Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. A wallet stuffed with blank paper looks full but buys nothing — Geshe Pema Tsering uses this image in this 43-minute commentary to illustrate the gap between outward spiritual performance and genuine inner practice. Moving through paired verses of the Wheel of Sharp Weapons, he traces specific present-day misfortunes to their karmic causes: business failures to having disrupted others’ virtuous actions in past lives; a guru’s displeasure to secret hypocrisy behind a facade of devotion; recurring illness to carelessly using monastic property and breaking precepts and tantric vows; difficulty concentrating during teachings to past disrespect of Dharma. For each pair he offers a personal resolve and a request for blessing, closing with the essential sequence of listening, contemplating, and meditating as the remedy for spiritual ignorance.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 05 w of sw 2002 03 30.mp3
UUID: 8e8320ce-cc8e-43f6-af49-7ecf9164357a
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: Wheel of Sharp Weapons (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2002-03-30
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 43.4 minutes
Words: ~2,523
So so the self-cherishing mind have created these different state of karma or done those wrongdoings. And now now, what do call, the karma as the judge who has been who is punishing us according to our wrongdoings. So in the the karmic judgment is you can’t lie to to that as a ordinary judge. You can’t deceive them. You can’t be pardoned.
You you you get exactly for you have to you get exactly punished what what karma you have created. So there are common different types of karma. For example, as definite karma, a karma that you experience and unless otherwise you have to clarify the karma through applying the practice Mahāyāna the four opening powers, the four antidotes or so on. If you apply that and unless you have kind of purified the karma, you you you have to experience. One has to experience the karma.
So again, going to the next point, which is that however had we we work for something with a different type of business or whatever, we always lose We are not successful. Being not successful, not not only being successful, but you not only lose the capital that you have put in, you lose that. So these are that type of suffering that people experience that also is a result of our past karmic actions. So so what negative karma that one in one’s previous life have committed is such as such as, like, you have you have interrupted people, those who are practicing Dharma such as doing virtuous action, like such as when someone is doing good things like making offerings and so on, you discourage them and tell them you interrupt their work and so on. Or if someone is going around this stupa, like circumambulating, doing some virtuous karma and telling them like leading them other ways, like, telling them it’s not right and so on.
But, like, making interrupting their practices. These are are known as the causes for us to experience the suffering of not being successful at present. So whatever which that one is unsuccessful not being successful in the present is a result of our past negative karmic actions such as interrupting others’ virtuous action and so on. So from now on, what should make oneself that one is not going to disturb or interrupt other’s virtuous actions and so on? So moving to the next point, which is so whatever way whatever means you do whatever means whatever in whatever means you approach to the gurus gurus seems that he or she is not pleased.
That that is also a result of our past karmic actions. And such as, for example, in one of our previous life that one have went go went against the guru such as in the in front at the presence of the guru or the spiritual master, one has pretended to be a very very good follower or very good student. But then in the back, you go against all his advices and so on. If one had done such and such so such karmas, then that is what make one experience this suffering that whatever we do now doesn’t bring success in one’s goals. So so because of that now, we one shouldn’t do or engage in that type of actions.
So one shouldn’t like do wrong behind behind one’s own spiritual master or one’s own guru. Instead one should be true, one should be true in whatever way, whether it’s in the front, in the presence or in behind. So not being like a it says indications, not being ripened outside and not ripened inside. Has to be both ripened inside and outside, both what we call Yeah. Both ripened and not ripened.
So the word supposed to use is matured. Like matured inside and matured outside. So one shouldn’t be like only matured inside or only matured outside but both ways, we need both. If you have both matured inside and outside both. So for example, you are matured inside in the sense that you are doing pure Dharma practice.
If you don’t show outside, then again, it’s not matured outside outwardly. So that becomes like like the master Śāntideva’s example. But but for Śāntideva, it is it’s okay to to show that aspect of not being matured outside. So then matured outside and so exteriorly matured and internally not matured is is that is what you call not right in the sense which is like you just in most cases we are pretending to be to be good, to be matured and not actually. So so one shouldn’t do like that.
So if you if you are pretending to do something like just to show somebody that you are doing something good, then that that doesn’t have much of a big result or good karma about it. And what it what it has is just to impress others. Others will see and I just to impress them. That’s what it is. So that that pretension like, if I do this others will impress other will be impressed.
That thing doesn’t help us. What what others thinks what what other think other others think doesn’t help one at all. It’s up to oneself to to improve. So it’s like another example that you’re poor, you don’t have any money in your purse, But just to impress others, put like a pile of papers in in the wallet and carry around. Others might think, oh, it’s full of wallet.
It might be very rich. But in reality, one has nothing not even a cent. So if if that actually helps, then when the others thinks are he’s like, he’s rich or he has a lot of money, that should, like, fill his stomach wherever he is, carrying that wallet, but that doesn’t help. So so what really helps one one’s mind and one is within. So the practice, the pure practice that one perform within is what helps oneself now and the future.
And like the outside appearance doesn’t matter that much. So if you have a million dollar and you have hidden it somewhere and when you need it, you use it, but outside you not act as a millionaire, then then it help it works for you. It’s okay. So and especially for Dharma practice, you don’t it’s not to impress others. So moving to the next point, which is, like I say, whatever you you say to others, others won’t respect your word or doesn’t listen to you.
