Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 114-minute teaching, Geshe Jampa Gyaltsen lays out the foundational framework of Tibetan Buddhist practice by opening with correct motivation and then systematically walking through the four human conditions that make spiritual achievement possible: precious human rebirth with leisure and endowment, access to Buddha’s teachings, qualified teachers, and supportive dharma friends. He explains the two primary goals one can achieve with this opportunity—higher rebirth and definite goodness (liberation or enlightenment)—before diving deep into the practices of a person of small capacity: abandoning the ten non-virtuous actions (killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, divisive speech, harsh speech, idle chatter, covetousness, malice, and wrong view) and cultivating their virtuous opposites to secure a good rebirth. He then addresses the practices of medium capacity by exposing the unsatisfying and unstable nature of all cyclic existence, using concrete examples like eating, theft, and relationships that never satisfy. With this recognition, practitioners develop the resolve to abandon saṃsāra entirely and practice the three higher trainings—ethical conduct, meditative concentration, and wisdom realizing emptiness—to achieve liberation. The teaching concludes with an introduction to bodhicitta, the aspiration to achieve full enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings, which opens the path to great capacity practice.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 14Mar07.mp3
UUID: 39e81310-b73d-44d7-b8c6-ceb4c44d2211
Teacher: Geshe Jampa Gyaltsen
Collection: Rinpoche's Story
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~5,603
First, I will explain to you a little bit about the way to set the proper motivation for listening to these teachings. Yeah. So after I’ve spoken on that, then we will spend a couple of minutes meditating on on that, yeah, setting the motivation. And after that, then would I then start the actual teaching. So like what was mentioned by the great Buddhist Śāntideva himself.
Yeah. So after having obtained this precious human life, a leisure opportunity, which is very difficult to find. So if you have to after finding such such a rebirth, if you don’t use it, then it’ll be a great waste. Yeah. What we have in the moment is a human life that is characterized by what we call the eight leisures and the 10 endowments.
Yeah. And such a kind of human rebirth is very difficult to obtain. You know? But once obtained, you know, if we we can use it to achieve great purposes, yeah, we can achieve many goals. Yeah.
And with regards to the goals and why we can achieve, you know, as stated by Nāgārjuna himself, yeah, there are two. Yeah. The goals of higher rebirth and definite goodness, which means liberation enlightenment. Yeah. So such goals has have great meaning, has great purpose.
Yeah. And with the kind of precious human rebirth that we have, these goals are achievable. So as mentioned earlier, Nāgārjuna stated that there are two goals here for us, the temporal goal and the ultimate goals here. So the temporal goal would be the achieving a good or higher rebirth. And what does this higher rebirth actually means?
Yeah. So as stated by Maitreya himself, Maitreya Buddha himself. Yeah. So a higher rebirth is a rebirth which is characterized by an excellent body, excellent possessions, and an excellent retinue. Yeah.
So consider our case. We have now obtained a human rebirth. So human body is a is is an excellent body. And then all of us, we have food. We have enough to eat.
We have clothes to wear. We have possessions to enjoy. Yeah. So in that sense, we can see we have excellent possessions. And then what about excellent retinue?
Yeah. So we have many friends and helpers and so forth. Yeah. So, actually, our rebirth has these three qualities. Yeah?
An excellent body, an excellent possessions, and an excellent retinue. Yeah. So any kind of rebirth which has these three together, you know, that that is what we call a higher rebirth. Yeah. And such a rebirth, you have already obtained.
So the the temporal goals will be to achieve a high rebirth, yeah, either as a human or god. Yeah. Or which possesses those three excellent qualities we have just discussed here. And what about the ultimate goals? Yeah.
So the ultimate goals are what we call achieving definite goodness. Yeah. So definite goodness means achieving either liberation from cyclic existence or the state of full enlightenment. So when we talk about saṃsāra or cyclic existence, I mean, we’re talking about, like, the all the different kinds of suffering in it, isn’t it? So achieving liberation basically means achieving a state of happiness that is separated, that has abandoned all different forms of suffering.
Suffering is something that we do not like, and then what we need to achieve is a a state of happiness that is devoid of our suffering. So this is one of the another one of the goals that we that we we can have and something that we need to achieve. And on top of that, when we think, oh, just not enough for myself to free from suffering. So if one generates the thought, so to free all other living beings from their suffering and then place them in the state of full enlightenment. Yeah.
