Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. The double standard in torma offerings — finest food when practitioners know they’ll eat it afterward, cheapest when it stays on the altar — opens Geshe Pema Tsering’s nearly two-hour Lamrim session. He works through ten sub-topics on making offerings to the Three Jewels: all happiness arises through virtuous causes as their activity; faith determines offering quality, not material value; unowned things like mountains and rivers can be mentally offered. He then turns to the eight benefits of going for refuge, illustrated by a deity who avoided rebirth as a pig by taking refuge in the Buddha. A Q&A closes with whether real objects outperform imagined offerings, whether self-cherishing can be offered (no), and whether food belongs on the altar or with a hungry person.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 34 2008 09 25 BP.mp3
UUID: 0bbaeed0-9046-499f-a90d-e786c7ccc20e
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Lam Rim (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2008-09-25
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 112.0 minutes
Words: ~7,307
This is a certain thing that to give rise to to a good motivation and with intention and of establishing all sentient beings in the state of enlightenment, and then, you know, we ourselves must attain enlightenment to accomplish that. So we are going to study properly study the teachings and practices the teachings accordingly so we can accomplish this goal. And then we start with the Heart Sūtra. Yeah.
So, Geshe-la, I going through the next topic, which is remember their great their great kindness, the kindness of the of the Three Jewels, and due to that exert oneself at all times to make offerings in them to them and offer them even the first portion of one’s food and drink. Then this topic has ten parts to it, ten different divisions. The first one being the constant make constant offerings. And I guess I was going through the text. You should understand all the well-being you experience as the kindness of the Three Jewels and make offerings to them by acknowledging that.
So, again, you should recognize the great kindness of the Three Jewels by understanding that all the happiness that you experience is is due to the enlightened activities of the Three Jewels. And then understanding that make offerings make offerings to the Three Jewels. And this is saying that this alone is is very difficult for us to to realize, to understand. Because the text is telling is telling us that whatever good things and excellent things and happiness that we experience is due to the kindness of the Three Jewels. And and and we the way we think is that everything every excellent thing is every comfort and pleasure and happiness that we have is due to our own efforts, to the efforts that we have made.
We we we do not think that these things came about because of the kindness of the Three Jewels, the the activity of the Three Jewels. And Geshe-la is explaining that again, so again Geshe-la says that we do not we do not understand, we do not see those happinesses and and comforts and so forth as being due to the kindness of of the Three Jewels. But the fact is that whatever happiness we experience is due to comes only as a result of of of having engaging in virtues, virtues virtues are so to speak the enlightened activity of the Three Jewels of the Buddha and Dharma and Sangha and so forth. It is by the force of having practice engaged in such virtues that we how to say reap this this happy results I guess I was explaining and so much so that that we we know of people who as hard as they might work, they still do not get all the happiness and the comfort and pleasures that we would expect. And we know and we know also about the people who without making any effort and engaging in any hardship, they experience so much happiness, so much fortune and so forth.
And again, that’s due to the fact that they have engaged accumulated virtuous causes in the past, and now they’re experiencing the results of those virtuous actions. So again, Geshe-la is gonna say so because these happinesses and pleasures and comforts and so forth excellent things and so forth they are the results of how can I say that because the results arise in dependence on the causes again and these results arise in dependence have a rise in dependence on virtuous causes and again those virtues themselves are the enlightened activities of the Three Jewels? So again, in this way, we can recollect the great kindness of the Three Jewels. So then we read the next topic, the peculiarity that the collections are completed with little little trouble. Since you constantly need to eat and drink, if you continuously offer the first portion of of them, you will complete a great amount of collections with little trouble.
Therefore, you should offer the first portion of whatever you enjoy, including even water from the bottom of your heart. And, again, Geshe-la just said the same thing in a more colloquial way. Again, we should offer everything that we eat and drink. Even even if it is just just water, merely water, again, by by making this offerings constantly, we will accumulate great amounts of merit. And, Geshe-la, that’s good for the next topic.
