Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 113-minute oral commentary on Chapter 9 of Śāntideva’s Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra, Geshe Jampa Gyaltsen walks through the analysis of feeling as an empty, non-inherently existing phenomenon. After grounding the session in compassion and bodhicitta motivation, he traces how feelings—pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral—arise from causes and conditions. He examines four ways to establish that feeling lacks inherent existence: by analyzing feeling’s own nature (revealing its impermanence contradicts any claim to permanent selfhood); by analyzing its causes (the contact between sense organ and object); by analyzing its result; and by analyzing the person who experiences it. Throughout, he uses philosophical logic to refute eternalist views and illustrates with vivid examples—a monk eating excrement to overcome food attachment, the three types of bondage arising from pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral feelings. The teaching culminates in showing how realizing the non-inherent existence of feeling undermines craving and attachment at their root, a cornerstone of liberation.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 1994-08-16 – 9th Chapter of Śāntideva's. Emptiness.mp3
UUID: 7d207823-04e8-40da-b820-c3619743d26a
Teacher: Geshe Jampa Gyaltsen
Collection: Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra
Date: 1994-08-16
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~6,303
# 1994-08-16 – 9th Chapter of Śāntideva’s. Emptiness
**Collection:** Audio Recordings — Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra
**Duration:** 113.3 minutes
**Words:** 6,306
**Model:** Deepgram Nova-3
**Corrections applied:** 4
**Transcribed:** 2026-03-08 12:09
—
Let’s start by doing brief meditation on precious mind of enlightenment in order to set up a good motive. Every being out there has been kind to me. They’ve been countless times, been my mother, parents and so forth. As well, from their side they do want happiness, they do not want suffering. Therefore here I will start generating compassion towards them by thinking that they all be free of suffering and causes of suffering.
I will as well meditate on I will as well generate loving kindness towards them by thinking that they all attain happiness and causes of happiness. I myself alone will take the responsibility to actually remove the sufferings of all beings and to bring happiness to all beings. To be able to do that will train in removing the impure thoughts of the mind and to attain excellent qualities of the mind. Through such a method of training in order to help others I must attain the state of enlightenment. In order to attain enlightenment or here engage in the learning contemplation and meditation on the great vehicle part of teachings particularly here the current topic of study, the wisdom aspect of the path which is the analysis and trying to understand about emptiness, the reality of things.
Śāntideva explains if suffering as a feeling is inherently existing, then why can’t it hinder someone who has attained a state of very joyous? So that’s in our present context of the ninth chapter. So far we have been looking at the selflessness of phenomena amongst the two selflessnesses. And within the selflessness of phenomena we have been looking at how form or body and so forth do not inherently exist. And that part was explained by going through the meditation of four mindfulnesses.
Mindfulness of the body becomes the meditation on the body being inherently not existing. And now we go to the second mindfulness, mindfulness of feeling. The mindfulness of body is an excellent quality of mind which has the thought of renunciation and memory complete with it firstly by looking at how the body does not have inherent existence therefore it is not worthy to be attached to. So through that way it produces renunciation and the very awareness which is the memory of renunciation is retained and the state of whatever virtuous or excellent quality state of mind like that becomes the mindfulness of body. With regards to the mindfulness of body, it is mainly the meditation on the awareness that the body is emptiness in nature lacking inherent existence.
Now next is the mindfulness of feeling, of sensations. Regarding that, firstly we look at how many types of feelings there can be. Well, all feelings can be categorized into three groups: pleasant feeling, unpleasant feeling, and neutral feeling. And these three types of feelings, which includes all feeling, are something we can, in our daily experiences, relate to that is true. That feelings can be any of those three.
Pleasant feeling by nature is something which brings joyfulness to the person’s mind. Unpleasant feeling brings lack of joyfulness, so forth, to the mind, and neutral, which is neither pleasant nor unpleasant feeling, doesn’t produce either of the two, joy or sadness. Now to start with that’s how it is that with feelings basically there are those three types. By definition, feeling is defined as a mind which experiences. That is the definition. Feeling is a state of mind which either experiences pleasant feeling, pleasant experience or unpleasant experience or neutral nature of the two.
