Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. A jataka story about a compassionate merchant — a previous life of the Buddha — who killed one man to save five hundred aboard a boat opens this 46-minute session by Geshe Pema Tsering on bodhisattva deeds. The story illustrates how great compassion can transform even killing into vast accumulated merit. He then covers two modes of gathering disciples: material generosity, including guidance on eating food as medicine rather than for taste or satisfaction; and Dharma generosity, with rules for who may receive teachings and what teachings are appropriate. A firm doctrinal line is drawn on physical self-sacrifice: offering limbs or one’s body is only permitted after reaching the first bodhisattva ground, and acting before that is called an evil deed. A Tibetan sweet analogy makes the case that sūtra and tantra must never be ranked as inferior and superior — “it is the grace of sūtra that tantra becomes profound.” Brief Q&A covers respecting parents in difficult situations and the infallibility of karma.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 43 BD 2002 07 04.mp3
UUID: 59c4c39f-ecb4-4aed-86ed-415a6abf1073
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Bodhisattva Deeds (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2002-07-04
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 46.3 minutes
Words: ~3,178
A very compassionate merchant, which was born as the Buddha Śākyamūni’s previous life, and come to know that the person is going to kill rest of the people on the boat. So in order to and by knowing this, that if he kills, that out of as a result of killing five hundred people on the boat, in future, the person will be born in the lower rebirths or in hell realms and go through huge sufferings. So in order to have the person himself, a person from taking rebirth in the lower suffering in low rebirth in the hell realm for a long time and also to save the five hundred excuse me. To to save the five hundred lives, and the person killed that person.
So what Bodhisattva — Śākyamūni — yeah. That has killed that person so that it saved the five hundred life. Even though that is a very the act of killing, but as a result of doing so, that person, the merchant who killed the on the merchant has has collect collect the the virtues, which is equivalent of hundred hundred eons, hundred eons. So what happens is yeah. Hundred eons.
So it’s have cultivated a huge, huge amount of virtues or merit that to in order to become enlightened, one, we have to cultivate the the virtuous equivalent of three limitless eons. There’s a big debate in monastery. Some says, I have to cultivate virtues in the three countless eons, or some say it’s not in three countless eons. It’s equivalent of three countless eons. So, anyway, the person by killing that has completed the the virtuous merit of hundred eons.
So the person went killed the other person to save the the this five hundred lives on the boat and have before commit the act of killing and has cultivate a great compassion, develop a great compassion for the person who was about to take the lives of the five hundred people. So out of that great compassion and then the rest of the action, that of killing has been performed. So due to this because of the the great compassion and even in terms of the nonvirtuous, the killing of the human, the person or human is the the greatest non virtuous action. But but because it was done out of great compassion, one has one received a huge benefit that is had completed the hundred eons worth of merits. So now to the second subdivision, which is Yeah.
And for the second one, I said, the collecting the disciples or or subduing the others through has has two part, which is giving collecting through giving the enjoyments or through me through materials. And this other one is second one is yeah. The through Dharma or giving teachings. No. I know where it is.
In the next three verse, it’s yeah. Explains. So so what it means is that that, for example, like, the when when one has a food or, yep, the dish the food, and should always aware of others, the animals who have no protection, no refuge, as well as the the fellow spiritual friends or people around. So whenever one one is eating, should always think of others and if around the beings around oneself, if they are, should share it and give it to them first and always eat eat the final bit, leftovers or remaining ones. So, therefore, as stated in the great masters, Nāgārjuna, in his letter to a friend, that when one eats, should always have a motivation that that eating one is one is eating the food as a medicine to survive survive one to sustain one’s body so that one can practice to attain enlightenment or or benefit others and attain enlightenment for the sake of others.
And and and with such motivation, if one could eat the food, then becomes a a good proper way of eat, yeah, way to eat the meals. Otherwise, one should yeah. So one should not eat the food in because of its the the the the the delicious taste, then it becomes craving to the food as well as to fill up one’s tummy and so forth. So these are not should not have those motivation to fill up one’s tummy or have craving or attachment or likeness towards the taste and so forth. It should have the motivation to eat the food, to sustain one’s body so that one can benefit others.
Right? And and if the person has the practice of of of of deity yoga, then that’s then imagine that one is offering for the deities. So so, yeah, for the the the the the practices of the Bodhisattvas if the the Bodhisattvas always possess three things, which are the three robes, the the, yep, the upper and the lower robes and then and the outer robe — the yellow one, you know, the big one. So should possess only three robes except then they they they they don’t ex they don’t possess anything. Always practice or give it to others.
So should practice if if one were to practice or engage in the activity of the bodhisattvas, should practice the way they have done. So for for the sake of attaining enlightenment, that is to benefit sentient beings. One should one should practice the generosity as much as one can, but without having the motivation to benefit others, should not give up everything then should keep it. So should not practice generosity, which means that that if it is for the for the sake of others or to benefit sentient beings, should practice generosity as much as one can. And and if one is doing, come to know that practicing of the generosity that is to gain fame and one’s reputation and so forth in this life, if one come to know about such motivation, then should not practice that, rather keep it.
