Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. “Renunciation is not giving anything up — it is growing up.” With that reframe, Ven Jampa Gendun opens this 40-minute overview of the three principal aspects of the path. He unpacks the Tibetan term nge jung (definite emergence) through the image of a butterfly leaving its cocoon, then argues that the determination to be free must hold even during easy times — precisely when practitioners forget their pain and stop making effort. The second aspect, opening to others, is anchored in the Dalai Lama’s argument that cherishing others above oneself is paradoxically the surest route to one’s own happiness. A comic-strip story about a self-labelled C student then illustrates how clinging to a fixed self-image underlies desire, hatred, and every afflictive emotion. The talk closes with a guided loving-kindness meditation that widens from self-forgiveness out to friend, stranger, enemy, and all beings.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 02 1988 02 12 3PA.mp3
UUID: 1c102f70-9b95-4d3b-b5ae-1875a0f968ac
Teacher: Ven Jampa Gendun
Collection: Three Principal Aspects of the Path 1988-1990 (Ven Jampa Gendun)
Date: 1988-02-12
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 40.4 minutes
Words: ~3,747
Yeah. So it’s our grasping, our exaggerating, distorting and polluting, clinging attitude that we renounce. Those attitudes that we usually The way we usually relate to pleasure. It’s not so much that we are trying to give up anything when we use the word renunciation. It’s not that we give up anything.
It’s simply that we grow up. We seek to relate with things more skillfully. We get fed up and we seek to emerge. The word in Tibetan, which is being usually translated as renunciation, for those Tibetan freaks, is nge jung, which means definite emergence. That literally means definite emergence.
When we want to emerge, to rise up out of some particular saṃsāra pattern, our particular style of suffering, our particular dissatisfactory occupation, like a caterpillar, a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. The problem is we’re afraid to learn. We’re talking about renunciation not simply as a matter of extricating ourselves from our dissatisfactory patterns, our unskillful patterns that we’re stuck in, that we’re in bondage to. But in the sense of the great vehicle where we’re very much concerned with the development of love and compassion, of benefiting others, then renunciation, this idea of emerging, takes on a higher quality. We resist the change, we resist growing because we don’t want to learn.
We don’t want to learn because we don’t want to accept the responsibility which learning, which growing entails. Responsibility of taking into consideration, of acknowledging the equality of ourselves and others in their fact that they are suffering. We don’t want to grow. So in the sense of what we call the great vehicle, that is the sense of Buddhism which is concerned very much with the development of love and compassion. What we renounce is any barrier which stands between myself and others You know, in the sense of anything which stands between my openness to others, which stands as a barrier to making myself more accessible to others, more available to others, more gentle to others.
Anything within our experience which acts as a wall between myself and others is what we’re renouncing, is what we’re trying to grow out of. So we have to develop a determination to be free. Without this consistent determination, now this word consistent I think is important. When things are going badly, when you’re depressed, everything’s dark, you think, Oh, I would do anything. I would meditate twenty three hours a day.
If my guru told me to stand on my head for two weeks in a row, I’d do that. You would do anything when you’re in a depressed state, when it’s dark. The moment the sun shines again, it’s all forgotten. Now it’s okay. You don’t even think about You forget how it was maybe yesterday, and the fact that maybe tomorrow it’s going to be dark again, it’s going to rain again tomorrow.
But today the sun is shining, everything’s okay. So this determination to be free has to carry us through even during the periods of sunshine. We have to have some consistent determination. It can’t be a question of going up and down. Actually, when we’re quite depressed, when we’re very down, there’s very little that we can do to develop our mind.
The best we can hope to do is bring ourselves to at least a neutral state where we aren’t so depressed anymore, let alone try to really raise the level of our consciousness. So it’s probably only when we’re feeling inspired, somewhat awake, that we can really make significant changes in ourselves. And these are the These are the times we least want to make effort, because everything’s okay. You see no point in having to change because we forget our pain very quickly as if it never happened, as if tomorrow, as if some difficulties, some problems, the source of our suffering isn’t in fact still there, just waiting. We haven’t really gotten rid of the causes.
The same patterns are there waiting to meet the conditions, and then we’re going to experience the same sufferings again. But we’d rather not be aware of that. We’d rather play in the sunshine. So we have to develop this consistent determination to be free in order to begin to break up these patterns which we’re stuck in, these programs, compulsive reoccurring patterns which are governing our lives. This is the determination to be free.
