Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Closing a weekend Mahāmudrā retreat at Buddha House, Khensur Rinpoche uses the image of a sprout arising from seed and water to ground the session’s central argument: the self depends on causes and conditions and therefore lacks independent existence. In this 50-minute talk, he carefully separates this from nihilism — the I is empty of independent existence, not non-existent — then shows how dependent arising underpins both Buddhist ethics (non-harmfulness) and the Mahāyāna aspiration to benefit others. He cites Candrakīrti’s Entering the Middle Way on the student whose hair stands on end at the mere word “emptiness,” and closes with one concrete commitment: five minutes of daily emptiness meditation, dedicated using a modified bodhichitta prayer, as the retreat’s ongoing fruit. Suited to practitioners who have just completed the weekend teaching.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 14 MR 1990 04 16.mp3
UUID: 4249c0e9-f0d0-4dca-80b3-c9a73c0256c6
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Mahāmudrā Retreat (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1990-04-16
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 50.0 minutes
Words: ~2,740
So, the self, the I, does not independently exist because it depends upon causes and conditions. You know that I as a human being was created out of causes and conditions such as all the various skillful actions that I created in the past in which brought about my rebirth as a human being. I made prayers in the past to take rebirth as a human being, that I had to practice pure ethics in the past to be a human being, that body, a beautiful body comes about through the practice of ethics, that the various enjoyments that I have came about through the practice of generosity, that who I am came about through many different causes and conditions and that this precious and to appreciate the preciousness of this life that we had to go a lot to a lot of trouble to create these causes and conditions. Therefore I am not independently existing. I had to rely on many various types of causes and conditions.
So you know that we created the causes and conditions in a previous life to have this present life, to be this human being who we are now. That not only was this the case that we created the causes and conditions in the previous life but even in this life there was the that we our consciousness which entered into the combination of the sperm and ovum of our parents even in this life and this was the this constituted the beginning of our life. This entering in the consciousness is the appropriator and the sperm and ovum is that which was appropriated appropriated and this is the taking of rebirth. The taken and the taker coming together. And from out of this there arose from the sperm of our father, the various parts of our body such as the bones, the muscles, the marrow, the veins out from the ovum of the mother, the blood, all of these arose out of these were the causes for all of this human being who we now are.
So now we’re old and bald. But this all came about and we are now in dependence upon many causes and conditions. It didn’t come about by itself. So this thinking in this way that that I came about in dependence upon many causes the conditions that that I am a dependent arising, that I am not naturally existing, I am not independently existent. This way of thinking constitutes meditating on emptiness.
But if in the course of our of our meditation and emptiness if we so if we were to come to the in thinking that the eye is empty and we may fall into an extreme of nihilism or annihilationism thinking because I is empty I don’t exist and this has nothing to do with the meditation on emptiness thinking that I don’t exist. This is a wrong view. It’s creating negative karma rather than positive karma. So this is purely mistaken. You know that we can understand this.
I drink tea, I eat food, I sleep, I study, I do all these things. That to think that I don’t exist is mistaken. So what we can we should understand that I don’t independently don’t exist from my own side. This is correct thinking but it would be incorrect to think just because I don’t exist in these ways that I don’t exist at all. This would be nihilism or annihilationism.
This would be incorrect thinking. So this this reasoning of dependent arising is extremely precious, very, very important method that it’s extremely it’s a great benefit. It’s a very powerful method. So the view of Buddhism is dependent arising and what we mean is that in dependence upon other there is an arising, that all phenomena depend upon something other than themselves for their coming into existence, that they rely on something other than themselves, that in dependence upon relying there comes about existence, in dependence upon in relative to other that things come into existence. Nothing comes into existence in non relationship to other, without relying on other, without depending upon other.
That this dependent arise refutes this mode of existing. So all phenomena depend upon other for their arising. All phenomena rely upon other for their arising. Therefore, what is the place of their dependence? The site from which they arise.
The site from which they arise is a cause. The place of their dependence is a cause. Their arising is the result. For example, from what does a sprout arise? It arises from a seed, water, earth.
This is the place from which they arise is the seed, the place of their dependence from which they arise out of is seed and water. Sprout is that which has arisen, it is the result. From where did we arise? The place from the site from which we arose was our mother and father. in dependence upon our mother and father we arose.
