Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. A student’s question — must we attain enlightenment in this life? — opens this 24-minute session and draws a frank answer from Geshe Pema Tsering. He explains that even the first two Bodhisattva root downfalls are extraordinarily demanding: simply liking yourself and disliking others already breaks them, and tantric vows are stricter still. Rather than straining for results in one lifetime, he urges students to plant imprints on the mindstream now, trusting future lives to ripen them. He warns that retreating without keeping vows risks disillusionment and wrong views about tantra, using a weed-choked field as an image for why clearing the ground must come first. He closes by sketching the five sūtra paths and the tantric generation and completion stages.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 17 2006 01 26 G and P (2).mp3
UUID: 6bf30b20-ec95-413f-aaee-17cde97ad11d
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Grounds & Paths (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2006-01-26
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 24.1 minutes
Words: ~1,654
Now if you have any questions? Gela is asking, so we need do we need to attain enlightenment very, very fast? We need to attain enlightenment in this life? Gela is asking. If it is necessary, if you agree that it is necessary, then we have to study this text.
We have to study the explanation of root downfalls and the explanation of the Fifty Verses of Guru Devotion and so forth. And then if we study them, then we will understand that, for example, the two first root downfalls of the Bodhisattva vows, which are not praising oneself and not belittling others. Just those are very difficult because it’s just it’s just, just liking oneself and disliking others is already breaking these vows. So this is this is then we understand that this is very, very difficult to accomplish. Oh, wow.
That is another. And then the the tantric root down falls are very, very even more difficult. Pardon? The tantric don’t fall. The tantric root downfalls.
The tantra. From the bodhisattva, I just explained that the first and the second bodhisattva root don’t fall. The first one is to praise oneself, and the second one is to belittle others. Right? And Gela said, if if you like yourself and dislike others, then you’re already breaking these two root downfalls.
And that’s how difficult it is. Like like yourself. Yeah. If you like yourself and you dislike others, then you’re already breaking this root downfalls. And then just to say just to show how how difficult it is, and then Gela says, then the tantric root downfalls are even more difficult than that.
No self-cherishing. No self-cherishing. If we have self-cherishing, we’ll not be able to to to keep to protect the vows such vows. So then, I say that we should not think that we have to attain enlightenment in this life. We should not think of accomplishing the siddhis in this life.
What we should think is that is that we should we should plant imprints on our mind streams. And then planting imprints on our mind streams in future lives, we will accomplish all those imprints. And and by planting imprints, many imprints on this life, then we have we have made this life meaningful, very meaningful. Is this the way? Sorry?
What you’re what Vishal was explaining right now, isn’t just that’s they call the way. It isn’t just imprinting in order to Yeah. That’s that’s We make an imprint. The the way. I’m not sure if I understand what you’re trying to say.
Anyway, the way. You know? The path. Yeah. So that’s that’s what Geshe-la is telling you.
To realize the tantric path. Okay? Geshe-la is saying, we should not think we should not, think of, realizing the tantric path, which is which gives you Buddhahood in one lifetime. We should not think of realizing it in this life. We should not think of realizing the the special powers in this life because it is so difficult, which what we should do instead is that when we study tantric tantric teachings is to study them with the idea, with the intention of planting imprints in our mind stream.
So in a future lifetime, because of this imprints that we are planting now, we will accomplish these teachings, the the tantric path, the tantric path, not not other paths. It’s talking about specifically the highest tantra path. And then and then doing such will turn this will make this life meaningful, very meaningful, he says. The tantric path, the tantric Way. So then you realize, can I say, so if we and then if we are able to keep all the vows and commitments, then we will know that we will accomplish the results, we will accomplish enlightenment, we will accomplish the siddhis and so forth?
We we can we can we can, as I be sure be sure that we will accomplish them at one time. So that and that’s how we should that’s that’s that’s what our attitude should be. We should know that keeping these vows and and these commitments is is more important. Gela says Gela is saying for for Gela himself, he says, it’s very difficult to to do this even to to keep these thousand commitments. But that’s how we should study this topic.
