(upbeat music) This podcast is brought to you by Free Buddhist Audio, the Dharma for real life. Our work is funded entirely by donations from our generous listeners. If you would like to help us keep this free, come and join us at freebuddhistaudio.com/community. Thank you and happy listening. - So this precious human life then. So according from the Tibetan tradition, one thing to say with this, it's not just, it doesn't refer to just someone or anyone with a human form. It's not just about having a human form. It is about having a human form. It's a human being or human birth with the eight freedoms and the 10 endowments and present. And often as well with three kinds of faith. So that's the precious human birth. So it's a human birth that has with it, the eight freedoms and the 10 endowments. So I'll say what those freedoms and endowments are later on. I've also got handout for you. So you don't have to write all the, you don't have to write the details of what they are doing and take that away with you. So it's being human and it's having the eight freedoms, 10 endowments and also some measure of faith. That's the precious human birth. And also traditionally then, we're looking at a precious human birth in comparison with beings in other five realms in this Tibetan tradition. It's in comparison to the other five realms. A human realm is so precious. So again, within that way of thinking about life, you can see the universe teams with consciousness in this way of looking at it. But there is a difference of degree between what's possible in a human realm as compared to the others. So all beings have Buddha nature. It's there, I mentioned it this morning, but to repeat it again from the dual ornament of liberation. All beings have Buddha nature, but the precious human body with the right juncture, that's the unique occasion of the eight freedoms and 10 endowments and with faith. That is the most conducive set of circumstances to realize the potential that's inherent in Buddha nature. So humanness has distinctive features, has the capacity to choose and change. It throws up the question is that if that's the statement about there's something very so precious about being human with it within a certain set of conditions. Why is that, what is it that comes from that, that therefore it's so valuable? Well, one is that we, as human beings, in comparison with the other realms, we have the capacity to choose and change. We've got, that's based on our capacity for our consciousness, our self-reflex of consciousness. We can reflect on our self. We can reflect on our actions. We can reflect on how our actions impinge and impact on other people. And that capacity to choose and change, change and capacity for reflection. Those in particular are the sort of priceless privileges of human life. They're hard to win and they bring a responsibility. They also bring the possibility of enlightenment, hence the preciousness. So traditionally then, we're told our advice for our spiritual friends is meditate on this rare opportunity. Because we have the capacity to choose and change our circumstances. So choice here is about, we can have, we can have a right, correct motivation. So I'm using the word correct in terms of, correct in as much as something that will lead to enlightenment. Correct, we can, we can develop the correct motivation and intentions, volitions in ourselves, directions. And therefore we can modify our actions and therefore we can modify the consequences that we, that result. So there's greater freedom of action than in other realms. And we can generate skillful actions and consequences as well as unskillful. In the other realms, or particularly the ones with unskill, well actually with all of them, they need outside help. So in the way of life, you know, there's there are little figures that appear in each realm. So that sometimes it's a Buddha figure, or sometimes it's Avila Kateshvara appearing in each of the realms. And that's because in those other realms, there's help, particularly those other realms, there's help required to get out of them. There's also a Buddha and, or a form of Avila Kateshvara that's associated with the human realm. I mean, it's no harm to have a bit help. But there is, but there is something, but we do have a greater freedom of action than in other realms. So that's part of what's precious. And, and, and why that comes about is because of, something I mentioned this morning, that we experience a, a balance of pleasure and pain. We experience enough pleasure. We have enough of capacity to respond to beauty, for example, to help us aspire to spiritual beauty, or to the unconditioned, to put it like that. So we have enough, we have enough pleasure to, to enable us to do that and long for that kind of spiritual beauty in our life. And, and not so much, but not so much pain that the pain overwhelms us. If you, if you're too much pain, then you're overwhelmed, actually, you haven't actually got the energy or the capacity or even the opportunity to, to respond to beauty, to, to have our, to, to maintain. You might have a spiritual aspiration, but it's very difficult to maintain it if your life really is overwhelmed with, with, with suffering. So enough