Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 50-minute session, Kyabje Rinpoche teaches how understanding emptiness—the absence of independent, intrinsic existence—directly weakens attachment, fear, and anger. He establishes Buddhist philosophy: all phenomena arise through dependent causes, and mind itself lacks independent nature. He then applies this view through two powerful analogies. In the dream analogy, grief for a dead child feels utterly real until waking reveals its groundlessness; our actual suffering similarly magnifies beyond what circumstance warrants. The magician analogy shows how desire and fear vanish once we recognize an illusion as created, mirroring how reactivity dissolves when we stop treating problems as inherently solid. Practitioners apply this understanding to transform afflictions into spiritual fuel. The session concludes with questions on timing solitary practice and sādhana visualization. Pitched at committed Buddhist practitioners.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 1994-07-14 – 5B – Retreat – KR.mp3
UUID: f79ff757-5031-4c56-a5b2-5d531b0f2594
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Chenrezig
Date: 1994-07-14
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~3,330
Who had said that all these phenomena that is universe and our cell, our body, and so forth, all are due to due to the to the result of the forces of our karmic consequence or karmic samsaric evolution not not as a result result or as they happen to be exist within their own right without the assistance of or or deluded, delusory minds imputing onto them. So so on regarding these subjects, there are different types of schools who propound a different theoretical or theoretical explanations or reasoning to how they come about. Certain school, let’s say, who who believe in the primal creator, who said all is created by the certain third person, powerful third person who has organized or who has put everything into plan. And there’s oh, some somebody say Īśvara has created everything that we experience you and you and I. However, from the Buddhist point of view, as as Candrakīrti, it’s they all happen due to the our mind due to our mind coming or some sort of evolution, not it is created created by somebody else, or there’s a hand in making them or creating them that other some other mysterious powerful person behind all these things.
Okay. So we said the external objects, right, external objects like the universe and everything in your body, everything we say is created or not created, happen as a result correlation to our delusory mind mind. Now question here arises then, if that is the case, then is the mind itself something of a something of a truly existent phenomena or it exists on its own? The answer is not. The mind itself exists or come to appear or come to exist through so many intertwined interdependent cause and effect result and so forth.
So they are also not the mind itself. It’s not of a truly existent or inherently being there. It’s also it’s also label of lots of part and parcel of the different aspects of course or mental faculty and so forth. So that it it lacks mind also lacks the substantiation of existing on its own right or or by its own characteristic. By roughly working out that in that way, now one come to realize that realize the mind itself lacks the the substantial true true existent character.
So all in all, all the mind, the object, and the phenomena, the subject, everything of everything are devoid of a true existence, devoid of inherent existence, devoid of the fact they exist on their own. But it’s it’s a result of the combinations of so many dependent arising causes by knowing that by knowing or by in get in touch with that lack of the true existence or to substantiality is what the great sons of the Victorious One cultivate after all practices. Here, Candrakīrti, Rinpoche quotes, says, emphasize on this point, this issue very emphatically. But by saying that all phenomena, mind, objects, everything is devoid of the true existence or inherent existence. However, it does not mean to say that nothing exists.
It does not mean to say that there is nothing. It does not mean to being presenting a nihilistic view or nothing there. What here we have to understand is understand the actual mode of how things exist, actual mode of how the molecules of the objects things, how the atoms, how the interdependent nature of things, you see, they exist independent with each other. See, it it exists within the within the lack of true existence. When we say within the true lack of true existence means it exist exists in in in a correlation to or in the in the in interdependent interdependent state of of being relating or in or relativity in the sense of good, good, bad, clear, nice, wonderful, not wonderful.
Also, so many many facets of causes and conditions in a very in a very fluid fluid state or manner in which exist exist itself. It’s what do you call the the emptiness nature. In that within the emptiness emptiness nature itself, the whole phenomena exist. Alright. So understanding understanding, you see, the entire phenomena that is in a very which appear which appear in a different shape, different sizes, different manner, different ways, good bad, good bad evil, goodness, whatever.
Also variegated of all many facets of phenomena, the experience, feelings, whatever that we come to experience, they they appear in the way in the way in the way of a very in the way of a illusions, like a illusion that exists like an illusions. The way they where in the way a picture or image appears in the in the mirror when you look at. So by knowing by knowing by knowing the the actual mode of existence of our entire phenomena or entire thing is in the very illusory manner, in a in almost like a hallucinatory way. Realizes that, one when sees that, then one we becomes in touch with that sort of understanding with our own inner quality or inner mind, then one becomes incredibly or one when one becomes, how should I say, con gets combined with understanding of that nature with our mind, then it instantly eradicates. It instantly excludes all aspect of the negative mind of anger, delusions, attachment, desire, and so forth, and so forth.
And by applying or making an effort to meet such understanding of the entire phenomena through our inner natural mind combined together is is what the the the great great sons of the victorious one practices. So in the previously, we discussed the the ultimate nature of the things, which is a true devoid of the inherent or inherent or natural existence, so to speak. And and when we say they appear in the all like an illusory nature, that means they exist in the conventional sense. Okay? Conventional sense.
