Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 103-minute teaching, Geshe Kyab works through verses 19–21 of Chapter 6 (Patience) of Śāntideva’s A Bodhisattva’s Way of Life. He opens with two contrasting responses to harm: the ordinary person who defeats enemies through anger and hatred, and the bodhisattva who defeats anger itself through patience and tolerance—the true victory. He then explores the apparent paradox of tantric practice, where wrathful deities adopt anger and certain bodhisattvas adopt attachment, clarifying that such practices require deep understanding of emptiness and are fundamentally different from ordinary delusion. He stresses the need for balanced perspective in Buddhist practice: some attachment, anger, and pride can serve compassion when transformed by wisdom, but must generally be avoided. Verse 21 concludes the session with the benefits of contemplating suffering—it diminishes arrogance, strengthens compassion, and opens the mind to dharma as the only real solution. Pitched at practitioners with basic familiarity with Buddhist ethics and some grounding in philosophy.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 2017 03 02.mp3
UUID: 3754e2d5-075d-4abd-8115-0269db282704
Teacher: Geshe Kyab
Collection: Thursday Patience
Date: 2017-03-02
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 103.3 minutes
Words: ~4,378
By the practice of giving and other perfections, may I become the Buddha benefit all sentient beings. May all sentient beings have happiness in causes of happiness. May all sentient beings be free from suffering and causes of suffering. May all sentient beings never be separated from happiness. May all sentient beings abide in equanimity, free from attachment for friends hatred for the enemies.
Reverently, I prostrate with my body, speech and mind, a pleasant cloud of offerings of every kind. I declare all my negative actions, accumulated since beginningless time, rejoicing in the merit. Okay. Please look at the page ninety seven. I think we all have the same book.
Short Mandala offering, can you see that? Good. This ground, adorned with an epiphany, steeped in flowers, adorned with Mount Meru, the four continents sun and the moon. Imagine this pure offering field, and over it, may all sentient beings enjoy this pure land. Now, they request to turn the wheel of dharma.
Holy and Pure Lama, English. O Holy and Perfect Pure Lama, from the clouds of compassion that come in the sky of your dharmakaya wisdom, please release your rays of profound dharma purifying our minds completely. Thank you. Light is on, you know? Okay.
Okay, this class is the, A Bodhisattva’s Way of Life by Master Śāntideva. So we are discussing the chapter number six, which is the patience, all about the patience and tolerant. So, we approach verse number nineteen. Today’s class is more about the yes, more about the, you know, really how to interact, how one can able to really the response when anger arises. Let’s say somebody harm you or somebody, everything, whatever is it that you know, when you get some harm from somebody else, then how one can respond, how one can able to deal with it.
Actually, all of these teachings meant to be like that, but especially this verses number nineteen, yes. From nineteen is the, you know, more nineteen and twenty, these are the more, how one can be able to, one minute. I am right. Yes, I think I’m right. Yeah.
Verses number nineteen. Last we did fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen. Then today is nineteen, twenty. Yeah. So these two verses nineteen and twenty.
I will read it. If you do have a textbook, you can check it. First, I will read it from this textbook. Even when he is an agony, someone skilled will never let the composure of his mind be destroyed and in a war that’s waged against disturbing emotions, bruises abound when fighting the battle, those who have having, number twenty, those who have been dismissive of suffering, destroy the enemy’s anger and so on. They are the heroes who have gained the victory, the rest merely slay corpses.
So, Yes, nineteen. So these are the Tibetan. So now these are really giving you the actual point of view. So another one is the example they are giving you also here. Know, two different things.
One is the wise people, people who are wise, people who are spiritually educated. When they really, you know, when things fall apart in their life, especially the harm comes from the others. So they are very much such a brave, you know, they do use the weapon as their patience and tolerance to defeat the anger. So, you know, so these are people who practice, people who do have such this brave heart that they wouldn’t be fearful when, you know, harm comes, when anger arises. They wouldn’t be fearful of that.
So that’s why they do practice patience and tolerance to defeat the anger. But then the others, you know, out of the hatred and the anger, they go to war. They go to war and they slay the enemy’s head. So two different things. But even though they win the war, what happens?
