Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. A summer elephant — desperate, thirsty, charging toward a distant lake — opens this 44-minute session as Geshe Pema Tsering’s central image for how practitioners should pursue the path, set against the counter-image of a tired donkey being pushed uphill. The session completes Chapter 7 of Śāntideva’s Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, working through the final support of rest — how to pause between practices without losing the intention to continue — and the two powers of enthusiastic effort. He develops a warrior-battle metaphor for meeting each disturbing emotion instantly with its antidote, and a mustard-oil-bowl image — one wrong step means execution — to convey the vigilance required. A brief Q&A closes with a careful distinction between the three types of suffering and why ethically motivated worldly actions still produce contaminated karma. For students already familiar with the six perfections.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 70 BD 2002 09 19.mp3
UUID: e1190106-0d24-4368-8801-8d3d44d13bab
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Bodhisattva Deeds (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2002-09-19
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 44.4 minutes
Words: ~2,579
Fortunate enough to practice the Dharma. So so for those who have at this stage received the the happiness of a precious human rebirth. And having such happiness, having received such a rebirth, one should now make use of this precious human rebirth, for instance, in order to cultivate the causes cultivate the causes to attain the happiness of the enlightenment and the nirvana state, that the causes are the practices of six perfections. And should not just practice. You practice without any satisfaction.
You know, should not be satisfied with just a mere practice of the six perfections. You do it all the time. Should cultivate the causes to attain the enlightenment, causes for enlightenment and and should engage in the practices to cultivate all the causes. And and in terms of engaging in those practices, one should not engage like like like like taking a tired donkey up the hills. Do you know what that mean?
So when the whole bunch of donkeys, you know, just up the hills and the one with the tired tail walks up being pushed along, you know, so don’t be like that. Instead, should engage in the practice like an elephant. In the summer, the elephant is so tired and worn out in the heat and so thirsty, and then suddenly saw a water or a lake in the distance. And that elephant will just rush to the water with huge efforts. Likewise, should engage in the practice to cultivate the causes to attain enlightenment like the summer elephant.
You know what I mean. Yep. Yeah, that’s right. It’s not a power, actually. We are taking the conducive conditions, the supportive conditions.
You’re talking about the four supports of enthusiastic effort. And the two powers come later. So now we reach this fourth support, which is support of rest. And that has been explained by a single verse. That’s.
I hope that I will find that. Yeah. Yep. Yes. I think the previous one, we say the two lines and the sorry, four verses and two lines, which was described.
I think that one begins from the second third line of the verse sixty two, and we stopped at the verse sixty six. And now to explain the fourth one, that is single verse verse, which is verse sixty seven. This one. Now and it’s very short here. And what it means is that once you take a rest, that when one practices and while doing the practice, if one feel tired, take a rest, not just jump and take a rest.
But the rest that not for a long time. Have a rest. But while having a rest, one should not lose the intention of practicing or cultivating a positive action. And having taken a reasonable amount of rest, then engage in the positive action. But resume the action.
And then whenever one finishes the particular one task and do have a little rest and don’t quit or give up the wish to cultivate the positive action again and start another one. And while starting another one should never leave the previous one, which one I have done this now and this is it. Not like that. You should always have intention being left within oneself that one wants to practice. By doing so, then take a rest when one feels tired and then resume the practice’s next practice.
For example, practice the six perfections, the generosity, and then comes this have a little rest and perform the second perfection, ethical discipline, so forth. Now, I think this is the second main division of the enthusiastic effort. That is the mode of developing two powers. And it has two subdivisions. Now, what’s the word in English? It has two divisions. The first one is called the power of intention or undertaking, that is, undertaking the task or the job. And the second one is the power of being steadfast or, yes, controlled.
That’s one. Yep. And the first one, the power of undertaking, the task has been explained in the next seven verses. Sixty eight. Verse seventy four.
So the meaning goes that the warriors talking about the the battle in the olden days, you know, no missiles or anything, just swords. You know? And then so during the war, those warriors, they undertake all the actions and their duties with with a great deal and and and very forcefully that they can see the counterpart, the enemies are running towards oneself with a sword and so forth. But they can see those, likewise they want and they also want to challenge it with a great deal and they run with their sword back towards the enemy. So likewise, the bodhisattvas run towards the disturbing emotions and challenge each and every disturbing emotion with great zeal and defeat the enemy of disturbing emotions.
