Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Geshe Pema Tsering anchors this Sunday commentary with a vivid image: just as a mother responds to her crazed, spirit-possessed child not with anger but deeper tenderness, a bodhisattva meets ingratitude with increased love. Opening with a civic analogy contrasting great and small vehicle motivation, the commentary moves through equanimity toward the eight worldly concerns and, from an ultimate perspective, their empty nature. The central chapter takes up ingratitude specifically: the person who harms us despite our care is simply overwhelmed by the three root poisons, and the Seven Point Mind Training verse “put all the blame into the one” identifies self-grasping as the real source of suffering. A closing Q&A addresses whether non-retaliation makes Western practitioners “doormats” — Geshe-la’s reply: answering harm with harm is the only real loss.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 10 2007 06 03 Sunday Am 3rd June 2007 – Geshela.mp3
UUID: eb393ba8-6a87-4df2-8b52-5b9c48a8ddf8
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Sunday Geshela Teaching (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2007-06-03
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 1174.6 minutes
Words: ~4,639
Giving us an analogy we can all relate to that when we see in our own country you know people who are working for the interest of the whole nation of every citizen of the country and then and there are those who have this experience and there are those that are only working for their own interest alone and there’s the same here the same the same the analogy applies for those people who are practicing or treading the path of the great vehicle and those who are walking the path of the small vehicle. So those of the great vehicle are then have this vast intention which includes all sentient beings and the ones of the small vehicle, they are aiming at themselves alone, their own interests alone, their own happiness. They are both aiming at lasting happiness, lasting stable and unchanging happiness of liberation and enlightenment, but one is aiming at it for oneself alone and the other one is aiming at it for all sentient beings so we can we can relate to that when we think of the interest of this life in worldly affairs we know of people who are within the scope of this life of in the things and the happinesses and of this life alone who are working for the interest of everybody of many people and those who are working for their own interests alone we have this experience and the same applies for the attainment of this lasting happiness is that okay?
And Geshe-la is explaining that as for ourselves and we ought to practice to train our minds in the trainings of the great vehicle and then if we do that, if we are training our minds aiming at this intention of the great vehicle then we will also gain the benefits related to this that smaller intentions that that more narrow intentions okay And then explains that, again, with the analogy of of a nation, and then taking our nation, the Australian the Australia itself. And if one is aiming at accomplishing the happiness of every inhabitant of this country, of Australia, then if that is attained, if everybody is happy, then we can see how we attain our own happiness in this way and we didn’t even need to aim at it we aim only at everybody’s happiness and the same and on the other hand if one is aimed at one’s own happiness alone then you know one one might even get this happiness for oneself alone but even that is going to be very difficult actually isn’t it again explaining giving that analogy again we can all we can all relate to that experience also that when we are if we are all willing if we are willing to help people we are readily helping people to attain their happiness and in this context the happiness of this life they need money and wealth and health and so forth, as I was saying.
So if we are all willing to do that, always readily willing to do that, every time we ourselves meet with some difficult situation, everybody is going to be readily helping us because we are always helpful. On the other hand if we are never willing to help anybody we are always completely disregarding what is happening to others good or bad we don’t pay attention to it we are always only focused on our own benefit on our own interests interests, and we are deceiving and making how do you say confusing people and engaging all sorts of means, deceitful means to attain our own interests. Then when we meet a difficult situation, nobody’s gonna want to help us, and we are going to be left in a, how do say, in in a difficult situation. And then was reading through another quote, and this quote is, there’s a half of a verse which is telling us those who are, how to say, our friends and loved ones, to those who are our friends and loved ones, and to those make us unhappy, and the quote continues to say later on that may they all become enlightened.
And Geshe-la was explaining, so then those people who are loved ones right now that help us and benefit us right now then you know they have done us harm in the past and those people who are causing us harm right now they have loved us in the past just as our parents have done have done in this very life. So, ultimately, then they they there is no difference. They are equal, and in that they ultimately, both of them equally benefit me. So knowing this, understanding this, and with the Geshe-la explains the meaning of the text, then we should then cultivate the idea, the wish to to have both of them attaining enlightenment. Okay?
Then and then there’s another little quote, one line of one verse, which is saying, as for for those who scorn me, and then, Geshe-la says, there’s only this little line. Geshe-la is saying, so then as for those who scorn me, also with those who say bad things about us and scorn us and we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be angry with them and that is explained further because if from one side we have created the causes to experience this harsh speech or this scorning of this person and on the other side that person is being being overwhelmed and overpowered by afflictive emotions and conceptions that person is out of his or her own ignorance and delusion is being governed by afflictive emotions and conceptions and then it’s being out of control and then saying those things so there is these two factors and if how to say these two factors present is the afflictive emotions and one’s own previous actions. So if one thinks like that, then one understands that there’s no reason to get angry. Okay? Is going on to the commentary which is telling us that from this is then how we practice from a relative perspective this is how we equalize how we develop equanimity with regards to the eight worldly concerns and then so then again this is how we for this practice develop this equanimous state of mind with regards to loss and profit and to how to say fame and notoriety and how do you say sorry blame and praise and what’s the last one pain.
