Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 108-minute teaching on Chapter Six of Śāntideva’s Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, Geshe Kyab explores patience as a direct antidote to anger, the worst of all negative emotions. He opens with a biographical context for Śāntideva, an eighth-century Indian master whose apparent laziness masked deep realization, then turns to the core verse: a single moment of anger destroys virtues accumulated over thousands of eons. Geshe distinguishes between method merits (from generosity, ethics, and ritual acts) that anger destroys, and wisdom merits (from meditation) that remain intact, explaining why sustained practice matters. He addresses a practical tension: how to cultivate unconditional compassion toward all beings, including those we instinctively dislike, starting with small acts of non-harming toward animals and building gradually rather than attempting advanced practices first. Throughout, he weaves personal anecdotes and cultural observations (his experience in Australia, the difference between attachment and anger) to illustrate how mindfulness and detachment protect against suffering. The teaching is aimed at students already engaged in Buddhist practice, though newcomers will find accessible entry points in the discussion of emotion and its consequences.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 2017 02 02.mp3
UUID: f9e1a255-4361-45c4-a62e-37c91be471af
Teacher: Geshe Kyab
Collection: Thursday Patience (Geshe Kyab)
Date: 2017-02-02
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 108.7 minutes
Words: ~10,365
Good evening, Page thirty four please. This book, gold book. Do pa sho, English. I will go for refuge until enlightenment. To the Buddha, the Dharma, Sangha, I shall practice, the practice of giving, perfection.
May I become the Buddha in a way to 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 be inseparable from happiness that is free from suffering. May all sentient beings abide in equanimity, free from attachment for friends, hatred for enemies.
Reverently, I prostrate with my body, speech and mind, presenting clouds of every type of offering actually imagined. I declare all my negative actions accumulated since the beginningless time, and rejoice in the merit of all holy, ordinary beings. Please remain, living beings, I dedicate my virtue of merit all the way to great enlightenment. Short mandala offering. This crown, and it is in the book, is the world system adorned with Mount Meru, the four continents.
Imagine this, Buddha filled and over it, may all living beings enjoy this pure land. This mantra please. Thank you. So from today, this new class in here is Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, chapter number six, by great Indian master Śāntideva. In Tibetan we call Shyantideva.
Śāntideva. Shanti means peace. Deva, God. He is God. Of course, he wasn’t a God, he was a human being.
But he was like a God. Very much shanti, peace. So this book does have ten chapters, actually. So this one is going to be chapter number six, which is the patience. The first one is the excellence of the bodhicitta, which is very good to learn all about the bodhicitta, which is the mind of enlightenment.
Very good to learn that. The second one is the confession, is very important to learn. Then commitment, awareness, vigilance, patience, heroic perseverance, actually effort, meditation, wisdom and dedication. Also, you know, these different translations, these are also the six paramitas, or six perfections, like generosity, and and so forth like that. So, Actually, the chapter, of course, during the teachings, you can see some of the generosity, but in the actual chapter, there is no generosity in the chapter.
Mostly awareness, vigilance, patience, and meditation and wisdom. There is no generosity, a separate chapter. Patience, then perseverance, meditation and wisdom. And then dedication, chapter number ten is dedication. So now, today’s class is chapter number six, which is patience.
Okay, before I start the class, it’s good to know Śāntideva, his short biography. Śāntideva was one of the great Indian masters in the Nālānda Monastery in India. This happened in the eighth century. Then he was a great master, but however, he was not that much active, like meditating and practicing, you know, like that, and so on. Then his fellow monks said to Śāntideva, generally they said that Śāntideva has three realizations: eating, sleeping and sitting around.
It’s a bad thing to say. Eating and sleeping and going to the bathroom. That’s it. Nothing else. These are the three realizations that the monks told Śāntideva.
But they didn’t have any idea how great lama Śāntideva was. Even though Śāntideva was sometimes sleeping with beggars on the street, and he looked like a beggar also. So that’s why the monks sometimes criticized him. But one day, the masters’ turn comes to teach, turn by turn. One day, it happens to be Śāntideva’s turn to teach.
There are long stories, actually. Anyway, he started to teach, and he started this one, the way of the bodhisattva. Unbelievable. Then all monks who were criticizing Śāntideva, they were all just like, you know. Everybody was shocked at how wise he was, and he was not just a simple wise monk, was a very wise monk, unbelievable.
All these monks did not have any words to say. Everybody was just in a good way shocked, actually. Usually they were seeing him only through a kind of laziness, now they can see actual realization, that he has got realization. So that’s why he composed these ten chapters on the way of the bodhisattva. It’s a wonderful thing to learn.
But the main thing is this particular teaching on patience. To become a kind human being, compassionate human being, a loving human being. We all do have this potential to become kind and compassionate and loving. Also, enthusiasm is very, very important. Enthusiasm, of course, mindfulness, listening to the teachings, studying the teachings, and then contemplating the teachings.
We all have this. We will be successful if you really follow the instructions. There would be an opportunity to become a successful and kind human being. I’m talking about successful in terms of successful in a spiritual perspective. We can be able to develop detachment also. We can be able to reduce the anger.
We can be able to reduce all other negative emotions. Yes. You know, it is possible. Absolutely, yes. But only people need to learn first.
Learn first, and people can be able to digest all these teachings, analyze the teachings. So there would be absolutely successes that are waiting for you, really. So all these patience chapters are meant to be the main thing, develop your own ethics, moral ethics. I also gave you the last few weeks how to be a meaningful life, for instance.
You cannot just become enlightened, meaning just practicing, we cannot do that. Also you should not be expecting results as quickly as possible. It’s difficult. Many times Western our mind, do something and you want results right away, like this. Almost like when you are hungry, go to those areas, McDonald’s, just pay there, get the food, and eat it very quickly.
Those are much easier. In America, I have not seen here, you can drive by the food, eat inside the car, get the food like that, very quickly. Then sometimes your car stinks so much. All these food things like that. Many of my students just said that.
