Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Using the Bodhisattvacharyavatara, Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen teaches the foundations of karma in this 46-minute session, beginning with a counterintuitive observation: we accumulate negative actions through loyalty to friends and enmity toward enemies, yet when those relationships end in death, only the negativities remain. He contrasts retaliation with the power of compassion, then walks through the ten non-virtuous actions, taking killing as the principal example. The four essential components—basis, intention, motivation by one of the three poisons, and completion—are explained, along with clarification that karma accrues even without direct participation: ordering, organizing, or conspiring to harm all produce the full weight. Illustrated with warfare examples, the teaching shows how karma’s weight depends on strength of delusion, manner of execution, victim’s status, and whether the victim is ordinary or enlightened.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 15 GP 1996 03 17.mp3
UUID: bf62d7f2-2580-4768-b1e0-a267053ea9b5
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Graduated Path (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1996-03-17
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.8 minutes
Words: ~2,852
So quoting a line from the text known as the guide to the way of bodhisattva’s life. As in that text, it says that up till now, we we have, I wanna say, committed many various negative actions depending upon friends and enemies. So most of our negative actions, the action the negative action that we commit is because of our, what is it, friends and enemies. So in this text, guide to the way of bodhisattva’s life, It says that those negativities that we or negative action that we commit dependence upon the friends and enemies doesn’t help one doesn’t one at all. So, for example, if one have committed negative actions, in dependence upon one’s close one, friends and relatives, close friends and relatives.
One day, they they will they will die. So, these two possibilities there, like either one leaves one close one behind and die or the close ones, they leave before one. So so say like if if our friend died and leave us alone here, then what is left with us is that the the negative actions that we have done independent in dependence upon that friend is what what we we are left with. And but the friend have overlapped. And it’s said that we die first and we leave all our close ones back.
Then while we are going to other parts, other life, the only friend that one have is the negative actions that we have committed in dependence upon those close ones. So one has committed this negative action in dependence upon both friends, and that’s the one which we go with. And with that negative action with one, with that one can only go to one place, like there’s only one destination. So so that’s why in the guide to the way of bodhisattva’s life, master advices us saying there’s no point accumulating negative actions depending upon friends. So and similarly with with our our enemies whom we dislike, to them, there’s also no point getting angry to us.
So so if we have an enemy and the enemy is giving harm to one to to control or to subdue that enemy, like, you to see check these two methods, like, by meditating on love or by retaliating with anger, the the the one method that is meditating on love towards them is more, how to say, more effective and and that that yeah, that is more effective. So if one is to retaliate with anger, it doesn’t bend it it doesn’t work. And not only that it doesn’t work, it’s that it doesn’t also harm the other other one. It doesn’t really harm the other one, but it harms oneself. So as I As his holiness says that that in his teaching saying that if one to force oneself not to harm others, that is like without if one is to force oneself not to harm others, then it’s more like making oneself do, that kind of action.
But instead, if you think there’s no point of harming others, that really doesn’t harm, then that’s, when you see the reasons that it’s no harm at all by getting angry, that is like that’s the way that you practice it. And similarly, like meditating on compassion and love is, like, one way of, what is it, benefiting others. So one shouldn’t it’s not right to accumulate or collect negative actions independent of friends or the close ones. And also, it’s not right to collect negative actions in dependence upon the enemies. So so should we just ignore both of these, or what what should we do then?
So now what can we do is without having this thought of near and far to the close one or to one’s own enemy, we should help as much as possible. We should benefit them as much as possible. And whether it’s a very close one or whether the enemy helping them or benefiting them is is, what do say, something very practical that what we can do. So in the past in our past lives, we have experienced many sufferings and many different sicknesses. And in this life too, have experienced many sufferings and sicknesses.
And both of these we experience because of that we have collected the negativities or the negative action in dependence upon friends, the close one and the far which is the enemy. And thinking that we have done this, we have collected these negative actions out of out of ignorance, not knowing. So so in in the in the in the future that I won’t I won’t I will not collect any negative act negative actions. And how by thinking or contemplating over the law of cause and effect. And for that purpose, like generating a bodhicitta mind or bodhicitta motivation and and we do short meditation here thinking that I’ll listen to the teaching on law of karma.
