Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 45-minute teaching, HH Sakya Trizin presents the historical transmission and core meaning of a four-line verse given by the Buddha Mañjuśrī in pure vision to a great Tibetan master: if you have attachment to this life, you are not a religious person; if you have attachment to saṃsāra, you lack renunciation; if you have attachment to your own purpose, you lack enlightenment thought; if grasping arises, you lack the view. The bulk of the session covers the preliminary practice of taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, explaining its three causes—fear of saṃsāra, faith in the Three Jewels, and compassion for all beings—the objects of refuge (the three bodies of Buddha, the two aspects of Dharma, and the irreversible bodhisattvas), and the individual and general rules that bind a practitioner after taking refuge. Trizin then outlines the second preliminary: enlightenment thought, the resolve to attain complete buddhahood not for oneself alone but for the benefit of all sentient beings. Suitable for newcomers to Buddhist practice and serious students establishing the foundations of the path.
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File: 06 FfK.mp3
UUID: 205f4ddf-27d4-4c4e-bf39-5dbc2c327355
Teacher: HH Sakya Trizin
Collection: Freedom from the Known (HH Sakya Trizin)
Date: 1988 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.1 minutes
Words: ~4,262
To study a vast scriptures. And so in order to study that one needs wisdom. And so in order to obtain wisdom that you must practice the Mañjuśrī retreats. So he gave Mañjuśrī initiation and teachings and also helped him. His spiritual masters also helping him.
And we together, we did the help of his spiritual masters that he did a retreat on Mañjuśrī in his in his house. And although the great disciple of Kunga Ningbo is actually reality, he is the manifestation of all the Buddha’s compassion. He is the emanation of Avalokiteśvara. But born as a human being. So in order to suit our human level, that he also just follows the ordinary way of life, like having spiritual masters and to accumulate to obtain wisdom, to practice retreat, and to study, and to contemplation, and to do the whole proceedings.
So in reality, actually, he no need to do, but it’s just to show the as a common for the common people’s eyes, for the common people to set an example how ordinary person can succeed in the spiritual practice that he is also following the ordinary way of life. For this, that he was doing the retreat. And in the beginning, there were some signs of obstacles which were then removed through the practice of wrathful deity known as Achala. Achala is the the wrathful deity that especially removing the obstacles in the practice of wisdom deities. So through these practices that he removed all the obstacles.
And then after in the six months about in the six months’ time that in his pure vision that he saw lord Mañjuśrī sitting on a jeweled throne with the preaching mudra and seated on just like the Lord Maitreya is sitting, not in a cross leg, but in sitting on the throne just like sitting on a chair. That the person sitting on a chair that is two legs down and sitting on the jewel throne be the two other bodhisattvas as attendants. And at that time, the main Mañjuśrī from the the main Mañjuśrī then when he saw this, he got a great joy and faith and interest. And the main Mañjuśrī said that give this four line teaching, which says that if you have attachment to this life, you are not a religious person. If you have attachment to the world of existence, you do not have renunciation.
If you have attachment to your own purpose, you do not have enlightenment thought. If grasping arise, you do not have the view. So these are just four lines he gave. And when he was concentrating on this that he realized that it is the essence of all the Buddha’s teachings, and it contains the all the path of Mahāyāna. And so by receiving this teaching that he got very high realization and that he become the owner of all the Buddha’s teachings, Hīnayāna, Mahāyāna, vajrayana, that he became the real regent of the Buddha.
And then he gave this teaching to his own son as well as a spiritual son, and he gave to to his disciples and so forth and so forth and which been passed down all the masters one after another. And that I received from from my main root guru, whose Mahaparinirvana is today. His picture is here today if you all used to see him. And, also, I have received from his eminence who is actually living in Nepal who has a monastery in Nepal. So I received from both masters.
So this is the history of this particular teaching. Now for the main part of the teaching. Now every teaching has a preliminary part and the main part and the completion part. And so the first preliminary part is common to all. And the preliminary teaching is taking refuge.
