Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Opening with the news that monks from Juta monastery had performed a purification and consecration ritual at Buddha House that same morning, Khensur Rinpoche uses this 31-minute Easter 1994 commentary to unpack the meaning and structure of bodhicitta. He draws on a verse by Maitreya — the future Buddha — to define bodhicitta as the mind that holds both concern for others’ welfare and the aspiration to attain Buddhahood. He then traces the etymology of “enlightenment” — the Tibetan Changchub — as “purified” (mental faults removed) and “endowed” (excellent qualities deliberately acquired through effort). The talk closes by explaining how the six perfections and the four means of gathering others must be motivated by bodhicitta and sustained by the wisdom realizing emptiness; without that awareness, he says, practice makes no progress. Suited to practitioners following a Lamrim path.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 05 GS 1994 Easter.mp3
UUID: 5810c812-7fcd-4f2f-b748-06f17fbd048a
Teacher: Khensur Rinpoche
Collection: The Great Scope (Khensur Rinpoche)
Date: 1994 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 30.9 minutes
Words: ~1,433
This morning, nine o’clock at Buddha House, the monks from Juta monastery performed meditation ritual where the ritual aimed to to cleanse, purify the area in Buddha house so it becomes a good spiritual place. And as well the our physical representation of the deities, meaning the paintings and statues, they have been transformed again as a confirmation by inviting actual deities and requesting the actual deities to absorb into the physical representation of the deities meaning again the paintings and the statues. And in this way they did that and it was requested last night that they please perform that on behalf for Buddha House. So they did this morning. Okay.
So here in the beginning, we briefly do meditation for a few minutes on kind thought in accordance with enlightenment mind. And the May all sentient beings somehow be free of sufferings and causes of suffering. May all sentient beings somehow be with happiness and causes of happiness. Thinking that way you try to develop loving kindness and compassion. To remove the all sufferings and to bring them excellent happiness I myself will take that responsibility.
This way of thinking becomes the exalted thought, the special thought ornamentally rendered as the universal responsibility. To be able to accomplish that, meaning the responsibility to actually free all beings from suffering and bring happiness. In order to accomplish that I must attain the state free of all mental faults and complete with all excellent qualities of the mind. To be able to accomplish that, I will on the Mahāyāna great vehicle part, study, reflect, and meditate, meditatively familiarize on the essence practices comprising of the great practitioner’s practice among which the principle being the precious enlightenment mind. In the Abhisamayālamkāra teachings by the superior Maitreya, the future Buddha, says mind generation is thinking about others wishing to achieve enlightenment.
By being brief and extensive, it can be explained in two ways. Accordingly, in accordance to that text, here, Ārya Maitreya, meaning bodhisattva buddha, Maitreya, the future Buddha explains about enlightenment mind. Here, it explains what is enlightening mind, bodhicitta. And as explanation, the teaching here describes generation of mind, which is term used here for bodhicitta, enlightenment mind. Next part in the line says, thinking of others’ welfare and then wishing to attain enlightenment.
Now thinking of others’ welfare would end quote, a practitioner who is trying to generate the mind of enlightenment, wishes to remove others’ sufferings, causes of sufferings, and to bring them happiness. To do that, the practitioner wishes to attain enlightenment. So in brief, such a mind, a very precious mind, which thinks about others’ welfare and to accomplish others’ welfare aspires to achieve enlightenment, the state of Buddhahood, that itself is the bodhicitta, the enlightenment mind. Enlightenment, which is mentioned in the second part of the lines wishing to attain enlightenment, that is synonymous with Buddha. And in Tibetan, it’s the word enlightenment is Changchub, and it’s synonymous with Buddha, the Sanskrit word alternative for enlightenment.
And it is in going back to the original word for enlightenment, bodhi. And it is a way of describing the same state of mental achievement by different terms. We can look at example like flower being called in English, would in Tibetan be called metal. It’s the two ways of calling the names by two different languages, but referring to the same object. It tastes like that.
