Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 80-minute Lamrim session, Khensur Rinpoche opens with a wry aside: the classical eight obstacles to Dharma practice may need a ninth — busyness — something the ancient masters never anticipated. He then works carefully through the full framework of precious human rebirth, covering the eight freedoms and ten riches as enumerated by Asaṇga, Tsongkhapa, and Śāntideva, explaining why all eighteen qualities must align before genuine practice is possible. A wages metaphor runs through the middle section: we must employ the body well enough to accomplish liberation, but not exhaust all our energy merely sustaining it. The session ends with a lively Q&A on whether animals can accumulate virtue, prompted by a listener’s story of a larger dog guiding its blind companion.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 01 LR 1999 02 09.mp3
UUID: 1321dd8a-f87d-4749-a45f-2cbcc7d3fbb1
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Lam Rim (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1999-02-09
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 80.4 minutes
Words: ~4,663
So, the great master, Acharya, Śāntideva, has stated in his Bodhicaryāvatāra stage engaging in the bodhisattva stage, says that this optimum precious human rebirth is very hard to obtain. So, as I stated that this precious human rebirth with the freedoms and riches, it’s very hard to obtain. Here it means the freedoms and the riches, which means that to attain a state which is free from suffering. And to attain this, one has to be free from those obstacles and hindrances and have conducive conditions to obtain such a state. Not only that, whatever action we do and to enjoy or to have attained a result, one has to be free from all the obstacles to obtain such a result.
And so here, to obtain to gain a place or, sorry, a state which is free from sorry, which is free from sufferings. And to obtain that, we need to have all those freedoms and riches. So this is how it is stated that this precious human rebirth with freedoms and adorn with freedoms and riches. It’s very hard to obtain. So to obtain or to have happiness without suffering and to obtain that, one has to be free from eight hindrances or eight obstacles.
As for that, so this is how the great master, Indian master Asaṇga stated that to attain such a state, one has to be free from eight hindrances. And likewise, also the great master Tsongkhapa, has stated that one has to be free from those eight hindrances or obstacles. So, in these days, we may have it seems like we have to add one more hindrance or obstacle. So, if we add one, it becomes nine. So, nine hindrances, maybe it’d be better.
It’s it’s Seems like we need to add one more on it. So, yeah, so in those old in the pre like, in the olden days, when they described the obstacles, the very busy or busyness is not mentioned here. So I think the extra one which we need to add is the busyness or very busy. So he has stated that one needs to have eight, has to free from or have eight leisures or to be free from all eight obstacles. So to practice a Dharma, one needs all those eight leisures which are free from eight obstacles.
And so, one has to be free from all those obstacles. And if one is not free from those obstacles, then even if one practices the Dharma or one practices, one cannot do it. Or one may able to do a bit, but that cannot help you to obtain or achieve the happy state of happiness without suffering. And as for the conditions or conducive conditions, we have taught last week, which there are ten, which I said ten riches, the conducive conditions for the practice. And so that ten So those ten conducive conditions are divided into two.
So, two means those ten riches has divided into two, called the five personal riches which should be available or should be there within oneself. This is why I said personal riches. And so, are the five riches. And I have mentioned these five last time. So if if you say once again here, which are the personal riches are being born as a human being, being born in a central place, possessing all your faculties, not having commented any grave actions, and having faith in the source of the teaching.
And we also we also There is another category which is called other conducive conditions or which comes from others, which are called circumstantial riches. So, the five circumstantial riches are that the Buddha came into the world, that he gave the teachings, that the teachings still exist without having declined, that there are those who follow the teachings, that others are compassionate. And the obstacles or the eight obstacles or hindrance are if I’m born as an animal and one cannot practice and if I’m born in a hell realm, one cannot practice as well and also if I’m born as a hungry ghost and due to the immense suffering they cannot practice. And one shouldn’t be born in as a long life god. It’s called the god which has a very long life spanned and due to the immense with the indulgence, the enjoyments, the world enjoyments and that cannot remember practice.