That’s a way of life in America. People are very busy. I don’t think I’ve seen in Adelaide, maybe in Sydney. Sydney is big, Melbourne is big. People drive.
What is that? Driveway? Drive through, something like that. Many of you know these things. The point is that those are very easy.
When you’re hungry, just go get food and you’ve got the results. But the Buddhist teachings and realization here is that it takes time. We must be patient. It’s not easy to just have realization, or enlightenment after a few days practicing. And in the monastery, when I was young, they said, don’t do like a sha sum sangye.
That means, don’t do enlightenment in three days. Because sometimes when you become a monk, the first few days we put so much effort to memorize things, meditate. Then we thought that you will be enlightened very soon, like within three days. But after all, that’s not really, you’re not supposed to be expecting something like this, then we get bored, we get tired, because of the impatience. Then sometimes you leave the monastery, you know.
Sometimes some monks do that. And of course, many Westerners, your culture and tradition is different than mine. People do expect results as quickly as possible. There is no quick result. Why?
Because we just watch our own mind, how crazy our mind is. Just one moment, it was so nice and peaceful. The second moment, our mind is already very nasty. How quickly it changes. Because of why this is happening, since the beginning of birth, until now, we have gone through so many bad tendencies, bad habits.
We call it pakchak, karmic tendency, or bad habits. These are very much stuck to our state of mind. Although Buddhist texts say that the nature of our mind is Buddha nature, we have this potential to attain enlightenment, which is absolutely true. But unfortunately, this mind still does have the potential to attain enlightenment. But the problem is that this mind is surrounded by so many negative emotions.
Just picture it, if you leave a glass a long time inside the water or ocean, after when you find it, the glass doesn’t look like a glass, looks like a piece of stone because there are so many sea stains. But then what you need to do is clean those stains. It may take some time to clean, depending on how thick those water stains are. Maybe at some point you may need a very strong chemical to clean those stains. When you do that, it may take some time.
Then finally, the glass will be shining. So our mind is considered as a glass. Now all these emotions considered as stains, negative emotions are considered as stains. Dirtiness on the glass. So that means sometimes we may need strong antidotes, like a strong spray chemical to clean some of that dirtiness and stains.
And some of the emotions may not need that much strong antidote. It depends on which emotion is stronger than another emotion. Especially here, anger is one of the worst negative emotions than any other negative emotion. So that’s why we need to talk about these things. Of course, jealousy and all other conceit, arrogance, pride, there are many, many, and it goes on and on.
So many negative emotions. But negative emotions are negative, absolutely negative. But anger is the worst among the negative emotions. Patience is one of the best virtues than any other virtues. So that’s why we can be able to clean our negative emotions.
So then one day, our state of mind will transform the same as a Buddha’s state of mind. So that means that day, we really become Buddha, which is the Buddha-nature. That means we have this potential to attain Buddhahood. Okay? To become Buddha.
But then the ground line here is the kind mind. So kind mind is the foundation of all good qualities in this perspective. So when I say kind mind, so here is the loving mind, compassionate, more compassionate, becoming a compassionate human being. Not only just feeling sympathy, or empathy, or pity feeling, really feeling compassion when you hear or see some unfortunate people and animals, and especially the people around you, that when you see them very much suffering, it doesn’t matter if they are rich or poor, but basically we all are suffering.
So at that point, you need to develop more compassion. But it is very easy to develop compassion when you see the wounded dogs and cats, or maybe some human beings. Sometimes when you see some blind human beings, what do you call that? Cripple? Crippled, yeah?
Only one leg. You feel very much compassion. When you go to the Bodhgaya, you can see so many lepers and people there. It’s very easy to feel compassion. It’s okay, wonderful.
But compassion is not only the feeling when you see some of those sick people or blind people like that, we must feel compassion, you know, for all other sentient beings. Even though they are rich, and they are wearing very good clothes, we need to feel compassion. Especially nowadays, we must cultivate more compassion for Mr. Trump. He is really suffering.
Unbelievable. You have no idea. When you look at him, he has a great reputation as a US president. But then now look at the inside, there’s so much suffering. So it’s very much chaos nowadays in the United States.
Just recently, what happened with the European Prime Ministers or Presidents. We don’t look at it that way sometimes. We don’t look at it. Those people don’t need compassion, people don’t think. They are mighty, disliked people.
Only those wounded dogs and cats, sick people, they need more compassion. Of course, I’m not saying they need the most compassion, but also these kinds of people also need it. Really, because as long as they are sentient beings, because the object of compassion is the other sentient beings. They didn’t say the object of compassion is only wounded dogs and cats, or the sick people. No.
The object of compassion is the other sentient beings. But then now, they are sentient beings. Of course, they’re not Buddha beings, that’s sure. There are only two beings, Buddha beings and sentient beings. They are sentient beings.
So that means those people are also objects of compassion. So it’s the wounded dogs, cats, sick people are also objects of compassion. But it’s difficult. It’s not easy, I know. It’s difficult.
When I say difficult, that is what we must challenge. That’s if you really do have a strong enthusiasm, so that’s now the difficult one, you really need to be challenged. First of all, try to understand the meaning of the sentient beings, and how can you feel the compassion and the love towards those nasty people. Especially, you know. So then you will feel compassion, then you will understand, oh yeah, it is really true now.
But you shouldn’t be just feeling compassion as to where and what people you want to feel compassion. That’s not the way you should be practicing and generating love and compassion. Many times, even though our practice of compassion and love also becomes mixed with self-cherishing. Something that we feel compassion, but after all, not really compassion. It’s something that is mixed with self-cherishing. As I said before, I love you, mom, if you give me one hundred dollars.
That love is mixed with self-cherishing. Words are beautiful, I love you. But there are some conditions. See, I love you, give me one hundred dollars. It’s tricky. You have to check your own compassion and love.
