Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 54-minute commentary, Geshe Pema Tsering opens with a sharp claim: every suffering we experience, from mundane frustrations to our cycling through saṃsāra since beginningless time, traces to a single cause — the self-cherishing mind. He shows how that mind, craving its own happiness, grasps at money and possessions while disregarding others, accumulating non-virtue and thus more suffering. The antidote he prescribes is sustained analytical meditation on these faults, combined with recognizing that all beings are profoundly kind, because every happiness — worldly or ultimate — arises in dependence on them. Geshe Pema then maps the graduated path from that recognition through cherishing others, compassion, and aspiration to enlightenment, to the spontaneous arising of uncontrived bodhicitta. Aimed at those who have just taken bodhisattva vows and are beginning to understand what they committed to.
File metadata (for organising)
File: Bodhisattva Vow Commentary part 1.mp3
UUID: 323a7825-afde-4763-8361-e310241374e5
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Bodhisattva vows commentary year unknown (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 54.0 minutes
Words: ~3,088
Yes. Now we we need to give rise to the motivation of of the mind of enlightenment. So now we all have taken the Bodhisattva vows and so now we have to we should be happy about it with thinking of all the advantages and the benefits for the mind of enlightenment and vows thinking how important and precious and how difficult to give rise to it is, so we should be happy about it. So what is the meaning of this mind of enlightenment? So it’s the mind that doesn’t doesn’t is not bothered with with hardships of of going through hardships for the sake of accomplishing others’ welfare.
Okay? So is that mind that abandons one’s own welfare, the accomplishing of one’s own welfare is is is the mind that does not like one’s own welfare, and and takes on itself the the welfare of others and likes to accomplish, engage in accomplishing the welfare of others. So this is a this mind or somebody who has this mind is something is something that you it’s very difficult to find is very there are very few who who have this attitude of, I would say, liking liking to enjoying accomplishing the welfare of others and not enjoying accomplishing one’s own welfare. There’s a there are very few like this. So so not how do you say?
If if we are not able so what what what is it that makes that makes it makes us find only very few people capable for acting or thinking in this manner. It’s it’s it’s the it’s the self grasping mind. It’s it’s the it’s the the mind that that thinks highly of oneself. And then not being able to abandon this mind that thinks highly of oneself, then one is not cannot accomplish, how to say, the welfare of others. So then that with with that mind that thinks highly of oneself, the mind that likes oneself, that likes I, that that thinks likes accomplishing enjoys accomplishing the purpose of oneself and that self-cherishing mind, then one with that mind, one cannot, how do you say, come to enlightenment.
One cannot come to this mind of enlightenment. And then I’d say, So so we have to be able to realize that this mind, the self-cherishing mind, we have to be able to realize that this self-cherishing mind is bad, is evil. So knowing knowing how how it is bad, then we will be able to how to say? Not like this this this this this mind that thinks of the welfare of oneself. One’s one’s welfare.
So then so we have to know that this mind is is bad. So in order to to be able to realize this, we have to think of we have to we have also to know we have to know its the shortcomings of this mind, the faults of having this this mind that thinks of oneself. So then when stop to look at the shortcomings or the faults of this mind, then we realize that there is, in fact, a very great fault to it. That is, that all the suffering that we experience comes because of this mind, the self-cherishing mind, comes in dependence upon this mind. All the suffering that we experience comes in dependence upon it.
So, yes. So then our being, how do you say, trapped in cyclic existence or going around in cyclic existence since beginningless time from beginning this time until now is the workings of is because of the workings of this mind, of this self-cherishing mind. So then he says that most people do not understand this, do not understand that all the suffering of experience is caused by this mind. So most people, they think that the suffering that they experience is caused by others. Others cause others bring suffering to them.
They do not think that the suffering they are experiencing is caused by the by this this self-cherishing attitude. So then so then how how how is it that this this mind brings brings about this this suffering this suffering experience? It’s because this mind that that thinks highly of oneself, that gives too much importance to oneself, wants all happiness for itself. It wants, how to say, all worldly worldly all sorts of worldly wealth, all sorts of objects and things it wants to acquire for itself. So then so then this mind that does not does not wish to experience any suffering, it wishes only to have happiness, and then it wants to acquire all this worldly wealth and objects and so forth.
And then for the sake of obtaining these things, it engages in all sorts of activities. So then this mind is things to itself, need I want happiness. I need this happiness. This mind thinks to itself, I want I want money. Thinks of it thinks that it needs money and it gets attached to money.
