Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 85-minute teaching on the Eight Verses of Thought Transformation, Geshe Kyab guides students through a Tibetan Buddhist text on mind training with emphasis on the foundational principle that cherishing other sentient beings is essential to ultimate happiness. He opens with refuge and mandala offerings, then establishes why sentient beings matter: all ordinary and ultimate happiness depends on them, not on self-concern, which only perpetuates samsaric suffering. He explores the second verse on regarding oneself as inferior to others and holding them supremely dear, explaining how this practice cuts through pride and conceit while building humility and respect. Geshe Kyab illustrates with concrete examples—volunteering, giving seats on public transport, small acts of service—and contrasts them with ordinary pursuits like entertainment and politics. He addresses the distinction between pride (negative) and confident self-respect (potentially positive), discusses Nāgārjuna’s teaching on karma and control, and closes by inviting questions on tantric pride and methods for generating bodhicitta through exchanging self with others. Intended for serious practitioners beginning formal study of this influential text.
File metadata (for organising)
File: The Eight Verses of Thought Transformation 2016 10 20.mp3
UUID: 05e57812-ef69-4dfe-ac4e-fd6483ae87ea
Teacher: Geshe Kyab
Collection: Geshe Kyab Eight Verses Thought (Geshe Kyab)
Date: 2016-10-20
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 85.3 minutes
Words: ~7,440
Good evening, everyone. Page thirty-four, please. I go for refuge until I’m enlightened to the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, the Supreme Assembly. By the practice of giving and other perfections, may I become a Buddha to benefit all sentient beings. May all sentient beings have happiness and the causes of happiness. May all sentient beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
May all sentient beings in saṃsāra have happiness that is free from suffering. May all sentient beings abide in equanimity, free from attachment to friends and aversion to enemies. Reverently, I prostrate with my body, speech, and mind. I present clouds of every type of offering, actually arranged and mentally imagined. I declare all my negative actions accumulated since beginningless time.
I rejoice in the merit of all holy and ordinary beings. Please remain until the end of cyclic existence, turn the wheel of Dharma for living beings. I dedicate my own merit and those of others to the great enlightenment. Short mandala offering. IDAM GURU RATNA MANDALAKAM NIRYATAYAMI.
This ground, anointed with perfume, adorned with flowers, the four continents, the sun and moon, imagining this as a Buddha field, I offer it. May all sentient beings enjoy this pure land. Idam Guru Ratna Mandalakam Niryatayami. I send this mandala to you, precious gurus. Now there is a mantra. Thank you.
Sentient beings. There are two beings in this world or this universe, sentient beings and non-sentient beings. Non-sentient beings are non-living beings. In Tibetan we call sentient beings living beings. In Tibetan we call beings who have not yet attained enlightenment, sentient beings.
But all this happiness, according to these Lojong mind training teachings, sentient beings are the most important, more than oneself. Of course, I am a sentient being too. We are sentient beings. But when you do practice, you cannot practice with thoughts of how you feel about it, how people respect me, how people are devoted to me, how people see me—not that way you’re supposed to be practicing. Practice is individual.
Individually, we need to practice. So that means the practice is individual. This book is saying why we need to do practice. What for? Answer is happiness.
Not just happiness, ultimate happiness. So ultimate happiness arises from these sentient beings, not from oneself, from sentient beings. So that’s why sentient beings are the most important in our life. I will repeat this again. Our eating, wearing things, whatever we possess, everything comes from sentient beings.
Happiness comes from sentient beings. Temporary happiness, of course, and then ultimate—there’s no other way we can achieve ultimate happiness without sentient beings. If we could, we would have achieved ultimate happiness now. But we have not achieved ultimate happiness because we only cherish ourselves. That is the problem.
We only attach to oneself. Sometimes even though we say, oh, I cherish others, if you look at that cherishing mind, is it really pure cherishing others? I’m afraid not. Even though we think I’m cherishing others, sometimes if you look at that conception carefully, still we hold something back. Really, we do.
Because this monkey mind is very, very difficult to discipline. Absolutely very difficult to discipline, this monkey mind. Sometimes we, the practitioners, think that I am much better than others because I do practice, I do meditations, I do charity, helping others. Check it out very carefully, you know. If you are helping others, cherishing others without considering any reward or gratification, then I think yes.
