Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 84-minute Lamrim session, Khensur Rinpoche opens with a stark warning: one harsh word aimed at a stranger who turns out to be a bodhisattva can erase years of accumulated merit in a single moment. From there he works through the Great Scope in order — meditation on love and compassion with four supporting features, the two forms of bodhicitta (conventional as method, ultimate as wisdom), and the six perfections as tools for ripening one’s own mind before helping others. He then covers four causes of losing bodhicitta in future lives — lying to one’s teacher, abusing bodhisattvas in anger, deceit and dissimulation, and discouraging virtuous practitioners — along with their antidotes. Atisha’s instruction to regard every sentient being as a Buddha closes the main talk before a brief Q&A. Suited to practitioners already following a structured Lamrim curriculum.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 21 LR 2000 07 04.mp3
UUID: 6139d634-eb9c-4987-af49-5a4936174682
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Lam Rim (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 2000-07-04
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 84.0 minutes
Words: ~3,857
So like oneself, entire sentient beings also wish wish happiness. And not just the happiness. They wish the happiness which is not the temporal happiness. The happiness is the the ultimate happiness. There are numbers of numbers of sentient beings lacking, who haven’t attained happiness which is the unchangeable, very steady or stable happiness, or it’s the almost perfect say, ultimate by focusing on both oneself and other sentient beings who lacking that lacking lacking ultimate happiness, meditate on compassion develop a great compassion, meditate on the compassion with the motivation of wishing them to be free from all this wishing them to have the all the happiness and its causes, making making prayers for for self and others to have the ultimate happiness and taking develop a special insight along with along with love, wishing, taking all the responsibility to to bring them to bring them towards the ultimate happiness and requesting prayers for the the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to bless you to be able to bring yourself and others to to the ultimate happiness.
But if one does the meditation and compassion along with these four features then it’s called the meditation on the love. Meditation on love with the four aspects and that meditation will become very effective and also a great meditation and compassion as well love as well. Likewise, often meditate develop a compassion and meditate on compassion, wishing that knowing that there knowing that there are numbers of sentient beings not just like the happiness, they are also tortured by the great sufferings of sufferings like three types of sufferings. And by knowing those being suffering and tortured by the sufferings, develop a develop a compassion to them, wishing them to be free from all these sufferings and its causes, and then make a prayers to make making prayers for them to be free from all the sufferings and taking all the responsibility of free them free all those beings from the suffering, which is which is special insight, and requesting the victorious conquerors to bless you to have you to be able to fulfill this wish, which is to free all these beings from the suffering. So doing a meditation on compassion along with that, of compassion becomes very powerful because it has been conjoined with the four aspects.
On top of that, and develop a altruistic intention, bodhicitta, that that in order to free those sentient beings from all the sufferings and bring them to the state of state of ultimate happiness, I shall here, I’ll put it up all the negativities of myself and and acquire acquire or attain all the good qualities to accomplish or to to reach the Buddhahood in order Buddhahood for the sake of sentient beings. In in order to accomplish such wish, I shall hear, do do the practices of listening and then bring all the listening into contemplation and meditation. Through this, I shall or I will through this, I shall help or benefit num benefit entire sentient being. We’ll do a short meditation on it. The great master, Lord Buddha Śākyamūni, has stated that the the victorious victorious ones of the past, present, and future future as one path, which actually means that in in the in the earlier in the past, there have been a lot of Buddhas who had attained Buddhahood as well as the present time.
Present Buddhas also present Buddhas who had attained Buddhahood and the future, including ourselves who was going to attain enlightenment. To attain enlightenment, there’s only one path. And the part there’s only one part. The name of the part is called the the part of the the path of perfections. To travel in that path, the path of perfections, first one needs to develop a proper great compassion.
By developing that, developing that great compassion, then one develops the two types of bodhicitta, which are the conventional and the ultimate bodhicitta. And in order to perfect that part or travel in that part, one needs to develop two types of bodhicitta, the conventional and ultimate bodhicitta. It is because in order to complete or perfect all the parts, needs to complete the part with the combination of method and wisdom. Therefore, those two altruistic intentions represent method and the wisdom. The conventional bodhicitta is the method.
Ultimate bodhicitta is the wisdom. It is like for humans they need to have two legs just but one cannot walk with a single leg and also if it’s a bird, they need to have two wings to fly. So those two are bodhicitta, or represents the wisdom, method and the wisdom. So the conventional bodhicitta, which is the bodhicitta which is the method serves as a motivation like the aspiring bodhicitta which we have explained in previous classes. The aspiring bodhicitta is the one which motivates to walk and the engaging bodhicitta is the one who walks in.
