Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 49-minute session, Ven Thubten Dondrub presents the final teachings of a five-day Kelsang Gyatso retreat, focusing on verses 69–75 of Śāntideva’s Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life. The session unpacks how recognising that all harm arises from past karma should inspire meditation on loving-kindness and compassion, paired with earnest virtue accumulation. Dondrub then explores three key benefits of practising patience: protecting accumulated virtue from the fire of anger, accepting small hardships to avert hellish rebirth, and gladly embracing present difficulties for the greater purpose of liberating all beings. Throughout, he works through vivid analogies—a spreading fire, a death-row prisoner spared by losing a hand—to show why enduring minor suffering now prevents catastrophic karmic consequences later. A Q&A follows, where he clarifies how to protect others without anger and offers practical advice on which patience arguments are most effective for practitioners. Suited to those familiar with Buddhist ethics and karma doctrine.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 31. Day 5 Final Teaching Pt2.mp3
UUID: ec0a2c9e-89db-467d-898b-4d9f9a41b5fd
Teacher: Ven Thubten Dondrub
Collection: KI Retreat (Ven Thubten Dondrub)
Date: 2005 (exact day not recorded)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 49.5 minutes
Words: ~2,275
Okay. So then we get into the verse sixty nine, and the verse reads like this. When I have seen this to be so and then Geshe-la so then should strive for what is meritorious in order to certainly bring about loving thoughts between all. So, and then, Geshe-la adds to that, because the text clearly refers to meditation on loving kindness, or a mind with loving kindness, and Geshe-la adds to that that we should, based on this knowledge of harm and suffering coming out of our own negative karma, and based on this, we should meditate strongly on loving kindness, and then on top of that, we should meditate strongly on compassion. And then we should, how do you say, put effort at accumulating virtue.
Okay? Because also the text clear refers to engaging in virtue. So Geshe-la adds that. This one. Okay.
So then, again, the commentary goes on and says that all the harm and suffering all harm and suffering arises out of one’s karma. Having seen that, should all strive to to med to develop love and kindness towards each other. And then not only that, but also we should also we should also on top of that, we should also meditate in compassion and so forth. And and and how do you say? How do you say?
Compassion and so forth, and strongly engage put a strong effort. How do say? Achieving meritorious deeds and so forth. This, Geshe-la says, like this, we avoid all negativities. So then we get into another topic, which is reflecting on the benefits of patience.
This topic has three divisions, okay? The first one is making efforts so that one’s virtue does not deteriorate. And then the second one, accepting small sufferings, will act to overcome the cause for the sufferings of the hells, or, Geshe-la says, any other great suffering. The third one is: It is reasonable to enjoy hardships for the sake of accomplishing greater purposes. This greater purpose, Geshe-la says, is the achievement of enlightenment.
Then we get into the first one of these topics, and the next two verses, seventy and seventy one. So then the next two verses read like this, which is which is referring to the topic of making efforts so one’s virtue does not deteriorate. Right? So the next two verses go on like, for example, when a fire in one house has moved into another house, it is right to get rid of straw and such things that will cause the fire to spread. Likewise, when the fire of hatred spreads to whatever my mind is attached to, I should immediately get rid of it for fear of my merit being burned.
And, again, I just briefly explained the text in different words, but the meaning is basically the same. Okay. Then the commentary goes on to explain that when the fire spreads from one house to the next one, then all the straws and wood and so forth that would make the fire spread faster. So, in order to protect wealth or the possessions of both the houses from being destroyed, then we should not get attached to these grasses and the woods and so forth. We should quickly get rid of them.
So it is not alright to get attached to these things. And then, in the same fashion, for example, out of attachment to friends and so forth, when harm arises and then we get angry, then we should strive. Because of that, our virtues, our riches, which are the virtues we have accumulated, are in danger of being destroyed, then we should how do say should quickly, immediately get rid of that attachment in order to protect our collection of virtues. Geshe-la says it’s not doing so, and then we are, how do you say, compromising all our future lives by destroying our merits and so forth. Okay.
So then we go to another topic, which is how to say accepting small sufferings will act to overcome the cause for the sufferings of hell, or greater sufferings. This topic has two parts to it. The first one is an example, and the second one is the actual meaning. When we get to the example, the text first goes like this the commentary goes like this. So if one if one says that suffering suffering arises out of being separated from from dear ones and so forth.
Then we get into the root verse seventy two, which goes, why is a man condemned to death not fortunate if he is released after having his hand cut off? And then, why am I who am experiencing human misery, fortunate if by death I am spared from the agonies of hell? Yes. Okay. So then how do say?
If if the person it is it is excellent It is excellent indeed that how to say when the when the person who was condemned to death was released just after having his hand cut. That that is that is that is excellent. I mean, so and in the same fashion, it is excellent it is how to say? And in this likewise, it is is not alright for us to say that it is not excellent when after after having experienced small sufferings such as hunger and thirst and so forth, and then we we can we can we will be spared from the sufferings of hell. So saying that this is not excellent, it is not alright because all this experiencing while embracing all this how to say, taking on on oneself all these small sufferings, we will be able to avert great sufferings.
And yes. That’s it. So then we get into the topic, which is the actual meaning, And it says: If one says that one will not bear with just these small sufferings, then we get into verse seventy three, which says: If I am unable to endure even the mere sufferings of the present, then why do I restrain myself from being angry, which will be the source of hellish misery? Again, I just explained with different words that how do you say? Anger anger is is one of the main causes for one for one’s rebirth in birthing hell and so forth.