Yes. Yes. There was a the the Uh-huh. Yes. Pleasure and and happiness and suffering.
So, Geshe-la said, so, again, we should be quite honest. So, again, Geshe-la was explaining each one of them and saying again, so then when we are praised and people say nice words about us and we are all happy about it and when people say bad things about us we are unhappy and then when we obtain material things money and so forth and we are happy when we do not obtain that we are unhappy and when we meet with praise and when we have a good reputation and we are happy and if we have a bad reputation we are unhappy and then if we meet with happiness or pleasure we are happy and we meet with unhappiness or unpleasant things suffering then we are unhappy and so then we have to develop this equanimity with regards to all these to all these eight elements. I guess, I wasn’t saying it’s something which is actually very difficult to accomplish. So then and then so then so then that’s from a relative perspective, and we have to be equanimous with regards to these eight worldly concerns. And then, from an ultimate perspective, then we are given a quote.
Again, we have to be equanimous from an ultimate perspective. We are given a quote from the Bodhisattva Way of Life, which is saying, therefore, amongst these empty things, then what is there to gain and what is there to lose? So again, being equanimous from an ultimate perspective, Geshe-la will explain, is then seeing that understanding that all phenomena, all this happy phenomena or suffering phenomena, they are both equally empty of inherent existence empty of existing from their own side empty of being independently produced and Geshe-la was saying so then from that perspective, and being merely imputed by mind and not having inherent existence from their own side, then there’s nothing really to be happy about or to be unhappy about. Okay? Is that making sense?
Oh, yeah. This this this one. So then we move on to the next so then this was the end of this chapter of bringing slander onto the path and we move on to the next chapter which is then is another major division of the commentary or to the root text and which is then bringing all those things which are hard to bear onto the path and this topic we are told there is two major divisions to it. So then one of the things that are hard to bear that we bring onto the path is ingratitude, and the other one is defamation. So we we are going to approach the first one, which is then bringing ingratitude onto the path.
And then so then we read I guess I was reading and explaining the the the root verse then with regards to that to the topic. And we are told that even if someone who might have cared might have cared for as dearly as my own child, perceives me as an enemy. It is the practice of bodhisattvas to love this one devotedly, just like a mother loves her child who is stricken by disease by illness. Is that making sense okay so again so then when again this is paraphrasing when we we have someone that we care for and we look after you know when I know we feed and we give money and we help in any way and then this person then eventually by whatever for whatever reason then is is ungrateful and then sees us as an enemy and dislikes us and says bad things and so forth then bodhisattvas a bodhisattva practitioner then would then even love that person even more and care for that person even more Geshe-la was saying just like a mother would be, you know, when the the the child of a mother is sick, then the mother is even more careful and concerned and nurturing for the child, isn’t it?
So I was going back to the very topic of this part of the text, which is then bringing you into the path those things which are hard to bear. And this is one of those things which is hard to bear, as I was pointing out. If when we treat somebody well and we care and we look after that person that person gives us back only hurt and harm and harsh words and so forth. That’s very difficult. I mean, we, you know, usually, nobody can actually stand it, isn’t it?
We all get really affected by this stuff. So that’s a very beautiful actually so the commentary the the to the text is we are told that again when somebody whom we have cared for and nurtured and looked after giving dharma you know giving you know spiritual instruction and giving giving material things money food and clothing and so forth and when such a person then gives us back in return to that you know the person then is hurts us and we are told here in the text it hurts us through that person’s three doors hurts us with body speaking mind that person harms us back then not only we will not answer to that with anger and with more harm but and then we are given an analogy which is a beautiful beautiful analogy when how to say when the child of an old mother is crazed is possessed and crazed by illness and by evil spirits we are told then then that child then harms the mother and hurts the mother and was crazed in this way that mother not only does not get angry with her child but then wishes then fervently and from the depths of her heart that that child be with great how do you say with great care and with great love with great love with great affection that the mother then wishes from the depths of her heart for her child to be free from that illness and separated from that from that evil spirit.