Principally there are those three types of feelings and yet those three can further be expanded into five types of feelings. How are the five types of feelings when those three are expanded? Well, the five are there because pleasant feelings can be subdivided into two types of pleasant feelings. Likewise, unpleasant feelings can be subdivided into two types of unpleasant feelings. So there are four, when added with neutral feeling which cannot be subdivided because that is it. Together there are those five.
The two types of unpleasant feelings are the unpleasant feeling on the body and unpleasant feeling on the mind. The unpleasant feeling on the mind can literally be more precisely described as the undelightful feeling of the mind. This is clarified on the basis because strictly speaking pleasant and unpleasant feelings are described as feeling of happiness and unpleasant feeling as feeling of suffering. So on that point unpleasant feelings can be two types: the feeling of suffering on the body and feeling of undelightfulness in the mind.
The unpleasant feeling of body can be so many types because we can quite easily relate it to be so by observing how many sufferings, pains and so forth we experience on our body. Now the question is from where do all these multitudes of unpleasant feelings on the body come from? Well, cause and the reason for that is all unpleasant feelings, the feeling of suffering. Here, to speak with the body definitely comes from past non-virtuous actions, past bad karma. This is true even if we look in the classical citations from reputable teachers such as Vasubandhu, then there are lines saying the sufferings of the body are produced by the non-virtuous actions of the past.
So it is quite certain, there is no doubt, that all these unpleasant feelings on the body are produced by one’s non-virtuous actions in the past. To further clarify or to further give an idea how many unpleasant feelings on the body we experience, well we can say there are so many such as we can easily relate that we do physically become sick, do have a headache, we do have a stomach upset and so forth. So all these are instances that there are unpleasant feelings on the body experienced by beings. If we stop or completely give up non-virtuous actions then that is the way to stop experiencing unpleasant feelings on the body. Unpleasant feeling of the mind is the suffering with the mind.
As regards the question what brings about unpleasant feeling of the mind, there are quite varying explanations. But still let’s look at one instance how that can be so, say, unpleasant feeling of the mind can be generated with the virtuous action of mind such as if someone happens to kill and murder a person, then having murdered a person if one somehow come to senses and regrets and feeling a regretfulness, thinking, Oh, it’s been so tragic. What a wonder. I have killed, murdered someone. Through such a way, if there is immense regret in the person’s mind, that state of the mind in great no doubt is an unpleasant feeling of the mind. Such unpleasant feeling of the mind in the form of regret on something one has done wrong is a virtuous thing.
It is not only virtuous, it is very strongly recommended to be necessary when doing purification practice for one’s past non-virtuous or negative actions. How that is so is we can recall that during purification there is a great deal of emphasis to have all four opponent powers for purification complete. And in the four opponent powers there is no doubt the requirement on one hand to depend on enlightened beings as a source of purification by such as going for refuge to them, making offerings to them and so forth. But one of the main opponent power required to mention or explain there is the opponent power of feeling of remorse for what one has done and non-virtuous actions one has done. Through such power of remorse or feeling sorrowfulness for the non-virtuous actions one has done, that the negativity or the bad karma can be purified through that force.
So there we can clearly see it is not only mentioned to be virtuous but recommended to be required in the process of purification. In brief, such regret over something one has done wrong or non-virtuous actions one has done becomes a virtuous state of mind. The great yogi of Tibet sings a verse where the two lines say, If one does purification of the negativity, as long as there is regret it will be purified. There again we can see that regret or remorsefulness is advised as a necessary force for purification of past non-virtuous actions. When one has done a non-virtuous action, say yesterday, and today if one has remorse, thinking, Oh, it’s been so bad, I’ve done such yesterday, then by such regret there does arise a feeling of unpleasantness, a feeling of lack of delightfulness within one’s mind.
