Tulku Sangngak Tenzin Rinpoche. How to Calm the Mind Without Going on Retreat (2019)

Oh, yeah, that's the neat First of all, Rinpoche greets everyone. Hello.

Right now we have a favorable opportunity, a very good opportunity, all together to practice, to study the teaching, to receive the teaching, and we have all gathered here for this, and this is a very favorable opportunity.

[Tibetan teaching] What did you laugh?

And especially considering that many have come from distant places, that is, found the time, found the opportunity to come, made the effort to gather all together, to receive the teaching here together, to study and to practice. This is very auspicious, very joyful.

[Tibetan teaching] Rinpoche also thanks everyone who created the conditions for this to happen. Those who bear the expenses connected with this event, who are sponsors of this event. Those who help with the organization, those who translate, and so on — all those who create favorable conditions and help, who help in organizing this event. Many thanks to all. [Tibetan teaching] We should not think that it is very simple to organize such an event, to gather all together, to receive teachings. And today we begin two weeks of teachings and practice.

And for this to happen, conditions had to come together, there had to be people who helped with this, who took part in this, who paid for this. We must remember that conditions are necessary in order to receive teachings, to practice them, and many take part in creating these conditions for us. And Rinpoche thanks those who create and have created this opportunity.

[Tibetan teaching] We must also remember that we have merit, we have good karma that allowed us to gather here. That is, not everyone is given this — look how many of us are here, these are those who have this good karma, this merit, to receive teachings, to practice them, to gain experience of practicing the teaching. And remembering this, we should rejoice, that is, we should listen to the teachings with a feeling of joy and interest, receive the teachings, remembering that we are fortunate, that we possess this.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] If we think about how much effort is put into achieving something in a worldly sense, how much effort people put in, how much energy goes into gaining material wealth, into achieving some position — people expend an enormous amount of effort on this. But those who spend their energy on the most important thing, on the practice of Dharma, are very few. That is, we too must remember this, that very few are those who understand where it is best to expend effort, what will bring the greatest benefit.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] If we compare how much effort is expended on worldly achievements and how much energy and time is spent on the practice of Dharma, we will understand that a great deal of energy is spent on worldly aims, while very little is spent on the practice of Dharma. Yet the benefit of the practice of Dharma is immeasurably greater than the benefit of worldly activity, because everything we do in the world will bring us some temporary success only in this life, whereas what we do on the path of Dharma will bring us true good, true success, which will manifest both in this life and in lives to come.

[Tibetan teaching] And as was announced, the theme of today's talk is how, without going into retreat — that is, without going off to some far-away secluded place, but staying . in the city, in such a big city as Moscow, to still practice Dharma — how this can be done. Oh yeah.

[Tibetan teaching] And first we must answer the question: why go off to a secluded place? What does practice in a secluded place give us? Why does it help — that is, a secluded place, how does it help practice? First we must understand where this theme came from in the first place.

[Tibetan teaching] When we speak of a secluded place, a remote, secluded place, keep in mind that such a place, such conditions, help the creation of virtue. They help practice and help the accumulation, the creation of virtue. [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] But if we consider — is it enough to go off to a secluded place? Because if a secluded place does not foster . the increase of good actions, the increase of virtues, then what is the point of going off to a secluded place?

[Tibetan teaching] A secluded place means a place where there are no people, an empty place — that is, empty, free of other people. But if we go off to such a place, yet at the same time continue to think our habitual thoughts, if virtue does not increase, if hopes and fears manifest in the mind just the same, then what is the point, what is the benefit of doing this and staying in such a place?

