Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. The car-steering analogy Khensur Rinpoche introduces midway through this 92-minute session captures its central concern: dedication directs positive karma the way a driver steers — toward human rebirth, liberation, or Buddhahood — wherever one points the wheel. He opens by mapping the nine grounds of cyclic existence across the desire, form, and formless realms, explaining how degrees of constructive and destructive karma determine which realm one inhabits. He then shows how dedication, combined with proper motivation and concentrated activity, makes any positive action complete, and notes that meditative concentration gains power only when conjoined with renunciation and insight into emptiness. A Q&A on whether non-Buddhists can be born in pure lands closes the session; Rinpoche explains that each Buddha field requires specific causes — dedicated prayer, practice, and directed positive karma — and cannot be reached without them. Suited to practitioners with some Lamrim background.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 15 Eye of A 1989 03 07.mp3
UUID: fc867946-9270-49b3-ae5f-f0de4cb989b0
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Opening the Eye of Awareness 1988-1989 (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1989-03-07
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 92.8 minutes
Words: ~3,487
So let’s say initially to adjust our motivation such that we’re going to listen to this teaching on the great vehicle in order to put into practice what we learn, what we understand, and thereby to achieve highest complete Buddhahood whereby to place all sentient beings equal to space in complete bliss and peace. So by adjusting your motivation in this way, you’re developing a positive state of mind in order to listen to their teachings, it becomes a cause for the attainment of the awakening heart, which is the main cause for attaining Buddhahood. So it’s extremely hot tonight, and it’s very uncomfortable physically and mentally, but the uncomfortableness or the difficulty that we endure in body and mind, listening to the teaching, acts as a method for purifying the negative karma that we’ve created, which would cause us to be reborn in hot hells. Last time we were talking about we were discussing the three realms, that is the realms of desire, the form, and the formless realm. So the three realms represent the place in which the abiding place of cyclic existence.
If we say, Where is cyclic existence? It exists within the three realms. So if we were to further divide the three realms, then we would divide them into the nine grounds. So you’re dividing up the three realms amongst the nine grounds. First, with respect to the desire realm, there is the single realm the single ground within the desire realm.
With respect to the form realm, there are the four grounds. That is, the first is the the first concentration, the second concentration, the third concentration, and the fourth concentration. So these four concentrations are referred to as the four grounds. Further into the formless realm, there are again four grounds. There’s the ground of limitless space, then limitless consciousness, then nothingness, and finally, peak of cyclic existence.
So, there’s limitless space, limitless consciousness, nothingness, and peak of cyclic existence, the four grounds of the formless realm. So the nine grounds of the three realms, the one ground in the desired realm, the four grounds in the form realm, the four grounds in the formless realm. If we begin to an explanation of these nine grounds, first within the desire realm, the desire realm is divided into two parts itself. It has the realm of bad migrations and happy migrations. So how are these realms brought about?
They’re brought up by the causes of karma, and more specifically the constructive actions and destructive actions. So as a fruit of constructive actions, we take rebirth and a happy migration as either a human or a desire god, a god within the desire realm. And as a result of destructive actions, we take rebirth in a bad migration as either a hell being hungry ghost or animal. So just as there are various degrees of quality, of sizes amongst humans, amongst things in general, there are great sizes, middling sizes, small sizes or degrees. Likewise, with respect to destructive actions which are causes of bad migrations, there are the three levels of their quality or their degree of destructiveness.
That is, and as a consequence, we take a definite rebirth in either of the three bad migrations. A fruit of extremely negative actions, we take rebirth as a hell being, for middling negative actions, as a hungry ghost, and for light destructive actions, as an animal. Likewise, with respect to constructive actions, there are three levels: Three degrees of the positive quality of constructive actions. Due to the force light positive actions, the fruit, the effect is being reborn as either a human or a desire realm god. The effect of middle level of constructive or positive actions would be taking a rebirth within the form realm, and the greatest most positive types of positive actions most the greatest, most the strongest positive actions would have their effect being born in the formless realm.
