Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 48-minute session, Kyabje Rinpoche uses the image of a bucket endlessly moving up and down within a well to illustrate how karma drives us through cycles of fortunate and unfortunate rebirth. He explains why negative actions come easily—habitual momentum makes that descent almost effortless—while positive karma requires deliberate effort. With no fixed position in saṃsāra, we exist in constant instability; understanding this naturally awakens renunciation, the sincere determination to free oneself from suffering. Rinpoche then traces a crucial causal chain: renunciation anchors great compassion toward all beings, compassion gives rise to bodhicitta (the awakening heart), and only bodhicitta leads to Buddhahood. The Q&A addresses practical questions—why positive actions feel so hard, how mind shapes experience—and clarifies common misconceptions about ego and the Buddhist path.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 1989-06-10 – 2A – Workshop – KR.mp3
UUID: 6bbfe3d6-7ad6-4c7a-a74f-94d60c059c38
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Meditation
Date: 1989-06-10
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~2,929
So just as in the case of the bucket moving up and down within the well. The well is extremely deep and it’s but within this confines of the well the bucket is constantly moving up and sometimes it moves down, sometimes it moves up, sometimes it moves down. And likewise we are in the same position within cyclic existence itself. That from time to time that we are constantly moving and from time to time that we go down within cyclic existence that we experience rebirth as a hell being. And then other times we rise up and we experience rebirth in a happy migration.
And then returning down, back into the hells, back up again, constantly moving up and down, just as in the case of the bucket in the well. So what is the influence which determines the upward and downward movement within within cyclic existence. in dependence upon the creation of skillful actions under that power and we experience happy migrations due to the force of creation of unskillful actions we experience bad migrations. So it’s the skillfulness and unskillfulness, the negativity and positivity of actions determine the up and down motion by the various states that we experience within cyclic existence. And just as in the case of the water being raised and lowered in the well, it’s difficult to raise the water, the bucket up, but it’s quite easily for it to go back down.
It is as if it goes down by itself. Likewise, for us to rise up into happy migrations we have to create skillful types of actions, create positive karma, and this is quite difficult for us to do. Whereas on the other hand, to lower ourselves into bad migrations it’s simply necessary to create unskillful actions, create negative karma, and that’s not difficult for us at all. And this is in the case of the bucket being moving different places in the well. Each day, each hour, it’s constantly never staying in one place.
There’s no definite position of the bucket within the well. Likewise for us, there’s no definite position for us within cyclic existence that we’re constantly in transition, always moving to another state. There’s nothing definite in the various afflictive emotions, in the various karma, in the various sufferings that we experience. And therefore, there is no definite state in which we can remain. So if we cultivate this, you know, we contemplate this state of our present situation, understanding that due to the force of the afflictive emotions arising in the mind that we are impelled to create negative karma.
And by the force of negative karma, we create suffering for ourselves. And thinking about this, beginning to develop a sense of sympathy and caring for ourselves and seeing our situation that we’re bound up in, that we would develop the to, the sincere thought to free ourselves from this situation, to gain liberation from it. So again and again, cultivating this understanding of the plight that we’re very much involved in and developing the sense of caring and sympathy for oneself in developing the thought that, you know, to separate oneself from this suffering and the causes which are creating your own suffering. And when one develops this longing, this determination in a very forceful manner, there arises the mind of renunciation or the determination to be free. So this is extremely important, this mind of renunciation.
You know, within the threefold context of the path in which is involved renunciation, the awakening heart or bodhicitta, and the correct view of emptiness, seeing deeply into the nature of reality, that this is the foundation and is extremely important. So what is the benefit? If we don’t benefit, if we don’t meditate in this way, if we don’t contemplate in this way, then this determination, this thought of renunciation of suffering and the causes of suffering will not arise. So it’s very necessary to develop this sympathy, this caring for oneself and seeing one’s own difficulties and the causes of one’s difficulties and developing a sincere longing to separate oneself from dissatisfaction and the causes of dissatisfaction. And based upon this, going on to cultivate the understanding that all sentient beings are in the same exact position that I myself am in.
That everyone, my mother, my father, they are all experiencing the same difficulties and experiencing the same dissatisfactions and creating the same causes for dissatisfactions. Cultivating a longing which seeks to separate sentient beings from their suffering and the cause of their suffering. You know, this would include all the various types of sentient beings. First directing it perhaps towards your mother and then your father and then those you hold dear, but then extending this further to include those who we are, those neutral, those whom we hold as neutral, that they’re all circling in the same cycles of existence, in the same dissatisfactory states. And then finally, in the end, directing it toward even those who you hold as your enemy.
