Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 41-minute session from a Chenrezig retreat, Kyabje Rinpoche moves from the six perfections—personal purification—toward the four concrete means through which a teacher actually delivers benefit to others: making people physically happy through generosity, mentally happy through sincere praise, offering teachings rooted in the teacher’s own direct experience, and setting a personal example. He emphasizes assessing each student’s capacity and temperament before introducing practices. The extended question-and-answer covers the practical mechanics of mantra work—how visualization, recitation, and mental cultivation purify accumulated negativities and sow karmic seeds—grounded in philosophical understanding of emptiness and inherent existence. A final reflection on dharma cycles underscores the preciousness of having access to teaching now. Suitable for practitioners with some prior retreat experience.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 1994-07-15 – 8A – Retreat – KR.mp3
UUID: 3d754238-8f44-4aad-9e01-e10659f7fceb
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Chenrezig
Date: 1994-07-15
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~3,382
Alright. See, when we discussed when we were discussing on the six perfection practice, though even though we undertook that project because of our wish to help other people, still up until that point, it is in in in a in a way getting your house in order, so to speak. Alright? After then, now, after getting yourself so clarified and so pure and experienced everything, now you go on to the task of helping actually delivering the goods, actually delivering the the benefit which directly impacts other people other people. Right?
So first of all, you do the practice of generosity. You you give, you know, you give money or whatever. You practice a lot of give a lot of things to other people. You’re being so generous, and your reputation of being so generous, you will starting start you will be starting to attract a lot of people to come to you. You see, people a lot of come to you, come to you.
And when the lot lot of people come to you, then you sing what then you sing good qualities about them, say how wonderful you are, how beautiful, whatever you this is my addition, bit of a conning, so to speak. That then what we do have done so far is you make them physically happy by generous. You make make mentally by you make them mentally happy by flattering, so to speak, know, saying how nice you are. And all those people, when they are mentally and physically ready, then your experiential practice which you’ve done about six perfections. Now you then you tell them, look, you gotta do this, you gotta do this.
If you do this, this will consequent and so forth. You give your experiential teachings. Right? Alright. Then after you told them, you gotta set an example for them.
If you don’t set an example for them, if you don’t practice what you preach, then they say, it’s a lot of, you know, lot of or a lot of rubbish or some people say like that, and they won’t practice. Therefore, you gotta practice yourself in order to in order to set an example, example, in in order order to to set set an role model, so to speak, for the other people follow you follow you. So therefore, it is the four aspect through which you actually deliver the kind of benefit, not just talking about it. So and then what you do is after having reached that sort of stage, then you assess the people or the disciple or the people you bring help. Assess their temperament, assess their suitability, assess their sort of moods and so forth, the dispositions.
So according to their own level of inter intellectuality, you introduce, you know, introduce them introduce the the lower part and middle part and bigger Mahāyāna part through different means. You introduce in the to the teachings and whereby you cause. You you become a catalyst, so to speak, for them to realize their own situation whereby they gain the respective result they which they choose to follow. We will stop today’s proceeding at this auspicious juncture. Should you happen to have a few queries that you clarified, you’ve got fifteen minutes.
Can I just ask one more more question? If I heard you correctly, you said that by engaging in the perfection of wisdom, you realize that you’re engaging in the five previous perfections also is noninherently existent. Correct? Did you say that? I’ll ask.
The question is Yeah. What’s the question? If if that is the case, is that what is meant by the line in the Heart Sūtra, there is no attainment and no non attainment? Mhmm. Yeah.
Similar. You heard correctly. I’m glad. I’m relieved. So I I didn’t pollute.
Oh, it’s it’s everything. You know? It’s like five aggregates, you know, eyes, 18 elements from the from the bottom up to the complete earth of omniscience and so forth. Everything is completely devoid. They lack the true inherent existence.
