Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. “Defeating all enemies is impossible — but defeat your own anger and you defeat them all.” This image of thorns and leather shoes anchors Geshe Pema Tsering’s central argument in this 46.5-minute commentary: all six perfections are perfected through the mind, not through external action. He opens with a teaching from Buddha Śākyamūni linking a kind mind to good rebirths and a bad mind to suffering, then grounds the framework in bodhicitta, whose root he identifies as great compassion. He works through four perfections in sequence: generosity (increasing the wish to give, not eliminating all poverty), ethical discipline (guarding the mind from non-virtue), patience (uprooting anger rather than confronting every adversary), and enthusiastic effort (a joyful mind toward virtue, illustrated through the demanding path to meditative concentration). The session closes on the perfection of wisdom — realizing emptiness — which Geshe Pema Tsering identifies as strictly indispensable for liberation, whether or not bodhicitta is present.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 34 BD 2002 06 06.mp3
UUID: 2ae2fe79-e46c-4861-91ec-4421595a6f7c
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Bodhisattva Deeds (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2002-06-06
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 46.5 minutes
Words: ~2,824
So Lord Buddha Śākyamūni in his sūtra has stated that if one has a kind heart, kind heart kind heartedness, then the path and the the ground and path are also be very kind. If the mind or say so yeah. It’s mind or intention or a mind is bad, then path and grounds are also bad. Therefore, everything depends on the mind. So what it means is if one has a kind heart you know, kind heartedness, isn’t it?
Yep. Then one will have the kind ground and part, which means the part grounds here are the the place where one takes rebirth. And the parts here are the the as for the part, there are two types of part, the the the happiness part and the suffering part. And if one performs if one be a very kind person and, you know, yep, and very kind hearted, then the the place where person would take re rebirth will be very pleasant and a nice place as well as one will go through the the the the happy path or happy yep. Yep.
Happy happy happy part or kind, nice part, the way one will receive the the the happiness. If one is not a kind hearted, then the parts where the place where one the the the one will be born in a in in a very bad rebirth or very very bad place as well as the migration, one will go through the suffering path. And by traveling into suffering parts, then then then one will go through the sufferings. So therefore, what it the briefly speaking, what it means is the happiness or suffering is entirely dependent on one’s mind. So here, the kind hearted refers towards the intention.
If person has a very good intention or a mind of of of, yep, helping others being very altruism as well as, yeah, developing a the mind of, altruistic intention or a bodhicitta, as well as having respect in the law of cause and effect or a karma, and take and and refuge in the Three Jewels training in the three scopes, the small, middling, and the great scope. And those are called the the kind heart kind hearted person or mind or or or or mind with a good intention. And the the the vice versa are like disrespect the the law of cause and effect or a karma as well as cultivating the due to this due to this not respecting in the law of karma, then who does not care about doing anything and involving in the the the the cultivation of the ten non-virtues. So so therefore, we are all here wishing happiness and do not want suffering. So therefore, in order to have the happiness and and avoid sufferings, one one one should not be yeah.
Yeah. Should not cultivate any non-virtues and be kindheartedness and be kindhearted. And and according to the text here, which we will be going, they’re saying everything, all the virtuous comes from from the one’s mind, and it has explained very detail about how, you know, how to protect or or, yeah, how to guide one’s mind, protect one’s. So out of out of those, and then it is the most ultimate or very effective one is to cultivate the amount of altruistic intention with bodhicitta. Yeah.
Should try to develop the mind of the altruistic intention. And it is very important for us to to to to familiarize ourself, yep, constantly to, yep, to cultivate the bodhicitta. And prior to that, in order to develop the bodhicitta, one and it depends. The root of the bodhicitta is is the great compassion, and the should should should cultivate the great compassion through seeing first yeah. Examining how oneself undergoes through those sufferings.
And by knowing this, then also see those motherly sentient beings are also going through like oneself going through going through the sufferings. And, therefore, by knowing that both self and others, they’re lacking happiness and what yep. And and and lacking happiness and being tortured in this the sufferings, the cyclic existence. So therefore, in order to help both self and others, I shall here cultivate all the virtuous. Yep.
Yeah. In order to in order to help sentient beings from the suffering and bring them to the state of ultimate happiness, I shall here engage in the practice to attain enlightenment. So we shall do a short meditation here on this altruistic intention of bodhicitta. So last week, we start we started a bit of the sec the second subdivision, which is all the virtuous comes from the mind. And and out of this, we went through how the the happiness or virtues comes from the one’s mind as well as sufferings are also from deep comes from one’s mind.
