Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. The central question driving this 62-minute commentary on the Sublime Continuum is: if Buddha nature is obscured, what exactly is being obscured? Geshe Pema Tsering unpacks the three natures — natural dharmakaya, suchness, and Buddha lineage — as three angles on the Tathāgata essence present in every mind. He explains why only a Buddha image can stand as a simile for the truth body of realization; why definitive sutras teaching emptiness are like honey (uniformly one taste); and why interpretive sutras resemble grain inside a husk — emptiness is present but not the explicit subject. A gold simile illustrates suchness: immutable by nature, capable of many forms. The session closes by distinguishing the naturally abiding lineage (like buried treasure) from the developmental lineage (like a fruit tree), and showing how both yield the three bodies of a Buddha.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 21 2005 08 18 SC.mp3
UUID: fa7af15d-d45b-42f3-9f85-9e5fe23a50d9
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Sublime Continuum (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2005-08-18
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 62.2 minutes
Words: ~4,942
Alright. Okay. So please take a moment to look at your motivation and try and develop the motivation that you are listening to the teachings today that are talking about the Buddha nature order to develop an understanding of exactly what the Buddha nature is, in order to awaken the Buddha nature, to develop it and be able to become a Buddha so that you can lead all other beings out of suffering and show them how to to attain enlightenment. So take a moment to make sure that this is the reason that you’re listening to these teachings. Yeah.
Oh, yeah. Alright. So what we’re looking at is the way the Buddha nature is in the mind stream, in our mental continuums. And what we looked at last week was the similes that describe the things that are obscuring the Buddha nature, the things that stop us from becoming Buddhas, the negative states of mind that obscure our Buddha nature and therefore stop us from becoming Buddhas. Now, the way that this is described in the text that we’re looking at, the Sublime Continuum, is by saying by using analogies.
And the analogies that we looked at, there’s nine of them and they start with saying, oh, like a Buddha within a discolored lotus or honey surrounded by bees. So we’ve already looked at what obscuring stains are like, the things that are doing the obscuring. But now we need to look at what the obscured is like, the thing that these stains are obscuring. What exactly is that like? And what what is being described as the obscured here is the element of the Buddha, the Tathāgata essence.
So the Buddha nature that is within our mental continuum. Mhmm. So the reason that it’s called an element, the the element of the Tathāgata or the Tathāgata essence, the element of the Buddha is this word they’ve they’ve translated as element means, in this case, the elements like the element of water or the element of fire, the basic elements. And it’s saying that you’re talking about a type or a way that something exists. And so what we’re talking about here is the things in our mind stream that are like Buddhas.
Alright? That that are the stuff of Buddhas. I’m not helping here. The that the same type as a the type the same type of minds that we have that a Buddha would have. Alright?
So some of the minds that we have or some of the ways we think and the emptiness of those things is the same sort of mind that a Buddha would have. Yeah? And this is what we’re talking about here there. When it says the elements, the Buddha element within us, it’s the type of minds in our continuum that are like Buddha’s minds. Yeah.
And those are obscured or or they are made difficult to manifest or made difficult to reach by the nine different types of afflictions and the nine different types of negative minds like attachment and so on. And the reason that they’re described this by these nine the reason why these nine different types of afflicted states are described by these nine similes is because they’re included within the three natures. And then the next part of the text goes on to describe what the three natures are. So Gesh just said that he wanted to explain what he’s talking about for for you too because you haven’t been here before. He said it’d be difficult just to walk in and try and figure out what he’s talking about.
And he said that basically, the thing that we’re talking about here is the Buddha nature or the potential that all of us have to become a Buddha and how that exists in our in our mental continuum, but is obscured by our afflicted states. So, he said that each and every being has the capacity to become a Buddha. Alright? Then, this capacity to become a Buddha or this potential to become a Buddha is what’s called the Buddha nature and it it is the potential that all of us have for good and the potential that all of us have to do things that benefit others and to not harm. So, this potential at the moment, this potential to become a fully enlightened Buddha is obscured by our negative emotions, our destructive emotions like our desires and our aversions and our ignorance and our jealousy and so forth.
So that’s obscuring our potential at the moment. So what we’re looking at here is how to strengthen and how to clarify the Buddha nature and how to get rid of the things that are obscuring the Buddha nature. So, we all have this potential in our mind stream. We all have this clear nature of mind and the that has the capacity to be transformed into the Buddha nature the sorry, the Buddha. We all have a clear nature of mind that has a capacity to be transformed into the mind of a Buddha.
