Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 37-minute session, Geshe Pema Tsering opens with a vivid image: our heads and limbs have been cut off countless times in saṃsāra for nothing — so why fear losing a limb once for enlightenment? Working through verses 17–31 of the Bodhisattva Deeds text, he targets the laziness of discouragement — the feeling that Buddhahood is simply too demanding. His main counter: the Buddha taught that even animals (lion, tiger, crow, worm) listed in the Sūtra Requested by the Naga King can attain enlightenment through enthusiastic effort, and anyone with a precious human rebirth already has all the necessary conditions. A Q&A follows, covering when advanced bodhisattvas actually give up body parts and closing with a brief distinction between root and cooperative causes using a rice-seed example.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 60 BD 2002 08 22.mp3
UUID: bdb927e7-8b34-46c1-a8f6-fb4ddc5605ee
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Bodhisattva Deeds (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2002-08-22
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 37.1 minutes
Words: ~2,577
And and yep. So for example, the the king, the, you know, the the king king will the king yep. For example, the king yeah. The king will the king will try to defeat the enemy. And to defeat the enemy, it depends on what the king’s the strength of the soldiers or, you know, and and as well as the weapons.
So likewise, the bodhisattvas will fight against the obscurations towards omniscience and the obscuration of the disturbing emotions. And how they fight or defeat the two obscurations is the the yeah. From the very beginning that they will defeat they will defeat the laziness. Having abandoned or gotten rid of the laziness, then they engage in the practices of collecting the two collections — the collection of merit and collection of wisdom. And in order to cultivate these, during the actual practice, they with huge mindfulness and enthusiastic effort cultivate those two and perfect oneself. And through this, having obtained that mindfulness and so forth, then they engage in the practices of mind training of exchanging self and others and equalizing self and others, which is equalizing that both self and others are the same, wishing happiness and not wanting suffering. And through this and they will yeah.
And then they change the the the self and others, which is change the self-cherishing attitude and the cherishing other. So they take this cherishing others and get and exchange and get rid of the self-cherishing attitude. And through such practices, they finally defeat the enemy or which has overcome the both the obscurations of obscuration of afflictions and the obscuration to omniscience and and attained the final goal which is Buddhahood. So Geshe-la said that looks like this is the way what how what we should practice. And now to the third one, which is, the the laziness, which applying a laziness to real laziness, you know, not being act active or alert.
Right. And that has been explained. But, the next fifteen verses starting from seventeen till thirty one. Yeah. Yep.
So the meaning is that that but, you know, should not think that way that yeah. It is very good to attain the enlightenment, the Buddhahood. And because but yeah. But yeah. Buddha but and to under also understand that, yeah, the ultimate happiness, and there is a great joy and happiness by attaining Buddhahood.
But but I can’t, you know, feeling, disheartened or losing one’s courage thinking that, it is good, you know, there’s huge benefits of attaining the buddhahood, but I can’t I can’t yep. I can’t because because, you know, it’s not that easy to obtain that, you know, it needs lots of requirement to attain the Buddhahood. And and one has to perfect both the collections of both the collections collection of merit and virtue, the wisdom and have to cultivate and develop a wisdom, realizing emptiness, wisdom and develop a bodhicitta, etcetera. Too much work and I can’t do that, you know. So then so you should not feel that way.
It is also laziness. So yep. And Geshe-la said that when he think of enlightenment and lie down and and think about practices and, yeah, it is very good to, you know, achieve the Buddhahood. But looking into myself, you know, it’s not that easy. I don’t think I can attain that sometimes feeling that way, but do you you guys think use guys to think with that way?
And yep. So it is possible for one to think, develop such a thought, but should not be like that. Should not think that because because the reason because should not think because the lord Buddha Śākyamūni always speak the truth and there is no mistake or lie in Buddha’s speech. And the Buddha has said forth, the Buddha has said forth that even even the little insects, like little insects or, you know, or the the organisms or, you know, the little worms in the meat as well as bees and so forth. Even those creatures or sentient beings, if they cultivate with great enthusiastic effort, they can achieve Buddhahood.