Eventually they lost it because of their winning war is out of the anger, so is the hatred. So these are the saying is the, it is almost like a same as like you are slaying the corpses, somebody already died. Let’s say somebody already died, if you try to slay their bodies, what is worth it, isn’t it? Something like that. Because of the out of the anger, out of the hatred, so they go there and they fight, they think they win the battle.
But generally speaking, they really lost it. But people who are really defeating anger by the patience and the tolerance, the particular verse’s perspective is the real hero. They are the real hero, others are the just, you know, the slay, the corpses like a slay, you know, corpses like that. So there are two different perspectives in this particular two verses giving you. So I think also this one is the Sometimes people may misunderstand when we talk about something like that, but this can be very much skillful also, you know.
You need skillful means, which is very, very important. Usually the really, actually these verses may come in after sometimes also. Usually the, you know, the reaction is mostly the something happens, something happens from others that make you feel pain and suffering, immediately we react really very strong emotion, which is the almost, how you say, we are very much totally the depending anger, almost like that, very much depending on anger, almost like anger is the solution. Anger is the, you know, or a perspective is the anger is the, how you say, the anger is the solution to the problem. That’s almost like that.
For us, it’s automatically we just get upset-ness and anger. But after all, really those Buddhist practitioners, they don’t. They don’t do that. They don’t do that because they know how to practice. They know how to tolerate.
Tolerant is more active than just patience, I think. Tolerant is more like self discipline, you know, than just calming yourself or just calm yourself. Tolerant is more self discipline. Tolerant is very much, although you know similar, but tolerant is a little different than just practising patience, I think. It’s a more active sort of a, you know, mind.
You’re tolerant after understanding the consequence and also self discipline too. The point is the bodhisattva, I think they do have this very, very special unique mind that they can be able to tolerate even though such a great, you know, harmfulness from others. They can be able to really do this practice as a patience and tolerance and forgiveness. But then sometimes also you can hear the little confusing sometimes also, isn’t it? When you hear Okay, bodhisattvas are very much like, you know, peaceful, isn’t it?
Very much peaceful. And they are really able to, you know, practice patience and tolerance. So they can be able to defeat the anger by patience and tolerance, not defeating anger by the anger, like an eye for eye, eyes for the eyes, not like that. You know, totally the opposite, with love also. But then sometimes, excuse me, you may hear the tantric teachings and tantric practices.
We call deity yoga practice. So that perspective is, you know, a little different now. It’s a little different. There are peaceful deity, there are wrathful deities. You hear this before, yes.
Our wrathful deities are mainly the, you know, they embody the anger. They adopt the anger. So they use, they utilize the anger to be beneficial for many, many sentient beings. But peaceful deities, no, they do not do that. But especially the practitioner, when you approach the deity yoga practice, so that’s how you need to act now, you know.
But this is the only allowed and have permission from the Sūtrayāna, I mean vajrayana teachings, not from the Sūtrayāna. Sūtrayāna, you know, have not given any permission to practice those, you know, adopting the anger, those, you know, wrathful deities like that. Only the vajrayana or the Tantrayāna, you know, give you permission to practice adopting those, how you say, the anger. But Sūtrayāna do give you the permission to adopt the attachment to benefit many other sentient beings. So that’s why there’s some Buddhists, generally speaking, both attachment and anger must be avoided.
Attachment, so which is when we count, okay now, excuse me, I’m having some ants, I don’t know. Some sentient beings around me. Okay, now yeah. Every time when I sit on this throne there are some things happening. But I must be patient, isn’t it?
But I’m not sure because I’m giving teaching. Can I have patience? Then I will meditate. Maybe today is better to meditate. The mic is not working also, you know.
Anyway, yes, it’s coming here and there now. Please don’t interrupt me. Yeah, I saw some ants going here. Now something is going on under my lungs garment also. Yeah.
See here, already. Yeah. Oh yeah, so many. Yeah, here. The problem is I think this was.
Ah, not angry. Absolutely. They are peaceful. They are peaceful. They try to eat something there.
I don’t think they can eat anything, nothing here. But, you know, they are interrupting me to concentrate my teachings. So I would like to say, get out from here. Okay, it’s okay, just sit down. Now I know what to do.