So so, basically, one is one has the goal of achieving the state of omniscience, the state of full enlightenment. So, again, that is another goal that we can have, and that’s something that we need to achieve here. So this this is the goals here, achieving a high rebirth and achieving definite goodness of which there is a liberation and enlightenment. Yeah. So these are the kind of goals and aims that we should have.
These goals precisely can be achieved on the basis of a human life of leisure and opportunity. Because we can achieve these goals, the human life of leisure and opportunity that we have becomes greatly meaningful. Yeah. These goals cannot be achieved by someone who is born as a hell being. Cannot be achieved by those in a hungry ghost realms.
Animals can’t do that as well. Gods will have a difficult time achieving these goals as well. Yeah. So precisely because of this reason, therefore, our human life of leisure and opportunity becomes very beneficial as great purpose because we can achieve this and we need to achieve it. So now
We have, in this present life, found a obtained a rebirth situation where we actually can do something to achieve these goals. Yeah. If we don’t use the opportunity that we have now, it will be extremely difficult to find such a opportunity again in our next life. Why? Because this human life, leisure opportunity itself is very precious.
In order achieve this very precious rebirth, you need to create many causes, the correct causes for it, which by themselves, the causes are difficult to practice, difficult to create. So if we don’t use it now, then we will not be able to find such an opportunity again in the future. Yeah. So since that’s the case, and then we should set the motivation now. Since now I’ve obtained this opportunity, I will use it now for something meaningful to achieve these goals.
Yeah. And precisely for the reason, then I’m going to listen to the teachings. Yeah. And we will spend a couple of minutes reflecting on this to set the proper motivation for the session. So now we have generated the motivation to talk.
Oh, I’m gonna do something useful with this human life that I have. So then the question is how, you know, how will you make it meaningful, useful? The way to do so is to practice the Dharma. With regards to the Dharma that we practice, it is not just anything that anybody calls Dharma. The Dharma, what is this Dharma?
The Dharma that we have to put into practice has to be the one taught by the Buddha himself. Not only that that that it has to be done nor has it got to be taught by the Buddha himself, those teachings themselves have to must have already been subjected to critical analysis and checking by the great Indian masters of the past. And upon those analysis and checking, they have established, okay, this is what the teachings is. And not only that, on top of that, those teachings have to be practiced by the great practitioners. And upon the practice, then they have gained valid experience.
So those kinds of teachings are what we need to practice. Yeah. So regards to the Buddha Dharma, yeah, the thing that the teaching available we look at today and then is the very essence of the teachings of the Buddha summarized by Lama Tsongkhapa himself. Yeah. So it is you you can liken this particular teaching to very good food.
You know? You you imagine there’s a kind of food, you which is the combination, you know, or the collection of all the best of the best food, you know, such that when you put it together, it’s easy to make. It is very delicious, and it it benefits the body. So it’ll be so if there’s such kind of food, then there’s something that we need, isn’t it? So the the when we talk about this Lamrim, the stages of the path to enlightenment, this particular genre of teaching, it is easy to put into practice, and this instruction contains all the vital subject matter of the entire Buddhadharma.
And such a teaching, if put into practice, will enable us to achieve all the different kinds of happiness. Such a particular form of teaching structured in such a way is what we call the Lam Rim in Tibetan or what we call the stages of the path literature. And if you look at the stages of the path and the essence of the stages of path, the Lam Rim is included in this text that we’re gonna look at today, the foundation of all good qualities. When we look at the great treatise of the, stages of the path to enlightenment, yeah, it contains both, the sūtra and tantra. And the foundation of all good qualities is in essence the summary of that.
Yeah. And the foundation of all good qualities itself contains both the points of sūtra and tantra. So it says the text, the it’s called the foundation of all good qualities, and it and the starting line of the text is basically there. Yeah. When we talk about qualities, we are talking about those things that are helpful for us, useful for us.
And what what do we mean by foundation? The foundation here refers to the very basis. It’s the earth on which everything grows here. So that is here referring to the basis for all developing all those good qualities. And in the beginning, what is this foundation for us developing all these good qualities?
It is the the teacher, the guru, yeah, who can show the to us the unmistaken path to enlightenment. And the guru, the teacher, the qualified teacher is the basis for us to achieve both temporal happiness and ultimate happiness. The guru is the very basis for us to achieve all the qualities of the different paths and grounds. When we talk about a qualified teacher. Yeah.
In Sanskrit, the word is guru, and in Tibetan, it is lama. Yeah. So lama, whether you say lama or guru, it means the same thing. Yeah. So what is the meaning of guru or lama?
