Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. A translator’s admission that he disagrees with the root text sets the tone for this 65-minute session, as Geshe Pema Tsering walks through seven of the nine classical similes for Buddha nature in the Sublime Continuum. The images run from a grain kernel hidden in its husk to gold sealed inside a clay mold, with stops for buried treasure a poor man doesn’t know he owns and a homeless woman unknowingly carrying a future king. The translator’s challenge — whether “a Victor within sentient beings” implies the mind is already Buddha — draws from Geshe-la a careful clarification: afflictions and the luminously clear nature of the mind coexist in a mental continuum but remain separable, like salt and sugar mixed but still distinct. Suited to students following the text closely.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 15 2005 07 28 SC.mp3
UUID: 0cb3a0e5-5ac1-460e-84d5-b77157a9ae88
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Sublime Continuum (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2005-07-28
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 64.7 minutes
Words: ~4,395
Okay. So before we start, we should take a moment to focus on our motivation. So try and develop the idea that you are listening to these teachings on the Buddha nature or the Buddha potential, so that you can awaken the Buddha potential, and through awakening the Buddha potential, become a Buddha and be able to benefit all sentient beings. So with that thought in mind, he said, listen well. Sorry.
The third the thing that we’re up to is a teaching on the third simile of Buddha nature in our mind streams. And the root text says, just as kernels of grain are not what people use, thus those who want food and so forth extract the kernel from its husk. And similarly, as long as the within sentient beings remains mixed with the stains of afflictions and is not separated out from them, that long will it not enact for that that’s all that’s not very good English, is it? That long will it enact a victor’s deeds in the three realms. Anyway, it’s the meaning that counts.
Where are we up to? We’re up to page four. Four? In teaching the third simile. Right?
So the third simile for how the Buddha nature abides in the continuum of sentient beings. Yeah? And then specifically the Mahāyāna Buddha nature. Right. Now, what this is talking about then is that it says the element of Buddha, which is another way of saying the Sugata essence, is in the continuum of sentient beings at the moment.
The Sagata essence, the Sugata Garbha, or the Buddha nature is in our continuum. But with while it is covered by or while it is mixed with afflictions, it doesn’t become the Buddha’s truth body or the entity body of the Buddha, the the combination of the four Buddha bodies. So while it is while it is covered or mixed with with our afflicted states, with states, with our obscurations to liberation and our obscurations to omniscience, then this Buddha nature doesn’t take on doesn’t become what it has the potential to become, which is the bodies of a Buddha or the entity body of a Buddha. So the reason that they use this metaphor of it being like removing grain from a husk or removing, sorry, a kernel from a husk is because what we need to do is to separate out the adventitious stains, the adventitious afflicted states of mind from the Buddha nature which is the luminously clear nature of the mind. Then, in that way, can attain We can attain Buddhahood, can attain that.
It becomes the entity body or the truth nature body of the Buddha. So, it says in the root text, then after that I have to translate Geshe-la and I were having a wee discussion because he said, did you understand? I said, yes, I don’t agree, but I understand. And he said, how can you translate if you don’t understand? I said, I do understand.
I just don’t agree. And then he said, what which bit don’t you agree? Because you can’t do it unless you understand. And I said, well, it says in there that as long as the victor within sentient beings to so to me that that implies that the nature of our mind is Buddha, and you don’t accept that, so I don’t understand what the commentary is. And he said, you can’t have two beings in one person.
You either have a sentient being or a Buddha. You can’t have both. So there was our discussion. Chilli don’t agree, but anyway. And then he said, you are really stupid, said you are complete Mhmm.
Mhmm. Mhmm. Alright. So after saying that I was really stupid, Geshe then said, look at it. Look what it says.
It says a Victor, a Victor says usually a Victor is a synonym for Buddha. And he said, obviously, it doesn’t mean a Buddha here because if you had a Buddha, you couldn’t have someone that was whose mind stream was mixed with the stains of afflictions. If someone’s mind stream is mixed with the stains of afflictions, then they’re not a Buddha. So we’re not talking about a Buddha. And then he said that you idiot again.
