Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 18-minute session, Geshe Sopa examines fear as a necessary engine for spiritual practice and introduces refuge as the antidote to suffering. He begins by contrasting how practitioners at different levels contemplate misery: beginners focus intensely on the suffering of the lower realms—hells, hungry ghosts, and animals—to generate fear and aversion that motivate escape from cyclic existence. He then explores fear itself, showing how worldly fear (fear of poverty, loss, failure) drives ordinary effort, and how spiritual fear, rooted in wisdom rather than ignorance, must be grounded in direct understanding of karma and its results. This recognition of danger naturally leads to refuge: the genuine search for protection, which means turning toward the Buddha, the dharma, and the sangha as guides. Geshe Sopa sketches three kinds of suffering—suffering of pain, suffering of change, and pervasive conditioning—to establish why all realms require the path. The teaching is foundational material in the graduated path (Lamrim) sequence, intended for serious practitioners building the mental ground for Mahāyāna practice.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 08 LP.mp3
UUID: 8bb8c7ff-a1fc-448c-b24a-01e3041e56ba
Teacher: Geshe Sopa 1986
Collection: A lamp that illuminates the path (Geshe Sopa 1986)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 18.5 minutes
Words: ~2,078
Alright, that is on that. Here, we were talking first or misery or suffering of all these sentient beings. When you are concentrating in this in practicing inferior level of the path practicing, and then when you’re thinking about the misery or suffering, mainly to the lower ones. And then and then to the higher ones, you don’t think too much because this time, you want to be born higher rebirth and mainly concentrating problems, misery, and disliking-ness and aversion to those lives and prevention, strong prevention. So, therefore, mainly, misery or suffering of the three lower ones individually detail if one meditate, concentrate, thinking that way.
On a next in a great great again, meditation and learning and believing and your trust on this. And finally, one’s mind have great fear or mainly, again, produce produce a strong aversion to those and then a strong fear aversion to these. The fear fear of the low rebirth, fear of the nature of this low rebirth, misery, or suffering, all of these are all detailed way. If one’s self is being like that situation. Today, I’m living living in a human life mostly among those comfortable, you know, like this.
And next life into those lives, and it can be tomorrow right there can be like that. Or this week here, next week, or right there can be falling like that way, meditation and concentration, thinking that way. If I were to be there next week, what can I do? What how how awful? Or, like, thinking that meditation, that makes, again, strong fear produce.
The fear fear is the certain way. Fear is the or on a certain kind of necessary. Fear is the, again, same way would bring noble effort or fear is the necessity. If you have fearless, or sometimes it becomes dumb or stupid or everything, and it doesn’t do anything or preparation and any of those. Because when we in the world, also, why we are so busy?
Also, from early morning to until we are in bed, busy or they have some kind of fear of something. Or then the fear of the later, poorness or lack of food or or whatever in the worldliness standard or lack of those. And the fear, we work so much like that way. Other some aspect of fear is fear of the disadvantage in the future, negative result, and fully projecting or thinking, seeing the future problem, and then bring strong fear. As much fear there, you have effort toward to against toward to them.
If you have less fear, you won’t do anything. Or then finally, no fear. Or that will be, you know, very, very lazy and dumb or stupid way or like like that. Or because the is the objective object of fear is is there, and that should be realized. If there’s no need to fear, like Buddha or other who completely destroy it negative and cause and everything from free from that, then they have no object to fear.
But when we have object to fear objective fear are there. And if we don’t realize those things, then we don’t do anything to it. That is the most serious thing. So the when you realize those properly, and also how prevent when you have fear, you have the so called refuge. Taking refuge means.
Taking refuge means something looking for protection from those fears. What is the most unprotected, helpful, or to other or oneself or whatever kind of things. Only taking refuge means or like that way. So, therefore, there are three different taking refuge here introduced. Since we have three spiritual beings, three different path, same three different fear, same three different refuge.
In here, refuge is the to out of fear of the to falling into this lower rebirth. Then when you have realized this, recognize this, then all take refuge. When you take refuge, then when you whom you refuge, what can protect? And then a proper refuge when you are looking that, then they are all all the the teachings in Buddha and then the or practice is Dharma, etcetera. All these are the refuge one can follow.
All the seriously doing refuge is the practice of Dharma or that will properly, when done, it will protect. It will save. Or there there’s this measure of save saving is the real or saving or real protection. Also, therefore, without realizing those things, then we don’t know whom you protect refuge, how that refuge object can protect ones that one does not know, Or why we take refuge when needing refuge, also not knowing. Because if you don’t have fear or or learning, you don’t or see any needing refuge, so therefore, and all the life when we have great opportunity or to doing those and then then without doing order, up or wasted or like like that way.
Or that’s the therefore. That is the reason, the name, people interested in those things and then all individual detail and those I am not going to this time or because detail of this each these beings, their life, and karma, or or the karmic result or the in order to explain or live nature. Or that there are many, many different details. Or that those things, if one know those things, and then how to fear on the nature of the because the fear is also or should have whether is out of ignorance fear or fear which brought by wisdom. One should be bring by wisdom or certain kind of fear. That one that rises or properly, one in a stone or solid on a knowing the what object of fear and what is the end thought or like that way, so knowing.
