Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 35-minute session, Khensur Rinpoche opens by reassuring students that the taking meditation — imagining you absorb others’ suffering — does not literally transfer pain to you; even so, practicing it with genuine compassion accumulates great merit. He then unpacks bodhicitta as an expansive mind wishing to free all beings from suffering, explaining that what makes someone a Mahāyāna practitioner is this inner quality, not outward signs — even an animal with the right karmic causes could qualify as a bodhisattva. The session’s most vivid moment is a story: the future Buddha, reborn in hell and forced to pull a cart, spontaneously offers to carry a companion’s yoke when that companion is being whipped, and in that act generates bodhicitta. A closing question clarifies why abandoning self-cherishing does not mean hating or harming oneself, which Rinpoche treats as an equally mistaken attitude.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 07 7P 1998 10 04.mp3
UUID: c7915702-1b4b-4c48-b8f7-52f74c76d3aa
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: 7 Point Mind Training (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1998-10-04
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 34.8 minutes
Words: ~2,700
No. So and so that was a bit of taking a practice of giving. Oh, you give all your virtue but yes, the virtuous remained in yourself and by doing that you achieve, you you accumulate a great store of virtue as same same number or same as all sentient beings. And and we also we have done the own taking taking meditation or taking practice which is like through taking the suffering of sentient beings through compassion. And But when we when we think we are taking all We we are taking the sufferings of sentient beings, but in fact, we may think say we can’t take even like a person who has a lot of teeth problem or suffering with the teeth, like severe toothache, so yeah that’s great.
Toothache but when when you can also We we we think we are taking all the suffering of sentient beings upon oneself but in Actually, we You you can’t even take a toothache of of a person upon yourself. So don’t get scared that even when you get when you meditate on taking all practice taking all suffering of sentient beings but actually they don’t come to you. So don’t get that scared. Alright? But but you have done but you have done this practice through compassion and through that through the power of that, through the compassion you practice that and by doing that you again accumulate great store of merit by doing this practice so and your virtues or positive actions become really very powerful.
There is another great store of merit. So these are the practice of Bodhisattvas and Bodhisattvas always in their thought they practice these things and and through this through this thought or through through through this bodhisattvas, they they are I mean, the the actions of bodhisattva become becomes bodhisattva actions or actions of bodhisattva become become Bodhisattvas become very powerful and even if we make if they if they collect your virtues, they can collect a great stock merit very easily, quickly or and if when they do the purification or purifying, when they do the practice of purifying the negative actions or unwholesomes and they are able to do very quickly or I mean, their practice become very powerful. And not only that, by this they can achieve enlightenment, enlightenment or Buddhahood very quickly because their practice have been very powerful even if they when they store merit, they they they can accumulate great store merit in very instantly and they can able to minimize or purify the negativities very quickly. So, and this is how, when, so to become enlightened we have to purify all the negativities and acquire all the all the good qualities and so Bodhisattvas are very quick in doing, acquiring all good, very quick in acquiring all good qualities and purifying negative veils very quickly.
So that and then they can, it’s they can do, they can become, achieve Buddhahood very quickly. And so I mean, so if you are able to do this then one, if could purify us all the negativities and acquire all the good qualities then you are already enlightened, we can become enlightened. The Buddha doesn’t mean, enlightened being doesn’t mean, I mean has, I mean, all the To become a Buddha or a saint Enlightened being, you you don’t have You don’t need to have any kind of I don’t know. You know, the talk of the Buddhist is Sorry? No.
No no. You know the lord Buddha’s had this. Austerity. Oh, austerity is nothing. That’s just old Buddha.
So old Buddha Buddha doesn’t mean that if you become a Buddha you don’t have to have that kind of thing. The main thing is to have to purify all the negativities and acquire all the good qualities. So bodhisattvas are really skilled or they can do this practice very powerful, more powerful to do this practice quickly. So this is how we I mean, we say bodhicitta, in Sanskrit it’s called bodhicitta and Tibetan is called and I don’t English we call it like enlightened mind, some people say altruistic intention. So in Sanskrit it’s called bodhicitta and Tibetan is called Jangchub Sem.
So bodhicitta in Sanskrit it means very extensive or like very extensive mind. Alright? Okay? In Tibetan it’s when we regenerate or develop the mind. So it means we have regenerate or develop the mind.
