Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. A wandering scholar brushing off a bystander’s pity with “you won’t be where I am for another five hundred rebirths” anchors Khensur Rinpoche’s treatment of misplaced compassion in this 101-minute session, the seventeenth in his Lojong Mind Training series. Working through the Seven Point text’s final precepts, he covers the five inverted attitudes — compassion, aspiration, effort, rejoicing, and tolerance each applied to the wrong object — three factors practitioners must not allow to weaken (respect for the teacher, conscientiousness in ethics, enthusiasm for mind training), and Geshe Chekawa’s closing verse on bearing hardship without regret. The session then turns to ultimate bodhicitta, contrasting two types of practitioner: the more intelligent who first establish through reasoning that Buddhahood is achievable before generating the awakened heart, and those who risk discouragement when confronted with the bodhisattva’s vast deeds.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 17 LMT 1997 09 02.mp3
UUID: 2b8cceac-7e02-41a3-ae4d-dbd637e292fd
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Lojong Mind Training (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1997-09-02
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 101.2 minutes
Words: ~5,807
So, we’ll begin by adjusting our motivations, developing as our motivation that of the awakened heart. Within this world, with its variety of creatures, that which is most precious amongst them is that of human beings. And why is that? It is because, in dependence upon this fully endowed human form, we can remove from its very root all undesired suffering and achieve an ultimate happiness. All of these magnificent ends are achieved in dependence upon a human life.
In order to eliminate from its root our suffering, and in order to achieve an ultimate happiness, it is necessary that we implement the various means to do so. So. Suffering arises in dependence upon causes. It is necessary for us to recognize what are the causes of suffering and begin to eliminate them. Then, two, happiness arises in dependence upon causes.
Therefore, it’s necessary to recognize what are the causes of happiness and begin to implement the means to achieve that in to implement causes. So what is the cause of suffering? If we check back to its root, it is this constant refrain of I, I, I that out of this arises a dislike for others and unconcern with others’ welfare that we cherish only ourselves, our concern with only ourselves, we value only ourselves. Out of this comes unskillful ways of relating with others, and from this comes suffering. Additionally, is the cause of self grasping.
Looking to this eye, we hold it to be self existent. So, if we eliminate our self centeredness by means of the methods of cultivating love and compassion and develop an other centeredness, and moreover, if we eliminate self grasping, grasping at this I I as if it were self existent, truly existent, and that is to say, to develop as the wisdom understanding ultimate reality. If we conjoin those two, we can eliminate from its very root all of our problems. With regard to our practice of implementing these means, it’s necessary that we first develop a proper motivation, that of a kind hearted attitude. Since this is a practice of the universal vehicle Dharma, it’s necessary that we have as our motivation the awakened heart.
As the means of actually developing the awakened heart, it’s necessary that it be preceded by the development of the attitudes of love and compassion. Great compassion expressed in the thoughts, It would be wonderful if myself and all Mother sentient beings were free of suffering. May they be free of suffering and the causes of suffering. I myself will release them from all suffering. And in terms of love expressed in the thoughts, it would be wonderful if myself and all living beings happiness and the causes of happiness.
May they have happiness in the causes of happiness. I myself will lead them to a state where they have complete happiness and all the causes of happiness. As the preliminary of the development of love and compassion, then additionally we go on to develop the attitude which wishes to lead all sentient beings to that state where they are free of suffering and where they have complete happiness. But we have to then go on to question, Well, do I in fact have the ability to achieve such an end? And if we ourselves do not, who in fact does?
And we look to the individual who has eliminated all their various faults and developed all their excellent qualities. That is to say, only a Buddha has the ability to achieve this end, and therefore arousing from the depths of our hearts the aspiration that for the sake of all living beings, in order to free them from suffering and to lead them to complete happiness, I myself must eliminate all my various faults. I must bring to consummation all of my excellent qualities. Having developed this kind hearted attitude, one has awakened one’s heart. In order to achieve that end, I am going to listen to this present teaching on the essence of the universal vehicle Dharma, the method of awakening my heart.
Having listened to it, I will establish in my own mind what is the meaning, what is the intent of what has been said. Reflecting upon that intent, that meaning, I will then cultivate it, will familiarize, I will meditate upon it and put it into practice. Therefore, for all of these ends, I’m going to listen to this present teaching. Beginning with the preliminary prayers. So to we left off in the enumerating the various commitments of training the mind with the commitment of where it’s stated, train to see the practice as easy.
