Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Geshe Valham guides practitioners through two interconnected Lam Rim meditations on impermanence, lower rebirth realms, and devotion to the spiritual teacher. He opens by contemplating animal rebirth—the suffering of ignorance, fear, and servitude—and draws parallels to how our own uncontrolled mental habits mirror animal behavior. He then explores the sufferings of hungry ghosts and hell beings, emphasizing that such realms exist not only cosmically but in present human experience: war, sickness, imprisonment. From this confrontation with uncontrolled existence and mortality, fear becomes a useful catalyst for spiritual practice, modeled on Milarepa’s transformation. Valham identifies the need for universal compassion and wisdom, finding their source only in the Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and qualified spiritual teachers. In the second meditation, he offers a detailed visualization of Chenrezig—the embodiment of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha—describing all eleven faces and one thousand arms in precise detail, then guides the practitioner through absorption of Chenrezig’s compassionate light into the heart and its radiation outward to all beings. Suitable for practitioners familiar with Lam Rim texts and Chenrezig practice.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 04 M.mp3
UUID: e9c5d0a1-d3a6-44b9-9bbf-55a7ce837ceb
Teacher: Valham
Collection: Lam Rim Meditation (Valham)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Words: ~2,546
And so many times already, we have been born in the animal realm. Heavily obscured, you know, by ignorance, close mindedness, and experiencing continuous fear. And especially being used by others without control, eaten by others, used by others. Because of their ignorance. So when you think of it, even if you find it difficult to imagine, you know, a future like that, then think from the point of view of others.
There are already countless living beings in the animal realm, and they are experiencing this suffering right now. Imagine imagine just put yourself in a situation of being a dog in Kathmandu City, a stray dog in Kathmandu City. Or an animal in the forest. The struggle of survival and the fear of being eaten besides being hunted by the humans. I think with compassion, you know, on the life of animals.
When we are ignorant, you know, we are behaving like a pig or behaving like a chicken or behaving like a snake. If we really look into our mind, we can see the animal behavior already. It’s just a matter of changing the body. So also that’s one thing to contemplate the animal. Also, you know, the hungry ghost.
The attitude, you know, the main suffering, the hungry ghost, is hungering, hungering, craving, and grasping for things one cannot attain, one cannot obtain. There’s also a character within us, you know, every now and then. And when we think about the suffering of the hell beings, the constant pain, Many many living beings, even humans, you know, at this moment experiencing the pain of torture, the pain of sickness, physical sickness, mental sickness. Even on this earth, we find so many hells in wars, conflict situation, in prison camps, in concentration camps, in political prisons. So many people get their body cut into pieces like it is explained in the hell realms.
So think even now when we have a physical sickness or we have a pain, how difficult it is even just to sit for one meditation, you know, for a meditation practice. Nearly impossible when the body is, you know, experiencing pain. So like that in the hell realms. There is no space for, you know, higher thoughts or higher trainings. Just the constant experience of physical and mental pain, especially physical pain.
Something even now while we sit here, there’s so many countless living beings experiencing this. So why not me? You know? Why why should this experience not come to a person like me? So when we contemplate in different realms of existence and life and death like this, now it becomes very clear that we have no real control over our life, you know, over our death.
And on top of that, we also have no knowledge, no certainty about the future. So this this is a very dangerous position. Both having no control and no knowledge. That’s like a blind person walking, you know, without control. Just hoping somewhere that we will be alright.
That everything will be alright. And when we contemplate really deeply on this, some fear will arise in the mind. Uncomfortable feeling, you know, that we are not in control. That’s a very good fear, very useful fear. Just that’s just like the fear of Milarepa when he realized what he had done as far as, you know, harming others.
He killed something like thirty people. And then the fear of death arose in his mind, realizing that there are there are consequences for harming others. And because of this fear, he said in one song. He said, because of this fear, I fled into the mountains, into into a cave in the mountains to practice my guru’s instructions on how to purify and purify my mind and develop profound realizations. And now he said when he came back from the mountain cave, now I have discovered that the innermost nature of mind itself, whenever death comes, I have no fear and worries in my mind.
