Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. A verse from an ancient Praise to the Buddha — noting that the Buddha’s followers attain liberation without passing through standard concentration levels — opens the doctrinal core of this 44-minute Lam Rim session. Geshe Pema Tsering calls this “strange” passage the entry point into hard emptiness teachings: it sharpens the contrast between worldly special insight, which leads only to rebirth in the form realms, and the transworldly special insight that actually cuts the root of saṃsāra. He explains why practitioners should bypass the former and meditate directly on emptiness, then draws on Tsongkhapa’s Three Principal Aspects of the Path and Āryadeva’s Four Hundred Stanzas to show that even a slight doubt about emptiness can severely damage self-grasping. The session closes with Q&A on bodhisattvas who joyfully accept suffering in hell realms for others’ benefit, and a preview of upcoming Heart Sūtra teachings on emptiness.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 12 LR 2002 09 17.mp3
UUID: 10ac3960-bcd5-4f93-a63d-ee59d6558d0b
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Lam Rim 2002 Bodhisattva Deeds (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2002-09-17
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 43.7 minutes
Words: ~2,648
And so theoretically, you know, special insight has been developed on the basis of firm attainment of the calm abiding. So after having developed or attained the firm calm abiding, on the basis of that calm abiding, then one develops the special insight. So in terms of special insight, there are two types of special insight, so called worldly special insight and the transworldly special in special insight. And so, yep, so there are two types of special insight, the worldly and the transworldly special insight. So worldly, the worldly special insight, it’s been attained after having developed this calm abiding and then whenever the abandoned so called manifested disturbing emotions and so whenever one abandons the the manifested manifested disturbing emotions and one attains the the special insight of the the form form realms of the form realms. That’s so-called, right?
And that special insight of the form realms is attained. And and that special insight, so called the special insight in the aspects of peace and coarse. So yes, we said here, so what whenever one abandons the entire manifested disturbing emotion, then one attains the the special insight of the form realms. And that special insight is so called the special insight of the peace and coarse, or, yeah, in the aspect of peace and as you were, yeah, calm and calm and coarse. And so when, yep, that’s right.
And then when one obtains that and so that special insight should be obtained after having developed the calm abiding. But we should not develop that special insight after having developed the calm abiding. Because when one attains that special insight, then one develops or one attains the actual, something called the actual concentration level. So so we should not work or cut cultivate that the worldly special insight. Because our main aim is to attain liberation or nirvana or liberation.
So therefore, so when one attains the calm abiding, we should try to attain the calm abiding, so special, the transworldly special insight. And that because you should try to develop an antidote, which which abandons or get rid of which get rid of which get rid of the root of the cyclic existence, which is, yep, the self grasping attitude. And so therefore, should should develop the special insight, which is in the nature of the the wisdom realizing selflessness of the person, the selflessness. And that is the special insight which is the transworldly special insight. That is the one we should try, yeah, we should we should develop.
And so therefore, we should we should develop the transworldly special insight, the special insight in the nature of wisdom realizing selflessness. And by developing this, then it will through by developing such a transworldly a transworldly special insight that will cut the root of the cyclic existence. And by cutting the root of the cyclic existence, one attains the liberation or nirvana. And and so even by doing so, one one will one will not develop the the worldly special insight and also should not attain the the the the actual concentration level. But cutting the root of cycling existent, one has attained the liberation or nirvana.
And by attaining that liberation, one indirectly gone beyond or have attained the concentration level or better off than the concentration level. How about that? Love it. There is a text called the Praise to the Buddha. And and and and in that text, I’m not sure at the moment who composed the text, but but in that text has made the praise to the Buddha saying that those the follower of you you, which is follower of the Buddha’s Buddha, by practicing the path without attaining the actual concentration level.
Right? And they attain the liberation or cut the root of the cyclic existence and attain liberation through developing the special insight of realizing the selflessness of the person, which is very strange or funny. Miracles can happen. Geshe-la said, do you understand that? Said it is hard coming into the actual real emptiness teachings.
It’s pretty hard topic. And and said that, well, I mean, why he was saying it is so strange in in your teaching that one without attaining the concentration levels or without attaining technically, it means the worldly special insight. One attain enlightenment transworldly special insight and attains nirvana. What it means is saying is one should not try to develop the to attain this worldly special insight and instead meditate on emptiness. It is because why it is saying this is because this worldly special insight is the one that when one develops a special, sorry, calm abiding, and now they cease, you know, they dislike or do not find happiness in the desire realms and wanted to attain, to achieve the born in the form realms which is concentration level, technically it’s a god realm.
