Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 167-minute session from June 2005, Lama Zopa Rinpoche gives an extended teaching on the rarity and fragility of a precious human rebirth. He begins by explaining why our virtuous actions have less immediate power than negative karma and afflictions, then uses this crucial insight as a gateway: beings reborn in lower realms cannot practice Dharma at all, and the causes for falling there are numerous while the conditions to maintain a precious rebirth are vanishingly rare. He anchors this in Buddha’s teaching that those reborn in lower realms outnumber fortunate beings as dust on a fingernail. From this contemplation emerges an urgent conclusion—that every moment must be devoted to continuous practice, grounded in bodhicitta, the intention to free all sentient beings. For practitioners with foundational Lamrim knowledge.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 2005 06 13 1 TWN 13TH JUNE B4 LUNCH.mp3
UUID: 0e380ad6-6170-456f-b4c7-7489a0708a1e
Teacher: Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1
Collection: z Taiwan (Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1)
Date: 2005-06-13
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 167.4 minutes
Words: ~2,761
It was We we don’t know Rinpoche. Know it’s to do Lama Chopa. Sorry. I said one session this morning. I just would you like us to do the Lama Chopa at the first session?
Yes. What do you do now? Just go and take a break. No. No.
No. No. Didn’t do we just start to press the offerings and then just start the the motivation for thirty-five Buddhas prostration. I’m not finished yet. Because we changed the offering between the session, so we raised the offering.
You changed the offering? Yeah. This morning, after the first session, we changed the offering, the water offering. Oh. So you’re you’re offering now?
Yeah. So we already pressed the offering, but not just pressed the offering. Not not to We haven’t done the extensive offering. We just try to start the thirty-five Buddhas prostration and start the motivation. Seventy?
Seventy. So I’ll probably major offering The words of truth is the next prayer there. Next prayer, isn’t it? Words of truth is there? Words of words of truth.
A word of truth. Yes. Yes. Please bless my mind in Dharma. Dharma to come to path, to not to not not arise.
Obstacle to to not an still the path. Particularly, to arise immediately. The loving kind of compassion, bodhicitta. And the the compassion and the absolute. Wisdom direct perceiving emptiness.
Also, I’m making the request to the Sangha. Essence of all the Śākyamūni Buddha Sangha or the that. But my life is happy, unhappy, healthy, unhealthy, gain loss, poor or rich, receiving criticism or praise, bad reputation, good reputation, living or dying. You’re born or dying. Whatever action I do, whatever life experience from now on, may become most beneficial to sentient beings, which is that which is causing all sentient beings to achieve enlightenment as quick as possible.
I always miss one from now, whatever life one experiences, actions, whatever one does, it becomes part to become part to achieve enlightenment for something. So of this the Lam Rim motivation. So idea is to not just recite mantra, but just one that that’s good. That’s good, but it was combined with the integrate integrate with the lam rim, then it become also lam rim. Not just not just the just recitation, the meditation, the not just that.
So with the Lam Rim then combined integrated, then become very rich. Then it become very rich practice. Mhmm. Retreat session. So it become it become yum yum.
Yum yum. Yummy. Yummy. Yummy. Yummy.
Yummy. So yeah. Okay. Okay. They’re not yeah.
So they’re not that to the mantra. But, of course, as as purest as possible with the the total benefit towards every single sentient being to get this. Yeah. Excellent practice. Rich.
Very rich and excellent practice. So you’re supposed to Mhmm. To a slow to to think, to to meditate, you need to think. So it’s the to arise the virtuous thought is difficult. Because to arise the virtuous thought is difficult, so to receive the body of the happy transmigration is extremely difficult.
So yesterday, that was mentioned. Particularly, one need to create a cause. Each each cause of each individual particularly having particularly having received the freedoms and richnesses, And one need to practise the corpus, each individual, the eighteen qualities of the freedom richness. So what the same thing, this time, particularly, especially not just human, but not just not just precious human rebirth, but having a precious human body, it qualified me, it freedoms, richnesses. You know?
So so that that means to receive such this perfect human rebirth again, say, you see, one is to clear the cause of each the arising of the qualities, for each quality, each individual quality, you see, of the perfect human rebirth, you see, the eight freedoms and richnesses. And to create and to to create the such a cause is extremely difficult. It’s extremely rare. Extremely rare. So so, therefore, result okay.
So why is it why not the result, you know, the the perfect The result, you know, the human body, which is perfected with the freedom richness. You know, rare. See. Mhmm. Here, takes a bit of a way of expressing the way.
You know? What so why not rare the result, you see, perfect result, perfect perfect in freedom richness. The human body, perfect in freedom in the freedom richness. So why not rare? You know?