Again, impure offerings. And we have this quote from Sharawa who said, you should not make offerings from the blue mold on coagulated milk or and yellow leaves, but make them but from something good. Worship comes about each time through offering the first portion of tea, but not through something like cleaning out the dust. So, again, Geshe was just going back for the text and saying the same things again that the text are saying. But Geshe-la was in there just telling us that, again, we we shouldn’t offer if we have two qualities of offerings, we should offer the best one.
We should offer the best of what we have. We shouldn’t offer something that nobody else wants to to have or to eat or to drink. Again, if if if Geshe-la was then saying, we we this this is how we usually make. If there is something that nobody else wants, that’s what we’re going to offer to the Three Jewels. But that you know, it’s like taking the the dust or taking a hair out of the tea and offering.
Geshe-la was then making this. Yes. So you can offer the tea, and you you make the the that offering with the the fingers, or you can just take a hair or some dust or some dirt that you do not want out of the tea. And and that’s you know, we we shouldn’t offer something that nobody else wants. We should offer what what is of good quality.
And Geshe-la was saying, so again we should offer whatever it is that we have that that is best of of better quality and not offer what is of of of bad quality. Geshe-la was saying, because if we if we offer those things which are good, which are of good which are the best things that we have, again, we will we will enjoy them. We’ll enjoy the fruits of that in the future. And not only that, by having made made by having made that offering of those good things, whatever it may be, nobody can take away from you that karma. So it’s it’s safe.
That karma is safe. Geshe-la was saying, again, giving another illustration, there are those occasions when we are making these big offerings, the top. We have the torma offerings. And when we are making torma offerings, we get all the best quality, the best quality, you know, rice, the best quality biscuit and chocolate and everything. And that’s because we are going to eat it.
We are going to eat it, so we get the best quality. That’s how we think. But if the offerings that we are going to make are going to be left behind or going to be thrown away, then we get the worst quality food, the worst quality food. And that’s what we offer. And this is very very bad.
That’s very very impure offering. So again, we should should make offerings. We should make the offerings, for example. But we we shouldn’t make it with the expectation that we are going to get it thinking that I’m gonna eat it. So so I’m gonna make the best offerings.
We should make the best offerings, and we should offer offer them entirely and wholeheartedly to the Three Jewels, to the lama, the Three Jewels, and the the the so forth. We offer them entirely to to the deities, to the Buddhas, and so forth. And and still, we are going to get them. We we it’s we are going to eat them anyway. If we wishing to eat them or not wishing to eat them, we are going to eat them anyway.
So we should focus on developing the right motivation. It’s very important that we develop the right motivation and offer them to the Three Jewels entirely. In the offering. In the sūtra, it is said, for instance, if at the time of planting seeds in a fertile field, something remains unplanted, it cannot just be left. Likewise, by planting the seeds of well-being continually throughout all four seasons in the sublime field from which all future well-being springs, may the field of merit be tiled be tilled with the plow of confidence in them.
So again, just like in in in a actual field, if we miss the opportunity to plant the seeds again, we will not we will regret our actions, and we will not reap the harvest. Again, in the same way in the field of merit, again, we should make every opportunity. We should not miss any opportunity to plant the seeds of of of virtue. And and at all times, past, present, and future, we should continually in all fields, past, present, and future, we should plant the seeds of virtue. There is no there is no time limitations in this field, so we should take every chance we have to plant the seeds of virtue.
I didn’t read the text, but you you we all have the text? Did I read the text to you guys? Yeah. I read. Yes.
Okay. So, yeah, so I guess that was in this conclusion. So we should take every chance to plan this is a virtue. Every chance, every opportunity we have. And again, Geshe-la was again, going back to the text, again saying the text indicated that we we do not we do not actually do that.
We miss these opportunities, and then we regret. We become miserable in the institute because we do not reap the harvest. So, again, we should not allow this to happen. We should take every opportunity to make every opportunity available by planting the seeds of virtue. And the the main thing, Krishna, I wasn’t saying virtue.
