Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Khensur Rinpoche opens this 69-minute session with a blunt observation: happiness and suffering are both results, so changing one’s life means working on causes — not just wishing. He then marks a turning point in his 1999 Lamrim series, moving from how to follow a spiritual teacher into the stages of training the mind that follow. The heart of the session is precious human rebirth: he unpacks the eighteen required characteristics — eight freedoms (not being reborn in realms where practice is impossible) and ten riches (including faith, a functioning sangha, and access to a qualified teacher) — and argues that since Milarepa’s body was no different from ours, enlightenment is genuinely within reach. He closes with three practical causes for securing a better rebirth: ethical discipline, generosity, and patience, each explained concretely.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 39 LR 1999 12 23.mp3
UUID: f262adff-a31d-4ba9-bc6d-9d815e174571
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Lam Rim (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1999-12-23
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 68.9 minutes
Words: ~4,474
You better tell me honest. So in this world or saṃsāra, there are numbers of different types of beings. And and but all are saying that they innately wish happiness and do not want suffering. So we have to all everyone, no matter what kind of creature or beings they are, but we have all have the same wish. So it is we we need to get rid of suffering and want to cultivate the cultivate the happiness.
And it’s not just by saying that that the happiness won’t come. Well, just by saying that if if I were to have happiness, it won’t come by just by saying and as well as it’s saying to the unhappiness or suffering that that suffering won’t go just by saying, I don’t want or I will. No. It won’t go away by just by saying I don’t want suffering. I mean is So the suffering and the happiness are both the result and they are same being a result.
To being as a result, they are so both of them have a cause which give birth to the which give birth to them. So as the suffering is a result of its cause, and to remove the suffering, one has to recognize the recognize the cause of suffering. And by recognizing its cause, And then why one should try to avoid or abandon that cause one by one. And and finally, will come to one will come to overcome these eradicate the eradicate its causes and and the suffering will succeed by itself. Likewise, also the happiness has a cause and one has to cultivate, to have the happiness, one has to recognize its causes, its causes of happiness, and then try to cultivate the causes of happiness from the very first stage in the sense like very small discourse, and then develop more understanding or develop to accomplish all the causes of happiness.
Then so once one has accumulated all the causes, one will enjoy the or make use of happiness or have been I mean, one will have happiness uninterruptedly. So to eradicate or abandon the cause of suffering and cultivate the cause of happiness, To do that, one has or one need one need one need to one need one needs to have a kind hearted or good intention to do that. So here, when we say the good intention or kind hearted, it means it refers to the altruistic intention called bodhicitta and which is the ultimate kind heart or the best intention we we can say. So altruistic intention or the bodhicitta means that it’s an intention or attitude that wants to free or lead all the beings, both oneself and other beings to the state where to the state which is free from all the sufferings and have the ultimate happiness. No.
And such a such intention or mind is called the bodhicitta or altruistic intention. One needs to develop or generate such altruistic intention to free both oneself and other sentient beings from suffering and to bring them the ultimate state of happiness. And so it is very important to develop this bodhicitta. So one needs to develop such mind by and to have one needs to have intention to develop such mind and so in order to develop such mind, altruistic intention or bodhicitta today, this is the perfect method that the teachings of the graduated path which is called Lam Rim, which come by the great master Tsongkhapa and one has to one needs to one one needs to develop intention that to develop such bodhicitta, I will hear. Listen to this profound teaching of Tsongkhapa and contemplate and meditate upon it.
So we’ll do a short meditation here. We have the Guru Puja here. Guru Puja means it’s a prayer made for one’s spiritual masters. And so we made it made that prayers because to requesting masters to bless oneself to able to generate a kind heartedness. And after that, have done the mandala offering to one’s master that it’s a tradition for in in Tibet, India and Tibet that these disciples, want they want teachings.
And so that making offering to making mandala offering means requesting one’s master to teach the Dharma. It’s also said that without teachers are not allowed to teach any teachings without request. And and then we have recite the Heart Sūtra, which is we did we recite the text of prayers called Heart Sūtra because to to to do to practice the Dharma, normally, we have to go we have lots of obstacles coming through. And so to avoid the to over to avoid the obstacles and and and to to do a good to do to do a good practice. And we we started to pray to remove the obstacles and been able and trying to or being able to practice properly.
So we have been dealing with the stages of the teaching, the graduated path. And and up to up to now, we have talked about the how holy is this particular teaching and then have also taught that from where it comes, this teaching comes and what and we also talked about the benefits of doing these practices now. So after having known that the teaching, this particular or these teachings are very holy and rare, and then being very helpful or very beneficial, and by seeing that it’s such by seeing, by knowing the teaching is very precious and it’s very beneficial. So should know how to practice that now and to know. So to to know the teaching, one one has to know the teaching.
