Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 92-minute session, Khensur Rinpoche addresses a core worry on the Mahāyāna path: can an ordinary practitioner ever accumulate the vast collections needed for Buddhahood? Drawing on Nāgārjuna’s Precious Garland, he introduces the four limitlessnesses — limitless sentient beings, limitless skillful action, limitless causes, limitless qualities of a Buddha — to show how compassion toward all beings generates proportionally boundless merit. He then explains why building the two collections of merit and wisdom eliminates both physical suffering (no unskillful actions are created) and mental suffering (neither type of regret arises), illustrating the latter with examples of excessive generosity and angry speech. The Q&A covers a counterintuitive point about attachment benefiting advanced bodhisattvas and tantric practitioners, and closes with Rinpoche invoking Buddha-nature and Śāntideva to dismantle habitual self-doubt.
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File: 14 PG 1991 06 15.mp3
UUID: 5fb2f401-7896-4063-ac14-704e65a4c0fb
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Precious Garland 1990-1991 (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1991-06-15
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 92.8 minutes
Words: ~4,261
Begin by adjusting our motivation developing the awakening heart. Beginning with the attitude that may myself and all sentient beings be free from suffering and the cause of suffering, and may we be of happiness and the causes of happiness. In order to bring about that end that I myself must remove all my various faults and bring to consummation all my excellent qualities, that is I must achieve Buddhahood. Having achieved that then I can lead all sentient beings to a state whereby they can remove all their various faults and develop all their excellent qualities. In order to achieve that end, then I am going to proceed with respect to the great vehicle essence of the great vehicle Dharma, the Precious Garland in listening, reflecting, and finally meditating in order to be a vast benefit to all sentient beings and develop this kind hearted attitude of the awakening heart as one’s motivation for the next three minutes.
Beginning with the verse from Nāgārjuna’s Precious Garland in which he says, A bodhisattva stays for a limitless time in the world, for limitless embodied beings. He seeks the limitless qualities of enlightenment and performs virtuous actions without limit. So in the extensive explanation which was given with respect to the Buddhist qualities which are subsumed within the thirty two signs and eighty marks of his body, speech and mind. We said that in order to achieve these ends, it’s necessary to create a vast collection. So, in order to overcome any sort of feelings of self insufficiency that we might have with respect to gathering together this vast collection necessary to attain Buddhahood, we may ask, Can I do this?
I don’t think I can do this, but in answer to this, Nāgārjuna is exhorting us through reason and scriptural authority. If we were to question, well, is the reasoning in establishing that we can in fact create such a vast accumulation of collection? Beginning with a conception of numberlessness and inestimability, It’s said that there are ten directions. There is up and down, the four cardinal and four ordinal directions. And within any of those ten directions, the elements of earth, water, fire, and air are said to be numberless or inestimable, immeasurable.
And just as the elements in each of those various directions is innumerable, likewise the sentient beings in each of those directions are also innumerable. And the bodhisattva observing all sentient beings with his compassion develops the awakening heart which is embodied in the attitude that I will lead all of these sentient beings out of their suffering to a state of Buddhahood. And just as with respect to each of these various directions, the elements in each of those directions of earth, water, fire and air are immeasurable. They are beyond countability, countable, they are uncountable. Likewise, the bodhisattva’s awakening heart, which takes immeasurable sentient beings as its object of observation and develops the attitude of the wish to free them from their suffering, develops a proportional, skillful action which is immeasurable.
Therefore, there is the limitless, skillful action created by the bodhisattva in wishing to free limitless sentient beings. Out of this quality of wishing to free limitless sentient beings, she develops limitless skillful action. And it is said just as the bodhisattva in developing this mind generation, the awakening heart with respect to all sentient beings. If we generate out of our compassion the attitude wishing to free all sentient beings and to lead them to Buddhahood, then we will, observing all sentient beings, develop a proportional and immeasurable skillful action. And all of the previous Bodhisattvas, all of the Bodhisattvas of the past and those of the present and those of the future in order to have achieved the necessary collection by this means in order to achieve Buddhahood.
