BDW 6 «Алмазный Путь Арьи», занятие 6

Autotranscript · BDW6, Malaysia, Class 6

03.08.2026 / processed with Claude (AI) for Irra / Dharma · Malaysia · BDW6

Date: 10 July 2026 · Malacca, Malaysia · duration 1 h 23 min

Teacher: Geshe Michael Roach

Translation into Chinese: Stanley (consecutive; the Chinese translation was not captured in this recording)

Source audio: ENG/CH Arya's Diamond Way Class 6 with Geshe Michael Roach (July 10, 2026)

⚠ Warning

This is an automatic transcript of the audio recording, roughly processed with Claude on 3 August 2026 by Irra Dzhabali. It is not an authorised record of the teaching. Speech recognition and speaker attribution may contain errors. Please check against the original recording.

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Host: Good evening, everyone, and welcome back. We are now ready for something a little different as we gather for our goodnight book club. Book club panel discussion for last week. Tonight is an opportunity to reflect on today's teachings, hear different perspectives, and deepen our understanding together. Sometimes feeling how others connect with the teachings of Earth, discover new insights in our own practice.

We are so grateful that you're here with us, whether you're joining me live today or watching from another time zone. Now, let's begin our panel discussion. Thank you. Hello, everyone. We are waiting a little bit longer to be ready for the next class.

As you mentioned, we will be back here in around 10 minutes. Thank you so much for waiting. Let's stay tuned. And now, we have a very special section. Next, we will have a very special panel discussion with teachers.

And Geshe Michael Roach is still on the way. And we're still waiting. Maybe we... And maybe while they're coming to us, let's just rejoice and we'll see that we're here. And speed up their walk.

And let's remember what we did to come on time during those days. Let's rejoice that. Who remember what? Who else can remind us what we can rejoice now? What kind of seeds?

What we did? We did some different classes. It was cool. Did you like it? Are you happy?

Enjoy? Good. What else we have? We had yoga. Did you enjoy yoga classes?

Did you enjoy yoga classes? Did you enjoy yoga classes with Geshe Michael today? So, they're still on the way. What else we rejoice? I think you don't rejoice enough.

What else? Let's rejoice all staff who work for us. For their hard work, let's rejoice for them and just send our love and appreciation to them. All our volunteers, hotel staff, all people who are involved here. All the people who work hard.

And ourselves, right? We created all of this. We can celebrate for our technical team. Thank you, everyone. And Geshe Michael Roach with teachers.

Geshe Michael Roach: Okay. I don't know. I had a lot of fun in yoga. Thank you. Thank you, Jasmine.

It's so nice to have an intelligent tech team. I'm very grateful to Brian and Francisco. Thank you. Pachi. Thank you, guys.

Very, very nice. Okay, so, we thought maybe you guys would start to get bored of seeing emptiness. So, this class we're going to do, I'll continue a little bit. And I thought it would be nice to have a panel discussion. So, you get some pangmao to ask the question, fat cat.

And we'll have a little, just for fun. We'll have a little conversation, half hour on this. Okay. Next picture, you guys going back to the original class. Yeah.

Skip that one. Next one. Skip that one. Ah, okay, here we go. I'm still talking about a topic that I call no emptiness in a vacuum.

But it is shamatha. It means you don't get shamatha just by sitting down and meditating. You have to have a whole support network, spiritual support network in your life. And we talked about some things already. And this is a dormitory at Princeton.

And the whole university has a truck company. It's called, what's it called, Reunion's Truck Company. It's called Reunion, but it's not just Reunion. It's called Express Reunion. And we do all the trucking for the university.

So we deliver all the food and supplies to all the dormitories, all the restaurants. If a professor wants to move to a different house, we move all their stuff. I moved a piano down a flight of stairs. That was cool. And we do all the trucking for ...

They have reunions, they have like two weeks of heavy, heavy beer drinking at the end of the year. Thousands of students come back. The next day after reunions finish, on top of those beautiful Princeton green grass, they will put eight foot by four foot plywood platforms. Three meters by two meters. And our job is to bring them, and we put them down, hundreds of them, and they dance on them.

