Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 54-minute teaching, Kyabje Rinpoche uses a striking seed analogy to explain how wisdom realizing selflessness terminates rebirth: just as fire makes a grain seed inert so it cannot grow, this wisdom makes future birth impossible. He then turns to compassion as what prevents practitioners from settling into personal liberation. While Hearers and Solitary Buddhas reach their own nirvana and rest there in peace, bodhisattvas with great compassion cannot settle. Their compassion compels them to work ceaselessly for all beings to reach enlightenment, not themselves alone. From here, Rinpoche explores great compassion as the defining marker of great vehicle practice, the distinction between the two vehicles, and why bodhisattvas must realize the selflessness of phenomena, not just the selflessness of persons. Recorded questions from students follow. For practitioners with background in Abhidharma.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 1989-11-16 – 24B – KR.mp3
UUID: f04ac9f0-54ce-449c-b2d8-fe5d255f2b31
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Ornament of Clear Realization
Date: 1989-11-16
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~2,607
Stop the extreme of existence. And whatever kinds of that wisdom, which is either in an Arhat’s which is either in an Arhat’s continuum or in both or in a Pratyekabuddha’s or in a Buddha’s continuum, they all are they all are to be understood as means to stop being born in the existence. Once the practitioner has this wisdom directly realizing the selflessness of person, then from that moment, we can say that the practitioner has made extreme of his existence, meaning perhaps more ornamentally to be translated as he has caused the termination of his existence. So extreme in the sense of termination. And whereas for us at the moment, or since beginningless time, we have been wandering.
And at the moment, if somebody asked how long you’re still going to be in the existence, in the cycle of existence. Can you you tell when it’s it’s extreme or when it’s going to terminate? It would be very difficult to answer because we can’t we can’t say. Whereas a person, if we first have what is called intellectual or conceptual understanding of the wisdom directly realizing the selflessness of a person, then afterward, if he or if he were to be familiarized with it again and again in meditative contemplation, then afterward, when a point there comes a point when he directly realizes the selflessness of a person, then from that moment the practitioner or the person has, or has, has approached the point where he is going to terminate his existence. Therefore, we can say that from that moment, through that means, he has seen the extreme or end of his existence.
It has been explained with example in the Abhidharma teachings that it is like a it is like a seed of a grain or rice which will continuously be able to used, say, a corn to grow a whole lot of rice in the continuous season after season after season because this seed of rice, you plant it and then in next season it grows. And afterward it will produce another seed and again you plant that one. So until there is some foul with the seed, it will continue without stopping to grow, produce, grow, produce. And that being the case, but whereas if we take the seed and affect it with a slight burning by fire. Then from that moment onward the seed has been made inert.
So it hasn’t been able to that moment able to grow. So because of that, it has been also with that explanation, it has been explained that wisdom directly realizing the selflessness is like that fire which makes the seed inert. And from that moment onward, the person will not be able will not have to be born in the cyclic existence. So if we really have a strong urge to to get rid of being born in the cyclic existence and having a strong urge to escape from it and to attain liberation, then we really have to practice well in meditation this wisdom directly realizing the selflessness. So the second one, we will limit to the not up till that to the first one.
And now the second one, the the path knower not abiding in the peace through compassion. So true compassion has special meaning because it is the compassion through which one does not remain in the peace. And therefore, it is called the means to exceed the extreme or rather it’s called the means to exceed the extreme of peace because bodhisattva Bodhisattvas because having compassion, they do not remain in peace. Why that is so is because as we as it has been explained before, that great compassion is all the time thinking about others instead of oneself. And also, great compassion is of such a quality like it has the quality of all the time thinking that sentient beings be free of the sufferings and cause of suffering.
And may sentient beings be free of sufferings and causes of suffering, being second in what we call prayer form. And third, may myself alone be responsible in actually removing their sufferings and cause of suffering. So regarding the phrase extreme of peace, so this is to be understood, let’s say, with the practitioner of the inferior vehicle. They all the time think only about their own fear of samsaric suffering. And they all the time only think about themselves alone to get rid of, to escape, sorry, to escape from cyclic existence and to all the time only about themselves alone to attain the happiness of being freed from samsaric suffering.
