Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. A striking comparison anchors this 45-minute session: external enemies can only harm your body, but the six root delusions drag you through lower rebirths across beginningless time. Geshe Pema Tsering opens by drawing on the Guru Puja to frame the practice of cherishing others over self, leads a short bodhicitta meditation, then continues his commentary on Śāntideva’s chapter on conscientiousness. The focus falls on recognising and abandoning disturbing emotions: he names the six root delusions — attachment, hatred, anger, pride, ignorance, and doubt — explains why the strategy that works on human enemies (kindness, accommodation) actively worsens delusions, and insists practitioners apply antidotes immediately. He closes by distinguishing the antidote for fully uprooting delusions (wisdom realizing emptiness) from targeted antidotes for manifested states such as contemplating ugliness to counter attachment.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 13 Guide 2002 05 16.mp3
UUID: 75fb0839-ddee-4a4d-b589-15eaa8bbda6c
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Bodhisattva Way of Life (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2002-05-16
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 44.7 minutes
Words: ~2,492
The great master Pänchen Losang Chögyen in his text Guru Puja, said that both self and others are equal that wishing to not wish even a tiny, do not wish even a slight suffering and do not have dissatisfaction, over and above wishing happiness. So therefore, should cultivate this cherishing others, which means that that both self and others are equal, are saying that wanting happiness and do not want suffering. But they even though they don’t wish suffering, but they continue continuously collect the causes of the suffering and wishing happiness, but but but but that do not know how to collect the causes for happiness. So because of because of lack of understanding, what we do is come to the opposite, that cultivate the causes for suffering and do not cultivate causes for causes for happiness. So, therefore, it happens because of lack of understanding that we do not know that the both the self and others are same and equal, that wishing happiness happiness and do not want suffering.
Because of that, and we have a self-cherishing attitude that considers individual or oneself more precious than others and work and work hard to cultivate individual happiness, and individual happiness, the samsaric happiness, as a result of that, one could accumulate numbers of non-virtuous actions which will lead Because this both self and others are same in same wishing happiness and don’t want suffering. Therefore, great master here, Ben Gungyal Chöyin, has requested gurus to bless him, to to to bless him, to grant that he’ll be able to develop the cherishing of others. So therefore, we we should also try to reduce our self-cherishing attitude as much as we can and develop and or increase one’s increase cherishing others. So when we say cherish others more, which means saying here cherishes, cherish other more precious in oneself and should do the opposite the way one you then the way one the way we do it these days. So in what we need to do by cherishing others more precious than oneself should take should consider others purposes more important important than oneself.
So therefore, we need to train here to cultivate the bodhicitta, altruistic intention. The altruistic intention is the one which cherish others, yep, which cherish others and do not cherish self, and so it’s very important to train in the altruistic intention or bodhicitta even by by by by training or cultivating bodhicitta. Even though one has not developed a bodhicitta, but by cultivating it has huge benefits. So therefore, we should we should train and and try to cultivate train in and in bodhicitta or cultivate bodhicitta in all the time until we develop the bodhicitta. Because by doing so, the bodhicitta is is a very very important that that that it cherish others more important than oneself and it and then and the bodhicitta wishes to free or entire sentient beings from the suffering.
So by training in by cultivating or training in bodhicitta, the one because it’s bodhicitta itself is a very, very, very courageous mind, Therefore by cultivating it, one receives the numbers, one receives a huge benefit out of that, and also by training in bodhicitta it applies to abandon or it applies towards self cherish self-cherishing attitude and the self grasping attitude. Yeah. So the bodhicitta directly counteracts or harms the self self-cherishing attitude, and it it harms the self grasping attitude indirectly. So therefore, we shall do a short meditation on bodhicitta here that that in order to free all these motherly sentient beings from the suffering and bring them to the state of ultimate happiness, I shall here perform all these practices and attain enlightenment. So we stopped here last week, the third subdivision, which is of the being about the conscientiousness chapter.
