Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Geshe Pema Tsering opens this 45-minute session with Candrakīrti’s causal chain: grasping at an inherent ‘I’ produces grasping at ‘mine,’ then attachment and aversion, then karma, then saṃsāra’s suffering. He shows how this spontaneous, habitual self-grasping enslaves every action and must be uprooted for liberation. The talk then covers the seven-point cause-and-effect method for developing bodhichitta, focusing on step one: seeing all sentient beings as having been our mother. Alongside the scriptural argument, Geshe Pema Tsering presents a logical proof rooted in the nature of mind — because consciousness is beginningless, we have had countless rebirths and therefore countless mothers, meaning every being has been our mother at least once. He closes by anchoring this in the felt kindness of one’s own mother, then extending that recognition outward to all beings.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 04 D BC 2004 05 18.mp3
UUID: 66acf752-f251-4a13-96dc-0bf0b01c1982
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: DB How to Develop Bodhichitta (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2004-05-18
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 44.9 minutes
Words: ~4,327
Okay. So in Okay. So, Candrakīrti, in his text, the entrance to the middle way, said something like, because I just heard it for the first time, I can’t from the concept of self or from saying I, we grasp onto an idea of self. From grasping onto an idea of self, we grasp onto an idea of mind. And from grasping onto mind, we develop attachment.
So this process goes through, we start with this idea of self and once we’ve developed this sense of self or this idea that there is a self that inherently exists, where we go on to from there is the idea that I have things. There’s I and then there’s mine. And then when we have this idea of mine, we develop this sense of attachment or grasping at those things that we consider to be ours. There’s some things we want. There’s some things we don’t want.
And so we’ve developed this idea of desire or attachment to our things and aversion from things we don’t want. And then because of this idea of mind, because of this idea of wanting some things and not wanting others, we then create karma. We perform actions based on this concept of I and mine that create the causes for us to experience saṃsāra. So it actually means that all beings in saṃsāra are propelled along by this idea of I and mine and through this experience all these different kinds of suffering, all the different types of suffering. So if we look at sentient beings then we should think well they are in this situation because they don’t understand the lack of I and so therefore by their ignorance they experience all these different kinds of suffering and we need to have a little bit of compassion for all sentient beings because of this, because they are unnecessarily suffering because of their misunderstanding.
So this idea of self this idea of self as being an inherent thing is called the misperception of an inherent self. And the idea of things being inherently existent that we can possess, that self can possess, is called the mistaken view of the transitory collection. Was thinking, can I think of another way to translate that? So, that means it’s from among the different types of afflictive emotions that we can have, this is an afflictive emotion of mind that is the wrong way of looking at things, and through misperceiving things, through looking at them in this wrong way, we then construe things to be ours. We have this idea of not only I and we grasp at the self, but also this idea of this I owning things and that’s like the transitory collection, the collections of things.
We think of them as being solid, so we grab at them. This is things like our car and our house and our possessions and ideas of friends and so forth. So the basis for all of this, the basis for our grasping ourselves, our grasping at possessions and our attachment and aversion and therefore our creation of karma through these things is this object that is an inherently existent self. Something that exists in a solid individual way. That s the way we perceive ourselves, but if we go looking for this object, we can t actually find it.
This thing that creates all of these problems and creates all this suffering for us doesn t actually exist. It isn’t a valid object. We think of ourselves as being this inherently existent individual substantial entity, but in actual fact there is no such thing as that. So the cause for all of this suffering we experience is actually something we can’t find if we look for it. So this idea of self that we have, this idea of ourselves as being a truly existent thing is mistaken view.
But because we don’t understand that it’s a mistaken view, then that’s the way that we naturally perceive things. And we’re very accustomed to perceiving ourselves in this way. We’re very used to perceiving ourselves as being this inherently existent thing. So in that, that means it’s very difficult for us to to get past the way that we think, to see from a different perspective, that that we aren’t this inherently existent thing that we think we are. So this sense of self that we have this idea of me and then we go we say, like, okay.
I do this, I do that, and this sense of I that we have. We see it as not only being inherently existent but also being very important, as being an incredibly important thing, this I. Because we consider this I or ourselves this idea of self we have to be such an important thing, it’s like we become the slaves to this sense of self. We come to the slaves to this idea that I need to be happy, I need to not experience suffering, and I need to do everything that I can in order to not experience suffering and to experience happiness. So that means that this not just, you know, all of us becomes the slave to this idea of self.
