Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Why is regret so hard to generate — and what happens to purification without it? Geshe Pema Tsering makes this the spine of a two-hour line-by-line commentary on the Bodhisattva’s Confession of Moral Downfalls. He unpacks Śākyamūni’s epithets, explains why Śākyamūni alone embodies all thirty-five Buddhas, and walks through the confession of the five heinous deeds and ten non-virtuous actions. The session then focuses tightly on regret: Geshe-la compares its required intensity to discovering you have swallowed poison and diagnoses why practitioners fail — afflicted thoughts go unrecognised as negativities whose results remain invisible. A pointed inversion drives the lesson home: when fish are killed, compassion belongs to the killer accumulating new karma, not the fish exhausting old. The Q&A covers regret as a changeable mental factor and conviction in karma.
File metadata (for organising)
File: GPT – 35 Buddhas.mp3
UUID: b6fec319-890b-46d9-9f3f-255e4657453f
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: z Unallocated multiple years (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 122.4 minutes
Words: ~8,879
Okay. So Geshe-la was just going so for the title of the text, so the actual full full title of the text is the Bodhisattva’s confession of moral downfalls. So again, this is this is the title of the text, which is the the word that is translated as downfalls. Again, it’s making making reference to moral downfalls. And for moral downfalls for this, are moral downfalls that pertain to breaking the vows of individual liberation or contradicting the vows of individual liberation or or contradicting the vows of bodhisattvas or contradicting the the or even engaging in actions which are naturally evil.
They are evil by by their own nature. So so all these amount to this moral downfall, called moral downfalls. And then here, the the the main emphasis of in this context here is the the confession of the of those bodhisattva vows, of the downfall pertaining to bodhisattva vows. But that is not to say that the other all the negativities and other downfalls are not purified also. One does purify them too.
It’s just there is a slight emphasis on the bodhisattva vows. And then in English I started to go through the text. If you have the text then you will be able to follow his commentary line by line. So Geshe-la is just reading the first one of the of the lines of the text, which says, which is I, and then we have in parenthesis, say your name. I was named such and such throughout all times.
Take refuge in the guru. Guru. It’s it’s the practice? It’s the practice itself. Yes.
That’s actually the instruction of Geshe-la. You have you have it? You all have it? So if you if yeah. Just so you know where where we are.
And so Geshe-la was explaining. So, again, this first few lines of the text, which start on the actual practice starts here. So I, the name such and such, throughout all times, refuge in the guru. I take refuge in the Buddha take refuge, and I take refuge in the Dharma, I take refuge in the Sangha. So we go for refuge.
That’s the the beginning, the foundation of the practice. So in the beginning of the of the practice, we give rise to refuge and bodhicitta. And Geshe-la was saying, but bodhicitta giving rise to bodhicitta is not explicit here in the practice itself, but it is implicit. So it is even though one is taking refuge, but one is taking refuge in order to purify in order to engage in a practice, which is a purification of moral downfalls that pertain to bodhisattva vows, bodhisattva vows, vows, and so forth. And so one is taking refuge again in order to restore, purify, restore, and reaffirm one’s bodhicitta, one’s mind of enlightenment.
La explains. So again, in the very embodiment of all the Three Jewels is the Buddha Śākyamūni himself. So one and he’s also the embodiment of all the Buddhas and all the bodhisattvas and all the other beings. So Geshe-la was saying, if one can visualize every single one of the thirty five Buddhas in order to do the practice, that’s great. But that is not absolutely necessary.
If one visualizes only the Buddha Śākyamūni himself, that that will that that is more than enough because Buddha Śākyamūni is the embodiment of all the thirty five Buddhas, of all the bodies, and all the bodhisattvas of the three times. So just visualizing the Buddha Śākyamūni alone is enough to to to derive full benefit of this practice. Actually, we should stop here and and and give a more extensive explanation of refuge. But today, we won’t have time to do that because he was asked to teach about the confession itself. So we won’t have time to go in detail into refuge.
And then is just reading again line by line. So the first of those lines or the first Buddha, the Buddha Śākyamūni. So to the founder, the Bhagavan, the Tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly completed Buddha, glorious conqueror, Shakya Muni Buddha, I prostrate. So which is again, which is just a prostration, homage and prostration to the Buddha Śākyamūni himself. So Geshe-la was just going through some of the words, which is here in our translation.
It was translated as the founder, but also the teacher, the revealer, the one who taught us the Dharma. The the Buddha is the one who teach the Dharma, who revealed the Dharma, who founded the buddhadharma. Chom Dende which is the Bhagavan, the great one, and then we have Deshin Shekpa, Tathāgata, which is again the one who make reference to the fact that he is the one who not only has realized suchness, but his teaching suchness. So the the the one who reveals suchness, embodies and reveals suchness. Again, I guess I was just noting of of all the teachers that have ever been, there is no one but the Buddha who has revealed suchness, who has taught suchness, and then that that this word Tathāgata comes from, in English, usually translated as as with this root of suchness, emptiness, and so on.
