Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 49-minute teaching on Śāntideva’s Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra, Kyabje Rinpoche moves from the foundations of bodhicitta—the aspiration to enlightenment motivated by compassion for all beings—toward the wisdom realizing emptiness. He traces how happiness and suffering arise from wholesome and unwholesome states of mind, then develops bodhicitta step by step: cherishing others more than oneself, cultivating compassion and loving-kindness, and arriving at universal responsibility. Realizing only enlightenment provides the actual capability to help all beings, he turns to emptiness as the supreme method. He focuses on why the selflessness of person is easier to realize than the selflessness of phenomena, illustrating this through the mirror reflection analogy and introducing the “lack of one and many”—a foundational reasoning for contemplating emptiness.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 1994-12-06 – 19A – 9th Chapter – KR.mp3
UUID: ef95b6be-077c-4670-a14a-6a715e05f479
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra
Date: 1994-12-06
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~3,104
Those days. We shall start with few minutes meditation on kind thought where we shall meditate on precious mind of enlightenment. Amongst many beings in the universes, we born we in our case, born as human. We are quite distinct that compared with compared with many other species of beings, we have certain features which presently makes us beings who have special capabilities. The capabilities we have are such as having good wisdom or good mental clarity through which whatever we attempt to learn and realize we are quite very good at going towards that direction.
Then in our own state of the mind’s wishes, we have this spontaneous wish with our mind where we do not want to be with sufferings and the unwanted consequences of unwholesome actions we do, we as well have this spontaneous wish where we do want to be with happiness and the wholesome consequences or the results of the meaningful actions we do. Although we may wish things we wish to have to be with, but we are not able to. Yet, from another perspective, because as human we do have the good wisdom, we are able to know that something which we wish to have for ourselves, it has to come from a cause because it is a result. And the causes have to be excellent causes and one needs to work towards accomplishing those causes through which there is certain with the things which one wish to have, one can actually have. From that perspective, yes, as humans, we have that distinct capability of mind to realize from where things we wish to have come from and to work towards having those.
But also, on the other hand, merely wishing the things we do not want to experience not to happen is not good enough. That is not effective to not let things we don’t wish to have not happen. Because unwanted experiences, the things which we do not wish to happen to us, themselves are results of certain doings. So they are results and they are results of certain doings. In that way, they are produced by causes.
So if we are able to stop the very origin, the causes of those unwanted experiences and things we don’t want to happen to ourselves, then we would be able to stop the actual unwanted experiences themselves. Therefore, we have the good wisdom by which we are able to know that wanted wishes can be accomplished by way of actually engaging in accomplishing the causes of those wanted wishes. Similarly, we have that good wisdom by which we can understand the ununwanted wishes or the unwanted experiences. They can be stopped if we stop the causes by which those are produced. So we have that as fact in our capability as human the insight to see that the causes do produce those and in that way if we do realize or able to understand that then it becomes necessary that we as well need to engage in accomplishing the causes which produce the happiness, the wanted wishes and not to engage in the avenues which are the causes of bringing the unwanted wishes so that part becomes necessary.
Put in summary we then have the realization. If we have that, then it is necessary that we do something about it. So then how are we to go about doing the necessary accomplishment of the causes producing wishes, wanted wishes, and to stop the causes of unwanted wishes. Well, the actual way how that is done can be through either of the two supposedly possible way that is one from our physical effort and the other from our mental effort. Between the two, mainly it is with our mind that we need to do the two fold practices.
So it will come down to actually employing our mind in practicing those two directions. Mind itself can be of two states, the wholesome state of mind and unwholesome state of mind. If one by being motivated by unwholesome state of mind then that would lead one to engage in unwholesome actions physically and verbally by way of speech. And out of that comes the detrimental consequences the sufferings one experiences later on. But the same way if by motivated by the wholesome state of mind when one engages into the wholesome actions through body physically and verbally through speech then one reaps the consequence which are good, the consequences being happiness.
So in that way of tracking down the sources of our happiness and suffering we can then quite comfortably say that it all comes down at the roots, the two states of mind. The method by which one is able to develop the wholesome state of mind and the method by which one is able to stop the unwholesome state of mind is what in the original Sanskrit language is called Dharma and in Tibetan it is called chö, the transformative complete unmistaken instructions and guidelines. Between the two types of the state of mind, wholesome and unwholesome, if let’s if we are to look at the wholesome state of mind, we can classify it being of certain degrees roughly as small medium and are highly developed the great wholesome state of mind. In this way, there can be varying levels of the wholesome mind itself. And amongst the various levels of wholesome mind, the best, the supreme type of wholesome mind is the mind or the state of the mind called the precious mind of enlightenment, aspiring enlightenment to benefit others.
