Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. The startling claim that even accomplished yogis and miracle-workers will fall to the lower realms if they disregard karma anchors this nearly 100-minute session with Geshe Pema Tsering. Drawing on Pabongka Rinpoche’s Lamrim commentary, he walks through karma’s four properties — certainty, increase, impossibility of meeting unperformed karma, inexhaustibility of accumulated actions — and the four factors that determine an act’s strength. He then surveys the sufferings of all six realms before introducing the six general faults of cyclic existence, illustrating dissatisfaction with the story of a world-emperor who conquered heaven and still wanted more. A lively Q&A closes the session, tackling whether virtuous non-Buddhists like Mother Teresa earn good rebirths, what to make of Mao Tse-tung, and whether Devadatta may secretly have been a bodhisattva.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 10. Day 4 PM Teaching.mp3
UUID: 7ef82f7c-edcf-4ce8-b109-997cff9c260b
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: z Teachings DTL (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Date: 2006 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 99.5 minutes
Words: ~5,773
So then the obligation is instructing us to give rise to a good motivation and thinking with the wish to attain enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. And we are going now to listen to the teachings. And with this motivation in mind, we give rise to this good motivation. So then we we we finished reading that verse from Nāgārjuna, which says that non virtue brings all suffering and likewise the birth of misery, and virtue brings all happy rebirth and happiness in all one’s birth. And then the following from that verse following from that verse is telling us that right now, each one of us has very weak virtues virtue, and and and the power, the strength of our non virtues is extremely great.
So if if we were to die right now in this way, we will probably end up in the in the lower realms. And then so then Pabongka Rinpoche follows from that. He’s then saying that if being born then in the lower realms, if we are born as hell beings, then hell beings have to experience such sufferings as extreme heat and cold and and and burning and being cut into pieces and so forth. And then hungry ghosts have to experience such sufferings as hunger and thirst and and their tiredness, exhaustion, and and fears and so forth. And then animals have to animals, they are extremely stupid, and they are very ignorant, and they they are used by by humans to to do hard work and so forth.
And then there’s all sorts of unbearable sufferings in the three lower realms. I forgot to to mention something then. And then Pabongka Rinpoche is then saying that in order then to be free, to not to end up in the lower realms, one of the best, the greatest method there is is to take refuge in the Three Jewels. So go for refuge to the Three Jewels. In the Three Jewels.
And then so then we must go we must go for refuge from the depths of our hearts. We must go for refuge to the Three Jewels. And not only that, we also must we also have to make efforts in properly, how to say, adopting and discarding actions according to the teachings on actions and their results. And then and then Pabongka is telling us that from from all the trainings with respect to taking refuge, the very the main one, the principal teachings with respect to taking refuge are those teachings on discarding and adopting actions according to actions and the results, the teachings on actions and the results? And if one if one does not guard one’s conduct according to actions and the results, then then, again, it is how do you say?
One’s one probably will will again be born in the the three lower realms. Okay. So then so then it’s not probably. Okay. Let me put it in another way, certainly.
Is really poor. So what the text is telling us that, how do say, is not only those who do not know the teachings, who who who do not know Dharma that that end up in the three lower realms. I shall say this the strange construction of a sentence here that we have in English is not very clear either. So and I shall say, so then that’s what it means. And so not only people who do not know the dharma, then they end up in the lower realms of existence.
People who know the Dharma, they also end up in the lower realms of existence. So then, even though people who even though they know the Dharma, still they do not put it into practice. And people who know about actions and the results but disregard disregard the teachings, they there are many cases. There are too many cases of of people like this who have ended up in the three lower realms of existence. And then again, Pabongka Rinpoche is saying, if if one disregards teachings on actions and the results, these laws of actions and the results, it doesn’t matter what what one is, who one is, if one is a scholar, a teacher, or or a venerable one, whatever it is that one is, one is going to end up in the three lower realms of existence.
