Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Geshe Pema Tsering opens this 113-minute Lamrim commentary with a striking image: a person running so high a fever they hallucinate and believe they are having a good time, unaware they are desperately ill. He uses this to argue that attachment, anger, and ignorance are exactly such unrecognized sicknesses, illustrating the point through a failed property bid that left the whole community quietly dejected, and the image of a bull lured to slaughter with a handful of grass. Working through a classical six-discrimination framework — patient, doctor, medicine, persistent practice, the Buddha as exalted being, and the aspiration for the Dharma to endure — he stresses that hearing teachings without applying them is like obtaining medicine and never taking it, drawing on the Bodhicaryāvatāra and the King of Concentration Sūtra to drive the point home. The session then shifts to the teacher’s side of the exchange: proper motivation for giving teachings, correct conduct during a Dharma session, and how to distinguish suitable from unsuitable students.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 09 2008 04 10 BP.mp3
UUID: 800b342f-20b7-4117-985e-10e01055f0c8
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Lam Rim (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2008-04-10
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 113.1 minutes
Words: ~6,859
So this does an uncertainty to give us a good motivation. And then with the for the sake of accomplishing the enlightenment of all sentient beings, then one is going to listen and study well these teachings. And in this way, we give rise to good motivation. So, if we give rise to a good motivation, then we get what we get is good Dharma. It’s good spiritual practice.
If we do not give rise to good motivation, we won’t get a spiritual practice, a genuine spiritual practice. Because our actions being they’re being Dharma, they’re being spiritual, it it depends entirely on our motivation. So it’s that’s why it’s important to give rise to a good motivation. That and that’s why it is important then to give rise this this this is the reason then it is important to give rise to good motivation. And with that understanding in mind, we give rise to the intention of accomplishing the the benefit, the welfare of all sentient beings.
And in order to accomplish that, we are going to read the Heart Sūtra and the preliminary prayers. And Geshe-la is saying that when we read the Heart Sūtra, we were told at first to read the Heart Sūtra because it will help us to acquire, to obtain, or to find a new house for for Buddha house. But when we read the Heart Sūtra, we shouldn’t think only of that. We should really think of accomplishing the benefit of all sentient beings. That’s the reason why we should be reading the Har Sūtra.
Out of that, as a consequence of that, we will get the benefits that we are searching for. So then when we read the Heart Sūtra with the motivation of benefiting and accomplishing the welfare of beings, it’s not that this action then will not become a cause for the attainment of a new house. When we are really in order to accomplish the benefit of all beings we need to study and listen to the teachings and we need a place to accomplish that and so then in order to accomplish the welfare of all we need all the cause and conditions together in order to accomplish all these cause and conditions we read the Heart Sūtra So the main thing that we have to bear in mind is the motivation of attaining enlightenment for the sake of. And in this way, we started the Heart Sūtra. Pardon?
Yeah. So we we we have been approaching the six the six notions or the six discriminations, notion of oneself as a patient, the notion of the one expounding the teachings of the Dharma as a doctor, the notion of what is being taught as the medicine, the notion of persistent practice as the cure, the notion of the Tathagatas as an exalted being, the notion of the Tathagatas as an exalted being, and the aspiration that the Dharma lasts long. Contemplating these six discriminations, we we have gone through the first three, and we are approaching the one that is generating the discrimination or the notion of persistent practice as a cure. This topic had three parts to it. The first being the content of striving for words without putting them into practice.
And then we get to the next topic, which is on page sixteen, number two, the importance of the discrimination of oneself as someone So then, Geshe-la is going through the text that being so the discrimination of oneself as someone ill is very important, is extremely important. If that discrimination is present, then the other ones will also arise. Of the six discrimination, if the one of someone ill is present, the other five will arise. However, if it remain if it remains mere words without the meaning of the instructions being accomplished for the sake of eliminating the mental afflictions, then you will be only a listener, I guess, that is what it was saying. You Just saying just saying that if one acts in this way, then then we will not get real spiritual practices.
We will not get real Dharma. Geshe-la was then pointing out the fact that reading when we read the the refuge prayer, and I go for refuge, the Buddha, go for refuge, Dharma, so forth. But if we go for read this prayer, we speak out this prayer without having gained instructions about them, knowing about them, then we won’t get real refuge. We won’t be actually going for a refuge. We won’t get the meaning of it.
