Sunday, September 30th, 1984

Talk on Meditation by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Middlebury, VT

September 30, 1984

TOPIC: Dalai Lama audience

SUBJECT: Wisdom's Goldenrod

SUBSUBJECTS: Meditation, Compassion, Emptiness

CONTENTS:

Meditation on love and compassion

Meditation on emptiness

NOTES:

• Originally tape recorded by a WG member; WG members present at this event, but none identified.

TRANSCRIBED Verbatim by IT prior to 2018 (V11a), reformatted by jf 2018. This is V12a (2023) and has: one more pass with some minor corrections; updated prefatory matter, footer, and audio file name; TOC completed; Subsubjects expanded; Audio File note at end of transcript altered; new formatting to accord with new conventions. Archival verbatim transcript – V12a.

AUDIO FILES: 1984 0930b.

Talk on Meditation by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Middlebury, VT, on 1984 09/30

[Audio File 1984 0930b Begins. Noises, faint background talking; HHDL starts at 00:1:37.4]

HHDL: [speaking Tibetan] First I would like to say something about, see, how to say, subject to concentrate or to meditate. One-- those people who prefer to, how to say, to meditate on love and compassion, I think, you see, basically as I mentioned yesterday there, you see, there is the basic, how to say, thing, [couple words inaudible, translator or student] the practice of to think, to meditate [couple words inaudible, translator or student] increase altruism, to increase altruism. Now here, one-- one small sort of-- another technique there is, you see, [source unknown: (is to--)] is to visualize the-- one's-- one-- so one form, one side, visualize the, say, usual "I", the-- who always think oneself, completely, you see, (negative), other (than they). Or in some cases, you see, use other benefit for oneself, that I know, you see, self-- selfish (wonderful) person, visualize one-- one side. Then your other side the-- a group of needy people, say their-- their condition somehow, you see, very poor condition, visualize. Then yourself this moment as a neutral person. And think, you see, you see both-- both sides sentient being. Think that [couple Tibetan words] [Translator: Uh-hm, yeah.] inherently just want happiness, do not want suffering, and both have equal right to overcome problem of pain and achieve happiness. Now only difference is one-- I mean this side, one [couple/three words inaudible] and oneself is simple person. No matter, you see, how important person, there's only one simple person. The other side, you see, and group of people. So it can be short, uh-- So, now [speaking Tibetan]

Translator: This-- can you hear me back there?

S (very faint): Uh-hm.

HHDL: (Today.)

[Translator and HHDL discussing]

Translator: Given that the one being on this side, your own selfish side, and the other beings that you're visualizing stricken with suffering on the other side are the same, they're equal in all of these respects, the only difference is that oneself is only one whereas the others are many.

HHDL: Mm. Thinking this line, then nextly you will get, you see, some sort of, you see, very (affectional) feeling that you somehow ultimately feel closer to the majority side. And much easy to recognize that how much you see, (how to/let's) say, wrong thing as my previous "I" which very much self-centeredly-minded person. So, you see, this very help-- I mean helpful to increase one's own, so how to say, altruism, (kind of actual) feeling. That is one thing. Then another thing-- mm--

Translator: Thus--

S (faint): (Ok.)

HHDL: [speaking Tibetan] Only closer. (bit of laughter) You see, come closer. (laughter) Mm. I think this use-- (laughter) his was-- I think (that('s) um--) (laughter)

S (amidst laughter, very faint): [few words inaudible]

HHDL: Mm?

S (very faint): [few words inaudible]

HHDL: Hm. [couple Tibetan words] (Dalai Lama laughing, laughter) So, you see, another thing I want to express, I want to, you see, ok, explain, the how to meditate on shunya or ultimate nature. Now, you see, the Tibetan word [speaking Tibetan] when Nagarjuna says now [speaking Tibetan]

Translator: Nagarjuna makes the statement that the-- analyzing the relationship between the Buddha and the Buddha's uncontaminated mind and body. He says the Buddha is not his uncontaminated mind and body. The Buddha is also not other than mind and body. The Buddha does not inherently depend on mind and body. Mind and body do not inherently depend on the Buddha. Also, the Buddha does not inherently possess mind and body. And he finishes with a question: What Buddha other than these is there?

HHDL: [speaking Tibetan]

Translator: We're to apply this to ourselves and to search for our own "I", our own self, our own person, in reflective meditation, searching to-- and one will see that oneself is not one's mind and body, oneself is not other than mind and body, oneself does not inherently depend on mind and body, mind and body do not inherently depend on oneself and oneself does not inherently possess mind and body. If-- self cannot be found under such analysis.

HHDL: [speaking Tibetan]

Translator: As a-- as a great Tibetan practitioner and yogi Ensapa said: "In the sky of the primordially pure sphere of reality, the clouds of various dependent-arisings are spread about." This [HHDL simultaneously: Mm.] means that in the sphere of reality the many and different phenomena which depend on causes and conditions appear.

HHDL: Mm. [speaking Tibetan]

Translator: Now although these phenomena appear within the sphere of the-- of-- of reality, if one is not satisfied with their mere appearance but searches with analytical reasoning to-- to s-- to determine if they can be found, they cannot be found under such analysis. Therefore he concludes his stanza saying: "When the wind of proper reasoning arises, again the clouds of the various phenomena appearing in space dissolve into all clear space."

HHDL: [speaking Tibetan]

Translator: So, something that's important to understand here is that it is said that at this point dualistic appearance vanishes.

HHDL: [speaking Tibetan]

Translator: Uh-hm. Even--

HHDL (simultaneously): [speaking Tibetan]

Translator: Even though it-- it's very important to make the distinction that at this time, although for the meditator, although for the factor of ascertainment of the meditator's consciousness, a sense of subject and object vanish and at that time there is no dualistic appearance of subject and object for the meditator, for the ascertainment factor of the meditator's consciousness, even though that is so, at that time one is realizing reality and thus afterwards when one looks into it, one can understand that there is an object, reality, that is being understood by a subject, the wisdom-consciousness.

HHDL: [speaking Tibetan]

Translator: Therefore it is said, for a mind in deep meditative equipoise, the duality of subject and object does not exist. However, a general subject and object do exist.

HHDL: [speaking Tibetan]

Translator: It is because of the existence of duality of subject and object that it is possible in fact in-- to have deep meditative equipoise.

HHDL: [speaking Tibetan]

Translator: If there were nothing to meditate on, no object of meditation and no agent of meditation, then there couldn't be any meditation, right? (laughter)

HHDL: Now finish. Now let us, mm, meditate on either these subjects.

S (very faint): (Yes.)

[Meditation Begins]

[Audio File 1984 0930b Ends, 0:14:06.5]