Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 46-minute talk, Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen teaches the four noble truths, opening with the precious human body and how it arises from moral discipline, generosity, and virtuous intentions in past lives. He explores how our present circumstances—wealth, poverty, health, or sickness—result from karma, and how this body inevitably ages and leads to death. He then explains the three types of suffering: suffering of pain, suffering of change (where pleasures become unpleasant), and pervasive suffering—the fundamental problem of being born under the control of karma and delusion. He shows how ignorant self-grasping is the root of the three poisons (attachment, anger, ignorance) that drive our actions, and presents the Buddhist path as the method to escape this cycle. For newcomers to Buddhist teaching.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 07 ALB.mp3
UUID: 488dd8f7-57a8-415a-9eb3-f43087d9464e
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: A Look at Buddhism (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1995 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.9 minutes
Words: ~2,701
So doctor Rejkischina will talk give a short talk on the four noble truths and how you practice the four noble truths. So at present, we have achieved or we have gained this precious human body. And this body which we have, it’s didn’t it didn’t come here without its cause and conditions. So, the body that we have, this human body, it needs its cause to have this kind of body. It needs to have its necessary causes.
And out of those different causes that we have this body, and on this body, for example, there are different types of people. Different types. Some are very wealthy, some very poor, some some like in between. So, there are all these different types of types of beings with this type of body. So the causes and conditions of this precious human body is that our past life have collected the causes, and those causes are one of the main cause of this precious human body is a pure moral discipline, keeping pure moral discipline.
And second is engaging in the practice of giving and so on, like the six perfections. And thirdly, that practice is conjoined with the good wishing prayers. And these these these are the causes of this precious body. And then and then this is the cause of the human body, and one these different beings being in different environment and different place and the difference of being quality and poor is because of their karmas. So this very body that we have from the second moment of our birth, it starts becoming old.
So which from the from the second moment of birth, it it it grows, and that shows that it is getting old. So, at present, we are very healthy, healthy, but but this body, it’s known as having the nature of impermanence. So so sooner or later, it’s going to disintegrate where one need to one one one has to go through the process of death? So as an example, if a a if a a criminal, for example, done something very something against law where he or she faces the death penalty and and then while the person is in the in the in the prison, whatever time that he or she remains in the prison, that person is definitely going to face going to be killed. So it’s it’s something like that.
It’s very definitely that one has to face the death. So, only the chances there are the duration of the time. But then, one is definitely going to face that, which is the death. And once is like once one is being born in saṃsāra, in cyclic existence, then one has to face again and again the same thing, So most of the time we have been healthy, not facing any difficulties. But but looking into into this text, the Bodhicaryāvatāra, it explains that as soon as our karma is exhausted, then then one faces the final, which is the death, which is when the karma finishes of living, then one experiences the death.
So so as long as one takes rebirth in saṃsāra, in in the cyclic existence under the control of karma and delusions. One has to go through this again and again. And now what one need to do is one need to one one need to look for, what is it, method or a cause that which frees one from saṃsāra. So to generate this wish to leave the saṃsāra or to become free from the saṃsāra, one need to contemplate contemplate or practice the four noble truth and also one need to contemplate and practice the twelve interdependent links. So becoming free from saṃsāra, which means achieving or attaining liberation?
So, is bound in the saṃsāra and becoming free from that is like achieving the liberation. So, like, if it if you if you if it is if one is tied it up by with the ropes, then if you loosen it or if you untie it, then one is free? So like the rope which ties up the thing, similar manner that our body, known as the contaminated body, is bound by karma and delusion. So, this body that we have is known as contaminated body. So so it it has how do you say?
It is because compounded phenomena is this body. It’s known as the compounded phenomena. Because of that, is it is a produced phenomena, in afterwards. So, meaning of that is it is produced in dependence upon other cause and conditions, which is known as the dependent arising. So our body that we have is also known as one of the four noble truths.
That is the first one, the true suffering. So so so its cause, because it’s a it’s a true suffering, its cause is delusion. So this body that we have is a result of our action or karma, and that karma is done out of delusions, or that karma is acted out of delusions. So the cause of this contaminated body is the karma and and second as the delusions. So so then these these two causes, the karma and the delusions, which bounds or which our body, this contaminated body.
So when we say saṃsāra, saṃsāra is all the cycle existing. It’s nothing far. One self within once within one saṃsāra is saṃsāra is within one. So the continuation of this contaminated body is known as saṃsāra or the cycle existing. So, out of karma and delusions, one is born, one is born, and and how how how one is born?
So how one takes how one takes rebirth or how one takes birth is that out of these two, karma and delusions, is that out of delusions, or out of ignorance, one creates a karma. And then, because of the karma, one takes rebirth. And one takes rebirth into these different stages of existence. And known as one of the three realms. Which which in in within these six realms, one is taken as one is taken one is reborn as one of those six migrators, six sentient beings, six types of sentient beings, which are the hell being, the being in the animal, the pretas, and and human and and the gods.
And then there are different one is born. Born out of, known as womb born, born out of eggs, and miraculous birth, miraculous birth, like miraculous birth. So so one takes one takes rebirth into these different different different states because of the karma and delusions. So then to become free from this chain, becoming free from that is known as achieving liberation. So when one ceases to take birth in the in the saṃsāra under the control of karma and delusions, then that is also known as achieving liberation or becoming free from saṃsāra.
So as another example, for the prisoner to get out of the jail or the prison, first thing that person needs is the wish to get out. So then to have that wish to get out of the jail or the prison, that person need to know the discomfort in the prison. So if the person knows the discomfort in the prison, then he or she will generate this wish that wanting to get out of it. So similar in the same manner, similar that for a person to put effort to get out of saṃsāra, he or she had to know, had to have the wish of wanting to become free from saṃsāra. And to to get to know that, to to to have that wish, that person need to know the the faults and the discomfort about that being the discomfort of the saṃsāra.