And then and and I can’t remember what after that. There are so you mix with so if you have something, a mind stream that has the signs of afflictions in it, how can it be a Buddha? How can it be a Buddha? A Buddha of someone who has has wiped out all of these stains, all the afflicted states. He just keeps calling me stupid.
Alright. Okay. So I guess I said, like, intimate and is stupid. Stupid. So you gotta count how many times you stupid, but not guilty.
Yeah. They have a word for guilt. That’s a misnomer. Someone made up that idea to yeah. If they didn’t have a word for guilt, how would they have a, justice system?
So anyway They do. Yeah. Well, of course, you can’t have a society without it and some kind of justice system. Anyway, they don’t have a a word for complex. You know?
Okay. Okay. Said you guys don’t need to know what we were arguing about because you’re not as stupid as me. And you’ve got it figured out. Translate.
He goes, you have to translate it. So I don’t have to translate that. And he goes, no. They they’ve figured it out. It’s just you that hasn’t.
One. Mhmm. Mhmm. Mhmm. So this is why that is this the nature of the mind or the clear light nature of the mind.
That’s the wrong I keep saying clear light nature, like it’s easier to say, but it should really be the luminous clarity of the mind. Is said to be the key that becomes or the cause for or what is transformed into nature body of the Buddha once the obscurations have been gotten rid of. And the reason that they use this analogy of getting a kernel from a husk is that the husk is able to be separated from the kernel. So you can take the essence, from a a grain without destroying the grain the the kernel. Yeah.
So you can take the essence from that and it can be used for something else. Mhmm. One? Mhmm. Oh, yeah.
Alright. This one’s okay. I won’t argue about this one. The next one, the fourth simile is that the fourth simile is that the sublime continuum or the nature of the mind is oh, one second. Sorry.
That’s the wrong language. Mhmm. Alright. Sorry. I just thought that this the meaning of when I went to say it was like this.
I was going to say the continuum of positive development. And then I said, thought that was the same thing as the sublime continuum. But Geshe-la set me straight. He said that the sublime continuum, what that refers to. The continuum is actually Tantra, the word for Tantra.
So it means the the best Tantra or the best continuum in that way. And so it’s talking about the the best transformation. Is it for through the the highest of the Mahāyāna principles. Alright. Which is dependent on the Buddha nature.
So that’s what sublime continuum means. It’s Alright. Yeah. Sublime is the same word that is sometimes translated as highest, and the continuum is the same word that’s often translated as tantra. So that’s why in Sanskrit, it’s called the Uttara Tantra Shastra.
Right. Anyway, in this bit, we’re talking about the nature of the the the mind, the clear light the the luminous luminously clear nature of the mind which is the Buddha nature and it is described here as being like gold because it says that if there was a gold that were that was had fallen out of someone’s possession and landed in a decaying undergrowth, it wouldn’t deteriorate even if it was there for hundreds of years. And that a god who has clairvoyance, literally, like, as in literally clear vision, would be able to see it and tell people that there was gold there. And if they would cleanse it, if they clear away the muck from it, then they would be able to use the gold. And it’s a similar thing that the Buddhas do because they have the ability to see the clear, luminous clarity that is the nature of our minds, even if we can’t see it because it’s obscured by obscurations.
And through being having that ability to see our Buddha potential, then they can teach the Dharma to show us how to rid us of the adventitious obscurations to that Buddha potential, and therefore be able to manifest or to to let shine how would you say it? Having cleansed the obscurations, we would be able to let the Buddha nature to shine forth and become Buddhas. Mhmm. Mhmm. Mhmm.
So the, gold is analogous in this example, the gold is analog is analogous to our true nature. And it’s saying that gold even if it was it was covered in grime and covered in rubbish for hundreds and hundreds of years, it still wouldn’t change. You see, gold isn’t a substance that deteriorates. It isn’t a substance that disintegrates. So because it wouldn’t change for hundreds and hundreds of years, it means that despite the fact that it was covered in filth for this long, despite the fact that it was covered in rubbish for this long, then a It says a god flying through the sky would be able to see it, would still be able to appreciate it.