Of course, it’s extremely rare. Even if it’s extremely difficult, receive the body receive the result, you know, the body human body are perfect in the freedoms and richnesses. But even but even if it happened, even if even if one has one has accomplished all all the cause without missing anything. The cause of the cause is freedom freedoms and richnesses. There are so many.
There’s that’s it. There’s there’s so many Conditions to destroy the to destroy that. There are so many conditions to destroy that. The perfect cause of the freedoms and richnesses. That is clear to see. So this such as a the middle of the room, there’s anger, heresy, abandoning the Dharma, so forth.
There’s there’s so many. So as I mentioned, the s s s, ill ill will, the pride, the the yeah. So, you see, but there’s a that this many others. Even the even the Even that is not destroyed by such conditions, the perfect cause to achieve freedom, freedoms and richnesses, even if they are not destroyed by such such by such those conditions. The mind.
The mind disturbing thought, the obscuring disturbing thought, and the the the the negative karma. Is extremely powerful. The mind, the obscuring disturbing thought, negative karma are extremely powerful. The path, the virtuous thought, and the good good actions has little power has little power. What it’s saying is what it’s saying is that so, for example, you know, when we did the killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, or lying, it does killing and so forth.
First of all, there’s strong delusion, you see, attachment or anger. The along with the motivation, they’re they’re strong. There’s delusion, you see. Like that. Then after the action, then also the action is very harmful, the way it’s done.
Very harmful. Then not just harming, but very harmful, the way it’s done. You know? Mhmm. It’s done in a way very harmful.
Then then the, say, after it’s completed, then you see then rejoice in the mind, feel happy. So makes the preparation, actual body, completion, everything is there, and that is very powerful. And she at the end, they’re also feeling happy, rejoicing. That makes it so powerful. So this mind is a strong, powerful, you know, disturbing obscuring thought, and the negative karma.
It’s very powerful. But the virtue but the path, the virtue thoughts and positive actions. See? Not not like that. So even there’s preparation motivation, but the actual action is not so good, not strong, not well done.
Mala or mantra, or whatever, you see, the mind is just fully distracted. Mind is fully destructed, so the actual action of reciting the mantra is not perfect, Even the motivation is that virtue. Then also at the end, there’s no dedication. Even the dedication is done, but not I said not perfect. Not perfect.
That. Then, see also, there’s no rejoicing after that. You know? The bridge makes it very powerful. You see?
That. So the so even there’s actual body dedication, but there’s no motivation, virtuous motivation. And even even there’s a virtuous motivation, but there’s no bodhicitta. Even there’s a virtuous motivation, Hīnayāna motivation, but not bodhicitta, motivation. So, like that.
So the all the say so it’s rare to have complete in a perfect virtue, virtuous motivation, actual body, and the completion issue. So even that is even the even perfect virtue happen, but not towards the pride and and those you see, it will think think those negative thoughts rises, then they weaken that weakens the that weakens the virtue, the merit to one of So like that. So small power, having small power is that. So therefore, not sure which result will I experience first will come before. Not not definite.
Not definite. Which result will come before? First, which result will be will be experienced first. Yeah. Not sure.
So what he’s saying is that since the thought and the virtuous actions, there is less power, less more power, because imperfect imperfect is end of the obstacle. And the disturbing obscurations, the mind distributor obscuration devices, they become a powerful, so So it’s applying that the negative karma, even though even though there is some virtue even though some virtue are generating the virtue action done, but since since the much like waterfall, you see, like rainfall, like waterfall, continue continue continue continue continuous power of the disturbing obscuring thoughts and the negative actions. And so much continues to rise and so so powerful. So so this will rise first. This this can rise first.
You see? So it’s after let’s see. After after death, which we’ll experience first, for then that, the the karma that might, see, might be rapent, that can be ripened first. So that mentioned that mentioned the rebirth in the lower realms. So that not rebirth in the lower realms.
So even with the human even we have human body now, met had met Dharma, had met virtue friend, all this, but still, see, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t mean you see, I will practice Dharma twenty four hours. It doesn’t mean every action we do become Dharma. So so so very rare, the the to create a virtuous action, to create good karma, which is actually very rare, and even if it’s done, there’s less power. So so they were if you’re born, can imagine the first of all, the it’s completely overwhelmed by one is completely overwhelmed by the such an incredibly heavy suffering, totally overwhelmed. That’s the first thing.
How can one practice? How can one practice Dharma? Thought complete or almost such heavy suffering. Then, there’s no way to understand Dharma, no way to learn Dharma, no no way to learn, no way to practice. So then they missed the you collect so that means you collect only a negative karma with non-virtuous thought.
