Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 50-minute session, Khensur Rinpoche opens with a clock-hand image: just as the second hand never pauses at twelve but moves instantly past it, so our life from birth is already in motion toward death — the basis of subtle, momentary impermanence, contrasted with the coarser impermanence of death itself. He then builds the motivation for practice through the logic of bodhicitta (the awakening heart): recognising the precious human life, taking personal responsibility for freeing all beings from suffering, and understanding why only attaining Buddhahood gives one the capacity to truly help them. The remainder of the session works systematically through the four close establishments of mindfulness — their nature as combined wisdom and mindfulness, their four divisions (body, feelings, mind, phenomena), the boundaries spanning the five paths from accumulation to Buddhahood, and their etymological meaning. Suited to practitioners with Lamrim grounding.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 09 IR 1990-10-07.mp3
UUID: 40a674cd-dd4f-4db5-bfe0-8a6ec751c37e
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Insight Retreat (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1990-10-07
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 50.6 minutes
Words: ~2,554
Just as in the case when a clock reaches twelve o’clock, exactly at twelve o’clock, doesn’t remain there even for an instant. It rises at twelve o’clock but it doesn’t it doesn’t pause. The very next instant it’s past twelve o’clock. It moves past twelve o’clock. Likewise with with our life it is our birth is a our birth is at twelve o’clock but it simply does not remain at the next very next instant, it’s proceeding to disintegrate.
And this process continues out through our life. Arising and not there’s not a pause and then disintegrating from that. So if we were to conceive of our lifespan as being perhaps one hour, which is made up of sixty minutes, and then we were born at twelve o’clock, and we’re going to die at one o’clock. And then even we in the very next instant after birth we’re moving on to one o’clock. We haven’t we cannot there’s no pause at any time during this interval that we’re continually moving the this process of our production and then disintegrating, but continues our disintegration toward what we say, transitory quality is continuous throughout this one hour, continually moving, never pausing for a moment to toward one o’clock.
So, anyway, we’re going to live out our lifespan of sixty minutes one hour sixty minutes and each in this this process is there’s never any pause in this in this movement toward the exhaustion of this, it’s continually moving toward one o’clock. You know, when one minute is gone, we have only fifty nine minutes remaining. One minute is finished. Never pausing. It’s continually moving.
It doesn’t the hand doesn’t stop at any point. Continuously, moment, moment, moment, moment, until finally this is the this is the subtle impermanence until finally the sixty minutes arrived and we die, which is coarse impermanence. So if we if if if our lifespan was to be one hour and we were born at twelve o’clock at one minute after twelve, do we still have an hour left to live? What would we say if we were going to live until one o’clock, and it’s now that we were born at twelve, that we had one hour to live, and now it’s one minute after twelve. Do we still have an hour to live?
You have one hour to live. It’s because why? Because of that one hour, one minute has already passed. Disintegrate. And therefore, one hour is we don’t our lifespan of one hour no longer exists.
How much is it to your own? We don’t have one hour to live. So after one minute, our lifespan of one hour has has has destroyed. It’s gone. After one minute.
This is the quality of all of all things Yep. Whatsoever. So the reason that this transitory quality, this momentary transitory quality is is difficult to see. It’s it that’s this is why it’s referred to as subtle impermanence. The transitory of life in terms of its momentary transitory quality.
Momentary impermanence. So from from the from the from the moment of birth, we the the from the moment of the child’s birth, he does not remain even for one moment. So just as in the case of the the clock hand reaching twelve, it is not paused there. It it it the very next instant, it is after twelve. Likewise, there’s there is no pause in our movement toward death.
So it said that it’s like as we’re we’re in a horse race heading toward the finish line, and we we don’t pause for one moment. So our life passes continually passing no matter what we might do, whether we’re sleeping, sleeping, eating, staying, that it doesn’t pause for even one moment. So this is it said that this is really prognosis is very poor for those who have created a great deal of unskillful karma because they’re racing toward death and this will they are going to experience that result upon a The bell sounded good, didn’t it? Begin by adjusting our motivation. So we should take great joy in this wonderful opportunity that having attained a precious human life affords us in the practice of Dharma, in that it represents the lack of inhibiting conditions and the presence of conducive conditions in order to carry on our practice.
