Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 33-minute teaching, Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen outlines the Buddhist framework of paths and grounds—the stages of spiritual development where practitioners progressively abandon the mind’s afflictions as they advance through ten successive levels toward enlightenment. He then addresses the foundational obstacle: what keeps practitioners bound to saṃsāra? He identifies three root causes of delusion—the failure to uproot latent afflictions, repeated contact with objects that trigger them, and delight in wrong thinking—and details the seven latent afflictions themselves: attachments to sense-pleasures and subtle realms, anger, pride, ignorance, wrong view, doubt. He offers practical guidance on breath meditation as a stabilising tool for an agitated mind. Discussion includes how these structures apply differently to followers of Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna paths. For those with background in Buddhist philosophy.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 10 P and G.mp3
UUID: 8f81e80a-6810-4538-a0e9-b47501927a22
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Paths and Grounds (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1995 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 32.7 minutes
Words: ~1,367
Gross and subtle levels of nine. And and these these nines are abandoned on each these nines are abandoned. Again, that the path of meditation is divided into ten grounds, the ten bhūmis. And then on those bhūmis that you come to abandon those nine innate obscurations to omniscience. And when you come to abandon the last one, the the smallest of the smallest division, the smallest of the smallest obscuration to omniscience, then you come to achieve the Mahāyāna enlightened state.
So so later, the ten bhūmis or the ten grounds and the the these the ten no. Say, the nine levels of the innate obscurations to omniscience will be explained in detail in the in the later teachings. So so then when one abandoned completely together with its seed, all the abandonment of those individual vehicles, then they come to achieve the path of no more learning. So so that that path that the path is known as the path. Path of the arhats.
The arhats paths. So, as a definition or the meaning of the the paths of the path of no more learning is that Yes, sir. So the the exalted wisdom having abandoned the delusions. So this path is called the path of no more learning because because they have perfected or completely perfected the work of each individual vehicle. So So delusions here, what we mean by delusion is that which obstructs one from achieving liberation.
And those are like the jealousy, sorry, the miserliness, miserliness, and so on. So so like the miserliness plus the three poisons and etcetera are known as the delusions and that is what obstructs our liberation. And these delusions bring suffering. Like, these delusions, I would say, like, bring depressions, tiredness, and pain, like physically and mentally. These delusions cause all all that.
And and and and also it it forces one, these delusions also it forces one to to engage in non virtuous karma. So so there are there are three three causes of those these delusions. So, the three, first one is known as the non-elimination of latent delusions. And then second one is that close link with with those objects which brings rise to delusion Mhmm. Which which gives rise to delusions. And then So then And then third one is being amused with, what do call, wrong thoughts.
Wrong wrong thoughts. Amused. Yeah. Excited with wrong thoughts. So, but depending on these, those different delusions arise.
So so delusion arises out of these and and then then one creates the karma. And out of karma that one circles in the saṃsāra. So taking rebirth in taking your birth in saṃsāra, what do you say, makes one face always trouble. So all the troubles that we face are caused by those three. So, the first one, non elimination of latent delusions.
They are known as like seven types. The latent or what do you call it? In other words, like latent attachment. So which is latent. So which is So which is like attachment of desire realm.
Anger. And attachment of of existing which which is So which is existing here meaning the the two upper realms. The former existence. And then pride. Ignorance. And view.
And and doubt. So these these seven are known as the non elimination of latent delusions. So, all these seven delusions and all the other delusions that associate with these delusions are known as contaminated. So, contaminated are known as contaminated because it brings, gives pain at present and it will bring again pain in the future. So attachment of desire realm is those attachment that we have.
So the attachment of the existence is known as the attachment of those form and formless realm. So it is known as the attachment of existing. The reason is that those are the two upper realms that are form and formless realms are free from attachment of desire. So, they are free from the attachment of desire realm, but still that attachment throws them back to the existing which is the saṃsāra and because of that it’s known as the attachment of existing. So so we stop here today. So, this talk about the three programs and the attachment of the upper realms.
Like, they are free from the attachment of the desire realm, but they cling to the upper realms. Existing upper realms. So, yeah, other questions. Sorry? Thought and concept?
So, it can be related with these two, but while one is in that neutral state where there’s no conception, just concentrating on the breath. So when you say is there any relations, what kind of relations that you’re trying to trying to Mhmm. So that is not selflessness of a person? It’s not that easy to understand with this selflessness of a person. So the main purpose of this breathing meditation, for example, doing that is one’s mind is either one of the two extremes, like say, in a positive state or a very negative state, then if I want to concentrate on something, whatever meditation you’re doing, it’s not easy on that basis.
So through breathing meditations, like breathing meditation, what is it, removes that conception and then bring into a neutral state. On the basis of that neutral state, when it comes to that, then if you do meditate on emptiness or selflessness of a person or other meditations, then it is said that it is more, it is what is the most applicable one, applicable mind. So, for example, when we are very angry, if you exhale out, like, maybe it helps. So at that time, if one without without letting go the anger, if you do meditate, then you are meditating on anger. Nothing else you can meditate on.
So then to remove that anger, Then then as a method, you do the breathing meditation. Like, you you count on the the breathing and then to to remove the anger. So so then once the once the count or if the anger is not there, then if you think to the same person with whom you are angry, what kind of qualities that person have and how nice the person is, then we can really think on that, can really concentrate on that. So while you are really mad or angry, if you try to meditate on the quality of the person, no way you can you can hold the qualities there. So, this breathing meditation is not necessary if one’s mind is already in a virtuous state.
I can do it. Yeah. Yeah. Mhmm. Mhmm.
Yeah. Mhmm. Mhmm. Non non illumination? Non illumination.
Yeah. Or non eradication. Yeah. You got that? So So that Mahāyāna follower on the path of seeing generates both those realizations, not at once, but they have come to understand have the realization of selflessness of a person and and also the non duality of subject and object.
So there are two types of Mahāyāna followers on the path of seeing where one come to have a direct realization of all. And there’s one which is known as having the direct realization of all and one not all. So that first, whoever the trainee is, first follows the hearer’s path and comes to have a direct realization of selflessness of the person and then stops continuing on the path but then jumps into a Mahāyāna path. And then when that follower come to have a direct realization of emptiness, come to have a direct realization of emptiness on the path of seeing on the Mahāyāna path. It’s not the direct realization of selflessness of a person, but the direct realization of selflessness of phenomena.
So there will be more explanation in the next teachings. Yeah. Any other questions? So, this explanation of the path and grounds here is that we explain according to to the followers who who who first follows, like, if they are hearers, then those who follow the hearer’s path only. And then those if they are Mahayanists, then those who follow those those who follows from the beginning the Mahāyāna path.
Like, explanations are according to this. Yeah. I’m done. Yeah. Okay.