Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. A verse comparing a chalk-plastered house made brighter still by winter moonlight opens this 44-minute session: Geshe Pema Tsering uses Nāgārjuna’s image to argue that even practitioners who have mastered all three vehicles can deepen their understanding further. The commentary then marks a structural hinge, moving from the text’s preliminaries into its main body. Geshe Pema unpacks Nāgārjuna’s six remembrances — Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, generosity, ethics, and the gods — then works through the ten virtuous actions of body, speech, and mind, with a candid aside about wine replacing barley beer as the locally relevant intoxicant. The session ends at the entrance to the middling motivation path, where Nāgārjuna instructs the king to see wealth as ephemeral — the foundation for genuine generosity.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 03 LF 2004 08 24.mp3
UUID: 0aa8dc8b-091b-4e15-aba5-1fa9f12e6c3c
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Letter to a Friend (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2004-08-24
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 44.0 minutes
Words: ~3,233
So whether your actions the Buddha said whether your actions are virtuous or not depends on your intention. Whether they become beneficial to you in the future or not depends on your intention. So therefore, in a therefore, own salvation, your own virtue depends on yourself. So this quote, the Buddha is pointing out that, in fact, all of our actions become helpful or positive or not, depending on the motivation. The best motivation that we can have to do anything or listen to anything is the motivation of bodhicitta, the mind of enlightenment, seeking to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings.
So if this is the best motivation, then we should try and think, by listening to this text, may I be able to develop the mind of enlightenment? May I become a Buddha and be able to fully help all sentient beings? By listening to this text, may I develop understanding of it? And may I be able to put that understanding into practice and therefore progress along the path. He wants to know why he has to put on his mic because Last week, we were talking about the reasons Nāgārjuna is giving reasons to Suhṛllekha, why he should listen to his teaching in his letter to a friend. And gave last week, we talking about the reasons why if he doesn’t understand that he should listen, and he should listen impartially to the quality of the poetry and to this teaching. Now, in the next verse, Nāgārjuna actually explains why he should listen even if he has understood the teachings of the Buddha.
This is the third section from his inspiration to listen to his teaching. The verse says in the translation from the text: Though you may have even comprehended all the exquisite speech of the great Muni, being the Buddha, doesn’t that which is made of chalk plaster become whiter still in the winter’s moonlight? So, word says you may have even comprehended all the exquisite speech of the great Muni. This means that if you’ve understood all of the three vehicles Sūtra, Mahāyāna, the Hīnayāna, Mahāyāna and the vajrayana even if you understood all of these, then you can still improve on your knowledge, even if you’ve been able to put these into practice, if you’ve incorporated them into your mind stream. You can still improve on your understanding by listening to this teaching that Nāgārjuna is going to give, in the same way that a house made of plaster or a house covered with limestone, that’s supposed to be one of the whitest forms of houses you can get in India, becomes even brighter if it’s got the right lighting on it.
Okay. So the explanation of this verse is given that the teachings the Buddha, teachings of the great Muni, which is another way of saying the Buddha, encompass many different areas. So they are said to be a correct speech, which is mellifluous in nine different ways. What this means is nine is indicating a great many ways. The number nine is often given in text to indicate many as opposed to one, even though not necessarily nine.
He’s saying even if the king he is addressing this letter to the king understands all of these texts, all of the three baskets, all of the commentaries to the three baskets, all of the tantras and explanations, all of the different vehicles, even if he understands all of this and he’s managed to incorporate all of these things into his life and into his way of thinking, then if a situation or a condition comes up whereby he can clarify his understanding, as in listening to the teachings that are explained in this letter to a friend that Nāgārjuna is about to explain to him, that he should take that opportunity. Even if he’s understood at all, he can always make his understanding clearer. And so the example that’s given to highlight this is said to be a in the same way that a plastered house. And I was trying to find out from Geshe-la if you’d ever actually seen this word do itsel, which has about six different translations. In this translation, it says chalk plaster, and I’m not quite sure what that is.
And I asked him if you’ve seen any in Adelaide, and Geshe-la said no. So I was just trying to find out something. We’re basically dealing with a gleaming white building. So even a gleaming white building like this that is covered with some kind of white stuff, its intensity can be increased if there is a right light on that. The thing that is supposed to bring out the white in this building to the great extent is the the is the winter moon, the stillness of the winter moon.
The winter moonlight on these buildings is supposed to make them much more bright. So in the same way that the the king’s understanding can become clearer by listening to these teachings, a very white building will look even whiter in a winter in the light of a winter’s moon. So the next part of the text is actually more of a table of contents section. This is because we have finished with the preliminaries of the text and we are on to the general teachings or the general instructions of the text. Now, the general instructions of the text are divided into three.
