Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. A story in which the Buddha calls discovered gold a dangerous poison anchors this 45-minute session, which works through the final divisions of patience before opening the fourth Bodhisattva perfection. Geshe Pema Tsering begins with a structural argument: to lead others to any realization, one must first achieve it oneself, making renunciation, compassion, and bodhicitta the necessary groundwork. He then completes the three types of patience — bearing harm without retaliation, voluntarily accepting hardship (illustrated by Milarepa’s years in retreat on almost nothing), and maintaining conviction through study and debate — before turning to enthusiastic effort. Defined as the mental factor that takes joy in positive actions, enthusiastic effort is cited from Ārya Asaṇga as the single most effective method for attaining liberation and Buddhahood.
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File: 09 LR 2002 09 10.mp3
UUID: 11ee8c66-eb3c-4196-95af-36c7b3e70782
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Lam Rim 2002 Bodhisattva Deeds (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2002-09-10
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.7 minutes
Words: ~2,689
The the great master, the seventh. Oh, sorry. Khensur Rinpoche, the first Dalai Lama set forth that making wishful prayers that he should not forsake the sentient beings and engage in activities just for individual benefits. And should not generate such a mind which works only for individual, instead wishing, making praise to develop a wisdom so that one so that he can engage in the activity to fulfill the other’s purposes. So to work wisdom to be able to fulfill others’ purposes.
So in terms of per others’ purposes, they are, if you want to explain it, there are numbers of purposes to explain. But the ultimate, the other’s other purpose is that bringing all this entire sentient beings into the or enlightenment. So that is the ultimate other’s purpose other’s purpose to benefit others, which is bring them into the ultimate state. And then temporarily, you know, working for others’ benefits are also working for others’ purposes, like the happiness and happiness of others as well as helping them from the sufferings and benefiting sentient beings through giving teachings or giving material gifts. So those are also working for others.
And and also those activities are the the core, are the causes to to fulfill the ultimate purpose. Right. So so in order to do so, the the perfect the the other’s purposes, first one has to perfect oneself. So for example, like, to to wishing to bring entire sentient being into the ultimate state, first one has to attain ultimate state. Without attaining the ultimate state for oneself, there’s no way or no possibility that one can bring sentient beings into ultimate state in Buddhahood.
So likewise, it is same for the others, yeah, also doing other purposes as well. For example, like to bring or lead somebody to the state of path of seeing, first one needs to attain the path of seeing. So therefore, we always train our mind to to benefit other sentient beings. For example, like developing bodhicitta and so forth. But in order to do so, first one has to see, recognize oneself goes through the sufferings and and and lacking happiness.
So without knowing the ones how oneself is being tortured and suffered from the sufferings, then without knowing that and working, like cultivating a bodhicitta and working for others wouldn’t be I wouldn’t be that much effective. So so therefore, you know, therefore, in art, to to benefit or to fulfill other’s purposes, first, it is important for oneself to to develop a renunciation. And the renunciation is the one, but to developing renunciation is seeing or or acknowledging the the disadvantages and the faults of the cyclic existence. So likewise, the more the faults and the sufferings of the psychic how the suffering nature of cyclic existence you see, the more or better renunciation you generate.
And and ultimate sufferings of the the cyclic existence, then you can develop a very good renunciation or proper renunciation. So if not, if you don’t see the the faults in the cyclic existence of the the yeah. Sorry. Yeah. Of the cyclic existence, then and instead of seeing the faults, you see the good qualities, see the good saṃsāra as a very good thing or good quality, then you will circle in cyclic existence.
And because of seeing this cyclic existence as a good quality, it blocks the mind or blocks the area of developing a renunciation. So therefore, because of not seeing the proper of not seeing the real suffering and the faults of the cyclic existence. Yeah. cyclic existence. Therefore, our renunciation, excuse me, our renunciation also becomes a mere word.
And because our renunciation becomes a mere word, then our in the bodhicitta, the altruistic intention, mind of enlightenment becomes a mere word as well. So without seeing Sorry. Without developing a wish to be free from those sufferings of the cyclic existence through or by seeing the faults and disadvantages of cyclic existence, there’s no way one can develop all this, the attainments like renunciation, bodhicitta, the right view or the wisdom realizing emptiness. So therefore, the seeing the faults and the disadvantages of cyclic existence is very important. So the briefly speak briefly speaking here, then one wants to develop a mind which wishes to to to abandon or eliminate all the the the sufferings and the displeasure of the samsaric existence and wanting to attain the happiness of the liberation, the arhathood and the buddhahood.
