Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 43-minute session, Geshe Pema Tsering illustrates the fourth disadvantage of cyclic existence — repeated rebirth — with graphic imagery drawn from Nāgārjuna’s Letter to a Friend: blood shed in hell realms exceeds all ocean water, excrement eaten in animal lives would outstack Mount Meru, and severed heads could fill Brahma’s realm. The point is practical: only liberation ends the cycle, not a better rebirth, and karma accumulated now could easily produce a scorpion birth in a future life. A Q&A closes the session: Geshe Pema distinguishes nirvana (freedom from saṃsāra, the obscuration to omniscience still present) from full Buddhahood, explains how a hearer who reaches nirvana can still enter the Mahāyāna path by cultivating bodhicitta, and clarifies that worldly contentment is virtuous but the desire for liberation should be cultivated without limit.
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File: 02 LR 2002 05 14.mp3
UUID: ac961e2d-9868-4f4f-a47c-27c60a428cc2
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Lam Rim 2002 Bodhisattva Deeds (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2002-05-14
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 43.6 minutes
Words: ~2,909
So therefore, you know, and therefore, as we as it stated in the earlier classes that there’s hardly anything one can say that one hasn’t experienced the enjoyments of the cyclic existence or the sufferings as well as the enjoy happiness of the saṃsāra. But but they have not been any help, and there has not been any lasting use of experiencing those enjoyments and sufferings of cyclic existence. So therefore and it’s very important by knowing this, it’s very important for one to be very careful here that making sure that one’s whatever practices one does will become a cause to attain liberation, nirvana, or enlightenment. Because by attaining nirvana, then one is being free from saṃsāra, and and and and and receiving the ultimate everlasting happiness. If not, if one fails to do so and one’s practice becomes a cause to attain only a higher rebirth in the next life, then it’s there is not much point at all because it’s still going to be the same in cyclic existence.
And but what it’s not saying that we don’t need to have the higher rebirth, because the higher rebirth is very important. And in order to attain enlightenment or liberation, the nirvana and the attendant attainment of human higher rebirth is very, very necessary. And the great master Tsongkhapa stated that he has taken numberless rebirths, but never practiced or met the Mahāyāna teaching in any of those rebirths. So at this stage, you know, being being he said that he has been very fortunate to be able to attend this rebirth as well as meet the Mahāyāna Mahāyāna teaching. So therefore, whatever practice one we do, make sure that once practice become a become a causes become a causes to to attain enlightenment or liberation.
And now to the fourth disadvantage, which is disadvantage of repeatedly being conceived. And the great master Ārya Nāgārjuna in his Letter to a Friend said that we can’t count our rebirths. It’s like the tumbling rains that pile up and fill the entire world. Still, our rebirth is even more than those numbers. And according to the lord Buddha Śākyamūni in his so called the the sūtra called Parinirvana Sūtra said that that that and if we if the amount of blood we have shed in the hell realms could be more than all the water of the oceans.
So which implies that And we have means born in the hell realms many, many times. It’s countless. As well as as well as we have been born as dogs and pigs, and that are countless. So talk about all that. Hey.
How am I gonna say? You know, the we okay. We we have been born in dogs born as a dog and the pig and that are countless in numbers and numbers of time. And the tongue and the poo that we have eaten during that time are not Australian dog food. And in India, sometimes the dogs, they do.
So the the poo you have they have eaten we have eaten it, born as pig or dog. And the poo if we pile up the poo we have eaten during that time, it the the and the the yeah. It will become it could be even more or bigger than the Mount Meru. And these are the examples that how much how many times we have taken rebirth in this cyclic existence or Samsāra. Example, like the the the tears we have dropped being apart from the dear ones, you know, separated from partner or parents and the kids, so forth, and the tears we drop over there, if if yeah.
The amount of that tears would be more than the ocean water. So so therefore, if one still fails to free oneself from samsaric existence, then those things will be even more than that. So and we have, yeah, born in numberless of time and then and fought many times numberless times with the enemy and then been chopped at our head for many, many times. And if we pile up the heads that have been chopped off, they could more than fill Brahma’s kingdom. So therefore, there is nothing really in this samsaric existence that we haven’t experienced.
You know? And and and and, you know, we have been born as a little fleas and so forth and fly through the dirt and eat, etcetera and etcetera, which these days we call yuck. So Got it. So it’s the same for everyone, you know, has taken numberless of rebirths, like me being Geshe-la’s son or daughter and had had a milk from mother, and the milk will be countless. It’s a huge in amount. So yep. So the the saṃsāra the sac this the sufferings of cyclic existence or saṃsāra will never end unless one is one is being one unless one attains nirvana because yeah. And and and as far as one is in cyclic existence, one will still undergoes to the sufferings of cyclic existence, and if their suffering will still continue unless one is free.