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] If we are in a big city, yet our virtue increases — that is, if . our faith, our devotion to the teaching, to the Three Jewels, to the teacher increases, if our compassion for other beings increases, then this is the development of virtues, and then one can remain in the city, in such a big city as Moscow, for example — then there is no need to rely on a secluded place.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] That is, the most important thing is whether or not this increase of virtue is happening, whether our faith in the teacher, in the Three Jewels, is growing or increasing. Is our compassion for sentient beings increasing, is our mind turning away from samsara, is renunciation arising and developing? And that place where this happens is the very best place for us. And if this happens in the city, then there is no need to go anywhere else. That is, wherever this happens, that place is suitable for practice, it is good, suitable — in the sense that virtue increases. And in that place one should stay, and one should not go off anywhere from it.

That is, in brief, the meaning is that if in the place where we are, our virtue increases — that is, our aspirations increase — then that is the place for us where we should be, and there is no need to seek some other place.

[Tibetan teaching] Moreover, as for the experience we gain in our practice: if we are among people, among beings, and see their suffering, then . from this our compassion and our renunciation only increase. That is, when we see suffering beings, our renunciation, our compassion increases, and this is a good thing.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] That is, everything is conditions — there where we are, there where we practice, there are certain conditions for the development of practice, for gaining a certain experience. And when we are in the midst of sentient beings, we have the chance to develop compassion. We see how sentient beings suffer, and we understand the nature of samsara, and we develop renunciation, we feel compassion for sentient beings. But if we are, for example, in a completely remote, deserted place, and we do not see, for example, any other people, any other beings, then these qualities may not develop in us. That is, practice develops under certain conditions, and we must understand what serves as a condition for the development of a certain experience, a certain understanding.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] Again, why is a deserted place needed — what we call a retreat place, a cave in the mountains and so on, that is, some such secluded, deserted place? So that virtue may increase, so that a certain experience may increase. When we are in the city, when we go to work every day, we see people around us. And we see their suffering, and we reflect on this, and we understand: here it is, samsara, here it is, such is its nature — suffering. And there arises in us the wish to put an end to, to cut off attachment to samsara, when we see that its nature is suffering. And renunciation develops in us, and the aspiration to be freed from samsara develops in us.

Yes, this is very important, this is precisely the virtue that increases, that develops in the conditions of being among people.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] When we speak of such a secluded place, we usually mean that it is suitable for practice, that it creates conditions for practice. But in fact, what is important for practice? Even if we go to work every day, we need to earn a living, we have no possibility, really, to go off to some secluded, far-away place. But even so we must think, that is, we must remember the teachings and what we have heard, what was explained to us — and this is the most important. In practice, the most important thing is to know how to do it, to understand the practice. And one must reflect on this.

That is, while working, doing our ordinary affairs, earning a living, it is necessary to reflect on practice, it is necessary all the time to look into one's mind, and, observing one's mind, to remember the view — that is, it is necessary to understand the view, this is the most important thing for practice. [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And the most important thing is intention. That is, we examine our mind. What is our intention? Why do we listen to the teachings? Why do we practice?

This is the main thing — to examine one's mind, what is in it, what the intention is. Because if we treat practice as a means to succeed in something worldly, then that is not the right intention, that is a mistaken intention. This makes us — what is called spiritual materialism, that is, this is a wrong path, and it will not be a right path in practice and in Dharma.

Also, one cannot say that the practice of Dharma brings nothing in a worldly sense. One cannot say that. It is said that practice brings both long life, and freedom from illness, and the removal of unfavorable conditions, the creation of favorable conditions, the removal of obstacles, and so on. All this is on the path of Dharma — when we carry out the practice, all this is there, all this is present. [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] That is, when we speak of favorable conditions — this is freedom from illness, this is long life, the health of the body, then... If we think about it, then without this, in general, no wealth, no possessions bring true joy.

When we say that practice gives these possibilities, these favorable conditions, then they extend also to our worldly life, to the happiness we experience.

[Tibetan teaching] That is, health is important in every sense — both on the spiritual path and in our worldly affairs: health, the condition of our body. We ourselves know, we have the experience of how we care for our body. This is our main support. We rely on this human body that we have, we take care of it, we have all sorts of tests done, we check the state our body is in, because this is important, it gives us strength. In everything — both in our work and in our practice — we must take proper care of our support, our body.

