Lam Rim 2002 Bodhisattva Deeds — 2002-02-14

Lam Rim 2002 Bodhisattva Deeds (Geshe Pema Tsering)

Lam Rim 2002 Bodhisattva Deeds — 2002-02-14

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Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.

About this talk. In this 45-minute session, Geshe Pema Tsering anchors the class in a verse Pabongka Rinpoche quotes from Je Tsongkhapa — precious human rebirth “is worth more than a wish-granting gem… like a lightning bolt in the sky” — and uses it to explore why this rebirth surpasses wealth or fame. He surveys the three Lamrim scopes and three levels of motivation students should bring to study, then explains taking refuge in the Three Jewels, including how a single lama embodies all three, with the analogy of petitioning a governor for pardon from prison. The session moves from gross impermanence — any breath could be the last — to subtle impermanence, where Geshe Pema uses his own graying hair to illustrate that no fixed moment of change can be located. He closes by reassuring students that mentally taking refuge, even briefly, counts as genuine practice.

So today, we’re starting with the teaching of the Lam Rim. And so in dealing with the Lam Rim, there’s paths and stages to enlightenment. Then there really are three scopes that are taught in detail. And the three scopes include the small scope, the intermediate scope, and the great scope practices. When dealing with the small scope, in brief, the practices include then recognizing our precious human rebirth to be complete in the leisures and endowments, and therefore having a full capacity to generate the resultant state of enlightenment.

And then within the small scope practices, one engages in the practice of the ten virtuous actions and avoids the ten non virtues. And one studies the law of cause and effect and so forth in order to avoid lower rebirth. In terms of the intermediate scope practices, one one is basically engaged in developing the three trainings, the higher training of ethics, concentration, and wisdom. Also, one is primarily focused on understanding the four truths and also the sixteen aspects of the four noble truths. Then in the great scope practices, one is primarily focused on generating bodhicitta, great compassion and bodhicitta and so forth, and then the practices of bodhisattvas.

So these three scopes constitute the basic subject matter of the lamrim itself. So because of extreme value of this text, then it’s necessary in the beginning to develop a proper motivation to listen to the to this text and the words and the subject matter that the words teach. So initially, we should generate as strong a positive motivation as possible possible. So the highest motivation we can generate is the motivation for ourselves to attain the state of enlightenment in order to enlighten all sentient beings without exception. So this is the motivation for ourselves to become a Buddha in order to free other beings fully without excluding any.

If that motivation, is something that we cannot aspire to at present, then at least we should have the motivation, to achieve liberation, which is the complete freedom from all states of suffering, whether gross or subtle and so on. And then again, if at present we’re unable to generate that aspiration, Then thirdly, we should aspire at least to attain a human rebirth, in our future life, our next life. We should aspire or have the motivation to attain a precious human rebirth. So with any of those three motivations, we should listen to this text, preferably with the first, but we need to check ourselves and establish either of these types of motivation. So if possible, we should mix our mind, unite our mind, with any of these three types of motivation, and we should refrain from contacting or mixing our mind with other motivations that are not included amongst these three.

Because if we do that, if our motivation is less than any of those three, then it that motivation doesn’t produce the result or result that we really actually seek. So we should be careful here and avoid all afflictive states, non virtuous states and so on, in establishing our motivation for this teaching. So therefore, by initiating any of these three types of motivation, then naturally our mind is turned towards the Dharma. We don’t have to do anything extra than simply establish these types of motivation. And what follows naturally, is, our mind being mixed with Dharma.

This one. Is that okay? So therefore, in brief, our central motivation, motivation, our best motivation here is the aspiration to attain the state of a Buddha, in order to free all sentient beings. So this aspiration, this, type of mind that’s linked with the aspiration to attain a state of enlightenment in order to enlighten all sentient beings is bodhicitta. That mind of bodhicitta is the cause of ultimately becoming a Buddha.

