Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 46-minute commentary, Geshe Pema Tsering anchors the doctrine of bodhicitta in a vivid folktale: a merchant’s son, lost on the road, encounters heavenly goddesses then hellish visions, and when an iron disc of karmic punishment lands on his head, his spontaneous wish to bear all beings’ similar suffering causes it to vanish instantly. The story opens verses 21–30, which argue that aspiring bodhicitta surpasses the kindness of parents, the virtue of gods, and even the attainment of Brahma. A Q&A section then addresses whether hell beings can generate bodhicitta — yes, illustrated by the Buddha’s own past life in the hells — and whether every sentient being carries the seed potential, traced here in ordinary parental compassion.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 07 BD 2002 02 14.mp3
UUID: 10132f5b-ccd3-4ade-8bb6-c6f9e862b610
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Bodhisattva Deeds (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2002-02-14
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 46.0 minutes
Words: ~2,790
Repeat. So then next we have establish establishing that by reasoning. So then we have firstly establishing it establishing the benefits the qualities and benefits of the aspiring mind through reasoning, and then establishing the qualities and benefits of the engaging mind through reasoning. So firstly, then we have really verse twenty one. It’s really from verse twenty one to twenty five.
If even the thought to relieve living creatures of merely a headache is a beneficial intention endowed with infinite goodness and so forth. So at this part of the commentary, then a story is given. So here it’s talking about, in the past, a particular family who had a son. And the son, they gave the name of Zao Pumo. Zao was the name of the father, and Pumo means daughter.
So really it was the daughter of Zao that gave the name to the son. And the reason for this was that in their family, many of the sons had died, and so they were advised to give the name of a daughter to the son so that the son wouldn’t die. So anyway, this the son called “the daughter of Zao” grew up, and then when he was big enough, he left home and he became a trader. And as a trader, he was very successful. He was able to convert — “Kāśyapa” here means the name of the coin at this particular time — four kashapana into eight kashapana, and then eight kashapana into sixteen and sixteen into thirty two. In fact, he was very successful in trade. So then the son gained news from the family that the father had passed away. The father also had gone to other lands in order to trade in jewels, to gain jewels and so forth.
And he heard that he passed away, and he returned to the family home, and he’d given all the profit that he’d gained to his mother. And the son himself was then wanted to go and trade as well in distant countries and gain jewels and so forth through trade like his father had ventured to do. But his mother was very concerned that the same fate would befall the sun, so she blocked the son from leaving. And the mother was very concerned about the son leaving, and she also heard that there were others that were planning to go trading, get a ship, go to the coast, get a ship, and go trading to different places and gain jewels and so forth in this manner. And she tried, you know, to convince her son not to do that.
However, her son got up early. And even though his mother had taken the shoes of the son, he decided if he would meet up with his friends who were all traveling by horse, and he got the donkey and, anyway, it was pretty rough riding the donkey, and he got pretty tired doing this. And so he he decided to stop and rest, he fell asleep. And after a while, then he woke up again, and he realized that some time had passed, and he got worried. So he got back on the donkey and started beating the donkey so the donkey went as fast as possible in order that he could make the coast.
However, the son, the daughter of Zao, continued on the road. Of course, he hadn’t been this way before, and he got lost, and he started going through different villages and towns and cities. And he wasn’t sure where he was. But in each each of these places, he started to meet these goddesses, divine girls on the side of the road. So it’s four, then eight, then sixteen, thirty two, and so forth.
And they also offered him money, such as four kashapana or eight kashapana and so forth as it went along. So then while traveling in this way, he experienced the joy of being offered this money by these goddesses and so forth. But then after that, things started to turn in the other direction, and he started to experience very terrible sights, such as the sights of hell and so forth. As he’s riding along on his donkey and, you know, of people in great suffering and torment and so forth, and he’s this was all like a ripening result of past karma that he was experiencing in the form of very dreadful sights and so forth. So then as he well, seeing scenes of hells and so forth, he saw a being come towards him with, like, an iron disc on on their head.
And out of curiosity, the daughter of Zao, who was this man at this stage, asked him, how did that happen? And the person said, oh, this is the ripening result of having mistreated my mother. And so then this iron disc that was on the head of this other person then came and landed on his head, and he began to experience the suffering of having that on his head. So as this iron disc landed on his head and he began to experience similar suffering to that observed in this other being. And as the suffering intensified, then he made the wish, may I take on the sufferings of all sentient beings who are afflicted by similar sufferings to these?