But here we are talking about totally unconditional compassion. Whether someone is helping you or not, or someone is harming you or not, but your side is totally understanding that that person is a sentient being. That person is suffering. Otherwise, why does he do all these nasty things? He is not only just harming people, at the same time he or she is also accumulating so many negative karmas, but eventually his or her negative karma will bring them to the lower realms.
See, hell realms, hungry ghosts. So this way you need to develop your compassion towards those nasty people. I can understand that as a beginner, if you are a newer Buddhist, these kind of things are very, very difficult. But you will get there. When I was at the beginning of my life in the monastery, I said forget it, you know.
Forget it, this is not going to happen. I love wounded dogs and cats. I will feel compassion towards those lepers. Even though in our tradition, when you go to Bodhgaya, Dalai Lama gives Kālacakra initiation and teachings, which he just did recently. Before we go there, even though you can change there, you can change coins, like one hundred rupees, to give these coins and paisa, that’s what we call it. You call nickels, or whatever it is, those coins.
Like ten cents, or twenty cents, twenty five cents, whatever you can afford to give to those beggars. Beggars have their own leader nowadays, it’s much better. Otherwise all beggars come like this. They will be in a line, you can give them all this money, like one rupee or fifty cents. Because it’s compassion, it’s love. When I saw the first time in my life, the first time I was in Bodhgaya, not the same as now, it was a very poor condition.
I was totally shocked because I never saw many leprous people, and they come around you. Wow, this is hell or what, you know. First time children, and then the men and women, and old men and women, so many with no nose, no fingers, and they look so ugly and the body. I was thinking, wow, this is a different world. Suddenly your mind becomes, oh, maybe this is now the way I’ve been hearing all these teachings to feel compassion and love. Very easy.
But after all, when they come near you, then sometimes your compassion is not so difficult now, isn’t it? It’s difficult because sometimes they rob you also. Especially when they rob you, forget compassion and love, then you may get angry. How easy is this crazy mind? How easy?
Even the monks are like that sometimes, if you are not trained well. But I can understand, here your culture is very different. It’s very easy to get mad, you know. However, we can get better, absolutely. If Geshe-la got better, why not you?
It’s the same thing. You will get better if you really put some effort. Once you get better, you will be in a different world. Your way of thinking is in a very different world. When you see someone is still at that level, that nasty level, then you laugh.
I was, that deja vu, I was one time like that. You can laugh sometimes. It’s true, you know. But I’m not saying that I’m Buddha or something, absolutely not. You still need to improve.
But you get better, absolutely yes. Because of your meditation, listening to the teachings from your own lamas and Dalai Lama, you will get better. So I am encouraging you to start something in a small way, which I mentioned in my Tuesday class. When you walk, watch, look around this walking path. If you see some ants and small animals, don’t kill them, jump over them.
And say some mantras, you know, when you are walking also, say some mantras to purify the environment, instead of thinking all these nasty things, or say some mantras also. Each of these steps, when you are stepping, like these steps, like this, underneath your steps, there are so many sentient beings, and deep down inside of the earth, there are many sentient beings. You can dedicate your mantra to them. That means your walking becomes very positive. See how beautiful.
So these are the small ways to start to become a kind human being. Otherwise, as a practitioner, we listen to very profound teachings, advanced teachings. We try to do those things first, then we forget those small things. See? First you need to start doing those small things.
Then you need to gradually step up. Otherwise, trying to do something big, but then after all, even if you couldn’t do that small one, how can you do that big one? See? Impossible. If you cannot sacrifice doing that small one, how can we do that big one?
How can we be able to feel compassion towards nasty people? Very difficult. Even though these animals are totally innocent, it’s very easy to practice compassion and love. So that’s why I’m saying, don’t kill them, start from there. When you eat, do some blessings.
Look around here, there, if there are small animals, don’t kill them. We had this discussion, like mosquitoes, whatever it is, try to take them out instead of killing. These are the ones you need to start. If we cannot practice this small part of not killing animals like that, then it’s very difficult to feel compassion towards nasty people or those, or the European presidents, or all these nasty people. Very difficult.
Very, very difficult then. Because if you compare, these are much easier. But sometimes we forget that. We search and look at very high practice and teaching, then the small one we forget. So my teaching to you is that we need to start from the small way, then improve.
Then it’s a very nice discipline in your mind. And also the most important thing is mindfulness. It’s very, very, very important. Many people mess around because of their lack of mindfulness. They could be good people, yeah, they could be good people.
But because of the lack of mindfulness, let’s say sometimes when they receive some criticism from some other people, then now when they read some bad emails, now they like to reply to the email, and they write emails without thinking, oh these nasty words they put down there. They are not thinking. And they click, email goes, already documented. After sometimes, why shouldn’t I be doing that? You see?
You regret. Sometimes you feel guilt. It’s too late. Don’t press send. Many people, now you’re thinking, you just think.
It’s too late. You’re supposed to think when writing, before you send it, you’re supposed to think, Can I send it or not send it? See? Same thing when you speak. If you’re not vigilant, if you’re not mindful, sometimes you may say things that are not good.
Same thing. So that’s why you need some strong brake here, control. What’s supposed to be needed to say, which person and what you need to say, which person you shouldn’t be saying to. I made many mistakes when I was new in the United States.
Not a mistake intentionally, it’s just the culture. Some of the things in my culture are nothing. But some of the things, speaking things in the United States culture, people didn’t like it. I was childish. You guys are childish.
Why is this? This is nothing. But people make it big. Very sensitive. I learned after some of my board members said, here people are very sensitive.
I think, yes, I’m finding these things. But I think these people should learn because they came to my class, Buddhist class. They need to absorb Buddhist tradition now. They must change that sensitivity. They must change that.
Otherwise they will suffer, especially accepting things. I’ve been telling them, accept it. Even though in the class people ask questions, I was saying, when I give answers, some people did not like it, I said, you need to accept. And they were saying, that is not good to give answers. Then you know, I’m saying, okay, you ask me the questions, I give you the answers.
