Desires

Rinpoche first discoursed on 17th April, 1994 Rinpoche repeated it at the Vajrayana Association (France) in October, 1994 Uploaded to the Website on 24th September, 2014 (after about twenty years)
Introduction
－	In the era of Original Buddhism in ancient times, Mankind was relatively simple-minded, plain and less desired.  People’s desires were very simple such as clothing, food, shelter (housing) and transportation.  Moreover, they did not need different kinds of national currencies.  Even more, there was no need or desire to speculate on gold, silver, real estates, property, foreign currency, stocks or margin trading.  They took things as they were.  With less lure of material at that time, it was relatively easier to cease their desires.
－	With the progress in civilization and cultural development, desires of mankind started to grow and expand (Everyone hopes extravagantly to win the first prize of Mark Six (a kind of lottery) tomorrow and it is the best if one can win it for several times in succession).  The heart of desires (the hankering for desires) becomes heavier and more complicated in which it tends to grow in quantity and pile up unrestrictedly.
－	If modern people are asked to cleanse their hearts and limit their desires by having the mind of renunciation to leave the modern civilized society and isolate themselves into remote mountains to practise cultivation alone so that they can really concentrate on practising what they are preached.  It does not sound like a possible way any more as it can neither be fitted with the actual environment nowadays nor a way that is suitable for ordinary people.
Content
1.	As the Earth keeps on revolving and time keeps moving forward, no one is capable of forcing the civilization and culture to go in a ‘retrograde motion’ (to go back in history), to return to the space and time of Original Buddhism in ancient times when mankind can be restored to have excellent spiritual quality that is contented with less desires.
2.	Esoteric Buddhism (Tantric Buddhism/Vajrayana Buddhism) appears in Saha World (remark: in narrow sense, it refers to the world in which there are sufferings) on an opportunity and it emerges among people on Earth.  Its skillful and expedient approach of practising complies with the mindsets, the changes in life and the cultural trends of mankind at the present age so as to guide them to the complete enlightenment of right path.  Esoteric Buddhism is of the highest state among the 84000 Dharmas in Buddhism.  Buddha Sakyamuni and other Patriarchs in all ages have ever employed this doctrine to subdue the infinite desires of modern people.  Hence, in 【Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra 維摩經】, it advocates, “ ‘Hook & Drag’ sentient beings by satisfying their desires (remark: desires do not denote lust here) first, and afterwards guide them into Buddha Wisdom.” Desires are made use as ‘a convenient method’ to receive and gather sentient beings.
3.	Among all educational methods (at schools) and religious methods in the world, regardless of their contents and forms, no matter how large their competences are, none of them are able to handle or cease human desires.  In addition, with the overflow of materialism in the contemporary society, people’s minds and souls become fragile and weak.  As a result, in whichever religions, if the only method taught is to suppress desires, it may turn out to be self-defeating instead as the inner pressure of human beings is thus increased.  The inability to use the right way (to suppress desires) will induce the sprouting of more social problems, for instance, diseases like depression, autism or even different types of suicides etc.
4	Tantric Doctrines make use of the raging torrent of human desires to produce huge motive power and driving force for mankind to start practising instead.  In this way, desires are ‘much better used’ to help people practise cultivation until attaining the highest supreme condition.  Thus, it is unnecessary for beginners of Tantric Buddhism to purify their hearts or restrict their passions; nor carry out pure and clean living or void the four elements (remark: earth, water, fire and air of which the world is made) before they can start conducting cultivation as well as practising Dharma.
5.	If merely the shouting of slogans or the singing of praises like ‘Those who would like to be relieved should come!’ or ‘Believe in xx and you will be saved’ etc.  are employed to preach and guide people to be close to a certain religion, the number of people who do come will not be many.  On the contrary, if it is said like this, ‘Those who would like to be rich should come!’, ‘Believe in xx and you will be wealthy’, ‘Guan-yin/Kwun Yum Treasury Opening Festival(a Chinese social conviction that pious disciples go to the Guan-yin Temple on 26th January of the lunar calendar to carry out religious activities so as to borrow treasures from Guan-yin)’ or ‘Whoever wants to become rich then come to believe in Esoteric Buddhism’ etc., a lot of people may strive hard to ‘fall forward’ to rush to believe in Esoteric Buddhism for fear that they will be lag behind.  Aiming at the fact that most ordinary people in the world are fond of wealth, there is such a convenient method in Tantric Buddhism that the ‘Gods of Wealth Dharma’ is taught to new believer first (this is what ‘Hook & Drag sentient beings by satisfying their desires’ means) and they are then preached by proper guidance in the prescribed order during the process (of becoming a Tantric practitioner).  In other words, one is first made to have genuine faith on Buddhism; one will then pay homage to all Buddhas.  After that, it will be the arousal of the intention to have renunciation, Four kinds of Immeasurable Hearts (Benevolence, Compassion, Joy and Renunciation), Bodhicitta (remark: the mind that perceives the real behind the seeming, believes in moral consequences and that all have the Buddha-nature as well as aiming at Buddhahood) etc.  such that good karma is planted into one bit by bit.  At the end of one’s life, one’s sense of soul may perhaps be promoted to the Kamavacara Deva (remark: the Desire Realm, one of the Three Realms and the other two are the Form Realm as well as the Formless Realm) and one becomes a Guardian of Buddhism.  When one is saved by oneself (the upgrading of one’s heart and soul) in this way, one’s original deluded mind of a mortal man is gradually changed into the mind of Bodhi of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas as droplets of good karma have already been planted.  One can thus help to rescue the others and this act will eventually drive one towards having the Buddha Wisdom.  Esoteric Buddhism does not only make your wish come true, but also grant you the determination to relieve other worldly people after becoming wealthy.
