Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. A listener’s quip — “You’ve obviously never been to India; there are plenty of people” — anchors Khensur Rinpoche’s main argument in this 45-minute commentary: human life is rare not in global numbers but in each person’s chances of obtaining one again. Drawing on Tsongkhapa’s image of a person who wastes a day and regrets it, Rinpoche outlines the three causes for precious human rebirth — ethics, the perfections, and aspirational prayers — defining each concretely, including the ten unskillful actions to abandon. A sharp doctrinal point follows: simply refraining from negative actions accumulates no merit; actively committing through vows does so continuously. Milarepa’s poverty illustrates generosity as mental attitude, not material giving. A Q&A uses an Australia immigration analogy to sharpen the ethics-as-law discussion.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 12 3PA 1993 06 29.mp3
UUID: a6688664-19b4-4bb1-ac2d-b4514a51083a
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: 3 Principal Aspects of the Path (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1993-06-29
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 44.7 minutes
Words: ~2,566
They simply played their life that day away, and then that evening remembering what they could have gotten and thinking about what they did receive in terms of their petty pursuits over the course of that day, then this would bring them great sadness. It would bring a great worry to their mind. So just as this person, upon reviewing what they had accomplished — and, in fact, as compared to what they could have done with that day and gaining what would have been greatly more meaningful to them — then they would experience a great loss and depression. And likewise, when we consider the great meaning and purpose that our human life affords us, that by means of which through our practice we can achieve liberation and omniscience, and then not to practice but only to pursue insignificant works of this life, then we would end up, upon reflection, with the same sense of loss and depression. So, Tsongkhapa presents us with this analogy and encourages us not to act in that same manner.
Because our human life is able to bring about a great result, a great benefit, it is extremely meaningful. But we may think, well, you know, that I can find such a human life again. But in fact, if we were to question, well, is such a human life easily findable? And in fact, a human life possessing these eighteen factors is difficult to find. Why is such a human life difficult to find?
It is because the causes of such a human life are rare. Therefore, if the causes are rare, then the results are rare. Therefore, human life is extremely rare. It’s difficult — it is very rare — to bring about the causes of such a human life. So once previously in Tibet, a Lama was teaching the Dharma and he was teaching that human life is extremely rare.
And one of the listeners spoke up and he says, You’ve obviously never been to India. There are lots of people, many people. Says you’ve obviously never been to China. But his way of thinking was in error. So this way of considering the rarity of human life was in error; this is not what is meant in terms of the numbers of human beings around.
It is in terms of oneself — in terms of the degree of difficulty it will be for oneself to achieve a human life in the future. That in dependence upon a human life, we can attain Buddhahood, and that to achieve again a human life is extremely difficult. It is very rare that it will be found again. So we’re not talking about human life in general numbers, but what this Lama was talking about when he said that the human life is difficult to obtain is that it will be difficult to obtain again in a future life. Then what are the causes for achieving a human life such as we possess — a human life possessing these eighteen factors?
It is necessary that there be the complete three causes present in order to achieve a human life with these eighteen factors. The first of these is that we must observe pure ethics. And secondly, we must observe the other various perfections such as generosity, tolerance, enthusiastic perseverance, meditative stabilization, and wisdom. Then finally, thirdly, we must have made heartfelt prayers that in the future, may I achieve a human life where I can carry on my practice of Dharma. It is only by the complete presence of these three causes that we are able to achieve a human life possessed of eighteen factors.
So we can understand that when there’s no seed, then there’s no sprout. And likewise, if we did not create these causes, then we will not achieve such a type of human life. So we have to look, each of ourselves individually, investigating to see whether we have instituted these causes. So we have to do analytic meditation in terms of our own selves. If we were to think in terms of ourselves, are these causes there or not?
What could we answer? So as we said, without cause there’s no result. So if we, upon our investigation, see that we are in fact bringing about many of these causes to achieve a human life in the future, then for us a human life is not rare. On the other hand, if we see that we have not established these causes within ourselves, then for us a human life will be extremely rare. So the rarity is in terms of bringing about the causes.
