Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. The condemned man who buys extra time before his execution still faces death — Geshe Pema Tsering uses this image to mark the turning point in this 45-minute Lamrim commentary: attaining a good rebirth is temporary reprieve, not freedom. He opens with a Tibetan master’s warning not to postpone practice since death is uncertain, then distinguishes genuine practice from anything aimed only at this-life happiness — no better, he explains, than what animals already seek. After surveying the three scopes, the session shifts into the intermediate scope, presenting two methods for arousing the wish for liberation: training in the four noble truths and contemplating the twelve links of interdependence. The commentary closes with a precise definition: liberation (tharpa, meaning “freedom”) is being untied from the rope of karma and disturbing emotion.
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File: 05 LR 2002 04 30.mp3
UUID: 03750dca-0c15-4676-92f0-2d851f9973e8
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Lam Rim 2002 Bodhisattva Deeds (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2002-04-30
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.1 minutes
Words: ~2,631
The great one of the great teachers, called, one of the Tibetan masters, has advised his disciple. The text called Advice to Disciple, says that one should not postpone one’s practices by saying saying that I’ll do it tomorrow because I’ve got such and such things to do today, I’ve got some work to do today, when I finish it I’ll do my practice tomorrow. One so so should not postpone one’s teaching in the name of work because because because the death is uncertain and should think death is uncertain and we never know when it comes So therefore think that today might be the day that I die. Therefore one should not deceive oneself and should think: that might come today. Therefore, I should not waste any time and should practice straight away. So therefore, one should develop fear of death and never postpone one’s practices.
So should do the practice straight away today or or straight up right right now and not just in thought, should should do it. So should practice but before one does the practice, first one should make sure what is the what is practice what is the practice and how to perform it? So before one does the practice should first should recognize one’s practice what what one is going to practice because just without knowing a practice on how to perform a practice and what sort of practice one is doing and just by saying that I should not waste the time and I do the practice and straight away and just sitting simply you know just not letting because one doesn’t know what to practice. And so just by simply sitting and thinking, yeah, I should practice, practicing, then that that won’t become a practice. So in order to do the practices, the practice there are three types of practices, either the practice of person of initial stage or middling and to great stage.
So so whatever practice practice one one performs it it should it should become a practices either of those three either the practice of the middling initial stage and the final stage because yeah should become any of those practices and and should not do a practice which is practice to cultivate the happiness and enjoyments of the current lifetime because by doing so it won’t become a practice then because it is none of the practice it won’t become any of those practices so if one does like just practice only to attain happiness in this present life then even a dog, animal, cat can do the same because can does such activities so whatever practices one should not perform any practice just just to attain happiness in his present life so if one does whoever it is either it’s a disciple or student or or a master or one lama whoever does the practice to attain happiness in this present life, then that practice won’t become a proper practice. And because if one does practice just to attain happiness in this present life, then such practice is not a proper practice because that sort of practice or activities can be performed by animals like tiger or leopards and so forth and like practices like to attain doing performing practice yeah doing practice to attend lots of money fame and expecting people to call one a scholar and so forth so those are not a proper practice.
So therefore, whatever practice we perform, our practice should become either of the practice of those three, the initial, middling and the great stage. So yes, one’s practice should become the practice of any of those three scopes and performing or doing a practice in order to attain attain the higher rebirth in future life life will become the practices of initial stage or for small scope. And just by attaining a higher rebirth in future life, next rebirth is not enough because one still needs to die in next life as well. So therefore, by attaining a higher rebirth in the next life and by attaining such one may get temporary happiness but that happiness won’t stay because one it’s impermanent and one will eventually die from that next life and then travel to further life. Therefore, in order to attain the permanent happiness and wishing and develop a wish to attain liberation to free from the sufferings.
And doing such a practice with the motivation of attaining liberation or nirvana, such practice becomes the practice of middling scope. So if one attains nirvana or liberation, then one is completely free from sufferings and has received the individual, so called the ultimate happiness. And that happiness — the happiness of nirvana or liberation — is not the same as the happiness we enjoy at this stage, because that happiness of nirvana is the ultimate, the permanent everlasting happiness, and one does not need to go through any sufferings, and that happiness is also an uncontaminated happiness. So by attaining the individual liberation, one attains the unchanging or uncontaminated happiness and one doesn’t need to undergo through sufferings, no longer through sufferings.
