Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. A striking analogy anchors this 44.5-minute Lamrim commentary: Geshe Pema Tsering compares the precious human rebirth to being appointed prime minister of all sentient beings — neglect the citizens and the position is wasted; lose the post and you can no longer serve. From this image he traces the logical chain from impermanence and renunciation through great compassion to the altruistic intention to attain enlightenment for others, showing why each step depends on the last. He then completes the fourth perfection — enthusiastic effort — covering its three divisions: armour-like courage, accumulating virtue, and working for beings’ welfare. After a brief note on how giving, ethics, patience, and effort interrelate on a single object, he skips the fifth perfection (concentration) and introduces the sixth, wisdom, outlining the three-part framework for special insight: selflessness of person, selflessness of phenomena, and how insight arises through both.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 11 LR 2002 09 17.mp3
UUID: 4a02c2f2-ad65-4c18-8813-64e8a0e0039c
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Lam Rim 2002 Bodhisattva Deeds (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2002-09-17
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 44.5 minutes
Words: ~2,811
Hello? If if one had to leave all the hills or mountains behind, it would it would be more useful and better to leave it now. So why does that means the all the mountains and the hills, which means Don’t worry. You haven’t missed anything. And so what it means is that if one has to leave all the possessions, the relatives, dear ones, so forth, eventually one day, when one dies, one can’t take any of the possession, one have to leave everything behind.
If that is so, it would be more useful that if you try your best to leave as much as you can from now onward and do more practice, then this will become more meaningful to leaving behind rather than just waiting for the at the very end to leave everything behind. And so in that particular verse or the topic line, the former master was teaching the impermanence of death, that the death will eventually come. And when it comes, on that time, one has to leave everything behind. Therefore, because impermanence of death is certain and it will come, so therefore it is very important to practice straight away or yep, straight away without delaying. And in terms of practice, there are three different types of practice one can perform, the practice of the three scopes.
And it is better to practice from the great scope or, yep, Mahāyāna practice, but training training in this great scope through, yep, training one’s mind in the practices of great scope and develop the altruistic int altruistic intention, bodhicitta. So so in order to develop the bodhicitta, one has to see the essencelessness of all the possessions, the livelihoods of the samsaric existence. Because one can’t make use of one’s possessions in the way one wishes or one thinks because the impermanence of death will eventually come one day. And at that moment, there is no use of any possessions, and I can’t use the possessions or livelihood in the way one wants because one has to leave. The impermanence of death is approaching.
So therefore, because they are senseless and they are of no use at the time of death, therefore, once you try to see the essenceless nature of those cyclic, the phenomenas, the dharmas of cyclic existence and try to see the renunciation, but seeing the disadvantages of the cyclic existence or the livelihoods of the enjoyment of the cyclic existence. And it is very important to do so because without renunciation, there is no way one can develop the bodhicitta. And because bodhicitta, altruistic intention comes from the great compassion, not just a compassion, it’s a great compassion. And the great compassion is the mind which wishes. It’s a heartfelt wish to free all entire sentient beings from the sufferings.
So entire sufferings. Therefore, without renunciation, there is no way one can produce a great compassion because the great compassion is a wish to free others from the suffering. So without renunciation, because renunciation is the one which sees the faults of the cyclic existence and how one goes to the suffering, oneself goes to the sufferings of the cyclic existence. So without knowing one’s own suffering, how one suffers in the cycle of existence, there’s no way one can develop a great compassion. So in order to develop the great compassion, is to wish to free entire sentient beings from the sufferings, it is very important for one to see the faults of the cyclic existence and develop an uncontrived wish to free oneself from the cyclic existence or the enjoyment of the cyclic existence or wish oneself to be separated from the cyclic existence.
So by having developed such wish, by developing such an uncontrived wish to be free from the cyclic existence, then having that mind, then it is the great compassion, the wish to free entire sentient beings from the entire suffering naturally comes. It appears to be in that way. And so therefore, any action one performs, it is very important to perform it for the sake of entire sentient beings. So to develop a great compassion and love to sentient beings. The great compassion is the one a mind wishes to free entire sentient beings from the sufferings.
