Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Beginning with airplanes, cars, and trains as proof of human intelligence, Khensur Rinpoche uses these everyday inventions to anchor a 63-minute exploration of why human life is uniquely precious. The same capacity behind all material technology can, through practice and meditation, eliminate every fault and fulfill every virtue — but only if we choose to direct it constructively. He examines two levels of motivation: seeking happiness in this life through ethical conduct, versus cutting suffering at its root through Dharma. Doubts about rebirth are addressed with characteristic directness, invoking the Dalai Lama’s reasoning and an Australian television program where people described remembering past lives. He closes on practical antidotes to anger: treating harsh words as echoes with no power, and understanding harm received as karmic result. Accessible to newcomers while offering real doctrinal substance.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 26 1992 04 05 PT Precious Human Rebirth.mp3
UUID: 6fb59af3-f890-4dae-be2b-61b8d9dbf745
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Public Talks 1988-2003 (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1992-04-05
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 62.7 minutes
Words: ~3,162
We’re going to begin with a ten minute meditation in cultivating the kind hearted attitude of the awakening heart. And the motivation we’re trying to develop is the attitude of wishing to benefit both oneself and others. Can you hear me in the back okay?
So what is it that we need to do to benefit ourselves and others? The fact is that we don’t want suffering and that we want happiness and this is applied equally to both oneself and others. So a kind hearted attitude is the attitude wishing to eliminate the sufferings of others and ourselves and to bring both ourselves and others happiness. Initially we have to develop a sense of compassion or simply of caring, sympathy. And this applies both to ourselves and others.
And it’s expressed in the thought of wishing to eliminate the suffering and the causes of suffering of both oneself and others, to free them from suffering, to bring about the cessation of unwanted suffering. And then expressed in the thought of love, which is the attitude wishing to bring happiness and the causes of happiness to both oneself and others. The attitude of thinking how wonderful it would be if others and myself had happiness and the causes of happiness. May others and myself have happiness and the causes of happiness. So essentially love is the wish for happiness.
And then in order to relate these two expressions of love and compassion, the thought, the kind hearted attitude which wishes to free others from the suffering and the causes of suffering, wishes to bring happiness and the causes of happiness for others. We take responsibility to bring this about. In fact that I myself will free others from suffering, that I myself will bring them happiness. So please meditate in such a way for the next ten minutes. It would be wonderful if myself and all other sentient beings were free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
May it be that myself and all living beings have happiness and the causes of happiness. I myself will bring all sentient beings happiness and the causes of happiness. I myself will free all sentient beings from suffering and the causes of suffering. In order to achieve that end I am going to meditate well. Preliminary to the actual talk, there are two prayers that we’re going to recite.
You’re welcome to recite along with this. Prayers on page one verses three and two. So today I’m going to talk about the preciousness of human life. So it is amongst all the various life forms in the world. The human life is of the highest quality in the sense that it possesses the capacity to understand whatever it seeks to know, that it can train in any means and achieve that end, that it has tremendous intelligence, it is able to think clearly, and that it has this powerful capacity, and it has this tremendous potentiality.
We can easily appreciate the capacity of human intelligence by looking at the external world around us and all the marvelous inventions which have been created. All marvelous machines such as airplanes and cars and trains which have all made our life easier. So all of the wonderful inventions which are being created have as their source human intelligence. So all of these inventions and material comforts that we find of use all have as their ultimate source the human capacity of intelligence. So all of these material resources that have arisen have come about as a combination of various potentials, all in combination with the actual physical materials, making effort on the parts of individuals, in combination with the intelligence of humans.
So these are expressions of human intelligence or the human potential through effort. But in addition to these material benefits that are expressions of human intelligence, through education, through training, through practices, through meditation, we can ultimately eliminate all our various faults and bring to consummation all our excellent qualities and fulfill the benefit to both oneself and others. human life has the capacity to bring about all of the various constructive ends and constructive results, but additionally it has the potentiality to bring about destructive results. So this is the potential of the human life — that it can bring about far-ranging constructive and destructive results. So our human life represents a combination of the two factors of the freedom whereby to bring about both either constructive or destructive ends and the capacity to achieve these ends.
So it’s necessary that we make use of our human life, but make use of it to ensure that we bring about positive results, that we make use of the freedom and capacity to achieve constructive ends and not to allow this power to be used for destructive ends. We have to appreciate our capacity and the freedom which human life affords us. Our freedom is very precious. Out of our freedom we have a choice of doing either good or bad. We can practice the Dharma, we can not practice the Dharma, we can meditate, we can not meditate — whatsoever we wish we can do.