Then if if one if if if one disregards again, if one disregards actions and the results, and then it doesn’t matter if one is is a scholar who knows a huge amount, who has memorized a huge amount of the scriptures. And then it doesn’t matter if one is is a is a yogi who who a yogi who has accomplished who has many accomplishments, and then which I was referring to accomplishments of yogis who have accomplished calm abiding concentrations and so forth. It doesn’t matter if one has clairvoyance powers or supernatural extrasensory powers or if one can perform miracles. None of these matters, one still will will have to experience suffering. Okay?
And then Pabongka goes on to to to give examples, and he’s giving us an example the Gelong, the fully ordained monk was called Lekar. And Lekar, he he he he had in his mind, he memorized the the twelve main divisions of the scriptures, the whole of of the twelve divisions of scriptures. And then also Devadatta from the time of the Buddha himself, Devadatta, he memorized one whole heap of the scripture of the three pitakas. He memorized the equivalent to in amounts to one to one whole pitaka. And even though they had all this all this in their minds, it did not benefit them.
They still had to be born in hell realms. And then even though they knew the Dharma, they did not put into practice. If even though someone who knows the Dharma does not if one does not put into practice, if one disregards actions and the results, if one does not have does not arouse faith in actions and the results, if none of that comes about, then the the same will happen to people who who disregard it in this way. And then Pabongka concludes that in the teachings of the Buddha, there are many such stories that illustrate this point. Okay?
And then so then that being so, then here in this teaching, then we have these four general contemplations of actions and the results. And then again, we are given the first one of those, karma is certain. From a virtuous cause, then the result is only, how do you say, happiness, and there is there is no no suffering will arise from that. And, again, from a from a non virtuous cause, again, the result is is only suffering and no happiness will arise will arise from that. And this then is the way that actions or karma is certain.
And then we then explained then from small from performing very small virtues or negativities that act as causes, then the result, the happy or the suffering results, they’re both even though the causes are very small, how to say, the results are going to be extremely powerful and big. And then this is the way this is then the the that contemplation on how, how to say, karma increases or actions increases. Okay? And then not having performed actions, neither not having performed virtuous or non virtuous actions, not having then performed such actions that act as causes, then one will not experience the results of either happiness or suffering. And then this is the this is the the contemplation that says that if one action has not been performed, then one will not experience one will not meet with the result.
And then the last one of those contemplations, the fourth one of those contemplations, then having accumulated the causes, which are either virtue or negativity, then if the virtue is not destroyed by anger and so forth, and if those negativities are not destroyed by the force by applying the antidotes and so forth, then that those results, they will not be exhausted. They will not go away. And then this is again of again, saying that actions performed the results of actions performed must be experienced or will not be exhausted. And then so then there are we are given then four different ways, four different means by which the strength of virtuous acts or negativity comes about, by which the strength is determined by means of the what is called the field in relation to which the action was performed. So and English I was explaining.
So if one is performing a a virtuous act in relation to a virtuous field, then maybe the Three Jewels, then that virtuous action becomes very powerful. And if it is if one is performing a negativity in relation to Three Jewels, then, again, the negativity becomes extremely powerful. And then, again, in in the same way, one’s motivation one’s motivation also determines the power of the act. And again, the object of the action determines the power of the act also. And then the very basis, the very what what should be maybe the subject, the agent of the act, the quality of the agent of the act also determines the power of the object.
So then and then to regard to those last two d object of the act, if if one kills a hungry ghost and then if one kills a human being, then killing a human being is worse than killing a hungry ghost. It’s it’s and then on the other hand, with respect to the basis, to the agent itself, then if it is a hungry ghost killing, there’s a difference between being a hungry ghost who is performing the act of killing and who is when there’s a human being performing the act of killing. So they have a difference in strength in this in this four different ways. Okay? This one.
And then we are told by Pabongka Rinpoche that we have then to give rise to a very stable confidence or faith in these teachings. And then in order to accomplish that, we must study, we must reflect in in with with great in a lot of detail, we must in in in very finely, we must study and reflect and contemplate the teachings on actions and the results, And then and then we must practice put them into practice practice accordingly. And then I guess I was then say Pabongka goes on to say, and if we are to practice it, then the practice what is it that we must guard against? Then we must we must the practice is then abandoning the ten non virtuous deeds. And and and on that basis, we guard our practice, we guard our conduct.