Okay, now maybe if I separate these clothes with my clothes, then maybe better. It’s coming from here. Okay, maybe. What I was saying is the Sūtrayāna perspective. Sūtrayāna gives you permission to adopt the attachment, but not the anger.
vajrayana give you permission to adopt the anger, you know, to practice in order to benefit many sentient beings. But generally speaking, the three poisons attachment, aversion or the anger, ignorance, these are the three poisons. Must be, how you say, avoided, must be avoided. Three poisons. When we talk about the second noble truth, origin of suffering.
When we talk about the origination of suffering, origination of suffering is the delusions and the karma and the delusions. So what are the delusions? Delusions, three poisons attachment, anger and ignorance. You know, these are the delusions. Because of the attachment, anger, ignorance, then we really continually accumulating negative karma, then the negative karma giving us pain and suffering, which is the first noble truth, noble truth of suffering.
So that’s why, generally speaking, something like this. But here we are talking about very differently some bodhisattva, they can be able to adopt the attachment to benefit many sentient beings as possible. So, you may be wonder what is the attachment can, know, mean, Bodhisattva, they adopt the attachment instead avoiding the attachment. What is the benefit of adopting attachment and benefiting sentient beings? But very different, motivation is totally different and the activities are also very different.
They adopt the attachment that they can able to, you know, for instance, some bodhisattvas, a king bodhisattva, let’s say king bodhisattva, they can have many, many wives to, you know, produce many, many children. So those children can eventually go out there and help the sentient beings. But this is not something that ordinary attachment, ordinary sort of, you know, that the attachment that we feel it is very different, forms are the same thing, motivation is very different and actually it’s really not that much important to talk about in this point, but I’m just giving you the, you maybe just wonder why Bodhisattva can able absorb the attachment and that’s something that we cannot. Because Bodhisattva can absorb the attachment much as they absorb the attachment that much as they can able to benefit other sentient beings, so their practice will be improved. We are not because all attachment is everything is the, you know, the, how you say, let’s say it’s run by the ignorance.
Ignorance is totally the backside of the attachment. It’s tricky, you know. Or attachment is very much like a discriminatory attachment. We attach only the one part of the sentient beings, but another part of the sentient beings we really avoid it. It’s kind of, you know, discrimination like that, very different.
But this of course attachment is totally the, you know, it’s really the universal attachment. It’s for love for everyone. So that’s why they purposely adopt the attachment in order to serve many sentient beings as possible, very different. Also the bodhisattva can be able to, you know, really absorb the attachment because of the bodhisattvas, they are like a peacock also. You know, they have this, you know, stomach that they can able to digest even though very poisonous food that peacock can able to digest it.
Peacock lives, in the poisonous jungle, they eat all these poisonous plants, but then much as they eat poisonous plant, that much as their feathers will grow. Bodhisattva is like that. Bodhisattva can live with us as a poisonous, considering this world is like a poisonous jungle. But then all these poisons will not going to be in fact Bodhisattva, they know how to deal with it. They take everything, you know, all this, the adversity as, you know, of the advantage perspective.
They take all this adversity, you know, they can able to transform adversity into the path to enlightenment. So, that’s why they can able to stay in this world, which is the saṃsāra, so they, you know, they wouldn’t get any bad, you know, bad influence, nothing like that because they have this very powerful, you know, the mind which is we call brave heart. They know this how to do it. We are like a crow. We cannot eat poisonous plant.
When you do that, the bird dies. So we cannot absorb all this anger and other mental afflictions, especially and this perspective is the attachment here. We cannot. Because attachment is sometimes very, very tricky. We didn’t realize because of the attachment, now things are really, really too bad sometimes, you know.
However, Buddhism not denying every attachment, you know, is bad. Not denying that. Buddhism do accept some attachment is allowable. Yes, some attachment, absolutely we need it. Let’s say greed.
We need craving sometimes, you know. Without craving, how can you be motivated to reincarnate? How can you help others? See, everything needed to be balanced here. Generally speaking, greediness is very much bad, which is we are talking about the greediness, grit that is the very much strong one we are talking about it, you know.
But little greed is we all need it to survive, which is the very much the fact, isn’t it? It’s a reality. Buddhism cannot deny the reality. Reality is the reality. Fact is the fact.
However, but you know, too much greediness is problem, suffering of dissatisfaction. So see now, similar like that, too much greediness is suffering of dissatisfaction. Doesn’t matter how much, because of the greediness you get something, after sometimes you dissatisfied, that one is also. Then you get something else, same thing. This happens.
