The following teaching was given by His Holiness Sakya Trizin at Bristol, U.K. in August 1998 during the course of his recent European tour.
Firstly, I would like
to take this opportunity of extending my very warm greetings and best wishes
to all of you who have gathered here tonight. Also I would like to thank Sakya
Thinley Rinchen Ling, and especially Lama Jampa Thaye who very kindly invited
us here to England. As he has just mentioned I have been here a number of times
previously. Over the past twenty one years the centre here has provided a facility
for Dharma practice, teaching, contemplation and meditation; and it is a great
joy for me to see that it is progressing in the right way. Especially I would
to thank you for arranging this evenings gathering here, where I will
have time to spend with you all, and to share the teachings of the Buddha.
Now for ourselves as human beings in this life, there are many requirements:
for example a place to stay, food to eat, clothes to wear, medical facilities,
friends, and all kinds of other things besides. But the most important thing
in life is spiritual practice. Even for this present life spiritual practice
is very important. Without it life is essenceless and very hollow. It is not
always beautiful and fine. Sometimes we experience difficulty and turbulence,
and spiritual practice gives us the strong support and strength to face this.
People who lack any spiritual idea, those who only believe in the material world,
when such people face major problems, they are very difficult to bear. Such
people take extreme measures such as suicide and so forth, which are of course
totally wrong. So even in this life, even if one does not believe in other lives,
even for just this life, spiritual practice is very important. It is the source
of all the comfort and strength we need when we face major problems.
Spiritual practices are taught in many different religions and I personally
believe that each of the major world-religions has its own beauty, its own way
to help mankind. We are now approaching the twenty-first century and during
this present century we have made tremendous progress in the field of science
and technology. This material progress has in many ways been of great benefit.
For instance in the field of medicine many diseases which were formerly incurable
can now be cured. However mere material progress alone is not enough. Through
material progress alone we can not accomplish what we want. What is our goal?
Whether one is a believer or non- believer, whatever ideas we hold, whether
we are in the East or in the West, whatever religion, philosophy, or tradition
we hold, the one thing common to all of us is the wish to be free from suffering.
Nobody wishes to suffer. And everybody wishes for happiness. So it is for the
sake of happiness that we make effort. Our whole life is spent busily doing
things in order to find happiness. Each individual strives to find happiness
and so does every group, every organisation, every country. So it is for the
sake of happiness that we make progress. But it is very clear that we cannot
achieve the real goal, that of mental peace and happiness, through outer material
progress alone, whatever its benefits. To find inner peace and happiness it
is very important to work on inner spiritual progress. As for this inner spiritual
progress, I have said before that there are many different religions. I as a
Buddhist will present ideas as to how, as Buddhists, we should face this situation.
In Buddhism there are various different schools, but basically all these are
the one Buddha Dharma. The Lord Buddha who possessed infinite wisdom and compassion,
bestowed through his skilful means an enormous number of teachings to suit every
type of mentality and to suit different propensities and defilements. Just as
we need many different medicines to cure different diseases, so we need many
different types of teaching. One medicine is not enough. Even one kind of medical
practice is not enough. For example in the case of certain diseases allopathic
methods are very effective; for others homeopathic treatment is more effective.
Similarly the Buddha gave many different levels of teaching. But the main point
in all of these different teachings is that if one wishes to be free from suffering
one must abstain from negative deeds, non-virtuous deeds. What are these? Non-virtuous
action means any action which arises from defilements such as ignorance, attachment
and anger. These are the three main root defilements. From these arise others
such as pride, stinginess and jealousy. Any action arising from such defilements,
whether these be physical, verbal, or mental, are non-virtuous. When one creates
these negative activities the result is always suffering.
Each and every situation arises from its own cause and its own conditions. Things
do not appear without cause, just out of space. If they did, then of course
anything could appear out of space, but they do not. Nor do things appear from
unrelated causes. For example to grow rice, one needs rice seed. One cannot
grow it from wheat seed. Not only does one need the right seed, but also the
right conditions, such as a certain temperature and a certain degree of moisture.
