བརྙན་འཕྲིན། སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་གསང་སྔགས་བསྟན་འཛིན་རིན་པོ་ཆེ། ཆོས་ཉམས་ལེན་གྱི་གཞི་རྩ།

Today we have met once again, and I greet you all.

сорваем интерес. Two years have passed since my last visit. That time passed very quickly. Some of you I know, some I see for the first time, some are new.

I am very glad that we are together again, and that we have the opportunity and time to speak about the Dharma, about the practice of Dharma.

[Tibetan prayer] So, our topic today concerns the foundation of Dharma practice. That is, if we want to engage in Dharma practice, we need a firm foundation on which we can rely. And so today we will speak about this — how we can build a firm foundation for the practice of Dharma.

[Tibetan prayer] [Tibetan prayer] And this topic is not something minor or insignificant. It is important even for those beginning to practice the Dharma. From the very start they need to build a firm foundation. But even for those who have long practiced the Dharma: if their foundation is not firm, it is hard for them to progress on the path.

It is just like when a house is built. At first much attention is given to building a firm foundation. Because if a firm foundation is not built and even a tall house is raised, there is always the danger that it will collapse. Our goal is very high. We wish to attain liberation. So for that we need, of course, a firm foundation.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] And we have heard that there exist such high methods and levels of practice as Dzogchen or Mahamudra. But if we have not built a firm foundation, if we have no firm foundation, it is like building a house of ice. It may be beautiful, but there is always the danger that it will collapse, that it will melt. That is roughly the situation.

If we say "I am a practitioner, I am a Buddhist," the name itself means little if we have only the word.

And as in any endeavor, one must know where to begin. If we want to be practitioners of Dharma, that is, if we want to practice the Dharma, then we too need to know where we must begin, what our foundations are. Otherwise it will be only words — that we practice and wish to practice. And there will be little benefit from that.

[Tibetan verse] to begin studying. And this is an ordinary study, or general study. It is general because it concerns all Buddhists. That is, all Buddhists must first study certain basic things, learn them.

[Tibetan verse] And so there is a certain sequence of preliminary practices that are called ngöndro. And we should not think that this is not a very good thing, something unimportant. It is like there being a ground, a path, and a fruit. So we set out on the path from this ground, from the starting point, then we traverse this path, and then we attain the absolute fruit, the final fruit. If we have some wrong ground, an unstable ground, then the path too will be like that, and we are unlikely to attain any fruit.

certain fundamental things, because the path naturally flows from the ground, that is, the path is as it were a continuation of the ground.

And then, if we practice well on the path and move along this path, we will attain a good fruit in the end.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] And so as for the foundations, or supports, we have the support of the body and the support of the mind. Those needed for practice — we have both. We have obtained both.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] And this human body that we have obtained is the best of the six kinds of beings for practice. That is, it is best suited for practice. And so we have accordingly obtained this foundation. A good foundation is called — there is such a term — the eight freedoms and ten endowments. That is how the human body is described. The eight things that should not happen, and the ten things that should happen.

And all of this has come together in our human body. That is how we have obtained it.

[Tibetan verse] And if we consider other possibilities — for example, the body of an animal or the body of a hungry ghost — is there any possibility of Dharma practice in those states? And these are the unfavorable states into which we should not fall, and we have avoided them.

And we must understand that this is truly the best foundation for Dharma practice. Otherwise, had we not obtained this foundation, we would have had no chance to reflect on the Dharma, to hear the Dharma, to practice the Dharma. And this foundation lets us do all of this.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] And one of the conditions that makes up this so-called precious human body is also having complete faculties of perception, complete sense faculties. For example, if we had no eyes or had problems with sight, we could not see the images of the buddhas; if our hearing were impaired, we could not listen to the teachings. In brief, this means that we must have complete faculties of perception.

