Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Using the image of sixty-five moments packed into a single finger snap, Khensur Rinpoche illustrates subtle impermanence in this 97-minute Lamrim commentary — the point at which our body is already changing before we can perceive it. The talk works through the four features of true suffering (impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and selflessness), treating each as an antidote to a specific mistaken perception. Renunciation is presented as the essential foundation for all Buddhist vehicles, while meditating on suffering is shown to generate compassion rather than despair. A closing Q&A addresses how to balance renunciation with the aspiration for happiness, a textual reference in Dharmakīrti’s valid-cognition commentary, and whether a self can be labeled during the bardo state.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 28 LR 1999 09 21.mp3
UUID: 9724b444-fbb5-4997-a8a0-b14cc9179334
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Lam Rim (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1999-09-21
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 96.6 minutes
Words: ~4,936
If we do our practice practice of listening, contemplation, and meditation along with developing a motivation, then our practice becomes very effective. Should have should have a developed motivation that that that I shall bring both myself and other sentient beings be free from all the all the sufferings and bring them to the ultimate happiness. And for that purpose for that purpose, I shall I should abandon all the negativities and the faults and attained the attained attained all the good qualities good qualities. So if so I should have this this motivation either with the effort or without effort? So and so for for for for the sake of that, I shall here listen to this Lam Rim teaching, is the essence of all the Mahāyāna teaching the essence of the Mahāyāna teaching, and listen to this teaching and bring all the hearings into contemplation and meditation.
So we shall think think think on the meaning of this motivation and of the altruistic intention bodhicitta and we’ll do a short meditation on it. We have dealt with the Four Noble Truths in the previous class and here again the great master Tsongkhapa stated that that to in order to generate a generate a wish to free from cyclic existence, one should one should know the disadvantages and the faults of the true suffering. Without knowing those two, the disadvantages and the faults of the true suffering, one one one one one cannot develop a wish to free from cyclic existence. So in order to do that, in order to generate such, one should know these disadvantages and the faults of the the the the two, yeah, for for faults of the true suffering and should and should develop a proper renunciation. So without having developed the wish to free from cyclic existence, the renunciation, one cannot practice one cannot engage in the practice of any of the vehicles, the the lower or great vehicles, all the schools of Hīnayāna, solitary realizers, and the the the the great vehicles.
And because even one even if one wants to train in the lower vehicles, one still need to have this one still needs to develop this renunciation and as well as for for for for for the one who wish to practice in the Mahāyāna vehicle, one still needs this renunciation. So so so for one, to in order to practice or or practice in the parts and the grounds, and without having a proper renunciation or an uncontrived renunciation, will never or one cannot practice in the path. So in order to in order to develop such renunciation, one one has to see the disadvantages and the faults of the cyclic existence. If if one does not see the cyclic existence disadvantage of the cyclic existence and seeing it as a a source of happiness or seeing it as a very blissful, then one will never one one cannot one one one can never develop a renunciation. And so in order to in order to, if one sees these disadvantages of the cyclic existence, then one can develop that wish that wish to free from cyclic existence.
So great master Śāntideva has also said that with no renunciation, if more suffering, no renunciation, which what it means is that because eventually, in nature, the the the suffering harms, but it also in other hand, it’s very helpful because by by knowing the suffering, by having suffering, one develops a a renunciation or a wish to wish to free from cyclic existence. So for that reason, they’ve been set forth that the beings in the gods of the first concentration cannot, yeah, one cannot develop develop the path of the the superior beings or the path of the aryas in the in the the the the first concentration, the beings the gods in the first concentration because because they have not they have no obvious suffering. And due to that due to that, they cannot cannot develop the the path of the the superior paths.
So so in order to generate a path, part one, it’s good to have the suffering because by having suffering, one develops the renunciation, all of which to free from cyclic existence due to that one one one practice one one engages in the practices in the practice. So for for in in this case, on this reason, this the the the suffering help us to practice. And also the master Śāntideva has stated that that there is a huge benefits of meditating on suffering because by meditating on suffering, one can know that one has undergoes through the suffering and due to that, it helps it helps to to to to abandon those it it yeah. It helps one to not to develop a pride and and haughtiness. And there are other benefits of meditating on the suffering because through this one came to know that one undergoes through the suffering and by having suffering or knowing that one is undergoing through suffering, one one is not happy with the suffering and not comfortable.
