Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Teaching on Solving our Human Problems
Transcript of video teaching
We may think that problems of anger are worse than problems of attachment, but in fact it is the opposite because anger itself arises from attachment.
For example when someone harms us verbally, physically, or through other methods we get angry and experience unhappiness. Why? Because we have attachment to things such as our possessions, our position, and our reputation. If we have no attachment, it doesn’t matter even if they harm us. Even shouting or criticism doesn’t matter, even if they take our possessions it doesn’t matter because we have no attachment to these things.
Because we have strong attachment to these things, if someone harms we get angry and experience problems. This is very clear. When someone goes against our wishes or our views we get angry and experience problems because we have strong attachment to the fulfillment of our wishes and our views. If we have no attachment to the fulfillment of our wishes it doesn’t matter who goes against our wishes. We never get angry and we never experience problems because we have no attachment to these things. When we lose our job, money, lover and so forth, or our friend, we experience pain and become angry because we have attachment to these things. This is very clear.
We human beings have the opportunity to enter the path to liberation and enlightenment through Dharma practice. This is the real meaning of our human life. We have the opportunity to enter the path to liberation and enlightenment through Dharma practice. This is the real meaning of our human life.
However, because we have strong attachment to worldly pleasures, worldly enjoyments, we have no interest to practice Dharma. Even if we understand the meaning of Dharma through listening to teachings, reading Dharma, perfectly but still there is not much interest because of attachment. Our mind goes to the object of attachment and does not go to Dharma. Our mind is mixing with the object of attachment, never mixing with Dharma. Even during meditation, the mind goes to the object of attachment, remembering it. Sometimes during meditation the object of attachment appears more clearly than the meditation object! Because we relax, we are not so busy so then we have a lot of time to think about it! So although we have such a good opportunity to enter the path to liberation and enlightenment, because we have strong attachment to worldly pleasures, worldly enjoyments we have no interest to practice Dharma, because of attachment. Our attachment never allows us to enter the liberating path. It binds us tightly in samsara, contaminated life, and leads us to experience unbearable suffering continually in life after life. It is our worst enemy who always resides at our heart remaining almost as inseparable from our mind.
Our attachment never allows us to enter the liberating path. Instead it binds us tightly in contaminated life, samsara, and leads us to experience unbearable suffering, continually, in life after life. It is our worst enemy who always resides at our heart, remaining almost as inseparable from our mind, mixed.
Other than Dharma there is no method to remove this invisible enemy from our mind. There is no other method only Dharma. Other than Dharma there is no method to remove this invisible enemy from our mind. Every problem throughout our life, in life after life, comes from our attachment, which in turn comes from our ignorance of self-grasping.
So although many people do not believe it, do not accept, but in truth, no single living beings can be our enemy, because they are all our mothers. Although many people do not believe this, it is the truth. Our real enemy is our delusions: – our anger, attachment, and especially ignorance of self-grasping. These delusions have no function other than to harm us. We are always under the control of our delusion. We have no freedom at all.
Only through Dharma practice can we gain the ability to control our delusions. And only through controlling our delusions can we solve our human problems. There is no real method to solve human problems other than Dharma. Through this we can understand how important our daily practice of Dharma is.
