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 presents bodhicitta — the enlightened mind devoted to liberating all beings — as both the essence and highest gateway of the Buddhist path, using the butter-and-milk metaphor. He then walks practitioners through karma’s fundamental principles with vivid stories: a monk who mocked someone’s voice and was reborn as a dog for five hundred lives; a woman whose past killing of a rival’s son ripened into multiple current tragedies. Even the smallest negative actions multiply into vastly larger results. Geshe la emphasizes a crucial practical point: while people typically blame external circumstances for their conduct, karma teaches that we alone create our destiny through our intentions. For those engaged in serious Buddhist practice.
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File: 13 GP 1996 03 10.mp3
UUID: cd0b5d06-1f3f-482d-a82e-28b5edd5dd94
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Graduated Path (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1996-03-10
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 44.6 minutes
Words: ~2,464
Quoting a line from the guide to the way of bodhisattva’s life. As when you churn the milk as essence, you get what is that? Which you receive the butter and what it means here is that having this precious human rebirth on the basis of this we should take the essence of our Dharma practice in this life. So the first line when you say like churning the milk, the purpose of doing that is to take the essence which is the butter. Similar to that example, with the purpose of our practice of the Dharma is to take essence of the Dharma.
So the Dharma practice which is explained as three different levels that of small, medium and grade scope. Similarly, they are also explained in three different vehicles. So though they have these many vehicles and many different levels, the final achievement or the final point is one. And to achieve that, one has to follow the teachings of the great So entering into the great vehicle as the doorway to the great vehicle is the bodhicitta, the practice of bodhicitta. And that too, bodhicitta itself is known as the essence of the Dharma, like the butter from the milk.
So this and this great mind, bodhicitta, which is known as the essence of our Dharma practice or or it’s the doorway to to the great vehicle. Is is what we should, like, put great effort in achieving or or in attaining that. So this great mind or the bodhicitta not only like knowing the words, in words, or just having some understanding of its meaning, but one should like try to generate this mind within one using all these levels of practice as a cause for that generating that bodhicitta. So all those different level of practice that which make one possible to generate this mind in brief such as meditating compassion towards all other sentient beings and meditating love towards all other sentient beings. These are, let’s say, that which makes us possible to generate this mind.
Generating this mind, which harmonize if all sentient beings become free from all state of sufferings. And similar to that, harmonize if all sentient beings have all types of happiness. So generating this type of mind and on top of that generating this special insight which I myself will free all sentient beings from the state of suffering and and and like lead them to the state of happiness, like generating this special mind? So for that purpose, I practice the bodhicitta, which for the sake of all other sentient beings. Generating this mind for the sake of other sentient beings.
So to to lead all mother sentient beings to the to the to the state of Buddhahood, For that purpose, I listen to these teachings or setting up this bodhicitta motivation and we generate a week to short meditation. So, sorry. So, last time Geshe la explained about karma. And karma is defined as that which is definite and that which multiplies karma which you have not done will not experience and karma which you have done never disappear or dissipate. So the first one, the first point, how karma is definite has been explained last time.
So so the second one, the karma that multiplies has are are classified into two, that of the the external and the internal karmas. So the multiplication of the external karmas is what we can see through our eyes, so we don’t need to explain that. So so yeah. So taking mainly as the internal karmas. So, as quoting from a text called which says that just by doing a small negative action, a minor negative action, can cause one to experience suffering of lower realms.
So so even the karma that the negative karma that we accumulate is small. It can cause us to, in our future life, to experience the fear of lower realms or the suffering of lower realms. So once if we are born in the lower realms, then the period that we will be in the lower realms is long and the suffering or the fear is much greater. In that way, the karma, even if it’s small, it increases. So so so the negative actions that we we do, even if it’s a small, it it can cause us to get reborn in the lower realms in our future.
And on the other hand, it also, like, make make us poor in this very life too. So as an example that how small thing can cause big damage, like if we if happen to accidentally take some small poison or if that goes in our stomach, then that gradually burns the internal organs and lungs and so on. Finally, it brings to death. So so so then that as example, in this very life, for example, if we we if we we have a very little anger a little anger that can that can that can cause us to experience, like, all all all all the things that we don’t desire. So so so that’s with with negative karma.
If one is to do a small negative karma that can once it bring a big negative result. So similar to that, on the other hand with virtue, it’s same too if one is to cause a small virtuous karma, then it can bring good happiness in our future. So, say, if we have accumulated very little merit that can cause us to experience great happiness in our future lives and even in this life it brings great happiness and it helps one fulfill many, fulfills one’s many wishes or purposes. So so how it helps, how our living mode can help bring this happiness in our future and this life is as an example that if we have a very good fertile earth, very good one and if you were to sow seed there, then you will have good crops which you enjoy the result and you have good pleasure. So so as a as a as a result, for example, if we to have a to have a good a good heart to have a good heart, that can bring happiness to one.
And not only to one, but in the family, in the neighbors around, and brings happiness. And one can enjoy the result happily in this very life. So so so as in the teaching, it advises us that shouldn’t ignore saying this is a very a very little virtue, and I don’t need that. Like, shouldn’t ignore doing that. So as an example for that, it says that by collecting the drops of water, it’s possible there will be a time that you can fill whatever container that you are using.