So we need, therefore, that aspiration first in order to attain the state of a Buddha. Now as much as possible, we should generate that in in the present, meditate this for a little bit in the present, in order to establish our motivation for this particular teaching. So now everyone has set their motivation to attain the state of a Buddha for the sake of all sentient beings. So with that as a basis, now we’re going to continue with the text. So in the beginning of the text, Pabongka Rinpoche quotes from Je Tsongkhapa.

And then in quoting, states that Tsongkhapa has said, This opportune physical form or precious human rebirth is worth more than a wish granting gem. You only gain it once. It you only gain it’s like this once, so hard to get, so easily destroyed. It’s like a lightning bolt in the sky. Contemplate this, and you will realize all worldly actions are but winnowed chaff.

And night and day, you must extract some essence from your life. I, the yogi, practiced this way. You, wanting liberation, do the same. So here, Je Tsongkhapa is expressing the rarity of this precious human rebirth. And normally, beings, when they attain a human rebirth, which does contain all the conditions required for practice, they don’t understand its value, and they tend to waste it.

So here, Je Tsongkhapa is saying that I’ve seen the value of this precious human rebirth, and I’ve worked as hard as I can not to waste it, but to use every opportunity I can to practice Dharma. So here, as Je Tsongkhapa has mentioned, it’s just this once that we found this precious human rebirth. And this precious human rebirth is very rare. It’s very difficult to find. And so because it’s difficult to find, then we should really focus on not wasting it, not allowing the time that we conjoin with the precious human rebirth to be wasted, but to employ that time properly.

So when we reflect on this basis that we’ve we’re conjoined within this life, this physical basis, when we clearly examine, we see just how valuable it is. In fact, having a body or having a human rebirth in a rich family in, say, in America or having a rebirth of someone who’s very learned and so forth. All of these have their advantages, but the precious human rebirth, where one has the opportunity to practice Dharma, is superior. It’s of greater value. Normally, when we look at other beings, we see that they’re rich or they’re learned or they have qualities that are attractive, and we begin to aspire for, and we wish that we could have those qualities and so on.

However, when this happens, it’s not as if we’re thinking about our future lifetime. We’re just attracted to present conditions of wealth or whatever. And so this is not a very high aspiration. So therefore, in pursuing the aims or the attractiveness of this life, then we tend to simply accumulate causes for future unhappiness as well. And some causes for happiness are accumulated, but also the causes for unhappiness also are accumulated.

And this because we tend to focus on what’s attractive in this life and not think about future lives. So when we look at the attractive qualities of others in this life, we see that they are generated from past positive actions through the law of cause and effect. But if those beings who are learned and wealthy and so forth, having those, attractive qualities, do not engage in the practice of Dharma, then they don’t, accumulate. They don’t enter the paths and so forth and attain the actual results of Dharma. When we look at our own situation, we see that in possessing a precious human rebirth, we have the potential at present to, establish the path.

So comparing ourselves to others who may be rich and famous and so on, but who who don’t have, the aspiration to practice Dharma, our rebirth is better. Because on the basis of our rebirth and our practice of Dharma, we can achieve the three results of either buddhahood, of liberation, or even a future human rebirth, precious human rebirth. So we should see, therefore, our human rebirth at present to be superior. So when we look, we see that we are fortunate, because at present, we’ve met the Dharma. And having met the Dharma, we’ve taken refuge in the Three Jewels.

And we engage in positive actions in order to accumulate merit, to achieve future results and so forth. So this, process is one of great value, and it excels, the practices that only engage in results for this life and so on. And when we investigate in dependence on what have I attained this current precious human rebirth, then we see that we’ve attained this precious human rebirth because in the past, in our previous lives, we’ve established the causes for attaining a precious human rebirth. So those causes consist of practicing the ten virtuous actions or engaging in the practice and study of the six perfections and the accumulation of various meritorious acts and so on. So therefore, because this precious human rebirth that we currently possess is extremely valuable, it’s said to excel a wish fulfilling gem.

