Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. “Knowing the thief is the first step to stopping the thief” — Khensur Rinpoche builds this 95-minute Lamrim session around that image, drawn from Geshe Langri Thangpa’s thought-transformation text, to argue why practitioners must first learn to identify disturbing emotions before they can uproot them. Working through Nāgārjuna’s framework of the twelve links of interdependence, he defines each of the six root disturbing emotions in turn: desire as a mind that overestimates its object and clings like oil soaked into cloth; anger as the deep wish to harm; pride, ignorance, doubt, and the five varieties of deluded view — with wrong view singled out as the most destructive, capable of erasing all accumulated virtue. He then traces how studying the twelve links and the four noble truths naturally generates renunciation, illustrated by the burning-house analogy: saṃsāra is a house already on fire, and genuine practice means wanting out from the very first moment. A Q&A closes with fine distinctions between actions, non-virtues, desire, and intention. Suited to practitioners working through the middle scope of the Lamrim.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 35 LR 1999 11 22.mp3
UUID: ca2620ec-4104-4712-a93a-01ac1557149b
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Lam Rim (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1999-11-22
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 95.0 minutes
Words: ~3,838
Yeah. Of somebody else. as great master Ārya Nāgārjuna has set forth say, three disturbing emotions, two actions. Rest rest are rest are the sufferings, which means here the the among the twelve limbs of interdependence twelve limbs of interdependence, it has been divided into two sections. The six are the causes and six are the are the results.
And and also here, the three disturbing emotions to actions, which means within the twelve limbs of interdependence, it has been also divided into how many are the disturbing emotions, how many are the actions, and how many are neither actions nor the disturbing emotions. So it’s said for that within the twelve limbs of interdependent, three are the disturbing emotions, two are actions, and the rest seven are neither disturbing emotion nor action, but they are suffering, which comes under the influence of disturbing emotion and and action. So about disturbing emotions, disturbing emotion we have set forth in the earlier classes, that the disturbing emotion is a mind which is a mind mind which is not settled, means not it’s not not peace, and it’s the mind which is not controlled, and also it’s a and moreover, it’s it’s a mistaken or wrong mind. And so about the dis for the disturbing emotion, when if if we if we divide the disturbing emotions, it has been classified or divided into two sections which called root disturbing emotions and the secondary disturbing emotions. So it is important for one to know the disturbing emotion first because if one doesn’t know what is disturbing emotion, then one will never know one will never know when disturbing emotion comes into one’s mind.
And and and also sometimes one one one even know this one will not know even all everything is performed by the disturbing emotion. It’s been developed and it produces its actions and one still doesn’t understand the disturbing emotion. Therefore, first from the beginning, the recognizing, knowing what is disturbing emotion is very important. By knowing or recognizing disturbing emotion, then one can stop developing disturbing emotions within oneself. It is like knowing the thief is very important before one stops the thief.
Without knowing the thief, one can never stop the thief coming into or breaking in breaking in. So the the the the great Geshe Langri Thangpa in his his thought transformation has set forth that in all the actions, examine one’s mind or analyzing one’s mind is very important, which means that that these all the sufferings are produced by the disturbing emotions. So therefore, in in in all the action, one should always examine one’s mind whether disturbing emotion is is developing or or growing growing within one’s mind. So the way the disturbing emotions will never arise in never arise upon the trees or stones. It always develops within one’s mind.
So we should always examine one’s mind and check whether one is developing or or or sorry. One’s developing disturbing emotion or not. So if one came to know the one, the developing so the disturbing emotion is arising, one should on straight away should examine or get rid of should get rid of that disturbing emotion. And it is one so you should get rid of the disturbing emotion because if one does not get rid of that disturbing emotion, then disturbing emotion, then it will either cause harm to you or to others. So the main disturbing emotions are set forth comes in the ten non virtuous actions ten non virtuous, which are the three main the mental non virtuous, which are covetousness, harmful intention, and the wrong view.
And then if we extend that very disturbing emotions at three, then which we are there are that becomes the six root disturbing emotions, which are the desire, anger, pride, ignorance, doubt, and deluded views. So that desire that desire derives or comes from that covetousness which is set forth in the ten non virtues. So and the desire desire is a mistaken mind, and we we we we sees the things in the opposite, like seeing impermanent things as a permanent and impure as a pure and unhappiness as a happiness and selflessness as a self as a self. So so and and it is also that this desire is the one which which which exaggerates or overestimates the the the the its objects objects appearances or or its object’s quality. Like, about the phenomena, there are different we have the the the uncontaminated phenomena and the contaminated phenomena.
