Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 44-minute teaching, HH Sakya Trizin guides practitioners through core meditations on the sufferings of cyclic existence as foundation for genuine renunciation. He begins by showing how everyday actions—eating, walking, working—become virtuous deeds when animated by the right intention: sustaining the body and meeting spiritual masters for all beings’ benefit. He then establishes the motivational framework of refuge and bodhicitta before leading detailed meditations on the eight types of hell realms—hot and cold—alongside hungry ghosts and animals, emphasizing the urgency of practice given the certainty of death and the ever-present defiling thoughts that drive rebirth into these states. Finally, he addresses the deceptive nature of happiness in the higher realms, showing that even celestial beings and universal emperors face the same four sufferings—birth, age, sickness, death—and must inevitably fall. Throughout, the teaching alternates between explanation and guided meditation, designed for practitioners committed to the Mahāyāna path of liberation for all beings.
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File: 14 FfK.mp3
UUID: 0ff9ba55-e054-4c9b-b56f-1b78d8432b1a
Teacher: HH Sakya Trizin
Collection: Freedom from the Known (HH Sakya Trizin)
Date: 1988 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 43.9 minutes
Words: ~3,200
These days when one eats, then the eating becomes virtuous deeds. Similarly, that by keeping alive one’s body so that one could practice Dharma, one could study Dharma, meditate, and do virtuous deeds. So in order to do virtuous deeds that I’m keeping my body fit, and for that reason that I’m eating food, and for that reason that I’m keeping clean, etcetera, if one with such intention that if you do, then it becomes the virtuous deeds. Instead of indifferent actions, it becomes virtuous deeds. And when you are walking or when you are going, also, that if you think of going wishing to meet the Buddha, wishing to meet the spiritual masters.
May all sentient beings be able to meet the spiritual masters. May all sentient beings be able to meet the Buddha. May all sentient beings enter into the path of liberation, etcetera. That if you say, then it becomes the virtuous deeds. And, also, all the time thinking that all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are sitting on your right hand side, and the right side is the the better side of the body.
So by showing this that by working by doing a circumambulation, etcetera, that by even just for ordinary works that if you think like that, then that indifferent action becomes the the virtuous deeds. So in this way that one could be useful, helpful, and positive. So now we will have a short break and then do the meditation. So now we will do a meditation on the what we have studied. And, always, meditation began with the refuge taking and the creation of enlightenment thoughts.
So as I have told you yesterday about the five points of refuge, cause, object, benefit, the way of proceeding, the proceeding of taking refuge, and the benefit and the rules. And then with the visualization, the lord Buddha in the center surrounded with all the lineage gurus, and then oneself with the all sentient beings physically in respectable form, speech, reciting the refuge, and mentally with the deep devotion that whatever happens in my life, that I only rely on the blessings of the guru and triple gem. So in this kind of very deep devotion and faith that one should recite. Those who cannot recite in Tibetan can recite in English by saying that take refuge in the root and lineage gurus, take refuge in the fully enlightened Buddhas, and take refuge in the holy Dharma, and take refuge in the noble Sangha. Just to recite along when we recite when we recite in Tibetan.
So in this way, there we can feel that by reciting refuge praying to the guru and Triple Gem that they know what our request, and they take our request out of great compassion, and they protect us through their great powers. And then visualize that you and all get purified of all your negative actions, negative karmas, and increases all the virtuous qualities, the virtuous deeds. And then after that, also, we have recited the the creation of enlightenment thought that for the sake of all mother sentient beings who are actually everyone wish to have a happiness. But although their aim is happiness, but the work they are doing due to the ignorance is creating more sufferings. So all these mother sentient beings who are already experiencing in the midst of suffering and still continue creating more sufferings.
So for the sake of all mother sentient beings, in order to save from the suffering of Samsāra, that I must attain ultimate enlightenment. And in order to get enlightenment, that I will do whatever necessary as early as both the great Avalokiteśvara and Mañjuśrī and lord Maitreya, etcetera, have practiced that I will also that from this moment I will not lose my time, I will not lose my precious time and practice diligently. So by doing by taking refuge and by creating the enlightenment thought that it will become our path, the correct path, and also higher path. So now we start the main practice. And then the practice that we do, whatever we do, since our we have already set the right motivation that the path we now practice will become the real higher path.
So for this, the first thing is that if you desire to this life, you are not a religious person which explains the need to practice need to practice Dharma in order to create the need to practice Dharma to meditate on the precious human birth. The precious human birth which is difficult to obtain from many point of view, the cause, number, example, and nature free from the eight unrestful places and precious human birth with all the the right conditions conditions that require to obtain from one’s own site, conditions required to obtain from others, all we have. Then when we have such a great opportunity that one should not waste, and one should must use this great opportunity for the best way. And meditate. And then also the although we have obtained the great opportunity, but everything is impermanent.
