Samdhong Rinpoche is the Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government in exile.\u00a0He answered a host of Questions about refuge, vegetarianism, sectarianism,\u00a0and greed-versus-need in Helsinki, Finland in July 2007.<\/p>\n
Q: Can a person be a Buddhist\u00a0without taking refuge? Is it enough\u00a0that a person decides in his mind\u00a0that “I’m a Buddhist” without any\u00a0formal refuge ceremony?<\/strong><\/p>\n A<\/strong>: Of course formal refuge\u00a0ceremony is not necessary for anyone\u00a0to become a Buddhist. But without\u00a0taking the refuge, I don’t think that\u00a0you can be a true Buddhist. You may\u00a0be practising some of the Buddhist\u00a0techniques or teachings, but you\u00a0cannot be classified as a Buddhist. Q: Sometimes people take\u00a0refuge without further thought, so\u00a0how serious an attitude should a\u00a0<\/strong>person have when taking refuge?\u00a0Does taking refuge awaken some\u00a0old tendencies or qualities, skandhas, in a person?\u00a0Because sometimes you see that bad qualities appear to be\u00a0coming to the surface after some people have taken\u00a0refuge.<\/strong><\/p>\n A:\u00a0<\/strong>When you are attending a refuge taking ceremony,\u00a0you are not necessarily really taking the refuge. Taking refuge\u00a0means that you must have a basic understanding of the\u00a0Dharma, and you also must have a basic understanding of\u00a0the misery of the worldly life. And what is meant by taking\u00a0refuge? It means you establish the faith in your mind that\u00a0Dharma alone can save you from misery or unhappiness,\u00a0and for that matter you must have understood that you have\u00a0a number of sufferings, and you also have a desire to get rid\u00a0of the suffering. You must also have an understanding that\u00a0Dharma alone can give you freedom from suffering. If these\u00a0basic understandings are within you or any person, then the\u00a0person is automatically taking refuge without taking any\u00a0ceremony. Otherwise you might have attended a ceremony a\u00a0hundred times, but you still remain without any refuge. So\u00a0refuge is a mindset, it is not a ceremony. Q: Sometimes practising Buddhism makes Westerners\u00a0gloomy and melancholic, as if they had lost their joy of life.\u00a0What might be the reason for that? Are people expecting\u00a0too much? Is there some kind of wrong attitude in practising,if this is the result? A: <\/strong>That can be a problem. The attitude and intention\u00a0for embracing any Dharma needs to be a real and deeprooted\u00a0one, not an emotional one. Many people with fleeting\u00a0emotions think that they have the required mindset, but\u00a0they haven’t, and they also have immediate expectations for\u00a0some great results. But if you practise Dharma with such an Q: So it means that a person should understand the\u00a0law of karma and reincarnation before he takes refuge? A:<\/strong> Even if he or she does not have a proper understanding,\u00a0some kind of awareness should be there. For\u00a0example, we say in the chants: “To the Buddha, the Dharma\u00a0and the Sangha I take refuge until I reach enlightenment.”\u00a0This is a very long-term business. Q: Unfortunately Westerners want enlightenment to\u00a0come in this lifetime! A: <\/strong>To get enlightenment in this lifetime is possible, but\u00a0for that you need the right kind of practise and deep understanding\u00a0and expert guidance and endurance; you need so Q: How can we make sure that our motive for practising\u00a0does not change into a wrong one? A:<\/strong> Of course it depends on your ability to cultivate the\u00a0mind in a proper way. Cultivation of mind is sometimes a\u00a0difficult job; if you do not understand your mind properly,\u00a0then you may not be able to cultivate it. Right in the beginning,\u00a0to enter into Buddhism or take refuge in the Triple Gem\u00a0does not have anything to do with life’s worldly achievements.\u00a0Spiritual achievement means the improvement of your mind,\u00a0your consciousness. Improvement of your consciousness is not\u00a0necessary for lifetime achievements such as name, fame,\u00a0wealth, happiness, enjoyment, house, car \u2014 these do not\u00a0require changing the mind set, changing the consciousness or\u00a0improving it. If you really are concerned about\u00a0your inner self, your consciousness, which needs\u00a0to be improved, purified and pacified, then the\u00a0need for Dharma comes. And in that matter, Q: Is it important to be a vegetarian for\u00a0cultivating compassion?