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[This version: 8 November 1993]
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SAKYA LOSAL CHOE DZONG
CLEAR MIND QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER No 16

CLEAR MIND
THE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF SAKYA LOSAL CHOE DZONG
TIBETAN BUDDHIST SOCIETY OF CANBERRA INC.
P. O. BOX 3430, MANUKA, ACT 2603 (3 McInnes St. Weston)
No. 16, Nov. 93 - Jan. 94

NEWS

Housekeeping
Dalai Lama to Help Find Panchen Lama
New Head of Nyingma Tradition
Electronic Clear Mind Newsletter
Pilgrims on the Road

PROGRAM

		10am Sun. 7 Nov. 	Prayer for the Dead
		10am Sun. 14 Nov. 	Refuge Ceremony & Shared Lunch
		7pm. Sat. 20 Nov. 	Medicine Buddha Initiation
		28 - 30 January 	5th Annual White Tara Retreat,
Yerrinbool
		16 Jan. - 18 Feb.	Intensive Tibetan Language
Course

ARTICLES

		Buddhism In Practice 	 H. H. Dalai Lama
		Buddhist Attitude to Life 	 Lama Choedak
		Grading Intelligence Part II 	John Chen

Management Committee

President: 		Mark Thomann  	Ph. 281 3264 (h) 289 5618 (w)

Secretary: 		Pauline Westwood Ph. 248 6763 (h) 276 9395 (w)

Treasurer: 		Ron Foster 	Ph. 248 9158 (h) 216 4312 (w)

C'tee Members:	Sigrun Mielke	Ph. 281 1026 (h)
		Luiz Ribiero 	247 5898 (h) 246 5205(w)
		John Chen 	297 8521 (h) 250 5733 (w)




Housekeeping
Most  members  would now know that the Society has a new management
committee.  The purpose of this short article is to introduce ourselves,
to outline what I feel our role is and to flag some of the issues we
face in the short and long term.

Firstly, I would like to thank the previous committee - especially
Jenni, Alan and Chris - for all the time and effort they put into the
organisational side of the Society.  It is their invisible efforts which
have kept the centre running over the last year.  Thank you.

There are six people on the new committee consisting of Mark Thomann
(President), Pauline Westwood (Secretary), Ron Foster (Treasurer), Luiz
Ribeiro, Sigrun  Meilke and John Chen.  I am very pleased with the
commitment and mix of skills on the committee.  Pauline, Ron and myself
are relative newcomers to the Centre.  The other members of the
commtittee are 'veterans' and I assume need no introduction as they have
been involved in Buddhist organisations for some time.

Pauline has put a lot of energy into transcribing Lama's talks which we
hope to publish in the near future.  She is also going on pilgrimage
with Lama Choedak in November.   Ron is the ideal person to be treasurer
as he works as an accountant, and is not scared of money.  He is a quiet
family person (like many of us!) and brings those skills of balancing
time and money  to the position.  I work part-time and the rest of my
time I am at home looking after the family which has prepared me well
for this job of president - in that there is a lot of housekeeping to be
done!

Which brings me to our first objective - keeping the house.  I have had
a positive response to my recent letter to members in and around
Canberra seeking people interested in either being a resident  or
pledging a regular weekly donation towards the Centre's rent.  Thank you
for your generosity and support.  If  you are still thinking about how
you can support the Centre, please feel free to give me a call.

We have found a new resident to take over the lease when Rod leaves in
November.  The committee has accepted Philip Coopers offer to live at
the centre.  However Phil currently lives in a fully furnished flat and
needs some furtniture.  If you have spare sofa, table, chairs (not to
mention a spare washing machine!) you might like to lend to the centre,
please ring me.

Besides being a place for spiritual practice, the Centre also offers a
place where we can socialise in a relaxed and convivial atmosphere with
others who are also interested in Buddhism.  I feel the importance of
this aspect should not be underestimated.  We will endeavour to organise
some social events in addition to morning tea after Sunday meditation
sessions.  For example, the Ven. Thubten Ngodrup, the Nechung State
Oracle of Tibet  arrived in Australia on a private visit.  In
association with his visit to the Office of Tibet in Canberra, Nechung
Kuten came to the centre and gave a Dharma talk on  October 11th.  A
pot-luck dinner  was  quickly organized at the centre to welcome him and
members of the society and their family had the opportunity to meet him
informally.  Many thanks to all those who helped make this evening a
most enjoyable one.

In the longer term, we will begin the process of establishing a
permanent home for the Centre.  This will take a lot of energy and
commitment from all members, as well as testing the perseverance of
committee members over several  committee "life times" I expect.  I am
interested in forming a working group to focus on this issue. Please
call me if you are interested.

Another major objective is to support teaching of the Dharma through
courses, retreats, visiting teachers and Lama's regular teachings.  A
tape library has been established and there is the planned publishing
program.  This is a great opportunity for members to benefit themselves
and others through assisting with the work.  If you are interested
please contact Pauline or Lama.