So desire which overestimates the quality of the of the contaminated phenomena, and due to this, it it becomes so for example, due to this, it becomes so attached towards that that particular object and becomes very strong very becomes very strong and and becomes very hard to split it from the the from the from the desired object. So it is like it is so it’s it is like something this which which overestimates, like, a something which is slight appealing and but but but that desire makes that appealing or overestimate the quality of that object and that appealing makes even more even more stronger, and it becomes and and and it it conjoins with it and becomes very strong and unseparable, like hard to separate hard to separate it. It it it sticks like the oil dipped or dubbed on a corner cloth or material or textile so that it is very hard to remove that the dot of the the oil from the cloth or material. No? What means?
So the so here yeah. So desire is a mind which overestimates the quality of the contaminant of the object in the grasp and and and becomes inseparable or hard to to separate from that particular object. And anger, as for anger, there are different ways of generating or develop developing anger. But but it so so briefly speaking, then anger, the mind anger means it is a mind which which from the which from the heart or bottom of the heart wanted to to or intend have intention or wanted to harm others and yeah. To harm others, and such a mind is called the anger.
And that anger comes derived from the harmful intention which is in the term non virtues? And the third one is the pride. And the pride also have different levels of greatness of the pride. And in general speaking, then the pride is the mind which is a mind which grasp or which which has strong self grasping. And upon it, it also exaggerates one’s one’s quality, thinking that that one is more educated than others, one has greater knowledge than others, one one is more one is smarter or more beautiful than others, and one has better voice than others.
And fourth one is ignorance. So the the ignorance as well as we say, the matter one is not seen. So those are the synonyms. Right? And ignorance is the one which offsets or obscures us seeing the real nature of phenomena or the true or the mode the real model existence of the phenomena.
So it is like a fork which which which which blind us from seeing the objects. So the mode okay. So the ignorance which which is the one which which which bind which blind us or which offsets us from act as obstacle of seeing of obstacle to see the real nature or the true existence of the phenomena. And the fifth one is the view, or deluded view. As for as for the view, there are there are there are two types of views called the correct correct view and the the mistaking or the deleted views.
So correct views are the view of establishing emptiness and view which ascertains that the the from the good action produce the good results and suffering and and from suffering comes the suffering. So those are the current views. So and the the mistaken view or deleted views, they are different types of deleted views, and it has the if you yeah. So there are also five types of deluded views, which are the view of transitory collections, extreme views, holding wrong views as superior, the holding bad ethics and disciplines to be superior, and the pervaded views or wrong views. So the first one, the the view of transitory collection is is is the one from from the yeah.
We. So it’s yeah. We so we reproduce this or cultivate lot of actions through the river of transitory collections. It is a mind it is a mind which mind which grasp itself depending on comes from by depending on one’s one’s body. And and the the the way that turns to the collection is the one by grasping that by seeing that self or eye as as I exist without depending without depending on others and and and agreeing or or ascertaining that that that I exist inherent I I is inherent exist inherently existence or and and it also true and it exist it is also grasping its truly existent.
You know? So degree of transitory collection, which comes under the title of wrong views set forth in the ten non virtues. So and the the wrong views in the ten non virtues in Tibetan is called, means the word to word trans it’s been translated as wrong view, but the word to word is seen opposite. So which means that that that that that it it it sees the phenomena differently, not in its not not not not positively or or saying mistakenly, like like like like agreeing that in the truth that from the the virtuous causes produces the result of happiness, and from the suffering produces the the causes of non virtuous produces the the suffering as a result. Whereas the wrong views, those op yeah.
Wrong views agrees in that from the agreeing opposite than that that agreeing that from the virtuous causes produces the suffering as a result and then from the negative causes produces this happiness as a result. So that that wrong view is is the wrong view is the worst is the worst from the disturbing emotions, and and then also there are wrong views. And also wrong views are are some of the wrong views set forth that there is no the the nonexistence of the former and later rebirths and also seeing the the nirvana or liberation does not exist. And so it is so so that yeah. And and so the wrong view are are considered to be the the the worst from the disturbing emotions.
