Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. The story of Asaṇga meditating twelve years in pursuit of a vision of Maitreya — only to discover the Buddha had been standing in his cave the whole time, invisible due to impure karma — grounds Geshe Pema Tsering’s technical exposition of the four Buddha bodies in this 46-minute concluding session of his tenets commentary. He defines each body in turn: the nature body as emptiness possessing two purities; the primordial awareness body as omniscient awareness comprehending both relative and ultimate truth; the enjoyment body (sambhogakaya) with its five certainties, accessible only to ārya bodhisattvas; and the three types of emanation body, which teach ordinary beings according to their karma and capacity. A Q&A follows: whether practicing virtue is inherently dualistic, how to purify accumulated non-virtue through regret, restraint, and confession, and whether sentient beings are finite in number given that all possess Buddha nature.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 12 Tenets 2001 12 11.mp3
UUID: fd4978df-0d30-40c0-a06e-e4b8d31cbc76
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Principles of the Tenets (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2001-12-11
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.6 minutes
Words: ~2,679
So then also, for those determined as of great vehicle type from the beginning, abandonment of afflictive obscuration and the obtainment of the eighth ground is simultaneous. So in fact, for someone like So here in fact, being of the great vehicle eliminates all the afflicted obscurations by the time they achieve the eighth ground. For those who are not of a great vehicle type such as a hero type and so forth, they actually strive to overcome the afflictive obscurations as a result of their own particular vehicle. And here for the great vehicle, these afflictive obscurations are not the main object of abandonment as they are in the lesser vehicles. However, even the great Bodhisattva has overcome or completely eliminate afflicted obscurations by the eighth ground.
So in fact, here for the bodhisattvas, those who have entered the great vehicle and especially those determined as great vehicle practitioners from the beginning, take as the main object of abandonment, not the afflictive obscurations, but the knowledge obscurations, because they mainly seek the purpose of sentient beings. They’re worried they’re concerned about removing the afflictions of other sentient beings. They’re not primarily concerned about attaining the state of freedom from affliction for themselves. But even so, that is, the afflictive obscurations are abandoned for bodhisattvas on the eighth ground. Even so, because of the practice of a bodhisattva, the afflictions that arise are not able to harm a bodhisattva as they practice on the path.
And the type of practice of a bodhisattva actually protects them from the afflictions like mantra or medicine. On the other hand, the abandonment of knowledge obscurations and the actualization of the four Buddha bodies is simultaneous for those determined to be of great vehicle type from the beginning. So then, when the knowledge obscurations are abandoned, at that point, then the four Buddha bodies are manifested, become manifest. So we ourselves need to actualize or manifest the four Buddha bodies. So these four bodies are manifested because of course there are four Buddha bodies.
So the final equipoise of being on the tenth ground, that final Vadra like concentration actually is entered by being on the tenth ground. And that equipoise actually establishes the ground of the Buddha and the four Buddha bodies. So without arising from that equipoise, one establishes the four Buddha bodies. So these the bodies which are manifested therefore are these four Buddha bodies. So these four are the nature body, the primordial awareness body, and the enjoyment body, and the emanation body.
These four. So the definition of the nature body is the the final sphere, which is the purity, which possesses the two purities. So really the the final sphere possessing the two purities is the definition of nature body. So what are the two purities? It is the So there are two purities there.
The purity, which is called the essential purity, and then the spontaneous purity. So it’s those two purities that are possessed by the nature body. So also final finally is also included in the definition to indicate that it’s a state that’s achieved at the final point of the path that is the the period or the at the time of attaining Buddhahood itself. So what is the nature body? It’s the emptiness which exists within the continuum of a Buddha or the the truth of cessation which exists in within the continuum of a Buddha.
So the, here the primordial awareness body is defined as the pristine awareness which comprehends diversity and reality. In other words, comprehends all dharmas, comprehends relative and ultimate truth, or conventional truth and ultimate truth So also, this primordial awareness, Dharma body, refers to all the states of awareness that exist within a continuum of a Buddha. All those states of awareness are primordial awareness. The primordial awareness Dharma body of a Buddha, they’re all omniscient states of awareness.
So these two constitute the the two Dharma bodies. And beyond that, we have two form bodies. And the first of the two form bodies is called the enjoyment body or the sambhogakaya. It’s differentiated. The form bodies are differentiated from the dharma bodies.
