Venerable Namgyel's Online Sangha

It is important to see the destructive nature of emotions, how they harm the mind and body, in this way we become motivated to work on and transform the emotions.    According to Buddhism, we need to deal with disturbing emotions (delusions) with a skillful "middle way", as opposed to the two unskilful ways, the expression or suppression of emotions.  Expressing emotion (acting it out with family or friends) creates a situation that you need to fix with those you have acted out your emotion on. When you suppress emotions you are pushing negative emotions down which can cause physiological problems. The Buddhist way of dealing with emotions follows the middle way, by either first acknowledging the emotions when they arise in the mind to avoid suppressing them or by working on them within the mind through applying antidotes.

RENUNCIATION Renunciation isn't related to the appearance of your surroundings. it is the self-cherishing state of mind that diminishes as your heart opens when walking on the Bodhisattva path accompanied by a deep understanding that all sentient beings deserve our compassion. THE SUFFERING OF PAIN The experience of unpleasant feelings, the manifest suffering which is easy to identify, such as pain in the body and emotional suffering. We need to be aware of the pain and suffering within samsara. THE SUFFERING OF CHANGE Suffering and its alleviation (happiness), both have the nature of impermanence. We attach to happiness which we want to be permanent, if we don't analyse the change between suffering and happiness, we don't accept that this is the way of samsara and we don't proceed to comprehend the concept of renunciation. ALL-PERVASIVE SUFFERING To comprehend all-pervasive suffering it is best to meditate on the contaminated aggregates as discussed in The Heart Sutra. When we look at forms we label them without understanding their nature, for example without appreciating the flower"ness" of a flower. We then need to do this with the body bringing us to the comprehension of the emptiness of being, and that karma caused by self-delusion is responsible for the all-pervasive nature of suffering. When we understand this we will naturally arrive at renunciation.

THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS WHEEL OF DHARMA SUTRA Each of the four noble truths has four parts, making up sixteen aspects of the four noble truths. True suffering has... Impermanence Misery Emptiness Selflessness True source has... Cause Source Strong production Condition True cessation has... Cessation Pacification Abundance Definite emergence True path has... Path Knowledge Achievement Deliverance HOW DO WE ACHIEVE LIBERATION FROM CYCLIC EXISTENCE? We achieve liberation from cyclic existence through realising the third and fourth noble truths, true cessation, and true path. Realising them depends on first realising the first two truths, namely true suffering, and true source. You need to understand true suffering to be the very nature of cyclic existence and then you are motivated to escape. WHAT IS CYCLIC EXISTENCE? To be liberated from cyclic existence we need to know what cyclic existence is. As a human being, you have five aggregates, Form Feeling Discrimination Compositional factors Consciousness We have form but we're not form. We have feeling but we're not feeling. We have discrimination but we're not discrimination. We have compositional factors but we're not compositional factors. We have consciousness but we're not consciousness. These five aggregates are the basis of the label "person", a person is dependent on five aggregates. Cyclic existence is the five contaminated aggregates of every ordinary being arising from contaminated karma and delusion. An ordinary being is distinguished as one who has not attained the path of insight. A sentient being is anyone who has not attained Buddhahood. It's ordinary beings who suffer in cyclic existence.

                                        Keeping a Karma Diary  positive negative  8 am     10 am 12 pm  2 pm  4 pm  6 pm  8 pm  Set a timer to remind you every two hours, to STOP. Pause in the midst of your busy life, and look back over the last two hours. What happened? Positive, then negative. Just a few words or a sentence. If you are monitoring karma, you would write in 8am, negative: Killing, and in the positive, did you save lives? 10 am Sexual misconduct in the negative and respecting others’ bodies in the positive…continue with the other eight karmas. Alternatively, you could take one karma every day, starting with Killing and Saving Lives, continue each day with the next one. At the end of the day, sit comfortably, go back through the day from the last entry, rejoicing in the positive and regretting the negative and making a decision on how to purify the negative karma you have found.

