Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. The Q&A of this 81-minute Lamrim commentary by Khensur Rinpoche closes with a striking case: King Ajatashatru killed his father and planned suicide — until the Buddha redirected him with “kill your mother and father,” meaning karma and afflictions, not literal parents. The commentary itself opens with Tsongkhapa’s verse framing three tiers of refuge benefit — liberation in this life, in the intermediate state before rebirth, or at minimum avoiding lower realms — then examines the two causes of genuine refuge: dread of future suffering and conviction in the Three Jewels. An unusual comparative aside shows how Christianity, Islam, and Zen share the same teacher-method-community structure. Rinpoche then catalogues refuge’s practical benefits — purifying negative actions, stabilizing vows, building positive potential — illustrated by the image of bailing out the ocean one cup at a time.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 04 LR 1991 03 02.mp3
UUID: 4e14763c-8ffa-4558-b725-4ff373a9cb13
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Lam Rim (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1991-03-02
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 80.6 minutes
Words: ~4,606
Begin by adjusting our motivation to develop the awakening heart. I must lead all sentient beings and myself to free them from suffering and to lead them to complete happiness? In order to achieve that end, I must train myself well in the Dharma, bringing it to consummation. And in order to train my mind well in the Dharma, I must understand the various practices. And therefore, in order to understand the various practices, I must listen to the various teachings.
In this way, I can, by listening, training, and bringing, integrating the understandings in my mind, I can teach others out of my compassion and thereby enable them to free themselves from suffering and to find happiness. With such a motivation for the next developing such a motivation over the next three minutes, that for the purpose of achieving this, I am going to listen to the present teaching. Quoting from a verse by Tsongkhapa in which he sets out the reasons for going for refuge. So we’re all the same in that we all want happiness, that we don’t want to suffer. So it is said that if we were to go for refuge to the Three Jewels and practice the Dharma well, that in this very life that we could eliminate the root of our suffering and find complete permanent happiness.
And this is what we’re seeking to achieve. We’re seeking to find a complete permanent happiness, and to eliminate all the suffering, and this can be accomplished through practicing the Dharma well. If in going in the context of going for refuge to the Three Jewels, we were to practice the Dharma in a middling sort of way, that rather than being able to carry on the highest type of practice, if we were to carry on a middling type of practice, though we might not be able to remove the root of suffering in this life and find a stable type of happiness, we can achieve that through a middling type of practice in the intermediate state. This is the state of existence prior to rebirth, and during in that state we can eliminate all of our suffering and find a complete happiness. So by the intermediate period, we mean that space of existence subsequent to one’s death of this life, but previous to and coming before the actual taking of another rebirth — it is during this period.
And then on the third hand, in the context of going for refuge to the Three Jewels, that we may not carry on a Dharma practice of the highest possibility, nor of the middling possibility, but if we were to carry on even a limited type of practice, as a result of that, we would, rather than taking a rebirth in a bad migration, take rebirth as a human or a celestial being. So, we would not be forced to take rebirth in a bad migration, and therefore would not be forced to undergo the suffering experiences of such types of migration. So, in accordance with the quality of our practice. We can, through the highest type of practice of the Dharma, seek the, we can achieve the ultimate benefit within this very life.
But even if we weren’t to carry on this quality of practice, a middling type of practice, we would not have to take a rebirth in future rebirth. If we were to carry on at least a minimum type of practice, we would not have to take or be forced to take a rebirth in a bad migration, that we would achieve type of rebirth. So these are all, all of these benefits arise through the taking of refuge. This is the reason that benefits of refuge are emphasized so much, that it has this ability, this power to bring about these beneficial ends, and therefore is considered extreme importance. So, in going for refuge, it’s just like in any type of work and producing any type of material or articles.
That if we simply in order for it to be of real benefit, it must be done well. It must be made well, and the same would hold true of our going for refuge. It must be a consistent type of going for refuge, and we must go for refuge in a very thorough going manner. That must be done well. And out of this, just as in the case of worldly work or articles, we, there is a great deal of benefit to be derived.
