Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 70-minute talk, Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaches how to use a precious human birth through systematic Lamrim practice. He argues that preliminary practices alone—prostrations, refuge, chanting mantras—cannot produce enlightenment; genuine progress requires training in the actual graduated path. Rinpoche outlines a daily structure: meditate on guru devotion and lower renunciation, then middle renunciation and bodhicitta, then emptiness. He proposes a six-month rotation plan cycling through these topics. Throughout, he emphasizes that the Lamrim is the main trunk of practice, with preliminaries as supporting branches. He closes with teachings on tonglen—exchanging self and other—and dedicating all merit to sentient beings’ liberation. Pitched at serious practitioners ready for sustained, structured training.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 21 KR.mp3
UUID: 0288d94a-6d56-40c1-85bf-b5aa5434404f
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: 69.8 minutes
Words: ~3,159
Like deep sleep that, you know, like that. So no opportunity to really no opportunity to really practice Dharma as my path, you see. So not being born as a long-life god, then having the absence of a Dharma. And then not being born and not being not being a heretical being, So that’s the most harmful, heaviest obstacle to practice Dharma. So not being a heretical being at this time and then freedom to practice Dharma.
They’re not being the place where Buddha descended. So not being in such place, and then we have freedom to practice Dharma. And then not being fool, mute fool. That’s it. Can then cannot learn Dharma.
So not being like that. They have freedom to practice Dharma. So this time, this body that we have is called having the eight freedoms. It extremely precious. Okay.
Eight freedoms. Look at that. That and then received ten received ten endowment or ten richness. So being, say, being born, say, being being human being, so opportunity to practice Dharma. So The difference is not being animal, this time being a human being is that one can create a cause of to achieve enlightenment.
One create a cause to if not that one create a cause to achieve liberation from saṃsāra. If not that one create a cause for happiness. Life. One could use this human body to achieve those happiness. So the last one is happiness for all the coming future lives.
So so and then nothing so that that makes human that makes having human body very special. When you engage those cause of those happiness, even the cause of the happiness of all the future lives. You see, it temporary happening but it’s long term. So, it makes the human body very special. See, meaningful.
The human body you are had one one one that one human body, they’re meaningful. So now, if one now, if one use this human body only, you see, say, only to only to achieve happiness this life. Nothing else. Only to achieve happiness this life. Then, see, pain, different.
Nothing than human body that we have received. Nothing special from, see, nothing special from then, you see, animals. Those are the pigs, pigs and dogs and cats and there’s turtles or crocodiles, you see. So the the worms, so no different. So nothing bigger special from them.
So if if we use the human this this human life, human body, you see, only to achieve happiness in this life, which is only for short time, certain number of years, certain number of months, certain number of weeks, certain number of days, certain number of seconds that see. The very short use is for only to working for only for very short term happiness. And then, you see, I’m done. So that is the attachment came to this life. It can become little karma.
So they become cause of the lower. Born as a human being receives human body but didn’t make it meaningful, didn’t make it worthwhile having it. It didn’t give any meaning to purpose of having this precious body like that. So one must engage by practicing Lamrim, by maintaining Lamrim, the stages of the path. One must, you see, transcend the attitude the attitude of our mind to transcend from the animals the motivation, the attitude.
The attitude is only working for this life, is it? As happiness. So should she be more special than that. So being a human being, they have an opportunity to practice Dharma. I think, say, they being in the center of the religious country, so their lineage of the vows, the bhikshus, bhikṣuṇīs, and thirty-six vows, male, female novice, have what is lineage.
That’s the center of the religious country. So, have an opportunity. So, to practice Dharma, then not having imperfect organs. And so, having that, you know, also opportunity to practice Dharma. And then not following the extreme actions, not engaging those five immediate karma, certain opportunity to practice to achieve liberation.
Then having devotion, having faith, having faith to the teachings. The teachings, teachings subdue the mind. The lam rim, teaching teaching is subduing the mind. So, one other extensive philosophical type of teachings, when they don’t benefit your mind, then only what’s ‘s left to benefit your mind is the Lamrim. So Lamrim is special presented in special way, focused on it mainly focused to subdue the mind.
So having faith in that, so opportunity to practice Dharma. Then if Buddha if Buddha hasn’t doesn’t did, then no opportunity to practice Dharma, but being the time Buddha descended. And Buddha hasn’t lived with Dharma, they’re not gonna know about Dharma, Buddha has lived with Dharma. But we’re not we’re not in that actual time that actual time, but we have this region of that, substitute of that, the virtuous friend, even though we don’t meet Buddha directly in that form and institutions. But we have to say substitute for the the region to see the Buddha, the virtuous friend has been teaching.
So that qualified, you see. So so Buddha say, descended, the time Buddha descended and then revealed the teachings. So this is the There’s a virtual friend and then existing revealed teaching. So this is like so we have because these are the opportunity to practice Dharma. And then and then teaching existing, not destroyed yet, existing, so we have option of Dharma.
