Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 45-minute teaching, Lama Zopa Rinpoche confronts a central paradox: a wealthy, educated person without compassion lives an empty life, while someone with nothing but a good heart finds constant joy and natural support from others. He unpacks great compassion—not sentiment but the essence of all Buddhist practice—as the actual source of lasting happiness and peace. Without it, education and wealth become additional sources of suffering; with it, a simple meal eaten with a relaxed, generous mind becomes complete satisfaction. He contrasts the self-centered mind, which breeds anger and isolation, with compassion-centered living, showing how this single shift transforms personal happiness and how everyone around you responds. Intellectual knowledge of Buddhism means nothing, he insists, without cultivating genuine compassion for all beings.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 01 WWNN.mp3
UUID: 41c13999-f00b-4330-a89f-0f2cc27cd085
Teacher: Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1
Collection: y What the World Needs Now 1987 Audios (Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1)
Date: 1987 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.4 minutes
Words: ~2,266
Since here, some students from all times that I met, then So anyway, I would like to, yeah, say that I’m happy to meet both of my men before and to whom I haven’t met this life before. Okay. Yeah. Before, over the text, the precious compassion. This is not just talking about compassion.
You know, some somebody has headache and then having compassion. You know, somebody has diarrhea, you know, compassion to to, you know, recover from that, you know, for time being. Somebody is starving, saying compassion. It’s just not just that. This compassion is not just, you see, who who are not only those who are experiencing suffering of suffering, you know, or problem problem of problems.
This compassion is not only for those who are experiencing, you know, subtle changes, you know, temporal pleasure. This is this this compassion not only for the beings who are experiencing Not only for this. Even the beings who are experiencing pervasive compounding suffering. This you know, this great compassion, which is the main, you know, the great compassion That the what is the heart, you know, heart place. Written here in the text.
Now this, you know, Even those even those who don’t have even, you see, who are free from the gross gross, you know, mental mental stains, and having even the subtle stains, the compassion even for those, without liberating from all those three types of problems. So this one, to really you know, to be able to really generate this great compassion which covers all the sentient beings. You know, that bodhisattva, the holy beings, you see, have more need? You see, this need need first of all, in order to practice compassion, we need to feel how this is the most important and this is the source of all the happiness for ourselves, other sentient beings. We need to feel this from the heart very strongly.
Then that makes the practice compassion. If you don’t feel like this, you know, the compassion will barely, you know, you know, if you don’t understand, you see, the different levels of the sufferings, the different levels of problems that other sentient beings are experiencing, but the wish, wish as in wish they should be free, which they wish to be free free from. Cannot generate compassion for every being, every sentient being. Only one thing has compassion. So even one has good heart, it will be, you see, a good heart for some people, for some sentient beings.
Not good heart for every sentient being. So therefore, the subject meditation subjects that which are preliminary for the, you know, which leads to the great compassion, realization of great compassion is is extremely important to understand, To listen, to reflect, and practice. Now, As often, His Holiness the Dalai Lama says that the you see, the view of Buddhists, you know, Buddhism, you see, that is dependent arising, dependent arising. And conduct, behavioral conduct, that is to not harm others. This this is a, you know, these two words as a compact, you know, compact.
Condensed Condensed. Oh, compact. Condensed. You see, the path to achieve enlightenment, the dharmakaya, rupakaya. The path to achieve, The wisdom, the view the view of the Buddhist is the.
You see? So that wisdom and then our conduct do not harm others. So that that contains, you see, methods. Methods. Renunciation, bodhicitta, the five, you know, paramitas, it’s contained, it is contained there.
However, why why the conduct is to not to not harm others is because The essence of the Buddhadharma is great compassion, you see, for every which, you know, focuses on every sentient beings. So therefore, you see, once you have that, once you have great compassion within your heart, you see, besides, you see no action, body, speech, or mind, besides there’s no harm, you see what comes is only benefit. You know? At least, if you can’t benefit, at least not harm. That’s what that’s what as a result of compassion.
You see now, in this world, You see, even the person has, you know, every sense of objects that he can find in this world, on this earth. He’s completely surrounded by that and everything. What he didn’t get? What he didn’t think of? But if his heart is empty of compassion for others, You see, life is empty.
His life is empty. Oh, you see, there’s no there’s no, you see, peace, you know, happiness happiness in his life. You see, even there’s incredible opportunity to benefit from others by having compassion. You see, if you don’t have compassion, you wouldn’t see one all these opportunities are stopped. Stopped.
Stopped by oneself. By by self’s attitude. I’m going with this precious body. You see? The education, you see, wealth, there’s so much what you can benefit for others.
Temporal temporal happiness, ultimate happiness, so much. Unbelievable. An object whom you can benefit is numberless. You you’re one person, but whom you can benefit is numberless. But once this heart is empty of compassion, you see all these opportunities that you see?
You see? The the person doesn’t take it. It you see, all the benefits that which person offers to other sentient beings, you see, blocked by the selfish attitude. Self centered mind, you see. However, sentient.
Even one has all the education that which offers in the university or college, you know. You see? Again, it is no compassion in the heart. There’s no have there’s no there’s no peace of mind. There’s no happiness in that person’s life.
Can you see even more problems, more pride because of the education? You see, more is the uncontrolled mind. You know? More fear, more worry. Don’t be an educated person.
You see? So, you see, mentally speaking, the an educated person who has, again, all who can speak hand hundreds of different language, you know, hundreds of different language of the world, who has all the various educations. Then the and who never went to school, uneducated person, see. In regards to a mental prop, you see, mind happiness, you see. Know?