Our physical being becomes a slave to this idea of self. Our emotions become a slave to this idea of self. And because everything we do and every action we do comes with the motivation of making that self or that I happy and saving this self or this I from suffering. So I I need some money. I have to go to work.
I need a car. I need to find a way to get that car. All of these things, we keep thinking I need this and I need that. So, I’m constantly under the sway of this idea of self. What does this self need?
Or we also think, I don’t like that person. And we may get angry at them. And then, so all of the things that we have in us are focused on being angry at that person. And so, it means that our mind, our speech, and our body all become the servants or the slaves of this concept of self. Everything we do is driven by this idea of self.
So this this this idea of I that comes up in our mind, this idea of me, that when we think I do this me, I need this, that’s for me, that is what’s called it s something that comes about spontaneously in your mind stream. We don have to put any effort into coming up with that idea. It s not something that we conceptualize and come up with. It s something that comes about spontaneously. Now the reason that it comes about spontaneously is because it is such an ingrained habit.
It comes about spontaneously because we have been thinking in that way since the beginning of time, since forever, we’ve been thinking about this in this way. So that means that it becomes part of our being, part of the way that we think. Not part of our being, part of the way we think. So this is what we need to get rid of though, that grasping itself in order for us to achieve liberation. This grasping itself that comes in to our mind stream spontaneously is that’s what we need to get rid of in order to achieve liberation.
There’s two different types of idea of self we can have. We can have one that’s like conceptualized idea that we add on about ourselves, and then there’s this other one that comes about spontaneously without us having to put any effort in. So we need to get rid of both of those, but when we actually get rid of the idea, spontaneously appearing idea of self that we have in our mind stream, that’s when we achieve a liberation. So the mind that seeks to get rid of this mind that comes about without any effort, this idea of self we have, the mind that seeks to get rid of that is the mind searching for liberation. So that’s something that we need to cultivate, something we need to meditate on.
So once we’ve developed this idea, once we’ve concentrated on this idea of getting rid of that sense of I completely and develop the idea of working towards liberation completely and that happens in an unfabricated manner. We don’t have to put any effort into bringing that about once we’re constantly working towards liberation, then we need to extend our view out and think, okay, this isn’t just happening to me. The experience of suffering through grasping itself isn’t just happening to me. All beings like this. All beings in Samsāra are like this.
All beings that have to go from one rebirth to another are like this. So in order for all of these beings not to have to experience this, then I myself need to become a Buddha so I can show them how not to experience this and how to experience happiness. So if we develop that idea in our mind, if we develop if that mind is generated, then that is the mind of bodhicitta or the now it’s also called a generated mind. So then we should think, in order to bring about this complete enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings, and in order to bring about the mind working towards that or the way of thinking that is constantly working towards this development of enlightenment. And then we’re going to go through the seven point cause and effect meditation on the development of bodhicitta.
That’s the reason that we are doing it and we should try and focus on that motivation or that idea for a few minutes and do a meditation on that for a few minutes. So this evening we’re going to go through the seven point cause and effect that leads to the development of bodhicitta. And last week we did the preliminary to that which is the development of equanimity that sees all sentient beings in the same way in certain aspects. Now, the ways that we see certain beings in the same way, in an equal way, is that all sentient beings are equal in having in the past being to us, they’ve shown us great kindness. All sentient beings at some stage being our friend, enemy and stranger and therefore at some stage being our friend they have shown us great kindness.
We need to focus on the great kindness aspect of that. We also need to focus on the equanimity, the fact that all sentient beings don’t want to experience suffering and want to experience happiness and are equal in this way as well. So there is these two different aspects to all sentient beings being equal. They have all shown us great kindness and none of them want to experience suffering and all of them want to be happy. That s the preliminary that we do in terms of developing a base for the development of bodhicitta through the seven point cause and effect instructions.
Now, the first of the actual instructions is instruction to understand all sentient beings as being our mother. This idea of seeing all sentient beings as being our mother develops from the idea of all sentient beings having shown us kindness. That, if we think in terms of this life then the being that has shown us the great kindness who has shown us greatest kindness who in fact gave us life is our mother. So therefore, we don t just have this idea of a general idea of all beings having shown us kindness, but we begin to generate this more intensity to that idea that they’ve shown us kindness by focusing on them as being our mothers. So if we are unable to perceive all sentient beings as having been our mother, then we’re unable to develop this idea of repaying the kindness of our mothers and remembering the kindness of beings.
