Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 46-minute Lamrim teaching, Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen guides practitioners through foundational practices leading to authentic bodhicitta. He opens with Nāgārjuna’s teaching on the preciousness of human birth and the futility of wasting it on non-virtue, then establishes three key motivations: recognizing attachment to this life as spiritually corrosive; meditating on impermanence to generate urgency; cultivating genuine renunciation toward saṃsāra. He then teaches equanimity as the essential prerequisite for bodhicitta, arguing from the logic of past lives that all beings have been our parents and companions, making attachment to some while hating others baseless. Finally, he unfolds the four immeasurables—equanimity, love, compassion, joy—explaining their four qualities and the three scopes within each, culminating in bodhicitta: the swift aspiration to achieve enlightenment for all beings’ sake.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 13 LR 1995 05 07.mp3
UUID: eaff06e2-c994-4b9a-bd13-8362ac3fd774
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Lam Rim 1995 Jan-Dec (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1995-05-07
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.7 minutes
Words: ~2,785
So quoting from the teachings of Nāgārjuna that Nāgārjuna explains in his teaching saying that at this very moment, at the present moment we have achieved the body which the human body which is very precious one. And then in this human body that we have, by doing using this human body into committing non virtuous action day like whole day and night. So if we if we use this human body for only committing non virtuous actions like day and night, then it is like a like a person who uses a golden container for putting rubbish, like putting all the dust and rubbish. So not only that we have achieved this human body, but a a human body that which has which is free from it freedoms, like not being those freedoms that not being born in in the lower realms. And then plus on top of that, that also one have one have this ten endowments.
It is like being born in the central land and so on. So, having all these qualities, the eighteen altogether, eighteen qualities and being born in the southern continent, it’s something very precious. So while it being precious, if one to use one once this very precious human body, like collecting only non virtuous actions, like whole day and night, then that is the most foolish thing that one can do. That is what Nāgārjuna explains in his And having this body and just to keep this body alive, if we’re to take the life of other sentient beings or kill up many other sentient beings for for the survival of this life, then that also is regarded one of the very foolish thing to do. So, today that we have this precious human body, which is very productive one, that one shouldn’t like use it into meaningless things and try to accumulate virtue as much as possible.
So this is quoting from the teachings of Mañjuśrī. In his teachings, it says that if one is attached to this life, one is not a religious person. So so if one is attached to this life and and whatever practice one do, if one is just doing for the purpose of this life, then like all the hearing of the teachings, contemplating and meditating, all the different approaches that you accumulate that we accumulate, not a pure, like, a proper, I would say, virtue. So so that is like, what do you say, just only practice if it’s aim only for this life, for the purpose of this life, then it’s like trying to quench our thirst by the by the mirage, through the mirage, like the old water. We start from the very beginning, like with keeping a pure moral discipline, one hear many teachings.
So then whatever one hears, contemplate on those on the on the meanings. So when you come to understand the meanings, then you meditate on on those different points. So, in order to that meditation, in order to become worthwhile or meaningful, one first has to meditate on the precious human. How rare and difficult it to be to to get this precious human. So, then thinking about this point of the precious human birth plus meditating on impermanence that which forces you to do the practice of Dharma right away.
So, with that, whatever practice that one do, if that practice is conjoined with the thought of renunciation, then it becomes a cause for the liberation. So then on top of that, if the practice is done with the bodhicitta, with a good heart bodhicitta, then it becomes the supreme virtue which is the cause for the fully enlightened state. So so in order to have generate or have this within one’s mental continuum, one first need to train on the part of the equanimity which is having equal thought towards all other sentient beings, not having hatred and not having attachment to So, the reason that our practice of bodhicitta is not good or pure it’s because of our hatred and attachment towards our friends and enemies. So, there’s not a good point, good reason that we should be attached to our friends because they have helped us, helped in this very life. And also there’s no good reason that we should hate our enemies just only because they have done something bad towards one in this life.
So, if it is something that this life’s enemy is like enemy forever and a friend is friend forever, then it should be same thing that that has to be same thing that of our past lives. If that is our past if someone is enemy, then he or she should be enemies. And if it’s friend, then should be friends friends. So so if if that is so, then, like, all sentient beings have became our friends in our past lives. And and not only that, but they will all again become our friends in the future.
