Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 98-minute Lamrim commentary, Khensur Rinpoche opens with a memorable analogy: two Indians hear about Australia — only the one who truly sees India’s discomforts will make the journey, just as only those who genuinely recognise saṃsāra’s faults will seek liberation. He outlines two means of generating renunciation: reflecting on the sufferings of cyclic existence and appreciating the qualities of liberation. The doctrinal core unpacks the four features of True Cessation — cessation, peace, excellence (a happiness inexpressible even to the one who tastes it), and renunciation — drawn from the Four Noble Truths. A Q&A closes on whether helping others in lieu of attending teachings abandons the spiritual path, and why perfecting one’s own purpose must come first.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 25 LR 1999 09 07.mp3
UUID: 9b9f7553-e7f7-4aca-9490-f57c1fd2d135
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Lam Rim (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1999-09-07
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 98.0 minutes
Words: ~4,242
So before the teaching, we recited the prayers, make supplication or prayers towards the guru. We recited the guru pujas, making prayers of requests and also offerings towards the teachers, the master Tsongkhapa, his lineage and master Tsongkhapa who composed this particular teaching, the Lamrim or graduated path. The purpose of making Guru Pujas or prayers is that because our purpose of listening or receiving the teaching is to train our mind, to train our mind and also develop the good state of mind and bringing all these bad of mind into the, abandoning the bad state of mind and abandoning the bad state of mind. So the method, the reason and method of doing search, cultivating a good mind and eliminating the bad side of mind are clearly written in the teachings and as well as teachings which are taught by those masters. We have made those offerings and prayers towards the master is because requesting him to bestow the nectar or bless our mind so that our mind be purified and by receiving the blessings from him, then we, the obscured mind which is conjoined with the disturbing emotions and so forth will fade or be eliminated and develop a wisdom, wisdom understands reality and by developing that we can attain the final goal which is Buddhahood.
So, for here the great master called Acharya Āryadeva has stated that here we are onto the intermediate level or the middling scope. So the master has stated that in order to, if one has not developed an intention or developed a knowledge which sees the faults or the disadvantages of taking birth or disadvantages of being in the saṃsāra or cyclic existence, then one will never ever wish to wish to or or try to cultivate or obtain a obtain a obtain a a happiness of liberation which is yep. One will try to attain a happiness which comes by abandoning the cyclic existence or saṃsāra. And also said that no matter what kind of person is, if the person makes a mind wishing to free from cyclic existence, no matter how much you teach to that person, there is no method or one cannot lead that person into liberation with any kind of skillful means. So, it would be better to give an example so that you can understand more clearer.
For example, so the example here is that the two Indians who have no idea about Australia. And so one Australian so met with met those two Indians and telling them that that the the the the disadvantages or faults of India, for example, like saying it is very hard in India and lots of mosquitoes and the place itself is dirty, so and so, lots of disease, etcetera. So, and mentioning, telling them that Australia is a beautiful country and it has it’s very clean and good food and many places to go around, I mean, look around and you can have lots of movies to watch so and so. By telling the two people, one person find it true and the other he didn’t. So what happened is now, the person who really finds, who find that the explanation is true will develop a wish to go to Australia and by having that wish then the person who tells about Australia will tell him to, okay, you arrange your passport and so forth and I will help you to get to Australia with all the documents and eventually by getting a visa and so forth, finally he will know whether the person will reach Australia whereas the one who didn’t take it too or seriously will not have intention to go to Australia and then he also find, yeah, I love India, it’s a good place.
So then he will never reach Australia, so it’s like that. So it’s like the person who wishes to go to Australia will eventually by helping him, that person will reach Australia whereas the other one who says, No, it’s not India, it’s not a hot country, I’m fine with it and don’t care with mosquitoes, even the malaria don’t get any fever and so forth, Mother England. The person will never develop an intention to go to Australia and one who wish to help can do nothing because the person will never go because he has no intention saying, I don’t care about Australia. So by this, one will eventually reach Australia and one will not and it is because that one has developed an intention or wishing to go to Australia and he reached Australia, he arrived Australia whereas others, whereas other one has never developed the intention that man now wanting to go to Australia and because of that he will, because of that he didn’t arrive Australia and been in India. So finally it came to know about whether one has intention to go or not.
So taking that as an example, we have, so we have to train, we we need to we have to travel in the path of liberation and to to train oneself in the in the path towards liberation, first one needs to have one needs to have a intention that wishing to to to attain attain the liberation. And by having that intention and sooner rather with the skillful means and the wisdom, one can gradually, gradually one can reach or attain the liberation whereas other who the one does not develop an intention to attain liberation and seeing the cyclic existence or saṃsāra as pleasurable or very comfortable by this. Lacking the intention to free or attaining liberation, he or she will stay in the cyclic existence and will undergo through the sufferings of the cyclic existence and for a time being, one can do nothing to free those beings if from yeah, from the cyclic existence. So we have both the teacher and the students, maybe could be about thirty five in number have all have intention to to attain yeah. Intention to attain the liberation.
