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 explores compassion as the essential foundation of Buddhist practice. He draws on Candrakīrti’s opening homage to compassion in the Mādhyamika tradition, explaining how true compassion differs from ordinary emotion: it has three qualities—recognizing all beings as one’s mother, feeling their suffering as your own, and taking responsibility to help. This compassion generates bodhicitta, the commitment to achieve enlightenment for all sentient beings. Gyaltsen then teaches how to receive teachings properly: avoid three faults (inattention, selfish motivation, forgetfulness) and cultivate six attitudes, including seeing oneself as sick with delusion, the teacher as doctor, teachings as medicine, and one’s guru as Buddha’s emanation. A practical guide for practitioners actively receiving instruction.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 13 LR 1995 03 26.mp3
UUID: 0b002845-7dcf-45e2-ae98-a008d9335c25
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Lam Rim 1995 Jan-Dec (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1995-03-26
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.9 minutes
Words: ~3,407
So the master Candrakīrti, when he sorry. When he first composed the text on Mādhyamika, that’s the middle school, at the very beginning of the text, before he made homage he paid homage to the to his masters or to his gurus, he first made homage to the compassion. That is practice compassion, to to eat. That master Candrakīrti made a homage, paid homage. So the reason here that the master making paying homage to compassion is that the compassion is like the seed seed of all those high attainments, like all the attainments that the enlightened beings can achieve.
Like the compassion is seed of all these. So because of that, the master made a homage. It’s like, for example, even though we have most of the necessary things like water, earth, fertilizer and so on, if we don’t have the seed, then it’s not much use of we don’t have much use. So in the same way, it’s the seed, compassion. So so so that the compassion, the practice of compassion is very important at the very beginning when you first start your practice.
And then it’s it’s like the seed, very important like the seed. And secondly, when you are like along your practice, like in the medium, like in the middle, which means along your practice, it’s also very important. It’s the water that for a sprout to continue its growth to grow, you need to give all the necessary conditions, like water and so on. So it’s like the water that it’s like important like water that you water the sprout. So also then this the practice of compassion is again very important also at the very end, like which is when you achieve when you receive all the qualities, all the result out of this sprout and seed, it’s again very important as to enjoy that.
It’s very important. So even when you achieve the full enlightened state, the compassion is still very important. So this compassion, what kind of qualities it has? Is that it’s not like like the like ordinary compassion that when you like when a when a child is very sick, how mother feels towards the child. It’s not not not not not like that kind.
And it’s also not like when you’re close one or relative who is very sick, you feel compassion you feel compassion towards that. It’s much more than this that type of compassion. So so that that very compassion is like has to have three qualities. So, generate that compassion, have to have a special cause, and the cause, those are explained as recognizing all sentient beings as your mother and and and and, like, continually, like, the practice of love and so on. These are, like, the special cause for that type of compassion.
So, this causes, it’s not that you do different meditations on these different causes for some time, but it has to be continued for a long time. So when you contemplate or meditate on these different causes for a long time, then that brings about the result. That’s the compassion. And then and then the second quality is like what kind of what kind of nature that compassion has. What what kind of compassion one should have is the compassion you have a compassion towards all other sentient beings, which is like a any sentient being when it goes through a suffering.
For example, a weapon goes through its body or a pin. When a nail goes through your feet, you feel that pain. And you feel the same thing towards all other sentient beings. If you can feel the same same kind of, what do say, same kind of, like, a unbearable unbearable feeling towards others, then that is what come other one of the of the qualities of the compassion. So as a result, then it’s again, the third quality is the result.
And having this kind of compassion, type of result you should have is that result that able to take the responsibility of others. That is that is like a that strong special insight, special thought. That that that is the result of compassion. So then, like taking the responsibility to help others. That’s like sort of like the final result.
And which which is like how you do that. For example, if you see the mother sees her child being drowned in the water, she has this strong feeling to save her the child, sorry. Save the child. And then if you have that same kind of thought, how the mother feels towards the child, towards all other sentient beings. Like if someone is almost falling off the cliff, then having this strong thought that we should protect that person from falling.
So if one have that kind of thoughts or compassion towards all other sentient beings, then that’s sort of the quality of result. The quality of compassion which is the result. So so this is this is this is the type of compassion that we should try to contemplate and should even if we put effort now to to able to have that kind of compassion within within within ourselves. And out of that compassion, what what what brings forth is the bodhicitta. That is the that is that that you can continue with the practice.
So bodhicitta is here, means the altruistic mind, which is the promise you make that is like that I do this practice to achieve full enlightened state for the sake of all the mother sentient beings. That is what bodhicitta is. And with that kind of motivation, one should listen to different teachings or whenever one is in the teachings, one should listen with that kind of motivations. And not only while one is teaching, but if one can, then having this motivation is like all the time. Whenever one is doing some work or if one is feeding the birds doing something, at that very time if you have this motivation with you, then the result that you gain out of it is very big, which is enormous.
