Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 47-minute teaching, Kyabje Rinpoche emphasizes an essential Chenrezig practice: constantly reviewing your actions against your teacher’s guidance and texts as a mirror. Check yourself as you would before going to work—where your conduct aligns with the teaching, strengthen commitment; where it diverges, transform regret into motivation to improve, not despair. He opens with bodhicitta meditation, the sincere wish to free all beings from suffering, then explains how the six perfections counter unwholesome actions of body, mind, and speech. He warns against gossip and harsh speech, dangers magnified if the target is an unknown realized being, and cautions against attachment to students and sponsors. The teaching stresses managing destructive emotions before they spiral uncontrolled, culminating in the insight that all practice ultimately reshapes the mind. For practitioners with Chenrezig initiation.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 1994-07-16 – 9A – Retreat – KR.mp3
UUID: 906e17e7-585f-4a44-903b-939567476486
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Chenrezig
Date: 1994-07-16
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~3,377
To start up the today’s proceedings, we will begin by meditating, say, about ten minutes on the the precious awakening mind, bodhicitta. The way you motivate motivate yourself in the thought of of awakening mind or bodhicitta is like this. Recognize recognize the preciousness of the situation or environment that you find yourself in in attaining this precious incarnation or human incarnations through which through which or through through its distinct or through its potential, one is in an extremely good situation of attaining the ultimate, precisely the ultimate goal. That is to make all other beings who have acted as our parents kindly in previous lifetimes and be them be free of their misery and will put them in a state where they have a complete fulfillment of all enjoyment and all pleasurable or everlasting forever pleasurable things. Keeping that that goal keeping that goal or that side in your spiritual program, you will activate or you’ll arouse an advanced thought of committing yourself that I will attain the precious precious of precious unsurpassable ultimate awakening mind, awakening precious awakening mind.
And for that purpose, I will engage in its activity leading towards or introducing that state diligently. So up until this point, we are, as we discovered early on, that we are in the stage now actually in the in the stage of wishing for full full awakening or wishing for full awakening mind. So that as a that as a basis basis for us to direct towards our achieving goal, then you will enter into another phase of actualizing actualizing the actualizing the full awakening mind is now like this. That after using that as a as a as a motivation factor, that now you will say that you will enter into the actual applying applying yourself in the spiritual program or spiritual training from the Mahāyāna traditions traditions in in in such a way that you’ll actually apply yourself in studying, meditating, practicing the spiritual path path of Mahāyāna teachings and and making yourself, how to say, actually applying applying into those practice we have discovered early on is now what you call in entering entering full awakening mind conduct. The the point where we ended yesterday’s yesterday’s teaching was we discussed about the the importance of six perfections, its roles, its roles, its duty, how or why it is designed, and its significance, its ramifications, everything we discussed.
And to put it in a nutshell, so to speak, that was a design of working out or designing a set of rules, so to speak, in order to overcome wrong actions that we committed through our mind, body, speech speech. Alright? Now, after having set the rule, after having set that outline or techniques or ways through which we we can do a job. Now it is important also to to kind of to to be reflected about the situation, keep keep taking stock of this, how we’re going about things. So if we don’t do that, then and because of our because of our lack of freedom yet, there is a great deal of danger that we could, again, somehow mistakenly or somehow through a negligence, could be committing committing another form or another version of of the same misconduct or same same negativity through our body, mind, and speech.
If if they were that were to occur, then then we have not again kind of take the full advantage of the the rules or take or rules or the or the practice we have learned apply thus far. So it’s important to exterminate that mind of causing negligence in terms of practice. After studying, after making promise, a commitment, applying oneself in those spiritual training we discussed. Now as a result of that, we go about in the different forms of actions in terms of in terms of actualizing those things. Say, some people saying that undertaking that practice, they get ordained, you know, they get become monks, get put on the robes, and different activities that we do.
However, once again, it is important to have analytical reflections or or the review, a constant review of how the quality of our practice is going. If you lack that analytical review or taking stock of how the progress is effect its effectiveness and the purity with all, then there’s a great deal of danger. Once again, it itself become a source of neurotic and paranoia that will further give or or that will further mitigate or the or the offset what we are doing. So and it is a it is a standard and a key instrumental practice of the sons of the victorious one or the bodhisattvas to have that analytical stock taking review as their part of practice. Here, Rinpoche called essential essential very simple essential teaching that is adopted by the Kadampa traditions, right, is that the way they say is that after undertaking all the so called spiritual training, it is of incredible importance that that to review one’s bodily verbal and mental conduct or actions actions whether they are conforming with the whether they are conforming with the the standard set by standard set by by teaching in the the term Rinpoche used, the term, which means books.
