Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 48-minute Q&A session, Kyabje Rinpoche addresses doubts about valid cognition: Can someone in an “obscured state” achieve it, or must you be enlightened? He clarifies that valid cognition is commonplace—even a cow recognizes her newborn calf. Yet some objects—emptiness, the Four Noble Truths, the subtle workings of karma—are extremely difficult to realize, and only a Buddha understands cause-and-effect in full particularity. Much of the session explores whether past and future lives must be believed literally or can work as pragmatic metaphors for understanding how present actions shape present and future moments. Rinpoche illustrates valid cognition through mindfulness of breathing: how focused relaxation brings bliss. For those grappling with literalism and metaphor in Buddhist teaching.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 1993-11-26 – 27A – KR.mp3
UUID: 573ac541-14af-4b8f-b8f7-3d24e8cfbde9
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Compendium of Valid Cognition
Date: 1993-11-26
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~2,109
So upon having finished our meditation, this is going to be the last teaching of the commentary to valid cognition, and it’s going to be devoted completely to questions that may have arisen during the course of the teaching. So just as oneself wants happiness and does not want suffering likewise, all living beings want happiness. And just as oneself does not want to suffer, likewise, all living beings do not wish to suffer. We’re equal or the same with respect to this. We have a human life, that we have intelligence, and we’re able to generate an altruistic attitude of benefiting others.
So developing the exceptional compassion which is embodied in the attitudes, It would be wonderful if myself and all living beings were free of suffering. May myself and all all living beings be free of suffering. I myself will free all living beings from suffering. Then exceptional love, which is expressed in the thoughts, it would be wonderful if myself and all living beings had happiness and the causes of happiness. May they have happiness and the causes of happiness.
I will bring them the happiness and the causes of happiness. In order to achieve that in order to free living beings from their suffering, in order to bring them happiness, that I’m going to engage in this meditation and then subsequent to that I’m going to ask the various questions in order to remove my various doubts. So what whatever qualms that you may have, doubts, there’s a chance the opportunity to try to clear them up by asking questions. At what stage is is cognitive possible? Do you have to have a direct realization of emptiness?
Do you have to be enlightened? And I, in my highly obscured state right now, aspire to even a tiny bit of valid cognition? And if not, if not, what is what is an appropriate attitude toward what I perceive in my day to day life? Cognition, one doesn’t have to be a Buddha or a bodhisattva, perhaps with respect to difficult objects, but in general, even animals have valid cognitions. So when we newly realize an object, when we understand it for the first time not having understood it previously and we come to understand this is this and this is a valid cognition.
For example, if if a cow or a dog gave birth and then they initially upon perceiving the calf or the puppy, then they would have a valid cognition with respect to them. But there are objects which are difficult to realize, to develop a valid cognition with respect to, for example, emptiness or the Four Noble Truths. For those who haven’t listened to various texts or they haven’t studied, then it would be difficult for them to generate a valid cognition with respect to such objects. But there are objects, for example, the subtle operation of the karma as actions and results, which only a Buddha is able to realize. For example, we have attained a human life in this present life.
And this came about through in a previous life having observed ethics. So the questions such as, well who was I in my previous life when I observed these ethics and where was I? What country did I live when I observed these ethics? And what time of that period of time did I observe these ethics and was I, for example, I a monk or was I a nun or was I not? Questions such as that, the precise causes bringing about the result of a human life in the present life that only a Buddha is able to realize, to understand.
Yeah. John de So some Bodhisattvas have a special clairvoyance where they’re able to look back into the past in their previous lives. They’re able to understand you know that in this previous that I took a rebirth in such and such a place in this previous life and having died from that place I took rebirth in such and such a place. Then I died from that place and took rebirth in such and such a place. But even they are not able to know the very subtle workings of the law of cause and effect in terms of the exact times and places where certain events acted as causes bringing about certain specific results.
So, yeah, you would if you’re saying it’s a metaphor, then in fact, it doesn’t exist in fact. It is merely a way of Oh, whether or not it exists, you know, it doesn’t matter, but whether it can be used as a metaphor, whether there’s benefit in seeing things as people. I mean, I’m talking maybe specifically for people who find it difficult to Okay. Can you expand on that? How would you use it as a metaphor?
So how can Can you think, for example, how can you of this as a metaphor with some value? A metaphor for what? For spiritual practice. A metaphor means something which stands for something else. So what would it be standing in a place of?
Well, just for example, someone once said to me, and that was a Dharma student. They were saying about the idea of of all beings being your lover, and that they didn’t care very much about whether that was actually true because they thought that that was a really excellent way to think. You know? Okay. So in terms of past or future lives, I think or I feel there might be some benefit to people who can’t understand So Dale’s question is that Dale’s Dale’s question was, for those who perhaps do not have a belief in past and future lives, in what way can the notion of past and future life be used as a metaphor?
