Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 89-minute public talk, Khensur Rinpoche grounds a meaningful life in one recognition: everything we enjoy flows from others’ kindness. He opens with human birth as a rare karmic result, then contrasts material routes to happiness — economics, technology, arms — with mental training as the only approach that holds under physical pain. The central image is a mother receiving her newborn, cleaning every mess, holding the child like a precious jewel; Rinpoche extends this until food, clothing, even our body are seen as gifts of interdependence — what the Buddha calls a wish-fulfilling gem. He covers cultivating love and compassion in response, avoiding harmful actions of body and speech, and the particular danger of anger, which destroys accumulated merit. A Q&A closes with edge cases: managing built-up rage, compassionate lying, and facing a murderer’s questions without losing equanimity.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 08 1989 05 07 PT A Meaning Life.mp3
UUID: 4e26bb25-1ca8-4bba-aa63-a6424e04c189
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Public Talks 1988-2003 (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1989-05-07
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 88.9 minutes
Words: ~5,186
So we begin with adjusting our motivation. Now, if you’re from your side that you can develop the motivation to listen to this teaching, this talk on the Dharma with a kind heart, with an altruistic attitude. And from my side, I’m going to try to do the same, develop some altruistic attitude on why I’m going to give this teaching. I’m going to talk about the Dharma and its nature and how to practice it. So we begin with discussion of beginning to appreciate who in fact we are.
The great master Śāntideva said that there are a vast number of various types of beings in the universe. And among these, there are the beings who have the auspicious quality of being human. And even amongst these, there are various types and we’re of a very special type. So amongst the various types of varieties of human beings, are very desirable qualities which we might seek to possess. For example, having a clear mind, able to reason well, having a great knowledge, having enthusiasm and courage within our mind.
So having been placed in the position of a of a human being, it’s not hasn’t come about haphazardly by chance. And in fact, it’s created by causes and the very specific types of causes, very constructive types of causes that within the the fruit, the results that have been experienced as a human being, some people have a great deal of wisdom, some people experience a great deal of mental bliss, mental happiness, some have a great deal of courage, some people have all these various types of positive qualities which are the results of very specific causes. So there there are a variety of causes which bring about a variety of results. You know, if in fact one cause were to bring about a single kind of result, then it would come it would, be for instance that there would only be one color of flower, that all the flowers would be either white or red because they all come from flower seeds. But we can easily understand that amongst the flower seeds there are a variety of types of seeds which have a specific variety of results.
Likewise, the varieties of types of karma or actions that we have created act as a variety of types of causes giving rise to a variety of types of results. Some people have varying degrees of intelligence. Some people have varying degrees of dispositions, a likable disposition, dislikable, etcetera. So even what is occurring at present is is a result of positive types of constructive types of karma or actions that we’ve created in the past. Rinpoche, from my side, have studied Buddhism for a number of years, and now I’m trying to give a talk to help you understand Buddhism.
From your side, you’ve come here and perhaps you don’t know much about Buddhism, and you’re going to listen to this talk. And together, this auspicious coincidence is of a very positive — it demonstrates that we have created a very positive potential as a result of past actions that we’ve created. So we have to use this occasion and our intelligence to begin to seek to understand the nature of our situation. That in fact, that everyone wants to be happy, that no one wants to suffer. And to apply our intelligence and reasoning to solving this problem.
To begin to understand where in fact happiness does come from and how what are the methods to eliminate our suffering. So in general, we can can apply two methods to increase the happiness of the world in general. There’s the internal method of development of one’s own mind. And then there’s the external development or the materialistic method to increase the technology, etcetera, of the world around us. So one of the methods which up to this time has been made used to a great extent has been to exploit our environment, to make use of it, to bring ourselves happiness, and to promote technology as a source of happiness.
As many of us rely on a materialist approach to happiness, to seek happiness, we rely on a great deal on economics, seeking to, as a way of finding prosperity and happiness, gathering together more and more wealth and money around us. And also in response to eliminating suffering to promote our own welfare, we have the arms race and the technology manufacturing weapons of war. So through external means, gathering together material comforts, we can arrive at a great deal of happiness, the types of happiness which can be derived from having material possessions, food, clothing, things of this nature. Even acts of generosity can create a harmonious situation between ourselves and others. But these are at best only temporal benefits.
So we can bring about through these various methods, and we should, the temporal benefits to be derived from them. And also through exploitation — not exploitation, when others attack us — engaging in war, that through our technology we may be able to overcome the enemy, and this, we may be able to have great power in this way to gain control over other people’s, other territory. And this would seem to be of a great benefit temporarily. But all these various varieties of external methods cannot begin to eliminate the types of suffering which plague us all, such as sickness, aging, and death. So such methods as these can in fact bring some temporary type of physical comfort, some physical well-being.
