Abandoning, Transforming, Transcending - Khenpo Kunga - 28/11/2025 (2/3)

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

Transforming

We’ve seen that concerning abandoning, being aware of the klesha was the most important method.  This applies also to transforming and transcending.

We can ask: when the kleshas are transformed, how or where are they transformed?  There are three ways:

•  Bodhicitta that belongs to lojong
•  The form of the deity, that belongs to development stage practice
•  Yeshe, wisdom, that belongs to the completion stage of the path of liberation

Lojong style

The best way is using the Joy of living 2 methods, applying compassion.  When we have a klesha, is like our mind becomes sullied, contaminated.  We feel ill and this is cause we accumulate karma in the future.

First, we need to raise awareness, “I have this klesha in my mind.” Then we reflect, “Not only me have this klesha, but also many others have it. When they have it, it can be a cause to accumulate karma.”    That leads us to wish, “May my klesha prevent other beings from having it. May this klesha ripen in me instead of other beings. May them be cleared from it.”

There method has five steps:

1. Activate awareness, and see the klesha as a fault.
2. Having seen it, recognize that other beings can also experience this klesha.
3. Consider the suffering the klesha provokes in other beings when they experience it.  That activates our compassion, to take that klesha into us.
4. Appreciate to have developed compassion for other beings. Out of the klesha we made something useful.
5. Reflect on the process and acknowledge that doing the previous steps are causes to attain buddhahood.

Development stage style: transforming the klesha in the deity

In my mind stream I have the kleshas that can be transformed in the Buddhas (of the five families). The reason is the essence of the kleshas is wisdom, and the root of the five buddha families.

This is based in the recognition of the most subtle aspect of the mind, the 8th consciousness, the alaya-vijnana.  The undeluded aspect can be called rigpa or pure awareness.  In the alaya-vijnana there is also one aspect without recognition, the deluded aspect, that can be called alaya itself.  The deluded aspect is the basis for the 7th consciousness, the self-grasping, mainly to the sense of self, that is the reason that the five poisons manifest. Otherwise, when the 8th consciousness is not deluded, there is rigpa (recognition) and the five wisdoms manifest as the five Buddha families.

For example, when desire arises, its nature is Buddha Amitabha, so we can bring to mind his image and rest the mind on it.  This is the traditional way to act.  But we can generalize and see any emotion (anger, delusion, desire…) in the form of the same deity (e.g. Tara) or the form of the lama.  The key point is that we don’t try to stop or block the thought.  We see the klesha in the form of the deity.  That is the key of transformation.

This way of doing is based on the development stage practice, therefore if we don’t have a foundation on the development stage it is very difficult to use this method of transforming the kleshas into deities.  If we lack of mastery, we can transform the klesha into bodhicitta, generating compassion and so on.  If we are familiar with the development stage, this practice is however very beneficial.

Completion stage style: transforming kleshas into yeshe, original wakefulness

There are two stages:

• Transforming into the path of wisdom
• Essence of wisdom, that is equivalent to knowing the essence

Emotions are not totally bad, as they have faults, they have also qualities.  We start by recognizing that we (ordinary samsaric beings) all have kleshas.  Any attempt to get rid of the kleshas would not help, as we can’t access the consciousness without them [We need kleshas in our path] What we do is when we recognize a klesha we separate its qualities from its faults.

For example, if we are jealous, is because we see good qualities in others, instead we wouldn’t become jealous.  When recognize jealousy, we acknowledge that we see good qualities in others, and we rejoice in that.  That makes jealousy go away, while we keep the rejoicing aspect.

In the case of pride, we see our own good qualities, which is OK, but we let go the part where we see us better than others.  Pride then can lead us to dignity and confidence.

If we look at anger, it arises when we see the fault in something or someone else.  Instead of blocking the feeling or the fault, we generate compassion.  It doesn’t matter if the fault is true or not, we generate compassion for the being may free from the fault.

In the case of attachment, we see something or someone as delightful.  We can enjoy the delightfulness and make an offering or transform it into love.

Delusion doesn’t have a particular way.  It is a foundation to other kleshas.  Therefore, when we transform the other kleshas, delusion is also transformed.  That is why it doesn’t need a specific method of transformation.