So you will resemble a mere reciter. You won’t be a listener. You’ll resemble a new person who is not rid of his illness, but having sought a doctor who only cares about the medicinal composition and does not take the medicine. And then we have quotes couple of quotes from one quote from the king of concentration sūtra and then one from the of. So then again, Geshe-la was saying, leaving it as mere words, one gets the medicine but does not take the medicine, then one will not benefit.
So it is the same here. When one gets the teaching, one must put the teaching into practice. Going back to the beginning of that this paragraph saying that that says that discrimination, the notion of oneself as someone ill is very important, extremely important. And Geshe-la wasn’t saying, but it’s important, but we do not see ourselves as someone who is ill. We do not think of ourselves as being ill.
Geshe-la was then giving an illustration. We are like somebody who has a very someone who has a very strong fever. A fever so high, the temperature is so high that this person is hallucinating and it is in his or her hallucinations that the person does not understand that the person is actually sick it is hallucinating and he thinks he is having a good time whatever, but it is actually running a very high fever. So, Geshe-la was asking, have you seen somebody like this? You know?
Somebody was running such a high fever, and and the person is really ill, but it doesn’t understand that it is he or she is ill. Then he says all sorts of things, whatever comes to mind, all sorts of misbehaving and so forth. We are very much like such a person. We are ill but we do not really understand. We do not really know that we are.
Mhmm. We are, Geshe-la is saying, we are sick, we are ill, we are sick with attachment, are sick with anger and hatred, we are sick with aversion. We are sick with jealousy, miserliness, and ignorance. We’re talking about sickness and illness. It is something which gives us suffering.
And those things do give us suffering. So, we are sick with all those things, like this. So we are sick with attachment, Geshe-la says. But Geshe-la is telling us, we generally think that when we are sick, if we have a sickness, an illness, we should be feeling some pain, some physical pain or some sort of pain. But when we are sick with attachment, we do not feel any pain, nor do we?
So again, we think we are not sick But we do actually suffer. There is actually suffering and pain involved in this illness, which is attachment. Geshe-la was just giving an illustration. For example, take a car, for example. When we see a nice car or an object that we desire very much, whatever it may be, we want it.
We think to ourselves, I want it. I need that. I must have that. Then when we see our finances, we do not have enough money to obtain it. Then we get disappointed.
Get frustrated. We get depressed. I was given another illustration. Take a case of Buda House. A short while ago we found a house and we were all excited.
We must get that house. It’s a nice house. We make an offer and and in the end it wasn’t enough money and we couldn’t get the we couldn’t get the house and and there we were all distressed and depressed and so forth. So I don’t know if you’re all aware of the situation. Geshe-la was saying when we did not get that house, Geshe-la says we were actually quite sad and disappointed.
It’s a real pity that we didn’t get the house. We were very hopeful and we really wanted to get the house. Were you also depressed and saddened in this way when Buddha House wasn’t able to acquire the house? Yes. And that Geshe-la says it happened because we have already developed attachment in relation to the house, towards the house.
We were already attached to it. And when we weren’t able to actually acquire it, then we suffer. Then we have the pain. And again, same applies to anger. When somebody that we dislike, that we do not want around us arrives and says something bad or offensive, then we get upset.
And even when the person has already left we still remain upset and disturbed and again and again when such a person that we dislike, when that person has something good happening to her or him, acquires some benefit or profit, some way, then again we have that disliking in our minds, again that slight disturbance in our minds, again due to jealousy Geshe-la says. We get annoyed, we get frustrated and and So Geshe-la says we have attachment, we all have attachment, we all have anger, we all have ignorance and so forth. And just like physical illnesses, these illnesses of attachment and so forth, they produce pain. And because of that, we can see how we are actually ill, isn’t it? And again, every day from morning until the end of the day, we are overpowered by these feelings, disturbing emotions and conceptions.
There is not one moment. Even though we might experience Geshe-la was just saying right now, he’s saying, even though we might experience a brief moment that we might feel good, it doesn’t last. It doesn’t last long at all. And immediately, it changes into something unpleasant. It’s another feeling or into another state of mind.
Matter. We are then ill, we are sick with the three poisons. And Geshe-la was then saying the medicine for this illness is nothing else but the Dharma so in order to cure this illness we must acquire this medicine, the Dharma and practice it if we do not have it, we do not apply it then we won’t heal, we won’t get better So then, I guess, we need to apply the Dharma, and in order to be able to apply the Dharma, we need to learn about the Dharma. The only way that we can learn about the Dharma is with a virtuous friend, what is called a virtuous friend, a spiritual teacher. In the same way that when we have a physical illness, we need the medicine.
