Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Geshe Nawang Dhargyey addresses a fundamental tension at the heart of modern life: material progress has advanced tremendously, yet inner peace and happiness remain elusive. In this 47-minute public talk, he argues that lasting peace comes not from external circumstances but from transforming our minds through spiritual practice. He traces the root of suffering to delusions—desire, hatred, ignorance, jealousy, miserliness—and explains that these can only be eliminated through developing correct understanding and cultivating opposing virtues. Dhargyey emphasizes that spiritual practice need not require monastic renunciation; even householders can live virtuously by restraining harmful actions of body and speech, generating love and compassion, and monitoring their thoughts and conduct throughout the day. He concludes that individual transformation naturally radiates outward, affecting families and communities, and that genuine world peace is impossible without first correcting our individual attitudes and ways of thinking. Practical and accessible to newcomers and established practitioners alike.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 01 PT 1985 04 28.mp3
UUID: c65b9993-99a6-4ca5-8b94-38c82bea160a
Teacher: Geshe Nawang Dhargyey
Collection: Public Talk (Geshe Nawang Dhargyey)
Date: 1985-04-28
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 47.9 minutes
Words: ~3,973
First of all, good evening to everybody who has come here. Today, we have gathered here in this hall, and I’m very happy indeed to see you here. Not only humans who are endowed with a certain degree of intelligence and sense of discrimination. Even lowly creatures like ants and ants and other animals. So all that living beings desire and what they want is peace, happiness, and conversely, what they would despise or hate to experience is suffering and miseries.
Unlike lowly creatures or unlike animals, humans are quite intelligent, and they can think much more farsightedly than others. And they are also endowed with their wisdom and discrimination as to what is good for them and what is harmful to them. And the human mind is so powerful in that if it if it’s used properly, it can bring happiness for self and for many other beings. Since the evolution of this world, man has been using the power of his mind, And that man has come come to this stage, such an advanced stage. It’s in fact the result of functioning of his mind and exercising the thinking nature of the man’s of his mind.
And this is the result of man’s ingenuity. Of different systems that man has worked out, some of the systems are meant or directed at eliminating problems and sufferings in the, you know, immediate future. And some systems have been worked out by man in order to accomplish or bring about lasting peace and happiness. And also, unfortunately, some system has been developed by man that will, you know, create havoc in the world in terms of destroying the little peace of mind and happiness that now prevails in this on the surface of the world. And there are others some others which can bring untold miseries to all humans living in on this earth.
And man has advanced scientifically and technological so much that even today, even a man is able to go to the to the moon, which was once regarded as a celestial mansion. But then let’s question the usefulness of such advanced material progress and material advancement, whether to such great extent of material progress and external progress, we have experienced or we have got the corresponding degree of inner peace or peace of mind or happiness. And it’s quite obvious that these types of material progress that man has made has actually failed in ensuring, in fact, the peace or the goal that man has been looking at to accomplish. Man in the beginning, just after the completion of the evolution of this world, so going beyond caveman, was extremely happy and extremely peaceful despite the fact that man at that time did not enjoy the modern facilities and amenities in terms of easy means of transportation, several luxuries and comforts that we today enjoy. Despite the fact that man at that time did not have all these modern amenities.
Yet, you know, man indeed was extremely peaceful and happy. And today, although we have made such amazing, you know, advancement in terms of material progress and technological progress, yet we have lost what we have been looking for that is our own peace and happiness. When it’s clear that material progress has utterly failed in giving us real peace and happiness, now is a time that we search for another means to ensure or to bring that happiness that we have been looking for. And that is by way of seeking such happiness from within and not so much from without or externally. And nevertheless, material progress or material prosperity can give certain degree of physical pleasure.
And due to that physical pleasure, it may also give a little amount of mental peace. But such a thing, such a peace, and such a physical pleasure are quite deceptive, and there’s no relying on these things. Therefore, it’s it’s time that we looked, you know, for means which will ensure the lasting peace and happiness for us. Therefore, the only alternative that’s left and that’s open for us is to try to seek peace within by way of taming and correcting our own way of thinking or our attitude towards life. And if by correcting our attitude towards love and what we are really looking for, and then, you know, if we gain peace and happiness from within, then in in spite of the fact that some may may have problem externally or external problem, such a person will be able to make terms with unhappy external circumstance and will be able to live in peace.
