Audio recorded at Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 110-minute teaching, Geshe Jampa Gyaltsen presents a detailed commentary on the generation of bodhicitta, the altruistic wish to achieve enlightenment for all beings. He begins by establishing bodhicitta as the essential motivation for all dharmic study and practice, then systematically unfolds the seven-cause-and-effect method—recognizing all beings as mothers, recollecting their kindness, wishing to repay it, and cultivating compassion—before merging this with the three-step exchange-of-self-and-other technique. A central focus is the identification and elimination of self-cherishing, which Geshe Jampa characterizes as the root of all suffering, contrasting it with the liberation that arises from dedicating oneself entirely to others’ welfare. The teaching closes with Guru Rinpoche mantras and Avalokiteśvara prayers offered for those affected by contemporary suffering. Suited to practitioners already familiar with foundational Buddhist ethics and committed to sustained meditation practice.
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File: Line in 0095.mp3
UUID: 37923926-7f2d-451b-aad5-9da3fa22a079
Teacher: Geshe Jampa Gyaltsen
Collection: Three Principal Aspects
Recorded at: Tibetan Buddhist Institute, Adelaide
Words: ~3,959
Okay. So at the time of listening or, explaining dharma, it is important to have a good motivation, specifically the motivation of bodhicitta. And with this motivate motivation, even if one were to listen and understand merely one point of Dharma, the benefit would be infinite. Therefore, this is a motivation we should we should strive to generate. So please listen to these, teachings with the motivation of benefiting others which are infinitely greater in number than ourselves.
And with this as a motivation, engage in the threefold activities of thinking, of hearing, and of meditating. We shall now meditate on generating this motivation for a couple of minutes. It’s page one, one b, refuge and bodhicitta four teachings. If you’re not familiar with the Tibetan phonetic, you can look at an English on a page two on a one b. The So as the great bodhisattva, Śāntideva said, in that very instant in which the mind of enlightenment is created, they become the sons of the victorious ones of the 10 directions.
Now Ramachet says, generally speaking, the abodes of beings are numerous. Likewise, the place in which the mind of bodhicitta can be generated is manifold. There are six such places. The six realms, the god realms, the demigods, the human realms, animalist, petas, and the hell realms. Now these realms can be broadly speaking divided into happy ones and the, rather unfortunate or difficult ones.
And if we were to take for instance the animal realm and one specific subclass of animals, which are beings called nagas, then such beings are born in this realm as a result of past non virtuous actions. But at that very second instant following the creation of the mind of bodhicitta, they can be called the sons of the victorious ones. And were they human? They will be said to be Bharata in Sanskrit, to be fortunate, but this can also be said of them as Nagas. And at this point, when they become the sons of the victorious ones, then all the world, both mundane beings and supermundane beings such as deities prostrate to them.
And it is in dependence on meditation that of from within this sixfold category of beings, we have been born as human beings. So if we train our mind, then we will again be reborn as human beings. If we do not train our minds and do not meditate, this will not be possible. And therefore, it is very important for us to understand that this human rebirth is a result, and every result is born from a cause. A causeless result does not exist nor does for that matter a result which arises from a discordant cause, a cause which is discordant with it.
A result can only arise from a factually concordant cause, a cause which is in accordance with this. And once all of the factors which are requisite at the causal level for the creation of a result are collected, the result unavoidably inevitably arises. On the other hand, should one of the factors which is necessary to give rise to a result not be present, the result cannot arise. You can see this quite clearly through reflecting on examples such as the relation between planting seeds and the result which is a flower.
So we have actually obtained that human rebirth, which is the basis for establishing or practicing Dharma. And we have also received those very subtle teachings of Dharma, subtle and profound, which were first taught by the Buddha, and then ex developed and expounded by the great pandits of ancient India, by the long lineage of masters, by the founder of our tradition Je Tsongkhapa, and by all the great teachers up to this present day. So if we examine carefully, we will see that we have all the conditions necessary for actualization. We have teachers who teach the Dharma. We have Dharma which is taught, and we have Dharma friends who help us to practice.
So we are therefore able to realize the Dharma. It is just a matter of effort from our side. And this Dharma we have is extraordinarily uncommon. The teachings of Je Tsongkhapa, Je Tsongkhapa actually received directly in a direct vision from Mañjuśrī. Now Mañjuśrī was a Buddha, a fully enlightened being, the manifestation of the collected wisdom of all Buddhas.
