Entering the Middle Way, 25 July 1991, part 2

So in the text, the Bodhicaryāvatāra, by Śāntideva, in the bodhisattva deeds, advantages of the cultivation of tolerance and the disadvantages of anger are extensively explained and one can carry on one’s practice in accordance with that explanation. So just as was noted with respect to the former perfections, here also there is both mundane and the super mundane perfection of tolerance. And skillful actions created out of the cultivation of tolerance are dedicated toward enlightenment. And if this is combined with the if the person making the dedication is a bodhisattva superior, that is to say someone who has a direct realization that the three spheres do not naturally exist, that is to say that the cultivator, the object of cultivation and the action cultivated are not naturally existent and dedicates in this way then it becomes supra mundane cultivation of tolerance. Without these then it becomes the mundane tolerance.

So all of the perfections have these two levels, the mundane and the super mundane. There’s the mundane and super mundane, perfection of generosity, that of ethics, and now of tolerance. So this practice of the perfection of the supreme perfection of tolerance is being cultivated by the third grounder and they are able to apply the most forceful antidotes to their anger and their ability and their application of antidotes is greater than grounds below themselves, and they have an extremely vast and powerful practice with respect to tolerance. On this ground the conqueror’s children have the concentrations and clairvoyances desire and hatred are extinguished; always he is able to overcome the world’s lustful desires as well. Due to the forcefulness of the bodhisattva’s practice of tolerance, he is able to achieve a high state of calm abiding and concentration, and he is able to achieve a high state of special insight.

He achieves various clairvoyances that he is able to overpower all desirous attachment and the force of anger and his his power at this point is extremely vast. So in general we can say there are two types of bodhisattvas. There is the lay bodhisattva and monastic bodhisattva. The the Buddha particularly praised the the practices of generosity, ethics, and tolerance for the lay bodhisattva. On the other hand the monastic bodhisattva is not involved in the gaining of livelihood in general.

As they do, for example, in Thailand the Theravadin monks, they go out on their alms round every day and they collect the food and whatever they are given they eat that. They do not involve them with the preparation of food or the buying of food and such things. So the the but the so it is the lay people who take care of the monks by preparing them food and making offerings of food to the monks. So it’s because the the lay practitioners have have a livelihood and money, they are able to practice. It is an excellent practice for them to make material offerings, practice material generosity where the monks cannot practice material generosity.

So he said, For those who combine their practice of generosity with the ethics of a lay vow holder, then this is excellent. And additionally it’s extremely important that they also carry on a practice of tolerance, that this creates harmony amongst them, that there is harmony amongst parents and their children, harmony within friends, harmony within a couple. So it is said that lay practitioners are able to practice these three, the first three perfections well, and therefore it would be excellent if they act in this way. So, but on the other hand there may be some difficulties for the lay practitioner to practice well the latter three perfections those are joyous effort, concentration, and wisdom. And these are more easily practiced by the monastic practitioner.

And just like a a bird needs two wings in order to fly, in order to achieve Buddhahood, we must must collect the two accumulations, the the accumulation of wisdom and accumulation of positive potential. So amongst the six perfections, the first three generosity, ethics, and tolerance mainly contribute to the accumulation of positive potential. The fourth perfection of joyous effort contributes to both accumulations. And the fifth and sixth perfection of concentration and wisdom contribute mainly to the accumulation of wisdom. Through these two as a a result of these two accumulations, there are two results arising out of these two accumulations.

Out of the accumulation of positive potential, the main result is the establishment of the Buddha body. Out of that of the accumulation of wisdom, the main result is the Buddha mind or the wisdom of the Buddha. So for ourselves, our main practice should be generosity, ethics, and tolerance. You know, we can all understand how to carry on these practices and we can all do them and therefore we can directly involve ourselves in the practices of these three. So we can practice according to our ability, but it’s necessary that we seek to cultivate these in their order.

If we aren’t able to practice the former perfections, we won’t be able to practice the latter ones. So we have to begin with the former and develop that ability and then move on to the latter ones. So if we understand the way of practice and actually carry out the practices, then we will accrue the benefit. On the other hand, if we understand how to practice we still don’t benefit, we still don’t practice, then there’s going to be no benefit. So each day we should practice as much as we can.

The fact is that we want happiness and we don’t want suffering. And in order to achieve that happiness we have to create its cause. If we don’t want to suffer, then we have to begin to abandon its cause. If we don’t create the causes of happiness, though we desire happiness, we won’t experience it. And though we do not wish to experience suffering, if we don’t abandon its causes, then we’re going to continue to experience suffering.

So if one simply doesn’t understand the way of practice, one doesn’t understand. Though and though everyone wants happiness and they they don’t want to suffer, if one doesn’t understand what are causes the of happiness and what are the causes of suffering, what is to be cultivated, what is to be abandoned, then there’s no great fault, not because one doesn’t understand. But if one does understand but still doesn’t practice in accordance with one’s understanding, then that’s really a pity. So if if someone simply doesn’t understand the way of practice and what are the causes of happiness, what are the causes of suffering, then, you know, we can’t it’s an object of compassion. We can’t say there’s any great fault since the person simply doesn’t understand.

