Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. A precise distinction between disturbing emotions and karma itself anchors this 85-minute Lam Rim session by Khensur Rinpoche: covetousness, harmful intention, and wrong view are not karma but the “road” that generates the seven bodily and verbal non-virtues. He grades all ten into strong, middling, and weak levels, linking each to a corresponding realm across the six realms of rebirth. Taking refuge in the Triple Gem then follows as the practical antidote to fear of lower rebirths, with Buddha compared to a navigator pointing out where to place each step. The session closes on why human rebirth surpasses the god realms for practice: beings in paradise are simply too comfortable to remember Dharma — like Australians so absorbed in a summer beach holiday that practice never arises.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 12 LR 1999 06 01.mp3
UUID: b9015395-f62c-472f-b532-ca1624f08aff
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Lam Rim (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1999-06-01
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 85.7 minutes
Words: ~5,031
Yeah. So the last teachings, we were dealing about the topic called arousing an interest in future lives which has two subdivisions, the death and the fact that you will not remain long in this world. And then the second one is thinking about what will happen in future lives about the suffering and happiness of the two kinds of rebirths. So in earlier teaching, it said that the the this refers to this life will remain no long. And so as it doesn’t remain for a long period, we we have taught the importance of practicing.
No. Oh, not practicing. No. So so this life will remain not for a long period and as death comes, the actually approaches, then one has to leave this life. But it doesn’t mean that one comes to the end or one just disappeared after the death.
Because one doesn’t disappear after the death. One has to take birth after the death. And so after the death, one has to take a new new rebirth, new birth or rebirth. And if asked so as for the rebirth, there are two types of rebirths. One would go — there are two migrations to the bad bad or the good migration.
If if if there is if if if someone if if question is asked, being asked, ask us that if if they is there any choice to take the if one has choice to take the take any of the re any of the migration or rebirth? So but the answer for that is no because you one cannot choose the which one one wants because because there is there is because there is a karma or action. And as for the action or karma, it has two types of action which is called the good action and the bad action. After doing that, then you And so The taking a rebirth is entirely the karma has entirely right or a power to take bring one into any sort of to give or to bring one one to the any any of those migrations. Has good karma, then that karma will bring one to the better rebirth or a good rebirth.
And if one has bad karma, then it will bring you to the bad rebirth and lower states. So due to that as the karma gives result to one’s birth, one has no choice or independent to choose which way one wants to take rebirth. About the karma, there are numerous of karmas. And for here, the great master stated that. So among the karma, they are main seven karma.
So for us, we have three doors. There are three doors within us through which we accumulate good or bad actions. So the three doors are the body, speech and mind. And through physical or through body, they are both good bad karmas we accumulate through the door of body. And as for the bad actions or bad karma we accumulate through body is are the killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct.
And then there are four bad karma or bad actions, non virtues which we accumulate through the door of speech, or telling lies, telling lie, divisive speech and divisive speech, harsh words and idle idle speech or idle gossips. Here the lie refers to a lie which they’re telling untrue to something which is true and so forth. And as for the divisive speeches, they’re separating very like causing schisms and splitting friends and so forth. And as for the harsh words, which is using such a strong word, which which brings which which hurts other just by hearing such words. So those words are called the harsh harsh words and idle gossip is means you’re spending whole day gossiping within the people, the just talking about others such and such and such is good and such and such is bad.
So we mainly create or cultivate the good or bad karma through the through bad karmas through these seven seven non virtues or seven bad actions accumulated cultivated through body and mind — body and speech. And the three there are also other three other non bad actions or or or non virtues created through the door of mind, which is which are called the covetousness, harmful intention, and wrong view. And the covetousness here refers to the developing strong attachments towards the other possessions and develop and wanting to have other’s possession too. And harmful intention is like hurting others with a bad intention and which really focus to or focus or intent hurt others — are called harmful certain mind is called harmful intention. And third is the wrong views.
