Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 45-minute session, Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen lays out the four foundational conditions for serious Mahāyāna practice: living in a conducive place, making good wishing prayers at three levels (freedom from lower realms, liberation from saṃsāra, enlightenment for all beings), relying on quality spiritual companions, and accumulating merit. He stresses the importance of merit through concrete examples—respecting elders, serving the sick, generating bodhicitta—and illustrates how insufficient merit can interrupt practice through unexpected illness. The teaching then shifts to the seventh through tenth root vows of bodhisattvas, exploring how teaching emptiness to unsuitable practitioners can backfire, how abandoning the Mahāyāna path constitutes a transgression, why pressuring others to break their vows causes harm, and why Hīnayāna teachings deserve respect rather than disparagement—a caution Geshe-la particularly emphasizes for a Mahāyāna-focused center.
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File: 07 FoP.mp3
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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: ~2,781
Quoting a line from the teachings of Lama Tsongkhapa, as Lama Tsongkhapa said in his teaching, saying that in order to enter into the Mahāyāna’s path or in order to achieve the qualities of Mahāyāna’s path, one need to first achieve or attain a special base or a special body. So as this special body, as it is explained in the Lamrim teaching, it’s referring to the precious human rebirth, which with the aiding qualities that aid freedom and attaining dominance. Plus, that is what is required just to meet with the teachings of the of the Buddha. And then along that, if one is to follow the teachings of that of the three scopes, then the other special qualities which as Geshe-la explained in the past, that of the eight leisures and then other four other qualities which are require for which which are required to do the practice on these three scopes, like the small and medium. So then this supreme path which explains that is which is referring to the Mahāyāna path.
And in order to follow the teachings of the Mahāyāna path, one definitely needs this precious human rebirth. And on top of that, one also need four extra qualities. So these four other qualities which Geshe-la will explain here now. So these four, I would say, conditions or on the side, the four wheels, which is the first one is So which is living or abiding in a conducive place? So living needs a place which is known as a conducive place, which the place, the friends, the things that you enjoy or the belongings which has to be, how do you say, extra extraordinary because because one is practicing Mahāyāna’s teaching?
So having a conducive place which like those are the holy places that you see back in India, there are many holy places which are those places which are used by the holy masters. Those are the places which are known as very conducive for the practice where the earth or the place is very, where the earth itself also very conducive for one’s practice and the water, these four elements are very, I wanna say, these four elements are agreeable for one’s practice here. So in order to have these qualities or these conditions right, one have to collect causes for it. That is in order for us to have these conditions our future, one have to collect the necessary causes, one of the causes for these conditions to happen is like taking the monastic life or taking ordinations and ordination and living with the practice in the monasteries. These are known as one of the, what do you say, causes for that.
So so even if one is unable to do this, just relying on good friends and living in a conducive places are very important. So then the next condition is like making, what is it, good wishing prayers. So making good wishing prayers here, which means following or properly one to one practice such as, for example, in this case where we are doing Lamrim practice, following properly the Lamrim practice which makes possible our So so the good wishing prayers suggest there are three levels of good wishing prayers that one can make. Whatever practice whatever practice that one perform, one should make this good wishing prayers that one good wishing prayer which not to be reborn in the lower realms, one not to experience suffering of lower realms. Secondly, second level of good prayers to be free from the cyclic existence or saṃsāra.
And then thirdly, whatever practice they want to making this good wishing prayers, which to achieve the full enlightened state for the sake of others. So then then the next one, the third condition, which is relying on on a a quality beings. So the holy beings, which are the supreme beings who have the qualities of Mahāyāna teachings here. So so in in one’s future, to be able to meet with with these holy beings that are present to from the present right now, one should make effort to be able to meet one to be able to meet this one to one master who are being being the Mahāyānist, and being able to meet a Mahāyāna, spiritual master. So so like finding these Mahāyāna spiritual masters and And even if one is unable to find that, then like paying respect or showing respect to those who are known as the supreme beings or who are known as the spiritual masters.
