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 explores three qualities of an awakened Buddha: body, speech, and mind. He introduces the central insight through the image of Buddha perceiving all phenomena simultaneously, like a fruit placed on the palm of the hand. He illustrates this with the story of a master lama transmitting the entire Kangyur canon in a single gesture. Buddha’s speech has sixty qualities: it travels any distance, answers countless simultaneous questions in each listener’s own language, and gradually liberates hearers from delusion. His mind is omniscient and boundlessly compassionate. He clinches these teachings with the story of Buddha identifying dozens of grain containers by their owners’ names, proving his omniscience to skeptics. For practitioners with some Buddhist background.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 08 GP 1996 02 18.mp3
UUID: 2ad0d293-aad6-43ea-b46a-11167410a75f
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Graduated Path (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1996-02-18
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 44.5 minutes
Words: ~2,325
So so then all all, you know, all these marks all all parts like, all the parts of Buddhist body, which which has this, what is it, thirty two and eighty minor sign marks and signs. So even a part a fraction of Buddhist body can have or can I would say, perform the quality of Buddhist speech, which which I’m saying like giving teachings? So so then how part of Buddhist body can teach or teach Dharma or performs quality of Buddhist speech is that different miracles that is performed physically. That’s one way that how Buddhist body teaches the Dharma. So, like, performing these different miracles like physically which like perform different miracles like having flame in the upper part of the body and or like seeing water on the lower part of the body.
Performing these different miracles is one way of teaching the Dharma. And if the trainees or the disciples didn’t know how to how to listen to it, then that is also the teachings. So so the color of Buddha’s body is golden. And and and and and all these different qualities, the signs and marks of Buddha’s body are taught or are explained and also giving the explanations for what necessary causes that we need, what do say, for these different qualities. Mhmm.
And so to let us, you know, to under to let us understand the call it the cause of these qualities is this has been taught. So beside that Buddha also performed in the going performed the death or passing into the body. So in general speaking, that that those beings who have realized emptiness directly or known as the aryas, all of those beings have no no they don’t they don’t experience any sickness. They don’t they don’t they don’t die, and they don’t also have the suffering of getting old. So similar to that Buddha Buddha too don’t have any sickness or or taste that or experience the old age, but but that Buddha performed this or performed this deed.
And the reason that Buddha performed this is showing the teachings and impermanence to the to the followers. So so and then also sorry. The Buddha’s the the curled hair, Buddha’s forehead and the can also perform the act of Buddha’s mind. So Buddha Buddha let’s say, he sees would seize everything, every old phenomena as, let’s say, like one type of fruit that is called myrobalan that’s like a sees everything like a fruit in the BAM of his hand. Yeah.
Buddha sees all phenomena like a fruit placed on its palm. So I guess you said you would give a short history how Buddha perceives all phenomena in order to, let me say, in order to in order for us to generate some belief in in in this. In Tibet, in the past, the way all the llamas were giving the transmission of the Kangyur. So the the Kangyur text that is like like a speechless special. It’s long page.
So, yeah, in in in one page, like, have seven lines in one page. So so if there’s, like, I wanna say, seven line on that page, then you go like seven times with, what to say, you move from right to left seven times. So so when then was this Lama who who give the transmissions of the the Kangyur. And when he gave the transmission, he he won the like, moved once, not not not, like, seven times, but once. So then in between sometime, he closed his eyes and just used his finger like going like this once and then moving over to the next page.
And then among the disciples, some disciples felt a little bit, had some doubt. He’s saying, how how is this possible? So then the Lama said Lama was asked this question, and then the Lama said to the disciples, said, one of his past lives have said that have said that whatever the Buddhist mind provides, or whatever. If it’s a Buddhist mind, then said like, if it’s a Buddhist mind then it’s omniscient. The Lama said if it’s a Buddhist mind then it’s omniscient mind.
That is what I’ve been taught I’ve been taught in one of one of my past life. So like with our hand, yeah, the consciousness in our or the mind in our hand to, I wanna say, to recognize this object or realize this object. So, how realize this object which is is too touching like the tangible objects. So our body can perceive or perceive these different sensation that is cold, hot, smooth, rough, these can it’s this is perceived through our body. But but but it can it cannot perceive what is perceived by by eye eye consciousness and what is perceived by nose and tongue consciousness.
Buddhist body can perceive everything like what is perceived to the other senses. So so in another text also explains the qualities of Buddha’s body like like in the in the night, in the cloudless night. How it’s how it that you can see clearly all the all the stars very clearly. So similar to that Buddhist body have all those major signs and marks clearly. And and and similarly, the Buddha’s body is let’s say, been clothed clothed clothed like in the mountain top which has been in the same manner like In the mountain top, which is covered by clouds.
Similar manner, Buddhist body is, let’s say, clothed clothed. So Buddha’s body is not not like ours need to be perfumed or wearing different ornaments. So all the, what you say, bodies of the Tathagatas or the Buddhas is not adorned by by different ornaments, but it is beautiful beautiful like a a moon in the in the cloud cloudless cloudless night. So so then second, the qualities of Buddhist speech, there are sixty qualities. And and similarly in the in the tantric teachings that that the qualities of Buddha’s body Buddha’s speech, so it is explained as.
