Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 50-minute teaching, Lama Zopa Rinpoche unpacks the verse “Do not commit unwholesome action; engage in wholesome action; subdue your mind—this is the teaching of Buddha,” showing how internal mind training distinguishes Buddhist practice from traditions emphasizing external appearance. All suffering arises from unsubdued mind driven by delusions—anger, desire, ignorance, jealousy, pride. A core practical insight: the same action (a job, prayer, eating) becomes Dharma or non-virtue depending entirely on motivation. Work with attachment to this life’s pleasures yields suffering; the identical work done with renunciation or bodhicitta becomes a cause of future happiness or enlightenment. He then introduces emptiness through the metaphor of a blind magician: ignorance creates the illusion of true existence where only dependent relationships exist. Pitched at practitioners familiar with Dharma foundations.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 13 2005 04 19 8 Ver Th Trans.mp3
UUID: 212a8435-b97e-4680-84d2-33441843db0c
Teacher: Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1
Collection: z Malaysia (Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1)
Date: 2005-04-19
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 50.3 minutes
Words: ~3,442
Which page? Print. Which page? Do not commit any unwholesome action. Engage in perfect wholesome action and subdue your mind, and this is the teaching Buddha.
So in other in other traditions, religions, stress, what you dress, you know, what physically, you see, dress, stress, how you dress about things. For example, putting marks on the body or the dress. But here in Buddhism, I see it subdue one’s own mind. In other tradition, there’s no much there’s much emphasis on the, you know, taking care of the mind. So doing taming the mind.
The delusions from where delusions, they which motivate karma and all the suffering from where all the suffering comes, including the cycle of death and rebirth, all that. So so since the delusion of the one, so therefore, the suffering comes, doubt that we that that we do not like experience. So therefore, the solution is to see, to pacify, to cease the delusions. All the problem of life comes from unsubdued mind, from delusions. So the mind, we see, mind being under the control of anger, desire, ignorance, and the jealous mind, pride, so forth.
Then then motivate karma. And then then from there, harms to other harms to oneself, harms to other sentient beings who are numberless. At the same time, we call numerous. And then they are, from life to life, the numerous other sentient beings, they they receive harm from you from life to life. For that.
So here, Buddhism, it’s a the practice is not, you know, say, how to dress outside like the marks and whatever things that in here, the taking care of one’s mind, looking after your mind, subdueing the subdueing the mind, taming the mind. See, you free you free your mental team from the cause of the suffering, delusions, and the seed of the delusions. So and to see, you so here in Buddhism, see, you give freedom to yourself, rather giving freedom to the anger, to the desire, to the ignorant, to the jealousy, to giving freedom to delusion, giving victory to delusion. That that by giving victory to the delusion, you know, that’s what that’s why we are still in saṃsāra. We’re still we’re still not free from the cycle of death and rebirth.
And all the suffering between rebirth and death. So from this cycle, we are still not free. And what made the start is because we have been giving victory, freedom to the delusions from beginningless from beginningless from from beginningless that’s the big mistake. So that’s why we’re still suffering. One becomes slave and servant for delusion, slave for delusion, for self-cherishing thought.
This mistake what has been from beginning, this is rebirth. Now now so now by recognizing this, the suffering results are from this, also shortcomings. Now here, we need to change. This in this life, we need to change by discovering the shortcomings of giving victory to the that we have been giving victory to the delusion, you know, from beginningless time. Then all these all these sufferings sufferings sometimes at the beginning.
So now in this time, then I say give the victory to oneself. To give the victory to yourself instead of giving to delusion freedom to yourself instead of giving the freedom to the delusion for that. By giving victory to by giving victory to oneself, freedom to oneself, only then we are able to practice Dharma. Only then we become free from delusion, able to achieve liberation able to achieve liberation from saṃsāra, from all the suffering free forever. Not all that, also, are able to achieve great liberation of full enlightenment.
So that Why Buddha is Buddha stresses subduing the mind? Then because happiness is coming from the mind. Doesn’t do not come from outside. Even there’s even there’s even there’s something outside, but there’s only condition. Like for our sense pleasures, you know, the sense pleasures and namely form, sound, smell, taste, but the way, the sense pleasure.