And not only that, but would still be able to direct human beings how to find the gold. And when they’d found it, how to clean it. And then they’d be able to use it for whatever purposes they wanted to use it. So in this instance then, the sky flying god is analogous to the Buddhas who have the capacity to perceive something that’s hidden under under all of the afflictions that we have in our mind, which is the nature of that mind, the the the luminously clear nature of that mind. And not only that, but they have the ability to direct us how to get rid of those afflictions that cover, that envelop the luminously clear nature of the mind.
And therefore enable us and after getting rid of those stains, that will then enable us to use or develop the Buddha potential into complete Buddhahood where we can benefit all beings. Mhmm. And so the next of the similes and the fifth simile says that if there were an inexhaustible treasure beneath a poor person’s house, the poor person wouldn’t know about it. Wouldn’t still wouldn’t know about it and the treasure is hardly likely to say, hello, I’m here. So because the treasure isn’t making itself known and the poor person hasn’t the ability to find out it’s there, he can go on being very poor and not be able to utilize the priceless treasure that may lie beneath his house.
And this is a similar thing to the stainless reality, the nature of the mind. Because without recognizing the nature of the mind, without recognizing the Buddha nature, the essence of the Sugatas and Tathagatas, then we don’t know the potential that we have. If we’re able to recognize this clarity, luminous clarity, then we can use it and what we can use it to do is attain Buddhahood. But without recognizing it, we stay stuck in Samsāra. It says, the myriad beings experience the sufferings of poverty.
So the poverty they’re experiencing is the poverty of not having realizations, not having Buddhahood. So, ārya beings on the other hand, having realized emptiness, having realized the luminous clarity that is the nature of the mind, have recognized that they have a treasure within their mind stream, have recognized the potential of their mind stream, and then can use that potential to attain enlightenment. The recognition of emptiness or the recognition of luminous clarity is likened to finding a treasure in that through that treasure, can achieve things. Through the treasures that are within our mind, in terms of the nature of the mind, we’re able to attain Buddhahood. And that’s exactly what the Ārya Bodhisattvas do.
On the other hand, if there’s a god, they would be able to see this treasure and would be able to use it even if the treasure wasn’t telling them that it was there. They they’d still be able to Okay. So the reason why he’s saying that treasure can’t speak, which is, I thought, pretty normal, is that if it if it did have the ability to to express itself, it would be able to make itself known. So it’s saying that the Buddha nature doesn’t doesn’t have the ability to express itself. That’s why they they bring this up.
The Buddha nature doesn’t have the ability to tell us it’s there. So that’s why they talk about the the treasure not being able to speak. But what is able to recognize treasure ‘s hidden below houses is again, say, gods or other beings with clairvoyance. They can they can recognize when things are there that ordinary beings can’t see. You know, that that humans and other ordinary beings can’t see.
So this is said to be the same thing as Aryas and the Buddhas, the Bodhisattva Aryas and the Buddhas because they can recognize this treasure. So the fact that the the in this analogy again, says that ordinary beings won’t recognize this there, poor beings won’t recognize this there, and they’ll start suffering in poverty. But those with perception, those with clairvoyance would be able to recognize it was there, would be able to perceive it. And so this is saying that beings who have developed insight, beings who have developed a recognize a recognition of emptiness can see directly what treasures lie in their mind and use it. So it’s saying ordinary beings can’t see it and realized beings can.
But again, that God could say to someone, okay, there’s a treasure underneath your house. This is how you get to it. This is how you use it. And this is what the Buddhas can do for us. This is what the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, Ārya bodhisattvas can do for us.
They can say, this is the nature of your mind, and this is how you use it. Mhmm. Mhmm. Hey, Monty. Sorry to pick you out.
How do you Right. Because there’s one that’s guess I said, it’s just fruit. I was just trying to be specific, and he said, it doesn’t matter. It’s just fruit. It’s just lingo.
