Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Khensur Rinpoche opens this 97-minute commentary on Nāgārjuna’s Precious Garland with a detailed mapping of the twenty wisdom collections across the five Mahāyāna paths and ten bodhisattva grounds, using the image of washing cloth to explain how progressive emptiness-realization removes ever-subtler stains until the finest grasping is cleared at the Buddha ground. He then works through a series of practical instructions drawn directly from the text: respecting teachers and sharing their teachings generously, never resting content with limited understanding, concealing one’s own qualities while praising those of others, and examining one’s own faults rather than those of others. The session closes with an encouragement rooted in dependent arising — realization of emptiness and bodhicitta will arise when the right causes and conditions are gathered, just as a flower grows from seed.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 21 PG 1991 08 13.mp3
UUID: f2d94b9b-dbad-4ee8-89e5-7fcb17171df9
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Precious Garland 1990-1991 (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1991-08-13
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 97.0 minutes
Words: ~4,867
To adjust our motivation and initiate and to listen well. And the verse goes on to say that what it is that we long for is a stable happiness, which is a liberation from suffering completely from its root. Therefore in order to achieve this, it’s not fitting for us to cling to the facts of existence, but to develop the determination to be free. Now that we have achieved this wonderful human life with all its various leisures and fortunes, we should make use of it by striving for liberation. And how best to make use of our human life. This is done through the development of altruism with respect to the love and compassion and seeking to eliminate the sufferings of all others and to bring them complete happiness.
Through the cultivation of love and compassion we develop the awakening heart, then we have brought great meaning and purpose to our life. In addition to that, it’s necessary to develop the view of emptiness to come to an understanding that all phenomena whatsoever are empty of natural existence. If we practice well by developing the three, that is the determination to be free, awakening our hearts, the correct view of emptiness, then our life is meaningful, that it’s achieved great purpose. Life and it will go well not only in the course of this life but in future lives not only for ourselves but for others. The way we proceed in cultivating the awakening heart is by reflecting with the attitude that in order to free all sentient beings from their suffering and to bring them happiness, that first I myself must rid myself of all my various faults and bring the consummation of all my excellent qualities.
In order to achieve that, I am going to listen to the present teaching on the Precious Garland in order to put it into practice. Thereby I first regarding the word to say first it is necessary to achieve a high status subsequent to that one achieves definite goodness. This sets out the two main subjects which are taught in Precious Garlands. Those being high status and definite goodness. So there are two attainments which we are seeking.
The first is the temporal attainment of high status and the second is the ultimate attainment of definite goodness. High status is constituted, the cause of high status is our skillful actions and high status is constituted by the embodiment as either a human or a celestial being with all the various objects of enjoyment with respect to each of those statuses and the various company High status is the temporal achievement or attainment whereas the ultimate attainment is ultimate goodness. Without having achieved the attainment of high status, there’s no way that we can go on to achieve the ultimate attainment of definite goodness. For example, if we were to achieve the status of an animal or the various types of the other lower levels of existence. In such a situation we are not able to achieve definite goodness from that status of an animal etc.
But from the position of human embodiment and those of the deva realms of beings with all the various conditions and healthy embodiments, we can use that as a basis for the achievement of definite goodness. All of us have achieved higher status. There’s no need for us to establish it within this life. It is a reestablishment because we have achieved it. So it’s imperative that upon the basis of having achieved the present higher status that we go on to establish definite goodness.
Then what constitutes definite goodness? There are two paths to definite goodness. That is the lesser vehicle or the individual vehicle by means of which we can achieve liberation, that is to say an abandonment of cyclic existence or the path of definite goodness of the universal vehicle or the great vehicle by means of which we can abandon all our various faults and bring the consummation of all excellent qualities and thereby achieve a state of all-knowing or omniscience. We are seeking to implement the practices of the universal vehicle, the Dharma of the great vehicle, by means of which we can eliminate all our various faults and bring the consummation of all excellent qualities. This in order to bring about the ultimate welfare of not only ourselves but all other human beings.
In order to bring about the ultimate welfare of both oneself and others, it’s necessary that we bring about an internal development in terms of our own mind. By developing our mind, improving our mind, that is we are generating all the very excellent qualities within our mind, and we can achieve thereby the ultimate welfare of both self and others. In general, in order to develop these excellent qualities, there are innumerable excellent qualities to develop which need to be gathered together. But if we were to speak of only those which are principal, there are three. There is the determination to be free, the awakening heart, and the view of emptiness.