So Now in the last teaching, we shall explain give the general explanation of karma, which is the karma is a a karma that increases or multiplies, and and the karma which one haven’t done will will not experience and so on. This is what Geshe-la explained last time. So so today, I will explain particular specific karmas and like what are are the right actions or virtuous actions and what are the black actions, like negative actions, and how we come to accumulate virtue and non virtuous actions. So for example, the negative karma, the difference there are different types of negative karma. Some are more lighter, some are heavier, And then by completing negative actions, how one perform a complete negative actions.
And this part. So so in the Buddhist teachings, there are, like, ten paths, which is known as the ten virtuous paths, which is explained which which one entered and or practiced at. And then there are ten parts or the precepts which I explained which that one have to to abandon to for us to abandon abandon. So in the Abhidharmakośa text, it explains the the virtues virtues karma and the non virtues karma. Like, all the all the all the gross one, like, summarized into ten and explained the ten ten part or the ten precepts.
So this ten part is what both ordained or those who are not ordained, both have to has to practice these these ten precepts or the parts. So those ten non virtuous actions or the ten negative path which are explained as as the four that of speech and three that of body and three that of the mind. So so taking some example, like the the physical actions that we are that we we commit out of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. For example, taking the example of killing, how how we we accumulate a complete negative act of killing. Just just taking just killing the act of killing doesn’t mean that you have completed you you you have you receive a complete act of act of killing complete negative act of killing.
So to to to receive a complete a full negative act of killing, that that has to have the basis, the intention, the action, and the completion. So these four has has to be there to come to have a complete negative act of killing. So so the basis should be someone other than oneself, which is some other sentient beings. So so for example, we need someone else other than one to have to receive the complete negative act of killing. So with like, killing oneself, like, if you step and suicide or kill yourself, then that doesn’t that act, this act of killing, you don’t receive the full negative act of killing.
Some parts of the four will be missing. So then the intention that of, again, two. One is the intention to wanting to kill, and second, or the recognition of the object. So so, again, like, with the with the recognition that that if you are going to if you are killing a sheep and then if you if you have the recognition of that sheep as something else like, let’s say, a gold or something else. Then, again, because your recognition is not there, it’s missing, it’s not right, that you still, again, missed one of like, you don’t receive the complete act of killing, which you missed one?
So so then so then next is the the intention or the motivation. And it should be motivated by these three. First poison that are attachment, anger, and ignorance. So motivated by one of these three poisons. And and and they it has you have to have a continuous, what to say, wish to kill that beam.
So so it should be motivated by one of these three poisons. For example, when we when we when we kill our enemies, we do out of out of hatred or the anger. So then again, when one to kill the being out of attachment, is having having or having attachment towards the skin of the animal or the meat of the animal, and we kill that. That is out of our attachment. So so then if if one to, let’s say, to sacrifice animals like that of goat or bird or any other other other animal, then that there are some religion which which explains that.
But if one is to do that act, then that that act of killing is done out of ignorance. So so then the third one, the the the action is that whether you stab the animal, that act of stabbing, or or or you use spellings, or you you give poisons. Any any of these is the act. Mhmm. The actual act.
So so then the completion is that the the being, whoever whoever it is, has to die before before one. Like, before one one dies. Yeah. So so for example, if if one does the act of killing, stabbing a knife to to another being, and before the other being dies, if one dies before that, then again, the yeah. It’s not completed.
The act of killing is not completed. Oh. So this is like all this is like act that which if one had performed by oneself. So so so even if one doesn’t perform all these act, one can like, one still can receive the act of killing by, for example, by letting the other person perform the act or letting other to do the act of killing. So as a similar for that, like in the Abhidharma Koshy text, it explains that for gives the example that, say, in the in the war, if the if the the army general, if the if he or she orders to kill the others and whatever being is being killed in the battle or in the war, the general too receives remake the act of killing.