I would like to say yes. Your helping others and cherishing others is pure, yes. But if you are expecting something from others when you help others, then you know, a little messed up there. See, then the intention or motivation is slightly—although still it’s good, you are helping others, but then the motivation is somewhat contaminated because you are holding something back. So Buddhism, in particular this book, is saying totally cherish others, not thinking of one’s own benefit.
Of course, when you do this practice, eventually you are the one who is going to get the benefit. But we need not raise or think of any benefit or some sort of reward or award, any gratitude from these sentient beings. We need not raise such a motivation. Whatever you do for others, eventually you are the one who is going to get the results. No one can steal from you.
That is called the practice is individual, meaning that. But unfortunately, we are as normal human beings. This one is called ignorance or another word is stupidity. Something is all the time here holding back.
So this book is saying, no, it’s enough. It’s enough to cherish oneself. Now, time to cherish others if you are seeking ultimate happiness. For instance, my own experience—I’m not saying what the book is saying or what the lama is giving in teachings, my own experience—if you really help others through pure mind, check it out, that happiness, although that happiness is not yet the ultimate happiness, but that happiness is much higher than ordinary happiness. Usually, I divide it into three different happinesses.
Ordinary happiness, a little above ordinary happiness—a little bit higher happiness—then ultimately the ultimate happiness. But when we have not yet approached that high level, you know, on the path or the practices, but we do certain practice. But what I’m saying is if you do help others through pure mind, check it out. That happiness lasts quite long. You feel also, wow, yeah, really.
I did something right, you know. This time I did something right. It’s, you know, you can smile sometimes, really, you know. But other than that, if you only help yourself, yes, we feel good about it, we feel happy, but it doesn’t last long. That’s for sure.
Check it out. You know, don’t believe what Geshe-la is saying. You can just check it out yourself. Then you will find this higher level happiness, you know, when you help others through pure mind, really lasts long, much, much longer than the happiness that arises from helping ourselves.
That’s logic’s perspective. If you look at it that way, then now if you do this practice continually, continually, continually, when you achieve ultimate happiness, wow, that lasts long happiness. I would say permanent happiness. Ultimate happiness is permanent happiness. Permanent happiness means unchangeable happiness.
That happiness would not disappear at all. That’s called permanent happiness. But this temporary happiness can be changed very quickly. One moment we are so happy, but the second moment it’s gone. Everything is gone.
That is called suffering of change. I think I mentioned this before, suffering of change. First moment it was so beautiful, pleasurable, everything, but then eventually miserable, sad. But then with a pure mind helping other sentient beings, that’s great. That is what we need to do.
Of course, when I say other sentient beings, you need not fly somewhere. You need not go somewhere. You need not drive or, you know, sentient beings are within us. As I said before, we can start this practice, you know, first applying to your neighbors, your friends and family and your neighbors, then, you know, a little bit farther, you know, farther than your neighbors, you can start this practice. Oh, now I want to practice, you know, to help sentient beings.
I may need to go somewhere else or maybe Africa or maybe India or maybe China, those poor areas. No. Of course, that’s your wish, you know, but what I’m saying is that you don’t need to go far away to practice this cherishing others. You can just do this practice with your neighbors, friends, and family first, I think. So this is one thing the Lama taught in one teaching.
And there’s also a book, How to Expand Love. How to Expand Love. Beautiful, beautiful. That book really, you know, gives us beautifully the different meditations—the friends and the strangers and then the enemies—how to really bring these three groups of people as one side without discriminating. That will give you so much idea for the meditations.
It’s not so difficult also—how the Lama taught and wrote down in that book—it’s beautiful. You can download it from Amazon.com, How to Expand Love. Dalai Lama and translator was Jeffrey Hopkins. I’m not sure. Maybe Jeffrey Hopkins together.
Beautiful. Instead of reading all these Harry Potters and, you know, Lord of the Rings, all these war movies. What is the worth? I mean, you know, just wasting time. You know, all these fantasy things are, you know, many, many, many books like that.
I mean, Dalai Lama’s books, that’s the real deal to read. I mean, that’s life changing. I’m not saying just because I read it—I taught that book, taught Sunday class in Florida many, many times. Beautiful. People loved it.
You know? Otherwise, all these nowadays, so many books are out there. All these, you know, politics things and war and all these romance books and sex things. Just wasting time. I mean, you all know all these things more than me, I think.
You know? Why do you need to go through this again now? It’s the same thing. Doesn’t matter how much you think it is beautiful. Suffering of change.
