Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. When Geshe Pema Tsering reaches the Tibetan term usually translated as “belief” — also rendered as interest or devotion — he pauses to nail down what it actually means: not merely liking a quality in others, but actively wanting to become like them. This 70-minute session in his Sublime Continuum series covers, in sequence, the four signs preceding entry into the Mahāyāna path (great compassion, this quality of aspiring emulation, patience with hardship, and diligence in virtue), the four divisions of potential (definite, indefinite, unlosable, and losable), four obstructions to awakening potential including poverty and being completely under others’ control, four benefits of awakening the Mahāyāna potential, and two extended similes — natural potential likened to a limitless gold mine, developed potential to a treasure trove of varied precious qualities. Suited to practitioners following a structured study of the Sublime Continuum.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 05 2005 06 02 SC.mp3
UUID: 601eb059-3abf-4dee-9198-64551527cae3
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Sublime Continuum (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2005-06-02
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 70.1 minutes
Words: ~4,950
Please have a look at your motivation, check your motivation, and try and make sure that you are listening to these teachings in order to awaken the Buddha potential, the Mahāyāna Buddha potential, by knowing about it and then, by awakening that potential, develop a bodhicitta which will enable you, which will, act as a cause to attain enlightenment, and by becoming enlightened, be able to lead all sentient beings out of suffering and establish them in a state and beyond sorrow. Okay. Woah. So we’re up to number four within the description of the Buddha potential in the Cittamātra school. There was nine different sections or nine different topics that we were going through and from amongst these we were up to number four which is called the signs of awakening.
Now, the root verse of the ornament to the sutras which is the source for the commentary on the Buddha potential in the Cittamātra School, the Mind Only School, says: Prior to engaging, compassion, belief, patience, and perseverance in pure virtuous actions are known as signs of the potential. Okay. Prior to engaging, engaging means having the continuum of bodhicitta, having developed bodhicitta, having entered into the paths of the Bodhisattva. So, to developing bodhicitta, you develop qualities like great compassion and so on, right? So, these are the awakening of the Buddha potential sorry, the Mahāyāna Buddha potential.
So, when it says prior to engaging, that’s what was talking about. Compassion, obviously great compassion is one of the causes for developing bodhicitta. This belief is translation of a word in Tibetan that is is sometimes also translated as devotion, believe it or not, or dependence or or sometimes as interest. So I know that sounds like a strange variety of words to translate from one one word, but it depend depending on the context. Now, it’s interesting that I heard heard one translation of it as as interest.
When Geshe-la described it as focusing on the object that will take you to enlightenment or develop bodhicitta. Right? So, that means that interest seems very close translation. So, if on something and by focusing on that thing, then you will develop bodhicitta and work towards attaining enlightenment. It’s the object that you take for the meditation, the thing that you’re focused on.
But it’s talking about it from the perspective of having that focus. So, having that interest is a is an interesting way of putting it. It’s an interesting is a good way of putting it, I think. So, belief, and I said, what what about belief? Is it is it belief?
And he said, well, you believe in it, otherwise, you wouldn’t be focusing on it. Right? So, that kind of fits him in the, translation. And patience. Patience refers to having patience with the hardships that you undergo while you are practicing the Dharma and perseverance in pure actions is having is wanting to, perform virtuous actions, having the desire to perform virtuous actions.
So all of these kind of activities are known as the signs of the awakening of the potential, the Mahāyāna potential. Okay. So the major sign of of developing the Mahāyāna potential is said to be when you develop great compassion. Alright? So the definition of when you develop or the the sign, the clear sign that you’ve developed, the Mahāyāna Buddha potential is when you develop great compassion.
Alright. Sorry. I was just processing something. Because alright. So this means that we have four characteristics that come out of this verse.
Yeah? Yeah. We have the So, that means that there’s four signs of awakening that precede the actual entry into the Mahāyāna path. Four signs of awakening of the Mahāyāna potential that precede the engagement of the Mahāyāna paths. Alright?
