Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 100-minute session, Khensur Rinpoche opens the third chapter of “Opening the Eye of Awareness” with a structural question rarely examined in practice: why are the Buddha’s 84,000 teachings classified into exactly three scriptural collections — discipline, discourse, and manifest knowledge — and not four? He presents nine reasons grouped under antidote, subject matter, and doctrinal purpose, showing how each collection targets a specific affliction (doubt, extreme behavior, and wrong views held as supreme). The second half develops ethics as the indispensable foundation of all practice, mapping the ten non-virtuous actions of body, speech, and mind, and tracing the causal chain from ethical conduct through meditative stabilization to liberation. A Q&A closes the session, covering when regret is spiritually useful, how to gauge personal attachment, and how individual karma accounts for the wide variation in human rebirth.
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File: 06 Eye of A 1988 11 08.mp3
UUID: 363a6479-4c45-4618-ab3c-ec6c584d8476
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Opening the Eye of Awareness 1988-1989 (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1988-11-08
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 100.0 minutes
Words: ~4,993
Rinpoche requests that we adjust our motivation, such that we’re going to listen to this teaching on the Opening the Eye of Awareness in order to attain enlightenment for the sake of bringing happiness and peace to all sentient beings. So we’ve reached the third chapter of the text, Opening the Eye of Awareness, which goes into the description of the three scriptural collections. So initially the Buddha generated the awakening heart and in the intermediate period he collected the two accumulations of merit. And then finally upon attaining enlightenment he turned the wheel of Dharma giving eighty four thousand bundles of teachings. And this is a description of the classification of these eighty four thousand bundles of teachings of the Dharma.
So all the eighty four thousand bundles of Dharma, the teachings which the Buddha gave, were directly taught in order to subdue the afflictive emotions. And these eighty four thousand teachings can be subsumed under twelve branches of scripture. And in turn, these twelve branches of scripture can be subsumed or categorized into the three scriptural collections. So what do we mean when we say the three scriptural collections? Now all of the teachings that the Buddha gave, these were his pronouncements, so these were his actual words.
So firstly, the three scriptural collections are the words of the Buddha. That is the actual sounds, the speech by which he set forth his teachings. And then we give names to certain types of speech, certain types of pronouncements, and these constitute the three categories. The collection of the set of discipline, the set of discourses, and the set of manifest knowledge. So these three sets discipline, discourse, and knowledge are the three scriptural collections.
So the actual words of the Buddha, his pronouncements are categorized into the three scriptural collections, the set of discipline, discourse, and manifest knowledge. Now if we take his teachings from the point of view of the subject matter which are set forth, then we can classify his teachings into the three trainings. The training of ethics, the training in meditative stabilization, and the training in wisdom. So these three scriptures are asserted there are nine reasons for asserting the three categories of the scriptural collections. There are nine reasons for asserting the three scriptural collections.
There are three reasons from the point of view of antidote or abandonment. There are three reasons from the point of view of subject matter and three reasons from the point of view of practice. Yes. So it is said that the scriptural collections of the Buddha are definitely only three. There is not a fourth.
It’s also said that there are only four tenets that the Buddha set forth. There is no fifth. A fourth scriptural collection is not the intention of the Buddha nor is a fifth tenet the intention of the Buddha. So with respect to the first reason for the categorization into three scriptural collections, that is from the point of view of antidote. First taking up the scriptural collection of the sets of discourses which are the words of the Buddha.
Now it’s said that the words of the Buddha, the sets of discourses are the container in which all three of the subject matters of what the Buddha taught are contained. That is we said the subject matters of the Buddha were the three trainings: ethics, meditative stabilization and wisdom. These three are like as if we fit into the category of the sets of discourses or sūtra. So it’s like a cup. The sutras or the sets of discourses are like a cup and in that we pour tea.
And the three trainings are the subject matter of the Buddhist discourses are like the tea in which fits into a container. The container are the sutras or the sets of discourses. So, we said that in the first group of three reasons, that is concerning antidotes. The reason for setting forth these sets of discourses was as a method for eliminating the faults of the practitioner. Now there are various types of faults.
There are three types of faults. There are three types of mental states which need to be overcome, that is to be eliminated. And the first of these is doubt. So that is to say, there is a doubt as to the existence or the non-existence. There is a hesitation or an inability to come to a single-pointed position.