<\/strong><\/p>\n A:<\/strong> Yes. Vegetarianism has so many positive\u00a0effects. Number one: by remaining vegetarian,\u00a0your body becomes more natural. Human beings\u00a0are not meat eaters by nature, they are vegetarian,\u00a0and by accident human beings began eating everything.\u00a0That is unnatural. By remaining natural the\u00a0body will be healthier and more conducive to\u00a0spiritual development. Secondly, by eating nonvegetarian\u00a0food, you are eating the flesh of some\u00a0living creature, and when you are able to eat the\u00a0flesh of a living creature, it means that your compassion\u00a0to those living creatures is not sufficient.\u00a0Then, also, cultivating loving-kindness for those\u00a0creatures becomes more difficult.\u00a0But we cannot say that a non-vegetarian can\u00a0never grow spiritually. During Buddha’s time the\u00a0monks were asked not to refuse if somebody\u00a0offered a non-vegetarian meal while they were\u00a0begging for alms in the street, so that is why\u00a0Buddhist monks are not necessarily vegetarian,\u00a0particularly in Theravada countries like\u00a0Thailand, Burma or Sri Lanka; the monks there\u00a0don’t refuse to take meat. But the Buddha also\u00a0said that if somebody has invited you tomorrow\u00a0for a meal, then you must ask for a vegetarian\u00a0meal. Otherwise some creature might be killed\u00a0in order to feed you, and that will be a direct\u00a0cause for violence. So if you heard or see that an\u00a0animal is killed in order to give you the meat,\u00a0then you must refuse. This very clearly indicates\u00a0that eating meat must not cause directly or\u00a0indirectly the killing of the animal, and once the\u00a0animal is already killed, whether you eat or don’t,\u00a0then eating meat does not contribute to the\u00a0killing of that animal. But by and large, if there\u00a0is no eater, there is no killing, so by this logic\u00a0non-vegetarian food is not good and vegetarian is\u00a0much better.<\/p>\n Q: How important is it to read Buddhist\u00a0books regularly and extend one’s knowledge\u00a0of Buddhism?<\/strong> Q: Nagarjuna has said that contentment\u00a0is the greatest wealth. So how can we distinguish\u00a0between need and greed?<\/strong> Q: Western practitioners classify themselves very\u00a0easily and quickly as Gdug-pa, Nyingma-pa or Kagyu-pa\u00a0etc., and think that other traditions are not so good.\u00a0How do we avoid becoming sectarian?<\/strong><\/p>\n A<\/strong>: If you practise your Dharma very sincerely, then I’m\u00a0sure you will not become a sectarian, and you will have equal\u00a0respect for all sects and traditions. To become sectarian,\u00a0thinking that ‘my sect is superior and the others are inferior,’\u00a0means that your mind is not touched by Dharma: You are\u00a0involved in a kind of worldly institution, a group or a party\u00a0and then Dharma is left somewhere and you are trapped \u2014\u00a0in the name of Dharma \u2014 in an organization or party. So\u00a0whoever has this kind of mentality, for sure he or she is not\u00a0a religious practitioner, but rather a party to some group.<\/p>\n Q: Unfortunately this is very common in the West.<\/strong><\/p>\n A<\/strong>: Yes, that is very unfortunate. It is necessary to follow a\u00a0sect that is good. If your teacher is Nyingma-pa, you should\u00a0stick to Nyingma tradition and not change frequently from\u00a0here to there. And if you are a Sakya-pa or Gelug-pa, you try\u00a0to stick to that tradition with equal respect for other traditions.\u00a0Because these traditions have certain specific methodology,\u00a0that is why the different traditions have been developed, and\u00a0mixing up all these specific or unique techniques should not Q: How important are ceremonies and rituals in\u00a0practising Buddhism?<\/strong><\/p>\n A<\/strong>: Rituals and ceremonies are supplementary. They may\u00a0sometimes create an atmosphere, an environment for opening\u00a0up the mind, and that is the only purpose. Otherwise it is\u00a0not an indispensable or inseparable part of Dharma. You can\u00a0have it, if you think it is helpful, but you can leave it, if you\u00a0think it is not helpful. It is a kind of a social activity: When\u00a0a lot of Dharma practitioners get together, then they can\u00a0chant, pray and make ceremonies, which will create a kind\u00a0of social atmosphere and environment, and sometimes it is\u00a0helpful for people.<\/p>\n Q: The origin of mantras is very pure, but can reciting\u00a0mantras be harmful or dangerous for a person who\u00a0does not know their meaning?