Now how to seek, how to obtain, or how to develop peace from within In order to experience peace or happiness from within, first, we have to get rid of certain things that pollute or that contaminate our minds. And these are what we call delusions or unhealthy ways of thinking or certain wrong attitudes. And now a few of such wrong attitudes are to mention. Desire, hatred or ignorance, close mindedness, or desire, hatred and ignorance, jealousy, and miserliness, these are some of the wrong attitudes that really are responsible for for losing or for making us suffer and to experience miseries. Now in order to remove or eliminate these strong attitudes that we have in terms of these delusions that crop up in our minds.
And the only way we have to get rid of these or eliminate these from our mind streams is by applying the correct antidotes. And the only antidote we have at our disposal is by turning to spiritual antidotes. And otherwise, these cannot be removed from our minds through external means even if we may use atom bombs or nuclear power. So these physical energy can never remove, can never eliminate our wrong attitude that we have. Therefore, the only means that that is left our at our disposal is to apply the spiritual antidotes.
Thus, in order to rid our minds of these false or wrong attitudes, we have to increase the power of mind and our minds. In order to increase the power of mind, the ability or the power of our minds, we have to develop certain antidotes certain antidote which in fact are some attitudes which are quite contradictory or quite opposed to the way these wrong attitudes think or to the way wrong attitudes like passion, so they apprehend their objects. So we have to develop such as of attitude which is which are quite quite opposed to the to the wrong attitudes. I’ll give an example how we need to develop an attitude which is quite opposed to the wrong attitudes, A correct attitude which is quite opposed to the wrong attitudes.
The example is, suppose your room is semi dark, and when the moment you enter your room, if you see a coiled rope, and at once, you would you would pull back seeing that there’s a snake in your room. And the reason why you all while seeing the coiled rope you are frightened is because of your misconception of the coiled rope as being the snake. Now such a fright of seeing the coiled rope in the room, in the semi dark room, can be eliminated only after the person or only after you have come to realize and develop the correct understanding that it’s not a snake but a coiled rope. So thus, the understanding that it’s not a snake but a coiled rope is quite opposed to the misconception that there is a snake. The moment we understand, the moment such a correct understanding which is quite opposed to the misconception that it’s snake is developed.
The fear the fear that there’s a snake in one’s room or in your room will be self eliminated and would overcome. Similarly, with regards to wrong attitudes that we have, like from desire to miserliness, Of course, there are many more than such wrong attitudes. Similarly, have to develop such a correct understanding of the reality of such wrong attitudes, which directly affect and combat with such wrong attitudes and then thus will not delude us into performing various actions. All sufferings are unpleasant experiences that we have. So they have their roots, but they are caused by our own actions.
In fact, we ourselves are responsible for our own unpleasant experiences or suffering because we have created their cause in the form of non in the form of performance of non virtuous actions. And now the non virtuous actions are performed when we have fallen under the wrong attitude or what we call delusions. Now, by developing the correct antidote, which will directly combat with such wrong attitudes. So we will be able to totally eliminate through study practice all such wrong attitudes Once these wrong attitudes are eliminated, non virtuous actions which then cause sufferings will come to an end. As a result, our own suffering or unpleasant experiences that we face in our lives will come to an end.
The moment the wrong attitudes are corrected, so a such a person would be called a foe destroyer. Foe referring to one’s delusions because they are foes because they destroy our happiness and peace. And the one who overcomes these wrong attitudes would be called a foe destroyer. In the past too, during Buddha’s time in India, there were there were countless of such successful foe destroyers. Once a person achieves the state of foe destroyer or, you know, a state where one has completely overcome or uprooted all these wrong attitudes and misconceptions, then however long one may live, it’s always peace and peace.
Now there’s need to turn to, you know, spiritual teachings and practice and living one’s life by those teachings. And we there’s reason why we need to do this. There are two reasons. There are two reasons why we should do this. The first reason is we need to turn to spiritual teachings because we want happiness.
And we also the second reason is we need to rely or embrace this those spiritual teachings because we do not want to experience miseries and hardships and misfortunes. And in the to fulfill, the first thing of experience of happiness, lasting happiness, and peace of mind can only be accomplished through the practice of spiritual teachings or by living one’s life in one’s day to day life, applying these teachings practically. Secondly, the only way through which we can totally uproot all our miseries or sufferings or hardships in life, in this life as well as in the future life, it’s only possible to practice all the teachings by means of implementing them in one’s day to day life. Just as a certain illness can have different medicines to eliminate that sickness or that illness. Similarly, there are different types of religious systems in the world in order to give happiness and help beings or followers overcome their sufferings.