And in fact, if one were to go into the reasons for why it does excel a wish fulfilling gem, then we could talk for a very long time on this one issue, and we wouldn’t progress very far in the text. So we won’t continue too much longer on this part. So in seeing that it’s worth more than a wish granting gem, we see that we gain its essence just once. It’s very hard to get easily destroyed like a lightning bolt in the sky. So this current human rebirth is very rare, and we need to dwell on this point, to reflect on this point, the fact of its rarity, just how precious it actually is.

So when we investigate also that our current situation is generated by past causes in past lifetimes, So we need to maintain this process. So in this life, we have to establish the causes at least similar to what we established in the past so that we maintain our precious human rebirth. But hopefully, we can do even better than our past lives and more effectively practice virtue now with this current opportunity. So how do we practice at present? With the basis of taking refuge, then we engage in protecting the mind from engaging in the ten non virtuous actions.

So there, initially, we start with the refuge. And refuge is taking refuge in the Three Jewels. So initially, we have to ascertain what the Three Jewels are, what their nature is. So firstly, we start with the jewel of Buddha. So the jewel of Buddha, initially, we think of Śākyamūni Buddha, the historic Buddha.

But beyond that, also, that includes the Medicine Buddha. Yes. Yeah. And then also the various meditational deities, such as Avalokiteśvara and so on, one’s lama, etcetera. There are many who represent the Buddha, the jewel of Buddha.

So it’s very important to recognize the Three Jewels. So the jewel of Buddha here is, for instance, one’s lama, that being who teaches one Dharma and so on. And such a being is a representative of the Buddhas. And we take them to be the actual Buddha. And then the jewel of Dharma and the jewel of Sangha are established in relation to that being.

For instance, the comprehension, the wisdom, the comprehension within their continuum is the jewel of dharma. And the emptiness of that comprehension, of that being themselves and so on, that’s also the jewel of dharma. Or the cessation of suffering that exists in their continuum, that also is the jewel of dharma. And that being themselves is the jewel of sangha Because that person, one’s lama and so forth, is a human being, they actually constitute therefore the jewel of Sangha. And so in that one being, all the Three Jewels are established and fully represented.

So here, having recognized the Three Jewels, and the Three Jewels are in fact proper refuge, are the actual refuge, then one practices or engages in practice in relation to those Three Jewels. So one engages in prostrations, offerings, and so forth. One actually takes refuge in those beings. So it’s a little bit like a person who is in prison when they petition the governor and so on, the president, for a pardon or to be released from prison. Similarly, when we seek refuge in the Three Jewels, it’s like we’re seeking a pardon from the three lower realms.

We’re seeking refuge from the three lower realms in the Buddhas, in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. So our practice here is similar to that. We seek to achieve refuge, prop proper refuge from the three lower realms. So when we petition the Three Jewels in taking refuge, then really that is done through a recognition that the Buddha, the jewel of Buddha, has actually comprehended everything about us in the three times, all our actions of the past, our thoughts, our actions of body and speech, and so forth. Everything is comprehended by that being.

So we need to keep this in mind in order to actually take be able to take refuge in the jewel of Buddha. So here we recognize also that the jewel of Buddha, the Three Jewels, actually have the potency to grant refuge, to bestow refuge on on all beings, but it depends on the actions of beings. It depends on those beings themselves whether refuge is established or not. It depends on the state of mind of those beings, the openness of those beings, and so forth as to whether refuge is accomplished or not. So therefore, in properly taking refuge, one developed conviction in the qualities of the Three Jewels.

And then with the proper motivation, one therefore establishes the causes for attaining the three results. One engages in the practice of the ten virtuous actions, abandoning the ten non virtuous actions. And then through establishing the three motivations, one establishes either the result of the state of a Buddha or the state of liberation or the state of future human rebirth. So as it says in the text, it’s so difficult to get this precious human rebirth that we have. Not only is it difficult to get and rare, but it’s very easily destroyed.

