Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 62-minute session, Geshe Pema Tsering unpacks what Geshe Sharawa called “the Dharma of flesh and blood” — a mind-training practice that directs loving-kindness toward beings who harm us. He explains why enemies are fitting objects of love: from beginningless time they have been our parents and shown us immeasurable kindness. He then turns to compassion, reframing harm-doers as beings acting from confusion whose accumulated suffering traces back to ourselves. The session builds toward the giving-and-taking meditation, anchored in a striking visualization where the practitioner addresses nonhuman beings directly — “I have eaten your flesh, drunk your blood, worn your skin” — then offers their own body unreservedly in return. A Q&A closes with a note that the Tibetan word for guilt is the same as for regret: an active impulse to repair, not a passive weight.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 19 2005 10 09 MT.mp3
UUID: fe2a2f07-ca0f-42b5-81f3-f3151536bbf4
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Mind Training (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2005-10-09
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 62.7 minutes
Words: ~2,985
So now we have the thing that in order to achieve enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings, we we are now going to study the Dharma. And we have to give rise to a good motivation. So now we get from the the text, we are in the actual practice of the text. And then first topic was putting blame, all the blame on oneself. And now the second topic is, how do say, regarding how do you say, seeing the great kindness of all beings.
So, and then the text goes on, introduces the topic, the name of the topic and goes on to say goes on goes goes on to say that we we have to meditate on the great kindness of. So so then the text goes on to refer to say that Geshe Sharawa would call this Dharma, in particular, how do you say it? How to translate this? The Dharma of carrying, how to say, flesh and blood or of bringing flesh and blood, it could be translated either way, or the Dharma that, how do you say, rescues being rescue beings from the cliff of non virtues. So this then I’m gonna explain briefly that the whole name of of of this practice, which is a.
So is to is something like to take and to embrace, and is like to cherish. So to to to embrace all beings and to and to cherish them. And so these these two different names that came afterwards are referring to these two aspects of this the name of this practice. So Gena explains in the next few lines of the text, it says that we should meditate, how do say, on loving kindness, having as our object of meditation or the beings who cause us harm. And the text also says that we should also meditate on compassion.
And then in this way, practice giving and taking, right? And then Gena explains that we should meditate on great love and kindness and great compassion. So the great love and kindness has as an object of meditation, all sentient beings, and great compassion has all sentient beings. The text is being specific in that it is referring that we should meditate on loving kindness having as an object, only those beings that especially those beings that cause harm on us, bring harm on us. So then the first one is meditating on loving kindness, and how should we meditate on loving kindness?
The text goes on to explain that all those beings, human and nonhuman, who have caused us harm, how do you say, from from time immemorial, they have also been our our fathers and mothers and relatives and loved ones. Again, Gena explains that this text is trying is is meaning that they not only caused us harm, but they also being our parents and relatives and loved ones. They did a lot of they showed a lot of kindness towards us, you know, in those past lives. Okay. So then also having in mind that these beings, even though even though they now they might be causing us harm, having in mind that in all previous lives, they have showed us a lot of kindness, great kindness, then having this in mind, then we should strive again and again to see them with to see to look at them with with great loving kindness, to to have a mind, to hold them in our minds with with with great how do you say?
With a mind that cherishes them again and again, we should do that. And then and strive to protect them at all times from harm and from anything that is not beneficial. And then think, how do you say, give rise to the thought that to the thought that wishes wishes them to have everything that is beneficial and all happiness, and then everything else that we that we call good. And then yes. Yes.
We should strive to give rise to these thoughts and so forth. So then holding all beings the very center of our hearts, we should wish them to be free from any harm. And then having them and more than that, even we should see them. Mhmm. So then not only that, we should regard all beings as important as we regard our own hearts.
So then, Gela is saying that this kind of meditation, it depends a lot of practice. We have to think over a lot of reasonings, like the reasonings of in relation to past and previous previous past and future lives. And then we have to think over that we have been reborn so many times that we cannot count all this number of times we were born. Then that being so all beings were again and again, they were our parents or our relatives or friends, and they helped us in so many different ways. And then if and there are many, many other reasons, Gena says, that if we don’t think over them and establish them for ourselves, then we won’t be able to accomplish this meditation of loving kindness.