Likewise, there is a great deal of benefit to be derived out of our practice of the Dharma, both benefiting ourselves and others. So the doorway into the Dharma is refuge. So, whatever the Dharma practice that we may be involved in initially, as we always do, we recite the verse of going for refuge. I go for refuge to the Buddha, Dharma, the spiritual community, and then we usually, that’s usually followed by the seven-limb prayer. And so this is to indicate that the doorway way into practice is going for refuge, and this whatever practice we’re going to do, it should be preceded by going for refuge.
So, therefore, it is emphasized the importance of taking the vow of going for refuge. And if we were to question, well, how does this consistent and proficient refuge come about? So, this arises by providing for the causes for going for refuge. And the causes for going for refuge are two. The first being dread or anxiety, and the second being conviction or belief.
There are these two factors of dread and conviction, and in order for an actual refuge to be generated. And this dread concerns the, our suffering, and we, and in order to develop this dread or this anxiety, we must consider the nature of our situation, nature of our dissatisfaction, and also the, the nature of our possible types of rebirths if, what types of rebirths are, are, will be, are possible for ourselves, and what types of dissatisfaction will we keep undergoing in the future, and is there anything which can protect us from this possibility of future types of suffering? And considering the dissatisfactory quality of future possibilities, we develop a sense of dread as to having to undergo this, and examine what can protect us, and we develop out of this a sense of aspiration to be free from future suffering. Considering our present and future situations in terms of the dissatisfactory quality of these types of ways of existing, we develop a desire to be free from them, and develop out of this desire to be free from these future and present sufferings. We begin to look around at what can help us out of this situation.
What can protect us? What, what, what, is there any possibility to, to, is there anything or anyone we can go to to help guard us from the future possible sufferings which we dread? And can anybody assist us? And we begin to, through this examination, begin to see that the possible assistance can come through from the Buddha Dharma and the spiritual community in developing a faith in these three. So here the faith has the connotation of liking.
We think that this object is very wonderful, that it’s, it can, it has certain unique unique qualities for, in this case, that it can eliminate the dread I feel about my future possible sufferings that I’m going to have to go undergo. And so, this sense of liking is, is we develop a sense of conviction and wonder at this object of having this ability. So, there’s this initially a sense of anxiety, and then there’s the development of a sense of liking or appreciation with respect to something which can help you to eliminate this future possible sufferings about which you have a dread. And we begin to look into the possibilities of the Three Jewels to protect us from future possible sufferings. We’re able to appreciate their abilities in this way, and gain a conviction.
And we think that I have to develop these Three Jewels within my own mind. This is the way I can protect myself. This is the way I can eliminate my anxiety about future sufferings by developing these within my own mind, and we develop a conviction with respect to the power of these Three Jewels once developed within one’s own mind to protect you from the dread of future possible sufferings. This is the general description of going for refuge, but if we describe it in particular terms of the great vehicle, here there is going beyond the sense of one’s anxiety in terms of one’s own suffering alone. But one understands that other sentient beings are exactly the same position, that they too experience anxiety about their possible future sufferings.
And we develop a sense of, you know, may they be free from this anxiety about their future sufferings. One simply is not satisfied with removing one’s own difficulties, but wants to free others from their difficulties and their dreads, and to establish them in complete happiness. So, is the additional component of going for refuge out of compassion. One goes for refuge motivated by compassion in order to develop the Three Jewels within one’s own mind. Developed a conviction with respect to these Three Jewels, and the conviction in the jewel of Dharma, it is which is looked upon as the, as the means to eliminate the suffering.
It is comparable to the medicine which eliminates our illness. And then there is the jewel of the Buddha, which, who is looked upon as the teacher, and that is the, showing various methods which are to be implemented in actually eliminating our suffering. The teacher is the one who prescribes, just like a doctor, what is to be to cure our ills. And then there are those who assist us in implementing, in the taking of the medicine, the implementing of the practice, and this is the spiritual, the jewel of the spiritual community, and gaining a conviction in the ability of these three. So, in the world there are a variety of different dharmas or religious practices, and we have to examine each one of them as to see which is suits us best, but it is necessary to carry on some type of analysis.
