Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 44-minute teaching, Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen grounds genuine faith in spiritual practice on impermanence and death meditation. He opens with Śāntideva on bodhicitta—the compassionate determination to achieve enlightenment for all beings—then moves to the core practice: contemplating your mortality and how your body disintegrates moment by moment. This meditation shatters denial and generates urgency to practice now. He then walks through the rarity of human rebirth: the eight freedoms and ten endowments that make this life precious are fragile, and karmic imprints favoring lower realms vastly outnumber those for human birth. The talk is urgent and grounded. There is no time to delay. Every moment, conditions that could ripen lower rebirth are active. Suited for practitioners ready to move beyond intellectual understanding to genuine motivation.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 03 CwC.mp3
UUID: faff999b-02cc-4c75-af9a-d189c28846f1
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Coping with Change (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1996 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 44.1 minutes
Words: ~2,407
Quoting a line from the teachings of Śāntideva, the the text is known as the guide to the way of bodhisattva’s life. It explains the benefit of bodhicitta, where bodhicitta is explained of two types, that of the aspiring bodhicitta and engaging bodhicitta. So in in few lines here explains the benefit of the engaging bodhicitta. So, the aspiring bodhicitta, sorry, the engaging bodhicitta is the cause of all happiness of migrators or sentient beings, which all the high which also the engaging bodhicitta is the cause of high high states that of the human and god and so and the upper upper states. And that bod hicitta or the engaging bodhicitta is also known as the the medicine which which removes the sufferings of all things.
So so these are the benefits, and this precious mind, this precious mind has has the the merit that accumulate through this precious mind is is is without limit limitless. So so, the note that you you accumulate out of out of bodhicitta is something measurable, whereas it is said in the sūtra that if it has a form, then it won’t there’s no place that can fit in. So so in the the sūtra known as the king of concentration, to explain explains that just generating this mind that is bodhicitta or generating generating this mind bodhicitta has has infinite way where you come to accumulate infinite amount of So it’s also said that generating this mind has has much greater benefit than offering the whole universe or whole field to to the Buddhist. If you were to compare these two merit, then generating the bodhicitta has the merit generating merit that you accumulate through generating bodhicitta is is far greater. So just generating this mind if if that has that great benefit or that you come to accumulate that great amount of merit, then, yeah, then actually engaging in the practice of this mind, these two minds, the aspiring and engaging mind.
No doubt the the merit it can accumulate is far greater than that. So so just before said that, like, feeling all the buddha fields which are infinite buddha fields and filling all those fields and making offering to buddha and and the the merit that you accumulate out of that offering and merit that you accumulate by generating bodhicitta. If you compare these two merits, then it is said that generating the mind that is bodhicitta has has generating the mind of bodhicitta which we come to accumulate a much more greater merit. So so so just if you to imagine that the amount of that accumulate by making offering to Buddhas all, like, filling all the Buddha fields, that even something which which we can imagine. It’s something which is unimaginable.
So so making offering to Buddhas, again, it’s said that you have come to accumulate great merit. Just for example, making offering to Buddha with with respect or faith and just offering of offering a single one flower, the merit that you accumulate out of that practice is also also, I wanna say, immeasurable, cannot measure. So so then the merit that we accumulate out of generating bodhicitta, that that is much much or far greater than that of making offering to Buddhas. So so so knowing this that all the time trying to practice that, trying to practice bodhicitta where with that mind, with with bodhicitta, that meditating on compassion or love and and so on, this also accumulates great amount of merit. So as it is said, one is if the form if if that merit has a form that you accumulate out of generating bodhicitta, then it it won’t it won’t it won’t have a space to there’s no space that can fit in.
As it is said that we should we should, let’s say, all the time, make ourselves practice bodhicitta. So so right now here, listening to the teaching, we are listening to Mahāyāna teachings. So so generating a Mahāyāna’s motivation, in order to achieve the the omniscient state for the sake of all my sentient beings, I I will I listen to the teachings. So generating that type of motivation or bodhicitta motivation, and we do here short med meditation. So the subject that we’ll be speaking is on impermanence.
So it’s it’s it’s important for for us to meditate on impermanence. The how the external things or the the the world, the external world has the nature of impermanence. It is it’s important for for us to think a lot, contemplate on that. Although it is important to meditate on phenomena. The nature of impermanence on the outside phenomena.
Like, for example, like the vase and so on. It is something very which we need, but meditating impermanence just on only on path, as an as an example, external things, doesn’t really help one or have or doesn’t really help one generate the faith in the Dharma practice. So in order to generate the faith in in the Dharma practice, to what we should meditate impermanence on, to what we should meditate on is we should meditate on our body. How our body has nature of impermanence which disintegrates moment by moment. So so our body is impermanent and and that is what we we believe, but but we don’t see the disintegrating moment disintegration of our body like aging and so on.
So so so and then we we see others aging, but we don’t see out of aging. And and we we cherish our body very much, but we don’t cherish other’s body health wealth very much. So so if if one if one is not to if one is not to recognize the impermanent nature of our body, then then we also want come to recognize suffering of lower And if we don’t recognize the suffering of lower realms, then we don’t seek we don’t seek any refuge. We don’t we don’t seek any refuge. So so so in in so in order to be be a good person or good sentient beings, what we need is we need faith in the Dharma.
