Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Valham guides practitioners through a meditation on the three lower realms of existence—animal, hungry ghost, and hellish births—to cultivate urgency for spiritual practice. He opens with Buddha’s teaching on impermanence and the uncertainty of rebirth after death, then systematically invites listeners to vividly imagine the suffering of each realm: animals experiencing ignorance and exploitation, hungry ghosts tormented by constant hunger and thirst, beings in hell cycles of torture and death. He frames this not as abstract doctrine but as real suffering occurring now for other beings, asking whether the listener could endure even one day in such conditions. The meditation concludes with refuge in Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha as the only reliable protection, followed by visualization of Śākyamūni Buddha radiating purifying light, and a final reflection on karmic obscurations and the urgent necessity of purifying negative karma to open the path to realization. This is foundational Lamrim practice suited to those beginning formal Buddhist study.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 03 The three lower realms.mp3
UUID: 6fe31506-a874-4292-838b-27a8dfa6a21a
Teacher: Valham
Collection: Guided LR Meditation (Valham)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Words: ~2,168
So, you know, what like it says in the sūtra, in Buddha’s words, that our life is as changeable and impermanent like the autumn clouds in the sky. It finishes quickly, just like the just like a flash of lightning. And it constantly rushes on like a high mountain stream. So also our own experience of death would come quickly, quickly and unexpected. And what happens after death?
We have no no idea, not the faintest idea. Most of us, even we believe in future lives. We have not a faintest idea what comes after death. Whether it’s going to be pleasant or unpleasant, whether it’s going to be, you know, better or worse. The only thing that is sure is that mind doesn’t cease at the time of death.
So you see, if we look at it very straight, We can only go one way or another. We can only go into better existence or worse existence. But which way we are going personally, we have no knowledge of. Because that depends on karmic imprints. That last moment of consciousness in this life, giving rise to the next moment, that karmic imprint ripening at that time will determine the quality of our future existence.
So which one among the billions of karmic imprints is going to ripen?? Buddha explained that the strongest and heaviest karmic imprint ripens first. If the positive karmic imprint is the strongest, you know, that ripens first. The negative karmic imprint is the strongest, then that will ripen first. If both are equal, then the most habitual ripens first.
And if that is equal, then the first karmic imprint ripens first. So like that, our future is under the power of karma. And if a positive karmic imprint ripens, you may get to be reborn in the god realms. But again, only for a short time. We may get to enjoy ourselves with the gods and goddesses.
But even that existence does not last. And if a negative karmic imprint ripens, they really have to experience unbearable life situations. But if we imagine ourselves there now, we could feel the fear. The anxiety, and the suffering. And we could ask ourselves, could we bear it even for a day?
So let’s contemplate for a while the sufferings of the lower realms of existence. You know, with compassion, remembering that these are existences that other beings experience right now. So with lots of compassion in your mind, let’s imagine how it would be like to be born an animal. And not that our human life goes into an animal body, but experiencing the deep ignorance, you know, being controlled or being exploited, used, slaughtered, or experimented on. Let’s imagine being a donkey in India, pulling those carts overloaded with goods or goods, constantly working under such incredible harsh conditions.
As one, you imagine this one. Other, you can also imagine the animal life in the jungle, in the forest, like a soldier at war. Who is looking? Who is gonna attack me next? Or if you like, a dog in the streets of Kathmandu, or even a pet dog in the west.
The deep sense of ignorance and being controlled by others. Having no power. Try to embody that existence and experience the sense of suffering. And then think, could I bear this existence? Now when you think about the limitations, you know, of an animal rebirth, It makes you appreciate the, you see, the suffering of ignorance so deep.
You see, having having no freedom at all. And then you also think about the even lower rebirths that we can see the example of both in the human realm. Even if we don’t believe in the spirit realm, in hell realm, if we research the human realm, we can also find similar experiences, like hunger and thirst. But even if we were born human again, there are so many variations of human rebirth. If we don’t receive a precious human life again, we might be born human, but constantly experiencing hunger and thirst, never having enough to eat.
Like in so many places on this earth, and the experience of starvation, or, you know, a constant feeding of hunger. This is the experience of the hungry ghost. Could we bear it? Imagine yourself really experiencing the roaming around of a hungry ghost or, you know, if you like, a hungry human. You know, I never think this is going to happen to me.
But on the other hand, we don’t have any guarantee. And even the more suffering kind of existence, of torture, Being always involved with fighting. And body being cut up, killed. Then again, revive, and then going through the same process like a a total madness. The mind can get stuck in such experiences.
So many people experience this right now. For us to experience this would be like hell, would be like going to hell. Try to feel and think how totally unbearable it would be. So think to yourself that and these type of existences are not just somebody’s fantasy. They are very real and experienced by beings, you know, while we are seated comfortably together here.
Animal realm, hungry ghost realm, or hellish existences are experienced by others. So why could it not happen to us? It’s just up to karma. So think to yourself, you know, who or what or how can we protect ourselves? From such suffering rebirths?
You know who can stop? And the ripening of negative karma. And that is only we ourselves. Only we ourselves, you yourself, can stop the ripening negative karma. Only you yourself can stop yourself from rebirth in lower realms.
Only with, you see, wisdom, only with inner qualities. Wisdom, compassion, power, equanimity, faith. All these inner qualities can prevent our future suffering. But do we have enough inner quality? Can we be satisfied with our inner qualities?
