Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Opening with a brief four immeasurables meditation, this 74-minute public talk by Khensur Rinpoche builds a simple but rigorous ethical argument: benefiting others is the direct cause of one’s own happiness, while harming others produces suffering — a principle Rinpoche grounds in Śākyamūni Buddha’s teaching on concordant karma. He draws on Śāntideva’s praise of the precious human rebirth to establish why intelligence and ethical conduct matter, then traces the classical sequence from ethics through meditative stabilization to the wisdom that realizes emptiness and brings liberation. A practical Q&A closes the session, covering how a practitioner should handle a non-practicing partner, how to introduce young children to figures like Mañjuśrī and Chenrezig, and how to approach skeptical elders without using religious language.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 35 1993 11 21 PT Topic Unknown.mp3
UUID: 9dc6f679-7587-464b-a94c-bb538db8d2c4
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: Public Talks 1988-2003 (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1993-11-21
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 73.9 minutes
Words: ~3,458
Yeah. So begin by cultivating the kind hearted attitude of altruism, a beneficial intention toward others. Just like ourselves in that we do not like suffering, likewise all living beings are the same, not liking other physical and mental suffering. So cultivate compassion, developing this kind hearted understanding with respect to ourselves and all living beings. Beginning with the thought, it would be wonderful if myself and all living beings were free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
May all living beings be free of suffering and the causes of suffering. I myself will free them from suffering and the causes of suffering. And just as we ourselves like to be happy, likewise, all living beings are the same in liking to have physical and mental happiness. And then the cultivation of love expressed in the thought, it would be wonderful if all living beings had happiness and the causes of happiness. May all living beings have happiness in the causes of happiness.
I myself will lead all living beings to a state where they have happiness in the causes of happiness. So, cultivate meditation for the remainder of the time these qualities of love and compassion. according to a verse by the the son of the conquerors, Śāntideva, he tries to encourage us to appreciate the fact of having found a human life that we all possess amongst all the various types of migrants, migrators, the various types of living beings in the world, that humans are in fact supreme. So why is this, why is our human life so highly prized? Because on the basis of our present human embodiment we can achieve the happiness that we wish, that we can abandon the suffering that is undesirable, that we have that capacity, that because of our intelligence, can understand the nature of our situation.
And by making effort, we can eliminate our problems. We can achieve happiness. That human life represents that potential. So, you know, our intelligence represents a wonderful means whereby we can not only understand what it is that benefits ourselves in terms of our own specific circumstance, and, but we can implement those means which bring about those benefits once they are recognized. And additionally, not only through our intelligence, our wisdom, we can recognize what is harmful to ourselves, and we can implement, recognizing that there is harmful factors, we can implement the means whereby to eliminate those harmful factors.
So what is the source of our welfare or the benefit which we which arises for ourselves? You know, we all want to be happy, we want to be benefited in some way, but these do not arise haphazardly, they arise from a cause. So what is the cause of which brings about benefits to ourselves? We have to recognize those causes. On the other hand, we have to recognize, well, what are the what are the harms which which bring it which what are the what are the causes of the harms that we experience?
And so, we have to recognize those having identified them, then we, we need to bring about those causes which bring ourselves happiness. We must begin to cease those causes which bring ourselves harm. So, what are these causes of happiness which bring about benefit and happiness to for oneself? What does our benefit and happiness depend upon? There are two factors.
One is the benefit, the benefiting of others. And barring that, then at least abandoning harming others. So, the two factors which bring about our own happiness and welfare are the cause of benefiting others. And if we can’t do that, then at least the factor of abandoning harming others. These two bring about our own welfare and happiness.
How is it that through benefiting others and abandoning harm in others that we ourselves are made happy. By involving ourselves these two activities, then we make others happy. And as a result of having made others happy, we in turn will be made happy ourselves. On the other hand, all that those undesirable factors which we experience undesirable factors with respect to both physically and in terms of our livelihood, in terms of all the our material conditions arise from bringing harm to others. Śākyamūni Buddha said that in accordance with whatever karma or action is created, a concordant result will be experienced.
