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. Geshe Doga teaches the Seven-Point Mind Training, a classical Buddhist meditation framework for developing bodhicitta, the aspiration to attain enlightenment for the sake of all beings. In this 41-minute session, he systematically unfolds the seven cause-and-effect steps: first recognizing all sentient beings as one’s mother across infinite lifetimes; remembering their kindness; developing a genuine wish to repay that kindness; cultivating universal love and compassion; generating a special resolve to assume personal responsibility for freeing all beings from suffering; recognizing that only Buddha can accomplish this; and finally generating the determination to achieve enlightenment oneself for their sake. Throughout, Geshe Doga grounds each stage in practical reasoning and emotional resonance, using the mother-child relationship as an anchor. He explains how meditating on these seven points directly opposes self-cherishing, the root of mental turbulence, making this practice powerful even when attempted daily. Pitched at practitioners ready for committed Mahāyāna path work.

So the so like the kindness shown by the mother in this lifetime. So so the the same is shown by the old sentient beings. So we can expand the kindness first by thinking about the kindness of one’s own mother and then that could be expanded to one’s own close friends and close relatives and companions. So after that, then one could expand the kindness of mother So after that, one has to the the regard, the kindness of those persons, those sentient beings who seems to be, I mean, who seems to be enemy to oneself or who seems to harming oneself. So one could generate the same kindness or mother to those persons.

And then after that one could expand this to those neutral sentient beings, in the sense of those who have little help and no harm to oneself. So in this way, one will expand the remembering of kindness to every sentient beings. So so by thinking this way, then we could remember the kindness of all sentient beings as the kindness shown by ones and mother in this lifetime. So after that, if the if, I mean, all sentient beings are so kind to oneself, then is it reasonable and justifiable that that to, I mean, to have such wish to free from the suffering of to free from the saṃsāra for just oneself. So this is more, I mean, not justifiable.

So after we know the kindness and the gratitude of all other sentient beings to oneself, repaying their kindness is necessary. This is because from just general point, I mean, we regard a person as ungrateful if he, I mean, or she doesn’t repay the the gratitude shown by others. So in the same way, so if, I mean, all the sentient beings are so kind and so kind to oneself, then the one has to repay their kindness and have to think how do I mean repay or how to repay their kindness or the gratitude shown to us, one. So if one, I mean, offer some food and such temporary help like giving some extending some temporary help by giving some water and food or by extending them some temporal happiness. So all this temporal I mean, help is not sufficient for them.

It is not sufficient to to repay their kindness by by giving them some samsaric happiness. Since that happiness is not everlasting, It is it can be changed from moment to moment. It becomes it it turn into suffering at the end. So this is not the not sufficient to to repay their kindness. And in the same way that so I mean, samsaric happiness is also, I mean, not sufficient for the oneself too.

So since that is not something, then how one has to repay their kindness? One has to develop a firm wish to free them from suffering from its very root and let them attain the liberation. So this is only the this is the best way to repay their kindness. So so to free from the free all sentient beings from saṃsāra, then one has to develop the love which wishes happiness to every sentient beings. Like a like a mother wish happiness to to her.

So the fifth cause is after love, it is compassion which wish which wish not to have suffering, not to have a, you know, tiny suffering to all sentient beings. So so after that, one has to develop the the sixth cause, which is the special attitude. That is the At the moment of the developing that love and compassion, one has a very pure wish that the other sentient beings have happiness and not have suffering. So when the special attitude is developed, so at that time one has such an attitude that the I will I shall cause them to have happiness. I shall free them from suffering.

So by this, the the taking all responsibility by oneself to help others. So when one has developed that special attitude, at that time, the the one has taken the responsibility to to to free all other sentient beings from saṃsāra. One has sacrificed oneself for the others to free them from saṃsāra. So now, after having, after being developed that special attitude, then one has to think that whether one has got such capability and such power to free the other from saṃsāra or not. Then, for thinking that, then one comes to know that one has no such one has one hasn’t got such power.