So likewise, the conventional bodhicitta here act as a motivation. So that conventional bodhicitta act as a motivation and that is to attain attain enlightenment. Enlightenment. After developed the motivation or intention, then one has to engage the project which one has motivated to work with. So after having developed the motivation, then one needs to involve or involve in the practices or one’s purposes and which is to benefit sentient beings.
In order to benefit the sentient beings, first one needs to train one’s own mind because at this stage one’s mind is very stiff and hard, very solid, and it is mixed with lots of negativities and also not fully ripened. It’s not ripe as well as not so pliable at this stage. In that very stage, one needs to purify all the negativities within one’s mind and make that mind serviceable, make it ripe, and becomes more flexible that one can convert, one can direct their mind in positive actions easily. So in order to attain, train their mind or make their mind ripe, first one needs to train in the first five perfections from the six perfections which are the giving or generosity, ethical ethics, concentration, effort and the patience. So first one needs to practice for those five perfections to train one’s mind.
So the bodhisattvas are the one which helps others to ripen to ripen other’s mind or train other’s mind. In order to help other’s mind, first one one bodhisattva then they themselves need to ripen their own mind without without their mind without their mind sorry. So they have to ripen their mind first before they help sentient beings. So without with without ripening one’s own mind, one one will not able to help others to train their mind or, yeah, train train other’s mind. So, therefore, ripening one’s own mind is very important.
It is like, for example, a mango fruit, a mango which is unripe and if one eat the unripe mango it’s not tasty and it also causes some disease unfortunately sometimes. So if that happens, then the mango If the mango is ripe, then there’s no side effects by eating that mango. And also, if it’s eaten by oneself, delicious and helpful to oneself, can also help others. If others eat it, it’s also tasty or sweet with others as well. So likewise, ripening one’s mind is very important.
If your mind is not ripened, it’s not only harmful to yourself, it also harms others. It means it has no use in both terms. Ripen one’s mind so therefore, it is very important to ripen one’s mind first to help others. And therefore, the training in the first five perfection is to ripen in one’s own mind. So first one need to ripen one’s own mind.
And after having ripening one’s own mind, then one can train to ripen others mind through giving the teachings of using the four collective means or features. So one should ripen one’s own mind first and then help others to ripen their mind through through through this through for by four means of collective disciples. No, no. Four means of collecting disciples, which was the word I was looking for. And the first one is generosity.
That one is giving protection to others, giving protections and material gifts to others. And after having the wishes to collect those, convert those things into the positive actions, and then giving proper teachings through skillful means in order to attract them. And by making people, being interested in the practice, after that then one gives the main teachings, main practices per person what to practice. And the fourth one is to not just bringing them into practice. One should also practice proper by oneself because if one does not practice properly and asking others to practice then it won’t become a good teacher because there is a danger from the disciple side to complaining that why should we practice because he himself is not practicing.
So in order to make them practice properly, it’s important for oneself to practice as well. So, yeah. And so one needs to train in the first five perfections and then train in the four skillful means of collecting disciples. When one does that practice or trains in those five perfections and the four skillful means of collecting disciples. That practice has to be done or that practice be done along with the view of realizing emptiness, the view of wisdom realizing emptiness that is seeing what practice one done also or do not exist inherently or or, you know, truly or truly exist by its own accord.
So today I will explain this practice training in the doing the practices of the six perfections and the four skillful means of collecting disciples conjoining with our view of realizing I haven’t given this sort of teaching before but this time I’m going to give more detailed explanation on these topics because we have a study group going on Wednesday and they will be studying the third term which is about the Great Scope in two weeks time. So in order to maintain or do a proper practice on the six perfections and the four skillful means of collecting disciples. First one needs to have a proper and stable bodhicitta or altruistic intention. So the bodhicitta is the root have is a root practice. Without having proper bodhicitta, no matter how long practice one done on six perfections and the four means of collecting disciples for years and years or eons and eons, one will not do a proper practice and also one cannot attain enlightenment.
Therefore in order to perfect those as well as attain enlightenment, bodhicitta is the root. So therefore, a bodhicitta is very, important. First, to develop a bodhicitta one needs to do a number of practice in order to generate a bodhicitta. So to develop the bodhicitta one needs to do practices like the seven point cause and effect instructions and also developing bodhicitta through practicing exchanging and equalizing self from others. And along with those practices, finally one develops the bodhicitta.
