Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 45-minute session, Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen establishes the heart of Mahāyāna practice: bodhicitta, the commitment to free all beings from suffering. He then outlines the three types of bodhisattva morality—restraining from harm, cultivating the six perfections, and working for others’ benefit. The focus is on the first perfection, generosity, with five specific faults: neglecting daily offerings to the Three Jewels, acting from attachment and greed, disrespecting senior practitioners, and failing to answer questions. He clarifies the exceptions—sickness, sleep, teaching, listening to Dharma, or if answering would disturb others—showing that ethics rest on understanding intent, not blind rule-following. For practitioners studying or who have taken bodhisattva vows.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 43 GP 1996 08 13.mp3
UUID: 95d0fc2f-c7ab-48ff-bf54-6f0794338dfd
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Graduated Path (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1996-08-13
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.2 minutes
Words: ~2,405
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 So, normally, we we talk about being of the great vehicle or the Mahāyānist and that of being of the lesser vehicle or the Hinayanist. So what is meant by Mahāyānist is Mahāyānist is one who has generated the mind, that is the bodhicitta. So, a Mahāyānist, it’s one who known as who has generated this great mind that is called the citta. And this great mind which observes all sentient beings, all mother sentient beings and has this aspect of the mind which wishing or wanting to free all sentient beings from the cause and the result of suffering. So has this aspect which wanting to free all sentient beings from the suffering and its cause and also has this wish to lead all of these sentient beings to this state of happiness, which is 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 enlightened state with with great compassion. And then having this wisdom which is performing the true duties. Performing the true duties, the purpose of self and others, which act in this way is known as the person who acts all in this way is known as the Mahāyānist. So, short, an example of oneself, example as oneself, how one experiences the sufferings and thinking or visualizing 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 sentient beings too 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.
Is also known as the Mahāyānist. So the full enlightened state or the complete enlightened state As it means the full or complete which have 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 teaching. So, in the Hīnayāna teaching there isn’t the explanations of the full enlightened state or the path and the result, what is explained in the Mahāyānist. So because of that, it is it is known as the Hinayanist or the law law of the Buddha.
So that’s how the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna is differentiated. It’s not differentiated to whether they work for others or not. So, when we say working for others, is like for some it might be new, but even for Hinanists, there’s no one that you can point to is saying this person works for him or her but doesn’t work for him or her. It’s like there’s no one whom you can point to. So, Hinanis do work for others, but working for others which are not the same as that of the Mahayanists.
Mahayanists work for others in order to free others from sufferings, mind is engaged or do practice. Mind is to practice in order to free others from sufferings. But the Hīnayāna is way of benefiting others is not the same. So as especially the son himself, don’t have the direct experience into this mind that which is explained by mindfulness 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, the more you become closer to the experience of this mind.
So, as explained just before, the 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 different types of sufferings and using that example to others and that others too go through the same type of sufferings, the experience of suffering. On top of that thinking that the others are ignorant 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, I listen to the teachings. So I 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 root vows has been explained in the past teachings. And also thought to explain he’s also thought to explain, the common branch of these the common branch of these, vows. It’s also thought to explain these, but because, there’s not much time, this gives time in the later, at a few weeks time when finish explaining the branch vows then he will, I wanna say, explain those the common branches too. So so as the I missed something which saying that there’s still five more weeks to go before Kālacakra.
So if he finish that, then he will give this explanation. And as I said, the four to six branch vows, which some of them will be explained more in detail. Some of them will be explained, like, briefly. So, the immoralities are known as the three types of morality of straining, which is abstaining from misdeeds or wrong actions, and morality of working for other sentient beings, morality of working for other sentient beings, and morality as the integrating virtue. So there are three types of moralities here.
Morality of restraining from misdeeds, which which has been explained in the past teachings, as if you like, for those who taken ordinations, 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, they are there, lay vows and or that of the tendon virtuous actions, restraining from these actions are known as the morality of restraining. So then next one, next morality, which is known as the morality of integrating virtue, which is here such as the six perfection the six perfection trying to generate each of the six perfection within one to one mental continuum is like the integrating. So those misdeeds associated with what do call these six perfections. What is known which which need which one need to restrain or abandon?
So so this the morality of what is it? Morality of integrating virtue known as the six perfections as an example. And of those six there are misdeeds which one have to restrain when associating with the first perfection that is giving and that of morality second one and the rest. 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 fault which shows there is condesum laxuloma. So not offering to the Three Jewels shows that the weakness of our practice in, how do you say, mainly relating to that of providing material goods. So this first fault, who have taken refuge or taken bodhisattva vows as a precept, as commitment they should make offerings or make offering of service to the Three Jewels once a day. If miss drink that, then that’s one of the faults. So, we should make offerings to the Triple Gems like once a day 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 flower or water bowl offerings. If possible, as many as you can. Not 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 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, physically you bow down or make prostrations. Verbally you recite or chant the praises to the enlightened beings. And then 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.
Not only that, but it also stops one from breaking one of these branch faults. One also stops receiving the faults of the first branch So 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 not out of delusions. So that breaking the first branch file receiving the first fault is that one can break this out of two ways. One, out of our delusions which is because of not having respect towards the Three Jewels or out of laziness or if one has And also whatever vows that one had received, one had taken, like Vajesato vows or any vows of individual liberation that one have taken.
Having, disrespecting those vows and because of disrespecting their vows, one not sorry. Not having respect towards those vows that one have taken and out of laziness and or out of being very tired. If one is not to make offerings to the triple gems then this part is known as what is it, when I’m breaking the vows under the influence of delusions or out of delusions. So, if it’s not caused by any of these and if one has 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 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 fold. Which is with great desire and not having containment and getting attached to gain and, what is it, gain and fame. So, out of these, what do say, by means of attachment or out of attachment is, what is it, is one of default. So, having great desire, which is wanting things plus not having contentment and not wanting to stop these thoughts but acting 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, generosity of providing Dharma Dharma teachings. So now the second one, So, the third fault which is weakness in the practice of second generosity. Is generosity giving protection. 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 which explains 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 explanations is not respecting the elder ones or the older ones. So, not respecting the senior one here, the senior one in this context I think to those who have taken Bodhisattva vows and who are senior than one and who have more quality than one. So to them, one should respect. So one have to respect them and if one disrespect them, then one receives the fault, this fault or the branch fault which is not respecting the the elder ones or senior ones.
So so then the the general part of the explanations or general explanations which is not answering the questions. Yeah. Not not not answering the questions. So, not answering the questions which is at 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 it continues on if the person then asks another question, then if the person or whoever doesn’t give the answer, then is what breaks this branch again. So, here on this point, like not answering the question, one might understand also one always has to answer all the questions that is asked. So one might think in that way too. But there are like situations where you don’t have to give the answers. So, these five situations that one don’t have to answer from the person.
If the person is 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. These two, first two are because of the person. One first part which is the person is sick and second part because the person is asleep and didn’t give the answer. So, there are these two because from the person and secondly then excuses with the time.
So, and then time when one is giving teaching to others or one is discussing about Dharma teachings with others. And during that time or those times when you are talking with others to please others? Yeah. All those times when someone else is giving teaching to one? Similar to before that one is discussing Dharma teachings with others.
Also those times when you are, what do say, concentrating in listening to Dharma teachings. 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 ask questions. So then again, out of different reasons, again, you don’t have to answer. So So out of different different reasons, for example, 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 one doesn’t have default.