That the arising is ourselves. We are the result of that arising. So the place from which the arising comes out of the That from which the arising comes out of is the cause. The arising is the result. in dependence upon the quality from which there is the arising will determine the quality of the result.
If the cause, that is to say from which the arising is coming out of, is negative, then consequently the arising will be negative. On the other hand, from which the arising is coming out of is is positive, then the arising, the result will be positive. By way, a simple example, if the cause that is that from which the arising is taking place from is something of a hot flavor then the result the rising will be hot. If it’s sweet then the rising will be sweet. So in dependence upon causes, the quality of the cause depends upon the result, a concordant result will arise.
This is the Buddhist view of dependent arising. So if we apply this to presentation of the law of cause and effect that the place from which an experience is arising out of is skillful, then the result will be happiness. If that from which the experience is arising out of is unskillful, the arising will be suffering. So, it is the in dependence upon the view of dependent arising comes the conduct of Buddhism and the conduct is of Buddhism is basically non harmfulness. The reason for this is that in dependence upon negative causes, a negative result will arise.
in dependence upon positive causes, a positive result will arise. That if we ourselves harm others then there will arise from that harming of others which is a cause, a result that one will experience suffering. Now we don’t want to experience suffering. We don’t need any more suffering. If on the other hand we if we ourselves benefit others, there will arise out of that cause an experience of happiness.
Suffering not self powered, is not independently existing. Suffering does not come about under its own power. Suffering does not come about under its own power. It relies, it’s in dependence upon a cause. This is unskillful actions.
Happiness does not come about by its own power. It relies on a skillful cause. Therefore, in accordance with the view of dependent arising, the conduct of Buddhism is non harmfulness in order to bring one happiness to oneself. So, this conduct is common to both the lesser vehicle and the greater vehicle. That is conduct of abandoning harmfulness or the conduct of non harmfulness or non violence.
But additionally, in dependence upon this the basis vehicle seeks to expand this to benefit others and therefore the cultivation of love, compassion, the awakening heart. So, the conduct of Buddhism in general common to both lesser and greater vehicles is non violence. Additionally, the great vehicle expands the conduct to include positively benefiting others. This conduct arises out of dependent arising itself in the fact that things are empty of independent natural existence. The ultimate reason from which the view and conduct of Buddhism arises is dependent arising. Such is the Buddhist view and conduct with respect to Mahāmudrā.
So, is the method for actually realizing the view of Mahāmudrā? We should again and again listen to teachings on emptiness. But additionally, it’s necessary to gather together a great deal of positive potential, the accumulations, to reflect upon the meaning of the teachings of what is being presented and to make requests to the make requests to the one’s spiritual teacher, one’s lama and Mañjuśrī inseparable finally to actually again and again meditate upon emptiness and these this combination taken together you can expect to gain understanding of emptiness. So, this past weekend we have planted this seed from which we’ll grow our future realization, the sprout of the future realization of emptiness. We, you know, in the as far as our practice in the future that we could, for example, recite the Heart Sūtra, reflect upon its meaning and having received the teaching on Mahāmudrā, every day meditate on emptiness for five minutes.
Five minutes isn’t very much time. It takes you more than five minutes just to drink a cup of tea. So, you know we want what we want is happiness without any suffering whatsoever and you know happiness has a cause. Happiness is a result. Therefore if we don’t create the cause how can we expect the result?
Now this is what we’ve been learning that if there’s no cause, there’s no result. If there’s no seed, there’s no sprout. That what we in order to find the happiness which is completely divorced of all suffering, we must develop the wisdom understanding emptiness. Therefore, we have to create the causes for developing that wisdom and this is brought about, this is done through meditation on emptiness. So, you know, minutes each day isn’t that long.
I’ve given you this teaching and now on your side you can meditate creating the causes for gaining this realization. Trouble and there’s no great expense involved in sitting on your cushion for five minutes. You know, all of the meaningless things that we do in the course of our day — if we can’t take five minutes to spend meditating this way, then our life becomes meaningless. Rinpoche was quoting from a text by Candrakīrti called Entering into the Middle Way, Madhyamakāvatāra. Candrakīrti is talking about what are the qualities of a student to whom it would be beneficial to teach to.
