Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Opening with a student’s question about how Buddhist karma differs from Christian divine judgment, this 26-minute session by Khensur Rinpoche clarifies the nature of Yama, the Lord of Death. Rinpoche explains that Yama is not a single universal judge but a figure that appears to each dying person through the power of their own accumulated karma — good karma sending a being upward, bad karma downward. He uses the analogy of civil law to explain why such a moral reckoning exists at all. The commentary closes with a reading of the Wheel of Life: the pig, snake, and bird at its center represent confusion, anger, and attachment — the three roots that keep beings cycling in saṃsāra — with Yama depicted holding the entire wheel.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 05 7P 1998 10 03.mp3
UUID: 77bde6a1-a1f5-40e3-a058-0e795004affa
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: 7 Point Mind Training (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1998-10-03
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 26.2 minutes
Words: ~1,844
Okay. Alright. So Rinpoche has says that he doesn’t know much about the Christian, but he has heard about the it’s I mean, god speak the god who churches the person and if the person has done according according to with or with the god’s instruction or according to the god he’d been sent up or somewhere and then if you who contradicts with the god, then he’s been sent down somewhere. And so but he had heard something about that and something like that, but he hasn’t got any. I mean, didn’t say much about Christian.
But what the hearer we said about the person like a yama who’s been appointed by Mañjuśrī for us to judge. But it’s not just one yama for all of us to judge. So because that that person or the yama, it’s it’s due to the due to the person’s due to the due to the karma or bad bad or good karma of a person, and there is a person who appears to that particular person like a like a person we can see in a mirror. So the way there is a wishing of a person for that particular person, for every one of us has that. Right?
So and and the the power of our good or bad karma, and at the time of death, just that we we get a vision of a person just like a vision of a person in a mirror. And that person in a mirror which appears to earn, and that person has been asked by Mañjuśrī to judge our good or bad action. And according by seeing the good or bad accumulation of merit, like good or bad karma, and he that that the that person who sent us up and down. So and and and the reason why Mañjuśrī had had ordered or asked, we pointed that person to judge be a judgement or be a judge for us is because if there is no particular judge, then there is a danger of us to doing anything because there there is because there’s no no one is there to judge us and to stand up and down, and then the person will there is a danger of person just accumulating anything or doing anything. So for that reason for that reason, the Mañjuśrī has appointed a yama.
And yama is in a yama to judge to make to make a judgment for for person’s action or karma. The karma is in the one so when we say yama, a Lord of Death, and the yama is in the one for all of death. One should not think there’s a single yama and who judge the who make who become who who become a judge of all the all the beings. But the yama is every individual has one kind of yama. And because the we can’t say the single yama is dead because the person dies and due to their karmic, the the power of their good or bad action or karma, and the bad person has a vision like of a person, which is the which to which a person who a person due to the power I mean, due to the power or due to due to their karmic actions, the person just comes, appears to that particular person, and that person is the yama and who judges that.
So there isn’t a single yama in this for all of us. Like, I mean, as Christians, they agree just one single god who judges all sentient beings. So in Buddhist context, it’s not like that. Is it okay? Is is this yama, is this a projection from oneself, or is it It’s a it’s not a projection.
It’s it’s like one would say it’s that that person, a person who dies and due to their karmic, like action, due to their karma or the karma they have accumulated and through the power of that karma, the person has give a vision of a particular vision of a person or a being which will become the judge or a yama of that person. So it’s not that that particular yama or it’s not just sent by Mañjuśrī to go down and make a judgment for that particular person. Because that person is that that person just appears, but through the action, the karma, good or bad action accumulated by the particular dead person. And after the time of death and through the power of their karma that a person appears to that person and which become a yama and Mañjuśrī who knows that vision, a person in the vision for that particular person. And he asked that person or the yama to make a judgment for the person and their guru bag karma.