So it refers to someone who possesses all the complete qualities, someone who has all the necessary qualities. And so that person is what we call a guru or in Tibetan, a lama. So you have, on one hand, the lama, and you have the students here, all the disciples here. So the lama or the guru is like a treasure a treasure of qualities. Yeah.
As for the students, the students don’t have any qualities. Yeah. So what they need from the teacher, the lama is to get those qualities, isn’t it, that the lama has. Yeah. To obtain those qualities.
So when we talk about a guru, it doesn’t just refer to anyone who teaches the Dharma. Yeah. So, yeah, doesn’t refer to just anyone who teaches the Dharma. As mentioned before, in order to be a guru or teacher, he has to possess many good qualities. Yeah.
And we talk about the qualities that the teacher needs to possess, then the the qualities they are they are taught from the perspective of the Vinaya, which is the ethical code of conduct for the ordained persons. Yeah. And then there’s also and then there’s the list of qualifications of a teacher from the sūtra point of view. Yeah. And then there’s a list of qualities required of a Vajrayāna Vajrayāna master, teacher of secret mantra.
So if the teacher is to be a teacher of the Vinaya, which is the ethical code of conduct for monks and nuns, yeah, in order to be such a teacher, the person must possess many qualities as explained in the Vinaya itself. Yeah. The person must have pure morality. Then, you there are many different kinds of monastic rituals. The person must be skilled and expert in those.
The person must also have a care and concern for the sick and so and so forth. Yeah. So you will go through all the qualities, and it’ll be it’ll be too much. Yeah. So so those are some those those are some of the qualities that a person needs to have in order to be a teacher a guru of doctor Vinaya.
Then you look at the qualities of a Mahāyāna teacher. Then there are 10 qualities that are that are explained by Maitreya Buddha in the his text called the ornament of the Mahāyāna Sutras in which he leads and understand. Yeah. For example, the person has to be engaged in higher training of ethics, concentration, wisdom, and knows and realizes the meaning of emptiness, has great love for the disciples, and never gets discouraged in leading the disciples. And the person must possess more qualities than the disciples and so and so.
Altogether, there are these there are 10 qualities. Then from the point of view of secret mantra or Vajrayāna, in order to be a master of Vajrayāna, the person must have very good practice of Vajrayāna, Must be an expert in the different rituals and so forth. And in fact, there are all these inconceivable qualities that a person needs to have in order to be a Vajrayāna master. Yeah. So, anyway so, basically, you see, not just anyone is a lama.
So a person without any of these qualities is not a lama or guru. So the so now you have got some idea what kind of teacher one needs. Yeah. Then what about the disciple? What kind of call this the disciple needs?
Yeah. So so there are three. Yeah. Nonpartisan. Okay.
I don’t use so cheap English. Nonbias, intelligent, and interested seeking the the teachings from the teacher. So nonpartisan or nonbias basically means very straightforward. Yeah. You know?
Basically, it means very nonbias. Yeah. Intelligent, so possessing some wisdom. And interested, Should should the person should be someone who is wants to receive those teachings from the teacher. Yeah.
So these are the three qualities that the student needs to have as a as a working capital to to start. Yeah. Yeah. So the students so the student who possesses these three qualities, yeah, needs to receive or take or get the qualities, yeah, from the qualified teacher. How?
So true the student has to rely single pointedly on the teacher. So how does one rely single pointedly on the teacher? Yeah. So the teacher the qualified teacher is someone who has many qualities. Yeah.
So we do understand and recognize that and have faith. No? To understanding, they have faith in the teacher. Yeah. So whatever the teacher instructs, then we follow accordingly.
So these are the two qualities that we need to cultivate in order to single pointedly rely on the teacher. Yeah. So if we have a stable these two qualities are stable in us, We are able to have faith, and we are able to achieve accomplish what the teacher says, and then we will be able to obtain and receive all the qualities of the teacher. So you said that the the foundation of achieving the higher rebirth and definite goodness, the two goals which was explained just now. The foundation of these two are the teacher, yeah, the qualified teacher himself.
Yeah. So on the because the when we talk about even achieving definite goodness, either liberation or enlightenment, the teacher is the ground. Yeah. It’s the foundation for us to the root for us to develop all the realizations of the paths. Yeah.