If you didn’t like it, just leave it. But you have no right to tell me not to give that kind of answer. This is my right to give an answer. That’s why I’m here sitting on the throne. You ask me.
Sometimes some people are like that. But you have to be strong. If you don’t, next time they will control you. Some people are like that. I found many strange things, you know.
Only they want to hear what they want to hear. I’m telling them, no, you cannot do that. If you want to hear what you want to hear, this is not the place for you. Then you can go outside, somewhere else. There are many talk shows, there are many other teachings.
They are very, very smart. They make a lot of money because they know exactly what you want to hear. But in this Buddhist center, you want to hear what Buddha was telling you. What I am teaching you. These are what you need to hear.
You have to keep your thoughts, traditions out of the center, absorb all these teachings. And after that, maybe you can bring that and check around, compare which ones should be accepted. These things happen. It’s sometimes very, very difficult, but you have to be strong. Sometimes people are suffering, actually, because mentally they are seeking something, but sometimes they are very, even though asking questions, I try to give them answers as much as I can, in a nice way, they get angry.
For me, it does not make sense. But after I understood some people do have some psychological problems, then some of the people I asked, if you have some problems, please let me know. I can meet you. I can talk. I can help you.
I did it. Some people, it was very, very gentle. It’s true. I was new. I was teaching in a monastery where you teach to the students.
But I learned so many things in the United States. Certain words don’t be used. Sometimes, something is better than nothing. Or in addition, this word is very, very good. Something is better than nothing.
When you give some gift to some board of directors, I had something to give them. Then I would say, thank you very much, I wish we could give you a huge gift, because you worked very, very hard for this center. But this gift is, something is better than nothing. That person is okay. But people who bought the gift got mad.
Geshe-la, you are telling me that my gift is something better than nothing. Even I didn’t know who bought that gift. I thought that gift was from TKC. Somebody bought it for TKC to give to her. But I didn’t have any idea.
I was saying, okay, here, actually, I was saying that I wish that TKC gave you a big gift because of your hard work for TKC for many, many years. But something is better than nothing. My intention was beautiful, it’s very humble and nice. But the problem, not the problem with the receiver, the problem is people who bought the gift came to me and said, wow, you said my gift is something that is better than nothing. I said, what?
What do you mean, your gift? Yes, I bought it for TKC. Then, oh, okay, if you bought it for the TKC, that belongs to TKC. It’s not yours anymore. Why are you mad?
But you said my gift is something better than nothing. Then I explained everything. After all, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know that. Sometimes people, this happens. But I learned, I learned.
Oh, okay, maybe this is what I shouldn’t be saying now. But I didn’t have any intention to hurt someone else. This is just my own culture. The point is that when things like that happen, people get mad, so many people are suffering. Same thing here in the Buddha house.
We have so many students come and you all are seeking something. And you come here and you really want the results, you want whatever you are seeking, I think it is the right place to come here and listen to teachings from the teachers. It’s the right place. However, if you hear something that Geshe-la shouldn’t be saying, just let me know. Maybe Australia has a different, no target, target, like that, which is not a problem.
Somebody fixed me, target, no, no target, no r sound. And somebody taught me suburb, not like suburb, not r. They taught me. Maybe I shouldn’t be saying suburb or target, you know.
Also there are some, what is that, yesterday? Cut? What is that? You asked for a cut. Oh, cut.
And what did she say? Cut. Cut, something. Cut. She didn’t understand Michael even though he was American accent.
Forget about mine. See, these are just the mouth, not big problems. It’s just the mouth. Anyway, I’m just bringing you all these things. It’s good to understand sometimes because now we are here, a teacher and a student, you know.
So sometimes I may say some of the things maybe in Australian culture maybe not good. But so far I’m okay. Almost four months now. I survived very well. I’m hopeful in the future I’ll also survive.
Anyway, so that’s now the patience. I’m going to start from this textbook. What translation do you have there? Any printed one? Can I have one?
I hope it’s the same. No, no, no. Your one is okay. You can keep it. You have a book.
What is that? What does she say? I don’t know. I don’t know who this one is. Who translated?
There are many, many translations of this book. Also there are sometimes translations that translate differently, but meaning is all same. So now I’m going to read from this book. Whatever generosity, offering to the blissfully gone Buddhas, and the like, and positive deeds, I have amassed over thousands of eons.
One moment of hatred will devastate them all. As no negative force resembles anger, and no toil resembles patience, I shall therefore meditate on patience with effort and in various ways. This translation is good. Good works gathering in a thousand ages. Such deeds of generosity or offerings to the blissful ones, a single flash of anger shatters them. No evil is there similar to anger, no austerity to be compared with patience.
Steep yourself therefore in patience, always with zeal. So that’s this translation. Meaning is all the same. So now, as I mentioned, this implication of words, the main thing is becoming a kind human being, compassionate human being. So it is the generating, mostly generating bodhicitta.
So all these different meditations, the most thing is understanding what is good, what is bad, what is the disadvantage, what is the advantage, what is supposed to be adopted, what should be discarded. These are the implications. So then, otherwise, the anger, as I said before, is here, no evil is there similar to anger. Anger is the worst thing. Even though it can be small anger, of course, hatred is one of the worst, or hostile.
And it’s really the worst. But sometimes, when I teach people, it’s okay to be just getting angry. We all do sometimes. But it’s very important to understand how you get angry, what was the object of anger. So these are the few things you need to determine.
Then it’s very easy to teach, or easy to give answers. But in the book, this text cannot describe everything. They put down one verse like this, and we, the teacher, need to describe a little bit more about this verse. So now here is the good works, like here, have this one. Whatever generosity, like generosity, practice of generosity.
For eons, you have been practicing generosity, ethics, patience, many meditations, many offering things. But then now, all these virtues will be destroyed by one single anger. Eons. We need to talk about eons later. So then another book also saying, this one is thousands of eons.
Remember, keep in your mouth, thousands of eons. And another book, Candrakīrti’s Middle Way book was saying hundreds of eons. This one, thousands of eons. Yes, here is a thousand ages actually.