The wrong view here in general is that a wrong view saying something is not true to the something which is true and telling something is true, which is naturally something which is not true. But here the wrong view refers to the one is one is not accepting or establish not agreeing with the law of causes and karma and not causes of karma and not accepting or not agreeing with the rebirths and not assert believing in the law of karma, saying that law of karma in the sense of saying that doing good action or the good action will result to the good state and bad action will result to the bad bad state. So so not accepting with such a law, and especially, they’re not agreeing with the certain type of liberation stage, or they’re not and they’re not and so forth. Those ten are also known as or can call the ten non virtues. And doing opposite to those ten is called the ten virtues.
So among those ten, the first seven are called the karma here. And the next three, which is the three actions which negative action through the mind are not known as karma because the last three are like a path or the way or road to create or comes the karma. So those three, covetousness, harmful intention, and wrong view are not action or karma. And they act as a path, as Rinpoche says, the road to the first seven, which are called the karma, because those three act as a basis. For example, they act as the attachment and act as a basis for the body and speech.
And through the basis on that, the attachment, they create the seven non virtues through the body speech. Likewise, for the harmful intention, as well as the wrong views act as a basis for those seven to happen. Those three are not the covetousness, the harmful intention, and the wrong view are not the karma because they are disturbing emotions. So the disturbing emotion and the karma are different. So for here, the great master Vasubandhu has stated that that through attachment or desire, hatred, and anger or desire, hatred, and and the confusion or ignorance through this, and we we create the negativities through body and speech.
So, and he also stated that the, as there are are seven main non negative karmas or action, as well as there’s also seven virtues of good karma or action, which those good actions are the result from the non attachment, non hatred, and non ignorance or confusion. So the good or bad actions are the result from the mind. Any action one performed or the karma one performed or accumulated through the attachment, hatred, and the confusion or the ignorance, and those actions are called the karma. And opposite to that, one cultivates the one performs actions which through the non attachment, love, and then non hatred, say compassion, and through without ignorance or the confusion, say the emptiness. So any action or any kind of those seven actions or those seven actions performed through the compassion, love, and wisdom realizing emptiness, then those actions are called the good karma, and which comes from the non attachment non attachment — hatred and and non ignorance or, you know, confusion.
So the white karma or the good karma is performed through the good motivation. Through having good motivation or one actions becomes very beneficial to help others. And as a result of that, one will have a good result. And in an action which in any action you perform with the bad motivation, which is and then that action becomes called the bad bad karma or black karma. And so having such motivation, one an action one performed, it will bring harm or it hurt to others directly or indirectly.
Due to that, as for the result, one will have a bad result and unpleasing and so forth. And here, also the great master, has said that from non virtuous actions or non virtuous comes all the suffering. And due to that, one being born in the bad rebirth or bad states. And then he also stated that through through virtuous actions or good action, will have the happiness and also being born in the better or better states. So, and as for the virtues or good actions, it has been classified into three, the very powerful middling, and then the first one.
So it is like, for example, it’s like we are doing something, and sometimes we doing some work, and sometimes we become very successful. And sometimes we become in the middle. Sometimes one can do something, but not really strong. It’s like they’re easy. And so it’s like sometimes when we cultivate some good actions, and our actions would become very effective or it becomes very, very powerful.
And and and also sometimes being become middle and then deep not too much. So the greatness of the good action or virtues comes by the greatness of basis and the execution or action itself. Say that if one’s basis of cultivating good merit or virtue is very powerful, then the merit one or the virtue action one cultivates it’s become very powerful. Likewise, if one’s motivation is very strong and powerful, the result will also have a good a great result or a powerful result. And likewise, for the execution, if one has have had been called to execute did the execution with strong very effectively or very fruitfully — It depends on how much effort one gives towards execution.
If one’s effort is very, very powerful, then the result will have great result or stronger result. Likewise for the bad actions or non virtues, it has the level of greatness, the greatest and then the first one. And so it depends on how strong one made, how powerful or strong one’s motivation. So regarding to the motivation it brings, it gives result to the three three types of bad actions or three types of non virtues: the strong, middling and the first one. And for the rest too, the execution and basis have also comes greatness of those basis and the execution one will have three different types of results you know, for each.
