Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 104-minute teaching, Geshe Kyab works through the first two principal aspects of the path from Lama Tsongkhapa’s classical text: renunciation of this life and renunciation of future samsaric lives. He begins with foundational context about the cosmos and human lifespan, then focuses on two key verses that explain how to reverse attachment to worldly appearances. The core material centres on karma: its definition as action and its fruits, four definitive features (karma is certain; karma multiplies; undone actions yield no results; done actions never disappear), and three types of karma based on the feelings they produce. He stresses mindfulness and immediate regret as practical antidotes to negative karma, draws on real-world examples (parking, hurricanes, suicide), and explains how karma operates across lifetimes through the continuous subtle consciousness. The teaching is punctuated by extensive anecdotes about Australian road safety, his visit to an Austrian valley, and a compassionate dialogue with a student whose daughter died by suicide. Pitched at practitioners new to Buddhist philosophy but with no background assumed.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 2016 10 11.mp3
UUID: 064da99b-9e50-4cd7-b2aa-713d5edb029b
Teacher: Geshe Kyab
Collection: Geshe Kyab Three Principal Aspects (Geshe Kyab)
Date: 2016-10-11
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 104.0 minutes
Words: ~10,669
Good evening, everyone. Page thirty four, please. I go for refuge until I’m enlightened in the Buddha, Dharma so we may accomplish it. Through the practice of the six perfections, may I become a Buddha to benefit all sentient beings. May all sentient beings abide in happiness and in the causes of happiness.
May all sentient beings be free from suffering in the causes of suffering. May all sentient beings not be separated from happiness that is free from suffering. May all sentient beings abide from equanimity, free from attachment for friends and hatred for enemies. Reverently, I prostrate with my body, speech, and mind. I present clouds of many types of offerings to you.
I declare all my negative actions accumulated since beginningless time. Rejoice in the merit of all ordinary beings. Please remain until the end of cyclic existence and return the wheel of Dharma for living beings. I dedicate my own merits, those of all others, to great enlightenment. This crown with the flowers adorned with the sun and the moon.
Thank you. I will review the two verses from last week. How to generate renunciation? Freedom and endowments are difficult to find and life has no time to spare; by gaining familiarity with this, attraction to the appearances of this life is reversed.. So that’s the first one.
Second one is by thinking over and over again that actions and their effects are unerring. And repeatedly contemplating the miseries of cyclic existence, attraction to the appearances of future lives is reversed. When you look at the read these two verses and try to understand these two verses, whatever it says in the words, that it doesn’t make sense why we should not be attached to the next life or so also this life. A little complicated, but this is very, very much reality. In order to understand the core of these two verses, it’s very very important that the teacher must explain to the students very clearly.
In order to do so, there are a few tools you need to understand. Mostly, here we are talking about this life is easy to understand. We all do understand this life. I don’t know how long or how many years, what would be our lifespan time. It’s very difficult to know.
You know, there are some men and women. I think the longest life span time, their life span time was one hundred and twenty five or one hundred and fifteen something like that. But these are very rare to be people living over one hundred years. Usually in the Buddhist book, it’s the saying this era or this time of the life is the tse lo gyama, which means a hundred years. Just the idea, you know, years.
Many of us under the hundred years may pass away. Only some people may live more than one hundred years. But we are talking about the human, this particular human lifespan time. We are not talking about the other human lifespan time. When I say human beings in Buddhist perspective, we are not only focusing this particular human being, the human world, which we call earth.
You know, in Sanskrit. English translation is what they call earthly beings, which are the six continents. I mentioned last time Asia, Australia, Europe, South America, North America, Antarctica these are called the six continents. So these are the six continents. Beings who live in these six continents, I mean human beings who live in these six continents, these are what we call the Dzambuling gi drowa, which means human beings who live in the earth or world.
World is the only six continents. How many billions of human beings? Seven? Six or seven, I think. Something like that.
This particular world, a combination of six continents, is the south side of the Mount Meru, which is the once I mentioned to you. When we do mandala offering like this, middle of this is considered as Mount Meru, then there are four directions. Now south from Mount Meru, this particular human world, the six continents, human world is on the south side of Mount Meru. That means we are a very tiny part of the actual universe. But, of course, our pride is much, much bigger than our own world.
But that’s because we have not seen the other world and also we have not learned the other part of the world and we have no knowledge about the other part of the being’s knowledge, but then we only think that we are the only human beings in this universe. The universe is very different than just the world. The world is part of the universe. When we say universe, my perspective is saṃsāra now. It’s much easier.
You know, khorwa, big, big idea. Nowadays, the scientists in science talk about different planets or like that or alien. I do believe, actually, I do. This is not something that for us is new because we learn all these things in the Buddhist texts. Are many, many different planets, of course, but I have not seen.
But I do believe there are so many other beings out there. Some of the beings are formed as we are. Some of the beings are not formed but still do exist. Even though not only just beings, human beings, let’s say human beings. I just mentioned to you that when we do this mandala offering, if you look at this long mandala, they explain to you everything.
Sha, Lu, Pa, Ho, Dzambuling, No, Balang, Chang, Daminy — East part of the human beings. Ho, Dzambuling is the Dzambu continent, is the South, and then the West, and then the North part of the human being. Each of these human beings has a very unique body and a very unique form. But I have not seen it. I’m just telling you what Buddha’s text says.
It says the north part of the human being. That means that part of the world is north side from the Mount Meru. We are south. It says that those human beings who live in the north part of Mount Meru, Chang Daminy, actually they hear unpleasant sound all the time. It is very much disturbing them.
And also saying that there are human beings in the south, which is what we are. Now, if you do learn these kinds of things, for instance, I learned these things from my perspective, I was saying can north part of the human being exist? Because it says their body is like butter, actually. But when we hear the body is butter, maybe it’s very easy to melt down. From our side is easy to melt down because it’s a butter.
But then their side is saying, oh, the south part of the Mount Meru, those beings are flesh beings. You know, flesh must be very smelly. Now it makes a lot of sense, isn’t it? See? We are judging them.
