Mindfulness Meditation Podcast - Mindfulness Meditation 05/22/2019 with Khangser Rinpoche

Episode Date: May 23, 2019

The Rubin Museum of Art presents a weekly meditation session led by a prominent meditation teacher from the New York area, with each session focusing on a specific work of art. This podcast is recorded in front of a live audience, and includes an opening talk, a 20-minute sitting session, and a closing discussion. The guided meditation begins at 21:00. If you would like to attend Mindfulness Meditation sessions in person or learn more, please visit our website at RubinMuseum.org/meditation. This program is presented in partnership with Sharon Salzberg, the Interdependence Project, and Parabola Magazine. Khangser Rinpoche led this meditation session on May 22, 2019. To view a related artwork for this week's session, please visit: https://rubinmuseum.org/mediacenter/khangser-rinpoche-05-22-2019-podcast

Welcome to the Mindfulness Meditation Podcast. I'm your host, Dawn Eshelman. Every Wednesday at the Rubin Museum of Art in Chelsea, we present a meditation session led by a prominent meditation teacher from the New York area. This podcast is a recording of our weekly practice. If you would like to join us in person, please visit our website at rubinmuseum.org meditation. We are proud to be partnering with Sharon Salzberg and teachers from the New York Insight Meditation Center. In the description for each episode, you will find information about the theme for that week's session,

including an image of a related artwork chosen from the Rubin Museum's permanent collection. And now, please enjoy your practice. Good afternoon and welcome, Tashi Delek. Welcome to our weekly mindfulness meditation here at the Rubin Museum. Presenting partners Sharon Salzberg, Interdependence Project and Parabola Magazine. My name is Tashi Chodron. I'm the Assistant Manager to Himalayan Cultural Programs and Partnership. I host a monthly program called Himalayan Heritage, which is every first Wednesday of each month. And so the next one is June 5th, and we'll be celebrating the holy month Sakadava

with a treasure revealer reincarnate master in the shrine room, very limited seating. And so this month's theme is compassion. And let me give you the art connection for this. As we have been exploring on compassion the last couple of weeks, so today the image for today's meditation is this really beautiful intricate Maitreya Buddha often addressed as Jetsun Champa in Tibetan word. Fine metal sculpture from this period such as inlay covers the figure. It's a beautiful about 750 ish to the 11th century Pala period from Indian aesthetic. And Maitreya Buddha is sitting in royal ease position. So our guest speaker will say more on this. So for today, we are very, very honored to have our eighth Kangsa Rinpoche back, actually.

Rinpoche back, actually. Rinpoche was here a couple of years ago. Kangsa Rinpoche Tsuldim Palden was born in Kathmandu, Nepal. At the age of five, he was recognized as the reincarnation of the seventh Kangsa Rinpoche, who was one of the three high lamas responsible for searching for the current 14th incarnation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Kangso Rinpoche started basic study of Buddhist philosophy and

completed advanced Buddhist studies on sutra and tantra in Serajaya Monastery and Jyotir Tantric Monastic University in India, where he obtained Geshe Larampa, which is equivalent to a PhD and a doctorate degree in Tantra, both with highest honors among the top division. Rinpoche's ancestors followed the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhist sects for many centuries, and since Rinpoche's line of reincarnations is affiliated with the Gelugpa tradition, he possesses both precious heritage. Rinpoche has directly received a wealth of teachings on both Tantra and Sutra from many great Tibetan yogis and from spiritual teachers from the four major Tibetan Buddhist sects.

One of his teachers include His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Jabje Dilgo Chense Rinpoche, Lati Rinpoche, Kensul Lopsang Tsering, Ketun Zangpo Rinpoche, and Choje Trichin Rinpoche, to name a few. Rinpoche is a great scholar who has achieved monastery in both, masteries in both Gelug and Nyingma Buddhist traditions. Rambhuche currently serves as a professor teaching Buddhist philosophy at Serajai Monastic University. And in 2012, Rambhuche established the Dipankara Buddhist Organization

to convey the practice of mind training all over the world. So please help me in welcoming Kangsar Rinpoche. Thank you. First of all, my greetings and Tashi Delek to all. Today, as you all know, today's topic is regarding compassion. And I always believe that love and compassion is not something only related with the religious issue. As we are born as a human, it's very important to cultivate the love and cultivate the compassion toward the other.

If you look at the animal world, they don't have any religion. They don't have any language. But still, they're required. They need love. Because when we look at, especially in this 21st century, humans are becoming more selfish. A couple of years back, one gentleman told me that he's going to marry his fiancée and asked me to bless his marriage. Then I asked him that, why you're going to marry your fiancee? He told me that if he marry his fiancee, he will become more happy.

