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Geshe Jinpa Sonam's Discourse "Noble Teachings of Buddhism" at the Hindu Temple of Central Indiana, February 10, 2008

Translation by Tenzin Phulchung

On February 10, 2008 Geshe Jinpa Sonam presented the following discourse at the Hindu Temple of Central Indiana as part of the Geeta Mandal Session. These notes were taken by one of Geshe-la's students who attended the session and wishes to make his teachings available to those who were unable to attend. This is not a transcript. These are simply notes taken by a student as the teacher spoke. Many thanks to Tenzin Phulchung for reviewing these notes and kindly making edits and suggestions that make these notes more accurate and complete. Any errors are solely my responsibility and do not reflect on the goodness of my teacher, his teachings, or the translators words.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to the sangha gathering for the privilege to present this discourse in this holy temple. Namaste to all of you.

Basically, religion is something that is deep rooted in human nature and is needed by every one of us as individual human beings and members of a larger society.

By nationality, I'm an Indian just like you; however. culturally I'm a Tibetan. I was born in Ladhak in northern Indian near the border between India and Tibet. But, I grew up in a Tibetan society. So, in one way, I'm a mixed-up person!

When we talk about Dharma or religion, Hindu Dharma is much more ancient than than the teachings of Lord Buddha. However, it should be remembered that there were three Buddha's prior to Shakyamuni Buddha, the Buddha of this eon. Buddhism itself is part of the cosmos and has no beginning. There are many similarities between Hinduism and Buddhism. The founder of Buddhism as we know it today, the fourth Buddha, Shakyamuni, was born to a king and queen who were Hindus. Also, the fifth Buddha, Maitreya, is predicted to be born in a Hindu (Brahmin) family. So, in the past, present, and future Buddhism and Hinduism are related. So, it is very important that we all share with each other and respect each other and still retain our individual uniqueness.

One import thing I would like to mention is that one should learn the teachings according to one's own faith. Hindus should follow Hindu teachings. Buddhists should follow Buddhist teachings. Don't change or misinterpret the true teachings of your religion just to accommodate a new or changing situation.

If I'm not mistaken, there is one stream of Hinduism that believes in creationism. Another stream of Hinduism believes in karma and accepts and believes in Lord Buddha as the ninth incarnation of Vishnu. In many ways, we follow the same traditions in rituals and cosmology. However, there are different ways of displaying the ritual elements due to differences in cultural backgrounds.

As we move forward into modernity, it is important for us to look back to our ancient teachings and wisdom.

I see you have classes for your youth and this is something I really appreciate and think is important.

When we're chanting Shanti or peace, it is important to remember that it's deeply rooted in inner peace. We cannot buy this peace from supermarkets! And, we can all see the number of billionaires who are not at peace. So true shanti comes only from positive mind not from physical well-being.

It seems very clear that in the more advanced countries where abundance abounds, unhappiness also abounds! Generally, science and technology produce a greater abundance of material things, but the abundance of material things does not assure inner peace.

The place where I was born is one of the most remote places in India. Yet, almost everyone is happy. I can say not one person there suffers from mental illness! I think the reason is that the teachings that come from Lord Buddha give inner peace, happiness, joy. and a meaning to life. So physical comfort is something we can buy, but inner peace, happiness, joy, and a meaningful life can come only from inner thought...from the mind only.

The achievement of inner peace requires effort, wisdom, and understanding. One of the things you have to develop is tolerance. You can develop inner peace through positive thoughts and wisdom. For example, if you see someone who has more virtues, more inner peace, more wealth, or more prestige than you and you're jealous, then you're in trouble. Rather than disturbing your inner peace with jealous or envious thoughts, there are two ways to counter the jealousy. One way is to rejoice that someone has reached a higher level. The second way is to recognize that because s/he has reached a higher level, you can, too. So, rather than being jealous, you can rejoice and/or be encouraged by the advancement of others.

The basic fundamental principle of all religions is loving kindness and compassion. We have to understand what that means and how to develop it, not just give lip service to it.

Kindness means seeing the misery of others and wishing them to be happy. Developing the altruistic mind that wishes to eliminate the suffering of all sentient beings...that is compassion. If you practice these principles it will give you more virtue and inner peace. The Indian pundita Dharmakirti said this was true.