Refuge is, of course without taking refuge, even though one may be very good spiritual practitioner, but one cannot be a Buddhist. In order to become Buddhist in any level, that one have to take refuge in the temple jail. So it is common to all Hīnayāna, Mahāyāna, vajrayana in everything. And the refuge is actually the root of all Dharma, preliminary practice for all the path, and the foundation of all the vows. And it is the thing that to differentiate between the Buddhist and non-Buddhist.
So, therefore, it is important. And, particularly so, normally, the refuge is explained with the five divisions. The number one the first first is the the cause of taking refuge. That’s why we are taking refuge. What makes us to take refuge?
So there are three causes. The cause of taking refuge is fear, faith, and compassion. Fear in a sense for example, in ordinary worldly level, when you meet certain danger, when you met a certain challenge that one could not certain problem that one could not solve, then the thing to do is to seek help, someone that who can do this. So similarly here that we are without any choice, without any freedom, out of defilements, out of karma that we are forced to be born. We are forcing every every direction, forced to go to in every direction.
So, therefore, in order to free from the suffering of saṃsāra, out of fear of the suffering of saṃsāra that we take refuge in the buddhadharma Sangha. So the number one cause is the fear. And the second is faith. Faith is very important. Without faith, the the qualities of the the will not arise.
Faith, if the seed of the crop is burned or roast roasted from the roasted seed, the crop will not grow. So, similarly, the without faith, that one will not be able to obtain the quality. So the faith is very important, and there are three types of faith. The clear faith and desiring faith and believing faith. Clear faith means that when you see the tremendous qualities of the triple gem, the tremendous qualities of the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, that it sort of refreshes your mind.
It clears up the confusions and obscurations, the confusions. So therefore, it is called the clear mind clear faith. And second is called desiring faith. When you see the great qualities of the Buddha, then you yourself wish to obtain such quality so that not only oneself will be free from the suffering, but one could also help the other beings to to to free from the suffering. So the second is second faith is desiring faith, and the third faith is believing faith.
The Lord Buddha himself said that those who are his followers should take his teaching, not by out of just without reasons, but one should take with great reason with thorough investigation. That if you yourself convinced that it is a genuine teaching, that it is a genuine thing, then one should take. So similarly, that here also that not just because that one is belonging to the Buddhist family or following the tradition, but oneself convinced that one has a inner certainty, the inner belief, to to believe in the the law of karma, the Four Noble Truths, etcetera. The the teachings that Buddha give are so genuine, so true that when you compare it in our day to day’s life, that how true, how clear it is. So, therefore, in this way, to believe it so it is called the believing faith.
So out of these three types of faith, and then the third cause is the compassion. As oneself do not as oneself wish to be free from suffering, every sentient being have the same feeling. Whether they could say or whether they could explain or not, even tiny from insects or worms to the most intelligent human being, that everybody has the same feeling. So therefore, out of compassion, out of loving kindness, out of compassion, that you in order to help the sentient beings that we are taking refuge in the Buddhadharma Sangha. So here in Mahāyāna, the tradition that the main cause should be the compassion.
Although the fear and the faith also, but the main cause is the compassion. Then the second division of the refuge is the object of taking refuge. To whom that we are taking refuge? Although the triple gem is common to all Buddhist traditions, Buddha Dhamma Sangha is the same to all. But the explanation differs.
So here, according to the Mahāyāna, when we mean the Buddha, the Buddha means the one who possess the three kayas, three bodies in the sense. The one who possess the infinite qualities and one who have who is free from all faults and one, the matchless Buddha who possessed the three kayas. The three kayas are the first one is called dharmakaya. The dharmakaya means actually, in the ordinary sense, the mental aspect. As we also have physical aspect and mental aspect.
So the mental aspect, the Buddha, which dharmakaya, has the double purities. The double purity means that, actually, every sentient being possess the Buddha-nature. Every sentient being, the true nature of our mind is pure right from the beginning that everybody has. So the one purity is this. The true nature of our mind is pure right from the beginning, never diluted with the defilements.