suffering, not, not enough to overwhelm us, but enough to give us a bit of discontentedness about samsara. That's, that's the value of, of, of being in the human realm. So there's enough pleasure to help us aspire to live a spiritual life, and we have the capacity to see spiritual beauty and, and want long for that. And there's enough suffering and unsatisfactoriness to make us, to leave us feeling discontent, even with the pleasures of samsara. There's just enough of a discontent with samsara to spur us on a bit, but not too much that it's overwhelming. Not only is that painfulness enough to, to, to leave us with, with that discontent with samsara, it also helps us engender compassion for, for ourselves and for other, and for other people. Because we can see that other people get themselves into the same pickles, the same, what is translation for pickle? Well, troubles, yeah. People get in the same sort of circumstances, and you see, you see, you find, see other people, you know, repeating the same things that you do yourself and, and, you know, feel a sort of empathy for that. So, so it's part of humanness, being able to feel empathy, being able to imaginatively identify with, with, with other people's circumstances, not be so kind of caught up in our own. So there's an experience, there's a balance of pain and pleasure, and there's also a balance of action and results of action. So in, in the Hell Realms, for instance, you know, you're just explains the immensely painful consequences of previous action that, that's involved violence and hatred. So you are reaping the consequences of that, and it's unremitting and immensely painful in those descriptions. In the Hungry Ghost Realm, you're reaping all the consequences of previous and extreme states of craving and greed and avarice. So in those realms, in the God Realm, you're reaping the extreme consequences of actually skillful action, but you, you, you, you, it's bliss, so blissful that you'd never think of. Well, you can be dissatisfied with it. If it is not, it won't ask forever. So you won't, you, you just have no thought in the God Realm of any necessity to practice a spiritual life. I mean, how, how would you, you know, as far as you're concerned, all your happiness is there. It's the sense from heaven, is it? Well, you're in heaven. In the, in the Hungry Ghost Realm, or the Hell Realm, or even the Asha Realm, which is about jealousy envy, you're reaping the consequences of, of other and skillfulness. And they are the, the difficulties and the, the, the unremittingness of that, those consequences are also enough that you don't really have the chance to act differently within that. It's more a question of waiting till it finishes, unless someone's there to nudge you. Now, and I, and I came across a little story recently, well, it was probably in the Juhuan liberation. But, oh no, it was in a talk I was listening to. That, you know, if you're in the, traditionally, if you're in the Hell Realm, although on the one hand, really, it's a question of waiting until that consequence of previous, you know, hateful action has passed. Actually, you can also be out of it like that. One compassionate thought for another person will get you out of the Hell Realm. So, it isn't that interesting, because it's a compassionate thought, but it's for someone else. So, it's, you look at someone else who's in this Hell Realm, and you go, oh, and feel, you have an empathetic, at least response, or a compassionate thought. Your, your thought then is not for yourself, and you're also in the same, same realm, remember. Your thought is for them, and you have the wish, if only, if only they, that would stop for them. If only they were free from that suffering, and you just have a compassionate thought, that gets you out. Because to do that, you have to be, you have to have not, you have to stop identifying with the state that you're in. You've crossed over, your sense of "I" has dropped for a minute, and you've crossed over, and you're just seeing another person and responding to their suffering. So, I was waiting when I heard that, that way of putting it, that, but on the whole, on the other realms, what's there is, is the results of previous action. But in our realm, in the human realm, both of there, there's a balance between what we, the consequences that we experience, but also a freedom to act. There's a freedom to act, because, because the consequences are not extreme. There is, there is painfulness, and there is pleasure, but not the extreme forms of them. And so, therefore, they're not so long-lasting, that gives us more freedom to act ourselves. And it also gives us, well, because of our, our fights of consciousness, we have the freedom to choose how we act. So, so within this reminder, then, that there's, that you could say that you think of its terms in two threads, there's a, it's about appreciating one's life. And then, the book by Candra Rinpoche, who's the, the woman teacher, she talks about that in terms of the, if, if you really appreciate your life, that generates a courageous heart and a courageous mind. I really like that. The appreciating one's life generates a courageous heart and a courageous mind. Now, it is something I, I