Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 45-minute session, Geshe Pema Tsering uses two vivid images — the untrained mind as a crazy elephant roaming without restraint, and as a flag whipping in strong wind — to open his instruction on mindfulness and mental alertness from Śāntideva’s Bodhisattva Way of Life. He works through the three forms of ethical discipline (protecting vows, cultivating virtue, benefiting others), using the analogy of a lone traveler vigilant against robbers in an unfamiliar forest to illustrate constant self-examination of body, speech, and mind. He explains when to apply antidotes to non-virtuous thoughts, when exceptions to strict mindfulness are permitted, and why practitioners must follow the proper sequence — renunciation before bodhicitta before emptiness — to avoid becoming “jack of all trades, master of none.” A short Q&A closes on whether studying bodhicitta while still training in renunciation is permissible.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 20 Guide 2002 06 13.mp3
UUID: c3cb09f3-87b6-4cf5-beb9-68700b75e70a
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Bodhisattva Way of Life (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2002-06-13
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 44.8 minutes
Words: ~2,728
Practices of applying being very applying mental alertness and being mindful, then the great then one will one will receive all the as a result of doing so so called the six recollections, like of of recollect recollection of Buddha’s, of the Dharma teachings, and so forth. So it is very yeah. So this this so therefore, one should cultivate the mental alertness and the and the mindfulness. So by doing so, then through one’s training and gradually, one will by guiding all the actions of the three doors, body, speech and mind they’re not letting them to perform non virtuous actions and applying mindfulness making sure that they’re directing them towards virtuous actions. By doing so then gradually one will attain or cultivate both the mental alertness and the mindfulness.
And as a result of this, then then one’s actions of body, speech, and mind will never be after non virtuous actions. So and now towards the third subdivision and which is which is which is how to train how to train one mind cultivating in the training of training one’s mind along with mindfulness and the mental alertness and which has three divisions saying which are the three types of ethical discipline. The ethical discipline of protecting one’s vows, ethical discipline of cultivating virtues, and ethical discipline of benefiting others, which are the three divisions. So as for the first one, the ethical discipline of protecting one’s vows, which has two divisions, which is purifying activities or actions of the body, speech, and mind, three doors, and it and and protecting one’s protecting one’s vows from degeneration. So and as for the first what yep which is the purifying the actions of the body speech and mind that has been explained in the next eleven verse Next, eleven.
Six Eleven verses, which is starting from thirty four, thirty five, thirty six, thirty seven, thirty eight, thirty nine, forty, forty, forty four, isn’t it? Yep. So therefore, yeah, the beings or the actions like going and so forth. And when if the actions are under the influence of disturbing emotions and so forth then it is one’s mind or the mind is so called mistaken and those actions are done under the influence of disturbing emotions. And those are true by yeah.
Yeah. And so such mind, which is free from disturbing emotions, are called the the unmistakable one. Love it. So through the mental alertness and the mindfulness examine one’s actions of three doors all the time and whenever one come to know that that one’s action is under or once your mind is after or under the influence of disturbing emotions or it is on the non virtuous side then on the spot, straight away, through a mental alertness and the mindfulness, one should apply antidote to it, to that and bring one’s mind back to the positive state. And whenever it’s through the antidotes and whenever one brings the mind back into the positive state and once it’s been brought to the positive state and try to maintain it on that state under the guidance of mindfulness and the mental alertness.
And likewise, so in any action one does, for example, like actions of gazing at somebody or giving a look at anything and should never look at anything for example in the object within a meter, you know and so whenever one give a gaze at anything and should not be done without the mental alertness and the mindfulness and so should always look it with the mind has been guided or protected and then along with that then look and one can have a look on the object or gaze on the object. For example like a form, any kind of form and should examine. So the actions have been done by looking at it and examine where the one’s mind is after. Looking at that and is it producing virtues or non virtues like attachment and so forth. So if it’s producing non virtues then counteract it and then to not let it develop the non virtuous actions.