Suffering of change. Suffering of change. So now you need to say, enough. Enough now. Déjà vu, I was there before.
Same thing. It is same thing, same thing, same thing. As long as we obtain these contaminated five aggregates, suffering of change. But, you know, everybody does have their own interest. I’m not saying you must do as what I, you know, mentioned here.
I cannot do that, but my duty is I need to encourage people, you know, helping other sentient beings is very important because we all are seeking ultimate happiness. This is teaching, you know. So what you need is you need to understand the core of this teaching, how important other sentient beings are. How important. Sometimes little problems here and there occur.
Why not? Why not? They are sentient beings. I am a sentient being. You know?
Sometimes things happen. But internally, really, in here and in your heart, we’ve got to keep those sentient beings as dear. Really. That’s what we need to do. Totally no bias.
No discrimination. Otherwise, this mind has all the time different projections. Oh, these people are this. These people are that. These people are this.
You know, unbelievable. Especially politics is very, very nasty nowadays. I don’t think there is such kind politics nowadays. Isn’t it? Doesn’t matter wherever you go.
In the United States, look at it nowadays, US, there are, you know, two candidates really very, very strongly criticizing each other. Very, very nasty. I hear in Australia, I hear also in the news, that ABC news, yeah, it’s a little nasty. I mean, what can we do? But, of course, you know, we are Buddhist practitioners, and we must be better than those politicians.
Absolutely. You know? Those are their own lives. So if you do sometimes listen to what they are saying, it’s really not so good, bad tendency. Although I like to watch sometimes, you know, just to get to know what is going on around me, you know, in the United States or India.
But sometimes I feel like it’s not so good to watch those news because it will really build up karmic tendency or karmic imprint. But what I did since I had this idea—if I watch news, maybe I’m going to build many of these karmic tendencies, eventually I may really suffer—so then what I did since then, I do purification immediately. I try to watch it, just go inside my outer room, just do this purification practice.
So that is a little comforting to me because news are sometimes—unfortunately, we need to watch. You know? Otherwise, if you don’t watch news, then this happened long time ago. People called me when I was in my apartment in the United States. Are you okay?
I said, why? I’m okay. No, no. You should be watching news. I said, what is going on?
I think around your area, there are some, you know, people are shooting guns. What? You know, I didn’t know. But after I was watching, just a few buildings from my flat, there were some people shooting guns one evening. I wasn’t watching local news at the time.
Since then, I’m saying, oh, I must watch. You have no idea what is going on around you. You know? It’s dangerous sometimes, really. Florida, I mean, the United States is very, very dangerous place.
Everybody carries guns. A gun is like, you know, a cup of tea. I can go and buy guns if I have money and a credit card. Very, very easy. Very scary place.
So when I came to Australia, I felt a little, okay. You know? But I don’t know now. I’m just one month old here, you know. So anyway, especially people like me wearing monk’s robes, it’s difficult to go out in the evening, you know, because of some crazy people out there, and I’m talking about Florida, they look at you as different and, you know, they could hurt me, you know, but good thing is I never got any problems because I wasn’t going outside in the evening, during the day only.
Point is it’s difficult for us, people like us, sometimes we have to be very careful, you know. Anyway, of course, generally speaking, it’s my own karma. If I do have the karma, I need to go through whatever karma is. But still you can be careful. I mean you must be careful because karma gives rise to the result when karma meets the conditions.
So those conditions can be avoided. So that is my point here. Okay. Anyway, so sentient beings are something like this, you know. If you are seeking ultimate happiness, only sentient beings can lead you to ultimate happiness, cherishing them, and so the practice of patience, tolerance, forgiveness, very, very important.
Very important. Otherwise, all the time, you know, all this pride, prideful mind, arrogant mind. If you attach too much to oneself, then you will develop this arrogant mind and pride and conceit, jealousy, then what is the worth? So that’s why now, we need to change something. Last week, we talked about the second verse. When in the company of others, I shall always consider myself the lowest of all and from the depths of my heart hold others dear and supreme.
Yes. This translation is: May I regard myself as inferior to all and from the depths of my heart cherish others as supreme. So here the inferior and superior is not something that I mentioned last week, downcasting oneself and saying they are very good, I am nothing. We are not talking something like that, some kind of downcasting, not like that.
