Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. A vivid analogy from the Indian text Stages of Meditation — equanimity as clearing a field of rocks and stumps, love as irrigation, compassion as the seed planted in prepared earth — anchors Khensur Rinpoche’s 98-minute commentary on developing the awakened heart. He traces the lineage through Atisha to teachers Maitriyogi and Serlingpa, then works through a nine-part equanimity framework: three perspectives from others (all beings equally want happiness, equally lack it, equally suffer), three from one’s own side — including a Śāntideva argument that enemies, being rare and uniquely enabling the perfection of tolerance, are more precious than friends — and three from the ultimate view, citing Nāgārjuna to show that friend and enemy are neither fixed nor truly existent. The session closes by explaining why personal renunciation must be cultivated before genuine compassion for others can arise.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 08 LMT 1997 06 24.mp3
UUID: 31c06d37-226d-4c7c-9762-dea670d047af
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Lojong Mind Training (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1997-06-24
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 98.1 minutes
Words: ~5,107
We’ll begin by meditating for a few minutes, cultivating as our motivation the awakened heart. Just as we ourselves wish happiness and not to suffer, likewise all sentient beings wish happiness and not to suffer. So we begin by cultivating love for all sentient beings expressed in the following thoughts: It would be wonderful if all sentient beings had happiness in the causes of happiness. May all sentient beings have happiness in the causes of happiness. I myself will lead them to a state where they have happiness in the causes of happiness.
So it’s necessary to generate generate our minds into the entity of love, not just leave it with the words. And likewise with regard to compassion, that what is expressed in thoughts is to is to be is to be used to generate the mind into the entity of compassion. Beginning with the thoughts, it would be wonderful if myself and all living beings were free of suffering and the causes of suffering. May myself and all living beings be free of suffering and the cause of suffering. I myself will lead myself and all living beings to a state where they are free of suffering and all the causes of suffering.
We go on to cultivate an intense resolve that I myself alone without depending upon others shall lead all sentient beings to that state of complete happiness, shall lead them to a state of freedom from suffering. So it’s necessary to generate our minds into the entity of that resolve. But when we look into the actuality of our ability, we see that we cannot achieve this even though we have a tremendous resolve to achieve it. Then we have to ask, well, who could? Who could possibly has, who possibly has such an ability.
It is only a Buddha who can eliminate the sufferings of others and in fact establish them in complete happiness. So therefore seeing that is only a Buddha and wishing to achieve this end determined that I will achieve the state of a Buddha, that is to say I will eliminate all my various faults and bring to consummation all my excellent qualities. If I do that, then I will be empowered whereby to actually bring all sentient beings to a state where they have complete freedom from suffering, they have complete happiness. Therefore, for the sake of all sentient beings, in order to eliminate their suffering, in order to bring them to complete happiness, I will achieve the state of the Buddha. When you commit yourself to that end, then you have developed the awakened heart.
But if we were to question, well, can I actually achieve the state of a Buddha? In fact, we have that potential just as as a just as a seed has the potential to produce a sprout. Likewise, we have the potential to achieve Buddhahood because each of us has Buddha nature whereby we can achieve that end. And just as the potential of a seed can be actualized in producing the sprout, it is by the conditions of listening, reflecting, and meditating, and finally putting the teachings into practice that our potential of attaining Buddha Buddhahood is actualized. So as a means to actualize our potential that in Buddha nature determined to listen to this present teaching on the essence of the universal vehicle Dharma having listened to it, to reflect upon it, having reflected, to meditate on upon it, and to practice it well.
And this process is like watering the seed whereby we can actualize the result. We’re presently discussing the means of developing the awakened heart, and this method that we’re employing in its development we are employing is equalizing and exchanging self for others. This initially begins with the development of equanimity or a sense of equality in terms of others in that all sentient beings are equal in wanting them to be happy and not wanting to suffer. They’re all the same in that. And developing a that sense of equality and being able to place one’s mind single pointedly upon that understanding.
Subsequently developing looking at the at the faults of self centeredness and the excellent qualities of other centeredness. And going on from that development of love and compassion, observing their object, and in that context practicing taking and giving. Then generating an an intense resolve which culminates in the awakened heart. So there are I’ve just described the stages in the development of the awakened heart, and these are set out in in different ways of categorizing. Sometimes the numbers are are expanded, sometimes they’re condensed, but I think this method that I’ve outlined into six is an excellent way to look at the practice.