So in combination with our freedom we express our capacity to bring about various types of ends and results. If we use our capacity and this freedom of choosing to bring about constructive results, instigate constructive actions, then we can be assured that we are going to experience constructive results in the future. We have to appreciate and make use of our freedom and potentiality as human beings. If we do not make use of these qualities then it’s a great waste. It would be a great fault.
It is as if we had a very useful article, some possession, and we didn’t make use of it. Not only would it be of no benefit but it would be as if we didn’t have it at all. It would be as if it didn’t exist. So we have to use our human life well and its potentiality. And what is it that we need?
How are we to use our life? We have to make use of it in terms of what we want and don’t want. We want happiness, so we have to use it to bring about constructive results of happiness and we don’t want to suffer. Therefore we have to use our life in order to bring about a cessation of destructive results. This is how we can best make use of our life.
So in the course of our practice there’s two ways that we can proceed as far as our motivation is concerned. One way is to consider only the happiness of this life. That is to say that we consider only bringing about happiness for this life alone and eliminating the problems of this life alone. Another type of motivation would go further than this, not only this life but also would consider the elimination of suffering in future lives and the bringing about of happiness in future lives. So there are these two types of motivations with which we can approach our practice.
So with this former type of motivation where we’re emphasizing the happiness of this life alone, then we can make use of our potentiality by engaging in those types of activities. For example, abandoning destructive actions of physical and verbal destructive actions. We can seek to benefit those we love, our friends, and this way try to gain some happiness in this life. In the course emphasizing only this life, we’re going to try to bring about our welfare and the welfare of others in terms of materialism of food, clothing, etc. And we’re going to work and we’re going to earn money to bring about these ends.
And act in accordance with this way, that is to say, you know, trying to act in a friendly manner toward those you love and those who are near to you and not harming them, and also trying to accumulate money by gaining wealth, then we can gain degree of happiness even in this life. Emphasizing the happiness of this life and going about it, befriending others and making money, then we can bring about a certain degree of happiness in this life, but with this motivation. But at best it can only be an extremely temporal type of happiness. But in such a way at best we can only achieve a temporary happiness. We cannot achieve the elimination of suffering from its very root.
We can never achieve an unchanging happiness. So, you know, we all know the various, the temporal quality of our happiness. Even those who become extremely rich and accumulate great wealth and have many possessions. They put forth a great deal of trouble accumulating and then even once they accumulate they have to worry about not losing it, they have to worry about things being stolen, etc. And through all of these various temporal means we cannot eliminate the types of suffering of birth, age, disease and death.
But on the other hand if we wish to eliminate suffering from its root, if we want to achieve an ultimate type of happiness, how are we to go about that? The way that we can sever suffering from its root and achieve a final type of happiness is by means of the dharma. Thinking the different ways that people think about this problem. Some people think well you know it’s enough to get happiness out of this life. I’m not sure about future lives.
I don’t know. But in fact the only way that we can establish future happiness, the only method by which we can establish future happiness, is the Dharma. Some may have qualms, doubts about the existence of future lives, but in fact there are many people who remember their past lives. Was a program in Australia where many people were talking about remembering their past lives. Did you see it?
So there was a great discussion about this, and some could remember one life, some could remember two lives, but there were many individuals who remembered their past lives. The method for bringing about happiness in future lives is the dharma. But if there were no future lives, then there’s no reason for the dharma. We can do whatever we want. So the Dalai Lama said that he asserts the existence of future lives.
And he said there’s many reasons supporting the existence of future lives. That way it can be established through reasoning. And he has said to many, he said if you’re able to discover the non existence of future lives then I have to accept it. You know if you’re able to validly realize that in fact that future lives do not exist then because that’s the way things are I must accept that. But no one has found the non existence of future lives as of yet.
But there are many reasons which establish its existence. This is quite honest. It is not valid to say well future lives don’t exist because I’ve never seen them — that is a great error in logic. There’s many things we haven’t seen that do in fact exist. If some whose vision is unclear, due to their poor eyesight, aren’t able to see, for example, smoke coming from a fire.
But there is smoke coming from a fire, but they are not able to see that. Therefore they cannot say it doesn’t exist simply because they don’t see it. Likewise, sometimes our intelligence is clouded. We are not able to see things which in fact exist. But one is free to accept what one wants and to reject what one doesn’t want. One can practice or not practice the Dharma as one wishes.
In order to practice and to study the Buddha Dharma, one does not necessarily have to fully accept the Dharma. How should we conduct ourselves in this context? We have to look at what in fact benefits us. If something benefits us, then make use of it no matter where it’s coming from because there’s profit involved in making use of it for oneself. If that which we’re training in, that which we’re looking at is a benefit to ourselves in terms of physical benefit and mental benefit, it brings us happiness and well-being, then make use of it.
