Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 47-minute teaching on impermanence, Kyabje Rinpoche opens with Geshe Ben’s practice of tracking black and white stones—one for each negative and positive mental state—to show how destructive habits can reverse through sustained cultivation. This example anchors the first meditation of the Lamrim (graduated path): remembering death and impermanence. Rinpoche explains why this practice is essential for authentic Dharma: without mindfulness of mortality, our energy goes entirely to gathering comforts in this life, breeding attachment and aversion. He then presents the meditation structure—three roots, nine reasons, three determinations—and establishes the first root: death is inevitable. He offers as evidence the fact that even the Buddha, the greatest masters, and history’s most celebrated figures all died and left their bodies behind. Pitched at practitioners already engaged with the Lamrim.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 1989-05-30 – Side 2 – Sun's Radiance – KR.MP3
UUID: f471d065-0191-4fde-a07c-31c6f2d50938
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Sun Radiance – Thought Transformation
Date: 1989-05-30
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~2,412
So this is the way in which the cause and effect operate. If in this life that we develop, cultivate a kind heart, then in the future we will have a kind heart. On the other hand if we develop, if we cultivate negative states of mind, we’re going to have those in the future repeatedly. So we have been habituated from beginningless time to negative states of mind. Whether we’re trying to think positive thoughts or negative thoughts, negative thoughts again and again arise.
This is simply through the force of habituation. Therefore even when we’re seeking to, but this doesn’t say that we shouldn’t make effort in cultivating positive states in mind. That slowly, by continually cultivating positive states, they are going to increase in force and on the other hand the negative states are going to decrease in force and they’re going to become less and less frequent. For example, if we were today perhaps we have a 100 occasions where negative states arose, but we try to cultivate positive states and tomorrow the positive states will increase and perhaps we have only 90 cases, states of negative states arise. In this way slowly, slowly the positive will increase and the negative will decrease.
But because of habituation from the beginning of this time, it’s as if these negative states come by themselves, they will eventually decrease. Geshe Ben said that when we’re with many people we should watch our speech. When we’re alone we should watch our mind. And he used to carry out the practice that at night he would review the various types of states of mind that arose during the course of the day. And he would, for every negative state, would put a black stone out.
And for every positive state, he would put a white stone out. Initially, there were many more black stones than white stones. But as he practiced, trying to whenever a negative state arose, to block it, trying to cease that negative state, and trying to promote positive states, slowly the black stones became less and less, and the white stones became more and more until it finally reached a place where there were no black stones whatsoever and only a big pile of white stones. During the course of his progress in his practice when he was using this method of reviewing the states of mind that arose during the day, If there were more white stones he would shake his hands and said, Oh, it’s a pleasure to meet you Geshe-la. You you were really quite a fellow.
He would shake his own hand. But in the case when there was a big pile of black stones, there were more. Would say, know, if you’re not careful I’m not going to feed you anymore. And he would scold himself. I must attain perfect complete Buddhahood in order to establish all sentient beings equal to space in perfect complete happiness and bliss.
And therefore, I am going to listen to this profound teaching on the great vehicle. With such a motivation, the motivation of a kind heart, we should listen to the present teaching. As a preliminary in the mind training in the development of bodhicitta, the two bodhicittas, there are four parts. The first is the preliminary of the leisures and fortunes, then the impermanence in-depth, the law of cause and effect, karma, and lastly, the disadvantages of cyclic existence, the nature of suffering. We’ve completed the first, that is, the development of appreciating our leisure and fortune.
So today we begin the discussion of impermanence and death. So Tsongkhapa said that we having found this difficult to find body of leisures and fortunes that we should make good use of it, that we should strive in our practice of Dharma and not to waste this fortunate opportunity. This this human life can be used for various purposes, and we can we can pursue various activities, and we can pursue both meaningful and meaningless activities. We can enact activities of great meaning and those with little meaning. If we seek, if we strive to make our life most meaningful by enacting those with the greatest meaning, the various activities, then we not only benefit this life, but future lives.
But if on the other hand that we are only concerned with the pleasures of this life and act in a in in act in activities, insignificant activities, then this would be a cause for great regret considering the great significant opportunity that we have. So, beginning discussion of impermanence and death, we have to understand that we cannot remain in this life, that in fact we’re going to die. Therefore, we have to engage in various activities as a preparation for future states. So, by way of analogy, if someone were to decide, well, I’m going to go to India, and they would begin to make plans. They would begin to think about what they will need for their journey, and once they get there, they will think about the food, clothing, money they will need.
Likewise, in remembering death, the fact that we aren’t going to stay in this life, we cannot remain, and beginning to make plans for future states of existence, so deciding what making preparations, what we will need in future existences. So just as in the case if one were not mindful, didn’t remember or recollect that one had come to this decision to make this journey to India, there would be no we would not go about making any type of preparations and plans, getting the necessities together. Likewise, the fact is that we have to be mindful of our own death, remembering otherwise we’re not going to begin to make preparations for future states. We’re just going to allow the opportunity to slip by and be concerned only with the present situation in this life. If if we think only about if our concern is only directed toward this life and and the various all our various activities are concerned only with this life, then our activities will be cons our energies will be consumed by, you know, trying to gather various comforts, various pleasures, food, clothing, etc.
In this way, we in directing all our attention, activities to the pleasures of this life, those who inhibit us, hurt us and are seeking to bring ourselves pleasure, we will generate anger. Those who help us to gain this pleasure, we will develop attachment. So in this way, concerning ourselves only with this life, we generate a great deal of negative actions. Just as in the case if we were going to go to India, we had not been mindful of this fact, and we had made no preparations, made no plans whatsoever, and then suddenly it’s time to go, we realized. And we run around without having not knowing what food, what clothing, we don’t even have our ticket, and we would this would cause us a great deal of trouble.