And with that as a constant way of their thinking, thinking, they do meditations principally on the wisdom directly realizing the selflessness. And through that wisdom, they attain the state free of samsaric suffering and they attain the, what I call, bliss or happiness of liberation. And that bliss or happiness or liberation is what is called peace, in this context, peace. And it’s also called the bliss of the peace or happiness of the peace. In the inferior vehicles, the practitioner only thinks about himself and works for one’s own, removing of sufferings and attaining the happiness or liberation for oneself only.
And once they attain that state, they are normally called the arhats, the four, those who have destroyed the foes, foes being referred to the delusions. And if it is a person who has attained that state from the Hearer’s path, then he is called Hearer foe-destroyer. And if it’s a solitary or a self Buddha, then it’s called Solitary Buddha foe-destroyer. And he remains in that liberation, peace, and happiness for enormously long time. And therefore, it is called extreme, extreme of peace.
And in that case, why they do so is because their whole starting point has come from self interest themselves alone. Whereas with the bodhisattva, because they all the time think about other sentient beings suffering, how to lead other sentient beings to the ultimate happiness. Therefore, the Bodhisattva, that thing is something to be abandoned. And for bodhisattva, because of their great compassion, they cannot be satisfied being able to attain happiness for themselves alone. Therefore, it is the great compassion within the bodhisattva’s continuum which doesn’t allow or which doesn’t let the bodhisattva aspire for his own personal peace, happiness.
Therefore, the great compassion in this context is called the means to exceed the extreme of peace. Whoever has this great compassion definitely will be in the group belonging to the practitioner of the great vehicle. And it is never a possibility that once a person has great compassion that he still is in the inferior vehicle. But still it’s possible for a practitioner of inferior vehicle after some time to meet a great vehicle teacher who shows him the great vehicle teachings and thereby generate great compassion. And from that moment onward, it is possible that through that way the inferior vehicle practitioner, because of that way, becomes one who has entered the great vehicle part.
But generally speaking, it is definite that inferior vehicle practitioners never have this what I call great compassion. And it is only the great compassion which determines the person whether he is in great vehicle, implying that it determines the person definite to be attaining the ultimate goal of our supreme enlightenment. So the Bodhisattvas, in order not to remain in the extreme of the peace, they do such meditation. So so far, the explanation has been about the first two, the path knower not abiding in the existence through knowledge and the path knower not abiding in the peace through compassion. And the first two among nine features representing the path knower.
And there are still some tongue left for question answer instead of meditation. Yeah. It is in the form of knowledge and it’s all wisdom realizing emptiness, wisdom realizing selflessness is wisdom. So that’s a problem in English. Like, normally, literal translation is very good.
Wisdom word for wisdom in Tibetan is called supreme knowledge. But wisdom is very abstract word, normally. Supreme knowledge, that’s what it squares up. So it’s in the form of knowledge. So at this point, yes, it is our call in the aspect of knowing that persons do not truly exist.
And in this context, persons do not truly exist and do not truly exist, meaning in this context, it has to be explained as meaning the person not truly existent in the sense of not substantially existing in the form of self sufficiency. So meaning, that’s a technical norm in how it is said. But it simply means selflessness of person and understanding that person do not exist as a substance which is self sufficient by its own. So this is to be analyzed in this way or whether I or self, the person is existing or not to analyze that this person or I is only a mere it exists only as a mere label on the five aggregates being compounded together and it’s just a mere label on the continuity of those five aggregates. And apart from the mere label on these two aspects, there is not any person, self, and I which is truly existing.
And once you understand that, then that’s the starting point that you are realizing the selflessness of person. Yeah. It can help once you so I translate it back in Tibetan. If you try to get rid of the misconceptions and the misconception and the non conception. That’s a technical term in Tibet referring to all wrong thoughts.
So once you get rid of that, it will have to have those right-line or wisdoms. So it does have because once you analyze the thing, how you misconceive them through those two aspects, either misconceiving or either not conceiving it correctly, then you come closer to the point of understanding the nature of things more clearly. So it helps. Yes. The main barrier is the self grasping mind, truth grasping mind.