So amongst the overall seven divisions of the text, we’re looking at the last, which is the precepts of training the mind. What we mean by a precept is a matter of giving advice on what to do and what not to do in the terms of training in our mind in order to ensure that it’s successful. To do this would be excellent. To do this would be detrimental. So this precept could also be translated as train in first in the easier practice.
And so the the training of the practice, the practice which is being exemplified here, is the practice of taking and giving, where we took upon ourselves the suffering of others, and we gave over our roots of well-being to them. So when in the text when it says that we are to train in that which is easier within the practice of taking and giving, it was specifically mentioned that we should begin with ourselves, taking upon our own suffering and giving away our happiness to ourselves. So, this is the easier by means of which to begin to practice. So taking that which is easier as initially in our practice. Then the next precept says that, Whichever the two arises, be patient.
Whichever occurs to ourselves, we to be patient with regards to that. And the two is both is in terms of whether things go well or that things are difficult. And the two are in terms of our body and mind. Whether we have mental and physical suffering, or whether we have mental and physical happiness, we should abide with an equanimity with regard to both. Not trying to align ourselves with one and not the other, avoiding one and pursuing the other.
And whatever conditions might arise, be they we should try to always align ourselves with those conditions which are conducive to our practice and not to involve ourselves in those conditions which would be in conflict with our training of the mind. So the way that we can develop a tolerance toward even difficult situations, and that we can make even conflict difficult into conducive conditions for our mind training has been explained previously, that when we undergo some type of suffering, it be physical or mental suffering, that we should reflect on the fact that we have been practicing taking and giving with regard to sentient beings. We’ve been compassionately taking upon ourselves the suffering of others, and that we’ve been lovingly giving away our own happiness to them. And that this is very much a part of our practice, and that our practice is successful in that end, and that we have actually are experiencing suffering for the sake of others. And on the contrary, rather than becoming depressed at the experience of suffering, we should rejoice and take a liking to suffering since your practice is going well.
But additionally, we should reflect on the fact that there are many people in the world who are tortured by similar types of suffering of body and mind, who are in the same position as we ourselves, and going through the same experiences as ourselves. And that to reflecting upon this fact, becoming mindful of it, to make prayers that may my experience of this suffering be sufficient for all of the suffering of those who are undergoing a similar experience. May this be enough for us all. And therefore, this is the means by which we can transform what is a conflicting condition to our practice into that which is conducive for mind training. Then the next precept is to observe these two even at the risk of your life.
That we have what are the two that we have taken various vows that, for example, we may have taken the vows of individual liberation, say as the lay person’s vows, or the vows of bodhisattva, and that these have certain prescriptions on the way that we are to conduct ourselves. We are to act in certain ways. We are to abandon other ways of acting, and not to act in contradiction, not to act contrary to these avowed conduct. So there are not the vows of individual liberation and the vows of bodhisattva, which we are not to act in conflict with. And there are the vows they’re not the vows where there are, as has been mentioned previously, the commitments of training the mind and seeking to observe these as well as possible and not act in contradiction to them.
So this is what it is meant by observe these two the vows and commitments, and to observe them even at the cost of at the risk of one’s life. The next precept is train in the three difficult points. Train in the three difficulties, the three difficult points. And what are the three difficult points? They are in terms of the ridding ourselves of the afflictive emotions.
When afflictive emotion is generated within our mind, we should apply an antidote. But in the process of this application and reading ourselves the afflictive emotion, there are three difficulties. The first of these is the difficulty in being mindful of the application of an antidote. So when an emotion arises, the difficulty is in remembering that I am to apply an antidote. But even having remembered to apply an antidote, there is still an additional difficulty, that is to oppose the afflictive emotions, to actually eliminate it at that particular time.
But even having removed it at that particular time, there is still the further difficulty of severing its continuity altogether. For example, if we were to generate anger, and generally we lose all mindfulness when we become angry. So it’s extremely difficult for us at the time of being angry to remember that it’s inappropriateness and its disadvantages and to remember to apply an antidote. For example, the antidote could be tolerance. All the various afflictive emotions each have a particular antidote.
For example, the antidote of desire is repulsiveness. So whenever a particular afflictive emotion arises, it’s necessary to to be mindful of the antidote, to identify that antidote, to apply the antidote, to bring it into that particular afflictive event, but but even further to seek to eliminate its continuum with within one’s mind altogether. Then the next precept is to transform all into the path of the universal vehicle. Transform everything into the path of the universal vehicle or the great vehicle. So whatever we involve, activity we may be involved in, whether it’s physical, verbal or mental, to always associate it with love and compassion in the awakened heart, and to determine that one will never separate one’s activities from the development of of the awakened heart.