First of all, a contracted explanation of the three beings or the three different types of motivation. The second is a more expanded explanation of the three different types of motivation. The third one is a way to incorporate all three of these into practice. From the first one, which is a brief explanation of the three different types of being or the three different types of motivation, there are three sections to this. The common practices of the smallest motivation, the common practices of the middling motivation and the uncommon practices of the greatest motivation.
These three and how to put them into practice make up the three different sections of the first of the previous sections, which was a brief description of the three different motivations. Now, from amongst these three, the first one that we’re going to look at is the description of the common path of the lowest motivation. This also has two sections: first one being how to take refuge in the beginning by remembering the six excellent things that we should remember. The second section is, in particular, looking at the way to practice in regards to cause and effect. This cause and effect is specifically referring to the cause that is the practice of the smallest motivation or the least important motivation and the results of that motivation.
Amongst all of that, the first thing that we are going to look at is, in the beginning, the way to develop refuge by focusing on the six things that are to be remembered and putting this remembrance into practice. So these six remembrances are described by Nāgārjuna in his letter. Jinah proclaimed the six remembrances Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, generosity, morality, the deities. Recall each of these recall each of their several virtues. So the Jinah is another way of saying the Buddha.
It literally means he who is victorious, and he he he has explained that there are six things that we need to keep in mind. The first of these is the Buddha, the second is the Dharma, then the Sangha, the practice of generosity, the practice of morality and the qualities of the deities. It says to recall each of their several virtues. What this is referring to is each of the positive qualities that they all have. So we have to remember what the positive qualities of the Buddha are, what Buddhas gotten rid of and what they have managed to practice, the positive qualities of the Dharma, how it’s beneficial, how the Sangha can help us, how the practice of generosity morality can help us, and the qualities of the deities that we could aspire to attain.
The actual remembrance remembrance on not forgetting, being mindful of, means that we should keep these things in mind and try not to forget about them ever, so to try and stay mindful or aware of the qualities of these objects. So the description of what this verse means says that there’s there’s these six things that we need to remember. And the first ones out of these that we need to look at. Sorry, there are six things we need to remember because the Buddha, who was able to overcome the four maras by practicing the remembrance of these six things, explained that if we followed his instruction, then we would be able to achieve the same goals as him. The first of these six things that we need to remember is the qualities of a Buddha.
The qualities of a Buddha are that they have, through the practice of mindfulness and remembrance, have been able to get rid of the obstacles, which are the two obscurations, that being the obscuration to omniscience and the obscurations of afflictive emotions. They also are in possession of their wisdom. Sorry. Sorry. One second.
Okay. Sorry. I didn’t understand a couple words. There’s the The Buddha has been able to get rid of these two obscurations to omniscience and the obscurations of afflictive emotions or neurosis, and because they were able to completely get rid of them, have been able to remain free of them forever. In this state completely free of obscurations, the Buddha then has understood all the things that can be known in an unbiased way without attachment or aversion to any of them.
He or she knows everything that can be known but doesn’t think more of one or less of another and feel attached to one aspect and not to another. So this description of this great mind, which is impartial towards all phenomena and understands all phenomena, is a description of the mind of a Buddha and the qualities of a Buddha. The qualities of the Dharma have two aspects: there’s a quality of the Dharma which refers to speech, which refers to instruction, and a quality of the Dharma which refers to realization. This means that the Dharma encompasses these two aspects: the teachings and the realizations that they bring about. The first is anything that is well spoken, is said to be the teachings of the Buddha.
And the second, which is the Dharma of realization, said to be the true paths and true cessation. Both these aspects are said to be the qualities of the Dharma. Then there are also qualities of the Sangha, which is the third thing to remember. The qualities of the sangha are that they have entered into the great path. So in this way, they are said to be the sangha of the bodhisattva vehicle.
So that means they have entered into one of the five paths of the bodhisattvas. The next thing that we need to remember is the practice of generosity. The practice of generosity’s main quality is that it gets rid of or stops completely miserliness and grasping it and desire The practice of generosity is done perfectly or completely. The next thing that we need to remember is the qualities of ethics. The qualities of ethics are that it is supposed to be the root of all other qualities.
On the steady base of good ethics, we are able to attain all other realizations and all other positive qualities. The sixth thing that we need to remember is the situation of the gods. The reason that we need to remember the situation of the gods is that by positive actions, they have achieved a virtuous result in being born in a high realm. Even though this is a temporary state to be born in this situation, we can appreciate in a temporary level how the positive things that they have done in the past have resulted in their positive rebirth now. And through thinking on this, we’re able to remind ourselves of the consequences of positive actions.
So this is as is explained in Bodhisattva Śāntideva’s Entering the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, where he says, these remembrances these remembrances and and it’s literally like get them into your head. Alright? And the through through giving, we stop miserliness. In reference to the remembrance of the god, it literally says, If you’re going to go somewhere, make sure you remember that you can end up somewhere bad. This means that if we’re going to keep transmigrating through Samsāra, we have to remember that we could end up in a lower realm.
