Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. A burning house left unattended — that is Geshe Pema Tsering’s opening image in this 45-minute session, drawn from Geshe Langri Thangpa’s instruction to apply antidotes the moment disturbing emotions arise. He then dissects anger and attachment in turn: anger as a false protector that harms self and others, attachment as a mental distortion that exaggerates an object’s good qualities — illustrated with the example of clinging to a brand-new car. He walks through specific antidotes: examining an object’s faults to counter attachment, and cultivating patience and compassion when provoked. The second half moves into Śāntideva’s dedication verses — wishing to become medicine and nurse for the sick, and food, water, and shelter for the poor — before outlining the structure of the upcoming actual training in bodhicitta. Suited to practitioners already studying the text.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 01 Guide 2002 04 04.mp3
UUID: 1120ea67-22bb-4697-9255-74baddff82a6
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Bodhisattva Way of Life (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2002-04-04
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.1 minutes
Words: ~3,181
So the Geshe Langri Thangpa here, it means it’s very important for for one to take one’s keep an eye on one’s action all the time, and whenever the disturbing emotions arise, you should apply antidote straight away, and then, yeah, apply antidote and abandon it straight away. Because and so it is important to do so because if one does not, then it becomes like a like a little a little fire in the house. So the the house caught fire. It was very small. Is that me?
Let’s see. Okay. It’s a yeah. Like a small fire. The house caught a small fire, and I thought I should be okay.
It’s not that big. And once the net is there. And gradually, it becomes bigger and bigger, and then finally, the whole house entire house burned down. So likewise, whenever the disturbing emotions arise, slight disturbing emotions like attachment, anger, or pride, or jealousy, you should not neglect it. If one leave it, then it becomes like a huge house burned down the complete entire house.
And and what Geshe Langri Thangpa said here was very true, for example, like for example, take taking the anger as an example. When one whenever when one gets angry, not only not only it makes one miserable for oneself, but it also causes makes others miserable as well along with oneself. And the anger comes in usually the anger comes within oneself. It’s kind of like a protection for oneself or or making one meant to be like, it seems like it’s giving some pleasure for oneself to be be angry, you know, so that protect oneself from others. So anger comes like a as in protection or or giving some pleasure or happiness.
For example, we can imagine one can think of oneself, for example, when one gets angry, it is the one gets angry when one hurts something unpleasant about oneself or or or, yep, a harsh word or something one do not wish, does not wish. It comes. Whenever that those sort of things occurs, one gets angry. And that anger is kind of like protecting oneself. But the fact is it is not it’s it does not work the way it seemed it comes as.
The anger never protects one from unwanted sufferings and, you know, from the harsh harsh world or so forth. Which gives the pleasure and happiness is love and compassion are the are the one who bring which brings happiness. There is only as well as patience. So, yep, the the love and compassion, patience, they brings they bring the real happiness which one what yep. One wishes.
And the anger is the one that which that which does not bring happiness. For for example, some people get angry because of not achieving the the happiness which one pursues, means like a frustration and one gets angry because cannot achieve what one wants to be or that kind of happiness. But but that the anger never brings happiness. Not only, it also causes miserable for others as well. So there there haven’t been anyone up till now that who says that I have achieved or completed or or what I want through anger.
And same as the attachment as well. And attachment comes attach attachment is it can be anything, attachment towards a thing, like one’s possession, partner, husband or wife or girl or boy, whoever, the attachment is the one that exaggerates the person’s quality, for example. Not yes. You’re exaggerating the qualities of the thing, particular thing. And then, yeah, so as you said that the attachment exaggerates, for example, like a thing or one’s relationship partner so forth, and seeing something extra than royal quality of the person, for example, and due to this one try to hang on to that attachment or exaggeration, and then if one fails to attain to, you know, be with a particular person, one feel upset, one feel sad and angry and so forth.
And if the person, if one received whatever one wishes for, like a boy or a girl, and for him it’s very as we said, it’s been the qualities has been exaggerated through this mental approach. And the person feel kind of like a pride, and I achieved the most beautiful whatever. So it it applies same for any kind of disturbing emotion that they might produce a slight happiness on the sport, but the longer one spend time on it, the worse it get. What the worse they get. So so one should not familiarize or be acquainted with the disturbing emotions because because there is no such happiness that comes from the like real happiness comes out of attachment or the disturbing emotions and should not try to to get acquainted with the disturbing emotion because one does not need to because one has been so used to or familiarized with the disturbing emotions from the very beginninglessness of the time.
Instead, if one has been used to the opposite side of the the disturbing emotion, which is like the towards the antidote of the disturbing emotion, we can probably say that we have been enlightened at this stage. So yeah. So one should not be very familiarized with the disturbing emotions because there is no purpose of doing so. It will never gives you the ultimate happiness. Instead, if I’m trying to get used to or be, yep, friendly with the antidote of the disturbing emotion, then it will produce the ultimate happiness that in the past, by doing so, many has attained enlightenment, and there will be and they are currently many peep many becomes enlightened because of being used with the antidote of the disturbing emotions.
