CHAPTER 4: DRUPCHEN KARNOR RINPOCHE

The following is a preview of one of the chapters of my childhood story and autobiography, “The Precious One from Digla: *Oyotari". In 2009, one of my heart students from Singapore, Tsering Lhamo, expressed her interest in writing about my childhood experiences and formative years in Tibet. This, along with requests from other students who had asked me about my life and background, prompted the initiation of this undertaking. Tsering Lhamo spends countless hours listening to me on voice recordings, conversing with me, transcribing, and converting everything into literary prose. 

*When I was young, the whole village nicknamed me Oyotari, which literally means 'little grey puppy.' They used to say that Oyotari was a very nice and sweet little boy.

This is a preview of the fourth chapter of the book about my meeting with the great Tibetan yogi Drupchen Karnor Rinpoche before I began my three-year retreat:

CHAPTER 4: DRUPCHEN KARNOR RINPOCHE

When you rely on them your faults come to an end. And your good qualities grow like the waxing moon. Cherish spiritual teachers even more than your own body - This is the practice of Bodhisattvas. -- Ngulchu Thogme Zangpo, The 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva Verse #6

At one time, my guru, Sangye Tenzin Rinpoche, took all the young monks at Japa, including me, to visit Drupchen Karnor Rinpoche. Drupchen Karnor Rinpoche was one of the closest disciples of the Fifteenth Karmapa, Khachab Dorje, the Karmapas being the line of incarnations who head the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Drupchen Karnor was renowned as a great accomplished adept of the Six Yogas of Naropa, especially tummo (generation of psychic heat), so much so, that many believed him to be the rebirth of Tibetan’s greatest yogi-saint, Milarepa. Though a fully ordained monk, Drupchen wore only thin white cotton robes-even in the coldest Tibetan winters-due to the power of his tummo meditation.

We brought along some food supplies with us. The journey took five to six days by horseback. Like Milarepa, he lived in a cave in the high mountains of Lathok. It is one of the coldest regions in Tibet but Drupchen Rinpoche did not feel the extreme arctic-like winter climate at all. After a snowfall, Rinpoche would meditate all night in the snow. The very next morning all the snow would be melted away around him. One could also feel the heat emanating from Rinpoche's body if you sat close enough to him . In fact, the whole cave would feel warm with Rinpoche's presence and not actually freezing cold, like it was outside the cave. That was how powerful his practice was. The six Yogas of Naropa is a higher tantric meditation practice, and tummo is one of the practices to generate inner heat or blissful fire. When the yogi has fully mastered this technique then he will have an unsurpassable control over his physical body.

Rinpoche was also an accomplished yogi who had mastered chulen, or extracting the essence of the elements of fire, air and water from the earth. This practice of chulen has an outer and an inner form. Outer chulen relies on a specially prepared formulation of blessed medicinal pills (mendrup), whereby the yogin, consuming one pill a day, is able to subsist with little to no food, while increasing meditative stability and clarity. Practicing the inner chulen, the yogi or yogini extracts the subtle essence of the external elements through yogic techniques and visualization alone, without even the meditation pills. Two benefits of chulen are that a meditator is able to remain in isolated retreat for months or years at a time without dependence on physical food for survival, and that, not being weighed down, by the heaviness and impurities of food, one can achieve extremely subtle levels of meditation. Drupchen Rinpoche had mastered both outer and inner chulen. It was known that he would only transmit the chulen instructions to those rare disciples who had completed at least nine years of strict retreat and who had mastered the tsa-lung practices, and then to only one yogi at a time. I only know of one master who received these most precious and secret teachings from Drupchen Rinpoche. 

It was such a good opportunity for me, as I did not know then that he was an important lama. Only now do I realize that he was a very good teacher, and he gave us numerous teachings on Mahamudra, Dzogchen and the Six Yogas of Naropa. This was before I went for my three year, three months, three day, intensive retreat. We spent approximately fifteen days at Kanor Rinpoche's cave, but I did not really understand these higher teachings at that time. Rinpoche bestowed upon us, empowerments in the Kagyu Tradition and other secret teachings as well. Finally, on this visit, Karnor Rinpoche bestowed on all of us young monks the vows of full monastic ordination. Looking back, I feel so fortunate that Sangye Tenzin Rinpoche took us to meet Drupchen Karnor before I began my three-year retreat, because he passed into parinirvana during my retreat.

