Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Opening with Milarepa’s challenge — if we must leave everything at death, why not leave it now? — Geshe Pema Tsering uses this 44-minute commentary to work through twelve verses of Śāntideva’s Bodhisattva Way of Life on overcoming attachment to the body. After a short bodhicitta meditation linking renunciation to compassion, he turns to the central argument: grasping “this is my body” is groundless. He walks through an analytical dissection — separating skin, flesh, and bones — to show that no part, and no collection of parts, gives any reason for attachment. He then reframes the body’s proper purpose: treat it as a servant, assign it virtuous work, and pay food as wages. A closing donkey-in-snow image captures why virtuous practice feels so much harder than the effortless slide into non-virtue.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 23 Guide 2002 06 26.mp3
UUID: 98a81706-3994-40cc-91f2-bebcc75d7c62
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Bodhisattva Way of Life (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2002-06-26
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 44.8 minutes
Words: ~3,077
So the the great yogi said that if one has to live if if you if one has to leave all the mountains and hills behind, why not? Leave it right now. What it means is the meaning of this is because the leaving behind all the mountains and so forth means means at the time of death, one one will leave all possessions like enjoyments as well as one’s body. And if that is so, then why not? Why not leave everything now?
Then just then waiting for a time waiting for a time time of death to leave everything. So what it means is because it’s just a matter of time that sooner or later we have to leave all the possessions even one body at the time of death. So therefore there’s no such essence of of being keeping those possessions with the with attachments and self grasping attitude. So the great yogi Milarepa has done that, that he left everything and enter into the hermit or in the cave and finally attain enlightenment. It may be difficult for us for a time being, but at least we should try to try to practice to have less attachment and desire towards, you know, our possessions, enjoyments, and one’s body.
So we should try to train our mind through train our mind through seeing the disadvantage and the faults of the cyclic existence and its enjoyments and try to develop a renunciation or wish to free from cyclic existence. It’s good to go through the process of the practice or the stages of the practice by first developing a renunciation through seeing the disadvantage and faults of the enjoyments of the cyclic existence. And and through such yeah. Through such process having developed a renunciation, then dev and then develop a compassion towards the sentient beings by seeing that that how like oneself, all the sentient beings also goes to the sufferings. So by knowing this, both self and other sentient beings both self and others are saying that wish happiness but can but cannot but do not they cultivate the causes of the happiness and do not wish suffering, but they cultivate the causes for the sufferings.
So so they so both self and others are equally same in wishing happiness do not want sufferings, and they still undergoes the sufferings. So therefore so in order to in order to because they are same as oneself, so therefore one should develop here a great compassion to to freeing those motherly sentient beings from the suffering and bring them to a state of ultimate happiness. So in order to do so, one has to attain the enlightenment without becoming a Buddha. One will not be able to help or free sentient beings from the suffering and bring them to the state of ultimate happiness. So therefore, to have a great compassion, that is to attain enlightenment for the sake of all motherly sentient beings, this is so called the bodhicitta.
So the self and others. The others are more important than one self, the sentient beings. In terms of numbers, they are more they are far more than one’s oneself. So therefore, because others are very important, more important than self, therefore, should work for work to benefit sentient beings or benefit others. So therefore, to wish to attain enlightenment as soon as possible for the sake of motherly sentient beings and and dedicate or rejoice all the virtues of self cult cultivated by self and others and and all of and dedicate all the the merits gained by what self and others to become a cause for one to attain enlightenment for the sake of motherly sentient beings.
So therefore, we shall do here a short meditation on bodhicitta. So last week we stopped at the the type this subdivision here, which is the ethical discipline of collecting virtues. And it has two divisions. First one is yep. Overcoming the attachment towards the body which is body which is yep, no.
Yeah, that’s right. Overcoming attachment towards the one’s body, and the second one is cultivating a method to or being yep, cultivating a method to method of cultivating virtuous or, yep, positive actions. First one is overcoming attachment to its book to to the body. Has been explained in twelve verses. Next, where do we start?
The last one? Starting from Mhmm. The the the vulture, you know, attached have attachment towards the meat. But he What was the number? Six hundred.
But yeah. That’s right. It’s starting from fifty nine for the next twelve verses. One two three four five six ten nine ten eleven twelve. Yep.