So basically, attain Mahāyāna Paths when you develop bodhicitta, but your Mahāyāna Buddha potential or your Mahāyāna potential is activated or awakened when you develop great compassion. So there’s a distinction between no, when this happens, and when this happens. So, there’s four things that are said to come about during the the signs of the awakening of the potential of the Mahāyāna potential that come about before you enter the actual Mahāyāna path. The first of these is great compassion focused on all sentient beings. Yeah?
Great compassion focused on all sentient beings. So you know how there’s like different types of compassion? Right? There’s compassion focused on phenomena, compassion focused on non-existence of all. From amongst those three, this is great compassion focused on sentient beings.
So it’s the lesser of the great compassions. Yeah? I said, I guess I said, you finished? And I said, no. For every one word you say, I’ve got to say about six.
Okay. Then the next one is this this this word that they’ve translated here is belief. And I’m particularly harassed Geshe-la about the way to translate it because I think it could perhaps be at the basis of a lot of pain for a lot of Western Buddhists. Anyway, it’s a so belief or focus or interest. Now, it means having the so so the the the main focus that we’re talking about sorry.
First of all, the main focus that we’re talking about here is the focus on the paths of the Mahāyāna. Right? So when someone has developed great compassion, and they have the signs of having the Buddha potential, the Mahāyāna potential awakening them, another thing that they will manifest, another sign that you will see is that they will be focused on the paths of the Mahāyāna. Right? And I say, yes, so what do you mean by this word that’s translated here as belief and also sounds like I said, it’s translated as all sorts of things.
What does it mean? And he said, it means that they are really they really like it. It means that they’re really into it. It’s not just that they’re really like, okay, that’s where I’m going. That’s what I really like.
Right? And I said, so I guess, are you saying that this word that they have gone so far as to translate as devotion? Alright? You know, to have devotion, it means they like it. And he said, actually, okay, there’s a little bit of difference, right?
There’s a difference, you can like something and not necessarily think that you wanna develop it, alright? But this word, this is called möpa, alright? He said this word, the reason that they may have translated it as that because it goes beyond just liking something. It’s and it goes to the idea of wanting to develop that quality. Right?
So he said can like someone or you can like something and not think necessarily, I wanna be that. Yeah? But this is saying you wanna be that, you know? You you like it so much you want to be like that. Alright?
So it’s a it’s a very kind of strong liking. And in that way, this is why it’s sometimes also translated as interest because it’s this idea of your focus. You so much wanna be that that that’s what you’re focused on. Okay? So, this focus is a is what it’s talking about.
And then the interesting thing is that this and another word, which is also translated as reliance, are the two things that are translated as devotion. I mean, we talk about like guru devotion and everything like that. They’re using these two words. This one that’s kind of this interest because you wanna become like that. Yeah?
And there’s this other one that means more like reliance. It’s the word that they use for if if you put the cup on the table, you say the cup is relying on the table, is is based on the table. Right? And so, Geshe-la said the distinction between those two words and what they’re trying to get out across in this idea of that’s usually translated as guru devotion is. On one, you like them quality so much, you want them yourselves.
So you wanna be like them. Yeah? And the other part is that in dependence on what they teach you, you hope to you you are going to attain enlightenment. And and and so he said that that this is idea, the basis of what’s translated as Guru devotion. It has these two aspects, this idea of depending on their teachings as your path, and the other bit is wanting to become like them.
Okay. And then, Okay. Right. So number three is being able to be patient with any difficulties that you may encounter in working for others’ benefit. So when you’re striving towards enlightenment, you experience difficulties and you experience austerities.
So being patient with those is the third sign of awakening. And the fourth one is having taking joy or being diligent about practicing virtuous Dharma like the behavior of bodhisattvas which includes giving and the other perfections. Okay. The next section says, it’s called the divisions of the potential, and the potential is, divided into definite and indefinite, and losable. And that’s it.