They are judging us. We are judging them, oh, they are butter, their bodies are butter, then what would be if there is a very strong sun? Okay, for the winter, you know, but then what would be summer? Then it’s going to be melt. We just automatically think that way.
The same thing is they also think that the south part of the human being must be very smelly because of the flesh. But both are wrong. Of course, after you know, we die, of course, then our body is, you know, disintegrated, which is decomposed, which is very different, same as like them also. But both are, you know, their body wouldn’t melt down or their body wouldn’t get any sort of bad smell. If you don’t take a shower, then I don’t know.
That’s a different case. But we are talking here about bad, bad smell. Only after you die, you get that kind of smell. Why we don’t get this kind of bad smell and their body is not part of the beings and does not melt down their body because of their consciousness. Mind exists in it.
Mind is in it in their body. As long as you are alive, both of us, then that’s it. If you take a shower, you’re okay. But the same thing is that they I don’t know if they take a shower or not, don’t ask me that question. The point is that as long as they are alive, it doesn’t matter how heat would be, their body would not melt down because of the power of their consciousness or mind.
They are alive. But once we die, you know what I’m talking about. As long as consciousness is not in it, then it’s a different case. The same thing as them — as long as their mind is not in it, then their body will melt down. See, called other side.
Do you call that? Decompose? Dissolution? Yeah, it disintegrates, you know? They melt down and so that’s it.
You know, for us, it’s the body gets more now disc discomposed like that. That’s different, you know. But what I’m saying here is to see universe or the human beings, we are not only human beings in this universe. There are many, many, many different worlds and many different human beings, so is the different other beings too. Okay, that’s one thing I’m just trying to, you know, I thought it was good to know.
Main thing is that the universe is considered as a big idea. It’s saṃsāra or a cyclic existence. Now I am going back to these verses. The first verse was talking about the attraction to the appearances of this life is reversed. So this one is talking about if you do learn these ten endowments and eight leisures or eight freedoms that we obtain.
So it’s the ten endowments. If you do learn such a human life, obtain but then, you know, it’s still very easy to disappear. You know, it is impermanent. You know, if you do learn these these teachings, so then now we can able to really cut out attachment towards this life. Of course, you know, a little attachment is not a big problem.
Sometimes we do grasp very strongly this life. It is very difficult to let go sometimes, isn’t it? Someone is passed away especially in the western countries which I find even in Europe, of course, the same as America here too. Culturally, traditionally we are very different. People very much grieve somebody’s passed away and so is also know something is happening to them They are very much grasping, you know, very much craving and strong attachment towards this life.
So that’s why this particular practice, if you do it, this will help us to cut out the attachment, strong attachment towards this life. The translation is sometimes not so happy. I will go through Tibetan, then I will translate myself. Yes, we obtained such a life which I mentioned eight leisures and ten endowments, but now it is beautiful or wonderful, but then, you know, there wouldn’t be any predictions how long we live in this world. It doesn’t matter how poor you are, how rich you are, how famous you are, but then one day we need to depart from this life.
That’s our final destination. If you learn the history of how many famous people already passed away, every day if you look at the news, you can see the news. Know, such famous and very, very worldly knowing people, very rich people, or poor people, you know. Time comes, everybody must be departed from this life. So what is worth it?
So much craving, so much attachment towards this life. So if you look at it this way, someday it would be a detachment towards this life. Still, there would be some attachment. It’s okay. I’m not talking about the good ones, but I’m talking about strong attachment that you couldn’t let go.
So that kind of attachment I’m talking about here. If you do this practice again in a daily basis, you can be able to cut out the strong attachment towards this life. The second one is the Lende Melukpa’i Dönga Nam, Yejin Semna Chimé Nangshé Dok. Second one is by thinking over and over again the actions and their effects are unerring. That means actions are the karma.
That’s what we call karma. Today I will give you, I’ll also teach you something about the karma too. Actions, once you’ve done it, there will be results. It’s totally definitive. Certain fruits.
That is called Lende Melukpa. Khorwa’i düngal, then at the same time, you need to understand the suffering of the saṃsāra. At this point, it’s supposed to be that we need to teach the suffering of human beings, suffering of animals, the hungry ghosts, suffering of hell realm, suffering of demigods, god realm like that but sometimes it’s very difficult to teach these kinds of things in the west because people are not so happy. I don’t know Buddha House students In my center in Florida, sometimes they are not happy to hear so much suffering. Think pessimism.
Actually, it’s totally opposite. If you learn this one, optimistic, not pessimistic. Actually, would be hope if you do learn, but people think that Buddhism is totally only pessimistic like that. So, absolutely not because, as I said before, Dharma teachings are the mirror. See?
This is what you need to understand. Mirror, you can see a reflection of your face. You can fix it. In the morning, we all do whatever it is. Mirror is very helpful, isn’t it?
Same thing, all these Dharma teachings are considered as a mirror. Until you hear all these teachings, then you would understand the old false or mistakes. Then we can be able to fix it. There are so many antidotes or so many tools and techniques you can use, and you can fix it. So that’s why understanding suffering is very, very important.
It’s very important. When we teach the four noble truths, the first thing is we need to talk about the noble truth of suffering. People say, Oh, just first teaching of suffering? It’s a little naive actually, really. Naive, you know.
I mean it. It’s a little naive but if you look at their perspective, it’s understandable because of the different cultures. For us, when we were very young, ten, eleven years old, we hear all these things again and again from our teacher, from our mother and father. For us, it’s very much like a cup of tea, let’s say, maybe like that. All the time we can hear, not only just hear all of these things, also they will show you.
That’s why the Tibetan people, which is a good thing, they go to the holy places like Bodh Gaya, Varanasi, especially when I was a very, very young age, my teacher took me to Varanasi. Not only just Varanasi, which is Sarnath, he took me to the Ganges River. Do you know why? Because Ganges River, there are so many cremations. I was scared.