I used to give example, sometimes it’s not so good, but it’s a fact. Look at the Hollywood, some of these actors and actresses, they get married six, seven times, but still not satisfied. That’s why I’m talking about it because of the strong attachment, strong craving, you know. I don’t know who was that. Somebody told me, famous, famous old old actors, Elizabeth, I think.
Elizabeth or something. Elizabeth, I think. Elizabeth. Elizabeth, yeah, tell her. She married six, seven times.
Unbelievable. So you to look at the these are the reality. Just you have to ask question, why? Why like that? Why this happened?
If you just look at that perspective, oh, his problem and her problem, divorced, it’s very understandable. That’s more than just that, you know, whatever problem is that obvious problem that we already saw and know, more than that, it’s caused more deeper sight, more craving, suffering of dissatisfaction, lack of contentment, see? But Buddhism not denying we need some. See, repeat again, I wanted to do that. Sometimes people misunderstand.
We need attachment. Absolutely, yes. People get married, each other wonderful. I mean, you need friendship, each other wonderful. You need partners, wonderful.
Why not? Long as you’re not monks and nuns, you have it and enjoy it, which is the life. But my point here is the, that form of engagement must be balanced. Attachment must be balanced. Attachment must be overcome if your attachment is greater, attachment must be overcome.
That’s a point here. Buddhism not denying absolutely attachment is bad, greediness is bad, anger is bad, no. Everything is what context we are talking about it. That’s a perspective we need to talk about it, you know. So that’s why I was saying some bodhisattva, they do adopt the attachment, mean that.
So, it’s the tantric perspective, the yoga practitioner, they need to adopt the anger. But this, when they adopt the anger, which is very different. Before you adopt the anger, you need to meditate emptiness also. It’s not just simple as just adopting anger, no. You need to meditate emptiness.
You need to understand the meaning of the emptiness. Actually the proper, in my perspective, if you really want to practice properly, I think you need some genuine insight into understanding emptiness. Then I think you can do the deity yoga practice very properly, very effectively, I think. Otherwise, it’s difficult. It’s not easy to adopt the anger if you are a very ordinary practitioner because of the, you may mix up with the actual anger, see.
So that’s why the understanding nature of emptiness is very, very important. Understanding the selflessness is very, very important, okay? So that’s totally the, you know, before you actually adopting the anger, those practitioners, they will going to really dissolve the ordinary part of the angers, absolutely yes, they were going to do that. Not only just the anger itself, even though practitioner himself or herself also must be, you know, the that ordinary, their personality must be, you know, the dissolution, it shouldn’t be there. They must transform as a deity yoga practitioner.
So this point is the, also you need pride also, see? That pride is very different pride than regular pride also. See now look at the attachment can be positive, anger can be positive, pride can be positive, but everything is with perspective we are talking about it. Generally speaking, anger is negative, attachment is negative, pride is negative. So that’s why the attachment, anger, ignorance must be avoided.
These are called three poisons. So this aspect here is the, in order to do so, we need to practice patience, we need to practice tolerance, forgiveness, and we need to develop more love towards others. So that’s why we are, you know, different, the context we are talking about it, see. So that’s why the Buddhism is very, very deep. Really, it does.
You need to open up all your ears and eyes and hearts and mind. When you learn Buddhism, not only just narrow or looking at one side, you have to have all this, the Kunzang Chenpo means you have to understand a wider perspective of the Buddhism, not only just one context, one side of the Buddhism, you know. So, perspective, if you are in order to understand the wider perspective of the Buddhism, then you need to open up all your ears and your hearts and minds really to absorb many, many, many different teachings. So, that’s one thing that’s very important. Especially if you are really now thinking to practice tantric, so you must be ready for that, Which is the most advanced teachings and so is the meditation teachings, see?
You must have some understanding of the nature of emptiness. It’s very important. Okay? So, in order to understand the nature of emptiness, so then you need to meditate, not only just reading books, you need to meditate. First get the instructions, daily basis, you know, meditate.
Get some senses about the emptiness. Try to understand and observe the total meaning of the emptiness. I gave some examples. The main thing is to meditate. This is called analytical meditation.