Until cyclic existence is completely empty, that is to say, it comes to an end, I will never be separated from seeking to develop the universal vehicle, the awakened heart of the universal vehicle, and to permeate all of one’s conduct with the aspiration to develop the awakened heart. The next precept is to value overall deep and pervasive proficiency is important. Overall, overall deep and pervasive proficiency is important. Or another way, perhaps a better way to translate that. It would be to value an encompassing and far reaching practice.
Value a pervasive and encompassing practice. What it means by pervasive in terms of our practice is that the, in terms of mind training, we are seeking to develop an awakened heart. And moreover, this awakened heart is necessarily directed toward all sentient beings. That is to say, this attitude of love and compassion that we are developing the object of all sentient beings, of all living beings. It pervades all that lives.
Therefore, the practice is pervasive. We are not we should avoid practicing with any biasness, directing our practice well at some and not at others. But it should be practiced with a sense of equality toward all. And when it says profound or deep, a deep practice, this is a, this development of love and compassion in the awakened heart should not be something merely from the mouth, but is to arise from the depths of our hearts. The next precept is take up the three primary causes.
Take up the three principal causes. So there are three causes which we are to implement in our practice. So there are three principal causes that we are to implement in our practice of the mind training Dharma. In general, and specifically with regard to the mind training of the seven point training of the mind. That having this human embodiment, which is a basis for which we can practice the Dharma, a basis in which has brought together all of the internal and external conducive conditions whereby to carry on a successful practice of Dharma.
That we should concentrate on three causes to ensure that this basis is most meaningfully used in achieving our goal. For example, you know, developing a heartfelt respect for the teachings of the Buddha and the Buddha, to develop in our wisdom, to develop in our practice of ethics, to make effort, and to accumulate skillful actions. These are this is one area of causes which we should concentrate on. And the other principal cause, the second principal cause which we should seek to implement to ensure a successful practice is that having met with a qualified spiritual guide, that we should try to please him or her, and that we should try our best to follow their instructions. And then the third cause, principal cause, we should try to implement in order to ensure our successful practice is in terms of our material well-being.
For example, the food and the clothes, the food that we eat and the clothes that we wear, that we that these should be sought in moderation. We shouldn’t try to have the best clothes, the most stylish clothes, the fanciest clothes, nor should we wear, you know, extremely poor clothes. But, and the same holds true with food, that we shouldn’t struggle to get the best of foods that we can, the most delicious, nor should we eat food of poor nutrition and disregard the nutritional quality of our food. But on the contrary, just to seek a moderation in terms of trying to get food, trying to get clothes, but in terms all our, in general, of our material well-being, to seek a middle way in course of gathering together the necessary material conditions. So the text goes on to say that we should try to emulate Atisha himself, and in addition his relationship with his lama or spiritual master, Serlingpa.
He met Selingpa and received the teachings from him whereby to develop the awakened heart. He brought together, out of his tremendous respect, and through his implementing the teachings, he went on to actually awaken his heart. We ourselves, if we if we try if we bring together these three conditions, create these three causes, then over the course of this life and practice well, then we can feel assured that in the future life, when we meet with a kind hearted spiritual master, we will achieve Buddhahood without difficulty. So why is it that we have such difficulty in our practice of Dharma? If in fact we are having difficulties, it’s because in a past life we have not implemented one of these causes to ensure a successful practice, and we are now reaping the results of those past lack of missing causes.
That We haven’t, for example, respected the Dharma. We haven’t tried to develop our intelligence. We haven’t tried to accumulate positive actions. We haven’t, and even when we, we haven’t made any, haven’t made any effort in our practice. But even when we do make effort in our practice, we didn’t gain any realizations in the course of this life because of these missing causes in past lives.
And we haven’t in a previous life pleased our spiritual master, therefore it’s difficult for us to meet and have a successful relationship with the spiritual master in this life. These are simply reaping the results of not having created the proper causes in a past life. The next precept states that initially, train in whichever is the most coarse. Or another way that this could be stated is purify the coarser one first. Purify the coarser one first.
So what is being spoken of here are the various afflictive emotions. That in general we are trying to abandon all the afflictive emotions. We’re trying to purify the afflictive emotions to remove them from our mind. But in, in, in, but specifically we are to initially look to our mind, investigate, and see which of the various afflictive emotions are most powerful, which are the stronger for ourselves as individuals. It may be anger, for example.
