Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. “What the World Needs Now?” is Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s opening question in this 46-minute teaching. He traces a path from sentient beings’ immediate necessities—finding work, obtaining medicine—through ultimate happiness and enlightenment. Rinpoche then teaches a bodhicitta practice combining specific prayers with visualization of the four immeasurables (loving-kindness, compassion, equanimity, joy) directed toward all sentient beings, generating vast merit and purifying even those causing harm. He walks through the graduated path to enlightenment (Lamrim) meditation in detail, including Guru Śākyamūni Buddha visualization with mantra. The teaching concludes with a Socratic dialogue probing students’ understanding of how we know where we are, using Adelaide and Tibet as examples.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 13 WWNN.mp3
UUID: 40fb8cb9-2ca8-4f82-95e1-1ddbb6fb72de
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: 45.6 minutes
Words: ~1,818
The way to think, that is the naraka beings, preta beings, animal beings, those who are devoid of temporary happiness, happiness of the higher realm beings, you see, them. Going to have this happiness. There are human beings who have temporary happiness, to have those who are devoid of ultimate happiness. Those who are suffering by not having the ultimate happiness. For them to have ultimate happiness, release from the bondage of the karma and the disturbing thoughts.
Even those who have achieved this, to have the fearless happiness and enlightenment. However, the conclusion that all those who haven’t achieved the fearless happiness, instead of having the omniscient mind, to have the omniscient mind, then to have. This prayer includes the person who hasn’t found a job to find a job, a person who hasn’t found the right medicine, a disease which do not have medicine, to find the medicine for the disease. So all the prayers are contained in this, if you can think of. The conclusion, what is needed, is most important, what is needed, the need to achieve is the fearless happiness, the enlightenment.
What’s the need, what’s missing, and what needed to achieve, the most important thing. So, by the way, praying and wishing for this, but also, by the way, until they achieve this, to have those other happiness. All those other temporary happiness which they’re missing, you have to have. And that one is able to cause. So asking the guru Buddha to grant blessings.
Now, this means asking one’s life to become capable, to benefit, to be able to offer all the temporary happiness and all the ultimate happiness. Ever capable to realize the path means whatever they needed for their happiness. Whatever the method of wisdom, all which are missing within oneself to benefit the sentient beings. Here, we are praying to be able to have all the complete means and wisdoms, the methods and the wisdom to guide the sentient beings, to benefit the sentient beings. How wonderful it is that all the sentient beings are free from all the sufferings and causes.
May they be free from all the sufferings. I will cause them to be free from all the sufferings. Please, Guru Buddha’s Dharma blessings, to be able to do this. How wonderful it is that all the sentient beings are free of all sufferings and causes. May they be free from all the sufferings.
I will cause you to be free from all the sufferings. Please, Guru Buddhas, grant me blessings, to be able to do this. How wonderful it is that all sentient beings are free from all the sufferings and causes. May they be free from all the sufferings. I will cause them to be free from all the sufferings.
Please, Guru Buddhas, grant me blessings to be able to do this. How wonderful it is that all the sentient beings to not be separated away from the happiness of the upper realm and ultimate happiness. May they not be separated away from this happiness? I will cause them to not be separated away from this happiness. Please, guru buddhas, grant me blessings to be able to do this.
How wonderful it is that all the sentient beings to not be separated away from the happiness of the upper realm and the ultimate happiness. May they not be separated away from the happiness, I will cause them to not be separated away from the happiness. Please, Guru Buddha’s, grant me blessings to be able to do this. How wonderful is this it is that all sentient beings not be separated away from the happiness.
How wonderful it is. All sentient beings do not be separated away from the happiness of the upper realm and ultimate happiness.
I will cause them to not be separated away from the happiness. Please, Guru Buddhas, grant me blessings to be able to do this. So to be able to benefit others, what prayer can I do? This is a very good prayer. By the way, one accumulates infinite merit.
Going into many different deities, prayers and so forth, but here, this combines praying that one’s life can be beneficial for others and then one’s life to be able to highly beneficial whatever help or happiness that something we need to be able to cause, to be useful, to become useful oneself for all the sentient beings, to fulfill, to grant all the wishes. But not only the request, not only making a request, but we also generate immeasurable thoughts of the four immeasurables: equanimity and loving kindness, compassion, joyfulness. So since the sentient beings are uncountable, so therefore merit that we accumulate generate these immeasurable thoughts toward the uncountable sentient beings. Therefore, it’s time we accumulate inconceivable merits. Some, inconceivably vast good karma is accumulated.
At any rate, I must achieve enlightenment for the sake of all the mother sentient beings who equal the infinite space. Therefore, I’m going to train on the graduated path to enlightenment. Second practice. With three doors, respectfully, I prostrate. I am offering the mentally transformed, actually transformed actually performed offerings.