To conclude, I believe the role of the committee should be to:
. plan and focus our efforts to achieve the Society's objectives; and
. provide a co-ordination point to enable all members to make a
contribution to and feel a strong part of the Centre.

In this way, all members can have the benefits of giving of themselves
as opportunities and motivation arise.  The committee will try to be
generous in providing many such opportunities!  Your involvement and
ideas are important in the running of the Society.  The next committee
meeting is scheduled for Wednesday evening, 10 November, after practice
at the Centre.  All members are most welcome to attend the meeting. I
will also report back on our progress in each newsletter.

I look forward to meeting you all over the coming year.

Mark Thomann


Clear Mind Newsletter

Clear Mind is the quarterly newsletter of Sakya Losal Choe Dzong,
Tibetan Buddhist Society of Canberra.  Besides news, practice sessions
and the teaching program of the Society and affiliated Buddhist
activities, the newsletter contains articles of special interest on
various aspects of Tibetan Buddhist teachings and practices.
Contributions to the newsletter are welcome.  Annual membership fee of
$50   gives you a discount on course fees, free admission to the weekly
sessions  and it also includes subscription to the newsletter.  Annual
subscription to  the newsletter is $16.


"My Life and Buddhism"

Series of Talks

While Lama Choedak is away  on pilgrimage in India and Nepal, senior
student members of the centre will take turns to lead the Sunday
meditation sessions, and will each give a talk on "My Life and Buddhism"
and lead a discussion and Samatha meditation session.  All the speakers
will share  how Buddhism came into their lives and explain the way in
which they have tried to apply various aspects of the teaching of the
precious Dharma in their everyday life. This exercise will help to
establish one's own sense of belonging to the community of Dharma
students and consolidate a bond and friendship through the medium of
Dharma.  An individual's level of understanding of the Dharma and
speaking of its relevance to others could intensify one's  regard of the
Dharma and appreciate its applicability.

Date		Speaker
21 Nov.	Ken Gardiner
28 Nov.	Mark Thomann
5 Dec.	Jenny Chen
12 Dec.	Ron Foster
19 Dec.	Merril Cook
26 Dec.	No session
2 Jan.	C. Hall & V. Hinton
9 Jan.	K. Chozin & L. Ribeiro

Wednesday Night sessions will be led by Chris Sinkora.  White Tara
practice days Nov. 7, Dec. 5 and Jan. 2 will be led by Jenny Chen.  If
you have any queries regarding the program, contact Mark Thomann.

Dalai Lama to Help find Panchen Lama
China has requested the Dalai Lama to help find the reincarnation of the
Panchen Lama who died in 1989. This message was conveyed to the
two-member delegation from the Tibetan government in exile who visited
Peking in July.  According to unofficial sources the Dalai Lama has
agreed to assist, but no details have been released yet.

New Head of Nyingma Tradition
Penor Rinpoche  of the Nyingma monastery in Bylakuppe has been appointed
as the new Head of Nyingma tradition after the passing away of Dilgo
Khyentse Rinpoche who was the succesor to His Holiness Dujom Rinpoche.

Clear Mind In Clear Electronic
The Clear Mind Newsletter is now available world-wide in the electronic
form. All issues from November 1991 (no 6) onwards can be found in the
clear-mind-nwsltr subdirectory of the Electronic Buddhist Archives which
are a part of the Coombspapers Social Sciences Research Data Bank
established at the Australian National University, Canberra.

To read the files (and copy them, if you wish) please access the
Coombspapers collection via the anonymous FTP to coombs.anu.edu.au or
via the gopher software pointed at the Coombsquest Social Sciences and
Humanities Information Facility gopher at the ANU on the
coombs.anu.edu.au, port 70 and cheops.anu.edu.au, port 70 machines.  If
you have any Buddhist friends overseas who wish to have access to read
our newsletter electronically, please give them the above details.

 Pilgrims on the Road
A group of eight students and I will be hitting the road for India and
Nepal on the proposed pilgrimage tour.  We will visit six ancient
Buddhist sites associated with the life of Buddha in India and Nepal. We
will also visit Rajpur, the Seat of the Sakyapa tradition where we will
receive Hevajra Cause initiation from His Holiness Sakya Trizin and
visit some six important Sakya monasteries in that region.  The next
important place we will visit is Dharamsala, the Seat of the Tibetan
government in exile and an audience with the Dalia Lama has also been
requested.  Sikkim and Darjeeling are also included in the itinerary
where we are hoping to meet His Holiness Drukchen  and perhaps the 17th
Karmapa in Rumtek.  We will then visit Tashi Palkhiel, the Tibetan
village in Pokhara where I studied as a novice and played marble with
the present abbot of the monastery there.  I will be able to pay my
respects to my old parents and my fellow pilgrims can experience the
situation of Tibetan refugee settlement in Nepal.   We will then move on
to Kathmandu  to attend the Grand Opening Ceremony of Gha Tharlam
Monastery and teachings by His Holiness Sakya Trizin. I will try to
invite my precious teacher His Eminence Chogay Trichen Rinpoche to come
to Australia.  Please do pray that he will accept our invitation.  If we
don't stay there becoming monks and nuns, we are all expected to return
in January.  Till then, keep up your practice and I will remember you
all throughout the pilgrimage. Please do not miss your regular Sunday
and Wednesday sessions while I am away as we have many interesting
speakers lined up to lead the sessions and help to maintain the centre's
activities.   - Lama Choedak