But what we don’t know is the way that our mind is at the moment. We are we’re not really made aware we’re not really aware of the way that our mind works very well. So, the way that our mind is described in the text that we’ve just looked at is by saying that, we have this potential but it’s obscured or it’s contaminated. No, sorry, it’s not contaminated. Our mind is contaminated by these afflicted states that we’re not really aware of, that we’re not quite sure how to get rid of and that kind of act as lenses or stains on the way that we see things, alright?
So that we don’t see things clearly. So in order to describe how these afflicted states affect our mind and how they obscure the the Buddha nature or the potential to become a Buddha, we’ve been through nine different analogies for the way the afflicted states affect our minds. And said, if you wanna know them, ask the other people because they should remember them. Yeah. Mhmm.
Alright. So we’re looking at the three natures. Sorry. I guess, I’ve also had been having this running interest discussion for nearly three years, and then something come up and I was like, that says what I said. And he said he was just telling me off.
So that was like all you’ve also these guys know about it. Alright. So what we’re looking at is the three natures. The three natures are said to be the include oh. Cancer.
Okay. So see how it says here, the three natures that include, and then in brackets, the Tathāgata essence. Everyone? Yes? So Geshe-la’s saying the ‘include’ isn’t in that portion.
Oh, yeah. It is. But it’s nature’s the but it it just says that include the truth body, suchness, and the Buddha lineage. So the Tathāgata essence are the that’s an ex a little bit of a different interpretation, shall we say, of the Tibetan. Because Tathāgata essence is actually supposed to be a synonym of the truth body, of satanates, and of the Buddha lineage.
Yeah? The Buddha lineage is the word that we’ve been translating as Buddha nature or Buddha potential. Yeah. And so we have Tathāgata essence, truth body, suchness, and the Buddha lineage. Now, there’s another problem because truth body is their translation of dharmakaya.
Yes? And the dharmakaya that is here we go. There’s a word here who knows. Dharmakāya a is not the usual word that we have for dharmakaya. It’s got another it’s got an adjective in front of it, is the natural dharmakaya.
So, instead of truth body perhaps it’s a good idea to note there’s a natural dharmakaya that we’re talking about. Now, dharmakaya is a synonym of the Buddha nature or the Buddha lineage or suchness because it means the emptiness of it and the luminous clarity of these things. So the natural dharmakaya is another way of saying emptiness. So, Geshe said that we need to make a clear distinction in our minds between the natural dharmakaya, which is present in all of us and the dharmakaya that is mind of a Buddha. Yeah.
So he said that there’s a distinction between those two things, and we need to get clear about that. So all of these things then are said to be different parts of the Tathāgata essence, the capacity for us to become a Buddha or they or sorry, are supposed to be synonyms of that. But you’re gonna hang on one second again. Baffling with him. I wasn’t baffling.
All I said was that if I as I if I translate as you just said that the truth body, suchness, and Buddha lineage are synonyms, it makes it sound as if Buddha lineage is a synonym of emptiness. And it’s not a synonym of emptiness because it’s not a synonym of the emptiness of a chair. Yeah? And he said, we’re talking about the Buddha nature. So when it says the truth, body, sataness, and the Buddha lineage, they’re talking about the emptiness of the compassionate aspects of our mind and so on.
They’re not talking about emptiness or suchness in general. They’re talking about it as in a specific context because we’re talking about Buddha nature. Alright? And so it is the natural dharmakaya or the natural truth body of the Buddha nature, the suchness of the Buddha nature, and the Buddha lineage. And these three different aspects or these three different ways of looking at the Tathāgata essence or the Buddha nature are illustrated with similes that we’ve been through already.
So the three similes of an the image of a Buddha, honey, and the kernel of rice or grain is are illustrations of how the nature natural truth body exists. The simile of the of gold illustrates how suchness exists, and the simile that we went the the remaining five similes that we went through like treasure illustrate how the Buddha lineage is obscured by our obscurations. Does that make sense? I’m not gonna ask you here. Means that and this is why the next verse and a half from the root text says, because the element is included within the three natures, it is likened to the qualities of a Buddha image and so forth.
These natures are to be understood by way of three, one and five similes. Killing me, lovely. Oh. Guess I thought I was disagreeing with him. I was like, I wasn’t.
I wasn’t. I just didn’t understand. Alright. So then, the first thing that we’re looking at, sir, from these is, the truth body and what the truth body or the dharmakaya refers to, especially especially the truth body that is explicitly indicated in this context. So as we said before, we’re not necessarily talking about all instances of the truth body, just the ones that this part of the text is talking about, so the ones that relate to the Buddha nature.
