Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 34-minute talk, Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen recounts how Lama Tsongkhapa received the blessing to compose the Great Lamrim text. While at Reting Monastery, Lama Tsongkhapa had a month-long vision of four key lineage masters—Atisha, Dromtönpa, Potowa, and Sharawa. The three masters dissolved into Atisha, who placed his right hand on Lama Tsongkhapa’s head and instructed him to work for the teaching with his help. Geshe Dhawa then turns to practical instruction: setting proper motivation to make even routine work meaningful; responding to difficult situations like accidents by reflecting on karma rather than anger; and using purification practices like Vajrasattva to remove negative karma. The teaching emphasizes that sincere motivation and careful examination of authentic teachings transform both ordinary actions and spiritual practice.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 04 LR 1995 02 19.mp3
UUID: 48b1b7b9-7e45-483d-ae32-e9717438d95e
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Lam Rim 1995 Jan-Dec (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1995-02-19
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 34.3 minutes
Words: ~2,064
So so then later and then Lama Tsongkhapa again received all those teachings, all those all those teachings from from two masters. One, and then another one, So from these two masters, Lama Tsongkhapa sort of received all these three different teachings that which is mainly concentrating on the teaching on the text. Second, of the only mainly concentrating on and that of the third which is this on the instructions. So all these three received from these two masters. So then later, Lama Tsongkhapa went to the north of Tibet where there’s a one called Reting Monastery.
Monastery. In there he composed a praise, Lamrim praise to all the Lamrim lineage masters. While he was composing these phrases to those Lineage masters, he also had a vision of those masters. So then while especially those are one of those four masters like known as Atisha and Dromtönpa and Potowa and Sharawa, these four masters, Lama Tsongkhapa had a vision like almost one month. During one month, he also discussed with them especially about these teachings.
And then later, three masters like those, Dromtönpa, Potowa and Sharawa dissolved into Atisha. So so then so then Atisha sort of put his right hand on on the head of Lama Tsongkhapa and told him, you work for the teaching, and I’ll help you. That’s what Atisha told Lama Tsongkhapa. So the reason that Atisha did that, putting his right hand on Lama Tsongkhapa’s head is that telling him Lama Tsongkhapa to compose the Great Lamrim text. Then Lama Tsongkhapa did compose the Great Lamrim text, which is like he did up to the teachings of Vipassana.
And at level, he sort of composed the teachings of An Lamrim, Lama Tsongkhapa. So then later, again, the teachings on the or the special insight and the later part of the teachings, like to complete the text, Lama Tsongkhapa again had a vision of Mañjuśrī and Mañjuśrī together with Mañjuśrī completely sort of finished the Great Lamrim text, completed the Great Lamrim text So this Great Lamrim text is So so because just just looking to the person who who sort of told Lama Tsongkhapa to compose this text, Just looking to the person that it seems, it shows that it has a great it can be great helpful to one to practice that. So so that’s like the the like former we said that all the teachings should be well examined whatever you practice and it should be like the teachings originated from Buddha and then second it should be like well collected and taught by the pandits. And thirdly, it should be something that mahasiddhas have achieved the result out of practice. So it should be like that kind of teachings that one should train in.
So like there are many different teachings which are very helpful for one to practice like that of the teachings of Abhidharmakośa of Vasubandhu and teachings on Abhisamayālamkāra. These are many different teachings which are very helpful for one to practice, but something special about Lamrim is that it sort of explains the full gives the full explanations. So like the teachings or the text called the Lamp on the Path which Atisha composed, it is sort of the root text. It only has sort of three pages. But that sort of that explains the complete teachings of the Buddha that from beginning to the to the very end.
The meaning of all the eighty four set eighty four thousand sets of teachings. It sort of explains in these three pages. So one need or whatever one practice, examines very well that the teachings are like that. Like that pure. Which carries the explanation of renunciation and the second the bodhicitta and the right view which sort of teaches all these three points.
Then the teachings that one is practicing is pure. And the one reason that all the lamas and the teachers they’re explaining that one should analyze very well from the beginning what kind of teaching one is practicing is to let you, to let us know that not to choose or not to think about mistaking teachings. So today we will be doing this much and we’ll make some time leave some time for question and answer. And if you have any question relating to this subject that we have taught we’ve been teaching this morning, it’s fine. Beside that if you have any kind of questions you’d like to ask, you’re welcome.
So when we were saying that on our if one like like a to help others, like in an ordinary sense, can do help others in many different ways. We can help them but in order to help all sentient beings and fulfill all their wishes, for that part one need to achieve the full enlightened state. But the rest like the normal help that one gives to others. For that purpose, one don’t need to achieve the full enlightened state. So, as an example, one of the best from helping others, that is said, helping the sick one, Someone is very sick, then to give help to the sick one is sort of the best help that you can give in a worldly sense to the others.