And by showing or by by training in the method of attaining it sooner or later, one can attain the liberation. And so and and and to to some some some some might some might not have the intention to being free from the cyclic existence, but but but their mind can be changed by by showing the method of of attaining or developing such an intention, that intention of being free from cyclic existence or from saṃsāra by telling him or her the disadvantages of of the the the disadvantages of being in cyclic existence and and telling him the qualities of attaining the liberation and the happiness of having obtained the liberation. Through such method or teaching, one may help that person to develop intention, such intention. It’s someone called Bob from America whom I know and he always says that I’m very happy in saṃsāra or saṃsāra existence because when I feel hot, I can swim in the water and when it’s cold, I can use the heater so it’s very, very comfortable and I’m happy in So one who already sees that I feel very saṃsāra is very happy or a source of happiness, even so for that person, even Buddha himself will come to the person and he can do nothing to lead that person from cyclic existence.
So having intention to wishing to free from cyclic existence is like a basis or an intention to train in the path because it’s not to do a business, one needs to have a principle or something, yeah, for the principle of the money. So without having a principle, one can hardly do any business. Likewise, to train or to travel into the path, one wish to have an intention to free from cyclic existence as a basis or foundation. So in order to develop such intention, there are two ways, through two ways one can develop that intention. The first one is by seeing the faults of the cyclic existence as well as thinking about the sufferings of the saṃsāra and and how one receive those unwanted sufferings or meeting with unwanted objects.
So so so seeing the seeing the the faults and the sufferings or disadvantages of the of the saṃsāra is very important And any for example, for saṃsāra or or object or a person, if you see the disadvantages and the sufferings of the per suffering of the particular object as well as knowing that the person or that those things or phenomena are not reliable and so forth. By knowing this, develop intention to being free from such things or objects. And another way is knowing or seeing the qualities or the advantages of the liberation and the benefits of obtaining the and the happiness of attaining the liberation is important. By seeing all these good qualities of liberation or being free from cyclic existence, one will find it very necessary to attain. So if one has those two qualities or those two skillful means that seeing the disadvantages of cyclic existence and seeing the good qualities and so forth of of the liberation.
If one has those two, then there is no difficult to difficulty or difficult difficulty to develop intention to free from cyclic existence, attaining the liberation, to attain the liberation, no. So this is the reason at this stage we can’t, we have we we have not we are not able to develop the such intention or or the intention such the intention we have developed is not so stable or or very firm. It is because because we can’t really see the advantages of some liberation and disadvantages of the cyclic existence. So today we will deal with the qualities of liberation. So now, so for here, the Buddha Śākyamūni, the Buddha Śākyamūni has turned the first wheel of Dharma at Varanasi, teaching of four noble truths and teaching that the true suffering, origin of suffering, and the true cessation and all the true path two two part yeah.
Two part. So the first two are showing the the the disadvantages of the cyclic existence, and next to which third and fourth are the qualities of the liberation. And so he has taught the true cessation and for true cessation, it has four features which are the true cessation, peace, excellence, and the the relaxation or or wish to free from cyclic existence. So those three the explanation, the purpose of explaining the four features towards the third which is true cessation, is to see the qualities the liberation and develop a wish to attain such a happiness or liberation. So the first feature is the cessation itself, the cessation and the cessation here means, which implies, it sees something.
What it sees is it sees or it stops all the unwanted, those unwanted sufferings of the cyclic existence like the birth, old age, sickness and death, as well as the suffering of change, suffering of pervasive conditions and so forth. Which also helps you to attain the happiness without suffering. So if we briefly summarize here then it sees or while it stops, it stops the first truth which is the true sufferings. So so by by through this cessation, attaining that cessation, it stopped the the the first two which we do not wish. No.
No. And then the second second feature of the true cessation is the the peace. No. No. So, the second feature is called the peace.
And with the peace is that because because it’s been freeing this mind from the second truth, which is the origin of the suffering. And and it is because because it’s called peace because when our mind is being with the disturbing emotions and by conjoining with it and due to that, we perform an action which becomes the causes for all the sufferings. By mixing those mind with disturbing emotion, one will not have peace or calm mind. And and by performing the action, by the influence of those disturbing emotion, one finds that the action which one could perform is a bad action, and due to that, it causes lots of suffering as well as it causes huge discomfort and conflict and so forth. It’s also been said that the eighty four thousand self grasping attitudes or disturbing emotions, and by the influence of those, one performs bad actions and due to that one will not have peace and so forth.