And so then and Geshe-la was then saying so it’s a it’s a very good example now isn’t it and then again the commentary goes on to say so just like this mother then we we that person we should see that person who is then giving us harm for the for the good we give them then we should understand that person as being completely overwhelmed and possessed by these demons of afflictive emotions and the person is has no control over over him or herself and was possessed in this way crazed in this way the person then shows ingratitude but then and we from our side we do not retribute with anger and harm we instead we understand in this situation we understand that the person is how to say possessed by the affliction, afflictive emotions and conceptions, this way and we wish then with extra with a stronger love than we have even before superior love and concern we we wish for the person to be free free from these afflictive emotions and conceptions so Geshe-la is then explaining again that that person is that person who is we all have experienced that we have done something good and and we have had harm and hurt in return we have received harm and hurt in return and Geshe-la was then saying so we can see how the person is actually crazed and possessed by afflictive emotions in this way so then the person might be angry we might have done something that was displeasing to that person and we can see that that anger then comes out of the person’s own ignorance that person’s deluded mind the erroneous how to say or the misconception that person has or it might have come out of attachment then the person wasn’t able to get something that the person was desiring and was attached to and we somehow contributed to that person then that person gives us harm and hurt and so forth so we can see how the person is actually overwhelmed possessed by all the afflictive emotions the three root poisons, which is then anger, attachment, and ignorance.
Okay? And Geshe-la is explaining then so then, again, when we do something good and we get harm in return, hurt in return, then, Geshe-la was explaining, so we we should just like we the instructions are telling us and we should with understanding then we should try to help and benefit that person and treat that person well but if even if we cannot do that at the very least we should contemplate the fact that that person is possessed overwhelmed and out of control does not have control over him or herself because of the afflictive emotions and conceptions they are taking her or him over and then in this way we practice patience, we cultivate patience and do not get angry, Geshe-la says, because if we get angry in return then we only make the whole situation worse it’s going to make worse for us, it’s going to make worse for them, going to make the whole thing worse. Now if we can if we are able to be patient, reflecting on this in the manner that we were instructed, if we are able to cultivate patience, then we we are going to benefit, and even that person might benefit.
Okay? And then so then we are told and then this this then is the way that the bodhisattvas practice taking ingratitude onto the path to enlightenment and then further further we have then again it’s just we should just like just like a mother is who wishes with great love and care wishes for her for her child to be free from the illness that that is afflicting the child. So that’s how we should feel towards these people. Okay? And then so then Geshe-la was been reading through the next there’s another quote and an explanation Geshe-la was explaining the quote is from the the the quote is from the Adornment of the Sutras which is telling us that the wise people will disregard the shortcomings in people who are always at fault and behave without self control, saying instead, thinking of these people that while they do not want, they become ungrateful.
Therefore, they then increase their compassion toward those people. And then the commentary is telling us again towards those people who are overpowered, who really do not have control over themselves, they are taken over by the afflictive emotions and conceptions towards those people who are then ungrateful to us because they are overpowered, not only will the wise ones, the intelligent people should not then see fault in them, should not get angry with them, should not hold them to be at fault, should increase one’s love and compassion for that person and Geshe-la was in the sense that’s how bodhisattva practices that’s how bodhisattva does bodhisattva not only does not get angry with such a person it takes that occasion as an opportunity to cultivate compassion to cultivate patience by generating compassion towards a person so the bodhisattva not only does not dislike that situation but actively likes it, enjoys it. Okay? Geshe-la is explaining that that’s the practice of the bodhisattvas and that’s a very difficult practice and Geshe-la is saying that there is a saying it is said that there’s no one more there’s no one how to say in a better situation than than the bodhisattvas because it doesn’t matter what you do to a bodhisattva if it is good or bad for the bodhisattva it doesn’t make any difference he regards all these things equally without being affected in any way.
From a worldly perspective, people, ordinary beings, they see the bodhisattvas, they say that there’s no one more more what’s the right way for that? More poor than a bodhisattva, poor is not exactly the right word but that is to say because in a world perspective when we are done something when something good is done to us then we are happy and we do good in return when something bad is done to us and we are unhappy and we do harm in return and we think that we think that that is the way to act and when we see a bodhisattva who does not react to good to either good or bad we think that he is at loss he or she is at loss but that’s the meaning of so Geshe-la is a word which is we should translate it as poor but that’s not the meaning of it so the word ordinary people would see the bodhisattvas as being disadvantage. Diminished. Diminished. That’s Geshe-la said, but that’s that is not the case.
That is the case only for ordinary beings like ourselves who who have this, who are overwhelmed by these delusions, these misconceptions. And then Geshe-la is saying but this is this again this is only our own misunderstanding our own misconception due to that we see we perceive such a bodhisattva to be at loss but in fact Geshe-la explains this is our own delusion this is due to our own ignorance then Geshe-la says it doesn’t matter it could be an educated person or rich person or an uneducated and poor person we are all only thinking within the time frame of this life alone and the things of this life alone and all of us equally when something good and pleasant is done to us and we get happy and something bad and unpleasant is done to us and we get unhappy, and that is all because we do not understand the way that phenomena really exist, and then we develop attachment towards the pleasant things of this life, and we develop aversion towards the unpleasant things of this life and in this way we act how to say trying to acquire the pleasant things and to are trying to get rid of the unpleasant things and we engage in all sorts of negativities or negative actions and wholesome actions by the power of this deluded erroneous mind and we continue to perpetuate our stay within cyclic existence so then we should then not act in this ordinary way we should be equanimous with respect to whatever benefit is done to us and whatever and also be equanimous towards any harm that is done to us.