When I talk about virtue, the main thing is is is is we’re talking about is the mind. We we make virtues by the force of the mind. Those physical actions and verbal actions, the quality of those actions depend entirely in the quality of the mind that we are producing. So it’s very important that we create virtues with our minds. In English, Geshe-la was going for the next topic again, the need to exert oneself in making offerings.
To not have even as much regard for the best of fields as for an ordinary field will not not be a good attitude. Therefore, we should strive at all times to make offerings to the Three Jewels. So we if when we talk about an ordinary field, an actual field where we plant the seeds of a harvest and so forth, Geshe-la was saying we wouldn’t allow we wouldn’t wouldn’t just leave it aside for a whole year without doing anything to it. We will we will continually and and and still expect to get results, and expect to get a harvest. We will we will continually work all year round.
We would plant the seeds and and care for the fields so we could reap the harvest. And that’s how busy we we we we make ourselves with with such ordinary fields. And then with with the actual field of merit, which is this of of this precious human rebirth with this freedom and opportunities and so forth, we do not we do not give to as as much importance, as much regard to it. We do not think of it as with with so as much urgency as this ordinary field. And that’s what we’re being told not to do because the the actual ordinary field, it’s it’s good for us only for a year or for a few years.
And but in this field of of where we can plant our virtues again, we it’s good for a much greater length of time. And visualize in reading the next topic, high status, the path, the ground, and so forth. They are attained through making offerings in that way. So, again, by continually making offerings, planting the seeds of virtue in the fields of merit, like, we have been told, we we attain these results. So if you do that through the power of the roots of virtue that grow in the most excellent fields, the power of your intelligence concerning the stages of the path will increase.
When your intelligence is very feeble such that you do not retain the words while listening, do not understand the meaning while contemplating, and nothing arises in the mind, nothing is produced in the mind while meditating, the quintessential instruction is to rely on the power of the field. So this excellent field, this sacred excellent field is is the are the Three Jewels. The Three Jewels are this field of merit. So, again, we should make continuous offerings and supplications and prayers, aspirational prayers, and confession, purification practice, and so forth to the Three Jewels. And by by acting this way, then when we listen to the teachings we will understand, when we contemplate, we will ascertain the knowledge, when we meditate we will gain clarity and so forth.
We will be able to accomplish those things we weren’t able to accomplish. Awesome. So we I guess I will go through the next topic. Again, how the size of the offerings and so forth is a distinction to do to be made with the mind. Also, the offering is not confined by the thing offering.
It is confined by your faith. As it is stated in the scriptures, if you have faith, it is enough to offer mandalas, water, water, and offerings that are not considered by anyone to build their property. Therefore, you should act you should act accordingly even if you do not have any material things to offer. Not to be able to give even though you have something, saying I, a pauper, without any merits, do not have any other possessions to offer. Would be, in the words of Potowa, like a blind person putting some cheap aromatic plant into his small conch shell container in order to fool someone with eyes This one?
In order to fool someone with eyesight in order to fool someone with with without outside that by calling it sand of wood and comfort perfume. So again, Geshe lah, just reiterating, again, our offerings, the quality of our offerings do not depend in the quality of of the things that are being offered themselves. It depends on the quality of our faith, our faith in the Three Jewels, our conviction in the Three Jewels. So that’s what determine the quality of our offerings. And, again, just like the was saying, even those things, there’s no there’s no such thing as saying that I do not have anything to offer.
I’m a pauper. I’m miserable. I don’t have anything to offer. And just like the test is saying, even even if you do not have anything, even something, like the test was pointing out, something that which is which is regarded by others not to be their property. So I guess I wasn’t saying, you can offer water.
You can offer the mountains, the trees, the rivers. All all all all of that is suitable to be offered. Even though it doesn’t belong to you, it’s suitable to be offered. So again, Geshe-la was then just reiterating using that the illustration that is giving the text. If we go and say, again, I have nothing to offer.
