Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Practical advice on lying flat when a dog charges — offered mid-session as a live illustration of non-attachment to the body — gives this 27-minute Q&A with Geshe Pema Tsering an unexpectedly down-to-earth quality. He begins by pairing each of the five afflictive emotions with its direct antidote: loving kindness for anger, humility for pride, understanding emptiness for ignorance, non-attachment for craving, and investigation for doubt. He then addresses how to actually cultivate non-attachment to the body, explaining that reflecting on its suffering nature is the key method — while clarifying that ordinary self-protection remains entirely appropriate. The session closes with a student’s real-life question about a financial dispute and whether involving the police is warranted. Suited to practitioners already attending the series.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 2005 12 06Q Bodhisattvas Way of Life.mp3
UUID: 951ebd40-5078-49bc-86b1-fc07213fbd5f
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Bodhisattva Way of Life 2005 Mar -2007 (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2005-12-06
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 27.3 minutes
Words: ~1,050
So okay. So first first, Geshe-la said, okay, for for the five afflictive emotions. Right? He said that first, there are there are are many there are many antidotes to them. Okay.
So generally speaking, the the mind that that realizes impermanence and that mind that realizes selflessness. They they are antidotes to all of them. But if we speak about that. Pardon? Sorry.
Before we get to that, if we don’t realize it. Oh, yeah. Then then but then to to each one of them. Right? So there is an antidote to each one of them.
So for example, for anger or or or hatred, so the antidote the specific antidote that would directly oppose it is loving kindness. Then for for for pride, it would be humbleness. I cannot say your other word in humility. humility. humility.
Right? Better than humbleness? Yeah. humility. Then for for for the ignorance or the obscured view, there will be the mind that realizes emptiness.
For attachment is one has to give rise to that mental factor, which is called non attachment actually. And that’s the the antidote to attachment. And then the fifth one, the last which is doubt doubt. So the antidote to doubt, can I say this is analysis and investigation? Then one, yes.
Yes? Okay. So how how does how to give rise to non attachment, for example Yeah. In this case? Yeah.
Okay. Yes. So So then so for example, in relation to this particular example that you gave, right, to to being attached to one’s body. Excuse me. So what Geshe-la was saying is that in relation to being to attachment to one’s body, so we are attachment we are attached to our body because we think we associate this body with with I, with the thought of I.
So this body this body is I. This body is mine, but mostly I know that I. This body is I. I am this body. And then we we regard it as as as important.
We think it is important and and valuable, precious. So then how to give rise to non attachment to this body? Then we have to we have to understand. We have to think, reflect that this body is actually in the nature of suffering. And that this body out of this body, nothing but suffering will come, will follow.
So that’s meditating on this line, on this vein, one generates non attachment to the body. But then again, I’m saying, that is not to say that that is all right for for to let, how to say, your body be bitten by the dog. Whatever means you should do you should you should do whatever means you should engage in whatever means you can in order to avoid being bitten by the dog. But but in the matter of giving rise to non attachment in relation to the body, one has to think and in reflect in the in the lines of this body is in the nature of suffering, and nothing but suffering comes out of it, and so forth. So he says, well, you have you have to each one each individual will have to to to think about what’s best to to be done in each situation because each situation is a different situation.
But generally speaking, Geshe-la said, generally speaking, if if there is a dog on the way, then you should definitely go another way. Mhmm. You should definitely not go on the direction where where there are the dogs. But then and then he said after he said that, again, he said again, then each one will have to figure out by themselves what’s the best way to deal with each different situation. There are many different situations.
Okay. So so you see, the next time that that happens that you meet a dog who comes angry at you, he said, you have to lie down. Then if you lie down, they won’t they won’t bite you. That’s what he said. This is good.
Yeah. It’s good if you can do it. Sorry? Yes, Hugo? Yeah.
I’ve seen a very strange dream yesterday morning just before I wake up. Yes. Yeah. Try some from a a person, and, actually, this person appropriated my family money. Appropriate.
Person going to take me at court. This person need more money. Okay. So I I I have been trying to help this person, but I To help this person. Yes.
Because Because of negative karma. Yes. This person will be he is struggling in the future. Yes. But I’m I’m I don’t think I can help this person, so I’m thinking to go to police station.
Uh-huh. Mhmm. But I’m not really sure this person is very, very sneaky, a person that usually ordinary people cannot recognize how sneaky. He gave he gave you — the postman gave you a letter. Right?
Mhmm. This letter is about the man who is. Okay. How do you say to sue? I I used to know that.
This person tried to take me to court. To court. Do you know the person who is this person? Right? Geshe-la saying, basically, if this person if you know that for sure that this person has stolen your money, then, of course, then you should call the police.
But if you’re not if you don’t know for sure that this person has stolen your money, you know, it’s going to be difficult. It’s gonna be complicated. Complicated. It will be very complicated. I have to prove those of things I I will not know how to say these things into into This is it’s very difficult.
So if if you’re not if you don’t know for sure and if people do not believe you, then if you don’t know for sure and if people do not believe you, then if you if you call if you say that he this person robbed you, then there will be a lot of argument involved, a lot of discussion. It’s not diff it’s going to be difficult. It’s going to be complicated. Mhmm. Okay.
This is very difficult. He he doesn’t know what to what to say. But this lawyer, I must say, I’m — [unclear] —