|
|
NOTE: In response to COVID-19 we will be holding Virtual Classroom teachings until further notice.
To access the Virtual Classroom join the Zoom Meeting:
Zoom URL: https://zoom.us/j/249033845?pwd=RENHaVVTZGZ0ellDampmUzJsYnpxZz09
You can also dial in on any phone:
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)
Enter the Meeting ID when prompted: 249 033 845
Enter the Meeting Passcode when prompted: 034137
If you’re asked for a Participant ID, just press #
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Geshe Tenley continues his teachings on the lam-rim, making use of Pabongka Rinpoche's Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand. The text is the seminal lam-rim text of the 20th century. It is a transcription of a twenty-four day lam-rim teaching given in 1921. Offered as a "practical teaching," it is less scholarly than Je Tsongkhapa's Jangchub Lam-rim Chen-mo or The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment and as such it is the text from which most modern lamas teach lam-rim.
Recently, Geshe-la has been focusing on actualizing the teachings through meditation, and spending a good portion of each class guiding us in specific meditations on the lam-rim topics we have been studying to help us understand what is meant by “meditating on the lam-rim” and show us how we can integrate these meditations into our daily practice. As our teachers repeatedly stress, we will not make progress if we only ingest the teachings intellectually. It is only engaging in the three wisdoms (listening, reflecting and meditating) that we will actually make changes in our minds. Receiving this type of practical guidance from an experienced teacher such as Geshe Tenley is a great blessing, and we are very fortunate to benefit from his guidance.
Summary of February 21, 2021 Class
Continuing with Geshe Tenley’s emphasis on using the power of meditation to aid in our understanding of the topics in Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, we began class with a brief meditation on the breath to calm our minds and then moved on to a calm abiding meditation using a Buddha image as the object of concentration. Geshe-la reminded us that the aim of this practice is to develop our ability to single-pointedly focus on an object and differs from analytical meditation, which investigates and analyzes statements and views.
Following the meditation, Geshe-la asserted that developing a peaceful and happy life does not require advanced esoteric practices such as Dzogchen or Mahamudra but rather results from examining and correcting our own behaviors. Four guidelines were covered:
1) Contentment with our circumstances
Geshe-la asked us to consider the two types of happiness – temporal (or temporary) and ultimate. Temporary happiness comes from external conditions such as a healthy body and low-stress circumstances. Ultimate happiness arises when we have completely abandoned the delusions. The teachings of the Buddha assert that depending on external factors for satisfaction results in a neverending struggle: when one desire is fulfilled, another arises, and on and on. If we lack contentment in our lives, it is not that we do not have enough, but that we do not appreciate what we have. Geshe-la encouraged us to compare our situation with others dealing with extremely difficult circumstances, such as those in Texas who recently lost power and clean water due to unusually cold weather. Most of us here are blessed with sufficient resources, and it’s important to recognize this, reduce our desire for what we don’t have and enjoy the contentment that will follow.
2) Don’t depend on others’ opinions for our own self-worth
Trying to please everyone can lead to excessive concern with one’s own image and the accompanying mental disturbances. We must not be so concerned with what Geshe-la called “others’ eyes and minds”, in other words, how others may see us or what others may think of us. This can happen very easily from irresponsible and excessive social media and internet use. To create the happiness and peace of mind we all would like to experience, it’s very important to examine our behaviors and act according to our own personal standards.
3) Practice exchanging oneself with others
Until we are free of delusions, it is not uncommon to see the very faults in others that we also possess. To effectively practice Exchanging Oneself for Others or tonglen-- see Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, Day Eighteen, Outline 351-352 (page numbers vary according to the edition of the book) our focus should be on our own behavior, not that of others. It’s common that if someone says even just one negative thing to us, we feel very aggrieved, but don’t concern ourselves with the many negative words and actions we have engaged in towards others. Additionally, we do not need to take on all the problems of others. If an issue is not your concern, then step aside.
4) If we have difficulties, remember impermanence – nothing stays the same
Our situation, however unpleasant or intolerable it may be at the moment, will certainly change. Our thoughts and actions have a direct bearing on the experiences of happiness or suffering we will have in the future.
These points remind us that Buddhism can be highly pragmatic and effective in bringing about happiness in our daily lives.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Geshe Tenley is the Resident Teacher at Kurukulla Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies in Boston. He was ordained by the late Gyume Khensur Geshe Urgyen Tseten Rinpoche in 1990 and began the program of studies to become a geshe at Sera Jey Monastic University. During the course of his studies, he has received many teachings from His Holiness the Dalai Lama as well as many other highly qualified masters. In 1998, he received his full ordination (gelong) vows from His Holiness and received his geshe degree in 2008. He began teaching at Kurukulla Center in 2005 and was appointed the Resident Teacher by Lama Zopa Rinpoche in 2010. Geshe Tenley is well-known for his approachability and kindheartedness. His extensive activities in the US and around the world bring great joy and benefit to everyone he meets.
|
