The Mind, and How it Reincarnates
Jul 6, 2013
(By Tsem Rinpoche)
I was in Hong Kong last week. While there, I gave a talk to a small intelligent group on the MIND, how it reincarnates. Also on the qualities of the Buddha form and the reasons we make Buddha statues.
I do hope you will gain some knowledge from this talk.
Much Care,
Tsem Rinpoche
Above video is a Dharma Talk I gave in Nepal in 2008, it is about Milarepa and “How and Where our NEUROTIC MIND appears, and Why it appears?”
Please watch it carefully, I believe it will benefit a lot of people in this modern time. Here are some response from my Facebook after some people watched it:
Tsem Rinpoche
More teachings on The Mind
click here for more info on:strong> Tsem Rinpoche’s Retreat Center
click here for more info on: Tsem Rinpoche’s Retreat Center
click here for more info on: Tsem Rinpoche’s Dharma Center
Please support us so that we can continue to bring you more Dharma:
If you are in the United States, please note that your offerings and contributions are tax deductible. ~ the tsemrinpoche.com blog team
Through the death of the body, mind will not die, it will take rebirth. It will move into another womb because it will carry so many desires which are to be fulfilled. It will again seek another womb, another body. That is the very foundation of the theory of reincarnation. It is the mind that carries the soul, after death, to a new physical body. All these depending on our karma from our previous life to reborn. We might begins a new life in a new body that may be human, animal or spiritual depending on the moral quality of the previous life’s actions. What happens next is unknown though people will be reborn again and again in this world. Precise teachings in this blog very comprehensive and logical explanations of our mind been explained.
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.
A profound teachings about the mind and reincarnation. We are fortunate with Rinpoche ‘s teaching online and videos we could learn some knowledge from it. Many people have benefited from all these wonderful teachings especially how reincarnation works and how is the emptiness related to karma as well. With simplicity, comprehensive and logical explanations of our mind for all to understand. After watching those teachings from the videos , it opened my thoughts , to how reincarnation works. Still learning. Thank you Rinpoche for this profound teachings.
Dear H.E. Tsem Rinpoche,
In one of your program (The MIND, and How it Reincarnates-Gepubliceerd op 6 jul. 2013 in Hong Kong) you said that we don’t need eyes to see and you’ve gave example that when we dreaming, we see our dreams without the eyes. But my question is this what we see in our dreams is result of our eyes, whatever we see in our dreams, we have before recorded by our eyes in our mind. Whatever we see in our dreams is results and idea what we have received by our eyes.
For whatever what we have process in our mind and our dreams has one input, and that is eyes. Without our eyes we have no mind and dream interactions.
I can also give you an example. If someone is motherhood blind and in this life never seen anything, how he/she can have dreams!? Can he/she also see in the dreaming?
With Love And Respect,
Farshid/
The Netherlands
Thank you Rinpoche for this teaching about the mind and reincarnation. This was the first teaching Rinpoche gave my family and I when we had an audience with Rinpoche in 2009. It is very helpful to have a refresher course so that I reinforce my understanding of how we exist before the conception of our physical body during copulation and how our consciousness continue to exist after the moment of death.
When listening to the teaching on subtle and gross mind, i reflect on the visualization as taught in the Lamrim. Developing the ability to visualize the merit field in great detail is a way of sharpening the sense of sight of our subtle mind. In addition to this, petitioning the merit field also accumulates a lot of merits needed to fuel our DHarma journey. As Rinpoche said, everything in the Dharma is dedicated to training and nurturing our subtle mind because that is the only thing we bring with us from one life to the next.
Thank you also Rinpoche for reminding us loudly and clearly about how we are not allocating our time and resources wisely if we completely devote ourselves to only developing our gross mind. It is very true that no matter how great we are at secular matters in this life, it all ends at the time of death. Not only can we not bring these resources with us to our next life, they are unable to prepare us for a peaceful death.
It is vital to train our minds to be strong, clean and clear (embracing the 8 qualities of water as described in the lamrim) so that we are able to face all situations in a constructive manner. An untamed mind will easily react in fear even when encountering mundane and insignificant situations like going for exams. How? We may get so nervous, we forget information that we studied. So, imagine how an untrained mind would react when facing trauma or death.
So, Rinpoche is right that we must develop our subtle mind so that it is not only able to effectively resolve secular and worldly problems but also prepare us to die in peace when the time comes.
