Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this fifty-minute teaching on Chapter 9 of Śāntideva’s Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra, Kyabje Rinpoche guides students through the philosophical foundations of emptiness—the absence of inherent existence. He establishes three major reasonings: fourfold refutation of production, dependent arising (the “king of reasoning”), and negation of absolute extremes. The core teaching focuses on how all phenomena depend entirely on being named and labeled by concept, using vivid examples—a flower blooming, Paul Keating, even the title “Rinpoche”—to show nothing exists from its own side independently. Rinpoche addresses a critical gap: practitioners completing teachings without knowing what to practice. He clarifies that meditation means familiarizing the mind with emptiness through profound contemplation with proper posture and analysis. For serious students engaged with Buddhist philosophical texts.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 1994-11-15 – 15A – 9th Chapter – KR.mp3
UUID: cc196b9c-c1e3-4a37-9f9b-b2e11da29fdd
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra
Date: 1994-11-15
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~3,251
Firstly, we shall meditate for few minutes on kind thought where we shall meditate on the precious mind of enlightenment. I myself alone am prepared to take the sole responsibility towards working to remove sufferings and the causes of sufferings with all sentient beings and to bring them happiness and the causes of happiness. In this way, firstly, we shall try to meditate to bring the determination of the mind in that way where we would include meditation on compassion, loving kindness, as well as universal responsibility. In order to remove the sufferings of all sentient beings and to bring happiness to them one needs to be able to know each and every inclination mental disposition and the mental liking of each of the sentient beings and then accordingly in accordance with their various needs be able to give guidance by way of giving unmistaken instructions, Dharma teachings, and that would be the appropriate, most meaningful way to help others. The guidance which one would give to others should not be something which would bring current and temporary benefit and nothing which lasts longer than that.
Instead the advice, the guidance which one would give to others which is of most meaningful kind only where through those guidances others can receive permanent happiness and their welfare would be accomplished once and for all. But to be able give such perfect guidance to others firstly one from one’s own side has to be free of all problems and shortcomings, that one from one side has to be free of sufferings and that would be the way and having been freed of all problems one needs to acquire all excellent qualities of mind from that way, it is possible to give perfect guidance to all beings. Therefore in order to bring happiness to all beings after having freedom of all sufferings one here needs to make the determination to at any rate attain the state of enlightenment, freed of all mental shortcomings and complete with all perfections of mind. In other words, to attain Buddhahood. When one has the determination then that is what is so called and greatly admired as the precious bodhicitta, the precious mind of enlightenment.
For oneself to be freed of all mental shortcomings and to acquire all perfections of mind one needs to understand and actualize the entire qualities of mind called the paths. To be able to do that then here it becomes relevant for us to adjust our motive thinking that I will here take all my interest in learning, reflecting and meditation on the present topic of the teaching, the wisdom, emptiness aspect of the Mahāyāna or the vehicle path towards enlightenment. Or to study anyway. Śāntideva here at this point in the ninth chapter says The truth of the ignorant ones is no different to illusion. So that’s the part where we are.
And in brief, what happened so far in the Tuesday evening part we covered was in order to establish selflessness of phenomena there are three major reasonings. The first one was reasoning on negating or disproving the birth of a product through four extremes. And then the second reasoning is the reasoning of dependent arising. And third one which is yet to come up and not spelled out will be later on mentioned, to be interpreted as the reasoning negating absolute existence and absolute non existence. At any rate, we had enough discussed about the first reasoning, the way how through that reasoning the production production of of a a product product through through four four extremes extremes are disproved.
Therefore let’s this evening go to the second reasoning which is the king of reasoning called reasoning of dependent arising. Śāntideva, the author of present teachings in accordance with the Prāsaṇgika Middle Way tenets perspective, the highest Buddhist tenets or perspectives explains that there is not any phenomena which exists inherently, independently, truly, by its own characteristics. And this very assertion is backed by the by looking that if a phenomenon does exist inherently or truly, then it should exist truly from the point of its cause, then there is a truly existing cause. But the very fact that there is no inherently existing cause producing any phenomena, that’s one way of establishing phenomena don’t exist inherently. And that is the first reasoning looking at the cause.
The other way is if a phenomenon does exist truly or inherently, then it should exist. So from its own entity, by the very nature of the phenomenon being inherently existing, but this is found to be not so when analyzed from the reasoning of dependent arising which is therefore the second reasoning comes about. All a phenomena if it exists truly or inherently then it should exist. So by the by way of an inherently existing product produced, but that is not found to be so when analyzed by the third type of reasoning specifically looking at the non inherent existence of a result in phenomena. So in this way it comes to the conclusion that there is not any phenomena which exist inherently either from the point of view of its cause or from the point of view of its entity or nature or from the point of view of its reserve.
