Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Ven Jampa Gendun opens this 47-minute talk with a single verse from the Individual Liberation Sūtra — “Do not commit any wrong, engage in all that is good, completely tame your mind” — treating it as a map of the entire Buddhist path. He reframes renunciation not as austerity but as relaxation: ceasing to grasp and reaffirm ego. A practical meditation section follows on noting thoughts without indulging or repressing them. The talk then turns to bodhicitta, introducing Śāntideva’s equalizing-and-exchanging tradition with a vivid account of Śāntideva levitating off the throne at Nālānda and vanishing mid-teaching. The session closes by grounding equalizing self and others in daily life — understanding that everyone, from a difficult official to a famous singer, simply wants happiness and fears suffering.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 01 3 PA 1989 10 14.mp3
UUID: cd1849fa-ac31-414e-9e76-ad476f7b1080
Teacher: Ven Jampa Gendun
Collection: Three Principal Aspects of the Path 1988-1990 (Ven Jampa Gendun)
Date: 1989-10-14
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 46.9 minutes
Words: ~5,022
There’s one verse which is said to summarize all the teachings of the Buddha, the eighty four thousand bundles of Dharma as they’re called. This week Rinpoche referred to it, it’s from the Individual Liberation Sūtra. It simply says, Do not commit any wrong. Engage in all that is good. Completely tame your mind.
This is the doctrine of Buddha. Do not commit any wrong. Essentially when we talk about wrong we talk about destructive actions, negative actions. We’re talking about those types of actions which bring harm to others or harm to yourself. Essentially when we speak in this way, we’re talking about those types of actions which are expressions of ego states, of one’s own self-cherishing and self concern, which are based on a misconception of the nature of the self.
By beginning to refrain from negative actions, we’re beginning in a very realistic way to begin to curb the outward expressions, manifestations of what in fact is mistaken concepts about the nature of ourselves, nature of the way to relate with others. So it becomes a very realistic method to begin to reduce the force of our self centeredness, our egoism in our lives. Engage in all that is good. Likewise, anything which has the quality of benefiting others and benefiting oneself. So essentially what we’re talking about are those types of actions which are taking us in a direction ultimately to transcendence of the ego, to going beyond the misconceptions which are going to finally eliminate ignorance, finally solve all our problems and give us the means and the skills to be able to benefit others in such a way that in turn they can do the same.
Engage in all that is good. Then the third line, completely tame your mind. This can be misconstrued quite easily. Completely tame your mind. When I first came in contact with Buddhism, I think in religion in general, oftentimes we hear various phrases and perhaps they’re not presented into they’re not communicated properly in the proper spirit of what the intention was.
Completely tame your mind. It sounds as if we could be talking about some way of repression. Something which is rather heavy, some kind of hair shirts and eating one grain of rice kind of practice, you know, each day, something like that. Completely tame your mind. When we talk about controlling the mind, and we’re talking about essentially the direct means of meditation, of being free of obsessed mind.
When we talked about obsessed mind, I’ve been talking I’m with obsessed mind. You know, this is I was thinking of Lama Yeshe, you know, the founder of Buddha House. Wish he were here. He could talk to you. And pass on his understanding rather than in my way, limited fashion, talking a bunch of words.
But the situation as it is, I have to work with my own tools that I have. The obsessed mind is simply having to react. We are not free. Whatever situations arise either externally, physically, or within our own mind mentally, we react in some way. Either indulging, for example, in our meditation, emotions, certain thoughts, change the patterns of thoughts, complexes of thoughts, feelings arise, and we either identify, that is indulge, or we seek to repress, push them away.
In neither case is the mind allowed to remain in a natural state. In either case is the mind allowed to relax. In either case is the mind at peace, whether indulging or repressing. When we talk about an obsessed mind, we’re talking about a mind which is continually reacting. It is not free not to react.
When we talk about controlling the mind, it’s developing the ability not to be forced to react to every passing thought, every passing feeling, every passing emotion. There is a relaxation. Again, you know this word keeps coming up again and again, I think. Relaxation. Relaxation.
