Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche talk transcript at Beijing University on Buddhist Views

Day 1

I'd like to thank him for introducing me. I'm also a little nervous that he might have raised everyone's expectation about me. I'm sorry I'm a little bit skittish because I'm nervous.

It is a very big honor for me to have this opportunity to speak in this one of the greatest learning centers of the world. I have heard about this university's fame and glory so many times. But I've never even imagined that I would actually come here and speak on the campus.

As you all know, learning is a passion for many of us. Especially learning the ultimate truth since to be a big passion even since without memories. Even today we human beings have not stop learning and seeking the truth. For me, personally, the Buddhism is just another angle of learning or tools to find the truth. Although its history is originated in India, it became popular in many different parts of the world. Especially today.

Even though I don't know so much, but I hear about Master Hsuan Tsang's diligence and determination to really study the truth. According to Buddhism, all his sacrifice and endurance are just amazing. Almost inconceivable. If you ask me how much relevance of that to today as far as Buddhism is concerned. I especially think it did does a lot. Not necessarily as a religion, but as a means to, as a tool to find or actualize the truth. And you may wonder maybe because of Buddhism is something that originates from India. So it really doesn't have much relevance to China or elsewhere. I think things are not like that. I'll leave this to Prof. Sharf. He will talk about this in the afternoon.

I'd like to talk a little bit about Buddhism view. As the view is what drives us. Before we talk about the Buddhism view. Again, I think we ask this question: why Buddhism? I think that question can be simply and easily answered of that. Why everything? Why science? Why technology? Why economy? I think why Buddhism because fundamentally we all want to have fun. We want to be happy and we want to really have fun, the fun that lasts long, and cheap if possible, and portable fun. I think this is the same case for everything like science, technology. If you look at what we do, we are always looking for fun. Of course, the definition of what is fun differs. Different beings. Different cultures. Different nationalities. Different generations. And then because of that, the methods or the tools to acquire the truth also then began to have different varieties.

Picture source: flickr.com

According to the Indian prince Siddhartha, the reason why we are not able to have the fun as much as we want depends basically only on one reason. We are always looking at something fake, unreliable, uncertain. And then we think that's the truth. An absolute truth. And that is ultimately what he called ignorance. This is actually nothing religious. We are talking completely science.

If you want to have genuine Italian leather shoes, and if someone tells you what you're wearing is a fake one. Then you will have suffering. And you don't have the courage to be happy with the fake. Not many of us will do. So for this Indian Prince Siddhartha, finding the truth is really happen to be the biggest quest for him.

Once he was in the palace, he saw death, old-age and sickness. When he heard that death, old-age and sickness are inevitable and going to happen to everyone. Then naturally he wants to solve that problem. Of course if there is a problem, our immediate reaction is to solve that problem. So he slipped out of palace and left his family. Because his family was against him having this idea of finding the truth.

So finally he found, this is what Buddhist would say, finally he found the truth. That does not mean that Buddha finally find a way so that we don't have to die. Finally he found a moisturizer cream so that our skin would never wrinkle. He found a truth, and then he realized that you have to accept that truth. If you accept that truth, you don't suffer. The truth that he found, what he has realized was later taught to his students. In order to make them easier accessible, we categorize them into many different categories. So there are a lot of categories of truth. They are a lot of methods to getting close to the truth. Then the unfortunate thing happened. These methods I think then began to become so-called Buddhism--the religion. That is very unfortunately. Because we then began to get so attracted to the methods rather than the truth.

For instance, you ask this question: but why all these tools, in the first place, why all these methods? Why all these different kind of tools? This is a challenging question. I'll give you two examples here.



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First, this glass is filled with pristine, very very clear water. And then you are looking for the water, get this water that is completely to rim. You will not see the water, because the water is too clear, you will not see it. So in order to make you see the water, what do we do? We diluted the water a little bit. So this yellowish color has you to see there is water. So in Buddhism, you try all these methods, which is nothing more than that dilution. In other words, what I'm saying is, all these sorts of Buddhism methods, if I can be very frank, they are all fake. They are not the real truth, but if you ask me: do they help? Very much! Without them, you don't see it. But the problem is we get too attracted to the color not the water.

You would ask, in that case why Siddhartha taught us all these different schools of Buddhism. If you at a gunpoint, if someone tells you, you must say the sky is red, or the sky is green. You have no choice, but agree and say yes, the sky is green. But inside you know it's not green. That's how exactly Buddha taught all these teachings. He had no choice. He was not at a gunpoint. Anybody. But he had no choice. Because, the Buddhists would say, he has powerful compassion.

Let's say, you're dreaming right now. A nightmare. That you are sleeping with a tiger. And you're frantic. To get out of that, there are several things you could do. You can chase away this tiger. That's not bad. This is something that most of us might do it right away. But there is a much better way: a bucket of cold water. But if you really think it carefully, both ways are wrong. Why? Because the bucket of cold water has not chased away any tiger. There was no tiger. You were dreaming. So Buddhism methods are usually like that. You should still thank that bucket of cold water because it is good for you. Your appreciation of that bucket of cold water is good. Because next time when you dream again. You know what to do.

Now let's talk about the view. The view as we said previously, the view is what drives us. Everything. Basically, the view is an idea. Maybe right now, in our world, there is an idea that SUV and BMW cars are good. A slim body is good. That's the view. Now motivation comes in. Right? Of course motivation can be very conditional. Until all these magazines such as Vogue and Cosmopolitan are introduced, I don't think many people have the motivation of becoming slim. So because of these conditions, now you have the motivation to become slim. Because you think the idea of becoming slim is the ultimate truth. So what do you do? You think about becoming slim. You read about it. Go to the workshops. That's basically the meditation. And then cutting down rice. Running. Herbal stuff to slim you down. That's the action. So the view is very important. So let me share with you four fundamental views of Siddhartha.

First, he discovered that no matter where or when, everything compounded as long as something is compounded is all impermanent.

Because even the very action of putting two things together--compounding, that is already impermanent. The shape has changed. The color has changed. The size has changed. But I'll tell you that, as simple as it sound, it is not that easy to get used to it. I'll give you a very popular example coming from Theravada Buddhism.

They said that every time you look at your hand. This is what Buddha said. Every time you look at you hand, there are three fundamental mistakes you make.

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The first one is you think it in terms of whole, not as a part. You don't think can I shake your veins, bones, and blood or skin. You think it in terms of a hand. So because we think everything as a whole. In reality, there is no hand. There are a lot of particles of a lot of different things.

The second, we think yesterday's hand is today's hand. I mean, today's hand is yesterday's hand. It's the same hand that you are shaking with. But this is again not the truth. If today's hand is exactly the same hand as yesterday. Then really moisturizer companies will have no business. Hand cream. Even as we see it's deteriorating day by day, minute by minute. We think it is the same hand.