So, I mean, in general, we’re able to develop this idea that beings may have been kind to us and we need to repay their kindness in a way that means that like people in this life time who have been kind to us, we can remember that and wish to repay it. In terms of this idea of repaying the kindness of all sentient beings, as is described later on in these instructions, we’re unable to develop that unless we’re able to see all beings as having been our mothers. So if we’re unable to develop this idea of seeing or being as our mother, as someone who’s shown us great kindness, then we’re unable to develop the idea of remembering that kindness, repaying that kindness, and then from wanting to repay that kindness, the idea that sees all beings in an appealing way, this loving kindness that wants to show all beings how to be happy. And the mind of great compassion which is trying to free all beings from suffering. Then finally, this idea of special intention or altruistic intention that we figure out a way to do this ourselves and eventually the mind of bodhicitta through these instructions.
So the core to all of these instructions is this idea of seeing all beings as having been our mothers. So, in this way, then, we can see that the first cause of this seven point cause and effect instruction is the basis for all the others. If we’re able to establish this, then the others are easier to develop in terms of understanding. This is something that’s very difficult to get our head around and to believe in, that is, that all beings have been our mothers and shown us this great kindness. Because it’s so difficult to understand and there’s two different ways we can approach it.
The first way that we can approach this understanding that all beings have been our mothers is through a quote from Buddha Śākyamūni. Buddha Śākyamūni actually said in one of his sutras that all beings have been our mother at some stage. We’re connected to all beings in this way. But for the beings, what’s called beings of sharp faculties, people who are like more prone towards investigation, then this isn’t enough, right? If you’re being, that’s called being of a dull faculty then you just accept whatever Buddha says, right?
But for other people this isn’t enough. They need to know for themselves. They need to see the benefits and have a clear analysis and do their own investigation into why this is the case. On the one hand, there’s this quote from Buddha for people who are into that kind of thing, and on on the other hand, we have this logic that s put forward as another way of proving to ourselves that all beings have been our mother. Now, the logic starts off with the idea that we have existed since beginningless time, that there has never been a beginning to our existence, so we have had countless rebirths.
So in order for us to establish that we have had countless rebirths, we first have to establish the idea of having existed in forever. Now, the way that we establish this idea of having existed in Samsāra forever is through looking at the nature of mind, the way that mind works. Now, mind’s definition is said to be clear and knowing. So, that means that even this idea of self that we have, even though it’s a misconception, even though we have a wrong view and we view ourselves as being inherently existent, the nature of the idea or the nature of the mind that holds that idea is still said to be clear and knowing. So, for that to have a cause, it has to be another moment of an like thing.
So, it has to be another moment of a clear and knowing mind, okay? So, a mind that is by its nature clear and knowing. Now, when we talk about our sense of self, there’s two different senses of self that we actually have. One of the senses of self that we have is particular to being human. So, we have this idea of our self at the moment that we are a human, this is who we are, this is how we exist, and that’s more of a gross form of a sense of self that we have.
But in our mental continuum, there is also a more subtle sense of self, a more subtle idea of self that we carry from one moment to another to another. One preceding moment of a sense of self acts as a cause for the next moment of a sense of self and so on. This more subtle idea of self goes through many, many different lifetimes and cannot have another cause apart from itself, sorry, apart from something of a similar type. So this more gross sense of self that we have, So this more gross sense of self we have is is tied up in our concept of ourselves in this life. So, we think of ourselves as being a human.
We think of ourselves as being a female or a male. We think of ourselves as having a particular job or whatever it is that we have. We have this idea of self in this lifetime. But there’s a more subtle idea of self that we have that we can trace back through different lifetimes. Because the nature of mind or the nature of consciousness is clear and knowing.
Even though we have this idea of self, so that it takes this wrong concept of self as the object, so there’s a mind that mistakenly perceives something as being self, then the cause for that has to be something similar. You can’t have a cause and effect that aren’t of a similar type. You can’t have matter turning to mind or mind into matter. So the previous moment that caused that thing to come into existence has to be a previous moment of mind. So, in order for a mind to come into existence, has to have a previous moment of mind as its cause.
And because we’re talking about a misperception, that is a perception of self, then it has to be a previous moment of mind misperceiving self that acts as a cause for that. So, therefore, nature of mind or the characteristics of mind, the definition of mind is only clear and knowing. That’s it. It’s clear in the terms that it reflects whatever the object is and it’s knowing in terms of it’s able to perceive the object. Okay?