If we do not have a doctor, we will not we will not know what medicine to take. So then that’s why it’s important then to develop this notion, this conception of oneself, to conceive of oneself as an ill person, a person who is sick, to conceive as the one who is giving the Dharma, the spiritual teachings, as a doctor, and to conceive as the spiritual teachings themselves, the Dharma itself, as as the medicine. And then, again, Geshe-la was going through that the same text. You resemble a new person who is not rid of of her her illness, having sought a doctor only cares about the medical composition, does not take the medicine. And this is what is said in the king of of sutras.
Having sought the doctor, having acquired the right medicine from the doctor, and then having obtained the medicine itself, if one does not take the medicine it is not the fault of the doctor that one did not get cured it is not the fault of the medicine that one did not cure it is the fault of the patient, of the person who is ill who did not take the medicine So again, we have another quote from the King of Concentration Sūtra. It says: If after I have explained the excellent dharma, you do not apply it well, although you heard it, it is like with a physician whose pouches are full of medicine, but who still cannot cure their own diseases. And, again, this is the example that has just been that have been just talking about. So the Geshe-la was saying, that’s why, if according to this analogy, if we if we, having listened to the teachings, having acquired the teachings, if we then apply the teachings, if we put them into practice, Geshe-la says, then we will we will attain liberation, enlightenment, from suffering, will benefit. Now if we do not apply the teachings, if we do not take the teachings, will be meaningless, how to say it.
It will there there will be no use to knowing it. Just mere mere merely knowing it won’t won’t suffice. And, again, we have another quote from the Bodhicaryāvatāra. This this should be put into practice physically. What would be gained by uttering just the words?
Would it be beneficial to the patients if they just read how the medicine is meant to be used? And Geshe-la was again just saying, again, having acquired the teachings, one must apply one’s whole being, having generated the thoughts, one must apply one’s whole being, one’s speech, one’s body to the practice and Guestra was then said merely spelling out the words without having any understanding of them. Once will not do. It’s just again, it’s just like the illustration. It’s just like being sick but not taking the medicine.
And then we we we have we go to the next topic, the instruction to act accordingly, having identified the meaning of persistence. In this word, which was translated as persistence. Various translations in English would be diligence, persistence, intensity, assiduousness, striving towards something, being earnest, being ardent, so forth. And Geshe-la was making reference to strength, to strong practices. Again, just let’s go from the text.
Therefore, the discrimination that persists eliminates the disease should be developed. Persistence in the statement signifies putting into practice the topics of adopting and abandoning of of the modes of conduct from the spiritual teacher’s instructions. And Geshe-la goes on. Now to put them into practice, you need to know them, and for that, you need to listen and study. Again, After studying and knowing, gaining knowledge of them, you need to practice, and therefore, it is crucial to engage in the meaning of what has been studied to the best in accord with one’s capacities, to the best of one’s abilities.
And then, again, otherwise, at the time of death, you will have regrets with regards to what you have not accomplished. And, again, you will you will resemble an actor who is mimicking others. And Geshe-la was saying, again, it is important to have inquired the knowledge about the Dharma and to put it into practice. Otherwise, we will have regrets in in at time of at the time of our death, And then think it’s like having attended ministry, having listened many times to the teachings and contemplated the teachings but not having practiced, not implemented the teachings, then at the time of death, one will have regret that even though one has listened and contemplated so much, one has not actually accomplished anything. And again, so you resemble an actor imitating others or someone interested in the juice of the sugarcane who eats only the bark of the cane.
And, again, I was reading the the the quote from the Exhortation to the Supreme Intention. And as we have there, I failed in my attainments. Now, what should I do? And that is how the child is way while they are dying. They have not delved deep, and suffering is great, know that these are the faults of delighting in mere words, And, again, like someone amidst a crowd observing a play, discussing the virtues of another hero, the hero of the play, and with regards to his own practice, to his own exertion, know that these are the faults of delighting in words.
Geshe-la again was saying is this when we watch a show or watch a play, and we praise the hero of the play and so forth. But again, the same applies here. When we get the teachings and we talk, we just keep on talking about the teachings or the teaching is good, the teaching is great and so forth, but we do not put into practice. And we do not gain any benefit from that. And again, in the bark of the sugarcane, there is no essence.