And it is through such teachings that Je Tsongkhapa was able to develop this peerless wisdom, thought, and compassion. So we can say that Je Tsongkhapa’s teachings are different from the others. They are uncommon. And they are uncommon in that where all the traditions have teachings which enable one to attain full enlightenment in one short life of this degenerate age, sometimes twelve years, sometimes less. In Je Tsongkhapa’s tradition, for those who apply it purely, it is possible to attain full enlightenment in three years and three units of time, which is often held to refer to three months or sometimes even perhaps one unit of time, which would be three years and one month.
So we have this extraordinary uncommon, oral transmission. However, if one does not practice this oral transmission and if one is not aware of its qualities, if one does not have respect for the teacher, and if one does not put effort in the practice, then this Dharma is pointless. It is meaningless. It is totally irrelevant. In our case, the situation is much worse than this because not only don’t we have these qualities of effort, understanding of the qualities and respect, but in addition, we don’t even understand the key points of the teachings or the benefits of these teachings.
So we we are really, all of us, akin to beggars or paupers. To take for instance the case of the techniques for generating bodhicitta, until the time of Je Tsongkhapa, two different lineages for the generation of bodhicitta existed within the context of the method lineage. The one which came from Ārya Asaṇga, which was the lineage of the sevenfold cause and effect, and the other which came from Ārya Nāgārjuna, which was a lineage of the interchange of self and others. Now Je Tsongkhapa actually, in an extraordinarily profound and powerful teaching, in dependence on his teacher who was Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī fused these two traditions in one. He fused the tradition coming from Asaṇga and from Nāgārjuna.
And this has created an extremely powerful set of techniques for generating bodhicitta, which is highly uncommon and very different from the countless other means of generating it. According to Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche, these this fusion of the two lineages of Asaṇga and Nāgārjuna with respect to the generation of bodhicitta which Je Tsongkhapa created is a feature of Je Tsongkhapa’s teaching which is superior to that of all other tenet systems, which is more profound than the teachings in this matter of all other systems. And Kyabje Pabongka Rinpoche explains that the sevenfold cause and effect lineage and the interchange of self and others are fused into 11 points of meditation, starting with a preliminary, which is meditation on equanimity, followed by reflecting on the fact that all sentient beings have been one’s mothers, recollecting their kindness, generating the, wish to repay their kindness, and then generating compassion. And at this point, one can pass to the threefold meditations on the interchange of self and others, which are first reflecting on the equality of self and others, then on the faults of self cherish self-cherishing, and then on the advantages of cherishing others. And through fusing the two last points and reflecting carefully on the advantages and disadvantages of self-cherishing and cherishing others, engage in the practice of giving all one’s merit to others and taking all their sufferings upon oneself.
in dependence on this, through these three points, one then in turn meditates on compassion and generates compassion. And then after this, proceeds through the rest of the sequences so that one gets all in all 11 points of meditation. Some other authors consider that there is a 12 fold or even a 13 fold subdivision. But according to Pabongka Rinpoche, the fusion of the sevenfold cause and effect generation of bodhicitta plus the threefold interchange of self and others with the generation of equanimity as a preliminary leads to an elevenfold subdivision. So the lineage which came from Atisha’s master, Serlingpa of Sumatra, through Atisha, perhaps, and one other master, Rinpoche, doesn’t really remember, did not include as a preliminary meditation on equanimity.
It started directly
With the first of the sevenfold cause and effect practice recollecting or becoming aware of all sentient beings as one’s mother. It is a great bodhisattva Kamalaśīla who after coming to Tibet and composing in Tibet his Magnum Opus Bhāvanākrama in three parts, the last part of which was composed when he was very elderly. This great Bodhisattva said that it was indispensable as a preliminary to the practice of the sevenfold cause and effect to engage in the practice of measureless equanimity. Reason for this, immeasurable equanimity, excuse me. The reason for this is to prevent the creation of partial compassion or partial love.