Also, for our human life to be truly fully suited to Dharma practice, we must also be free of mistaken views. Because if we are subject to mistaken views, we will not believe what the teacher says about what we should accumulate, the virtues we should create, and what we should avoid. These mistaken views will not let us take this seriously, perceive it as truth. And so this too is one of the conditions. We must have a view free of error.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] And so we must truly understand that of all the possibilities there may be, of all these six kinds of beings, our human body is the best, best suited for the application, for the practice of Dharma.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] Moreover, the teachings say that this human body, the precious human body, is difficult to obtain. Right now we have obtained it, we have it. But if we, as it were, waste it meaninglessly — that is, if we spend the time of our human life without benefit, without meaning — then we cannot know when we will next obtain a precious human body. In general we may indeed obtain it again at some point in the future, but when — we cannot know.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] And once again Rinpoche said that, yes, of course, at some point in the future we may again obtain such a precious human body, which gives the chance to hear the Dharma, to practice the Dharma — but we truly cannot know when this will happen again: in a hundred years, in a thousand years, in ten thousand years, or after a kalpa — that is, a whole kalpa will pass, and only then will we again obtain a precious human body. .

Therefore, since we have no certainty about how everything will unfold in the future, if we do nothing, it is best to build a firm foundation for practice now, while there is the chance, and, from this firm foundation, follow the path of liberation. [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] In order to. . Right now we have obtained this precious human body. And what do we need to do next? We need to fill our life with meaning.

How can we do this? First of all we need to develop an understanding of Dharma practice. Is this alone enough? No, that too is not enough. When we have an understanding of Dharma practice, we then also need to apply this practice. And only then will our life truly gain meaning, be filled with meaning.

[Tibetan verse] We have spoken of the first condition, the body as the foundation for Dharma practice, and we truly have it. Well, the second condition is the mind. And here too there is no need to doubt that we have it as well, that we all have a mind.

That is, you probably agree that you have a mind, right? Yes or no?

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] In general, much is not needed for Dharma practice. That is, for example, we do not need to first become famous and then practice the Dharma, to acquire some influential status and then practice the Dharma, or to first grow rich and then practice the Dharma. If we have a mind, then that's it — we have everything needed for Dharma practice.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] And if we have a mind, then that alone is enough to attain liberation. And if, for example, we are poor, that does not mean we cannot attain liberation. If we do not have a good job, that too does not mean we cannot attain liberation. That is, it is enough that we have a mind.

[Tibetan verse] Therefore we need not think that we lack something for Dharma practice, that we need some further conditions. We already have everything, we have a mind, and that is all that is needed for Dharma practice.

And we must understand that if we have a mind, then we have the basic condition for Dharma practice. It is our own mind. Dharma practice consists in purifying it. That is, purifying the mind — this is itself the practice of Dharma.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] And this mind, which all beings have, must, as it is called, be perfected. That is, it needs to be perfected. And this we can do, of course, not by means of any ill intent. We need first to develop right motivation, and then we can perfect our mind. .

And so for the mind we need to set up a proper program, so to speak, a training program.

That is, we need to set up some proper training program, a program for training the mind. [Tibetan verse] And if we engage in purifying our mind, then all sorts of good qualities, virtues will arise. They arise precisely from the mind, they arise from nowhere else. And such qualities will arise as compassion, faith, devotion, kindness. All of this will arise from this root, which is the mind.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] And we must understand that we have the source of these good qualities — that is, each of us has it. And this is very good, because we need not search for them somewhere and pay someone money to acquire these qualities. That is, we already have the source.

And this is the most important thing — to understand that we already have all of this.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] And so we all must understand that we have the main conditions for developing all sorts of good qualities: first, the precious support of the body, and second, the mind. That is, it is the source of any and every excellence.

And so, when we have such a good foundation — that is, each of us — we then need to understand how to use it.

And if we do not know how to use such a precious foundation correctly, it is just as if we have a precious jewel but it is covered with dirt. That is the state it is in for us. It is the same thing.

[Tibetan verse] For example, if we use it wrongly, mistakenly, then we will get harm instead of benefit. So we should not use this foundation wrongly.

[Tibetan verse] So, first of all we need to understand that this source, this foundation, is within ourselves — not in someone else, but in us. Second, we need to understand how to use it.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] We have such a habit, such a tendency: when we see something, some merits, something good in others, we often think, yes, they are so wonderful, and we are somehow unworthy. We do not have such capacities, we lack this. We should not think this way. Rather we should think that everything others have, we have too. In the same way we have it. There is nothing that others have and we do not.

And if we think that we must obtain something from someone, this can breed envy.

