Abandoning, Transforming, Transcending - Khenpo Kunga - 21/11/2025 (1/3)

[Teaching translated by Adam Kane] This is are my notes of the Tergar webinar teachings.

Abandoning

All the teachings of the Buddha are contained in these three methods: abandoning, transforming, and knowing the essence. We can classify the teachings in three categories (or traditions): the sutras, the vajrayana and the pith instructions, that are connected to each of the methods.

In the sutra tradition we mainly use abandoning, in the vajrayana we use mainly transforming, and the pith instruction use mainly knowing the essence.

The Tibetan word nyon mongs (klesha in Sanskrit) is not easily translated in English. Nyon means “sullied”, “contaminated”, and mongs means “confused”.  Therefore, it means “contaminated due to the confusion”, although it is usually translated as “conflictive emotions”.

All the 84000 kleshas can be condensed in 20 categories, that can still be summarized in 5, to finally go down to three root kleshas: attachment, aversion and delusion, of which delusion is the ground for the other two.  Attachment and aversion contaminate our mind, that makes us generate karma and due to that we wander in samsara.

So, if samsara is due to kleshas, removing the cause will stop wandering in samsara. That is why abandoning emotions is practiced.

How to get rid of kleshas?

There are 3 steps / styles:

1. The best is to stop the cause of klesha to arise, which will keep us away from it.
2. If we are unable, the klesha arises and we need to be aware, then we need to apply an antidote, but this is more difficult.
3. The final recourse is not let the klesha engage in any action. For example, if we experience anger we could fight with someone, so we stop that from happening.

The causes of kleshas

To get rid of kleshas we need to know their three causes:

a) Being close to the object that triggers the klesha. Maybe we can remove physically from the presence of the object, but sometimes we cannot, and then we change our mental perception of the object. For example, if I get angry at someone, then we can keep distance, but if not, we can change perception: “this person has been my mother” or distinguish the person from the kleshas behind his/her behavior.

The best meditation is, however, on impermanence: the person, the situation, myself are impermanent, we don’t know what is happening in the future, maybe they or I will not be here tomorrow.

For desire, we can apply loving-kindness and unpleasantness.

• For example, depending or their age compared with ours, this lady is my mother, sister, daughter.
•  Reflect on the unclean parts of the body

We can also reflect on the lack of essence of the objects of desire/aversion.

b) Aversion and attachment happen because we hold self-grasping. Buddhas don’t experience it because they don't have self-grasping. Generate a clear understanding and no assumptions to decrease your self-grasping.

c) Lack of awareness. With awareness we can block the arising of kleshas, and therefore it is the most important to do.  We need also carefulness. Imagine a ground full of sharp rocks and walking barefoot; with carefulness we can avoid being hurt.