So that’s on a condition. But but in order to this that these sense pleasures by having conditioned the form, sound, smell, tangible object, that depends on having created the karma, the cause, the main cause before. The the sincere happiness, pleasure, then cause has to be a good karma. Not bad karma. Good karma, positive virtuous attitude and virtuous action.
So that’s why because of happiness, temporal happiness, and including happiness likewise, the temporal pleasure, and then all the future life happiness, then liberation from saṃsāra, then full enlightenment, the appearance of happiness, come from the mind. All the suffering problems come from unsubjective mind. So all the happiness come from virtuous thought. The So from the mind transforming into the bodhicitta, cherishing others, total benefit others from the self-cherishing, from ego. Mind transform into from this attachment to saṃsāra, seeking pleasure of saṃsāra, happiness of future life, saṃsāra happiness, mind transform from that attachment, clinging and seeking those, then into renunciation, the pure mind renunciation, detachment to saṃsāra.
The detached mind mind which want to be free from saṃsāra. It’s just being attached to those. So from that mind and then, oh, then from the the positive mind, virtual thought, you see, detached to this to this life. Renowned this life or detached this life. So these are virtuous thought.
So so this last one, the third one is subduing the attachment, clinging to this life, you see. Then the mind become Dharma, then your actions, studying Dharma or meditating, eating, walking, sitting, sleeping, doing job, all these become Dharma. With this thought, everything become Dharma. All these actions become Dharma. So, this pure mind, you know, virtual thought, you see, the letting go, the attachment, the clinging to this life, you know.
The mind understand about this attachment. Free from this attachment, clinging to this life. So from this, can you see what they achieve all the happiness in future lives? See? See?
Whatever one does, they become cause of happiness. Happiness of our future lives. guru devotion and so forth. The opposite to this, the attachment, the clinging to this life, then that is the nonvirtue, and action is done out of that non virtue is the lower rebirth. So even when one recites prayer, even one study dharma, but subject is dharma, but your action studying or you’re reciting did not become dharma.
So become non virtue, so result of of suffering. So that So the so with this so with this thought attachment, this clinging to this life, grasping this light. So then whatever we do in the many hours job, eating, walking, sitting, sleeping, whatever we do, or even doing prayer, maintaining, everything become non-virtuous. Including including happiness this side, having having wealth. See, after they come having comfort and then having having wealth, having power, you know, the pleasure of this life having power, become famous, reputation.
So so any sense of pleasure of this life Came from good karma. Since this happiness, it came from good karma, came from past good karma. So past good karma. From past karma and not non-virtue karma, but good karma. So all these all these good karma, positive virtuous actions are dharma.
Good karma, dharma, zen. So all the all the happiness, what we experience like, received received the human body, perfect human body, and every single comfort happiness that we have in this life, all come from karma, from good karma. The that that which is dharma. Even the pleasure, even the comfort pleasure in the dream, even that even the when you feel hot, cool air passing through and having pleasure, Everything came from everything is dependent arising, came from karma and the good karma. And what is karma?
karma is what? karma is not body, not a not a substantial phenomena. It’s a mind. We have body and mind, so it’s the mind. The mind express the mind.
There’s six, say, consciousness, Principle conscious. Then there’s fifty one mental factors When we say body and mind mind, it’s just conscious and fifty one mental factors. Six root delusions, twenty secondary delusions delusions. Eleven virtuous, four changeable for us. The sleep and regret and and gross thought and the more subtle thought.
So which I can be transformed in virtue, transform as a non virtue. And the five, discerning mind. Yeah. Five the the the the mental as a mental fact of discerning object. So and five it’s called it has the omnipresent.
Five omnipresent mind mental factor five mental factor that always company that always company that always company with the principle of consciousness. So number seven. There’s a mental factor that So they are like this. Intention and sampa. Then they discriminate or discerning the, you know, the phenomena, this and that.
To see feeling attention, Contact. So five. From these five five mental factors, which always company with the principal consciousness. Like the like the like the king and with the minister. Say, like, team with the different ministers or the for example, director of the center.
And then the there’s all the other, you see, secretary and the bookkeeper and the what else? Accountant and what else? That so they they they say so they surrounded people, you see. But all everybody is working for the center. So so although same object, they all focus on some object, but different each one has different function.