If that’s the case, then first try to apply the antidotes to anger, to cultivate the antidotes for that strongest affliction, or it may be desire. Whichever is the strongest afflictive emotion, begin with that first. And gradually, the fault of that afflictive emotion will lessen. It will be eventually eliminated from our mind. If we don’t, then we’re always going to be involving ourselves in the same faulty way of conduct.
We won’t be attacking what is the most our greatest fault first. Next precept states train in whatever is of greatest purpose or whatever is most meaningful. So in general, generosity is an excellent practice. But if we were to compare it to the practice of ethics, we could say that in comparison, ethics is more purposeful. It’s a greater meaning to practice.
So we are to train. Because of its greater purpose. Between if we were to compare, for example, ethics and tolerance, tolerance would be of even greater purpose. So whichever practice has a greater purpose, has more meaning to practice that one first. Whatever is the most powerful, the most purposeful brings the most meaning to our practice to implement that first.
And this extends all the way to love, the awakened heart, and the understanding of Then the next precept is don’t don’t allow three factors to weaken. Don’t allow three factors to weaken, or don’t allow three things to weaken. So what are these three factors or things that we are we shouldn’t allow to weaken or we shouldn’t be allowed to deteriorate or degenerate? The first of these is the respect for our Lama, the respect for the spiritual master. We shouldn’t allow that to deteriorate.
The second is that we shouldn’t allow our conscientiousness in trainings, the three higher trainings, the trainings in ethics, meditative stabilization, and wisdom. We should not allow our conscientiousness with regard to those trains deteriorate or weaken. And thirdly, we should not allow our interest and enthusiasm in the practice of mind training to deteriorate, to weaken? If we allow our respect for the lama, the spiritual master, to deteriorate, we have closed the doors on the development of all acts and qualities. If we allow our consciousness with regard to the trainings, and here it mentions specifically the training in terms of ethics to deteriorate, then we will involve ourselves in a variety of negative actions and eventually take rebirth in an unfortunate situation.
If we allow our enthusiasm and interest in mind training to deteriorate, we will forgo the cultivation of the awakened heart. Then the next precept is don’t act in an inverted manner or don’t act in an inverted manner or don’t apply another maybe better, don’t apply a wrong understanding. Don’t apply a wrong understanding. So there are certain inverted or distorted understandings that we should seek to avoid. For example, when we are confronted with someone who, a sentient being, who is actually being tortured with suffering, that can this is a worthy object for our development of compassion, they wish that they be free from that suffering, that this is an authentic attitude toward such a situation when there was in fact suffering.
But on the other hand, if we were to see someone who is undergoing difficulty and hardship in their practice in the course of their practice of Dharma, that maybe they have insufficient food or they don’t have proper clothing, and we develop compassion for them and develop a sense of pity for them. That this pity for them, that they’re undergoing this hardship in order to practice Dharma, and we pity them, this would be termed inverted compassion, because that this would be a So this, there are four inverted understandings, and this is the, there are five, five inverted understandings. This is the first inverted understanding to have compassion for the wrong object. So this is relating a story about a very excellent teacher at Sera Je Monastery. His name was Geshe Loktho Lama.
And he was once traveling from the area in which he lived to Khalsa, and he was going to Sera Monastery. And Geshe Loktho Lama was a great scholar, a great meditator, and in his travel along his journey, he was carrying all his possessions on his back and heading towards Sera. And a woman saw him, and there’s an expression in Tibetan where they just say the words compassion, compassion, and Geshe Loktho Lama said, You don’t need to have compassion for me. You won’t be where I am for another five hundred rebirths. So I think a good term for this would be misplaced compassion.
So that’s one inverted understanding. So then the second of these inverted understandings is or inverted attitudes is inverted aspiration. Inverted aspiration. Aspire to, for example, to achieve Buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings is a wonderful aspiration. It’s a worthy object of our aspiration.
But on the other hand, to aspire to bring about material prosperity only for the sake of this life, to only to work, to only get food and clothing and all the goodies of this life is termed inverted aspiration, misplaced aspiration. So that’s not really worthy of all our concern, is it? Then the third inverted attitude or misplaced attitude would be that to strive to lead all beings to a state of Buddhahood. This is really a wonderful endeavor. This is therefore, this is really a well placed attitude.