I’m I’m I’m I’m poor. I have nothing to offer. Again, it’s just like a blind person putting this perfume in a dirty smelly container, a conch shell, and then try to persuade a person with eyesight that it is actually camphor and sandalwood and so forth. The person will never be able to fool, the blind person will never be able to fool the person with eyesight. Okay?
So, again, it doesn’t matter. There’s no there’s no such thing as as not having anything to offer. Doesn’t matter what it is. It doesn’t matter if it belongs to someone else or if it doesn’t belong to any anybody. When you are offering something with your mind, having developed faith and confidence that you’re using, you offer those things with your mind, again, it is the the power of that confidence that you have developed that faith and that confidence that that creates the merit.
That is that is where the merit goes. So the the those things themselves, the the the the Three Jewels, the Buddha do not take them away. They do not go anywhere. So is it is the the mind that you create that is the virtue. In Geshe-la was going for the next topic again, how to train in uprightness with regard to offering substances following the masters of former times.
So said, at first, I used to offer a pungent aromatic plant. Then I had the means to offer sweet incense prepared from four substances. Now I offer the most exquisitely fragrant aloewood, durusha, etcetera. In accordance with this statement, if you do not give anything out of contempt for small offerings, you will go on like that throughout your entire life. However, if you develop perseverance from a lesser stage, it will get better and better.
Therefore, you should train following the practice of this master of former times. It is said that he once prepared incense worth twenty two gold coins. So again, I guess I was gonna say, we’ve been taught that we, you know, if if we make offerings, we will be able to we have to start somewhere, and we’ll be able to get more and more and better offerings to to to offer. So Geshe-la was stating again, he started with some, you know, some small grass or or dry herb to offer, but Potowa started like that. And then he went on to to offer better quality incenses until he offered the best quality of incenses that were available.
So again, if we make offerings, we have to start even if we start with very little, very little quantity, quality, so forth. Again, we start there, and eventually we will get more and more and better and better things to offer. Is going for the next topic. Again, the refutation of the manner of speaking to the effect that the way bodhisattvas make offerings, having gained control of material things is impure. If great Bodhisattvas, having gained control over material things, emanate many hundreds of thousands of bodies, and for each body emanate hundreds of thousands of hands, arms and hands, etcetera, that appear in all the fields of merit and make offerings to the conquerors for many eons.
The statement by those who know only the superficial appearance of positive conduct is that, as for me, I do not hope to reach enlightenment in that way. It is the idle talk of people who have very little familiarity with the dharma. And Geshe-la was saying there are there are those people who, again, who are who would say instead of doing all this this work that these Bodhisattvas are doing, you know, I will I won’t do that. I will not attain enlightenment this way. I will I will practice, you know, Tantra.
And then I so don’t have to do all this hard work. And Geshe-la was explaining again this such talk. So again, Geshe-la was saying, if if if if for such people who say that, again, they will not they will not accomplish. They will not be able to to bring that how to say? To carry that on.
They will not be able to accomplish the enlightenment. Will not be to accomplish anything like that. If one if one does not accumulate the three countless great eons of merit, again, one will not be able to accomplish that. So again, it is because these people do not know the dharma very well that they say such things. And again, I guess I was going for the next topic, how to make offerings with other vast things.
In the Dense Cloud Sūtra it says from the sūtra collections you should study what are very vast offerings and honors and from the bottom of your heart dedicate them with the most excellent special attitude to the buddhas and bodhisattvas again we’ll make make those offerings, those very vast offerings to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, again, with the intention to accomplish enlightenment. So, Geshe-la, we’re just going for the next topic. Again, remember the great their great compassion, and due to that, establish other beings in such a mode of behavior. Again, in accomplishing the welfare of others. Out of loving concern, establish all the sentient beings in going for refuge in the future as much as you can.
So, I guess I was going for the next topic. Whatever one does and whatever one needs, having worshiped the Three Jewels, supplicate them and abandon other other worldly methods. Whatever you whatever you do and whatever requirements you see, rely on the Three Jewels and do what is in agreement with them, such as making offerings to them and so forth. However, it is inappropriate to rely in all ways on that which is not in agreement with them, such as the. Consequently, you should trust the Three Jewels at all times.
