Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 46-minute session, Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen marks a turning point in the Paths and Grounds teaching: having provided general introduction to the fifteen paths, he now begins specific systematic exposition, starting with the hearer’s vehicle. He establishes that genuine renunciation requires understanding all conditioned existence as inherently suffering—not merely reacting to hardship—and stresses that renunciation united with bodhicitta leads to enlightenment. He then systematically details the hearer’s path of accumulation in three grades—small, medium, and great—based on training the four mindfulness practices, four perfect abandonments, and four legs of miracles. The session walks through these practices: the four mindfulness of body, feeling, mind, and phenomena; the four abandonment techniques; and the six clairvoyances, concluding with personal selflessness according to Madhyamaka. For practitioners already engaged with the Lamrim.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 11 P and G.mp3
UUID: f802a0b5-066b-4b39-84c9-0ce11a3b4ddb
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Paths and Grounds (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1995 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 46.5 minutes
Words: ~2,200
So quoting the teachings of as he advises us saying that in order to do a pure practice, one have to renounce saṃsāra or one have to renounce the samsaric world? So first to renounce or to fully discuss over saṃsāra Mhmm. One need to know the faults of saṃsāra. So to recognize these faults, how what what are the faults of saṃsāra? For example, saṃsāra is caused by karma and delusion and one has to think over the sufferings of saṃsāra.
So before you before we meditate or think over the sufferings of saṃsāra and the faults of saṃsāra, one should one should visualize one’s own guru inseparable with the with the deity at one’s crown. And then And then do the six preparatory practices and continue with the seven branch practice. And then meditate on these faults and sufferings of saṃsāra. So, when one is not doing the practices in between sessions or one or in the between break time, one also should, if possible, then read the different sutras and all the teachings, the Lamrim teachings, which shows or gives explanations of saṃsāra sufferings and faults. So, by doing these practices, enables one to generate renunciation towards saṃsāra.
So, whatever goodness of saṃsāra, whatever happiness or joy in Samsāra should see and know that it is suffering. And, by recognizing that, only then one can, one is able to generate total renunciation. So, for example, going through some problems, like going through some problems and facing sufferings, that is when one experience that, then there are a degree of the thought of leaving saṃsāra or renunciation generates. And that type of renunciation is not nothing stable. So so what one needs is that whoever one is born, as long as it is saṃsāra, in saṃsāra, then knowing that it has the nature of suffering and should generate the or should bring this wish to eradicate all sufferings.
So, by seeing the faults and suffering of Samsāra, one should accustom oneself with this practice. By doing that, one come to generate the thought of renunciation. So by familiarizing one’s with this practice and coming to a point where one is not even attached to the prosperity of saṃsāra even for a second. And then that is the thought which one generates the thought of renunciation. And that thought, if you are able to generate, able to have in whole day and night, then which is that thought that wants to wants to achieve liberation.
So so that that that thought of renunciation, if if if it is not conjoined with the thought of bodhicitta, then it won’t become a cause of fully enlightened state. So so for it to become the cause for the fully enlightened state, one need to meditate on the the on the bodhicitta. The techniques which two different techniques which is taught to generate bodhicitta. Like one like thinking over recognizing all sentient beings as being one’s mother and so on the rest. And then here, we do a brief meditation on that. So up till today, I still have explained given the general explanations of those these fifteen different paths.
Not not talking specifically about it, but giving a general explanation. So so starting from today that we explain, like, specific specific explanations of different vehicles or the paths. And among among the two vehicles, first, will explain the the hearer’s vehicle, the lower vehicle paths. So, the person on the hearer’s path, known as the family of the hearers, the family of the hearers, are known as one who possesses the imprints or the seed of hearers in latent state. And, sorry.
And, plus, knowing the full explanations of the three types of sufferings. So, by knowing these three types of sufferings and seeking personal liberation is one who is that person, whoever that is known as entering into hearer’s path. So, as the first path of hearers, that is the path of accumulations, and that as a definition or meaning of that is here is clear realization of hearer’s doctrine and hearer’s doctrine before achieving the path of preparation. So then it’s classified that path of accumulation is classified in three. Small, medium, and big.
And then similarly, another classification known as the direct perceiver, inferential, and then subsequent perceiver into three. So is classified into three. So so now the difference of these first three, small, medium, and big. So so the first small small one, the small hearer’s path of accumulation, that one is one who one who trains the four close mindfulness among the four close mindfulness which explained from the thirty seven limbs of enlightenment. From the first four are close mindfulness. So training or meditating on these four close mindfulness and where on this stage, on that stage while they are doing this meditation on four close mindfulness, on this stage that practice is still not certain whether they will they are not certain whether they will that practice will whether they will achieve the next path or not.
So because of that they are called small. So so then the next next one is known as the medium path of accumulation. That is also the same thing that one who trains on the four perfect abandonment. And then it’s also the first the second four of the thirty seven limbs of enlightenment. The second four of the thirty seven limbs of enlightenment.
From there training or meditating on the four perfect abandonment and through that which on this they are definitely going to achieve the path of preparation in their next life, in in the next life. So this is for the medium beings, the medium path of accumulation. So then the big one or the great great path of accumulations, the great hearer’s path of accumulations meditates on the four legs of miracles. That is the third four of the thirty seven limbs of enlightenment. So they train on or meditate on the four legs of miracles and on that stage they are certain that they will achieve the path of preparations in that life.