So going back to the text, last time Geshe-la talked about the benefits of listening, hearing the teachings. And then now the second point of that is like how do the way how we listen listen. So, like, when one is listening to our teachings, whatever one is listening to, if one is concentrating on that, if one’s mind is there with what one is listening, then that becomes very helpful. That becomes good listening. So if one’s mind is not there and one is like hearing, if one’s mind is not there, then regarded as not good listening.
So how one should listen, the right way of listening is like they are explained like abandoning or removing the three kinds of faults, and then having six attitudes or six recognitions. So so given this analogy which is with a pot or container, that’s given with an analogy with a container. The container or the pot, like sort of upside down, upside down pot. And another, that’s one kind of fault. And then another thing is that a dirty or smelly pot, a container.
And then third is that of having a hole or leaking pot. So these are the three kinds of faults that are explained to the container. So, like, if the the if the pot or the container is upside down, then even if you tried to put whatever good things on the top, you will never it will never go in into the pot? So so then so then we come to like, that’s that’s the analogy, and then the meaning is that when you come to come to a lecture or teachings, even if you have good good motivation, if you don’t pay any attention to to the teachings, to the to what what has been said, then then that’s like a like like a one fourth, is like the the upside down container. So how one should listen is that how we should avoid that fault is that one should be paying lots of attention, having all our attention towards the teachings a wild animal.
When they hear some some what do say? Some when they hear some sound, how they pay their attention towards the sound in the same way that you should one should pay our attention there. So then the next kind of fault is that a dirty container or a smelly pot container. That is like a If you have a dirty container or pot, then even if you put something in, it get spoiled. It is not usable.
So same thing like whatever you listen, if you if you’re listening out of this motivation for for for self self gain and self attain self liberation for this purpose of self liberation. Then then it it that’s that’s like a like a a a dirty pot. So, like, that’s how it becomes and there’s another kind of fault. So then the third analogy which is a leaky pot or which is that even though one have good motivations and one pays lots of attention to the teachings and when one go out, if you forget away what is being said, not being mindful with the practice, then that is what the third kind of falls, which is having a leaky pot. So when one is listening to the teachings, like Lamrim teaching here, that and not like just forgetting everything, but when one goes out, one is doing other things, at that point, even at that time, one should be, like, able to, like, be aware of be mindful of this some of some part of the teachings, which which which one finds most suitable ones.
So one should be always aware of this, not just forgetting what one hears. So, in the sūtra, Buddha Śākyamūni explains that should listen well and keep it in mind. So there’s a line which Buddha explains there. So there’s this line here, what Buddha explains in the sūtra is like listen while, and again, like, while Sort of he repeats twice while listening, and then keep in mind. So that’s what which shows that to avoid these three faults of of the container or to avoid three faults of listening.
So, then the six type of attitudes are like one should think one’s being a sick person or a patient. And that’s one kind of attitude, how one should while one is listening to the teachings. And then secondly, one who gives the teachings. A person who preach for him, one should think him being like a doctor. And then thirdly, like the teachings that the person gives or the teachings that we are hearing, one should think that being like the medicine.
And then and then once you like the all the holy beings, once you think them as the Tathagatas or Buddhas. And then the last one, like And then one should think that one will keep practicing the teachings for a long time. These are the different ways how one should keep thinking or what attitudes one should have while listening to the teachings. So, the first part, that first thing way of thinking is that one thing wants out being being a patient or sick person. And that’s like, we’re not sick right now with the with the ordinary sicknesses, but because we have the delusions.
Have the delusions. The delusions is what we have to get rid of. That is our sickness to get rid of. So one may think that one is healthy and why one should think that one is sick. One may feel this, but if you look into it, then actually one is sick because one is sick with these three poisons which are known as three different types of delusions.
That is what causing one sick. So how one is the patient of these different delusions? Is that, for example, if you go into the market and you see something very a thing that which you like very much, but you could but then you don’t want to spend your money for that. And then you want it very much, but you have a miser, which is that you don’t want to spend your money. And then there’s you have some kind of you want it but you don’t get it so there’s some because of your mind that there’s one kind of delusions that gives you pain.
And then secondly when you come back to your room again you think about that. You’re wanting that very much. The thing whatever you see. So that is another type of delusion which is like attachment. So so then similarly, like, when when you hear others, like, of bad words, or you hear others speaking of bad words, or if you remember the bad words that others tell others are speaking of, Then again, you feel uncomfortable.