And on making that wish, then the disc itself disappeared, and he found himself back where he was. So this So the point of this story is that by that being aspiring to take on the suffering of all other beings that had a similar type suffering to that of their head being constricted in an iron disc was sufficient to free them from that suffering and bring them back to their original state, original place. So, therefore, if one develops the aspiration to attain a state of enlightenment in order to raise every sentient being to the state of enlightenment itself, then it can the benefit of that aspiring bodhicitta can be understood.
So therefore, in the root text, as it states, if even the thought to relieve living creatures of merely a headache is a benef beneficial intention endowed with infinite goodness, then what need is there to mention the wish to dispel their inconceivable misery, wishing every sin every single one of them to realize boundless good qualities? So then the next verse, verse twenty three. Do even fathers and mothers have such a benevolent intention as this? Do the gods and sages? Does even Brahma have it?
So in fact, the kindness of one’s mother and father is evident. But this particular intention of generating bodhicitta is not necessarily possessed by mothers and fathers, those that are really close to one, or other sentient beings as well, such as the gods and the sages. So here, talking about the six types of god in the desire realm and the various types of gods in the higher higher realms, or talking about sages or rishis. Here, rishis in terms of those that have attained the actual basis of the form realm, that is the absorptions of the form realm that have the ability to generate emanations and so on, Or in fact, those that those divine beings who abide in the four abodes of Brahma, that is the immeasurable love, compassion, joy, and equanimity. Even sages that have those capacities, even they don’t possess it.
And even Brahma himself. So in fact and also, as the final line says, does even Brahma have it? Or not only Brahma, but the various other lords of the divine realms and so forth. Do these beings possess it? Meaning that, in fact, there are not it’s not pervasive that divine beings have bodhicitta.
In fact, many have not established bodhicitta. Many, in fact, do not even aspire to achieve it. Many don’t dream of it or establish it as an aspiration and so on. So this attitude of bodhicitta is rare and special. So then verse number twenty four and twenty five.
If those beings have never before even dreamt of such an attitude for their own sake, how would it ever arise for the sake of others? This intention to benefit all beings, which does not arise in others even for their own sake, is an extraordinary jewel of the mind, and its birth is an unprecedented wonder. So here, in fact, all of these divine beings, amongst those, many have not even dreamt of such an attitude even for their own benefit, even for their own sake. However, such an attitude is of great, immeasurable benefit. And so therefore, it’s recommended that we should unlike the divine beings, we also should aspire to this state because even though it may seem impossible to generate the attitude of bodhicitta, through the force of effort, the strength of effort, it’s possible for human beings to establish the mind of bodhicitta.
And similarly, it’s possible for ourselves to establish the mind of bodhicitta. So the next section So then the next section in the text is the section on establishing by reasoning or through reasoning the benefits of the engaging mind of bodhicitta. So this is really from verse twenty six to verse thirty. And, firstly, it states, how can I fathom the depths of the goodness of this jewel of the mind, the panacea that relieves the world of pain and is the source of all its joy? So here, it talks about all migrating beings, that in fact migrating beings themselves are infinite in number or immeasurable in number.
And this thought of bodhicitta directed at the, at benefiting or raising to the state of full enlightenment all sentient beings who are immeasurable, that attitude itself is unfathomable because sentient beings are immeasurable. So as it says, how can I fathom the depths of the goodness of the jewel of this mind? Good in it because it’s aspiring to the the good of others, in fact, the highest good of other beings. And in fact, it is like a medicine which is able to eliminate the pain and suffering of other beings, all other beings, and it’s a source of immeasurable joy. So it’s very difficult for us to fathom the depths or fathom the actual state of this mind because in terms of the its object, all sentient beings, they’re immeasurable.
It’s able to eliminate the immeasurable pain of these immeasurable beings, so therefore it’s unfathomable. Further, it’s able to establish beings in the highest joy, and that joy itself also is immeasurable. So this mind itself is said to be unfathomable. Are there any doubts that have arisen in regards to tonight’s text? Although hell beings can generate bodhicitta.
