Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this two-hour teaching, Kyabje Rinpoche retranslates the renunciation section from Tsongkhapa’s Three Principles of the Path. He establishes the proper mind for receiving teachings—bodhicitta—then walks through foundational practices of small and middling scope. Central to the session is renunciation (definite emergence), explained as the essential antidote to craving and necessary gateway to higher paths. Rinpoche covers the three faults of a vessel for receiving teachings (contamination, inattention, poor retention), the distinction between ordinary and authentic renunciation, and practical meditations on suffering in the lower realms. Throughout, he emphasizes that renunciation develops from seeing cyclic existence as fundamentally suffering, and that without it, bodhicitta and the view of emptiness cannot arise. Pitched at serious practitioners with foundational Lamrim training.
File metadata (for organising)
File: WSW 4 May 2011 – KR.mp3
UUID: 7df3a459-8e9f-4b57-94f2-92af48ebc14b
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Mind Training
Date: 2011 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~4,258
So to listen to teachings, one must first and foremost have a worthy mind and the foremost of all worthy or good minds is the mind of bodhicitta. This mind arises reflecting on the fact that all others are numberless, we ourselves are only one, and therefore putting others ahead of us. And then reflecting on the infinite sufferings of mother sentient beings, the fact that they are mired in an ocean of suffering, one generates from one’s own side the strong wish to free them from this suffering. And one becomes aware that even though one has this wish, at present one is unable to do so, and one will only be able to do so once one attains the state of supreme great enlightenment. And therefore, with this as a motivation, one then listens to these teachings.
We should meditate on this for one or two minutes. We have finished the section of the Wheel of Sharp Weapons dedicated to the method aspect of the path. At present, the Wheel of Sharp Weapons root text addresses the wisdom aspect of the path, which is substantially more difficult. Therefore, Rinpoche will cease teaching the Wheel of Sharp Weapons at this point. And in the light of Tenzin La’s repeated requests for Rinpoche to teach once again the section on renunciation of definite emergence in the three principles of the path, which Tenzin translated somewhat somewhat inadequately before your present translator came.
Rinpoche would like to reteach this in as much as it is planned to publish these teachings. So, if you take your translation of the three principles of the path, the actual text starts with section 2.1, the homage, or the promise to compose, it’s fused here, and it reads, I prostrate to the noble gurus. Here, the Tibetan bears a plural, the syllable Nam, which indicates that there is a multitude of Gurus to which prostration is offered. These are Buddha himself, Maitreya, the great teachers such as Nāgārjuna and Asaṇga, as well as the teachers of both the vast and the profound lineages of the past. And in addition, Guru Vajradhāra himself, Lama Umapa Vajradhāra, and Je Tsongkhapa.
So, if we now look at the outline of the text from the standpoint of Lamrim, the sections from section 2.2 to 2.4, from the pledge to compose to the statement of humility, actually correspond to the instructions regarding the greatness of the dharma talk to give rise to veneration. And the sections from section three at the bottom of page one to the last of the two verses at the top of page two are actually the qualities of the hearer, of the listener. Listener. And, the two verses at the bottom of page one, those who do not lust after the happiness of existence and by putting effort into making a life of leisure and endowment meaningful. So those is in Tibetan, in the first verse a dual, it refers in other words to two persons.
These are trainees of dull and trainees of sharp capacity, who not lusting after the happiness of cyclic existence refers to beings who from the very depths of their heart strive for liberation. By putting effort into making a life of leisure and endowment meaningful, such a life is made meaningful if one strives for the precious mind of bodhicitta, which can be generated through the seven fold cause and effect instructions or through the interchange of self and others. And these are the specific trainees for these teachings. And then the two verses at the beginning of page two, rely on the path which delight the conquerors. Those fortunate ones should listen with a pure mind.