For example, say one has one has very, very strong or great strong bad intention, strong harmful intention to harm somebody, and through such motivation one hurts them with great anger — stab them and not kill that particular person or particular being straight away, just like stabbing him for and then let him suffer for a long time. And so doing such action is very powerful and one will have a great or one will accumulate great bad karma or bad action. And so as well as for the attachment or desire, and the but depending on the greatness of the attachment or desire, one will have the have the level or the greatness of the negative actions. So in general speaking, as they are the three levels of the greatness of virtuous action, due to that, there are three levels of result from those three levels of the action. And the greatest one gives result to one’s up to take a birth in the god realms.
And then the middling one will give birth to the demigod realms. And the last one will resolve or give birth to the human realms. These three are so these three are called the three migrations. Better migration or good migration. And and and as for the three levels of the negative actions or bad karma, it it gives each it has three levels of result taking result in a three bad migration.
The greatest one will give birth in the hell realms and the one will give birth in the hungry ghost realms, and the third last one will give birth or result in animal realms. So the taking the form or the greatness of physical form as well as the suffering and the greatness of suffering and how for duration of suffering for long period or short period and also so these are comes from the greatness of the negative action one have cultivated. And for the result of the virtuous actions, it has also three levels. The the the first one the first level of the virtuous action, one will be one will take birth or have the form of human beings and have and the place we’re born in a place now where we are at the moment. And so and the stronger of towards stronger to that good action will result to better place of have better physical forms and then the greatest one will give birth to the best state or have best physical form in the god form and have longer lifespans, and have nice companions, and so forth.
All I can do — So if you recall, if you really think about the lower rebirths, they’re thinking about their forms or what sort of physical aggregates they have, and then what does their state look like and also seeing the suffering and thinking about their sufferings of cold and heat, suffering from hot or heat and from cold as well as suffering of hunger, thirst, and so forth. If you really think about the suffering of those beings, we can’t bear oneself being born taking birth in such states. Detailed through each and every sufferings of the lower realms, then all of you will get headache. There are lots of sayings in the past that people in the past, many of people in the past, they heard about the sufferings in the lower state, and by hearing that, they develop huge fear within themselves, then they couldn’t eat. They couldn’t eat as well.
And one who eats, who’ve been able to eat, vomit because of the sufferings which are in the lower states. So normally when we say do practice, it mainly means that by having a great fear — having great fear great fear in those sufferings, and then and and then and then trying to free free oneself from those suffering. And this is the main thing we normally do practices, main purposes, ma’am. Example, so in Australia, so during the very cold weather cold weather in Australia, we can’t stay naked in the street or outside for even for one day. We can’t stay without food for a couple of days.
And also, we can’t we can’t stay one hour putting our arms in the fire. So so if if if one born in those migration state, bad migration, or bad rebirths, then one has to go undergo through the tremendous sufferings. So by so so for that one has to one it’s very important for one to develop the develop a fear towards those sufferings and then try to free oneself from those suffering. And to ask for freeing oneself from those suffering and we for the method of freeing oneself from the suffering, we have we have the three refuge, Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, which which which can protect us from taking birth in the lower states. And so according to the teachings of Buddha Śākyamūni, that we have taken endless rebirths in the — So as we have taken numbers of rebirth, numbers of birth in the past, and we have also accumulated different sorts of karma, the bad or good karma in the previous lives.
One cannot say that one will take birth in the lower state. One will not born in the lower state. That’s by saying I accumulated any bad action or bad karma in this present lifetime. Because at present lifetime, in this particular life or life, we have taken we we we have those different good and bad actions which we have accumulated in the past are also within oneself. So as we have accumulate accumulated the numbers of non virtuous or bad actions in the previous lives, which are currently present within us, and if we are able to purify those negative actions which we have performed in the past in this particular life by going refuge in the triple gem, Buddhadharma and Sangha, then it’s be sure that we will not take birth in the lower lower lower lower realms.
So if one cannot one cannot purify all the negative actions or bad karma in this particular lifetime by going through or by going refuge in, then when one die with — and then there is a danger of taking or it is be sure that one will take one will take birth in the lower realms. Refuge or seeking help from the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha to protect oneself from this from the from — protect one one from taking rebirth in the lower state is because because we been taking birth in the lower states in the past due to the result of not understanding the knowledge of what things to be practiced and what things to be taken and what to be abandoned. And by without understanding that, without that knowledge, we accumulate numbers of non virtuous actions and we’ve been taking birth in the lower state. So Buddhadharma and Sangha are the one who teaches you, who shows the path to one or who teaches one by showing the teaching that how how what things to be taken and what to be abandoned. And through this, one can stop by practicing under or by doing practice under the guidance of Buddhadharma and Sangha, one will avoid taking birth in the lower state.
