Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen uses a stark analogy in this 45-minute teaching: a prisoner saved from torture for a month but facing execution. Why? To show why seeking better rebirth in the upper realms—the goal of ‘small scope’ practice—fails. Temporary relief in saṃsāra, however pleasant, cannot substitute for complete freedom from it. This realization marks the ‘middle scope’ path: generating genuine determination to escape saṃsāra entirely. He then walks through the Four Noble Truths as the framework for this shift—understanding suffering, its cause (karma and delusion), cessation, and the path. He emphasizes that recognizing different kinds of suffering is essential, drawing on classical Lamrim categories. Pitched at practitioners moving beyond seeking comfort within saṃsāra.
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File: 25 GP 1996 06 09.mp3
UUID: 2124796b-2e0a-446d-986f-fb4e8b62c33c
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Graduated Path (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1996-06-09
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.4 minutes
Words: ~2,539
Quoting a line from the teachings of Lama Tsongkhapa. As Lama Tsongkhapa advises or explains that our body and our life is is is like a, I wanna say, water bubble. It is nothing permanent. So so because it is nothing permanent that it is always in the circle of we facing the debt. So then after debt, whatever one experience, it’s something beneficial or happiness or something which is harmful or suffering.
Whatever it is, it’s totally depend on on the on the karma, the the law of karma that we practice here. So that which goes along that which goes with us to our future life, which is like the the shadow of our body, which always comes together with us, that which similar to that, that which goes with our body and mind to our next life. It is the virtuous karma and the non virtuous karma that we have collected or accumulated. So that is what goes with us. So that we should identify what are these indefinite what is virtue and what is non virtue and engaging in the practice like abandoning the non virtue, even the smallest one as much as possible.
And with the virtue increasing or or accumulating all the virtue as much as possible. So as we we have to travel alone in a very distant place, So while one is going towards that destination, one has to depend on on these two whether it’s one of that that of our friends or that of the enemy. Only depending on these two, we we go to those places. So so so if we happen to have a good companionship on the way, a good one, then until up to the place where we are going to, good friend will help us be our companion. And even if we are sick or any difficulties that we face, the good one will help.
And finally, whatever the person have of your belongings, or she will give it back. So that’s with the good friends. Yeah. So and so then on the other hand, if one is in trouble with trouble with the the bad ones, bad friends, then not only that one might one might lose one’s longings, possible that one might also lose one’s life. So likewise, when we are traveling to our next life, then the one which travels with us or goes with us is our white karma or the virtuous karma and the black karma or the non virtuous karma.
Knowing this and and one one one should be very careful with how one acts from now on with with the what what type of behaviors that one keep So so one has to be careful with one’s actions or one should be like conscientiousness. So that practice too that one should do for the sake of others, being careful with one’s body for the sake of others and thinking that I do this practice in order to free others from the state of sufferings. So first, to free others from suffering, one oneself need to be free from suffering. So so in order to in order to free oneself from all types of suffering, I need to I need to know what sufferings are, I need to recognize what sufferings are and for that purpose I will listen to the teaching and setting up this mind and we do short meditation. So as up to now, this is how to finish the explaining briefly on the path that is practiced by the smaller school.
So so so then today, this level explained the the stages or the path that is shared by the middling capacity / middling scope. So so that that part is what we’ll explain and it’s under this will explain under two, what’s it, two parts. So these two, the first one is generating thought of liberation, generating the thought of seeking liberation. So so then next is the is that after generating this mind of seeking liberation, engaging on the on the path that that leads to the to the to to this So, first part, just seeking liberation. To generate this thought within one, one one first need to contemplate over the general sufferings of saṃsāra and and then and then also the particular sufferings of of these different realms that of human gods and the the sufferings of the lower realms.
So, on the small scope, that we’re doing practice the path just to become free from the law, three lower states. And that just becoming free from three lower state is not not enough. So as if you engage in the practice of a small scope, yeah, there you practice the law of karma, and plus abandoning the ten non virtuous actions and so on. And this makes possible for one not to fall into the lower realms. So so through the practice of small scope, one may become free from the lower lower realms and achieve the high higher birth that of human and gods.
But then that freedom is that one achieves just once or twice. But then one is still like, one is still, if one is not unable to practice the path while one is on that state that of human and god, one will again like fall down or fall down to the lower realms. So because of this reason that in the medium scope that one should generate this thought seeking liberation. So so as an example, say a a criminal, a person who was in the prison and been there already for a month who has been punished and finally now he’s going to be, like, killed. So so if if for that person, like he he or she can be saved for this period of one month that not getting any punishment from the help of someone.
But finally, he he can’t be saved from from the death that the the punishment that he he or she is saving. So so as in the in the guide to the way of bodhisattva’s life, it says that one one like takes the boat in the upper realms again and again. And one experiences the happiness of the upper realms. One experiences the happiness of the upper realms but then finally, it ends again with falling down into the lower realms. So so when when it still fall down in the lower realms, so if in the future, if one is to become if one is to become free from like, if one is not to experience that, then one need to become completely free from saṃsāra.
So so in order to achieve that, like, completely getting free of saṃsāra is to achieve that, as you said in the very beginning that one need to seek the thought or one need to have this thought of seeking liberation. Yeah. So so the way of generating this thought seeking liberation is done under two, which is contemplating the nature of four noble truth and also that of the twelve links of dependent arising. So these Geshe-la have explained to you before, so he won’t be explaining much on this. So liberation here means that getting getting free from being, let’s say, bound.