And it’s not just it’s not a person just sent by Mañjuśrī, it’s just come by the power of their karma. And and the reason why the Mañjuśrī asked the yama to make a judgment for that person is and to and make make a judgment for the person to that person is because if if there is no particular rule or judgment, he didn’t add that, then that there is a danger of person doing all the time. To avoid all the to avoid sentient beings from doing negativities and make them to accumulate and to do the positive things when she should have us make a certain rule or like ask that the yama to make a judgment for that. For example, like in this we can give an example in this particular in this world. If there is a law in our country and that law make the judges or like our judges, they make the judgment and say a person has committed certain crime has been sent and then if a person who didn’t commit commit any crime, so he’s been there’s no punishment for him.
So it’s the reason why we have mean, established such a law or rule rule in this country is to have is is to have a peace and good things to happen in this country country all the time and doesn’t want any crimes or like, how can I say that, miserable in this world, I mean, this country itself? So it’s it’s like the same. So if if you didn’t if the yama didn’t weight the person, then all person is the there’s no rule at all. There’s no rule of causes and condition, and effects, right? And then the people can do anything.
So it’s like that. I need to discuss with you first. You said why Rinpoche mentioned? The Mañjuśrī is the Mañjuśrī. We got only one Mañjuśrī.
Yeah. Is that it? Alright. Okay. Yeah.
Yeah. Okay. Nobody says seed goes in the ground. I think that’s something to see or I think it’s No. It doesn’t mean of their karma and the battle of good action.
Alright? I understand that. They just appear. They they they get a person that wish it doesn’t mean that it’s like they saw a karma and the person appears. I’m hard about shortening your questions instead of spending.
Yeah. Which you have heard in the previous teaching, isn’t it? Yes. Alright. Yeah.
Okay. Alright. Yeah. Judgment. Yeah.
And is that Rinpoche’s teaching or Yeah. No worries then. At the time of death, the karma which gives the bird. Right? In the previous teaching, I’m talking about it.
You know what I think might be better? I’ll write it I’ll write down my question. No. No. No.
No. Yeah. Yeah. It wasn’t it wasn’t some judgmental thing. It’s like if you stick your finger in a fire, it gets burned.
We we’re not saying the karma which makes the judge here. I know. It’s What do you mean the karma and the judgment of life? karma. karma I didn’t say the karma makes the judgment here.
It sounds like there’s a separate being. It sounds like. Alright. But it isn’t. Seriously.
I mean, the karma she remember she didn’t say that. The karma makes the judgment. Okay. So the room which is just very simple here. So what Rinpoche I mean, Rinpoche made it very, simple here.
So usually we talk about if we if if we have a good karma, if accumulated a good karma, good merit, and the result will be better, okay? And if a bad karma, bad karma gives a bad result, it’s the same here. And that at the time of death, after our death, we everyone has to meet meet with the lot of dead, the yama. Okay? That yama is not just sent by Mañjuśrī on something.
It just appeared to a person due to the due to their own karma. And it’s gonna be the same. If person has a good karma accumulated good karma, that person will send send you up or have a good rebel and help you with results. And and if there’s if you have more or have good bad karma, then sent down. So it’s like a police here there.
If you got it now? This is it, man. Do you see the, like, So it’s like you can see in that wheel cycle of life cycle that, you know, something goes down first, and then they’ve met with the army. If you have done good, you have seen a person with a wheel, pre wheel enhanced just falling on the white part and going up. So if you have done good, you will be on that way.
So no problem So at the center center of the wheel is the pig, snake, and the bird. So the pig represents the confusion or we call it sleep or confusion. And then the snake represents the anger and bird represents the attachment. So these are the three main root which lead us in some cyclic existence all the time. So and then the it’s a representation of Lord Yama who just hold that wheel in the center and with a wrathful form.
So that that’s him. So, you know, the wheel in his fore I mean, like, two hands in his like, hands between his hand and the leg, it means it’s the represents the cyclic existence of saṃsāra. And so person or being who are in this saṃsāra, in this in saṃsāra And so the reason why the cyclic saṃsāra or the wheel is inside his in his between his hands and flag is means that so being on in the cyclic existence or saṃsāra are always I mean, undergoes to him or or goes I mean, it’s it’s to him now. Om Mani Padme hum has six syllable letters which represent the six realms in the Samsāra existence. So in the Samsāra end, so this represents to free all sentient beings from those six realms and be liberated from this free from these six realms or from saṃsāra.
The first verse is we’re just making a prostration to our generosity.