KKR - Doctor visit: just be happy

I would like to share with you all a short story of a very interesting coincidence that happened a few days ago. As some of you may know, every 6 months I visit the doctor to check my blood sugar levels because I am at risk for diabetes. Fortunately, since my last checkup, the level went down to 6.7 from 6.9, which is very good news! To control my diabetes, I have been carefully watching my diet, and I think that walking daily, exercising, and making prostrations has had a positive impact on my health. 

One of my students, Lynn Johnson, volunteered to drive me to my appointment. Lynn is a retired nurse practitioner and like my health expert. She has taken care of many of my medical and health needs, like paperwork, transportation, and giving me advice. She has helped me a lot and I am very grateful.

The health clinic is in Seaside, California, which is only a few miles away from the Dharma Center in Pacific Grove. Because of social distancing, I sat in the back of the car and Lynn sat in the driver’s seat. Both of us were wearing masks in the car.

I want to say something brief about masks. Recently a neighbor saw me outside wearing a facemask, and told me that she does not believe that it is necessary to wear a mask outside. Even when I go on walks down to the beach, I choose to wear a mask. Putting on a mask not only helps to protect oneself, but also acts as a precaution for the protection of others. Even if we object to wearing masks, we can at least wear a mask for the sake of other people. In other countries, like Taiwan, the people listened to the advice of their leaders and this worked out very well. 

Due to the risk of the coronavirus, all patients were required to wait inside their cars until it was their turn. After I registered with the medical staff, we sat in the parking lot until my name was called, and we began talking with each other. Lynn expressed her frustrations with our current situation. She told me, “Rinpoche, I don’t like wearing masks. It is very uncomfortable and makes it hard for me to breathe. This coronavirus pandemic has been going on for too long and has become too difficult, etc.”

I responded, “Lynn, I think masks are not a problem. It has been a long time since we have seen each other, and this is one of the only chances that we have to spend time together. I am very happy to see you and spend time with you. Are you happy to see me?”

She smiled and said yes, so I said to her, “See, we are already happy, here, right now; this is happiness.” Then I told her, “Listen to me, just to be happy.” Then someone came outside calling out my name, “KARMA!”, so I went inside the clinic.

When I went inside of the room, I saw a young man with a mask who was dressed in scrubs. He very cheerfully said, “Good morning!” He then asked me, “How are you?” to which I responded, “I am good!” He saw me smiling, and said to me, “You seem very happy. When most people come in here, they are usually not very happy. This is for two reasons: 1) they are sick, and 2) the coronavirus pandemic. You look so happy.” He was very animated and gesticulated a lot, and seemed like a very kind and funny person.

When he began preparing the needle and cleaning my arm, he said to me, “Just be happy!” I was surprised, and said to him, “How do you know this?” I explained to him that as I was just waiting in the car before I was called inside, I told my friend the same thing. This was a very interesting coincidence. 

Afterwards, he learned that I was a monk from my robes. He asked me where I was from. When I explained that I was from Tibet, he asked me to say something in Tibetan. He commented that to him it sounded like Mandarin Chinese, and inquired whether it was a similar language. 

I also told him about the Dharma Center, and he asked me whether there is a group or community, and if I hold meditation classes. I gave him my information and my website and Facebook page, and he said that he was going to contact me later. Throughout my travels to different places in the United States and in Asia, I have interacted and met with many people, and many of these people whom I have met become my very close friends and some become my students. Who knows, maybe in the future he will become my student

How to Create Your Own Happiness

How to Create Your Own Happiness

These days, I spend many hours a day alone in my dharma center. I spend a lot of time meditating on my cushion and much of that time, I have been reflecting on the suffering and discontent of my students, friends, family, and all people all around the world. There is truly so much suffering, and I cry a lot during my meditations when I reflect on this  suffering. When I am not actively meditating, I am connecting with students and family and friends around the world, through the internet or on the phone, responding to their needs for spiritual guidance. They all experience various forms of suffering. Because there are so many people who would like to talk to me, and I cannot talk to them all, I thought I would write down some advice that I would like to offer them, and anyone else who is dealing with the problem of suffering.