So the first affliction which is to be overcome through the antidote of the scriptural collection is doubt. So what exactly do we have doubt with respect to which of these various doubts are to be eliminated? As we have explained before with the consideration of the various objects of knowledge such as the five aggregates, the twelve sources, the eighteen constituents, the twelve links of dependent origination, and the four noble truths. We are seeking to eliminate doubts with respect to these various categories of objects of knowledge. So through the activities of listening and reflecting with respect to the mode of abidance, the reality of various objects, we can eliminate our doubt with respect to them, to their actual nature.
Now just as in, as for example, if we were wondering, is this a flower or not? And then by listening and reflecting and coming, we can understand that this is a flower and therefore in this way we eliminate our doubt with respect to, Is this a flower or not? Wondering whether this is a flower or not. Likewise, with respect to the scarf, wondering, is this a kata, is this a scarf or not? And learning that it is a scarf, we eliminate our doubt with respect to whether or not it’s a scarf.
Likewise, is this a Buddha image or not? And is this an image of a Buddha? And coming to listening and reflecting, come to understand, Ah yes, this is an image of a Buddha, and therefore we eliminate our doubt with respect to that particular object. And this we were doing with all the various phenomena with removing our doubt with respect to their nature, their mode of reality, their mode of existence. Just as if Rinpoche had doubts as to each of your names, was wondering what your name was, and I explained that this person’s name is this, this person’s name is this, this person’s name is this.
In this way Rinpoche could come to know what each of your various names is and thereby eliminate his doubt with respect to your name. And in the same way, the scriptural collection of the sets of discourses, the sutras, they set forth the mode of abidance, the nature, the reality of all the various phenomena whereby we can eliminate our doubt with respect to their nature, the reality of all the phenomena, of all the objects of knowledge. Then the second affliction which is to be eliminated is the affliction of extreme behavior. Extreme behavior. Or behavior with respect to the two extremes.
So the second afflictive emotion which is to be eliminated is With respect to the elimination of the behavior with the elimination of the afflictive behavior with respect to the two extremes, that is the extreme behaviors. This entails setting forth the various types of practices which are to be adopted and those which are to be rejected. Essentially we’re talking about the methods of practicing renunciation and ethics whereby it is said that various types of if we develop indulgent desire with respect to food, clothing, furnishings and residence, then these are said to be prohibited. If we develop this indulgent desire with respect to food, clothing, furnishings and residence, then this will act as an obstacle to higher types of realizations and therefore it becomes necessary to practice renunciation with respect to these various external objects. For example, if we speak of developing desire with regards to clothing, you find that by wearing very good clothing, new clothing that you develop attachment to it, then it’s necessary as a method to eliminate this desire to begin to wear only used clothing.
For example, some people, when they first buy something, give it to someone else to wear for a few months and then they themselves after that, then they wear it and they don’t develop this attachment to new clothing. So with respect to a method for eliminating attachment to food, So, in speaking of eliminating desire for monks, just to renounce, ordained people, then they had to go on alms round and they had to accept and eat whatever was given to them and that they would go to three householders and whatever was given to them, they would eat that and if nothing was given to them, then they would return and not eat. So it’s just a matter of accepting and eating whatever was given. So, with respect to residents, if you would begin to become attached to your house, then you would have to go outside and live under a tree in order to eliminate that. It’s a method for eliminating your attachment to your home.
So we have to eliminate any types of great attachment that we have. Great attachment acts as an obstacle to higher realizations. Then on the other hand, the Buddha said that for those who have realizations, for those who do not generate attachments, for example those who have renunciation, awakening heart, the correct view, And they can make use of any types of good foods, good clothing, good residences. It doesn’t matter because with respect to these external objects, they don’t generate attachment. You know they see these objects for example without any essence.
They’re impermanent and empty and therefore with this understanding they don’t generate attachment or indulgent desire. And therefore the Buddha said that for such types of people then no external objects were prohibited that they could accept and make use of all kinds of good external foods and objects, foods, clothing, residences, whatever. So the Buddha set forth his prohibitions and permissions not with respect to the nature of the external object but as to whether the external object had the potential to generate afflictive emotions in the person who uses that object. So for someone who doesn’t generate attachment, indulgent desire for various external objects, then he can make use of any type of excellent materials. On the other hand, those who generate attachment, indulgent desire, then they’re prohibited from using good types of food, clothing, etc.
So this is the behavior with respect to the two extremes. So this also applies to lay people. If there are lay people and the various articles that you make use of, if they generate attachment, indulgent desire, then the Buddha would prohibit you from using these, that you would have to forego these. Whereas on the other hand, if the layperson makes use of excellent types of articles, external things without developing desire, without developing attachment, then the Buddha gave permission to make use of these things. Whether one is an ordained person or whether one is a lay person, it doesn’t make any difference.