There’s no single sentient being which one can point at. They haven’t been our friends. They haven’t been our friends. So so not only they became our parents, but became very close friends like like our parents of this life. So all those sentient beings are very kind one.
If not in this life, have been very kind to one in our past lives. So because of that, we should repay their kindness. Conception in mother’s womb up to now, what we are, is it because of the kindness of the mother? So while at this time when one is big, one can one have some qualities that one can do some work and one one have some wealth or wealth. And if one, like, don’t help one’s parents or the mother and ignore them, then it is regarded someone who is very bad in the world.
So even from the insect like the ants and so on have have been very kind to us, so we should repay the kindness. So, how should we repay the kindness? Is that not only bringing some happiness to this life, but we repay the kindness with providing happiness that which lasts forever. So one who can provide the happiness that everlasting, at present we cannot we can’t provide that because we are unable to. And even if you look to the higher levels of beings that have different levels of gods like the Brahma, Indra and so on, they also don’t have and even like going up to the śrāvakas and Pratyekabuddha, they don’t have also the power to bring that.
So so then who have that power is only the fully enlightened being Buddha? So that very state, the fully enlightened state, I’m going to achieve and I’m doing that for the sake of sentient beings of the six realms, for the sake of the six migrators. And with this thought, setting up, with this kind of motivation setting up, we do short meditation. So, past Sunday that we talked about the refuge merit field and the explain explanation on that part is complete. And because there are new ones here, Geshe-la would like briefly on that.
So so if if possible, then one should try to do the visualization, the extensive visualizations, like the complete of each merit field. And if not, then visualizing root guru that one have which is very kind to one and that one in the space before one which representing all all the other refuge object or incorporations of all the other refuge object in that single form. So so if possible, then, like, extensive refuge method that you visualize the five gurus and try to visualize all the five and then make a request. So one is making this request to the refuge that one is scared, one is terrified by the suffering of the lower realms and requesting to the refuge object to protect one from give the protection from those sufferings. So, one needs like a To make our practice of refuge pure, one need to have these two causes.
That is as we explained last time, the first one is one self having fear of the sufferings of the lower realms. Having fear in that. That’s one. And then second is, like, having the strong like, complete trust in in in the three refuge object that they’re having that they have the full power to protect one. So by making the request, whatever whatever however like extensive or simple or short visualization that one have done, then from those, by making the request that from the heart of those refuge objects, that a nectar of light rays strikes down to one.
So so then if one have done have have a extensive visualization, say, like if you have one ever done the extensive visualization then when one is dissolving then the gurus surrounding the five main gurus dissolved into the main one. So that five gurus also dissolves to the central figure, Buddha Śākyamūni. So, then the center figure, Buddha Śākyamūni also shrinks and becomes very small like a thumb, and then that enters that that enters from one to one crown and became inseparable with one. So so at the very time when one when Buddha dissolves into one, at that time, we have achieved Buddhahood. That is what we should visualize.
So then, from the pores of our body, light rays goes out and then strikes all the other beings who are in the form of human who is around one. And then, all of them also, like, striking the light, transform them into or they became Buddhas, like the Shakyamunis. So, this practice is known as the resultant part, taking into part. So I guess in the beginning, one have set up a motivation that I’m going to achieve the full enlightened state and and in order to benefit or lead all these sentient beings to the state. That is what one have generated as a motivation.
So so then as one as one have set up that motivation, now with one has like, mentally, one have imagined that one have wanna achieve the full in one had one had became the Buddha. And then and then then when when while one wanna achieve this state of Buddha, one should think that one is Buddha? No. So So so then the dissolution of the refuge objects, there are three three types? So, one is that the one way of dissolving, That is all transform into yellow light and then dissolve into one from one’s between the eyebrows. So then another way of dissolving is that we bring all those refuge objects in the state of emptiness, and then in that way, you dissolve one. So so then the the another part, another way is that one has the visualization there and then later on, one continue with the practice. One does the practice of seven limb practice, seven branch practice. So then this third one is that you don’t dissolve into one or you don’t bring it into the state of emptiness, you just like keep it little higher in the space.