So I think it would be excellent if you can to be able to hold these six stages in the cultivation of the awakened heart in your mind if you can remember them. If you can’t, then by all means make some notes. Write them in your one of the in a book so that in the future you can refer to them and you’ll you’ll know the how to the method is arranged in the development of the awakened heart. So it is important that we proceed in the cultivation of the awakened heart in a methodical manner. If we leave out a step, if we cultivate them in a haphazard way, then we may not achieve the desired result.
So that these are set out in very systematic fashion, in an unerring and ordered fashion. And this is the way that we should implement them in our practice. That we should meditate them upon them in this order and whereby the first five of the six part method acts as a cause and then we achieve the sixth result. That is the say the awakened heart. If we proceed in this fashion then it’s definite that we can achieve the result.
This this mind training method of awakening our hearts is really something wonderful and it’s really the outstanding feature of the practice of mind training and to meditate is really a wonderful way to spend one’s life in this fashion. Out of it one becomes a bodhisattva. Again and again taking this method to mind and put it into practice meditating upon it. You know it’s like training in in school. You know, we familiarize ourselves with these subjects and we become very skilled at them.
Even if we weren’t to achieve the awakened heart in this life, if we were to cultivate it and gain a familiarity over over the course of this life, in the future it will definitely result will definitely arise. It will rise almost automatically at some life in the future. So that is the order of cultivation. So these teachings have presented in the within the context of a lineage coming having a source of Atisha. And it is his practice that we’re following in the cultivation of the awakened heart.
He had two main teachers who whose method he was following that of Maitriyogi and Serlingpa. According to the tradition of Serlingpa, there was no preliminary meditation of equanimity. It was the exchange of self for others. And it was Maitriyogi who taught the preliminary method of equanimity. And if you use this as a preliminary, the practice of equanimity, then the rest of the meditation will go well.
So first looking at equanimity and it is important in terms of the order of cultivation of the awakened heart. It is the initial method that we are to implement. Rinpoche is quoting from an Indian master from a text called The Stages of Meditation. And where this bodhisattva is saying that equanimity presents an analogy as to the importance of equanimity in this order of meditation and cultivating the awakened heart. He analogizes it to the preparation of a field for planting.
That if if we if the field were not prepared in in any way, if it had in on the contrary, if it was full of rocks and stumps, tree stumps, etcetera, then even if we were to plant, land would not be able to be cultivated well, that the crop would not grow well. But if we were to clear away all that was hindrance to the the growing of the crop, if we were to clear away all the rocks and the logs, etcetera, to to prepare the land well where it was flat level and even. Then upon planting the crop, upon planting, the crop would grow well. And then the author goes on to continue with this analogy that having once prepared the field, that in itself would not be sufficient. It’s necessary if the earth was dry, then it needs to be irrigated.
We need to supply moisture in some way, and we need to fertilize the field. So secondly, supplying moisture necessary for growth in fertilizer. And then thirdly, finally, actually planting a seed, but ensuring that the seed must be a proper seed, having a potency. So planting a healthy seed, having prepared the earth, supplied water, fertilizer, and in combination with the sun, then a healthy sprout will grow, won’t it? I mean, we the author says we can see this with our eye, can’t we?
So in explaining this analogy and the cultivation of the awakened heart, preparing the field and supplying the necessary conditions, and then finally planting the seeds, the seed will grow and we it will we can it will we can grow into a crop. And this crop that is the harvest is the harvest of the awakened heart. And the seed that we are planting is is like the the foundation, and and that is compassion. So compassion is the seed, and the harvest is the awakened heart. The if when if the land is dry, then it’s necessary that we supply moisture, and and the moisture and the fertilizer is analogized to love.
And the actual preparation of the field where we remove stones and stumps, clearing the land, leveling it, is analogous to the cultivation of equanimity. So therefore, we can see from this analogy that as a preliminary, it’s necessary that we cultivate equanimity. So with regard to the means of meditating equanimity, there are two methods. There is the conventional and ultimate method for the cultivation of equanimity. So first, the conventional method of cultivating the conventional method of meditating and cultivating the equanimity.
There are two. There is the conventional method from the point of view of oneself and conventional method from the point of view of other. And by other here we mean all other sentient beings. So from the point of view of oneself, cultivation from the point of view of oneself, and then from the point of view of other. So, and then with regard to the method of cultivation in terms of other, there are three parts.