And as well as now it’s saying that even the the perfection of the six perfections are also perfected through one’s mind or yeah. And out of the first out of the six perfection, we went through the the perfection of generosity and saying that that the the perfection of generosity should be perfected through mentally or within one’s mind. It is not just saying that to perfect perfection of the generosity, it doesn’t mean that one should give everything and make entire sentence not even a single sentient being should remain in poverty. What it means is one should increase the mind of giving within oneself. And and because sentient beings are limitless and what there is no way one can make equal, everyone.
So this is how the perfection of the generosity being perfected within one’s mind or through one’s mind. So likewise, now here, as well as the now we’re starting from the second one, which is perfection of ethical discipline. So so likewise, the the perfection of ethical discipline, the second perfection. And and so that perfection is also perfected within one’s mind by protecting one’s mind, yeah, one’s mind and not committing any of the non virtuous. And, yeah, by leading a very ethical life or, yeah, ethical life, that it doesn’t mean that, for example, the the the ethical discipline are, like, not killing, refraining from stealing, sexual misconduct or causing harms and so forth.
And to so through within one’s mind, by by protecting one’s mind, making sure that one will not let oneself engage in those non virtuous actions and and and and, yeah, leading a very ethical life through this, how one perfects the perfection of ethical discipline. Otherwise yeah. Yeah. Yes. And so what this is how one perfects the perfection of ethical discipline.
It is not like this way that to perfect the the second perfection, one should one one should yeah. One should not act the act of killing, but it doesn’t mean, like, that one should always take a the like, animal or so forth where people kill, like, the fish and so forth. It doesn’t mean they want to take a take protect with life and then bring it bring it to a place where it won’t be harmed. There is no way one can do so because of the numbers of the sentient being. So all what one should do is one should make sure or making yeah.
Guiding one’s mind and not and, yeah, increasing increasing, yeah, increasing one’s positive actions and not letting one’s mind not to commit any of those, say, ten non virtuous actions. So so likewise, the perfection of patience is perfection. It’s it’s also be perfected through same similar way that that it is not the way one should one should one should be The place where one maintains practice the patience are limitless because of the numberless of sentient beings, and there is no way that one can one can one can win through, one can approach each and every individual of the enemies or peep the beings who bring harm towards you to defeat all those. So how one should perfect is the the perfection of patience is is through by applying antidote towards towards one the main enemy, which is so called the anger. By applying the antidote towards the anger and defeating it within oneself, by doing so, then one indirectly defeats entire enemies or beings who causes harm to you.
This is how so it is not the external. It’s internal matter that one should, you know, maintain patience and and defeat one’s own the the the enemy, so called anger. And through this, how one perfects the perfection of patience. So yeah. So there is no way one can defeat all the the the harms or the beings who causes harm by facing individuals because it is numberless.
So and so so if if one destroy the the the the the royal enemy, is anger, then by defeating that one, yeah, one indirectly or automatically defeat the entire enemies. And and the example here is given, like, example, the the, yeah, The entire field is full of thorns. And in order to avoid one’s feet from being pricked, isn’t it? Yeah? And and one tries there there is no way one can put the the leather cover on entire field because it’s huge.
So in order to protect oneself from that, the best the easiest way is to is to wear a leather, very tough shoes, and then I don’t need to spend all this time to cover the entire land with leather. We just walk in and one have actually say one defeats the thorns. So likewise so likewise so likewise, because sentient beings are numberless, one can’t face each and every individual to defeat one’s harm. So in order to defeat those, one should protect one’s mind, destroy one’s own anger, and whenever the the yeah. The harms from others come should instead yeah.
Should try to be very compassionate, loving, and, yeah, be compassionate to them and for the for the for the for the best. If one can’t do that, at least try not to get angry. And and through this is how through through such way or training, one perfects the third perfection. So so likewise, now we’re on to the fourth perfection, which is perfection of enthusiastic effort. And that is also be perfected through one’s mind.
So the the the definition the definition of the the in yep. Intrinsic here, the enthusiasm or yeah. Intrinsic here is is is the mind which is very happy. Yep. To engage in the action.
Okay. Okay. I’ll try my best in life. So yeah. And the perfection of inter enthusiastic efforts or or effort is is depends on the one’s mind as well.
That’s that the the the of the effort here is the the the happy mind or mind which is very happy to to be yeah. Work or study, for example. And and now here, it says this yeah. In order to attain the meditative absorb meditate the actual meditative absorption of the the the the the first concentration level, they are first, second, third, fourth concentration levels. So to in in order to attain that, one needs to one needs to have the huge positive actions or Huge virtues or positive action.
