Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 44-minute session, Geshe Pema Tsering opens his commentary on the Wheel of Sharp Weapons by explaining the title: the self-cherishing mind is the enemy on the path, and these teachings are the weapons to fight it. He situates the text within the three levels of Lamrim mind-training and identifies it as a bodhicitta practice built on exchanging self with others. He then unpacks the opening homage to Yamāntaka — the wrathful Buddha whose fury is directed solely at self-cherishing — before working through the first verse: the peacock thriving on poisonous plants, a metaphor for Bodhisattvas who willingly take rebirth in saṃsāra to benefit others. He contrasts this with ordinary beings driven by karma and delusion, describes saṃsāra itself as “the tip of a needle,” and closes with the crow cautionary tale: without genuine realization, what nourishes a Bodhisattva only poisons us.
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File: 02 w of sw 2002 03 29.mp3
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Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Wheel of Sharp Weapons (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2002-03-29
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 44.3 minutes
Words: ~2,548
You make yourself familiar with you you make your mind familiar with the unfamiliar unfamiliar unfamiliar things. So yep. So in order to understand things, how you come to perfect things, perfect anything is you first, you familiarize with the things. The more you familiarize with the things, familiar, the easier and the more training you get onto whatever things you are doing. So in general sense, training the mind that we in Samsāra way of training the mind, we train in different things.
So going to a school or doing different trades. You train first to get familiar with the things and you become well trained. So same similar that’s for for to achieve liberation or the enlightened state, we need to train our mind and to train to what we train our minds, different different teachings or different subjects. So we have to train our mind in this different set of teachings because if we don’t train, we won’t be able to achieve this our goal, different set of goals. So we need to know how we approach on the path.
So so in order for us to achieve the state of liberation, we now have this three three different levels of training your three different levels of training the mind that we we approach to. And like the three different level is known as the the small, the medium, and the great level of training the mind. So in order for us to train our minds on these three levels, as it is in the teaching taught about the seven limb prayers and how we should approach practicing them. These are known as the necessary things for us to perform before we enter in these different state of trainings. So particularly on this text, when when we talk about mind training, we are we’re we’re particularly talking about the mind training according to the great beings or the the highest level.
So when you talk about the great beings or the small medium and the great, that great training, There again, it talk about the two types of trainings, training your mind to understand emptiness and training your mind to understand bodhicitta. So this particular text especially explains on how you train your mind to generate bodhicitta. So so special training on bodhicitta. So and after of training on the bodhicitta again, as explained before, there are two methods which I explained. One according to Lamrim, which is the seven instructions of cause and effect or one method.
And the second method is exchanging oneself with others. That is the second method and that is what is explained in this text. So so especially the title of this text is known as the Wheel of Sharp Weapons. A weapon is used here because in order to fight the enemies, you you what you need is weapons. Without weapon, you can’t.
So that’s why it is named as weapon. So so for us now we are seeking liberation or the enlightened state. So what stops us from us achieving that state is is the self-cherishing mind. And the self-cherishing mind is is is the enemy here that we are we are what we call we’re fighting against. So the self-cherishing mind causes us to do many negative actions.
How? Because of the self-cherishing mind, we have also self-grasping. The ignorance, known as the ignorance of grasping mind. And and the ignorance of grasping mind comes to what it does is it it it, what do call, causes us to create all types of negative actions, our negative karmas. And and and those are the negative the negative karmas are the things that are that bound us or binds us in saṃsāra from the beginningless time.
So likewise, like, use our weapon to fight the enemy in in ordinary life. Now what we’re doing here in particular in these teachings is that seeing our enemy as the self-cherishing mind. That as our enemy and now we are using the weapon to fight all these different state type of weapon to fight the self-cherishing mind. Seeing all different sides of all the faults of self-cherishing mind, and we fight against that. So so so these different methods that is explained in the teachings are known as the best method or best weapon to get to rid of the self-cherishing mind.