Yes. Four of them. That’s it. And so the the actual verse says, potential is definite, indefinite, unlosable, three conditions, losable. These, in short, are four divisions of the aspects of the of the potential.
There’s got to be a better way of saying that. Alright. So the first the first two, definite and indefinite. Now, what this is talking about is the distinction between those who start off by developing the Mahāyāna potential, continue on with the Mahāyāna potential until they become a Buddha, right? And those on the other hand who may start off as with the Hīnayāna potential change over to the Mahāyāna potential, then back to the Hīnayāna potential or whatever it is.
And even those who develop the Hīnayāna potential to start off with and become an arhat, after developing the Hīnayāna potential, and then, rest in the nirvana for a while until some one of the Buddhas comes and tells them to snap out of it and then they go back and develop the Mahāyāna potential and go on to become a Buddha. Alright? So anytime when there’s changes happening between the different potential that’s been developed, whether it’s for the Hīnayāna or the Mahāyāna, that’s called the indefinite potential. And anytime where a being develops the Mahāyāna potential and continues on with that potential until they attain enlightenment is definite potential. So most of the time, most beings Alright.
So this means that there are are two different types of definite potential and two different types of indefinite potential. The two different types of definite potential are first of all, those beings who develop the Mahāyāna potential continue on practicing Mahāyāna, having developed great compassion and bodhicitta, and then go through all the paths and grounds until they become a Buddha without changing. That’s one type of definite potential. Another type of definite potential could be someone who has developed the Hīnayāna potential and continues practicing the Hīnayāna paths until they attain arhathood and they don’t change. That’s another type of definite potential.
And then when you have indefinite potentials, you have many different it can go many different ways or it can happen in many different ways, but you either have someone who changes from a Mahāyāna potential to a Hīnayāna potential or Hīnayāna potential to a Mahāyāna potential. They can change in many different ways, but there’s two different ways that they can go up from Hīnayāna to Mahāyāna, or Mahāyāna to Hīnayāna. So sometimes the way this happens is that someone develops great compassion or they develop bodhicitta, and then when they start engaging in the activities of a Bodhisattva, it becomes too hard. They can’t actually engage in those activities, they get lost despondent about all that needs to be done in order to become a Buddha, and they lose the Mahāyāna potential and they revert to having the Hīnayāna potential. The other way that it can happen is if someone has developed the Hīnayāna potential and they can go all the way to becoming an arhat and then something can spark the Mahāyāna potential in their mind stream and they can go back to being a Bodhisattva once they’ve become an arhat.
So, there’s many or they could start with the Hīnayāna potential and then develop Mahāyāna potential at some point along the path. There’s many different places that it can happen, but it only happens one of two ways. There’s those who go from Hīnayāna to Mahāyāna or Mahāyāna to Hīnayāna. Okay. This is also possible for beings to develop develop the Hīnayāna potential, then develop the the Mahāyāna potential and not be able to then get become despondent or not be interested in Mahāyāna goals anymore and go back to the Hīnayāna goals and go backwards and forwards.
But they’re either going one way up or down. Okay. Okay. This is unlosable through conditions and losable. Alright.
We have unlosable through conditions and loseable. Okay. So what you have happening is conditions can come up that cause a being to lose or yeah, lose their awakened potential in some way or another. So for example, if you have the Mahāyāna potential in your continuum, you’ve developed great compassion and you’re focusing on sentient beings and you are practicing patience with regards to what you need to do in order to attain Buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings. And then something occurs, it occurs to you that it would be easier to attain nirvana for yourself and you don’t need to really focus on all sentient beings.
Those kind of thoughts If those kind of thoughts come up, then those kind of thoughts which are self-cherishing thoughts would would be the condition which causes you to lose your Mahāyāna potential. The key so, unlosable through conditions. Alright. You could if you’re going to translate that line in a very colloquial way, you could say the conditions can’t grab it because it’s got this idea of taking it, like, you know, if someone grabs your purse, you’d use this word that they’re using. Right?