So for example, like for example, the anger means by developing anger anger by its nature is non virtuous or negative. And due to that, by developing that anger, which is non virtuous, and what it does and it actions is that it it harms or it destroys one’s one’s one’s positive actions, which one has cultivated previously. And and it also if if one has has cultivated a great store of non or great store of virtuous actions. And and the by developing anger, it it it minimizes the the results of one’s good good action. And so for so that is that is yeah.
So that’s what anger does. And by developing that wrong view so just just developing a wrong view is a is a very, very strong or has developed a great or very strong non virtuous. And and and by developing that, it actions and develops wrong view and then produces actions in which we which which this which will and and that action of the non virtuous and wrong views will destroy destroy all one’s positive actions or the good actions which one has cultivated in cultivated in earlier time. So, therefore, due to that, the wrong view is considered to be the one of the considered as the worst among these disturbing emotions. And then the sixth of the root six root disturbing emotions is the is the doubt.
So doubt is the one which has which is not sure or Doubt is the one which develops doubt about the existence of the former and later rebirth and the existence of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, and the existence of liberation or nirvana. So so so and and and so yeah. So by developing that doubt, the existence of all those above mentioned, by developing such a doubt has a yeah. Cultivates the the cultivates the negative deed or non-virtue. And and so yeah.
Non virtuous, and it is which is said for comes under the three root six root disturbing emotions, and it is because because because the no. Excuse me. It’s been considered categorized under the six root disturbing emotions. So these are these six disturbing emotions and within the disturbing emotions those six are desire, anger, pride, ignorance, doubt, and the deluded views are the six root or main disturbing emotions. And within those six and the main main main there are three main within those six, the disturbing emotions which are set forth in the ten non-virtues, which are determined by ten non-virtues, the covetousness, harmful intention, and wrong views.
And then the the secondary disturbing emotions are are the the the deviations or expand or or comes by expanding those six six root disturbing emotions. It takes time to expand or go through all the secondary disturbing emotions, so I shall not go deal with those. So in future if you were to study those mind and mental factors then all these disturbing root and the secondary disturbing emotions comes under the teachings of mind and mental factors. So and the venerable Margaret has asked the question in the previous class one of the previous classes, saying whether those three the last three, the harmful intention, covetousness, and the wrong views, or the action or not. And so here, the answer is that once you it is that those three, the those three are negativity or non virtuous, but they are not action.
So those three are not the actions, though, but they are the non virtues. So if if if if those three are are actions, then it contradict con it contradict towards the the what had towards what had set forth by the aura Nāgārjuna, saying three disturbing emotions and two actions. So it means it becomes five actions. So, therefore, the actions and the disturbing emotions are contradictory. So so there is no such a thing which is both the disturbing emotion and the the the action.
But but but it is not contradictory contradictory to one to be a the disturbing emotion as well as non virtuous. So if one asks, the desk one completes all those or complete those twelve limbs of interdependent in one life or not, then then the then the answer is one cannot complete all this or cultivate or complete those two elements of interdependent in one lifetime. The fastest one completes the twelve limbs of interdependence is in two lifespans or two lifetimes. Means that in earlier life, one cultivates six causes and completes the result in the six results in the next life, and that is the fastest. So if one trains in those twelve limbs of interdependence, then the benefit of it is one will be able to get rid of that wrong view of of wrong view about or or wrong view or the doubt about the existence of former or later rebirths.
Because by training in the twelve elements of interdependence, one can one through one’s practices and through one’s experiences, one will come to know the the that the that that the causes are being are are cultivated in the previous life, and and the result would be experiences or produced in the next life. You know? Practices of medium scope are, like, four noble truths, and and the teachings are for practices of four noble truths and the twelve limbs of interdependence, and we don’t really have much time to go through more details. But so so by training in those four noble truths and and the twelve limbs of interdependence, and so that the criterion of having developed the mind of the middling scope is that is is that by knowing by thinking about the sufferings and the the true suffering and the causes of the suffering, origin of the suffering. And by seeing that by contemplating on the about the on the actions and disturbing emotions, how how actions and disturbing emotion produces the the the the results of sufferings in suffering in the future lives and also the the the those ignorance and also how ignorance produces the sufferings in the future in the next lives.