Lay people also have to gain higher and higher realizations. And the obstacle which prevents us from gaining higher realizations are the various afflictive emotions. Therefore for those who generate afflictive emotions with respect to various external things, then these types of things are prohibited since they act as an obstacle to gaining higher realizations. But then on the other hand, if we have few afflictive emotions and the various articles that we make use of don’t increase our afflictive emotions, they don’t generate attachment, then there’s no reason why we can’t and these articles are permissible, there’s no reason why we can’t make use of them. So for us to gain Buddhahood, to gain higher and higher realizations, it’s extremely important that we begin to decrease the force of our afflictive emotions.
And then the third affliction which is to be eliminated through the description of the discourses is the affliction of holding one’s own view to be supreme. Holding one’s own view to be supreme. This would entail, for example, For example, that phenomena where that things were So this specifically means when we say holding one’s own views as supreme, holding the bad views or wrong views as supreme. For example, with respect to the various types of wrong views, there’s the wrong view which holds things to be permanent. That is to say that they’re not momentarily arising and disintegrating.
Where in fact things are impermanent. They’re momentarily arising and disintegrating. So the concept of things being permanent would be a wrong view. Another wrong view would be holding that those things which were actually in the nature of suffering to be in the nature of happiness or pleasure. That is all the various objects around us, this house, wood, tables, floor, these are in the nature of suffering in the sense that they arise out of karma, that is actions and afflictive emotions.
Therefore they are said to be in the nature of suffering. But the concept which holds these to be pleasurable in nature it would be a wrong view. Another wrong view would be holding the person to have a self. A self holding or conceiving of a self of persons. Whereas in fact the person is selfless.
They lacks a self. So this would be another wrong view or wrong awareness which is to be eliminated through the antidote of the discourses. So I think I’ve mixed things a little bit here, not too much. Let’s straighten it out. So we’re trying to give nine reasons why there are three scriptural collections.
And the first is from the point of view of the first three reasons are from the point of view of antidote. Now the first one was doubt is eliminated through the scriptural collection of discourses. The second was that extreme behavior is eliminated through the category of discipline. The third affliction that of holding wrong views to be supreme is eliminated through this collection of manifest knowledge. Therefore in order to eliminate these three afflictions, we have to have these three collections.
Then the second set of three reasons why it’s necessary to have three scriptural categories is that from the point of view of subject matter. And the subject matter is the three trainings. The set of discourses sets forth the three trainings. The sets of disciplines sets forth the three trainings. The training in ethics, training in meditative stabilization, and the training in wisdom.
The set of discipline sets forth the first two trainings, ethics and meditative stabilization, and the set of knowledge sets forth the training in wisdom. Then the third set of three reasons why it’s necessary to have three scriptural categories is from the point of view of doctrine and meanings. Doctrine and meanings. So the third set of three reasons why it’s necessary to have three scriptural categories is from the point of view of doctrines and meanings. Now the sutras, it’s necessary to have the sets of discourses since they set forth an elaborate or an extensive explanation of the various doctrines and meanings.
It’s necessary to have the set of disciplines because they set forth the means of practicing the doctrines and meanings. And then the third, the set of knowledge is necessary since having understood the doctrine and meanings one develops the skillful ability to explain them to others through the collection of manifest knowledge, the skill in explaining. So what do we mean when we say doctrine? So, by doctrine we mean the path of the ten virtues by which we are able to achieve higher status, that is, rebirth as a god or human.
When we say meanings, we are referring to the thirty seven harmonies with enlightenment which are the methods for achieving definite goodness. And definite goodness here means excellent qualities such as liberation and Buddhahood. So this is the subject matter set forth extensively in the explanations of the sets of discourses. And then the collection of discipline explains how to actually put these two into practice, the modes of practice. For example, by abandoning the ten non skillful actions, that is to say the three of body, the four of speech, the three of mind, one takes on the ten skillful types of actions.
In observing this type of skillful actions, this type of ethics, one will subsequently attain the state of God or human. So the fact that we’ve been born as a human is an indication that we have in the past abandoned the ten non skillful actions and thereby practiced the ten skillful types of actions. And likewise, if during this lifetime if we again abandon the ten non skillful actions and put into practice the ten skillful actions, then we will in the future attain such a higher type of rebirth such as a human or even better types of rebirth. So there are various types of happiness that we can experience in upper realms, for example, the happiness of a human. But not only that, there’s even happier states, happiness of Gods and happiness within the form realms and formless realms.