The book says eons. Actually eons, ages is eons. The hundred eons, Candrakīrti, Middle Way states something like this. And this one is the thousand eons. Now you just wonder if one single anger can destroy the merits and virtues that you accumulated in a thousand eons.
One book is saying a hundred eons. Why these two different things? It depends on the object of hatred and anger, or anger. If anger or hatred is towards the higher level bodhisattva, then that anger destroys all those virtues or merits that you accumulated over thousands of eons. Otherwise, the ordinary anger towards the ordinary beings can destroy the hundreds, hundreds, hundreds of eons, those offering things, practice of generosity, all these virtues.
So there’s two different objects, you know, then two different results. One is the highest bodhisattva level, because there are many different bodhisattva levels. Because bodhisattvas are very high levels, we cannot get angry towards them, but we don’t know who is the bodhisattva. So that’s why on a daily basis, we need, we must be careful. Very important, carefulness is why I’m saying, when you speak something, you have to be very careful.
You have no idea who is the bodhisattva. But the point is that these two different, one is the thousands of eons, one is the hundreds of eons, something like this, it’s dependent on objects. But then one single anger can destroy all these virtues. But this virtue or merit, it’s also very important to understand not every virtue or merit, mostly the accumulation of merits. Merits that you received from the practice of generosity, or practice of ethics.
Mostly the method part of the merits. There are two merits. Method part of the merits, and the wisdom merits. When I say merits, method part of the merits, the method is the skillful means. That part of the merits, which are the merits that you receive from the practice of generosity, the practice of morality, the practice of patience, and offering things.
Those kinds of methods are considered as method merits, or skillful means merits. Wisdom merits are your meditations. More meditations, you do different meditations. Insight, more insight, the penetrative insight, or insight meditation, these are called wisdom merits, that you will be receiving many, many merits if you meditate.
So these wisdom merits remain, not destroying when you get angry. However, these other merits, accumulation of merits, will be destroyed by one single anger. Okay? So that’s why the calm abiding also, let’s say calm abiding. If you meditate on calm abiding, calm abiding will remain.
It will not be destroyed. It’s retained. So that’s why it’s good to meditate, calm abiding, beginning of your meditation. So that means every meditation you do, you receive the merits, I will repeat again, these merits are called wisdom merits. But practice of generosity, offering, ethics, practice of morality, these are the more method part of the practice.
So these merits are called, when you receive the merits from those practices, so these are called accumulation of merits. So that is going to destroy, even if you accumulate thousands of eons, if you get mad towards the higher level bodhisattva, then thousands of eons. If you get mad at the ordinary human beings, then maybe one hundred eons. Then now eons, the eon is a very long one. I’m not going to give you everything. I have a translation. Actually that book gives you, for instance, this is kind of a Buddhist cosmology kind of theory. You know, we talk about the evolution things many times, you know, in Western culture also.
But here in the Buddhist Abhidharma book, according to the Abhidharma cosmology, we divide it into four different categories. Time of evolution into four different stages like this. The time of empty space, and time of the evolution, time of abiding, and then time of the dissolution, destructions, like that. The time of the four stages, yes. The time of empty space.
The time of chagpa, chagpa kawa, of evolution, the formation is starting. Time of abiding. Time of destruction or dissolution. Like four different. Okay?
Destruction, time of destruction. Four different Buddhist cosmology perspectives, according to the Abhidharma. Like this. But even though these four stages of evolution do have, let’s say, time of empty space, and time of evolution, which is formation starting.
Between these two stages is going to be twenty eons. Totally empty space. Nothing. Think twenty eons, not twenty years. Twenty eons of empty space.
Then another twenty, I mean twenty eons, the formation or the evolution. Then another twenty eons, time of abiding. Now starts formation, then now the abiding. Now is the time of abiding, you know. So that’s why I didn’t believe when last time, December twenty first, I don’t know, twenty twelve, remember?
Everything is going to be now destruction. The world is going to be ceased. I was telling my students, no, no, no, no. There would be twenty, not yet twenty eons between time of abiding and the time of destruction. It’s going to be twenty eons.
Not yet twenty eons. See? And then the time of destruction is also twenty eons. Then finally start again the time of empty space, then formation or the evolution just starting like this. So that’s Buddhist cosmology they give you something like this.
And then I think Western cosmology, cosmological theory based on the, I think, Big Bang theory. That’s what they call. I think I have here, in which evolution is explained in terms of fifteen to twenty billion years. Big Bang, that starts, you know. Then the fifteen to twenty billion years.
That’s much shorter than Buddhist eons. Here it’s only years we are talking about, fifteen to twenty billion years. So anyway, which one is accurate, which one is not, I don’t know. But you have both these things. Now think about the thousands of eons, those virtues will be shattered by one single anger.
Now here we are talking about one eon like this. You know, there are four different stages. Each stage, there are twenty, twenty, twenty eons. But now here we are talking about a thousand eons, will destroy the virtues that accumulated in those eons, if you get angry towards the higher level bodhisattva. Otherwise, if you get angry or have hatred towards ordinary beings, it would be a hundred eons. Yes, that’s a hundred.
A thousand eons. Yes, a hundred eons. Anyway, it is kind of scary sometimes, really. So that’s why what you need to do is more mindfulness now. Śāntideva was just starting this particular verse, good works gathering in a thousand eons, such deeds of generosity or offering to the blissful ones, a single flash of anger shatters them.
So we have to think very seriously now if you believe in it. I do, absolutely do, because we know this emotion, this anger. And it’s very nasty. Once you get angry, not only just angry, also many other negative emotions also arise together. And they help each other.
They help each other. They obscure you to feel love and compassion towards the other sentient beings. Because all these emotions become one group, and they block you, then they will not allow you to feel love and compassion towards those nasty people, especially for the nasty people. Because they are very friendly, all these emotions. They are very much related to each other.
