Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. The “laziness of defeatism” — the inner voice insisting you lack the capacity for bodhisattva practice — is Geshe Pema Tsering’s opening target in this 41-minute commentary on the perfection of effort. He counters it with trader-and-farmer analogies (goals reached step by step), then the Buddha’s statement that even flies and worms can attain Buddhahood through effort — making the case that humans are far better placed than they assume. Three types of effort are laid out in sequence: armor-like perseverance, effort in collecting virtue (the six perfections, offerings, meditation), and perseverance in benefiting beings. Milarepa is the central example of Buddhahood achieved in one lifetime. The session closes with Q&A, including a practical exchange about whether working a regular job to fund future Dharma study constitutes a virtuous motivation.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 02 6P 2001 09 27.mp3
UUID: ef1693df-e05b-480e-9544-dd16821e1ec9
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: 6 Perfections – Effort (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2001-09-27
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 40.9 minutes
Words: ~2,182
So in fact, here, having this thought that, I cannot do this, I cannot engage, in these actions of a bodhisattva. I can’t, actually help other beings in the way that great bodhisattvas do. Don’t have that sort of capacity and so forth.
All these various thoughts that arise, in relation to our own limitations, all of these come under the heading here of this laziness of defeatism, which in fact is a type of laziness. However, if we, for instance, patiently investigate the issue and then investigate the causes for attaining the state of the bodhisattva or Buddha, such as engaging in virtuous actions like, firstly, generosity and then ethics, patience, energy and so forth. In stages, evenly and in a well paced fashion, if we contemplate these issues, then we can understand how it is possible for an ordinary being such as ourselves to attain the state of a Buddha. So here we can reflect, for instance, on how beings go about their ordinary activities like a trader. A trader engages in the act of trading and so forth.
And by doing this then they function or they act to achieve the result that they seek. And similarly a farmer goes about his activities as a farmer, planting the fields and watering and harvesting and so forth. And in due course and in stages they achieve their results. Similarly, we should contemplate that in stages, gradually, we can attain results of the path as well. And then also we can reflect that the Buddha himself has stated that no matter who it is, if a being achieves perseverance or effort, then because they possess the the lineage of a Buddha, because they have Buddha nature, then even a fly or a worm, and so forth, when they attain perseverance or effort, they can attain the state of a Buddha.
So we should think, carefully on these words which were spoken by the Buddha. So in fact, here, if the Buddha has stated this in relation to insects such as flies and worms and so forth, then we should apply this also to ourselves, that in fact, as human beings, we’re in a much better position to engage in practice because we can understand language, we can learn about these practices and engage in these practices. We’re in fact, have Buddha nature. We’re in fact in a much better position to practice than many other beings. But the Buddha has even stated that these other beings in a far inferior state than us, if they develop the strength of effort, can achieve the state of Buddha.
So also, applying that to ourselves, we can see that we also can achieve state of a Buddha. So understanding that we have the potency to attain the state of a Buddha if we generate the strength of effort, then also we can attain the state of a Buddha. Buddha nature pervades every sentient being. So all sentient beings have this potential, have this capacity to become fully awakened. And also, all sentient beings possess mind.
So all sentient beings possess mind and the emptiness of the mind is what is called Buddha nature. The emptiness of the mind or the suchness of the mind is this lack of true existence of the mind. So all sentient beings possess this mind which is lacking in true existence, which is the Buddha nature itself. That Buddha nature eventually can develop into the state of a Buddha and achieve or attain the level of a Buddha. And in fact, the emptiness of the ordinary mind will eventually become the emptiness of a fully awakened being’s mind or the omniscient mind of a Buddha.
So in fact, it’s the process of simply enhancing that potential. So in fact we all understand or have an idea of the difficulty in attaining the state of enlightenment. And that’s not difficult to understand. We all appreciate the difficulties involved in attaining Buddhahood or the state of enlightenment. However, also many paths have been set out.
There are many and various ways in which the obscurations can be overcome. So thinking on this then also also helps us to generate effort in our practice. Because it’s possible for a being who attains the strength of effort to even overcome all obscurations within the path they take in one short lifetime. And there are many instances of this. Probably the most famous is Jetsün Milarepa, who in one short lifetime was able to progress from the status of an ordinary being to the state of a Buddha through generating effort and overcoming these types of laziness.
So it’s possible through developing here effort and overcoming these forms of laziness to actually exert ourselves in various ways in the path and overcome overcome all those obstacles that may appear, that may hinder us in eventually attaining the result that we seek. And in fact, there are there are those who develop the strength of effort where they can even aspire to be reborn in hell for the benefit of other beings, and within such a birth to take on the sufferings of others and work for the sake of others. So that type of, effort, is possible. Strength of that type of effort is possible. Could stay in the fires of the hell without respite for oceans of eons for the sake of each sentient being.
May my compassion not flag. May I strive for supreme enlightenment. So even the Pänchen Lama has made this type of prayer. So by developing this type of perseverance, this type of effort, the former three types of laziness certainly can be overcome and abandoned. So in fact, establishing effort, we need a type of awareness that really takes delight in virtue, which is what effort is.