So by abandoning the the second second two, which is true origin of the suffering, which is the, yeah, causes of the suffering. By abandoning this, one attains the peace. So peace here refers to the abandonment of those second truth. Excellence. It is because the the first feature, the cessation, the yeah.
The true cessation, and it it it has four four features. First one is cessation which abandons the the unwanted suffering, which is the first noble truth, which is true suffering. And the second feature or the peace, or peace which which which abandons the second the origin of the suffering or second to the origin to origin of the suffering and and which is the which is the causes of the suffering. So by by abandoning those two, the suffering and its causes the third feature is called. So the happiness or joy or happiness gained by abandoning those abandoning those two, the suffering and the origin causes of the suffering.
And such pleasure is such happiness is inexpressible and immeasurable. Such a pleasure or, excuse me, such a happiness is called the excellence, which is the third features. So so the third future is the ex excellence or the it’s a is the is the happiness which is inexpressible. And it’s like yeah. It’s it’s been attained by abandoning the the the the to the suffering and causes of suffering.
It is like it is like eating some eating very very delicious cake and saying that said, and it’s very sweet and so forth saying, oh, it’s that that it tastes fantastic and delicious and very sweet. This is how This is all you can express to others. And if one asks how sweet it is, you can just say, yeah, it is very sweet. You cannot express what your tongue has tasted. So likewise, the happiness derived from by the the feelings of the happiness you have physical and mental happiness you have had or attained by abandoning the suffering and the two the origin of the suffering is is the third one, which are the third feature, excellence, that you can say, very happy or very pleasurable or excuse for that.
It’s very say, huge happiness is there. So you can just say it but you cannot really express what actually your physical, mental and physical your feeling mentally or physically or you cannot explain the feelings you have, your body and the mental feelings. And then also, such happiness is a very stable or very firm happiness. And by attaining that then one is likely or one can be on a meditative equipoise and being equipoise on that happiness or that peace and living in that and staying and absorbing within it for aeons and aeons, like not sleeping, just meditating on that happiness or peace. Yes.
The fourth feature is renunciation because by attaining such happiness and it is stable and very firm and one will never lose it and because one has had the level of renunciation which will never let all those disturbances, which will never let those disturbing emotions to come back or be, never let those disturbing emotions to return or come back. Due to that, one has that renunciation, the relaxation which is the fourth feature. So way of practicing or entering the parts of the great vehicle or Mahāyāna part two ways of yeah. Two two two or two ways is that that once the that a practitioner who who who from the very outset or from the very beginning joined the path of accumulation of the great vehicle. Whereas other trained in the parts of the Hīnayāna or the lower vehicles, Hīnayāna parts.
By completing the accomplishing the parts of the Hīnayāna schools or the lesser vehicle, then he starts, the one joins the Mahāyāna, the great vehicle and yeah. Joins the great vehicle. So one who has joined the great vehicle from the very beginning will will attain the the enlightenment very quickly. And one who who starts from the Hīnayāna part will take longer time than the other one to enlighten. So there is huge differences of attaining the enlightenment means how fast one, the other attend.
It’s like one is driving through, one is driving a car and one is being on a horse, just riding a horse, so huge differences there. It is it is because one who has started from the Hīnayāna part is that whenever he attains the liberation and the happiness one attained or one gained by abandoning the saṃsāra or cyclic existence is inexpressible as we said. And and and that person sees it’s very, very enjoy it’s very comfortable and very happy and sometimes there is a danger of the person just being on a meditative, living on a meditative equipoise or absorbing into that happiness for a long and long for a very long time. So a person will take a time or quite a longer time to attain enlightenment because he absorbed in such happiness for for like sleeping. And and while he was, you know, such absorptions or in such sleep, the others will just travel.
So that the happiness of the liberation is inexpressible and and is endless. And, for example, when we talked about the sufferings of the hell realms, then the the the the the very bottom of the hell, which is the unceasing yeah. So it’s the called the Avici. And whereas before happiness, we call the most perfect or the and yeah. Of the suffering happiness is has been stated that the happiness derived from attaining the liberation is the is the inexpressible or the great happiness.
And the the yeah. It is such that the the hell of the very bottom is called the the hell of unceasing suffering. And the the so yeah. So that when we talked about the truths truth cessation, the four noble the third noble truth is talking about the happiness of those attaining the the the happiness of attaining the liberation or the happiness of liberation. And now and and the fourth noble to it, which is the true path, has been said to attain is showing the method and the wisdom of attaining such a cessation or such a true cessation.
