Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 22-minute session, Ven Jampa Gendun opens with a striking image: wheat grains dormant for five thousand years inside an Egyptian pyramid that sprouted when finally watered — an analogy for how karmic latencies lie intact in the mind until conditions ripen them. He shows how desire arising on contact with an attractive object proves that latency was already present, then explains how constructive karma can be destroyed by anger while destructive karma can be neutralised through genuine regret. The practical conclusion is direct: we are not victims but are responsible, and the choice to act differently is available right now. The session closes with a guided loving-kindness meditation that expands compassion outward from self through stranger and enemy to all beings across the globe.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 11 1988 03 11 3PA.mp3
UUID: 1e8f79ab-b572-4f5e-b35b-bd0bd329881c
Teacher: Ven Jampa Gendun
Collection: Three Principal Aspects of the Path 1988-1990 (Ven Jampa Gendun)
Date: 1988-03-11
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 22.1 minutes
Words: ~1,587
When it meets a particular condition, the karma is going to be activated and the ensuing result will occur. I think it’s as we found some grains of wheat in the Egyptian pyramid which were probably five thousand years old. And they took these five thousand year old grains of wheat and they put them in earth and watered them and they sprouted. These grains were dormant for five thousand years, but they did not lose their potential. When they met the correct conditions, the the effect arose, the the wheat plant.
Likewise, we are, creating patterns, potentials, latencies within our mind and subtle energy, which when they meet particular conditions which act as a cooperative cause, then they’re going to ripen. They’re going to create some kind of ethical effect, some result that’s going to arise. But these various latencies can be destroyed. If we see a beautiful object, at this very moment perhaps you don’t have any desire in your mind. When you come into contact with a beautiful object, desire arises.
So we can infer from this that even though presently there’s no desire in your mind, no manifest desire in your mind, that there is a potential, there is some latency of desire in your mind because when you meet a specific object, a particular mental state arises. Therefore, there must have been this potential for this mental state even when this object wasn’t there. This latency was there. It met an object. It met conditions. It ripened.
And that particular mental state arose, in this case desire. So there must have been a potential for that desire even when the objects weren’t there. So when we have all these various latencies in our mind, These latencies can be destroyed. For example, all our constructive latencies, latencies, potentials which have been implanted by constructive actions can be destroyed by anger. Likewise, our destructive, actions which have been implanted in our mind can be destroyed through the power of regret.
Simply regretting these various actions to oneself, seeing how unskillful they were, and that they will have as a result some negative, consequence. So if we gain a conviction in this mode of karma, then when aversion for a particular type of suffering arises, a particular negative state, we’re going to avoid the destructive action which is its cause. And you’ll practice the means of purifying the various destructive actions which you’ve already created. So we’ve we have a chance to change. Indeed, considering. Considering that we have a chance to change, considering the fact of death brings significance to to the fact of karma.
Because it’s only now that we have a chance that we have the time and the conditions, the leisure, the fortune to create the causes of happiness. We can’t create them at any other time except now. So the real significance of karma, if we apply it, is that we are responsible, that we are not victims, that we have a choice in what type of life we want to live our happiness. What we do now what what we are now is what we have done. What we do now is what we will become.
It’s in our hands. Our life is in our hands. It’s our responsibility. We have this choice which we are making every day of our lives, every moment of life, whether it’s conscious or unconscious. It’s necessary to bring it to a conscious level and consistently choose those types of actions which are going to promote the goals that you are intent upon gaining.
Real happiness, hopefully. It’s quite much later than I anticipated. Usually, meditate on loving kindness, So we can can take a vote. If everybody is has time, then we’ll go ahead and meditate on loving kindness. If some of you have to leave for various reasons, you’re quite welcome to leave.
So we consider our our dissatisfactions, our problems, and the fact that we want to be happy. No matter what you’ve done in the past, no matter what mistakes, You can regret them. You can simply determine not to repeat them again in the future. You can begin again. We have this choice open to us to begin again.
