Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 98-minute session, Khensur Rinpoche concludes the middling-scope section of his Lam Rim series with a vivid image: the mind is like pure water that poisons when mixed with disturbing emotions — attachment, anger, ignorance — but nourishes when mixed with their opposites: renunciation, bodhicitta, and wisdom realizing emptiness. He ties these three antidotes directly to the three principal aspects of the path before explaining why liberation requires the precious human rebirth with its eighteen qualities. The bulk of the talk works through the three special trainings in sequence: ethical discipline (surveying the full hierarchy of vows from lay to fully ordained, with Nāgārjuna’s image of discipline as the earth that bears all attainment), meditative stabilisation (described as a nail that pins a wandering mind firmly to its focal object), and wisdom. Rinpoche closes by announcing the next class will open the great-scope teachings.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 37 LR 1999 12 07.mp3
UUID: 9d917f75-d5cf-44fb-b3bd-95f1a0d8c42b
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Lam Rim (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1999-12-07
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 98.4 minutes
Words: ~4,668
Set of motivation. I’ve been able to get that. I’m around that I’m there. So we we we wish happiness, and here, the happiness is not just a temporary temporary enjoyment. What we wish is that happiness is the ultimate or the unchangeable happiness.
We wish this happiness, but we but but but we still lack that happiness. Also, do not wish or want suffering but one is being tortured by these unwanted sufferings. Likewise, oneself, the other sentient beings are also letting this ultimate happiness being tortured by the unwanted sufferings. So at this stage, we do not wish suffering, but we are being tortured by the sufferings of this the tortured by the suffering of this present life. If one still fails to practice, there is a danger of being tortured by the sufferings of the of lower lower realms in the next life as well if one fails to practice.
So therefore, we should try to find the skillful means and the wisdom and the skillful means in this present life before one dies attain that unchangeable happiness and avoid this unwanted suffering. So at this stage, we have the capability of gaining those skillful means and wisdom to overcome all the unwanted sufferings and attain the unchangeable happiness. So at this stage, having those capability, if one still does not strike hard to attain those skillful means and the wisdom, then after that after if one fails to attain the training those skillful means, and the wisdom, then when when one take a rebirth in the lower realms, it is very hard to have this opportunity to have or have those those skillful means and wisdom to to train in. Even if one and one one can hardly remember to train in those skillful means and wisdom as well as it is even even if one remind or, yeah, remember to practice those, but it’s very hard to have that capability of doing or training in such. As well as also, even if there is someone who can who have the capability of has the capability of helping you but being born in those lower realms, the person can hardly have opportunity to help you to get out of those unwanted sufferings and attain the ultimate happiness.
So you should think that as oneself is in this position or this state, So one should think that, like oneself, other sentient beings are also lacking ultimate happiness and and have had been tortured by the unwanted sufferings. So for therefore, cherish those other sentient beings more important than oneself. And in order to free those motherly sentient beings from those unwanted sufferings, I shall here attain enlightenment enlightenment for the I shall I shall here abandon all the negative actions and attain enlightenment for the sake of all all those sentient beings, and through this develops a a bodhicitta. You should develop a motivation that For that purpose, in order to attain enlightenment for the sake of all my dearly sentient beings, I shall here listen to of Mahāyāna and contemplate on its meanings will attend will repeat it repeat will often meditate on those teachings I have heard. So from the beginning of the practice, once you’ll hear first listen in the practice of listening, it is because at this stage, we don’t understand what actions are the negative and what are the positive, as well as which object is the object of abandonment and which are the object of accomplishment.
As we do not have the proper understanding of doing such practice, in order to train in those to know what is to be done and what is to be avoided and what are the negatives and which are the positive actions first once you’re trained in the practice of listening. So just by hearing the teaching once or twice, is not enough. One should rather contemplate on those teachings that one has heard. Contemplate on those meanings and investigate about the meanings of the teachings through through logics, by through a logical approach and by having investigate and establish until one finds that it’s been those teachings or meanings been proved validly proved by the cognitions or valid cognitions. After having established the ultimate meaning of the teaching through investigation, then one should not stick this as well.