I saw those funerals and cremations out there. Unbelievable! Then he was saying this is the final destination, suffering of death. And he taught us, he was giving some teachings also there. When we come back, really here, even though you were so young, little here.
Oh, yeah. I mean, because we saw babies there. We saw young men, young women. I I would like to say boys and girls, very young age. We saw all ones.
See everything. Some of them are the same age as I was. See? So that helps us to, course, you know, sometimes a little scary, but it’s okay. It’s okay to be a little fearful.
Scared. It’s not a big problem. But you learn many things. These are the reality. These are the facts.
So that’s why for our side, teachings about the suffering is very much understandable. As you get older, all of these teachings make a lot of sense. But then here in the west, it’s difficult sometimes, you know, talking about many things about the suffering, especially the death and dying, you know, things like that. For us, it is very important preparation, you know. If you do listen to the death and dying teachings, I don’t know the Buddha house can be able to organize that death and dying teachings for one special teaching I give to Judy and Lindy, you know, their wish.
They ask me some special teachings, titles, and subjects. I give them one of the titles that was death and dying. Do people want to learn or not? I don’t know. But for me, it’s good to learn because then you know the moment of death what to do and what to think.
So there is a preparation. If you don’t know nothing about it, we are the same as just dying one animal. We must be better than that one. Such a precious life we all obtain. We must learn something, you know.
I used to give an example when the military go to war, Iraq or Vietnam people went to war, the military, before they go to war, they need to learn all these geography mapping things. They need to learn where they’re supposed to need to go, where they’re supposed to be or should not be going. All these things are in advance. They need to learn, isn’t it? Once they learn, then now they can go there.
When they go there, they know everything is now the robes and mountains. They know exactly where they are supposed to be needed to go, and they will not get any harm from the enemies. If they don’t know nothing about it, they may go to the wrong direction. Then what would be? They could hurt, they could get killed like that.
Something like this. Death is the final destination. It’s not a big deal. Before dying is the problem. Just dying is very simple.
One of your exhalation or inhalation stops and after sometimes finished. It’s very quickly, you know. But then now, the mystery is after death. Would it be? And during this process, that one is critical now.
So during the process, that is exactly the death and dying that will teach you what to think about. There are so many appearances. There are twenty five gross level dissolutions for elements and sūtra like that. Each of these gross levels dissolve one after another so now there would be some meditation you can do. You will understand that this is because you learn this in advance.
So this point is that you will be much, much, I would like to say, very easy death. Peaceful death. What I would call it. Peaceful death does not mean that he or she wasn’t screaming or not moving the body. No.
You never know what is going on inside. That’s more critical for us. If you’re scared to death, if you are so much insight, all these negative emotions are arising, that’s very, very dangerous. But if you do learn the death and dying, then you know all this death process. So then that’s not scary, you know.
Almost you are thinking, you are meditating. Okay, now this is happening. Okay, now this is happening to me. So during that, you can also do the meditation and the mandala dissolution. It’s beautiful actually.
Really, really beautiful, you know. But we need to learn now when you are alive. The good practitioners learn death and dying. It is called Ku Sum Lamjor. Chöku, Lönku, Chöku.
Dying as the dharmakaya body of the Buddha. That means when you go to sleep, you need to practice: I am dying with the dharmakaya body of the Buddha. When you are dreaming, you are in the intermediate state. Enjoyment body of the Buddha. Chöku, Lönku, Chöku — when you are dreaming, when you sleep and when you are dreaming, that time is the intermediate state, which is the enjoyment of Buddha.
When you wake up, new fresh body, Chava Choku, emanation body of the Buddha. Reborn again, see? Emanation body of the Buddha. Chöku, Lönku, Chöku. These are the practices you can hear from the death and dying, and you can do this practice when you go to sleep.
We all go to sleep, isn’t it? Every day we go to sleep, so then you can practice. Then think about all these processes. See? I think your sleep will be much better.
You don’t need to take any sleeping medicines, I think, because there are some things you are thinking. Then during the dream, you will also have another process of the enjoyment body of the Buddha. Then when you wake up, there is a new body, new life, emanating body of the Buddha. Something like that. I am just giving you a little preview of an appetizer like that.
You really want to learn death and dying teachings, then I already gave to Judy and Lindy this title. Remember? So, people can give suggestions, yes, want to learn. One day, they will put it down on their newspaper. The point is that it’s important to learn suffering.
First thing is that we need to learn Lende Melukpa. Karma is totally definite once you accumulate the karma. The second thing is we need to learn the suffering of saṃsāra, samsaric suffering. We can as a human being, all are suffering. Suffering of dissatisfaction, suffering of aging, suffering of death, suffering of birth.
Look at the harmony of sufferings. Unbelievable. Suffering of losing someone, suffering of not getting something that you wanted. There are so many sufferings, isn’t it? So if you bring this practice again and again in a daily basis, someday, then now this will help us to detachment towards next life also.
Okay, now this point is, as I mentioned before, why would be next life? We are talking exactly to remember mentioned the real saṃsāra is the internal saṃsāra contaminated five aggregates. Remember, five aggregates. As long as you obtain, doesn’t matter next life or this life or next to next life, this contaminated five aggregates, you will continually be suffering. So that’s what we are talking about here.
Next life. Contaminated body and mind again if you obtain. So then now, same thing, know, would be need to go through pain and suffering. It doesn’t matter wherever you reborn. So now these are the ways are cutting out attachment towards next life is the samsaric next life.
We are not talking about becoming Buddha or becoming this high level of the bodhisattva’s bhūmi. No, we are talking about totally samsaric It doesn’t matter what life you are going to obtain as long as it is contaminated with five aggregates. Same problem. Even though long life has got such a long life, the same problem. Pain and suffering.
That is why this karma understanding the karmic law of cause and effect. Once you’ve done the karma, is once you take the actions, there will be results. Now think about the daily basis every day. How many karma we are accumulating? Unbelievable.
