Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 44-minute talk, Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen unfolds the Four Noble Truths through the Three Higher Trainings: morality anchors śamatha meditation, śamatha subdues the distracted mind, and wisdom removes the ignorance binding us to suffering. He traces all suffering to self-grasping ignorance and emphasizes concrete application over abstract theory. Rather than meditation alone, he shows how to practice in daily life—observing animals with compassion, examining your actions before sleep, dedicating merit so anger cannot destroy virtue. Even how you fall asleep, the thoughts you hold as you drift off, determines whether your night becomes virtuous or not. Suited for practitioners beginning to understand how Buddhist ethics, meditation, and wisdom work together as a unified path to liberation.
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File: 08 4NT.mp3
UUID: a2112cdd-6c7b-44e5-ba8d-ee14ae975875
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: The Four Noble Truths (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1996 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 44.6 minutes
Words: ~2,801
Want to be reborn in the upper realms is known as immovable karma. So this movable karma means that the karma that can be changed. So like even if one has a karma to be born in the lower realms, when one dies and when one is in the intermediate state, while one is in the intermediate state through the power of mantra and through the power of ritual, that karma can be changed or moved, and I would say, instead of getting reborn in the lower realms, the person can be reborn in the upper realms. So because of that, this karma is known as movable — or karma that can change. So then the karma which is known as the immovable karma — that is known as the karma that which leads one to the upper realms — leads to the upper realms. That one doesn’t change — cannot be changed through the power of mantra and ritual.
Once one is born in the intermediate state of that of the upper realms, then one has to take that birth. No way can it be changed there. So Geshe-la is saying that this will be like a brief explanation on karma, and knowing that these are, so to say, these two — the karma and delusions — are the source or cause which makes one circle in saṃsāra. And then if one wishes to leave — if one wishes to escape saṃsāra.
So if one seeks liberation or if one wants to escape saṃsāra, then one has to contemplate over impermanence, the nature of impermanence, which gives this example saying that the reflection of the moon in the water always moves. That’s an example of how all things are impermanent. And similarly thinking that saṃsāra is like — what do you say — saṃsāra is like trying to live under the shade of what do say? Under the shade of a poisonous snake’s head?
Trying to stay under the shade of a poisonous snake’s head is — how do say — it’s of very little value and has what you call great danger. Like, what is that? Great danger.
So it’s like saṃsāra is like that. So knowing that — being born in saṃsāra, whatever rebirth that you take, whichever of the six migrations, whichever rebirth that you take, it has that nature of suffering — and then generate the thought of renunciation, like to leave saṃsāra. If possible, then having this wish to leave saṃsāra like something which is effortless. If not, then setting up this motivation to leave saṃsāra. So setting up that motivation and then analyzing what causes one to take birth into saṃsāra.
So the sorry. The causes are two: that is the karma and the delusions. It is. So the root of these two — karma and delusions — is what we call the self-grasping ignorance. So one should apply — oh, sorry.
The self-grasping ignorance is the root of both of these, and one should apply a direct antidote towards the ignorance. Oh. And I mean, it’s not easy to apply a direct antidote towards ignorance, but trying like to apply the antidotes as much as possible. So using all those antidotes in order to destroy the self-grasping ignorance. So one has achieved this precious human body.
And on the basis — this precious human body is known as the most suited one which you can use for analyzing the cause of saṃsāra and applying antidotes towards that. And beside this body — I mean, beside this precious human body — there’s, what do say, nothing which is better than this precious human body for doing this. So if you do analyze the root of saṃsāra, then it is the ignorance of self-grasping — also known as innate self-grasping. And then not knowing — or not knowing the ultimate nature of phenomena, or not knowing the suchness. Yeah. So in order to destroy these two — the root, the innate self-grasping and not knowing the ultimate mode of all phenomena.
Destroying these — that which can destroy them, or the direct antidote for that, is what is known as the wisdom realizing emptiness, or the view which explains the right view. So that view is known as the special insight. The special insight. And in order to achieve that special insight, one first has to achieve the state of calm abiding. So we have to achieve the state of calm abiding, or śamatha — instead of śamatha, one achieves śamatha.