A analogous to? You’re comparing I mean, the all these different aspects of Dharma. Now let’s stick let’s stick with this. Let’s just stick with the question. Let’s otherwise, we’ll go.
Okay. So the reason the reason reason why we develop a faith in past and future lives is to somehow bring us benefit. But whether it exists or not is beside the point. So then the question is? So what benefit can somebody gain by using past and future lives as a metaphor maybe for something else rather than having a Metaphor for what if?
Metaphor for what else? I think you mentioned the metaphor. How can I benefit? Yes. But the metaphor stands for something else.
But Just simply a useful way of thinking. So it’s a pragmatic idea. Pure pragmatic, purely useful. It means just it’s something that you gain. But whether it exists or not is not important.
You may like the and put it put it put it put it put put it it it it put it it Okay. Well, I’ll just tell you what we’ve gone through so far and then you can keep on going, all right? So is a Rinpoche’s questioning, well, the reason that we want to accept the existence of past and future life is because order to work because that will motivate us to implement the methods to bring about happiness in future lives. If there’s no past and future lives, then that’s a waste. If there’s no future life, then this would be a waste of time.
We do it because we practice in order to bring about happiness for future lives. There’s no future lives, if in fact there’s no future lives, then why believe in future lives? Because it would be a waste of time. Now, if you say, it would bring happiness over the course of this life. If you thought there were past and future lives and you practiced the Dharma, it could bring you happiness over the course of this life.
Then he asked the question, well, what kind of happiness would it bring you? Because of So what would be the benefit to the students in that way of teaching the 12 links. They won’t know the actual operation of the 12 links of dependent origination. But it So the Buddha taught that and however many lives are being covered, it must occur in at least two lives where there are six causes in one life and six results in a second life.
No good. Along these lines though, could past and future lives be a metaphor, you know, with good a good present life for me and good future life be a metaphor for a good present moment bringing bringing a good future moment in a day, for example? So There’s no certainty in terms of if you enacted positive activities at this hour, in the second hour that you would experience a positive result. There’s no certainty there. So as to having created positive actions, involve oneself in positive activities over the course of this life, such as it’s not certain in terms of whether that result will be experienced a positive result will be experienced in the very next life.
In the case of, for example, if one observed ethics over the course of this life and then one died and there was no intervening types of negative karma ripening at the moment of death, then one would experience a result of a rebirth and a fortunate migration. On the other hand, if at the time of death a negative karma which had been accumulated in a previous life were to ripen at that moment, then one would go on to take rebirth and an unfortunate unfortunate rebirth. But that still that positive karma having been created over the course of this life would not be lost. It would be experienced in some future life. There are three possibilities as to the ripening of a result.
Having created a cause in this life. The result can be experienced this life. Having created the cause in this life. The result can be experienced in the next life. And thirdly, having created the cause in this life, it can be result can be experienced in the life in some future life after the next life.
True. Oh, yeah. When we engage in the mindfulness of breathing, for example, when we’re exhaling, we imagine a black light going out and all of that which represents our various sufferings and unskillful actions. Inhaling with inhalation, imagine a white light coming in, and following this type of visualization. And then in the course of that practice, when one becomes extremely relaxed, And a bliss begins to arise.
And the initial arising of that bliss one could think, ah, I’m feeling bliss. That first moment that one realizes that bliss would be a valid cognition with respect to that bliss. Would be so initially when that when a bliss arises that one understands that bliss has arisen, that would be valid cognition with respect to bliss, realizing bliss. Is that what you meant? Realization of bliss.
To It seems to me that there immediately is like, from my understanding anyway, you’re probably wrong. You got this, there’s the I doing it. I think there’s some confusion about what valid cognition is. So you’re thinking valid cognition necessarily understands emptiness? Yeah, When In the course of mindfulness of breathing, when the body becomes extremely relaxed, does a bliss arise or not?
So, you know, if you if you eat some delicious food, you you generate a pleasurable feeling. So and likewise, you know, so we can there is likewise in the course of of meditating on the breath. There’s a lessening of conceptuality, thoughts, and the body becomes and the mind becomes extremely relaxed, and bliss will arise. Now so there’s a mind which is experiencing bliss. Then there’s a self knower which is non dualistic with that self knower.
The self knower is non dualistic with that mind which is experiencing bliss. You know, for there’s a crowded room, it’s very uncomfortable. It’s not a happy situation. But when everybody leaves, then one can relax. You know, I had this experience living at Buddha House.
Likewise likewise with with meditating on the breath. If one single pointedly places one’s mind on the breath, then the the the thoughts, this crowded quality this crowded quality of thoughts will begin to lessen. And then one’s mind begins to relax, and bliss will rise. So there is a valid cognition with respect to that blissful feeling, and there is a self knower which is non dualistic with that feeling. I’m sorry.
What was the first part of the sentence? Can you use the word independent? So