Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 36-minute talk, Khensur Rinpoche uses a vivid construction image — you cannot place the pinnacle on a skyscraper before digging its foundation — to explain why four preparatory attitudes must be cultivated in sequence before love and compassion can arise. He walks through each step: developing equanimity toward all beings, recognizing them as past-life mothers, remembering their kindness, and cultivating the wish to repay it. He shows how these four, genuinely practised, naturally produce what he calls “appealing love,” which in turn gives rise to the spontaneous wish for others to have happiness and be free of suffering. The final section shifts register entirely: Rinpoche makes a warm, direct appeal to the Buddha House community to volunteer their time, return borrowed library books, and treat the center as they would their own home.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 36 3PA 1993 11 02.mp3
UUID: fe57f5e7-4fa2-4c61-ae6b-36bd046a1edd
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: 3 Principal Aspects of the Path (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1993-11-02
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 36.4 minutes
Words: ~2,203
And having harmed you. The same in having harmed you. If I benefited someone today, and then, and I benefited, I have benefited them today, and if additionally, had benefited that person last year, I can’t, we can’t say that I didn’t benefit that person last year. And so, individual of this life was benefited was our mother, and that of the previous life was our mother. All living beings are our mothers.
So just as we have to, since all living beings are our mothers, and we have a liking for our mother of this life, we should develop that same quality of liking toward all living beings, since they were all our mothers, that developed the same attitude of looking upon them as being very appealing to ourselves. So initially, firstly, developing equanimity, and secondly, developing the attitude which looks upon all living beings as one’s mother, and then thirdly, seeing that all of these, that just as they all have benefited oneself in the same way as one’s mother of this life, over the the taking of rebirths, at those times when, in the taking of previous rebirths, that they benefited you in the same way, that they benefited you as much as they were able in those previous rebirths as your mother, and developing the same liking toward them as one would have toward one’s mother of this rebirth. And that’s also related to. So, you know, remembering the kindness of all living beings, and then how they have shown us such great benefit, and then having been mindful of their great kindness, then we develop a sense of a wish wish to repay their kindness.
That, you know, if someone who reflects well upon their parents of this life, and considers how kind they have been, and is mindful of their kindness that they have shown us, they will develop a sense of gratitude which wishes to repay their kindness. So, someone who considers well and is mindful of their kindness will develop a sense of gratitude wishing to repay their kindness. Considering the great benefit that we have been shown, if we were not to develop a sense of gratitude wishing to repay that kindness, then from the point of view of the universal vehicle, we have no practice. We have no really redeeming quality. This is, it’s a very inappropriate way of thinking.
Is inappropriate way of thinking. In the context of our practice of actions as causes in their results, karma, then, you know, someone were, if another person benefits ourselves, then in view of this law of cause and results, we are to return that benefit, and benefit them. Even when somebody harms us, in the case of the bodhisattva, the bodhisattva repays, returns that harm with benefit. So, without such an attitude of at least trying to return benefit for benefit, then we have no real practice. We’re not practicing the essence of the practice of the karma as actions, actions as causes and the results.
So, if we, if we cultivate these four attitudes well, firstly, equanimity. Secondly, recognizing all living beings as their mother. Thirdly, remembering their kindness. And, fourthly, the attitude of repaying their kindness. These are all, these all act as the method to develop altruism, or beneficial intention.
If we cultivate these well, then appealing love will spontaneously develop. So, in dependence upon appealing love, then we will spontaneously develop the attitude of love, which wishes, thinking how wonderful it would be if others had happiness and the causes of happiness. If that, when that develops, we will spontaneously develop compassion, wishing others to be free of their suffering. Because, you know, because all the causes are complete. If there’s no cause, then no result will arise.
But if the causes and condition are complete, then the result will rise automatically. What we want is to achieve a result without having created the cause of it. If we want to develop well these results, and we’re going to have to go through some difficulty. You know, if we go through the difficulties of cultivating these attitudes of equanimity, and recognizing our mothers, and remembering their kindness, and developing a wish to repay their kindness, then we will develop these results, but these results will come out of having expended, having gone through some difficulty. Course of building a skyscraper, you know, you have to begin at the bottom.
You have to dig out the foundation, remove all the earth, foundation. Then upon that you begin to build the walls and the various floors in that way. But we want to put the pinnacle on the skyscraper first. We’re going to stop there, but, for today, but the directors of House have asked me to say a few words, so I’m going to say them. So there are within the center there are a variety of jobs which need to be done, and many of them entail some kind of some difficulty in completing them, the different types of work.
If one does the work, then things will degenerate, they’ll deteriorate, and so we, or if we want things to go well, then if we want things to improve, then we have to enlist, we have to make effort in the means of developing the center. So, you know, up to now the center has relied completely on voluntary labor that everyone who had the various people the students who have done the work of Buddha House have done so without any salary. We’ve gotten to this point where we are now. So, you know, we could consider paying people salaries, but, in fact, that’s, we’re not in a position to, to pay people a salary to do the work. And so, you know, just as the students have previously volunteered their work, and have in this way been of tremendous kind, have shown a great deal of kindness, likewise, again, we need to I, I ask you to please, I request you please to, again, to show the same kindness again to, to become involved in some voluntary work at Buddha House, whatever ability, whatever abilities you may have, whatever type work, however much time to help in whatever way you can.
