Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. The image of a blind mother stumbling toward a precipice — unable to see the drop ahead — anchors this nearly two-hour session, as Geshe Pema Tsering works through two sequential Lamrim steps: remembering the kindness of mother beings and developing the wish to repay it. He walks through the meditation in stages, beginning with one’s own mother, extending to relatives, strangers, and enemies, and addresses the difficult case of mothers who were absent or harmful, showing how to redirect resentment into compassion. He also argues that material care is only a small repayment — true repayment means leading beings toward liberation. A Q&A explores the fine line between genuine compassion and pride disguised as pity, closing with instruction on how to transform everyday activities into causes of enlightenment through right motivation.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 15 2009 07 09 BP.mp3
UUID: 6f0fd257-466f-45a2-98bf-3a78f6187abf
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Middle Lam Rim (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2009-07-09
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 116.4 minutes
Words: ~7,620
So, again, Geshe is telling us to give us a good motivation. Again, without proper motivation, our actions, they don’t become they are not spiritual actions. So it is important that we then give rise to the intention of accomplishing welfare of all sentient beings in order to accomplish that. You know, I myself must attain enlightenment. So I’m going to study and practice according to the Dharma to accomplish that goal.
And in like this, we start with the dispelling of evil beings by reflecting on the profound meaning of the wisdom of and reciting the profound words in daily recitation. In that same way, I also reflect the profound meaning of the great mother Prajñāpāramitā and recite the profound words in daily recitation. May all the seasons, spirit possessions, bad conditions, all the linked directions that which happens due to past karma and immediate conditions, may all of this become nonexistent, may So we start today with remembering their kindness. So we have done the first one of those meditations and teachings, which is knowing beings as one’s mother. So now we approach the second the second topic, then remembering their kindness.
So the thought then we have five paths of the topic to remember their kindness. So the thought that is skillful and so forth, start with one’s mother of this life. So again, Geshe Potowa maintained that if after meditating on all sentient beings as having been your mother, you initially meditate on your mother of this life. So, again, then the thought, by starting with one’s mother of the present life, then the thought of remembering their kindness will quickly be generated. Then you should meditate like that.
And thinking that your mother, in a clear aspect in front of you, repeatedly reflect, thinking of your mother in a clear aspect in front of you, repeatedly think like that. She has been my mother not only now but times past, counting since beginning of the cycle of existence. And when she was my mother, she protected me from all harm and accomplished all happiness and benefit to me. So, again, in English, was then just going through what some people might think. Some people say, again, that one’s mom, one’s mother in this present lifetime hasn’t been that kind to oneself, as as a text is telling us, or one one hasn’t even met one’s mother in this present lifetime.
She has abandoned oneself. But and yet and yet one can think of one’s primary carer as taking that role as of of being one’s mother. And again, also one contemplates the fact that, again, if the mother of this person hasn’t been able to look after oneself or after oneself, then again, can think of, contemplate the fact that again she hasn’t been our mother only in this present lifetime, she has been our mother since time immemorial, since beginning of this time, very many times, and in this present lifetime, it so it so happened that she didn’t have the conditions, she didn’t have the means, she didn’t have the courage and so on to do so. So and and so we don’t get upset with them. We don’t get angry at them.
Instead, we cultivate compassion with regards to them. So again, in contemplating this way, Geshe-la says that one will be able to realize the kindness of one’s mother in this present life. And then Geshe-la went on to the next topic. The second one, Again, the the way in which she also protected one in this life. And, again, in particular, even in this life, she initially carried you in her womb for a long time.
Then when you were born, she pressed your soft tousled hair against the warmth of her body. She swung you on on her fingertips, nursed you with her milk, fed you as an infant from from her mouth, wiped away your saliva with her mouth, cleaned cleaned your filth with her hands. So caring for you entirely in many different ways.
In addition, when you were hungry or thirsty, she gave you food and drink. When you were cold, she gave you clothing. When you were in need, she gave you the she gave you her possessions that she herself had hardly used. When even the most basic necessities were hard to come by, she bore great hardship and spared herself no negativity, suffering, or bad talk to get it and give them to me. Then the next one because I’m going to search the next topic.