The the word in Tibetan that is translated as Bhagavan, was not saying, is making reference to the first part of the word making reference to one who has destroyed the enemies, has read himself or herself of every fault. And then, which is the the second part, one who is endowed, endowed with all good qualities. So again, the Bhagavan is such a one who has destroyed all the enemies and is endowed with all good qualities. He has to read the Bhagavan has read himself of all faults, all shortcomings, and endowed himself of with every good quality. And again, Dra Chompa, the word Dra Chompa which is translated as arhat, is the Sanskrit arhat.
Drachompa means literally means in Tibetan, literally means foe destroyers. The destroyer of the enemy. So, again, he has destroyed the enemy of the afflictions. Has destroyed the enemy of the obscurations. Next word, the perfectly completed.
Is correct or perfect, unmistaken, which is the was translated here as perfectly completed or or perfect. So, again, the perfectly completed Buddha. So, again, indicating enlightened, that he’s completely enlightened, that he is, again, Geshe-la repeats, has rid himself every obscuration of every thought and endowed himself with every good quality. Then, again his his which means glorious and and which means the victorious one, the conqueror, so the glorious victorious So again Sakya Muni in Tibetan is translated as Sakya Tupa. Sakya is the name of his clan, the clan in which the historical Buddha was born in.
And Tupa is a honorific word. Again, the Muni, the able one. Again, the one who is able to not only rid himself of all get destroy all obscurations and negativities, but able to teach and so forth. So the able one, which is in Tibetan, So then again, prostrate, the the last word that I prostrate to that one. And then the next one, again, the Tathagatas, thoroughly destroying with vajra essence.
I prostrate. And Geshe-la is just explaining how how one because the very end of the sentence, I prostrate to, you know, the the Tathāgata and so forth. And and so is is the whole word is is to prostrate. But, Geshe-la was explaining the way that you think about it, you think that the first syllable of the word chag, it is which is the the hand itself, it’s a metaphor for hand, which is indicating the prostrate itself, is is when you prostrate, when you’re doing the chag, when you’re in that part of the prayer or of of the enunciation, then you you think that you are purifying and eradicating all the negativities and obscurations of of of body, speech, and mind. And when you think of and when you think of the again, which is just the second syllable of the word, you think that you are being endowed with all good qualities.
So and then you you eliminating all the negativities and you are being endowed. You’re gaining all good qualities, and this is how you you think about it. And Geshe-la was just explaining again this this second Tathagatas, Geshe-la explained his first the first part of his name is vajra essence in the Tibetan. It’s the first part that comes. vajra essence.
So Geshe-la was explaining that vajra essence makes reference to his enlightened realization, his enlightened mind, his omniscient mind. Geshe-la was giving us the definition of the omniscient mind of an enlightened being, is again that wisdom, that how to say, superior wisdom that how to say, realizes, direct realizes the nature of all phenomena simultaneously. Geshe-la wasn’t saying and when we think of the dorje nyingpo, the vajra essence, again, another way to pause it, to explain it is is making reference to, gzhi lam ‘bras bu, the the the ground, the path, and the fruition. The ground, path,. Ground path and result.
Ground path and fruition. So the fruition is this enlightened, the omniscient mind. The the path is the uninterrupted path, which is the antidote to the obscurations. Obscurations. It’s it’s a realization.
And then the the basis, the ground here is emptiness itself. So again, this uninterrupted path is a is a mind that directly realizes emptiness. It is a is a is a direct realization of emptiness, again, which is a a true a path. So it is it is this uninterrupted path which is which is a direct realization of emptiness. It’s also referred as a true path.
So this this this mind that direct realizes emptiness is a mind that is faultless, is perfect, and this is a perfect, faultless mind, and then which is likened to a dorje, a vajra, again, this substance, this indestructible substance. And then the ground, the basis here is the nature of the mind itself, the emptiness of the mind itself that we all have. So again, we all have this, all of our minds are empty or or we all have this emptiness of the mind. So this is the the base, the ground, and and so we have this doge and impose making reference then to this, the ground, the and the fruition. And then of the three, the ground, the path of the fruition, when we when we see the the title, the the name of this Buddha, of the three, the main reference is being made to the fruition, the result, which is the omniscient mind itself because we are talking about a fully enlightened Buddha already.
So we’re talking about the qualities of such a fully enlightened Buddha, and then the emphasis will be on the on his enlightened mind. And Geshe-la was saying again, the second part of his name, so vajra essence comes first in the Tibetan and thoroughly that that thoroughly destroys. So, again, thoroughly thorough destruction here is making reference to the thorough destruction of all negativities of everything that is evil. Again, the purification and and the eradication of every affliction and so on. So again, it is through this process of cultivating the true path that we attain the cessation that then we destroy.
We attain the destruction of the obscurations, negativity, and so forth. So and again, making reference to this three, the ground, the path, and the fruition. So again, this in this process, we see the process of the destruction and engaging the true paths and then destroying all the obscurations and attaining the fruition. So again, in the next Buddha, the third Buddha, again, to the Tathāgata radiant radiant jewel. The Tathagatas is Geshe-la has explained already, making reference to to suchness and the realization and the teaching of suchness.
