Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 45-minute teaching, Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen draws on the Lamp on the Path to connect foundational Mahāyāna philosophy to bodhisattva vow practice. He begins by clarifying the heart of Mahāyāna—bodhicitta, the commitment to free all beings from suffering—and distinguishes this path from lower-vehicle practice by its emphasis on working for others’ liberation. He then moves into practical application, laying out the ethical framework of the bodhisattva vows through analysis of specific faults, focusing particularly on infractions related to the first perfection of generosity. Working through detailed scenarios—when offerings to the Three Jewels are required, how attachment undermines giving, when you’re obligated to answer others’ questions and the five exceptions—he shows how vow training makes the philosophy real. Pitched at practitioners with some background in foundational teachings.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 31 GP 1996 06 30.mp3
UUID: 923dde1f-8eb7-4076-928d-e16e3c229f5c
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Graduated Path (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1996-06-30
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.1 minutes
Words: ~2,517
So quoting a line from the text known as the Lamp on the Path where in that text explains how the being of the greatest scope should be. Yeah. So normally, we we talk about the great the being of the great vehicle or the Mahāyānist and that of the being of the lesser vehicle or the Hinayanist. So what is meant by Mahāyānist is Mahāyānist is one who have generated the mind that is the bodhicitta. So so when as a as a Mahāyānist, it’s one who is known as have generated this great mind that is called the citta.
And this great mind which observes all beings, all mother sentient beings and has this aspect the mind which wishing or wanting to free all sentient beings from the cause and the result of suffering? So as this aspect which wanting to free ultimate from suffering and its cause and also has this wish to lead all of the sentient beings to this state of happiness which is the happiness and its cause. So on top of these thoughts that when or along with that thought, wishing to lead all the sentient beings into the enlightened state with great compassion. And then And then having this wisdom which is performing the two duties. So performing the two duties, the purpose of self and others which act in this way is known as the person who acts in all in this way is known as the Mahayanasattva.
So in short, which taking the example of oneself, example as oneself how one experiences the sufferings and thinking or visualizing that oneself experiencing also the suffering of lower realms and also the suffering of humans and God. All this thinking that oneself is going through that and at the same time generating this great compassion that other things have been through are going through these sufferings and generating this great compassion towards others and then applying the wisdom which is wisdom seeking to achieve the full enlightened state for others’ sake. That is also an altruistic mind. So the full enlightened state or the complete enlightened state, as it means the full or complete, which completely eradicated all faults. So that enlightened state or the fully enlightened state which is not explained in the lower vehicle or in the Hīnayāna’s teaching.
So there isn’t, in the Hīnayāna’s teaching, isn’t the explanations of the fully enlightened state or the path and result, what is explained in the Mahāyānist. So because of that, it is it is known as the Hinayanist or the lower vehicle of the Hīnayāna. So that’s how Mahayanists and Hinayanis is differentiated. It’s differentiated to how, whether they work for others or not. So when we say working for others, is like for some it might be new, there’s for there’s there’s no one that you can point to which are saying, you know, this person works for him or her, but doesn’t work for him or her.
There’s no one whom you can point to. So Hinayanists do work for others. Working for others which are not the same as that of the Mahāyāna which the Mahāyāna works for others in order to free others from sufferings, Mahayanists engage or do practice, Mahayanists do practice in order to free others from sufferings. But the Hinayan is the way of benefiting others is not the same. So as especially seeing himself, even don’t have the direct experience into this mind that which into this practice has explained Mani’s practice.
But in order to gain a genuine experience into this practice, one need to work on which is little by little, more and more you train on this mind, more you become closer to the experience of this mind. So as explained just before, line which is coming from the text known as the lamp on the path, it says that taking example of oneself, how one experiences these types of sufferings and using that example to others and that others too go through the same type of sufferings or experience of suffering. And on top of that thinking that the others are ignoring in collecting the cause of happiness and also abandoning the cause of sufferings. So that in order to free others from suffering and cause of suffering, that I listen to the teachings. So listen to the teachings.
So setting this type of mind or generating this mind and we do short meditation. So as the subject that Geshe-la is explaining here is on the eighteen root vows of the bodhisattvas. And the eighteen the root vows which which has been explained in the in the past teachings. And we all we should also thought to explain So the this is also taught to explain the common branch of of these the common branch of these vows. He also thought to explain this, but but because there’s not much time, so this days time in the later at a few weeks time when we when we finish explaining the the branch vows, then he will, I wanna say, explain those the common branches too.
So so as a he also admits something which saying that there is still five more weeks to go before Kālacakra. So if he finished that, then he will give this explanation. And as I said, the forty six branch vows which some of them will be explained more in detail. Some of them will be explained briefly. So so when moralities are known as the three types as the morality of restraining from misdeeds or wrong actions and morality of working for other sentient beings, morality as the integrating virtue.
So there are three types of moralities here. So moral of restraining from misdeeds, which which is been explained in the past teachings as if you like, for for those who have who have taken ordinations, their their vows are what they have to restrain from, and that is known as the morality of restraining from misdeeds. And if it’s lay, then, like, their lay vows and all that have depend on virtuous actions. Restraining from these actions are known as the morality of restraining from misdeeds. So so then next one, next morality which is known as the morality of integrating virtue which which is here such as the six perfection or the the six perfection I’m trying to generate each of the six perfection within within one to one mental continuum is known as like the integrating virtual, the model of integrating virtual.