Rinpoche, we’ve been using a number of different mantras this week, and one of them in particular, the Chenrezig Mantra, we’ve been spending a great deal of time on. I wonder if you might tell us why we’re doing all this, what particular mantra’s all about, their significance, and why their importance. Uh-huh. Having to say the mantra. Effectiveness.
Yeah. The use of the mantra. Now Rinpoche believes that he had described a few things early in the preliminary initiations. Anyway, to speak roughly about the doing these things. Okay?
The reasons, first of all, that that we we imagine our body as a body of that of a deity is designed to get rid of all the negative things that has accumulated through our body, with our body, should I say. And by saying the actual mantra, reciting the mantra, that clarifies or that gets rid of or upset the the the verbal negativity that you have created. And in your heart, by having generating a faith or trust or, you know, or meditating on the emptiness or compassion, bodhicitta, and so forth liquidates the the negativities of that is created by your mind. The reason the reasons, symbolic reason, not only symbolic reason, actual reason for at this stage of our confusedness, we we visualize our body to be the body of the Buddha is in actual fact directly sowing a seed, so that’s or making a karmic connection or propensity that eventually it will cause us to actually attain the body of the Buddha. Alright?
And the reason we say mantras, say in this case, it is actually sowing a seed, sowing a connection, karmic connections. Oh, Oh, I shouldn’t I wish I delete that word karmic. Sowing actual seed, seed or making actual kind of actual connections that one day, that connection will precipitate into us actually gaining the Buddha speech, right, in a similar fashion, you know, the the in your mind, meditating on the compassion and so forth will how’s it making setting a connection or setting a a which will in turn kind of one that will actually become the heart or the knowledge or the mind of the Buddha itself. Whatever we discussed so far, and particularly in in in answer in relation to your your answer, is that, okay, whatever we do, all this is ways of ways of getting rid of old obscurities, defilement that we collected, the rubbish that we collected through our body, mind, speech. And on the other side of it, or the that because a result of that, we create a accumulate a good merit through which it it gives rise to our inner propensity, our inner quality of the mind to come into full blossoming, and that’s eventually realizing the Buddhahood or the attainment of the state of the complete omniscience.
So whatever it is in in in a higher sort of stages is ways which designed to work through the work through the negativity and gaining the or distilling the the pure sort of essence, which is through the path of the Vajrayāna, Mahāyāna, whatever at the end. That is the target. That is how it is. If you do get a good time sorry. If you get a time or if you find yourself in a position later on that you’ve got more time to practice or you become really good at or you really hone your skill really good, then all the description of the how to say, description of the the six perfections and four means through which you actually deliver the goods and so forth can be also practiced in conjunction with the higher method or the higher higher spiritual training of, you know, the correlating yourself with the deity and so forth.
Yes. I have question on contemplating emptiness as far as inherent existence and imputed existence. For example, say the Buddha mind, is it imputedly exist within the sphere of emptiness, or is it inherent existence? Or is it part of emptiness? So now, you see, when we’re discussing about the the emptiness bit, see, there’s a different ways, the different sort of degrees or level of the subtlety of the emptiness itself according to the different, according to the, deferring, Buddhist schools.
Right? So, anyway, in the final analysis, the one which we use the yardstick, so to speak, is from the Madhyamaka, Prāsaṇgika Madhyamaka. Right? Okay? So from that point of view, nothing is inherently existent.
Nothing, including omniscient mind or Buddha mind. They all are they all lack the inherent existing character. They they don’t exist on their own. Not in the atom. You can find use an example that says in it exists on its own.
So from the highest four schools point of view, nothing exists inherently. Okay. One reason that roughly to determine the to determine the the characters characteristic of a Buddha mind lacking inherent existence is is like this. Okay? You can think from that point of view.