P R O G R A M

Prayer Day For the Dead
After the guided Samatha meditation on Sunday 7th November there will be
a special prayer ceremony for the dead instead of a talk.  If you have a
close friend, relative or family member who passed away  and you wish to
dedicate a prayer  and express your love, then you can participate in
this  prayer ceremony.  Soor dedication is performed for 49 days when
someone dies in Tibetan Buddhist tradition to help the dead to have an
easy passage in the Bardo and quick rebirth.  Send in the name of the
deceased with the form provided as soon as possible.

Refuge Ceremony & Pot Luck Lunch
On the forthcoming New-Moon Day on Sunday 14 November, Lama Choedak will
be conducting a refuge ceremony at the request of some new members who
wish to formally become Buddhists and consecrate their bond with the
Buddhadharma.  All are welcome, but anybody who wishes to take refuge
for the first time are asked to inform Lama in advance.

There will also be a send off at the end of the ceremony for the
pilgrims going to India and Nepal.  If you wish to send an offering to
be made at the shrines, temples and monasteries through the pilgrims
this would be an opportunity for you to do so.  We will also have a
pot-luck lunch after the ceremony to wish them a fruitful pilgrimage.
Please bring a plate and family and friends as this will be the last
chance we can socially get together for the year.  See you there!

Gyalsay Rinpoche to Give Medicine Buddha Initiation
Ven. Gyalsay Tulku Rinpoche will be giving the Medicine Buddha
Initiation on Saturday 20th November at 7pm at the centre.  Medicine
Buddha is the Buddha of Healing and is the main practice of Tibetan
doctors and  the like.   It is an extremely powerful practice - good for
doctors, psychiatrist, nurses, counsellors, social-workers, healers and
others.  By doing its practice, people under medication  may  experience
quick recovery or may gain strength to cope better with  the pain.
Everybody is welcome to attend.  Donation will be collected to make an
offering to Rinpoche.

Can you help?
We are trying to compile a complete set of Clear Mind for the Centre's
Library. So, far, we have managed to locate back issues, except Vol. 1,
no. 3 & 4 (1990) and Vol. 2, no. 4 (1991).  If you have copies of these
back issues which you are prepared to donate to the Centre (or make
available for us to photyocopy), contact Mark.

Wedding Greetings to Alan & Tina
On behalf of the centre and its members, the  committe members extend
their Best Wishes to Alan Mogridge, our ex-president and Tina who are
getting married on 6th November.  May they have a Happy, Prosperous and
Ever-lasting Friendship!

5th Annual White Tara Retreat
28-30 January 1994

Venue: Baha'i School, Yerrinbool,
Time: 8pm on Fri. 28 - 4pm on Sun. 30
Cost: $120 Concs. & members $100

Five years have passed since Her Eminence Jetsun-ma Chimey Luding gave
the White Tara initiation and teachings in Canberra.  Have you managed
to keep up your practices as you have intended?  Do you wish to
revitalize your energy  and renew your commitment?

The centre undertook a commitment to Her Eminence to hold annual
retreats as a way of maintaining the precious practices, to remember Her
kindness and especially to recharge our own commitment.   As a female
Bodhisattva, White Tara has a beautiful practice which helps to improve
one's physical health, creative energy and spiritual vitality.  It is
suitable for anyone who wishes to implant and improve these qualities.

The fifth annual White Retreat will be conducted by Lama Choedak who
will give the transmission of the practice for the benefit of those who
have not received the initiation but wish to attend the retreat for the
first time. You will also be eligible to attend the monthly White Tara
practice sessions at the centre after attending this retreat. For the
first time some subsidiary teachings on the White Tara practice that
were not  given previously such as sleeping Yoga, dream Yoga, arising
Yoga and breathing exercise (Pranayama) will also be taught at this
retreat.

Bring some water colour paints and brushes or coloured pensils as there
will  be a session on colouring White Tara line drawings to help our
creative visualization.   Also kindly indicate with your booking whether
or not you have transport so that we can organise to help each other.

The retreat will be held at the Baha'i School in Yerrinbool outside
Mittagong.  It has all the basic facilities and is a beautiful setting
in the bush where you can go for a walk during the afternoon breaks.  We
will also observe noble silence in the monings and the eight Mahayana
precepts on Saturday.  One must attend the whole retreat except in
emergency situations.  For further enquiries, please contact Vivien on
249 6984.



		COURSE AND MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION FORM

To: Treasurer, Tibetan Buddhist Society of Canberra, P. O. Box 3430,
Manuka, ACT 2603 Australia

	Name: ................................................ Ph. (w)
.................. (h) ...................
	Address
.....................................................................................................