So this is what the Buddha speaks the truth, always speak truth. And he said that if even those sentient beings can achieve the Buddhahood if they apply the enthusiastic effort. And No. And and, also, here, it said for the sūtra requested by the I don’t know what this is asking. Anyway, the Sūtra Requested by the Naga King said that even the enlightenment can be obtained by those sentient beings — let me go through the names now:
The lion, tiger, dog, wolf, vulture, crane, crow, owl. Okay. Shall I? Yeah. Okay.
The bees and and and the little worms in on in the meat, etcetera. And if so even those sentient being if even, yeah, even if those sentient beings, you know, attain the enlightenment by applying the enthusiastic effort, then I am a human, and and and I should attain enlightenment. Therefore, I must develop enthusiastic effort even at the cost of my life. Got it. Got it.
And also in the sūtra of so called the dream sūtra. The dream sūtra that if the one with the if the one with the very less intelligent or less knowledge applies the enthusiastic effort or a special insight, they can attain enlightenment. So therefore, one should not think and be very disheartened or discouraged thinking I can’t attain enlightenment. Because one can attain enlightenment or Buddhahood — one has all the causes and conditions, all these conducive conditions to achieve the enlightenment or Buddhahood because because one has it is it is one’s own laziness of not practicing because one has all the requirements to practice. One understands, one knows that one has not born as an animal, born as a human, not just a human, one with the the precious human rebirth with the eighteen qualities, the eight leisures and ten endowments, as well as as well as one understands the practices of giving sorry, the taking up and abandonments, which means what what to be taken and what to be abandoned.
So so one knows how to practice the positive actions to be cultivated and negative actions to be abandoned. By knowing this, if one bring all the one one’s knowledge or understanding into practice, one should and one will attain arhathood or Buddhahood. Because because by knowing this and putting and bring all the practice understanding into practice, and if one does not attain the enlightenment, it’s very strange or funny. So therefore, it’s the one’s practices like one should practice. If one practice, one should and one will.
Okay. If one thinks that yeah. If I apply such a the great enthusiastic effort, huge effort, there is a possible and one I can attain enlightenment. But achieving the enlightenment is not a very easy thing to do because there are whole lot of work that, you know, it’s not an easy thing to do, you know. One has to give even one’s head or a hand or feet to cut and give and all these actions are involved to attain enlightenment, and I have a huge fear towards, you know, cutting my legs or losing my wealth and so forth.
If one thinks like that It is all I’m doing now. It is all I’m doing. Do you think that way? Well, you do now. I’m sorry.
If one think such way or develop a fear that I now have to do all the practices of, you know, giving and giving up, cutting my head or hands, so forth, and I can’t do that, Whoever and the one who feels fear in those actions is the sign or a mistake or the sign that one has not see the gist or the has not a proper understanding of the practices of taking and abandonment. So one should not feel, yeah, afraid and scared of, you know, cut giving up one’s, yeah, one’s body or head or have to cut one’s limbs of the body like hands so forth for the sake of enlightenment because because because because we have taken a rebirth from the very from the beginningness of the saṃsāra and have taken numbers of countless numbers of rebirths. And during each and and during those rebirths, we have we have born in the hell realms for many, many times. And and in the hell realms, you know, our we you know, we our head has been cut many times and our our hands and legs has been cut many, many times.
And even, you know, if one were to pile up all the heads been cut for doing those rebirth, Australia is too small for that head to fit in. So therefore, so we have got through huge suffering in our hands and the head so forth is cut million tons and and but none of those the actions of cutting and so forth and never been been a cause to that even a minute cause of enlightenment. No. So so now onward, and if I have to lose a bit of my hand and so forth, you know, for the cause of enlightenment, And this is the chance I’ve ever got and I should do it, you know, very happily because I have done it many times and never been a cause to enlightenment. This time, I’ll do it.
If it’s if it’s a cause for the enlightenment, I’m willingly to go through it. And that sort of courage one should develop. And we’ll take questions now for the rest of the session. [Can you give me] an example of a situation I’m likely to come across?
Where I would need to cut my head off. Just go with it — enlightenment. Example of a situation that I’m likely to come across. Mhmm.