But for those who do understand and they don’t practice then they are an object of great pity. It’s as if one had eyes but simply didn’t watch where one was going and fell off a cliff. It’s something something to be pitied. We have everything gathered together for us, that we have a human life with wisdom, with intelligence, that we have the time to practice, that we have companions to help us in our practice, that we have the Dharma, the various practices, and we have a teacher, a spiritual master, to teach us the practice, that we have everything that we need gathered together for it. So the greatest fault that we could engage in such a situation when we have all the various causes and conditions necessary to carry on our practice would be not to practice.

Then all of these conditions would be of no benefit. We would simply this would they will eventually come to an end. It’s as if someone was was so sick that they were near death and they were in the hospital, had a doctor, they had a nurse, the doctor prescribed medicine, they had other people, their parents were there, they had all the support that they needed in order to get well. Everything was there, all the conditions and causes to get better to save their life, but they didn’t take the medicine. And all of these supports were as if no benefit, as if they didn’t exist.

It is as if the doctor didn’t exist. It is as if the medicine didn’t exist. It is as if all these people weren’t there to help them. It’s simply everything has gone to waste. This would be a great fault, a great pity.

So we’re going to stop there if you have some questions. So the same So other than the fact that the object to which you may be directing your anger might be higher, appear, or lower, in which case due to the nature of the object there might be a difference in degree of the result of the anger. Other than that fact the result of anger is the same. One can you can even get angry at material things, articles. So I was just asking if there was ever an occasion where anger might be beneficial.

And first was Member Jay mentioned that what we had discussed previously in order to be able to identify anger it might be useful to become angry. But other than that, for example, in the case of a parent who in general has a great deal of compassion, has the best interest of their child in mind, that in order to correct their child, the child is being very naughty. Then they will be motivated out of their compassion, wanting their child to be well in the future, that things go well for them. So out of that sense of caring, out of that motivation, they might actually beat their child. And at that moment of the actual beating, they may become angry.

The actual conduct is negative, but it’s been motivated by a positive motivation. So in such a situation that anger might be beneficial. Maybe abuse. So the fault of anger is that it decreases the potency of the skillful action. It was a great skillful, And there was always a lessening of the potency.

If the result was going to be of a great variety it would be a middling variety. If it was going to be a middling it would be less. It’s always lessening. And also if the result were to be experienced very soon, then it will be experienced sometime in the longer future. That if it was going to be, for example, experienced tomorrow through anger it would not be experienced until next year.

It always has this quality of lessening the potency as to whether degree of greatness or degree of when in terms of time. You want to pursue? You want to Well, I was just I was saying that that’s the result. I was saying why is that result? Is that the result?

Is it because anger is so opposite to everything you’re trying to do? The So due to the power of anger, the potency of the skillful action is decreased and therefore the result will be decreased. This is like if you scorch a seed with fire. The more that the seed is scorched the greater the potency of that seed is destroyed until if it’s scorched to a great degree then even if you plant that seed, potency has been completely destroyed and nothing will grow.

So, it’s like, you know, like the bushfires which destroy the forests of Australia, then nothing grows there where the fire has gone through. So, everything is just it’s so diff it’s very difficult to create a positive potential. That’s very easy to generate. So, we have been habituated to anger from birth and it comes almost automatically to us. On the other hand, in order to create skillful actions, we have to have somebody explain what is a skillful action for example and we have to reflect upon skillful actions and then having done this it’s even rare when we actually do create a skillful action.

But all of these can be destroyed by moments of anger. And due to the force of our habituation, it’s no surprise that we will that we get angry. You know, that it’s going to it’s as if just a slight condition and anger flares up. But what we have to do is think reflect deeply on all the various faults and disadvantages of anger and the benefits of tolerance. And then combining this as a motivating force with being able to identify anger the moment it arises.

Because we’re habituated it’s going to arise, that’s for sure, but we can begin to recognize it very quickly when it does arise and then immediately apply an antidote. And then eventually our ability to will become less and less habituated to anger if we get it right at its initial point and the moments of anger will become less we will develop more moments of tolerance and we can shift the object to which we’re habituated to from anger to tolerance. So the past masters of the Lam Rim, the graduated paths, they used to say that, you know, it’s not surprising at all that people become angry. Everybody is going to become angry at certain conditions. But the important thing is to recognize it as quickly as possible when it begins to arise and not allow it to continue on.

And this we do through the power of mindfulness and awareness. Immediately upon recognizing it, hitting it on the head with a stick, applying an antidote to cause it to cease. And then this way our anger will become less and less. So this applies to all the various afflictive emotions. It’s really, you know, the