Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 92-minute session, Khensur Rinpoche builds around Śāntideva’s declaration that you yourself are your own master and your own enemy, using it to show why personal effort — not reliance on the Three Jewels alone — is what transforms the mind. He walks through karma’s four principles: certainty of result, the small-to-large growth of actions, why unperformed actions leave no trace, and why actions already committed will not simply vanish. He then develops the image of a chronic patient too stubborn to take the doctor’s prescription — Buddha can diagnose and prescribe, but taking the medicine is entirely up to us. He covers the Lamrim’s three scopes with emphasis on the criterion for small-scope realization, illustrates daily self-monitoring with Geshe Ben’s two sacks of black and white pebbles, and closes with a Q&A on whether unconscious actions — such as killing insects while mowing a lawn — carry karmic weight.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 21 LR 1999 08 10.mp3
UUID: 201f0b63-1a3e-44ac-9e49-8f74e93089ff
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Lam Rim (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1999-08-10
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 92.1 minutes
Words: ~6,072
So it says that not committing a single negative deed and and collecting all the virtues and turning one’s mind is the teaching of Buddha. So which means here both oneself and others are innately saying that we wish happiness and joy and do not want suffering. No. So so we wish happiness. And as we we as we wish happiness, we should know that the we should know that the happiness comes from the collection of causes and conditions with and it is the product of cause product of the causes and condition.
Without cause and condition, the happiness, there is no happiness. So as you know this is the result of the is the product of the causes and condition. One should cultivate causes and condition to have happiness. And just by mere wish or having just a mere wish or intuition to have happiness will not receive happiness unless one unless one cultivates the cause and condition for happiness. No.
So so we wish happiness, so we should cultivate the causes for happiness and which or what is the causes of condition? The causes sorry. What is the causes for happiness? So it is the it is the mind or or intention which wish it’s the intention which brings help towards both oneself and others. So so at at at all the time, we should always maintain a mind or intention which brings or which wishes happiness for both oneself and others.
So human beings are very intelligent and very and and very enthusiastic. So they have a knowledge. They they have a knowledge to knowledge knowledge of how to cultivate the causes for and condition for happiness. So what we need is or what we need to cultivate the causes for the happiness. So if we cultivate the causes the happiness then it is be sure that time to time or or when the time comes the happiness or the result will come.
It is like cultivating or putting us sowing a seed in the field and and letting it mix with fertilizers and manure and so forth and by sowing such seed when the time comes you will we will have one will have the result or the products. So it is not just enough to have mere understanding that the happiness is the result of its cause and conditions. So what one has to do is to, you know, to receive the happiness one should know the causes and conditions and as well as also cultivate the causes and conditions for or to have happiness. It is like one should cultivate a crop or put I mean, I want to sow a seed during the right time and right season. And when the when the season is off for I mean, yes, when the season is over, then and when one puts if one is late to put this I mean, so grow this sow a seed during the after the season means, say, the dry seasons, then it will not grow.
So and likewise we do not wish wish suffering. So as we want to abandon all those unwanted sufferings which causes unhappiness and just by mere wish of just by mere wish to stop or, yeah, abandon unhappiness will not bring unhappiness or suffering into the end. So what one has to do is one should investigate and search for the causes of the suffering which which which gives you suffering. So in order to in order to abandon or or abandon all the sufferings first one has to search for the causes for search for the causes causes of sufferings now. And so which is or yeah.
Which is the causes for the suffering? So that is the action or intention or intention which brings harm or which cause happen unhappiness to others. So that is the that is the causes for the suffering. So if one does not abandon the action or the intention which brings harm to others, then just by mere word wishing all others to be free from suffering will not free them from suffering. So and all the time we should we should study or practice or teaching that that by studying the teachings should know understand the method of of abandoning all the causes and the suffering and its causes and bring the the cause of happiness and causes of happiness.
And it is all it is also through the Dharma one one will one will understand the practice of what things to be done and what to be what things to be taken and what to be abandoned now. So and by practicing the teachings then through this and one about the karma or the action one should meditate upon or meditate upon the actions through the four points of which are the four points through the four points which are how actions are definite and this increase nature of actions. If on and if you have not performed an action, you will not experience the result. And the last one is that an action performed will not go to waste. So through such points, one will have understanding, one will gain a proper understanding of the actions and by knowing yeah, by knowing that or having understanding through this investigation, one should maintain on meditation.