So the one purity is there that everyone has. But on top of that but at the moment, our view possess only one purity. Although the true nature of mind is pure, but at the moment, it is completely covered, caught up in the net of dual duality, dual illusory vision and defilements. So, therefore, we do not have the we do not see the real truth. But the Buddhas, through the practice that they have torn all this illusionary vision, completely awakened, completely discarded all the faults and the defilements.
So the second purity, The dharmakaya means the one that possess the the double purity that realize the ultimate truth and that that one that become the the completely merged with the the ultimate truth. It’s called the dharmakaya. The transcendental wisdom aspect of the Buddha is called dharmakaya. And then the the physical aspect of the Buddha has two parts, the sambhogakaya and the nirmanakaya. The sambhogakaya means the one that has the five certainties.
The Sambhogakāya means that the highest physical aspect of the Buddha. With the five certainties, the place is certain, not changing the place. The place is always the same, and the highest Buddhism known as Akanishtha, highest Buddha realm. And the time is all the time remaining there, giving the teachings. The form is also always the same with the thirty two signs and the eight qualities, etcetera, the the Buddha’s qualities remaining.
And the teaching is also certain that it is always the same, the Mahāyāna, the highest Mahāyāna teaching that is given. And the surrounding or the disciples are also the same, certain as the bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas, the high who are in the highest stages of bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas who have already gone beyond the worldly path. And the bodhisattvas who are in the stages of the ten bhūmi stages.
Ten stages. The bodhisattvas who are on the ten stages. So it is certainly that this always remaining all the time remains in there, giving the teachings not to ordinary person, but always to the highest bodhisattvas. So that is called the Sambhogakāya. And then the third kind of body is also a physical form, but the difference, it is emanation.
While the highest physical form of Buddha remain Sambhogakāya remaining always in the highest Buddha realm, but his emanation whoever, whenever, whatever form request that he will appear in this particular form. And, of course, there are times when there not enough karma, no no karma to see Buddha also disappears. So so the Nirmānakāya are completely different. Different, and they appear sometimes appear, sometimes do not appear. And form also changes.
Whatever form, whoever place, whoever is required, either in this world or in any any part of the universe, in any form, or or any teaching also in difference in Mahāyāna teaching, Hīnayāna teaching, different many different levels of teaching. And the time also not always changing. Sometimes born, sometimes past, sometimes giving teaching, sometimes not giving teaching, etcetera. Our historical Śākyamūni Buddha is also actually a Nirmānakāya, but he’s called excellent Nimmanakaya because that even for ordinary persons can see him as a Buddha with the thirty two signs and eighty qualities, etcetera. So whereas others, if necessary, that even in the animal’s form, bird’s form, human form, master’s form, in many different forms, wherever whatever form requires that the emanations, the Nirmānakāya will appear in this particular form and help the sentient beings.
So the one, the Buddha when we mean Buddha, means the Buddha who possess the three kayas that we take refuge. And that is the object of the of the refuge. And the second object is Dharma. Dharma also has two aspects. The teaching the teaching Tripitaka, which means Vinaya, Sūtra, Abhidharma, Vinaya, which explains all the moral conduct and the antidote for desire, Sūtra, which explains all the different types of meditation and the antidote for hatred.
And then the Abhidharma that explains all the wisdom and antidote for ignorance. That is the teaching. And other one is the realization. The the realization, spiritual attainment that got by the Buddhas and bodhisattvas who have already reached irreversible state. So so the two two types of the teaching, Dharma that is the Dharma that we are taking refuge.
And the third is the Sangha. Third object is the Sangha. The true Sangha are actually the bodhisattvas who have reached irreversible state, which means that who have got into a higher state that we are no longer falls down, that who have gone already beyond worldly path. So to this that we take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, the object of refuge is this. And now the the way we are taking refuge is that how how we take refuge is that we take refuge in the Buddha as our guide or the teacher.