Mentally, verbally, physically, do say, we do take actions, we do think. So many karma, countless of karma, accumulate. This point is that need faith on karma, really, which is very important. Understanding the suffering of saṃsāra, this will help us to cut out the attachment towards the next life. Now, As I mentioned, order to understand the karma is more definite, what exactly does it mean karma?
That’s what we need to understand. Sempa in Tibetan, we call Sempa. The English translation is the action. That is called karma. Here is the definition of karma is the action and its fruits.
Fruits total totally of all virtues and non virtuous actions and their fruits. karma is not only the non virtues. Also, I mean, not only the virtues. Also, the I mean, not only non virtues, also the virtuous karma too, both negative and positive karma. The totally of all virtues, which is the positive one or non virtues, which is the negative actions and their fruits.
These are called karma. When I say actions, only we can accumulate karma from the body, speech, and mind. That’s it! There is no fourth body involved, only bodily karma, verbally and mentally. This point is the last time I mentioned the ten non virtuous actions.
The ten non virtuous actions means we must really vigilant. We must be vigilant on our daily basis. We are very, very vulnerable to taking ten non virtuous actions. So that is why every day these ten non virtuous actions we need to meditate and we need to think about this again and again. You know, especially when it’s very easy to sometimes, verbal, you are very much talkative, if you talk too much, it’s very, very important to really you need awareness of what to say and what not to say.
Sometimes, if you have no mindfulness, then you may say things that could harm somebody else. See? So at this point, mindfulness is also very, very important. You need to do mindfulness meditation. Tiamba!
Mindfulness. Lack of mindfulness, sometimes we do take wrong actions even though some of us may be practicing well. Lack of mindfulness sometimes we do say things not good. Physically we do, we may take some actions not good. Mentally, we may be thinking something that not good.
Why? Because of lack of mindfulness. Mindfulness practice is not only the spiritual side that is important. Mindfulness practice is important for every occasion. When you are driving, you need mindfulness.
But for me, it seems here in Adelaide seems to be a little better than Florida. I was driving in Florida. Oh, yes. I did a lot of mindfulness practice. It’s not easy.
Yeah. It’s a even though even though you do practice mindfulness, you are not, doing any wrong when you drive. It’s very very dangerous in Florida. All the drivers are not practicing nothing even though they don’t care for it. It says don’t use your phone but they do use their phones.
In Florida, a big problem, an accident arises from the very, very, very older people, so it’s the young one. That’s the main problem we have here. Because young men and women, maybe eighteen or sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, once they get learning permission, they drive. But they didn’t learn well. They drive and they drink and they do everything, you know.
And now we have some elderly people, men and women, 80s and 90s, still they drive. Their eyes are not good. Sometimes they drive. When they park, they are supposed to put their leg on the brake, at some point, put on the gas pedal. Then when they park, sometimes, you know, in my area, there is one plaza.
One time I was there shopping, and I was finished and coming back and I hear sound. People are running here on the other side of the shop. One car entered inside the shop. This is not just one time. Many, many times this happens.
Why? Because of, I think, a little bit of lack of mindfulness, and maybe the eyes are not good. Whatever problem. Mostly, the problems come from elderly people and so is the young ones. Of course, are some problems that come from middle aged people too, but mainly those are in Florida or something like that.
When I drive, I’m all the time driving at the very sight, you know. It’s very dangerous to drive, but what can you do? Without driving in Florida, it’s very, very bad transportation. Unbelievable. Absolutely, you know, transportation in Florida is zero.
Not like in New York. In New York, they have this metro train. Everywhere you can go, you can just walk ten minutes there is a station. Florida, no, there are some buses. We have one transport, one train.
It comes from Miami to West Beach. Only like this, go and go back. That’s it. We all are not in that area. Know, we are suddenly here and there.
It’s not easy to do that. It comes from Miami and goes to West Palm Beach. From West Palm Beach to Miami, like this. That’s it. Two decker trains.
I never rode that train. I don’t know. Anyway, that’s why mindfulness is very important. Every day, try to breathe it again and again. So that’s called karma.
Action and its fruits on both sides. But now, sometimes people are misunderstanding what we call Oh, Sometimes in California area, they get the fire in the forest, especially in the summer, you know. All these jungles burn and sometimes recently in Florida they got hurricane. Hurricane Matthew. So these are so many questions I get from the students.
Why Geshe la all these hurricanes and the fire in the jungles? Two things. Just a hurricane and a fire, I don’t think it is karma. It is just a It is a mother nature disaster. But after hurricane and fire, if you look at the many, many areas, one side of the house is okay and other side is already gone.
Can see that. That part is now we need to talk about karma. karma is inside, not just outside. karma is inside, but now that part is now yes. Why did this happen?
Because now one part of the people are suffering because their house is gone. But on the other side, people are suffering but not the same suffering as another one because their house is okay. But now that part is we need to talk about two different karma. One, this person accumulated such a negative karma to suffer. That’s why now he was suffering because he got the karmic results or whatever karma he accumulated in the past lifetime.
Now he got it. Now that person is suffering. This person is not the same suffering. His house is okay. Everything is okay even though it is such a strong hurricane.
Why? Because of this. This is another karma. Maybe he did not accumulate the same karma as this person. That’s why he was okay.
Means karma is more insight. That’s what we call action and its fruits. Means results. Just a hurricane and the fire in the jungles, I don’t think it is karma. It’s just a Just a mother nature disaster I think.
I don’t think it has anything to do with the karma for that. karma is after feeling unpleasant and unpleasant feelings appear, then we need to talk about karma. When we talk about parking karma, sometimes people drive or just for fun I do sometimes with my friends or I will check what would be your parking karma. When they get to Florida, parking is the although it’s not so bad but sometimes some areas are very difficult to get in a parking spot. When you get good parking, oh you have a good parking karma.
Why? Because you feel good about it, See? You know, because you drive and drive. Otherwise, like this, you know. Some of my students feel like this, oh, you have a bad karma, bad karma, or parking karma, you know.