But but the motherly sentient beings are one is free from individually and oneself is free from sufferings, but still the sentient beings are undergoing through or undergoes through huge sufferings and therefore and it is not appropriate because all motherly sentient beings are same as oneself wishing happiness and do not want suffering. And each and every individual has, as Geshe-la said, has a hundred percent obligation or burden to work to to free sentient beings from the suffering. So therefore one needs to work to free all these motherly sentient beings from entire sufferings. So in order to do so, in order to free those motherly sentient beings from suffering, first one needs to attain enlightenment oneself in order to free sentient beings from the suffering. Is because by attaining enlightenment or Buddhahood, then by by becoming enlightened then one can work and help the sentient beings according to their wish.
So with that motivation in order the wishing to attain enlightenment in order to set free those sentient beings from the suffering, then with with such motivation then every each and every practices one performs will become a cause creating enlightenment. So and the main two courses. The main causes to attain enlightenment are two, or these main or principal causes which are the wisdom and method. The method is the altruistic intention, and the wisdom is wisdom realizing emptiness. And yep.
So in order to develop the wisdom realizing emptiness within one’s mind stream, it is it is very important. It entirely depends on the bodhicitta and rejoicings because one needs to collect the huge amount of virtues in order to order to develop a wisdom realizing emptiness. So therefore, the bodhicitta, practicing bodhicitta and cultivating bodhicitta and merit accumulation are the very effective methods to cultivate huge amount of virtues. And the bodhicitta is the mind which Yes. So bodhicitta is the mind which wishes to attain enlightenment as soon as possible in order to in order to free the sentient beings from suffering.
So you should have developed here the motivation that I shall attain enlightenment for the sake of motherly sentient beings. And so therefore therefore for that purpose I shall here perform the listen or receive this teaching of graduated path Lamrim teaching. So with on such motivation or bodhicitta, we shall do a short meditation. And also the yesterday, one of the Buddha House student passed away, Meredith, on Sunday sorry, on Sunday. So therefore everyone should dedicate one’s yeah.
Make dedications dedicate one’s virtues for her better rebirth and to yeah. Pray for her to attain the precious human rebirth with the eight qualities and and also, yeah, for her to attain enlightenment as soon as possible. So there are numbers of prayers or wishful prayers one can make. They wish for it, and enlightenment, to be born in the Tuśita land and so forth. But today, we we are beginning from the intermediate stage.
So up to here, we have finished the small the initial stage, the person of initial capacities. Excuse me. So the the main practices of the small scopes are like the practicing the the ethical disciplines of not committing any of ten non virtuous actions and plus practicing refuge and the karma law of effect. And doing such practices with the motivation of attaining higher rebirth in future lives is the practice of person of initial capacity or the small scope. Yes, Larry.
So now now to start the the teachings begins the teaching of the the person of intermediate capacity so called training one’s mind in the stages in common with the person of intermediate capacity, it has two main subdivisions, two main divisions which are arousing determination to attain liberation and actually establishing the nature of path, path which leads to liberation. And so as we said that the performing of practices in order to attain higher rebirth in higher rebirth in next life is the practice of small scope. And just by attending, if the if if one asked the question whether that such a practice is enough or not, then it is not. Because because because by attaining a higher rebirth, one received the temporary happiness, but still it’s not enough. One still has to die.
And the example in the text here is it’s like a person who has been confirmed to be executed in a month or a month within a month and that is the decision made in the court. And during that duration and the person while within that month the person can still contact the people in a higher position that to get some excuses like prolonging one’s the execution time like instead of month can prolong it into two months and within the two month by minimizing one’s detention, it’s so called here the text has written and reducing the number of lashes and so forth, the Tibetan custom in ancient time. So some yeah. And by doing that so forth is that’s the example which suits for the the higher rebirth in next life because because the person got a ton, had received the additional month, like two months instead of one month, and then have minimized the detention and so forth. But the fact is the person will still be executed at the end of the second month.
