Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 45-minute Lamrim commentary, Geshe Pema Tsering builds the session around a memorable story: a merchant who travels at great expense to a land of wish-fulfilling gems, spends his time in music and wine, and returns empty-handed and deep in debt. The image makes the core argument vivid — precious human rebirth is exactly such a gem-land, and wasting it means missing liberation while accumulating further karmic debt. He reinforces this with Atisha’s crossroads metaphor (the precious life points either upward or downward, depending on one’s choices), Śāntideva’s blunt observation that no greater fool exists than one who fails to practice after gaining this birth, and the Buddha’s doctor-and-medicine analogy: a prescription left untaken on the pillow cures nothing. A short Q&A closes with an explanation of how motivation set at the start of a session silently upholds all subsequent actions even when it is no longer consciously present.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 08 LR 2002 03 26.mp3
UUID: 2fcc5df5-ccf5-4bdf-9a7f-61abff3d85a1
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Lam Rim 2002 Bodhisattva Deeds (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2002-03-26
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 44.9 minutes
Words: ~2,969
So at this stage, we have attained or received the precious human rebirth with all the eighteen qualities. So therefore after having attained such precious human rebirth, once you recognize how fortunate one is, within this life try one’s best to cultivate the causes to attain enlightenment. If one does not do that, then it’s very pitiful for one if one fails to do so. So the reason why it is important for one or us or one to cultivate the causes of enlightenment while having received the precious human rebirth, it is because it is because because the Dharma only exists while Buddhas are in the cyclic existence or in, yeah, in saṃsāra. And out of the Buddhas, there are numbers of Buddhas, and among those Buddhas, it’s very few Buddhas that comes in the samsaric existence to teach or yeah.
To yeah. Say, for example, like teach. So therefore, the Buddhas who comes to teach in cyclic existence are lesser than those who don’t, that yeah. Buddhas do they who don’t. So therefore, some Buddha come to come to come in cyclic existence, saṃsāra, to teach the sentient beings, but they don’t come very often.
They come once after many years and many years and years. So therefore, while Buddha is in the cyclic existence or in saṃsāra and one has received the precious human rebirth, so have all this opportunity, having all this opportunity, should collect the causes to attain enlightenment. So for us, not only has Buddha come in the samsaric existence or in saṃsāra — we are actually in a time that all the Buddha’s teachings are still available, that one can practice, one can study and so forth. And it is pitiful that we were not born while Buddha was alive, but it doesn’t matter. Still, the Buddhist teachings are still still Buddhist teachings are available and we can study.
So for example, if you take example in this world itself, say, we can possibly say that only one or one and a half percent of of the population in this world has opportunity or study the Buddhadharma. So this is a very fortunate time that there is a teacher who can teach the Buddha Dharma and we are capable. We can receive the teaching and we can do meditation and so forth. And this is a very fortunate time. And this one should not misuse such such a time.
So the great master Atisha has stated here, the precious human rebirth is very important, and it is like a border — a crossroads. So it’s entirely up to one where one wants to go either upwards or downwards. And this is the stage where one can cultivate to go to, you know, do non virtuous actions and so forth, which will lead one towards the bad migrations of animal hungry ghosts and hell realms, etcetera. And then upon such rebirth, the precious human rebirth, one can travel upwards or go through the good migrations, can still attain the precious human rebirth again, or the god or demigod rebirths as well as one can attain the enlightenment. No.
No. So so great master here also said that that this is a very important stage that one has reached and should not misuse or make mistake because if one fails in this time, then one will definitely be facing fail in future as well. So therefore so don’t fail at this time. And then on such basis, the best of precious human rebirth, one can attain nirvana or liberation or enlightenment and so forth. And and and by having this precious human rebirth, all those liberation, nirvana and so forth are like are in your hand.
And on that one does not need say depend on other in terms what Geshe-la meant here is, for example, like we all work and we work and we work and we got paid and and that is our work actually. But still one needs to, you know, listen to what’s this called one’s boss and, you know, it’s not that easy every time and trying to get along with him, etcetera and etcetera. Whereas here, you don’t need to do such way. It’s your hand, and you don’t need to ask anybody or or yeah. You have some you ask anyone.
It’s in it’s in your hand, and and you can do whatever you want. So therefore, the great master, as we said, has said, be very careful and one is very you are very fortunate and should not make mistake in this life. Because if one fails in this life and it happens for one to go to the bad migration and then it will be very difficult to get back again, could be after years and years. So therefore and not only that, our life, the person has worked so hard to attend this precious human rebirth and now we have reached it and should not fail or misuse this precious human rebirth. For the best, try to make use of this precious human rebirth to attain enlightenment.