Our precious text, the Precious Garland, sets out an explanation of all three of these principal methods to obtain the ultimate welfare. The three principles are the determination to be free, that is renunciation, the awakening heart or bodhicitta, and the correct view. At this time in our explanation we are studying an auxiliary or a branch contained within the explanation of the correct view of emptiness. Within the universal vehicle and the great vehicle, there are necessary to amass two collections. The collection of creative potential or merit and the collection of wisdom.
Within the present discussion of the view, we’re discussing the accumulation of the wisdom collection. In the present context, what is meant by the wisdom collection? It is the path or the exalted awareness within the mental continuum of a being of the great vehicle realizing emptiness. The Buddha said that within the universal vehicle, as the source of it in the literature of the transcendent wisdom, said there were twenty wisdom collections. Within the universal vehicle, the path of the universal vehicle, are five paths.
The initial entryway into the first of these five paths is like entering into the lowest grade in the school. We enter into the first path and this first path is the first path and there’s the path of accumulation. These five paths, the first is that of accumulation, then the path of preparation, then the path of seeing, the path of meditation, and finally the path of no more learning. These twenty collections of wisdom are generated over the course of these five paths. This is in the passage of the various grades, which is necessary to generate the various understandings in accordance with that particular level, and then one passes on to the next grade.
Likewise, in developing and passing through these five paths, one generates the necessary wisdom realizing emptiness throughout these five paths as a means of It would be good if we were to explain how these twenty wisdom collections are distributed over these five paths. Beginning with the first of these five paths, the path of accumulation. The path of accumulation is divided into two sections. The lesser path of accumulation, the middle and the greater. On each of these divisions there is a unique method for meditating in order to gain the realization of emptiness.
So with respect to the first half of accumulation it has three sections. The second half of the preparation has only one section. So we’ve spoken the first two of these five paths, the path of accumulation and preparation. Now there remain three more paths, the path of seeing, meditation and no learning. Over the course of the path of seeing and meditation, the means of progression through these two paths is by means of progression through the ten grounds.
So there are ten grounds over these two paths of seeing and meditation. We’re generating the twenty wisdom collections over these five paths, and we come to the ten grounds which are distributed over the course of the two paths of seeing and meditation. On the first of these grounds there is the generation of one wisdom collection. Each of the first seven grounds — I said the first ground had seven wisdom collections but that’s incorrect. Each of the first seven grounds has one wisdom collection. So over the first seven grounds we generate one wisdom collection on each of those, making seven.
Then that leads to the eighth, ninth, and tenth grounds. On each of those we generate two wisdom collections. On the eighth, ninth, and tenth, two wisdom collections are generated on each, making a total of six. Over these five paths we have so far accounted for the generation of seventeen wisdom collections. There are three remaining and these three are generated at the Buddha ground, the fifth of the five paths.
The first of the five paths, the path of accumulation, we generate three wisdom collections. The second, the path of preparation, we generate one. Then we move on to the ten grounds. On each of the first seven grounds we generate one wisdom collection. Then on the eighth, ninth, and tenth grounds we generate two wisdom collections on each of those.
Then finally, at the fifth of the five paths, the path of no more learning, the Buddha ground, we generate three wisdom collections, making a total of twenty. It is by means of generating these twenty awarenesses with respect to emptiness that we are able to overcome the ignorance which grasp our true existence along with the latency. These awarenesses of emptiness act as an antidote which bring about the cessation of the grasping of true existence and thereby all false. Gradually removing the various faults. The faults being the obstructions to liberation and the obstructions to knowledge, or the afflictive obstructions and the knowledge obstructions, are analogous to the washing of the stains from clothing. First, the initial washing simply removes the coarse stain, and likewise we remove in the initial stages of progressing through the twenty collections the initial coarse faults.
Finally as washing continues, the most subtle stains are ultimately removed, and likewise the most subtle stains of the grasping at true existence are removed by the end of the final stages. In the process of eliminating these various faults, we mainly rely upon the wisdom realizing emptiness. But this wisdom is assisted in the removal of thoughts by the power of the awakening heart, love and compassion whereby empowered by, assisted by the power of these factors all the various thoughts are able to be finally removed. All of the various thoughts that we’re speaking of are in terms of the mind itself. Various thoughts like the conception of true existence, attachment, anger.