And they get very drunk. And they throw up on that, everywhere. The next day, I have to go and carry those things to the truck, put them in the truck, take them to the warehouse. That's my job. At the end of the day, I smell like beer mixed with vomit.

And I got a full scholarship to Princeton. But it doesn't include your personal expenses. So, I had to borrow money during my four years, five years, I had to borrow money. And I work like a dog. Three or four jobs.

I was a Russian research assistant. And I played rock and roll in a bar once a week. And I saved every dollar. And the day before I went to the Mongol temple, I went to the office of the treasurer of the university. And I'm like, I owe you $15,436.

Yeah, just slapping down cash, small bills. And I'm like, you count it, and you'll never see me again. Then they count and count and count. Okay, it's time. Then I feel so free.

No debt, no money, no debt. So, I got the handle to work. Since I was, I think, 15 or something. I left home at 16, and I never took money from my parents again. And I have a new proposal for shamatha.

Tina Lu, all the parents are clapping. Good idea. I have another proposal for shamatha. It's called, get a job. Get a job.

And I don't mean Geshe-la should, excuse me, prostitute himself on the stage every day to raise money. I mean, you should get a real job. And I have thousands of students in my life. And I told them, you have to pay for your food and your house. You cannot ask other people to pay for it.

My teacher forced me to get a job. And he said, you go to New York, you get a job. And every time I said, he said, shut up. Get on the bus, go to New York, find a job. And it was the best advice I ever got.

You have to have food. You have to have a place to stay. And he forced me and I did not want to go to New York. I hate New York. And actually, I fought with him, she knows, silently.

Mahatma Gandhi called it non-violent, non-cooperation. And I always find a reason why I can't go to New York. And I really thought if I stay in the Mongol temple and meditate all day, I have a better chance to see Kongxin. And now, from looking back, he forced me to go to work. That's why I built the jewelry company.

At that time, I had an inheritance. My grandmother's family helped to start Chevrolet company. And she died and my mother died suddenly together and the money went boop, boop, boop, came to me. So, I really don't have to work for many years. And my teacher said, go to work.

And I rarely listen to him completely, but this time I did. And I have to say, it's a really, really healthy thing. It forced me to meet normal people. Usually, we are surrounded by OM MANI PADME HUM and to meet normal people, normal families, working really hard and all the sufferings a normal person has. I think as a Buddhist and as a teacher, it's important to be around people like that at least a few hours a day.

Nowadays, I have our cafe. I spend, not a lot of time, I spend a few hours a day with normal people. They have medical problems. They have financial problems. They have family problems.

They have emotional problems. They have drug problems. And then I really learn how to help people. And I have some students, I asked them for 20 years, 30 years, please, please, get any kind of job. I don't care.

There's a special job in America. You get a job in the movie theater. You just take the ticket and you put it in a box. I have one special student. I beg her on my knees, just go there.

They take everybody. And for, I don't know, for 30 years she refused. She don't refuse to my face. She does the worst kind of refusal to the Lama. Oh, okay, I will do, I will do.

Then every day is tomorrow. And in this way, 30 years passed. And I remember I took her to a restaurant 30 years ago. And I sat down and I said, you will not be happy if you don't work. And you will never be a great teacher because you don't understand normal people.

And I said, don't ask me any more questions until you have a job. That was 30 years ago. Nothing changed. Person didn't change. Still borrowing money.

People are afraid to have this person in their house if they have a couch and a refrigerator. They will say, just let me sleep on the couch for two nights. Two years later they are still on the couch. And somehow the refrigerator is public property. Don't be like that.

Make your own way in the world. Do any kind of job, it will connect you to the people that the bodhisattva is supposed to help. I feel very strongly about this. And my teacher forced me. And God bless him.

Buddha bless him. As usual, he was right. As usual, he was right. I'm not saying ten hours a day. Get part-time job, two hours, three hours.

