Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche ~ Vajrayana Buddhism in the West, Lerab Ling Talk

This is Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche’s complete and unedited public talk given at the Lerab Ling Buddhist centre in France, on 28 February 2018. The fuller title was: ‘Vajrayana Buddhism in the West-The Challenges and Misunderstandings of our Times’’.
Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche was asked to teach on the following questions:
-Is Vajrayana Buddhism a cult religion?
-How can we reconcile western values of independence, free will, critical intelligence and transparency, with the core Vajrayana principles of devotion, loyalty, secrecy and surrender?
-Given the pre-eminence of science and secularization in the West, what place is there for a spiritual tradition steeped in faith and ritual?
Video mit deutscher Übersetzung: • Dzongsar Khyentse Rinp...
Video con traducción al español: • Dzongsar Khyentse Rimp...
video con traduzione italiana : • Dzongsar Khyentse Rinp...
Vidéo avec traduction française : • Dzongsar Khyentse Rinp...
For more information about Rigpa events, visit: www.rigpa.org

[@huiching6030]

Thank you Dzongsar Rinpoche for being so frank about the Dakini having the possession of tantrayana. Yes. You needed to be very frank and have everything out in the open. The Buddha once opened up his palms and showed them to the crowd that he have nothing to hide, no magic. There is no deceiving. I felt very proud of him.

[@vajraheart6052]

Thank you Rinpoche for telling the way it is ... I appreciate it and totally agree your analysis both positive and negative aspects from 1/3 of listening so far. It's refreshing to hear your analytical and critical view. Tibetans were so engrossed (far too much and therefore paid a heavy price for it from a nation standpoint) on it for over 1200 years in Tibet that is bound to result in huge misunderstanding when it's practiced in a totally new environment such as in Abrahamic culture of the West. That in only in the last 50 years there has been any meaningful, major contacts and overall less than 100 years. So does need patience from new adherents and sincere effort to establish. Dharma is a beautiful and brilliant set of idealogies, thinking and way of life and if it had taken roots here much earlier hundreds years ago, this world would have been much more peaceful, sustainable wrt treatment of native/aboriginal culture and environment. The native cultures and people, as well as environment, in North, South Americas, Oceanic and even in Africa have been underserved to say the least or mostly decimated due to foreign Abrahamic invasion/conversion.

[@huiching6030]

Yes, watching the watcher is very very important so that we don't get entangled. Yes. it is very very interesting. It is a culmination of wisdom and mindfullness, watching yourself play that game of analysing and not falling into a trap of samsara. It is likened to stretching wisdom like an elastic band! good practice!

[@randygoff2563]

I bow at the lotus feet of Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentze Rinpoche, who is doing his best, being kind and generous with us, as all of these Buddhist teachers always try to do.

[@MsAmanzi]

Thanks very much for posting. It was so clear and thanks to everyone who made this happen and most of all to Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche himself.. He makes this difficult path so much easier to bear... I hope he lives a very long time and continues to help us all.

[@JesseNickelltheFourth]

Me too :)

[@MsAmanzi]

:)

[@yummamudra]

Thank you so much Rinpoche .

[@mariuxioyague2017]

Always helpul Rinpoche 🙏🏼💕

[@yontenjamtsho6316]

Long Live BUddha Dzongsar Jmayang Khyentse Rinpoche and Buddha Terton Sogyal Rinpoche for eons and keep on turning the wheel of dharma for we deluded beings ..emaho Emaho Emaho

[@claudinefurgeau6307]

merci Rinpoché

[@space8387]

I enjoyed your wonderful camera operating and framing of this Mahasiddha, who denies Mahasiddha status out of unlimited humility.

[@mattvae8348]

Very helpful

[@JesseNickelltheFourth]

This is an incredible teaching.

[@Ivar73]

Ivar van Hoorn Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse, Thank you for taking on the challenge to publicly talk about this difficult subject. Very open "western and democratic". I am just curious who picked the questions you answered. Did the Rigpa Vision Board do this or do they come from the general public directly or even the "alleged victims"? You couragesly answer the question about apologies by the teacher to students. From your answer I take it that you suggest that Sogyal Rinpoche should apologize to all the (ex) students for not preparing them properly for vajrayana crazy wisdom methods. Do you think this will help Rigpa heal as a collective and individually to move on and/or trust vajrayana (again)? How should this be done ? May confusion dawn as clarity and healing. om vajra sattva hung🙏✌️🌈

[@RigpaVideosTV]

Just to answer your question about questions... Everyone who registered for the events could submit questions to Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche directly. The whole Rigpa sangha was also invited to submit questions. DJK received more than 300 unedited questions directly. He then chose which ones he would answer himself.

[@ktobs_draw]

Golden Dharma Wheel!!!! Rejoice. I praise DJKR.

[@pemachoetso]

Westerners can hardly understand Buddhism or any eastern spiritual path, as they have so big ego - wash my skin, but don't make it wet, this is their attitude. Rinpoche, you are a real bodhisattva, after all these profes that the westerners have so few merit to understand Buddhas's teaching you still care them and go in the cold winter to Europe for the teaching tour, you are the Buddha himself. I bow to you lotus feet and pray for your long life.

