Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Before diving into the Heart advice series, Ven Sanghy Khandro offers a brief four-minute motivational foundation: she teaches that the intention we bring to our actions shapes their consequences, and guides listeners toward choosing a positive motivation to carry into these teachings. She presents two primary options—the wish to cultivate greater peace and positive qualities to share with others, or the aspiration to attain enlightenment so you can benefit all beings—while also welcoming simpler framings like simply intending to make your actions helpful and non-harmful. Emphasizing that there is no single correct motivation, Khandro invites each listener to settle on whatever positive intention feels authentic and achievable for them.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 1.01 Session 1 Motivation.mp3
UUID: 8988ed1d-ce9b-4895-8ee7-065ab1162ec4
Teacher: Ven Sanghy Khandro aka Kathleen McDonald
Collection: Heart advice (Ven Sanghy Khandro aka Kathleen McDonald)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 4.7 minutes
Words: ~370
Everything that we do brings about consequences that will be experienced by ourselves and also by others. And since it’s only natural that we wish for the best possible consequences, happiness and peace and good things for ourselves and others, it’s important that we make sure that the things that we do are positive and conducive to good consequences. One of the main factors that determines what kind of consequences come from the actions that we do is the motivation that we have, why we’re doing it. So it’s very important to try to have a good motivation or a good intention for doing the things that we do. So begin listening to this talk by generating positive motivation or intention for doing so.
One possible positive motivation would be wishing to bring more peace and happiness to others as well as to yourself and to the world in general. Thinking that you would like to learn things that will help you to be more peaceful and happy, have more positive thoughts and feelings in yourself that you can bring into your relationships and interactions with others and into the world in general. Another possible motivation would be thinking that you’d like to attain enlightenment. The state of perfect peace and happiness, free of all suffering, problems, all negativity, and full of only positive qualities such as love and compassion for all beings throughout space, and able to bring benefit to all beings throughout space. So if you feel comfortable with that idea, if you feel that’s something attainable, something doable, then you can think that that is your reason or motivation for listening.
That you want to create the causes to become enlightened, to be of benefit to all beings. If that’s difficult, then it may be more comfortable for you to think in terms of wanting to make your present life, everything that you do as helpful to others as possible and not harmful, not bringing problems and suffering to others. So those are some suggestions, but feel free to generate whatever positive motivation feels right to you, feels doable to you. Have some kind of positive attitude as your reason, your intention for listening to this talk.