Without the initial meditations and equanimity, Kamalaśīla had noted that the minds which are created were infected with partiality. And therefore to eliminate this, it was indispensable to meditate on immeasurable equanimity as a preliminary. And then in dependence on the oral transmission from this great teacher, it became the habit in Tibet, the practice in Tibet to meditate in equanimity as a preliminary. And then the of the meditation on the first three points of the sevenfold cause and effect generation of bodhicitta, which are recollecting or becoming aware of all sentient beings as mothers, recollecting their kindness, and wishing to repay it, is to generate in turn great compassion. It is only when one’s mind has become close to beings through recollecting their kindness of great compassion can arise.
And great compassion will not arise unless the collection of conditions necessary to give rise to it have been completely assembled. Without this collection of conditions, it’s not possible to create great compassion. The collection of conditions which is required are the three first of the sevenfold cause and effect generation of bodhicitta. And then within presentation of the fusion of the sevenfold path and cause and effect generation of bodhicitta and the interchange of self and others, there is no specific listing of that love which gets closer or which values others. And the reason for this is that in dependence upon the three first elements, in other words, recognizing all sentient beings as mothers, recollecting their kindness and wishing to repay their kindness, in dependence on these three first causes, the love which feels a closeness to other beings naturally arises.
It is subsumed by them, so it’s not mentioned separately. Now the reason for which in Je Tsongkhapa’s presentation, this love, which is a feeling of closeness towards others, is listed separately after the three first causes, but before the generation of great compassion is precisely to underline its importance. It is with this propedeutical or pedagogical goal that it’s listed separately. Do not So equanimity must be generated both as a preliminary to the sevenfold cause and effect generation of bodhicitta and as a preliminary to the interchange of self and others. It is, however, a different type of equanimity.
Not so much different in terms of intensity, but different in terms of the way it is generated. Whereas in the context of the sevenfold cause and effect, it’s an equanimity which equalizes oneself with all other beings as a preliminary to the sevenfold practice. In the context of the exchange of self and others, it is an equanimity which realizes that we are identical or equal to all sentient beings and all aspiring to happiness. There is no difference between us and sentient beings in that respect. And we are also identical in all fearing suffering.
And through meditating again and again on this, that we all aspire to maximal happiness for ourselves, and that we all fear even the slightest suffering. Huge waves of equanimity are created within the mind. It is important for us to realize that all beings, from the slightest insect through animals and ourselves are identical in this respect. They are identical in all aspiring to happiness and in all fearing suffering. As is said in Lama Chöpa, in the verse of the Lam Rim prayer, none wishes even the slightest suffering, and all aspire to supreme happiness.
Bless me to engage in that interchange of self and others, which is based on the understanding that there is not the slightest difference between myself and others. So in dependence on the interchange of self and others, it is possible to generate great compassion. Therefore, even though it is not explicitly stated, the interchange of self and others necessarily implicates the generation of that love which entails a feeling of closeness towards others. Now, returning to the issue of equanimity, Rinpoche had broached previously. As Rinpoche said, in the context of the interchange of self and others, equanimity is generated through understanding that we are all similar in our wish or our profound desire to be endowed with all the varieties of happiness.
And we are also all similar in our wish not to endure even the slightest suffering. If we analyze carefully, our predicament and that of others in this con context, we will find that it arises from what is called self-cherishing. There is a very close relation between self-cherishing and apprehending the self as inherently existing or self grasping, grasping at the self. They are, if you want, friends. self-cherishing and grasping the self as inherently existent are mutually beneficial.
They help each other. And on their basis, we accumulate the karma and in turn cycle through the cycle of lives. Now for generally speaking, the root of cyclic existence is apprehending the self as inherently existing or self grasping. This self grasping as a branch or as a side component, entails also self-cherishing.
So there is a famous verse in Lama Chöpa, the fall the one following the one that Rinpoche had previously quoted, which reads as follows. Bless me to destroy that demon self grasping, which is the culprit on the basis of which it can be seen that that epidemic which grasps or that epidemic of self-cherishing acts as the cause of all unwanted suffering. This famous verse refers to self-cherishing as an epidemic. And Rinpoche says, we all know that of all diseases, epidemics or pandemics are by far the worst. They are diseases which cannot generally be healed by worldly means and which cause only suffering and cannot cause the slightest happiness.