The first is that all sentient beings, whosoever, are the same in wanting happiness and not wanting to suffer. There is no difference. So we isn’t it the the case that all sentient beings wish happiness? Isn’t it the case that all sentient beings do not wish to suffer? Aren’t they the same in that regard?
So the second way, though in fact all sentient beings want happiness, they’re all the same in not having that happiness. That is and here we mean we don’t mean any sort of happiness, but here an uncontaminated happiness. The happiness of liberation where there is no suffering whatsoever. So all sentient beings are the same in that though they want happiness, they do not have that happiness that they possess. They do not possess the happiness that they want.
So it is from that point of view that our aversion and attachment are unjustified. If we take by way of analogy that, you know, in Australia there aren’t many beggars, but in India, there are many beggars. And they’re all exactly the same in that they that they don’t have enough food. They’re all the same in in what needing food. So then have and from that point of view, holding some close and others distant from the point of view that they’re all the same and not having the food is and there’s no justification for it.
That we can’t just since they’re all the same and not having the food that they want, there’s no justification in being holding some close and others at a distant. And then thirdly, though all sentient beings do not wish to suffer, still they are troubled by many sufferings. They’re they’re all the same in that regard. And it is from that context, taking the fact that though they do not want to suffer, still they suffer, and being the same in that, then we cannot be justified in our being pleased with some and holding them close and displeased with others and therefore holding them at a distance, since they are all the same in experiencing suffering which they do not want. By way of analogy, everyone in a hospital is suffering in some manner.
And moreover, none of them want to be experiencing the suffering that they’re going through. They’re all the same in that. And therefore, our being pleased with some, holding them close, and displeased with others and holding them at a distance is unjustified from that point of view. There’s no justification for taking that position since they’re all the same. So from the point of view of others, there are these three parts in the cultivation of equanimity.
Now from our own point of view in the cultivation of equanimity, this again has three parts. And the first of these are that our attachment and aversion for others cannot be justified toward others because from the point of view that they are all equal in having benefited us in the past, they are equal in how they in their benefiting us at present, and they are equal in how they will benefit us in the future. And therefore, since they are all the same in terms of the the benefit past, present, and future, our attachment aversion is not justified. But there there are there might be some stubborn people amongst you who who who don’t quite buy all this. They might they might say, well, okay, maybe maybe everyone has been the same in the past in terms of of how they benefited me.
How they have benefited me in the past. Maybe in the future they will all be the same in how they will benefit me. But that’s no that doesn’t that doesn’t, do away with the fact that at present, there are some people who are benefiting me, but on the contrary, there are some who actually harm me harming me. I can how am I supposed to say they’re all the same in that? So, it is because we see individuals at present not only not benefiting ourselves, on the contrary there are some who who don’t matter to ourselves, who are more or less neutral, but further there are those who actually seem to be harming ourselves.
And therefore we can’t meditate equanimity with regard to those. There’s they’re not they’re not it’s not possible since they’re not equal in how they’re benefiting me. So if we reflect upon this, we begin with there are those who do benefit us at present, so that there’s no debate. There’s no arguing about that. But how about those who don’t seem to be benefiting us?
Well, first beginning with those who we have a sense that they are neutral, that they are neither benefiting nor harming ourselves and looking at them. Now just the very fact that we can we are gathering here this evening and listening to the teaching that we’re out of the of the rain, that we’re out of the elements, that we’re in a comfortable physical situation, is out of the kindness of these neutral people or these strangers who we don’t even know. The fact that we’re able to enjoy in gathering here together and in the comfort that we presently experience is is directly due to these strangers benefiting ourselves. So, but this, we could go on. The clothes that we wear, the food that we eat is all dependent upon the difficulties incurred by others in producing.
Though we haven’t seen them produce these directly with their eyes, we can understand indirectly that in fact they did work and this work they did in fact are in fact benefiting ourselves. These these neutral or strangers. Well, okay. We we might we might go along with what has just been said, you know, okay, that though they aren’t directly benefiting me, that they are And but I’m still not gonna go along with this enemy. You know?
There’s no way that I there’s no way the way that I can see them equal to others since they, in fact, not not only not benefiting me, but in fact, they’re harming me. But in fact, the the enemy does definitely does benefit ourselves, though we may not presently be able to appreciate that fact. Rinpoche quoted a verse by Śāntideva which points out that how very much the person who And who we regard as an enemy is actually of our greatest benefit if in our practice of Dharma. Why is that? In in the practice of universal vehicle, the Mahāyāna, we are to cultivate the perfections.
