Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Śāntideva called it a secret teaching — fit only for disciples of sharp faculty who want swiftly to protect self and others from suffering. In this 87-minute commentary, Khensur Rinpoche introduces that Lamrim method and covers three of its five subdivisions: equalizing self and others by recognizing that every being, including animals foraging for warmth or food, equally wants happiness and dreads suffering; the faults of self-cherishing as the root of the ten non-virtuous actions and unending samsaric rebirth; and the benefits of cherishing others, where love and compassion arise naturally, harmful actions fall away, and the path opens toward ethical discipline, higher rebirth, generosity, patience, and eventually bodhicitta. Śāntideva’s blunt comparison — what ordinary beings achieve through self-cherishing versus what the Buddha achieved by cherishing others — anchors the central argument.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 14 LR 2000 03 28.mp3
UUID: c255b036-d9f2-4ebd-a42f-58ec7ea4e48b
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Lam Rim (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 2000-03-28
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 87.5 minutes
Words: ~4,480
First of set our motivation along with the altruistic intention and follow that with short meditation. I support oneself and others are, saying, wishing wishing happiness and do not want suffering. So, to develop here love and compassion by wishing them, wishing both ones and others to have the happiness and being free from all the sufferings. And then develop a special insight in making resolution within oneself that I will bring both oneself and others to to the state of ultimate happiness and freedom from all the sufferings. In order to accomplish that, I shall here purify all my deluded, tainted mind and cultivate a very clear and pure mind.
For that purpose, shall hear listen, contemplate, and meditate upon these teachings. And and through this, will bring a great, great help towards both oneself and others. We have been dealing about the way of cultivating an altruistic intention. And it’s been said for the two types or two versions or two ways of cultivating a cultivating the altruistic intention. The two, the one set forth form derived from the great master Atisha to Asaṇga and so forth.
And their way of cultivating the altruistic intention is, their system is through training into the sevenfold causes and and effect. And through this, the dev, is, it’s their way, the system, or a method of developing an altruistic . And now we, today, we go towards the next system, which derived, which was derived from, from the great master, Ārya Mañjuśrī to Śāntideva and the the following disciples through yes, so their way of cultivating a bodhicitta is to training into training one’s mind in about training one’s mind into or by cultivating a excuse me. Cultivate a bodhicitta through equalizing and exchanging self and others. One can eventually develop an altruistic intention or through, through training in the sevenfold cause, cause, sevenfold cause and effect instructions which we have given, we have taught in the past classes.
And now here is another method of cultivating altruistic intention set forth by a great master. Śāntideva and which was mainly focused on a particular specific type of type of disciples who who has sharp faculty into very intelligent and who are very enthusiastic. According to the ancient tradition system, the first one, cultivating a bodhicitta through training in the sevenfold cause and effect instruction was was taught in general public in the more more disciples in general. Whereas in the second one, which we are going to teach, this one’s mind by equalizing self and others, exchanging self and others was mainly set forth to restricted disciples who are, in the sense, being taught secretly. So, great Master Śāntideva has set forth a verse which shows that the particular method of cultivating altruistic intention is a secret teaching, which actually implies it’s a very profound teaching, that this is a practice for those who swiftly want to protect self and others from these sufferings.
So as this, as it is a very profound teaching or a secret teaching, the listener or disciples who receive this teaching should maintain a very, very relaxed mind and not to be, not to feel very covered or something, like very darkness or mind’s been, you know, covered or covered by anything. Should listen with a very relaxed and open minded so that with, otherwise, if one does not do with a relaxed mind, wanted to be, if it listen with the very, say, the close minded, then there is a danger of developing or like an unevenness or hesitation. Yeah. So, to go through this, the training of turning one’s mind in the equalizing and exchanging self and others has numbers of subdivisions, which, the first one is equalizing self and others, then thinking about the second is thinking about the faults of cherishing self, and then third is the benefits of cherishing others, and then the actual attitude of exchanging self and others, and then, showing the skillful means of the compassion, how to, how to, how to overcome, or how to eradicate others’ sufferings, and showing the skillful means of compassion, how one sends one’s happiness to others.