So likewise, the attaining a higher rebirth, temporarily one received received the temporal happiness, but it’s still not enough. So great master Śāntideva has stated that as far as one is still in cyclic existence, no matter how much one receives the the take a rebirth in good migration and receive the the happiness, worldly happiness every now and then. But still, as far as one is still in cyclic existence, one will definitely fall down into lower rebirth and undergoes through this suffering of cyclic existence. Yes. And that is so true.
For example, take one self as example. One has received the the higher rebirth and and born gone through the happy migration. Migration and not only this, one has been one has these numbers of good migration in the many previous life previous lives. And within that time, one has become very powerful, one of there is hardly any worldly happiness that one hasn’t experienced. And for example, like these days, person like prime minister, president, so forth, and people who are in high positions.
But we have been prime minister and president many, many times. But look at this stage where one is. And for example, like the animals here, the cats, dogs, so forth, you know, they have received numbers of happiness. They’ve been through the good better rebirth, high rebirth, and experienced the happiness of human god. And then they also have they have been a universal king for a number of time.
But at and and and look at this stage. Now they they are in the animal realm and undergoes through the the sufferings of the lower rebirth. So likewise, at the moment we are we are we we have received the higher rebirth and and and that happiness of of higher rebirth will last for several years. And after that, if one does not perform, do if one do not one does not do well, then there is a danger of falling back to animal rebirth or the hell realms. So the happiness of saṃsāra or samsaric existence has no essence.
And and it yeah. They are essenceless because the the because people go through suffering and and had every now and then countered with the happiness of the worldly your samsaric happiness. And all this is because in cyclic existence, we are bound by the the karma and the disturbing emotions. And because and due to this, because of the karma and disturbing emotions, you know, sometimes we feel happy and, you know, some good good things, very beautiful things appears to us. And sometimes according to our karma and disturbing emotions, one goes through suffering and and so forth.
And so so those the happiness of samsaric existence is as essenceless as Geshe-la said, it’s like the momo in the mirror. Do you know momo? It’s a traditional Tibetan dish. It’s actually a very special one. Meat dumpling.
Yeah. So therefore so what we need is we need to attain we while we do not wish suffering and want to have ultimate the ultimate happiness or the everlasting happiness. So in order to attain that everlasting happiness, one one needs to attain liberation or nirvana. So therefore, one needs to attain the nirvana or liberation. So therefore, one needs to attain train in the trainings of the person of intermediate capacity.
So so in order to attain liberation or nirvana, and to develop a mind to attain nirvana, first one needs to recognize what is nirvana. So therefore so by by recognizing what is nirvana or liberation, and then one develops the mind or your mind to attain, mind that wishes to attain nirvana. And the way of generating such mind, it has two methods like the way one like developing a bodhicitta. There are two ways of developing a bodhicitta. The developing a bodhicitta through training one’s mind in exchanging and equalizing self and others that is the one method of attaining, developing bodhicitta and other one is training one’s mind in the sevenfold cause and effect instructions.
Sevenfold cause and effect instruction is the second method. So likewise to develop a mind to attain nirvana there are two ways of developing it. One is through the method of teaching true suffering, true origin, true cessation, and true path — training in the four noble truths. And the second the second method is is training in the twelve limbs of interdependence.
And through the through these twelve limb twelve limbs of inter dependent, through this, one understands how one circles in the samsaric existence or Samsāra within the circle of twelve limbs of interdependence and that but training in the twelve limbs of interdependent is the second method that arouses a mind to attain nirvana. So liberation or nirvana here — in Tibetan the word is tharpa, which means “free.” And the definition of freedom or nirvana is: to be free — our body and our five aggregates are tied up, bound by the knots of the rope of disturbing emotion and karma. Freeing oneself from the rope of karma and disturbing emotion is so-called liberation. Therefore, we need to train in the methods to free oneself from the knots of disturbing emotion and karma.