Working with Circumstances
Merigar, August 10th, 2001

The Capacity of the Individual

When we say 'teaching', particularly 'Buddhist teaching', and we say only 'teaching', it seems that everything is the same. But there are hundreds of different kinds of teachings. Why are there different kinds of teachings? Because we have different kinds of conditions, situations, and capacities of beings. When we know this then we can apply and follow the teaching. It is very important when we follow the teaching that we know how to follow it. We should not always think that everything is like a small piece of chocolate. Many people think all the teachings are the same, like small pieces of chocolate. You can eat chocolate on the right side or the left side of your mouth but it is always sweet. The teachings also exist in the same way.

The way the teachings work in an individual situation are not always the same and the way of understanding is not the same. When we say that the teachings are related to the capacity of the individual, sometimes it seems that some teachings are very elevated and at a high level and are only available to people with a high capacity. Many people say that the Dzogchen teachings are only for beings who have a high capacity. In particular people who follow more Sutric or lower Tantric teachings say, "Oh, it is not good for you to follow Dzogchen teachings", and "The Dzogchen teachings are too high for you, it is better you follow Sutra teachings". There are reasons to say that, but not in that way.

Regarding the teaching of Buddha it is very important that we understand that there are three kinds of teachings. This is very important for old and new practitioners to remember. In general there are three yanas and two kinds of Sutra: Mahayana and Hinayana. In Tantrism, Vajrayana, there are three vehicles and this is another way of learning. If we study the Dzogchen teachings, it is very, very important we know the characteristics of these three kinds of teachings. All these teachings are vehicles, and a vehicle is a complete teaching.

Capacity and Pure Vision

If, for example, we follow Sutra teaching, it doesn't mean that Sutra teaching is indispensable in order to follow Tantra and Dzogchen. You can have total realization simply by following Sutra teaching, although it takes a long time. If you are following the Tantric style of teaching, you need to spend less time and if you follow the Dzogchen teaching you can have realization more quickly. This depends on the characteristic of the teaching and also on the capacity of the individual. In this case, the capacity doesn't mean somebody who has a kind of realization. For example, in Tantric teaching when mahasiddhas received teachings from Sambogakaya manifestations, they already had realization, that's why they are called mahasiddhas. If you are a mahasiddha you can have contact with a Sambogakaya manifestation. What does Sambogakaya manifestation mean? It does not mean the physical level, but its nature - its nature such as the five colors and the essence of the elements. All manifestations we have, like the dimension of the mandala and beings, which manifest like deities, these are called 'pure visions'. We can't have 'pure visions' because we are ordinary people. Firstly, as ordinary people, we have no realization in order to have that kind of vision. Secondly, we are dependent on all of our senses related to our sense organs. We can't see anything if we shut our eyes; if we want to see something we need to open our eyes. Our eyes are our sense organs, our ears are our sense organs so the function of our senses are all related to our organs; our senses are dependent on our organs. The organs are the physical level. The physical level can't see 'pure visions'. That's why we have no vision of Sambogakaya. To have this vision we need to be a mahasiddha, so this is also considered to be a capacity.

When we say the 'capacity for the Dzogchen teaching', we do not mean that kind of capacity. The teacher explains physically giving oral teachings and you listen with your ears. You can understand something and therefore that is not the Sambogakaya level but the Nirmanakaya level, the more physical level, so you don't need this kind of capacity. In Dzogchen there is no explanation of limited capacity. For example, in Sutra teaching, there is an explanation of the five capacities. In Dzogchen teachings this explanation can be relative because we can't consider capacity only in that way. Capacity is also related to our circumstance. For example, if there is a teacher of Dzogchen giving an important teaching you may have the possibility to listen and receive that teaching. But if you think, "I won't go today. I will go to the beach today". Knowing that you are missing an important teaching, you won't receive that teaching. That is also called missing capacity. That is one kind of capacity, for example.

If you meet a Tibetan teaching and you go to the teachers saying, "Please give me a blessing and a protection cord", and the teacher gives you a protection cord and a kind of blessing and you are satisfied and go away, then you have had a nice occasion to meet the teacher, but you've had no capacity to ask for the teaching or receive the teaching for knowledge of the path so that you can become realized. You can't have realization through receiving a blessing. You can't have realization by receiving a cord, which you put around your neck. That is not the path. That is nothing. You are completely missing that capacity.