Yeah. I know. I was just making sure that because yeah. I was trying to figure out because it’s it’s got it in some weird it’s gotta be numb like, it’s written in Sanskrit. So, anyway, I was just interested.
So the next simile that we have, the sixth simile, is it talks about how that if you have the seed for something, the seed of a mango tree or the seed of a fig tree, then it needs to be combined with earth, fertilizer, water, and so on to actually bring about the tree, the mango tree or the fig tree. So in the same way, the Sugata essence, the Buddha nature, can be transformed into the nature body of Buddha. But in order for that to happen, a lot of things need to to come into play. You need to have the purification or the getting rid of everything that could stop the fruit taking fruit turning into a sprout. So that means getting rid of all the skin and all the flesh around it that could obstruct it.
And then you need to you have conditions that are conducive to the seed coming into being as well. So in the terms of a seed, you need water and fertilizer and so on. But in terms of developing the Buddha nature, you need good conditions and merits and so on. Here we have a process where we are purifying and developing merit at the same time. This is same as This is said to be the same as the fruit of a mango or fig tree in this.
There is the potential for transformation into something different and something that gives forth a lot of bountiful things, but it needs to have be purified and have the conditions there for it to come into being. So that’s why it’s said to be analogous to the Buddha nature. Oh. Mhmm. So going back in.
In in the next thing that we need to look at is the seventh simile, which is said which is that you would be able to hide the image of a Buddha made from precious jewels and foul smelling rags and put it on a road. But a god upon seeing it would be able to rescue it and would be able to tell someone or be able to tell someone about it and they would be able to to rescue to use the image. And it’s the same thing as saying with the Buddhas who can see the Sugata nature wrapped in the various forms of afflictions even in the mind streams of animals and can show methods for freeing it. So what is happening then is that at the moment, the luminously clear nature of the mind is the still the mind of an ordinary being. And through showing us how to remove the, the foul smelling rags that are the afflictions, then the Buddha show us how to transform the Buddha nature into the nature body or the element.
Now the element it’s talking about here is the the Buddha nature. So the Buddha potential or the Tathāgata essence in the nature body. So, this isn’t actually talking about the isn’t actually talking about the nature of the Buddha nature or the Buddha potential or the nature of the body. It’s talking about the way that it is. So the nature of the Buddha nature is emptiness and the nature of the nature body is emptiness, and emptiness can’t transform into anything.
It doesn’t change into something. So it’s still emptiness, which is still talking about emptiness, the emptiness of one thing, of the emptiness of a continuum. But the emptiness of a continuum or the luminous clarity of a continuum of a sentient being is mixed with states, and the luminous clarity of an enlightened being, the nature of their mind, isn’t mixed with contaminated states. So this is the difference. The emptiness itself doesn’t change, but that which it is is adhered to or mixed with, inseparable from, changes.
To make sure that I was translating clearly, I had to ask Geshe a question, which was how can you mix something that’s permanent with something that’s impermanent that doesn’t make any sense? And he said, you don’t mix them in terms of their nature. Something that is impermanent can’t be mixed with something that’s permanent in that way, but you can say that they are mixed in a continuum of in mental continuum. So in this mental continuum of sentient beings, you have the nature of that continuum which is this luminous clarity, and you also have afflictions. And in the mental continuum of Buddhas, you don’t have the afflicted states or or the kleshas.
You just have you have a a the nature of that mind and a state free from kleshas, the absence of kleshas. Kleshas or afflictions. So this is why it says it’s mixed. It doesn’t mean mixed in terms of So I said, if you say mix in English, then there’s Oh. Oh, okay.
Okay. So I said there’s two different ways you can mix things in English, and you can mix things as like, so that they become inseparable, or you can mix them so that they’re together, but you can still separate them. So he said, yeah. Well, it’s the one way you can they’re together, but they still separate it. So if you mixed in sugar and sugar and salt, and you were very patient, you could choose out the grains from which was sugar and which was salt.