And taking these bodhisattvas as our examples, just as they were able to accumulate the necessary collections, we should have no doubt that we have that capacity also. So therefore, in order to overcome a sense of insufficiency with respect to being able to accumulate the necessary collection, then this reasoning is set forth. So the Buddha in many discourses spoke in a like manner. So, and he only spoke factually without error? So, it is within terms of these four immeasurables or limitlessnesses that we can create the necessary collections by these skillful actions.
So, first of these four limitlessnesses is that of sentient beings. Because they are limitless sentient beings, that is to say they are innumerable, numberless, even in every direction, then given that, if we were to develop an awakening heart toward all of those sentient beings, observing all of those sentient beings, then with respect to each of them we would develop a skillful action. And since they are numberless, the skillful action would be numberless or limitless. The second limitlessness is limitlessness of skillful action. And because out of this limitlessness of skillful actions created, then we create limitless causes for the attainment of Buddhahood, the third limitlessness.
And the bodhisattva aspires to the limitless qualities of the Buddha. The bodhisattva aspires to the limitless qualities of the Buddha. Dependence upon the limitless collection is able to attain the limitless qualities of the Buddha. So the Buddha said that in dependence upon these four limitless is we can attain Buddhahood. in dependence upon these four limitlessness, we can attain Buddhahood.
Then for the sake of sentient beings, the bodhisattva out of the power his compassion abides a limitless time in cyclic existence. Establishes the limitless welfare of sentient beings. It brings about the limitless welfare of sentient beings and aspires to attain limitless enlightenment. And creates the limitless collections of creative potential and wisdom. in dependence upon these four limitlessnesses, the bodhisattva attains limitless Buddhahood.
Do you understand that well? So, it is in terms of the four limitlessnesses that the bodhisattva quickly attains buddhahood, that out of her compassion, the bodhisattva remains a limitless time within cyclic existence. That’s the first limit. And engages in bringing about the welfare of limitless sentient beings, second limitless. By that means, achieves the limit and goes on and aspires to achieving limitless enlightenment, the third limitless.
And in order to achieve that, the limitless collection creative potential and wisdom and thereby out of these four limitlessness quickly attains Buddhahood. The bodhisattva, through the power of accumulating the two limitless collections of creative potential and wisdom eradicates the suffering of both her mind and body. Likewise, if we individually were to do the same through the accumulation of these two collections that we would eradicate the suffering of both our body and mind and bring ourselves bliss. It’s quite possible that in thinking about this vast collection necessary to attain Buddhahood and the necessity to bring this about, that we would have to go through a great many troubles of body and mind, that we would have to go through a great many difficulties to achieve this. If we were to accumulate these two collections, the collections of creative potential and wisdom in order to attain Buddhahood, then we would eradicate all of our suffering both of body and mind, then we would experience only bliss.
We would not, on the other hand, through this accumulation bring ourselves suffering. We would not experience happiness. But not only would we not bring ourselves suffering in the course of accumulating these two collections of greater potential and wisdom, but on the contrary, that we would quickly eradicate all our physical and mental suffering. It’s definite that we will achieve bliss through accumulation of these two collections because by means of accumulating the collection of creative potential we experience physical bliss. By accumulating the collection of wisdom we experience mental bliss.
So we have complete bliss. By means of accumulating the two collections, then we have no experience of either physical or mental suffering. So, does the accumulation of the two collections of creative potential and wisdom bring about an end to suffering. This is explained by Vasubandhu with respect to the two types of suffering that we experience, physical and mental. And the question, well from where does first our physical suffering arise?
Physical suffering arises from unskillful actions. In the course of accumulating a collection of creative potential, we accumulate only skillful actions. We do not accumulate any unskillful actions and since physical suffering only arises from unskillful actions and we have not accumulated any, then we can only experience the result of the skillful actions that we have created. We only experience happiness. Physical suffering arises from unskillful actions.
From where does mental suffering arise? Mental suffering arises from regret. So, by way of example, what we mean, an illustration. If one, there’s a beggar and this beggar is very hungry and out of your compassion you think, well I’m going to give this beggar ten dollars and you go ahead and give it, that’s all you have, you give them ten dollars out of this kind hearted attitude you helped this beggar. But later on you realize, well I gave all my money away and now I’m hungry and I don’t have anything to eat.