Here the main thing is saying the superior and inferior—it’s in regards to our own status, my wealth, my knowledge, and my belongings. If I compare with other sentient beings, their knowledge is better, their wealth is better, their body is better. So that’s why we regard other sentient beings as superior, something like that. I am lower than those sentient beings.
This practice helps us to cut out the pride, prideful mind, which is also conceit. I think it is similar—conceit, conceit. You know? So prideful is not good, which I just mentioned. Prideful mind gives rise to, you know, arrogant mind, of course, anger, jealousy, and other mental afflictions.
So now this particular practice can help us to cut out pride. In English, I think pride and proud seem to be similar. For me, proud is not necessarily pride. Proud. I’m proud that I helped others.
I think that’s good, you know, but I don’t know. I think proud for me is much better than pride. Pride is absolutely negative. Proud can be positive, I think, yes. But when you learn, let’s say when I was in the monastery, a young monk, when I was studying in the monastery, at that time we needed—sometimes people called, and older monks called—you need a little pride to get good marks and to get good numbers, you know, to get a good certificate. If you do have pride, you can, you know, be able to study well, you can do well.
But that can be proud, not pride, I think. That’s what I’m thinking. You know, maybe proud, you know. Pride is totally negative. Maybe we need some proud to meditate, a beginner, I mean, you know. Oh, I’m really proud that I can meditate.
That’s a little positive for me, you know. Especially in the monastery, it’s very, very difficult. As I said before, very difficult. You know, we need to study a lot, hours and hours memorizing and then recitation in the evening, then debate in the classes. It’s almost twenty-four hours like this.
And little monk, little brain, so much—I mean, you know, you need all these kinds of teachings and memorizing things. It was very difficult. But I think proud made us keep going, keep going, learn, learn, you know. So then you can eventually get there. But if you have no pride, maybe then you cannot learn what you’re supposed to be learning and studying, I think.
So same thing, I think proud is more positive than negative. Pride is totally negative. That’s what I think. I could be wrong. Okay?
But this particular verse is the antidote to cut out pride. So that’s the main thing here. You know, when you really put other sentient beings before you, you know, then you are lowering yourself before other sentient beings. So this point is, I think, you’re really able to cut out pride. Also, another thing is when we do this prostration, every teaching we do prostration.
What is the meaning of prostration? Why do we do these prostrations? There are long prostrations and short prostrations. There are many, many meanings, you know, for taking prostrations. Main thing is, let’s say a teacher does prostration when he or she tries to put down pride before sitting on the throne to lead the teachings.
I am going to put down my pride on the earth, so no pride at all. Then I will sit down on the throne and teach. If a teacher teaches with pride, then now the teaching is already mixed with pride. Then I think it’s contaminated. So that kind of teaching wouldn’t help the students.
So when students do prostrations, that means I will listen to Geshe-la’s teaching without pride. All these holy Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are witness. Another thing is pride is like, you know, a football. It’s round. If you are, you know, very prideful, then sometimes it’s very difficult to get knowledge.
Oh, I know this, I know that. For example, pride is like a football. It’s rounded. When you drop knowledge, like when you drop water on a football, it doesn’t sit there. It goes away.
It’s rounded. A prideful being finds it very difficult to learn knowledge because he or she thinks, oh, I know this, I know that, because of the prideful mind. So that’s why another thing is pride is not good even when you are really listening to some teachings. So that’s why when a student does prostration, that means I am going to put down my pride on the earth, and I will listen. You are welcoming the teacher’s teachings without pride.
That’s good. I mean, you know, so this way you need to learn whether you want to believe it or not. That is your choice. But when you learn, first thing is that you need to listen to the teachings. Second thing is that you need to contemplate the teachings.
Thirdly, you need to meditate. So this way, you need to learn. Even simple teaching, you need to learn that way. Then I think you are really disciplining your mind. You are listening to teachings, not only just listening to the teachings, but also contemplating the teachings because contemplation is very important.
Contemplation will help you to build mindfulness. Mindfulness will help you so that you wouldn’t forget the teachings or instructions of the meditations. Lack of mindfulness, then you cannot meditate because there are no instructions. Of course, you heard it before, but now lack of mindfulness, all these instructions are gone. You forgot.
You forgot it. Why? Because of lack of mindfulness. So that’s why contemplation will help you to develop mindfulness. Mindfulness is very important. So then finally, meditation, you know, really, you know, that’s more insight.