[Tibetan teaching] And the practice of Dharma brings inconceivable good. That is, we cannot somehow narrow down the good that comes from the practice of Dharma. . . We cannot limit it, say that the practice of Dharma brings good only in this and in nothing else, because inconceivable is the benefit and the good that the practice of Dharma brings.

If we speak of the goal of practice, of the intention with which we set out on the path of Dharma, then . long life, wealth, possessions — all this is temporary good, and it is not the absolute, ultimate goal of the practice of Dharma.

[Tibetan teaching] What then is the true goal in the practice of Dharma? Liberation, liberation from samsara — this is the most important. This human body on which we rely, which we possess, is only a condition — a condition for the practice of Dharma. We cannot practice without this support of the human body. Therefore we think of it precisely in this way — as a condition for our practice, and we do not become attached to it. .

That is, we do not become attached to our body, because we do not want to be born again and again in samsara in the future. That is, we do not need this attachment, which would become the cause of new and new births in samsara. No, we regard this body as a condition for practice, as a support on the path, as a support in the practice of Dharma. And this is the most important thing — we use it in order to attain liberation. And we cut off attachment to it, and instead we give rise to renunciation of samsara.

[Tibetan teaching] If we have no renunciation, if we have not given rise to renunciation of samsara, then we are unfit for any path — neither for the path of the listeners, nor for the path of the pratyekabuddhas, let alone the path of the bodhisattva, not to mention the path of Dzogchen. That is, whatever path we speak of in Dharma, whichever of the vehicles, of the paths we speak of, there is no possibility of following the path, of entering the path, if there is no renunciation. No path. The path of the bodhisattva is impossible without renunciation. And all the more the path of Dzogchen.

[Tibetan teaching] When we say that we want to attain the state of Buddhahood, when we declare that we want to attain the state of Buddhahood, we must understand that the root . of this attainment is renunciation, and without renunciation it is impossible. .

It is impossible to attain liberation without renunciation of samsara. This very mind that desires liberation renounces, it desires liberation from samsara. If we have no renunciation, then it is impossible to attain the state of Buddhahood.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And this is the foundation — the foundation of practice, the basis. Because without understanding that the nature of samsara is suffering, without cutting off attachment to samsara, the need for liberation will not arise in us — and this is very important, to feel the need, the necessity for liberation, understanding the sufferings of samsara. And precisely such an understanding of samsara and the desire for liberation as the most necessary thing, and the understanding of the need to cut off all attachment to samsara — this is the foundation, the foundation for attaining liberation, for attaining the state of Buddhahood. And this is called renunciation.

[Tibetan teaching] We must give rise to such an aspiration that, no matter what, I want to be freed from samsara. That is, we must have such a strong desire, a strong need: no matter what, I must be freed from samsara. And this is renunciation — renunciation, that is, the understanding that samsara by its nature is suffering, and this deep, sincere wish to be freed from samsara at all costs is the key point, is the main point for our practice to gain power. If we do not have such renunciation, such a strong desire to attain liberation, then our practice will have no power. No matter how much we practice Dharma, we will not have the power to truly attain liberation, because we need this very desire. We need to understand the necessity and to feel that I, at all costs, want to be freed from samsara.

[Tibetan teaching] If there is no power in our practice, then this is because there is not enough renunciation. Because if there is no renunciation, then there is no power in practice. And we must examine ourselves — have we cut off, that is, have we rid ourselves of attachment to samsara? Have we truly understood that samsara by its nature is suffering? Has this renunciation arisen in us, because it is precisely this that gives power to practice? We must examine our mind.