When we talk about the past, we talk about the five paths of the Hīnayāna and the five Mahāyāna paths. And then in the Mahāyāna, we talk about the 10 Bodhisattva grounds as well. Yeah. So we talk about the past, they’re essentially indicated by the Heart Sūtra mantra, gate gate pāragate. Yeah.
So the root of generating all the realizations and qualities of the paths and grounds, you know, is the teacher. Yeah. So if we’re able to rely correctly, we will be able to establish the very foundational route to develop all these qualities in our own minds.
Can we do it or not? Can we achieve those two goals now of a high rebirth and a definite goodness? The answer is yes. We can do it. Just that we are not doing it, and we probably don’t wanna do it.
You know? And that this this is this is a different question. Yeah. So why why why can we achieve these two goals? First, we have the basis for achieving it.
And what is this basis? This very special kind of human rebirth that we already have, which is characterized by the eight leisures and the 10 endowments. So we have the basis for accomplishing the two goals. Not only that, we have met with the teachings that which will help us accomplish those two goals. Yeah.
We have met with the teachings of the Buddha. Third, we have also have access and met with those qualified teachers who can show us the path. Fourthly, we have, many, Dharma friends and, assistance and helpers who will help us along the way. So we have all these four conditions. If we do the practice, we can definitely can achieve it.
The point is that we are not doing it. The Buddha in the past on the basis of having those four conditions, he achieved enlightenment. Yeah. So if we do likewise, we can also achieve those goals. Yeah.
And just that we are not doing it. Because we are not doing, we are actually actually really experiencing a great loss. So understanding this, knowing that we can achieve this goals if we put in the effort, you know, of our so, yeah, we know it, then what do we do? Then we day and night, we work, you know, to achieve those goals, yeah, day and night by putting in effort. So we have to put in the effort, you know, starting from right now.
What happens if we don’t? Our life and our body is like a water bubble. Water bubble water bubble rises from the body of water, and it disappears very quickly, isn’t Yeah. Just as the slightest movement of wind, the bubble burst. Or you just have to or if you touch it just slightly, it will disappear, isn’t it?
Yeah. So our bodies, our lifespan is something like that. It’s like a water bubble. Yeah. It is you can decay, and we can just die.
So what happens when we die? We we don’t just disappear. You know? Like, you know, if if, you know, if you like the oil lamp, you know, and the flame disappears, dies off like that, becomes nothing. So we don’t just disappear like an oil lamp.
After death, we have to take rebirth. And depending on the karma, the actions that we have done and accumulated, we either go into the very bad rebirth or in good rebirth. You know? So after death, it says that the the karma that we have accumulated, that we perform follows us like the shadow of a body. I mean, the shadow of our body does not leave us, isn’t it?
You know? If you turn to the right, then you have a shadow on your left. If you turn to your left, then the shadow fall on your right. Yeah. So the our karma that we have accumulated and and done is like that.
It follows us. If we have accumulated negative actions, non virtuous actions, this will throw us into the lower realms, either as a hell being, a hungry ghost, or as an animal. And if we do end up in one of these rebirths, we would have to experience great problems, great difficulties, many suffering. But this will if we have accumulated positive actions, virtuous actions, then this will help us to achieve a higher rebirth of the humans and gods. Yeah.
So depending on what kind of karma we have accumulated, we will experience those results. Yeah. Since this is the case, so what we have to do from now is to abandon non virtuous actions, and we have to cultivate virtuous actions. So we have to know what is a virtuous action and what is a non virtuous action. So So stated by the great Nāgārjuna himself here.
Non virtuous actions are those actions that lead us to a rebirth in the lower realms. Yeah. And non virtuous actions, the source of problems, suffering. And since suffering is something that we don’t like, we don’t want, therefore, we have to abandon its course, which is the non virtuous actions. Virtuous actions, on the other hand, are those actions that will cause us to experience happiness, cause us to be reborn either as a human, as a god.
Yeah. And since this is since we do want to experience happiness, then we have to accumulate this course, which is cultivating virtuous actions. So so we have to now understand what are non virtuous actions and what are virtuous actions. When we look at the non virtual sections now, we can look at it in terms of the 10 non virtuous actions. And how are these 10 classified?
There are three of the body, four of the speech, and three of the mind. So altogether, we can the 10 non virtuous actions. So what are the three non virtuous actions of the body? They are killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. And what are the four of the speech?
They are lying, divisive speech, offensive speech, and senseless speech. So this is the four. Yeah. Then the three non virtuous actions of the mind are covetousness, ill will or malice, and the last one being wrong views. So these are the 10 nonversus actions.