On the other hand to to then but on the other hand, to to to struggle to to acquire money or offerings which have been made to the Buddhadharma and the spiritual community is a wrong endeavor or misplaced efforts to simply acquire what is being offered to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha for oneself. So that would be a misplaced endeavor. Then there’s inverted rejoicing or misplaced rejoicing. Firstly, to rejoice in the skillful actions of Buddhas and bodhisattvas. This is really something wonderful.
But on the other hand, to rejoice when those when disaster meets those you dislike, this is misplaced rejoicing or inverted rejoicing, to say, Oh, isn’t that wonderful? Wonderful, wonderful. Good to good. Yeah, yeah. Then the next inverted attitude is firstly that it’s really excellent to endure, to bear with the hardships in our practice of Dharma.
That is to say, have tolerance to bear with the difficulties. But on the other hand, if if you were to bear with On the other hand, if you were to bear hardships simply motivated out of the what are called the eight worldly principles or the eight worldly dharmas, simply to bring about one’s prosperity or to overcome your enemies, then this bearing with that type of hardship would be tolerance or inverted tolerance. Then in cultivating the practices of the universal vehicle, gains some experience of these practices and gets a taste of that experience. This is an authentic experience. This is an authentic spiritual experience.
On the other hand, if the taste that one is struggling for is simply for sensual tastes pleasures motivated by attachment and simple simply indulging, then this is inverted taste. So inverted taste. Taste taste for the wrong thing. The the next precept is be be released through analysis investigation. We discussed this in the morning that what we are to analyze is upon waking in the morning to analyze our purpose for the day, and to try to develop an altruistic intention intention for benefiting others over the course of the day, to implement the teachings on mind training to practice the universal vehicle, and then to inspect, to investigate ones in the evening whether one has lived up to your intentions.
If you have, to in fact rejoice. On the other hand, if you haven’t, to develop a sense of regret and to determine to begin again the next day. The next precept is don’t be boastful. Don’t be boastful. This is, you know, when in the case where you’ve benefited someone a little, and having benefited them in some small way, you’re constantly reminding them, I did this for you, I did this for you, and going on and on about it.
And in the end, they simply wish that you hadn’t done anything, and they have all the dislike. So not being boastful of what you’ve done. Then the next precept is don’t expect expecting a great reward immediately from the other person. So it’s simply giving, in some small way, a greater reward in terms out of gratitude for what you’ve done for them. This particular division of the text now ends with a quotation from Geshe Chekawa, where he says, My many aspirations have given rise to humiliating criticism and suffering, but having received instructions for taming the misconceptions of self, even if I die, I have no regret.
That’s what Geshe Chekawa is saying in these lines is that even in the course of mind training, that in trying to implement these teachings, that you may incur criticism by others, and it may be some hardship, but that doesn’t matter. That having received these instructions whereby to subdue self grasping and self centeredness, and as the means to remove all our faults and to attain all excellent qualities, and that having implemented the method of equalizing and exchanging self for others, having taken upon myself the sufferings of others and given away my happiness to them, I have achieved the realizations of the paths and grounds. And even if I were to die, I would have no regrets. So, there are seven overall divisions of the text. The first of which was the preliminaries to the cultivation of bodhicitta.
The second was the actual training in bodhicitta. And with regard to bodhicitta, there were two types. There was conventional bodhicitta, which I have translated as the awakened heart, and ultimate bodhicitta, which I translate as the awakened mind. With regard to the presentation of these two bodhicittas, the actual root text of the seven point training of the mind first presents the training in the awakened mind, the ultimate bodhicitta, and then the training in conventional bodhicitta, the awakened heart. But in this commentary that we’ve been following, this order is reversed.
First, we have is an explanation of the means of developing the awakened heart, and then it follows the teachings on the means of developing the awakened mind. And we have arrived at the beginning of the second of these two, the teachings on the means of developing the awakened mind. With regard to the individual who is practicing the universal vehicle mind training, we can there are two overall types of individuals. There are those who are extremely intelligent, and those who are less intelligent. With in the order of training with regard to those of great intelligence is that they would train in the awakened mind first, and then subsequently train in the awakened heart.
