Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 71-minute class, Geshe Pema Tsering works through a doctrinal puzzle at the heart of the Sublime Continuum: does Maitreya contradict himself on whether all beings have Buddha nature? The session covers verse ten’s four categories of beings said to have an obstructed lineage — those so overwhelmed by negativity that their positive potential cannot ripen — a position attributed to some Cittamātra thinkers. Geshe-la then resolves the apparent contradiction: Maitreya’s line about beings separated from the cause presents others’ views, not his own definitive teaching; his settled position, corroborated by Vasubandhu, is that tathata (thusness) pervades all beings without exception. Along the way, the class unpacks the wish-granting tree metaphor for Buddha nature and a careful Tibetan linguistic distinction between wish-granting tree and wish-granting jewel. Suited to students already working through the text.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 07 2005 06 09 SC.mp3
UUID: 86e75702-392b-4fd4-9f95-ed9a26e0815b
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Sublime Continuum (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2005-06-09
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 71.9 minutes
Words: ~4,827
Alright. So please develop a good motivation for listening to the teachings. Please try and develop the idea that you are listening to these in order to develop under listening to the teaching in order to develop understanding of the Buddha nature, so you can awaken the Buddha nature, and specifically the Mahāyāna disposition, and therefore attain complete enlightenment. And as a complete enlightened Buddha, lead all sentient beings out of suffering and establish them in a state of absolute happiness. I left my folder with all my notes in it at home, and I’ve had to photocopy stuff.
And he’s like, you didn’t bring your text and your text has a mark in it. Where are we gonna start? Does anyone remember where we were up to from last week? We were up to. We had finished nine, didn’t we?
The similes have developed potential, and then we didn’t really we didn’t do right. Yeah. Yeah. I did, but I didn’t bring them because I left them in my folder, which I’ve left at home. I didn’t.
Two weeks ago at all. No. Two weeks ago, we only had two versions. Yeah. I did.
Oh, I see. Okay. But I didn’t I forgot Do you a photocopy of mine at the beginning? Mhmm. And you can share books with Chris.
Oh. Alright. The next one is last week, the last things we did was look at the two examples that are used or they’re not examples, are they? I’m just reading off the sheet. The two similes that are used to explain naturally abiding lineage and the developing lineage.
So the naturally abiding lineage is likened to gold in that it is pure and it’s malleable, it glows, although we’re not sure about that from Joe, And it has the ability to and it’s very precious, right? So this is the idea of the naturally abiding lineage. The developing potential of the developing lineage is said to be like a treasure and that there is many different precious things in it of diff of but of different types. And it’s talking about the different qualities that we develop now. There’s different types of qualities, and so they’re said to be like a treasure filled with all different types of precious things.
And then after that, it says, this is the case, but according to the mind only school, not everybody has the Buddha nature. Okay. So, Geshe-la said that this isn’t what he would call the Cittamātra view proper. Right? But there are some people who are considered to be within the, Cittamātra school who accept this.
Does that make sense? So it’s not the the traditional, presentation of the Cittamātra school, but there are some people who are considered to be Cittamātrins who put forward this idea that not everyone has the, Buddha nature. Alright? So they say then, so it says, not the way that they put it is this, sentient beings are not pervaded by those that have the Buddha nature. Then it says, because there are those, who have what’s called the blocked or yes.
Speaking of blocked, blocks, I can’t remember the way that you say that. Snapped or the broken or the obstructed potential. Right? So this is described described it says that there are four different types of beings with this obstructed potential. And this is the four different types of beings with this obstructed potential are described in the next verse, which I think is verse number ten.
Some definitely have solely faulty actions. Some destroy every white dharma. Some have no virtues virtues concordant with liberation, and some having inferior white dharma yes. So this means that they accept there are some within this school that accept that there are those with the obstructed lineage or the snapped lineage. There’s got to be a better way of saying that.
Okay. So it just means people who don’t have this. Yeah. The obstructed. Yes.
They’re obstructed. That’s what they say. Like, it’s the obstructed lineage, means that it’s not there. Yeah. I was trying to think of how it’s translated.
It’s obstructed, so it’s not there. It’s Yeah. It’s the same same word as they use for obstacles. Right? So, like, so it’s something that’s obstructing the its presence.
Something stops it from from being So, yes, I said so, you know, obstacles can be like, I said basically what you just said, obstacles can be overcome. And he said, the reason that obstacles can be overcome is is because, actually, there are no beings who don’t have Buddha nature. But there’s beings here that there’s people here. There’s people who are putting forward this idea that not everyone has Buddha nature. Alright?
