Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Geshe Pema Tsering opens this 46-minute session marking the start of the Great Scope, then raises a question that shapes the whole talk: why aiming only for nirvana delays Buddhahood by eons. He illustrates the risk with a striking story — Mañjuśrī deliberately led sixty monks into wrong view and rebirth in hell rather than let them attain nirvana and sit in solitary peace indefinitely, because the hell stay was shorter and preserved their Mahāyāna imprints. From there, Geshe Pema outlines the three main divisions of the Great Scope and enumerates ten benefits of bodhicitta as the sole entrance to the Mahāyāna. The central argument: no practice, however advanced — including the highest yoga tantras — constitutes a Mahāyāna path without bodhicitta, while a single six-syllable mantra recited with genuine altruistic intention becomes a cause for enlightenment. Suited to practitioners already following the series.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 06 Great Scope – Jul.mp3
UUID: 3ec91b86-7d58-48a0-8a34-765611910e40
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: 45.8 minutes
Words: ~3,083
So in the last two terms, we went through the small and the middling scope, our teachings on small and the middling scope. And now from today, in this term, we are beginning from the final scope, which is great scope, and that is called training your mind in the stages of the path of a person of great capacity. And from the middling scope, we were not able to finish the section of the twelve links of interdependence. Yeah. Yeah, the links here.
Twelve links of interdependence and we were not able to finish that, but don’t worry. When the next term comes, which is the teaching on Heart Sūtra, the twelve links of interdependence will come in the Heart Sūtra teaching. And now to begin the stages of the path of the person of great capacity, it has three main topics or three main divisions, which are the first one is showing that the altruistic intention is the only entrance to the great vehicle and explaining its benefits, the first one. Second one is how to cultivate the altruistic intention. And the third one is how to train in the deeds of Bodhisattvas after generating the altruistic intention.
So the first two scope, the small and the middling scope, by practicing the training in the middle small scope, which is the first chapter, Training in small scope, one can achieve, as a result of those practices one can achieve the higher rebirths. And by training in the middling scope one can attain the nirvana or liberation state, which where one is free from all entire sufferings, but cannot attain enlightenment or state of Buddhahood, which is the accomplishment of both self and others purposes. And so in order to attain in order to accomplish both purposes, one one one needs to attain attain buddhahood. Got it. Got it.
So when one trains in the earlier two classes, the small and the middling scope, for example, the small scope, we don’t just say the training one’s mind in the small scope. It says training one’s mind in the stages of the path in common with the person of initial capacity or a first stage. The purpose of saying common with is because when one trains in the small scope, then should train in common with the person with initial capacity. By doing so, then what it becomes then that one is practicing in the small scope and the purpose of training is to attain the higher rebirth, nirvana, and the Buddhahood, the enlightenment. If one doesn’t just practice training the small scope with the intention of achieving higher rebirth, that is to and the purpose of attaining the higher rebirth is to attain liberation or enlightenment, then that practice won’t become a part in common with the the initial state.
It just becomes the so called uncommon path, which is unique just to the middling scope. And the intent, motivation is just mere for the high rebirth and there’s no reason. Just the reason is to escape from the lower rebirth and that’s the main goal. Whereas, part in common with, as we said earlier, that one wishes to attain enlightenment on the basis of higher rebirth. The purpose was on such basis of the higher rebirth than one wants to attain nirvana and the enlightenment.
And then likewise, when one is training in the middling scope, should also it’s the same thing, stages of the path in common with the person of intermediate capacity, which is that should have intention that the main goal is enlightenment. And in order to attain enlightenment, one has to abandon both the obscuration, which are called the obscuration towards liberation or nirvana, and obscuration towards enlightenment. And therefore, one’s aim in training is Buddhahood, and because those both obstructions need to be abandoned in order to attain enlightenment, therefore one is training in the middling scope in order to abandon the entire obstructions towards nirvana and then attain Buddhahood. And because the purpose and the reason is because just by attaining nirvana is not enough because one only accomplish this certain purposes of certain individual purposes and nothing at all of others’ purposes in order to accomplish both the self and others’ purposes, enlightenment should be attained. Therefore, the purpose of attaining nirvana, that is to attain Buddhahood. So therefore, whatever practice one should do, one should do it to become the practice to be the practice of great scope or Mahāyāna practice.