As Candrakīrti says that one one has the complete freedom of practicing religion when we have such a precious time that if we could not hold this once we are once we lose this freedom, then it is very difficult to gain another one. So when we have a such a opportunity that is very important to practice as everything is impermanent. And so the one thing that is a hundred percent certain is the death. And when the death will come is complete uncertainty that it can come in any moment, at any time. So we must practice.
And at the time of death, nobody can help you. The only the Dharma practice that we do that which we can help. So think about this and these two things which we have studied yesterday. So meditate for a moment. And then in today’s thing is to if you have attachment to the realm of existence, then it is not a proper renunciation.
So which means that if those one who is seeking for the liberation, one must give up attachment to the realm of existence. And in order to give up attachment to the realm of existence, that we must know the the the bad consequences, the bad results of the saṃsāra. The suffering the suffering of Samsāra. It is very important to know the suffering of Samsāra. Unless we know the suffering, one will not be able to take the the for example, unless we know the disease, one could not take the the treatment.
So, similarly, it is very imp in order to set the liberation path of liberation, that it is very important to know the sufferings. And they are suffering of suffering, suffering of change, and conditional nature of suffering of conditional nature of all things. And these the first one is in the lower realms. In the lower realms, the hell realm, hungry ghost realm, and animals realms. In the hell realm, there’s a hot hell, cold hell, hot hell, and neighboring and semi hells.
The cold hell has eight different types of cold hells. So the one eye oneself from the beginning last time, that been caught up in this realm of Samsāra again and again and experienced enormous amounts of suffering. Although I have experienced sufferings in the past, if I were not going to suffer anymore in the future, then, of course, it is very good One one need to be relaxed. One need to be happy. But unless we turn away from this net, the net of delusion, one will be one has completely no choice, no freedom.
Wherever in any part of the world, any part of the realms that one will be forced to be born due to one’s karma and due to one’s defilements. So if, again, I fall down in the countless continuing saṃsāra and experience the different types of suffering, how would I be able to survive? How will I be able to face? Among these that if I’m born in the cold hell, the place is like that which is all ice and so forth. And nature of suffering is like cracking.
Even the internal organs are cracking. And the lifespan is so long, etcetera. All these think about the nature of all these suffering of the cold hell. And then today, in this human realm, even we could not bear a single day when it is a cold weather, we could not bear the cold. So if one is falling into such realm with such suffering, how would I be able to face?
And one do not have any confidence that one will not be born in such a place. And the cause of such suffering, which is anger, desire, hatred, in every day, so many so many anger, so many hatred, so many desire are coming in every day. When we just example when we just exam, since this morning, since from rising until now, what kind of thoughts did we examine? There are more more defiling thoughts than the good thoughts. So there’s no confidence that one will not be fall into such a place.
So if we are fall into such a place, how would I bear? And so this time, after understanding all these sufferings that I must when I have all these good opportunities, that I must practice holy Dharma so that one will not be born in such a place. And the teaching and the the practice that one will do also, not just the ordinary one, but the one that is very high teaching, the Mahāyāna teaching. Not only us to free from the cold hells, but even the whole mother sentient beings to be free from the cold hells, and that I must make a very strong will. So in this, you meditate for a moment.
And then the second suffering, the hot hells. Again, in the same way, the saṃsāra which is burning suffering in everywhere. Among these that if one is born in the hot hell, their nature of the place where they are born is all on the burning iron ground with the burning mountains, burning iron weapons, etcetera. And the sufferings that they are going to experience is so much. No matter how great suffering that we have, physical suffering that we have in this world, in human realm, even a tiny bit of the suffering in the hell realm could not represent.
Whatever great suffering that we have in this human realm. Even the tiny bit of the suffering in the hell realm could not represent. So it is almost in unimaginable or undescribable suffering. And that their lifespan is such a long, almost unimaginable, uncalculable times. And today in this human realm, just by touching a tiny fire on your body or tiny needle hitting on your body, one could not bear the such suffering.
Even just for for a minute or so, even for such a short period and tiny bit of a needle of fire hitting on your body that we could not bear. But if one falls in the lower hot hells where the place and the nature of suffering and where not only just for few times, the short period of time, but such a long period of time. There’s such an enormous amount of suffering that we have to face and how old are they. And, of course, these are all very authentic. Sutras describe this hell realms.
And so if such a place is forced on you, how would I bear? And so in this way, think about this and think about their sufferings and make strong will to overcome such suffering and meditate for a moment. And, also, in the same way, the neighboring and semi hells. Not only in the major hells, the sufferings. Even the neighboring or the semi hells have so much suffering.
