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 quotes the Guide to the Way of the Bodhisattva to answer a key question: why renunciation—freedom from the lower realms—is not enough. Genuine liberation requires bodhicitta, the commitment to free all sentient beings from suffering. Through the image of a mother falling into fire, he develops the logic of compassion based on our countless rebirths connected to all beings. He then explains how meditation on impermanence—understood differently at three levels of practice (small, medium, and great scope)—reveals suffering and points toward meditation on selflessness as the antidote. The talk concludes with analysis of independent versus dependent self, showing how self-grasping perpetuates suffering and how Buddhist understanding of causality differs from non-Buddhist schools.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 01 CwC.mp3
UUID: f959fb3d-79ec-44b9-87eb-95595904e380
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Coping with Change (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1996 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 44.6 minutes
Words: ~1,962
So quoting a line from the guide to the way of bodhisattva’s life That in four lines that in that text advises one that one should never give up the practice practice that is known as the bodhicitta. So in these four lines, the first two line, it says that just getting free from the lower realms is not enough, not so sufficient because we are still under the control of karma and delusions that one will again fall into the lower realms. We need to, what we need is we need to become free from saṃsāra. So to free oneself from saṃsāra, first to generate renunciation, to understanding the sufferings of cyclic existence. And then wishing or having this desire to remove the sufferings of all sentient beings?
So, and if you wish bring the many happiness to all sentient beings, then one have to train to achieve all these like renunciation, bringing oneself out from the state of suffering and bringing or providing the many happiness to all other including oneself. One, to do that, one need one shouldn’t one need the practice of bodhicitta, which one shouldn’t forget. So bodhicitta, possible generating a genuine or effortless bodhicitta. If not, then generating bodhicitta or the mind of enlighten ment with with effort. So those who have never generated bodhicitta or have never heard about bodhicitta, how they should proceed is first to look what are the causes for generating this bodhicitta, or what are the methods for generating bodhicitta, and if possible, to generate the genuine or effortless bodhicitta.
So if one is able to generate a genuine effortless bodhicitta, then that is the best. So it’s the best which it frees oneself from all the state of all suffering of saṃsāra and not only that but it also frees others from all types of sufferings. And it becomes the cause for regenerating this bodhicitta, this bodhicitta becomes the cause of full enlightenment? So we normally, we feel that we have no connection to other sentient beings. We feel separate from other sentient beings.
We feel that we have no relation to them, but that is not right because we have taken many rebirths and each rebirth that we have taken, we need a parent, a mother, and father. So we have this relation or connection with other sentient beings that which is like mother and father. So as an example that if the mother is falling into a hole where there’s big fire and she’s unable to get out of suffering and she needs help and who should help her or who should save her from that suffering of fire is the son or the daughter should save the mother. And instead of saving her if the son or the daughter stays away and does some things like interchanging themselves with other things, then it is something negative or it is generally seen something bad, regarded bad. So oneself and other sentient beings, If you compare the way how we think and how other sentient beings think, that in one level, it’s all the same.
They all wish happiness like we do, and they don’t want the sufferings similar to us. So so then those are the sentient beings beside one. They they they don’t know or they don’t have this power to to remove those sufferings. So so with with us, we we have this with us, present we have achieved this precious human body with all the necessary qualities and also we have met all the internal and external conditions for practice, which is to do Dharma practice. And we have all the powers to practice Dharma.
So so one have this complete, full chance to do the Dharma practice. Generally speaking, we have to work to achieve happiness for oneself and work to remove sufferings for oneself. But not taking that as something most important. Instead thinking that if you, instead of that, if you think the others more important and work to free others from all types of sufferings and bring them all types of happiness. If you aim in that way, then once one happiness comes along with that practice.
Without having the thought of near and far, should try to generate great wish to free all sentient beings from the state of sufferings and provide them all types of happiness. And to do that now I to the teachings, generate this motivation and we do short meditation. Sorry, quoting a line from the teachings of Dharmakīrti, master Dharmakīrti, that says that through meditating on impermanence one come to understand or one come to recognize the sufferings. So, by understanding suffering, one engage in the practice to abandon or to remove the sufferings and that which removes these sufferings is the meditation on selflessness. And through the meditations on selflessness that one get rid of all sufferings, where one becomes free from saṃsāra or yeah.
Free from becomes free from saṃsāra. So, we might see or think that meditation on impermanence is practice something that is done by those who don’t have much other practice, and those who don’t have much important practice to do. And, we might think like that, but it is not like that. So, in the practice, the practitioners of Buddhist teachings, they are of three types of beings, which is generally speaking, that of the small scope, the medium scope, and the great scope. So all these three scopes, they all do the same type of meditations on impermanence.