It’s an expression of our creative energy. That’s the first principle of the path, this determination to be free. The second is opening to others, essentially developing love and compassion. When we direct the thought to separate ourselves from suffering towards ourselves, we develop the determination to be free, renunciation. When the same thought, that is the thought to separate from suffering, is directed towards others, then we develop compassion.
This is the same mind, the same attitude. It’s just a different object. First we have develop that mind and turn it towards ourselves. Finally wanting to get rid of our suffering once and for all, to grow and go beyond these unskillful patterns. We take that same attitude and we turn it towards others because in fact others are completely equal to ourselves.
Everyone wants to be happy. No one wants to suffer. Exactly alike. No difference whatsoever. We take this attitude and we point it toward others.
Others become our object and we develop the compassion which is the thought to eliminate the sufferings of others. So it’s a direct result of insight into the reality of our own situation. So we have to understand our own dissatisfaction, our own frustrations, our compulsive reoccurring patterns which we’re stuck in. First, we must first develop the determination to be free. And then, understanding our own situation, realize that everyone else is in the same situation and point this mind which seeks to separate from suffering towards others.
And based upon that, we can develop really solid compassion and love for others. It’s not a sentimentality which comes and goes with sunshine and the rain. It’s based on the actual situation we find our own selves in. So the Dalai Lama, he always said that, you know, we’re naturally selfish. We’re naturally concerned with ourselves.
So why not be skillfully selfish? That is, begin to take others as more important than yourself. You’re causing taking others as more important than yourself, cherishing others more than yourself. All the happiness that you’ve been trying so hard to find is going to flow to you quite naturally. You won’t even have to make any effort.
Here we are, we struggle, we sweat, we cry, trying to eke out a little bit of happiness just for ourselves and we get very almost no results. Simply beginning to change the object of our concern towards others, we’re going to realize more happiness than we had ever imagined. This is the way we can become skillfully selfish by holding others dearer than ourselves. Whenever we’re concerned with ourselves, all wrapped up in our problems, I, I, I, me, me, my difficulties, my disappointments. Our problems become like thick dark clouds, heavy dark clouds, like as if they’re never going to go away.
It’s all we can see. We’re completely enshrouded in my problem. No solution in sight. That the mind which begins to begin concerned with others, which directs its attention toward the problems of others, then in contrast, in comparison, our own problems become insignificant. They just don’t seem as important as they used to.
You know, you think about what’s happening in the world, and it would be ashamed to be so caught up in our petty difficulties, our petty concerns that we usually caught up within sixteen hours a day. How would you like to be in Ethiopia on the streets of Calcutta? We do have our problems and we have to deal with them but we have to put them in some kind of proper perspective to the suffering which is going on in the world. And by being concerned about others we can do just that, put our own suffering in some sort of perspective and make it workable. And this has the consequence of reducing immediately our own suffering.
Just by becoming less concerned about our own problems. So we can begin to go beyond our neurotic obsessions, you know, with this I, I, my problems. Maybe I’m not pretty enough. There’s not gonna be enough left for me. You know, this is the way people freak out.
Totally concerned, wrapped up in themselves. So when we begin to be concerned with others, with their welfare, then our own problems automatically lessen. And you know, I’m one person. You know, the ego is a limiting factor in our lives. I think almost all spiritual paths see our identity, how we conceive of ourselves, our self image as being restrictive, that we somehow have to find a way to go beyond this identity, this who we think we are.
Within trying to solve the problems, our difficulties, we usually have a sense of a negative limited self. Poor me. By acknowledging that negative, limited, poor me self, the amount of resources, wisdom and understanding we can bring to a problem is also limited. Our only limitations are those we acknowledge. By going beyond the boundaries of our ego, even conventionally, and being concerned with others since others are infinite, then proportionately the reservoir of wisdom, of love, the ability to deal skillfully with problems is going to increase.
We begin to tap into unimaginable wisdom, unfathomable love, the more we begin to concern ourselves with others. Because simply because we are not holding acknowledging a limited self pity, and therefore limiting our wisdom, our love which we can bring to solve our problems. You know, I’m one person. Others are infinite. In order to solve the problems of one person, I need that much wisdom, that much skill.
In order to begin to solve the problems of an infinite number of people, I need that much wisdom, that much skill, which is going to draw upon our inner resources, which is going to make us grow more, to go beyond who we think we are, how we respond to others in the world. So it presents an infinite potential. Presents a potential possibility to become a Buddha by becoming concerned more with others than with ourselves. By By consistently being concerned with only ourselves, the hope the most we can hope to attain is perfect complete egohood, which hasn’t gotten us anywhere, which has only been a source of suffering. So that’s the second principal aspect of the path, opening to others, going beyond ourselves, opening to their problems, their difficulties.