Our mother cherishes her child more than herself. Whenever her child suffers from a disease and so forth, she wishes from the depths of her heart to die rather than for her child to die, to be ill rather than for her child to be ill and so forth. With effort, she does whatever she can to eliminate her child’s suffering. English, now goes on to the next topic straight again. How to meditate on the essential points separately.
To summarize, by whatever level of knowledge and whatever level of ability she had, she thought single pointedly about the way in which to accomplish your happiness and benefit and to remove any harm and suffering for you. And Geshe lah is then recollecting again the the the few times that we have recently gone through this topic, and I brought those those news that I have read in the newspaper about a mother who who didn’t care for her child and so on. And, again, she was pointing out to this text, pointing to this text and say again to summarize by whatever level of knowledge and whatever level of ability she had, she cared for you. So, Geshe-la was saying, it’s not to say that she didn’t have any care or affection for the baby. She didn’t have the knowledge and the ability to to manifest that.
And and again, with this understanding, we can develop compassion towards her. And, And, again, so we shouldn’t we shouldn’t turn our backs into into such people, such mothers. We should contemplate that the the conditions weren’t there even though they had the care and the affection and all that. In this way, we develop compassion, and we can still bring them into this meditation of recollecting their great kindness, remember their great kindness, and then think of the fact that they have been born as our mother so very many times before. And then so Geshe-la went on to to the next topic, progressing gradually, how to meditate.
If by meditating in this way, a mind remembering her kindness, that is not just words, arises, then you should meditate on other friends and relatives, your father and so forth. They also have been your mothers. And then again, then then you should also meditate on recognizing neutral persons as having been your mothers, strangers as also having been your mothers. And when you have generated a similar mind towards towards them as that towards your friends and relatives, then you should go on and also meditate on recognizing your enemies as also having been your mothers. Then when you have generated a similar mind toward them towards them as that towards your mother, then you should proceed to meditate on recognizing all sentient beings as having been your mother, and then gradually extend it more and more.
And then and then again, so again, the main approach at the beginning is to meditate, remember their kindness. Again, remember having having developed the knowledge about mother, then recollecting the kindness of first, those who are dear, then the the strangers, and then the enemies, and that will be the main body of the practice. And then after one has developed that, then one extends that to all sentient beings. And, again, when we’re talking about all sentient beings, we’re not talking about just those that we can see, the the humans and animals. We’re talking about every living creature that has consciousness, every living every living creature, which is a sentient being, even small insects, even invisible beings that do have consciousness.
And guess what was saying again, the main point being recollecting, knowing beings as our mothers. And it’s important then to have because once you know beings as as one’s mothers, then you go on to remember what your mother has done to you. All everything she has done. She has provided you with a good education, has provided you with good food and clothing. She has done so much hard work to provide you for so many good things, and that it and it is impossible if you if you really set your mind to it.
It is impossible not to develop this appreciation, great appreciation for what they have done for us. And not developing, not having that appreciation for what they have done for us is is really is truly is very shameful. And Geshe-la was saying, even if it is not one’s mother, Geshe-la was then pointing out to himself saying, again, early, in a very early age, you know, he was taken by his uncle to the monastery. So he wasn’t living with his mother anymore from a very early age. So from a very early age, his uncle was looking after all his needs, feeding him and teaching him the alphabet and teaching him the Dharma and everything else.
And, again, immense kindness that he he his uncle was immensely kind to him. So and we all we can we can all find someone who has experienced that. And we can all think of someone who has then who has then dedicated dedicated all their actions, his or her actions, for to accomplish our well-being, our welfare. So we can all think of someone who has engaged in in in virtuous actions and non virtuous actions, you know, in both positive and negative actions, who has done honest work and has done dishonest things and has endured suffering, has accumulated cause of suffering, has done all sorts of things, all sorts of actions from body, speech, and mind, but has done all of it with the motivation of accomplishing our good, our well-being. And we can all think of of someone who has done that and and not remembering their kindness, not recollecting their kindness is a terrible thing to do.
