Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. A line from Nāgārjuna — that everything appears to us deceptively, not as it actually is — opens this 36-minute session with Geshe Pema Tsering. He uses everyday examples (overeating, sitting too long in the sun) to show that samsaric pleasures are a form of “suffering of change”: we mistake the mere reduction of pain for real happiness. Analyzing appearances, he argues, leads toward understanding emptiness, which cuts attachment and hatred at the root and halts the creation of deluded karma. He then maps the two conditions needed for Buddhahood — wisdom realizing emptiness and bodhicitta — and explains how the Wheel of Sharp Weapons focuses on developing bodhicitta through exchanging self with others, as distinct from the seven-point cause-and-effect method taught in Lamrim. The session closes with a brief guided motivation meditation.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 01 w of sw 2002 03 29.mp3
UUID: 938b8355-d089-4e4d-b970-d13109202a8e
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Wheel of Sharp Weapons (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2002-03-29
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 36.1 minutes
Words: ~2,498
Mandala offering on page four, number five. So, quoting a line from the teachings of Nāgārjuna, say Nāgārjuna says in his teaching that everything that appears to us is appears deceptive. Everything that appears to us it is appears in a conventional aspect. So whatever doesn’t appears as at it is act what actually it is. It acts appears to us in a conventional level.
So so what we see is most of the time is regarded a deceptive truth or or conventional aspect of the of the object. So, that is in general to every object or every things and similar like everything that we experience to, those things doesn’t appear, doesn’t exist in a way as it appears also. For for example, what we experience such as the happiness and the suffering, these are that that’s what appears to us too. So if you look into it in in its depth, whether as it exists at as it appears to us, then it doesn’t. So, so because of that, the saṃsāra happiness that we seek and it appears to us that being happiness.
That is what we desire and we long for it. But then if you really look into it, then it is also a form of suffering. So, so similar, the suffering that we experience too appears to be existing there, solid something from its own side. Some way that’s how we feel. It appears to us like that.
But both of these happiness and suffering are conditions by its causes. So because of its cause and condition it appears appears there. So, same, like the happiness and suffering, it depends upon its cause and conditions, doesn’t exist from its own side. That is, that applies same with ourselves, like individuals, like, has to depend on our cause and conditions. So, So, for us, in general terms, things appears and it appears from its own side.
Doesn’t, we don’t think about its about its causes and condition and so on. It appears to be or it appears there, it exists there by itself without depending on anything. And that’s what we most of the time believe or take it as it is the truth. But that is not the case. So, so now, what we need is we need to analyze those things whether things that appears to you, does it appear as it appears to you or is it it appears different way?
You analyze that and and then you come to a point where you come to actually understand these like whether it exist or not from its own side or not. So, there are different levels of what you call understanding or realization one come to gain through this analysis. Like some things which are not not permanent, are impermanent things which are not permanent, we tend to think it is permanent and we come to have some kind of realization on that. And similarly, are many levels of knowledge understanding, one come to experience or one come to understand through this analysis. So when when one puts all this analysis or examines the objects and things, whether they exist, whether they exist at it as it appears to us or not.
And through this analysis you come to have gained this realization or the understanding of things doesn’t exist by itself, by its own without depending on cause and condition. And and more like that they are not inherent existent in a way like doesn’t exist by itself. It’s all cause and condition. So when you come to understand that that is that understanding is coming closer to having the understanding or realization of emptiness. And when you when you actually have the understanding of emptiness and that’s sort of the final stage where you where you where you’re able to see things at it as is as it appears.
So, when you come to this point of understanding the emptiness of of of the things, then because that realization is very, what do call, very, very powerful that once you come to have that realization of emptiness, you don’t come to generate this, the attachment and hatred towards those objects. Because since you, once you get this realization, you don’t have, things appears to you differently. So because of that, then Since then, that understanding you don’t get what you call that attachment and hatred towards different objects. So, so when you come, when you don’t have attachment and hatred towards these different objects, then that ceases you to create karmas or deluded karmas and then come different types of karmas you come to cease creating it. So if you stop creating deluded karmas or unwholesome actions, then slowly come to a point where you where you stop creating any negative actions.
So, that is, that applies same from one to all phenomena. Every phenomena in the cyclic existence are known as the contaminated things. And, and then on depending on that, we create the karmas. So, so when one stop creating this deluded karmas and finally one come to gain that state of liberation. Then once you Then that means one is free from the cyclic existence.
So, so until then, until we have get rid of this karma and delusions, deluded karma, the happiness that we experience in saṃsāra is not a real happiness. It is a form of suffering. So, for example, in Samsāra, we have We we experience different pleasures such as the physical pleasure, the the mental pleasure and so on. And those are the thing that we seek and we think it is a real pleasure. But in reality it is not and it is known as the known as a form of suffering which is there are different types of suffering.
It’s like the suffering that changes, a suffering of change. So that it is, it lies in that category. For example, this is something that we can experience ourselves, how it is known as the changeable suffering. For example, when we are hungry, we eat, we have a certain type of pleasure that we’re getting from eating and similarly when we are cold going into a like sunny place, we experience certain level of pleasure out of that too. So, things that we can experience such as we just went through, like if you by eating we tend to get some kind of pleasure, but if you overeat, it causes pain, the suffering and that’s what we can experience.
And similarly, being in the sun for a short while, we’ll experience the pleasure but if you overstayed a couple of minutes or so on, again, it changes into suffering. So so so it is not a real happiness, that type of happiness that we think. It’s not a everlasting happiness happiness. So, so, we we have this mistaken perception that those type of happiness are being the real happiness. But in reality, it is not the real happiness.