The method for accomplishing these higher states of happiness are through skillful actions or that is to say virtue. So Nāgārjuna has said that from non virtue or non skillful actions arises all the states of the bad migrations such as the rebirth as a hell being, hungry ghost or an animal. And that all happy migrations such as arise from positive actions, that is to say virtue, is whether it’s the higher status of a human or a god or the ultimate attainment of Buddhahood, all depends upon engaging in positive actions. The Buddha has said that in dependence upon observing ethics one attains a happy migration and in dependence upon practicing generosity one attains resources or wealth. Candrakīrti has said that other than ethics there is no cause for higher status; ethics is the only cause for attaining higher status.
So all the great masters of the past, whether it was the Buddha, Nāgārjuna, Candrakīrti, Vasubandhu, all the masters with no exception have said that we must practice ethics. Since in dependence upon ethics that we achieve the status of human rebirth and having become a human, in dependence upon ethics, in the past we again attained not only a human rebirth but good health and a strong body and that all these are necessary for us to carry on our practice. Therefore, the main point, the common point, the word which was spoken by all of them together was the necessity to observe proper ethics. So when we speak about ethics, essentially we begin with the fact that the essential ethic of non killing. Whether it’s a human down to the smallest insect, we should not kill.
And then, the next is non stealing that any property which belongs to another is not to be taken. And the third is if is if someone else is a proper mate, that is to say, example, a husband and wife of another person, then we are not to engage in any sexual activity with that person. In observing ethics, observe the abandonment of the four non skillful actions of speech. The first of which is to abandon lying. Lying is to trick, to deceive, saying that something is when in fact it isn’t or saying something exists when in fact it does not exist, knowingly deceiving another person.
And then the second is divisive speech. That is to say bringing disharmony between two people who existed, who had a harmonious relation prior, before such as two friends, a teacher and a pupil. Any types of strong relationships with the people who are getting along well and through your speech, you sought to create a division between them. And the third is harsh words. And these are words, any types of words which we speak in order to hurt the other person, knowingly trying to harm them through our speech.
And the fourth is idle chatter. That is this idle gossip, wasting our time with meaningless words which have no benefit to anyone. And there are three non-virtuous actions of mind which are to be abandoned. The first of which is covetousness. And this is seeing that someone has something, some kind of an excellent article, some property, some possession they have and think, Wow, that would really make me happy.
I wish I had that. And generating a great desire to have someone else’s property, coveting someone else’s property or possession. Then the second is harmful intention. Thinking in your mind, Oh, this person did this before. I’m going to get back at him or her.
Having this intention to bring harm and thinking about ways in which you can return harm, hurting someone to your planning to harm someone. And the third is wrong view and this would be for example firmly convincing, the firm conviction that such things as the Three Jewels, Three Jewels that is the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, the past and future lives, the law of cause and effect do not exist. Coming to a firm definite decision that in fact these things do not exist, this would be the non-virtuous action of wrong view. So the practice of the very skillful actions would be to see the negative consequences of such types of unskillful actions and making the decision to cease to abandon these non skillful actions. And this would be observing the positive skillful actions.
Not only that, we can go on to practice various types of special ethics. For example, we can put into practice generosity. We could practice types of renunciation which would be even more special types of positive skillful actions. Through abandoning these various non skillful, unskillful actions of body, speech, mind, we will eliminate the In this way, we begin to observe ethics and thereby we begin to eliminate the suffering from our mind. We will no longer have to go through various types of self torture, that is to say self torture and regret for all the negative actions that we commit.
We can cease this type of suffering, the mind which is always regretting having done all these negative actions. Not regretting. Yeah, regretting. For example, if you were to have killed someone, you would constantly again and again be thinking, Ah, I killed that person, I killed that person. You would keep torturing yourself with, and again and again you would feel a strong regret or perhaps maybe guilt.
Anyway, regret or guilt. This negative type of regret would again and again keep arising in your mind. So in this way, we begin by observing ethics, we cease to have to undergo this type of self torture that is always having to generate regret about everything that we’ve done in the past again and again, the various negative actions that we engage in. And in this way, the mind begins to become happy. We develop a happy mind.
in dependence upon developing a happy mind, this also affects our body. We actually develop a lightness and a pliancy of body. We have experienced something like this for ourselves when our body When our body is dirty, When our body is dirty, then it’s difficult for us to feel comfortable. It’s difficult for our body to feel light and easy and comfortable. But when our body, on the other hand, when our body feels comfortable, light, and develops this plant, then in dependence upon that, there also develops the happiness of mind.
