Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Before diving into paths and grounds, Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen uses this 46-minute introduction to stress preparation and motivation. He explains how any practice—even brief meditation—becomes powerful through proper motivation (bodhicitta), refuge, and the seven-limb practice. He maps Buddha’s teaching structure and describes three types of practitioners—hearers, solitary realizers, and Mahayanists—who are shaped by which teacher they meet (using the analogy of seeds that ripen depending on conditions). Each follows five paths toward their goal: hearers toward liberation by abandoning delusions, particularly the mistaken grasping at a permanent, singular, independent self; solitary realizers toward self-liberation through understanding subject-object non-duality; and Mahayanists toward omniscient Buddhahood by overcoming obscurations to omniscience. Pitched at newcomers beginning detailed philosophical study.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 01 P and G.mp3
UUID: 6c07b05f-95cf-4405-815a-f521ee40221d
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Paths and Grounds (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1995 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 46.2 minutes
Words: ~2,222
So quoting from this course, one of the discourse or the one of the teachings that which one should always practice virtue and that virtuous practice repeat it again and again, these practices. So when like, whenever one starts doing a virtuous practice, a wholesome action, one one should take time to do the practice? So whatever virtuous action you perform or you practice should think for the long term and strong effort in your practice? So whatever virtuous action one performed should be be something that one can enjoy the result in one’s next life, in the future life. So should do virtuous actions that which bear its result in our future.
So those virtuous actions that one performed or that one does, whether that is a meditation practice, meditation on bodhicitta, or any other practice. If that practice is conjoined with the seven limb practice, then that action, that virtuous action becomes very powerful. So so even if our meditation practice is only for five minutes, if you if you start properly with taking refuge, generating the mind, which is the mind of bodhicitta and with the rest of the practice like seven branch practice then the result is different. So, these two, the first two, the refuge and generating the mind or bodhicitta is very important and because it’s been very important that we see in every practice. It is like the heading of all the practice.
So before any before we start any practice, like, during the preliminaries, for example, the refuge, bodhicitta, and the rest, like, the seven branch practice, like, visualizing the merit field and and doing the purification practice and accumulation of merit. During this, our practice becomes a good practice. So So, the practice, the seven branch practice, that action or that practice is very strong practice. It is strong in many different ways. The dedication is strong, the preparatory or the preparation of the practice is strong.
And the field or the merit field that we visualize from the object side it’s also very strong in the sense and powerful that one can accumulate merit and do the purification. So from the object side, for example, the field, the merit field, there we visualize the three refuge objects. So because of that, it becomes powerful objects. This part that the object itself is very powerful that visualizing the merit field and the refuge objects. Even if you don’t have a strong motivation, good motivation just because of the object, because the power of the object that your practice becomes powerful.
Practices for example very important from the beginning, the motivation. If you don’t have a pure motivation, then the practice, whatever you do becomes imperfect. So so then the practice itself is strong, the seven branch practice, because it is conjoined with the thought of bodhicitta. So with the thought of bodhicitta, the contemplation or the practice becomes strong. So setting of the mind or setting the enlightened mind of bodhicitta is which has great benefits.
So we should set your motivation which is have a bodhicitta motivation and and then listen to the teaching. So generate a bodhicitta within within yourself, and then we do meditations for a few minutes. And because I’m not going to explain how you bring up the motivations because also you know already how to meditate on bodhicitta. So just generate the bodhicitta and meditate for a few minutes. So on the basis of this motivation, I’m listening to the teachings.
And now so today we start a new topic that is sa lam, that is the paths and grounds. And, before, Geshe-la is saying that, before we go into the text, that, he will give a short introductory, like, explanations on the on the paths and grounds. So so so which, which you will have a rough idea what, the text, text is for. What explanations are in the text. So the teachings of the Lord Buddha are of two kinds, two types that is known as the scriptural teachings and the insight, the insight or the realizations.
These are two types. So, these are the two types of teachings, the scripture and the insight teachings that Buddha taught. So holding or practicing these teachings like both the scripture and insight? So the scriptural part of the teachings. In the extensive way, it is explained as the eighty four thousand sets of teachings.
Is known as the scriptural part of the teachings. So so then this eighty eighty four thousand sets of teaching can be, like, summarized into twelve sets of teachings. And then that twelve also can be summarized into three, known as the three baskets of teachings. And then that three also can be summarized into two, that is like the Mahāyāna’s teachings and the Hīnayāna’s teachings. So practicing on these teachings that are both Mahāyānist and Hinayanist.
First, hearing or listening to the teachings and thinking over the meanings and meditating. During these, like upholding the teachings of the scripture part of the teachings. So so the insight or the the realizations part of the teachings are the the realizations or the insight that one gain out of these different levels of paths. Like, there are fifteen different kinds of paths. So these eighty four thousand sets of teachings are taught to the followers, to the followers and the the followers, there are three three different followers, three types of followers.
And these three followers are known as the Mahayanists and or the solitary realizers and the hearers. So if you don’t understand, just say I didn’t understand and then we can in case I can explain again. So can can give more clear explanations if you don’t understand? So so all sentient beings have this potential to to achieve both liberations that is that of liberation and the Mahāyānist liberation. So these two types of followers like these three, we divide into three and that can be divided into two Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna.