So as of the action, there are many types of actions. And for example, like the do we call it like white white action or white karma, positive or a virtuous karma, kind heartedness. These are the positive karma and which brings and the result of these are the happiness. And also just by performing or cultivating a small virtues, it will give result huge or it will give a huge result. So by knowing this, even a small virtuous action will give a huge result of happiness and and also all this positive actions, white, white actions, kind heartedness, so forth gives you the result of those are happiness.
But and when by by knowing or having understanding of all these by through through the investigation or through meditation, and at the end, one should should came or one should determine oneself that that the that one will never ever abandon the cultivation of even a single or even small virtuous action. So so it is be clear that without cultivating a virtuous action one will not have the happiness or happiness for a result. And if one cultivates the good action or positive action, one will have a happiness for the result. And also should know that and there is a danger of destroying all one’s happiness or one’s virtues by the by anger and so forth. So always be sure that that so be sure that should cultivate the positive action to have happiness and also maintain that virtues or happiness should not be distracted or in a ways, oh yeah, distracted by the anger for that one should make sure to make a dedication for the work of virtuous action that one had performed, you know, cultivate.
So likewise you you should also apply all those four points for the negative actions as well. That said that by performing a negative action it is definite that it that that action will give you a result of unhappiness or suffering, and also think that the increasing nature of action by performing a small amount of negative action will give rise to a huge result of unhappiness and so forth. So by knowing this one should make determination within oneself that one will never ever perform even a small amount of negative action. So at the point when you think about the second two point, next two point which are if saying that the action not performed will not if you have not performed the action you will not experience the result and then action performed will not go to waste. So by knowing this, if you do not perform any negative action you will not receive the actual results.
You will not receive the result of that because you have not cultivated the causes but actions performed will not go to waste. For that point one should always think that the negative action which you have cultivated, if you leave it as it is, it will come to fruition later. So by knowing this one should always put purify all the negative action through applying for by applying for antidotes. So one should always if yeah. To briefly speaking then if you summarize here then one should always think that the the action performed will give a result.
So by knowing this if so one should not one should try not to cultivate any negative action because the result will be suffering. And if one has cultivated the negative action then feel regret and then will ‘ll make determination that one will not perform such negative action again and also also purify one’s negativity by developing a regret and so forth. No. So one should always try to cultivate and for and also and for the positive action, one should always try to cultivate positive action as as much as one can. And and also be sure that the positive action cultivated make sure that those will not be destroyed by the angers.
So by doing such practices, it is be sure that one will reach the state where one one can have the unchangeable happiness which means the one will have reach the state where there is ultimate happiness like being liberated from the cyclic existence and so forth now. So in order to do such practices, it’s entirely depends on one’s mind that way one directs one’s mind. It’s entirely depends on mind now. What So as for mind, it’s been classified or divided into two which is which are the good mind and the bad mind. So so one should always try to cultivate or make that good mind stronger and always develop the good kind heartedness or good mind by practicing compassion, love and developing bodhicitta or altruistic intention.
And through this, one develops one mind and and and but but but by means of those or by the with the help of those, one will one can perfect it or enlighten one’s mind now. Good good sorry. In good mind now. So by developing or yeah. By developing and increasing one’s good state of mind, then by developing that and due to the power of that, one’s one’s and actions of one’s body and mind body and speech also becomes a positive and by by and so as it as one’s body action of one’s body, speech, and mind becomes only positive, the reason for that one will always have only happiness.
And should always try to abandon or minimize the bad state of mind or bad mind, which are like here the bad minds are like the mind’s been influenced or conjoined with disturbing disturbing emotions and it’s been restless and we call it also like very rough mind or and or heavy mind which is with a thought or intention to bring harm towards others. So should always should not develop such kind of mind and should always and every day one tries to minimize or abandon these kinds of these bad state of minds. It is very important to abandon all those bad state of minds because are the one which give us causes suffering or give us unhappiness. Like I say that our mind our mind is has been used with those negative state of mind since from the from the many or since from the beginning of time or many previous life. So as the mind has has a very bad tendency of going or, yeah, or getting influenced with all these bad set of minds.
