Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 46-minute teaching, His Holiness Sakya Trizin grounds students in the four foundations of Buddhist practice: the difficulty of obtaining precious human birth, impermanence and death, the law of karma, and the pervasive suffering of saṃsāra. He uses concrete examples—a butter lamp extinguished by wind, prisoners longing for freedom—to make these truths visceral rather than abstract. He then turns to the mind itself, exploring its paradoxical nature: impossible to locate or describe, yet continuously functioning. The second half comprises a wide-ranging Q&A addressing karma and altruism, the self, rebirth, the relationship between mind and physical effect, and the apparent contradiction between good intention and present suffering. Throughout, Sakya Trizin emphasizes study, contemplation, and meditation as the path to taming the mind and accessing ultimate truth. Suited to those new to Buddhist practice or deepening their understanding of foundational teachings.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 04 FfK 1985 05 27.mp3
UUID: 45d0d6bb-3887-4e5b-b416-92fa0d668a63
Teacher: HH Sakya Trizin
Collection: Freedom from the Known (HH Sakya Trizin)
Date: 1985-05-27
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.6 minutes
Words: ~4,267
And so on and so on. Because there are many things that cause death. For example, the butter lamp, which has butter and a wick and everything. Even though the every the butter is not exhausted, and the wick is also not exhausted. It is burning brightly, but the sudden wind can blow it out in any moment.
Similarly, even though one is healthy and one has a certain amount of time to live, but the certain obstacles that can arise from inwardly because many things can go inside our body. Many things can go up from outside. Many obstacles can certain obstacles can strike our life and can lose our life in any moment. There’s no certain Even though that one is young, as many young people die, before hundreds of old people die, and many healthy people die before the many sick people die. So similar lessons, everything is everything is impermanent and everything is move moving that we the second thing is to to meditate on the impermanence.
To meditate on the impermanence is a great thing. As sūtra said that it is the best way, the best offering that one could do is to meditate on the impermanent. Because the impermanent is the one that first makes us a spiritual person. In the meantime, that it speeds up our spiritual path. And finally, that it help us to realize the the ultimate truth.
The ultimate truth. So in this way, that to meditate on impermanence and death is the second step, which are very, important. And then third thing is the the law of karma. The Buddha says that all of the life that we have created by our own karma, by our own actions. All the life that we have now are the product of the actions that we have taken in the past.
What we have done in the past that we can learn from our present conditions. If the present condition is good, for example, the good body, healthy body, and wealth, prosperity, etcetera, the things that worldly people wish we have all these good things, the product of means that we have accumulated, the virtuous deeds in our past life. And even it is bad conditions, it which means that all the in our previous lives that we have committed the actions, and that that is why today that we have to go through the sufferings. So what it is going to happen in the future is entirely in nobody’s hands. It is entirely in our own hands.
So, therefore, we must not we must not follow the wrong way, and we must practice the right way. If one really wish to have happiness, then it is important to work on the cause of happiness, which are the virtuous deeds. And if one really wish to free from the suffering, then it is important to to avoid the cause of the suffering. Of course, if there is no cause, then there is no result. Even those one’s wish is to be free from suffering, the action that you are doing is all the causes of suffering, then, of course, one’s wish would wish could never be fulfilled.
So, therefore, in order to fulfill one’s wish that it is important to to work on the the right causes. But the true nature, the true ultimate truth is beyond cause and effect as it is away from all extremes that it could not it is beyond all these dual visions. But until unless and until we are free from these dual visions, that it is very important to work on the law of karma or the cause and effect. Because until we are unless until we are awaken from this illusory vision that the law of karma or cause and effect each and every detail of the feeling or the life is going to affect with the actions that we take. So, therefore, until we realize the ultimate truth, until we realize the true nature of our mind that it is very, important to to work on the to avoid the non virtuous deeds and to to perform the virtuous deeds.
And the the fourth common foundation is the suffering of saṃsāra. In order to really to wish to practice Dharma, in order to really have the the thought of renunciation, that it is very important to see the whole Samsāra as a suffering. Although we see ordinary ordinary people also ordinary people way of looking also that we can see that there are so many sufferings. But to have a really inner urge that it is important to meditate on the suffering of saṃsāra until you have a real inner urge, like, to be free, to get to be wish to be free from this saṃsāra just like just as like the prisoners have. The prisoners have the one thought all the time is that is that when can I get out of this?