Then what you need to do—not enough yet. Then all these teachings, meditations, contemplations, eventually you need to apply when things fall apart. That’s what we call fixing now. These are the tools you need to use. Otherwise, what for?
What for all these teachings? What for? Just, you know, cook nice dinner or tea. Watch television. Why do we need to learn all these teachings?
What for if you cannot fix it? Buddhist teachings are meant to be, finally, we need to fix it when problem arises. This is what we call psychology means. You know, you can be your own psychologist—that means that. So that’s why pride is the problem.
So this verse—actually, the first verse—instructs us always to see others as lovely and appealing. This counteracts anger and hostility and is related to the practice of patience, which I mentioned before. This first verse: Determined to obtain the greatest possible benefit from all sentient beings who are more precious than a wish-fulfilling jewel, I shall hold them most dear at all times. That verse—this first verse—teaches us really the practice of patience, tolerance, forgiveness. Think about all other sentient beings as our teacher.
They are as a teacher. Especially the nasty sentient beings. Yes. Especially the nasty sentient beings are our teacher. Those sentient beings who are peaceful, it’s very, very difficult to practice patience because they are peaceful.
You cannot practice patience and tolerance and forgiveness with the Buddha or Bodhisattvas. They are peaceful. But you can practice it with the nasty sentient beings. They are the most really needed help. So that means these nasty sentient beings are considered as our teacher.
So usually in Buddhist books, we call enemies the best teacher. You can learn so many good things. You can also practice patience from enemies. So it’s difficult, but it is possible, absolutely possible. Only we need to understand the core of these teachings.
Now this second verse instructs us to consider our own faults and to practice humility, humility, dignity. So these are humility and dignity. This counteracts attachment to ourselves which makes us do many harmful things in the pursuit of happiness, and therefore is related to the practice of ethical discipline. That’s it. The second one is lowering oneself.
Other people, other sentient beings are superior. I am inferior. So not downcasting, but, you know, try to be more humble, try to be more respectful towards others. Also, as I mentioned before, this practice can be done in a small way when you’re traveling here or there in buses or the train or the metro. And here you also have trams.
When you are sitting, someone is, you know, older people or sick people or disabled or pregnant women, just stand up. Give them your seat. I mean, how nice. You know, you can just stand up yourself. Beautiful.
I mean, you know, something like that also. It is not great, but still it is, you know, mind training. You are really respecting those people who are older than you, especially elderly people who are sick and especially women who are pregnant. No. She has this very precious life in her womb.
I mean, you know, it’s not easy. So respect. How beautiful. So that’s a, you know, small way we can start lowering oneself before others, other sentient beings. There are many, many ways you can do this particular practice.
Of course, main thing is cutting out pride. You know? For instance, many people—I think I said this before—like volunteering. Very, very good volunteer. Cleaning, cleaning like a center like this, you know, kitchen, this gompa, bathroom.
Because when you do these things, you are allowing people who come to Buddha House to have a clean gompa, clean kitchen, clean bathroom. Who did it? You did it. You are the one who cleaned everything. When people come here, they feel such beautiful, they can enjoy.
Look at this. It’s simple, but how beautiful. But only cleaning your own apartment and not helping the center like this, or maybe the Christian or Catholic churches and temples. Same thing if you are going to those churches and temples. Same thing.
Sometimes, good to do volunteer. Nursing homes, homeless shelters, hospice centers, there are many, many people who need volunteers. Sometimes people need to volunteer where there is an earthquake, hurricane, storm, or what do you call that? Also, volunteer. How beautiful.
I mean, these small, small, small things also. You are helping so many people. You are making people happy. Which—I mentioned last week, I respect Mother Teresa very much. Unbelievable.
This little lady, you know, she wore skirts. In India, they called it a sari. I think maybe twenty, thirty dollars’ worth was her sari. But then she goes around the world, she begs, she gets donations. She brings the donations to India, to Calcutta, and she helps sick people.
Unbelievable. Unbelievable. When you look this way, wow. Such a great mother. I mean, you know, this great mother.
Mother. I mean, you know, great mother. I admire her very much, really. She wasn’t wearing any fancy clothes. I don’t think she had cell phones.
I don’t think so. I don’t think she had computers. I mean, unbelievable. This mother is nowadays—I know those other sisters also. I hope they are, you know, following Mother Teresa’s, you know, that path.
