Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Geshe Pema Tsering opens this 44-minute Lamrim commentary with a counter-intuitive point from Atisha’s Lamp for the Path: offering accumulated merit to the Buddhas outweighs offering flowers or water, because merit multiplies rather than diminishes when given away. He then traces the causal chain toward bodhicitta — seeing the three types of suffering (including the subtler suffering of change and pervasive conditioning, which practitioners typically mistake for happiness), cultivating renunciation, developing great compassion, then love, and finally the uncontrolled wish to attain enlightenment for all beings. The second half surveys the four Buddhist philosophical schools and how each understands emptiness, arriving at the Prāsaṇgika Madhyamaka conclusion that emptiness and dependent origination are synonymous. The session closes with bodhicitta and wisdom realizing emptiness described as the two wings needed to fly to Buddhahood.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 13 LR 2002 09 24.mp3
UUID: 0cd350ab-8e66-4eb3-8bc5-9ec4c44735d6
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Lam Rim 2002 Bodhisattva Deeds (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2002-09-24
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 44.9 minutes
Words: ~3,030
The good master Atisha in his text called the lamp for the path to enlightenment set forth that if one makes the offering of bodhicitta with the hands folded together, then such a offering is the ultimate or a best offering among the offerings. And if one were to talk about the merits, how much merit one cultivates by making such offerings, the merit would be immeasurable. So therefore, benefits of developing the bodhicitta is very immeasurable as well as indeed the bodhicitta is very precious so the practice we’ve done with the motivation of altruistic intention by doing so we cultivate immeasurable merit and if we dedicate all this merit for the betterment of entire sentient beings then by doing so we can receive all those merits of the bodhicitta. So when we say the offerings and making offerings, we mainly think or take it as offerings of objects like the flowers or gifts as well as making water offerings and so forth, but that is not. One can also convert all virtues one cultivated through practice and can offer all that as merit as well.
And by making such making the offerings of the virtuous one have cultivated, one has cultivated, and offering them to the the Triple Gem or Buddhist and Bodhisattvas and and making such offering has has more benefit benefits or merit than offering the flowers, etcetera. And and in fact, making such offerings has huge advantage for oneself because because because making the the offerings of like material offerings like flowers, water, etcetera. And by making such offerings, it’s good. But the making of the offerings of merit is greater because making offerings like flowers, etcetera, when you make that offering you eventually lose something. You don’t have it.
You give it to them. Whereas making the offerings of merit, even though you’re giving up, but still you receive even more merit than you have. So it’s not like making other one. You didn’t you’re not losing anything. So therefore so whatever merits you cultivate through your practices like meditation on bodhicitta, emptiness and make or so dedicate or offer all the merits, know, completely from your heart and not just the word. And from your your heart, you know, offer it to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and request them to accept your offerings of the merit for the sake of entire sentient beings.
By doing so, even though you have completely given from your heart, by making such offerings, you have given all the merits, but as making such offerings, receive even more merits than before. Benefits in your merits also multiplies into many, many, many. And it’s because making when when you make those the offerings of the merits to the Triple Gem, Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, and for the sake of entire sentient beings, making such offerings, it also they they becomes the offerings of Dharma or offerings to the Buddhas as well as for the Sangha communities. And and also by making such offering, because that offering was done for the sake of entire sentient beings, it also becomes, you have also practiced the practice of generosity for the sentient beings. So because it has huge benefits and and and helps, yep, help one to cultivate immeasurable, huge amount of or immeasurable merits.
Therefore, so whatever virtuous or merit one we cultivate must make offerings to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas or to the Triple Gem for the sake of entire sentient beings. So and to make such offerings, first one needs to develop a bodhicitta. And developing a bodhicitta should comes after developing a great compassion. And as one as we know that the great compassion to to in order to develop a great compassion which is our wishing to free sentient beings from the suffering, then we need to develop a renunciation before the great compassion and develop development of the renunciation it depends on the seeing the faults of the cyclic existence. So and to see then when we say to see the faults of the cyclic existence, then and first one needs to see the cyclic existence like a poison and has and develop a huge wish, a strong wish to abandon the cyclic existence.
So so how how to cut or train one’s mind? And here, the so without knowing how oneself being tortured by the sufferings properly, then it is impossible one can see how sentient beings are also tortured by the sufferings. So in order to see that, one needs to see properly or understand vividly that how oneself has been tortured by the sufferings and undergoes through huge suffering. And having developed a proper knowledge of how oneself goes through the suffering, then what it will induce ones to develop our understanding of how certain beings go through the huge suffering. And by knowing this, then one can develop a wish to free sentient beings from the sufferings.
And whenever one develop the the uncontrolled wish to to free sentient beings from the from the entire suffering. And and that is a sign or that is where at the point one develops a great compassion. So, yeah. And we we can’t or we couldn’t develop those proper the great compassion, renunciation, and so forth. It is because or or other word, we say we are stuck somewhere because of that obstruction, you know, we can’t develop those compassion and so forth.
