Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. The story of a dog’s tooth venerated as a Buddha relic — and the genuine relics that arose from it through the power of faith — anchors Khensur Rinpoche’s opening discussion in this 52-minute session from the Awareness and Knowledge series. Working through Asaṇga’s system of fifty-one mental factors, Rinpoche turns to the eleven virtuous mental states, beginning with faith. He distinguishes its three forms — clarity, the wish to attain, and conviction in the subtleties of cause and effect — and explains why faith is called the mother of all excellent qualities. He then covers self-shame (restraint arising from one’s own conscience), embarrassment (restraint from concern for others’ opinion), and non-attachment, mapping each one’s function in preventing negative action and supporting ethical conduct.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 26 AK 1989-02-16.mp3
UUID: 7c236532-8c75-4733-aa5f-a10f3e7d090f
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Awareness and Knowledge 1988-1989 (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1989-02-16
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 52.3 minutes
Words: ~2,456
So we should set our motivations that we’re going to that we’re seeking to practice in order to in order to this, that we’re listening to these teachings whereby we’ll be able to establish all sentient beings equal to the extent of space in complete happiness and bliss. So we’re now discussing the text awareness and knowledge. And in this text, we’re discussing division in two minds and mental factors, and as set forth by Asaṇga, the fifty one secondary mental factors. And previously we have already completed the first division of first two divisions of the minds and mental factors. That is the division into omnipresent mental factors and the determining mental factors.
And now we’re going to discuss eleven virtuous or positive mental factors. So, in general, we can divide phenomena into three divisions by way of negative, and neutral. Rather than neutral you can say unspecified. Positive, negative, and neutral. And the way we establish that which is positive is that which has been set forth by the Buddha as saying that this is a negative action.
This is a negative action. In the case of a positive, this is a positive action and its result is favorable or has a positive result. So various various types of external phenomena do not the question of positive and negative does not apply to positive and negative or virtuous and non virtuous only to sentient beings. From the point of view that activities of our body, physical activities, verbal activities, and mental activities. The Buddha said that certain types of thinking, thoughts for example, mental activities have pleasurable or positive result, and therefore these are called positive activities or virtuous activities.
So, we can discuss about what is the final or ultimate type of virtue or activity, positive object, and this would be liberation. And this is characterized by the abandonment of all suffering along with the various types of faults and the completion of all types of, the accumulation of all types of positive qualities. This factor of the cessation of suffering and the accumulation of all the positive qualities is the ultimate virtue or ultimate positive phenomena. So as a means, the method whereby we contain this ultimate virtue is through the virtues of the physical virtues, verbal virtues, and mental virtues for positive activities. Among these three activities of physical, verbal, and mental, the root or the foundation, the main positive activity is mental activity.
By way of categorization of these mental positive activities, here we are discussing in terms of eleven positive states of mind or eleven mental activities. So, the first of these eleven positive mental activities, mental state, is faith. So, meaning of of faith is that upon observing, one of the three characteristics of positive, of excellent qualities, or the possessor of excellent, of those excellent qualities, or the abilities, or the power of those excellent qualities, a longing to attain such one of these three. So, observing the factor of an excellent quality, or the possessor of such an excellent quality, or the power or the or the abilities of such an excellent quality, a longing to attain it. Either of these three is what we mean when we say faith.
So, when we talk about the excellent qualities, there are such types of excellent qualities as the awakening heart, love, compassion, exalted wisdoms, various types of realizations and observing these types of qualities. When we talk about the quality possessors, we’re talking about the various types of beings such as Buddhas, bodhisattva’s superiors, the spiritual community, etc. These types of beings who possess these excellent qualities. And then when we talk about the power which such qualities possess, their their abilities or potency. We’re telling about the conviction in the law of cause and effect that upon creating a positive action that happiness will follow upon creating negative action, then there is a consequence of suffering and that understanding that by abandoning all the suffering, all the faults, can obtain the same excellent qualities of liberation peace, and therefore developing in joy and seeking to develop these qualities.
So it is said that faith is the root of all excellent qualities. Faith and excellent qualities are analogous to a mother and child. That in dependence upon the mother, the mother gives birth to a child and the mother is faith and the child has all the excellent qualities. But even after the child is born, as the child grows up, still the mother is needed to guard and protect the child, to nourish it. Likewise, even after the excellent qualities have been born, still we need faith in order to guard, protect, and increase our excellent qualities.
Likewise, it is said that without faith then there is no positive action, activities of the dharma. There can arise no excellent qualities. This is analogous to if a seed is singed, burnt in a fire, then it loses its potency. It doesn’t have the power to germinate any longer. And likewise, faith, then we do not have the potency or the ability to give rise to excellent qualities.
So there’s the the story of who a relative of the Buddha’s. And, you know, had only this quality that he the, that he happened to be a relative of the Buddha. He listened to all the Buddhist teachings on the Dharma, but he had no faith in the teachings. And though he listened, he stayed with the Buddha for, many, many years, listened to all the teachings the Buddha gave. Still, because he had no faith, upon his death, but if one but if, an example of the possibilities when one does have faith is exemplified by story of a mother whose son went to India on a pilgrimage and the mother asked him to please bring back some remains of the Buddha.
And he traveled to India and on his way home, returning to his home, he remembered that, Oh my mother, she asked me to bring back some remains of the Buddha and I had forgotten. You know she would be very disappointed. So she went, he went and there was a dead dog and he removed a tooth from the dog and he came home and said here I have brought you back a tooth of the Buddha. And she was, she had tremendous faith, and she revered this tooth with great, she treated the tooth with great reverence. And due to her faith, her power of her faith, actually relics arose.