So again, whatever in whatever in in any matters that may be, again, one should rely only on the Three Jewels, make offerings and requests and petitions to the Three Jewels and not rely on any other worldly deities and and gods and the worldly deities and so forth. Again, just like, you know, when when we we we think that maybe the Three Jewels will not be able to help us with some world with with some worldly matter, and then we talk to the to the boss or to the landlord or some something like that. Instead, we seek their refuge. We seek their help instead. And we shouldn’t we shouldn’t do that.
We should continually make rely on the Three Jewels and make requests and offers and so forth. So Geshe was first Geshe was first saying something about the the the the Bönpos. The Bönpos. I don’t know how you would pronounce it, but it says we we shouldn’t rely on on the on the on the on on on the because, like said, in the past, they would make sacrificial offerings. They would kill, sacrifice animals, and make those offerings, and that would be really inappropriate.
I said, nowadays, they don’t do that anymore. So it’s okay. But the whole point is that, again, if you have I guess let’s go for the next topic. Again, aware of the benefits, go for refuge three times a day and three times at night. And then this topic has eight parts.
So, again, the the these benefits of of going for refuge. It is the measure of being a Buddhist. It is the basis of all vows. The karmic obscures accumulated previously are reduced and exhausted. One accumulates vast merit.
One will not fall into the bad migrations. One will not be harmed by human and nonhuman obstacles. One will attain everything one wishes for. One will swiftly attain Buddhahood. So, again, it is a measure of being a Buddhist.
Although, generally speaking, they appear to be there there appear there appear to be many ways of positing going for refuge and have not given it up. Hence, as for the measure of being a Buddhist, necessary to consider the Three Jewels as teacher and so forth from the bottom of your heart. Without that, even though you do virtuous deeds, you will not be included among Buddhist. So, again, if you have refuge, then you are called a Buddhist. If you do not have refuge, you are called an outsider, a non-Buddhist.
And then, again, I was saying, so there are those people who who are not Buddhists, who do not accept or believe in the Three Jewels and still practice the engaging in in in virtues. And of of those people, it is said again that they will not derive great benefit. There there are all sorts of virtues, virtuous actions. Of those people, it is said that, you know, they will not derive great benefit. It is said that they will not attain enlightenment or those virtues will not become the cause of enlightenment, virtues will not become the cause of liberation.
Those things are said, but it depends entirely on motivation. All those actions, the quires of those actions depend entirely on the motivation. So again if we have a non-Buddhist person practicing generosity, again, that person will derive basically the same fruits that a bodhis would derive. That the person would experience happiness in the future as the result of that virtuous The person would experience wealth in the future. The person would experience a high rebirth, might might even experience a high rebirth in the future due to that.
So the results that the person will experience is the same as the results that a Buddhist would also experience. But still that person will not those actions will not become for that person who is not a Buddhist. Those actions will not become the causes of liberation and enlightenment. Okay? This was gonna say, again, that person, that non-Buddhist person, again, there are those those people who are non-Buddhist who believe in in future lives, in future rebirth.
So, again, that person might very well practice that action and attain a happy rebirth in the future. But because that but, again, still that action will not lead that person, will not become the cause of liberation and enlightenment because that person does not believe in liberation and enlightenment because such a person does not accept or believe in the Three Jewels, in the Three Jewels, in the Three Jewels. So the person does not accept liberation and enlightenment. As such, the person cannot attain or create the cause of liberation and enlightenment. Irrespective of what the words that might be used, what is important is what one accepts in one’s heart, one’s heart mind.
And, Geshe-la, let’s go for the next topic. It is the basis of all vows. Refuge is the basis of all vows. In the commentary on the treasury, they say, those who go for refuge have gained access to taking all the vows correctly. And in the seventy verses of on going for refuge, it also says, upasakas, go for refuge to the three.
