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 guides practitioners through Langri Thangpa’s Eight Verses of Mind Transformation. He opens with a striking comparison: a single sentient being is infinitely more precious than mountains of gold and jewels, because all happiness, liberation, and enlightenment depend on others’ kindness. Working through each verse, Rinpoche explains how to cherish all beings equally—friend, enemy, and stranger—and why those who harm us are rare teachers offering the chance to practice patience and transform anger. He covers the dangers of delusion, the power of mind in shaping experience, and tonglen practice (taking others’ suffering, giving our happiness), before concluding with the view of emptiness as foundation for releasing attachment to inherent existence. For practitioners with some Buddhist background.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 01 8 verses.mp3
UUID: 8a48d957-c582-4cb8-91b5-9878d1708803
Teacher: Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1
Collection: z LZR in Tibet (Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1)
Date: 2002 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.7 minutes
Words: ~4,625
At the outset, I must say Chöpa in Tibetan for the benefit of all my kind and mothers. Therefore, I’m going to a mind transformation. Langri Thangpa’s Mind Training, the Eight Verses of Mind Transformation. Going to meditate on that and listen to a brief commentary. Myself, I myself going to recite.
I myself with with thought with the understanding towards all the things that that that all the things and beings are more precious than a wish wish wish wish wish wish wish wish wish I wish wish with that thought can obtain the one can obtain the greatest possible benefit. I shall hold them most dear at all times. So there’s one sentiment there, your enemy and the other side one so your enemy, sitting being who is your enemy or one inside that and then one side mountains of like Mount Everest, the mountains of jewels. So who is more precious? Even though whole sky filled with silver, gold, diamond, even wish-granting jewels, that much and one sentient being was more precious.
So with this with this much jewel with them with this much jewel, even if you the whole sky, mountains or even though still the whole sky, I can’t I can’t that alone, you see, cannot stop me from the rebirth, you know, reincarnating the Lord Realm and to receive receive higher birth, both of the happy and thus of my dear, that alone cannot cannot help. And that alone cannot help me to receive liberation from from saṃsāra. That alone cannot help me to achieve enlightenment, to achieve enlightenment, purification of all the stains of mind, all the two obscurations and the completion of all the realizations I cannot achieve. But you see, this but you see, my but my achieving you see, without the being a slightest jewel, you know, without the slightest diamonds, silver, gold diamond which can jewels. By dependent kindness of this being, this enemy or this insect, I can achieve higher rebirth, I can achieve liberation from saṃsāra, I can achieve full enlightenment, I can achieve three great meanings among that highest enlightenment I can achieve.
So you see, all these achievement, all these happiness, future life, liberation, suffering-free life and all these that I can achieve, you see that dependent kindness comes from the sentient being being. So all this great benefit. So therefore you see by dependent kindness of living beings, so they have all this happiness. So therefore, this sentiment is much it’s in a much more precious. This one sentiment, this one insect is much this this in much more precious than mountains of gold diamond gold, is it silver gold diamond, which is kind of jewel.
Even the whole sky is filled with the diamond gold, which is a was trying to. So therefore, all that much wealth nothing comparing the value this one something being one insect, one you see, of whom I call enemy, one insect, one one human being. The same thing you see. How so precious the value of oneself precious, so kind. So you see all those others wealth nothing.
So therefore so I will always practice you know with this understanding with this understanding, I will practice to cherish not only not only see, not only when I have good heart, times when I’m happy or when I have a good heart, no, cherishing, that cherishing when I feel compassion or when that person is kind to me or something, you see, not like that, you know, forever. I will practice, you know, so therefore I will practice cherish to cherish that that means forever. So like that same, then before I gave an example, one single being, hell being, every hungry ghost, every animal, single being is so precious so precious as I mentioned before that I can achieve all this happiness, this great benefit. So cherish all the sentient beings without discrimination. Cherish all the sentient beings without discrimination, but if enemy so even enemy that should be cherished for that I’m going to practice it cherish forever.