Just by developing the bodhicitta is not important because there is a danger of losing that bodhicitta or developed bodhicitta. As it is very difficult to develop, once one has developed the bodhicitta it is very important to protect the bodhicitta from degeneration and try to increase the bodhicitta momentarily a minute after next. By doing so, gradually it becomes very powerful. When one develops a new bodhicitta, taking care of that bodhicitta is very important because it is very easy to degenerate at that time because it’s just newly developed and it’s very fragile at that moment. It is like, for example, like a flower.
When flower is a very new flower, one needs to protect the flower from sun, not too much sun on that, proper water. Or it’s like a first flame of the fire. So when one lit the fire, the first flame is very, very fragile and just by a drop of water can blow that flame. So likewise, the very first stage when one has developed a bodhicitta and protecting that bodhicitta is very, very important. It it is like a just born child.
It’s very, very fragile. One need to take very good care of the fresh spring boy. So the bodhicitta is very important and developing bodhicitta is also very very important. Once one have developed the bodhicitta, it’s very important to try to avoid that bodhicitta from degeneration and increasing that bodhicitta is very, important and make that increasing bodhicitta to perfect at the end. And then after having developed the bodhicitta, one needs to protect that bodhicitta.
And about the way of protecting that bodhicitta, we have set forth protecting this bodhicitta from degeneration in this lifetime which we have set forth. Thinking about the benefits or the advantages of bodhicitta and reciting the verses of bodhicitta from saying, I’ll take refuge in Buddhadharma and Sangha and so forth. Reciting again and again is very important to protect bodhicitta in this lifetime. It is not just enough to protect bodhicitta from degeneration in this lifetime. One should also protect this bodhicitta not to degenerate future lives as well.
So, and in order to protect this bodhicitta from degeneration in future lifetime, there are they are four. There are four skillful means to protect this bodhicitta from degeneration in future lifetimes. So the first one is the telling a lie to one’s own guru, the master, and from the very scholars, the great masters, also one’s own refuge guru and so forth. Telling lies to those beings are the cause to degenerate one’s bodhicitta in the future lifetime. So these lying to those special beings are the cause to degenerate or lose one’s bodhicitta in future lives because by telling lies to those beings in future one will not meet with spiritual teacher, meet with those masters and so forth.
And not having met the teachers and masters in the next life, will not be trained. Is how one loses the bodhicitta. So doing opposite to that is the cause to protect one’s bodhicitta from degeneration in the future lifetime. The opposite to that is not lying to those special beings, not only to those beings, even not lying to any kind of sentient beings and not lying even at the course of one’s life, not just serious lie. Some people tell lies as a joke, and you should not do that as well.
And the second one, the second cause to lose one to bodhicitta in the future lives is criticizing or abusing bodhisattvas with anger. Abusing bodhisattvas with this with with with great anger, then one it seems like one one one cultivates a very grieved huge negativities. So to protect that altruistic intention in future life is doing opposite, not only for Bodhisattvas, even should not abuse or use harsh words to its bodhisattvas as well as to entire sentient beings. And the the third the third the third cause to lose bodhicitta in future lives is deceit and dissimulation. These two are the third cause to lose bodhicitta.
So one should not generate the deceit and dissimulation towards sentient beings. So deceit. Deceit here means deceit is the one. Say one has one one has done something, some wrong or mistakes, and hiding one’s keeping secret or hiding one’s faults and not letting other to know about one’s own fault is called the deceit. So it is it is a type of lying that there are different kind of lying that lying inside within oneself hiding from others and and physical lying that which is obvious by others to pick on.
And the dissimulation dissimulation relation, which means that pretending oneself as a very special scholar and pretending to have certain such qualities to others. Acting in that way, very deceitful or acting deceitful, pretending oneself to pretending as a great knowledgeable person to other sentient beings, it harms other sentient beings because it deceives other people. And by doing so, it will cause one to lose the altruistic intention in future life. One should not act in both ways. And the the fourth the fourth one is is the causing a virtuous person causing regression to a virtuous person who was rejoicing for his or her own virtuous actions.
For example, somebody who has done certain practices and rejoicing for what positive actions one has done and causing that person to develop a regression by saying that you are not a capable person of doing such and such. You can’t be the one to do such and such and causing the person to feel doubtful about doubt and at the end the person feels regret towards what the person has done, which was the positive action, is the cause. So causing a regression towards the virtuous person is the fourth cause to lose one’s altruistic intention in future lives. Because by doing so, It it harms the other sentient beings. Yeah.