One should rather meditate or meditate in the sense, means, to familiarize with the meanings what one has validly proved through the investigations, By meditating again and again on its final meanings, this, one can derive the great benefits from through this meditation because by doing this meditation, it increases the knowledge and it increases also one’s wisdom, and through that wisdom, one abandons all the negativities and attained the the all the positive or all the good qualities. Also, through through these such practices, one one can and this doing such practices is is is a very effective or a powerful practice. We shall here do a brief meditation. Because of lacking wisdom derived from the contemplation and the wisdom derived from the meditation, we are not able to challenge these stubborn emotions. So likewise, we said just earlier it’s not just enough to have the practices of listening.
If one does not contemplate on the meanings of the teaching what one have heard, then what one have heard, that the teachings won’t last long and one forgets it very quickly. Therefore, it is very important to have the wisdoms which derive from the contemplation. That means one should contemplate on the meanings and investigate the meaning about the teachings that one has heard and establishes or reaches and finds the final, the valid, the proofs and meanings of the teachings of what one has heard is the valid meanings. By having attained that wisdom derived from the contemplations, one cultivates the wisdom derived from meditation, and that wisdom helps ones to challenge the disturbing emotions. If one hasn’t had those wisdoms derived from the contemplation and the meditation, then the person’s been controlled.
Then it becomes that the person, oneself, becomes controlled by a mind, and that mind being controlled by the disturbing emotions, and therefore, the disturbing emotions direct one’s mind everywhere. And through this, one cultivates the various of actions and negativities through the three doors of body, speech, and mind, and as a result, one receives the sufferings. So therefore, one should try to one should try to not being controlled oneself by one’s mind and also try that mind is not being controlled by the disturbing emotions. By doing this, this is called the practice. One should rather try to control one’s mind instead of mind being control instead of one being controlled by their mind.
So by trying to control one’s mind and by controlling that mind, should try to and should and try not to let that mind be controlled or influenced by the disturbing emotion, rather make use of that mind to challenge the disturbing emotions and always be directed towards the positive actions. Should try to control that mind not being after not control, not to let it go after the root of the root of the sufferings. Or they also been set forth in general, the attachment, anger, and the ignorance. But but in the but in the ten non virtuous actions that that that’s been set forth, the main three are the disturbing main three of the root the three root roots of the sufferings are the three main negative actions within the ten non virtuous actions, which are the attachment, anger, and the wrong views. Instead the wrong view has been placed instead of of the ignorance because the the wrong view is the ignorance, but because but wrong view is the one which which which which which cultivates the very heavy non-virtuous actions.
For that reason, the wrong view has been in place instead of ignorance. So when we say that should rather one should try not to let one’s mind be controlled by the disturbing emotions. And here, the disturbing emotions are mean are the root of the disturbing emotions, which are the attachment, anger, and the ignorance. So we should control one’s mind not to let after those disturbing emotions. Try to control one’s mind and not let it after the disturbing emotions.
Rather, to be a real good practitioner, one should rather let one’s mind be influenced or after positive actions, like being non attachment, non hatred, and non confusions, or to say they attained the actions or cultivate the virtues of being non attachment, being non hatred, and being non confusions or ignorance. And if one if one is able to do such, then any actions one one one cultivates through the body’s speech and mind, all the actions will become are be become positive. So the mind, by nature, it is very pure, like a very pure water which is free from all the stains. But when that water but it gets polluted when that water it’s like when that water gets mixed with the poison, then by consuming or drinking that water, it causes problems like getting sick and so forth. So the mind by nature is like that very pure water and the poison is like the disturbing emotions are like the poison.
When the mind is with conjoined or mixed with the poison disturbing emotions, then it causes the suffering to us, to all of us. Instead of mixing that pure water with the poison, if one adds, mix that water with the fruit juice like orange or put coffee in it or the sugar, then the water and you drink it, it won’t give you any sufferings. It actually helps you to gain certain amount of happiness. So so if so if one if one if if one meets that one’s mind with the with the virtues derived from the virtues being non being free from the actions or the virtues being free from attachment, hatred, and the ignorance or confusion, then then it then it helps one to one to want to abandon or or abandon or overcome all those negativities and the disturbing emotions and and help us to attain the attain the ultimate the utmost, perfect or ultimate happiness. Here, the virtues of positive actions being positive or virtues being free from attachment is the opposite of having attachment, so the virtuous being free from attachment implies to means it is means the renunciation or wish to free from cyclic existence.