Seventy. So the meaning is that one should should not have attachment to one’s body because there is no point. Because up till now, we cultivate numbers of the the karma or actions because because of this body. In order to protect this body, we cultivate numbers of non virtuous actions. But so therefore, you know, this is one of the body, this present body is the one which causes one to cultivate numbers of body, but at the end this is just a food for the the yeah, after one’s death, the the body becomes a food for the different different, yep, animals like it’s either been fed for the vultures or a wolf or different insects or germs.
So if if one were to protect protect this this body or this this body, one should do it for for for the purpose of practices, that by doing so it’s fine. Otherwise, should should not protect or gut this body out of attachment, but think of in order to, like, who wants to protect this body in order to gain some happiness in this present life. So which is the improper which is not a pro the the good Good way to protect the body. So therefore, it is not a right way to protect this body in order to for the purpose of achieving happiness in this within this life. Unless one protect this or looks after or protect this body for the purpose of for the for for the purpose of practice or to work for this future lives, there’s no other reasons to keep to look after this this body because because the body and the mind or consciousness, they have no connections at all.
One day the the body will leave their consciousness or a mind. They will be separated. So therefore should not have attachment to this body, but think or by possessing it, this is my body or mine. And saying, if one says, yes, it is appropriate to to possess this body with attachment and and and, yep, grasping this body as mine because because because because I have been with this body for a long time, its long time friend. If one says so, then why not?
Why not? Why not you choose something nicer and and and more clean than this body like a tree or something to possess possess a tree or so forth, which is As as as a eye rather than rather than rather than possessing this body as mine, which is the body which is collection which is collections of thirty two collection of thirty two parts or substances. So if if you go examine or or analyze this body through splitting into parts, you can hardly find in not anything very meaningful or or can’t find any essence at all. So therefore, you know, so if one analyze through the body by splitting splitting it into part its parts, But there is no there is nothing that one can be attached to or or to have any to have attachment to that part. For example, think how yep.
So one can split, like take all the skins of the body, layers of the skins, and then put the body separate out from the skin, and one analyze it. Is there any essence or can can can one can one still have attachment for those? And then split the meat, separate all the meat and the bones in the separate side, then gradually skeletons and so forth. And then there is so but through this, yep, analysis, one that one can’t find anything rather interesting to have attachment. And and if one says that, no, it’s not the part, but I have possessed the body as the I or has attachment to the body, which is the collections of entire body, flesh, skins, and so forth, then if one says so, then one should have attachment towards the dead body because it has everything.
So there is no essence and no good reason to protect this body out of attachment. So yep. So the numbers of the reasons of not to prove there’s no reason to protect this body out of attachment because the the meat of our body, which is not suitable to eat, the blood is not suitable to drink. And and so therefore, you know, So there is there is no purpose or no good reasons of protecting this this body or keeping looking after this body out of attachment. If attachments so if one were to protect this body then should protect it for for in order to put for the purpose of practices or or or or protect this body to feed the wolf or vulture at at at at at at the end.
So at this stage we have achieved this precious human rebirth of precious human rebirth which is very hard to achieve or attain that that precious human rebirth comes with eighteen qualities, eight freedoms and ten endowments. So if one were to protect this precious human rebirth, to protect it so that on such basis, on such rebirth, one attained, one practice one practice and attain higher rebirths or or the liberation states. So if one does if one’s if one protect these bodies for the purpose of all those attainments of liberations and higher rebirths, then there is a reason of care a reason of keeping this body. Otherwise, it is not a good reason or it’s not a good to protect this precious human rebirth out of attachment in order to achieve certain happiness within the within this life.. So so so so therefore, you know, it’s it is not it is not it has no point to protect this body out of attachment because because because at the time of death, you know, one will lose one’s independence and and and in the hands of the lord of death’s hand and and and and so so after having at this stage when one has a freedom or or one has power control over one’s body, one should make good use of this for the purpose of of practices and so forth.
Otherwise otherwise otherwise otherwise at the no matter how much you protect this body out of attachment by, you know, eating good food in order to look this body good, and then, yep, having nice drinks to to quench the thirst and so forth, but out of attachment, but at the end, it will be in the hands of the lord of death. So while having independent or control over one’s body, one should take the one should take advantage and and make use of this body for practices. Otherwise, when one lose the when when one lose one’s control over one’s body, then then then then then, yep, one one will not be able to make good use of this for the Dharma or or a practice or Dharma practices. For example, like, if if if one is under the detention of king’s law, then and ended up in the prison or somewhere that one has to work out of detention and then didn’t really get enough enough food and always work and work, that means one has to lose the control over one’s body or one’s independent. So therefore so before losing one’s control over one’s body should should make should make good use of one’s body.