The delightful flavor is inside. Someone eating the bark is unable to find the delicious flavor of molasses. In the same way just just holding on to the words but not implementing it, then one does not gain any benefit for me Again, similarly, words are like the bark. The meaning of those words is like the taste. Consequently, abandon delighting in mere words, always be diligent in reflecting on their meaning.
And then so then this this concludes this fourth topic, and we’ll go to the the fifth one contemplating the sixth the sixth discrimination. The sixth notion contemplate the notion of the Tathāgata as an exalted being. So having brought to mind the teacher of the Dharma, the Bhagavan, one should develop respect and admiration. And, again, lastly, generating the the notion, the discrimination, the thought of the Dharma lasting long, the Dharma tradition lasting long. So then it consists of the thought, of thinking how nice it would be if based on listening to such a Dharma, the correct teachings were to remain in the world for a long time.
And so then having listened to the teachings, having contemplated the teachings, then one developed this wish that the teachings last long, that they remain long, that one attain enlightenment and so forth. So then again, the next topic which we start now the way in which having related all this information to one’s mind, is necessary then to listen. Apart from that if while explaining or listening to the dharma you keep your own mind to one side the dharma remaining separate from me then this will result in whatever is explained missing the point and Geshe-la was then saying, okay, said two things. First of all, was saying, so when we have, for example, the teaching that is saying that we have to get rid of attachment, or we have to stop, we have to eliminate attachment. And Geshe-la was saying, it is not being said that we should destroy the attachment in others.
It is attachment within us that we have to stop, not in others. The same for anger and everything else we have to stop anger it’s not because we have to stop others from the anger that is in others we have to stop the anger that is in us we have to get those teachings and instead of just merely talking about the teachings we have to let them sink deep in our hearts and then then practice them, implement them within ourselves. And then again, Geshe-la was reading, so therefore, it’s necessary to listen in order for one’s own continuum, mental continuum to reach certainty. And so having listened to the teachings, having acquired the knowledge is important to apply. So if if if if in the case of attachment and affliction and so forth, we we if we have acquired the teachings, have acquired this knowledge, then we we should apply it and we should abandon attachment and so forth, all these afflictive emotional conceptions.
And then in the case of aspiration, faith, and all these virtuous mental factors, virtuous minds, again, we should, having examined ourselves, our minds, and if we do not have those virtuous minds, we should cultivate them, and the ones we have, we should strengthen those here. To illustrate this, then wanting to check whether or not there is dirt or some other impurity in our face, we should look in the mirror and understanding that there is that, there is dirty, then we we clean it. We remove it. So there’s as I was just explaining the the tibetan words and put it in colloquial terms, but in English, it’s just the same. Again, if you want to know if your face is dirty or not, then you have to look into mirror.
And if it is dirty, and then you have an opportunity to clean it if it is dirty. And likewise, And then likewise, when when you hear the dharma, your own behavior appears in the mirror of the dharma. Whereupon you feel anguish thinking, that is what my mind has come to. And then then so then again, Geshe-la was saying the same in the same way that in order to find out if our face is dirty or not, we have to look into a mirror, have to rely on a mirror. In the same way we we we study and we listen.
We read and we listen to the teachings to the Dharma, and then we can see if we have this afflictive emotion concerns, attachment, aversion, and so forth, and we have an opportunity to clear them away or not. Then as you engage in eliminating faults and attaining or in developing qualities, cultivating qualities, you necessarily train in accordance with the Dharma. Then we have a quote a quote from the the life stories of the Buddha. Beholding the forms of my bad conduct in the desolate mirror of Dharma, anguish arises forcefully in me, and I turn towards the Dharma. And then in the Tibetan, we have first the and we have everything else later.
So then when the son of Suta asked prince Chandra, who was the bodhisattva. As prince Chandra for Dharma teachings, having in in these terms, having quoted having speaking the way in the way of of that verse. And then the bodhisattva, prince Chandra, who was this previous incarnation of of of the Buddha before he became enlightened, knowing this to be the sign of a suitable vessel for hearing the Dharma, then the bodhisattva gave him the proper teachings. And then so then how to keep in mind the purpose of the attainments? In short thinking, I shall attain Buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings.