So there are different ways of establishing the subdivisions. It was said for, it becomes six in numbers when one divides those two, the compassion through the skillful means of compassion, how one overcome others’ sufferings or eradicate others’ suffering and through great compassion, through compassion how one offers or give one’s happiness towards others. By separating those two, it becomes six in divisions. And there is other way that which becomes five by combining those two last two at once in one. So in a sense, equalizing self from others, which actually is called equanimity.
And that that there is there was an equanimity which comes through the last teachings of the seven point causes and effect instructions. So now here, today’s the equanimity or equalizing self and others and the equanimity we taught in the past lesson is slight difference. The, as we have recently taught the equanimity, I’m sure everyone reminds it, and it’s still very fresh in your mind. And the equanimity which we taught in the last lessons is the equanimity of not having the closeness or feeling of closeness and distance in the entire sentient beings, which means free from attachment and hatred. And that equanimity, practice of equanimity has been set for a slight easier than the coming one.
So, equanimity here set forth by great master, great master Śāntideva, is that the slight difference from the previous one. So, this equanimity is that, that, that equalizing, seeing both oneself and others are equal in terms of, in terms of, in terms of wanting happiness and do not wish sufferings. So it’s, a One can easily recall within oneself without any thinking that, without any thinking that seeing all those, any kind of human being that innately he or she wants happiness and do not wish suffering. And likewise, the entire sentient beings, animals, or so forth are also the same in nature, wanting happiness and do not wish sufferings. We can also understand animal, for animal as well because although the animals are not intelligent and they are dumb and so forth, but still we can understand that they wish happiness and do not want suffering because when they feel cold, they look for a hot place, and they try to move towards a cold place, and as well, when they feel cold, they look for a hot place where there is a heat or a warm, and when they feel hot, they look for a cold place.
One can easily understand or see. So, and also it’s been said forth that sentient beings survive on food. So, likewise, also the animals, they do have the sufferings of hunger. Because of that, they move around, move forward and backwards to look for food to get some happiness of being free from the suffering of hunger. So they also, so they look, they want to overcome from all the sufferings and wish happiness.
And it is, for example, for instance, for instance, also, because of wanting or seeking happiness, we spend whole day working, whether so hot or sunny day, or it’s raining, it’s a very rainy day, whatever it is, we still move along. And that actually, the reason of doing so is to get some happiness. So here, it shows that entire sentient beings, the living sentient, the living beings innately or one in nature that wanting happiness and do not wish suffering. So the first one, meditating upon seeing or meditating on equalizing self and others by, yes, seeing self and others, yeah, seeing both oneself and others are equal in terms of wishing happiness and do not want suffering, doing such meditation is called meditating meditation on equalizing self and others. Others.
That today is So, now how to cultivate or obtain that happiness? And for instance, in our daily life, according to the modern work, then we always cherish oneself and then, and work to get, and work hard to cut, work hard to earn money so that one can buy all the necessities and, and to attain some happiness. According to the great master Śāntideva, it’s been according to the great master Śāntideva, the cherishing, cherishing, working, engaging in action to attain the happiness by cherishing, cherishing, by cherishing the self is not a right way of cultivating, not, no, is not a right way to cultivate the happiness. So the great master Śāntideva has said for the best way of cultivating happiness is to, engaging or performing an action through cherishing others more important than oneself. And through this, and such a method is a very, very good method and one can have a, one can attain your happiness and which is the method is also a very reliable method.
And he also said that the cultivating happiness through by cherishing one’s self is the main causes, is actually a cause to or for suffering. And the working hard to attain happiness by cherishing others, by cherishing other more important than self is the best method of of cultivating happiness. So therefore, you are we should we should change the way of cultivating happiness. The yeah. Culture cult to cultivate happiness by cherishing others more important than oneself.
