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 unpacks the morality of benefiting other sentient beings—one of three core moralities in Buddhist practice—into eight concrete, practical actions. Grounded in the classical argument that moral discipline underlies liberation for all Buddhist paths, he shows how a practitioner helps others through specific means: by thinking through consequences before acting, guiding lost travelers, protecting someone’s wealth, reuniting separated friends, and creating opportunities to accumulate merit on auspicious days. His examples are vividly drawn from everyday life—giving alcohol to a thirsty person shows the need for foresight—and he carefully maps the exceptions where no fault accrues, such as when you’re sick or already committed to a greater obligation. The teaching strikes a balance between specific rules and compassionate judgment.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 13 FoP.mp3
UUID: 784e0e61-199c-4294-a8d0-66eebd7a7466
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Foundation of Practice (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1996 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.7 minutes
Words: ~2,695
So quoting a line from the teachings of Candrakīrti, text on the Madhyamaka text, where in that text Master Candrakīrti explains that the cause of our high birth is morality, and saying morality is the one that is the supreme cause for us to achieve the highest state. So for all types of practitioners such as the ordinary beings who haven’t entered in the path, and also those beings who have entered in the path such as hearers and Pratyekabuddhas, and even the beings who have entered the Mahāyāna’s path or the Bodhisattvas, for them to achieve the highest state known as liberation or the definite goodness, to achieve this state, the main cause to achieve that state is morality or the practice of morality.
So among the ordinary beings, there are different kinds of ordinary beings who seek different things. Such as some ordinary beings just seek the happiness of this very life and work for the sake of that. And some ordinary beings seek to achieve higher rebirth in their future life such as human and god. And some ordinary beings also seek liberation, like the personal liberation for themselves. And some ordinary beings seek the full enlightened state for the sake of others. So that of the hearers and the Pratyekabuddhas, what they seek is the liberation, and that is the personal liberation.
And they don’t seek just the happiness for this life or to achieve the higher birth in their next life, but they seek the liberation, that is the personal liberation. And with the Bodhisattvas, they engage in these different practices such as the practice of the sūtra practices, known as the perfection vehicle, and also they engage in tantric practices to achieve the full enlightenment state for the sake of others. So to fulfill all these different aims, the main cause to fulfill all these different levels of aim is to practice morality. So on this topic, such as hearers and Pratyekabuddha and also Bodhisattva paths, can give detailed explanations. But because we don’t have time, if we do explain in this more detail, then we won’t complete the actual teaching.
So we won’t be saying much on this. So like the practice of morality which causes one to achieve the highest stage such as that of human and god. For that, one can, that state, highest state can be achieved through just practicing one or two types of moralities. So then the morality that causes to achieve a precious human rebirth, a morality that causes or is a cause to achieve this precious human rebirth. For that, one needs to keep all the three moralities purely, which is as it is said in the line in which you have to have pure moral discipline.
On top of that, you have to make pure good wishing prayers and have engaged in the practice of six perfections such as giving and so on. Keeping pure moralities which includes the moral precepts that is explained that comes from individual liberation, the from the teachings of Bodhisattva, the bodhicitta teachings, and also that of the tantric teachings. So the vows of individual liberation, as I said, we won’t be speaking more on that. But then the next two, that are the vows of the Bodhisattvas and the tantric vows, these are what most of us have taken.
Also, it happens that we break some of these vows. So when one happens to break these vows, one should do the purification practice, which is, if one had broken Bodhisattva vows, then one should engage in the purification practice such as prostration to thirty-five Buddhas. If one had broken tantric vows, then one is advised to do purification practice related to Vajrasattva, like meditation and recitations. Being aware of these vows and engaging in this purification practice is very important for us.
All the practices that we do and that we perform daily, if one is to summarize, then it can be summarized in these three types of moralities. And of those three types of moralities, the third one which is known as the morality of benefiting other sentient beings is what we need to keep pure. And in order to keep that morality pure, one first needs to understand what is that morality. And to understand the morality of benefiting other sentient beings, we listen to these teachings which we do for the sake of other sentient beings, like generating this mind, and we do short meditations here. So I’m saying that if we do short meditations, then maybe it’s easier, our visualizations come easier, visualization is easier for our mind.
So today, we’ll be explaining the morality of benefiting other sentient beings. So this morality of benefiting other sentient beings explains how we work for the sake of others, how we benefit the other sentient beings. So on this part, there are many ways of benefiting other sentient beings. So this is what Geshe-la will explain. So last time also, Geshe-la explained the eleven ways of benefiting sentient beings.
So of the eleven, the first one is helping or assisting the one who have helped one. So this has the main topic, like helping or assisting the one who have helped one, that part which is explained under two points, which is like in general form, like generally and in particular aspect, and these two aspects is explained. So like the general way of benefiting other sentient beings, again, divides into two, which is not assisting and not eliminating the harm. So assisting and helping, there’s eight ways of assisting or helping which one can do for others. So the eight ways of assisting or helping.
So if out of a deluded mind, if one is not to assist the other person with one of these eight different ways, then one receives downfalls. So and again, out of laziness, if one doesn’t assist the other with one of the eight different ways of helping others, then it is a sixty-fold fault, but it is not regarded as deluded. So the first of the eight, which is concentrating on the work, whatever one is doing, which is considering on the work, considering the work. Which is how the work, like thinking over how the work is, the work has to be performed.