That if, in the context of our present discussion, in benefiting others, the result that one self, the result will be that oneself will be benefited. If, if, on the other hand, we bring harm to others, then we ourselves will be harmed. That what we do unto others will be, we ourselves will be experienced. And, experienced. Therefore, light of this, then we, in order that ourselves not experience harm, that ourselves be benefited, it’s necessary to cease harming others and to bring about their welfare.
Not understanding this relationship between the way we treat others and our own experience, if in order to bring ourselves happiness we were to cause others harm, causing them to others or steal from others, to lie to others, then this would be really a mistaken means to find the happiness that we were seeking. That we would not experience the resultant happiness that we were looking for. But on the contrary, these ways of acting would simply act as a means to bring ourselves suffering. And additionally, additionally, in order to eliminate one’s own suffering, that oneself will not experience suffering, if again, we bring harm to others, then this again is a mistaken means. We as humans have an excellent intelligence and it’s necessary to make use of that intelligence in seeking a, to implement the means whereby we can find the happiness that we want, that we can eliminate our suffering that we don’t want.
So, have to understand what is an unerring, a mistaken cause of happiness? And then identifying it, implement those causes on the one hand, and on the other, identifying, understanding the causes of suffering by abandoning those causes, then we can bring about a cessation of our suffering. Due to our own obscuring, the obscuring factor of ignorance within our minds, we are mistaken with as to nature of happiness. We we take that which is in fact not happiness as happiness. And we take that as which we see as not happiness.
We take that which is as which is in fact happiness as not being happiness. So we out of the obscuring quality of ignorance, we do not recognize that which we take that which is in fact not happiness, as happiness. And then, we go on and do to the obscuring quality of our desires and attachment. We, again, take that which is in fact not happiness as happiness and engage, try to engage in activities to bring about what is in fact, in order to achieve happiness, engage in those ways of acting which are, which falsely recognize the object that is what is not happiness is happiness. So to illustrate what is we’ve just mentioned, that due to the obscuring quality of ignorance, and the additional factor of our desire, we involve in physical physically sexual improprieties, improprieties and ways of sexual misconduct, which we see as the means to achieve happiness, but in fact are not.
And Geshe Lomming Dempa said that these are in fact that in fact the abandonment of these unskillful ways of acting is real happiness. So mainly, you know, due to the motivation of the afflictive emotions and mainly that motivated by desire, we involve ourselves in various, all the various types of activities which are in fact activities bringing upon suffering. And the, the, the essence of the product of such a ways of acting is that our embodiment becomes a foundation of cyclic existence and we physically undergo all the various types of illnesses and diseases and difficulties. So, out of the result of such ways of acting that we in the course of this life experience ill health, that we experience many diseases. And in the future, in the course of involving ourselves still further in such actions, we experience even more suffering.
So these unskillful ways of acting, which we see as bringing ourselves happiness, these objects are not in fact happiness, but are simply mistaken as happiness. Whereas in reality, the abandonment of these ways of acting is the means of finding happiness. That through such ways of abandoning these various activities in terms of our body, then we, our body will have a great potency. It will be powerful. We will have a healthy complexion.
We will be free of illnesses. And if our body has this capacity, this power, then it benefit our mind. Our mind will be stable, clear, whatever we consider, we will be able to understand. And it is in this way that through the body one can bring happiness both to oneself physically and mentally. So we’ve just simply discussed the that which was just discussed in terms of the course of this life, but such an abandonment of these unskillful ways of acting is that constitutes ethics and through the observation of ethics that we will in the future experience a positive rebirth, that of either a human or a celestial being.
