Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 137-minute teaching from Taiwan, Lama Zopa Rinpoche opens with a miraculous story: a sandalwood tree at Kumbum monastery, grown from where Lama Tsongkhapa was born, produced hundreds of thousands of Mañjuśrī figures on its leaves, illustrating that Tsongkhapa is a manifestation of the Buddha of wisdom. Rinpoche then explains why Tsongkhapa’s clarification of the Prāsaṇgika view of emptiness is uniquely precious: it alone directly uproots ignorance and saṃsāra by revealing that the self does not exist independently of mind. He argues that without this understanding, neither Sūtra nor Tantra practice can truly liberate, and traces through the mechanics of how false view binds us while right view frees us. The teaching ends with dedication of merit for all sentient beings. For practitioners with philosophical training.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 2005 06 14 2 TWN 1d S.C.14th JUNE05.mp3
UUID: 57ee8e1f-c363-4484-b3a2-c161d1b9eb26
Teacher: Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1
Collection: z Taiwan (Lama Zopa Rinpoche 1)
Date: 2005-06-14
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 137.4 minutes
Words: ~4,912
Do you have the after the mixing of this natural coming from the gurus and the purifying, you have that part? Just just run. What? The end of the end of the lineage prayer. Let’s just have a prayer.
There’s a prayer that do not rise heresy. The disrupt the precious human rebirth. Disturb the sectional impermanence. They’re difficult to find again. Difficult to find again.
Difficult to find again the next verse. The next verse, difficult to find again. So continuation from the yesterday from the session lecture. So, yeah. So how precious trying to explain more details.
How how all the conditions, the dharma, the best is is, you know, gathered this time, you know, everything that need. So generally, generally, the body of leisure and fortune. Generally, the receiving the like that, body of leisure body of freedom richness. It’s rare. Particular to meet the teaching of the while Lama Tsongkhapa is called Jamgon, Jam is soft, soft mind.
So like Mañjuśrī is Mañjuśrī a Mañju, it sounds good, Mandu. And the Tibetan, Jam. She is a bell. Then young. I don’t know what the Sanskrit is.
Anyway, so Mandu is a Sanskrit means soft, interpreted jam. Shri is a bell, glorification. The meaning, Mañjuśrī means Jampel. Jam means soft, soft mind. How it is soft is because mind is free, free from the disturbing thought obscuration.
So by that, the two obscurations, you see, the disturbing thought obscuration which mainly interfere, the obscuration of discerning of obscuration is the one that which mainly interfere to liberation for oneself, liberation for saṃsāra, for all intersuffering causes, you know, for oneself. Then the knowledge of knowledge of, let’s say, obscuration, you see, with with the obscuration which which interfere mainly to each state of omniscient mind, Fully known mind, you see? But that is the called in Tibetan Shédrip, the knowledge obstruction. So which mainly in Tibet, we achieved the state of this mind. So the two types of obscuration, so Mañjuśrī or Mañjuśrī, they are Mañjuśrī.
So mandu, soft. Soft because they’re free from the distemper obscuration. Bell glorified Sri because when the mind is free from order, also the subtle defilement, knowledge obstruction, as a knowledge obstruction, you see. Why Here, the Nāgārjuna is called Jamgon. Jam is soft.
Gun is a savior. So so so why Lama Tsongkhapa is called soft savior, Jamgon. Why? Because Lama Tsongkhapa is Mañjuśrī. He is the he is the manifestation of Mañjuśrī.
So that’s why the the Lama Tsongkhapa’s birth, you see, that’s what he so that the Kachen Yeshe Gyaltsen, which he explained. It’s in one outerm of Mongolia who was abbot for five years in Tibet after there was liberty freedom given at the Mao Zedong’s time. So the mother, his mother, she went look she one morning, went look for animal, you know, to put animals on the mountain. So a bird had been in the road, in the road, you see. So then, born I was also born in the road, and then she went away to, you know, put the animals.
She came back. She thought maybe the child might die, you know, eaten by animals or might die. But actually, the child did not didn’t die. Was still on the road covered by the covered by the city, not crow, but the bigger one bigger one. The bigger similar crow, but much bigger Bigger.