That is, we must, as it were, resolutely cut off the clinging to samsara. This is the most important thing. And then our practice will have both power and blessing.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] For all paths, renunciation is necessary. When we have given rise to renunciation fully, then we are ready, we are fit for the path of the Great Vehicle. We are fit for the path of secret mantra. The qualities of the path of the great perfection, the path of secret direct instructions, can open up for us. For all of this, renunciation is necessary as a foundation. We need to give rise to, to have this power, the foundation of renunciation; then we will be able to attain the result in practice swiftly, and then we will be able to have blessing in our practice, power and blessing in our practice.

That is, we need to ask ourselves: why do I need liberation at all, why do I engage in practice? That is, one must ask oneself and answer this question with certainty. This is the most important thing for practice. Why do I need liberation? Why do I do practice?

[Tibetan teaching] And the next thing for our practice. We take refuge, that is, we ask for refuge, for protection, we speak of the Three Jewels. And in Dharma it is asked: can one attain liberation without support, without the blessing of the Three Jewels, without the blessing that Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha bring — can one attain it? The answer is no, one cannot. It is impossible to attain success in practice, impossible to attain liberation. Practice will have no power if there is no blessing of the Three Jewels.

And when we speak of taking refuge in the Three Jewels, what is the most important in this? The most important is faith. Of all kinds of faith, this is the faith of trust. That is, trust, reliance on the Three Jewels, is the most important in taking refuge.

And if our faith is steady, is stable, then we will have realization.

[Tibetan teaching] When we speak of the path of sutra, of the vehicle of sutra, then there, proceeding again from faith, one takes refuge, and it is said that, taking refuge with faith in the Buddha and wishing to attain the state of Buddhahood, this fruit is obtained over three incalculable kalpas — that is, this is the path of sutrayana. Refuge is taken, and thus the intention to attain the state of Buddhahood is formed, and it is said that this takes three incalculable kalpas.

[Tibetan teaching] And when we speak of the path of the great perfection, of Dzogchen, then here too we need faith — strong and confident faith, trust. When we believe that we can attain the state of Buddhahood within a single lifetime, we truly believe that this is possible.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] In the teaching, different kinds of faith are spoken of, but this faith of which we are now speaking is more such a trust, it is a strong trust, that we truly believe in something, we believe the teachers, the lamas, our teacher, who says that we can attain liberation within a single lifetime. This is the kind of faith we need, that we truly believe, we are certain that we can attain liberation within a single lifetime.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] When we do the practice, taking refuge, when we read these lines or do the practice, we recite, accumulate, repeat these lines, then this is precisely what we must remember all the time — to remember that we can attain liberation within a single lifetime. That is, such . faith, such certainty is necessary for us — that I take refuge with the certainty that I can attain liberation within this life.

If we have such certainty, if we truly believe that we can do this, then it will indeed come about for us.

That is, first we must examine ourselves. Do we even believe that this is possible? Yes, in our own mind we examine ourselves, we ask ourselves: do we believe that this is possible, is it possible for me to attain liberation in this life? And, having examined, that is, you must answer this question for yourselves.

Yes, if the answer is no — that is, if, having examined yourself, asked yourself, the answer is no, when in fact we think that no, I am unlikely to attain liberation in this life, that this will not happen — then we are taking refuge already, as it were, with distrust, that is, we already do not believe that this is possible.

[Tibetan teaching] Understanding that samsara by its nature is suffering, when this understanding is already there, then we say to ourselves: well, what is to be done, here is samsara — suffering, I do not want to be born in samsara any more, how then to be freed, when... .

. We ask ourselves, and we ask: what then is the way, what is to be done, how not to remain in samsara? And when we receive the teaching of the great perfection, when the lama tells us that it is possible within this very life, possible, by applying the method of Dzogchen, to be freed in this life, and if faith truly arises in us — that is, yes, if the lama says it, and we believe him that it is possible, then on the basis of this faith we receive blessing, we receive power. Also, if we have the right intention in practice, if we have this trust in the lama's words, and we believe that this is truly possible, then, thanks to the interconnection of all these causes, we can indeed be freed, we can attain this result.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And if we say that there is a way — that is, there is a way to attain liberation in this life — then the question arises: what is this way? And what this way is — this is not the theme of today's talk; we will speak of this in the teachings that begin tomorrow. And today we speak of the fact that there is a possibility, there is a way to attain liberation in this life. [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] When we speak of refuge, then on all paths there is refuge. On the path of sutrayana there is refuge, the shravakas and pratyekabuddhas have refuge. The bodhisattvas have refuge, they take refuge on the path of secret mantra, on the path of the great perfection.