And so by knowing all these practices of the bodhisattvas, then with the very skillful means, one should through very skillful means, should be involved in the activities of of of bodhisattvas. So so the should through skillful means involve or or practice in the practice, the deeds of the bodhisattvas. And one of the deeds of the bodhisattvas is giving up one’s own body as well to practice in order to help others or to practice with generosity. So speaking of this, that because that is the activity of Buddhist and one should not give up one’s body more of, like, cutting hands and so forth because because so so unless one has the the the that is saying that the practices, you know, practice of generosity like giving cutting limbs of the one’s body, a part of the body or entire body, so forth. So one should not practice such generosity unless one has attained a very ultimate or firm altruistic intention — bodhicitta or great compassion — because sometimes people have a sort of hair-trigger-like great compassion or hair-trigger-like compassion, and it suddenly changes later on and then regret towards what one’s actions, what one has done.
So even for those saying, Bodhisattvas who are in the path of the the Mahāyāna path of accumulation and the preparation, even for those Bodhisattvas are are not permitted to practice the generosity of giving up one’s body and so forth. So so that means that that should not practice such generosity unless one has attained the path of seeing. Bodhisattvas will have reached the path of seeing. So if if one has so so if one does such actions without attaining the bodhisattva, the path of seeing, then this in Sūtra stated that such actions are called are the very evil evil deeds or evil actions. So which means they are being possessed or or or had received some hindrance, obstacles from the evil forces.
Right? And that encourages one encourages within a one to do such actions even though one is not qualified to do so. So so, yeah, it says again here that you should not practice such an until until unless one has attained the so called the the the pure special insight of altruistic intention or a bodhicitta, which means that either this is the part of until one reach the path of seeing or so called the first ground. Right? There are ten grounds to the enlightenment.
So it’s the first ground or a path of seeing. Right. Because in order to attain enlightenment, we have to accumulate a huge amount of virtuous or a merit. So except for the practices of of giving up or generosity of giving one’s little part of the body or one’s body, like the other practices like giving teachings, the generosity of giving teachings, the enjoyments or needs, so forth, should should should should practice as much as one can because we need to cultivate numbers of virtues. You are on the track, or or you just What?
Lost somewhere. Krishna, I just feel, you know, everyone is like that. And now to the second subdivision, which is of giving teachings at all through subduing through teachings which are which is expense in the next three. So so eighty eight to ninety, isn’t it? Yep.
So so and so in terms of giving teachings, they’ve been stating numbers of it’s been explained that one should not teach for for those who has no respect in the teachings and the the teacher and and who are, yeah, holding weapons and holding sticks and not like a naked people or, yeah, disrespect of saying the greater and the lesser vehicles, you know, differentiating or yep. And discriminating between those two and then and and should not give teaching a woman without a company of a man and this vice versa, the man without a company of a woman. So in briefly speaking, then should not give any teachings without having any company. So there are numbers of yep. So, I think I just went through the book and, you know, it’s been clearly written down there.
So when in terms of giving teachings then, when some people want it’s very closer to attain become a bodhisattva, like, very close to generate fully generate the bodhicitta or altruistic intention, great compassion. For those being want to for those people, one should not give the teachings of the the lesser vehicles. So there’s a danger of dragging him down instead of sending up. So therefore, for those people who are very nearly to become bodhisattvas, for those should only give the Mahāyāna teachings. And and in terms of tantra, that there are secret mantras or secret mantras or a tantra that that the they are the in terms of benefits, there are numbers of benefits through training or through, yep, practicing tantra.
And certain things like one has, yep, certain mantras recited a certain number of times, one will have numbers of, one will have purified a huge amount of nonvirtuous negativities and so forth. So this breaking speaking then, then without having without any respects or, yeah, devotions in the teachings, one should even not not teach the mantra or the tantra to the person. And especially and also for those who do differentiate or discriminate the the sūtra and the tantra as one as the inferior and the others as the superior like mantra is the superior and the tantra is. And the sūtra is inferior — for the person who differentiates such greatness as an indication. For those people, one should not give teachings.
So so in yeah. For those situation, one need one needs to be very careful that sūtra and sūtra and tantra that the the upper and the lesser vehicles or the difference in the school, the ultimate middle way school and the mind only school, Cittamātra, and so forth, you know. Because some some because of those names, you know, people sometimes want to touch the bigger ones and ignore the other ones. So there’s huge danger of doing so. So one should be very careful by saying, the sūtra is a long way to go.
