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 provides detailed instruction on Tonglen, the giving-and-taking meditation for developing bodhicitta—the compassionate determination to free all beings from suffering. He grounds the practice in a foundational principle: all happiness, temporal and ultimate, depends on others, so cherishing them is essential. The core technique involves visualizing others’ suffering as black light entering through your nostrils and dissolving into the self-cherishing mind at your heart; then transforming your accumulated virtue and sending it to others in whatever form they need. He places these practices within a structured framework combining cause-and-effect teachings with the approach of exchanging oneself with others. A crucial instruction: when fear or intensity arises during practice, it’s a sign you’re engaging correctly with the teachings.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 38 GP 1996 07 21.mp3
UUID: 94c1d769-5083-4e51-b8c4-8513f5e2ac1a
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Graduated Path (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1996-07-21
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.8 minutes
Words: ~2,653
This general way of looking at this world, there are like a sentient beings. There are like a lot of billions of sentient beings in the world that of all those sentient beings, the human beings, in one way, is the is the worst type of sentient beings. So so suggest those animals like tigers, lion, and so on, like, takes the life of others, but mainly to fill their stomach. And they don’t kill or they don’t take others life like like human beings do. So so that for human beings, like, for their own sake or for their for the sake of their their close one.
They take the life of others such as killing many animals for their meat, selling those meat. And such as, for example, like butchers and so on, like catching the fish and like the fish itself in the ocean or in the sea doesn’t do any harm to anyone else but those breaches catches and then takes their life. In that way, humans act. In one way of looking, human beings have this, let’s say, wicked nature or bad nature which is worse than, like, cannibals. So so now what we should others?
So is this mind, like, cherishing other? Is it is it possible? Then, yes, it is possible. So as an example, like, if we have a good farm where if we could plant something, then you know that one will have good crops. Then the farmer will take care of the farm because he will have good crops.
So similar to that, if one knows this mind, like cherishing others, is the cause of our present happiness and our future happiness, then one should one should, I would say, cherish that mind of cherishing others. So so sentient beings are ought to be cherished because all all what we have, the food, shelter, clothing, and all even the temporal happiness, such as the ultimate happiness depends on them. So even like we meeting with the teachings of Buddha and here able to perform some practices. And later through our practice we come to achieve, generate bodhicitta and gradually achieve full enlightened state. Half of this is through the of one’s guru, and half of that is through the of other sentient beings.
So so contemplating on these two point, like the first part, the faults of cherishing oneself, and the second part which is the benefit of cherishing others. And then move to second next step which is contemplating on the thought, changing oneself with others. Yeah. So when we say changing or exchanging oneself with others, doesn’t mean we we, like, physically change? And what we need to what we change is the is the thoughts that change.
Exchanging oneself with others, the thoughts which in in in the previous time, one had cherished oneself and ignored others. And And now by contemplating these faults of cherishing oneself and the benefit of cherishing others, now absorbing these two thoughts. Instead of cherishing oneself, cherishing others is what what exchanging oneself with others. Yeah. So so ignoring this mind of cherishing itself and instead of that cherishing like, bringing the mind cherishing others.
So ignoring oneself to or or renouncing these different things which renouncing renouncing one’s relatives, close ones, and ignoring oneself doesn’t mean that you you don’t think about them. It doesn’t mean in that way. So when we say ignoring oneself, which is shouldn’t, like, bring harm to others for once one profit and for the profit of close ones. And, also, when we say giving of the wealth of this life, which is the food, cloth, and shelter, doesn’t mean you should never collect them. So so what it means is that in order to help one’s future life, one should one should work towards towards those things.
So if one is one is to do or if one is to perform in that way, then it is dharmic way of doing. So so in short, like, we do our practices and even when we are doing our job like a surgeon work shouldn’t do those works which are harmful to one’s to one’s own future lives. So other than that, anything that is helpful one should do. So So then this point when exchanging oneself with others, when one become familiar with this practice, then go to next step, which is Tonglen practice, that is the giving and taking practice, meditation practice. So at this point that we are performing both these methods, these two methods together.
