Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Sweeping bodhisattva aspirations from the Sūtra of Golden Light open this 39-minute session: Ven Jampa Gendun reads aloud prayers for the blind, condemned, and hungry, then reflects that the heart can aspire beyond what intellect can prove. The talk moves into the four-point analysis for realizing the emptiness of self. Using a coiled rope mistaken for a snake, Gendun explains why the first essential — identifying the inherently existent “I” as the object of negation — matters most: you cannot confirm an absence unless you knew what you were looking for. He guides practitioners to activate a vivid sense of I through strong emotion, then observe the subjective experience with what he calls the alertness of a spy. Common pitfalls — blankness, bodily tension — are addressed before a closing guided meditation on compassion toward a difficult person.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 17 HoM 1993 11 24.mp3
UUID: 87a16284-1d89-41ec-8b76-b21cd4291950
Teacher: Ven Jampa Gendun
Collection: The Heart and Mind of Awakening (Ven Jampa Gendun)
Date: 1993-11-24
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 38.8 minutes
Words: ~4,462
With some of our more cherished values, you know, those ways of being, those principles or guidelines that we’ve set for ourselves over the course of our life, that in our finer moments that we like to see our life expression of beginning this continual process of redirecting, reorientating ourselves. And, you know, over and over again, trying to take hold of the conception and the attitude that the ultimate solution to our problems lies within our own mind, beginning to actualize our inner potential in terms of more and more skillful ways of thinking, communicating, and acting in the world. The personification of this consummation of the possibility of our potential, we call Buddha, is very unique to each of ourselves, but in general, a happy, healthy, loving, sane human being. So, this becomes the inner focus of our life. And taking recourse or making use of the methods of the Dharma, those means and techniques whereby we’re able to actualize Buddha withinside of ourselves.
These are the means by which we can solve our problems. And this entire process occurs within the social context of a spiritual community, and those individuals assist us in affirming our preferred story of authenticating our nobility and trying to raise the level of our motivation, why we do what we do, this continual process to ever widen our circle of concern for others. And in this light, I’d like to read a section of a sūtra. A sūtra is simply a discourse that was spoken by Śākyamūni Buddha himself. It’s a very I have a very personal connection with this particular section of this sūtra, a sūtra called the Noble vajra Banner of Victory.
I played a part in translating it a few years ago. So, I think, you know, it’s the aspiration of a bodhisattva, someone who whose heart has been awakened to others. And it’s simply in the form of aspirations. It’s an expression of love. The sūtra is called the holy golden light, sometimes called the great drum sūtra.
By the sound of the great drum of the holy golden light, in these three worlds, the three thousands of worlds, may the sufferings of cruel migrations, the suffering of the Lord of death’s domain, and the sufferings of vibration be brought to an end. By the thunder of that mighty drum may all want in the world be ended, And just as the lords of subdueers are without fear, their fears are laid. So too may all sentient beings be without fear, parted from their fears. Just as the all knowing able lords, their dwelling within the cycles of existence, possess all holy qualities, so too may the meditative concentrations of all beings possess the qualities of the harmonies of enlightenment. And may those qualities become oceans of qualities.
By the thunder of that mighty drum may all beings come to possess the voice of Brahma. May they attain the most blessed awakening of the Buddhas. May they turn the wheel of doctrine. May they live unimaginable eons. May they teach the way for the welfare of wanderers.
May they relieve suffering and destroy afflictions. May they extinguish desire, hatred and delusion. May those beings who abide in places of tortured existence, those beings whose bodies and bones are burning in flames of pain, May they hear the beating of the drum, and may they cry, I bow to you, the Buddhas. May all beings remember their births and hundreds of lives and thousands of lives and tens of millions of lives. May they be ever mindful of the Lord of sages, and may they heed their vast words.
By the thunder of that mighty drum, may all beings find constant companionship in the Buddhas. May they abandon the actions of ill deed. May they practice those of good. May all the suffering of all that lives in all the lands of all worlds be forever stilled, and those creatures crippled in limb, impaired of sense, all be made whole. May those afflicted with sickness, weak and frail, without refuge in the ten regions, all swiftly be relieved of their ills, be renewed in their organs and strength.