Again, that type of suffering that we experience. So and that is because also again one have committed the karma in our previous life such as not respecting others speech or or or going against others speech and so on. Those different negative karma that one have committed is ripening now at present. So such as for example, not listening to one’s own guru, one’s own parents or like being careless with them, not respecting them. This is these are the causes now that one experiences these different types of sufferings.
So so from now on, I won’t commit those negative, repeat committing those negative action again and from now on, again making this request to the guru or the deity that you have visualized especially for one to bless you to be able to like follow all the instructions and practice on the path as it is advised in the teachings. So making this request to bless you to to be able to perform those. So next point which is such as if it’s a say like more in a big gathering such as if it’s a head of, it’s a minister or whoever with a lot of workers around or if it’s a big family and suddenly all the servant or the workers doesn’t listen to the minister and somehow getting left out alone and they have to experience that type of suffering or all the families move away and living one’s life alone and experiencing that type of sufferings. Those two are created by the past karmic actions. So so again, what kind of karma that one have committed in the in in previous lives is that one have done mostly wrongdoings like such as going against the wish of others and not only one place but moving into all directions or going at all different places and and doing wrong things.
And and those are the what they call the cause of these the cause of these kinds of suffering that we experience now. So so like again, thinking yourself now, from now on I will never commit those kind of negative actions. I’ll always, all my action whatever I do, may that that be favorable to to all other sentient beings. And in that way, may I be able to success in that. And you request again to the deity that you visualize to to send you the blessings.
So we’re on this number thirty four that different types of sicknesses that we experience such as different type of sicknesses that we experience, different type of sicknesses that we experience is also caused by previous karma. That is for example if we carelessly use the belongings of the Three Jewels, Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, or things that belongs to the monastery and so on without putting much care, if we carelessly use those things, then you commit these again, negative karma that you create. So any such as for example, any sicknesses such as even just sudden headache or so on. So those different state of sickness that we go through like a sudden sickness is also a result of our past negative actions such as one have taken different precepts from different masters or such as initiation and so on, different commitments, not keeping them or going breaking the commitment as well as some of the causes for these different sufferings. So such as breaking the commitments and so on, breaking the precepts such as refuge precepts and those are the lay vows and the upasaka vows or bhikṣu vows, bhikshuni, monk vows, and so on.
All and then plus the tantric vows and so on. If one had broken those vows then as a result one experiences these different different sicknesses in this life known as the result similar, there’s a different, what do you call, result that he experiences. And one type is known as the result similar to the cause. It’s like, for example, if you want to experience similar to the cause then it says that by breaking these commitment one, one will get reborn into lower realms, one of the hell realms. So again making this request to the deity that we have visualized in this space before to be able to bless that one is able to keep all the commitments and never go against or break these vows.
So I’m going to the next point which is one, we have lots to learn and we are not still well skilled because there are many things to be learned such as things that we need to learn such as the ten virtuous actions. This is what we we should learn and perform practice. But we don’t know that and we instead of performing those, we commit those ten non virtuous actions and so on. So that again that too is a result of our past negative karma such as our past, in one of our previous life one have have made Dharma practice not so important and other worldly activities as more important and you do your Dharma practice sometime, only when you get some spare time and even when at that time not doing like perfectly, just doing some part and leaving the rest. Doing Doing these actions are regard not doing perfectly right away known as creating the cause for us at present to to experience this state state this state of sufferings.
So this part actually fits very well with us, he said. What we actually need to do, we don’t know. We are far behind which is such as to practice the Pure Dharma. We don’t know those, we stay, we are behind and we mostly, most of our time we spend in all the activities, collecting wealth and so on. And we do our Dharma practice only when there’s a spare time and not even that.
We think a little bit is enough. We don’t need to do too much. So we think in that way. So from this time onwards, again, you you commit to yourself saying that I will learn what needs to be learned, what is right to, what needs to be adopted and what needs to be abandoned. I’ll learn that and to be able to perfect that, to be able to be skilled in that may may may make this request saying that the deity you have visualized in this space before to bless you.
So now to to understand to to understand what to adopt and what to abandon, we now what we need is we need to listen to the teachings. We need to listen to the teachings here. So first first listening, which is listening to the teachings or reading books or or so on. So then next point, you contemplate on the meanings, what you have heard or what you have read, contemplate and analyze. So contemplating and analyzing their meaning, the third point you meditate on that and meditating and or you familiarize yourself with this practice.
So in this manner we should train our mind and whatever effort you put in every corner like listening, contemplating and then meditating or familiarizing with the practice, whatever is explained in the session. One should do in this sequence like, okay, have heard it, contemplate it and meditate and then create the cause for one to achieve the full state. So so going to the next point which is the at present the experience of suffering that one experiences that when one come to listen to teachings, one falling asleep, one unable to concentrate and so on. These different level of suffering. Two is cause of one’s previous karma and that is such a karma in one’s former life or one of the path previous lives that one have disrespected the teachings or disrespected the Dharma and so on that one had done in the previous life.
So that is the result. That is the cause for one experiencing experiencing that kind of result. So disrespecting the scriptural teachings, disrespecting the insight teachings and so on. All these actions that what I’ve done in the past is the result of at present that one experiencing these different state of result like, yeah, state of suffering. And also disrespecting people who have great insights into the teachings such as the great Sangha members and so on.
If you disrespect them again, that is same as disrespecting the the insight teachings. So we stop here for today and do a dedication.