THE REALMS OF CYCLIC EXISTENCE Cyclic existence is composed of three realms, the desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm. The desire realm has six divisions, the hell realm, the hungry ghost realm, the animal realm, the human realm, the demi-god realm, and the god realm. Above the desire realm, are the four levels of the form realm, where there are 17 classes of gods born amongst the four levels according to which of the four stages of meditative absorption they have previously achieved. Above the highest levels of the form realm are the four levels of the formless level, here all the gods have no form and exist only mentally with the highest level of happiness within existence, and don't experience suffering for thousands of millions of years. SHOULD WE ENTER THE GOD REALMS? Beings that abide in the formless realm do so in a blissful state of existence for thousands of millions of years. However in the meantime in the human realm, Buddhism could have disappeared and upon eventual return, the opportunity will have passed to experience the teachings to achieve liberation from samsara. Additionally, because in the formless realms the blissful experience is so deep, beings that reside there believe they are liberated when they are actually deluded with wrong-view. Ultimately all positive karma is used up just in order to be happy, with a strong likelihood of developing deeply engrained wrong views, a false belief in being liberated, and therefore ending up going on to the hell realms. As a result, it would be a mistake to go to the god realms, as we would remain in samsara with unhappiness following on from the bliss. Instead, why not pray to return to the human realms to continue what we have been doing in benefitting sentient beings. HOW LONG DO BEINGS ABIDE IN REALMS? At the end of an eon, all beings disperse from their realms and then the realms themselves disintegrate. Beginning with the hell realms, those that have exhausted the karma to be born there are reborn into a higher realm, those who still have such karma remaining are reborn into a hell realm in another universe. Beings then disperse from the spirit realm, then the animal realms in a similar fashion. After the three lower realms the human realm is emptied, some humans who have attained a blissful state free of any suffering through meditative practice will be reborn at the first level of the form realm. Here the key is the development of skill and compassion, not just meditative absorption. Some beings develop the concentration of one of the six classes of gods in the desire realm and are reborn into the god of the desire realm. The gods of the six classes of the desire realm attain the blissful meditative stabilisation of the first concentration, they gain a strong desire to be reborn in the form realm taking rebirth in the first level. In this way, the desire realm is completely emptied of living beings. The gods in the first level of the form realm then attain the meditative absorption of the second concentration consequently taking rebirth in the second level of the form realm, this empties the first level of the form realm. BLACK KARMA The ten actions we should avoid. Namely, killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, divisive speech, harsh speech, idle gossip, covetousness, malice, and wrong views. The first three are non-virtues of the body, the next four are non-virtues of the speech, and the last three are non-virtues of the mind. A non-virtuous action does not create the cause for rebirth in a lower realm unless it is complete, for a non-virtuous action to be complete it must have four factors that create propelling karma. The four factors are object, intention, action, and completion. Intention is divided into discrimination, motive, and delusion. Completed propelling karma creates the cause for rebirth, if incomplete it provides the conditions experienced in the rebirth.

UNDERSTANDING THE DHAMMA JEWEL The actual refuge is the Dhamma. The Dhamma is the path. The path in Tibetan Buddhism includes incredible analytical meditations that antidote delusions, bringing about deep realisation, love, tolerance, an opening of the heart, a deepening concentration, and experience of this realisation. UNDERSTANDING THE SANGHA JEWEL The Sangha Jewel is a Superior Being, One who has attained the path of insight, with complete concentration devoid of the slightest agitation or dullness. Their concentration is so powerful it is as if they become one with the meditation object and because they have perfect concentration they have control over the four elements. WHAT HAPPENS UPON TAKING REFUGE? Accepting the Three Jewels as the ultimate refuge. Placing wholehearted faith in the Three Jewels and not relying on worldly gods, spirits, and ordinary beings as an ultimate source of refuge as they aren't free from cyclic existence and therefore cannot be totally reliable as a refuge. Looking at who can take refuge, are those from other religions able to take refuge? THE STAGES OF TRAINING We should train ourselves by relying on The Buddha, listening to the highest doctrine (The Dharma), applying thoughts accordingly, practicing in harmony with the teachings, acting with undistracted sense organs, practicing the basic, teachings, keeping the vows purely, acting compassionately towards other living beings and at all times being earnest in offering to the Three Jewels.

IDENTIFYING THE OBJECTS OF REFUGE Two types of Buddha Jewel: The conventional Buddha Jewel & the ultimate Buddha Jewel. The Buddha’s holy omniscient mind, simultaneously perceiving past, present and future, karma, delusions & personality of all beings & all elements of existence. DHARMA Definition of Dharma Jewel - completely purified truth in the continuum of a Superior being. With any of the "8 qualities": Inconceivable, free from "either" or "both", non-conceptual, pure, clear, antidote to the "3 poisons", freedom from attachment, & true cessation. true path. THE SANGHA The Sangha refuge is a Superior being possessing any of the 8 good qualities of realisation and freedom. Superior being is one who has attained the path of insight, gaining realisation of the non-self existence of self and phenomena. THE BUDDHA IS AN OBJECT OF REFUGE The Buddha is a suitable object of refuge because the Buddha is free from all fear, has the skillful means to free others from fear, great compassion & great equal love for all without discrimination, benefits all sentient beings. THE QUALITIES OF THE BUDDHA The Buddha's Body - 32 major and 80 minors signs. The cause of these 112 signs is a major accumulation of positive karma and merit. Buddha Potential - All living beings have the potential to become enlightened, all have “Buddha nature” - the pure nature of the mind.

DEATH IS CERTAIN Death will definitely come, Life span cannot be increased, but decreases continuously. Death will come regardless of whether you have made time to practise Dharma. The Conclusion: Death is definite, therefore I must practise the Dharma. THE TIME OF DEATH IS UNCERTAIN The life span of beings in this world is not certain. There are more factors conducive to death than to life. Our bodies are very fragile. The Conclusion: The time of my death is uncertain; therefore practise Dharma immediately. WHEN DEATH COMES ONLY DHARMA HELPS Friends cannot help at the time of death. Wealth cannot help at the time of death. My body cannot help at the time of death. The Conclusion: I must practise Dharma purely as only this can benefit at the time of death.

Death & Dying Part 1 - Led by Lillian

"You have created incredible causes and conditions in order to experience this precious human rebirth..." PRECIOUS HUMAN REBIRTH In past lives we've created the conditions to obtain this precious human rebirth, to meet the Dharma, and practice the path to enlightenment THE EIGHT FREEDOMS Clarifying making this life 'precious', if these freedoms are present, then Dharma practice is accessible to develop compassion and wisdom. THE TEN ENDOWMENTS The conditions  to recognise and eliminate suffering and progress through the Bodhisattva path to Enlightenment.