The first thing that comes to mind, is that it seems many believe that if only they could completely eliminate suffering, then complete happiness would be theirs, as if they were two totally separate and independent things. However, both the happiness and suffering that we experience in our lives are not devoid of cause or condition. They don’t just happen. Both are the results of a great many causes and conditions. As Buddhists, we believe that they are the results of our actions in our past lives (karma) and that what we will experience in our next life will be dependent upon the present actions of our body, speech and mind. It is true that are ways to overcome our physical suffering. As we change our outer circumstances and employ different means to do so, we have some ability to alter our level of physical pleasure or discomfort. But, even if one were to manage to arrange everything in their external environment just the way they want it, it would still be temporary at best. And even then, while everything seems good, they still will suffer the anxiety and fear of losing their comfort and trying to keep it together. As I have recently written, in my composition, Dharma Gong to Wake Us from Ignorance:

Even if I attain physical, outer happiness

It is the suffering of change.

The feeling of mental, inner happiness

Can be unchanging, eternal happiness.

As difficult as it is to transform our physical suffering, it is even more difficult to transform our mental suffering. A mere change in our external circumstances is not enough to bring any real improvement to our mental anguish, as you can see from the example above. That transformation has to come from within us.

That big house, wealth and fame is neither the cause nor the condition to bring about mental happiness. That can only arise when we transform our own way of thinking. Therefore, an inner well-being comes about only when we bring a change within us. Actually, this is quite an amazing and radical discovery, and it is one of the greatest gifts that the Buddhist teachings or any other religious or phisolophical system has given to humanity: that there is a limitless source of well-being and contentment, which is not dependent on pleasurable external stimuli, but arises from within the very nature of consciousness itself. In the language of modern science, it is a hypothesis, which can be tested by anyone with the inclination to do so.

In this day and age of immense competition, from a place of discontent, we constantly look at and compare our own situation to something else or someone else. Thus, greed, jealousy, and competition results in ongoing mental anguish.  This is how we deliberately push away our own inner happiness.  For some, there is a feeling of grave discontentment that they don't have the means at present to be happy, and that one day, when they become rich, will have the means to experience inner happiness. For others, there is the notion that happiness will come to them when they find a partner, get married and have a family. They end up finding innumerable ways to achieve happiness.  To attempt every which way to achieve happiness and to believe that it is only possible in a distant future is, however, a completely wrong approach towards attaining it. If the factors for the causes of happiness are mistaken, then one will never be able to bear the result. The real root problem here is one of misidentifying the cause of happiness. In Dharma Gong, I write:

Don’t be like a mother, searching in the West,

for a child she has lost in the East!

Having turned the mind inwards,

don’t seek happiness outside!

So now, what can we do about it? It is only the first step to stop seeking outside for happiness. The next step is to identify the methods to unveil inner happiness. Here, I would like to offer a suggestion that came to me while reflecting on this piece. This is a practical and simple contemplation that anyone can do, with a little bit of discipline and consistency.

To contemplate happiness in the course of a single day, it is helpful to think of it in the very moment you find yourself in.  For instance, to begin your day, you can relish your first meal.  If you are having it with your family, you can take a few moments and truly appreciate that time for however long your breakfast is. In essence, you have created happiness for that duration.

Then after breakfast as you begin to meet people, you can direct your attention toward appreciating the positive traits in the individuals with you interact. Even when you find troubling aspects in someone, if you redirect your mind to your own faults before finding one in the other, and genuinely appreciate the person before you, then in that moment, you experience happiness. Psychologists say now that perhaps 95% of what we see in another person is based our own mental projections imputed onto them. Actually, the great Buddhist saint and philosopher Nagarjuna was saying just about the same thing in the second century! 

As your day progresses, pause to appreciate your lunch, whether at home or at a restaurant. Even if lunch is unsavory at a restaurant, at that moment if you are able to think of all the homeless, migrants or refugees, and countless others literally starving to death, it will, in that instant, help transform your mental disposition, and bring gratitude and happiness. Arguing or complaining over it, on the other hand, will only cause you distress. Likewise, after lunch, if you engage mindfully with your body, speech and mind during dinner, or any activity for the rest of the day, then you are able to establish happiness within a 24-hour period - a day with inner happiness.

If you go with the whims of the untamed mind, you will never be able to find contentment, you will never find happiness. There is always cause for self-made discontentment that must be watched and constantly corrected. Conversely, if you repeat the above meditations from one day to the next, you will become the cause of your own happiness. Practice this repeated shifting of perspective away from noticing flaws or distraction, and towards appreciation, gratitude, and the moment-by-moment beauty of life. Don’t take my word for it. Try it and see what happens!

