Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 45-minute teaching on thought transformation, the speaker traces the roots of bodhicitta (the awakening heart) — the dual intention to achieve enlightenment and liberate all sentient beings from suffering. After establishing the proper motivation, the teaching explores two classical approaches to cultivating the love and compassion that generate bodhicitta: Śāntideva’s method of recognizing the equality of all beings and their shared desire for happiness, and Atisha’s approach of recognizing all sentient beings as one’s mother across countless previous lives. The bulk of the instruction focuses on the second method, walking through the maternal kindness we received from our mother in this life — her sacrifice during pregnancy, the pain of birth, tireless care of an infant, and sustained effort throughout our upbringing — as the model through which to recognize and appreciate the identical kindness of all sentient beings across beginningless rebirth. The teaching includes practical reflection on why we naturally feel close to some beings and distant from others, and how to cultivate equanimity by understanding that enemies and neutrals in this life were ourselves as mothers in countless past lives. Suited to practitioners building the emotional and conceptual ground for bodhisattva practice.
File metadata (for organising)
File: tbi-duplicate-kr-thought-tranf-suns-radiance-suns-radiance-of-thought-transformation-6a-1989-08-22
Teacher: TBI (duplicate – KR Thought Tranformation 1989)
Collection: Sun's Radiance (TBI (duplicate – KR Thought Tranformation 1989))
Date: 1989-08-22
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Words: ~2,866