  	1. I enclose a cheque $......... for ($50) membership / ($16)
subscription of the Clear Mind Newsletter.
  	2. I enclose a cheque $ ........ as a deposit for the 5th Annual
White Tara Retreat 28-30 Jan. 94.
	    Do you need transport?  Yes / No. Can you give a lift to
other member (s)? Yes / No
            3. I wish to contribute $ ..... per week /month  for the
centre's rent.
	4. I enclose a cheque $ ........ as a donation towards the
Prayer for the Dead.
	    Name of the Deceased ................................
Relation .....................



Buddhism in Practice

by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Perhaps most of you already know the importance of compassion and love.
The practice of compassion is what gives me greatest satisfaction.  No
matter what the circumstances, no matter what kind of tragedy I am
facing, I practice compassion.  This gives me inner strength and
happiness.  This gives me the feeling that my life is useful.  So you
see - up to now - I am 57 years of age, going on 58 - I have tried my
best to practice these things, and will continue to do so until my last
breath, my last day.  I myself, you see, am the devoted servant of
compassion.  That is the way I really feel.

We need public support, the active expression of your goodwill towards
us.  Please keep this in mind, and whenever the occasion arises express
your deep sympathy towards the Tibetan cause.  As Buddhist
practitioners, you should understand the necessity of preserving Tibetan
Buddhism.  For this, the land, the physical country of Tibet, is
crucial.  We have tried our best to preserve the Tibetan traditions
outside Tibet for almost thirty years, and we have been comparatively
successful.  But eventually, after our time, there is real danger that
they will change, that they will not survive as a cultural and spiritual
entity if it's physical reality is smothered under Chinese occupation.
So we cannot avoid taking responsibility in trying to improve its
political situation.

Clearly, in this light, active support for the Tibetan cause is not just
a matter of politics.  It is the work of Dharma.  We are not against the
Chinese; we, in fact, have a deep admiration for the Chinese
civilisation.  We are only trying to gain our rights, to save our
people, and to preserve our Buddha Dharma.

I dream of a new Tibet - a free land, a zone of peace - where my six
million people can restore our spiritual way of life while becoming
attuned to the best aspects of the modern world.  I see it as a place
where all people - not excluding our eastern neighbour - can visit and
enjoy the fresh air and brilliant mountain light, can find inspiration
in a peaceful, spiritual way of life, and perhaps can learn to
understand their own worlds better by getting away for a little while to
meditate at our high altitude.  With your help we can return there.  Now
is the time when your action is practice.


Buddhist Attitude to Life*
	by Lama Choedak

I am extermely happy to be given the opportunity to come and share with
you the contribution Buddhism could make to better the well being of
human society.  Tonight we have come together to discuss the benefits of
sincere sharing of good things we value in our society in general and
particularly religion.  Those of us who believe in one or another
religion have seen the benefits of religious practices if and when we
practise them properly ourselves.  We have also seen the danger and
suffering which  come out of direct misuse of religious beliefs, power
and religious fanaticism.  The benefit or harm caused by religion in
everyday life is not in the merit or demerit of the religions.  It is
entirely dependent on the behaviours of the people who profess
themselves to be religious.  Since the problems of the world are created
by human beings they can only be corrected by human beings, by properly
following the fundamental principles of human values, taught and
practised by wise men and women of the world.  Let us not be in the
illusion that there were only one or few  such wise people who came as
saviours of the world.  We must credit ourselves and thank others for
the good things we enjoy in life and be responsible for the bad things
we experience.  According to Buddhism, Religion or "the Dharma" is no
more than a raft or a path for people who wish to journey on it.  If we
have an accident on the road it is not the road's fault and if we travel
well,  we do not thank the road.    However if we stand in the middle of
the road and tell other people that they do not know how to walk, that
is not just an accident, it is sheer arrogance and ignorance.

I have come here to share with you  the Buddhist perspective and how its
fundamental ideas and practices can benefit individuals and our society
at large.  Buddhism and its teachings respects all other religions and
in fact, in Buddhism, it is a transgression to speak ill of anybody or a
group of people or their philosophical or religious ideas.  Condemning
other people or their religion is considered non-religious conduct and
is an idle-talk which is one of the ten non-virtues deeds one must
abandone.  There is no devil outside  other than one's own inability to
accept and respect other religions.  There is no external god other than
the kindness and compassion that can flow through us to other living
beings.  A mother dog who shows her kindness to her puppy is a much
better example of compassion foe one  to emulate than propagating
teachings which discriminate against colour, race, religion or gender.
If one religion cannot tolerate another how can it teach to tolerate
anything in this world?  Religious intolerance and narrow-mindedness
among Church and religious leaders have let down many of their adherents
who call themselves "free thinkers".  These are not the benefits of
religious practice but the failure to understand and practise religion.
Over the years I have met many people who wish to be identified as "free
thinkers" rather than  belonging to any religious denomination.   Many
regard religion as that which narrows their thinking and limits their
freedom to reason.  Many modern thinkers, who have otherwise distanced
themselves from strict religious dogma have become attracted to the
Buddhist way of life and its powerful ideas, have regarded Buddhism as a
way of life rather than a religion.  Many Australians I have known, who
consider themselves as Buddhists have become interested in Buddhism and
have adopted its non-pressured approach to life, mainly because they do
not have to believe in things they have not examined and experienced
themselves.  They are taught to think for themselves rather than have a
blind faith in something and are not even allowed to think of it
logically.  They are encouraged to find a safe way for themselves rather
than accept the one and only ready-made highway.  There is no one
highway to enlightenment, but there are different footsteps of  past
masters we can follow if we wish.  Learn from everbody and every
circumstance and take what it means most to you, but let us not be
over-ambitious and try to make a highway to lead everyone.  This is how
the seeds of religious fanaticism are planted.

