Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 46-minute teaching, Ven Jampa Ignyen walks through the eleven-point meditation for generating bodhicitta, emphasizing the central taking-and-giving practice: inhaling as black smoke to absorb the suffering of all sentient beings (which destroys self-cherishing at its root), exhaling as white light to distribute one’s accumulated merit. He moves systematically through each stage—equanimity, recognizing all beings as mothers, understanding their kindness, grasping equality of self and others—presenting these as gradual training rather than instant attainment. He addresses the natural doubt: how can we actually take on others’ suffering? Using the metaphor of training wheels, he explains how regular visualization eventually develops genuine compassion and aspiration. He also covers applying the practice to real difficulty—illness, unmet desires—by reframing hardship as an opportunity to exhaust negative karma and address its root cause, self-centeredness. Pitched at practitioners with Lamrim background.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 17 LR 2001 09 13.mp3
UUID: 55d8983c-5a95-4d78-998c-041b47422194
Teacher: Ven Jampa Ignyen
Collection: y Lam Rim 2001 Month 07-09 (Ven Jampa Ignyen)
Date: 2001-09-13
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 45.7 minutes
Words: ~4,771
With the entrance to the great vehicle. And the entrance to the great vehicle is bodhicitta itself. And in the beginning, Pabongka Rinpoche gives the different methods, two of the standard methods for generating bodhicitta, which are the six causes and one result, and the practice of exchanging self for others. And the first really has eight points, with immeasurable equanimity, then followed by the six causes and then the one result. And exchanging self for others really has five points, and these are condensed into one, system of meditation in eleven points.
And last week, we discussed, broadly some of the issues regarding these, eleven points. I was just wondering if there’s any anything that comes up from last week about the eleven. They’re reasonably straightforward. So it’s really by contemplating them serially forwards, even backwards, thinking about them, how one leads to the next and so forth, that we become familiar with the practice. And through becoming familiar over a long period, it may take more than one lifetime, then definitely the result of bodhicitta will be established.
Because once all the causes are assembled, then the result will definitely be established. So it’s simply a matter of assembling these causes internally. So it’s like firstly, we level the ground. We have equanimity, the immeasurable equanimity, and then we start to put the foundation, recognizing all sentient beings to be our mothers, understanding their kindness, starting with the walls, repaying their kindness, starting with the doors and the windows and so forth. In establishing the result that we seek to achieve, firstly, we need all the causes and conditions put in place, and then definitely the result is established in the next moment.
It’s as if we want fire, then we need the three conditions for a fire: we need a fuel, we need an ignition temperature, we need oxygen. If we have all three together assembled at once, then fire will occur in the next moment. It’s true, isn’t it? Similarly, if we have, all the conditions here assembled internally within the mind, within our mental continuum, we have equanimity, we have understanding that all beings have been our mothers. If we understand their kindness, and then the need to repay their kindness, we have an understanding of the equality of ourselves and others, the disadvantages of self-cherishing, the advantages of cherishing others.
And we contemplate how to exchange self for others. And then we practice taking, which is then using our breath when we inhale to take on the sufferings of all sentient beings, which is the practice of compassion. And then when we’re breathing out, we exhale all our merits accumulated from beginningless time, offer those to other beings in the in the form that is useful for other beings, in just the that form that would be useful for them, then that is the practice of love. So this we can practice all the time. We’re breathing all the time, so we can simply connect our breathing with this practice.
And in that way we can generate great love and great compassion. It’s great love and great compassion because it’s taking as its field every sentient being, excluding no one. And then beyond that, we develop this superior intention, this intention which thinks that it’s insufficient that I that other beings are just that I wish that other beings are free of suffering and that I wish them to be all sentient beings without exception to be happy. By just wishing that it won’t come about, I really must do something myself. I have to take the responsibility to, remove the suffering of sentient beings, I need to take the responsibility of, generating happiness for all sentient beings.
Also involved at that point too is the investigation of whether it is possible to really achieve this, whether it’s possible to establish the happiness of all sentient beings, whether it’s possible to take on the sufferings of all sentient beings. And at this point, many doubts arise. At this point, we need to investigate, is it possible? If it is possible, how could it be possible? Or where does such a capacity exist?
Does such a capacity exist anywhere in the universe? If the Buddhas possess such a capacity, then what is that particular potency? What is it? Also, might have the the doubt. Wait a minute.
