Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 43-minute teaching, John Landaw unpacks the second level of the Lamrim pathway, focusing on recognizing suffering throughout cyclic existence as a springboard for genuine liberation. Building on Geshe-la’s opening principle that we control our own happiness or suffering, Landaw systematically walks through six general sufferings common to all saṃsāra: uncertainty, dissatisfaction (the salt-water-thirst analogy), repeated loss of the body, compulsive acquisition of new bodies, loss of status, and facing life’s crises alone. He then covers eight specific human sufferings: birth, aging, sickness, death, failing to meet what we want, meeting what we don’t want, striving without finding, and possessing contaminated aggregates shaped by ignorance and karma. Parallel sufferings in demigod, asura, and god realms are examined through relatable human comparisons. Crucially, Landaw clarifies that understanding suffering is not pessimistic but diagnostic—it reveals that these afflictions stem from our own mind and are therefore removable through training. He concludes by introducing the root cause of all suffering: self-grasping ignorance, the false belief in a permanent, independent “I”—and hints at its antidote, the wisdom of emptiness.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 02 Śūnyatā.mp3
UUID: 2514658b-9143-40e9-b449-00e8c14d2f5b
Teacher: John Landaw
Collection: Lam Rim (John Landaw)
Date: 1984 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Words: ~4,041
There are certain announcements also to be made about things coming up later in the course, but they can be made this afternoon, during this afternoon’s discussion group. So yesterday, Geshe la began with the quotation that we are our own protector and we are our own enemy indicating that whether our life is productive of our own happiness or productive of our own suffering is totally within our own control. Then as to the major subject matter, Geshe la said that the now that the teachings are on the level of the second, the intermediate state, the person of a medium level capability who sees faults not only in the specifically lower states of existence to which one is dragged inevitably by the confused deluded mind, but sees faults also throughout the entire scope of cyclic existence. That state of mind and the state of being conditioned by ignorance. So for the desire for liberation to arise, the desire to get out of this cycle completely, to overcome all conditioned existence, existence conditioned by this pervasive ignorance, then there has to be a more subtle and a more pervasive recognition of suffering.
Now as to the term suffering, we’re apt to use it only in terms of gross misery. But the recognition of suffering indicates a strong understanding that all states of dissatisfaction and frustration are in the nature of suffering and disappointment. So it’s a much more subtle more pervasive level of recognition than we ordinarily think of when we think of suffering. A sense of underlying dissatisfactoriness. So then the discussion of suffering came under various headings.
And first was the six general sufferings of cyclic existence. Sufferings common to all states within Samsāra. Within cyclic existence. So these six can be outlined as follows. First is uncertainty.
There is no certainty within cyclic existence. This has a lot to do with the basic teachings on impermanence. Secondly there’s dissatisfaction. And this relates to the well known syndrome that our wants do not exhaust themselves. Our desires do not exhaust themselves but lead even to more desire.
The analogy often used here is that the desires within cyclic existence are like drinking salt water. The more we drink, the more thirsty we become. So if we check the desires that are under the influence of ignorance within cyclic existence, and we look at that situation dispassionately, we’ll see that the more we feed the various senses, instead of leading to a cessation, excuse me, a sense of satisfaction, satiation, it just increases the level of desire. So as long as the mind remains caught in the bounds of cyclic existence, then there is an underlying sense of dissatisfaction of never being satisfied no matter how much we get. This is true not only in relation to the objects of the senses but also into general objects of the mind as well.
And also to such abstract entities as reputation, wealth, fame and so forth. Thirdly, within the cycle, within cyclic existence, then there is the suffering of having to give up one’s body continually. That even the body that we possess is something that we possess temporarily. And here again an analogy is that we are like travelers staying for a night in a guesthouse and then in the morning having to leave again. Traveling, taking it, lodging in another guesthouse but always having to give it up.
And this process itself of continually being forced to give up one’s body again and again is one of the general sufferings or states of dissatisfaction within cyclic existence. Before I continue with this list, Earlier we were talking about the different types of meditation. If we’re very skillful then even listening to the teachings just as the moment they’re being given or even listening to a mere summary of teachings that have been given can be done in a meditative state. So that as we hear our mind immediately makes association with something we know from our existence, from our experience. Excuse me.
And we can keep the flavor of that association in the mind even during periods such as samdhi. So then the fourth general suffering of saṃsāra is very similar to the previous one. The previous one is having to give up one’s body continually and the next one is having to take new bodies again and again. Here the emphasis is on the very compulsive nature of this acquiring of new bodies. We’re forced to.
We have to. Not by any external agency, but by the very own nature of our own ignorant grasping. cyclic existence is not something external to us. It’s inherent in the very nature of ignorant self grasping. So as long as we’re in cyclic existence, it means that’s equivalent to saying as long as we’re under the influence of this ignorance.
