Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. The image of water sliding off a ball — pride makes the mind a surface where nothing sticks — anchors one of the sharpest moments in this 44-minute session. Geshe Pema Tsering opens by distinguishing two forms of self-cherishing: the ordinary grasping everyone already has, and the harder-to-develop wish to escape saṃsāra that marks the middling-scope practitioner. He argues that practice aimed only at this life’s happiness is not yet real Dharma, then traces the arc through renunciation to bodhicitta. The second half works through three root delusions: anger examined as a force that disguises itself as self-protection while destroying accumulated merit; pride countered with the water-on-a-ball image; and ignorance, just introduced at the close. Suited to practitioners already familiar with the Lamrim framework.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 01 True Causes of Suffering.mp3
UUID: 3655bef1-d3c5-41af-a2f3-1ac27005407a
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Lam Rim 2002 Bodhisattva Deeds (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2002 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 44.4 minutes
Words: ~3,346
The First Dalai Lama, stated — making wishful prayers — wishing not to generate or develop any mind to accomplish self-cherishing attitudes or self-serving purposes and wishing to generate the altruism that wishing to generate a mind to benefit others and and wishing to present all the conducive conditions to benefit others within oneself, the conditions like like good qualities and be able to speak eloquently, maintain patience, etcetera, which are the conditions to fulfill others’ wishes or purpose. So in terms of self-cherishing attitude that that that and those who are seeking enlightenment for the sake of entire sentient beings, then that that such a mind of self-cherishing attitude is is a subject to be abandoned. Whereas in terms in the practices of middling scope, that self-cherishing attitude, in some states it also it is needed, that self-cherishing attitude, because because but yeah. So The wish to free oneself from cyclic existence — that is also a self-cherishing attitude, and such a mind is to be cultivated in terms of the practice of middling scope.
So what we need to do here is we we we we should try to minimize the self-cherishing attitude and increase the cherishing others as much as we can. But in terms of speaking, you know, the self-cherishing attitude, some stage, a certain amount is needed for the practitioner of middling scope. When we say that here we are talking about self-cherishing attitude which is the wishing to free oneself from cyclic existence or attain liberation and whereas the self-cherishing attitude in general, we don’t have any problem developing a self-cherishing attitude because we are so used to it from the very beginningless. Whereas in terms of self-cherishing attitude, which is the intent of wish to free oneself from existence, that that self-cherishing attitude is really hard to develop as well. So in order to develop a mind of renunciation — a wish to be free from cyclic existence, and and to develop such a mind, you know, one has to see the the disadvantages of the cyclic existence.
And when we speak of see the disadvantage of the cyclic existence, it doesn’t mean just to see, like, the suffering of sufferings like illness or diseases and so forth are at fault of cyclic existence. This is not the case. Here when we see this the the this fault of the cyclic existence is to see the the saṃsāra is a nature of a nature of suffering, as well as even the even once when we see the disadvantages of cyclic existence one can see one should see those the pleasures or the happiness of the cyclic existence in reality or by nature, even those suffering. So even those happiness of the cyclic existence are also a nature of suffering. And this is how because it is very hard to see those happiness of the cycle.
Since our happiness, this is how it’s very difficult — it takes time — to develop renunciation. So therefore, most of us mainly strive for the enjoyments of cyclic existence. And it’s very difficult to develop a mind wishing to attain the happiness of liberation or arhathood. And therefore because in order to attain the happiness of the arhathood or liberation, one has to see those happiness of the cyclic existence are also a suffering or the nature of suffering. So because that is very difficult to see and we don’t see those happiness as suffering and due to this we cultivate those happiness and it turns out that we, at this stage, we mainly cultivate the sufferings.
And mainly, especially one most of us, you know, not just not just work or try to work for the happiness of cyclic existence. We mainly I mean, work for the happiness of this present life itself or this present lifetime. And therefore, due to this, we sometimes yeah. We fail to cultivate or yeah, the causes for the attainment of higher rebirths in the next lives. So because the practices sometimes, yeah, becomes the cause to attain happiness within this life, so therefore, our practice is still uncertain whether our practice will become a royal practice or not.
So to to become our practice as a real practice or real Dharma, that one practice should be at least become a to attain higher rebirth in the next life. And that’s where the very minimum stage and a big initial stage to become one’s practice into a Dharma practice. If one’s practice does not become a cause to attain at least a cause to attain higher rebirth in the next life, then one’s practice is not becoming proper or real practice. So whatever practice one does, either on meditation on bodhicitta, the calm abiding or profound emptiness and so forth, if the practice is done for the attainment of happiness within this life, then regardless of how profound the practice one practiced, but one’s practice won’t become actual a proper practice because it’s because from the very beginning the motivation is to attain happiness within this life. So therefore, the practice will become a proper practice.