If the Buddhas have this, then why isn’t everyone free of suffering? Why isn’t, every being fully happy? For instance, that doubt might arise. So these we need to reflect on. Because if we have that doubt, and which is a good doubt, then as since it would remain a doubt for us, it would tend to prevent us from putting effort in into, that practice.
It’s really when we begin to see the possibility of establishing all of these stages stages that, it’s possible that we really begin to put effort, into them. We see the possibility of the result being established even within ourselves. We ourselves could achieve bodhicitta, could establish bodhicitta. We ourselves could become bodhicitta. So right from the very beginning, various doubts do arise, even right at the very beginning with, immeasurable equanimity, even the thought of establishing equanimity, doubts arise.
What is equanimity? What’s the measure of having achieved it? Is it really possible to have a mind of equanimity directed towards all sentient beings? And so on. These doubts do arrive.
Such doubts are very useful when they motivate us to investigate what the what these states actually are. So this process here is a process of analysis as well, investigation. And then checking our mind to see what state our mind is at present. Do we have equanimity? Do I have any realization that every being has been my mother?
Do I have a recognition of the kindness of mother sentient beings? Do I understand the kindness of my mother in this lifetime? When I think about my mother, do I have an appreciation of her kindness? Because if we don’t appreciate the kindness of our mother in this lifetime, very difficult to then reflect on the on to the full extent on the kindness of every sentient being. So to that degree, we would need to think a little about our mother and just how how much she’s done for us in this lifetime.
And within that, we probably have a certain degree of resentment and the various other other negative states that we haven’t haven’t fully dealt with in relation to our mother. So then it’s useful then to investigate. Because while these, states are not, developed within us, then bodhicitta is not going to be developed. And then also, in order to generate an interest and enthusiasm in cultivating these eleven points, one really needs to think about the advantages of bodhicitta and how for ourselves there’s really nothing that could be of greater benefit at any time, at any place than generating bodhicitta. Having bodhicitta would far exceed, being the richest person on earth or being the ruler of the galaxy or anything else we could imagine.
So these things we need to contemplate because it’s only by contemplating them that the mind has any chance of developing. As long as they remain in a text, then they’re not much use. So we need to think through them, take an interest, because actually the potential benefit is so great, the issues are so important that we need either to refute the eleven points or to establish them. As is sometimes said, instance, one Geshe who’s in Queensland, he would often say, he much preferred people to fully stand against him or either be in favor of what he’s doing. But just to be lukewarm, you know, not really have an opinion one way or the other, it’s not really so useful.
Similar to these things, to these eleven points, better to fully accept or fully reject, but just to think to have a, like, a lukewarm or or a rather neutral stand to these eleven is not really very useful. So we do need to contemplate them in order to, develop an understanding of them. Central to these practices are in fact the the practice of taking and giving, eight and nine, which is this idea of taking on our breath the the sufferings of other sentient beings as like a black smoke. And that black smoke, which is taking on the sufferings of, all other human beings, all the animals, all the ghosts, the hungry ghosts, so animals, all the hungry ghosts, and so forth, and all the hell beings, they’re taking on all their suffering, like as a black smoke. That black smoke enters through an let’s say, enters through a nostril and descends to the heart where there is a concentration of self-cherishing.
And this black smoke is able to pulverize the self-cherishing that exists at the center of our heart. It’s able to destroy it. And then when we breathe out, we’re breathing out like this white light, which is the complete collection of all our positive actions from beginningless past, and offering this to sentient beings. This in fact is the best way of protecting our own accumulation of positive potential. So we practice in this way as we breathe in and we breathe out.
Are we actually taking on the sufferings of other beings? No. We’re not really. It’s it’s a sort of a trial run. If it worked straight away, we’d probably die of fright.
If we started taking out the sufferings, even one other being would be difficult for us. But gradually, it’s said that over a long period, through practicing in this way, it is possible to take on the sufferings of other beings. As Pabongka Rinpoche says: When you examine whether or not you have in fact managed to do any giving and taking, you will find that it has only been a visualization. You have not at present actually achieved anything substantial for the sake of other beings. Now feel I shall do something to actually bring this about, and by shouldering this responsibility, we then develop this altruism or superior intention.
The superior intention is really a little bit like pride. I am gonna do it. I can’t wait for anyone else. And just wishing this to happen is not gonna bring it about. I myself have to do it.
So this is this tenth, the tenth point, superior intention, exalted intention. And then when one has assembled that type of mind along with all the others, then one comes to actually establish the mind of bodhicitta. So as Pabongka Rinpoche says, these eleven meditation topics constitute a synthesis of both the sevenfold cause and effect instruction and the interchange or the exchange of self and others. This is how we should practice. At the conclusion of the sequence there is another step: an auspicious gesture gesture to facilitate our complete success in the secret tantras and their mandalas.
