Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. What actually makes someone a Great Vehicle practitioner — compassion, realization of emptiness, or the profundity of one’s practice? In this 31-minute talk, Khensur Rinpoche draws a precise line: bodhicitta alone determines it. Citing Śāntideva’s verse on those who generate enlightenment mind becoming “children of the Buddha,” he explains that any practice, however profound, is nullified without the right motive behind it. He then traces a hierarchy of motives: activity aimed at this-life comfort remains mundane; aimed at future-life welfare it becomes dharmic; aimed entirely at others it becomes great vehicle practice. He distinguishes great vehicle activity from great vehicle activity “retained by enlightenment mind force,” and closes by motivating bodhicitta development — all past Buddhas succeeded in cultivating it, so practitioners in this retreat can too.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 02 GS 1994 Easter.mp3
UUID: 4bbde841-c4d2-43b4-96c5-d4c0ebb11f4b
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: The Great Scope (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1994 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 31.2 minutes
Words: ~2,086
To be a practitioner entering the great vehicle, one must have generated enlightenment mind. It is not the great compassion which determines that because although one may have generated great compassion as well as loving kindness, but if one has not yet generated enlightenment mind one has not entered into the great vehicle part. So one hasn’t become a practitioner great spiritual development of accomplishment or the path leading to that. And on that point, therefore, the birth of enlightenment mind in one’s mind determines the standard by which a person is said to have entered the great vehicle or not. And on this very point we can cite a line from great Śāntideva who says whoever have generated enlightenment mind therefore becoming source removing the destitute beings imprisoned in the cycle deserves to be called as the sons of the victors, the victors’ sons or the child, the children of the Buddha in the sense offspring of the Buddha.
So in there the standard given is the enlightenment mind. Now this implies no matter whatever other qualities and excellent virtue one may have attained even the realization of emptiness and as well whatever other qualities one may have attained one if has not generated enlightenment mind, one has not become a great vehicle practitioner, one is not yet in that path. The great Je Tsongkhapa, the fourteenth century master says it is whether one has that mind or not which determines in meaning, and it means that if one has developed enlightenment mind bodhicitta one then has become a practitioner in the great vehicle but if one has not developed yet that enlightenment mind then one has not yet become a practitioner in the great vehicle part. It is on the basis of that, it is how that is determined. In the same way, whatever spiritual practices we may be doing, whether that spiritual practice qualifies to be of the great vehicle quality or not is dependent completely on whether whether one had the motive of precious enlightenment mind.
If the spiritual practice in the first place is carried out with the motive or intention of precious enlightenment mind then whatever practices one does through that motive becomes a great vehicle practices. Due to this very fact it is not the person as well or it is not the what practice one is doing which determines whether the person is a great vehicle practitioner or not. It has to be the person itself who through which is determined to be a great vehicle practitioner and the person here being understood as the motive of the person. For example, if a person may assume and and may actually be doing a great vehicle practice profound, great vehicle practice but if the person does not have the basic outlook and intention, the motive in line with the precious enlightened mind wishing to benefit others then although the practice may be so precious and of great vehicle part it is nullified by the fact there wasn’t the required intention, the motive behind it. Therefore, even in general, Dharma practice, meaningful correct spiritual practice one may do, it very much determines on the state of mind with which one approaches and carries it out.
Similarly here in the context of great vehicle spiritual practice it depends entirely on the state of mind, the motive with which one does the practice is to determine whether it is the practice of a great vehicle or a small vehicle or of not any spiritual consequent as spiritual results and nature at all. For example, whatever one does with the motive and the intention to accomplish happiness or comfort only in this life then the whole activity whatever one does brings about result which will only ripen and expire in this life and not beyond in next life. So if someone carries out certain projects, whatever the nature of project, but the basic motive behind is to acquire happiness or prosperity for one’s in this life then although the result may ripen, it will ripen only in this life and be expired in this life and in this way it is limited to only this life and appropriately becomes just a mundane accomplishment. The meaning of mundane in original word is perishable basis. The word for mundane actually means perishable basis, something which is bound to perish within a limited time in this life.
Therefore, one need not think only of this life’s prosperity, welfare, and so forth. Of course, it is necessary occasionally one needs to think as well about these lives, taking care of oneself and prosperity, but one makes the priority and emphasis mainly on beyond this life, not just this life. And in this way therefore in such a way of approach with main focus on next lives, welfare if one does some spiritual practice or whatever meaningful practices or activities one does they become dharmic, they become real meaningful or correct spiritual activities and practice. Yet, if someone not wishing to have any suffering in future rebirths therefore makes all effort to not let that happen becomes say lower vehicle practice, the practice. And it can be called the Dharma or meaning the spiritual practice of the lower vehicle part.