So that’s why it is given this name as in the title weapon. So at the very beginning, the text we’ll go pays homage homage. The homage paid this homage to to Yamāntaka. So is the wrathful aspect of the Buddha. And in reality it is enlightened beings.
So the is in the rightful aspect which is known as the wrathful form of Yamāntaka So why why Buddha takes the wrathful form is the wrath, to whom it is shown, is towards the self-cherishing mind. No one else. The self-cherishing The wrath is shown shown towards the self-cherishing mind in every aspect, from every corner in order to destroy the self-cherishing mind. So the way the is what do you call? Is it defeats the way it acts towards the self-cherishing mind and the normal anger that we have or the wrath that we have within, is sure a little bit different, two different things.
So so it is said it’s different because that all the bodhisattvas are known as known as in in in meaning that they are they fight against the self-cherishing mind. So all Bodhisattvas and Bodhisattvas look at self-cherishing mind being the worst enemy and and shows the battle aspect, which is fight against them. Then that is same similar with the. So known as it’s given also the name is known as the lord of death. So how we with the self-cherishing mind is what causes us to create all these karma and so on with circle.
And and that that is the lord of death is what stops that, too, creating all this, which in other words destroys this self-cherishing mind. Yep. So the lord of death also explained in two different forms. One as definitive and another as interpretive. And the one which we see in the paintings, the wrathful aspect is known as the interpretive one. So so the definitive or the Lord of death is known as Yamāntaka. The definitive Yamāntaka is the nondual wisdom of the Buddha. The wisdom of the Buddha is taking the form of a wrathful aspect, which is in order to destroy the self-cherishing mind and forming taking the interpretive aspect here.
You got the text with you, but Okay. So that’s the first the first verse. In the jungle of poisonous plants, stir the peacocks. So I guess let’s explain the first verse which is this four four lines, which is in the, say, if there’s a big garden, a forest of flowers, and if a peacock wanders in there, there are many different trees, many different flowers, poisonous and all different sorts of flowers. If a peacock wanders in there instead of picking up the medicinal plants or nice flowers, it takes the poisonous plant. So so so as similar to that, like, Bodhisattva’s similar to this example like how the peacocks wander in this big garden instead of taking the medicinal plant, it consumes or lives or thrives on taking the poisonous plant. And similar to that, the Bodhisattvas willingly or out of their prayers take rebirth in Samsāra, come into the Samsāra and instead of seeking Samsāra pleasures, they willingly accept the suffering of Samsāra of the other sentient beings. So similar like how the peacock searches around for poisonous plants, the bodhisattvas come into saṃsāra willingly searching for sufferings. So the bodhisattvas because they know the faults of saṃsāra pleasures, seeking that doesn’t really bring happiness as instead it brings suffering.
So so so they don’t seek for some side pleasures. So So for Bodhisattvas willingly taking rebirth in Samsāra and us taking rebirth in Samsāra is two different things. For the bodhisattvas, they with their prayers and out of they willingly take rebirth in Samsāra. But us, we are we are controlled by our karma karma and the delusions. So that we are taking Rebirth into Samsāra not because we wish we willingly take it.
We are drawn there because of our karma and delusion. So with the bodhisattvas, they they they do it not because of common delusions, but they willingly take take rebirth in saṃsāra in order to help or benefit other sentient beings. So so it’s very hard for us to recognize who is who to end this, I’m sorry, whether the for us, what is at first, we can’t differentiate and we can’t differentiate, but for this they commit do it willingly. And for us, we are we we are taking a rebirth under the control of our delusion and karma. So so the difference between us and the Bodhisattvas is that we are known as the saṃsāra beings and the Bodhisattvas are not.
Because we are known as the saṃsāra beings because we are reborn into saṃsāra because of our karma and delusions. And Bodhisattvas are not because they are born into they take rebirth into saṃsāra because of their prayers and their willingness to help others. So when we say samsaraic beings, now if you analyze that, who is the samsaraic being? So it is Geshe-la. As an example for himself, he is a samsaric beings, but he does not know about all of you.