And for example, perfections of generosity and ethics and tolerance. And it is in dependence upon those who harm us, those who get angry at us and hurt us, that we are enabled that we are able to bring to perfection our practice of tolerance. That there’s no other person who we can practice tolerance towards than just these people who harm us, who get angry at us. They’re they and moreover, these people are extremely rare, and and and that and that they are tremendously kind to us for giving us the opportunity to perfect our practice of tolerance, and thereby to achieve the greatest benefit of all, that of Buddhahood. So it is our enemies who are in fact of greatest kindness, who show the greatest kindness to ourselves.
With without these people who harm us, we could not achieve Buddhahood because we could not practice tolerance. And therefore it is these individuals who are so very kind to ourselves, And moreover, setting aside the ultimate attainment of Buddhahood, that by means of our practice of tolerance and dependence upon these people, that in the future lives we will achieve higher status, that we will achieve a human life, and moreover, that as a human, we will have a beautiful body, we will have harmonious companions. And this all of this benefit comes about through the great kindness of those who harm us, who who are angry at us. There’s no there aren’t there are no other individuals toward whom we can practice tolerance than them. And therefore and that these individuals are extremely rare, and what is rare is is thought of as to be very precious.
There are many there are many beggars in the world, so there’s there’s many opportunities to practice generosity. But there aren’t that many people who harm us and and and are angry at us, and therefore, these are to be held as most precious. So this is the method of cultivation from one’s own point of view, the second part. So the third part is we are to look at the equality from the point of view of that ourselves and others are under the control of karma and afflictive emotions, and that we are undergoing the process of impermanence. That we ourselves are other powered, that is to say, under the control of karma or actions and their afflictive emotions, and we are more over momentarily undergoing the process of disintegration.
And likewise, others are exactly the same, that they are under control of karma and afflictive emotions and undergoing the momentary the process of momentary disintegration. Therefore, since we are both the same in this, how can we have a liking for some and a disliking for others? So this is the means of cultivating an equality from one’s own side, which is an equanimity devoid of attachment and aversion. So then we can look at the equality of self and others from the ultimate point of view. You know, we we generally we we might regard someone who we we would we would say, I didn’t do anything.
You know, this person’s harming me from completely from their own side. That that it that they’re harming me has had nothing to do whatsoever with nothing to do whatsoever with me. That it’s coming completely from their own side. It hasn’t it is not relying upon anything that I’ve done. I and that their that their harm is is coming from their own side, independent of ourselves.
That’s the way things appear to us. But if that if they existed in that way, the way they appeared, then in fact that harming would not rely upon cause and condition. That harming coming from their own side, independently existing would have to be truly existent and nothing truly exists. So this is often the case, isn’t it? We we generally regard quite that, you know, when somebody harms us, well, I I didn’t do anything to him or her.
And they’re just coming they’re harming me completely from their own side. But he answers and replies, well, you know, if you didn’t set yourself up as a target, the arrow would not find a place to hit. But but I’m not setting myself up as a target, but in fact, you are. That in a previous life, you have harmed others under the control of afflictive emotion, for example that of anger, and through that action having accumulated that negative karma, that accumulation of negative karma sets you up as a target, and now the arrow of the result is returning to you. We we do not just have only this life.
The in fact, we have had beginningless previous lives. You know, if if we had only this life, then we it would it would make sense to say, haven’t done anything to deserve this person doing that to me. But but in fact, we have had many, many previous lives. And over the course of these previous lives, through anger, through attachment, the various afflictive emotions, we have involved ourselves in negative actions. We’ve killed, we’ve beaten, we’ve caused suffering in various ways to others.
And that now as a result, this arrow of negativity is returning to ourselves. That if if if we hadn’t created the cause for our present suffering, then we would we would experience a result with the cause of which we hadn’t created, which is not the case. It is the so contrasted properly. So if we were to appropriately become angry, if our anger was to be justified, it would not be directed toward the other person who is harming us. On the contrary, that person is not in control.
They are under the control of their afflictive emotions. Therefore, we we were to become angry and and to justify our anger, our anger would be justified if it were directed toward that person’s afflictive emotions, not the person themselves. By way of analogy, if someone were to hit us with a stick, we don’t get angry at the stick, do we? You know, the stick is not in control of itself. The stick is controlled by the person.