We need we need to generate the faith in the Dharma. And and especially, we need to we need to be need to be careful with our actions or be consistent. So so then on top of that, should we should listen to teachings and not only listening, but contemplating on the meanings and and should should gain some understanding or experience of the practice. Lama spoke to. So one of them, known as Vajrapāni, said to to that master saying that So what what he said was that those who’s who said those who says that I have a vision of a deity or my medicational deity without without having faith without having faith in them is is a lie.
So so similarly, like, those who said that they had some experience, they have they have gained some experience without having faith in one’s guru or one’s meditational deities is is lie. And and he also said that without without having the experience of death and impermanence, saying that they they have renounced the saṃsāra is also a lie. And and also similarly, also said that those who says that I haven’t done any negative actions, who who who I haven’t done any negative actions with with this belief in in the law of karma is also a lie. And, also, those who said I meditate on love and compassion without without without not even have have without not even having slightest thought of benefiting others is also a lie. So so so if you in this very life, if you wish to do a pure Dharma practice, then you need need, how do say, the faith in the Dharma practice.
So that is what is told to Lama Dorje by Vajrapāni. But this this this should be understood that it’s should be understood that they are talking to us. So so if that is if that is truth or that is so, then what should I do in order to generate faith? The the the master asked So as an answer, said that if one is to rely in the in the in the speech of guru, I wanna say, who who is the second Buddha, then you your faith will what it will like? Faith will you will generate your faith automatically.
And and similarly, he also said that if you do be accompanied with with those those with a strong faith, friends with those friends who who are who have a strong faith, then that also will make you make you generate a strong And and then similarly, I also said that meditating on impermanence and death and contemplating or seeing the faults of saṃsāra, these also these also make make one generate a conviction in the in the conviction or or trust in the Dharma practice. So like a meditating impermanence on one one’s own body is is is what makes us what makes us generate interest and and respect our faith in the Dharma. So so but then for some some people, they might think it is true by by by doing their meditation on impermanence and death that one might generate faith in the Dharma, but they think they they think that I don’t have time to do meditation on impermanence right now. I will med do meditation on the future, or I will do meditation on this in my next life. So so if you, you know, if you happen to have that kind of thoughts, then then again, that’s wrong.
That’s wrong. But what you need is you need you need to, what do you say, do meditations or the Dharma practice right right away. The reason that we need to do Dharma practice right away is that we definitely will face the death and the death when the death will strike, we don’t know. And we are, what I say, it’s like the time we are running towards facing the death. So because of that, we we need to do Dharma practice right away.
So so with us, that we have not only achieved this obtained this human body, but we have also all the all the qualities that is the the eight freedom and ten endowments. So there are there are many, I wanna say, many different forms or bodies that we can take like that of like that of god, Indira and Brahma, or the universal king or or or different types of beings. Of among all these, like, among all these bodies, the the taking the human body or human body is regarded the supreme one? So so if you look into the gods’ realm, the those gods, their their bodies extraordinary or something very special. But what we can achieve through this human body is not possible through through those bodies of the god.
So through this body, our body, we can achieve both temporal and ultimate wishes or happiness. So so while at present when we we have this body, this human body, if we are unable to do Dharma practice, then again in the future to to gain this kind of body is extremely difficult. So in the future, it’s a in the to achieve just to achieve human body is extreme I would say extremely difficult. What is that? This human body with with these qualities like the eight freedom and ten endowment, it’s it’s very difficult.
But just to achieve human body, it’s extremely difficult. So so like if if if something some little things goes some some small conditions goes wrong, then then then to achieve this body is very difficult. To achieve this human body is very difficult. If something goes wrong or some small conditions goes wrong, then that might cause one to be reborn as a god or other beings. So so, like, if you if you compare these two that those karmic imprints that we have to to take human human human rebirth again and those those karmic imprints that we have to take the lower rebirth.
If we compare these two, then our karmic imprint to to take one of the beings of the lower realms is is like like like ocean. Like ocean, it’s it’s very vast. And our karmic imprints to take human form is like a it does between our nail and our finger. So so then not only that, but to to take human body with aging qualities are extremely little. So, and then similarly, those conditions which ripens the imprint be born in the long rungs is extremely many.
Those conditions which makes ripens, which ripens our imprints to be born as a human is is very little. So so any, what is it, wrong conception or wrong thoughts can ripen our karmic imprints to be born in the lower realms. So so at present when we have this precious human rebirth, we should we should we should should we should engage in the method if possible then to achieve the the liberation or the omniscient stage. If not, then we should do something, some practice which will free one from being born in the lower realms in our next slide. So for that for that to do that, we advise we were taught to do the meditation on impermanence.
So this precious human body with aging qualities instead of the the eight freedoms, which is eighth freedom from eight unfortunate states and and and then having the ten endowments. So the ten endowments, again, divided into two that of five personal circumstances and five other circumstances. So the five other circumstances is that Buddha Buddha coming to the world. And Buddha having taught the Dharma. And the teachings of the Buddha remaining still existing existing in the in the world.
And that’s because of that. And and and having still the followers of Buddhist teachings. Mhmm. And And compassion for others. So so these five other circumstances is extremely difficult.
So so generally speaking, Buddha coming to the world is extremely rare, and and and it’s extremely more rare that coming to the world, and we are being born there which meeting the Buddha. That is extremely difficult.