Now that there are different types or there are many religious systems in the world, Now with regard to the choice of what kind of religious system one is going to follow or practice, so one should choose that religious system that is suitable to one and that one likes and one thinks is reasonable. In the same way, when different types of food are laid laid out on the table, and a person, while giving a choice to select a food, will choose that food that will agree with one’s system and is able to digest and enjoy. Similarly, with regard to the choice of different types of religious system, so one should choose that which is quite agreeable to one’s own way of thinking and attitudes attitude towards life. I’m quite sure that all religious systems teach some basic principles and that they teach that they should not indulge in killing, they should not indulge in stealing, and they should not indulge in illicit sex or in sexual misconduct. And all religious systems further teach, you know, that verbally, we should not lie, we should not use divisive speech, we should not speak harshly, and we should not indulge in unnecessary gossips and so on.
And thus, if we follow these principles, these teachings, we would have developed cultured actions physically and in a speech. And, you know, we would have overcome unkind actions and unkind speech. Practice of a religious system doesn’t necessarily should sound like one must follow a very strict religious life. It can be quite simple and practical at the same time. Now practice of Dharma means or practice of religious system or spiritual teaching can be avoidance of physical non virtuous actions and and also the non-virtues associated with one’s speech.
So if we if one could only abandon the performance of three non-virtues of body, four non-virtues of speech, and three of mind, And such avoidance of the performance of these non-virtues actions would be would be, in fact, religious would be, in fact, practice of the teachings or the religious teachings. And such non such non virtuous actions must abandon on the grounds that performing these are harmful to one as well as to others. Conversely, we should then develop a habit, a good habit of practicing the opposite of these non-virtues, the three virtues of body, four of speech, and three of mind. So these are called virtuous, beneficial wholesome action in that they give they give or cause happiness to one and to others as well. Thus, practice of religious system needn’t sound so complicated.
It can be quite practical. So in fact, these are, you know, like the laws of a of a certain of a country. So if a citizen performs an action that is illegal, any does anything that’s illegal, then he’s bound to find himself in the prison and is given punishment. Whereas if he’s a law-abiding citizen, and if it dedicates his service to the welfare of the community and to the country, so he is, towards the end of such a glorious action, richly rewarded and, you know, appreciated his actions, appreciated.
Similarly, in our case too, in one’s own happiness, if we perform the virtuous actions, we will be rewarded with happiness and peace of mind. Conversely, if we indulge in the performance of the non virtuous actions, we would be then afflicted with sufferings and the result, unhappy consequences of those actions. And at such when we experience the unhappy consequences of these actions, so no one would be responsible for such experience except our own actions or ourselves. We must come to know that once we perform a single action a single action, whether virtuous or non virtuous now while we’re talking about non virtuous, if we perform a single non virtuous action, so that is bound. That is going to give an unhappy result or cause an unhappy result necessarily in the future.
Whereas if we perform an an illegal action, so in many cases, so such people who indulge in illegal actions are not necessarily caught by the law. So they are so for they they manage to be to go undetected by law and not necessarily punished by law. Whereas in the case of performance of non virtuous action, once performed so so it’s bound to give rise to an unhappy consequence in the future. So what we should do is we should, when we get up in the in the in the morning, should generate an intention that today, at least at least today, I will keep an eye on my actions. And then, therefore, I will restrain my action, my body, and speech from indulging in the negative actions of body and speech.
Thus, if you could generate certain intention in the morning when they get up, then it’s bound to have certain impact on one’s action during the day. Just as the type of food we eat for lunch and for breakfast and for dinner, in fact, is thought of such a so it has been an intention to make such a meal, such a food for the lunch and for for lunch, for dinner has been generated before. And the type of food that we eat then follows the intention already generated. Similarly, if we could generate or cause certain intention develop in our minds not to risk or not to perform the bad actions, harmful actions during the day, that at least that day so I’m quite sure that it will put a check on your non virtuous actions. Then sometime to sometime in the afternoon or in the midday, we should then remind of ourselves what we are doing and keep an eye on our own way of thinking on our mind, whether one is performing, you know, of whether one’s performing virtuous action or non virtuous action, and whether one is, you know, living up to the good intention one has generate in the morning or not.