And also being born in a place where Buddha has turned or Buddha has born. And not only that, it’s not just enough for having Buddha born, but also to be a place where Buddha’s teaching is accessed where the teachings are being practiced. So a human being with these eighteen qualities, like eight freedoms and ten riches, then such a rebirth or such a birth is called very such a birth is considered as very optimum rebirth. So, when we analyze or investigate on those eighteen characteristics or qualities, one will come to know that needs to have all those qualities to attain or to obtain a perfect result which has the collections of three excellencies. To attain such a result, needs a dharma.
Dharma also have the three excellence, which has the collection of three excellence. So, attain such results, needs to have such a dharma which has the collections of three excellences. And so it’s not enough for having those three. One also needs a person who has all those aging characteristics and have a collection of those three excellences to practice such Dharma. So without having those collections of excellences plus the eighteen characteristics as a person, then one cannot attain or one cannot achieve such a result or such a perfect result which has the collections of three excellences.
Through one’s meditation through meditation one analyzed it or one checked within one’s that one has such eighteen qualities or not. And if one finds that one has all those freedoms and riches then one should feel happy and rejoice towards one’s having all those freedoms and riches. So, through all these because of these, these shantith and these factors, great master, Śāntideva, has stated that this precious human rebirth is very, very difficult to attain. So, and he also said the person, which means the person here refers in Tibetan it’s called kyebu and in Sanskrit it is pudgala, which means the way he described the person or recognized the person here is that person who can attain the happiness, who can attain both the temporary and the ultimate happiness. So, the master has stated that, so at this stage, one has the capability to attain one has the capability to attain that ultimate result which is the state of happiness without suffering.
And so he stated that one should recognize that one has all this capability and one needs, one has to make use of these potential capabilities or one has to attain that. And he also stated that, so, after having attained such a rebirth, one should recognize its benefits and should practice to attain the result which is happiness, ultimate, which is state of happiness free from all the suffering. If one doesn’t do or use attain that, if one doesn’t attained that result by mental wandering or leaving one’s mind being wandered or through one’s slackness or striving for only the present life’s happiness, then once one doesn’t attain that result through these, these cycles, then in the next life one cannot attain. It is very hard to attain. In next life one, it’s very hard to attain such a rebirth that has the capability to attain such result.
So the reason we come for teaching or we came to receive the teaching is to recognize how precious this human our present human rebirth. And then by recognizing then one should also recognize that it is such a such a rebirth is very difficult to obtain in the next or the future lifetime. So by knowing this one should listen to teachings and bring all those into practice now. So, one may think how one can do this practice or achieve such results through the practice. As for that, for example, if you give an example here, which is to make to ask somebody to work and do something for one for one for oneself, one has to pay wages or one has to pay pay or employ and pay somebody to work for oneself.
So, we have to our purpose is to attain the state of happiness without suffering. And to do that, one has to attain that result through by using this present precious human rebirth. And to do that, to accomplish that state through this present human rebirth, one has to pay for this rebirth or one has to give a present to this precious human rebirth to attain that result. So, one has to give wages or a present to this precious human physical form to attain such a result because we say that, I mean, we, oneself or I, is not the precious human rebirth or this present physical form. The we is called, I I is called, I is being labeled to this human body.
And so we have to look after this human body to attain that result. So as for the paying wages or being present here in the sense it means is So we have to look after this physical body and by giving them proper or right amount of food or proper food and dressing up or putting clothes on it so food is to one can savoir and the clothes to protect from cold or, yeah, etcetera. So, as for that, great master of Śāntideva stated that by giving a present to this mean, a person or a child should accomplish one’s purpose, which is to attain the state of liberation, to attain this by giving a present or wages to this physical body. But one should not give everything to this. In order, as stated, one should not give everything to this.
It means, for example, it says because it means some For example, we give an example here that some people, they work very hard and been very busy even and they can hardly find a time to eat. And they’ve been very busy and working very hard and up very early morning and go bed very late at night. And the main reason of doing our keeping very busy and working very hard is to feed this to look after this body or to look after this body, to give food to them and to dress up or to look after them with clothing, putting clothes in, etcetera. So one spent all his or her time to look after this physical body and it is not worthwhile spending whole time being whole time to looking after this body. And it says that we are born and it is definite.