And no matter what you may conceive of yourself, no matter what identity you may have, You can change. You can be whatever you want to be. This is your choice. For the present, we have to accept ourselves, become friends with ourselves, be gentle with ourselves, quit torturing ourselves, and wish ourselves well. Have compassion for ourselves.
May I be happy. May I grow. May I be well. So just wish yourself happiness. Be kind to yourself.
Now think of someone that you like, that you love. Imagine that person in front of you. And recall all the happiness that this person has brought to you, all the good times. And simply radiate out towards this person the positive feelings which naturally arise, feelings of closeness, caring, wishing happiness, kindness. Now think of someone you neither like nor dislike, a stranger, someone you feel indifferent towards.
Imagine that person in front of you. We have to try to go beyond the superficial appearances that we usually dwell upon. Appearances of beauty or ugliness, age, sex, color. Appearances of education, economic status, personality, intelligence. Go deep down into that person.
Try to see the essence of that person. There’s someone there who wants happiness and doesn’t want to suffer exactly like yourself. No difference. And just as we wish our own self happiness, we have to begin to wish this person deep down happiness because how we feel about them, how we relate to them is very much a reflection about how we feel about ourselves deep down, how we care about ourselves. So radiate out positive feelings to this person.
Now think of someone who disturbs your mind that you have problems with, an enemy. Imagine that person in front of you. This person wants happiness and doesn’t want to suffer just like yourself. Perhaps in trying to find their happiness, their method of finding that happiness has come into conflict with your method of finding happiness. It’s just the conflict of interest.
You’ve hurt others either intentionally or unintentionally in the past to find the happiness that you were trying to look for, that you were trying to get, and now this person’s done the same to you. And just as we have to begin to forgive ourselves for our mistakes, we have to begin to forgive this person. So just for the moment, set aside your your anger, your hurt, your grudge, and try to see someone exactly like yourself, alone and lost and trying the best they can to find some happiness in their life just like yourself and wish them happiness. Now imagine all four together, yourself and these three others, All equally want happiness. All equally don’t want to suffer.
There’s no difference whatsoever. Usually, we dwell upon the superficial appearance, and therefore, we feel biased. We try to see essentially they’re all exactly the same. Without any prejudice, without any bias, radiate out equally feelings of wishing well, wishing happiness to all four. And all the people in this room, all the people who are searching, taking responsibility for their lives, for their happiness, trying to find a real method to find real happiness.
May you be happy. May grow and find everything that you’re looking for. Never know suffering. Radiate out positive feelings to everyone in the room. And everyone on the block, people watching television, eating supper, cooking, getting ready for bed.
Whatever they’re doing, whatever they’re saying, they’re doing it and saying that in order to find happiness and eliminate their suffering. So radiate out positive feelings touching everyone on the block, wishing them the happiness. Radiating out further, extending out further to all of Adelaide, people in their cars and buses walking home from shops, coming home from the offices, people in their homes. Extending out further, further, all of South Australia, all the people, animals, insects. Perth, Darwin, Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, all part of entire country.
Further radiating out still further in New Zealand. The entire southern hemisphere, taking the whole world into your heart, carrying all the people, black, white, red, yellow, all the animals, all the insects, everything that lives, touching them. Extending out further. Further. So finally, without any boundaries, without any center, pervading all of space.
The wish, may all things be happy. May all things be happy. So I dedicate the positive energy that we created, the positive action. By dedicating, let’s say that the constructive action that we created cannot be destroyed by anger. And that we can what we dedicate it towards will serve as the ripening condition.
Therefore, we dedicate towards the happiness of all sentient beings, towards Buddhahood, then the various positive energies that we create will not be lost along the way, but will act as a direct cause for attainment of Buddhahood with happiness of all sentient beings, nor will they be lost through anger or hatred. Through these merits, may I soon attain the enlightened state of Guru Buddha, and 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 for your patience.
I’m sorry to keep you a little bit.