Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 45-minute talk, Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen introduces the “medium scope”—the foundational Buddhist path centered on seeking one’s own liberation from saṃsāra. He grounds the teaching in the twelve interdependent links, a framework for understanding how sentient beings circulate in saṃsāra, and addresses the central question: what genuine motivation drives practice? Drawing on Atisha’s Lamp on the Path, he outlines three essential elements of the medium scope: profound awareness of samsaric suffering across all realms, complete renunciation of desire for even the highest mundane pleasures, and adoption of personal liberation vows. This opening session begins a five-week series exploring the Wheel of Life as a visual and contemplative framework. Suited to practitioners seeking foundational understanding of cyclic existence and the disciplines required to transcend it.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 01 WoL.mp3
UUID: def33670-5fc1-439d-8a12-40e2b6a3ede8
Teacher: Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen
Collection: Wheel of Life (Geshe Dhawa Gyaltsen)
Date: 1996 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 44.7 minutes
Words: ~1,858
So quoting a line from the text called the Lamp on the Path, composed by Master AAtisha. In that text, AAtisha gives the definition of the greatest scope. So in that text, it describes the definition of the greatest scope as one who has trained in the two other scopes — that of the small and medium. So, oneself having the understanding of all these sufferings of saṃsāra that one has gone through from beginningless time, knowing that. And similarly also knowing that other mother sentient beings are going through these sufferings of saṃsāra, which is like fire. And generating this great compassion — which is the inability to bear those sentient beings going through this suffering like fire — and wishing to get rid of all the causes of sufferings of the others and seeking the fully enlightened state, which is the cessation of both obscurations. So having that aspiration in seeking the fully enlightened state for the sake of others and engaging in the deeds of bodhisattvas or the acts of bodhisattvas is what is defined as the great scope or the great being.
So the text Lamp on the Path is the root text of the Lamrim texts — that is, the Graduated Path to Enlightenment. And that text explains: taking one’s own suffering as an example, understanding it, and taking that as an example to see that others have been going through this great suffering — suffering that one is unable to bear — and generating this great compassion and seeking to achieve the state of Buddhahood, which is the state free of the two obscurations and their imprints.
So having that aspiration — seeking the fully enlightened state — that type of being is one who is known as the being of the great scope. Motivated by that mind which is bodhicitta and engaging in the deeds of bodhisattvas is what the beings of the great scope should be.
So what one’s own level is, is very obvious to oneself — one can understand. So if one is on that level, then one doesn’t need to explain that. So even if one doesn’t fall in that category, we should copy the examples and take them as example.
So as one in this very life experiences many different kinds of suffering — that of mental suffering and that of physical suffering — and as around us in this world we see sentient beings going through great sufferings which they go through, and which we are even unable to bear seeing — similar to that, we too have experienced those sufferings in the lower realms. And how we prove that is by seeing those present sentient beings who are going through that type of suffering of the lower realms. Taking them as example, we can prove to ourselves that we must have experienced the sufferings of the lower realms.
So then similarly in the future, if we are still not free from these different types of delusions, then it is definite that we will again experience these sufferings. The same is true of other sentient beings. So thinking of this, we meditate compassion towards all. So that compassion is what motivates us to think about the sufferings of other sentient beings, and also makes one seek to get rid of the causes of those sufferings. So together with that, one has to generate this great mind that is bodhicitta — which means, for the sake of other sentient beings, to be able to generate this great mind that is bodhicitta.
So we should think like that. To be able to generate this mind that is bodhicitta within oneself, one first needs to train beforehand in the two other scopes — that is, the small and the medium scope. And especially here tonight, Geshe-la is giving a teaching that is practised by the medium scope — that is, the practice of the twelve interdependent links. And generating bodhicitta, or this great motivation, and thinking: I will listen to these explanations of the twelve interdependent links.
So to lead all sentient beings to the fully enlightened state, I first need to generate bodhicitta. And before that, before generating bodhicitta, I need to train in the medium scope, the teachings of the medium scope. And for that I listen to the teachings. So setting up this motivation, we do a short meditation.
So for these five weeks — or the five sessions — Geshe-la will explain the twelve interdependent links, explaining them together with the Wheel of Life.
So this practice — the twelve interdependent links — is the practice of the medium scope. So before explaining the teachings on that, one first has to know what the medium scope is. So similar to the past explanation, again in that text the Lamp on the Path, which also gives and describes the being of the medium scope and gives the definition of the being of the medium scope. So the difference between these different scopes — small, medium, and great — is differentiated by their motivation, their practice, and their result. With these three, it differentiates.
