May Day, 2005.
Magdalen Bridge: Today, summer’s here, thousands of people, some dancing some drinking, some kissing, some watching. Some jump! very interesting! Some are upset! Some are in pain! This year 40 are hurt!
The reason for our happiness is karma; every experience has a cause.
When we are at peace we relax and there is no tension.
Who makes tension?
There are many kinds of attachments.
The most powerful attachment is our self!
All of these attachments blend causing illusions of happiness and misunderstanding.
There are different levels of understanding, everyone has their own opinions and beliefs.
Different kinds of ignorance, different views, different ways of seeing.
Each causes different karmic effects.
Like this, life is not mindful.
The illusion is blinding,
So without mindfulness our thinking gets unbalanced,
And soon takes over and causes bad results.
Misunderstanding, wrong views, are the cause of confusion in yourself.
Samsara is this experience, life is meaningless.
Find a balance and everything will be good.
Our friends, loves and families don’t bring us upsets.
The cause is in ourselves, in our behaviour.
The better the relationship with the self, the better the peace,
The kindness and loving kindness we develop.
The peace, the patience we develop within come all from a correct view of our self.
We have all the happiness already, so where do we get it from?
Where do we buy happiness?
Who is selling us problems?
How do you feel sad for so long?
Material gain has no meaning,
In a second it can change, suffering comes!
Understand the impermanent, the temporary nature of things and you can be free.
Man is a demon to himself and all sentient beings.
Happiness is peace without barriers!
You are always thinking and creating the barriers.
Where is faith? Without faith you can’t do anything!
Everyone has faith in money and materialistic things,
But what about themselves?
If you think alcohol will make you happy you will lose your mindfulness,
And you will lose everything.
This is not a good way to get happiness!
This practice has a bad result.
In this place alcohol is popular. But you lose.
You lose money, friends, jobs, yourself.
Eventually everything is gone and what has happened to your freedom?
Be more careful!
You need to practice your happiness daily and eventually it will come.
Don’t be thinking too much, think less negative.
Sentient beings have a timetable, sleep time, getting up time.
However human beings seem not to!
Talking negative and gossip, searching outside themselves,
Blaming outside, wanting outside, losing focus more and more each day!
Contemplation results in a more relaxed state.
The more the balance, more equanimity, more seeing all sentient beings as equal,
This is wisdom.
Do you think much about your self? Me, me, I, I!
Do we want to believe our self is so important?
This body is nothing, its just flesh, bones, blood, veins!
Where is self?
Belief in self, belief in outside is misunderstanding.
There is no true thing there: Know this.
So how do we make things more clear?
How do we make good decisions? How do we become certain?
Respect all, give kindness whenever possible, daily.
Think that every sentient being is like your mother.
Make sure you are kind to your own mother.
This is a very important kindness practice.
Now ignorance, good habits, bad habits, wisdom and misunderstanding all mixed up.
So how do you make separate? So this kindness practice is the good medicine.
How do you use the wisdom from this kindness practice?
How do you make a direct way? A good, clear way?
How do we improve relationships?
With patience, compassion and kindness.
You must gain this understanding.
Start each day with your mindfulness practice.
And as we get older we more peace, more patience, then power gain.
When we die we are at peace, free from confusion, experience compassion.
We work very hard and get very tense, then feel exhausted and tired and never relax.
If you think just about clothes and food and material gain you just spend your life working and never find peace, never find happiness.
When you die how empty will you be?
One day you die, your money can’t take, your family can’t take with you.
Only your kindness and your peace you take when you die.
You can only take your practice, your habits.
Are they good habits? I hope so!
One way is experiencing suffering and gaining understanding like Milarepa, a yogi.
If you really work hard at kindness, then one day you might find your mind, then you will be free!
How do you practice bringing your mind back?
Our mind goes out, we can’t find colour or shape, we can’t touch.
Where is it? Inside liver? Inside bone? Maybe flesh?
We believe wisdom is like a doctor. The doctor researches where the mind is. Is the mind in the body? Is the mind separate from or connected to the body?
Why do so many educated people jump and get hurt?
This letter make together with new friend, Will. I am English very bad and friends very new we friends Will together we working this paper. And translation Will, Mark made English make the correct!
If you interested in this letter call Lama Wangyal 01865 243841.