And the love is an uncontrived wish to wish that entire sentient beings have the ultimate happiness or entire happiness. So in order to develop such wish, which is love, it’s important one to first want to think, examine oneself, whether or not one needs to develop the love to sentient beings and then go through, look through the many different perspectives or different reasons why one needs to develop such a wish to sentient beings or let sentient beings have entire happiness. So by going, examining, investigating through the many doors, and one can find the reason why one needs to have that love to have sentient let sentient beings to have entire happiness. So by examining through the many reasons or many doors, one will find that one should work for the sentient beings and one should let sentient beings to have the all the happiness and free from sufferings because because because this is the time all the duties or burdens of the sentient beings relies on you yourself. Because it is why or because that you because the karma and the and the the karma and the Three Jewels has appointed you to do so because you have received, you have all the potentials and all the capability of doing so and all the conducive conditions are present within you that you have received the precious human rebirth with the eighteen qualities, the eight leisures and ten endowments, as well as you have and you have no financial problems in terms of you have enough food to survive, you have enough clothings to keep you well, and you have shelter to live on.
So therefore, you have all the conducive conditions. So so this is how the karma is your yeah. This is this is how your karma that it’s your karma to work for the sentient beings. So so, yeah, so the karma has it’s your karma to work for the welfare of sentient beings. And it is your duty as well as you have been appointed by the karma to be a prime minister to look after the welfare of the sentient beings.
It’s like like the Australians devoting appointing the prime minister of Australia. And the prime minister of Australia, and his or her duty is to look for the welfare of the citizens. There are no more problems in the country. And sorry about that. Yeah.
Normal suffering. He probably has the highest ranging of the wage. So therefore, if he doesn’t work for the welfare of citizens of Australia, then it has been a mistake, and his time being a prime minister has been a waste. Yeah. So likewise.
So likewise likewise, like a prime minister, the karma or the we are like the delegation or the prime minister of the entire sentient beings. And and and we should take the duty of the entire sentient beings to look because because because those sentient beings, you know, they can’t work. Because they can’t do it, so they have appointed us to be a prime minister of them. Good luck. Anyway, and so therefore, because they don’t have the precious human, they have not received the precious precious human rebirth.
So among those sentient beings, we are very fortunate to have the precious human rebirth with the eighteen qualities and have all the conducive conditions to practice and work for them. So, and we are among we are one of the we are among the precious human rebirths. So therefore, it is our duty to take a burden of the entire sentient beings to work for the welfare of sentient beings. And so therefore, should console oneself and and and talk to oneself thinking that one has a huge burden or huge duty to to maintain or or perform. And by keeping that burden in one’s mind and perform and do the practice and work for the welfare of sentient beings as much as one can, because if one does not, then it will be very pitiful.
It’s like the prime minister of the country is not working for the people, working for the citizens. And once the prime minister lost his seat, then he has no right. He lost his authority. So likewise, when So the prime minister, the demotion of the prime minister is like us losing our precious human rebirth. And having lost this precious human rebirth, no matter how much you think, how much you wish to work for the sentient beings, you won’t have any potential or power to do so.
So while having all these conducive conditions and precious human rebirth should work as much as one can. Therefore, one should keep this in one’s mind thinking that one has a huge duty to perform for the welfare of sentient beings. Therefore, I shall do I shall do my best. I shall do my best and and and with with keeping such such keeping such in one’s mind and perform all the practices. Yeah.
The the the doing the motivation, doing the actual practice, as well as dedications. And doing the actual practices, by knowing one has such a duty and performing that in all the time, what actions one perform and should think that one is doing it for the sake of entire beings and but do it with a huge pleasure or happiness. By doing so, then one practice becomes the proper proper Mahāyāna practice, includes the motivation, actual practice, and the dedication or a conclusion. And such a such as and doing such a practice is a huge benefit, and that practice will become a cause to attain enlightenment for the sake of entire sentient beings. So keeping such a mind that I shall that I have the duty to work for the welfare of entire sentient beings, and we shall do a short meditation here to here that I that I have that I shall attain enlightenment for the sake of entire sentient beings because I have this huge duty.
With the enthusiastic effort. The enthusiastic effort, so called the armour like effort or enthusiastic effort. So the armour like enthusiastic effort is is is the mind. Mind is just huge has huge courage that that and have patience to to have patience to go through the sufferings. Huge sufferings in the the great hell fire, the hundreds and thousands of years, going to eons for the sake of entire sentient beings.