Similarly our suffering does not come out of space, it does not happen accidentally.
Nor does it come from an unrelated cause. All suffering comes from negative
mind. So in order to avoid suffering one must abstain from non-virtuous action,-
negative deeds. Everybody wishes to be free from suffering but most of us experience
it owing to our lack of wisdom, and owing also to our ignorance of where it
comes from. Although our goal is happiness, most of us are creating more and
more causes of suffering. So it is very important, if one does not wish to suffer,
to abstain from negative deeds. This is of course not easy because the defilements
are very much a part of our mind. Having associated ourselves with them it is
very difficult to give up the defilements. So the first step is to realise from
where suffering comes. It has not come from any outside force but from our own
defilements. Any person who creates trouble for us is seen as our enemy. But
the enemy is not outside. The enemy is actually within our own mind. Our own
negative mind - ignorance, attachment, hatred, anger and so forth - destroys
our happiness and creates the cause of suffering. And so therefore the first
step is to see the defilements - our own negative mind - as the true enemy,
the main enemy, and to avoid being controlled by these defiled states of mind.
Instead we must work to make the mind strong, so as to not be controlled by
these negative states, and we should try to abstain from negative deeds.
So the first step is to abstain from negative actions. In order to avoid suffering
we must avoid the causes of suffering. Without giving up the cause one cannot
expect the result to disappear. For example when we are physically sick we undergo
investigations - we see the doctor and we have examinations, check-ups, different
tests and so forth. Then after finding out the exact nature of the sickness
we can take treatment, but while taking this it is very important to abstain
and avoid the causes of the sickness. The sickness may be caused for example
through food, certain behaviour patterns, or through climate, and such causes
have to be avoided - otherwise even if one has the best doctor, the best medicine,
and the best facilities, one will never recover. Similarly in order to avoid
suffering we must eliminate the cause of suffering. We all want to be free from
suffering but we are creating more and more of it. The great Indian master Shantideva,
a very great master, said all suffering in this universe comes from selfish
thought, from wanting oneself to be happy. If we just think of our own welfare,
our own well-being, our own interests, then of course all we accomplish is suffering.
Even in the worldly or ordinary sense we can see that people who are very selfish,
who only think of themselves, are loved by no one. Selfish people never become
popular. Those who become popular are those people who are kind and gentle to
others, who care for other people. In these ways they become popular. So anyone
who thinks only of his own sake will accomplish only suffering.
So we must not allow our minds to be controlled by these defilements. Not only
that - one should abstain also from non-virtuous deeds and practice virtuous
deeds. This because we all want happiness. It is for the sake of happiness that
we all work so very hard, we all make so much effort. But real happiness cannot
be achieved by outer effort. Happiness has to come by practising virtuous deeds.
Without a cause one again cannot expect to enjoy the result - one cannot have
happiness without creating its cause, and the cause here is practice of virtue.
Virtuous deeds are actions which are not created by the defilements - actions
that are created out of love and compassion. It is through such actions, Shantideva
said, that all happiness in this universe comes - from wanting other people
to be happy. Through our own example we can learn very clearly how much we long
for happiness and how much we want to be free from suffering. Every other sentient
being also feels the same way. So therefore we must make the effort. It is wrong
just to care for ourselves alone. We have to care for others. So just as we
try not to be controlled by negative mind we try also to develop positive aspects
of our mind such as loving kindness and compassion. Actions created out of loving
kindness and compassion are the source of all happiness and benefit and we must
try to make every effort in this. By so doing one can really enjoy true peace
and true happiness in this life.
In Buddhism we talk about rebirth. According to Buddhism we have rebirth, we
have a life before this present life and a life after it - not just this life.
We have a body and the mind. The body is something that is solid and visible.
We know where this present physical body comes from: it comes from our parents.
