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 explores the exceptions to five Bodhisattva precepts—a crucial but overlooked dimension of his Graduated Path commentary. Rather than treating vows as absolute rules, he asks: when do apparent violations incur no fault? Not answering questions avoids the downfall if the answer would harm others, violate law, or embarrass the questioner; declining invitations is permitted if gravely ill, the distance extreme, or in active retreat; withholding Dharma teachings is justified when recipients lack suitable capacity or approach with wrong motivation. The style is technical and deliberate, repeatedly refining distinctions between delusion-driven faults and circumstantial exemptions. Pitched to practitioners already grounded in Bodhisattva ethics.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 32 GP 1996 06 30.mp3
UUID: d1db919e-2741-4015-80e2-5b85f33aeaff
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Graduated Path (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1996-06-30
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.2 minutes
Words: ~2,492
So another, again different, another reason which then you don’t answer the question because if you, to give answer to whoever have asked that question, if that, if you answer, give the answer then if it is harmful to many who are sitting around you, then that time not answering the question again, you don’t receive this fault. So again, with other reasons, if you suggest because of the law of the country, because of that reason, if you don’t give the answer, then again you don’t have you don’t receive this fault. And or similarly, if you like because of the law of the country, if you don’t do prostration, that too you don’t receive the fault. So again, out of this different, let’s say, in this such a situation when there is a lama that you respect very much in front and also say there are many other people around. And if you were to show some respect to the Lama then that might embarrass many of the other person.
If one is to, I wanna say, show some respect to the Lama and at that point if that showing respect is causing embarrassment for many others, then again not doing that or not doing or not giving the answer at that time too. You don’t receive downfalls. So beside these, beside these that if one is not to give answer because out of pride or out of anger or out of hatred, if one is not to give answer then one receives that fault of not answering. So, or and then not giving answer out of pride in anger and hatred are known as because of delusions. And if you don’t give answer again because you are tired or because you are lazy then it is said that part of not giving answer is not out of delusions but still you’ll receive the fault.
So the tiredness and laziness, it’s pretty, let’s say tiredness is a part of laziness. So So, I made a mistake in this translation which when you are, not tired, but it’s when you are in a situation where you are experiencing a state of great joy or a state of great pain, because of that reason if you don’t give an answer to the question, then what is it? So so because So because of that, that one is because of these two, whether one is intense happiness or on the other side. If one doesn’t give the answer, to the question, then one receives the faults of breaking this branch vow. But that part is not known as delusion.
So so and or you if you don’t give answer and like when you remain in the state of, wanna say, in the state where you are not like in a neutral state, sorry, yeah, which is not a virtue, not a non virtue. And you keep your mind in the state, in neutral state where you don’t then answer the question. Then again, that part where you see the fault. So so the next one, that is the fourth one, the fourth with the So So the next one, that is the fourth one which is not making oneself as a condition for other to practice giving which if you are invited for lunch or something for tea, if you don’t go if you don’t go accept invitation, then there’s one you receive a downfall. So this one, acting as a condition for others to practice giving.
This part has two, which is not accepting the invitation, and secondly, not accepting the technique, or say gifts, or others offerings. Yeah. So the first one that is, what do say, declining the invitation? So in this like declining the invitation, for example, if one is invited to any gatherings such as gatherings of a monk like in the monastery or in the family house if one has been invited? So the other person had sent me the invitation out of respect.
If one doesn’t accept the invitation out of pride or out of anger, then or and decline the invitation then one receives downfall there. So so so again, similar to the to the the earlier one, there are some also exceptions which we don’t receive downfalls. So on the person’s side on the side of the person, if the person is, like, severely ill. Or the person have already accepted another invitation on that time to go to another place, then not accepting the invitation because of these two reasons one doesn’t receive downfalls. And then the next, another exception is because of because of the distance.
So you said if it’s the place which you are invited is in distant, a very distant place or or it is very difficult to get there unlike interesting thing like like Tibet. So like along the in the journey, if they are like some fears such as the fear of enemies, then if you if you don’t accept the invitation, then what is it? You don’t receive. So so and again, the exception there’s exception when if if if the sponsors we are inviting, if it’s not done out of respect, but if it is done out of, what to say, out of challenge or out of the thought of competing others, so if it’s in that case, then if you don’t accept the invitation, again, you don’t receive downfalls. So also in such situation when saying that such a house have invited people for lunch or invited different guests and for name and fame I should also invite these do the invitation.
So if it’s done out of that reason, then not accepting invitation, again, that doesn’t receive downfalls. And again, with other reasons such as not accepting the invitation because it is harming to your practice such as if you are in retreat or you are doing a long retreat then that doesn’t receive downfalls of not accepting the guests. And in that case, you can, how do you say, she was saying, you can ask them to bring it to you. He said, yeah. He’s just kidding on the last part.
So so again, in other other situations such as if you are being invited and if you don’t accept the invitation because that you miss, such as like some of the teachings like where there’s a discourse of Dharma teachings. If you are missing that and because of that reason, if you don’t accept the invitation or if you decline the invitation then again you don’t receive the downfalls and all of these exceptions which is explained by So, to, I wanna say, to please other person that if you like decline the invitation or or because of the law to to to let’s say, because of the law that if you don’t accept invitation, then again, you don’t you don’t receive downfalls. So then the second one, which is not accepting the gifts or the offerings. So which such as not accepting or taking the gold which has been given. So so just such as gold, here all the precious stones are included which if someone out of faith or out of their generosity, if one is given or one is offered these precious stones.