Those are equivalent statements. So as long as we’re under this ignorance in which in which this grasping attitude is prominent, then we’re forced by this grasping to acquire new bodies again and again. Then fifthly, there is the suffering of having to change status. So while we may win high status in one part of our life, we may easily lose it in the next. Going from Prime Minister or President or King one moment to outcast the next.
From rich to poor, from respected to reviled. And finally, sixthly, there’s the suffering of being without friends. What this specifically means is that at those moments in our life, the major crisis points of our existence is. We have to do it alone. Even if there are friends nearby, it is still we ourselves who have to go through the experience.
So typically it is said we’re born alone and we die alone. Okay. So those are the six general qualities of cyclic existence which are in the nature of this suffering or dissatisfaction. Meditation upon them is a matter of bringing them to mind and seeing how they operate in our own life. And the purpose is to generate a desire to be liberated from these states of dissatisfaction.
To be liberated from the entire cycle of ignorantly formed cyclic existence. Samsāra. Then after that came a discussion of the sufferings particular to certain states within cyclic existence. The lower states were talked about earlier in the course so now is the time to talk about the dissatisfaction that’s found even when higher states of existence are found or are gained. And so speaking about the human realm there are typically eight categories to explain what is dissatisfactory even in the human realm existence.
And of course we’ll notice overlap here to the general sufferings but specifically the first four are the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness and death. Birth, aging, sickness and death. Then fifthly, there’s the suffering of not meeting, not meeting with what is pleasant, not meeting with the things that we like. Indicating that we are continually on the lookout as the result of this grasping mind. We’re continually on the lookout for objects of the senses, objects of the mind that will bring pleasure.
And it is a suffering not to meet with that pleasure. And related to that is the sixth instead meeting with what we don’t want. So even if we take great care to organise our life, to exert a tremendous amount of control of it, as long as our mind is under the basic influence of ignorance, as long as we’re caught in cyclic existence then no matter how many plans we make to protect ourselves we still have to continually meet up with those things which we don’t want to meet up with. And then seventh is even when we actively seek out those things which we’re looking for. Even when we exert a tremendous effort in the direction to gain those things which we hope will bring us happiness or at least pleasure, then it’s the suffering of not finding those things.
The people who are continually striving, continually looking, continually happy for them, for us, it is a suffering not to find those things. Then eighthly, the very very general suffering of having contaminated aggregates. Here the term aggregates merely is referring to the combination of body and mind. Contaminated means that the mind is still under the influence of ignorance and therefore that the type of mind and the type of body we possess we do so because of the whole process of ignorance leading to delusion, leading to karma. The creation of karma.
So that the type of body and the mind that we have is contaminated by delusion and karma. And Geshe la la explained that sometimes this eighth suffering is not mentioned because it’s equivalent to the third of the three sufferings which are mentioned later. Then an answer to the doubt that perhaps an overemphasis on suffering was pessimistic, Geshe-la said that the value of contemplating suffering is many. From one point of view it helps us overcome pride. And from a deeper point of view the realization of suffering can spur us along the spiritual path.
It can be a very strong source of inspiration to actually attain a higher level of consciousness. If suffering were something that could not be overcome then it would indeed be very pessimistic or fatalistic to spend so much time talking about suffering. As Geshe la said, if suffering came from the outside then it would be depressing to think about suffering. But if we recognize that all of these instances of suffering are tied to states of our own mind and these states are first of all impermanent and within our control to alter, to change, to actually eliminate the negative states of mind, then the experiences of suffering are removable. These various forms of suffering that have been mentioned are only inevitable if we do nothing to train the mind.
But as the mind is trainable, and and as the essential nature of the mind is not polluted by the defilements but is in the nature of clear light, then not only the sufferings but the very causes of these sufferings are entirely removable. So speaking about suffering instead of being depressing is like having a very skillful diagnosis of a chronic illness so that we can remove the cause and gain relief from this chronic illness. Then there was a brief explanation about the sufferings particular to the other higher realms, the realms of the demigods, the asuras, and the gods. Beings whose lives are, generally speaking, filled with higher and more intense pleasure than the human realms, but states of existence that are not free from suffering entirely. So in brief, the demigods suffer from extreme jealousy towards the gods whose enjoyments are higher and are in a state of constant competition and war with those higher gods and suffer from the oppression felt by those gods.
If we have a very difficult time relating to this experience of the demigod realm, then we can think of a experience which is similar, which has some similarity within the human realm. Those states of intense competition by those people who have already attained some measure of wealth or power or reputation. The type of intense competition with those who have greater wealth, power or reputation. So that those doing the competing cannot enjoy what they’ve gained but actually find it poisoned by this experience of jealousy. This is very prominent throughout the human realm.