Meaning is to extend one’s thought or one’s mind. So the bodhicitta actually it means body, body means like Buddha or enlightened and Chitta means a mind, very extensive mind. Alright? Wish to attain that or achieve that buddha. So bodhicitta means this buddha.
Bodhi is enlightened and citta is a mind extends very extensive by our mind which wish to attain Buddhahood or Buddha. So, the bodhicitta, it also means that expanding or extending one’s mind. Means one may think how to extend one’s mind is thinking about the all sense or how to extending one’s mind is not how to thinking about the substance of thinking of thinking for the sentient beings and which is very very extensive, number list. And by seeing the sentient beings are suffering and by knowing that that that mind feels or like to free all sentient beings into suffering and bring them to the ultimate happiness and to do that to to do to do that practice brings free for all sort of free sentient beings from suffering and and bring them into into the ultimate happiness to do this without the bodhicitta one cannot do this. So bodhicitta is very important or it’s very extensive mind and only this can do that practice free or repeat.
Also, self, free sentient beings from suffering and bring them into ultimate happiness. And to do this, Buddhism can do this and Buddhism is a very brave or extent very extent extended mind which thing think that, I mean, I will that mind will always willingly to stay as long as like eons and eons to do this. They don’t bother but I mean, they they bear all the hardships and difficulties to to to bring all those sentient beings into the ultimate happiness and free them from sentient beings. So it’s a very brave or very extensive So why we have to do that to work for sentient beings is Sentient beings are one of the most important, sentient beings are the kindest, we can say, to us and also is very helpful, have been very helpful, beneficial. Okay?
So we’re helpful and kind to us. So for that reason we have to do that. So because sentiments are very kind because to achieve our temporary and ultimate ultimate happiness, to achieve that it’s entirely depend on sentient beings. But by depending on sentient beings, we are being able to or we can achieve our temporary, both the temporary temporary and ultimate happiness. Without that we can’t do this, achieve that now.
Yeah. So we, so today we have finished or taught about, taught the most, I mean teach with given the teaching of gist of a bodhicitta, alright, the essence or the gist of the teaching has been taught. Understand? Is it clear? So but, yeah, so it says that we we have mentioned the house, I mean the importance of developing the bodhicitta and then, and generate, generating the bodhicitta or altruistic intention is very important and and that kind, that that mind alright, bodhicitta is being able to practice or or should develop but can develop develop within oneself by depending on other sentient beings.
Without sentient beings we cannot have that bodhicitta without sentient beings. So we have spoken about this kind of kindness of sentient beings. So the root of or the source of bodhisattva or altruistic intent is beloved sentient beings and this is so beloved sentient beings or these teachings so we have taught it’s like a gist of the sentient beings and bodhicitta. So we when we say Mahāyāna or Mahāyāna Mahāyāna Mahāyāna, I mean, it it doesn’t mean by seeing a monk with a ropes or seeing a lots of temples and then seeing lots of texts, it doesn’t mean it’s a Mahāyāna practice because the Mahāyāna a person or any being could could is considered as a Mahāyāna or Mahāyāna practitioner if they have developed or generated a bodhicitta or altruistic intention, which is to wish to work for the sake of sentient beings. And if if any being who has this kind of, this mind, bodhicitta, then we can say that is that that being is the is the Mahāyāna Mahāyāna practitioner.
If a cat or fish or let me just say dog, something like that. So if they have bodhicitta within that, we we can call that cat or bodhicitta or the fish is a Mahāyāna. So so the most thing is that considering a Mahāyāna practitioner or Mahāyāna is entirely depend on the whether that being or a person develops a bodhicitta or not. No. So so bodhisattva is not necessarily to be a human.
There are like animals like dog or cat. There are some Bodhisattvas, a dog or cat’s bodhisattva. For example, a person in his previous life, a dog in his previous life was a human being and he practiced a lot and then training in the path and meditating and then he and that person died almost, and he have accumulated all the causes to become a bodhisattva. And then that person died the time nearly to become a bodhisattva. He has accumulated all the causes for to become a bodhisattva but he died unfortunately.
But and then died and then he had taken birth as a dog or a cat. But that dog or a cat has accumulated all the causes of to become a bodhisattva in the past life and he is the same person and that dog’s the same person. So the And then he can So they So that dog has a capability, capability, have all those causes and causes to become a bodhisattva and you have very easy mind to become a bodhisattva and there is a possibility for that particular dog to become a bodhisattva. So we in No. So we also said that Buddha Śākyamūni has developed the bodhicitta in the hell realm.