It thinks that it needs a car, and then it gets attached to cars and so forth. Then being attached to this to its own happiness and to all these other material things for the achievement, for the purpose of achieving its own happiness, then it engages in all sorts of activities without considering without totally disregarding beings, totally disregarding, not considering if they’re being harmed or not, not considering their happiness whatsoever. So so this mind, in order to accomplish its own happiness, while there is totally disregarding other sentient beings, then it engages in all sorts of activities. Right? And then what the motivation what motivates this mind to engage in these activities is attachment issue.
That’s the motivation that it that it carries on to the activities. Then if if it were to be if it were to be engaging in an activity that will bring benefit to both others and to oneself, then that will be alright. But that’s not the way happens. It happens that out of this attachment, it it totally, how do you say, disregards other other beings and and how do you say? Caring if they are being harmed or not, it engages in all sorts of So then in order to accomplish this its own happiness through these activities, engaging all sorts of negativities and non virtues.
Yes. Then because it engages in all sorts of non virtuous activities, then out of from non virtues, the only result that follows is suffering. So then this mind will only accomplish its own suffering. Then then so then we know that this mind that thinks highly of oneself, that thinks of of I, me, this mind that thinks like this, now we know that this is this is the mind that causes us to experience all this suffering. So then we have to think Geshe-la is saying that we have to think a lot about this, about the faults of this mind, and how to say, do analytical meditation in this manner about this mind.
So then having having, how do you say, meditated a lot on this on this on the thoughts of this mind, then one will be able to give rise to a mind that does not that dislikes this self-cherishing attitude and move yeah. That’s it, boss. Then so then knowing that all the faults of the faults, of the big faults that this mind has, and then knowing that of all the bad things that follow after it, then we will have this mind that thinks of putting an end to it, of destroying it. After this mind that wishes to get rid of the self-cherishing attitude arises, then then we have to investigate how how can we get rid of it? How can we destroy it?
So then so then how how do we get rid of it? So thinking of thinking of condition. So then so then we know first that there is nothing this minded that thinks highly of of of ones elf, that the self-cherishing attitude. So we know that there is a there’s nothing else like it. So then, also, this this mind that this this self-cherishing mind that thinks highly of itself, then we we should also know that we we we shouldn’t we cannot how to say?
So we shouldn’t we shouldn’t think highly of ourselves. Then so then and then and then and then we have to now then we have to understand the view of emptiness that we have to understand that this this mind lacks inherent existence.
This I lacks inherent existence. So then we have this this this mind. We have it since beginningless time up up until now, so and we haven’t been able to get rid of it. And all the all the all the the Buddhas and the arhats, they have been able to to do it, but us, ordinary beings, we haven’t been able to get rid of it.. Then we have to think we have to think in this manner that was instructing us.
We have to think in this manner, in this way for a lot. And then and then we will develop their mind that does not that dislikes the self-cherishing attitude. So then I say that the so we have to bring about that mind that thinks of of the welfare of others, that not liking disliking that self-cherishing attitude to think of the welfare of others. And when when that mind can come about, when the when we can finally bring it about, then So then so then we have yeah. So then we have to purify this this this this mind that thinks only of oneself, or thinks only of I and me, and then and and then bring about that mind that thinks of of the welfare of others.
And once we we that mind that thinks of of benefiting others, the welfare of others comes about, then giving rise to, obviously, the bodhicitta will be easy. So then we have train ourselves in how to say, on that mind that thinks of the benefit of others. And then if we can accomplish that, then what will come about is what we accomplish is not only the welfare of others, but we accomplish our own happiness. From that mind, we we are going to also accomplish our own happiness and as as, how do say, I’m opposed to the other mind, the So then as opposed to the mind that cherishes oneself, which is a mistaken mind, then that mind, if we can give rise to that mind that, I’d say, that that thinks of the welfare of others, then that’s very good because, in fact, the the mind how do say? The welfare of others is important, and that’s and that’s is a non mistaken mind.
Yes. So so why why is it that the others are others other beings are actually important? Because it is in dependence upon them that all all that we experience all the happiness or every happiness. So all how to say, every every happiness, it mundane happiness, worldly happiness, or even ultimate happiness, comes in dependence upon the other beings, so in dependence upon that mind that, how to say, regards the welfare of others as more important. So then because because every happiness comes about because of others, then then other beings, all other beings, they are in fact, they in fact, how to say, very kind to us.
