Dalai Lama - Day Two and Three

Basically, it is now Thursday, I have been home from Melbourne since Tuesday night, and I am still trying to work out what hit me. So I haven't posted anything - not knowing entirely how to say it. Kinda like trying to translate clouds. There were over 30,000 people watching the talks live across the world…. That is kind of incredible!!




Melbourne Convention Centre - click to see article

 It really is the first dharma talk I have attended. I am a long time podcast fan, and I listen to lots of dharma talks while I walk around in the world. But, excepting one morning two years ago, this is the first time I have sat and listened to a teacher.


Some of the things I scribbled down included thoughts about anger. It has never really hit me how, when I am angry, it also causes me pain. It just creates suffering all around. He used the metaphor of water - that our mind is like clear water, but coloured by emotions and perceptions. We can return to clear water mind, through single pointed focus and meditation.


Genuine unbiased compassion comes only through familiarisation and training of the mind. That is to say, practice compassion and non violence over and over, and it becomes easier to do. In this way compassion can become stronger than hatred.


It is also important to be less "self" centred. The text we studied over the three days was The Way of the Bodhisattva. A Bodhisattva is a servant of peace - a person who strives to improve the lives of all sentient beings. The Bodhisattva Vow includes a line that says, as long as time and space exist, I dedicate my practice to others. Otherwise, what is life for? To me this was a very powerful sentiment.


The greatest barrier to developing Bodhichitta is anger.
 Tireless effort builds determination. If we have the aspiration to serve sentient beings, we must first understand how to serve ourselves. You will need tremendous willpower. You will need self confidence, a calm mind, inner strength to achieve this. Nobody can compel you to practice, you must do it for yourself.
 To be isolated in this very realm is like a realm of hell. Practice humility, respect others and you will be loved. “We are social beings. We need friends. We need to smile. You must offer a smile first before you receive it.”


Samsara is very painful. Still, if we have a compassionate mind, we will find some relief. Develop a sense of questioning and introspection. Consider the interdependency of all beings, and realise that everything is a dream.


All of our emotions are based on the appearance of a thing – rather than the thing itself. This is how delusion arises. So when we develop strong anger or aversion with a person, consider that the appearance of a person is not the person themselves.

At another time I will tell you more. He offered the Bodhisattva Vow, which many people took. He also offered some basic meditation instructions, and answered specific questions from the audience.

At different times I just didn't know what he was talking about! He spoke at detail about emptiness and form, and different kinds of karma. But he also said that once you begin to learn about these difficult concepts, be prepared that it takes time to understand. At the beginning, you understand 1%. After 6 months, 2%. And so on - but over time, it is easier.