Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 35-minute session, HH Sakya Trizin explores the interplay between compassion in daily life and serious meditation practice, and how genuine freedom arises from understanding the absence of inherent self. He begins with the tension between method and wisdom—using daily experiences to cultivate compassion versus dedicating time to formal retreats—and shows how bodhisattvas, like the sun behind clouds, always work to benefit others even in dark ages. He then explains why Vajrayāna teachings offer a direct path to enlightenment in a single lifetime through profound methods, before turning to core philosophical questions posed by the audience: why human life is precious despite suffering, how a formless mind affects the body, and ultimately, the nature of self. Using examples of a rosary’s beads and the flower’s scent, he demonstrates that while mind continuously flows as a seamless stream carrying karmic imprints, careful investigation reveals no independent self. Self-clinging is the root of saṃsāra, yet relative acceptance of self is necessary for practice. He closes by addressing why human rebirth, despite its pain, offers a superior basis for spiritual practice compared even to the luxury of higher divine realms.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 11 FfK.mp3
UUID: 50f71a47-72d8-461f-bb1d-f2b8e1ec81dd
Teacher: HH Sakya Trizin
Collection: Freedom from the Known (HH Sakya Trizin)
Date: 1988 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 35.6 minutes
Words: ~2,497
I mean, we should do the both the method and wisdom both using together. Method means, like, the today’s, like, to help the poor ones, to help those who are suffering, etcetera. That is on the more method side. And the wisdom is more on the serious practice like going to the meditation retreats and so forth. So these two things in combining together, then you proceed.
I thought that the idea of daily life, the experiences we have in daily life are very good tools for us to use to practice compassion and wisdom. Yes. And especially with having children Yes. That’s true. But at the same time, but if you engage all this just on the the daily life, then it loses very valuable precious time of being able to practice more serious practice.
Uh-huh. Yes. But once you get enlightenment, of course, there’s a great benefit. Not only enlightenment, even you reached at the stages of the bodhisattvas can benefit immensely by giving teachings through the through their great activities that every moment can the benefit that you receive from the bodhisattvas. Not only Buddha, but even the bodhisattvas is immense.
Of course. So when one reaches buddhahood, enlightenment, of course, the benefit that one can give is just indescribable. There’s so much benefit through the Buddha’s teachings that we can able to accomplish crossing over the suffering of saṃsāra. Through the Buddha’s teachings that we can set on the spiritual path. Through the Buddha’s teachings that we can get nirvana.
Through the Buddha’s teachings that one could get to the higher realms. Yes. Well, I mean, when once there are those who have the right karma, the bodhisattvas and bodhisattvas are all the time just like the sun is always shining brightly. But when the so much dark clouds comes that we could not see. Isn’t it?
So similarly bodhisattvas, whether it’s dark age or light age, that all the time helping. But with the time of the dark age, that their karma, their defilement so great that they do not see. The vajrayana teaching you know, the vajrayana teachings, there are reasons also. For example, that to point to a essence is very important. I mean, if you try to kill a man hitting his head or some hands or something that he will not die.
But someone who knows where the the life, the essence of life is that even there, even just by hitting, even without weapons, even with with the hands or something, then person can die. So similarly, the the vajrayana teachings have a method. Although we believe that the final attainment of Buddhahood enlightenment is same in the vajrayana the realization is same as vajrayana and the Mahāyāna. But the vajrayana has the this kind of direct method so that to quickly attain enlightenment. And the vajrayana does not I mean, is Of course, it is a very great goal so, of course, it takes even for ordinary goals.
The greater goals take a longer time. Takes do takes very long time. But in vajrayana, which has very profound and deep methods that if we make enough efforts that those person who have the the the great endeavor can succeed to attain enlightenment in one lifetime, in this very lifetime. I see. But to that one, the vows for life, aren’t they?
Yes. That’s right. Why why is it why This is because, you see, in Vinaya, this is Vinaya tradition. And Vinaya, there are many different traditions. In India, they were actually said they have eighteen different types of traditions.