And so that you’re keeping that Buddhahood or enlightenment state is the ultimate goal. And so in order to attain that Buddhahood state, the precious human rebirth, higher rebirth, and attainment of nirvana are required. So therefore, in order to attain Buddhahood, I am training in this path to achieve those necessary states, like higher rebirth and nirvana state. Sorry. So therefore, you know, any practice one does make sure it will become the practice of Mahāyāna, Mahāyāna’s practice or the great scope.
Because and should not practice and when one practice, for example, should not practise just to attain the mere nirvana. Then by doing such practice, it becomes like one is crossing the same river twice — you cross it, you come back, and you cross again because of Buddhahood. So if one does not do that, then what happens is the practitioners of the Hearer schools and the Solitary Realizer schools — they just aim to attain the mere nirvana. And they will attain nirvana according to their school.
The Hearer schools attain the nirvana of the Hearer schools and the Solitary Realizers likewise. But it is they will attain nirvana, but attainment by attaining that nirvana and the attainment of the Buddhahood will prolong or become very far. The reason why it’s sad is because by attaining just the mere nirvana, that will prolong one’s attainment of Buddhahood, because when one attains the liberation state, it’s actually the nirvana is a cessation, it’s also a cessation state. So the person has attained, is free from cyclic existence, that means saṃsāra, and they have free of entire sufferings and have the happiness of liberation, which is just beautiful. And what happens is when they because they were free from suffering and attained the happiness of the liberation state.
And it was so beautiful and so nice. And they just abide in that happiness. It is so called solitary peace. And they just sit in the solitary peace for eons and eons. And sometimes they take that state too long — while somebody attains nirvana and is in solitary peace and enjoying it, loving it up.
And then a new person was born in the hell realm and then suffers according to their karma and then being free from the hell realms and born as a human and then enters the Mahāyāna path and go through the practice and achieve the enlightenment, but the person who was in solitary peace will still remain there. So there is a that sort of danger is there. Because so when they are in the solitary peace or so called in the meditative equipoise, they stay for eons and eons. And then Buddhas, they have to disturb or awake them from their meditative equipoise by saying or with this finger snap or, you know, wake them up saying, It’s still not good enough. You have just attained nirvana, but still you haven’t perfected both self and other purposes.
And the Buddhas need to awaken them from their meditative equipoise. Yeah. So, yeah, the Buddhas have to awake them from their meditative and, you know, instruct them that they have not attained the highest level and still haven’t perfected both the self and others purposes and encourage them and give instruction teaching them to enter the Mahāyāna path. And they have to attend from the very beginning of the Mahāyāna path. They are liberated beings, but because they haven’t developed the bodhicitta, so they have to go through the first stage of the Mahāyāna path and receive teachings and cultivate bodhicitta.
And then, yeah, develop the bodhicitta and enter and train in the path from the very beginning — path of accumulation, preparation, seeing, and so forth. So that is the reason. So that was the example of saying crossing one river twice. So even though they were instructed to awaken from the meditative equipoise and to enter mahayana path, the path of accumulation. They are practicing, but still they had trouble practicing the Mahāyāna path because they have been in so long in the solitary peace of nirvana state.
And that happiness is huge, very good happiness. And they’re so experienced and so used to that happiness and they get distracted from their practice and tend to go back into that enjoy the happiness of the nirvana. And because of this, there has been set forth. There’s a huge difference in the swiftness of attaining liberation. The one who have attaining Buddhahood with the person who have attained the nirvana state and then start from the path of accumulation of the Mahāyāna path and the one who has never attained anything and straight away enters the Mahāyāna path and follows the practice, the one who is without the nirvana, who has not attained it — a newcomer or very new, who has not attained nirvana state — will achieve Buddhahood much, much faster than the one who had been to the Solitary Realizer or Hearer schools, attained nirvana and then enters.