And Geshe-la was saying, and we have to see that the the the real harm doer is the I, the I that we perceive to be inherently existent. So then, Geshe-la says, that I, which is perceived to be inherently existent, which is the real cause of harm and hurt those enemies and friends they whatever benefit or harm that they do friends and enemies they are only called such how to say they are today they are somebody is a friend and another person is an enemy and tomorrow they are is the other way around that the first person is an enemy the other one is a friend It’s all relative to what they are doing in in in time. And the real harm doer, Geshe-la points out, is the the I alone. Okay? Is that okay?
And then again, it’s like, so then it’s because that I, which is the real cause of of harm, that I that we hold to be inherent existence even though it does not exist the way it appears to exist, and we believe it does exist in the way it appears to exist. We believe it exists inherently, and out of that belief, then we think that it needs all the good things and and and pleasant things, and and we need to avoid the the harmful, painful things. And then we act in this way and generate out of that, we generate all the suffering. Then Geshe-la is quoting a verse from the the Seven Point Mind Training which is saying then put all the blame into the one and then Geshe-la is explaining so then put all the blame the blame for all the suffering that we experience is on the self alone on the I alone and then the second line of the verse is telling us to meditate and meditate instead and meditate on the kindness on the great kindness of all beings so then again and then and then so they put all the the blame for the sufferings that we experience in the I alone and then understand that all the happiness that we experience is due to the kindness of all beings of all other beings okay so we have time for question and answer if you want.
Oh, yeah. That’s why I did. So, yeah, if you have any questions, So, it is we have no way to know if if it So, we have no way to know if it will be beneficial or or not to maybe act in a different way as it’s a very dangerous situation it’s a very delicate situation and it’s hard to tell if we might have reacted in a different way or said something if it would have actually been beneficial or not Geshe-la says Yeah. That’s the best thing to do. Then say, so then, yeah, another way that you could answer that person is when the person said whatever the person was saying then you say you know excuse me or you know you know I’m sorry for having done or whatever did upset you.
Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Know, without without allowing yourself to be angry, if you would do that, then maybe he would maybe he would start to look at himself and change his mind. Okay?
Yes? If you have the motivation, you know? With the You motivation. Right? So then I was explaining because we westerners and generally every human being but we westerners especially in the west in a country like australia we are very we see that as you know when somebody’s abusive or anything like that and we do not answer then we feel like we are being used as a doormat that’s what we feel like That’s a general human perception, but that’s a very also particularly Australian, I would say, perception or first word perception.
And guess I was just saying, and we we we perceive it that as if we are at at at a loss in such a situation. Geshe-la was like, so what is it that we are losing? What is it that we are losing? We would actually be at a loss if we were to retribute to to to that hatred and to the harsh words with more hatred and harsh words if we were to say that and then we will be really at a loss then Did you hear that on television? On the television?
So then Geshe-la says so then I explained the story and explained that you were saying so then maybe if we have a good motivation then it would be the right thing to do and Geshe-la says well again maybe it will be beneficial maybe it wouldn’t again it’s hard to say what the outcome would be which shouldn’t stop us from doing our best anyway in Russia in a parliament you know the people, some people in the parliament were actually fighting It’s not not in the court in the in the what is it? The parliament? Taiwan. Taiwan was punching each other in. No.
That was in Russia. It’s a parliament parliament where the the the politicians were were fighting with each other. And then says, you know, all these, you know, educated people, people, and still, you know They don’t hear, but just with words. Yeah. Australia Australia Yes.
So Geshe-la says, yes. This is everywhere, and then every every human being is always you know thinking in this vein and we think oh I am I am good and the other person is thinking I am better and then then they start arguing all of that Just if I can just the end of that that story I told. After about one year of this, because I found very distressing for everyone, I did hit this guy on his own, and I did say to him, sorry. Sorry. Sorry.
Yes. Okay. Shall we finish? Okay. So we do a morning prayers page twenty six.
Well, I just bought an old spring. Yeah. Yes. I usually bring something. Yes.
I bring this it’s my own incense from home. I just bring it because it’s my favorite, and I bought some chocolates, which we need afterwards. And last time I did it, I bought flowers. So you just bring something as an offering. This is a thousand arm Chenrezig and he’s got a thousand hands each with an eye on the end of it so that he can see and help more of the suffering.
Chenrezig is all about compassion. And, yeah, and the other thing, when