Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 14-minute talk, Khensur Rinpoche zeroes in on intention as the master key to all karma — the mental factor that determines whether any action, however apparently virtuous, is actually positive or negative. He opens with a striking example: reciting the Tārā mantra while secretly plotting revenge creates negative karma, because the direction of an action is set entirely by the underlying intention, not the outer form. He then extends this principle to sleep itself — falling asleep while dwelling on love, compassion, or emptiness makes the sleep a positive act; falling asleep planning harm makes the whole night a negative one. He closes by unpacking Milarepa’s saying “When I eat, I meditate; when I sleep, I am meditating,” showing how continuous positive intention transforms every ordinary daily activity into practice.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 22 AK 1988-11-24.mp3
UUID: 2c47bb9e-251a-4d68-bd06-ba13f7266a24
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Awareness and Knowledge 1988-1989 (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1988-11-24
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 13.8 minutes
Words: ~685
So this activity of this intention is mental karma. Is mental karma. In dependence upon this, when this mental karma expresses itself through verbally, then we create, for example, lying, divisive speech, harsh speech. We create negative karma of speech when it expresses itself through, for example, the body, killing, stealing, etcetera, this would be types of negative physical negative karma. So the but the source is this mental karma which is intention.
Initially when we wake up in the morning, wake up with a very malevolent intent, negative intent intention, then this would we would collect negative karma. Likewise, waking up with positive intention, we collect positive karma. Waking up with neutral intention, we collect unspecified karma. So this intention is extremely important. It doesn’t depending upon our intention, it depends upon the type of karma that we’re creating no matter what we might do and say.
We might be, you know, in general we can say that reciting mantras is a very type of positive action. But if we’re, you know, if we’re sitting there reciting mantras, it’s a Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svāhā again and again, And we’re thinking to ourself, well, I’m get that guy. You know, he really did me a bad turn and I’m gonna Then since the, though, you know, we might be saying, in general, it’s good to recite mantras, but since the direction of our karma is determined by the mental activity, that is the intention, and therefore, during that process of reciting the mantras with this negative intention in our mind, we’re creating negative karma. So in general, whatever we do, if we have negative intention, we’re creating negative karma. Whatever we do, if we have positive intention, we’re creating positive karma.
So this is the way we can really check up and understand what is the actual nature of the actions that we’re involved in, whether that we’re actually practicing or not. If our mind has a negative intention, then what we’re involved in is negative. If it’s a positive intention, then we’re involved in some type Our action is involved a positive activity. So it’s extremely important by understanding to be able to check up what is our actual intention, and we can know what if we’re actually practicing or not. So whatever action is, whatever intention it is which causes to engage in some sort of process, that process, activity is determined by that intention, whether it’s a negative or positive process or activity is determined by the initial intention.
Like, for example, if we meditate on love, and while we’re meditating on love, we fall asleep. Since the sleep is a mental factor which is changeable, then our sleep becomes positive. We create positive karma while we’re sleeping because the initial intention in which we fell asleep was positive. Likewise, if we’re thinking just as we’re falling asleep, Oh, tomorrow I can’t wake up to get that guy, you know, then our entire sleep will create negative karma. So Milarepa said I don’t think I quite understand what he said.
He was saying he said, when when by when I eat when I eat, I I meditate When I eat, I meditate. When I sleep, I’m meditating. Therefore, everything that I do becomes my practice. Others don’t know how to do this, if they knew how to do this, they too would find great joy. So if you were to, for example, tonight while you’re falling asleep, develop faith in the Buddhas, then your sleep would become positive.
It would create positive karma. Also, thinking about love or compassion or the awakening heart or emptiness while you’re falling asleep. Likewise, your sleep would be positive. And then upon rising in the morning, again generating positive intention, everything that proceeds from that will be positive actions creating positive karma. So I was just wondering about that quotation by Milarepa.
And he was saying, When I eat, I meditate. It means when he’s eating, he’s offering his food. Sleeping, he’s meditating on emptiness and compassion. And so he’s always practicing whatever he does.