So we are all human beings, and this is a a result of the light positive karma that we’ve created in the past. Both human and desire realm gods have as a result have caused light positive actions created in the past. Now, we are familiar with the human realms, but they’re also within the happy migrations among the gods, and they’re in the various realms, for example, and there are various beings. For example, examples of Indra and the various heavens. For example, the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, Tuśita, these are types of desire realm heavens.
These are all the various levels. The six Brahma realms are all levels within desire realm, divine desire realms. Objects such as sun, moon, stars, these are desire realm gods. So these desire the desire realm happy migration is the result of the lightest types of positive karma created. Then with the middle level of positive karma, the result is rebirth within the form realm as a form realm god, and this the various concentrations are first concentration, second concentration, third and fourth concentration.
Yes. So then the greatest positive result of the greatest types of positive karma are taking rebirth as have as a result taking rebirth in the formless realm, and these are the four grounds of limitless space, limitless consciousness, nothingness, and peak of cyclic existence. All the various karmas that we’ve listed to this point are contaminated karma of the two contaminated and non contaminated. Non contaminated karma would be a cause not for taking rebirth and cyclic existence but for example Buddhahood. So how does what kind of actions do we have to perform in order to create the the light positive karma which has as a result taking birth as a human or additionally as a desire realm god?
For example, in our case, we’ve in the past, through the actions of ethics, patience, doing prostrations, and doing our prayers and recitations, these are causes for achieving a human rebirth. And also abandonment abandonment of the ten unskillful actions or unvirtuous actions nonvirtuous actions such as killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, etcetera. These are also subsidiary causes for taking human rebirth. Then the form realm is a result of a middling level of positive actions, and what types of actions is it necessary to engage in in order to achieve this level of rebirth. As we explained previously, that first by having accomplished having accomplished calm abiding, one then goes on to cultivate the preparations for the concentrations and then goes on to achieve an actual concentration.
So the pliancy on body and the meditation on the preparations are the cause for achieving rebirth in a form realm. So as we relatively speaking, the desire realm consciousness is very coarse. As we move up through the realms into the form and formless realm, the mind becomes more and more subtle. Now, beginning to explain this, there are the for each of the concentrations and the absorptions of the formless realm, the concentrations pertaining to the form realm, the absorptions are referred to the formless realm. For each of these, there is the preparation and the actual achievement.
So mainly, in order to take rebirth as a human being, it is necessary to observe the six perfections. That is ethics and to make prayers or to dedicate positive actions toward such a type of rebirth. These are the causes for taking human rebirth. As far as for a practitioner, general, these other types of karmas, these great karmas, great levels of karma, positive great, what would I say, positive big karmas, and middling are by themselves of no use. But if, for example, the various concentrations for someone who’s actually involved in practice, who’s able to combine these meditative stabilizations, these concentrations with renunciation and their meditation on emptiness, then they become extremely powerful.
They become a way to develop all our excellent qualities. But by themselves, they’re of no use to a practitioner. By themselves, they’re of no use. But if they’re conjoined with renunciation made use of with in order to meditate on emptiness, for example, then they’re extremely powerful and very effective real effective methods. If, for example, we were to develop some positive motivation and then we engaged in doing even three prostrations, it’s definitely that we create some positive karma.
But how this and this positive karma is going to bring some type of happiness in the future, but in what way this positive happiness, This happiness is going to be in what form? It’s indefinite. But if we were to so it’s definite we’re going to have some happiness, but what form that happiness is going to take, it’s indefinite. But if we were to dedicate that positive karma that we created, for example, to attaining a human rebirth, then it will only — the thrust of that positive karma will only ripen in that direction. It won’t ripen in any other way.
It only acts as a cause for taking human rebirth. Likewise, furthering that we engage in practices of the six perfections, for example ethics, generosity, etc. And we dedicate those for to be toward human rebirth. And, again, the the force of the that positive karma will be directed will only ripen in in take any human rebirth, and it acts as a cause, for example, to to have a beautiful handsome body to have sufficient means to carry on a practice. So it’s very important that we direct the force of a positive karma that we create in order to continue our practice and that’s even though it will be some kind of happiness to bring a specific type of positive effect.