Happiness does not drop from the sky or grow from the earth, nor is it something to wait for in the distant future. Is not something that if once attained, remains forever. On the contrary, if you experience complete contentment at that very instant with whatever you have, that is happiness.  What destroys happiness is the insatiable mind fueled by greed. This greed that bleeds into society turns our body, speech and mind towards toward the causes and conditions of physical and mental suffering. So, if one is able to reflect daily on the causes and conditions of happiness, then one will be able to bring happiness and gradually, in days, months and years, will be able to bring this habitual change and transform one's whole life.   

I would like to return to my earlier example of what can happen to our mind when we constantly compare our own situation to those who have more. Instead of doing that, you can do a similar short meditation to the one I have just described. This is a pratice of shifting ones perspective away from how others are so much better off than you, toward seeing and comparing what you have to those who are less fortunate: those who are sick, starving, those affected by natural disasters, and so on. In so doing, you will notice a gradual sense of contentment with what you already have. At the same time, where jealousy once caused your mind to be unstable, this new orientation will cause love and compassion to naturally arise within you. Again, from Dharma Gong,

If I have no peace of mind, what is achieved

by collecting and hoarding wealth?

The supreme wealth is contentment.

The supreme happiness is in helping others

In summary, if one wants to find genuine happiness, one has to curb greed, find contentment and transform one's own body, speech and mind. Another of the way to achieve these goals is through meditation.

Meditate daily to challenge one's sense of self-grasping, attachment and pride. You can meditate for 5 minutes every single day when you wake up. In particular, meditate on impermanence. There are two kinds of impermanence - gross and subtle impermanence.  Even if you are unable to meditate on subtle impermanence, begin to meditate on gross impermanence. For about two minutes, just contemplate that all outer phenomena are fleeting. We witness impermanence daily, including death, birth, sickness, the days and nights, the four seasons, the five elements and so on. Then for the remaining three minutes, contemplate the impermanence of your own existence. Not others will die. Reflect on your own age, your physical condition, and an estimation of how long you will live. In this way, reflect for two minutes outwardly then for three minutes inwardly, every day. We will never be able to eliminate greed - the basis of our anguish - without pondering death and impermanence for even for a few minutes. Not knowing if we may even be alive tomorrow, we plan as if we are going to live for a hundred years. This reflection on impermanence will provide an antidote to your own self-grasping, which erodes our happiness, especially in these times.  Meditate on impermanence, an antidote for self-grasping.

In the afternoon, when you have time, meditate for about 5 minutes on the futility of samsara (cyclic existence). Contemplate the true nature of Samsara and understand the the meaning of "samsara as an ocean of suffering." Understand that despite all the efforts we make to achieve happiness in samsara, there is nothing much to it and that even while realizing there is suffering, we knowingly, happily and blindly jump into it. From Dharma Gong:

It is so sad, poor beings like myself!

We want happiness in our minds

yet apply ourselves to actions that cause suffering

and have to experience the painful results.

Then reflect on why we do so, whether there is a way out, and if we can find other means to escape from this suffering. So contemplate on the futility of samsara and whether there is truly any purpose to it. Meditate on the futility of this samsara, an antidote for attachment.  

Further, in the evening, contemplate Bodhicitta - generate compassion.  Contemplate in this way: “All sentient beings are exactly like myself - they desire happiness and deplore suffering. These beings, like myself, all run towards suffering and the causes of suffering.” Then, generate a deep sense of unbearable compassion as you see these sentient beings run towards suffering and run away from happiness. Aspire deeply that they may truly part from all suffering and tread the path of happiness. Irrespective of your state of mind, make such profound aspirations. By doing so, even if you are undergoing immense suffering, such thoughts and aspirations will dramatically reduce your own suffering.  Meditate on Bodhicitta, a direct antidote to self-grasping and pride.  

If you need further explanations on meditating and cultivating Bodhicitta, it will be helpful to refer to other resources. Without making this daily blog too lengthy, this is just a brief introduction on how to recognize happiness, find contentment and how to meditate.  

I, Khenpo Karten Rinpoche, wrote this brief account in June, 2020, during these challenging times in which many people experience unhappiness, with the hope that it can benefit some of my dear students. This blog was transcribed by my Dharma sister, Dechen Bartso, through a series of audio recorded messages and conversations.

The Role of Technology and Social Media in the World Today

In this blog, I would like to speak a bit about technology and social media.