We should not give in to this.

That is, when, seeing something good in others, we think that we too need all of this. "I need this" — that is the feeling of envy.

[Tibetan verse] And so it is very important not to give in to such a feeling of envy, not to cultivate such a feeling of envy. And if we are free of it, if we free ourselves from it, then each of us turns into Jambhala, the deity of wealth. It is precisely envy that impoverishes us.

[Tibetan verse] And so from the very start we must train ourselves not to have such ideas — that someone has something and we need to obtain something from them. We must always remember that the source of all good qualities is within us. That is, from this source we can obtain all of this. We need not try to obtain it from someone else.

Thus we simply need to have confidence in ourselves.

And if we have such self-confidence, confidence in our own powers, then any task will be within our power. That is, we will cope with any task.

And the same applies to Dharma practice: if we have confidence that we have everything needed — that is, the body and mind for practice — such confidence in our own powers, then we will also carry out our Dharma practice successfully.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] We should strive to think this way: I have the foundation of the body, I have the foundation of the mind, I will apply them in practice, practice the Dharma, and I will do it every day, that is, in my daily life. Every day I will use this good foundation that I have.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] Remare?

And so when we have such self-confidence, or confidence in our own powers, when we are sure that we can use our body and mind for practice, then we need not grieve over anything. On the contrary, we can rejoice that we have this, that we can use it. And in this way we will become — well, we can become — the happiest of people. That is, this will let us be as happy as possible.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] And we must remember that the time we have, we simply need to use well. Because it has the nature of passing, of coming to an end. That is, the moments remain in the past, and we need to fill these moments with benefit and meaning. [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] And if, on the contrary, we fill this time with anger toward others, or with despondency and so on, then this is a very narrow view. [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] On the contrary, we need to develop right motivation and kindness toward others, compassion. And then all the time we have will be filled with meaning.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] And we must also understand that the time we have, once it passes, we cannot bring back.

We need to value it, to understand the value of the time we have, and to use it for accumulating merit, accumulating wisdom, for benefiting others. No way.

And so we must value what we have, understand that we need to make use of this, we need to use it, apply it. And then any practice will be within our reach, within our power.

So, we can understand that we have everything needed. We have everything needed for practice: a perfect foundation of the body, a perfect foundation of the mind. And we also have some time for this.

And we should rejoice about this — that is, joyfully receive this, that we have all of this; we should think: how good that I was born in a fortunate kalpa, that is, I am fortunate. [Tibetan verse] That is, the fact that we were born in a so-called fortunate kalpa — that is, when there is teaching, and it can be applied. We need to recall this all the time and rejoice in it.

[Tibetan verse] And we should not give in to such thoughts as: I am alone, and I am sad, and I am good for nothing, and so on.

[Tibetan verse] So, if we are Buddhists, if we are practicing Buddhists, what foundation do we need first of all? It is refuge, the taking of refuge.

[Tibetan verse] So, first of all we need to understand the causes of refuge; we must have all the causes fully present.

And so, to take refuge, there are two causes.

So, the first cause of taking refuge in the Three Jewels — in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha — is faith.

[Tibetan verse] And the second cause is understanding the suffering of samsara. Understanding that in samsara there is much suffering. For example, there is the suffering of birth, the suffering of sickness, the suffering of aging, the suffering of death. Understanding all of this, we obtain the second cause. This is the second cause for taking refuge in the Three Jewels.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] So, when we take refuge, we have such a symbol of refuge as the refuge tree, on which there are many buddhas and deities. And we use this method to receive blessings. And the door to receiving blessings is faith. That is, the method for receiving blessings is faith.

And so, for there to be faith, the necessary supports are needed. [Tibetan verse] So, the first cause — or the first support — is to rely on a spiritual friend. That is, if we find a good spiritual friend, it will then be easy for us to develop faith with their help.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] So, this is called a spiritual friend, or a holy being.

Second, there are friends in virtue, on whom we can also rely for developing faith.

