Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Venerable Thubten Dondrub guides a day-long retreat on the eight worldly concerns, offering a systematic deconstruction of how attachment to pleasure, possessions, reputation, and praise traps practitioners in a cycle of suffering and distraction. Working from refuge and bodhicitta motivation, he leads four progressively deepening meditations that examine how the eight concerns manifest in daily life, corrupt spiritual practice, and waste the rare opportunity of a human rebirth. He introduces multiple antidotes: reflection on impermanence and death; recognition that worldly happiness is illusory and impermanent; cultivation of patience through the benefits of suffering; awareness that good karma runs out day by day; and finally the most difficult but most powerful—insight into emptiness. Throughout, he weaves in teaching stories and Q&A on distinguishing genuine need from craving, and the possibility of transforming worldly energy through tantric practice. The retreat culminates in a pointed meditation on whether one’s actions differ meaningfully from those of an animal, urging practitioners to use their precious human rebirth for Dharma rather than endless pursuit of worldly concerns.
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File: Eight WC's Retreat Day 2015 03 09 PM.mp3
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Teacher: Ven Thubten Dondrub
Collection: Eight Worldly Concerns (Ven Thubten Dondrub)
Date: 2015-03-09
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 149.3 minutes
Words: ~7,582
Oh, I see. Yeah. Right. It’s me. Right.
So now we’ll actually meditate on the eight worldly concerns themselves. So we can begin by sitting comfortably in the correct posture as much as possible. And then just briefly checking our posture by moving our awareness from the crown down through the full length of our body just for a very short time. And then calming the mind by doing the nine round breathing exercise or some other breathing meditation just briefly. So then generate a strong awareness right now that it is one’s own mind right now in this very moment that is giving rise to all your experiences.
Depending on your mind, it’s only depending on your mind that you have a sense of who you are. It’s only depending on your mind that you have a sense of your body and your body existing in this world, interacting with this world, giving rise to the experiences of happiness and suffering. So the more we understand that, the more it becomes obvious that if we want less suffering, more happiness, peace, contentment, well-being, then it is vital that we take care of our mind. And since our mind goes on forever, it is vital that we rely on a method that is complete, perfect, unbetrayable. Such a method can only come from a perfect source, which we recognize as the enlightened mind.
So this is why we take refuge in the Buddha, the Buddha’s teachings, and the great practitioners of those teachings, the Sangha. So generate that strong refuge which is determined to take care of one’s mind, relying solely on the Buddha’s methods to do so. And as you generate that mind, think of Śākyamūni Buddha appearing strongly in front of you as the very embodiment of the Three Jewels of refuge. And at the same time, generate that determination as strongly as you can that I will take refuge for the sake of realising the full potential of my mind so that I can then that I can then achieve enlightenment and be in a position to benefit all sentient beings, repaying their kindness by helping them to be free of all suffering, helping them to achieve peerless, everlasting happiness. So as you generate that mind, think of all sentient beings surrounding you, starting with your parents on either side, trying to have that strong sense that each and every one of these beings is like the mother and father of this life.
They are only kind but only suffering. So to achieve enlightenment that involves following the path and to be able to follow the path, firstly I have to renounce attachment to this life and I can only do this by giving up the eight worldly concerns, and I can only do that by understanding how harmful what the eight worldly concerns are and how harmful they are to my well-being. So for this reason, I will do this meditation. I go for refuge until I am enlightened to the Buddha, Dharma, the Supreme Assembly. By my merit of giving and other perfections, may I become a Buddha in order to benefit all sentient beings.
Think the Buddha is very pleased with your motivation and shows this by now coming towards the crown of your head, and then when directly above your crown, imagine the Buddha turns facing the same direction as yourself and remains above your crown to create a protective environment in which you can meditate and constantly blessing your mind. So it’s not necessary to actively visualize the Buddha anymore, just have a sense of the Buddha’s presence. So just reflect how I have the very nature of my mind is, that I possess Buddha nature, Buddha potential, it is always there, but it has always been obscured during beginningless time, in beginningless saṃsāra. So it’s only when I have a precious human rebirth that I have the chance to begin to free my mind. And miraculously, I have found such a precious human rebirth this one time.