That is constantly in our in their mind. Similarly, that we should also have the same until we have a inner urge such as like the prisoner’s thought that we should also try to meditate on the the suffering of saṃsāra. So on these four foundations, the difficulties of obtaining the precious human birth, the impermanent and death, law of karma, and the suffering of Samsāra are the four basic foundations. Foundation to practice is very important in order to proceed further to try to find to see the true naked face, the true nature of one’s mind, or to get enlightenment which are actually the same thing. So on to do this, it is very important.
First, of course, when you start the path, you have to start from the beginning from the beginning. Without starting from the first step, one will not get into the results. So the first thing is to go through these steps. And without going through these steps, that one will not reach the result. So for these reasons that it is very important to on to work on to think about these four four common foundations and then slowly further further on.
To see the true nature of the mind is, of course, very difficult thing since we are caught up in this dual vision from the beginning last time as there is no time as a beginning of the one’s mind. Because the mind is something that one could not see in any color or any shape or in any part of the body, it is when you investigate where is the mind, what is the mind, then one could not find you can’t point anywhere to say that here is the mind, and mind is like this or like that. Yet all the time, there’s this the mind is all the time continuing. But when you try to search the mind, but you could not find When you try to search your every part of your body that one will not find there’s a thing called mind. Something that is not actually something that is not rising is, of course, not remaining.
Something that is not rising and remaining is not ceasing also. So the mind is actually away from rising, remaining, and ceasing, and it has no colors or shapes or in inside the body or the outside the body or in any in any way, any words that we could not describe the mind. Yet, we have the mind that is continuing all the time even though one’s body is here, but one’s mind can travel thousands of miles and can think of many other things and so forth. But when you try to to search for this mind, one could not find. So, therefore, it is kind of two contradictory things.
Two completely different things at the same at the same time in one one way so that the true nature of one mind is actually something that’s completely beyond our ordinary way of reviewing or the expressing. So in this way, this is the the brief discourse that with this, I conclude my talk. And so now if so I hope that everybody will have benefit some ways of what I say or at least it will form a base to think to to think further to further investigations and wish everybody are very successful in their finding their spiritual path. Thank you. There’s some question sheets going on.
So if anybody has a question they would like to ask, you can please button down. He must have committed a bad karma in his past lives. Between thank you. Split. Split means Split in English words, what split means mind.
So so self is the kind of self. Yes. Self, you know, according to the Buddhist teaching, there’s no such thing as self Because if there’s a self, it has to be either body or name or the mind. Name is empty. Name is just given any name can given to any objects.
Body, as I said, that there are many different substances together. And mind is also of course, mind has actually many different parts of describing the many, many surrounding mind and main mind, etcetera. But in any case, they are all actually combined into the main consciousness, and that is momentarily passing through. So, therefore, it could not be the the self. So with these reasons that there’s no self.
Can our minds exist outside of our present live bodies? It is not one cannot say that is and as a I mean, mind is away from in reality way of describing that it is nature the nature of entities is devoid of existence, nonexistence, and the like. But until we unless and until we are working from this illusory vision that because when you die, of course, your consciousness leaves your body, but the body is remains here. So it is a separate way. If mind is the root from which all things grow, what is the soil in which that mental root grows?
If mind is the root Mhmm. Which all things grow, what is the soil in which that mental root grows? It’s just the soil. Soil. Soil.
Yes. Mind is actually the continuation of the previous consciousness that is caught all the time momentarily passing through. There’s no such thing as as a soil for for base for growing the mind. Seems to me that at times Buddhism is not altruistic enough. If someone is suffering, should we not help our fellow man?
Is it enough to say, well, it is his karma? Mhmm. Of course, we must help. It is one must help. But what we are saying is that it does not mean that when you say that he’s it is his karma, it does not mean that we should not help.
Of course, one must help whatever we can. But what we are saying is that why he is suffering, why it is causing is because of his the non virtuous actions that he has taken in the past is is rough, and due to this that he is suffering. But it does not mean that we should not help, and we just should not just say that it is as common as we should not help. Your holiness, would you say our mind is part of the universal mind, and what would be the universal mind? The true nature of the all things is, as I’ve said, is away from one or the many or the separate or the the same.
But relatively, the the illusory the impure vision where, of course, it is a each individual has its own mind. So the next question here, holiness, is how is my mind related to your mind, and how does it differ? That, again, as I said, that in in the true sense, there’s no one of the many, but relatively speaking that each man has his own consciousness, his own body, which are completely separate. Please, could you define gossip as opposed to sharing feelings and concerns? When does conversation become gossip?
I mean, for example, non virtuous one of the non virtuous action is called the idle talks. The talks that do not benefit. Talks that do not help anybody. Instead that it increases the defilements are called idle talks, which are non virtuous. Your holiness, does the mind exist permanently, unchanging, or is it dependent arising?