Though we have attained this precious human life, unless we make use of it, then it will its great meaning will have gone to waste, that we have to ensure that we achieve some results, some benefit of having attained this precious human life. What kind benefit can we achieve from such a type of life? It is that in the future we can attain a state in which there is complete absence of suffering and that we experience an unchanging happiness. In dependence upon the development of a kind heart, if we abandon harming both ourselves and others, and on the other hand seek to cultivate practices which benefit both oneself and others, then it’s definite that in the future through this practice of abandoning and cultivating, we can achieve the elimination of our suffering and the attainment of an unchanging happiness. So these activities which are to be engaged in in the context of a kind heart, there what type of kind heart?
That there is no greater kind heart in this than the awakening heart. What is the nature of this awakening heart? It is it is the attitude of mind which which considers others which holds others more dear than oneself and wishes to establish them in complete happiness and to eliminate all of their suffering. In in general, such this mere intention to bring about the happiness of all sentient beings and eliminate their suffering is extremely beneficial because it’s such an attitude or intention is related with love compassion. But this is merely an attention that we have to develop the great resolve, which which is the great minded attitude that I myself take responsibility for freeing sentient beings from their suffering, for placing them in happiness, that we have to develop this courageous resolve.
But though this is this attitude is extremely wonderful, we have to go on to examine. Can I in fact do it? I myself can actually bring this about in fact. And understanding that we cannot at present, we don’t have that ability. But if we were to eliminate all our various faults and to bring the consummation all our excellent qualities, that is to say, if we were to become a Buddha, then we would have that that capacity.
And if we consider the immense benefit that a Buddha can bring about and their abilities, we can begin to understand it in terms of the fact that Śākyamūni Buddha was one Buddha. But there are in this one world, in our one world, this one single world system. But there are a hundred billion world systems and and and a Buddha can radiate an embodiment the same way as Śākyamūni Buddha. It was an embodiment into each of those hundred billion worlds and carry out the deeds as Śākyamūni Buddha did in this world system. It’s hard.
It’s difficult for us to imagine it’s to to wrap that around our mind. So if we were to attain Buddhahood, we we likewise would have this same power as Śākyamūni Buddha himself did. That is to say we could radiate emanations to all of these hundred billion worlds and benefit sentient beings beyond count that we would be able to lead them into skillful actions, to lead them onto the path and finally to a complete cessation of their suffering and the complete happiness for unimaginable number of beings. Therefore, for the welfare of of all sentient beings, I I must become a Buddha and I must in order that I might be able to lead all sentient beings out of their suffering and lead them to happiness that I must myself rid myself of all my various faults and bring the consummation all my excellent qualities. I myself must become a Buddha.
In order to actually achieve this, then it’s necessary to practice the Dharma. In order to practice the Dharma, we have to understand the various teachings. In order to understand the various teachings, we have to listen to the teachings. And upon so we should seek to cultivate the motivation that I’m going to listen to these teachings in order to meditate on them and to practice them and for the benefit of all sentient beings. And therefore, we’re going to spend the next five minutes developing an awakened heart as the motivation for listening to the present teaching.
So with in respect to the explanation of the four close establishments of mindfulness, we’ve we’ve completed the the object of observation, explanation of the observed object, the manner of meditating, and the necessity for meditating. So now comes the explanations for the the the nature, the divisions, the boundaries, the etymological explanations, and establishments of the practice as being superior. These are quite easy. The final So the the the four close establishments of mindfulness. As Vasubandhu pointed out, it is in the nature of wisdom and mindfulness.
And it is the so it’s a path which is included as it states in the text in either the mindfulness or wisdom and which meditates on the on the body’s feelings, minds, phenomena in terms of their of their general characteristics and specific characteristics. We we have completed the explanation of the actual manner of meditating in terms of that with respect to the four observed objects, bodies, feelings, minds and phenomena that we examine in terms of their specific characteristics and general characteristics applying primarily to the bodies. Its general characteristic of impermanence, feelings, of its dissatisfactoriness, minds of its empty being empty, and phenomena as being selfless. So here in the text it talks about the, that the close mindfulness are included in either wisdom or mindfulness. And They are in the exalted wisdom of one who has entered a path, and that is to say that having entered into a path is an exalted wisdom which is combined with the mind renunciation.