That is the root of the eight vows, the eight upasaka vows. The intention is that through going for through going for refuge, the thought of passing beyond suffering is stabilized and the vows spring from that. And again, so then the refuge is is the basis, the foundation for taking vows. And and the reason, again, we we we say that is because by accepting by taking refuge, one accepts, one understands that the refuge of the Buddhas, you know, are free of every fault and endowed with every good quality. And this propels us then to to, you know, to develop the aspiration to be like them, and then we take the vows because of that so that we can perfect ourselves.
So so if if we we do not have refuge, then we do not have, again, a reason or an aspiration to take the vows. This one. And, again, I was just making mention to the one little expression which is translated as passing beyond suffering. So, again, the thought of passing beyond suffering, this thought of attaining liberation, so to speak, as I was explaining. So, again, if one has refused and one one is is is is able to attain liberation.
Again, without refuge, one will not be able to attain liberation. Guess I was going for the text again. The karmic the karmic obscurations accumulated previously are reduced and exhausted. Then the companion of trainings, is said, here in the in the context of showing that negativities are purified by going for refuge, the story of the pig should be presented as an illustration. For instance, a son of a god who who was going to be reborn as a pig through going for refuge was not born as one.
It is stated that those who have gone for refuge, the Buddha will not go to the bad migrations. Having given up their human body, they obtained the the body of a god. It is stated similarly with respect to the Dharma and the Sangha. English language and explaining, and there is this this story when there was a time when Buddha Śākyamūni went to the heaven of the so called heaven of the thirty three in order to benefit his his mother. His mother was reborn in this heaven, and he went there to teach to give teachings so he could benefit his mother.
Then was there, the gods who lived there, they are very powerful gods and they have how do you say? They have clairvoyances and so forth. So they they know where they are going to be born in their next life. They can see that. So there was this one god who saw that he was going to be born as a pig.
And, again, he was very scared, and then he took he took refuge in the Buddha at that time. And because of that, he was not reborn as a pig. Geshe-la was saying he he he was probably reborn as as a man, as as Geshe remembers, as a person, as a human being, as Geshe remembers. And then again Geshe-la was going through the rest of that verse there, again saying, again, one takes refuge in the Buddha, again, one is not reborn in the lower migrations, in the lower realms of existence. One is born as either human or as a god of the higher realms.
And the same applies for the Dharma and the Sangha. I guess, Geshe-la was saying, so if one has taken has gone for refuge with the Buddha, again, one has automatically gone for refuge to the Dharma and the Sangha also. We don’t even need to think about that much. Then the next topic is number four, one accumulates vast merit. And then in the summary of the perfections, it is said, if the merit of refuge were to take shape, even the three realms even the three realms would would be small as a container.
Great oceans for most of water bodies could not hold or measure it. Need to talk about a very great length of time. Just one moment of of of having developed properly developed that mind of refuge. One moment of that mind of refuge, again, is enough to if the merit of that single moment were to take shape, again, would take form, again, the three realms of existence, the the desire realm, the form, the formless realms would not be enough to contain all that merit. Again, even the great oceans, as vast as they may be, deep and vast as they may be, again, they would not be enough to contain all that merit.
So again, Geshe-la was gonna say, so it is we have we derive a great amount of benefit by taking refuge. So we need we need that. We because we want great happiness, we want this profit to us, we want this great benefit to us. That’s why we need to go for refuge. It’s very important that we go for refuge and develop that.
There no denying it. If there will be something that is just a slightly beneficial or just a little beneficial, then you could say, I’m not really up to doing it. But going for refuge, there’s so much benefit to it. There is it’s impossible to deny it. It’s impossible to turn us back to it.
We have to go. We must do it. And, again, that’s for not falling into bad migrations, into bad realms. Again, we we are told to to understand it as we should understand it from this from from the above. Again, because the the above were told that there’s so much benefit that we derive as a that comes as a result of taking refuge.