There are some beings who have obstructed, the obstructed lineage, which means that they don’t have Buddha nature and those obstacles can’t be overcome. Alright? So these these there’s some people saying that there’s those who don’t have Buddha nature and can’t become Buddhas. And then there is but this isn’t a very sound argument. He said I said, I don’t seem to like that view, Geshe-la.
And he said, that’s good thing because there’s a wrong view. Right. And so it said that the first three lines of this verse, so the line that says, some definitely have solely faulty actions, some destroy every white dharma, and some have no virtues concordant with liberation. It says that those three are related to the naturally occurring, lineage or the spontaneously present lineage. And that the last one, some having inferior white dharma separated from the cause is related oh, hang on.
I’ve got them around the wrong way. Oh, you have to scribble it out. One. This one. Mhmm.
Oh, sorry. Other way around. The first three relate to the developing lineage, and the last one relates to the naturally present lineage. Okay. Alright.
Los. Alright. So the way this works is they say, some definitely have solely faulty actions. So that is, that they don’t do anything that’s right. They’re just constantly doing bad things.
And if someone’s constantly doing bad things, that they’re not developing Buddha nature at all. Okay? That’s the first people that have this obstructed lineage. The second one, some destroy every white Dharma. So if someone has created potential in the path, but then they spend all their time being incredibly angry, then they’re going to eliminate all the positive qualities that they have developed and destroy any of the positive potential that they have.
And in this way they stop having the developing lineage. The third ones, they have no virtues concordant with liberation. It means that they may have some virtues but they’re very, very slight and the overwhelming negativity that they have and that they create means that those positive that positive potential doesn’t have an opportunity to ripen because it’s swamped by the negative Mhmm. I separated from the cause. Alright.
So, anyway, the the reason I was struggling a little bit with the last one is because of this translation. I think I can blame it on them. Because the way the the description Geshe-la had is that some people are separated from the cause, for attaining liberation or Buddhahood, because their their positive potential is so weak. Alright? So their their their positive potential is so weak inferior and, like, eaten eaten into that kind of thing.
So in such a bad state, that they really don’t have the they don’t have the court they don’t have enough of the, what, the potential to, have what you could call a cause for liberation. Yeah. Digging up all gray. People who, you know, digging their all gray. Yeah.
I know. And I’m just trying to figure out how that relates to that. Caulking rubs. They don’t know yeah. He said tried to explain the idea of digging one’s own grave, and he said it’s like yeah.
But they don’t they’re only creating problems for themselves because they don’t know. Yeah. They don’t know how to develop the lineage, or develop this potential. So this description of the different types of obstructed potential or obstructed lineage is taken from Asaṇga’s commentary on Sutralamkara or the Ornament to the Sutras. Yeah?
And then also in the next section, which is the excellent qualities of the Mahāyāna potential. It says that we can Mhmm. That there is two different elements to it. We have, the excellent qualities of the Mahāyāna potential, which seek to create the excellent cause the two excellent causes, for attaining liberation through great faith, in the Mahāyāna doctrines or the Mahāyāna Dharma is better than doctrines because it’s not just written words. So there’s two two different forms of that.
Alright? So what you have is this the developing lineage which is seeking to attain liberation through accumulating the two collections, the two excellent collections. Yeah. And this is a they’re able to do this through vast faith and very profound faith, in the Mahāyāna path. Right?
There’s two different types of that. They’re said to be that which is based on that is that which is a cause that leads to this and that which is the result of this. Alright? So you can also distinguish the Mahāyāna lineage in this presentation between that which is a cause for these qualities to come about and that which is the actual establishment of those things. Sorry.
I just scrapped that because I got it wrong. Again, yeah, twice in one night. Not sure. Alright. Okay.
Yeah. Yeah. I’m alright now. So there you can also differentiate the developing the developing potential or the, the potential that’s awakened and advanced into the potential at the time of the cause and the potential at the time of the result. So the potential at the time of the cause is when you’re developing the qualities that lead to Buddhahood and the potential at the time of the result is the is the potential at the time of Buddhahood?
Is the is the lineage at the time of Buddhahood? Oh. There’s one more thing. Yeah. Okay.
I’m not having a good night, but at least I’m recognizing that I’m not having a good night and telling you all my mistakes. That’s the upside. Okay. There is I was just like, wait a minute. I didn’t think there was Buddha nature at this stage.
You’re Buddha because you’re a Buddha. And he said, there isn’t. What are you talking about? And I was like, I don’t know. Okay.