For example, within Christianity we look to Christ as the shower of their Dharma, their religious practices, and these practices are to help us to, as a service, a means to eliminate our sufferings, to solve our problems, there is the, consists of the fellowship of the practitioners of Christianity to assist us in this practice. The same would hold true of Islam, Zen practices, that they each have a, they each have a shore of their particular methods and then those who assist us in implementing those methods. So looking to examining to see if they have the ability to aid us in particular as a means of eliminating our problems. So, it’s important that whatever type of of Dharma religious teachings that we are following that there be a reliable that they be that the teachers who the spiritual teachers who are showing what has been shown by the founder of that particular tradition, the various methods which are used to implement the means of that various tradition to help us to solve our problems, and those who assist us in helping to implement these, that they actually are reliable, that they are worthy of our conviction. Whichever type of religious practice we may be following, we must look to the teacher to seek to gain a conviction in those who are showing that individual who has shown that particular religious teaching, who has set that particular religious teaching forth in order to gain conviction in this individual as a valid, having shown a correct method.
Then we then we have to examine to see whether that method that they are showing is an actual means to eliminate our problems. And then, is, are those within that particular tradition individuals who can assist us in implementing what has been shown by the teacher, whether this holds true for all the various religions, whether it’s the teachings of Christ, Buddha, or Muhammad within Islam, that looking to the teacher to see whether conviction in their way of life and themselves, what they have shown, and is there can we have conviction in those who are helping to implement the methods in order to eliminate our problems. So, if we were to look to the Buddha as a shower of particular religious teachings, and we were able to see that within the methods set forth by this particular teacher, that it was able to actually protect us from our dissatisfactions, our suffering, that it was able to free us from our sufferings, and that there is the possibility of gaining assistance in implementing these teachings, then we could develop a conviction in these Three Jewels, and in this way we would become followers of this particular tradition.
So, in going for refuge, we are concerned with the elimination of our own suffering, and to free ourselves from our own suffering. But we go on and we develop what is termed mind generation, which is the seeking to free others from their suffering. So, we always recite this with the preceding practice. We say, I go for refuge until enlightenment to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the highest assembly. This is this is said as an indicator of that I want to free myself from suffering.
But we go on from there, and may I attain the state of a Buddha to be able to benefit all sentient beings? This is to indicate the generation of the awakening heart as a motivating force for eliminating the sufferings of others. So, the going for refuge precedes any practice whether of the great vehicle or lesser vehicle. That is to say, the indicating that of the going for protection to the Three Jewels as a means to protect oneself from one’s own suffering, but then within the great vehicle, this is expanded to develop a mind generation which one goes for refuge in order to eliminate the sufferings of others. So we, we, we go for refuge as a a basis for eliminating our own suffering, and we, in order to pacify our suffering, and we, this is the basis for all the various vows which can be taken.
For example, on the basis of having generated a refuge, we can take refuge vows. Then the refuge vows serve as the basis for all subsequent types of vows, no matter what they may be. For example, the lay holder vows, or the novice vows, or the fully ordained vows, or the vows of the bodhisattva, or the vows of Tantra. These all have as their foundation the vow of refuge which in turn is motivated out of a sense of going for refuge. So, we were to list the benefits of going for refuge, the first is that becomes a Buddhist.
The second is that refuge serves as the basis for all vows. So that one can newly generate vows on the basis of going for refuge. If one has already had the vows, going for refuge serves to stabilize the vows, and even if they’re stable, it serves to help to increase the force of the vows. Additionally, going for refuge purifies the unskillful actions that we have created. If we to ask, Well, how does this work?
That as we’ve talked, as we talked about and when we were given the refuge vows, that there are certain trainings which we are to engage in having, subsequent to having gone for refuge and taken the refuge vows. And that essentially the Dharma is, the essential meaning of Dharma is to abandon harming sentient beings. That, in fact, we are to benefit sentient beings. This is the practice of Dharma. And in going for refuge, we commit ourselves to this training, and therefore we no longer we abandon any type of action which would bring harm to sentient beings.