The third principal aspect of the path is seeing deeply into the nature of reality, seeing the way things really are. Essentially, ultimately this is a wisdom consciousness. It’s a wisdom which understands the nature of reality. But in terms of our self, the nature of selflessness. We’re talking about the wisdom which understands selflessness or egolessness, identitylessness.
They all mean the same thing. So we At present, have a misconception about the nature of ourselves, of who we are. It’s because of this misconception that we remain trapped in these reoccurring patterns, that we can’t go beyond them. We live in a world of our own projections, of our own fantasies. We’re condemned to a prison of our own making.
We keep wandering in circles of dissatisfactory patterns which we’ve created for ourselves and continue to create by which we maintain the fiction of an ego, of a self which exists unchanging independently. There was a student who went to his Zen master, and he was in great suffering and in great pain. Said, Oh, master, please, please, please unchain my mind. Unburden my mind. My mind is in chain.
Make it free, make it free. And the master said to him, show me who it was who first enslaved your mind. We have enslaved our mind, and it’s only ourselves who can free ourselves. All our various dissatisfactory states, all the afflictive emotions, by that I mean desire, hatred, jealousy, miserliness, they all arise in dependence upon ignorance, ignorance with respect to the nature of the self. I’ll give you an idea.
It’s a comic strip. There’s two boys walking. They’re walking home from school, and the one is looking at his report. He just received his test report back. And he says to the other, That new teacher really did a number on me.
And then he says, I thought I got a B on that test, and he gave me a C. Then he says, How did he know I was a C student? So we have this young man who thinks, who’s got himself pretty well figured out. He’s got his identity all worked out. He’s a C kind of person.
He’s a C student. He’s going to go on to get a C job, great C job, marry a great C wife, have a great C occupation, and raise grade C children. He’s holding to a fixed self image of who he thinks he is, in dependence upon the group he exists in, his peer group, independent of other times when he acts as perhaps he acts as an A student. He doesn’t focus upon that. He just is focusing on one narrow aspect of himself and holding and saying, this is me, this is who I am.
I’m a C student, I’ve always been a C student, and I’m always going to be a C student. So this in a very simplified way is how the fact of maintaining the ego identity, grasping to an independent self, independent of all the various factors, environment, culture, our intelligence, and our various actions over a period of time limits us in a very simplified way. In actuality, all the very subjective emotions which arise, desire and hatred, they also are based upon this self grasping. In order to protect this self, which I think is somewhere maybe between Well, you get away from me, I’m upset. And you poke yourself.
And here somewhere sitting here somewhere this eye that’s fed up. They can’t stand this other I can’t stand you. It’s somewhere in there. It’s like you almost hold of it. When you’re really angry, it’s there.
It’s very solid. Heart’s pumping. Based upon this feeling that there’s a concrete, permanent, unchanging self, If someone enhances this self image, if someone promotes this self image, my friend, come to me. I’m going to hold on to you. If someone detracts from this self image, if someone seeks to destroy, threaten this self image, go away.
I’m going to kill you. So based upon this grasping for a concrete self, which in fact doesn’t exist at all, there arises attachment, there arises hatred, and all the various afflicting emotions which are the source of all our suffering. So we have to begin to observe and see through this deception, this illusion which ignorance creates. We’re trying to maintain a sense of identity, persisting through time and existing in space. We’re trying to secure ourselves.
We keep falling back on old patterns of reacting in order to get a feeling of security due to the fear of an open fluid state of being here now, responding to the way things actually are. We keep going back and calling up past programs to deal with the present situations in order to feel security. This worked in the past. It may not have been a very skillful program. It may not have given the satisfaction that I wanted, but at least I have an idea of what it is.
The other, being open and fluid in the present, is unknown. It’s a frightening experience to be open to the unknown. So we keep falling back on our old patterns, the need for security. Ignorance is actually terribly intelligent. But it’s making a basic mistake, a mistake with the nature of the self.
The self, in fact, exists. I’m talking to you. You’re listening to me. You’re there, I’m here, no problem. Ignorance is making a mistake in a way that misconceives the nature of this self.
