Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 65-minute teaching, Kyabje Rinpoche addresses a practical question facing meditators: how to work with afflictions like anger, jealousy, and resentment through meditation. He outlines a precise sequence: first, techniques like breath-counting to settle a turbulent mind into a neutral state; then, deliberately cultivating great love and compassion as direct antidotes. The key principle is that afflictions depend on two conditions—external triggers and our habitual responses—and generating bodhicitta naturally weakens their power. Grounding the teaching in Lama Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim Chenmo, Rinpoche stresses that meditation must never become blank or empty, and addresses students’ questions about whether bodhicitta requires prior achievement of calm abiding, citing different views from Sera and Drepung monasteries. For practitioners with foundational Lamrim knowledge.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 17092017SundayMorningEnglish – KR.mp3
UUID: 8088fc3c-404f-43bc-a5b4-ee68c86e0ea6
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Rinpoche's Story
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~2,366
So now because now in the spring spring. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. You know?
Thank you for coming to my my teaching in a so and also support Rupa, support, you know. So now I will talk, you know, about the same, know, Meditation and the Three Principal Aspects of the Path, you know. Meditation is very important because it is very powerful. Nippa chinbo, powerful. It is very powerful, you know, powerful.
Because also meditation can stop, you know, the afflictions. Yeah yeah. Afflictions, you know. So if you cannot focus is it? If you cannot focus your mind your mind on virtue.
If you cannot focus your mind on virtue, then you will our mind or your mind you know follows the afflictions. Just for example, anger, jealousy, you know. We know, we have, you know, big experience, is it? Experience. Yeah.
So if you know your mind follows the afflictions afflictions afflictions. Afflictions. Afflictions. Afflictions. Afflections.
Afflections. So if your mind oh, Kelowna. Yep. If your mind, you know, follow follows the afflictions, is it? Afflictions, then, you know, you must first you must first turn, you know, turn turn your mind to neutral.
Neutral state, neutral. You know? Neutral, you see, in Tibetan, how do you say? Yeah, actually. No virtue and it is no virtue and it is non-virtuous.
So it is neutral. Neutral. Sure, of course. I haven’t been here for nearly five years. Yeah.
So you must first turn your mind to a neutral state before focus on virtue. Before again, give you say Nyampala. Rumate. Now I think you know your mind is virtuous or, you know, neutral. No.
Not virtuous. But sometime, you know. Sometime. So how can how can it turn, how can turn our mind to neutral state? How can we, how can we turn our mind to neutral state?
Neutral state is the way. I think neutral. Either one. Either one. Seriously, neutral or a neutral state.
I think in Tibetan, turn our mind to, new to, become it adds some more words. Becomes neutral. Becomes neutral. Neutral, because in Tibetan, cha. Yeah.
Jo is term, you know. Become. Okay. Because our mind is not stable. Not stable.
Still not stable. Sometime, you know, now okay, okay, stable. There are many methods I think, many methods for turn our mind to neutral state. You understand? One of the is, is it?
One of the is, because there are are many methods for turn your mind to neutral. Is that strange? So one of the One of these. One of these. is something.
Good. Good. Of these, is it? Yes. One of these.
One of these, you know, by thinking on, you know, by thinking, by focusing on breathing, you know. Breading and in, breathing out. Counting. Counting? Counting.
Counting. Yeah. Counting. Breathe breathe, you know, seven, fourteen, and 21 times. 21 times.
But I think, you know, that that one other wrote, you know, on book, but I think, I think. On other hand, you know, hand, then, you know, our, you know, anger, our jealousy, you know, Where are they come from? Is that? Karuṇā. You know.
Where do they come from? Yeah. Yeah. Sorry? Where do?
Really? Where do? Where do they come from? Where do they come from? What are the flesh is dependent on?
Good, good, good. So this one, I think I thought by myself, you know, in my room before. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So what are the afflictions dependent on? Two two know.
Two things. Two cooperative conditions. Yeah. Cooperative conditions. Cooperative.
Oh, cooperative conditions. Two cooperative conditions. Conditions. One of the is it? One of the is cooperative condition from other person.
And other hand, the, you know, substantial cause. Substantial cause of our afflictions is within the in our mind, I think. Yes, that’s correct. Sure, 100%. Other than other than other.
I keep so other person, you know, other person. And the substantial cause exactly. Substantial cause of is it? Yes. Our afflictions is inside.
Then what then what we do? You know, what we do? Then what we think about? So then we think about, you must think about, you know, about great compassion and great love. Yeah.
