Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 46-minute session, Khensur Rinpoche begins by adjusting his own motivation before speaking — enacting his teaching that motivation-setting is “the doorway into meditation.” He then walks retreat participants through the full Lamrim motivation arc: gratitude for a precious human life, the urgency of death and impermanence, renunciation of saṃsāra, and bodhichitta — covering equanimity toward all beings, the practice of taking and giving, and the exceptional resolve to attain Buddhahood for others’ sake, expressed through the six perfections. The session then shifts to the retreat’s core practice: Tummo (inner heat) meditation. Picking up where the previous session left off, Rinpoche introduces the fifth of eight divisions — igniting the inner flame at the navel chakra, where the short “ah” syllable rests on a moon disk within the sixty-four-petal wheel. Suited to practitioners already engaged in this retreat cycle.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 05 IH 1993 12 06.mp3
UUID: 23562d22-f4dd-47eb-9687-e476c9148192
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Inner Heart Retreat (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1993-12-06
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 46.0 minutes
Words: ~2,716
Initially the practice of come upon coming together is one of adjusting your motivation and, I myself in my with my recitation and meditation adjust my motivation. So I’m going to begin by adjusting the motivation and then I’m going to address you. So the, the doorway into meditation is the adjusting of one’s motivation. So, by way of an analogy, the various great Tibetan texts which have been begin with a in the Sanskrit words as the way they’re the as an entrance into the text themselves. So they usually begin with the Sanskrit expression not necessarily.
And likewise, Tsongkhapa said that the beginning of practice is meditation. So when one begins with one’s meditation, one recalls that the fact that one did not die during the course of the night and this was through the kindness of one’s lama. Over the course of one’s lives, there’s place, no rebirth which one has not taken over these countless eons. And moreover, there is no happiness that one has not experienced. There is no suffering that one not experienced.
So, all of this taking of rebirth and various sufferings and happinesses have borne no results. They really haven’t been of any benefit to And moreover that through the kindness of the Buddha, Dharma and the Sangha, one has attained an extraordinary human life by means of which we can carry on our Dharma. A life constituted of the absence of eight freedom from eight inhibitory conditions and the presence of ten conducive conditions. Having found such a life, then we can then go on to practice Dharma. Moreover, that in this very life itself, in one life, we can attain Buddhahood and we having, moreover, we have met with a the teachings given in an unerring, unmistaken manner by the spiritual friend, and we are following those teachings.
So, this represents a golden opportunity for ourselves. So, having met with this golden opportunity whereby we are able to practice Dharma, we can make this our lives extremely meaningful. If we were to not act in this way, then there could be nothing more sad. There could be no greater waste. So this is expressed by Śāntideva where he said, having attained this human life, it’s necessary that we make it meaningful.
If we don’t bring meaning to our life, then there is nothing more sad. There is, there is no greater waste or error that we can incur. So we, if we don’t practice the Dharma, we don’t know how long we’re going to be able to have until we begin our practice because of the impermanence in terms of death. We could die next year, we could die next month, possibly we could even die today. We don’t know.
It’s uncertain. If death were to meet with us today, then our loved ones would be of no benefit, jewels would be of no benefit, powerful people would be of no benefit, and even our body has accompanied us throughout coming and going. It too will have to be left behind and we will have to go on alone for we have to, we will have to continue on alone without any. So if in fact we have to go on alone, what is it that can benefit us? When we examine, we can see that it is only the dharma, nothing other than that can be of help.
So, loved ones, jewels, all our various enjoyments, our own body will be of no benefit. Therefore, we should determine not to any attachment toward any of these. So if it is only the Dharma which can be a benefit to us, we have to ask ourselves, am I in fact practicing the Dharma? As Śāntideva said, that it is through the accumulation of creative potential by means of our Dharma that we will find happiness. In fact, are we practicing the Dharma?
But we have to ask, you know, what in fact have we done if, you know, considering what are the consequences of all of the various negativities and destructive actions that we have created over our previous lives. That these negativities both great, middling, and those minor. If we were not to be able to declare them, to purify them, then upon our death what would be the consequences of those negativities that we’ve created? If we were to be reborn in hell, considering the sufferings of hell, would we be able to bear those sufferings? Considering the sufferings if we were to be born as a hungry ghost where you would not find even a crumb of food for hundreds years.