Thinking it’s peaceful, am I better in the form realms rather than the desire realm, desire realms which is where we are. And by seeing in the god realm is pretty good and they’re wishing to attain or take rebirth of being in the god’s realm, and this is how they develop this special insight, worldly special insight. So saying, this should not develop that and instead meditate on emptiness in which you’re completely free from the cyclic existence, whereas in form realms you are still in cyclic existence. That’s the way technically it’s saying. Better now?
Geshe-la said, this is the solid part. So therefore, one should establish the profound meaning of emptiness, should cultivate the emptiness because without developing the wisdom realizing emptiness, there is no way one can attained the either nirvana or liberation, which is Buddhahood, enlightenment. Because in order to attain attain the nirvana and the enlightenment, one has to abandon the two obscurations, the obscuration towards nirvana and obscuration towards enlightenment. And without wisdom realizing emptiness, one cannot clear either of those obscurations. Okay.
There’s many ways of saying. And so should develop that wisdom realizing emptiness. Without wisdom realizing emptiness, then your practices of the bodhicitta, performing the activities of the bodhisattvas, like the ritual vows, like developing bodhicitta or practices of six perfections, all those practice becomes with the stain or we call it like with the stain and without stain. There are two types of practice. The practice with the understanding of wisdom realizing emptiness becomes without the stain. And those without the wisdom realizing emptiness, the practice becomes with the stain.
Actually, not the smell, stain. So therefore, it is important for one to develop the wisdom realizing emptiness. And furthermore, so our main goal is to attain enlightenment. And to achieve enlightenment, union of wisdom and method is very important and should travel together. The method is bodhicitta and the wisdom is wisdom realizing emptiness.
And so just by method, just by one wing, the bird can’t fly in the sky. Likewise, just by one, either bodhicitta or wisdom realizing emptiness, one can’t attain the enlightenment or become Buddha. To become Buddha, the both should travel together. So so therefore, the great master, the Tsongkhapa in his Three Principal Aspects of the path said that without wisdom realizing emptiness, no matter how much one work hard to develop or meditate on the bodhicitta bodhicitta renunciation, no matter how much you meditate or cultivate renunciation in bodhicitta, one will not or one can’t cut the root of the cyclic existence. So therefore, work hard and cultivate in the methods to develop or establish to develop the wisdom to realize the interdependent, which is emptiness.
So and saying the benefits of of of the wisdom realizing emptiness, The great master in his four hundred stanzas set forth that one not yet fully develop the wisdom realizing emptiness, but having developed a slight doubt on the wisdom realizing emptiness. So saying that just having a slight doubt on the wisdom realizing emptiness by thinking. It is Emptiness means such and such. Maybe something like that, that sort of doubt.
Having developed such a doubt will hurt, will affect, have a huge effect on for the self grasping attitude. It become, if it’s a cloth, it’s completely abandoned, but it can hurt very badly, like tear up into pieces. Or it’s become like the crop’s been smashed by the great hailstorms. And the great master, Āryadeva in his four hundred stanzas said that those with a very less merit cannot even develop a doubt for the emptiness. If one develops the doubt on emptiness, slight doubt for the emptiness, it can make huge damage to the cyclic existence.
So therefore, it is not easy to develop a wisdom realizing emptiness. One needs to have a huge collections of virtue or merit And in order to develop wisdom realizing emptiness, one need to receive the proper instructions from the qualified teachers, the instruction in the emptiness and should have practices of accumulation and the purification by purifying all the negative actions and collect the merits through prostrations, making offerings and making supplication or praise without differentiating the guru and the personal deities and have the right views. So all these requirements are needed in order to develop your wisdom realizing emptiness. And in terms of developing a wisdom realizing emptiness, there are different theories or different assertions from the different schools, Buddhist schools of tenets. But among those tenets, the ultimate one is the Consequentialist Madhyamaka school, so called the Prāsaṇgika School.
And we’ll stop here. And we’ll stop here. Did you develop any doubts? Yeah. Yeah.
We’re waiting for questions here. Yeah. Yeah. Those for the bodhisattvas would yeah. Willingly, you know, born in the hell realms for the sake of the entire sentient beings, they wanted to suffer.