So one so so no question, stranger, friend, you know, so all the sentient beings include friend, enemy stranger. So So as it is as Ārya Nāgārjuna mentioned and Nāgārjuna mentioned in the Seventy Prayers, the Mondo Jungwa, the seventy prayers by Nāgārjuna and as mentioned that I myself, like which like which kind of jewel like which kind of jewel, I’m going to say obtain all the, know, all the desires, you know, whatever the sentient being is a desire for, all the desirable phenomena’s you see, whatever sentient being, all the desirable phenomena’s of sentient beings, I’m going to obtain all that like, you know, wish-granting jewel. So from my side towards from my side towards sentient beings, so always cherish, you know, and then like which wish-granting jewel, I’m going to obtain all the desirable phenomena for sentient beings. Then also like that and also so praying in Nāgārjuna’s seventy prayers, Mondo Jungwa, seventy prayers. So may may able to obtain all like wish-granting jewel, you know, may able to obtain all the desirable phenomena for all sentient beings and become like a wish-granting tree.
To to I’m going to say I’m going to say may I become like a wish-granting jewel? The second phrase, may I become like a wish-granting jewel able to fulfill the wishes of all sentient beings. Able to fulfill the wishes of all sentient beings. Sir, fulfilling the wishes of all sentient beings. Two things.
Then the next one, to be able to continue that practice like that, that’s the next one method for that, to be able to always you see, cherish other beings. When a company any others, in other beings. I shall always consider myself the lowest of all by the by the realizations, you know, what is the wealth, beautiful body, whatever, from many things. I’m I should consider I should always consider myself the lowest of all. And from the depth of my heart, hold others dear in mind.
Then next one, third one, okay, so we mentioned that. So it’s not diplomatic. Smiling and respecting others is not political, so it’s not diplomatic. This is sincerely from the heart. You keeping yourself low and other respect putting others higher, you know, supreme is not diplomatic, not political.
So many people do political, you know, diplomatic. Not like that, you see. Sincerely from the heart. And as often as as as as as The insect, you know, the what you we have met dharma and we have studied dharma. I see.
But the insect, this insect didn’t have the dharma, does not understand dharma. So one, I don’t remember exactly what soon as some part what as soon as said even the to respect to to respect even the insect. Once that has met dharma as even started but this insight has never met dharma, never started. So but once that harms, it harms others more than what this insect does. So there is some respect for the insect in that.
So that’s and then, we In all the I think there’s one thing missing. In all the actions eating, walking, eating, walking, sitting, sleeping, those normal daily life activities, washing, Even one even one one was meditating, even one was one was studying Dharma. So during business or traveling or pilgrimage, in all the actions examine my own mental condition. So as soon as by doing that, as soon as soon as the delusion arises, it endangers myself and others, it makes evil of myself and others.
So causes to rise a desire attachment with one self and cause to desire desire to rise design others attachment, so then engage in the karma or cause to rise anger with oneself then cause to rise anger in others. So that’s how yourself and others engage in the karma and makes evil ones out of others. So diligently I’ll I’ll practice to avert diligently say. I I will avert, I will confront without delay, without delay, without delay even a second. If there’s delay, there’s delay, if the anger arises before you practice patience, if the anger arises, you go late, you go late one second and anger arose.
Then you see as Bodhicaryāvatāra says, so as Bodhicaryāvatāra says, so you see even even if karma that created one second, it makes to abide for eons in the eight hot hells’ unbearable suffering state. So then if karma is done from beginning, say, but how it’s possible to no need to say that one will be reborn in higher realms. So that means anger rises about one second You see, to a Guru or to a bodhisattva, you see, one second rises and then that makes to abide in the heaviest amount of eight hot hells, the last one, number eight. So therefore, so there one is about for Eons, the causes and could last one second. So that’s one just one example.
So, Anger arising is here, then it engaged in the karma, from beginning to rebirth, how can you expect to be born high realms? No, you can’t. So therefore without delay second, you know, to avert confront avert without delay of second. So that’s that’s what’s so important. You see you the method to overcome or to stop, you see the desire or anger, whatever arises, whatever.
So you see, to not delay even with second. So how to to avert diligently, you know, how to avert confront and avert and that’s with the method of wisdom. So that includes everything. With the method of wisdom So the wisdom understanding karma, wisdom of understanding emptiness, like that. So however, under by understanding shortcomings of delusion such as attachment, anger, so forth, all the shortcomings and then also if it’s attachment, then how the attachment is how the attachment is deceiving mind, how how how the attachment is wrong concept, how that is hallucinating the mind.