You know, we talk about the three principal aspects of the path, which is what I’ll get around to sooner or later. You know, the first determination to be free. determination to be free. You know, that’s my kind of interpretation for Westerners. What is usually translated as renunciation.
Renunciation again, kind of the hair shirt kind of connotation about it. Determination to emerge. Literally, mean the word means to definitely emerge, definitely arise out of one’s cocoon, out of cyclic existence, out of one’s compulsive reoccurring patterns, out of ego. However, we want to state it, whatever is most meaningful, whatever communicates to ourselves. Renunciation simply means to relax.
Don’t have to run anymore after all these various objects. We stop speeding, we stop, you know, bringing a constant ambition to everything that we do, and we can begin to let go and relax. Developing or opening our heart to others, bodhicitta, the awakening heart. The second of the three principal aspects of the path. We’re no longer in conflict with others.
We no longer have to, again and again, reaffirm our territory. We no longer see others as a threat. We enjoy others. If we find them pleasant, we can begin to relax. The third principal aspect of the path, being seen deeply into the nature of reality.
We no longer have to keep establishing our credentials, our self image, keep trying to reaffirm the very fact that we exist. We can begin to relax. When we talk about nirvana, going beyond sorrow, it’s just a huge sigh of relief. You know, we can just completely relax. We can quit running, quit speeding, quit our ambitions, quit even having to establish ourselves.
As we didn’t, we would go out of existence. determination to be free, open your hearts to others, seeing deeply into the nature of reality. All various ways we begin to relax. We begin just to let go and sigh. And this relaxation is called the beyond sigh of nirvana.
So somehow, and we’ve been talking about the effects when I talked about, for example, rebirth. The idea that there’s always some similarity in type between causes and effects. Somehow if our aim is to relax, meditation essentially means to relax. Very deep relaxation is to cease grasping. So if our ultimate aim whether it’s the beyond sorrow of nirvana or whether it’s Buddhahood enlightenment, a happy healthy sane human being, if that’s our golden, our causes should be somehow similar in type.
If our causes that we’re creating, the spiritual causes that we think we’re creating, that we seemingly are creating, if they’re involved with speed, with grasping, with ambition, how can we expect a result which is similar? That is to say, we will achieve a result which is similar. We’re going to have type of egoistic state which is involved in speed and grasping and conflict. Somehow the various causes that we use, that we make use of, the techniques, the method, somehow have to be similar in type to the result. They have to have the quality of relaxation.
Therefore, if our meditation is to be effective, is to serve as a cause for generating the three principal aspects of the path for just finding peace, then it’s going to have to be have a similarity in type. It’s going to have to have the quality of non grasping relaxation. The sentence, to tame the mind, to cease the obsessed mind, Simply the quality of not having to react. In this way we begin to relax in our meditation, we cease grasping. Now the problem is, in our meditation for example, when thoughts arise, we do not recognize thoughts as thoughts.
We identify with the thoughts and therefore we set up a reactive pattern. We either indulge, we spin out some new tale, we engage in some compulsive pattern of thinking, or we try to repress the thought, I don’t want that thought, I want to think about something else, or I don’t want to think at all. And again, we’re just it’s another reactive pattern. Either way, it’s simply a reactive pattern. We haven’t relaxed.
So in our meditation, as a foundation meditation, we’re practicing mindfulness of the breathing. With noting the various recognizing whatever object is coming up, whether it’s thoughts, feelings, whether we’re hearing. Whatever the mind is involved in, we simply want to become aware of it, to recognize counting to develop the factor of mindfulness, noting to develop the factor of awareness. Now, we stabilize, we can develop the quality of the factors of mindfulness awareness, then we can begin to maintain the noting and begin to watch the mind itself. Begin to observe the thoughts.
We focus on the objects of the mental consciousness. All the various thoughts, all the various emotions, feelings arising. Images, whether they’re pictorial images or thought patterns, all this process taking place. But we want to recognize it. We want to note it.