That is the pain you receive from another type of delusion which is hatred. And similar to that, they are like the pride sometimes gives us lots of pain and so on, other delusions gives lots of pain, is those are different delusions make us suffer. So, how one should get rid of these sicknesses, these different sicknesses, these different pains that brings about by the delusions. How one should get rid of these delusions is that by practicing the teachings. While practicing the teachings, one get rid of these different delusions.
So, when we have ordinary sickness, we have the patient goes and finds a medicine for that to get rid of the pain. Similarly, when you know that one is sick by these different delusions, one should look for a method that gets rid of these delusions. And one should look for a method which is the teachings. One should look for these different teachings. So then, if one have a very bad sickness, very contagious disease.
Then for that, in order to get rid of that, need a good medicine and a person who prescribes a good doctor which you have to go and see. Without relying on a good doctor, even if you try to take different medicine, sometimes it may harm more, one may get more harmed. So, very important to see a good doctor. So, in the same manner, So, similar, in the same manner, one should look The same way one look for the doctor, one should look for the preacher who can preach the teachings as well. And that is like that’s how one should what one should think there is one should think whoever gives teachings or preach seeing him or her as an as a doctor.
So then the fourth way of attitude is that thing the actual antidote to get rid of the sickness is the medicine. So same way, the actual thing that really gets rid of our different delusions is the Dharma practice. That’s what one should think. So, then, for example, a patient goes to a person and goes to a doctor and gets lots of medicine. And then that patient like just keeping it in front of him but not using it.
I mean it’s not going to help the patient, the sick person to get better because he or she is not using the medicine. So in the same way, one hears the teachings, how to practice it, when one hears all these things and if one doesn’t put it in practice, then it doesn’t help that much. It’s like the sick person which is just collecting the medicine but not using it. So, Same thing like in this example that a sick person, going to a doctor and getting other medicine but not using it. That’s actual that’s the fault.
Not because of the doctor, not because of the medicine, but it’s because of the fault of the person who is sick. And same way that when one listen to the teachings, one receives lots teachings and one have a good teacher, but then the teachings actually one doesn’t seem that one doesn’t see much changes within one. Like internally and externally, like physically how one behave and how one talk and how we think. Not one doesn’t see much changes and one doesn’t receive much benefits. This is not because of the fault of the teacher or the teaching, but it’s the fault of ones of not keeping it not putting it in practice.
Then if on to the other side, which is like as the doctor prescribed and as he received different medicines, as the prescriptions, if the person takes the medicine, then definitely the person is going to get better. The sickness will be removed through taking these medicines. So similar, if one is to put all the teachings into practice, whatever, in whichever way the doctor or the master have taught or want to do the practice. If one follows in order how the teachings should be kept in practice, then like these different result or the state different states of realizations is is not impossible. It’s possible.
So so then the fifth one, which is like seeing all the all the all the holy beings as an as an or thinking them being the Buddha. That is like a a Buddha Buddha Buddha himself, like, gone through these different practice and gained this different state of realization. And that is what has been taught right now by these different masters. So seeing that there’s no fault in their speech. So one should see those the holy beings or the masters as a Buddha Śākyamūni here as a valid person, which is like a valid person, which here means that one who have practiced the Four Noble Truth and gained the realizations or understanding of it, Which is what is to be within the Four Noble Truth, what is to be adopted and what is to be abandoned.
So while knowing these and gone through these practices, so that sort of person is known as a valid person. A valid person where one can trust trust you. So here the valid person is one’s one guru or one’s one root guru. Whoever one have received most benefit out of. And to to him or her, you see him or her being the emanation of Buddha.
That’s one that’s a way of thinking while you are listening. So that’s a way of thinking. Like, it’s not not being like seeing like the teachers in the schools, in universities. Not seeing like in that way as a teacher, but seeing whoever gives the most benefit. One sees this master or the Lama as as Lama being the emanation of the Buddha.
So so like a the all the virtue that that that one accumulate, that one collect is through the kindness of of of the guru, which is that is the through the kindness of the truth body. That is the wisdom truth body. That is yeah. That is the wisdom of the Buddhist through the kindness of the wisdom wisdom of the gurus that one come to accumulate these different collections of the different collections of virtue. So so then we go to the next, which is that thinking like how good if the teachings of the Buddha remain for long time in world.
That’s like the last, the sixth part, the sixth one. So, oneself doing the practice as well as thinking that how nice if it remains in the world for long time. So Geshe la is saying that he is presenting this teaching here, not like going like line by line in the text here, but like pointing, bringing out all the main points and then presenting on that topic, like giving some explanation. Not that he’s going line by line here. So the most important part, like listening to the teaching, is that should one’s mind should be there when one is listening to the teachings.
So if you but then if you, like like, if you listen to their teaching, but if you don’t, like if it’s don’t if you don’t keep it in your mind or if you keep your mind in a different, like, different parts, different, like, different place, then whatever, even if the instructions