So and that so see, if one if one’s self, whatever the world in the world, whatever the people with their realization or not, but within one’s own mind if one if one let’s say, one learn Dharma and see the scripture and then learn Dharma and then practice that realization. So teaching developed with realization. So see, so following the teaching, not only teaching this, but for one follow. So, there’s opportunity to practice because of that. And then others have compassion to other people having compassion to other people, they help you support you.
Virtuous friend has compassion that reveal, say, reveal Dharma to us. We have virtuous friend, seating, have compassion to us, reveal dharma to us. So this is way of obtaining Dharma. So that so ten richness where this human body that one has now, qualify ten richness. Eighteen qualities of the unbelievably precious human body.
So with each freedom, with each richness, you can achieve any happiness you want, happiness of future lives, even happiness, liberation of saṃsāra, happiness, enlightenment. Whichever happiness you wish you want to achieve. So each freedom, each richness is unbelievable. Even each one is besides all the agent, human body qualifies it. But even each of them so unbelievable, I’m precious, more precious, the whole sky filled with the wish-granting jewels.
So even in each second, even every second with this perfect human body, you can achieve any happiness you wish. If you wish to be born pure land or in the future, you see that at the dead time, should go to pure land or even to go to pure land without you should die without with same body. There’s also very special practice to be born to to be to go to pure land with same body. However, then next, you know, the human body which has eight ripening qualities which highly admired by Lama Tsongkhapa that by achieving this human body which is eight ripening quality, then you are able to make quick progression, very big progression of realization to the path. And same quality, the human body have the same quality you can achieve and the four Mahāyāna Dharma wheels, which comes. That’s at the end of the Guru Puja prayer recitation, also we can achieve.
The liberation from saṃsāra, see, and the great enlightenment will ultimately happen. So even in each second with this perfect human body, which is happiness one gets, which one gets free. So, that is extremely unbelievable even each this life, this perfect human body in each second. Now, so now, what what makes the life? What what makes the life most fruitful that is On the basis of the Prātimokṣa vow, then if one can put the self out, until if one has taken great, let’s say, high standard initiation, they think about highest yoga tantra initiation.
The one taking highest yoga tantra initiation, not only training the mind in the stages of the path to enlighten the lamrim, mind train this in the lamrim. So here, I’m here I’m emphasizing the importance in the life. The very important the very point of practice. So you see so our ultimate goal of our life is to free sentient beings from oceans of suffering and bring them to enlightenment. That’s a that’s a very meaning of our life ultimate goal of our life.
So that for to accomplish that, this this this goal, which is like limitless, you see, to every there are number of sentient beings, every single sentient beings, bring them for full enlightenment, then of course, you need to to achieve enlightenment. So to achieve enlightenment, just only chanting mantra alone cannot achieve enlightenment. This is alone. Just alone cannot reach enlightenment or just just doing breathing meditation alone. Just for life, just doing breathing meditation that alone cannot reach enlightenment.
So, you see, doing only preliminary practice, just only say prostrations or so forth. So doing only preliminary, they’re not progressing on the path. We see that that see, with so without realizing the path, you know, just doing preliminary practices alone, then, yeah, I see that alone, without realizing the path, enlightenment cannot achieve enlightenment. So, therefore so just trying to manage alone without meditating on the path and exercising the path for enlightenment. Main street, like the highway.
You see, the main road to go to city where we want to is the main road. Without going to that, just on the peripheral branches, you know, like the you see, like the branch of a tree, you see, like that. Along without maintaining on the the actual path to enlightenment, they enlightenment cannot be achieved. So therefore now, what the very essence of life is maintaining on the Lamrim, the steps of the path to enlightenment. So that’s the main thing.
But to have realization of guru devotion, renunciation of saṃsāra, what you practice then, you’re going to succeed in all that, complete tantra. So then the preliminaries, the Vajrasattva and prostration, this and that, all that. Many have a hundred thousand refuge, hundred thousand Vajrasattva and prostration, the hundred thousand Mandala, all these many of these practices. And then visit to to collect merit, needs to condition, and to purify the obscurations. They need to come as obstacles.
So that they were enabled to have realization of the path of life. So as I mentioned before, so they help. But there are branches. There’s a main practice. Main practice in the life is the lamb rim maintained on lamb rim, the mainstream, like the trunk of a tree.
So therefore, so therefore, first one must study Lamrim from beginning to end. So they study a few times. One is one, two, three times. Then after that, every day, one meditation should train in guru devotion and the other realizations. Then, in the same day, another meditation, one should train in the graduated path of the lower capable being.
You see from perfect human birth through karma. So you have achieved the renunciation regarding death. After that, then you meditate on the rest of the path of the middle capable being, renunciation of the faults of saṃsāra you see. Then after that, then you train the mind in bodhicitta. Otherwise, you can’t have realization of bodhicitta without going through the previous stages.
In the same day, meditating on emptiness, Prajñāpāramitā and Heart Sūtra, there are many different texts, short, long. So, even one stanza by using some verse, some stanza you see, they meditate on emptiness. So, that’s very important. So, like that. So, like this, stabilize every day, individual realizations, stable.