Then persist in making use of it. On the other hand, if it’s not benefiting you, then you know just throw it aside, leave it aside. So we’re looking at those things which bring about physical and mental benefit to ourselves. And among these two, mainly that which benefits the mind. If our mind is benefited then as an auxiliary the body will be benefited.
And the way in which the mind is being benefited is by the happiness which is brought to the mind. So that we can understand if we are being benefited because our minds are happy. On the other hand, what are those factors which bring us unhappiness? Types of mentalities such as anger, attachment, pride, jealousy. And even if we’re sitting very relaxed and comfortable, the moment one of these mental factors arise then we’ve lost all our happiness.
We’ve lost the peace of mind. And in order to benefit the mind, what most do we need? These are the two factors of tolerance and altruism. These are the essential qualities in order to bring ourselves a happy mind. Tolerance and altruism — altruism being the benefiting of others.
The root of altruism meets back to qualities of caring or compassion and love. On the basis of the power of one’s compassion and love, altruism or a sense of an attitude benefiting others will arise. And when this arises in the mind, the mind is at peace. It ceases to struggle any longer with others. It’s no longer in conflict.
And in order for the mind to remain at peace and to cultivate the attitude of altruism, what is the major hindrance, the biggest obstacle? That is the factor of anger and in order to overcome anger we have to increase the quality of tolerance. So on the one hand So development of caring or compassion helps to cease anger and to assist in the development of tolerance. On the other hand, we can help to bring about the cessation of anger, and by anger it’s mainly manifested as harsh words, fighting, seeking to bring harm to others. If we are able to look at the, for example, the harsh words of others, normally in looking at the way we perceive their words is that these words have a tremendous power, a tremendous influence on our mind and therefore they cause disturbance.
But if we simply look at the words as if they were echoes in that they are powerless, they have no essence, and therefore they have no great influence over our mind. And additionally we can help to bring about decrease of our anger and finally cessation if we look upon the harm which has been shown to us by others as a result of the harm that we’ve shown others in the past. That whatever harm that we experience through others we can understand is simply a result of my harming others in the past and therefore understanding in this way anger will not arise. So this way of looking at the situation is simply not fantastical thinking. It in fact it has a logical basis in that if there’s no cause then there’s no result.
This is in the case if we don’t plant a seed then no sprout will arise. Likewise, if we experience some type of harm that’s a result, the cause of which we must have created. There must have been a cause and the cause is that we harmed others in the past. Without a cause there’s no result. If in fact there were, then we could reap a harvest without having cultivated the field.
And if that were the case then the whole law of cause and effect would be destroyed. If we can cultivate this way of thinking then our minds can abide in kindheartedness and happiness. And through the power of the mind abiding in happiness then we experience physical well-being. And through the mind abiding happily and the body experiencing well-being, then we live in a relaxed manner. We aren’t uptight.
And not only do we ourselves experience well-being, but those who even see us, they enjoy being around us. There’s a sense of harmony. There’s a harmonious atmosphere around us and other people like to develop relationships with ourselves and we have many friends and that in this sense the benefits are being even multiplied more. We’ve all seen these examples of this when someone is very at peace with themselves and other people like to be around such an individual because there’s an atmosphere of harmony. They have a liking toward them and a natural inclination to benefit them.
On the other hand there are individuals who are quite wrathful and they’re always violent and seeking to harm. And these people are always experiencing disturbance within themselves and unhealthiness of the body and others who see them as being very bad people and don’t want to associate with them and such individual lives alone. So through all of these various practices then we can abide in peace. We will have happiness of mind. This life will go well.
We will have kind hearted attitude and we will be able to benefit others and ourselves both now and in the future. Out of developing a kind hearted attitude we will experience peace of mind and well-being physically. And we have to make use of our freedom and capacity which our human life affords us in making a choice to engage in various types of constructive actions in order to experience these constructive results. On the other hand, we have to begin to forego types of negative activities of our body, speech, and mind in order to not experience unwanted destructive results, and begin to abandon negative types of activities. We have to understand the way of practice.
Understanding the way of practice then we can make use of our human intelligence and the potentiality which a human life affords us. We have to understand what is to be adopted and what is to be rejected. And in that way we can bring about a cessation of unwanted suffering and begin to bring wanted happiness into our life. So we’re going to stop but if you have some questions we can take time for those. So if you have any questions.
It’s not necessary that we have questions. So we have prayers of dedication. First the prayer to the Dalai Lama which is on page ten. And verses eight and nine.