Until I travelled outside of Tibet, most of my life I had little exposure to modern technology. I spent my earlier years in the Kham region of Eastern Tibet. Life in the remote villages of Tibet was very simple and pure, and villagers’ way of living was quite spartan, but truly people were happy and content. Modern conveniences and facilities were unheard in those days, not to speak of modern technologies. To illustrate, it wasn’t until 1997 that I first used a phone. 

During this time, I was forced to flee in secret to the capital of Tibet, Lhasa. None of my family knew of my whereabouts, so in order to inform them, I had to seek out a telephone. In those days, there was a sort of public phone in downtown Lhasa; so many people were waiting to use this one telephone, and the line was 4 hours long. At the end of the line sat a telephone operator stationed in a small booth with the telephone next to her. People would pay to use the phone, and because so many people were oblivious to the workings of a phone, she would assist users and instruct them on how to place calls and generally how the phone worked. When I reached the end of the line and it was my turn, I didn’t know how to dial and even placed the phone incorrectly against my face. She then took the phone and reoriented it, explaining to me how to place a call. My family did not have a phone, so I had to call my aunt’s neighbor who was one of the only people in the village who possessed a phone. Even though she was my aunt’s neighbor, their homes were still around 10 minutes walking distance apart. When they answered, I explained who I was and requested that they retrieve my aunt. They were very happy to help and immediately went to call my aunt. In the meantime, I had to wait and the person next in line made their phone call. When it was again my turn, I called back a second time, and upon calling I was able to connect with my aunt. I lost my mother when I was only 3 months old, and my aunt took care of me like a mother during my parents absence. Because of this, I used to call her “mom”. She said to me, crying, “My son, are you alright? Where are you?”. I told her, “Yes mom, I am doing well. I am in Lhasa now. I have visited many monasteries and have seen many nice things, and have been pursuing Dharma-related activities. Please don’t worry, I am ok.” She didn’t know but eventually I escaped to India without anyone else knowing. In 1999, while in Dharamshala in India, some Tibetans asked me whether I had an email. I responded that I didn’t know what an email was. My friend then told me, “You need it; I will help to make one.” India was more technologically advanced than what I had experienced in Tibet, and eventually I made my way to Malaysia, which was even more developed.

In 2003 while I was living in Malaysia, my students took me to visit the city of Kuala Lumpur. We saw many skyscrapers and modern buildings. Everything was so clean and beautiful. As I was gazing into one of the shopping windows, a student of mine asked me, “Rinpoche, do you have a cell phone?” I did not own a cellphone, and even if I had wanted to, I did not have the money to purchase one. She said, “Many of our Teachers now have cell phones, and we are able to contact them. You also should have one.” I responded, “Oh no, thank you; I don’t need it.” She then told me, “No Rinpoche, I need to call you, this way if you have the phone I can call you anytime.” She purchased a small Nokia cellular phone for me. At that time, this phone was quite advanced and very popular. When I showed my fellow monks my new phone, they were all saying, “Wow, this is a really good one, Khenpo.”

While I was in Malaysia, I saw that one Rinpoche had a laptop. At that time, not so many Lamas had computers. He showed me how the laptop worked and how he was able to download things in Tibetan, to read, write books, etc., and that it was a great benefit to him. Before, I was only accustomed to reading and writing with a paper and a pencil. He showed me how much easier it was to use a computer. When I asked him how much it had cost, I realized that it was a little bit too expensive for me. Then I thought to myself one day I would like to have a laptop.

One day, another student took me to see a different city in Malaysia. As we were walking around, she asked me, “What do you want Rinpoche, I will buy something for you.” I responded, “Oh, I am just looking around. I like to look at new things.” As a Tibetan, I had never seen these sorts of interesting goods and products. Later we walked into an electronics store. As I was looking at one laptop there, she asked, “Do you want a laptop, Lama?” I told her, “No thank you, maybe some other time.” She said, “No, if you want anything at all, I would like to help you.” I tried to kindly decline her offer again, but she said, “No, if you like it, I would like to purchase it for you on behalf of me and my family.” Malaysian people are very generous and are very respectful towards monks. Then I said, “Thank you very much, that is very kind of you; it would benefit me greatly and I will be able to use it. Maybe I would like to buy this”, pointing to the laptop. At that time, there were no Apple MacBooks. The computer that my student bought for me was a Toshiba; it was black, very thick and heavy. It is not like computers today which are very thin, light, and easy to carry. I brought it back with me to Nepal where I downloaded the Tibetan language onto the computer, and I used it everyday to read, write, etc., and it was very beneficial for me. Now, I have an Apple MacBook that I use quite frequently to write my blog, check my email and social media, live stream teachings, among many other activities.