So if we abandon these ten ten nonversus actions, then we will be engaging in positive actions. The fact the activity of abandoning these ten non virtuous actions is itself a virtuous action. So the points that
Mentioned, up to now, the practices that are common, that are shared with, persons of a small, capacity. So when we engage in such practices, what can one achieve? One, we’ll be able to obtain good rebirths in the future. So then with regards to the goal of definite goodness as mentioned earlier, there is liberation from cyclic existence and achieving the state of full enlightenment or omniscience. In order to achieve liberation, we need to engage in the practices that are shared with or that are common with the persons of a medium capacity.
In order chief omniscience is state of full enlightenment, then we need to engage in the generate the path of the person of great capacity. Yeah. Then if you then going back to the verse itself, and then in the root text, it says, seeking samsaric pleasures is the door to our suffering. They are uncertain and cannot be relied upon. Recognizing these shortcomings, this be moved to generate a strong wish for the blissful liberation.
In fact, there’s a couple of words which are missing in there, which in in Tibetan, it means it talks about the nature of our our our our experiences. Everything that we experience in cyclic existence, no matter how much we engage in it, you know, they’re unsatisfying. So that verse is missing from the translation. Yeah. So this is what Rinpoche is saying.
He’s he’s commenting. You know, we experience many problems, many difficulties in life as in inside existence. Yeah. So let’s take a look. Eating food as an example.
We eat food every day. Yeah. Yesterday, today, day after day. Nonstop. Yeah.
Have to eat all the time. Yeah. Still, it’s not satisfying, isn’t it? Yeah. Yeah.
Never happy, never satisfied. And that’s why we go on eating. Yeah. And then it’s the same thing with people who who who like to steal, like to take things, you know, of people without permission. Yeah.
They do it one day, the next day, so and so forth. They never stop, and they never happy, and they never get satisfied. The same thing here with having relationships or having sex. Yeah. It’s the same thing, you know, and it’s never satisfactory, yeah, one after another.
Yeah. So, basically, whatever saṃsāra activity, whatever activity that we do in cyclic existence, they are like that. They’re not satisfactory. And and then not only that, they contribute to the us developing, generating all those unhappy states of mind, like ignorance, anger, attachment, the three poisons in our minds, isn’t it? Which then lead us to engage in our actions that create karma.
As a result, there we have to suffer. Yeah. So such are the problems, the faults of being in cyclic existence. But it doesn’t just stop there. Yeah?
All the experiences everything in cyclic existence is not stable. You cannot trust whatever experiences you have. They’re not stable here. Let’s look at this concept of friend and enemy. Friends can become enemies.
Enemies can become friends. So this means there’s no certainty as to who is your friend and who is your your your enemy. Same thing here with your wealth and possessions. You might have a you might own a lot, and one day, but suddenly, you know, you have to lose it all of it, you know, yeah, in in at times. Yeah.
Then the same thing with our body. You can no matter how good a body you have, ultimately, you will age and you have to die, isn’t it? Yeah. It’s the same with even whatever rebirth you have in in in the cyclic existence, you might be you might be now be be born as a human or you might get rebirth as a god. You know?
But there’s no certainty. You know? You don’t stay there forever. You know? You know?
So when when we pass away from those rebels, you know, some of you might have to go back down to the lower realms. Yeah. Yeah. So, see, from this, you can see there’s no stability, no certainty, no trustworthiness about our experiences in cyclic existence. Those this is the very nature of our life in cyclic existence.
The nature is it is full of problems. It is in the nature of suffering. Although this is its real nature, in the in the nature of suffering, we do not realize it. Not only do we not realize it, we believe very strongly. We grasp at every experience in our lives in cyclic existence as pleasurable as happy as happiness.
Yeah. So see, our cyclic existence, I’m sorry, is a source of all the faults, all the problems. Yeah. So what we need to do is to abandon to this to give up cyclic existence, to abandon it and to free ourselves from it. When we free ourselves from cyclic existence, we achieve the happiness of liberation.
Such happiness is uncontaminated, unchanging, and everlasting. So this wish, this desire to free ourselves from cyclic existence, it itself is a very precious, yeah, very precious state of mind. So we need what you need to do is to develop it in the first place, and upon development, do we and to strive to increase it. Yeah. And upon on the basis of developing this thought of getting out of cyclic existence, then we have to practice the three higher trainings to achieve liberation.