So so and then secondly, as I said in the earlier, even the friends that we have, if possible, then one should rely on those friends who have the qualities of Mahāyāna’s teachings. And so if one have these friends for right now, then these are like, conditions or causes for one to be able to meet with the spiritual master in one’s future life. And then the fourth condition, which is being fortunate. So so in order to be a fortunate one in the in the future, in in the future lifetime, one has to collect the merit from now on to the present. So at present that we are being fit and was healthy without any sickness is a is a is a result of our past life having been collected.
So yeah. So the reason why we need to need to collect merits is that even if one doesn’t have enough collection of merits, then let’s say in your youth you have studied or successfully completed different level of educations or different religious practice, whether it’s a Buddhist or other other religion practice. And then while you’ve completed successfully all the practices, while at the very final when you come to enjoy the result, you might be unable to enjoy because because of because of you don’t have enough merit. So which you are unable to experience the result at the very end, which is because it might because of the lack of merits, might face sickness and or illness where you won’t be able to experience or enjoy the result. And similarly, for some when they come and sit and do practice, they suddenly get sick and unable to do the practice.
And this too shows they have not enough collection of merit. But at the other time when they go out and do other things beside Dharma practice, they can enjoy and do. They feel healthy. That too shows a sign that one don’t have the collections of. So so as we’ve said, we need to collect merits, which then how can we collect, in which way should we collect merits.
There are many ways that one can collect merits such as serving and respecting the other one in one way that you collect merits and also helping the sick or the ill ill persons. And that these are, like, ways how you can accumulate merit. So at at present, while one is youth and healthy, when one is asked or told to respect the elder one, one might think why I should respect the elder one. And because one is healthy, one doesn’t need to depend on anyone else. So one might think whether you know the person or not.
One might think that don’t need respect. And this way of thinking is, what is it, not right? Indeed. So so that way of thinking is wrong because that the reason why it’s wrong because that the the old one doesn’t stay old all the time. The young one doesn’t stay young all the time, and the sick one doesn’t stay sick all the time.
So so we as known as the young one too become old or can become sick. So so as you are young, if you if what we do respect or or help the elder one or the those who are sick, then once when later on, when one becomes old or when one becomes sick, one will to be served or respected by the by the younger ones. So so for for accumulating merit, the best way accumulating merit is by generating this good heart or the bodhicitta. And even if one doesn’t have a genuine one, one can set up this mind with effort. And setting up this bodhicitta with effort, we do short meditation here on bodhicitta.
Body is saying sorry he just didn’t to the main subject, but I was talking something else and took a long time. So so the main subject that that that speak here is on on that the eighteen root vows of the bodhisattvas, which the eighteen, six of them, the former six are completed. And now so we’ll explain the rest, which is said you will give a brief explanation on each one. So the the seventh one, the seventh root vows or the downfall is teaching the profound view to the to the unsuitable one. So the profound view here is the emptiness and So the teachings on emptiness should be given or taught to someone who is suitable, not to the unsuitable ones.
So So that if one is to teach the emptiness to those who are known as the unsuitable ones, then they said that by showing the teachings on selflessness or emptiness to the unsuitable one might cause them to abandon the bodhicitta. So because of this reason that, yeah, what is it, showing emptiness to the unsuitable one is, what is it, explain as the root So on this page, page number nine, number eleven, and the profound view here which is or the emptiness which is known as which is free of four extremes. So which to those who don’t have faith in the teachings of Śūnyatā or emptiness, to those who don’t have faith in emptiness or Śūnyatā, one is to show teachings on emptiness that might cause them to generate, let’s say, might cause them to generate here in them. So which they might it might cause them to go through fear which is that teaching emptiness which is a thing that doesn’t exist inherently or phenomena doesn’t exist from its own side. When this teaching is shown to them, then in their understanding, they think that a person himself or herself too might not exist at all.
So because of that thought, they go through the fear of not able to them themselves unable to be existing. So if one is to to to teach the emptiness, the teachings on emptiness to those who don’t have faith in emptiness or those who have no aspiration in the teachings, then because of that they don’t have faith and that they don’t have the aspiration, One of the reasons and one thing, the teachings on emptiness is not easy or it’s complicated. So when it is taught to those without faith and without aspiration, then because of not understanding, being complicated, that they might also think that the Mahāyāna teaching is too complicated. And instead of following the Mahāyāna teaching, I might for me, it’s better I I follow the Hinayan’s teaching and just achieve liberation for myself. So might cause them to generate this kind of mind.