May those threatened with death by rulers and thieves, those who lie at the mercy of a hundred different miseries, those living beings besieged and suffering, all be freed from their hundreds of endurable fears. And those tortured by bonds bound and beaten, those who live amid manifold poverty, oppressed by many thousands of afflictions, incur all manner of misery and terrors which they cannot bear. May they be released from their bonds. May the scourged be delivered from their beatings. May the condemned have life.
May the condemned have life, the troubled be unafraid. May those hurt with hunger and thirst partake of a feast. May the blind see a myriad of shapes. The deaf hear a symphony of sounds. The naked be clothed.
The poor find a treasure. May all have the pleasure of possessing many precious jewels. May none be tormented by feelings of pain. May they all be fair of face and figure, their bodies subdued, their minds abounding with unremitting bliss. By the mere thought, may their wishes for merit and riches, food and drink, at once be made manifest.
May the longings for the melodies of lute and drums, streams, lakes and ponds, pools full of golden lotus and utpala, the dreams of clothes and wealth, pearls, gems, exquisite golden ornaments, and lapis lazuli, all instantly be fulfilled. May there not arise an anguish cry in any world. May none know unhappiness. May they all be beautiful, and may they be a light for one another. Whatever is held most high by humanity, may it be theirs simply through thought.
May all their desires, immediately upon conception, be altogether realized as the fruit of their merit. Throughout the three times, may they have incense and garlands, scented oils, aromatic powders, variegated flowers and flowering trees. May they take them, may they be happy. May they worship in the ten directions all the inconceivable ones, the bodhisattvas, the hearers, and the immaculate pure teachings of Dharma. May all beings shun all that is unworthy, pass beyond the eight states of unrest and attain crowning kingly leisure.
May all beings ever have the Buddhists at their side. May they always be born into noble families. May their affluence and fortune flourish. May they be richly adorned for endless eons with praise and fame, lovely radiant bodies. May they be brave, may they be strong, may they be wise and lucid, may they ever strive for enlightenment, may they engage in the six perfections, may they behold in the ten quarters the Buddhas perfectly seated upon thrones of precious lotus lily before the supremely sanctified tree of enlightenment, and there may they hear the truth revealed.
You know, we can I said that many of the aspirations of the bodhisattva are illogical or unimaginable? But I don’t think in our hearts we need to be bound by the logic of the intellect, you know, that we can aspire beyond our sense of our rationality and our limited thinking, beyond our calculated ways of being, that we usually the way in which we usually live in the world, that we can aspire to greatness and nobility, and we can aspire to impossible dreams. I think this is what makes life meaningful. You know, as I’ve said oftentimes, the intellect requires proof and demonstration, but the soul, the heart, requires meaning and belief. And so, this is a call to great meaning in our life.
It’s a call to really believe in ourselves and the possibility of a noble alternative to what perhaps we have known up to now, to be all that we can, to be all that we can be, perhaps should be. And this becomes our refuge, this way of being, this way of life. You know, whether you know, whether we achieve these ends or not perhaps is not all that important. It is the way that we live our life, is taking out our dreams from time to time and trying them on. You know, trying to, in some way, get in touch with and begin to make our life an expression of perhaps those inarticulate whisperings of our own hearts, of the finest part of ourselves.
I go for refuge until I’m enlightened to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the highest assembly. From the virtuous merit that I collect by practicing giving and the other perfections, may I attain the state of the Buddha to be able to benefit all sentient beings. I go for refuge until I’m enlightened to the Buddha, the Dharma and the highest assembly. And the virtuous merit that I collect by practicing giving and the other perfections, may I attain the state of a Buddha to be able to benefit all sentient beings. I go for refuge until I’m enlightened to the Buddha, the Dharma, the highest assembly.