So here, the the enjoyment body is the the final form body which possesses the five certainties. So in fact, the five certainties that are possessed by here an enjoyment body are the certainty of abode, the certainty of body, the certainty of retinue, the certainty of dharma the certainty of time. So these five are the five certainties. Initially we have the certainty of abode. So here it’s referring to abiding in Akanishtha, or Og Min.
In that state we are unable really to see them at all. So in fact, the the certainty of abode is that they abide within Akanishta. And because we are unable to proceed to Akanishta, then there’s no way that we can actually meet or see an enjoyment body. Until we attain a state of the path of seeing and above, we will not be able to observe, meet, or see an enjoyment body or Sambhogakāya. So also there is certainty of Dharma, the Dharma that they teach, and they only teach great vehicle Dharma.
And their retinue to whom they teach is only ārya bodhisattvas. And also, they abide until the exhaustion of saṃsāra, until saṃsāra itself is exhausted of beings. There are no more beings, ordinary beings. And also, finally, we have the certainty of body and so they always possess the marks and characteristics of a fully awakened being. So, that a Buddha body that possesses those five certainties is in fact regarded as a Sambhogakāya or an enjoyment body.
And then the final of the four Buddha bodies is the emanation body. So the emanation body is a Buddha body a Buddha body which does not possess the five certainties. And then also, there are three types of emanation body, and that is the artisan emanation body, the birth emanation body, and the supreme emanation body. So there are three., the emanation body actually teaches to the three types of being. So in fact, an emanation body is someone that is observable by ordinary beings and they’re able to teach ordinary beings and they teach the different parts required by ordinary beings.
So an emanation body is really one who teaches to the variety of sentient beings that exist on an on an ordinary level in the ways that are appropriate for them. However, even for ourselves, because of our impure karma, we’re unable observe or to meet emanation bodies or tulkus. When our karma is purified by engaging in actions to purify our karma, then it’s possible that we can actually see emanation bodies. Someone like Śākyamūni Buddha who was a supreme emanation body, then took birth on earth in order to teach ordinary beings such as ourselves. But we probably didn’t have the fortune to actually meet Śākyamūni Buddha when he did take birth.
But beings at that time who were fortunate enough to actually see Śākyamūni Buddha when he did manifest on earth did have pure karma. But unless we have pure karma, then it’s not possible that as ordinary beings, do meet or witness such emanation being. So in fact, someone like Śākyamūni Buddha is referred to as a supreme emanation body because there are beings, ordinary beings, who through possessing pure karma actually meet and witness such a being when they exist on this level, on this within the desire realm. So therefore, by engaging in positive actions, those beings and through the accumulation of positive actions, they were able to interact, to see and to be able to interact with such a pure being. Therefore, for ourselves, even if supreme emanation body were nearby, unless our karma were pure enough, we would not be able to see them.
So there’s a story also of Asaṇga who meditated for many years, for twelve years, and was not able to gain a vision of an emanation. Then after twelve years of meditating, Asaṇga who was trying to gain a vision of Maitreya, who was an emanation body, finally noticed that there was a dog at the entrance to his cave who had a wound which was being eaten by worms and so forth. And then seeing the dog develop great compassion for the dog, seeing the suffering of the dog. So then, seeing that the dog had a wound on its back leg and the wound was infested with maggots, then he, Asaṇga, at that point, developed great compassion and the desire to actually take, take those, maggots, removes them from the wound for the benefit of the dog. So then he knelt down and tried to take the maggots from the wound of the dog.
And as he was trying to do this, the dog turned into, changed its form and appeared as Maitreya. And then Asaṇga was quite annoyed and he said, you don’t have any compassion because I’ve been meditating twelve years in order to gain a vision of you. And then Maitreya said to Asaṇga, actually, I’ve been there in the cave from the beginning standing behind you. So then then Maitreya said, I’ve been standing behind you all this time in a cave observing your meditation, but because you had impure karma, you were never able to observe me standing there. And in fact, that was that being was also this red dog who was, manifesting out in front of his cave.
So and Maitreya said that even then I appeared as that dog. And until you generated the causes and generated the pure mind, you were unable to see me. Then Asaṇga took Maitreya and placed Maitreya on his shoulder and then ran down to the village. And so out of joy, he ran down into the village carrying Maitreya on his shoulder asking, do you see? Do you see Maitreya?