Based upon this simple mistake, all our problems are rising. All our frustrations, disappointment, all our pain, all our sorrow. Based upon this simple mistake, and we have to begin to develop the wisdom which is the antidote to this misconception, to this mistake, we have to begin to see the way things really are. Each of these three aspects of the path determination to be free, opening to others, and seeing deeply into the way things are. They support each other, they work interdependently, they foster each other.
They all have the quality of freeing opening, of growth, each of them. And each of them enhances the other. They’re all expressions of wisdom. The creative, social, and existential wisdom. These three paths are the Buddha within us, which is calling out.
It’s our basic sanity, calling out, trying to call us back. To grow, to love, and to see the way things actually are, to be happy, authentic, sane, loving human beings as we should be. So those are the three aspects of the path. Last year we completed the first aspect. So next week we’re going to start, after a very short review, we’ll start with the second aspect that is opening to others.
As I said, we have a loving kindness meditation. I’m just going to ask for questions. Maybe one question or maybe no question. Let’s meditate. I’m tired of talking.
So think about your difficulties, your problems. Just get in touch with them for a moment and the fact that you want to be happy. You want to be happy. No matter what you’ve done in the past, no matter what mistakes, you can simply regret them and determine not to repeat them again. No matter how you may conceive of yourself, no matter what identity you may hold, you can change.
You can begin again. You can become anything that you want to be. But for the present you’ve got to forgive yourself, accept yourself, make friends with yourself, quit torturing yourself, and wish yourself well. Simply wish yourself well, May I be happy, may I grow. Direct positive feelings towards yourself.
Now think of someone of the same sex that you like, that you care for, that you love. Just imagine, just feel that this person is in front of you now. And remember how much you like them, how happy they make you. Simply read out positive feelings to this person. May you be happy, may you find all the things that you’re looking for, just good feelings,
Now think of someone you neither like nor dislike, a stranger. You simply feel neutral towards this person. Imagine them in front of you. Just feel that they’re there. We have to try to go beneath the superficial appearance, beneath the appearance of sex or age, beauty, ugliness, color, beneath the appearance of personality, intelligence, status, economics.
Try to go beneath all that down to the very essence of that person. There’s someone there who wants happiness and doesn’t want to suffer just like yourself, exactly the same. And just as we wish our own self happiness, we have to begin to wish this person happiness because how we feel about that deep down person is a reflection of how we really feel about ourselves deep down because we’re exactly the same. So wish that person well. Wish them happiness.
I think of someone who disturbs your mind, that you have problems with, an enemy, and imagine and feel that that person is in front of you. This person wants happiness and doesn’t want to suffer exactly like yourself. Perhaps their method of finding happiness, their method of eliminating their suffering has come in conflict with your methods. But that’s just a matter of conflicts of interest. You’ve hurt others in the past either intentionally or unintentionally to find the happiness that you’re looking for to eliminate your suffering.
Just as you have to begin to forgive yourself for your past mistakes, have to begin to forgive this other person because they want to be happy. So just for a moment, set aside your grudge, your hurt, your anger, and see this person as a person there who’s confused and lost just like yourself, who wants to be happy and doesn’t want to suffer just like yourself and wish them happiness. Imagine all four together, yourself and these three other people, equally want happiness, all equally don’t want to suffer, no difference whatsoever. Radiate our positive feelings equally to all four. Try to see all four as the same and wish them well equally.
And all the people in this room, people seeking for some way to find real happiness, taking responsibility for their happiness, People who are trying, may you be happy. May you find everything that you’re looking for. May you grow. May you be well. Now all the people on the block watching television, preparing supper, eating, sleeping.
Whatever they’re doing, whatever they’re saying, they’re doing it and saying it in order to find happiness and to eliminate their suffering. Radiate out positive feelings to everyone on the block, touching them with your caring and concern. Spreading out further to all of Adelaide, people in their cars and buses, in shops, in their homes. All of South Australia, all the people, animals, insects. Perth, Darwin, Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Hobart, the entire country.
Spreading out further and further New Zealand, the entire southern hemisphere enveloping the whole world in your heart, in your care, your positive feelings, all the people, black, white, red, and yellow, all the animals, all the insects. Spreading out further. To finally, without any boundaries, without any center, pervading all of space, I wish, may all things be happy. May all things be happy. Now we’ll read the dedication.
Through these merits, may I soon attain the enlightened state of Guru Buddha. May I lead every migrating being without exception to that state. May the precious bodhi mind not yet born arise and grow. May that born have no decline and increase forevermore. Thank you.
Please have a cup of tea.