[JackieC]

Hello Karma Yeshe,

First of all thank you for sharing the teachings with us. From my understanding, Kalu Rinpoche is trying to persuade his audiance to believe in rebirth because its useful.

In order to practice the Dharma taught by the Buddha it is necessary, at the outset, to establish confidence in its validity.

First we must understand that we have had countless lives in the past and will continue to have countless lives until we attain the level of a Buddha or Bodhisattva. Belief in the existence of previous and future lives gives rise to confidence in the truth of karma, the effects of actions. This confidence is based on understanding that unvirtuous actions lead to suffering and virtuous actions lead to happiness. Without this conviction, we will not abandon unvirtuous actions or perform virtuous ones. If one has no confidence in the existence of past or future lives or in the truth of the effects of karma, then one will have no appreciation of Buddhism or any other religion. The practices of all religions are based on the intention to benefit oneself and others in a future existence. This sort of reasoning reminds me of an interview with Bertrand Russel on the BBC in 1959 when the interviewer asked him if he thinks there is a practicle reason for having a religious belief, his answer was:

"Well, there cant be a practicle reason for believing what isnt true! That's quite ... at least i rule it out as impossible. Either the thing is true or it isnt. If it is true you should believe it and if it isnt you shouldnt. And if you cant find out whether its true or whether it isnt you should suspend judgement... But you cant ... it seems to me a fundamental dishonesty and a fundamental treachery to intellectual integrity to hold a belief because you think its useful, and not because you think its true"

and here is a link for the interview for your reference, its only a 3 minutes video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aPOM...eature=related


Everyone is concerned about having a long life and freedom from sickness. It is good to have these things, but people neglect to provide themselves with good circumstances for future lifetimes. We should recognize that the mind that experiences future lifetimes is the same mind we have now, so we should therefore be concerned with providing for the future experiences of that mind. Did he use the word "the same" !! how about impermenance and non-self? is he refering to the mind as the hindu refer to the soul in this particular instance? or is it me who is misunderstanding his words?? As you can see the idea of rebirth can make things very confusing for beginners like myself

If we can practice Bodhicitta, develop patience, and pacify all disharmony in our own home, then we have prepared the way leading to the development of limitless Bodhicitta. If, on the other hand, we cannot maintain patience and harmony in our own home with our own family, then it is very unlikely that we will be able to do this with respect to all sentient beings, who are infinite in number. So if, after hearing these teachings, you go home and eliminate all disharmony in your home and family, I will proclaim you all male and female Bodhisattvas! In my opinion this is the best part of the teachings because its so true. I remember Ram Dass said once " if you think you are so enlightened then go and spend a week with your Parents"

The relationship with our parents is not only the primordial relationship that sets the tone for all subsequent relationships, it is also a good test for our presence. The more shared past there is in a relationship, the more the ego becomes complex and the more present you need to be, otherwise you will be forced to relive the past again and again.

Regards,
Bundokji