Now therefore the inherent or therefore the apparent inherent existence about a phenomena is completely or absolutely are disproved or in that way and this way becomes the conclusive assertion in the highest middle way tenet that there is not any phenomena which exists inherently. Oh, well, our discussion on emptiness emptiness has has been been going going on on for for last last many many months. Months. After all, of all those months, many months of discussion, what is the core need of emptiness and discussion and looking about it. As a answer to that, well we all need to be freed from the cycle, to be freed from miserable mundane existence.
We need to attain liberation. To be able to do that we need to overcome all impure thoughts inclusive from its, from their root cause, the ignorance. To be able to do that we need to realize emptiness. To be able to realize emptiness we need to know about it. And having known about it then, at the final step of our actual involvement about emptiness should come down to the essence that we need to meditate on emptiness.
On the practice of emptiness, whether it is called as practice on emptiness or more appropriately as practice of the view, it entirely involves doing actual meditation upon the topic and that won’t be the meaning. The way how we go about with the actual actual meditation, to start with our body posture should be in the right posture, having the seven features of Buddha Vairochana, the Buddha of physical form, and then the actual meditation needs to be done employing the functioning of our mind or doing doing the actual meditation. Today It looks like there was it looks like there was a talk hanging around an expression meaning that there was a rumor around the places meaning around some Dharma institutions teaching institutions meaning Dharma centers where after many sessions teachings a person at the end comes up with the question what is actual thing to practice and if it so if it does happen like that then that indicates things are not perfect, not being understood well. It’s not going that well. All the practices when essence is put into summary what is actually going through when we have teaching sessions.
In other words, sessions actually involve the teacher explaining the essence of all the practices. The meaning of meditation in its actual sense means familiarization. This means whatever excellent attribute of mind one is going attempting to actualize one repeatedly, think about it, reflect on it, and by that way one attempts to familiarize with that excellent attribute. Well, this applies to just about any proper meditations. Here the topic of meditation is emptiness, the reality nature of things as emptiness and the actual way to meditate on emptiness is to employ mind doing profound contemplation on emptiness.
But that does not mean if that not mean one just remains in meditative posture thinking about nothing at all. If that happens where one is not thinking anything at all then that is not even a meditation at all. It is it does not even become a meditation. Emptiness in its actual sense means on the very negation that is be negated, the very negation of that which is to be negated. This means whatever is negated, that absence of what is negated after its negation, the absence of it is the emptiness.
This can be in another words the emptiness about that which is to be negated, the lack of lack of existence from the part of that which is to be negated, so that is emptiness. So firstly one needs to know what is that which is to be negated in popular translations so called as the object of negation or but literally more like that which is to be negated so one has to know firstly what that is which is to be negated, the object of negation. Well that is the existence, the apparent existence of the phenomena from its own existence, the apparent existence of a phenomena from its own characteristics sorry from its own characteristics. So firstly one needs to let that appear well in one’s mind by way of reflecting contemplating on it and when that very well appears in one’s mind the apparent existence of a phenomena from its own characteristic then one checks, analyzes whether such existence about the phenomena is there to be found or not, and when one through that finds that that is not to be found at all and by that way when one negates, disproves that existence from its own characteristic about phenomena, is the emptiness and that’s when one is coming to have an idea and understanding about what emptiness is.
Which is to be negated or what it actually is, well to look at it firstly any phenomena exist by depending on its name and concept that there is firstly the naming of the phenomena and the phenomena has name and the name is a sound, name is in the form or aspect of a sound and when a phenomena is being called by way of its name then that is the sound and there is a thought which follows that naming the sound and that thought is called concept. If we look at this point by way of more relatable example let’s look at an object, say a flower. Firstly the flower being called as a flower that is a sound so it is the name part about flower so when there is name given to the object as a flower then behind that name is the thought thinking that is flower. So that following thought behind the name is the concept which thinks and labels that that is that object is flower. So in that case we that’s how it exists.
Now the very existence of flower is something where it depends on its name and the concept labeling it. So there is not any independent existence about the flower not depending on name and the concept labeling it. That is how in actual fact it stands but let’s suppose if the flower does exist from its own site independently not depending at all on its name flower and the concept labeling it as a flower that if there is any existence about flower independently from its side then that is exactly what is called existence of the phenomena flower from its own characteristics, its own feature, by its own distinctness. So the word in scripture is the existence by its own characteristic so if there is that that is what is meant by that which is to be negated this is what is to be disproved about flower the existence. In the case of the phenomena or the object flower there definitely was an initial person who labels the name flower to the object flower.