I hope so. Point is, if you look that way, there are many, many things we can do to help—lowering oneself to cut out pride. But there are some problems too. When I say to help others, give them your seat, which is maybe okay. One time in New York, I was new in the United States, and I was with my monk friend.
Nowadays, they are not monks. Once they get New York air, all monks disrobe, you know. They see all these beautiful things in Manhattan, and they go to those malls, they see beautiful things. They see many, many beautiful girls, and then that’s it, finished. You know?
Not anymore monk. Many, many of my friends, monks disrobed, but this is their karma. Anyway, I was with my monk friend. He needed help to translate for him. He was going to Bellevue Hospital or something inside the Manhattan area.
We went there, I helped him, and we came out from the hospital walking to the bus station. In front of us, we were walking. There was a very, very old woman, almost eighty. Her body was also like this, you know. She was carrying two heavy bags.
That was the first time in my life in the USA. Then I just felt to go help her. The bus was there. She was going to—I just went to her. My friend pulled me.
What are you doing? You know? I want to help. Oh, no, no. This is not India.
I said, what do you mean? This is not India. People don’t like help. Are you crazy? Look at her.
You know? Remember, I was very new. Then now she tried to get into the bus. When she got into the bus, her bags were outside. When she put her bags inside, she couldn’t do it.
But then now I just went and I just touched her bags. Ma’am, you can go. I will give you. You know what she did to me? This man is stealing my things.
I said, I am a Buddhist monk. I don’t need your things. They’re just junky things. She seems to be homeless. Ma’am, I don’t need your things.
I am a Buddhist monk, but I will help you. I don’t need your help. That’s what—I was shocked. And the conductor, African American, he told her, he is a Buddhist monk. They don’t steal.
He’s trying to help you. Let him help. She said, no. Then I just watched. That’s it.
Then she blocked all of us. She couldn’t get in because once she got in, her things were outside. See? And she couldn’t put her things like this way, but we tried to—but eventually, we helped her. But of course she wouldn’t say thank you, we don’t need it.
But she was so angry. She thinks that I am going to steal her things. That is the first moment I felt like, wow, she maybe, before, somebody may have harmed her. Who knows? Of course, I wouldn’t steal, you know.
I don’t need her—I felt so sad. And then when I came to my center, I mentioned this thing. Geshe-la, in the United States, people don’t help. Even—that’s why people, they sometimes they act as if they help but they still, you know. I said, wow.
I was a little shocked. That’s a culture, what do you call that, clash for me like that. Because in India, I never met in my life in India—thirty years, forty years—I never met when you try to help, they thank you. They take your help. But in the United States, this happened.
But not everyone—one time I helped when I was traveling Amtrak to Virginia from Florida. This woman, when I, like, she said, thank you, monk. Thank you. No, no. You only did ten percent.
But she took my help. But this one in particular, this elderly woman was so angry. She slammed on my wrist. You are stealing. This man is stealing.
She was screaming. I was stunned there, and I said, what is going on here? What? Something is wrong, you know? My mind was—I was numb also because first time in my life someone is telling me stealing.
When I was helping, I was totally—there’s no feeling, good or bad. I was numb, totally. Just, you know, it’s a very strange feeling. Now afterwards when I came, I was saying, wow. Maybe someone harmed her before.
Someone maybe stole something from her. So in Australia, I don’t know. I must be careful here. I don’t know. You know?
But I learned these things, sir. But what I’m saying is sometimes when you try to help others, things like this happen to you, but you need to deal with it, isn’t it? It’s not something that it’s very difficult. Of course, you know, I tried to practice to lower myself, to help her, to cut out my own pride, but then, you know, I did my own practice as much as I can. It’s okay.
But this woman didn’t want my help. Of course, she did it because the conductor told her, no, he’s gone. But this monk would never steal. You know? I said, sir, it’s okay.
Let her say whatever she wants. If she feels good, it’s okay. But eventually, I put her things in. Then the people behind, everybody was yelling at her because she was blocking, you know, us from entering the bus. She was blocking.
I said, let her do it slowly. Please don’t mock her. Everybody was like this. Such impatience. Anyway, something like this sometimes—things like this happen, isn’t it?
But it’s okay. Okay. Anyway, now break for ten minutes. Come back, then I will talk a few things from here, this book. Okay. Now here is Nāgārjuna, in his letter to a friend, suggests a way to overcome this.