So then they say, Geshe lah, when you are with me, one of my assistants, or I get parking very quickly, of course I’m with you. We both have good karma, I try to teach them. Sometimes people say, Geshe lah, can you come with me? One day I went with somebody else. We didn’t go to the park.
Okay, not good one. It’s just that people see. Anyway, so yes, once you get a good park, you feel good about it. I could say good parking karma when you feel good about it. But just a parking spot is not karma.
So when you feel good about it inside, that’s good. Maybe in the past lifetime you give good parking for somebody else. So now you are having good parking on-site. Anyway, that’s karma. Another practice is this book am mentioning is the three principal aspects of the path by Lama Tsongkhapa.
This book also mentions another practice we can do in order to understand karma purely and greatly. These are the few things are very important to understand. Lama Tsongkhapa was mentioning here. The first thing is that you need to believe in karma, which is very important. This book was by Lama Tsongkhapa.
The text is also from Lama Tsongkhapa. This commentary is also from Lama Tsongkhapa. Thar lam gyi go lendal la itsek means that you need good belief in karma in order to practice well. The second thing is to tell There are four features of karma. Now, I do have a translation here.
Four features of karma are very important to understand. If you do understand the four features of the karma, then you will have faith in the karma, believe in karma. Once you believe in karma, then you can be able to practice the is totally definite. Once you accumulate karma, karma must give you results. Also, if you take good actions, you are accumulating good karma.
If you do take wrong actions, are accumulating wrong karma. So you can get these ideas or notions. So then then then when you try to take some wrong actions, immediately, I shouldn’t be taking that action. If I do, I would accumulate negative karma. When I accumulate negative karma, eventually, negative karma will give me negative results because karma is definite.
This way, you can learn and contemplate, and this will help you to cut out all of these conflicts. That’s why Lama Tsongkhapa was saying that in order to believe in karma, four features of karma are very important to understand. The first one is the karma is definite. The second one is karma multiplies greatly. I will explain to you later.
The third one is Lama chepa tam mi teba the result fruit. Action not done will not be experienced. Lama chepa da mi taba. Chepé tam mi taba the result of action done will not dissipate. So these are the fourth one.
Okay, karma is definite, karma multiplies greatly, the result of action not done will not be experienced, result of action done will not dissipate. karma is the definite. Once you accumulate karma, it is definitely definitive, actually. I would like to say definitive karma that means totally we are going to get the results whether it is a small one or a big one. karma multiplies greatly.
Remember, we talked about purifications or confessions or purifications. These are very, very important now, at this point. Let’s say once you accumulate karma, of course, we do, we all do as a normal human being. As I said before, people make mistakes. It is not a big deal.
People make mistakes. We do accumulate negative karma. Once you accumulate negative karma, if you can immediately confess, immediately do purification practice. If you don’t, then that multiplies sometimes. See?
Then it’s very difficult to purify this multiplied karma. You may need to do tons and tons of purification practices. That’s why once you accumulate karma, immediately do this purification practice. Now, people may ask how to do it. Of course, there are so many purification practices that one can do, but when you are in the mall or driving a car and walking by yourself with people or shopping at those centers, you have no prayer book with you.
You have not memorized the purification practice. So now that point of view, it’s a very easy thing. What you need to do Regretfulness. Try to regret immediately, sincerely, oh, I shouldn’t be saying such a thing like that. Oh, I shouldn’t be doing that.
Feel this regrettedness. Just regret it. Sincerely regret it. That is a great purification. Okay?
Really, know, something you say or something you do take some actions or maybe mentally bad intention or motivation, immediately regret it. That is the best purification, of course! There are thirty five Buddha purification practices that one can do. Also, the Vajrasattva mantra, you can say it. If you do, memorize this one.
A wonderful thing to do. These are the confessions or purification practices you can do. The simple one is regrettedness is very, very important. Once you regret wrongdoing, that is a wonderful thing. How many people can do that?
But now this karma multiplies greatly not only the negative karma but also the positive karma. Let’s say Buddha’s special days sometimes we call Saga Dawa the Buddha’s first teaching day. There are many Buddhist days. Buddha’s enlightenment day and birthday like Saga Dawa. Those are the days, like also the full moon.
Every Tibetan lunar calendar, every eighth of the month, and the fifteenth and twenty fifth, sometimes two also. These days, if you do accumulate good karma, if you accumulate positive karma, everything will be in multiplicity greatly. Why? Because that day is the holy day, that day is the Buddha’s day, that day is the Buddha attained enlightenment, that day is the day of descending, Buddha descended from heaven. I think it’s going be very soon.
No? I don’t know when was that. There are many, many special Buddha’s days. Those days, if you do take positive actions, from verbally, mentally, physically, even though is a very simple one. Even though you may say one in a single, Om mani padme hum, it will be multiplied by millions.
Sincerely, I am talking about it from your heart. Sincerely, not just saying, Om mani padme hum! No, is really from your heart. If you say it, one simple mantra would be to multiply greatly. That is the second one.
Apply to both negative karma and positive karma. Now, action not done will not be experienced, of course. If you not done any wrong actions or good actions, then you wouldn’t experience any good or bad. So that’s simple. Now actions done will not dissipate.
So if you done the wrong actions or the good actions, so will result there. It will not dissipate. That must be there. The result must be there, good or bad. So these four features of karma are very important to understand.
If you do understand these four features of karma, then if you do know the definition of karma, there is a small package now, really. A small package of the karma you learn. You learn and also practice, how beautiful is that? Of course, there are tons of tons of karma that do exist, but it’s very difficult to learn all kinds of karma. But here, today, I’m giving you very important features of karma.
If you do learn, this is one small package. It is very, very powerful. So now, daily base, try to think about it. karma is the action and its fruits. You know both.
The wrong actions and its fruits. Good actions and its fruits. These are called the karma. And the four features of the karma: karma is definite karma multiplies greatly action not done will not be experienced action done will not dissipate. So see the four features of the karma.
