Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 45-minute teaching, Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen examines the ethical foundation of Mahāyāna practice by walking through the secondary downfalls—faults that arise not from gross breaches but from subtle lapses in intention and conduct. He begins with downfalls linked to livelihood: engaging in wrong livelihoods out of anger, delusion, or laziness; weakening practice through idle amusement and attachment to saṃsāra; and the crucial distinction for Mahāyāna practitioners between seeking personal liberation and bodhisattva commitment. He then explores downfalls that damage reputation and community: failing to guard oneself against criticism, and failing to intervene when others commit harmful acts—unless doing so would harm the broader sangha. Throughout, Geshe Dhawa emphasises that ethical conduct rests on sincere motivation, not mere outward compliance, and illustrates how even wholesome acts like gift-giving become stealing if animated by self-interest. Pitched at practitioners with foundational knowledge of Mahāyāna precepts.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 02 FoP.mp3
UUID: c6c08fdf-ae25-4c83-af20-c5c2500c529b
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Foundation of Practice (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1996 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.5 minutes
Words: ~2,672
So which is the valve which is like practicing or practicing the say, wrong livelihood. So like engaging or practicing the five livelihoods, which if one is involved in one of these five wrong livelihoods, what do say? If it is done out of anger or delusions and commit these five livelihoods or wrong livelihoods, then one receives downfalls of breaking this fault. And or even if it’s done out of, what do say, laziness or indifferent thoughts, then, again, you you commit or you break the vows. Yeah.
So these are the five wrong livelihoods which yeah. I guess you said that you won’t be explaining, but if someone doesn’t remember, then you can explain at the at the end when we do question and answer. So so then next after that is what’s it? Weakness in in one’s practice. So which is that like making sort of fun of others and just making fun of others and laughing a lot and engaging in these acts.
Oh, such as making a lot of noise with making a lot of fun and and and, like, such as games or sports, like, like, getting involved into this too. So so then then the next one or the third one, which is getting getting attached to the to the to the saṃsāra. So this one, like as a bodhisattva or a Mahāyānist, if they to put effort mainly for their own liberation or self liberation, then what’s it? So as a a bodhisattva or a mind is being you receive the false breaking So here in the sutras, explains Buddha explains that the bodhisattvas, what do say, kava, bodhisattvas desires saṃsāra or like and and they don’t wish liberations. So so that is what in the Sutras Buddha said.
So so those bodhisattvas who are training on the path, getting mistaken by that misled by word or misunderstood that word. And if they don’t seek liberation and if they are not scared of the delusions, the root delusions and the the secondary delusions of saṃsāra, then again, one to six that fold. So so like such as the the hearers and Pratyekabuddha, they seek liberation or they put effort in achieving liberation and they have this great fear in those delusions such as in those delusions. Yeah. So that even those hearers and Pratyekabuddha to achieve liberation that they have great fear in these delusions.
So for such as Mahayanists, those who are seeking enlightenment for the sake of others, they should have this great interest in achieving liberation, like a hundred times greater interest, It’s like a hundred or a thousand times greater interest and hundred or a thousand times greater fear they should have for these delusions instead of third and secondary. So so then now we’ll go to the next. So going to the next one, which is the downfalls concerning both one and others. So that has again two, which is not avoiding bad reputations. So which is if you don’t, like, guard your own reputation, good reputation, then you again receive again, break or receive this fault.
So so this part which is like if if one one get criticized such as in in in in these three levels where the big, medium, or small criticism that one have one is giving. If one then doesn’t guard like those criticisms that one has given, if one doesn’t guard those criticisms, that means that one is not, what is it, guarding one’s rep good reputation. So so one breaks this again, this file. So if someone criticizes one, that is one, let’s say, because one have done something wrong and one gets the criticism. Not guarding that criticism that one has given by others.
