Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 45-minute talk, Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen outlines the three levels of the Graduated Path — small scope (achieving a good rebirth), medium scope (escaping saṃsāra), and great scope (Buddhahood for the benefit of all beings). He grounds the teaching in karma, showing how anger damages relationships and plants suffering, while even tiny virtues like feeding an ant ripple toward enlightenment. He then walks through purification of negative actions using four powers: strong repentance, antidotes (chanting sutras, meditating on emptiness, reciting Vajrasattva mantra — 100,000 times can purify even broken tantric vows — and making offerings), refuge, and commitment not to repeat harm.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 23 GP 1996 06 02.mp3
UUID: f0f0075f-9cca-4d06-a967-46795bfdc6e0
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Graduated Path (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1996-06-02
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.4 minutes
Words: ~2,476
So Quoting a line from the teaching of Śāntideva in the guide to the way of bodhisattva’s life. Śāntideva’s teaching, says that to achieve this precious human rebirth with all the the aging qualities, is very difficult to obtain. So so on the right now, at present, when we wanna have this precious precious human body, one should one should food effort in accumulating virtue, which for one to achieve the higher So on the other hand, if we if don’t, if we not to collect the virtues, all the virtues, the virtues karma or the virtues activity on basis of this very life while one have this precious human body. Then in the future, you know, our future of birth, it is again, it’s very hard or it’s very difficult for one to this same kind of body that we have right now. So so one shouldn’t, like, waste this chance of having precious human body.
And we this, we achieved this precious human body because of our past good karma and merits of our past lives. Because of that, we have achieved this precious human body. So this this precious human body, this itself has the has the full capacity or power for one to to to again have another body in our our future? So what we can do to achieve another fresh human birth in our future is to engage on the path, which is the path of the three scope, three levels of beings. So so, like, making this precious meaningful by following the three scope, that of a smaller scope, which mainly enters on the path to achieve the higher in one’s future life, that of human and God.
And as a medium scope, being on the medium scope, they follow the path in order to become free from saṃsāra, which to achieve the state of or the the Foe Destroyer. And on the great scope and the and the follow-up following the path which following the path where they come to this point where they are perfect in performing one’s own purpose for one’s own sake and also perfect in performing the purpose of others. So which by perfecting that way, one achieves the true bodies of the Buddha or the Buddhahood. So it came out here, there are three different paths that beings follow, the followers follow, which it happened three because of three level of motivations. So first, following the small scope that one come to achieve the higher state that of the state of human and god.
But achieving that state, if you compare to the the upper scope, then it’s not, what do say, not so not so sufficient. Not not it’s not great. So what we need there is that we need to achieve one of the higher rebirth, as human rebirth, which have all the call which we can keep all the qualities for the practice of Dharma, for Buddhist teachings. So so in order to have a perfect birth rebirth of human perfect human rebirth with with the with all the with all the eighteen sorry, with all the eight qualities. And so the perfect human rebirth which needs the eight qualities plus there are also seven qualities which I explained.
So then if one wishes to be born as a human being who practices the Mahāyāna’s teaching, then again, one need four other extra qualities qualities. So at present here, we have met with the teachings, with the Dharma teachings. And one practice or performs the practice according to one’s understanding or according to one’s ability. So whatever perform, whatever practice that one perform, one should aim to achieve a higher birth in the future or one should aim to practice to achieve the final state, which is Buddhahood? So so in order to achieve those those qualities in our future life, it totally depends again upon our our motivations.
So so so so now here, again, in order to work for the benefit or in order to benefit others, like properly or complete in order to bring a complete benefit for others, one need to achieve the Buddhahood. So so setting up this motivation that I listen to this teaching in order to bring happiness for all infinite sentient beings. And setting up this motivation and we do short medication here. So Geshe-la explained during the motivation that we need to achieve again we need to achieve precious human rebirth with all the qualities in our future lives.
So to achieve that precious human rebirth in our future, what one need is on the basis of pure moral discipline. One need to make a pure good wishing prayers. And if one if one is if one is to do this, then that is what makes possible for one to achieve that fresh human body. So so so in order to have that those those results, one has to be from now on, one has to be skillful in in in in which action that one engage, in which action one one should not engage in like that of virtue and non-virtuous? So so understanding how you accumulate virtuous actions and also understanding how how you how you collect nonvirtuous action actions.
And and similarly, what are the result of virtuous actions and what are the results of nonvirtuous actions, knowing that even like smallest pain like headache too is a result of non virtuous action? So while one is in session during practice, one should one should contemplate or think over the benefits of virtuous actions and the virtue and non virtuous actions and and also the faults of non virtuous actions. And while one is not in session in the break time, also one need to be mindfulness and careful with with how how one acts. So, yeah, this is what one need to do. So so for that, in the Guide to the Way of Bodhisattva’s Life, it says that through non virtuous action, experiences result as a suffering.
And so in all time like day and night, one should be aware of that and avoid avoid or restraining ones oneself from doing negative actions. So so for example, how nonvirtuous action gives brings forth the result of suffering. As for example, if one is to feel angry or if one is to have anger, then as a result of that, one one one have great one does its great damage, like, temporarily and as well as ultimately. So so like the temporal, I wanna say, result of angers. For example, if one has anger temporarily one becomes distant from one’s relative or in the family, friends, and while the friendship breaks down and with your partners, you’re separate and you have to causes you to stay in, like, separately.