Several years ago there was a big inter-religious conference in London
which was represented by all major religions.  Buddhism was represented
by a Sri Lankan monk.  The conference was held in a beautiful Church and
most of those attending were Christians.  All the speakers sat on the
stage and the Sri Lankan monk who was the smallest in physical size was
asked to speak first.  The first remark he made was nothing but a few
minutes of total silence and the people in the audience thought he was
not going to say anything and the Master of the Ceremony acted rather
anxiously.  Then the monk smiled towards the Master of the ceremony and
nodded as  if he was going to say something after all and then he said:
"I am sorry, Ladies and Gentlemen, there is no God".

Well, I am not going to repeat  it here but such comments do raise
questions  as to what Buddhism is all about and the role of Buddha for
Buddhists.  To be frank Buddha was a great critic of the idea of
creation of the world by some supreme God-Head and the idea of the
original sin and eternal heaven and hell.  To the Buddha, most important
thing was "now", the present moment and how we go from here rather than
what happened in the past and what might or will happen in the future.
Past is gone and future is not yet due except what we are creating now.
He did this not out of believing in some theory but examining it for
himself through analysis and rationality.

Buddha  came up with four fundamental principles which he thought was
univeral to all human problems.  Even to his most faithful disciples,
the Buddha after his enlightenment, warned of the danger of "blind
faith" and asked them not to believe everything what he said just
because he  taught them.  He emphasised the importance of individuals to
test and examine the authenticity of his teaching through personal
experience, not through mere belief.

These four principles are called the four Noble Tuths. The first is
called the Truth of Suffering (Dukkha Satya). When people face suffering
in their lives, the first thing they do is deny it, reject it and worst
of all they try to avoid it.  This he said was the obvious reason why we
suffer in life, because we fail to see the truth, the meaning and its
purpose of suffering.  Although nobody desires suffering, they always
get it, not because of the suffering itself, but because they fail to
apply the correct antidote to the problem.  He explained that people
fail to apply the antidotes to their suffering, not because they do not
want to but because they do not know the causes of the suffering.  We
think that the cause of our problem is something or someone outside us
and this, he says "is barking up the wrong tree" as the saying goes.  We
must remember that suffering is a mental phenomenon and it can only be
changed or eliminated  by correct perception and transformation of our
mental attitude.  For instance if a person called John loves his friend
Barry, and Barry has become very fond of Chris, who John dislikes, John
will be upset.  This experience of upset, John believes is due to the
behaviour of his friend Barry who has become fond of Chris.  But if we
examine it carefully, the cause of upset is largely due to John's own
dislike, resentment and hatred towards Chris, rather than the
relationship of Barry and Chris.  If friendship is to be admired and
desired, then one must be able to rejoice in other's friendship.  That
which is causing John to be upset is because of his feeling of
insecurity and jealousy provoked by his own anger which he had not dealt
with effectively in the past.

Let me elaborate this from the point of view of the importance of
solving a problem at hand rather than of the distant past.  If a man is
shot by an arrow into his eyes, what should he do?  Most people fail to
remove the arrow struck in their eyes but instead waste time trying to
apprehend and convict the accused. They are more interested to find out
what happened before the arrow struck in the eye than to remove the
arrow from the eyes.   If the hurt is caused by the arrow in the eye,
then obviously the arrow must be removed first.  But we don't.  We want
to find out the beginning of the problem how it all started from
scratch, i.e. "the creation".  The spillover of this way of dealing with
suffering is so epidemic and extremely hard to overcome.  We deny and
disapprove the hurt that we have  already experienced but attempt to
bring  similar if not heavier hurt upon someone else, whether proven
guilty or innocent.  Blaming the past and the way we were treated in our
childhood, by our parents does not address the problem at hand but makes
the individual feel more resentful towards their past to the extent of
developing self-hatred.

