Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Khensur Rinpoche opens this 49-minute talk by challenging the idea that mind is simply extinguished at death — if consciousness ceased, liberation would be impossible and sentient beings would vanish like a dying flower. Building on this, he argues that only our habituated mental attitudes accompany us through death, and whichever quality of mind dominates at that moment steers the direction of the next rebirth. He then moves through the supporting practices in sequence: ethics (the ten unskillful actions to abandon), patience as the antidote to anger — which also determines, he notes, whether we are born with a pleasant face and lasting relationships — Chenrezig practice for material sufficiency, joyous effort, and meditative stabilization. The root of all negativity is ignorance, and wisdom realizing emptiness — likened to an electric saw cutting a tree at its base — is the antidote that closes the door on suffering. Suited to practitioners with some Lamrim background.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 21 3PA 1993 08 24.mp3
UUID: 31a941ed-bfc6-4492-bea0-9e4ecb100cf1
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: 3 Principal Aspects of the Path (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1993-08-24
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 48.7 minutes
Words: ~2,760
Yeah. So previously, we discussed impermanence in terms of death. So in considering in considering death, we can understand that death is definite, that all of us will die within, say, a hundred years. But we simply don’t know when we’re going to die. The time of death is uncertain, and therefore it’s necessary to reflect upon what is going to be a benefit at the time of our death.
Annihilated. That is the body is either buried or burned and the consciousness disappears, this vanishes. This is a view held by some. So we have within us a consciousness which involves itself in various thinking processes, discriminations, thinking this is this, that is that, has various understandings, goes through its various experiences, various feelings, happiness, feelings of suffering. This is what we mean by mind.
If, you know, if at the time of the dissolution of the body, when it is annihilated, if the mind were also annihilated, then we should consider, well, how many people in the world die each day? How many people are killed? If this was the finish of living beings, then there would be the danger of the world diminishing in population. So some might consider the fact well that they though they do though they are destroyed, annihilated, there are new living beings. There are beings newly being born, newly created.
If if new if living living beings were newly being created, that is, say, sentient beings had not existed previously and were newly born, there would be no liberation. There would be no achievement of achievement of the elimination of all our various faults and the consummation of all our excellent qualities. It is because of the continuum of being reborn that we are able to extend this process liberation, of eliminating our various faults, and bringing the consummation of our excellent qualities over over lifetimes where whereas if it was only in consideration of one lifetime, then these cannot be achieved. Living beings would be very much like a flower it grows and then it withers and dies. Because at upon death, living beings are not are not annihilated, then there is no exhaustion of living beings.
Depletion. Because upon death, living beings are again reborn and then die and again are re born in this cyclic fashion. Therefore, there’s no depletion of living beings. Living beings are newly reborn to each life, but this this taking of birth is not a a new in the sense that this living being has never been born before. That in fact the living has been born for but is newly reborn to this life and this process continues on upon death.
One is newly reborn into another another life. Though at the at the end upon the death upon the upon the death in the course of this life, one is not annihilated but goes on to take rebirth. So in considering, in consideration of this fact that we are not annihilated annihilated, then it becomes important that we consider, if upon my death I am going to take rebirth, what will be of benefit at the time of my death in order to ensure a fortunate rebirth? In the course of an illness, we can make use of various methods of medicines and treatments, and these are are important in bringing about a cure. So in considering our death, is important to consider what is going to be a benefit at the time of our death?
What will be of any help to ourselves? And if we begin to ask this question, well, it can, at the time of our death, the doctor and their various medicines, their various treatments are of no benefit at the time of our death. And the wealth and all the various possessions that we’ve gathered together will not help us at the time of our death. And even our loved ones, our companions, our parents, they will not be of benefit at the time of our death. Even this body which we were born with, which we which was very has gone through all which had great health and vigor at the at one time is not going to be a benefit at the time of our death.
None of these will be of any benefit at the time of death. We can all see this for ourselves with respect to those who have died. Were any of them able to take any possessions with them? Were any of them able to take any helpers along with them to assist them? Did any of them take their body with them?
In fact, they all had to leave their possessions behind, no one could accompany them, and their body was left. Understand The mind itself will continue on. The continuum of mind is uninterrupted or is not The continuum of mind is not broken, but continues onward. And it is whatever faults that we may possess, whatever excellent qualities that may we may have developed, these, to whatever extent we’ve developed those, these will accompany us accompany us in through our death and to rebirth. Whatever those attitudes that we’ve built up over the course of our life, these will accompany us.
