Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 46-minute teaching, Khensur Rinpoche explores the awakening heart (bodhicitta), the second of three principal aspects of the Buddhist path. Having completed discussion of renunciation, he explains why it is indispensable: without it, even rigorous practice leads only to personal liberation, not Buddhahood. He illustrates this through vivid analogies—the awakening heart as an endlessly fruit-bearing tree (unlike other virtues, which bear fruit once and die); wisdom and method as mother and father, with the awakening heart determining which vehicle one enters. He teaches the two classical methods for cultivating it: the seven cause-and-effect instruction and equalizing-and-exchanging self for others, synthesized by Je Tsongkhapa. A historical example—a yogi who practiced secret mantra yet attained only Hīnayāna results for lacking bodhicitta—underscores the central claim. Addressed to practitioners familiar with Buddhist philosophy.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 1993-10-19 – Side 1 – KR.MP3
UUID: d10133e3-45d5-4cf8-838c-e8735341e577
Teacher: Kyabje Rinpoche
Collection: Three Principal Aspects
Date: 1993-10-19
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~2,943
So of the three fundamentals of the path, the determination to awaken or renunciation, the awakening heart, and the awakening mind, the view of emptiness, we have completed our discussion of the first of these, the determination, awakening, the renunciation. This is in the case of our discussion of the determination to awaken. There were three divisions. Those three being the reasons necessary for the development of the determination to awaken, the way of developing the determination, and the measure of having developed it. Likewise, there are these three — this threefold division with respect to the awakening heart — the reasons for its necessity, the way to develop it, and the measure of having developed it, the standard of having developed.
So we have finished our discussion of the determination to awaken, or renunciation. And we saw that it was embodied in the attitude which sees the the faults of cyclic existence in terms of oneself that one seeks to reverse one’s clinging to cyclic existence, one develops a longing for liberation, the bliss of freedom. So it is the attitude, which spontaneously rises, and which in day and night seeks to abandon the sufferings of cyclic existence and seeks to achieve the bliss of liberation. So that is the measure of having developed determination to awaken. So determination is is expressed in the attitude of a longing to liberate oneself whereas in in our present discussion, the the attitude of compassion is the longing that to free others from their suffering.
It is just this compassion that the longing to free others from their suffering, which is the uncommon or extraordinary cause of the awakening heart. If we have compassion then we can go on to develop the awakening heart. If we do not have compassion, there’s no way that we can develop the awakening heart of bodhicitta. If we’ve developed the determination to awaken in in dependence upon that attitude and mind, then whatever activities we may involve ourselves in, whatever they may be, whether they’re physical or verbal or mental — existence. They all act as a cause for the attainment of liberation.
If if this determination to awaken is combined with the wisdom realizing emptiness, then this combination of these two factors acts as the means whereby we can we can attain liberation from our suffering. We can attain freedom from cyclic existence. We can attain a bliss which is unchanging, stable, uncontaminated. But really through the development of the determination awaken, we cannot enter into the universal vehicle. No matter how powerful our determination to awaken may be, it it does not serve as an entry entrance way into the universal vehicle.
In order to enter into the universal vehicle, it’s necessary to develop the awakening heart. If we have these the combination of these two attitudes, that of determination to awaken combined with the awakening heart, then whatever skillful action that we may involve ourselves in in the context of these two, then will act as a cause for develop will act as a cause for the attainment of Buddhahood. On the other hand, though we might have the determination awaken, if we do not have the awakening heart, then no no matter what actions we may involve ourselves in, they do not serve as a cause for the attainment of Buddhahood. Once we have generated the awakening heart within our continuum, within our minds, then any individual has developed such an attitude in the awakening heart no matter who they may be, whether they’re humans, whether they’re dogs or cats, whether they’re hell beings, no matter how poor, that embodiment may be. They are worthy of homage and offerings, by gods and humans that it is such a precious quality that merely its development no matter what other factors that individual is worthy of prostration.
Having once developed the awakening heart, whatever skillful actions that we may involve ourselves in, they all act as a cause for the means to eliminate all our faults and to bring to consummation all all our excellent qualities. That is to say, they act as a cause for the attainment of Buddhahood. Having developed the awakening heart, the simple act of offering a morsel of a crumb of bread to a dog acts will bring about a skillful action equal to space and acts as a cause for the attainment of Buddhahood. There are there are other types of skillful actions besides the awakening heart. But all other types of skillful actions aside from the awakening heart are analogous to a plantain plantain tree or sometimes it’s translated as banana tree.