It’s every time, every moment the mind is changing. Next one is, do you understand nothing? Nothing? If there’s nothing, there’s nothing to understand. Is effort made by the self, and therefore, is effort a defilement of the mind?
Until we realize the ultimate truth, we all commonly accept as a as a self, self that who makes effort, self that who receive results, and and so forth. But when you realize the ultimate truth, when you realize the true nature of the mind, then it is like awakening from your dream. When you real when you awake from your dream, the all the things that you saw in your dream, there’s not even a sign of it. What is the mechanism by which we are reborn into particular families do we choose? That is why everything is karma, that we have no choice.
It the actions that we have taken due to our defilements and due to our karma that whoever decide to born in particular place, particular family, that one will be put it there. Next has two parts, your holiness. First is you said that the mind is oh, away from arising away from arising, remaining, and ceasing. Doesn’t a mind arise upon contact with its object? Mhmm.
The second part is, how can that which is nonphysical mind produce an effect on the physical? Indeed, the mind may have to have a cause to arising, but there’s no cause to to rising. If it is rising from the previous mind, the previous mind is the past. Past is something that is already gone, that already ceased. So something that is already ceased, something that is already gone, something that is already disappeared cannot produce entity, something that is existing.
And without cause, that it could not arise. Something that is not rising could not remain or cease either. So the second part was how can that which is nonphysical mind produce an effect on the physical? That is because that although in the true nature, the true ultimate truth is away from existing or the nonexisting or or all extremes. But yet until we are as long as until we are caught up in this net of illusions that it is the mind has effect very effect.
The last question, I think, is your holiness with respect. I think the reply to the first lady’s question very hard and sad life, I. E. Bad come up from previous life, I think your reply may need for fur further clarification. Then there’s there’s the statement that I personally came here to be educated in your teachings and to find answers.
Mhmm. So the person perhaps does not understand bad karma from previous life. Uh-huh. Actually, you know, the karma is very something very deep and wide subject that do not under we could not understand one could not understand without detailed studies because there are many different types of karmas that karmas that can ripen and result in this very lifetime. There are karmas that ripen and result in in future lives, karmas that can ripen result in after many lifetimes.
So it is something that each and every cause and condition to perceive for our ordinary mind is very difficult, but it must have the one who is suffering even though one’s goal is the present life is good. He’s a good spiritual practitioner or he has a good motivation and doing good works, beneficial works, but he is suffering. This means, actually, it the his suffering must have a cause. Without cause, one could not have a suffering. And the cause is obvious that it is the non virtuous actions that one has committed in the past.
And the the worst kind of results from non virtuous action is actually to fall down in the lower realms. So those who actually have a good motivation and and doing good works instead of having going go through the the terrible experience in the lower realms, the bad actions that they have non virtuous actions that they have committed in the past are ripening in this very life so that they will no longer need to go to the the lower realms in the future. It is much better to cut your legs than to kill yourself. Your holiness. On behalf of Buddha House and the BEF, the Buddhist Education Foundation, I would like to thank his holiness, Sakya Trizin, for giving this precious teaching tonight.
I would like to thank the Buddha Sangha for being here tonight. On behalf of the Buddhist Education Foundation, I would also like to thank Buddha House for cohosting this event. Buddha House was started in nineteen eighty two by students of Lama Yeshe. Buddha House is part of the FPMT, the foundation for the preservation of the Mahāyāna tradition. The spiritual head is Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
For those who would like to be in contact with Buddha House, if you could please look under Buddha in the phone book, you’ll find the role and phone number and address. Buddhist Education Foundation is a nonsectarian organization which was set up by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche in nineteen eighty six to bring Buddhist teachers to Australia. A handout is available at the desk that you passed on the way in. Tomorrow, his holiness will be teaching here. The course is titled a compassionate way of life, and it is suitable for everyone.
If you would like more information on the courses that his holiness will be conducting throughout Australia, his holiness will be in Australia until early August, then there are some pamphlets which are also available on that desk. I’d like to draw your attention to the fact that there are other weekend courses which are available if you are unable to attend this particular weekend course. I would also like to draw your attention to the fact that his holiness will be giving a one month teaching at a Tibetan style gompa in Coogee. This is the Lamdre teaching. On Sunday, the twenty ninth of May, that’s this coming Sunday, eight PM, his holiness will be giving a talk at the meeting hall 25 Pirie Street.