Dedication is like steering a car, and the car itself is this positive karma that we created. We can direct that positive karma in any way that we want. Just as in the case of a car, if we want to go to the right, if we want to go to the left, if we want to go forward or backward, we can steer the car in that way. And likewise, through dedication we’re steering the force of a positive karma toward any destination that we may want to arrive, whether if we dedicate positive karma toward attaining a human rebirth, then it will direct us toward that, we will attain a human rebirth. If we direct it toward liberation, we’ll attain the force of that causative karma will ripen as a means for attaining liberation.
If it’s for Buddhahood, likewise, it will ripen as a means for attaining Buddhahood. So in order to have a complete positive action, it needs three parts. Initially, it is the proper motivation, and then having the proper motivation to engage in the activity, this stability of the activity itself, and then finally dedication. And these three parts make up a complete positive action. So, in this making an action a complete positive action, The most ultimate type of action that we can create is having the motivation of awakening heart.
Trying to, for example, in our meditation, to engage in a meditation initially with some kind of kindheartedness for what you’re doing. And then the actual engaging in meditation, trying to develop the stability of mind no matter what object you may be meditating on. And then finally, the dedication, seeking we can dedicate it to realize whatever we might have been meditating on. We can dedicate it toward developing an actual awakening heart, understanding emptiness, or we can dedicate it simply to achieve complete enlightenment. And there’s nothing higher, there’s no higher way that we can proceed in creating a complete, all encompassing positive action in this.
So in every teaching that Rinpoche gives, we always begin with as he asks us to do, that is to initially adjust our motivation. So that’s what we’re going to listen to this teaching on the great vehicle, in order to practice and thereby achieve Buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings equal to space to establish something in completeness and happiness. This would be the supreme type of motivation that we could initially begin with. And then the actual activity, listening to the teachings, to listen with some degree of stability of your mind, concentration to think about what is being said. And then finally, again, to make it a complete positive action, will always dedicate, and we make use of two dedication prayers.
One, we dedicate our positive karma that we created to achieve Buddhahood. We’re not talking about we’re talking about something which is going to develop within our own mind. The Guru Buddhahood that we’re seeking to achieve is the Buddhahood, is the creation of Buddha within our own mind, that our mind becomes Buddha, that we ourselves become teachers just as the Buddha himself was, that the Buddhas of the past, herself and his selves were. And then what is the main source of Buddhahood? The main cause is the awakening heart.
So we go on to the second prayer by dedication to May the Precious Bodhi Mind, that is the Bodhi Mind. It’s Probably it would be better to translate it as awakening heart or the mind of enlightenment. bodhicitta, which is the main cause of achieving Buddha. And this is where we’re directing the force of our positive karma to ripen, and therefore it becomes a complete positive action. So we each have individual histories, what got us to this particular point of attaining a human rebirth.
And if someone were to have clairvoyance, they could point out to you what the various actions that you engaged into in your past lives, which caused you to be where you are now, and what kinds of actions that you’re creating now exist within your mind which will determine the rebirth you’re going to take in the future. So, in general, we can say that without clairvoyance, there’s no way that you can determine who you were in the past lifetime. I mean, there is, as far as reasoning, can make general statements by the fact that having attained a human rebirth is a sign that you engaged in correct ethics in the past. We can make that logical statement. But as to what you actually were in past lifetimes, without clairvoyance, there’s no way we can know.
So there are cases where people remember previous life, remember to say this is a case of a slight clairvoyance. It’s necessary to have this. I sort of I feel I don’t really like to think that maybe other people practicing other methods of meditation, meditation, things like that is totally useless. And so I suppose I’m asking whether, like, pure lands and things like that are exclusive to Buddhist practitioners or can a person by practicing ethics and and making a wish to be born in one of these And what do know? Using non-Buddhist methods, can you be born in a pure land?
Can you by using non-Buddhist methods, can you be be born in a pure land? Well, it seems that to be born in a pure land other than not, if you’re not progressing on the path, then maybe your only chance is to create accounts of people in the community and resolve various things. When you’re checking, it’s probably difficult to be reborn in a pure land without having the the the you need to complete. You need and the Dharma. So you need the teacher, you need the teachings, and you need companions in order to have the complete conditions to take rebirth in a pure land.