We possess intelligence and an excellent embodiment, that we will not take a negative rebirth, but in fact a positive rebirth, in dependence upon which we can achieve happiness. So, in dependence upon ethics, we can generate meditative stabilizations. in dependence upon those meditative concentrations, can develop wisdom. And most especially the wisdom realizing emptiness, by means of which we can abandon the afflictive emotions and we can achieve liberation. And this is real happiness, that abandonment of which is the abandonment of all suffering and the happiness of liberation.
So, you know, that we have the essential meaning of that we’re trying to understand it is that we need to understand is is that the degree is to conduct ourselves in terms of the quality of the result that we’re seeking to achieve. You know, this is the meaning of trying to understand the dharma. That if we seek only for happiness of this life, then that will bring a slight result of happiness. If we abandon seeking happiness for this life alone, then that will bring about a happier, a greater happy result. For example, in general it’s very good to listen to the teachings of Dharma.
We can develop a lot of wisdom, and this is excellent, simply listening to the teachings. But even of greater use to understand the meaning of what you’ve been listening to. So, you know, we the course of the of the teachings, we we listen to many, many words. But the purpose of the, you know, that is not in and of itself, to simply listen to all the various words which are being spoken. The benefit from listening to those words, even if it’s a great number of words, is derived if we, even if we were only to develop, if it came about that we developed one understanding.
If we, if we generated an understanding, if we developed compassion, we developed love, or the awakening heart, a longing to be liberated from cyclic existence or the wisdom understanding emptiness. This is through all of these various words are simply a means to bring about an understanding and that they are a benefit even one understanding has been brought about. And to further illustrate, you know, we may read a great number, great many books, and we may, you know, that contain a great many ideas, but simply that reading is not going to change our mind. That if, but if through the, through that reading we generate love or we generate compassion, we generate some understanding of impermanence, it is that understanding which transforms our mind, which takes our mind from unhealthy states to healthy states. So it says, you know, the purpose of the dharma is to transform our minds.
Before coming to understand the Dharma, our minds are a unhealthy state. They, our minds are very tough and rigid. And so, but it is through the minds that we develop a flexibility that our minds are become more resilient and healthy, and that we generate a particular quality, and then we go on to develop another quality, and another quality. And our mind becomes healthy through the developments of these excellent qualities. So we lessen the unhealthy states of mind, decreasing them further and further, and we increase increase the healthy states of mind, developing them more and more.
The process involves the elimination of all our various faults and bringing the consummation of our excellent qualities, and it is by this means that we can bring about both our own and others welfare. So there are two levels in terms of benefiting others, to bring about their welfare. There’s the level of the material level, giving them food and other physical necessities. And then there’s the level of the teaching of the Dharma. Of these two, that it is the teaching of the Dharma which has the greatest capacity to bring about, to be able to benefit them, to bring about their welfare.
So, if one can do both, if one cannot do both, then we can involve ourselves at least in those activities, which on a material level, which help others in that way. It said that, you know, through helping them through our livelihood, in terms of livelihood, in terms of materials, that we, that the benefit is only temporary. That it cannot be a long lasting type of benefit for them. On the other hand, that through the benefit through the Dharma can be a greater benefit it has more potential to be able to benefit them over a longer time. So, in seeking to benefit others through the teaching them, order to benefit others through teaching them the Dharma, then it’s necessary to remove from ourselves those obscuring factors us, which prevent us from understanding the nature of our situation through our practice coming to understand, to abandon those obscuring qualities and developing our excellent qualities.
Benefit that we can bring to others is through the power of such a practice whereby that we can help others in develop in their practice in terms of what is to be adopted and what is to be rejected. And thereby they are able to achieve a state where they eliminate their faults and they bring the consummation their excellent qualities. So, mainly we should look at the degree of benefit which is going to be derived in terms of bringing the welfare to other, bringing about the welfare of others, in terms of our practice, in terms of our activities, in terms of the ways that we engage in to benefit others. Understanding what, which brings the greater result, seeing that which brings the greater result, making effort to involve ourselves in those means which bring about that greater result, and understanding that if we simply involve ourselves in those ways which bring about less result, then that will be the result that will come about. So I’m going to stop there, but if you have some questions we can take time for those.