So that’s it. There it is. It’s like a misconceived mind but it’s all it’s doing. It’s perceiving an object even though it’s an object that’s not actually there. It’s a misperception but it’s still a perception.
Okay? So the previous The thing that has to be the cause for that was another moment of a similarly misperceiving mind. Right? And then there has to be a moment of a mind that is misperceived that acted this cause, right? So that means that the misperception of self that we have today had to have a was was made was the result of a previous of misperception and so forth and backwards and backwards until yesterday we had the same kind of misperception and the day before we had the same kind of misperception and then when we were two we had the same kind of misperception and when we were in our mother’s womb we had the same kind of misperception.
The moment before conception has to have been a similar type. It has to have been a similar type of mind. Mind that is clear and knowing but has misperceived self. Because there has to be a similar cause to the result, that means that we can’t find a beginning to this chain of a similar type. There can’t be a beginning to that because it always has to have preceding moment to access its course.
And so, if we’re able to, through doing a lot of analysis, come to a certainty about that idea, about the idea of there not being beginning to consciousness and not being a beginning to this mistake of self, of perceiving self, then that means that we come up with the idea that we’ve had countless previous rebirths. And from amongst countless previous rebirths, because of this idea of countlessness, then we can have countless previous rebirths through either a womb or an egg. There’s different ways that you can be born, but that’s two of them. And every time that we are born through an egg or through a womb, we have a mother. So that means that we’ve had countless mothers.
So so we can think, well, I can’t even so we have this idea of sensing being being limitless in their number, that we can’t conceive of how many there are. But at the same time, because we can’t conceive of how many births we’ve had, then that means that limitless births means that we the ability to have had limitless mothers in all those different births. So there’s there’s a there is a that means that at least once all sentient beings have been our mothers. So, in this way, if we think about one person, because we’re focusing on the idea of one person’s continuum and that not having a beginning, that means that each being has been born countless times. So, Geshe-la has said, if you take him for example, he’s had countless births, and from amongst his countless births, there’s also countless births as a human.
So, even from his countless births as a human, you can establish logical reasoning that if he’s had countless births as a human, then he’s had countless mothers as a human. Countless human mothers is the best way to say it. Countless human mothers, and that means that countless individual beings have been his mother as a human. So this is the reasoning that’s presented, although it may be difficult to understand. So The other thing we can keep trying to remember is that we can’t for certain say that anyone hasn’t been their mother and it’s most likely that all beings have been their mother because we’ve had all these different births and every time we needed a mother to get into this life and we’ll need a mother to get into the next life.
And so we’re we’re having all all these beings have been our mothers. So once we’ve got this idea that at some stage or another all beings have been our mother, then we need to focus on how mothers are kind to their children. So, do this by starting to focus on the mother we have in this life and how this mother that we have in this life has done so much for us. Through focusing on this, then we develop this idea of remembering the kindness of all the mothers that have given birth to us in the past. So if we focus on this and we think about all the good things that our mother has done for us in this lifetime, and then we add that onto the idea that all beings at some stage have been our mother, then we think, Okay, because of the way that this mother in this life has been kind to me, then I remember their kindness well.
I should try and remember the kindness of all these other beings that have been my mothers in past life. So we can remember the kindness that our mother in this life has shown us. We can remember the all the things that they have done for us, but we can’t remember the kindness that our mothers in other lives have done us because we don’t remember our previous lives. So, we need to think and extrapolate out from our experience in this life to imagine that our experiences in other lives are going to be have been the same. The other thing that we need to remember is that all beings including our mother of this life have been our enemies in the past, have been our friends in the past, have been neutral to us in the past.
So in this way, our mother has shown us great kindness, our father has shown us great kindness, but also at some stage our enemies have shown us great kindness, and our mother has been our enemy in other lifetimes and has been a a neutral person to us in other lifetimes as well. So when we’re doing this analysis, when we’re trying to focus on the fact that all sentient beings have been our mothers at some stage, we may have some doubts about it. May have a lot of doubt come up in our mind. If we trouble fathoming this idea, have trouble believing this idea that all sentient beings have been our mothers, then we have to ask ourselves why. Why do we find this idea difficult to believe?
And in actual fact, if we analyze that, the reason that we come up with is because we don’t know. We can see that this mother in this life has been our mother, but we can’t see that mothers in other lives have been our mothers, so because we don’t know, that’s why we have trouble believing it, because we can’t know from our experience in this life for certain. But just because we don’t know something doesn’t mean we can say that it isn’t that way. We can’t discount something because we don’t know that.