Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 26-minute talk, Geshe Sopa addresses karma as the foundation of all spiritual practice and the most essential topic for anyone seeking meaningful life or liberation. He explains why karma is difficult to grasp: its results are subtle, spanning multiple lifetimes, and beyond the reach of ordinary perception and intellect. Only the Buddha and realized masters, having purified obstacles and developed superior sight, can see the intricate web of cause and effect across past and future lives. The teaching walks through four key principles: karma naturally increases in power, like a tiny seed growing into a great tree; karma ripens only for those who created it; karmic imprints never disappear without deliberate purification; and results inevitably manifest, though sometimes across many lifetimes. Geshe Sopa emphasizes that deep understanding of karma’s mechanics brings more conscious action and a far more meaningful life, and illustrates these principles through stories and examples drawn from sutras and Buddhist literature.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 16 LP.mp3
UUID: 150605db-b146-4e81-9e33-88272464bcca
Teacher: Geshe Sopa 1986
Collection: A lamp that illuminates the path (Geshe Sopa 1986)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 25.8 minutes
Words: ~2,562
Of that. All that that is the one of the most important, especially religious, spiritual practice. You know? All of these basis, this is the one. Other one in this one lacks.
Other many, many paths also will blocks. Other gate closed. Other for example, gate can close for the future life, good doing for the right after death, future life. Because once you don’t know this, and then you ignore or deny. So you won’t do anything for that.
And then for higher, more emancipation or enlightenment, all of these. All of these are all these are blocked. All that so therefore, all that, that is special, all that. One of the most important view. Also, therefore, to try to one have to obtain that.
Now in order to have this, one has to start. Or because, again, it is the phenomenal or relative cause and effect, but it is difficult to understand or to realize. It’s not easy. Even much more difficult to understand than the realization of. Or why is this?
This karma this because karma and it result so subtle. And, also, we ordinary knowledge, ordinary our common mind, of course, limited. We have a mind ordinary mind do not see directly future. With our sense, sees, hears, etcetera, present thing cannot go past or future. Through this, we have mind man mentally saying present things, some of the gross present things can see or subtle things even not see.
The mind can see much further or con individually or other certain kind of project the future on the past or through the sense of seeing that, and then there’s some kind of relations you can make infinite choice. But in many of these subtle area or difficult, for example, between life, this life, and next in future life. Or next life, if this is the next life, and after that another life after that another life, when you think all of those things completely big or dark, we have no any knowledge or seeing. Or And when you think of those things, influential knowledge, logically try to prove also all that they can there is a gross level of the just merely in the future life or good cause and brings good result, bad cause, bad result in general way, really general way, maybe individual knowledge can prove. But in such detail, subtle, they are all whatever causes or brings or detail or subtlety.
All of these are are generally little difficult to or not difficult to or the knowing, the method of knowing. So, therefore, since it’s subtle, also, therefore, difficult. So therefore, one’s own not not wanting to open even those area or instead of that, something which is not almost wanting to view not exist. Or there’s no such thing because it’s not known. Or the like that way.
Or why reason is finally comes in it? Because I don’t know. Or that will come like that way. So, anyway, that is the situation. So, therefore, there is a subtlety, but it is the most important situation.
Something most difficult to understand. But when you understand or believe or or not understand, not believe is maximum great differences. So therefore, all of these things, all the on the Buddha, or the sages who have superior, who cleaned the many obstacles, or purified many obstacles, whose mind much, much clearer. So further sight, not only present, directly able to see in the future and the past in many, many way. And not only that it’s many, many detail or subtle.
Other details or under realization of details, all of these, based on this knowledge or explain or on a various cause and effect relations. Whether that is the or the first beginning or learning and starting, and then finally, or the or the or the with the connection with the teacher, or then it or the or the or one one try to get understanding or the wisdom or the based on that, working toward all those other and these connections. Other that is the one of the important. So, therefore, in order to explain detail this all also here topic, we won’t just briefly mention. And in this time, we won’t have time.
Or topic. Is a way of thinking in general, karma, and it is a result relationship in general. Then some the particular or the particular way of or concentration. Then some is the third topic. After they’re thinking that way, one step, or how to or to follow or to enter.
Means to to do or proceed. Means a certain or causing or toward positive positive causes one should be involved or to exercise practice. Is a negative side, how to turn away from death and doing stopping. That is how to do those things, or that is in explaining. The first one is the general way say general is the thinking general way or the karma.
And then all the social settings, they are actually later explained. Those things mainly, you know, all ten: body, speech, mind, and then to go together, all of these. Ten ten or ten virtues, karma, ten non virtues karma. Other that is from many, many those karma actions. But the is most rough roughly to collect it into something that we can easily understand or easy to follow or some of the rough way or the most main or key or some of those actions.
And then when you put together number, it’s like ten or ten virtues or ten non virtues, ten because of ten non virtues and ten virtues action. All the karma, those things individually will explain the nature and the characteristic on how these come, one is complete, one is not complete, and result also same. All these these are detailed explaining. What are those things happen? But then in general, before that, general way explaining is the karma.
karma. Means the karma is the there are four things explained. karma. Alright? karma is greatly increased.
Or increase. One is like the nature of karma, like the nature of life. For example, in the outer side, the cause and effect, like little seed, little small grain or small seed on a plant or that how it is when you grow or that it can be like, for example, some small, like, tree, certain kind of tree seed. For example, Buddha, example, in a sūtra, little small tree seeds, plant, or that little tiny thing, then later on it grow from there or trunk or branch or many, many sub branches and leaves and all of these comes. And all the all the many, many are likely fit into the shape or shape of that trees or maybe, you know, hundred in a wagons even able to fit under the shade of that tree.
