Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. “Should you get angry at a stick that hits you?” This analogy anchors Geshe Pema Tsering’s 44-minute commentary on the chapter on patience in the Bodhisattva Way of Life. Moving through three subdivisions, the session covers: willingly accepting suffering — since saṃsāra is itself the nature of suffering, non-virtue accumulates effortlessly while virtue requires sustained effort; patience toward phenomena, using stick and cancer analogies to show that disturbing emotions, not persons, are the real cause of harm; and patience of non-retaliation, directing anger toward the three poisons rather than whoever caused the harm. A Q&A closes with verse ten’s logic — suffering is either curable (act, don’t mourn) or incurable (worrying changes nothing) — and a note on why anger directed at a bodhisattva destroys the angry person’s merit.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 06 Guide 2002 08 01.mp3
UUID: 4c4d1932-2bce-4b01-bf60-bd1ea535eadf
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Bodhisattva Way of Life (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2002-08-01
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 44.5 minutes
Words: ~3,071
Yeah. It’s the the causes of the happiness are very rare or scarce. And the causes for the sufferings are numberless, something like that. Yeah. That’s right.
So it’s one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, up to verse twenty one. It’s been explained how to maintain patience or or patience of willingly accepting the suffering. It’s just yep. So the meanings of those verses is that the causes for the happiness or positive actions are very rare. It’s hardly occurs that and the causes for the non virtuous or our sufferings are in many, which means that we have to one have to work very hard to cultivate a positive action or the cause for the happiness.
And and and after after a long time working so hard, one cultivates the the the causes for the happiness. Whereas for the suffering, one does not really need to work. It always naturally comes in all the time. And and and it is because this this is the this is the so this is what it happens when when one born in the cyclic existence or in Samsāra because because because when one’s yeah. One is in the Samsāra and and we we have been circling the cyclic existence from the very beginning of the time or beginninglessness of beginningless of the time.
And and and all the time, you know, you know, cultivating non virtues or sufferings and and and very few the happiness occurs. It is because the reason why it is the reason why those things happen is because the cyclic existence, saṃsāra itself is suffering. So because saṃsāra itself is suffering and being in saṃsāra, the non virtues just don’t have to only does not need to cultivate very hard, and it just comes automatically. So So, therefore, you know, because the samsaric existence, saṃsāra, itself is a suffering, and that’s because of this, the the one cultivates the sufferings or non virtuous action in all the time and and without any hardships or yeah. Automatically, we just cultivate.
It is because saṃsāra itself is itself is suffering. So therefore so therefore therefore therefore the therefore, it is important to see samsaric existence or saṃsāra is itself is a suffering, and it’s in the nature of suffering. And and and without knowing the saṃsāra, it’s without knowing saṃsāra is a suffering, you know, or it’s in the nature in nature is a suffering, then there is no way one can develop a renunciation which is wish wish to free from cyclic existence. Because if one does not realize that Samsāra is the nature of suffering, then one one sees see one sees the Samsāra as happiness and and and and grasp the grasp the saṃsāra as a happiness and then and do not will not develop a wish to free from that happiness because saṃsāra is a happiness. Therefore so but without so therefore it is important to to to see the saṃsāra as a suffering and on the such basis of knowing that it is a suffering, then one can develop a renunciation which is, yeah, renunciation.
So, therefore, one should one should should see samsaric existence as the nature of suffering and develop try to develop a renunciation and maintain patience as much as one can because and it’s set forth that one should meditate or familiarize oneself into patience, etc. Includes the love and great compassion and so forth. Because by familiarizing through meditating on those patience and love and compassion, then eventually, gradually, they will become easier and easier. And it is because that it’s the nature of the phenomena because they nothing exists. Nothing exists which won’t become easier by familiarizing it or or through meditation.
So if I meditate and cultivate patience and so forth, the growing compassions, they will become easier and easier. It. Got it. So, therefore, try to med meditate and being yep. Maintain patience.
And through this such through such practices, then it those they become easier easier, and gradually one can maintain patience for all the sufferings. So so beginning from the the to maintain patience towards the harsh words from others and and slight cause harms from others and maintain patience by by by cultivating from that step onward, gradually one come into the point that one can perfect the patience and even one can even maintain patience for the sufferings of hell realms, which means that the great bodhisattvas who are perfected in patience, those bodhisattvas, they have no trouble being patient for the suffering of the hell realms. You know, they can easily maintain under under undertake the sufferings of the hell realms. And now to the the second yeah. Second to subdivision, which is the patient maintaining patient, being patient towards the cultivating patience with respect to the intent of dharmas.