In radiant jewel, Geshe-la was explaining such a radiant jewel is is making reference to, like, something like a wish granting jewel. So whatever it is that you wish for, whatever it that you need, if you want the jewel, the jewel will provide you. So in the same way, a Buddha or such a Buddha as this one is a a radiant a radiant jewel by the force of the great compassion that of of the of the Buddha, of this Buddha, or of the Buddhas. Again, all all virtues are granted to us, and all realizations are granted to us. All realization of the grounds and the paths are granted to us.
So, again, as such, they are like radiant jewels. So by the force of that great compassion, that great compassion radiates all these benefits, all these virtues and realizations to all sentient beings. So Geshe was just was just saying, look, these titles or these holy names that the Buddhas have here, they might be making reference to one of the infinite qualities that each one of these Buddhas have. So all of these Buddhas, all of them have the same qualities. They are all fully enlightened Buddhas, so there’s no quality, no good qualities they do not have.
But the names are just making reference to different aspects or different qualities. So there is no place or no space here, no time here today to go through every single one of them in detail and talk about every single one of them. So, Geshe-la, I was just briefly reading all of them. So, again, to the Tathāgata Ratnagarbha, I prostrate, to the Tathāgata King of the Nagas, I prostrate, to the Tathāgata Army of Heroes, I prostrate, to the Tathāgata Delighted Hero, I prostrate, to the Tathāgata Jewel Fire, I prostrate, to the Tathāgata Jewel Moonlight, I prostrate, to the Tathāgata Meaningful to Behold, I prostrate. To the Tathāgata Jewel Moon, I prostrate.
To the Tathāgata the Stainless One, I prostrate. To the Tathāgata the Pure One, I prostrate. To the Tathāgata Bestowed with Purity, I prostrate.
To the Tathāgata Water God, I prostrate. To the Tathāgata Deity of the Water God, I prostrate. To the Tathāgata Glorious Goodness, I prostrate.
Glorious Sandalwood, I prostrate. Infinite Splendor, I prostrate. Glorious Light, I prostrate. Sorrowless Glory, I prostrate. Son of Non-Craving, I prostrate.
Glorious Flower, I prostrate. To the Tathāgata Pure Light Rays Clearly Knowing by Play, I prostrate. To the Tathāgata Lotus Light Rays Clearly Knowing by Play, I prostrate. To the Tathāgata Glorious Wealth, I prostrate. To the Tathāgata Glorious Mindfulness, I prostrate. To the Tathāgata Glorious Name, Widely Renowned, I prostrate. To the Tathāgata King, the Victory Banner, of Foremost Power, I prostrate.
To the Tathāgata Glorious One Totally Subduing, I prostrate. To the Tathāgata Utterly Victorious in Battle, I prostrate. To the Tathāgata Glorious Transcendence Through Subduing, I prostrate. To the Tathāgata Glorious Manifestations, I prostrate. All those thirty five Buddhas and others as many Tathagatas, Arahants, Perfectly, Buddhas as there are existing, sustaining, residing in all the world systems of the ten directions. You Buddha Bhagavans, please pay attention to me.
English language in this is instructing us how we should contemplate this practice. So, again, whilst meditate whilst prostrating for each one of these Buddhas, one doesn’t that one one one visualizes, again, hundreds of thousands of millions of emanations of oneself prostrating not only to thirty five Buddhas, but to countless Buddhas. And so for each prostration one is doing, one is not doing it alone, one is doing with millions, countless emanations of oneself to countless Buddhas. And and and every to every prostration, again, generates a conviction that one has destroyed or cleansed or purified countless obscurations and countless negativities, and that one has accomplished or has been endowed with countless good qualities, countless virtues, and so on. And so this is how this is how one should prostrate to these Buddhists.
And then one does this this engages in this prayer here where one is actually asking all these Buddhas to then pay attention to pay attention to oneself. Look look at me or, you know, hear me and so on. Again, Geshe says, so one one visualizes as much as one can. You know? However many Emanations one can visualize.
You know, one does the best that one can do. If one cannot visualize all these very many hundreds of thousands or millions of oneself or Buddhas and so forth, it doesn’t matter. And one if one day just visualizes thirty five Buddhas, that’s fine. And, again, generates all those convictions of purifying all negativities and accomplishing all good qualities and so forth. Again, if if if one is not able to do that, no problem.
One visualizes only the Buddha Śākyamūni himself. When we visualize the Buddha Śākyamūni, one gives rise to the conviction in one’s heart, very deep in one’s heart, that the Buddha Śākyamūni is the embodiment of all the other Buddhas, of all the Bodhisattvas that have ever been of the three times in the ten directions. And he is the source. He is the origin. He is he is the embodiment of all good qualities and everything.
So just visualizing in this way and then practicing with this visualization alone will suffice. It’s it’s it is plenty good to do that way. So again, having requested all these Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, all these enlightened beings and Dharma-protecting beings to heed oneself, and again, what is it that one is going to declare to them? One again one is going to declare that again, Geshe-la is going for prayer again. In this life, in all the lives that one have had before this one, whilst going around the cycle of existence since time immemorial, since beginningless time.