So label is given, you know, according to function of those different mental factors. Feeling the cognition and the discerning, the mental factor, intention, apprehension, contact. So the karma is which mental factor? So from the five mental factor that always company with the principle consciousness. With the five with the five similarity, say, the mental factor these five mental factors and the principal factors, function of the object with the five similarities with the five similarities.
Aspect, time, substance, essence, and basis. I think the five, one I didn’t remember. The five similarity. The so, however, the what is the karma? So the karma, the action, cause and effect.
So cause, action and result. In Tibetan, las and result, cause and effect.. So Sanskrit karma means action. In Tibetan, las and result, cause and effect. The So from negative cause and suffering result from positive cause of which is virtue result happens. So So the karma or the action.
So what is which mental factor is that? Is it from the five mental factor always company with the principle of consciousness that was intention. Sorry. There’s two types two types action. One is action of the intention and one is intended intended action.
So action of intention and intended action. So I the before you act, there’s a motivation that so motivational cause. Hey. Motivation. Motivational cause, then there’s motivation of time.
So during the act, there’s also motivation. You know? So that’s that while you’re doing the acting, while you’re eating or sleeping or doing job. So that’s motivation time, intended action. And before you act, that’s the that’s the motivation of cause.
It’s not the intention. So you have to analyze. So you have to analyze. You have to analyze that, which what defines the action if the the if the motivation of cause is that virtue and the motivation of the time while you’re doing the act, if it’s non virtue, then the karma, the action, whether that is a virtue or that is a non virtue Because at beginning, the you generate a motivation cause is virtue. Then while you’re doing action while you’re acting that is a non virtue.
So should analyze what the karma is. What one action that one does. Is it what — is it negative karma or good karma, virtuous karma. So that’s so I think there’s two motivations. Which which power? Which mental power?
The motivation time, the motivation during the time of the act, or the before acting? Which one? Say, more powerful or the Which one? They transform the action in virtue and nonvirtue. You see, virtue.
Or they say, you know, non virtue. So they can be moderation. You see, moderation of the cause the motivational cause, non virtue then during act motivation, virtuous motivation. Motivation motivation time virtue. So they could be also like that.
So it should be analyzed. However, so the karma or the action that is the not substantial kind of not nothing part of the body. It’s a you see, mind body, mind mind from fifty one mental factor is not is not the principle. It’s not this you know, the for six conscious is not end of thing. It’s fifty one mental factor.
Is it from the five omnipresent mental factors that always accompany the principal consciousness with five similarities in functioning. So so the way they exist, you see. So the intention, sampa. So that so to say. So So happiness comes from either from the bodhicitta motivation, say, doing actions with that.
And then the including happiness including enlightenment. Then liberation saṃsāra, you see, happiness, future lives. Then including happiness in this life, all comes from if you have that, if you if you’re doing living life with living life with that motivation, the good heart, altruistic mind to achieve enlightenment, altruistic mind to achieve enlightenment person to link thought of the benefit thought of benefit of the so from that from the action done with this, the good karma from this, now all this happiness all this happiness is one thing too. Then the the that which is that which understand by self chasing thought. So in here here the advice, you see, what we recite is seven points of mind training, this is the teaching of Buddha.
So he understood by self-cherishing. From this point. So all this happiness will be achieved. Then the the the the mind, the attitude understood by renunciation. You see, seeking the future lives. What’s it?
No. Jumping — renunciation.. The motivation seeking liberation, the ultimate happiness. Understand by the attachment, seeking saṃsāra pleasure. So here, one other thing to relate is to one’s mind, understood by the attachment, clinging to saṃsāra pleasure.
So, say, action done. Action action done with this, we achieve the liberation of saṃsāra, which is the ultimate happiness. So now the action done with the motivation that see, seeing happiness future life, understand by the attachment, clinging to the slide. Then another meaning, you see, subdue subdue the what was is understood by attachment and clinging to this life. So so this another meaning subdue one’s mind.
The teaching is it the subdue one’s mind is the teaching of Buddha. So it’s one meaning that so the anger so the anger and attachment seeking grasping, you know, grasping, holding on this life. So that is the non virtual thought, which whatever activity is done, job and studying dharma, maintaining whatever activity you want to, that thought is that whatever is non virtuous, all the action we are non virtuous. So so that is that doesn’t come in this verse, you know, subduing one’s mind. That’s the opposite of subduing.