感谢仁波切這非常清晰,合乎邏輯的教诲。讓我們了解如何生命體的存在，並在我們的下一個生命體將繼續下去。
Dear Lama La, the talk on Mind is really incredibly explained. Thank you
I’ve been thinking a lot about why we need a body in order to transform the mind. In Buddhism, we talk about mind being the “entity” that takes rebirth, the body is a temporary abode like a traveler in a hotel. So it is saying that the mind is what we have to work on. Why then do we have to be born in form, to be reincarnated into any of the beings in the 6 realms: god, human, animal, demi-god, ghost, hell? Why can’t we just work on the mind without forms?
My understanding is that the mind is an energy that flows like a stream. It has no beginning nor end. Taking rebirth in between may well be illustrated as a river where we throw stones into it in order to stop the water from flowing. When the water got stuck by the stones we can hardly see the water, but somehow the pushing strength of the water will cause the stones to move in a certain way. Once the water gets through, the stones will be washed away, and the water continues to flow.
Likewise, when we have taken rebirth, the mind sustain the form like the water and the actions in the mind shape the form like the flowing strength of the water. So when we have taken rebirth into a form, whatever that the mind carries will be manifested according to circumstances. This is when we get to really work on the mind because the body and circumstances create the opportunities for us to do so, just like how we get to press a mature pimple that was not there before.
So I conclude: without the form, the mind will just flow endlessly without force that allows improvement. Hence we take rebirth to make it better or worst.
enjoy and benefited
I don’t just feel lucky. I feel blessed and humbled to be able to receive this teaching directly from Rinpoche in Hong Kong.
Rinpoche wanted to give a talk on the importance of Buddha statues when we were in front of the Big Buddha at Lantau Island but could not do so due to the typhoon. That night, Rinpoche invited us to his hotel to give the talk that he promised, despite being in pain from his tailbone and having still so many things he wanted to do.
The talk led from Buddha statues and their significance, through the richness and practicality of the Chinese culture, to the topic in this blog: The Mind.
Suffice it to say that this teaching blew my mind (pun intended).
I had to watch the video and take down notes quite a few times, and I’ve spent a lot of time contemplating on Rinpoche’s words. It was a deep and profound teaching and I can still feel the energy of Rinpoche’s talk resonating in me. I could feel a transformation in me, it’s almost “physical“, after the pilgrimage to the Big Buddha.
The Mind is a continuum and the Body is its vehicle. While we must take good care of the Body, never forget that the purpose of doing so is only to carry the Mind better. The Body serves the Mind, not the other way round.
Thank You, Rinpoche, for the privilege of receiving this teaching directly from You.
Your humble student, with folded hands,
Sean in Shanghai
I’d like to add something.
We are all very lucky nowadays that Rinpoche’s teachings are also made available on videos for future references. Can you imagine what it’s like in the old days and if you’re a slow student like me? “Doh! Didn’t get that! Eh… excuse me, dear Guru, can you repeat that please? (instead of REWIND!!)”….
Then again, students of the past didn’t have so many samsaric distractions as we do today, so I guess they were lucky too.
Thank you so much for Your teaching Rinpoche and thank you blog admin for uploading the video.
I really enjoyed this teaching, it really opened up my mind to how reincarnation works. “Just because we don’t remember, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist”, “cause and effect” some of the few quotes that really caught my thought to contemplate on. Rinpoche gave a really broken down and very concise teaching of our minds and the significance of having Buddha statues. I really learnt a lot and why is it good to offer our offerings and prostrate to the Buddha through Buddha statues, also the significance that it represents even to those who are not Buddhist. It never really struck my mind that even looking at or the thought of a Buddha statue had represented peace, after listening to Rinpoche’s teaching I realised that, that really happens and its true!
I really enjoyed Run Run’s and Rinpoche’s discussion on Buddhism and his barrier to accepting religion and hope that he finds the answers he is seeking for to find peace. I really thank them for asking questions that have been on my mind but was not able to put it into words and feel i learnt a lot from Rinpoche’s answers.
During the first 19mins of the video really had got me thinking, who am I, what makes me, what is my identify. I was really confuse as to what really made us, replaying continuously to understand what Rinpoche is explaining and hope what i took from this teaching really benefited me to understand more. Another real eye opener was the meaning behind a “blessing”, i have to admit i had my own preception of what a blessing was, but Rinpoche’s explanation really opened up my mind and gave me the true meaning of what a blessing really was.