But we we don’t usually think about those things. We don’t usually engage in recollecting, remembering their kindness. But if we were to if if we were to engage in such recollection, it is very easy to develop the experience of this meditation, to have an experience of recollecting their kindness and and and developing great appreciation for it. It’s very difficult. If you engage in it, it’s very difficult not to develop about it.
And now also for those who have kids, for those who have had children and brought up their children, you can think for yourself how how for yourselves how much effort, how much work, how much you have done motivated by accomplishing their well-being. So how much you have done for them and and and how terrible it is not to not to have that appreciated and recognized. So it’s important. So, again, there’s there are many ways to approach this one meditation, and we need to engage in all these ways, and we need to meditate a lot on this topic. And as I was saying, again, the meditation here is analytical meditation.
We need to engage in a lot of analytical meditation on this topic. It’s very important. Then Geshe goes on to the next topic, which is the wish to repay their kindness. And then again this topic has four parts. The first one, even though you do not recognize them due to birth and death transference, it would be shameless to neglect them.
So there is nothing less shameful than carelessly neglecting your suffering protectorless kind mothers just because you do not recognize them anymore due to birth and death transference and being preoccupied with freeing yourself from cyclic existence. And and then we read this quote from the letter to a student. Again, if I neglect my relatives who have become a part of the ocean of cyclic existence and appear to have fallen into an abyss whom I do not recognize due to birth and death’s transference and only liberate myself, nothing would be more shameless than that. So, again, Geshe lah, was going back to that verse and saying, again, in in this we we think of all these migrating sentient beings that are caught up in cyclic existence. And and of of about whom we do not of whom we don’t recollect them as being our mothers because of the fact that we have have died and taken rebirths already so many times.
We cannot remember them as our mothers and instead and and neglecting that fact, Geshe-la wasn’t saying, neglecting the fact that all beings who are in cyclic existence have been in actuality, they all have been our parents very many times, then we go on to strive only for our own liberation while while they whilst they are caught up in this ocean of suffering. And there is nothing more shameful than that. Is that correct? Or less shameless than that? What’s the right way to do?
More shameful than that. Thank you. More shameful. One. And then, Geshe-la went on to the next topic, to neglect those who have been kind does not accord with the well mannered.
Thus, through thinking, if neglecting such kind beings is unacceptable even to the ill mannered, how can I reconcile it with my own ways? You should take the responsibility to reciprocate reciprocate their kindness. So Geshe is going Oh, yeah. So Geshe is then going for the for the next topic in its entirety, again, as it would be inappropriate to repay the benefit with with something contaminated, which should liberate them from ignorance. If someone asks, well, then how should I repay the benefit?
How should I repay their kindness? Whatever mere happiness and wealth of cyclic existence your mothers obtain, they are deceived by all of them. Thus, we should repay the benefit. We should repay their kindness thinking I, in the past, by the power of conceit of the evil spirits of the mental afflictions, once again produced various suffering in those who were already suffering by nature, like putting salt and so forth on the injured, on the wounds who were already intensely wounded. I will set all those who have benefited me out of love in the happiness of liberation, nirvana.
And then, Geshe lah, I was just explaining. So what it really means is that again, whatever material benefit or physical benefit with medicine, with hospitals, with whatever help one can give that pertains to this present lifetime. All of this is not the the real way to repay their kindness. The actual way to repay their kindness is by accomplishing lasting happiness for them. Whatever benefits we can do, like, again, material wealth and food and clothing and protection, whatever is that we can give to them in this present lifetime, again, it is a repaying, it is a repayment in a sense, but together with that there also comes harm because with that there will also come grasping and there will come attachment, there will come aversion, and there will come the causes of more cyclic existence, of more saṃsāra.
Is a repayment? Yes. But it’s not the ideal way to repay their kindness. Beneficial and they are certainly a repayment but they are very small repayment. Mean there are happinesses that pertain only to this life, are contaminated happinesses.
So they are a very, very small way to repay such great immense kindness. What we have to do then is having developed this great love and kindness motivated by great love and kindness. So once we have contemplated these first three steps, knowing beings as one’s mother, then recollecting their kindness, then developing this wish to repay their kindness, then after that what develops is loving kindness or loving affection. And we develop this great loving kindness, then we have the wish then to establish all of them, at the very least to establish all of them in the freedom of liberation, in the lasting happiness of liberation, and as as to the best of our ability to establish all of them in enlightenment. But at the very least, we should be aiming at accomplishing the lasting lasting happiness to them, the lasting happiness of liberation at least.
