Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 38-minute teaching from Taiwan, Lama Zopa Rinpoche illustrates the profound rarity of human rebirth through Buddha’s own image: the beings born into higher realms are as few as dust on Buddha’s fingernail, while those born into lower realms are like all the dust of the earth. He develops this insight through successively narrower comparisons—among all sentient beings, how few are human; among humans, how few encounter Dharma; among those who practice, how few possess all eight freedoms and ten richnesses needed for genuine practice. The teaching introduces the Essence Nectar, a concise daily Lamrim meditation text, and discusses related foundational texts used for studying the stages of the path.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 2005 06 13 2 TWN 1a S.C.13th JUNE05.mp3
UUID: f09170de-5963-43e9-b2a3-a9125df81d23
Teacher: Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1
Collection: Taiwan (Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1)
Date: 2005-06-13
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 38.0 minutes
Words: ~1,750
Having yeah. Me see. Okay. So maybe to a little bit of we took a few some lines of number. So good afternoon.
So this text Essence Nectar, Lamrim Essence Nectar. The other other part is composed by great enlightened by Pabongka’s root guru. Then then it didn’t get complete, and the last part, some I don’t know from where but completed by himself. So this is this is a very good excellent the guidebook in everyday to meditate. Everyday to meditate on Lamrim, this is one.
Not too short. And, I mean, you can use foundation good quality Mhmm. And expand from there. You see, when you meant it, but here, it is not too short and you cannot with the stories, with the elaboration, not that it goes more or goes straight through. So it’s quite very effective the way the way it is expressed, very effective.
So this one one Lamrim book that one can use in daily meditation, that goes straight. The other one to use for guidebook, Lamrim guidebook, outlines outline the of the there’s an outline of Lamrim Chenmo, but if you you know, that’s quite extensive outline to Lamrim Chenmo. So of course, I mean, one can also do that way. I think that gives, you know, if you have studied Lamrim Chenmo, then you doing meditation by using by doing daily meditation, by using Lamrim Chenmo outline, then kind of that gives, you know, gives kind of a through that outline you see the Lamrim Chenmo subject, you see. So, quite extensive.
So, the other one is the outline of the the Lamrim, the Lamrim, the red commentary. The commentary of the red commentary of the red, the stages of path enlightenment. Nyammati. Why it’s called red is because it for example, when the doctors show the students inside the body, you know, sicknesses or things. So rather shown through drawings or something, through words or through drawings.
So they actually cut the, they actually, and I think in Tibet, I heard they go to the cemetery. They don’t have a house where their body is kept and where they can study, but I think they go to the cemetery and then cut the body, show the students, you know. So this way they learn. So that’s the commentary which is direct, real essence shown directly, I think that’s what it means. So that’s the same outline as Liberation in the Palm.
But Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand is based on the root text is the Lamrim Nyammati, the great commentary on the stages of the path. So that’s the basic text. But that’s the basic text of the Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand. So it’s the same outline. So a more simple one is a shorter one.
You can one can use that outline of the Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand or the Lamrim Nyammati. So that for guide, you know, guide text to how to meditate on Lamrim. The other one is this, a little bit of Essence Nectar. So there is an Essence Nectar that my first teacher, first special master who began to teach the very beginning philosophy called Dudon, Dudon, the very beginning philosophy of debate. Geshe Rabten Rinpoche, who is a great scholar, and a Kriyā Yogi, who had very high attainment.
In English, there’s a book, Essence Nectar, with Geshe-la’s commentary. So this morning, fire stopped. Didn’t Before that, the the infallible refuge, the founder who speaks truth. Didn’t he say? One who goes down, one who migrates the one who goes down lower realms like the dust of the great earth.
One who migrates or one who goes to happy times of migrating one who goes up, one who migrates up in the happy transmigrated being, like the dust on the nail of the hand. So I think Buddha is taught by saying Ānanda with holy hands, which means I think Buddha is shown taking a pinch of dust from the earth, what dust comes on the nail. Sentient beings who goes up who migrates up the happy migratory beings is so little, so little, the dust that was on the Buddha’s hand. You see, comparing for that, then one sentient being who goes down to the lower realms, dust of the great earth. So the rest of the earth, I mean, the dust of the rest of the earth.
And so there’s unbelievable differences. So that’s an example. So that exam that example is very helpful. It’s means you see it’s in the midst yeah. Who who goes up the let’s see.