And also for the time being we can see this body with our eyes, we can touch
it with our hands, and we can describe it as to its size, colour, shape and
so forth. In the end, when we leave this world this physical body will be of
course be discarded in one way or another. This is very clear. But the mind
is something very different. The mind cannot appear without cause, it cannot
appear out of space, and it cannot arise from an unrelated cause. Mind is very
different from the physical body, very different from matter. Mind is something
which we cannot see with our eyes or touch with our hands. It cannot be measured
or described as to any colour or any particular shape. Something which is so
totally different from the physical body cannot arise from some such material
substance. It cannot arise from the elements or from other visible things. So
where does it come from? It has to come from causes of a similar nature, just
as rice grows from rice seed and wheat from wheat seed. Similarly the mind also
has to arise from its own same kind of continuity. In this way our present mind,
our present consciousness has to come from the previous mind, and that itself
comes from the mind before that. However far we look backwards in time, we can
find no beginning to it. So it is called beginningless. One cannot say that
this particular persons consciousness began at this date, at this time.
It is a beginningless continuity. Our consciousness is presently within this
physical body but when we dispose of this body we cannot dispose of the mind,
we cannot cremate mind, we cannot bury it. Mind is something very different.
So although this body will be disposed of one way or another, the mind cannot
disappear in that kind of way. It continues, it takes another form. In this
way it goes on. Thus the life we experience now is called Samsara, which means
the round or the cycle of existence. Throughout beginningless time until now
it has been turning again and again like a wheel. The wheel of life, as we call
it, continues endlessly for as long as we remain in this circle of existence.
In this way we can deduce logically that there is a life before and that there
is a life after. There are of course other factors too: there are many people
who can remember their past lives, who can recognise their parents and so forth.
So from the logical viewpoint the mind cannot arise from something totally different
and we know also that it cannot arise without a cause or from the wrong cause.
So the mind has to have its own same kind of continuity. Although the mind is
changing all the time it is the same continuity that goes on without ever ceasing.
In this present life for example, when we are adults the mind is very different
from when we were children. The mind in childhood and the mind in adulthood
is very different, but it is the same continuity, without ceasing. So although
it is very different now, we can still remember the things we did when we were
children. In this way the mind goes on, - not just for this life only, but for
many lives to to come.
As for future lives and the present life, which is the more important? Of course
future lives are more important. This present life at the longest lasts for
about a hundred years, whereas the future is endless. Many, many lives lie ahead.
So the future is of course more important. And for those future lives the Dharma,
spiritual practice, is the most important thing. No matter how much wealth we
have, no matter how much power, no matter how many friends, no matter how much
strength we possess, the day we die is the day we have to leave everything behind.
Even people surrounded by bodyguards cannot protect themselves from this. When
the time comes they have to go alone. Even this very precious body which we
always care about so much has to be left behind. We eat food to relieve its
hunger, we drink to relieve its thirst, we wear clothes to protect it from the
cold, we have fans and other things to cool it, we constantly care for it, -
this body which has been with us, with our present mind, ever since we were
conceived in our mothers womb , even this has to be left behind. Only
consciousness alone has to travel to an unknown destination. At that time nothing
will be of help, whether it be wealth, power, strength, friends, relatives,
or possessions. We will not be able to take any of these things with with us.
The only thing one can rely upon at that time is spiritual practice. This is
the most important thing for the next life. So for the sake of this life, as
well as for the next, spiritual practice is the most important thing. We must
engage in it now while we are still young and still healthy. This is very important.since
otherwise we never know when we will lose such an opportunity.
The Buddha said all compounded things are impermanent. "Compounded"
means anything created in dependence on causes and conditions. Many such conditions
are needed together. For example many different conditions are necessary for
a flower to grow - fertile ground, water, fertilisers, and so on. And when these
different causes and conditions come together then the flower grows. So all
compound things are impermanent, which means that whatever things arise out
of causes and conditions, all these are impermanent. Everything is impermanent
- particularly our human life. We do not have a definite life span. As we can
see, many die before they are born, many dead babies are born. Some die right
after birth, some die as they are infants, some as children, some as teenagers,
some as adults, and so forth. So none of us can be sure as to when we will lose
this opportunity. So everything is impermanent. Thinking about impermanence
is of great benefit. By contemplating it we give up attachment to possessions,
and it will also help us to enter the spiritual path. After entering the spiritual
path it enhances the qualities of our spiritual practice. Eventually it ensures
success in reaching our spiritual goals.