We don’t want to react. By simply noting, maintaining a balance, returning to a natural state of awareness, the mind will return to its natural state of peace. It’s neither reacting, that is to say, it’s neither indulging or repressing. We aren’t making any judgments, any discriminations about the types of thoughts which arise in various emotions. We’re simply noting that in fact they are thoughts.
We’re not particularly concerned with the quality of a thought. So we can, in our meditation, we’re going to allow the mind to return to its natural state simply by ceasing to be obsessed, either that is to say by reacting to the various thoughts, feelings, emotions which arise. Simply note them moment by moment, thinking, thinking, feeling, feeling, whatever it is, without this obsession of having to indulge or repress. And then they were creating the mind will return to it’s it will actually relax. You know, we cannot try to relax.
The very effort of trying will agitate the mind. If you try to relax, you’re going to have to be on guard for restlessness. You’re always going to have to Part of your mind is going to be watching as if it were paranoid, that maybe restlessness is going to rise any moment. And this very paranoia, this very unguarded quality of your mind will agitate it. When in fact it won’t allow it to relax.
So we can simply create the cooperative conditions and the natural response of the mind will be to relax. It will begin to let go of these objects. It will not be obsessed with them any longer. And this is the quality of a cause which is in keeping to the ultimate goal of our spiritual life. Whether it’s the goal of the in the beyond sorrow of nirvana or Buddhahood.
So we’ll try that. So first the meditation on breathing, taking the breath as the object, using the techniques of counting, noting. Then we’ll take as the object the objects of mental consciousness itself, all the various thoughts. And we simply want to maintain a self noting from moment to moment, being aware of what is arising in our mind, recognizing what is arising without indulging or repressing. Now take us the object, the objects of the mental consciousness, various thoughts that keep noting from moment to moment.
So moment to moment just know whatever your mind, your mental consciousness is involved in. What is appearing? In very relaxed natural state of awareness. And then return to the breathing. Let’s recite the prayer of refuge.
We substitute the third line where the asterisk is To the Buddha, to Dharma and to Sangha, I go for refuge until I am enlightened. Through the merit I create by talking about the Dharma, may I attain Buddhahood for the sake of all beings. To the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, I go for refuge until I am enlightened. And the merit I create by talking about the Dharma, may I attain Buddhahood for the sake of all beings. To the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, I go for refuge until I am enlightened. Through the merit I create by practicing giving and other perfections,.
Sometimes Western people have a problem taking refuge in Buddha. Who is Buddha? Where is Buddha? Did you see Buddha? I’ve never seen any Buddha in Canada.
Did you see God? When you take refuge, you don’t see them. O you people, if you can’t see Buddha and God, then why do you take refuge? You must be really super believing people. I don’t know anymore.
First of all, we know it is possible to have some better understanding, some wisdom. We all know this in our own experience. Sometimes we are clean, clear and can handle life well. Sometimes we are depressed and we lapse into darkness. We can’t handle life.
We know that. We all know. Now taking refuge in Buddha doesn’t necessarily mean an outer Buddha. You can take refuge in your own wisdom like. That’s why as I told you before, don’t think you are completely foolish, inwardly only containing darkness or garbage without any good qualities.
Remember? You have wisdom. For example, Tibetans use the symbol of Dorje and bell. The bell signifies wisdom, the clear mind, the clarity of clean, clear mind. When you have clean, clear mind, you can handle things better, communicate better.
Understand? When you are confused, then you can’t. Okay, what I’m saying is you have clean, clear mind right now and you can trust that clean, clear wisdom. You can’t trust it more. You can rely on it.
You can rely on it instead of your grasping mind, your ignorant mind. That’s simple. So don’t worry and ask, I’m taking refuge. Who is Buddha? So it’s the wisdom within the fact that we all have this clean, clear mind, moments of clarity arising in every moment, various moments of our day, and beginning to recognize them, and beginning to trust in them more and more, and beginning to expand them, continue them.