Buddha also said that helping the sick one in whatever ways that you can. And even if you don’t have enough money to help, he said he also gave him the permission to sell even the statues or the teachings that he said, the books or teachings, and use that money for the sick one. You can also do that if it is necessary. That’s what he explains. That’s how Buddha explains.
So one of the best form of helping is helping the sick one. The best form of help is that giving, helping others as according to one’s ability. How much one can help. And if one can do that, that is what you say can do right away. That’s what practice is.
Can you break into two? Yeah, yeah. That is how it works. The setting of the motivations, that somehow forces your action. That somehow controls your action also.
So in order to, if you generate good motivations, whatever action you do, later on, somehow the motivation somehow controls the action. So the greater motivation one have, better motivation one have, the better action or the fruit one receives. So that’s how it works. So it depends very much on your motivation. For example, like if you happen to work here in Buddha house in the office, let’s say if you have to work there like few hours, then if you set your motivation from the beginning before you leave your house saying that okay now I have to work in the Buddha house for few hours, maybe like eight or nine hours.
I come here and whatever I’m doing I will do my best and will do my best and generate this great motivation with that. And if you come and work in the office or whatever you do, then the time you spend like six or like eight to nine hours, because of the motivation you won’t feel tired and somehow it helps with the motivation that in that way. So if you have, again, if have a different motivation, say, and then like if you have to work here in Buddha house and you’re already tired from your house saying that, oh, I have to work. I don’t feel like going there but I have to go. So if you have this kind of feeling then even if you just work one hour, you’re completely tired and you don’t want do it.
So that’s how the motivation somehow works. Geshe la, generally speaking, he’s saying that because Geshe la is living here and this Buddha house is sort of run by a community. So it’s like it’s like the table then if you hold from all four sides then it can be hold very well without with a balance. But then if you like only on three corner if somebody holds and one corner it’s if there’s no one then it somehow doesn’t work very well. So he’s just saying that, he’s not saying that you are not working here but you don’t put your time here but it’s good like to hold all four sides So here, like, when you have an accident or someone hits your car, and, yeah, definitely that’s something we we all feel that we react in in in different ways.
Okay? Mostly, react in anger. But at this point, if you can then like thinking about karma. Like thinking about the karmic result. You’re thinking like this that it is not that the person like intentionally hit the car and brought you in this accident.
It is not that but it happened because of he or whoever, the other person and I had this karma to get this in this accident and and and that is sort of the result of of my past karma. So when you think in that then it’s and this is one way of thinking. So as Buddha taught the, law of karma, he said that karma that is done, you have to experience that unless you purify those karmas. karma you haven’t done, you will never experience. That’s what when Buddha teaches karma, he explains it that way.
So when this accident happens, like for example, you feel angry to the other person and other person feels sad, it’s because of you. He’s again angry. He or she is again angry towards you. So both feels angry. It’s not because it’s your fault or it’s his fault.
It’s because of our past karma and that sort of because it’s not been purified, it’s there. So it’s it’s ripened there at this at that point. Mhmm. Yeah. You can sorry?
What do say? Beautiful. Mhmm. If you if you Mhmm. So one of the best sort of thing that you could do there is the purification practice.
And the purification practice like that of the recitation and meditation of Vajrasattva practice, and another that of the practice of thirty five Buddhas. So just if you know that you have done some negative karma, then just thinking that you have done this negative karma somehow doesn’t purify or doesn’t destroy the negative karma. But what you need to do there is you have to apply a method, these different methods. Like the confession method is one of that that purifies the karma. So with example, like if you know that you have done some negative karma, then sort of then it’s like if you have taken a poison, you have eaten a poison, then you do look for like every kind of methods or any kind of health.
Go to a doctor, you ask him or you go to different person, ask for suggestions and help how to get take out the poison. So same in the same manner that you should like if you know that you have done some negative karma, you should like search for these different methods how you could take it out. So now to talk about this confession practice, like the practice of Vajrasattva and the thirty-five Buddhas and so on, the other practices. So to explain all here in detail, we don’t have time. If you wish and if you wanted to do this, then you can make an appointment and see Geshe-la some time and he can give more detail.
This is because of the trainees to whom that Buddha have taught the teachings. And depending on the trainees how how intelligent they are. So the first like those who are those who have the most sharpest intelligence. To them, Buddha taught the profound teachings first and indirectly he also taught the extensive teachings. So it mainly depends on the trainees.
So so, yeah, he had some, but this will come later in the teachings that the the greatness of the composer, How how the greatness of the composer and the greatness of the teachings. When when when we’re talking about the qualities of of the teachings and the teacher will talk will compose the text. At that time, there will be more explanation on on this. Thank you.