So here towards the third one, being very conscientious in by thinking about the the abandonment of of disturbing emotions. So here, as for the abandonment in general, there are two types of abandonment, so called the omniscient obscuration towards Obscuration towards liberation and obscuration towards an omniscient. So here he’s talking about in terms of the disturbing emotions, which is obscuration towards liberation. So it has three subdivisions. So yep, being conscientious by thinking about disturbing emotions and being conscientious and should not feel tired or hard towards abandoning the disturbing emotion, which means that it’s hard work to avoid disturbing emotions but should not neglect it, take the hardship.
And cultivating how to apply antidote, training in the antidotes of the disturbing emotions or of the abandonment. And for the first, yeah, the first one, explaining the disadvantage of or disadvantages explaining the fault of the disturbing emotions, which which are that session is taught in the next eight verses starting from the verse twenty eight. Although enemies such as hatred and craving goes on. Yeah, hatred, craving, etcetera here, concludes the six root delusions. The attachment or desire, hatred, anger, pride, ignorance, is that it?
And the doubt. The yep. So it’s our six root delusions. So these are our real enemies, etcetera includes Sorry. Etcetera here includes the rest of the six root delusions.
So these six root delusions, they cause us harm and not on not just a simple harm, they they harm us very badly that that that they let us circle in the cyclic existence. And when we say they harm us, means they do not harm directly like you and holding knife and weapons in their hands and chopped our hands and so forth. They come they are very tricky and and skillfully trick us and and and let let us become like a slave of them and make us dependent or they don’t give us any freedom and we become servant of those six root delusions and do whatever they says, which means collecting the non-virtuous actions, And as a result of that, we undergo through the suffering. So those are the disturbing emotions or the six root delusions. They harm us and very clever they are very clever and and we we never know that they’re coming because they they they they causes harm to our main mind or our primary mind that that that that and that makes us become the us to take the or take whatever they let us do.
And because the six root delusions are the so-called secondary mental factors, so they’re saying they come to us as very appealing, they’re thinking that they give us pleasure or happiness and so forth, and and and through this, because of and we become we become, yep, dependent on them and then they make us to develop disturbing emotions like hatred and so forth by seeing something and then get angry and then respond to the person or so forth, and as a result of that we cultivate the non virtuous actions. So those holy or the yeah. Those holy beings or supreme beings, you know, who sees that this the faults of the disturbing emotions, and they feel they deliver great compassion towards the the other beings who cultivate lots of disturbing emotions. Well, for us, we do completely opposite that if we see somebody who cultivate lots of non virtuous actions, oh, he’s a great or she’s a great person, you know, is very good at business and cultivate lots of money and etcetera and etcetera. So that the person, like the very tricky persons, we might think they are very, very skilled and and and, yep, tricky and very good at business and and and but in the fact is they’re doing they’re cultivating a non virtuous action all the time or cultivating a course to to take burden in the hell realms because being tricky and promoting self and deceit, making money, business doing so forth, the person deceives others all the time and and and working for self-cherishing attitude.
So therefore, it looks like it’s not it’s not good to be a very tricky person, and and we completely see different then because somebody somebody who is very humble and not very not very well off, you know, who just goes to work and simply work for his or her living and make enough and then and take the rules and work to get their pay and then live very simple, people probably think that person is not real, is good, but not that good at, you know, making him or herself important. So the disturbing emotions are the main cause that which led us which led us circle in the cyclic existence or never led us free from cyclic existence. So therefore, it is very important to to to see the faults of the disturbing emotions and apply antidote towards that mind. So therefore, to in order to abandon those disturbing emotions, first one needs to recognize when they are coming or or or, yeah, when those disturbing emotions are coming. Because because person like myself hardly understand when, yeah, when or, yeah, when they’re coming because because due to the attachments and and and we find something really nice and attractive, and then goes up and chase that object, and So we never examined when they when they are coming or not, and even even that what because we are not very alert or attentive mindful, and whenever they comes, we don’t know and we go after those disturbing emotions.