So by extension we can understand the tremendous sufferings that the demigods would experience in their realm. And then finally, the realms of the gods themselves who during their lifetime experience the great pleasure that every contact with their senses is extremely pleasurable due to the state of their mind. But nevertheless they experience the tremendous suffering of having to leave that state. When the good karma is exhausted and they receive the signs of death and have to fall from that state. And this fall being attended by a diminution of their glory, their beauty, their attractive qualities, and accompanied by a vision of the state to which they’re falling.
And again, if we do have difficulty relating to this realm, then we can think again of an experience which is similar. Those states of intense intoxication that are possible in the human realm in which everything is blissful or calm or exciting, whatever the nature of the particular intoxication may be. And then when that wears off, the fall, the coming down sensation. When one realizes that that pleasure, that bliss was not permanent and the extraordinary suffering of falling from that state to something lower. If we can sense that in our own experience, then we have a small taste of what the God realm sufferings are like.
It has been said for instance, that the mental suffering experienced by Gods who are falling out of that pleasurable realm into a lower one is more intense than the physical sufferings in the very hells. And we can judge from our own experience if this seems true. There’s a certain collection of positive karma to have gotten into that realm, into that state of mind. But that positive karma was still collected under a general influence of ignorance. Still the ignorance of holding on to a separate ego identity.
So this positive karma set up a sufficient amount of energy to thrust the mind into this realm. But when that energy is exhausted, as all karmic energy eventually is, then the mind falls down to a lower state. This is related to the previous general sufferings of both having to acquire new bodies again and again and the experiencing the change in status from high to low without choice. In today’s lecture, Geshe-la is going to be talking about the afflictions which are the cause of all of these sufferings and he ended with a list of the afflictions to be talked about and I’ll end with that as well. The six are attachment, hatred, and pride.
Attachment, hatred, and pride are the first three. Ignorance, doubt, and wrong views, or perverted views are the last three. Ignorance, doubt, and perverted views. So now we have a just time for a small break before Geshe la comes. We don’t have so much time, only about twelve or fifteen minutes before Geshe la is due to come.
And yesterday Geshe la covered an extraordinary amount of material. So I think I’ll just mention one or two selected points. Basically what’s happening on this section is that to develop the wish to break free from all states of existence conditioned by ignorance, conditioned by the self grasping ignorance, Then it’s necessary to understand the what the nature of the afflictions or the delusions are. To understand precisely how they arise, recognize them for what they are, for their disadvantages, and to understand the specific antidotes to help initially suppress and then eventually completely remove these afflicted states of mind so that the state of liberation, the unconditioned state of existence can be achieved. So within the teachings that Geshe-la mentioned yesterday, there was one pattern or one basic mechanism that he stressed.
At the root of cyclic existence, at the root of this repetitive pattern of continually moving from one dissatisfied state to another lies what has been called the self grasping or the I-grasping ignorance. Such ignorance is at the very root of of all mental and physical problems. It’s the very source of all of the other afflictions. And Geshe la said that depending on which style of teaching is followed, this ignorance, which is the fourth of the six major delusions in the list of six. I think it’s the fourth.
Yeah. In the list that begins attachment, hatred, and pride, then this type of ignorance is the fourth followed by doubt and deluded views. In other styles of teaching this ignorance is also synonymous with the first of the deluded views. The view of the so called transitory collection. So Geshe la is going to have a bit more to say about this, especially today when he talks about the twelve links of dependent arising.
And whatever talk that he gives on the wisdom of emptiness. But basically, this ignorance is a can be understood as a misconception about who we are. It’s a misconception about our self. So when we ask who we are or when we make any statement or thought concerning our self, we are necessarily talking about something going on in this body mind complex. And this body mind complex is sometimes known as the transitory collection.
The transitory collection. Why is called that? Well, it’s transitory because all of the elements of body and mind are continually changing. This becomes obvious upon reflection. The mind is nothing but a succession of changing states of mind, and the body is successive flux and change within material particles.
So the body mind complex or the aggregates are a transitory collection. But the I-grasping ignorance, the ignorant view concerning this transitory collection is that somewhere somewhere in or above or about this transitory collection, there exists a permanent concrete self identity. And this, from such a point of view, the I, the sense of self appears to be something findable. Something quite concrete. Self existent.
More technically, inherently existent. Meaning that it exists from its own side. Now at times of strong emotions particularly. This sense of having a solid concrete independent sense of self arises strongly. It is said always to be there in the unenlightened mind.
But at certain times it rises very strongly, very vividly. For instance, the example generally given is when we’re accused of doing something we didn’t do. Of being a thief when we’re not a thief. The thought comes, how can he say that about me? And at that time when the thought me arises, it doesn’t seem to be related to the ever changing aggregates of body and mind.