Thank you Rinpoche for teaching us this profound teaching and compiling it together to share it with us, it is really compassionate of you and may this teaching benefit and answer many people’s questions.
Thank you Rinpoche for this profound teaching, I just wanted to share my thoughts as it never occurred to me, but when Rinpoche mentioned that science claims to know everything and try to quantify everything, it is not possible and I totally agree with that. To think that we know everything is ignorant. Another thing that came to mind while listening to this teaching was when Rinpoche talked about the mind is continuum and we all had to have existed in the prior moment and that we just don’t suddenly appear. As we have existed since time immemorial; it is common to question where did it all begin? An atom cannot just exist out of nowhere, someone or something must have created if we go back far enough. The thing is, in today’s society, we presume that things has to arise from somewhere, and that in the beginning, there was nothing and then something gave form to everything that we perceive in our world. However, Rinpoche opened up my mind and I questioned myself what if there was no such thing as the beginning, but it is just another way of “quantifying” something, in other words, there is always a beginning and an end. Perhaps, it could be that in the beginning there was no such thing as “nothing”, hence, the beginning doesn’t have to be nothingness.
The video is mind blowing! So DEEP! Sean was so excited after the audience and keeping saying ” so deep, so deep”. After watching the video twice I understand why he said that. Some time we have to repeat certain parts again and again to capture the essence of Rinpoche’s talk.
The question of ” where are you? ” ” where is the mind?” really made us think over and over. I wish everyone in this world can see this video and think deeply. The conversation in the video gives us a great opportunity to learn. I have to watch to video again. 😉 So much to think and contemplate. If only half of the people in this world can understand what Rinpoche teaches us, the world will be a much better place and harmonious.
Thank you Rinpoche to share this great teaching and thanks to these who work so hard around Rinpoche to make all these videos, photos, blogs available for us to learn. Thank you!
As said, the rebirth that we will go to, depends on the type of mind we generate and harness from our secular achievements in our Dharma practices. Logically, all phenomena in this world cannot escape the workings of the wheel of rebirth. According to Buddhist teachings, we humans are constantly going through cycles of rebirth. These cycles are said to be the direct consequences of Karma. Karma is said to be the force that is created as a result of actions and thoughts. The force of Karma is what perpetuates the cycle of cause-and-effect, giving rise to endless and beginningless flow of life in which different variations of life forms, such as celestial beings, humans, spirits and animals manifestated. Our circumstance, be it good or bad, is determined by one’s past deeds or “karma”. Our stored-karma interacts with ripened conditions and manifested in varying types of painful or blessed effects. As written in the sutra, “Millions of millennia may passed, but karma does not vanish. When the condition is ripened, one must bear the consequences of one’s actions.”
Shelly tai on 12 July 2013 at 420pm
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this video with us. In this talk Rinpoche explain very clearly about emptiness how is the emptiness related to karma and reincarnation . Prior to watching this video I do understand about emptiness but I can’t related it to example in this video Rinpoche use a clear example to explain it really make me think very hard and it really blow my mind.
I really enjoyed this teaching and will watch it over and over again. It really made me think about what “happiness” really is and why I should start developing my subtle mind now. This body of mine is just a vehicle and I’m the driver for now…..in this lifetime.
Thank you Rinpoche for this excellent teaching. And thank you Run Run for asking speaking up and asking the questions.
Thank you Rinpoche for giving us this incredible teaching, so profound yet Rinpoche is able to explain it beautifully and with simplicity.
With folded hands,
Amy
It is a very crystal clear and logical explanation of how our existence comes about, and where our next existence will be and will continue. Offerings to Buddha who attained 3 eons of unbroken vows, generosity, compassionate and all the good qualities, and to tap on this good virtues, is such a great blessings. No wealth in this world can get us this great blessings. Thank you, Rinpoche.
Wow, this is a really interesting teaching that included new aspects to my understanding of our mind and reincarnation. I really enjoyed the Q&A session with Run Run being “new” to this Buddhist concept of death/reincarnation. A good learning experience from Rinpoche’s replies. Thanks Rinpoche and the Hong Kong group for this good learning session.
Dear H.E Rinpoche, I enjoyed your talk here very much. You have shed light on a subject and questions that I have been seeking answers for a lifetime. I have questions for you from your talk, but I do not know how to reach out to you. The video stopped abruptly midway at the part when you were taking question. Therefore, I did not get to see it until the end. A little dissappointed there though.
