Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 34-minute teaching, Lama Zopa Rinpoche unpacks the three Buddhist categories of suffering with uncommon clarity. He begins with the familiar — pain and hardship — then moves to a subtler insight: pleasures and possessions we crave are themselves suffering in disguise, appearing attractive only to a deluded mind. But the deepest point is pervasive compounding suffering: the fact that body and mind arise from karma and delusion and thus function as the foundation for endless cycles of saṃsāra. Only liberation from this root cause brings true freedom. He then walks through the practical path: renunciation (seeing saṃsāra itself as burning), refuge in the Three Jewels, compassion for all beings, and bodhicitta—the commitment to achieve enlightenment for their sake. Directed at practitioners with some Buddhist familiarity.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 05 KR.mp3
UUID: 6f4213cf-bb00-442d-a93c-0534689dc7bd
Teacher: Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1
Collection: z Kṣitigarbha Retreat Hong Kong (Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1)
Date: 2005 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 33.6 minutes
Words: ~1,610
So, if so even you think, you see, the meaning of liberation that you see that you are seeing, you see, liberation suffering from pain and then the suffering of change. Then more addition, suffering of saṃsāra, the saṃsāra pleasures, suffering of change, which is saṃsāra pleasure. Which is appeared as pleasure to the ones who are hallucinating their mind. But if you examine the nature of that feeling, nature of nature of that pleasure, if you examine with wisdom you discover it’s only nature of suffering, not pleasure, if you examine the nature of that pleasure. For a hallucinating mind, in the view of hallucinating mind pleasure, but in the view of wisdom, view of wisdom, dharma wisdom is only suffering, it is only suffering nature.
Say, do do not do not not do not see, say, I do not see happiness at all, only suffering. So, wisdom sees only suffering. So, the mind mind of the pure mind, mind which detached to saṃsāra, the thought of renunciation that only see the pleasure of saṃsāra or only natural suffering. And the The Arhatas, higher Buddhist sages, they see there’s some sign of pleasure in what we’re experiencing, they see only suffering. And the Buddhist omniscient mind sees only suffering.
So, now, even liberation from that, still that’s not complete liberation. Still limited liberation what you think is limited. And it is impossible, and it is impossible to achieve total success. It is impossible to achieve, liberation free forever from suffering of pain and suffering of changes. Temporal saṃsāra pleasure, which is the only nature of suffering, you can’t achieve liberation, which is free forever from these true sufferings of saṃsāra.
As long as you are not free, as long as you are not liberated from the the from the pervasive compounding of suffering, which is the foundation of those two other suffering, until you are liberated from this third suffering, it’s impossible to be liberated forever from suffering from pain and suffering from changes. So, therefore, the real liberation, or what we should realize and what we should look for is the liberation free forever from the pervasive compounding suffering. So if this so to say to cease this completely, then and then, you see, you’re you’re then you are liberated forever. If that happens, then you’re liberated forever from suffering of changes, the temporary saṃsāra pleasure, which is only natural suffering and also suffering of pain. So so pervasive compounding suffering.
So pervasive so these aggregates. So, at the moment at the moment, this type of aggregates here association of body and mind in the short. However, elaborating these five aggregates, However, that this caused by karma, or this is caused by karma and delusion. The previous is a previous like before this, the karma and delusions, this is compounded by the karma and delusion. So so that’s why the this this is by nature suffering.
Why the the mind experience fear? Why? Why? Why we have to experience fear? Why we experience loneliness, depression, all this unhappiness?
All the so, yeah, mind suffer and the body suffer. So you see so if this, I guess, this body mind is not compounded, not production of karma and delusion, then then, you see, there’s no cause, there’s no reason at all why this body and mind have to suffer. Why is nature why is nature suffering? You see, attain only bliss. There’s no suffering because this is a production of delusion of karma, so this is the nature of suffering.
So that being under the control of karma and delusion, so that’s one meaning that is pervasive. And then the pervasive suffering. So the so and then this because of that, that caused this bottom line nature to suffer. So, that’s pervasive. Then, I guess, the mind is contaminated seed of delusions.
So, This is often mentioned, being that this is caused by karma and delusion, so that they pervade it. So in the text normally mentioned that the mind is contaminated, the seed of delusions. We see desire realm, form realm, formless realm, whichever realm, you see, you get realm reborn. So, the realm of the Aryas is that all these three realms of saṃsāra is always a contaminated seed of delusions. So that is the meaning of pervasive suffering.