thought I'd just use that to reflect on myself this retreat, because I just, I read it and went, "Oh, yes." But I'm not quite sure, actually, how the one follows from the other. Although I have a immediate yes to it, I thought, "Oh, it'd just be good to reflect a little bit on that and just understand that, you know, an intuitive, intuitive response to it of yes." But just to kind of let that intuition deepen a bit and come a little bit more into my awareness. So, but, you know, the qualities of a courageous heart and a courageous mind is very attractive, very attractive. If you really appreciate your life, then, courage, she suggests, courage is generated. So there's appreciating one's life, and then also there's knowing that we could be completely free. So that harks back to what I said this morning about that our motivating factor in us is, you know, our root is a good in nature. We all have the potential to attain enlightenment. So, she thinks she's kinder than she's talking with her. She's saying just knowing that knowing that we could be free. Now, we know we're not enlightened, but we know that we could be. If you really know that, then that helps us live with a sense of urgency, she suggests. Also, she suggests, helps us, helps us want to help other people out of their suffering, and it helps us live with awareness. And that awareness itself then gives rise to further consequences of arising of confidence, joy. Yes, that we will encounter, no doubt, we will encounter in our lives moments of difficulty, depression, disappointment. We'll be able to meet them if we do appreciate our own life and know, really know deeply within us that we could be completely free. That knowledge helps us meet those moments of difficulty and depression, despondency, meet them honestly and with some integrity, but not succumb to them. Not so totally identify with them that they take us over, that we're just completely within their, whatever they present as being true, that's what we think really is true. So that we can meet them with some honesty and integrity, but not succumb to them. And yeah, also we will be able to encounter all the distractions, the things that distract us away from our practice and encounter them, realize, you know, just realize that we are affected by those, but actually not fall within their complete fall under their influence completely either. So, so I just really appreciate it, that seems like a simple way into reflecting on this, just about appreciation, appreciating my life, knowing that I could be completely free. And from that comes all these other qualities, courageous heart and mind and living with a sense of urgency, living with awareness, not succumbing to those moments of despondency, despair, disappointment, depression. It all seems to start with D. You know, leads the joy, confidence. So there's a lot about, there's a lot of sense of faith in that, they're just helping their rising of faith. So that, that gets us to the core things that to reflect on in this, in this particular reminder are, well there's 18 qualities, so they're broken into eight freedoms and 10 endowments. And I also came across, I came across another description of this where the sense of the translation of the Tibetan one that's being translated as freedom, it can also mean something that's like being free to rest in our true nature. So I just thought, well even that is something very good just to reflect and what would that mean? So if this is saying to me, you, you're free to rest in your true nature. So what is, what would that be, what would that be like, rest, the words rest actually have an immediate kind of, you know, taking immediate kind of response and then true nature, what is my true nature. How do I rest in it. So, so there's eight freedoms and then 10 endowments. Endowment even is just an interesting word isn't it, if you think about what it means, it has a sense of richness, riches actually an endowment might something like an inheritance, a legacy, even something you're inherited you've been given endowed with. So I think then our job becomes twofold. There's just recognizing these qualities, these eight and 10 qualities in our lives, and that enables us to appreciate our life. More deeply so so that's the first, that's the first thing to do. And then the second thing to do is bring them to fruition. But ties up with that other question, I think I got to this morning with what Gampooper got to him about. There was a question about well if we've got put in nature, human precious human life spiritual friends how come we're not in line then he went because Buddha nature is not enough, because there's work to do, there are obstacles to be overcome, there are antidotes to be applied. So the first of so I think in this reflection there's those recognizing the 18 qualities in our life and then there's reflecting on how to how to bring them to fruition. That's our task really, how can we move some way along towards bringing them to fruition in our lives. And then so I think that's probably why, one reason anyway why faith is also an important aspect of this reminder. And again, taking from the dual element of liberation, there's three kinds of faith, there's trusting faith, longing