The third mistake is we think it is independent. It is not depend on any other things. More will be discussed later. So see now Buddha discovered that this fundamental mistaken view then leads you to suffering. How? You think that this will last. You think it is permanent. So what do you do? You get attached. You just never think that one day this is going to be inside of coffin. So what do you do? You go around the world, trying to protect this. Even Buddhists will go to their master asking for bless, so it can live healthy and live forever. And if I joke with you. To live long is a very important issue in the Chinese society. We already see an old man with a peach-- "xiantao". Like the genuine Italian shoes or fake Italian shoes. Because you have diverted yourself from the truth that no matter what do you do, this impermanence has led you to all kinds of unnecessary sufferings. Remember what we've discussed right at the beginning? Therefore we are not having fun. Because we are so busy taking care of this. Okay. Now let's shift this a little bit. The Buddha's first truth/view that everything is impermanent, it is not necessarily a bad news as many people would think. Actually, impermanence is a very good news. If your hand is becoming dry, you should buy moisturizer. Why? Because of impermanence it will work. If you are not millionaire now, thanks to impermanence, you can become millionaire.

So it's very important to understand the Buddha's view of impermanence. Not as a religious threat. Like hey, you know, you'd better behave, otherwise, you will die and go to hell and all that. Base on this view, you can develop an attitude. An attitude based on accepting the truth. Okay. In order to understand this truth, there are many different methods. Meditation-related. Action-related. If you go to countries, like Myanmar, or Thailand, you see monks who have shaved their head. The act of shaving head is a method to remind you the impermanence. It's a discipline to help you remember impermanence. Not that Buddha has some allergy towards long hair. That he imposed this rule that as a Buddhist you have to shave your hair. So all these rituals are actually to take you to this truth. As I said before, unfortunately, we get so caught by the rituals, but not the impermanence. Okay, go back to our first question: Why Buddhism? We can have a really good, long-lasting, portable, and cheap fun. And how do you do that? By understanding all compounding things are impermanent. By accepting that. Even if somebody is wishing you long life, ten thousand years. Or on the other side, even if you are going through the most depressing time.

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I don't know if you have this expression in Chinese: "Time heals". That's a simple truth. By the way, I should tell you. When Prince Siddhartha was contemplating on how to really seek and search the truth. He was very practical. All his teachings are very practical. I'm sure he has the wit and intellect to do a research on what the neighboring deer eat or elephants eat when he was meditating. He can do a fantastic research on those. But a breakthrough discovery of dietary system of a deer might help a few deer. That's all about it. He really wants to get to the bottom of all the problems. So he realized problem No.1 is: Not understanding that all the compounded are impermanent. All of them, not a single thing exempt.

Now the second view. Where does all these pain come from? Not only the gross pains such as headache and stomachache. Basically, the human pains are not getting what we want. And having to live with this uncertainty all the time. Most of us are very uncertain like right after this, will we see our friends and loved ones? We are not sure. What is it? What is the fundamental cause of this pain? He never come out with answer like oh, yes there is an evil force from outside of galaxy. It invaded us. He didn't say that. No external existing evil being created pains to us. Then he discovered it is clinging to the self. Every mindstream or emotion that is directly or indirectly involved with clinging to the self leads to pain. All our emotions such as love, hatred, jealousy, all of them basically stem from clinging to the self. That's a big discovery. Because we as human being, we like blaming someone. According this second view, there is none to blame. If you have to blame, you have to blame this habit of clinging to the self. But this is a very big subject in Buddhism study. We hear a lot of Buddhism teaching about selflessness. But I want to tell you something here. It's not that Buddha found that the self is evil, therefore clinging to the self is wrong. It is not that at all. So again here, I would say, the second view is nothing religious. But again, unfortunately, these tools to contemplate on the selflessness have unfortunately become very religious. As I was saying, he didn't discover that evil self. He never said therefore clinging to the self lead you to pains. Actually, he found there is no self. Therefore clinging to the self is wrong. That's why we suffer. This is important. As you know because many of we Buddhist always say, oh, I'm so egoist. I'm selfish. We all judge it very ethically or very religiously.

He said that actually everything is conditioned. He thinks that, basically, the so-called ignorance is self-clinging and is you are looking at something that is actually several components putting together then you think it's something. Like this table, table leg, plank, all these put together, then it becomes a table. Things put together, then it becomes something.

Probably, you already know this trick. But I'll show you a trick. I can only do it in English. If I show you this. How would you read this? You read twelve, thirteen and fourteen. Now, the same thing I fold it differently. Then thirteen will become B. Why? Because we have A and C. Our mind shifts through. When 13 is in the middle of 12 and 14. It is 13. But when 13 is in the middle of A and C. Then it becomes B. Why? You can always argue this with Siddhartha. This is something good. You can debate with him. Never you should take that on the face of that. But According to him, everything is basically like this 13 or B. Everything is basically you put together and then it is functioning as something, which can be changed if another component is put together.

If I put a bed sheet here, and a blanket and a pillow here, it becomes a bed. If I chop it into pieces and put it in the kitchen. Firewood I get. So now, he thought the so-called self is exactly 13 and B. Basically, you are looking at several components put together. Form, feeling, color and all these. This is a very big subject in Buddhism study.

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I'm sure many of you know Heart Sutra. Form is emptiness. Emptiness is form. No eyes. No ears. No nose. Basically, according to the Buddha, several components put together, you come up with this idea of self, which totally does not exist at all. This is what you are clinging at. This is ridiculous actually. But again, as simple as it sound, it is very difficult to combat with this self-clinging. Why? Because it's an old habit. Even to quit smoking is difficult. That's relatively a new habit. Because you didn't hold a cigarette when you were born. But clinging to the self is a very old habit. So what do we do?

Basically there are several components put together, and we think it is the self. Then we built a lot of hideout so that the self will be comfortable, insured and powerful. This is where like money, power, influence and friendship. It is very big. If there is no self there is no economy. If what Buddha said works and if a lot of people actually practice combating the self, the market will crash. Because there is no insecurity, if there is no insecurity, there is no business. You must know that, right? I don't know much about business. But it looks like this is the quintessence of business. And they have people teaching us what we don't have and what we should have. To make this non-existing self more comfortable and more insured and on the process of trying to make this non-existing self comfortable, on the larger scale, we destroyed our own world. Environment. Everything. Every one of us. On the smaller scale, even between the friends and the family, we say we love them. It is all related to we love them because we love ourselves. Because we want to put them on the shelf, so that anytime you want, you can use them. This is basically the second view. There is nothing really religious about this. Nothing ethical. But in Buddhism, ethics is taught a lot. There is a full subject such as Vinaya. But all of them they are designed to understand the truth. As I said before, the gunpoint, you would say the sky is red. The whole path, the complicated path has been taught by Buddha himself.

Diamond Sutra is something that is very popular in Chinese culture. Maybe some of you remember...there Buddha said: Those who see me in form is a wrong view. And Buddha said, Buddha's marks are not true. Of course it is very difficult to understand this. We'd like to have a savior. A savior. Someone to blame to. Someone to pray to when all the options run out. For the Buddhist, yes, we talk about Buddha. We are talking about golden Buddha. Because we like gold. There's no one mentioned charcoal like Buddha. But even if you look at the marks of the Buddha you really understand why this is just yet another skillful means. The truth that we have been talking about, itself is the Buddha. There is no other Buddha than the truth. The truth has no color, no shape, it's not bronze-made.