So the having renunciation is the main one to abandon or stop attachment. So and then the the virtues of of virtues being free from hatred either means the love or bodhicitta, hatred is the intention of having intention to harm others. So the virtuous being free from hatred means it’s the opposite of that intention of intention to harm others, so which which means that the virtues being free from hatred is the bodhicitta. It’s the love, but one also call it the bodhicitta as well. Virtues being free from confusion or ignorance is the wisdom, which is the wisdom realizing emptiness.
Here, the confusion or ignorance which applies towards the true grasping, so the opposite of the true grasping is the wisdom, wisdom which realizes emptiness, which abandons the grasping of true existence. So if we summarize or briefly speaking, then this is the reason that great master Mañjuśrī has set forth the teaching of the three principal aspects of the path, the renunciation, bodhicitta, and the correct view to the great master Tsongkhapa. So how to cultivate the renunciation? Renunciation is being cultivated by practicing in the parts of the small and middling scope. And the person of great beings cultivates the bodhicitta.
As we have the two objects of attainment or accomplishment, which are the higher rebirth and the definite goodness, So if that renunciation has a company of the wisdom, realizing, emptiness, then one can attain the the one can attain the the state of one can attain the definite goodness, which is which is the liberation or arhatship. And if if that bodhicitta has a company of a company of of the wisdom realizing emptiness, then one can one one attains the the enlightenment state which has perfected both the two purposes, self and others. So we have been dealing with the practices of the the middling scope for the last last teachings and have said we had the teaching set for this about the the true nature of the cyclic existence and and the nature of cyclic existence and the the the sufferings of the cyclic existence. So after having studied about the true existence or the true nature of the cyclic existence, by studying this, one will be able to or one develops the intention or wish to free from the mind, wish to free from cyclic existence or attaining liberation are right So one develops an intention or mind or wish to free from cyclic existence by seeing the disadvantages of cyclic existence.
Having developed that mind, you wish to free from cyclic existence. Now at this stage, we have reached towards the point, the basis for stopping the cyclic existence and the path by meditating on which stops the cyclic existence. About the basis for stopping cyclic existence or on what basis one stops the cyclic existence being set forth? In the earlier teachings as well, we said that they are the bases which are the beings. There are six types of beings in the cyclic existence and among those six, the beings of the three lower realms or the bad migrations are not suitable basis to stop cyclic existence because they always have sufferings and tortured by sufferings for all the time.
For the demigods, it’s also not another proper basis or right basis to stop the cyclic existence because of having huge jealousy, envy, as well and for the god, it’s also not the right proper basis because it’s not the right basis because they are have huge happiness and indulge with happiness forever so that they don’t even remember how to wish or get time to develop a wish to free from cyclic existence. Among the six types of beings, human beings are basis for us to stop the cyclic existence. But it’s not all humans or all human beings. They are the human beings now who have the the who has who who have attained the precious human rebirth with the eighteen unique or eighteen qualities, which are the eight leisures being free from the busyness of practicing the Dharma. No.
No. Sorry. So eight leisures being free from busyness and have those ten endowments or ten conducive conditions to practice the teaching. So the reason why the reason why one needs to have the eighteen qualities eighteen qualities to to stop the cyclic existence is because because the path which leads towards the liberation is only is generated only within those sentient those beings who have attained the human rebirths with the eighteen qualities. Without having those eighteen qualities, the part which lead towards the liberation cannot or will not be developed or generated in will not be generated.
So, therefore, the to to to develop the the part which leads towards the liberation, one has to have those eighteen the precious human rebirth with the eighteen qualities. And if one does not have that part which leads towards enlightenment, then the towards the liberation, then there is no chance to achieve that part. As for the path, by meditating on which cyclic existence is stopped? For the path, there are numbers of paths, and briefly, if we summarize, it can be summarized into fifteen parts. The five paths of the Hearer schools and five paths of the Solitary Realizer and five paths of the Mahāyāna five paths of the greater vehicle.
Can also that fifteen is also summarized or abbreviated or subsumed under three categories, which are the three trainings. The trainings of ethical disciplines, training of concentration or meditative stabilization, and the training of training of wisdom. So these are the three parts or the three trainings which includes entire parts, which included all the entire parts. And there is a mode of generating those three three trainings within one within oneself. So so in order to develop the generate the the trainings of wisdom, first should one has to cultivate the trainings of concentration or meditative stabilization before it.