But they don’t have the ability or the capacity to bring us mental happiness. So such types of physical manipulation of our environment, etc. bring us some types of well-being physically from time to time. But we should be more concerned with actual types of mental happiness. And not only with mental happiness in general, but some type of ultimate, final mental happiness.
If we can bring about happiness within our own mind, then as in dependence upon that, we will naturally experience physical happiness. So what we should be mainly concerned with is some type of ultimate mental happiness. And this comes about through training of the mind or mental thought transformation. And in this way, if we can bring some type of final happiness to our mind, then even when we experience some types of physical unhappiness, some types of physical discomfort due to the force of the quality of our mind, the happiness that exists within our own mind, we can eliminate even physical suffering. If we haven’t trained our mind, then even when some slight physical discomfort arises, it has the quality that disturbs our mind, that we become not only that we physically suffer, but we can’t even stand the physical difficulty from a mental standpoint, that we develop mental suffering.
It depends upon even slight physical discomfort. On the other hand, if we train our mind, then even when we have great physical suffering, due to the force of having trained our mind, having the quality of control with one’s own mind, being able to maintain a happy mind, then this can affect the physical base and eliminate even our physical sufferings. How can we begin to actually train our mind? We can begin to cultivate the mental qualities of love and compassion, of altruism and caring for others. So the various methods of mental training, that is the thought transformation, are extensively presented in the Buddhist texts.
And in dependence upon the clear and extensive explanations of the methods for gradually developing the qualities of compassion, altruism, caring mind, then we can bring happiness not only to our own mind, but as an in dependence upon that, even begin to eliminate our physical discomforts and unhappiness. So, in essence, we’re going to speak very roughly on the method we can begin to develop the transformation of our mind. Whether or not perhaps you accept rebirth in your past and future lives doesn’t particularly matter at this point. But we all have the experience of having been born from our mother. And in this situation, immediately upon our birth, we knew nothing at all.
Perhaps we were able to say ah, and all we did was say ah and pee. So you all know that. Immediately upon our birth, our mother took us to her body, her warm body. She was quite willing to clean all the various excrements which were coming out of all our various holes in her body, our nose, from our all the dirt. And she quite willingly cleaned us up.
She protected us as if we were a very precious jewel. So she directed all her attention toward us, our benefit, teaching us even how to speak. That she provided us with the best clothing that she could, that eventually she sent us to school to help us to improve ourselves, to begin our studies. Undergoing whatever difficulties might have been necessary to make us happy, to provide us with whatever we might have needed, whether it was food or clothing, paying all the necessary tuitions and fees for our studies and to improve ourselves. So in this way, our mother providing all our necessities and providing for our education, for our gradual development, that not only did it in such a way that it benefit ourselves, but it began to benefit the people around us, our country, and eventually the entire world.
So this great benefit that has been derived from where did it originate? It originated from the kindness of our parents, providing for all our various needs, both physical and mental, providing food, clothing, etcetera, providing for education. And all the benefits that we have derived were originated from our parents, from their parents’ kindness. So for the individual, his or her improvement, development is dependent upon the kindness of one’s parents, of that individual’s parents. As to the benefit of others to which that individual can bring about, that is also it comes about through the teacher, you know, having developed the parents, having sent the child to school to improve themselves, to become educated, and this as a means to benefit others.
So the benefit of others derives from the teacher. So all the various enjoyments that we are able to experience, you know, we wake up in the morning and we’re able to simply, you know, go to the kitchen and eat breakfast. That breakfast came about through the hard work of other sentient beings. So that enjoyment that we derive from our breakfast arose from the kindness of sentient beings. The clothes that we wear arose through the kindness of sentient beings.
All the various things which we possess, which we find happiness in, all arise from the kindness of sentient beings. So the clothes that we’re wearing now were made through the work of others. And therefore, we’re able to derive enjoyment of wearing these clothes through the kindness of others. And not only the clothes, but in the case of, for example, wool clothing. The wool came from another sentient being, and so we have to be indebted toward the kindness of that sentient being.
And therefore, all things that — you know, we haven’t made any of the clothing that we wear for ourselves. I mean, the actual material itself, it’s all coming from somebody else. And and therefore, any type of happiness that we derive from it, that happiness is derived from others. And therefore, it’s the kindness of others. So even this body of ours, you know, we didn’t create it ourselves.