I’m confessing all the negative karmas accumulated from the beginning this time. Need karma, the downfall. I rejoice all the ordinary higher beings, the three time merits. Please abide until saṃsāra ends and turn the dharma wheel. I did I dedicate the merits accumulated, three time merits accumulated by me, by all others, to achieve enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings.
I gave out the other day to recite, that which was printed. During this prayer, while we’re doing this prayer of the graduated path to enlightenment, as we recite each verse, think it’s a realization generated to one’s mind and the mind of all, then that is what we should meditate while we are reciting the prayer of the graduated path to enlightenment. So each verse finishes, you see, the beams emitting from the merit field, and then it’s verse purifies and generates the realization. However, while you understand the word, that particular verse, the first is to be the realization of correctly devoting to the virtuous friend, seeing the essence of Buddha, for that verse, then when one is reciting, think, this realization is generated within me and the other sentient beings, all other sentient beings. So something when we recite the Lama Chöpa prayer, and when we do the Lamrim prayer, this is how to meditate.
And this way, one has done great puja for the sentient beings besides oneself. Purifying, generating with all the realization, you see, the meditation is great great puja. Even for human beings, nonhuman beings, even who are giving harm, with evil mind evil mind giving harm other to oneself to other beings, by praying this way to generate bodhicitta, purifying generate having generated bodhicitta, you know, you see, I can benefit can stop the person’s giving harm or can pacify the person’s evil mind. Then nonhuman beings such as, you know, spirits and so forth. Who causes sicknesses, you know, or craziness?
Mhmm. So trying to generate bodhicitta in their mind, doing visualization, purifying, having generated the bodhicitta, things like the lamrim path. So that affects how one strongly devotes, rely upon the how one strongly rely upon the merit field, how strong a devotion that one has, don’t depend on that. It can affect to the beings. Then then all the merits if you are doing the elaborate visualization, all the merits fill up into Guru Śākyamūni Buddha.
Yes. Aspect. Then, descended. If it’s not an elaborate one, just like a Buddha, all the merits of field are encompassed into one, Guru Śākyamūni Buddha, then descended through one’s own crown. However, especially if one has received clear tantra, clear initiation, then one can generate oneself Śākyamūni Buddha.
Śākyamūni Buddha. And then I see. You can do like that. You do like that. You can have received the mantra your tantra initiation.
However, one entered so one can do visualization, entering the heart, entering the heart, you know, then you start the mantra. Visualize a moon, yellow moon at the heart of Guru Śākyamūni Buddha, then mantras and the mantra going around the golden colored mantra, Om Muni Muni Mahamuni Śākyamūni Svāhā, then purifying sentient beings. A generator must achieve enlightenment because, as of all the mother sentient beings, who equals the infinite space, who has been kind from beginningless time. Therefore, I’m going to listen to teachings on the graduated path to Enlightenment. So please listen to teaching well by generating at least the clarifying the auspicious conduct of listening to teaching according to the practice of the Lama Tsongkhapa tradition and generating at least the effort for generating bodhicitta.
What’s the reason that we believe that we are in Adelaide? What’s the reason? Yeah? Because we’re told. Somebody told her.
If somebody tells you if somebody tells you, you believe everything what somebody says. If somebody tells you if somebody tells that you are in in Tibet now, would you believe that you’re in Tibet? No. Why not? From what I hear, Tibet is very different.
There’s no milkshakes in there. There’s no beach. That’s beachfront. Mountains. There are mountains in Tibet.
They don’t have mountains in Adelaide. So in order to believe you to be there, what should what should happen in Tibet? In order to believe that you are in Tibet, what what what they should what it should have? What it should have? Yeah.
No. You didn’t answer my question. You you to you, in order to believe that you are in Tibet, what it should have? In order you to believe now you to believe that you are in Tibet now, what it should have? Is my question clear?
Yeah. I find that hard to be answered. You’re not going to in Tibet. Now what is missing? It’s not you or not you to be in Tibet.
You have believe that you are in Tibet. What is it should have? Appearance of today. The appearance of today. It doesn’t have the appearance of today.
To only yeah. Have to be there. We have to be there? Yeah. Why not why you’re not there now?
Because you have to go through a process. You have to go through a process to get there. There. To the border? Yeah.
The passport? Yeah. The whole process. Your mind goes through the process of thinking, if I want to go to the What about the immigration statements? So that mhmm.
Do everyone have to believe? Everyone who would they would have to believe. No. I’m not saying that that you have to believe. What I’m first, I’m asking, you see, why why why we believe that we’re in Adelaide?
What makes us to believe that we are in Adelaide? Why? Why everyone believe we are today in Adelaide? I think it’s true. That