I have to cultivate eons and eons of the merit and so forth. Whereas tantra, it’s a great intense practice, perform practice. Through tantra, one can achieve enlightenment within one life and saying in the name of all this, there is a danger of neglecting the sūtra than just We all have this such danger. So by doing so, it has huge non virtuous, like saying and that such non virtuous, like, you know, the tantra is a great within one life, attain enlightenment, so forth, And and they’re not touching the sūtra. So that becomes like the non virtue the act of non virtues of abandoning the teachings by abandoning the sūtra sutrayana or because of the tantra.
But doing so, committing such non virtuous actions of abandoning the teaching sutrayana, as a result of that, one will one will not meet a teaching of sūtra in the thousands of years. So, yeah, so we should not do such things. And and and and it’s without without sūtra, one can one one cannot attain enlightenment. And there is a saying in Tibetan or the great masters. So I hope you will understand me here now.
There is a too, it’s kind of like a sweet in Tibet. You know? It’s meant to supposed to be a very, very nice sweet, like a Turkish delight. And had it’s a the the it’s kinda like a dried cheese, but not really dry. It’s soft, but like a grain with little tiny pieces, and it’s mixed with sugar and and the butter and cheese.
It’s like a it’s not fat free cheese. It’s lots of cheese inside, but plus they put butter on it, like, become very greasy. So and the more greasy, the people like it better, more. So this is meant to be very delicious. So the good there is a saying that the it is it is the kindness of the butter that that’s sweet too.
Looks very oily or or greasy. Sorry. Greasy. So and it is the grace of sūtra that tantra becomes profound.
It is because it’s grace of the sūtra. Get it? Thank you. They should not differentiate or discriminate the teachings of the superior and the inferior. They are all good.
They are all set forth for the for one to attain enlightenment. This is from the very beginning of the teaching. They set forth the great master Tsongkhapa that one should hear and practise the entire teachings, that the teachings of the greater and lesser sūtra and tantra so forth, so one should. Because entire teachings are set forth for I can say for for entire sentient being or for every individual to attain enlightenment. So therefore, should not differentiate and practice all.
And speaking of that, the, you know, that all the entire teaching has been set forth or taught for the every individual. Speaking of this, some some people may not, you know, may may not agree with this saying the Buddhist has taught, like, hundred and eight volumes and so forth. If you ask, has he taught this for you? And they might say, I don’t think so because I was not there at that time. So it is not that case, you know.
Buddha has taught the teaching for entire sentient beings, you know, for every sentient beings. And it’s inter it’s up to us now because because we can’t see. Buddha has been watching us in all the time, you know. Even now, it’s because of our obscurations, we can’t see them, but they’re they’re always watching us. So be careful when you go to lose, you know.
Yeah. Yeah. That is it. No. We’ll stop here.
Just kidding. It’s okay. We’ll take a couple of questions. Yep. Oh, yeah.
Okay. Well, such a situation then, you don’t have to be a butcher. You know? You can talk to them. You know?
Buddha said such and such, or I’m a Buddhist, so I don’t do this. And and not only yourself even encourage them not to be a butcher. Right? Right. So saying that excuse for that, you know, accept that butcher, then I will do anything while you say.
I’m not saying. Yeah. Yeah. So you can you can say, make them happy. You know?
Excuse for the butcher thing. Otherwise, I’ll do anything. Jump from the cliff. You know? So the main the main thing is, you know, should not be nasty to one’s parent and always be nice and and try to help them as much as one can.
That’s the most important. Same to the parents. All this, it comes because of the law of action and the karma causing effects. So So, generally speaking, entire setting thinks there’s one’s parent or one’s mother. And especially the parent parents of the current lifetime has have even closer connection.
So therefore and because they’ve been kind and so forth, and if one one should, one should help and nice to those parents as much as one can. And if one do not, one does not do so, then it contradicts the law. It’s not following the law of cause and effects. So because, yeah, because practices of law of cause and effect, one the the good comes out of good and bad comes out of bad. So by doing so, and one will receive huge negative So the the the actions and their result or cause and effects, interdependence, nobody can change it.
They’re always there. So which means good comes out of good and bad comes out of bad. So should be helpful and nice and kind to one’s parents and illness and so forth, entire sentient beings, but especially for those. Those are the object of merit, field of merit. If one harm them, one will have huge non virtues, and by helping them have huge virtues.
So it’s very should take very serious actions on those. Right? So the the karma is infallible, never mistakes. You know? Always marks there, you know, unless you do something.
And, for example, like, in one day, you know, how many non virtuous or a positive one cultivates because of the mind thinking you can’t really count it, but karma doesn’t need this and always there. You know? Never mess up. You know? Write in calculation.
As for the karma, they don’t need, Geshe-la said, you know, the calculator, pen, or or the Chinese wooden abacus, so forth. Yes, please. Yeah. Yeah. Everything agrees into one?
So it’s upgrading one’s wisdom or knowledge. It the first question, it doesn’t matter. And second one’s no. It won’t come into resolve itself. Their view stays stays.
So speaking of this then, example like the consequentialist middle way school and the autonomist middle way school. The consequentialist middle way school assert the yep.