Now, the term enlightenment in original languages is etymologically comprised of two parts. In Tibetan, where the part literally would mean purified as well interpretively, it would as well mean awakened. Now looking at the word in the light of purified, it would mean what oh, what whatever weaknesses, falls with one’s mind there is, and which one does not wish to be with one’s mind. These are completely purified. So in that sense, the purified, and then which is the second part of the word, means endowed, fully acquired.
Endowed in the sense of deliberately acquired, not something naturally naturally be part of. So the sense of deliberately acquired through effort. So the meaning endowed, has the meaning whatever excellent qualities one has to acquire with one’s mind, they are completely trained. Trained and through that way of training are completely acquired. Or it can be understood in another way where the person’s knowledge knowledge or the kara insight into way everything, all fields of knowledge is completely completely endowed.
The person has endowed such complete insight into every field of knowledge and omniscient mind. And the clarity of knowledge of all fields of knowledge is as clear as a person having, say, a fruit on one’s palm of hand, as starkly clear one would see the fruit on one’s palm, exactly like that. So in this way, such a state is purified and dark, the literal etymological meaning of the word enlightenment. And this state would mean, as usually very familiar, the state of having overcome all forms of the mind and having endowed with all excellent qualities of mind. And it is synonymous with Buddhahood, the Buddha.
It is synonymous with being enlightened, free of all faults, and complete with all excellent qualities. And in Tibetan, we would call it purified, enlightened, endowed. The result which needs to be achieved through doing practice of the great vehicle part is such a meaning enlightenment, that is the result one achieves by doing practice of the great vehicle part. Now in order to achieve that result, the enlightenment purified endowed state, there are practices which are means through which one achieves that our result. The the means the practices comprise of two parts.
The six perfections, which are means to ripen one’s mental state. And four means of attracting others, or four means of gathering others, are the practices through which one ripens others’ mental continuum. Through, in another word, through which one prepares others’ mental state towards correct and meaningful spiritual direction. In this way in this way, in this way, the method to achieve would be of those two parts. Sorry.
To be able to have good quality of these two types of means, the method or means practices, one needs to have very well developed the method and wisdom. And in this way, it would mean that one first needs to very well train on method and wisdom. Regarding the wisdom here, wisdom refers to realization of emptiness for the benefit of others. In this way, it is not developing the wisdom, realizing emptiness for and as well, it is not just developing the wisdom, realizing emptiness for one’s own welfare only in state. Here, the met here, the wisdom part means developing the wisdom, realizing emptiness in order to benefit others, in order to help others.
And then the method aspect or the skillful means part of the twofold method and wisdom means the precious mind of enlightenment. And that is the method or the skill skillful means part of the two requirements. Earlier, there were two parts of the mains practices, the six perfections in order to wrap in one’s own mind stream, and the four means of gathering or attracting others in order to wrap in others’ mind streams. Now those two types are the means, the actual activity one engages into. And the way how one engages into those activities, meaningful activity to help others, one does through the power or the force of a bodhicitta enlightenment mind.
Because it is through the motive, the intention behind with bodhicitta, the enlightenment mind, that one engages actively into the six perfections and the four methods of attracting or gathering others. When one actually does the means practices, the activity in to the six perfections and the four means of gathering others. Those are done through the awareness retained with the wisdom realizing emptiness. In this way, it is through the accompanying assistance of the wisdom realizing emptiness that one engages into the six perfections and the four means of gathering others. And and that’s the way to do.
Because if one simply engages into the six perfections and the means of gathering other without the awareness of the wisdom realizing emptiness, then the practice does not make any progress ahead. It can be said the practice does not become good. And therefore, those practices need to be done with the awareness while being them retained with the wisdom realizing emptiness. Now in order to achieve such a good and excellent result, the enlightenment, one would need an excellent and equally good actual