Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 46-minute teaching, Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen examines distraction as the final of the twenty secondary mental factors in Buddhist psychology. He opens with Lama Tsongkhapa’s instruction on the precious human rebirth, establishing why sincere practice matters. The core dissects distraction into six types: by nature (the five senses themselves), external (sensory objects pulling the mind away), internal (laxity and excitement), by purpose (practicing for fame rather than liberation), by pride (ego from accomplishment), and through mental engagement. He provides practical guidance: direct your eyes toward the tip of the nose to prevent visual distraction; choose a quiet, isolated space; learn to distinguish true śamatha—meditation with mental pliancy—from its mere imitation. Pitched at experienced practitioners of Buddhist meditation.
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File: 29 Lo Rig.mp3
UUID: b456352c-710e-48a8-b486-d8f37df8bb12
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Nature of the Mind (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1995 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 46.0 minutes
Words: ~2,261
So quoting from the teachings of Lama Tsongkhapa, he gives in his line, he tells he gives advice to his students telling that this precious human rebirth is only found once and so on few other lines. So which introduces to to the disciple that how difficult how difficult to find this precious human rebirth and how difficult through example and through its cause and giving different reasons, explaining different reasons how difficult to gain this precious human body. And explaining that it’s very difficult to find this precious human body. And not only that, once you have this body it is very meaningful. Through this body you can achieve many goals that for example the work solely for the purpose of this life, can achieve through this precious body.
And also a higher state, like liberations that of hearers and Pratyekabuddha. Those high states also is possible through this body. And not only that but the fully enlightened state that which also is possible through this human body, through this precious human body. So one have this precious human body and which is very meaningful where through this body one can achieve those high states that are explained from Hīnayāna or which are explained from Mahāyāna. Both of those can be achieved through this precious human body. So one should work hard to get or to achieve these states, those high states like how should try to take the essence of the milk like butter from the milk.
In the same manner we should try to get the essence or the essence of those both Mahāyāna. So what Lama Tsongkhapa advises us is not that we cannot achieve those states. Because he advises, he gave these advices for us that he have achieved those states because he have achieved those states through those practices, the practice of accumulations and purifications. And through these practices he have achieved those states so that he give the advice to us also to do the same thing. So so now what we should do is we should we should try to generate the thought of renunciation or or try to get rid of the attachment towards the essential objects. So on top of that, one also needs the fear of lower realms.
And if one has to have the fear of being born in the lower realms and by having the fear one takes refuge in the Three Jewels. Taking refuge in the Three Jewels is where you become Buddhist. So if if one don’t take refuge in the Three Jewels, then whether the person is Geshe or Lama, he or she doesn’t become Buddhist. So on the basis of taking refuge, you continue with other practices like that of avoiding the ten non-virtuous actions and so on? So so those practices those practices of refuge and avoiding ten non-virtuous actions should be conjoined with the thought of bodhicitta or the thought of renunciation and with having the right understanding of right view.
If it’s conjoined with this thought then all the practice becomes a cause for for the achievement of a fully enlightened fully enlightened state. So for the bodhicitta, you talk talk about the conventional bodhicitta and the ultimate bodhicitta? So so try to generate both both bodhicittas within generate within you and and listen to the teachings. So we won’t be like doing meditation in the beginning today. So try to complete the text tonight.
Mhmm. So about the about among the fifty one mental factors, like the five omnipresent mental factors, the five determining mental factors, the six root delusions, and the twenty secondary delusions are explained, have been explained already and probably the last one from the twenty secondary delusions that Geshe will explain. So the last one of the twenty secondary delusions, the last one is that of distraction. And distractions are different kinds. So generally speaking, distraction can be various, virtue and non-virtuous.
So this part particularly is that of non-virtue. And so that we’ll be mainly talking about the non-virtuous aspect of the distractions. So so the distractions distractions explained here has to be a branch of the three poisons. One of the three poisons. Branch of the one of the three poisons.
So, it’s a mental factor that jumps away from objects or jumps away or leaps away from virtuous objects. So this type of, how do say, distractions can have six types. So the first one, distraction by nature. By nature or entity. And external distraction.
External distraction. And then internal distraction. And then distraction of purpose. And distractions of pride. And distractions through mental engagement.
So these are the six types. So the first one, distraction by nature is that doesn’t have to, for it to be distraction it doesn’t have to depend on others. As soon as that thought or the mind arises, it is, what do say, it becomes distraction through its own power. So, that is known as the five senses. The five senses are known as distraction by nature.
So, if are concentrating or you are in meditation and a single pointed meditation onto an object, at that very time, if one of these senses rises there, then you get distracted from your meditation. So, for example, if one is in concentration or in meditations and if through our eye consciousness happen to, if our eye consciousness have a contact with an object into a beautiful object then as soon as it has that contact the mind gets distracted towards that object. So because of that, the eye sense consciousness is known as distraction by nature. So because of that reason, when we meditate, like one of the postures is to keep our eye pointing towards the tip of nose. That’s one of the postures.
So for that reason, not to get distracted. So like keeping our eye looking towards the point of tip of the nose is stop our mind getting distracted. So, for example, if one is, whatever one is concentrating on, whether merit field or emptiness or any other meditation on emptiness. If one keeps our eye open, wide open, then whatever we see to our eyes, our mind follows that. So our meditation gets distracted.