Okay? And then what is what is said what is called the worldly worldly the correct worldly view, what is referred to as the correct worldly view is exactly these teachings. And this I wasn’t saying is is knowing that from virtuous deeds, there there follows happiness, and from non virtuous deeds, there follows suffering. And that’s what is called the correct worldly view. And then with respect to this correct worldly view yeah.
So we have we have something with the Tibetan language here. So then we we are told we are told by Pabongka Rinpoche that both ordained people, monks and nuns, and then also lay lay people, both women and men, they all of them have have to practice these teachings. And when when we are so that the word that was translated as as worldly could mean in Tibetan could mean not only could be referred not only to the view, but it can it can also be referring to people. It’s also an a way to refer to ordinary people, people who who do not have insight or who do not have realizations. They they are worldly people.
So then so then when when the the the the Pablo explains that when we when we talk when we say worldly, we’re not talking only about householders and laypeople. That’s not what it means. Of of noble beings, to the ārya paths, then that that being is an ordinary being. And an ordinary if if one is an ordinary being, then one is necessarily a a worldly being. It’s called it’s called worldly in this case.
And so then that being so, then if we are to practice Dharma, we have to practice the teachings on actions and the results. No. Did. Us. Okay.
Geshe Geshe previously explained, and when we’re talking about the the correct worldly view, that worldly there in incorrect also refers to the fact that it is the correct view of for referring to also to to ordinary beings like ourselves. And then we are told that it is said that the path begins with proper reliance on a virtuous teacher. The steps of the path, the lam rim teachings, begin with contemplations on leisure and fortune. And then meditation begins with one’s motivation. And finally, Dharma practice begins with observing actions and the results.
And then we are told by Pabongka Rinpoche that because of that, we must not allow our three doors of body, speech, and mind to be stained by by such shortcomings and faults. And if if we are then stained if we are then stained by by such faults, then we must we must confess them. Then Pabongka Rinpoche leading us to another subject. He then says that generally speaking, then these contemplations on the actions and the results then have a power, they have the ability to turn us away from desires from desire to the happiness of future lives. But still the main contemplations to accomplish that is then the contemplations on the sufferings of cyclic existence.
Okay. So then, Geshe-la, it is all very difficult now, isn’t it? I mean, the the the all the meditations and teachings and teachings and teachings and teachings and teachings on actions, the results, they are very difficult. And then all those meditations and teachings and teachings and teachings and teachings and teachings in in the sufferings about the suffering of cyclic existence, they are very difficult. There’s and, as I said, if one does not meditate a lot on the subjects, then one won’t be able to understand them and realize them.
Okay? And then we are told about Pabongka Rinpoche that with respect to renunciation, then generally, if one meditates on the sufferings of this hell this one hell realm, which is called Revival or Reviving Hell. Then if one contemplate having contemplated this this sufferings of this of this one particular hell realm, then and one and one then has this revulsion in one’s arising in one’s mind, then one it is said that one has has began has started on on on the way to renunciation on the way of renunciation. Okay? And even though that is so, so then that one is, how to say, starting on the ways of renunciation in this way, in order to attain, to develop a complete, fully characterized renunciation, then one must, how to say, oppose all desire for all the excellences or everything that is good in in cyclic existence and have this repulsion towards it.
And Geshe-la was then giving an illustration. One must feel towards all the things of cyclic existence as one would feel when after one has been offered, for example, some some yogurt, and then one got really sick after that and vomited and all that. And then next time one is offered that yogurt, one feels a strong repulsion towards that. One must feel just like that towards everything in cyclic existence. And then as for the contemplations on the sufferings of cyclic existence, there are the general contemplations and then there are the contemplations of each particular suffering there is, like this.