Yeah. Yeah. Suggesting it as well. And that has been explained by the next twelve verses starting from twenty second. Thirty three.
And so the meaning is that if one if one says that, oh, yeah, it is it is suitable to being angry to the person who caused harm, then then then the question comes that so there will will one be angry on on on yeah. It is so sorry. If one says that it is okay to develop it is okay to be angry to the person who causes harm, then if one says this, then the question comes question comes that will one be angry to the diseases like the the the yeah, the cancer or so called the joints and so forth because they cause harm to you as well. They also brings harm, but one will not. And the the if the answer has been replied, it is not because they’re just the diseases come so forth.
And then then what happens? And then the question comes is then it is not so the answer would be that it is not okay to develop anger to the person or by saying the person caused the harm. Then if they say so, then one should get angry on the stick because it is not the person who really caused the harm. Actually, the real stick being touched on your body and then gets the pain and the stick is the one which causes the harm. And and you should be angry on on on towards the stick.
So therefore, if one also says that, no, one will not be angry on the cancer or disease like cancers and so forth because they are just the without any control and the body sorry, when all the causes and conditions are present in their coming together. If one says so, then should not it’s the same thing that one should not be angry on the person because the person, he or she has no freedom because they are being influenced by the disturbed mind, like disturbing emotions and due to this they make the person to cause harm. So therefore if one wants to get angry, should be angry towards the disturbing emotions, not the person who caused the harm. If one says that that analogy is not suitable because the cancers and so forth, they are not the intentional or the harms, Whereas the person who caused the harm, he did it intentionally, you know, with motivation and then and yeah. Intentionally harm myself or harm the person.
And the answer would be this is not reasonable because the person you can’t say this because the person, they cause the harms or being yeah. Harm when it’s been controlled by the disturbing emotions like hatred and anger, so forth. Because because but they from the very beginning, they have no intention thinking, well, I will develop it I will develop the disturbing emotions first and then cause the harm to the person. It is not worked that way. The person has no intentions from the very beginning but the coming of the disturbing emotions like hatred and anger are very instant.
You will never know when they come. So whenever they come, it makes person to cause harm. So therefore, the person didn’t really intentionally person is not intentionally harming you or other because because from the very beginning they have no intention because they don’t want to harm anyone and they would never thought that I will wait for I will first develop a disturbing emotion and then harm. You know? It will doesn’t work that way.
So therefore, should not hate or be angry to the person because of the suffering’s cause. Because if that is the reason, then if one does so, should one should be angry towards the sticks or so forth because they also bring the harm. So the person is not the main the cause for the harms because the main cause for the harms are disturbing emotions, hatred and hatred, anger. And now to the third divisions, which is being patient patient of not retaliating not retaliating towards the harm or not taking revenge for the harm. And that has been explained in the next eighteen verses which starting from thirty four.
I think fifty one. Yep. So saying that one should not be angry towards the harm because because because because the the everybody, including oneself and other sentient beings, they also are subject to suffering. And and and they have no freedom because all the causes for the anger and hatred, the harms are there within the person. And due to this, person has no freedom.
And and and because when they are yeah. When the ang the disturbing emotions, that anger and hatred are manifested there and and they become the the person become and becomes the control being controlled by the disturbing emotions or being influenced by the disturbing emotions and then the harms and so forth comes. So therefore the person has no freedom. Due to this all this happens, so should not retaliate and maintain patience. If one wants to challenge challenge or being angry, then should be angry towards the three disturbing emotions, the three poisons, like attachment, hatred and ignorance.
So all the harms and yeah. Harms are the the caused by the disturbing emotions. So therefore you should one should not be angry and hate hate the person who who brings the harms because they have no they have have no freedom in being influenced by the disturbing emotions. And instead of instead of being angry should maintain patience, love and compassion, pray for the person because the person is being possessed or influenced by the disturbing emotion and it which brings harm to us. And thinking that by harming you or harming other they might get some happiness but in reality they still don’t get happiness at all.
So the person is a mistaken one and which cause the mistake has been caused by the disturbing emotions, the actual cause. And therefore if one should one is to be angry, angry on the person’s disturbing emotions, not the person. Because because because the person is entirely entirely confused and and and and and and does anything what the disturbing emotions let the person to do and and think and along with this person may think that he or she received the happiness by doing such and such harm to the other, but which is not, they won’t be happy. For example, like, because of the disturbing emotions, sometimes it happens, person thinks, well, if I commit suicide, know, might be happy, I might receive some happiness or just jump from the cliff or eat poison, so forth. And those causes happen by disturbing emotions, but in reality, by jumping from the cliff or committing suicide, so forth, the person won’t receive any happiness or peace.