Is because the point where we’re stuck is we do not properly see the entire sufferings as suffering and how we go through the suffering. So because of this not understanding how go through the oneself goes through the suffering and that is the obstruction, know, the place where one’s stuck and can’t develop the further developments like great compassion and so forth. So, yeah, that’s where we start. We we don’t properly recognize the entire sufferings or three types of suffering. So if what we can understand the illness, the chronic diseases, very ill, serious sickness, and we do not wish them, just wish to suffer this particular disease because we recognize the disease or the diagnosis.
So likewise, if one sees those three types of sufferings as a way of suffering like the diagnosis you do not wish, then one can one can develop a proper and controlled wish to free from those sufferings. Yeah. And we can develop a wish to free. When we encounter with the huge the suffering of suffering, then we can, for example, suffering of suffering like huge disease or dying, being afflicted by a great chronic disease. We really wish to be free.
One really want to be free from that suffering of suffering. And except for that, then other true sufferings, suffering of change and suffering of pervasive conditioning, we don’t recognize those sufferings as suffering. Instead, we see them as happiness and we work for it and we cultivate to achieve them — the suffering of change, the suffering of pervasive conditioning. So because of this, and that’s where the point, I think big stop sign sitting there, you will be stuck. Yep.
So whenever one develops the same wish to be free from the suffering of suffering, from suffering of change, suffering of pervasive conditioning, like the great suffering of suffering in daily life, we can counter it. We really wish to get over that illness or recover soon. So whenever one develops the same strong wish to be free, the same wish for those next true sufferings of change and suffering of pervasive conditioning, then you will have developed the renunciation. And having developed such the mind of renunciation, then one can direct it into focus towards the sentient beings rather instead of oneself. Focus and sentient beings means that how they go through the suffering and and and and and being tortured by the suffering and one can develop a wish to free those sentient beings from the suffering.
And by developing such a mind with compassion, that wishing to free those beings from the suffering, then the other come other other mind or a love indirectly comes, which is wishing them to have entire happiness. And so by but yeah. So through or by developing those minds, like, great compassion and love. And, yeah, and by developing those minds, no one can see how those sentient, motherly sentient being lack happiness and being tortured by the sufferings and wanted to be free them from the suffering and wish to let them have entire happiness. So having developed such that, then one will look for a method to do so or accomplish those wishes.
And by searching for the method, and one will come into the point that method is the enlightenment. Unless one become a Buddha or reach the Buddhahood, one can’t free those or help sentient beings from the suffering and let them have happiness. So one can one understand that the Buddhahood is the method for one to accomplish those wishes. And knowing this and then one work for the work for the Buddhahood or to work to attain the the enlightenment. And whenever one develop such uncontrolled wish to attain the Buddhahood in order to help sentient beings, and then that is the bodhicitta.
That mind is called the bodhicitta. So so this is the mind which we were talking from the very beginning, that is the mind which is the best offering among the offerings. So we should develop such a mind, such the the mind or bodhicitta and and dedicate all the merit one gained from developing the bodhicitta for the the the Triple Gem or Buddha, Dharma and Sangha for the sake of other sentient beings. So we should do a short meditation on the activation of bodhicitta then, which is the aspiration of attaining enlightenment for the sake of entire sentient beings. So this is where we stopped last week that among the views of wisdom realizing and view of establishing the wisdom realizing emptiness or emptiness.
And the view of the Prāsaṇgika school, the Madhyamaka Madhyamaka school is the utmost. And the yeah. In general, there are many ways or many views of assertions of the emptiness that when Buddha Śākyamūni taught the teachings, he set forth the teachings according to the capability of persons, the practitioner’s mentality. And so due to this, it forms the four schools of Buddhist tenets. And so yeah.
And the the because of their four schools, each schools, they set the emptiness, the view or view of emptiness in different ways. So what so, yeah, even though they are four schools, but out of those four, the Prāsaṇgika Madhyamaka or the consequentialist Madhyamaka is set forth to be the utmost one. And how the Prāsaṇgika Middle Way, the consequentialist Madhyamaka asserts the emptiness is, while for in their school what what the emptiness means, emptiness, the meaning of the emptiness that which is interdependent comes through the dependent arising and and and the meaning of the dependent arising is the emptiness. So when it is like the functioning and the impermanence, it is impermanence because it functions and it is So in yep. So functioning is the impermanent, and impermanent is the function.
So likewise, so whenever one has similar understanding of emptiness is the dependent arising or origination, and dependent origination is the emptiness. So that is the view of the consequentialist middle school. So so, yeah. Yeah. Dependent origination and emptiness are the synonyms are the same.
So what it is empty of? It’s empty of inherent existence. That is free of inherent existence because what it means, so whatever the object it is, so without depending on its parts or the yeah. Its parts or the collections, it does not exist. So there because it is it dependent on the things depends on its parts in order to exist.