But then on your side is now, after understanding something like this, so that’s why you need to develop more love and patience. Instead of just following what your emotions were telling you, what your emotions were really pushing you, you need to block those emotions. You have this control. Not like these emotions take over you. You need to take over the emotions, kick them out.
You must overcome all those emotions after hearing such, all these, you know, that one single can shatter, the thousands of eons, those virtuous and meritorious karma. So that’s why we must be smart. Very smart. This way, you need to analyze on your daily basis how much our emotions are really taking us to the lower realms. Down, only down.
They are so powerful. Very, very powerful. Powerful. Let’s say anger is very understandable. Anger is the very obvious emotion, very understandable.
But many people do not understand attachment. See, attachment is very tricky. It looks so beautiful, but you have no idea beneath what attachment is, it’s very, very nasty. Very nasty. Until you get hurt, then you will say, wow.
Then sometimes it’s too late. Because attachment is beautiful, you know. When you see some beautiful things, when you see some beautiful people, just, you know, they draw you just like this very much, you know. But you didn’t see any bad qualities. Didn’t feel anger.
Anger is very obvious, very easy. Yeah, it’s nasty. But attachment is very difficult to understand. See? So that’s why sometimes attachment must be the worst sometimes, because it’s very tricky.
Because first you attach to something, you love something beautiful, blossom, wonderful. Of course it’s okay. But then your attachment will grow. Then after some time, now it starts. Jealousy occurs.
See? That happens. And sometimes, it depends on what attachment. If you are attached to things like this, same thing. When you get some new things, you’re so happy.
You have this strong affection or attached to these things. But then if you don’t practice detachment, someday some of your things you lose or somebody breaks, somebody destroys, then so much pain. Just think about your car. You all drive a car. Think about it.
We all love it. I had a car. Three different cars in my life. Oh, I’m rich now, you know. I have a car.
In India, once you have a car, you are rich actually, you know. Actually my cars were very nice. It’s a very good car. I think it’s Volvo company, very nice car. But I didn’t know how expensive the car was or not.
Anyway, when you got the car, you feel very good. Seats are so good, so smooth, and they say, oh, this car is very safe, it is made in Sweden, and they make your attachments grow, grow, grow, grow like this. Like this, you know. And when sometimes when you get some scratch on your car, when sometimes birds poop on your car. What is this?
Then now it starts this kind of suffering. Although it’s not big suffering, but still there are some sufferings. Also, if somebody scratched you when you park, some bad driver, they don’t know how to park, they do it like this, you know. Then you say, oh look at my, I have some of those things on my driver’s side door. I say, who did that?
You know, see now you try to get mad. See now? Why this happened? Because of your strong attachment, my strong attachment towards my car. Now I couldn’t let go.
Who did that? Just like this. But then suddenly, oh my heaven, what am I doing? Why am I not thinking impermanent? Why am I not thinking these are the impermanent things, will be changed?
Why am I getting mad? See? Then now you feel shame meeting people like this. Otherwise, sometimes you will get angry. In the beginning I was upset.
I’m driving very well, I’m not hitting any other people’s cars, even though when I park, I park very nicely, very slowly. They said, you are Mr. Slow or something like that. I park very slowly, make sure, or maybe come back, again go.
Sometimes it takes a few times. I don’t mind, I have patience, to park in the right parking, you know, don’t hit other people’s cars. But some people, they’re driving, they’re driving, my car. What can you do? You have no idea.
Of course, if you go to ask for CCTV camera, but it’s too much to do, isn’t it? Anyway, see, this all happens because of the strong attachment for the things. But now, the worst thing is one person to another person. Think about that. You all have kind of experience.
Even though on my own side, I love my mother, I love my sisters and brothers, in a very different way, and I love my teacher. But I was preparing, okay, if I had this strong, even though my love is good love, but still it is ordinary love, it is attachment, I must do some preparation. If something happens to my teacher, I will have a big problem. Way before my teacher was sick, I was preparing because he was getting old. Especially when he got sick, I was doing more preparation now, otherwise I will suffer.
But then in twenty fourteen he passed away. Yes, I felt so sad, and I had so much suffering, but not very much because I was ready for this preparation. I did this preparation. Same thing, I’m preparing for my mother. She’s going to be eighty two years old.
Someday I may hear some bad news. I’m already preparing not to go through suffering, to have a little detachment. Of course, when I see my mother, I hug her, I love her, but try to be a little detached, to meditate. My mother is impermanent. Nobody can live in this world forever.
One way or another, once you’re born in this world, one day we need to depart from this world. That’s the very nature. All these highest lamas, even our own Lama Yeshe passed away. My own, some of the teachers passed away in Switzerland, all gone. I mean, look at the Pänchen Lama passed away, previous one.
Such great lama, Karmapa, passed away. Who can live forever? No one. So I’m thinking all these things, which is much better. If you have a strong attachment, these are what you need to do.
And especially my mother is already eighty two now, which is a very long life. But it’s not easy, however, we need to do this preparation. Then it’s much easier if something happens. So that’s called detachment. See?
Right thing to do. Otherwise, we will be suffering. Why? Preparation is very important. Okay, now, break please.
We’ll have some tea, coffee. Okay. Questions? Quite very nice question. Go, go, please.
What is your name? The wisdom merit cannot be destroyed, but only the accumulation of merit can be destroyed. What are the accumulation of merits? These are the merits that you receive from the practice of generosity, practice of morality, mostly the method part of the merits.
In Buddhism we talk about method and then the wisdom, like skillful means and wisdom. So now all this method part of the merits will be destroyed by anger, can destroy that, but then the other wisdom merit will remain, cannot be destroyed. So that’s why meditation is very important. Even though calm abiding meditation, which is good to meditate, which is much easier one, if you meditate calm abiding, I don’t know if you will be achieving calm abiding within one lifetime or not, I don’t know. It depends on how properly you meditate.