The death will come. Because of being born, the death will definitely come and have no idea what time or when this death will come. So when it comes, then one has to leave this physical body behind, somewhere, and one has to leave. So saying it’s not worthwhile wasting all the time on looking after this. So, when it comes then, at that particular time, then everyone just feels fear and distress.
So he stated that one needs to employ this physical body very well or give them a very good job purposes, that result. So, in that case, he stated that one should make use of this make proper use of this precious human rebirth or physical body. In other hand, this physical human rebirth or this physical form or body helps us to attain the state of happiness without suffering. And in that case, one needs to look after this as well. And one also needs to look after this in a sense to keep it very healthy.
So in all in days through meditation, through meditation, there had been many enlightened beings and many many beings had become enlightened. Some many attained arhathood which is the state of liberation, and also became Bodhisattvas. So, all those beings achieved such things through making use of this precious human rebirth. All those beings attained by using this precious human rebirth for the teaching, making use of this precious human rebirth to follow or practice the Dharma and then abandoned all the negativities and acquired all the good qualities, you know. So at this stage, there are many beings, many animals and beings in hell realms and beings in hungry ghost realms. And they are undergoing through tremendous sufferings.
It is they have taken being born in such such a rebirth because of not using their because of not using their precious rebirth in the past for or to follow the Dharma or to practice and they have used such a rebirth in negative action or to accumulate negative actions. And for that reason, due to committing or accumulating such negative deeds, they were being born in such states like animal realms, hell realms, hungry ghost realms, and undergoing through huge suffering. So, all those beings in the lower states are undergoing huge sufferings in the animal realm, hell realm and hungry ghost realms. So in their previous lifetime, it’s definite that they have taken the precious human rebirth like us. And during that stage, during their time being as human beings, they didn’t use their precious rebirth.
In the Dharma purposes, they didn’t use it for the positive purposes which the Dharma to practice Dharma. And they used it to accumulate or commit very negative actions. And because of that, at this stage, they were going through huge suffering in their miserable states. So, for that reason, your spiritual teachers, masters are teaching you to recognize or teaching you teaching you to recognize how important and useful this precious human rebirth. And one should should one one should understand what one’s masters has stated and then need to use this precious human rebirth into this rebirth into the positive things.
So, by recognizing through investigation or checking, one recognizes how important this precious human rebirth and then by knowing that one should make excuse me, use this life for positive purposes or good, for positive actions. And to do that, so one should, and one by seeing the importance or the importance of this person in rebirth, makes One thinks to have One should One tries to think about a better state or to achieve a better state in the past. And by doing that generating such intentions within oneself then one also needs to develop once body actions of body and mind once you develop one’s body and physical action, body and mind actions day by day. By doing this, one can order through this physical form, one can attain both the achievements, which is, say, the temporary, both the temporary and ultimate happiness, which are both the ultimate temporary and ultimate purposes, which are the ultimate temporary happiness or temporary purpose is to attain which is higher rebirth in the next. And also the ultimate purposes which is definite goodness which are enlightened and becoming liberated or attaining liberation.
So those, this ultimate, this temporary happiness which is how rebirth and the ultimate purpose, which is definitely goodness, are being can be achieved through this precious human rebirth. By knowing this, one should So one should recognize that those two purposes, temporary and ultimate purpose, to be achieved through this human rebirth, this rebirth and by knowing that one should make use of this and attain, try to attain any of, to attain those purposes. So in the past, we have no idea. We don’t understand the We don’t under importance or how important this is in rebirth. And by without knowing that, this one indulged in negative actions or one keep doing negative things.