And due to that our actions produce from both I mean action, the body action comes from body and speech also becomes negativities or the bad action and due to that we always undergoes through the suffering. So so those they had the result, the appealing result and unappealing or comfortable and uncomfortable result comes comes from the action from the action which comes is or comes mainly from the from the from the mind where one directs one’s mind. So so as it is entirely depends or entirely comes from the state of mind, so this is the purpose of Buddha’s teaching that the Buddha’s teaching is to train one’s mind. Yeah. Buddha’s teaching used to train one’s mind because all the suffering and the happiness comes from the mind.
So what it actually means is it’s entirely depends on oneself. Say, the happiness and unhappiness of yourself or self which is entirely depends on one’s mind means which is entirely depends on you because you have a right and where where you put convert or direct your mind. So and the happiness and happiness of oneself is entirely depends on you. If one one has a right or or the capability to to control or abandon or minimize one’s sufferings and unhappiness and also as one wishes wishes happiness, one should one has a right or one or one has a kept oh, yeah. One has a a right to direct one’s mind into the positive state of mind and and cultivate the good action.
So what it means is it entirely depends on you because one has so one has a right to do what you want and one also has a right whether one wants to cultivate that causes or not. So for for here, for this, the a lot Buddha Śākyamūni, the great yeah. The Buddha Śākyamūni has stated that the action whether it is good or action performed by yourself, whether it is good or bad action, result of it will definitely be experienced by you by you and be sure they don’t it is be sure that one will not experience the results of the action, result of the action, any kind of action performed by others. So as for that, the great master Śāntideva also said and stated that one one you yourself is you yourself is the master and there’s no other master than yourself. And you yourself is the enemy.
There’s no enemy other than yourself. So which means that that for you are the one who who who is your protector or which means that all the happiness you have, comfortable happiness and so forth which you experience result of your action and which which means you you are the creator which is not created by others. So everything you have or which which pleases you yeah, created by yourself and there’s no other other who are created in yourself. No. No.
And it’s also same for the suffering that the suffering or the enemy you yourself is the enemy. There’s no other enemy than yourself, which means that that that all this as an unwanted result like suffering, unhappiness, so forth you’re experiencing all the result of your action which is created by you, not the others. So it’s probably the meaning, the real meaning of this that you yourself is the is the teacher and there’s no other teacher than yourself. And and you you yourself is the enemy. There’s no other enemy than yourself, which probably means that which is which means that so you have a capability that one it’s entirely dependent on oneself that to to abandon the negativities from its root means abandon all the negativities and cultivate the ultimate happiness.
And in order to do such or attain such attained ultimate happiness so one has to attain it through practicing the teachings which are teachings which are the teachings what are things I mean they practice what to be done and what things to be abandoned. So by doing this one will attain perfected oneself towards and bring ones up to the ultimate state of happiness and so there is no I mean others will cannot bring you to the state of ultimate happiness. So maybe the meaning of such a versus could be this. So for example for that is it’s like a patient who is suffering from long term illness long term illness and been in his or her sick bed for a long time and has very poor health or a weak health. And so he or she has a doctor who prescribes the medicines and has a nurse’s to take care of.
But only if the patient refused or stopped taking tablets or not eating the medicines then just by having the doctor and nurses will not help because he or she is not taking the medication, not taking a medicine so it could be like that. So you no. So if the patient patient refused to take medicines then he or she will not free from the illness and will not have the happiness of being free from the disease or sickness. So likewise, we have been tortured or suffering by this illness of we had an illness, a very chronic disease of disturbing emotions since from the beginning of this time and we are a patient of such a disease and also not only patient, we are the worst or most stubborn patient among the patience. So as for the disease, we have two kinds of disease which are like, as normally we can say, our body and mind.