If not, then try for the attain liberation or free from cyclic existence. And even if one fails to do so, but at least try to attain, try to cultivate the causes to attain another precious human rebirth. After knowing all the importance of this precious human rebirth, or rebirth, one should not fail to attain to all this liberation or enlightenment and so forth. So and one can also examine within oneself, think what one has done from the very beginning up until a certain stage, you know, one doesn’t know how to cultivate a positive action and time has been waste. And after that, one understands or one knows how to cultivate the positive virtuous actions or so forth virtuous actions, one knows how to do so, but one didn’t.
So now think about how many years left or one year or twenty or something. Yeah. Twenty or or a bit more than that. But so there’s no so there’s much left time. There’s not much time left.
So therefore, one should put more encouragement within oneself and then try to cultivate the causes of Buddhahood, liberation, precious human rebirth. So one should help oneself or one yeah, one can help oneself, but oneself to involve in cultivating the positive actions and trying to reduce the negative sorry, non virtuous actions by thinking on through many ways. For example, like, check check one’s own age and think about all the friends one had from the childhood and then count how many of them of your friends are still alive and how many of how many are gone. So one probably and the most of them are already gone. And feel fortunate that, well, I’m still alive.
I’m very fortunate. And by knowing so, put more effort in the the Dharma practices. So, yeah, the great master Atisha — also known as Jowo Je — has also stated one should not make a mistake or misuse this precious human rebirth.
And if one does, if one fails to make use of this precious human rebirth, then it become like a person, a like person who returns from the sea with nothing, which means is in olden days, you know, the people, the merchants or businessmen, they get together, you know, get preparation, get loan from other people food and so supplies and go on the ship in the the the water, in the sea, you know, and in the search of the so called wish-fulfilling gem, is what we said. And then the person went with a bunch of people and then reached in the the place full of wish-fulfilling gems. And and and if the person fails to take one and come back empty-handed, then it’s very pitiful or sad. So the person, instead of bringing the wish-fulfilling gem back, he just went spend time with these companions and indulged in the music, dancing, wines, so forth, and come back with empty hand. So not only he didn’t get to bring what’s called the wish-fulfilling gem, additional to that, he put himself into big mortgage or a loan because before the preparation, he borrowed lots of money and things from other people for his travel.
So if one fails to make use of this precious human rebirth, then one will become like that person. So the attaining precious human rebirth is like reaching the wish-land — the land full of wish-fulfilling gems. And the wish-fulfilling gems are, for the best: Best one is so called Buddhahood for us. And the middle one is liberation or free from cyclic existence, nirvana.
And the, you know, and the last one is so called the higher rebirth. So having reached that wonderful land of wish-fulfilling gems, one should pick up the wish-fulfilling gem like other people did. If one does not, then become like the person who indulged in the music and so forth like collecting the three poisons attachment, desire attachment and hatred. And also there are numbers of disturbing emotions. We can’t go through the numbers, so called four hundred and twenty-four disturbing emotions, so forth.
And collecting all those non virtuous actions are like putting oneself in a great mortgage or a loan. And also the great Bodhisattva Śāntideva — he himself — has also stated that after having attained such precious human rebirth, one should meditate and practice. If one fails to practice and meditate after having attained this precious human rebirth, then there’s no greater confusion and no greater fool than such a person. So and the Buddha Śākyamūni in his so-called Concentration Sūtra has stated that if the patient went to see the doctor, consult doctor and got prescription and got all his or her medications — tablets and put it next to his or her pillow and stays there and not take consume the tablets and goes through the suffering. If one does that, that there is nothing wrong with the doctor because doctor has done the doctor’s job, but consulting and giving prescription.
And the medicine is known for the medicines because medicine has the potentiality or has potential to cure the disease. And the patient is still not recovering because the patient didn’t take the tablets. So the only fault so there’s nothing wrong with the doctor and the medicine. The only fault is in the patient itself. So the life wise, you know, the Buddhists have done their job.
They gave teachings many times. And also, we have heard the teachings. So only there’s no fault in Buddha’s in Buddha’s not in their prescriptions or medicines, which is like a Dharma or teaching itself. So the only fault is the the person or ourself if one if we don’t practice what we heard. And therefore so one should not do like that, and one should try to understand the teachings and bring all the teachings or understanding into meditation and if one can, which is very good and one try, even if one fails after approaching many times and trying many times, then make a wishful prayers that that that you that one will be able to meditate sooner or later.
