Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Khensur Rinpoche uses the story of a monk who, threatened with execution, chooses death over breaking his vows rather than face the heavier suffering of lower rebirth — an example that sharpens why karma’s logic demands real commitment. In this 96-minute Lamrim session, he completes his survey of karma’s four characteristics: results are infallible, actions multiply, uncommitted causes yield no fruit, and committed actions are never lost. A corn-planting analogy makes the first two vivid; the latter two motivate suppressing anger (which erodes merit) and purifying past negative actions through the four counteracting powers — reliance, regret, reversal, and antidote. The story of Angulimala, who killed ninety-nine people yet achieved liberation through sincere purification, illustrates how completely these powers can cleanse even the gravest wrongs. Suited to students following the series from the beginning.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 07 LR 1991 03 23.mp3
UUID: 6c023fcd-49ab-4a0f-8049-ca9841fd0622
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Lam Rim (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1991-03-23
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 95.9 minutes
Words: ~5,257
Cultivating the awakening heart. So I am one single individual whereas others are numberless equal to space. And if we were to consider what is the relationship between myself and others, Is there any benefit between us? There’s been a great relationship between ourselves and others, and what is that relationship? That we have to consider that throughout beginningless time, in this process of having taken rebirth, there is not one sentient being that we can point to and say this being has not been my parent.
And that just as one’s parents of this life have been extremely kind and beneficial to us. Likewise, all sentient beings have been equally as kind and beneficial to us. Not only that, but if we just restrict this relationship to this life that all our happiness whatsoever, all our various objects of enjoyment, our own body, our food, clothing, all arise dependent upon sentient beings. And still further that all of the great qualities such as love and compassion, the awakening heart, our practice of generosity, ethics, tolerance, depend upon sentient beings. That the great achievements such as the stages of bodhisattva and Buddhahood arise in dependence upon sentient beings.
So all of temporal and ultimate happiness arises in dependence upon sentient beings. This is the great benefit which they are continually showering down upon us and if we were not to return that great kindness in some way, this poor way of acting. And how are we to return their kindness by returning their benefit? And this we can do both directly but also presently in terms of our intention. That is to say to develop the intention whereby wishing to free them from all of their suffering and to lead them to complete happiness.
In order to lead them to a state of happiness completely divorced of suffering, that first oneself must achieve such a state so that one has the experience whereby out of that experience one can lead them to that same state. So in order to lead sentient beings to a state of happiness, divorced of suffering, I myself must eliminate all my various faults and develop all my excellent qualities. So in order, if I were to eliminate all my various faults and bring the consummation all my excellent qualities, then I would be able to lead all sentient beings to such a state of happiness, devoid of any suffering. Therefore, in order to achieve that end, I’m going to listen to his present teaching on the great vehicle in order that I might be able to put it into practice and thereby be empowered to be of extensive benefit to sentient beings. So for the next three minutes cultivate the awakening heart as the healthy motivation for listening to this present teaching.
According to a verse by Je Tsongkhapa, in which he states that if we are to be able to train well in our refuge, then it is necessary that we understand karma as causes and results, in terms of the causes and results. That we are to reflect upon karma and results and understanding this, then we can enter well into the practice. So how are we to reflect upon karma and the results? There are the two divisions.
There is the general explanation and a specific explanation of karma and results And as we were discussing last week in terms of a general explanation, that karma has four distinct modes. The first being that the results of actions are infallible. The second, actions are highly augmentative or increasing. The third, the results of uncommitted actions are not experienced. And the fourth, actions committed are not dissipated or wasted or lost.
The first is the results of actions are infallible. The second, actions are highly augmentative or increasing. The third is the results of uncommitted actions are not experienced. And the fourth is actions committed are not dissipated or wasted or lost. So we’ve finished the explanation of these first two, that is to say actions are, the results of actions are infallible and actions are highly augmentative, increasing.
We all want happiness, but from where does our happiness arise? That if, you know, we have to understand this because in order to actually seek to create skillful action, We have to have a conviction that it is from skillful actions that our happiness will arise. We have to ask this question, I like happiness. I want to be happy. And therefore questioning what can I do to bring this happiness?
And gaining conviction that happiness arises from skillful action. It is if we only commit skillful actions, then we will only have happiness. You know, want we all from great skillful actions comes great happiness. From minor skillful actions comes minor happiness and I want all the various types of happiness. I want great happiness and minor types of happiness.