Now who can help us develop our inner qualities? Now that is only that is Buddha Dharma Sangha. Now Buddha, the teacher. The Dharma, the wisdom. The wisdom knowledge in the minds of the supreme beings, the Dharma.
And then Sangha, you know, the spiritual friends. So the meaning of taking refuge is beginning the very beginning of looking inside for solutions to life problems. Now looking inside for reality, and looking inside for security. Usually, we always rely on external means. We know to overcome our problems, our loneliness, our dissatisfaction, our depressions.
And we try so many different ways. That gives us temporary solution. But to find a safe and sound direction. To find an ultimate solution to human problems. That can only come from inner development.
And so we seek to rely on beings that have already gone beyond suffering completely. That’s Buddha. And, you know, the teaching that leads completely beyond suffering, that’s the Dharma. And then the spiritual friends who practice it, the Sangha. Now let’s think as a conclusion that, you know what, we are like a sick person.
We are suffering from ignorance and the three poisons of mind, as well as uncontrolled delusion and karma. So we’re seeking, you know, help from the Buddha. Buddha is like a universal physician. The all knowing, omniscient mind. Knowing and understanding the varieties of suffering of living beings.
So the physician, the Buddha, prescribes the Dharma, you know, the medicine. So the Dharma is what we have to take regularly. And the Sangha, they’re like the nurses or the helpers. They make sure we take our daily doses of Dharma practice. In this way, every kind of problem, every kind of suffering can be completely healed and overcome, not only for a while, not only for one life, but completely eradicate it.
So think, may we develop a clear faith in the ability of Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, or if you like, the supreme beings to guide us into liberation, into the path of liberation and awakening in order to protect ourselves and universal living beings from suffering and to experience our, you know, universal wish for true and lasting happiness. And now let’s recollect the great Śākyamūni Buddha in the bright space in front of us, seated upon a lotus, sun and moon, having a radiant smiling face, gazing on you and also simultaneously all universal living beings. Around you are your mother and father, and living beings feeling all about space and earth. From Buddha’s heart, light rays emanate out in the ten directions. Purify white light that touches all the living beings, and that enters and that enters your nostrils.
As you practice your breathing meditation, inhaling light, exhaling darkness, bringing your mind to a very spacious neutral state. So now let’s think. Now why is it so difficult to actually gain realizations on the path to enlightenment? Like a realization of a precious human life, impermanence, renunciation, you know, emptiness, bodhicitta. Even though we know all these things, it is so difficult to actually realize it to transform our mind.
I think mostly it is because of karmic obscurations. We have so many countless karmic imprints in our mind. From endless negative actions and continuous delusions. Now we have karmic imprints from the actions of body, speech, and mind, as well as the imprints of delusions, like attachment, anger, jealousy, pride, doubt, wrong views. States of mind that we generate every day in life.
And every single time, it creates yet another obstacle in our mind, or yet another obscuration. So though the mind naturally has full potentials of awareness, clarity, We’re not able to use we’re not able to use that level of mind because it’s covered. It’s covered up. It’s polluted. It’s obscured.
So we actually need to think about our karmas, you know, recognize karmic imprints, negative actions. We have to meditate on negative actions. This is bit like looking into a garbage bin, you know, and poking around, which is not very nice. But without recognizing negative actions, we will never develop the wish or be inspired to purify. And without purifying our mind, forget about realizations.
It is like dreaming to catch the rainbow. It will never happen. So in this session, let’s look into our own mind. Usually, we like very much to look at the minds and the behaviors of others. You know, find faults in others.
We’ll find problems and faults in our surroundings. thinking this is not good enough, that is not good enough, this is not good, that is not good. You know, we can’t meditate. But our main obstacles for meditation actually comes from within our own mind, you know, from our own karmic obscurations. So we have to do something.
In this session, let’s confront our own creations and recognize, you see, how karma is not only definite. Negative karmic imprints leads to suffering and obscurations, you know. Positive karmic imprints leads to happiness and joy. In that way, karma is definite. On top of that, you see the obscurations increase or the karmic effect increase.
So that even from the small, tiny, you know, insignificant karmic actions that we do all the time, great results will have to be experienced. It is a positive action, then great happy result. It is a negative action, then you see an expanded long negative suffering result. So not only that, all those results obscures our mind. So let’s contemplate.
Look back into your life and recognize actions of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, harsh words, whatever you find. When you recognize a negative action, also contemplate the result of this negative action will expand, maybe even over lifetimes. So that you feel in your mind that it’s urgent to purify. And that unpurified negative karmas leads to disaster. So try to look very honestly and try to recognize even the tiny especially focus on the negative karma, you know, since that’s what we want to purify.
The positive actions, you can just feel happy and rejoice that we are able to create virtue. But this time, you focus more on your negative karma. To feel even the very immediate need for purification. You know, not wanting to leave it for another day, but wishing to start purifying right away. So you see, the problem with negative karma is that it doesn’t only give one immediate result, like harming somebody else and feeling bad about it.
That’s just the beginning of karma. That’s not the whole effect. That, you know, karmic action has a multitude of results. It carries on and on and on, and gives results again and again, again and again. Painful suffering results, both for ourselves and others.
Because, you know, the habit is there. It makes us act in a similar way again and again. So that even the result of one heavy negative action becomes very terrifying. So when you gather all whatever you can remember of negativities, look at it and think with a sense of remorse.