So understanding that all sentient beings are in the same exact position as yourself, redirecting your sympathy and caring toward them to include all sentient beings. And if we take the various categories of sentient beings, we can classify them as those who we hold dear, those who are neutral, and those we feel aversion toward. Other than these three categories, there are no other beings. So, if we can develop a sympathy and caring toward these three categories, then we are directing our sympathy and caring toward all sentient beings. So this mind of great compassion is extremely precious, and it’s that if we have great compassion then all the various unimaginable qualities of the Buddhas, etc, will eventually arise within us quite naturally.
But we have to actually cultivate it. It is not something that is going to happen by itself. If we simply talk from the mouth about compassion, it’s not going to bring about the actual state of mind within our own, the actual quality of that state is not going to arise simply by talking about compassion is the foundation or the root of the awakening heart, bodhicitta. Without the development of compassion there is no awakening heart. Without the awakening heart there is no engaging in the vast and expansive deeds of the bodhisattva and therefore there is no Buddhahood.
Without compassion there is no Buddhahood. So, root Buddhahood arises out of the awakening heart. The awakening heart arises out of great compassion. Great compassion arises out of renunciation. So, it’s necessary as the foundation to develop this quality of determination to be free or renunciation.
Without this, without cultivating a method, then it’s not going to arise by itself. Without the cultivation of renunciation, determination to be free, there’s not going to arise great compassion and it cannot arise the awakening heart and therefore Buddhahood. And Candrakīrti himself in setting forth the actual methods for development of renunciation, he himself developed renunciation, the mind of renunciation. This was his actual experience. So he’s explaining how he actually himself developed renunciation and went on to develop all the other unimaginable qualities.
So we have to seek to gain that same experience ourselves and therefore it’s necessary to implement a method and to cultivate it. So, in cultivating compassion, please seek to cultivate that which is its foundation. That is to say, to seek to develop renunciation within your own self as a preliminary and this is the way to actually develop real compassion. So maybe if you have some questions, we can have some discussion. The basic reason is that it’s quite easy for us to engage in unskillful actions.
We don’t find this difficult at all. On the other hand, for us to engage in productive types of actions, skillful actions, we have to expend a lot of thought, develop proper motivation, really work at it, and therefore it is quite difficult usually for us. Why is it designed like that? Why is the world made in that So, due to the force of habituation from beginning this time over repeated infinite rebirths, we have engaged in negative actions. Therefore, simply because of the power of habituation that which we are habituated to comes easier.
That which we are not habituated to is more difficult. Therefore, predominantly have been habituated to a negative action. We engage in those more readily. Positive actions we have to use, expend more energy and thought to engage in them. Therefore, this is the reason why it’s easier to move downward than upward simply through the power of habituation.
As to why the nature of our situation is dissatisfactory, that is to say cyclic existence, the root of cyclic existence are the afflictive emotions. afflictive emotions are by their very nature negative. That anything which arises from this negative type of cause will have the nature of being negative. Just as in the case if a root of a plant are of a poisonous variety, then anything which arises from those roots will also have this quality of the leaves, the stems, the bark, the flowers, etc. It will be in the nature of the root.
And likewise, the root of cyclic existence is afflictive emotions, most specifically the conception of inherent self-existence, the conception of a self. And from this negative root arises all the negative effects which we call cyclic existence. Well, if you have to get to like yourself, but you’ve got no concept of who you are, of the eye, how can you like something that doesn’t exist? So, in general, the I exists. I and the person are synonymous.
I eat, I’m cold, I walk, I do all these various things. I exist. What doesn’t exist is an inherently existent I. This I doesn’t exist. We have a conception of truly existent I and the object of this conception doesn’t exist.
But when I say to myself, I am cold, and then I say, but I’m only imagining this. It’s just my self misconception of myself And I, you know, now I don’t feel so cold. The mind is the creator of all things. And that we, However we believe as to what we can experience. And in the case of you’re feeling cold, if you no longer believe that you’re feeling cold, then you will not feel cold.
You can eliminate the cold that way. Just in the context of a situation, if you think this isn’t a bad situation, this is a good situation, then it becomes a good situation. Okay. It’s not a bad situation if I don’t feel cold. But he happens not to be here in Antarctica, and then he’ll get frostbite, and then he may die.
So, I mean, it depends on surely there’s a limitation because at a certain point, the real circumstances will impede the way it’s thinking. Okay. So this is simply, so is the lack of capacity of the present mind of that individual that he’s sitting in the Antarctic freezing to death. Even no matter how much he tries to think he’s warm, he doesn’t have the mental power to establish that. In the case of many meditators, for example, in Tibet, they would go out during a storm when was snowing, sit on the ice and do the power of their mind.