So in that two part, we are meditating in the part of meditating in the part on the qualities and the benefits advantages of the cycle of the liberation. So it is like a business knowing or seeing the profit of the business. So if he or she knows the profit of the particular business, then no matter he or she will undergo through hardships, they have to, they will because they know the profit of the business. So here today, we have briefly explained the the the the advantages and the qualities of the of liberation which is to develop the intention to free from cyclic existence. So we’ll stop here today and we’ll and take some questions if you have.
Isn’t there if you develop the intention to help others in your things, surely the thought must arise that there are a lot of people Yeah. Okay. Is that a question? If you have such thought like forsaking oneself and seeing others others undergoing more suffering, truly more suffering than oneself, then it’s great. It’s like feeling that forgetting about oneself and being involved into helping others, being freeing others from the suffering and taking, seeing those, I mean, others, more important than oneself.
And by having such, it’s like one is turning or becoming a bodhisattva. Very, very good. So, yeah, it’s true that here we we have enough food and financially okay to live by oneself and has all this, you know, food, clothing, shelter and so forth. Whereas in other in people in other countries, they are undergoing huge suffering like in war or like in Africa, starvation and so forth. It is true that their sufferings are twice greater than ours and if you know that they are undergoing huge sufferings feeling and develop a compassion towards those beings is very, very good if you can do such.
And there are other sentient beings who are who has or who have greater suffering than that who are beings in hell. Abandoning a spiritual path. Okay. Alright. Your hearing, abandoning the spiritual path refers to coming to Buddha house.
Right? Okay. And this is what I need. Mhmm. That’s by doing such, you are stopping.
You are not able to come to listen, to listen for at least into teaching, but you are not stopping the spiritual part because by working to others, seeing bringing help towards those beings and developing compassion to those beings is the is the practice, so religious practice. And so so yeah. The only thing you stop is just coming to listen to the teaching, but you are you haven’t stopped the spiritual path. According to the great Kadampa masters, lamas, they have said that first place self attaining or completing self purpose is before others. This is because without perfecting one’s purpose, one will not help others and so One should try to attain or of course accomplish one’s purpose and self purpose or oneself.
The way of perfecting or accomplishing self purpose is not just focusing on oneself. In order to benefit the sentient beings, others, and bring to bring them to the state of ultimate happiness. For that purpose, I shall perfect my accomplish my purpose or self purposes. So to accomplish the self purpose, one one one has to have such a such a motivation that we do it just for the sake of others. And so by by abandoning by through self motivation one perfected or accomplishes the self proposes and when that happens then one can help others because one has only one work which is to benefit and fulfill others’ purposes because one has no longer need to work for the accomplishment of self purpose because it’s been accomplished already.
So it is like the way Buddha Śākyamūni has done. So by by perfecting self in one’s purposes, then one can emanate oneself into thousands and each emanation can have limitless sentient beings. Without accomplishing one’s self purpose and trying to help others, then there is a danger of falling oneself downwards. If that happens, then one has neither perfected others’ purpose nor oneself and instead of that fall downwards. Once one has been falling downwards, which is in lower migration, then it’s very hard to come back or come out of that state.
Perfecting itself purpose is very important, which is done for the sake of all sentient beings. So, yeah, so there are sentient beings who are undergoing through such situations and undergoing through sufferings of such situations, disease and so forth. Also, some are undergoing through sufferings in the higher realms. In order to help them, if if one personally go towards the person, approach the the suffering sentient beings and give, I mean, give a hand or just give clothing and food, so forth, which even yeah. One is helping those sentient beings for a time being temporarily, but not ultimately.
So but there is a benefit of doing such, but it is far better to develop the compassion and great compassion. Through the influence of that compassion, one meditates on the path to to a path trying to free those suffering sentient beings as soon as possible from their sufferings. And by by developing that good compassion, then one by one one yeah. One one develops bodhicitta and trains in the conducts of the Buddha’s sons. By doing such practices, one is not directly helping those suffering sentient beings, but indirectly one is helping a lot.
So, you know, so in order in order to to attain such such a state to benefit all sentient beings and to attain enlightenment, to being free from all the negativities and acquire good qualities. So in order to attain such a state very quickly for that that, Buddha Śākyamūni has taught these taught those great secret tantric teachings, which is a method to attain liberate attain enlightenment very swiftly or quickly. And also if one can practice very well, one can attain enlightenment or become enlightened within three years and a month and a half. By achieving that enlightenment, one has miraculous feats and can transform or emanate oneself into thousands of forms and by each forms one can benefit many sentient beings. Therefore, the advance of the great Kadampa masters are because Kadampa masters is that first one should purify one’s negative deeds because the sentient beings are limitless.
And you you can you can you can help them at any time because they are numberless. So first first yeah. Purify one’s negative deeds for them. Page five dedication, Verse eight and nine.