So there is two types of illness, the body illness and the mind illness. So the physical illness or body illness which we try to overcome by consulting a doctor. Which is by method of seeking or by consulting a doctor. But the doctor can it is very hard for doctor to eliminate such a disease completely now. Doctors have no no power to have no potential to overcome the disease forever but has a potential or help to overcome from that disease temporarily or for a time being?
Is because because the body illness derives from the mind or a mind illness, and doctor can never cure the mind disease or mind illness. So which the body disease or illness comes from the mind disease. And so what is mind disease or which is mind illness? That is the disturbing emotion of attachment, desire, attachment, hatred and confusion which is ignorance. So through the so these three are by a mind being being encountered with those disturbing emotions and which are the very bad disease and through this one caught one which brings all the illness.
For example, like say one is in a very peaceful state and living happily and suddenly develops attachment or desire for something. And just by the mind meeting with such desire or hatred, it shakes or destroys the peacefulness of the mind and develop the unhappiness. So for and it’s also same when mind conjoined with the hatred and suddenly gets angry and destroy the peaceful and happiness. So it is These are the very bad disease in which one And also the bad disease or mind mind mind disease or yeah. No.
But but these days, the doctors, they’re trying to cure their mind illness or mind disease by prescribing I mean, by giving some medicines. And from from my understanding, it’s not. So they prescribe such medicines and which makes the mind intoxicated, which means that feel like drunken and becomes because that mind of particular person has been has the disease and has been distracted by many things. So by giving prescribing such medicines, it it makes it intoxicated and and and make it like I can’t think any, just wonder. So so so and can give kind of like a brief, but temporarily happiness and and which they think they are helping.
And from my understanding, I I mean, it could be help or benefit for for for the time being. But but for the long for the long run, I’m not sure whether that medicine helps or hurts. So for for to to cure the to cure that mind illness or a mind disease, want to give a medicine of a mind to cure that mind disease and it can’t be cured by those medicines made out of herbs and so forth which will not or will never cure one’s mind or heart disease. Should be cured or so the one’s mind should give a medicine to the mind disease without that, the others will let others can never cure the disease. So one has to give a medicine of mind to the mind disease.
So to give a so who is the doctor for to prescribe the mind medicine to the mind disease? So this it is Buddha who prescribed the mind medicine. So Buddha is the mind doctor to cure that mind disease or mind illness. It is because he is the mind doctor because Buddha himself was like us and had been been patient of disturbing emotion, illness of disturbing emotion for a long time. And so he has had time like us undergoing through all these bad chronic disease of disturbing emotions by taking the prescriptions from the other Buddhas like Mañjuśrī and so forth and by listening to this prescription or instruction he’d been able to cure his mind disease.
So by having a prescription of for the heart disease or the mind disease, and and he stick with the instruction prescription and meditated through the instruction or advice of those other Buddhas. And by maintaining this, he’d been able to eliminate the mind disease, which means he attained enlightenment. So so he has all the experience of curing the heart disease and or the mind disease. And because he had all the medicines for the heart disease and can meditate and cultivate and perfect it or free himself from the mind disease. So as he has experience or had experience and had the knowledge of curing the mind disease, so that for here, had prescribed us all the medicines of curing one’s heart disease or heart mind disease now.
So so it entirely depends on oneself to cure such illness or such disease. And and so by hearing this, one may ask such question then the refuge those refuge objects, the Triple Gem, can they so are are they or not are they are I mean, can they help us or protect us from the suffering? So the answer for that is that, yes, they they help us. But how they help, the way they help us, is this. For example, like, for the Buddha, Buddha Dharma, Sangha, for the Buddha, he helps us to free ourselves from suffering, but from by giving the instruction or by giving a teaching of what things to be done and what things to be abandoned or avoided.
And through giving a teaching or instruction, he helps us from the suffering. And so just by mere instruction from Buddha is not enough. It entirely depends on you. If you don’t listen to his you have you have received the instruction to overcome all those sufferings and attain the the happiness and so forth. But if you don’t bring all these hearings into the practice and not should not meditate or practice, then Buddha can do nothing for you.