We are talking about conceit, how to overcome conceit. Nāgārjuna is, you know, a very, very great, you know, Indian master who taught us so many profound view teachings. Okay? See, down here: Our happiness and suffering depend on our previous actions, and we have no control over this. Involuntarily, we experience pain and suffering because they are the result of our own past negative actions.
Nor can we control how much happiness we experience since it too is the consequence of our actions. So anyway, there are a few things also—other things. Yeah, these are the important things about practicing lowering oneself before others and putting others as, you know, superior to oneself, oneself as inferior, which helps us to cut out conceit—kind of an antidote to conceit or pride. So one thing in this class, what you need to understand: pride is negative. We must really get rid of pride.
So that’s one thing you need to understand. So it’s conceit. It’s the same thing. Thank you. Now I will take some questions.
English speakers.
Those words are very common to one another. So I’m wondering if there are words in Tibetan or Sanskrit that you readily know as well that make that difference more obvious perhaps?
It is just I’m saying, you know, I’m not really differentiating proud and pride. I just—I think when sometimes we call I’m proud, you know, mostly proud seems to be pride. You know? But let’s say, okay. Maybe I will give you this way. Pride—pride is not totally negative, let’s say.
Another term, if I say pride is not totally negative. Pride is negative, but pride not necessarily—everything is negative. Let’s say proud is part of pride, but not negative. Also, you do tantric practice, you need pride. When you do tantric practice.
So you see, that one is more proud than pride. Anyway, when you do tantric meditation as, you know, becoming like oneself as a deity, so you need pride. But that pride is more positive than negative. So see now, different. You know?
So that means pride is not totally negative. Pride is negative, but not necessarily—every pride is not necessarily negative. Now it makes a little sense now? Yeah. So that point is I’m saying proud is positive.
See? I’m proud of this and that. You know? Go ahead.
So then would proud perhaps be closer in your meaning to being confident?
What is that? Confidence. Confidence. Okay. Would you think that it’s closer to meaning confident rather than more egocentric or?
Yes, confidence is positive, self-confidence, which is very important. So self-esteem, I’m not sure it is totally positive or not. See, I’m talking Buddhist perspective, you know. Self-esteem and self-confidence may be a little different. For me, self-esteem is more self-centered.
That’s what I think. Self-confidence is positive. However, self-confidence can be negative. See, Buddhism is saying everything depends—see how would be self-confidence. If your self-confidence is, you know, like most self-centered sort of self-confidence, then it is negative.
Other than that, confidence is—let’s say, you are, you know, when you meditate, when you listen to teachings, that kind of self-confidence is positive, for instance. Everything depends on what are the circumstances. Depends on that, and we can say that self-confidence is negative and this self-confidence is positive. But there is no one particular answer for self-confidence. Okay.
It can be either one. Okay? Yeah.
So I was thinking of the word self-respect.
Mhmm. Same thing. Self-respect also. Self-respect is very important. You know?
Self-respect can be positive. Self-respect can be negative. It depends on motivation. So if your motivation is pure, then that self-respect can be positive. It depends on motivation and intention also, I think.
Go ahead.
And Geshe-la, was Nāgārjuna considered to be enlightened? And do you know when he lived?
Was Nāgārjuna considered to be an enlightened being? And do you know when he lived? What years he lived? After Buddha, five hundred years after Buddha. Yeah, after Buddha.
At that time, he wasn’t an enlightened being at the time. But, of course, nowadays, you know, it must be, you know, almost now one thousand and—almost two thousand years, I think, you know. So maybe he already attained enlightenment. But at the time when Nāgārjuna, you know, came into this world after Buddha passed—five hundred years after Buddha passed away—he was a monk.
But sometimes some books say Nāgārjuna was the manifestation of Buddha. Buddha manifested. But his form was an ordinary monk. Ultimately they are saying that Nāgārjuna was also the second coming of Buddha. Second—second term of the Buddha.
Buddha came a second time into this world like that. But, you know, depends how you look at him and how you want to see him as what—Buddha or whatever. But generally speaking, Nāgārjuna was just a monk, and after he became very popular, you know. So everything depends how you perceive him.
Okay, anyone? Go ahead. Lindy.
When you were talking earlier about Theravadins, around the time of the Buddha, many, many Theravadin Buddhas, not so many Vajrayāna. Can you explain, do they see Buddha as omniscient, fully enlightened, at a level different to the self-actualized state that you were discussing earlier of being in nirvana, but not fully omniscient?