Each of the pure lands are constructed out of the positive potential of that particular lord of that Pure Land. If you don’t have a relationship with that particular lord of that Pure Land, then there’s no way that you can achieve that Pure Land. Well, it seems that the main practice of Christians is to be born in what they call them the Hare Krishnas in the Christian world, and that. So if these are just higher saṃsāra realms, then ultimately So everybody, all the various traditions are positing a type of liberation. Christians, they have a particular type of liberation as they see it, and various non-Buddhist traditions each have their particular liberation as they see it within their system.
Even within Buddhism, there’s the liberation according to Great Exposition school, the Sūtra school, the consequence school. Each of them are positing their particular type of liberation and how that’s achieved. From the point of view of Buddhism, one cannot achieve liberation unless you abandon the root of cyclic existence, and that is ignorance. So you cannot achieve a Buddhist liberation without abandoning ignorance. Now whether this is in fact the actual liberation, we can only know through our own experience.
That’s the only way we can ultimately come to an understanding that whether this, you know, having attained that particular goal, that particular tradition, we find that we aren’t liberated as we expected, then we experience that and we realize that we have to go on. But everybody has their particular liberation achieved by their method, and the only way that we can ever really say that this is in fact liberation is through our own experience. Besides the fact that a So, anyway, there are many traditions, Buddhist, non-Buddhist, each positing a liberation, each positing a method for their particular liberation. So we have to try to experience using our reasoning what is in fact the case, what is best for us to practice. There’s one of the greatest Indian masters, Ashvaghosa.
No, Ashvaghosa. Yeah, Ashvaghosa. I think that’s it. Previously he was non-Buddhist one type of Hindu sect. He practiced that and he investigated and investigated, and finally he thought, well, I don’t think this particular tradition has a method for achieving liberation.
Then he investigated the teachings of Buddha and he examined them. He said, Well, looks like during this process of examination, developed great faith in the Buddha, and that this in fact was a real method of liberation. And he went on to compose the text called Awakening of Faith by Ashvaghosa. So, by way of example, in order to take your birth in a pure land such as Tuśita Pure Land, it’s necessary to meditate on Tuśita Pure Land, to make prayers, to be reborn there, and to dedicate the positive karma that one creates in order to be born there. So this requires a great deal of faith pursuing practices.
It doesn’t happen by itself. Rinpoche doesn’t think that a non-Buddhist would have the faith that such a type of pure land would exist to engage in the effort necessary to take rebirth there. So Rinpoche doesn’t think there are non-Buddhist Pure Lands. Pure Lands are places where there is no suffering and Buddha fields. They aren’t just I mean, when we say Pure Land, we mean a Buddha field, which has been developed by Buddha.
So in order to be born in a the Buddhists cannot force you to be born in their pure land. You have to create the causes yourself. Without creating the causes, there’s no way you can be reborn there. So, I mean, if we want to be born in all these very pure lands, the Buddha fields, the western Buddha field of great bliss, Chenrezig’s Pure Land, the [unclear] Pure Land, we have to actually engage in their practices. We have to make prayers and dedicate a positive energy into taking rebirth.
Doesn’t happen by no cause. We have to actually create the cause. Yes. We can each individually decide where we want to take rebirth and what type of Buddha field, pure land we want to take rebirth. If somebody someone want to take rebirth in the land, the Buddha field of Tārā, or Amitābha Buddha, or Tuśita, or Maitreya.
Maitreya is pure land. That we have to meditate on these. We have to make prayers on this direction and dedicate our positive actions to taking rebirth in this specific pure land. Aside from the fact that even as a Buddhist, if you don’t dedicate and carry on the practice in this way, you’re not going to be born in these pure lands. Even as a Buddhist, what to say a non-Buddhist?
So we’re engaging the three higher trainings in order to cut down the tree, but as you said, in order to cut down the tree, we’re about to gain liberation. But in order to, as you said, respect to liberate, he had an electric saw. He do what he did in one life. An electric saw is the practice of tantra. It’s the inner electric saw of the mind making use of the tantric path as a quick method for achieving enlightenment.
There’s a Sūtra electric saw and a Tantra electric saw.