Seven-Point Mind Training — 1984-11-27

Seven-Point Mind Training (Geshe Doga)

Seven-Point Mind Training — 1984-11-27

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

About this talk. In this 49-minute teaching, Geshe Doga introduces the Seven-Point Mind Training by establishing the philosophical foundation: the necessity of unifying both wisdom and method to transcend saṃsāra. He explains that wisdom alone (understanding emptiness) or method alone (bodhicitta and compassion) cannot achieve liberation without the other. For beginners, he emphasizes practicing bodhicitta first, then moving to the ultimate mind generation—the realization of emptiness. Geshe Doga walks through the nature of emptiness using a glass as example: phenomena lack inherent, independent existence but depend entirely on causes and aggregates. He guides practitioners through examining the mistaken conception of a permanent, independent self, showing how meditation on this emptiness leaves no room for ego-grasping. In the post-meditation period, when desire, hatred, or anger arise, he teaches a tonglen technique: visualizing that by taking these afflictions upon yourself, all other beings are freed from them. He concludes by introducing the third of the seven transformations—converting adverse circumstances into the path by recognizing ego-grasping as the root cause of all suffering. The teaching assumes some prior familiarity with Buddhist practice and terminology.

So that once practice and the listening of Dharma would cause other sentient beings happiness and to free them from this bondage of saṃsāra. So today, I’m not going to mention about the all those stages of visualization. So as I have mentioned in previous sessions, So with the right physical posture, we meditate on the Śākyamūni Buddha as we did in the last few days. So let us finish the meditation and, you know, have a rest. So as Candrakīrti has said that a bird with a flap, isn’t it?

One what do call? Wing. A wing. Sorry. A bird with a one a wing can fly beyond the ocean.

So only a bird can fly along I mean, to its beyond the oceans only if that has both wings. So in the same case, We need both wisdom and method to go beyond this world. Can’t go beyond this samsaric world merely with our wisdom of I mean, merely with the wisdom of emptiness or merely with wisdom or merely with the method, such as bodhicitta and compassion. So we need to practice. We need the the unification of practice on both the wisdom and method.

So the the wisdom is the the wisdom of emptiness or that ultimate mind generation, and the method is the bodhicitta, or the awakened mind, or the conventional mind generation. In some texts, the conventional mind generation was explained first and then followed the ultimate mind generation. But for the beginners of Dharma practitioner, they are practicing only conventional mind generations or the bodhicitta should be done first. And it is more important to to do the practice first and then to study only the ultimate truth so that they could they they can understand that ultimate truth easier with less and with less dangers. So we finished the explanation on the the conventional mind generation or bodhicitta.

Yeah? So now we are dealing with the the ultimate mind generation, that is the realization of emptiness. So we should know what is that empty. What emptiness is empty of? So, the emptiness is empty of existence of any phenomenon or inherent existence of any phenomenon.

So so we must know the right object of emptiness. So every phenomenon, lacks the true existence or inherent existence. So to know that one must know what that means by truly existing or the inherent existence. So only then one can understand that the the every phenomenon So as we see in in case with this glass, It doesn’t exist inherently or truly. So the non inherent existence is the ultimate truth of this glass or is the emptiness of this glass?

If this glass exists inherently or truly, then it should exist independently, exist without depending on its causes, without depending on any other phenomenon. So if if this glass exists inherently, so it should it should exist independently, mostly. So to pick up the emptiness of this glass in a very rough form, one can think like that the that this class doesn’t exist inherently or truly because the existence of these glasses depended to its causes, the collection of causes. So in fact, it is it exists only with dependence to some other phenomena, other things. So it doesn’t exist from its own right, from its own side.

Therefore, it should be it must exist untruly or non inherently. So this glass doesn’t exist independently. Yeah?

It depend on its causes and some other other things, other phenomena. Therefore, we must negate that independent glass. That independent glass is non existence. There is no such independent glass in this table. So, after being completely negating that independent glass, then only we would know the emptiness of that glass.