So likewise, we like bodhisattvas, we should develop the antidotes of the disturbing emotions with a great deal and challenge the disturbing emotions instantly on the spot whenever it comes. For example, when the attachment comes, it’s applied the antidote of the attachment like meditating on the unpleasant things or ugliness. And then when the anger comes, then applied the antidote of the love and and challenge it. Right? And defeat it.
And and in the battle, make sure that you will let win the antidotes, which are love and the ugliness, social unpleasant things, and never let the enemy of disturbing emotion to win. Okay. Sorry. So while during the battle, when the warrior slips his or her weapon, it suddenly will work that army or warrior suddenly, you know, very quickly and try to pick up the weapon because by doing, why the person, the army is doing this? Because there’s a danger of being killed by the weapon of the enemy.
So in order to challenge that, he dropped it and he rushed and try to pick it again as soon as possible. So likewise, so while doing the practice and applying challenging the disturbing emotion and whenever one loses the concentration or the antidote of the disturbing emotion, suddenly should recall the great sufferings of the hell realms and the lower rebirths and develop a fear. And then like the warriors quickly pick up the weapon again. So by knowing, developing a fear of the sufferings of the hell realms or the lower rebirth, suddenly one recalls the weapon of the antidote, which is the, yep, antidote of disturbing emotions very quickly or suddenly. So with the great effort, one should apply the antidote to the disturbing emotions in all the time.
Because if one does not, then if the warrior’s been hit by a poison arrow, then gradually the poison will spread entire body of the warrior. So likewise, if one do not apply the antidotes, then as a result, the poisons of the three disturbing emotions, attachment, hate, anger and the confusions, and that will poison one’s mind. And as a result, then it will let one to cultivate the numbers of negative actions or numbers of negative actions. So therefore, before the portions of the disturbing emotions spread throughout one’s mind, before that, one should try one should apply the antidote to the disturbing emotions or three poisons in all the time and never let it spread.
So example, if a person being warned by somebody and saying that you ask the person being asked to carry a bowl full of mustard oil, very top level, and telling to walk in a certain distance. And if he spills a drop of the oil, he will be killed. That’s the detention he’s going to receive. And the person happened to be escort him with a huge sword in his hand and then letting other one walk with a bowl full of mustard oil. And as you know, it’s risk of life.
And the person who is carrying the bowl of the mustard oil will very carefully with huge concentration and focus on one his or her own job and walk very carefully. So likewise, the bodhisattvas, they undertake the practices of applying, applying antidote to the disturbing emotions. And yep, disturbing emotion like the person carrying a, yep, the mustard oil in, yeah, or bowl full of mustard oil. So likewise, we should take, undertake, cultivate the the love and compassion and the antidotes of the disturbing emotion with a huge or with a great deal. Yep.
Pardon? Yep. Yeah. Very yeah. Consciousness.
Mhmm. This one. Oh, yeah. So therefore, you know, should apply the antidote to the disturbing emotions and maintain those antidote very carefully and never lose antidote of the disturbing emotions. And also never neglect these small disturbing emotions and should never be under the influence of the laziness, the laziness of sleep and being under sleep and not neglecting the slight or small disturbing emotions.
You never leave it like that. Just be act like if somebody threw a snake on your lap, you will never stay there. You just get up. So likewise, whenever this even a small disturbing emotion comes, should not be under influence of sleep or laziness and be alert and then apply the antidote and get rid of the disturbing emotion and you will overcome the disturbing emotions. And recall every time when one feel being under the influence of laziness and so forth, just recall the sufferings of the hell realms and thinking that if I let this disturbing emotion stay within myself or let it grow, disturbing emotion, As a result of that, that will lead me into the hell realms or lower rebirth or the hell realms and where I will go through hellish suffering.