So this is the this is the reason or reason that we’re seeking help or going refuge in the Buddhadharma and Sangha. So, the Buddha is like the navigator or one who shows you the path to travel through the difficult journey or difficult, very difficult road. Showing that where, I mean, how one has to work through this difficult or in a narrow path or a narrow road. Showing that where one has to put one’s steps. So Buddha is like the one like a navigator, make teaching you where to make your steps.
So as he is the navigator, the Buddha is the navigator and telling us where one where instructing us to make our steps, where to make our steps. And if we follow his instructions in making the right step where he asks one to way he asked one to make one step, then it is be sure that one will reach to the ultimate state or ultimate point where Buddha was taking one. So the way of the Buddha navigating us by Buddha is that showing or giving advice one to practice, saying that they are the actions accumulated or done through the body which are killing, stealing and sexual misconduct. Doing those three and which will give you, which will give a result for one to take birth in the lower states. And and by giving advice that one should not, she’s instructing one not to accumulate those negative actions and helping through one’s practices.
This is the way how Buddha navigates or help one to one to take you to the better states. So if one if one does follow the instructions or advice of the Buddhas and what things to be taken and what to be avoid or what to be abandoned, then then one’s practice, if one follows the instructions of Buddha then will have, one is really doing practices and one has the Dharma or practice within one’s mind stream. So so if so if one has Dharma or practices with one’s mind stream, then one can can avoid. One one can abandon or one will not have the unwanted suffering because one knows the causes, which is the cause of all those unwanted suffering and can abandon the causes of suffering, which are the disturbing emotions. And by abandoning or eliminating the causes of the suffering, the disturbing emotion, then one can eventually have the happiness.
So actual, if one has a Dharma or a practice within oneself, within oneself, oneself, the Dharma will help one freeing one from suffering and free one from unwanted suffering and will lead you to the will give you the the happiness. The actual so Dharma is the one Dharma is the actual helper or actual refuge to protect one from one from the sufferings. And then the third method, which is spiritual community, and the spiritual community is the one who which which follows the instructions or advice of Buddha and also help so the so the the spiritual community is the companion for one to to practice So, if we summarize here, then the abandoning or the avoiding taking the rebirths, taking birth in the lower realms, and the form of lower realms as well as as well as taking birth. Briefly speaking or if we summarize here, to avoid the so Buddhadharma and Sangha are the one or the methods are the one who teaches you the method to free or to avoid avoid to avoid all the unwanted unwanted sufferings, taking birth in the lower taking birth in the lower states or lower realms, and also avoiding is is the method to avoid the taking forms or taking the any physical form of the lower — So the practice of Buddhism is started from taking or going refuge through the Buddhadharma and Sangha.
So this is because every teaching or every practice of Buddhism or Buddhist practice, from the very outset, we recite the refuge prayers that that Buddhadharma going refuge going refuge in the Buddhadharma and Sangha until the attainment of enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. So the main practice of Buddhism is going or Buddhadharma and Sangha are the basis or the main practices of the of the Buddhist practice? So in Tibetan, we say we called a contraction for the triple gem. So in Tibetan, there are are the two versions or two way of saying for the triple gem, which is which are called which are the. See if there are any differences.
Alright. And the. Alright? So the first one, which means — So it’s called the — this is the first version. And the refers the the meaning of is is is the rare ones or are very rare.
And this is the excellent or the excellent. And the third one is three. So it’s it’s called the rare — it’s called three rare excellences. Not only it’s rare, but among the rare, so these three are the very, very, like, most excellences. So the first version called the three rare excellences or excellences.
And the second version is called here. The first one is the same, the rare. And the — here means it’s something very valuable. It’s like the one who has so someone or yeah, someone has lots of wealth. And among the wealth, one has the most expensive one or the most precious one.
So the three so it’s not that the three refuge are like the most valuable valuable one. And so, actually, the — it’s been put it from it’s it’s a half from the — It means the best of all or the most of them all. So it’s like you say someone somebody has solid gold as big as one head. Other than that, he has some things but not much others. That person will definitely say that, I don’t have much, but this is the one I have, gold.