Therefore, if one gains a conviction that because one likes happiness, one wants happiness, one sees that the causes of happiness are skillful actions, then one will naturally practice skillful actions because one likes the result, one wants the result. We make use of an analogy to help in understanding that if someone were to, know, eating, having a meal and for the first time they had corn, corn on the cob for example. And they found this to be very delicious and they wondered, you know, Ah, this is really great. I have to find out where this comes from and how to grow it because I’d like to have this again. And so, they keep in mind that the first opportunity they’re going to question, examine where does corn come from and how to grow it.
So, then they meet a farmer and it’s, Ah, now this is my opportunity to find out all about corn. So, they find out how to grow the corn, what you have to do and the farmer explains, Well, from planting one seed, hundreds of kernels will come, will grow. Now isn’t that wonderful? Just one seed, hundreds of kernels and not only that, but if you don’t plant any kernel seed, then you’re not going to get any crop. You’re not going get any corn.
I have to plant if I want to enjoy corn, I’m going to have to plant the seeds, but if I do plant it, I can expect to have hundreds of kernels that grow from one single seed of corn. This is really wonderful and gaining this, one comes to a conclusion out of this, with the firm intention to go ahead and start planting the seeds because one wants to enjoy corn again by having found it delicious. So this is to analogize the qualities of the infallibility of actions and their increasing nature. And the same, the others holds true for suffering, that we simply don’t like to suffer and that we undergo various types of suffering from various sorts of bodily types of suffering, types of suffering within our environment, mental types of suffering. And we don’t want this type of suffering.
We simply don’t like it and so should question can I eliminate my suffering, all of these various types of suffering because I don’t like them, I don’t want to have them? And if we were to question, bring our questions to someone and they say, Can I get rid of all of these suffering? And they say, Yeah, there’s a definite way that we can be rid of our suffering. Suffering arises from unskillful actions, harmful activities. Such types of activities and actions only bring suffering.
Whether that suffering is the activity of a great nature, then you’re going to experience great suffering. Of a minor nature, you’re going to experience minor suffering. If we cease creating these negative actions, we will cease our suffering Because we don’t like the suffering, we don’t want to suffer, if we see the connection between the actions and the results, then we will conclude not to create those actions again because we simply don’t want to experience their results. We will not just cease creating great negative actions, but we will begin to abandon even minor and insignificant negative actions. So there’s an account previously of a monk who was threatened with death if he did not break his monk’s vows and he considered this.
He said, I don’t want to die but by being killed I just lose this body and it’s sure that I’m going to take another body. But by breaking my monk’s vows, it’s sure that I’m going to experience great suffering, probably the suffering of the hell realm. And so out of this consideration he went ahead and said that it’s better that I simply lose this particular body by being killed rather than breaking my monk’s vows and having to undergo the experience of that, a negative experience of a lower rebirth. If we develop a sense of anxiety about suffering, that we see the great faults of suffering, how we are tortured by various dissatisfaction, we will, since we simply do not want to suffer, then we will not engage in the causes, the various negative actions which are the causes of the suffering. Why is it that we don’t strive for real happiness?
And why is it that we continually experience, continue to experience suffering? It’s because we do not understand, we do appreciate what real happiness may be like, and we do not have a fear, we do not appreciate our great anxiety. We do not generate a great anxiety with respect to our suffering. So not having a great sense, a sense of what happiness may be really like, we do not strive for real happiness nor do we develop a strong anxiety towards continued suffering. We do not develop an aversion for future types of suffering.
Therefore, we do not seek to implement the causes for real happiness nor try to abandon the causes of our suffering. So therefore, these first two modes of actions, the result of actions are infallible and actions are highly augmentative are explained in order for this understanding to clearly arise in your mind. So, the third mode of action is the results of uncommitted actions are not experienced. This third mode of action is in a way the adverse of the first mode of action. The first was the result actions are infallible.
That if we create a specific cause, then there will definitely be an infallible result that will arise in accordance with that cause. Here, is being emphasized is if we do not create the cause, then the result will not arise. Before, it was: creating the cause, a concordant result will definitely arise. Here it is being emphasized if we do not create the cause, the result will not arise. Particularly if we do not create the causes of happiness then there’s not going to be any result in happiness.
Without the causal skillful action, there will not be the result in happiness. So we want to be happy, but if we do not practice the cause, that is skillful actions, we will not experience that happiness that we’re seeking. If there’s no cause, there’s no result. If we don’t plant a seed, a plant will not arrive. On the other hand, we don’t want to suffer.
The cause of suffering is unskillful action. If we engage in unskillful actions we will experience suffering. So we’re in a position where we do not wish suffering, but if we commit unskillful actions, then this is contradictory to our own wishes. We are acting the way we’re acting and what we want are mutually exclusive to one another. So what are we to do in such a case?