Supposedly, you see, the more the person has more the per more the person person has more education should supposed to have, you know, you see, more happiness, more satisfaction, you see, more peaceful mind, less pride, less pride, more calm mind. But one would even have greater problems than an uneducated person. So how about one like this? Again, no happiness. It’s the it’s the heart empty of the no compassion towards others.
So now, even the even the person even the person’s Hindu, even the person’s Christianity, even the person’s Buddhist, you see. What even a Buddhist talking? You see? How is it what whatever the religion is that of the person, what if the but if, you see, as a normal, how much understanding of the scriptures the person has. But if if the person’s mind is again missing of compassion towards others, again, you see, there is no happiness.
It’s like this, you know, the having the having the understanding having the knowledge, the intellectual knowledge, you see, the understanding of all the scriptures, you know. Then but, you see, mind’s empty of what this subject talks about. Such essence of the teaching of Buddha compassion towards others, then it’s like, you know, it’s like that one has all the materials to make pizza, you know, flour and mushrooms and everything, you see, in the kitchen, but you never get pizza. You have everything prepared in the kitchen. You have everything, you know, set up.
But but but but you never get the enjoyment of the pizza. But you see, you don’t you don’t cook. You don’t use it. You don’t use it, you know, to enjoy. It’s the same.
So If there’s good heart, compassion towards others, you know, Even one doesn’t live in even one doesn’t, say, doesn’t live doesn’t have luxury, you see, apartment, you know, you see, having everything, swimming pools and having everything. Living in the, you see, living in a hut, you know. And then even what the the person has to drink is just a simple water, you know. Nothing expensive. I drink.
Eating. You see? From you see? Oh, the the person can enjoy, you know, happily with others. But, you see, by, you know, with with a very relaxed mind, very comfortable mind.
From morning until until night, if if the person lead to a good heart, you know, compassion towards others, Then you see, in that day, besides himself, he’s very happy, you know, very happy, having peace of mind. You see? He can he can see. You can enjoy with others by smiling. You see?
Is it comes as a result, you know, pleasant pleasant appearance in the smiling. And in, you know, how to say sweet words, you know, not hurting words not hurting words. You see? Gen it’s a generous generous, see, talks, you know, words, you know, sweet words. So, you see, everybody enjoy.
Those who endorse who, you see, live with that person, those who who come to see that person, those who work with this person, they all enjoy. They have much happiness. So even in the nighttime, see, when the person goes goes to bed, spend they spend the day with very, you know, happy mind, say, comfortable mind. You see? Then even in nighttime, when one goes to bed, you see, can go to bed, but very comfortable, happy mind.
Otherwise, you see, if one live the life with a selfish attitude, with anger, jealousy, with this disturbing thought. And then resolve what comes, you see, in the in the action, in that day. But then, you see, harm harm with the body, harm with the speech, and harm with the mind to to others. So those who are others around you, who are around you, who work with you, who you see? Those who see you, one besides the one one make oneself unhappy, you know, the one causes even the others unhappy.
By the appearance, you know, even just by the appearance of the face, you know, You know, makes causes others depressed. But then even in night time when one goes to bed, you see, then they have cold heart. One go to bed with cold heart already. We see much un peaceful mind with anger even going to bed, you see. So even the even in in the night, you see, even in the dream, because of the because of the attitude, you see, unpeaceful, you know, attitude.
The, you know, selfish attitude, so forth. So even the dream, you see, unpleasant dream, even nighttime. Then, you see, daytime, you know, you see, I mean, dark face, you know, depressed or angry face, you see. Like this. So where the is it the person with good heart, you know, compassion towards others?
You see? More concern for others, you know, less concern for self? I think this person, wherever he goes, he always find you see, he he always find, you know, many people helping him. Everywhere he goes, people like him. Even instead of home, happy.
Everybody like him. And at home with the families, you know, with the family, everybody like that person. It would like, you know, say, like her, like him, you know, that person with good heart. Or even he stays at home, very happy, you know. So even the person lives in the city, he goes live in the countryside, you know, on the mountain, happy, wake, and see.
So wherever he travels. Everybody love him. Everybody even though the person, you know, he doesn’t want he doesn’t need help. But, you see, others is they come in crowds, you know, to to help the person. And, you see, everybody wishes him to have a longer life.
Everybody praying to have longer life, you know. And even even the person even the person, you see, even they hear that that person has some problem or sneezes or something, you see, able to I mean, you see, very concerned. They’re very, you see, very concerned. And, eventually, they come to help. Only the person, you see, who has the person, you see, who has very self centered mind, you know, nothing else to think about except in their mind, you know, I, you see, oneself, our eye all the time.
One I cannot be happy. You know? One I, you see, one I cannot stop this problem. Nothing else nothing else to think about except except except except oneself. And then, you see, oh, this person is a stronger selfish mind that he or she has, you see.
Oh, then he may comes to back returns back to home, you know, people are other, you know, families are sad, you know, to to not happy to meet, to see, you know, that doesn’t enjoy, and they don’t enjoy. You see? So so then one shall become upset. Then even one, you see, and go outside to leave the other place, you see. Wherever one wherever one goes, who will, you see, one tries to leave.
You see? Even the person become even the person become even the person became friend, he he or she became, you see, became your friend. And then sooner or later, after one hour or after you see, and there’s a after, you know, one day or after a few hours, you see, then became enemy.