So, again, as a result of that, we are not born in the bad migrations. And then again, it is easy to understand. We will not be harmed by human and nonhuman nonhuman obstacles, and this is easy to understand. Again, the Geshe-la was gonna say, if we have a good mind of refuge, if we have taken refuge properly, again, this is easy to understand. And then as for the next one, seven, one will attain everything one wishes for.
So whatever Dharma activity you do, if at the beginning you make offerings to the Three Jewels, go for refuge and supplicate them, it will easily be accomplished. And going for the last one of those topics, Again, one will swiftly attain Buddhahood and in the Sūtra Requested by Singha. Says, through faith, unfreedom is abandoned. In accordance with that, you will obtain the distinguished leisures of of a human rebirth and having encountered refuge, train in the special path whereby you will become a Buddha without long delay. Mindful of these kinds of benefits, you should go for refuge three times a day and three times at night.
Soon it will be two thousand and nine. I’ll be already at the end of two thousand and eight. Soon it will be two thousand and nine. Yeah. Yeah.
If you have a if you have a non-Buddhist who lives in future lives and they do a virtuous action, a result will come from that. And then you have a Buddhist with a small scope a small scope being who strives for just better future lives. If he does the same virtuous action, is there a difference in the result? And if so, why? Yes.
The virtue that was performed by the Buddhist, it will be much greater. The power of the virtue will be much greater. The results will be much greater because the person has the refuge in the Three Jewels. And the the virtue of the person who does not have the refuge again will will not be as powerful as strong. Is that okay?
This one. Okay. Is that through the power of the object, or is that through of of the help that the person has. It’s always the the the word ‘dröpa’, help, helper, making reference to the Three Jewels the the Three Jewels because the person has has gone for refuge in the Three Jewels and has derived so much benefit from going for refuge in the Three Jewels. Again, all that benefit will will how can I say that?
What’s what’s the word? Synergize with one’s virtues. So that all that will will help help whatever other virtues one one create and perform. Okay? He didn’t say synergize, but Hey.
Yeah. More or less. So, Geshe-la was gonna say, so it it depends it depends on on the the motivation that is given before the action and on the dedication after the action. It depends on that motivation, the dedication, having the the aspiration to attain liberation. But but, again, those beings who had aspiration to attain liberation, who want to strive for liberation, they are not called beings of small scope.
They are called beings of the middling scope. So the beings of small scope, they are aspiring. Aspiring. They do not have the aspiration to be free from cyclic existence, to to strive for liberation. They aspire only to high rebirth.
So it it it might be the case, but hardly so, Geshe-la was in saying, because it it involves them having the knowledge, not only having the knowledge of liberation and the cause of liberation and so forth, but also having developed that aspiration to be free from cyclic existence, that renunciation. So it might happen, but hardly so. Otherwise, they will be called beings of middling scope. Is that okay? Yeah.
In making, like, a material offering Yes. The three tools. Yes. So given go on now. Yeah.
So it’s something that, you know, we we wanna make something. It’s an important object in our minds, you know, not just something that’s sort of stingy or whatever or, you know, the mold from the all that sort of stuff. That’s fine. That’s fine. That’s That’s fine.
That’s how it is. That’s how it is. We’re all learning here. Yes? I can extend because I’ve got one a little bit like that.
Is there a difference between a material object procured and arranged with love to an something like mountain and and the flowers that you give with even more love. Say I’m sorry. Can you repeat that? Material things. That are truly there.
The truly there. Yes. Yes. Imagine Like this iPod here. Imagined objects or universes or just totally imagined but gives us even more love.
More love. Or more respect, more honor. Absolutely. Absolutely. Which would be the best?
The iPod. So so Geshe was then saying is that yeah? Did you want to say something? So Geshe-la was then saying, generally speaking, Gesela was saying, look. We if we have something to offer, then something material to offer, then it is best.
And you can offer something, and I was just using the iPod for for kicks, but you can offer the iPod and you can still whilst offering the whilst offering the iPod, they visualize, you know, a vast amount of of offerings and all that together with that. Or and then say, so what if I don’t have anything? You can still do it, or, you know, you can still only sorry. Offer only visualized offerings or you can offer things that do not belong to anyone, mountains and so forth. But but because I was saying the the best deal is to offer something which is really belongs to you, which is a real thing that belongs to you.
