Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. A two-minute fragment from Geshe Pema Tsering’s 2003 series on the Four Noble Truths, this Q&A exchange centres on a precise philosophical question: does preferring Buddhism over other religions count as attachment? Drawing on the definition of desire as projecting qualities onto objects that don’t actually possess them, the discussion distinguishes between saying “I like Buddhism” — acceptable, since genuine qualities are not being fabricated — and saying “I dislike Christianity” or favouring one Buddhist school over others, which does impose unwarranted negative superimpositions on teachings that don’t deserve them. A brief, technically focused clarification suited to students already working through the series.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 12 4NT 2003 08 18.mp3
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: DB The four noble truths (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2003-08-18
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Words: ~271
Okay. So, no, that’s not possible because if the the definition of a desire is putting superimpositions on something that isn’t there. So any qualities that you can superimpose that you’re putting onto any of these beliefs aren’t are are there, if that makes sense. So so you can’t superimpose something on there that isn’t there. And I said, okay.
What about if someone says, I like Buddhism, and I don’t like Christianity, or I don’t know I don’t like what you believe to someone else. Isn’t that attachment to their ideas? Geshe-la said, no. It’s putting down someone else’s ideas. But the bit where you say, I like Buddhism, isn’t a negative thing and it is an attachment because you can’t superimpose qualities onto something that has all qualities.
Yeah? Saying that that that because of that, that I don’t like Christianity or I don’t like different types of Buddhism. Yeah. I like one, and I don’t like the others. And that is like putting negative superimpositions on something that shouldn’t have negative superimpositions.
Is that okay? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Maybe that’s okay then, he said.
Please. Yeah.