Even if Buddha just pronounces one one one line, can be understood understood in many can be understood in many ways. So so similarly, they also says that, like, at once, if if the disciples at once if many disciples at once ask many different questions. Buddha, like, once can in one one answer can give answer to all questions. And, like, you know, speaking in one language. But these different beings understand the answer in their own, I would say, language.
So so so as I just said in the teachings that Buddha teaches in one language, but can be the beings different beings understand the teaching in their own own language, like the gods in their own language, the in their own language, and so on. So so then, like, the perfection of wisdom sūtra that, I wanna say, that three kinds. One, the extensive one, medium one, and the short one. So this perfection of wisdom suits all all these three, like the extensive, the medium, and the the short one is is taught at one time. So it is taught only once and but but it came out to be three levels.
And this is because from the because of the listeners, they are of three kinds. The sharp intelligent one, the medium, and the least intelligent one. So so because of that, it happened that the Sūtra, wisdom sūtra, came out to be three. So so and similarly, like this, the Buddhist speech, like, don’t need like a like a like loud speaker. It can be it can be heard even if you are very far distant.
Or even if you are very close, you don’t hear very loud, but just right in the right right value. You hear that? So so these qualities are all explained in sūtra called inconceivable. So so that that the Maudgalyayāna, one of the disciple of Buddha, Mongol Putra, that analyze the speech, Buddhist speech, how far you can hear, how distant. So through his miracle power, Maudgalyayāna went like very far distant to different lands or different planet, different fields.
So how far he went he he still hear the Buddhist teaching, the speech here. So not only that, but when you first hear this the word of or the speech of Buddha, it attracts you. So so then then if you contemplate on the words of the Buddha, then gradually you can get rid of these different delusions, the attachment, ignorance, so on. So so like hearing his holiness speak the holiness Dalai Lama speak that when when we we hear him speaking, it’s it’s you hear very pleasant. It’s very pleasant and you you are never tired of listening to him and you want to hear more, would say, more.
And and if you by hearing is all in the same, if you try to explain others, then it doesn’t comes out pleasant as he speaks. So, you know, so this shows that he has in the the qualities of Buddhist speech. So so then next, qualities of Buddhist mind. One of that is omniscient, and second, the loving kindness, and thirdly, the the the power. So there’s nothing that we say we can appoint that this is what Buddha perceives and this is what Buddha cannot perceive, and there’s nothing there.
And Buddha’s mind perceives all all phenomena. So just to explain a short history that how Buddha can perceive all phenomena like it is placed on the BAM. So during the time of Buddha that there was a person called Gaki of the Shakya caste. So so that person is one of the preacher, one is one of the one of the six non like, non-Buddhist preachers and who he died. So in his in his in his religion, his teaching that even if a person dies, that you still after death you bring back the person, you hook back the person and offer him like food and food and, yeah, drinks.
So so the that person, Sakya Gachi, the preacher, he died, and his follower did this practice who were bringing him back to life and then bringing him back to life and making offering like foods and drinks. And and and then all the followers thought that he was back again, and, they believe that he was really back. So So so then to to that, Buddha said that that is not the real person. It is the fake and how it came back to life is that it’s possessed by known as the spirit smell-eater and and also known as another like that’s the Shiva made in coming to back into life and possessed by beings. That’s how it came into life.
It’s not a real person. So when Buddha explained that, the the followers, his followers, the other followers didn’t really believe So so then because they didn’t believe Buddha, again, Buddha in order to prove that Buddha asked all the all the all those followers that go back to your home and then each one like bring a grain grain, like put them in a small cloth and then put some grain and put your name and then tied it up and bring it to me. So there were many followers. So that happened there are many. So there were many small, like, pack of grains there, a lot, and and Buddha always piled in one place, and Buddha, like, picked it and gave it back to each whoever it belongs to without any mistakes.
So so we stop here for today. So in next teaching, will explain the qualities of the Dharma refuge And the qualities of the Sangha refuge. Oh, And we do some question and answer. Mhmm. So the first one is provide you know, like, providing or giving material goods and teachings.
And then second is speaking was a pleasant pleasantly. And then third is the speaking according to the needs of needs of the disciple. Yeah. And then the fourth one, explaining the teachings according to the behavior of the. So like speaking according to the behavior of the of the disciple, which if the person have a bad behavior, then shouldn’t speak the bad things at the very beginning that you’re doing this and that bad, but speak speaking around.
So as an example that if we have a, let’s say, meeting and if somebody gives an idea and when someone else there just points out her well, his or her fault saying that it’s wrong, then the other person might get upset to get angry. So then, like, of, like, telling him it’s not right or right. If you said, I like what you said, but if but I think this way, I think for me, works better, like explaining in that way, the other person might accept. Knowing knowing everything that is involved is Still there is, like, what is it, purpose and reasons knowing all the, like, the size of the carpet, how much and So the reason for for example, like, I myself don’t don’t know the size of the carpet or what kind of drawings needed. And then say a person comes from outside and he’s you know, she’s interested on this carpet or then I want I want to know more about this carpet and and give me some explanations and then because I can’t explain that.
So in order So in order to in order to make the disciple follow, that we need to know all. Okay. Can Yeah. Buddha, I’ve collected all the causes in the past, which which now know at once all the things, like at once. For us, if we meditate, So if we hear a noise upside a sound, then our mind get distracted to that, and we lose our meditation.