But somehow we just make people to get attracted to this truth, isn't it? That is important. If you love someone, you want to really make this someone to be happy. You want really to give this person the cause of happiness. You will do anything to lead him to the truth, lead him to the cause of happiness. I'm trying to talk about Buddha's compassion. So the compassion is like this, you want to make them understand the truth. Yet the truth has no color, no shape. Nothing. Even on the general level, the truth is bitter.

Let's say, like the other day, I was in India 3 days ago. I attended a elaborate wedding. You can't really go to the couple and say, you will die some day. And also you two are human beings, therefore many times you will fight and disagree with each other. Especially this couple I've never seen them before. So in order to deliver the truth, you have to make the truth attractive. This is when the Buddhists begin to paint the Buddha with gold. It became much more elaborate later. there are actually some people who like blue color, then we have blue Buddha. There are some people who like coral. So there is Amitabha Buddha with coral color.

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If you look carefully at these methods, if it is really an authentic method, it should all have an element of bringing you to the truth. For example, even the Buddha's qualities like the golden color that we Buddhists are so proud of. Or the ears long enough to touch the shoulder. I mean think, would you really seriously date with someone like that? Would you proudly show your boyfriend who with completely golden color to your normal friends? Or ears hanging to shoulder. So all these Buddhists' symbols, if they are authentic, they are designed to attract you. Then lead you to the truth.

Because as long as you are bound by color, shape, you are bound by compounded phenomena.

So it is very difficult for me to present these two views. It's quite vast. It's very difficult for me to put it in a very short time. There are two more truth out of four Seals of Dharma, which we will discuss tomorrow. So maybe about 10 minutes for your questions.

Day 2

Today we are going to talk about the two remaining truths.

These two are very difficult. Actually, out of the four truths, the first two truths that we discussed yesterday that all compounded things are impermanent and all emotions coming from ego are pain. These two are actually the relative truths. These two remained are what we call the ultimate truths. The ultimate truth as what Prof. Sharf said yesterday, the moment I speak, I've failed. Even in the Buddhism Sutra, we have a saying like, in order to express the ultimate truth, even the mouth of the Buddha is not good enough.

But you see, the thing it is, even today the ultimate truth can not be expressed is already an expression. Remembering yesterday we talked about, in order to allure us to the right view, we have to make the truth attractive.

These two truths, very difficult to make them attractive for the human mind. Especially the third one. Everything is emptiness. Not attractive at all. The last one, the nirvana. For centuries, the Buddhists have tried to make it very attractive, and actually it had sort of worked. Western Land, the lotus is blooming, you come out from the lotus bud and all that. Nirvana, a very happy place forever; your computer does not need to be updated. All that kind of things.

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But the third one, the emptiness, it is very difficult to discuss. But yet it is the most important. I would say, out of these four, the third is the most important. For centuries, masters and saints all had tried to explain it. They sang songs about it. If you go to Tibetan monasteries, they even painted emptiness. I don't know if you have ever seen a blue, naked Buddha. No ornament. It represents the emptiness. The blue color represents the sky. The sky color again cross to the emptiness.

Remembering as I said yesterday? All these tools are just tools. They are not the actual truth. And I want to really emphasize this because many times we end up with falling in love with these tools. This is why I thought it is very interesting and important what Prof. Sharf said yesterday afternoon. Because as Buddhism travels to different places, the technique/the tools have to be changed. I was shocking to realize one of the greatest influence in Japanese Buddhism probably has a little bit of Christian influence. That is shocking.

These are important for specially academic students to know, not necessarily by practitioners. Because with these information we will be guarded from the misunderstanding.

My translator told me that in china when Buddhism was introduced in the beginning. Because the begging bowl, the Chinese couldn't really accept the whole Vinaya kind of phenomena that all believed in India. Because maybe Chinese are very practical people, they think the begging is not the right thing to do. You have to earn. Now in place like India, even today, a life that led with a begging and wander. They call it ...(Hindi). They consider it a very good life. It's a very honorable life. It's a very, what they call the right livelihood.

As the Buddhism is traveling, it becomes different. In Tibet, if a monk wears blue, the Tibetans will just condemn it. This is funny. Because actually the Buddha allows monks to wear blue. But I think because the king actually thought monks can only wear either red or yellow. That's why it became like that.

And many times, actually it becomes a little bit bad also, you know. The things like these culture influences. Like the Tibetan Mahayana. The Tibetan Buddhists are Mahayana Buddhists, they shouldn't really eat meat. But okay, in Tibet, maybe nothing grows. So they can eat meat. But When they are in places like Beijing, there are so many vegetables. So They should really eat vegetables. They still say, you know, we still have this old habit. They use Tantra as an excuse also. Oh…we are Tantra practitioners, so we can eat meat. So it is really important for academic students to know these things.

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Okay, also the culture habit. Let me tease you a little bit. The Chinese value common sense. They are the people with a lot of common sense. Because their culture has taught them to value common sense. India? No common sense. Because they value wisdom, transcending the common sense. Stuff like reincarnation (Next life), it's nothing to do with the common sense. Common sense is very much about this life. Just trying to tease you so that you maybe become a little bit agitated with me. You know, why I'm telling you this is because of that the Buddhism also has to adapt.

Anyway, let's go back to the third view. Now to speak in very layperson's language: the emptiness. What you see is not what it is, that's emptiness. I think that's probably the best thing I could do right now. If you see your boyfriend or girlfriend is very handsome or beautiful, you have to realize that most of other people would think they are ugly. The beauty or the ugly is not there, empty of beauty and ugly. So everything that appears is not what it is. So they must ask what is really there. We human being always like to ask these questions: what is really there? Okay, how it appears is not what it is. So in that case, what is there? This habit of needing something there is very difficult to break.

So much so, even the Buddha indicated many times in many other Sutras, such as Lankavatara Sutra, the Buddha nature, which is very much related to China. I think Xuanzang really liked this. Also, all my Chinese friends love Buddha nature. You see, again, the common sense is moving in here. If you do something, there is a beginning point, so the Buddha nature is good.

The Nagarjuna people like the Indians, they said nothing exists. Then if you ask, okay, what Buddha said about Buddha nature, what is that? There is a convenient way to say the Buddha nature is a name given to what they called the result of elimination. (The elimination of dualism—Rinpoche said this in the 2nd lecture.) And actually even Nagarjuna said, that is wonderful. Because of that, you could put it like this. You could put everything like this.

Go back to the beauty and ugly. If your boyfriend is really ugly, really ugly. Then other people would never think he is handsome. Because the ugliness is the truth. And the space is occupied by ugliness. I'm not talking about other people, even you yourself. In the evening, you found with the candle light your boyfriend is good looking. But in the morning when you waked up, who is this? You see, there's a change. This change can't take place if the ugliness really does exist outside.

These are probably the best thing I could do to really talk emptiness with very layperson's language. But even though it is something not expressible, it is something that can be experienced through examples. There are three basic experiences. They have a height ranking. The lowest, examples, like a dream, like magic, at the end of Diamond Sutra. That's the lowest way. Then the higher way: reasoning, which is like what we've talked about the beauty and ugliness. And that's probably what Mahayana people mostly do. Now for some Mahayana, especially the Vajrayana, then they say, if you have a master who can point out directly the experience of this emptiness, that's the best way! And this can come in the form of many things. I think the Zen people have Koans. Anyway, conclusion: what you see or how it appears is not what it is. That is the emptiness for now.