So obviously it is true there is a suffering in the mind. Yet such suffering of the mind in the form of regret over a non-virtuous action is a virtuous state of mind. But regret can be non-virtuous state of mind if the topic of regret is something virtuous one has done. How that can be, let’s look at an example. If someone feels so high and meets a beggar down on the street and on that high state of mind one feels like giving everything to the person and one does give the ten or fifteen dollars one had in one’s pocket to the person.
But after five or ten minutes later when one finds one doesn’t have any money, then it’s possible one might regret having given the money to the beggar. So in such case regret is a non-virtuous state of mind. And that is a regret over something one has done virtuous. And if one does that, then regret becomes non-virtuous action, non-virtuous state of mind. Therefore in such example or a situation one needs to think beforehand to make sure one doesn’t end up regretting.
When one does regret, say in the present case, over a virtuous thing one has done, then like previous case, in this present case too, there is a feeling of unpleasantness, feeling of suffering in one’s mind. Therefore, in brief, then that unpleasant feeling in the mind produced by regret can either be virtuous or non-virtuous depending on the topic or object over which one is regretting. This classification is true because one of the main source teachers of this classification, Vasubandhu also, says regret can be either virtuous or non-virtuous. It can’t be anything apart from the two. But then it is obvious that people might have a doubt thinking, say if someone just carelessly happens to draw a chalk line on the ground and instantly one feels regretful for having drawn the chalk line on the ground.
So it would be asked what becomes that sort of regret, is it virtuous or non-virtuous. Well to say according to that classification it is not a true regret. That’s where the laughter was. That’s not a true regret because it is not covered by the previous classification simply by that. So it’s not a true regret.
If it’s a true regret, a genuine regret, it has to be either virtuous or non-virtuous. So those are the unpleasant feeling types. Now with regards to pleasant feeling, one type of pleasant feeling is the pleasant feeling on ordinary person’s body and mind. These two grouped into one. The second type of pleasant feeling is what is called mental bliss, a pleasant feeling of mental bliss.
This present feeling of mental bliss is something we in the desire realm, ordinary beings of this part of the universe, the desire realm, do not have. It is only in the continuum of those beings who are on the higher realms such as the form and formless realms, such as beings who have attained what is called the meditative concentration state of mind. So only in those cases there is this mental bliss, pleasant feeling. In summary, so far in last Tuesday evening we have looked at how body is not inherently existing. Now similarly here tonight we need to look at, and this is what is being proven in the present part, how feeling as well like the body, how feeling as well is not inherently existing.
And this is what is being looked at. This is what is as well covered under the meditation of the mindfulness of feeling. Therefore now we look at how feeling such as feeling like body is not inherently existing. Here at this point the author Acharya Śāntideva looks firstly at how feeling such as unpleasant feeling is not truly existing.
The way how it is proven or presented is, let’s say, if feeling such as unpleasant feeling is truly or inherently existing, then it would mean that unpleasant feeling exists without depending on anything, any cause, conditions, name, label, sound, denomination doesn’t depend on any of them. Instead it would be existing alone, self-sufficiently, independently on its own. If it is to be so, then that would mean such feeling of unpleasantness is a permanent phenomenon. If it is a permanent phenomenon, then that would imply it would always remain in that nature of being unpleasant feeling, never subject to change at all. It should remain as unpleasant feeling all the time. But that is not so because our own experience contradicts that.
Because in our own experience we occasionally have a pleasant feeling, we occasionally have it replaced by unpleasant feeling, and occasionally again pleasant feeling and so forth. Therefore, in our own experience we find that pleasant and unpleasant feelings are impermanent phenomena subject to change and perishing and so forth. The reason why that is so is because feelings, whether it is unpleasant feeling or pleasant feeling, depends on causes and conditions for their arising or production and they remain there as long as causes and conditions are there. The moment the causes and condition loses their potencies, then the feelings as well cease to exist. That is how it happens.
Now if we say the feeling such as here, unpleasant feeling, is a permanent phenomenon, then that would mean it is always never subject to change which in turn would mean if we experience unpleasant feeling it will always be with us. We always will end up experiencing all the time that same unpleasant feeling.