And then to know the teaching or one has to study means one has to listen to the teaching. And then by listening, one can one one one comes to know all the teaching and then able to teach to others as well. To understand the teaching, to know the teaching, one has to listen the teaching. And about listening to the teaching, one has to listen it from a person. And that person, such person or that person has to have lots of experience and have done practice and has a capability to expound or to teach the Dharma unmistakenly.
For example, it’s like that it’s not it’s not an ordinary school. To go to school and one when a student study, the student has to rely upon a qualified teacher who has studied all the studies which students wanted to study. And then also the teacher should have the experience on on those teachings or those subjects. And then by relying upon such a qualified teacher then student and and studying under the guidance of such a such experienced teacher. And that doesn’t in in future times, the student can qualify and and become educated.
So it’s like that. And it’s gonna it’s it’s it’s like same to Dharma as well. One has to rely upon qualified, experienced teacher as well. So if a student rely upon a teacher who has no knowledge, who has no experience, and who has no affection towards his disciple or his student, then relying upon such teacher, the student will hardly become educated or they can hardly become famous or scholar in future. It’s also from disciples or students part as well.
If it’s not enough for having a qualified teacher, on the student part, they need to have a great ways to study and have enthusiasm. And then need to have without enthusiasm or or want or intention to study, then, yeah, the student disciple, there’s nothing to the teacher cannot do nothing and can do nothing, and the disciple won’t become educated. So if teacher is experienced teacher and then the disciple and the student or disciple is also very enthusiastic student, then he can become what he wanted. And also, it’s not just enough by knowing the acquiring the knowledge. After acquiring knowledge, one has to use it.
And by using the knowledge, then one can benefit both oneself and others. And or so otherwise, it won’t be useful or benefit for both oneself and others. Just say, one acquired one acquired all the qualities or knowledge and then kept it within oneself and never you make use of that such a teaching or such such a knowledge, then there’s no use of the knowledge. So one has to use it. So today, we have come the stage that now we are here to but we have acknowledged the we have gained a certain knowledge.
And Today, the topic is to make one to showing the method of how to use one’s knowledge or how to make use of one’s knowledge. So we’ve been dealing with those relying upon a special with the fourteen stages of leading the student by means of actual instruction as two parts. And and so it has to about running the foundation of the path how to follow a spiritual teacher and the stages of training your mind once you have followed the spiritual teacher. So we have finished the first division, which is how to follow the spiritual teacher. And now here today, we start with the second division, which is stages of training your mind once you have followed the spiritual teacher.
And it has two parts, which is about encouragement to distill the essence of this precious human rebirth, this precious human life of freedom, and how to distill its essence. And now so it’s so we as we have dealt from the beginning of this class saying that one to so one wishes happiness and does not want suffering. And to want the happiness to wish happiness or to want happiness, one need to cultivate the causes of cause cause of suffering cause of happiness and abandon or stop the cause of suffering. And to do that, we need now we have to look to in what in what form one can do such a practice, stop, cultivate the positive or that cause and stop negative cause. To do that, this is the only, say, the human being can only human being can do that can do this practice, cultivate to do that practice.
Like the one cannot abandon or do this practice in the form of animals or being other than human beings. So this is only the human being can cultivate the causes of happiness and the abandon the cause of suffering. So this is this is this is the by knowing this, one will one will came to know that how important and how precious this human rebirth is. So here, it says how this human rebirth is how I mean, how precious it is and how useful this precious human rebirth. It’s like but here, we say that this precious human rebirth is the only one which can do such practice and how important and beneficial it is.
But all human beings are not okay to do this. It’s not to do such practice is not enough by taking a especially human way, but one needs to have a certain qualities or characteristic to do such practice. It’s like all people can’t be a leader of politics or like politician because to become a real politician, one has to acquire all the qualities of what the politician needs. So to do such thing, one has to be a human a human form or take a human rebirth with the eighteen characteristics or eighteen qualities and which are eighteen is eight freedoms and ten riches. So if if one has these eight characteristics, then one can complete the practice of or one can completely overcome or stop stop the causes of suffering and can accumulate the causes mean, all the causes of happiness.
And and one cannot do this without without these eighteen characteristics. So to such practice, one has to have all the faculties. And so any absence absence of any faculty or or dumb people deaf or a dumb person cannot accomplish this practice. And also to accomplish such practice, one has to be in a place or location where there is a four members of, which means the four are, like, male and female, which is two, and then bhikkhu and bhikkuni. And one has to be born in a such place or should be in a such place where there is such place.
So then one can do practice by relying upon any of those from those members or community of standard. So cannot do this practice without being born such place now. And also that person needs to have faith in the Three Jewels, object of refuge and has faith or belief in the causes and results, right, and the actions and their results. And one has a belief that by doing or performing a good action, one will enjoy good results. And by performing a bad action, one will have suffering as a result, and have a belief in karma and the reality of rebirth, future births.