That is, we are not speaking of a difference in refuge in this case. That is, on each path refuge is taken, reliance on the Three Jewels is taken. But what is the difference, what is the difference, as was explained? When we take refuge in the teachings of Dzogchen, we need this very certainty. That is, we take refuge with this special faith. We do not simply believe in the Three Jewels, but we believe that liberation in this life is possible — that is, it is possible, by applying the teaching, to be freed in this life.

The difference is in the degree of understanding. The practice is one and the same, for example, taking refuge. The difference is in the degree of understanding, how much we understand this practice, the meaning of this practice — to that extent is the difference; and to the degree that we understand the meaning of what is happening, the meaning of what we are doing, the meaning of reciting the lines of refuge, of turning toward the objects of refuge — to that extent do we obtain the result of our practice.

Again, when we speak of a secluded place, what do we mean at all? Where do we go? Where is this secluded place? Where do we go, and why do we go, without a foundation? And what is a foundation? A foundation is the understanding of the way of practice.

A foundation is renunciation, it is bodhicitta, the intention of bringing benefit to beings. All this is the foundation of the intention with which we carry out practice. First this foundation is needed; without it — where do we go?

[Tibetan teaching] If we go off into the mountains, for example, into a cave, and there our practice . improves — that is, our virtue increases — then good. If we are in the city, and at the same time, again, our virtue increases, then this too is good — that is, this place too is suitable; that is, it does not matter what the place is, what matters is whether our practice is developing, whether our virtue is developing — this is the most important.

If instead of the strengthening, the increase of virtue, it is not virtue that increases, but... If the mind is more and more distracted, then what is the point of a remote place? Even if you climb to a mountain peak, but if practice develops in the direction of non-virtue, in the direction of more and more distraction, then there is no point in this at all.

[Tibetan teaching] When we do practice, first of all, in general, when we speak of the path of Dharma, when we speak of ourselves as a practitioner, first of all we must check: of the three kinds of thoughts or intentions — virtuous, non-virtuous, and neutral — can we completely give up the non-virtuous and neutral thoughts, the thoughts, intentions in our mind? This is the first thing we must check — whether we are at all capable, able... what is happening in our mind, how many non-virtuous, corrupt thoughts or some sort of neutral ones do we have? And can we truly give them up? If we can, if we can reduce them, give them up completely, then this place where we are is completely suitable for practice.

[Tibetan teaching] First of all we must check ourselves and see how much time we spend on different kinds of thoughts, intentions. How much time goes to non-virtuous, corrupt thoughts and intentions, how much time goes to neutral ones — yes, most of the time goes to what are called neutral ones, which carry neither neither harm nor good, because non-virtuous, corrupt thoughts and intentions create non-virtuous, bad karma. But these neutral intentions and thoughts take up the greater part of our time, because everything belongs to them. The time when we watch television, we look at our phone and so on — that is, all these actions, we do all sorts of different things, we go here and there — all this belongs to neutral, indifferent intentions and thoughts. And if we look, they take up the greater part of our time. And, in general, our time goes precisely to this.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] We ourselves must examine ourselves. We must look at our time, at our thoughts and intentions and determine what takes up the greatest place and time. If these are non-virtuous thoughts and intentions, then this is bad, this creates bad karma. If these are all sorts of actions that are completely neutral from the standpoint of karma and virtue — this too we must understand for ourselves, that we are mostly occupied with this. But if in our mind there are many virtuous thoughts, intentions, if thoughts of renunciation, thoughts of compassion arise in us much and often, if we recall our teacher, the lama, and our... increases... we feel faith and devotion — these are virtuous thoughts.