And even if others like said something, give some other criticism and not, what to say, restoring that criticism. One, either of these two, if one doesn’t don’t either of these two, then, again, one breaks one breaks this fault. Yeah. So so even without without any base, you’re you’re criticized. Even for that, like, even if you’re not to guard that or protect protect oneself from that, then again, you receive again, you you break the vows.
Yeah. You break the faults. So for the the second now I’ll go into the second one, which is for the sake of others. So sorry I don’t remember the word. When others done some actions to their body, speech, mind And not to restore their act, to restore their act like, to restore their act giving harsh actions.
So which if you if you see someone else like committing some action through their body, speech, mind, like doing some wrong actions. If you know that knowing that the person is doing this wrong action, and if you don’t give means to stop that person from committing that act, whether it is the means which is rightful or peaceful whatever. If you don’t do apply or give, then, yeah, that that’s one breaks again that one of the faults. Yeah. So so let’s say if someone is physically committing some wrong actions, and And for that if one is to, if one is, one knows that if one says something, that action can be stopped.
But not giving any, like not saying anything to stop that person from committing that act like with it because of like just with some reasons that because one doesn’t like the person or because of other reasons that if one is not to tell the person to not to give advice or talk tell the person tell the person or let person let that person committing that act, then one one breaks this vow. So so because as a Mahāyānist as a Mahāyānist practitioner, one shouldn’t like one should work for all. So it’s not that as a Mahāyānist, one one will work for someone who likes and one doesn’t work for those who whom one doesn’t like. So it shouldn’t be like that then. So after here, it completes those faults which are which are associated with morality morality.
And the next one comes is those faults associated with tolerance. Mhmm. And that will be explained in in next. So now you have any questions here? So which is like abiding in the family of superior beings or living in the family superior beings which are the which are like such as those who are just satisfied with what they have, which is like a little food and shelter.
That’s one of the the what to say? Which is one of the, what to say, practice of the aryas here or the So getting and the first one is just getting satisfied with little clothings which is that of, yeah, that of the clothe the shelters. And second one is getting satisfied with little food, which is like the arms. And then So so then the third one is getting said like, being satisfied with with with little shelters, like place where one live. And then one who is interested in abandoning and in meditating.
So if if you have these qualities, it’s four, then you are in the family of superior beings. And if you don’t, then you are not in the family of aryas or the superior beings. Oh, And so one should he said, The five long livelihood, which is the first one is what is it? Contra with so Contrived. Contrived.
So which is like in order to receive some, you know, or wealth and so on, and like pretending like in front of that person, like trying to be someone and being nice to in front of the person. This is in order to receive a reward, like almost like pretending in front of others in order to receive, saying that I have almost achieved Buddhahood or something. And then second one is what you call flattery. So So which is that true, like, in order to receive wealth for one oneself, like like speaking nicely, being speaking nicely in front of someone in order to, like, receive the wealth or possessions. And then the third one is, what is it, like hinting.
Like, again, that is to receive the wealth of others for one. Like, when you see others’ wealth, then, like, praising in the wealth of others in order to receive those. Mhmm. And then it’s by force or taking it by force. So So, like by force which has meaning that telling lies also, which if you have someone who respects or have faith in you or have reverence in you, which like to receive a dharma rope, for example, like trying to be friend with the person and trying to, like, in order to receive that dharma rope.
And then the fifth one is what is it? Which is seeking seeking reward for for what one have done. Nice. So which is done out of bad motivations, wrong motivation, which in order to receive great reward in the future, that with that with the motive in order to receive a great reward in the future, you give some present small present now. Giving some small present here.
So this is the one. So so to commit this one, the last which is has to have this bad motivation, bad motive which is otherwise just giving present is something which we do normally and it’s also was a right in in in our practice, in in our Dharma practice to give some present here. So there’s a saying in Tibet which is that if you if you don’t have a, I wanna say, answer to the question, then it’s foolish or is it fool? And then if you don’t have a if you receive food and if you don’t have food to give back to the other person, then it’s not honest or dishonest. So so such that when when we receive presents, we also give presents to others.