But so far, I have wasted so much of this precious human rebirth, which is so short, following the eight worldly concerns. Believing in the lies that they create, just spend some time honestly reflecting on how, due to one’s self-cherishing, one gets caught up in craving happiness, which when one investigates with dharma wisdom is really just a worldly happiness related to sense pleasure and distraction. What really seek is perfect, lasting happiness, complete freedom from suffering, and yet, following the worldly concern, I just crave what in reality is just the illusion of happiness, which is just distraction from suffering. So just check how much time is spent in that craving and what that craving is for. This craving for the happiness or pleasure of seeing beautiful things, hearing beautiful things, smelling beautiful things, tasting beautiful things, touching beautiful things, thinking about them, craving them.
So much time, and then all the effort that goes into trying to achieve what one craves and to protect what one has got. Try to see how one has engaged in all sorts of negative actions, some of the ten non virtuous actions in order to achieve those cravings. Also very important to try and see how even so that our worldly concerns take away the time and energy that could be used in the practice of Dharma, but also check how even when we try and practice Dharma, the eight worldly concerns get in the way and make our practice become impure, even sometimes meaningless. So in this case, with the worldly concern of craving happiness, entertainment, distraction, then even Dharma can become just entertainment. We listen to teachings just because they fill up the time.
We don’t listen to them in order to understand and practice, but just to entertain ourselves. We meditate not to really transform our mind, to really look at our failings, to put the hard work into cultivating the mind, but just sit there to fill in the time. We we fool ourselves into thinking we’re practicing Dharma, but we’re just distracting ourselves. A little bit of a spiritual materialism. And also check how underlying that craving for temporary happiness, for distraction, for instant pleasure, is almost always some fear of suffering.
The fear of suffering but the unwillingness to deal with its causes. Rather just the wish to run away from it. So we crave that distraction, which we label happiness, but that just reinforces the fear of suffering. And it’s important to reflect that although the aim of the Buddha’s teachings is to eliminate suffering, before we can eliminate it, we have to learn to be able to bear suffering so that we don’t create in our fear and aversion, out of fear and aversion, we don’t create the causes for more suffering. But our eight worldly concerns don’t let us bear suffering.
It reinforces our fear of it. So then check how those two basic worldly concerns manifest in the other worldly concerns of craving getting things because we associate that with the more stuff we get, we will that will ensure our happiness. So we crave so many different things, And we get it, and we’re not happy, so we crave something else or a different version of the same thing. So much time spent in that mental craving, so much time and energy trying to achieve those cravings. So just investigate how that works in your own life.
The things you believe that if I have this, this will bring me happiness. If only I could have this, get this, or a newer version, a bigger version, something, I will be happy. And think how at the same time that brings with it the fear of not getting that thing or losing it if one gets it. And check how when we’re under the control of those fears and cravings, we are led to engage in all sorts of negative actions to fulfill them. Again, about your own life, how much time, energy has been wasted being caught up in craving a good reputation, but being accepted by particular people or group of people.
And underlying that, the fear of having a bad reputation, not being liked and accepted, how much time and energy goes into that and how one gets caught up in all sorts of negative actions of body, speech, and mind as a result. Again, think how much time and energy of this precious human rebirth has been wasted, being concerned about praise and fearing criticism, and the things one has said and done to achieve that praise or avoid that criticism. So then reflect how every time we get caught up somehow following the worldly concerns, we’re putting imprints in our mind to follow the eight world concerns again in the future, just reinforcing the habit. And what that means is that every time we follow the eight worldly concerns, we’re reaffirming the habit to have a dissatisfied mind, to be discontent, to always be craving something we don’t have and fearing something that may not happen. And that is why it is said, as Lama Zopa Rinpoche says, real happiness begins, real peace of mind begins when we give up the eight worldly concerns.
So bring the meditation to a conclusion by making a strong determination to be more and more mindful in daily life, especially from the moment one wakes up, not to give in to the eight worldly concerns but to have the courage, the compassion, the wisdom to renounce the eight worldly concerns, to not follow them as strongly, as frequently, but to rely more and more for one’s peace and happiness on the practice of Dharma. Recall the Buddha on one’s crown, imagining the Buddha very pleased with your meditation, and the Buddha showing this by now dissolving into blissful golden light, which can then pour down into you, blessing your mind to see all the faults of the eight worldly concerns, blessing your mind to be able to renounce the eight worldly concerns. Let me dedicate the merit. Through the merits of these virtuous actions, may I quickly attain the state of the guru buddha and lead all living beings without exception into that enlightened state? May the precious bodhicitta, not yet born, arise and grow.
May that born have no decline but increase forevermore. So we’ll just take a couple of minute break. Are there any questions? Difficult if you were the only one that and well, say, for example, in a previous life, you had had a precious human rebirth. Mhmm.