Then I told him, you are thinking very wrong. You should think if you marry your fiancee, she will become more happy. Because he was marrying his fiancee, because he feels he will become more happy. That means he will become quite selfish. So that's why practicing the compassion, generating the compassionate love, it is the best antidote to reduce the self-jerishing attitude.

Because as I mentioned before, we become too selfish. Plus, we have a very strong ego. I always used to give the one example. strong ego. I always used to give the one example. In case, in case if we take a group picture, in case if you take a group picture after this session, and once you get that picture in your hand, to whom you will look first hmm so I'm sure if you look good send that screw picture you will keep that if you if you don't look good send that picture, you will delete that. It doesn't matter how your husband looks in that picture,

or your wife looks in that picture, or your boyfriend looks in that picture, or your girlfriend looks in that picture. It doesn't matter at all. So we are too selfish. So that's why when we are talking about love, and when we are talking about practicing the compassion, it is to help us to reduce our selfishness, reduce our self-jerishing attitude. Because lots of people used to ask me the one question that,

what is the purpose of our life? I always used to say the one thing, live happily. So now here's the second question comes, what is the best way to achieve the happiness in our life? That is the compassion. The love and compassion is a key to achieve the happiness. In our monastery, when I was a kid, I heard the one story that our master was teaching about the compassion,

practicing the compassion. So he told us the one story. I like that story very much. Stories goes like that. There is a one person. He started to practice the compassion. He started to practice the love and kindness toward the all sentient beings.

Then his friend asked him, I heard that now you all started to practice the compassion. You started to practice the love and kindness toward all of the sentient So, in case if you have two yak, do you know yak? Yak is a Tibetan animal. In case if you have two yak, will you give one yak to the person who don't have yak? He said, sure. I'm practicing the compassion. In case if I have two yak,

I will give one yak to the person who do not have a yak. Then he, friend, raised the second question. In case if you have two cow, will you give one cow to the person who do not have the cow? Then he said, absolutely. Because I'm practicing compassion. Because I'm practicing love and kindness to whole humans and whole sentient beings.

Sure, I will give. In case if I have a two cow, I will give a one cow to the person who do not have a cow. Then his friend raised third question. In case if you have a two donkey, will you give a one donkey to the person who do not have a donkey? who do not have a donkey. In this point, he said, absolutely no. If I have two donkeys, I won't give one donkey to the person who do not have the donkey. His friend was quite surprised.

So he asked, what makes the difference? The logic is the same. Logic is the same. You are practicing compassion, you are practicing loving kindness. In case if you have a two cow and the two yaks, you are willing to give the one cow and the one yak to the person who do not have a cow and a yam. But you are not willing to give the donkey if you have a two donkey. Then the person told him that the logic is

not the same at all. Because I don't have a two yam, I don't have a two cow, but I have a two donkey. So, when we talk about the compassion and the love, sometimes it's become a little bit tricky. Sometimes it's become tricky.

So that's why the compassionate love sometimes you might feel that you are practicing compassion sometimes you feel that you love someone very much but you it will be sometimes it can be the tricky so that's why in the when we practice the compassion when we practice the practice the compassion or when we generate the love toward the others, first key point is that understanding the sufferings of the other. Understanding. Understand the suffering of the others. That is the one key point.

Understand, then feel the sufferings. Understand and feel the difficulties of others. Understand and feel the other challenges. When you understand and feel the other's suffering and difficulties, then you can generate the Jnan love, J genuine compassion toward others. So that's why when the Buddha, he teach the first session, he taught the suffering. He taught the truth of the suffering. Because he want to let the people to understand the suffering, know the suffering. Because right now, I'm sure you will think that you understand and you know the suffering.

I'm sure you will think that you know the difficulties. But you don't understand and you don't feel the suffering for the others very properly. So that's why to practice the compassion, first step, you have to understand, you have to feel the difficulties or the sufferings of the other. That's most the key point. Then the second point is that when you generate the love, when you generate the love toward the other,

you should not expect something bad. Don't expect any result. What I mean, don't accept when you say, I love you to someone what you expect you expect something back if that person doesn't say anything you will not feel very comfortable even if you love the dog when you care the dog you love the dog, when you care the dog, you expect the reaction from the dog. Once you go on expecting the something, whenever you give the love to the other, then the love won't be the pure.