So same, the desire realm or form realm or formless realm, whichever you take, whichever you take, it is a production of delusion and karma. So. So, it’s it’s all the meaning of pervasive pervasive. Then the this. So here, this seed of delusion, I guess the mind is contaminated, seed of delusion. So because of that seed of delusion, karma, see karma is the from past past karma, plant seed of that is it.
Karma is like the milk. So So, this seed of delusion. So, because of this, that anytime, so anytime physical problems can happen. Anytime it compound the physical suffering, the mental suffering. Anytime delusion can rise.
Anytime mental problem, emotional problem, anytime it can rise, but seed is there. You see? So, yeah, seed planted there. See see it from past. The coming seeds plant there.
So and then the from this seed, delusion arises when we encounter objects, you know. Then undesirable object is anger rises. Beautiful object, form, sound, smell, and then and then attachment arises. There’s indifferent object, there’s ignorance. However, from this seed of delusion, delusion arises.
Then they motivate the karma, leaves imprints on the mental continuum and that imprint seed produce future saṃsāra, future rebirth. So so this so this seed, you see, from this seed the a it throws or they produce the future saṃsāra. So pervasive as I explained before related to us explain three things And and now the compound. So here this is a combination compound. So this seed of delusion, I guess mind contaminated that then that say compound future saṃsāra.
Compound, it compounds this life problems, sufferings, it compound future life, future suffering. So pervasive compound and suffering. So this this aggregates become the become the basis becomes cause or becomes the basis of future future saṃsāra, future life sufferings. So like that. So, pervasive compounding suffering.
So, until until we as a until we liberated from this completely until we liberated from this completely by ceasing the karma and delusion, Then you see continuous so continuously, it continues, this continues, this contact You see, circle from here to next saṃsāra then then that to last saṃsāra. So this no end no end. So then no end then from this, saṃsāra then saṃsāra then changes. The suffering pain, all those other suffering. Continuously one get tormented.
So, no matter how much suffering there is in the human realm, like say all the problems, billions of billions of problems have a human realm, hell, hungry ghost realm, animal realm, deva realm, all this, however, including these three. So so so the real liberation is this. Liberation free forever from the pervasive compound of suffering. Okay? So, yeah.
So, now here. So, that has to be done by practicing the path. We see path method of wisdom, path of wisdom, mind. Okay? Beginning with the renunciation of the renunciation of the whole entire saṃsāra, the seeing that the only nature of suffering.
So, so now, yeah. So, Here now we are taking refuge. So, for us, the whole entire saṃsāra only nature will suffer with this heartfelt fear. And then faith, Buddha, Dharma, Sangha has the power or qualities that with that understanding, having faith without understanding. Then, these two cause, then with the whole heart rely upon the Dharma Sangha.
So that mental factor is the refuge. So the mind we have taken refuge. Third, the third cause is when you think of others, when you look at other sentient beings seeing that same situation after you see your saṃsāra natural suffering, like being in the center of the fire, you see, being saṃsāra yourself. So then all the sentient beings, suffering saṃsāra, feeling so unbearable to to your compassion. Wishing them to be free from suffering and its cause.
So then and clear compassion that you will take responsibility on yourself to yourself to free them. Then, you put to the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, they have a quality of the power. For the benefit of sentient beings, then I’m going to practice and achieve enlightenment. And for that, I’m going to practice bodhicitta, then all the Buddhism, the temple, this offering of nectar food offering. This was the three-time merit, body, speech, mind, great bliss within the very field of mind.
Okay? Then, these are the three times merit collected by others. They may have once once a family members. Everyone asks here all the same means, may all be liberated, separated from the broken, and may all be collected by merit, offered. There’s a blessing in triple gems.
There was realization from root guru to enlightenment. Especially, for the sake life, may we try to learn the Dharma and the goal of all sentient beings be led to liberation in a second. And the next, the entire three realms’ merit is collected, there was an emptiness meditation on the empty conventional side, achieve the then then becomes Chakrasamvara, once that becomes Chakrasamvara, then lead all the sentient beings, which is also empty from the side. Because all the sentient beings were also empty from their side to Chakrasamvara’s enlightened state. Then, by oneself alone, who’s also empty from the side.
Thank you very much. Please enjoy the nectar. Oceans of oceans of nectar. Not small nectar.