In the great vehicle part, when one makes the entry into the path, there are ten bodhisattva grounds or the ten bodhisattva levels. Amongst the ten, the first ground is called the very joyous ground. The reason why that first bodhisattva ground is called very joyous is because when a bodhisattva attains that state of realization on that ground, there is immeasurable joy experienced by the bodhisattva and that immeasurable joy is experienced because of the bodhisattva having the foresight through attaining that ground, through attaining that spiritual level, had the foresight to see that she or he is going to attain enlightenment soon and therefore going to be of enormous benefit to countless beings. So having seen that, there is immeasurable joy within the bodhisattva’s continuum. Now that is what actually happens to a bodhisattva who attains that state.
Whereas now if we say unpleasant feeling is inherently existing and is permanent by nature and never subject to change, then that would contradict such fact. It would mean that there is no such thing as bodhisattva on that ground becoming very joyous and so forth. So there would be such fallacies. Similarly, we can look at the pleasant feeling, say if it is inherently existing therefore if it is permanent then it would mean pleasant feeling is subject to no change at all. This in turn would mean whoever is experiencing pleasant feeling always will experience that pleasant feeling without any change at all. That in turn would then contradict directly with how ordinary beings such as in the desire realm who commit non-virtuous actions or simply say a person with great mental impurities committing non-virtuous actions, it would mean that they would not experience unpleasant feeling or feeling of suffering from their actions.
So there would be similar contradictions. Similarly if pleasant feeling is inherently existing then there would be fallacies such as it would then mean even if we eat delicious food when we are hungry and have nice drinks when we are thirsty that there will be no new pleasant feeling. There will be no new feeling of happiness because of the same reasoning that the previous pleasant feeling would always have been there while there would be no room for new pleasant feelings to arise. By the same token there would be again similar fallacies such as when one’s child dies or in the case of parents who have their beloved children pass away, or when one’s relatives and friends pass away, it would mean that there would be no feeling of grief, suffering, unpleasantness at all because the previous pleasant feeling supposedly being inherently existing, permanent, unchanging would always have been there. Through such a way of looking at the possible fallacies in accepting feeling, either unpleasant or pleasant feeling, inherently existing, we then establish that there is no inherently existing feeling.
And this is what here in the teaching is very inspiringly advised that due to such reasons the feelings cannot be inherently existing phenomenon. In this way, as a practitioner, when one analyzes the nature of feeling, whether it is inherently existing phenomena or is it non-inherently existing phenomena, when a practitioner analyzes and if the practitioner comes to understand that feeling is not inherently existing phenomena, then such understanding counters the wrong view in the mind of the practitioner thinking feeling as truly existing phenomena. As such, such an understanding that feelings do not inherently exist helps to negate or helps to eliminate the grasping that feeling exists truly or inherently. Now, in one’s meditative concentration training, when such an understanding about non-inherent existence of feeling is continuously trained on and trained on, through such a way if there arises a time when the practitioner realizes, when the practitioner attains the meditative concentration realizing the non-inherent existence of feeling. Or in other words, meaning when the practitioner has attained the mastery of the mind, able to remain undistracted and focused on the topic that feeling is not inherently existing, then such a meditative concentration or such mastery of mind would make the practitioner’s body be sustained by that very force of meditation without relying on gross eatables and foods and so forth.
And also through such meditative contemplation the practitioner will have the capability of mind to attain many other realizations and experiences. So these are then all that are explained as even some even a kind of secondary outcome of making the inquiry in the first place. The meditative concentration realizing feeling is not inherently existing is also food sustaining the body. How that is so is generally food does not necessarily have to be a gross substance food because food by definition is something which sustains and expands the body and can be of various types. The commonly regarded food is what is called the food of element, the gross substance food.
Such food of element is food which is composed of three components: the taste, smell and tangibility of the substance. When these three are complete, that becomes a gross substance food that is called elemental food. And when one eats such food that helps to sustain the body and expand the body. That is elemental food. Similarly, there can be sustaining and expanding of the body through other ways.