And then you were born into that Dark time. The dark times. Mhmm. So would it still be possible for you to actually practice? What do you reckon?
Well, it’d be awfully difficult. I know that. But Yeah. Because I think even like I should say, if one had practiced even for many lifetimes, well you know, say some lifetimes but then due to some karma one was reborn in one of these very dark times. For those karmic imprints to ripen, you need the conditions but the conditions aren’t there.
I mean this is why from my limited understanding of how the Tulku system works, how it developed, is that there are people who have practiced very seriously and maybe gained certain realizations in one lifetime, and then by recognizing them, the lamas recognizing, oh this is the incarnation of so and so who was a great practitioner, then they throw them in a monastery, ordain them, and they get the very best dharma education got the best environment for those imprints to flourish, to ripen and so on. But if that child with those imprints was left to their own devices, then it’s not I mean, they could ripen and ripen well, but much less chance, more difficult, more obstacles could occur, I think, so similar. Even more so with just an ordinary practitioner being reborn in a in a dark time or a really bad, you know, place. Any questions about the eight worldly concerns themselves? Just about a craving.
Yeah. So is there a practice in Buddhism where you can convert your materialistic craving into positive craving, into Dharma practice, etcetera, and transform the negative to the positive? Well, in theory, you can do this through the practice of tantra. Transform one’s delusions into the path, but it’s not easy. One needs all the yeah.
Because it’s quite a lot of energy people have in that craving, isn’t it? Yes. The negative so Yes. You can transform that energy because it is still a force Yes. Of energy.
Yeah. Well, think that’s what tantra is really about, is doing that, using that energy, trying to harness it. But you have to be able you know, you have to tame it to put it in the harness. So that’s the tricky bit, I think. Yeah.
And I’ve never quite understood how you do that in Tantra yet. Necessity of having a motor car? It’s a necessity. Become, like, necessity in that in our lifestyle and then it seem A craving. What’s the difference in that?
This is very difficult to say because what is maybe a necessity for one person is not necessary for another. It’s it’s really it’s a very, very subtle thing, but it’s I think it’s only something that we can only honestly assess ourselves by purifying our mind and understanding the dharma more and more. But of course, there’s one thing about the need to have something to transport us from one place to another, for example, to go to work, to survive, and then there’s another thing about needing a Rolls Royce to do it, for example. Here’s a little story I don’t think I’ve repeated for a hundred years. When I was in Taiwan, which was one of the most suffering times of my life, three years there, I remember once, Taiwanese climate killed me.
It’s super humid. Really don’t like very humid weather, but I remember that it was always humid, and I was on this bus once. For once, this bus had very few people. I have many memories of being in totally crowded buses where you’re holding onto the strap and some lady’s head is under your armpit and things like that. So, And as a monk, that’s kind of uncomfortable.
Anyway, but this time I was sitting in the bus, which was almost empty, which was quite amazing, so that’s not the story. And I noticed that this car, was a Rolls Royce, went by alongside the bus and it was driven by the owner wasn’t driving it because why would you drive it if you over know there was a chauffeur and the driver was sitting in the back, an old Chinese gentleman. And what really struck me is that, I mean, sorry this is pathetic and it just shows my nasty mind I suppose, but as well as having a, nothing wrong with having a Rolls Royce if you can afford it, but he had the Rolls Royce, he had the chauffeur and he had this little fluffy pillow under his head. So there’s never enough luxury, you have to have I mean, maybe I’m just being critical of him, but maybe he needed it. Like, you need a Rolls Royce isn’t enough.
You have to have the chauffeur, and then you have to have a cushion, and then you have to have Perhaps it was the giveaway, rainy giveaway cushion that enticing the bike of course. Thank you for that pure view. I’ve never thought of that before. I think we should reply to James. Anyway, I’m not saying that that was the right interpretation, but in some cases that just seemed to illustrate because I was sitting in this rusty old rattling, very hot bus, and he was in an air conditioned, you know, everything.
You know? But there is the mind that craves more and more. You You get the one thing, and that’s not, you know, you have to have as it says in the bonfire of the vanities, once you’ve got a house with a foyer that costs two million dollars, how can you possibly live in a house that has a foyer that only costs a million dollars? It’s unbearable. If you’ve ever read the book.
