Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. After opening with a complete recitation of the Heart Sūtra, Khensur Rinpoche devotes the first half of this 52-minute session to an intriguing puzzle: Dharmakīrti’s claim that he composed his text on valid cognition not for others but for himself. Rinpoche explains this as deliberate reverse psychology — addressed precisely to those diligent enough to puzzle over it — and praises the retreat participants as among the rare practitioners positioned to attain liberation. The session then turns to the retreat text’s second major section: manners of meditation. Rinpoche distinguishes practices common to hearers and bodhisattvas from those exclusive to bodhisattvas, then walks through the four foundations of mindfulness — body, feelings, mind, and phenomena — explaining how to analyze each through its specific and general characteristics, and closing with the Four Seals of Buddhist doctrine.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 04 IR 1997-06-08.mp3
UUID: 95b7bca8-8591-4494-92f3-19acd0ad9f5f
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Insight Retreat (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1997-06-08
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 51.7 minutes
Words: ~2,696
So we’ll begin by adjusting our motivation, developing as our motivation the awakened heart, meditating on that for a few minutes. So just as each of ourselves wishes happiness and does not wish to suffer, likewise, all sentient beings are the same and wishing happiness and not wanting to suffer. Now we have this wonderful human life endowed with wisdom by means of which we can practice the Dharma. We know how to eliminate suffering, we know how to achieve happiness. With our wisdom, we can know the causes of suffering and how to implement, bring about those causes.
With our great wisdom, we can understand what are the causes of suffering and practice the means to eliminate those causes of suffering. We know what to adopt and what to reject, and this represents a wonderful opportunity for ourselves. Others are limitless. We ourselves are one. Others are limitless as to the extent of space.
But amongst those limitless sentient beings, there are very few who know suffering as suffering, who know what is actually happiness. Not knowing suffering for suffering, they do not know how to abandon the causes of suffering, and not identifying what is true happiness as happiness. They do not know how to cultivate true happiness. So these beings who do not know how to practice, knowing the causes of happiness, not understanding what are the causes of suffering, on the contrary, than cultivating the causes of happiness, they cultivate the causes of suffering, thereby accumulating in this unknowing way, accumulating the causes the further suffering within cyclic existence, not creating those causes which will lead them to be liberated from cyclic existence. We have, over the past lives, developed a relationship with all living beings, a very extremely intimate relationship that of a mother and child, and we have related in that way in the past, and we will continue to relate with others in that way in future lives, and that over the course of these relationships they have shown us tremendous kindness.
So it’s necessary that we cultivate a love and compassion for these sentient beings, beginning with compassion expressed in the thought, may all sentient beings be free of suffering and the causes of suffering, and love expressed in the thought, may all sentient beings have happiness and the causes of happiness. Merely that wish is not sufficient, merely to wish others to be free of suffering that they have happiness. Why is that? We have to go on and develop the intense resolve which determines that I will lead them to such a state, I will lead them to complete happiness, I will lead them to a state free from suffering. And why is that?
Because each of ourselves has attained this precious human within this life we have met with the Dharma, and within having met the Dharma we know how to practice. Therefore, resolving that I alone, by myself, will lead all sentient beings to a state where they are free of suffering, where they experience complete happiness. It’s necessary that we develop this intense resolve. But this attitude of intense resolve, that is to say that I will lead them to such a state of freedom from that suffering, that I will lead them to a complete state of happiness, at this level is merely a kind hearted attitude. Because if we examine what in fact, if we in fact can do that or not, we will see that at best we could only lead a limited number, a very few sentient beings to such a state.
That as long as we have various faults in our mind, as long as we have not cultivated their fulfillment all our excellent qualities, we will be limited in how we can benefit others. So it’s necessary that if we are going to lead numberless living beings, that we have the ability to do that, in fact. That if we can achieve a state of having eliminated all our various faults and brought the consummation of all our excellent qualities, then we will be able to emanate innumerable emanations of ourselves, each of which will be able to lead sentient beings to such a state. Therefore, for the sake of all sentient beings, in order to lead them to such a state, I myself must remove all my various faults, bring the consummation all my excellent qualities. That is to say, I must achieve the precious state of Buddhahood for the sake of all the sentient beings, and therefore determining, coming to the conclusion within your own mind that I will indeed achieve that state for the sake of all sentient beings.