And this this mind that thinks that thinks them as being very kind is also very important to us. So then so then at first at first, we we do not we we are not we cannot understand understand that all beings are kind to us, or we cannot understand how they are kind to us, but we can understand how our parents were kind to us. So then so then so all beings are, in fact in fact very kind to us. And then even though we don’t we do not know that, and we know that we were we have been we have been born in cyclic existence since beginningless time. We have been reborn like innumerable times, and and through all these these lives, all these births, I’d say, all beings, they our parents, they were our relatives.
There is absolutely no being that was not either our parents or or friends and so forth. Then so then so then our our parents are very kind to us, but also also all other beings are very kind to us. Everything that we we have, the clothes that we dress, the food that we eat, everything everything came about by other other beings going through hardships and so forth. So all other beings are also kind to us. So so then now I give I give how do you say?
Having having given money, then I get food, and then I get a car. And I give money, and then I get I get a house. So then usually, we think that just because we give the money, and then that’s why we get the house. We don’t think of the kindness of other beings. So even but even that money that we are using comes in dependence upon other beings.
So if there were if there were for example, if there were also excuse me. If there were if there were not other if there were not other other beings So then, if there are if there were no other sanctioned beings, if there were no other beings, then then the we wouldn’t we wouldn’t we wouldn’t get this money. Also, we wouldn’t get the things that we could buy with this money. So then everything everything, how do say, came about arose arose of out of others, other beings. So everything, everything, all every happiness that we experience came about came out of of other beings, came in dependence on other beings, every every happiness that we experience now in this life.
That being so, then other beings are very important. So then even the happiness of future lives of higher rebirth is in comes about in dependence on other beings. The happiness of liberation comes about in dependence on other beings, and even enlightenment comes about in dependence on other beings. So that all the happiness that we have experienced up until now and all the happiness that we will experience up until the day up until our enlightenment comes comes came in dependence upon all sentient beings, and will come in dependence So then we have to think, we have to think, meditate a lot in this manner and then give rise to the mind that thinks that others are important and oneself is not important. So then so then having how do say, giving rise to this to this mind that disregards oneself and and regards others as important, as more important, then how do say, we we start experiencing, how do you say, happiness out of it, and then this mind will increase.
And then this mind that thinks highly of of others will will be able to to cause harm to that mind that thinks highly of oneself. Then then having given rise to the mind that thinks, how do you say, regards others highly, then and then we have to to give rise we then we have to give give rise to the mind that wants to to free all beings of suffering. Then then having given rise to the mind that thinks of, how to say, freeing all beings of of suffering, then we we think, then what do we need to be able to accomplish this, to accomplish freeing all beings of this suffering, and what we need is to achieve enlightenment. Then we have we have the mind, then we have generated the mind that thinks that that strives to achieve enlightenment, and then we will, how to say, abandoning whilst abandoning, how to say, that mind that thinks highly of oneself, the self-cherishing mind, then we will engage in how do say?
Into that that mind that that wants to attain enlightenment. Then then thinking thinking of of that in order to relieve all sentient beings from suffering, I must I must achieve enlightenment. Oneself must achieve enlightenment. Then when this mind how do say? Then when this mind comes about, when this mind when then when we how do you say that?
Uncontrived? Uncontrived? When when this this mind come up comes about in an uncontrived manner, then that uncontrived mind that wishes to attain enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings is the bodhicitta, the mind of enlightenment. It’s bodhicitta. So then so then, to accomplish this this mind of enlightenment is not easy now, is it?
He asks. So then I say so, but if we continually meditate upon upon it, then it will become easier and easier and easier. And then one to the point that one day will come, it will be generated. It will have, I would say, uncontrived. Spontaneously.
So then can I say that now we are not able to give right now, we are able to give rise to that to the actual mind of enlightenment because it’s very difficult? We have to give rise to all those those other minds, all that that that can that process in order to achieve the mind of enlightenment. So then so now, Geshe-la is saying that now we have we have taken this the bodhisattva vows. But then they are the the the the vows of the bodhicitta, right, of the mind of enlightenment. But then we cannot at the same time, we we we are not able to give rise to this to the actual mind of enlightenment.
So then so then we have we have we have promised in front of of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas that ourselves being, I’m saying, experiencing suffering right now and all other beings being suffering now. We have promised in front of all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas that we are going to achieve enlightenment in order to to free all beings from suffering. So. So then so then what so then that mind that is that is is is thinking may achieve the enlighten may achieve enlightenment in order to free all sentient beings from suffering. The mind that is thinking that that that that is