I don’t know if that helped, but there’s one thing. We need certain things, but we always add, it’s our nature to add on to what we need, to make it more, and then there also comes not only like there’s also the ego aspects of it, of like having something prestigious and better than other people, you know, also, you know, that’s another addition to all of that worldly concern and craving. I mean, you can want to buy a Rolls Royce just because you think Rolls Royce cars are really nice or you can want one because that makes me better than other people. There’s so many different ways the mind works. So one has to check oneself.
Only you know one could say, Oh, look, that person’s got that because they’re egotistic, but maybe they’re not. Maybe they just have the money and they just like that car. But someone maybe doesn’t even like the car, but it’s because it’s the most prestigious they take that say often it’s like you think that a thing will be a representation of you, so kinda like you’re extending yourself like this car is Yes. Or who I am kinda thing. Oh, sure.
Yeah. Obviously, it’s a course. Yeah. Back to the meditating now. Right?
Okay. So we’ll do a little bit of meditation for the the the rest of the day on we’ve got two more meditations to do, I think, or three. No. Three. We have three more if you can survive.
Oh, come on. Enjoy this. Shall. The freedom, the rare freedom, the rare precious freedom to put imprints in the mind, we have so done this so little. Yeah.
To think about the antidotes, the worldly concerns. So again, we begin by sitting comfortably in the correct posture and just checking our posture briefly. So then just briefly doing the nine round breathing exercise or some other breathing meditation just to let the mind become a little bit calmer and clearer or or concentrated. So then visualizing the Buddha on the crown of one’s head generate the mind of refuge in the Triple Gem and combine that with the bodhicitta motivation wishing to take refuge until enlightenment is achieved. Wishing to achieve enlightenment in order to perfectly repay the kindness of all suffering mother sentient beings.
As one visualizes the Buddha on one’s crown, imagine all these kind beings surrounding you, starting with your parents on either side. So of the many antidotes to the eight worldly concerns, for us, the most powerful, the easiest to apply is an understanding of impermanence and death. So just reflect how this human life, this very precious human rebirth, which I’m experiencing right now, which is so difficult to create the causes for, has arisen depending on causes and conditions. So this life is impermanent. My death is definitely going to come.
This this unbelievably rare freedom to protect myself from suffering, to create the causes for peerless everlasting happiness. That freedom is definitely going to come to an end. So how can I waste that very precious time following the eight worldly concerns, none of those worldly concerns will benefit me in the slightest in my future lives? Only the practice of Dharma is going to help me at the time of death, and the eight worldly concerns prevent me from practicing Dharma. And even when I try and practice, the eight worldly concerns make my practice impure, and impure practice isn’t gonna help much at the time of death, which is definitely going to come.
And especially reflect that not only am I going to die, my death could happen at any moment. My death is not necessarily, as I tend to think, a long way away. It could happen at any time, any moment. So I need to give up the eight worldly concerns now. And think that I don’t want to die in the midst of being controlled by any of the worldly concerns.
Because in the moment my mind falls under the control of any of the eight worldly concerns, the mind is in a disturbed negative state. And to die in such a state becomes very, very difficult to have a good death and a good rebirth. Much more easy to have a bad death, a bad rebirth. And also reflect that all the objects of my cravings related to the worldly concerns, craving worldly happiness, craving getting things, craving a good reputation, craving praise. All of these things themselves are impermanent.
They don’t last, they cannot last. So much time, so much of my precious time goes into trying to achieve, which if I’m successful can only last such a short time. So what’s the point? And the happiness I get isn’t true happiness anyway. Whereas all that time and energy could be spent in the practice of Dharma, which brings a genuine result that can last forever.
Even the memory of worldly happiness is eventually lost. Whereas the experience of Dharma happiness never becomes a memory because it is always active. It doesn’t fade away. And also consider that all the objects of my fears and aversions, fearing suffering, fearing losing or not getting things, fear of bad reputation, fear of criticism. All these objects themselves that I fear and have aversion to, none of these last.
They also fade away. So why have so much of fear of them? Why so much of aversion? And check how in fearing those things, it leads me to engage in negative actions that bring suffering that lasts a very long time. So then a second antidote to the worldly concerns is to remember, to have strong remembrance of the faults of the delusions.
We have to remember firstly that our eight worldly concerns are basically motivated by afflicted desire and aversion. So these are two of the three fundamental disturbing thoughts. And the very nature of these disturbing thoughts is as the term says, they disturb the mind. They destroy the natural bliss of the mind. Whatever peace or happiness we are experiencing at any time, the moment a disturbing thought arises, such as afflicted desire or aversion.