And these friends in virtue are very important. [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] This means that we need friends who also follow the path to the Dharma — that is, who also practice. And if, on the contrary, we associate with friends who . commit certain deeds, negative actions, this can lead us ourselves astray from the right path.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] And so these friends in virtue will help us, will not let us be distracted from practice, they will remove obstacles for us, they will help us. With the help of these friends our faith will also grow, the accumulation of faith.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] There is such an example: if there are many sandalwood trees giving off a pleasant fragrance, then even if among them, or near them, there is an ordinary tree, in time it becomes steeped in that fragrance. And it is the same when there are many such good friends with whom we keep company: by the good qualities they have, we too in time become steeped.

We also need to remember the flaws, or sufferings, of samsara. [Tibetan verse] And so we need to think about this too with the attitude that we wish to be freed from them, to be purified.

[Tibetan verse] The fourth is to remember the good qualities of the Three Jewels: the good qualities of the Buddha, the good qualities of the Dharma, the good qualities of the Sangha.

And so if we remember the good qualities of the Three Jewels, this too lets our faith grow.

[Tibetan verse] We have now listed these four supports for giving rise to faith. The first is to rely on a holy being; the second is to rely on friends in virtue. The third is to remember the sufferings of samsara. The fourth is to remember the good qualities of the Three Jewels.

And in this way faith will become established in our mind ever more firmly and stably.

And if we truly have stable faith, then we will receive blessings, blessings will enter us.

And for us practicing Buddhists, it is very important to receive such blessings of the buddhas, so that they enter our mind.

And then quickly we will be able to practice successfully.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] And so when we take refuge in the Three Jewels — in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha — and in the Three Roots — in the lamas, the yidams, and we must understand that they possess inconceivably great qualities, incomprehensible qualities.

Through this too, then, our faith will grow stronger, and we will receive more blessings.

[Tibetan verse] The foundations — that is, how we can build such a firm foundation for further movement along the path of practice. And if we can build such a firm foundation, then the path itself will be very reliable, also firm, solid.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] So, we need to understand that when we have obtained such a very good foundation of the precious human body, it will not always remain with us. That is, right away, as it were, this is accompanied by the thought of death and impermanence. That is, we do not know when — when this death, impermanence and death, will manifest. And precisely for this reason we need, while we have this body, to use it as well as possible.

[Tibetan verse] We must understand that we can in no way hide from death, from impermanence. That is, there is no place where we could somehow avoid the encounter with death, with impermanence. And so we must simply think: before they come, before it comes to that, we need to use our opportunities for practice. And in doing so we also pray to the Three Jewels, that they may help us in this.

[Tibetan verse] And why do we need these thoughts of death and impermanence at all? They are needed so that they summon us to practice, they help us develop diligence in practice. They help us value the opportunity to practice, not to think that all of this is just so, that it is so easy, that it is nothing, not something important.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] Now that we have this precious human body, we should not think that we will always be born in a human body. We may end up in the body of an animal, end up in the lower realms, and then everything will be very difficult. And again, this reflection on the sufferings of samsara brings us to what is called resolve — the resolve to turn away from samsara.

We must also understand that it is not someone else who has arranged it so that we may end up in unwholesome states. If we commit certain misdeeds, accumulate such karma, then we end up in the lower realms. If, on the other hand, we perform certain good deeds, then we end up in higher births. This is the law of karma, the law of cause and effect. We ourselves create it all.

And we need to believe in this law of karma, that is, to be convinced of its truth. Also, on the basis of this law of karma, we need to keep discipline, or morality. There are the so-called ten virtues. And we can try to perform even one or two of them. If we decide so, then we hold to it.

[Tibetan verse] And we also need to think in this way: that if we do not manage to attain liberation in this life, then we will have to continue our practice in the next life. So, in the next life we too need to obtain a precious human birth. And what can we. . How are we to obtain it? The conditions, that is, the preconditions for this, we can create now.

Right now we are creating the preconditions so that this then comes about.

And we need to think that in order to obtain such a precious human body in the next life too, we need now, in our mind, to create the preconditions for this.

Even though there is, again, death and impermanence, if we create the preconditions for again obtaining, attaining a precious human body anew, then we can again meet the teaching, again continue the practice of the teaching, and so gradually attain liberation. This is how we can attune ourselves.