So therefore or or here is mainly concentrating three lower of misery or suffering of three lower rebirths. Sometimes the Buddha taught suffering, three types of suffering, suffering of suffering. Suffering of change. Suffering of pervasiveness. Other these three types of suffering, they can be sometimes apply this area also to the lower one or life forms, etcetera.
Their suffering is so great. In the samsaric world, there is no greater misery or suffering than or what they experience. So therefore, called is first the suffering of suffering. Suffering in general is that we have all these conditioned karmic situations themselves as suffering. But suffering or suffering is more physical and mental pain or similar kind of pain, those suffering.
Then hell, the instance, have just hell or Many of those have those mainly physical harm and injury or suffering. On the mental also, same way. That kind of suffering or suffering more emphasize on those lower realms. In the suffering of change, we or humans and some of the have the suffering of change. We have change even we have sometimes called happy or sometimes in the misery, you know, the pain or misery, unhappy, etcetera.
But our happiness or getting food and dress and comfort and and whatever you they also they themselves are change into trouble or misery or suffering. Often, or goes to in change into the nature of suffering. Even what we called pleasant or happiness or some sort of worldly, these are changing. Other other higher who has during that life no more any mental and the physical pain or those feeling of suffering, but their life is still all in tied with the karma and the kleshas. They have no real freedom.
They are still in the jail of saṃsāra, so they that being, that condition itself, also the suffering of condition, or suffering of pervasiveness. The this this kind of condition or pervasiveness covers the whole circle of saṃsāra everywhere on the pervasive. So they were they are under that nature. Or they have one of the temporary being there, but finally, they can or even go way down lower. Also, that kind of or being that nature is the it is also one way or suffering or the nature of suffering.
So there are three different levels. So first, the suffering of suffering: mainly inferior beings practicing, what you want in the lower realms, there we first worry about more pain and mental misery and physical pain and all bad environment, etcetera, like those. Those area mainly we are beginning and concentrate. Also, therefore, what is in those different hells, what kind of life and experience? All the environment, most detailed explanation have.
All those all those things should be learned, and if oneself meditating on those details, only should be meditate. Or same way, hungry ghost. And after you meditate on this, then why this happen? How they got there? Or or do I can I also get there?
Order that is the cause of those, and then again, all the cause and effect. And then karma and it is a result when you properly learn, understand. On on the ones have also possibility to be like that way exactly. Or what these cause do I have at this or when you’re thinking that way, then when you realize there is all of these various things, cause and conditions there, the heavier, and then going those causes, then going upward. And when you see, whether that is the real proper fearful object, that is the now and our sinking.
Other these causes, if if they have no antidote or eliminate, and it will definitely would born there. Or thinking that way, whether that way, then all the antidote comes next. So since this we are talking the the or most text is the on the context of the Mahāyāna or the practice teaching. And all of the basic foundation of the practices, and these ground these from inferior practice. And then the next intermediate one also whole nature of samsaric of faults, etcetera.
All these things properly developed, and then Mahāyāna practice will or or one should produce. So therefore all the hearer and then, we will we will skip the detail of the three lower rebirth, all those things, and and then briefly their way of taking refuge. And then, also, that is the when the next in the future, what will happen? That is the first. Then there are method of they were happy and better.
What is the method? And the method in showing these in one to the method showing first, how to take refuge refuge nature. And then how are they? In order to refuge, taking refuge, and as a follow, you refuge to and then you have to do certain things accordingly. Otherwise, refuge doesn’t work.
Also, therefore, in order to do that, lam rim’s karma and its result, karma and its result on understanding properly. So they were these two knowledges and practices able to refuge and in general karma and its individual result in how this work or that these two meditating, concentrating to be very firm in one’s own mind. If these are not firm in one’s mind, you have weak to do any of those things. If one have wisdom or firm understanding or the other trust, those cause and effect, etcetera, or certain things when you have, then it will follow or bring real or good practice or proper practice, practice which is sincere or an earnest and strong or stable or like that way. Also, therefore, maybe next or the I will talk also a little bit about refuge or other refuge or a little bit.
And also, the refuge part is for the Mahāyāna teaching is the bodhicitta. bodhicitta produce also all root text. There are lines which says, you know, all take refuge first and then to produce learn and practice these things. So, therefore, we can have. So, therefore, refuge part, we will talk also.
And then also suffering of misery: Mahāyāna practice. In order to produce bodhicitta, you have to produce great love and compassion to all sentient beings equally. And in order to produce compassion, one has to see the whole samsaric misery or with with a or and even upper realms, high rebirth, etcetera. So all all these things may have to or detailed presentation or concentration or understanding we need. Other therefore, all the those things we can go.
And then and then can be all within the root text. Like that way, maybe we will stop this morning.