That happiness, that peace is instantly destroyed. And the disturbing thoughts being byproducts of ignorance are just creating, when we follow them, negative imprints. Those negative imprints, if not purified, only ripen his suffering. Craving worldly happiness is actually creating the cause for suffering. Fearing suffering, have developing aversion to it, is only creating the cause for more suffering.
Suffering. So every time we get caught up in any of the worldly concerns, we activate our disturbing thoughts. And every time we activate our disturbing thoughts, there’s discontent in the moment, but also we are creating imprints in our mind. We are creating the habit to follow those same disturbing thoughts again in the future. Another antidote is to remember the law of cause and effect.
That by following the eight worldly concerns, getting caught up in the disturbing thoughts, There is definite effects from these actions. We are creating these negative imprints that definitely ripen the suffering in the future. And that suffering is far worse than the energy that goes into creating those imprints. We fear suffering and all the things associated with suffering, but engaging in negative actions as a result, we create the cause for even greater suffering in the future. The craving for worldly happiness is actually also a disturbing state of mind creating negative imprints that in turn bring more suffering in the future.
So bring the meditation to a conclusion by making a strong determination to use this precious human rebirth more and more to cultivate the antidotes to the eight worldly concerns and to be more and more mindful in daily life to apply those antidotes as much as possible as soon as one realizes the eight worldly concerns are arising in one’s mind. So then recall the Buddha on one’s crown, imagining the Buddha very pleased with your practice, showing this by now dissolving into blissful golden light, which pours down into one, blessing one’s mind to be able to cultivate strongly the antidotes to the worldly concerns. And then we dedicate the merit. Through the merits of these virtuous actions, may I quickly attain the state of the Guru Buddha and lead all living beings without exception into that enlightened state. May the precious bodhicitta, not yet born, arise and grow.
May that born have no decline but increase forevermore. So we’ll take a shortish tea break. So we’ll continue with the eight antidotes to the eight worldly concerns. So we’ve done three. So we’ll rush through five more.
Okay. So again, we begin by sitting comfortably in the correct posture as much as possible. And then just briefly checking our posture. Then doing some breathing meditation such as the nine round breathing exercise. So then visualizing Śākyamūni Buddha on the crown of one’s head generates strong refuge in the Triple Gem, and that mind determined to take care of the mind relying only on the Buddha’s methods to do so.
And combine that with the bodhicitta motivation as one thinks of all sentient beings surrounding you. I go for refuge until I’m enlightened to the Buddha, Dharma, the Supreme Assembly. By my merit of giving and other perfections, may I become a Buddha in order to benefit all sentient beings. So then another antidote to the worldly concerns is to remember that the happiness that we chase after, following the worldly concerns, craving worldly happiness, possessions, reputation and so on, the happiness that that brings is really not genuine happiness. It is unsatisfying.
That that happiness, in fact, is just a a subtle kind of suffering, the suffering of change. Because that happiness, it it doesn’t last. And in fact, that happiness from the very moment it arises is suffering. It only appears to be happiness compared to a previous moment of obvious suffering. But if one checks, all of these experiences of happiness, they don’t last.
No matter how often we repeat the cause, the experience doesn’t last. We can’t maintain that happiness. That happiness seems to change into suffering, but it doesn’t actually change into suffering. It always was suffering. Something which, if it is that thing genuinely, cannot change into something different, especially if one create keeps creating the same cause.
If one is creating the cause of happiness, if one creates the same cause, happiness should arise. But with worldly happiness, no matter how often we repeat the action, the happiness doesn’t last. So this shows that it’s not real happiness from the beginning. It just appears to be happiness compared to some obvious suffering. And so sadly, we waste this precious human rebirth, this incredible, rare, difficult to achieve opportunity to achieve genuine happiness.
We give that up in order to create the causes of something which is just the illusion of happiness. And then that illusion itself doesn’t last. So one antidote to the worldly concerns is recognising that the happiness that we crave is just illusory, it’s unsatisfactory, it’s not genuine happiness. Another is to remember that that happiness is is impermanent, that we have this completely wrong view of of happiness, that we have this belief in impermanent happiness, but it’s completely false. This worldly happiness cannot last.