Therefore, we get angry at the person. So the first the first of these, this first part is the fact that that there is nothing which is not reliant upon something other than itself, that everything is under the control of other, that nothing is truly existent. So the second part is that nothing is truly existent. That everything is undergoing change. If things were truly existent, then they would be, as it were, fixed, frozen.
Whatever they were in the first instance, that is what they would always necessarily have to be. But in the case of, for example, an enemy, an enemy undergoes change. Sometimes an enemy come becomes someone dear to us, and when someone dear to us becomes an enemy. So this shows that they’re not truly existent, that because they are undergoing change, if that which is truly existent would necessarily not undergo change. So then thirdly, that one who is held dear and an enemy do not truly exist.
That even a slight change in condition can alter our perception of them. For example, who benefits us, we derive a liking for them from that, and we hold them dear. Someone who harms us, we derive a dislike for them, and we hold them an enemy. But even if they were to that even a slight a minor change in the way they treat us would cause us to to perceive them in a different fashion. That we could the the person that we like, if they were to through a small change of a condition and that they harmed us in some way, we no longer hold them as dear.
And then the person who is harming ourselves, a small change in condition where they benefited us, we develop a liking for them. We no longer hold them as an enemy, but in fact hold them as dear. So a slight change in condition demonstrates bringing about this transformation in our perception demonstrates that they are not that friend, that those we hold dear and enemy are not truly existent. So that which is dependent upon conditions does not truly exist. And which I quote from Root Wisdom, a text called Root Wisdom, which says that because things depend upon conditions, they are dependent arisings.
Being dependent arisings, they are empty of true existence. So it is by means these three that is, say, from the equality of self and others from one’s own side, from one’s own point of view, from the point of view of others conventionally, and then from the ultimate point of view, each having three parts, making total of nine. If we meditate on this well, we will be able to look upon all sentient beings with a lack of attachment and aversion, that we will appreciate that all sentient beings are exactly the same that they in wanting happiness and not wanting to suffer and developing an even mindedness toward them which is free of holding some close and others at a distance. And this sets the the context in which we can go on to develop love. If we do not have this sense of equality, then there’s no way that we can develop love.
So in dependence upon the development of equanimity, we can cultivate, we can develop love. And love in terms of not seeing a not first, seeing a on the basis of not seeing a difference between the three categories of individuals, that is to say, those we hold dear, strangers and enemies, them holding as as as the as a basis that they all equally want to be happy, that they all equally do not want to suffer. And then in terms of love, developing the attitudes of mind, would be wonderful if directing this attitude toward all three, if they had happiness and the causes of happiness. May they have happiness and the causes of happiness, that I myself will lead them to a state where they have happiness and the causes of happiness. So then we can go on to cultivate great compassion.
And in great with great compassion, we just as we did in cultivating the the understandings of the being of small capacity. That is to say, first recognizing the sufferings of cyclic existence with terms of ourselves, and then going on to develop the understanding of being a middling capacity who develops a longing to be liberated from cyclic existence, a longing to be free of suffering. And taking that understanding and extending it to, again, to all others equally, and that they are just like ourselves and developing in wanting to not suffer and developing these attitudes of great compassion extended toward all living beings. So it’s necessary in the cultivation of great compassion that we first come to understand and develop first come to understand the nature of our own suffering and develop a longing to be free from our own suffering. Then we can extend that understanding and develop a longing that others be free of their suffering without having first come to understand suffering in terms of ourselves and developing a longing to that we ourselves be free of suffering.
We cannot develop great compassion in which which longs that others be free of suffering. So it is initially that we have to develop an attitude which seeks to bring about our own welfare, a longing to free ourselves from suffering. This longing to free ourselves from suffering is what we usually term renunciation or the will to awaken. Without this without having developed this and without having having previously developed this, there’s no way that we can go on to cultivate compassion toward others. That we must develop the understanding of the being of middling capacity in terms of developing this will to awaken or renunciation to free ourselves and longing to be free from our own suffering if we are developed the understandings of the being of great capacity which is compassion wishing to that a longing to that others be free of suffering.
So we’ll stop there. But if you have it takes a few minutes for questions. Yes. What was the last part of your question? Oh, the the six parts?
So firstly is equanimity, an understanding of the equality that all sentient beings want equality happiness and do not want to suffer, and thereby bringing about a even mindedness which does not hold some beings close and others at a distance. Then then the faults of self centeredness. The the benefit The benefits or the excellent quality of other sentient beings. Then within the context of love and compassion, the practice of taking and giving. Then intense resolve.
And then, finally, the awakened heart.