So if we have a good practice of higher training in ethics, concentration, and wisdom, then we will be able to achieve this liberation. So after this point, we’ve looked a little bit at the the methods to achieve a high rebirth. And of the two types of
Definite goodness, liberation, enlightenment. We have looked at the methods to achieve liberation. Yeah. So what’s left is, achieving omniscience, the state of, full enlightenment. In order to, achieve, enlightenment, we need to generate the you know, engage in the practices of the or generate the path for the person of great capacity.
And so we have to develop the altruistic intention to become a Buddha for the benefit of all sentient beings or what is called bodhicitta. So earlier, we have been reflecting on our own suffering. How since time without beginning, up to now, we have been going through so many different kinds of problems and suffering. And if we if we don’t do something to stop ourselves, to separate ourselves, to free ourselves from this suffering, then there’s much more to come in the in the future. Yeah.
So that is a thinking on for ourselves. Yeah. But here, in order to develop Buddha Chitta, we need to reflect on the suffering of other sentient beings. Yeah. Starting from our parents.
Yeah. So and then and then, you know, in the previous we go, we have also parents. And we go before that, we have parents. Yeah. In fact, there’s not a single person who has not been our father or mother.
Yeah. And if you look at all living beings, you know, who have been our father and mothers, well, what are they undergoing through now? They’re undergoing all the different kinds of suffering, the suffering of pain, the suffering of change, and the suffering of conditionality. Yeah. So now at this time, we we have obtained human rebirth.
We have met with the teachings of the Buddha, and and we have the potential to the ability to achieve enlightenment. So since that’s the case, we need to do that and achieve enlightenment. Why? So that we may free all our kind mother sentient beings from all their suffering and place them in the state of full enlightenment. So we need to develop this thought, our bodhicitta.
So to speak summarize what we looked at today. So first, we look at the the correct way on relying on a spiritual master, on a teacher. And after that, we look at how greatly meaningful our human life of leisure and endowment is and how it is something which is very difficult to obtain, but once obtained can can help us accomplish great goals. Yeah. But yet at the same time, how our lives are impermanent.
Yeah. And after death, where we go depends on what kind of actions or karma we have accumulated. Yeah. So in order to get a good rebirth, we then engage in virtuous actions and to abandon non virtuous actions. Yeah.
So these are the practices and the reflections of a person. They are shared or common with a person of a small capacity. And after that, then even if we get the rebirth and and good rebirth, we’re still in cyclic existence. Yeah. And, you know, how in all our experiences in cyclic existence, how all the pleasure that we experience, they themselves are never satisfying.
No matter how much we engage in them, we don’t get any satisfaction. Yeah. Not only that, everything in cyclic existence is unstable. It’s not certain. This is not trustworthy.
Whether we talk about bodies, our friends, our enjoyment, our wealth, and so forth. Yeah. This this they are not stable. They don’t remain the same, isn’t it? So through understanding, to seeing these faults of cyclic existence, then we we develop the thought to get out and to free ourselves from cyclic existence.
And we develop thought, oh, there’s no way, you know, I have to, you know, free myself from all this suffering. Yeah. And once you have developed the thought, the way to go about achieving liberation is to engage in the practice of the three higher trainings. Yeah. And the three higher trainings are higher training in ethics, and in concentration, and in wisdom.
Yeah. And then talk about the higher training in ethics, the practice of ethics. It’s the practice of ethics for the lay persons, lay people, and the ethics for the ordained persons. Yeah. Ethics for the lay people would include any any or all the five precepts, and then there’s also the taking the eight precepts for one day and so forth.
Yeah. The higher training concentration is basically develop a single point of mind that can focus, you know, on on any chosen object, you know, to develop the kind of single pointedness of the mind. And on the basis, they will use and concentrate the mind to realize to to achieve the wisdom of realizing emptiness, which is the antidote to cut the root of cyclic existence, which is ignorance. So this wisdom realizing emptiness is the only antidote. They can uproot, you know, take out ignorance, you know, completely.
You know? So, like, a tree, if you take away the roots, yeah, you you have no leaves and no branches. Right? So if you take away the root of cyclic existence, then you will not have any more suffering. And in its place, you will only you will experience an everlasting, unchanging happiness, great bliss.
Yeah. And so that so these are the reflections and the practices that are shared with in common with a person of medium capacity. And as for the reflections and the practices of a person of great capacity, we’ll look at it next week. So, yeah, so we will look at the the practice of the person of great capacity in the next session. Yeah.
.