Wow. Some might not be, some might be samsaric beings, some might not. So Samsāra or the Samsāra beings are known as one who circles in Samsāra out of karma and delusions, like one like changing like changing from one moment to next. So saṃsāra beings circle in saṃsāra under the control of karma and delusion from beginningless time. And the place where they circle in is from like the six realms, the three lower realms and the three upper realms. In there one are the being circles.
So so sometime we are in one of the lower realms like deep in the hell realms. Sometime we are in the animal realms. Sometime we are in the hungry spirit realms. Sometime we have or some type of beings are born into upper realms. So, like and that’s how, like, it it circles in in these six realms.
So in Samsāra Samsāra is like like the tip of a needle. It’s it’s like that. There’s no happiness at all. If you do sit on the point of the needle, no way you you always have pain. So so it’s like that being in Samshara.
There’s no happiness at all. So there is no happiness at all in our ordinary conception. We we we divide these six realms, seeing that the upper realms, the god’s realms, we regard We have more happiness, experience more pleasures, happiness and then goes downwards like that. More and more suffering or less and less suffering going up.
But if you really pinpoint and check into into its nature, then there’s no actual happiness. It’s all suffering. So so things that we do in saṃsāra, for example, just we we go out or have picnic outside, go to the garden and have something to enjoy. We think that is the happiness, that’s the pleasure. And we do that but in reality that too is not real happiness.
That too is a form of suffering. And how or why it is As long as it is under the control of karma and delusion or known as the contaminated things. It has it is known as the sufferings. So we go on the the third paragraph and which is as a piece of the say that because bodhisattvas are in Samsāra willingly and willingly and and experience the sufferings. So the bodhisattva take rebirth into Samsāra willingly and experiences all the sufferings.
The experience they have is not not not not the similar experience that we experience as suffering. Because they willingly accept the sufferings, experience is different. So for example, like similar person, the peacocks, they live on poison, poisonous plant. And by eating the poisonous plant, they grow in a way like the colors, shapes, and sizes. They live on that.
So so how like, similar fashion when Bodhisattvas willingly take in Samsāra and willingly accept sufferings. When you willingly accept sufferings and search for sufferings, they come to a point where they come to a point where they have no sufferings. So so when when bodhisattvas take a rebirth in Samsāra and for the benefit of others, every aspect of the mental factors such as hatred, anger and so on becomes beneficial, becomes a tool for working with others, for benefiting others. So So for the for the bodhisattvas, all this form of negative state of mind, negative state of mind too can be transformed into positive which is which in a sense positive assists the bodhisattva to achieve the fully enlightened state.
So so that’s how bodhisattvas perform. And those who are not Bodhisattvas if they do like enjoy these different state of mind too like attachment and anger and so on due to the state of mind, then instead of them helping achieving liberation, instead, but instead it it leads them to what do call worsen their state, takes them to take rebirth into lower realms if you don’t know how to do it. So So if you if you don’t know how to consume it, then then might cause or cause one to death. And as as an example here, if the crow were to eat poison like a peacock does, then instead of becoming bigger, stronger, healthier, it will take its life. So so similar in a way if if we pretend to be a bodhisattva and try to do something like that instead of like if it’s not sincere then instead of leading up to the enlightened state instead, it will lead down to the to the lowest.
So the example here mainly talking on on about the attachment. How how like, explaining mainly according to the attachment. So as a bodhisattvas, they can transform every types of negative minds into leading or becoming the cause for enlightenment especially here it’s use the attachment and because attachment or desire is something that appears to us in many different instance like in many different ways. Sometimes even you don’t realize it, we’re not aware there is the attachment. So because of that, they use this example as attachment.
So so for example, attachment — I think here it is translated as desire too. So these are, that is if you don’t analyze, if you don’t be aware of it then we tend to have a lot of desire or attachment come to general within our mind in many different ways. Just for example drinking a cup of tea, you might come to generate many different level of attachment or desire. And this one. So the It’s all going on.
So we we complete up to six the sixth. Now we are starting on the seventh.