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Next is nirvana. Nirvana is the fourth truth.

Nirvana in our head is something like you will get it after a long long time. Something like a heaven. That's not a good understanding of nirvana. Because Buddha said, Nirvana is beyond extreme. When all extreme is exhausted, that's the experience of nirvana.

Let me give you an example, this is from a Buddha Sutra. There is a girl dreaming and really longing for a child. She dreamed that she actually got pregnant and gave birth. She is very happy. In the same dream, the child died. She is unhappy. When she waked up, both that happiness and unhappiness have no reference. They don't exist. She is free from these two extremes. But this is difficult as I said before, because we already have painted a lot of these pictures, like the flowers, the Western Land and all that. They are very important. We need them. The Amitabha Sutra has many descriptions about the lotus land.

I always give this example. I'll give you this now. If you are asking me that do you really want enlightenment? I don't think so. Not because of my compassion that really drives me to samsara and help people. Nothing to do with that. Because I want to watch the World Cup and enjoy it. Because I want to read suspense books and see mystery movies. Do you know what happened when you get enlightenment? There is no time. The extreme of time is gone. There is no past, no present, and no future, which also actually means omniscience. So the whole next World Cup, everything, the results of play I know instantly. That's not fun. If you watch mystery movie, you know what will happen right from the beginning, you don't even have to watch the movie. No fun again. What I want to say is, usually, we are looking for an enlightenment that is partially omniscient, like enough to read your lover's diary or the like.

I'm telling you this is because I want to paint a picture of enlightenment, beyond time and beyond space. I do know you would think, wow…this is just beyond me. How I can do that? You should not be discouraged like this. This is doable. If you can really pursuit a path, let's say, a few minutes of meditation everyday, training your mind everyday. Now, I'd like to really mention this. People always recognized these sensations like, my forehead is itchy, or my third eye is about to burst out, or I had a good dream. Please don't speak about that. Because this is disgrace. It's not good.

The result of practice is when you began to have a little bit of shift. Let's say you are someone who gets so stuffed up when somebody is praising you, or get really depressed if someone criticizes you a little bit. Let's say, after a few years of mediation, you don't have much that kind of hang-ups. That is amazing! That is equal to ushnisha. The tip of Buddha's head. I mean even the smallest obsession, let's say you are someone who need to iron your underwear every night, because you are so obsessed with cleanness and tidiness. But after years of meditation, you think that doesn't matter, maybe your underwear haven't washed for two years. I would say it's a small enlightenment. That's what we are going to look for.

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Before I close, I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce you a little bit Vajrayana. Because what we've been talking about is basically the common ground for both Vajrayana and Mahayana. By the way, Vajrayana is Mahayana. I'd like to really tell you, without Hinayana, there is no Mahayana. Without these two, there is no Vajrayana. I know the Vajrayana is very ***y in some places. Many people forgot its danger also. A classical example. If you have jaundice, and you are looking at a conch, you see it's yellow. I want to present you how Mahayana and Vajrayana deal with this. Mahayana and Hinayana, they say, look, you should eat this medicine. Your idea of yellow conch is wrong. You should eat medicine and get rid of that yellow conch. Now in the Vajrayana, they say it's a quick path. The reason why it's a quick path, they say it's because you bypass this thinking of yellow conch is wrong, I should eat medicine, so I can get rid of the yellow conch. They don't emphasize all these. Immediately, you begin to think it's white. Because it is white. You are looking at a conch. You are seeing at a yellow conch because you have jaundice. Then think, think and think it's white. The reason why I want to tell you this is because Vajrayana has rituals. All rituals involve deity. All the deities from your self-reflection are like six-armed and stuff like that. The reason why I say this is exactly why we talked about the conch. Instead thinking I will become him, I am him or her! But this has been misused a lot.

In fact, many Hinayana and some Mahayana, they don't believe Vajrayana is Buddhism. They think it is Hinduism. Especially the Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism is under scrutiny of many scholars. And rightfully so. I forget the name of this master. This Tibetan master was going to India. On the way in Nepal, a Hindu master was going inside to Tibet. They met on the road. A Hindu master was going in. A Tibetan master was going out. The Tibetan master asked this Hindu master, where are you going? The Hindu master said, oh, I'm going to Tibet to teach Buddhism. "But you are Hindu.""I'm very much Hinduism. But I know Buddhism. At the moment the Tibetans are so enthusiastic about Buddhism. They'll give me a lot of gold." We have a story like that.

There's another more interesting story. The Atisha Sagara, when he heard XXX died in India. He cried. His disciple asked him, you've heard so many bad news, but why you cry on this? He said, in whole this world, there are only two people who can actually differentiate between Hinduism Tantra and Buddhism Tantra. I am here in Tibet. The other one died in India. So there is no more who can differentiate that. We are talking about the thing happened more than a thousand years ago. I'd like to give you this. You need to think about it, and discuss it with people like him (Prof. Sharf).

Q & A.

Question : About retreat.

Retreat has a lot of definitions. Basically you are supposed to creat a boundary. There is an outer boundary such as I'm not going out of my room, out of my cave, or out of my monastery. Then you lock yourself in there for maybe one day, one year, one lifetime. Right? That's only the outer boundary. This kind of retreat is a sort of ordinary retreat. But the highest boundary you can make is between the past mind and the future mind. Being in the present. Even when you are brushing your teeth. That kind of retreat is the best.

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四法印(一)

谢谢王教授所做的介绍.我有点紧张,因为担心王教授的介绍会提高每个人对我的期望.

能够来这里对大家演讲是很大的荣幸.来到这个世界级的大学演讲是我的荣幸.
我已久闻北京大学的盛名,但我从来没有想到能来到这里对大家演讲.

学习对很多人来说是种热情.特别对于学习究竟真理自无始以来都种很大的热情,直到今天,我们人类都没有停止学习和追寻真理.对我来说,佛教是另外一个学习的角度或寻求真理的工具.虽然佛教起源于印度,可是后来在世界很多地方都很盛行,尤其在今天如此.

虽然我知道的不多,但我了解到玄奘大师在追寻真理过程中的精进和决心,他所做出的这种牺牲跟忍耐几乎是令人无法想象的.如果你要问我佛教在今天这个社会还有什么作用的话,我觉得还是有很大作用的.并不一定完全是宗教方面的,而是作为一个寻找真理的工具.也许有人认为佛教起源于印度,所以跟其他地方,比如说中国,没有太大的关系.我认为事实上不是这样说的.我想把这个题目留给沙尔夫教授在下午再谈.

我想要来谈一下佛教的见地.因为见地是驱使我们的东西.在我谈到佛教的见地之前,我们先来谈谈为什么要佛教?这个问题很容易回答.事实上任何事情都可以这样,为什么我们要科学?为什么我们要技术?为什么我们要其他东西?为什么要佛教呢?因为基本上我们都想要好玩.我们都想要快乐,我们都想要好玩,而且是种持续的好玩,最好还要便宜.而且还可以随身携带.这跟我们做的其他事情一样,不管是科学和技术都一样,不管我们做什么,我们永远是在寻找好玩的事情.当然,好玩的定义各有不同.对不同的众生,不同的文化,不同的国家,不同的世代都有不同的定义.因此去追寻好玩的工具和方法也就不同.