They can be a body basis for the generation. They can be a physical basis for the generation of the mind or bodhicitta. Here, the what Jetsunpa and what this text here is saying, which follows the advice of Jetsunpa, one Tibetan lama called Jetsunpa, is that it’s possible for a being to attain or generate bodhicitta in the hells. There are hell beings who do actually generate bodhicitta. Although in terms of such bodhisattvas as Kṣitigarbha bodhisattva, who had the vow to remain in hell, they it doesn’t necessarily mean that they have to generate bodhicitta newly in the life of a hell being, but they can generate bodhicitta and then be reborn or abide in hell, having generated it previously in other states.
But it’s even possible for a being to newly generate bodhicitta also in the hells. And the example given there is the Buddha himself in a previous life who was pulling a chariot or a cart in hell with a friend. There were two of them together pulling this cart along. And the friend the companion of the Buddha was unable to push the load, and so the Buddha offered to the hell guardians who were bearing down on them that he would carry the load of both because his companion was sick. And they said, how can you carry the load or the karmic load of another being?
And they struck the Buddha in that life with a mace after he generated great compassion, and in the wake of that great compassion, he generated bodhicitta. Being struck by a mace, he was killed and was reborn in the god realm. That is given as an instance of someone who’s newly generating bodhicitta in the hell realm, but that’s rare. It doesn’t. Otherwise, there are those bodhisattvas who have established engaging bodhicitta and who established, for instance, the great stage of the path of accumulation on the great vehicle, who, through their prayers, take rebirth or proceed to the hells.
But they do that with joy because it’s done out of their prayer and aspiration to help sentient beings. And even though they may remain in hell, they experience great joy at being there because they’re able to assist other beings. So that is that is also a different situation because they’re not newly generating bodhicitta in the hell realms, but generating it outside of the hell realms. And then later, when their bodhicitta is stable, they may, through the power of aspiration and prayer, be reborn there and help other beings. So in fact, there are many biographies, histories, and so forth of different bodhisattvas that talk about the sufferings that they undergo in order to help other beings, such as taking rebirth in the hells or donating body parts.
Even Āryadeva gave his eye out of compassion for another being. So there are many stories like this that illustrate the compassion of bodhisattvas and how the lengths that they go through in order to help beings. And in fact, even if we think about bodhicitta ourselves, it’s possible that we can even develop some level of joy or aspiration to, you know, do or engage in such actions, be reborn in the hells and so forth for the sake of other beings. Bodhisattvas are those that are always on the verge of helping other beings. They’re waiting for the opportunity because helping other beings gives them great joy, and so they’re always prepared and eager for the opportunity.
And in fact, even in the Guru Puja, in the section on developing the perfection of patience, one makes the aspiration to remain in hell for eons, even for the sake of one being. So we really need to make this prayer. And in having such a prayer, it really is a great benefit. Is bodhicitta inherent in every sentient being? Inherent?
Inherent. Is it there like everybody has the oh, a seed potential. Well, in a sense, maybe slightly different to the potential to become a Buddha. I mean, like, we’re talking in the other parts that are talking about maybe Brahman that doesn’t necessarily have it or hasn’t developed it. Is it there and everybody to develop?
I mean, why when they’ve got to that level, where Is it there to if you say it’s if it’s there, is it there to develop? Sounds like it’s there already. It doesn’t need to be developed. That’s, like, it’s hard to define the everybody has the potential. Right.
Does everyone have the potential? That’s the question. Does everyone have the potential? Yeah. In fact, every sentient being does have the capacity or the potential to generate bodhicitta.
And this can be seen by the fact that everyone does generate the wish for, you know, for instance, children to be free of some forms of suffering or free of suffering and so on. This aspiration doesn’t rise in in the continuums of beings, especially parents for their children. They the wish arises, oh, may my child be free of suffering or may this being be free of suffering and so on. Because that arises, that’s an indication that they are good in nature. So in fact, this altruism or this compassion that beings have for their children, sentient beings have for their children, that, in fact, in essence, is compassion.
And that can be developed and extended beyond, say, their children to other beings around them, to all beings on a planet, beyond the planet, and so forth, and intensified. And in that way, it can become like seed which develops into this great tree of bodhicitta. And, also, Candrakīrti has mentioned that there is nothing which exists, which is impermanent or functional that will not develop through familiarity. In other words, through familiarity, everything becomes easier. So this can be applied here.
Any negative karma? Does that dispel all negative karma? negative karma? Yeah. Right.