Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaches in this 59-minute session about the transformative power of hearing and reading the Ārya Sanghata Sūtra with sincere faith. He recounts specific stories: a practitioner won a lottery and used it to fund Dharma projects, another quit smoking after decades, a third became vegetarian following a spontaneous vision. Rinpoche emphasizes that even hearing Dharma without understanding plants seeds for enlightenment and higher rebirth, illustrating this with the pigeon story—a bird that heard teachings was reborn human and eventually became a renowned scholar. He concludes by stressing bodhicitta, the altruistic mind dedicated to benefiting all beings, as the supreme antidote to suffering.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 13 KR.mp3
UUID: 655261ba-d4bf-401a-b745-fc0e4e933645
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: 59.8 minutes
Words: ~2,388
So Abbot introduced the Ārya Sanghata Sūtra to the centers to to to read, and so it benefited so much. It benefits some individual people and as well as the center that that so they So when a student gathered and they read, so they sent. So the San Diego Center found big donors for their projects and to as well as I think, Buddhist Center in Singapore and oh, I think they’re able to receive support there for the the building, the center of the I think by reading Ārya Sanghata Sūtra. At least two times happened. Then the so the many stories happened at different centers. So one so New Zealand, center or center.
So this the husband the wife’s name is Pilipa and husband, Bruce. So he read this Ārya Asangata Sūtra. So when he was reading this, he told himself, it is not possible. Is not possible, Buddha, tell a lie. You know, not possible.
So he told himself that and then he read so with the so with the strong faith, he read Ārya Sanghata Sūtra. Then I think of that. He win the he won the lottery. So he got to go to a one million dollar house in Australia from the lottery. So he he didn’t tell his wife and his families.
He he asked them to come with him to Australia. So he so he too did without telling him where they’re going, you see, what to do. So he wanted he wanted to surprise them. So, yeah, he invited his family, parents, and then his wife went to see this huge house, so this huge house. So his idea, his intention was very, you know, very eager to have big, say, fund and then to help the Dharma projects.
That was his main motivation that is trying to also build many stupas the at the same time, you know, in the empty space. Then, not only that but the help so many people, their mind become dharma. So, one student in Italy who has been working on the translating books or magazines for the center. So she’s an older student, so she could not give up her smoking cigarette, you see, for so many years. The day when she was reading but the day when she was reading Ārya Sanghata Sūtra, without any difficulties, just, you know, just just say just just like that.
You know, everyone says, like that. I always say, it never stops. Without any difficulties, there’s no small sickness, you see. So benefit benefit so much to the mind, to become dharma, you see, to transform the mind and inspiration. Then one man drove one man drives he he he drives for three hours the normal class, that dharma class that happened at the same time in Boston.
So he has to from his place, he has to come three hours every time he’s just average for the the normal class, dharma class. So this man so he stopped on the way in the restaurant. So he was going there to read Asaṇga Sūtra, so stopped at the restaurant. And he ordered he ordered food, a steak. But, you know, when the food came, then somehow he got vision that he was cow in the past and he was killed.
You see, some of that vision came. Then that from that day, they can be vegetarian. So there are so many benefits many people receive by reading Ārya Asangata Sūtra. One very important thing that I emphasize when you read that, man generated strong faith when he was reading. Told himself it is impossible for Buddha to tell a lie.
They say, Yeah. So so very important when you read this to have to to have a strong faith in the teaching. Buddha Buddha has power. Buddha has inconceivable quality. So Buddha can make the words, has all this power to purify and to benefit the sentient beings.
Buddha can bless, Buddha can make the words have such a power. So you have you have to understand that. Like it says in the Buddhavatamsaka, it says, Also, your name also your name is blessed. So, so it’s auspiciously blessed, you see. So here to so here or the, you know, it was a female aspect, you know, anyway, so name relates to, so that’s why by remembering the Bodhisattva’s name and that it is quite you know, it’s primarily by the Tathāgata’s name because of the power of purification and, you see, a incredible benefit even to remember the Tathāgata’s name or to recite the Tathāgata’s name.
Liberate from the lower realms. But purified karma, liberate from the lower realms. not only that, it liberates from saṃsāra. And even the lower nirvana, it is not a matter of that. So same thing, but I can make the teaching, the wisdom as much the words, special power, all those power benefits.
Remembering Buddha’s kindness, all this due to Buddha’s kindness, due to Buddha’s compassion, has made our life, unbelievably easy, incredibly easy to practice meditation, to purify, and to achieve to be free from saṃsāra, to achieve enlightenment. Paying homage to Buddha first, to pray. So I think this this time that I have received perfect in the body, which is extremely most rare to find, and have met Buddhism, which is extremely rare to meet. I met and then met virtuous friend who revealed path to liberation to enlightenment and it was extremely rare to meet that I have met. So at this time, then, not enough for myself just to be born or just to receive.
And they have a human rebirth next life. That’s it. I’m not sufficient. Even to achieve liberation for myself alone is not sufficient. The purpose of my life is to benefit others.
Therefore, to free the numberless sentient beings from the oceans of saṃsāra and samsaric suffering and bring them in full enlightenment. Therefore, I must achieve enlightenment. Therefore, need to complete the collections of wisdom and merit, complete need to complete the merit. So that was kind of the teaching on enlightenment. Therefore, going to take the yeah.
And perhaps So let me stop there. So this page, they could print the page two hundred thirty six. Two hundred thirty six. And that that I think this is number the text that was coming before that, two hundred thirty six The last the front page, the last line. So the backside of the backside of the two hundred thirty six.