The secret tantras and their mandalas is a further practice that exists within the mantric vehicle. What we’re studying here basically is what’s called the perfection vehicle, which is the great vehicle is divided in two. It’s divided into the sutric vehicle or the perfection vehicle and the mantric or the tantric vehicle. So these are two systems which are very much compatible, which lead to the state of enlightenment. The tantric vehicle is called the quick vehicle because it’s able to establish enlightenment even in one lifetime.
Whereas the perfection vehicle requires three countless eons. But still, they’re both based on the union of method and wisdom. But in the tantric vehicle, many excellent means of accumulating merit are set forth above and beyond what’s set forth in the perfection vehicle. The perfection vehicle is so called because within the perfection vehicle one is, establishing the ten perfections. It’s the perfection of generosity, ethics, patience, and so on, effort, concentration, wisdom.
These are also done in the tantric vehicle, but again, in a much quicker and more skillful way. So here at the end of doing this particular practice, then Pabongka Rinpoche says we should do this other particular practice, as he says, which resembles the prayers made by the Brahmin Suvarṇadvīpa and the universal emperor Aranemi for their future rebirths. What you do is imagine that all sentient beings achieve every happiness through this prior practice of the eleven points, and this will greatly assist us in completing our two collections of merit. In order to attain the state of a Buddha, we need two collections. We need a collection of merit and a collection of wisdom.
In other words, a collection of positive actions and a collection of, insight into the ultimate nature of reality or the final mode of abidance of all existent entities. We need this collection of both, both wisdom and merit. So because we need this collection of wisdom and merit, then we can do this by transforming ourselves into the form of Śākyamūni Buddha. At the end of the practice, we, can visualize ourselves becoming just like Śākyamūni Buddha, in fact, becoming Śākyamūni Buddha, and then radiating out light rays, purifying all sentient beings of suffering. Then we can visualize that all sentient beings also transform into Śākyamūni Buddha.
And then we meditate on joy. And in this way, we visualize visualize the fruits of our development of bodhicitta and use this visualization, as part of the path itself. So basically we can practice this eleven point meditation And at the end of a session of practicing the eleven points in this way, we can do that particular visualization. Now, again, the text here is really based on another text called the Seven Point Mind Training or the. And so regularly, it will go back to that text and take out extract the a line and then explain explain it more in more detail.
The seven point mind training is, an very important text coming from the Kadampa, tradition in Tibet, which is like a pith instruction on how to train the mind, fundamentally in order to overcome self-cherishing, and therefore by overcoming self-cherishing, establishing bodhicitta. So in that particular text on mind training, said three objects, three poisons and three root virtues. So in this practice of eleven points, also, we are contemplating three objects, and three poisons and three root virtues. Three objects are the things that we find attractive, repulsive or neutral. So everything, any object that we come up with at any time is either gonna be attractive to us, repulsive to us or neutral.
So they’re the three objects. When we direct our attention to such objects and we develop, we then develop attachment, hostility and indifference. So if it’s an attractive object, we develop attachment. If it’s a repulsive object, we develop aversion. And if it’s a neutral object, we develop indifference.
So we have this, or ignorance actually. So we have these, three poisons in relation to the three objects. And this is not only the case for ourselves, of course, but when other sentient beings, direct their attention to any of these three types of objects, similarly, they develop, the afflictive states such as attachment, aversion, and ignorance. And our rebirth in the lower states is dependent on on just these three types of mind. So in fact, it’s these three objects coupled with the three poisons that is, potentially generating rebirth in the hells for us.
So in this practice of the eleven points of taking and giving, this eighth and the ninth point, we imagine that we ourselves taking on all these things together with their causes all sentient beings. We are taking on fundamentally here the three poisons that are generated in relation to the three types of objects. Every object, everything is included there. And then by taking on those three poisons that exist in the mental continuums of other beings, then we can reflect that I have relieved all sentient beings of attachment, hostility, and ignorance so that they now, have only the root of virtue left in their continuum. So having taken on all the poisonous negative types of mind, such as attraction and repulsion and ignorance, all that other sentient beings are left with is their roots of virtue, virtuous mental states.
