Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 46-minute session, Lama Lhundup teaches the Graduated Path, beginning with the premise that the human body is the precious basis for Dharma practice and all actions must align with the path to eliminate faults and attain wisdom. He establishes ethics and morality as the foundational ground for all realizations, explaining that without a subdued, ethical mind, spiritual development cannot take root. He then defines three types of ethics: engaging in virtuous actions, working for the welfare of others, and ceasing negative actions, with detailed examples of how to practice each. The teaching covers the role of vows—individual liberation, bodhisattva, and tantric—in guarding ethics, and moves into the practice of patience, the second perfection, exploring how to cultivate forbearance toward those who harm us by recognizing them as kind teachers offering opportunities for spiritual growth. Suitable for practitioners studying the Lamrim path.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 11 GP.mp3
UUID: b297f09c-88d4-4e6c-9814-dd6e5fb86d27
Teacher: Lama Lhundup
Collection: The Graduated Path (Lama Lhundup)
Date: 1987 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 46.1 minutes
Words: ~2,394
So the basis for happiness is the practice of Dharma. The physical basis for practicing Dharma, the best is the human body. And we have attained this precious human body. So, in order from our side, in order to not waste this life, We have to make all our actions in accordance to follow or to be accord with the Dharma. We must examine think about every day we must examine and see how if what we’re doing is in accordance with the Dharma.
So, whatever type of work we do, we always have a goal. So we have to take as our aim or our goal the elimination of all faults and the attainment of all the excellent qualities of wisdom. If we can eliminate all our faults and attain, if we attain that, If we attain this goal, that is the elimination of all our faults and the attainment of all the excellent qualities, then we have brought to complete fulfillment not only our own welfare, but the welfare of others. Whatever we try to do will come about effortlessly. So, this complete wisdom that we’re seeking, we can’t attain it in one day, but we have the substance of wisdom within us.
On the basis of this, we can develop wisdom. So, the necessity for our practice is the welfare of others. Our goal is the elimination of all faults and the attainment of all excellent qualities. In order to actually attain this, we must make effort. So, it’s extremely difficult for us beginners to attain this wisdom in only this one human life.
So, in order to attain this wisdom, we need a proper basis. The basis of the attainment of wisdom is ethics, morality. So, without ethics, morality, though we desire to attain our goal, we will never attain it. Not only, you know, that this wisdom that we’re seeking, but even just the improvement of our excellent qualities is necessary to have wisdom. And not only that, but just to have happiness, it has to be based on ethics.
This is like when we plant a flower seed in the ground. If it’s rich earth, fertile earth, then the flower will grow quite easily. If it’s not, then no matter what we do, we’re not going to have a flower. And likewise, the flower of our inner realizations is necessary to plant in a subdued mind. And just like the great trees of a forest have as their support the ground, likewise, the support of all the excellent qualities and happinesses is the ground of ethics.
So, if we talk about the etymology of the word morality or ethics, it means to guard the mind. Protect, guard the mind. Oh, abandoning negative. Stopping negative thoughts. Something like that.
Anyway, it doesn’t matter. So there are three types of ethics and moralities. That is the The engaging in virtuous actions. Morality? For the welfare of others?
Working for the welfare of others? Okay. To cease negative actions. So, there’s working enacting virtuous actions, working for the welfare of others, and then ceasing negative actions. Those are the three types of ethics and morality.
So, that, in virtuous actions, it’s simply all the various virtuous. All the various types of virtue that we do, such as meditation, etc, these are all enacting virtuous actions, the first type of ethics. So, the second working for the welfare of others are the various any type of activity of the body, speech and mind which has the motivation of seeking to benefit others. These are all the second type. So, for example, when seeing another person being tortured by sufferings and trying to bring about working as a method to eliminate their suffering.
Giving protection to animals who have some fear. So giving actions such as giving food or drink to a hungry person or a hungry animal, thirsty animal is active giving. So this is the working for the welfare of others. So we can say, in general, any activities which are not motivated by the afflictive emotions but which are altruism or are motivated by altruism, that is seeking to benefit others, are activities which are working for the welfare of others. Ethics are working the welfare of others.
If our activities are motivated by afflictive emotions, then it cannot be working for the welfare of others. So, if we’re working for the benefit of others and we should examine our motivation, if it has any types of attachment or desire or jealousy involved, then we should try to correct our motivation, try to develop a proper type such as love or compassion. And if we do that, then our activities become Dharma. So, this third was the ceasing of negative actions. This is the abandonment of negative actions, such as the abandonment of the ten non virtuous actions.
So, for beginners, any type of vows that we may have taken by guarding these vows, we are enacting this third type of ethics ceasing negative actions. But in the case where we haven’t taken any vows, then simply by abandoning, we can practice the three types of ethics by simply abandoning the ten non virtuous actions. So, in taking vows, we could take, for example, any of the ten non virtuous actions, take a vow that up to the time of death, I am not going to engage in this particular non virtue such as I abandon killing, abandonment of stealing, etc. So likewise, we can simply say that, you know, for today I’m not going to engage in any of the ten non virtuous actions. Or we can simply say, For the next hour or even five minutes, we make a firm decision.
For the next five minutes, I’m going to completely abandon the ten non virtuous actions. This becomes the ethics of guarding one’s vows. In doing this, there’s a great profit. So just like a businessman, he’s always thinking about how he can make a profit in a way he’s talking or walking. He’s always trying to figure out a new angle, how he can make more profit.
Likewise, we as Dharma practitioners should always be looking for the various methods and various angles on how to improve our practice, how to make more profit. Without without any money. We get more profit. It’s pretty interesting. So, if we have good ethics, then we will easily develop the qualities of realizations.