(Picture source: flickr.com)

根据悉达多这位印度王子而言,根据他而言,为什么我们不会有持续的好玩的事情呢?是因为一件事情.我们永远在看着一个事物.我们一直在看着虚假/虚伪的事物.不可靠的,不确定的事物,而我们认为它是真理.我们认为它是绝对真实的.这就是他(悉达多)认为的所谓基本的无明.这事实上与宗教完全无关.我认为,我们完全在谈论科学.

如果你想要有一双意大利真皮皮鞋,如果有人告诉你,你穿的是双假的.那你就会受苦.你就没有勇气自在地穿那双假皮鞋,我们大部分人都做不到这点.对这位印度王子来说,寻求真理是他最大的追求.

当他在宫殿的时候,当他还在皇宫的时候,他看到老病死,当他听说老病死是无法避免的,会发生在每一个人身上的时候,他自然就想要解决那个问题.当然如果有问题,我们马上的直觉反应就是要解决那个问题.所以他逃出了宫殿,离开他的皇位.离开了他的家人,因为他的家人反对他追寻真理的主意.

佛教徒会这么说,最后他终于找到了真理.这并不是说,佛陀找到了一种方法,所以我们不会死亡.不是说他究竟找到了一种保护皮肤的乳液,所以我们就不会有皱纹.他最后意识到,你必须接受这个真理,当你接受了这个真理,你就不会受苦.他所寻求到的真理后来教导给他的学生.为了让大家比较容易接受和了解,所以我们把这些真理分成几类.所以对于真理做了很多分类.也有很多方法来趋近这个真理.结果不幸的事情发生了,这些方法后来就变成了所谓的佛教.仁波切认为这非常不幸.因为后来我们变得非常被这个方法吸引,而不是真理本身.

每个人都会问的问题就是:为什么要这些工具?这是个具挑战性的问题.我将给大家两个例子.

如果这个杯子完全装满了纯净的水.然后你在找水喝.这杯水是满满的一杯到杯子边缘.你不会看到有水,因为水太透明了.你会看不见水.为了让你看到水,我们怎么办呢?我们把水染污一点点.所以这个黄黄的颜色帮你看到水.所以在佛教里,你看到的所有这些方法.不过类似这个染色的事情.所以,所有这些佛教里的方法,如果我可以很直接说的话,都是虚假的.它们不是真正的真理.但是,如果你问我:这些方法有用吗?非常有用!没有这些方法,你就看不到它.可是问题在于,我们被这个颜色吸引,而不是水.

(Picture source: flickr.com)

如果是这样的话,你也许会问,为什么悉达多太子要教授这么多佛教的方法?如果在枪的威胁下,人家强迫你一定要说天是红的,或天是绿的.你完全没有选择,只好说,是的,天是绿的.可是你心里晓得,其实天不是绿色的.这就是佛陀教所有教法时的心情,他别无选择.虽然没有人拿着枪对着他,他没有选择,当然佛教徒会说他有极大的慈悲心.

让我们假设,诸位现在在做梦.是一个梦魇.你在跟老虎睡觉.你吓坏了.为了从这个噩梦中出来,你可以采取几个方法,我们可以把老虎赶走.这是个还不错的方法.可是有一个更好的方法就是一桶冷水,可是你仔细想想,两种方法都不对.为什么?因为那桶冷水浇在你的头上,并没有赶走任何老虎.这儿根本就没有老虎.你在做梦!所以佛教的方法通常都像这样.你还是要感谢那桶冷水,因为那对你有好处.你感激那桶水是好处的.因为下次你再做梦的时候,你就知道该怎么办了.

现在,我们来谈谈见地.正如先前所说的,见地就是驱使我们的行为,一切事情.见地是一种想法或观念.在我们现今社会中,有一种见地,即休旅车和宝马车是好的.或者,苗条的身材是好的.这是见地.再来就有了发心或动机.当然动机是非常受制约的.在没有那些时尚杂志的宣传之下,事实上一开始很多人并没有想要身材苗条的动机.因为这些杂志的制约,所以很多人想变得苗条.而且认为变得苗条这个主意是好的.这变成了他们的究竟真理.所以怎么办?你就想要变得苗条.你读有关于如何变苗条的书,跑去健身房,基本上这就是修.再来就是,不吃米饭,跑步啊,吃各种草药或是茶来减肥,这就是行.所以见地非常重要.我现在想要跟大家分享一下悉达多提出来的四种见地.

第一个,他发现,不管在何时何地,任何和合而成的事物都是无常的.

即使是把两个东西和合在一起的这个动作,这个行为本身就是无常.因为形状已经变了,颜色已经变了,尺寸已经变了.这点虽然听起来很简单,但是很不容易接受.我将告诉大家一个南传佛教中常用的例子.

佛陀说,每次你看自己的手,你就犯了三个错误.

第一个你把它看成整体,而不是部分.你不会跟别人说,我可以握你的血管,骨头和皮肤吗?而你认为这是一只手.我们通常将事物视为整体.事实上,这里没有所谓的手,而是一大堆分子的组合.

第二点,我们认为今天的手就是昨天的手,昨天的手就是今天的手.你在握的是同一只手.这仍不是事实.如果今天的手就是昨天的手,那所有护肤乳液公司就没有生意可做了.尽管我们看见这只手一天不如一天,越来越糟,我们还认为这是同一只手.

(Picture source: flickr.com)

第三个错误是我们认为它(手)是独立的.它的存在不依赖于任何其他东西.这个我们稍后会更多地谈及.佛陀发现这个基本的错误见地在引导我们受苦.怎么会这样呢?你认为这会持续下去.你认为这是恒常.那你怎么办呢?你变得执着于它,你不会想有一天这个东西会在棺材里.所以你全世界到处跑,想要保护这个东西.甚至佛教徒也这样做,他们跑到上师面前,希望他加持这个东西,让它健康长寿.我可以跟大家开个玩笑.对中国人来讲长寿是件非常重要的事.不是吗?因为我们常常看到老公公手里拿着个仙桃的景象.正如刚才提到的意大利真皮皮鞋是假的例子,我们自己把自己跟真理脱离开了,所以让我们去受了一些没有必要受的苦.所以记得我们开始所说的吗,因此我们不能够开心好玩.因为我们忙于照顾这个玩意儿(手).现在让我们转个方向来看看.佛陀的第一个见地:一切都是无常,这不像很多人认为的那样,是件坏事.事实上,无常是个非常好的消息.如果你的手越来越干燥,你就应该买护肤乳液.为什么?因为无常,所以护肤乳液真的有用.如果你现在不是百万富翁,感谢无常,因为你可以变成百万富翁.