In order to cultivate or generate the trainings of meditative stabilization or concentration, one needs to cultivate the training of ethical discipline. Also, there’s been said for the three other trainings that’s been called the special ethical discipline, the meditative stabilization, and the wisdom, which means those trainings are superior than the three ordinary trainings. It is said for because those three trainings, the training of ethical disciplines, concentration, and the wisdoms, be generated or developed to a person, towards non-Buddhist persons as well. But those three special trainings cannot be developed or generated by the non-Buddhist practitioners. Those special trainings are not possible or cannot be developed or generated by the non-Buddhist practitioner.
They’ve been set forth as special trainings because those three trainings are conjoined conjoined with the perfect refuge, which means that in order to develop those three special trainings, one has to have a refuge, because that refuge acts as a basis or a foundation to generate those special trainings. So that special training of ethical disciplines, which is uphold or racist based by the refuge, and they are for for it, it has it has three types of three types of ethical disciplines. The ethical disciplines of the individual or pratimoksha in the yeah. Sort of individual liberations and the ethical disciplines of of bodhisattva or bodhisattva. The ethical disciplines of the bodhisattvas, ethical disciplines of the tantra.
The ethical discipline of self liberation has been cut has two two sub subdivisions, which are the ethical disciplines of the the of lay ethical disciplines of lay lay people and ethical disciplines of the the audience people. The three types of ethical disciplines for the lay practitioners, for the lay beings, which are the three vows, the layman’s vow, layman and woman’s vow, which is two, and then the one day ordination vow. Yeah, one day vow. And and that and the five ethical disciplines has been set for towards the to the audient person, which means there are five types of five types of of vows. The vows of fully ordained monk and nun, which are the bhikkhu and bhikkhuni vows or the ethical disciplines of bhikkhus and bhikkhunis, and the vow or ethical disciplines of novice monk and nun.
There is another way of taking, receiving vows, which is between the novice Say, for example, the one is between the novice monk and the fully ordained monk or the novice nun and the fully ordained nun. There is between In order to develop or generate any of those ethical disciplines, any of those special ethical disciplines, Those special ethical disciplines being generated within oneself if one has the precious human rebirth with the eighteen qualities, the eight leisures and ten endowments. If one has the eighteen qualities and the the eighteen qualities the human rebirth with the eighteen qualities, one can has the chances or one can perfectly or correctly develop any of those ethical disciplines. One should guide the ethical disciplines very intact. The benefit of having proper ethical disciplines is here, the great master Nāgārjuna has set forth the ground, the earth.
The earth is like a mother towards those travelers or non travelers, which means the travelers mean towards the beings who walked on the earth or on the ground. The non travelers refers towards things like the trees, grass, stones, so forth, which dwells on the earth. The earth acts as a basis for all those objects upon it and upon the earth, all those beings experiences different kinds of feelings or experiences happiness and suffering and so forth. Likewise, like that earth, the ethical discipline, having the proper ethical discipline is very important. That ethical discipline is like that earth, it’s like a mother or a basis cultivate or to develop or cultivate the next trainings, the training of concentrations and the wisdoms as well as upon having it and also those those the attainments like the liberation, arhatu, enlightenments, and any any attainments of the lower, lesser, lower and the greater vehicles are being attained through or by having the proper ethical discipline.
Therefore, the ethical discipline is like a basis or a model to induce, a model to produce all those results. So if one maintains or one receives any vows, any of those valve delay or ordinary vows, then one enters the teachings of the realizations, which means as for the teaching of Buddha, there have been two teachings set forth, which are the teachings of scriptural citeachings and the teachings of realization. By doing the practices of taking refuge and then listening to the teachings and giving teachings, practicing meditations and so forth. By doing such, one enters the teachings of scriptural citeachings and by taking or preserving the lay and the monk vows, one enters the teachings of realizations.
So to lead a very ethical life, one can take any of those vows, lay or monk or the ordained vows. And if if if one and by taking the vows, there are certain disciplines or certain ethical disciplines to uphold. And if if one still if one does not take any of those vows, there are still ethical disciplines to to to they they still, there there is ethical discipline to to train in or to maintain. Like, that ethical discipline is the ten non-virtuous actions. So one should it’s very important to know that just by just by not doing negative actions does not mean that one is maintaining the ethical disciplines of of abandoning the ten non-virtuous action.