So so in order to know that, in order to see the discomfort, one need to think over the sufferings of the saṃsāra. So the suffering of saṃsāra is explained in two ways. One from, sorry, one explanation is from the four noble truth and another one is that of the explanation from the twelve interdependent links. So the first explanation here will be according to the four noble truths. So so that the the historical Buddha, Buddha Śākyamūni, in India in Bodh Gaya where he performed the twelve deeds and finally perform the deed, which is the achievement of fully enlightened state.
So so after his enlightenment, Buddha, for the first forty-nine days, didn’t give a teachings? So then, like the Brahma and so on. Other big offerings like the offering which is made like offerings that are made out of the will made out of gold and and so on, made offering and request Buddha to teach. So so then after after this request that Buddha traveled to to Varanasi, and and then there he he he gave the first teachings. And at that time, there were only, like, five disciples.
So so at that very the very first teaching that he gave was the the teachings on four noble truth. So so among the four noble truth, he taught at first the first noble truth that is the true suffering. So he explained first the result and then and then secondly, the cause. So which is first showing how he taught there. First is the true suffering, and then after showing that, taught the origin, the true origin or the cause of suffering.
And then thirdly, he showed the true cessation. And then fourthly, he taught the true So he taught the true suffering at the very beginning to make them recognize that? So so the reason that he taught true suffering in the very beginning is that by not recognizing the true suffering, there’s no way one generates the wish to get rid of the suffering. So, then secondly also Buddha taught first the true cessation and the true cessation, cessation of all sufferings, and then secondly he taught the path that leading to that state. So, for us to practice Buddha taught the true suffering at the very first.
So, those who wish liberation, for them these these practices is their main practice. That becomes their main practice. This four practice becomes their main practice. So in another text called Uttaratantra, where first thought, where in the text giving an example how one person need to recognize the suffering, and then then then next step is to to to prevent the causes. So before, like, as a patient, before he or she takes the medicine, he or she has to go through go through a lot of checkings, a lot of analysis to find out what what the sickness is.
So without recognizing what sickness he or she got, no way one can give or take the medicines. So, without recognizing the sickness, if you do give a medicine or take the medicine, then it might become worse. Then once you recognize what the sickness is, then the second step is to look for the cause. What causes that? So so so to get rid of that sickness, one then after finding out its cause and conditions, you you you apply an antidote to its cause and conditions that which you never have to go through the sickness again.
So, this is the example that is explained where you first come to recognize what the sickness is and then you apply the medicines for that. So, and then another example is given is that if one is to lie on a plain, outside on a plain, and if it happens that water runs through where one is lying down, one have to know, one have to find where the water is coming from and prevent from the top where it is coming from. So, that’s another example and ourselves the patient. Possible that you might think that I’m healthy, I can eat well, I can work, and I can do these different things. I’m not sick.
So we might say that, but as long as we have these three types of sufferings, we are always a sick person. So so the three types of sufferings are the suffering of pain, the suffering of change, and the pervasive sufferings. These three sufferings. So, the suffering of pain is very that we we we can we can we can experience. So the suffering of change too.
Most of probably most of you know that. So the suffering of change, sorry, the suffering of change is that, as example, that when you are very hungry and you need food, and when you and then you start eating food. So then while you are eating, when you are hungry, have joy of eating. You have this joy of eating. And then if you eat too much, then that that can cause suffering.
So so so similarly, like, the very beginning, if you are called being in the sun is the in the warmth of sun is is present. It’s but then if you continuously stay in the sun, it changes into into into suffering. You get to, you like, get to, experience the, what’s it, suffering of heat. So, our body is produced by karma and delusions, and as a sign, it shows that we get easily sick, we get easily tired, or we get easily hungry, we get easily cold. So all these are like a sign that it is produced by karma and delusion.
So the third type of suffering is the pervasive suffering. So the pervasive suffering is referring to to this body itself. The continuation of this body itself is a pervasive suffering. So, as long as one has this body, the continuation of this body, one experiences all those undesirable things. And because of that, it is explained as a suffering.
So as long as one has this body, the continuation of this body, then there’s always the problems that one faces. And when when one leaves this body, the continuation of this body, then that’s that’s the way you you are free from all the problems. So, as we see that we have these three types of sufferings. We experience these three types of sufferings. And because of that we are known as the severe patient.
Because of that, we’ve been the worst patient or this person, sick person, one need to look for the method to get rid of these sufferings. So to do that, to look for the method — it is the karma that produces this and one has to stop creating those karmas. So to stop creating these karmas, one had to stop also one had to prevent or stop those delusions. And the delusions like that process one to do the actions or to perform the karma. So one has to stop those delusions.
So, then those delusions which forces one to act or perform the karmas is that the three poisons like attachment, hatred, ignorance. These these delusions forces want to act act. So so the root of these these three poisons, the attachment, anger, ignorance, ignorant the ignorant self self grasping. Ignorant self grasping is known as the root of it. So the ignorant self grasping here means that a self which is existing there inherently without depending on anything else.
So so to that eye, like, if someone does something bad, that eye get has to fight to that other person. So, like, similarly, when I get cold, I have to wear clothes. And when I get hungry, I need to I need to feed, I need to eat. So so so this I that I need and I want, this I causes this I is what which causes or brings about these delusions, attachment, anger, so on. So there is I which exist and that exists but then this I that we are saying that which we think, which we grasp to is the I that existing inherently without depending on its cause and conditions.
That type of eye that we grasp it to. So so if it’s if there is this inherently existing eye, then this inherently existent eye has to exist there by itself without without depending on its cause and conditions.