If one needs to go to unknown place, that one requires a guide who can guide us, who can show us the path. So we take the in refuge in the Buddha as our guide, our the one who can show us the path. And we take refuge in the Dharma as our main path. Because actually it is the Dharma who will save us, who will save us from suffering, who will by practicing Dharma, that oneself proceeds further on the spiritual path. So the main path, the real path, the main path is the Dharma.
So we take refuge in the Dharma as our main path. And we take refuge in the Sangha as our spiritual companion. When one is traveling in a long distance journey in unknown place, that it is a great benefit to have companions. By having companions, that one could solve many problems, one could be free from many fearful things and so forth. So we take the one those who are have the same goal, those who are following the same path and the same goal, that it is important to take the refuge in the Sangha.
So we take refuge in the Sangha as our spiritual companion. And then the fourth division main division in the taking refuge is the the benefit of taking refuge. Even just hearing the name of refuge, that one will have a great benefit. And so really taking refuge from one’s own heart. Then, of course, it is a great benefit And the enormous amount of merits that as it is said in the sutras, that if it has the merit that we earn from taking refuge, that if it has a form, even the whole space is too small to accommodate the merit that we earn by taking refuge.
And besides, one’s name is changed. One’s in reality, also, one is changed. Name is changed from a worldly who’s not practicing to a spiritual or who are Buddhist or following the Triple Gem. And the meaning also the meaning or the in actual actual situation also that one who is not practicing the Dharma, one who is not following the spiritual path is now switched from worldly path to a spiritual path. So therefore, it is a great benefit.
And the one who is taking refuge in the Buddha Dharma Sangha, all the the Dharma protectors, protectors of the teaching will protect you and that one will not be One will not be That one will be really it is the beginning of the the spiritual path. So it is very important in the taking refuge. And the fifth one, the fifth division is to follow the rules. When one is taking refuge in another country, say from another country from another country, when you take refuge in in a new country, then one is bound with all the rules and the law of that particular country. So similarly, on that we are taking refuge in the Buddha Dharma Sangha, so we have to follow the rules and that there are individual rules and general rules.
And the individual rule is that by taking refuge in the Buddha, that one should not take refuge in any worldly deities, any other deities, any other worldly deities. And instead that we should always have a clear faith in the Buddha and respect even broken image, even broken pieces of the Buddha image that one should treat with the full respect. By taking refuge in the Dharma that one should avoid harming innocent living beings intentionally, and one should respect even the pieces of paper that has written any words about Dharma with full respect and try to practice Dharma as much as one can according to one’s own ability. And by taking refuge in the Sangha that one should not take non-Buddhist as one’s spiritual companion, one’s spiritual friends, and try to be the Buddhist as one’s spiritual companion, one’s friends, spiritual friends who have the same goal, same path, and that respect the monks and nuns and and even the pieces of robes, the red and yellow colored pieces of robes that should treat with respect, which means that one should not step on the robes or even pieces of them. So these are the individual rules.
And the general rule is that after taking refuge, that one should always consult spiritual masters and try to live your whole pattern of life according to the teachings and try to receive more teachings and try to receive more vows according to one’s own ability and try to make offerings, general offerings and on the special occasions like on the full moon day and the eighth day, etcetera. And also, even if whatever sacrifice that one has to make, whatever price or even if it means to cost one’s life, one should never give up the triple gem. And the sickness or the suffering, whatever the problems or the sufferings that one may face, that one should never give up the triple gem and do prostrations to the images of the Buddha Dharma Sangha in the morning and also at night. And make offerings whenever you eat food, make offerings to the Buddha Dharma Sangha. As well as make offerings to the protectors.
Whatever that one whatever undertakes that, whatever things that one do, that one should always rely on the blessings of the triple gem. And that’s so in this way, that one has set on the right path. And with this kind of thing that one should take refuge from this moment until enlightenment is reached in the Buddha Dharma Sangha and pray so that one will be able to to overcome all the obstacles. And so in this way, by taking refuge that one has set from wrong path, wrong path to the right path. So the taking refuge is preliminary practice, which are very important in all the practices.
