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 explores how things come to exist according to Madhyamaka Buddhist philosophy. Starting with the foundational mental preparation—generating bodhicitta—he then turns to a precise philosophical question: what makes an appearance valid? Using concrete examples (Adelaide as seen by residents versus newcomers; an unrecognized dog; garbage labeled as diamonds), he demonstrates why mere wishing or labeling cannot establish something as real. He teaches the three essential conditions Madhyamaka requires: a valid base; non-contradiction by absolute wisdom; and acceptance by valid conventional cognizers. The talk addresses the tension between mind and external reality—showing how different minds perceive the same object differently, yet diversity does not make existence purely mental. Suited for serious students of Buddhist philosophy.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 17 WWNN.mp3
UUID: b9a6f4b9-bb89-4dd9-9e8f-14dfd134044b
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: ~2,416
Please listen to teaching well by generating a vast and effortful bodhicitta. Thinking at any rate a must achieve that omniscient mind for the sake of all the sentient beings who equal the infinite space, who have been kind from the beginning of time, and also clarifying the righteous conduct of listening to the teaching according to the traditional practice of the lineage lamas. Now, Candrakīrti is talking about the appearance.
Candrakīrti says, remember the example that we mentioned? They come from the airplane or something. Seeing Adelaide, one person who knows Adelaide, one person who doesn’t, who is not introduced to Adelaide. You know? But that person who is not introduced to Adelaide.
You see, he has appearance of Adelaide, but he doesn’t see that as Adelaide. You know? So it’s like this? It is like that? Now what what is saying is is it by debating.
No? That is it. You see now? There are are things generally, there are things which appear, but the person doesn’t know, but the person doesn’t recognize. The person doesn’t recognize.
You see that? There are things. Know? Things appear, but the person does not recognize that this is Adelaide. You know?
That is this. That is Adelaide. Know? So everybody agree in this? Like that?
Like that? What about dog? What does dog think? Dog and dog. Both, both, both.
No. Whether that exists or not. So now that person who is not who doesn’t know this who doesn’t know this Adelaide, who doesn’t know this city, Adelaide, you know, so for him, Adelaide appears. Yeah? Adelaide doesn’t appear to him?
So so who says this? The doubt says there’s no appearance to him. There’s no appearance to it. No. No.
What do you think? Well, if he’s just flying in and he doesn’t know it’s Adelaide, it’s only What do you think? We own judgment. What about a small child? What about a small child looking at a thangka?
Buddha. Does he have an appearance of Buddha or not? Do you perception? Perception? Has he got perception of Buddha or not?
Well, life is not if it’s never before, it’s seen. He doesn’t have perception of Buddha. Why would that be Buddha? Now I’ll put another example. When somebody comes when somebody comes to Buddha House, Okay?
He meets a dog. He meets the dog. Right? But he doesn’t recognize dog. He doesn’t?
Recognize the dog. What would you say? The person what would you say? The dog appeared to him or not? Does the dog appear to him or not?
He does not. He’s introduced by anybody. This is a dog. This is a famous dog. It’s not a man?
Is it a woman? What does that that that that word so then same thing. That also doesn’t exist. The word also doesn’t exist. Does it exist?
Does the word exist? No. Word. The words. Does the word exist or not?
Word. Neither one does. One does. What doesn’t exist? So nothing exists.
So what doesn’t exist? Is there existence or not? Does anything exist? No, no, what would you? Just listen.
Listen. Listen. Now, I’ll give you an example. If you wish to exist that your house is filled with diamonds. Does it exist?
Does it come in existence just by that? Let’s say, the can that you fill it up with garbage. Can. Can outside in the can. This Garbage bin.
Garbage bin. Yeah. You see, thinking, I wish that all that garbage would be diamond or to be dollars. Just like that. Is there diamond?
Do all this become diamond? That nice answer. Can do the but can be done. What you cannot do? So just your own wishing, it doesn’t become diamond, does it?