And speaking of this, if one asks, isn’t there contradictory between those two during the practice of the middling scope that one one practice to attend nirvana in order to be free from the cyclic existence or saṃsāra. And here, that that wishing to take rebirth in the hell realms for the sake sentient beings. And wishing to take rebirth in the hell realm is wishing to be born in the cyclic existence. So if one asks, isn’t there a contradictory? Then the answer is no.
There is no contradiction because those two, the aim or the purpose of practice is different. During the middling scope is the practice is done for the sake of oneself. And and through the great scope, it is the practice being done for the sake of others. Because of this, they don’t they are not contradictory. So because and because bodhisattvas, even bodhisattvas, they don’t wish to take rebirth in the samsaric hell realms under the influence of disturbing emotions and action or karma which they do not wish.
But what they wish is they wish to take rebirth in the hell realms through the power of great compassion and the and the great prayers, which which is the one they wishes, but not the first one. So the armour like enthusiastic effort is should develop what times like when the dharma is degenerating and should willingly to have like work, maintain patience for entire hardships to maintain or stop dharma from degeneration or and have a huge patience willingly to undergo through the sufferings of the hell realms or or or yep, and take all the entire sufferings in the hardship in order to or for the sake of others. And and to this second enthusiastic effort is the effort of accumulating virtues, the the merits. And and that is with a huge enthusiastic effort or with a huge joy in practicing the the the the cultivating the positive actions or merits and the positive actions and confessing one’s negative, yeah, non virtuous and making the offerings or and other practices which are performed with a great joy or happiness. Those are the practices of the effort of accumulating virtues.
And now to and to the third enthusiastic effort, it’s the effort of working for the welfare of sentient beings. And those that effort is the performing the practices of collecting so called the four points or four ways of collecting the disciples, which means that the four features, actually, which are in a practicing generosity and speaking eloquently and giving teachings and and practicing oneself according to one’s teachings to others. So and doing performing all those actions with a great happiness or joy is called the effort of working for the welfare of sentient beings or others. So and through the practice of by listening all the teachings of the first four perfections, perfections of giving, ethical discipline, patience, and the enthusiastic effort. And had three for each, three divisions for each.
And the last next second, the next two subdivisions of the each four perfections appears to be very similar or one or mixed, but they are not. On the basis of one object, they are different. For example, of giving and and then, for example, on the basis of one, the giving, the practice of giving is the first, generosity, and on the basis of one, abandoning the the opposite side of the the giving, which is miserliness. And and and abandoning the miserliness becomes the practices of ethical discipline. And then on the basis of taking a hardships of practicing the generosity giving becomes the patience.
And then on such basis and happily or with great pleasure, joyfully engaging in that practice become the enthusiastic effort. So on the basis of one, they are different. But in general teaching, those last two of the four first four perfection seems to be same, but they are not on one base. So therefore so because all the six perfections, despite their differences on the basis of one object. Therefore, on the one so if one performs or meditate on if one meditate, one can perform a meditation on emptiness with the consists of all the six perfections.
And here concludes this fourth perfection, which is enthusiastic effort. And we’re supposed to start the fifth one, which is the training in concentration, perfection of concentration. But we are going to skip that part because that concentration is mainly the teaching on the calm abiding that we are going to do the calm abiding retreat and also was told to catch up with the time. So today, we’ll start the sixth perfection, which is wisdom. And now to begin the the sixth perfection, perfection of wisdom, and the teaching comes of the the special insight.
And to explain how the mode of developing the special insight has been explained through it has three subdivisions, which is establishing the selflessness of the person is the one. Second, establishing the selflessness of phenomena is the two. And the third one is and how special insight has been developed through those two selflessnesses. And now to explain the first subdivision, which is establishing the selflessness of the person, it has two main subdivisions, which is the space like meditative equipoise, and the second one is the illusory-like post-meditative experience.
Yeah. And now to the first back to the first one, the the space yeah. Space like meditative equipoise. To explain that, it has four subdivisions and which is establishing the four points. And the first one is recognizing the object of negation, object of negation.
And the second one is establishing The mode of establishing or recognizing negations and mode of establishing the pervasion. Thank you. And and and establishing how it exists.
Truly exists in one and And the mode of establishing that the self does not exist in the two. So actually, it’s a bit complicated, it will come clearer and clearer when actually reach the subdivision. So these are the divisions.