That’s that is extremely important thing. And then, to think about object attachment, how that again, there’s a, know, false there’s a false object. Object that’s object that’s easy where attachment is grasping on is projected by attachment. So that’s totally not a false object and to reflect, you know, the shortcomings object. So by this, then also the leaving imprint, each time attachment rises, leave imprint back on the mind, then more imprint left, it makes more difficult to control attachment in the future, now in the future.
So therefore, so the imprint is much heavier as I say than than hell realm. Hell rhythm, you experience one time, they finish. But in the the the imprint, you know, that gives you imprint, that’s left in the mental continuum, know, it gives rise to attachment again and again and then engage in the karma, then makes to be reborn, lower realms, you know, and so forth, all the all the problems in the human realm, all the confusions up in this life, unimaginable suffering from lower realms like that. Sorry, this. Then the next one and then one can meditate also, you know, first of all the dzin, the ignorance apprehending I and things as I and objects and objects inherently.
So how that ignorance project gives gives the wrong view, see, false object which doesn’t exist there, which is not there. Then on top of that then, and the ignorance causes to rise attachment, you know. Ignorance is a in order to create the create the fundamental wrong fundamental false object. Then on top of that, attachment rises and then and then it it gives some projection on that. You see, view of attachment.
You see? So like this. So there’s a double, I see. So there’s double wrong views. So like that.
So by thinking details like this, you know, as the the same thing with anger. Anger, you know, on the basis of the ignorance of true existence, you know, projected the inherently existing object. You see, then on the basis of that, then because of ignorance then you see the anger rises and then you see it has its own projection. It has its own view object which is on the base of the based on the object of the ignorance which is the fault doesn’t exist, then the ang when anger arises, anger has its own view object which which is a false. So by the so how all these thoughts are wrong conceptions, how all these objects false.
So by thinking that then everything then you see everything came from your mind and everything came from your mind, even your mind created and you by not valid mind but the wrong mind. So so all these are all these are totally nonsense, all this totally nonsense. So that so that’s the essence. Besides all the unimaginable result of sufferings of the negative karma, of the delusion and nor in future life, all the unimaginable sufferings you experience this life and at the time of death and after death for incalculable amounts of time. The next one, when I whenever I see beings who are wicked in nature and overwhelmed by the violent whenever I see beings who are wicked wicked in nature and overwhelmed by violent negative actions and suffering, I shall I shall hold such rare ones dear as if I have found a precious treasure.
So so so here we can use in the object, otherwise, the enemy, you know, who who’s always angry or hate to oneself, and then that that person cares all always their karma, harming oneself, you know, criticizing, you know, provoking, you know, by rising anger with all that. However, so we’re gonna use as we’re use Bin Laden, wicked in nature. So in a sub traditional talk, so all this wrong all this, you know say wrong conception. See, thinking thinking this thinking it’s right thinking it’s right religion, right practice but totally wrong. So all these wrong conceptions is very gross, all these wrong conceptions and so very angry, very impatient nature.
And overwhelmed by violent negative actions. So all those negative karma that he created, there so much is so much harm all over the world that so many uncountable numbers of people that they lost jobs or business and so forth affected the whole world, so much suffering. So due to due to the result, say, as a result of those net karma, then he has to abide in the has experienced unimaginable suffering in the lower realm for incalculable numbers of eons. And even a rare human in the higher in in the human realm we’ll have to he will have to experience in accordance with what he did towards others, and he will have to experience, to himself, you see, from others, result of result of all those all those sufferings, you know, all those harms that he he will have to receive as a result of his past karma. So uncountable number of eons and eons, therefore I shall hold such like having found a precious treasure, I shall hold him as a rare one, a very rare holding dear, but I think that’s a rare one.
So by reflecting how is samsaric suffering, then it helped to generate compassion with us, then that helps with mind, then that makes to complete the Mahāyāna path, method of wisdom, completes two types of merit and then achieve enlightenment, you see achieve enlightenment So all this you know able to develop have realization of compassion, to develop compassion, have realization of compassion, body, then whole power complete whole power of enlightenment, it’s in the Dharmakāya. So all this all this we receive by kindness of him. All this we receive by kindness of him. From him you get. So therefore, he’s the most precious.