And we should then regard their self-cherishing as being the blame for all their unfavorable circumstances, troubles, illnesses, etcetera. And we we cause the results of their karma to come to an end, and we remove them, therefore, from their sufferings. We understand that these things and all the negative karma has been taken on by ourselves. And that in having done so, then we rejoice. We experience some joy in being able to do that.
And then by doing this, someone familiar with mind training will never be unhappy. So by becoming familiar with this type of mind training, we will never, experience unhappiness because all unfavorable circumstances, will become helpful. Everything that at present seems, a bit of a a handful for us will become a condition for our happiness. And that is why mind training is is termed the origin of the citadel of happiness. So this type of mind training then is able to convert negative conditions into the path.
And here again, we’re doing this in terms of the three objects, the three poisons, and the three root virtues, which is the opposite of the three poisons, that is non attachment. Non aversion. Non-ignorance. So by practicing giving and taking, taking and giving, we’re able to establish within us the three roots of virtue. And, eventually, we’re able to help other beings establish those as well.
This practice then makes us tolerant even of trivial, unfavorable circumstances, which would be a great benefit to us because at present, even trivial, unfavorable circumstances make us unhappy. And we get impatient, and the mind becomes a little bit agitated. We want things to move on or change and so on. But by understanding how to convert these experiences into the path or how to convert them into something positive, then every negative condition becomes, like a medicine for us. For example, when a trader takes to the road, he has to take things philosophically.
If it rains, at least he will not be robbed. Well, this was in Tibet. In Tibet, if you’re a trader and you’re on the road with with a few dozen yaks and so forth, if it’s raining, then probably no one else is gonna be out in the road. And if it’s snowing so hard that one can’t get out of the tent, then at least the pack animals will not go lame. So these things are by skillfully thinking about these things in our everyday life, we can convert negative circumstances into positive ones.
And as the Bodhicaryāvatāra says, if something can be put right, why be unhappy? If a thing cannot be put right, what good is it being unhappy? So this particular verse is like, again, it’s a pith instruction that we shouldn’t be worried about our situation because if we can change it, then we shouldn’t be worried about it. And if we can’t change it, then also we shouldn’t be worried about it. Worrying itself, being concerned, is not of use to it.
Then when we ask, what’s being worried about these things anyway? What is the state of being worried? It’s sort of like being a little bit agitated that things are not as we would particularly like them to be. It’s almost like impatient. But these states are not skillful.
They’re not pushing our situation on any further. They’re just making us unhappy. So we shouldn’t be happy with external circumstances. We should simply, in a way we should count our blessings, find something rejoice in. So when or if we are plagued by suffering, it is quite useless to be unhappy.
We should turn this into something helpful. Moreover, we should see for ourselves that there are people who have gained insight into impermanence on their own after nearly dying from an illness or whatever. So conditions, what appear to be negative conditions can actually be of great benefit to us. And near death experience can really although in in some senses, it’s very harrowing. In another way, it can be something that really focuses one on what’s important.
Thus, when beset by bad circumstances, we should think, may the things to which all sentient beings fall victim descend on me. And nothing could be more beneficial than thinking in this way. So then we should think, may all the negative circumstances, alight upon myself. May I experience those? May other beings not experience them?
May in fact I experience them? And there’s no more beneficial way of thinking than thinking in that way. So this completes the review of the heading converting unfavorable circumstances or conditions into the path of enlightenment. So this text is full of great and useful advice, and we need to contemplate it often because our current mind is very hard and rigid and unyielding, and it’s hard to affect to change it very much. We’re just full of preconception, diamond hard preconception.
And even though the mind is impermanent, our habits are very strong. But still, by the the medicine of dharma, dropping a little bit of dharma onto the onto the mind, then gradually it has an effect. It may take fifty years. But if we think about one thing again and again, if we think about what’s a benefit to the mind again and again, the benefit gradually dawn. Whatever that word whatever the words may be, doesn’t have to be from a Buddhist text, can be from a Christian text or even an Islamic text or whatever.
Things that are really a benefit to the mind. If the mind is introduced to them over a period, then that benefit will be established. Then converting such conditions through actions, the next section. There are four types of action involved here: amassing the two collections, purifying obscurations, giving ritual cakes to the elementals, and invoking the good works of the dharma protectors. And as Pabongka Rinpoche then continues to say, when you are thoroughly familiar with this mind training, if then you chance to become ill or if you become ill, you should invoke the good works of Dharma protectors as follows.