So by remembering the situation of the gods, remembering the situation of the lower realms, that if we must trans transmigrate and be reborn in somewhere else without achieving nirvana, then remember where we can end up. So, I guess, I said, like, if you’re gonna go you need to know the dangers that you can encounter on the road so you can be prepared for them. So this is what that’s referring to. So then in the last line of this verse from the Bodhicaryāvatāra says, keep these things close to you. Always remember them.
So the next verse from text, from Nāgārjuna’s text actually comes under the heading of Understanding understanding the cause of the lower motivation and its results, putting these into practice. The verse that refers to this says: Practice constantly the ten paths of virtuous karma in body, speech, and mind. Abstain from intoxicants, and likewise, delight in a virtuous livelihood. So this gesture just explained something afterwards, and I said, Do I translate that? He goes, No.
What this refers to in the first instance is constantly the ten paths of virtuous karma. That means practicing the ten virtuous actions, the virtuous actions of body, speech and mind at all times. It says to try and do these all times and withhold yourself from performing the ten negative actions, which are their opposite. Then it says that if you’re able to stop drinking beer intoxicants, then you are going to be less likely to do these ten negative actions. Try and incorporate abstinence from alcohol in conjunction with a positive livelihood or a helpful livelihood.
What this means is, first is that ten virtuous actions that Nāgārjuna is exhorting the king to do are three virtuous actions of a body, or three of physical virtuous actions, and that is refraining from killing, refraining from stealing, and refraining from sexual misconduct. The four non virtuous actions of speech that refraining from equals the four virtuous actions, if that makes sense. Means the virtuous action of refraining from lying is the first of the virtuous actions of speech. The virtuous action of refraining from divisive speech or slander is the second the virtuous action of refraining from harsh words and the fourth virtuous action of speech is refraining from pointless chattering. There three virtuous actions of mind to refrain from a malicious mind or malice.
The second one is to refrain from coveting. The third one is to refrain from wrong views. These are the ten non virtuous actions. Have to think about the way we speak, the way we physically act, and the way we think in order to refrain from these ten non-virtuous actions. The practice of these ten virtuous actions becomes the higher training of ethics if we do it properly.
Apart from that, as well as this, we should also refrain from drinking beer. There’s a whole list of different intoxicants, The first one being barley beer, which Geshe-la said isn’t around here very much. And then the next one is fabricated or made up beer. And Geshe-la said in this area, probably, you should be focusing on refraining from fruit beer, which is another way of saying wine. He said that around here, there’s a lot of fruit beer and I’m thinking, alright.
But then he’s like and he said grape beer. So yes. So around here, not so much barley beer, but a lot more wine that we can try and refrain from because indulging in these sort of intoxicants means that we are more likely to perform these ten negative actions. Along with this, we should try and live our lives in a way that isn’t harmful to any other beings. It isn’t going to cause them to lose food, drink, and etcetera.
And we should, in fact, try to live a life in which we help sentient beings through the way we live our life as opposed to taking from other beings as opposed to harming sentient beings through the way that we live our life. So this This word that’s translated as livelihood and has a similar meaning Tibetan is not just what we do for a job. It’s a much more broader understanding than just what we do for a living, although we may think of that as the way we usually use this word livelihood. So it means the way that we conduct ourselves in our lives, not just what we do to make a living. So then we’re up to it’s going through the brief description.
That was the brief description of the lower path, or the the path with the lowest motivation. The The second section we’re going through is the description of the path with the middling motivation. This has two sections to it: first one being how to practice generosity in order to get rid of attachment to the things that we consider excellent but are actually part of saṃsāra. The second part is how to practice ethics, which are the root of all of the parts of liberation. The first one to look at then is the way to practice generosity in order to get rid of attachment to all of the things of saṃsāra.
This is described in a verse from Nāgārjuna’s letter in which he says: recognizing wealth to be ephemeral and insubstantial, exert yourselves properly in liberal acts towards bhikshus, brahmans, the poor and friends. For the future, there’s no better friend than liberality. Now, recognizing wealth. Wealth doesn’t just have to be stores of money. It means your things, the things that you have.
Now, these things include everything from stores of money to food and drink, everything that we possess, like all of the physical things we possess. Now, we need to understand that those things don’t last. They don’t have any inherent existence or inherent substance that can make them that should make them very important to us. If we understand that they are insubstantial and don’t last, then we’re going to be less attached to them, and therefore be able to practice generosity towards especially people, destitute people, the poor and destitute, and also to it says Brahmans here as well as ordain people. So the translation says, actually includes anyone who has gone forth from the the life of a house holder.
So what this is referring to, the first line, which says, recognize wealth to be ephemeral and insubstantial. Now, the reason that we need to recognise wealth to be ephemeral and insubstantial is that if