Seven-Point Mind Training — 1984-11-20

Seven-Point Mind Training (Geshe Doga)

Seven-Point Mind Training — 1984-11-20

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Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.

About this talk. In this 47-minute teaching, Geshe Doga introduces the Seven-Point Mind Training, a classic Tibetan Buddhist method for developing compassion and awakening mind. He opens with a guided visualization of Śākyamūni Buddha, teaching students to generate the right motivation before study—directing their listening toward the liberation of all beings. He then walks through the foundational visualization: invoking blessings in the form of light from the Buddha’s body, speech, and mind, which dissolve into the practitioner’s heart until the Buddha and one’s own mind become inseparable. He emphasizes the importance of adding meditation sessions to daily practice, even brief ones, as a safeguard for mental peace at life’s end. In the second half, he begins the seven-cause-and-effect method for generating bodhicitta, starting with recognizing all sentient beings as one’s mother across beginningless time, then reflecting deeply on the kindness of one’s own mother in this life—her nine months of pregnancy, her selfless care for a dependent infant, and her willingness to suffer in place of her child—as the foundation for extending compassion to all beings. Suited for those with some Buddhist background.

So without distracting our mind to the the external things. With happily, we should think that the the the present moment is is very good opportunity, and we are very fortunate to to listen to Dharma. So with this happy mind, we should direct the the benefit of listening to Dharma to free other sentient beings from their suffering. So with this motivation to help the other sentient beings, let us do the meditation for a while as we did in the the same last session. The the visualizing the Śākyamūni Buddha sitting on the cushions of lotus, moon, and sun.

And he’s he has the many qualities like protrusion on his head and the the light illuminated from all his pores, bodies, and the the posture of his body, his two legs and hands. As I mean, we mentioned before, the right hand rests on his leg. And in his left hand, he holds a bowl filled with nectar. And also, we should visualize the that the he has the the qualities of his speech. Like, his speech is very sweet and very attractive to all those who hear.

And every single word of his speech dispels the misconception of countless sentient beings. And and he has the mental qualities like his smile is in the form of pure love and compassion towards all sentient beings. Yes. So and then visualize as if the Śākyamūni Buddha is looking to you with smile in his face and and then thinking as the as you are the as the essence of all Buddhas, the bodhisattvas, and the And then with complete determination, consider him as your ultimate refuge, who will show you the right path to attain the ultimate goal. Without losing this visualization make the supplications.

I make the supplication that may I receive all your blessings of the holy mind, speech, and body, and then by through this power of your blessing, may the all my misconception be dispelled from their very roots. And then bestow me blessing so that in all the time, in this life and also in the intermediate stage and also in the next many lifetimes to come. That in all those lifetimes, may I generate bodhicitta So regardless of any adverse circumstances. May all my actions and deeds be transformed to to bring happiness to others So make these supplications from the root of your heart and then think that you are receiving all these blessings the blessings from the Buddha in the form like as we mentioned before, from the crown of Buddha, the the light comes and it purifies all your negativities of the body. And in the same, the from the neck of the Buddha, the light the real light in the the form of light comes and it purifies your negativities of speech.

And then from heart, the the the light And then the different type of light emanates from every part of the Śākyamūni Buddha. And they dissolve into your body and into your own all power of body and purify all your negativities. And by this, you are receiving And then The light is mainly from the crown of Śākyamūni Buddha, in the form that the Buddha and it dissolves into your body and thereby Śākyamūni Buddha absorbs into your heart in the form of this light and it and it becomes indivisible from your with your heart with your heart. So we should continue the meditation for a while on this point. So if you wish to continue this meditation for a longer period, then you could do the same.

You I mean, you remain in that last point when the the the Buddha has, I mean, observed your heart in the form of light, and it becomes indivisible with your heart. So you may remain in that point for a while, and then, again, think from the the we talk about the light comes from the crown of Śākyamūni Buddha, and it purifies all and the same like that, I mean, from the his neck and from his heart. So we should not stop like that. And only when I mean, when we reach that that last point, then we would continue the our meditation for a while. I mean, this way, I mean, we could do it for a long time.

So yeah, it is good to do this type of meditation because I mean, even from the point of Dharma, when we do such meditation, if we think, then may know that we are very lucky and fortunate. Since in that time we are trying to change our mind which has never attained such qualities. So from that point we are very lucky. And also we such type of meditation and Dharma practice at least to gain some mental happiness and peace at the end of our life. If whoever wants their happiness at the end of their life, one must have to do such type of practice.