Thus for the sake of this life as well as for the next, it is very important
to abstain from non-virtuous deeds and practice virtuous deeds. But to abstain
from physical and verbal non-virtue, and to practise physical and verbal virtue
is not easy without taming the mind. As I have said, the defilements are very
strong. The defilements are very much part of our mind. For example people who
are used to bad habits, find it hard, even in this life,to give them up. Smoking
is very harmful from a health point of view and also from a money point of view
but for people who are used to smoking it is difficult to give up. But the defilements
are much stronger than that. The defilements come not only in this life - we
have been associated with them from beginningless time. So it is very difficult.
Even when one knows that one is indulging in physical negativity and verbal
negativity and that these are harmful, it is difficult to abstain. They arise
so easily. Even small negativities.- one word, one piece of behaviour, - can
cause much anger. Similarly other defilements such as jealousy and pride, all
very easily arise. So to abstain from them we have to train the mind.
The Buddha gave an enormous number of teachings for purpose of taming our wild
mind. It is on account of this very wild mind that we have been indulging in
negative activity and are therefore here in Samsara, experiencing many different
kinds of suffering.. And so if we wish to be free from suffering in this life
as well as in future lives it is very important to abstain from non-virtuous
deeds. It is in order to avoid them that we have to tame the mind. To do this
we must investigate its nature.
And so now to investigate the mind from which suffering comes. The source of
all faults and all suffering is the incorrect notion of self-clinging. According
to the teachings, every living being possesses Buddha Nature. We all have the
Buddha Nature. It is like a seed which has the potential to grow into a crop
if it meets with the right conditions. But if it does not meet with the right
conditions, - if for example you keep the seed in a dry box, - then even if
you keep it for a thousand years it will not grow. Similarly if we ourselves
do not meet with the right conditions we will not become Buddhas. But if we
meet with the right conditions, every sentient being has the potential to become
a fully enlightened Buddha. The true nature of mind is never stained with the
defilements. The defilements are not the nature of mind, they are outside the
the true nature of the mind. Therefore there are right methods for eliminating
these outer defilements.
So the negative deeds which we all commit again and again come from the defilements,
and from where do the defilements come? They come from the wrong notion of self-
clinging. Instead of seeing the true nature of mind, which is pure and which
is the Buddha nature, instead of seeing this, we cling without any logical reason
to the self.
This self has to be either a name, or a body, or the mind. A name is empty by
itself and any name could be given to anybody at any time. And we can investigate
the physical body from head to toe, each and every part of the body, without
finding anything called self anywhere within it. Mind also, as I have said,
changes from moment to moment. The past mind is already gone, the future mind
has yet to arise, and the present mind is also momentarily changing. Something
that is momentarily changing cannot be the self. Besides, even in our normal
usage of language at the worldly level we talk about "my house", "my
car", and "my possessions". But when we say "my house",
this means that the house belongs to myself and that the house is not myself.
Similarly when we talk about "my body", this means that the body belongs
to myself and that the body itself is not myself. This implies that the body
belongs to oneself just as one's house belongs to oneself. Similarly when we
say my mind we imply that the mind belongs to us. So who are we?
Where is the real self? It is not the body, nor is it the mind. So who is the
real owner? Who owns the house, the body and the mind? We cling to the body
and mind together as a self. This of course has no logic. It is a wrong notion.
But on the basis of this notion, of thinking "I", then in relation
to that you have "others". This is just like "right" and
"left". If one has a right side then one has to have a left side.
One cannot have the right side alone, without the left. If there is a right
side then there has also to be a left. Similarly when one has the self and one
thinks "I" then one has to have "others". When we have self
and others, this is a duality. Thus when one has the notion of self, then one
has attachment to ones own side, and when one has the notion of others
one has hatred for others, anger for others who do not agree with one's own
ideas, for others who do not have the same views and so forth.