And in order to achieve śamatha, or as a necessary condition for achieving śamatha, or the necessary basis for śamatha meditation, is pure morality. So without having a pure basis — as a pure morality — no one can achieve the state of śamatha meditation. So then what do you say? So in order to, like, train in that, as it is explained in one of the texts known as Śāntideva’s Friendly Letter — in that text it says that the three higher trainings are the practice of medium scope. So the three trainings — sorry.
The three trainings are known as not ordinary trainings, but the three higher trainings. Yeah. So these three higher trainings — which are higher here, not ordinary trainings — because the three higher trainings, whichever it is, it should be conjoined with the practice of refuge. And if it is conjoined with the practice of refuge, then those trainings are known as the three higher trainings. So direct antidotes towards the common delusions which cause one to circle in saṃsāra — as a direct antidote one needs the wisdom realizing emptiness and that is the special insight.
The special insight, yeah. So in order to gain that special insight, one needs first to achieve the śamatha meditation or the state of śamatha meditation. So for the śamatha meditation, the necessary thing that one needs is pure morality. So because also the main practice of a medium scope is also the three higher trainings. So we should train in these three trainings.
So as a — more what do say — our mind gets disturbed, like disturbed or distracted by attachment, and because of the distraction by attachment towards different objects outside. So what is it? Like that which makes our mind undisturbed — like that which — what do say? — the disturbed mind — where the practice of morality makes it undisturbed or undistracted. So to have an undisturbed mind or undistracted mind, one needs to practice morality. So which — through the practice of morality, then you also avoid committing the gross negative actions.
Then as a result, experience the happiness of the upper realms, which is that of humans and gods. So then the next higher training — that is the concentration practice — and the higher training of concentration. And that is the unruly mind — making it rest in meditation — and that is done through the concentration practice. One also removes manifest delusions or the grosser delusions, and as a result one experiences the happiness of the form or formless realms. So then the third higher training — that is the training of wisdom — and what the training of wisdom does is that it liberates the unliberated mind — liberates the mind from the delusions and achieves liberation. Yeah.
Achieves liberation. Oh. Oh, yeah. So yeah. And then one reaches liberation.
Especially as a result. So now in order to, what to say, generate that wisdom — the higher training of wisdom within oneself — one first needs the former practice which is the training of concentration. So then before the concentration practice, the higher training of concentration — what one needs beforehand is the practice of morality, the higher training of morality. So if one is to properly practice these as it is explained in order, then no doubt that one will — I wanna say — one will be free from saṃsāra. There’s no doubt.
One will become free from saṃsāra or achieve liberation. So what do say? At the very beginning, when Buddha first, what do say, turned the Wheel of Dharma, as he said — achieve the true cessation and practice the true path. That is what he said at the beginning. So in order to achieve that cessation, that one first needs to practice on the path, the true path, and that the true path is the cause of that cessation.
So these are the true cessation and true path — I would say, the cause and result of liberation or nirvana. And then the first two truths, which is the true suffering and true cause of suffering — these two are the cause and effect of saṃsāra. So because of that reason Buddha, when he first taught the teachings, explained these two types of cause and effect. Yeah, two sets of cause and effect.
So what Geshe-la will be explaining next time will be, again, harder to understand. He is saying that the explanation on the next two truths — the true cessation and true path — is not easy to understand if one doesn’t have some understanding of philosophy. But then as he made it easier — giving an easy explanation — and even whatever you understood from his explanation, it’s something very good. But even if you don’t understand what is explained, just by hearing these teachings you leave an imprint in your mind and then next time when you hear something of the four noble truths you will have clear understanding. So as Geshe-la said before in the beginning, that one shouldn’t, like, forget small things and just jump and grab the big or advanced subject.
So though the advanced subjects and the extensive subject — like emptiness, the concentration practice, the true cessation, true path — these are something which is very necessary and we need — how to say — but first in order to reach all those levels, one first has to analyze one’s body, speech and mind. How — because of our, let’s say, wrong behavior of our body, speech and mind, we come to create many negative actions. So first aim for something very small — like analyzing one’s body, speech and mind — and leading them into a positive path or a positive action. So this is like what Geshe-la would like to tell everyone to do. So practice doesn’t mean that we have to come and sit and do the practice.