What do you see? So in in calling out to the villagers saying, do you see Maitreya? Do you see what who’s on my shoulder? Many looked and they could see nothing, and I thought he was, maybe a crazy person running around yelling without any meaning. There was, however, one woman who had pure karma who actually saw him carrying a dog on his shoulder.
So in fact, if one has pure karma, one is able to see. When, emanation bodies do manifest. But otherwise, even though emanation bodies may appear, around us at all time, unless we have pure karma, we can’t see this. And in fact, even all the the virtuous activities that manifest around us are said to be the enlightened activities of the Buddhas. So is that okay?
Do you understand the meaning of Buddha here in terms of the four Buddha bodies? So in fact, for ourselves, we need to manifest the four Buddha bodies. So this completes the the actual text on, the tenets. So probably you have many questions. Are there many questions?
Abandoning negative actions and practicing positive actions isn’t that dualistic? So how can you think about abandoning negativity and establishing virtue without being dualistic? But wait a minute. What what’s your question here? Without without going into a definition of what you think is.
So in fact, here, we need to follow the instructions of the Buddha, which is really to abandon non virtue and establish virtue. And by engaging in that way, we engaging in practice in that way, we establish establish virtue. We establish the accumulation of merit, which allows us, to eventually attain a comprehension of nonduality. Now I’m not sure if that’s exactly what you meant. You mean you wanna you wanna try and practice virtue without having dualistic appearance?
So initially, what is your definition of virtue? When you say that you might practice something and you think it’s virtue, someone else doesn’t think it it is virtue. Right? What what do you define as virtue? No.
No. No. Just keep that. No. No.
Just answer that without going from you. Yeah. So that’s what you define as virtue. So in brief, you can say that which helps others. So that that can be a a sort of a, you know, thinking that those actions which benefit others are actually virtuous actions.
That’s okay. That’s, approaching an understanding of what virtue is. But then, also one needs to expand it beyond just one person, other, you know, individual persons expand it to all other sentient things. So, really, we need to practice here what the Buddha has stated in terms of establish virtue and eliminate non virtue and extend this beyond just one or two other beings and extend it to all other sentient beings as much as we we can, as much as is possible. So we so we should reflect also that we’re full of that past nonvirtuous actions.
There is no nonvirtue that we haven’t committed in the past. We already, you know, are filled with nonvirtuous actions from our limitless past rebirths. So these actions are things that we have to purify. We need to overcome. So in fact, the difficulty we have at practice in practicing virtue in the present is really the fact that we’ve practiced so much non virtue in the past.
It really hinders our aspiration to practice virtue, to eliminate non virtue in the present, but we need to place a great deal of effort into achieving this in the present moment. So in fact, the amount of non virtue that we’ve committed in the past, if it had a shape and a size, it would be even larger than the earth itself. So we’ve accumulated a vast quantity of past negative actions. So one also reflects that other beings are in a similar situation and that one also should take into account the elimination of the sufferings of other beings to establish them in a state of pure virtue and so forth. So by doing that, then it’s a great benefit to oneself.
So it is possible to purify the vast accumulation of non virtues that we have accumulated, and that is really by generating the mind of regret, in relation to past actions, and then through establishing a strong sense of regret, then also the mind that we we generate the mind that restrains ourselves from committing those negative actions again in future. Not only that, we also engage in confessing all negative actions, that have been committed in the past and so on. Through these processes, it’s possible to begin to purify, the vast accumulation of past negative actions. So by practicing, therefore, the mind of regret, the mind of restraint, of commitment to never commit those actions again, plus engaging in confession and so forth, then even our current negativities are lessened and diminished through those conditions. So, really, the the mind of regret and the the mind that commits oneself not to commit, not to enact or engage in those actions again is very important for purifying past negative actions.
So in fact, also in return with regard to, dualistic appearance, then, one initially practices virtue in a in a field of dualistic appearance, but with a view to eventually overcoming dualistic appearance. And and also dualistic appearance is really just the appearance of things to be truly existent. Things appear to be true. So within that field, we engage in virtue. Alright.
Sentient beings are not infinite in number. Why is that? Yeah. It is said that all beings potentially will attain the state of a all all sentient beings will attain the state of a Buddha. And so there is the time in which saṃsāra is exhausted does exist.
So in a sense, it’s saying that there that implies that sentient beings are not infinite in number. So because everyone every sentient thing has Buddha nature, and so they have the potential to become a Buddha, and the time of becoming a Buddha therefore does exist, it’s said that