<\/strong><\/p>\n A<\/strong>: I don’t think so. Chanting of mantras, whether knowing\u00a0the meaning or not knowing it, should not be harmful. It\u00a0may not be beneficial, but it will not be harmful.<\/p>\n Q: What is the most important advice for a person\u00a0<\/strong>who wants to start doing meditation and is a beginner?\u00a0<\/strong>Are there any dangers in meditation?<\/strong><\/p>\n A<\/strong>: Yes, in the beginning meditators must have some\u00a0guidance. Without a teacher, self-learning meditation may\u00a0go right or it may not. If it goes wrong then you may not be\u00a0able to understand the wrong till it is quite late. That is the\u00a0real danger. So it is better to have some guidance in the\u00a0beginning. For example, the Theravada tradition of\u00a0vipassana, now there are ten-day vipassana courses. This\u00a0kind of ten-day course is quite sufficient to help a beginner\u00a0to meditate by oneself, and there are many kinds of these\u00a0courses. In the beginning these short courses should be taken Q: Is acceptance of the law of karma and reincarnation\u00a0<\/strong>essential for practising meditation?<\/strong><\/p>\n A<\/strong>: No. Meditation is a technique for training the mind\u00a0for concentration, or for making good analysis, and that can\u00a0be done by anyone. Non-believers can also meditate. The \u00a0concept of karma and reincarnation is related to Dharma. If\u00a0you are a Buddhist Dharma practitioner, then you have to\u00a0understand all this theory. Otherwise just for meditation,\u00a0anybody can meditate.<\/p>\n Q: How can we help a person who is afraid of dying\u00a0<\/strong>but does not believe in rebirth?<\/strong><\/p>\n A<\/strong>: If someone does not believe in rebirth then why\u00a0should he or she be afraid of death? We are afraid of death\u00a0because of what kind of rebirth will be taking place, because\u00a0there is a future. If death is just like going to sleep or unconsciousness\u00a0then there need not be any worry.<\/p>\n Q: In the Christian tradition we have the idea of going\u00a0<\/strong>to heaven or hell so people are afraid of going to hell.<\/strong><\/p>\n A:<\/strong> If you accept heaven and hell that means you accept\u00a0birth after death so there is not much difference. And for\u00a0that kind of person, I don’t think you can help them much at\u00a0the time of death. The cause for going to heaven or the cause\u00a0for going to hell, these are all accumulated during the lifetime\u00a0and at the moment of death. I don’t know whether even in\u00a0the Christian tradition it can be changed or if something can\u00a0be done \u2014 that you can ask from Christian teachers.<\/p>\n Q: Do you think that a Buddhist approach to life could\u00a0<\/strong>solve all or at least most of the problems of the world?<\/strong> Q: What do you think of changing one’s own religion\u00a0<\/strong>to another religion?<\/strong><\/p>\n A<\/strong>:\u00a0I do not recommend a change of religion. Religion is\u00a0not like clothes that you can change whenever you like.\u00a0Religion is a quality of mind. Once your mind has grown into\u00a0a specific religion and you really created a religious mind in\u00a0that tradition, then you will never think of changing it. If, from\u00a0the start, you are not religious about the faith you are born in\u00a0or the faith that your family or community follows, and if you\u00a0n to another religion, that’s not changing. This is very funny. When a child is born in a Buddhist family, he\/she is\u00a0considered to be a Buddhist, although the child does not know\u00a0anything about refuge or about the Dharma. And when a child\u00a0is born in a Hindu or a Christian family, automatically he\/she\u00a0is considered to be a Hindu or a Christian, although the child\u00a0does not have any religious mind in any of these traditions. So\u00a0someone born and brought up in Christian family, going to\u00a0church all the time, but who does not understand Christianity\u00a0and does not develop the Christian religious mind in one’s\u00a0heart, if he then really likes Buddhism and takes refuge and\u00a0really becomes Buddhist, that is a new entrance into\u00a0Buddhism, not converting from Christianity to Buddhism,\u00a0because he was not a Christian at all in a true sense of word. It\u00a0is the new entrance of a non-believer into Buddhism, and once\u00a0a person has become a real Buddhist he should never go back\u00a0to something else. A boy born in a Buddhist family, who is told\u00a0that he is a Buddhist, but who enters into Christianity this is\u00a0not conversion, it is new entrance into Christianity; he does\u00a0not have the Buddhist mind and he newly entered the\u00a0Christian tradition, that is okay. This, for me, is religious\u00a0freedom. But once you really have entered into a religious Q: How do you see the future of mankind \u2014 are you\u00a0optimistic?