So he thinks it is very good to put this the meditation session in in in I mean, in our daily timetable. So whether, I mean, we do this meditation, I mean, normally we do that in long or few minutes. But if we, I mean, just fix up that specific time every day and do the meditation. And while doing this, the ideal, I mean, generally a good motivation at the beginning to just to attend our mind and to while concluding the meditation, we must have a good dedication too. In the last session we stopped at the point after discussing the few advantages after having developed mind awakening or bodhicitta.

Also we also mentioned that traditionally there are two ways to develop bodhicitta. So first one is by seven causes and effects. And the second one is by exchanging the self with others. So, if we now start from that, the seven causes and effects, The first one is recognizing all other sentient beings as mother. So we have to know to how I mean we should consider other sentient beings.

Every sentient being has one’s mother. So this can be known by thinking one has taken countless lives before this life. So there is no realm that one has not taken birth in. So one has taken countless lives before this. And also, there was no such place where one has not been born.

So all this showed that one has been born in every place over a countless period. So so by thinking in this way, then we we also know But there is no definite point that any sentient being has not once been your mother. Since in every life that one has taken, that needs a mother. Since the lives one has taken are limitless, so the mothers one has relied upon are also limitless. There is no beginning in the general saṃsāra and also there is no beginning of the time of one’s own life.

So so we were come from so individually, one has come from beginningless time. So in fact, we would think every sentient being as one’s mother, as I mentioned before, life contemplating on the one’s own previous life. So when we think about the previous life, then we come to know that it has I mean, the previous life. So there is no it goes on limitlessly, so there’s no But in this lifetime, since we have only one mother, so if we think about this lifetime, we can’t think that every sentient being is one mother. So to to recognize all the sentient beings as one’s mother, one must have to go back to one’s previous life.

So after having recognized all sentient beings as one’s mother, then the after that what one have to generate is to remember their kindness. So this could be developed by first of all thinking over the kindness of one’s own mother in this lifetime. So after thinking how much the mother in this life has cared about you, protected you in this way, of their loving heart and kindness, then we have to go back to the every sentient beings since as we before as we as we recognize it, every sentient being should be recognized as one’s mother. Then in this in this same way, the kindness of this mother, I mean, this life, in the same also, I mean, as done by the the every sentient beings. So if one, I mean, think about the the mother of this life, then the she is very kind to one in all the time from very beginning of this lifetime to the end.

So she is very kind to oneself. So the mother of this life is very kind to one from the very beginning of one’s life. She care and protect one’s self in her womb nearly nine months and ten days. And also from the very moment that, I mean, one entering her womb, it turn it becomes like although, I mean, she is just a one just a single being. But from that very moment, it becomes like she has to care or protect two sentient beings.

So at that moment, at that long month, she had to to care all the time while eating, sleeping. And whatever she does, she has do some protection and caring one side. And also, the is born, although the mother has a very enormous pain and suffering, but still she thinks that she has found her treasure. So still she feel happy to to give birth to a child. So at that time, the one is almost like a newborn, isn’t it?

The navel. A navel. So she care. She with I mean, tenderly she carried on her back and removed the mucus by her mouth and and she she used to clean the area, I mean, the filth without any sense of, I mean, disgust or I mean, she did all these things happily.

So so while the child become grown grown up, then she care by giving the food while the child is hungry and give the milk and drink while he becomes thirst and and give anything that she possess if her child become poor. So so in this way, I mean, this mother, she is very kind to oneself. So so when the child become ill, so she has a wish that instead of her child, she would have become ill. So and same time, if if, I mean, the child died in a premature state, then she she wish instead she would have died. I mean, although, I mean, she’s helpless and she can’t take the illness of her child, she can’t prevent the premature death of her child.

But still, she has the firm, I mean, wish and determination to shoulder all this sort of, I mean, misfortune of of her child. So the essence of our life until now is by the, I mean, the the kindness and the care of one’s mother. So if she didn’t protect, she didn’t take care, one wouldn’t have anything. So and also the so once engaging in such Dharma practice, listening to Dharma, or any certain good actions. So all these come from the kindness of one’s mother.

Translation / 翻译 / བསྒྱུར།

These translations were generated using Gemini Pro 2.5 with a curated Buddhist terminology glossary and verified for register, glossary use, and absence of English leakage. The English transcript above remains the authoritative source.