To attain that, I need to train in its causes. In order to accomplish that it is necessary to listen to the Dharma therefore I shall listen to the Dharma you should generate the mind of enlightenment, bodhicitta as a motivation consider the benefits of study which Geshe-la was saying bring to mind benefits of study, which we have already gone through. And with giving rise to joy and delight, we should abandon the faults of a vessel and then give rise to those six discriminations that we have been just going through. And in this way, we listen to the. Oh, yeah.
And then we go approach the next major topic of this chapter, how to explain the teachings. First, we have four parts, consider the benefits of explaining the Dharma Generating respect for the teacher and the teachings What kind of attitude and what kind of conduct one should explain the teachings with? What kind of attitude and conduct one should have whilst explaining the teachings, and the distinction between those for whom the explanation should be given and those for whom it should not be given. And then as as for considering the benefits of explaining the Dharma, we have our first quote from the treasury of knowledge. Giving Dharma free of mental afflictions teach according to sūtra and other true texts.
And, one should not have as a motivation any mental affliction or or distort disturbing conception and so forth. And in this way, relying on the teachings on the on the genuine scriptures, one should teach And then in the commentary to the text, the other commentary to the text, therefore, those who explained the Dharma incorrectly and those who explained it with an afflicted mind craving for much gain, respect and fame, corrupt their own great merits. Geshe-la was saying, not only we will not benefit, one will actually harm oneself, cause harm to oneself. If one is teaching the Dharma with bad motivation, So then therefore, our pure motivation to teach the Dharma is extremely important. And just like past meditators, past teachers said, I have never explained the Dharma without meditating upon impermanence before the session.
The discussion to reveal it beforehand. This was in just pointing out that it’s important to have a good motivation. We’re to give rise to the right motivation before teaching the Dharma. Otherwise, one will not benefit, one will not cause any benefit, will cause actually harm. Then this one.
And, again, in the exhortation of the superior intention, two groups of twenty benefits and advantages of giving the gift of Dharma, of explaining, teaching the Dharma in the absence of material things or the concern for gain, respect, and the like are set forth. And Geshe-la was saying, Again, in this text, we have all these these two sets of twenty benefits that that can be derived from from teaching the Dharma with a proper motivation, the motivation of the mind of enlightenment and so forth. And again, in this in this other text, the sūtra requested by it says that the merits of a householder giving immeasurable material things is exceeded by an ordained person giving a single verse of Dharma and Geshe-la was just again the the these the honorific words into the colloqua. But in English, it’s basically the same thing. One generates much more merit from teaching the Dharma, one verse of Dharma with a pure, with a good motivation than giving a lot of wealth.
Beneficial to give a verse of Dharma because as a result of the Dharma there is nothing but happiness comes about. So, having given rise to pure motivation and teaching the Dharma, the only thing that results from that, the only thing that can result from that is happiness. The only results that we acquire, the only effects that are produced or generated is happiness. Out of giving material wealth, that is not necessarily the case. Out of giving material wealth and possessions or things, is not the case that the only result of that is happiness it might be that some happiness generated it might be that some suffering is produced because of that it might be that attachment and anger in the minds of others because of that.
And then we approach our next topic, generate generating respect for the teacher and the teachings. And when uttering the mother of the buddhas, the perfection of wisdom, the Prajñāpāramitā Sutras, the teacher, the buddha himself, arranges a seat and so on. Accordingly, since the Dharma is a field of veneration, is an object of veneration for even even for the buddhas, one should bring to mind the positive qualities and the kindness of the Dharma and and of the teacher, And then in this way, generate respect respect for them. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. So then what kind of attitude and and and with what kind of attitude and with what kind of conduct conduct of behavior one should explain the teaching. So as regards the attitude, first, as in the Sūtra requested by Saganamati, put forward the five discriminations. That’s the attitude that we have to develop. Discrimination of oneself as the doctor, of the dharma as a medicine, of the ones who are listening to the dharma as the patience, of the Tathāgata as a holy being, and then generating the aspiration that the dharma abides remains for a long time, as well as the development of loving kindness towards the surrounding people.
The envy born from anxiety that others are superior, the laziness of putting things off. So then the envy born from anxiety that others are superior. The laziness of putting things off, the disenchantment of fatigue due to explaining things over and over again, the praising of oneself and chatting about other people’s faults and looking down on others. The concealment of examples regarding the Dharma or the concealment of illustrations, as well as concern for material things such as food and clothing and so forth should be abandoned, thinking those very merits from teaching for the sake of my own and others’ enlightenment are the provisions of my happiness.