So the suitable ones are known as those who are those who are able to tolerate, those who have as those who have patient in listening to the Dharma teachings. So so those are what is it? Those who are who are suitable ones which are, like, able to, listen to the teachings on selflessness, a person or selflessness, a phenomena or other teachings on emptiness. And when they hear these teachings, they are one who don’t go through any fear. Oh, And and those are those are the one who have faith, and those are the one who like or who have great desire in listening to teachings and.
So so that that is a type of tolerance, which yeah. Type of tolerance. So then So So next one is the number eight, but here in the teachings is number twelve, which is the root vows or or known as the downfall, which is taking it over. Abandoning the Mahāyāna’s teaching. So the person whoever breaks this vow has to be someone who who who are following teachings, which are aiming who has this aim to achieve the full enlightened state.
So one way that one can break this vow is that, like, say, a person is following the Mahāyāna’s teachings, the great vehicle, and to that person if one is to tell that you won’t be able to achieve your aim or the full enlightened state because you won’t be able to do the practice such as one of the six perfections, like the perfection of giving. You won’t be able to perfect that, so you won’t be able to achieve the full enlightenment. But instead, if you follow the Hīnayāna or the lower vehicle teachings, then you will be able to achieve their liberation. So when tell someone like this and then the other person abandons the Mahāyāna teachings and follows the law teaching, then that’s how one one breaks this value. So So whoever the person who tells that to the other person, if if if that by telling that if the other person abandons the minder’s teachings and follows the Hīnayāna teachings or any other types of teachings, then as soon as the person follows the other teachings, one receives the fault of breaking this.
So so then going to the next one and the thirteen, which is the root vow of abandoning the or liberation individual liberation. So so this one, abandoning the Prātimokṣa vows, which which is that sending whoever the other person is. If it’s a novice, a fully ordained monks, or a person who is keeping the body moksha vows, and if one is to tell them saying that what is the point of you keeping those vows pure instead of that if you follow the Mahāyāna teachings and practice bodhicitta, you will be able to achieve enlightenment. And by telling this, and if you cause the others to abandon their vows. So telling that if you if one is to follow the Mahāyāna vehicle or the teaching, then one will be able to remove all the delusions that one will collect through on one’s body, speech, mind.
And one will achieve the enlighten state and telling this to the other person and if other person, whoever, those who are keeping the Vinaya rules or the or the the vows, if they too, I would say, leave abandon their vows and follow what once what you told, then one receives again this vow of breaking the root. Yeah. One one receives the faults of breaking the root vowel. So then the next one is So the next one, the tenth one is four fourteen one, which is which is mistreating the Hīnayāna’s teachings or teachings of Hīnayāna. So which are mistreating any of these like the Hinayanist teachings or of the Hīnayāna’s there are two, the hearer’s teachings or the solitary realizer or the Pratyekabuddha teachings.
So there were also in the in the the earlier, there’s one also which is mistreating the Hinayanas that’s also in the earlier part, which are earlier part and this part is different, which is in the earlier part, the root vow which is mistreating the teachings of the law vehicle. And this one is. And this So the earlier part which how you mistreat that is the teachings of the Hīnayāna or the hearers and the Pratyekabuddha are not the words of the Buddha. That’s how you mistreat it. Then the later one.
So this part of the, again, misreading Hīnayāna vehicle, which is saying that by following the Hīnayāna path, you won’t be able to uproot, let’s say, saṃsāra, or you won’t be able to become free from saṃsāra telling, like, telling this is the the last second one. And this one, this rudva, it’s more likely that it will happen to us, so we have to be careful. So because Buddha house is is known as the center which explains or provides the teachings of Mahāyāna where and also people who come here who who practice Mahāyāna’s teachings. So so so because of that, when we when we see the teachings, it’s a Hīnayāna teaching, then we might see something being lower and see something lower. And when it’s when when it hears the teaching of teachings, then by keeping it more higher up.
And if we to to do it like this, then there’s a possibility one might break.