It’s rare to bring about the causes. If we bring about the causes then it’s not rare. So we think of it in terms of our own selves and our own minds, and we can understand it in terms of ourselves and our own minds. So if we simply weren’t to know about what were the causes which bring about a human life, then that would be another matter. We might end up not bringing about the causes and therefore not achieving a human life again.
But we do know what the causes for such a human life are, and therefore it’s incumbent upon us to make the effort, go through the difficulty to ensure that we create these causes. So we can practice ethics through the abandonment of the ten unskillful actions. There are three physical unskillful actions: those of killing, stealing, and sexual impropriety, which are to be abandoned. There are four verbal: lying, harsh speech, divisive speech, and idle chatter, which are to be abandoned.
And there are three unskillful mental actions which are to be abandoned, that is covetousness, harmful intention, and distorted views. So it is by committing ourselves — seeing these actions as faults of our body, speech, and mind and determining and committing oneself not to enact them — that one practices ethics. So in general the practice of ethics is made up of the abandonment of these ten unskillful actions. But even if we were to practice one of these abandonments of these ten unskillful actions, we could achieve a human life in dependence upon that cause of ethics. We don’t have to — we should practice as much as we are able, but even to practice one or two or three of these abandonments can serve as a cause for achieving a human life; it’s not necessary to have practiced them all.
Seeing, determining not to involve oneself in a particular action, seeing its faults and committing oneself not to acting in that way, for example, to kill — determining, I’m not going to kill any living being, then that is a practice of ethics which can serve as a cause for achieving a human life. So simply refraining from an unskillful action is not the practice of ethics. One has to actively restrain, determine not to act in a certain way, and committing oneself to not acting in that way — restraining from acting in that way. Simply refraining, not doing it, is not ethics. One must actually make a commitment to restrain from acting in an unskillful way in order to practice ethics. So having practiced ethics in that manner, then we can go on to carry on the various other practices such as generosity, tolerance, making a joyous effort, having a liking for the Dharma.
Carry on meditation, we can practice wisdom, examining the nature of the Dharma, investigating and developing our wisdom. And when we go to sleep in the evening, reviewing the fact that over the course of that day one has observed ethics, one has practiced generosity, one has practiced tolerance and made effort in meditation and wisdom — and then to make prayers: by means of this practice, may I be able to achieve a human life whereby I can carry on my practice of Dharma in the future. And this will act as an effective cause for the achievement of that human life. So in the practice of generosity, it’s not necessary to actually give.
You know, it’s not necessary that we give food or clothing. The practice of generosity is in generating the mind of giving or the intention to give. This is generosity — a giving mind. For example, Milarepa, who had no material possessions, but he still developed within his mind a giving attitude, you know, thinking that I would gladly give my body and all that I possess for the welfare of others. And therefore, this was his practice of generosity — a giving attitude of mind.
So that is the practice of generosity. Then we’ve talked about ethics in terms of restraint. And then there’s the practice of tolerance. Tolerance is a non-distressed mind. One remains undistressed in the face of difficulties which are brought to you by others — where they say harsh words, they mistreat you in some manner.
And one’s mind remains undistressed in the face of such others’ actions. And then continuing on our practice in terms of enthusiasm, in terms of our joyous effort to carry out these practices such as maintaining one’s enthusiasm to observe ethics and then to cultivate one’s practices in terms of meditation and to analyze in terms of wisdom and the development of one’s intelligence. And then having done that, to dedicate, to make prayers — not for the happinesses and the peace of this life, using all of that creative potential to those ends — but that in the future one might attain a human life. If we were to do that each day in the course of one month, then there would be no problem for us to have created the certainty that we have brought about the causes of attaining a human life in the future. One achieves one’s own happiness.