Now. So therefore, the great master Langri Thangpa, Geshe Langri Tangpa, said, you know, on the spot, whenever disturbing emotion arises, just apply antidote and get and abandon it. So therefore, if, like, disturbing emotions, when they like, attachment, hatred, and and anger, so whenever attachment arise, apply antidote, meditate on ugliness. And and when they were yeah. The hatred, meditate on love, and for anger, meditate on patience.
So as we say, when attachment arise, meditate apply the antidote by meditating on ugliness. And when we say to meditate on ugly, when you say yeah. When we meditate on the ugliness, what it meant was any kind attachment. Well, for example, like a particular object, and when one arise when attachment comes on that that particular object, and where as we said, it’s called and one because of that tension one exaggerates the quality, keep thinking of the quality of the particular and exaggerate it. So likewise, when we said meditate on ugliness, what it means instead of just thinking or exaggerating the good qualities of particular object, think about the fault of that object.
So then one analyzes the good part and the bad part, and finally, it helps. And through this, doing so, would help one to reduce one’s attachment to that object. So take take take a brand new car as an example. One has this beautiful car, very new, and one has huge attachment on that car. So when that happens, think examine the car and So you say what you mean?
Because it’s a very new. You just bought it, and it’s very important for you. It’s it’s and has a huge attachment to the car. And then think about it. So and think about on the long run, whether it’s going to help you or the the the car is going to help you or harm you.
And and and it may likely to to help in the way you wished, but yeah. But but on the other side, it may take you a life in the long run being in an accident so forth. And not only that, because it’s so new and you’re so tested and then, you know, it protects the car and no one can touch and so forth. And then due to this, it may it it encourages one to cultivate numbers of disturbing emotions like attachment and so forth. As a result of that, it might lead one to take a rebirth and lower rebirth.
So this is how the the one meditates on ugliness in order to apply an antidote to the attachment. And as we said, just by instead of seeing just the good qualities, you know, sometimes things on the bad side as well, like the car, new car, everything is look perfect so forth, but if you really look through it, you know, you might, you can find heaps of faults in the car. So if one examine what the the the good and the bad qualities of the the car, and it is be sure that one can find more faults than good qualities. And even in terms of this present life, not only if one thinks about the future level, it it it also brings huge harm towards you. It will because it helps you to to cultivate non virtuous actions in, yeah, in many ways.
So what do you say? You know, if if you were to examine the car’s car’s good or a bad side, which one you find more? So if you don’t think, that’s a different case. But if you do think on those what what Geshe-la has just said, then you you can find more faults than good yeah. And likewise, in order to abandon or or yep.
The the anger, one one needs to meditate on patience. For yeah. For example, like, somebody in approach and in provokes you, And at that moment, instead of being patient, if one reply, you know, the what is called challenge, the person, then then then it causes huge problems for both sides. And not only and yeah. And it depends on how how strong it is.
If it’s really, really strong, you know, it might take, you know, started to hit each other, and then maybe one of one of the person get killed. And so and in both terms are there it it in in long run, for example, like in future lives, of course, it harms you because because that that the one the anger destroy all the good qualities or, you know, merits or virtuous action or virtue merit causes from positive actions. And and so don’t not to mention about future lives. Even in this present life, it might take one’s life through the fight or combat. So should not retaliate and be patient and think, right?
I should not retaliate, you know, that’s not a person, he or she being controlled by the anger or anger which is comes out of ignorance and ignorance and the disturbing emotion. So I should not retaliate and just take it easy and not for a while. No. And so and along with that patience, then cultivate or meditate on love and compassion, feel that that that person, feel sad or grief towards the person because he or she being being being, yep, controlled or tortured by the disturbing emotions and the karma or action and and feel pity. And not only the disturbing emotion, the disturbing emotion and action tortured him. He’s trying to torture the master as well.
So I should not get angry and retaliate. You know? So, yeah, if one maintains patience and does not retaliate to the person and automatically, gradually, the person will cool down and settle well, and then once he or she’s out of the anger, feel very embarrassed now, and then might walk towards you and say, I’m really sorry. You know? I apologize for what I said, so forth.
Yeah. And if you think on on this, it is really true. For example, think about oneself. When one get angry and so forth and yell at somebody or so forth, if the person didn’t retaliate and then and do nothing with respond. Then later on, you have to be out of anger, and then you feel very embarrassed and and feel regret towards what what one has done.