Raven, raven, raven, raven, raven, raven, the similar crow but bigger. Raven. So covered by raven, the baby was protected by the by few ravens under the wing kept kept warm. Then she took the child back to her home and so from so there was blood drip, you see the on the on the spot, you see what child is born. So they from there, then this sandalwood, from there, the sandalwood tree grew.
Then the leaves, there’s one hundred thousand. The Mañjuśrī figure, Mañjuśrī figure, Mañjuśrī figure appeared from the leaves, is about one hundred thousand. And also I think syllable or Arapachana, or the mantra, I think. I don’t remember. Maybe maybe the mantra, appeared from the leaves here.
So that’s why that monastery established. So the name of the monastery is Kumbum, Kumbum, like one hundred thousand holy body. Also the monastery also received the name. So so that that central tree where there’s all this where the where the on the leaves, the one hand thousand of Hollywood appeared and all this. And then that is that is inside.
There was that that tree was put as a relic inside the stupa, Lama Tsongkhapa’s stupa, which is maybe two, perhaps one story or maybe one story, you know, a normal story. Think maybe a little more than one story, think. Was kept it was put inside the stupa as a relic. But the seed, the the the root is still there in the ground, so it grew again from there. So the the trees are just outside of the just outside of the temple, the the the temple where there’s the Lama Tsongkhapa, the stupa containing relics, you see.
So there was tree that growing outside, which is just there. Know, do again on the root. So it is so it is said, when the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, what time the dishonors were what’s going to go to pay what’s what’s what’s when he says, to Peking to visit the invitation of the many Chinese government during Mao Zedong time. So then, another branch grew from that tree. And when Pänchen Lama was when Benshin Lama was going to Peking to visit and the entered the invitation, the government, so another branch from that grew again.
So then people think that is Chenrezig, Pänchen Lama, are just one being. So anyway, normally, we see Chenrezig is the compassion Buddha, and then Pänchen Lama, that is the Amitābha Buddha. That’s how normally recognized. So the story proves that Lama Tsongkhapa is Madhushri, that this tree in our appearing Mañjuśrī is where the blood was dropped, you see, when the when Lama Tsongkhapa was born. So Cham Gun, so Lama Tsongkhapa has name of Mañjuśrī is So rare, particularly rare to meet teaching of the lama teaching of the lama to the the soft savior.
Okay? So what it’s saying is that even you have received the body qualified for a perfect human rebirth of leisure and fortune is extremely rare to so rare. Even you received it, not necessarily, you meet Lama Tsongkhapa teaching. That you see, not necessarily one one is having meditation. So the the the many who have received perfect human birth, but who met Lama Tsongkhapa’s teaching is extremely rare, even extremely rare.
But why But why mention Lama Tsongkhapa teaching particularly rare to meet? Why why it is broad? Why why Lama Tsongkhapa teaching as I mentioned, you know, rare to meet why? Why is it particularly good to meet Lama Tsongkhapa’s teaching? Even if a very little number who met Lama Tsongkhapa’s teaching, but why it’s good?
So the reason is because Lama Tsongkhapa’s teaching is the clearest, clearest explanation of Buddha’s teachings. First we have to understand that, clearest that the all the most difficult points of Sūtra and Tantra, most difficult points is it, that where many masters, many famous masters made mistakes. You see, also in the past in Tibet, Difficult to understand, have misunderstandings, difficult to understand for them, to clear understanding. So then Lama Tsongkhapa met those you see, met the clear explanation, those points like emptiness, emptiness, Prāsaṇgika, and other school views, the four of the schools of Buddhist philosophers, have different views, and they what what special thing is about the Prāsaṇgika school view, you see, the emptiness, which is extremely subtle. And so I’m at the clearest, very extensively, very extensively explained the different the different teachings.
There’s also where many many many many many many many many many mistake, he say, calm abiding, you know, which is nine levels to be complete, to be actualized. After that, you need calm abiding, so there are to achieve perfect single-pointedness, perfect meditation, you need to be free from the subtle gross sinking, gross excitement, and subtle sinking thought, you see. So many mentors, many famous mentors, believe that they could not recognize the subtle sinking thought. They could not recognize that as a mistake, and they believe that’s perfect meditation. So that means that that means you never achieve you never achieve perfect mentation because you believe the subtle sinking thought as perfect meditation.