Conclusion
For most beginners of Esoteric Buddhism, their initial purpose is generally making their wishes come true with the Dharma Power learnt.  In order to achieve a greater ability, one tries to investigate Esoteric Buddhism more aggressively (in this way, desires become a jet of positive energy).  The more diligent one goes deep into the study (of Tantric Buddhism) intensively, the large amount of right cognition and views one obtains will make one’s mind more ‘inclined to the right path’ as well as make one’s thoughts more ‘normalized’.  Although one’s desire is obtained, it will no longer be magnified unrestrictedly but is appropriately blocked instead.  With the profound skills in the course of time, one’s mind will then be transformed from consciousness into true wisdom.  One will become an outstanding Tantric Achiever who can eventually be born in the Buddha land in one’s future life and attain Enlightenment as well as Buddhahood.  Esoteric Buddhism can enable one to achieve Supreme Wisdom.  However, if one has not tried hard to put it into practice, an average person absolutely cannot understand and comprehend the Paramartha (true meaning) as well as the quintessence of Esoteric Buddhism.  Among the ten Schools of Buddhism, nine belong to Exoteric Buddhism while only one belongs to Esoteric Buddhism.  Esoteric Buddhism is as extraordinarily and peerlessly rare as well as precious as Mani Jewel (a bright luminous pearl symbolizing the Buddha and His Doctrines).  It is sincerely hoped that all of us can treasure the cultivation of Esoteric Buddhism so that our klesa (pain, and delusions state of minds, such as distress, affliction, worry, trouble, anxiety, fear, anger, jealousy, desire, depression, etc.) can be turned into Bodhi (knowledge, understanding and perfect wisdom).  In this way, we are able to transform consciousness into true wisdom to fulfill the state of Buddhahood completely as soon as possible.
Postscript
Extracts from this website
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Question: Could we have the pleasure of knowing the causes and existence of Esoteric Buddhism?
Answer: At the time before the Innumerable Kalpas, sentient beings were pure and honest, so Buddhism was nonsectarian.  From the imparting of Buddha Adi, the first Buddha, to Buddha Vairocana and then to the Five Dhyani Buddhas (the Five Wisdom Tathagatas), only one plain way was sought for and it was the self-realization in mind.  There were no other dharmas.  After the Five Dhyani Buddhas, there were Buddhas of the Ten Directions.  The West Buddha Amitabha of the Five Dhyani Buddhas passed the Pure Land Buddhism to the Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva.  Seeing that sentient beings (at that time) were of different foundations in learning Buddhism, the Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara therefore introduced the convenient method by dividing Buddhism into three different doctrines, namely, Exoteric Buddhism, Esoteric Buddhism and Arousal of intention to have Bodhicitta so that more sentient beings could be moved and inspired accordingly and all of them could be rescued universally.  About the cause that Buddha Sakyamuni imparted Esoteric Buddhism in the world, it started with a Royal Highness in India who had offered meals for Buddha Sakyamuni and His disciples.  Buddha Sakyamuni advised the Royal Highness to learn Buddhism, but he responded with a smile, “To learn Your Buddhism, one does not only lead an ascetic life but it also takes years of practices before one can be achieved.  I’m not interested in cultivating such kind of practice at all.  If there’s a kind of Dharma that one can attain Buddhahood all at once without the need to cast away one’s wives and wealth, I’ll be willing to cultivate it.” Buddha Sakyamuni had known in advance that the Royal Highness was a great Tantric foundation.  He also responded the Highness with a smile and imparted him with Esoteric Buddhism immediately.  Having imparted Esoteric Buddhism, the Royal Highness’s mind got enlightened suddenly and he became a Buddha right away.  A large number of his family members also attained Buddhahood at the same time.  This made all disciples of Buddha Sakyamuni doubted their Master if He had an axe to grind towards the Highness, they complained, “All of us have cast away our wives and children to learn under Master ascetically for many years, yet we’re not able to learn the great Dharma.  In contrast, the Highness has only offered You a meal and he’s imparted the great Dharma of becoming a Buddha on the spot.  This must be caused by the inequality of Master’s mind.” Buddha Sakyamuni therefore explained to them, “You’re the basis of Exoteric Buddhism while the Highness is of Tantric foundation in which your fates are totally different.  When all Buddhas and Tathagatas liberate sentient beings universally, They follow the calling and inspiration in different occasions.  It’s not caused by the inequality of my mind.”
Having listened to the Buddha’s explanation, most of the disciples believed in it.  Yet, there were still some who did not agree.  From then on, the Doctrine of Esoteric Buddhism has been spread at once in the world.  As for the origin of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism, Buddha Sakyamuni had made prophecy on it.  It is written in Sutra, “Eight years after I’ve entered Nirvana, there appears a man who is transformed from the lotus in a place called Uddiyana.  This man is fully replete with ubiquitous supernatural wisdom that does not only enable him to overcome demons, but also propagates Supreme Esoteric methods.” As far as it is concerned, the man refers to Padmasambhava Mahasattva (great being).  Born as a Buddha, Padmasambhava Mahasattva had developed and expanded Tantric Buddhism in India for more than eight-hundred years before he was cordially invited to Tibet to propagate Esoteric Buddhism by the Tibetan King.  Hence, Esoteric Buddhism was spread from India to Tibet.  It has been then passed on from Guru to Guru afterwards until the present day.  This is the general cause and existence of Esoteric Buddhism.
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