<\/strong> Reproduced with kind permission from Bocihi Melong, a Buddhist magazine\u00a0<\/strong>published in Helsinki, Finland.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Samdhong Rinpoche is the Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government in exile.\u00a0He answered a host of Questions about refuge, vegetarianism, sectarianism,\u00a0and greed-versus-need in Helsinki, Finland in July 2007.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samdhongrinpoche.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samdhongrinpoche.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samdhongrinpoche.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samdhongrinpoche.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samdhongrinpoche.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/samdhongrinpoche.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":261,"href":"https:\/\/samdhongrinpoche.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252\/revisions\/261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samdhongrinpoche.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samdhongrinpoche.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samdhongrinpoche.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThe door to enter into Buddhism is\u00a0through taking refuge. Once you\u00a0take refuge, then you become a\u00a0Buddhist; and when you lose\/give up\u00a0the refuge, then you go back into\u00a0being a non-Buddhist. Taking refuge\u00a0in Dharma is a necessary condition\u00a0for becoming a Buddhist, but that\u00a0does not need any ceremony or a\u00a0guru or a teacher or guide \u2014 you can\u00a0take it by yourself.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nidea of worldly reward or achievement, then that is not the\u00a0real practise of Dharma. Practising Dharma needs a longterm\u00a0determination to practise continuously in this and all\u00a0the coming lifetimes. So I think that has not matured in the\u00a0minds of many new Western Buddhist practitioners, and\u00a0due to this short-term expectation and day-by-day evaluation,\u00a0which hardly shows swift progress, one day you will\u00a0find yourself frustrated and give up the practise. So before\u00a0entering into the practise, you must have a deep understanding\u00a0and study, and then examine yourself, whether you\u00a0are able to endure it on a sustainable basis and only then\u00a0should you get into the practise of Dharma. Otherwise it\u00a0will become a kind of child’s play and that may be no good\u00a0for anyone.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nmany things. But if these things are there, it is possible to get\u00a0enlightenment in one lifetime.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nwhen you take refuge in the Dharma, you are not\u00a0seeking anything to happen the very next day. So\u00a0the process of purifying your mind will go a very\u00a0long way, and it is very gradual and time\u00a0consuming. The Buddhist canon says achieving\u00a0Buddhahood needs three uncountable aeons. That\u00a0means a very, very long-term process, and this\u00a0understanding and motivation must be there in\u00a0the beginning.\u00a0Secondly, when the improvement comes to\u00a0your inner self, it will gradually grow. So you do\u00a0not need to evaluate every day how much\u00a0improvement and progress has been done. If\u00a0you are anxious to measure achievements day by-\u00a0day, then your long-term determination is\u00a0not there. So therefore we should be very patient\u00a0and not look for immediate results, but be\u00a0determined to purify inner consciousness from\u00a0all kinds of negative emotions sustainably. After\u00a0a number of years of practising you will become\u00a0adjusted to that process, and then it will become\u00a0sustainable.<\/p>\n
