Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. The closing session of Khensur Rinpoche’s 1992 Easter Retreat series on the Eight Verses of Thought Transformation, this 37-minute commentary opens with a detailed guided instruction in the giving-and-taking meditation: breathing in others’ suffering as black light to dissolve self-centeredness at the heart, then breathing out one’s own happiness as white light to bestow well-being on others. Rinpoche reassures practitioners that taking on suffering imaginatively causes no actual harm — the opposite, in fact, as the kind-hearted motivation generates great positive potential. He then unpacks the eighth verse, cataloguing the eight worldly preoccupations (pleasure/pain, gain/loss, fame/notoriety, praise/blame) before arguing that genuine practice needs both view and conduct — the two wings a bird requires to fly. The Buddhist view is dependent arising; the Buddhist conduct is nonviolence and the abandonment of harm.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 09 8VTT 1992-Easter Retreat.mp3
UUID: 3bd69cf9-f365-4fbf-8e6e-16c54f1b8a5c
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: 8 Verses Thought Transformation (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1992 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 37.4 minutes
Words: ~2,131
Previously, we acted in such a way that emphasis was placed upon our self, that that our concern was wrapped up with our own welfare. And we are thinking to reverse that in terms of now we are placing emphasis on other and and placing the the main produces all of these undesirable and negative results. And so we term this a path which was mistaken. But the other path, which is the path of other-centeredness, is an other is an unerring path, which will bring us, in fact, the happiness that we do want. Our practice involves an exchange of attitude.
Previously, we sought to eliminate our own suffering. Emphasis was placed upon eliminating our own suffering and the finding of happiness for ourselves. And now we’re going to exchange that attitude of emphasis. We’re going to exchange the attitude which emphasizes ourselves for the attitude which emphasizes others, and we place main importance upon the bringing of happiness for others and eliminating the suffering. So the way that we are to contemplate is that wishing to placing greatest emphasis upon others and wishing to bring them happiness, we are going to give them give over our own happiness to them and not and wanting to eliminate their suffering.
We take upon ourselves the suffering and the causes of suffering such as the afflictive emotions and negative actions which have created. So the bodhisattva in their practice makes use of the inhalation, exhalation, the breath to carry out to carry on their practice in with a beneficial intention. So we proceed in this meditation by breathing in the the physical and mental suffering of others and the causes of their suffering in the form of of a black light, which comes down through our nose and down and destroys the self-centeredness at our heart. And then we then we we breathe out all our all our happiness, very skillful actions, and we we we give this the way in a form of of a white light which goes out and bestows upon them physical and mental well-being. We supply them with all the complete conditions whereby they can cultivate their path.
They reach by them with the which teaches them the with companions who help assist them in their practices. So this is purely an imaginative practice. We shouldn’t think that really though we visualize in this way and that we will actually be harmed in taking on the sufferings of others imaginatively. We we won’t. They have to experience their negativities for themselves.
We can’t experience it for them. And likewise, in giving away our happiness, we shouldn’t think that somehow we’re not gonna be as happy. We’re diminishing our happiness. In fact, the opposite will is what we’re going to experience. We’re going to be happier because we’re out of this practice with motivated by a kind hearted intention.
We’re going to create a vast amount of positive potential and extremely skillful action. Those those who are small minded might get frightened by this practice thinking that somehow they’re going to thinking this way, they’re going to suffer more and that all of their skillful actions and happiness are going to be diminished. If we proceed in this way of meditation, what what benefits can we bring to ourselves? If we proceed in this meditation and have as a foundation of the practice a a beneficial intention, a kind hearted attitude, and seeking to develop other-centeredness. Then by means of this visualization process, we will purify our various negativity, and we will accumulate a great vast collection of positive potential.
And it’s extremely it would be of a nice benefit to our soul. What is it that we want? We want to eliminate our negativity, and we want to accumulate a vast collection of positive potential. And it is dependent on such a practice that we can bring about our one. So, you know, it’s it’s comparable to someone an individual trying to fabricate to to make some sort of product by themselves without the aid of any technology.
If if this individual, on the other hand, were were had worked in a factory where there’s a vast array of technology, there’s these all of the machinery, which they can make make use of, then they can produce, you know, the bigger and better things, you know, greater things than they could by themselves without all this technology, without all this equipment equipment. This is really useful to have this equipment. Likewise, those who are skillful in those skillful practitioners make use of this equipment such as these various practices to be able to produce something much more vast than they by this means that the mind is transformed. It is by equipping the mind with these skillful techniques that we can the mind becomes extremely powerful in being able to eliminate these various faults and to quickly be able to generate excellent qualities. Yeah.
No. And the the eighth verse where it says, also having not defiled all these by stains of preconceptions of eight worldly feelings and by perceiving all phenomena as illusory, free from attachment, I shall be released from bondage. So if if if we are to carry on a a pure practice of Dharma, it must be a type of practice which is not mixed with the eight worldly feelings as sometimes I call them the eight principal preoccupations of ego based existence. And these are these are the hope the hope of pleasure, the fear of pain, the hope of fame, the fear of notoriety, the hope of gain, the fear of loss, the hope of praise, the fear of blame. And also, our practice should not be mixed with the two extremes of nihilism or eternalism.