So, here the conquerors refer to the Buddha, and the path which delights the conquerors is actually the teachings that based on the reason of interdependence, there is emptiness, and based on the reason of emptiness, there is interdependence. Therefore, interdependence and emptiness are mutually non contradictory and are actually mutually implicative. This path delights the conquerors because this is the path which leads to the attainment of liberation, which is the intent of all the conquerors. And it leads to attainment of liberation because liberation occurs through the severance of ignorance, and this can occur only through the view which realizes emptiness. Therefore, in this process, the three principles of the path have been incrementally explained.
Starting with renunciation, then bodhicitta, and finally here, the view of emptiness. The following verse, those fortunate ones should listen with a pure mind, refers with the term fortunate ones to those who are able to practice the Mahāyāna Dharma. On the basis of having trained in renunciation and trained in bodhicitta, in turn they are able to enter into the Mahāyāna and generate the view of emptiness. They are in the situation, if you want, of people to whom a $100 has been promised. If a $100 has been promised to everyone in this room, all those who show up will definitely receive a $100.
But it’s up to oneself whether one shows up or not. If one doesn’t show up, one doesn’t get anything. In the self same way, the fortunate ones are those who show up to receive the Mahāyāna teachings and practice them. Otherwise, these teachings go to waste, their good luck is destroyed. In the same way, a monk who goes to the temple to receive donations would have used that opportunity, otherwise it will go to waste.
And therefore, one must listen having eliminated vessel and with the six discernments. The three fourths of the vessel are first, the vessels being filthy. Second, the vessel being turned upside down, and thirdly, the vessel being pierced. If the vessel is filthy, this refers metaphorically to the presence in our mind of desire and anger which contaminate the teachings received. The vessel being turned upside down means that even though we are present, we do not listen.
The same way as you can’t pour anything in a vessel upside down, it has to be put right side up to be able to receive fluids. Finally, a vessel is being pierced refers to the absence of strong retention of memory. If we do not remember the teachings, then how can we hope to understand them, let alone practice them? There is no practice without remembering and if we do not remember carefully, we will not understand how to practice. Therefore we must put effort in remembering carefully the meaning of these teachings and not attend teachings and just be present, because in that case the time spent attending the teachings has been wasted.
Buddha said, listen single pointedly and retain within your mind. So the meaning of these two verses is first listening single pointed means to listen very carefully. Listen with one’s full attention and then what one has understood must be placed within one’s mind, it must be held within one’s mind. It is then that it is of benefit to the person. Otherwise, if one does not listen and one does not retain powerfully within one’s mind what what one has heard, then one’s attendance has no point.
It’s meaningless. There can be no practice. So merely through listening, through attending teachings, no benefit will be accrued. Dharma becomes beneficial when first one listens well and then on that basis one practices. So there’s a mutual relation between these.
To practice one must understand, and to understand one must have listened initially. And then one must practice continually, uninterruptedly. To be fickle and to practice today, but not to practice tomorrow is of no benefit. Continuously one must practice, for as it is said, for one with exertion or enthusiasm nothing is impossible. This is true in worldly matters, if one wants to be a success in this life, one must work hard, There’s no success without hard work, and the same thing is true about dharma.
Even the most profound of the dharmas is of no benefit without effort. Now the mind which arises from hearing, from listening, is a consciousness and as such it is transitory, it is unstable. So if one does not think about what one has listened to again and again, then the mind, arisen from hearing, would vanish after a couple days and there would have been no point. So one must again and again reflect on what one has heard in the teachings until this becomes stable within the mind. It is in this matter exactly the same thing in worldly affairs and in Dharma, it is through repeated acquaintance, repeated recollection, that non forgetfulness arises.
In Rinpoche’s homeland, there were many people who had no access to electricity, to notebooks, to calculators and all that, and yet they had a perfect memory of the cost of items, of the names of items and so forth. They never took any notes of any type. Now this is a sign of a stable and strong mind. Nowadays, all of us have become extraordinarily forgetful. Our minds are slack and weak.
We talk all the time. This is a sign of an unstable and weak mind. If a mind is stable and strong, whatever is put in it remains. For Dharma to be of benefit, it actually must be placed within the mind, otherwise it is of no benefit. And these were the preliminaries to these three principles of the path, which actually start with outline number four.