And this is exploring the changing face of Tibet. At the desk, you will also see a can you help handout. This This is actually requesting your help to support Tibetan monks and children monks, nuns, and children. And this this appeal is for financial support for their well-being and education. So if you are interested or if you may know somebody who may be able to help, perhaps you could take one of these and and re reply.
The students of There is also a letter that has has requested that we show to his students. So if if there are any students here, perhaps if they could see Linda, we can organize a copy of the letter for you. After the dedication, for those wishing to receive his holiness’s blessing, there’ll be the opportunity to come to the front and to receive his blessing. That will be following the dedication. Keep away from anywhere.
But it’s so nice to see that so many people are taking interest in the Buddha’s teachings and that it is well established here and all the works that you have done here is very, very impressive. We’re very happy. And I take this opportunity to express my warmest greetings and best wishes to the monks, nuns, and all the members of the center on my behalf and as well as on behalf of all our monks and lamas who are residing in India. This is my first trip to Australia, although I have been several times to the Western countries, but this is my first time. And Although we have heard a lot about Australia, but I didn’t expect that so many people are very interested in the Buddha’s teachings, And so many have already received deep teachings, so this is very, very good sign.
As there’s no doubt that Buddha’s teaching is the source of all the happiness and benefits. And we are born as human beings, and that we have all the right opportunities. So when we have such an opportunity that it is very important such a precious opportunity, when we have such a precious opportunity that it is very important to try to achieve the best result. Due to the enormous merits, the virtuous deeds, the good actions that we have accumulated in the past, that today we are born as human beings, not only human beings that we have the opportunity to practice the Lord Buddha’s teachings. So while we are having this opportunity, it is very important, try to do, try to get the essence out of this life.
Otherwise, even though we have obtained the best opportunity, but if we lose it, there’s no greater loss than such opportunity. So when you have all the opportunities that it is very important, as the great Indian master Vasubandhu said, based on moral conduct, then one should follow the study, contemplation, and meditation. This general structure is I think common to all the yanas. So therefore the first thing is to have a good moral conduct. As the moral conduct is the base for all the qualities.
Just like the earth, earth is the base of all the animate and inanimate. Similarly the base for all the quality is the good moral conduct. And then based on that, then in order to practice Dharma, that it is important first to know and to study it, and then also to contemplate it, to think it again and again, to examine it. As Buddha himself says that the bhikshus and the wise people should not take his teaching on faith only. Only after examining yourself, that if you convince yourself that it is a genuine teaching, that it is the most effective, it is the best method in removing the suffering, then only then you should take.
So therefore to do it contemplation. And then the final thing is to do the meditation, so that through this way, that we should tame our wild mind, the mind that is so much involved with the defilements and with the impure minds which from the beginning last time until now that we indulge, and due to this that so far we’ve not been able to cross the suffering of saṃsāra. So but when we are having this time, that it is very important to do it. Of course when one is practicing there are many difficulties, one may face many difficulties. But whatever difficulties that one may come, that to do it all the time, try to do follow to continue as Śāntideva said that once you are used to it there’s nothing that is not easy.
So I go on practicing and whatever the difficulties one face, just try to, one should not discourage and try to continue the practice and I’m sure then as you have many great teachers, many teachings that you are already receiving, that there is no difficulties that you cannot overcome. Generally, of course, all the Buddha’s teachings, all the different yanas are all same. As we have many different diseases, so in order to cure the different diseases you need many different medicines. So similarly, that in order to cure the different types, different levels, and different mentality, different situation, different defilements, the Buddha has also bestowed many different teachings, but it is all Buddha’s teachings. And particularly the different Tibetan traditions are all same.
In the beginning, the creation of the right motivation, and Mādhyamika philosophy or the middle way philosophy the middle way philosophy that is combined with the methods of vajrayana teachings and vajrayana methods and the final achievement of ultimate enlightenment, it is all same. Whichever tradition that one follows, whichever that one has the karmic link or the affinity, that one should follow that and try to practice, and at the same time it is very important to have the devotion and faith to all. So after all, it is all Buddha’s teachings. So in this way, one will be able to succeed further. So once again I would like to thank everyone who have given me such a warm welcome, and the hospitality.
So once again I would like to thank everybody and wish you all the best of everything, especially success in your spiritual practice. And may the blessings of the root and lineage gurus, as well as all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas be with you now and always. Thank you. You you say you debate. You are teaching.
You are teaching. No. For example, with respect either you or Peter, answer. Okay? We’re we’re going to debate a little bit in England.
With respect to existence and what is the pervasion? With respect to existence and form, what is the pervasion? It is not three possible basis. What