This is the meaning of Tantra, for example. Tantra means to continue, to see the sparks of enlightenment, of wisdom, of compassion, are arising throughout our experiences. And becoming aware of them, being mindful of their existence, and to continue them as a proper way of relating with reality. So, you know, going for refuge. We’re talking about the three principal aspects of the path.
Developing your determination to be free, opening our hearts to others, and seeing deeply into nature of reality. Among these three, we’re talking about the second, opening our hearts to others, the development of an awakening heart, bodhicitta. Within the discussion of the awakening heart, there are two traditions, two lineages that we’ve talked about by which to actually are the methods to actually develop to cultivate an awakening heart. The first is the sevenfold cause and effect instruction, which has a lineage from Śākyamūni Buddha to Maitreya to Asaṇga down to Atisha. And then the second is the exchange of equalizing and exchange of self for others, has a lineage from Śākyamūni Buddha to Mañjuśrī to Śāntideva and again down to Atisha who combined both of these two lineages.
So we we we have finished the discussion on the first, the sevenfold cause and effect instruction. We’re going to begin the discussion of equalizing and exchanging self for others. Within this system, this tradition, there are five meditations that we make use of. We first equalize self and others, then we reflect on the disadvantages of self-cherishing, the advantages of cherishing others, the actual exchange of self for others, and then the imaginative practice of giving and taking. These are the five practices which make up the equalizing exchange of self or other tradition.
I’ve talked about the fact that the primary source for the teaching, the root text, is Śāntideva’s Bodhicaryāvatāra. This is the main source for the teaching on the equalizing and exchanging self for others. Śāntideva, just to mention a little bit about who he was, he was an eighth century scholar yogi who lived in a monastery in the monastic university of Nālānda. Nālānda is the ruins still exist. It was quite close to Rajgir, not far from Bodh Gaya in modern Bihar state in northern India.
At one time it was the greatest seat of learning in the East, definitely as far as Buddhism is concerned. Had facilities for thousands of monks. Like me, Śāntideva and I had something in common. Just one thing though. He was renowned for performing three activities just like me.
Eating, sleeping, and defecating. He was called He used to sarcastically refer to him as the three realizations. And he who has only three realizations. Eating, sleeping and defecating. He was what would call a closet practitioner.
He kept his practice very secret, it appears. So there was a great deal of resentment amongst many of the monks against Śāntideva at the University. And they thought he was irresponsible. He was lowering the standards of Nālānda. So they thought that they would humiliate him and try to get rid of him, try to shame him into actually leaving.
So they arranged that he would give a teaching on the profound stages of meditation and on the various difficult points of the Buddhist doctrine, the entire doctrine on how to engage in the deeds of a bodhisattva, how to become a Buddha, which is what it’s all about. So they thought that this would totally make a fool out of himself. He would in shame, he would finally leave. So not only did they do this, but just to add insult, they built a very, very high throne to which they didn’t build any steps. There was no way to get up to it.
So they thought this would just you know, he would like a clown. So on the day of the teaching, the entire monastery of thousands of monks assembled and he walked up to the the throne and he just rose up off the ground, floated up, and floated softly down into his seat, which was a bit of a surprise to begin with. He began to deliver his teaching on the deeds of the bodhisattva and the various meditations necessary in order to become a Buddha. And as he progressed through the various chapters, he got to the ninth chapter. The ninth chapter deals exclusively with the nature of reality.
It’s from the most profound points of view of the Prāsaṇgika Madhyamaka school. As he began to teach, to expound upon the, you know, this most difficult of theories or doctrines of Buddhism, that is the the view of emptiness. He came to the words I think it was I’m trying to find the exact words. When he came to the words, all phenomena are like space, he began to rise off throne. He began to rise slowly in the air.
And he continued teaching and teaching, but slowly, the gathering could no longer see him. And the text has ten chapters. And by the time he got to ending the tenth chapter, could only hear his voice. They could no longer see him, and he never returned to Nālānda again. What his teaching became, which was recorded, became this text, the Bodhicaryāvatāra.