Do not recognize the mist the mistake, so no way to achieve perfect, you know. But that means that’s that means no no way to achieve special insight, you see. The driving the extremely refined pliancy of body and mind by the analysis and emptiness, unified with the śamatha. So there’s a path of merit, path of preparation, the last part, part of the meditation of learning. So I guess you have to achieve realization, you see this perfect mentation when you you have to have that thing.
When you achieve the great path of merit, path of merit has three levels, small, middle, and great. Then when you achieve the same part of path of preparation, so then that when you do that, you have realization of insight unified with śamatha. Then, because of the basis of that, then you achieve the third path, the path of seeing, where you have wisdom directly perceiving emptiness. That wisdom is the one that directly sees the defilements. So first, called the whole conduct and then labeled defilements.
The intellectuals, the delusions or something. Those that wisdom directly perceives emptiness, the path of seeing directly ceases that. Then path of meditation, wisdom directly perceives the emptiness, directly perceives the emptiness, part of the meditation ceases the directly ceases the simultaneously born delusions, those delusions. Then you see, you remove even the seed of delusion, so that’s how then you achieve the liberation from saṃsāra, you know, the sorrowless state. Impossible to experience suffering again, so free forever from the suffering of saṃsāra.
So you see, so here I’m not talking about enlightenment, just which live with respect to the Sūtra path, of course, no question about enlightenment, you know, you see, you have to have you can see, achieving śamatha-vipaśyanā unified meditation, that is a very that’s the basic realization you see, to achieve that, to achieve, you have the realization as a basis for exalted path, you know, rising path of meditation and malarning. So you can see now, so now you can see if you do not, if you regard the subtle sinking thought, you see, if you don’t realize that it’s mistaken, you believe that it’s perfect augmentation, then you can see now you can’t achieve all those other things, you can’t achieve liberation from saṃsāra, besides you can’t achieve enlightenment. So Lama Tsongkhapa’s presentation is the clearest, the the thing. Then the Tantra, how to each illusory body, the cause of the Rūpakāya, you know, to the illusory body which means to achieve enlightenment by having those realization in this life, then in that life, then that means you’re able to achieve enlightenment in that life. The lifetime of the dictionary time.
So again, there has not been a clear explanation of the illusory body in the past, so the Lama Tsongkhapa had given the clearest explanation. So so forth, then then also other points of the path that Lama Tsongkhapa had very clear, I’ll say, you know, very clearly presented, you know, how to proceed actualize step by step to enlightenment. So that’s why I say so then, so these are the main ones, the main ones, Then there are cases. So that’s why so peerless are the teachings of Lama Tsongkhapa. So that’s why embassy is, you know, saying to meet Lama Tsongkhapa teaching is even more rare.
Is that? But the point is that. If you don’t have an understanding of the right view emptiness, you have to understand this one. If you don’t have an understanding of the right view, the emptiness, the emptiness of the Prāsaṇgika school view, Then, you see, then then especially when you practice tantra, how does Tantra become remedied to Samsāra? Nowhere.
You have to understand that. How does Tantra practice, you know? Even visualizing deity, that or any practice, how can it become an antidote to saṃsāra, antidote to saṃsāra? That means limited to the root of saṃsāra, the ignorance. The is it because root of saṃsāra is only one.
There’s not many root of saṃsāra. There’s only one specific ignorance. You see? For example, believe, you know, that I do not truly exist, you know, existing from my own side completely without the appearing and and the affected by the labeling. You see, this this this belief, I say, I do not that I do not truly exist.
The I is the empty of true existence, which definition is that existing, you know, from existing completely from its own side without appearing and undefeated mind labeling. Appearing to the undefeated mind and undefeated mind labeling eyes, so this they accept, know, the eyes empty of that true reason, but they accept that, but they accept the the the that’s okay, but the mistaken thing is that with that, along with that mistaken thing is they accept that I exist from its own side. I do not I do not truly exist, but with that definition of true nature, you see. But I but I exist from its own side, exist by nature. Here, nature is true nature.
