Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 45-minute talk, Lama Zopa Rinpoche opens with a striking image: a person blind and trapped on a rock, unable to see the rope or methods to climb to safety. This blindness stands for ignorance of dharma wisdom — people desperately want happiness but cannot see the path to achieve it. The remedy, Rinpoche explains, is bodhicitta, the commitment to lead all sentient beings to enlightenment, which he identifies as the principal root of the path. He then walks through the practice of equanimity: how to see those who harm you and help you as equal, by remembering past kindness and the interconnected ways all beings have supported your happiness across countless lives. Practical and direct, pitched at practitioners ready to engage with Buddhist ethics and aspiration.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 24 WWNN.mp3
UUID: 274566b8-02a7-41d8-ad37-1cd046490058
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: 45.0 minutes
Words: ~2,371
The person yeah. Yeah. Person is blind cannot see, cannot or to climb off the rock, who is blind, who is blind, so cannot see. There’s no chance to use the tools or the ropes to it, then to hold it and then climb up from the danger. But if the person is not blind, he would see that.
He would see the rope and he can see the methods and he can see if that helps to leave. He can see the top of the mountain that he can raise and go where he can come up. That is going have happiness. It’s not that the person doesn’t want happiness, but because he’s blind, you cannot see the top of the mountain and cannot see the effort. No opportunity cannot see the means, doesn’t understand the need of the means, what are the tools and jobs to have.
So basically, blind like this. However, basically, the desire is the highest happiness to have, the longest highest happiness to have. That is the basic desire that they have. So from this, you can understand they speak from the mouth, what they say comes from the mind whether it is enlightenment or not. Even though the concept would want to achieve full enlightenment, omniscience, and so forth.
But the desire is there at the highest happiness. But if they know it’s not blind, if they have dharma wisdom, they speak this way, and they would express this way. Because not having that dharma, lack of the wisdom, suddenly, they see what they say. So nothing they know happens beyond this life. Only the happiness is life.
Only this what understanding that they have, but the desire is as much as possible, permanent, longest happiness. So we can figure out from there. We can figure out from the wish what they have. It’s the only question of not having dharma wisdom. Are blind of the dharma wisdom.
I, dharma wisdom, I. Those who see who do not understand. So So now once that is completely responsible, more thinking being as you are talking happiness for every sentient being. So therefore, think this is what they needed. So the greatest benefit to offer to them is to lead to enlightenment, the precious happiness, the state of omniscient mind.
So now, to do that, then one need to achieve enlightenment. As I mentioned, bodhicitta was for other sentient beings. After that arises, the bodhicitta enlightenment. So we need to achieve enlightenment. So now, without the bodhicitta and the principal cause of the enlightenment, the principal root of the path to enlightenment, and that’s the bodhicitta.
Without cultivating this within one’s mind, there’s no enlightenment. Without the seed cultivated in the field, there’s no crops. No. No. They they there are no crops, you know, to to enjoy.
Yeah. To generate from meditation, before realizing this, everything being mother kind, being mother kind, that is, first of all, the mind, the discriminatory mind, impartial mind. Impartial mind is realizing that. But the reason is harm, he or she did not harm. The nearest one, not relating much.
The very last, what using the reason only the last one. Last the nearest one, whatever harmony. I’m not using the not using the reasons in the past years. Not using the reasons, you see. Now, what the person is doing now is harm.
It’s the only reason that he’s not using the reasons, the benefit he gave in the last year or in the early lives, not using the reasons that he gave benefit in the past lives. Not using those reasons, just nearest one. And then also benefit, the reason, benefit will help me. He or she helped me. Even this, the very last, the nearest one.
I’m not using the not not using the reasons. You know? You The you see? The person, they’ve come to me in the past, you know, before that. You see?
Before that. You know, whatever happened before that, you see? Not using those reasons, you know, and all as well as past lives. So only using the reason, the person person, you you see, the very last, you know, whatever whatever is the harm or or help, whatever is so only using that reason, you see, rising anger and attachment. Like this.
So however, conclusion, everyone. But by thinking like this, Okay. One thing I see controlling the controlling the the discriminating mind attachment by thinking like this. Or attachment, somebody who helps me, right, some attachment to that to them, even the pigs, the pigs, all of them, and those who give food, who give food to them, you see, they get attached to those. Even the pigs, they get attached to their own place.
Their dirty places, they get attached. People with attachment, even the pig does this. So how I behave is the same as pig, so no differences. Thinking like that. As Śāntideva says in the Bodhicaryāvatāra, I who is seeking the liberation doesn’t need to be bound.
In the respect and the material offerings. I who is seeking the liberation don’t need to be bound by the respect and material receiving, which means, you see, what I want is the liberation. So therefore, clinging is not what I should practice, is what I should abandon if I want liberation. So that’s what it means. So even reciting these words and then reminding to oneself.
However, what do you think like this? See, the way I behave is no different from the dog, no different from the chicken, know, and start to control. This way, you don’t see yourself nothing special prominent. So you can be able to control the mind once it’s completely seen as silly. Then completely ridiculous.
And getting angry by reason, by the very last nearest action of the person is harm. Without thinking of past benefits of what the person did before that, without putting those reasons. Just putting the reason, just the very last one, what he or she did. Then, You see anger, giving rise. The other one is closer.
This one is distanced from the heart, from the giving up. Here. It distanced from most of my heart. Know? I was renounced.
I just, you know, renounced. That person is renounced, you know, given up to help. So I can think, you see, this a thing, but this is no difference between me and the if I do like this, no difference in my behavior, no difference from the tiger. Even somebody who gives harm to them, even the tiger, they get angry. They get angry and get harmed back.
So they retaliate back, minding angry, body harm. Upper mouth, terrifying sound, Terrifying the roaring. Roaring. Roaring. Roaring.