Meet real people. Take whatever salary. It's okay, you're not going to get rich, it's okay. I have friends who are 60, 65, they are still writing to their parents, I need money this week. Okay, that's my opinion.

If you want to be a bodhisattva, work at a job, part-time, okay, two, three hours. Then meet normal people and see what it feels like to make money, hard work hard. Then ask them to pay $12,000 for the box of books. Because then you know how hard they worked for the money. Okay?

Alright. Okay, next picture. So, in the Himalayas, at that time, it was terribly poor. And it was cold. Many people died in my town while I was there from the cold.

And when I got back to Princeton for six months, winter was just ending. And all those rich kids, they are throwing out this year's winter coat. Because they will just buy another one next year. I saw them throwing out these great coats. And I went to the boss of my truck company.

I said, let me borrow three or four trucks. And I parked them under the dormitory. And I put signs all over the dormitory. If you have an expensive new winter coat you want to throw out, just open the window of your room. And throw the coat and try to hit the truck.

I got hundreds of coats. Then that yellow house has a basement. And I got a team and we have boxes and we put all the clothes in boxes and we shipped them to the Himalayas. I think this helped me to reach Samatha. You say, Geshe-la, I don't have time.

I'm a busy Dharma teacher. I don't have time to drive a truck and pack boxes. But do you want to see emptiness? Yeah, yeah, that I want. Do you want Samatha?

Because you cannot see emptiness without Samatha. Not possible. Yeah, yeah, I want Samatha. Then do something small and something real for other people. Just stupid truck.

Then later I used to collect shoes and everything. Later I sent to the monastery. And I got a letter back from the monastery. Those shoes are very helpful, thank you. But the shoe with the stick in the back, it's difficult for walking.

You don't have to send those. Okay. Don't send high heels to the monastery. Alright. Okay, I think we're ready to have our panel discussion.

Rob, usually the panel guy will sit like there and face this way. Yeah. Where's Sharon? Okay, as you like. So, I'll introduce the panel.

Rosa Van Gricken. She publishes all the books. Okay, and give her a hand. I usually don't have time to go to our office. Rarely.

She works there 10 hours, 12 hours a day. She makes all the books happen. I don't have to ask her, I don't have to tell her, I don't have to say anything. She just takes care of it. And she never fights with me.

Except this way. Can you do this Rosa? Okay. But she never said no. And it's so good for me.

Host: Thank you.

Geshe Michael Roach: Lindsay Jilk made a big mistake like seven, eight years ago, I'm guessing. Five years ago. She's a real estate, big pung mao (?) in real estate. Big business woman. And she lived in Seattle.

And she rides a bicycle for exercise. She went to the bicycle store to buy a helmet. And she accidentally ran into a bicycle helmet guy who is a Buddhist. And she became a student of Rob. And recently she accepted a job from us and she quit her real estate.

Probably much less money for us. And she runs all the good night book club. And she runs the finances for the translators. Apparently if you learn Tibetan language you cannot count. Nick, you know.

Together with Ben Kramer (?), he's the boss of all the translators. Translator is the most stubborn animal in the whole world, right Sugeng (?)? Right Tim? They are very stubborn people. And he's a great boss.

And somehow for ten years he kept the translators going. We didn't lose anybody. Stanley, you all know. But I thought I would mention those of you who live in Singapore. When this program ends Rob and I will fly back to America.

All of us. And Stanley is going to give two talks in Singapore. One is on July 15th. And one is on July 16th. The 15th talk is in English.

The 16th talk is in Chinese. If you're interested to join CSP If you're interested to join CSP it's really advanced Buddhism with business. Or our MBA program which is called DSEU Basically we have MBA or EMBA classes. And we have a special program called YLP. For 18-year-old to 23-year-old.

Mostly they are college students from all over the world. They go to university in California, Australia. They go to Oxford, places like that. And we teach them how to mix these ideas together with college education. And it's very very popular.