While we accept the that we have got the potential exist within our own mind, amidst all all the negativities, exists the potential, right, to gain that. If we were to say that Buddha mind or the enlightenment is inherently existent, is truly existing without the support of anybody else, then there is no need for all of us to work so hard trying to sift through the the rubbish, so to speak. Right? So from that point of the generation or the complete blessing of our own nature into a full working order in itself dependent as a result of us working through the accumulating, directly speaking, accumulating the good merits and getting rid of negativity, working through the negativity, all the raw negativities we work through, and we distill that pure nature. So speaking from that point of view, it is it is self in itself, the that enlightenment happened as result of our hard work.
So therefore, that’s one reason to determine it. That’s why saying it is not inherently or truly existent, independent arising. It is not independently arisen state. See, give you an example here. If you saw a seed of rice, right, in the in in the earth or on the ground, if the seedling of the rice happen or as a product or if it if it arise if it risen independently or inherently existent, then the question rather here is we that that that should happen.
The seedling should happen without the help of the water, earth, fertilizer, and so forth. The very fact that the whole phenomena, whole physics of it all happened due to the depending on each other, the very fact, the very nature that things arise as a result of inter dependent intertwined relationship itself is the nature of the thing. Itself is the nature of emptiness. I want to go back to the first teaching. Yeah.
And I just want Rinpoche said all happiness originates from the Buddha. Uh-huh. And he said something like, not everybody would agree with that. Yeah, I remember that now. I just want my question really is, so that I understand fully what Rinpoche meant by simply, so to speak, to answer your question is now like this.
Rinpoche says that it will take a long time, and he he perhaps even he might even fail to answer your correct exact the detail, final nuts and bolts of how all every bit of things happens in this world, it can go, but rough to say. Okay? Now, when one attains once one attains the the Buddhahood or when one once completely when one’s distilled the essence of one’s own mind, the result the resultant nature is divided into four bodies, so to speak. Okay? Now here here, the the body of a dharmakaya.
Right? Or the the wisdom sort of a body. The entire activities through that that that means of bodies that the Buddha, in in which your case, when you become Buddha, you go about delivering the services, the the activities to put a direct translation of it. Go about delivering helps to all other sentient beings in the manner that in the manner that there is sun, the heat of sun causes lot of vegetation, a lot of things to germinate, so to speak. Right?
Without the the heat of the the sun’s heat, nothing happens even though there’s a water or whatever, nothing grows, to speak. In a similar way in a similar similar way, way, by assuming that you all agree that whatever good karma that whatever good karma or the good things is a result of doing something good in our previous lifetime and so forth. Now, the the very effective knowledge of how to go about the knowledge of how to go about doing the right thing, it it came from it all it is the part of the enlightened activities activities of of the the dharmakaya, dharmakaya, the the Buddhas. Right? So from that point of view, from that sort of a distance of logical reasoning that we say that everything, virtuous things, is a like a indirect or direct directly caused by the activities of the Buddha, in which case, that’s not quite reserved to one Buddha.
It could be when you or anybody. Right? So from that point of view, we say, however, Rinpoche said it take a long time to describe a lot of thing beside, you know, you know, to really you know, every bit of experience you have, you know, you can’t go and diagnose in this and this event, everything. You know? The fact No, so the fact that the rays of Buddha’s enlightenment activities are all pervasive, or it’s all constantly permeating permeating.
Right? Now here, you might find it little hard hard to believe or hard to kind of, you know, agree. However, Rinpoche says that, okay. The very fact that the the book book which he pointed has got the instruction contained how to go about the right to do instruction containing, you know, do do the right things and not to do the wrong things. All these things is a part and parcel of or is a blessed by the enlightened activities, enlightened rays of enlightened activity of the Buddhas.