So by thinking so by contemplating on those, yeah, by contemplating on those and but one one one one develops the understanding of the true nature of the some you know, of the saṃsāra or ascetic existence and seeing that that that that that the saṃsāra is is saṃsāra is suffering. And and yes. And yes. Samsāra is suffering. And and by and by knowing the true nature of saṃsāra and whenever one develops a mind of wishing to mind which wishing to free from the cyclic existence saṃsāra and and and, yeah, wishing to free from cyclic existence and attain the nirvana or liberation is called the renunciation or the wish to free from cyclic existence.
So whenever one has developed the developed that renunciation or that renunciations and by contemplating upon or by practicing or meditating upon this renunciation. Whenever one attends certain enjoys certain amount of experiences by practicing that renunciation is the criterion of having developed the the the mind of middling capacity / middling scope. You know? So it is like, for example, say, you were inside a house, and that’s how suddenly catch or caught fire. And and So just the very first moment, if one talks about the momentary, from the very first moment of the fire, one suddenly develops a wish to to get out of their house.
So so yeah. So whenever so and from the very first moment of that house caught fire, one day left a wish to get out of the house. So likewise, so one so likewise, one should have the same same intention or same wish to get out of one’s body from the very first moment. It is like our body is the saṃsāra or cyclic existence. And it we say that the body is not a being.
So so the body is saṃsāra, and it is like that house and which has all which already have have caught the fire of suffering. So so as so so so one should develop so one should have an intention to to so it has already caught the fire of sufferings, and one should so one should develop a strong intention to to to get out of that this that saṃsāra or that body. And like like like like one has that like should have the same wish or yeah, strong wish to free from the body like one has developed from the very first moment of the fire caught that house caught the fire. So if one has that strong wish of getting strong wish of being free from that samsaric existence, one’s body, that is the criterion of having developed a proper renunciation or a wish to free from cyclic existence. But for us, we for us, we don’t that’s coughing.
The But for us, we always consider this psychic so this body or saṃsāra is very pleasant and happy and always wanted to be in rather than going out of that. We’ll stop here and take a few questions. Yes, Richard? Yeah. No.
So in terms of establishing the action, it’s very there are the various assertions according to the different schools of tenets. So some schools of the tenets, Buddhist schools of tenets set forth that action is a mind, has to be mind. Action means which is mind. Action has to be mind. Whereas in the schools of Sautrāntika and the Prāsaṇgika, the consequentialist middle way school, said for that the action does not necessarily be a mind.
There should be a form as well. So which means mind is not form. Action can be either mind or form. So there are different proponents. Whatever it is for the actions, there are two types of actions which are called the intended action and the intention, which means the actions yeah.
The intended action means the the actions which has been developed within one’s mind and then and and implemented through the body and the speech. And and intent, means intention, which means just well, just one has performed that action within one’s mind but never manifested the actions which one has been intended. So so action here, which means is that action there there there is a doer or agent which which does a which does a function or which does a which which which does a function towards its object or its subject. So that is so which is called the action. And the disturbing emotion is the one so is that whenever one the disturbing emotions whenever one develops a disturbing emotion within one’s mind, and so that that disturbing emotions or anything which one develops within one’s mind and which produces the unpaced or restless or not peace and uncomfortable within one’s mind.
Those are set forth or are the disturbing emotions. And disturbing and and the negative deeds or non virtues is something is is something by nature is negative. And whenever it is developed within one’s mind and which could whenever it is performed or developed, and and that gives the result of un unpleasant result or unhappiness is unhappiness, and that is so yeah. So to is so those things, non-virtuous actions are the one by nature negative, and and it’s it’s it’s be sure that the result of those are the unpleasant result or unwanted suffering. The desire desire is is not is not the intent intention.
Whenever you have developed a desire, for example, you see there is a very you have developed a desire. At first time, like seeing some object, very appealing, beautiful object, and you have developed an attachment towards that, which is desire. And that desire, at the very first stage, does not has any intention or it doesn’t produce intention. But depending on desire, you produce or develop intention. So because of the desire act as a main, which is thinking like over explaining or liking particular object.
Upon that desire, then you cultivate the intention of possessing that action, or sorry, that object, but it’s not the desire which intended. Desire is there, and the intention comes by depending on desire, but desire didn’t intend to do. Okay.