So what is explicitly indicated in this context, that’s what it means. Alright? So we’re only talking about the one that they’re talking about here, not all instances of it. So the truth body explicitly indicated in this context has two sections, the truth body of realization and the supported truth body. Okay.
So the first of these, is called the body of the Truth Body of Realization, is talking about the fully developed exalted wisdom directly realizing the sphere of qualities of the mind as ultimately without stains. So, this is basically another way of saying the realization of a Buddha, the fully the fully realized mind of a Buddha. So it is ultimately without stains and it has removed the two levels of obscuration. It’s fully developed exalted wisdom is another way of saying Buddha, and direct directly realizing the sphere of all qualities of the mind means, that they are able to, have developed all the qualities and also to see things directly as when they’re in meditation or when they’re not in meditation. Meditation.
Yep. Now the second, the supported truth body has two different sections as well. There is the definitive sutras and the interpretive sutras. So the definitive sutras are the sutras that talk about emptiness from which we can develop exalted wisdom. And the interpretive sutras mean the sutras that talk about conventionalities.
So they talk about things that aren’t emptiness. So it’s the two different types of sūtra: definitive and interpretive sutras. Definitive sutras are anything that talks about emptiness and interpretive sutras are anything that doesn’t. Yeah? So these are described as being the supported truth bodies because it means that they’re what we rely on in order to get a truth body.
So the the basis from which we get we develop the dharmakaya. Alright? So they’re also indicated in this instance, as being a type of truth body or a type of type of dharmakaya. So this is why the sub sublime continuum continues by saying the truth body is known in two aspects, the perfectly stainless sphere of qualities, in other words, a Buddha’s mind, and the concordant causes of that. So that is the interpretive and definitive sutras that we can rely on in order to become the perfectly stainless sphere of qualities.
And then the last line is teachings in terms of the profound and varieties. So that which is in concordance with these are the teachings in terms of the profound being the definitive teachings and varieties being the different sutras that don’t deal with emptiness but deal with conventionalities. Alright. So the first thing then we’re looking at is why we would describe oh, sorry. So the the the first of these, All right.
So the next section actually talks about the first of these, the truth body of realization. The truth body of realization is the dharmakaya of a Buddha. And so, this is described as being the fully developed exalted wisdom that directly realizes the sphere of qualities of mind as ultimately without stains. Now, this truth body of realization or this dharmakaya realization, which is the result of following the path of the sutras of profound emptiness and, conventionalities, it is compared in the similes that we went through with Tathāgata’s image or the image of a Buddha. Now, the reason that it is compared with the image of a Buddha is because there is no other simile comparable to it, that exists in the world.
So if we’re talking about all of the realizations that a Buddha has and all of the understanding that a Buddha has and all of the compassion and all the other qualities that a Buddha has, it’s very difficult for us to come up with anything that symbolizes that, that symbolizes those qualities. And that’s why they you have used here the image of a of a Buddha because a Buddha is an is an image of a Buddha. Right? So the only thing that we can have that can actually symbolize Buddha is an image of a Buddha, because nothing else could be used as a a simile to a Buddha’s qualities. So this is why the sublime continuum goes on to say, because it transcends the world, an example of it is not seen here.
Therefore, a Tathāgata image is taught to be similar to the element of Buddha. So the because the realizations of a Buddha transcend the karmic reality that we have developed in in in in the world. And so if we’re looking for something that can represent, the Buddha, then we have to look at something that’s, beyond our experiences because our experiences are limited by the, the reality that we’ve created. And so, the only thing that we can really have that is a representative representative of something beyond our our creation is that which is a is in in the image of the Buddha, because there something that’s in the image of the Buddha is something that is related to the Buddha’s Buddha’s reality and not to our reality. Mhmm.
So the next thing then we’re looking at is the definitive meaning sutras. So it was explained beforehand that they are the supported truth body. So the supported truth body has two sections. The first of which is the Definitive Meaning Sutras that primarily teach on emptiness. Now, the the simile that they are are related to or the simile that exemplifies them is said to be the honey that is surrounded by bees that is obscured by the bees who are trying to who are who are creating it.
So the honey is said to be similar to the emptiness that is described in the these sutras because it is of one taste. So honey is all alike in being sweet. It’s by its nature, it is sweet and the teachings on emptiness, the teachings that primarily teach emptiness are all alike in what they are teaching, you know, in the truth that they are pointing out. So the teaching that are on emptiness are all said to be alike or of one taste in that they expound emptiness and honey is said to be alike in that it has one taste which is sweet. It is all sweet.
