Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 38-minute teaching from His Holiness Sakya Trizin, practitioners receive a practical, step-by-step guided meditation combining two foundational preliminaries. He begins with taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, detailing both the visualisation — Buddha in the centre surrounded by lineage gurus and all sentient beings in human form — and the inner attitude required: unshakeable faith rooted in understanding the consequences of attachment, hatred, fear, and ignorance. He emphasises that refuge is not mere recitation but heartfelt reliance on the Triple Gem. The second half covers the generation of enlightenment thought in two stages: the wish to attain enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings, and the commitment to actually practise the path with full physical, verbal, and mental effort. Throughout, Tenzin stresses that these preliminaries are not abstract preliminaries but the foundation of all genuine practice, and that even one moment of sincere enlightenment thought generates immense merit.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 07 FfK.mp3
UUID: f45b8c94-999f-4203-a1ec-cb68f44174c6
Teacher: HH Sakya Trizin
Collection: Freedom from the Known (HH Sakya Trizin)
Date: 1988 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 37.9 minutes
Words: ~2,361
Of enlightenment thought is very important to do to to practice as a preliminary practice with every practice that you do always begin with taking refuge and the creation of enlightenment thought. So here we will have a short break. So now in continuation of our weekend course, normally, there teachings there are two different types of teachings. Teachings that you study the philosophical text with great detail, and that you just study only because main aim is to practice. But the first you study, you spend the time on study, and then later on, you practice it One type.
And another type, this kind of teaching is a profound teaching. Right from the beginning, the the practice is emphasized. So while you are receiving teaching, at the same time that you do it, you meditate, you do it with a practice. So, therefore, now the our second this session is to practice with the practice. And that every practice, of course, have to begin with the taking refuge.
Taking refuge, I have explained to you with the five divisions, the cause. The cause is fear, faith, and compassion. And then the object is the Buddha. The Buddha who possess the three kayas, Dharma, which has the two parts, the realization and the teaching, and then the Sangha the true Sangha are those who have already gone beyond the worldly path and who reach the irreversible state. And and the way is the Buddha as our guide, Dharma as our main path, and Sangha as our spiritual companion.
And with the and then the the benefits and the rules. So with this in mind that you do the first taking refuge with the visualization. That one when one is doing the refuge, that one should sit in comfortably in the cross leg possible. But those, of course, who cannot sit in cross leg for some reason or other than that, they can sit in whatever way that they feel more comfortable. And then in front of you, you visualize the lord Buddha in the center in golden color with three robes adorned with all the thirty-two signs and eighty qualities surrounded with the many all the lineage gurus starting from Mañjuśrī, the great Sakyapa Kunga Nyingpo, and his sons and disciples up till until now, as well as all the other bodhisattvas and and bodhisattvas who are in the renounced form, which means in in monks form as well as from householder’s form, and as well as the Shravakas and Pratyekabuddhas.
And then facing towards this yourself, and your present root parents, which means the present father and mother, as well as all the sentient beings of the six realms, the hell realms, hungry ghost realms, animals realm, human realm, demigods realm, and the gods realm all surrounded. All are in human form. Although at the moment, they are in different forms, but by visualizing in human form that they will in the future, the the those who are not in human life will have the opportunity to be born as a human being and then to practice the Dharma. So with this, with the respectful form, physically with the respectful form, speech with the deep devotion, recital, and mentally with the deep devotion that whatever happens in our life, that we rely on the blessings of the Triple Gem. In the past, for countless lifetimes, we did not follow the virtuous spiritual master’s advice, and we have not taken refuge in the Triple Gem.
So for this therefore, today, we are in the saṃsāra. We have have to experience so many different types of sufferings. So now this time that when I have all the opportunities that I must practice diligently until I reach enlightenment, And that also relies on, depends on the guru and the triple gem. And so with this kind of very strong intention, guru as well as Buddha as our guide, the one who show us the path of liberation, and Dharma as our main path, and Sangha as our spiritual companion with a great devotion. Taking refuge means not only recitation of refuge.
It means mainly from depth of one’s heart to rely on the blessings of the Triple Gem. In order to escape from the rain, it is not enough just to say the words of ‘the house’ or the cave or the shelter. But in order to escape from the rain, you have to go. You have to run into the cave or the shelter. Similarly, just by reciting itself in words, Reciting the by words is also, of course, important, but the main thing is from one’s heart.
Once the from the depth of one’s heart to take refuge in the the in the Buddha Dharma Sangha. No matter what happens, should have the faith faith that is unshakable by desire or fear or anger or the ignorance, which means, for example, the desire means that by giving up by giving up the Triple Gem, if even while it it means sacrificing the the kingdom. You have to sacrifice the kingdom in order to follow, in order to take refuge in the buddhadharma Sangha. One have to sacrifice by by remembering the faults of desire or the attachment attachment. And the hatred out of hatred that one loses one’s spiritual practice.
So the hatred is not helping. Through hatred, one could not destroy one’s enemy. It only destroys oneself. So by remembering the faults of hatred that one should that out of hatred, that one should not lose the spiritual practice. And out of fear, if somebody says to you that if you do not give up the triple gem, that I will take your life.
But even this kind of fear one face that it is far better to lose one’s life rather than to give up the triple gem. Because if somebody kills you, it means just to lose to lose the present life. But if one is lost to the defilements, that the defilements can not only in this life, but for countless lifetimes, can put you in the burning fire of the lower realms. So, therefore, that one should by remembering is that out of fear also, one should not be to not to lose the the spiritual practice. And out of ignorance, Also, by by doing the right which is the right thing, by knowing the what is the right thing and the what is the right the wrong thing, etcetera.