To what? The degree of benefit, which brings about greater results? Activities which bring about greater or lesser results? Yes. The, the, the, they do have So, if we if we realize that some type of work will bring about a benefit which will last one day, another another type of work will bring about a type of benefit which will bring about, which will last for one month, or one year, or over the course of future lives.
Then we can see that certain type of work has a greater, brings about a greater result. Sometimes work brings about a smaller type of result. So, involving ourselves in those ways which bring about greater results. Yes. The numb is it is it a problem?
If it’s a problem. So, I mean, it’s best if both the parents were to practice and that effort should be made to bring that that in about. But we simply, but one of them, one of the two parents simply can’t say, well, should practice Dharma. That probably wouldn’t be of much use. But they practitioner should explain what are the benefits of practices?
What are the advantages of practicing? And what are the detriments when they’re, when one doesn’t practice the Dharma? And, you know, that these explain that these are the good things that could come about if you practice. And then eventually in this way, then the other partner will at least not, not, will not have a dislike for the Dharma, but in the long run they will eventually take up their practice of Dharma. So if they have had latencies to previously practice in the Dharma, then this will act as a conducive condition whereby to help them to foster once again their practice.
In terms of the children, what you what do you mean what should you do? So, you know, you could show them pictures of deities such as Mañjuśrī and Chenrezig. I explained this is Mañjuśrī. He is a deity of wisdom. And, you know, if you if you develop a liking for for him, then you you would develop you would become very smart.
If you become very smart, then you’re going to become a great you’re going to become very learned. Introducing to he has lots of love and compassion just like for you, just like your parents. And introducing him to, and as a means to help him to develop, develop or help the child to develop compassion. Also introducing him to Śākyamūni Buddha, telling telling the child what wonderful person he was, how much he’s benefited the world, how wise and how loving he was, and speaking of him in this way, will develop a liking toward him. And it would be good if they recited it would be good if they recited and.
Yeah. And then as they grow older, you can there is you can read them books on the the twelve deeds of the Buddha. How do you have been convinced in the older generation? The Gimbert So, I mean, if they’re firmly decided against the Dharma, that they have very strong wrong views with respect to the Dharma, that it’s spiritual practice simply, there are no spiritual practices in fact, then this is a very difficult situation. But, on the other hand, if they’re more neutral than anything else, they neither have a liking or a dislike toward Dharma, then one can talk about the benefits of such qualities as love compassion.
Some people just don’t like the name spiritual practice or religion. So, one doesn’t have to use that name. But just talk about the benefits of, for example, cultivating love and compassion, then this can be of use. Might also if if they were to if you could speak to him in such a way to that they telling them of the benefits of reciting the Tārā mantra, you know, that they are going to get a long life. Most people want to have a long life, so they might go along with you.
You mean when they give teachings? So, I mean, in the case of Tibet, the Dharma was extremely highly valued, and therefore those who taught the Dharma were highly valued, and that because they were valued then they were placed higher than oneself. That it was not, it was seen as not appropriate for them to be lower than oneself. So, is out of respect for the Dharma that those who are teaching the Dharma are placed in a higher position. Position.
In what way do you mean that question? There wasn’t any. Awesome. So you think things should be, like, everything should be equal? No.
It’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying that So it’s nearly what? Nearly an appendage? It’s a guarantee of one. One.
And? So it’s not too disruptive. So this that the dharma is to be held. Right. Okay.
Can you tie that in with what what’s been going on? What what is it? Alright. So, it’s a relative difference, not an absolute difference. Therefore?
It doesn’t we have not it’s not the situation is is not relative to the size of one’s Buddha nature, but it’s due to the difference in They’re excellent. Due to the difference in their qualities. Yeah. Yeah, I’m thinking.