And how these followers become or follow these two is that depending on the individuals, if they meet a Mahāyānist spiritual master or teacher, then they become a Mahāyānist. And if the individual meets a Hinayanist teacher or spiritual master, the follower becomes a Hinayanist. So so by meeting with a Mahāyānist teacher, one becomes a Mahāyānist which one follows the teachings and and hearing the teachings. Mahāyānist teaching and putting them into practice. Like for example, the practice of bodhicitta, great compassion and so on.
Through the practice on these different subjects when one comes to gain a genuine, what do say, a realization, a definite realization or a genuine realization of these practices like bodhicitta, compassion and so on. Then it says that the potential within one, within the individual has, what do say, ripened. The potential within the person has ripened. As an example, if say in a pot, if there’s a lot full of earth and if there are three different grains in the pot, like you sow the grains, like So then if among these three different seeds, say like one met with all the conditions, once it meets with all the conditions like water and so on, And that one which met with all the conditions gives this fruit. So, same thing like example, that as the beings or the training or the individual have both potentials to become Mahāyānist or Hinayanist, depending what kind of conditions that person, the individual meets with or contacts with becomes that, which is meeting with a Mahāyānist teacher as a condition, the individual or the being becomes a Mahāyānist.
And same thing like meeting one of the four schools. By meeting with a Gelug lama, one becomes Gelug. Sakya or Kagyu becomes Kagyu. So same thing like for example a person meets with a Christian master and becomes a Christian. So that’s how it works.
So, same thing with the follower of Hinayanist and that wishing for self liberation or seeking for the liberation and practicing these different subjects like meditations on impermanence or meditations on four noble truths and so on through these practices. So, by training on these subjects, different subjects, or meditating on these subjects, the time when one comes to a genuine wish for self liberation. Then at that point, one becomes a hearer. One becomes a follower hearer. So, as soon as one generates a genuine wish, like genuine wish for seeking liberation, then at that point, one enters into a hearer path, the path of the hearers.
So, for the Hīnayāna, like the two, which is the hearers and the solitary realizers. So so the hearers, they have also they are also they explained also the five paths to train. They train on the five paths. Same thing with the solitary realizers. They also train on the five paths.
And same thing with Mahāyāna. They also train themselves in the five paths. So, for the Mahāyānist, they train on the five paths that is explained according to Sūtra, and then also they train on the five paths that which is explained from the tantric point. What did you say? The tantric paths.
Continuous. There are five different paths in sūtra and five in tantra. Mhmm. Yeah, the five in sūtra and the five in tantra. So, explanation according to sūtra, like each one has five paths, which total fifteen.
Like, hearers are five, solitary realizers are five, and Mahāyāna five. So, all total, they are fifteen. So, the explanations of paths and grounds, the main, like the trunk is this five paths. And then it’s explained more extensively how and what on the first path that they come to meditate and what they come to abandon. So, for example, the achievement or the result that they gain out of these practices and the paths are different.
So for the hearers, through training on the path, the paths that they come to achieve the state of foe destroyers. For the hearers the state of foe destroyers. So for the Mahāyānist, by training on the path, on these five paths, they come to achieve as a result the omniscient state. So so then what what they mainly try to abandon is that for for the for the hearers, their their main abandonment is the delusions. So the state of foe destroyers here is the liberation and that is to achieve that liberation, they have to abandon delusions.
Delusion is the main obscuration that obstructs from achieving that liberation. So delusions, for example, self-grasping self-grasping is one of the example for delusions. So, this self-grasping or grasping at self, the self that is permanent, that which is single and independent. Like grasping at that kind of self is what the delusion is. So then this delusion, that delusions explain two different kinds.
That is that delusions which is what you call intellectually acquired delusion and the innately born delusions. Like these two different delusions. The first one is intellectually acquired delusions. And the second one is innately born delusions, like delusion that is there from the very beginning. So so the intellectually acquired delusions is that grasping to self with applying wrong reasons or following wrong tenets.
So, this delusions that are the intellectually acquired delusions are only those who follow a tenet, those who are followers of a tenet. They have that; the others who don’t follow the tenets, they don’t have this delusion. So then this innate innately born delusions, that is that is that delusion is within within all sentient beings, like all all sentient beings. Like, from the it’s there from the beginning from beginningless time that the thought grasping at self. So when the follower of this path, when that follower comes to abandon both of these, the intellectually acquired delusions and innately born delusions from from from the root or from its seed.
Then that that being, that follower becomes becomes arhat or reaches the state of foe destroyers. So so then go to the next one. That is the solitary realizers. And they seek something like the liberation. And what they meditate on is the selflessness of the person.
And on top of that, they also meditate on another thing that is the lack of subject and object not having different substantial cause. Or like as the form and the the, what’s it, the form and the mind that you are realizing the form not having a separate substantial cause. So, both consciousness perceiving the form and the form itself, both of these have one substantial cause. Both of them arise out of one substantial cause. So they don’t have a separate substantial cause.
So which is here, substantial, like, has the synonym like impermanent or compound phenomena? So which in this case that the mind apprehending the form and the form itself both come into existence through one imprint. And that imprint is what you said, the substantial cause. So then go to the next, that is for the Mahāyānist and their aim is to achieve the omniscient state and then the main practice of meditation on emptiness. So then the main practice is meditation on emptiness and their main abandonment for Mahāyāna is obscurations, obscuration to omniscience.
That is the main abandonment. So so