So all the negative that one have created or made others create or rejoice in the creation of, then again, one one confesses, one declares all of these negative actions to all these Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Again, all the negativities that one has created oneself, that one has caused others to create, and and one and and and the the negativities that others have performed, but one has rejoiced on. One has taken delight or or or and and and joy in the negative that others have performed. So all of these, one confesses, one declares, make known, and and Geshe was saying, and then one oh, one is one is supplicating or asking the Buddhas to then provide refuge, protect oneself from the results of such negative actions. To stop those negative actions from giving fruit, from giving results.
Alright? So that’s that’s the the attitude. And Geshe-la was saying, usually, the way the way we we see ourselves, the way we look at ourselves, we think I have not I do not I do not engage in any negativity. I do not do anything wrong within to ourselves. You know?
I I have no negativities to confess. But the the fact of the matter is that all of our thoughts are powered. They are they are thoughts. They are powered and overwhelmed by attachment and aversion, attachment and hatred, and the other afflictions. So so in every single such thought is a negativity.
So in in as a matter of fact, we have countless negative. We’re producing countless negativities in this life. We have done so in past lives, in previous lives. And but we do not understand understand such. We do not think that it is that is the case.
We do not think that those thoughts, as they are, are negativities. So we we don’t really understand that. So we don’t really recognize them as such. It’s important that we develop this understanding. It’s important that we acknowledge such attachment, aversion, and all the thoughts that come arise out of the afflictions as being negativities and and.
Oh, yeah. So whatever possessions stupas, possessions of the Sangha or possessions of the Sangha of the ten directions that I have appropriated, made orders appropriate or rejoiced in appropriation of. So again, possessions of stupas, whatever offerings that have been made to stupas that are in the altars or on the stupas and so forth. So whatever such offerings, whatever offerings that have been made to the sangha, whatever objects that belong to the sangha, and whatever such offerings and objects that belong to the stupas and sanghas of the ten directions, know, there are there are countless, there are many. So again, all of all of these negative actions, again, all these appropriations, one confesses.
The one the the ones that one has done, the one that one has caused others to do, and the one that has rejoice on. So all of these one confesses again. So and and Geshe-la was then saying, again, whichever among the five actions of immediate retribution I have done, cause to be done or rejoice in doing of. So, again, when we’re talking about generally, when we talk about negativities, we talk about the ten non virtuous actions, and we also talk about these five actions of immediate retribution. They are also translated as a five heinous deeds, five very bad actions.
So we do not need to go into the ten number of actions with you today because you are all familiar with that. These five heinous deeds, they are killing an arhat, killing one’s parents of a father or mother, drawing the blood of a Buddha. Killing arhat, killing one’s parents, drawing the blood of a Buddha, causing a schism in the Sangha. Schism. Schism.
Schism in the Sangha. Yes. And Oh. Oh. So so so sorry.
So it’s killing one’s father, killing one’s mother, drawing the blood of a Buddha, and causing schism schism schism in the Sangha. Those are the five heinous deeds. They are extremely bad And then this translation we have here is saying immediate retribution. Meaning, if one has performed such an action, then again, one one does not even go to the intermediate intermediate state. One does not is not even born anywhere else.
One is born straight in the hell realms. That’s what immediate retribution is referring to. These these are so bad that when one dies, one is immediately born in hell realms. There is no intermediate state. There is no break.
Straight to hell. And Geshe-la was saying and and and so, again, whatever such actions that I have done caused others to do, I have rejoice upon. And so there are many actions to to confess. And Geshe-la is saying, one thinks, oh, I haven’t performed any of these actions. That’s the way we think.
I haven’t done any of these actions. But the fact is that we have, in previous lives, we have we have done these actions countless times. You wanted to say something? If one has performed one of the five heinous deeds, it could be So if one if one so if I have performed this action in this life, have say, you know, for the sake of illustration or hypothetically speaking, if I have killed my father in in this life, and if I do a purification well done, so if I do it really well done, then yes. Yes.
So, again, what is it? Whatever whatever whichever path of the ten non virtues actually have engaged, caused others to engage or rejoice in engaging in. And again again, Geshe-la was in saying we we think that we have not engaged in any of such actions, but even if we have engaged in this life, we have done it countless times in previous lives. So whatever I have created being obscured by Geshe-la was saying, so whatever in whatever these actions I have created, so, again, one acknowledges them, one confesses them, make them known. And one, again, one is is is asking the Buddhas to provide protection to provide protection from the the from this the ripening results the ripening results of these actions.
So asking the Buddhas to stop these actions from giving results from ripening. Alright? Is that okay? So, again, so all these each one of these ten non virtuous actions, the three of body, four of speech, and three of mind. So again, that one has done and has caused others to do or rejoice upon.
Again, please stop such negativities from producing results. Stop such negativities from ripening. So again, Geshe-la is going through the the text again. So whatever I have created being obscured by these actions causes me and sentient beings to be born in the hell realms, in the animal realm, in the preta realm, and in the preta realm, in irreligious countries as barbarians or as long life gods with imperfect faculties holding wrong views or not being pleased with Buddhist descent. So, again, it causes all sorts of very great sufferings.
So, again, Geshe-la is going through the rest of the prayer. So in the presence of the Buddha Bhagavans, who are transcendental wisdom, who are eyes, who are witnesses, who are valid, and who see with omniscient consciousness. I am admitting and confessing all these negatives. I will not conceal them nor hide them. And from now on in the future, I will abstain and refrain from committing them again.