Between one’s alone and others, one works for others welfare by trying to remove others problems and suffering and entirely bring happiness for others instead of thinking about one’s own problems and happiness, then that becomes the great vehicle or spiritual practice and the person who does such becomes a great vehicle or practitioner. In this way then we have a clear distinction between the two. A lower vehicle practitioner and the path is where one only thinks about one’s own welfare in features in terms of removing suffering and happiness whereas in great vehicle the practitioner thinks about others welfare completely. So here in the great vehicle’s practice, one considers others more important and in that way attempts to remove other sufferings and bring happiness to others. And through that way one develops compassion, loving kindness, special thought and bodhicitta, the enlightenment mind and a person becomes entered into the great vehicle path.
Now earlier when there was a citation from Je Tsongkhapa where the advice says whether a practice becomes a great vehicle or not is determined by the mind meaning enlightened mind it would need a specification because there the main emphasis is that if if any any activity or practice is done with the enlightenment mind as a motive behind, or in another word if a practitioner engages in any activity or spiritual practice after having developed the mind of enlightenment and with that force does that then it becomes activity or spiritual activity, a Dharma Dharma activity retained by enlightened mind. So it is called dharma activity retained by enlightenment mind which is necessary or important because otherwise it might seem like if we don’t have enlightenment mind, we don’t have bodhicitta, whatever we do to help others may not qualify as a great vehicle activity, great vehicle path. Well, that’s not the point because if there are some needy people out there and if we do make with best intention pure kindness help the other person although we may not have bodhicitta the mind of enlightenment but the very act definitely should be called great vehicle activity. It should be called great vehicle Dharma practice.
But it is not a great vehicle activity retained by enlightenment mind force. So there is this slight difference between the two. Oh, Denise, In the teachings during the teaching on three principal aspects of the path, you would have come across the point that if one has not developed renunciation or definite exit thought then it is difficult, whatever virtuous actions one may do would contribute, those virtuous actions would contribute to one’s liberation and also other point at that time was if one does not have mind of enlightenment then whatever practices, virtuous actions one may do, it is difficult to difficult in the sense of not directly contributing, would be difficult to contribute towards one’s attaining of omniscient state, Buddhahood. Similarly, if one does not have or if one has not developed the wisdom realizing emptiness then no matter whatever spiritual practices, whatever meaningful method one may apply, all those are not going to help at all, meaning directly, powerfully, hurting the ignorance which is the basic source of the saṃsāra. So it is difficult to injure, difficult to damage in the sense of overcome ignorance.
In this way, there were those points about their importance and contribution in attaining liberation and enlightenment. Quality of mind to be attained, to be acquired. Similarly, all these practices are being mentioned are qualities to be attained to become part of mind. For example, love, compassion, and care for others, the altruistic thought wishing to help others. All these are qualities of mind to be developed, to be acquired.
And the wisdom realizing emptiness. So in this way, the topic here for the retreat starting will be on this precious enlightenment mind going through its preciousness, benefits, and how to develop it, and so forth. To start with its benefit, we can say if one has developed such mind of enlightenment, so precious, then mere presence of such quality of precious mind of enlightenment in one’s mind, one automatically purifies so many past bad karma, negativities and so forth and whatever activities and spiritual practices one does automatically, accumulates great, amount of, constructive potencies and so called merits. Example, even if one with such precious mind of enlightenment, with such mind, even if one engages in feeding a small piece of food to a starving dog, that activity will make one accumulate accumulate merit which if given visible shape the merits would be so much would fill the entire extent of the space. Such a powerful potential precious enlightened mind it is in accumulating merit.
In this way, by mere presence of it, whatever one does, one accumulates one accumulates merits extending to the whole realm of the space, meaning that much amount of merits. In this way, as Essen’s point about it, we can see how precious such a quality of mind can be. Develop within ourselves such precious mind, such precious quality, the precious enlightened mind? Yes, it is possible because all the countless Buddhas enlightened beings so far so far have existed and attained, they have developed such precious mind of enlightenment as well all the countless bodhisattvas of the past they have also developed such precious mind of enlightenment and all the presently practicing such great beings are developing and the way they developed and they actually were able to develop were through a very reliable and reliable and actually producing methods of mental development and training that that was possible. Now in their case if it was possible then why not we as well can develop it.
It is possible that as well can develop it. So this is the point that there is possibility we can develop. Now if it is possible then we need to look at the methods which are explained would produce such precious mind of enlightenment and it is unnecessary that we look at what these methods are how they can produce such precious mind of enlightenment and here today, that’s the brief point to keep in our mind, how actually these methods and what are those methods. You know, now in our presence, our rebirth as human with all the necessary factors and conditions complete, and with all the unnecessary and adverse factors and circumstances removed and not with us and with such a perfect state of rebirth as we are. We now should try to develop such precious mind of enlightenment and in trying to develop it perhaps we will have to study rigorously, do reflection and meditate for the rest of our life very consistently, spend rest of our life on this topic.
Perhaps within this life, we could become bodhisattva. In case by doing consistent good meditation if we did not not achieve bodhisattva hood in this life, definitely in next life or the one immediate we would become bodhisattvas. Yeah. So we’ll have stop we’ll stop here, and any questions here would be okay to have some questions. Him, I mean, that.
No. So that’s teaching on this morning only. Right? Yeah. That’s fine.
And Yeah. So this is the talk. Yeah. It’s okay.