So but then if that act is done out of wrong motivation, then for for fully ordained monk, it is that they break one of their root vows, which is stealing, becomes stealing. So so if if one is to break the root vow, such as, like, the the root vow of stealing. And for for monk, like, modern monk or novice, if they do break the root vow, then they they break their vows. They lose their vows. It’s like they don’t have to commit the sexual misconduct.
So the same with the with the lay person who are taking the lay precepts. So that the act of stealing can become the act of stealing. So one have have to be very careful with this. But then as it says in the early in the beginning that if you do it for the sake of others, then it’s okay. So which is saying that stealing for the sake of others, which mainly involves like like if someone had stolen a thing from the Sangha community or a property of a group of people and that person is like because of stealing from a group of people, that person is going to commit heavy negative actions.
So in order to for that person to stop, like, increasing his or her negative action, if one is to, like, take his whatever he have stolen, take that and, like, take that. Either you you go and take it or but, like, if you secretly take it, whatever means you use and give it back to the person give it back to the community wherever he has stolen from. Then though, like, you go and take it, it’s an act of stealing. That’s one one perform that act for this Alexi. So especially referring to that kind of stealing.
So that’s one of the examples which likes stealing for the sake of others. But but if you do that saying that I’m doing this for the sake of others and if you put in your pocket, then that doesn’t and this doesn’t become drink for the sake of others. So that’s what do you say? It becomes like being very practical for one’s one’s sake and not being practical at all for the sake of others. Just being words.
Just saying words for the sake So which is like just being a water saying that for the sake of others, which is like sitting there like, pretending to be to to pretending that you’re doing for the sake of others, like, folding your hands and your eyes eyebrows are, like, really face up and, like, showing that you are pretending to do for the sake of others. Yeah. Which then being very practical with what one said, which is that what you have in your hand is the same thing like having in your mouth. So so which is like for once one sec, even if you had to do go far away to do something like like climbing a a few different hills, you go and do because it’s for your own sake. So when you’re working very hard, going around, walking with a lot of effort, then that’s that is for the sake of yourself, oneself.
Yeah. So that one, for example, if you say in take example of a monastery. So if if a monk or or a nun who are living in the monastery, he or she if you happen to break the root vase, then they they are, like, cast away or they have they leave them have to leave the monastery. So another example, say, like here, around here, if in this community, if if one person had done something wrong and if it’s like a, what’s the sense, I would say, from that that community. So so then, again, in there, like, who have been kicked out, if you need punished to, like, out of compassion, like, saying that I have compassion and, like, keep that person and come with being a company with that person, then, again, that might cause, I wanna say, problem in the community.
So so, yeah, that might cause a problem in the community. So which is for the sake of one, if you like upset many many minds or many, then that’s not not right. So so these exceptions which are given, like, if someone has been kicked out from our community, that’s one exception. And if one is to ignore that person again in order to, in order to, what is it, to protect the mind of many, Protect or not to upset the mind of many people. For that that exception.
So so then the third one, the exception is like if if by, what to say, ignoring that person, again, if it that leads to something good, then ignoring that person again, one doesn’t receive the faults. Yeah. Okay. Good at you. Saying that if if someone has to go far away or drive far away, then said he can he can go.
So even if there is a right base of criticism, like one has been criticized, one has to guard that because in order not to commit that action again in the future. So so the criticism that we we receive, one might one reason might be that because of our our past karma. So so so then if one has been criticized and if one is not to completely, what’s that, not to apply remedies or antidotes to clear away those criticism, then again, if one just leaves it there, then again, the others will again more and more criticize and the others might again others might, I wanna say, commit many negative actions. So if many criticize one, then it shows that something’s wrong. And if one has to stand up among many, then again, because of that criticism that one can’t go up or stand up.
So if one had the the basis of criticism.