Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 46-minute commentary, Geshe Pema Tsering turns to a question at the heart of the first perfection: what separates ordinary generosity from the perfection of generosity? His answer — that any trace of self-interest is already miserliness, so true giving requires bodhicitta — anchors the session. He then walks through three visualization practices drawn from the Guru Puja: giving away the body (imagining it transformed into water for beings in hellish states, food and clothing for hungry ghosts, shelter for animals), giving away possessions (visualizing even five dollars multiplying to meet every being’s need), and giving away all past, present, and future virtue so beings may attain liberation. He shows how these three map onto the traditional categories of material giving, freedom from fear, and giving of Dharma. Pitched at practitioners already engaged in Guru Puja and Bodhisattva path study.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 01 BS GtL 2005 02 27.mp3
UUID: 7d107eb8-7568-4cfb-bf28-92b19a5d3e08
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: DB Bodhisattva Guide to Life (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2005-02-27
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.8 minutes
Words: ~3,242
So please develop the right motivation, a good motivation listening to the teachings. And so best motivation that accords with what we’re looking at today is that you can develop understanding through looking at this description of the graduated path. By developing understanding of it, then be able to follow it through and in so doing develop the realizations of a Buddha. And as a Buddha, then be able to lead all sentient beings to the same state beyond all forms of sorrow. So this is what’s called the mind of bodhicitta, the precious mind of bodhicitta, and it’s the tool for becoming a Buddha.
So please try and develop this idea or this way of thinking before listening to the teachings. Is there any more batteries over there? Yeah. Work completely runs out. So last week, we were talking about the six perfections, or the six paramitas that are the practices of Bodhisattvas, that being the paramita of giving, the paramita of ethics, paramita of patience, paramita of joy or diligence, the paramita of meditation, the paramita of wisdom.
Were saying last week how when you practice any one of these six different perfections then you need to incorporate the other five. So in the next section of this commentary to the Graduated Path it says that according to the people who they are called the great charioteers of Buddhism, the ones who created the graduated path in a simple form that people could follow. According to all of those and the sutras, it’s not appropriate just to practice one of the six Paramitas or perfections at a time. You need to practice all six in conjunction with each other. So it says then if if you’re explaining the path of Buddhahood and particularly the six perfections, that probably you’re going to feel lazy and not want to do the whole thing.
And probably the people who are listening are going to stop, are going to lay off. They’re going to get distracted and not listen to everything you say. Right? So given these two probablies, it’s said that it’s best to both emphasise the importance of the six perfections at the beginning and to go on about them a lot. Because that way something will sink in.
There’s a lot in the six perfections. It’s a very vast topic. People can get lost in it, right? So the idea is first of all to give the essence of the beginning. So if people are going to not listen after that, then at least they’ve got the essence.
And then two, also to keep going on about it again and again so that people get the idea of how vast the topic actually is and how vast the activities of bodhisattvas actually have to be. Okay. So once we have the whole idea of how the six perfections or the six paramita work together, that they need to be incorporated into each other and that we can’t do one without the other, then we need to start looking at the first of the paramita, or the first of the perfections, which is the perfection of generosity or the paramita of generosity. So the way that we practice the perfection of generosity, paramita of generosity, after developing definite understanding of what how it works in conjunction with the other five paramita is we would think having focused on the image of the teacher the idea of the teacher inseparable from the meditation or deity, then we think, in order to benefit all the kind sentient beings who have kindly been our mothers in the past, we need to attain Buddhahood as quickly as possible. So in order to bring this about, we are going to practice the three different types of generosity.
The three different types of generosity will be explained in a wee while. Through practising these three different types of generosity, we will attain Buddhahood in order to benefit all the sentient beings who have been our mothers. So now what the perfection of generosity is, what the paramita of generosity is, is the abandoning of miserliness or the abandoning of the abandoning of holding on to things for yourself. Right? So it doesn’t it’s not it’s very, very subtle or more slight forms of miserliness it includes.
Right? So the way just wanting to give others things, whether it’s protection, whether it’s objects, whether it’s ourselves, whether it’s service, whatever it is, this isn’t the perfection of generosity. It’s generosity, but it’s not the perfection of generosity. The perfection of generosity is a mind of giving that is giving in order to attain enlightenment. Now, the reason that this is so that there is a distinction made between these two is that to really have this mind of giving, you have to be focusing on others and benefiting others and not about benefiting yourself.
As soon as you have a mind thinking, or as soon as you’re thinking, I want something for me, there’s something for my own benefit, then that’s miserliness. That’s holding onto something for ourselves. So without bodhicitta, without this idea of working towards enlightenment for the benefit of others, you can’t actually perfect giving, because you’ll be holding onto some things for yourself. So in order to perfect giving, you need to be thinking of others and not having thoughts for self. In order to perfect giving, therefore you need to have bodhicitta.