And so yeah when one does such practices and in one meter the distance you know and if it turns out that one is producing by looking at that developing the attachments and so forth then suddenly one should counteract and try not to develop the non virtuous but it is hard at looking at it. So once look at it if the mind is positive, developing non virtuous and other actions and then certainly apply antidote and to not look at it just turns the direction to the left or right and to distract one’s mind from producing those non virtuous things. And by doing so and with that the purpose is giving one’s mind at rest by looking at that or object which producing the attachment to one’s mind. So it’s giving a break from that. So certainly change the directions either left or right and sometimes if it happens as a person walks by or something just telling, oh, it’s good to see you here around.
So so therefore, the example here is given that if it if it happens for one to travel in a very new place which where one has never been and it was set forth, it turns out that nobody’s around here like it’s a long walk and one got one’s own possession and so forth, but that place has a huge reputation of robberies or theft. So by being there alone and walking in that, say, these jungles, And how one will be very careful. And often looks towards all directions, front and back and front and back, making sure that no one is coming, no robberies, one’s possessions are there protecting one’s. So how careful one is or how mindful one is. So likewise in all the time should always be mindful and examines where one’s mind is.
There are numbers of actions of the body, speech and mind which are the positive actions, negative actions and neutral actions. So examine that where one’s mind is, what sort of actions one is producing, doing, positive, negative or neutral and by being very mindful then making sure that all the virtuous one has cultivated not being distracted by the non virtuous actions, by attachments and so forth. So it is same to the actions, body actions should not let one’s body to be involved in any actions without being mindful. So yeah, and one’s bodily actions should be recognized or known by one’s mind or been guided by the mindfulness and the mental alertness. But see, so they are aware of your body actions.
And if the actions are body like doing a negative actions like killings and so forth, then to abandon and protect one’s the body action from doing those non virtuous actions like acts. So and you still do the same for one’s mind, you know. The mind is like a crazy elephant or it’s like a flag in the huge wind, windy area. It’s been blown everywhere and it’s very easy to blown. Do not let it be like a crazy elephant.
Just let it go everywhere without guiding it and should always be mindful. This should be tied up by the mindfulness and tied into the firm pillar of mental alertness. By doing this and making sure that one’s mind is not fluctuating without the mindfulness and the mental alertness always been a what and is it after the positive or negative actions or thoughts sorry and and if it’s after negative thought, to protect it from going after the negative thoughts. No. So it is very important to examine one’s mind in all the time that it is aware of where the mind is, after the positive or negative thought or actions.
So one should be aware or where one’s mind is. By doing this and whenever one’s able to put one’s mind single pointedly on the positive object or a positive state, then try to, which is called because the mind is single pointedly on the virtuous action, that is so called a meditative stabilization or single pointedly focused on. And by doing, having done this, then try do that single pointedly meditation and try to preserve that positive state and try not to lose it even for a second. So by doing so, when one is single pointedly, you know, guiding one’s mind and it is on the positive state, and whenever yeah. On such when it turns out about the threatens of losing one’s life or it turns out to be making offerings to the Buddhas or benefiting other sentient beings and so forth.
Yep, yep, of benefiting. So actions conjoined with the positive actions like making offerings, the benefiting sentient beings or it turns out to be states of there’s a threat or danger of losing one’s life. On that state you know even if one fails to protect one’s mind you know of being distracted. Say one is in a meditation of guiding one’s mind single pointedly on a positive side And then certain distractions comes like that one has to make offerings to the Buddha’s benefit the sentient beings or this is the danger of losing one’s life. On such occasions then it is exception.
The exceptions has been given by the Buddha’s that one, even one does not protect one’s mind or by one mindfulness still it’s okay there’s not this non virtuous of not being mindful at that state. Did you get that? So here it said for example like at the time one practice, the practice of generosity or giving that one cannot fully protect the ethical discipline. And it is not possible to completely maintain two things at one at this stage because of one’s intelligence or knowledge. But it can still be done.
The so called, at the time of practicing generosity or giving, this subtle ethical discipline may not be maintained at that stage but it is still okay. But when one does the practice of generosity that there is a way of practicing generosity conjoined with the ethical discipline. So, yep, this is So should guard one’s being very mindful. And however the one’s motivation is you know they always do it in a categorized for example like if I’m doing a practice of six perfections do it first generosity and then the second stage and so forth. So likewise if one has a motivation of doing a practice today and should always do it properly so that as it’s been planned from the beginning then by doing this then one can maintain very mindful Because for example like, okay, I get in the door and do my presentation first and then make the offerings and sit down and do my meditation.