And as this practice of Tonglen is to strengthen our our practice of compassion and our practice of love. So so So by strengthening our practice of love and training the practice of giving. And then by strengthening our practice of compassion and training the practice of taking. So So these two practices like taking and giving, to start first with taking and then next, so to practice of giving. But in in some Lamrim teachings, it also says that first to do the giving and then taking too.
So if you start taking as a first, which is like taking all the sufferings of others to oneself and and making them completely free of sufferings, their mental continuum free of sufferings, and then and then, like, send them or give them the happiness. So that too, like taking, which is strengthening the practice of compassion, and wishing to free all those of sentient beings from that state of sufferings. Wishing to take all the sufferings of other sentient beings to oneself, that is like imagining all the suffering of other sentient beings taking in the form of black light and imagining that it goes through the pores of the body. self-cherishing mind, is located in the center of the heart, and thinking that all those black lights, the suffering of others, like, also dissolve into that self-cherishing mind. So again, like general general, like taking those sufferings of all beings, which is the sufferings of the hell, such as the cold hell and hot hell and the suffering of hungry ghosts, suffering of animals, human gods and all these suffering like taking it in the form of black light and imagining it going through one’s nostrils and goes in and then dissolve into the heart, which is where the heart dissolve into the self-cherishing mind, which is located at the heart.
So so when you want to when you want to perform that practice, then that one should think afterwards that all those sentient beings now are completely free of that of whatever type of suffering that they going through and in the state of happiness. So as there are different trainees, for some, like this practice of giving and taking or Tonglen practice is for some it’s very difficult that they are unable to perform this practice. So for those who like are unable to do this practice of giving taking and giving, they are also, again, advised first to start taking upon taking upon oneself first. So, like, take which is taking one’s one’s suffering. That is there are sufferings that one will experience in this evening or there are sufferings that one will experience in tomorrow or there are sufferings that one will experience in one’s future lives.
So taking those suffering that one will experience in the later time upon oneself. So then once one is familiar with that practice of taking one’s one’s suffering, then go further further, which is taking the sufferings of one’s parents, the close ones, and the suffering of the strangers, and also the sufferings of the enemies. And and that way you train. So so that’s the way, like, once you train. Otherwise, for some, it’s not let’s say, they won’t wish to take the sufferings of the enemy right from the beginning.
So so when one is taking the sufferings, then not just when one takes in the form of black light and takes it in, not just thinking that it disappeared, the suffering disappeared there. Not just thinking that it disappeared there, but like taking it through one’s nostrils and going in and dissolving it into this self-cherishing mind. Then thinking that other beings have happiness. So so for some when one when one is taking the sufferings, sometimes one goes to some peer or one one gets terrified. And when one experience this, it’s something it’s a good sign.
So so when we say taking other sufferings, like if one is very familiar with the practice, then for some, it is possible to actually take the other sufferings. So so for us, even if unable to take the suffering like a real actual suffering from others, just bring this bring this visualization, clear visualizations help us to collect a great amount of merit. So, like, doing the visualization clearly. So when one becomes familiar with this practice of taking, then we go to next step, is giving or sending. So then first strengthening one’s practice of love, and then transforming one’s own virtue, whatever virtue or happiness that one have in the form of wish fulfilling and then sending or giving that to others.
So so like giving to others, which is whatever needs the other other have, whatever kind of needs the other have, whatever things they need, like giving in that form, like sending in that form to the others. So so for example, like, thinking of giving to those beings of the hell realms, those are the hot beings of the hot hell, like transforming one’s own virtue in the form of cooling nature such as water or cool air and so on. Those being in the cold hell, like, transforming one’s body into into warmth and sending them warmth. And then similarly with the gurus and the Buddhists, we we transform our our boju and boju into offering objects and and and and send them or offer them. Oh, So and then thinking after offering, like, to to have, let’s say, to to have his his deeds to be to to have, what is it, long lasting deeds of the guru?