And by knowing oneself is not comfortable, it also sees that all mother sentient beings are the same as myself, but they undergoes through the suffering and are not comfortable at all. So due to that, it’s help us to develop compassion towards sentient beings. And it also has benefits to develop a good in enthusiasm or enthusiasm to to to to practice that so that one can one one one can attain the happiness which one wishes and and overcome the suffering. And and it also helps helped us to to to abandon the causes of sufferings, which are the negative actions and the disturbing emotions. Because so by knowing that one doesn’t one do not wish to suffer, one just or one one does not by knowing, wishing that one doesn’t want the suffering and one will try to abandon the causes of the suffering and due to that, one trains in the selflessness of a person and emptiness and developing love and compassion which becomes the antidote towards the causes of the suffering which are the disturbing emotions, negative actions and so forth.
Should one should recognize the suffering and and should know and one should recognize the suffering and and but and also yeah. Recognize the suffering and then should develop and can develop that one does not wish suffering. Due to that and one will try one one one one trains in the method, which is to to to to practice, engages in the practice or or practice Dharma to overcome all the suffering. And and and by seeing oneself undergoes it, so it it it help us to practice. And by seeing oneself is undergoing through suffering and does not wish suffering, and and and seeing the same motherly sentient beings undergoing through suffering and and and and developing that one cannot bear seeing those beings simply undergoing their suffering.
And due to that, one in order to help them, one develops the great compassion, love, and trained also to develop the bodhicitta. So as we said before in early class that we do not wish suffering, in order to in order to abandon the suffering, one should try to abandon the abandon the basis of the suffer basis of the suffering, which is the the the the basis of suffering, which is the this present this our bod the saṃsāra, our body, which is projected by the the actions and this action and disturbing emotions, which is also the the the the suffering of pervasive condition. So the greatness of developing the wish to free from cyclic existence or emancipation depends on the how much the disadvantages of the suffering or the disadvantages of this of this of the saṃsāra, the present body. So the stronger you see the disadvantages of the cyclic existence, the greater you develop the renunciation. So the way of developing a a seeing or seeing developing the seeing disadvantages of the suffering.
Also, saṃsāra is saṃsāra. The Buddha Śākyamūni has done it through the four points by seeing it as the impermanence, sufferings, emptiness, and selflessness. So to see this this this seeing the body as impermanent is very important by seeing this body as impermanent and one impermanence, then it reduces the power of the perception which which grasps this present body as permanent. And but because and yes. So because due to having this perception with our or the the your perception which apprehends or which grabs this present body, the body as a permanent, and through this, there are many disadvantages comes from this.
So by by by seeing, yes, impermanence, it so it helps to reduce that reduce the reduce the grasping of grasping impermanent towards grasping this body impermanent. Because the practice, the Dharma, starts from the beginning with seeing the Dharma as impermanent. So as for the impermanence, seeing this present body as impermanence, there are the two types of impermanence seeing of the permanent the the close impermanence and the subtle impermanence of the body. So by by seeing by seeing by seeing the person dies and then his or her body’s been cremated or been buried or or thrown in the water, so forth. Seeing those can help us to understand the the coarse coarse impermanence now.
Excuse me, the coarse impermanence. So so to understand the coarse impermanence, one doesn’t necessarily need to re I mean, the the the reasons to prove you can even we can just see see see by the naked eye. So as for the subtle impermanence, it quite hard to realize the subtle impermanence. And that’s for the object of knowledge. Or object of knowledge, there are three types in general that this the obvious one and hidden one and slight hidden one.
So for obvious ones are the things which we can eventually see by our eyes, like the distractions of the buildings, the person dies, and so forth. So so those those obvious ones are the the things which can which we can directly see through our eyes or which can be recognized or realized through the direct perception. And as for to to to to understand the subtle subtle impermanence one should one should it should be realized through the these through the inference or understood through the logics or through the reasons. So in here, the the compounded phenomena are called or should say the is the compositional factors, which means which are formed by the collections of causes and conditions. So so the product or composition of factors.