Now it is very much the case that self-cherishing is this sort of ghastly disease which affects all beings and leads to no benefit whatsoever. This disease, of self-cherishing must be destroyed within our minds. It must actually be crushed with literally a battle axe. It must be totally annihilated because it is our actual enemy. All of the sufferings we undergo in this life and in future lives arise from self-cherishing.
And this is why this quote in Lama Chöpa says, it is the guilty party. It is the party which is responsible for the sufferings we undergo. It is the party or it is the culprit which leads us to all the non virtuous deeds such as quarreling with our friends, fighting with them, not attaining the qualities we wish to attain such as full enlightenment. The cause of all of these failures is self self-cherishing. And therefore, self-cherishing must be eliminated from our mind because it is our foremost enemy.
And this is why the author of, the Bodhisattva Śāntideva said, we must eliminate self grasping, that great demon of self grasping. Bless us to eliminate him. Now the reason for the last stanza, bless us to eliminate the great demon of self grasping is because number two says, self grasping actually is the cause of self-cherishing as he explained previously. self-cherishing arises as a byproduct of self grasping. So if we eliminate that grasping to an inherently existing self, self-cherishing in and of itself will disappear automatically.
If we do not eliminate it, it is not possible to eliminate self-cherishing. So as the great bodhisattva Geshe Langri Tangpa said in his eight verses, we give the harm to others and we take the benefit for ourselves. Invert this practice. Now giving the harm to others and taking the benefit for oneself is the typical behavior which arises out of self-cherishing. As Rinpoche explained previously, self-cherishing is our foremost enemy.
It is the cause of all our sufferings. So we have to engage in the practice of interchange of self and others and replace self-cherishing by cherishing others. And instead of taking all the benefit for ourselves and giving what is harmful to others, we should do exactly the opposite. We should take all that is harmful upon ourselves and give what is of benefit or that is of benefit to others. This is a practice of cherishing others.
It is important for us to understand that others are the foundation of all contingent and ultimate happiness. Likewise, self-cherishing and ourselves are the foundation of all contingent and ultimate suffering. Therefore, let us strive to banish self-cherishing from our mind stream and to put it in a nutshell, the sevenfold cause and effect instruction is very, very good. So if we were to, put things very simply, what do we mean when we talk of self-cherishing? We mean thinking of oneself, thinking of one’s own happiness.
This is what is meant by self-cherishing. And, it leads to all of the nonvirtuous deeds, from killing or butchering goats, sheep, or fish because
We wish to eat their flesh through the various nonvirtuous deeds such as stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, harsh words, divisive speech, idle talk, and the various other types of non virtuous deeds which are not subsumed directly within the 10, such as beating or, for instance, using filthy derogatory language. All of these 10 non virtuous deeds and the various other non virtuous deeds merely lead to suffering. There is no result apart from suffering. And it is for this reason that Śāntideva said, the slightest happiness in this world comes from others. All suffering comes from the self.
The same line of reasoning can be found in Lama Chöpa in the stanza which which reads, bless me to achieve that very essence of the practice, which is the yoga of the interchange of self and others through understanding that self-cherishing is the door of all faults, and cherishing mother sentient beings is the door of all qualities. These two lines of or these two stanzas, the stanza in Śāntideva and in Lama Chöpa, are similar in their import. So if we were to ask what precisely is the meaning of an ordinary being, in Tibetan. An ordinary being is someone who thinks only of himself. Means just oneself.
And this thinking merely about oneself, about one’s own welfare leads to the lower realms. This is what we have been engaged in life after life, being completely obsessed with our own well-being at the expense of others. On the other hand, being dedicated to the welfare of others leads to the attainment of all qualities and ultimately to Buddhahood. So which is really these quotes of Śāntideva are very profound. All of Śāntideva’s work in general is very profound.
And therefore, two roads are open to us, that of ordinary beings who think only of their own egotistical welfare. This is how we have been behaving since beginningless time, and this has led us from lower rebirth to lower rebirth. All that road leading to the fully enlightened state of a Buddha who is totally dedicated to the welfare of others. So Rinpoche says, today we have covered the sevenfold cause and effect and the interchange of self and others and how to fuse these two traditions. And it is very important that you not merely listen to these teachings, but that you think and meditate upon them, that you engage in the threefold activities of hearing, thinking, and meditating.
