Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. What happens when lifetime practice meets the moment of death? In this 38-minute commentary, Geshe Pema Tsering explains how the five forces used throughout a whole lifetime of mind training are reapplied — in a different order — specifically at the time of dying. Working through Geshe Chekawa’s Seven Point Mind Training, he covers three of the five forces in sequence: giving away possessions without attachment so the mind faces death unencumbered (the white seed); making offerings and prayers to never be separated from bodhicitta in the Bardo (aspiration); and actively destroying self-grasping — identified as the root of all suffering across past, present, and future lives (rejection). He traces how grasping to the body underlies the self-grasping mind and why practitioners should resolve not to take another body even in the intermediate state. Suited to practitioners already familiar with the Seven Point Mind Training.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 25 2005 11 20 MT (2).mp3
UUID: fef0bd24-ce2d-4fbc-9ddf-63687884a223
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Mind Training (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2005-11-20
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 37.8 minutes
Words: ~2,212
So then, again, say that now we have to give rise to motivation. The good motivation is the motivation of achieving enlightenment for the sake of benefiting all sentient beings. In in this vein, we should think, so may may I achieve enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings, and now for that purpose, I’m going to engage in the study of this, how do you say, mind training text? So again, I’m saying that a proper proper motivation is the motivation a very important essential point. And then without the proper motivation.
It’s a very essential point because results will be in proportion to the motivation we have. If we have a motivation of achieving benefit and happiness only for this life, then that’s what we’re going to to obtain. If our motivation is to achieve happiness and benefits for future lives, then that’s what we’re going to get. If our motivation is motivation of achieving liberation for oneself alone, then that’s what we’re going to get. And again, if our motivation is the motivation of achieving enlightenment for the sake of benefiting all sentient beings, then that’s the result we’re going to get.
So this that being so, this is a very important point in the practice. So then now we we we study a text, which is another commentary on the Seven Point Mind Training, which was composed by Geshe Chekawa. We are in one of the main topics of the text, which is how to practice during one’s whole lifetime. And we are in the second division of this topic, which is how to practice at the time of death. So the the title of this topic is the Mahāyāna instructions on on transference of consciousness.
And then so the text goes on to say that the Mahāyāna transference of consciousness, the instruction of transference of consciousness, the instruction of transference of consciousness, are those five forces that were studied previously in relation to a whole lifetime of practice. So the same five forces that we apply during a whole lifetime are five forces that we apply at the time of death. And then this conduct, it is said, this should be cherished, this this conduct of the five relation to the five forces. So the text goes on to say that, likewise, having those beings who have practiced mind training for their whole lives, at the time of death, being being afflicted by a disease and knowing that they are going to die, then they should they should practice So knowing that they’re going to die, then that those five forces is what they should practice. And then they should they should practice those five forces.
And then, again, about the time of death, and they should they should how do you say? They should they should transfer their consciousness. They need to transfer their consciousness in that, how do say, in that state. In the in in that state that is induced by by the five forces themselves. Okay?
In that in that we think those five forces, that’s what that’s very So then we’re going to say the text goes on to say that if in the Tantric tradition and traditions like the tantric practices on on transference of consciousness, they have they have many instructions. And then if one is not able to apply those those many techniques, then one should one should rely on the five forces, on these five forces. So then so the first of these five forces, they come in a different order that was that was set forth before for one’s whole lifetime of practice. So the first one of them is a force of the white seed. And then so it is said that one should give one’s possessions to the lamas and to the Three Jewels and so forth.
So then and then they go on to say, the text goes on to say that it is it is not suitable to give to give to people who will who have strong attachment to those to those objects that we are offering also It is not suitable We shouldn’t give objects to someone if we know that It is going to cause is going to be a cause of their their creating negativities or harming themselves by giving that object or by they having strong attachment to it and so forth. So then then the text goes on to say that to those to whom we are going to give the offerings, then we should we should make proper good good offerings to to those recipients. And then to those people who are kind to us or to our benefactors, like the lamas, the teachers, our parents, and so forth. I mean, we should not we should not give how do you say? To to our benefactors, to the lamas and the teachers and our parents and so forth, we should not we should not offer how to say?
We should not make inferior offerings. We should offer the best the best things we have. The the text is referring to to, how do you say, a substitute for a jewel. We should not it’s not suitable to offer a substitute for a jewel. We should offer the jewel itself.
So so that and that doing this like this, then the we are going to, how do you say, develop this non attachment for the things of this life, for all these material things of this life. That’s the purpose of this practice. So like this, we create this nonattachment for this object. And then in the future, that a mind without fear will come about. This one.
So then the second power, the second force is the force of aspiration aspirational prayers so then the text is saying we should in the presence of the Three Jewels We should prepare Nice offerings then we should request for the ask them to be patient with us for our mistakes and so forth we should make confessions then how do you say? We should recite the prayers of refuge. We should give rise to bodhicitta and think meditate on renunciation and so forth. And then again and again, we should meditate on these topics in front of the Three Jewels. Then having taken refuge and giving rise to bodhicitta and so forth, then we make offerings.