One abandons one’s own suffering. No one else can do it for you. A lama may be able to give you advice, explain the Dharma, telling you how to practice, clarifying what is to be adopted, what is to be avoided, what is advantageous, what is detrimental. That is very much all the Lama can do. It’s very much up to oneself to put that advice into practice.
No one else can put it into practice for you. No one else can achieve your happiness for you. So, it’s analogous to a situation where oneself is a sick person. And though the doctor may diagnose well your illness and give you the appropriate medicine in order for you to get better, it’s necessary for you to actually take the medicine.
No matter how much medicine you may have, no matter how many nurses that you may have assisting you in the treatment, if you don’t actually take the medicine, there’s no way that you’re going to eliminate the suffering of your illness. So we’ll stop there if you have some questions. Yes. Yeah. I didn’t get the correct the first part of that sentence.
About Australia, was it? Australia. Oh, really? What constitutes ethics? So, the word ethics or morality in Tibetan is tshul khrims.
The khrims has the meaning of laws or rules, and that just as in a country — whether it be Australia or India or wherever — they set down certain rules so that things will run well, that things will not go wrong, things will run smoothly. If these laws set out what is allowable and what is not allowable. And if one does not accept those, then one will act in manners which are illegal or against the law, in conflict with the law. If one accepts those rules, then one will act in accordance with those rules or those laws.
It is in observing the laws one restrains from acting in conflict with those laws. One ceases acting in an illegal manner. It’s like if we had a river and we wanted to change its course, we have to block it, we have to dam it. The river is like a flowing of faults. And if we want to stop or block those faults, we have to block those faults.
In the same way, if we want to stop acting in an unskillful manner, we have to commit — if we don’t stop it, if we don’t commit ourselves to stopping the unskillful manner, we won’t stop. So, the practice of ethics in the Buddhadharma is set down by the Buddha who determined, you know, that certain ways of acting are allowable and certain ways are not allowable. Just as in the case if someone newly immigrated to Australia, then they have to pledge their allegiance to the Queen and in accordance with the laws which are laid down. Likewise, in the practice of Dharma we are following certain rules laid down. We commit ourselves to acting in accordance with those rules such as committing ourselves not to kill.
There’s a lot of debate going on about that this stage. So having newly immigrated to Australia then one pledges to follow the rules of the land. Likewise, those who are seeking to be followers of the Buddha accept to practice in accordance with the methods, the ways of practice laid down by the Buddha. So if ethics was not constituted of restraint in terms of abandoning, then everybody would be practicing ethics. So there are various levels of vows that we can take such as the vows of the laypersons, the vows of novices, the vows of a fully ordained, the bodhisattva vows, the secret mantra vows.
If one were to, for example, take the five lay vows where one commits oneself to abandoning five specific negativities and, having committed oneself to abandoning those five negativities, acts accordingly and doesn’t commit them, then no matter what that individual may be doing — whether they’re eating, going, or sleeping — they are uninterruptedly accumulating creative potential or merit on one hand. On the other hand, if one simply doesn’t do those five negative actions, one has not committed oneself to abandon them, one simply does not do them, then there is no negativity being created, but also there’s no benefit being created. Having committed oneself to the abandonment of a negativity, and as long as one does not act in conflict with that commitment, as long as one possesses those vows, one is uninterruptedly, continuously creating, accumulating creative potential or merit. So, not having committed oneself to the abandonment of a negativity, then there is not the accumulation of the creative potential of not acting in conflict with your commitment, nor is there the uninterrupted accumulation of creative potential. So there’s that difference.
So, in the observance of one’s commitment it is not necessary that one have continuous skillful motivation, but only at the initial point when one took that vow and committed oneself to that abandonment — it should be of a skillful motivation. And then from henceforward that vow is in force and one is accumulating creative potential no matter what the nature of one’s mind subsequently. On the other hand, if not having taken a vow, one has to always — the quality of the act will always be in terms of the ongoing motivation in every act that one’s committing with respect to possible abandonment. Okay.