This is very true that there definitely would have been a person who comes up with the thought that this object needs to be called as a flower and then actually gives the name, the label flower. That would have been the definite case because if we look at it in its process of label we can say firstly of course there would have been a sprout germinating from its seed and then there comes about the growth of the stem and then the beautiful petals, some yellow colored, some red colored, and then the actual blossoming of the flower on the top, and then there comes about someone who thinks that this very object with such beautiful features so forth should be labeled and given the name as a flower. And then the name flower is given. If flower does exist without being given the name flower then the very, from the very start already before its germination into full blossom flower the thing would have been cold flower. It would have to be cold flower but that’s not the case.
Instead someone afterwards comes up with the idea that this very component of a beautiful stem petals and so forth must be given a name flower and label the name flower is given and then someone else hears about it flower, someone else hears about it, it then it came to be called flower and then later on through the process of our time, everyone start to to call the object as flower. In the beginning when there was no name and the concept thinking that it should be given the name flower at that time, there wasn’t the flower, meaning as flower. And therefore, depending on name and being labeled by concept, the flower come into existence. This applies the same to any other phenomena. For example, in Australia, there is Paul Keating.
Now in the beginning, when the person Paul Keating when named was a child just infant, there was no such name given as Paul Keating and no one relates to the being as Paul Keating but later on the father or mother whoever gave the name called the child Paul Keating and then all other people come to follow that name and then all around the country people call Paul Keating Paul Keating and then it goes beyond this country across the world and people call the person Paul Keating. Exactly that is how all phenomena depends on being given name and label and it applies to all to the table, cup, book, light, room to all all of them and even in my speaking third person translating in Rinpoche’s case that Rinpoche being called Rinpoche and it was a name given that already beginning was not as a Khensur Rinpoche but it was a name or title later on given and then came to exist as a Khensur Rinpoche. So similarly in your cases you would have all have a name and being related within that form of existence and this wasn’t in the very beginning when you were just born infant, it only come into being so subsequent to being given the names whatever you are called.
The same applies to dogs. Also, the very fact they depend for their existence on name and concept labeling it indicates that they don’t have independent existence that they do depend on their name and concept labeling that. If they don’t exist with dependence on the name and concept labeling the name, then in the case of flower from the very beginning before the name flower was given to the object already the initial people prior people prior to the label given already should have gotten the idea whenever they saw the component of the stalk leaves and the petals, then they would have the idea thinking, oh, that is a flower. But in the fact, that would not have been the case at that time. The great fourteenth century teacher Tsongkhapa advises if one understands well the manner how phenomena exist being given name and labeled by concept then their lack of existence from their part would come into one’s understanding quite well.
That is the advice. Accordingly, firstly if we attempt in trying to get a good idea about the manner how phenomena are given name and then labeled by concept and name, this would give us this would make us come to the understanding that the phenomena does not exist from its side. So that itself means that we have a good idea about that which is to be disproved, that which is to be negated, because that which is to be negated in essence means the apparent independent existence from the part of the phenomena. So once one comes to that, then that is a good step forward towards understanding of the view. Śāntideva, the author of this presentation therefore says, without coming in contact with the object of label one will not come to understand the lack of existence from the part of the object.
What What this means is firstly within our mundane mind state we have ignorance which is of two aspects the grasping at person as existing truly. So grasping at person, grasping at the true existence of person and grasping at true existence of phenomena or in other words grasping mistakenly that phenomena exist truly. Out of this, so there are the two fold aspects of our ignorance. Out of ignorance one fabricates fabricates about about nature nature of of phenomena phenomena or or labeling or conceive thinking, labeling and thinking that phenomena exist from their part truly, inherently or in other words that phenomena exist from their own characteristic which in actual fact is not what phenomena exist or things things exist that way they don’t exist that way. So this very fabrication from the part of the ignorance towards phenomena as existing from their side is object of negation or what in the previous lines called the object of negation.
Ignorance, the grasping at true existence fabricates in that way about phenomena that it fabricates the phenomena, it fabricates phenomena existing from their own side. Understanding of that which is to be negated and therefore coming to understand the view, the reality, one firstly has to realize that there is this labeling, the fabrication about phenomena from the part of ignorance, the grasping at true existence and then with one portion of one’s meditative mind during analysis session that other portion one portion of one’s meditative mind has to do the checking the analysis whether as ignorance has fabricated and projected about phenomena is that actually to be found in the nature of phenomena or not. So in that way or the other portion of one’s mind needs to do the analysis checking whether phenomena actually do exist from their part or not or contrary or in accordance with ignorance. In this way, the other portion of mind which does the analysis has to check whether whether as ignorance that grasping a true existence fabricates projects, is that actually to be found or not? And one one needs to support one needs to put on suppositional basis, even suppose things do exist from