And if they have the sufferings like they’ve been stabbed, they have the same sufferings like we have been, the way the other hell beings or we receive, we’ve been, once have been stabbed. They have the same feeling. But the difference is, even though it is suffering, but they see that suffering as of happiness. And they feel rejoiced and happily accept that suffering in order to for the sake of other sentient beings. By doing so, and they have no difficulty and have not Yeah, they have The suffering is the same as we have, but that suffering cannot affect them because they happily with the great joy they receive the suffering for the sake of others.
Likewise, there are Bodhisattvas when the great Bodhisattvas in terms of practicing generosity to benefit others, they cut the limbs of their bodies. Same suffering is there, but they undertake it. They willingly accept it with a great joy so that the suffering can’t affect them the way it does to us. Yeah. It’s give you the don’t know whether it works in the western country, but it does in our con in India especially.
So the food is not good. And they love chili. And when you eat chili, it’s hot in the mouth, burning. But because it makes the food delicious and it can let you eat more, they willingly accept the hot, you know, it’s hot. So it’s like that.
But fortunately, Geshe-la only said the mouth, you know. Sorry, what was the song, Ring of Fire or something? Because it burns one’s mouth, but it helps you to eat more and it gives you more energy in your body. So you just willingly accept the heat or hot and take eat the chili, chili, chili, chili. It’s like that.
Sorry for Can they teach or can they understand teaching? You’re talking about the particular bodhisattva who was down there or all for the beings there? Well, yeah. Well, there’s a bodhisattva down there and there’s hell beings. Okay.
Can they understand the bodhisattva or what what The hell beings understand the hell bodhisattva. Attva. Yes. Sorry about that. Again.
Seven twenty four. Is it seven days, twenty twenty four hours? Twenty four does that you mean? I mean, yeah, twenty five hours. Seven Seven days a week.
How about seven eleven? Well, and it’s yeah. Twenty four seven. And they do but the hell beings, they can’t develop a wish, you know, the way we think that we you know, they’ve been tortured by sufferings all the time and they never have they hardly or they can’t develop a wish to be free from the sufferings the way we do and receive teachings. But it doesn’t mean, you know What here we’re talking the Bodhisattvas, they have a great patience and they and they do anything for the sake of entire sentient beings.
If they make praise and praise that they’re willingly to take rebirth in the hell realms if it is beneficial, if it is useful. So this is how the courage they have and their will if it’s if there is a reason or if there’s beneficial. But that doubt which is yeah, that is the one we are talking here, but making a wish that unwillingly, which is true, that willingly to take rebirth in hell realm, it is useful for the sake of entire sentient beings, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll go there. Whether one can accomplish that wish or is is is or out of question. Whether one can or cannot, it doesn’t matter.
But doing it is more important, and it has a huge benefit. Know, the working as a prime minister of the entire sentient beings means taking, you know, and the working for personal happiness alone is not as good as working as a prime minister because if working as a prime minister in which one works for the welfare of entire sentient beings, and doing that practice is more effective, then the person will gain happiness because by doing so, then one receives the equivalent, the virtues of the number of sentient beings. So because sentient beings are in numberless huge, then you’re once merit also becomes a huge. Whereas the personal happiness and personal which becomes into individual one, and that virtue won’t be much as doing the first one because in terms of numbers of sentient beings and oneself. And working for the welfare of sentient beings and as and taking the responsibility or burden of sentient beings, by doing so, one is eventually also working for the personal happiness and joy as well, which is one is not giving up anything, one is not losing anything.
They are indirectly performed. Yeah. I think next year, the Heart Sūtra is coming. So And yep. Don’t worry because the next teachings now comes about the wisdom teachings and the special insight of wisdom realizing emptiness all comes with the emptiness all the time to the next few teachings.
So don’t worry. That’s it. Yeah. Because it is because we the special insight here to our yeah. Here is the the special insight of wisdom realizing special insight of wisdom realizing emptiness, which means now first establish the wisdom realizing emptiness.
On the base of that wisdom realizing emptiness, then one attains the calm abiding and then the special insight. So the teaching on wisdom realizing emptiness will be in the next few teachings now. Because to to develop to to to teach about how to develop the the the special insight of wisdom realizing emptiness, of course, one needs to establish the emptiness. And in terms of establishing the emptiness, then all the the Buddhist schools of different schools of tenets, Buddhist schools of tenets will come. Different schools establish the different emptiness.
The way their theory is different. And the next year is the emptiness. Sorry. Next year is the Heart Sūtra. And Heart Sūtra is emptiness all the time.
Yeah. Yeah.