So so yeah. And all this has caused by the disturbing emotions. Some people, you know, because of the because of a girl or because of a boy, as well as for being greedy towards the towards the wealth and so forth. And and due to this, you know, one gets so anxious and get angry and frustrated and angry towards other people because of, you know, not helping or not getting what one wishes a girl or a boy or wealth and so forth. And and due to this, you know, things are frustrated and and as a result, and one goes through the suffering, you know, because this, you know, fed up with oneself, not eating, and and and And, yep, and not eating and thinking, and sometimes one gets so angry.
That’s a different one. And and, yeah, some people, you know, in yeah, being so angry to that person and saying, alright, I’m going to do a hunger strike. I’m not going to eat anything, you know. And some, you know, so frustrated and angry herself for not getting what one wishes and thinking and there’s no happiness and peace at all. And by thinking now, well, I’m not going to get what I want what I want and I’m still not happy.
The best way is I just kill myself, you know, that I’m happy or, you know, or just, you know, kill myself by jumping from the cliff or just take some, you know, poisons and some and cut or do the and do non virtuous actions like yeah. Negative actions and and due to this and the and in reality by doing those action instead of getting happiness, one cultivate huge non virtues and negative actions, and as a result, which will bring suffering in both the this life and the future lives. So we’ll stop here today, as Geshe-la says, and take questions. It’s been today’s class and will be same in the next few classes as well that in the yeah. Bodhisattva Way of Life is is the chapter sort of the text for the whole study group for whole year.
And by counting the verses now, it’s running we are running backwards. So Geshe-la needs to catch up. He has been going very detail word to word from the past. And as a result, running late, so now we’ve got to catch up to up to date. This is how Geshe-la says So so Geshe-la has said that he has, you know, he didn’t go through the explanation word to word and just very quickly to catch up with the time.
And Geshe-la said that he had been driven very fast today on the ninety k’s, you know, like, kilometer. Yeah. Said, nineties, nothing. At least a little fifteen. Yeah.
So any questions? I think there’ll be a question about verse ten. The the question was, can Geshe-la explain a bit on a bit about the the verse ten? Why be unhappy about something if it can be remedied? And what is the use of being unhappy about something if it cannot be remedied?
So what it means is that yeah. Because the person What it means is that that one should not be unhappy with all the harms and so forth. And because because because but when one receives the harms or the sufferings, instead of being unhappy, one should examine it and think it and whether that suffering can be yep. Suffering can be cured or not. And if it can be cured, then it is not point being unhappy because one should work for it instead of being mourning.
I should work for it and then get over the suffering because it can be cured. And if so they yeah. And likewise, if it can’t be cured, then no matter how much one worries and so forth, and even one works after it, it is to be sure that from the very beginning that suffering can’t be cured and there’s no point at all even one works or just being unhappy and so forth, but nothing is going to happen. But here, it is because one should not be worried or unhappy because all the suffering, they are caused by the disturbing emotions mainly. And and disturbing emotions so therefore, the disturbing emotions can be eradicated, can be abandoned.
So which means the sufferings, whatever all the sufferings one go through, they are to be remedied. So therefore, one should not be unhappy. Yes, Chris. Geshe-la said that it is clearly stated like the anger. I don’t know.
It’s it’s mainly towards the the anger which one develops to the person, depends on who you get angry. So, for example, here, talking about the bodhisattvas and the the buddhas and for the person who are of the first stage, or who we call the person who have entered the path, or who have not entered the path. So at this stage like the one like myself, you know, have not entered the path, if get the angry towards the one, towards the bodhisattva or the person who has not developed the bodhicitta and develops anger to the bodhisattva who have already developed the bodhicitta, then the moment anger of that person to the a person to the b person, then person A’s merit gets destroyed. Alright. It’s the an anger is the secondary mind and or the mental factor.
So mind it’s a mental factor, the man who which is in the aspect of causing harm. So mainly, he was saying towards being patient towards the dharma or so forth. What it actually mean is there should not be angry towards the dharma, which is dharma who is the one here, the dharma is not the dharma text and so forth. Dharma is a it’s a phenomena phenomena here. It’s the same word, same spelling in the Tibetan writing in debate when we call it about chos.
The chos is actually a dharma, you know, like a Yeah. So forth, other chos. And then in terms of debate in other areas, chos, it becomes phenomena, every object. You know, we’re saying existence, dharma, which is chos, everything are synonyms.
So which means is so one should not be angry towards the dharma, towards the phenomena. So in that if you cause me a harm, then you become my dharma, and I become your object. And so I should not be angry on you and because but just by thinking that you