Therefore, we are no longer creating any new negative actions, and this also serves to purify past negative actions which we have created. So, if we, if we eliminate the destructive factors within our mind, then we would not have to undergo the negative consequences. If there no cause, there is no result, and therefore, if we do not create the causes, there will be no result. If the cause is purified, there will be no result. So, we will not to undergo the experience of taking rebirth and bad migrations and the various sufferings that that entails.
We will not have to take a bad rebirth. We will not have to take rebirth within cyclic existence altogether, and in that way we can achieve happiness. So having, if there are no destructive factors within our mind, not only will we not have to undergo bad migrations in the future, but in fact we will not have to undergo any type of harm. The reason all the various harms, injuries that we, and troubles that we experience are the result of unskillful actions that we have created, and if there’s, if we eliminate and no longer create unskillful actions, then we will not have to undergo the results of non created or eliminated unskillful actions. You know, such types of experiences as sicknesses, our various problems, various sufferings, that all the various harms that we experience arise out of the previously created destructive factors and unskillful actions, and these can be eliminated and no longer created again.
So that’s, you know, looking at from a negative side that eliminating the destructive factors will help to eliminate any kind of negative types of results. Additionally, looking at it from the positive side, our skillful actions will commensurately increase in accordance with the lessening of our destructive actions. Our constructive actions will increase. And out of this increase of constructive actions, that we can achieve any of our intentions. The reason that we have difficulty achieving our intentions is that we have obstructions, and these obstructions are the various destructive factors within our mind that these prevent us from obtaining our goals.
But if we were to lessen these obstacles, these destructive factors, and begin to increase the construct of those which support our intentions, then we can achieve any goal that we desire. Qualities of the Buddha are unimaginable, that they are innumerable, and the same holds true of the Dharma. Its qualities are unimaginable, innumerable, and applies to the spiritual community. And if we were to develop faith in these three, that is to say, an appreciation of them, then the positive potential developed out of this appreciative mind would be commiserate with the object. That is to say, it would be unimaginable, incalculable.
It would have developing of this faith, and these unimaginable qualities, innumerable qualities of the Three Jewels, in developing a sense of appreciation, we create a commiserate, commiserate, proportional, unimaginable, immeasurable amount of skillful action’s positive potential. Out of this vast positive potential that’s created, we can achieve all our various ends. To the degree that we have this personal power, positive potential, to that same degree we will attain, and quickly attain, the various ends. We can attain the end, for example, to be free of cyclic existence, as in the case of the foe destroyer. We can achieve the level of the bodhisattva.
We can remove all our various faults and achieve Buddhahood. That, to the degree that we, to the measure that we have positive potential, that much quicker we will achieve the level of a foe destroyer or a bodhisattva or Buddha, that much quicker we will achieve the realization of awakening heart or emptiness. So positive potential is skillful actions, and skillful actions are proportionate, the degree of skillful actions proportionate to the quality of our happiness. So the immeasurable benefits of going for refuge are spoken of in a simile in which it is described as if we were to try to empty the great ocean which, for example, is surrounding Australia with a small cup, just cup by cup trying to empty the ocean, that it would be trying to it would be the job would never end. It would be incalculable the number of times that we would have to bail out the water, that we would never actually ever exhaust the water in the ocean.
It’s not possible. And likewise, the benefits, the positive the potential to which arise out of going for refuge are equal to incalculable as space. These benefits were spoken of by the Buddha himself, and the Buddha did not deceive anyone. Why is it that we why is it that we trick people, that we lie, that we deceive other people? It’s because there’s some, either because there’s some, some type of fault with ourselves or the situation which is causing us suffering, and we want to, get rid of that, that suffering, or it’s because we are trying to achieve some kind of happiness, and something is acting as an obstacle to that happiness, and so we are trying to get rid of that obstacle to our happiness, either to eliminate suffering or to bring ourselves happiness.
We engage in ways of lying or deceiving. But on the other hand, the Buddha, doesn’t have any suffering within himself. There are no faults which he has to overcome within himself — they have already been overcome. Nothing is blocking his happiness because he’s already achieved the consummation of his own happiness and the bringing about of the welfare of others.