There’s a huge difference. So there was two story that in ancient time that one of the Buddhist student called in Sanskrit. It’s there. I’m not sure where to go. That’s alright.
So there’s one close student of the Buddha called in Tibetan — his name — who had attained nirvana state, liberation. And there were sixty ordained monks. And it was said that if this person who had attained nirvana were to teach those sixty monks, it is very clear or confirmed that those sixty monks could, very quickly, attain the nirvana state free from sufferings. But before that could happen, the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī went before that monk and taught those sixty monks, or the ordained monks, Mahāyāna teaching.
Right? And Mahāyāna teaching. And those teaching was so hard for those sixty monks to understand. And they somehow produced a wrong view. And as a result of those wrong view, they were born in hell.
And this was acknowledged by the bhikṣu — the monk who had attained nirvana state — who wanted to liberate them, bring them to the nirvana state. And he approached the Lord Buddha Śākyamūni saying what had happened, saying that Mañjuśrī had done a huge mistake, that those people were going very near to attain nirvana if I teach them. But before me, the Mañjuśrī went ahead and taught. And as a result, led them into the hell.
And Buddha said, Don’t worry. The manjushri is very skilled. And the reason why he did is because if he let you teach, they will attain nirvana state and they will — those people will stay in solitary peace for eons and eons. Whereas at this stage they were born in the hell realms. Once they are free from hell, come out of the hell, because they have even though they have been tainted by the wrong views, they have the imprints or latencies of the Mahāyāna teaching.
And once they come out of the hell realms and they get into they receive the Mahāyāna teaching again, their latencies, karma will — sorry, yeah, latencies will ripen and quickly attain Buddhahood. Mañjuśrī is very skilled and was not mistaken. That’s what the Buddha said. So therefore, we should cultivate the renunciation, wish to free from cyclic existence. So while when we cultivate the renunciation, when one experience or gain a certain experiences on the renunciation, then should try to immediately generate bodhicitta.
So when one experience the after training in the renunciation and develop renunciation and had certain experiences on renunciation, one should it’s important for one to try immediately to develop the bodhicitta. And the purpose of training in the state of the path in common, Yeah. In common with the person of in common with the middling capacity is is to develop a renunciation. So those teachings — one’s purpose is to produce or generate renunciation and not to attain nirvana. In in the main purpose is one should to to try to cultivate the the the the bodhicitta.
So therefore, so should practice or train in the stages of the path in common with the initial capacity and the middling capacity as preliminary practices and take the training in cultivating the bodhicitta, altruistic intention is the actual practices and actual path. And after having developed that bodhicitta sorry, yeah, the actual path is the, the bodhicitta altruistic intention and the training of the six perfections, which are the Bodhisattva deeds, are the actual completions of the path. Right. Now showing that altruistic intention is the only entrance to the great vehicle, great vehicle and explaining its benefits. To explain, first, for it has that first division has ten subdivisions.
So those tens are the benefits of entering the Mahāyāna. Yeah. Developing altruistic or entering the great vehicles. The ten benefits. The first one is called showing that altruistic intention is the only entrance to the great vehicle, the first one.
The second benefit is receiving the name child of victorious ones. And the third one is outshining hearers and the solitary realizers in terms of dispositions. Becoming a supreme object of offerings. And the fifth one is easily completing the accumulation, which is the accumulation of merit and insight. And sixth, quickly purifying deeds and obstructions.
Seventh, accomplishing whatever you wish. Eight, yeah, not being affected by harms and obstacles. Ninth one is quickly completing all stages and paths. And finally, becoming a source of all happiness and joy for living beings. So therefore, yeah, the first one, back to the first benefits of the, yeah, altruistic intention is showing that the altruistic intention is the only entrance to the great vehicle.