And these semi health, we could even see in this human realm. For example, the animals that were fried alive in the burning pan, etcetera, like a semi hells. So in such a suffering, today, in the human life, ourselves, even just a tiny fire or needle, we could not bear. So if one is born in these neighboring hells or the semi hells, that the suffering that they go through is so much. And there’s no confidence that one will not be born in such place.
And the cause of this hatred, desire, etcetera, the defilement mind every day that we have so much. So that one must when we have this great opportunity, one should not waste the time, and one must utilize this time this precious time in practicing Dharma so that at least one will be not born in such a place. And, also, one could help other sentient mother sentient beings who are already there born or who who are already facing going to the this direction. So think about this and meditate for a moment. And then the suffering of the hungry ghost realm.
If one is born in a hungry ghost realm, their place which is very barren, very poor, even just by seeing the sight of it creates suffering. Anyone have to remain in such a poor place, in such a great suffering without finding even a grain of food and one drop of water spending for so many years, then how would one able to bear? And there’s no confidence that one will not have such suffering. And the cause of this suffering, which is desire and stinginess, etcetera. Then in everyday life that we have so much so much desire, so much stinginess, so much other defilements.
So there’s no reason that one will not be born as a hungry ghost. There’s no confidence that one will not be born in a hungry ghost realm. Since we have so much cause, there’s every likelihood that one will be born in such place. So if one is born in such a place where there is so much hunger and thirst, first of all, that one could not find even a grain of food or drop of water, even if one finds it one could not swallow it due to the tiny throat. And even it goes to the to the body that it creates more hunger.
Instead of solving the hunger, it sort of creates more hunger and have to run-in every direction for finding more food. And since they do not have any food, there’s part of body like hand and legs were all skeleton. And just like dragging the old cart, horse cart, the cart, that all their body is with the many very old dragging the old cart, that their body is all with many sounds and great difficulty that go have to go in every direction to finding food. Even one find food that one could not take it. And even when one takes it, it creates more obscuration.
The the ones who have a heavier karma, they are called the obscuration of obscuration, which means that that the food becomes like a poison and creates so much suffering. Like a burning like burning fire through their internals which burns their intestines and internal organs. So how one will bear such suffering and think about that suffering and make strong will that one will not one will practice Dharma. Dharma also not just outward Dharma, but Dharma that will really subdue our minds, which is so much indulge the defilements. So in this way, meditate for a moment.
And then to think about the animals. If one is born in the animals realm where the place suffering and the lifespans and today, even we could not do a part of the suffering that the animals are suffering, Would not bear even a part of the sufferings that animals have. But if one is due to one’s karma and defilement that if one is forced to be born in the animal’s realm, then there’s no way to bear such suffering. And the cause of this suffering, which is ignorance, is everyday life so much so that one must make enough efforts to practice Dharma so that one will not be born in such a place. Dharma that will become a real protect us to be free not to be born in the animals realm.
So in this, you think about animals’ sufferings, animals that are in the oceans, animals that are in belonging to the human beings, the animals that are in the forests, and then the mountains. Then meditate for a moment. And then to think about the suffering of change. Although it is true that there’s a tremendous amount of suffering in the lower realms, but in the higher realms, there is a happiness. That also, if we carefully exam, there’s no real happiness.
Comparing with the the suffering that it looks like happiness, but in reality, there’s no happiness. Everything is changing. Everything is changing. Even one is born as lord of heavens. So it is completely wrong to think that there’s happiness in the higher realms.
It is all looks like happiness, but in reality, it is all false. So something that is not a real happiness and something that is not real that by having attachment and and wishing to gain such a place is very wrong. The whatever prosperity that we have in this higher realms, even one is born as a Brahma or Indra or universal emperor or as a sun or as moon or even as born as a king of the human beings, whichever one is born, that one is not free. Everyone is not free from the four major sufferings, the birth, old age, sickness, and death. So the one the universal emperor who has a thousands of servants and the the beggar who has have to beg his food in every day.
When the time comes, it is the same thing. The beggar also have to die. The universal emperor also have to die in the same way. So it is there’s nothing which is worthy of having attachment. Not only in human realms, in the devas realms, but even the higher realms such as the the realm of forms, and the formless realm.
Even these devas who have reached very high worldly meditation, no matter how high the bird flies in the sky, eventually, it have to land on the ground. So, similarly, even though they have gone a very high worldly state, but since it is within the realm of existence, they still have to fall down. So the saṃsāra, when we mean saṃsāra, it is nothing but suffering. It is just like a burning fire. So whoever is having attachment for the realm of existence, it is wrong.
It is false. So this time, by knowing this, that we must cut the link with saṃsāra and must practice Dharma so that one will permanently free from the suffering of Samsāra. And for this, you meditate for a moment.