So that’s why sublime continuum then goes on to say, teachings in terms of the subtle and profound are likened to the single taste of honey. So subtle and profound is another way of referring to emptiness. Okay. So the next thing that we’re looking at is the interpretive meaning. So that is the instance of the nature dharmakaya in which it is the interpretive meaning sutras.
Now, they primarily talk about conventionalities and don’t talk about they they don’t necessarily directly talk about emptiness. Now and they’re said to be like a kernel of a grain inside a husk because even though they don’t talk about emptiness in their their direct subject, the understanding of emptiness comes along with the qualities that are discussed discussed in these teachings. So they are yeah. I’ve forgotten it. It’s an English word, I’ve forgotten it.
So so there there are teachings themselves may not look like their teachings about emptiness, but in incorporating them, they lead us to develop an understanding of emptiness. And so this way, they’re they’re likened to the kernel of a grain inside a husk in that you don’t realize that the grain is there until you’ve taken the husk off it. Alright? So they come along with or they’re still can’t remember the word. If you can’t see it.
No. No. No. They’re but you can’t see them. They’re coming out.
They’re comfy. No. No. But they’re kind of oh, forget it. It’s like very crystal.
So do you wanna s it and take away Yeah. But this one’s more like it’s if if it get it comes along with it, but it’s like hidden in it. So if we pardon? Yeah. Yeah.
A bit like embedded. Pardon? No. No. Because this is the husk metaphor.
That’s why I was like a bit worried about getting on to the other ones because that’s a bit like the other metaphors. But for example, if we drink medicine, we’re not gonna taste the medicine. We just taste if it’s in sweet form, just taste the sugar. We don’t taste the medicine, but the medicine comes along with it like that. So so it’s a so that we can not see that it we’re it’s affecting us, but it would affecting us.
Alright? So what’s Teaching is affecting us. Yeah. Emptiness is in there. We just can’t see it.
So But the teaching is affecting us. That what you’re saying? I I I would just try and find another way to say it. Alright. Yeah.
It’s not necessarily manifest, but it’s there. Inherent. No. We don’t like that word. Because I was thinking of, like, inherent existence.
She guess it was like, shoo. Shoo. Yeah. That helps. Yeah.
It doesn’t it’s yeah. It’s it’s like this it’s not the manifesting, but it’s like a subsidiary thing that comes along with it. There is a word. I’ll remember it in a half an hour or something. Oh, yeah.
Like, so if we see, guess, let’s say, example, if we see a a white person, alright, the main thing that may hit us is that we’ve seen a white person, but in seeing a white person, we’ve already also seen a person. Yeah? But the main thing that we’re focusing on may not be the person, but that’s part of it that comes along with it. Yeah. Oh, And this one.
So that’s why the root text says, teachings in terms of the variety of aspects are likened to the varieties of kernels in their husks. So there’s all different kernels and they all have this thing of emptiness within them, but they don’t necessarily we don’t necessarily focus on the emptiness in the teachings, but it is there. Dear. Okay. So we finished the the first of the three natures was the nature of the dharmakaya, the natural dharmakaya.
So we’ve done the three three examples that fit with it. And so the next the next one that we’re looking at is suchness. So suchness is likened to gold because just as gold is immutable in nature and it can be fashioned into ornaments, so is the and the nature of gold is untarnished. Similarly, the sphere of qualities of mind is also unchanged by nature. So, we can get a piece of gold and we can turn it into anything we want.
It’s not like a it’s not like it has to be used in one specific way. We can make earrings from it. We can make bracelets from it. We can make anklets. Yes.
I’ve got great fashion sense. Anklets from it. We can make it into anything that we want. It still has the same nature when we are transforming it into these things, but it can take on many forms. Yeah?
And it said that the Suchness is similar. It is a simile of this in this it always has the same nature, but it can take on many forms. It can manifest in different ways or it can be the basis of manifestation in different ways. So this is why oh and that they’re both pure of stains. And this is why the sublime continuum then goes on to say, unchanging by nature because it is virtuous and pure, this suchness is said to be like the forms of gold.
So it’s gold also, gold by its nature doesn’t have stains in it. It may have stains, but they’re adventitious and they can be removed. Okay. Alright. So then that was the section that deals with such suchness.
There was only one metaphor or one simile, I should say, that described how suchness is. And the next thing that we go on to then are the similes that describe the Buddha nature or the Buddha lineage. Okay. Yeah, the Buddha lineage or the Buddha nature. So So in this instance, because we’re talking about what is being taught here.