So like that, the fear of death can be very useful in, you know, pushing us to do something about our life. To start seeking a solution, you know, to the uncontrolled state of being. So then when we search the ten directions, you know, for help, What we find we need is the universal compassion, And what we need is penetrative wisdom, understanding reality. Put to put it in a condensed form, you know, These are the realizations of the mind that can take us safely, you know, to a happy future. So who can help us to realize reality?
Who can help, you know, assist us in developing universal compassion? That’s only the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the ten directions. Buddha is like an all-knowing physician who knows the diagnosis of every single problem and disease in the world, in the universe. And true Dharma the meaning of true Dharma is the realization of reality in the mind of a holy being, in the mind of a liberated being. And Sangha.
And Ārya beings who have glimpsed, you know, emptiness and is dedicated towards the welfare of other living beings, those true dharma friends. Anyway, the triple gem, the three gems. These three gems, you know, one cannot do without. If one wants to find a solution, not only to one’s own suffering, having to experience the lower realms of existence, but to find a solution to the suffering of universal living beings. Wherever one search in the ten directions, one only finds the Buddhas and the bodhisattvas and their inner wisdom.
As a reliable, completely trustworthy companion. On the path to happiness, greater happiness, and the everlasting happiness of complete awakening, complete full awakening. And no one else at all have the wisdom, the power, and the compassion to liberate, you know, each of the universal living beings. Liberate them from suffering. Meditation two.
So this time, let’s try and visualize Chenrezig in more detail. First of all, think that the great Chenrezig is like a embodiment of Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. Embodiment of of the of our teacher. And those three actually, you know, being the same in essence. Our teacher, Buddha, Chenrezig.
Completely same. You know, the essence of a real teacher is exactly the same as the essence of Buddha. And Chenrezig, itself, is a manifestation of Buddha. So it’s not different from Buddha. And the teacher is a representation of Buddha for us since we didn’t have the opportunity to meet Buddha.
You know? If we would have had a pure karma at that time, we would have met the Buddha. I didn’t have the opportunity to meet Buddha. Our karma is such that we have the opportunity, you know, to meet teachers or gurus, qualified teachers. A con a qualified teacher is doing the work for Buddha.
In a sense of acting as if as if Buddha was there. Acting as if it was Buddha who did the acting. Acting in the same way as Buddha would do according to our, you know, ability to understand. So the essence of guru or the essence of the teacher is also nothing different than Buddha and Chenrezig. And if you if you think if we think of our teacher as Buddha, the way we think of Chenrezig as Buddha, one receives the blessing one receives the blessings from all the Buddhas.
That’s why we said in this morning prayer when we took the precepts. You know, guru is Buddha. Guru is Dharma. Guru is Sangha also. Guru is the originator of all, you know, happiness and virtue.
To all gurus, I go for refuge. Our guru is the originator of all happiness and virtue. Because without the guru, one doesn’t know even the difference between the cause of happiness and the cause of suffering completely. So that knowledge wisdom comes from the guru. And then one is able to create a cause for happiness.
So that way, happiness comes from the guru. It comes by depending on the guru, as well as ultimate happiness of liberation. Depends on the guru, you know, teaching the path to liberation. So think when you visualize Chenrezig, it’s the embodiment of Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, and it’s oneness with my guru. Whether you feel you have met your guru or not, at the moment, your guru appears in the form of Chenrezig for you.
And if you have wishes and make prayers, you can make prayers and wishes to Chenrezig, to meet the physical, you know. The physical guru that you can communicate with, speak to, and receive guidance from. So I think Chenrezig appears standing up in front of us on a lotus flower at the level of our forehead. Very exquisite looking body. Just by seeing the body of Chenrezig generates incredible great bliss in the mind.
It is extremely perfect and beautiful. And he’s draped in silk garments. First two hands holding the wish granting jewel in front of his heart. And his face is radiant, smiling, extremely showing a very pleased expression, you know. Totally devoted to create the you know, to accomplish the happiness of all living beings.
And the second two hands, a right one holding the crystal rosary. Symbolic of that six syllable mantra, that closes the doors to uncontrolled rebirth in the six realms of existence. Each of the syllables has the power to to close that door close the door to the six realms. And the left hand is holding the pink lotus flower, symbolic of the intrinsically pure nature of mind. Second two hands holding a dharma chakra, showing how Chenrezig always turning the wheel of dharma.