All are, of course, Buddha’s own activities. All are right ones, but they have a different rules. They they have a different traditions. And the Theravadas is a one tradition. The Tibetan tradition is another tradition.
And according to the Tibetan tradition, that the vow that you have been taking have to be for a lifetime. Any more questions? Yes? Yes. If taking that into account, there’s so much suffering, why is human life so precious?
And why Because we have the best possibility to overcome the suffering. Best chance to overcome the suffering. Even more than animals. Of course. Animals, of course, suffers much more than human beings, isn’t it?
Of course. I mean, animals who are killed for for many reasons, for skin, for flesh, and for all kind of things. And if the animals has the sufferings that animals are suffering, if no human beings can suffer, animals themselves bite human beings, gore them, and do all kind of sufferings, isn’t it? Uh-huh. Yes.
Yes. Can a dog be a bodhisattva? Can a bird? I mean, there are among the Buddha’s life story, there are many times that he was in birds and elephant and so forth helping within that area. Yes.
That’s right. I mean, the Nirmāṇakāya is that the Bodhisattvas take whatever form is required. The animal realm and the Yes. Yes. Yes.
What is it that becomes free from suffering? The the mind. Yes. Yes. And then what happens to the I mean, that when you realize the true nature of the mind, which is actually nothing to realize, and that is is is at the same time that that when all the out other sufferings just generally vanishes.
What type of experience? Uh-huh. Relating to the landscape. This is maybe a western theme. Western theme.
I mean, it is an attachment. Do you there are all kind of bliss or other. How’s that? Things that you gain from from food, from cloth, from sceneries, from from sexual, etcetera. There are many things, but it is all attachment.
Isn’t it? The more you have, one could never one could never satisfy. I mean, the more you the enjoy, that that more you need. This never satisfying. That is also in a way kind of suffering, isn’t it?
It’s one could never I mean, from the beginning last time that we are born in this saṃsāra again and again so many times. How many times that we have born? How many times that we have eaten? How many times that we have enjoyed? But never satisfying.
It’s always craving more. It’s just like drinking Like salty water. The more you drink, the more you thirst become. I have a general question. Yes.
I brought this up the other night about how the mind being formless Yes. Physical is able to affect, for example, the body. You know, you have a thought Uh-huh. Intention to raise your arm. Yes.
Yes. How does that mirror how does the mind able to affect the form of the body to raise the arm? What is the connection? Body and the actually, in the present, says the body and mind are like a container and the contents, like a flower and the smell of flower. The body is the base at this at this time, at this moment when we are alive, it is very much sort of combined together.
And so the mind is the most important. Mind is the kind of boss. So when it directs when it directs to do, to raise arms or to say words or to see things or to think this or to go there, then the the body follows. The connection is, as I said, it is like the base and the the one who is based on that. It’s like a flower and flower seed.
Flower smell of flower. The flower is the body, and the smell of flower is the mind. At this at this while we are alive while we are alive. Question. I mean, that something had to carry for somebody to remember their past.
Mhmm. And yet the stream of mind is said to be invisible energy The propensities. The imprint mental imprint or the propensities that because it is the same stream. Although the mind is all the time changing, but it is a continuation of the same line without breaking. So it is a continuation of the same line.
So, therefore, it kind of remembers. Yes. Yeah. Everything like rosary. Rosary, each bead is separate, but they are all together without the without the gap.
Mhmm. That is like the self — it has no inherent existence. Yes. I mean, this self is just just we mistaken. Actually, there when we try to search the self, there is no such thing as a self.
Mhmm. But it’s just because we I mean, we said we we think because we have such a strong propensity to to think as a self to think as a self, but we we carefully examine there is no self. Because self if there’s a self, it has to be either a name. Name is not self, isn’t it? Name could be given any name.
Name is empty, isn’t it? And the body then it has to be body or the mind. And the mind body, we is many things together. It is not just one. Anything combined together.
