking about reincarnations and making publicity and saying, “Oh, Namkhai Norbu is a very important teacher, he is a reincarnation of someone.” I don’t feel that at all. But I have some knowledge of the Dzogchen teaching with my experience; I can communicate that and it is beneficial for others. It is not important if I am a reincarnation or not. I am saying don’t follow and jump after a reincarnation. We also have good and bad reincarnations. In Tibet, there are different kinds of reincarnations. Also reincarnations are recognized and become chiefs of the monastery etc., this is not a tradition from Buddha Shakyamuni. This did not exist. This only developed in Tibet.

Edited December 2, 2014 by ralis

[Simple_Jack]

Longchenpa’s The Precious Mala of the Four Dharmas

Tsegyalgar East.

 

I rarely if ever cut/paste, but Norbu makes several salient points that are worth noting.

 

http://melong.com/?p=2852

 

When I read this first part, I was reminded of the incessant cut/paste, deferring to Malcolm and RongzomFan. The vast amount of quotes are a collection that does more harm than good and I seriously doubt will be useful to most readers here.

 

 

 

Norbu's comments on mixing money with the Dharma.

 

 

 

A comment on teacher/hero worship which he has reiterated for decades.

 

If anything, the quotes I post creates positive imprints in the mind of the reader. Money and Dharma...a loaded topic...the concept of merit accumulation is alien to the Western mind, so supporting Dharma or the guru as they do in Asia doesn't always click. Buddha talks about the merit received, in relation to the meditative accomplishment or decrease of the kleshas in the mind of the recipient, for the one giving offerings:http://dharmafarer.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/22.12-Dana-Vacchagotta-S-A-3.57-piya.pdf. In Vajrayana, you are supposed to view the guru as the dharmakaya buddha (similar to recollection of the buddha's qualities in sutra, as a way to cultivate positive mental factors conducive to samadhi) the way this applies in Vajrayana is unique to its path. This is supposed to come after the student, examines the guru's behavior and such, to see if they are a trustworthy source for teachings (many Vajrayana texts describe how a disciple should do this). Anyways, great quotes!

Edited December 2, 2014 by Simple_Jack

[Wells]

It's refreshing to read such critique stated by a well-known guru and authority figure.

The points he makes are surely applicable.

Edited December 2, 2014 by ZOOM

[Simple_Jack]

Longchenpa’s The Precious Mala of the Four Dharmas

Tsegyalgar East.

 

I rarely if ever cut/paste, but Norbu makes several salient points that are worth noting.

 

http://melong.com/?p=2852

 

When I read this first part, I was reminded of the incessant cut/paste, deferring to Malcolm and RongzomFan. The vast amount of quotes are a collection that does more harm than good and I seriously doubt will be useful to most readers here.

 

 

 

Norbu's comments on mixing money with the Dharma.

 

 

 

A comment on teacher/hero worship which he has reiterated for decades.

If anything, the quotes I post creates positive imprints in the mind of the reader. Money and Dharma...a loaded topic...the concept of merit accumulation is alien to the Western mind, so supporting Dharma or the guru as they do in Asia doesn't always click. Buddha talks about the merit received, in relation to the meditative accomplishment or decrease of the kleshas in the mind of the recipient, for the one giving offerings:http://dharmafarer.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/22.12-Dana-Vacchagotta-S-A-3.57-piya.pdf. In Vajrayana, you are supposed to view the guru as the dharmakaya buddha (similar to recollection of the buddha's qualities in sutra, as a way to cultivate positive mental factors conducive to samadhi) the way this applies in Vajrayana is unique to its path. This is supposed to come after the student, examines the guru's behavior and such, to see if they are a trustworthy source for teachings (many Vajrayana texts describe how a disciple should do this). Anyways, great quotes!

 

Issues with the tulku system and its viability in the West comes up every once a while over at dharmawheel and vajracakra forums. The consensus leans in the direction that it should not be carried over to the West. Some people seem to favor the Gelug meritocratic system (i.e. qualifications for an authority position based on level of learning/Dharma education, etc.) as a model for Vajrayana in the West.

Edited December 2, 2014 by Simple_Jack