We actually make offerings to the Three Jewels. We make offerings to the Dharma protectors and Dharma offerings to Dharma protectors, just ritual cake offerings to Dharma protectors. Then one one one, how to say, praise to to the Three Jewels that may I, in the Bardo, in intermediate state, and in the future lives, how to say, never be separated from the how to say? Bless bless me that I may never be separated, and I may always remember and practice the two bodhicittas in the Bardo and in in any future lives. Bless Bless me that I may meet with excellent teachers who teach this Dharma and then and bless me that I may be guided on the path to happiness.
And you are my only hope. At least, we should pray. So then the text goes on to say that we should, how do you say, strive and how do you say, strive and how to say, put effort in planting these requests of being guided being guided to the path on the path. And then, again, I just explained this path is, again, is the path to happiness. It’s the path of the happiness of human rebirth and and higher rebirth is the happiness of liberation, the happiness of enlightenment.
And then that that will be guided to a place where there are Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, where there are practitioners, where there are the teachings and so forth. So that’s the meaning of the path here. So then, again, like this, may I may I practice may be able to practice the how do say? To train in the in the two minds of enlightenment in the Bardo. So then from this life and now future lives, how do you say, again, may I practice the two minds of enlightenment and may I meet with an excellent teacher who teaches this Dharma.
And like this, we should pray again and again and again. So then now the third power or force, which is the force of rejection, okay? So then it says so you can observe that this word in Tibetan, which is translated as rejection many times, it could also be translated as also mean to destroy. So then it is saying, so from beginningless time, we have been placed in suffering. And again, placed us in suffering was this self grasping.
And then so this is referring to the suffering that was experienced from the past, from beginningless time until now. Then again, now this present suffering is the self grasping, which gives rise to it, this present suffering. And still, how do say? And still that’s So then and still, that would keep us for a long time without happiness, will still keep us, how do you say, not separated from the state. In that state, which is without happiness, is again the self grasping.
So how can one destroy this? So then which what is it can I just explain? What is it that made us experience suffering in the past, making us experience suffering now, and and will make us experience suffering in the future, is that self grasping. What is that self grasping? That self grasping is is the mind that thinks of I, that thinks of me, is that mind that wants all the happiness for oneself and doesn’t want to experience suffering, that doesn’t wish oneself to experience suffering.
So that’s that mind that we have is basically what’s called self grasping. So this mind is a very powerful it’s a very powerful thing. It’s a very powerful mind. There’s nothing that we don’t do for, how do you say, under the power of that mind. There’s nothing that we are not doing for the sake of achieving happiness for that mind.
One. That is very difficult. So then, I understand the text is asking, so how can we destroy it? Again, I say, so how can we destroy this self grasping? So what is that self grasping again?
Is that is that mind that thinks highly of oneself? Is that mind that that is is a is is an erroneous consciousness? Is an erroneous awareness that conceives of phenomena to be inherently existent. It conceives of external phenomena to be inherently existent. It conceives of the self conceives itself to be inherently existent.
That is a self grasping mind. So then all of this comes about because of grasping to our bodies so again I say all of this is referring to all samsaric phenomena, it’s all samsaric happiness, samsaric suffering, all suffering and happiness that we experience comes about by our grasping to this body so because this body is the basis on which we label the self, which we conceive the self to exist. So all of this comes about by our grasping to this body. So then the self grasping is always existing dependent on a body. So be it a human body or be it the body that we obtain when we are in the intermediate state, or be it the body of gods who do not have a form body, actually, that’s just the consciousness.
But it’s always dependent on a kind of body, a type of body. So then so this body is always it experiences the feelings of feelings of suffering or unpleasurable feelings or painful feelings or or and feelings of pleasurable feelings and neutral feelings. And for the sake of of these feelings, of pleasurable feelings, say, of gaining or experiencing pleasurable feelings, we engage in all sorts of activities. And again, for the sake of not experiencing painful or certain feelings, we engage, again, in all different sorts of So then in order to obtain this happiness, to experience happiness, we engage in all sorts of activities out of attachment, and we end up only accumulating causes for more suffering. And then again, in order to avoid the experience of suffering or painful feelings, then we we engage in in arguments and fights and so forth.
And we, again, we only out of that, we only get more suffering. Then we should then we should definitely think that I must not I must not, how do you say, take I must not in the Bardo while in the intermediate state. We should definitely think I must not take I must not take a body. So then and again, we should think again and again that all sentient all sentient beings or sentient beings will vanish in space. They need to being all the I mean, all sentient needs need to vanish in space.
And then Geshe-la explains that this is related to thinking of of the lack of inherent existence. So then this is like this, we should refuse or we should destroy the self grasping.