Then when we’re about to go to bed at night, we should look back what to what we have done during the day and to check whether we have been virtuous or non virtuous. And if you know if you come to know at that time that we unfortunately have been non virtuous during the day, It’s a time that we remind not to do the same the next day. And if we come to know it through a certain retrospective investigation of one’s action during the day, then we should feel joyous and sort of go enthusiastic to perform to to do the same virtuous actions, you know, the next day. That’s how, you know, we should try to live our lives daily by checking and by keeping eye on one’s mind on one’s attitude and one’s mind and also by correcting the wrong physical actions and, you know, wrong type of speech. Thus, if you could live our life in the most virtuous way, then I’m quite sure that that could be the best kind of practice one can perform or one can do during one’s entire lifetime.
On top of living such a virtuous life, avoiding the performance of non virtuous actions of body, speech, and mind, Conversely, practicing the virtues of body, speech, and mind. So then what we should do is we should try to then generate love and compassion and highest sense of altruism towards others. And thus, if we could live such a life, such a virtuous life, I’m quite sure we would have made our human life extremely fruitful and our human existence quite, fruitful in this life as well as such a virtuous human life will then go a long way in ensuring happiness in the future. And now we must know that the type of life that we have is extremely precious and invaluable, in fact, priceless. And it’s by it is this kind of life in the past when the great saints in the in India, that from the Buddhist point of view, there were many of such saints who were able to use their lives most fruitfully and attained great higher spiritual realizations and abandoned, you know, suffering and the causes forever.
And now so the life that they had and the life that we have, so there’s no difference in the potentiality, in the capabilities of the two types of life. Therefore, if only we could use our life properly by means of avoiding those unhealthy actions of body, speech and mind. Plus, if we could generate beneficial attitudes towards others, benevolent attitudes like love and compassion, I’m quite sure we would have lived a very meaningful and fruitful human life. And this human life, as you know, is extremely purposeful in the short run and in the long run. In the short run, it can fulfill temporary happiness.
And in the long run, so this human life has the capability to attain everlasting, the eternal peace of the state of enlightenment. And we should we should use such a human life to fulfill such a sort of a lofty aim or beneficial and lofty goal. That’s if you follow these teachings, these simple basic teachings, and live your life by, if not all, by all of them, at least some of them, and plus generate those benevolent attitude attitude towards others in terms of love and compassion, then you needn’t renounce your worldly life in your attempts to practice a spiritual life or to live a spiritual life. So by by living your own mundane life, yet you can be, you know, practicing the spiritual teachings in the most practical manner. So whether you are working in the office or in a factory, in a hospital, if only you live your life, as I have just said earlier, in the most virtuous way, abandoning or trying to abandon the ten non virtuous actions to the best of your ability, then, you know, you you have you you would have lived a very virtuous, virtuous life.
One of the advantages of living such a virtuous human life will then also ensure peace in yourself, and such a peace within in yourself will then also go to ensure peace in the world itself. Now although everyone in the world is, you know, living in a state of constant suspicion and fear as to what will happen to them. And now and everybody is crying for peace. Peace will not come to world to the world by crying for peace, but peace will come in a different way. That’s by correcting our first the individual’s life individual’s life by way of correcting his or her own ways of thinking or or attitudes.
And when his or her attitude or individual’s attitudes got corrected, wrong attitude is eliminated and positive, healthy attitude is developed. So such will transform the individual and will ensure such a transformation will ensure peace within the individual. And this will then affect, you know, will will affect people around him, and thus this will such a virtuous life will permit the positive energy to to affect many others, and thus this will affect, you know, people at large in the world. And only when people’s attitude are changed, then world peace can come or real peace will prevail in the world. In the beginning, you know, when human evolution was just completed, men didn’t have guns and weapons, some deadly weapons that we have today.
In fact, manufacture of weapons and like guns and so on, now like deadly weapons today, they are they are expressions of hostile feelings that the manufacturers have towards other person. And hostile feelings towards others can be overcome by correcting by correcting the individual’s attitude. And individual’s attitude can be corrected by turning to or by applying the spiritual teachings of love and compassion for others. Now whether, you know, people believe in religious principles or not, in fact, you know, they their lives are affected by the actions. Their life in the present is affected by the past action, and their present action will affect their life and what they will be in the future.
And now that we are human today, in fact determined by some action in the past, and the action that determines our human life today is in fact the action of observing certain morality of abandoning those basic those gross non virtuous actions. And in the scriptures, it’s mentioned that morality is the cause for human existence and whereas generosity is the cause for material prosperity.