And So so these are the the temporal, I result of anger. And the the ultimate result is that in in one’s in one’s future birth that one have to experience the suffering sufferings of and and so on. So so then on the other hand, with the virtuous action, it’s also same. With virtuous karma, it’s also same that it has its own temporal benefits and ultimate benefits. Even a very little virtue even if it’s a very little virtue, it has these benefits.
So as an example, if one have a good heart, then as a result, as a temporal benefit, there’s happiness in the family, among the parents, among friends, and in other words, in the place where you live in the country, there’s happiness you experience. So so then as a as a as it’s ultimately resolved, like any any virtuous actions, like even just feeding to the ants, to those virtuous action, all these virtuous action becomes as a cause for achieving the full enlightened state. So these pojas actions becomes the cause of fully enlightened state is what is taught by the the enlightened beings or the Buddha. And so because of that Buddha also said that one should always Always be mindful. Always practice mindfulness and like carefulness with one’s one’s action.
And this is what, yeah, Buddha also advises that. So so we might think that we we never do we never get angry or or we never perform this action of taking others life or killing. And and we might also think that we haven’t done any negative actions. And negative act yeah. We have no negative actions.
So so we may not have done those heavy negative actions such as taking life or or stealing and so on. But But we do have, what is it, the anger attachment and so on. As for example, when someone speaks bad about your friends, we might we feel discomfort in our mind. Or if someone says some bad words or insults one, then we again feel discomfort in our mind. And this shows that we have anger and hatred and we somehow naturally happen to collect these negative actions.
And and also it’s possible that even if one haven’t committed heavy act negative actions such as killing in this very life, there’s always possibility that one might have done those actions like action of killing in our past life. So then similar to that, on the other hand, with virtuous action, it’s also same that we have accumulated very strong virtuous action as well as very little virtuous action, very little ones. There are various type of virtuous actions. So so So so so we we do have we we do have collected these virtue and non virtuous various type of virtue and non virtuous actions. So so so so so one should, I wanna say, continue doing the virtuous actions and engaging on the path, on this path which is collecting the virtue and and abandoning the nonvirtue.
So so then if one like, because of one’s habit, if one if one if one know that one have done some negative actions in in the in the earlier time, then if one if one recognizes these negative actions, then one shouldn’t just leave there. But one should purify them once you purify them with applying the four powers. One should apply the four powers to purify those actions. And the four powers are? So those four powers.
The first one is the power of repentance. And then the second one is the power of antidotes. And then third is the power of refuge. And then fourth, the power of not repeating, the faults again. So so if one applies all these four and purify the negative actions, then said that in in the manus teaching, there’s no negative action which can’t be purified by applying these four.
So so of of these four, the first one, the power of repentance. If one have that, then the three the rest three will will somehow follow follow will come up will will follow. So the power of repentance, which is a strong regret over over those negative action that one have done in the past. So so if one is mindful of one’s negative actions of the past or or even if one is not aware of those negative action, if one have greater regret, whatever negative action that one have done in the past, then if one have strong, if one have this very strongly, the feeling of regret over the negative action that one have done in the past, then the rest three will, through the power of that, this strong regret, it just what is that? Through the power that it will come.
It will just yeah. It will just follow the the three rest will follow. Yeah. So so because of that, the this first power, the power of repentance or strong regret over one’s next action of the past is very important. So whether one will how strong, yeah, how strong one one will how strong one have the regret or how strong the regret that one will have have in one’s actions depends how much much what a belief or faith that one have in the law of karma and cause and effect.
So so that the second one, the the power of antidote that in one of the teacher’s teachings, it explains that there are six types of antidotes. So those those six are chanting or reciting the sūtra, meditating on emptiness, and reciting the mantras, and, what is it, building or draw building the statues like Buddha. And making offering to the refuge objects. And and also citing the names of the Buddhas. So these are the the six general antidotes or power of antidote which is explained in this teachings of So so then other than that, like any virtuous actions which that you perform becomes antidote, a power of antidotes.
So reciting or chanting the sutras, first one, the like chanting the words of the Buddha. That was the the great, medium, and the small teachings of all these words of the Buddha and such as like reciting Heart Sūtra, like all this recitation of the sutras that if you do especially to purify negative actions. So so then and the next one, like meditating on emptiness, is is the most profound one. So so so as the many stories that one of that like, the king, Marqueta, who happened to collect very heavy negative actions in that life whereby in his later life where he engages in the practice of purification whereby meditating on emptiness that he come to purify those heavy negative actions and achieved the state of arhat. So so then reciting the mantras, one of the main instead of reciting the Vajrasattva mantra, the hundred syllable mantra.
So starting the Vajrasattva mantras, like if possible then completing, like able to do, complete one hundred thousand times reciting Vajrasattva mantra. If one is to complete one hundred thousand times, then it is said that all those have a negative action such like the downfall of tantric root vows. Even those can be purified. Even those all those all those broken vows can be can be purified by doing it like hundred thousand ton. So say, like, when we hear first, like, hundred thousand times, sounds a big number.
But if you if you like, everyday if you do it like few hundred few hundred, then one day I can complete this number one hundred thousand times. So so then making or building the statues of Buddha is like making tsatsas are are one of, yeah, one of them. Yeah. And then the fifth one, making offerings. So making offering to to to body, speech, mind of the Buddha.
Yeah. All the objects. So making often to to to the refuge object to their body, speech and mind. Whatever.