所以了解佛陀这个无常的见地是非常重要的.不要把它想成是种宗教的威胁,说:哦..你不好好干,你就会下地狱.根据这个真理,我们要发展一种能接受真理的态度.为了了解这个真理,有很多很多方法,跟修有关系的,跟行有关系的.如果你到缅甸或是泰国,你看见那里的出家人剃了光头.剃光头这种行为是为了提醒你有无常这件事情,并不是说佛陀对长头发过敏.然后他强加这种制度说,你要当佛教徒,你就要剃光头.所有这些仪式不过是为了带你走向真理.可是如同前面讲的,我们对这些仪式太过着迷,以至于忘却了无常.让我们回到最开始的问题:为什么要佛教?简单地回答就是,因此我们可以拥有长久,便宜可以随身携带的好玩.如何办到这件事情呢?就要了解一切和合事物都是无常的,并且经由接受这样的事情.即使有人恭祝你长寿.或者从另外一个角度来看,即使你正在渡过最沮丧的一段时间也一样.

我不晓得中文是否有这样的说法:"时间治愈一切."这就是很简单的一个真理.当悉达多太子在追寻真理的时候,在想如何找到真理.他事实上是非常实际的.他的一切教法都非常实际.我确信,当悉达多太子在禅修的时候,他有足够的智慧去很好地研究身边的那些鹿啊,大象啊,都吃些什么.可是一个突破性的有关鹿的消化系统的研究顶多只是帮助了几只鹿而已.他想要探询的是一切问题的根源.所以他意识到的第一个问题就是,因为我们不了解一切和合事物都是无常.一切事物都如此.没有一件例外.

接下来是第二个见地.所有这些痛苦是从哪里来的?不只那些粗重的痛苦,比如头痛,胃痛啊.基本上,是在谈到我们人类那种求不得的痛苦, 而且必须一直跟不确定性生活在一起.我们一直都活在一种不确定的状态下,就像下一刻我们还能看到我们的亲朋好友吗?很难说.那这是什么?这个痛苦的基本原因是什么?悉达多并没有说,哦,他发现有一个来自银河之外的邪恶势力侵入我们,所以我们会这样.没有这种所谓在我们身外的邪恶东西给我们制造痛苦,他发现是因为我执的关系.所以一切心流,一切情绪只要直接或间接跟我执有关系,就会带来痛苦.我们的一切情绪,包括爱,恨,嫉妒都来自我执.这是一个很大的发现.作为人类,我们喜欢怪罪别人.根据第二个见地,你不能怪罪任何人,如果你要怪罪的话,就要怪罪我执这种习气.这在佛教研究中是个很大的主题.我们在佛教中听过很多关于无我的教法.但我想要跟大家说一个事情,并不是因为佛陀发现自我是邪恶的,因此说执着自我是错的.完全不是那样.所以再度要说的是,第二个见地也完全非宗教性的.可是再度不幸的是,这种反思无我的方法又变得非常宗教性.悉达多并不是说发现了邪恶的自我.他也从来没有说过,执着自我会带你到痛苦.事实上,他发现没有自我.因此执着于自我是错的.这就是我们为什么会受苦.这个非常重要,因为我们佛教徒经常说,哦,我很自我,我很自私,所以我们经常批判自己,而且以一种非常伦理或宗教性的态度来批判自己.

他说,实际上一切都是因缘.一切都是缘起.他基本上是说,无明等于我执这件事情.你在看一个东西,这个东西事实上是由一些临时事物组成.可是你认为它是另外一个东西.就像这张桌子,有这个桌脚,有这个桌板,所有东西组合而成,然后成为了一张桌子.东西和合在一起,就成为一种东西.

(Picture source: flickr.com)

也许大家都已晓得这个诡计,但我将演示个诡计给你们看.我只能用英文来演示.

(仁波切在一张纸上写:12 13 14.然后指着13说,你会说这是什么?你会说13.如果将纸倒过来,13就变成了B.为什么会这样?因为有A和C.当13在12和14中间时,你认为它是13.但在A和C中间时,它变成了B.)

当然你可以永远和悉达多来争论这个问题,这是件很好的事情.你绝对不能在表面上就直接接受.根据佛陀,任何事物都和这个13或B一样.任何事情都如此.在一个组合的状态下做某种作用.可在另外的事物再来作用它的时候,它会变成其他的事物.

如果我们在(桌子上)铺上床垫,毯子和枕头,它就变成了一张床.如果把它切成碎片放在厨房里,它就变成了柴火.所以他认为所谓的自我跟这个13和B一模一样.基本上,我们在看一些由数种事物组合而成的东西.形状感觉等等.在佛教研究中,这是个大主题.

我相信很多人都读过心经.色即是空,空即是色.无眼,无耳,无鼻等等.基本上根据佛陀而言,由几个元素组合而成而让你产生自我的概念.事实上这个根本就不存在.而我们却执着于这些东西.这实在荒唐.说起来简单,但真要和自我的观念战斗却很难.为什么呢?因为自我是个旧习气.事实上就算戒烟都很困难,而抽烟还算是个相对较新的习惯.因为当你刚生下来的时候,你并没有拿着根香烟从娘胎里出来.但是我执是个非常古老的习惯.那我们该怎么办呢?

基本上像我刚才说的那样,几个元素组合在一起,所以你认为有自我.所以我们就去建造很多可供自我躲藏的地方,让自我感到舒服,安全,有力.像钱财,权利,影响力和友谊等.这是很重要很大的事情,因为没有自我,就没有经济可言.如果佛陀所说的真正可行,而大部分人都这样与自我做斗争的话,市场将会崩溃,因为没有不安全感,没有不安全感,就没有生意可言.大家一定都知道这点.我虽然不懂生意经,不过看起来这就是生意的精华所在.那些商家让很多人来教导我们,什么东西是我们应该有但又没有的.为了让这个不存在的自我感到更舒服更安全,在这个让不存在的自我更舒服的过程中,从较大尺度看,我们摧毁了我们自己的世界,比如环境等等.我们每一个人都这样.在较小的尺度上,即使在朋友和家人之间,我们说我们爱他们,这其实总是因为我们爱自己,所以我们才会爱他们.我们想把他们放在书架上,可以随时拿来使用.这基本上就是佛陀发现的第二个见地.就像刚才所说,这完全没有什么宗教色彩.也无关任何道德伦常.但在佛法中有很多关于道德伦常的教授.佛教中有完整的主题,比如:律.所有这些都设计用来了解真理.如同刚才所说的,在枪口威胁下,你会说天空是红色的.所有这些道都是佛陀亲自教授的.

金刚经在中国文化中很流行,其中有这么一句,诸位都记得,佛说过,若以身见我,是个错误的见地.他说,这些佛的相好都是不存在的,不真实的.当然这很难理解.我们很希望有救世主.一个被用作怪罪和祈祷对象的救世主.当所有可能都破灭的时候,我们会想这样.对于佛教徒而言,是的,我们谈到佛陀,我们谈到金身的佛.因为我们喜欢金子.从来没有人讲过像木炭颜色的佛.即使我们看到佛的这些相好,都是一些善巧方便.我们在谈的这个真理本身就是佛,没有除了真理以外的佛.真理无色无形,它也不是铜做的.

(Picture source: flickr.com)

可是从某方面来说,我们需要人们对真理产生兴趣.如果你爱某个人,你希望令他快乐.你希望给他快乐的因.所以你会做任何能将他引向快乐的因的事情.我想要谈谈佛的慈悲心.慈悲心就是,希望他们可以了解真理.可是真理无色无形.从一般层面上来说,真理是苦的.

