Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Sleep as a virtuous act is the unexpected opening of this 45-minute commentary by Geshe Pema Tsering on Śāntideva’s Bodhisattva Way of Life. He walks through the traditional sleep instructions — the lion posture (right side, palm under the head), sleeping only four of the night’s twelve hours, reviewing the day’s merit before drifting off, and dedicating it to all beings — explaining that the mental state held at the moment of sleep colors the entire night, for good or ill. He then turns to the chapter’s fourth subdivision: the limitless scope of bodhisattva activity, a six-session daily structure of praise and confession (the thirty-five Buddhas practice), and a reading curriculum that includes Śāntideva’s Compendium of All Practice and treatises by Asaṇga and Nāgārjuna. The session closes with a pointed analogy: studying the prescription without taking the medicine cures nothing. Suited to practitioners following the text through a sustained teaching series.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 02 Guide 2002 07 25.mp3
UUID: 06f3d8e4-c39c-4db8-8acc-feda2d198fed
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Bodhisattva Way of Life (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2002-07-25
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 44.9 minutes
Words: ~2,803
Yeah. Yeah. One hand one. So should should show the text to the person with huge with huge respect and using one’s hands, you know, right hand with all the fingers up and and not quick, you know, very gentle and soft and and slowly. The the purpose of taking all these actions, like pay respect and consciously yep.
And showing the the person with a huge respect with the using one’s hands, all hands softly and very slow, gently, is because because if one do not do in that way, what happens is the fault is there might be danger of not controlling or being conscious about one’s the the any actions of the body, speech, and mind because it’s so quick on this uncanny, yep, not guiding one’s body, speech and mind, and also become a disrespect danger of becoming a disrespect for others. Yeah. And and when one in sleep when one sleep should should should should sleep in a proper proper proper gesture or position like the way the great master, the lord Buddha Buddha Śākyamūni shows do during the time the final deed, the deed of passing into parinirvana. And and and out of so when one sleeps, should divide the evening or a night into three groups, so it’s like like twelve hours one night, and divided that into three and should sleep only one third of the night, which means that becomes four hours, and sleep only four hours, and after that, just get up and do the meditation and so forth. So when one go to sleep should be should lay one’s body in the lion posture of Lord Buddha Śākyamūni’s the final deed, the entering parinirvana that one’s right side of the direction could be anywhere according to one’s choice, and when one sleeps, lie the right side of the body on the bed, and placing the right hand or a palm under one’s head or face and leaving the hand, left hand, yeah, touching the left thigh.
And then then and when one goes to sleep, one should should should always, yeah, to develop a proper motivation that which is very important that because and that just before one go to sleep, just recall the the the actions actions one have performed in this particular day, and thinking and rejoice for those the positive actions what one have done, and and and rejoice that, and then dedicate all the virtues a merit one have gained today for the betterment of entire sentient beings. And and and and and to sleep with a good motivation by taking refuge or or bodhicitta and and developing bodhicitta, or if the person is doing a tantric path initiation or does meditation on the deity yoga, then go to sleep with the meditation on deity yoga. And by doing this and going to sleep with such motivation, motivation that the entire sleep will become a positive sleep or a positive action. And and, yep, the setting, checking one’s mind and going to sleep with a good motivation is very important. And and it is easy job and huge benefit when one receive and should always do it because sleep is called one of the powers of disturbing emotions.
There are numbers of different types of disturbing emotions, and the sleep is called one of the powers, which means that the sleep can be influenced very easily, which means if one goes to sleep with a negative thought, entire sleep will be under the negative. And if one goes to sleep with a positive thought, entire sleep will go by influenced by the positive actions or positive thought, and they will the the time one spent in the sleep will become a positive action or a thought. And likewise, if one simply it up with neutral mind or not thinking anything, then entire sleep will become a neutral sleep or action. So we should try to do, yeah. Try to do yeah.
To develop a good motivation just before one goes to sleep. It’s very important, especially, yeah, to setting up the motivation just before the sleep as well as rejoicing for for the positive actions of oneself and others. And these two, the practice are very easy practice. We said one can do this practice without any difficulty and can receive huge benefits out of those practices. And then also when in the morning, the moment one awakes and should not wake with a negative thought or should not wake up unconsciously.
So the moment one is awake should produce a good motivation by thinking that, well, I’m still alive. I’m awake, and these are the the the the yeah. And very fortunate to be still alive that in the morning, and now I shall here take, you know, take the refuge and develop an altruistic intention, and and will will will do positive action or yep. The yeah. Positive action and to yeah.