So for that reason is so for that, it means that that it is the meaning of that verse saying that you yourself is a protector or a teacher. So the Triple Gem or refuge objects will help you by showing an instruction. For example, like Buddha as we just discussed and been just said before, and Dharma is like that. And also for the Sangha, spiritual community is to is is a community or is a friend to help or increase one’s practices. And And if you don’t practice at all, the spiritual community or Sangha can do nothing to increase your practice because you don’t have any practice at all.
So so what it means is in its entirety depends on oneself, that where where one wants to go or where one what one wants to be. So it is same as that example which we have said before about the very poor or weak patient who has been suffering for a long time. So the doctor, he has the doctor to prescribe him or show him what time he should take the medicine or what medicine should be taken at a time and has a nurse to help him or help him to give his medicine on a time. But if the patient refused to take the medicine, then the doctor and the nurses can do nothing for him. So likewise, all the refuge prayers have prescribed us to cure ourselves from the disease of disturbing emotions.
And it is entirely depends on us because we have a instruction from the refuge objects that which are the teachings what to be done and teachings what things to be abandoned. So if we don’t practice or listen to the instruction, then they don’t have any help and we will never be free that disease. This is a disease of disturbing emotions, which we have been suffering for a long time for a long time. So if we talk about the disease from the point of Dharma or the teachings, then there are two kinds of diseases which are the disturbing emotions and its imprints or predispositions. So the the predispose predis imprints, which means is that because of having one’s mind being so acquainted or familiar with the disturbing emotions.
So so the two diseases are the disturbing emotions and the the imprints of the disturbing emotions. And so when one cures the first disease which is disturbing emotions and is also the illness for the obstruction towards liberation, which means if one abandons the first disease, which is disturbing emotions, then by curing such disease, one will become arhat I mean, arhat or receive the arhathood, which means liberated from the cyclic existence or saṃsāra. And and by overcoming the second overcoming the second disease, which is imprints of the disturbing emotions, and which is also obscuration to the liberation, and by obstructions towards omniscience. By overcoming or curing such disease, the the imprints of disturbing emotions, then one becomes Buddha or reach the Buddhahood. So in order to cure those two diseases, the disturbing emotion and the imprints of disturbing emotions, or we could say the obscuration towards liberation and towards omniscience.
And in order to cure those diseases and the practice or the prescription started from the method of cure in those two diseases started from the practice of or by practicing in the part with a small scope. And the practice of small scope started by taking, studying, or practicing, or studying in the refuge and also in the practices of the law of action and their result. So the the taking refuge and training in the law of action and their results are the main practices in the practice in the part which accords the small scope. So those are the main practices of the path which accords with the small scope or initial being. And the criterion of having developed or cultivated the the path of small scope is is is like that, for example, if one mind is not is more focused or or directed inwards towards the happiness and the well-being of this present life and not really concerning about the future in the next week next lives.
So that person is not have not developed a path of the small scope, a path that they’re caught with the small scope. So so the criterion the criterion of having developed such a path within one’s mind is order to become a person of the small scope. And say that we have been on we have dealt with all these teachings of impermanence and the difficulty of attaining this precious human rebirth, and the sufferings of bad migrations or lower states, and the benefits of taking refuge, and the law of action and their results. So we have studied all these and by the power of studying those topics and once develops a mind which focuses mainly on the betterment of the next rebirth and concerning this lifetime, the word is say, that one one has developed the mind which focuses mainly or focuses for the next happiness or the betterment of the next rebirth and not really considering this present happiness of this present life as important as the next life. So that person has Yeah.
So for such person who has such mind or that person is called the person of initial or small scope or one can say that he has developed a path of the small scope. So for that so so one should always examine one’s mind and check always where one has reached and also check what where how far one’s knowledge has increased. And by checking or examining one’s mind, if one came to or comes to know that that that one is one’s mind is always focusing or considering others more important than this present life and is not really taking care or considering this present happiness of this present lifetime lifetime, then that means then that shows that once one has reached certain certain level of knowledge and also that one is a practitioner or one is a being of small scope. And if one finds that one has not reached such a level that in seeing that one’s mind is not considering future lives more important than this present life, then should talk to oneself that after practicing for a long time or such long period, I still haven’t become a practitioner or become a being of the first, say, the first scope or initial person and should talk to oneself and put more effort on practice and yeah.