Could you bear such sufferings? And, look at the condition of animals, for example, in the ocean, the condition in which they are forced to exist within, live within. Could you bear such a situation? You have to ask yourself. So we have created no causes for rebirth in fortunate realms, but we have created numerous causes for rebirth in unfortunate realms.
And in terms of the what can we do in such a situation other than if as our prospects are to be reborn in bad migrations, unfortunate migrations, it’s necessary that we go for refuge. We go for refuge to the Buddha Dharma and the Sangha and we, having gone to refuge, we begin to abandon unskillful actions and begin to cultivate skillful actions determined to do this. So, at this point, we have arrived at the motivation of the practitioner narrow perspective. Just as oneself has not created the cause of happiness, but in indeed has created many causes of suffering. Likewise, all living beings are the same as oneself.
So oneself is but a single person, others are equal to space. And remembering that the very great kindness of others and their benefit as parents to oneself, one’s mothers and fathers and holding them more dear than ourselves and determining to free them from all suffering and lead them to complete happiness. In order to achieve that end, it’s necessary that we abandon our unskillful actions and begin to practice skillful actions that we develop a sense of regret and declare our negative actions previously created and that we begin to observe such practices as ethics. So, we say that we determine to definitely begin to practice in such a way in terms of abandoning our destructive actions and beginning to cultivate constructive actions. But still, as long as we are under the control of karma and afflictive emotions, we are bound within cyclic existence and understanding that the very nature of cyclic existence is suffering, that whatever embodiment we may take, that body is in the nature of suffering.
Whatever place we may be born, that place is in the nature of suffering. Whoever are our companions, those companions are in the nature of suffering. Whatever objects of enjoyment we may make use of, those are in the nature of suffering that wherever we go and whatever we do within cyclic existence there is only suffering. And thinking in this way, developing a renunciation, a determination to be free of situation, having seen the faults of cyclic existence and developing a longing to be liberated from it. So determining to abandon cyclic existence to be free of it, to determining that if I finally gained freedom from cyclic existence then the embodiment which I take will be embodiments of pleasure, the companions that I have will be companions of happiness that I can change, I can attain an unchanging happiness.
There is no other way to attain happiness than to be free of cyclic existence and therefore expressing this in terms of one’s activities, physical and verbal activities, determining not to create the destructive actions in terms of one’s body, speech, mind, observing the observation of ethics to abandon unskillful actions, and developing a stability of mind, and then going on meditation, begin to take as one’s understanding that all phenomena whatsoever do not inherently exist, that they are merely imputed by terms and concepts, and gaining this realization through meditative equipoise on this understanding and as a means to free of cyclic existence. But if one were to gain liberation from cyclic existence for oneself alone, this would really be of no use when we consider that in doing so that we would simply have the attitude of leaving our mothers and fathers all living beings equal to space behind. That you know in fact considering the great kindness of them this would be a really despicable way to act. It would really be of no benefit that, you know, in looking at our living beings, old mothers who are troubled, tortured by their various sufferings though they want happiness they do not experience happiness and though they do not want to suffer, they are continually afflicted by sufferings and moreover, are under the control of the afflictive emotions and are acting just like a crazy person and for you simply to leave them behind in such a state would be despicable and consider the situation of your mothers that they are without the eye of wisdom, that they are under the control of the afflictive emotions, that they are without happiness and continually tortured by suffering and develop a sense of equanimity toward them which holds none of them either in terms of hatred or attachment.
So just as our mother of this life has been extremely beneficial to ourselves but likewise all living beings have been have done have enacted the same kindness toward ourselves. You know we have not had this but there has been lives previous to this life and previous to this life we had a mother and previous to that life we had a mother and therefore we’ve had all the various relationships with all living beings that they have been our fathers and our loved ones, our enemies numberless times. But looking and concentrating on the fact of the great kindness of these living beings in terms of their mother and have been mother to us again and again and treated us with great kindness and to be try to be mindful and develop a sense of gratitude for this kindness, for their kindness and cultivate a sense of appealing love toward them. And just as we ourselves want happiness and do not want to suffer likewise all living beings are exactly the same and wanting happiness and not wanting to suffer in this from this point of view we are all equal. Therefore, regardless without discrimination as to as the person or the being having not where to hold all beings equally, not holding some at a distance and others near.