Yeah. Well, the thing is, one has to be in a place where the teachings of the Buddha, the books meaning the scriptures, are available. If one born in such place then one can come to know how to by reading the books of the say the teach scriptures, one came to know how to practice and what to be practiced and what to abandon and how to abandon. And also, one shouldn’t be born in an animal realm or being born as an animal or in hell or in the hungry ghost realm. If I’m born in such such state, then one cannot one one one will have no understanding or practice, and one cannot free oneself from I mean, can liberate or be liberate oneself now.
And one shouldn’t one should one should one should not commit such a heinous crimes like killing one’s parent. And so such like such so such person cannot practice even us cannot develop any realization by even one does the practices. So one should be free from committing those heinous crimes. And also, one one needs to have faith in the teachings of Buddha where he have described what things are to be practiced and what things should be abandoned. So one needs to have all these qualities from one’s own side, which are called the personal riches.
And there are also there are also things which has to be which we call the circumstantial riches or which comes from the others, not from one one’s side. So and the so yeah. The first one is the that the Buddha came into this world and where he practiced and enlightened and and has taught and has taught to yeah. And also he taught. And also one has to be born during the time where Buddhist teachings are still accessible without any deep decline.
Because it said the Buddhist teaching will last only for five thousand years. And so it’s one has to be born between that time, that period. And also, one needs to have a spiritual teacher who will guide you to the practice and who will show you the things which are to be practiced and which are to be abandoned. And also, one has one needs to have the capability to listen and put listen to the teaching and bring them all into the practice. These five are the things which one needed one needs to practice.
These are the things one needs from others, not from within oneself, which means we here, I mean, I say circumstantial riches, you know, which comes from outside. And it’s also stated that one shouldn’t be born in born in such a place called the gods realm, which there are certain type of gods which seems not being slept for thousands and thousands of years. So if I’m born in such a realm, then one cannot one cannot practice and so one shouldn’t be born as one should be free from being born in such a realms. And it’s also and also stated that one shouldn’t be born in a born as a gods of the desire realms, certain desire realms, which is that they are being indulged in a happiness or enjoyment of like, engrossed with the happiness in such realms. And then that they they have no suffering financially or so but just they just always remain very happy and they enjoy all the time and let their mind wander or wander all the time.
So and such being born in such a such a state that one can’t practice because being mind being wonder and they can hardly they they will never remember or save a time to practice. No. So at this stage, we all have all those eighteen qualities and are free from all the hindrance and the negative conditions and have all the conducive conditions to practice and being free from all those flaws. And so at this stage, we have we are very fortunate and have attained such human rebirth in being with free from all those agent or have have all those characteristics that we are now free from those hindrances and and have all the conducive conditions. So we have both the external and internal conducive conditions to practice.
And so and we have not only that, we have we have a wisdom to differentiate which is the negative and and which are the negative and needs to abandon. And we have the have and then which things are good and to positive and to practice. And so by having such a rebirth and but one should also recognize that this human rebirth is not it won’t last long. We have say, it it degenerates it’s a momentary. Degenerates from moment to moment.
And there is a thing called impermanence. So it wouldn’t last long. So before impermanence occurs, one should strive very hard to practice, to acquire all the good causes for happiness in the future and abandon all the causes of negativities, and we’ll have happiness forever. So, are many reasons from through many points of view, we can prove that this precious human rebirth is very this human rebirth is very precious. So through this physical form, through this form, we can we can acquire all the good qualities and abandon all the negativities and become enlightened like a Buddha.
Because the Buddha Śākyamūni and the great yogi, Milarepa, as well as Rechumpa, one of the great masters. And there are many scholars or masters from both India and Tibet, practitioners that have achieved enlightenment in this present rebirth. And so we can also achieve enlightenment or achieve the ultimate happiness, which is Buddhahood, like those great masters, because their form, with their birth or their form and our form, there’s no slight difference in their form and our form. So we have same qualities, same characteristics. So as so we can we have the capability and we can become Buddhahood or become enlightened like those beings.
So once you recognize that one have received one have gained or attained such a rebirth, which is same as same rebirth as other great enlightened masters. And once you recognize it and then should try to know or should know how to make use of this precious human rebirth. So there is also If one cannot one cannot do or attain such enlightened or become enlightened or achieve the Buddhahood in this present rebirth, But one can still believe one can still at still attained a state of liberation, which is free from this saṃsāra. And by recognizing that the sufferings of Samsāra and miserable, how one go through one one is being miserable in the Samsāra by knowing that and one can also be free oneself from Samsāra. And because there have been many arhats, which is liberated beings are in the form of in in the past and their their their rebirth and our rebirth, there’s hardly difference in their their form and our form.
