Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Khensur Rinpoche opens this 48-minute commentary with a ten-minute guided meditation on altruism, inviting practitioners to cultivate the aspiration to free all beings from suffering before the doctrinal explanation begins. He then establishes what makes the Eightfold Path a “superior” path — its grounding in the direct realization of emptiness — distinguishing superior practitioners from ordinary ones by that criterion alone. Working through all eight factors in sequence, he groups the first four (correct view, correct realization, correct mindfulness, correct wisdom) under the higher training in wisdom, anchoring each to a different aspect of apprehending emptiness. The final three (correct speech, correct actions, correct livelihood) fall under ethics; his account of wrong livelihood is unusually vivid, with examples ranging from hinting about a favourite cake to giving small gifts in expectation of larger ones in return.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 01 EFP 1992 10 25.mp3
UUID: 1259ca7e-c938-44a4-aa9b-05d48c384a51
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Eigthfold Path (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1992-10-25
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 48.2 minutes
Words: ~1,931
We’ll begin by adjusting our motivation, developing as our motivation a kind hearted attitude. And for that purpose we’ll meditate for the next ten minutes. So by kind attitude, we mean that most especially of altruism, a beneficial intention toward others. And this is the kind heart and motivation we’re seeking to develop. So as I proceed in my explanation, if you would follow along in your meditation.
Begin by cultivating the thought expressed as follows. It would be wonderful if myself and all living beings had happiness and the causes of happiness. Then to I will bring that about myself. Would be wonderful if myself and all living beings were free from suffering and the causes of suffering, may they be free of suffering and the causes of suffering. And then the development of exceptional resolve with respect to compassion that I myself will free them from suffering and the causes of suffering.
Causes of suffering. Therefore, in order to free all living beings from their suffering and to lead them to complete happiness, I myself will remove all my various faults and bring to consummation all my excellent qualities. There are a few preliminary prayers if you’d like to follow along. You’re welcome to recite with us. The first is found on page one verse number three.
The second is verse number two. And lastly, verse number five on page four. So today I’m going to talk about the eightfold noble path or the eightfold path of the superiors. So we’re discussing the path of the superiors with a noble path. So a path as we normally think of it, like for example a road.
A road is a means of going from one place to another, that which you travel down. It’s both whether it’s spiritual or secular, it has the same connotation. So it’s a way of going. And where is it that we’re going? To a state where we have eliminated all our various faults, where we have gone beyond all our various fears, eliminated our various sufferings, have achieved a state of happiness where there is no suffering whatsoever.
So in talking about paths, there are various qualities of paths, and here we’re talking about the paths of the superior, superior path, that is to say the finest path in terms of quality, a path which has tremendous power, which has the capacity to bring about these aims which we just mentioned. So when we talk about the word superior or noble, it refers to a living being. Amongst persons there are ordinary persons and there are those who were termed as superiors or noble ones. And here we’re talking about the path which is developed within the mind of a noble one or a superior. It is the superior path.
Just as in the case of school, there are various levels, various grades, and according to the level of our ability, the qualities of our attainment, we would be assigned to various levels, perhaps from the tenth grade downward, and then there would be the matric classes, which would be superior. And so we’re talking about the level of attainment in terms of the minds different persons, in terms of ordinary persons and superior. So the determining factor of an ordinary path and a path of a superior is with regard to the understanding of emptiness. An individual who has directly realized emptiness is termed a superior, and a path within the mind of a superior is a superior path. On the other hand, those individuals who have not had this realization, the paths which are generated within their minds are, since they are ordinary individuals, they are termed ordinary paths.
So there is this distinction in terms of a direct realization of emptiness between the ordinary paths and the paths of superior. And there are in development of the paths of the superiors, there are eight parts. So the first of these eightfold paths of superiors is termed correct view. So the first of the eightfold paths of superiors is correct view. And this is the view with respect to emptiness.
Emptiness is the way in which all phenomena exist, that is to say the reality of phenomena. And when this is directly realized, the way in which all phenomena exist, the nature of reality, then this is in a non mistaken manner, that is to it’s not faulty, it’s not mistaken, it’s directly realized, then it’s said to be a correct view. This correct view is the first of the eightfold paths of superiors, the direct realization of emptiness. And the second of the eightfold paths of superiors is correct realization. Realization has the connotation of a conceptual thinking awareness.
So it is the thinking again and again and an analytic thought with respect to the meaning of emptiness. So it is an awareness which is extremely stable, which is not mistaken, which again and again analyzes the meaning of emptiness, is correct realization. Next of the Eightfold Path of Superiors is correct mindfulness. And mindfulness awareness, it is a mental factor which has the function of non forgetfulness. That is to say, having realized the way things exist, way having realized emptiness, the correct mindfulness holds that realization without allowing to degenerate, to be forgotten, and this is correct mindfulness.