It’s talking about the core it’s it’s talking about the positive qualities. Right? So you know how you’re talking about these positive qualities that are defined as the the developing lineage. Yeah? They were like the positive qualities.
So you have positive qualities at the time of the cause, which are Buddha nature. And then you have positive qualities at the time of the result, which are Buddha’s qualities. Alright? So the positive qualities at the time of the cause are the positive qualities developed on the path, and the positive qualities at the time of the result are the positive qualities of a Buddha. The virtue.
This one. The kind. The what? Virtue. Virtue.
Virtue. The the end. No. No. The result of the, you know what what do you say?
Result of all that. Positive qualities. It’s a virtue. Virtue. Virtue.
It’s one quality. Yeah. Virtue. Okay. Yeah.
They’re different the words mean different things. The one that I’m translating as virtue is different to the one that I’m translating as qualities. Quality. Quality. Yeah.
Although yeah. Uh-huh. With the vast and profound tea, this With the vast and profound with the that that this is that leads on to the next verse. Right? Which starts off by saying, with the vast and profound teaching, the great Dharma taught for the benefit of others.
When through not understanding very extensive belief arises and then patience with the practice, they finally will gain that which is the two aspects of perfection. Understanding that the bodhisattva naturally possessing these qualities comes from the developed potential. I feel like March seems like okay. Okay. Because Geshe-la, why I’m doing this is because the last line of the English translation that I just read says, comes from the developed potential.
And Geshe was explaining it from the perspective of the naturally abiding potential. And I can’t find anything in here that says developed potential. And then get I said to Geshe-la they said this in the translation. And he said, the beginning of it, the section we were talking about before where it talks about, the Mahāyāna path and how the Mahāyāna the qualities that are developed on the Mahāyāna path are are said to be the qualities at the time of the cause. And then we have have the qualities at the time of the result when one becomes Buddha.
That’s referring to the Mahāyāna lineage. So that’s not the synonym for the developed lineage or the developed potential either. Okay. So in from the perspective of the Mahāyāna potential, you have Mahāyāna potential or Mahāyāna lineage, which is naturally occurring, and Mahāyāna potential or Mahāyāna lineage which is developed. Yeah.
Both. And then also from the perspective of the Hīnayāna, you have Hīnayāna lineage or Hīnayāna potential, which is naturally abiding, and Hīnayāna potential, which is developed as well. So I don’t know why they say developed potential. So anyway, basically, Geshe-la said said, if you tell them all the words, they’ll get confused. This let’s just say what it means.
So he said, it’s easy if you just think about it. You start with a potential. Right? And then because of the vast scope of the Mahāyāna teachings, you can start to develop that potential. And so when you are developing that potential, you do so through learning and developing faith, and putting these into practice.
And when you’re putting these into practice, you need patience. So you develop you start with this basis of the the Mahāyāna potential. Then you learn learn about the Mahāyāna path and that develops faith. And then, through faith, in the Mahāyāna, you are able to, put effort into practice and when putting effort into practice, if you have patience, you will achieve the result. So the point of this first then is to show that all of the qualities actually come about through the Mahāyāna lineage or the Mahāyāna potential.
If you don’t have the Mahāyāna potential, you can’t develop these qualities. The cause for all of them is the Mahāyāna potential. So when people have that potential, they then go through this process which enables them to be become a Buddha. They go through, first of all, learning, about it being presented the teachings that are vast profound, and then they develop faith in them through this presentation and through their own understanding. They are patient with their practice and they attain results.
And all of this comes from Mahāyāna potential. Okay. Alright. So what this means is then that as all the qualities come about through the Buddha nature, there’s some it says the great potentials of the powers and so forth. The the achieving of vast happiness, the pacification of vast suffering, and the results, the the especially no.
The oh. And especially the results which establish that beneficial happiness of self and others, all come about from the Buddha nature. Alright. So when it says the forces or the powers, etcetera, remember we did the the all the different qualities of the Buddha in yeah. So Okay.
So you have yeah. And you said there’s there’s lots. There’s, like, the powers, the the forces, the four immeasurables, the great compassion, all of those things, all of the qualities of a Buddha that we went through in the adornable aspect section. Oh, it’s in the Ornament of Clear Realization. All of those are created by as the cause for these is the Buddha nature. And then.
Okay. Okay. So there’s two syllables in Trak, and they put two syllables together. And there’s one here. There’s one syllable that is taken up from the word to like or to love, and the second syllable is taken from is taken from the word to mean happiness, everything from feeling okay to the great bliss that they talk about in the union of bliss and emptiness.