But when we negate that independent glass, it doesn’t mean that we negate the the the conventional glass. So what we should negate is that the glass which has the nature of that independent existence. So that is nonexistence. That doesn’t work. That doesn’t help us.

Not the the the the conventional glass that we perceive mostly. So, intellectually, we know that this doesn’t exist independently. But still we perceive this glass with some independent appearance in our mind. So, perceiving in that manner oh, I mean, the the perception within us, which perceives this glass in the manner of independent existence. Concept is the concept of independent existence of phenomena.

So in the same way, the, I would say, the the I or the self, which also doesn’t exist independently or inherently. So the concept which hold that I exist independently. The concept that holds the I exists without depending on the collection of aggregates or without depending on any of our aggregates. That conception is the concept of independent self existence And the the opposition of that concept is a concept of non inherent existence of self or personal selflessness. So the the self or the eye has has no nature of existing by its own mode of nature.

It exists with dependent on our aggregates, our five aggregates. But self depends not only on our consciousness, our body, but on any of our aggregates. It has no self entity. I mean, self-sufficient entity. We may know that the I or the Self is dependent on our consciousness, our mind, and also our body.

Because when we find some unhappiness in our mind, naturally we say that I feel unhappy. In the same way, when our physical body is so healthy and good, we say, I feel happy. So this indicates that the existence of ourselves is dependent on depend on the the our mind and and the body. So to know the real nature of the Self, one must examine the mistaken conceptions which are within oneself and which holds our one’s self independently. So, one must analyze that conception.

How it holds its object? How that object appears to that conception. They know that it holds in such a way the self exists in its own right without depending on any of our aggregates. And then think, is that the real nature of that self? Is that the truth of that self?

That is not true. Since the the self should have its own process and an existence of self should depend on some any of our aggregates. So, therefore, by analyzing in this way deeply, and then at last, one understands that the self lack I mean, it lacks such inherent qualities which is hold by that mistaken conceptions. If one understands that, then then one has realized the the emptiness of self to some extent. Yeah.

So the clear realization of the emptiness of self depends on one’s deep knowledge of the truth of that self. So by knowing the the real reasons of the Self being empty, dependent, or the Self is being empty of that inherent existence, then one must meditate upon the real nature of self. While one does the meditation on that truth of self, at that moment there is no place within oneself to arise that mistaken conception, the very root of the saṃsāra. So while we while one does meditation on that emptiness, there’s no room for that mistaken conception. Now now I will mention this.

After that meditation, what one has to do mostly? Now during the post meditational period, there is chance of producing such desire and hatred and anger. So there is a chance of producing the desire when one sees some very pleasant object. When that desire arise, the at that time, one should think that the same like oneself, many other beings also produce such desire by seeing such seemingly pleasant objects. So, then think.

That by arising the desire within myself, let all others not produce such desire. And think that the cause to arise such desire in other beings fall upon me. By this desire, let other people don’t have experience such desire. And just thinking in this way, we visualize that the all other has no such desire. So in the same way, during that post-meditational period, if you happen to produce another mental affliction like the ignorance and hatred, one should do the same visualization.

And also while one goes and sleeps, one should, if possible, also recite such words that the that let mind all my virtuous action I mean, action be shared with all other beings. And let these sufferings and pains of other being be fall upon me. So, till then we finished among the seven point mind transformations, The first two. Now the third one is the changing of adverse circumstances to the path.

Okay. The meaning of that title is that there is time for everyone. To experience such harm from other people, to experience such not fulfilling of one’s wishes. Frustrations or such, I mean, misfortune happening. So so by that title, it means that during such misfortune circumstance, one must try to change that misfortune circumstance to the cause of attaining the enlightened mind.

Now how to do that that change? So, during such circumstance, Normally, we usually find out the causes of that suffering to other people or things around us. So now, instead of that, one should pinpoint the main causes of all this to one’s own ego Ego grasping.

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.