If you do learn, then I think yes, I went to a Buddhist center. I learned such a thing. When somebody hears somebody well who knows all about the karma and he or she may say, oh yeah, that person does have a certain understanding because this is one core of the karma which is beautiful for the future of the karma. So many times people don’t learn this one. Today I brought this one and I thought maybe why not we should go through this before we go down to bodhicitta second principle.
I thought maybe they talk a little about the karma. I thought it was a good idea. Also, are some other karmas I put down. Will explain to you before that. They have some break, please, and come back after ten minutes.
There are another three types of karma. karma giving rise to happiness, karma giving rise to suffering, karma giving rise to indifferent feelings. So, karma giving rise to happiness which is the virtuous karma, karma giving rise to suffering, non virtuous karma, karma giving rise to indifferent feelings, which is the neither pleasant nor unpleasant feeling, indifferent feeling, karma. So that means everything is the inside feeling you know pleasant feeling karma so is the unpleasant feeling karma so is the indifferent feeling karma. So that’s another three types of karma.
Now, here is the karma, Tönshik Nyanjur, that’s what we call Tönshik Nyanjur. karma whose fruit will be experienced in this life. The second one is the Jenab Nyanjur, karma whose fruit will be in the next life experience. The third one is the karma whose fruit will be in other subsequent lives. The first karma is called Tönshik Nyangjur.
Tönshik Nyanjur means karma whose fruit will be experienced in this life. You are accumulating karma in this lifetime. You are having results in this lifetime. The second one is the karma whose fruit will be in the next life. You are accumulating karma in this lifetime.
You will get results in the next lifetime. Now, the third one is the Ché Nyanjur, or subsequent. karma whose fruit will be experienced in other subsequent lives. That means you are accumulating karma in this lifetime. The result will be next to next subsequent life.
Know, there would be many, many lives. But now, exactly what kind of karma will give you the result in this lifetime, the same as your accumulated karma also in this lifetime. There are not many, many books that will give you this particular example, but I saw one book saying many, many years before, of course, there must be many, many karma like that. But, you know, for us, it’s very hard to recognize it, recognize exactly which karma was giving results in this lifetime, or which one is the result in the next, or next to next life. It’s very difficult to understand.
That’s why karma results, actions, results are much an hidden phenomenon, my perspective. One book mentions that because of the very heavy karma, he or she accumulated telling someone, you look like a snake, I think. Yeah, something like that. So it says at the end of his lifetime, that person became a snake. His body, you know, shirked and he became like a snake.
So, at the beginning of his lifetime, he accumulated karma, you know, verbally people, you look like a snake. But sometimes, after his lifetime, he became a snake. That’s one example of the karma that you accumulated in this lifetime and also the result will be the same lifetime. Of course, karma, you’re accumulating this life and the result will be next, next, or next. Are most of karmas like that.
Many, many karma that we are having karma results now in mainly the previous lifetime or before the past lifetime. It’s easy to say. Mostly karma results are like that. For instance, in this lifetime, we became as a human being. We have such a precious human body.
Not that there’s something that we did in this lifetime, that something right or something good thing that we accumulated karma that we could result as a human life or body, which is totally not like that. So this part is the past lifetime we accumulated such a great karma. So, that’s why now we’ve got this precious human body. You know, such a Dawa gya, the eight leisures and ten endowments, which the kind of body we obtain. Now when I say we, that’s tricky, you know.
Sometimes students misunderstand. Of course, bodies change, our shapes change, our gender could change, or maybe, you know, our world may change in a past lifetime. Maybe we are different human beings. Maybe some may be men, some may be women, some may be anything. I mean, whatever, you know, other goddesses are realms.
I don’t know. But now here, we are men and women, and different shapes, different looks, and different genders. Some are poor, some are rich, some are tall, some are short. Different results. But in the previous lifetime, with different people, we became different lives, different people, different beings, different shapes.
Not the same as what we wear and now. It’s not necessarily the same sort of human being or same body shapes or the same gender or same sort of tall or short. Not like that. Everything changes. But only one thing that would not change is this very important principle or the subtle consciousness or subtle mind does continue, which we have now with us.
We possess that important consciousness or mind that continues from the beginning of one life to another, one life to another, until now. That is not almost like a permanent. Of course, we shouldn’t say permanent. Continuum is almost like a permanent. Of course, it is mind, moment to moment change, yes.
But continuity is almost like a permanent. It continues. It is not changing like that. It continues like this. It is not stopped until we attain enlightenment.
Other than that, everything changed. Some became monks, some became nuns, Some become lay people. Some are born in Australia. Some are born in the United States. Some are born in India.
Like that. Maybe in previous lifetimes, maybe we were born in Tibet, or maybe in some other Asian countries, or maybe in the United States, or maybe in South America. If we were born in this world, in the six continents of the world, maybe we were born somewhere in the Antarctica area, or maybe Alaska, maybe Hawaii. It is very funny sometimes, you know. When I was in Austria, I was traveling with my students, two or three students, and also another teacher, Geshe Samdrub, my Gekö teacher.
He lives in Austria. Where was that? From Feldkirch to Vienna? We were driving, actually. It’s a few hours drive.
A lot of tunnels and mountains, roads like that. Suddenly, one mountain came. And when I looked at the valley of the mountain, for me, it was very familiar. Suddenly, it was like that in my mind. I was almost telling them, I was there, but I shouldn’t be lying.
I wasn’t there, actually. That was the first trip to Austria. But when I was climbing that mountain, I just asked them, Can you stop here? And she stopped. You are okay?
I said, Yes. My feeling was that when I looked at that valley, I felt very familiar. Then I was thinking, Oh, maybe this is kind of karma. Who knows? Maybe I was in that valley in my past life.
There a very beautiful valley down there. When I look at the mountains, for me, is very familiar. The feeling is very easy, very nice feeling. A little sadness also, a little sad also. I asked them if were any bad things happening in that valley.
They told me the history of the valley. They had a big, big avalanche. See now? Do you understand what I’m talking here? I may die in avalanche?