Every practice must have in the beginning the taking refuge in the triple gem. Then the second preliminary practice is the creation of enlightenment thought. Although we see all Samsāra as a suffering, and nobody wants suffering. And so but if we see nirvana for oneself, then all the ones the the fire that has exhausted fuel will naturally dies out. So similarly, then once one you once one reaches nirvana for oneself, then all the causes of the suffering which are the defilements and the actions are exhausted.
So there’s no suffering and permanent peace. Although this it is a good thing to obtain, but to obtain such state is not fully developed for oneself, one could not gain the higher qualities, and one could not help other sentient beings. And it is a hindrance to attain the ultimate enlightenment. Like, for example, if one is building a house, if it is a something went wrong, then it is very difficult to redo it, to remake it. If it is right from the beginning so, therefore, it is right from the beginning to make it it correctly and rightly.
Because once you made something else, then to change to another way is very difficult. So, therefore, it is a hindrance. As oneself wish to have happiness, every sentient beings wish the same thing. And as we have our continuity of the mind has coming from the past and present and it’s going to future, so, therefore, that it proves that we are born in this universe from the beginning last time again and again. So there’s not a single sentient being who did not become our parents, our very dear mother and their father.
And every time they have become our mother, they have given us so much love and care as our present mothers have done. So it is not proper to leave all mother sentient beings in the suffering of saṃsāra and one self seeking a nirvana. Even in this life, in the ordinary level, if all of your other family members, present family members are in a dangerous place with many difficulties. If oneself reached in a safe place, then it is not if one is good hearted, if one is a good man, good person, then one will not feel happy. One would rather go with your family and share their sufferings rather than oneself reaching in safe place.
So, similarly, the we have to think of all the mother sentient beings who also have the same sufferings, same kind of wish. So, therefore, we must help the mother sentient beings. But at the moment, ourselves are powerless. We do not have the full knowledge. We do not have the full compassion.
We do not have the full power. Not only us, even the most powerful worldly deities such as like Brahma, Vishnu, do not have the full power to save sentient beings from the suffering. Not only this that the even those who have already reached in nirvana, the Shravakas and Pratyekabuddhas do not have the full power to save sentient beings from the all sentient beings from the suffering of saṃsāra. So who has now only the fully enlightened buddhas who have departed from all obscurations and who have obtained every possible quality, possess the the infinite wisdom, compassion, and power, and that even by issuing one ray of light from his body and giving one teaching, one line of teaching can help save sentient beings immensely from the suffering of saṃsāra. So, therefore, for the sake of all mother sentient beings that we must attain ultimate enlightenment.
So this wish this kind of wish wish to attain ultimate enlightenment for the sake of all living beings is called enlightenment thought, and this just wishing is called the wishing enlightenment thought. But just mere wishing will not accomplish our goal. For example, if one needs to go to India, that the first thing is that you wanted to to go to India. You wish to go to India. So that is like a wishing enlightenment thought.
That then in order to go to India, that you pack and you actually go in in a car or plane or like this, the all the efforts that you make until you reach India. So that part is called entering enlightenment. So in order to get enlightenment is a very great goal. It is the highest goal. It is the biggest goal.
So, therefore, in order to get enlightenment that every efforts you make, starting now, like studying, contemplation, meditation, the every efforts you make until you reach enlightenment is called the entering enlightenment thought. So these two two enlightenment thoughts are very important to create before you do every practice that first, I must get enlightenment for the sake of all living beings. And in order to get enlightenment, that I will do the every necessary practice as bodhisattvas the great bodhisattvas have done that I will also physically through voice and through mentally that I will diligently practice the the virtuous deeds in order to practice the in order to get enlightenment. So in this way, by creating the enlightenment before every practice that one’s path will not only the right path, but on a higher path as it is the highest path to obtain enlightenment is the highest path that one could possibly think. So creating the