Unexpectedly popular. And the development of those kids is unbelievable. Because if you take a normal teenager like your kids and you teach them these powerful ideas and how to use it in international business By the way, we don't use Buddhist religion and we don't use Buddhist language. Those kids are unbelievable now. And they go on special trips.

Soon they are leaving to come to Silicon Valley and they will be doing a training at NVIDIA, chipmaker. Then in the fall they will be at Princeton again. So, if you are a parent if it's me, I will send my kid to this class. Most of the program is, for example, at Dragon's Head. They have to, in Kyoto they have to travel two hours to find marijuana.

Then we protect them. So, we take good care of them and they learn how to work also. So, I'm very proud of that. Okay, over to you Rob. Any questions about the Good Night Book Club?

Rob (panel host): Okay, welcome everybody to our little panel here. Is everyone having a good time? What? What? I can't hear you.

That was a great yoga class today, right? Okay, how many people want to do the Good Night Book Club? Raise your hand. If you don't raise your hand, I'm bringing you up on stage. Oh, that man right there.

Okay, hands up. Okay, we're going to ask the panel some questions about the Good Night Book Club. Lindsay, we met in Seattle five years ago. Actually, she quit her big job at the time. And she said, I want to meditate into the ethers.

I don't want to work. Please, teacher. What should I do? I said, get a job. I said, I'm coming to Arizona to work for Grandpa.

I have two rules. Do what I say. No drama. Those rules she break immediately. So, she says she wants to help with the Good Night Book Club.

And I don't necessarily know if she's a good worker. So, I gave her one test. Can you show the picture? Not that picture. But, I want to join five houses.

This is my house in Arizona. Wow. I taught them in my class. If Geshe Michael says, how was Rob's class? You all say, I also give them money and chocolate.

So, I said, okay, you can do one job. Go pick the weeds out of my garden. Yes, teacher. If you get in real close to the picture up there, can you zoom in on that? Is that possible?

Can everyone see that? That is not a weed. That's my flower. I said, what are you doing? I'm pulling weeds.

How many weeds did you pull? Huge pile in the yard. I said, you're fired. So, we hire her for Good Night Book Club. Not happy.

This person doesn't want a job. Okay, Lindsay. We're going to start with you. Can you tell us how the Good Night Book Club has impacted your garage cooling system? Actually, when she ships out the books, after her full-time corporate day job, she goes into the garage in Arizona and ships the books to all of you.

Why? Keep your answers. We're not going to talk all day, except for me.

Lindsay Jilk (panelist): Short answer, because I want people to have the books. Slightly longer answer. People ask me a lot how they can support the translation project that Yashla (?) has, Nick runs, and there's 12 translators. They say, they say, do you need money? Do you need volunteers?

And I say, yes. And also, we need you to read these books. And that's how you can support this program. The whole reason we want to translate these books is so that you can read them and have your life be impacted by them. And it's also fun.

It's also fun.

Rob (panel host): This is Rosa. Everyone clap. For those of you who were in my class, I remember I get a phone call for a job. It was her. Rosa also works in a small room.

And a small dog. Actually, big house. Small dog. Rosa, can you tell me one way that the Good Night Book Club has actually changed? Just like a real answer to how it changed you as a practitioner.

Let's have Rosa tell us how the Good Night Book Club has changed your life.

Rosa Van Gricken (panelist): When Geshe Michael had this brilliant idea of creating this club, I thought, wow, this is really amazing. Because just how he was telling about himself that during the pandemic, we kind of fell into this spiral down of being trapped by the internet and being trapped by watching movies all the time. I was doing the same thing. And having this idea of creating the time to rest. Because I'm also a workaholic.

In fact, I was always very proud of how late I can work. But then in the morning, I couldn't have a good meditation. I was pretty cranky.

Rob (panel host): Wait, did you say you was pretty cranky? You were? Kidding, kidding, kidding. We'll talk later.

Rosa Van Gricken (panelist): So anyways, it's been incredible. And I see how it's also helped many, many people that I know. So thank you.