And Geshe-la was just explaining again. So one is putting forth all these negativities, and even the ones that one is not aware of, one one one acknowledges that the Buddhas, by the power of their omniscience, they are aware of. Even if I’m not aware of, you are aware of all the negatives that I have performed. So all these negatives that I have performed, even the ones that I I do not know of, but they know. So even those, I’m confessing to you.
I am I am I’m setting forth. I’m putting forth here, and I’m asking you to protect me from the results of those actions too. And again, one will not one will not conceal these negativities. One will not hide them. One will put them all on the table.
And one would then and the one generates the determination to refrain from committing them again. Then text goes on again to all Buddhas and Bhagavadas, again please pay attention to me. So in this life and all other states of rebirth in which I have circled in saṃsāra throughout beginningless time, so again in all previous lifetimes, again whatever roots of virtue, whatever good deeds I have created by generosity, even as little as giving just one mouthful of food to a being born in the animal realm, whatever roots of virtue I have created by guarding morality and so on. So again whatever good deed I have performed, whatever tiny little good deed I have performed, all all of this one again one puts forth, one acknowledges, brings to mind, recollects, puts them on the table. So again, so we we can we we recollect, we remember at least some of the virtues that we have performed in this life.
It’s hard. We don’t want to think about the negativities that we have performed, but we can recollect at least some of the virtues that we have performed. Nonetheless, Geshe-la was saying, there’s a danger here because we should still recollect the negativity. We should make an effort to recollect them, not to take joy in them, but we should recollect, we should remember that we have the negatives that we have performed to be able to put them on the table, be able to purify them properly. So so Geshe-la will explain.
So again, when we recollect the negativities, when we remember the negativities that we have performed, again, we don’t stop there. Just a mere recollection of negativity is not enough. We have to generate this this healthy, informed sense of regret. This is of all the four opponent powers, regret is important one. So we have to generate regret.
And such a regret, the analogy that is given is is like regret as intense as the regret that we feel when we figured when we have eaten poison. If you have eaten poison, if you have consumed poison, when you figure out that you have consumed poison, you have this instantaneous regret and the desire then to obtain the medicine for the poison is is is very powerful feeling. If and that’s the intensity of the regret that we have to generate. Having generated such a regret, then we will be able to develop the determination to restrain. If the regret is not there, we will not we will not develop the determination to restrain ourselves from committing those negative actions again.
So it is important that we develop the regret. And the better the the quality of the regret that we develop, the better the quality of the restraint that we develop. Alright? Regret, then there is no confession. There is no purification.
So the the the whole practice has no power. So it’s important. Regret is is of utmost importance. So the reason why we’re not able to develop regret usually is not not only that we do not recognize the negativities for what they are. And even even when we know something is a negativity, because we do not experience the result result immediately, because we cannot see the results of negative of many of the negativities that we engage in, then we we don’t we don’t because the results are not visible, because the results are coming later in future lives and so on, then we we are unable to to think of them as negative.
We’re unable to acknowledge them as such, and we’re unable to develop regret with regards to them. So not only that not only because we don’t recognize them as negativities, but also because we cannot see results of many of the negatives that we engage in. This one. Is that alright? Is that making sense?
Yeah. Can I ask that question or shall I write to you? Oh, no. You can ask. Yes.
Okay. So Geshe-la was saying that one one of the main reasons why we cannot generate regret is that we do not actually know that negativities are negativities. Negativities. We don’t recognize them as being negativities. We don’t recognize them as bringing forth bad results or suffering results and so forth.
So again, we are unable to develop regret. We are unable to develop restraint. So Geshe-la was saying again, if if we if we understood, if we comprehended that those negative actions are negative actions because they’re going to bring us suffering, then we would naturally want to refrain from them. The same way that if we understood that a fruit, a tasty fruit, contain poison. If we knew that a fruit contain poison, we would have no desire to eat that fruit at all.
There there would be a total absolute restraint from eating the fruit. No. But because but we we do not understand that with regards to negativities. We we only see this immediate gratification, this short lived pleasures, and we we keep on sort of biting the fruit, ignoring the fact that it it is poisonous. Alright?
So again, Geshe-la, pointing out the the fundamental importance of regret regret in the practice of confession. If one has developed this informed wholehearted regret, then every every one of the other opponent powers will come naturally. Then refuge and bodhicitta will come naturally. Then the the restraint the determination to restrain oneself from committing those actions again will come. Then, again, the the practice of a virtuous deed, reciting prayers, prostrations, or whatever the virtuous deed may be, will come.
So so we’ve we’ve proper regret, and all the other four opponent powers will follow suit. Without regret, you don’t get any of the other four opponent power. You don’t get a you don’t get the purification. So, again, so whatever whatever roots of virtue have created by generosity, whatever roots of virtue have created by guarding morality, so again, whatever ethical discipline one has undertaken, so again, ethical discipline of the the tantric commitments, the ethical discipline of of the bodhisattva vows, ethical discipline of the vows of individual liberation. So whatever ethical discipline one has maintained, properly maintained.