And the signs of a proper student for whom a teaching on emptiness would be beneficial is one who upon hearing the word emptiness tears begin to uncontrollably run from their eyes and the hairs on their bodies stand on end. Such a student is fully qualified to receive teachings. Why? Because that the teachings would be of great benefit because this student would very quickly, is like a sprout just to be ready to grow. And it would be like watering the sprout.
Very quickly they would gain understanding. If we meditate again and again on emptiness, listen, then we in the future will develop the predisposition such that when we do again meet with a spiritual teacher, just one hour of teachings, we will generate the wisdom, understanding of emptiness. We’re just about to develop that wisdom, understanding the emptiness even now. So we should take out of our busy days five minutes to meditate on emptiness. And we should meditate on emptiness with the motivation of the awakening heart.
That is, that I must attain Buddhahood for myself and all mother sentient beings equal to space. In order to do that, in order that I might be able to place all sentient beings in happiness and completely eliminate their suffering. In order to do that I must realize emptiness. And with such a motivation meditating on emptiness. In a week five minutes or fifteen minutes, as much as you are able, as much as you have time, you know there’s only profit to be gained.
You won’t lose anything by meditating longer than five minutes. But we and then at the end of our meditation we should use this short prayer of dedication which we normally recite. We normally recite it with respect to the awakening heart or it says here, Bodhi Mind. May the precious Bodhi Mind. We should substitute, May the precious view of emptiness.
We substitute that dedication. It goes on to say, May not yet born arise and grow. May that born have no decline. Whether we’re doing it with the awakening heart or whether we’re doing it for the view of emptiness, it’s not done for oneself. May this arise in all sentient beings.
May it not decline in all sentient beings. You shouldn’t think of just that you’re wishing this for yourself, but all sentient beings. So if you could do this all the time, just five minutes, this would there’s nothing more wonderful that you could do than this. That is to say, this you are taking the essence of the great vehicle motivated by the awakened heart meditating on the view of emptiness. This is the greatest meaning that one could with the motivation that for myself and the sake of all sentient beings I must eliminate all of my faults and develop all the excellent qualities.
Then achieving this achieving Buddhahood I will then go on to establish all sentient beings and complete happiness and separate them from all of their suffering. To bring this about, I am now going to meditate on Mahāmudrā. I am going to meditate on emptiness. By thinking of the I, the I, we don’t think about someone else’s I, but our own I, the I which is imputed or designated in dependence upon our aggregates, our own aggregates, is not naturally existent, is not independently existent. There is no I which is independently existent.
Why? What reason can we give? Because depends upon the aggregates for its existence. The I depends upon many causes and conditions. Therefore, because the I exists in dependence upon causes and conditions, it cannot exist from its own side, it cannot exist independently.
So, the reason that the I does not exist independently is because it is a dependent arising. It depends on something other. Therefore it is not naturally existent. It is not independently existent. That the I which exists independently is negated.
There is no independent I. The I is only empty of independent existence. Just come to this firm determination in your mind — not mistaken, just like the magician’s illusions to the audience were mistaken. Having come to some conclusion within your mind as to the nature of I abide in that conclusion single pointedly.
If you have some difficulties, if it is not coming well, then imagining the root teacher inseparable from Mañjuśrī, make a request that your mind be freshened, stabilized, that it be purified; in answer to these requests, nectar flows down into you. That today will be some perhaps there will be some understanding, tomorrow it will be better, the week after that continuing in this way it will be better, the second week it will improve even more, after one month it will be improving even more, second month. And it’s quite possible continuing in this manner that you will have a vivid realization of emptiness within a few years. And we’re going we can have a contest who amongst all the people here is going to be the first to realize emptiness. So those who make the great efforts will be the first.
Those who make middling effort will come somewhere in the middle. But those who don’t make any effort will never realize. So we have to meditate on we have to understand emptiness. So please meditate on emptiness and I appreciate all the difficulties that you experienced over this weekend all the hard work that you’ve done and I from my side will pray that all of you will gain the realization of emptiness. Okay.
Maybe we’re outside. We have a group. So when we chant the prayer, we Jangchub no. So rather than, we say, instead of, we say. Okay.
A positive potential many many many skillful actions were that we’ve done over this weekend.