So, the conditions can’t steal it away from you because the conditions are actually the things that do it. The conditions can’t destroy your awakened potential. Yeah? So, there’s the type of awakened potential whether it’s Mahāyāna or Hīnayāna that can be destroyed, that can be nicked by their adverse conditions and there’s a sort of awakened potential that can’t be taken away, can’t be destroyed through any kind of conditions. So, conditions can be things like having developed great compassion, realizing that it’s much easier to attain nirvana and get out of saṃsāra just for yourself and then giving up on all sentient beings.
Or, conditions that would stop or that would make you lose or that would get rid of your awakened Hīnayāna potential would be attachment to the things of saṃsāra. So you may develop this idea of getting out of saṃsāra, working towards getting out of saṃsāra, and then become very attached or desirous to some of the good things in saṃsāra. And then, the condition of having that attachment to the good things in saṃsāra would cause you to lose your continuing potential? Okay. So again, we have four.
We have definite, indefinite, unlosable, and losable. In the previous one, we have four. Prior to engaging, you have have compassion, belief, patience, and perseverance. So in this one, again, there’s four. Yeah.
Alright. Mhmm. Mhmm. Someone. Yeah.
Okay. Okay. The next one is called Faults Obstructing the Potential. Or to give it its full title, it says, The Four Things by Way The Four Characteristics which can cause the Mahāyāna potential to be interfered with before it has arisen. Right?
So it can stop it from arising basically. The first of these it says is acquaintance with delusions or habituation with delusions. So Alright. Acquaintance with delusions or having the habit of being having delusions. So, if we have very strong attachment, we have a strong hatred, we have strong ignorance, or any of the other delusions, then it’s gonna difficult for us to develop great compassion and therefore to awaken the Buddha potential.
So, this one’s fairly obvious. You can’t go around developing great compassion if you’re completely under the sway of very strong emotions. Right? So, it acts as a as something that is a a very clear and strong obstruction to developing the Mahāyāna potential. The next one is bad companions.
Because bad companions will stop us from from being able to focus on developing developing the Buddha potential. The next one, poverty. This is what I was cracking myself up about because I looked it up in the dictionary because I was like, I don’t know that word. At least I didn’t know that spelling. And I looked it up in the dictionary and it said rectum.
And I’m like, rectum? How is a rectum gonna stop us from a tiny to a living word? And I was getting very confused. And then yes. Anyway, so I guess she’ll tell me that it’s a a different this is and I said to him, see, this is why you need a teacher.
Otherwise, if I was translated, I would’ve gone rectums. Anyway, he said that it’s a different it’s a it’s a there’s different spellings of this word, but this means to be without. Alright? This word is to be without, and then I was like, because there’s something similar colloquial that you say, I don’t have that. You say, oh, yeah.
Same Use the same word. So it means poverty. If you don’t have food, if you don’t have clothes, if you don’t sorry. Yeah. If you don’t have shelter, then you’re going to be so distracted by trying to keep yourself alive that you’re not gonna be able to focus on developing the Mahāyāna potential.
Alright? So that’s the next one. It’s got nothing to do with the rectums. Okay. And then No, Not enough.
Poverty? Yeah. No. It means not enough stuff. You know?
Like, not not enough food. No no no no clothes. Yeah. Alright. It doesn’t Okay.
He’s saying that people in this situation would would be starved for wisdom as well, would have poverty of their poverty of knowledge. Right? But they would have poverty of knowledge or poverty of wisdom because they don’t have the conditions around them to develop wisdom. Yeah? So it means that you need a certain amount of food and you need a certain amount of shelter to be able to practice Dharma.
Alright? Otherwise, you’re going to be worried about what you’re going to eat and so on. Yeah? So, the it’s talking talking about things: clothes, food. Basic necessities.