My practice of giving and taking has gained new meaning because the suffering of all sentient beings is now ripening on me. May my sickness be even worse than it is already. So having engaged in this practice of giving and taking, we should find ourselves ill. We have a stomachache, or we got the flu, or some such thing like that. Or even worse, then we should rejoice thinking that this practice of taking on the sufferings of others is actually beginning to work.
Excellent. May it even increase? May I take on even more? Of course, these practices, one has to work up to because they’re not easy to begin just there. Not really, but the mind has to be comfortable with the practice.
Otherwise, if we’re not comfortable with it, we’re we’re not gonna engage in a practice. So for that reason, we should practice in in accordance to what’s comfortable to us, what appeals to us. Well, yeah. But here, the root of our of all sickness is the mind itself. And within the mind, the root of sickness is self-cherishing, which is this mind that excludes others and thinks about our own situation alone.
Just it’s always just focused on our situation and how we’re doing. Oh, I’m sick or, you know, I don’t have this, I don’t have that, or I’ve got this and whatever. And it’s excluding other beings. This attitude has acted like a magnet for sickness and unhappiness from beginningless time for us. It just attracts unhappiness for us.
So here, the author is saying, well, we’ve got to go to the very root cause of the sickness, which is a self-cherishing attitude. That’s right. We’re exchanging self for others here. And we’re saying on that attitude, may every illness in the universe manifest. This will cure it.
This will cure my self-cherishing. Still, we should take medicine and so forth, but these are really just dealing with these symptoms, not with the root cause. Here, this particular, giving and taking is starting to deal with the root, the underlying fundamental cause of our unhappiness. Fundamental cause of our unhappiness, and, and so forth. Everything uncomfortable or and so forth that occurs to us is coming from self-cherishing.
So then we should think that may even our sickness become even worse. Actually, anyway, often when we’re sick and we think, oh, I I didn’t have this headache or I wish I didn’t have this or that. It doesn’t really mean that it goes away anyway. We might as well wish it gets worse. Oh, well, it might get worse without us wishing that anyway.
Here it’s not wishing it get worse in order to harm us. It’s wishing that, may these negative conditions ripen on me, not ripen on others. May even all the results of my past negative karma that I’ve committed ripen on me now so that they’re exhausted. Well, this is only a visualization. If it actually did come about, it would be difficult.
Sorry? Sorry. I didn’t catch. That’s somewhat different. That really depends on our karma.
If we get the right karma, it would work. Some people even dream of the right lotto numbers. But here, it’s just a visualization at this stage. We’re not in a position to actually take on the sufferings of others. But by this method, it’s a little bit like training oneself.
Firstly, when one’s driving a bike, you get the trainer wheels and, you know, otherwise, if you get on, we’ll fall off straight away. It’s a little bit like that. Here, we practice for a long time, this visualization. By doing this, then the mind of compassion really gradually starts to develop. And the actual aspiration to really take on the sufferings of others that’s really impatient with others’ suffering does arise.
Like the Bodhisattva Tagtu Ngonpar Ngü, his name means Always Crying, always crying. Because that particular suffered. Whenever he saw anyone else, he would see their suffering, of course, and would cry at these conditions of other beings. At present, we look at the conditions of others, we’re we’re quite hard hearted. We we don’t really understand.
That’s a good point. Yeah. Well, it’s a bit like Avalokiteśvara. Obviously, used to shed tears. Probably still does.
Tārā was born from the tear of Avalokiteśvara. In that way, it’s not necessarily a bad thing because it’s done with a positive mind. The if we really understood the conditions of other other beings, that would be an appropriate response. At present, we look at the conditions of others, and it doesn’t really affect us. True.
But being able to help them comes from initially developing that realization of what their situation actually is. And then beyond that, it’s wisdom which is able to see what what can be done to actually help them, to really see the situation, and then work out a way of of helping them in the short term and the long term. Sorry there. Oh, that’s a Bodhisattva called. I always spell that.
Right. So we then should think, may our sickness even increase? And when we offer ritual cakes to the elementals, etcetera, we should think, you have been most kind to me for you have harmed me, and this has proved advantageous for my practice. I have purified all my sins and obscurations and have built up my collections even further. Now do me even more harm than ever before.
Similarly, Pabongka Rinpoche is saying here that when we experience harm or we’re unable to achieve what we want to achieve, we can even, what, be thankful that our conditions are conditions are are negative. We’re not able at present to develop in a way that we’d like. That in effect is a disguised blessing because it’s allowing me to exhaust past negative accumulations of mine. And we can even think, well, may they even get worse? May I even purify more?
May I take also the sufferings of other