And one develops a sense of regret that I gave too much. I shouldn’t have given all that. I should have only given five dollars So developing a regret with respect to skillful actions that one has done, one brings a displeasure to one’s mind and this displeasure is suffering, is mental suffering. So initially out of one’s kind hearted attitude, one sought to develop a sense of generosity. Out of this generosity, giving money.
But then later on because one sees that one develops a sense of regret that I gave too much, now I don’t have enough for myself, develops a regret with respect to that skillful action, one experiences a mental displeasure and this is what we mean by mental suffering. Another way in which regret is generated is with respect to unskillful actions, and this would be, for example, you get very angry at someone and motivated by the anger, you speak many harsh words, hurt them with your speech. But later on you develop a sense of I really lost it, I really blew it, I really hurt that person, that was really wrong with me, and developing a sense of regret with respect to their unskillful action. So, again, time there is a regret generated, this time with respect to unskillful actions, but still the regret brings a sense of uncomfortableness or displeasure within one’s mind. It’s able to generate feelings of displeasure and therefore mental suffering.
So these two types of regret are the, and dependence upon these two types of regret, we experience mental suffering. So the bodhisattva generates neither of these two types of regrets. Since the bodhisattva does not involve herself in unskillful actions, then there’s no regret with respect to unskillful actions and then again there’s no regret with respect to the limit of the bodhisattva’s skillful actions, so there’s no regret with respect to that. Not generating either of the two types of regret, then the bodhisattva does not experience mental suffering. The bodhisattva through accumulating the two collections eradicates the both mental and physical suffering.
Out of the skillful actions of accumulating the two collections, out of the collection of creative potential, there is no creation of unskillful actions, therefore there is no physical suffering. And since there is no creation of unskillful actions with respect to the collection of wisdom, there is no mental suffering. Therefore there is no suffering but additionally on top of that there is brought about through the accumulation of these two collections the physical and mental happiness. So therefore, we should not be lazy with respect to accumulating skillful action. Therefore, we should not have the laziness of disinclination of accumulating skillful actions, but on the contrary, we should have a disinclination with respect to the creation of unskillful actions.
And by inclination, we mean most properly that we should have inclination which is a liking for skillful actions and a joyous effort with respect to creating skillful actions. And on the contrary, a disinclination with respect to unskillful actions that would be a disliking with respect to unskillful actions and a lack of joyful effort in bringing about unskillful actions. Therefore, we should we should seek not to develop a liking and making effort toward various negative and unskillful actions. Why? Because they are going to bring us to various types of suffering, as sufferings of being reborn in hells, as hungry ghosts, as animals, and therefore having to undergo the experiences of hell beings, hungry ghosts, and animals.
That it is through our liking and making effort with respect to unskillful actions that we will have to undergo these various physical and mental suffering. Because the bodhisattva has neither a liking nor makes effort with respect to unskillful actions, the bodhisattva does not experience the suffering consequences of these actions. But on the contrary, because the bodhisattva has a liking and makes effort with respect to skillful actions, that she experiences happiness in this life and only happiness without suffering in future lives. So, the most simple way, expressed in the most simple way, that by means of the accumulation of the two collections that experience only that we eradicate mental and physical suffering and we experience only happiness. So, it is through the obscuration of ignorance by that force that we experience mental suffering because through the generation of regret.
Means of ignorance that we go on to generate the attitudes of, for example, having attachment and desire toward others, and out of this comes a suffering consequence. And out of the on the obscuration of ignorance that with respect to others that we develop the attitudes of hatred and that we develop the attitudes of dissatisfaction and not out of desires and comes various actions such as stealing. By means of the bodhisattvas cultivating in meditation an awareness of emptiness, this awareness is able to eradicate ignorance and therefore the causes for the mental suffering are eradicated. It is through the cultivation of the wisdom of emptiness. That is to say by accumulating the collection of wisdom, which is the understanding of emptiness, then we are able to eradicate the root of all our mental suffering that is emptiness, that is ignorance.