To benefit both self and others for this whole day. Should have a motive should develop a proper motivation to do a right thing on particular day. So it is very important to develop a strong and positive motivation. So to in order to cultivate a very powerful or huge merit or a powerful positive action of one from the very beginning, once it have a proper motivation and during the actual practice should should engage and involve in the actions happily, you know, and and and at the end, with the conclusion, make the proper dedication prayers. So by doing all this, having the the any actions which consist of this proper motivation, actual practice, and the conclusion of what which is dedication, then the action one performs become a very strong and powerful action.
So here here concluded the third division, and now we reached the fourth The fourth subdivision or subdivision, which is And now in the earlier three divisions, you know, are something that that benefit with the giving material gift and giving teachings and now showing how to protect from disrespect. And now third, the fourth one is showing the the the practices of cultivating happiness in other ways, which means beside those earlier three divisions, and which has the actual and the concluding parts of the chapter. The first one explaining the actual length of that particular fourth division. It’s been explained by the the one next one verse, which is verse ninety seven. So the in Sūtra said that says that the if one has to explain the activities of or the deeds of the bodhisattvas now in yep. Yeah. Says that the activities and the deeds of the bodhisattvas are limitless. If one try to do count or think of activities of the bodhisattvas, they are limitless.
It is very hard to perform at this stage for us. But what one needs to do here is one should always guide one’s mind and never be very complacent and and and and and and and try to cultivate the the bodhisattvas’ deeds as much as one can, even though one can’t exactly perform all the activities of bodhisattvas because they are beyond our knowledge and beyond, you know, our knowledge, and they are numberless, limitless, but should cultivate as much as one can by meditating on bodhicitta, cultivating renunciation, love and compassion. And also, in all the time, the sessions, should perform the sessions, which means the three times in the day and three in the nighttime, and should sit and make praise for the Triple Gem and, yeah, and then recite the confession sutras, which are the the the, yeah, purification practice. recite the purification or confession sūtra, which is the the practice of thirty five confession of thirty five Buddhas. Who is that the text and take refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha generates the bodhicitta and should and repent or regret towards negative actions when it performed and and should confess all those yep.
Confess all those negativities, then in all the time being maintain very alert and in and with the great joy and and and enthusiastic effort should cultivate the bodhicitta renunciation bodhicitta and correct views. Yep. Yeah. And we yeah. And and and maintain and, yeah, listen to the teachings and maintain all the the the positive actions of, like, leading ethical disciplines of of of it could be the yeah.
One’s vows taking or or the ethical discipline of not committing ten non virtuous actions and doing one’s sadness, like daily commitments or practices. So you should develop an altruistic like the bodhisattvas did and engage in in the the deeds of the bodhisattvas. The bodhisattvas are are perfected and and skilled in entire fields, says the the five skills of philosophies, which means says it is if it’s not not just study in the Buddhist philosophies, one should do in other philosophies, like like like paintings, Nangrippa, Saripa, yeah. Saripa. Yeah.
Saripa, Saripa, medicines, and so forth. And and because if any actions been should perform those actions, train those fields with the with the motivation of altruistic intention, then any actions one performs uphold by the bodhicitta, then those all actions will become a cause to enlightenment. So any actions performed with the altruistic intentions, and those actions will become a very powerful actions. And one cultivates a huge amount of merit from those action, and those and those merits will become a cause for the attainment of enlightenment for the sake of entire sentient beings. And and in all the time, any action one do, one study or one meditate and so forth, any action one performs, one should do it for the sake of others, and one is studying because it’s for others, in order to help others.
And and and yep. And with this motivation or with such intention, then one actions will become a very powerful actions, and those will become a cause to the attainment of enlightenment and should never perform any actions for individual purposes. And and when the actions and practice been done and any virtues one one have cultivated, a merit one cultivate from the practice should always make the dedication make the dedication prayers at the end of the any practices, and those dedication should be for the attainment of enlightenment that enlightenment that is to help in order to help sentient beings. And yeah. And in all the time, one should maintain or keep the following.
And in all the time, one should hold the gurus’ teachings, the masters’ teachings, the Buddhas’ teachings. One’s vows, the bodhisattvas, the bodhicitta or bodhisattva vows. So should maintain those in within one all the time and should never let go of those even at the cost of one’s life.