It doesn’t become, isn’t it? So wishing is not enough. What else is needed? Wishing doesn’t wishing alone doesn’t become diamond. It doesn’t make that one diamond.
So what else? But that might be good example. So now, do you see garbage? Garbage is even labeled as diamond. Even you labeled diamond.
You see? Yeah. You cannot you see, it cannot function as a diamond. If you label it, you know, diamond, it cannot function as diamond. It cannot function, you see, as diamond.
Why? Because it’s do why? Because well, you are just that only the one side, the total labeling, doesn’t enough. That alone cannot make the diamond exist. You see?
No. There’s need something else. More than a label. It requires more than a label. I mean, you could What?
What? You could see the garbage has a diamond. You could say that garbage is a diamond. Then? Then it is.
Because he put the new label on it. But in the case, I’ll tell you one thing. Well, in the case, you cut you cut, you see, you cut a whole lot of paper paper, you know, cut, you know, make a huge amount. You call all this you you call the, you know, all this a million dollars. Then the whole problem is solved.
If it can function. If it can function as a million dollar, you know. If it can function as you labeled. Why is it that it cannot function? All need to cooperate in this.
I think, yeah, I think there’s need more more people to agree on that. So because of by carrying the can, you know, by carrying the can, it’s a difficult market. You know? You see you see, if you advertise through through, you know, TV, you know, that we show the whole can of garbage and this is I want to sell for this much. You know, the people might laugh.
So because, you see, now if it can function if it can function, say, as diamond and the value, you see, you know, if we can function as diamond, then, you see, that’s okay. But it but it cannot function. You see? You can’t get you can’t get you see? You see now?
It cannot function. You see, no one see? I don’t know what you can get by saying that. I’m not sure what what you can get. But no one will accept.
No one will be sell you. No one will give you money, you know, even the even the cost of cost of, you know, diamond, you see, size of the beams. You know? Beams size of bean. Yeah.
Why why it cannot why it can’t why it doesn’t have the why it cannot function as diamond, you know, the other value. Because it’s now what’s missing is this. It it is not the valid base. Garbage is the garbage, you know, that is not a valid base on which you label on which you label, you see, diamond. So for example, You cannot you see, the the one, you know, one yeah.
One dollar, you cannot, you see, you cannot buy things. You cannot buy it by, you know, by giving the one dollar to the shop and saying saying this is one million dollar, you know, and then you can’t get one million dollar cost cost things. You can’t get but it cannot function even though you labeled. That is because there’s no on which you label the one million dollar, on which you label, the base on which you label is not a valid base. It’s a valid base for the one dollar.
It’s not valid base for the one million dollar. So the other person, you see, you know, other person doesn’t accept. As it is a million one million dollar, it cannot cannot give a million dollar cost to things. So there are two things things in order to exist. There are three things.
You know? There are three things. As it explained in from the Madhyamaka teaching, one is to have valid base, and then that it does not receive harm from the absolute wisdom. The wisdom realized in absolute, you see, doesn’t receive harm from the from that. And then, you see, doesn’t receive harm from the, you know, the valid valid thought.
Valid thought. Valid thought. Valid recognition. Valid thought. Conventional valid Conventional valid cognizer.
See? Not as easy. It exists if it doesn’t receive harm. So if it doesn’t receive harm from the absolute wisdom and and it has a valid base and doesn’t receive harm from the conventional valid cognizers, then that thing exists and that thing can function. And so treating, that’s why that’s why, you see, it is not completely up to the mind, you know, that the way things exist is not complete.
It’s not only it’s not only up to the mind to labelling. Yeah. You see? But you can label anything. It’s not like that.
So it has that a valid base. You know? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Accepted one. Yeah. Well, like this. Now you see, the the, you know, Manicans.
Manicans. Manicans. Manicans. Manicans. Manicans.
Manicans. Secrets in the shop that is dressed. The mannequins. The mannequins, if you tell them, mannequins, you see, that there are people, you know, exhibiting the exhibition, extra doing the exhibition of the clothes. You see now now that, you know, that you receive harm from the from converse, you you receive harm receive harm from that.
