Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Khensur Rinpoche opens the Awareness and Knowledge series at Buddha House by anchoring the entire program in a four-line verse the Buddha called a summary of all his teachings — never commit wrong, amass virtue, subdue the mind — and unpacks it as a practical map of karma. In this 54-minute session, he previews three texts to be covered, then works through a concrete example from the Dalai Lama’s Opening the Eye of New Awareness: two people with headaches, one whose untrained mind compounds the suffering and one whose practice keeps the mind steady enough to ease the physical pain itself. The session closes with the opening framework of the Awareness and Knowledge text, distinguishing objects from subjects — persons, consciousnesses, and terms — as groundwork for the study of mind ahead.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 01 AK 1988-10-05.mp3
UUID: 6d0872af-47b7-47b2-b994-b29a04c22cd3
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Awareness and Knowledge 1988-1989 (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1988-10-05
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 53.7 minutes
Words: ~2,331
Rinpoche is very happy that we gathered here together to make an offering ceremony. So having received a letter of invitation from Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Lama Lhundrup, and then John having arrived at Sera Monastery to personally invite Rinpoche. He was very happy to come and he’s very happy to be here and meeting you and that you’ve been able to come together. And Rinpoche has been here for a few days now and during this period that we’ve had various meditation sessions for example, Chenrezig meditation sessions and the various other practices that we’ve been engaged in and that he appreciates this very much and he’s very happy when he sees this. So we’re going to begin a program of teaching here at Buddha House and among the teachings that will be given are the Open the Eye of New Awareness by His Holiness, the Dalai Lama and a text on the study of mind, awareness and knowledge and the patience chapter from engaging in the bodhisattva deeds.
And tonight, we’re just going to give like a preliminary to these two texts which will be taught in the evenings that is opening of the eye of new awareness and the study of mind. So we’re just going to give a very rough introduction to these two texts. So in the beginning, it’s necessary that we set a proper motivation. If we have good motivation, then our listening to the dharma be of great benefit. So we should develop a kind heart as a as our motivation.
Now what exactly is our motivation in developing this kind heart? We should seek that we’re going to try to develop the intention that we’re going to listen to this teaching in order to benefit all sentient beings that that that all sentient beings without exception that we may able to bring them fearless peace and bliss. From Rinpoche’s side, he is going to make requests to himself, the lineage of the the Lamas, the teachers, preliminary, I’m just going to mention a verse by that the our teacher, the compassionate, the transcendental destroyer Buddha gave a very a single verse that he gave which sums up all his teachings. So is going to, briefly comment on this four line verse which was taught by the Buddha. In this four line verse, he says that sums up his teaching saying, never commit the slightest wrong.
Amass a wealth of positive energy or virtue, and completely subdue your mind. This is the teaching of the Buddha. So everywhere in the world, everyone the various realms of existence, whether it’s all the various types of migrators, all types of sentient beings, they’re hell beings or hungry ghosts, all the various types. They all they all want happiness and none want to suffer. They’re all exactly the same.
But the problem is that even though all sentient beings want happiness into one suffering, when we ask we ask, what do where does happiness come from? And where does suffering come from? So when we compare amongst all the various types of migrators, We as human beings have, you know, we engage in various activities. Engage in, we have, we’re intelligent. We have, you know, various types of understandings.
This is, these are qualities which set us apart from the rest of the various types of migrators such as hell beings and hungry ghosts. So even amongst human beings, are various types. Are those who understand the causes of happiness and those who do not understand the causes of happiness. There are those who understand the causes of suffering and those who do not understand the causes of suffering. So there are some people who think that who in trying to gain the happiness that they’re seeking engage in great actions such as killing and harming others.
But in fact, these are not this is not the causes of happiness. And those who in striving for happiness, for example, the various, in order to gain the marbles of this life, all wealth, etcetera. Make a great deal of effort in gathering together material wealth for example. Though this will, this will bring some slight in this life, it’s of no benefit to the future life. So amongst amongst we who are Buddhist, we we have conviction in the law of cause and effect.
karma. So the the what this would mean when happiness rises in in dependence upon a cause, unhappiness arises in dependence upon cause. So in amongst the those who are Buddhist and we can as to what are the two types of causes, those which bring happiness and those which bring suffering, we can depend upon the teachings of Buddha. Without these teachings, they would be quite difficult to establish what are the actual causes for happiness and what are the causes of suffering. So what is this cause of suffering?
This is contained in the first line of this verse in which it said, Never commit the slightest wrong. If we looked at the various wrong actions, unskillful actions are the actual causes of suffering. If we don’t want to suffer, then we have to forego engaging in these types of wrong actions or unskillful actions. Likewise, the cause of happiness are the very skillful actions, positive actions, and therefore, order to amass the wealth of positive energy, we this will be the cause of bringing us happiness. So though our negative actions, our unskillful actions are very powerful, are very strong presently, if we begin to abandon them, begin to, they will, we can decrease them, their force of these negative actions, and eventually we can eliminate them altogether.
So, likewise though, our happiness, positive actions are the cause of happiness, skillful actions. And though our skillful actions that we engage in presently might be very minor, if we can simply increase them every day in various ways, for example, you know, meditating on emptiness or generating the awakening heart of bodhicitta. In doing this, then we can increase them more and more. And thereby, we’re going to not only be happy in this life, we’re going to be happy in the next life and the lives all the lives after that. So in his text, the opening of the eye of new awareness by in his text, the opening of the eye of new awareness by his holiness to the Dalai Lama, he begins by talking about the difference between those who practice Dharma, those who, and those who do not, those who train their minds and those who do not.