So yep. So as for the antidote towards the anger should meditate on on patience and additionally that as on love and compassion as well. So if one meditate to cultivate love and compassion and as well as patience, then it will not only make happy for oneself, it also brings happiness towards other and and call and brings harmony within the community. And and in in in long run, it gives good result in the future life as well. Yeah.
So at this stage, what we are studying is we are studying the Bodhisattva’s way of life. And those are the main topics, the main yep. The love, compassion, bodhisattva, the altruistic intention are the main ones which taught in this particular text. Okay. So therefore, now develop develop a motivation here that I’m I shall study this, the the text, the Bodhisattva Way of Life, in order to bring happiness to the entire sentient beings and achieve as well as achieve enlightenment for the sake of countless sentient beings.
So on such mind or altruistic intention, we shall do a short meditation. So now back to the text, we which the dedicate dedication part. And as for dedicate dedication, it has three subdivisions dedicating yeah general dedication and dedication towards the second one is for the sick people and for the sick yeah. Sick beings or sick people, and then towards the the poverty well, poverty. Now we finished the first part, and now it’s towards the second division, which is the dedication to the diseased beings or sick beings.
And on the text, that that has been shown by just a single line, which is the the I think verse number eight for for all sick beings in the world. That’s just one line. And what it explains is that the great great master, the author of this text, has has dedicated the all his merit gained through giving such teachings. He dedicated all this merit to in order to become a medicine or or, you know, to to to yeah. In order to yeah.
Order sir. So love it. Yeah. Yeah. It’s fine.
Page thirty, first number eight, and it’s the third line. For all sick beings in the world. Mine is thirty, so it’s the text. So, anyway, the the it’s it’s the most numbered eight in my text here, and it says, may I be the doctor and the medicine, and may I be the nurse for all sick beings in the world, etcetera and etcetera. Did you find it now?
Mhmm. Chapter three. Pardon? Chapter three. Chapter three.
Full acceptance of the awakening mind. Okay. So the doctor, the great master, he himself dedicated all the virtues again from teaching this text and wish he made the prayer, the wishing to become a medicine doctor and a nurse to help the the ill beings or sentient beings. This one. This one.
Oh, yeah. Who were tortured by the numbers of disease, like here the text mentioned, maybe like an infectious disease, the we call it like a cancer or chronic disease. No. This one? No.
Oh, yeah. So yeah. So like like great master Śāntideva, well, we should do the same as great great master did, to dedicate whatever the virtuous one have cultivated, dedicated it for the sentient beings and make wish prayers that to become a medicine doctor and nurse and so forth in order to help those sick sentient beings. And by by doing such dedication and prayers, we may not become a medicine doctor or a nurse, but the the fact is that we need the and the fact is we cultivate numbers of merit or virtues, and and that is really important for us to cultivate in order to attain enlightenment. And then towards third subdivision, which is dedicating it to the the poor, like, towards poverty or the poor people.
And and which is being shown by the next two verses, which are number nine and number ten. So the dedications are done in this way, like wishing to become wishing to help those poor people or to to people of starvation who, like, become a water to those who are thirsty, become a food to those who are hungry. And this they said for men, there will be numbers of you know, during the once in and So so become a food during the starvation. And Geshe-la said, doesn’t look like it will have the starvation will happen in Australia, but but but but but it is happened and it will happen in some part of the world. For example, like, they’ve been said for during nineteen fifty nine and sixties, there were there had been a bit of starvation happened in Tibet at that time.
So whatever it is, so wishing to become a food during the time of starvation is noble. And then also dedicating towards other poor who lack of shelter or the wealth and and financial problems. So wishing and through the power of these virtues or or, yeah, merit, I have cultivated through such practice, may I become I become the inexhaustible wealth so that I can give, I can give as well as become a wealth, and those who needs a house is to become a house, to become enjoyments, like food, so food now become everything. You know? So as we said that now so here concludes the the conclusion.
As we said that, I think a week before before, I think, that it started from the training one’s mind, which is training one’s mind here is to mind of altruistic intention or bodhicitta. So it has preliminary, actual, and the conclusion. So we here concludes the first subdivision, which is preliminary, that training in the seven-limb prayers. Now towards the actual training. So now for the second actual No.
So as for the second subdivision, the actual actual training actual training the mind of altruistic intention, it has four divisions as well. The so called the actual training of in the Buddha, the altruistic intention. Training in the reasons why the the the reason why one should train in the the mind of altruistic intention, and then training one’s mind through through transforming or dedicating one’s body and wealth to benefit many beings, and the result of training the training one’s mind in intention. No. Yep.
Sorry. And and dedicating one’s virtuous towards this virtuous gain from training one’s mind in altruistic intention for the sentient beings. Now on to the first one, the actual training of the mind which is shown by the verse, which is there could be number eleven. Yeah. Without any sense of loss, I shall give up my body and enjoyment as well as on the virtues of the three times for the sake of benefiting all.
Alright. Yep.