And then within that context of equality of all living beings that in terms of self and other between these two putting the emphasis on other. Why? Because we have due to only concerning our exaggerated self concern, we have continued to circle within cyclic existence up to now on the one hand. But in concerning ourselves with others, therefore, our self-centeredness is the foundation for all our problems whereas the other-centeredness is the foundation for the arising of all spiritual qualities. Taking the Buddhas out of their concern for others, they went on to attain Buddhahood and out of our self concern, we continue to circle within cyclic existence.
So looking at the faults of one and the advantages of the other determining to emphasize and concern for others. So in the context of compassion, taking on the sufferings of others in the context of love, giving away one’s happiness to them, involving oneself in the practice of taking and giving and determining and then through this process imagining to that one placing all living beings in the state of Buddhahood that one they have attained complete happiness in terms of their embodiment, their objects of joy, enjoyment and in terms of all spiritual qualities and then generating a sense of rejoicing. But though one has imagined this in terms of one’s meditation placing living beings in Buddhahood in fact they are not really established in Buddhahood. So, one developed the attitude of exceptional resolve determining that because all living beings have Buddha nature that they they have the capacity to achieve Buddhahood and therefore, but I and their part and furthermore, I myself will lead them to Buddhahood that I myself will remove all their various sufferings and lead them to complete happiness. But then questioning, can I lead living beings to the state of Buddha?
In fact, one cannot but who can? It is only a Buddha. So understanding that it is necessary for you to attain Buddhahood in order to bring this in about determining generating the awakened heart which looks upon all living beings equal to space and determines to free them from suffering and to place them in peace in terms of a perfect happiness as quickly as possible determining to attain Buddhahood. In order to bring that in about, involve oneself in a practice of generosity whereby without the slightest sense of loss one will give it one gives away one’s body as well as all of one’s enjoyment and determining to involve oneself in the practice of ethics, to abandon unskillful actions, not to in any way transgress one’s vows of individual liberation, the bodhisattva vows and one’s tantric vows, that is to say to observe ethics, then determining, practicing tolerance, determining that even for the sake of one living being I will determine to practice in a sense of forbearance or ethics in these practices that even for the sake of one being I will take rebirth within hell and develop in a sense of joyous effort in such a practice, a willingness to joyfully exert oneself in that fashion, and then involving oneself in the practice of calm abiding on the fact that all phenomena lack inherent existence and developing a meditative equipoise in order to observe, in order to train in the perfection of meditative stabilization coming to an understanding of emptiness and thereby developing the perfection of wisdom.
That is to say, one involves oneself in the practices of the six perfections. Involve oneself in the practice of cultivating the minds of one’s disciples in terms of giving them what their needs, the practice of generosity, speaking to them in very, very pleasant manners, teaching them the Dharma and oneself being modeling the means of practice. So, whatever practice you may be involved in, whatever meditation or your various recitations, it’s necessary that you adjust your motivation initially in such a manner. Yes. So, was the such a way of proceeding was the advice of Je Dorje Chang where he said that one should try to develop in the course of one’s practice the motivations of each of these three levels of perspective.
The motivation of there being a narrow or limited perspective, middling and vast perspective. And then whatever one Dharma practice arises out of that motivation will be a tremendous blessing. So today we’ve discussed a little bit about motivation. So the doorway into all the meditations of all the levels of perspective is in terms of motivation. So, since we’ve already done the practices of Vajrasattva and the six session yoga, we The refuge and the offering of Mandala.
So, the preliminaries of the preparation practices, the practice of Vajrasattva and Guru Yoga. The actual practice is in terms of the meditation on Tummo and the mixing. In terms of the meditation on Tummo, the generation of bliss, there are the eight divisions. Yesterday we covered dispelling the impure winds and visualizing the dispelling the impure winds and the exercises, visualizing the hollow body, visualizing the channels, training in the passageways, and visualizing the letters. That’s as far as we’ve gotten.
So subsequent so I hope you meditated well in the evening yesterday. So, we are now on the fifth of these eight divisions, igniting the inner heat. Igniting the flame of the inner heat. That So, the tummo is meditated at the place where upon within the channel wheel at the navel where there is sixty four branch wheel. Within center of that, is upon the moon is the short ah.