I mean, there’s a here, the nature is a no. Don’t don’t say true. Here, the nature is a is a existing from its own side, you see? So that’s natural. So it’s just by nature, it’s just a formatile side that is findable on it, the I is findable on the aggregates, base aggregates, so the same meaning, it’s all in the same.
So the mistake is that. So in the Prāsaṇgika school refutes what the other philosophers, they use it that, you see, what the school, the philosopher that believe that are foundable on the aggregate or they exist from the side or by exist by nature. So all these object according to Prāsaṇgika’s view, the school of Prāsaṇgika the this is this is the object object to to be refuted. This this is the object to be refuted what Prāsaṇgika school has refuted, what other schools accepted, this part. That is the hallucination, and that is total nonexistent.
That part is total total nonexistent. There’s no such thing there. There’s no such thing there. At all. It’s all empty.
Completely empty. You see. And so that that’s the reality. This so when you do the blessings of guru, enter in the heart, by receiving the blessing of the guru in the heart, and so on the heart, in the one’s own heart, and then through extensive purification, continual extensive purification, and collecting extensive merits by by obtaining guru’s advice, you see, then the material path and emptiness, then you see, when you realize emptiness, which means you see, So that time, this is what you see, this is what you realize, you know. You see it.
You you don’t you don’t realize that that this eye on the aggregates, findable or exist from its own side or by nature, you don’t you don’t realize that. That one, you realize that is totally in there. Completely. So this you see the eyes, empty of this completely. I exist, but it is totally empty of this.
Is this by nature? Is it from the side? You know, there’s eye on that case. There’s nothing. So I exist because that’s the case, not that I you can find on that case, no.
Okay. Then that then that means it exists from the society. If you think of this eye, you can find the eye, I guess, that means it exists from the side. That that means according to that means that I is truly existent. You see?
Because the for as long as we say, meaning of definition of truly existent in this is the appearing and believing that I exist from the society. I exist not merely by mind, existing from the exist by nature. It’s all true links. It’s all truly existent. Even though it’s not truly existent according to the, but the is truly, you know, all these are true existent.
So therefore, you see here so see, so what I’m gonna say is so the so this make this helps this makes a little bit clear, how to see. So the according to the view, it’s it. So this is what they believe. So now, believe they they believe, you see, oh, there’s there’s a eye, there’s I to be, there’s I on the aggregates, foundable, you see. Exist by nature or exist from the true side, you see.
Not merely by mind, it’s same, Not me level of our mind. When appears and believes that way, that means I exist from the society. It’s all meaning same. So so that concept, you see, even though though there is no concept that you don’t believe true existence, call true existence, definition of true existence, they call it the school view, you see, even though you don’t accept that type of true nature, even though you don’t accept that they are empty, but but yeah. Thinking that there’s know.
Get it. It’s a horrible or they exist from the side by exist by nature or the or really a little bit of a mind, you see. So now here, this belief in other words, your mind your mind immediately imputed. The other day, I gave many examples. Your mind immediately imputed I gave many examples, you know, daily life activities, you know, how our mind constantly label I and then label the actions as the body does the various actions, as the mind does the various actions, it really is like that.
So the mind is the mind immediately mind immediately imputes the I, mind immediately images to the eye, the next second appears back, next second appears back to our mind, pollution of mind. You see, not the middle level of our mind. It appears back not the middle level of our mind. So now, the minute you want the minute you want your mind the minute when your mind is start to believe that’s true, that’s the ignorance. That’s the that’s the that just that, you know, mind the I appear back next second, not middle level of our mind.
You see? Then your mind you allow your mind to believe it. That’s true. But just the concept. So just the concept that that you create the ignorance.
So that’s the root of Samsāra. And that is the ignorance, root of saṃsāra. So root of Samsāra is the ignorance is only one type. It’s only that one. There’s not many.