These are all within the mind itself. So in order that these falsehoods be eliminated, it is the mind itself which must do the eliminating and the eliminators which act to remove these thoughts from the mind are the mental factors of wisdom. For example, realizing emptiness and the awakening heart. The mind is purifying the mind. The mind itself is eliminating its own The various afflictions are the internal factors of the mind itself.
There are thoughts within the mind itself and it’s only the mind which can remove these thoughts. The thoughts of for example true existence, the conception of true existence. There’s nothing other than the mind itself which is able to remove the thoughts from the mind itself and mainly that which is removing the thoughts from the mind is the wisdom, realizing emptiness. But it is assisted by the mental factors such as the awakening heart, love and compassion, and this means the mental factors of generosity, ethics, tolerance, joy, effort, concentration. We have the potential to develop vast qualities within our mind and to eliminate all of those thoughts in the mind.
The main way we can bring this end about is through the method of the wisdom realizing emptiness. Therefore it’s extremely important that we make efforts in implementing the method to realize emptiness. In order to develop these vast potentials of the mind, it’s necessary that we generate the wisdom realizing emptiness. And therefore, as Nāgārjuna says, to implement and make efforts in the various methods to generate this wisdom, and these are set out by Nāgārjuna, the various methods to develop this wisdom. If we can develop this wisdom then we can eliminate all the various thoughts in mind.
At present we don’t have this wisdom so therefore we must begin by implementing the method for generating this wisdom. The present text, the Precious Garland, was mainly written as an advice for the king. If the king were to put into practice these advices, then it would be great benefit. The same applies to ourselves. These devices were given to the king.
If we ourselves were to practice and implement the methods set out, we would achieve the same benefit. What is being presently taught is terms of a branch auxiliary to the method for implementing the wisdom collection. It’s necessary that we practice the various methods in order to generate the wisdom collection and what is being presented here is an auxiliary or branch method The method whereby to bring benefit to sentient beings is the holy dharma. It is by means of the holy dharma that we are able to bring about the welfare of both oneself and others. This by eliminating the fault of oneself and others and bringing oneself and others happy.
Beginning from the actual quoting from the book, from Precious Garland, in which it says, You should respect most highly the excellent doctrine and its teachers. The respecting of the doctrine, that is to say the holy Dharma, and the lamas, the spiritual masters who present it, is the first initial method whereby to gain realization of emptiness. And then it goes on to speak of the motivation while we’re listening. You should listen reverently to it and give it. You should listen reverently to it.
Is medicine saying we should have, we listen with respectfully and with faith. Having listened to it, then we should give it to others. This would be the practice of generosity with respect to the various teachings of the Buddha. We have been given books that set out the various methods for meditating. The text goes on to say, Take no pleasure in worldly talk. Obviously we are not to speak in ways which harm others, but ideally to speak in ways which would benefit others.
But even those types of talk, worldly talk, worldly ways of speaking which are of no harm nor any benefit, that is the neutral type of ways of speaking are also to be avoided. Why is that? Because if we speak in harmful ways then we ourselves will be harmed. But even those ways which might have been neither harming nor benefiting, this simply becomes a waste of time. Goes on, But take delight in what passes beyond the world.
We should rejoice and take joy in those methods by which we’ll bring about liberation, which will be able to bring about our happiness, which will help to eliminate our various faults, result in ethical qualities in making joyous efforts with respect to reason. And cause the qualities to generate inevitably. By means of study, through books, through listening, reflecting, and meditating, we ourselves are able to generate wisdom. We should make effort in the methods whereby to aid others in generating wisdom as well. The doctor says, Please be not satisfied with the doctrines you have heard.
That is to say, in having listened to some teachings, reflected upon them and meditated on them, being satisfied with the limited knowledge which one has gained. One should not be satisfied with a limited understanding but should try to go on to gain more and more understanding, more and more striving with more and more methods to broaden one’s understanding. In the same way that we’re not content, if we have a hundred dollars, we want a thousand, if we have a thousand, we want ten thousand. Likewise with respect to the Dharma, we should not be content with the limited understanding that we now possess, we should always be wanting more. In the course of our study of diamonds, we should be able to understand it both in terms of its essential meaning but also having understood also in addition to understanding its essential meaning be able to understand it in detail.