I’m quite aware that, in general, many of you have limits upon the time that you can, that you have in terms of the difficulties, in terms of time. You have to allot time for, you have homes, you have children, you have work to do. So, I’m asking is just in terms of whatever time that you do have to spare, even if it’s only a day every month, or two months, or a year, and if you’re only going to be able to work for one month during that time, or two months, or even one week, that you’re not going to be able to work after that time at all. Whatever time, to consider volunteering that time. And to all of those who have been of such help in the past, and presently, I’d like to say thank you.
So, the Buddha House is a Dharma center that was founded by Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa, and why did they found Buddha House? It was in order order to facilitate the practice of Dharma, and this to be able to bring about the benefit of both the practitioners and others. To bring about the welfare, to bring about benefit, to bring about the situation where people could carry on the practice of Dharma. And this is this is why they founded Buddha House. So, I think it’s really wonderful that Buddha has been founded in, you know, because it is a place for those who are striving to, their practice of Dharma, that is, they don’t have to go far.
They don’t have to go to a great expense. You know, if Buddha House wasn’t here, then how far do you think you would have to travel in order to hear the teachings to be able to plant the latencies and to understand the practices. You know, if you would, it might have to go all the way to Dharmasala, or at a great expense, and great people simply don’t have the time, or the So, I think it’s extremely wonderful and a great kindness that this center such as this was established where people can come to learn, and they don’t have to travel far, and it’s not tremendous expense, it doesn’t take great time. And additionally, you know, Buddha House is trying to provide a place where people can come to listen to the Dharma, to practice the Dharma, and it would really be wonderful if we could offer this Dharma without any charge. But, that would really be wonderful, anyone who is aware of the accounts of House would be aware that we simply can’t do that.
There are all the various expenses which are incurred in the running of Buddha House, the building itself in terms of having to pay the mortgage off, the electricity, and the upkeep, and the expense for the nuns and providing the expenses for the monks. This is all, all requires money, and Buddha simply doesn’t have it. So, we’re not in a position where we can we can offer that we might like the the teachings freely, you know, free. Again, you know, if Buddha House is a place where people can come to listen to the teachings, and we can gather together for all types of various functions that go on at Buddha House, and this has been of extremely great benefit to the students and others. And so, having Buddha House, having supplying the facility of such great benefit, it seems only fitting that we, who are benefiting, return that benefit and benefit Buddha House.
So Buddha has, know, helped us all. It has been a real benefit to ourselves, and if we can maintain House, then, and to develop Buddha House, then, likewise, as it has benefited ourselves, and is benefiting ourselves, it will be able to benefit even more people in the future. So, we have to think about the prospects of benefiting even more people in the future. And so, we have to consider the fact of all the benefit which is being derived. And so, in that terms, in thinking to return that benefit to Buddha House, thinking in terms of benefit, not in terms of salary, or any type of wage, but simply to benefit.
One is benefiting, and one gives benefit in return. So, in thinking in these ways, whatever you can do, you know, whatever ability or time that you may have, I ask you, I request you to please make use to return that benefit, and do whatever you can for Buddha House. And also with respect to the Buddha’s library and the bookshop, There have been many, many books which have been borrowed and not returned, perhaps as many as two hundred books. And so, you to because those books are, can be of use to others, that if you have borrowed books, to please return them. Or, and if you’ve borrowed, also if you borrowed books from the bookshop to to please pay for them.
Oh, the name is at that. So, I mean, the library has a procedure for the borrowing of books, and generally you can borrow a book for one month, and, you know, that probably should be sufficient time to read a book. But, you know, if you haven’t been able to finish it in one month, then you can renew that you’re borrowing, and so this procedure is set out, and it would be good to follow that procedure. So, you know, we’ve discussed the Dharma a lot, and the Dharma is is taught in terms of what is the benefit, what is useful, and what is not useful, what is disadvantageous. Should, the Dharma is your home.
The Buddha House is your home. It’s the place where we teach the Dharma, and you should treat it as you would your home in the sense that when you see things that need to be done, then go ahead and do them. If you take something from someplace and put it back, if you drink a cup of tea then wash the cup and put it away, and if you see something that needs to be cleaned up, then go ahead and clean it up. So, you know, Buddha House isn’t like a restaurant where, you know, you do pay a bill, then you can, you know, whether you you don’t have to wash your own dishes, you don’t you don’t, you know, if you move the chairs someplace else, can leave them to where wherever you left them. But somebody else is being paid to take care of that, and, you know, you leave it to the to the to the waitresses and the people who clean up to take care of things.
But we don’t this there’s no one being paid here to do these things. Apologize if I made any of you feel uncomfortable.