That is a little tiny seed. Or that that is the outside cause and effect like that were increaseable and even much more so inner or cause, even much more so like that way or in some kind of small negative action or some small positive action will bring it to the full scale of the result when you or when you do that, thinking on a great scale. Or sometimes, like, for example, explaining some negative power negative action, like killing or something, concentrating where killing somebody or something like that. That result, if one person kill, as a result, in the next one one time killed, return, that is if something like that, then that is not increase. But it result happen many, many or main result.
And then it continue, and then it grows so much in increase upon all the situation. Other like that way, that point, that subject is one of. And then the and then the second topic, is also karma never meets its. Its result without doing, without creating. If somebody created karma and I didn’t create that any and participate in the other, will never I will never meet the result of that karma action.
All the that has also many analogies and many details or that way of knowing. All the if one does not do anything, for example, in in literature or analogy, for example, or the or the or somebody or the group of people have together and then made create some kind of karma as a result of to burning many other beings or etcetera or something. Other as a result of that, they may be born in hell, etcetera. And after even come up in human lives, maybe they one time together, they somewhere in house or something. Or then born, all of them or most of them burned by house house fire or some nearby beings.
Other they had but other in among them, one one of the one of the person not damaged at all, nothing and able to escape or not burned anything. Other like that way, other this kind of situation detail or the Buddha explain or these or that one person has not participate that particular karma of this event. Or like that way, all the rest of part participate. Or the if or that that kind of thing, many, many, many, many can have. Or the next one, If one have done a karma, create it.
Or unless purified or by antidote, destroyed. If one obtained or or something or a special kind of antidote purification done. And then it’s okay. Otherwise, without that, or never disappear by time or something. And then finally, you may lose it or like that.
Never. How once you create the virtue or negative karma, once you create that karmic result, how long you take, or maybe many millions and millions lives even have to or or the take time, or it will finally will definitely will come. That seed of that karma will never just disappear. Once you create it, all that definitely it will it will result will occur. All that the these are Other these are these four topics.
These are the four topics. Other each has many, many details and analogy. Other history, background, all the these things, all also teach. And then also with each of those, you know, with the connection with the all the sūtra in which Buddha himself taught. Oh, for example, Buddha has omniscient means, for example, at at time of Buddha, for example, if there is some kind of good or bad, significant things in among the people on the have, if in the present, something happen, or one of the ordinary disciple will rise to Buddha, or you are, you know, omniscient, etcetera.
And please tell us what is this happening in this person. All in this time or such like this, what is the result of this? All in the Buddha, I want to say is the whole story. All back in the past many, many lives and what exactly first way is started, what kind of action, even able to tell of name or place or name of the even other family, race, etcetera, or what event exactly detail, or the from that that action or good or bad action, precise action, all he will tell. And then as a result of that, before this happen, all many, many other rebirths, the experience or done or he explains this and that and that.
All like that way, even bad things, for example, it may be powerful negative actions and create and then born into lower rebirth and many, many lives and explains. And then, finally, the result or the leftover, some kind of minor result, even born in human life, is something leftover experience. So or this is like this, or that that kind of detail can have an explanation in the karmic. We have a known called one of the sūtra or called or the Tibetan word or or. How to say, skillful or intelligent.
Or ignorance or stupid. Or that sūtra name code or why is it? Sūtra has so many history, different personality story, life people and people and people, and then what happened and all interesting detail and very, very all lost or like this kind of thing. Many of those explain. So, therefore, what is the calling this?
Fool and Wise. Fool wise and fool or sometimes translation wise and fool sūtra.
Wise and fool — if the fool one, if read that, that sūtra, or something interest there or in a kind of but nothing special understanding. The wise means from reading that, for understanding of the how karma works. You have the various different effects. Exactly. They are in the story.
Some good things happen, some bad things happen, or during the life, so many things like all the detailed explanation or the each has in a karmic or this. So therefore, understanding or special kind of trust in the faith of karma and it is result. And that is the the wise one will that kind of effect by reading. For one, nothing, something interesting, or something like that. That’s all.
Other like that way. Other they so, anyway, these other topics explained in the in the this. Other that is other I think we we won’t have much time to go these details. Anyway, beginning, other these are the four main topics in a general way, and then a particular way, each ten different virtuous and non virtuous karma. And from there, also, later, some of the most powerful, or some of the ones one should know, is the most most of the three types of the powerful karma, their identification.
And then they result. All that all of these, you know, all teach. So so anyway so we have yeah. I think we we won’t have time to talking about this. Just that I am just laying out the general topic and then continue go to our next one.
But you people have to also or then these have to interest it and to or learning and starting and those things. And then all mainly in the karma, and it result to all one’s own, in a more faithful or trusting way to deeper understanding one achieves, and one’s action will be very, very somehow more aware. And then that way, life will be most meaningful. Almost the action will be with the awareness. Where is the life which human life or the precious most excellent life is human.
human can do. human has this power, ability. human has this kind of intelligent. human has more sophisticated mind. One can learn or in a measurable way.
One can use that mind or in measurable way, can achievement and result can be done. Or on both good way or bad way. One’s mind has power — on a skillful way or bad things when you do, can be most powerful things can be done. All good things when done, also excellent even during one life or many, one can obtain perfect enlightenment even in one life. All all like that way, all of these done.
So therefore, it will be or to utilizing this this way, meaningful. All I think I will stop tonight that way. Thank you very much. Enjoy it. Okay.
Okay. Oh, yeah. Okay. Alright.