比如,三天前我还在印度的时候,参加了一场非常隆重的婚礼.你总不能跑到新婚夫妇前说:你们晓得吗?有一天你们会死亡.你也不能说,你们俩都是人啊,所以你们会常常吵架,因为观点不一致或是不和谐等等.尤其他们从来没有见过面.所以为了传达真理,你要让真理看起来很吸引人.这就是佛教徒开始把佛漆成金色的时候.后来事情发展地更为复杂了,因为有人喜欢蓝色,所以现在有天蓝色的佛像.有人喜欢珊瑚.所以阿弥托佛的颜色就是那种红红的珊瑚色.

即使我们在谈这个方便或方法,如果这个方便是纯正的方便,它一定会拥有一个将你引向真理的元素.比如说佛的功德之一,就像这个金色,我们佛教徒都为佛身是金色感到骄傲,或者耳朵能垂到肩上.那你想想,认真地讲,你会真的跟这样一个人约会吗?你会很骄傲地对你朋友介绍你这位身体是金色,耳朵垂到肩膀上的男朋友吗?所有这些佛教象征,如果它们纯正的话,都是为了吸引你并将你引向真理.

只要你受限于这些颜色和形状,你就会被和合事物所限制.

仁波切认为,对他来说,很难向大家在这么短的时间内将佛教的这两个见地说清楚,我们明天将继续讨论四法印里的另外两个真理.接下来的大概十分钟内,大家可以问自己想问的问题.

(Picture source: flickr.com)

四法印(二)


今天我们要谈另外两个见地. 这两个非常难.事实上,昨天谈到的两个真理,一个是诸法无常,以及一切来自自我的情绪都是痛苦.这两个是相对真理.接下来要谈的两个真理就是绝对/究竟真理.究竟真理就像昨天沙尔夫教授所说的那样,我刚开口想说的时候,就不对了.正如佛经上所说,要解释究竟真理,佛之口都不足够.

大家要知道,即使究竟真理没有办法表达,这本身就已是种表达.记得我们昨天所说的吗?为了引导大家趋进究竟真理,我们需要让这些真理有吸引力.

但这两个真理,我们非常难以把它们变得有吸引力.特别是第三个:一切都是空性.这一点都不具吸引力.最后一个是关于涅槃的真理.数世纪以来,我们佛教徒都想把它变得很有吸引力,而且好像做得还蛮成功.像西方极乐世界,莲花盛开,你从莲花瓣里跑出来等等.涅槃是个永远快乐的地方,你的电脑不用再升级等等.

可是第三点:空性.这点非常难以讨论.可是我认为,四个真理中,第三点最重要.数世纪以来,大师和圣者们都想试图解释空性.他们吟唱有关空性的歌曲.如果你去藏区寺庙,你甚至可以看到他们把空性画出来.我不知道大家是否见过一尊蓝色,赤身裸体的佛像.完全没有装饰.这代表的就是空性.蓝色代表天空,而天空就代表空性.

记得我们昨天所讲的吗?所有这些工具都只是工具而已.他们不是真理.我强调这点,是因为我们会常常爱上这些工具.这也是为什么我认为昨天沙尔夫教授所谈的是非常有趣和重要的.因为佛教传播到不同地方的时候,这些工具也要随之改变.我很惊讶地听到沙尔夫教授谈道,一个日本佛教中最重要的传统很可能有基督教的影响在里面.

对于这点,尤其是那些研究佛法的学者一定要知道,修行人倒不一定需要知道这些.因为有这样的讯息他们才能避免产生误解.

(Picture source: flickr.com)

我的翻译(姚仁喜先生)昨天对我说,佛教传到中国的时候,托钵乞食这个观念,整个印度的律法系统都不被中国人所接受.也许中国人作为一个非常实际的民族,他们认为托钵乞食是不应该做的事情,应该要自己去赚钱.可是在印度,即使是今天,托钵乞食游方的修行方式仍被认为是最高行为.他们认为这是种很荣耀的生活方式,也是一种正确的生活之道.

(附:在第二场开示中,仁波切在谈托钵乞食时,提到一件事情,有次他在印度坐巴士,半路巴士坏了,这一坏不是几分钟的事情,车整整修了四个小时.在等候的时候,他注意到车上有两位赤裸着身体的印度教沙度行者,仁波切说他一直很受印度哲学启发,于是上前想跟沙度谈谈印度哲学,用他不流利的印度语.结果其中一位沙度操着标准的英语问仁波切,你会说英语吗?然后大家就开始用英语交谈.后来仁波切发现,这位说标准英语的沙度原来是哈佛大学法学院毕业生,曾在西雅图当律师当了六年后,有天突然发现,早餐,晚餐,星期六,星期天,这都没有什么用.于是出离一切,来到印度,成为一名印度教行者.他告诉仁波切,他从来不会在身上留超过两天花销的钱.仁波切说他遇到这位沙度后,一连好几天都很沮丧,然后想:我到底在干什么?这当然是仁波切开的一个玩笑.)

佛教在传播的时候会出现一些改变.在西藏,如果僧人穿蓝色的衣服.西藏人会非常不喜欢.事实上,佛陀允许僧人穿蓝色衣服.可是因为当年西藏的国王认为僧人只能穿红色或是黄色的袍子,所以后来才变成那样.这种文化的影响有时候会变得不太好.比如藏传佛教属于大乘佛教,他们实在不应该吃肉.好吧,就说,西藏实在是没有什么东西长得出来,那就吃吧.当他们来到北京,不是有这么多蔬菜吗?所以他们应该吃素.可是他们也许还会说,我们还是有这样的老习惯.而且他们还以密续作为借口,他们会说,我们是密续修行者,所以我们可以吃肉等等.所以说,做学问的学生了解这些是非常重要的.

还有文化习惯也是他们应该了解的.我来给大家开个玩笑.中国人特别尊崇常识.中国人有很多常识.是因为中国文化教导中国人要尊崇常识.印度人呢?他们没有常识.因为他们尊崇智慧,超越常识的那种智慧.比如说来生,这跟常识没有关系.常识是有关此生的.我在故意挑衅你们,所以你们会对我感到反感.我之所以跟大家说这点,是因为出于上述原因,佛教也需要去适应不同的地方.

回到第三个见地.用最普通的话来描述"空性",即你看到的并不是它真正的状态,这就是空性.这是我目前能说得最多的.如果你看到你的男朋友或女朋友,非常英俊或漂亮.你要了解其他很多人也许会认为他/她很丑陋.美貌和丑陋并不在那儿,且离于美貌和丑陋.任何显现出来的东西并不是它的真正状态.也许你会问:那到底真的是什么?我们人类老是喜欢问这样的问题:那到底真的是什么?显现的不是真正的,那真的是什么?这种需要一个什么东西在那里的习气,非常难以破除.

就因为这个习气难以破除,所以佛陀在很多佛经中都提到佛性,比如楞伽经.讲到佛性,这是个跟中国很有关系的题目.我想玄奘很喜欢佛性这个题目.所有我的中国朋友都喜欢佛性.你看,常识就在这里起作用了,不是吗?做什么事情都要有个起始点,所以佛性是好起点.