Rob (panel host): And I'll give you guys a chance to ask a question in a few minutes. So if you have a question inside of you about the Good Night Book Club, get it ready in your mind. All right, everyone give a hand for Nick LaShaw. I don't know if everyone knows, but Nick is from New York. And he used to talk like this.

Hey, how you doing? Well, what's going on? Yeah, you got a book over there? Yeah, I read books. Give me your book.

But now he speaks so nice. Good Night Book Club, help him.

Nick Lashaw (panelist): It turns out all I needed was a good night's sleep.

Rob (panel host): Nick is also a big surfer. So actually, I want to know, hold on, do you do the Good Night Book Club? I know that look. All right, we'll give him a pass. Not everybody wants to see emptiness directly.

Kidding. Everybody does. Nick's amazing. He works very, very hard for all of us. And he has a real heart of gold.

And he's completely taken responsibility for the translator program. And he's got a wife and a kid. He has a dog. Nick, what I actually want to know is, do you think that reading the books has changed the way that you maybe do your surfing practice? But I mean that genuinely, because for me it's been a real inspiration in my life.

Nick Lashaw (panelist): All right, thank you for the question. We could joke back and forth, but I will spare you. So, I thought it was really cool that Geshe Michael gave the example of a wave in the teachings. Because it gives me a little extra fuel to plant good seeds while I'm out there surfing. But for your question, getting enough sleep definitely impacts my surfing.

Actually, I have a really, really bad day in the ocean and with my family if I don't get enough sleep. So, this has changed my life actually because I used to be like Rosa. I would just work all kinds of crazy hours and now I'm much more productive in less time. But for the information in these books and how that changes me, it's like, I used to go to many different Buddhist teachers and I think they were good teachers and I couldn't understand anything. Then I studied with Geshe Michael and then if I listened to those other teachers now I can understand everything.

So, the way that he teaches it is like a key. Maybe that's the power of an aria. And maybe for the first time in history that's how these books are being translated in a way that we can understand them. And I believe that's the technique that we are trying to learn from him. So, hopefully this program will be able to bring these ideas to more people in a more clear way.

Rob (panel host): Thank you, Nick. Okay, let's give a hand to Teacher Stanley. Teacher Stanley's book. These are outside, these books?

Geshe Michael Roach: Yeah, there's Nick's book, two books. This is Stanley's book. This one is 1,700 years old and that one is 1,800 years old.

Rob (panel host): I know Teacher Stanley does the Good Night Book Club now, actually. So, just a small question for Stanley. In the Mind Only presentation on page 162 do all four philosophical schools agree that form which does not communicate one's intent which does not communicate one's intent don't ask him. He should know this. He wrote the book.

Stanley (translator): He translated the book.

Rob (panel host): I'm kidding. Not a test. But actually there is something I want to know.

Stanley (translator): Shenzhen.

Rob (panel host): Teacher Stanley has $7 in his pocket. Now Teacher Stanley is a translator. He's Geshe Michael's translator. He runs Innovation Retreat. Classic Soft Power (?).

The Vice President of DSEU.

Stanley (translator): And the dishwasher for Xiaoping.

Rob (panel host): But what I've witnessed over the years is how much Stanley's capacity has grown. And this is only... I'm with Stanley, Xiaoping, and Geshe all the time, every day.

——— Slide 1 · Aspect [15] “means”, as a study of the classics ———

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Rob (panel host): And I still know he's doing other projects behind the scenes, always. Do you think there is a relationship between the classics and how much capacity you have currently?

Stanley (translator): About the non-communicating form. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I'm not going to say that.

Hold on. Hold on. Let me write that down. Non-communicating. Thank you for your question.

We are really good friends and we help each other. Every time I don't want to do my six-time book, his face just shows up in my mind. Nick said it's the same. First thing I want to say, really, it's good to have good friends around you. I think that's one of our major source of power.

I would say that too. Originally, the word Geshe before it becomes a degree, it means spiritual good friends. I feel like that. I think eight years ago, Geshe told me and Xiaoping, you should start this program called CSP. It's a global executive training program.