There are three principles of the path. These are renunciation, bodhicitta, and view realizing emptiness in outlines four, five, and six. Here, it is important to listen very single pointedly to the teachings, and then having listened single pointedly, one must strive to realize them. Without realization, there is no benefit to the teachings. And the section on definite emergence or renunciation on page two is divided into three subdivisions.
First, generally speaking, Je Tsongkhapa explains the advantages of generating definite emergence or renunciation, and then the fault for oneself of not generating it. And he does this by giving an outline 4.1 the reason for generating definite emergence. Then an outline 4.2 the method for generating definite emergence. And in outline 4.3 the measure or the criterion of having generated definite emergence. If we now take the first stanza 4.1, without pure definite emergence, there is no means to pacify the striving for the happy fruits of the ocean of existence, and as much as the embodied are totally fettered by the desire for existence, initially you will search for definite emergence.
So here Rinpoche glosses existence itself as craving, as srid pa, and points out that it is this craving which actually is synonymous with desire, which through repeated habituation becomes ever more powerful, leads to the accumulation of non virtuous karma, which in turn is the motor for cyclic existence and leads to repeated reincarnation. So, this is the thought of not having generated definite emergence. And, the stanza 4.1 develops the following fundamental notions. We ourselves have direct experience of this because we are profoundly attached to the happy results which we have accrued to our own contaminated virtuous actions. For instance, we have craving for our dwelling, we crave our food, we crave our clothing, we crave our friends, we even have craving for ourselves, our own selves.
We have craving with respect to all and without definite emergence or renunciation, it is impossible for an antidote to craving to be applied. It is said that meditation on ugliness or meditation on the skeleton can act to reduce craving and desire, but this is only occasional. Neither of these can eliminate permanently reduce craving or desire. Only renunciation can do so. And this is why it is said that to pacify the striving for the happy fruits of the ocean of existence, we actually need renunciation, which acts as the direct antidote to desire.
We are at present, ensnared by the noose of lust and desire, and this is what binds us to the cycle of of lives. In the same way, as if you want to bind a yak, you need a noose, a very strong rope. So generally speaking, the foremost of the delusion which binds us to cyclic existence is desire. The king of delusions which rules all delusions is ignorance. Craving acts as the handyman or the worker who causes it all to happen.
And it is through the desire which we have accumulated that in turn karma accrues, and to put an end therefore to desire, we need renunciation, which is the only way to close the door to cyclic existence. So, most of us are bound to cyclic existence by desire. Craving can be compared to oil or fat, which once it has impregnated fabric is very difficult to clean, and we have to go at it again and again. This is what binds us to cyclic existence. So, we are, or we say we are dharma practitioners.
A dharma practitioner is someone who strives for liberation from cyclic existence. Liberation from a cyclic existence, which is seen as the nature of suffering, and whose causes are desire, anger, and ignorance. Desire is the foremost cause which binds us to cyclic existence, but the root of both desire and anger is benightedness, and behind benightedness, ignorance. It is this ignorance which misapprehends the nature of phenomena, which leads us to being bound to cyclic existence. That mind which strives for liberation from cyclic existence, that mind which sees cyclic existence as of the nature of suffering, is a mind which is called renunciation or definite emergence.
It is in dependence on this mind that we strive for a state of liberation, which is a state of infinite bliss and infinite happiness, in the same way as the suffering of beings in the hell realms is a state of infinite suffering. So once we understand that liberation is a state of infinite bliss and happiness, then we will strive for it. To do this, we have to eliminate the 81,000 afflictions whose root are the three poisons whose root in turn is ignorance. Renunciation is divided into ordinary renunciation and authentic or pure renunciation. Authentic or pure renunciation is that renunciation which sees all of cyclic existence without exception as of the very nature of suffering and strives for liberation from it on that reason.