And so as as these are the these things, the products or compositional factors are formed by the collection of the causes and conditions. And without if if so without without without having the complete collections of the causes and condition, the things the products cannot be cannot be produced. So in order to in order to make the things exist, the composition composition of any any of the compositional factors of the collections of the causes and causes and conditions are to be presented. So as it is formed by the collection of causes and conditions, due to that, just from the existence of the particular object, from that moment it is also in the nature of impermanence. So impermanence means it is that that that since just right from its existence and from the very second moment, it it it it it start changing or it’s in the nature of destruction.
So as our physical the body, our body itself is the is is projected by or is the is is being produced by the collections of causes and conditions. So right from its birth, from the very first moment of this body, it’s in the nature of momentary impermanence. The very second moment that body, the body does not exist same I mean, does not exist same or permanent. It it just changes from the very second moment. And so so due to that, so that kind of slight changes of the impermanence is called the the subtle impermanence.
So it’s shows that the it’s it’s been said that the the sound of the finger snap of the very healthy person, it’s been can be can be the duration of that fingers the sound of that finger snap can divide it into the sixty-five moments yeah. Sixty five. And and this this present body, so it’s just right from the its its second moments from from its existence, it it won’t stay permanent even for a part of a single duration of that sixty five part. So in general we have a sense that our body, So, yeah, we we take birth, and there is the day is the time of birth and then time of and the time of and the time and for a time it says, and then time of of the destructions or yeah. Time of destructions.
So as we have those three categories. So but but in in in but but but but for this present but for this this body, it has it hasn’t got any time to stay because in every second, it it it never stays permanent, and it just changes moment by moment. And and if one sees that subtle impermanence of that momentary destruction or the changes, then then one one one cannot stay. One one cannot let one’s mind let oneself wander or or or let oneself feel lazy because by knowing by knowing certainly by knowing that subtle impermanence, one one feels afraid, not sure that when one dies and due to that, one even one cannot stay idle or or or lazy for or for a moment and and tries to practice. So so that that No.
No. So that that this this body cannot stay permanent or stable even for a a single moment of that that fingers a part of the sound of the finger snap. And so but but we but as but but we can’t see that that impermanence because due to our having this perception which holds this this body as permanent. And due to that because due to that, we we we agree with that that that the last year’s body still exist this year, and that it will exist in the next year. And due to that, we have have we we keep we start planning for the future or planning for the future.
So it happens because of having the perception which which perceive which apprehends this present body as permanent grasping it as a permanent and which is the so that that perception is the mistaken one and it’s also one of the root one of the root to cultivate the non virtuous. So the the seeing seeing seeing this body impermanent is the antidote towards antidote towards the perception which which which sees or apprehends this body permanent. And and now and now towards the second features of the first true suffering of the true suffering which is the suffering. And so the second feature, as we said, is the truth is the suffering. And seeing this this this body same body as a suffering.
And because for the ordinary ordinary being, it appears for ordinary beings, the body appears in the nature of happiness and also very clean. So but in but but but but in the true sense, it is not. It is the the the the the body is body is the nature body is the nature of nature of nature of suffering. So by by teaching or saying this body is the suffering is because seeing this body as a suffering is the the antidote towards the perception which sees this body as in the nature of happiness and clean. So, this body is the nature of the suffering, it is because this body is being projected or produced by the influence of disturbing emotions and action.
So as the disturbing emotion and action act as its causes, and due to that, is in the nature of suffering. So so as it is projected by the Projected by the the action and disturbing emotion, it is in the nature of of suffering. But the for for for the action and the as it’s as we said, it’s been projected by the action and disturbing emotion. The action here is the positive one because because because because we have we have taken this this human human human body. So so it is it is the result of the positive action.
But but what went wrong is this: here, that action, positive action, is being accompanied by the disturbing emotion. Due to that due to that, that that that disturbing emotions acts as a condition so that the body becomes the nature of suffering. So the causes of this body which is the action and the disturbing emotions, so which are called the origin of the suffering true suffering. So this body acts as a basis for the suffering.
Due to that, the causes of it are the the the action and the disturbing emotions. And among those two, the worst is the worst one is the the the the disturb is the disturbing emotions. And so so to in order to in order to stop that suffering, one should apply antidote towards the disturbing emotion. And the way of the disturbing emotion traces back towards the self grasping which is ignorance which is self grasping. So for that reason one needs the wisdom realizing emptiness because it is wisdom realizing emptiness is the antidote towards the self grasping.