Well then, how is that state of the precious state of mind called the precious mind of enlightenment developed and what it is? Well, starts that state of mind starts with training where one thinks others more important than oneself. In that way, one cherishes others more than oneself. And out of such altruism, there comes out the strong wish or thinking, not only oneself, but all suffering beings to be free of suffering and the causes of suffering. And this then is followed by the training of mind thinking not only myself but all suffering beings be with happiness and the causes of happiness.
Such two fold preceding training of mind towards altruism is and I call the compassion and loving kindness. When one has developed loving a compassion and loving kindness, ness, one in the course of training just does not limit one’s training to mere compassion and loving kindness. Instead, develops one’s altruism further to higher level thinking, I alone am prepared to take upon myself alone the responsibility to actually remove the sufferings of all beings and to bring happiness to them. When a practitioner, by that way of thinking, has developed such thinking, then that thought is called exalted thinking or superior thinking or interpretively the universal responsibility. And the very the very fact it is called superior thinking has the connotation that the thought has become become superior as compared to mere compassion and mere loving kindness.
Well, so far in the course one’s training, one has developed up to the level thinking. I alone am prepared to take the responsibility to remove all other suffering and to bring them happiness. But if one scrutinize oneself whether one whether or not one has the resourcefulness and the capability to actually accomplish that, one would find that presently as ordinary being or common being one does not really have that capability. Instead, if one thinks well, one would realize it is possible only if one has overcome all one’s mental shortcomings, got rid of all impure thoughts, and have perfected in actualizing all excellent qualities of mind, then that is possible. That state where the two are accomplished is called enlightenment, Buddhahood.
So out of such realization, one then needs to develop the aspiration thinking and therefore must actualize or attain that state of enlightenment. Also, one here needs to have the special motive thinking in order therefore to remove all unwholesome state of mind and to actualize all wholesome state of mind. I will take interest here in learning about the emptiness topic within the great vehicle or Mahāyāna path and whatever I will learn I’m determined following that to reflect or contemplate on the meanings of what I have learned through that way ascertain decisively whether there are the directions to be followed or not. Once having ascertained, I will then, up to best of my ability, will meditatively train or familiarize on towards that direction. So please, at this stage, try to develop that type of altruistic motive in engaging to in the discourses here.
The best method by which one can overcome all unwholesome state of mind and one can accomplish all wholesome state of mind are the method of training on bodhicitta, the precious mind of enlightenment, as well as the method of training on the wisdom realizing emptiness. So those two methods. Śāntideva says, without coming in contact with the object of analysis, one would not be able to realize its objectlessness. So in this way, here in this particular part of the teaching, the reference is with regards to that which is to be proven not there, so called object of refutation. Also in the few recent Tuesday evenings, the discourse touched upon the meditation on lack of true identity from the part of person, is called selflessness of person.
So this evening, we shall continue on that topic. Very hot. The sublime teachings on emptiness explains that for ordinary practitioner between the two types of emptiness realization, the realization of emptiness upon person and that of phenomena, it is easier firstly to realize the emptiness upon a person. Now this needs clarification because of course as regards emptiness and that which is to be proven as not there the object of negation there is no difference at all between that which is to be negated upon the person and that which is to be negated upon phenomena. But with regards to way how ordinary beings projects onto these two reference and by that way the way how ordinary beings come to realize the mistaken ways of those projections there is a difference that it is easier to realize that in terms of person as compared in terms of phenomena.
And this point is very clearly made by great teachers such as. Buddha as well explains in the same line. Well, that is how that point is so is because earlier we have looked at what is meant by phenomenon or phenomena in this context and what is meant by person, then we already are quite clear that phenomena refers to the aggregates, the personality parts. And by person, it refers to the I, which is merely labeled upon the aggregates.
So these two are the reference upon which we are to establish the emptiness of their inherent existence. So it is explained compared to the emptiness upon the aggregate it is much easier for ordinary practitioner to first realize the emptiness of the I, which is the person and which is just labeled upon the aggregates. The reason why there is difference of one being easier to realize as being emptiness nature and the other difficult is because of this fact or the coming explanation. And the fact is that aggregates are the phenomena. Now aggregates to an ordinary person appears as if they exist from their own characteristics.