You mean do they see Buddha—Theravāda perspective. How do they see Buddha? Yeah. That’s a good question, but that’s hard to say, you know, because how they—they may see Buddha as an enlightened being, but they don’t call—the Buddha taught the Mahāyāna teachings. They think Mahāyāna does not exist. They think Buddha never taught Mahāyāna at all.
They think Buddha only taught teachings, you know, Theravāda teachings. So that’s why they think Mahāyāna does not exist at all, you know. But I cannot give you the perfect answer for this one because if I give you one answer, the perspective of how they were saying Mahāyāna does not exist, first of all. That perspective, Śākyamūni Buddha, after you’re free from saṃsāra, maybe that’s—maybe fully enlightened, you know, fully enlightened. You know?
Then some of these Theravāda practitioners—I’m not talking about every Theravāda practitioner. Some Theravāda practitioners, they engage Mahāyāna. They think enlightenment is not enough yet. You need to go through again something else. See?
But there is some mixed understanding. But there was very, very strong Theravāda practitioners in India. I think because Mahāyāna or Vajrayāna teachings are very advanced, people find it very difficult to practice. Another thing is maybe sometimes practitioners do have a little selfishness also or maybe sometimes they have this blind faith. Oh, no, no.
I don’t—I wouldn’t accept. Buddha never taught Mahāyāna teachings, only Theravāda, you know. Possible. Mahāyāna thinks, oh, no. Buddha taught both, you know.
But it’s very difficult to say exactly how this conflict happened. But one thing is sure, Nāgārjuna’s own cousin or nephew, said that Mahāyāna does not exist. Mahāyāna is like a sky flower. My uncle is following this sky flower—nonexistence, you know. But I don’t think all Theravāda practitioners believe such a thing like this.
For instance, all these sixteen Arhats, Buddha House was painting sixteen Arhats. Sixteen Arhats are considered as sixteen Arhats, which is mostly the Theravāda Arhat, you know. But they do believe Mahāyāna, you know. Some of them already achieved enlightenment nowadays, you know. Some do say Mahāyāna doesn’t exist.
Some do believe Mahāyāna exists. How many percentage of Theravāda are saying this and that? I don’t know. It’s hard to say, you know. Last question on this side.
Go ahead, sir.
So a good practice to keep this would be exchanging oneself with others and seeing all other sentient beings as one’s mother? Is that a good practice?
Absolutely, yes. This will actually come in, I think, after a few verses, yes, you can do that. That’s one of the practices. It’s called how to generate bodhicitta. Exchange self and others.
You know. And also there is another one called the seven causes and effect. So two different ways you can generate bodhicitta. That’s a good one. Also at this point you can practice that one too.
But I didn’t say this one today, this will come after two or three verses, you know. But actually the exchange self and others, is one kind of generating bodhicitta, and seven causes and effect which is seeing all sentient beings as one’s mother, et cetera. So these are the two different Mahāyāna practices and meditations one can do to generate bodhicitta. These are the only Mahāyāna practitioners who can do it.
See, because these are Mahāyāna teachings. In order to do this—to generate bodhicitta—you need great compassion. See? That makes Mahāyāna very, very great, which is we call great vehicle—Mahāyāna. Mahāyāna means great vehicle.
So because of the great compassion. Great compassion is the border between Mahāyāna and Theravāda. Once you possess great compassion, then you are entering the Mahāyāna path. Theravāda practitioners have not yet entered Mahāyāna because they have not developed great compassion. But their compassion is much, much, much, much higher than our compassion.
Don’t think this mistakenly, oh, Theravāda practitioner, nothing. Oh, no. As I said last time, there are millions or billions and billions and billions of times better than us. Oh, yes. Even though you achieve Theravāda Arhat peace, they already approached their own nirvana.
There are two different nirvanas. Nirvāṇa with remainder and nirvana without remainder. So you need to know now these things—they already approached their own nirvana. They are very, very high. I mean, unbelievable.
But if you compare with us, we are just nothing if you compare them. But still, they are great practitioners. They do possess compassion which is much, much higher than our compassion, but not yet great compassion. So that’s why great compassion becomes so much unique, so much great, so greater than their compassion. Okay?
So you can hear these two different—generating bodhicitta—next or next time in more detail from me. Good question. Thank you. Dedication, please. Okay, today we are going to dedicate from the Buddha House book, number thirteen.
Lot of Dharma accomplished. Thank you very much.