He’s written in the books, like, in in the written on the on the pages of the folio or or the books or the recording or whatever, or or also on the teachings of your your your teacher or mentor or your teacher. Right? So the way they said that you should check is by using or using your teacher’s action, the teacher’s teachings standard set, and the the teacher’s instruction that you recorded or you written in the book as like that of a mirror. Okay? Like that of a mirror, and by exposing your three conducts, three actions, body, mind, speech, and compare with that and see whether it conforms with the standard or the rule the rule or the standard set by your teacher or by instruction that is given by teachers or your mentor and so forth to to review the how it conforms or it conforms with the teaching given is of a great importance, one of the instrumental tools.
So so the in concurrent with that evidence which Rinpoche has presented with the with the current teaching he’s giving, so what here it says in a nutshell, so to speak, that you have to you have to after undertaking all the spiritual training practice, that it’s important that you you check, you compare how your training is progressing, how your spiritual training is progressing along along by comparing, by seeing the note you take down or the books you read or instruction teaching you take and comparing that, see how you get along. And should you happen to in this fortunate situation where it it exacted to each other or it conforms the corresponds to each other, then it is a great source with inspiration for oneself to even be more and even to be more energized or even be more inspired to progress further along, or you’d be if if should you find yourself that you are there is a bit of a discrepancy between the instruction you get and in in terms of your actions upon the body, mind, and speech, then you must feel that or you you you must feel a certain sense of regret and the repudiation repudiation that that you haven’t done that well when you previewing it or sort of reviewing it, then what you do is, okay, I haven’t done quite good a job yet.
However, instead of making that a source of a disparity and feeling depressed or feeling down or let down, what you should use is that power of that power, the mental power turn into positive thinking, and they said, okay. I’m going to work better next time and do improve my my action more in line with the teaching or the instruction of spiritual training that I have got. And to do that is what is considered here as a gradual importance that attach to that sort of aspect of analyzing one’s one’s actions. So after you got a lot of instruction in terms of how to practice and so forth, and aspect of the need for constant review and analyzing is very important. It’s actually no different whatsoever in terms of our daily activity, in terms of our daily thing.
Say, give you Rinpoche, it gives you an example that perhaps you would be able to relate to it anyway, that before you go to work, before you get to your job, what do you do first in the morning? You get up and, you know, shave and, you know, some you shave or you wash or shower yourself or clean yourself. And and then you get dressed. You and then what you do, you you stand in front of mirror to see how you look good. If your your color coordination of your dress is right, or your your your your suit is good or not, in case in the case where you kind of stun yourself, then you feel very happy about it, then you go out.
In the case where you find that you’re not quite you don’t look quite right in terms of color coordination, in terms of cloth color coordination, or in terms of, you know, you haven’t shaved cleanly, or you haven’t dressed properly, which your boss might like it or not type thing, then what you do in that case, you feel a bit miserable, you know. And then, which I said, probably what you do is you go back and change or clean or redo again, and get another set of clothes or whatever, and make yourself look good and beautiful. And when you when you come to know that, oh, you look good, conforming to the the normal expectation of behavior that is kind of required in your workplace, then you feel very happy about it, that you’ll feel good when you go out in a similar fashions. Once you undertake all the practice, the need for reviewing is one of the very important thing to do. It is it is the fact it is the fact that, when we, sometimes the negative things that we do, we do it through the influence or through the negative power or forces of karmic delusory potencies.
However, we must be aware of the fact that aware of the fact that should we do happen to behave as result of that, it has a tremendous mitigating sort of power to decrease our our our our our quality of our conduct, our quality conducts. Now, giving you this example here, say, which we do, people, you know, kind of say bad things to other people. We gossip about other people. People bitch around, bitching around, and saying a lot of bad things to other people. And there’s a possibility of the people who we’re despising, people who we talk negative about could be a highly realized being.
In that case, the karmic repercussion of engaging in such a bitchiness can be devastating in terms of causing depletions in the stockpile of our good karmas or good deeds we created. So the the the the the this is a standard practice of the the bodhisattvas not to or the sons of the Victorious Ones to not to engage in such activities at any cost. See, as as human beings, we tend to admire sometimes people with the sharp tongues, you know, people who just, people who attack other people, you know, make a mockery of them by saying all ridiculing ridiculing them, them, making parody of their normal activities with a very sharp tongue. But in real fact, and we consider admire that person of having some kind of great skill of debate and so forth. Forth.
In actual fact, what it what’s occurring there is the person here is due to his or her jealousy or anger or attachment. The person person is is saying saying saying very unpleasant things. And as a result of saying unpleasant things, the sound, the voice, it sounds terrible. And he or her actions actions when they’re uttering the bad words, it’s also that of unpleasing unpleasing sight unpleasing sight. Right?
