Tue, 27 May 2008
More Karmapa
Here's the rest of my notes on the remarks H. H. Karmapa made last Friday at the New Jersey KTC. These remarks were made before and after the Medicine Buddha empowerent. My notes, don't capture the personality of the Karmapa. I found him to be serious, yet light hearted, and intelligent without being pedantic. I didn't feel any special zap, but I was pleased by his teaching.
Only one Buddha, Shakyamuni, has appeared in this world. However, we believe in the distant past and future beings will appear with the same qualities. So we give the name Buddha to beings with these qualities. If we use the qualities of Shakyamuni for declaring someone a Buddha, it is quite possible that there have been many Buddhas. In Tibet many teachers were Buddhas and in the future Buddhas of the West will wear suits and ties. Medicine Buddha is usually pictured quite similarly to Shakyamuni, except for his blue color. But I suspect he looked quite different. When we call him Medicine Buddha, we may think of him as a doctor, with a white coat and stethoscope. But traditional medicine is herbal, so we picture him holding a medicinal fruit.
Sometimes people tell me that Tibetans have so many deities, you probably don't need doctors. We do need doctors, but there is a purpose for practicing Medicine Buddha. Disease has both a distant and immediate cause. The distant cause of all diseases are the three poisons of anger, greed, and ignorance. Just as the three poisons are the distant causes of disease, the four elements are the immediate cause. The poisons cause an imbalance of the four elements. If the four elements are balanced, you will be well, and if not, you will be ill. This means that the cause of disease is not only physical, it can also be emotional. and you cannot cure an emotional problem by a physical means. Medicine Buddha is the special object of reliance for all who seek treatment for these problems.
If we can place our minds at rest when they are disturbed by emotion, we will move from a state of affliction to mental flexibility. That is the purpose of meditation. But often when we try to do so, we are unable to. The empowerment in a deity provides a mental focus that allows our minds to settle , like silt will settle from muddy water when it is not disturbed. And that is the purpose of the practice.
I'm not going to explain the empowerment in great detail, The most important quality for empowerment is faith. It is important to have an openness that allows the empowerment to be intimate with you. Too much explanation can obstruct this. It's said in traditional texts that empowerments should not be given publicly. But it's also said if empowerments are given with compassion, they can be given to all beings. The best way to receive the empowerment is to rest your mind in naturalness. This is the best sort of faith, and also the best basis of healing. So please take this empowerment while resting your mind.
I am delighted you have all come here today and I have had the opportunity to meet with you. It's like meeting with long lost relatives. It has made me smile and I do not smile often. I will not forget any of you.