So therefore, to cut that cut the root of saṃsāra, you see, only to realize is the object of that ignorance I appearing not merely by my mind is totally empty. There is totally empty there. You see? I existing from my side. Even though you believe it doesn’t truly exist, which definition of the definition of true existence, let’s say.
Even if you believe that, the end of that truism, but you see, exist exist from its own side by nature, you see, appear new mind believe. So let’s see. That’s the So so therefore, when you so to cut that ignorance, you have to realize that I is empty of existing from the side. Empty of existing by nature, empty of this not me level of my mind. So you see, only then as if this wisdom seeing emptiness which is totally opposed to the way the ignorance hold, apprehend the eye, see.
So you see now, only that wisdom only that wisdom emptiness, seeing this emptiness, this is the only one you can see can cut root of saṃsāra. No other there’s no other wisdom. So therefore so therefore, Prāsaṇgika view alone. That’s the only one that can cut the root of saṃsāra. And without realizing that, you cannot cut it in, you cannot be liberated from all the delusions, karma, from all the saṃsāra, no way.
So therefore, it is without talking about Tantra, without talking about Tantra. Yeah. Without talking about counter, you see. Little side, practice counter. Just that just liberating oneself from some other, you can’t.
So if you don’t know if you don’t know, Prāsaṇgika view of emptiness. You don’t realize that. This this is what Lama Tsongkhapa’s view is. And Nāgārjuna, Ārya Nāgārjuna, those in in valid yogis, you know, who liberated Samsāra, achieved enlightenment. So what they realized so you see, without talking about Tantra, you see just just practicing Sūtra, you know, even you can’t liberate yourself from saṃsāra.
You can’t liberate yourself from ignorance due to saṃsāra, you see, without realizing a Prāsaṇgika view of emptiness. For the effort, what I was saying before, if you don’t realize the Prāsaṇgika view of emptiness, then you see, there’s no way how Tantra practice, you know, all the Tantra practice. How does it become remedial to Samsāra? They don’t become remedial Samsāra. They cannot cut the root of Samsāra inward, you see.
So that for that huge mistake, even the person’s mental side might believe, you know, liberate from samsa, blah blah blah, limit to samsa, but you see, with the you know, other school’s view, without the views, you might think believing that’s correct, but that doesn’t mean reality is correct. It doesn’t mean reality is it of the none of the school views, the Vaibhāṣika School, Sautrāntika School, the Cittamātra school, or school, all of their view would become that doesn’t become direct antidote to saṃsāra. None of them become direct antidote to the root of saṃsāra, ignorance. Cannot remove that delusion, cannot remove the department directly. So therefore, if you don’t have, if you don’t understand, if don’t have an understanding of Prāsaṇgika view, Lama Tsongkhapa explained, the Buddha, that Lama Tsongkhapa praised Buddha, having found this emptiness, realization emptiness in a unified, dependent arising and taught.
To liberate us and all beings, Buddha and bring us to enlightenment by revealing this truth. You see, the unification that depends on arising emptiness, you see. How things are empty and the and at the same time, you see, existing existing by dependent designation. So that so so here you can see the point make it more specific, you see. So that’s why so that’s why you see why is, you know, why is place much why it’s so particularly so rare to meet Lama from our teaching.
But now you can understand the point so that, you know, how soft, how it’s so fortunate, This is then I said I meant to rare. So now first pretty good extremely rare. Then but even The next one says, rare to meet guru, refuge guru, having all the qualities, having all the characteristics. So who can reveal the all the qualities, who can reveal the the ethical teachings, all the qualities, three higher trainings like that, know, living then can reveal Mahāyāna teaching sūtra, all those qualities, you know, like the ten ten qualities or the water material that I mentioned, although so we just recite the prayer, you know, in Lama Chöpa, the before making the request to guru, or originator qualities that they are planned. So they have mentioned this.
There’s the So then there’s qualities of devata master. And to reveal Tantra, there’s about ten again. Then you see, there’s qualities to reveal lower Tantra teachings, there’s quality of the body master to reveal the highest yoga tantra, the ten, each one is ten. I thought having all this quality guru, objective refuge guru, having all these qualities to meet, you know, extremely rare. So even one meet teaching of the Lama Tsongkhapa’s teaching doesn’t mean one meet the guru that has all the qualities.