Big love. Great great love, I think. Anyway, so great compassion, great love, and, you know, generate bodhicitta. You think, think, think. Then then we how do you say?
We will feel close to other person. Very close, you know. Yeah. Yeah. I do understand.
How could I say? Very close, you know. You say we feel close. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Very close. Yeah. Then then our, you know, afflictions will be less, you know, less powerful. For example, I think someone never ever feels jealousy toward their son.
So he never ever jealousy feel from his son. Why? Why? Very close, you know, very close. Now I now now I ever, never, you know, jealous, feel, find you.
But one day, I’m not sure, you know. Anger is different, know, different. Very bad, know. Very bad that jealousy is very bad, But no good. Very bad, you know, in society.
Anger. Sometimes Sam has anger on his son. Many different. You can you can think, you know. Easy, you know.
We think we must think about, you know, great compassion or great love, you know. So again and again and again, you know. Yeah. That’s the so then, you know, I think is then we will, you know, we will turn our mind to neutral state. Think, know.
So then so now we can, you know, turn our mind to neutral our mind our mind to on virtue. Geshe-la. Geshe-la. Geshe-la. Think about, you know, great compassion and generate bodhicitta, and definitive images. And yeah, images.
And death and impermanence. But but must you you must you must know you must know sit and think about nothing. But in Lam Rim Chenmo, Lama Tsongkhapa says in the Lamrim Chenmo, you know, must not sit and think about nothing. Lama Tsongkhapa is very, very adamant. During the, you know, during the generating bodhicitta, in the Lamrim Chenmo.
Before, you know, body. Calm body, is it? Calm. Calm body. Calm abiding.
Calm body. Yeah. Yeah. So Lama Tsongkhapa, you know Lama Tsongkhapa is very very adamant, is it? Adamant.
Adamant, yeah, adamant about this, stated in his Lam Rim Chenmo. It is very bad to think about nothing at all. In what situation? When? Sorry?
When? When? Yeah. You know, That one, you know, so before I said, just change, you know, if our mind focus on virtue, you know, virtue, then you must think about great compassion, you know, that impermanence, you know, matters. Very bad.
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So to understand? Yes. To understand?
Yes. Lama Tsongkhapa is very, very adamant. Adamant, is it? About this, stated in his Lamrim Chenmo. It is very, how do you say?
It is very bad to think about nothing at all. If you, you know, if you if you understand about, you know, emptiness, you know, but not you. Now I think I have a little bit, you know, not too much, few question. Can you answer? That’s right.
Okay. Okay. So we so about, you know, about generate bodhicitta. So so careful you know. Sanda, why?
So I thought before in my dream, you know, Is, you know, is must generate bodhicitta dependent on calm abiding? I don’t understand. Is bodhicitta dependent on kambali? Oh, yeah. Yeah.
That that that that’s one. It’s must, you know, it’s must generate bodhicitta, know, bodhicitta dependent on calm abiding? But I say it’s not question. Not question. It’s not a question.
Yeah, I question you know. Yeah. Really? But I go get to Torawa, go to Torawa. Same Torawa.
Is master, is it? I’m not sure, you know. Is generate bodhicitta dependent on calm abiding? Must, is it? Must Really?
Must be. Okay. So what do you think? They are very, very potent. No?
Okay. No? Okay. So if bodhicitta is Mahāyāna path of accumulation? Of course, of course, you know.
General yeah, yeah, yeah, of course, you know. Then I say yes. Are you sure? Okay, keep going, please. Okay.
Chris, what do you think? Yes or no? No. Aspiration. Aspiration is a concept.
What it means, actually? Wishing. Wishing. Aspire. Wishing bodhicitta.
I want to do this. Very easy. Maramana, not not. So I I ask, you know, generate bodhicitta is, you know, without effort in our mind. I mean Yeah.
Yeah. So fully characterized spontaneously. Yeah. I asked Dharma, you know, you know, if we if we, you know, deep deep experience, you know, experience of bodhicitta in our mind. That’s the one, bodhicitta.
Do you understand? I understand. Okay, thank you sir. But Richard said it very easy, you know, when they’re bodhicitta. Okay.
Okay. Okay. In your teaching Uh-huh. You said Okay. Yeah.
Those are during the study. You know you study the scriptures. Those are, you know, during the study and how do we say, contemplate, you know, contemplation. And meditating. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yes or no anyway? Yeah.