[@huiching6030]

Devotions: rational and irrational. "In vajrayana, rational and irrational devotion must go beyond". Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Norbu Rinpoche! How many would understand this "going beyond rational and irrational devotion"? I understood. By understanding and realizing the essence of emptiness one goes beyond whatever that is rational and irrational devotion. Emptiness is also synonymous with the meaning of wisdom. Am I correct, prospective teacher?

[@JesseNickelltheFourth]

I wish I actually had renunciation mind. I wish wanted to help others, and I wish that I actually was interested in becoming enlightened. I have a lot of work to do, and am in no hurry to get it all done as soon as I can, maybe that I am in no hurry is a good thing though. I honestly don't know.

[@angelasands8875]

Berlin Audio was perfect. LL audio too low. As usual....Wake up audio team! German version loud and clear...nice for Germans

[@huiching6030]

Vajrayana is very beautiful but if the merits are not there, what can they do?

[@LK-kw9ng]

Genius 😇💜💙🌈

[@martine2al]

The truth is that not all students are capable of Vajrayana practice, they should instead study the scriptures first to have the firm foundation of understanding. DKR knows the problem well, and just as he said, it's now too late to turn the trend as Tibetan lamas are responsible for this guru practice method.

[@martine2al]

Can samaya be impermanent too?

[@AleksandraLewtak]

Every compounded thing is impermanent, so yes.

[@frontier9]

Answering a question that I don't actually think anyone asked, a concoction ... at least of the people who wrote to share what Sogyal Lakar was really doing. They didn't say anything about cults, vajrayana and later nobody said buddhism or vajrayana was a cult of the ex students. We said that, if you examine the situation at length with care, Sogyal and Rigpa leadership itself are the cult and cults use authentic dharma and religious traditions all the time. Rigpa didn't create Vajrayana Buddhism - but it sure would like to be the central focus for holding part of the lineage of that. Unfortunately it massively lost it's way and became arrogant and lost any ability to look at itself and be self critical at all. Even when most of it's students were developing strong negative feedback, that was dealt with in the way cults do so. So really this whole teaching, may it be helpful to everyone, is missing the whole point - misdirecting the focus away from the individuals who are deeply responsible for harming people. Even if you ignore Sogyal, just consider what his close students are responsible for because of the culture they were indoctrinated into by their disturbing, traumatizing teacher Sogyal. Slander has to be speaking falsely - if it is true what you say you saw ... its just giving witness. It isn't even criticism, if you talk about how it affect you yourself and others it is also giving witness. It has to be some kind of opinion like "you are a bad teacher" to really be criticism. If the person's actions are obviously wrong, in the eyes of some people it may be not wrong in others who have a different perspective ... but just showing the truth is not criticism or slander.

[@mellow5123]

I've seen rampant arrogance within different sanghas - all coming from the root, the teacher themselves. It's quite disheartening as a practitioner, and I've come to feel that they often have a very narrow understanding of westerners as if they come in only one flavor, try to act like or become Trungpa Rinpoche or now Sogyal Rinpoche, and through the vehicle of the dharma, the basis becomes about money, position, power etc...or so it strongly appears...

[@frontier9]

OOO OOO i guess you ignore d everything you didn't want to hear. I was a student of dharma 25 years. Ethics are meant to be simple enough so people are protected from sexual abuse. However your strawman fallacy attack is noted, attack the person if you cannot really fault their point.

[@huiching6030]

flower!

[@clabe7386]

"culte" in french is different than "secte", don't understand why it was translated as "secte" in french!

[@taragorm8097]

Is Lerab Ling/Rigpa selling Vajrayana Buddhism down the Swannee?

[@tedbarret8930]

It's for free babe!!!

[@catherinedesbois3249]

Dommage quele son soit si faible !! Le francais est inaudible !!! Pour un enseignement de cette qualite !!!!!! Cela meritait mieux ! Peut on encore ameliorer ???? CBD

[@RigpaVideosTV]

Bonjour Caroline, en fait il y a une autre vidéo avec la traduction française ici : kzbin.info/www/bejne/maGtY2iqoMiqiq8 cette vidéo-ci n'a que l'anglais.