And because of the truth grasping mind, it obscure us to not see the selflessness. It is like example, like Rinpoche put his hand on this little stone. So that hand is like the self grasping misconception which obscures seeing that little stone, which is the reality, the selflessness. Now the self grasping and true grasping of person are called ignorance, or not knowing. And why they are called not knowing is because it obscures the person in not knowing the mode of existence, the mode of existence of the things, how things exist.
Then through meditating on selflessness of persons, realizing that, then is that is that the peace of liberation, is that, like, like a drug sort of so attractive that if the training Yeah. It does happen in the case of not having strong practice in bodhisattva. And on the other hand, it does happen because we are mostly normally, are mostly inclined in being attached to bliss and happiness. And and also being inclined, we have been so familiarized. So it does happen.
But still, even if even if the practitioner may not be able to generate bodhicitta on the other hand, but still he can stop drifting to the extreme by thinking on the faults and flaws of the bliss of liberation, bliss of peace, thinking how deficient it is in the ultimate sense. Yes. We we can resist and stop that if we, again and again, think about the faults of the peace bliss of the peace. And especially, think on the faults of the self-cherishing thought, which as explained in the previous teachings on the thought training, how self-cherishing has all those faults. And if you go on thinking again and again, then it’s possible not to be attracted and stop that attraction.
I thought it must be very strong. Way there’s so much emphasis. That’s true. But also, it’s also because of the point or purpose on that normally whenever there is, so I call it, teachings and emphasis on the great great vehicle’s thought and enlightenment mind, then the practitioners are to be drawn to that great vehicle. And because of that, there is a special emphasis on enlightenment thought of mind because everything in the great vehicle has to come through that thought.
And also, another additional purpose is more you emphasize on this altruistic enlightenment thought, the more it helps the practitioner to get rid of self-cherishing thought. Like, is he so where where does the selflessness of phenomena come from? No. And this one is going to show you the damage. You know?
Achieve the main. Achieve the main. So the selflessness of phenomena comes when you enter the great vehicle path. Yeah. I was just, you know, like, in context of what you’re saying tonight about.
So you’re saying selflessness is a person. Rinpoche, you will explain it more clearly. Like, in the great vehicle part, once a person enters that, then there are two things which the practitioner has to get rid of, and they’re called the two obscurations, the afflictive obscurations and the knowledge obscurations. And these two obscurations cannot be abandoned unless the practitioner practices the, what I call, wisdom realizing the selflessness of phenomena. And that’s why it comes in that context.
So in meaning, even though he has got rid of saṃsāra through that selflessness of a person, but still he hasn’t attained the state free of old obscurations. And that’s why the selflessness of phenomena With the selflessness of a person, once one realizes it, You can get rid of the general afflictions and the rebirth in the cyclic existence. But in order to get rid of, especially, the knowledge obscuration, you must definitely meditate on the selflessness, on the understanding of the selflessness of phenomena. In the the or in the great vehicle path.
Generally speaking, generally, in the special tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa, it has been explained that firstly one has to realize the selflessness of a person and then one has to realize the selflessness of the phenomena. Why that is so is because there is a slight difference in the easiness and difficulty of understanding or realizing those two. So meaning the first one is easier and than for phenomena. No. Because other, I mean, they’re a lot of us.
Yeah. No. It is more gross or coarse, and that’s why it’s easier. No. It’s not like that.
It’s because it’s because the object to be refuted is more easier to negate when you establish the selflessness of person. So object to be refuted like truly existent self. So that is it’s more easy to establish that being nonexistent with the person, whereas with phenomena, it’s more difficult. Well, there is a big difference. With the person, of course, it is a kind of phenomena.
But still with the phenomena in person, there is quite a big difference from the standpoint of object to be refuted, to be cancelled. There is a whole difference of the one being easy to cover, to establish as not being truly existent and other being more difficult. And because of that difference of ease and difficulty in establishing the canceling of the object to be refuted, therefore, in the actual emptiness, which is the result of whatever is cancelled, there’s also the whole difference of subtle and gross emptiness in between the two. Yes. Firstly, when you are what I call apply reasoning system.