And also, one also know that no other sentient being too has such power. So and then to find out who has gotten such power to free other sentient beings from saṃsāra saṃsāra, then the after all, we know that the the only the the Buddha has got such power. So without having that power, you are helpless to other sentient beings. Even if we have a wish, we feel wish to free them from suffering. So to so to, I mean, so to have the power, one has to attain the Buddhahood.

Because only then one could free others from saṃsāra. Therefore, for the sake of others, one needs to develop a wish, a pure wish to to attain the Buddhahood. So the wish to attain the buddhahood is the directed toward the the ultimate goal, buddhahood. The its purpose I mean, the purpose of purpose of I mean, directing to that ultimate aim is for the for the sake of other sentient beings. So so that mind has that wish has a I mean, two attributes which is aimed toward the ultimate goal for the and that is for the sake of other sentient beings.

So once that if one once that wish arises within oneself, I mean spontaneously without any effort. So that which is the bodhicitta or the awakening mind. If that wish cannot come arise in oneself spontaneously and effortlessly, so although that is not we’re not called, I mean, bodhicitta, but still that is the it has the same aim and the same nature like the proper bodhicitta. And once that is, I mean, developed, that will become bodhicitta. So the that wish the body the bodhicitta or that that pure wish or that aspiration is directed toward the the ultimate aim, which is the Buddhahood or Buddha, which is free from all faults and which has possesses all qualities.

So only when once one attains that ultimate goal, then one could dispel the I mean, the suffering of other sentient beings, and one could show the the right path of the other sentient beings. So the the complete help to the other sentient beings could be extended only when one attained Buddhahood. So it is very good if we do the meditation on this sevenfold cause and effect to develop the pure bodhicitta. So like the the first point is on the recognizing all sentient beings as mother. So to to think about to meditate upon that point that point, one has to know the the every stages, every reasons.

So as I have mentioned before that the that after knowing the the limitlessness of one’s lives and such things, when we know all sentient beings as one’s mother. And after knowing this all sentient beings as one’s mother, then the the remembrance of their kindness, when we think of that point, that can be that can also be developed as we I mean, as I mentioned before, by first by first thinking of the kindness of one’s own mother in this lifetime and that could be extended to to all other sentient beings. So if all all other other sentient beings are so kind to oneself, then how to repay their kindness is by offering them some everlasting happiness or free them from the the saṃsāra, from its very root. So when one has developed such wish wish and such to repay their kindness by freeing them from saṃsāra. That is the the repaying their kindness.

So after that, we as like a mother feels happy when her only son has some happiness. So like that, after wishing everlasting happiness to all sentient beings, then one has such a wish that may all others should have such happiness. So so that is the the the how to develop it, love. Then after the Like a mother to her only son, the one must develop such wish that Then after that, the if one generate the such attitude that the I will take all responsibility to free all sentient beings from saṃsāra. So once you take the that such I mean, firm resolve.

Like, I mean, for that purpose, if one help I mean, even sacrificing one’s own life. So once we develop such firm determinations, then the we generate the special attitude. After taking the that responsibility, then examining on one’s own present situations, one comes to know that one has no such power, although one wish to have such responsibility. Then, through this process, then one has to know the to have such power is to first to attain the Buddhahood by oneself. Only then one could fully free the other sentient beings.

So once we develop that that pure aspirations to to attain the Buddhahood for the sake of other sentient beings, that’s spontaneously. So that very moment we develop the the bodhicitta. Yes. So if you try to think about this seven point, then surely this would help you to calm down the your coarse mind. Because the the root of the coarse mind is the the self-cherishing or an I-grasping.

So the which I mean, we will talk further in tomorrow. So since that is the the the self-cherishing, it seems it’s the root cause. The bodhicitta is the the opponent force to that self-cherishing. So it oppose the root cause of the cruel mind. So this will be it will be very helpful even when we do this meditation.

I mean, possible every every day.

Translation / བསྒྱུར།

This translation was 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.