And we ourselves must determine for ourselves to what, in general, our time is devoted, what is the main thing, what is in first place in our own mind.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] As was said, the most important thing is the increase of virtue, so that good deeds, good karma increase. This is the most important. And for this we ourselves must decide that we set aside some time for practice, for meditation. For example, we take such a commitment, we decide that every day, for example, half an hour we set aside, we set aside for meditation, we set aside for practice.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] Well, if we cannot find half an hour for practice, then at least 15 minutes. But everyone, probably, has a free 15 minutes during the day. One can find a free 15 minutes, but decide that every single day, 15 minutes I devote to practice. .

And if we are so busy that we do not even have these 15 minutes, then to move these 15 minutes to the next day and say: well, all right, today I have no time, but tomorrow I will surely give these 15 minutes. That is, we need some stability in practice, some time that we definitely give to practice.

[Tibetan teaching] That is, having set aside this time — we do practice, even a short one, with body, speech, and mind. And what does it mean with the body? That is, we sit in a certain posture — the seven-point posture of Vairochana is best, that is, with a straight spine, with a straight back. As for the breath, we do, we purify our breath and we leave our mind simply in its natural state. Again, in the mind we give rise strongly to faith and devotion, and we do, for example, guru yoga. That is, we simply do the practice of guru yoga, but with our body, speech, and mind. Yes, such a practice.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And again, speaking in more detail, this seven-point posture of Vairochana — it should be comfortable, that is, we arrange the body so that it is comfortable, because such a comfortable posture clarifies our mind. That is, if we cannot sit in it, then we use another posture that is comfortable for us. [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] Next — the breath. We do the practice of purifying the breath, we do it nine times, three times. That is, probably many know how this is done, this practice. That is, one can do it nine times, but if there is no time, then one can do it three times.

Also, with the other hand Machig shows how to do the purifying breath.

One can rotate, one can not rotate.

First we breathe in, and then we close the right nostril, as Rinpoche shows, and breathe out with force. Like this.

Again it is important: the fists we place, how to put it, the bends...

With the left hand the same, in the sense mirrored — we rest on the right... as Rinpoche shows. Place the hands also on... . yes, what is it called? The fold of the hips. Some part of the body...

Now with both nostrils. First we breathe in, then with force we breathe out from both nostrils.

And what we imagine: that when we breathe out, everything within us by way of illness, everything that troubles us inside, as if illness or something else, we breathe out, we imagine that dark air goes out, and we breathe all this out.

There are different ways of purifying the breath in different traditions. Rinpoche explains the tradition of the teachings of the great perfection of the Longchen Nyingthig lineage. And here there is no elaborate visualization. Here is what Rinpoche explained: when we breathe out and imagine that all the obscurations, defilements accumulated by us since beginningless time — all this goes out in the form of dark smoke. This is how we imagine in this tradition, and our body becomes completely pure. That is, it is said that it becomes like a crystal, transparent vessel.

[Tibetan teaching] Interesting, and, as you saw, we do it in turn with the right hand, then the left hand, then together — and that is three, yes, and we do three of these each. And that makes nine in all. That is, three by three, nine, which is why we speak of the ninefold purification of the breath.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And we have spoken of body, of speech. And now the mind — yes, what happens in our mind, what is the practice? We imagine what is called in the space before us, this means at a distance of one cubit forward and upward — at this distance. And at this point in space we imagine our root guru, or we imagine Buddha Shakyamuni, or we imagine Guru Rinpoche. At the same time, as you understand, imagining that he — the teacher, or Guru Rinpoche, or the Buddha — is the embodiment of all Buddhas without exception. And imagining thus, we turn with a prayer.