So we have to question, can I do this or not? Can I achieve this and do not? And in fact we can, that we can emulate the, that we, just as Śākyamūni Buddha achieved Buddhahood, that we likewise can achieve Buddhahood. That just emulating his deeds over hundreds of lifetimes, then finally the unfoldment or display of his enlightenment in India where he was able to be of immense benefit leading numberless sentient beings to a state of liberation and omniscience. Likewise, we can do the same.
And then, for that end, I am going to listen to this teaching on the universal vehicle, having listened to it, to reflect and finally meditated upon it in order to bring about the welfare of myself and all others, just as Śākyamūni Buddha himself did. Thus I have heard. Once the blessed one was dwelling in Rajgriha and Vulture’s Peak together with a great assembly of monks and Bodhisattvas. Says, oh, Śāriputra, whatever son of good family wishes to follow the profound practice of the wisdom gone beyond, should look at it like this, analyze like this, and the noble Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva, mahasattva, saw that the five aggregates are empty of inherent existence. Form is empty, emptiness is form, emptiness is no other than form, nor other than emptiness. In the same way, feeling, recognition, karmic formations, and consciousness are all empty.
Therefore, Śāriputra, all phenomena are empty without characteristics. They are unborn and unceasing. They are neither impure nor free from impurity. They neither decrease nor increase. Therefore, Śāriputra, in emptiness, there is no form, no feeling, no recognition, no compositional factors, no consciousness.
There is no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind. There is no ignorance nor is there a destruction of ignorance. and so on, all the way up to no old age and death. There is no old age and death nor is the destruction of old age and death. Thus, is no suffering or the origin of suffering, a cessation of suffering, and no path.
There is no wisdom, no attainment, and no knowledge. Therefore, Śāriputra, because there is no attainment, all bodhisattvas abide in the wisdom gone beyond. And because there is no obscurity of mind, they have no fear. Passing utterly beyond falsity, they reach beyond the bounds of sorrow. All the Buddhas who dwell in the three times relying on the wisdom gone beyond, fully, clearly awakened to unsurpassed most perfect and complete enlightenment.
Therefore, the mantra of the wisdom gone beyond, the mantra of the great insight, the unequaled and unsurpassed mantra, the mantra that calms all suffering, be known as the truth, for there is no deception. The mantra of the wisdom gone beyond is proclaimed, Tayatha Gate Gate Pāragate Pārasamgate Bodhi Svāhā. Oh, Śāriputra, this is how a bodhisattva, mahasattva should learn the profound wisdom gone beyond. Then the blessed one arose from their concentration and praised the noble Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva, mahasattva, saying, Very good, very good, oh son of good family, it is exactly like that. The profound wisdom gone beyond should be practiced exactly as you have said, and then the Tathagatas will rejoice.
When the blessed one has said this, venerable Śāriputra, the noble Avalokiteśvara, the whole gathering in the world with its gods, men, and the gods, and spirits, their hearts full of joy, praise the words of the blessed one. So ends the noble discourse on Essence of the Wisdom Going Beyond. I mean, So Richard quoted a verse from Pramānavārttika, quoting a text of Prime Cognition, and then he went on to say that for those who become a Geshe, their course of study begins with first a text which is like taking a condensation of some of the essential topics of Dharmakīrti’s text, which is called Collected Topics or Dudra, and then they go on to study the Perfection of Wisdom then they go on to study the Middle Way, Madhyamaka, and then the Text on Moral Discipline or Vinaya, and then Abhidharma or the Treasury of Knowledge. Study of the perfection of wisdom is contained within the teachings on the graduated path, the Lam Rim, and the teachings on mind training. Those teachings have a portion of the practice of perfection of wisdom.
Then there’s also the study of the middle way, or Mādhyamika. But there is there is not there’s very little study of, for example, moral discipline or or also higher knowledge in terms of and also very little in the study of or valid cognition. So it’s really excellent to study valid cognition, Pramāna, because it makes extensive use of the processes of reasoning, examining reasoning and what constitutes a valid cognition. It’s very much in accord with scientific method that we can take both the Buddhist presentation and the secular presentations of the nature of reality in the world and examine it and establish it through a process of reasoning. It’s extremely useful.