So it’s been stated that without realizing the emptiness, one cannot one cannot one will not be the basis of attaining the liberation. It is because it is because without having the the wisdom or wisdom or or without realizing emptiness, one cannot overcome the the overcome the the self grasping attitude. So so so the wisdom realizing emptiness is the antidote towards the antidote antidote towards the self grasping attitude. So if if one does not have the the wisdom realizing emptiness, then one cannot have any antidote towards the self grasping attitude and it becomes more and more stronger and due to that one cultivates or collects the actions and as we revolve one’s cycles in the cyclic existence. So as you’ve said that before, the two features of these two suffering which are impermanence and the suffering, so by knowing this is the the present body is the projected body the the the the action and the disturbing emotion.
So, therefore, one can’t know that one has one needs to abandon the action and the disturbing and disturbing emotion, the causes of this the causes for this body. And so in order abandon the disturbing emotion, one needs to have the wisdom the knowledge of the wisdom realizing emptiness and for that reason the next two features of the true sufferings are the impermanence and the So it’s been said for the third and the fourth features of the true suffering are the emptiness and the selflessness. And emptiness here refers towards the subtle, the coarse selflessness and the selflessness here refers to the subtle selflessness. And then here the the coarse gross selflessness or the selflessness of a person here refers to the view of those non Buddhists or non-Buddhist view which agrees with the I, which agrees, ascertains the permanent I and that they agree, that they don’t, that they say that the I is not projected towards the physical body or towards its body and they they agree with the I which actually separate from this body. And it is because they said, because when one person dies and the body is impermanent and it’s been destroyed but the I travels towards the next life due to that, Due to that, they agree the eye exists separate, there is an eye that exists separate from this body and also which that are they ascertain that are as a permanent and also self sufficiently existence.
So here, you’re saying that the selfless, the gross selfless in a person is that because because because because there is no such a self sufficiently existent I that exists separately from this body. So such a selflessness of the person is the gross selflessness of the person. So the reason why they said that they ascertain the permanent I separate from the body, this body, and they also agree yeah, agree it as a permanent and it travels towards the next life without any changes. And it is it is because they they it is because they don’t understand that they don’t understand about the the how the continuation of the eye travels, eye eye goes towards the next life.
It doesn’t mean that it doesn’t it doesn’t mean that it it doesn’t so so they they don’t they don’t know that how it it continuation of that eye travels towards the next life but next life without changing. So due to that, so they only see that that particular eye solidly without any change moved towards moved moved moved towards the moved to goes towards the next life, but in in reality, it is not true because because the the we say that I is a labeled or the I is dependent on this body and it is in the same nature or it is the same entity with the body. So so so as as it is in the it is in it is in the one entity of one entity with the entity with the body as well as its Yeah. Yeah. As it is in it is it is as it is exist one with the one in one in one, it’s in the same entity as the body as well as it does it does not exist separately from this body due to that it is the empty of self sufficient re existence.
So here the fourth feature of the true suffering which is selflessness. I shall repeat here the four features which are impermanent, suffering, emptiness and the selflessness. So this selflessness refers towards the subtle selflessness of the person, subtle selflessness. And The way of establishing the subtle selflessness, there are different ways of establishing the selflessness according to the systems of the schools. And the schools below Prāsaṇgika or consequentialist school, they establish the selflessness of the person which is a bit coarser which is a bit closer than the the the subtle selflessness established by the the consequentialist or the Prāsaṇgika school.
So in that case, so due to that, you know, because of that, there is the different ways of establishing the four four noble truth and the sixteen and and the sixteen features. The four noble truths the sixteen attributes or features ascertained in the lower schools, tenets, the schools of tenets ascertain the cause, the four noble truths and the sixteen attributes or the features whereas in the consequential school or the Prāsaṇgika school, they ascertain to settle the four noble truths and its sixteen attributes. So for this, the great master, Dharmakriti, has said that the way of realizing the true suffering and its four features are: one should realize the impermanence. The first feature is impermanence by knowing that it is in the nature by nature, it changes momentarily and due to that and by knowing it’s momentarily changing, one realizes the emptiness and that emptiness act as a condition or causes to see or realize the the the second feature which is is suffering. And then through suffering one realizes the emptiness and from through this and then through and after that one realizes the selflessness.