Therefore so therefore for therefore, you know, attaining liberation becomes very, very important here. So therefore, it is very important to achieve or attain liberation or nirvana Because if not, then one still circles in cyclic existence, accumulating numbers of karmas or actions. For example, at this stage we get scared of things like scorpions and snakes, but if one doesn’t free oneself from cyclic existence, then one will be born as a scorpion or snake numberless times in the future. Because while in cyclic existence, we cultivate all kinds of karma. As a result of that karma, we take different types of rebirth. So we can be born as scorpions and snakes and so forth. At this stage, most of the people are not aware, and they just feel sometimes very curious, you know, just for looking at them and all that, think, yeah, these scorpions and snakes, etcetera. But they just act they just look at them, but never thought that never think that they will and, I mean, there is a possibility that they will born as scorpions and so forth.
Yes. The people will most of the people can hardly think of being born as a scorpion, and and they probably think it is not possible. I’m a human, and I can’t I can’t be born as the cute little scorpions and so forth. So yeah. And and so one can be born as a scorpion because one has cultivated numbers of of of karmas to born as a as a scorpion.
And and so there is a, yeah, danger of being born as a scorpion if one is if one doesn’t free oneself from the cycle of existence. And it’s really, really hard to guarantee if one has we or one has to answer the question that will you be born as a scorpion or not? And it’s really hard to answer or or give a signature to say that, nope. You know? Because because we have cultivated numbers of karma in the past.
So if somebody does sign the paper, probably has to do it with the doubt. You know? Maybe. Yes. Mhmm.
Today, he’s about to just So therefore, it’s very important to free oneself from the cyclic existence and make sure, really, really sure that one that one’s practice won’t become a cause to take rebirth and start to exist in that game. For the betterment, try to attain enlightenment through the power of one’s practices, or at least try to let one’s practice become a cause to attain nirvana. And now we’ll stop here and reach the fifth one, which is the disadvantage of repeatedly rising and falling, which we will start in fortnight time. After Melbourne visit. Correct.
Those who are going to Melbourne for Dalai Lama’s teachings, be very attentive and listen carefully. It’s very yep. We’re fortunate to be able to see Dalai Lama and to listen to his teachings very nicely as well as make prayers during the teaching that even in the next life, I mean, may I be may I wish that one will meet him in future lives and receive teachings from him as well. So there’s there’s no higher teacher than him in this world at this stage. And he is the emanation of Chenrezig (Avalokiteśvara).
So he is a great master as well as the emanation of Chenrezig (Avalokiteśvara). So this is the fact he is. But if but we if we examine or investigate, probably the ninety nine percent of the population in this world would hardly knows that know that. So our future life sorry, previous life has worked very, very hard. And at this stage, it’s very fortunate for us being in the population of one percent and knowing and to know that he is very fortunate to know that Dalai Lama is the emanation as well as the great master.
So we’ll take a couple of questions, if you have. Got it. Got it. It. It.
So nirvana and enlightenment. Enlightenment is the Buddhahood or being Buddhahood. And for the nirvana, they are the so called they are enlightenment. Three types of enlightenments are nirvana according to the schools. And so these are so yeah.
nirvana or liberation, liberation through the Mahāyāna and the Hīnayāna system. So whereas the liberation or nirvana of the Mahāyāna tradition which is Buddhahood itself, and we nirvana, we are here saying here is the nirvana of the hearers and the solitary realizer system, which is free liberated free from saṃsāra but haven’t reached the enlightenment yet. Briefly speaking then, the enlightenment is the Buddhahood, and nirvana we’re talking here is nirvana of the hearers and the solitary realizers. So liberation here is the nirvana here only is the nirvana of hearers and solitary realizer which is being liberated from the cyclic existence. At this stage in the cyclic existence, then cyclic existence is the one which once the everything’s been projected by the karma, the action and the disturbing emotions, like our mental continuums as well as our body so forth, are projected by the action, karma and disturbing emotions.
Whereas and the liberation here, nirvana here is being free from cyclic existence that means then that one is not projected by under the influence of disturbing emotions and the karma. So yeah. And the liberation nirvana here has yeah. And nirvana has abandoned the saṃsāra. So all the pleasures, happiness we experience here are also abandoned by those who have received nirvana.
It’s because, yeah, nirvana and they have received the so called ultimate happiness and very stable happiness. But having so they have received abandoned saṃsāra and received the solitude, say, very stable happiness or everlasting happiness, but they still haven’t finished or haven’t completely abandoned all the abandonments because they still haven’t abandoned the so called the obscuration towards omniscience. Whereas Buddhahood is the place where when one reaches the Buddhahood, then one has completely attained all the entire good qualities and abandoned all the obscurations. And on that stage, then one can benefit numbers of sentient beings without any difficulties. So after having reached the nirvana and then trying to attain Buddhahood, then one still has to cultivate the bodhicitta because one has freed oneself now from the sufferings and attains a very stable happiness or everlasting happiness.
