Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

Transcript of video teaching

Now, what is the real, actual object of renunciation? That is the suffering of future lives. Sufferings of future lives is the object of renunciation. Having understood clearly the sufferings of future lives, then when you want to liberate oneself from this suffering, this is renunciation. This is real renunciation. This is the gateway through which we enter the path to enlightenment.

So Buddha said, ‘You should know suffering.’ This means you should know the suffering of future lives. We should contemplate the suffering of future lives. If we contemplate the suffering of future lives, future lives are endless, so the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness and death are endless. This circle from life to life is endless. So we will develop fear of contaminated rebirth, suffering of future lives. This fear is in reality a realization. It is not ordinary fear. When we develop this fear, it is a realization.

But unfortunately we never fear the suffering of future lives because we don’t believe it much. Our problem is we don’t want to believe that future lives exist. This is our problem. We don’t want to accept the existence of future lives because we don’t like it, because we want to want to enjoy this life alone. This is our reason. We have no valid reason to not accept the existence of future lives. We have no valid reason to reject the existence of future lives. Our reason is because we don’t want to accept, because we like to enjoy this life. This is our reason. It looks like stupid reason.

This is like some old people who do not accept they are old, because they don’t like it! But in truth, they are still old! But still they are pretending they are young. And they deny or don’t accept they are old, because they don’t like it. But this is a wrong reason, not a valid reason. In truth they are still old.

Similarly we don’t accept the existence of future lives, we reject existence of future lives because we don’t like it, because we like to enjoy this life. This is a stupid attitude. We will see (if we check) carefully. In truth there are future lives. In the depths of our heart we understand existence of future lives, definitely. Even if they verbally say there are no future lives, and from their reaction, daily activity point of view they don’t believe future lives, but sometimes they understand the existence of future lives through their own experience. I understand many times this kind of thing from different people. We human beings are from one point of view very intelligent, but from another point of view, looks like stupid! Sorry!

It looks like for example, if someone told me, ‘This week someone is coming here to kill you’. If I deny, this is stupid. Whether it is the truth or not, we don’t know exactly, but if I accept the information he or she is giving me, then I will prepare to save myself. This is good result. If I deny, then if someone actually comes to kill me – too late.

Similarly, Buddha said there are future lives, there are so many future problems. If we accept we will prepare to save ourselves from future suffering. If we do not accept, then when death comes – too late.

Not only Buddha. That doesn’t matter. We don’t need to say that future lives exist because Buddha said, we don’t need to say this, because through our own understanding, through examination, carefully, even those who normally deny future lives, from the depths of their hearts they understand, but this is intellectual but they don’t believe.

So then for example those who deny the existence of future lives, when their mother dies, they say, ‘Can you pray for my mother.’ Why pray, because no future lives, so why pray? Do you understand? For example if you deny the existence of future lives, then for example, if your mother dies, why do we say, ‘Can you please pray for my mother, she died’? What reason if nothing exists in future lives? So in reality, they believe in the existence of future lives. So therefore it naturally comes. Sometimes in a specific instance they verbally say, ‘Can you pray for such and such a dead person,’ indicating that in reality they understand the existence of future lives but they do not accept but reject because they don’t like.