So, yeah, one should not one should not get how do you say it? One should bear with these small sufferings because they will relieve oneself from being from being born in hell and then Okay. So yeah. So the answer is because now we are enduring just just a little bit of suffering, so then there is no reason why we shouldn’t we shouldn’t bear with it in order to be able to avoid the the greater suffering of of hell and so forth. Okay.
And then the commentary goes goes on to say that hunger, thirst, weapons, and whatever suffering one is one is experiencing at the present, then if one is not able to bear with these sufferings, then then one won’t be able to avert, how do you say, the cause of the greater suffering of being reborn in hell, which is anger. Because of that, then we should put effort at averting anger by meditating on patience. Okay. So then we get into another topic, okay, which is the which goes it is reasonable to enjoy hardships it is reasonable to enjoy hardships for the sake of accomplishing a greater purpose. And then this topic has two divisions.
Okay? The first one is regretting the many bodies we have wasted in the past, and we still haven’t and still we haven’t accomplished either our own and other nor others’ welfare after having wasted all these bodies. And then the second topic, because it is reasonable to enjoy accomplishing the welfare of all migrators by being patient with the present hardships. Geshe-la briefly explains that present hardships, while we are accumulating virtues and so forth, these hardships will come about. Okay.
Okay. Then we get to the first topic. Okay? The first division that is regretting the many bodies we have taken and still we haven’t accomplished our own and nor others welfare. And then it goes into verse seventy four.
It reads: For the sake of satisfying my desires, I have suffered numerous burnings in hell, but by those actions I fulfilled the purpose of neither myself nor others. Yes, okay. Then the commentary goes on to goes on to say that previously, one grasped at material wealth and at one’s body and everything that is samsaric happiness, everything that is suffering, there is actually, can I say it, true suffering, Then, by having grasped at this in previous lives, then one has accumulated has generated negative karma? And then, out of that, one one has experienced, like, thousands thousands of years of of eons, I’m sorry, thousands of eons in in the hells. And then and after all, one hasn’t accomplished neither one’s nor nor one haven’t accomplished not even a little of one’s of oneself and others’ welfare.
Okay. This one? Then we get into the next topic, which is it is reasonable to enjoy accomplishing the welfare of all migrators by being patient with present hardships. Okay? And then to the verse seventy five, it goes, but now, since great meaning will accrue from harm, which is not even a fraction of that, then I should indeed be solely joyful towards such suffering that dispels the harms of all.
Geshe-la briefly explained that how do you say? Briefly explains that well, he mentioned he translated a few terms into colloquial terminology, but the only one that adds something to the text is just that fraction of that refers to the thousands of years in hell. All these little sufferings, experience very little suffering now in comparison to these thousands of years that we have spent in hell. Okay. So then the commentary says, while we’re striving to accomplish welfare of others, then we go through just a little just a few hardships.
So then, while we are enduring these little hardships that in fact cause us no harm, then based on that, in order to accomplish greater purpose of to say relieving how to say clearing away the sufferings of all migrators and so forth. And Geshe-la specifically mentions that when when when the text says a greater purpose, Geshe-la is saying achieving one’s and and others’ welfare, both one oneself and others’ welfare. Then for the sake of clearing away all this suffering, all these harms and so forth, how do you say? We should we should should how do you say? We should only be happy, we should only be glad at taking all these sufferings onto oneself.
Okay? Is it clear? Mhmm. Okey dokey. Mhmm.
This one. Yeah. Yes, we want questions? Yes? In verse seventy five where it talks about Yes.
Is it right to move to protect those people if we do not do it with anger? Protect those people? Yeah. Who? Relatives, teachers and Okay.
Okay. To protect them. Without anger. Pardon? And she said without anger.
Without anger, yeah. Alright. So, yes. So, yes, if you’re doing that, if you’re protecting these people and at the same time being able not to give rise to anger, then it’s okay, yes. Yeah.
So, he says Geshe-la adds not only to these people that we like relatives and so forth, but to all sentient beings. We should help, how to say, how to say, should protect them from harm. I was just thinking. There’s many, many, what do you call it, arguments or points that Śāntideva makes about generating patience. Yes.
There’s many reasons. Yes. And there’s many more to come, you know, in this chapter. I just wondered if Geshe la had, you know, if he would recommend just some in particular as being very effective. Oh, okay.
So then Geshe-la says, so if put it briefly, okay, to put it briefly, then we have to think that those people who are harming us, they are doing that. We don’t know, we don’t know how to say the past situations that brought them to do that, then we have to think that they are doing that out of karma and afflictive emotions. And also, that experiencing this harm is also out of our false, our own past false, our own past negative karmas and negative emotions. So briefly, Geshe-la says we should think like this. So then, also, Geshe-la says that, for example, when somebody is getting angry with me, and then one one has to reflect, I should reflect that it is because of my my actions that this person is getting angry with me.
It’s my own fault. When you say actions, you mean karma or do you mean No. No. No. No.
No. We’re talking about general actions. Like, it’s Yeah. Whatever actions you are you are doing. So my own behavior, my own activity.
So then Geshe-la is saying as a for example, when when so for example, if Geshe-la gets angry with me, for example, and then if I get if I get angry with Geshe-la, then I am going to stop and investigate, you know, what did I do that made him angry, you know? Investigate all his actions that he had engaged before I got angry with him. Any more questions? The sticks. It’s okay?
Okay. No one. Now you have to do you have to do a a very good meditation I understand. Dedication of all the the virtues you have accumulated. Page twenty four.