So one can also achieve the state of liberation in this life. One can also become a bodhisattva, which is an enlightened being, and it’s also possible to develop bodhicitta within oneself and become a bodhisattva in this life as well. So these are the reasons we have proved that this precious human rebirth is very important and through this one can accomplish a great purpose, which is the ultimate happiness of Buddhahood. So not only that this this this present truth, not only that this not only that enlightened state of enlightened can can be achieved through this present human re present rebirth, we can also achieve the temporary happiness through this river as well. So when we say the temporary happiness, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t mean or it doesn’t refers to the happiness of this present present rebirth because because the because the a person like atheist or person who never practices and never believed in religion can also achieve or work for happiness of this present rebirth, of this present lifetime.
I mean, we consider this very small, which means not important, meaning the seeking of happiness in this present lifetime. So this yep. Yeah. Because now we don’t consider this present rebirth. I mean, happiness is this present rebirth or this present lifetime is important.
For example, lot so some of us here, like, elderly people, we we don’t have much time to leave. So when we talk say the temporary happiness, which means that people are a person, like all elderly people here, we got we don’t have much time to stay. And so what we need to think here, the temporary happiness within the reference to the achieving or acquiring good or better rebirth and better happiness and to have happiness in next rebirth. So it’s it also means that through this present rebirth, we can cultivate the happiness and better rebirth to to have better rebirth in to have better next next life or next birth with the happiness. So one may think, how can one how one can work in this present rebirth to have a better present life time, to have a better rebirth and happiness in next life.
So for that, Buddha Śākyamūni, our master Buddha Śākyamūni has stated that to acquire a good form, physical form, shape and have a better rebirth and have better form than this present body and have better appearance, And then have better health with no sickness. And to acquire such a birth in the next life, one has to lead a very ethical life or have to protect the ethical discipline in this present lifetime. So protecting our ethical discipline in this life will help will help one want to achieve better form, better appearance. And, yeah. So to to lead a very ethical life or to put got ethical discipline here refers to there are eight things virtues or eight things to be done through the body, speech and mind.
And so there are two ethical disciplines. And the ethical disciplines of the body is to not to commit any killings killing, stealing, sexual miscontra misconduct. And then the ethical discipline through verbal or through speech: not lying, and not engaging in divisive speech, harsh words, and idle gossip. And then the three to be done through the mental or through mind: covetousness, harmful intention, and wrong view. So yep.
And if if one does the practice of generosity or giving in this lifetime, one will have a better birth with with better wealth. Right? So here the practice of giving, which means the the best is to give to one if one can do the the giving of teachings, means giving teaching is the best practice of giving or generosity. If one cannot do that, then supporting or helping others with the financial and and developing love towards others will also help one to have a better wealth and better position in next rebirth. And and maintaining a good patience about practice of patience or patience in this this in this life, then one and have yes.
And so one can achieve a better appearance. Just to say it, one will be born with a very beautiful figure or appearance and one will find good friends or partners in next life. And also not only finding good good partner or a friend, but also be very become very harmonious with the friends and also have happiness. So guarding ethical discipline and practicing giving and the patience in this present rebirth, these three are the causes to have better rebirth in to have better life, better rebirth. And and yeah.
So so these are the causes to have better rebirth. So if so one one one so what these are the causes. And one one can do this or cultivate this cause in this present rebirth. So it is entirely depends on one. If one needs those or enjoy those or have those in the future lives, has a capability and one can do this.
So if one does this, then one can achieve those. If one cannot, one can’t in future as well. So so it’s very important for one to practice every day or daily and then pray or dedicate all those practices to have a better rebirth and being able to so if one cannot become enlightened in this present rebirth or present lifetime, one can also dedicate and pray for those to have a better rebirth and being able to practice and achieve enlightenment or become liberated or become enlightened in next life as well. So one’s happiness and one’s suffering is entirely depends on oneself. One is responsible for both.
So so if one if one needs happiness, one have to work for happiness. So others happiness cannot help or don’t help oneself. So one has to achieve one’s happiness and one has to overcome one’s suffering. And so one can do this through this present rebirth. If one does not do the practice, then there’s no help at all.
We’ll start here. Any questions? For a deaf and dumb person. Yeah. Because they don’t understand how to practice and they don’t understand what things to be done and what things to be avoided or abandoned.
Because the point we are dealing here is acquiring happiness, ultimate happiness, and abiding all the suffering through the teaching or through the Dharma. So so those deaf and dumb person have no understanding about this have no understanding about teaching, and they may have little knowledge about the worldly things by giving, like, a new gesture or you know? So they can’t do practice. Even if they