And then the conduct, how one should compose oneself to teach. Again, having washed and dressed in clean clothes, one should sit on a cushion, on a Dharma throne, on a Dharma seat, in a clean and in a pleasant place. And then and then if you then chant a mantra for subjugating demons, the demons and the gods of the demonic category will not come closer to you than the perimeter of a hundred yojanas and even if they do come close they will not be able to create any obstacles as it says in the Sūtra Requested by Sagaramati and Geshe-la was saying there is this but we have the Heart Sūtra. Those days, we recite the Heart Sūtra, and we make those prayers while we clap three times in order to accomplish that. And then again so then we we chant the mantra and with a a extremely radiant facial expression.
So then, again, just with a pleasant complexion, not with making faces, closed faces and so forth, Geshe-la was saying, one then explains and gives all the conditions that will help us ascertain the meaning of the teachings, which are the examples, the proofs, the quotes, and so forth. And then we approach the the next topic, the fourth topic, which is then distinguishing between those for whom the explanation should be given to and those for whom it should not be given to. And we have in the sūtra of discipline, the Vinaya, it says do not teach without being asked to. Accordingly, do not teach without having been asked. And even when someone asks, you should you should examine the vessel.
You should examine the person. However, knowing a person to be a suitable vessel, it is acceptable to teach them even without having been asked to. As it says in the King of Concentration Sutras, further modes of conduct of acting are set forth in the sūtra of discipline, the Vinaya. So then, generally, how to proceed at the end, what to do afterwards, the actual things to do, the roots of virtue of teaching and listening in this way should be sealed, they should be offered, should be dedicated by means of pure inspirational prayer such as the prayer of good conduct. In case I was saying we always recite a small dedication prayer at the end of the teachings.
We do that all the time. Are the things such prayers are the things that we should do at the end. And then the benefits of doing this: there is no doubt that if the Dharma is explained and listened to in this manner, in the manner that was explained above, giving up the faults of the vessel, giving rise to the six discriminations, and so forth. Then the advantages that have been stated before will arise due to the act of listening and explaining the Dharma hitting home, then all karmic obscurations accumulated previously of not respecting the Dharma and so forth or the ones or not respecting the one who is teaching it and so forth are purified and all the ones being newly accumulated, the new virtuous actions are being accumulated, then oh, sorry. The non virtuous negativities that are being accumulated, they are nipped in the bud.
And then the general mode of behavior of So then the general motive The general motive I was just asking the Geshe, there’s a word that was translated as saints, and it’s something that it’s a word that I wouldn’t use in English. The mode of of behavior of the noble beings, of ārya beings, of the teachers, of the lamas, and so forth. There is no doubt sorry. Due to the manner of listening, hearing home, the instructions set forth bring benefit to the mind. Seeing this, all the earlier noble beings in general diligent in this, and especially the former gurus of this instruction persevered at it with utmost diligence.
And then the advice to cherish them since it is great. It is a great fault to turn away from from them. These are evidently great instructions. If one does not reach certainty about this and one’s attitude does not change, as it is often the case, no matter how much the dharma profound and vast is explained, one will become like a god fallen to the rank of a demon. And the very Dharma will become an age to the afflictions.
And Geshe-la was making reference not only from the point of view of listening to the teachings, but also from the point of view of teaching. If one is teaching with an improper motivation, one is teaching with the intent of acquiring wealth or fame and so forth, then again again, one will will not cause any benefit not only to others but one will cause also harm to oneself and the afflictive emotional conceptions will actually grow within oneself And therefore, since it is it is like they say, it’s like they say in Tibet, if you err on the first of the month, you will do so until the fifteenth. So if you if you have a bad motivation in the beginning, you have a bad motivation at the end. Otherwise, strive at this method of transforming what has been heard and explaining to the path and make every opportunity to explain and listen to something worthwhile. Again, I wasn’t saying.
And then do that by giving rise to a proper motivation, to a good motivation. For this is the best preparation for teaching the instructions. Oh, yeah. And then we start the next session with how to guide the students with the actual instructions, which will lead us straight into the first main topic of the text, which is how to rely on the teacher. Oh, I was wondering if you now you have many questions.
Yeah. That’s alright. Yeah. Talks about one of the advantages of trivia. I just wondered Say that again.
One of the advantages? Trivia. Yes. What is trivia? What is trivia?