To develop that ethical disciplines of abandoning ten non virtuous action, one first needs to make certain commitments within oneself that I shall not do such and such. Having made that commitment and maintaining or abstain from doing those non virtuous actions, then one one one maintains the ethical disciplines of abandoning internal non virtuous actions. Cultivating the positive actions with taking the vows or without vows has huge differences in their powerful or the greatness of their actions. And within taking vows, they are also the take the receiving or taking the the order the the monk or non monk or nun vows are are is greater than taking the lay vows. Within the audience or monks and nuns, they are also different.
The bhikkhu vows are receiving bhikkhu vows have greater benefits than the novice monk vows, and the bhikkhu vows have more benefit than the novice nun’s The difference in the effectiveness of virtuous actions are being distinguished by vows one has taken. Likewise, there’s also the differences or the greatness in cultivating the non virtuous actions as well. So the the man maintaining the ethical discipline is very important, and and the ethical disciplines means is the which helps one to to stop stop all the negative actions and cultivate the positive actions, or it’s also been ethical disciplines is ethical disciplines helps the one’s sketchy mind to stop wandering. Also, yes, stop wandering. So if I demonstrate as an example here, for example, one maintains one takes the ethical disciplines of not caring.
By taking that commitments or maintaining that ethical disciplines, one one abandons the actions of action of killing. If one does not take the vow or commitment or the ethical disciplines of not killing, then for some person it is more likely that they will spend their whole life killing because of not having taken the commitment or vow of not killing. As a result, one has huge sufferings. Those For example, it’s like those fishermen’s the fishermen’s bushes, etc. And likewise, maintaining the ethical disciplines of abstaining from these sexual misconducts and yes, sexual misconducts and continuous distend other non virtuous actions.
By thinking on those going through each topics, one can see the huge benefits of maintaining the ethical discipline. As we said before, the ethical disciplines which helps one’s mind to abstain or avoid those non virtuous actions The benefits of cultivating the second training, which is the concentration or meditative stabilization, is that meditative stabilization helps one’s mind, the one’s scattered mind, to stop wandering, which means that that helps that non meditative state of mind to being into the meditative state of mind. So that meditative stabilization the training of meditative stabilization or concentration helps one’s mind being wandering. Here, mental wandering means that, for example, one is doing a meditation and if one mind does not state firmly on the focal object and it goes to other objects than the focal object, then that is the mental wandering or the mental wandering. The meditative stabilizations help that mind stopping from wandering and which stabilized one’s mind onto stay very steadily onto that focal object like a very firm like the nail that’s been put on the plank or a root.
As we have the three doors, the body, speech, and mind, like for us, there are three wanderings, the wandering of body, speech, and mind. And maintaining by maintaining that ethical discipline, helps to stop the wandering of the physical and verbal wanderings, and by guiding maintaining the trainings of meditative stabilization, maintaining that which helps from mental wandering, which stops one’s mind wandering. By maintaining third training, the training of wisdom, which helps us by having to maintain the stabilizing training in the meditative stabilizations, that wisdom helps to perform the meditation. The training of the wisdom helps ones to meditate single pointedly on the observed or the focused object and upon. Through this, it helps us to free one’s mind from the disturbing emotions and helps to attain the liberation.
So if if if those three special trainings are practiced or generated by the person who has the precious human rebirth with eighteen qualities, the eight leisures and ten endowments, that person can attain liberation by training those three special trainings. Here we conclude the sessions of the practice of the middling scope. In near future, we’ll start from the practices of the great scope. So we won’t take any questions today, it’s beyond the time. But we have another class on the next Tuesday, which is the last class of the year.
Unfortunately, the next Tuesday is considered to be a bad day in our calendar traditionally. On that day, all the offices like or all Tibetan governments have been closed. Also, the religious things, they’ve been set forth on that day. Don’t perform any orders or actions or any positive actions being asked by the teachers. Said, Don’t perform any positive actions.
Not positive actions, don’t. It’s been said for them, don’t cultivate the orders of the teachers on that day. So don’t fulfill the orders of the teachers in the sense it doesn’t mean that one should not practice by oneself. What it means is here the orders of the teachers, which means giving teachings and so forth. One is not supposed to do those giving teachings on that day, but one can still practice by oneself.
Not teaching. I’ve done this many years ago, several times many years ago, but haven’t been done this for a while. Which means that I used to do a Dharma party. Next week we’ll be gathering here and first we’ll start to recite some prayers on the seven-limb prayer. All the days that kind of prayers yourself.
So you all should come. Must come. When they come up.