So Geshe-la wants to explain these three differences of the small and the great, but in addition he said he will explain the medium one. First: with what motivation, or with what attitude, the being of the medium scope should practise. So the being of the medium scope should contemplate the sufferings of saṃsāra from the tip of the cycle to the lowest of all, which is Avici hell — thinking using many reasons and contemplating the sufferings.
So with many reasons, thinking or contemplating all of these sufferings, and not seeking — never seeking — the samsaric pleasures, such as even the pleasure of the universal king, or of the gods Brahma and Indra — not seeking those pleasures either. So no desire for human pleasure or the gods’ pleasure — even in a dream, not having any desire for that — and completely, how to say, turning away from saṃsāra.
So that is the special motivation or the attitude of the being of the medium scope. So on the basis of this motivation or this attitude — rerestraining from negative actions, stopping doing negative actions — such as those practices which restrain one from negative actions: those of the seven types of personal liberation. So abandoning the negative actions and engaging in one of those seven types of individual liberation — that is the actual practice or special practice of the medium scope.
So on the basis of these two — this special attitude or motivation, and this practice of abandoning negativities relying on one of the seven individual liberation vows — as a result, one achieves this state of peace, which is a state where one abandons the negativities or the delusions. So, a being with these three qualities is known as the being of the medium scope.
So the actual being of the medium scope should rely on one of these practices, which are the seven types of liberation, or personal liberation. So the being of the medium scope is greater than the small scope because they have lost their complete appetite for all of saṃsāra. And the medium scope is lesser than the great scope because of not having the great compassion known as, also, the special insight. Because of that, they don’t have this great compassion or this special insight — that is why they are lesser than the great scope.
So these beings of the medium scope can again be classified into three groups according to their view or practice. So the being of the medium scope follows two vehicles: one is the hearer vehicle and the Pratyekabuddha vehicle. These are the two vehicles that the being of the medium scope follows. So as according to the text, the actual being of the medium scope should be one who is following either the hearer’s vehicle or the Pratyekabuddha vehicle.
So in other words, the being of the medium scope should be one who has entered the path. So this being of the medium scope, as I said before, can be classified into three within. So the being of the medium scope can be classified into three according to three different views: the being of the medium scope who takes the view of Vaibhāṣika and Sautrāntika School is known as the small of the medium scope. And then, next, the medium of the medium scope is one who follows the view of Cittamātra and Sautrāntika-Madhyamaka. And then the great of the medium scope is one who follows the view of Prāsaṇgika.
So then again, they can be classified in another way: with the same attitude or the same motivation, just restraining from the ten negative actions is known as the small of the medium scope. So then with the same motivation — that of wishing personal liberation — for that purpose practising meditation on the four noble truths and the twelve links of interdependent arising: that is what is known as the medium of the medium scope. So then with the same motivation, seeking personal liberation and meditating on emptiness: that is what is known as the great of the medium scope.
So whatever practice they perform, whether it is meditation on emptiness or meditation on the twelve links of interdependent arising or other practices, their aim is to achieve the state of peace. So to achieve that state of peace, one first needs to contemplate the sufferings of saṃsāra, and then one also has to seek the path which frees one from saṃsāra. So the contemplation of the sufferings of saṃsāra can be done through following the teachings of true suffering and the cause of suffering. And second, one also contemplates the sufferings of saṃsāra through the twelve links of interdependence.
So the teaching that Geshe-la is giving here is how one circles in saṃsāra — how one circles in saṃsāra — relating to the twelve interdependent links. So the twelve interdependent links are known as the internal ones. Internal — internal twelve interdependent links. So because it is internal — the twelve links of interdependence — it explains how sentient beings come into existence.
So the twelve limbs — limbs like the branches of projecting. Three branches of projecting. And limbs or branches which are projected. So then three again — that of materialising. So the first of the projecting part, or the branches, there are three. And then the second, the projected part or the limbs, they are four. And then next, that of materialising, is two.
So this explanation will be given later on. So how one circles in saṃsāra — the explanation given according to the four noble truths — is, shall I say, sufficient or good enough? But for some beings — like those who have had great training in philosophy or in different philosophical texts — and for some who are not as sharply intelligent, for them this explanation of the twelve links of dependent arising, how one circles in saṃsāra, is very suitable for some of those beings.