So the first feature, the earlier features act as a condition to or your condition to realize the second features. So, realizing the Four Noble Truths and the sixteen attributes are the two that that that doing during the ordinary state while in the ordinary states, one one realizes the emptiness through the inferential cognitions through by understanding it through through the logics. And when so and whenever one yeah. So through this and realizes those sixteen features through the inferential cognition. And whenever one realizes those sixteen features directly through the direct perception, when one becomes superior beings.
So when everyone achieves such then one will never be one will never be under the influence of this the the of of the of the self grasping attitude and due to that, one cannot one will not one will not create the action which will which will let you which will let one to circle in this cyclic existence because one becomes when one reach that level, one becomes the one becomes the inflow, one one one becomes under the influence of the the wisdom realizing selflessness and due to that, you know, one it becomes it becomes it becomes antidote towards the self grasping attitude and will not will not cultivate any action which leads you to circle in the cyclic existence. So if one is able to develop a strong renunciation and develop a great effort or great enthusiasm, and one can attain early or become arhat or attain arhathood within this lifetime. Okay, that is all I say. So we’ll stop here with arhat topics. So we’ll take a couple of questions if you have.
Yes please. How can you cultivate bliss and develop renunciation? Oh, yes. I just got to oops. So what was the context of that?
Yeah. Oh, and, yeah, you were confused by translation. I had it out of there. Topic of renunciation. Yeah, mean, this is what I said, bliss.
For guess, he said the in Tibetan word. So that’s what I use. Can you repeat that question? How can you cultivate bliss and also develop So the hearer, the bliss, I should have called it the happiness and achievement of happiness is done by cultivating the positive actions and by having cultivated the positive action, one can attain the happiness. And to develop renunciation, one to or, yeah, with renunciation, one one one should one should see see the disadvantages of disadvantages of the cyclic existence.
And and so whenever one whenever one has the the the the strong when one have a had a strong wish of yeah, whenever one is able to develop a renunciation like a strong wish to free from cyclic existence by seeing the disadvantages of the cyclic existence then it means one is developing a renunciation. I was waiting for you. The way that she’s explaining the experience of developing renunciation, seems to me to be almost, you know, you go forward kind of unhappiness and you become extremely discouraged about your situation. About the situation you feel like. Yeah yeah.
So what I’m saying is that how do we while developing renunciation is Yeah yeah. Covering happiness Oh, yeah. Yeah. You might you might have to be I mean, to do some clarification here because Yeah, so probably my translation was not clear at that time. It’s saying that by collecting the both side wishes, by first one seeing the disadvantages of the cyclic existence and so forth.
And then on the other hand seeing the happiness which I mean as I said because I used the bliss, here’s the happiness of the liberation or arhat. By knowing the happiness of this liberation or arhat as the happiness of those explained in the previous classes. By having this and by wishing to, by seeing the happiness of those liberation or arhathood and wanting to achieve that, and on the other hand having developed a renunciation of seeing those, by seeing the disadvantages of the cyclic existence and by having those two one can attain have a strong renunciation. Is that okay? Good.
Four features of the Yeah, four features of the Of the true suffering, yeah. Where would can is there a textual reference that somebody could I could follow that up. Yeah, yeah. Second chapter of the Pramāna Vartika. Yes, please.
Yeah, okay. Yeah, I mean I can, but I didn’t say that, several mind which travels, alright? No, no. Okay. Nobody, yeah.
The first one is self exist conjoined with, yeah, as I said before, it’s one entity with the body. So in general, general since the body and the mind are all separate, but there is no contradictory by saying they are in the same entity or in one entity. Is that what you were asking? Yeah, well, the bardo, there’s a mind but no body? Yeah.
Is there no self? Can you not label self on anything at that point? Yeah. The first question was, I might have missed out the self. The second mind travels to the next life and it says also the self and the body and the mind are in one entity as we said before.
Also, your question was that the self and the mind, as they are joined and mind travels, so you mean that the mind are the same separate existence? So yeah, the self the body are separate and self is not, Self is not body and body is not self. So your question was, is there a self? No, no. There is a mind.
There is a body in intermediate state. Because they have a certain body which we can’t see. Okay.