And those of lesser intelligence would, as it has been presented in our present text, the commentary, would initially train in the awakened heart and subsequently train in the awakened mind, that there would be this difference in order of training. Why is there this difference in the order of training between those of great intelligence and those of lesser intelligence? So both of these types of individuals, whether of great intelligence or those of lesser intelligence, were trained similarly up to the development of exceptional resolve. For example, that is to say, in both meditative traditions by means of which one can develop an awakened heart — the tradition of equalizing and exchanging self for others, where first you begin with an equality of self for others, looking at the disadvantages of self-centeredness, the advantages of other-centeredness, etcetera, all the way up to the development of an exceptional resolve. Or the other meditative tradition of the seven cause-and-effect instruction, one proceeds through a series of meditations such as recognizing all sentient beings as one’s mother, remembering their kindness, etc, all the way up to, again, the development of exceptional resolve.
So both of these two levels of intelligent practitioners would, using either of those two meditative traditions, both similarly train up to the development of exceptional resolve? So both of these types of practitioners are similar up to this point of exceptional resolve. That they develop the attitude that I must attain Buddhahood for the sake of freeing all sentient beings from suffering and leading them to complete happiness. So the practitioner of a high intelligence would, having developed this aspiration, would, to attain Buddhahood, would now examine as to whether he or she in fact could. Do I have the ability to actually attain it?
Can it be attained? So they go on to investigate whether they, in fact, have the ability to attain it. Lesser intelligence aspires to the attainment of Buddhahood in order to free all sentient beings from suffering and to lead them to complete happiness. But they, that is to say, they develop a sense of necessity that I must attain this state. But they don’t go on to question whether they, even though it’s a necessity, whether they can or The practitioner of lesser intelligence looks to the means of, you know, looks to the means, they don’t examine whether they can or not, but they look to what it takes to achieve it in terms of conduct.
They look at the bodhisattva’s vast deeds, which the bodhisattva works at over eons of time, and seeing the extensive deeds of the bodhisattva, they become discouraged, and often these individuals will fall to the individual vehicle. No. No. No. No.
So there are many who have seen what is necessary in terms of the conduct of the bodhisattva, that they lose their awakened heart degenerates, and they fall to the individual vehicle. But the intelligent practitioner has resolved to achieve Buddhahood, but they look to see if they can in fact achieve it. Do they have they examine whether they have the ability. Now, in order to determine whether they have the ability or not to achieve Buddhahood, they have to they go on to examine, Well, what is it that’s stopping me from achieving Buddhahood? What is the obstacle to my achievement of Buddhahood?
And they go on to understand the obstacles to the attainment of Buddhahood are the knowledge obstructions and the afflictive obstructions. So the afflictive obstructions such as the afflictive emotions. And they say, Okay, well, if those are the obstacles to my achieving Buddhahood, can those obstacles be overcome, or cannot they be? If they cannot be overcome, then I can’t achieve Buddhahood. If they can’t be overcome, then I can achieve Buddhahood.
So they go on to look at the means whether they can actually generate the methods whereby to abandon these obstacles, the various obstructions, and they understand that that they, in fact, can abandon these obstacles to the achievement of Buddhahood. They can abandon the obstructions to liberation and the obstructions to knowledge, along with their latencies. And they do that by their realization of emptiness. So they go on to they go on they then go on to seek the meaning of emptiness. To examine the meaning of emptiness, and they go on to gain a valid cognition of emptiness.
So having gained a valid cognition of emptiness, they understand well that they can rid themselves of self grasping, which is the basis for all of the obstructions hindering their achievement of Buddhahood. So they understand that they can, understand within their own experience that they can achieve Buddhahood, that because they can abandon the obstacles to its achievement, because they have understood emptiness, and therefore they understand that this is, they have seen for themselves that this is the way to remove the obstacles to the development of the achievement of Buddhahood. Having seen that within their own experience for themselves, they then go on to develop the awakened heart. So this is the this is the difference in the in the means of progressing, in in the order of developing an awakened heart. The the practitioner of higher intelligence, through their gaining an experience of their actual ability of attaining Buddhahood, they go on to actually generate the awakened heart, which aspires to that end, and it won’t degenerate.
They don’t lose the awakened heart, since they have seen for themselves within their own experience that they can attain their goal. But on the other hand, the lesser intelligence simply focuses on the work that needs to be done to achieve Buddhahood without having closely examined whether they can or not. So therefore there is this difference in the presentation of these two bodhicittas, conventional and ultimate. The presentation for those of those of great intelligence would be first the explanation and therefore gaining a realization of the awakened mind and subsequent to that the awakened heart. For those practitioners of less intelligence, the presentation would be first in terms of development of the awakened heart, and then the gaining the understanding of emptiness and development of the awakened mind.
So we won’t have any questions today. I’m thinking. So the