So previously at the time when the Buddha taught the Dharma in India, that to his disciples, relied very much simply on the words of the Buddha, that he would transmit his, communicate his teaching to them, and simply on the basis of belief that they would accept it. There was no systematic examination in terms of reasoning. Later on, through the teachings of Nāgārjuna and Dharmakīrti, they developed a system whereby to examine the teachings in the light of reasoned analysis, and as a means of accepting them. So in the in his opening verses to Pramānavārttika, which is a commentary to Dignāgā’s Compendium of Prime Cognition, Dharmakīrti says that most ordinary beings do not know right from wrong, they have not developed in their wisdom, and not only that, they they do not seek to understand the meaning of the text, and they develop the jealousy toward those who do. Have not, therefore, I have not composed commentary for the benefit of others, but only for my own sake in terms of my own practice and meditation in order to gain realization.
Some people would question, well, isn’t Dharmakīrti a bodhisattva? So this opening verse raises that doubt for them, since bodhisattva is someone who works for the benefit of others, and Dharmakīrti says that I compose this text not for the benefit of others, but for my own sake, and then what is Dharmakīrti, a Bodhisattva or not? If we were to take what Dharmakīrti literally says, then it would appear that he composed this text not to benefit others, but this is not the meaning which is intended. It is like Dharmakīrti was extremely skilled in the use of words, and he was using reverse psychology in this context. What he was addressing himself to were those who do involve themselves in skillful conduct, who do know the difference between right and wrong, that those who have developed in their wisdom, and that those who are striving to understand the meaning of the text, and that they rejoice in others who also are striving in trying to understand the text, that for them, this this text will be of extreme extremely beneficial.
So, it would be the composition of this text was not for the sake of all that was listed, since those who involve themselves in unskillful acts, who have developed little in wisdom, who do not seek the meanings of the text, who actually are jealous of those who do, for them this text would be of no great value, but for those on the contrary who involve themselves in skillful ways of acting, have developed their wisdom, who are trying to understand these texts and rejoice in those who do, for such an individual, then this text would be of great value. So, for you all, I think that this compendium of prime cognition would be extremely valuable. Why is that? Because you all are those who are trying to enact skillful ways of doing. You are developing your wisdom, that you are making effort in trying to understand the meanings of these various texts, and that you take great joy in those who are also making effort.
Therefore, I think you all are appropriate students for this compendium of prime cognition. Very good. So I have great hope for all of you that you people have activities, you have a lot of work that you do, but you’ve set that aside, and you’ve set it aside for the sake of the dharma, that you’re making effort with regard to the dharma, and that you involve yourself in skillful activities. I think through this that in the future, in the not too distant future, you will achieve liberation. All the days, I don’t believe it didn’t mean that it’s not just a mandala, which is negligible.
I think all of you are unlike the people, all the people in the rest of the world, that you are people, tremendously precious and important. The words that I’ve just spoken, what I’ve said, I don’t say them just to be talking, I mean them in what I have. I mean what I have said, and that you should rejoice, take joy in what you’re doing and continue with your effort in terms of practicing Dharma in your practice of meditation. With regard to the text, we said that there were eight parts, and that we finished the first part, which was objects of observation, and now the second part is manners of meditation. With regard to manners of meditation, there are two, common and uncommon, and what is meant here by the common manner of meditation are meditation which is in common between the hearers and the bodhisattvas, and by uncommon the man the uncommon manner of meditation is that which is exclusive to bodhisattvas.
Beginning with the common manner of meditation, first we involve ourselves in the preparatory practices, making offerings, etcetera, so preparing ourselves for the actual meditation session. Then in the actual meditation session itself, take a correct bodily posture, and then we go on to contemplate the four objects of observation, bodies, feelings, minds, and phenomena, but it’s not necessary that we meditate on all four in the same session. We can take them in a serial manner, meditating first on bodies, and then gradually we can get to the place where we can meditate on all four. Each of these has a specific and general characteristics which we are to analyze each of these objects of mindfulness in terms of. So, how are we to proceed in our meditation?
This is mentioned in a quotation from Treasury of Knowledge where it says, By thoroughly examining the two characteristics of the body, feelings, minds, and phenomena, one should meditate the close placements of mindfulness. We examine each of these objects of observation, bodies, etcetera, in terms of these two characteristics, the specific and general characteristics. So proceeding in terms of the general characteristics, first we take as an object of observation the body, and we meditate it in terms of the general characteristics, and that is to say the body as impermanent, as suffering, as empty, as selfless. Embodied in what is called the Four Seals testifying to a Buddhist doctrine. That is to say, all that is compounded is impermanent, all that is contaminated is in the nature of suffering, All phenomena are empty and selfless, and nirvana is a passage