Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 45-minute Lamrim introduction, Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen establishes the teaching through two distinct lineages and four key qualities: realizing doctrines without contradiction, taking teachings as personal instruction rather than academic knowledge, understanding the Buddha’s intention directly, and protecting from mistaken conduct. He emphasizes that sincere practice—not material offerings—is the supreme way to honor one’s teacher, illustrating this with Milarepa’s attainment using only an earthen pot and nettles. The core focus is the precious and fleeting value of human rebirth: extraordinarily rare to obtain, easily lost to death, and uniquely capable of virtue and spiritual practice. Geshe Dhawa urges practitioners to use this rebirth meaningfully before death, rather than wasting it through distraction.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 01 LR no date.mp3
UUID: 8f1e163d-38f4-45e5-a0b6-2a78f69f983b
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Lam Rim (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1983 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.8 minutes
Words: ~4,928
Tonight, we shall discuss a subject called Lamrim, which is in English, the graduated path to enlightenment. So this graduated path contains the whole technique completely for an individual person to practice from the beginning until attainment of Buddhahood or attainment of enlightenment. Therefore, it contains all the major techniques and methods. To discuss this subject, there are a few headings.
First, showing the greatness of the lineage for the sake of showing or for the sake of indicating the lineage gurus. This teaching has two: first, the lineage of extensive deeds, which means from Buddha to Lord Maitreya to Asaṇga and so forth until today, and the lineage of profundity, that is from Buddha to Nāgārjuna and to our present lineage gurus. So in all, it has two kinds of lineages, the lineage of profundity and the extensive one. In a few words, all the root lineage gurus and lineage gurus are included in this text in two ways: the lineage of profundity and the lineage of the extensive one, as I mentioned before, from Buddha to Maitreya and so forth.
So in all, this teaching contains two kinds of lineages for self-attaining the enlightenment. Having that lineage, this particular teaching or the doctrine has four greatnesses. These are: first, realizing all the various teachings without contradiction; second, realizing all the teachings as one’s instructions or advice; third, realizing immediately the thought of the Conqueror; and the fourth one, protecting from the cliff of great mistaken conduct.
So of these four, the first one is realizing all the various doctrines or the teachings of the Buddha free from contradiction. Here, this doctrine or teaching has two types: insight doctrine and scriptural doctrine. The scriptural doctrines are those doctrines which are spoken by Lord Buddha himself, but in a written form, through which we can look and learn the techniques, how to develop, and how to put them into practice. So all those scriptures which have been spoken by Lord Buddha are called scriptural doctrines or the scriptural teachings. And the insight teachings are those: having studied those scriptures, then through one’s own experience to gain the insight of understanding, to understand, to gain the realizations upon those scriptural doctrines or teachings. So all types of realization that one gained from such teachings is called insight doctrines.
So the doctrine has two types: insight doctrines and scriptural doctrines. So all those different types of doctrines are to be realized in order to get understanding that, to get understanding of the scriptures, that different scriptures are free from contradiction. Thus, in depending on this particular text, one will realize all these doctrines of the Buddha free from contradiction. It is because Buddha, in order to lead various disciples onto the path, has spoken various paths. First, he has spoken some certain levels of the path for the beginner, and in the middle who have been a little bit advanced, he has spoken a little bit advanced teachings, and those who are quite advanced, he has spoken quite profound teachings. So the student or the follower should understand this particular teaching is spoken in terms of this point of view and this is spoken in terms of that point of view and this level. So therefore, these are not contradictory because the main idea is quite different. The main motivation to be spoken in that way was different. In this way, one should understand. So when one realizes this particular text, the graduated path to enlightenment, the next point is realizing all the teachings or the doctrines of the Conqueror as one’s instructions or advices.