So having developed a bodhicitta renunciation, then develop a great compassion by seeing like like oneself, others are lacking happiness and and goes through the sufferings. So that compassion, is, you know, kind of pity seeing sentient beings go through the suffering and wishing to free them from the entire sufferings. And so in order to make that wish or get compassion to fulfill its wishes, then bodhicitta is the one without bodhicitta, which is to attain enlightenment for the sake of entire sentient beings. Without bodhicitta or attaining enlightenment, one can’t free or help sentient beings to be free from entire sufferings. And so if one goes through this process of meditation, the renunciation, great compassion, and then the bodhicitta, then there is a way one can develop all those minds.
So we shall do here, do a short meditation on bodhicitta, the bodhicitta, which is I shall attain enlightenment for the sake of the entire sentient beings. So and, yeah, we we we shared the the last session up to the patience going to the sixth perfection and reached the patience part. So we should maintain patience towards the sufferings, that the sufferings has great qualities. And it is good to have some sufferings because it has huge qualities. The the sufferings the quality of the sufferings sufferings are when one is going through sufferings, then it will reduce one’s the pride or or the haughtiness, which they are the part of the afflictions.
As well as you can and by because oneself is suffering and because due to this, you know, one can it helps one to develop a compassion to the other sentient beings because they are also going through the suffering and cyclic existence. And and because one is suffering, then it will help one to refrain from doing the non virtuous actions because non virtuous actions are the one which produces the suffering. And also, and as a result of that, it also help one to develop a mind to cultivate a positive actions or virtuous actions because they produce happiness. So these are the qualities of patience sorry, sufferings. So should maintain the pain.
Let it. And he has a good, great qualities of the patient, so his sufferings. And this is the patience. So patience are voluntarily accepting sufferings that should have less wishes or wanting have the satisfactory or satisfaction with what one have and willingly to believe in the very good practitioners or being a very good practitioner that happy to abandon and meditate and and, yep, meditate and eliminate the what’s the scope? All the non virtuous actions and and should have less wanting than Right.
Right. So should, yeah, maintain good peace with all these practices. And if one do not do so, then only to have a good just working to have a good livelihood or good food and shelter and increase one’s wealth. But doing so will is wasting one’s fortunate rebirth or, yeah, fortunate rebirth. So it’s saying technically, the text is saying to the possessions or wealth are poison.
And not just a poison, very bad or bad poison. That when Buddha was alive and excuse me. That and there was a boy who collects the wood in a wood seller probably, and just go in the jungles and collect the wood. And he and he saw the Buddha was passing by. And then then he and the Buddha saw found a gold on on the ground.
And then when Buddha saw that, and the kid saw the Buddha saw something. And the Buddha said that, you know, Buddha will never take that. And he said that poison spreads, and poison is very dangerous. This is what Buddha said and left. And for the curiosity, you know, the kids follow what was there, and he found that gold.
So he took the gold and he become very rich. And later on, the king asked, you know, the question, you know, how you become very rich in all this so and so, so and so. And he he lied to the to the king, and and king come to know that he was lying. So he was imprisoned in the jail, sort of close to his death or something like that. And then what happens is then the last time and and then so when he was in the prison and he tells the truth, he said, you know, the poison is the poison has spread, and the poison is very dangerous.
And the king said, what do you mean by that? And he told the truth. Well, Buddha said that, and Buddha said that, and then I found the gold, and I’ve become very rich. So, oh, king said that he was telling the truth, so they set him free. So the reason here, the meaning here is, you know, it’s dangerous, it’s a poison, which means should have, you know, have a less wishes or less likingness and less wanting and have enough and and have satisfactory or satisfaction.
It’s a saying about the importance of having less wish or wishes or less wanting and being satisfied satisfaction or satisfied with what one got. And if one do so, then everything will be okay. For example, like Lord the great master Milarepa, so when he went into the ascetic life or in the meditation, and he had nine disciples who work with him as attendants and so forth. And so all these people in the meditation, long run, but they’ve got only, say, nine rupees or something. You know, in Tibetan, just nine rupees or something.