That so in this way, that one should take refuge with oneself, all sentient beings from this moment until enlightenment is reached for the sake of attaining ultimate enlightenment or the full enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. So without any distraction on outer objects, that by remembering all these things in your mind with a deep devotion, then you should recite the the refuge. Those who cannot those who can’t recite refuge in Tibetan can recite in English also kind of silently. The word is that from this moment and I with the all sentient beings from this moment until enlightenment is reached, take refuge in the root and lineage gurus and take refuge in the fully enlightened Buddhas, take refuge in the holy Dharma, and take refuge in the noble sanghas. So this kind of things that in mind that you should recite the the refuge.
So in this way that you remember the great qualities of the Buddha that are indescribable qualities. And by praying praying to the guru and Triple Gem, by taking refuge, and then after taking refuge, by praying to the guru and Triple Gem, through their blessings, that once you request to bless you so that one’s mind will not go on worldly activities. That one’s mind will go into the Dharma practice. And that also you request to bless you so that the Dharma practice, Dharma path that you began will be a successful one. And you request to bless you so that all the faults, the confusions on the path will disappear.
And you request blessings so that all this illusory vision, the vision which we have which is not real, which is not right, which is not truth, I will turn into the transcendental wisdom. And this illusory vision itself is turned into the transcendental wisdom and so that one will be able to see, realize. And that you request to bless you so that even a single moment irreligious thought may not arise within your mental continuum. And you request to bless you so soon bless us so that we will quickly be able to achieve the enlightenment. So this kind of prayer that you will recite with a very deep devotion by remembering the great qualities of the Buddha and by deep devotion and faith that buddhas and bodhisattvas who possess the omniscient wisdom will see that what we are requesting and that they their great compassion will hold our request and their great power will act upon oneself as well as all sentient beings so that everyone, all different types of sufferings will be dispersed and every quality will arise.
And then eventually this the refuge tree, the refuge that we have visualized in front of us is dissolved into a light and absorbs to you as well as all sentient beings so that all our negative actions, negative acts will all disappear and that all sentient beings they’re pure physically as well as mentally so that we will be able to practice path, we will be able to realize the the ultimate truth the ultimate truth. And so in this way, that after absorbing the light to us that you remain relax your mind and sit in meditation posture and relax your mind and that you received all the qualities of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas, and then you just relax your mind and that you remain there without any interference of outer thoughts. Just relaxing mind without any interference of outer thought itself has a great benefit. And but here, after absorption of the blessings of the Buddha, that it is much more greater. If the the muddy water, the water that has so much muddy mud, unclear water, if it is kept in a place without any movement, then all the mud settles down and the clear water is visible.
So similarly here, that we should must we must relax mind without outer thoughts, without interference, without specific thinking. We just relaxing will sort of calm down the different thoughts and that will be able to it helps to see the one’s mind. So for this way, we should meditate for a moment. And then the second preliminary practice is the creation of the enlightenment thought. The creation of the enlightenment thought has two paths, relative creation of enlightenment thought and absolute creation of enlightenment thought.
And here, it is the relative creation of enlightenment thought, which means that everybody wish to be free from suffering. Everybody wish to have be have happy just like ourselves from our own feelings that we can learn what other people are also wishing. Also, for the sake of all living beings, The only way the effective way the only effective way of removing the sufferings permanently and achieving the the eternal happiness is to attain ultimate enlightenment. And so for to do this that at the moment ourselves are completely choiceless or freedomless. We are completely bound with the defilements and obstructions.
So we can’t do anything, but we must set path to attain the enlightenment. So for the sake of all sentient beings, in order to save every sentient being from the suffering of saṃsāra and in order to put every sentient being into the path of liberation that we must get enlightenment. We must get enlightenment. Make a very strong will to think that I must attain enlightenment, because it is a very great aim..
So whatever problems that one may face, whatever difficulties that one have to go through, that one will never give up a wish to attain ultimate enlightenment. And this is called wishing bodhicitta. Wishing enlightenment thought. Because you wish to attain enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. And the second is called entering enlightenment thought.
It means that for the sake of in order to get enlightenment, enlightenment does not rise by just mere wishing will not come. Without proper cause and the condition that it will not rise. So that in order to get enlightenment, that you will practice diligently, use all our energy, all our efforts, use all our three doors, which means physically, through speech, and through mentally. And so this is called the entering enlightenment thought. So for the sake of all mother sentient beings, in order to save all mother sentient beings from the suffering of saṃsāra, that I must get ultimate enlightenment.
That is the the first part. And in then the second part is that in order to get enlightenment that I will practice the profound deep profound path, the path of all the past, present, and future Buddhas that one will diligently practice. I resolve to practice whatever difficulties, whatever challenges that I have to go through that I will never change this and makes very strong will to do it. So, these are two called creation of the enlightenment thought, wishing enlightenment thought and entering enlightenment thought. Of course, just by having the idea of enlightenment thought itself is a great benefit.
Even one kind of disease that one could make one only one type of disease to completely if one could wipe out one particular kind of disease of the whole world, of course, one has a great merit. But this is not just one kind or the one specific problems but it means that all sentient beings, every types of sufferings, to free from every types of sufferings and to get the eternal bliss, to get the true liberation is of course enormous merits and benefits. So with these in mind that we do the creation of enlightenment thought.