It came from our mothers, from our parents, our mother and father. So even our body is dependent upon someone else, the kindness of another, of others. There’s nothing that we have created for ourselves, that everything that we are, everything that we have has come from others, and and everything, all the happiness that we experience has arrived through the kindness of others. So the cushions that we’re sitting on, this building that we’re sitting in, the comfortable atmosphere that’s been created in this building, the fact that we’re listening to this talk has all arisen through the kindness of others. Everything is arising.
All the happiness that we experience comes from the kindness of others. So the happiness that we’re experiencing now arose through the kindness of others. But not only that, but our future happiness will arise through the kindness of others. For those who accept the notion of rebirth, that they should understand that the rebirth in future lives will also arise through the kindness of others. So the relationships that we have, you know, arise through the interdependence.
And if there are happy relationships, it’s due to the interdependent kindness of one another, even between a husband and wife. If there is a harmonious relationship between them, then it’s dependent upon the interdependent kindness of each participating in this relationship, extending that further to our community, that the happiness of the community is an interdependent social affair arising from each individual’s contributing kindness to the welfare of the whole. So the Buddha has said that sentient beings are like a wish-fulfilling gem, that all the happiness that we can hope to ever experience that we would, that we want, it comes about through the kindness of sentient beings. So as a response to the great kindness that others are constantly showing us, then it becomes natural that we cultivate love and caring as an appropriate way of reacting. So even on a small scale of a husband and wife, in response to the kindness of each other, if they cultivate a loving attitude toward one another, then this will affect the environment at their home.
It will spread to their children and they will have a harmonious family life just through this fact of seeking to appreciating the kindness of being benefited by each other and developing and cultivating loving attitude toward one another. So whatever the relationship might be, whether it’s between friends or husbands and husband and wife, partners, that it’s very necessary that we cultivate the qualities of, you know, love and caring and trust between them. If in fact, you know, we don’t have these qualities, there is no love, there is no caring for one another, there is no trust in one another, then such a type of home, such a type of relationship, there will not be any happiness. There will only be suffering of both mind and body. All these experiences are created out of karma, that is to say actions.
And the various actions that we create will definitely have a result. And so experiencing a home life of disharmony, of discord, of unhappiness is created by your actions. So if each of the various individuals seek to cultivate the qualities of love and care and trust in one another, then not only can we expect that the home of such individuals will be happy and harmonious, but begin to extend these qualities, this way of relating to our neighbors, to our community amongst the races, and eventually this this quality of a harmonious, peaceful atmosphere will extend to our country as a whole. So, you know, if we can develop the mutual caring, mutual trust, mutual love between one another from the small scale of an individual’s home and begin to extend this way of relating out to community, to between the races, and finally between nations. That to — at such a time, there will be no need for weapons, people won’t have to live in fear, and we can create a peaceful world.
Within the great vehicle of Buddhism, the most precious qualities of mind that we can develop are the qualities of love, caring, seeking to benefit others, helping others. Ultimately, the awakening heart of bodhicitta. These are the most precious qualities that we can possess. If between self and others, we must try to cultivate the attitude of placing others as more important than ourselves, seeking ways to benefit others. And in this way, such a type of practice, such a type of mind training is a tremendous blessing for ourselves and others.
It is an extremely precious attitude to seek to develop. Our present attitude, our present situation is that now we are mainly concerned with only ourselves. That it is as if other sentient beings simply don’t matter to us, as if they don’t exist for us. In the mind training, in the thought transformation of the great vehicle, we begin to reverse this attitude that others take on a greater and greater importance, that we seek always to increase the happiness of others and to bring about the causes for their happiness. And in this way our mind is blessed.
It’s an extremely positive, beneficial attitude to seek to cultivate, to develop. Within Buddhism, can talk about two types of practices or overall two categories of Buddhism. It’s dependent upon the strength of the mind of the practitioner. In the first, where there’s small strength of mind, a small power, personal power, one as a minimum requisite of practice must seek not to harm others. Whether one benefits others or not is not important at this point.
One, as a minimum, refrains from harming others. But those who have a great force of mind, a great power in their practice seek not only not to harm others, but over and above that their main practice begins to benefit others. So, you know, what we’ve talked about so far tonight in the study of Buddhism is just an extremely rough idea of what is involved in the training of the mind of the thought transformation to develop an altruistic attitude. So, you know, to review what we’ve talked about a little bit, we mainly experience two types of happinesses and sufferings, physical and mental. There’s no question about the fact that we all want happiness, that none of us want to suffer.