So it means Buddha has spoken many doctrines, such as Hīnayāna doctrines, Mahāyāna doctrines, Sūtrayāna doctrines, Tantrayāna doctrines, and so forth. So having engaged into those doctrines thoroughly, one should try to understand, at least to gain knowledge for the sake of one’s practice and not from the point of view of academic study. So if you study into those subjects just from the academic point of view and mainly thinking, oh, what he has spoken about, oh, he might have spoken something there, something there, and when you just sit and try to meditate on a particular object, then you become quite handicapped. So that kind of understanding which you gained before is not so perfect, and you are not able to take the meanings of the doctrine as one’s instruction or advices. But having relied on this text, you will come to know how to take the instructions, how to take the meanings of different texts as one’s instructions and as one’s advices. So whenever you engage and whenever you try to understand the meaning of any kind of text, from this viewpoint, those should be taken as one’s own instructional advices. And whenever you want to do some practice, take them as your advices, keep them as your guardians, thinking, oh, in this text, this was spoken. So now the meaning of this text is exactly what I have to apply right now. So if you are able to understand in this way, then it means you have understood the doctrines of the Buddha as one’s instructions or advices.
Third greatness: realizing immediately the thought of the Conqueror. So again here, Buddha has expounded in various sutras on various topics, such as in some sutras, he has very extensively expounded the meaning of emptiness. And in some sutras, he has very extensively expounded the meaning of compassion. And in other sutras, he also mentioned very extensively about the generation of bodhicitta in the mind and so on about other qualities, but those are sparsely spoken in the various sutras. So through relying on this particular text, one will be able to understand immediately the thought of the Conqueror. The thought of the Conqueror means the thought of Buddha. So when we’re able to put them into the right order, what things should be applied at the beginning, and what should be applied in the middle when one is at a certain level, and what things should be applied finally as the final stages. So therefore, through this text, you won’t have to put much effort into various texts till you find out what is the real essence for an individual to practice from beginning to the end. So only by going through this text, you will come to know what is needed at first, in the middle, and at end. So therefore, through engaging into this text, you will be able to realize immediately the thought of the Conqueror. This particular heading will explicitly explain that one will be able to understand with less effort the thought of the Conqueror through engaging into this text or studying this text.
Fourth one: protecting from the great cliff of mistaken conduct. It means we might have some mistaken conduct or we might have some mistaken understanding because of not engaging properly into the texts. So those will be able to be removed if we study this particular text thoroughly and try to apply the meanings where it is necessary. Explanation of this text, graduated path to enlightenment, is given exactly according to the paths upon which the ancient great realized persons have gone through. So this path contains or maintains the graduated paths of the three persons. And especially this text also contains the four greatnesses which I have just explained.
The name of the present text which we are dealing with is called in Tibetan Lam Rim. It means songs of the meditational experience of the graduated path to enlightenment. So this was composed or condensed by Je Rinpoche or Lama Tsongkhapa when he, at that state, gained this experience through his own meditation. So although he composed the longer one, the extensive one, this particular text, the short form, is the essence of the longer Lamrim, and he mentioned clearly how he engaged in meditation at the first stage and what realization he got from that, and how to promote oneself in the second stage, and during that, what kind of realization one can gain, and how to promote to the final stage and what kind of realization a person can gain. So in this way, he has very clearly explained how to go into meditation and how to gain the realizations from such. So this particular text is called Songs of the Meditational Experience of the Graduated Path to Enlightenment.
In the meaning, Lama Tsongkhapa says how he attended his spiritual masters. So to be able to obtain the great purpose of this as well as the future life, he had attended the great realized teachers, spiritual teachers, such as Jetsün Rendawa and Chökyi Dorje, and so forth. So, therefore, he explains how he attended those spiritual masters and how he gained instruction from them. So he further mentions: having identified the spiritual masters through action and through thought without caring for his even physical form, but he had attained the realizations according to their instructions. So he says, having seen the essence of their instructions, having engaged in the practices even at the cost of his life. So it is really inspiring. So after having found a teacher, one has to seek instructions for one’s meditation or practices. So once you got it, then you must try to put them into practice without ignoring even their single words, which are very precious. So therefore, having done that, one will be able to obtain realization as your spiritual master did. So having seen the essence of such instructions, he devoted his whole life into his meditation practices so as to get realizations. So therefore, he mainly appeased his masters through doing the practices. He pleased his spiritual master’s heart by offerings of the practices.