So what it implies is, so implies is that one should change one’s one’s one’s cherishma. That, that, that instead of cherishing self, one should cherish others, and then, and then, then, then performing a, a, a work or action focusing on others rather than oneself, so which implies that one should, so that shows that one should not work, work, one should not use too much effort on one’s own benefit. The reason why been said for is because of sharing self more important than others, because of that self-cherishing attitude. And self-cherishing attitude is the root cause to, yeah, the root cause to follow all the unwanted sufferings. So as we are the one who wish happiness and do not want suffering, so therefore we need to eradicate, alleviate the root causes of the suffering, which is self cherish, self-cherishing attitude.
So, using self-cherishing as a method to cultivate happiness is the main source, is the cause for, is the cause for the sufferings. And they’ve been, clearly stated that how, what are the, what are the results or, like, the sufferings comes, comes by cherishing or maintaining a cherishing self attitude, self-cherishing attitude. So, here the great master Candrakīrti has set forth that there is, normally there is an eye within one that, that, we can actually see that one, is the, that is the eye that, which, which sleeps, eats and so forth. But because of, but we don’t understand that how, how, how that I exist. And we agree that we cease without, with the lack of understanding, we perceive that the I, that I is something which exists not depending, exists by self sufficiently, exists by its own without depending on others.
So, in fact, there is no self sufficiently existent, existent of I, but we, we make that, we, but we, we, yeah, so, but we agree, so we consider a self sufficient existence, or I which is sufficiently exist by its own, by making that exists, then we work to gain happiness for that particular I. And then that I wishes wishes happiness, but it is it is it is very obvious that the I by its own can attain or can attain its happiness. So, and then the eye looks, that particular eye looks for a method to attain happiness for itself. Then it, the eye, it appears to that eye that all those, the five sense organs are five, all those five aggregates and, like eye, ear, nose and body, one’s hand, the limbs, so forth, and things that those are the best method to achieve the happiness for itself or the particular eye. And they work for it.
And that, and not only, and that I also, also, also considers, perceive that all those five aggregates are also self sufficiently accessed by their own. In general, it is those five sense organs are the method to attain happiness for that eye that we can see it because when that eye sees through the eye and by seeing, that eye seeing a beautiful object or beautiful appealing things, the eye receives certain kind of happiness, and likewise to, and when the eye, when the, and so likewise when the eye listens through the ear by hearing beautiful things get certain happiness and likewise taste and so forth. So, yeah, so, and so, that self sufficient self sufficiently, self sufficiently exists I, and which perceives the mind for all mind, for I, all the five sense organs, and keeping all those five sense organs as the basis or a method to cultivate the happiness by cherishing I or oneself, then it engages in the action of, actions in, and it start cultivating a ten non virtuous actions, like because of, because of wanting happiness for self, then it engages in the, the first non virtuous action like act, the killing to, to, like killing animal to, to get some happiness for, for food or eat, for food, to have some meat for food, and then comes the rest of the non virtuous action to get a happiness with a self-cherishing attitude.
And so by, and through this, one cultivates all the ten non virtuous actions and by cultivating the ten non virtuous actions, the only result of those actions will, the only result of those actions are negative actions, non virtuous actions brings the, the sufferings. And because, because, because, because, because that self-cherishing attitude will always engage or do or perform perform the action which causes harm to others. And as a One will have the sufferings only. So, the self-cherishing attitude is the main source to receive all the unwanted sufferings. And because of that, because having, because the self-cherishing attitude always think for a self happiness and never think of others.
And because of this, it cultivates the non virtuous actions or negative actions all the time. And we have taken a We have been in the cyclic existence since from the beginningless time, and have been using this self-cherishing attitude as a method to cultivate the happiness for oneself or happiness to self. And if if it is a perfect method to cultivate a happiness for ourself, then we then we should have completed, we should have attained the happiness by by by now because because because it has been a very, very long time, numberless, since from the beginning of the time, we have used this method. But instead of completing or attaining one’s happiness, it causes us to to to to, but it made us to cultivate a very bad action, and the bad action, which will result us to go through the endless sufferings. So that self-cherishing attitude has littered into a suffering in the past, in the past, which also lead us into, which we all, and currently it it also lead us into suffering currently, and it, as well as it will, it, it, it all, it will lead us into suffering in future.