So at least, you know, to to become one once practice is the right practice, it should at least become a cause to attain higher rebirths in the next life. So even though one’s practice become a cause to attain the higher rebirths like humans and the god rebirths in the next life, it become one’s practice become a practice, but that practice still becomes a practice, a cause to be born in the cyclic existence or saṃsāra. So therefore, you know, so when one’s just the practice and should at least try to develop do it to develop the renunciation that is which that is wishing to attain enlightenment, wishing to free from cyclic existence. And in order to generate that, so as we said earlier, the one needs to see the drawbacks of cyclic existence and to see that saṃsāra itself is an object of abandonment. And by having developed such a mind — a wish to be free from cyclic existence — that is called renunciation.
And so if one does practice practices which practice become a cause to attain arhathood or liberation, then one practice become a practice of practice of middling scope. And then after having developed such renunciation, then one should see that and that is to attain that is to free just oneself from the cyclic existence or from the sufferings, free oneself from suffering alone is not enough. The reason is because sentient beings are very kind to oneself and they are, in terms of number, even more than oneself — and equally important. They are tortured by the sufferings of cyclic existence just as oneself is. Therefore, one should take responsibility to free those sentient beings from their entire suffering. Wishing to free them from all suffering is called the altruistic intention.
So therefore, our ultimate goal is to bring all these motherly sentient beings into free from entire sufferings and bring them to the state of ultimate happiness or enlightenment. So to do so, first one has to attain enlightenment or become Buddha. Without becoming a Buddha, one will not be able to help those motherly beings from their sufferings. So wishing to free, wishing to attain enlightenment for the sake of motherly sentient beings is so called the bodhicitta or altruistic intention. So we should cultivate the bodhicitta or altruistic intention.
And when we do a meditation on bodhicitta, which is we are mainly focusing on a mind that that that yep. That is our wish to attain enlightenment for the sake of all motherly sentient beings. So we shall do a short meditation here on bodhicitta. So we begin last week, we began with the six root delusions or the basic disturbing attitudes or emotions. And out of those six, the first one, so called desire, has been completed.
And now towards the second one, that is the anger. And the definition of anger is a secondary mind, that on the basis of beings or non-beings, that whenever one contact with that object and the the feeling of uneasiness or the the very rough, bad thoughts coming and thinking, I don’t really want to see that object or want to get rid of that object or want to kill the person or being or anything. That secondary mind is called anger. Can you hear me? So the anger is like a like a fire.
It burns on everything, and it has no benefit or positive actions at all. What it happens is, like fire burns down everything, like the anger will destroy all the virtues one has cultivated. In addition to that, while during the angry moment, you know, there is no positive actions one cultivates. It’s only non virtues that is will lead one towards the lower rebirths like hell realms. So and it produce produces numbers of actions, like the very worst one, killings, as well as hitting the object or people.
And briefly speaking, then all those miseries come mainly from anger. Right. And it destroy all the happiness, not just it it it it not only makes miserable to the person itself who produce anger, but even all the company or unit or the or the group and entire family, you know, it makes uneasy or miserable. See, the the anger is very sneaky and very tricky. It very yep.
Cleverly that that it the when anger comes, it just comes as a protection for self or or to help the person itself. Yeah. If you think of this, you know, you can find it out. We can find out that how anger comes, because anger comes as protection for the self. And thinking that, well, the other person, the object or other person is going to harm oneself or is going to cause something or yeah, harm.
And therefore, because you don’t want to be harmed and in order to protect oneself, the anger comes as a self protection. So even it’s on a ordinary object, you know, like a thing. And thinking, you know, it’s the main cause is the object, but in reality, it is not. It’s the person itself who gets angry on the object, thinking that the object is the main thing which produces anger or give me the hard time, but it’s not. The the anger itself is the main harmful force to the person, whereas we see the person thinks that anger is, you know, anger is coming as protection to protect oneself from the object or harm from others.
And in reality, it is not. The anger itself brings whole huge harm to the self because dissolves all the virtues one have cultivated. And then additional to that, you know, it produces non virtuous causes for one to lead towards the lower rebirth, like hell realms. And and and this is the real this is the as bad the bad as one gets to be born in the lower rebirths. Whereas for other person, you know, our object, you know, can’t really harm much because if you are in the battle or a fight with somebody, for the worst thing, the person might hit you on the hit with hit you on the head with a stick or give you a punch, and that’s the the main harm the person can cause.
Whereas anger will lead you towards the lower rebirths. No? So anger is the main cause which helps one to cultivate numbers of non virtuous action or brings lots of harm. And because it comes as a protection, we see them as protection, or a person see them as protection. And whenever anger comes, arises, a person never attempt or challenge to reduce that anger or get rid of anger.
It rather let it come because it protects from something. And and but in reality, it is not. Anger causes numbers of miserables and and unhappiness so forth. And and you can and there is none up till now who has achieved happiness through anger. But people these days, you know, now mistakes that they say something put put it in a very beautiful word or eloquent word.
So probably doesn’t work in English. So the Tibetan term is a very raw, naked word for anger, where in terms of yeah. In Tibetan but sometimes we have a different word of honorific word in Tibetan language. Saying “thuk tok,” it’s a very polished word for what is actually a very rough mind. You know?