For example, like finding a very nice object or a man or a woman, and then we find it appealing, and we just do not check our check ourselves. We just go straight after that. So therefore, do not let oneself work for disturbing emotions. And each and every action one undertakes, always examine before one goes through it. So no matter how much the the the god or human’s entire sentient beings harms you, but no matter how much they harm you altogether, get together and trying to harm you, but but they can’t harm you the way the disturbing emotion, yeah, harms you.
So therefore, one should one should one should take very serious and try to abandon disturbing emotions because, like, it harms those disturbing emotion harm harm you worse than entire sentient beings. The enemy of entire sentient beings, they can’t do they can’t harm much. The best they can do is either destroy this present body or chop it into little pieces. That’s all they can do. Whereas disturbing emotions, you know, it will lead you towards towards towards the lower rebirths like and be like like hell realms and not just once in many, many rebirths, and and and should not.
So therefore, and I should very take very serious here and then try to abandon this disturbing emotions, because disturbing disturbing emotions are not something outside. They are always within oneself. Yes.
Yes. So therefore, their disturbing emotions has been have been harming us since the very beginninglessness of the time, that they never let us to experience the happiness of nirvana or liberation and enlightenment. And and and instead instead they just cause us harm and then and let us always lead lead us in lower rebirths and might give one or two higher rebirths maybe for once or twice. And the rest of the time, they always lead us towards the lower rebirth. So try so one should try one should destroy the enemy of disturbing emotions and to destroy the enemy of disturbing emotions, it’s not the same way, it’s not the same one defeats the enemy, yeah, the ordinary enemy.
For the ordinary enemies like entire sentient beings, the one you can defeat them or make them friends by being very nice and kind and do what they say and so forth, but in doing so, and they will cool down or change your mind and gradually, instead of harming you in future, might brings you help. Whereas whereas disturbing emotions, you you should not be kind or be very nice to disturbing emotions. We should always apply the antidote to abandon, antidote to counteract those disturbing emotions because if you are very nice and kind, to the disturbing emotions like the way you do to the ordinary enemy, then instead of getting better, they become worse and worse. And as a result of that, they will lead you to the the endless times in lower hell realms. So therefore, once you once you try to abandon this disturbing emotions, because if as far as you are not as far as you have not abandoned disturbing emotions, then you you are still in cyclic existence.
And and being in cyclic existence, then you go one undergoes through the sufferings. So therefore should therefore, to free oneself from the suffering of the cyclic existence, then should try to abandon the disturbing emotion and to apply the antidote. The main antidote to abandon the disturbing emotions is the wisdom realizing emptiness. In order to eradicate the disturbing emotion completely, one needs to have the one needs to have the wisdom realize emptiness or to need to realize the emptiness. And at this stage, even though we don’t but in order to but in order to abandon the so called the manifested disturbing emotions, one do not need yeah.
One does not need to to have the wisdom realizing emptiness and and for example, like attachments and so forth, and for that, one should try to abandon them by applying antidotes. So for the at this stage, you know, to to apply antidote towards the manifested disturbing emotions like attachment and hatred, one should one can apply antidote like as for the attachment, the apply antidote like meditation on ugliness and towards love and compassion for the hatred. So whenever disturbing emotion comes, should should never have patience for them, and should not be should not be relaxed and rest, because whenever it comes, try to apply the antidote instantly. So actually now we already into the second subdivisions which is, should not be yep. be not patient.
Sorry. No. You just forgot to pass the second subdivision, which is should not have patience for disturbing emotions or it is hard to abandon the disturbing emotions, but should be very still should not neglect it, you know, and try hard to cultivate to apply antidote towards the disturbing emotions. And that has been shown by next seven verses starting from, I think, verse twenty. Yeah.
From thirty six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven. One, two, three, four, five, six. Yeah. Forty one. Yeah.
Yeah. So in example here is in our real life, if somebody, so we lose the fight, somebody lost the fight, and somebody hits you with a big, what is it, a fist, isn’t it? Or one big blow. Right? And and and and and you fail to return it and