I don’t know. You know? When I look at them, I feel very sad. But also, is not bad sad. Also, pleasure too.
I saw that valley, of course, it’s hard to say. When I went back to the monastery, I asked my teacher, he asked me, What do you think? I think maybe my past life, I don’t know, just before this life or maybe many, many lives before, maybe I was born in that area. That’s why I had this feeling. He said it’s possible.
Yes? Check it out. Sometimes you feel that way when you travel, you know. But I’m not talking about just feeling inside there is something, you know, can you stop the car right away, you know. Everybody was wondering what is it?
Just I wanted something when you look at it, something you feel, Oh, oh my god, deja vu, you know. I know this. Sometimes you feel very strongly, even when you look at the mountain. After that, sometimes, I feel sad. Suddenly, say, why?
Why do I feel sad? Then I just asked my student, this woman, something happened in that valley. Read many, many, years before in history and many people were killed in that village, that valley. I’ve never been to that area. Sometimes things like this happen.
Of course, it’s not a killer voice. Absolutely not. Just your own feelings sometimes when you are in a different place. Don’t annoy. How do you say that when you go somewhere, sometimes when you travel, sometimes, please don’t feel like this is just nothing.
Try to feel it sometimes, you know. It surprises you. But anyway, what I was saying is that we had many, many lives before. So different, different lives, different areas, different bodies, different genders, you know. But now this lifetime, we all are here together.
I’m sitting on the throne. You students are totally stranger for me. I’m stranger for you, but now we all are together here and I’m giving you the teachings. You are coming here listening to my teachings. One thing is to be one hundred percent sure that we all had a very strong connection with karma.
That’s sure in the past lifetime. What would it be? I don’t know, you know. But we had very, very strong karma to meet together. Even though I spent fifteen years in Florida, just coming to Australia, I never thought about coming to Australia, but suddenly all these things happened.
So we had very, very strong, not just strong, very strong karmic connection together to meet here in this beautiful room and do these teachings. Think that’s why I do believe in karma. Absolutely. I do believe in karma. Otherwise, what explanation do we have?
Coincidence? Absolutely not. No, absolutely not. It is the karma. I mean, it is good karma.
This is the good karma also depending on your rising. How beautiful. So I am here. I came here. I never dreamed about coming to Australia.
Really not, you know. I thought my life would be in the United States. But then, Lama Zopa asked me to go here just like this happened. And you also came here to listen to my teachings. Now we’re becoming friends, spiritual friends.
How beautiful. karma connection or karma brought us together here to do these wonderful teachings taught by Lama Tsongkhapa so many, many centuries before. How what really we need more than that? Such a beautiful, you know, I am giving teachings. You are listening to teachings.
We are sharing with each other. I mean, it’s wonderful, you know. It’s beautiful. So that’s one thing. I do believe in karma.
What I was saying is the main thing is our mental consciousness, our mind is continuing. But from this life to next life, it totally depends on this lifetime karma. What would be next life? Whether you would want be a human being or animal or any other realms, it depends on your karma now. Our past human beings, he or she, accumulated such great karma.
So that’s why we are born as a human being. We need to say, Thank you very much. Absolutely. A lot of appreciation and honor. Thank you very much.
But now, in the next life, what would be, is to depend on this lifetime human being’s behavior. If you want, you know, the gratification from next life human being, then now we need to do more good things. You know, this is the good graduation I am talking about. Usually, you need a reward, but this one is the good one. It is not easy to be born as a human being.
So that’s why now, our body, speech, and mind are very, very important. So that’s why, as I mentioned before, vigilance is very important. Awareness is very important. Mental alertness is very, very important. Mindfulness is very important.
These are all the tools we need in daily basis. If you really don’t need to do or say, or think, or take actions, or if it’s negative, don’t do it. Sometimes, accidentally, sometimes, we have no choice. Unfortunately, sometimes things like that happen. But then there is a solution.
Regrettedness immediately. Regretted your wrongdoing one, which is very good. And also, if you do have more time, you can do the purification practice. Thirty five Buddhas purification practice. I think in October, we have this.
I built up one new purification practice day at the end of the last week of the Wednesday. Last Wednesday of month. So that’s going to be every last Wednesday of the month. Will be here. So if you wish to do this purification practice, we all come together and purify the negative karma.
Okay? Thank you very much. Now, I can take one very nice question. Good one. One.
This is very mundane, Chanel. Could you expand on the technique to use before you go to bed, or do you want to teach us that at another time? What is that? You you talked about putting our head down on the bed. Oh, okay.
That’s a separate teaching. That’s called death and dying teaching. Okay. Next. Okay.
Okay. Oh, this is what I’ve got as number two. I have asked this once before about Tibetan lama, and it’s not that I’ll ask you. You refer to next life. Okay?
You’ve referred tonight to next life. And in English, that has a chronological, lineal, logical path. You know, one follows the other in sequence. So if we say next, we mean I’m here and the next one is coming in front of them. I was taught in aboriginal culture that time is not always like that.
That’s a Western concept. Uh-huh. Now does does the next life always mean Yes. Next life, first thing is life after this life. Life after this.
Once we die, then the first thing is we need to go through the intermediate state being bardo. Then comes the next life, which is the fresh one. How long you live in that life, I don’t know. Again, you die from that life comes another next. That’s what we call next, the second life after life.
Could I clarify that? When I say next, I would think this year is twenty sixteen by the Christian calendar. Next year is twenty seventeen, twenty eighteen, and twenty nineteen. When you say year, then yes. Next year is twenty seventeen.
Next to next year is twenty eighteen. That’s the year’s prospect. But now here we are talking about life. Life. This life, there would be many, many lives.
Next life means once this life is dawned, the next life will start. Same as like this day is dawned, next day starts. I couldn’t reiterate what you said, but I got you at one level. Okay. Yeah.
Yeah. That’s called next life. Not not not not The next life happens straight away or maybe at a different point? Next life is the life after this life. So that’s called next life.
