Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 29-minute teaching, Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen explores the law of karma through the example of killing, examining it from multiple angles. He presents karma’s four dimensions: the ripened result (rebirth in lower realms), the result similar to the cause (habitual tendency), and the environmental result (being born into depleted or abundant conditions). He then addresses live questions on ethical dilemmas—killing in self-defense, removing ants, eating meat—emphasizing how motivation (compassion versus attachment) shapes an action’s moral weight. He notes that even eating plants involves harm. Pitched at practitioners working to apply Buddhist ethics in everyday circumstances.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 16 GP 1996 03 17.mp3
UUID: 1a93ba94-11ea-4170-ac8e-6a3d3705416a
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Graduated Path (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1996-03-17
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 28.9 minutes
Words: ~1,663
In this life too, one is one very much like to perform the act of killing. So so then the the result, which is known as the experience similar to that of cause, which which say that you perform the act of killing and as a result you’re reborn in the lower realms. And then from there you come back again, take another rebirth which is as a human. And that human life too, you experience short life short life or many different sickness or illness. This is like the the result corresponding to its cause also.
So with the with the action corresponding to its cause, which is that, for example, in childhood, for some kids, they like killing insect and they like killing things. This is because that in their past life they have performed the act of killing. So in this life too because of their act in their past life, they like to do, perform the same way, like the action. And for some kids, they don’t want to kill. They say it’s not good to kill.
It’s not a good action. So because that’s also result of their act from their past life. They’re not engaging in the act of killing. So the the environmental result, which is known as those cause which gives rise to its result without depending on others. So so that the the environmental result, which say, like, environmental result which is like the negative act action.
The the environmental result of the negative action which for example, even if one is born as a human being, one is born in a place where there’s no trees, no sort of a desert where there’s no greens, no trees, and you own that type of place. Like, this the the soil is not not fertile. Like, being born in the that type of place which is, let’s say, not beautiful, which is where there’s a lot of starvation and where there’s no, let’s say, not having rain in time and not having enough food to eat. This is known as the environmental result, which is the result of negative action. So so say, like, there’s two person being born in the same country and say that to one, whatever he or she plants, whatever he or she saw, everything comes out prosperous, very good.
And to one doesn’t come out very good. All the crops or whatever he or she does plant doesn’t come out good. This is also the the in in environmental result. So all this explanation is given here to to make one understand the law of karma. And and if one understands the law of karma, then it’s easier to, I would say, to to practice.
Yeah. Yeah. That is. So, well, we’ll stop here this morning, and we’ll do some question and answer. Has to do something else.
He he cannot give a clear explanation on that, but it’s depend also on the on the compassion. What degree what degree of compassion that you have towards the person? Yeah. So yeah. Like like, during the act out of compassion, for example, because you have the compassion that you you do have you do collect a virtue, which is a positive action.
So so like if it’s compassion that is like that of the bodhisattva’s compassion and that we have towards that being, then it is it is, what do say, by standard or qualified compassion. But in our case, our compassion, we can’t tell whether it’s qualified or like standard compassion or not. So he he said he won’t say more on this. He don’t want to say more on this. Mhmm.
Yeah. That act who like, the person whoever performs that act, he or she is level to be at pain that he or she is going through at that present life and just want to go to the next life. But then, you know, like that act of taking euthanasia, like, is the act act of killing, but but doesn’t receive the full negative act of killing. So this whether it’s okay to kill this or what Okay. So the first one we said because it will harm the kid, my kid, my child.
That is because of and like attachment or anger and that too this way, one kills that that that the action? So so so, like like, for example, someone coming with a with a weapon and trying to kill a child. At that time, like, how you react is you you try to, like, shoot the other guy or kill the other guy, the one who is coming and harming the child. And this happens because our out of our attachment and hatred. So, like, and then another the ants coming into like house is because the ant is don’t know whether it is allowed to go in the house or not.
It’s wanderers to look for food. So so that killing them, we shouldn’t kill them and should be should be feeling compassion compassion towards them because because because they are coming into our home that doesn’t mean we should kill them. And like we, when we walk, we walk and crush their house, their place too. So crush their home. So in that way we shouldn’t kill them, but meditate compassion towards them.
So this one so as you’re saying, it’s like the bigger one controlling the smaller one, like a like a what is it? Chinese controlling Tibet, similar Today is So but then one can do beforehand before, like, one can put something around or keep the to keep the ants away before it comes to the house. So if we do something before, then that’s better. If if it’s already in, then, like, pushing it away or, like, brushing it away, which, you know, say, might kill. So it’s that this one, if you compare it’s one side, like, the one one animal to another animal, like one each, then whichever cause more suffering while it’s been killed has the heavier negative act of killing.
And the other one was like hundred fish for example. With that, it’s one hundred numbers of killing. So it has more negative acts. Yeah. So so in the for example, in this kind of situation, for example, there’s like one elephant which is attacking one, and one is there alone, and one is just there with the elephant, which is competing with the elephant.
And because we cherish our life most, that we try to kill the other one. That’s how we react. But according to Buddhist teachings, that like, well, what do say? One should regard others like more no. I would say much more than one one’s life.
And and what do you say? Like, even what is it? Like, you if you come to a choice, even for something small like if you someone comes and tells you, if you don’t drink alcohol, I’ll kill you. During that for that, you should give up your life and, like, instead, like, give up your life for that too. That’s like in Buddhist teaching.
So this is like a this is the the practice which is one who really, like, what’s it, one who really puts everything in practice everything in practice. To to them, it is it is like that. So the the advice that is given in Buddhist teaching is is as as as Geshe-la said before that like one shouldn’t like take the life of others because one has attached to some other life or to oneself. One shouldn’t do that. But then normally how we act in our society, that is different.
No, you should be saying that is different like in the society and the way people think are different. So one thing, Geshe-la said, had to go today somewhere at eleven thirty, so we don’t have much time. So with that, like, again, there are differences which if the the butcher have killed the meat for that person especially, like, if it’s killed for you, you or you that it’s been killed and that it’s been killed for you. And that means it’s killed for you or you heard somebody telling you it’s specially killed for your purpose. If that type of meat, then what is it?
So so if you if you do buy that the type of meat, which you knew that it’s for it’s made for you, then, yeah, if you take that, then you have you receive negative action. So so then the then beside that, if it’s if it’s not coming for you and you just happen to be there in the shop and you buy something, take that. With that on, it’s what’s So it it too have what is it? Two is there’s some some false or negative negative actions which generally speaking, it’s similar to that of like all types of food. When you buy some food and eat it for yourself, there’s always some, what is it, negative involved, negative action involved.
Action involved. Mhmm. So so, like, the greens, for example, if you at the very beginning when you when you first saw the seed and when it goes up, you have to put, like, chemical to kill the insect and so on. So in that way, it involves also negative act. So but then even, like, when while doing while you are eating the food, you you can if you if you do eat in the right way, then again, don’t receive the negative actions or the faults.
So this part, he don’t have time to explain all this today. So the practices which is which you can do which there’s a benefit of eating it. It will fill your stomach and gets other benefits too. So there are practice related to that you can do related to that. So we stop here then.