Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. The power of a vow lies in its automatic accumulation of merit or karma—even while you sleep. In this 46-minute teaching on the Graduated Path, Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen explains how taking a vow to abstain from killing generates virtue continuously, while taking a vow to harm generates negative karma, regardless of active engagement. He outlines the levels of vows (lay precepts, monastic ordination, Bodhisattva, tantric) and identifies the four factors that strengthen karma: basis, person, object, and intention. He illustrates this with an example: one butter lamp offered with bodhicitta motivation yields more merit than a hundred offered without genuine intention. The teaching concludes with how karmic imprints ripen through conditions and why they require active antidotes to dissolve rather than fade with time alone.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 18 GP 1996 04 28.mp3
UUID: 4bfe29d4-0205-4772-888b-6ecad3b12bf4
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Graduated Path (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1996-04-28
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.6 minutes
Words: ~2,454
So the Nagas are known as the animals. And Nagas are in the animal realms. And they are known as very wealthy. And that is they did this practice of giving and they are born very wealthy. But because they didn’t kept the pure morality that they’re born in the lower realms.
So so so then next is if you have taken a vowel, a vow to any kind of vow. If you have taken a vow, then even after since after that, whatever, even if you don’t do anything, even if you, like, sleep whole day and night, yeah, because of taking because you you have taken the vow, you your your virtue will increase. So if you you you bow, yeah, yourself doing the wrong actions, those are different wrong actions, then like for example the butchers and those who go into war, like you’re making yourself bow to do these actions, then even those people, even if you don’t actually do those actions, like you’re sleeping or doing something else, you still you still collect negative actions. So so, like, taking this vow to do these different actions like as a doctor takes this vow to help the sick beings. And as a butcher they take this vow to take their life, to take the life of these different beings.
And similar with the person who’s selling beer or chang, like alcohol. They too are allowed to do that act. So so these two that those who have taken the vow to they’re taking the vow of in virtue to do good things, even if they are not engaging in the act while they are sleeping or during that time too while they are sleeping, they come to their virtue increases and similarly on the other hand those who have taken vow of doing those negative actions to even they are not performing the action because they have taken the vow that even in their sleeping, they accumulate non virtuous actions. So so with us, we we all don’t engage we all do not kill, but not only not killing, but it’s good to take this vow. Not not it’s good to take one to it’s good for one to take this vow of not killing.
So so the the reason why we should take the vows of not killing is that, for example, I said that these two persons come sitting together. One who have taken the vow of not to kill and one who have been taking the vow of not to kill. So so the if they are both sitting together, then the one who who have taken the vow of not to kill, him or her the virtue of not killing continuously increases. So so so then the other person, for example, who haven’t taken the vow not to kill, but but but taking the vow of that on kill, to that person to that person while sitting together, even not doing any act of killing, because of taking the vow to kill, that his negative action negativity increases. So so so that if you have taken the vows, then not not to do these negative actions of killing and so on, then it increases even if you’re not doing the act.
Like with the vows, there are different levels of vows that one can take. Like the vow that you take not to do the ten non virtuous actions. And the vow that, let’s say, the lay vows that have the eight eight vow precepts. And and then with the with the ordained like novice that of the thirty six vows, and then with the fully ordained monk, the of the two hundred fifty three vows, and with the fully ordained nun too, there are these different vows that one can take. So so then on top of that, if one have taken the Bodhisattva vows, then the virtue is much far greater, increases.
And similarly, if one have taken the tantric vows, then the virtue increases measurably. So then if one have taken one of these vows, then that automatically makes or increases one’s virtue because of one having taken the vows. And those who haven’t taken the vows, unless they actually perform some virtuous actions, unless they perform a virtuous action, the time that they spend other time, they they won’t their their virtue won’t increase. So this is these are the differences of taking vows and not taking. So so say if you if you have you haven’t if you haven’t taken any vows, then say if you are doing if you are taking the eight Mahāyāna precepts, then on that day, like on the basis of that vow, if you do do the practice of giving, then then that that practice of that practice of giving is much stronger, much powerful than, like, during during a practice of giving in other days when those days which you haven’t taken the vows.
So so, like, back in back there are people who especially when they make big offering to the monks or sanghas, on that day they take eight precepts and and do this act of offering. So that shows that it’s it’s very important to do this. So so as here, we don’t do the act of killing. So as explained before that there’s a great difference, One with the vows and one without the vows. So if one we don’t engage in this ten non-virtuous actions.
So so if we to take the vows and not engage internal virtues act, then there’s a great merit or the virtue that increases then without taking the vows. So just keep in your mind. So so now next thing, our karma becomes strong through From the object. So even as a person who is giving and doing the practice of giving, there are differences with one with the vows and one without the vows. So now with the object what is giving to what is given the object through the tool, it becomes powerful.
For example, the act of giving is to, as an example, instead of giving material goods, if you give Dharma teachings, then object is much more powerful. And similar to that, making offering, if you’re offering material goods. If you like, then if you offer your practice, then, yeah, like, offering your practice has is much more powerful than offering a material good. So so then the next one, how action becomes powerful through through our intention or the motivation. Sorry.