Basic necessities, yes. The last of the four faults that obstruct the potential is to completely by others. So, Geshe-la says, he thinks the best example that he can come up with this is to, if you were in the army for example, you couldn’t necessarily tell someone that he needed a few hours to meditate on love and compassion. Right? He said, the army they tell you, get up at this time, you do this, you do that, you do this, you do that.
So you’re completely under the control of others, and you don’t have the capacity to focus on what you want to focus on. Right? So this could also be an obstruction. This is also going to be an obstruction to developing the Mahāyāna potential. Okay.
So the next one is the benefits of awakening the Mahāyāna potential. There’s four of these again. The first of them is that delaying going to the lower realms. Now, until you perceive emptiness directly, you still have the throwing karma that could take you to the lower realms. Alright?
That that is part of your continuum. You still have the potential or the capacity. And you still have the you still might. You might have the bad luck of ending up. It’s like potential and capacity, they’re both very positive words, aren’t they?
You’re still caught end up in the lower realms, right? Until you’ve perceived emptiness. Yeah? But, if you have developed the Mahāyāna potential, then this even though you’re you may have this throwing karma in your continuum, it won’t ripen. Yeah?
It won’t it won’t the conditions to bring that karma into fruition won’t come about. So, the the karmic cause would be there, but the conditions that you need to come together with that cause to bring the results about won’t happen. Yeah? So, that’s the first one. And it says, if you for some reason it’s because it says delayed going to the lower realms.
If for some reason, there you had such such strong karma that even though that going to the lower realms was had been delayed or it wasn’t that it wasn’t the conditions didn’t all come together. If somehow they did it did happen, then you wouldn’t be there for very long at all. Alright. Sorry. I left out a bit, and that’s why I was getting myself all confused.
It says, you we all have the potential or we can develop the potential to this cause to be reborn in the lower realms, this throwing karma to be reborn in the lower lower realms. But there’s three types of throwing karma. There is throwing karma that defines what happens to you in your next life, the life after that or future life. Right? So when it says delaying going to the lower realms, it means that you don’t even though you may have the cause for being reborn in the lower realms in your next life, yeah, you don’t experience the results of that.
Okay? And then it says, if if eventually that karma ripens and you go to the lower realms, it won’t be for very long. Okay? So it it stops it stops you from going there in the short term, and then if you do end up there, you don’t stay very long. Right?
Alright. The thing is then, so you go if you go to the lower realms, it won’t be for long. You won’t be there for very long, and the last thing is that you won’t experience that much suffering there. No. This the third thing is that you won’t experience much suffering there.
And then the last thing it says is that you will be able to ripen the mind streams streams of sentient beings through becoming disgusted with saṃsāra yourself. So, I’m bit confused as to why they put distress because distress implies to me a sense of agitation and not control. There’s no control involved in it like wailing and weeping and distress, that kind of stuff. Right? But this word is actually more has a sense of disgust or just not interested in it, over it.
Right? Yeah. And it’s talking specifically here about being over saṃsāra, you know, just not interested. So this yeah. So it’s being over saṃsāra, they’re able to ripen sentient beings’ mind.
So what this means is if someone has developed renunciation and has and then sees Samsāra for what it is and is completely not interested in it, then through that understanding that they’ve developed, then, they will be able to inspire that understanding in others. Because if someone has totally understood something themselves, then they’re going to be able to explain it and exemplify it more and other beings will be affected by that. So that’s what the last line means. Alright. So the next one we’re up to is number eight, which is simile of natural potential.
Simile. I’ve discovered it’s not even a metaphor, it’s a simile. Okay. But anyway, we’re there now. Okay.
It is a potential is known as like gold, a source of limitless virtue, possessing wisdom and purity, also a source of powers. So this is this verse is talking about or highlights four characteristics of gold. They are that they’re if you have a gold mine, you have a lot of gold. That’s the first one. Right?
The second quality of gold is that it is clear. It shines. It’s what not clear, but it shines. It it glows. Yeah?
