Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. A student’s question about whether emptiness can be realized with one mind or two opens this 20.5-minute Q&A with Geshe Pema Tsering on Grounds and Paths. He clarifies that the Sūtra system requires two distinct minds — one cultivating bodhicitta, one meditating on emptiness — working synergistically. The discussion then turns to Deity Yoga: in tantra, the union of method and wisdom means holding the deity and its emptiness simultaneously as a single awareness, which is what the meditator rests in. He explains that the goal of the practice is literally to become the deity and attain Buddhahood, but only after long accumulation of merit through sustained study and meditation. He closes with a pointed analogy: just as one goes to work in order to earn money, one should meditate specifically for the enlightenment of all beings. Suited to practitioners already familiar with both Sūtra and Tantra frameworks.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 01 2005 10 20 G and P (2).mp3
UUID: adab6bd3-9960-4144-af4c-8eb911f1b9e7
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Grounds & Paths (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2005-10-20
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 20.5 minutes
Words: ~979
Yes. Yes. There’s no. There’s a must be in the system there. The the they can only be done using the methods of the Sūtra system that can only be done with two different minds.
One one that will be one mind first that develops the motivation of the mind of enlightenment. I mean, the wish to achieve enlightenment for the sake of all beings. And then later on, if you engage in meditation of emptiness, and then you have two minds. You have to have two minds. And then they will they work together, they benefit together in a like in a synergetic sort of process, but not the way you suggested, it doesn’t happen.
So in what I’m saying is that if that’s the answer, yes. UNIDENTIFIED So the answer is no. There is well, there are one has to engage, in other sense, one has to engage in many bouts of meditation on emptiness. And so firstly, one starts with analytical meditation. One has to start with analytical meditation and engage in there are many, many different ways, many, many reasonings to establish emptiness with analytical meditation.
And while one is meditating on doing the practice of Deity Yoga, then one has while one is doing the practice of Deity Yoga at that time, then one has it as the object of meditation for emptiness in relation to the deity itself. But at all times, one is applying other methods. One is being the basis, yes. In this case, yes. Other times, could be, let’s say, on the emptiness of the mind.
Emptiness of bodhicitta. I I I guess so. Want me to ask him? Yeah. And the instance of.
I don’t know how to say. So he says, yes. Also, you meditate on that one also. Yes. On the emptiness of of.
He says every we understand this man. Every phenomenon, you have to meditate on the emptiness of every phenomenon. It’s also this the the body mind, this this mind of enlightenment is also empty, he says. One also meditates So then the answer is that if you want to do like this, it’s okay. It’s alright if you want to do like this.
Might meditate on the emptiness of the deity of yourself or your mind. It’s okay. But what is meant with the union of method and wisdom in in the tantric system, it is is is is on the deity and and on the end on the emptiness of the deity. That’s what it’s meant. That’s what I’m gonna say.
This is this is this mind that is meditating on on the deity. This is there is there is a deity, and the deity is empty. You know? And then this is the union, this is only one mind. When you can give rise to this one mind, to this one awareness, then that’s what you meditate on.
That’s what it will hold, what you hold on, on the meditation. Last question. Last question. Yes. Sentence.
Do your best. I guess if you we could understand understand the deity in that context. Right? Then we could observe the whole picture of the universe. Is that in you see, if if you can if you can meditate on the deity as as empty and and not talk about the universe?
Yeah. Can we stick with the date alone? I mean, if you meditate on the deity and realize emptiness through deity meditation, then what what do you get? You get Buddhahood or you get just the mind of an enlightened mind? Okay?
We’ll get to that? Okay. What I can do? This is a well, the the the objective of deity yoga is to be able to to become the deity that you that you are meditating on. Oh.
Right? So if the deity the deity is a Buddha, so if you if you can can accomplish the objective of that meditation practice, then of then you you accomplish yourself as that deity, and then, of course, you are enlightened. But then You are. Yeah. But then but then Geshe-la is okay.
Then I I went further to explain further on the question. This is but then, of course, before that, before you can get achieving enlightened, you have to emptiness, right? And then realize have you realized emptiness. And then for a very long time, you have to accumulate huge loads of merit. Have to accumulate a lot of merit.
And then only after that, after a very long time, a long practice, many, many meditations and teachings and teachings and teachings and teachings and teachings, studying them. I mean, you can achieve the objective, attain the goal of enlightenment. The goal, the end, the end of the result, the objective, the end of the road. Every meditation you engage in, it should be for the sake of achieving enlightenment. And then it says says achieving enlightenment is not easy.
It’s not easy. It’s very difficult. We have a lot of hardships and so forth. Well, you you meditate. Right?
So what what do you meditate for? I meditate for nothing. For nothing? That No. No.
But what what is the reason you meditate? Just what I mean? What is the reason I meditate? I meditate for So as said, Geshe-la, you know, when he goes to to work, he goes to work because he wants to earn money. So he goes to work to earn money.
In order to earn money. Now when when he goes to meditate, why is it that he meditates? And he says, you should be for the for the sake of achieving for achieving enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. That’s why you should be meditating. That’s what he’s saying.
And what’s the last one? What was the last one? Last one. That’s