Everything in that whole range of good bit like, good bits comes under this one syllable. And then, are they together? And I said, so what does it mean that they’re together? And Geshe-la says, that you like stuff and you’re happy. And I was like, there’s no special meaning in the two syllables coming together and he went, no.
The first syllable means you like things, and he said that you can like all sorts of things, but this particularly refers to the the state of liking that characterizes a Buddha. Alright? And then, he said you can be, happy or comfortable about all sorts of things, but this specifically refers to the the, comfort levels of a Buddha, and they’re vast. Alright? Okay.
And then yeah. So Mhmm. And the the idea of pacify pacifying, vast, suffering is fairly straightforward. This one. Mhmm.
So in this way, the Buddha nature is likened or is said to be a wish granting tree. A wish granting tree. Alright. So, there’s a different word here than the word that’s used for the wish granting jewel. Right?
So I asked Esther what it was a different word and if I should translate it differently. And he said, the word that you translate for, as in a wish fulfilling jewel is, yizhin, which literally means like the mind. And what that means is that anything that you can think, you can you can it it brings for you. Alright? So it’s not just, having to make set wishes or anything.
It’s like present it presents a wish granting jewel. It’s something that presents anything that’s like the mind. Okay. This word that they’ve used is again is a version of or yi. It still means mind.
And means the limits. So it’s like whatever you can think of. Right? But but the idea of wish then doesn’t quite get it, is why I’m bothering to go into this detail. Yeah?
It’s just a it’s it’s something that just reflects whatever your mind wants back at you. Yeah? You said wish granting treatment. Yes. Yeah.
I know. It is. That’s what it’s it’s talking about. But the word the the way it’s usually is wish granting tree. Yeah?
And then you also hear about a wish granting Jewel. Jewel. But the word that’s wish granting in one is different to in Tibetan, is different to the word that’s wish granting in the other. Alright? The wish granting jewel is called which literally means like the mind.
Yeah? And the word that’s wish granting as in wish granting tree is which means the limits of the mind. Right? So one has this idea of it, anything that you come up with it acts like it’s it it delivers something similar or it’s something like it. Yeah?
And the other one is that the has this idea of the limits of what you can come up with it delivers. Does that make sense? Alright. So, this I don’t know what you it sort of still has to be wish, doesn’t it? And the reason that it’s described as being like this, the reason that it’s analogous to this, wish granting tree is that if you have a strong root system for your tree, you will or a strong, like, sprouting system, I guess.
You sprout and have roots go down at the same time. Right? If you have a strong root root system for your tree, you will also get branches, you will get leaves, you will get flowers, and you will get fruit, and you’ll get and you’ll get nice smells. Yeah? So all of these things come about from the roots or come about from the basis of the tree.
Alright? They’re all different qualities that the tree has and They can all give happiness in some way or another, but they’re not they all come about from one cause. And it’s said that the Buddha nature is similar in that there’s many different qualities that can come from this one cause. So I say sorry, Geshe-la. I was just extrapolating on a couple of words because the word that we use for wish, the word that we these two words, we translate both of them as wish or what you desire, and they have very, very different meanings in Tibetan.
And he said that the one when they’re talking about wish fulfilling trees and and a wish fulfilling trees and jewels and stuff. They’re they’re using it in an analogous way. And when they talk about wishes that we usually have, yeah, that we have, wishes and desires, you’re talking about a movement of your mind towards an object. Alright? And that’s not the and it’s not the same thing.
So one of them emphasizes this side this one word, Yizhin, emphasizes this idea of it emphasizes first of emphasizes the idea that it’s an analogy. And second of all, it doesn’t have the connotations of grasping that the that wishing and desiring, can have when it’s used to translate other things. This one. Okay. Alright.
It doesn’t particularly refer to Buddha nature. Geshe-la said that the the idea of a merit field, is something that you can that you that can act as a base for all for great source of merit for us. Right? So it acts as like a field where you can grow merit. So in this way, if you’re having using this metaphor of a field where you can grow things, right, then the thing that you wanna grow is a wish fulfilling tree.
Yeah? And so it’s saying that that the Buddhas and that the the Buddhas and the teachers and everything that’s in the merit field are are like a wish fulfilling wish granting tree for us, and that all positive qualities can come from making offerings. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Is it pertinent to this part, or can we wait till the end? This so this is why the next verse of the Sutralamkara, the Ornament to the Sutras, says: ‘Because it grows into the very extensive qualities of the tree of enlightenment, because of achieving happiness and the pacification of great suffering, because of providing the fruit of happiness and the benefits for oneself and others, the supreme potential is like the ideal root. Now we’re up to those people that’s chopped. Yes? Okay.