In 2009, when I visited my Sangha in Boston, one of my students, an American, asked me whether I had a Facebook. At the time, I had no idea what Facebook was, nor had I even heard of the name Facebook. Actually, in my mind, I tried to translate the word into Tibetan and separated it into two words “face” (donh), and “book” (dheb); this did not make any sense to me. My student then said to me, “Rinpoche, you should have Facebook because right now, you are living in the United States. Everyone has a Facebook. Moreover, most of your students and friends are based in Asia. They would love to see and to hear from you and know your where you are.”

I responded to my student’s request, saying, “That’s a very good idea, please help me right now!” My student then set up an account for me. When I first opened Facebook, I didn’t use my name; instead, I created a profile for the Manjushri Dharma Centre. My student showed me how the platform was set up, how to navigate the web page, and how to post things. I completed my profile by filling in information, adding some photographs, and writing a few messages. Amazingly, very quickly I discovered that people from many different places were able to find me. Students from Asia wrote to me saying that they were so happy to see me on Facebook. Many told me, “We haven’t heard from you in over 10 years and thought that we had lost you!” It made me feel very happy to hear from them.

Once I discovered how Facebook worked, I thought to myself, although I’ve lost my country, I would love to connect with those still in Tibet. I wished to see my brother and I hoped to reach my Dharma brother monks, other family members and friends, and I wanted to see photographs of my beloved homeland and my old monastery. I inquired, why don’t Tibetans have social media? I did not know that the Chinese government blocks these websites, including other social media like Facebook, Twitter, etc., and google products like YoutTube in China and Tibet. This is very unfortunate and made me quite sad; the internet is like a bridge or road which connects people, and in this case I was unable to make this connection with those dear to me.

Since 2009, I have used technology, the internet, and social media a lot because, as a Dharma teacher, I have a commitment to all of my students and friends from around the world. We have a connection with one another, and I want to maintain my closeness and relationship with them. 

Given the way that social media, such as Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Instagram, etc., is viewed in society, occasionally a few of my students are taken aback when they learn that I, a renunciate who has taken vows, have an account on social media. They often say to me, in a surprised manner, “Oh Khenpo, you also have Facebook? Oh no… I don’t even have a Facebook page; I don’t like social media. Humph!” I find it very humorous when I receive this feedback. Even some monks feel that social media and technology are unnecessary and improper for Buddhists and don’t understand why a Lama would use these things. Of course, they may think that social media is definitely and completely a bad thing. I think that this is a wrong view. I tell my students, “Yes, of course I use social media. In actuality, my social media is an extension of my Dharma Centre.” I feel that if the Buddha were alive today in the 21st century, he would definitely use technology and social media. I say this because the Buddha was possibly the first scientist Master in the world; today, modern neuroscientists and quantum physicists have found similarities in recent discoveries with things that the Buddha had said almost 2,500 years ago.

Nowadays, so many people have joined social media; currently, there are almost 2.5 billion active users on Facebook alone. I myself have many connections and friends on the site, and so many have found me through the Dharma Centre webpage, my blog, social media, email, etc., and they use technology as a way to stay connected with me. My blog has been a way to disseminate my teachings online to people from many different countries. To date, my blog has been viewed almost 75,000 times; almost half come from the United States, and many read from Russia, Bhutan, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Germany, and Taiwan. There are also three Tibetan Lamas from Switzerland, Canada, and Minnesota who told me that they really like the teachings and check the blog every week. In addition to the blog, the main Manjushri Dharma Centre website has general information, events and class schedule, various teachings, contact information, etc., and on YouTube one can find videos of my live teachings and songs among other things. Actually, some of my students have told me that, although they previously did not have social media, they created an account to stay in contact with me, to watch live streaming from the Dharma Center, and to see and hear updates on what I am doing, etc., and others tell me that they really enjoy what I post, such as my teachings, photographs, and videos. 