Because that will certainly harm your miser liness. That will counteract your miserliness. Once you if you’re offering something which is imagined or or something else, that might not just quite do the job. You you you get that? Yes.
You. So if you have an actual object, an actual thing that you are is what was saying. When you offer that, you really offer that, that acts as an antidote to miserliness. It acts as an antidote to attachment. It acts as an antidote to self grasping.
So, you know, it certainly does so. Whilst it might not do the other way around. For a long while, I had difficulty with prostrations. Yep. And one of the things that actually has helped me with that is actually as I do them, I’m focusing on the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.
Yeah. But I found offering my resistance, my own resistance, and self-cherishing. Cherishing. Your own self-cherishing? I can’t translate that.
Because I felt that’s all I had to give when I was doing them. But now I’m wondering whether that’s an impure offering. Right. I’m sorry. I don’t think it is impure, but let me ask.
So Geshe lah is saying, yeah. Well, self-cherishing is not something that you that you would offer because it’s mainly regarded as as an object, as something which is to be that one should rid oneself of, an object of abandonment. So it is not an object of offerings. It is something which is bad. You don’t want to offer that.
You can offer yourself. You can offer yourself to the Jews and, you know, and and put put yourself at the service of the Three Jewels, the teachings of the Three Jewels. And and you you you you put yourself give yourself to to accomplishing the path the paths and the grounds and the teachings and so forth. And you offer yourself to the teachings, to the Dharma, to the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha in this way, and that’s alright. So again, now offering the self-cherishing is not quite right.
So because because self-cherishing, of all, is not a thing that you would is not a thing that you would offer, and it’s also not something good. It’s in the same way that you wouldn’t offer your attachment or you wouldn’t offer your anger as an offering. Offering. You let go of those things, but you don’t offer them. But it’s almost in my mind, it was almost like a relinquishing of those things by being pregnant.
You know, by you know, I can do the prostration by relinquishing my resistance and my self-cherishing. Yeah. You’re saying two different things. Yeah. You see?
Yeah. So you’re not offering. We’re not you said you said offering. You asked about offering. Right?
So Geshe said, no. You don’t offer them. You can let go of it and then do your prostrations, but you don’t offer them. Is that okay? So the self-cherishing the self-cherishing is something which is to be relinquished.
That’s what we call an object of abandonment, an object of relinquishment. This is what we have to relinquish. The self-cherishing is something which is to be relinquished. So whatever whatever happens to it, hardship or suffering or pain or hatred and so forth, you know, you you shouldn’t stop your practice. And so for the sake of of ridding yourself, of relinquishing, relinquishing, self-cherishing, and accomplishing and generating the mind that cherishes others more than more than oneself, you do your prostrations.
That’s how you do it. So, again, self-cherishing is the source of of every suffering. So, you know, I ought to I ought to relinquish it. And so and you, Buddha, you have you have accomplished that. You have relinquished self-cherishing.
So I’m gonna follow your example and so forth. To you, I bow. To you, I prostrate and so forth. Okay. Shall shall we shall we finish here now?
It’s past nine already. Okay. You can ask more questions to and to. They will be very happy to answer your questions. Hello.
Yeah. Is it alright to ask the question? Yes. My question was if if you have an offering say it’s an offering of food, and have a choice between making an offering of food to the to the Three Jewels or or giving the same the same objective offering to someone who’s in need of it, say, someone who’s hungry. So again, was gonna say it is it is best to give to the person who is hungry because, again, in the same example of that what’s your name again?
Sorry. Denise. Denise. Denise. Like, just like in the question Denise’s question.
When you give that food to that person, again, that that offering also acts as an antidote to your miserliness, to your attachment, and so forth. Whilst you were if you were to offer to your in your altar to the Three Jewels, again, you end up eating it in the end. So yeah. Okay?