Relics came from this, this, what was actually a dog’s tooth. So all excellent qualities arise in the of one faith, and therefore, amongst the eleven positive states is listed first. Also, Tsongkhapa in his text, the great exposition of the stages of the path says the foundation of the path is faith. So, are three types of faith. There is the faith of clarity, the faith which wishes to attain, and the faith of conviction.
So to explain these three types of faith, the first is the faith of clarity. And this is actually seeing clearly for oneself the excellent qualities of say the Buddha, the Dharma or the spiritual community understanding those qualities for oneself clearly. The second is the wish to, the faith which wishes to attain these and understanding these in dependence upon seeing the qualities clearly for oneself, there develops a longing, a desiring to, I wish I could be like that. I wish I could attain that realization of the faith which seeks to attain the excellent quality which has been by the faith of clarity. And the third is the faith of conviction which is understanding that even from the slightest negative causes that they will arise having the consequences of some type of suffering, that from the slightest types of positive actions we are going to experience the consequence of happiness.
And, you know, it’s perhaps easy to see that this on a gross level that from very powerful types of causes, negative causes we can experience suffering. But, having the conviction that even the slightest types of negative causes can produce an effect of suffering, seen as the subtle qualities of the law of cause and effect, for example, is the faith of conviction. So, you know, we explained the other night in our discussion on calm abiding, how how it’s actually generated. For example, in overcoming laziness, first we develop faith. Then, in dependence upon developing faith, go on to develop aspiration, dependence upon effort, dependence upon that plant.
So therefore, we can see that in this case the development of calm abiding is dependent upon the initial development of the generation of faith. In this way we can see that attainment of all excellent So, if we talk about the function or the action of faith, We can exemplify by one jewel which is called a clarifying jewel. And if you put this clarifying jewel in cloudy water, it has the ability to make the water clear, and therefore we’re able to see through the water very easily. Likewise, faith has the quality of clarifying for oneself, making clear to oneself. And in making this clear, we no longer are confused.
We no longer have interruptions or problems in attaining, but our ability of producing productive states of mind is increased through this ability to see our objects clearly. I see that which is these qualities clearly. Therefore, ability to produce continuous productive states is enhanced through this power of faith. So, meaning of faith and clarity is the same. When there is clarity of the mind is developed and there is no disturbance, for example, through disturbing effects of afflicted emotions, is no fluctuating of the mind because the qualities of its goal are seen very clearly and therefore this is quality of clarity with respect to seeing these excellent qualities.
Therefore, there’s a similar meaning between faith and clarity is the same. So the second positive state of these eleven is Self shame. So the the meaning of of shame or self shame, Prep shame is is sufficient. Is the that would the the. Ceasing of negative states, negative actions due to one’s own conscience.
The ceasing, the what did he say? The foregoing? Yeah. That’s fine. The foregoing of negative actions due to the force of one’s own conscience is the meaning of self shame.
So, you know, by way of example, if one were to, had the idea to steal something and one went to that place and there was all the things set out to steal, but there arose, arose the thought, Oh, this is not a good thing to do. I really shouldn’t do this. This a very bad thing to do. Due to the force of one’s conscience, one desist or foregoes in this negative action. This would be the quality of the state of mind.
So then the function of shame is desisting, it has the function of preventing one from engaging in negativity. Shame is extremely important. If one has this quality of self shame, this will actually prevent one from engaging in various types of negative actions. Whereas if one has no self shame, then one quite often identify or come to recognize a person as being of excellent character through this this one quality of having this self shame. So then the third positive mental factor is embarrassment.
Embarrassment. And this is the avoidance of negative action due to others. So by by way of an example, what we mean by embarrassment is that, for example, if one were had the idea to steal something and one actually went to that place, there were the various articles. And but upon thinking, upon the about to act, actually take the articles, one thinks about how this would appear to others. Thinking about how this would appear to such a, what, how the Buddhist might think of you, how the Buddhist thought might think of you, how maybe you’re a spiritual teacher, your Lama, how they would think about your actions, you know, how they would think, they would look at you very poorly.
They would develop a very poor opinion of you. They would think, it’s very bad to steal in this way. They’re thinking about how this action would appear in front of others and in this way your mind becomes very depressed, becomes unhappy considering how poorly others might think of you. And such a type of mind which sees how this would look before others, this type of action, which actually prevents you from proceeding in the action is what and what we mean by embarrassment. Another example in the case of a child who went to, for example, a store and with the idea to steal something from the store and upon reaching there comes to think, well, what would happen if the police caught me?
What would my parents think of me? They think well of me. They think I’m a good child. If I were to be caught by the police they would think very badly of me and they would worry about me and all my relatives would think badly about me. And to the thinking about how others, this action will appear to others, due to the reason of others, the mind is prevented from actually engaging in this negative action.
So these two qualities of self shame and embarrassment are the foundations for the development of good character. So these two qualities, positive states of embarrassment and self shame are the two main companions of positive states in mind in general, positive types of conduct. If we have, if our mind is accompanied with these two positive states, then we want to allow ourselves to engage in negative actions. Will help us to prevent the arising of various afflicting emotions that engage in negative actions. So the the fourth positive mental factor is not The fourth positive mental factor is non attachment.
And non attachment is the opposite of attachment. And by attachment, with non attachment, we see defaults all the various things within cyclic existence. For example, in the various types of possessions, articles of the persons. So, non attachment, when we talk about attachment, it’s a desire for all the various things within cyclic existence. For example, you know, all the various foods, all the various precious things, people, etcetera.
Whereas non attachment is the exact opposite, where we have a detachment from all the things within the existence seeing their faults. Non attachment has the function or the action of preventing, whereby we will not engage in the various afflictive emotions.