So the nature I mean, speaking of the nature, it is a way of distinguishing what is actually for establishments of mindfulness and what are not. If they have this nature, then they are the four close establishments of mindfulness. If not, they are not. Mhmm. And Asaṇga says that what is the nature of the is the nature of the closest establishments of mindfulness, wisdom, and mindfulness.
Goes on to say that the close establishment of of mindfulness are wisdom. And then And that is the nature of the closed established mindfulness. Then the divisions of closed established mindfulness there are four. Because there are four different types of observed objects, there are four different types of closed established mindfulness. There is the closed and mindfulness closed established mindfulness observing forms, feelings, minds, and phenomena.
So the difference amongst these four are the closed establishment of mindfulness takes as its observed object the body’s and meditates on it in terms of its general and specific characteristics. Again, the close establishment of mindfulness, observing feelings, takes as a basis of examination the feelings in terms of the general and specific characteristics, and the same holds true for the remaining two minds and phenomena. So then we discussing the boundaries. That is to say the close established of mindfulness are consciousness. Who possesses such a type of consciousness?
What type of person? So the type of person who possesses such a type of consciousness is the type of person who having, has entered into the path and all of the various paths up to the level of Buddhahood. Now there are three vehicles, each having five paths. The lesser vehicle has the two sub vehicles of the hearers and the solitary realizers. The hearer has five paths.
First path, the path of accumulation, preparation, seeing, meditation, and no more learning. And the same holds true for the solitary realizers. The five paths of accumulation, preparation, seeing, meditation, and no more learning. Then the great vehicle also has five paths, accumulation, etcetera. So there are three vehicles, each having five paths.
So it’s just like in a school in which there are five grades. One begins in the first grade and studies the subject of that and gains a certain understanding by means that passes on to the second grade, third grade, fourth grade, fifth grade. Reaching the fifth grade, one graduates. The same is true of moving through these five paths. Each of them has a specific level of understanding which is to be realized.
Having gained that realization, realization, one passes on to the next path, progressing through the five paths in this manner. So it’s the same way that we progress through our studies, the grades at school. We have to study the various subjects and gain proficiency in them and then we pass on to the next grade. The same holds true here. That we begin with the level of the path of accumulation.
There are certain practices which are necessary to become proficient in, certain qualities which is necessary to have developed, we gain the experience of that path, then we move on to the next path. So initially, whether it’s the lesser vehicle or the great vehicle, the the first in meditating the close establishes the mindful that it’s necessary that we be have achieved the level of experience of the path of accumulation initially. The first of the five paths. So as we pass through these five paths, are continually meditating on the four close establishments of mindfulness. It’s not as if we meditate on the four close establishments of mindfulness at the path of accumulation, and when we achieve the path of preparation, we no longer meditate on it.
That’s not the case. We continue to meditate on the four close establishments of mindfulness through the path of accumulation preparation, seeing meditation, and also no more learning. Because there is this continual cultivation of the four close establishments of mindfulness from the path of accumulation up to the level of Buddha, this is the is said to be the the boundaries for it, for this consciousness of four close establishments of mindfulness. So the etymological explanation that is the the the the sense of the term close establishments of mindfulness. So it is as has been mentioned that we it is a combination of wisdom and mindfulness.
That It is a wisdom which is examining the observed objects the bodies, feelings, minds, and phenomena in terms of the two characteristics, specific and general, and understanding the individual natures of each and the common natures of each. And through the process of that examining these objects by means of wisdom and understanding arises, and so as not to allow that understanding to be lost, that is to say forgotten, it is held by mindfulness. And this understanding being held by mindfulness is familiarized with, that is to say, meditated on. There’s a familiarizing process. So this is the sense meaning of closed establishments of mindfulness.