So offerings of practice is the best offering to one’s spiritual master. So what does it mean by the offerings of practices? It means whatever you have received instructions about your practice on any subject, that instruction must be put into practice without ignoring them or without thinking they are useless. So if you’re able to do them successfully, then you have pleased your spiritual master accordingly. So during such time, you don’t need to offer your spiritual master money or food or clothes. These are just not so supreme offerings as compared to the offerings of the practices. So therefore, Lama Tsongkhapa also has not appeased his spiritual master through making the offerings of food or clothes or money, but he was able to please his spiritual master through doing the practices. Therefore, he instructs his followers also to do the practice sincerely so as to please one’s master or one’s spiritual master. So if you try to put all the instructions that you received into practice, all the instructions that you received will become the best offerings to your spiritual master.
Here, Milarepa once said, I have no material offerings, but I will make the offerings to my father with practices. So his spiritual master was also pleased with his practice. So Milarepa had no material things to offer to his master so as to please him. But through sincerely practicing what he received from his master, he was successful in terms of appeasing his spiritual master. In fact, persons like Lama Tsongkhapa and Milarepa have no material wealth to offer to their spiritual masters because they were in a solitary place mainly engaging in meditation. So therefore, they have no such material offerings to offer. But how they were successful in terms of appeasing their spiritual master was through doing meditations or doing practices sincerely.
So therefore, Milarepa during his meditation had just an earthen pot and nettles. So he had these two things with him. So therefore, still those people were very successful in terms of appeasing their spiritual masters. So this was done through doing their practices sincerely. Whatever they have received instruction from their spiritual masters, they have put them into practice. Therefore, their spiritual masters were highly pleased with those people. Similarly, we may be able to please our spiritual masters through taking the examples of those.
Milarepa, when he was meditating, as mentioned here, had only two things, the earthen pot and the nettles. So one day, his earthen pot just rolled down because he was meditating on a mountain. So unfortunately, that earthen pot just rolled down. He tried to follow and tried to get it, but he couldn’t because it was stuck on something, and it just broken. So he got nothing at the end, nothing. He also had no such belongings, especially when he went to a place called Woka where he made prostrations, many, many prostrations, and where he got the realization and where he received the direct appearance or visions of the thirty-five Buddhas of confession and other personal deities or yidams. So at that place, he had got nothing with him in terms of material belongings. But still, those people were very successful in terms of getting their realization and in terms of fulfilling their desires, and so forth.
He says, I am very successful in terms of appeasing my spiritual master mainly through the offerings of meditations or the offerings of practices. So I, a yogi, did it in that way. You too, seeking liberation, should do likewise. So this is his advice for us. Those who wish to obtain liberation must try to appease one’s own spiritual master, not with material wealth, but with practicing what they have told you to do.
Now how should we understand from his advice? So one should think, oh, he practiced at the beginning in this way and in the middle in that way and at the end in this way. So he obtained these kinds of realizations and so forth. So I too must follow him, follow his footsteps, not misusing my valuable rebirth, but try to do positively as being instructed by Lama Tsongkhapa. So in this way, you must make a very firm intention or firm thought to practice as you are being told, and taking the examples of those who have realized certain types of realizations into your continuum. So there are many biographies you will get, and by reading them, you will be inspired.
One might think, if one has to appease one’s spiritual master through practice only, then how should I practice, and what is the best practice to be observed so as to appease my spiritual master? So one has to contemplate or one has to think how this present human rebirth is difficult to find in terms of its causes and in terms of its results. So Lama Tsongkhapa said that the rebirth which we have at the moment is called the leisured and fortunate human rebirth. So one must try to understand or recognize that this present human rebirth is very, very valuable and is very, very important. So we must not misuse this perfect human rebirth which we have taken only once. One must try to identify the importance of this human rebirth, which is more precious than the wish-fulfilling jewel.
