Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 36-minute talk, Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen closes a six-day series by showing how morality and karma form the practical foundation of all Dharma practice. Beginning with a simple principle—that all practice must start with good motivation—he outlines keeping the ten virtues as the source of both immediate and future happiness. His example is vivid: an angry person whose broken morality creates conflict and unhappiness wherever he goes, illustrating how our inner character shapes our circumstances. He then deepens the point by explaining how understanding cause and effect sustains moral practice, which in turn supports the development of concentration and wisdom. The session concludes with Q&A addressing refuge vows and the distinction between Buddhist and worldly protectors.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 07 CwC.mp3
UUID: 09fdf3ad-7948-49c8-9c62-137ab93e74cc
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Coping with Change (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1996 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 36.7 minutes
Words: ~1,987
So what we should do is we should do also pure Dharma practice. And that is as it is explained in the beginning, setting up a good motivation or out of good motivation or out of good heart once you try to do the practice. So these are also whatever practice we do. We shouldn’t just concentrate on one point, but trying to do practice in various way in in in many from many direction, then then then it it helps. So so past we have reached to such a place now, which is the result of past life’s merit or virtuous karma.
So we should we should prepare to have to, like, what is that? To to have a, what is that, right path? Or or or yeah. Right path. So so that we whatever we do, our practice, whatever those practice that we do every day, if that is done with good motivation or good intention, then So it should be done with a good motivation.
So whatever we do, for example, listening to a teaching or whatever other practice, We should start with a good motivation and do the actual part, also a good one, and then finally end the dedication with a good ending. Sorry. So, the thing that one have, which is the practice of ten virtue, is the cause of our happiness and goodness. But leaving that, which is with us right now, but leaving that somewhere else and looking, searching for another cause to achieve the cause to achieve those states, state of happiness or the goodness, there’s no way one can find. So, with effort contemplating the law of karma, the causes and cause and result, and putting effort to stop committing the ten non-virtuous actions, then that is something very good.
So as so there was a Lama known as Kamlumba. He said that if there’s there’s a in the country, then everyone everybody will come to a place where there’s the grains. So similar to that, the of all goodness or the happiness is depend on the practice of morality. And which, for example, the the three higher trainings that have morality the training of morality and the training of concentration and the training of wisdom. These two the concentrating concentration and wisdom, these two training, it’s a foundation to this morality.
So so similar to that, the main cause of our future high high rebirth, like a human and God, is also said the the morality. Morality is the cause of high rebirth. So, to achieve those high states like human and god, The cause is explained as on the basis of morality, the basis of practicing your morality, you make good wishing prayers together with the practice of six perfection, like giving and so on. So so as the example before, when there’s a when there’s a starvation of famine, all the all the things, all the people come whether it’s over their food or grain. And similar to that, the root of all high state comes down to the practice of morality.
So, how pure our practice of morality, the purity of our morality depends upon the practice or contemplation of the law of karma. So, one should rely on our Dharma practice, whatever good or bad thing happens to one. Or or one should rely on the practice of morality, whatever happens to one. So if one rely or depend on on the practice of morality, then then one one doesn’t have to tell oneself again and again. One become more and more pure.
And, yeah, one become more and more pure if one needs to depend on the practicum. Like happiness and joy of the mind can come through that. So relying on a virtuous action is how, what do you say, how you stop doing committing the non virtuous actions. And and the less non virtuous action that the less non virtuous action that one do, the happier one is or one of the one’s mind is more happy. So, sorry, lying on the virtue is what causes our mind happy, what brings to our mind happiness in our future life.
Even for this very life, it is what brings happiness. So as an example, if there’s a very short-tempered, very angry natured person, then because of his anger that the person somehow what is it, somehow, what is it, brings unhappiness in community wherever he’s working. Sometimes he has to leave or even if he happens to be in another group, again, because of his anger, let’s say, he is not happy or brings unhappiness in the in that group too. So why that happened is that one, what is it, one have broken one of the legs, which is the leg of morality, which one have broken and because of that, yeah, all these things happened. So as Geshe la explained before that for us to achieve the high state that of human and gods in our future, What we need to do now is to keep pure morality.
So which is keeping pure morality, which is avoiding doing the ten non-virtuous actions. And this this practice is nothing nothing profound. So then on the other hand, if we have a good mind or good heart, then and every all all people or all human beings like that or everyone likes that. Not only human, but also the animals, like birds and so on. They too like like like the person, and that is because of the good heart or the good mind.
