Okay so now I am moving to the next chapter:
Tcho nam tam tche den pa nyi kyi du
De yang kun dzöd den pa trul ngor den
Don dan den pa chi ngor den pa yin
Den pei tem tsig lu a me la dzöd
Den nyi yier med tchu da tar che na
De la trul pei nang wa zed la nye
So this next sentence is beautiful yet it’s very dangerous for a practitioner, you know? Like where we say “Oh, Tcho nam tam tche den pa nyi kyi du, everything is emptiness”, “samaya is not needed”, “discipline is not needed”, “awareness is not needed”, “devotion is not needed”, “everything is emptiness”, and that, that is very dangerous.
So we have to understand as accurately as possible.
Tcho nam tam tche den pa nyi kyi du
All the natural phenomena, or the dharma universe, “Tcho nam tam tche” all the dharmic universe comes down to the two versions, one is ultimate truth and one is relative truth.
De yang kun dzöd den pa trul ngor den
Those who have a limited understanding of ultimate, relative world is true to their face. It’s the version of the truth, version of what they see as a reality.
Don dan den pa chi ngor den pa yin
and then the non-duality as well.
Den pei tem tsig lu a me la dzöd
Den nyi yier med tchu da tar che na
De la trul pei nang wa zed la nye
If you are able to combine between the relative truth and the ultimate truth, combined together as a reflection, and then you can definitely overcome the cycle of illusion.
Like I was saying on my Sunday live streaming via Facebook, I was saying to them that many people, when they talk about death, they have fear of death, and then they want a quick solution, they say “I want to receive a phowa”. The phowa is the transmitting the state of the consciousness. Or they say “oh, bring me the Lama, or bring me the Rinpoche”, or “request Rinpoche to make me a phowa, or bardo thodol”, bardo thodol means the liberation in the state of the bardo, but at the same time, combined with instructions, what are the challenges and the steps in the state of the bardo.
So people tend to go in that direction, like in a very “I want to achieve something as quickly as possible! Bring me lama! Bring me blessing! Bring me teaching! Soon as possible, fast as possible”. And it doesn’t happen like that, because if you don’t have a genuine understanding about the relative truth and the ultimate truth in some degree, in some level, let alone the state of the bardo or let alone the phowa practice, you cannot even connect with the dharma practice even, so therefore it is very important.
This is a very, very big subject, I know when you read it’s only 2 sentences, “oh yeah, if you can combine together, the relative truth and ultimate truth, then the cycle of illusion is finished. Or you can overcome the cycle of illusion”. It sounds very simple, and for the egoistic individuals, they think “I understood everything” and that’s the problem. We understand nothing. I used to be like that. I used to be one of those people who say “I understand now! I understand” and then, then you fall down with your own ego trip.
So it’s very, you have to be very, very careful with this sentence. Not that you have to be fearful, just don’t assume that you understood everything. That’s all I’m trying to say.
So when you are in the state of the bardo, the very reality of the bardo is because “the life of between”, “the life in between”, the state of the bardo, the very reality of the suffering of the bardo, is because you “believe” everything is “real”, you know? And all the accumulation of life is projecting and reflecting in the state of the bardo, just like everything was reflecting in your sleep, in your dream, of your day time imagination, activities, desire, hope, and fear, all of that is reflecting in the state of the dream, just like that, it will reflect your whole life in the state of the bardo.
There will be two times. One is when you see everything, in a very fast pace, and one is that you slowly reflect again, but that becomes a reality, and then you start to live in a very fearful world. Therefore we call bardo jikpa, bardo means life in between, jikpa means suffering. So therefore there is absolutely no quick solution if you don’t have some sort of understanding of the relative world. And then if you have understanding of the relative world, and ultimate truth, then if you can combine together, then you can overcome the cycle of illusion, right?
So that’s something that we should not assume that we understood. Rather, we have to analyze over time. It’s a lifetime way of thinking basically, let’s put it like this. It’s not going to be finished because I said so, “oh we finished the session”. You should join many teachers and masters in your life, and based on this principle, that “I need to break away from the cycle of illusion”, that as a hope, and desire and your aspiration, then things will move in a right direction.
So if you practice Dharma based on “I want to be rich, I want to be powerful, I want to be fortunate” and if you set a short term goal, first of all, it is hard to happen, and even it does happen, it will not bring anything good in the long term.
So if you have this perception of the dharma, that you are practicing Dharma because you want to break away from the cycle of illusion, so if you keep that as a protective shield against your ego, and then you can overcome eventually. So try to perceive in that direction.
Kalu Rinpoche – Jamgon Kongtrul’s Creation and Completion
Zoom – July 11, 2021
[10] Tcho nam tam tche den pa nyi kyi du
All phenomena are subsumed under the two truths:
De yang kun dzöd den pa trul ngor den
the relative truth is true with respect to delusion,
Don dan den pa chi ngor den pa yin
and the absolute truth is true with respect to true nature.
Den pei tem tsig lu a me la dzöd
The definition of “truth” is that it is without deception.
Den nyi yier med tchu da tar che na
If you know that the two truths are inseparable, like the moon in water,
De la trul pei nang wa zed la nye
then the extinction of deluded appearance is close at hand.
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