And then And then in the words of And then in the in the the words of Gentle Voice, in this text called the words of gentle voice, which was composed by, he composed he then expounded first the the individual the meditations and teachings and teachings and teachings and teachings and teachings on on every individual suffering, and then later, that, he he expounded the general sufferings. And then in another text, one finds first the general meditations and teachings and teachings and teachings and teachings and teachings, and then later after after the general meditations and teachings and teachings and teachings and teachings and teachings, one finds the individual contemplations expounded. And then each one of of these ways of expounding these these these topics has its own, how do say, has its own advantages. And then we are told we are told by Pabongka Rinpoche that he’s going to follow here in his teaching this the way the way these teachings on the sufferings were expounded in the Words of a Gentle Voice, which is then firstly expounded in the general sufferings and then the individual sufferings afterwards. And then but he starts first telling us that practicing, taking refuge, going for refuge, and then making effort in the practices of adopting and discarding actions according to the teachings on actions and the results is enough for one to be free of the lower rounds of existence, the miserable rebirth.
But still, one if how to say, If if still, if one is not free from cyclic existence, from the whole of cyclic existence, has not attained liberation from the whole of cyclic existence, and one is how to say? And then but if one if one not attained if one has not attained freedom if if the freedom from all of cyclic existence does not come about and one end up ends up being born again in the three lower realms, then there’s no benefit to it. If one has not, how to say, just attaining a body, a good body from the three lower rebirths from the three higher rebirths, from the higher realms, just attaining a base of body in the three higher realms of existence, then it is not enough to get one beyond suffering. One has not gone beyond suffering yet. Okay.
Is that making sense? And then explain then starting to Pabongka Rinpoche starts to explain the the sufferings of higher rebirth. And if if even if we are born as human beings, then we are told then we’re going to have to experience the suffering of birth, and we’re going to have to experience the the suffering of old age, the suffering of illness, the suffering of death, the suffering of being separated from from the ones we love, the suffering from meeting having to meet those that we those people that are our enemies. The suffering of even though working hard to acquire those things that we wish for, not obtaining them and and etcetera, etcetera. And then we are told if then we are born as as what is called demigods.
Okay? If we are born as as demigods, then we’re have to experience the suffering of of wars, waging wars, and then being being constantly tormented by jealousy, jealousy over the gods, which are, how to say, brighter, how to say, better than than they are, and and the suffering of having one’s body cut into pieces and then hurt and so forth whilst waging wars and so forth. And then and then if we are born as as a god if we are born as gods, then from from from from from the reverse as gods, if we are born as a god of of the desire realm, then we are told we’re going to have to experience the suffering of of death where in the god realm when the a god is dying, he he all all his his beauty and his health and everything around him deteriorates and and becomes very distasteful and and so forth. And, also, we are told they they they have this the great suffering of seeing where in in which lower rebirth they’re going to fall into and so forth. And we’re told the sufferings, they have to experience also great sufferings.
And then all those gods, probably after having died, they will have to be born in the lower realms of migration. We are told why because previously, all the the virtue that they have all the virtues karma that they have accumulated, all that good karma that they have accumulated, they exhausted all of that whilst they were experiencing the pleasures and the and and the happiness of of gods. Then and then we are told that whilst they they had that basis, that that body of a of a god, they did not accumulate any new virtues. And then they they had already very strong non virtues such as attachment and all other afflictive emotions, very strong ones. And by the force of those afflictive emotions, they will be impelled into lower migrations.
And then also, in the case of, I would say, of of gods of of the higher higher realms, of form and formless realms of existence, then even though in those realms, there is no manifest suffering, still those places, they are in the nature of the suffering of compounded or pervasive suffering. And that being so, they do not have any power over where they are and how long they stay there. And at point, that good karma that propelled them, that impelled them to those high rebirth will exhaust, will be exhausted. And then having then met or contacted one of those bad karmas, then they are again, they they they have to go into miserable migrations. And then so then we are told then, in this way, all whatever whatever excellence or whatever good things come of of cyclic existence come our our way, then we should never we should never trust them.
We should never put we should never put our trust in in any of those things. Even from from the highest state of existence, which is called the the peak the very peak of cyclic existence, And to the to the lowest hell realm where one is being burned alive, then there is no no difference whatsoever. I guess I wasn’t saying that there’s no difference because it’s everything absolutely in the nature of suffering. And then we are so then I did I did a mistake a bit beforehand. So we will just explain the individual contemplations of each realm of cyclic existence.