So, there’s nothing that is preventing him from being happy. There’s nothing which he, which is an obstruction to eliminating his suffering. Dharmakīrti, in his commentary to Dignāgā’s Compendium of Prime Cognition, said that there is no reason for a Buddha to deceive. Causing harm to others is something the Buddha has completely abandoned, for he has the compassion of a mother for an only child toward all sentient beings. So, the purpose of this discussion is to help us to be, to consider and be mindful of the benefits of going for refuge, to, to understand that what we want is to eliminate our suffering, and we want to be happy, and this can arise if we, if we go for refuge, that we gain conviction in the possibility of these objects of refuge to, to bring about this that we wish.
So we should consider this what we’ve been discussing well, and we’ve been, in the, in having generated a faith and appreciation and a conviction within these objects of refuge, we should try to gain a stable type of conviction, that is to say a stable refuge, and to help us stabilize this we can recite, for example, in Sanskrit, Namo Gurubhya, Namo Buddhaya, Namo Dharmayaya, Namo Sanghaya, or we can recite, I go for refuge to the Buddha, I go for refuge to the Dharma and the spiritual community. And we do this as a means to find a happiness completely divorced of any suffering, and this will help us to create all of the complete causes, complete set of causes whereby to bring this about. So we said, we listed four jewels rather than three, didn’t we? So we mentioned that we aren’t being taught directly by the Buddhas, that, that we need as if an introduction to the Buddhas, the Dharma, and the spiritual community, an introduction in terms of their qualities, their benefit, and we, we rely upon this introduction. We rely upon the spiritual teacher to introduce us to these Three Jewels.
And so we add this fourth jewel, that of the spiritual teacher. In general the spiritual teacher is included within the jewel of Buddha and the jewel of the spiritual community. But simply as a means of not forgetting and to emphasize that the spiritual teacher who introduces us to these Three Jewels, we list the spiritual teacher separately or identify it separately. So we’re going to stop there, but if you have questions, we’ll take some time for those. Yes.
So the Buddha taught So, a doctor prescribes medicine for one patient, he might prescribe cold medicine, medicine for colds. For another he might prescribe medicine to get rid of a fever. For another he may prescribe medicine to get rid of TB. Is he being deceptive? Is this deceptive? So the Buddha is likened to a skilled physician who gives, who gives a specific medicine in accordance with the specific ill of each of his students.
That he, what he taught, he taught them in accordance with that particular student’s disposition what would benefit this person. He taught this person this because benefit this. He would not teach anything which was not beneficial. So, this may not be beneficial for this student, but it may be beneficial for this student. So, would teach differently according to what would be a benefit to each of these various students.
So this example is just as what we have been talking about in terms of the dispositions of the students, he taught the different vehicles in accordance with the disposition of the different students. That it was a temporary measure in order for them to enter into practice in accordance with their particular disposition. Even though there was ultimately only one vehicle, he taught these three different vehicles in accordance with these three different levels of dispositions. Those are the hearers, those are the solitary realizers, and those are the bodhisattvas. But it was just a temporary remedial teaching.
The analogy is of the three carts, these are analogous to the three vehicles. What do you think?
What is the truth? What is the truth? Doesn’t reveal? Well, he doesn’t he doesn’t reveal the truth that has to be done because And you say therefore, he’s lying? There are many ways of teaching, but there is a direct teaching directly and teaching indirectly, and different varieties of methods of teaching.
Which ones? So, there’s a case where the Buddha said that one should kill one’s father and mother. And, with this, so he doesn’t mean to kill your mother and father. This mother and father were actions or karma and the afflictive emotions. And this is what the father and mother refers to.
This is his thought behind the words. So, one you cannot take what the words literally but have to understand what his intent was behind his words This particular teaching was given to a king by the name of Ajatashatru, who had killed his father, and he had developed a great deal of guilt out of having killed his father, and he was planning to commit suicide. And in order to prevent him from committing suicide, the Buddha said, It’s okay to kill your mother and father. One should kill one’s mother and father. But, though he said these words, what he was, this was in order to prevent him from committing suicide, what was actually being referred to in terms of mother and father is that which gives birth to cyclic existence, and that is karma and afflictive emotions.
This is what gives birth to cyclic existence and this is what is to be killed. Page Page five verse number eight and nine.