It seems to refer to something very solid. Something almost tangible. It often is associated for instance with a very tight feeling in the heart region of a me that’s been insulted. And from the point of view of the ignorance that holds on to that sense of me, that sense of I, from that, there’s a feeling that this I is the experiencer of whatever pain or pleasure has come up. It’s the recipient.
It’s this I that’s been insulted by the criticism. It’s this I which has been praised by flattery or kind words. So from this, from this holding on to a sense of solid I and feeling that this I is at the center of our experience, there naturally arises an attachment. An attachment to this sense of self. So from from this basic I grasping.
Grasping here means holding on to the sense of self. Holding on to this solid sense of self. From this all of the other delusions arise. Specifically, attachment. This is what arises towards those objects which seem to benefit or support that sense of self.
Anything that seems beautiful or desirable or supportive. Then the I from from that sense of strong solid I, there arises a feeling of attachment to those things which help support that identity. Fit in with that identity. Then towards all of those things which seem to threaten that sense of self, that solid sense of self, towards all of those things the reaction is aversion or hatred. A feeling of repulsion.
And then towards all phenomenon which are neither obviously helpful nor harmful. So we don’t have the feeling that we have to be on the lookout, that maybe we can derive benefit from it, or maybe we have to defend ourselves from it. Then towards those objects, we just don’t pay much clear attention at all. We have a certain kind of closed mindedness or indifference to those objects. We don’t spend time examining those things to see what their nature is.
But they remain somewhere in the hazy background of our existence. So our mind is concerned then when under the influence of such ignorance To get things which support it, that’s attraction or attachment. To defend itself from that which is threatening, so that’s hatred or aversion. Or to remain in a dull state of closed mindedness of ignorance about those things towards which it’s indifferent which neither help nor harm. So from the initial I-grasping ignorance come these three major delusions.
And from these three major delusions comes deluded action, deluded behavior of body, speech and mind. To to cite an extreme example, something attractive. If there’s something attractive that we want very much for our sense of self, we’re even willing to steal it. Even if this means giving harm. And if there’s someone who’s very hateful or threatening to our sense of self, we may be willing to kill that person.
And towards those things towards which we’re indifferent, we tend to behave as if they didn’t exist. Thereby also giving harm and further ingraining patterns of ignorance. So the pattern so far is from this basic I-grasping ignorance to the arrival of the three major delusions. And from them diluted behavior or deluded karma activity. And from this, from the workings of cause and effect, follow suffering results.
Giving harm leading to an experience of receiving harm. And so from this the entire cycle of saṃsāra, cyclic existence, the mind continually moving from one unsatisfactory state to another. This continues to turn. There are techniques for diffusing or reducing the level, the strength of the various delusions. Such as if hatred is arising combating it with love.
If attachment is rising it arising combating it with meditation on impermanence. If pride is arising combating it with meditation to realize that there’s many things that we don’t know about. So our pride gets diminished. But all of these techniques only have a temporary ability to diminish the delusions. Their root cause is the basic I-grasping ignorance.
And so the root antidote is the wisdom. The wisdom which cuts through this ignorance. And that’s known as the wisdom of emptiness. The wisdom of emptiness or Śūnyatā. Emptiness or Śūnyatā does not imply that nothing exists.
What is seen to be empty are all the false misconceived ideas we have about things. So for instance, when we have this I-grasping ignorance, when we’re holding on to this sense of self, the object that we’re holding on to is actually non existent. It’s a phantom creation of our mind. It’s an image. It’s a false identity.
It never existed. So emptiness understands the lack, understands that such an I never existed in the first place. So emptiness, under the wisdom understanding emptiness never destroys what exists. The wisdom of emptiness will never destroy, for instance, one’s conventional self sense of being an existing being. Of being someone who can sit down and speak and listen and talk and do all sorts of activities.
The wisdom of emptiness will never negate that because such an I does exist. The wisdom of emptiness will only negate the false image which is projected on to this sense of self. Or when emptiness is applied to other objects, the false image which we project onto external objects as well. So just once again very briefly, the pattern of the evolution of cyclic existence is from this basic ignorance to the arrival of the basic delusions, The three basic delusions and all of the other delusions that follow from them. From the presence of the delusions in the mind comes the creation of karma.
And then karma is the force which keeps us cycling within cyclic existence moving from one unsatisfactory state to another. And the antidote, the temporary antidote is to diminish the strength of the delusions by applying their opponent forces such as love to anger and so forth. But the ultimate solution is to pluck out the very root which is this I-grasping ignorance to understand the empty nature, the nonexistent nature of all our false misconceptions.