faith and lucid faith so you'll find various definitions and ways of describing these I'm only going to give one one set. So trusting faith is it's about trusting well it's almost trusting the four noble truths that you trust you really deeply trust and believe to be true. The statement about suffering that exists and its causes and that that cause can be dissipated and that there's actions that you can engage in that will enable that to happen. So you really deeply trust that suffering and its causes. In particular it's suffering its causes anyway so it's also conditionality as a whole but in particular about suffering and its cause. So that's trusting faith, longing faith is about we're having having recognized enlightenment as valuable, supremely valuable. Then we then we study and practice it with eagerness so there's a longing for it, being recognized as what we want, it's giving us the meaning. Then there's this eagerness and longing and longing for it. And the third one is lucid faith. So the focus there is on the three jewels and again it's about being interested eager to make them more and more embedded in their life. For eager for this to happen it's about gaining clarity, lucidity, it's about gaining clarity. It also brings about lessening of conflict or relief so it's a good way, interesting way to put association, to put with faith. Faith lessens conflict and brings relief in a certain way into life. So there's a lot in this to just in the phases itself actually just to reflect on. And there's a very lovely description of faith from mind in Buddhist psychology which is a translation by Herbert Gunther. I'm sure you'll have come across this before it's quite commonly used by Banti. Faith is a deep conviction, lucidity and longing for those things which are real, have value and are possible. Wonderful isn't it? Just say it again. Faith is a deep conviction, lucidity and longing for those things which are real, have value and are possible. So the eight freedoms and the ten endowments then, I'll just read out what the eight freedoms are so that the eight freedoms characterise a unique occasion. It's when the unique occasion is having, when a human being has obtained these eight freedoms, so they are, that I am not a hell being, that means I'm free from extreme states of hatred. Doesn't mean I never have a hateful thought, means I'm free from extreme unremitting states of hatred and therefore free from their consequences. So not a hell being, I'm not a hungry ghost because I'm free from extreme states of craving, not an animal, free from extreme states of ignorance, not born in the border regions. Why are you laughing at that? I wasn't born in the borders, I was born in five. So not born in the border regions, we've come back to that but it's about being born in a society which is free from lawlessness, it's a stable society so it's free from lawlessness, free from a lack of a stability in society. And as well, lack of culture. So the border regions, the border regions of debate is what it refers to but it's free from lawlessness, so there's a rule of law in this society and there's a cent to it and that brings about safety and security at least on that level. We just have to think of a few countries around the world here, that's not happening, there's no, and very very fearful places actually to be trying to live in, bring your family up and even just go walk and get on the bus. You don't know if the bus is going to get the end of it's journey without being fired upon. So free from lawlessness in that way. And yes, where society has a certain stability, I suppose that can show in different ways and can be political stability show in different ways, even just a society where you don't have to worry about getting ill. Because you've got free access to, you know, a decent enough, decent enough level of health care, you don't have to worry about being ill and not being able to afford it. And then another thing is a society that's got a reasonable level of culture that's available. So that's the fourth of the eight freedoms that you're not born in the border regions where those things are lacking. And the next one is I'm not a long lived god. So that's about being free from complacency. I'm the next one is not holding extreme wrong views, so in particular, those are the 10 or the 9 West views but extreme wrong views that not identifying with them, and not identifying with them. Those views that actually are obstacles to enlightenment. The seventh one is not born in a period where there's no Buddha, so I'm sorry there's lots of negatives in this. Or if you want to put it the other way, I am born in a period where there is a Buddha, that's it, so I'm not born in a period where there's no Buddha, two negatives. And the last one is I'm not stupid. So those are the unique occasions that arises from attaining these eight freedoms. Now just to say a little bit more about it, if you're not a hell being or a hungry ghost or an animal, that means you can take the Dharma to heart. You have got the kind of consciousness and it is all about being free from extremes of extreme mental states. Because we are free from those extreme and also unremitting extreme mental states, so