Therefore, once we are through this accumulation of the collection of wisdom, we are able to eliminate the root of our suffering ignorance, we eliminate completely suffering. So in dependence upon the accumulation of creative potential, the physical suffering is eliminated. in dependence upon the accumulation of the collection of wisdom, ignorance which is the root of mental suffering is eliminated. Thereby, through the accumulation of these two collections, we come to experience only the physical and mental bliss. And this is the reason that the bodhisattva only experiences bliss.
So the accumulation of these two collections of creative potential and wisdom, What is their foundation? Where do they meet back to? The root of the accumulating of these two collections is compassion. Through the force of this great compassion observing sentient beings, one takes great joy and makes great effort in creating these collections for their benefit. And therefore all of the bliss which the bodhisattva ultimately experiences arises in dependence upon compassion.
What is the root of all our various mental and physical sufferings? It is the three desire, hatred, and ignorance. And we should try to understand the great fault of these attitudes and as much as we are able to abandon them and bring about their cessation. On the other hand, it depends upon what do we experience mental and physical bliss or that is to say what is the root of all excellent qualities And that is the three, non desire, non hatred and non delusion. in dependence upon non desire, we eliminate desire.
in dependence upon non hatred, we eliminate hatred. Dependence upon non delusion, we eliminate delusion. Therefore, these three are the foundation of all excellent qualities and thereby all mental and physical bliss. By non desire, we mean a mental factor which is [tib: chag pa med pa]. Another term for this is non-aberrance, non-attachment.
The means for the generation of this non desire is in dependence upon renunciation and a sense of disgust. Non hatred is developed in dependence upon love. And non delusion or non ignorance arises in dependence upon wisdom and mainly amongst the various types of wisdom, wisdom realizing emptiness. What is the fault in the development of attachment? It is because out of attachment one will take rebirth as a hungry ghost.
And in dependence upon generating hatred, one takes rebirth as a hell being. And dependence upon generation of delusion or ignorance, one takes rebirth as an animal. So one should consider well that these mental and physical suffering results are disadvantageous. But on the other hand, non desire, non hatred, and non delusion and depends upon those three arises the happiness of humans and celestial beings. So it’s extremely important that we understand the various thoughts from which our happiness and suffering arise.
We don’t want suffering. We don’t want either physical and mental suffering. So we must understand from where does our physical and mental suffering arise, what are the conditions necessary for it arising and begin to make effort in ceasing those conditions and causes. On the other hand, we want happiness. We must understand what are the causes of physical and mental happiness and make effort in practicing in bringing about those causes.
Therefore, we must understand what are the causes of mental and physical happiness and suffering. So, we should understand what are the various faults bringing about these various suffering consequences of our body and mind. That in dependence upon these three factors of desire, hatred and delusion, under their power we create various unskillful actions. And this is the cause for our various mental and physical sufferings. By abandoning these causes, we will attain, as has been explained in Precious Garland, the level of, we will attain high status, that is to say the level of human and celestial beings, that their happiness.
And the main factor giving rise to our mental suffering is that of ignorance and it is by the understanding emptiness that we can remove this factor and of the two types of attainments, that is high status and definite goodness, we can attain definite goodness, that is to say, achieve liberation. So, if we were to briefly explain what is being essentially put forth here, it is that in order to attain Buddhahood, it’s necessary that we accumulate the two collections and that we should try to overcome our sense of disinclination and not making effort in creating these two collections by understanding that in dependence upon creating these two collections that we will eradicate all our physical and mental suffering and ultimately achieve the excellent qualities of the Buddha. in dependence upon having achieved that, we will experience only bliss and no suffering. And on the other hand, understanding that the unskillful actions which are created under the influence of desire, hatred and delusion, not to take joy or make effort with respect to them. Why?
Because it depends upon that way of acting, we will experience only suffering and no happiness. That’s the essence of what we’re saying. So we’ll stop there if you have questions. Yes? Yeah, that’s right.
With respect to the first power, one develops a sense of regret with respect to destructive action. It’s the same regret. Solitary realizers do not have attachment. You don’t mean a solitary foe destroyer? Just an Arhat?