So again, one again puts that on the table, rejoices in that too. So again, whatever roots of virtue I have created by following pure conduct. So again, whatever conduct action virtue, that accords with virtuous deeds, virtuous actions. And whatever virtue I have created by ripening beings, whatever virtue I have created by generating bodhicitta. So again, whatever virtue I have created by benefiting beings, by inciting beings to engage in virtue and so forth.
So again, whatever a virtue have created by generating bodhicitta, so, again, whatever virtue have created by generating the thought that, you know, may I establish all sentient beings in the sense of enlightenment in order to accomplish that, may I attain enlightenment myself? So whatever such occasions, all such occasions, again, they are put forth. So and and and whatever roots of virtue I have created by by my unsurpassed transcendental wisdom, and Geshe-la was going to say again, this is we do not have that unsurpassed transcendental wisdom. Nonetheless, whatever understanding one has of the realization of emptiness, whatever efforts one one makes in realizing and developing one’s understanding and realization of emptiness, the studies and and and efforts, whatever such actions related to developing the realization of emptiness, again, those are virtuous actions. So all these actions, all these assembled and gathered, combined together are fully dedicated to the unsurpassed, the unexcelled, that higher than the highest, higher than the high that’s superior to the superior.
Thus, I completely dedicate to the highest, perfectly complete enlightenment. So, again, one takes all these virtues and one is rejoicing in them, one dedicates all of them as causes of perfect complete enlightenment. Oh, yeah. This one. So again, just as the previous Buddha Bhagavans have fully dedicated, just as the future Buddha Bhagavans will fully dedicate, and just as the presently abiding Buddha Bhagavans are fully dedicating, like that too, I too dedicate fully.
So, again, Geshe-la is just putting it in colloquial language. So all the Buddhas of the past, all the Buddhas of the present, all the Buddhas of the future. So in the same way that they have dedicated all the roots of virtue that they have accomplished, so, again, in the same way, I also dedicate all roots of virtue. Individually confesses all such downfalls Oh, yeah.
That pertain to the vows of individual liberation, pertain to the vows of bodhisattvas, or that pertain to the tantric commitments. And, again, Geshe-la was just saying, so if one has broken the vows of individual liberation, again, one restores them by retaking those vows. If one has broken the the the vows of bodhisattvas, one, again, one restores them by going through the the bodhisattva vow restoration, the taking of the bodhisattva vows, the short prayer again. Thank you very much. Thank you.
If one has taken has broken the the tantric commitments and again, one restores them and purifies them by reciting the hundred syllable mantra. So again, in all these different downfalls, however one is restoring and purifying, again the presence of the four powers is crucial, again because without the four opponent powers, there is no purification. And and again, I rejoice in all the merits. So again, not only one’s own merits, but the merits of all of all beings, of all the Buddhas and all the bodhisattvas. And, again, Geshe-la was saying even though one one might think that one has not performed many merits, but, again, if one puts them together with the merits of all beings and all bodhisattvas and Buddhas and so forth, then that’s a lot of merit.
And, again, one rejoices in all of that. And then again, this Geshe-la was saying, one shouldn’t the reason this this sentence is there, one shouldn’t give in to thoughts of discouragement. One shouldn’t look down on one’s self. We shouldn’t think, oh, I have performed so very little virtues. I haven’t performed many virtues.
One shouldn’t think like that. When it’s, you know, it’s a pity or I’m a failure. I haven’t performed many virtues and so forth. I’m not good enough. When shouldn’t everything like that.
When should think when should go on, okay, contemplate whatever virtues one has performed and and go on to contemplate the the the infinite virtues that these countless Buddhas are performing right now. They have performed, they will perform. The countless bodhisattvas, countless arhats, countless beings, they are performing. They have performed countless virtues. Are so many virtues.
There’s so much good going around. And we bear that. We bring that to our minds, and we just take joy in it. And we think of our virtues, even even if there are few, and we think of all these countless virtues, and we think this is great. This is awesome.
This is so good. Tibetan, it doesn’t sound like this, but but just explaining how if we rejoice in this way, we generate a huge amount of of virtues, of of merit in this way, of this positive energy. And Geshe-la was then saying, each one of those Buddhas and and bodhisattvas, each one of them have generated the mind of enlightenment. They have generated the mind of enlightenment for the sake of every single sentient being, for myself and for everybody else. So they have generated this bodhicitta for all beings.
They they they are accomplishing enlightenment for all beings, accomplishing perfect accomplishment of all beings, myself and everybody else around me. Every single sentient being without exception. So if I rejoice in such actions, this is this is, you know, is immeasurable is is sort of an infinite merit, so to speak, that they they are creating is and with infinite power and and inexhaustible brings inexhaustible happy results. And, again, so by by rejoicing in such actions, we sort of, in a sense, we unite our intentions with their intentions, and we derive just as much infinite benefit from properly rejoicing in such actions. This one.
I forgot to say also, and we dedicate we take all these virtues and we dedicate them also as causes of enlightenment. And then Geshe-la then went on, so I urge and implore all Buddhas to grant my request. Means, again, may I may I attain enlightenment? Basically, it means may I attain enlightenment. Humans, those who are living in the present time, those who have lived in the past, and those who will likewise come.
