Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 46-minute opening session of a calm abiding retreat, Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen establishes the essential foundation: meditating for the benefit of all sentient beings. He walks practitioners through the reasoning—how we depend entirely on others’ kindness for everything from food to shelter to our growth from infancy—then guides them to visualize themselves surrounded by all sentient beings, generating the wish to free them from suffering. He explains how calm abiding meditation must be conjoined with the mind of refuge, renunciation, and bodhicitta to produce the spiritual qualities described in Buddhist teachings. Using metaphors of a container holding water and a steady flame enabling clear sight, he emphasizes why mental steadiness is crucial. The talk prepares practitioners to begin an intensive retreat with proper motivation and understanding.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 01 CAR.mp3
UUID: c4cdca0a-ed80-46db-ad5b-1ccb49fa1c67
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Calm Abiding Retreat (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1995 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 46.0 minutes
Words: ~2,644
So whatever practice or whatever region practice we engage in, we should set up our motivations at the very beginning? So the reason for setting up motivation is that whether it’s a Buddhist practice or whether it’s a non-Buddhist practice like different religion practice, the reason for setting up the motivation, one is to have a greater benefit of whatever one is doing, whatever one is practicing and to become, to make our practice powerful for these two reasons we have to set up the motivation. So the practice that we engage in, any religion practice that we do, we do for these different purposes. We do religion practice for the purpose of this life. We do religion practice for the purpose of our next life.
And thirdly, do religion practice for the sake of others so that it’s different purpose of our practice. So in the Buddhist teachings, it says that if one is doing the practice only for the purpose of this very life, then that practice is not regarded as a pure Dharma practice. So even if one is to do this, engage in these practices, in these different religion practices for the purpose of our next life, that too is not enough. Just bring practice for the sake of our next high rebirth. We have a better rebirth in our future.
That too is not enough. So in Mahāyāna teachings, it explains that the best purpose of our practice should be working or practicing, engaging these practices for the purpose of others, like giving up the purpose of oneself and entirely working for the benefit of others, benefit of others is what is regarded the best. And if one is able to do that, that means like we just work for the benefit of others, that means one’s purpose comes along with that. The benefit for one self comes along with that. So just just having this belief in the teachings, in the in the Dharma teachings, it is something something very good.
But but then it’s better becomes better whatever practice you do, like like, not only believing it, but engaging in the practice. It it becomes better. And that doesn’t mean when you engage in these different practices, doesn’t mean that you become Buddhist or you or or you become a religious practitioner? So so in short, we should take all the good good things of different religions and and then put that into practice. And by doing that, that is what it’s it’s like collecting a cause for for our own happiness in in this and our next lives.
So another thing, being a sectarian, like saying or not going to if one is Buddhist, then not doing other religious practice or not even visiting different places, holy places of different religion, like going into a temple or any place, not doing that. And if you if someone is Hindu, then not going into a Buddhist place, like this that shows that that the person actually the person really don’t understand the the actual teachings. And and doing that is is not right. So so here, especially today, people came here and doing this practice or this retreat on calm abiding. It’s something people from different group coming in and doing this practice?
Is something positive, something very good? So, it’s the personal things. This retreat that we’re doing together is very good if you think personally, which is which becomes the cause of happiness for self. And not only that, but people from different belief coming together and doing this practice, generally, it’s also something very good that which become it becomes a cause for generally, the own peace. Peace and happiness.
So we’re doing this retreat for three days. And this practice this retreat or the practice of śamatha meditation is a is a is a general practice among Buddhist and non-Buddhist? So so we are we’ll be here for these three days discussing about or hearing instruction on those how we do these practices and we are doing also meditations. And whatever whatever we do to to those virtue that we or virtue that we gain out of this practice. We we should we should make it worthwhile, the virtue that we gain out of this.