not just extreme but also unremitting. Because we're free from those, we do have the opportunity to take the Dharma to heart. The bit that's not being born in a Buddha tribe, well in a Buddha tribe, the Buddha region, there's no Dharma available really, that's the other thing about that. Being a long live God is, well yeah, great, very pleasurable, blissful, but you don't strive. There's no reason to make an effort. There's nothing missing from quite a view of pleasure. I'm not holding erroneous, if you hold erroneous views, then the trouble with that is then you're not necessarily able to recognize the good. You don't recognize those views that lead to, well even just ethical action sometimes but beyond that to practicing the Dharma. You don't really recognize the dangers in erroneous views, you don't know that they're erroneous and you don't know that they're dangerous. So if you're free from that, then you are, if you're free from those erroneous views, you're free to recognize right and practice right view. If you live in an age without a Buddha, then there's no one to teach you. And not being stupid, again it's about, then you can know for yourself, you can know for yourself the path that leads to enlightenment and you can test it for yourself. So there's an intelligence, we have an intelligence to hand that's available to us that we can test things, we can try things out and we can convince ourselves, we're not stupid. So being free from all of these, these eight unfavorable conditions is most excellent and unique. So next come the 10 endowments, and this is called the right juncture. This is from dual environment. So the unique occasion having obtained the eight freedoms, then brings about the right juncture and the right juncture has the 10 endowments so they're these split into two sets of five. So there's five internal circumstances. So there's been some of them overlap and some of them are the opposites of the previous ones, and you'll see that as we go through. So first of all, there's being born a human being in a central country like England or Sweden. And it's a country where we can rely on virtuous people, we can rely on a cent to a legal system. It's a country that supports the efforts of spiritual practitioners. So in our countries, especially in Europe, I suppose, we're not talking about it, it's not just about supporting downward practitioners, but just that there's a sense in a country that there's something valuable about treading a spiritual path. And there's a bit of a sense of that's a beneficial thing to do, whether it's Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, whatever, the sense that there is a value to that, there's a value to the person that brings a value to society. So there's that sense there in a society, so that's immensely valuable, and we've got that. So that's the first one. So being a human, that's the first two, actually, human being and born in a central country. And then the next one is traditionally put that we have all those senses. So what that means is that we possess enough of our tent, of our physical and mental faculties to understand the Dharma. So what enough means will differ according to, well, for example, enough in these days is very different, what enough would have been a few centuries ago. So for example, I think some of you know Helen Brown who comes here, she's a woman, lives in Manchester, asks for ordination, comes in these retreats, she was here the other week. She's profoundly deaf and not quite completely blind, but really only really sees shapes. A few centuries ago, she would not have had enough in the way of being able to communicate and have enough channels of communication to have understood the Dharma. Now, because she's got the benefit of a lot of very, very good electronic equipment, actually, she's here often. And sometimes we think, gosh, Helen's come back again. You know, it's just amazing and she brings her computer with her and of course she's got brain, she's got Braille as well. She brings her computer and she can type on that and I've read some of the things that Helen's written and tell you she's a really good writer. There's a poet in there, she's got her immensely good ability to communicate her feelings and her thoughts in the written form. It takes quite a long time to do it, I think, to type it, but she can manage it. So she's now got enough of her senses and mental faculty. Well, nothing rather mental faculty anyway, but physical senses are profoundly impaired, but actually got a lot of help with them. So this one is not about a particular level that you need to have. It's just, have you got enough to be able to understand the Dharma? So that's the next one is that we're bearing no burden, there's no burden on us from previous extreme unethical behaviour. So we're not, we're not, we're not suffering the consequences of having committed some, you know, pretty awful thing in the past. That's fourth inner one and the last one of this first say, that we have confidence in the Buddha and we have confidence in the possibility of living a spiritual life. So it's sometimes put as having confidence in the foundation of a spiritual life. So that's a good one to reflect on again because