There’s no thing as a self. And the mind also is not something that is visible, something that is not in shape or color, and it is something that every moment continuously changing, so it could not be the self. Yes. I mean, we relatively we accept as I, the one the one who is creating the karma, one who is receiving the result of karma, etcetera. But in the true sense, absolute way, we we try try to investigate and examine the things, then one could not find any any self.
In reality, there’s no self. But, of course, relatively, we have to accept our self because, otherwise, there’s no no one who’s practicing, isn’t it? It is the one who’s practicing. In the beginning, because we are mistaking as a self. We did not see the true nature of our mind.
We do not realize the true nature of our mind, and we’re mistaking as a self. Due to this, then you create the self. When you have the self, you have the others. When you have the others, then you have the the defilement thoughts. And when you have the defilement thought, then you have the create the karma.
So the source, the root or the root of all the saṃsāra is actually the self clinging. Yes. Yes. There are collective karmas and the individual karmas. All human being have a same kind of karma.
It’s called collective karma because we all have the same kind of situation. But then within this human realm, each individual has a different life. Like, people live longer, some people live shorter, some are healthy, and that is a individual karma. The fact that there’s a certain number I could see in the past so much and in the future so much. And then I I just wondered whether if the person did another action, whether whether they could change what the person had seen, whether Even the bodhisattva who reached the highest stage, who can see the many, who can go to the hundred Buddha realms, and who can see the hundred Buddhas and so forth.
You mean that now at the moment, the Bodhisattva knows what what is coming in the future, but then we’ll still that condition or situation be changed or not. Condition be changed. Change. Why why have they changed? By an action of a person.
It that sees that it make a real change. Thank you. I mean, it differs for each individual. But say those who are born in the tulku lineage are the emanations of bodhisattvas. So bodhisattvas will work for the sentient beings wherever, whatever form, whenever it requires.
Yes. That is why the suffering is good. The suffering makes us to to practice Dharma. Since they have a lesser suffering, they do not see the need to practice Dharma. But they have a great luxury life.
Actually, there are three types three types of higher realms. Devas realm within our our realm, Kamadhatu. They have a great physical luxury that when you have, of course, so much things to enjoy, so much things to see, then, of course, although due to their merits, the sound of Dharma is all the time resounding, but they do not notice. They don’t don’t hear. And in the higher realms, they have a higher rupadhatu.
And in the rupadhatu, they have a worldly meditation. They have a worldly meditation, higher meditation that which they think is the the ultimate state. So they they they just remain there. But still, they have not cut the root of saṃsāra, So so one day, again, they fall down. Mhmm.
I mean, many do do. Many many also follow the Dharma. They are great beings also. But generally speaking, since their their life is full of enjoyment and luxury that they do not see or they do not bother, do not feel necessity to practice the Dharma. So from as a base to practice Dharma, the human human life is much greater, better than even the deva realm.
But from the result point of view, the deva realm is actually higher. But from base for the religious point of view, the human realm is greater. Yes. Can happen. Yes.
Whereas if one incarnates into a higher realm, then in some higher realms, they have light bodies. They don’t need to sleep or eat. All this time we have to waste in the human realm. Uh-huh. But still, I mean, in the human realm that we have the sufferings, we have the other sentient beings who are suffering, which are actually a great help to finding the spiritual path.
I mean, generally, of course, the devas realm are greater. But as a base for practice Dharma, the human realm is greater. It is beyond existing or nonexisting. Mhmm. Okay.
So why is it desirable? Because it is not suffering? Because it is very yes. Not suffering and also great help that it could bestow so much help to the other sentient beings. By example. By example, giving teachings by giving teachings, by emitting light from the body, and by performing miracles and so forth.
Do you feel that you you would suffer? Do you experience suffering at your level? How do you feel suffer? I mean, I do not claim that I have have any I am only one who is striving on the path, trying to follow the the the bodhisattva path, but I do not have reached any significant stage. So I’m just like any other person, the same feelings and the same kind of experience.
It’s the same way, but we have the the only thing is that I’m born in a special lineage and blessed with many great gurus and received many teachings, and so they’re trying to follow this path. So maybe now we should conclude with the dedication prayer.