So then the next distraction is that of the external distraction. And that is that distraction arises because it depends upon external things. So the external distraction is that it is also the same thing if one is concentrating on something or meditating on some virtuous action, some meditating on virtue. And at that very time, if one gets distracted by external object, then that that distraction is known as the external distractions. So while when one is meditating, whatever object one is meditating, for example, bodhicitta, one is concentrating on bodhicitta, then at that very time one’s mind getting distracted by the external objects like the five sense objects form, sound and so on, getting distracted by that is what is known as the external distraction.
So same thing, like when one is meditating, and if one let one’s mind get distracted listening to some sound, then the meditation doesn’t become successful. So that again gets distracted. So that’s one reason that when the suitable conditions for meditation practice has to be like a place which is very quiet, quiet place, isolation of sound. So then the next one is the internal distraction. And is known as the internal distractions are known as the laxity and the excitement in your meditations or the attachment towards some sort of things are known as the internal distractions.
The cause of internal distractions. So, for example, when one is meditating on calm abiding or meditation on emptiness, if at that very time if the laxity appears in one’s meditations, then one become one cannot concentrate on the object very well because of the laxity. So then it’s the same with the excitement. For example, if one is single pointed concentrating on an object, an image of a Buddha or the object can be emptiness or bodhicitta. If at that very time when one is single pointedly concentrating on that object, if some other object appears in one’s mind, there is what excitement appears, arises, and again one get distracted.
So so that also can be caused this this this distraction can be also caused by the by by by attachment towards towards the external things like the the five sense objects. While one is concentrating on an object because of the attachment one can get distracted by the sense objects. So the internal distraction is that it appears when one is concentrating single pointedly, when one is concentrating or meditating on calm abiding or meditating on special insight. At that very time, when one is doing this meditation and at that very time if one’s mind get distracted then that distraction is known as the internal distractions. So the calm abiding, the actual calm abiding is that through using the method of the nine mental abiding or nine mental settings, applying these methods through that able to keep one’s mind as long as one wishes to that object is what the actual calm abiding meditation is. Able to keep one’s mind as long as one wishes to that object single pointedly and which has the quality of pliancy.
That is what is the actual, what is it, śamatha or calm abiding is. And the similar calm abiding which is known as the one one is able to keep one’s mind as long as one wishes but one doesn’t have the quality of plant there. That is also known as, that is what is a similar calm abiding meditation. So same thing with that, like, with the special insight, you have two that have the real special insight and the similar special insight. So, the actual special insight is on the basis of this calm abiding meditations, on the basis of that, on the basis of that one analyzes the object, So out of the analysis of the objects, that one comes to achieve again another pliancy.
And when one achieves that pliancy, then that is the real special insight. So then the similar type of, let’s say, special insight is that on the basis of calm abiding meditations, you analyze the object while you’re analyzing the object. So that concentration of analysis concentration of analysis is the similar special insight. So so that, like, when when as soon as one achieves the the physical and the mental pliancy, then it becomes the actual special insight. So when when one is analyzing an object or meditating on an object, at that very time if this thought or the excitement appears, then one gets distracted from one’s meditations or from that meditations, and that distraction is known as the internal distraction.
So attachment to the object of desirability or the five sense objects known as the form, sound, and so on. And when you’re sick or when you desire that, then that is another distraction. So so this this attachment or the desire towards the sense objects distracts the concentration also. Oh. So, then the fourth one, that is the distractions of purpose.
That is that is like during the practice for for fame for fame, during the practice for gain or reputation, doing the practice for gain and for fame or name, that instead of doing the practice for achieving liberation. That is known as that is the distraction of purpose. So mainly with bad motivation, with a a with a bad or wrong motivation, that doing doing a meditation to to get the name as a meditator or a saint. So something like if I do meditations, others would call me a good meditator. So with that type of motivation, if one meditates, then is known as, that is also known as the distraction of purpose.
So for us, practice we do, like meditations, prostrations or offering, we always advise to set our motivations. One of these three motivations, smallest, medium or the highest motivation. And that is the reason why motivation doesn’t become the wrong motivation. So, though the person does meditation on concentration or concentration meditation, the motivation or the motivation is wrong or bad motivation. And because of that it’s put on the category of distraction and distraction which is negative.
So then the next one after that is the fifth one is the distractions of pride. So so then that distractions of pride yeah. Also, like, it’s like the ego or the pride out of that out of that whatever one one one does, that becomes again that becomes a negative. It is the distractions of pride. So so for example, from the very beginning, if one have a good motivation and wishing for the qualities of concentration.
As as one wishes for the qualities of concentration, one one practice or engages in the practice. So while one is engaging in the concentration, this pride arises that saying I am a great meditator. Or this pride that I am a great meditator or such the ego that arises there? So out of these two, the pride and the ego leads it again towards a distraction. So, though the action of the practice, though the practice is good, meditation and concentration, but as result, one come to generate the pride and the ego, like pride and the ego, so it becomes again a negative.
So then the sixth one is the distraction through distraction through mental mental engagement. Mhmm.