One is through meditative concentration. The term meditative concentration is no different than calm abiding, as can be seen. The mastery of the mind, free of distraction and attachment and with all power to remain with strength and clarity on any given virtuous topic or spiritual development. That is meditative concentration, no different than calm abiding. When one attains meditative concentration then that as well helps sustain the body and expand it. Such a person’s body would feel light and yet strong and yet not requiring any gross elemental food to sustain it.
So that’s how it is. This then becomes by analyzing the nature of feeling one establishes it is not inherently existing. So similarly we look at the second way how it is not inherently existing by analyzing its cause. Third, how feeling is not inherently existing by analyzing its result. Fourth, how feeling is not inherently existing by analyzing the person or the being who experiences that feeling. So in a way, there are all those four ways together to prove how feeling is not inherently existing.
The one we just finished was by analyzing through the nature of feeling and proving through that way how feeling is not inherently existing. We then have the other three through cause, through result and through the person experiencing it.
With regards to analyzing the cause of the feeling and through that way proving feeling is not inherently existing, let’s at one particular instance, say with eye consciousness, the consciousness seeing forms that is called eye consciousness. Now, the eye consciousness is dependent on the working of what is in the eye. There is a component called eye organ, eye sense, a very pure sense factor which is the eye sense or eye organ. Now when the consciousness and the eye sense get together, then that produces eye consciousness perceiving form. Whatever form is seen, that produces together a feeling, either pleasant or unpleasant feeling that way.
So that’s how, in that case, a feeling starts. Now with regards to the eye sense producing feeling of its own, how that happens is, let’s say, when eye sense or an eye organ come in contact with a form out there, or in another word an object out there, then there is a contact between the eye sense and the form or the object out there. Coming together in contact by the two, there arises whatever the feeling is, pleasant, unpleasant or neutral. So there is a production of feeling by way of the eye sense and the external object coming in contact.
Here firstly to establish that feeling is not inherently existing, by analyzing the causes of feeling not inherently existing, we first need to establish whether that contact in the first place is an inherently existing phenomenon or not. Now as regard with that, according to lower tenets, they assert that the contact between the eye sense and the object is inherently existing, is truly a happening phenomenon. Therefore, step number one is firstly to counter those assertions by the lower tenets and therefore it perhaps would mean a bit of a complex area to look into and that’s where the laughter was. Looks like you might need to listen with full attention. Now the question is put to the lower tenets.
If there is a contact between the eye sense and the object out there, then how does the contact happen? Does it happen by so many of the tiny particles of the eye sense directly touching so many of the tiny particles of the object being looked at by the eye sense. That so many tiny particles from both sides touch one another and that’s how the contact happens or what? So that’s the question put to them. If they do come in contact, is it in the manner of there being a gap or without gap? The theory is that eye sense itself is built up of so many tiny particles.
Likewise the object being perceived is made up of so many particles. So the question put is, do so many tiny particles from the two come in contact directly touching one another or is there a gap? If you say that there is a gap then that would mean that gap would be occupied by light or darkness. And if there is light and darkness then that would mean it is not a contact, there is no contact. So it would be absurd to say that they have come in contact to one another because there is obstruction, there is a gap and obstruction by light and darkness so it is not a contact.
If you say there is no gap and the particles from the two sides are touching without gap to one another, then the question is put forth to you, meaning the lower tenets. Do the particles from both sides touch completely to one another or are there some portions of the particles not touching to the particle of the other side? If you say that some part of the particles from both sides touch one another and not all parts of the particle then that would contradict your assertion of partless particles. How that is so is because the lower tenets say the fundamental making unit or block of mass is the atom, a partless particle. So it is the atomic mechanistic theory saying there is a partless particle.
So it would be contradicting for you to say there is a partless particle whereas if you on one hand assert that particles from two sides touch fractionally but not all parts then that obviously implies that there are some parts within that tiniest particle. So that is ruled out. If you say that the particles from two sides touch one another completely, the particles from this side touching completely, coming in contact and touching completely the particle on the other side, then that would mean the two particles have become one, merged into one, because there is total contact. If the two have merged into one then there is the fallacy that there cannot be any accumulation of tiny particles becoming bigger and bigger and making a gross mass because the particles would just merge into one another. Also these are the two fallacies put forth to the lower tenets.