To all those who have qualities as vast as an infinite ocean with hands folded, I approach for refuge. So, again, Geshe-la, all of them, with all those infinite qualities, to all of them, I go for refuge. So then this is then this is then the sūtra on the Bodhisattva’s confession of moral downfalls. Do we have any questions? My question, Geshe, is what are the mental factors of regret? So regret is a mental factor.
So regret is a mind that if if you do something good, then regret is a mind that says, oh, you know, that’s that wasn’t that wasn’t alright. It it regrets having done something good. Or if you do something bad, again, says, oh, that’s not alright. The opposite of regret would be a mind that takes joy. Yeah.
So, again, if you do something good, it takes joy in doing something good. Or if you do something bad, it takes joy in doing something bad. But regret regret itself is a mental factor. It’s not it doesn’t have mental factors. It is a mental factor.
It is not MA mind. It is a mental factor. So and and regrets regret can be either virtue or nonvirtue. So if you are regretting having performed a negative action, then the regret is a virtuous regret. If you are regretting have having performed a sorry.
Yeah. That makes sense. What did I say? You said if you regret a virtuous action That regret is non virtuous. Yes.
Right. If you regret having performed a non virtuous action, then that regret regret is virtuous. So it is one of the four So it is one of the four changing mental factors. So there is a So it is the four changeable mental factors: sleep, regret, analysis and investigation. The changing depending on the the object.
Oh, okay. Okay. I asked that question because I thought that the components of regret were, like, shame, embarrassment. No. Those are all mental factors, sir.
Oh, this is Each one of them each one of them that you were saying there are mental factors. Okay. And regret is also another one of the Another one. Fifty something mental factor, fifty one mental factors. Could you tell more about this changing factors depending on the changeable because they they are they are not like other mental factors.
Some mental factors, they are virtuous. Some mental factors are non virtuous. But these ones, they change depending on the basis, on the object of observation of this. So for example, if you with regret, we have seen already how regret can be virtuous or non virtuous depending on the object of regret. With sleep also, if if if you fall asleep whilst you are bearing in mind something which is virtuous, we have bearing in mind a virtuous thought, a virtuous mind, then that sleep becomes virtue becomes virtuous itself.
If you fall asleep whilst bearing holding a non virtuous mind, anger or lust or whatever, then again that sleep, the whole sleep becomes non virtue. Or if you if you fall asleep with a neutral mind, then the whole sleep becomes neutral. So so they are changeable in this way. And again, the same with analysis and investigation. Again, if they are depending on the object that they are analyzing, investigating, it can become virtue or non virtue.
Right? You first. That’s not true, and you should know that because you’re my student. There is no difference which language you do that. The quality of the purification depends entirely on the quality of the four opponent powers.
Depends entirely on the quality of regret. And Tibetan has nothing to do with Sanskrit. Let’s make it clear. It’s a completely different language, different family. So you can tell off the person who told you that.
You can humiliate them in public or whatever. You should know that. I told I told you that already. Yes. Nicolas.
How can develop conviction? I’m I’m not sure if I understand. How can we develop faith and conviction Yeah. In the results Yeah. Of negative karma?
How can we develop faith and conviction that those negative actions will produce negative results? Okay. So, Geshe-la, when I say, what what what one in order to develop that certainty or that faith of conviction or that to develop that certainty, one one has to, for example, contemplate the fact that one is already experiencing the results of some negative actions that one has performed or some actions, virtues on the virtues. And one has to contemplate those teachings on karma, on actions and the results. One has to contemplate the certainty of karma, the unmistaken certainty of karma.
That karma actions will certainly produce results, that virtuous actions will produce happy results, that non virtuous actions will produce suffering results and so on so on, contemplates those teachings and those reasonings that come of those teachings. So, Geshe-la was saying, and and but to to realize, to develop this certainty that negative actions will produce negative results with virtuous actions will produce positive results, happy results, to develop that is extremely difficult. It depends a lot on our studies, on engaging those studies about action and the results and all those reasonings and to develop the belief. It depends lot on believing, and the quality of our belief depends a lot on on our studies. So we have to study a lot.
So we to study hard subjects so we can develop a informed belief in the action and the results. I I wasn’t saying it’s easy to understand, to realize how this course, sort of course karma works. It’s easy to realize how, for example, if you hurt somebody, somebody will get angry and will get back at you. So we can understand those actions which produce visible results. That’s easy to realize.
But now most of the actions that we produce, that we engage in, they do not produce visible results, they produce results in future lives and so forth, and that’s difficult. So that depends a lot on our studies, it depends a lot on engaging those reasonings that explain actions and the results so that we can develop belief. The the word is belief. Usually translated as belief. What are these?
I’m talking to oh, sorry. So whatever whatever such negative actions of which you don’t see the results, whatever those actions may be. So and there are many, many such actions of which we do not immediately see the results. And you can think of and, again, in order to illustrate, you can think of any attachment that you have, any thought of great attachment that you have, any thought of aversion or anger that you have, any thought of arrogance that you have, all such thoughts. But so whatever such actions, which are thoughts, but not only that, Geshe-la was saying.