Yes. You mean a solitary realizer Arhat? Yes. Does not have attachment? Yeah, there was something mentioned but it was a little bit that the great vehicle did not make a main effort in abandoning attachment.
First, with respect to the lesser vehicle, the lesser vehicle practitioner has a great abhorrence to the sufferings of cyclic existence and very much wants to abandon the sufferings of cyclic existence. And in order to do that, to abandon affliction of attachment which is the main activator of the karma to be reborn in cyclic existence. So attachment is their direct point of view, is the main abandonment of the lesser vehicle. Attachment is the main object to be abandoned within the lesser vehicle. On the other hand, bodhisattva superior of the great vehicle, that is to say someone on the first ground, the first ground bodhisattva, in the short time of a finger snap is able to emanate one hundred emanations with cyclic existence.
And these emanations display attachment in that they go on to take a wife and give birth to children in order to raise more bodhisattvas. Therefore attachment is said to be advantageous for them and it’s not a direct abandonment for them. Also those who are practicing secret mantra make use of the arising of attachment in the practice of consort practice. So within the, in terms of sūtra, attachment is advantageous in giving birth to future bodhisattvas and in terms of tantra, is advantageous in gaining quick realization. Doctor.
Rinpoche said that with the accumulation of the two collections — the question was — where does the experience of suffering end and the experience of non suffering begin? Through the course of accumulating the two collections that we would go through suffering. If we reflect well upon the results of accumulating the two collections and have great confidence in this result and make effort out of that trust or that confidence, then we will not experience any difficulty and no suffering in accumulating these two collections. If we don’t have strong trust in this blissful result, then we will have some difficulties in accumulating the two collections. We will experience some suffering due to our lack of conviction or trust.
In general, if we do not create any unskillful actions, we will not experience physical suffering. If we do not generate regret within our mind, we will not experience any mental suffering. In general, carrying out some type of business, it involves some difficulty. There’s some experience of displeasure on account of these difficulties one has to go through to carry on this business. But if one was completely caught up in the understanding of the great profit to be made out of this business, really saw how much profit and was really wrapped up in that profit that they were going to get out of this business, they wouldn’t even notice.
No matter how much difficulty they might have experienced before, it would go unnoticed. Today I’m going to make this much profit, and they’d just have a sense of joy in everything that they did, and they’d go along without any difficulty. So, just as this business person who is very strongly mindful of the great profit that’s going to come out of their action can go, can all of what might have been difficulty goes unnoticed. Likewise, the bodhisattva, out of her great conviction of the immense benefit to be gained out of accumulating the collection, is able to engage in accumulation without difficulty. Just as this business person in reviewing the possibility of how much profit he could make during the course of that day is completely thrilled over the possibilities and experiences no difficulty in going through his work.
Likewise, the bodhisattva, completely convinced as to the benefit, the worthwhileness of accumulating these collections, experiences not only no difficulty but great joy in the course of accumulating the collection. But I think because we have little conviction and we take little joy in the accumulation of the collections. And even trying to do a little bit of meditation during our retreats and teachings, we find it very difficult. We go tired of it very quickly. Sometimes regret is linked with shame, And that means that we can generate very strong that can become very strong.
We can develop very strong doubts about our own capacity to change, to be able to form, you know, to make the accumulation. So, what’s the best way to change that concept of that very strong we hang on very strongly to that self doubt. What’s the best way to destroy that self beginning to by appreciating that we are Buddha nature, that because I’m a sentient being, I have Buddha lineage or Buddha nature and I have the capacity to remove all my various faults and to bring the consummation of all my excellent qualities. And if I can become a Buddha, then what to say about doing all of these various minor things? If I can do that, then I can do anything.
I have the capacity to generate any quality because I have Buddha nature and that I have a mind. And the nature of this mind that it is able to understand anything upon being taught that I can understand anything just as the bodhisattvas have attained their various qualities and dependents upon training. They are no different than myself. Upon training I can attain their same qualities. And as Śāntideva says, that there is nothing which does not become easier upon familiarization.
Even this, as it is said, even this mind, though it is full of faults, upon training can come to realize anything. So we should reflect in this way.