This takes us to the second Truth, the truth of the origin of the
suffering.  In Buddhism, the basic ignorance, greed and hatred in our
minds are called "the three poisons".  The benefits of religious
practice can only be appreciated if individuals take full responsibility
for their own poisons of the mind.  The events of the past are not
happening now, except by oneself playing it back in one's own mind.  We
can see how our mental  problems are created from small factors.  To
reduce or eliminate suffering caused by one's own poisons of the mind,
one must not see them as bad or eternally evil.  People who do not know
anything about poison become its victims.  There are also large numbers
of people who know the danger of the poisons of the mind but they
suppress them without becoming able to detoxify them.  Familiarity and
undertsanding of this second truth is crucial to be able to do something
about the upset which I referred to earlier.  When we become aware that
all human beings are victims of their own poisons of the mind, we have
no time to become angry at the other person, but instead we feel empathy
for the other person.  This feeling of empathy brings ourselves to the
same level as the other person and become more connected.  By doing this
we will not dwell in our own misery to deepen and enlarge it, but it
sharpens one's focus on the other person's needs.  If the cause of the
hurt is the event of the past, it has already gone and is not happening
now except oneself playing it back in one's own mind as if it was
unforgettable.  The moment we express our feelings and care for the
other person, we will discover that he is in a similar if not worse
mental state than we were.  There will be an instant cure of the hurt
that one has been experiencing out of misunderstanding.  This changes
the mental climate of anger into compassion and one will feel powerful
to bring this change in one's mind without feeling powerless and
hopeless.  His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said that anger does not help
us to solve the problem at hand, but  robs us of our sleep, appetite and
make us unable to appreciate the good things we have in life.

Compassion is taught in all religions but compassion without wisdom is
likened in Buddhism to a bird with only one wing.  While we all believe
in compassion and its virtues, we mustn't use anything to impose upon
others in the name of compassion.  If someone does not want our
compassion, we must have the wisdom to accept the rejection of our
compassion but at the same time not to be discouraged by such
experiences.  This raises the importance and need of balance and
moderation in whatever we do in our lives, be it religious,
compassionate or otherwise.  If we go into extremes, religion can bring
more suffering than it can benefit  the world, as we all know.  There
are certain things we should not be too certain about.  So let the law
of cause and effect take its own course of reality.  Some things we just
have to accept. They will change in their own time for nothing is
permanent in the world.

No matter how hurtful it may have been, it will pass or it mustn't have
happened at all.  So do not dwell on the past whether good or bad for it
may obscure  the good things which surrounds you now.  The ability to
maintain the mind in a free and accepting state is an art of happiness,
joy and love.  This is called the truth of the path, the third noble
truth. It is also the path known as "The Middle Way (Madyam marga). This
comprises of eight fold paths:

1. Right View:  All things are in a state of dissatisfaction, whether
you are young or old, have a partner or do not have a partner, or you
have a job or do not have a job and so forth.  Even if you obtain
something you desire, it will never remain the same as all things are
impermanent. If we wish things were permanent instead, you are asking
for more trouble.  If you are enjoying this meeting, that is because it
was not here before and it will soon be over.  If we sit here longer
than it is comfortable, we will be in heaps of trouble, so we must move
on. Reflection on the law of impermanence can resuscitate you when you
are short of breath in certain problems of life and help to cultivate
right view.

2. Right Thought: Through the correct attitude that things are not as
real, satisfactory and durable as it appears or we want them to be, it
will enable us to let go of things so we can become more flexible and
less rigid and thus experience less stress.  This helps us to sort out
the thoughts and to get rid of certain thoughts which are harmful to
dwell on.  Certain thoughts such as kindness, impermanence and
compassion towards other living beings can become a very powerful way of
directing one's energy.  Lots of the sufferings come from one's
selfishness and the unability to think of positive things.  Therefore it
is important to choose the right things to think about.  We see and hear
what is in our mind.

3. Right Concentration: This way we will sort out  the priorities in our
lives and we  will not waste time on trivial matters.  There will be a
sense of focus and discipline in life which will inject much needed
motivation to live and help others rather than cherish for one's own
welfare.  This requires the adoption of a practice of meditation which
one should learn from  qualified teachers; not from books or people who
have not invested  devotion and faith in teachers, and lineage in which
such teachings are kept, but teach from books without any experience and
authority.  Like a camera, one's mind has to be carefully focussed
through attentive concentrated meditation to see the clear picture of
reality as it is.  If the camera of mind is out of focus, then our
mental lens  will project the incompetence of the cameraman who may in
turn blame the object for being too close or far.  His picture will be
unclear if any.

4. Right Action: One will have the ability to restrain one's senses
(particularly when things are going into extremes) and refrain from
inflicting lots of unnecessary suffering by sheer carelessness and
indulgence.  By conserving all the physical energy one will  carefully
utilise them to benefit others but not to cause any injury to their
life, health, property and relationship.  A person practising right
action, who is able to give so much to others enjoy  good health and
will be full of energy.  He will not feel worn out or exhausted.

5. Right Speech: Excercising  restaint over one's physical energy will
enable one to conserve one's energy.  So much suffering in our lives are
created by our mouth's Karma.  So if we understand the meaning of right
speech we should watch out for our mouth.  Go for a short retreat and
see how much peace there is in silence and see how  much garbage we talk
every day.  Gain some power over your speech so that no hurtful words
will slip out of your mouth.  Say what is good for the many and that
which is only truthful and helpful.  When you do this, you will hear
both praise and blame as the echo of voidness and oneself will be
unaffected by other's verbal abuse.  Rather they will become objects of
compassion.