Yeah. Do and and so always, yeah, check we check within oneself. And if one came to know that one is not one still hasn’t developed a mind of the small scope, then put more effort and cultivate it. No. I can let you learn.
Oh, So is a very good. So if one has if one come to know that one has developed a part of the of the small scope and become a practitioner of a small scope, then should appreciate oneself and and and talk to one such that, good man. You have done such a great job. I thought So appreciate and tell ones that very good because by cultivating such a path in within one’s mind stream, that shows that now the happiness and the yeah, happiness of one oneself is starting now. And then it would be better if one has a path of the middling scope on top of that.
And and will even be better if one has additional path, which is the part of the great beings on top of that, and which is the very, very good. I bet. Very good. Very good. If So if one has all those, then should be nice to oneself, which is the traditional style, actually.
The parents will do about it for the kids. And and if one hasn’t got any of this, then scold oneself and just warn oneself to practice more. So once there was a Geshe called Geshe Pen, and who was a great practitioner. And and he always carried two little sacks, and one is full of tiny little black stones and another one’s white stones. And he always when when he finds that his mind is after the negative actions, then he put one stone.
And when it goes after the positive action, he put one white stone. So so and every end of the end of the day, he counts which one is more, whether the the black one or the white ones. And from the beginning he has more blacks and very few and less few whites. And after a while and he has the equal numbers of the stones. And later, he just have only whites.
So and at that stage, he always appreciate himself and give himself a pat and say, “Good, Geshe-la. You know, you have done so and so good. And if if he finds the black one is more than the white, then he’s scold he’s saying that geshe la, don’t do this again. If you do this, I won’t feed you.” So this is the way of the practice done by Geshe Ben.
Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We’ll take.
Okay. Thank you. Yeah. That’s why. You know?
Yeah. Come on. So any questions? We’ll take a couple of questions. Yeah.
It is not there. It’s also influence action influence mentally or from my mind because because they it’s very instant that that instantly by having that say, the mosquitoes on biting inherently and one kills it, the there is a intention of killing, which comes very swiftly or instantly. So that means it has influence on the mind. So that act of killing has a motivation to kill and about the motivation there are two types of motivation. The motivation occurred during the time of the action and also it says that motivation occurs during the action which means the some motivations they just had during the time of the action to long I mean far before the action, some motivation that just comes very instantly and they just go on an action, stayed away.
And which means that kind of motivation and action I mean, there’s hardly any gaps or yeah. Between the motivation and motivation of time, which means it all could just they instantly develop the motivation and go straight through the action action. So it means that act of killing has the second one, which is the instant motivation or motivation comes coextensive with action. One of the reasons why I asked this question is is Western philosophers make a really big deal out of actions that are committed with consciousness and unconscious actions. It could be probably, there could be a action in us, which is not done on unconsciously.
For example, like, say, killing somebody in a dream. So there could be an action which is not done unconsciously and probably could be. So like these are like killing somebody in the dream and it could be the action performed without any thoughts. So that means the action it’s for us, it’s the neutral action which is neither so neutral action is neither positive nor negative. But so that these it was the action was or is the action which is kind of like performed unintendedly.
So it is not you know, the act for action, we classify actions into three actions which are the positive action, negative action, and the neutral actions which is neither positive or negative action. So any action, the positive or negative, those actions should be definitely be influenced or intent be done intent or activated from consciously or, yeah, mentally have influence or have been activated or arises from the mental action. And for prob there could possibly there could be some action in the some kind some actions of which, say, the actions which may not be conjoined with or or with the mind, which means could be performed unconsciously. Thinking, for example, mowing a lawn, but not thinking about killing insects. Is that what you mean?
So so say you didn’t think of that action of that, but but mowing it would kill insects, you don’t think of that. You just your your intention is to mow. Mow. So means that they actually, killings are happening, and you mean that. So that action is not intended of killing, but killing those Intention is not there to kill.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But the action is doing. Yeah.
So you mean so you want to ask what is this? But it is an act of killing actually because you know, but you didn’t intend it to kill, but you know it’s killing. So you just kind of like abandon or force that that lots of those insects that mean mean, Yeah. Let let it go. Okay.