So, the smallest, the small, sorry, the small, hearer’s path of accumulation who meditates on the four mindfulness, And the four mindfulness are the mindfulness of body. The mindfulness of feeling. And the mindfulness of mind, and the mindfulness of phenomena or doctrine. So the first one, the mindfulness of body, With the body, the external bodies, known as the internal bodies. There are two types of bodies.
And then, you know, the body of other beings. So, these bodies that are collections of fine atoms. So, And so So these bodies that offer the internal bodies, the external external bodies, and the bodies of the others, knowing that there are collections of atoms plus knowing the nature of their impermanence, their sufferings, and that wisdom which knows this, that wisdom single pointedly concentrating on that wisdom which is single pointedly concentrating on these is known as the mindfulness of the body. So observing to these these three bodies. What is that?
This will mean issue. Towards. So observing to these three bodies, one experiences three types of feelings. That is pleasure, pain, and the neutral. So knowing these three feelings as being suffering, is is the the feeling of pain knowing that it is the suffering of suffering of of the three types of suffering.
And then knowing that that the suffering of change, or say, the knowing that the pleasure feeling has the suffering of change. And then thirdly, the neutral feeling, knowing it as the pervasive suffering. So then that wisdom which knows this and single pointedly concentrates on that, on these points is known as the mindfulness of feelings. So, sorry. So then the third one is the mindfulness of the mind. Mindfulness of the mind.
And that is the mind that observes the external body, the mind that observes the internal body and the mind that observes both the external and internal bodies. These minds. So that three types of mind itself are knowing that these three types of mind itself are also impermanent and suffering, selfless and empty. And concentrating single pointedly on this is the mindfulness of the mind. So, we talk about the internal bodies, it is the collections of, internal bodies are known as the collections of flesh, blood, and then bones.
So which the collection of these three are known as the internal bodies. And plus the five sense organs. So then the external bodies are known as the external objects, those are form and so on, is the objects of the senses. So, short, that is connected to consciousness are known as the internal bodies and the bodies that which are disconnected, not connected to consciousness the external body. So, then the fourth one which is the mindfulness of the phenomena, is that the phenomena which is known as those of the deluded ones, the deluded phenomena, and those of the pure phenomena.
So then observing these two phenomena and meditating on that, the selflessness on it, the emptiness of it known as the mindfulness of the phenomena or the doctrine. So so now go to the the medium hearer’s path of accumulation. So, those are the four abandonment, known as the four perfect abandonment. The first one, abandoning non virtues that exist. And then the second one is also abandoning the non virtue that which is not been at, had been, what I say, produced.
The first one is abandoning the non-virtue that has already been produced, and the second one is abandoning those non-virtue which has not been produced. So then, and then the third one is, and then the third one is, So, which making able to produce virtue that which has not been produced. And then lastly, those virtue that is produced, increasing those virtue that which are already produced. So then with the great hearer’s path of accumulation. Again, train on the four legs of miracles. So then, we also have classified path of accumulation into three other. That is the direct perceiver, inferential and subsequent perceiver.
With the direct perceiver, the direct perceiver here is path of accumulation. The first five clairvoyances the first five clairvoyances among the six. So so that that the first of the of the sixth, the first five of the six, what is it, clairvoyances are known as direct perceiver of the hearers path of the accumulation. So there are six types of clairvoyant. So the six type of clairvoyant are, the first one is the clairvoyance of miracles. And the clairvoyance of, what do call, the divine eye.
And the clairvoyance of the divine ear. And the clairvoyance of recalling past lives. And then clairvoyance of knowing others mind. And then the last one, the sixth one is uncontaminated clairvoyance. So, the sixth one, the uncontaminated clairvoyance, doesn’t, it’s not, the person on the path of accumulation, the person on the hearers path of accumulation don’t have the sixth clairvoyance that is the uncontaminated clairvoyance.
So because it’s uncontaminated, that clairvoyance is only with the ārya beings. So among the five clairvoyances, the first one, the clairvoyance of miracles. So, like on this stage they can understand those different performances of miracles which is like a fire on the body or going under the earth or flying into space. These are what they can they can directly perceive these. So these miracles are for them, they don’t have to rely on a reason to know this. They can directly perceive.
So so then the second clairvoyance, the clairvoyance of divine eye, can perceive directly the the present form and like form of all three times, past, present, and future. So so those with the divine eye, the clairvoyance of divine divine eye, they can perceive or see what type of rebirth they have taken in the past life and also the features. So so with the with the with the with the clairvoyance of divine ear can can hear, the sound of distance. And then the other clairvoyance, the clairvoyance of recalling past lives can perceive their name, their past life, their parents, and their world, what type of body they have, they can recall all this. So then the clairvoyance, the clairvoyance of knowing others mind can perceive the thoughts of others.
So so then the the inferential cognition, that’s the second one, is that the realization of selflessness of a person on the path of accumulation. So it is known as the inferential cognition which is to have to know the selflessness of the person, they have to rely on a reason, a correct reason. So, generally, selflessness of a person is known as the non-existing substantially or self sufficiently. That is known as another selflessness of a person or a truly existing person inherently existing person known as selflessness of the person. So, in this context, explanations according to Sautrāntika Madhyamaka.
According to that view, selflessness of a person refers to the lack of a person existing substantially or self sufficiently. So, it’s called selflessness because a person doesn’t exist sufficiently or substantially.