That is to say we should be able to take the condensed meaning of what we have heard, condense it, abbreviate it and be able to understand essence of that meaning but also be able to expand upon that essence that condenses me into its various divisions, various definitions in a very broad and detailed manner. This is the way in which we should proceed in our studies of the Dharma. This is how Tsongkhapa expresses this in his manner of composing the Lam Rim text, the text on the graduated path. His detailed explanation of the graduated path is over four hundred pages.
He was able to take this detailed explanation and condense it down even to one verse of four sentences and then he could expand upon those four sentences into again detailed explanation. This is constant going back and forth between being able to take condensed essence and being able to expand it into the detailed explanation. So we are to train in being able to understand the meaning of what is being presented both in terms of its condensed essence and in terms of its expanded explanations, and the same holds true. If we are to develop vast wisdom, then the method for achieving this is set forth in that please always make great efforts to offer teachers presents.
in dependence upon the explanation of the teacher, the spiritual master, we come to an understanding of this condensed and expanded meaning. Therefore, it is necessary to hold and respect the teacher presenting these explanations. The text goes on to say, recite not from the worldly nihilists. There are various non-Buddhist schools such as the hedonists, who presented very extensive explanations of their positions. And if we are overly attracted to these various explanations, then this serves as an obstacle to the generation of the realization of emptiness.
And the text goes on to say that we stop debating in the interest of pride. We’re not to stop debating but if it simply is a means to increase our pride then in that case we can stop debating without pride. The text goes on to say, crave not your own qualities, but praise those even of your foes. For those who practiced in the past, we should seek to hide whatever excellent qualities that we may have. For example, worldly terms if someone had a very valuable article they would hide it away and they would put it away in a box.
But if someone else were to see it, if others were to see it, then a piece might come or a robbery might take it. So if you had something very valuable, you hide it away. And likewise, the bodhisattva hides away all of her excellent qualities, but expresses and praises the excellent qualities of others telling how great and wonderful they are. We tell others how much we know and how little others know. We try to hide other excellent qualities, saying that they really don’t know what they’re talking about, they haven’t really studied.
We should never harm others as a means of retaliating when we ourselves are hurt. That someone might hurt us in some way, that we shouldn’t seek to return that harm by speaking of their faults, by speaking of whatever may be in fact wrong with them, and in some way trying to bring them shame. The verse from the text says, Do not say what hurts with evil intent. Talk not of others. Analyze your own mistakes yourself.
So this is likewise found in the mind transformation and the sevenfold training of the mind, in which he talks about how one should constantly be aware of one’s own thoughts and analyzing one’s own conduct and to be able to investigate if one is doing the way one’s own mind is beneficial. If we do not analyze our own conduct, then there’s a possibility of making many mistakes. But through analyzing what we are doing, if it becomes apparent that we are making some mistakes today then we can determine not to make that same mistake tomorrow. On the other hand if we think what we have done has been beneficial today then we can implement it. We can repeat the same again tomorrow.
Then the text goes on to talk that we should not retaliate in terms of harm brought to ourselves, but we should look upon any harm which has brought to ourselves as a result of harming others in the past. That this is simply a reaction to the harm having brought to others and by means of experiencing the harm we have exhausted the action that previously created. We should continue to carry on our practice of Dharma in spite of what conditions it may bring, that we may not have money, that we may be poor, but to carry on our practice, meditating and acting in a straightforward, honest manner. There are those who practice well and then upon coming into money they give up their practice and become full of pride as well. And there are those who practice well and then upon losing all their money becoming poor give up their practice.
So no matter whether we become rich or poor we should continue our practice. Whatever may befall us over the course of our lives, be it good or bad, we should continue to make effort in seeking to realize emptiness. But whether we are poor or rich, to make continuous effort with respect to realizing emptiness. It is by means of the realization of emptiness that we will finally be able to rid ourselves of our various faults, bring to consummation our excellent qualities, and thereby we will be able to bring about the ultimate welfare of both ourselves and others. So we should definitely make effort to generate this wisdom and therefore definitely make effort in implementing the methods whereby to generate this wisdom.
Even if we cannot gain the realization over the course of this life by making efforts in this life at the various methods, it is definite that we will be able to generate it in the future. In terms of this vast benefit of generating this wisdom, we should continuously, no matter what happens in this life, make effort in the method to generate it. The realization of emptiness and the generation of the awakening heart — We can establish these within our minds if we gather together the necessary causes and conditions. There is nothing which will not develop upon the aggregation of the necessary causes and conditions.