But for example, and then he said you could also say water and milk, but we don’t know about that because there’s a lot of water in milk. So separating out which was the water to start off with and which was the water in the milk to start off with may be difficult. So the example of the the salt and the sugar may work. You could mix them together, but you could also find some way to separate them out. So you had so they’re mixed together, but they’re still separate entities.
Or they’re still separate by nature. No. That’s the wrong way to say it as well. Is it like oil on water? No.
No. No. Because the thing is the nature of afflictions is luminous clarity. So this is why it’s difficult to so the the nature of afflictions is luminous clarity, but you can remove the afflictions from the mind stream and still have the luminous clarity. So they’re mixed in the mind stream of ordinary beings and not in the mind stream of Buddhas.
But not mixed as in that they’ve become inseparable, obviously. So they mix, but they don’t become inseparable. Alright. So the next simile, the eighth simile says, suppose a helpless ugly woman said to him, is this woman ugly? Because it actually says she has a poor body, like a needle body or something.
And Geshe-la said, no. Not all women He said, I’m not they’re not talking about you, Ruth. Don’t worry. Alright. Because I because in Tibetan, you can’t really distinguish between whether you’re saying a plural or a singular except by context.
So I said, Emmett, is this woman unclean? I said, are women unclean? And I said, no. Not all of them. Just the one in the example.
Don’t worry. They’re not talking about you, he said. Then I said, no. I didn’t mean that. I meant the woman in the exam.
I go, yeah, but don’t worry about it. Okay. So the person in the example is said to be a helpless, ugly, unwell woman, and she’s staying in an unprotected unprotected dwelling. But in her womb, she has what will become a glorious king. Alright?
So she doesn’t know that the child she’s carrying is going to end up being it’s the word for glorious king is this like a chakravartin, a world ruler. Right? So it says then that the Buddha nature that we have in our mind stream is similar to having a world ruling king in your belly and being in a very dire situation and not having much going from you from the sounds of it. Because there’s something very precious in our belly that in our mind stream or in our belly according to the metaphor, that once it once we give birth to it, once it generates, we’ll go on to not only only fulfill a great purpose, but also protect us. So if a pregnant woman is in this dire state and she has no one protecting her, or doesn’t recognize that she has anyone protecting her, but the child that she gives birth to, by becoming a world ruler, will obviously give his mother protection.
Alright? So she doesn’t recognize the potential that she has, in that state, for for she doesn’t recognize this quality that she has in her like the, the Buddha nature, the child in her womb that can go on to achieve such greatness and give her such protection. So in our we we’re we’re like the ugly our mental our mind stream is like the ugly, helpless protect with a protector’s homeless woman. Without So when it says staying in unprotected dwelling, it means being homeless. And so that’s what our our mental continuum is like.
But we haven’t recognized that we have this potential, which is like the king that she’s about to give birth to. That’s king when developed, when when given birth to, can go on to achieve such a deeds that can, we can use to transform our minds into the nature body and and can give us complete protection. So our ultimate protection is developing the Buddha nature in the same way in this analogy, the woman’s protection comes from a her son going on to become a world ruling king. Okay. Okay.
Mhmm. So the last of the nine similes, it says that suppose that you had a mold which was made of clay and inside it, had a a gold statue. So if you could recognize that there was gold inside the in inside the mold, then the thing to do would be to remove the mold so that you could use the gold. And it’s the same thing that we’re trying to do. We’re trying to recognize that the nature of our mind is this luminous clarity so that we can remove the stains from that mind and leave it to shine forth as the the nature body of the Buddha.
So this means that we are removing the obscurations from the Sugata essence by means of depending on the teachings. But in order to be to do that, we first of all have to recognize that we have the Buddha nature and that we’re the stains which are obscured are adventitious and we can get rid of them. So first of all, we need to recognize we have it and then by depending on the teachings, we can work to get rid of the adventitious stains and then develop or transform our mind stream from being a by by its nature, like a defiled mind, like a having this pure nature, but be having these stains, we can transform it into being stainless and being the, nature body of a Buddha. So we can start the exercise. Uh-huh.