So likewise, the Buddhadharma and Sangha are like that particular gold in Buddhism or in Buddhist practice. Say that among the Buddhist practice, the Buddhadharma, Sangha are the main or the means of the essence. Okay. So we’ll stop here, and and we’ll have a couple of questions. So the wrong view in Tibetan word is called the literal the word to word translation here is the is seeing is the opposite something, and means look or see.
So saying opposite means saying something untrue for the thing which is true. Saying there is a water. Saying the fact that there is a water, but saying there is no water. Even one sees the water there. So likewise, so here the or wrong view we are talking is that or wrong view is just in general explanation.
And here we are dealing with particular wrong view, which is saying that in Buddhist teaching, established the law of causes and effect, as well as we established the former and the latter rebirths. So we established the former and the lower rebirths. And so as we agree that and one says that there is no earlier and later rebirths, and so these are called the wrong views and establishing something which becomes contradict towards the teaching and just also one can accumulate a certain level of the negative actions or the bad action. And then saying we established Buddhist teachings, we have established Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, there is an actual refuge. But saying opposite to that, there is no actual refuge.
So through this one, this is also a wrong view and one accumulates a negative action which is bit greater than the earlier one, which is not accepting the former and the later rebirth. And then the greatest one is that we in Buddhist tradition we established that by doing a positive action, the positive cause comes the good results and the negative cause comes the bad result. So it is true. It’s the fact that from good comes the good, and bad comes the bad. And by saying something contrary to that, from good comes the bad.
So so which means not agreeing or saying opposite to the law of causes and effect. So if one accumulates through negative action or bad action by establishing something and not like or saying opposite to the law, of causes and karma — is creating a great — is say, the greatest negative action or karma. The The reason we say that the human rebirth is the optimum or the best of rebirth to attain enlightenment is because the human rebirth is the best rebirth to do a practice or to practice Dharma. It is because on human rebirths one can receive or one can cultivate or one can yep. One can receive all the vows like individual liberation and vows of individual liberation and bodhisattva vows as well as tantric vows.
And also it is lot easier to to develop or cultivate the renunciation or wish to free from cyclic existence for the bodhicitta and also cultivate the correct view or correct view. And it has also less obstacles to practice and have better conducive conditions to practice the teaching. This is because these are the reasons that human rebirth is the best or optimum rebirth to attain the enlightenment or achieve enlightenment because it it it has more conducive conditions to practice Dharma. And so above the human rebirth there are two higher rebirths which are rebirths, the realms of taking a birth in realms of hungry god realms and the demigod realms. And because they are the result of the greater actions or greater good actions because their place is much nicer and better than our states, they have longer lifespans, and they have better physical forms, and they don’t have much problem in their livings, and have many friends, are very many friends, which not to practice the Dharma, but they have many friends which have want to do it’s good for letting one’s mind wandering, for example, like, you know, wants to just wonder.
So so this this is this is the result that because they have more old things are better than we have, but accept but but but they don’t have but they have more obstacles to practice the Dharma. No. And they don’t have much suffering. They don’t have any suffering there because the place is very nice and they don’t have any problem with their living. For example, getting food, shelter, clothes and so forth.
Due to that, they always have happiness there and because of that happiness, they don’t and having got suffering, they don’t recall or they don’t remind or recall them to practice because of not having any suffering there. As so to to do it’s good to have suffering to to do practice because because of having self suffering or knowing the suffering, one engages in practice to overcome oneself from the suffering. So due to that, the human rebirths are more called optimum rebirth to attain the enlightenment. It’s like so as, I mean, the beings are in the god and demigod realms, they are so happy they don’t remember to practice. It is like the, you know, it is like the summer hot weather in Australia.
People just go to the beaches and swim and spend a whole day on the beach swimming and enjoy partying. So due to that, they’re so happy during that period. And within that period or particular period, one does not remember to practice because of that happiness. Because that part is a holiday. So so in the beings in those two realms, they’re always partying.
I mean, always holiday. Big holiday. Big holiday. Holiday. Yeah.
That is. We’ll stop here.