Benefiting sentient beings. Left hand is holding a bow and arrow. Symbolic how Chenrezig’s, you know, great compassion always hits the right hits the target right on. Not not in the extreme of too low or too high, or too much left, too much right. Exactly in the middle with much wisdom.
The the last two hands, and the right one is in the mudra of granting sublime realizations with milky nectar pouring from the center of the hand. And the left one is holding an initiation vase and granting them entering rituals to the yoga method for the great aspirations. Then the rest of the nine hundred ninety-two hands stretched out, wisdom eye in the BAM of each, reaching out for the welfare of sentient beings. And the heads piled on top of each, three heads piled on top, and then nine heads altogether symbolizing with the head of Mahākāla, the wrathful form of Chenrezig, symbolizing the ten perfections in the mind of universal compassion. Topped with Amitābha Buddha, who is the guru, who is Chenrezig’s own guru, always putting on the top, you know, as the most venerated place.
The most important person in the world is the guru, the one that shows the infallible path to true happiness. So Chenrezig is keeping on the very crown of his head. So Chenrezig appears like the full moon in the dark night with such pleasant radiation, you know, radiant light. And surrounding us, our mother to the left, father to the right, and universal living beings around us, like ourselves, experiencing problems and sufferings in the six realms of existence, uncontrollably migrating in the six realms of existence. So from our heart, think on behalf of all the living beings.
We are turning to, you know, for guidance in how to develop relative and ultimate bodhicitta. A relative bodhicitta is the universal loving kindness. Ultimate bodhicitta is the wisdom realizing reality. Those two most powerful attainments. You know?
So with compassion for living beings, completely understanding their their suffering nature and wanting to make ourselves capable to benefit them. We will practice the pure, you know, the purification method of Chenrezig. So we can say the preliminary prayers first, and then recite the mantra together. Prostrate with my body, speech, mind. I present clouds of every type of offering, actual and imagined.
I declare all my negative actions accumulated since beginningless time and rejoice in the merit of all holy and ordinary beings. Please remain until the end of cyclic existence and turn the wheel of dharma for living beings. I dedicate my own merits and those of all others to the great enlightenment. I’m gonna turn to page twelve. This ground anointed with perfume, strewn with flowers, adorned with Mount Meru, four continents, the sun and the moon.
I imagine this as a Buddha field and offer it. May all living beings enjoy this pure land. The objects of my attachment, aversion and ignorance, friends, enemies, and strangers, and my body, wealth, and enjoyments, I offer these without any sense of a loss. Please accept them with pleasure, and bless me and others to be free from the three poisonous attitude. So let’s recite the mantra of love together this time.
We think white radiating light comes here from Chenrezig’s forehead to our forehead. Red radiating light from Chenrezig’s throat to our throat, and blue radiating light from Chenrezig’s heart to our heart, and purifying our body, you know, speech and mind from negativities and obscurations of different kinds. Think that your body and mind has become completely crystal clear. Whatever negative energy and negative imprints has been washed out. And you think Chenrezig in front of us joyfully comes to stand above the crown of our head.
And you think that very slowly from the bottom and the top, Chenrezig’s radiant body absorbs and turns into a sphere of extremely powerful, you know, white radiant light in the nature of universal compassion. And that light then starts to sink through the very crown of our head, and we experience instant bliss throughout the body and mind. As generosic’s radiant sphere of light goes through the very center of our body. And unifies with our own mind at our at the level of our heart chakra completely melts together, becomes inseparably united. And you think your own mind becomes pervaded by pure universal compassion.
Filling your body and mind with light exactly in the same way as if one switches on the light in a dark room. Your entire internal world becomes radiant. And you think now your whole body and mind is completely filled up with white radiant nectar light. That it begins to pour over, you know, overflow and emanate out through the pores of your own body. That becomes like a radiant sun emanating rays indiscriminately in the ten directions.
You think it touches the heart of your mother and father and all the people here around you? And it continues emanating out in all the directions, touching the minds of every living being in its way. Continue expanding your, you know, compassionate energy Until you embrace with your mind the whole world and all the living beings without exception, thinking in your mind that you are not leaving out a single living being, but is totally willing to embrace every single being on this world, in this world, and in the entire universe with compassionate white radiant energy, bringing much pleasure and peace to their mind.