It is the most important text within the, you know, the various commentators aside from the actual teachings of Buddha, for the development of, awakening heart, for the, setting forth the profound view. It’s probably one of the most important texts written by the various Indian masters within the great vehicle. There was some question actually as to whether he wrote the tenth chapter because no one could see him. They can only hear his voice. So there was some debate.
The tenth chapter deals with dedication. Know, dedicating of all the positive energy, positive potential that he created by giving the teaching. The the section in which the teaching on the equalizing, exchanging self for others comes in the section on meditation. But it comes after the teaching on how to develop calm abiding, how to develop a very strong concentration. Having once done this, then one engages in the actual meditations on developing an awakening heart, the exchanging and equalizing self for others.
So he begins this explanation with, First of all, I should make effort to meditate upon the equality between self and others. I should protect all beings as I do myself because we all are equal in wanting pleasure and not wanting pain. You know that sounds quite simple and straightforward doesn’t I think, you know, if we could you know, from my humble extremely three realizations practice, if I could say one thing that that probably makes life a lot easier, you know, the basis of really practicing the great vehicle, is coming to understand that others want happiness and don’t want to suffer just like ourselves. And we can say that from the mouth, but actually to see that, you know, experience that with other people as you’re actually dealing with them is quite another thing, I think. Equalizing ourself with others.
You know, you have recognizing the fact that no matter what the your relationship may be superficially, you know, whether you’re dealing with an official or whether you’re dealing with a, you know, a salesperson, that, you know, underneath that, the superficial appearances that we usually use as a basis of discrimination, which we talk about each time that we meditate on loving kindness, for example. That there’s someone there who simply wants to be happy and doesn’t want to suffer. And we’re to you know, obviously, we’re going to develop this point a great deal more. But I think it’s I think it’s just a a really an excellent way, a very practical way to help us in our relating satisfactory more satisfactorily with other people in a very mundane practical sense. Always, you know, whether it’s your husband or your wife, your boyfriend, children, whatever they’re doing, whatever they’re saying, they think it’s going to bring happiness.
That’s their method. They’re using their you know, we all have our various concepts about what happiness is and how to achieve that happiness, how to get rid of our suffering, for example. And they’re employing their method, and they’re doing that because they want to be happy. And how can you hold that against them? Their method may be wrong, it may come into conflict with your method, but that’s just the difference in conceptions of self interests, of our own egotism, of self-cherishing.
Just the bare fact that everyone down from you know, as holding as the Dalai Lama mentions the initial page, the initial almost sentence of his text which we’re studying on Tuesday evenings, the Opening of the Eye of New Awareness. You know, from the smallest insect to the most intelligent person, there’s no difference in this in seeking happiness, avoiding suffering. You know, it’s the you know, on the basic level of a single celled being is avoidance and approach. You know? Avoiding something, approaching something else.
That’s what almost what we mean by life. However we may conceive of our happiness. You know, we all have our different concepts. Some people what? Some people become vegetarians because they think that’s the way to become happy.
Some people eat a lot of meat because they think that’s going to make them happy. Some people give up sex because they think that’s going to make them happy. Some people have as much sex as possible because they think that’s going to make them happy. Some people become teachers, doctors, lawyers. Some people go on the dole.
We all have our conception of what it is. And it may be mistaken, but that’s beside the point. So if we can always keep this in mind, which living in India and dealing with government officials became a very skillful means not to freak out quite often. Having with work trying to get my visa each year, I’m trying to understand that whatever they’re doing, whatever they’re saying, they’re doing it and saying because they think it’s going to bring them happiness. It seems like things go much easier in dealing with people in your relationships, always keeping that in mind.
Equalizing self and others. This is the preliminary practice to the actual exchange of self for others, which is the method for developing an awakening mind, awakening heart, opening our hearts to others. What we’re trying to do is see deeply into the common predicament of life, of our common, you know, humanity. But when I say humanity, that’s just to make it perhaps a little more accessible to our present thinking. It should always be inferred that I’m talking about all sentient life from the lowliest insect, you know, whatever type of being.