It is a renunciation which realizes that all of cyclic existence is pervaded by the three sufferings, the suffering of suffering, the suffering of change, and or pervasive suffering, and strives for liberation on that basis. It is a mind akin to one which sees one’s house on fire and refuses to go into one’s house. If we see our house on fire, we will not want to go into it. Likewise, upon seeing that cyclic existence is of the nature of suffering, profound sadness and despair arises in the mind and one turns away from it. So, on the one hand, renunciation is the means to attain liberation.
On the other hand, renunciation is the main antidote or opponent force to desire. Whether one is a practitioner of the lesser or the greater vehicle, one has to progress through the five paths to attain the enlightenment of one’s vehicle. The path of accumulation, of preparation, of seeing, of meditation, and of no more learning of each of the vehicles. There is no entry into the path of either the lower or of the greater vehicle without renunciation. Without renunciation, one does not begin to be a practitioner of the lower vehicle.
Without renunciation, one cannot be a practitioner of the greater vehicle either because renunciation is indispensable to give rise to compassion and without great compassion there is no bodhicitta. So, without renunciation there is no entry into the great vehicle. So we have in turn to find the methods to give rise or to generate definite emergence, and here the paths which are shared with the being of lesser capacity and the paths shared with the being of middling capacity are means to generate renunciation. And one must initially therefore meditate on the path of the being of small scope because one generates through it a definite emergence or a renunciation, which wishes to be liberated from the lower realms. Beings of the small scope through repeated meditation and the suffering of the lower realms give rise to a wish to be liberated from this, and in turn, in dependence on this, they give rise to faith in the triple gem, and a conviction in karma and causality.
Then building upon this, one must give rise to the renunciation of which wishes to be free from all of cyclic existence, which is the path of the being of middling scope. This is something a being of small scope cannot do. So through seeing all of cyclic existence as only of the nature of suffering, and seeing it as lacking all qualities, through meditating in turn on the Four Noble Truths and the 12 Links of Dependent Origination, again and again, one gives rise to a mind which wishes to be completely freed from cyclic existence, and does not want to stay for even one instant within the cycle of lives. Therefore, one gives rise to a mind which wishes to be liberated from the suffering of the lower realms, and then, depending on this, one gives rise to a mind which wishes to be liberated from all of cyclic existence, seeing cyclic existence as a blazing fire. If cyclic existence is a blazing fire, obviously, we do not want to remain in it.
And therefore renunciation is a wish to be freed, to eliminate our own suffering, reflecting on the fact that we have accumulated in past lives huge amounts of non virtuous karma, such as the non virtuous bodily karma of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct, the non virtuous verbal karma of lying, of harsh words, of divisive speech, and of gossip, and as a result of this, we will be reborn in the lower realms. We must reflect on whether we can stand, whether we can support the sufferings of the lower realms. So at present, if we lack food for one day, we cry out in protest. If in Australia you were sent naked on the streets, you would complain. Likewise, we find it impossible to keep our hand in a fire for more than an instant without crying out of pain.
Nonetheless, if we are reborn in the lower realms, then if we are reborn as a preta, as a hungry ghost, we will not experience the taste of a drop of water on our tongue for five hundred years, If we are reborn in the hell realms, let us say in the lowest of the hot hells, the Avici hell, we will actually be completely surrounded by 11 fires. There will be four fires in the four cardinal directions, four in the intermediate directions, one at the zenith, one at the nadir, and we will actually blaze from inside with fire. All we will know will be the torture of the flames and we will scream endlessly. If we are reborn into cold hells in turn, we will experience horrific cold, living in a state of darkness with terrifying winds, and our body will crack open in various shapes, such as the shape of a lotus flower and so forth, all our innards are devoured by insects. We should ask ourselves whether we can experience, whether we can support such experiences, and give rise to a strong sense to, or a strong wish to be free from this.
