Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 29-minute teaching, HH Sakya Trizin expounds the radical antidote to self-clinging: the exchange meditation of bodhisattvas. He shows how self-centeredness is the root of all suffering and demonstrates a two-phase practice — first taking on the suffering and defilements of all sentient beings while sending them your virtues and happiness, then recognizing the dreamlike illusory nature of both giver and receiver, self and other. He then introduces insight meditation on the true nature of mind itself, which he describes as the union of clarity and emptiness, inseparable like fire and heat. Finally, he walks through analytical meditation on the selflessness of person and phenomena, showing through logical examination that neither name, body, nor mind can stand as a permanent self. The talk ends with merit dedication in the tradition of the bodhisattva masters. Suitable for practitioners with basic familiarity with Buddhist meditation practice.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 18 FfK.mp3
UUID: af6d9ead-aff7-47cd-aca5-60946da611f2
Teacher: HH Sakya Trizin
Collection: Freedom from the Known (HH Sakya Trizin)
Date: 1988 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 29.1 minutes
Words: ~1,602
And then for the generating the enlightenment thought that I, myself, who wish to gain enlightenment for the sake of sentient beings. But unless I relinquish, I destroy the self clinging, that not only I will not be able to help the sentient beings, but even one one’s own purpose could not be fulfilled. So, therefore, now that one will see the self clinging as as root of all the faults and completely discard the self clinging and work physically through speech, mind, every work for the sake of all sentient beings. From today onwards that I will not work for myself. I will work for the benefit of other sentient beings.
As other as oneself wish to have happiness, that every sentient being wish to have happiness. As oneself wish to be free from suffering, every sentient being wish to be free from the sufferings. So in this way, that I will instead working for oneself that I will work for the other sentient beings. And then the main part of the main part of the generating enlightenment thought is to do the exchange meditation that also beginning with the mother, remember mother, etcetera, the same same way, and arouse great compassion and make a strong will to wish to attain enlightenment for the sake of sentient beings. And I want you to know that we did not get enlightenment because we did not look after our mothers.
We’ve been all the time clinging to oneself. And so now at this precious moment that I obtained, I must destroy the self clinging. And from today onwards, I must work for the sentient beings And so that I must take all the sentient beings, their suffering, and their cause of suffering, the defilements, all the bad things, all the undesirable things that should come to me, ripen over me. So just like from the heart, the suffering of mother and the cause of suffering, the defilements in black form come over you and and dissolves into you. And if I could take the suffering of other sentient beings, that one should be very joyful.
So in this way, that crushes the self clinging. And then once when you are when you learn that a coiled rope is not a snake, then, of course, all the anxiety, etcetera, just naturally vanish. So in this way, that you crush the the self clinging, and then all the sufferings vanish. And all the one’s own virtuous deeds and all the one’s own happiness, all the good things, just like sunshine goes out and dissolves into one’s mother. So in this way, that one’s mother is happy in this life temporarily and eventually have all the facilities to practice Dharma and increases her virtuous deeds and so that one will be very mother one’s mother will attain enlightenment.
And maybe even recite this recite this line. Maybe you should repeat after me the and so that as you do the exchange meditation, then you repeat after me these words. May the suffering of my mother come to me through my virtues. May my mother be happy. So when you say the first part was that you received the her sufferings to you, and the second part said that the the virtuous deeds goes out and to her.
And then eventually with the every sentient beings so all the sentient beings. And so with every sentient beings with the same way, all the sentient beings suffering and their cause of suffering, defilements, and every bad things is the one takes. And one gives all the virtues and the happiness to the all sentient beings. So, again, with this kind of visualization that you repeat these lines, May the sufferings of all beings all beings come to me by my virtue. May they all may they all attain happiness.
And finally, then in reality, there’s no sentient beings. There’s no oneself to take the sufferings. There’s no sentient being who received the virtues. There’s no suffering and happiness as such. In reality, there’s all this is a illusion just like the things that you see in your dream.
The good things that make you happy, the bad things that make you unhappy, things that you see in your dream. But when you awake that there’s nothing, there’s not even a sign of what has happened in your dream. But while you are dreaming, it is as real as this life. So in reality, that there’s nothing to exchange, nothing to take in, but not realizing that just like having a going through a great suffering in your dream. In your dream also, you suffer sometimes and have go through a very terrible experience.
So just like that, we’re clinging this life as a real. And due to these all sorts of problems, all sorts of sufferings that one have to go through. So that one have should have a great compassion to those who do not realize in such a way and try to follow the great bodhisattva’s other activities as it is mentioned in the scriptures. And then to do the concentration to do the concentration is actually one have to do in properly. Not such a short period of time like this one cannot do, but by remembering that the benefits of concentration and by remembering the consequences that mind wandering around.
And then to know the the basic thing is that to know the five faults, to remember the eight antidotes through the nine methods that one should concentrate. First, on the outside object until you one’s mind could remain calmly, one pointedly without any interference of thoughts. So in this way that one could remain one’s mind in very calm and pointedly and just like the light very clear when you can can remain on the very clarity of the mind. So here also, we just briefly remain for a moment. And then when of course, this is something that have to do for a long period of time.
And then when one is could remain like this, then, of course, each time that when you sit for meditation, always begin with the taking refuge and the creation of enlightenment thought and then to practice long time for the creation of enlightenment thought, the relative creation of enlightenment thought, and then do the concentration. And then once one could remain in this clarity, then you do the insight meditation. Actually, the one’s own true nature of the mind, which is very clear like light, away from all extremes. The complete combination of clear and void. Inseparable.
Just like the fire and the heat of fire. The fire and the heat of fire is inseparable. Similarly, the the clarity and the void too are inseparable. So in the true nature is this, but we do not realize this. We cling as a self due to this that we are suffering so much.
But this time, through the profound teaching of this that I find the path, the essence of all the Buddha’s teaching. And so through this teaching that I will able to crush the self clinging, When we are not examining, if we do not examine, if we do not analyze, then we it seems there is a I. But when you thoroughly examine, then there’s no I, no self. Because self if there’s a self, it has to be either a name or body or the mind. And name is something that giving name can give to anyone, anything.
It is only a temporal thing. And the body is many substances joined together, such as, like, flesh, blood, etcetera. And there’s no such thing as a self. And mind also, the past mind is ceased, and future mind is yet to rise. And the present mind, every momentarily that it is changing, so there is no base to be cling as the self.
And, similarly, all the outer visions, there’s no outside creator who creates these visions. It is only due to the propensity of one’s mind that that appears just like the the visions that we have when we are in dream. Since the object vision are like a dream, the subject mind is also like a dream. And all this duality of, the subject and object duality is all false relative. So in this way that I must tear this curtain or the obscuration of duality and try to see the naked face of one’s mind, which is away from all extremes.
So in this way, then try to remain for a moment. And so now so with this, we conclude the main part of teaching. And, finally, each practice you do, you dedicate the merits as I have just dedicated. Even if you do not know the proper way to dedicate properly, but you just follow that that as great bodhisattvas, Samantabhādra and Mañjuśrī and Avalokiteśvara have dedicated that I also dedicate whatever virtues whatever little virtues that I have collected that I dedicate to attain ultimate enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. So with this, I conclude my teaching and that I hope that whatever I have said here will have some benefit or at least something to think about and how to take into your practice and wish you all a very successful spiritual path.
On behalf of Buddha House and Buddhist Education Foundation, I’d like to thank you for giving us this precious teaching. I would also like to thank the audience for being here. Very briefly, if I could draw your attention