So, as we are bound We are bound by by karma and delusions. So so when one escapes from this bondage of karma and delusion, then that is what liberation is. One achieves the liberation. So, this contaminated body is bound by karma and delusion. So then, and the way how and delusion bound the contaminated body is that So we are bound by the force of common delusion to the three realms.
So of the realms, we are bound to one of these three realms and of the migrators or beings, one is bound to one of the six migrators. And of the birth, we are bound to one of the four types of birth. So so the six migrators also can be understood is another term which is used as the things five, let’s say, five continue. So when we count the six or or beings, the three of the low realms, hell, hunger ghost, and animal, and then three of the upper realms, human, god and demigods. Sorry.
The the five continuum or or or five types of things can be also, sorry, understood, which then when we count five continuum or five types of beings, then the demigods, sometimes it’s counter in the same room as a god and sometimes it is counter in the rooms of nagas. So in that way, they’re out in the like the five continuum or five types of beings. So so as it is said that becoming free of the six migrators or the five continuum or the five types of beings or or the three getting free from the three types of rooms. When one become free from there, that is what liberation is. That that is where one achieves liberation.
And when we when we say saṃsāra, is these all the all the beings or like the the six migrators, the five the three rooms. Is this the saṃsāra? Then it is not. So so these are not saṃsāra, but a place of saṃsāra? So so then what saṃsāra is is that that the continuation of giving the continuation of producing, what’s it, producing contaminated dirt is is what what saṃsāra is.
Yeah. That’s what saṃsāra is. So the the continuation of producing a contaminated body which is as it’s, what do say, It’s a it’s a substantial substantial cause for that is the karma and the delusion is what what produces the the contaminated body. Yeah. So then when it ceases to produce say, a rebirth under the control of common delusion, then that is the liberation.
So so then first to to escape from this, what do say, this to escape from the this, to escape from the saṃsāra. So in order to escape from saṃsāra, one person need need to seek the say, one person need to generate or just wish to to leave the saṃsāra. So so to seek or to seek this desire to become free from saṃsāra as there’s a teaching which is given by Āryadeva where Āryadeva says that the learned ones or the scholars, they also, they generate the same type of fears. Like achieving the higher birth such as human and god. For them, for the learned one or the scholars, they have the same type of fear like like getting born in the in the.
So similar to that, for us we to generate this wish to leave saṃsāra and in order to in order to generate that wish, one had to think or contemplate over the sufferings of the Samsāra. So so contemplating the sufferings of saṃsāra, there are two ways you can contemplate. One one to the four noble truth and one to the the twelve links. So so with the four noble truth contemplating the suffering through four noble truth. The four noble truths are the true suffering, the true cause of suffering, and the true path and true cessation.
So as Geshe-la already explained the four noble truths in the past that he said he won’t be explaining in detail. So so the teachings on four noble truth, how how it is presented in Lamrim as is presented first the result. The result that is first the true, I would say, the sufferings, the true sufferings, and then explains the true of suffering. And similarly, first explains the result which is the true cessation and then giving the explanation on its cause, the true path. So, the reason why it is starting that way is that first to generate, generate, how do call, To generate thought to, how do you say, to remove or to leave sufferings or to remove suffering, suffering is taught first.
So so then so if one wishes to to get rid of the suffering, then then one wishes that then one looks for its cause where the suffering comes originate originate from. So in that way, one look for the cause. So so that’s that’s why the cause of suffering is taught later. So then next is that the result again is shown first, that is the true cessation. And for that if one is to see the benefits or the qualities of true cessation, then one puts effort to achieve that.
So then later it is shown the path, the true So so the sufferings, for example, that we experience on this body that we experience three types of feeling, that of pain, pleasure and neutral. So of these three types of feeling, feeling of pain that we recognize it as a suffering, but not the other two that are the the pleasure and and the the neutral feeling. These are we we don’t recognize as a as a suffering. So so that we are happy in saṃsāra and will as one like being in saṃsāra, this shows that that the quality with somebody. So so one one have this thoughts that I’m happy in saṃsāra or I like saṃsāra, this is because of not knowing the nature of suffering.
So these happiness of some sort of contaminated happiness a very very very temporal, which which sooner or later, it would change into suffering. So so all this type of feeling that one experience, suffering pleasure, and and the neutral feeling is all all caused by the cause of suffering, the origin. So so with the true origin, there are two which is as it is explained before, the the karma and the delusions. These are the true origin of all those. And and now one what one needs what one need to do is one need to one need to abandon these these two these two causes, the karma and the delusions.
So so then through abandoning these these two common division that that one comes to the true come to achieve the true cessation, the true cessation of suffering. And to achieve this true cessation, you know, there is the true path which is taught underlying on the true path that one come one come to achieve the true cessation. So for all these first one, one need to recognize the sufferings and as in the Lamrim teaching, in the great Lamrim teaching, the the different, I would say, numbers of sufferings which are explained, which is the eight eight, six, and three types of sufferings which have been explained in great Lamrim So it’s very very important for us to recognize these different kinds of suffering. So the the main it’s very important for us to recognize this suffering and the the reason that we need to recognize this suffering is to be able to understand that that the nature of saṃsāra being is suffering. So we do say that nature of saṃsāra is suffering, but to to to actually recognize that, one need to know these different types of sufferings.
So these are the first the eight types of sufferings is known as a particular sufferings of a