So again, Geshe-la then goes through the next topic again. How to meditate on the essential points separately. So again, in brief, if your own kind mother who restless and intoxicated, blind, and without anyone to guide her is stumbling with each step and approaching a fearsome abyss, if she cannot put her hope in her child, who can she count on? If it is not for a child to free its mother from fear, who else should do it? So again, Geshe-la was just going through the analogy again of somebody who is who is sort of confused and is literally blinded and then is stumbling in the direction of an abyss, a precipice.
And again, if the child of that mother then should, of course, grab hold of his or her mother in order to stop her from falling to the abyss. That’s the way we would do. Now, if we think of ourselves also who are blind and confused for the cycle of existence, again, we have to help our mothers in that same way. So, again, we are so, again, we ourselves are also confused and blinded, so we need to then to develop this vision, this clarity. And, again, we we should then strive to attain enlightenment because only with enlightenment can we really repay the kindness of sentient beings.
I guess she goes on from the rest of the the the text. Again, likewise, the sentient beings who have been our mothers, their minds in a state of confusion due to the evil spirits of the mental afflictions, again, due to the mental affliction of ignorance, attachment, aversion, arrogance, and so forth, intoxicated and without control over their minds, lacking eyes that see the path to high status and certain goodness, without a blind person’s guide of perfect knowledge, in each instant stumble due to being distracted by faulty behavior and again goes on again by in all the afflictions and attachment and pride and so forth, and wander toward the abyss of cyclic existence in general and the bad migrations in particular. Seeing them, consider how these mothers necessarily put their hopes in their child and that it is also for the child to get his mothers out of there, then you will repay their kindness by definitely getting them out of cyclic existence. In English, was going for that compendium of of instructions that that says intoxicated by mental afflictions, blinded by ignorance, stumbling into many abysses with each step along the path, myself and others are always the basis of sorrow.
All migrators are the same in suffering. In view of these, although it is indeed said that it is inappropriate to look for faults in in others. And when seeing the slightest of good quality, to hold it in amazement, here, it is reasonable to relate these statements to misery. So, again, we and say, so all beings are intoxicated by the afflictions, again, by attachment, by hatred, and so forth. And they are blinded by this confusion, again, which is here is making reference to to ignorance itself.
And in this way, beings stumble upon many abysses. And these abysses, again, making reference to the lower realms of existence, the suffering realms of existence along the path. So, again, both oneself and others are always the basis of such great sorrow, of misery. So, again, all migrators are the same in in with regards to these sufferings, those this condition. And, again, I was going through the last sentence there.
In view of this, although it is indeed said that it is inappropriate to look for faults and others, and when seen as light as good qualities to hold it in amazement, here, it is reasonable to relate these statements to misery. So, again, in this context, we we see the predicament, the suffering, the miserable predicament in which all of us are equally caught up in cyclic existence. And, Geshe-la was saying, so, again, in this context, we should be contemplating that even though we might be, relatively speaking, we might be pretty well off, you know, enjoying some relative happiness and comfort and so forth, we should really contemplate seriously how we are very much sick with all these afflictions, how we are really blinded by ignorance, how we are really caught up in this ocean of suffering, and that we ourselves are walking at the edge of this abyss. And then extend that to all other sentient beings and how we are all caught up in this predicament. And in this way, develop this strong wish towards liberation to be free from the entirety of it and the entirety of cyclic existence.
And then, again, because Geshe-la was saying, again, this is the whole point of renunciation. So in order to develop renunciation, then we think in this manner. That was one point. And, Geshe lah, then just pointing out how, again, most most people, most beings do not really know how how is it that they are that they are caught up in this in this ocean of suffering? And, you know, how how is it that we are really in this in this miserable predicament?
