Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 45-minute talk, Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen combines technical Buddhist philosophy with practical spiritual instruction. He begins with the continuity of consciousness and matter, using Buddhist atomic theory to show how particles combine into the universe—observations that align with modern science—before moving to rebirth and conception. His central teaching concerns motivation: whether you practice for personal happiness, liberation from saṃsāra, or others’ welfare entirely determines what your actions become. He illustrates how feeding birds becomes profound spiritual practice only when rooted in genuine concern for future lives. The second half is devoted to Q&A addressing eating meat and karma, the intermediate state, rebirth as a ghost through anger, and the role of prayer. For practitioners new to Buddhist study.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 06 ALB.mp3
UUID: 3e58a99a-d6c0-4ff8-ba90-9706111f16ff
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: A Look at Buddhism (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1995 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.8 minutes
Words: ~2,372
So the easier way one can explain this too. So, in order to understand the continuity of the mind, If one first understands the continuity of the matter, the matters, then you can apply it with the mind. It becomes more easier to understand. Understand it. So, the mind or the consciousness that we have have a cause, and the cause of our mind is the the first moment or, like, the cause of the second moment of the mind is the first moment of the mind is the cause of is post moment of the mind is the cause of second moment of the mind.
Mhmm. So the Buddhist practitioners, they explained that wherever the mind resides, the basis of the mind. True, that’s the measure. That true have its own continuity. So the matter also, the gross level of matter and the subtle level of matter, which is the house, the mountains.
These are like gross level of matter. So, gross forms, to form the gross forms, like mountains, know, needs collections of many, what do call, many atoms. So as an example, in order to build the in order to form a house that one one each like the earth, wood, and so on. So, like those very fine atoms, some of the very fine ones that we kind of didn’t see, all this has to come together. So, many of these fine atoms, which are always like indivisible particles or atoms, collect together and those are like the dust that we see in the sun rays.
From those small individual particles coming together that forms those dust in this space. So, these particles or the atoms, not only as explained in Buddhist teachings, but also in the scientists in in science is explained also. And the the explanations are concordant. It’s like concludes. Explanations of these two are same same.
So so the the subtle these fine atoms in Buddhist teachings, it is given this name called what do call it? The particle that you or the dust that you see, the space dust or the dust that you see in the sun rays. So this this does like when when when there’s a sunrise, then you can see very small small small atom. So then even that, what do you call, that dust that we see in the sun rays can go into its subtleties up to six or seven levels. And those very fine ones, find cannot see through our eyes.
So, because we cannot see through our eyes, One might have a doubt whether that really exists or not. So, very the very fine one, most the most fine one is what you call that is it’s known as the individual particle. And then seven of those indivisible particles, collection of seven, seven of those are known as what do you call, particle, small particle of iron. And then collection of those seven particle of iron are known as the particle of water. So so then the seven of those of the small particle of the water are known as the seven part small particle of rabbit.
It’s different names which are used. And seven of that is known as particle of, small particle of ox. Seven of that is that known as particle of sheep. So these are all different names. So so so then the seven of these dust that you see in the sun rays are known as the egg of a louse.
So the so it’s it’s it’s the size the louse. So seven of these eggs or eight a lau is one barley grain. That’s the side. And then seven seven of those grains is one one inch. So so then so then with with this measurement, there’s more measurement that you like, with the with the, what you call, inches, cubits, and then and so on, you go to a bigger amount of measurements.
So so then collections of these many many atoms forms like those big masses? So, these atoms or the particles acts as the cooperative cause of this universe. Those particles comes there from the past universe and then the latter one is the result of the. So atoms, they have its own continuity. It has a continuity, and similar to that, the mind that perceives this to to should have its own continuity.
So so this this body that we have is is a matter, and these two has its own continuity. So, this this body that we have, this gross body that we have is a is a combination of our parents’ drops, the the semen and blood. So so the drops from the mother that we have is the flesh and the and the skins and so on, like that we received from mother and then the bones and so on that we received from the father. So, this explanation is the explanation according to the womb born babies. And there are also explanations that are born out of moisture and born out of eggs.
So, those born out of moisture and eggs, So, those born out of moisture and eggs, their past organs, like eye organ and so on becomes an imprint, that transforms into imprint. So on this part, needs more explanations, and it’s rather complicated tool. So so that our consciousness have what do you say? Consciousness also changes, transforms, like because of former moment of consciousness and the later moment of consciousness, it also experiences different, experience. The experience that has different.
Some are some are good and some are bad. So so when when a human being dies, mind is not at mind doesn’t die. So then, the mind travels to the next life and takes different rebirth, for example human rebirth or any other rebirth. So responsibility with us right now is collect a cause that will bring happiness to that future life, whatever it is. So because of that, practice that we engage in, any least practice that we engage in should have the motivation that you’re doing that practice for the sake of your future life to bring happiness for the future life?