So should look after this body and then always look after this body to practice, to cultivate the virtuous actions. And with such purposes, then give food to this body as as as a wages or a payment, you know, because one is using this body for for the virtuous activities or virtuous actions. So therefore so well done, you know, my body, so you give the food. No. And so there’s so one should not one should not do everything or give everything what this body wants.
Because if one does so, then then this body will never let you practice. And then and and you do if you do everything what the body wants, you know, then it always brings you worse and worse all the time. So therefore, instead of doing everything what body this body wishes or body wants, Rather, make this take this body as a servant or, yep, servant and give work to this body and look after this body like a servant to make use of this body for the for the the for the virtuous purpose, And then an end of the work or all the time, feed this body and and giving give the food as a salary or a wage for its hard work. Yeah. Yeah.
So this body is like a boat, you know, to cross the oceans, probably say ship. Yeah. To cross the cross the to be have to attain enlightenment. In order to attain enlightenment, this body is required, but lot so so therefore it’s like a boat that that that that at the end, we have to leave this body. So on on through this body or on this basis, you know, we can attain enlightenment for and and the body of Buddha or become enlightened for the sake of entire sentient beings.
So therefore, once you try your best to good use of this body and give work to this body, the the virtuous, yep, works or or actions work for this body as much as one can. And if by doing so, then one one one is making good use of this body. Otherwise and the purpose of taking such body is being fulfilled. So make good use make good use of this body and should take all no matter how much hardship one has to undertake, should willingly or accept the hardships to make use this body for the positive actions. And and and otherwise, you know, otherwise there is no purpose or or or not good.
It’s not appropriate to look after this body out of attachment because because because yeah. And this body on on on the basis on on this on basis of this body one can achieve the liberation, free from cyclic existence, as well as attain enlightenment. And and by giving a job for this body for the purpose of those attainments, it might face big difficulty or hardship, but but should should let it take all the hardships of this good works. Because the reason why it faced lots of hardship is because because it has not been used before for the good purpose good purpose. As for the as for the as for for and and also on on such basis, one can one can also cultivate a non virtuous actions, which one can also one can on such basis, one can also cultivate or or achieve the the lower rebirths.
And in terms of in of in terms of non virtuous actions, this this body never feels tired or face any hardship or difficulty for doing wrong things because from the very beginninglessness of the time, you know, it’s it is used for the non virtuous actions, and it’s happily a willingly does the non virtuous action. So so because they are used to it. So what what we need to do here is try to stop doing stop letting this body to create or cultivate the non virtuous actions and make make give give it a job to cultivate a good actions. Got it. It.
Got it. So it is so true that that we are so used to the non virtuous actions and from the very beginninglessness of the time. And and and to perform such non virtuous actions, we we we are very expert in them and never hardly face any difficulty. It just comes one after after one one after one or after next next. It just easily comes.
No difficulty at all. And then when when when we do something positive actions are cultivated, good virtuous actions, you know, we feel very, very challenging and and and and, yeah, lots of hardships. We have to really work hard, not as hard as we do a non virtuous actions. And it is special, I said, that we face so difficult. It is like it is like like like, you know, sending a donkey with a load in the snow.
You know? This is what Geshe-la says. The Tibetan is saying what happens is, you know, the the donkeys are used as a transportation, you know, put lots of load on the donkey and then they just take heaps and heaps of loads. So what happens is when the snow comes and so forth and you put a load on the donkey, because they slip on the ice or snow that it’s really hard to take them from here to there because you put the load on it and donkey and you just, you know, they don’t move, you know, they just come backwards. So it is like that when we do a positive action, you know, it’s really challenging because we are not used to it.
We have to struggle, whereas non virtuous action, we don’t have to struggle. It’s just easily done. So therefore, you know, and to to do a pure Dharma or pure practice In yeah. So to do a pure practice, it is one will have a very difficulty, and it’s hard hard work. It it so Geshe-la said that it these things happens to you you you or not.
You know? Do you really feel very challenging when you do a real practice? No. Just yeah. Said that, for example, you do