Also if you have no communication with the teacher, you are missing capacity. There may be a really good teacher, for example, but you don't know the language of the teacher, or the teacher doesn't know your language. You sit in front of the teacher and you feel a little vibration and you think you have received something. Many Westerners feel just a little vibration and think they are realizing something important. You can also feel a vibration when you go to a theater, for example. When I was small I went to a Chinese theater, and there was a kind of Naga dance like a Dakini dance. When they came outside I really felt a vibration. That's an example of how a vibration doesn't change anything.

Sometimes when we are receiving a Tantric teaching, we also use and work with 'vibration'. In this case, if you feel some vibration, it is not positive or negative and, of course, that is not the main point. I remember once a lady came to my teachings. She followed my teachings for one day, and at that time there was another retreat very near. That evening she said to me, "Oh, your teaching is very interesting, I like it, but I don't feel very much vibration with you. I prefer another teacher with whom I feel more vibration, so I will go there tomorrow". Then I said, "I'm sorry I have no capacity for you to feel vibration". That is an example. Some people feel that vibration is important.

Capacity and Transmission

What is really important is that we have the capacity to follow and know what the main point is when we follow the teaching. The teacher, particularly in the Dzogchen teaching, uses oral transmission explanations to make us understand. The teacher also uses symbolic transmission, using many symbols to make us understand. For example, we use the example of the mirror. In the mirror we can see many kinds of reflections and through the reflections we can discover that the mirror has this potentiality. Reflection is not the real capacity of the mirror, but we can discover through that reflection. That is an example of how we can understand our real nature and our mind. So we can receive such knowledge through examples.

Then there is transmission, which we call direct transmission. Transmission is also related to our condition. Everyone has the condition, which is called body, speech and mind. Body means the physical level, which we can touch and see. When we say our voice or speech. That means our energy level. Why do we use speech or voice? Because voice or speech is sound. When we say speech or voice we produce that sound through our air, our breath. Our breathing is related to our prana, our vital energy. So why then is sound important? Because when we speak of our real nature, the source of everything is how sound manifests from emptiness.

What we firstly manifest is sound and sound manifests light and rays. These three are called our primordial potentiality. Sound doesn't mean ordinary sound, what we hear with our ears. When we speak of sound immediately we think of that. That is outer sound, which we can hear with our ears. There is also inner sound we can feel only through vibrations; we don't need ears for hearing or discovering inner sound. Still more important is secret sound. Secret sound we discover only when we discover our real nature. When we discover our real nature and how it is related with this energy and how it manifests, then we discover secret sound. We can't discover secret sound with vibrations, so for that reason we say speech or voice instead of saying our energy level. The mind is easy to understand. Mind is what we always use to think and judge.

The Three Gates

In the teaching we call these the three gates. The three gates are for entering or exiting. If we want to get in the knowledge or understanding of our real nature, we should go through the three gates to have that knowledge. If we also want to liberate ourselves, to be free from samsara then we should work with the three gates. So everything is related to the three gates. Also in the teachings I am transmitting to you, there are three characteristic teachings. Why are there three characteristic teachings? Because we have three gates. The teachings work with the individual and the situation or condition of the individual. There are no rules about the teaching which a Buddha or Bodhisattva gives. The teachings arise or manifest related to the condition of the individual, just like the Vinaya, for example. The Vinaya are the rules for the monks. When Buddha started the Sangha, the group of monks, at the beginning there were no rules. They worked more with their awareness and circumstances. Then some monks started to do some strange things. People reported this to Buddha saying, "Oh your students are doing strange things, like this or that". Then Buddha said, "My students are not being aware, so you shouldn't do this and that". Then came one, two and three rules and then at the end, infinite rules. Buddha didn't decide anything, but the situation brought it about.

That is an example of transmission of the teaching to the student. The teacher should work with students and their conditions, the teacher does not decide on the teaching. For that reason there are so many kinds of teachings. There are infinite teachings, but all sentient beings, particularly human beings, have three characteristic gates. One is more related to the physical level, one more related to the energy level, and the third more related to the mental level. So the teachings develop in that way. It is not so easy to go only to the mental level, because many people don't understand the mental level. Even a teaching, which is complete in relationship to the body, speech and mind can be given related more to the mental, energy, or physical level. These are the three characteristic teachings. It is very important that you know and always remember that.

Transcribed by Naomi Zeitz
Edited by Liz Granger and Naomi Zeitz

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