That if we’ve accustomed our mind to kind hearted attitudes such as love and compassion, generosity and tolerance, and again and again brought these to mind, that this kind hearted attitude that we’ve become accustomed to, this will accompany us onto our future life. On the other hand, those negative attitudes of mind that we may have developed, such as, know, harmful intentions fighting and killing and stealing, these harmful types of attitudes. These all of these negative attitudes will accompany us to into the future life. So we it is in terms of the degree of whatever, the degree of habituation to these various attitudes, whether then attitudes be negative or positive. By means of habituation to various attitudes, that attitudes which have been come been have become predominant will determine the direction of our mind upon our death.
These attitudes of mind extend in a continuity over time. You know, that we, from our youth, we have had reoccurrence of particular attitudes which have uninterruptedly continued down to, say, last year, and then last year’s attitudes continued on to our present age as adults, down to last night. And the attitudes that last night continued on to today, and the attitudes that we presently have will stream move on to tomorrow and the day after tomorrow and next month and next year. And these attitudes in an uninterrupted stream continue on throughout our life. Quality of our rebirth is the dominant attitude to which we have become habituated to, whether they are positive or negative, skillful or unskillful.
If over the course of this life we have again and again accustomed our mind to positive attitudes, have become habituated such that our mind is in a very skillful state, then this will lead to a fortunate rebirth. On the other hand, if over the course of our life we have accustomed our minds to unskillful states, that we have formed the habit patterns of negative states, unskillful attitudes, then under the influence of this dominant quality of the mind being unskillful, this will lead us to unfortunate rebirths. So the mind is uncontrollably directed in terms of the factor of the dominant quality of the mind whether it’s in terms of negative and positive. Cultivate positive kind hearted attitudes of the mind to habituate the mind to such states and begin to try to cease to bring to an end negative states. So it is if in the process of meditation, we seek to take as the observed object of mind, a positive object, and again taking, again and again taking this object to mind such that our mind becomes familiarized with a positive object.
This will this this will habituate the mind to positive states. And with respect to negative states of mind, those which are unskillful, the various afflictive emotions, harmful attitudes of mind, we should seek to identify them, recognize them as quickly as possible upon their development. And then to apply an antidote, not to allow them to continue, but applying an antidote, this will bring about their gradual decrease, that they will arise fewer and fewer of less often. So what do we mean by these various negative states? Firstly, there’s ignorance, which is an unknowing quality of the mind with respect to the nature of reality is an obscuring factor of the mind.
Generate the various negative states of such as attachment, anger, pride, jealousy, these these faulty or dysfunctional states of mind. So the root of all of these various negative states is ignorance. So we it is really best to make our effort in trying to bring about an end to ignorance. It is very much like the in the growing of a tree, though we can cut the leaves and branches, but they will continually grow back grow back. If we were to cut the tree at its very roots, then this, the nature of the situation, will eventually eliminate the leaves and the branches which grow out of these roots.
So if we can cut ignorance, which is the root of these negative states, then we will we will gradually they gradually attachment, pride, jealousy will be eliminated of themselves. So the root of these negative states is ignorance and that which acts as an antidote, that is that which is able to bring about its elimination, is the wisdom realizing emptiness. This wisdom is like an axe which cuts down the tree or maybe in Australia ignorance can more be compared to an electric saw. Realizing emptiness then we have, we’ll bring an end to all negative or unfortunate rebirths. We, we, it is like, it is this realization of emptiness which is the doorway closing upon suffering and entering into happiness.
So it’s very necessary that we meditate well on emptiness, listening to the subject and trying to understand it, and then finally meditating on it. It is by this means that we can really begin to cut into the root of our negativities that is ignorance. So the the means whereby we can eliminate our suffering and find an ultimate happiness is the wisdom realizing emptiness. This is the the real practice of Dharma. And who would who does this wisdom realizing emptiness benefit?