Most beings don’t know that. Now there are those there are those who, you know, so called, you know, the Dharma practitioners who who are said to know these things. So Geshe-la was saying, the Geshe as the teacher, myself as the interpreter, and you as the students. We are people who are studying these things and listening to these things. And and so we are sad to know these things.
But really, even though we might be able to talk about it, you know, we we don’t really experience that fully. We don’t we haven’t really embodied those understandings fully. We don’t really we haven’t really realized how is it that both ourselves and everybody else, you know, myself and everybody else is we are all caught up in this in this very miserable suffering predicament? And Geshe-la is then saying so again, might think to ourselves, we might go on saying that I haven’t done anything bad today, haven’t engaged in negativity, have been practicing Dharma all day. But you know, if we are really honest with ourselves and we have a very good look in our lives and what’s going on in our in our minds, then we will see how how much we have been caught up in in striving for the things of this life, for the happinesses of this life, for the comforts of this life, how much even when we were reciting prayers and mantras and whatnot, how much we have been thinking about what we are going to do today for the sake of accomplishing the happiness and the things of this life and so on.
So if we if we think about it, we will see that there’s there’s if if we really set our minds to it, we will see. We will understand how is it that we are caught up in in in in suffering, in this ocean of suffering. How is it that, you know, as soon as we awake in the morning, the thoughts of attachment arise. How later in the day, again, thoughts of attachment arise. At the end of the day, attachment arise.
Aversion arises. All the time, these afflictions are arising. And and and so if if we really contemplate it, if we’re really honest and we’re really having a very good giving a very good look into our lives and our our hearts and our minds, then we will be able to understand how it that we are sick with suffering. And guess what was saying, what is it that we have to do in with regards to that is that we have to wake up in the morning and start looking at our own minds. That’s what we have to do.
We have to turn to our own minds and see what’s happening there. What is it that we are thinking? What is it that we are feeling? And then and then, you know, if if you see if there is any attachment or anything for food or for for drinks or whatnot. And then, you know, one one must eat.
One must drink. One must do all these things, but one must do that with the right motivation. So one one one the motivates okay. I must eat. I must eat to nurture my body so that I can have a healthy body so that I can practice, so that I can practice in order to accomplish the causes that lead to future happiness, the causes that lead to liberation and enlightenment.
So I must nurture my body, I must feed my body, I must cultivate health, I must cultivate good health, I must then have the means to accomplish that, to buy the food and the drink and the clothing and so forth. Or I must go to work and earn the money to do that so that I can then work to accomplish the causes of liberation, enlightenment, and and future happiness and so forth. And if one does all these activities, which are the same activities that one does every day anyway, but if one does with these motivation, then all these actions become empowered by that motivation and become the causes of that motivation, becomes the causes of those goals set about in the motivation. So again, we must work. We must go to and do our jobs.
We must engage in our jobs. And we must do that again with the right motivation. That. I must go to work so that earn I can earn the money so that I can maintain my health, that I am able to practice, so I’m able to study, so I’m able to accomplish the cause of liberation and enlightenment. So I must work so that I can accomplish liberation and enlightenment.
So so one is still one is doing what what is whatever is that one already does. But in this way, it it we transform those actions. We empower those actions into the causes of liberation and enlightenment. We can start with saying, every chance we have, we should turn to our minds, see what’s happening there. And if there is need to correct, we correct and then we produce this motivation.
We bring to mind this understanding. I must work. I must earn my money. I must eat so that I can work for enlightenment, so that I can accomplish the cause of enlightenment. And we cultivate this at whatever chance.
There’s no need for correction, and we just produce this motivation again and again. We keep on cultivating it. This one. And, Geshe lah, I was just saying, and, again, and and whilst we are training in this manner, again, still attachment does arise. Again, we have attachment for money.
I mean, this we haven’t rid ourselves of attachment. So attachment does arise. But because we have produced and we have been engaging in this right motivation, as Geshe has been telling us. And because this motivation is in alignment with truth, it is a correct motivation. It is not distorted.
Is completely correct, and it is in alignment with reality. So the the the that motivation has the sort of it has the power to nullify the results of of that attachment, whatever results that attachment might bring. So it outweighs the attachment by far and wide because the attachment is a wrong mind, it’s a wrong motivation in the first place. It’s not in accord with reality anyway. So if we have been cultivating the right motivation, all our actions, even the attachment, will be sort of steeped in the right motivation and will lose its power.