You see? Okay. Then next one says next one says, rare to meet Dharma, complete unmistaken, which is two things, Dharma, It’s something rare to meet dharma, two things. Complete, no mistakes. So you see, you meet Dharma, you meet Dharma, but even you meet Dharma, no mistakes.
So there’s danger to meet Dharma, meet with mistakes as I as I mentioned before, wrong views, you see. You know, even as even as Buddhism, but there are many wrong views. You see, as I mentioned before, so so here, even you meet even you meet Dharma without mistakes, but then you don’t need complete for for the whole entire teaching. You see? You meet only you come to know you meet only some part of the teaching, you know, not complete.
So then, you see, we do not complete. So here you see, to meet the teaching, to meet the teaching that which is which is unmistaken and complete through. So maybe we stop there. So anyway, time, so we see that we met he’s gonna tell Lama, you see, more than the qualities was mentioned, you see, in the teachings, you know, who has ceased all the mistakes of mind, completed all the qualities of realization. Then, like, many of us have met, you know, who has all these qualities, who has, yeah, who has complete characteristics, complete qualities that mention the teaching, see?
So that’s extremely rare. It’s so rare to meet to find. So we are found. That’s what I’m saying. The Dharma, we met Dharma, there was a no mistaking, complete path, you know?
Yeah. So the the conclusion is that so therefore, don’t don’t wait. Don’t be don’t be distracted by the work of this life and the, you know, must must practice Dharma to achieve that. You know, enlightenment liberation saṃsāra. Yeah.
Happy in your future life, then liberation is upon something enlightenment. If that didn’t get done, didn’t get achieved, this time, there’s an unbelievable loss, you know, about practicing Dharma. So especially, yeah. To achieve to achieve enlightenment for sentient beings. K.
Especially that. Dedicate the three-time merit? There. That was empty from both sides. Medicine was empty.
Med eye was empty promises promise on the side. Enlightenment which is the empty from his side. Lead all the sentient beings who also empty from their side. Bring them to Vajrasanā which is empty from its own side. I must have a lot of them different side.
Food transport food purified and and then this is empty, then level and then a. So those were average in the height of initiation, then you visualize neck according to that. Bless all as we offer food at the same time, we offer all the extensive offerings at at Gyalchen Khangzang, Kopan and other centers, and here. So we’re blessed and offer at the same time. But think but I think all the meditation of guru, my mentor in this way, on offer.
We offer to prostrate. Prostrate together towards all of them. Prostrate with all the tenfold offering. Frusted to make offering, all the the oceans of merit from food and all the offerings they’ve done in Sindagamba and the other places, which is. The upstairs in my room, there’s a are some old offerings.
Offer to all the ten direction Buddha Dhama Sangha. After that, over ten direction statues to the scriptures and all Buddha’s relics of all this working as a guru. I generated into bliss. Oceans of food will be offered to every hell being, hungry ghosts, animal, human beings, Sutras, asura, intimacy beings, they all fully enjoy it, they are all liberated from all the samsaric causes, they all become enlightened in this very life. Hell, man, animal, everyone become enlightened in the deity.
Because we collected so many times limited scarce merit. We have dedicate. Otherwise, the merit can get destroyed by rising heresy anger later. So due to the past, we’ve met a problem here and as a was empty. Medicine was empty.
Achieved, remember that is enlightenment is empty, and all the synonyms of enlightenment are empty, I must also be empty. May I and all sentient beings, especially sentient beings, especially sentient beings who died for this food. From the long run evolution of this food, nobody sentient beings who died, suffered Suddenly, would do. who struggled or harmed others for this food.
I will work for this food and including all those in the midst. May all of us never be separated from the Dharma at all times. Always correct and sustained by the Dharma. May the blessing of the Dharma, which is the realization of bodhicitta, the awakening mind, which is the light of the heart, which is not in the heart. In the heart of all those all those sentient beings who suffered died during the time of this food and who worked for this food and then in the hearts of all the sentiments. But I’ll dedicate the merit.
So then blist out.