And it was not your fault because you don’t understand the importance of this or how difficult to achieve this rebirth. And now we came to know how important and Now we came to know about this precious human rebirth and how it is important and hard to achieve. By knowing that if even By knowing that still if one keep doing the negative things, then in future one one will undergo through untimely sufferings. So this taking or having this present present human option and rebirth is very, very important for that because it is stated in the for that one yeah. The great master Śāntideva stated in his Buddhichaya Avatara, the engagement in the bodhisattva’s deed, stated that because of such actions such actions because of such actions, I will not receive a human rebirth.
If I don’t receive a human rebirth, I will only commit negativities and have no virtues. It means that if he says that by such actions, means if they maintain such actions, which keep committing or indulging in the negative actions, then one will. One cannot obtain, receive means obtain after after one’s death and one’s next rebirth, one one’s next birth, one will not attain such one will not attain human rebirth. And if one cannot receive or obtain such a rebirth, then they one always commit negative release and cannot have no virtue at all. So these are not just simply stated by our masters.
There is lots of reasons and it’s not only that if one investigate through these teachings and through or investigate through importance of one’s precious human rebirth, one will came to know, one can understand through investigations as well. And so we can see the expression in this present time. Say, for example, if one were born as a bird, you can So if we can One can know about knowing that if unborn as a bird, some kind of bird which only eats worms or insects, and through their attachment they can indulge in the sexual misconduct or sexual intercourse. And through their hatred, they can cause problem or they can fight with other birds. And because due to their ignorance, they’ve been confused by themselves.
So for even in single day, how many insects they kill? So that bird can commit lots of negative actions or negativities in one day, or they know how to commit lots of negativities, but they don’t have any knowledge. They don’t have a single any knowledge to gain a single virtue or positive actions. No. So as they can only know or they can only commit negative deeds or negative actions and they cannot have they haven’t got any knowledge to attain positive actions.
Due to that, to that, they’re always circles in or being born actually lower like a the same form or just been in other forms of animals and they’ve been suffering in the lower realms. And due to that, by having only by having only knowledge of committing negative actions, due to that, they they only or they only undergo through the sufferings for for a very long time. So, one should think about this. Say, for example, if I’m bonusing snake, so how much suffering one has to undergo through? By knowing this, if unborn as any kind of animal, for example, here Rinpoche stated, the snake, and then how many sufferings, I mean how much suffering one undergoes through.
So by knowing that one should develop and one should feel very happy to attain such a rebirth at this time. And by knowing that one should make use of that through make use of this precious human rebirth to have attained a better rebirth or higher states and to attain that state of happiness without suffering. And by knowing that one should make use of this to achieve such such a result or such accomplishment, one should one should make use of this precious human rebirth by meditating by meditating love, compassion, and and and yeah. Through through love, compassion, through love and compassion. And and if and make use of this to attend to if if one does not use this, then once one loses this precious human rebirth, then it is very hard to gain it again.
So the great master Śāntideva has stated that developing a love and compassion towards sentient beings or to other beings is very important. But to develop such a love and compassion to others, first, it is one should develop love and compassion towards one’s present human towards oneself, towards one’s states at the moment like rebirth. And without having any love and compassion to oneself, then it is very difficult to develop love and compassion to others. So this is how this is what great master Śāntideva has stated. Yeah.
I’m thinking very much. Yeah. Any yeah. So we’ll save a few minutes for questions. Questions, please?
Yeah. I’ve got some part of your question. Just or you can break it into two. Of the positive karma that has ripened from an earlier human rebirth? To be born, yes.
That the animal in a further rebirth is being born as a human. Alright. Okay. Okay. So it is true that the animals can and this is what Śāntideva our master Śāntideva stated that they can only perform negative actions or commit negativities and cannot I mean, does not have a single capability to attain or do a single positive action.
They just do. It’s not only that you see all the time those any kind of animals. They just they always commit. And they can’t commit negative illicit. They have no knowledge of any knowledge of attending virtues or doing virtuous actions.
And there is a possibility or suppose say that an animal pass from his love, that animal realm, and then being born as a human, anything like better rebirth, like human rebirth in the future. And that result is not the and the causes or positive action which give birth to his future rebirth as human brain is not something newly or accumulated by that animal during his time or life in animalhood. It is because as that animal, it is because of the virtuous action. It is because that it is true that that animal has taken numbers or numberless of births in the past. And during that period, he has born as animal, he has also born as a human being and also born as a gods.