Not Yeah. Some time, you know. But we have sometimes, you know. But it is not stable, you know. Stable, actually.
bodhicitta, you know. Yeah. Not, you know, not effort. I I thought I said, you know, about bodhicitta is no effort. Not effort.
No effort. Effort. Effort. Okay, but and you say yes, must and Chris yes and Stevie? Okay.
And Pamela? Yes or no? You don’t wanna ask me. Sorry? You don’t wanna ask me because I think that according to the rules of Salaam, the answer is yes, but I am not convinced.
I’m not sure. I’m not sure. Why? Because I think that it is possible to develop your mind to the point where everything you do is is dedicated to others. But you may not have you may not have achieved calm abiding.
And if if everything you do is aiming at enlightenment Mhmm. And all that you think of is aimed toward others. That’s I mean, spontaneously, you think of others. Spontaneously. I don’t I don’t, I’m not sure the calm abiding is necessary.
This is what I think. Okay. Okay. Okay. Yeah.
Okay. But, you know, there are, you know, there are two different, is it? Two different which one? Two different tradition in Sera Monastery. And in Sera Monastery.
There’s two traditions? In Sera Monastery, yes, must agree, you know, generate bodhicitta, must is dependent on calm abiding. But in Drepung Monastery, not so. Yeah. Yeah.
Drepung monastery. Monastery. Yeah. Different. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. We must think about, you know, think about on the great bodhicitta. It is, you know, it is coarse mind of serenity. That’s the one.
Course, is it? Course. Coarse mind of serenity. What do you think? Really?
Okay. Why? Okay. When when, you know, I I say, you know, in Śāntideva’s Bodhicaryāvatāra, when bodhisattva, you know, bodhisattva will go to bed, then he will sleep. During sleep, why?
You know, great, you know, generate bodhicitta stop or continue in his mind. Really? Sure. Really? Sorry.
That time you nearly you, you know, wake up, you know. Your dream dream is, you know, dream, you know, when we we we deep dream that time Deep sleep. Deep Deep During the deep sleep that time how do you say, we never ever dream. There’s nothing. So yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
But but not manifest. Seriously. Carl, what what means present? Present. It’s here.
Mhmm. But it’s not arising. Differently, they are close, you know. Differently also too, difference, you know, continuing in the luminosity. In Sera Monastery, Sera Monastery, in Sera Monastic size, when we we will sleep sleep, is it?
That time continue, you know? Yeah. Okay. Mind? The supplementary, yeah, supplement.
Yeah. But no. Eyes. This one. Yeah.
How do you say? Course. Course. Course. Sensory.
Yeah. Yeah. Nothing. Okay. Sorry.
So sorry. No? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
So We ask by we self, you know, our self, sometimes, you know. Okay, now you know, we have to meditation on year, you know, about great great compassion, general bodhicitta, death and impermanence in the place. Mhmm. So now I think here, you know, for five minutes left, just five minutes left. But you know, you know, falls first, know.
First precious human life, is it? Precious human rebirth or life. Push human life. precious human rebirth and death and impermanence in Lamrim Chenmo first. Because there are, you know, foundation of three scopes.
Three scopes. No no only in small scope. Foundation of, you know, three scopes. Okay. Nearly 11:30.
So I have your question. So we’re studying, contemplating, meditating, for example, on generate bodhicitta, you know. Then one day we will. Is it? We will omit One day, our mind will become a bodhicitta.
Become. Sorry? Will become bodhicitta. Will be. Sorry?
When I go to sleep Yeah. Can you reply, please, again? I think. You said during the, you know, deep sleep, that time has Is it is it that say sometimes I go to bed, angry mind, That time you continue mind, why it was there? Virtue, non virtue.
Yeah. Yeah. It’s my experience. Yes. Really?
Okay, Jano. When during the deep sleep, that time you had mind right? Continue. That’s, you know, that’s the one very important. I don’t know.
I don’t know. That’s the same, you know, you go to bed, just for example, today, tonight, if you’re hungry, if you’re hungry, big hungry, so much hungry, too much hungry, then you will wake up still continue. Okay. Good, thank you.
So now my English is very, very improved. Very developed. Just joking. Difficult, difficult Because it is it is, you know, second language, you know. Mean, just difficult.
Yeah. Yeah. No English. It’s old language, you know. Because, do you understand?
Because there are many many countries in Europe, you know. That’s the one. Sometimes you’re in Tibet, they use, you know, a Chinese, you know. Okay. Page nine, Mandala offering question.