And yet we chase after these worldly concerns believing that if we get the result, it will be permanent, it will last. But it cannot last. Whereas if we were to give up those worldly concerns, concern ourselves with Dharma practice, Dharma practice is creating the cause for happiness that does last, that won’t cheat us, that won’t transform into something that is suffering and unsatisfying. So then another of the antidotes to the worldly concerns is to develop that mind of seeing the benefits to suffering, to practice Mahāyāna, Lojong, mind transformation, mind training. Under the control of the worldly concerns, our mind focuses on only the negative aspects of suffering.
Habituated to being unable to bear suffering as soon as it arises, we experience it as one hundred percent negative, and so it overwhelms us. But the Dharma teaches us that with wisdom, we can transform suffering into something beneficial. And we do this not by denying the suffering, but by not focusing on all the negative aspects. Using our wisdom to see the beneficial aspect of suffering from a dharma point of view. And if we focus on those beneficial aspects, then that suffering becomes meaningful and becomes bearable.
And so for therefore, less fearful. And because of being less fearful, there is less of the opposite of craving distraction. And then if we reduce our craving for distraction, for being instantly entertained by pleasure, when that doesn’t occur and suffering arises, there will be less aversion to it. So from a Dharma point of view, some of the benefits of experiencing suffering is that it helps us practice patience, it particularly helps us to develop compassion, It helps us to overcome pride and develop humility. The experience of suffering is a constant reminder of the truth of the law of cause and effect.
It’s a constant teacher teaching us not to engage in negative actions. So if we can learn to recognize the benefits of suffering and learn to train our mind on focusing on the benefits rather than the harm, suffering becomes meaningful, it becomes bearable, there is less fear, the less we are caught up in that aversion to suffering, and that means there is less craving for it, the distraction of worldly happiness. And the less we are caught up in that desperate craving to be always happy, quickly, easily, the more we have that, the more we have the more we have that mind, the more we have the fear for suffering. The less we have that mind craving instant worldly gratification, the more we’re able to bear suffering. And the more we can bear it, the less we fear it.
Another antidote is to remember that day by day, the good karma of this life, to have this life, is running out. This precious human rebirth is the karmic result of many good actions done in past lives. So now, day by day, that good karma is running out and will come to an end, and it could come to an end at any time. So day by day, the good karma of our precious life is running, precious human rebirth is running out. If I spend it on following the eight worldly concerns, this means I’m not replacing that good karma.
I’m not creating the causes to have another good rebirth, even a human rebirth, let alone a precious human rebirth. So in this little time I’ve got left, as this precious karma runs out day by day, I need to give up the eight worldly concerns and practice the Dharma and at least create the cause for another good rebirth. And then finally, the most powerful antidote to the eight worldly concerns that unfortunately the most difficult to understand and apply is the understanding of emptiness. In reality, all the objects of my worldly concerns that activate my worldly concerns, I get caught up in those worldly concerns because I crave worldly happiness and objects and so on because they appear to me to be truly existent, truly existently happy, truly existently wonderful, and I develop fear and aversion because the objects appear to be truly existently from their own side bad and harmful. And then by following the eight worldly concerns, I reinforce those wrong views.
But in reality, nothing inherently truly exists from its own side. Everything that appears to be truly and inherently beautiful, ugly, good, bad, pleasant, unpleasant, it all arises depending on my mind. So again, bring the meditation to a conclusion by making a strong determination to use this precious human rebirth, to use the freedom of this precious human rebirth to train in the antidotes to the eight worldly concerns and then to be mindful in daily life to apply those antidotes as quickly and as strongly as when the worldly concerns arise. Through the merits of these virtuous actions, oh sorry, then we think the Buddha on our crown is very pleased with our meditation, dissolves into blissful light that pours it down into us, blessing our mind. And then we dedicate the merit.
Through the merits of these virtuous actions, may I quickly attain the state of a Guru Buddha and lead all living beings without exception into that enlightened state. May the precious bodhicitta not yet born arise and grow. May that born have no decline, but increase forevermore. So now we’re going to do the final meditation based on a meditation that Lama Zopa Rinpoche does, which is a little heavy, of course. So again, we begin sitting comfortably in the correct posture.
Then calm the mind with some breathing meditation such as the nine round breathing exercise. So then visualize Śākyamūni Buddha on the crown of your head as you generate strong refuge in the Triple Gem, And as you visualize all kind suffering mother sentient beings around you, generate the bodhicitta motivation. I go for refuge until I’m enlightened to the Buddha, Dharma, Supreme Assembly. By my merit of giving and other perfections, may I become a Buddha in order to benefit all sentient beings. So then reflect, just check up.