They were able to engage in a particular type of meditation where they take off all their clothes and just radiate heat. They had this capacity of mind to overcome the elements. But he does not have that present capacity. So all the various states arise through the potency of the mind, the capacity of the mind. Buddhahood arises through the capacity of the mind.
Realization of emptiness arises through the capacity of the mind. So all the states that we experience arise through the capacity of mind. Isn’t it the case that these Tibetan meditators, by the highly evolved state of the mind, So they attained this ability through having gained power over their psychic channels and energy winds within their body. Which is body temperature? And they were able to, they would go out into the cold and put, take off all their clothes, put cloths in, in a cold stream and wrap their body in them and generate heat.
So, their mind was able to change the of the body. Same, so so so so so the So they would do this, a meditative stabilization on heat and actually their body would not be cold. Their body would not be cold because they didn’t feel cold or because their body temperature was changed? So there was a story about one practitioner in Tibet who used to recite texts quite often, read texts. And that once in reading a particular text, he came upon a particular mantra.
And it was said in the text that if you recite this mantra, then no one will be able to see you. And so he thought that was a great idea. So, he recited the mantra and he took off all his clothes. First he took off all those clothes, he recited his mantra and he said, Well, I’ll go outside and test it. So, he went running around outside and all the people started yelling, Oh, there’s that, there’s that naked practitioner.
There’s that naked text reader. And he couldn’t understand why they could see him since he recited the mantra. The mantra, the power of the mantra resides within the mind. It doesn’t, the capacity to make use of the mantra without the, in this case, the realization of emptiness and the awakening heart as a facilitating power of the mind, then the mantra itself has no power. So they, if they haven’t meditated well then they get very cold.
Well, is the idea to eliminate the ego so that you’re ego less, or just eliminate the misconception of the ‘I’ so that if you’ve got your ‘I’ into reality, if you’ve got a real idea of that ‘I feel cold’. See, I met someone who told me that the problem with Buddhism is that it seeks to destroy the ego. It’s an exercise in ego bashing and therefore there’s nothing left. And I’ve been trying to work out what he meant and why he got it wrong. And I’ve had a bit of struggle.
It so is the idea not to like, would I have an ego, a realised person? Well, I can bring my question back. Is the idea to eliminate the ego totally so it doesn’t exist? Or is it only would there be some ego remaining if you realised emptiness and had a correct view of ‘I’? I’d say, you know, there’s no word in Tibetan for ego.
So, it’s difficult to sort of translate it into a Western idiom in a way. So, they’re always talking about the idea of I or self. And this would take some commentary to explain it in terms of an ego. But in coming to develop the sense of, you know, I have some abilities, developing a sense of caring for oneself, I, I. There is this constant involvement with the I, but this I is always seen as a non truly existent I.
Therefore, there’s never any way that it serves, that this constant involvement with the I serves simply to extend the force of one’s conception of a truly existent I, or that is to say, one’s ego. So, the Buddha said that those who cultivate the meditation where they conceive of the suffering, they cultivate the nature of the suffering of a truly existing I, the impermanence of a truly existing I, they are not actually meditating on the path. That if we see impermanence, if we see the suffering of a truly existing I, if we see impermanence of a truly existing I, cultivating this understanding, then this is not a meditation of the path. Sorry. May I ask a question in relation to Buddhism?
I have not been to Buddhist or have not experienced anything to do with Buddhism before. Is Buddha a role model and a goal to achieve within the learning, or is he a figure to look up to as some form of a god? So when we when we talk about Buddha, there was an individual Śākyamūni Buddha, a historic figure. That that but he is one particular Buddha. And that the the Buddha is not likened to a god, but it is the object of our own attainment.
So there was one individual Śākyamūni Buddha who attained Buddhahood. Buddha became Buddha, and each of us individually is seeking to attain that same Buddhahood, or become a Buddha. But none of these Buddhas are thought of in the same sense as a god. So it’s just a, are you supposedly a role model? Some, an achieve, a high achievement?
The, the, the, So, Buddha is the culmination of having eliminated all faults and the development of all positive qualities. This is what we’re calling Buddha, the individual who does that. And therefore it is the highest model that has taken us the highest, the paradigm. For example, I am a woman, I am a man. I am good.
I am a Bodhisattva. Yeah. So He said there was an I. He said there was an I. Think it was that they need to be on the path of a truly.
True existent I. True existent I. So who is that thing?