So if we try to understand properly and precisely, we will understand that our rebirth which we have at the moment and the rebirth of those people who have attained realizations, in terms of the rebirth, have no difference at all, even the slightest. So their rebirth is exactly same as our rebirth. So in terms of rebirth, there is no difference at all. This present rebirth is very meaningful and very valuable because if you utilize it properly, we will be able to receive the meaningfulness of the rebirth, such as: if you use it properly, one will be able to generate higher levels of the path. And if one practices more sincerely, one will be able to remove one’s delusions. One will be able to obtain realizations. One will be able to obtain the liberation, and even then, if one engages more extensively, then of course there is every possibility to obtain Buddhahood even in this lifetime. From this point of view, our rebirth is very meaningful and valuable.
It is not only meaningful, but it is also difficult to find. So it’s difficult to find. Although there are many rebirths which one might take or one might find, but this perfect human rebirth is most difficult to find and difficult to obtain. Because to be able to obtain this perfect human rebirth, there are many things to be gathered. There are many things to be accumulated. So at the moment, we have this one. So therefore, one has to utilize it in a proper way and not just misuse them purposelessly and meaninglessly.
Because, generally, we have taken a human rebirth, and particularly, you are taking rebirth in Australia. So this rebirth in Australia is not chosen by you, by your own right. So it is not because of our will. It’s not that we said, I want to be born in Australia, and therefore you are here. And somebody might have thought, I want to be born in America, so they were born in America. This is not done by one’s will or one’s right. It is not like going on holidays, because if you want to go on holiday, it is our will. Where we want to go, we can go there and just have fun. But in terms of taking rebirth, it is not one’s own will or one’s own right because we have no power to choose one’s rebirth.
Then how are we born here? To be able to be born in any particular place, first important is to have observed morality purely, such as not killing others or not taking others’ life and so forth. And that morality must be supported by other positive actions. So if in our previous life we have done those, have observed pure morality, have supported it by other virtuous actions and so forth, therefore, as a result of those, we were born in this country and in a human rebirth. To be able to take rebirth in any place, we must have good accumulation of virtuous merit, and we must have a good accumulation of good karma or positive action. So therefore, from virtuous action, we are born in positive or we are born in higher rebirth, such as humans and so forth. And from negative actions and from negative karma, we shall be born in lower realms, such as in animal realms and so forth.
In terms of its cause, we will find that there are only few amongst all who are practicing virtuous actions properly, and we will find most are engaging in negativities and accumulating negativities. So if you try to discover or try to explore yourself, doing analysis properly, we will find most are mainly accumulating negative karma and less accumulating positive action, which is the cause of taking human rebirth. And although we will find there are many kinds of rebirths, but there are few people who have taken human rebirth, and amongst them are few people who are really doing proper practices. So therefore, in terms of its cause, we will also find that most people are engaging in negativities, which is the cause of the lower realms, and not engaging in those positive actions, which are the cause of a higher aim. Since there are only a few people who are properly doing sincere practice, which is the cause of human rebirth, since there are few people, therefore, there will be less effect. And we will, of course, find it is difficult to obtain human rebirth because there are few who are trying to obtain it. So we find many kinds of rebirths, many types of rebirths, such as animals and so forth. As compared to them, human rebirth is higher. But we are not certain to achieve our purpose, because we are not doing properly to achieve our purpose. Rather, we are doing the reverse of that most of all. So therefore, there’s less chance to take or to find human rebirth. It is difficult to obtain in terms of its causes. So if you try to see how we are trying to obtain the causes, then one will understand how much we have accumulated.
Thus, this perfect human rebirth is very meaningful and valuable. So it is meaningful and valuable because one can, if engaged, obtain liberation from this rebirth. One can eliminate one’s delusions from this rebirth. One can stop taking rebirth in lower realms through engaging into positive actions by now. And if possible, if one engages properly and sincerely, there’s great possibility and chance even to obtain the enlightenment. So this rebirth is very meaningful and valuable. From this rebirth, one can also obtain the liberation, which is cessation of sufferings. Similarly, one can also obtain the union of method and wisdom, the state of union of method and wisdom, if one properly uses this rebirth.
There’s no difference in terms of the rebirth between ours and those who have realized in the past. For example, Milarepa. When he was asked by his students to expound his life story because the students had thought the master was so expert in giving the teachings, in terms of understanding, in terms of realization and so on, so the students might have thought and asked him personally that if we judge by your activities as mentioned above, you are not like an ordinary person like us. You might have been a highly realized person in a past life. So could you please tell us about your life story so that we may write and make biographies? So they requested him to tell his story.