The third quality of gold is that it is uncontaminated. And the fourth quality of gold is that it is pliable. Right? So in accordance with these four characteristics, the naturally abiding Mahāyāna potential is said to be, in terms of the merit that it develops, as limitless as a treasure of gold. I say, I guess that gold mines aren’t limitless.
They run out, and then you have to go and find another one. Alright. Okay. Geshe-la said, gold gold mines are limitless. And so if even if we mined all the gold of Australia and went to all other countries and got all their gold, we wouldn’t know about other planets.
Alright? So, the gold in terms of what we wherever we can find it is limitless. Okay. So this is the first one into and it’s it’s likened to the the expanse of gold. Alright?
The goldness of gold is limitless, and so are the qualities that are developed, that can be brought into being through the naturally abiding Buddha potential. Okay? The second simile is that in the same way as gold glows, the wisdom realizing selflessness is said to be just as clear, or just as luminous in terms of that it it it lights things up. Right? I don’t know if it’s yeah.
I said, Joe, I have to ask Joe a question because he knows a lot more about gold than me and perhaps I’m mistranslating this. Does gold glow or does it reflect things? It reflects. Reflects. Okay.
So reflects light. So here it just says shines. So that could be it can be it can have both meanings. It can have this idea of reflecting. It can have the idea of actually having a light source within it.
Yeah? Okay. Polished gold reflects light well. Okay. I was gonna I just said Jackie because it sounds like something he’d say.
You know, Jackie, love. Anyway, yes, in terms of smart-arse retorts. The only gold that’s worth anything glows because if it’s just a lump in it, he doesn’t reckon that you’re gonna get as much for it. Yes. He said, oh, you you’re not gonna sell my he said asked Joe if he would sell much gold if it was just a lump of unshiny stuff that people couldn’t recognize.
Nice. Okay. So there we have shiny gold reflects things and is is worth a lot. This metaphor is slowly falling apart, but, anyway yes? No.
It’s it’s not falling apart because gold needs to be cultivated like polished porcelain. But this is talking about the Yes, sir, Chris. Similarly shining. Similarly shining. Alright.
So it has this quality of glowing when it has been polished and and everything. Yeah. And that glowing stuff or the reflecting thing is said to be like the wisdom perceiving emptiness in or as selflessness in that it illuminates or it’s a it gives you an understanding of reality. Okay. The last simile No.
The second last is that Okay. It’s said to be like, pure said to be gold, and it isn’t stained with anything. So pure gold that isn’t alloyed, I think. Is that alright? Okay.
Isn’t alloyed. It is said to be like naturally occurring the natural potential in that it isn’t afflicted with any afflictions. The last of it is it says the source of all powers. And this is talking about its plant so that direct realizations, meditative concentration and other things come from this natural potential because it is pliable and it can be used through the development of meditative concentration to develop positive qualities and realizations? Okay.
So now we’re up to the simile of developed potential. Alright. So the next thing is a simile of developed potential. Potential is known to be like a treasure is is known to be like treasure. By reason of great enlightenment, great wisdom, superior concentration, and a source of benefit to many sentient beings.
So, these are the four things in in this one. You have great enlightenment, great wisdom, superior concentration, and a source of benefits to many sentient beings. And so the reason that it is likened to a treasure to yeah, like a a treasure trove or to treasure is that that if you have treasure in in a when you have like a pile of treasure and you have many different things, of many different shapes and colors and uses and and sizes and nature. Right? And this is like the qualities that are developed with the developing potential.
Right? Because you have things like you have the wish to attain enlightenment, you have the wisdom perceiving selflessness, you have the very special means, and you have the wisdom perceiving the lack of inherent existence. You have the specially developed meditative concentration and you have the wish to work for the benefit of all sentient beings. So these are all positive qualities and precious qualities, but they’re all different qualities. And so this is why this is likened to to treasure in that there’s a collection of all of of very different, very precious things.
And that’s why the developed potential is likened to treasure. Okay. We can stop.