Does that mean Just Yes. Chris, Chris, please. It’s a requirement. I’m not I’m not how to translate a good sense of humor, but I will I will I will adapt. You know?
I should know. Should know. So then, Geshe-la is saying, yeah, we should not we should not be overconcerned with this. We should have a relaxed attitude in relation to this practices, this path. And we should, again, Geshe-la said, we should do our best to protect the vows and commitments and and we should, study it with the with the attitude of of the thinking of implanting imprints, for future lifetimes.
And then Geshe-la says, there is because, highest yoga tantra is a very important teaching, is very highly, regarded. And there is a danger. For example, again, I say there is a danger that, one might come to think that, because it is written in many texts that one can achieve enlightenment in one lifetime, one can attain many, special powers, siddhis and so forth. And then if one if one if one does the three year retreat, then one will attain enlightenment. And then, there there are many texts say such things.
But they say that in the context of having absolutely, every single vow, very well, kept and protected. And there is, it’s not just any practice, just any meditation. One has to to be doing that in the context of protecting every every single vow. Again, he was very emphatic that he said, absolutely, every single vow in commitment. So then Geshe-la says, if one if one does not keep one’s vows and commitments were commitments well protected, then if one, example, one goes and engages in a three year retreat, and then after going for many hardships and many difficulties in this three year, retreat, one, at the end, has not accomplished anything, then one, looks back, and and starts thinking that, because one has not accomplished anything, one start thinking that this all these tantric teachings are not true, they’re not worthwhile and so forth.
And then one develops a wrong view in regards to the tantric teachings. And that’s very dangerous, Geshe-la said. Yes, Judy? I cannot hear you, Judy. Yes.
So the vows these vows are important because, for example, if one if one cannot keep, for example, the the bodhisattva if one cannot protect oneself from from the bodhisattva root down falls, then, how to say, one will not realize bodhisattvahood. One will not be able to accomplish the the deeds of bodhisattvas and so forth. And if one, also, if one cannot keep, how do say, protect oneself from from the tantric root downfalls, then one will not be able to accomplish anything in relation to the tantric practice. It won’t won’t be able to accomplish any, say, superpowers or feats, siddhis, or not not to mention not not to mention enlightenment. So is giving an analogy.
So for example, if you have a field that is covered with with weeds, is taken with weeds, and then if if if you throw seeds on this field, the seeds will not, sprout. So one must first clear the fields of the the weeds, and then one throws the seeds, and then the flowers and so forth will will grow up. And the Geshe-la says that the these vows and these commitments, the root downfalls, for example, Bodhisattva root downfalls, they they have the function of cleaning away the fields of the weeds. They are like, yeah, cleaning away the field of the weeds and so of weeds. Okay?
One more question. So then Geshe-la says, there is so he says, yeah, there is a a way. And if you follow the way to achieve enlightenment, then eventually, you will achieve enlightenment. But the to find the way to enlightenment is already very difficult. Then if you find the way that leads to enlightenment, then you’re gonna meet if you get to know the way that leads to enlightenment, then you and you will start to engage, to to thread, the the path to enlightenment, then you will meet with many obstacles and many, harmful many a lot of hardships and harm on the way.
But, yeah, it is like Journey. A journey. Yes. It is like a journey with many obstacles and difficulties and hardships. But Geshe-la is saying that the path to enlightenment is not like, the path of that we take with the car to go from one place to another.
So we have to study. So if when if we’re talking about the, for example, the the perfection vehicle, the sūtra vehicle, then we have to know, there’s the path of accumulation, there is the path of preparation, there’s the path of seeing, there’s the path of meditation, and there is a path of no more learning, and we have to study and understand what each of these paths are. And if we’re talking about the the the tantric path, then we we have to understand and we have to study what is the generation stage and what is the completion stage. And there are many teachings on the generation stage. There are many different teachings and many things that we have to know about the completion stage and so forth.
It is not like the path, the roads that we take, that we go by with our cars and so forth. It’s a different thing. There is a lot of study involved on the path to enlightenment. Okay. Okay.
Okay? Yeah.