In fact, even though it’s hard to get and very difficult to attain, our mind tends to be distracted to various other objects. We’re thinking about this, or wouldn’t it be nice to have that, to have those clothes, or to have that food, or to have that house, or our mind is continuously distracted to various worldly objects of this life, even though this precious human rebirth is very difficult to obtain. And then we also reflect that this precious human rebirth is very easily destroyed. In fact, with each breath, our life may come to an end because all destruction of our precious human rebirth requires is that we don’t have an in breath after we have an out breath. And if there’s a long enough space that occurs between the two, well, then it’s we’re finished.

And so there are many conditions that give rise to our passing away. There are many illnesses, and even those things which benefit us, like our food, can become something that acts as a condition for our death. So in fact, precious human rebirth is very easily destroyed. That’s only if we speak on a gross level. In fact, on a subtle level, because we’re we’re conditioned by subtle impermanence, then in fact, we don’t abide even for a moment.

In fact, the child that was born certainly no longer exists. It ceased that child who we once were ceased to exist many years ago. What exists in the present is something completely different than what existed before. So in fact, when we investigate the nature of subtle impermanence, then it’s very difficult to really find or locate a being. For instance, as Geshe la says, now when I am the age that I am, in my sixties, and I have gray hair and so forth, and if I ask when did I begin or when did this current phase in my life begin and so forth, then it’s very difficult to say, was it yesterday, was it a week ago, a month ago, and so forth, because everything is changing.

Nothing abides. In each moment, everything is destroyed and is completely new. So therefore, it’s very difficult to locate when something begins and when something passes away and so forth. It’s it can be difficult to actually determine moment by moment the point of arrival of something. So So even on a subtle level, our precious human rebirth is like a lightning bolt in the sky, meaning that it even occurs very like the way subtle impermanence manifests for us.

So our current situation is uncertain. And in fact, we can’t tell just how much longer we will survive. And in fact, we can’t guarantee to anyone that we will survive until tomorrow or the day after and so forth. We can’t sign a document guaranteeing that it’s uncertain. So therefore, because there’s no certainty of just how much longer we will remain, then we need to take refuge from now on every day.

Continuously, we need to take refuge, because certainly we don’t know, how long we will continue. And also, not only do we not know when we shall pass away, we also don’t know when we shall be reborn or what we shall be reborn as. And in fact, at present, when we look around, it we can’t guarantee. We don’t know whether in our future life we won’t be reborn as an animal such as a cat or an animal with horns, for instance. This we just don’t know.

We may even be reborn as an insect, like the insects that we see at present. In fact, we may be reborn in hell and so on. None of these things we can guarantee that we won’t be reborn as. And in fact, even because of that, therefore, we need to practice very strongly in this lifetime, practice virtue as strongly as we can, because that will give us the best chance of attaining precious human rebirth in the future. But otherwise, certainly, we can’t write a guarantee that in future we’ll be reborn as a human or or that we won’t be reborn in some other lower realm.

So therefore, we need to establish the practice of virtue because of the uncertainty that we face, and we need to take refuge and develop refuge, practice virtue, and give ourselves the best chance of our future future positive rebirth. So here, we need, therefore, to establish the practice of virtue. And in establishing virtue, then we don’t need a huge amount of money to do this. And in fact, we don’t need to renounce everything, give all possessions away, go and live in a cave in the middle of nowhere in order to be able to practice. Our central practice here is taking refuge in the Three Jewels.

And on the basis of taking refuge in the Three Jewels, the Buddha Dharma and the Sangha, then engaging in actions such as making prostrations or offerings and so forth. However, if extensive practices like that are difficult and so on, then the main practice here is simply taking refuge in the Three Jewels on a mental level. One doesn’t need to engage in long recitations or other complicated practices simply to mentally take refuge in the Three Jewels and generate the aspiration, may I also attain that level, may I become like that being, like a Buddha, and so forth. Even to simply reflect in that way, is a proper practice of taking refuge. Of course, one can also engage in more extensive, more elaborate practices as well.

But, especially those times when we’re a little bit tired, we don’t have much time to engage in practice, then it’s okay simply to reflect in a very abbreviated way.