You can do practice anytime, like while you’re taking a walk or while you’re eating or while you’re sleeping, you can still do the practice. So as an example — when we go to the city, we can see like animals kept in the water and we know what they are going — what they are used for and what is their destination, we know that. So when we see that, then feeling compassion towards those animals and making good wishing prayers right there is something practical that we can do. And similarly, like, when we go into the hills, we can see like cows and bulls out everywhere. They enjoy being there but they don’t know where their destination is and there’s only one place that they will go to.
So similarly also, meditating on compassion towards them too is something which we can do — something very practical. So like with the cows — they use the cow for milk and use all their milk. But then when they get very old, then there’s only one place that they can go to. So as is Tibetan custom — even if they use all the milk of the animal — at the very end, they don’t — they say, when they get very old, still they spare them, but don’t kill them. So what they do after when they have a natural death — then they would say, they make prayers and write what you call mantras on their head.
So doing in that way is something good, something a good way of doing. So that — as what do you say — we use the animal while they are young for milk all the time, and when they get old we kill them and getting attached to their meat just to get some money we kill them. Anyway, most of you probably don’t have any cow or any animals with you, but like that — killing at the end is not — it’s a very poor thing to do. So it’s a side advice or explanation.
Yeah. So if you have any questions, you can ask. So as it’s explained in the very beginning of the two duties — the very beginning of the motivation and the very end which is of the dedication. If our positive action has been dedicated then anger doesn’t destroy it.
So when one dedicates the merit, then the merit is like — I would say — the dedicated merit which is now together, it’s mixed together with other people’s merit and all, I would say, the merit of all the Buddhas together. It’s been like all mixed together with those merits. So it’s been mixed completely. So unless all those merits have been destroyed, your merit won’t get destroyed. So it’s something like — say if you have a good cup of tea and then there’s another full kettle of tea there and if you pour your tea into the kettle then the tea in the kettle — what you put in will remain there until the whole tea is finished.
So it will stay there. So like that, if one is to dedicate the merits towards the achievement of the fully enlightened state, or in order to have the Buddhist teachings long in the world — dedicating merit in this way. So and then, like, being — what is it? What do you call it? So being a more broad-minded — saying that may my merit become the cause to generate bodhicitta within all sentient beings.
So like in that way, you can dedicate. So if one is to dedicate in that way, then the virtue will remain there until all sentient beings have generated the bodhicitta in them. Okay. Any more questions? No.
He just gave an example — like if you divide the day in six, most of the time becomes virtue. As well as he said. Anyway, I’ll ask him. So that is what Geshe-la gave as the example. Just like dividing the day into six parts.
Generally speaking, like six sessions which can be understood also as three in the day and three in the night. So day and night which total six sessions. So morning, what would say, midday and evening. So then same with the midnight. Same with the night.
And then similarly, Geshe-la is saying that if one’s motivation is good in the beginning, then the rest of that time that you spend will become what is good. So then when just before you go to bed, if you analyze and check your action — what you have done in the day — like what I did in the morning and what I did at two o’clock, what I did at three. So analyzing that. And then if you find out most of your actions are negative, then we’ll say you engage in the purification, you do the purification practice. And then making or ending it with saying that I haven’t — I didn’t have a good day today, but I will try to have a better day tomorrow.
Or in that way, you set up your mind. So then like lying down, sleeping, and then like if you go to sleep imagining the image of a Buddha, then — I say — just imagine the image of a Buddha and then you fall asleep. So if you sleep while imagining Buddha in your mind, then that sleep becomes virtuous. So instead of that, if you, you know, like, think of some kind of food or drink just before you’re going to bed, it might lead you to go get the food, whatever food you want, whatever drinks you want to get. So just the way how you sleep or how you think can become virtuous or non-virtuous. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. So that one is just saying — depending on the motivation. Like if you specifically, like thinking of that action — like if you say if you had done an act of killing and thinking of that action and doing the purification, yeah, like then the negative action has been purified. So and then another way, on the other hand, like if you do the purification practice.