Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Using the image of a thangka painter who must apply each color in the right sequence, Khensur Rinpoche explains why the Lamrim’s structure is non-contradictory and complete in this 78-minute commentary. He traces the teaching’s lineage from the Buddha through Atisha, who unified the “profound” and “extensive” streams into a single graduated path, then uses the thangka analogy to show how the three scopes — calibrated like schooling from primary through university — arrange all of Buddha’s teachings for practitioners at every level. The session’s main content turns to first-scope ethics: how positive and negative states of mind drive physical and verbal actions, why the seven negative actions of body and speech directly harm others and ripen as future suffering, and why cultivating their positive counterparts constitutes ethical discipline, the cause of higher rebirth. A brief Q&A closes the session, including a student’s question about whether any living person today is enlightened.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 02 LR 1998 08 04.mp3
UUID: 6767f7de-b9ce-4eda-9064-86d3f666ae6e
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Lam Rim (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1998-08-04
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 77.9 minutes
Words: ~4,717
Whatever action we perform is very important to have a proper motivation before you start any action. So if you perform your deeds with the proper or sincere motivation, then whatever action you do will become meaningful. And and if you’re if there is some if you generate a mistaken motivation or wrong motivation then every action of yours will become meaningless. So before we perform an action, we need to have a proper motivation. So there are many levels of correcting your motivation.
So as you know that so we should at least need to generate such motivation that all sentient beings are same and all all sentient beings are same that they wish happiness and does not want suffering. So and you should also consider that all sentient beings are same as yourself because we seek happiness and do not want suffering. So for for that reason, I’ll I’ll to so I’ll take the risk or risk sorry, risk to to eliminate all the sufferings of sentient beings and bring them into happiness. So as for that, I’ll today, I’ll listen or to hear the dharma for the sake of sentient beings. So it is very important to train our motivation from the beginning.
So as for that to to do the so we with the proper motivation, today, we listen to this dharma and, you know, for the sake of all sentient beings. So to do to to do the dharma, you know, face lots of obstacles and obscuration. So as to purify all those obscuration and obstacles, we will recite the text called the the Hundred Gods of the Pure Land Tuśita. And to also to remove all the obstacles, we’ll recite the Heart Sūtra. So the Indian scholar Acharya Śāntideva in his Bodhicharyavatara, Engaging in the Bodhisattva Deeds did says, when having when having found leisures such as this precious rebirth, I do not attune myself to what is wholesome.
There could be no greater deception, and there could be no greater folly or blindness than this. So we have thought before that we were very fortunate to having attained this precious human rebirth, which is very precious because through this present rebirth, we can eliminate all the suffering and can achieve the ultimate happiness. So this is how this present human rebirth is very precious, which I have taught before and I’m sure that everyone knows this. So we have found a very precious thing and if we are able to use it, then there is a essence of or useful of having or found such a precious object. If we cannot use that precious object, then there is no use of finding such a valuable object.
No. So so we we need to use make use of that precious object. So the precious object, and to use that, we need to know how to use that precious object. So precious object so in that case, to you so how the way we use the precious object is to we need to use it for the dharma purpose. So we need to make use that precious objects on the dharma purpose along with the dharma.
So to use that object with the dharma, we dharma should be very pure or immaculate one. So if should be very immaculate or pure one, so that in the result of using that object in the dharma should be able to get rid of all the suffering and and and bring happiness within us. So, excuse me, we we need to use the precious objects to with along with the dharma which can it’s repetition, which is which can give birth to the happiness and get rid of suffering. If we use that and of which cannot bring the the results of getting rid of all the sufferings and achieving achieving the happiness, then that that sort of dharma is not needed. So as for that context, Rinpoche gave an example, taking the water as an example.
In general, the water is considered very important and necessary and pure. So and the water which is water or ocean, which this the original sources of the water and the ocean is the the snowy mountains. And the snowy mountains usually I mean, it comes from these or skies. Means it’s probably raining. It’s got frozen.
It’s just snow there. So so which this is how we consider water is something very pure and important. You know? The ocean. Okay.