[Tibetan teaching] Like this. And imagining thus, next we turn with a prayer to the teacher, and, for example, we recite the seven-branch prayer, the so-called seven-branch prayer, in which there is both the expression of homage, offering, and confession. That is, there are seven branches, seven requests, seven prayers with which we turn. [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And in the tradition of the teaching of the great perfection, Dzogchen, when we imagine in this way, as was explained, in the tradition of the teaching of the great perfection we imagine the root lama and turn to him with a prayer, with a request, filled with faith and devotion, and remembering, understanding that the lama embodies all Buddhas without exception. And we turn with a request, with a prayer: grant ripening, liberation, grant the attainment or accomplishment of all paths and levels, grant the realization, the actualization of the great perfection.

That is, with such a request, with such a prayer we turn to the root teacher, and here it is very important to feel faith and devotion in doing so — that is, with deep, sincere faith and devotion we turn to the teacher.

[Tibetan teaching] And such a practice does not require much time. That is, this visualization, this turning with a request, with such sincere faith and devotion, takes about five minutes, such a practice.

[Tibetan teaching] And after this, from the lama whom we imagine, the teacher, light issues forth, enters the crown of our head, descends into our heart. And we imagine that the mind of the lama and our mind become inseparable, or that they are inseparable. In such contemplation we abide.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And after this, this practice of guru yoga that was explained is, as it were, such a preliminary. And after this, if we have time — here we have set aside these 15 minutes for practice, we have done such a guru yoga, and then we can do the practice of reflection and meditation on impermanence, on the difficulty of obtaining a human body endowed with the freedoms and gifts, on the selflessness of phenomena — that is, this will then be the main practice, what we do next. Ah, yes, why did I say that, after we remain for some time in contemplation, meditation — after this we must dedicate the merit. That is, in general, at the end of practice we must dedicate the merit.

But if the main practice for us is abiding in the nature of mind or awareness of the nature of mind, if we have already had an introduction to the nature of mind, then this abiding in rigpa will then be, as it were, the main practice.

[Tibetan teaching] And then in our practice these three obligatory components will be present. This is the preliminary part, the main, and the concluding. The preliminary part is the giving rise to intention, aspiration, that I will do practice in order to attain the state of Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings.

[Tibetan teaching] And the second part, the main one, is that practice which has already been explained. And at the end the third, concluding part is the obligatory dedication of merit. That is, we dedicate the merit from this practice, and the virtue of this practice is great. And we dedicate all this virtue so that sentient beings, our fathers and mothers, may attain liberation. This we do at the end. And this is a very important part of practice — the dedication to sentient beings, the dedication to other beings of that virtue which we have created through our practice.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] And today, those who are present here, those who listen to the teachings — perhaps someone is new, someone not — but it is important that we not only listen to the teachings, but also apply them. Because without application, without practice, nothing will come of it, there will be no result. It is not enough only to listen to the teachings. We listen to the teachings, but we also do practice — yes, it is important precisely to apply the teachings, not only to listen to them, because if we listen to the teachings and think, yes, yes, here I am I am a practitioner, I am a practitioner — then that is not so. That is, it is necessary to listen to the teachings and to apply them in practice.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] This is precisely why Rinpoche explained the practice today, because it is important to do — not only to listen, but also to do. And if we do practice in this way, then virtue will increase.

So that they increase, grow all the time, and then that place where this happens will be our retreat place. Then there is no need to go anywhere, because here it is, the place where our virtue continuously increases.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] Because if we know the key points of practice and apply them, and virtue, as a result, increases all the time, then why do we need to go anywhere? That is the question, because sometimes, on the contrary, not knowing the key points of practice, to go off somewhere far away, out of one's country, to undergo some hardships, difficulties, then, disappointed, to return — that is, there is no point in this at all. It is necessary to understand, to know the key points of practice and to apply them.