It benefits ourselves. In order to generate this wisdom of realizing emptiness, it’s necessary to have a kind hearted attitude. in dependence upon this healthy state of or the kind hearted attitude, we will begin to cease creating negativities through our body, speech and mind. That is to begin to cease involving ourselves in the ten unskillful actions three of killing, stealing, sexual improprieties, the four of speech, lying, divisive speech, harsh words, idle gossip, and the three of mind of covetousness, harmful intention, and wrong view. Through this, in the context of a kind heart, we will cease harming others and therefore, we will be practicing ethics.
And through our practice of ethics, even if we were not to develop the realization of emptiness, we would we would take a fortunate rebirth. So therefore ethics is So it is through ethics that we are able to take a fortunate rebirth, or let us say a happy migration. But even if we were to take rebirth in such a favorable state, still if it would not go well for ourselves if we had repulsive appearance, or our relationships were disharmonious. We had experienced disharmony in our relationships, that we were quickly separated from our friends and our partners and our parents. So in order to ensure that we have a handsome and beautiful appearance, such that merely by seeing us, others take a liking to ourselves, that we have harmonious and lasting relationship, it’s necessary to cultivate tolerance or patience.
Tolerance is the antidote to anger. And if we’ve all seen when when someone gets angry, how distorted their face becomes such that, you know, people don’t even want to look at somebody who’s angry. On the other on the other hand, those who practice tolerance have a pleasing countenance, a pleasing face. Others enjoy looking at their face. It brings them pleasure to see their face.
Those who are anger-prone have disharmonious relationships. Know that people they don’t want to be around somebody who is uptight. Their relationships don’t last long. On the other hand, those who have practiced tolerance have just the opposite. They have harmonious relationships which are long lasting.
But it it would not be sufficient even though we might be born as a human being, and with a beautiful appearance and harmonious relationships, if we had no supportive conditions materially. We were poor without material needs met. So what are we to do to meet that? By means of practicing Chenrezig, we can assure that in the future that will have all of our supportive conditions, material supportive conditions, all our we will have wealth enough our material needs will be met. But additionally to the other qualities such as being reborn as a human with a beautiful appearance and have material wealth.
It is necessary that we have some enthusiastic perseverance or that we engage in our activities with joyous effort. You know, some people have this quality of joyous effort in what they do, some don’t. Some have they really take a great liking to what they’re doing. Involve themselves very enthusiastically. And this comes about due to the force of habituation habituation in previous lives, that they have been accustomed to acting in this manner.
Some are very enthusiastic, joyfully make effort in their Dharma practice, some involve in painting, some in various secular, other types of secular activities. And this is due to accustoming one’s mind to this enthusiasm involved in one’s activities, making joyous effort. And then through the development of meditative stabilizations and meditative concentrations, we can develop a clarity and stability of mind. Many people, when they sit down to meditate, mind is completely all over the place. They can’t sit for five minutes.
Their mind is they sit in complete distraction. Other people, they can sit for long periods where their mind is clear, stable, and remain on the object for considerable lengths of time. This again is simply due to accustom ourselves to the development of meditative stabilizations or meditative concentrations in previous lives to accustom or habituating oneself to these states. And then there is the, you know, the situation where there are some who upon being explained a particular subject once, can understand it very quickly, whether a dharma subject or whether it’s a secular subject. They have wisdom or a great intelligence.
And this again is something which is developed through accustoming oneself or habituation previously. Are some that no matter how much you explain to them, they cannot like talking to a cow or something. They are not accustomed to using their wisdom or their intelligence. So whatever the quality of mind it might be, whether positive or negative, whether it be in terms of intelligence, whether it be in terms of the healthy states or unhealthy states, kindness the like. It all arises in dependence upon accustoming the mind, habituating the mind to these particular states.
There there are some when when they look around and if we were looking around the room they they might see the flower. Oh, what a wonderful flower. That’s a good flower. See some other object and think, that’s beautiful, that’s wonderful, and they quickly generate attachment, desire toward that object. This simply arises to habituation to these objects in the past, in these states of mind of attachment.
There are some who’ve merely seen an object. They don’t even have to think about it, whether they see their boyfriend or girlfriend or some clothing or something, and this tremendous desire for that object arises. This comes comes about through accustoming the mind to such a state habituation. Example would be if yesterday we had some delicious food and then, tomorrow we we we merely seen this food, our mouth begins to water. And we this is this this this is comes about through, having experienced the the the delicious flavor of this food previously, having accustomed oneself to it, merely seeing that there’s a reaction to it.