So again, even though I have attachment towards the money, by the force of this motivation that we have generated beforehand. Again, so I’m I’m working to earn this money so that I can, you know, nurture my body, nurture my being so that I can accomplish the causes of, you know, liberation and enlightenment. And if one even even though attachment might arise in the process, and, again, if one goes on with one’s intentions and, again, earns the money and nurtures one’s body and then works at accomplishing the cause of liberation and enlightenment, then even even that attachment arise in in in the midst of that process, then we will be transformed. And and and one is then accomplishing the causes of enlightenment in the end. Geshe-la goes on.
To explain also that, again, one has to throughout all this process, one has to contemplate, again, the lack of inherent existence of phenomena, the lack of inherent existence of all those things, the lack of inherent existence of the money, the lack of inherent existence of attachment itself. And if things do lack inherent existence, it means they will change. And so even attachment, which also lacks inherent existence, also changes into something else. Attachment is not inherently bad. So it can, by lacking inherent existence, it can change.
It can change into something positive. It can be changed into something positive. So again, if one is doing all these activities with this right motivation, this right understanding, as Geshe is putting it, then again, there is the possibility of accomplishing immense amount of good. So again, so if and if we we have to train them. We have to train our minds in this way, in this manner, and cultivate this understanding so that it grows stronger.
And saying, and and if we train in this manner, then our the entirety of our days, then we’ll become the causes of enlightenment. So, again, there’s no need to to talk about after one has developed the mind of enlightenment because after one has developed the mind of enlightenment, then every activity that one does becomes the cause of enlightenment itself. But even before we have developed the mind of enlightenment, if we train in this manner, in all of those actions, all of this training becomes the cause of that mind of enlightenment itself. So, Geshe goes on to the heading of the So Geshe-la was then explaining here again. So we have been we have gone through this first three steps.
Knowing beings as one’s mother, then recollecting their great kindness, and developing the wish to repay their kindness. Now, again, we get to the point where now in order to develop the real mind that is intending to repay to really repay their kindness. Geshe-la was saying we need to develop the next three, which is loving kindness, compassion, and the superior, the extraordinary resolution. And Geshe-la was saying because that real, the actual mind that is intent on repaying their kindness is the mind of enlightenment.
So I just I just thought maybe we have time for questions now, and and then you can have time to catch up to do the the discussion. Yes. Thank you. Is that alright? So, yeah, I guess, I’ll ask if you have any questions.
Yep. And it said, in view of this, it is inappropriate to look for faults in others. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yes.
Do you want to understand do want to explanation of that? Yes. Yep. The the whole point of what is being said here. So regardless of how it it might look into the English in the English translation, okay, I can show you later that the Tibetan gives gives room for this English is just not quite right.
So says, look. I was going back to the verse then and saying again, we are all crazed crazy with afflictions. And, basically, it all boils down to the fact that we are afflicted by ignorance, the root of every affliction. So blinded by ignorance, all sorts of other afflictions arise, you know, attachment, anger, and so forth. And in this manner, we are always walking one step closer to this abyss, which are the lower realms of existence.
We are always into the lower realms of existence. We’re always moving into the direction of the lower realms of existence. So so in this in this manner, from this point of view, we are all equally miserable. We’re all equally caught up in the same ocean of suffering, the pit of suffering. And so what is being said here, so having having seen this, having seen this, again, it is not alright to seek fault in others.
That’s basically what the Tibetan is saying. If you look if I I could show you some other time, it’s it’s basically what they’re saying here. And then, again and and it is and then it says and then one gets what’s the the word that he used here? Holds the good qualities amazement. So, again, one one appreciates the good qualities.
So because it is not alright to make a distinction that, again, this person is has all these bad qualities, and so I’ll turn my back. I’ll give up on that person. I don’t care about that person. It is not alright to do that because we are all caught up in the same pot. We are all equally afflicted.