So in developing this plant and lightness of body, we develop physical happiness. In dependence upon physical happiness, we develop mental joy. In dependence upon developing mental joy, we develop stability and we develop meditative stabilizations. In developing these various meditative stabilizations, we can generate calm abiding. And in dependence upon developing this meditative stabilization and calm abiding, we can generate special insight or Vipassana.
Through Vipassana, we can actually eliminate all the faults within our mind and thereby all suffering and we can actually attain the state whereby we only experience happiness. In this way we can achieve the elimination of all suffering. We can be liberated, free from cyclic existence and attain the state of Buddhahood. So the Buddhist said that ethics is extremely important. It is like the foundation of our practice.
in dependence upon this firm foundation that we can gain higher and higher realizations in all the various states which are dependent upon the observing ethics. It’s like if we’re going to build a house, we have to have a firm foundation or a strong floor, a very firm stable floor if we’re going to build the walls and build the various levels and then finally put the roof on. Likewise, the foundation of our practice if we’re going to build up to higher levels of realization is the observance of ethics. But she says I’m having a rough time. We’ll stop there.
We’ll have twelve minutes of questions. Yes. Yeah, that’s why I was thinking, I almost used the word guilt, yeah. Okay, so your question is So, you know, it’s to develop regret when one is practicing doing a purification practice, know, that you did some type of negative actions in the past and developing regret is extremely beneficial. But at those times when you’re not particularly doing, when you’re not doing a purification practice, when you’re just having regret towards something that you did in the past, at such times your mind is very unhappy and you’re just So this is suffering.
And the mind is unpeaceful? There’s no happiness? So this mind of regret creates an unhappiness in the mind. So in general, we can say that it creates unhappiness and unease in the mind. So it’s only a benefit when we’re using it to purify past negative actions that we’ve created.
That’s when it’s a benefit even though it’s still a suffering mind. So at those times when we’re not purifying any negative actions, to have regret is of no benefit because it makes us unhappy. It’s only beneficial when we’re actually involved in a purification practice. Can Rinpoche explain how a layperson could assess the degree of, personal degree of attachment to things like So, you know, having, like, you ate something very delicious food yesterday and you experienced a very happy, very pleasurable feeling from it and you think, Oh, you know, you’re thinking about that food. I’ve got to have that food tomorrow.
And you know, with an extremely strong thought about it, to a very forceful thinking about it again and again thinking I must have that food, then this would be a sign of the presence of strong attachment. But then on the other hand, if you were to think, Oh, it’d be nice to have it, but if I don’t, it’s okay too. Then would be a sign that you have very little attachment to that. I’m not sure if you said this, but did you say before that one result of practicing ethics is to be reborn as a human with a healthy body? Did you say So that’s right.
Yeah, a human body plus healthy body. Then how could you account for being reborn as a human who had a very debilitating disease and who died soon after? So this person, attained, he was born as a human, but due to the past action of having killed, has a short life. So he observed an ethics by which he was able to attain human rebirth, but due to his negative practice of killing, he had a short life. She had a short life.
So each of each of her actions has an individual effect. So a short life is a result of non skillful action in the past. So some people are born as humans, but they always have sickness, for example. Though this sickness that they had was because of due to the action of having harmed others in the past, therefore all the various effects, all the results that we experience are the effects of our actions, karma and our afflictive emotions. So there, are many different effects that we can experience, many different, an infinite variety of effects that we experience due to our actions, due to our karma.
You know some people have very long noses, some people have very short noses, some people have big eyes, some people have short eyes, some people have bald, some people have lots of hair. So each of these minute effects is the result of a particular karma, particular action. So, if you had one hundred people, you’d have one hundred different shapes of faces, one hundred different shapes of noses, one hundred different ears, eyes, and mouths. These are due to their individual karma’s actions that they’ve created in the past. Between what?
The state of God or human. What is there between a God and a human? Yeah? Some of the qualities of gods are that they have extremely beautiful bodies, they have a great deal of wealth, they’re sexless, They’re born spontaneously, not by, as for example, we are born from a combination of egg and sperm. Their bodies are radiate lights, they can fly in the air.
Things like that. They’re much happier than humans. You can’t compare this kind of state of God with God. You mean like the Christian guy? So the gods that we’ve just described with the beautiful body, etcetera, these are just worldly gods.
They’re still within cyclic existence. But the god of Christianity is not a worldly god, is not within cyclic existence. Rinpoche is probably emanation of a Buddha.