Simply saying, Oh, may I have happiness? Is in no way going to bring us happiness. Simply saying, Oh, I don’t want to suffer is in no way going to eliminate our suffering. We have to actually begin to investigate. Think about what are the causes of happiness, what are the causes, the means of eliminating suffering.
We don’t want to suffer. We want to eliminate our suffering. If we want to do that, then we have to eliminate the causes for our suffering. In order to do that, we must begin to understand the deeper causes which bring about our suffering and thereby begin to implement a method whereby to eliminate the causes of our suffering. This is an intelligent way to begin to confront the issue of suffering.
So we want happiness. So it becomes imperative that we begin to understand what are the causes for happiness, and thereby begin to implement the causes to bring about the happiness that we’re seeking. If we bring about the causes for our happiness, if we actually implement the means to bring about our happiness, even if we don’t want that happiness, it’s going to come to us anyway. This is like a farmer who’s planting his crops. If he plants the seeds and he provides the necessary conditions of fertilizer and water, then of themselves, of itself, the crop is going to arise.
So the same thing for the opposite situation. If we were sitting in our home and all at once it began to rain outside, we began to feel a drop of water dripping on us, and it causes an uncomfortable situation. You know, experiencing this difficulty, we have to investigate, you know, where is that drip coming from? Investigate and see for ourselves that the drops of water are coming from a hole in the ceiling, in the roof. And so, knowing from where it’s coming from, we block up the hole, and therefore, we eliminate the discomfort.
So in the same way, bringing about ceasing the causes for our difficulties, the causes for our suffering, where in fact does our suffering originate? It originates through destructive or unskillful actions of body, speech, mind. If we take an example of the various types of unskillful actions of body, speech and mind. First, physical examples, the action of killing sentient beings, developing a desire for someone else’s things, stealing for example, that these types are unskillful action and have as a result suffering, and therefore it’s necessary to begin ceasing actions such as these. Likewise, just examples of unskillful types of speech or verbal, unskillful actions.
Speaking harsh words, you know, words which when another hears them, you know, hurts them very deeply. Or lying, you know, trying to deceive or trick someone. Divisive speech, in the case, for example, of a husband and wife who have a harmonious relationship speaking in such a way that you cause a division, you cause them to separate. And all these are unskillful verbal actions and will result in suffering and therefore should be ceased. There are a few examples of unskillful mental actions such as, you know, you develop a great longing for someone else’s possession, just the very fact of coveting another’s possession or anger.
So these are very destructive types of actions and cause suffering. Therefore, we should try to decrease and cease these types of actions. So this is a practice of Dharma. We have to understand that these types of actions are such that we experience as a result suffering, and that by ceasing these types of actions we cease the experience of suffering. So, you know, through the practice of such methods employed by Buddhism that we become not only do we begin to experience less suffering, we begin to develop a social situation where we are able to influence others in a more and more positive fashion.
We’re looked up to by others more and more. You know, by simply ceasing the actions of, say, stealing, covetousness, lying, divisive speech, harsh speech, that other people hold you in higher regard. They have more respect for you and therefore you attain a higher status. So, you know, we’ve talked about some of the cessation of our physical actions which will cease our physical problems. If on the other hand, we were to begin to cultivate the positive mental attitudes of love and caring, then we’re going to have only an experience of happiness.
So in this way, through the cultivation, increasing frequency and positive actions, decreasing the frequency of negative actions, there is a gradual increase in the happiness we experience both mentally and physically. And we should you know, from the point of view of the mind, we have predispositions toward, for example, developing anger and hatred, that it’s very important for those who are seeking to practice the Buddhadharma to refrain from expressing hatred and anger. So, you know, it’s important not to allow ourselves to become involved in hatred and anger because through the force of expressing them, we destroy the love and the compassion and the caring minds that we’ve already developed, that these cease within our own mind, that they’re decreasing their power, and that not to express it also physically. So, you know, we have to think of all the various consequences of hatred and anger that, you know, experiencing the moment we become angry, any happiness or peace of mind that we may have been experiencing is immediately lost. That even when we try to eat, the food has no flavor, that we can’t sleep, that we create a disharmonious atmosphere, environment around ourselves, that we because of our as a result of our anger, hatred that we speak hurtful words to others and we hurt we can hurt people that we care about, our husband or our wife or our friends and those about us, creating a great deal of discord and hurt and suffering in our atmosphere around us.
So we should be, you know, extremely careful when it comes to the difficulty of developing anger or hatred. You know, where does happiness come from? Happiness comes from the constructive or skillful actions that we’ve created in the past. And it’s the nature of anger and hatred that they’re able to destroy the latencies of the constructive causes that we’ve created in the past. And therefore, hatred, in fact, destroys our own happiness in the future.