And then the next line, it it presents the the view. So our practice is in terms of our conduct. And then in terms of our view, the view is that all phenomena do not truly exist, that that all phenomena are like a mirage or illusion, and this is the view. So our our our practice should be a combination of view and conduct. So it’s necessary that our practice be constituted of view and conduct.
And and if we only have the view, then we cannot bring about the ultimate elimination of our faults and development of our excellent qualities. On the other hand, if we have the conduct, but we don’t have view, then again, we cannot bring bring about the ultimate elimination of our faults and development of all excellent qualities. This is in the case of a bird. A bird required to fly requires two wings. And likewise, in the case of our practice, we need the wings of both view and conduct.
So we really don’t have time to go into what is the view and what is the conduct. If we put them simply, the the Buddhist view is dependent arising, and the Buddhist the Buddhist conduct is nonviolent. By by conduct, we mean nonviolence, and this is the abandonment of harm. This would be in terms of harmful ways of thinking of intending to harm others, but also harmful types of actual acts of both physical and verbal. And so we should abandon harming others.
And if we if we if if we’re going above this, if we can, we should seek to benefit them. If we can’t benefit them, then at least don’t harm them. And by view, we mean dependent arising, and and this means that that all phenomena, the external phenomena such as the environment and internal phenomena, which the the living being, all whatsoever arise dependent upon causes and conditions. That there is nothing whatsoever which does not arise dependent upon causes and condition. Since phenomena rely upon causes condition, they rely upon something other than themselves for for their existence to be established.
Therefore, nothing there’s nothing which does not rely upon upon other. There everything relies upon other. Nothing exists independent of other. Nothing exists independently. And therefore, everything and this is what is meant by the this is the view of dependent arising that all things are empty of independent existence.
So the the view is explaining the ultimate nature of reality. Explain simply this that things exist in interdependence. They exist in any interdependence upon the inner factor of one’s own mind and the and the external factor of the she she cut it up to More control. More control. Oh, my.
And in mutual combination with in mutual dependence upon the mind as internal, the internal mind, and external situation. That in dependence upon the things, the external situation and the internal mind into this interdependence arises all things. There there are are two other views that there are there are two other views. There is the view of the realist and the view of the mentalist. The mentalist the mentalist view holds that the the arising of phenomena does not depend upon external factors, but it is simply in terms of of one’s own thought, one’s own wishes, one’s own belief, one’s prayer one’s own mind, that all in thinking that all phenomena arise.
Then the on the other hand, there’s the view of the realist. And and the realist holds that the external factors do not depend upon the mind. That what we that what we see is very much the way things are. That is not is not in terms of of our seeing them, but they exist in their own right. I don’t think but that’s it.
You You support a a way of phenomenon existing which which sought to reconcile these two views in that the description is one in terms of things do not exist only in terms of the mind nor do they exist only in terms of external factors, but a combination of the two. Yeah. So we’re going to stop there. We’ve we’ve completed this explanation of loving advice, which he’s given to us in eight verses about how the necessity of how we can develop other-centeredness in replacing our self-centeredness. So even though our time together has been rather short, I hope that it’s been useful to you and and that possibly that you you’re going to go away with some new ideas. What the name is?
Not I don’t do synthetic people. This is. And and it’s been a wonderful opportunity for myself and my side in having considered all of these ideas. We we have created a this has been a wonderful occasion as coming together in this way that that it’s been extremely fortuitous considering all of the great troubles that are are that the world is now experiencing in the famines, wars, the the the numbers of poor, the difficulties in which within which the world is going through at the moment. And here, we have come together, and and I have explained these teachings in it with a kind hearted motivation, and you have listened to them with the same type of kind hearted motivation.
And though it’s been a short time together, I think something truly wonderful will come out of this. And it it in itself, it it represents a wonderful occasion. The this practice which has been described was the practice of the Langri Tangpa himself. And I have I’ve tried to understand it to help you best present it to you in the hopes that you would would understand the way to practice, and then you yourself can explain can examine this explanation and see whether in your own terms of the benefit or not. You shouldn’t simply allow it to sit in your mind, but actually examine it whether it’s a whether a whether you think it’s useful or not useful.
If you find it useful, then put it in the practice. If you do that, then definite that you will experience positive results in the future. From my side, having explained these teachings with the kind hearted motivation and you having listened to these teachings with the kind hearted motivation, we have together created a big deal of skillful actions, and we we should now make prayers combining our skillful actions all of the skillful actions of all other in that that the world which is undergoing bad sickness and and wars that these these may be all ended and that we could that there may be peace and well-being in the world. And that and that our own practice may be brought to fulfillment just as the the practices of and and who set out these practices that we are practicing a bring find the fruition of finally exchanging our self-centeredness for the for the other-centeredness.