But Milarepa answered, I wasn’t a realized person in my last past life. I was a very ordinary person, and in my early life, I have committed many negativities, such as killing persons and so on. So having become scared of the negativities, I have met with the spiritual master, Marpa. So having received instructions from him, I have sincerely put them into practice. Therefore, by the power of my practice, I was able to purify them, and I was able to realize realizations. So by the virtue of realization, I was able to serve you people in these ways. So he instructed his followers, so do you: if you practice sincerely what you’ve been instructed, someday other people might ask you the same question as you ask of me.
One must identify clearly the meaningfulness and the value of this human rebirth by contemplating various reasons. And having understood the meaningfulness of the human rebirth, one also tries to understand that it’s difficult to find. This should be also contemplated through various reasons, understanding many points, how it is difficult to find. And also, having found these two properly, then see how it is easy to perish, how it is easy to decease. So you must try to contemplate on those points. And having done those former three, then one must try to think very strongly from the depths of your heart to take essence out of this human rebirth. So if you have formed a very strong thought to take essence out of this human rebirth with the help of the former headings, then you will have some foundation. You have some foundation to build up the Dharma understanding. So you will be able to engage into those practices, into the Dharma, and by that way, you will be able to draw some advantage out of this human rebirth. So in this way, you have to contemplate and try to put them into your practices.
One must think, I must try to take advantage out of this human rebirth so as to get no regret at the time of death. So if you have this kind of feeling very strongly, then you will definitely be able to take some advantage out of this human rebirth. He said, like a thirsty person who is always after water to quench his thirst. Similarly, I was very successful in terms of generating the understanding of the meaningfulness of the human rebirth and its scarcity, its difficulty to find. So with the help of those headings, I was successful in establishing within my continuum to generate certain thought to draw advantage out of this human rebirth, and therefore, I must engage into those higher levels of path with the help of those understandings so as to stop this entrance into unfortunate states.
One generates a strong wish to take essence of this human rebirth. Now then comes: how should I take essence out of this rebirth? Then it comes, one will be able to take essence out of this rebirth through engaging into this graduated path to enlightenment. So we will discuss that sometime later.
Yesterday, we have discussed about the meaningfulness of this perfect human rebirth, its value, and its difficulty to find. As we know, once we have obtained this perfect human rebirth, we can do many things through utilizing it. So although all sentient beings are wishing to have happiness and wishing to avoid sufferings, in terms of achieving this purpose, there’s no difference between the human and even the tiniest insect. So all sentient beings without exception are wishing for happiness and don’t want to have any kind of sufferings in the least. So from this viewpoint, there’s no difference between us and other sentient beings. But if we are born as animals and other insects and so forth, there isn’t any chance to practice and to do some positive actions, because they themselves are under the influence of ignorance. They are not knowing anything. Therefore, they have no capacity, and they can’t do any positive actions.
Whereas we have taken the human rebirth, which is very, very meaningful. So by understanding its value and meaningfulness, one must try at least to direct some energy towards our positive goal. So by doing so, we shall be able to draw some advantage from this perfect human rebirth and are able to accumulate certain causes. So keeping this in mind, one should reflect on the meaningfulness of the perfect human rebirth. This perfect human rebirth which we have now is not everlasting rebirth. If you don’t try to take advantage from this, this will sooner or later decease because we have to face the process of death. Thus, it is better to take advantage beforehand so as to get some benefits out of it. So this human rebirth is very energetic or is very meaningful in terms of taking advantage and in terms of producing some positive actions so as to meet the desired thought, that is happiness.
We are unable to reflect our mind and contemplate on the impermanence and so forth because we have a strong conception to stay everlasting or to stay quite long, and therefore, due to the influence of our minor enjoyments of this life, we don’t engage into positive actions, and we don’t try to lead our life quite positively and virtuously. And therefore, we fail to contemplate on those particular points which are necessary to be contemplated.