And it is the entrance because if one has brought altruistic intention bodhicitta, one becomes the Mahāyānist or Mahāyāna practitioner. If one has not developed the bodhicitta, one is not the Mahāyānist or great vehicle practitioner. So therefore, the great master Tsongkhapa has stated that the teaching being a Mahāyāna teaching is not enough. The person should be a Mahāyānist. Because and to be to become a Mahāyānist entirely depends on whether or not a person has developed an uncontrived bodhicitta altruistic intention.
And just for mere understanding on bodhicitta will not make a person become a Mahāyānist. Okay. Thank you. Yeah. So so, yeah, this is how so to to to a Mahāyānist, Mahāyāna practitioner, one should develop an uncontrived bodhicitta altruistic intention.
So if one has not developed an uncontrived bodhicitta altruistic intention that no matter how profound the practices one is practicing. For example, like one practice the ultimate, king of the practice, king of the tantra, the ultimate tantric, the highest yoga tantric is set forth, the Kālacakra tantra and the Guhyasamāja tantra. And for example, the king of the tantra, the Guhyasamāja tantra, the practices in the generation stage, completion stage of the Guhyasamāja tantra, no matter how profound one’s practice, and those teachings, Tantric teachings are set forth, that one can attain the Buddhahood within one’s life by practicing the highest yoga tantra, like Guhyasamāja tantra, for example.
No matter how profound one practices one practice, And of course, they are the Mahāyāna path, Mahāyāna teachings, but they won’t become a Mahāyāna practice. And and the person won’t become a Mahāyāna practitioner even though the practices are are the Mahāyāna teaching, as well as one’s practice, one is practicing Mahāyāna teachings, but one’s practice won’t become a Mahāyāna practice. And and forget about being Mahāyāna practice. One one is not even the one has not even reached the first stage, which is the path of accumulation of the Mahāyāna practice. It is because one has not developed the uncontrived bodhicitta, altruistic intention.
So without bodhicitta, no matter how profound Mahāyāna teachings one practice, one practice still won’t become a Mahāyāna practice. So therefore, so without bodhicitta, no matter what profound practices you practice, Kālacakra Tantra, Guhyasamāja Tantra, like Vajrayoginī, Yamāntaka, Chenrezig, Heruka, so forth. Those teachings are said that by practicing those tantric, one can attain to the enlightenment within one’s life. So no matter how profound they are and how powerful the teachings they are, so if one practice them without the bodhicitta or without bodhicitta, then there is no way one can attain the enlightenment in one life. But if one practices those with the bodhicitta, then those teaching will help one to attain enlightenment within one life.
Therefore the bodhicitta, altruistic intention, is the root of the tantras as well. So if one has altruistic intention or even a dawning of bodhicitta, then whatever practice one does, even if one recites a single six-syllable mantra, then that practice will become the Mahāyāna practice, and that practice will become a cause to attain enlightenment. So therefore, the great master Ārya Nāgārjuna in his text called the Precious Garland said, if one wishes to bring both self and all sentient beings to the enlightenment state, Buddhahood, then should the the root is is the bodhicitta, should cultivate the bodhicitta. And this Yeah.
Yeah. bodhicitta, you cultivate bodhicitta because it is the root of the enlightenment. And so therefore, you should try you should try to develop a bodhicitta like a firm bodhicitta like the Mount Meru, very steady bodhicitta, stable. And by having developed such steady bod very firm bodhicitta on such basis, then one can achieve whatever one wish wishes. Got it.
So if one practises or meditates in the generation and the completion stage of the tantric practice without bodhicitta, then it becomes like just gazing at the deities in the deity hall in the monastery or a temple — just seeing the pictures, posters of the Buddhas and deities. So we talked about how performed tantric teaching is. One can achieve enlightenment within one’s life by training in the tantric by practicing tantra. But it entirely depends.