So if you have committed, let’s say, carelessly those non virtuous action in the past, feeling regret towards your actions of the past and stopping in the future. If you do that, if you make yourself do not repeat those negative actions in the future, then that is what a practical practice is. And if you do that, then you also see the results, its consequence. So, if one carelessly does those actions, then those negative ten non virtuous actions or the opposite of ten virtuous action, then more and more one happens to act in that way. And even if one happens to some such as anger, anger arises to one, one doesn’t feel bad about that.
One is not ashamed of that. More and more, one does those negative actions. But then, little by little, if you restrain from those negative actions, then gradually you see that when you happen to do one of the negative actions in front of someone, you feel it’s not right or you feel shame of yourself. And in that way, you come to stop doing those negative actions. So so if one has been careless in the past, being being, let’s say, same with one’s one actions and being careful and more conscious of one’s action and keep pure morality.
Then if one have a basis of pure morality, then one can develop concentrations and develop also the wisdom. Similarly, through that, one can get rid of our delusions where one then achieves the state of Arhatship. So to achieve the state of arhat, what one need is the special insight into emptiness and to do that, one first need the practice of calm abiding meditation. And to do that, one need to practice morality as a basis. And and before to to have a good basis of morality, one have to practice the practice of renunciation.
So, if our practice of special insight and calm abiding, if it’s not conjoined with the thought of renunciation, then it doesn’t become the cause of liberation or doesn’t becomes especially the cause of mere liberation? So so today is the last day or the sixth day of, let’s say, the teachings on impermanence. And Geshe-la said that he didn’t actually talk about impermanence. And he said he didn’t talk taught on impermanence. Sorry for sorry.
So but what what you thought today is as advice, which is the sixth day, which is the advice for teachings, which are a form of advice. Yeah. And we stop here for tonight. And you have any questions? So it’s a degeneration of life.
Time, delusion, sentient beings, view, and life. On the refuge. On the refuge. So Geshe-la, before that Geshe-la said that he had taught on Sunday on the refuge and also Champo is explaining teaching on the refuge part. And this is saying that what come all the I would say, all the all the negative side is what what what you have to stop doing as a commitment.
So with the refuge, as a commitment concerning refuge, there are two, what do call, advices. Advices that you should do and the advices that you shouldn’t do. So, as it is explained, the two causes, you need to have the two causes which for taking refuge. And one is here in the suffering of lower realms and general suffering of saṃsāra, and then having this trust in the in the right refuge object in the triple gem that they have complete power to, okay, to protect one from the self state of suffering. These two are what what we say we need or what we need as a cause.
So one accepts the true refuge object as the only, I would say, savior or package object that which I wanna say, frees or saves one from the suffering of lower realms. So, which we tell what we’re interested in the triple gem, which they are or you are the final refuge object, ultimate refuge object. So then the advice concerning that what you should do is old practice that, for example, meditation on impermanence and and death. Starting from there, all all the all the all the positive practice that of which or positive action which leads one up to to the enlightened state. These are what what one should do.
So so then things that one shouldn’t do or advice concerning that one shouldn’t do is that defile these three triple gems. Defile these three refuge objects and one shouldn’t like take refuge in the worldly protectors. So if one has such a only protectors, if one is how do say, doing the practice or taking the help of only protectors, then one shouldn’t ultimately go refuge into that all your protectors. And if one happens to, if one is to go, what is it, take the worldly protector as ultimate refuge object, then there were one, again, what is it, loses the refuge vow. Yes.
Just give the position. It looks like that. So, all the protectors are like ones that when you serve and make offerings to them and when you made some mistakes in your practice to them, then they bring harm to you. So that sort of protectors is what one shouldn’t take as ultimate refuge. So like a a object, a refuge object such as Buddha is is is something that whether one one, what is it, rely on or not, I would say, the refuge of the Buddha doesn’t get angry angry whether one rely or not.
So, in, you know, say, short, is once you do not seek other refuge objects beside Buddhist Buddhist refuge object. So which which one should seek refuge to a refuge object which itself or himself, the refuge object itself is free of all faults and can give protection or save others from all types of to that type of refuge, the only one to seek out. So which if a person is trapped in a, what do call, in a swamp, both legs and he or she cannot help others. So So so so what is it? The right object, if it’s like that, which is not free itself from any all types of here, then that that’s what’s known as the worldly protector.
Okay. Yeah. Any questions? Okay.