And so in order that we may obtain the precious support of the body in the next life too, we need to create three causes.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] And so the first cause is — we can think this way — that even if half of my life has already passed, and only the other, second half remains, nonetheless, however much time I have, I will fill it with practice every day. Every day I will fill it with practice. This is the first cause.

[Tibetan verse] As for the first cause, this is just what we do. The second cause is the keeping of discipline, or morality. When we speak of discipline or morality, it does not necessarily mean that we must keep monastic vows — that is quite a different matter. It is, for example, such pledges that we can keep in terms of discipline, for example, not to kill. Well, one can put it in various ways: not to kill people, or not to kill at all, or not or not to take the things of other people. Or — this can also be called — not to take what is not given to us, not to take what we were not given.

And this can be one aspect of discipline, or two aspects. This is also called vows. We take such vows, and we keep them. And, in principle, this is a very important cause that leads to obtaining a precious human birth.

[Tibetan verse] And so this is called the vows of a layperson. And, for example, they also include not drinking alcohol. We can take any number of these vows and keep them. And this is a very important cause for obtaining a human birth, a precious human birth, in the next life.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] There are many ways of taking and keeping vows. For example, right now is the sacred month of Saga Dawa, that is, the month in which the Buddha was born, then attained enlightenment, and passed into parinirvana. And so if during this month we make certain pledges, they have a special power. And so, for example, we can even pledge not to kill elephants. Well, in principle it is rather hard for us to kill an elephant. But if we simply do not kill them, we gain no virtue from that.

But if we have pledged not to kill elephants and we keep this, then nonetheless we accumulate virtue. And more than that, it is said that during Saga Dawa, if we have made such a pledge and keep it, it is equivalent to having pledged not to kill anyone at all, and keeping it. That's how it is. Such is the proportion.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] There are many different such methods of keeping vows. Another example: during Saga Dawa we can pledge not to kill people. Well, again, we usually do not kill them anyway. But if we simply do not kill them, we gain no virtue. If we have pledged during Saga Dawa and keep it, then we gain virtue, and again this virtue will be equal to as if we had pledged not to kill anyone at all and kept it.

[Tibetan verse] Or, on the day of the full moon, or the fifteenth day of the month, one can pledge not to eat meat precisely on that day and keep this vow — that is yet another such method.

And the benefit of taking and keeping a vow is that it leads to obtaining a human body again next time.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] And the third cause is the making of such aspiration prayers to the buddhas and bodhisattvas, that in the next life we may obtain a precious human body. And we can formulate it thus: may I, in the next life too, be able to meet the teaching, with friends in the Dharma, and be able, through this, to attain the state of buddhahood. [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] A human birth in the next life too — we create it now by means of these three methods. The first is to practice well. The second is to keep discipline, to keep certain vows. And the third is the making of aspiration prayers.

That is it. Through this we can, in the next life too, obtain a precious human body.

And it is very important to include in these aspiration prayers not merely the wish to obtain a human body, but to obtain such a human life as is connected with the Dharma — that is, to be born human and connected with the Dharma.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] And so, in ten, fifteen, twenty years — whether we will still be in this life, in this body, or not — we do not know; but if we now practice well, one way or another, by that time, be it ten, or fifteen, or twenty years, we will have accumulated much benefit.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] And in general, a very good way, the best way of building a firm foundation for Dharma practice, is the taking of refuge, the meditation in which we visualize the refuge tree, and we gradually gain experience, we can ever better visualize and understand the properties, the aspects, of refuge. We also accumulate repetitions in this practice. This is a very good way of building the foundation.

[Tibetan verse] How to do this practice, the visualization of the refuge tree. We do not have much time left now to manage to say much about this.

[Tibetan verse] In Moscow we had six days; here there are fewer, that is, not counting today, three days remain. But despite this, if you absorb well into your mind everything we are speaking of, then even though there is little time, you will gain benefit.

We have fifteen minutes left. Perhaps you have questions? Could you say in more detail what you meant by faith — faith in whom, in what, and in general what is understood here by faith? Mm-hmm. [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] So, when we speak of faith, first of all we speak of faith in the Three Jewels, or in refuge, or the object of refuge.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] This is for the general path, for the general vehicle — the general refuge for all. But if we practice the mantrayana, or the secret path of mantra, then we need three more aspects of refuge. They are called the Three Roots. These are the lama, the yidam, and the dakini. [Tibetan verse] All objects of individual liberation and the bodhisattva vows are automatically taken. [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] Yes, you have said it rightly.