When you develop that sort of mind, that sort of that sort of a clear wisdom of a mind, then one one does not become reactionary to reactionary in angry or happy or whatever whatever the object of pleasant, unpleasant that one may encounter. Okay? One may encounter. So the cultivating that sort of dynamics of a of a mind is what the understanding is what the great sons of Buddhists or, sorry, one practice. Applied the view of emptiness prior in conjunction with mainly with the kind of pleasant sort of objects or pleasant sort of experience.
So now we’ll be discussing the aspects of illusory natural phenomena in conjunction with the suffering, unpleasant feeling with the with the with the application, the the view. Okay? View to emptiness. So if one happens to suffer, experience suffer suffering, sorry, experience suffering or unpleasant experiences, then in the truth analysis, it is it is no difference in the manner like that of we experience a great disparity or great lament or great sense of grieving that we have in the dream. Let’s say that your son had a premature death or your son or your daughters or your offspring died.
And during the time of the sleep or during the time of the dreaming, you experience through a great deal of suffering. You go through a great deal of of grieving for your offspring. However, when you’re waking from the sleep, obviously, you’re not going to be grieving because your sons or your offspring have actually not died yet. Therefore, the experience of unpleasant that we experience during our waking normal times must be seen like that of a grieving for a dead son in a dream. Whatever thing is there, the impure impure aspect of the phenomenon, right, is there.
So as a result of we discussed before. So now, here, during the time of sleep, when we experience the grieving of a of a dead son or dead dead offspring, that state of mind is obviously we can say it is mistaken one. Obviously, we can say that is a hallucinate hallucinatory sort of a mind. Similar way. In a similar way, when we actually experience the suffering, that is the the reason we feel suffering.
If we logically analyze that aspect of how the relation between feeling suffering to our mind, then that particular mind through which our aspect of mind through which we experience suffering in our life life is no different in a sense of being hallucinatory or dreaming or wrong perception that we have in a dream. So because the when we have a suffering, when we experience suffering or unpleasant unpleasantness, we tend to think think it happened all of a sudden. It happened solidly without having to rely on anything. We have instant ordinary reaction of feeling hurt or feeling pain. But in actual fact, if you look at, look at the look at how it happened, then you come to realize that in actual fact, it does not deserve to feel the way we feel.
There is no actual reason of a true existent manner that in a true sense justifies how we way react feeling miserable or unpleasant about things. In actual fact, we are mistaken. You see, mistaken. Therefore, when we Therefore, we have to cultivate that wisdom which discerns between the the the the differences. So here, Rinpoche gives analogy.
Say a magician’s a magician’s creating illusions of an incredibly beautiful woman or incredibly beautiful stallion. Right? You tend to you tend to react in a different ways. You you you you you crave for that person. Right?
You you lust lust for for that. That. Alright? However, when you do find out it’s actually not existing there, it’s actually not there when you really really directly realize that that person, that object is a mere creation of a magician. It’s not there.
It’s actually not there. Then instantly, your lust or your desire for obtaining wanting that is it’s disappears by itself by real the fact that through the power of realizing that it’s as a creation by the magician. So so that by using that analogy, see, when we we suffer through our attachment or desire, okay, we must trying to trying to work it out that the way we react in the feeling attached, feeling yearning or desiring of any beautiful objects, whatever, that time, you must analyze the situation the way the analogy example of magician thing we gave. Right? If you could do that, then it can become a great deal of opponent or great deal of strong antidote to to balance or to to keep the attachment or desire under control or to reduce impetus of your desire or or whatever the degrees that one can apply that’s a right view when one is in confronted with the the problems of attachment and the delusions sorry.
Desire, So, obviously, we all experience for instance, we all experience sense of fear. Alright? Sense of fear. Alright? There’s always somebody we fear of or something that we we are scared of.
Right? Say, again, using same analogy, a magician creates creates a person, in this case, that you’re scared of or you’re in fear of. Before you realize it was a mere creation of a magician, you’ll go through incredible incredible amount amount of of fear and being scared to death, so to speak, with that figure. However, once you’ve been told that it’s not the actual person or object that you’re scared of, it’s just a mere creation of a magician, that instantly what happens to you is you stop reacting in fear. See fear in a similar way in our life.
A lot of things that we fear of, we’re scared of, we don’t like of. As a result, we get we get angry, we get, you know, vindictive, and so forth. So when when when you overcome with that type of unpleasant thoughts and feeling of fear, if you work the similar if you use the similar instruction or similar formula, then it will you’ll find a great deal of help help to overcome your fear or your feeling of scared or an feeling unpleasant of having to face that kind of obstacle. See, in an ordinary the ordinary our ordinary misguided, psychic reaction, pattern of response when we encounter some unpleasant object is to suddenly feel, you know, fear. Suddenly, we start start getting worried.
We start feeling the pain, fear, and so forth. And then what happens is is our automatic reaction, so to speak, that we start adding onto it to that fear. We start fantasizing. We start we start adding more fictitious. We starting add more weight on that object, on that circumstance by our fear without knowing what is the true case, and we make it that problem far bigger than what it is.
