Geshe Lama Konchok’s talk today centred around the unsurpassed and most excellent teachings of the Buddha and how it differs doctrinally from other religions. In particular, Geshe la introduced (i) the law of dependent arising and (ii) the principle of non harming of sentient beings, as the two fundamental tenets of Buddhist practice. Geshe la explained that if one understands the essence of these two principles, one has grasped the basic essence of Buddhism and Buddhist practice.
Geshe la mentioned that whilst to many, Buddhism is simply a religion in which we pay respects to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas through rituals, these outer actions or utterance of words are merely mechanical. Apart from being easy to imitate, they do not take us any further in our practice. As human beings, we are gifted with wisdom, so we need to understand what we are doing and why we are doing it – that is why these two key principles are so important.
Master first explained that the law of dependent arising (缘起)is important because it explains every single phenomena that we experience in this life. Every occurrence and experience that we have in this life, whether pleasant or unpleasant, comes about as a result of our acts or omissions from the past.
In the same way that one’s ability to enjoy a good fruit (ripening of previous positive karma) is dependent upon a good seed sowed in the past, we cannot enjoy a positive experience in this life without first having created a positive cause in the past. Equally, if one has to face a bad fruit and experience suffering (ripening of previous negative karma), that is due to negative conditions created in the past. This is in essence, the law of causality or karma.
There is therefore every reason to be thankful for virtues performed in our previous lives because it is through that that we have a human form in this life, and are able to experience positive conditions in this life. It is that same principle that will guide us in terms of how we live and treat others in this life, as it will have an impact on how our next life will be.
All positive experiences in this life, whether it be one’s wealth, health, longevity, good looks, etc, come about due to positive causes created in the past.
For example, good health and a long life come from performing virtuous acts such as life liberation, having a good heart, etc.
Again by way of example, good looks come about from treating those who wrongly accuse or insult one, with equanimity and compassion. Students took part in an active discussion on this topic, and Geshe la explained that when people slander or otherwise engage in unjustified antagonism against us, it is important to understand that those people labour under the influence of their poisons of ignorance, aversion, and attachment, and are therefore overly attached to his/ her own sense of the “self”. One should therefore understand that the antagonist has lost his or her ability to have full control of himself/ herself and develop compassion for them. Of course, that does not mean taking things lying down – one can state one’s position firmly, but avoid having negative emotions (such as vengefulness/ hate/ aversion) arise. Through this practice, one will be gifted in the next life with, amongst other things, a beautiful appearance.
Geshe la also explained how one balances (and where appropriate, distinguishes) between practising equanimity and compassion, and taking a firm position on another’s wrongdoing. Geshe la shared a story recounting one of the previous lives of Lord Shakyamuni Buddha when he was a Bodhisattva on the path. In that life, he had been a captain of a ship carrying 500 passengers who were going on a mission to search for treasure. He then came to learn that one of the individuals was planning to kill the other 500 people (including the captain) onboard the ship in order to be able to keep all the treasure for himself, and the kind Lord killed that individual to prevent the calamity.
Geshe la explained that the act of killing, whilst unwholesome when viewed in isolation, was motivated by compassion not only for the potential 500 victims but also for the antagonist – it prevented that criminal from creating even greater negative karma by taking the lives of 500 innocent people.
Because of the Buddhist belief independent arising, Buddhism rejects the idea of an almighty creator God having the ability to influence every person, thing, or phenomena in this world (or beyond).
Coming to the principle of non harming (and if possible, always helping) other sentient beings, it is always important to keep these principles in mind in one’s daily life. Geshe la was quick to clarify that adherence to this rule does not mean that one cannot function normally in one’s job, whether in business or in any given profession. Apart from the story of the Lord Buddha in his previous life as a ship’s captain who killed in order to avert a larger catastrophe as mentioned above, Geshe la gave the example of a Judge in a court of law whose duty it is to convict criminals – the imposition of a sentence would, on the face of it, cause suffering to the accused who is found guilty but is again a positive act to ensure the laws of the land aimed at preventing harm in society are properly administered.
Geshe la concluded by reminding the class to keep in mind these two basic principles each waking hour of the day, as it will guide us as to how to act. As such, one is one’s own key to salvation on the Buddhist path.
We thank Geshe la for his kind teachings.