When you love, don't expect. Then it will become a genuine love. So that's why in the practice, when we try to generate love and compassion toward the hell beings, generate the love and compassion toward the beings which live in another universe, in the Buddhist practice. When you practice the love toward some person

whom you cannot see, then you cannot expect anything back. So that's why when you love and you generate the compassion, you should not expect. That's one most important key point when you are practicing the love or when you are practicing compassion. So now we will come to how we have to meditate, how we can meditate on love and compassion. It's a very important meditation. It's a very important meditation.

So that's why first when we start with the meditation on the compassion, so you have to keep your back upright if you feel uncomfortable then you don't have to back upright then your hand position should be keep your right palm on the top of the left palm touch your thumb because there is a secret in this hand position because when you keep your two thumbs each other the our inner energy body energy will move very smoothly so that's why you have to keep that these two thumb touch and like this position they keep your hand position just front of the your navel like this way then first thing is that when we meditate the

first step is to recall that the claiming the mind so that's what I mean is that the coming the sorry the calming the mind calming the mind, calming the mind, because mind is like a monkey. So there's one very famous story about one great master. One student came to see that great master and asked that great master, can he teach him meditation? So then the great master told that student that meditation is a very simple very easy you just go and close your eye and think anything whatever you like meditate whatever you

like but only one thing you should not think while you are meditating. That is monkey. You should not think monkey when you meditate. Then the student feel that's very easy, very simple. He can think anything, except the monkey. Then he went back

and tried to meditate. Now you will know what comes in his mind. Then he felt so difficult to meditate. Whenever he tried to meditate, monkey comes. So that's why the first thing is called calming the mind. So that's why what you have to do is just inhale or exhale the breath just focus on your breath okay right when you still when you are focusing on the breath when you're getting distracted then start to count the breath okay inhale or exhale the breath count one

inhale or exhale the count then count two okay, okay? You start with the counting. Once you can focus quite well on your breath, then don't count. Once you cannot. In case, if the monkey comes in your mind, then start counting the breath, okay? Okay, then I will leave for the few minutes, okay? Inhale or exhale, and you just focus on your breath, okay?

Once you could not focus on your breath, when you're getting distracted, then count the breath up till 20, 21. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Okay. Now we will come to the meditation, meditation on compassion. So this meditation, what you have to do is you have to visualize someone whom you love. Someone just in front of the you visualize you can visualize your parents your kids and all your family members visualize then while you are visualizing them front of the you then when you

inhale your breath when you inhale your breath you should visualize things that you are taking, the suffering of your family member or your dear one. When you inhale the breath. When you inhale the breath, visualize that their suffering, form of the black ray or the black light comes from them and which enters into your body through your left nostril when you inhale the breath. When you exhale the breath think that you are giving your own happiness to whom you loved with the form of the white light, the happiness in the form of the white light which comes out of your body from your right nostril. This practice

we call the tonglen in Tibetan. That means giving and taking meditation. You are taking the suffering of your dear one and you are giving the happiness to your dear one. So when you inhale, visualize that you are taking the suffering of your dear one. Exhale, visualize that you are giving your own happiness to your dear one. Just visualize the someone whom you really love. So that is the one meditation that I quite often do. Because in my life, lots of people send me the message and send me the mails and ask me to pray for them. So whenever I receive the message, whenever I get the mails asking me to pray for them. So whenever I receive the message, whenever I get the mails for asking me to pray for them, I always do this meditation, visualizing the person

and visualizing the person who asked me to pray. Then I inhale the breath, I visualize taking the suffering of them. When I exhale the breath, I visualize that I'm giving my happiness to those people. Okay. So now I was just wondering that, did you understand that what you have to meditate? Great. That's important. If you understand what you have to meditate, very good. If you don't understand it, very good. Because when the Buddha was giving the teaching,

this Pranayama Sutra, that is one teaching, it contents 100,000 verses. When he was giving that teaching, it said that the gathering is more than 1,000 people. But interesting thing is that only few people understand what he was talking. Only few people did not understand him. Only few people.

Gathering might be more than thousands. Only few people understand him. And the only few people, they don't understand him. Most of the students, most of the people, they misunderstand Buddha. So once you understand, very good. When you don't understand very good you should not misunderstand the meditation step okay so okay so what will we do is that okay so we will meditate okay inhale or exhale the

breath and you just visualize that someone okay whom you really love and inhale and you just visualize they are taking the suffering of that your dear one okay then when you exhale think that you are giving that your own happiness okay but the one thing after you did the meditation you don't have to call the person and don't you don't have to tell them that you took the suffering of the day or love one, okay? You don't have to do that. Okay, I'll leave you a minute. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for listening.

Have a mindful day.