When I experience happiness or receiving gifts, praise, hear pleasant sounds and so on, in that moment, what is the effect on me? How does my mind react? And then think right now what is more definite, to live or to die? In reality, it’s more definite to die. So regarding happiness, gain, reputation, praise, which is more definite, to maintain them or lose them?
It’s much more definite to be separated from them. And if I was to die now, what is more definite, to achieve a higher or a lower rebirth? So actually, it’s more definite to take a lower rebirth because it’s so easy to create the negative causes. So why am I attached to these worldly things? They’re not going to last.
They bring no genuine benefit. By following those worldly concerns, I lose the chance to create the cause of a good rebirth. So then check. We go back and think. When I experience suffering, when I experience loss, when I experience rejection, when I experience criticism, in that moment, what is the effect on me?
How does my mind react? And the answer is it becomes agitated. It becomes disturbed. So in that time, at that time, when the mind is experiencing suffering or losing something or rejection or criticism and is disturbed, what is more definite, to live or to die? And the answer is that it’s more definite to die.
Death can come at any time. There are so many causes of death. So regarding this loss, this suffering I’m experiencing or experiencing loss or rejection or criticism, which is more definite, for it to continue or for it to fade away? And the answer is it’s more definite for it to come to an end. And again ask yourself, if I was to die at that time, what is more definite, a higher or a lower rebirth?
And the answer is it’s more definite to take a lower rebirth. So then ask ask yourself, if that is the case, why do I have so much aversion to these things, to suffering, losing things, rejection, criticism, which upset my mind, lead me to negative actions. All of these things aren’t going to last. Being concerned about them doesn’t bring me any genuine benefit. And instead, by following these worldly concerns, I lose the chance to create the cause of a good rebirth.
And then check how in following getting caught up in the eight worldly concerns, to follow those worldly concerns, one doesn’t need a precious human rebirth. One doesn’t even need to be a human being. Animals are concerned with worldly pleasure, fear suffering. So what an incredible waste it is, not just of a human life, but a precious human rebirth to follow the eight worldly concerns. So then check up.
When I eat, is my motivation any higher or purer than that of an animal? When I go to sleep, is my motivation any higher or more special than just another animal sleeping. When I’m working or doing any activity, does this action have any higher motive than the activities of animals? So check up, the actions that I’m doing in this life that take up the time and energy of this precious human rebirth, are they really worthwhile? Do they give meaning to having taken this precious human rebirth?
What actions am I doing that can’t be done by animals? Just check how so many of the things one does come under the category of doing them basically for worldly pleasure or fearing discomfort. That is following the eight worldly concerns, which is no different than the life of an animal. So a human rebirth, especially a precious human rebirth, depends on creating virtuous actions, while actions coming from delusions cannot bring a human rebirth. So while I’m a human being, while I have the precious human rebirth, at the very least, shouldn’t I use this life to make preparation for future lives?
So bring the meditation to a conclusion by making a strong determination to be more and more mindful in daily life, especially from the moment one wakes up, to remember that one has a precious human rebirth, which has been won with incredible difficulty, is very rare but incredibly meaningful. So to be mindful to use this precious human rebirth in the most meaningful way through the practice of Dharma, giving up self-cherishing, cherishing others more than self, being mindful to avoid negative actions, engage in virtuous ones, and to purify the negative actions already created. What prevents me doing all this is following the eight worldly concerns, so I need to be mindful of how harmful they are. Use this precious human rebirth to cultivate their antidotes and apply them as much as possible. This will make this life meaningful and help me create the cause for more future beneficial rebirths.
So then recall the guru buddha on one’s crown, imagining that the guru buddha is extremely pleased with one’s practice, not just in this session, but the whole day. And think that the Buddha shows this pleasure, happiness by dissolving into blissful golden light, which pours down into oneself, blessing one’s mind to have the wisdom to recognize and completely renounce the eight worldly concerns. So then we can dedicate the merit. We can do this starting on page nine. Through the merits of these virtuous actions, may I quickly attain the state of a Guru Buddha and lead all living beings without exception into that enlightened state.
May the precious bodhicitta not yet born arise and grow. May that born have no decline but increase forevermore. And or maybe we can do page ten. Due to these merits, may all the obstacles to Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche’s health and long life be instantly removed. May Rinpoche remain and teach us until Samsāra ends, and may all his and Lama Yeshe’s holy wishes be instantly fulfilled.