Dear sc,
thanks for your comment, the video is 2 hours 2 min long, may i know which part it stopped at? it should play till the end where the last question is about the “living Buddha” and Rinpoche answered it.
pls do let me know, thank you.
admin
This is one of the most progressive and ground-breaking series of lessons that Rinpoche has given to us in parts and over time. It is great that so much is contained in this one video. Essentially, I feel like the entire Dharma, or rather the core essence of all that the Buddha taught as a result of His awakening is completely and perfectly captured and conveyed by Rinpoche in this 2 hour video. Within what is being touched on here – each separate but connected subject, are in themselves individual meditations which will reveal more as we on here.
To understand who “we” are and and how we came about and then to ask the “rules” and “mechanics” of what will take us into our next existence is the fundamental of Dharma practice. One of the best parts and indeed relevant component of the talk is the revelation that if the “we” that we have come to identify with and protect ferociously is actually a fabrication, solidified by habituation, then surely all the preferences and emotional circumstances that we allow to consume us, are also false. This is something that I feel will have more secrets to reveal if we keep meditating on it.
Rinpoche also talks about Tantrayana and the need to prepare and be ready for the teachings. It is to this end that Rinpoche trains his students to be ready in all aspects, from the transformation of our mind, to the stability of our thoughts and the strengthening of our resolve and commitment.
Thank you, Rinpoche, for the teaching. May we all create peace and hapiness for others. Tina
This teaching is mind blowing. Rinpoche cleverly probed in the form of questions to make us think of where the Mind actually comes from, how it existed and how it is a continuum. I liked the part where Rinpoche also talked about the Heart Sutra related to the 5 aggregates and simplified version of emptiness.
Following that is the process of Reincarnation that explains the continuum of the mind from the past to the present, hence a future from the examples he quoted. I enjoyed this teaching very much.
Best gift to His Holiness Dalai Lama is “Compassionate toward others”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rq0Faky1rps
Though this subject seems to be the pith of Buddhist studies, everytime Rinpoche gives light to this matter, it has always made my mind clearer to what reincarnation really means. Understanding using inferential logic, Rinpoche presents the matter of mind and reincarnation in the most easy to understand manner.
The string of reincarnations are endless and if we view this life as just being just this life, we have limited ourselves in many aspects. This entrapment does not let us free into what our minds have in store for us. Every situation, every person is a chance for us to trigger something bigger within us. Our potential ranges from secular achievements to that of the Buddha-nature within us which we cannot deny over time. In order for it to grow and mature, we need to harness these potentials with the help of a qualified and skilled guru.
And in doing so, we are rest assured that in our next life, we have created the necessary causes for us to return and continue on our spiritual path.
Thank you Rinpoche for this wonderful talk and sharing with fortunate friends in Hong Kong and those who visited in Shanghai. It must have opened up their minds just as it has done for mine.
The few friends in Hong Kong and Shanghai were very lucky to join Rinpoche in a pilgrimage to Lantau Island in the midst of a typhoon. Yes a typhoon. We renewed our refuge vows in front of Rinpoche and the Big Buddha there and did prayers as well. It was amazing! The typhoon subsided when we were praying. But as soon as we finished our prayers, Rinpoche told us to leave coz the typhoon would pick up again. Sure enough, the storm resumed to rain with strong winds.
After the pilgrimage, we all had the privilege of attending Rinpoche’s dharma talk. Our friends from Hong Kong had very thought provoking questions. They really wanted to learn and were not shy to ask. It was very fruitful talk.
Rinpoche said that he’ll be back to Hong Kong again. I’m sure there are more people in Hong Kong who would greatly appreciate and benefit from Rinpoche’s profound dharma talks.
Thanks Rinpoche for the teaching, it make me more familiar regarding hows our mind and the reincarnation…
I downloaded to my laptop and will watch this video again to realize more about it…
Rejoice for those Hong Kong peoples that meet with Rinpoche…
I really enjoyed Rinpoche’s teaching and learned a lot. The way Rinpoche explained the emptiness of the “I” is very clear and easy to understand. One can use this approach when explaining the lack of inherent existence of all phenomena. It is not often that Rinpoche gives teachings on emptiness, so we are very fortunate to receive this teaching. The group in Hong Kong are extremely lucky and blessed to receive the teachings directly.