In this way the defilements arise. Basically they come from ignorance. Instead
of seeing the true nature of mind, we think of it as a self. So it is due to
lack of wisdom and due to ignorance that we cling to a self and then from this
ignorance arises attachment and anger. So the three main poisons, the three
main defilements arise in this way. Then from those arise the other defilements
such as pride, jealousy etc. And when these defilements are present, then any
actions we create under their influence are non-virtuous. For example if the
seed of a tree is poisonous then anything growing on that tree, such as flowers,
trees and branches, is likewise poisonous. Similarly any non-virtuous action
arising from the defilements creates suffering both in this life as well as
in future lives.
In order to abandon non-virtuous deeds we must abandon the defilements. And
in order to abandon the defilements we must abandon self-clinging. So the root
of all faults and suffering is self clinging. The way to conqueror this is to
counteract it with positive aspects of mind such as loving kindness and compassion.
Although we all have a certain amount of loving kindness and a certain amount
of compassion, our present loving kindness and compassion is very limited. And
it is based on selfishness. We love someone because that person is either our
relative or our friend or someone with whom we have a strong connection. It
is because of these things that we love somebody. And again we have compassion
for someone because that person is related to us or a friend. Compassion of
course means wishing someone to be free from suffering . Such compassion and
loving kindness is not enough. True loving kindness and true compassion is that
which is felt towards all sentient beings without any discrimination. One loves
one's friends and one also loves one's enemies; people one knows and people
one does not know - even beings of whom one has never heard or never seen, any
and every living being. We have to try to develop loving kindness and compassion
in this way.
In this way we create what is called the Enlightenment Thought. When we have
loving kindness and compassion, there then arises the Enlightenment Thought.
Just wanting everybody to be happy and everybody to be free from suffering,
just merely wishing this is not enough. Actually we literally need to rescue
sentient beings. And the way to rescue sentient beings is to attain enlightenment.
Because once we attain enlightenment then we can help. Then we can rescue sentient
beings, millions of sentient beings, even in a single moment. It is in this
way that we develop the Bodhicitta or the Enlightenment Thought. It is in this
way that we create tremendous merit.
But merit alone is again not enough. Merit, loving kindness, compassion and
the Enlightenment Thought, all of these suppress self-clinging so that it does
not become active. But the root of self-clinging is still there and will again
grow. To dig it out we need to develop wisdom - the wisdom of realising the
true nature of mind. But such wisdom very much depends on merit. It cannot be
gained just through study, through exams, through reasoning or through contemplation.
This wisdom can of course basically be gained through meditation but at the
same time it is necessary that we accumulate an enormous amount of merit. So
merit and wisdom are both most important. In order to accumulate merit effectively
we need wisdom. In order to give rise to real wisdom, the wisdom to see the
true nature of mind, the wisdom that realises selflessness we need merit. For
example in order to see the top of a mountain in the west one needs to climb
to the top of a mountain in the east. Similarly, in order to accumulate wisdom
(which is like the mountain in the west) we need to accumulate great merit (which
is like the mountain in the east). Through the accumulation of merit there then
arises wisdom through meditation - in this way we can accomplish the wisdom
to realise selflessness. And that is the true nature of the mind. So with the
two together, method and wisdom, one accomplishes the goal. Just as birds can
fly in the sky with two wings but not with one wing only, so similarly to accomplish
enlightenment we need both merit and wisdom together.
So the first step
for beginners is to accumulate the merit. The way to do so is to abstain from
non-virtuous deeds. Then after abstaining from non-virtuous deeds we have to
practise virtuous deeds. And through such practice of virtue we then accumulate
merit. It is through accumulation of merit that wisdom arises in us.
This very briefly is the main teaching of the Buddha. With this I conclude this
talk and wish that you all fulfil your wishes - and especially that you have
complete success in your spiritual path.