Understanding that from unskillful actions arises resulting from suffering and we don’t want to suffer, then we have to cease creating the cause. That is the unskillful action. If there’s no cause, no result will arise. If there’s no unskillful action created, then we will not experience unwanted suffering. The Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas experience only happiness.
They experience no suffering whatsoever. Why is that? Because they do not create any unskillful actions whatsoever and without having created the causes there’s no way that one can experience the result. On the other hand, hell beings experience only suffering. They do not even have an occasion of any happiness.
They have no occasion of any happiness. And why is this? It’s because they have not created the causes of happiness, that is to say skillful actions, but on the other hand they have created vast amounts of unskillful actions which act as causes of suffering. So not having created skillful actions, one will not experience the result of uncreated causes. So briefly, without having created the cause, we will not experience the result.
Whether this is skillful or unskillful causes, we will not experience the result of uncommitted actions. The fourth mode of action is actions committed are not dissipated or sometimes it’s translated as lost or wasted. With respect to this fourth mode of action, some doubt might arise in one’s mind that we may understand that in dependence upon skillful actions, happiness will arise. We might wonder, well is it possible to create a skillful action and somehow there’s not any result, no particular result arises? Isn’t it possible that having created some kind of skillful action that over time somehow it might be lost or it might spoil, it might be stolen.
For example, if we have some pain, we save up a lot of money and it’s a possibility it could be stolen or some types of food. They simply rot and they have no good after a while or we just simply lose. Things are dissipated as if by themselves. Couldn’t this be the case with our skillful actions? Over time, couldn’t they simply be lost?
So this doubt may arise as to whether we can create a scope of action and perhaps for various reasons that the result may not arise, but this is not in fact the case. Aside from the possibility of anger, which is able to destroy or lessen the potency of skillful actions such that a result, a lessened result or no result may arise due to the force of anger. That aside, then no matter how many hundreds or thousands of years may elapse between the time of having created a skillful action and meeting with the specific conditions, the action will neither be lost, it will not be dissipated, it will not spoil, it will not lose its potency, it cannot be stolen, but the result will definitely be experienced, the result in happiness. The Buddha said that no matter how long a time elapses between the creation of an action and meeting with the objective conditions, that upon meeting those conditions, a result will definitely arise. This fourth mode of action, the actions committed are not dissipated, applies to both skillful and unskillful actions.
Once either a skillful or unskillful action is created, it will not be lost during the intervening period until its ripening is experienced, whether it’s hundreds or thousands of years. With respect to unskillful actions, except for the arising of anger which has the power to lessen the effect of the cause. If the result was going to be of a great quality, due to the force of anger that greatness is lessened. It’s only a minor result. It also has the effect of if the result was going to be experienced over a long period of time, the force of anger lessens that expanse of time, the duration of time of the result which would be experienced is lessened.
If the result were going to be experienced quickly, then that result will not be experienced as quickly as it would have been if one had not become angry. But no matter, aside from that obstacle of anger, then no matter how many hundreds of thousands of years intervened between the creation of a skillful action, it will not be lost or dissipated or wasted during the intervening period. The result will definitely be experienced. It will definitely arise. The same holds true with unskillful actions.
In the case of having created unskillful actions, if we apply the four counteracting agents, the four antidotes to these unskillful actions, then the result can be eliminated with one having created a negative action, one does not necessarily have to experience its result. It can be eliminated. The second is if the result is actually experienced then there’s not going to be any future result because the karma has been exhausted. So aside from having created an unskillful action, aside from having this unskillful action eliminated through the application of the four opponent powers or result ripening, then that karma will continue to remain for hundreds of thousands of years until it meets the proper condition. It will not be lost or dissipated over that period of time.
If we consider well these, you know, in the context of these four, this presentation of the four distinct modes of action, if we consider well these first two distinct modes of karma, then we will come to a firm determination that to commit ourselves to creation of skillful actions. We will not you know what to say of great types of skillful actions, but even insignificant types of skillful actions we won’t overlook determining to create even minor skillful actions. And with respect to unskillful actions that we will determine not just to abandon great unskillful actions but to abandon even insignificant unskillful actions that will by considering these first two modes will make this commitment, this determination. Having considered well the latter two modes of action. Then on the one hand with respect to skillful actions, understanding the very danger of anger, but we will determine not to allow even minor moments of anger to arise, understanding how it destroys and lessens the potency of the previously created skillful actions. That it lessens the results and happiness which would have been derived from them.