One has not completely abandoned all the abandonmentss, so called one obscuration, which is called the obscuration towards omniscience. And therefore can’t can’t benefit sentient beings as much as the enlightened beings do. Therefore, at that stage one has the wisdom realizing emptiness. So along with the wisdom realizing emptiness, one needs to cultivate the bodhicitta to attain enlightenment. And those who have reached that nirvana and then try to cultivate the bodhicitta.
For example, a practitioner of the hearer schools who has reached nirvana according to the hearer schools — when that person practices bodhicitta and so forth, whenever they generate or develop great compassion within their mind stream, at that time, while still remaining in nirvana — still free from saṃsāra — the person now leaves all the hearer paths and enters the Mahāyāna path. At the time the person develops great compassion and departs the hearer paths, by familiarizing with that great compassion they develop bodhicitta and travel through the Mahāyāna path. Yes. How much of that is his choice or his wanting to rule the world, and how much of it is his karma?
Oscar? How much of his well, he wanted to rule the whole world. Sure. How much of that was his greed or his his want for power, and how much of that was previous karma that caused him to be in that situation to want to rule. Okay.
You want you want the measurement? So, yes, it’s really hard to say in the how much, but all we can understand, all we can know is he was a very greedy person, wanted to rule everything. And it is very obvious that he cultivated both very strong good and bad karma. We can say he cultivated a huge amount of good karma because he worked very hard and was very courageous. That has to be a result of good karma, and because of that he persevered and was very courageous — and yet lost.
Yep. [filler noise]
That yeah. In the previous lives, there’s cultivated numbers of the strong karmas, and, like, good or bad karmas, but they have never been a good use because and when and then I work hard, hard, hard, hard and reach the end, exhaust that karma and destroy everything. Right? Yes. We just forget.
We receive this rebirth and do numbers of activities on the basis of that rebirth and cultivate karma. And then when we leave the body and end that rebirth and enter the next rebirth, we get a completely new body and so forth, and we just forget what we have done in this life. So because all the the consciousnesses according to organs, their sense organs and so forth, the of the present the the dead life ceases and then enters the next one and start the new beginning. And so therefore, you know, because everything is fresh and spring chicken on this side and and they forget everything. You know?
So even though we forget everything what we’ve done in the past, but we leave numbers of imprints or latencies on that time. So as a result of those imprints, you know, in future lives, because of those latencies — and being so familiarized in the past — in the next life we just hear something and it’s easy to understand, these are the results of so called the imprints. So therefore I’m pretty sure that his previous life was not the English speaking person or English or Australian reader because I can’t learn the English word just by hearing a few times. It’s really difficult for me. Probably haven’t let any imprint on that.
Yeah probably those people had laid a very strong imprint in the past and so called thick, thick, they just easily remember very clearly, actually. Yes, that’s the last one. No, no, no, no, sorry. The satisfaction is the best world. Even the hundred, we call it, I think I said the hundred rich people, wealth can’t destroy or challenge that satisfaction, wealth of satisfaction.
Are you saying that satisfaction is good wealth, but our desire can challenge it? Is that your question? Okay. So half answer of your half question here, which is it is true that our desire can destroy the satisfaction because the desire and the satisfaction are contradictory and they are like enemy. They challenge all the time.
See, it has to be either way, either the attachment, sorry, desire or the satisfaction. And they fight all the time. If satisfaction is strong, it destroy the desire. So likewise, they have been challenging fighting along with us in our previous lives. But up till now, desire always win.
They win and yep. Yeah. But that’s that’s also so true. But the the desire for the liberation, nirvana and the enlightenment and the desire we just discussed is completely different. And the desire for the enlightenment and the nirvana, the stronger the better.
We need it more as much as we want. And because their aim, what they desire is completely different. One desire towards the enjoyment, the pleasures of the saṃsāra whereas the other desire which is towards enlightenment and the nirvana is completely desiring for happiness which is completely free from saṃsāra which we needed. But that desire it’s the bigger the better. Still need that.
So how can we be satisfied? And so therefore the satisfaction comes the same way. What we said about being satisfied means satisfied towards what one got in the cyclic existence or the objects or the things of the cyclic existence. Because the things of the cyclic existence produce suffering. So therefore it’s good to be satisfied with what one has or what got.
And whereas one don’t need any satisfaction for the happiness of saṃsāra, sorry, of nirvana and enlightenment, know. We don’t really need satisfaction at all. It never brings any sufferings, whereas what we are talking here is according to the cyclic existence. Dedication.