So, it’s to say that the ocean, is I mean, which origin or through which source is from the mountain, so it’s that which the ocean source or mountain which is very pure, but later it the mountain get sort of melted. Is it okay to use? Melt and then go down to the ground and and or enter the ocean, and then this how they get polluted. Alright. The ocean the ocean gets polluted.
So like, water we we consider which is very pure because of its origin, it’s it’s the snowy mountain which is clean. So, likewise, we we consider we consider that the Buddhist teaching is very pure and unpolluted because it’s considered it’s considered very pure and unpolluted because its origin is from the Lord Buddha, which is very pure. So Buddha is like a pure source, Buddha is like a pure source as the Buddha, sorry, Buddha is like a snowy mountain which is very pure and immaculate. So, and we consider Buddha is very pure and holy. It’s very pure as well as very holy.
So, it’s why because from the beginning, he was born in a kingdom of, or the fa in the family, his father’s name is yep. It’s yeah. His his father’s name name is Zangpo. No. Zangpo.
It’s in Tibetan. It’s the Suddhodhana, something like that. It’s Suddhodhana. Suddhodhana. Suddhodhana.
Yeah. I mean, we don’t consider it like n n d a n a. I don’t pronounce that n. It’s called Suddhodhana. And her Mother.
And the mother’s name is Lhamo Gyalmo. No. Lhamo Gyalmo in Tibetan. In Sanskrit, it’s Maha it’s two I mean, I I noticed two names for her, which is Mahamaya and Mahadevi. And he stayed in his kingdom until the age of twenty nine, and later he became a monk and did the six years meditation on the Naranjara The river.
For, yeah, for six years. And at the age of thirty five, under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, and he was able to subdue all the evils and negative actions and achieve all the qualities. And that was the day he become a real Buddha. So after his enlightenment, he first I mean, he taught and Buddha has taught the two vehicle the two vehicles, which is the Mahāyāna and the Hīnayāna. So and after he’s enlightened me, he first taught in the taught the Hīnayāna teaching in this Varanasi, which is Sarnath, Varanasi.
And the second and and he taught the Mahāyāna in the Rajgir where Rajgir at Vulture Peak. So in second, at the Rajgir so Rajgir is the place and so in the Vulture Peak, taught the Mahāyāna vehicle or sūtra. And so this is how Buddha has taught the two parts of two teachings, which is the extensive form and the profound formed. So, sorry, extensive part and the profound part. So, and the extensive part was taught or passed on to the Maitreya and later it in turn or made the nature pass to Asaṇga and then to Lama Serlingpa.
Lama Serlingpa and then to Atisha, which is I mean, this is how the the extensive part has been lineaged or descended. And the extent, it’s a profound, profound path which is, which is the emptiness path, is lineage or passed on to, from Buddha to Mañjuśrī and then to Nāgārjuna, Aryan Nāgārjuna, and then to Serlingpa, and then to the Atisha. So from Atisha, then this from there is no title like graduated path and but when this when that lineage or profound sorry, the profound part and extensive teaching come to come and come to the Atisha and from that from that time, he create or he made this title called Lamrim which is graduated path. So the Buddhist teaching was first taught by Buddha and later the panditas panditas or interpreters, they investigate on his teaching and make them available. And and later the great yogis, they have meditated on it and and make them available or they they gain certain realization within themselves.
So, is the reason why this Buddhist teachings are very holy because it has the three special features have been taught by Buddha and then investigate investigated by or analyzed by the interpreters or panditas and been meditated by the great yogis. You know? I mean, it it may be a bit confusing today for you people. I mean, it’s maybe quite hard to understand. Yeah.
I’m sorry to say So today, this Lamrim teaching is very holy and very holy because it has the special it has the four three special features and the four actual greatness. So which others teachings that I mean, doesn’t have. So this is why the today, this teaching is Lamrim teaching is very holy. So, I mean, within the Buddhist teaching, the this is very, you know, holy and it’s very holy. And and it’s also there are many teachings which has which are aware with all these seven qualities, but but within the the there isn’t any teaching which is far or better or and or more holy than this Lamrim teaching.