Likewise, there are so many other avenues of analyzing how feeling is not inherently existing by way of there being no inherent existence of the causes supposedly producing the resultant feeling. There are so many other ways of analyzing that factor but one of the main essential parts of that inquiry is included in the present one which is by pointing out possible fallacies and contradictions if there is a contact that such and such would happen. Through that way, by proving that the actual cause, the procedure of the production of the feeling is without inherent existence, therefore feeling is not inherently existing. Like that way again there can be a whole range of applying similar reasoning with the rest of the six senses: the ear sense with sound, the nose sense with smell, tongue sense with taste, body sense with touch, mental sense with mental phenomena or perceptions.
Then the way of analyzing to prove that the result of feeling is not inherently existing, by that way feeling is not inherently existing. In that part the analysis concerns that there is no inherently existing being who experiences that feeling. Because feeling by way of its nature, by way of its cause, is not inherently existing. So there cannot be a being or person who does inherently experience feeling. That way there is no inherently existing feeling.
When one realizes that feeling is not inherently existing, then that helps to eliminate in one’s mind the distorted view grasping at feeling as inherently existing. Now we look at the fourth part which is analyzing the experience when we experience the feeling, how that is not inherently existing and by that way how feeling is not inherently existing. Now with regards to feeling, let’s say when eye sense comes in contact there arises feeling, similarly when the physical sense comes in contact with the surface or tangible things, then there is a feeling produced. Now here it is first looked at how feeling and awareness of the mind experiencing this feeling are something which arises simultaneously.
The reason for that is if the mind which experiences the feeling precedes the feeling then there will be no entity which would experience that feeling. Similarly, if the feeling remains after the mind, then again there will be no entity which experiences the feeling. As well it is quite understandable that feeling cannot by itself experience it. So through this way of looking it can be established that the feeling and awareness of the mind experiencing the feeling arises at the same time. The very moment the feeling arises, the mind experiencing the feeling also arises.
Also in the present case then there is the mind which experiences the feeling and the feeling being experienced. When this is referred to the person who experiences the feeling then it can be said that it is the entity of the person in the aspect of mind experiencing the feeling. But then here we are looking at whether the person experiencing the feeling, is that entity inherently existing or not. As regards that, that part has already been established earlier during the selflessness of person that how a person or being is not inherently existing. So that previous establishing of selflessness of the person itself would cover here that the person experiencing the feeling is not inherently existing.
As regards the feeling itself that is already covered as not inherently existing, that already was established by those earlier analyses. So as a conclusion it is quite comfortable during this fourth part of analysis to say that both the person or the being experiencing the feeling and the feeling itself are not inherently existing. For us as practitioners it is of enormous benefit to establish and then meditate on the lack of inherent existence of feeling, lack of true existence of feeling. How that is so is because if we do not have the awareness that feeling is not truly or inherently existing, then as long as there is no awareness of that then there will be the craving for feeling. Craving by nature is attachment, so there will be attachment to feeling.
And if there is attachment, then the attachment would inevitably cause the person to engage into non-virtuous actions which in turn would bring the suffering so there will be continuous existence in the cycle of suffering, rebirth and so forth. And in that way there will be no liberation as long as there is no such awareness realizing the lack of inherent existence of feeling. The great teacher, Vasubandhu, says out of feeling there arises three types of bondage, three types of being bound in the cycle, three types of bondage. The meaning of that is out of pleasant feeling one will have craving, attachment, wanting more of such source of pleasant feeling. How that is so is if we eat delicious food then there is a pleasant feeling, but that would in turn bring craving, attachment, wanting again and again such food to eat.
Similarly, the same pleasant feeling and the resultant craving can happen with lots of other similar categories such as good clothing, nice place to stay and so forth. That’s how it happens. Now if there is a craving then that in turn would bring the person to engage into non-virtuous actions and that would bring suffering, that would bring the continued existence in the cycle of suffering. So that is how through pleasant feeling there is the bondage in suffering. The way how through pleasant feeling, as Vasubandhu says, craving to have the same again is something we can relate.