Yeah? Been doing that the whole way through. We weren’t talking about all instances of emptiness. We weren’t talking about all instances of suchness. And here, we’re not talking about all instances of the Buddha lineage.
Right? We’re talking about, the Buddha lineage that is explicitly indicated in this context. Okay? Again, it is said to have, explicitly taught in this context means the way it’s being taught in this context. It was referring to all instances of but it’s not it’s not referring to hang on a second.
Okay. Phew. Just realized that I was trying to explain something, and that’s not my job. So I asked Geshe-la, and he said, it’s not when it says because I’ve got to those words, and I was like, that means this, and then I thought, I don’t know what I’m talking about. And I’m explicitly taught in this context.
Explicitly taught in this context is referring to the way that Buddha nature is described in this text. Alright? So in beforehand, it was talking about how something was explicitly taught in this context and it meant that we were talking about because we’re talking about emptiness in a text that’s talking about Buddha nature, we are talking about the emptiness of Buddha nature. Alright? In this case, because we are talking about Buddha nature and it says explicitly taught in this context, it means the way that Buddha nature is described in the root text, all of the commentaries to the root text and this commentary that we have here.
Yeah, so the way that they’re describing. So sometimes this term explicitly taught in this context can can mean that we’re only dealing with a certain section of a phenomena, right? Of certain instances of a phenomena. In other cases, it can talk about, it can mean the way that something is described in a specific instance. So previously to this, we were talking about specific incidences of a phenomena and here we’re talking about the way that that phenomena is described in this instance.
Yes? Cool. Alright. So then what it says then is that there are in this kind of tradition of describing Buddha nature, nature, the Buddha nature is divided into two types. There is the Buddha nature that is beginningless and the naturally abiding lineage that has been in all beings’ continuums since beginningless time.
And then there’s also developmental lineage that arises through correct practice. So that’s what we were calling the developing lineage. So we have the naturally abiding lineage and the developing lineage. So the naturally abiding lineage is the first one that we’re looking at from those, and that is said to be like a precious treasure because just as a treasure is a source of jewels, the naturally abiding lineage is a source of all of the positive qualities that we can develop as we become Buddhas and on the path to becoming a Buddha. And this includes what are called the ten powers and the other positive qualities of a Buddha.
So this is to say that if we found a treasure, we’d be able to get the jewels that were in the treasure and use them in any way we wanted to. We wouldn’t be restricted to using them in certain ways. And in the same way, this naturally abiding lineage, that is in our continuum, we have the ability to develop it into the positive qualities of a Buddha by applying the correct practices to it. Mhmm. Okay.
And the developmental lineage or the the Buddha potential that is the the positive transformations that we are bringing about in our mental continuum is likened to a fruit tree fruit tree. Okay. So the the fruit tree is is said to be like our developmental lineage because if we if we nurture it, that is if we add water and fertilizer and so on, our fruit tree develops into something that can bear us a lot of, can bear bears a lot of fruit. And likewise, our developmental lineage, if we nurture it through, doing, Buddhist practices practices and abandoning negative actions, practicing positive actions, then it has a develop it has the potential to develop into something that bears the fruit of realization or the the result of realization. Okay.
So the three bodies of the Buddha are attained by way of these two different potentials. That is the developing potential, developing lineage, the naturally abiding lineage. So the nature body of a Buddha, which is the Svabhāvikakāya, is said to be attained by way of meditation observing the naturally abiding lineage, by means of which the collection of exalted wisdom is accumulated. So the nature body attained by way of meditation observing the naturally abiding lineage means meditation on emptiness and this leads to the collection of exalted wisdom and the collection of exalted wisdom takes the form of the nature body when we have realized Buddhahood. And then the the form bodies are attained by way of increasing enhancement of the development that is through the development of love compassion and the mind of enlightenment which then leads to the collection of merit.
So the collection of merit and the practices associated with compassion and bodhicitta lead to the form bodies of the Buddha and the practice of meditating on emptiness leads to, the collection of wisdom which, gives rise to the nature body of a Buddha. So this is why the next two verses of the Sublime Continuum say, like a treasure and a fruit tree, lineage is known in two aspects that abiding naturally without beginning and that made perfect and supreme through practice. So like a treasure is a naturally abiding lineage that has no beginning, and like a fruit tree is the is the developing lineage, which is that made pure and supreme through practice. And then it says, it is asserted that the three bodies of a Buddha are attained by way of these two lineages. The first body by the former and the other two by the latter.
So the other two being the enjoyment body and the emanation body of a Buddha. So we can stop there.