Roaring sounds. Like this. So So if I do like this, what’s the difference between me and tiger living in a forest who is not called human being, who is called animal? Or something, what’s the difference between me and the snake? You know, snake.
Not snake the food, but snake the animal. Well, this very effective, many other ways to equalize this, to equalize the person’s mind to bring in the equanimity. Once it’s complete, once it’s, again, complete sense, it’s complete. One does is nothing special from them. So anything, you see, I have what have what extra I have received is a body in a human body, so precious, but how I use my body, how I use this precious human body, I use, you know, The purpose of this is meant to use it to create a virtue for the happiness, to obtain happiness, to eliminate others’ sufferings and obtain happiness for others.
But then I use this on this precious human body only to create, taking this precious human body to create karma, only to create karma to be born in the to go back again, to fall down again in the lower realms and to suffer. And And this used, this precious human body is used instead of obtaining happiness for other children to create problems for other sentient beings. Okay. I’m not good to think on the top of the on the top of this. You’re not good to think that.
So I have used it it in a waste of my body. You know? Okay. The behavior, actions, versus actions of those who haven’t received a human body. Who’s more ashamed?
Ashamed or shy? Ashamed. Who’s more ashamed? No, the sad thing is that they don’t have a human body.
So animal body, by having that body, they have no opportunity to understand Dharma, no opportunity to develop the mind, no opportunity to understand the Dharma, teachings, the liberating teachings, so they have no opportunity to develop the mind. And I have because having received this perfect human body, so you see, by having this, I have only not only first of all, by having the precious human body, first of all, just by having the precious human body, I have the opportunity to understand Dharma, to practice and to develop a mind. And especially, have this now, especially, not only that, I have this perfect human body qualified with eight freedoms and ten richnesses. You see that any great meaning, any happiness, you see, once for others, whatever, one wishes that I have great opportunity to obtain. The temporary ultimate happiness benefits.
Whatever I wish, have freedom to achieve. Whatever I wish to practice, I have opportunity to practice. So who has all the I who has all the opportunities. And you see, having understanding, what means the virtue, what is the cause of suffering, what is the cause of happiness, the virtue, non virtue. What means virtue, what means non virtue?
Even having the understanding, you see opportunity to develop the understanding, Dharma wisdom. And then I am not Even I have the understanding, not practicing, not controlling the mind. The most most simple is nothing. It’s me. So by thinking like this, able to control mind, however you can bring in the mind in the equanimity.
So however, Also, he used to give an example like this. One person gives food. However, one person in the present gives money or something. Today, and he got spanked yesterday. Today, he got a gift, but yesterday, he got spanked.
And then one person one person get the one person, he got a gift yesterday, and today, he got spanked. So So then you see now, you see? So, yeah, so as mentioned before, you see. So when you only when you consider to only this present, only today what this what this person did, what that person did, mind becomes partial. Right?
And an attachment. But if you if you remember the reasons, he benefited not only this not only the this person will give harm. Not only, you see, he give harm, but also benefits. Then, you see, no end of good reasons. Then he not only does he give help today, And then you see, that he gets spanked yesterday.
She’s remembering that all the attachment just stopped. Clinging attachment just stopped. Remembering saṃsāra, the shortcomings of saṃsāra, nothing is definite. Nothing is definite. The relationship, nothing is definite.
So in the evening, the confused mind runs up to one object, upset, one object like fire burning in the heart to one object, like candy. However, this suffering mind, unequalized mind, think that they are not equalized. However, the conclusion, everyone have been not only this person, but this one who give harm now, then everyone Mhmm. Everyone. Everyone is benefited.
Everyone benefited. Harm and benefit, more benefit. Everyone get harm and benefit, which are more benefit. However, conclusion, everyone, relative, friend. So, yeah, maybe Harm and benefit.
It looks like it should be equal, but the sentient being benefit in a direct or indirect benefit, you see. Indirectly, indirectly, they benefit to oneself. Is much more than the harm. I think the way to understand that reason might be like this, like extensive, you see, when we mentioned on extensive kindness of sentient beings. All the path, present, future happiness depends on one’s own past, all the path, present, future happiness, how that came from each sentient beings, how that is dependent on each sentient beings.
However, from good devotion after enlightenment, all the realizations are generated by depending on kindness which is made by each sentient being. Or the other holy objects that we have opportunity to accumulate merit to purify, that we can generate the realizations of the power of enlightenment or came from by kindness of each sentient being. All this happened by depending on the sentient beings. So I think the extensive way of maintaining kindness. So I think, for example, without a sentient beings being suffering, sentient beings being existing.
Without suffering, sentient beings being without existing, nowhere to practice, nowhere wants to follow Mahāyāna part, the six paramita, no way to practice cheering, way to practice morality, patience, perseverance, concentration, wisdom — none to support. So, yeah, I guess, you know. So if it yeah. If you think extensively, you know, how all the happiness depends on each and then, you see, then you see you see, you see, you know, they they benefit or they benefit directly, indirectly, is much greater. It’s it’s far more, as you can say, greater, you know, is inconceivable than the harm, you know, what they gave what they gave gave to oneself.
So much like that. So conclusion, you see, everyone is a everyone is a loved one. Yeah. Friend. So it is good that You see?
Then, yeah, brings conclusion to this, then from there to the mother. Yeah, then the continuation of this. How every single being has been a mother in a countless number of times. The continuation of this person’s consciousness as a continuum Yeah. Continued from the past life consciousness.
Yeah. So that past life consciousness is past life. So like this, it does not have a a continuation of the consciousness. Do not happen. Even that, the earth cannot become a direct cause for the space, cannot become the direct cause.
Substantial. Do you say it? Substantial. The substantial cause.