6. Right Livelihood: This world is for all creatures not just for human
beings and the powerful ones.  We must give a fair go and act decently
towards other living beings.  It is not considered clever to take
advantage of others who are weaker than ourselves.  Cultivate the
ability to treat others with respect as an individual just as oneself
desires to be happy.  Think of animals and their welfare if you cannot
deal too many unruly human beings.  Focus on what you can do without
causing direct harm on others and share things you have with others who
need them most.  Give to the needy and do not hoard wealth for it will
only become one's own prison and create many enemies. You can not take
anything with you when you die anyway.

7. Right Mindfulness: We know we should be fair to others but without
deliberate mindfulness we are often very forgetful to do the very things
we want to do ourselves.  We may become angry with ourselves just
because we were not mindful enough to bring the key left on the table
before closing the door.  You may become very cranky and may have a very
hard day at work.  This will create a very bad working environment for
your colleagues who will blame it on your temper and so forth.
Mindfulness practice requires consistent daily meditation practice on
how to integrate it into every day life.  In one Sutra it says: "One
with mindfulness is happy and one without is unhappy".

8. Right Effort: One must be diligent to change one's habitual patterns.
Just as weight conscious people get up early in the morning to jog and
do excerice,  likewise one who is concious of the actual health of mind,
one must employ right effort to break the negative habitual pattern of
one's attitude to life and its problems.  The effort to come here
tonight can be regarded as right effort but we must implement what we
have learnt from this meeting tonight.  You do not learn these things in
school, college, univeristy, on the soccer field or in the pub.  One
should create an environment in the house to change one's habits, in the
bed room, in the kitchen and wherever you are by yourself.  Develop
strong will inside you and this undying will and courage to do good for
the benefit of many will be of great benefit whether you regard yourself
as religious or not.

If we have individuals who adopt this theory of the eight noble paths
they will experience the fourth noble truth, the truth of the cessation
of suffering.  Whether you believe in god or you are an aethiest, or
believe in reincarnation or in an eternal heaven and hell, it does not
matter.  You will only experience what you deserve.  You will be a kind
and sincere person, that is the purpose of religion.  Who cares what we
believe in?  It largely depends on how  we conduct  our everyday lives.
That is the essence of religious practice, the eight noble paths I have
spoken about tonight are one of the many ways to practise it.

In brief, do not be too happy when everything is fine with you for there
are many less fortunate beings who are suffering at this very moment. Do
not forget the poor, sick, abandoned children, the lonely and aged
people.  Share your happiness by thinking of their welfare.   Think of
those caught in the war in former Yugoslavia and places like Cambodia
and do something useful with compassion instead of indulging in your own
fortune.  Also do not be too sad when things are not going well with
you.  You are one of the many fortunate people in the world.  Appreciate
and be grateful for the things you have, this will reduce your
sufferings.  In order to experience the cessation of suffering, the
fourth noble Truth, learn to be durable like the earth, fluid like the
water, creative and light like the air and free and vast like the sky.
Learn these qualities you yearn to cultivate from the mother nature, if
one fails to find any human being devoid of  fault.  Finally may the
ills of humanity not defile the ever shining truth of the enlightened
ones, like the lotus flower untainted by the soil in which it grows.
Accept what you can now, for this cannot be repeated again.  What you
can not accept now, do not reject it straight away, for you might find
it useful later on. Let there be awareness, compassion and tolerance
among all living beings.

*This was delivered at the Australian  Parliament of World Religions,
Pilgrim House, Canberra 26 June, 1993 and was subsequently published in
Bhakti magazine.

Part II Grading Our Intelligence
by John Chen
Now, briefly in a relative sense, I will explain the nine grades of
intelligence and karmic maturity using some of the characteristics
described in the previous issue:

Inferior-Inferior:  The person has little or no desire to cultivate the
Way and does not know how to create good virtuous actions (or seeds) to
ripen in the future because of experiencing the ripening of much bad
karmic actions accumulated in the past.  Bad karma can be how a person
uses this lifetime as a human being, or take the form of physical,
mental, emotional, material and environmental deprivation in degrees of
intensity and complexity.  A person having a ignorant and deluded mind.

Inferior-Medium:  The person has little or no desire to cultivate the
Way due to experiencing the ripening of good humane actions accumulated,
but it is tainted by experiencing the ripening of some bad karmic
actions also accumulated in the past.  A  person having a confused and
doubtful mind.

Inferior-Superior:  The person has little or no desire to cultivate the
Way due to experiencing the ripening of very good karmic actions
accumulated in the past.  The good karmic actions can take the form of
physical, mental, emotional, material and environmental richness in
degrees of quality and quantity.  And the misfortune of bad karmic
action of not knowing that when all his good actions accumulated in the
past is used up, he will once again have to start from scratch.  A
person having a devotional and faithful mind.