Therefore, it is empty or it is therefore, it is emptiness or it is empty of inherent existence indeed, free of inherent existence. K. So and then the dependent origination or interdependent. It means it depends on its parts or its causes and condition. So without depending on its parts and the causes and condition, the things do not exist.
So therefore the things are the dependent origination or interdependence. So likewise, so they are the empty of inherent existence or they are the dependent arising, dependent origination. So So when Buddha Śākyamūni, they taught the teachings. And and and for the disciple of the teachings, there are three types of the the beings or three types of disciples with a different intelligence or mentality. And so when he thought of the emptiness first, he didn’t say thought of that the the previous one, which is called the meaning of the emptiness is dependent origination, and the meaning of dependent origination is the empty or emptiness.
So that was not the first teaching Buddha Shakyamuniya set forth. Because during the first of the first the the the yeah. There is no disciples who have not mental, yeah, potential to receive such teachings of the emptiness, the mean the emptiness and the dependent origination. So he first set forth that the emptiness is emptiness, which is called gang zag rang rkya thub pa’i rdzas yod pa, or that the person and the self or a person is free of self sufficiently existent. And that was and that is the view as asserted by the lower schools, the Sautrantrika schools.
And then after having set forth such the the first one, which is I repeat here that the the the emptiness emptiness set forth was the person is free of self-sufficient existence. And then to another type of disciples whose mental mentality is a slight more advanced than the first one but a bit weaker than the last one where he set forth the emptiness and the dependent origination. The meaning of emptiness is dependent origination. That was the utmost. So between those two level, which is set forth is actually the view of Cittamātra, the mind only school.
And he set forth, dividing all phenomena into three groups, called the other-powered phenomena, the thoroughly established phenomena. So first one is other powered phenomena, and thoroughly established phenomena, yongs grub pa. And the last one is called the imputed phenomena. Right? So the three types of he said, yeah, divided the phenomena into three groups.
And then very vividly explains that the first two, the other powered phenomena and the thoroughly established phenomena are truly exist truly or they are the true existence. And the last one, the imputed phenomena are free of inherent existence So the first one includes like the other powered phenomena are like all this, you know, vast, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. And the thoroughly established phenomena is like the emptiness which we set forth. So those thoroughly. So, yeah, the first one is the other-powered phenomena like forms, trees and so forth.
They exist truly because they are the product of the of or they are the product of causes and conditions. So therefore, they exist truly. And also, the thoroughly established phenomena like emptiness, for example, and they also truly exist because in the mind of supreme beings, the meditative equipoise or the stabilization within them, the emptiness, they exist truly. They exist truly. Therefore, the the emptiness like that, the other-powered, thoroughly established phenomena truly exist.
And the last one, the imputed phenomena like permanent phenomena itself or the negations, they are not truly exist. Yeah. They are untrue or not truly exist. So, yeah, the last one is the imputed phenomena are not truly existent because imputed phenomena, they are elaborated or fabricated by the conceptual thought. So therefore, they do not exist truly.
And then after mind only school, then he set forth another teaching, and which is slight advance than the mind only school’s the view, which we just said for the divided objects phenomena into three groups. So and then the disciple with a slight better mentality or intelligence, and that school is called the Madhyamaka called the Svatāntrika Madhyamaka. And in Autonomy Madhyamaka, they said their understanding is more intelligent or, yeah, faculties sharper than the the other lower schools. So for them, and the teaching set forth was that, yeah, they’re free of true existence, means they are not true exist, not truly exist, but things do exist through their characteristics. So which is slightly more complicated as Geshe-la has said.
And then the disciple with the very sharp faculty or those disciple upgraded their faculty or intelligence, and they reached the final, very utmost level of the mental level, then they set forth. Well, likewise, like the things do not exist truly. Likewise, they do not exist according truly exist in terms of with the characteristic as well. So because because they do not exist truly, therefore, they do not exist by their own characteristics as well. So and that view is the view of the the the consequentialist Madhyamaka.
I’m expecting lots of question at the end of the class. Geshe-la said that do you understand what we are where where are we going and what what what Geshe-la is saying? Yeah. It’s good. And it’s also good to hear the teachings as well because when you are leaving very good latencies or imprints.
So the ultimate teachings of the Buddha Śākyamūni is the view of wisdom realizing emptiness, which is the the Prāsaṇgika Madhyamaka, the consequentialist middle way school. And that is the the meaning of emptiness is interdependent. Dependent origination is the emptiness. So that the wisdom realizing emptiness, it is very profound. So therefore, the wisdom realizing emptiness, it is very profound, and it is very hard to realize.
And this is the ultimate companion of the bodhicitta — the wisdom companion. So and so making using the both the bodhicitta and the wisdom realizing emptiness as two wings. And by flapping those two wings and you go fly to the