So so then so there are other motivations that even if one is to be reborn as a human in our next life, then we’re not sure then next birth. After that, we’re not sure what we will be reborn as or what we will be reborn again as. Setting up motivation that whatever you do, whatever practice you do right now, even avoiding killing, so on, you aim all these practices to achieve liberation from saṃsāra? So so then the the supreme supreme motivation is known as that not thinking for self, but whatever practice one is doing, one is doing for the sake of others and to lead others to the supreme state. And with that motivation, practice you do, even the practice of giving or generosity becomes a cause for So in short, whatever you do, like just feeding the birds to if it is done with thought to bring happiness in our future, then that practice, that action becomes worthwhile.
So if you do these practices just thinking that I’m doing this, giving food or feeding the birds or those animals, by doing that may I have, I experience no sickness, may I experience happiness and things like that. With this kind of thought or motivation, if you do, then one is not sure whether one will experience the result in this life or not. So so all of these depends on how one think, how one motivates. So whether one accumulates virtuous action or whether one accumulates non virtuous actions, it totally depends on one’s on one’s way of thinking. So, that whatever from the past if you have if you have bad mind or negative mind, then change that, transform that into a positive mind, a noble mind.
And is, these changes are possible if you do train. Like for example, Buddha that in the beginning, same like us and then changing the mind and then through the practice that came to achieve this enlightened state. So that fully enlightened state for us also is possible. So so then process of death today, we won’t have time to talk, and it also doesn’t have much meaning. So, it’s more beneficial if we do some question answers.
human populations or So so there are there are many sentient beings who are not humans. Like, outside the tree, how many ants there are? How many ants? And those ants like, stay there, not always as an end. So, in their past life, have collected many karmas to be reborn as a human or reborn a god.
So, they have created those causes. So those beings, when their karma meets with the conditions, then they take another birth as a human. So generally generally, like, there’s an explanation that one shouldn’t eat meat. So so like that if one let others kill to eat meat, animal, then both person who ordered to kill and person who killed who does the action of killing both creates a negative action. But then going to place where they sell meat, buying the meat and eating that.
It’s not the same as ordering to kill. So and and generally speaking, like, whatever food that we we eat, There’s always faults of eating. So there’s faults of eating meat, faults of eating tomato, and faults of eating fruits. So, like, just to to plant tomatoes, you have to dig the hole and then there are many insects or beings that get killed. Then when it goes, and then again to protect from the insects we use chemicals to kill the bugs or the insects.
There’s one one difference here is that, like, eating meat of a huge animal and eating a meat of a small animal, and there’s a difference. So which is like if you want if you could eat the small small animals, like, yeah, in one dish you may have many many animals, many fish. So so what what what you said was true, and you’re saying that those who engage in the practice of bodhicitta, they should avoid eating meat. Yep. So so said that the longest period of the time in the intermediate state is forty nine days.
And there’s no reason he has except the explanations of the Master Vasubandhu. In Abhidharmakośa, he gives us explanations that within these forty nine days they can take the ghost. There there is ghost. And the ghost are not not intermediate. So ghost, they are like a life ghost, which is like a human life human being becoming a ghost and dead human being becoming a ghost.
So, there are two two. So, there are many levels of ghosts which I explained also like ghosts in the limbs like space. So, there are different levels, different many kinds of ghosts which are explained, but they are not intermediate beings. So maybe in some books, the explanation is saying the ghosts are the intermediate beings, but that is not acceptable. So so karma caused us to take birth as a ghost and there are different karmas.
Explanations of karma is are extensive. And for example, one is that if one is, if someone is being killed and like using a weapon or any other weapon or a sword or whatever, when they have been killed in that way, then at that very time when the person becomes very angry and sees this killing and when they become very angry, then that can cause one to be reborn as a ghost. And secondly, different types of prayers. Prayers that you can be also caused by different prayers, making different types of prayers. So so at the very time when when someone kills one by using a knife or whatever and when one generates a strong anger, then that anger with that anger may may be clear as also like, I want to revenge.
I want to do something. May I be able to do that? Revenge the person. Then then these karmas like it becomes a cause for that. So to take, what’s it, to take or to be reborn as a ghost, you don’t you don’t have to go to the intermediate state.
So the the intermediate beings are known as beings with a form and the ghosts are known as formless beings. So, to take birth as a formless being, you don’t have to go to the intermediate state. So when when when the karma, when the karma is completed to be as a ghost, then takes another So as long as there is the potential of the karma is there, then that person lives as a ghost. But then when it ceases, then the karma ceases and takes another birth. And especially the of the lifespan of the ghost is much longer than human.
So saṃsāra is saṃsāra the example the fire is the example of saṃsāra. So saṃsāra is like like like the fire. So, one don’t have power to actually free those sentient beings from the saṃsāra. But, practice that one do, like the practice of morality, the practice of different practice, like practice of refuge and so on. So all these practices these practices like practice of giving giving or more generosity, All these, you know, becomes a cause for freeing sentient beings from saṃsāra.
So, by doing this practice, it’s beneficial for one. But when, for example, just the practice of giving, if one is, this practice, if it’s done for self and if it’s done for others, what do say, there is a big difference with these two. So the strength of the boju is it has big difference. Like, you are doing for this whatever virtue you are doing, if you’re doing for the sake of others, whatever prayer you make for the sake of others, and whatever whatever dedication you do, if you make for the sake of others, then the strength of the of that that positive actions. It’s a it’s much power much more powerful.
How can I help you? Any other questions?