\nA<\/strong>: The understanding of Buddhadharma\u00a0is acquired from threefold study: the first is\u00a0learning from hearing or from reading.\u00a0Without hearing from a teacher or reading\u00a0from books we do not have the information, so\u00a0that is the first stage. The second stage is\u00a0analyzing them by yourself, through an analytical\u00a0and rational mind. The third stage is that you\u00a0meditate upon it and have the direct perception.\u00a0So these three stages are in sequence and\u00a0depend on each other. Therefore reading and\u00a0attending teachings is absolutely necessary for\u00a0the understanding of Buddhadharma.<\/p>\n
\nA<\/strong>: I think that is very easy. ‘Need’ means\u00a0need for the body or need for the mind. In order\u00a0to maintain your body, you need balanced food,\u00a0and clean drinking water. Pure water is sufficient\u00a0to quench your thirst or make the body function.\u00a0A costly apple juice or other kinds of tasty drinks \u2014 those are\u00a0not needed by your body, only your taste and your ‘greed’ for\u00a0the taste require them. You cannot survive without drinking\u00a0water, but you can very well survive without drinking wine,
\nand that is the clear differentiation. The same applies also to\u00a0food and clothes. Four or five sets of clothes are necessary,\u00a0one for the day and one for night, and when one is being\u00a0washed, you need another set, so this is ‘need’. Without\u00a0clothes, you cannot go out into society. But many costly sets\u00a0of clothes are ‘greed’, not ‘need’. A reasonable house to live\u00a0in and raise a family: that is ‘need’. For a parent with growing\u00a0children, having three or four bedrooms may be the need\u00a0according to the size of the family. But, thirteen or fourteen\u00a0bedrooms? This is greed. Need means for the maintenance of\u00a0the life, greed means not required for the maintenance of the
\nlife \u2014 it is very easy to differentiate.<\/p>\n
\nhappen. So from the beginning to the end you follow one\u00a0tradition very sincerely and very faithfully, but do not\u00a0become a sectarian, thinking that this is the only way and\u00a0the others are useless. That is absolutely an irreligious mind\u00a0that will harm you, and the growth of your spirituality. So\u00a0equal respect for every tradition, but faithful study or practise\u00a0of one tradition, that is the way the ancient Tibetan sages\u00a0and seers followed, and in the future also the Dharma can\u00a0grow in that way. You can receive teachings from everyone,\u00a0you can have respect for everyone, but when your inner\u00a0practise is concerned you must be faithful to one tradition.\u00a0That is not sectarianism; that is the way to practise the\u00a0Dharma.<\/p>\n
\nwith guidance, and thereafter one can pursue meditation\u00a0alone, and if you find difficulties then go back to your guide.\u00a0Without guidance, meditation sometimes goes wrong.<\/p>\n
\nA<\/strong>: I don’t think so. There are so many different problems\u00a0in the world and a number of them can be solved by the\u00a0Buddhist approach to life, and some need to be solved by a\u00a0secular method, and others can be solved through other\u00a0religious teachings. The world is so diverse, therefore the
\nneed for so many methods is also there. So if only Buddhism\u00a0would be sufficient for all the problems of the world, then\u00a0no other religions would be necessary. But even in\u00a0Buddhism how many differences are there? There are\u00a0Theravada, Mahayana, Gelug-pa, Kagyu-pa, Nyingma-pa,
\nbecause of the vast need of the people.<\/p>\n
\ntradition, then one shall never change or convert. And if someone\u00a0really converts then that means that there is something\u00a0wrong with that person, not with the religion.<\/p>\n
\nA<\/strong>: The future of mankind can be very dark or very\u00a0bright. The present generation of mankind is the key factor.\u00a0If it could bring positive things, then mankind will have a\u00a0bright future. I think this is a time for a change and that\u00a0change can be positive or negative \u2014 I don’t know which way\u00a0it will go. I do not say that the future is completely dark, but\u00a0the challenges are enormous, the challenge of voidness of\u00a0morality and spirituality, which has caused violence, environmental\u00a0degradation, disparity, injustice \u2014 all these are there.\u00a0But all these challenges can be dealt with effectively, if the\u00a0present generation could become aware of things and have a\u00a0positive mental attitude. So it is a very important time for all\u00a0the religious people, for all the theosophists, for all the right thinking
\npeople. They should work hard, come together to\u00a0co-operate with each other and make the future good.<\/p>\n