Happy migratory beings. The dust on the the nail of the holy hand. So that makes you think that makes you think how once on you see, present the human body, even just the human body, even just the mere human body that you have received, you see, how so precious, you know, how it is unbelievable precious, most precious. See, makes to discover that. How they’re so rare for you, how they’re so precious.
Then when you realize that, how rare it is, so precious, when you realize that, naturally, to not waste, to dare not to engage in the meaningless activities, so that comes naturally from that discovery. So then he then he has the next one. Compared to Buddha said, you see, the refuge, the infallible refuge, the founder who speaks truth, said, that refers back to the which Buddha said. He said, comparing to numberless hell and hungry ghost animals. You know, who become the happy transmigratory beings.
Whose aggregates become the happy transmigratory beings, the human and above? That is just, you know, Just about one or two. Just about one or two. Just about one one or two. Just just about one one or two two, he says.
But then it’s an expression. It means it means very, very, very little number. Among the sentient beings who get a bond, the lower realms are numberless. But who comes up get higher. The body of the happy microbe is just only two just only one to three.
Let me put it this way. You understand? Then yeah. Maybe mention that. Mention that.
It is said, but I don’t know which part. The beginning part was composed by Pabongka’s root guru. Pabongka’s root Pabongka Rinpoche, Yeah. The lower part somewhere, you know, composed by Pabongka Rinpoche himself, the unfinished part. How many emergent animals, animal sentiment are there?
How many ignorant animal sentient beings are there? The place the earth. Chiwa, I think it’s probably think I think it’s something like that, you know. Probably Chiwa is some kind of a maybe that thing that made of animal hair, so the animal hair, you know, with the hair, you see, say, things to say, yeah, things to use, to sit down or to things to use. Not not not blanket, but something square.
Anyway, size is like that. You know? I think I think it might mean that in the sides like that, Chiwa might be something, a kind of mat, things to put down, put on the ground, see, either to sit on or something, whatever. So saying that’s the Earth, how, you know, how many animal sentient beings living are there? In in each in each city in each city, number of human being, no matter how many days no matter how many days But here in the text, says a hundred just about hundred hundred or hundred thousand.
I think, I guess, that might I mean, I guess here, the text is but I think maybe that’s maybe in Tibet, related to Tibet, maybe. I think there would be, yeah, I don’t know, a town or something. Maybe it means, you know, country country, town. Maybe like that. So maybe maybe a town.
So anyway, even there’s even there even there’s supposed to be many people, but it’s hundred thousands in that. So among so even though it looks many many people there, you know, when you don’t think when you don’t compare the animals, only thing human beings looks like there’s so many, you know. One place they look like there’s so many. That’s what I’m saying. But but in but in reality, you see, it’s not that number of human beings is nothing.
Total loss is nothing compared with the number of animals, animal, sentient beings. How many are in a place like this square, like that, this size? The so so among the human beings, then who entered the dharma, who not who entered the dharma, who got who who haven’t entered the dharma, Then you compare. How many there are, you see? Compare.
So she says, Look at among the human beings who enter dharma, who haven’t entered dharma. Says, Look at which one is more or less? Which one is more and which one is less? So that means who entered the dharma? Who hasn’t entered dharma?
It’s just so many, you see, most. Then who entered Dharma is very little number. Okay? Then then among the among those who entered Dharma, you see, who thinks I who thinks who thinks, you know, I’m I’m practicing Dharma? Who thinks, you know, who who feels kind of a who feels pride, who feels pride that oh, I practice Dharma.
Then starts here from among the human beings, you know, entered Dharma, not into Dharma, you get which one less, which one more. Then he said, among the those who feel pride, you know, at practicing Dharma, Among those who feel pride at practicing Dharma, look look at how many there who has who has who has all the freedom richness and who don’t have all and who don’t have, you see. Look at the one who received all the freedoms and richnesses, how many many how many and how few. So that’s what I’m saying. So what I’m saying is that even among those who enter Dharma, think, oh, I practiced Dharma, you know, who feel pride, you know.
But actually but actually, if you if it’s examined, you know, I would say among those, you see, what are the how many there are who have has all the eight freedoms and ten richnesses, then very little number. That’s what it means. Very little number. Who haven’t received all the freedoms and richnesses, who hasn’t received all the freedoms and richnesses? So many.