And and, yeah, to make it a bit clearer, then what happens in order to attain the actual meditative absorption of the the first concentration level, first one has to one has to one has to abandon the so called the so-called close attainment — means the close attainment — on that stage, one is very close to attain the the meditative the actual meditative absorption of the first concentration level. Right? So in order to abandon that what’s so called the proximity abandonment, close attainment, one has to have the this the the single point meditative stabilization or the calm abiding.
Yeah. One needs to have the calm abiding. And for the calm abiding, to receive the calm abiding, then one has one needs to train in all this, the the nine-stage methods of achieving calm abiding. So what it shows is it has lot of work to do, attain.
So so if one has the the happy mind or very enthusiasm, then one is very happy to involve work hard to cultivate all this the the virtuous actions. And by doing so, then one will have yeah. One will receive all this the yeah. Have good rebirths like like like like as Indras or the Mhmm. So it’s called the the yeah.
This it goes actually, the step by step. The actual meditative the, yep, the actual the first yeah. Actual first stage of first concentration level, and then goes from that higher, it goes the the the actual meditative absorptions of the concentration the first concentration level. So without having those, then one will not have those rebirths like yeah. Without having the the the actual first concentration level reaching there, one will not have the one will not have all this the first meditative absorption of the first concentration level as well as born as an Indra and so forth.
So because in order to take birth or being born in those places, one has to have a huge huge huge virtuous. And to do so yeah. So to getting to to to take with all those rebirths, one has one need one has lots of work to do. So without having an enthusiastic effort, one one will not be able to attain all those. So, therefore yeah.
Just to reach the first just to reach the first concentration level, one needs to have there there are yeah. There are lots of work to do. So in order to accomplish all those works, one needs to have a enthusiastic effort. And here the effort, actually, the the definition of the effort here is the mind which is happy to towards the positive actions or virtuous. So briefly speaking, then one has to attain and cultivate all these, yep, so called the quick or no.
No. Close abandonment and the meditative yeah, stabilization, calm abiding. And to attain the calm abiding, one need to train in cultivate in the nine-stage method of placing the mind. Yeah. Yep.
Nine nine nine nine point methods of cultivating. Oh. Just to attain the first concentration level what yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. That’s right. To just attain the first concentration level, one have all whole lot of all this work to do. And for us, here, we are wishing for the liberation or as well as enlightenment, and it’s even more than this. So, therefore, it is very important to to to protect one’s mind.
And and if one does not protect one’s, yeah, one’s mind, then no matter how how how how how how one works, like reciting mantras, doing prostrations, as well as fasting retreat for long, long time and working so hard. But if those practices are done without protecting one’s mind, then there is some benefit, but one will not receive the equivalent, the virtuous set forth or which are stated in sutras by Lord Buddha Śākyamūni. So now towards the, yeah, the perfection of wisdom. And to yeah. So the perfection of wisdom is to also through perfected through one’s mind.
And here, the perfection of wisdom here is wisdom realizing emptiness. So the the the bodhisattva these are these two are the bodhisattvas. So it’s yeah. In order to perfect the perfection of wisdom, one needs to see the ultimate to realize the ultimate truth, which is wisdom realizing emptiness. And and the bodhisattvas’ main practices are are practicing the or cultivating bodhicitta and the wisdom realizing emptiness.
So therefore so we also to attain the nirvana, the just mere freedom from cyclic existence or the enlightenment and the enlightenment or buddhahood is to attain buddhahood, one one needs to realize develop the wisdom realizing emptiness. Without developing wisdom realizing emptiness, the the the arhathood or the liberation and enlighten enlightenment can’t be achieved. So therefore, likewise, like like bodhisattvas cultivate the the bodhicitta and wisdom realizing emptiness, we should one should also cultivate the wisdom realizing emptiness and and the bodhicitta, which are so called the wisdom and the method. Yep. One can reach the arhathood or the free from cyclic existence without bodhicitta or altruistic intention, but one can’t attain one can’t be free.
One can’t be free from cyclic existence without realizing this without without realizing emptiness or having without wisdom realizing emptiness. And and if one yep. Yes. Yeah. I said they did not.
Like, one can attain without an without bodhicitta but cannot without wisdom realizing emptiness to free from cyclic existence. And and and without without both of them or without wisdom realizing emptiness and the the bodhicitta, one one will never be free from cyclic existence.