There’s only in dependence on this that we will gain experience. This through meditation especially, that experience will arise in our mind. Otherwise, Rinpoche says, it’ll just be this endless blather of sound which Westerners have become so accustomed to. Sound in one ear, sound in the other ear, no meaning anywhere inside. So we will stop here.
We will leave it at this for today. And Rinpoche says, in the light of the great suffering in our world today in general, And as far as Australia is concerned, the numerous dead in the bushfires in Victoria. And as far as Tibet is concerned, the savage Chinese oppression in Tibet, which has led to widespread massacres, tortures, violence, where the poor Tibetans are not merely physically unable to express any basic human rights, but they also prevented from even expressing themselves verbally and are treated in the most savage fashion. Rinpoche has said that he has heard that some of the Tibetan and Chinese doctors who tried to treat the victims of tortures and beatings were expelled for this. There are such cases.
So in the light of all of these tragedies in this world of ours, Rinpoche says, we will now recite for these three categories of beings, beings of this world in general, the Australian victims and the Tibetan victims, mantras of Avalokiteśvara, the lord of compassion, and pray for his intercession for them. And to give you an example of how difficult the situation is, in Lhasa at present, the Chinese have stationed sharpshooters on the roofs to shoot directly in the crowds the moment they see the slightest unrest among the Tibetans. So we should also pray for these evil and deluded beings. Severe restrictions are also imposed on all those who recite commitments or prayers to his holiness, and they have to pay huge fines. And we have here offer the three lights for the three regions of Tibet.
And, you know, those many people killed as I think I won’t say much as a reminder already. And we wish, you know, them are, you know, as well as the military. And this kapha is to represent for, you know, to those who are,
Page nine. So Rinpoche had us recite several mantras of Guru Rinpoche, which is Guru Padmasambhava’s mantra. As you know, when the dharma was first spread in Tibet, there were tremendous obstructions due to the local deities, and monasteries were destroyed and uprooted from the foundations. And all the Tibetans owe a great debt of gratitude to Guru Rinpoche, Guru Padmasambhava, who was invited from India and who overcame these evil forces. So for this reason, we recited several of his mantras.
And Rinpoche says also there is a very specific prayer to Avalokiteśvara, which reads as follows. Bless me, Avalokiteśvara, you who see the suffering of all beings and is a protector of all beings, which was composed by one of the great Sakya lamas, and which is not terribly sure of the name. So we should try to recite this prayer. Yeah. Tell me about this.
Okay. Page nine. Are we dedication? The Mandala offering? The verse nine long life prayer to his holiness Dalai Lama.
After Rinpoche leaves, there is a tea, Chai. If you like to stay back, most welcome.
Key terms in this teaching
- bodhicitta jang chub sem (Tib)
- A principal consciousness that combines the two factors of wishing to free all beings from suffering and of wishing to attain enlightenment in order to achieve that; the spontaneous altruistic mind of enlightenment can be either aspirational or engaging. LYWA
- buddha, a sang gye (Tib)
- A fully awakened being, who has totally eliminated all obscurations veiling the mind and has fully developed all good qualities to perfection. LYWA
- Guru Puja Lama Chöpa (Tib)
- A special Highest Yoga Tantra guru yoga practice composed by the fourth Panchen Lama, Losang Chökyi Gyaltsen. LYWA
- nagas lu (Tib)
- A snake-like being of the animal realm that lives in or near bodies of water; commonly associated with fertility of the land, but can also function as a protector of religion. LYWA
- oral transmission lung (Tib, Wyl)
- The verbal transmission of a teaching, meditation practice or mantra from guru to disciple, the guru having received the transmission in an unbroken lineage from the original source. LYWA
- self-cherishing dag che par dzin pa (Tib)
- The self-centered attitude of considering one’s own happiness to be more important than that of others. LYWA
- self-grasping dag dzin (Tib)
- The mind that apprehends the self as inherently existent. This refers to both the self of persons and the self of phenomena. LYWA
- six realms
- The general way that Buddhism divides the whole of cyclic existence; there are three lower realms (hell, hungry ghost and animal) and three upper realms (human, demigod and god). LYWA
Definitions adapted from the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive glossary, as taught in the Gelug tradition.