So therefore, when one engages in such a delivering of bad bad words or bad things of others, what it does on a no on a on a normal normal level that we can understand, what it does it it what it does is it is increasing our level of anxiety, our level of jealousy, our level of intention, our level of anger, which cause us further source of actual fact, more of a sorrow or pain for oneself. Now, and if you think of it just in a longer term, because the fact is we we are giving giving rise to the negative aspect of our mental mentality by engaging extra words or extra bad things to others is an actual thing actual fact, sowing another seed or one more seed of karmic consequence to be more miserable and to cause more depletions in in our in our stock of merits, which is what we need in order to be successful and safe in our journey towards our ultimate goal. Should should one becomes quite quite qualified in practicing these things and should one become reasonably successful one practice in realizing them, then as a result of that, as a possibility of the people will start considering you of some sort of expert in the field, people will start venerating you, will start offering making offerings to you, seeking your guidance help.
They they will start sponsoring you and so forth. Here, if one is not careful, then these thing can become in itself problem cause, a trap for yourself. The the it itself becomes another source of quarrel, and quarrel and quarrel and then trying to be kind of doing too much of a PR job back to your sponsor or or or back to your friends or supports or or student whatsoever. That, right, kind of becomes another obstacle another obstacle or another hindrance, so to speak, in terms of in terms of which otherwise the time you should be spending in terms of increasing your own level of spiritual realizations and doing other good things.
Right? Therefore, here it is emphasize, emphasized, should you be fortunate enough to be in that position, it is of a great importance not to be attached, not to develop a attachment by relating or having a relation relationship with your sponsors or your friends or the students or the peep the people who come seeking your your help and so forth. So calling or bickering or squabbling over over the the wealth or whatever one receives from your sponsor and so forth is is is an actual fact. It’s it’s kind of a very trivial pursuit thing. So following that following that here, it is a practice of the bodhisattvas to not engage in the uttering harmful words to other.
What he says is, okay, you should be position should you happen to be to hear people say bad things to you about you, then you should not be retaliating by saying similar sort of bad things to others because that the very fact that there’s a harshness because it is a bad word or is talking bad or backbiting or saying rotten things itself is a harmful sort of a sound which brings kind of a pernicious sort of effect on the the listener’s behalf. And also because it is kind of precipitated through the negative power of anger, so it adds more more spice in terms of hurtfulness it can cause or make other people experience. Therefore, it is the bodhisattvas or the great beings or people who are the proper trainees of this program will not retaliate when they hear people say very unpleasant things are putting you down. Well, it is the fact that we experience during our daily life that we go through a lot of rubbish, so to speak. We go through the the problems of anger, aversions, attachment, lust, desire, aversion, and all sorts of all sorts of things kind of constantly going or constantly experiencing, constantly generating in our mind.
Alright? So when that should you happen to experience, or you do anyway, if you when you experience that, it’s important to try to keep it under check under check. It’s important important to to try try to reduce the level of the intensity that that such emotion you negative emotion you feel. And you must make an attempt to make some sort of amendment or trying to bring it down or down or trying to do trying to see it or find a ways to at least make an effort to stop it. If you don’t do it, then the nature nature of the beast is as such that if you let it go, it will grow like a wild wild like a wild like go like a wildfire.
It will it will keep multiplying so rapidly. It will grow it will grow rapidly, and it will be it will become more and more problematic by by constantly habituating with it, and by constantly being with it, it will grow rapidly, it will multiply very fast, and it will grow unabated if you’re not trying to make some sort of put an end to it or some sort of effort to stop it. So it is the standard practice of those great spiritual trainees. In this case, the bodhisattvas will make every effort every time they experience experience the reactions or offer a negative, delusory mind anger, such and so forth, to keep under control or, yeah, to keep control. Now here, we are we’re approaching the end of the teaching line in this current thing, and the author here is now, you know, running out of things to say.
So now after saying all the teaching and so forth through the through the in conjunction with the three levels of three levels of spiritual training, you know, the the small and the middle and the the big levels. In case the big higher levels, we say we talk about six perfections and so forth. Now, here it says, here the author or the teacher is trying to summarize, synthesize, or trying to put everything he had said prior into a very short form. It’s that ultimate sort of message combined, which encompasses everything he had said so far is that ultimately, whatever we do, we come to the point. Ultimately, whatever we do, whatever we said is a means, and ways, and a design, a plan to finally work with our mind.
Normally, you see, we talk about a lot of our bad actions and good actions and all sorts of things we discuss. And if we say if if we ask the questions, how did we end up doing all those activities? Then we can say all the good things we do is done through the body mind speech. All the bad things we do is done through the body mind speech. Alright?
So but out of these three out of these three out of the threes, who is the main factor? Which is the main factor that gives to the that gives the color color to the the other actions? Then we find out that the mind is the main thing, is the main culprit or main main person, so to speak, which pulls the strings of what action to or which gives the color of a good or bad, black and white to the action we do by mind and speech. Sorry. Sorry.
Body and speech. Alright? So therefore therefore, the fate of the actions that’s done through body and the speech also dependent on the mind. If we have cultivated a very good heart, clean, good heart, good mind, good motivation, the