[@huiching6030]

If Vajrayana and wisdom is so closely knitted and must be employed together during practice, why then Sogyal Rinpoche "victims" have no wisdom, yes or no when practicing? Are they not suitable for vajrayana practice? Psychiatrist? Oh, Yes, Dzongsar you would make a very good spiritual psychiatrist but not many would understand the non-duality or seeing the wisdom of using the latter during practice. "Every action in Vajrayana can be transformed into an action if one has wisdom". Yes. perfectly correct, all methods are capable of liberating sentient beings. But, then why the "victims" of Sogyal Rinpoche cannot "see"? Let me ask a question coming from "once upon a time a married woman". If all actions in Vajrayana combined with wisdom are capable of liberating sentient beings, what about sexual intercourse itself? You got to be specific and not hit around the bush. I am a very direct person, and sometimes blunt. Tummo or kundalini is a sexual practice used in Hindu tantra and not buddhist tantra. Some married couples and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche knows how to employ and practice "tummo". Some of my tantric scholastic friends told me it is CAN be a violent practice. Violent or not, it is obviously a practice between two persons having sexual intercourse, why must it be brought into buddhism - because the perpetrator is a lama? Look, I am a woman and I don't want my sisters to be hurt because of my practice. I have a story. I was once upon a time afraid of ghosts. So I summoned up my courage and decided to tell whoever ghost wants to appear before me that I could die out of fright and that constitutes to killing me. And, if a lama decided to rape me, I will tell him or her(who knows?), I might die out of fright and it will be tantamount to killing a sentient being in this lifetime! And of course I should fight ferociously, biting and kicking, and not spread my legs readily because of guru devotion! It sucks! The Buddha never said you have to accept everything whatever your guru said. Buddhism is always about analysing and not take it to be true out of blind faith. When I was an undergraduate student, International Student Body always cautioned us never ever be lured into a friend's apartment or bedroom unless you are looking for trouble. Date rape between friends were common in colleges and a spiritual guide is also a friend on the Path - a kalynamitra! What makes me think they won't rape me? Even if they are all negative SENSORY ILLUSIONS ...See? I have a 3 feet pole... keepgiggling ... goat got led out of the pen, the 4th Wife remarries... keepgiggling

[@abraxas444]

siting on the fence

[@dfwjac]

A very painful position, to be sure. And not really helpful.

[@buddhistphilosopher800]

Very good, that's how he can teach.

[@huiching6030]

That Talia article where to institute against lama's "obey or else". To have a democratic element in the "totalitarian feudal system", don't employ because when a Trustee Board of Theravadins of the Sri Lankan tradition took over, the Lama or the Abbot finds no power to institute any sayings in the teachings of the Mahayana and Vajrayana. It will be the end of the Vajrayana tradition because this latter system of the teachings from the Buddha is right now in a very precarious situation, and will so be in the future. Moreover, the Lama or the Abbot could be voted out of office! .... "to resign or else"... and the purse strings will belong to another!.... in this fashion, so goes the teachings of a Man's 4 Wives; ... "the 4th Wife remarries...." ..... keepgiggling

[@huiching6030]

Question: Who will give empowerments in new Rigpa now with Sogyal Rinpoche gone? Who! Of course, that Burmese Buddha in Lerab Ling... their teachings that killed Rohinga Muslims!...

[@sungpo-yu4662]

I don't think SR gave empowerments often before he left anyway.

[@dfwjac]

Would have been nice - and smart - to give the questioners microphones. Inaudible. And thus worthless, because the answer is then out of context. Bad planning.

[@RigpaVideosTV]

Hi Jim, you can actually hear the questions read out, first one here: 2:09:18 The times Rinpoche is not speaking and you don't hear anything, is when the french translation is happening.

[@huiching6030]

I goggle Lerab Ling's history. What surprise me and certainly not at all too was the consecrated buddha statue was a Burmese buddha. Why Tibetan buddhism does not have any buddha statue? Why Burmese? Are the majority of those who frequents the temple in France here at Lerab Ling are Burmese migrants? In Penang too, most of the "rich" donors came into temples and put up their Burmese Buddha idol but majority of those, even in children's school hall were not Mahayana buddha statue when the abbot itself is from a Chinese Mahayana lineage. It seems the Burmese buddha statues are scattered all over the world for us non Burmese to venerate. Why? Maybe France should have a French Buddha that looked like French people and culturally French too. Try not to put up important French flags including Myanmar national flag like Cambodia putting up the national flag of Sri Lanka as their 3 most important flags of Cambodia after its own flag, and Buddhist flag designed by Sri Lanka in the early 19th century.

[@huiching6030]

Paradox: "whether Western appreciates its full scale"? The "full scale" as according to Indian thoughts and culture? Western values and vajrayana principle.. "amazing Indian wisdom... how to apply that to the day to day life". Why should for instance me wanted to apply Indian culture into my day to day life when I am not even an Indian? Because the Buddha is an Indian? My foot! Why! it seems like you Dzongsar Jamyang Khyenste Norbu Rinpoche!! are so keen to implement Indian culture into Buddhism which is suppose to be culture free! And from what I noticed in the video, you hands, head movement, and everything seemed to be geared towards behaving and acting like an Indian!! Gosh! why! you wanted to conquer the whole world and making it Indian? That is called genocide! I want to beat you up! Why! that is also paradox! Because between beating and not beating(because unable to beat now) is PARADOX. My mind is performing the action but I am sitting here! PARADOX! And do I have to be an Indian to have this "amazing wisdom?" But, I was once in my numerous rebirths, an Indian prince. Isn't it amazing, Indian thoughts and enchanted "wisdom"?? Hah!