So so especially on that topic, Geshe-la will speak a little more here. So just quote quoting a line from one of the Indian masters called Śāntideva saying that he says that I prostrate and pay homage to to the one who have generated this great mind. The the the great mind known as bodhicitta. So bodhicitta is the the altruistic mind. The altruistic mind which is like giving of working for the self, like working, giving of working for self, entirely working for the benefit of other sentient beings.
That that that is what what is known as bodhicitta is. Mhmm. So this bodhicitta or this noble mind is this noble mind is like there are different terms used in different religion, but but it is something important for all the religions to practice this. Mhmm. So so to to generate this mind within one, this noble mind within one, what what what causes we need or what type of methods that makes this possible is that we need to meditate on the love, the loving kindness and compassion.
We have to meditate on these which these are the cause for that mind. So the the love and and compassion, how one come to generate is that we think about the suffering of sentient beings and the and also the happiness of other sentient beings. But thinking these different points that one come to generate these two these two, which is love and compassion. And when, like, giving up working for the self purpose of self and working entirely for the sake of others, there there is a reason for doing this? So generally, we are how we how we look at things is that all that we we all that we enjoy, our wealth, our possessions, and the place or the country where we live in or the house where we live in, all these, we tend to think that we made it for ourselves through our own effort.
So so we think in that way, even, for example, like this morning when we have our tea, like the tea, the sugar, the coffee, tea, all this we think that we work for it and we we have it. And we think we tend to think like that, but but but then in in reality, it is it is through the kindness of others that one one come to have all those things. Mhmm. And even that the that we pay some money, but that money which we pay for those things is also from the we receive those money from through the kindness of others. So so even the the clothes that we wear, the winter clothing and the summer clothing, it’s all we have all these because of through the kindness of other sentient beings.
How there are many just to see one, the trousers that we use. That too is worked, to make that many people came together and worked for that. So this shows the kindness of other sentient beings. So same thing, another thing is that when one was first born, we are very little. We are very little.
We are like, what is that, a piece of meat. And, we’re very small, very little. But now, we are grown up and we are all adults, Which we tend to, we can think, we can work for others. And these too, we are able to do this through the kindness of other things. So so in many ways, they are very kind to one.
So what one should do is once you repay their kind kindness. And repaying their kindness, there are many ways one can do like helping what they need, helping or giving what they are what what they needed. And another way is like the best way of helping is to bring them in the state of happiness with which which which through meditation. So so for these three days, the meditation practice that we do, we should we should think or we should motivate ourselves that all the effort that I put in these three days, I would I’m doing it for the sake of other sentient beings, for the sake of other sentient beings. And because at this present, we, what do you call, there are many other sentient beings which are ignorant, many sentient beings which are So, there are many sentient beings who who don’t know these methods, how to collect the cause for happiness and how to remove the cause of sufferings.
So thinking those sentient beings doing this practice for the sake of those sentient beings. So so setting up the motivation here that one visual visualize oneself and and which one is surrounded by all other by other sentient beings. The sentient beings of three lower realms and the rest all in the form of human human human beings. Imagine that they are all sitting around one and then generate this wish or the thought that I will free them from all types of sufferings and lead them to the state of happiness. And for that purpose, I will I will do I will listen and do the best of the practices.
So with that, I set up this type of motivation. So so when we’re doing meditations because probably you have you did meditations this morning, other set of motivations. So Geshe la will be explaining the preliminaries for for this retreat. What what are what what preliminaries one So so this calm abiding meditation practice is a is is common practice to to both Buddhist and and non-Buddhist. So so in in Buddhist teachings that when when one generate this noble mind or bodhicitta within one, then one engage in in in the practice of in the in the practice, which is known as the six, or say, perfections.
So engaging in this in the practice of six perfections. So these the six perfections or the six known as the bodhisattva deeds. Like the first one is practice of generosity. Second one is practice of morality. And third is the practice of tolerance.