That is the motivation or the agenda being planned from the very beginning. So once one entered the place, they should do it in the way it’s been planned. So being this, then one can maintain one’s mind or being very mindful. Otherwise this comes in, It was planned with A to Z and then comes in to from Z to A then then it won’t be very effective. So therefore whatever action one does should always do it in a proper order and do it one after next so that as it has been categorized or in the plan that one can perfect each and every step.
Otherwise not doing a bit of the first one and then distracting oneself and go to the jump to the next or from the bottom to the up then what at the end it becomes that nothing has been accomplished, jack of all trades. The master of none. I was told that I have to say this after this. So anyway, so by doing this and then later on one can’t pinpoint which one is which one which part is the one that’s been done properly. It’s been mixed up.
So therefore it is very important to be very mindful and always do it in the right order. So saying that one should not you know touch the second stage without completing the first one so even if for example like one trains in the paths and go through the step by step and the paths like renunciation for the bodhicitta and emptiness so forth. And so at the very first rate one should try to cultivate the renunciation or train one’s mind of developing renunciation. Because without doing the renunciation and trying to touch the bigger ones like bodhicitta and so forth, then at the end one will end up having nothing neither the bodhicitta or emptiness nor the renunciation. So therefore it is very important to go through the stages.
For example, to train first, cultivate the wish to free from cyclic existence, renunciation, right? Yep. So we are just under time. Any questions? Take a couple of questions.
Joe? No? When I said the Vajrayāna Centre in Sydney, translating for a little while down there, up there, isn’t it? And this young kid Derin Butcher was teaching, and this is somebody, I forgot his name. Nobody answers or asks questions, hardly any.
But he is the one always here. So sometimes Rinpoche will say, I will leave for the questions. Rinpoche speaks fantastic English. Okay. Take a couple of questions.
And he just look at you. Yep. Go on. You know? Without giving up his hand.
But I’m not doing this to you, Jai. So while studying on renunciation, is it okay to read about bodhicitta? Read about it and get a feel for it, not a feel for an understanding so that when that why you’re developing renunciation, it’s for a reason you’re developing renunciation. Yes. It is okay to do so.
And in terms of realization it is confirmed or true that without developing a renunciation or without having developed renunciation there is no way that one can develop a bodhicitta And at this stage what we are doing is we are cultivating all the renunciation and so forth and the person and the real person who practices the real cultivate, you know, the renunciation first, try very hard to develop a renunciation and then jump to the cultivations. And at this stage, because of our intelligence and so forth, we’re doing it for the collections of virtues or a merit because in terms of having proper realizations like emptiness and so forth, one needs to have a great amount of merit. Therefore because the bodhicitta has a huge effect that it has developed numbers of huge amount of virtues. So for that reason we are cultivating bodhicitta in all the time. Geshe-la is a bit worried now that Venerable Chopa Chevo is very confirmed now that he looks like he’s not going to meditate on bodhicitta until he develops his renunciation.
I I heard maybe it’s a big question. But you were talking before about Yeah. You mentioned the practice. What is is that our other whole teaching stuff like The taking the abandon through cultivation they’re taking or cultivating the virtuous, abandoning the non virtues. Right.
So when you say the practices of taking and abandonment means that So whenever one is doing a virtuous or collecting virtuous, then take it and do it more as much as one can. All the non virtuous actions should abandon it. So these are how non virtuous and the positive actions. The positive actions are the one to be taken, and the non virtuous are the ones to be abandoned. This is called the practice of taking and abandoning.
Yeah? What? Chocolate? M&M? Did you see the ad on the TV? M&M?
Yeah. They found the reincarnation of the M&M by Buddhist monks. Have you seen that on the TV? Oh yes. Sorry about it.
I’ll tell you later. So yeah, you have the chocolate and you avoid it, still have it in mind. Yeah. There was banana, good chocolate and so forth. So it is what?
Sort of like you’re sort of keeping those emotions in and not sort of Letting go of it. Yeah, the best thing is going to bite straight away.