Generally speaking, calm abiding meditation, you can be able to achieve within six months if you meditate properly. But even though we have no karma to achieve calm abiding this lifetime, but still this calm abiding meditation would be this, how do you say, the seed or maybe a little sprout also would be there for us all the time, because anger cannot destroy it. So the other meditations like emptiness, of course, impermanence, all other meditations. Meditation is mostly what we do from our consciousness, more like a wisdom part. So that’s why these are stronger merits than the accumulation of merits.
Do you get it now? Something like this. So that’s why actually next time maybe I will bring you more. I do know this, Abhidharma says there are different categories of merits. Actually two, method part of the merits, and the wisdom part of the merits.
But this also has some categories. This one is in Tibetan, it says, so that means sönam kyi gyatsa. So these are the, I’m talking about the method merits. For instance, building statues, you are accumulating merits. Building monasteries and temples, these are also the method merits.
Someone who needs clothes and things, you give them. Those are the more generosity kind of merits. So these are method merits. Somebody is sick, if you give them some help, you are accumulating merits. That one is also the method merits.
So then when there is a very difficult, there is some kind of earthquakes, people go to help and give many funds. For instance, in Nepal, when they had this earthquake, around the world, people went there and they gave them so much donations and charities. Those kind of merits are also called, those are also the method part of the merits. So these are, and also these are mostly the merits that come from the substance. Also there are some merits, which is also the method of merits, not come from the substance.
For instance, when your lama is coming from the overseas, you go to receive lama to the airports, bus stations and train stations. So that’s also the merits, method part of the merits, but not come from the substances. You’re not giving anything, you’re just receiving, go to receive. So those kind of things, I think, if I could get the translation nicely. Actually, basically I just mentioned to you, this lama.
When a teacher goes somewhere, when you go with people together to drop him to the airports, train stations, bus stations, that’s another same thing. You will accumulate merits. So that’s also the method part of the merits. But I cannot translate everything, it’s very long. At least I’m so blessed that I can say it.
Memorized it when I was about sixteen or seventeen years old, which is, I memorized texts of the Bodhicaryāvatāra. A few of these are still here, but most are gone. Nothing. Anyway, so if I get good translations of that part of the merits, I will bring for you, okay, next time.
Anyone? Go please. That’s a good one. That’s a real nuanced question, actually. Actually, thought of anger is not anger.
Okay, just thought. That’s a relief. Relief. The thought of anger is, you are saying, about motivation? Or what exactly? I want to understand, because we don’t talk about the thought of anger.
Can you describe me exactly your point of view, what is the thought of anger? Then I can give you the right answer. So if something happens and suddenly you feel angry, but you don’t act on it. Okay, okay, okay. Now I understand.
You don’t act, meaning you don’t speak out badly, you don’t take any bodily actions, but you are angry. It’s the same thing. But action is just after anger. Action is not really the anger. Anger is really the, actually here, inside. Action is once you get angry, then you hit people.
The anger, anger is, when you say thought, I have a difficulty to understand because I was translating that in Tibetan, you know. You say thought, I don’t know if this is a good way to say thought. Anyway, when you get angry, even though you are not taking any actions, when you get angry, that’s anger actually. Would you like to say that’s a thought?
It’s more like an experience. Emotion, actually. It’s emotion more than just a thought. I don’t know if in English, you know better than me. So actually it is emotion.
That emotion is the anger. But your mind is now with the anger, actually. Your mind is totally occupied by the anger, because that emotion is within you. Although you are not saying any bad words or not taking any actions, you are totally, you’re angry now, you know? This strong emotion.
Maybe this is what you are saying, thought? It’s tricky, isn’t it? Anger arises often in me or aversion to something, but I don’t express it. Okay. Okay.
But it doesn’t matter you express it. I may like something or I may not like someone, but I don’t act. Act. But you just get angry here. But it’s the same thing. Remember, as I said, anger is not there, anger is here.
You can say anger is maybe thought. That’s very discouraging, really. I know. Not only you are having this, we all do it one way or another. That’s why carefulness is very important.
We really need some attention, some enthusiasm to control this nasty emotion. We can do it. How to do it? This is the best teaching one can learn. I’m so happy that at least I can be able to teach my own knowledge as much as I can.
And I feel good about it because this is one of the most important Buddhist teachings. Whenever you hear Dalai Lama was giving Śāntideva’s teachings from Śāntideva’s book, he does mostly this one. This patience is very, very important. Because this is one of the worst emotions than any other emotion, anger is unbelievable. However, if you practice, try to understand, have some faith in Śāntideva’s words, to destroy all those merits that accumulated eons and eons.
So then now, a little bit step back and think about, oh I must be careful now, you see? Even though I wasn’t taking actions, I get angry, but still this is the problem. Because when you get angry, your state of mind is not happy, unhappy. And when you’re unhappy, then your health is unhappy. Of course, forget about the accumulative negative karma.
Of course, whoever is around you won’t be happy, cats and dogs won’t be happy, even though you are not taking any actions, but they can smell it. See, they do. They do have this sense. They will see, even though we are not yelling at them, but they know our body behavior, they see that. You know, now, you can do it.
Absolutely. Go. And now I wish that it never happened, because now kind of a seed that’s been planted. Okay, I don’t want people to go very far away from whatever you are hearing from me. Sometimes when we, it depends also the teacher and how they describe the book.
I think from my perspective, I don’t think this is just getting angry. Just that much getting angry, I don’t think so. This is maybe a little bit of hostile kind of anger we are talking about, like hatred. Not like just upset about something, you know. This happens.
Then after we cool down. But this one is more than just upsetting or getting angry. This is more like hatred, more hostility. I think that’s the main thing. That’s a very, very big, big anger.
Not like just getting angry. We all do one way or another, this normal human being, sometimes we’re upset. Upsetness is also part of the anger. But once you’re upset, once you try to fix it, you can just easily fix it. But hostility or the rage or the hatred is very difficult to fix because your mind is totally now in that position, that emotion.