Where I would need to cut my head off. Geshe-la said that it’s very easy. We can do it right now. Well, it is not an easy thing to do and because to do so, such activities or such actions are giving up one’s body or cutting on hand, so forth, you know. And probably from the great path — those who are at the path of accumulation onward.
And should the should develop the emptiness, wisdom realizing emptiness. And definitely one has to have a proper, the so called the bodhicitta without effort, know, always without any without effort, have developed, fully developed uncontrived bodhicitta and should be able to perform whatever action one performs should be with the bodhicitta or should be a yeah. Yeah. The bodhisattva or with the bodhicitta. So the one those practitioners in the first ground or the the supreme bodhisattvas.
And and they are happy to do it any times, you know. Whenever if if they were asked to give up their cut their any part of the bodies, you know. They’re very happy and willingly to do so. And not just that, you know, even if they hear of somebody that somebody such and such practitioner has given up, you know, a part of the body or cut the hands to help somebody, they’re very pleased to hear such things. So those Bodhisattvas, you know, are very happy.
And, yeah, stated in the Candrakīrti’s middle way, the root text that those Bodhisattvas, the supreme Bodhisattvas, of course, they are very happy, willingly to give any part of their body for the practice of generosity. Not just cutting them, just by hearing a word, begging, you know, somebody else, you know, just a word, may I have your da da da? And they just feel very happy just by mere word hearing. Yeah? I’m thinking about causes and conditions and.
It seems that maybe why is it not just all conditions? What what makes a cause? Because doesn’t the actual cause Go through the monastic debate text, you know. There’s one session in the part we call particularly debate, like foundation debate comes from the cause and effect, you know. It’s very gross, you know.
So anyway, in general speaking, it is true the cause and conditions are same in general. And in turn, because the conditions are also the cause actually. And when we speak of the conditions, yeah, so conditions are also the cause. So what happens is in terms of cause, there are many different types of causes. We have what is called the cooperative cause and the causal cause or the root cause.
For example, when you sow a seed of rice, the rice is the cause. It’s the actual cause which gives rise to the sprout and then grows into rice. And the conducive conditions are also causes, which are called the fertilizers — manure and water and so forth. Those are also the cause for the rice to give rise, but they are not the root cause. So speaking of that, you know, and we say that the conditions are also the cause, but they’re not the root cause.
And in terms of speaking that because that particular cause can be a both cause to the to the particular result to give rise to. For example, the rice seed is a root cause for the actual rice that grows, but it can’t be a secondary or supporting cause — it can only be the root cause. We’re talking about when you speak about the causes and condition, speaking about the particular results and it has the two causes, which are the causes and conditions, speak of that. In general speaking, the cause and conditions are both the same synonyms.
So we call the the definition of the causes that something which give rise to something. And then the conditions are those which accompany the root cause. So these are the two difference. We’re speaking about the particular results, causes and condition, but not speaking of the general cause and conditions. Because in general, and conditions are synonyms the same.
What is the root cause? Oh, the car. Yeah, I know — the chariot. The root cause for the chariot.
Whatever constitutes the actual form of the chariot is the root cause of the chariot. Example, the chariot, the car or a chariot is made out of the wood. Yeah. Then wood is the root cause. Which is which actually become in the form of.
Yes. Well, speaking of this, you know, the one Buddha set forth, Buddha speaks the truth, and it does not mean that those sentient beings develop the effort within their current rebirth and then attain enlightenment. Not speaking of that. Because those sentient beings have the Buddha nature. And they won’t be in that place as a rebirth like a, yep, the dog is a dog forever.
They have to and the dog has to die and then take a rebirth and they will be born in the higher rebirth. And on the basis of that higher rebirth, because they have Buddha nature, they can develop enthusiastic effort. It’s a long way to wait, but they can develop through the higher rebirth and attain enlightenment through enthusiastic effort. So the point is that those sentient beings have to leave their current rebirth, take a higher rebirth, apply enthusiastic effort, and attain enlightenment.
The example for us is we don’t have to wait — we can already do it straightaway. Okay.