So if you have perfected the art of giving, you would give away everything, including your body, without a moment’s hesitation, because there is no sense of holding on to something for me. So the only way that we can bring this about then is through developing the idea of bodhicitta, working towards enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. So in this way, to perfect anything that we do, without having completely gotten rid of that idea of holding on to something for for me or ourselves isn’t the perfection of generosity. Okay. So there’s three different parts to the practice of generosity, to perfecting generosity.
The first of these are to give away the body, to give away objects, and to give away virtue in order to benefit beings. The way that we train in giving away the body in the context of this teaching, which is a puja, a meditation practice, then the first thing to do is to focus on training the mind in being able to give away the body. The way that this is visualized is that you imagine, first of all, that your body is transformed from being something that has infirmities or stains in it, like problems, into something that is completely problem free and is also focused on its lack of inherent existence. So in that way, you’re dealing with the same perception of the body as those with realizations have. So they view their body as just being a combination of causes and conditions that have accumulated into one physical form.
So based on this idea of the physical form then you can think okay what can this physical form do to benefit others. In that way you can think of this physical form, whatever physical form I can transform this body into that benefits others, I should do this. This is a visualization practice, right? It’s not something that you actually do. But in visualization, you transform yourself into a house for people who need a house.
You transform yourself into a river for people who need a river. You transform yourself into food for people who need food. So you’re visualizing in this way that you’re transforming your physical body into anything that’s physical form that can be of benefit to other beings. So anything that’s going to ease their suffering. Now, this visualization as being part of the Guru Puja is based on the blessings of the Guru.
So the blessings of the Guru is that is [translator aside] Okay. So the guru is supposed to be, in essence, the combination of your enlightened qualities, which are manifested as Buddha Śākyamūni in tantric form, which is called vajradhara. And then there is also it’s supposed to be inseparable from the people that teach you.
So all the teaching that you’re going to all the things that you’re taught, that which teaches you, right? So that’s all the different people. And then especially the person you consider to be like your root or your main teacher. Then you also have Buddha Śākyamūni as being the originator of all the Buddha’s teachings. And then you have Lama Tsongkhapa, who is the originator of the lineage that this practice is part of.
Is that four? Yes, so the combination of these four. You’re supposed to be visualising that in front of you there is this essence of all the positive qualities and all that can lead you to understanding in the form of these four different aspects. So You have Buddha, both types of Buddha, Buddha Śākyamūni in normal form and Buddha Śākyamūni in Tantric form. And then you have your teacher and Lama Tsongkhapa.
You’re looking at the essence of all of those. And you imagine that the light is what how the teachings are transforming you and that by transforming you in this way you’re able to perceive your body as being that which is completely not inherently existent, completely pure in that way. And because it’s completely pure in that way, you can transform it into whatever you want that can benefit beings. Right? So this is a meditation practice.
It’s not something that you try and go out and do because it would be impossible. Right? By visualizing this practice, what that enables you to do is to start you’re focusing on how you can benefit others physically. So by focusing on this meditation practice when you’re sitting down meditating, then when you leave the meditation cushion and when you’re interacting with others, then the way that you respond to them is like, How can I be of benefit to this person? So you’re training yourself in how to be of benefit to this person.
Geshe-la said this idea of there’s four people, but they’re one, and they’re one essence, and they’re this, and they’re helping, is just like hard. Said lots of times people have this idea, because the Guru Puja is something that happens a lot lot of times. It does at Buddha houses in all sorts of places. People go Well, it’s actually not called a Guru Puja in Tibetan, it’s called a Guru offering. People have this idea of, Yeah, go along, make an offering to the Guru.
Great! And they think that that’s it. Right? But it’s actually a very kind of difficult to get your head around practice. It’s very it has a lot of depth into it.
So if people want to do it properly, this is what they’re supposed to be focusing on, this idea of these qualities transforming their being. So this is the you’re using he just said so it’s a a visual image you’re using as a training technique, right, to train you to be less selfish. Sorry. More selfless. So this means that when you’re doing this visualization, you see your body as being transformed into water to give coolness to those whose existence is like a fiery hell.
They’ve created a situation of intense suffering for themselves. So you imagine yourself being water that brings relief to beings in this state. And you imagine your physical being transforming into food and clothing for those who are in the preta realms, which is like a state where they’re constantly striving to find even food and clothing or protection. So you imagine yourself transforming into food and clothing for those beings. And then you imagine yourself transforming into a house for those who need protection from the elements, for animals and so forth.
In this way, visualize that you’ve been able to eliminate the suffering of those beings by transforming your physical being in these ways. You also imagine that you are able to grant protection to those who would come to harm by transforming situations of animosity into situations of friendship. So you see the you visualize yourself as being just that, which would transform situations where people are fighting and so on into situations where they’re friendly. So then you can transform yourself into a good physical being, a good physical body for those who have a tormented body. So you can transform yourself into a base for those who need a good physical body to work from.