So this strong wish to be free from the suffering of the lower realms is what gives rise to taking refuge in the triple gem. Taking refuge in the triple gem, we confess our faults, and we try not to accumulate new faults. And then through confessing and not accumulating new faults, the total level of sin progressively decreases. In turn, we experience receiving the blessing of the triple gem. Renunciation or definite emergence can be divided into two, the wish to be free oneself from the lower realms, and the wish to be free oneself from cyclic existence in So, it is because we ourselves neither meditate on the path of being of small scope, nor on the path of the being of middling scope, that we do not give rise to renunciation in our minds.
Atisha, Je Tsongkhapa, all the great beings of the path meditated on the paths of the being of small and middling scope, yet we do not. And because we do not do this, and we claim we can meditate on bodhicitta and on the view, we are profoundly mistaken. There is no hope for us to meditate on bodhicitta and the view without a realization of definite emergence. It is simply ridiculous. There are generally speaking two paths, the gradual and the simultaneous path.
The gradual path is considered to be the Pāramitāyāna, and the simultaneous path is considered to be the Tantric vehicle. It is said to be a great fault to teach the gradual path to one who is engaged on the simultaneous path, but it is appropriate to teach a simultaneous path to one who is engaged on the gradual path. These were some of the major mistakes committed in Tibet by some of the Chinese masters, as His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said. Now we ourselves claim to be engaged on the simultaneous path, yet we are completely unable to accomplish its goals. And precisely because we do not train in the paths of the being of small and middling scope, we are unable to attain the path of the being of great scope.
Therefore, as a result, we end up with no attainment what so ever. So we should think rather carefully about this. The meaning of the Lamrim is precisely this, that it enables us to know where precisely we are in our own spiritual development. For instance, a being who wishes mainly to be freed from the lower realms is a being of the small scope. A being who wishes mainly to be freed from cyclic existence is a being of the middling scope.
And a being who wishes to help all sentient beings is a being of the great scope. Based on these reasons, the teachings called the Lamrim are presented in this way as a gradual path. They enable us to know where precisely we are. Now, as far as secret mantra is concerned, we have no understanding at all about this, because we lack the three principles of the path without which secret mantra is powerless. The non-Buddhist practitioners, the Hindus, have for instance secret mantra, but they lack the three principles of the path, and therefore their practice of secret mantra does not lead to its goals.
For instance, if you take the mantra of Heruka, it is the same as the mantra of Īśvara, but of Shiva. But the meaning of the mantra is different. So we have run out of time and Rinpoche will stop here. Rinpoche gets carried away when he teaches the Dharma, and his expositions become very developed, and sometimes your poor translator finds it difficult to keep up. Not everything stays in the translator’s mind, so Rinpoche has been requested to reduce somewhat the length of his teachings.
Rinpoche would like to ask us to think carefully on these teachings and to practice them. And the way to practice them is to compare our behavior with the teachings, and if our behavior is at odds with the teachings, then we have to change our behavior to sort of be in keeping with the teachings. If it is in keeping with the teachings, then we should continue as before. And it is absolutely nonsensical to say that we are working for the welfare of of others or that we help others when we haven’t begun to work for our own welfare or to help us ourselves. So if we lack love and empathy for ourselves, if we do not understand our own suffering and do not wish to be rid of our own suffering, what empty talk is it to say that we wish to help other sentient beings and to help them be freed from their own suffering.
This is meaningless talk. And therefore, it is said that first one must train for oneself, and then in dependence on this, help other beings. And I forgot to translate. He said, renunciation is practiced from one’s own side. And when renunciation is turned towards others, it becomes bodhicitta.
bodhicitta. Okay. I have a few announcements. This Lamrim meditation on the May 15. Anyway, there’s a fly outside here and maybe up there.
And and upcoming seminars on Lojong, which starts on Saturday, May 21, two to four. Okay? And, of course, Lamrim discussion this Sunday with the Venerable Jampa Tenzin starts the afternoon. And, of course, the the July, we have a symposium that we held last year in October. This year, we’re held in July, and, there’s a fly on the table.
Please grab one, and, we have fantastic speakers and, great scholars in there so that, maybe, grab one and, look at it. Yeah. Thank you. And there’s a chai and cake. Please have a chai and cake.
Thank you.