The two great Indian Buddhist masters and saints who gave the "Pramanavartika: Treatises on Valid Cognition." teachings mention that if you heat water, when it reaches a certain point it won't get any hotter. That's as hot as it gets. However, if you learn to jump, there is no limit. Developing loving kindness and compassion is like that. There is no limit. So, the more you develop these qualities the less you will experience jealousy or anger or any other negative emotions. For example, anger is a very vivid example of negativity. When you get angry, your physical as well as your inner being changes. And, this change affects those around you in a negative way.

Pandita Dharmakirti says that a negative quality like anger has such profound consequences that even a beautiful person will become ugly at the time of anger and a respected person will lose all respect. Anger changes everything to the worst.

The biggest difference between Hinduism and Buddhism seems to be creationism. If we put aside these differences, there are actually many similarities. The differences are the uniqueness of each tradition. Since we have such a great and profound bond between Hinduism and Buddhism, it is very important that we continue to respect each other and exchange knowledge.

In Buddhism we believe all sentient beings have at one time been our mother. So we consider the relationship with sentient beings as mother and son.

I was born in North India and went to Karnataka to attend the Buddhist Monastic University. I stayed there for many years, but I only learned enough Karnataka to communicate on basic level! The cultural heritage of India is very important to every Indian - there are so many standards and rich languages there. All of the languages are totally different but each is rich enough to be a national language. For example, in Tibet as well as the border Himalayan areas around Tibet like Ladhak, they read and write Tibetan. However, the dialects are so different that the Tibetans from different areas can communicate only in writing. Each community wants to keep its own traditions and languages. When Deve Gowda became Prime Minister of India he faced a great challenge because he couldn't speak Hindi.

I am Indian, but my primary language is Ladhaki...then Tibetan...then Hindi. In 1973 I went to a South Indian Monastery where Tibetan became my mother tongue.

Tibetan Buddhism came from Nalander University in India. The Buddhists in Tibet, especially the monks, have to study the seven concepts of Hinduism along with their Buddhist studies.

The foremost Indian pandita who went to Tibet was Shantaraksita. Then, Atisha came from Nalander also. And, how the great Tibetan kings struggled to get these great panditas to Tibet is a great story. Pandita Atisha was one of the greatest scholars in India - the greatest teacher in Nalander during his time. And, the university authorities didn't want him to go away from India. So when Atisha came to Tibet he did so by getting a permit to be away from India for 3 years. But, for various reasons, he couldn't get back at the end of the three year period. So, he sent his writings, A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment and they were surprised at what was going on in the growth and development of Buddhism in Tibet.

In coming into a Hindu temple and telling about Buddhist books...it's like I'm trying to convert you! Please, I am not trying to do that! (Laughter)

A great book I recommend to you is A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life by Shantideva. But you should only read chapters 1 and 6. Don't read chapter 9! The wisdom path in Buddhism is very different from Hinduism. Hinduism has the belief in creationism and in atman so in this way Hinduism is a brother to Christianity. In the method path, Buddhism and Hinduism are very similar. In that way, Buddhism and Hinduism are twin brothers. So we're all related!

As Hindus it is important that you learn your traditions. Then, reach out to become knowledgeable of other religions. Do not do what I call wear the mask of religion. Learn the good things and practice them.

To the young people, I say, learn your traditions. Respect your elders and learn to respect your rich traditions.

Thank you for inviting me and Namaste to all of you.

The emcee thanked Geshe-la and then invited the audience to ask questions.

Question: Are there any holy books in Buddhism?

Geshe-la: All the teachings of Lord Buddha are holy texts. There are 108 texts comprised of the direct teaching of Lord Buddha. They are called the Kagyur in Tibetan. In addition, all the great commentaries by great Indian and Tibetan scholars, saints, and holy beings are holy texts. These are called the Tangyur (Commentarial Canon) and are comprised of 225 volumes. And, there are thousands of other holy texts as well.

Question: What are your thoughts that Buddhism began in India and no longer flourishes there but flourishes in other places?

Geshe-la: This was predicted by the Buddha. Shakyamuni said that Buddhism would move to the north...to Tibet. It was also predicted that Buddhism would die out completely at some time and then the 5th Buddha, Maitreya, will make his appearance. Also, the change in historic events contributed a lot to the change in society.

Geshe-la then presented Katas to the President and Chairman of the Board, the Hindu priest, as well as to other dignitaries in attendance. After this, Geshe-la was presented with an offering (a bowl of fruit) presented by the President while the priest sang a Hindu ceremonial chant. This ended the service.

May the virtue accumulated in reading even a small portion of this teaching cause all sentient beings to cease suffering and realize complete happiness in this life.