So this Lamrim teaching is very holy. And if you listen to this particular teaching for fifteen minutes, you have a you if you listen fifteen minutes to this teaching, you will gain a certain you will generate the generate the virtues or merit or it’s same as you listen teachings for all the Buddhist teachings, as well as if you meditate fifteen minutes for about this Lamrim teaching, then you have you will gain you will gain the same merit of meditating on all the Buddhist teachings. So, when one teach the Lamrim teaching, he has to teach, he or she has to teach the Lamrim, Lamrim or the particular teaching which includes all the it I mean, this particular teaching has has to include all the teachings or encompass all the teachings of Buddha. So, Lamrim teaching has this four actual greatness and Rinpoche said he will explain those four actual greatness, but no matter whether you understand or not, but even if you heard it, you will keep a good imprint in your mind. So the actual the four actual greatness are the greatness of allowing excuse me.
Greatness of allowing allowing you you to understand the non-contradictory nature of the teaching, and and the greatness that all discourses will appear as instruction. The greatness of allowing allowing you easily to discover the underlying intention of the Buddha. The greatness that major faults will stop of their own accord. So it is, I mean, it is very hard to understand from the beginning just hearing this, but if Rinpoche said if he teach this for actual greatness by giving an example, then it might be easier to understand. So we’ll take this thangka as a Buddhist thangka as an example.
So before when one draw this Buddhist thangka, he or she needs the pure cloth or material. And not only that, they need pencil and then the colors. There are varieties of colors black or all the colors. No. So, say, you put cloth and all the requirements for this drawing this thangka in front of you, and when you look at that, those things on the table, it seems like there’s no relation between itself.
It contradicts each other. No. So likewise, Buddha has taught various teaching, like, solitary realizers and then the Sautrāntika, all these Mahāyāna teachings, etcetera. So if you look on those varieties of teachings, it seems like there is a contradiction. There’s no, I mean, there isn’t any relation between those teachings and since I mean, it appears like there’s I mean, there are contradictions between those teachings.
When when we use I mean, take all those Buddhist various and Buddhist teaching in a practice of a person, say, a person which is in the first person of first activity or first level. And he or she when he or she practiced all these teachings of Buddhas and and I mean, to use practiced all the Buddhist teaching until he or she gained the ultimate goal, which is enlightenment or Buddhahood, and he or she will find there are finds no contradiction between the teachings of Buddha, and they are all necessary for the for a single person’s practice. So, likewise, I mean, one has all ready or has all the requirements for the to to draw a thangka. And and one sees it from while objects or things are in the on the table, he or she possibly find the contradiction between within those things. But but when one but but when one start drawing the thangka, one one should really need the all the requirements for the thangka, and then he or she can draw a thangka very well.
If not, say, if all the requirements are not included, say the white color or one of the color is missing, so instead of that means, say, the white color is missing and when when they draw a thangka and need to be painted and at a place or the spot where white color should be painted, if he or she if so the white color is has been missing and then they use the black color, then thangka will become very, I mean, very off or not good to one to one. No good. So, and, you know, that so if he or she is the artist, then he I mean, they can draw a beautiful thangka and paint it very well and unable to make a very beautiful thangka. And if someone doesn’t have any knowledge about drawing or paintings, then they can’t make a beautiful thangka as the artist does. No.
So, as you know, the artist has the knowledge of making a beautiful thangka. Likewise, one so when one when one seeks or one wish to understand how to practice all the teachings of Buddha non contradictorily, then one should go through the Buddha’s teaching and should meditate first, I mean, to able to verify what what is the part to be meditated and which is the second part, which is the third. So if you do all this by step by step or like stages or a level, then later, at the end, we can be able to subdue or control all all the negative actions and become enlightenment enlightened, sorry. So so one should really need to understand how how to practice the categories of Buddha and say one should try I mean, should try to I mean, sorry. One should try to understand how to practice the teachings of Buddha and should know try to know that how to put all the Buddha’s teaching in order or as, like, in organized, how what is to be put it in the level and and do the practice.
And then, if one is able to do that, then your practice will become very effective or meaningful. If not, then or if one’s practice or meditate, I mean, like, without any it’s not in systematic, like, up and down, it’s just this part, that part, then the teaching will become like a person who has not a person who draw a thangka, I mean, who hasn’t got any knowledge about painting, say, he colored the black instead of white, and then for the white, paint he paint black and yellow as in red. That that then the would become very awful because the colors had been placed mistakenly, isn’t it? Likewise, then your teaching I mean, your practice will also become like that. No good.