And he said that at the time of his being, at the time of his, so when he was a human being something, he he had accumulated all the causes to become a bodhisattva, alright, and all the causes to causes for for developed all the causes for bodhicitta or bodhisattva. And then at the time he nearly to become bodhisattva, he died and unfortunately, the bodhisattva was being born in the hell realm. And at the hell realm, he has all these conditions, causes though. All the causes in the past might be stowed or not vanished, alright. It’s still with him in the hell realm.
And then said that in hell realm he was he was, you know, it’s not a bullock cart, it’s a horse and instead of pulling four wheels, horse cart or a bullock cart? I spelled it a horse cart, okay. And then there’s no horse in the hell, so at that time, so I don’t there’s any horse, but the time Buddha Śākyamūni Muni and his one of his hellmate or companion had to pull their cart. Alright? And and then his helpmate was not able to push or pull the cart and then by that, a person, we call it like hell guardian, guide of hell, just whipping his friend, his health maid, and the Bodhisattva at that time was able to develop compassion for his friend, and he said, don’t don’t beat him or don’t whip him.
Just put his load on me, put the yoke on me and I I I will do it myself. Alright? I’ll I’ll pull the cart by myself, my own. You don’t don’t hit. Don’t, I mean, beat to that.
It’s hell mate. So but through that, we get compassion and he develop bodhicitta and become bodhisattva in that time. So means Buddha Śākyamūni Muni has been told he had generated his altruistic intention of bodhicitta in hell realm when he was in hell. Buddha Śākyamūni at that time he was not Buddha or he was not enlightened. It’s one of his births in previous lives, in one of his previous life.
And he have generated his altruistic intention in one of his previous life and which was in the hell realms. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Sorry?
How do you think about that? Describe. Well, is this some clear way of telling the difference between Yeah, not, this question will come up. No. No.
So the way, I mean we said self-cherishing is to be abandoned if it’s not, I mean negative one which don’t need it. And you said that there are some people who got confused and get hatred to oneself and hurt on themselves. But Rinpoche has said that the way we, the idea, the concept or the idea is different now. But when when we say the self-cherishing is important, we’re just saying that which harm which bring harms for others. And due to the self-cherishing, we work for oneself and one’s benefit and then to to have one’s own benefit or for happiness for oneself, harms other.
Alright? And the way you said the person who harms himself and then hatred is it’s on it may be the person who’s been not able to fulfill his wishes and but but very frustrated and then start harming himself. So the the thinking or the idea, I mean, is completely different. Which is not good like harming oneself. No.
No. No. So it’s been like hurting oneself like with the There is There have been many people who practice we said like meditating on, like closely meditating or contemplating one’s body. So and then finally they just meditate on their body, how it forms and how it is. And then they find that one’s body is very, very contaminated and filthy or dirty, etcetera.
And then by knowing this, they have commit suicide or they hurt their body. So there have been many people like this in the past doing this kind of practice. They think about the body, how it forms, how it is and then, you know, we usually say it’s contaminated and so by knowing that they’ve done that, it’s like because there is a chance of doing that because for example we said a person has been drowned in a pit or something like that, toilet’s grinding, it’s like I mean, okay. Okay, so it’s shit’s inside and then he’d been falling the drain and you know that I mean his body will stink. Alright?
It’s been sunk in there. And then he tried to wash that and if that that smell didn’t go off in his life, stays within even no matter how how how how much he wash, you know. It never goes up. It’s always there. So the person feel frustrated or something like, oh, my body is never parting from this smell and which way he hates him.
So there is a chance he get kind of upset with that and there is a chance of committing suicide. Know, I better not to stay with this life, this body, you know. Stings with shits every stings with shit or like something there all the time. So it’s kind of like that. No.
So if one commits once suicide by oneself, one kills oneself by this kind of thought, it’s it’s the mistaken one or negative, so hurting oneself is also like, you know, feel hatred but it’s also a negative or mistaken one. It’s alright. We’ll stop here. It’s it’s just bit and stuff. Quick.
Have to And I remember she said, I’ve been just see, becoming higher and higher here, because there’s one reason to do this. Because oh, because I need to go for the loo. I’m sorry.