So those those things, attachment, aversion, anger, so forth, we we do not not only we do not think of them as as producing suffering results in the future, we actually think that they are beneficial. We actually think that they are accomplishing us happiness. So we are really blind to those teachings of actions and results. But not only that, doesn’t stop there, because I was saying killing. For example, killing.
Killing an animal or killing a human being. When you think of killing, what comes to mind is the one who is suffering is the person who is being killed or the animal who’s being killed. But it doesn’t it doesn’t cross our minds that by killing someone else, I am going to suffer. We do because the results of that those actions do not are not immediately visible in the long run. So those are such invisible results.
Giving us another another illustration again. So when we when we see, for example, many fish being killed, And then we we we think, you know, we we have feelings of compassion. We develop feelings of compassion towards the the fish. And we think, oh, what a pity. You know?
You know? There’s been so much suffering. And but we forget we have no compassion for the person or the being who is killing the fish. The fact is that the being who is killing the fish is the one who’s going to experience the suffering of having killed, whilst the fish are experiencing already the results of great negativities that they have performed in previous times or lives. So those results are being exhausted.
The person or the being who killed the fish accumulating brand new karma that will cause great result in the future. And and so we ought to think about it carefully and then have compassion for the person or the being who’s killing the fish also. Actions. We can see the we’ve talked about because I was using the word coarse and subtle. So we we can see the result of the act of killing when see the suffering that it brings to the fish.
That’s a visible result. But we do not see the subtle result, which is the suffering that it will bring to the person who performed the act of killing. Right? It is within the nature of the mind generate to generate thoughts. That’s the nature of the mind.
Mhmm. Yeah. That that I’m just saying. Now when does a thought you first generate a thought, does it have a karmic impact? What at the moment you generate?
Because it’s the nature of the mind to generate thoughts. As soon as it is generated, do you have a karmic temperament for that? It is a if it is a a an impure thing. It’s just it’s generalized. Something it just comes without you thinking.
It just comes. So and so what so it so the the beginning of the sentence is. Let me see. So let’s see if this helps. So whatever thoughts occur, they occur due to the power of the imprints that we already have and then and not only that but every such thought that occurs, every new thought that occurs also leaves a new imprint.
Okay? You think in terms of habit. That’s pacha is a word that is also translated as habit. Imprint or habitual imprint or just habit. So we have thoughts arise by the force of habit.
And and and the more you think something, the more habituated you get to that. So the more habit the more the habit gains in momentum. So the thought is both a ripening of that thought from the previous thoughts. Yes. And also having movement for the next Yes.
Yes. So, yes. Exactly. The every thought that we have is the result of a previous thought, and is the cause of the next thought. It’s a lot of thoughts.
Let’s see if I can do that. I’m trying to remember. I’m not sure if if I was able to to do it with it, to clarify perfectly. But Geshe-la was saying, look, at first, what what came across was if if you the answer that Geshe-la was giving for my bad interpreting, what came across was, you know, if you the more virtue you do, the more happy results you get. The less no virtue you do, the less suffering you get.
So I would say, no. That’s not what she was asking. So if if you in terms of imprints you know, I started saying, would just refer to the imprints and to diminishing negative thoughts, non virtuous thoughts, and increasing virtuous thoughts. And with regards to the imprints, so what happens there? And Geshe-la was going to say, look.
The only way to get rid completely rid of the imprints is to realize emptiness. And realization of emptiness is the one thing that can completely eradicate the imprints and then completely stop even the possibility of any negative thoughts from arising. Now and then I recollect that I brought I brought to the Geshe, the attention of the Geshe, there was a a recent teaching. There was an illustration of Geshe Potowa. We were taught he he was just practicing mindfulness and alertness.
He was just being alert with regards to the content of his mind. And for every negative thought, he would put a black pebble down and for every virtuous thought he would put a white pebble down on the table. So at the beginning there were many black pebbles, but through the power of his awareness, developing awareness of those thoughts then the negative thoughts diminished and the virtuous one increased, virtuous ones increased and that is just the result of developing awareness itself by having developed awareness, then one is not at the mercy of the thought itself. One can develop a distance and one can one can stop them or put them aside or or or turn away from them, and and one can then deliberately produce a virtuous thought. Los.
Los. Is is helping? Yeah. It was sort of, you know Are you asking I was asking about exhaustion of karma. Yeah.
Is it is it I was asking is, you know, is part of due to So I I I what I did what I did is I gave a sort of a an illustration. I was saying, so take myself, for example. So I have many thoughts of attachment. So but if I if I then study a lot, you know, study the dharma a lot, then those thoughts of attachment and eventually those thoughts of attachment diminish and I have more virtuous thoughts instead. Is that due to only of my studies or is that also because the causes of the those attachments have exhausted?
Geshe-la is saying it’s both. It’s both. The workings the workings of of actions, the results is very subtle. It’s very hard to comprehend. Only fully enlightened Buddhas can comprehend.
Nonetheless, it is both. By the force of proper study, proper practice, or whatever, that one can stop attachment from manifesting. In the meantime, at the same time, the cause of those attachments are being exhausted. Thinning from one side, you stop them from manifesting. On on the other side, are naturally exhausting themselves.
So shall we shall we finish? Is guess it’s lunchtime? Let’s go. Just some more. Yeah.
Alright.