And he gives the example of two people who, you know, we’re just talking about happiness of this life, with two people who both have a headache. So, both of these people have a headache. Now, with respect to the person who does not engage in the Dharma, who does not engage in spiritual practices. He has a headache and this is a, he has a physical suffering and then dependence upon his suffering, he might think, Oh my head, I have all these problems, I have this headache and he can’t stand his headache. So therefore, in not having a trained mind, he adds on top of his physical suffering, mental suffering.
So he ends up with two types of suffering, both physical and mental suffering. But for someone who practice the Dharma, has trained their mind, then even when they have physical suffering such as a headache, think to themselves, well this headache, this suffering that I’m experiencing is, you know, I’ve created the cause in the past for this, to be experiencing this present suffering and that was unskillful action, non virtue. And in thinking this way that this has arisen in dependence upon non virtue in the past and now I’m suffering due to that fact, then such a practitioner would develop even a stronger conviction in the teachings of the Buddha and his teachings on law and cause and effect. And so though this person is undergoing physical suffering, he can still So this person who has actually trained his mind, since his mind does not become distraught by his physical suffering, his mind is able to maintain a happy mind even while he’s physically suffering and by maintaining a happy mind due to the fact of his happy mind, this will lessen, this will influence his physical suffering and will lessen his physical suffering itself. And actually, we can get rid of the physical suffering through keeping a happy mind.
So for example, if someone if a person went out and committed a crime and the police the police saw him, and they they came and they and they and they arrested him, and they and and they beat him. If he could say, Oh, it doesn’t matter, you know, what they do to me. If he could keep that state of mind, then his mind would be, you know, would not become, he would not have to suffer mentally even though he was suffering physically. So the the very first line in the text, His Holiness, the Dalai Lama pays homage to the final exalted wisdom thoroughly differentiating phenomena. So what is being paid homage to here is the exalted wisdom.
The wisdom which is able to distinguish the various qualities of objects. This is this, this is that, this is dharma, this is not dharma. This type of wisdom in its most, in its most, when it’s brought to full culmination, you know, it’s brought to its fullest extent, then this personified by Mañjuśrī. And it’s here that his holiness, the Dalai Lama is paying homage to Mañjuśrī. So in explaining this this first the second line of the actual text where it says that at the time of this twentieth century, the text goes on to say that in this in this world as we know it, there will in this era, there will come, there will be one thousand universal teachers who will attain enlightenment at Bodh Gaya.
So of these one thousand Buddhas, universal teachers of this era, four have already come. The fourth was Śākyamūni Buddha who attained enlightenment of the Buddha. So the teachings of the of Śākyamūni Buddha will last will remain in this world for five thousand years. So within this five thousand year period, there are ten periods of five hundred years. So amongst within the teachers, there are the three higher trainings.
The higher training, ethics, concentration, and wisdom. So amongst these. So of these ten, five hundred years periods, five hundred five of these periods have already passed. So during the during the during the present five hundred year phase is the called the phase of ethics. This is the twenties.
So this in this twentieth century is the phase of ethics. So, previously the, you know, though we have in the twentieth century century progressed materially, we’ve advanced technology. We’ve developed in our technology. We have not developed in our qualities. So our material culture is as is advancing greatly.
Our inner qualities of the mind are not. So the Dalai Lama the Dalai Lama says that we have to advance both, both our material material culture, but also our inner mental qualities. So we all have you know, everyone has a mind. But amongst these amongst these minds, there are various varieties of minds, various types of minds, there’s good there are good minds and and bad minds. So in order to develop, to increase our skillful minds, positive nature of our minds, it’s necessary to engage in the act activities of listening, reflecting, and meditating on the various teachings of the Dharma.
So, you know, necessary to listen to the various teachings on the Dharma to develop our minds. And the discourses that the Buddha gave, the various teachings, they’re quite vast and extensive. And hundreds of volumes and which are beyond our present capacity. And therefore, His Holiness says that I’m going to take the essence of all the of the Buddha and write this text called Opening the Eye of New Awareness. So, there’s a, just a few words just to take a look at the, at the beginning of the text and we’ll, you know, we’ll continue with the text and the teachings in the future.
So now we’re going to talk a little bit about the study of mind. The actual translation is awareness and knowledge. So there’s just a translation of the text that we’re going to be using, awareness and knowledge in the study of mind. So Rinpoche hopes that as we go along that you can look at the text, look at the English translation of the text and then this will be a benefit and then Rinpoche will expand on the various meanings. Presented.
So, to understand awareness and knowledge, have to understand, we have to begin with two things. Is, we have to understand the nature of objects the objects and the nature of subjects. Generally, we say objects, we’re talking about the various objects of use. The various objects around us in our environment. For example, the houses, food, clothing, etcetera.
So when we say user, that is the knowing — that which knows. The objects are that which are made use of, that which acts as an object of a user, and there are three types of subjects which make use of objects. The three types of subjects are beings. I’m going to use the word person. It’s much simpler. Persons, consciousnesses, and terms.
So the the when we were talking about that which that would know is an object, we’re talking about these three types of subjects, person, consciousnesses, and terms. So there are two subjects which know their objects. There’s the persons and the consciousnesses. When we talk in the discussion of awareness and knowledge, the main subject that we’re discussing is awareness, that is consciousnesses.