Then six months and this first six months, you train your mind in the gradual path of the lower capable being, from perfect human body through karma. Then another three months train in the gradual path of the middle capable being, that part of how saṃsāra’s nature is suffering. The next six month of bodhicitta, the next six month of main focus. So then with then you come back again, whichever realization you don’t have, then you turn around in that. So like this, then do the those preliminary practices every day as a tool for success of that.
So this is then if you want to able to practice and then you do as a secondary practice, as a second practice to imprint, can do as a some meditation, generation stage like that. Then there’s also come up, I think, too. So sometimes that also sometimes when we want to find time, place, one can also do it to that other with the sūtra or the other. So this way then life become very fruitful. You achieve something, you achieve some realization.
So this is the like going in the high I said main road. You achieve some realization this life. So the life is not going empty. So at least the mind prepared to achieve realization. That’s why you see like that.
So, that’s the central advice, how to go about practice management. So here at the center, Candrakīrti, then Lama Zopa is teaching, always giving teaching so that there’s opportunity to learn Lamrim there to study. So with such, the Vajrasattva mantra, then I will stop that. Chant it a few times just to go auspicious. So, it’s all dependent on what time that one has.
So, on the basis of the Prātimokṣa vow, if one has time, one can also maintain every day the completion path, you see, we’re gonna one can start it. But you can’t complete the completion path without realizing bodhicitta and emptiness. The main thing is to realize emptiness. So you can manage it depending on your time in each day. Same day also, what you are training your mind.
Remember, you can also train in completion stage, generation in completion stage. Can do that. But without realization bodhicitta emptiness, realization bodhicitta, you can’t complete the completion path. So therefore, you should more effort into bodhicitta to aim in this life to be able, without delay, in a second, to become a bodhisattva, to be able to perfect So, the dedication the end of the dedication, Atisha made the dedication. So, this dedication is very special dedication.
Therefore, not just want to recite. We must think of the meaning and dedicate them all the merits collected by you and all other beings. So, I would like to thank organizers of the directors, the honor of the members and the hard work of the members here who, say, put their foot in this to arrange then then they especially and family who that, say, here, that say, say, they have to comfortable, you know, to retreat. Leading to whole retreat. And in the house.
That so those who cannot bear, say, the hardships isn’t very easy here. So by putting effort here, so so that’s all the incredible service here. I heard. So anyway, to hear all the the efforts of the people helping so much. So I would like to thank the organizers here and the centers of the family here and from the family and everyone who’s helped so much.
And next, I would like to thank you very much to be able to this even though I think even though it’s a very short time retreat, but I think life is not wasted. So, for your patience and your dedication, giving time to your retreat to yourself, giving freedom to yourself. I would like to thank everyone, and please continue practice to benefit others. Thank you very much. I just want to mention, I think as far as the FPMT organization, this is the first time, the most luxurious retreat.
That never happened before. This is the first time. When I arrived at the room upstairs, I never stayed at such a place in my life. So, started to It’s a very good meditation for I didn’t meditate on it, but if I do meditate on it, it’s very useful for object of refutation, object of negation, because everything is so vivid and so strong, so real, existing from its own side. The whole room and everything, flowers and everything.
So, it’s very useful. Of course, just a few seconds, then we don’t forget to see, but it’s a meditation on emptiness. And, you see, so So, try it for a few seconds. Is a thought, thought, so much practice. When you have some comfort, some nice, good things, you dedicate, you offer, you dedicate all the sentient beings.
Or, whatever is something nice, comfort you have to dedicate for all the sentient beings. Then, see, to collect merit. So, this way you collect very good karma. You see, good karma. If you nice things, comfortable things, you you’re going to say you offer to sentient beings. Then, if it’s a problem or some, you see, suffering, something like that, then you say, all the sentient beings suffering, you take it on yourself, then you see, let them to free.
So they are the teachings. Share the load of suffering. If you are happy, then you you offer that happiness to others to to, say, to collect merit. If you are suffering, if you are unhappy, then take it all It means suffering on yourself and let them to be free. So, do not.
May the others, may all the oceans of suffering be dried. It must be meditated. So, if there’s a problem, then what do that? Then, you use it for practices to take on the sentient beings’ suffering and then let them free. Let all sentient beings’ suffering, you pray, be empty.
So that’s that’s just a brief way to mention that. Thank you. Oh, thanks so much. Breath. And now is there.
So many mala beads out there. So if one doesn’t wear, then let’s say, one can wear in in the hand or neck. If one doesn’t wear, keep it, then one person or animal from putting on the body is very good to purify, then it helps to have a better rebirth. Thank you very much. Can we see more some more?
Yes. How many? How do you want? That’s okay. Give the people.
Good time. Yeah? Okay. Tongue. Okay.
Handy. More? Yeah. That’s okay, Bandy. Okay.
Thank you very much. I’m happy you’re well. I’m You’re well. Yes. Yeah.
We light butter lamps and make light offerings. Okay? Good. Okay. You.