Medium-Inferior:  The person has the desire to cultivate and has an
understanding of the Way due to experiencing the ripening of good karmic
actions accumulated in the past, but he has not enough meritorious and
virtuous blessings to know of a good knowing adviser.  A person having
an intellectually sincere mind.

Medium-Medium:  The person has the desire to cultivate and has an
understanding of the Way due to experiencing the ripening of good karmic
actions accumulated in the past but not enough good meritorious and
virtuous blessings to be in the right place or time (conditions and
situations) to be taught by a good knowing adviser.  A person having an
intellectually patient mind.

Medium-Superior:  The person has the desire to cultivate and has an
understanding of the Way due to experiencing the ripening of good karmic
actions accumulated in the past and enough meritorious and virtuous
blessings to be present but not taught by a good knowing adviser.  A
person having a intellectually inquiring mind.

Superior-Inferior:  The person has the desire to cultivate and has
intellectually understood the Way due to experiencing the ripening of
good karmic actions accumulated in the past, but not enough good
meritorious and virtuous blessings to be directly or indirectly taught
by a good knowing adviser in wisdom, practice and action and have some
karmic maturity to receive a response.  A person having a superior
intelligent mind.

Superior-Medium:  The person has the desire to cultivate and has
intellectually understood the Way due to experiencing the ripening of
good karmic actions accumulated in the past, but with enough meritorious
and virtuous blessings to be indirectly taught by a good knowing adviser
in wisdom, practice and action, and have the karmic maturity to
experience something from within.  A person having a well attuned and
aware mind.

Superior-Superior:  The person has the desire to cultivate and has
intellectually understood the Way due to experiencing the ripening of
good karmic actions accumulated in the past, and plenty of good
meritorious and virtuous blessings and karmic maturity to be directly
and indirectly taught by good knowing advisers in wisdom, practice and
action and to also have direct inner experiences as a result of these
teachings.  A person having a mind-to-mind seal mind.This is simply an
interpretation of what these nine grades of intelligence may mean.



INTENSIVE TIBETAN LANGUAGE COURSE

LEARN TIBETAN THIS SUMMER

IN CANBERRA

JAN. 16 - FEB. 18 1994

   Following the success of the previous Intensive Tibetan Language
Course  which attracted students  from Adelaide, New Zealand, Sydney and
Canberra, this course will be offered again this summer.   This course
is designed so that by the end of the course participants would have
learnt how to read, write and will become able to  converse in modern
Tibetan.   Emphasis will be given on the practical conversation, U-chen
calligraphy, basic grammatical rules and learning how to read and
understand classical Tibetan.  A specially tailored  book on the course
will be provided.  It should be particular interest to linguists,
anthropologists, students interested in Buddhism and to the people
interested in the history, culture and religion of the Tibetan people.
This is an excellent opportunity to learn both modern and classical
Tibetan within four weeks and gain a greater understanding of the unique
culture of the Tibetan people and its valued Buddhist teachings.  As
Tibetan is one of the few languages which has preserved the most
comprehensive and accurate translations of the Buddhist canon, it is
taught in most leading universities around the world.

Teacher
The course will be conducted by Lama Choedak, a Tibetan teacher and
translator who is the resident teacher of the Tibetan Buddhist centre in
Canberra.  Graduated from the Australian National University, Lama
Choedak has worked with linguists and has taught Tibetan at ANU. As a
doctorate candidate at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at
the University of Newcastle, he is currently working on his  Ph.D
thesis.  He has translated number of Tibetan texts and has recently
completed the translation of Drukpa Kagyu Ngondro at the request of His
Holiness Gyalwang Drukchen.  He has compiled the course manual on
Tibetan.

Fees and Commitment
The course fee is $500 that is less than 40% of course fees charges by
similar language courses.  Those who have genuine financial difficulties
will be given discounts.  As an intensive language course, it will be
extremely demanding and challenging for students.  Students attend at
least 100 hours of class and are expected to undertake few hours of
homework each day.  Time: Mon - Fri. 10 am - 5pm except public holiday
(s).

Accomodation
The classes will be held at the Australian National University.  As
accomodation is available in the ANU campus with single student rooms
with shared facilities, overseas and interstate students will find
convenience of accessibility to the class, library, coffee shops and
beautiful surroundings.  The Menzies library has the biggest collection
of Tibetan books in the southern hemisphere.  To book your accomodation
at Burton and Garran Hall at the ANU campus phone: Maria  (06) 267 4700.


As class size is limited, please register early with a deposit of $50 to
hold a place in the course and the balance must be paid by 31 December
1993.
Cheques payable to: Lama Choedak


ENROLMENT FORM

Tibetan Translation Fund, 2 Sage Close, Chisholm, ACT 2905 Enq: (06) 292
8150

Full Name
................................................................
Address
.....................................................................
Tel. (w) ................................ (h)
..............................
I enclose a cheque/Money Order $ .............. as a deposit for the
Tibetan Language Course.
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