The motivation non-virtuous, then actions, only negative karma in that life. So just work. So then just work. As a result, don’t just wander. Just wander and die and reborn again, lower realm, die and reborn again, lower realm, so wander around.
For inconceivable times, she can’t can’t really tell when you can come back if you sit. Once once fell down the lower realms, not sure when you can come back. And they will immediately see. The conditions so that one should not waste time, shouldn’t waste time or should not waste this precious human body. Must practice Dharma must practice Dharma is in every single second.
So that’s so that’s the conclusion. So in particular, not just one of the Dharma, the particular teaching. The Dharma doesn’t have all the time in this world. Only in this in the say, the dark age it doesn’t happen. Only in the age of the light.
Only that. So rare, the teaching of the Buddha in this world. Now now even extremely rare, the Lama Tsongkhapa’s teaching. It happens it only happens just about, you know, Only very sometime, very rarely. So it’s like the it’s like the stars, daytime.
So rare. Hardly you see a star in daytime. Even by reflecting these, to receive the body of freedom richness, perfect body of freedom richness, is extremely difficult. Yeah. So This is daytime.
In daytime. The rising through the towards the sun. You can’t see a star. The refuge founder, the infallible refuge founder, the refuge founder who is infallible, who tells truth. Didn’t didn’t didn’t he say didn’t he say the those who are those who are who migrate in the lower realms, like the dust of the great earth.
And the beings who migrate in the realm of the happy transmigrating, the beings who are down the the beings who go beings who migrate down the lower realm, The beings who as the beings who were down who go down. The beings who were down, migrate the lower realms. They are like the dust of the atoms of the great earth. The beings who migrated in the the happy transmigrating, beings who go up, the the happy transmigrating is like the dust on the nail. Amount of the dust on the on the fingernail.
So that means, you know, by scratching, you see how much nail comes from on the on the nails. How much but, yeah, it comes from the nail. Where where so where little is so tiny. So that that the beings who go up. They are a rare few.
There were human beings in this. So so so in so you can emphasize this. It’s not a waste. This to not waste is purpose in. So continuously so they will continuously practice Dharma and The amount of Dharma, you see what the most important thing, most blessed is, practice of bodhicitta.
So living life of bodhicitta. You should never separate away from that. Give me a second. Yeah. I can generally put the bodhicitta with wisdom.
The purpose of my life is to free the to free the numberless beings from suffering and lead them to enlightenment. It’s also a little bit why is this world? Well, only it’s beneficial to as in the midst. Same. Then may I ever generate from Buddha Śākyamūni after my spiritual guide?
In this way, life, of that very second. So, just one wish. Then, whatever particular wishes you have, then have some success with that. All the funding will be received, material projects, then they will start to complete the Buddhist center. Continue continue the construction and complete it as quickly as possible.
And Buddha House is made most beneficial to us and neighbors, especially Buddhism is in those hearts. To be able to complete this as quick possible there. May abide in the will in the material of the descent, make it the most beneficial. Bring it in a lot of. Especially then.
We have perfect peace and happiness in all of the world. So that that per to have perfect peace and happiness involved in every country, in every in the present Taiwan. Mhmm. Free to total free from fear and all the peace and happiness enjoyment. And realization part.
I receive all the fundings to all the rest of the projects. The opposite of the fungus, monasteries, none of these exist already existing, preserving dharma, then build various parts of the world, and then build whole of just various parts of the world, and social service is very part of the world, and then to provide to be able to help finance to be finance centers and successful their projects. Strong so make strong prayer. The nectar of the initiations from the Dharmakāya, enter not so much the body mind. Okay?
As well as the the body mind, also others in the news. The. Yeah. We have enough. So I make that a strong request, as I mentioned before, to the to bring some system there.
Beams emitted, negative beams emitted purified, as well as Buddhism purified. Signs of his karmic purification and development. No. Yeah. Last part, prepare.
Then Guru, extremely pleased, that are living and dead, carry life, live life for others in living. And the melting light absorbed into me. Bless your precious precious mind. About this? That whatever action from now on, whatever life experience from now on, then Mhmm.
May it become most beneficial to all sentient beings. There will cause also liberate all sentient beings as soon as possible by myself being enlightened. Good morning. You should maybe borrow your Shedra Dharma text because they apparently, there’s a differences in the the writings and the the mantra that the people have Mhmm. And the one that Rishi is reciting.
There’s some differences. They’re difficult to follow. Oh, yeah. They may be because of the part of the pronunciation of Hong Kong. Mhmm.
So I think it’s Cantonese kind of search. Oh. This is it. The the one is Tibetan. I’m actually.
Pronounce? When she wants it to be pronounced as. Yes. I said they have difficulty following this.