You so much. Yeah, life after this life. Same as like the next year is the after this year. It’s the same thing like that. Next to next means subsequent life.
Now your third question is? Without crying. If someone commits suicide, for example, by hanging themselves Mhmm. So the stress, the sadness, the suffering that would cause them to do that, they had no relief. So they hung themselves.
But at that point where they couldn’t get the rope off and they knew they were going to die, there was no returning, but they still were conscious because they were still, you know, had life in them. What could they do to to relieve them well, to change that karma? Is is that the I I believe there’s a possibility. There the possibility to, at that moment, do something that would relieve you of the karma of having hung yourself? Do you understand?
No. My daughter, two years ago, hum herself. Okay. I don’t know what the word is, but I pick up on things in the future, and I pick up on things across time. I’ve got a dysfunctional brain.
Mhmm. And at the time it happened, I was with someone, and I threw my arms up, and I couldn’t breathe. But I didn’t know she was hanging herself. And she she died? She died?.
Okay. But in the middle of not being able to breathe and the friend wanted to bring an ambulance, suddenly a different breathing came through. Does that make sense? Like, I can’t explain it. But I it made me think tonight because if you do something that would cause you bad karma does that make sense?
Like my daughter. If you do you are talking about your karma affecting your daughter? No. I’m talking about my daughter hanging herself. From the words you used tonight, one might interpret that as if she had created herself banter.
You understand? First of all, I’m sorry to hear that. Yes, her hanging, she hangs and passes away, and so she kills herself. That has nothing to do with your karma. That has do with her own previous karma.
Whatever karma she accumulated, hang and die. She was the one who accumulated that kind of karma, and this has nothing to do with you or any other human beings. karma is totally individual. That’s what you’re asking me. Well, I’m glad you said that.
Uh-huh. Enlightened me, but not completely, but partially. But, no, the question I’m asking you is what I was made aware of is that as she was hanging and choking Okay. She was still coming from this very troubled sick state of mind. Okay.
Yes. Just before I sensed as she was making a transition, and she was better. Does that make sense? It was as if suddenly she was better. Were you, when she was hanging, in the same room?
No. But I started choking with another woman at the same time. I started choking. Same room. Same room.
No. No. No. A long Oh, long. Okay.
Yeah. This is unfortunately common for me. So I I she was a senior nurse, and she wanted to call an ambulance because I I sprang up and started choking. When when you hear that? No.
No. Just by my just just at the same time that my Oh, same time. Just same time. Okay. She was hanging.
Okay. You were okay. And I sprang up physically and started throwing my arms around, and this woman who was with me, who was a senior nurse, wanted to ring an ambulance. Okay. She said, you can’t breathe.
I’m gonna ring an ambulance for you. But suddenly, it changed, and then I realized my daughter’s consciousness was different. She’d learned a lesson. It was as if she was okay as if anyway, the point of the question is if a person is doing something that is very bad karma, as you might call that, that would be bad karma to hang yourself with. Yeah.
It is negative karma. Yes. But can she at that point suddenly purify, suddenly become aware? During the hanging? Yes.
During the hanging because she couldn’t get out. She couldn’t get out of the hanging, so she couldn’t actually stop it physically. Okay. But But she could relax. Does that make sense?
Could relax? What I was going to say is that this part is that she wasn’t doing the actual purification practice because she didn’t have time to do that. She was hanging, which is very difficult to do. However, I would like to say another way, if I give you the answer, is she did purify the karma. That karma has already stopped now when she hangs herself because that karma is finished.
She got the result because she accumulated the karma, she got the result, she got the fruit. So that means that karma is finished. Know, it’s not a good way to finish, you know, but in the future she wouldn’t get the same karma, I mean the same result again. That’s what I would like to say, yes. That’s what you’re asking me?
That’s what I’m asking. Okay. Good. Then now okay. I need to learn the Australian people how they ask the questions, you No.
You do you do, you know, educate. I mean, what I’m saying is that for me, it’s that sometimes the England and Australia yeah. Very different. Not the same as like American, you know. Yeah.
How people ask their question. That’s why I need to ask you repeatedly. Can you repeat it that way? That’s important for me. Also, you need to ask me also.
Can you that? It’s important for me also. Anyway, thank you. But, I think, when your, daughter was hanging, you felt some kind of, you know, feelings. And that’s also the There’s two things.
One thing is that you are a loving mother and you give her birth, you know, she came into this world because of you and there would be some very strong connection also, karmic connection, you know. Although you didn’t realize what’s happening, but you know, you had this same time. Yes, you are talking about it. So there is some kind of a sign telling you something is happening at your home or wherever she hangs on. But with a normal human being sometimes very difficult to understand what’s happening until someone says so.
But there are some signs telling you or showing you bad things happening. That means your daughter and you may have such a good karmic connection, I think. So are you following any religion? Do you is the question am I following a religion? Yeah.
Are you following any answer that. No. Why I’m asking you is that if you are following any religion, that religion perspective, there would be some prayers you can do for your that’s my point, you know. Let’s say if you are Buddhist, I don’t know, so there are some prayers you can do to help her, Maybe it’s a long time ago. She may have already been born somewhere, but you can still do some prayers for her.
If you are a Buddhist, then there are many prayers. But if you are following any other religion, they have their own ways of doing prayers that you can do for her. That’s my point. Okay? Thank you very much.
Now, please take your dedication. Page two forty six. Whereby by this virtue. May the blind see forms in different sounds. May those with broken limbs find wholeness, and those who are ill regain their health.
Naked find your clothing, the hungry find food, the thirsty find water, delicious drinks. May the poor find wealth, those who are sorrowful find joy, may the weary find rest and constant happiness and prosperity. May the Dharma reign on an everlasting basis, May those who are sick and ill, quickly be freed from all ailments. Whatever diseases there are in the world, may they never occur. May the frightened become fearless, those bound be freed.
May the powerless find power and people think benefiting each other. For long as space remains, for long as sentient beings remain, until then may I too remain to dispel the sorrows of the world. Thank you very much.