We need to develop a type of delight in virtue that arises without effort, that engages in virtue, in a sense, without too much trouble or effortlessness. So in fact, there are three types of effort. These are of the three types of perseverance or effort that exist, we first have this armor like, perseverance, and this armor like perseverance, is the one that we’ve just, mentioned. Then the second type of effort that’s mentioned in the text is this effort to collect virtuous phenomena or virtuous things. This basically is effort engaging in the six perfections such as generosity ethics, patience, effort and so forth.
In fact, it extends to the effort that one puts in all virtuous actions, such as making offerings or doing one’s recitations or engaging in meditation and so on. So all of these virtuous practices, the effort that one puts into engaging in these virtuous practices is the effort to collect what is virtuous. So then the third type of perseverance here is the perseverance of working for the sake of sentient beings. So this includes the practice of the four ways of gathering disciples. So in fact, here, the the four ways of gathering disciples is mentioned briefly in the text, and it refers to the different ways in which one acts in order to attract others to oneself, so that, one is able to help them through, for instance, teaching them and so on.
So this includes being generous to those, and it includes, explaining the meaning of Dharma to them, teaching them, the meaning of Dharma and so forth. So in fact, acting in all ways, in various ways, to please, one’s disciples, one’s students so that they engage in the practice of Dharma. So in fact, here, these four Yeah. These four, as it says in the text, you may possibly view the last two types of perseverance, or effort. And in fact, the way that these, different types of, activities for gathering disciples are enumerated may also be included or they may be included in other perfections, as it says.
You may possibly view the last two types of perseverance or ethics of patience and so on as amounting to much the same thing. But leave them as separate. Do not confuse them even though you undertake the practice and wish to abandon contrary factors to all in relation to the one basis. In the text, that concludes presentation of effort at that point. So as Geshe-la says that, anyway, there’s still two perfections, that are left, to be completed in, in this section.
And it would probably be better to just mark the text and come back to these at a later date because both of those are very important. So what may be useful now is if there are any questions about the material covered so far, then there’s time. There’s about there’s some minutes left now to deal with any doubts or any questions that have arisen. Right. So in in fact, to engage in work or business in order to make money so that you can engage in study and practice in the future, is that okay?
Is that a a good? So Geshe-la says that actually engaging in work at present in order to pay off or survive and save money in order to be able to practice in the future, of course, is a very good thing to do. And with that type of motivation, even the work that one is doing now becomes virtuous. So in fact, because one’s engaging in the work at present in order that one is able to continue on study of dharma in the future and at present, then by that motivation being there, then it’s a virtuous action even when one is working. No.
So in fact, once one has, decided, that that is what one is working for, then one should make that nice and firm and steady and retain that unshakably. This one. If you forget your initial You don’t forget your goal, but you just make more than you initially planned. One has to be careful with that because certainly if one has an initial thought that I’ll save this amount of money, when one gets that saved and then thinks, oh wait a minute, it would be nice to double that. In fact, of course the bank balance is going up, but in fact one’s initial goal is not being established.
So there’s a danger there that one is being sidetracked and not engaging fulfilling one’s initial goal. Did it matter? What? What sort of business are you in? Right.
Really, here it depends on one’s own motivation that one is engaged in, work, you know, for this particular company, in order to, you know, practice Dharma for a virtuous purpose? And one is definite on that. It’s hard to tell in relation to the company exactly where the money is coming from. This one has access to their books and so forth, which one may not. But if one thinks in that way, I really have doubt about where the money is coming from, I really wonder if it’s good for me to work there and so forth.
Having that doubt makes it difficult for one to generate a positive motivation in working there and converting it definitely into virtue. So one that really needs to overcome that doubt, and one in a sense, overcomes that doubt by establishing a virtuous motivation for oneself, even though one can’t, you know, it’s where in fact all the money came from in relation to that company may not be known by oneself. So even though one is not able to discern, you know, all these sources of revenue of a particular company, and of course this is really the case for everyone, still with a positive motivation from one’s own side in relation to the work that one is doing, in relation to one’s own relationship to the company that one’s working for, then one can establish a virtuous basis for working there. It depends on one’s own motivation. So no more questions?
So in fact, previously, anyway, we I guess I said that we covered very briefly these different types of difficulty in finding this precious human rebirth. The first one was in terms of cause, the second one, for instance, in terms of example. And really in terms of example then, it’s the multitude of beings that exist, like the example in China, or in fact this example of the ocean and the fish and the turtle living at the bottom of the ocean and the turtle rising once every one hundred years and half, and the possibility of putting its neck through the yoke, a golden yoke that’s floating on the surface and so forth. Then in terms of identity, it’s really that simply in its identity it is difficult to find. This precious human rebirth, by its definition, by its characteristics that it possesses, it’s very difficult.
Something with possessing all the characteristics that complete its identity is very rare. Is that okay? Yeah. Oh, yeah.