So then if if you if we investigate very hard, we do a lot of investigation, then we will be able to understand as well. So then there is a text that goes on to to quote a saying from Jowo Rinpoche that says, this is our deity and our lama. And then Gena explains that this our deity and our lama refers to this meditation on loving kindness and compassion. And having thought of the kindness, the great kindness that all sentient beings have showed to us in previous lives and so forth, then one one engages in the meditation of loving kindness that wishes them to be free from all suffering. I’d say, wishes them to have all happiness, and then compassion that wishes them to be free from all suffering.
And then these two meditations , this this mind that has accomplished this is is how do you say? Compared to a deity, one to a deity and the other one to a to a lama who also show great kindness and so forth. Okay. Then now we have to meditate on compassion and how we meditate on compassion. First of all, the text asks, all those beings that cause me harm at this moment, are they really really harmful beings or not?
So the text goes on to answer that, in fact, they are not. All those beings who cause me harm, they do that out of confusion. So then so from beginningless time, these beings all beings for my sake, for our sake, have engaged in all sorts of negative actions and then and have by force accumulated a lot of afflictive emotions and non virtues. And they have, how to say, for a very long period of time, have wandered in cyclic existence. And all this and they have experienced, how to say, a great amount of suffering, all this for our sakes.
And then so the one, how to say, the one who is to blame for all that, for all this suffering is myself. That’s how we should think, right? So then we should also think that I, oneself, has been, how to say, the cause of other beings not achieving enlightenment. We have actually been obstacles to the achieving to their achieving enlightenment. We have been obstacles to their accomplishing any happiness.
And also, all sentient beings’ future rebirth in lower realms, the cause of that again, it can be traced back to us to ourselves. And then, oh, and then so then we should think of this is truly a pity, we should think and with an urgency as if how do you say, a spark of fire would be falling, you know, onto our flesh. With this urgency, should think, oh, this is really appalling, you know, with this with this intensity. So, yeah. So like this, with this urgency, with this very intense thoughts, we should meditate on compassion, great compassion.
Intensity of mind, we should steadily meditate on both loving kindness and compassion. Meditating on loving kindness and compassion, having having as as an object of meditation, all those beings who causes harm is very difficult. But then if we can accomplish that, then it’s very easy to meditate on on everyone else together. So then then the text goes on to to say that now like this, meditating like this, we also have to meditating like this on loving kindness and compassion. Then those non human beings who have a certain kind of subtle clairvoyance.
When we are meditating on recognizing recognizing all beings as our mothers, recognizing all beings in the past have been our mothers. And then also in the same vein that we have been, how to say, their children and so forth, then these beings, they will know that, that we are doing so. And then and then they will not cause us any harm. Okay? So then like this, when this mind that is meditating on the mothers and their children and so forth, then how is it possible that harm will follow from that?
How is it possible? The text asks. Gena explains that how is it possible with the text? Gena says, it it is impossible. In fact, it is impossible.
So then So then having thoughts of all beings having embraced all beings as our mothers, then it will follow that we will how do say? Okay. So then okay. This this sounds a little bit complicated to me, but it’s like this. It goes like this, having recognized, having embraced all beings as our mothers, then all beings will treat us, how to say, all beings will In relation, of course, in effect, let’s see.
Yes. So okay. So having recognized all beings as being our mothers, then and so then we will repay them as their, how to say, grateful children. And then the text goes on to say that he mentions emptiness, that this is related to emptiness. And Gela explains in which way it is related to emptiness.
It’s relating to emptiness to the aspect of, how to say, interdependent origination. So Gela says, having received something good and something good will be given. And this interdependence between fathers and parents and children of exchanging good with one another. It’s an example of this interdependent origination, which is an aspect of emptiness. Okay?
And then like this, and having accomplished this, one, how do you say, one will be free from suffering. Okay. Okay. So then then the the text goes on to quote a sūtra. And the sūtra is saying in this, how do you say, worldly beings.
Okay. So in this realm of beings, of sentient beings we are living in, there are many harms and diseases and so forth arising from the elements and so forth. Then but having a mind that wishes to benefit, and Gena explains this mind will be a mind of loving kindness. And then in the mind endowed with compassion and with, how to say, affectionate love for for other beings, then having this mind, then all these harms and diseases arise from this elements and so forth, they are pacified. Okay?