So, you know, we’ve talked a little bit about the methods for leading a meaningful life, trying to develop the causes of happiness. The the youngest you know. Right? Okay. I’m not going there.
So I appreciate you coming here this evening and perhaps listening to these few words of advice that I’ve given on the necessity for developing a kind heart, for for beginning to adjust our our types of attitudes that we have, to begin to adjust the types of conduct that we engage in as as a method for finding the happiness that we’re all looking for, that to as an as a method for creating a harmonious types of relationship. And what you know, from your side, you know, look into what I’ve said, investigate it in with the light of your intelligence. And if there’s any benefit to then to then please put it into practice. So we have about fifteen minutes left. We can take the remaining time if you have some questions.
We can discuss them. Yeah. Like, a release workshop a couple of days ago, and I’m struggling with what was the idea to be able to in order to release energy to do things like, you know, just one particular one. So for for women to release inhibitions that they had was good to just sort of pretend there’s a man there and just sort of said, go away, you know, to to create their own space and their own freedom so that they could feel that that freedom around them. That’s a very aggressive thing to do, that it’s releasing energy.
How does that sort of correspond to this? It is aggressive. Do you know do you know what I mean? Yeah. So as best I could get that across with my limited Tibetan.
Rinpoche says, I think that’s a that that’s that way of teaching is an error. That that we that this is we should be seeking to develop a kind hearted attitude not this aggressive attitude. This aggressive attitude might be contradicted to developing a kind hearted attitude toward others. This way of approach is, he thinks, may be an error. At what moment?
During the training? Yeah. Or an actual situation? Yeah. I’m extending the question there.
Yeah. This question. Suppose a person has so much built up aggression. So, you know, if one has, for example, built up anger, the way we can begin to work with it is by understanding that this is it arises in dependence on various conditions and to begin to understand, to reflect upon the faults of anger that it brings you mental unhappiness, it brings you physical discomfort, that it destroys all the constructive actions that you’ve created in the past. And simply reflecting upon all the all the faults of the present state of mind that that you exist that you’re experiencing as a method of working with that anger, that present anger. Also, you know, if we have anger against specific person, that point we should make effort to cultivate compassion and love for that person.
That, you know, beginning to refocus our attention toward the benefit that that person has shown to us, the kindness that that person has shown to us to refocus our attention. So does anyone have any question? Yeah. In developing loving kindness, you know, I believe that sharing is a part of it. Is why why is sharing so hard?
Sharing so hard. So in the development of compassion, it’s not really necessary — I’m sorry, loving kindness. It’s not really necessary to share anything materially, physically. That we’re seeking to develop the attitude of mind that wishes others happiness and the causes of happiness. This is cultivated through cultivating this, habituating the mind to this attitude is the development of loving kindness.
But we can, you know, bring about the to contribute to the the conditions which will actually bring about others’ happiness. For example, you know, if someone is sick, you give them medicine, you give them treatment. If someone is hungry, you give them food. But this provides them with happiness. But in the actual development which proceeds actually trying to develop the attitude of loving compassion, then this is cultivation of the thought which wishes others happiness and the causes of happiness.
Yeah. So from the point from the point of view of compassion, it would be better not to report that person because they’re this would cause them some kind of harm. So if someone were to ask you if you had seen the theft, for example, and you say, I don’t I I don’t know. I don’t I don’t know what — Pardon? So if in fact your motivation is to benefit this this thief because the consequences could bring him harm, then because it’s a beneficial attitude, it would not be classified as lying.
This would be an excellent way to solve the problem. Yeah. This would be a good way. Very good. Very good.
So from the point of view of Buddhism, if you if a situation arose where, you know, you saw someone run by and then a little bit later someone else ran up to you with a knife and he says to you, Did you see somebody just run by here? It would be wrong of you to say that you did. In such a case, when he asked you, did you see such and such a person? You would say, oh, isn’t it a beautiful day? Is involved?
You see a murderer. How do you react to that? You don’t show anger that you get angry because you don’t show anger in that situation. Your question is, do you see someone get murdered? Yeah.
And then? If you don’t show anger, someone else should get angry at me for not showing anger. It’s such a high standard. So in such a situation, it would be best if you didn’t develop anger. And even if the other person were to become angry at you for not becoming angry, that in no way would hurt you.
It’s not a very good situation because it’s hurting that other person. But whatever he says to you, actually have to harm you. But in developing anger for yourself, you harm yourself. So if you were to investigate well, you would be able to determine from where the anger was arising from. If you don’t look well, then you’re not going to know that, what the cause was.