But it might be more anyway, either a plant banana tree or a plantain tree in that it’s the nature of this particular type of tree, a banana tree, that it it brings forth fruit once or twice. And upon, coming to fruit once or twice, it then withers away and dies. On the other hand so this this is analogous to all other types of skillful actions other than the awakened heart. Whereas the awakened heart perennially bears fruit. It is like a tree which is continually bearing fruit, inexhaustible, vast amounts with without any let up and it never ends.
That this is the the quality of the awakened heart that it’s it’s it brings about the fruits of all our various enjoyments and these enjoyments will never end. They’re inexhaustible. So the very skillful actions that we are able to accumulate, they are they are likened to this planting tree or banana tree. Once they bear fruit, then they’re finished. They’re exhausted.
They can never again bring fruit again. But on the other hand, the awakening heart is able to bring fruit forth again and again and again. All our various objects of enjoyment can be born again and again in this life, in the next life until our own awakening, until we achieve Buddhahood. The awakening heart is continually bearing fruit. I’m quoting from a verse by Nāgārjuna where he said, for those who who long who long for a state where they have eliminated all their faults and brought to consummation their excellent qualities and for the benefit of themselves and others, they must cultivate the awakening heart.
Without the cultivation of the awakening heart, there’s no way that we can rid ourselves or all our faults and bring to consummation our excellent qualities. Therefore, it is this, the awakening heart is the extraordinary cause of Buddhahood. So if we were to use an analogy to explain what we mean by the common cause and and the uncommon cause or extraordinary cause, in in the case of if growing various types of, grains, the the water and the earth and the fertilizer, these are the common causes. If we plant if we plant a barley seed in in in this in combination with these common causes of water, earth, and fertilizer, then a barley plant will grow. If we plant a wheat seed, then in combination with these common causes, a wheat plant will grow.
If we plant a rice seed, a rice plant will grow. If we plant a flower seed, a flower will grow. But so it is the the water, earth, and fertilizer are the common causes. But the uncommon cause, that which is determining the variety of the plant, is the type of seed. If we plant a barley seed, a barley plant will grow.
If we plant a rice seed, a rice plant will grow. It’s a wheat seed, a wheat plant will grow. So the seed is the extra is the uncommon cause. It is that which determines the type of result. So and the meaning of that analogy is that the the two attitudes of determination to awaken, say renunciation, and the awakening mind, the correct view of emptiness, are are the common causes.
And that is they are common both to the universal vehicle and the individual vehicle. And if we combine this determination to, awake, that is a longing to liberate oneself alone with, with the determine the awakening mind, then we can achieve liberation. If but if we were to combine this same determination to awaken with the with the awakening heart, Then in combination with that, it becomes the means for entering into the universal vehicle, whether it be the it is the universal vehicle, it is the the attitude of the awakening heart which determines the variety of the type of result. It is not in dependence upon the determination awakened or the or the awakening mind which can which can bring about the entrance into the universal vehicle. It is only this extraordinary cause of the awakening heart.
So these two, the that these two, great compassion and the awakening heart, are the extra extraordinary causes, the uncommon causes of the universal vehicle. If by means of this extraordinary cause, then we can go on to eliminate all our faults and bring to consummation our excellent qualities, that is, Buddhahood. There is no other cause which can bring this about. If we have the awakening heart, then we have the causes for for the attainment of Buddhahood. If we do not have this this cause of the awakening heart, we do not have the extraordinary cause of Buddhahood.
So it is the the attainment of Buddhahood relies upon whether or not we develop the awakening heart. So it is said that the wisdom realizing emptiness is like the mother and the awakening heart is like the father. So I I don’t know if I don’t know if this applies to Australia, but in in Tibet, the the father was determined of the lineage of the child. If we wanted to know whether the child was, Chinese or Indian or Tibetan or Mongolian, we it would be determined by the father. If the father was, was Tibetan, then the child is Tibetan.
If the father was Chinese, then the child is Chinese. If the father was Indian, then the the child would be Indian. So the the father was was looked upon as the the determinant cause or the extraordinary cause of the child. If the father was Tibetan and the mother was Chinese, we wouldn’t we wouldn’t say that the child was Chinese. So likewise if the the child if the father of the child was Indian and though the mother is Chinese, the child would be looked upon as being Indian rather than Chinese as the mother is.
So the mother was the common cause. So she could be the mother could be Indian or Chinese or Mongolian. So the by means of the wisdom realizing emptiness, one can develop into a a person of the of the hearer vehicle, the solitary realized vehicle, or the universal vehicle. But in terms of the awakening heart, one only can develop into a practitioner of the universal vehicle. Therefore, it is said to be a an uncommon cause of the universal vehicle.