It’s very difficult now, see? But this upsetness can be, oh, now this is starting, you know, see? Something is coming, I must put down now once. If I don’t, this will be transformed into a great anger, hostility or hatred. See?
Much easier. So I think this one is mainly the hatred, I think. Not just the upsetting when someone does something. We all get upset, I mean. Who does not get upset?
Even though some bodhisattva too. Yes. Even the bodhisattva gets upset. But their upsetness and this just getting angry is very different. But they are sometimes upset.
Why not? They are also sentient beings, they are not yet Buddha, you know. So, and of course we are the ordinary human being. We sometimes we get angry. But I’m not saying it’s okay to get angry.
I shouldn’t say okay, but we all get angry. That’s what I would like to say, which is very much almost like it’s a nature for us. However, but we need to practice. Practice. Practice. Someday maybe we can be able to put down this upsetness also.
Immediately something happens, not like it used to be just upsetting, or when something happens just automatically comes, oh yeah, I shouldn’t be upset now, you know. So it’s easier. But usually we’re upset. Sometimes, me too. Something’s not going to be what I wanted it supposed to be, need to do things, try to put so much effort, but now everything has fallen apart.
Get upset. This happens. Sometimes I prepare teachings, make very nice teachings. When I try to teach, I get a headache. Then I couldn’t teach.
This happens many times, migraine, but still I go to the center. And when I try to teach that, migraine is very bad, but I hide things. I don’t tell people. I didn’t want people to feel bad for that. Then I couldn’t go through all my teachings that I prepared, only half of that.
Then when I come back, I check, and I get upset. These are the most important part of the things. I left it, they need to hear these things, but I left it because of the migraine attack. This happens. Go, go, quickly.
Very quickly. Can you repeat again? Of life, for example the death of your parent, when they are like ninety years old, but then how do you be detached from that person when they are at a young age. You mean how they do detachment, someone is young age, passed away, do you mean that? Yeah, because you are not expecting that. Suddenly gone, something like that.
How can you be detached, do you mean that? Because you said that we have to prepare for the detachment when my mom is ninety or so. Sometimes you don’t really expect it. Yeah, so that one, I mean you don’t need to wait until they get ninety years or eighty years or like that. If you love someone even though that person is very young, you need to do this preparation regularly. I mean that’s what we call practice.
You need to understand the impermanence of death. Nobody can live in this world. What I was telling you is this, especially those who are aged, someone is very high aged, so it’s good to do some preparation. Generally speaking, you need to prepare this since you learn Buddhist teachings.
We must be preparing, anyone can one day just leave. So then that moment, if you did some preparation, it will be much, much easier to deal with it. You don’t need to go through so much pain and suffering, but still you need to go through some pain and suffering, which is okay. It’s very normal. But what I’m saying is too much pain and suffering because you did some preparation in advance.
You had this understanding that no one can live in this world. There were so many famous and great masters, lamas came in this world. But nowadays, they are history, they are all gone. Some passed away at very young age. For example, Lama Yeshe passed away at very young age, almost my age, younger than my age, I think. I don’t know, fifty.
Nine. Forty nine. I’m fifty five. Lama Yeshe was forty nine years old. See?
But we all had preparation, so we didn’t go through so much pain and suffering. Because Lama Yeshe is the unbelievable kind of lama, and one of the ones who founded this particular Buddha house actually. Lama Yeshe came first time here, Buddha house. So that means two different things. If you have not prepared yet, now it’s time to do this preparation, especially if someone is an older one.
That’s much more important than a younger one. Of course younger one also you need to do preparation, which is more detachment. You need to do some meditations, try to understand the reality of life, which is very important. Otherwise, suddenly things like that happen, and very painful, you know. Bad things happen to good people.
So what can we do? So this is the Buddhist perspective. Everything is dependent on people’s karma. Once they accumulate the karma, you cannot escape from the karma. So things like that happen.
You’re old or you’re young, especially babies die, it’s very painful. My own sister, two sisters, passed away. One is just five years old. I was going through pain and so was my mother. But our culture is we learn all these karmic laws of cause and effect.
What can you do? You cannot bring them back. If you’re mourning, if you’re sad, if you’re grieving all the time, we cannot bring them back, we wish. But we cannot. That’s why we need to accept it, to let go, and do prayers.
That’s why Buddhism is a beauty. There are forty nine days of prayer you can do after somebody dies. We do many, many prayers. We just let go now. We do cremations, and we also buy some thangkas and statues in their name, representing for them, and we put them down on the altar.
We do these offering things, because those are the Buddha thangkas, so the holy, those deities thangkas. We are talking thangkas, wall painting. So it’s the statues we do, and their name, which is the best thing to do, and pray. Okay? Thank you.
Okay, sorry, quickly. Just quickly, with merit making and building of statues, Buddha statues. What is that? I’m not. In a statue. Yeah. Like Muslims they say, you cannot represent God, there can be no representation of God. Did Buddha have that same belief about Buddhas in statues?
We have Buddha statue here. But it seems everyone emphasizes on Buddha today, like, everyone’s getting a bigger Buddha. Yeah. But the bigger Buddha is more merits. Is it the bigger the Buddha, more the merits?
Yes. Really? Yes. Because bigger the Buddha, more merits. And because you are spending more money to buy the Buddha, more generosity, more generous, more offering.
Also the quality is, also another thing is we need to talk about quality. Gold Buddha is more merit because you are spending, if it comes from your heart, it depends on your motivation, you know, or copper, or silver. So these are accumulating more merits because you are more generous. You are offering to build these holy statues, you are accumulating more merits. Yes.
This is your question you are asking me? Yes. Okay. Thank you very much. Dedication.
To our prayer book. One minute, what happened? My eyeglass. Page thirteen, please. Lord of Dharma, who convinced with the various proclivities of those to be subdued, made clear in the light of your well spoken advice the Ganden tradition, essence of the Buddha’s teachings, foremost holy lama, to you who revive me, lama, please, please live.
Thank you very much. Tomorrow, Friday, we have…