But still, they managed to survive. And they’re happy, content with what they got and being in the meditation and cultivate numbers of and being able to complete his collections of merit and the wisdom. And finally, to and during that meditation, the yep. He attained the wisdom realizing emptiness. Right.
So so you should practice as much as you can one can and not really, you know, entirely spend one’s time to work to cultivate all the for one’s good life or the wealth. Because practices can and if one has come or collected the merits and virtues in in a previous life, then and they will come eventually. And and it is then okay to make use of it. Right? So to explain the patience of voluntarily accepting sufferings, it is a very wide topic and whole lot to explain.
The numbers of patience of voluntarily accepting sufferings. Example, maintaining patience. Those are the very hardships because the first one is maintaining patience from the harms and criticism from others and willingly to go through the sufferings, the hardships through the practices of meditations and teachings and teachings and teachings and teachings and cultivating positive actions and so forth. And also should have been content with what one got, you know, and being, you know, poor or or or, you know, not good looking and so forth. That should be patient with one be content with what one have or what one got.
And then, and so all this have all the hard works of doing the positive actions in life, you know, the it is very difficult to protect others life, but should have the patience to take the hardships and being content with what one got, you know, and the willingly to abandon the activities of doing business or your workings in order to make one’s live yeah. One’s living, etcetera. So those should have content with what one got and willingly, even though it’s hard, but willingly accept the hardship to abandon those activities. And now to the third divisions of the patience. So we go through the first patient is patience of taking no account of those who harm.
Second one is the patience of voluntarily accepting sufferings. And the third one now is the patience of gaining certainty with regard to the teachings. So and that is the patience of practicing and listening teachings of performing the the the taking hardships and performing all the positive actions like, you know, making offerings and prostrations, offerings to the Triple Gem, Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, as well as and then wanting to train in cultivating the practicing in the five paths, the five of each of the three schools, the hearers, solitary realizers and the Mahāyāna path. And training in those paths to attain all the ultimate attainments of the three schools, like the nirvana of hearers, nirvana of solitary realizers, and the Buddhahood of the Mahāyāna. And so nirvana of the Mahāyāna and the Buddhahood of the Mahāyāna is the same.
And then, you know, examine, analyze the teachings to cultivate the selflessness of the person and the phenomena, realize the emptiness. And at this stage, the taking hardship to practice, to listen to the teachings of Lamrim and the contemplates and the meanings of the teachings. So all these activities are the patience of gaining certainty with regard to the teachings. So even if it’s a monk or a nun or a layperson who engages in the debates are also the third patience. So out of those three patience, the first patient is of the harms when and the next two patience comes.
The patience are voluntarily accepting sufferings and the patience are gaining certainty with regard to the teachings are comes every now and then, that all the activities one performs like maintaining hardship to practice and listening to the teachings and maintaining in a long session all the physical pains and recalling, being mindful and recalling all the practices into the contemplations. Those are the practices of maintaining a very good physical behaviors. And those are comes under the next two patience. And if it’s the monks and the nuns, you know, then maintaining attending the prayer sessions, long, long sessions, know, gathering and going into debate class every morning and the evening times. Just maintaining those difficulties comes under the second first and into the next second and third patience as well as being content with what one has and not having less wantings and willingly to go through the sufferings of hunger and thirst when one while practicing.
And now to the fourth perfection, which is the enthusiastic effort. And the definition of enthusiastic effort is the mental factor or a secondary mind. Enthusiastic effort is a secondary mind, which is happy to engage in positive actions. So the the qualities qualities qualities of enthusiastic efforts are many. And here, the great master, Ārya Asaṇga in his Abhisamayālamkāra, called the Ornament for the Sutras, by Ārya Maitreya and Ārya Asaṇga.
The Ornament Sūtra said said that the the enthusiastic effort is the best among the positive actions or virtuous actions because enthusiastic effort is the best method to attain the ultimate, ultimate happiness, like happiness of nirvana and happiness of Buddhahood. And also, if enthusiastic effort is the best method to attain to any qualities of the worldly and the transworldly attainments within this life. And what one wants to achieve in this world, if there is enthusiastic effort, one can help. And the transworldly, like arhats and the buddhahood. And enthusiastic effort will help is is the best method.
If one has enthusiastic effort, one can cut the root of the cyclic existence, and one can go to one can attain or take rebirth in the pure lands, as well as enthusiastic effort can destroy.