Other sentient beings. Doing opposite to that is the cost to increase or protect one’s bodhicitta from degeneration in their future life. But instead of causing a person to feel regret, praising the person and encouraging the person to increase, do more practice by saying that you have done such a great job. And and it’s also important to do additional practices like meditation on compassion, love, and so forth. So these four are the causes for Bodhisattvas who have developed the altruistic intention, cause for them to lose their altruistic intention.
But it is also very important for us who hasn’t developed the altruistic intention fully. It’s also important for us to practice not doing those four negativities and acting the opposite to those is very important and very helpful for us to a newly bodhicitta and helps our bodhicitta not to degenerate and it helps to increase. So in these days, the people of people out of attachment and anger, They exaggerate things for others and blame and abuse. And they use very harsh words towards others out of anger and attachment. Doing such actions is very, very dangerous because we don’t know whom we are blaming.
We can’t whether the person is a bodhisattva or not. And bodhisattva doesn’t necessarily need to have some special features like have uṣṇīṣa on the top, the crown aperture and so forth. We can’t say who is a bodhisattva and who is not. Out of anger and attachment, one uses harsh words towards somebody who accidentally appears to be a bodhisattva, then one cultivates a huge, huge amount of negativities. So by knowing all this, it is very important not to abuse anyone anyone without anger and attachment.
And trying to do such actions or minimizing such actions is very, very, very helpful to one because by stop exaggerating or minimizing exaggerating or using harsh words with others will will give you less opportunity to meet with the special being. So the in in ancient times, one great Kadampa Geshe has set forth that we cultivate we worked so hard for years and years to cultivate years and years doing our daily practices, sadhanas, and virtuous actions in order to cultivate a lot of merits. So we have worked so hard for many years, years and years. And then one day, out of anger, one said a harsh word, a single harsh word to a bodhisattva. Or out of anger, one stares at one bodhisattva.
On that moment, just by doing that particular developing that moment anger to the bodhisattva will destroy all the virtues what one has cultivated for many years. Not only one has wasted all the virtues, additional to that one cultivates a huge negativities. So likewise, the great master Candrakīrti has said for that the virtuous action, the virtuous one one one have cultivated by practicing generosity ethics for eons and eons. And it can destroyed by a moment anger towards the bodhisattva. Towards bodhisattva, as well as great master Atisha, the Indian master Atisha has said that whenever one sees sentient beings, should see sentient beings as a Buddha and pay the same respect as a Buddha.
Because by doing so, is great advantages and have no loss at all. He also said that it’s important to pay respect to sentient beings as a Buddha because when we see Buddha, it’s quite obvious that we will pay huge respect with Buddha and he is a realized fully beings, which we realize. Sentient beings have shown us the same kindness shown to us by Buddha. So therefore, as they are equal in terms of kindness shown on us, one should pay equal respect to sentient beings as one gives respect to Buddha. And by doing so, one will only have the advantages and there is no loss at all.
So what we do in our normal life is when one sees somebody, we either develop an attachment or develop an anger and see somebody as very appealing or not appealing. Seeing some people have no feeling at all, just considered something neutral, and we differentiate in sentiments in these three categories. Taking care on those three and making aware of all this is very important. Day, trying not to accumulate such actions is very important. So we’ll stop here.
Any questions, please? Did you say the third and the fourth? The one about The deceit and dissimulation? More likely, even if you lie or deceit or dissimulate in a person as a human, can likely to categorized under those third and the fourth causes. Also, it actually depends when one tell lie with the humor.
If one has an intention using something as a humor, but intention is to change person’s mind, then we can say that one has a motivation to change mind even though one’s making a humor. And that causes to lose the altruistic intention in future lives. But according to the Lamrim teaching here, it says whether one has intention or not, or say one said something, exaggerate something, and encourage person to change their mind. And if succeed, of course you cultivate that action. Even though you fail to succeed, but you have said something, one still cultivates.
But there isn’t the difference in the negative action one cultivates, but even this one fails to change the mind, but there is a negativity still there. And we can slightly differentiate between Bodhisattva and the normal people because Bodhisattvas, whatever they do is a positive action and also are practiced, as well as do the virtuous action all the time. Whereas the ordinary people, they just sometimes have no idea about doing action or doing something spiritual. They just if there are a few laughters there, that’s it. And it’s fine.
Yeah. So their main job is to make people laugh. So there will there will be no class for the next two Tuesdays because of the school holidays. So during that two weeks, meditate well on bodhicitta. I am thinking very much.
Yeah. And a cup of tea.