And then now we are going to be explaining the general contemplations on suffering. And then we are told that in traditional in the text of the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, we have explanations on the eight contemplations on suffering, the six contemplations on suffering, and then, again, the three contemplations on suffering. And even though those are taught in the the eight contemplations, they were already applied to the example of human humans, human rebirth. And the later three contemplations, they are they are like a summary. So then and then so then because of that, Pabongka Rinpoche is telling us that he is now going to teach then this six contemplation of the six types of suffering.
So then these six sufferings are the fault of lack of certainty. So then we are told the six sufferings are then the fault of lack of certainty, then the fault of lack of satisfaction, then the fault which is of having to discard bodies again and again, the fault of having to take bodies birth, to have to be born again and again, the fault of having to go from high to low and low to high, and the fault of having to go through, how to say, to have to experience suffering without companions, without any company. So then this is how it is taught in the text on the stages of the path. Okay? This one.
And then we we are we are given a quote from a And then We’re giving a quote from a a a holy king. I forgot his name in Sanskrit. But then he’s telling us that within cyclic existence, there is nothing there’s no greater fault than, how to say, is dissatisfaction. Okay? He was a real emperor, and he was he was an emperor over the four the whole four continents.
So what is that we have in the Mandala offerings. Okay? And the story goes the story goes that even though even after he became the emperor of all four continents of the whole world that we know of, and then he he still wasn’t satisfied, and he went on to conquer the the the the godlands. And he went on to to the highest of heavens in the desired realm, which is the heaven of which is called the heaven of thirty three. And then he he got himself a seat right beside the king of all the gods of the heaven of thirty three.
So he got he sit there. And even though even though he he he conquered, he got hold of that seat right beside the god, he did not have any he he did not possess any of the qualities of gods that gods have. So then he he eventually, he fell down from that throne and could never go back. He fell down to to an earth an earthly existence and and could never go back. And then and then like this, we we see we can understand how why he said that from from all the forms of cyclic existence, there is none bigger than greater than dissatisfaction?
So then, was then teaching many ordained people at the time, monks and nuns, he was then referring to those ordained people, to those renunciates. He was saying that we renunciates, ordained people, we should we should stick to only two two activities or two sets of activities, which is studying or reading the scriptures, listen he listen to the teachings and reflecting on the teachings, and then the other set, which is then concentrating on abandoning. We should we should stick to only these two activities. And then and then we are we are explaining what is meant by abandoning. And when when one makes reference to abandonment, when when he’s making reference to guarding one’s moral conduct.
So then it’s a it’s a moral practice. And then we are told by Pabongka Rinpoche that if one then stick to these two to these two set of activities, again studying, listening, and contemplating, and then keeping one’s moral conduct, then if one does that, then one will become a learned one, a scholar, and one will attain many accomplishments. And then if one does not stick to these two sets of activities, then many thoughts will come and many many many activities will come and one one will then how do say? And once and and there will there will be no opportunity then for good Dharma practice to come about. So then if one does not rely on how do say that?
On on on having few wishes and being easily contented, then then how do you say? Then one will will will incur faults. Okay? Yeah. So now we’re going to the three sufferings.
Do you want to keep on going just a little bit further? Maybe twenty minutes, twenty minutes? So then we stop here. And tomorrow, I bet we tomorrow, we can finish with the the whole renunciation topic. Yes.
Just a little bit. After that, really, just a little bit. So I don’t know if you have any questions. Geshe-la mentioned that people who don’t know the Dharma end up in the lower realms of existence. So what about people who are practicing Christians and who believe they end up in heaven like Mother Teresa or, I don’t know, the Pope?
I mean, they’re good people and they’re doing good actions, but because they don’t know the Dharma, they’ll still end up in the lower realms? Well, I mean, they don’t end up in heaven. My detour is That’s a chill. Where was that? So then is saying that someone like the pope and also someone like Mother Teresa, especially, then even though he does not call himself a Buddhist, even the even the the the the the Christian teachings, they they do accept karma.
They do accept actions and the results, and they act accordingly. They do have a moral code of conduct. And then a furthermore that says, we do not know if he is, by any chance, a Buddha or if he’s a Bodhisattva or he’s not if he’s free or not. We do not know. We cannot tell.