So in this way, then you can go through and imagine yourself. You’re able to transform yourself into all the beings in the hells, in the preta realms, as all the animals, all the god realms, all the human realms, everything the beings in all the different existences that could exist could possibly need in terms of physical things, a physical body that could give them physical things that could benefit them. So in this way, you visualize that you’re ridding them of their suffering. Not only are you ridding them of their suffering, but by creating the right circumstances for them, you’re giving them the base from which they can work on their mind and develop realizations and therefore get rid of suffering completely. So this is a visualization process that you can go through that enables you to train in developing a generosity of body.
And, sorry, I left one bit out. Was thinking, I’ve forgotten something. What is it?
No. The other thing is that when you see this when you visualize that all this suffering has gone away, and then you should, think of you should be really happy about it. Alright? So if you don’t just think, oh, yeah. Suffering has gone away, there’s also part of meditation is to go, that’s good.
Yeah. So the next thing is the visualization for practicing generosity with objects or things and possessions. So the way that you visualize this is to think that any possessions that you have, if you can visualize that they have the ability to multiply in any way that is needed in order to be a benefit to sentient beings. And you have this idea that any possessions that you have can fulfill the needs of sentient beings. So you visualise yourself giving away whatever it is you have, and that it transforms into whatever it is that sentient beings need.
So you do the same visualisation practices with the previous one. So I guess I said it’s not like you need a lot of stuff to do this. Even if you have five dollars, visualize that five dollars turns into a limitless amount of money that could possibly be needed by all beings in all places, and and therefore they’re able to get whatever it is that they need. Yeah. So it’s a practice about giving away your things as opposed to your physical body, which was the last one.
So the last thing the last way of practicing generosity is to give away what’s called the roots of virtue, that is all potential from all the positive action that you’ve done. And it says, the potential from all the positive action that you have done in the past, the present and the future. Mhmm. Okay. It’s us.
So what’s got the roots of virtue’ is its potentiality for good to come about. Because in terms of karma, that which is a positive action has a positive result. That which is a negative action has a negative result. So what we’re looking at here is giving away that which will cause happiness in our continuum, in our mental continuum. So all the positive potential that we have in our mind at the moment, all the positive potential that we’ve had in our mind in the past, and all the positive potential that we could possibly have in our mental continuum in the future.
We have this idea of this meditation practice where you give that away to others. And what you visualize is that by taking on this positive potential, all sentient beings in all the six different states are able to get rid of all the negative stains, all of the obscurations in their continuum. Their mind is able to be transformed into the mind of a Buddha, the mind of a dharmakaya. So it means that they get rid of all the stains in their continuum, all the neurosis, all the negative states of mind and all of the obscurations that could stop them from perceiving reality properly or stop them from perceiving phenomenon. In doing this they may become Buddhas.
This is again a visualisation process where you’re giving away all your positive potential as well. So that’s why it says in the Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life. If you are able to give away no. Giving away without regret or without have without kind of the the word here is shrinking mind, without going, oh, alright? Giving away without regret.
The body, the mind the body, the things, and the stores of virtue to all sentient beings so they can purify all negativities and get rid of all suffering. Oh, yeah. Okay. Even though you’re visualizing in your practice that this brings about nirvana for others, it brings about the alleviation of suffering for others, in actual fact, this is the way that our own minds can be trained to attain nirvana or the relief from suffering. So the object is sentient beings, but unless we practice generosity focused on all sentient beings, there is no way of attaining attaining nirvana or liberation for ourselves.
So in this way, it is through the kindness of it is through the kindness of other sentient beings that we are beings, so we can give things to them that enables us to achieve realizations and with a release from suffering ourselves. Okay. So within this practice of the paramita of giving, comes the three different types of giving. And the way that the three different types of giving are to give physical things, to give freedom from fear, and to give dharma. So by giving by the visualization that undertake that was described in which we turn our body and our possessions into that which can benefit all sentient beings materially materially or bodily, then that’s said to be material giving.
In the visualization, we also imagine three times that sentient beings achieve happiness and relief from suffering by our giving. This is the second type of giving, which is the release from fear. Happens individually, we visualize this individually that all sentient beings are relieved from suffering. So if they are relieved from suffering, that includes fear. And the third type, is the giving of dharma, was included when we gave away all virtue, because virtue is the potential for achieving realization and the potential for achieving enlightenment is giving away the Dharma.
So in this way, this practice of Paramita practice actually includes the three types of giving as well. Okay. So we can stop there for today if anyone has any questions. So yes, Heather? Oh, yeah.
Guess he said he’s taking his glasses off so he can