So therefore, he’s the most kind most precious one in our life in also life. So therefore, like having found treasure, so I I will hold, you see, hold him dear find a sense is rare. So the next one, when someone whom I have benefited and whom I have oh, no. When when out of envy, others mistreat me with with abuse, insult, or the like, I shall accept defeat and offer the victory to others. So so by often, by taking the defeat by taking the defeat often the victory to others, so, in the worldly point of view, it looks like, if you’re losing and other person as the other person is gaining in worldly point of view.
But, actually, in reality, you are actually, when you do that, you practice, taking giving the victory to others, taking the defeat on ourselves. When you do that, actually, in reality, you are winning. Actually, you are taking the victory. I said, you’re winning, you know, actually actually. So due to this karmic result, leaving the happiness to others, taking the defeat on one side, leaving the happiness to others.
So this way, because there is good karma benefiting others done with a sincere good heart. So therefore good karma. So while when Samsāra hundred thousand thousand lifetime, you will have success. You will have success. You will have victory.
Will have victory. Other people, other sentient beings will give you victory in the future. So besides victory, besides the biggest victory, the enlightenment you achieve from this with a good heart, with a sincere heart, with compassion, love and that, you give the victory to others and take a defeat on yourself. Why why we should offer victory to others and take the defeat on ourselves? Why?
Why? Because all the happiness comes from others. All the problems comes from from yourself. That’s that’s the reason why we we offer the victory to others and we take defeat on ourselves. That’s the reason.
So one monastery always criticized him. So went one day to that monastery. Then he made offering and he made offering tea and food, you see, to all the monks who criticized him all the time. So then he then he thanked after he made tea offering to all the monks, then he thanked all thanked all the monks for criticizing him. So that offering with to others, taking defeat on the self.
See, so that’s the so that’s the reason. Then next one, when someone when someone whom I have benefited and whom I have great hopes gives me terrible harm, I shall regard them regard that person as my holy guru. So the guru, Buddha explained how to practice patience, you know, have shown the path, paramita of patience, the paramita of patience, how to practice patience. So guru explains, you see, so one who teaches you how to practice patience as a guru, you see, that’s what we got guru. So now here, one actually pursues you actually practice the instruction given by guru.
So that is I see. That is not that’s not Buddha. I see. Who actually makes you practice, not guru, not a Buddha, nor friend, nor another friend, nor stanza. So only the among all these sentient beings, only the person who makes you to put that instruction in the practice, instructional patience given by taught by guru Buddha, and to put in the practice is only by only by the person who has anger towards you.
Only the only by the person who gives harm who gives harm to you, who criticize you, who has anger towards you. Only that person. So therefore so by practicing by practicing patience, then by practicing patience, then anger doesn’t rise. Meantime, you are protected from all these heavy karmas and heavy heavy suffering results of the lower realms. You you are you are saved, you know?
Because patience doesn’t allow to cause anger. So you’re protected, you see, from anger by practicing patience. And so by developing the by by by developing the primal patience, you know, by completing that, then, you see, by completing that, you achieve enlightenment. Then you are able to liberate and able to liberate sentient beings from the ocean of saṃsāra, bring them to enlightenment. So so all these so all these all these, you know, all these whose kindness is by this person who has anger towards me, you know.
So that person obliged me to practice patience to put the instruction into practice, instructions of the guru. So therefore all this this in the developed my mind that by practicing patience, you know, no anger rises, so there’s no enemy to bodhicitta. There’s no enemy. Anger is one very harmful enemy to bodhicitta, to a realizability. So without anger is to generate bodhicitta.
So then you enter, you receive all the mind path, you know, realization whole mind path, that wisdom then it’s enlightened. So all these all these realize including bodhicitta, patience, enlightenment, everything we receive by kindness by kindness of this person. So this person is again the most precious, most kind one in the most in our life. So therefore, like the guru and Buddha who gives who gives you enlightenment by giving the by showing the part, by giving the teaching. So this person gives the enlightenment because by persuading you to practice the advice you see.
So therefore this person is the most kind and precious one. So like Guru, so therefore one should see, one should regard as Guru, our enemy. So that’s the next one. So also this person makes me to practice patience. So so what are so you see, without anger, I think without anger, with patience, you see, stop giving harm to all living beings.