Even the types of beings that we are unable to see, but I think it’s probably much easier, more readily accessible if we talk about people, for example. It’s difficult enough to see that everybody wants all people want to be happy, let alone try to see that all the insects and even the beings that we’re not able to see also want to be happy and don’t want to suffer. So it’s probably more meaningful if I just use the word persons, people, humanity. So in this process, one path developing based upon another path. In developing the determination to be free, we had to we have to confront our dissatisfactions, our difficulties, our problems.
You know, our frustrations, disappointments, actually take a look at them. You know, we begin to see what our needs are and what our wants are. And then we begin to understand all others are just like ourselves. Basically, they have the same wants, the same needs. And they want to be happy, they don’t want to suffer.
We can understand that basically their needs and their wants are just like ourselves. Once we understand our own wants and our own needs, we have to begin at home. We have to understand what it is that we’re really up to, what we’re really looking for. Make it become aware of it, make it more conscious. And then we extend this to others, that they’re very much the same as us in their needs, in their wants.
And there’s only a matter of superficial differences between us. You know, if we generally when we look at this situation superficially, you know, the other people, our our relationships. If we look at other people superficially, we we get a feeling, you know, okay, again and again, the idea is that our life is not conducted primarily on a basis on a on a rational basis, but from an emotional basis. And so we can talk about something rationally, and it seems perfectly legitimate. You don’t know how you could act in any other way.
But when we return to our actual emotional life, more than not, we throw all this understanding, these rational concepts out the window, we go back to these various compulsive patterns, the feeling tone of our life. So, we have a superficial feeling that, for example, rich people, famous people, powerful people, somehow they don’t suffer so much that they’re happy. And therefore, you know, it’s difficult for us to develop compassion for them. It’s difficult for us to develop compassion for Ronald Reagan or someone like that. Who who is the that singer who’s the most famous singer in Australia?
Who’s who? Johnny Johnny He doesn’t suffer. Right? He’s got it made. He’s got it all.
Right? So that’s the that’s the feeling. That’s the kind of the I’d the feeling that we we would bring to thinking about him or relating with him. Therefore, it would be, you know, to for to develop in our meditation compassion for John Farnham. It would be quite difficult because of an unreasonableness or misunderstanding about his actual situation that he’s in.
You know, this is more or less we’re just dreaming. So long as a person is bounded by ego, there’s dissatisfaction, there’s frustration, essentially there’s suffering. As long as a person is controlled by attachment, as long as a person is controlled by anger, confusion, then there’s going to be suffering. No matter how rich they may be, no matter how beautiful they may be, no matter how powerful they may be, whether they’re laughing on the outside, still within their mind, there’s difficulties, there’s frustration, discontentment, conflict, suffering. So, you know, we have to begin to overcome this tendency to misconceive the the actual needs and wants of others in the various levels that you know, for example, we look at poor people.
We look, you know, poor people, needy people, some people having an extreme difficulty. So, you know, the don’t take as our basis for a way of relating to them our equality. More than that, we don’t. The essential quality of ourselves in them. You know, for example, someone starving in Biafra, someone in Bangladesh.
You know, it’s difficult to think of them and the same powers as, you know, equally wanting to be happy, equally not wanting to suffer. And we have we can easily begin to mistake our feelings of pity for compassion. They’re wanting to wanting that they not suffer. That maybe, you know, rather it may be more pity than compassion. Pity has the is one part arrogance and perhaps one part sympathy, something like that.
We have a tendency to devalue others, to make them into objects. For one reason or another, for our manipulation, to fulfill some fulfill our own needs. So, you know, if we lose sight of the commonality between ourselves and others, of our the commonality of our experience, the commonality of a predicament of life, of our essential equality, then we have a tendency to simply make people into objects, to devalue them.