From the virtuous merit that I collect by practicing giving and the other perfections, may I attain the state of the Buddha to be able to benefit all sentient beings. So we’re going to meditate. We’ll begin our meditation as we usually do terms of adjusting again our motivation and developing the qualities of compassion and love as a motivation for our meditation. And this we can do with respect to someone that, you have some real difficulties with, someone you don’t like, someone you might from time to time turn at term as an enemy. And choosing that individual and doing the best you can, you know, all your intelligence, your imagination, you know, trying to find some key to open up an alternative view to the way that you perceive this person.
Even if it’s only a glimmer of possibility, that’s an exercise in in taking control of our mind and developing and being able to exercise those preferred ways of thinking and being in the world, which are in our own best self interest. And then we’re going tolast week we began to discuss in terms of the development of the awakening mind. The awakened mind is the realization of emptiness. And began to discuss one of the methods whereby to come to a realization of emptiness. We said that we can meditate on the emptiness of people or persons or on the other hand of phenomena, All types of objects other than animate objects, living beings, tables and chairs or whatever.
We’re going to begin with said it’s There are these two types of emptinesses. Let’s say the emptiness of a self of persons or the emptiness of the self of phenomena, are equivalent. One is neither more subtle than the other because of our degree of familiarity with the self, the person who we conceive of ourselves to be, the I, that it is said to be much more skillful to begin with ourselves as an object of meditation as opposed to tables and chairs and things like phenomena. Then as a means to meditate on the selflessness of the persons, we began to discuss the four essentials of the four-point analysis. The essential of determining the object in negation, the essential of determining the pervasion, the essential of determining the lack of sameness or oneness, and the essential of determining the lack of difference or many.
So, last week, we discussed the first of these four essentials, the essential of determining the object negation. And we, you know, this is the object negation is We have an instinctive conception of a particular type of I or self. This self or I has specific qualities. This I arises under the influence of ignorance, a distorted awareness. This I appears to us to have qualities which we call inherent existence, objective existence, or self defining existence, existing from its own side, natural existence, all of these various terms which we discussed last week.
Now, in determining the object of negation, what we’re doing is we’re trying to bring to conscious awareness a mental image of such a type of self. We are operating our entire emotional life, and a good part of our thinking, rational life, is based upon the premise that what is merely a mental image, an appearance, in fact exists in reality. In the sense that when we see a coil of striped rope, there appears to us to be a snake. And we that appearance is merely a mental image within our own mind. But we believe that that is more than a mental image, that it corresponds to something in fact, in reality, something that we could actually find.
We don’t intellectualize this way. We don’t think it through. But the way that we react is a sign that such a thought process is taking place at an unconscious level. We react with fear, hostility, whatever, taking what is merely an appearance, what is, in fact, is an object of our conception, a mental image that could be found in fact. So we have a mental image of a type of I or a self, which appears, for example, to be independently existent, to be unchanging, to be unitary, solid, concrete.
This, we believe it it refers to something, in fact, in reality, just as we we believe that this appearance of the snake, in in fact, refers to something in reality, something lying in the grass there. So the this first essential determining the object negation is determining, you know, to to negate something, to refute something, we are we can’t refute something that exists, something that, in fact, is true. All we can do is gain a sense of what this mental image is, what it what this eye appears to be look to us, how does it appear to ourselves. Then we can go on to search. Is it does there exist in fact something which corresponds to what is merely an appearance?
This is in the case of the snake. When we search in the grass, we we we with a stick, we find only a striped coiled rope. This mental image that we’re operating with doesn’t refer to anything in reality. The map is not the territory, but we think it is. So this first essential is the most important, and it’s the most difficult.
We have to recognize within our own experience what this appearance of an eye looks like. Otherwise, when we go on to the second, third, and fourth essentials, we’re not going to have anything to work with. You know, one of the keys to coming to an understanding of emptiness is unfindability. When you think something exists, you and you know what you’re looking for, and then you search for it, what do you find? You find an absence of what you thought existed.
That absence is emptiness. A lack of something which you’ve always imagined to exist. You find something, you find an absence. You don’t find nothing, you find an absence of what you thought existed. In this case, you find an absence of a solid, concrete, unchanging, independent, unitary self.
