Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 28-minute Graduated Path teaching, Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen focuses on the practical foundations of a life suited to intensive practice: not just being reborn human, but specifically with the conditions that enable retreat and deep work. He walks through eight qualities — virtuous speech, respect for teachers and vows, the ability to practice in isolation, strong body and mind, good appearance — explaining how each arises from concrete causes: respecting elders, helping those who are weak, making prayers aligned with one’s aspirations. A Q&A then clarifies that choosing one’s gender preference for practice doesn’t disparage either form; enlightened beings arise in all. The core message: understanding karma and cause-and-effect is the foundation of all spiritual work.
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File metadata (for organising)
File: 22 GP 1996 05 12.mp3
UUID: 059d6d14-dabb-4244-abfc-3ae5e4ee307a
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Graduated Path (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1996-05-12
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 28.2 minutes
Words: ~1,390
So so so if one wishes to to have that quality, respected speech, then one should avoid telling lie, harsh words, and so on. Like the the negative action that we create to our speech. I want you to avoid these. Mhmm. So then next is powerful.
To be respected speech of the word, plus if we have a power, then then it it is it is very prosperous. So so the cause for that to be power having power is that those who who are taking vows, like the these different vows of lay vows or the like monk and nun and bodhisattva vows and tantric vows and so on. And the the like abbots and the masters who who gives these vows. So like respecting those the Abbots and the masters who gave the vows. And similarly, respecting the refuge.
If one haven’t had a vows from those masters or abbots, then respecting the refuge objects or respecting one’s parent, this is the cause for that. So so so so respecting the the elderly ones or those of which just mentioned, and plus one should one should, like, make your I will say, make prayers for that. So then the next one, the seventh quality which like not getting harmed while one is doing practice in isolated places. Yeah. So one can do these practices in the isolated places, like doing or retreat in the isolated places, is whether male or female are the one who performs these practices.
So then if one wishes to be a male practitioner and do this practice in the isolated place, then one should make prayers to be born as a male and collect these causes. So then if one wishes to be female and do the practice in these places, then seeing the faults of the male and collecting the necessary causes to achieve, to get that female body and do the practice. So then next is that the eighth one that is the strong body and the mind. So to have a strong body, for example, those who are very weak, who are unable to do some physical work, unable to do those physical work like being there and and I was helping them to do to do those these works for those who are unable to do. And similarly with mentally, even those are are those beings who are unable to perform things mentally, them too, like giving assistance and helping them perform their, what is it, assisting them and helping them succeed in their thinking or whatever mentally.
Then then by doing this, this becomes the cause for our strong body and mind. So as a way how we react or we act is that someone have a good physical appearance and a strong body and mind. Then next to him or her if there is someone who is very poor looking, very weak body, then usually how the person reacts is that even the weak one is not smelly or disgusting, the person, one who is having good appearance looks that the person is smelly and looking disgusting or in that way the person with a good appearance reacts. So if one wishes again to have that similar kind of good appearance one’s future life, then one shouldn’t act in that way. So if one is able to do these things what has been explained, then in one’s future one will have a human body which having all these qualities.
So so so that that body that we have with with these eighteen eight qualities, one should one one should make prayers like that body that we have be, what do say, the virtuous one. Yeah. So so if one makes these prayers, then then one becomes similar like the past Dharma kings who like, how to say, who like serves the people, we do practice or we do Dharma practice, we serve the people. So so like doing or making good prayers is very important. As you see in world, are many old leaders who, most of them, who have these eight qualities.
But because of that they didn’t make these good wishing prayers. That as you see many of the old leaders who face a lot of problems like some, how do you say, going into prison, some facing the problem of the country like wars and fightings and others. So that they experience. This is because though they have this call eight qualities, but what they miss is the equal vision prayers. So so one shouldn’t miss making the prayers and one should always make prayers prayers to be an auspicious one.
So whether whether it’s a Buddhist or whether it’s a non-Buddhist, the most important thing is like, the most important practice that we should keep is the practice of karma, the cause and effect here. And we’ll stop here for today. You have any questions? What Geshe-la said was seeing the faults of the male body, male form, and collecting the necessary cause for achieving the female body. That’s what he said.
You want more explanation on that? So on on this part, he’s just saying, not much he can say, but whatever one wishes to be reborn in one’s future life, whether it’s male or female, whatever body one wishes. If one wishes have a female body in one’s future life, then desiring that and seeing the faults of male body and collecting the causes for the practice. And and then that same with the male too. So, like, saying default doesn’t mean that we should we should say that the male is bad or or not good.
It’s like a whether it’s male or female within them, there may be Buddhas or high beings in in that form. So shouldn’t shouldn’t criticize or speak with false about in that way. So so then on the other hand, if one wishes to be born as a male boy as a male in one’s future, it’s something that one shouldn’t criticize the female body. And one shouldn’t speak false of the female body which that is one of the, I wanna say, tantric vows which says that shouldn’t criticize or abuse female. So which which which is that even also within the female form, there can be Buddhist and Bodhisattvas too.
So so whatever one wishes, whether male body or female body, one should collect necessary causes. But shouldn’t, what do you say, speak about of male and female. So in short, should, what to say, in whatever body one wishes to do the practice in one’s future life. Like going into the isolated place and able to do these practices, perform these practices in whatever body one is. One should like collect necessary causes for that.
Or one should engage in collecting the necessary causes for that. Whatever faults that you normally see. So for example, if you are female, you see some faults in the male. And similarly, if you are male, then you see some faults in the female. So those are the faults.
So if one wishes to be born as a female, then like seeing those faults as you see in the male and not designed to have those faults and make your prayers to be born as a female. Daddy. Okay. So the main point is that when if one wishes a male body the in the in the one’s future, then one make prayers and collect that causes for to achieve that. And if one wishes for to be born as a female in one’s future and do the practice, one make like prayers to be born as that.
And one like mix the way how we think normally as a as a worldly way of thinking and the worldly way of thinking and the dharmic way of thinking once you didn’t mix these two together. So as long as we take a birth, one should take either of these two, male or female. So whatever one wishes male or female, one collect the causes for that. Is one of the Amdolamas. Yeah.
Yeah. So we do the long life prayer for his holiness. That’s on page number ten. And then we do the dedication, which is on page number five, number eight, and nine.