在印度,像龙树菩萨那代人,他们说什么都不存在.那你会问:关于佛性,佛陀都说了些什么呢?用一种方便的方式来表达,佛性即是给消除二元对立后的结果的一个名称.(附:仁波切在第二场开示中指出,消除的是二元对立)甚至龙树菩萨都说,这非常好.因为那样,你可以用它来表达任何事物.

(Picture source: flickr.com)


回到美貌和丑陋的问题.如果你的男朋友实在很丑,别人就不会认为他英俊.因为丑陋就是实相.那空间就会被丑陋占据.不说其他人,就说说你自己.晚上在烛光下,你说不定发现你的男朋友其实长得还可以.可是早上起床的时候,你一看,哎哟,这是谁啊?你看,有改变吧.如果丑陋真的外在在那里的话,那这种变化就不会发生.

这就是目前我用一般语言能讲得出来的空性.虽然空性不是个能表达讲述出来的东西,但是它可以被体验.有三种方法可以去体验空性.这些方法有高低之分.最低的一种,通过例子,比如像一场梦,像幻术,如同金刚经结尾所说的那样.这是最初级的方法.更高级一点的方法,用理性分析.就像刚才提到有关丑陋和美貌的分析.这大概就是一般大乘修行者所采用的方式.有一些大乘修行者,尤其是金刚乘,他们会说,如果你有一位上师能直接指出那个有关空性的经验的话,那是最好的方法!可以通过很多形式达到这点,比如禅宗里有公案.让我做个结论:目前为止,空性的定义是,你看到的或它所显现的并不是它真正的样子.

接下来是涅槃.这是第四个真理.

涅槃在我们脑子里是一个我们会在很久以后将获得的东西.类似像天堂一样的东西.这是对涅槃不好的想法.佛说,涅槃是离于极端的.当所有极端都被耗尽的时候,那就是涅槃的经验.

给大家举个例子.这是佛经上提过的一个例子.有个女人,她很想要个小孩.有次她在做梦,梦中她怀孕了,然后生了一个小孩,她非常开心.可是在同一个梦中,这个小孩死了,她变得很悲伤.当她醒来的时候,快乐和悲伤都没有了参考点,它们都不存在.她远离了这两种极端.就像我前面说过的那样,很难理解涅槃,因为我们画了很多关于涅槃的画像,比如说西方极乐世界啊,莲花等等.可是这些很重要,我们需要这些.阿弥托佛经里有很多关于莲花净土的详细描述.

我总是给大家举这样的例子,现在就给大家举一个。如果你问我：你是不是真的想要证悟？我恐怕不想.并不是因为我有慈悲心,所以我要永住轮回来帮助众生,跟这个无关.我不想要证悟是因为我想看世界杯足球赛,而且很开心地看.我还想看侦探小说和惊险片.如果你证悟的话,会有什么事情发生呢?时间没有了,时间这个极端不存在了.没有过去,现在,未来--这实际上意味着全知.下届世界杯足球赛的结果,你当下就能知道.如果你去看神秘电影,电影刚开始时,你就已经知道结尾,甚至你不用看,你都会知道.这就不好玩了.通常我们在找的证悟是部分全知,足以让我们去知道情人日记里都写什么的那种神通.

刚才讲这些是想给大家描绘出一个超越空间、超越时间的涅槃的景象.我知道大家会认为：哇,这怎么可能,这超过了我的能力,我怎么可能变成这样.你们不应该这样失望,因为这是做得到的,如果你真的能够循从此道,比如说,每天禅坐几分钟,或每天修心.我特别要讲的是,很多人总喜欢谈,我有一种特别的觉受,比如我额头这里有点痒啊,我的第三只眼是不是要打开了,或者我又有一个殊胜的梦境啊等等.拜托!不要谈这些,谈这些是很羞耻的,不高雅.

(Picture source: flickr.com)

修行的真正结果是你开始有一些转变.比如你是那样一种人：有一点点赞誉你就会骄傲,或者遭受一点点批评就会很沮丧.假设经过几年的禅修后,你开始对那些东西没有什么感觉,变得不在乎了.那么这是很棒,非常殊胜的.这等同于佛陀头上的顶髻.即使是那种极小的执着,比如你每天晚上都要去熨自己的内衣,或者有洁癖.经过几年的禅修后,说不定你的内衣两年不洗,你都不会在乎了.我会说,这是一种小局面的涅槃。这是我们要寻求的。

在我结束之前,我想借这个机会向大家介绍一点点金刚乘.事实上刚才谈的那些是大乘和金刚乘共同的基础.同时金刚乘是大乘.如果没有小乘,就没有大乘.没有小乘和大乘，就没有密乘（金刚乘).我知道金刚乘在某些方面很性感,但不要忘记它也有它的危险。举个很经典的例子.如果你有黄疸病,你在看一个白海螺,你看它是黄色的.大乘和金刚乘分别怎么处理这件事呢？小乘和大乘会这么说：你要吃药,你对海螺是黄色的这个见解是错的，你要把黄海螺的那种显现去掉.而金刚乘会采取一条捷径，为什么说是捷径呢?因为金刚乘绕过"黄海螺是个错误见解，你应该吃药,然后把黄海螺这个显现去掉"这一段,金刚乘不强调这一点，他们认为你直接就想它是白的,因为它本来就是白的.你再看一看海螺，觉得它还是黄的，因为你有黄疸病,那你就一再想、一再想,想它是白的.为什么要这么说呢？因为金刚乘有很多仪式,所有仪式都有关本尊.每位本尊的修行都和自我观想有关,比如我是六臂,等等。观想本尊就如同刚才白海螺的例子一样,不是说,我有一天会变成本尊,而是说,我就是本尊.但这点经常被误用.

事实上,很多小乘和大乘都不相信金刚乘是佛教.他们认为它是印度教.特别是藏传佛教受到很多学者的批判.我觉得也应该如此.我忘了这位大师的名字.这位藏传佛教大师要前往印度,在尼泊尔的时候碰到一位印度教大师正要去西藏,他俩在路上相遇时,藏传佛教大师问印度教大师,你去哪里.他回答道,哦,我要去西藏教佛教.西藏大师说,可是你是印度教的呀.印度大师回答说,没错,我属于印度教,可是我懂佛教啊.现在西藏很热衷佛教,所以我去教他们,他们会给我很多金子.

还有一个更有趣的故事.是有关阿底峡尊者的.当他听说某大师(附:对不起,名字有待考证)在印度圆寂,他哭了.尊者的弟子问他,你听过这么多坏消息,为什么唯独为这个哭泣呢?他说,是因为这个世界上,只有两个人能区分印度教的密续和佛教的密续.我在西藏.而另一个在印度已经圆寂了.再也没有其他人能区分了. 我们在说的是一千多年前的事情.我跟大家说这些,是希望大家能想想,然后跟像沙尔夫教授这样的人谈.

听众提问: 关于闭关.

闭关有很多定义.闭关是要建立一个范围或边界,一种外在的边界,比如不离开自己的房间,洞穴或是寺院,把自己锁在里面,持续一天,一年,或一辈子.这只是外在的界限,这类闭关也只是一般的闭关.而最高境界的界限,是建立在过去心和未来心之间:呆在当下,甚至在你刷牙的时候也这样.这种闭关是最好的.




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