And so and Buddha Buddha also said that the Buddhas can’t wash the non virtuous actions or the yeah. Non virtuous actions of the sentient beings. And neither they can wipe nor wash the yeah. Neither they can wipe and wash the non virtuous actions of the sentient beings nor they can pick the suffering of the sentient beings. And also they can’t transfer their realization to sentient beings.
They can they liberate or they they liberate or free sentient beings through through teaching. Yeah. Right. Through teaching. So So all I can do is to is to give you teachings through this.
You can liberate yourself. So therefore, And we are not a suitable one to be blessed, which in the in the sense, what we mean here is that in yep. Because it’s not a good time. It’s called so called the the degeneration time now. In the good good old days, the the Buddha they are being like the the the blessed teachings, which means Buddha has blessed somebody and then the person person teaches.
It’s like through this, you know. And we can’t do this. It’s not not a suitable time or a yet a degenerated time. So therefore, you know, whatever how much you understand, please meditate as much as you can or practice as much as you can. And I will stop stop here and take a couple of questions if you have.
Yeah. So as for the Buddhist teachings, you know, there are different types that we so called the blessed teachings or teachings comes from the mouth and so forth. The teachings what we are receiving here is so called teachings from the Buddha’s mouth, which Buddha has taught through their mouth, and and this this is how it’s been transferred. Whereas the blessed one is Buddha didn’t teach. Buddha didn’t teach from his mouth himself through his miracles, powers, bless somebody to do so.
So for example, like, the Heart Sūtra is the blessed teaching, which is we call that. Okay. Uh-huh. So your question was about whether one should reset the motivation between sessions. Yeah.
Yeah. Okay. Okay. No. It’s actually the the motivation is not during the actual action or, yeah, actual practices.
The the all the practices practices are are like the result of the motivation. So one set up a motivation to do something and then one engage in the action which is called the actual action. So between that time, the motivation is not there and one is doing the actions or the results in the result of the motivation. So according to the motivation one involved in the practice. But while in the middle of the practices if something, distractions are coming like attachment and so forth, if it’s coming then one should try to avoid them but nothing derails the motivation because by avoid those then one action is still continuing according to the motivation.
And then at the end complete the action what, yeah, the work one is doing and then make with a very good wishful prayer or the dedication. Yeah. It’s like so motivation is is from the beginning, and while in the action, it’s not there. For example, like, at the time you left your place in a car, for example, and you set up your motivation at home, I’m going to receive the Dharma teaching, and I’m doing it to benefit sentient beings. So that motivation you set up and you drive the car.
So since then, while you’re driving your car, the motivation is not there. But the action you’re doing is upheld by the motivation, even though the motivation is not consciously present. And you come here, do prostrations and listen to the teaching. All the actions they’re doing here is like, you know, which are uphold by your motivation but even though the motivation is not there. But between those periods the attachment so forth comes through and those are not a motivated action, it comes naturally or something like that.
So what one needs to do is to try to avoid them as much as one can. And then at the end of the teaching we dedicate for the attainment of enlightenment and generate the bodhicitta and so forth. Okay. Yep. So we have clearly stated in the earlier class that, for example, like the population in this world, you know.
So in cyclic existence itself, the population of the beings in the lower realms and so forth, you know, the good ones is lesser than the other one. And it is because of the actions or non virtuous actions people do. So likewise, this is the same thing here, that there are more beings who perform non virtuous action than the one who does the positive actions. This is how it happens. For example, like yourself as a like take take yourself as example, you might consider yourself as a person who does the positive actions, cultivate virtues and so forth, but examine thoroughly, but within yourself say there is twenty four hours in one day and how many hours you really, really cultivate a positive action.
So it is very hard to say. And and also, Geshe-la agrees with what you said that it’s also compassion and self wise and awakening people in other religion as well. But what happens is the religion and so called religious action and the mundane actions are completely opposite, contradicts each other. And in this world there are more people who engage in mundane action than who are involved in the Dharma. This is how it happens in the war and so forth, probably.
Yes. So for example, like, like we are all here in this say the two hours something and meant to be practicing Dharma and listening teachings and so forth. But if we really examine within ourselves and if we count, and probably there are only few who has really their mind is really into teachings continuously from in within these two hours. The rest probably here and wandering here and there and so forth. So it would be safe that we are here, and among some of us already has been back to one’s place and cooked dinner and had dinner, everything, and have a nice sleep or snooze and then and waking up in the morning at couple and already reached the work, you know, while sitting here.
All right. That’s the last question. Yes.