The next of the eightfold noble path of superiors is correct wisdom. And here it refers to a mental factor which has the function of discriminating, being able to distinguish the nature of its object. It is this, it is not this. And it is extremely clear quality of mind which avoids distraction to other objects.
For example, if we were working and rather than being completely involved in our work, we’re thinking about all the different activities which are going on about us, as opposed to that where the mind is single pointedly involved in the object of its intention. And here the intention is discriminating the ultimate nature of the object. These four that we of the these of the eight paths of superiors are included within the higher training in wisdom. There are the three higher trainings, and these are the actual trainings or practices that we involve ourselves in. So these four eightfold paths of superiors are included within the third, that is to say, the higher training in wisdom.
The fifth of the eightfold path of superiors is correct speech. In general speech is the sound, our verbalizations that we make. Here we are talking about a particular type of speech, a type of speech which is non deceptive, which is not false. There are many types of wrong speech, there is for example lying, divisive speech, hurtful speech. And here we are referring to deceptive speech in which we are saying that which is, is in fact not, or that which is not, is in fact is.
But here in correct speech we are telling the truth, it’s non erring, it’s non deceptive. We are speaking in such a manner we are describing that which is as is, and which is not as not. So what we have just described in terms of truthful speech, let’s say verbalization, is correct speech, but more particularly in terms of the eightfold paths of the we are not talking merely about the speech which issues from our mouth, but we’re also talking about the the state of the mind, which acts as the motivating force to speak and the state of the mind which accompanies that speech. It is the state of mind which is authentic, which is truthful, wishing not to deceive, but wishing to communicate accurately the way things are. So it is both this volitional mind from which the speech issues forth from as a motivating force, and also the mind which is accompanying one’s communication.
Next of the eightfold path of superiors is correct objective actions, correct aim of actions. In general the object of action has a negative connotation in that actions such as killing, stealing, various types of sexual impropriety are incorrect objects of action. And in the present context when we say correct objects of action, it is the abandonment of such ways of acting. For example, in terms of physical abandonment of incorrect objects of action, it would be the abandonment of killing, abandonment of stealing, the abandonment of sexual improprieties. That is, the intention to refrain from such types of ways of acting is referred to as correct aim of action.
Next is correct livelihood. And correct livelihood is the abandonment of wrong modes of livelihood, negative modes of livelihood. For example, speaking to someone in a very sweet manner, smiling and laughing, in order to get something from them — if one has ulterior motives for the way that one is speaking to them, that is wrong livelihood. Refraining from this, the abandonment of such a way of communicating is correct livelihood.
Incorrect livelihood is wrong livelihood. Another example of a wrong livelihood, you know, be in terms of hinting. You know, you’re talking to someone, oh, you remember when you came last time you brought this delicious cake? It was really dish I really enjoyed it. No, I haven’t had any of that cake since then, in order to hint that you would like another cake?
So the the intent of that way of speaking is that I really want this more of that cake. Another example of wrong livelihood would be, again, in terms of having an ulterior motive in giving someone something, some kind of gift, some possession. And it’s small value. And the hope that by giving this gift of small value, you’re going to get a great one in return. Giving in this way with an ulterior motive is termed wrong livelihood, and refraining from that, abandoning that, would be correct livelihood.
Another type of wrong livelihood would be gaining through, gaining something that you want without directly without clearly and directly specifying the fact that you want it. Someone has something that you want and you just talk a great deal, you doing little hints here and there. But over the course of your conversation, it’s not clear and it’s not directly put, but everything that you’ve been saying is in order that this person will eventually come around to giving you what you want from them. So it’s an unclear and indirect way of getting something that you want from another person. All of these various means for gaining things or money or whatever it might be, all involve some sort of deception.
And it’s inappropriate for those who are seeking to practice spiritual path to act in such an inauthentic and deceptive manner. So you know those things which we gain by means of deceit and deception are not appropriate to be offered or to be used for oneself. And so the abandonment of all of these deceptive ways of procuring the things that we want, that is to abandon the motivation which precipitates this way of dealing in order to get the things that you want is what we mean by correct livelihood. Abandoning the motivation is faultless, in that one will not use deception or inauthentic means, but will act in a correct fashion to get whatever it is you want. So these last three, that is to say correct speech, correct aim of action, and correct livelihood, are all included in the higher training in ethics.
Higher training in ethics involves abandoning negative or faulty ways of acting.