it is important to be, it is important to do that. It's referring to the value of spiritual, spiritual discipline. So we're seeing ourselves practicing within a particular kind of spiritual or Buddhist spiritual discipline. But within that, we're practicing within a particular Buddhist movement. So we need to have faith and confidence in that Buddhist spiritual discipline will, does work. Basically, that's what the balls down to. We just have to have confidence in the Buddha and that his spiritual discipline works. And then a bit more closer to home that the way we practice in this Buddhist movement and this order works. So that's a very, very valuable thing to, to, to reflect on. And I guess like for most of us, we have confidence, a lot of confidence in that, a lot of the time. And actually, no one would ask to join the order unless they had some confidence in the orders practice of spiritual discipline. But, but it's also true that it wavers, you know, it does, it does one should, doesn't stop wavering once you're in the order. By the way, the wavering I think carries on, this seems to carry on in me. So it's, it's something that can come and go a bit. So again, it's about just really reflecting. You know, have I got enough confidence in the Buddha and in the possibility of following this particular way of practicing? Have I got enough confidence that it works? Well, how will you have, what will give you confidence? Just, you know, so it's going to throw up a lot of questions like what's, how would you know, how, how will you have confidence in the orders spiritual practice? So those are the first five internal circumstances. And then there's five and the other, the other, the rest of them are about the five events that are external really. So, but the effect, so five external events. A Buddha has appeared in the world. Yes. That's true. I'm living in a time when a Buddha has appeared in the world. The Dharma has been taught by that Buddha. Yes. The Dharma is still accessible and it's alive as a teaching. In other words, people are practicing it. So it's still accessible and it's alive as a teaching. Yes. I have come into contact with it and have aligned myself with it to the extent that I've found a teacher or a sanga that can offer me spiritual advice. Yes. For last one, I'm capable, I am capable of feeling compassion and love for the sake of others as well as for myself. Yes, I think so. So those ten endowments are that I'm born a human being born in the central country, possessing enough of my senses and faculties to understand the Dharma. Haven't got any burden from previous, not carrying a burden in the present from previous, extremely unethical behavior. Have confidence in the Buddha and the possibility of living a spiritual life. And then externally, a Buddha has appeared. The Dharma has been taught. It's still accessible to me. I've come into contact with it and found a means of gaining spiritual advice, found a teacher, if you like, found a sanga. And lastly, I'm capable of feeling compassion and love for the sake of others as well as for my own sake. So those are the main reflections that go with appreciating, appreciating my human life and deepening my sense of knowing that I'm a being who can be completely free. I know I'm not at the moment, but I know I could be. Yes, so those reflections are ones that will do over the next, you know, over this retreat, various ways. And they bring about that deepening appreciation and knowing that I can be completely free. So that's not the whole of the reflection on that's the main part of the reflection of this reminder but it's not the whole of it. And the other very, very important bit is to remember that one reason that it's precious is because of all these freedoms and endowments, and the other reason it's precious is because it is fleeting this human life short lived. There's said to be three things that are hard to obtain. It's hard to be born a human being, it's hard to receive a diamond, aspire to practice, and it's hard for a Buddha to appear. And yet all three of them are present in this life and in years. It's also true that what we have, what are conditions that are present in our life at the moment and enables to practice can shift very easily. Things can happen that we are not anticipating. It's a precariousness to a precious human life. Physically, we can go from being healthy to suddenly having to cope with quite a serious illness. And as Gampopa puts it, there are many causes of death. There are many causes of death. Our health can break down but also there are many causes of death and death is certain. So there are two sides to this reflection. There's appreciation of our life and there's knowing that we have the conditions, knowing that we could be free, and also knowing that we have so many supportive conditions to attaining that freedom. And then there's a sense of urgency that arises from reflecting on the precariousness of this human life and human body. So leave it there and we'll carry on reflecting on this over the rest of the retreat. We hope you enjoyed the talk. Please come and help us keep this free at freebuddhistaudio.com/community. And thank you. [music] [music] [music] You [BLANK_AUDIO]