So they all meditate on impermanence, and and the way they meditate on impermanence are slightly different. So, in the small scope, the beings on the small scope, they meditate on impermanence, which is the impermanence and death, which is related to the impermanence and death. So then, in the medium scope, the practitioners on the medium scope, they meditate on impermanence, which is known as the subtle impermanence. That is the feature or the qualities the four noble truth. So So then on the the great scope, the practitioner on the great scope meditates on impermanence, especially, like, observing sentient beings.
How, like, sentient beings disintegrate moment by moment. So in the in the very beginning, the line said that by meditating on impermanence, you come to see the sufferings. So for the small scope, the beings on the small scope by meditating on impermanence and death, what what sufferings they they see is that they see the sufferings of lower realms? And then the practitioners on the medium scope through meditating on this subtle impermanence which is the feature of one of the Four Noble Truths that they come to see the pervasive sufferings which is, they come to see the pervasive sufferings that is on the basis of this aggregate. So so then the practitioners on the great scope that they meditate on impermanence which is especially which is especially observing other sentient beings, which how other beings goes through or experiencing three types of sufferings and how they disintegrate, how they move moment to moment, change moment to moment.
So yeah, in that way, they meditate on this. So through meditating on impermanence, one come to recognize the sufferings. And now, by recognizing the sufferings, you apply antidotes towards sufferings, which is meditating on selflessness. So for for the practicing on the path of the small scope, by meditating on impermanence they come to see sufferings of lower realms and as an antidote for that then meditate on the selflessness which is, meditate on selflessness which is the independent self, the non-existence of independent self. So, the independent self, what is meant by independent self is that the I or the self which is not produced from its causes and conditions.
That is what is known as the independent self. And if the independent self exists then it should it should exist without its cause and conditions. So so that we we value this self or the I very much, And because of that, when we are cold, we value our self or the I that we wear many clothes. And when we are hungry we provide food or eat food. And when we become dirty we wash our, take bath or showers.
So going through all these by valuing the self that we experience or go through many different sufferings. So so then, like, just for the purpose of this very life. Have different things like our friends, like boyfriend or girlfriend or wife or husband and we also face different problems or we had to fight or argue with our friends and because we do that because we value this I very much or because of that I-grasping or self grasping. So, we hold or we value this I or the self being very important and because of that, come into argument with others and that leads to more and more problems in the future. So, this self or the I doesn’t exist independently.
It exists dependent upon its causes and conditions. So, these different terms like self, I, person, these are same, have same meanings. And there isn’t an independent self, I or a person. Self I person exists in dependence upon its causes and conditions. So in one of the outsider was non-Buddhist schools, are known as the Samkhyas, where they said So this in that school, the non-Buddhist school, they said that this person, the self, is not result but it is a cause.
If it is result then it has to be produced independent of its causes. So because of that, it’s not result but it is the cause. So so they said that it is not a result, but it is the cause, that self or the person. And when the person hears or enjoys sound or object, the sound or the object that the person enjoys are created by the created by the created by a creator. So the person is a cause but not a actor or a result.
And when the person wants to enjoy something whatever it may be, it is let’s say, whatever the thing may be, it is emanated by the creator. Oh, yeah. So that Geshe-la is saying that maybe she didn’t talk much on this because she well, it seems you don’t understand. So, in Buddhist school, that all forms or all compound phenomena, all compound phenomena are produced dependence upon its cause and conditions like whatever food, shelter or anything those which are compound phenomena, they are all produced or come into existence dependence upon its causes and conditions. So so one of the one of the signs or one of the proof that all these compound phenomenons which which come into existence dependent upon its causes and conditions.
For example, in the winter time like all the grasses and the trees losing their leaves and getting dry. This example shows that it came into existence because of its cause and conditions, not that someone created that. So so then the being on the middle scope through meditating on impermanence, through meditating on a subtle impermanence, they come to see pervasive suffering. So, the pervasive suffering is, our contaminated body our contaminated body is known as the pervasive suffering. So, to where it pervades, it is pervaded in all three realms.
So in the upper realms, they don’t have the suffering of change and the suffering of pain. Only what they have is the pervasive sufferings. So, suffering of change, which is is known by suffering of change is the contaminated happiness. The contaminated happiness is known as the the suffering of change. So so this in the suffering of change, the suffering of change mainly is explained of the three realms.