So various types of forms or various types of rebirth. So during that period he So that animal has performed lots of positive actions and or lead lots of positive imprints on his mind. And now being born as a better rebirth like human in the next spot after the next is could be the ripening. It’s possible that the imprints he lift or potentials on his mind within his mind stream is kind of like it might be ripening or it’s been ripened. Okay.
So maybe that people I mean, you have when we share heard that there’s lots of snowfalls in Switzerland and maybe there are many that kind of animals in Switzerland. And so a person I mean, like, that trained animal who rescue a being or from, suppose, like, snowy mountains or where he steps that person was stuck somewhere. And if that animal helps the person to away out of that snowy mountain, and we can say that there’s no positive action because the positive action is only is being achieved through a proper motivation. And that animal did help the person, but he hasn’t he has no motivation, and he hasn’t got any motivation. So we can say that he hasn’t commit any, like, cumulative any virtues.
Motivation. Oh, motivation. So there’s no proper motivation. Two dogs, male. No, no.
They are No, no. It’s not a question. Say, two dogs, both males. Yeah. What what So little this you mean you you said little one and the two.
There’s a little dog and a middle Yeah. That’s what I mean. Alright. Okay. Alright.
Got it. So the middle little one is blind. He’s blind. Okay. Please.
The bigger dog chases away any other animal that comes near, any human that comes near. He goes away, gets food, he brings it back to the blind dog. And then when they finally find a home, somebody look after both of them. The bigger dog takes the little dog everywhere. He comes like his eyes for him.
Isn’t that a positive action? So you mean that the bigger animal. Look after them, and then he walks and then and the blind one Follows along. Yeah. He follows along with them like he crawls.
No. He follows that. Not the blind one. So is that not positive? We we can’t we can’t say that they have I mean, he is He has committing or doing such positive things.
And there is a possibility that he is taking care of fat, blind, little dog. And it could Because there could be a karmic relation in the past, they have certain connection with themselves. And even though they are not related in this present lifetime, to really take care of that could be a karmic relation in the past. So we can’t say it’s possible because there are many like this. I mean, to your point was they are not related to each other.
But even for the, like, animal who I mean, like, the mothers that takes care of their child, but you can’t say they’re doing a positive thing. So it’s still reactive. Yeah. It’s not here. Yeah.
Okay. You can say that those beings, mean, the mothers, they take care of their babies and you can’t say I mean, they take they do take care of they love their children and they take care of their children due to the attachment because they love it. All right? I don’t get to say that. There are actually animals that like recently on the news, was this dog that actually rescued its owner from a fire.
I have empathy with animals but I can’t actually be a hundred percent that I know what it’s thinking and stuff like So how do we know that, you know, in doggy or cat language or horse language, that they they don’t motivate, you know, we just don’t understand them? Okay. I mean, because animals do perform kindnesses and and rescue the humans, and the results of animals’ actions are are often life saving. So there is a motivation behind it, but they don’t have a positive motivation to perform such or rescuing one’s own or positive plan. Yeah.
So they don’t have any We can’t say that they haven’t got any positive motivation because it is very hard for the lower realms, especially like in the hell realms or like animal realms they have. And also we call it, if they haven’t got an intelligence to perform any or generate a positive motivations. So that’s it. Okay. So this is what and also, the great the great master Śāntideva has stated to only they only perform the negative actions and have no virtue.
And he’s a very qualified master with no faults within himself and been enlightened. And so there should be a reason or something that he said. It’s a bit difficult then if we say such agree with that animals do have positive action, then we have to change the two words. Saying instead of only negative deeds, have to change that part as well as no virtue means we might have to say some virtue. It’s a bit hard to change make a change in those two.
I don’t understand. So maybe Western Western Western Western practitioners are very, very sharp intelligence. Sharp intelligence. Maybe they can find something extra than this or better than this. Okay.
Yes, I did.