Do you remember which page is is that in? Thirteen. Thirteen. Number thirteen. Where would I be?
Though listening, all trivia are abandoned. Yes. In the root verse, isn’t it? Where would that be? It would be right in the beginning.
This is discrimination. Developing respect. Back in the beginning. So what is the most literal translation for this? Meaningless meaningless that that which is meaningless.
It was translated as trivia. And and Geshe-la wasn’t saying So, Geshe-la was in first, Geshe-la was saying before what he just said. Now he was saying, look, meaningless is anything which is contrary to the Dharma, anything which is contrary to our spiritual practice or our spiritual development or practice or cultivation or whatever. Anything that contradicts that, that goes against it, is meaningless. And in the context of listening, studying the teachings, contemplating the teachings, and meditating upon the teachings, so all the afflictive emotions and conceptions, aversion, so forth, they are all meaningless in this sense of going against the Dharma So Geshe-la also said that meaningless things are are very many things.
So then there are there are all sorts of sorts of things how can I say all sorts of things or mental states which contradict or go against our attempts to listen and to study all sorts of things again all sorts of sense of mind and so forth which go against our attempts to contemplate what we have listened to we have studied and again and again all sorts of things that go against that contradict and hinder our attempts to meditate upon the meaning that we have contemplated and all those things are terminating meaningless in this sense Geshe-la was saying, to give an illustration of of of you The meaning of this word is Geshe lah is explaining it gives room to a lot of things to be included under this heading? Geshe-la was giving the example when we are attempting to meditate on impermanence then even when if we are sitting down trying to meditate on impermanence if the thought of the mind of enlightenment or emptiness arises then that is in that occasion, in that context, thoughts of bodhicitta and emptiness then come under this heading of It’s not to say that the mind’s thoughts of contemplating bodhicitta or contemplating emptiness are harmful.
They beneficial but in the context of our trying to accomplish a realization of impermanence then they are they become meaningless So so because they are in that on that occasion, they are hindering they are hindering our meditation on impermanence. Okay? And then on top of that, as I said, and then there’s we are trying to meditate on impermanence again we are afflicted we are overpowered by attachment aversion anger and all sorts of thoughts and then again that is even worse because those are bad in themselves big faults so then in under the heading of that which is not meaningful you have good things and bad things good things which are good and things which are bad you know that like bodhicitta and the afflictions. Too many.. What what would be a bad there must be a better translation for that. I will look I will look.
Yeah. Depends on those. Yeah. There are many ways to understand it. Because it’s all the same.
Because there are there are many meaningful things. And because there are many meaningful things, there are also many meaningless as many meaningless things. Yeah. Oh, yeah. That helps.
That helps. So then Geshe-la is then explaining that for example it is actually quite easy to recognize, to understand that we have attachment. For example, it is easy to see how we have attachment to money and all the other things and people that we like. I was giving the example of money. It’s easy to see how we do have attachment to money.
It’s easy to see that. What we do not see, what we do not understand is that attachment is actually an illness. That’s what we do not perceive. Geshe-la says, we fail to understand faults, we fail to see the faults that attachment has to it. We actually think that there are many advantages and benefits to attachment.
We do not see the future results that are caused by attachment Geshe-la was saying it causes us a lot of suffering in the future very great suffering in the future causes us to perpetuate our our to say our our stay in saṃsāra And Geshe-la is saying we can see the immediate results that attachment brings to us and we think of these results of these small happinesses such as acquiring getting hold of a tasty meal and then then satiating our hunger we see these small benefits, small happinesses that we acquire but we fail to see the future suffering that it brings. Fail to see the shortcomings. Attachment will not provide us with any more happiness than this immediate satisfaction in the context of this life alone. It won’t provide us any more than that. And Geshe-la is giving the example: we are like cattle we are like a cow or a bull and the bull is when the cow is about to be butchered or killed it runs away but it’s so stupid that the butcher or the person who is going to kill the cow gets a little bit of grass and says come.
Come. And the cow comes with the grass, and it gets killed in this way. And, again, Geshe-la says, with our attachment, we strive for things to obtain things and in our striving in activities that we engage to obtain those things again we produce more and more of cyclic existence of saṃsāra and we fail to see to understand that Samsāra is suffering. cyclic existence is suffering. And all the faults of cyclic existence and so forth.
Is that okay? Oh, yeah. That okay? Is what time is it now? That’s okay.