So we can easily understand that the self-cherishing attitude is a real enemy. So so in in the in the past, we have, we, we, we, we have cultivated all these negative actions through, through the self-cherishing attitude. And we have, we have done, we have commit lots of mistakes in the past. And that happened because of our lack of understanding comes through the ignorance and the confusion and also have not having and not having not been, having not met with the the the teachings and the the lama who shows you how to practice. But at this stage, but this stage, this is But this time, now one should realize that that all one have done, one had commit a mistake in the past, and make sure that one will not make say such a mistake at this time because because one has one has met with the teachings of Buddhas and and and also have met with the met with the lamas, gurus, and who can perfectly show you how to overcome oneself from the suffering.
And and so having all these opportunities and very fortunate time, one should try to stop that stop those things to happen again. So, so these are the disadvantages or faults of faults of self-cherishing attitude. And so, by knowing the self, by knowing the the faults of self-cherishing attitude, now one needs to understand the benefits, the advantages of cherishing others, or the good or the good quality of cherishing others? So, the advantages of cherishing others are as follows. That because by cherishing others, the love and compassion comes under the self cher under cherishing others.
Because by cherishing others, one, one wish to have happiness for others and, and to, in, to, to, and to bring help, to bring happiness for others, then one will cultivate, automatically cultivate a love and compassion and always have affection. And then, then because of this affection, then one will not, one will not, one will not, one will not cultivate any of those ten non virtuous actions because because because the the the ten non virtuous action actions causes causes causes or brings suffering for others as one as one have strong effect, love and compassion towards others, one do not, and also one don’t, one do not want to harm others. So by, because of that not wanting to harm others, one will not one will not, commit the first non virtuous action, the the the act of killing because killing others causes others life or others, causes causes harm for, harm to others. As one do not wish to harm others, that will not happen. So likewise, sexual misconduct stealing and so forth of the non virtuous actions will not be, committed and and, no.
So, yeah. So by cherishing others, cherishing others will come When one develops the mind which cherish others, more important self, then which mind comes along with the love and compassion to others. And by having love and compassion to others, one will one will one will will not have any intention of causing harm to others. And because of this, one one can eventually abandons all those ten non virtuous actions. And by abandoning the ten non virtuous actions, which shows that one one man And by abandoning ten nonversions to action, one cuts one leads a very ethical discipline ethical discipline.
And maintaining a good ethical discipline, the benefit of this is that it it it it it cuts the door or it closed the door of the lower rebirths. Now, it’s been stated that the ethical discipline is the cause for the higher rebirths. The higher rebirths are the humans and gods. And yeah, so by it, by, if one leads the very, maintains a very ethical discipline, then one will have a rebirth of human, a higher, higher of higher rebirths. And by doing so, then one is being protected from the greatest sufferings, which is the suffering of of lower realms.
So, and having a love and compassion towards others and also the benefit of maintaining that is by having strong compassion and love, one will one will or one one wants to help others and then by doing so one one or one can or one practices the the the first the perfections which is the generosity and then as well as one also maintains the patience because, you know, patience for others because of love and compassion. So by doing so, as the benefit of practicing giving and generosity, that one in future one will have a good, one will have a very good enjoyment or good wealth. And then by maintaining patience for others as a result of that, in future one will take a birth in very, very good looking or good form, and then have good partner or friends and also become very close and will have good relations with the friends or a partner, and also have very sharp mind. So, and also, a love and compassion through cherishing, cherishing others more important than the oneself. And one can also, because of this love and compassion, one can cultivate a bodhicitta or altruistic intention.
And the benefit of developing cult, cult, altruistic intention is that one can, then one can, one can, one can, can real, one can, one can train in the the path and one can cultivate or the realization in the path, path and path and grounds of the Mahāyāna’s teachings or or the great vehicle. And by attaining such realization, one can perfect both the purposes of self and others and will become enlightened. And also the great master Nāgārjuna, Ārya Nāgārjuna, has said forth that in sentient beings, in the cyclic existence, there are the beings of good migrations and the bad migrations, and the happy migration and the unhappy or suffering migrations, or the happy and the unhappy in this cyclic existence. And where does all this comes from?