And if if we do recite the praises to Tārā with with the bodhicitta motivation, then it becomes very powerful. So it is said that by offering like a hundred butter lamps and without the bodhicitta and offering like one butter lamp with bodhicitta. If you compare the virtue of these two then offering one butter lamp with bodhicitta mind, bodhicitta, then it has much it is much powerful and it has greater benefits. So so so this how our our actions becomes powerful depends on these four. First one is the basis.
Second, from the person who is performing the act. And the third with the motivation, and finally the fourth one with the object. So the brief explanation on these four points is to make clear or to make one know that one need to abandon doing the negative actions and one need to collect or yeah. Collect the positive actions. Mhmm.
You know that And so, if you are, what do say, you are skillful enough or clever enough, then with little effort you can collect great amount of merit. So we’ll stop here today and do some question answer. Virtue is fall in the category of white actions. That is what we call, which sets forth or which brings forth its ripening result as a white. Ripening result.
So so which is wide result. It is that like a one one of the example is happiness Or, and Mikoshi also said that a noble action is virtue. So as Geshe-la said before, that when you complete the act of killing then right in the second moment the imprint or I would say, of the act of killing is placed on the mind like a as an example like we like writing on a paper or like a stamp put on the paper. So so that inference is what carries the power to make possible for one to experience the ripening result of that suffering. So depending on the duration of the time, how long it takes for that imprint to ripen.
As soon as the imprint meets with the condition, then it ripens the imprint that is kept in the mind. And then accordingly as a result produces this different result of the ripening result and other type of result such as the ripening result as suffering. So so the meeting with the condition, the imprint meeting with its condition is that the conditions are that of the two of the twelve links of the dependent arising, that the craving and the grasping at the condition for this to ripen. And craving is the attachment and the grasping which act as a condition and make it possible ripens that imprints which then experiences result accordingly. So for example, another example that even in this life that if a person had never done the act of killing, but that person have some imprints from the past life which the act of killing, they have imprints.
So once in the later time when the person meets with someone who does the act of killing and just meeting with the person then the person act as conditions for the act of killing and then that person again performs the act of killing too. So, on the other hand, like how, how the imprints that we keep in our mind are ripened is like, for example, we do this practice which is benefiting others. Through our practice we benefit others and how it is possible that we benefit others is like through, with the motivation of benefiting others. You do these practices then I would say sooner or later which because of your practice makes ripens imprints of the other person. And that’s how you help, That’s how it is beneficial to others.
So right in the next moment when you finish collecting a karma, the karma ends there, which the imprints of that karma is left kept or placed on the on the consciousness. So when we’re when we’re taking walking taking a walk and we step over an insect and kill the insect, that doesn’t doesn’t complete, one doesn’t receive a complete act of killing, complete negative act of killing one doesn’t have the motivation to kill. One doesn’t have the motivation. And So just the action like you have step over. That and that you have the negative act of the action but not the complete action, negative action of killing.
So that that action which is step and as soon as insect dies, that action completed and once it is completed the karma is printed already in the mind. Geshe-la is saying that you don’t think we need to be aware of the act be able to keep the imprints in our mind. Any more questions? So it’s not inherent because the karma, the action, like the nature of that which changes, which becomes the imprint. So because of that, it is not inherent.
So because it is not inherent, you can apply an antidote towards it. And by applying antidote, it can be reduced. Can be destroyed. So so unless we we apply some antidote towards the imprint, it won’t just disappear. It won’t it won’t disappear by itself.
So if it’s like this, if it disappears after some time, the common turns into the imprints and the imprints suddenly disappear, then we don’t need to do all this practice. We can enjoy singing, dance, and enjoy. And slowly it will disappear. That’s good, but I guess you’re saying the imprint is something very bad. It won’t disappear.
It is it has a very ill heart. Could you never think of this? Even if you to be friendly with it and what is it, love it and be nice, it will, what is it, harm you. But then if you if you, like, try to overpower, then it will what do say? It will shrink.
If you put if you put power, then it will shrink. It’s like some dogs. Like some dogs when you are scared then the dog wants to bite you and barking towards you but then when you like go towards it and then they’re scared of the dog then the dog gets scared and it runs away from him. So the rest of the negative actions too is, what to say, all summarized into these ten, ten non or ten virtuous path which are like if you do to hit someone for example, that negative act. If your intention is to kill the person then includes in that of the act of the body, killing.
And if you just have a bad thought and hitting the person then it includes in one of the negative act of mind which is covetousness, ill will and so on. So it includes in there. So this the fear that we have towards fear of death, that that is one we shouldn’t, what is that? We shouldn’t destroy but we should have that thought. And we should have this fear of death Because for that purpose in order to have the fear of death we do these practices like the meditation on impermanence and death in order to have that that fear of death.
So when you say the fear of death, what type of fear is it that you have? Like, is it like when I die, I have to leave my friends and let it all behind? And that kind of fear or is it different? What kind of fear? So so when when you say that the the fear the example that Geshe la gave, what the fear that you have, It’s not the actual fear of death.
So for example, the fear is like when when I die, I will be alone, which is I will be separated from my parents, my friend, and my relatives around. But and I I have to be separate from them. And there’s fear there. So that type of fear is we don’t have to, we don’t need that fear. It’s not because we came from our past life to this life.