So you may remember you may remember that there were some people who took the last line of one of these verses the obstructed obstructed verses. Where did my obstructed verse go? Those not of the potential, which says, some having inferior white dharma are separated from the cause. Right? Now, Asaṇga said that that refers to the Alright.
Okay. So, you may remember that there was a verse that said, some having inferior white Dharma are separated from the cause. Okay? And, yes? So this is said, so this is saying that there are some people who don’t have a Buddha nature.
Okay? Mhmm. And then in another section, it says Maitreya says and I’ll try and translate it as directly as I can. In another section of the same text. No, it’s especially evident because Asaṇga said that when he said some people are separated from the cause that they’re talking about the naturally abiding lineage.
Right? So if you’re separated from the naturally abiding lineage, it means you don’t have Buddha nature. You can be separated from the developing lineage and not have developed any of your potential. But to be separated from the naturally abiding lineage means you do not have Buddha nature. Alright?
And then another section of the same text, Maitreya says, Tathata, tathata, tathata, tathata. Tathata. Yeah, tathata. Tathata is all pervasive. There is nothing that separated from it.
Because of this, the essence of Tathata which is present as the essence of all beings. Right? So here he’s saying the Buddha nature, all beings have their Buddha nature because, they are, because emptiness is pervasive and the essence of her of, thusness is present in all beings and therefore they have the essence of the thus gone ones. Right? So you have thusness and then you have those who have thus gone which is the Buddha’s.
Right? And so that means those who have realized and so the essence of that thusness is present in all beings who are pervaded by the thusness and also this the the vastness in them, the tathata in them. Alright? So if he says this here, it means that the other one’s not right. And so you can’t take what he in the other instance to be definitive meaning.
And what I was arguing with Geshe was, well, I said, that doesn’t make any sense. Why do you take one thing to knock out the other one, but you can’t take that knock out that one to knock out that one? And he said, you don’t understand anything, which is probably true too. Depends on the situation. It’s different.
Well, that was the other thing that Geshe said. He said, he taught these different things to different people because of different dispositions, and there’s some people that couldn’t that all beings had the Buddha nature. So in some instances in this text, says one thing. In other instances, he said another. We can say opposite things, but depending on different sometimes level or different different Alright.
Okay. So the reasons we have for why we can’t accept these people who are saying that here Maitreya is saying that there are some people who don’t have the Buddha nature is because not only does he say in his the same very same text that everyone has a Buddha nature, but also if you are going to there is the people who present this idea that here he is saying that here he is saying that there there are some people without the, naturally abiding lineage also say that this is a Mādhyamika Shastra, it’s a Mādhyamika commentary and there’s no way that you can say that the ornament to the sutras is a Mādhyamika Shastra. So they’re positing this idea that here he is saying that some people are separated from the cause as being part of a Mādhyamika Shastra. And if it’s part of a Mādhyamika Shastra, means that it can’t be refuted. Alright?
That a it’s a definitive meaning. Yeah? And they’re and they’re saying, well, it’s not definitive meaning for for the star. Right? So there’s no point arguing with them that that this is the there is this is the case that there are some people without Buddha nature because their presentation is faulty to start with.
And if you say that, that it is true from the perspective of even of the mind only school that there are some people with a if you say that there’s from the perspective of the mind only school that there are some people with a, do you call, obstructed lineage so that they have no Buddha nature, then you would have to say that everybody from that lineage including Vasubandhu who was Asaṇga’s little brother and was a proponent of this school of thinking and wrote with Asaṇga would be proposing proposing this idea, but it isn’t. And then there’s two quotes here from him saying that all beings have the Buddha nature, all beings have the essence of the Tathagatas, so therefore because they are pervaded by the vastness. And there’s two different quotes where he says the same thing. So there’s no way that you could say that the, even the Cittamātrins, have this idea of, some people not having the cause. And I said to Geshe-la, but that doesn’t explain why Maitreya is saying it.
And why we should accept one part of what Maitreya is saying and not another part of what Maitreya is saying. And Geshe-la said that in this section where he’s saying having inferior white dharma are separated from the cause. He’s actually saying he doesn’t say I say this and therefore it’s true. Right? He’s just presenting an idea.
And in the other section where he says all beings are pervaded by, Buddha nature, he says I say this and I stand by this, and this is true. Mhmm.