So similar to that, one shouldn’t think that no one can fill the container with these drops of water. So so then on the other hand, it’s also same that one shouldn’t think this is very little negative action. It won’t do nothing. And shouldn’t be careless with that too. So as an example for that, for example, a very little, very small fire has like it can can burn the whole, I would say, grasses or plants in the in the hills everywhere.
It has the power to to to consume all those, what do call, all the grasses. So this as an example to negative actions. So, in short, whether it’s a virtuous karma or whether it’s a non virtuous karma, even if it’s very small, it can give a great, a big result. So, as an example, for example, if we go to see some entertainment like some people singing and while you are there watching the person sing, if you, to say some, what do you say, some, if you give some names to the person saying the person’s voice his, the person’s voice wherever singing is like, sounds like a dog. Saying this or giving this nickname or something like dog sound or something like that can, it’s something very little but can, what do say, can bring that negative action can bring great result.
So there was in the past, there was a story that one of the fully ordained monks happened to happened to see someone chanting prayers. And and that fully ordained monks said his voice is like a sound of dog. He said that. And it caused negative action caused him, that fully ordained monks, to take, what is it, five hundred lives of dog? So and similar to the other other history that in in China sorry, long time ago, there was one one person said that all the all those masters or those learned persons, those scholars are like what is it?
Like a snake, saying that they are are are full of hatred. So so so that person in that very life, in his later life, transformed into snake. Both legs are joined together and his head, what is it, pieces fall into part where a head of snakes just appeared from there. So it happened to that person which is a karma which ripen in that very life. Yeah.
So so, again, there’s another another known as and So before she became ordained, she had already two kids and those two kids, one died because it’s drowned in water. And another died of like wild animal. Her husband was killed by a snake. And all her parents, like, the place where she’s living, her house got burned. And all this happened to her that because in one of her past life she was also a wife to a king.
There was two wives like a younger one and older one. And the younger one had a son and she was the older one, the king’s wife, and she killed the son of that younger queen. So as a result, she experienced all this. So that like, similar to this, there are many other histories relating to this. So you should say that only two of these are the examples.
He won’t he won’t be explaining all that. So generally speaking, the realization or understanding of emptiness is very subtle which is extremely hard to realize have the realization. More than that, karma is very subtle too. Which is harder than emptiness to have full realization of karma. So, it said that the karma is more, how to say, more harder to realize than that of emptiness like those arhats, hearers and Pratyekabuddha, they have clear realization of emptiness, but they don’t have complete clear of karma.
And complete clear realization of karma is only within the Buddha. And no sentient being can have this complete realization. So the first two explanations of the karma, which is the first one, karma is definite. karma multiplies. And on these two explanations what we should understand is that we should understand that we need to collect the virtues, even the smallest one.
And we need to abandon the the non virtue, which is even those of the very small ones. So so now the third third karma, which is karma which we haven’t done, will will not not experience. That is the third one. And we wish Buddhahood without without collecting all the necessary causes. So so we wish Buddhahood without collecting all the necessary cause.
So so this this So this shows that we achieve because we haven’t collected the necessary causes. So that’s the karma which you won’t need if you haven’t collected So how we should approach is that according to our understanding, should put effort into our practice and progress on the path. And finally, then it’s possible that we can achieve the enlightened state that one has reached. So one might have a possible that one might have doubts which one might think that are possible to take the birth in the pure land And like one might have this possibility that one might, one will be reborn in the pure land. So the pure land, Sukhāvati, It’s produced through the merit of Buddha Amitābha.
It’s not, pure land Sukhāvati is not produced out of outcomes. So, but then there are possibility that we might, we can be reborn in this place, Pure Land Sukhāvati. But the place is not caused by our karma and we might have doubt how come then we we we get born there because we don’t have the karma. So even that, for example, the place or the pure land is produced through the merit of Buddha Amitābha. But for us to get reborn there, we to collect a karma.
We have to collect a karma to get reborn there. Otherwise, if we don’t have a karma, then no way one can reborn in this place. So what karmas that we need to get reborn in this pure land is that thinking the qualities of place, thinking the qualities of the pure land, and making the good wishing prayers, may I be born in that place. This is the cause or the karma that cause us to be born in the pure land. So so again, if one thinks if one needs to think that if our own karma what causes us to be born in the pure land, then why, how would you say, why Amitābha Buddha made this place?
Why Amitābha Buddha produced that place? One well, there’s no need for Amitābha Buddha to produce make that place. So so so if one if one had that doubt, again there’s a purpose for Buddha Amitābha to produce that pure land. Because if the the purpose for for Amitābha Buddha to produce that pure land is to to make us possible, to make prayers to be born in that place. So with us, we do these various karmas that of virtue and non virtue and so on.
So so out of our desire, we we do this many different actions. Like for example we engage or we perform negative actions but the negative action that we have done is also done out of desire or out of our wish. But we don’t express we don’t, yeah, we don’t express saying that, what would you say, I did that or I wish like, I desire to do that. You don’t express in that way. So instead of like, we don’t we don’t blame ourselves saying that I did this, I did these negative actions.
But even if one had, the action is done out of one’s desire, we again give these reasons that I’m doing this action because of my friends and my relatives, my relatives and my parents. For that purpose, I did this action. Mostly we keep these type of reasons.