We are all equally blinded. That’s how we have to think. That’s how we have to train our minds so that we don’t make the decisions. Then again, if we see and we see every good quality and we appreciate every good quality that and each and every good quality that everyone has, we make an effort, deliberate effort, to cultivate an appreciation of the good qualities and not to hold them not to hold their their whatever cause they have above their heads forever. Know, just instead we we appreciate again, we are equally afflicted, are equally blind, we’re equally sick with suffering.
And in this way, we we develop compassion for them instead. And then, yeah, and appreciate the good qualities. Yes. But the last clause here. So again, because this is pointing out to the context of repaying their kindness.
Right? So the last clause is saying here again, one sees sentient beings as suffering, as caught up in suffering, tormented by suffering. All of us, we are all caught up in suffering. And then we have then to appreciate the fact that all our mother sentient beings are caught up in this suffering, and then develop this wish to repay their kindness, you know, by, you know, pulling them away from from this path that leads to the abyss. That’s what that’s what is making reference here in the English.
It says, so here, it is reasonable to relate these statements to misery. And I’m not sure why he put these statements. Here, we have to relate this to me. We have to we have to see that all beings, these these statements here, this verse is making reference to the fact that all beings are caught up in this ocean of misery. And then we want to repay kindness as as as it has been explained before in the text.
We want to push pull our our mother away our blind mother away from the path that leads to the abyss. So that’s what is being referred to. Is that alright? Does that explain? The English translation didn’t come out very well.
Yes. All right? I mean, we can pick so many balls and ourselves and everybody else. Yeah. But that that’s what it means.
Yeah. Not to have aversion, not to get angry, but instead to develop compassion. That’s what she said. Again, yes, generally speaking, yes, it is not good. And Geshe-la was saying furthermore because even though well, even when we look at somebody else’s fault, we are we are completely ignorant of the fact that we also have innumerable faults ourselves.
Ourselves. Some area where they’re suffering because of a sort of fault. You know? Object Because of ignorance, because of attachment, because of aversion. Right?
Yeah. Yeah. Because that’s a but that’s the same fault for yourself. You know what I mean? I know what you mean.
So what what what we’re what we’re being instructed here to do is that not to see that as a fault, but to see that as as being the fact that they are caught up in suffering, that they are sick with suffering. It’s very amazing. Because of Because of ignorance. Shall shall I ask that? Yeah.
I can do that. Yeah. Suffering and faults. Right? So, again, faults can be interpreted in so many different ways and different contexts.
So every suffering is, of course, is a fault. It’s a shortcoming. And again, every affliction, ignorance, and attachment, so forth, they are faults. They are shortcomings themselves. But what we are what we’re being told to do here is instead of seeking fault in others and saying, oh, okay.
That person is very ignorant. That person has great attachment. That person has great anger. That person is bad. I don’t like that person, so on.
We’re told not to do that, not to pick up on people’s faults, but instead to appreciate that appreciate the fact that they are sick. And again, Geshe says, we shouldn’t again, it is not alright. We are told here it’s not alright to seek fault in others. Because if you seek fault in others, you’re gonna find in everyone. Even the Buddha, if you meet with the Buddha, you’re gonna find fault in him.
Because he’s contradicting your whims, your desires, your attachments, and your aversions. And he is doing things that you your attachment doesn’t want him to do or things that your doesn’t want him to do. So so then you see fault all the time even though the Buddha has no fault. So again, so we we don’t seek fault in others. And instead, it points out here, we see the fact, we perceive the fact that they are suffering, that they are caught up in suffering.
And, again, especially in this context of repaying their kindness, we have to recognize that our all our mother sentient beings, they are not bad people. They are not picking up on us, and so we don’t pick up on their faults. We recognize instead that they are all sick with ignorance, sick with attachment and aversion, and then that they are all caught up in this ocean of suffering. That’s how we have to see. That’s what that’s how we have to train our minds.
So, again, especially, there there is one particular demonstrative pronoun here, which is saying, again, make reference to this in this context, in the context of repaying their kindness, developing the wish to repay their kindness, again we contemplate the fact that they are all here we contemplate the fact that they are all caught up in suffering, in this ocean of suffering. Is that making sense? Is that helping? It is semantics. But this is exactly what we what we are being trained, what we’re being asked to do is to to give a a positive meaning, a dharma meaning to the word instead of picking up false on others.