May Lama Osel Rinpoche have a long and healthy life. May he be able to complete all his studies without hindrance and become a great holder and teacher of Sūtra and Tantra in this life. May he be of greatest benefit to all sentient beings. May all the obstacles to the quick success of the building of the Maitreya statues be instantly destroyed. May these great statues of Maitreya be accomplished exactly according to the wishes of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
May all the centers and projects of the FPMT be free of obstacles to spread the holy Dharma of Buddha Śākyamūni, in particular the teachings of Lama Tsongkhapa. May all sentient beings be free from suffering and achieve every happiness and the highest state of enlightenment. May all the students and friends who work so hard for the FPMT in the service of the Dharma and who dedicate their lives for Buddha’s teachings and to relieve the suffering of sentient beings have long and healthy lives. May they realize the path to enlightenment in their own minds as quickly as possible. May all those who rely on and who have made specific requests to Lama Zopa Rinpoche be free of all obstacles to having long and healthy lives.
May they be able to achieve all the realizations of the path in this lifetime. May all the students’ activities please the virtuous friends in all their lives. May they be guided by perfectly qualified Mahāyāna virtuous friends, and may all their wishes succeed immediately according to the Dharma. Then we can go to page thirteen. Savior of the snow land teachings and transmigratory beings who make extremely clear the path that is unification of emptiness and compassion to the lotus holder Tenzin Gyatso, I beseech, may all your holy wishes be spontaneously fulfilled.
You who uphold the Vinaya’s moral way, who serve as the bountiful bearer of all, sustaining, preserving, and spreading Mañjuśrī’s victorious doctrine, who masterfully accomplished magnificent prayers honoring the Three Jewels, Saviour of myself and others, your disciples, please, please live long. Lord of Dharma, who in accordance with the various dispositions of those to be subdued, makes clear in the light of your spoken advice the sacred Ganden tradition, essence of Buddha’s teachings, O foremost and holy Lama, to you who are supreme, O Lama, please, please live long. Thank you very much. That’s it. I hope you didn’t find that too heavy.
But I think Lama Zopa Rinpoche would be very pleased that we did a retreat on, even if for one day, on the Eight worldly concerns because it’s such an important topic. As Lama Zopa Rinpoche says, Dharma happiness starts when we give up the eight worldly concerns. That’s what we have to do, that’s the first thing, is to give them up, renounce them, throw them away, see them like, as Lama Zopa says, piece of used toilet paper. Yeah. So as I mentioned, so yes, we have a precious human rebirth.
One of the features of the precious human rebirth is born in a place where there are wonderful, realized beings, and one of the most wonderful, most realized beings is coming to Buddha House in May. That is Lama Zopa Rinpoche, who is undoubtedly one of the greatest Lamas on the planet at the most, especially of the Gelugpa tradition at least. No doubt. There’s no doubt about that. His Holiness has the greatest admiration and respect and reliance on Lama Zopa Rinpoche, so he’s our guru, and he’s coming, and he will be giving two public events, a public talk on how to what is it?
Making your life meaningful. You’re making the most of your life, making the most of your life, and the other is a Medicine Buddha Jenang, an initiation of the Medicine Buddha. So this is very fantastic, and also Rinpoche will be attending a Lama Chopa Puja, Tsog Puja here, and also the most wonderful thing is that June the second is the holiest day of the Buddhist year, the Sakadawa, the day the Buddha manifested being born, dying, and achieving enlightenment. And guess who will be there for our celebration, none other than Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche. So this is just fantastic.
So you must come. You must come. Book it in now. You must come. No choice.
Really. If you if you don’t come to see Rinpoche, because you won’t have to pay for those two. Sorry, you shouldn’t say that. Shouldn’t be. They can all come and help.
The public events we have to charge for because of the costs and of bringing Rinpoche in the entourage, lots huge expenses, but Rinpoche will be attending the puja and the celebrations of Saka dawa, so there’s no charge for that. You just accumulate skies of merit. So who’s the go to person to book? Oh, the office is to book. It’s all coming out, the advertising and everything.
That’s it. Wait, wait, Just very quickly, before we finish, just one thing, are there any people here who have put their name down to, I hope you showed an expression of interest in the Buddha House pilgrimage. Yes. I’ve got you. I’ve got you.
Sorry. What’s your name? Yolanta. Yolanta. T a t h?
J o l a n t a. Yeah. Right. Anyone else? Yes?
Gail. Gail. Right. That’s it. Thank you very much.
Hope to see you again. I may have scared you off by all of that.