Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 33-minute session, Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen identifies the object to be refuted—the self that appears to exist inherently—and clarifies what emptiness does and does not mean. Using concrete examples (fear of falling from a cliff; the labeling of “prime minister” only after an election; a seed that transforms into a sprout), he shows how the self functions dependently on labels and aggregates, not inherently. He distinguishes between intellectual understanding that things lack inherent existence and the direct realization needed for liberation from samsaric suffering. A key warning: the nihilistic extreme—thinking nothing exists—is a grave mistake that blocks the path. Tomorrow’s session will present the logical analysis to negate self-existence. For practitioners with some grounding in emptiness teachings.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 07 HS.mp3
UUID: 210c32b7-d0d9-4302-abf3-b0649e7bc4bd
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Heart Sūtra (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1996 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 33.2 minutes
Words: ~1,634
It happens to be to be very strong that even if three or four people try to hold the person, just want to go out. And and in in what we see is a is a is a person want to go out, but in in reality, that’s the self is, I wanna say, manifesting that self. Yeah. So so another example that if one is to go to to a high cliff, then one might have this fear that I would say I might fall down from the cliff And that’s what one one has how one view I might fall down. Not the way that one view my body will fall down or my mind will fall down.
We don’t think in that way. So so then, like, the what actually, like, fall falls down from the cliff is is is our body that that falls down from from the cliff. Not that, I would say, that self, I would say, I will fall down. That eye is falling down from the cliff. So so similarly similarly in the in the world that all these all these all these different level of ministers or the head of the country.
All those people and such as the term all these is labeled to the collection of aggregates and the mind. And it’s not that those beings or those terms or what do you call or the ministry and so on, exists from its own side. It’s not like that. It’s labeled to the collections of aggregates in the mind. So, today Geshe la explained the the identifying the the object which is to be refuted.
So so tomorrow, yeah, Geshe la said he will explain the logical reasoning or the analysis how one negate that object negation. So as it is said in the teachings that emptiness, something which is expressible. That is a you can you can’t explain in the word. So might maybe you might think that Geshe la said many things but he didn’t point what is emptiness. So so the what emptiness emptiness is something which is unexpressible.
So so So, it is not expressible but one first, if one is to recognize this object which is to be refuted and applying those analysis this object to be refuted. And through one own experience that one come to have, come to have the experience of emptiness. What we expect is something solid where we can just meditate on emptiness. I mean, it’s not like that. So maybe tonight when you do your meditations that how this the innate self grasping, grasp to the self.
So, how it grasp to the self? Yeah. Like, one should analyze and do the meditation. Then through your analysis that if that the self which appearing on the collections of the aggregates and the term person like standing up on the basis of these two. That self is what is That is the self which is viewed by the innate self grasping.
Oh, yeah. So, we’ll stop here for today and do some question and answer. So that that’s the that in itself grasping that when it’s not vivid it hides within the aggregates and the person. It hides within the person and the aggregates. So so as a as an example that when we do our our practice at that time, while we’re doing our practice, So so while one is in in practice, one is still have that mind which knows our own parent.
That’s a mind, a part of mind which knows our parent what she or he looks like. And while doing our practice it’s not, I would say, manifesting but it’s more, it’s there but more in a humble manner. It’s what do say, humble and quiet, it’s placed inside here. So so then suddenly if a term mother appears or then it comes to obvious, you you have the appearance of a peace or shape and sudden the other part, you’re part of the practice whether you’re meditating or compassion or whatever, that subsides. So, it again, mind meditating on compassion which again stays down a hidden manner.
So, similar to that, this innate self grasping is within us even during when it’s not met with condition. But it’s there sort of ready to, I want to say, come out or manifest. So so it’s like a like a when when there’s some play or drama happening, like some performing down in this stage, and some are ready to come out to perform the play. So it’s like that. Yeah.
It’s amazing. So when when one is active outside, the other one stays more passive inside and like that’s how yeah. Yeah. So this purpose of understanding of emptiness is not to understand whether thing exists or not. So the purpose of getting realization of emptiness or understanding of emptiness is to achieve liberation.
So as an example, as you said, like, when we as an using the vase as example and if one understands that the vase does not inherently exist, vase does not truly exist, one so when one understands that. But then one should understand again that whatever term that is used for vase, it should function, it should say, one should understand that the vas functions as a vas, whatever term it is used. So that if the vase existed from its own side without being imputed as a vase to that object, then if it exists from its own side then it should, I wanna say, exist there and it shouldn’t be getting old. It shouldn’t be like a broken. It stay there as it is.
Not getting old, not getting what is it? Not getting broken. So on this point, there’s more explanations that Geshe-la would give tomorrow. So, liberation here means liberating from self suffering. So, at present, whatever we do, we face this, I would say, problems.
So, like, if you stay in the sun sunburns and if you stay in the shade, we get cold, we feel cold and if we eat too much we get stomach problem, if we don’t eat we get hungry. So this is what we feel. So liberation means that becoming free of that, free from these things. Okay. Oh yeah.
So when we say, like, falling into one extreme of nihilism. For example, like if you have the view that vast does not exist, that view, but vast does not exist at all, That that view that that extreme view, I wanna say, won’t lead one into into the lower realms. So so then that bus as example, similar to that if one views that the law of karma doesn’t exist and the refuge object doesn’t exist at all and also all existing thing does not exist. If one have that extreme view, then makes one fall into the category of wrong view, holding a wrong view. And that causes one to get involved in the lower realms.
So, even though there is no inherently existing self, there is a self which functions wakes up and drives the car and sleeps and so on. It’s a it’s like a it’s like what you say, because this example of nonexistent, you know, example for nonexistent things like a flower in the sky and horns of rabbit. This also doesn’t doesn’t exist at all, but the term exists. So from the nature of the seed it has its power to give a sprout. But the seed inherently don’t have that nature or say nature to bring about this power.
So, the seed, it is not just from its own nature or from its own side because it gives this route and changes into tree and so on. So because it changes into different form that it doesn’t exist inherently or it doesn’t exist from its own nature. So if the if the if the seed exists from its own nature, then it should stay as a seed forever. It shouldn’t have these changes like becoming the sprout afterwards. So, as you you are known as Pamela.
Pamela. If Pamela exists from its own nature? So if it exists from its own nature, if you exist from your own nature, then when first are born from mother’s womb, it it should be we shouldn’t the person should know that Pamela is born. So at that time at that very time when you are you are called to this name Pamela, you won’t answer. So so as after then, once you are labeled Pamela, since then, then when somebody calls you, then So once it’s been labeled, then you think or one is one is of asapamela and also others is due asapamela.
But but before that, like, if it is Pamela from the very beginning, then what to say? If it’s inherently existing Pamela, then it should come from the very beginning. Yeah. When you first when you first are born. So so as the example, like, recent the election with with the with the would say, with the in in the election before John Howard win the election.
He was he wasn’t known as prime minister. But once he win the election, he was he was given this term as a prime minister. And as soon as he appears, we said prime minister is coming. And this this is something very close. So, this understanding is something gross and for this to recognize this self that is labeled on, let’s say, that exists on the collections of the aggregates and to recognize that is something very subtle.
And and and that is the one that that that is what causes, I would say, all the all all the mistakes. So yeah. So