Because they are, that these experiences they are like a suffering and the sort of, it is a form of suffering, but at that time when we see, when we come to feel that it is happiness, that time the suffering, the suffering is not that intense. So, because it is not intense suffering, we tend to think it is happiness and we we cling cling towards it. So for example, it’s like when you are in a intense a intense suffering or some kind of pain going through because of some kind of sickness. Suddenly if you take a dose of pain killer, then after a couple of minutes, the pain will be reduced and you feel like you’re feeling better, you feel some kind of relief and so it’s similar like that. When the suffering is not so intense then we tend to think it is the happiness or the pleasure.
So, so that’s why I just said in the teaching in the very beginning, how important to analyze things. Things things doesn’t appear as it seems to us. So, to know, knowing or getting, having this understanding of emptiness is, is extremely important and especially if you wish for liberation then that is the most necessary one. Excuse me. So so for understanding of emptiness, what do you need is you need to have a good intelligence, a sharp intelligence.
Yes. What do you need to for realizing emptiness is a sharp wisdom or intelligence and not only that, you need to accumulate great amount of merit or virtuous wholesome actions and such as engaging in the six perfections like the perfection of giving and so on. And for example, like in just in order to, for the seed to sprout, it need to meet with all these different conditions such as water, fertilizer and so on. In order to gain this wisdom of realizing emptiness, we need all the the the great, we need the great wisdom or intelligence plus all the great amount of accumulation of accumulation of merits. So, we have to accumulate great amount of merits and for that purpose, since this morning, you have, as you started, the practice, doing meditations and teachings and so on and so on.
These are all form of accumulating merit in order to achieve the fully enlightened state. Because it is in order to achieve the full enlightenment and when we work for the achievement of full enlightened state, we are working towards also realizing realizing or gaining this wisdom, realizing the emptiness. So, all these practices that we perform, we do it in order to achieve the full enlightened state or the Buddhahood for the sake of others. And so, that’s our wish and that’s our aim. And now to reach that state of Buddhahood, what we need as as like a two wings, the wisdom realizing emptiness and the bodhicitta.
These are like like the wing for us to get there. So, so these two wings are very important like the emptiness we need to use our wisdom and study all different aspect of teachings, talked about which we explains about emptiness. And then another aspect of teachings which is teachings on bodhicitta, there are different teachings on bodhicitta such as there are two different ways of achieving, what do call, gaining the realization of bodhicitta within one, on those once you train. So, those two instructions on how to to gain this precious mind, the bodhicitta. And according to Lamrim teachings, the stages on the path, it is elaborately explained the seven-point cause and effect instruction.
That’s how, that is explained in Lamrim teachings and especially on, in this text that we are using, the Wheel of Sharp Weapons, it explains the other method which is exchanging oneself with others. Training your mind, exchanging oneself with others And that is explained in this particular text. So, as we just went through, the first method which is explaining Lamrim teachings very elaborately, the seven-point cause and effect instruction. And, and then second one which is exchanging oneself with others, the training of the mind, which is explained elaborately in this text with the Wheel of Sharp Weapons. And in order to gain the, to go into this practices, first, what you need is, renunciation.
That renunciation is like a like a must have thing for both of these methods or the practices. So renunciation is must for these practices and so, so to generate that understanding of renunciation, we need to contemplate on this precious human rebirth and also the law of karma, the cause and effect. These are what is required for this for these different practices. So, understanding the law of karma and also knowing that the saṃsāra pleasure are not the real pure pleasures, it is a form of suffering and and and, sorry, generating this wish from within that wanting to leave Samsāra wanting to leave Samsāra. That type of wish you should generate.
So so like generating the total renunciation is that contemplating on these different points, contemplating the suffering of Samsāra, the law of cause and effect and, through those practices you come to generate this, understanding that within yourself that I don’t wish all of these saṃsāra things. I I don’t want any of these and I want to I want to get out of there. That is what we call renunciation, thought of renunciation within So, which is renouncing everything, what is in Samsāra in the sense that everything that we experience in Samsāra is a form of suffering and sufferings are which we don’t wish. So knowing these, want, I don’t want anything in Samsāra. I don’t want any any Samsāra things and we And longing, I like feeling disgust about being in Samsāra and wishing like that we want to get out of there.
So, that is known as the thought of renunciation and that’s for oneself. And if you look for others, then as oneself doesn’t wish all these things in Samsāra, suffering and so on, and wishing others not to have those type of sufferings and Samsāra things for others too. When you generate that kind of mind then, it is known as a form of compassion. Compassion generating towards others. So wishing others to be free of suffering is known as the compassion.
And and now, when you generate that thought of compassion, compassion, then, okay, I’ll What do I need to to do that? To free others from suffering, I need to now, first thing I need is to achieve enlightenment, the Buddhahood. So for that purpose, one should now start, doing whatever one one performs. So, contemplating on these, the suffering of Samsāra and not wishing that is the renunciation and then applying that to others that you don’t want these type of suffering to anyone else outside, that is form of compassion. And now thinking about the compassion, how you’ll be able to do that is through achieving the full enlightened state.
And, now in order to achieve that full enlightened state, I will engage in these practices, generate that type of motivation and also receive the blessings from the Buddha and we we do like on that point with this motivation short meditation. So if you find how to like concentrate many visualizations, many to set up like a full complete motivation, motivation, then just do a short brief motivation that that, I want to free all sentient beings from this, from this state of suffering and, and, how I do that is I need to first achieve, the full enlightened state or the Buddhahood and now, visualize, the enlightened being, the Buddha and and and mentally recite its mantra, and then just think that, may I achieve that same state in order to help other sentient beings and make it brief and do short meditation. Yep. Please, do a short meditation.