That’s why in the in the Tibetan text, for for example, the the perfection of wisdom sūtra, it is said to be the mother of perfection of wisdom sūtra. Wisdom is looked upon as a the mother, whereas method, in this case, the awakening heart is looked upon as the father. It is the extraordinary cause determining the lineage of the offspring. And this holds to also for the practice of secret mantra that it within secret mantra, through the practice of secret mantra, it is relies upon the awakening heart that one attains Buddhahood, that is to say, the state of having freed themselves of all their faults and the brought bringing to consummation of all their excellent qualities. Without even within the practice of secret mantra, if one does not have the awakening heart, there is no attainment of Buddhahood.
So if one even though one may practice be practicing the seek a secret mantra, without the awakening heart, one has not even entered into the universal vehicle. The first of the five paths of the universal vehicle is entered into by means of the development of the awakening heart. Previously in India, there was a yogi who practiced the secret mantra practice of Kālacakra. And though, you know, the secret mantra is extremely profound that this individual, as a means of having practice, attained the result of the individual vehicle, the the Hīnayāna, the lesser vehicle.
Why was that? Because this though this practice practitioner was practicing the secret mantra, the this practitioner did not have the awakening heart, and therefore, though practicing the secret mantra, he fell to the individual vehicle. Without the development of the awakening heart, there’s no way that we can bring about the results of our practice of secret mantra. Without the awakening heart, there’s no way that we can that we can bring about the elimination of all our various faults and bringing to consummation our excellent qualities. Without the wake without the awakening heart, there’s no way that we can enter into the universal vehicle.
And without the awakening heart, there’s no way that we can abandon both the afflictive and knowledge obstructions. And without the awakening heart, there’s no way that we can bring to fulfillment all our excellent qualities and therefore we should begin to see how extremely precious the awakening heart is and the need to develop It is said that if the creative potential or the skillful action that we develop that is accumulated through having developed the awakening heart, if it had form, if it was physical and it could be was visible, it would not fit into the world. So I said that the the awakening heart is tremendously beneficial. By means of the awakening heart, accumulate the the collection of merit and potential. But not only that, but we destroy our previous negative actions that we’ve created.
We purify the destructive actions. We we newly generate skillful actions and any type of skillful actions that we have previously generated developed, they will increase higher and higher. So the the awakened heart is of tremendous benefit. So the awakening heart is a quality of the mind. It is this kind hearted attitude.
It is the most wonderful of kind hearted attitudes. So in order to to develop the awakening heart, there are two methods. There is the the method which has come down through a lineage by way of Mañjuśrī to Śāntideva and by way method which comes down through a lineage of Mañjuśrī to Śāntideva. So there are these two for those who have not generated the awakening heart, there are these two different methods. So I think many of you have heard these these of these two methods before.
The first of these methods is through the lineage of Maitreya, the seven cause and effect instruction. It’s a seven part procedure. The first being the cause, bringing about the the result of the awakening heart. And the second is through the lineage of Śāntideva, equalizing and exchanging self for others. Whichever of these two methods that you make that you practice, that you make use of, both serve as a means to generate the awakening heart.
It is said that for those of the highest intelligence, the the the means to generate the awakening heart is preferable in terms of the equalizing and exchanging self for others. For those who are not of the highest intelligence, then making use is preferable to use the seven cause and effect instruction. But either one of them can act as the means to bring to generate to develop the awakening heart. When we when we say one of high intelligence, we also are talking about an individual who has tremendous courage, who has a vast vision. For such an individual with these qualities of mind, then the equalizing exchanges of others method is preferable.
But for those who don’t have this this great courage, who have a bit of temerity, who are a little bit timid thinking about what what what is what is involved when they in exchanging self for others. They they draw back from such a thinking of in such a way that they have a slightly narrow vision. But still, the means of developing the awakening heart which would facilitate their development is preferable to make use of the seven cause and effect instruction, as this will facilitate and very readily be put into practice for them. But Je Tsongkhapa, who was an expert, in terms of his skillful means, integrated both of these traditions into a single method as a means for generating the awakening heart. So, you know, one it’s not necessary to impose one of these methods upon oneself as opposed to another in developing making use of these methods for the development of the awakening heart simply in terms of what feels right for you or what whichever one that you make use of.
If you if you think that, the exchange of self for others would work best for you, then to make use of that. If you feel that the seven cause and effect instruction or an integration of these two would work best for you, then make use of according to whatever it is that you yourself individually want to work with. So, today’s the the first teaching of this term and so it might be a little, tiring.