And the answer was that that that all those, the happy, all the happiness and the good migrations comes through through helping other other sentient beings. And the bad migration, are the lower migrations, and the unhappiness or the sufferings comes through or by by by harming others. So because so to which implies that that the the the cherishing the cherishing others is the is the main cause to have main cause for main cause to have all the the happiness. And because by by having by cherishing others, one will automatically maintain or develop love and compassion to others and through this will never harm others. By not harming others, one will by not harming others, one will have a good migrations and plus happiness.
And and and as the the causing bringing harm to others is the main cause for the the lower migration and the unhappiness or the the sufferings that one should not maintain or one should not cultivate a self-cherishing attitude because self-cherishing attitude will all always look for the happiness for the self. And and because of wanting happiness for the self, it always, it will forsake others and do not care for others. And and and and that that will that will harm that will cause or that will that will cause harm to others, and by harming others, which will lead you into the suffering and the lower rebirth or the bad migration. Nice. So, so we do need to have a love and compassion towards self or towards oneself.
And it is said for that if the, when one have love and compassion towards oneself, which means that they’re having compassion for oneself, which implies that one which which wants to protect oneself from the suffering, and and having a compassion towards oneself which which seeks happiness for the self. So so it’s been said for that if one if one wants to have love and compassion, if one wants to cultivate love love and compassion for oneself, then one should cultivate or want to cherish others. Or put it this way, one should cherish others more important than oneself if one wants to have love and compassion towards oneself. And if do not want to have love and compassion towards oneself, then cherish, or then cultivate, or then want to cherish oneself more important than others. It’s a good So so so because because by having cherishing others, all the all the happiness and the good migration comes for, under the cherishing others.
And and the fact is the all the sufferings and the bad migration comes under the under the self-cherishing attitude. So, and also the great master, Śāntideva has set forth, I don’t really need to, to explain much because you can easily understand. If you don’t, look look for ordinary person what they get through what they had achieved through through through cherishing oneself more important than others. And what Buddha Śākyamūni has attained and attained by cherishing others, you can easily understand by looking at those two beings. You’re supposed to laugh.
Oh, yeah. Today is So, your master, Śāntideva, has also said that the Buddha Śākyamūni, and also of our sin from the very beginningless time, the very beginningless that the both are same, that wandering, same being who wanders in the cyclic existence. But at this stage, now, but at this stage, for a time being, Buddha Śākyamūni, yeah, during Between the time, the Buddha Śākyamūni has met the Mahāyānist, Mahāyānist, Lama, and had received the teachings of the importance of cherishing others and forsaking self-cherishing attitude. And by having received all these teachings from him, from his teachers, and he’d been able to He Yeah, he was able to free himself from the cyclic existence and being free from cyclic existence and as well as being rich, enriched with good qualities. So, whereas for us, we are still, because of not, not, because of not meeting with this, the Mahāyāna’s teachings, the teach, the Lama who, who shows us the importance of cherishing others, we were not able to, we are not able to free ourselves from the suffering, ourselves from cyclic existence and rather, have and been maintaining that self-cherishing attitude up to now, and due because of this, instead of freeing ourselves from cyclic existence, we are stuck in the very depth of the cyclic existence.
So the great master Śāntideva was a student of Ārya Mañjuśrī. So because of this, the great master Śāntideva has a very sharp and and and and very sharp and good wisdom. So we have completed three part or three subdivisions of the five. So the first three which are equalizing self and others, thinking about the faults of self-cherishing attitude, and the benefit or the or the advantages of cherishing others. So if you have a very sharp faculty and a good wisdom, then analyze through analyze the teachings and go on and find out which which is the best way to do.
What is the the way to do? And you should examine yourself or examine yourself to choose which way choose I mean, to decide which path to take. We’ll take a couple of questions. Yeah, so it’s alright if you don’t have question, that doesn’t really matter. And, but maintain or do good meditation and we will do a long longing prayer today.
Recite the long longing prayers.