Yet in actual fact, the aggregates or the personality parts, in actual fact do not exist from their own characteristics. In that way, they what appear is not when they exist. Similarly, in in in the case of I, which is the person, that applies the same. What the I appears to ordinary person is not actually the way it really exists because I appears to ordinary person as if it exists from its own characteristic, meaning it exists solidly from its side. But that is not what and how it exists.
So if that’s the case, then in the case of ordinary person, it is easier to realize that the I is not existing as it appears compared to compared to to the coming to realize that the aggregates or the personality parts do not exist as they appear. So that precisely would have to be the reason behind. For example, say the reflection of face in the mirror, in that case, it is so much easier to straight away realize that although the face appears in the mirror, it is not a face. So it is emptiness of face. It is so easy to realize that fact that we can say even the simple folks of the mundane society who are not trained in the understanding of reality and so forth.
They as well would be able to understand or realize that that is not the face, although it appears so. The reflected in the mirror, but even logically with simple reasoning one would understand the appearance of the face in the mirror depends on many factors and causes such as it is due to the contact gathering of the face and the mirror and the actual act of facing towards the mirror that the reflection appears there. In that way, although mirror the face in the mirror seem to appear solidly there on its own, it does not do so because its very existence and appearance does depend on all those factors. So in that way, that would be support, a way of thinking of its nonexistence contrary to its appearance. A total liar, isn’t it?
Oh, now, like that example in the case of I which is based on the aggregates and in that way the person and its state of existence is something which appears with dependence on the aggregates that the very appearance of I, ego, the identity, if it is to arise in its valid way or meaning nominally valid. So if it is to appear in its valid way nominally, then it does have to appear with dependence on aggregates and so forth. So if one has that understanding that the manner the person or the I or the identity appears is the way of appearing with dependence on aggregates, then that necessarily brings about the understanding that the I cannot and does not appear without depending on aggregate. So in that way, it is easier to realize that the I does not exist on its own. Instead, the way it exists and for it to appear it is in the manner of depending on the aggregate.
Related with the perspective of what it appears is not how it exists. We can say the manner the I appears as if independent of aggregate is not how it exist is easier to realize compared to that of aggregates. So the very fact that there is the difference in the way to realize easier and more difficult the manner how the person and aggregates appears and the manner how they don’t exist compared to their appearance is the reason behind for the earlier statement by those teachers saying that it is easier to realize the emptiness upon the person as compared to the one upon the aggregate aggregates the phenomena. So it realize the perspective of what it appears. It’s not how and what it exists as.
And through that way, to come to the realization of the emptiness of the no self or lack of identity from the parts of the reference of analysis. For example, when put into the context meaning the aggregates are the basis upon which the I or the person is labeled at, now the manner in the aggregates in mistaken consciousness perspective appears is as if it appears from its side. The word used is as if it appears from its own characteristic. But in actual fact, that is not how it exists. And to realize that that is so, in actual fact, is the realization of the selflessness of phenomena or understanding that phenomena do not exist with concrete self or identity.
Similarly the manner the I which is the label attributed upon the aggregate the way it exists is as if it exists from its own side as if it exists by its own characteristics but in actual fact that is not the way how it exists. If one realizes that, then that in meaning is the realization of the selflessness of a person. So let’s looking in the case of the aggregates or the personality parts. In their case, the way they appear is not how they really exist. And to come to understand that there are many effective reasonings presented in the instructions throughout.
But it is is recommended that amongst various reasonings to establish, say, the aggregates or personality parts do not exist as they appear. It is recommended that that the reasoning of lack of one and many is considered one of the best reasoning for beginners in the sense a person on the initial stage of the path. So it’s best one of the best for the beginners to come to understand that point. So in this way, it might be interesting to look into that reasoning. When one is applying the reasoning of the devoid of one and many, one one and many is literal devoid of one and separate entity, it is explained that reasoning is applied by fourfold understanding called applying the four important points of which the first important point is the important point of ascertaining that which is to be negated.
The second important point is to ascertain the entailment, the word in logical text used is the entailment or pervasion that equally covers, so it will become clearer. And third important is to ascertain the lack of true existence as one entity. And the last or the fourth important point is to ascertain the lack of true existence as separate or many entities. And it is explained applying, you know, it is explained to apply these four important points complete in once that reasoning is extremely helpful and in that way perfect recommendation recommended instruction. So amongst the four important points, the first is the important point of ascertaining that which is to be negated or in other words that which is to be proven as not existing there.
Now with regards to that, firstly, why it needs to be ascertained, why it needs to be firmly be convinced in one’s understanding is because, obviously, in the course of one’s learning and practice, one would