We give a lot more credit for the that problems, cause of the problems, and we also feel far more kind of self pitying, and we’re far more justified. Why? We have we have to feel more we have to feel more suffering suffering. So we add, we impute, we we we create more than what it is. Whereas those people, those practitioners like Bodhisattvas, for them, when they encounter that type of unpleasant unpleasant situation, instead of making more big deal about it through their misunderstanding, what they do is they analyze the situations and they find the true existence or they find the lack of no justifications to feel that miserable about it, and they try to make into a kind of assisting factors in their their their spiritual or making a friend or or a friend in their spiritual practice or their spiritual training.
So if one sees it correctly, then one has got the inner potential to change every change that adverse situation or circumstance rather than a hindrance more will help and assistance to you to feeling yourself better. So so Rinpoche would like to end the today’s proceeding here and leave a bit more free time to discuss few things here, there. So I’m having a bit of a dull dull headache too. So any questions or whatever? About the rat?
About the About the what? Alright, he said it can be assistance of you, can have more patience. Some companionship as well. Actually had one other one one thing. Just have a bit of compassion for them.
They must have feeling a bit cold and want a bit of warmth as well. I’m sure. Alright. I just wanted to ask Rinpoche, when does one know when the time is right? When one’s on on one’s own in one’s mind, in one’s spiritual path, and in the life that one leads, to leave one’s home for a short time or or for a long time.
For good. That speaking quite serious about the situations, how it how it stands, is that we discuss, you know, the three levels of practice practice or three level of practice. Maybe when you actually generate the actual when you have a clear understanding or clear, clear direct experience, so to speak, or which is not imitation, so to speak. When you have a fairly genuine sense of taking refuge in the Three Jewels, and also, you are you are in a state where you have a fluid fluid experience of really wanting to give up the whole worldly things and almost direct understanding to to actually feel the the meaninglessness, the shortcomings of the saṃsāra reincarnation that that you have. Alright?
And also to think carefully that you might need to have a pretty good sound basis of practice of precept. Three precepts mainly morality and meditational one. Right? When you have almost direct direct experience which comes almost comes almost effortlessly in your mind through your strong practice or meditations. Okay?
And also perhaps you might also need a or might you at least at least a taste of a view or or glimpse of a of a right of a view that understand the emptiness. Perhaps you might need that as well, or you’re pretty close to getting there. Yes. It’s let me say sorry to disappoint you. Can I ask a question about the sādhana?
In the after Rinpoche and we see citing the mantra reciting the mantras, and we make offerings. And then we make offerings to a wisdom being that is in front of us. So when the wisdom beings merge with us, they also sort of stay out there as well. Oh, okay. In a how to say it?
In a bit lower lower form of the tantric practice, it is quite a common thing to sort of while you’ve done that, to keep maintaining it there and to keep keep the the flow of the blessing through to your through the the syllables you generated on your heart to that of the the front generation of the deities. So it’s important to keep that going, the flow of energy or flow of blessing stream going after you Okay. Okay. Yes. That’s fine.
See, when you do the wisdom deities, you see, there’s more than one wisdom deities. So you absorb one. You see, there can still plenty sort of around there. Many left. You know?
At the point where we first invoke the wisdom deities around us and before one of them merges with us, it instructs us to offer mental prostrations and offerings. If Rinpoche might explain what we should visualize when we make offerings and mental prostrations to those wisdom deities. This Okay. Roughly speaking, the direct offerings actual offering is you see there, right, in that manner. Right?
Okay? The imagined offering is that you need first No. So first of all, even you the the the humanly produced offerings like that you see in the altar there, before you offer them, you gotta purify them through saying mantras. Right? You can’t offer them without being them being blessed by saying three mantras.
Right? Three syllables. Anyway, so when it comes to mentally mental offerings mental offerings, you I mean, speaking how to say in a correct technicality sense, you do need a pretty good, strong, genuine sort of generation of samadhi or concentration. However, through that concentrations, you you manifest. You you manifest.
You you produced or you elaborate, in great details of all the possible offering, all the possible beautiful beautiful things, the food, and every possible imaginable good thing, you offer that. And the way you offer that is, first of all, how you make that offering to the wisdom deity which already you now invited or involved in front of you is is through your through your heart, you emanate offering offering lady or offering goddesses or maybe offering waiter or something that, you know, they come actually bringing the the water offering first of all. Right? The argan bit. Right?
You you said that, and then you make that offering to the to the all the fields of the deities in front of you, and they they imagine they all have a really good time and they really enjoy, they’re really satisfied, then you absorb back the the the offering person back to yourself. Pardon. Now you write that down. They’re asking that. And.
Okay. Is The second one is also water. Flower. Push past the flower. Incense.
Or perfume, I suppose. Aloka is the light light offering, the lamp. A lamp or light? Light light light in general, I think. Or or in this particular case, a lamp.
Butter lamps. Butter lamps. Yeah. Barrel lamps. Candle.
I suppose so. Candles. Why not? Gandhe. Gandhe is perfume.
Food. Could you say that again? Which one? Say it. What food?
Food. Naivedya. How do you spell it? N e? N I I u u e?
N I d e? Yeah. Yeah. Alright. I don’t know.
Actually, I’m not expert at translator.