With this we will conclude. And that good, that virtue which has arisen from our listening to the teachings today, we will . dedicate, yes, to sentient beings. We have a question. The question is as follows: that, well, yes, of course, since we have... That is, there is no possibility now, let us suppose, to go off somewhere to the mountains and so on.

Well, one must practice what we can, where we are. But in all the texts it is indicated that to achieve any serious results without such long retreats is extremely difficult. What does Rinpoche have to say to this?

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] A remote place — not from the standpoint of its remoteness, but from the standpoint of what influence it has on our practice. That is, it is that place where our practice steadily improves. That is, not from the standpoint of external conditions, not from the standpoint of the absence of people, but it is that place where our practice . improves. Then one more question. Were there any masters who fully attained liberation in a big city?

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] But Rinpoche still says, so to speak, there are no such examples of someone attaining a great result without going into retreat. But what is retreat? That is, there are none who attained a great result without practice, without this constant increase, development of practice. This is important. That is, one must understand not the place, so to speak, but the conditions — that there are indeed no masters who attained the result without practice, that is, without without this constant development of one's own practice.

That is, a place is needed, conditions are needed. That is, in Tibetan this word ri-chö — there "ri" is the component, this is mountains, but Rinpoche says, it is not about the mountains, but it is about the fact that a place is indeed needed in which practice develops. Conditions are needed in which practice develops, but it is not necessarily an empty and remote place.

Here, Rinpoche. But when you live in the city, then from compassion — that is, already, once, from compassion, suffering, for example, but you see, when a huge number of people are suffering, despair sets in. That is, on the contrary, perhaps to go into retreat, not to see at all, not to hear, nothing more at all, because instead of heights, you fall from despair, because it is some kind of meaningless suffering upon suffering. That is, not that I am suffering, but people, animals. Here, perhaps on the contrary such people need to go off, simply to flee.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] Well yes, again Rinpoche says that we must understand, well, as it were, what a remote place is. It is simply conditions. Of course, if the mind is very strongly distracted in the city, then one must go off to where it is not distracted. That is, we are speaking of conditions. That is, we are not saying that the main thing is the absence of people and the remoteness of the place for practice. We say that the place is the conditions.

And the place where our practice develops, where virtue increases — that is for us the cave in the mountains. Therefore we must look at what we need in terms of conditions for practice, and not at how deserted or remote the place is. May I ask one more question? If the summing-up of all practice is our departure from life...

You mean from life? This is a very important point. All our practice is for the sake of what the departure from life will be. If in our cities . the body is taken away very quickly, because the laws are such... Aha.

What? What is the question? What to do? Practice in the city. Aha. [Tibetan teaching] People.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] Rinpoche says that this should not create great obstacles, because if we practice the great perfection, Dzogchen, then it is said, for those of highest capacity liberation occurs in this life, that is, even before death. .

For those of middling capacity, liberation occurs in the intermediate state — the bardo. Those of lowest capacity are liberated by passing into by passing into the pure lands of the Buddhas, or at the very least by obtaining a favorable human birth. I asked again, I say: Rinpoche, do you not think that such a situation creates obstacles to obtaining the fruit of practice? He says: no, I do not think so, because if we have truly realized the teaching of Dzogchen, be it any level, then we obtain liberation.

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] But in general, indeed, if you mean that the body is taken away before what is called the inner breath has ceased, then yes, this creates certain difficulties, because, well, that is, if at once, without waiting until this inner breath stops, to stop it, then this is, yes, not very good. Yes, one must... .

One must, when a person has died, we, well, practitioners, should wait for some time, not declare the death. So. Until rigor mortis has set in... And how long? This will be very difficult to carry out. No, how much time, do we indicate?

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching] Well, the best, of course, is not to touch the body for three days. Well, so they say. Well, no, if not, then not. If there is no possibility, then there is no possibility.

Yeah, yeah. I need this amount of. Mm-hmm. Dann doch so. So?

[Tibetan teaching] [Tibetan teaching]