Once the necessary causes come together there is no way that the results will not arise. This is in the very nature of things. This is the nature dependence arising and all things upon the aggregation of causes and conditions will come together and even if we were not to generate the full fledged realization of emptiness in your awakening heart during the course of this thought by making effort in creating these qualities and conditions then in the future life by simply making some small efforts we will almost spontaneously generate this realization. Upon the aggregation of the causes of conditioning there is no source which can prevent the arising of the result. The reason that things don’t come about, happen is simply because there hasn’t been brought together the necessary causes and conditions.
Once those causes and conditions are brought together then there’s no force which can prevent the arising of the result. We all know if we take a simple case of a flower, we have a fertile seed and we pliancy that and we provide soil and water and fertilize it, there’s nothing which can prevent the germination and rising of the flower. Such things as the awakening heart and the wisdom and understanding emptiness are results. They are things. They are products and they develop upon the aggregation of causes and conditions just like flowers and sprouts.
If we bring together the causes and conditions then it is the very nature of depending on lighting that they will come about. If we were to read various books which set out the meaning of emptiness, to listen to explanations on its nature and then reflect upon these, contemplate what we have read and heard and then to bring these acting as causes and conditions, collecting these together then to cultivate that understanding in meditation and then stepping and brought together these many causes and conditions that the realization will arise. The way in which results arise in the external world are analogous to the way in which realization arise with respect to the internal mind. That they follow the same processes are dependent arising whether external or internal. So, you know, we should have no doubt thinking, Oh, I don’t know if I can realize anything.
I don’t know if I can really develop the awakening heart. I’m not really sure. This isn’t the way that external phenomena things are developed by bringing together causes and conditions. We should have no doubt that if we bring about the internal conditions then we can definitely develop the understanding of emptiness and develop the awakening heart. We should be able to have that conviction in the analogous because it’s simply an analogy of external situations.
We should proceed with reasoning. Know, there’s no reason why I can’t at all. It’s just a matter of bringing together the necessary cause and conditions. It’s like these big external phenomena. If I bring together the cause and conditions, then these things arise as result.
And that we have to, out of this will come from kind of courage. There’s no reason that if I bring together the cause and conditions that I cannot develop these muteachings. Those who have entered the path in the past and gained realization did so by means of gathering together the necessary causes and conditions. I feel the reason we remain where we are and have not done so in the past is simply because we have not gathered together the causes and conditions to do so. There is no difference between the minds of ourselves and those who have entered the path in the past, those who have attained great realizations.
They also had all the various afflictive emotions that we now have. Someone asked Mañjuśrī what is the way in which we can realize emptiness. And Mañjuśrī set forth that firstly it is necessary to make requests to one’s meditational deity, one’s yidam, inseparable from one’s spiritual master, one’s lama, making requests to aid one in the actualization of the realization. Then it’s necessary to study various books setting out the meaning of emptiness, to reflect upon them, to establish emptiness by various means of reasoning. For example, reasoning of sprout is the subject is not truly existent because of the dependent arising.
The reasoning of dependent arising is one or many in various methods of reasoning to purify all the various obstructions to to a mass greater potential or merit and then finally to integrate this by means of the meditation process. By this means the final There are many reasons supporting this way of proceeding. For example, if we were to read books but not meditate, there’s no way that we would generate the wisdom by that means alone. And as a means of providing support to the condition for the realization, it’s necessary that we create creative potential, accumulate creative potential or merit. We can do this for example by offering prostrations, making prostrations, making offerings, In order to generate the wisdom realizing emptiness it is necessary to eliminate the various conflicting conditions which prevent us from realization, and that is to say we must purify our various negativities and obstructions, and we can do this by means of the repetition of the hundred-syllable mantra, the confession of the sūtra of the downfalls, and by means of the four opponent powers.
In addition, in order to generate the wisdom realizing emptiness, it’s necessary that we receive the blessing of our meditational deity indivisible from our lama, our spiritual master. This is analogous to having planted a seed. It’s necessary that we provide the various conducive conditions for its development — the soil, water, etc. This is like the shining of the sun upon the earth, warming and germinating the seed. By making requests to the meditational deity inseparable from the spiritual master,