See, opposite of subdue. So from this, one is suffering comes. So So why Buddha stresses? Not external things, but how you dress, how you look. See, here’s stress in mind.
Subduing one’s mind. So why? Because this happiness is what you like after enlightenment, including, say, this life. So all come from your mind, the pure mind, is it? Virtuous thought.
All the sufferings come from the impure mind. The say, other the anger or the attachment, the ignorance in the karma, not knowing dharma, of course, came from the root ignorance, not knowing not knowing what is I, the ultimate nature of the I. Ultimate nature of the aggregates, such as the mind. So that So during the the job is sent, during this during the same job, But yesterday, doing the job with the attachment, clinging to this life. See.
But but today, by by knowing that is non virtue and all all the action done with that is non virtue and result in suffering, today, you do you do the job. The seeking happiness of future lives and detached with the doing with the pure mind, unattached, having let go of clinging to this life. So today’s doing job become Dharma. Today’s doing prayer, meditation, it become Dharma. So like that.
You’re doing you’re doing this you’re doing the same activity, but before it did not become Dharma, now become Dharma. You see? So like that virtue, which results only happiness. So this verse, the subdue I said I said, do not do not commit do not commit any unwholesome action. Engage perfect wholesome action.
Subdue the mind, and this is the teaching of Buddha. This verse contains the four noble truths. Well, it contains four noble truths. The true path, cessation of the suffering. Subdue the mind, this is the teaching of the Buddha.
Then through do not engage in an unwholesome action. The ‘s the true suffering, true cause of suffering. So how about this — these four verses show the form of truth. Not that. Look at the causative phenomena.
Mhmm. Mhmm. Lifestyle. The nighttime. Like the night like the stars at nighttime.
See. Without sun, see. The moon is there. That that dark in the view of in the view of the The concept truly ignorance. The you see, all the eye, all phenomena appeared to truly existent.
Truly existent while they are while they are totally empty of true existence. So it’s like night nighttime. So the in the the view of the wisdom, then everything are empty. So there’s like sun. When the sun when the sun rises, everything light in the world like that.
Then look at the causative phenomena like this. Like, the vision unclear, unclearity. Like the vision unclear. Like vision of hair falling from one’s own head into the food, like that hallucination. Uncleared to perceive things clearly.
So so here, causative phenomena is appearing as truly. So like that example. Then which which is not true. So totally empty, you see. Mhmm.
Then then we’re gonna cause the phenomena like light, like butter lamp, butter lamp. So the butter lamp is a exist by different many so many cause and condition. So because the phenomena exist by dependent so many cause conditions, so it’s depend it’s not in deep it’s dependent arising. It’s not so it’s not independent, it’s devoid of independence. So, again again, there’s a gross dependent arising.
There’s subtle dependent arising, which is the school. The second one, school. The phenomena is the designated phenomena exist by the base and the mind which mind which impute and the imputation. So so, again, it means that empty is. Conclusion is that empty.
By talking dependent arising, what it’s saying trying to tell me is that they’re empty. They’re coming to the same conclusion. So by using example, but learning that depend on many cause conditions exist. Then look at the example of the illusionist, like illusion. Then as I that mentioned during time, so that that the skilled magician person illusioned the audience’s senses.
And then then seeing they are seeing the whole city. Magician person perform the whole city. There’s no there’s no city there. Nothing. But perform the the whole city, you know, by illusioning the outing senses or jewel palace or beautiful men and women all there as a as a elephant and so forth.
All sorts of things which are not which are really not there. So due to, you see, material substances and the mantra, things like that. So so as I mentioned during the retreat at the so use that example here and the ignorance. Once the ignorance is a blind magician person, and then the imprint left by the ignorance is like the material substance of the mantra. Then illusion, your self is audience, illusioning your senses, like that, then illusioning your mind that, you know, make everything to appear.
Everything what is merely labeled by mind appear to you through the existence, not merely labeled by mind. So like that. So here is a more clear applying that example to one’s mind. What’s mind ignorance like that? So here, how’s the phenomena?
Everything appear, you know, to us like illusion. So like that, They are performed by the mind. Then the