So which is first considering the work, which is thinking whatever the work one is doing. If one is to start a work without thinking, then one is not sure whether that work will benefit the other or harm the other. So because of that, one first needs to think on that work what one is going to do. Which is like as an example, say if a person is in a dry land who is really very thirsty and you meet that person there and suddenly in order to help that person, if you give him alcohol to quench his thirst, then just the immediate response that he has, his thirst will be satisfied. Then in the future, in the later time, he might get some damage because he had the alcohol. So because of that, one should consider, one should think before doing the act.
So then the next one is like taking responsibility to do the work. So then the third one is helping the person on the road. For example, after the teaching when everyone goes back to their home, if someone is behind, someone outside didn’t know how to get to his or her place, then at that type of situation, one should help that person to get to his or her place. So then the fourth one is helping, assisting or helping the person to end committing bad karma. Which is assisting the person in those actions which are naturally good, not naturally negative actions. In those actions like helping or assisting those persons.
So even if one is not interested in doing that, in order to help, to complete, for the other to perfect whatever he or she is doing, one should perform that or one should perform that act which is helping the others. And then the next one is what we call guarding the wealth. So which is if a person have like a hundred thousand dollars and if there’s a danger that robbers are coming around and stealing that money, at that situation, one should give, show means or methods to guard his or her money.
So then after that, next one is bringing together those who are separated. So if two persons are separated, which is like among friends or boyfriend or girlfriend or among couples, if they are somehow separated or divorced, then with not a deluded mind, but with an undeluded mind, helping them to get together. So this one, it’s more likely for us, which is that when two people get separated, then we go in between and tell the other person something else and then go to the other person and tell something else, which ends up not bringing them together. We make them more distant.
Even the persons have been separated for a long time or been separated recently, like helping them to get closer or together. And not only two persons but also such as countries to countries, like making them get closer to each other, and among villages or among friends and so on. So if one is to do this act out of good heart, then that is how one benefits others. And benefiting others doesn’t mean like sitting in meditation posture.
So which is next one is, which is literally good timing, good time, which means letting others to accumulate merits. So this good timing, which is on a special day, which suggests as like holidays such as Christmas Day or Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, on those known as special days. When these special days come, then what normally we do is we tend to enjoy, which is like bringing a lot of food such as taking the life of animals and using that meat or buying different meats and cook different kinds of food and talk and then enjoy in that way. But instead on that day, what one should do is on those special days, one should accumulate merit and assist others to accumulate merit.
In these occasions, for example, if one is to eat and then drink and get drunk and then just laugh and just spend the time, then probably next day when one gets up, one might be tired or too tired to go to work. So instead on that day, if one on this occasion, if one to accumulate merit and also help or assist others to accumulate merit, then that day becomes a special day.
So then the next one is the formal one is explaining definite times, which is on those special days. But then the latter, the second one, which is anytime assisting others to accumulate merit. So anytime like anytime whether oneself or others, like trying to accumulate merits for oneself and also assisting others to accumulate merits.
So these eight benefits which we are able to do, and if we do not do these eight out of delusions or deluded mind, then one receives faults associated with the third morality which is not benefiting other sentient beings.
So then there are some exceptions which even if one is not to assist others, there are some exceptions. If one is unable to do that because one is sick, then one doesn’t have fault. Or at that time, one has already a promise to help someone else. Then again, if not assisting at that time, one doesn’t receive the fault.
So and again, if it’s the situation that whoever that person is has already someone helping that person, then in that situation, even not helping that person, one doesn’t receive the fault. So again, another situation which if one is engaging in virtuous actions which is much greater than helping that person, then again, not helping that person, one doesn’t receive downfalls.
So again, in a situation if the other person with whom one is benefiting is like very dull, which like if we were to tell something, try to help the person, then if he or she is like fighting towards you, then again in that type of situation, not helping that person again, one doesn’t receive the fault. So then next thing, like any actions which is not relevant to Dharma practice, if one doesn’t perform those actions, then again, one doesn’t receive the fault.
So again, if the person, whoever, from his or her own side is able to perform that whatever work has to be done, or if he or she has already other friends assisting, then in those cases, again, not helping that person, one doesn’t receive the fault.
So now the second vow is not eliminating the harms. So not eliminating the harm, which again explains under two, not eliminating suffering and not eliminating its cause. So not eliminating suffering, again, classified into two, general and specific. So the specific one is that not assisting the sick one who is very ill. If one abandons assisting the sick one out of anger and hatred, then it is regarded as deluded. And if it’s done out of an indifferent state of mind or laziness, then it’s not deluded, but it is a sixty-fold fault.
So then next one is not eliminating suffering, which is the general sufferings. Eliminating the general sufferings, which is like those sufferings that are known as delusions, which is by nature delusions and by action or by functioning they are delusions and by aspect they are delusions, like those kinds of acts which are delusions. One should help them eliminate these types of delusions and also those actions going against different kinds of precepts that one has taken. These two, one needs to help them, how to say, eliminate these faults.
So then the next one is not showing the method or the knowledge to those who are careless. That is if a person is doing some wrong action which is not helpful to this life and also not helpful to future life, if one is not to assist that person to abandon that kind of act, then one receives this fault.
So at the very beginning, we divided the morality of benefiting other sentient beings into two, general way of benefiting and specific way of benefiting the other sentient beings. So the specific way of benefiting again has actually two points, which is one is not benefiting and not subduing.