With without anger, with patience, I stop giving harm to all sentient beings. Absence of harm that sentient beings may receive is the peace and happiness. You see, the absence of harm that they receive is the peace and happiness what they receive from me, is from my patience. So again so again I can give so much peace and happiness to all sentient beings is by kindness to this person, you see, who has anger towards me, who led me to practice patience, sort of that. So there’s another way another way to maintain kindness of the person with anger.
Now, in short, both directly, indirect, do I offer every happiness and benefit to all my mothers? I shall secretly I shall secretly take upon myself all their harmful actions and sufferings. So we do the meditation, tonglen, taking other sentient beings’ suffering, and include the cause and give our happiness meditate everything to others, you know, once on body in form of wish-granting jewel, radiate everything to others. We do that in meditation. So that is to develop the good heart and to develop the with the bodhicitta, exchange with others to develop.
So we do that meditation, but we do that meditation and in the daily life, we should also do we should also actually do it whatever we can the practice of exchange once for others. So that if somebody is carrying a very heavy load to cut down, to share, you see, to share the load, you have to carry so the other person doesn’t have to suffer. So at least like that word, like that say, like that example, somebody somebody doing very hard work, something the person has to say suffer so much, had to be so much hardship, something then one share. But so this way, you see, you give your happiness, you you’re giving happiness to that person. So everyday life, you see, not only doing the visualization, but also in daily life do as much as practically do as much possible.
You see, the giving happiness to others and taking others’ hardships, you know, suffering problems on oneself, whatever one can, like, for example, somebody accuses to that person, somebody accuses to you, you see, but actually you didn’t do that and somebody else did that. So then you see rather you explain to that person, oh, I didn’t do that person did it. Then you put up you give the problem, whatever is to that other person and you take the victory. And so that is it. You just for example, in other words, you just accept that and then you are giving a happiness, which is the other person, you see, who actually did the mistake.
So so there are many examples in daily life whether one can practice, you know, what one can other than meditation. So they’re doing so they’re doing meditation is to help, you know, to to be able to do more and more in daily life practically like that to give more happiness to others and take others’ hardships, problems on one side like that. So that’s a very special method to develop bodhicitta that is stronger stronger the bodhicitta is, then one is able to achieve enlightenment sooner. And then one is able to liberate sentient beings sooner from the oceans of suffering to enlightenment. And now the last one, undefiled by the stains of the superstitions of worldly worldly concerns, may I by perceiving all phenomena as illusory be released from the bondage of attachment.
So this is last one. So this here, all these practice you see all these so the last word. So this this worldly Dharma, they say first Dharma practice, cutting, renouncing the worldly Dharma. That one, edible Dharma. So let’s expand that way.
The other meaning of worldly Dharma is is the concept, the wrong concept of holding the world as inherently existent. Then hold then I see the cessation, I see holding the cessation as inherently then coming, inherently isn’t coming. Believing, apprehending the inherently isn’t coming and inherently going. It’s in Tibetan called Ten Zin Tog Pa Dzin Pa. So I think maybe apprehending that I may be I existing separately from the aggregates.
Holding the I as existence separately. No. See, it that I that I exist that I exist different that I exist differently from the aggregates, but I doesn’t exist separately from the aggregates. I exist differently from the aggregates, but I doesn’t exist separately from aggregates. So holding the eye existing separate holding the eye is different from the eye is is correct, but holding the eye separately from I guess that’s wrong.
So I don’t know whether it whether it became eight or not. I’m not sure. Have to examine. So this is so this is the eight this is not the worldly Dharma. So here, what is talking here?
As soon as I remember in England, I was not there long many, many years ago. So this part, he’s going to explain the worldly Dharma from the Lamrim, the greater part of the lower capable being, first Dharma practice. So then I heard that Geshe Kachen was there, Geshe Kachen was there. And then Geshe Kachen asked a question to Geshe Kachen’s teacher. He’s going to get teaching already about the adverse in the public presence.
So the Geshe Kachen asked, oh, the worldly Dharma is not this, worldly Dharma is the clinging to the inherently existent. His next question why not, you know, why not worldly Dharma the other one? Why not? So it’s like that. Anyway, so one so this worldly Dharma, can you explain both ways?
So so either by meditating or by realizing how I actually realize everything is empty, then you see everything as immediately labeled or the you see, thing things appear that things appear as inherently existent, but because you understand that’s empty, so