And if one if one doesn’t take, then again, there’s default. So when others out of like, how do you say, honesty or out of out of earnestly, like, gives you or offers you money or or any other things. At that point, you should accept. You should take So so if so if you don’t accept odd if you don’t accept all the things that has been offered to you out of harmful thoughts or out of anger, then, what do say, you receive downfalls of making this and which also said you are ignoring the sentient beings. So then the fifth one which is mystics which is associated with giving Dharma teachings.
So which is not giving Dharma teachings to those who want it or desire. So, like others, what do call, willingly, other desire, asking for teachings. And if one doesn’t give teachings or Dharma teachings, then, how do you say, one doesn’t give Dharma teachings out of anger or out of a harmful intent, then then what’s the one who receives this fault? So so again, some of the exceptions which on the person side, if the person is very ill or if the person don’t know Dharma. So again, as similar to that of earlier part which out of different regions, like if the person whom one is giving the teaching, if that person is not suitable, then again shouldn’t, not giving teaching, you don’t receive downfalls.
So if someone comes out and asks to give teachings with the thought of checking out, then So if that person comes out of just taking out in that way and ask the Dharma teachings, and if you don’t give the Dharma teachings, then you don’t receive the fault here. Or with other reasons that with those who have bad behaviors such as not having respect and so on. Like, to them, if you don’t get teachings again, you don’t receive downfalls. So so those with unwritten faculties, those who are very, very foolish one. Yeah.
If then if you don’t also give teachings, then you don’t see downfalls. So which is to those who are extremely, I would say, unripened which unripened faculties which if, because Dharma teachings is something very extensive and profound, have to give a lot of explanations and because of that reason those who are enlightened can’t understand or can’t digest which then out of that might cause them to, might lead them to have a wrong view. So when this, because of these reasons, if you want to Dharma teachings to those who’s faculties are And then, what do say? There’s no fault. So again, part of another reasons where if one not giving Dharma teachings to those, if one knows that by giving teaching to some person might cause many other, many was around that person leads to wrong view, in that situation, not giving down teaching to that person also doesn’t break or doesn’t receive downfalls.
So we’ll stop here tonight which completed the five faults associated with the practice of giving. You see the thing, it’s a Tibetan saying which I had a pain and it was I had pain and it was quick too which means that in Tibet like the nomads find the hills when they come back to the city like to different houses. The houses usually, like you have to climb a step, stairs which is usually one big log and you have a step on that and you climb up and go into the room. So when they come to those house, one time like there happened to this nomad happened to climb up to the house. And then he wasn’t sure now how to get down.
And suddenly he was waiting there and there was a cat came around and the cat just went like climbed down with that love. And then he told me he might also have to do like that. So he did the same thing and he pulled down and got down to the floor and he said it was quick and it was also painful. So he’s he’s gonna say, similarly, we got we completed quite we we went quite fast, but whether we understood or not is not sure. So we finish explaining the five faults associated with the giving and the faults associated with morality or second perfection will be explained in the next teaching.
So if you have any questions, then mhmm. So the question was desire to grasp the the projections and yeah. Thank you. So this was a great desire to grasp mainly in this context, grasping to possessions, like grasping to possessions, like, you know, So when you said temporary happiness, I just can you give an example? So this one like desire to grasp mainly to wealth.
The great desire for wealth. When you say like temporal happiness, happiness of saṃsāra or So getting attached to the happiness of this life which is saying this happens to us unless we are ordinary people which happens to us. But but then while you’re actually when you’re doing the practice, if if you If you start the practice with the motivation just aiming for the purpose of happiness of this life, then that practice doesn’t become a Dharma practice. So so what is it? Like, so in this mind training teachings known as like, what do you call, Yeah, fighting from poor attachment which the first line said if you are attached to the pleasure or happiness of this life, then you’re not a you’re not a religious person or a spiritual person.
So so so what normally, one can do is that one should practice that but one should see the forms of that. So, gradually, like seeing the faults of that again and again, It’s not easy that one can easily stop having attachment to the happiness of this life, but more and more if you see default then there will be a time where, what is it, one can get rid of that thought. So this, the great design here means that, such as when we have one hundred dollars we need two hundred dollars and we need three hundred dollars more and then we need one hundred thousand or millions and so on. So not getting content to that is what I think the great desire. So so when we have this great desire, when we want to have ten thousand and one hundred thousand and so on, the more you have, your, what do say, the muscle weakness becomes greater, becomes bigger.
So then your miserliness becomes bigger and bigger. And your practice which is known as the antidote towards muscle in this becomes more and more less, which is more weaker. Said, with that, you can pause or stop. And and and he can answer and then listen. But then other time, like, when you’re listening or teaching, like, someone is giving the Lama is giving teaching, then there’s no way, like, it’s not right.
They said, do you stop talking and then I have to answer. So if if one happened to do that, one is receiving teaching from the Lama, then we have the person who’s asking the questions and giving the answer misses some of the teaching because of the He said, in this situation, like, while you’re doing meditations and if a phone rings, if you don’t answer, it’s okay. It’s better because the person might ring you again later. So if you with that one, it’s a it’s a you received the. Sorry.