We would have a tremendous problem on our hands. Likewise, if not being mindful of death, making no preparations, then one day, being only concerned for this life, one day death is definite to arrive. When it arrives, we haven’t made any preparations and we haven’t and likewise, we’re going to develop we’re going to have a lot of problems at that moment. So these are the the faults of not remembering death, not being mindful of death. On the other hand, there’s a great deal of benefit in remembrance of death.
There’s benefit in the beginning, in the middle, and in the end. Initially, by remembering death, we are reminded to practice Dharma. And then in the middle, in the interval, by remembering death, we strive in our practice and progressing in our spiritual practice of Dharma. And finally, in the end, because we have remembered death again and again, we bring to fruition. Culminate our practice and bring it to its ultimate peak, its ultimate end.
And this is the benefit. Therefore, these are the three benefits of remembering death in the beginning, middle and end. So in the case of our teacher, the Buddha, his Dharma practice, his spiritual pursuit began when as a member of a royal household, he first saw a corpse being carried through the village. And this remembrance of death set him on his spiritual path where he finally renounced his kingdom and went forth and ultimately attained Buddhahood. Again, the case of Milarepa, it was by seeing the death, by having seen a death that he went on to understand the implications of impermanence and therefore began his practices meditating on the Dharma and finally achieved the highest fruit.
Upon attaining enlightenment, the very first teaching that the Buddha gave was at Varanasi when he where he taught the four noble truths. And the first of the four noble truths is are that is true sufferings. And amongst the various true sufferings is impermanence. So even in the end, the Buddha taught the significance of impermanence. He went on to, at his, when he passed into parinirvāṇa, parinirvāṇa.
This was in order to demonstrate impermanence at the place called Kushinagar, where he said that it is difficult to meet a Buddha, and therefore, while he remains, one should practice in demonstrating even impermanence of the Buddha and to take advantage of the opportunity. So cultivating the significance of impermanence is the entrance way into the Dharma. In developing a strong mindfulness of impermanence, having its significance firmly implanted in one’s mind, whatever one does becomes a practice of Dharma. Through cultivation of the awareness of impermanence, then the concern only for this present life begins to diminish. We gain a perspective.
We begin to understand that this life has no essence. That in fact future lives are endless, and therefore we begin to understand that it’s obligatory to begin to make preparations for future existences since this life is short and our future lives are extremely extensive. Thinking in this way, we begin to enact more and more our actions turn toward activities which are preparations for future existence because our attention is drawn more toward future existence than this life, and this is the practice of Dharma. If our activity is only concerned for this life, then whatever that activity is, it’s not the Dharma. It must be a concern for future existences.
Gampopa said that if one is attached to only this life, there is no Dharma. If one is attached to cyclic existence, there is no renunciation. If one is attached to true existence, there is no view. If one is attached to only one’s own purpose, there is no awakening heart. And these are some of the great benefits to be derived from thinking about impermanence.
And the actual meditation on impermanence, according to the graduated path, the Lam Rim by Tsongkhapa, the the method of meditation is set out by means of three roots, nine reasons, and three decisions. And this is the same as as it is set out in mind training or thought transformation. So the three roots are: the first is death is inevitable. The second is the time of death is uncertain, uncertain. And the third is at the time of death only Dharma is a benefit.
So each of these three roots is supported by three reasons, making a total of nine reasons. And by making use of these three reasons for each of the three roots, one comes to a determination or a decision with respect to each of those three groupings, making three decisions or determinations. So, beginning with the first reason of the first root, the first root being that death is inevitable or sometimes it’s said death is certain. The first reason is that when death arrives, there is no there is no way to turn it aside. There is no way to turn death aside.
So there there have been there have been four Buddhas who have attained enlightenment in India. And these Buddhas were all endowed with unimaginable qualities and with a holy body possessed of 32 major and 80 minor marks. They’re magnificent bodies. But eventually, all of them had to leave their bodies behind. Their bodies became non existent.
Likewise, all the various solitary realizers, with their magnificent achievements and with their precious bodies, they too had to leave their bodies behind. And also the innumerable number of hearers who existed in the past in India. The great holy beings both in India and Tibet, for example, the great master Tsongkhapa, who had all had unimaginable realizations. Now we only hear about them. They all had to leave their bodies.
Whatever magnificent qualities these individuals might have had, their bodies had to be left behind. They all demonstrated impermanence in this way. Previously, there had been great Dharma kings in India and also kings of Tibet and emperors of China. There have been extremely famous people who have lived in America, Russia, Australia, and all of these people who lived so long ago that now we just have a few photographs of them, a few accounts of their lives, they’ve all gone. And if these great individuals, these famous, powerful individuals had to die, And what to speak of ourselves who we who are ordinary people? So, you know, all of these people with their fine bodies and even including the Buddhas with their 32 major and 80 minor marks, these magnificent bodies that they possess, upon the arrival of death, there’s no way that it can be stopped.
There’s nowhere we can go to escape death wherever we might try. That place death will find us. And even if we were to go into space and try to live on the sun and the moon, impermanence would arise even there. That even if we were to go down into the depths of the ocean, finally impermanence would find us and we would die. And likewise, to try to climb the highest mountain and to live there free of death would be impossible since death will definitely arrive.
So, three reasons supporting the first root. The first one was that no matter what type of body that you may possess, we cannot turn death away. The second was wherever we may go, death will find us.