Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 30-minute teaching, Lama Zopa Rinpoche addresses low self-esteem by anchoring it in Buddha nature—the fundamental purity of mind, untainted by ignorance, attachment, anger, or any obscuration. He presents two essential practices: first, remembering the clear light nature of mind as inherently pure; second, thought transformation, which means interpreting difficult conditions through positive reasoning to establish a mind that is happy rather than afflicted. He applies this directly to death and dying, showing how concentration on the pure nature of mind brings peace at the moment of death, and how reducing attachment to possessions and relationships diminishes fear. Throughout, he emphasizes that liberation depends not on external circumstance but on psychology—the way we think.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 01 1991 08 07 LC.mp3
UUID: 65e1a899-52b6-45bf-a2f2-f149614114a5
Teacher: Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1
Collection: y Love and Compassion (Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1)
Date: 1991-08-07
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 30.1 minutes
Words: ~1,339
And then Yesterday, to the question. Sorry I spent too much time to that question about this one. Was the question? Lost self esteem. So I can work on that topic tonight.
I can work on that topic tonight. They lost such thing. Can I have high self esteem? Think mainly to explain more of that, but the nature a little more, you see. So that’s what had happened.
There is much more in the, say, the material explained in the Anuttara Tantra. The nature of this mental continuum. There’s much more, a very extensive explanation that Buddha nature, what is Buddha nature, the essence of Buddha, with nine examples. The obscurations, know, there was a skill set, then explained. So the the Buddha nature, we say that there a there which is within our Buddha nature, is their potential to be Buddha, you see, this clear light nature of the mind.
So This is introduced, you see, with nine meanings and nine examples, and then obscuration was obscure that introduced with nine examples, nine meanings. So I think that much as far as that point, that subject. So when one study this subject with the Kālacakra, some might have heard already. When you study this, you will hear extensive explanation of these things. The other thing is that the first thing is this one, the very first thing to remember.
The second thing that is a thought transformation. First, very first thing is the nature, to remember the nature. Very first thing. Then second thing is the thought transformation, to, you see, to, you know, to stop the to stop the your own mental picture, mental picture of yourself as hopeless. It’s just a a kind of a, you know, Yeah.
Do you see? Okay. Yeah, the low self-esteem or the self-esteem. There are things I’m the worst, or, you see, the most hopeless or worst. However, as I mentioned yesterday, being sad and just living with the sadness is not without trying you say, without looking for method or without trying the method, just living life sad, that does not help.
That’s not wise. Anyway, we live in life. So, usually, look for method and get and practice and attempt for that as much as possible. As much as you see, attempt, attempt, you see, then do something, then you see, do something, then there’s no regret. Trust is trust, you see.
That is very important. Second thing, I see that that thing is very important. So, however, second thing is that that thought transformation is very important. You see? Transforming the transforming, you see, the undesirable conditions into happiness, that is very important to bring up.
You see, to eliminate the depression, to eliminate the depression, you see, to transform the depression into happiness, to transform the problems, whatever undesirable thing that’s happening, so to transform it in happiness, to become happy. Rather, so rather you see, by thinking the by thinking the reasons by thinking the reasons by thinking the positive reasons, then you establish then you establish on the undesirable conditions, you establish by thinking of positive reasons, then you establish the mind that which likes the problem, that which enjoys the problem, that which likes the problem. You establish thought of like. Rather, establishing with another interpretation, you establish on that life situation a dislike, dislike or unhappy mind. So with that situation, depending on how you interpret the situation, one’s interpretation, you establish unhappy mind, dislike.
Then that dislike, then then then comes excessively unhappy mind, unhappy life. Then, with the positive reason, positive interpretation, positive reason, you see, most most the most Can you hear? Before, did you hear the yeah. Standing at the window. Who was staying at the window?
You hear it before? Yeah? Before when? Before I came or before? Last night, I spent the whole time explaining the Buddha nature to to some to answer about the feeling, you see, the low self esteem.
You see, to to get, you see, to get is to get to get inspiration or encouragement of the how you how you, you know, that how you have all the hopes, all the opportunities. That now I mentioned that first, once you remember that, you know, the open nature, you see that, say, that clear clear light, natural mind, the actual nature is pure, not mixed with the mistakes. Your your nature of the mind is not mixed with the you see, that which Buddha Nature is not mixed with the not mixed, not oneness with the mistakes, not oneness with the, obscurations, not oneness with ignorance, not oneness with attachment, not oneness with anger, not oneness with selfish attitude. You see? Any mistakes.
Not oneness with negative karma. That that is that is not oneness with the suffering. So by that, it is pure. It is pure. So this is good even to think.
Is good even when we this is good even when we die. When we die, you know, to think that, to look at that nature. Even when we even if you even if you want to advise to somebody even if you want to advise to somebody, but here, any it doesn’t matter whoever the person is or whatever whatever religion the person is or has a religion, not a religion, whether the person doesn’t have a religion, something that fits, something that can be advised or something that would fit everyone. Are so when the person is dying, just concentrate the the just concentrate on the nature of the mind, that which is pure. Is it not that the nature of your own mind is not oneness with guilt?
There’s no mistakes there. There’s not oneness with the mistakes. There’s not oneness with the suffering. It’s pure. It is not oneness with the guilt.
So in the in the reality, in the in that, you see, in that pure nature, you know, there’s no guilt. There’s no guilt, guilty. So so just, you know, So the introducing the person who’s dying or in that way, that, you see, the very nature of the mind is pure. It’s not she doesn’t make mistakes in not abiding in that. So in some ways to, you know, to the dying person, it helps, you know, to die with peace without worry.
Then if somebody is Christian, then whose faith is in in that religion, then thinking that that mind, you know, to concentrate on that, you know, that person’s mind is, you see, that is, you know — if the term fully enlightened is. If that is a difficult term for that person to understand, then, you know, the god, that is the god, and the god, you see, the holy, the complete pure holy mind, the complete pure holy mind of god. That is a presence from our own mind, complete pure holy mind of god, which nature which nature is great compassion, which nature is great compassion for every being, for everyone, which which which nature is in great compassion to everyone. So just let the the most important psychology is that don’t let the try to manage the person to not cling to his own body, his own property, possessions, wealth, family, so forth, then that makes that makes — attachment makes, you see,, the attachment makes, you know, the death terrifying. Attachment makes death.
More attachment there is in these things, is it in the life in this life? More attachment stronger, and it makes the death more frightened. It makes the death more frightened, you know, more scared, more undesirable. So less attachment as much as less attachment there is, you know, death is less frightened. Know, you see, you see, see, become less fearful.
So there’s a lot the whole thing is the whole thing has to do with the psychology, the person’s way of thinking. One way of thinking, the death becomes very frightening. Another way of thinking, death does not become