It puts them off further into the future, such detrimental qualities as these. So understanding in terms of these latter two modes of actions that uncommitted actions are not experienced and that actions committed are not dissipated. Having committed a skillful action and wishing it to remain until we experience it as a result, will commit ourselves even more so to cease not allowing ourselves to become angry on the one hand. On the other hand, in terms of unskillful actions, having created an unskillful action and understanding that it’s going to remain until the proper conditions come together and we will experience a definite unhappy result, we will seek to eliminate that unskillful action by means of the use of the four counteracting agents acting as an antidote to this previously unskillful action that we created. We will make this commitment to acknowledging our unskillful actions and applying the four counteracting agents.
So this is really a very wonderful way to help us in our practice looking at these four distinct modes of action. Former two modes of action will help us to determine to create even minor types of skillful action, understanding how they can be increasing and how they’re infallible in nature. And the latter two will help us to prevent anger from arising, understanding that any type of skillful action that we have created will be destroyed by anger. So it helps us to promote more types of skillful actions and to prevent anger from rising which would destroy the previously created skillful action. This is the way it benefits us in creating a skillful practice.
Then on the other hand with respect to unskillful actions, in terms of considering well the first two modes of action that actions are infallible and highly augmentative, we will begin to cease even creating minor unskillful actions, understanding that it’s definite that suffering will arise from them and that this suffering quality can be increased over time. And then construing well the latter two modes of action, We understand that we have created unskillful actions in the past and having created that it’s going to experience suffering and it’s not going to go away by itself. We will make a determination to apply well the four counteracting agents as an antidote that these past negative actions can be completely destroyed by applying the four counteracting agents. In this way, we rid ourselves of all the various past negative actions that we’ve created. We will not create any future negative actions and therefore we will have abandoned unskillful actions completely both from the past and from the future and we will therefore experience no suffering.
So by means of acknowledging our past unskillful actions, applying the four counteracting agents, it is definite that we can completely purify, that is to say eliminate, the unskillful actions from our mind. This is particular to the great vehicle tenets. According to the lower tenet systems, these past unskillful actions cannot be completely eliminated. According to the great vehicle, they can be completely eliminated. So these four counteracting agents acting as antidotes to our past unskillful actions are extremely important.
And these four are: the first is the power of reliance, then the power of regret, the power of reversal, and the power of actual antidote. So the first, the power of reliance, we have to ask the question, well in terms of what objects do we create negative or unskillful actions? There are two types of groups towards which we create unskillful actions. Those with great qualities such as the Buddhas, the Bodhisattvas, the Dharma and the spiritual community. On the one hand we create negative actions towards these objects and on the other we create unskillful actions towards sentient beings in general.
So the reason this is called reliance is by way of analogy, if we were to fall down on the ground, we make use of that very ground to pick ourselves back up. Without that ground there would be nothing by which we would support ourselves to get back up. Likewise, in terms of acting as an antidote, first of the four powers, recommitting ourselves to re commit ourselves first in terms of the objects of refuge. These two objects are the ground upon which we rely to pick ourselves back up. Having committed negative actions with respect to those with great qualities such as the Buddha, Dharma and the spiritual community, we make use of them to rely upon them to arise up again.
That is in terms of going for refuge, developing, regenerating our faith in these objects, developing respect and recommitting ourselves to going for refuge to them as a means of purifying the past negative action. We can do this through offering of prostrations and making offerings. Likewise with the second category of object towards which we create negative action, sentient beings, in order to rely upon them to arise up again as a means of an antidote, we cultivate mind generation. This is to say cultivating an awakening heart. The thought that may sentient beings be freed from their suffering and may they have complete happiness through the cultivation of love and compassion and committing ourselves to helping sentient beings.
This is the way of relying upon sentient beings to rise up again. Then the second power is the power of regret and with respect to developing a sense of acknowledging the negative action that we’ve created with respect to these two objects, whether it’s Buddhas or the highly qualified beings, those beings with great qualities or sentient beings acknowledging the negativity created and developing a sincere regret. Then the third power is the power of reversal and having acknowledged and developed a sincere sense of regret with respect to the past created negative action, committing oneself to reversing from committing these actions again in the future, having created negative actions to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas or to sentient beings that as it’s committing or binding oneself that I’m not going to do this action again. The second power was the power of regret. And the third power is the power of reversal?
And then in order to purify the negativity, the fourth power is the power of antidote and this can be of various types of antidotes which can be engaged in. We can recite the hundred syllable mantra. We can do prostrations, make offerings, meditate on emptiness, various types of Dharma practice and meditation. If we apply the four powers completely, then there’s no negativity whatsoever which cannot be completely purified. This extends to all negativities, even the most heinous negativities which are, for example, killing one of your parents, killing a Foe Destroyer, drawing blood from a Buddha, etcetera.