So then, yeah, because he’s someone he he is someone who who who does benefit a huge amount of people. So, yeah, we we do not know. We cannot tell. So even though he calls himself a Christian, he does not call himself a Buddhist. That’s still okay.
I guess. I mean So then it’s it’s not about calling oneself Buddhist or calling oneself Christian. It has nothing to do with the name you give yourself. It has to do with practicing according according to actions and the results. And the the the Christians do have a code of conduct.
The the Christians do accept karma and so forth. And it’s not about what what name you have or what you call yourself. There are many people who call themselves Buddhists who end up in the lower realms. There are many people who do not call themselves Buddhists who end up in the higher rebirths. So you cannot tell.
So we we we do Geshe-la says he doesn’t know about the pope. He doesn’t know who he is or what he is. Anything else? Even someone like Mao Tse Tung, Mao Tse Tse Tse Tse Tse is a He’s a really bad he’s a real he’s a real devil. He has killed many people and so forth.
But, ultimately, we do not know the meaning of his actions. If he is a Buddha, and and he might be a Buddha and and and the the activities, the actions of a Buddha, they are truly unlimited, and they are so vast, and they are so beyond way beyond our comprehension. So we ultimately, we cannot actually tell who what he is, what he has done, even though we we all everybody says he’s a bad person. Can understand and know these things. I read where his Holiness Dalai Lama records when meeting Mao that the last thing Mao said to him was a warning, beware of religion.
Yeah. Religion. And his told us said, I knew that well, I thought then that this is not a good man. So then it’s like this, Gyalwa Rinpoche, the Dalai Lama, as a premise, we know we understand that he is enlightened, and so what he said what he said is was because it he said that for the Tibetan people, and in that case, because because he understood himself that that was a proper thing to say. And then just just like the Buddha Śākyamūni, which I was then giving an an an example, the Buddha Śākyamūni, he himself has told certain some of his disciples that phenomena are truly established.
He he said that. But then it’s it’s not to say that phenomena are actually truly established. He said that because he saw with his enlightened mind that that will be beneficial for that disciple. So then I’ll give you another story, tell you another story where there were two two of disciples of the Buddha, two princes, I think, if I’m not sure. And then one of these princes, he killed his mother, and the other prince killed killed his father.
And then after that, they they they felt very, very guilty, and they were, like, intending to kill themselves. So then in order to benefit them, the Buddha came to them with his clairvoyance. He saw that what they were intending to do, and he came to them and he told, no. Don’t don’t don’t feel like this. You know?
It is you you must kill your mother and your father. He told them like this. And then when he told them that, their minds, their spirits lifted, and then and so. And then they they they turned their faith towards the Buddha and then towards the kindness of the Buddha, you know, and they they became very devout to the Buddha. And then there on the Buddha explained then what is meant by father and mother that is that we have to kill is then that the karma and afflictive emotions.
That’s what is meant by by the father and mother. The karma and afflictive emotions that you have to kill and destroy, and in this way, they practice accordingly. Okay? So then we cannot know these things. We are all obscured by ignorance.
So we cannot know these things. Does that same thing sort of apply to the story of Devadatta? Devadatta. Devadatta. That one cannot there’s no telling whether Devadhatta was really was the bad guy that he played.
But he went to hell. He ended up in hell. Yeah. Yeah. He went there.
Because there’s one, I think, one sūtra I read where the Buddha I think the Buddha, yeah, the Buddha explains that Devadatta actually in a distant past life was the one that the previous incarnation of the Buddha went to for the Mahāyāna teachings. What was that? So then even though the the Devadatta in the stories that we read, we we read that Devadatta was always against the Buddha and telling that the the Buddha was the teachings of the Buddha were not actually true and so forth. Even though he was he was doing these things, we cannot tell who he was. We cannot tell if he was a bodhisattva.
There there there are there are many beings who who are who are emanations of the Buddha himself, so we cannot tell. Okay. Yeah. He thinks that you probably are all tired. They’re all preparing ourselves to leave already.
Oh, yeah. That is you. Listen.