That is, during the receiving of a tantric empowerment the vow of individual liberation and the bodhisattva vow are included therein. I would like to ask Rinpoche about the Three Roots — we speak first of all of the yidam. I would like to ask, how can one determine the yidam, the chosen deity, how can one determine one's chosen deity. That is, what can he say about this. And the same concerns the protectors. Who will be the protector?

Well, there are many protectors. And so some of his recommendations: which protectors, how to understand which protector suits you. [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] In general, one must look at one's inclinations, at one's interest. For example, it may be connected with Vajrasattva — then Vajrasattva can become the yidam, or with Chenrezig, Avalokiteshvara — then he can become the yidam. That is, toward what one has the greater leaning, the greater pull, the greater pull.

[Tibetan verse] In general, if we practice view, meditation, and action — or view, meditation, and conduct — then we need such protectors as have attained liberation. There are also worldly protectors who themselves have not yet attained liberation. We need to rely on those protectors who have themselves attained liberation.

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] Well, so, when we engage in Dharma practice, well, a connection arises with various protectors. For example, if we engage in Dzogchen practice, then there are precisely such protectors of this teaching. But they provide protection in the case when we are practicing. That is, when we are practicing, then they automatically surround us, that is, they watch over us. If we do not practice but simply call upon them, then they may not help. If we merely perform rituals but do not practice, do not engage in practice, then they too may not help.

May I? I would like to thank you for such a wonderful and exalted teaching.

[Tibetan verse] The question is this. Might one learn something, even just a little, about the terma of the mind? [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] Indeed, there is such a phenomenon as the terma of the mind. In general there are various kinds of terma. These are hidden treasures, or concealed treasures. They may be hidden in various ways: they may be hidden in the earth, they may be hidden in the sky, and they may be hidden in the mind.

This is when a terma — this concealed treasure — truly surfaces in the mind; that is, it can be like a vision. Hidden, and then it surfaces.

Tell me, please: there are times when — I don't know, maybe I've simply lost my mind — but it seems to me, yes, that when I try, as it were, to be beyond . blame, justification, outside, inside, then sometimes such magical things happen, that that is, a person next to me becomes like a god; sometimes it happens right there, it can let out a flash, with them it is so, this is how not to do it. I either, yes, somehow something like that. How to let this out? Or else, yes, I somehow, well.

What is your question, what sort of question? Do you want to tell about this, or? But what is the question? How to attain the silence, the dissolving of the dividing line? How to attain that in silence the dividing line dissolves?

[Tibetan verse] In general, whatever those dividing lines or other strange ideas may be, if one gives in to them, then karma accumulates. If one does not give in to them, then they dissolve. Thank you. That is, Sipa.

No? [Tibetan verse] Are there more questions? One more.

Still, how to attain silence, so that this is not within — neither to blame nor to justify. Without blame, without justification, to abide — so that situations are constantly covered by them. [Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] If we speak of such silence in the mind, as you said, then one should think less. That is, one should not think much. And one should pray to the buddhas, the bodhisattvas, or also engage in the practice of refuge, and do this one-pointedly, as it were, without distraction, calmly — that is, without being distracted by extraneous thoughts. And one must grow accustomed to this, that is, develop such a skill, the ability, for example, to focus on refuge without being distracted by anything.

Let me explain again: I spoke of refuge in the Dharma and the buddhas, and at the same time in local idols. This was not a question about that coexistence, was it?

May one take refuge in some?

[Tibetan verse] [Tibetan verse] So, if we wish to attain liberation and enlightenment, the state of buddhahood, then we can take refuge only in those who have themselves already also attained liberation. Accordingly, the sole refuge can be the Three Jewels. And it is also said that upon taking refuge in the Three Jewels — that is, afterward, having taken refuge in the Three Jewels — one should not then take refuge in some worldly gods, among whom these belong. But on the other hand, one may treat them with respect. One may honor them, one may somehow utter some praises in their address, but one should not take refuge in them, should not think that they can help us come to liberation, to enlightenment.