So by recalling the sufferings of the hell realms and and and develop a fear of the sufferings of the hell realms and apply the antidote to the any kind of disturbing emotions. So how abandon or get rid of the disturbing emotions or the negative actions? And every time when one notices the negative actions, talk to oneself that up till now, because of letting myself to cultivate the disturbing emotions from, yeah, disturbing emotions in the past, as a result, take rebirth in the cyclic existence and go through suffering. And if I still let this disturbing emotion as it is or keep letting it grow within myself. And as a result, it will take and lead me into suffering in cyclic existence in future as well.
So therefore, talking to oneself, one should tell oneself — counsel oneself — not to cultivate those disturbing emotions. And the disturbing emotions or negative actions which one has cultivated, purify or confess those negative actions through applying the four powers. And now to the second subdivision, which is the power of being controlled or power of being controlled. And it’s been explained in the next two verses. Seventy five.
Seventy five and seventy six. Got it. So Which yep. The meanings are are to to to generate and cultivate the enthusiastic efforts and and cultivate and engage in the in the positive actions with huge effort, but and apply the mindfulness and the being and being very conscientious in cultivating the positive actions by recalling or by thinking of their results, which is to attain the happiness of nirvana and the enlightenment or Buddhahood. So by recalling those, the results of the positive actions are the perfect happiness.
So therefore, by knowing this, then with mindfulness and being very conscientious, cultivate those positive actions, and recall one’s knowledge or understanding about the teachings which one has received, and also should have willingness to receive the teachings from the masters in future on the teachings that one has not received or does not know. The benefits of developing enthusiastic effort is the so if one thinks what is the benefit of developing enthusiastic effort, then the benefits are, for example, like cotton being blown to the west or east or here and there through the power of wind. Likewise, if one has the enthusiastic effort, then the enthusiastic effort can control the actions of the three doors, body, speech, and mind, and can easily take wherever it wants to engage in the positive actions. So by doing so, then by by, yep, by directing the three actions of the three doors in the positive action by the power of enthusiastic effort, as a result, then one cultivate the huge positive actions and having cultivate those positive actions by doing so, then one has a hope for the happiness of nirvana and the enlightenment.
Really? So, yep, and here concludes the chapter of the effort. And next week, we’ll start the ninth chapter. We finished the seventh chapter today, and we’ll start the ninth chapter next week. Skipping chapter eight, which is the meditation — it mainly covers calm abiding — and it’s because of the retreat, And which we were told actually to catch up with the time.
I’m busy. Should I do that with? No. Not it. And yeah.
So pardon? Week is the last of the term. And so then we’ll do the next week begins the this ninth chapter and which is chapter wisdom on emptiness. And then I’ll hand it over to the other at the end of the class. What I was saying.
He has no idea what he’s doing because he leave he’s just drinking water and leaving his tea behind. So Geshe-la said to take one or two questions because, yes, going beyond it. And at the end of it, we get some merit. And we can have some value in it, hasn’t it? Without having wasted it.
Generally speaking. Right? Okay. Sure. Sure.
So So, yep, now a bit of a clarification here is that in order to attain the happiness of the saṃsāra happiness, one does not necessarily need to cultivate negative actions. But yeah, the action doesn’t need to be a negative action. And so for example, like what Joe has just said, work with a good intentions and so forth, and at the end get paid for work, and that is a worldly happiness. And and that action was done with pure motivation and with ethical way, and it has no negative action. But that action, the karma one has cultivate, what Geshe-la was talking about, that karma you have cultivated will become a cause to attain what we call the contaminated happiness or saṃsāra happiness.
And technically, they need to become a cause to cause for the suffering of change. That one received this suffering of the worldly samsaric happiness and which is in the nature, it’s also in the nature of suffering. So what Geshe-la meant was every actions one performed, the karma cultivated to attains the worldly samsaric happiness, that action becomes a cause of suffering. And in terms of suffering, there are three types: the suffering of suffering, the suffering of change, and pervasive conditioning suffering. And the cause for the suffering of suffering has to be negative action or non virtuous.
And cause for the suffering of change and suffering of pervasive condition doesn’t necessarily be a non virtuous action. Well, the so called the neutral, the disturbing emotion definitely there’s no positive disturbing emotions. But disturbing emotions, the majority are like say ninety nine percent is negative or non virtuous and one percent, there are some are called neutral.