And the fourth is the practice of effort or joyous effort. And then the last two, practice of concentration and the practice of wisdom. We will be speaking mainly on the practice of wisdom. Sorry, practice of concentration. So, the practice of concentrations which are mainly engaged in the practice of calm abiding, calm abiding meditations and the practice of wisdom which mainly deals with the special insight of Vipassana.
So so then to explain on this calm abiding or the concentrations, it’s explained on the two headings which is what, like, collecting the necessary things. And then secondly, the actual practice. Under these two headings, this is explained. So so the to the actual practice like using the using the technique of nine mental abidings or nine mental settings? So so this nine nine mental settings or nine mental abidings are done through applying the five powers, oh sorry, six powers.
So this calm abiding practice is done both in Buddhist and non-Buddhist? So, in other religions, like they engage in this calm abiding meditation practice and that through that practice they come to achieve the higher level of mind the mind of higher levels of beings which is different levels of clairvoyance and so So, within Buddhist teachings, it’s explained to do this practice or calm abiding meditation practice conjoined with the thought of renunciation. And if it is done conjoined with the thought of renunciation, this practice, it will become a cause for liberation. And if it is done with the practice if this practice of calm abiding meditation is done conjoined with the noble mind or the bodhicitta, then it becomes a cause for fully enlightened state. So so then whether the person in which religion sorry.
The difference among the religions is from different refuge objects. So so if this calm abiding meditation practice is conjoined with with with these individual refuge objects, if it is a it’s a Buddhist refuge conjoined with a Buddhist refuge becomes the cause for to achieve that refuge object. And if conjoined with different refuge object of different region, then it becomes the cause for that refuge object. So one can still achieve, what is it, state of calm abiding meditation, state of calm abiding meditation without these different minds, like the mind of refuge, the mind of renunciation, the mind of bodhicitta? But then one won’t be able to gain those qualities, like the concentration qualities that are explained in the sutras and tantric teachings.
If it is not conjoined with these three different minds, is mind of taking refuge, mind of renunciation, and mind of bodhicitta. Mhmm. So as an example, to pour water into some something, you first need to need a need a container there. So, like I think I made a misunderstanding which is like to pour water, you need a jug or container to patch the water. So similarly, to gain the qualities that is explained in these different sūtra and tantric teachings, this concentration practice or this śamatha meditation practice should be conjoined with the thought of these different minds.
That is the mind taking refuge and the mind of renunciation, the mind of bodhicitta, and so on. So all these different religious practice, they have their own ultimate achievements and the ultimate aim of achievements. And these, the calm abiding meditation if one needs to reach that state, the calm abiding meditation if one needs to reach that state, doesn’t mean that one have achieved the ultimate aim of that practice. So so in order to become this calm abiding meditation practice, a cause for the ultimate achievement of these different religions, this practice has to be conjoined with different explanations of those different religion practices like the practice of refuge and renunciation and so on. It’s very important this practice of śamatha meditation conjoined with the thought of refuge, bodhicitta and and renunciation?
So in Buddhist teachings, if one to achieve sorry. To achieve liberation, one need to have this wisdom realizing emptiness. And to gain that wisdom, one need this concentration practice that is the meditations on śamatha So, as an example, that if one wants to see a clear drawings on the wall in the dark place, one need a flame or a light flame which one need a flame and plus the flame which should be strong enough to see which is not disturbed by wind. So similar to that, in order to see the ultimate meaning of these Dharma teachings, one need to have steadiness in the So, if one have this steadiness in any practice what one is doing, then that practice becomes fruitful. So, similarly, like, if one’s object of meditation on this calm abiding, if one is able to keep its steadiness on the object of our meditations, then the rest of the practice that you continue with that steadiness of the mind like the practice of bodhicitta or the rest.
It will it it becomes very extensive. So so to make to make our mind have this quality of steadiness on the object, one to collect all the necessary causes for that? So, the necessary conditions for the practice of calm abiding meditations, There are many. And if one have all those necessary conditions, then this state of calm abiding can be achieved. As an example, if it’s a dry seed, then it won’t give a fruit.