And this happens, say, if we eat nice food today, then there is a pleasant feeling and we would think, Oh, that was so good. Now I’ll have it again tomorrow. And if it does happen to have tomorrow, then again tomorrow one would think, Oh, it was so good. Then I’ll have it the next day, and so I will go on the day after tomorrow and so forth. So tonight, I will tell you a story.
This is about a monk who was one of, to translate, third person Rinpoche’s classmate. He happened to study only the first six years of geshe training and he left his monastic study midway while studying the Middle Way philosophy which is about sixth, seventh year. He left his studies to do lifetime intensive retreat similar to Milarepa, the great yogi and so forth. This monk, to do a lifetime retreat, went towards the mountain retreat solitude to firstly receive instruction from a monk already doing retreat up in the mountain, a very famous geshe called Teu Coben, lead chanter of the whole faculty. So it was a Geshe up there.
So this monk went to first receive instruction from that Geshe. So the monk received instructions from the Geshe retreater and later on the monk was able to start meditation in terms of retreat on his own thereafter. Now what happened is firstly as a retreater they received their supply from their faithful benefactors down from the town or the village. The particular benefactor of the Geshe, the teacher retreater, was very careful in supplying the best and the finest prepared tsampa, the main food, the roasted barley. So the benefactor would grind the tsampa very fine and make sure it is very well presented and offered.
So then they would go up the mountain and leave a week’s supply to last and then go back again and offer more and so forth. Then such a nice tsampa, food was being offered. Obviously the monk felt it was very good and so forth. But he was also aware that due to such fine food being supplied there is attachment increasing towards the food. So the monk told the benefactor not to bring such fine quality tsampa, make it less nice and bring a worse quality next time.
But the benefactor out of faith would continue bringing fine quality tsampa and the monk continued to have the attachment. So the monk was very concerned how to stop attachment towards the tsampa. So from the benefactor’s side there was nothing being done, so he devised his own method where one day before the lunch he had his bowl half filled with his own feces. So he had it filled half and then put half that amount of tsampa and then start to eat. But the teacher later on, whenever meeting other monk students in the monastery would tell all the students, Oh, this monk has eaten feces, this monk has eaten feces.
So the teacher kept telling others. But when he was telling about this the teacher was smiling which indicated that the teacher must have felt extremely happy about how that monk disciple went that far to stop the attachment towards the food. When that monk would do the practice on Guru Puja, if he starts in the evening, it would go until morning and he kept doing meditation and the puja wasn’t finished even the next morning. As attachment is produced by coming in contact with the object of attachment, therefore to not have attachment at all, initially to not come in contact would be the principal method.
When one comes in contact with unpleasant object, then there is an unpleasant feeling. For example, if we happen to bump into someone we dislike, then we would feel, I don’t want even to see them. That’s how it would happen. It happens in the same degree as when one sees someone one likes, that one feels awe or wishes to see continuously. So to a similar degree happens to someone one doesn’t like.
And at that point there is unpleasant feeling. When the unpleasant feeling comes from contact with unpleasant sight or being or object, there arises anger, hatred, and so forth. There is definitely anger arising. If one comes in contact with an object which is neither object of attachment nor of anger, or in other words, which is neither delightful nor disliking to one, then there arises a neutral feeling. Out of neutral feeling there arises closed-mindedness or ignorance.
So each of these feelings generate those three fundamental impure thoughts. Pleasant feeling generates attachment, unpleasant feeling generates anger not different from hatred, and neutral feeling generates ignorance. And that is how then it is very true. In the earlier citation from the teacher, Vasubandhu, we have that from the three feelings there comes about, or from the feelings comes about the three bondages. That’s how it is then explained.
So thank you. We stop here and as it is already a bit over time, tonight we shall have more questions and having more questions it might as well suit some people to get home earlier if they have a long way to go.