That’s what that’s the absence that you’re going to find eventually. But unless you know what you’re looking for, how will you ever know that you didn’t find it? Or on the other hand, if what you’re looking for is very blurry, if you only have a vague idea, then it will never your your the non findability, the non finding of what you believe to exist, that non finding will have little force. You will have little conviction. It won’t be able to overturn ignorance which holds very tightly to the existence of what in fact doesn’t exist, that concrete solid I.
Ignorance holds that I exists, and we have to develop the conviction, a wisdom consciousness which understands it doesn’t exist. These two are mutually exclusive consciousnesses. They contradict one another like hot and cold hot and cold water. But without identifying the object that we think exists, then when we go on to search, we either have nothing really we’re looking for, in which case our meditation will have no power, or even when we have an idea, if it’s simply a blurry and vague image, we won’t have the conviction of non finding. We can think, well, I’m not sure.
Maybe it could exist another way. Maybe I didn’t really have a good enough idea of what in fact it looked like. Therefore, I can’t be really sure if it’s there or not. You know, we’re going to find a way out of confronting the issue of its non findability at some deep level. So we talked to some extent about this first essential, determining object negation.
The object which is being negated is the the referent, you know, a referent object of this mental image of a particular type of self. Symbols, language refer to things like a map, a street map. You know it’s got lines, blue lines, red lines, black lines. These are just printed with ink on pieces of paper. But that map refers to something which you can actually drive on.
Bitumen roads refers to cities and blocks, streets. It refers to something. These maps refers to something. Mental images, language, words, they refer to things. Symbols refer to something else.
They’re representative of something else. We’re trying to identify a mental image, an appearance which we’re making use of when we’re experiencing strong emotions, in dependence upon which strong emotions arise, in fact. We’re trying to identify that within our own experience. And then once we identify it, it’s like identifying this map very clearly. And then we’re going to check out, does it refer to anything in fact?
We’re going to actually go about searching. We know what we’re looking for. We set up a target, and then we’re going to using reason analysis and observation, we’re going to look to see whether this fact in fact refers to anything in reality. That object which it refers to either exists or doesn’t. That object that it refers to is called the object of negation or the object of refutation because it doesn’t in fact exist.
We can refute it. We think it does, but we can refute it. But we can only refute it to the degree that we know what we’re looking for, that we’ve identified it within our own experience. So we’re going to do that in the course of our meditation. In order to identify this inherently existent I, self defining I, self, same thing, I, self, in this case, same meaning. Within our own experience, we begin by first calming your mind.
Then we must analyze the way in which this I is apprehended, the way it appears to us. And this is not easy. It takes practice. It’s a very subtle process, but we can begin and work with it. So we first calm the mind down.
Then we have to activate a strong sense of I. The stronger the sense of I, the more vivid this appearance will be to ourselves. Therefore, will be more easy to identify. So you can remember times of great fear when you felt like you were about to have an accident or the pain of a broken relationship or or the joy when you, you know, your first the joy like we talked about last week when you just passed your examinations or you just had a baby or some very joy you just won a great deal, the cross lotto or something. So we live we live these emotional experiences vividly.
So we don’t try to analyze them as to whether they’re good or bad, whether they’re right or wrong. We’re not questioning that quality about them. We’re just trying to induce vivid emotional experiences. You know, trying to we just try to keep feeling the fear or the depression or the joy. So activating strong emotions such as these will cause there to arise a very strong sense of I.
I’m scared. I feel terrible. I’m so happy. So then we’re going to try to observe precisely how this I appears, the subjective aspect of our experience. We almost never pay attention to the subjective aspect of our experience.
We’re totally involved in the object of our experience, that which is bringing me joy, not that which is experiencing the joy, the subjective aspect of it. This is the object of negation, this I which appears at such times. So we have to ascertain it, we have to determine, we have to identify it as clearly as possible. So what is occurring is this observing process is carried out by a part of your mind different from the one which is apprehending the pleasant experience or the unpleasant experience, the pleasant thoughts or the unpleasant thoughts. It’s like a spy.