So so then another example for example, that if ten people come together and and decided to kill one other person, then as soon as the other person dies, you don’t there’s no way you can divide the negative actions but each of each of the person of those ten receives one complete act of neg complete negative act of killing. So so and similar like that of the army general, if there’s a thousand army who have killed thousand other armies. Then each of the armies that they received negative act of killing another army. But the but the general who ordered that, say, if thousand army were killed, then he received thousand negative act of killing. So then if one have to perform on a this negative act of killing, if one has to do that, then it’s better doing the act by response instead of letting someone else to do the act.
So because that if one to let other kill do the act of killing, then two person accumulates the negative act of killing. So if one one self perform the act, then it’s only one negative act of killing. So so then on the other hand, the virtuous action too is similar to that. Like abandoning during the act of killing, you you receive the same, I say, benefits. So so the these are ten negative acts of killing, sorry, ten negative actions, non virtuous actions, which are the differences which is some are heavier and some lighter and former one are lighter which means all the physical negative action that is performed physically those of which are more heavier and the later ones are lighter.
Yeah. So so the differences of light and heavy negative actions is depending how how much pain or the suffering the other person or the other person goes through depending on that you you you have the heavy and light leg reaction. So So of the ten non virtues act, that that which is most, I wanna say, painful or hump which is most painful suffering to others is taking the life or act of killing. So that is, like pointed out, being the heaviest one. So with the negative act that we perform to our body, that of killing is the heaviest one, Then of course the rest.
And with the mental act of negative action, the mental negative action, that of the wrong view wrong view. The third one becomes the heaviest and the upper two is lighter one. So so then the the the heaviness and lightness, again, depend depends upon the the intention. So, for example, if one is speaking a harsh word towards someone else, then how heavy negative act is depending how strong strong your delusion is. And then next again, the heaviness and the likeness of negative act also is determined by the act, the action which, for example, killing a person, how you perform the actual act.
Again, through that, it brings this result as heavy or light. So as an example, killing a human being. For example, one can kill a human being stabbing a knife and just killing the person. And then there’s another way of killing too that which you tortured the person for a long time and then finally you kill. So if you compare these two then the one which you torture for a long time and kill, that that is about it.
What’s the negative act of that is heavier? So so, again, with the, what to say, with the size of the being, like the killing ant and killing elephant. Of these two, says killing an elephant is heavier, negative act. It’s both killing animals, but killing an elephant is the act of killing elephant has heavier negative actions. So so did why it is regarded that killing elephant is heavier negative act because the stronger or the bigger the size of the body, what you say, the stronger, more pain that the animal will go through.
So because of that, yeah. So so then from the again, from the basis, depending upon what basis that you perform the negative act. Again, it has heavier and lightering reactions. For example, if you to perform negative act independence the basis such as Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, then the negative act is heavier. And these are the difference of negative karma.
Some are lighter and some are heavier. So as in then these are the negative act. As a result, are three types of result that you experience which is one type of result that you experience which is corresponding to the act or the cause. And second is known as the environmental result. And then third is known as the ripening result.
So so as for example, the ripening result, which is known as that one of the result that one will experience out of committing negative action is that, for example, negative act of killing, it has its ripened result as the being of the lower realms which is if one is to perform the act of killing and not to confess or purify, then as a ripened result, one will experience suffering of lower realms. So then with the result which is corresponding to its cause, again there are two kinds, which is the one is act and one is the experience, which is similar to its cause, and one is the act, which is similar to the cause. So so the result corresponding to its cause which is that the result might be same like the cause or has the same aspect like the cause. So so with the experience corresponding to its cause, which which is one that is like a for example, if we are to perform the act of giving in this life, as a result, you receive wealth in your future. So that is the example we just giving.
So so the result which is corresponding to its act or to the act which is like for example if one have performed the act of killing the past life and as corresponding to its cause.