Hello? In the space before. So so then so then when you do the seven limb practice, there’s also a merit field, a refuge merit field that you have to visualize. And then while you visualize that, when you visualize that and then when you dissolve that then to be dissolved sort of together which is the other refuge object into that refuge object. Dissolving today.
So there’s these three way of dissolving and doing the dissolution. So one can do either of these So after the dissolution, then one continue with the practice doing the practice of four immeasurables. So, among the four immeasurables, the first one is the immeasurable equanimity. So, like the equanimity practice, there are two. One which the explanation was according to the seven instruction of cause and effect.
And then the other one is this other, the immeasurable equanimity. So so the one the equanimity that one is one is one practice according to the explanation of the seven cause and effect instructions that is that oneself one’s own thought equaling towards other sentient beings. So then the immeasurable equanimity which is explained in the four four immeasurables. That is the equanimity that you practice is that you equal, like you practice the equanimity among the sentient beings. Like each other having equal thought.
So, as when one is doing the refuge object, during the visualization of refuge, that time when one one dissolves the refuge objects, then one think, one just mentally, I think, imagines that all sent to oneself and all other sentient beings in the form of human. They are and they have they have achieved enlightened state, but it’s all through the dissolution. Oh. But then while one is doing this, the immeasurable practice of equanimity, One should think that there’s just one to one imagination that they have been enlightened, but yet they are not enlightened. So because they are not actually enlightened, why?
Because they have still the thought of near and far which is attachment to the close one and the near one and then hatred to the far ones. So so because of that one meditates, immeasurable equanimity that how nice all of them have the thought of equanimity. So the the four immeasurables are the first one is the immeasurable equanimity. Mhmm. Immeasurable love.
And immeasurable compassion. And then immeasurable joy. So, they are not using the word immeasurable because observing the object that I observe is the immeasurable sentient beings and then through that they collect immeasurable virtue. So so, like, each each immeasurable should should be should contain, like, all the all the four immeasurables. So I think I made a mistake.
The four immeasurables, each immeasurable having four immeasurables. Not the four immeasurables, but another four, which another four qualities. That is the first one, the first one has to have immeasurable aspiration. So then second quality it should have is that like a immeasurable prayers. Immeasurable prayers.
And then then the thirdly third quality says immeasurable, immeasurable superior thought, superior intention. So so then then the fourthly, immeasurable rejoicing. So all the four immeasurables has to have all these these four. So same with the next immeasurable is love and love too. But that also should have the four that is the first is immeasurable aspirations, immeasurable prayers, and immeasurable rejoicing, and then The immeasurable high intentions.
So so generating the bodhicitta within one through the practice of these four immeasurables. So then, especially, you have a special generation again, which is, I would say, very quickly use these tools, like twice, quickly achieve the full enlightened state for the sake of other sentient So, the first part where you have generated bodhicitta through the practice of four immeasurables, but then you do another, the special generation of bodhicitta which is like, do that special, quickly, quickly achieve fully enlightened state. That for the sake of other sentient beings, it’s just to, it’s not that you are newly again generating bodhicitta, but you are just increasing what you have generated through the second generation. So so each of the four immeasurables, one can, like, within the practice of each of the immeasurable, one can do, like, the practice of all three scopes. So, just an example how one can do the practice of three scopes within one of these immeasurables is that taking example as the immeasurable love and that they wish that how nice all sentient beings.
Free from suffering of lower realms, that time that is like the practice of small scope. So, then the next step is that how nice if all sentient beings be free from the suffering of saṃsāra, like the suffering of general the general sufferings of the saṃsāra. And that and then you continue with the thought that may they be free and may I free them or may I free all the sentient beings from those states of sufferings. That time you are doing this, the practice of the medium scope. So then thirdly, again, wish that we have how much if all sentient beings achieved fully enlightened state then I will lead them to the fully enlightened state, that strong thought of love is the practice of the great scope.
So then with the special generation, like when you say quickly, like this quickly, quickly achieve, that that is is known as the special generation. So, the first quickly here shows it’s quicker achieving the enlightenment quicker than the sūtra path.