So the virtue that we can give is all all the virtue of the three time that we can we can, I would say, give them? So when one is giving body and wealth, then we can only give the this the body are present body and wealth are present and also that of the future, but not of the past. So because the past life’s body and wealth are not anymore there. It’s yet yeah. So but the virtue that we can still, how do you say, give, which is those virtues of the past that we have also dedicated for the achievement of fully enlightened state.
So the virtues are still there, so one can still offer or give. So so a brief explanations on these, like, exchanging oneself with others, which started with equal equalizing oneself with others. And then second step which are contemplating the faults of cherishing self and the next one is contemplating the benefits of cherishing others. And then the actual part of exchanging self with others, and then finally, that of practice of giving and taking the So when one perform all these practices, giving all our virtue, wealth and body to others and taking all their sufferings to oneself, the sufferings of others into oneself, and we have performed this practice, but if one needs to check again, check that whether one have actually did that or just did it mentally, then we have performed that only mentally. So when one comes to know that it is just performed mentally, that one have performed actually.
At that point, one will come to know that, then that that’s the point where one then generates this special insight. So this special insight is that not only wishing other beings to be free from suffering and wishing them to have happiness, but actually engaging in such an action to to free all sentient being from the state of sufferings and to to lead them to the state of happiness. Yep. So so then after that, the next is that to lead also into the to the full enlightened state generating this mind, which is the bodhicitta. So, yeah, like about eleven points of meditations which comes together in the combination of these two methods.
That is the seven cause and effect instructions and the second one which is exchanging and equalizing oneself with others. So those eleven points, first one is meditation on equanimity. That that is the equanimity is like the basis of the west eleven. Mhmm. And then after that is recognizing one’s mother, remembering their kindness, and then the special remembering of their kindness, repaying their kindness, And then equalizing oneself with others.
And then next is that contemplating the faults of cherishing self in many aspects. Then next is that again, contemplating the benefits of cherishing others in many different aspects. So so then after that is that the practice of taking, which is strengthening the practice of compassion once compassion, and then taking taking taking the sufferings. So then next is that meditating on love, which is strengthening one’s meditation on love and performing the practice of giving. And then after that is generating this special insight, is taking the responsibility for the sake of others.
And then next is the actual bodhicitta. And total of eleven. So I will do this much, and if you have any questions, you can ask. It’s a good sign because it’s a sign that one have trained one’s mind. So which if a fear arises at that point when one was when one’s being performing that practice, then shows that one is following the instructions.
And and it’s a it’s a sign that one have, like, followed correctly the instructions. You can only say that much. Rather than meeting. It’s a short question and short answer. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Oh, sorry. I’m sorry. Uh-huh.
Uh-huh. So the reason taking those other suffering to one’s end, imagining it dissolving into self-cherishing mind is the purpose is to, what do say, to destroy that self-cherishing mind. So like taking the sickness of others, one can take the sickness of others upon oneself too, which is similarly, if is going through some sickness. And at that time, do you say, changing bad circumstances into path, That’s the line which once of thinking those paths, those circumstances, going through sicknesses, like serving it as a practice, like also at that point taking others sickness and and imagining that one’s one is taking other’s suffering whoever is going through the same kind of suffering like one. So so if one is going through some some sickness, then thinking that if one thinks over those pain and suffering, then it’s more suffering than one is going through and more suffering than one experience.
Instead, if one is to think that it is because of my karma that I’m going through these sufferings, so using that adverse circumstances as a sickness, also serving to take others suffering at that point, like thinking others are suffering, going through the same kind of sufferings, then experiencing my own suffering may I serve the others to others that they don’t have to suffer and taking other suffering upon oneself. Yeah. So for some, like, let’s say, if they are doing, performing some Dharma practice and have done, performed Dharma practice, but suddenly if they are to face some illness and go through some difficult periods, then that person might think that I do Dharma practice but it’s not helping me. So so then these things happen, then that might that might, like, cause one to leave leave one’s belief in the practice.