If you tell these people, you know, exhibition. Then the truly existent, you know, truly existent is it truly existent I? You know? Truly existent I. The independent and the true that’s in the eye.
That receives ah. You see? That receives harm from the absolute wisdom. You know? Yeah.
Absolute wisdom. Independent I. Independent I, you know, it receives harm from the absolute wisdom. You see, absolute wisdom sees that’s empty, you know, independent independent I. Independent I, independent I, you know, to realize emptiness, the I.
Who who have realized emptiness, you see, see things as illusory. You know? You see, you see, has understanding that truly existent I is empty. Can’t see them relatively or validly, person might believe the images are so real that it would change their actions or cause them to do an action that would That, there can be two things, something which exists, something which doesn’t exist. There can be two things.
Yes. Right. So it’s something in the one ball that’s, you know, seeing three appearances. Which receptor or which cognizer was receiving neutral sense data? Mhmm.
You know? And what did they label it as? Yeah. Right. What?
For you see, for, you know, those who see those who see a material Buddha, those who are able to see Yeah. Anyway anyway, see, that is that is not dog. Anyway, those even they see as dog, but it’s not dog. That’s. Even though they see as dog, it doesn’t mean that is dog animal.
Yes, I would say there is nothing on her shoulder for most of those sentient beings, for most you see for the the the they see nothing on her shoulder. I would say that exists according to their mind. So that’s a circumstantial truth. Yeah. Yeah.
According to according to that level of people’s mind that exists. And then about the the material that appear on dog, that is yeah. So yeah. I wouldn’t say that is dog. That wouldn’t say that is dog.
You know? But there’s an appearance of dog. There’s an appearance of dog. There’s an appearance of dog. Yeah.
Yes. Yeah. You see, the form is existing. Form. Form.
The form dog. The form. The aspect that exists. Those people who see this dog are those valid minds the valid mind sees. That type of thing.
Then other higher type of being’s valid mind sees nirmanakaya Buddha. Yeah. Yeah. More gross manifestation for the gross mind, for the gross mind. More gross more obscured mind.
So not not a person or who doesn’t who is not introduced who is who is not introduced. You see, there are two things, as you understand. We see, before before before, you see, nobody has labeled nobody before nobody has labeled, you see, this is Adelaide. Before, you see, before that, there wouldn’t be an appearance of Adelaide. Nobody will get the appearance of Adelaide.
But once generally it’s labeled Adelaide, but individuals not being introduced, I think, that can be checked out. Then before you know? You see, like, we build a house. We build this house. We build this house.
You see? Many rooms in the the the actually, on the in build houses, but not nothing build houses and before it is labeled, and this is the kitchen, this is library, this is meditation room, this is blah blah blah. You know? So before the label is given, there’s no appearance to the people who did this. But after the label is given, then there’s appearance.
Now the question is more specific. See, the doubt is finished. You see now, If the door is locked, if it sees, you know, the kitchen has all the kitchen stuff, you know, the library has books, and people can see from that. So it doesn’t it doesn’t need to be introduced. But you see, without without by closing door, you know, then just you see?
Then it need to be before seeing it, you see? Before seeing it, that person, you know, he he cannot label this library before he sees it by from from the person’s on-site. So So when the person comes, you see, when the person enters in the room, you see. Yeah. Yeah.
Well, there’s no books there anyway. So there’s no books there. Okay? And the person enters in the room. It doesn’t there’s not any kind of base, you know, which shows library.
You know, I think. And it doesn’t come to the room, you see, and doesn’t know what room it is. No. That’s not quite right. But there are no books.
It it hasn’t got bass. You see? Maybe before maybe from outside. From outside. From outside.
From the window, suppose if you’re introducing the room. For that person, you see, before he introduce that person has an appearance of the library or not. That’s true. No, I think this is much easier. That’s a little bit complicated.
I think dog is much easy. So dog is labeled dog. The label was given many years ago. How many Thirty thousand? Thirty thousand years ago.