If we don’t have good ethics, then we engage in meditation So, if we don’t have ethics, even though we meditate, it would be difficult to have realizations. So, in order to attain Buddhahood, we must eliminate all the various faults and attain all the excellent qualities. But this must be motivated by the mind of enlightenment, bodhicitta, in order to bring our practice to in order to develop the various realizations and to develop the mind of enlightenment, it’s necessary to engage in the practice of the six perfections. Last time we explained the perfection of generosity. So, here we’re explaining ethics.
In order to attain Buddhahood, must train in the three types of ethics. So, no matter what we do, it’s extremely important to have good ethics. You know, it’s very good to meditate, but even if we don’t meditate, it’s still excellent just to hold good ethics. It will serve as a basis for attainments in future lives, such as a human life or as a god, liberation, etc. We should recognize the value of ethics and recognize the value of taking vows.
So, we can talk about three different types of ethics from the point of view of vows. There’s the vows of individual liberation. So, this third type of ethics is ethics of ceasing negative actions through the taking of vows. And with respect to the vows, there are three types. There’s the vows of individual liberation, the vows of the mind of enlightenment, or the bodhisattva vows, and the vows of secret mantra.
If we attain a tantric empowerment, then we have to accept the vows of Tantra. And likewise, we have to guard the vows of the Bodhisattva. So, without the vow of refuge, we cannot take the vow of tantra nor the vow of the bodhisattva. By taking the vow of refuge, we have the vow of individual liberation. So, within the vows of individual liberation, there are the vows of the lay person.
For example, the layperson would take the four root vows and one additional vow that is against intoxicants. So, then there are the vows of the bodhisattva. Bodhisattva vows. There are eighteen root vows. And with tantra, are fourteen root vows.
The Bodhisattva vows, there are eighteen root vows and forty six secondary So, those who have taken empowerment, they should understand this list of vows. They should have an understanding of this list of vows. So, amongst the six perfections, the most important is the perfection of ethics. On the basis of ethics, we can practice the perfection of patience. So, we have to cease anger.
So, therefore, we have to understand the disadvantages of anger. So, even just speaking about the disadvantages of anger, even getting angry once can completely destroy our roots of virtue of this life. So, not only that, but if the object of our anger is a bodhisattva, then we can destroy the root of virtue in this life, but for thousands of eons in previous lives. Though we can’t see this with our eyes, the Buddha has spoken of it as being this way. But we can see with our own eyes that merely by becoming angry, the suffering that arises immediately.
So, not only does one’s own self suffer, but the other person also suffers. And through strong anger, someone who was once a loved one dislikes you. More stronger anger than a even though you have somebody to love to you, you just strong anger, and they they refused love to you. They they don’t want love to you. Don’t want to stay with you.
Because they’re not happy. So, So The benefits of cultivating patience are that we have happiness now and that in the future we will have a beautiful body and ultimately we’ll attain Buddhahood. So, Śāntideva said that the greatest of negativities is hatred and that among the virtues, the most beneficial is patience. So, there are three types of patience. There’s the forbearance of not returning harm for harm.
In return for harm, not returning for harm. Not returning harm in return. So, the place where the object of our anger is another who harms us. So, therefore, we must cultivate patience with respect to the object which harms us. There’s no other object for us to practice patience than upon that exact same object that can make harm.
This person is harming us, actually extremely kind to us because he is helping us. He acts as an object for the development of patience. Therefore, you cannot be angry. Therefore, it’s unreasonable to become angry at him. Alright.
So, you know, if we’ve gotten angry in the But then a patient, when you practice patience, so like this. Why am I angry? No discussion. What reason? Just you can’t. So, you cannot found good reasons.
This one, therefore, he kindly brings attention to me. So, therefore, he’s very kind. Therefore, I cannot be angry at him. If if you have even though you have good teacher or Buddha, whatever, meet respectfully. Meet respectfully.
Because they you have respect. Right? Why? Why respect to the Buddha and to your teacher? Because they give me, you know, opportunity teaching something.
So therefore, also you should need respect to your enemy because he giving opportunity, patience practice to you. Therefore, you need respect to him. What I think is, Somebody say in bad words, you are you are just stealing or you will be putting down, you know, shouting something. So, we just get angry to this this person. But why we not angry to this person’s mood?
Without him, that person by shouting can be wrong, not happy. So, angry to him. Also, he beat you with his stick. You know?
You you hurt him. You were hurt by his stick. So why you not angry to do this stick? Oh. Then you think, oh, no.
This stick is is by person he used. Without this person, cannot hurt by this stick. Oh, then person also, he cannot. He they he’s by his anger, using for this person, he is controlled by his anger, in between. So, if you want anger, then you anger to his anger, not his person.
This person, you if you want angry, then you anger to his anger. Why you angry this person? Like this. So we just just we just practice, thinking, then just we just own say, our own selfish mind, they want want to end this person. So then why I’m angry?
Oh, because he did something like this. So, also, men, I made something condition for him and happy or something. I did something badly. So therefore, result, we did something badly. So main cause is from my my action.
Also, even to some if somebody say, somebody never did mistake him with him or her. I never I never done any bad things. I never say anything bad. But all the time this person, you know, bring back with me. But this not only this time.
We beginningless time in the in in this earth. We beginningless time in the in the stay with in saṃsāra. So, we many lifetime together. So, people did many mistake with him. Or so many times killed, beaten so many times back then.
So therefore, of course, now result coming. So therefore, main cause my own karma. My own negative karma action, why my my own negative action used for him become negative action. He do bad things, he make negative. So, by this negative, then he get result extremely suffer.
So, this he extremely will suffer by my bad action. He’s not bad. I’m bad. I make for himself. I’m really, you know, bad.
Something like this. So we need such a Buddhist argument for that. It is very true.