So then there a quote from the Sūtra, the previous sentence. And then we go to the text goes on to say, how then should we meditate? How should we actually meditate on loving kindness and compassion? And this is text says, well, from beginningless time, from a very, very long time, how do you say, all beings, all these beings, how do you say, in order only to accomplish benefit for myself. And I, in return, have only given them harm.
And then And and I have only given them harm, and we should think in this way. Okay. Okay. Oh. And then we should also think that now I repay them or give them back benefit, any benefit I can.
And then and I will I will protect protect them from from from harm. We should think in this manner. So then thinking in this manner, and then we have to train in how to say, both giving and taking. So how to say, giving all the happiness and taking all the suffering and so forth.
So then and then so then this meditation on on giving and taking goes on like this. So all the diseases and sufferings, again, I take on top of my own diseases. The text especially refers to leprosy and other diseases, all these diseases and all kinds of sufferings there are in the world. How to say, may I take them upon myself. And then from now until death and through all future lives, all of the bad karma that I have accumulated that is that may ripen, may I how to say, may I take it gladly, happily upon myself.
And like this, we should meditate. So then then also, the text says, we also have to meditate in in in the following manner. So it says, having many nonhuman beings in front of us, right in front of us, then we we say we say to them we say to them, you have been my mother innumerable times. I have eaten your flesh. I have I have drunk your blood.
I have drunk in your blood. I have I have chewed your bones, and I have I have I have worn your skins. Worn. Right? Worn.
Worn. I have worn your skins. I have I have I have drank your milk and how do you say? And then all these, if I have three thousand So I have done all that in such a quantity that would be enough to fill like three thousand worlds or something like that, something really big. Okay.
So then and then also, I have I have killed you. I have beaten you. I have taken things And I a lot And I that’s done all that, I understand now all this karmic retribution that I am experiencing at present. And then how do you say? And then all the Okay.
Mhmm. And then and then So then and then so it says all that all that all this flesh and milk and everything that I’ve taken from you. This was a great kindness from you. And then now I have and now I must take on me on myself to pay you back. So then the text goes on to say, we should say to these nonhuman beings in front of us, we should say now, you have been you have been extremely kind to me.
So whatever you want to do to me now, please do. And then if you want, if you wish to to to eat my flesh, then eat it. If you wish to drink my blood, then drink it. If you wish to chew my bones, then chew it. If you wish to how to say if you wish my skin and you wish to how do say to take off the skin?
To peel, yeah, If you wish to peel if you wish to peel my skin, then peel it. If you want to eat me raw, then eat me raw. If you want to cook me and then eat me, then cook me and then eat me. And I will give myself I’ll give away my body without how do you say? Disregarding it, I will give away my body.
Okay? This this is the the giving part the giving part of the giving and taking. Okay? This one. So then the tax goes on to say, then we give our body away in this manner.
So this goes. Then to all sentient beings of the six realms and then to all the six the sentient beings of the six realms and the four directions, we also offer ourselves as tormas. This one? Geshe-la wants to stop here today. So if you have any questions, please.
Oh, yeah. Did everybody understand everything? Everybody heard everything? So Geshe-la says at first, he said, well, if you want to give for for real, then it’s okay. But but in fact, this is just a meditation to for for to train our your mind, one’s mind, you see.
Okay. Well, I’ll explain your question to him, to Geshe-la. And Geshe-la says, well, if if after having thought, after having realized that we have caused so much harm to others, and then and then we have this regret, Was the word the word for for for guilt in Tibetan is the same word used for regret, which is also an active thing. It’s not really passive as guilt. And then then having regretted, then you you generate the thought of now I have to repay them, and then you engage in meditation, loving kindness, and compassion.
It’s maybe that didn’t answer you, did you? It’s okay? Then we have to think may all sentient beings have happiness and these causes, may all sentient beings be free from suffering these causes. And then may all of them achieve enlightenment. And then in order in order for that to happen, may I achieve enlightenment?
And then and then like this, we give we give rise. We have to give rise to the this mind of enlightenment, the bodhicitta. Then if we are able to give rise to this mind of enlightenment to this bodhicitta, then we will actually be able to accomplish a lot of benefit for all all sentient beings. We have to think like that. We have to meditate like that.
Any more questions? Overwhelming? Okay. Please. Too early.
Yeah. Twenty six.