It’s a word to word translation. So some days, the way of saying that our lama or our teacher is has a rough mind, which actually means bit of anger there. And and and but the students, they don’t see see them as a fault. They see them as a quality, you know. You know, be be careful because our mind our teachers sometimes had a bad rough mind or which which means slight anger.
And some people, they they see anger as a quality as well. So you can be very careful or anything. It doesn’t make any difference whether you say it in a real word or or make it very good in a very beautiful form by saying like, has a bit of a rough mind or something like that. But doesn’t matter whether wherever anger is, either it’s a lama or it’s the king or or the ministers and so forth, whoever possess that anger, it is it is a bad quality. So there there is no quality in anger at all.
Whoever possess the anger, it is a it is a it is not a quality. And it’s a there is a fault some way. And and and because because anger out of the disturbing emotions, it is one of the delusions. The anger is the main delusion which destroys all virtues or merit, and is one of the main causes for the lower rebirths. So and it causes numbers of miserables or miseries, the one anger produced because some people get so angry and and and for the worst thing, you know, hit everyone in the family and and destroy every all the furnitures, everything inside the room, you know, pull down and so forth.
And and at the end, when the anger is gone, the person just sit at the corner and just cry and alright. So that that sort of misery is so called a temporal temporary, like occasional. The moment one get angry and destroy everything and the disadvantage all make everyone unhappy. And at the end, you know, one suffers, and then was being sad and so forth, cry at the corner. And in the long run, then it it results in a lower rebirth, which is very bad harm, because oneself cultivates numbers of non-virtuous causes for the lower rebirths, not only oneself, but also encourages others to get unhappy and angry and thereby destroy their virtues and merits.
So if you have a disciple or a student, you know, try to give advice and then try and bring the students into the right track. And if it works, it works. If it doesn’t, then don’t get angry to the students or to the disciples. So if even if one has to hit the disciple, just hit them with without anger. That happens a lot in our monastery.
Because you’re laughing now, so I’ll stop about anger here now and go to a third one, which is pride. The definition of pride is an inflated sense of oneself — an exaggerated feeling of being at the very top, placing oneself above all others.
And that can be developed on the basis of one’s wealth by possessing huge wealth and possessions that I have such and such, and this is how one feels up. On the basis of one’s qualities, like having good qualification, good wisdom, or and sometimes people, some good practitioners have who leads a very good ethical discipline, so guarding their ethics very pure, and they have danger of producing a pride thinking, I’m the one and I’m the best, you know, I protect all my ethics and so forth. And and for the least, one has something like a very good voice, you know. I’m the good singer. And one’s strength as well as, like, skills, like, Geshe-la says he is not a good soccer player, you know.
So yeah. So and that comes and there can be numbers of basis to produce or develop a pride. And if one do not think, then there is a danger of developing a pride from each and every qualification one achieves, one attains something, and there is a danger. Got to be very mindful and always protect or or get rid of the pride. So because there are numbers of basis to develop a pride, you know, one does not need to be fully qualified or perfected, you know.
Even when even with a slight education or slight qualification, one understands something a little bit, one there is a danger of producing a pride by thinking, oh, I know that, and so forth. So and so therefore, you know, each and every time one study or one learn or one, yep, qualified something, always be careful that one should not develop a pride by thinking, you know, this is just the beginning, and there’s still a long way to go, you know. And there is a saying that the person with the no. Sorry. It should be there.
The water of good qualities will never stay on the ball of pride — — This is what it’s exactly mean. So it is really hard to to develop or study or develop a qualification on the basis of the pride. For example, like, if you want a water, you need a container with the, you know, there is a space or like like a mug inside the hole so it can water can stay in. If you put the water on the upside down or or the round thing, you know, on the ball, and the water never stays just like a what’s the water off on a duck’s back, isn’t it?
So it’s like that. So the teachings of the lamas are very effective teachings. But no matter how effective the teachings are, but if the person for person with full of pride will never receive a benefit from the the teachings. So always be be aware of pride and and and whenever one learns something new or, yep, and in terms of practices and know something and should not develop any pride by thinking, now I know such and such and I am in the top and so forth. So to reduce the pride, you can think in many ways.
For example, in terms of practices, by knowing some practices, well, I should not develop any pride because there are still many that I don’t know in terms of thinking about and in terms of two truths, like emptiness, in terms of emptiness, eighteen emptinesses and so forth, and the nature of the parts, and eighteen speaking about, yeah, Buddhist theory then, like eighteen constituents, numbers of qualifications, so forth. And by thinking about all these qualities up there one hasn’t attained yet and there’s a long way to go that will help one to reduce the pride. And now we come to the fourth root delusion, which is called ignorance. The word in Tibetan is marigpa, and that word to word translation is not knowing or unknowing. Saying, So it’s the added negative word ma in the front.
And rigpa — rig — means knowing or unobscured and so forth. And by adding the word ma, which is into negative unseen, it’s been obscured. So what what it means, the words like Tibetan words comes like which means not seen or not knowing or not actualized.