So, going back now. So that’s why now the two different people and two different ways they do practice. One is the, you know, out of the anger and hatred, so they do defeat the outer enemies, but eventually they’re really not really hero. But then other one is absolutely with patience and tolerance, you know, applying the patience and tolerance that they defeat the anger. That’s what they do, which is one of the best way to defeat the anger.
Then down there is the Now, if I don’t concentrate, it’s itching. When I concentrate, it’s gone. Now, see, I’m trying to now it’s coming back. Okay. Anyway, twenty one.
Furthermore, there are advantages to suffering, with agony, arrogance disappears, compassion grows for those in cyclic existence, negative conduct is shown and joy is taken in being constructive. So, this one is the, this particular verse, meaning of the verse is the, actually the, there would be great benefit if you think about the nature’s suffering. There would be great benefit. So that’s the main thing in this particular verse. Twenty one.
Okay. So this one is the benefit of thinking, suffering. So that’s why the Buddha his first teaching out of the four noble truth, noble truth of suffering. So, this is also the very carefully, you know, listen, sometimes people do misunderstand when we talk about the benefit of thinking suffering. So, I try to make this little easier way to put things, you know.
Sometimes when I translate it exactly from here, these are very, very strong things and it’s hard to understand for the newer people. So, the actually, give you some examples down there also. There are two different ways to think about the suffering. First of all, I mean, know, if you think about the suffering, there will be greater benefit. Mean, if you think about the suffering, mean if you meditate, how suffering arises.
What exactly does mean suffering, you know? How suffering arises? What I need to do when I feel pain in suffering? So all these are we are talking about it here. The thinking, you know?
We are not saying here thinking, suffering, meaning when you feel some sort of a problem, you are thinking only that problem, what to do now, what kind of a medicine you needed, what kind of doctor you need to go to and fix your pain and your suffering. We are not talking about like which is very mundane side, which is a very different case. Here is the way are talking about the nature of suffering, how you have to think about this. So, you think about, first of all, your own suffering, let’s say. When you feel some pain and suffering, if you think about this pain and the suffering, there will be a lot of benefit.
If you think about carefully your own pain and suffering, first thing is what you need to do. You need to just concentrate on this pain and suffering. Natural pain and suffering, we are talking about it. This will help you to also cut out your own other emotions like pride and arrogance when you feel suffering. This will help you to cut out.
Those are the benefit. So, also this will help you to really to how to eliminate this pain and suffering. How I can eliminate the pain and suffering. What I need to do? What antidote must be applied in order to eliminate the pain and the suffering?
So when you think about this way, great benefit is you can able to search the cause of suffering. See, that comes up, what is the cause of suffering? See, then you can able to understand the real cause of suffering. Because of the karma and the delusions, then now I’m having all this pain and suffering. So then now, how I can able to really cut off pain and suffering?
So this point is the only Dharma can help you. So you will be appreciated. Then now another benefit, you will be appreciated that the Dharma teachings are such a, you know, really the, it’s called Dharma mirror that you can able to learn from the Dharma, that you can able to cease the suffering. You will be appreciated. Dharma teachings.
Dharma teachings is the only thing that be able to solve the problems. This is another benefit. Your mind will be much closer to Dharma teachings because Dharma is the only. Okay. As I mentioned before, skillful mean.
So, when you’re thinking about suffering, so, you know, sometimes Okay, let’s say, it depends the people to people. If you are so much thinking self important, so is the, maybe, you know, too much arrogant, too much prideful, then the antidote you need to apply thinking your own suffering that, you know, and the dissatisfaction things. So you know, there are many sufferings and problems, you need to think about it that. When you do that, what happened was that high sort of mind will go down like this. However, when you do that, if you feel some kind of a depression, because sometimes when you feel that, when you are thinking once on this, you know, all these different problems and suffering, sometimes you may feel a little depression or maybe the discouragement, you may feel that.
When you feel something like this, then the next antidote you need to do is apply that the, think about your goodness, things that you do good things for the others, you know, your own good qualities, you need to think about it. When you do that, that downcast mind will go up a little bit like this. So, this point brings balance like this. Buddhism does not say only think about pain and suffering, nothing else. That’s not my point here.
My point here is this skillful means, as I mentioned before, if you are very prideful, so arrogant, the time thinking very much self is the only important, you know, something like that.