So so those misdeeds associated with the, what do you call these six protections, what is it, Which which need which one need to restrain or abandon? So, morality of, what is it, morality of integrating virtue known as the six perfections as example. And of those six like there are misdeeds which we have to associating with the first perfection that is giving and that of morality, second one and the rest. So the first misdeeds or the faults which I explained here are five which is associated with the giving or the generosity. So of the five, the first one is weakness in our practice of generosity, mainly that of giving good.
So this one, the first false which shows there is contoursumular. So not making offering to the jewels, not making offering to the Three Jewels, shows that the weakness of practice in, what is it, mainly relating to that of providing material goods. Yeah. So this first fault, show that whoever have, those who have taken refuge or taken bodhisattva vows as a precept, as commitment they should make offerings and or make offering of service to the Three Jewels like once a day. If miss that then that’s one of the faults.
So we should make offerings to the triple gems like once a day depending how, depending, I would say, the size of offering you make, whether it’s a great offering or a small offering, one should make it once a day. So even if you can’t make extensive offerings such as offering a stick of incense or a stick of flower or water bowl offerings. If possible, add as many as you can. And then even just offering one bowl of water. And also like doing prostrations towards the Three Jewels.
If you do this or if you perform this, then you’re free of this first fault. So, if you offer a stick of incense or a flower or if you make a prostration, one prostration towards the Three Jewels, then at that time you should, such as making prostrations, like physically you bow down or make the prostrations verbally you recite or chant the praises to the enlightened beings. And then mentally, mentally you generate a great faith in them. So if you’re able to do practice with these three then one can accumulate great amount of merit. And not only that but it also stops one from breaking one of this, the first fault.
One, it also stops receiving the faults of the first branch vow. When you miss making offering to the triple gems, it can happen in two ways. One is known as out of delusions and one which is, let’s say, not out of delusions. So so that breaking the first branch vow or receiving first fault is that one can break this out of two ways. One out of our delusions which is because of not having, I want to say, respect towards the Three Jewels or out of laziness or if one have the, let’s say, and also whatever vows that one had received, one had taken, like the Bodhisattva vows or any vows of individual liberation that one had taken, having, not disrespecting those vows and because of disrespecting their vows, one, what do say, So not having respect towards those vows that one have taken and out of laziness or out of getting very tired.
If one is not to make offerings to the triple gems then this part is known as, what is it, when I break in the vows under the influence of delusions or out of delusions. So if it’s not caused by any of these and if one have forgotten making the offerings, then it is said that it is, I would say, false that you received but not that which is under the control of delusions. So now I’m going to the next fault or misdeed which is our weakness in applying antidotes against miserliness. So which with the second fault like following the thoughts or following the mind which is by the means of attachment. That is the second fault.
Which is with great desire or with, yeah, with great desire and not having containment And getting attached to gain and, what is it, gain and same. So following these, out of these, what is it, by means of attachment or out of attachment is is, what is it, is one of the faults. Having great desire which is wanting things plus not having containment and not wanting to stop these thought but acting in these actions out of attachment is the second fault. So generally the practice of giving or generosity explain three types which is generosity of providing material goods and generating generosity of giving protection from fear And third one, Shigarh Shimabara, generosity of providing Dharma or Dharma teachings. So now the second one, the So the third fault which is weakness in the practice of second generosity that is generosity in giving protection, our weakness in the generosity of giving protection to others from here.
So this, what do say, this can be breaking into two groups. One that of, that which explain. So this explanation comes under two parts which one is the general explanations and the second part which explains the specific or the particular aspect of this. So the specific part of these explanations is not respecting the elder ones or the older ones. So not respecting the senior one here, the senior one in this context to those who are taking Bodhisattva vows and who are senior than one and who have more quality than one.
So to them, one should respect. Yeah. So one have to respect them and if one, let’s say, disrespect them, then one receives downfalls, this fault or the branch fault which is not respecting the elder ones or senior ones. So then the general part of explanations or general explanations which is not answering the questions. Yeah, not answering the questions.
So not answering the questions which is the first contact when we see each other, say how are you and answering to that like you’re saying I’m fine or whatever. And then it continues on if the person then asks another question, then if the person or whoever doesn’t give the answer, then that is what breaks this branch again. So so so here on this point, like not answering the question, one might understand also one always have to answer all the questions that is asked. So one might think in that way too, but there are five like situations where you don’t have to like give the answers. So these five situations that one don’t have to answer from the person.
If the person is, what is it, under great sickness or illness, then there’s this excuse that you don’t have to answer. So the second situation or the exceptions is that when one is sleep, if one is asked a question and not answering the answer, not giving answer, that’s another I would say, another excuse, yeah. So these two, first two are because of the person. One first part which is the person is six and second part because the person is eight and didn’t get the answer. So there are these two because from the person.
And then excuses with the time. So, and then time where in when one is giving teaching to others or one is discussing about Dharma teachings with others, and during that time, And or those times when you are talking with others to to please others. Or all those times when someone else is giving teaching to one? Similar to before that one one is discussing our teachings with others. And also those times when you are fully concentrating in listening to Dharma teachings.
So while during these times, while one is engaging these times to different things, I would say it’s better not to answer than give an answer to other questions. So then again, out of different reasons, again, time we don’t you don’t have to answer. So so so because So out of different reasons, for example, well in this kind of situation when one is all listening to Dharma teachings, at that time like when someone asks questions to you or whoever, because if you answer the questions then it might disturb others around one. So because of that reason, if you don’t answer again the questions, then, well, one doesn’t have default.