Because of the current pandemic, places of worship are closed throughout California; consequently, all in person activities have been suspended at the Manjushri Dharma Centre in Pacific Grove. Fortunately, in this situation, technology has permitted the continuation of activities and the practice of holy Dharma during the lockdown. For example, we have held Facebook live streaming of Green Tara and Red Avalokiteshvara practices in the past few months. Additionally, since the onset of COVID-19, we have conducted chanted prayers of Medicine Buddha Monday nights via Zoom meetings for all those suffering, especially from illness and death. We have also conducted Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) sadhana practice Trinley Nyingpo, The Essence of Enlightened Activity, via Zoom.

Through Zoom, we practice for one hour and are able to see one another, pray together, and even share Dharma texts. In many ways, Zoom really has become our Dharma Centre. In addition, because we are cautioned not to meet, technologies such as email and phones allow us to stay in contact with one another. Some students, including those who live far away, may not have access to local Dharma Centres or may not be able to see Dharma teachers. In this way, technology can help those who need it. This is especially true today; these various technologies allow us to safely maintain distance to limit the spread of this disease and in doing so we are able to follow government guidelines. Two of my Singaporean students have told me that during this time there are many more Dharma activities going on than before and so many Lamas are conducting teachings through technology. Instead of being stuck in their office, they are staying home where they can practice and listen to many different teachers. This use of technology, for the benefit of all sentient beings and the practice of holy Dharma, is certainly a good thing!

I also want to mention an important point. Right now we live in the information age of the 21st century which has been marked by advances in science and technology. It is arguable that to live today, we must rely on and use some form of modern technology. That being said, how technology is used, however, is completely dependent on the person. These examples of technology that I gave, such as social media, can be good for human beings, but it entirely depends on who is using these things. Benevolent people, such as His Holiness the Dalai Lama, use these technologies, such as social media, in order to benefit all sentient beings. For instance, HH graciously gave a two-day teaching on Master Nagarjuna's "Precious Garland" through his website during the pandemic, all together, around 900,000 watched. Technology permits many more people to listen to these precious teachings; having this many people in one space physically would be extremely difficult and without technology this could not be done easily.

It is therefore not the technology that is in itself bad; it depends on the person and we have the choice how to use technology either to harm or to help. It is entirely dependent on you and it is in your hands how to use these things and for what purpose. This is true even with simpler inventions, like the hammer. A hammer can be used to build things, to work and provide for one’s family, etc., which are constructive actions. If you use the same arm and same hammer with a negative mind, this tool can instead be used as a weapon to strike another sentient being. You cannot say the hammer is fundamentally bad and that it hurts people; the same person can both build things and hurt others with one tool. As I wrote in my blog, A Dharma Gong to Wake Us from Ignorance:

Again, happiness and suffering of samsara and nirvana all meet back to my own mind.

Furthermore, whether I ascend or descend is entirely up to me.

We should be careful, for instance, with young children whose minds are not fully developed. Things such as video games and cellphones can negatively impact their young mind, especially those which are violent. It is certainly not good when someone uses technology with bad intentions for negative ends or to harm. Instead of hurting others, we should use technology in the best way possible to help other sentient beings. Therefore, use your mind, knowledge, and right understanding to use technology in the best possible way.

In the 21st century, we live with technology, which has become truly ingrained and a part of our life. Even though some of us may not like this fact, it is a fact that we cannot easily escape; we cannot just throw all of these things away. Some express a wish to return to more austere times; as a Tibetan, my mind naturally goes back to the 7th, 8th, and 9th century in Tibet. Even in relatively recent times, life there was very different and people lived without what we consider basic comforts and facilities. Nevertheless, this made for a very simple, fulfilling and happy life, but that was a different century. They lived in a very different way, but we cannot live in the past and we cannot escape the present moment. We must live in the now and recognize our relationship with technology. Let’s say that you want to live peacefully in a home, just like a family; if you live with your parents, spouse, children, partners, etc., if there is a family member who is not agreeable or whom you do not like, what should you do? Do you want to fight with them everyday? This is not a good idea and will not solve anything. Accept them; be nice; live together; and help each other. The same holds true for technology; we didn’t choose our family, nor did we choose the time period in which we are born. Still you lived together with your family. Just like family, we currently live together with technology. We must use these things even if you don’t like it, you should accept them and use them in a positive way. 

~Khenpo Karten Rinpoche

I, Khenpo Karten Rinpoche, dictated this blog in English, my second language, which was subsequently transcribed by my student, Karma Choeying, over the span of a few days in May in order to demonstrate the benefits of technology and how to live technology in our the current age. Tashi Delek