In the process of observing observing the eye, certain errors may arise. You know, some people having generated a sense of I by means of thoughts or their imaginations, using feelings and trying to generate emotions. Then they make effort to determine the self. You know, what does it look like? How is the self experienced?
But at the time of analysis, a sort of darkness, a kind of blankness appears to their mind. You know, this only happens to some people. It doesn’t happen to everyone, and it’s neither good nor bad. Such an experience is the result of the sudden mental force which people apply when they attempt to explore the nature of the self. So, you know, you generate a sense of some kind of experience.
You’re gaining some kind of experience of fear or depression or sadness or joy. And you go to and analyze the subjective aspect. What is the I that is scared? What is it that is happy? I’m so happy.
That I. And then suddenly there’s simply a blankness, some kind of darkness. So this is this means that you’ve you’ve your analysis is too clumsy. You you’ve you’re like a bull in a China shop. You’ve you’ve too forceful.
Others might experience a tension, some kind of tautness within their bodies. So this tautness, this tension within the body is not the object of negation. It too is a result of too sudden a concentration of the mind due to which it disturbs the circulation of the wind energies through the body. For some people, when they go to analyze what the eye appears like, only the body appears. This happens because the conventionally existent self, the self which is doing the meditating, listens to talks, which gives talks, goes about all its various daily activities.
This self is very intimately related to the body. So quite often when we go to think about the eye, its nature, the body appears to us. In other cases, when someone attempts to locate the self, nothing at all is experienced. So this is a result of beginning the analysis a little bit too late. So begin the analysis with a calm mind and slowly generate a sense of I using thoughts, using feelings, emotions, you know, as we’ve talked about.
Then within that emotional experience, like having the alertness of a spy, very gently and carefully begin become aware of the I, the subjective aspect of what you’re experiencing. And, you know, this is an experiment we’re working with, isn’t it? Maybe you’ve never done this before. It’s going to feel strange or you’re going to feel very clumsy. But, you know, everything becomes easier upon accustoming oneself to it.
The same we hold true in this case. So who or what, you know, looking, I’m just trying to observe. Who or what is thinking, feeling, feeling scared, feeling depressed, feeling happy. We are using a part of our mind to observe another part of the mind, which is holding on to this sense of I. How does that I appear to you?
If a sense of I does not arise, again calm the mind, begin again in a very relaxed manner. Generate a sense of I. I’m angry. I’m worried. I can’t do this.
Which might be easy to do. I just can’t do this. Nothing’s working. I can’t do this. That I.
That eye. You can use that experience itself. And using a corner of your mind, observe and identify what this eye looks like. You know, try to get a sense of it. Does it have a shape?
Does it have a color? Is it changing? Is it unchanging? Is it solid? Is it transparent?
Is it independently existent? Try to try to identify, just like we’re trying to identify that that appearance of a snake. You know, it it it’s striped and it’s coiled and it’s you really get a good picture of it for yourself. We have to identify what we’re going to look for in the future, in the latter three of the four point analysis. So try to get a sense of this eye.
What does it look like within your own experience? So this is the first of these four essentials, determining the object negation. So we’re going to try that. Okay. So if you’ll take a comfortable, firm posture in the beginning.
The cultivation of our motivation for our meditation in terms of someone you’re having some difficulties with, someone you don’t like, And imagining that person in front of you and working with these feelings and trying to even if only to create some crack, some possibility of viewing this person in an alternative way. Someone you’re having some problems with, you don’t like. And see if you can develop the sincere, friendly thought. It would be wonderful if you didn’t have any problems. Just a gentle, friendly thought toward this person.
It would be nice if they didn’t have any problems, if they didn’t have any suffering. May you not have any suffering, any problems. I’m going to help you commit myself in working with you to solve your problem. Cultivating love toward this person. I would like to see you happy.
May you be happy. I’m going to help you commit myself in working with you to be happy. The way I’m going to express my commitment to you at this very moment is through my meditation. By developing my skills, my love, and my wisdom. An endeavor that can be of real and significant benefit.
And then bring your mind to the breath. Ease in, gentle in and out flow of the natural breathing.