So So the purpose of purpose of oral transmission I’m not sure there was this tradition given all transmission in the Therabadans. I’m not sure in the Chinese Buddhist tradition, I’m not sure I’ve heard. However, the monk is very important. So, by the same old transmission, then you see you receive the blessing. And so here, the lineage is from Buddha.
There’s a continual lineage, you see, hearing this teaching. From Buddha to yeah. The Buddhist center, California, at Santa Cruz. So the mentation center there, one of the FPMT centers. And so received from.
And so there’s unbroken lineage from Buddha, you see, or here there are some specific Buddha’s teaching. So so you’ll receive the blessing from Buddha in that way. And then, by receiving the oral transmission, then when you generally, in the teaching, you you meditate, you study, when you read, there’s so much blessing you receive, and that much more educates much more power to benefit one’s mind. So when you give the teaching to others, when you teach others So when others hear the words that you receive the lineage or transmission, then it has great effect to their mind. There’s much more power to benefit for other benefit for sentient beings.
And the the specific thing that is one which explained that when you when you enter you enter in the path I think it must be Bodhisattva’s path, the mind path, I think. The path of merit, lower middle grade, within the part of merit, the first one, the three levels. Then the preparatory path, there’s four levels, heat, peak, patience, and supreme mundane Dharma. Here, I’ve forgotten a little bit. The other one, you achieve the path of maybe the great one or the fourth path, the Supra-mundane path.
Maybe the Supra-mundane, I think. That time then, you see whatever old transmission that you have received in the past, so that time you remember everything. All those teachings you remember, just before you reach the third level of path, seeing path, and the path of meditation, where you start to actually cease the defilements. So, yeah. And so that is that benefit.
Just by hearing Dharma, Buddha’s teaching the words of the Buddha’s teachings, it has this benefit that you get a higher birth. Of course, it plants seed of the path to enlightenment. It plants seed of enlightenment, the path that is talking about, you see, it plants seed of that. By hearing the words, it plants seed of that. Other so because you have already planted the seed of the realization path to liberation to enlightenment, so other in this life, sometime later in this life or near the next life, near future life, you see, next life or however, near future lives?
That you meet Dharma again, you have heard the words of Buddhist teachings before, then you meet Dharma again in the near future in your life, and then you’re able to understand so much easier teaching that you’ve heard in the past, let the imprint of the mind, so easy to understand and then able to have realizations of path through practice, then that ceases the gross defilements, then then ceases subtle defilements, then that’s how we achieve enlightenment. It brings to so this so listening, teaching, that even the oral transmission, each word definitely, every sentence, brings the listener definitely to enlightenment. That’s one thing. The other one is just hearing if you don’t understand, just hearing the words, the teaching, it causes you to meet a guru in a next lifetime. So, for example, we should understand also that so the great pundit, Indian great pundit, Vasubandhu, so he was reciting the Abhidharmakośa, Buddhist teachings.
Composed Buddhist teaching, but, you see, on the basic Buddhist teaching, that subject, you see. So when he was reciting this, every day there was a pigeon on the roof. So, the pigeon hears. And so one day, the pigeon died. Then he saw with his psychic power that the pigeon was born as a human being, went down in a very in one family.
So then he went down the family in valley and then he so he saw the child who passed away as a pigeon lived on his roof of the his hermitage, and he asked the family whether I can check the child, and the family offered the child. Then he became his disciple, became, say, monk and then called Lopon Ratnakirti. So the teaching that he heard in the past life when he was a monk, he wrote four commentaries. To Abhidharmakośa. He wrote four commentaries.
So he became expert learning in that field, in that text. But then Madhyamaka he hadn’t heard much in the past. So, this is according to this, we see it is not so easy when we heard Madhyamaka teaching. So here, the story is you see, it contains two things, two benefits.
One is by hearing teaching, you born as human being from animal. And then the other one is, see, so each transcend, so you’re learn it in that in the next life, you see. So that yeah. So that I say. Then there’s or maybe this is in Tibet.
There were three monks and there was one dog with them. So the monks were reciting prayers. The dog hears. And then the so the dog died one day, and the dog was born as a human being. Just even without understanding the meaning, just hearing the words of Buddha teaching have such a great effect on this, to next life, to have a higher birth.
So, it totally different, the effect, reading newspapers, nobles, reading novels, all those life story books. The people spend their whole life in the airplanes or in the house, reading novels and reading the Dharma books, Buddha’s teachings, even that is totally different. Even listening even if one does not understand, The meaning is so difficult to understand this time, but we see just just hearing what Buddha’s teachings is So reading those other materials, the books, say, All those books then, nourishes attachment, anger, delusions, ignorance, so forth, creates wrong concept to say that. But Buddhadharma, teaching from Buddha is opposite to that, antidote to that. Generating bodhicitta, which is the source of all happiness and peace for oneself and also for all others.
And the source of peace, happiness of all the sentient beings, every single sentence. The bodhicitta mind that you generate, you see. Source of peace and happiness for oneself, and then that’s the source of All the peace and happiness for all other sentient beings.
They say, all those peace and happiness, including enlightenment, what they receive what they receive from you, from your bodhicitta. Okay? So particularly in this world, and particularly may it arise in the hearts of all the leaders of the world. So, this way, in each country with many millions of people, then they will be led in the correct path of happiness, peace also. In the hearts of all those people, where the wish is taught to harm others and to this world, may bodhicitta be situated in their hearts, Normally I say this but I have to put them in second.
The most urgent thing to generate in their heart is bodhicitta. Generated bodhicitta may it be increased. That they would exist, but do not exist from their own side. That I exist but do not exist.
Much of that was totally empty. Leader of the sentient beings who exist or who do not exist from their own side, what are they empty? Lead all these sentient beings to enlightenment, which exists but do not exist from their own side, that which is totally empty. Please enjoy breakfast.