For that, Lamrim teaching Lamrim text or Lamrim teaching has been set forth in three categories, which is the first stage, second stage, and third stage, or first scope, second scope and third third scope, which has been set in three because of the capacity of the person. Alright? So as for the beginner or the person of the first activity, we have, I mean, while in our weak intelligence, then we can study or follow, do the practice of the path which is, which accords with the person of first scope or first capacity. And later, after practicing in the first level or first scope, then we can we can we developed our intelligence and then and then train in the person of train in the path of train in the path which accords with the middling scope or middling stage and then we train or practice in the part which accords with the which accords with the great scope or great capacity. So like what it’s like child training in the primary school first, I mean, learned so from the kindergarten learning alphabets alphabets like a, b, c, and and then gains I mean, gains some knowledge.
And and after I’m learning alphabet, they try to make a sentence structure or like that. And then high school goes like college. So it’s like that. It’s so Lamrim teaching is like that. We have a practice in Lamrim teaching which accords with the person’s capacity.
So if and now we can start from the first part which deals with the first, second, third, middlings, and third scopes. So so when we talk about Dharma and dharma, but dharma is mainly mainly taught to subdue or make to control our our mind and so we you as you know that we have a mind and a body, but the mind is the one one mind is the root one which creates which which does all the activities. And as for mind, we have noticed before, taught earlier that there’s two kinds of mind which which are the positive and the negative mind. So as we have two kinds of mind, positive and the negative mind, likewise, we also there there also comes the good result good and the bad results. So so good and bad result comes by good good good mind, positive mind brings the good result and which is happiness and the negative minds brings the the suffering.
So as we don’t wish the suffering, we need to start very hard to reduce or or or subdue all subdue that bad mind or negative mind and we seek happiness for that, and we seek happiness and the good mind or positive mind is the cause for this happiness. So one should try to generate or develop the good mind. So the mind is the one which caused all the action, which caused action. But from the mind, we then we I mean, we perform many actions through our physical and through our body and speech. So through that positive mind and we create many good actions from our body and from our speech as well.
And through that bad negative mind, we we made many negative actions through body and speech. So, through our body, we create, oh sorry, through our body we do actions like killing, stealing and sexual misconduct. And through the through the speech, we tell lie and using harsh harsh words or malice, something like that, and gossips and pride. So, I mean, with the negative mind, and our body and speech perform those seven negative actions.
I told you that the three actions done by done through body and four done through the speech. So so we we we perform those these seven actions in which directly so we we so we directly heard through but during these seven negative action, we cause we directly cause suffering or miserable for the others and which is the non virtue action or which is the negative, which so this this sort of action we need to eliminate. So these actions harm So, alright. Sorry. Rinpoche didn’t say about eliminating those actions, but so those actions directly harm others.
So, we we can understand that. So, we can see that killing, stealing, and telling lie using harsh words and other gossip hurts others. By harming by harming others, then which we so those words, we harm others and then we can, you know, harm others which brings suffering for those sufferings for others. So at present, we we harm through these seven actions. We harm we directly harm others, but in return but in return or in future in future, we we have to we have to suffer.
In future, we have to suffer from doing this action to others. So for example, if we sow a sweet seed and we can eat, we can get the sweet in future, if you sow a very hot or chilly seed, then we can the future, we can get very hot, something very hot. If you neutral if you saw a neutral thing in the future, we can I mean, it’s neutral in the future as well? So as you see, you talked before then. For that, we need to So as you know, if we harm harder, then we have to suffer in our future.
If we and we have to suffer in future. For that, one should one should try to stop those actions and not to harm others and it is very hard from the beginning to stop those action forever. But but we need to, but we should try to stop it for a while and then try to stop, I mean stop those actions for a while in a period, certain period, which which will which is like like we are training which is training in the parts equipped with a small score. So, by knowing this, not but so so you you have seen we have taught that we create seven negative actions through a body body and speech. Otherwise, we can also we we can also perform do do the positive actions through a body and speech, and there are three positive actions through body and three four positive actions through speech.