The students' average experience in business is over 20 years. We have averaged five years of experience. I didn't know what we can do to offer. I actually asked the same question to Geshe at that time. It's very similar to a prayer we always do.

I don't know anything. I make all the mistakes. I have nothing to offer. What value can I provide in this CSP program? I remember the answer Geshe gave us at that time.

You have the books. That's your greatest source of power. That could help everybody. That's what we have been doing basically. I truly believe that the power is really inside the book.

But if you don't read them, if you don't read them before you go to sleep, it feels like you are sitting on a whole mountain of gold. Then you are still looking for money outside. All the great power, all the treasure, I think they are already inside. We just have to take them. Read a few lines every night.

To be honest, when I do any project that I feel like it's beyond my capacity, if you have a great teacher, they always give you things to do that is beyond your capacity. I always go to seek help from the ancient books. One more thing.

Geshe Michael Roach: I'm looking at Sugeng. And I wanted to also mention that he finished a very beautiful book. It's an ancient, ancient book about the Wheel of Life. And it's a beautiful book.

Stanley (translator): Very valuable.

Geshe Michael Roach: It's the best explanation I ever saw of the Wheel of Life. By the way, these books are all available on ebook. It's difficult to carry so many books. They carried over a thousand books here in their suitcase. Then the customs officer always saying, why you have a whole box full of books?

It's just for my friends. So, it's much easier if you guys can order online Diamond Cutter Book.

Stanley (translator): Diamond Cutter Press. You can get ebooks for all of these.

Rob (panel host): Okay, do you guys mind if we go over a little bit to ask Grandpa a question? Are you sure? I can't hear you. I think they're more hungry. Last question.

For Grandpa. All of us have been talking about personal practice. And you've been giving us your, you've been sharing your inner life with us. Oh, they were talking. And so, a lot of students I noticed, whenever we bring up Grandpa and Veronica, everyone get very happy.

They want to see more pictures of Grandpa and Veronica. And so my question is, how has the Good Night Book Club affected your own personal relationship in your life?

Geshe Michael Roach: I can say that my wife likes to go to bed early. She often sleeps by 9 o'clock. She often gets up at 5. And to be honest, when she knew I was watching stupid movies, dirty movies, she was very unhappy. Now, if I'm not traveling, I put the computer and the phone in that bag and I put it on her side of the bed.

It means I have to sneak by her side. I heard to get to the computer. And I did try a few times. Then she's like, what are you doing honey? All the husbands know how that works.

But the Good Night Book Club has really helped our marriage. And it's extremely peaceful. She's very, very happy. So we didn't talk about it, but I think it will help your marriage. And I encourage you to try it with your husband or with your wife.

Stanley (translator): Thank you.

Rob (panel host): We were at the doctor with Grandpa talking about his kidney. And our doctor, I believe she was Vietnamese. And she said, do you mind if I ask you a question? So it's me, Stanley, Xiaoping, Geshe Michael, Veronica, big room. What do you guys do?

You always seem so happy when you come here. You know your kidney's not good, right? Like this is not good news. But you don't look upset. He said, we do Good Night Book Club.

So we walk out the door. I'm the last person. Can you send me his book? Is it in Vietnam? Is it translated into Vietnamese?

Yeah. Okay, let's thank all our panelists.

Host: Thank you all the teachers. Thank you. We have very important announcement. After the announcement, there is another performance from group 2 that will make your lunch super happy. We would like to thank each of you for practicing, studying, and growing alongside this wonderful global community.

Whether you joined us live today or are catching up from another time zone, your commitment to the teaching is what makes this journey so meaningful. If you would like to review today's teaching, our free broadcasts are coming up next after this class, Arya's Diamond Way Meditation 3 and then Arya's Diamond Way Plus 5. Thank you for being with us today. We wish you a peaceful evening or a wonderful day ahead wherever you are in the world. We'll see you tomorrow for Day 5 of Arya's Diamond Way.

Good night, everyone.