And if these can be purified, what does it say of lesser types of negativity? Nāgārjuna himself said that no matter what negativities one may have created, even the great negativities of killing one’s own mother, that through applying well before antidotes, then these can be completely purified from the very root. So the analogy which is made use of is that this as the full moon in the sky can be obscured by clouds, but when these clouds are blown away by the wind, the beauty of the moon shines forth. Likewise, when the clouds of negativity which obscure the moon of our mind are blown away by the four counteracting agents, the beauty of the mind clearly shines forth. So, accounts are given in which people have created extremely heinous crimes but did not have to experience the result of them.
For example, there were accounts of various two kings. One king killed his mother, another king killed his father. Another person by the name of, I think, Angulimala, who killed ninety-nine people and made a necklace of their thumbs. That these things committed great heinous crimes and caused great harm to others, but by their having developed a sense of regret and acknowledging their negativities and applying well the four opponent agents, not only did they not have to experience the great suffering results being reborn in hell, but they actually purify these negativities to the extent that they achieve liberation. So this is the, within the Buddha Dharma, the potential of skillful methods which are present, the great benefit which can be made use of, the great power which resides in the Buddha Dharma.
So the difficulty in gaining happiness and ultimate liberation is not there’s no difficulty with the Dharma from the Dharma side. That everything that needed is there, resides within the Dharma. The problem is from our side in practicing the Dharma. An analogy of our situation is that of a parent who have great love for their child. And this child is hungry and so in answer to this child’s hunger, the parents prepare a great banquet and they set before the child all these various types of delicious food.
And the child is hungry and the parents from their side, they’ve done everything. But if the child doesn’t eat, partake of the banquet, then there’s no fault on the side of the parents. They’ve done all they can. If there’s any fault, it resides in the part of the child. They’re not taking advantage of the banquet which has been prepared for him.
And likewise, the same holds true of ourselves with respect to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and our teachers. That out of their sense of caring they present, they set a banquet of the Dharma before us and if we do not partake of it, out of the sense of caring, wanting to help us to eliminate our suffering, to bring us happiness. And though the banquet is set out before us, prepared and ready to be eaten, if we do not partake of it, there’s no fault from their side. It’s only our own fault. Just like this child, by eating, the pain of his hunger is eliminated and for ourselves through our practice, all of our difficulties will be eliminated and we can achieve happiness.
If we practice, then we will find happiness. We can solve our problems and this is the great benefit of the Dharma. But it’s not simply enough to understand the Dharma, to know about it. We have to practice it. There are many people in the world who do not know about the Dharma and experience suffering and have very little happiness.
And there are a few who know about the Dharma, though knowing, do not practice it and they continue to experience suffering and are not able to find happiness. This actually is a worst case, knowing but not practicing. There’s a great danger that we may know about the Dharma and not practice it and then we end up with the same experience as who do not know about the Dharma. And the Buddha said that there are many individuals who know well the Dharma but are reborn in hell because they do not practice it. So it’s important that we know it, but more than knowing it that we practice it.
And if we were to contemplate well the karma and the results as they have been set forth, then as a result of our meditation on these subjects, we will develop a very forceful and stable commitment to practice. So sometimes you have good intentions. In terms of other people, so far as a good motivation is to benefit others. That’s what we mean by good motivation, but even having that is simply not enough.
You must work in accordance with the minds of others. Though your motivation is good, you are trying to benefit others, if you do not work in accordance with those others’ minds, then you’re going to cause trouble. Problems will arise. People are going to not like what you’re doing. They’re not going to like you.
This isn’t true just in the Buddha Dharma. It applies to all types of organizations. You must work in accordance with the minds of the other people. You have to become skilled in methods of working with other people. As far as the experience of the result, are three types of actions.
There’s actions, the results of which are experienced in this life, those which are experienced in the next life, and those which are experienced in the next life and beyond. That next life, the next, third life, the rebirth after the next one and beyond. There’s three possibilities. There are various powerful types of actions committed. For example, powerful types of actions committed against one’s parents, one’s spiritual teacher, actions which are created in the course of meditative equipoise.
These are very powerful types of actions and the results of these can be experienced in this life itself. Other types of lesser powerful actions will be experienced in next life or beyond. That’s the result of that action of stealing, being put in the prison. That’s the result of that. In worldly terms it is a great result, in worldly terms.
So in worldly terms, stealing is a great negative action in worldly terms, in the terms of the world. Stealing is an extremely negative action amongst the negative actions of killing, stealing and sexual impropriety.