Compassion compassion for people suffering in love with anxiety. Oh, that person is is I don’t like that person. I hate that person. And how can you feel compassion for that? But you could say, like, somebody does something that you don’t like.
And instead of, you know, you see the anger arising, but you know the devil’s not a good fit. So you say, oh, that’s just because they’re sick. You know? So you you use the anger to to apply the dharma, and then you think you’re doing the right thing. But, actually Oh, I’m sorry.
I got confused. Say that again? So when somebody does something that you don’t like, you know, you would be agitated or you get angry. We do get angry. Yes.
And then instead of picking your fault because you know that’s not the right thing to do, you’re going to say, oh, you know, they’re just sick. They don’t know what they’re doing. Oh, yes. Yes. So But you don’t really mean it.
Right? You’re not really meaning it. You’re just really looking down on them. You’re just really saying, you know, if you don’t really understand it, then you can actually believe that you’re doing the right thing. You It’s actually a negative thing.
How do I put that to the? If if you think like that with the motivation of anger. Yeah. Of course, that is not good because one is already angry, that’s no good can come out of it. Times yourself.
That’s true. Because I don’t feel so righteous. Yes. And so justified. Control.
But, yeah, we have to then we have to contemplate what you just said to remedy that. You know, someone could feel that they’re being compassionate. Could think spiritual pride. They could think that they are being compassionate, but they are not really being compassionate, are they? Yes.
Yes. It can be pride and arrogance. It can be you want me to say something? Yeah. Is that a question?
It’s okay. I’ll put a question. I’ll put a question. I’ll put a question. So in Tibetan, then I was saying what what what I just did.
Sometimes I was well, literally, what I said in in in Tibetan was sometimes when we have pride arising, we have this arrogance arising, this afflictive emotion, which is called pride or arrogance. And then we see somebody in a in a poor state, you know, in a in a miserable state, and we say, the word, you know, put to say, oh, what a pity. What a pitiful situation. Something like that. The word for that in Tibetan is literally is what we translate here in the technical etymology here as compassion.
But that’s just lip service. In those instances, that is just lip service. Because in actuality, one one is being powered by arrogance, by pride. One is thinking I am better than that person is. I’m better off than that person is.
And we say, but don’t really mean Now if one if one out of a a real recognition of the miserable state of the person or that being, and how is it and and and a recognition of how it is that one is better off than that being, in the sense that one is then able to provide something, provide some relief. You know, if if I am better off, then I will help that person. I will relieve that person. Will relieve the suffering. That is real compassion.
That’s very difficult. Say that again? Any any faults that you see in others’ minds? It appropriate to see as a reflection of our own fault? He says whoever left this here was with the intention of benefiting us.
So if we eat it, it will be beneficial probably. We won’t eat it. We won’t die. So whoever left it here, thank you. So, again, if one is able to do that, if one one is really able to do that, again, you’re saying, I I don’t I don’t really know if that person has that fault or not.
You know? It is it is probably one distortion of my own. It’s a partial fault a fault of my own. If one is really able to do that, then that’s good. Yeah.
So, again, so firstly, first of all, generally speaking, whatever we do that is beneficial towards our parents is a virtue. Okay? So, you know, contaminated virtue, non contaminated virtue. So and then there is there are ways to do such virtues, such benefits to our parents, which is not contaminated. If we are doing of the right motivation or very pure motivation, then then, you know, that motivation becomes, you know, motivation of accomplishing enlightenment or liberation, then it becomes the those actions become the cause of just that.
So from our side, of course, there is a possibility of working that out. From their side, when they receive whatever it is that we are giving them, whatever help or benefit or material that we are giving them, then there’s nothing we can do. It’s up to them to work that out. All that we can do at the best case scenario is teach them. Okay attachment is bad, grasping is bad.
Anger is bad. And if they understand that and they apply themselves to remedies, then all the better. But if they don’t understand it, there’s nothing else we can do aside from that, really. Oh, yes. Shall we shall we it’s ten past nine.
I forgot.