And we apply that we apply that, and we accumulate good good merits, and and we don’t do the things it says don’t, as a result, that we don’t create further karmic consequence or cause to to evolve further more. So here, they it says that this that after Buddha passed away speaking in historical term, after Buddha passed away, there’s a 16 great arhat who had vowed and pledged that they will constantly keep the the flow of energy of enlightened activities of the Buddhas going all the time. So there will be a time if there will a time comes where where, say, there comes an end to the to the to the the the existence of the Buddhist Buddhist teaching, then then there’s a possible then there will there’s a possibility of occurring that every instruction of of the Buddha’s teaching, which is recorded in the in the on on the folios or on the papers or whatever, can disappear instantly. Now, that’s what I’m just saying, you know, it’s you know, might find it to believe, but it is said. It is said that why.
It’s not a kind of hocus pocus, he says, you know, but it’s if you want to find it difficult to believe, you understand? No. Well, it is predicted and then it’s said in the teachings. It is a possibility. The possibility does exist, say, from now in the long time in the future that if do the certain evil forces or whatever, the practice, the traditional practice disappear, comes to complete end, then there’s a possibility that every instruction, every recorded message, the teachings, whatever, could disappear from the further face of the earth, and even the the color that symbolizes the teachings or practice of the monks and nuns, you know, sanghas and so forth, like a yellow and a red, even could disappear like that.
It is said said the possibility can exist in that of the future distant. So what happens is then the the the great the the rulers of that that time, the rulers of the emperors of that time, and through the and through the the to through the with the in conjunction with the ministers, they will hold a conference and getting worried that the the Dharma is disappearing. There’s no Dharma. There’s no monks, no sign of nuns and so forth, no monks, nothing. And they got worried.
So what they do is through trying to through their means for the skin, they will have a they have a cow or somebody, animal slaughter, and take the skin out and put the robe over it, and put in a rock or piece of rock or whatever, and tell the people to still keep inspiring and say, yeah, look, there is a monk, so there’s a nun, somebody like that. And that’s why they will try to keep their faith in the teaching, keep going. So the scenario is that it’s there should the things don’t go the way. You know, the the best mantle can happen like that. The possibility is not a guaranteed thing of, you know, the enlightened activity or practicing things keep going.
So perhaps there is a message to be taken out of that rather than actual physical reality of it all. So is a Sorry? Is a way of understanding what Rinpoche has said, that the words without a living practitioner are empty, valueless? If there’s not a living practitioner, then the words alone have no value. Is it the case or not?
Yeah. Is that is that a way of understanding what Rinpoche said? No. No. That’s in a sense, it’s true.
You see, Dharma is very precious to indicate. Therefore, it is that we’ve we’ve got to make every possible thing that opportunity we got here to sort of practice. And the Dharma is which Rinpoche says, true is very, very very precious perhaps to indicate the or to inspire the people to work with more diligently. Okay. So here, it just says that it is predicted.
It is in the prophecy that since the inception of the inception of the the of the evolution of this current samsaric life cycle existing through in human form in this world or in this this universe. Right? We had thus far four Buddhas so far. The Shakyamuni Buddha appeared to us when our lifespan is roughly say about a 100. Okay?
100. So there is a so what would happen is that what would happen is in the distant, in the future, very, very long future, okay, that the impact of our practice might decrease, or then people, that our lifespan will get shorter and shorter up to around about ten. If you lived on to ten years, then people will consider you have lived pretty long. So that’s sort of perspective. The perspective of the life, expected life expectancy at that time then.
However, then there will be the the there will be the three previous Buddhas. Then the fifth Buddha, Maitreya, will come appear. Okay? Then Maitreya will be teaching the teaching Dharma again, spirit Dharma again, whereby people will practice and they will their lifespan will increase long and long and long to about thousands. Alright?
Then after that, there will be a great deal of a vacuum of Dharma vacuum vacuum or Dharma power vacuum, so to speak, will exist for a long long time where there’s no availability of teaching or Dharma whatever until the fifth Buddha comes. So the significance is that all here that the reason is that whether that happens or not, is that how precious, the how a sense of urgency should we need or how wonderful we are at the moment that we got opportunity to practice. Okay. Let’s let’s stop there.