Got it. Got it. So and, also, should always read the act always read the text or read the advice of the bodhisattvas. But this particular text with the bodhisattvas the deeds of bodhisattvas as well as other teachings of the buddhas yeah. Buddhas the teachings or precepts and Yeah.
All these sutras of of the Mahāyāna sutras, so one should read all the texts and try to to generate or perform the actions or deeds of the Bodhisattva’s So it is because in the the the Mahāyāna Sūtra Sutras the Mahāyāna Sutras, they have explained the numbers, the the widely, you know, the the explanations of on the Bodhisattva’s deeds are very widely explained. So, therefore, one should read, try to read the Mahāyāna Sutras and and and learn as much as one can to to develop the deeds of the Bodhisattva at first. Got it. And so therefore, if one trains or trains in the cultivation of altruistic intention or bodhicitta, from the very beginning, it is very it is very important. It’s good for one to read the sūtra of Akshagarba Sūtra because the other Ashagarpa sūtra is is like a like this deep deeds of the buddha yeah.
Deeds of the buddha Engaging in the Bodhisattva’s Deeds. This text, it has explained in that that text of Akshagarba, sūtra of Akshagarba has explained numbers of the Bodhisattva’s deeds or actions like six perfections and so forth. And likewise And and and also the the content because the content because con compendium of all practice, the text called compendium of all practice has even greater explanation or even more intense, detailed explanation on the practice of the bodhisattva’s deeds. So, yeah, you should read all these sutras to to to acknowledge or to study the bodhisattva’s deeds. Like, the the Ākāśagarbha Sūtra as well as the compendium of all practice, which is also composed and written by the great Mahasanadeva himself.
And saying that if one is still if one still does not or cannot understand the vivid understanding on the Bodhisattva’s deeds, then should should try to should read the also called the text called the compendium of all knowledge or compendium of knowledge, and it has more clearer explanation. There are lots of compendium of knowledge or practices. So say compendium of all practices should read it again and again, that is by the great master Śāntideva himself. So there are other compendium of knowledge or for all practice composed by Ārya Asaṇga and also here is mentioned Ārya Nāgārjuna’s compendium of practice or knowledge, mainly translated as a compendium of knowledge. You know, we should read the compendium of knowledge as well.
It says actually, compendium of sutras. So briefly speaking, then whatever text you read, all these texts explained earlier, numbers of the text been mentioned in the earlier, yep, session, that that whatever one one should always when one read, should do what the text says, which tells one to do, and one should abandon what is to be abandoned. By doing so, then it will help one to to to produce the the the developing of the deeds of the Bodhisattvas and also will forbid one from the the the the the non virtuous actions that or which will forbid or protect one from doing the non virtuous actions. And in all the time should should should try to engage in the practices or or in the deeds of Bodhisattvas as much as one can. And now the the second division, which is the concluding the chapter or yeah.
The chapter, which has been explained by the next two verse. That is, of course, next two, verse one hundred and eight and one hundred and nine. So the concluding the chapter here. So it’s been explained by the next two verse. And so the meaning is that that in all the time, one should stay very alert, be mindful of very being should should be be very mindful and being alert that and and through reading the text and in for, yeah, of one’s action that any actions, you know, what what whether the actions to be can be done or suitable to do or not.
As so briefly speaking, then whatever text says want to do should try to do it, do those actions, and those who are not to be performed, avoid those actions. And and and and do the perform the actions with with with guiding one’s mind or or with the mindfulness and mental alertness. And, yep, should should study and read all those texts. And and just by me studying reading the text is not enough that that it’s knowing what are what the practices are is not enough. Whatever one study and and and studies the text and understands the practice and bring all the understanding into practice through meditation or implements one’s knowledge, then it will help.
It will become a very effective and useful. Otherwise, just for mere understanding saying, yep, this is it, this is that, and not contemplating and not implementing the practice or one’s knowledge, then it won’t be helpful. So just by mere understanding on the teaching is not enough and won’t be effective or helpful unless one implements one’s teaching, the understanding of the teachings or the deeds of the bodhisattvas, it will become like this. For example, the the if the person is sick and then goes to the doctor and examine and and get the prescriptions and and understand what one’s disease is from the prescription or what doctor says. So just by reading the medicinal medicine text and so forth is not good enough to cure the disease.
And and in order to cure one’s disease, one needs to to know the disease and take that medicine.