And the So we we need to we need to do do do this these actions or or we need to do these actions. And by doing this action, we and we are practicing the ethical discipline. So we need to eliminate those seven negative actions which done through body and speech and need to cultivate those seven positive actions done through body and speech. And if you are if we are able to if you are able to do able to do that seven positive actions which which again through body and speech, then we you you if you’re able to do that, then you have attained or achieved the ethical discipline by abandoning the seven negative actions. But and as for the result of that, and we can gain gain the we can gain the rebirth in the higher realms like the god and the human.
So we should we shouldn’t say that I I don’t understand this or I can’t do this because we are at the person we are the person we are the person of the first activity or first stage. And in this so and if you train in the person, in the part that which in part which deals with the person of first capacity, and if we one shouldn’t say that I can’t and I didn’t understand. If you try, if you do study or practice, then you are able to do what you want. So this has been taught in the persons, in the path which accords with the person of first capacity. Yeah, in the first, sorry.
So this, and, so it so one when while while when when one train in the in the part which accords with the accords with the person of first stage, then one can practice all one can practice one can practice what one wishes and one shouldn’t stay like one shouldn’t say one shouldn’t say that I can’t do this and I cannot understand because it is ever it is it is possible for everyone to do. As for the achievement, there are two kinds of achievements, which is the higher rebirth and the definite goodness. So higher rebirth and the higher higher rebirth is the is the, I mean, one, the rebirth of human and gods. This is when the high rebirth, we we have thought that they are the the human and the rebirth of human and gods are the high two high rebirths. So Rinpoche will stop here for today.
And if any questions, please. So so the seven negative actions are the killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and so forth. And the opposite of that is the the positive actions. Alright? So, like like, unkilling, opposite of that non killing.
And one should make certain, like, like, decision or give something you know, that I I will I will stop killing. I’m creating that action of killing, stealing. So, I mean so opposite of those six and seven negative actions are the positive actions of the boys in speech. And but, I mean, then by stopping stop stopping the seven negative actions and cultivating the seven cultivating the seven positive actions, then but protecting or cultivating the seven positive action is called ethical discipline. So as for that, our masters stated that there are two achievements, which is high rebirth and the definite goodness.
And this ethical discipline is the cause of high rebirth. Yep. Next question. Yes. Just Rinpoche knows is anybody enlightened.
You mean that? Say it again, please. I can’t hear you. Does Rinpoche know anybody that is in life? At at present, you mean?
Alright. You and what you mean? Among among this class. From everywhere. You did not understand.
So there’s a bonus thing that is So how are you are just you mean in general? I mean, first question was kind of like, does Rinpoche know anyone who is enlightened, isn’t it? Anywhere. Anywhere. Anywhere.
Alright. But it is in this I mean, present world or No. Or anywhere? Anywhere. World.
Alright. In this present world, in this present world, which I reckon His Holiness is the enlightened person or being. But if you look back in the past, in India, they are I mean, like, which is the Atisha and then of course, I mean, there are millions of Indian that become enlightened in the past. And in in even in Tibet, they are like, are enlightened and also within Tibet, hundreds of thousands of people had enlightened. Is that the answer for your question?
Yes. Otherwise. Okay. Yep. Eight wordly dharmas.
Yeah. Does those I’m sorry. worldly dharma is in you said. Oh, yeah. I understand that.
And you mean how does it relates with the negative actions through body, speech and mind? No. So, I mean, you see the which are the negative actions. And some are formed through body and some is formed through speech and some are through the mind. No.
So, and how it relates, it means some of the are created by body and in speech and mind. For example, like, if you have been said that someone will, I mean, someone says something beautiful, sweet to you, then you feel very, I mean, pleased or rejoiced. And if someone use very harsh word or says something bad to you, then you feel very angry or so these are the I mean, like negative actions. And this this negative is the one of the eight worldly dharmas. So and which is performed or done through your mind.
So so this is the one, I mean, example, how it relates with the negative action done through both speech and mind. Yeah. I’m taking it. I’m taking it. Got it?
Yeah.