The Index Page provides an outline of the topics discussed in each of the lectures. 

SECTION ONE

Lecture 1

• Introduction
• Biography of Atisha
• Lamrim texts
• All happiness and suffering come from the mind
• The suffering of change
• Dharma is the cause of happiness
• Dealing with a person who harms you
• Everything comes from the mind

Lecture 2

• The dissatisfied mind of desire
• How the mind labels
• Everything comes from the mind
• The need for compassion
• Problems are labeled by the mind
• Mind is the creator of everything

Lecture 3

• The base and the label
• Subtle dependent arising
• Guru devotion and dependent arising
• Searching for the I
• Everything comes from the mind  

Lecture 4

• Emptiness
• The truly-existing I
• The difference between the base and the label
• Where the concept of true existence comes from
• Perfect human rebirth
• Hallucinations
• The importance of practicing Dharma

SECTION TWO

Lecture 5

• Questions and answers
• How things exist
• Dependent arising
• Emptiness cuts to the root of samsara
• Emptiness and dependent arising
• Universal responsibility 

Lecture 6

• Searching for the I
• The five aggregates
• Subtle dependent arising
• Enlightenment
• The paths within Buddhism
• Compassion
• The power of the Buddha
• The actions of bodhisattvas
• The qualities of the Buddha
• Compassion
• The aggregates are not the I
• Searching for the truly-existing I  

Lecture 7

• The purpose of life
• The perfect human rebirth
• The kindness of the mother
• Repaying the kindness
• All happiness comes from others
• The purpose of life  

Lecture 8

• The aim of a spiritual practice
• The mind does not exist from its own side
• Because of buddha nature we have the opportunity to help others
• Compassion

SECTION THREE

Lecture 9

• Emptiness
• The eight types of suffering
• Guru devotion and emptiness
• The truly-existing I as the object of refutation
• Losing the I
• The continuation of the consciousness  

Lecture 10

• Realizing emptiness
• The sufferings of samsara
• The Tibetan monastic structure
• The suffering of the god realms
• The fortune of being born in the southern continent  

Lecture 11

• The kindness of others
• Compassion
• Immeasurable compassion
• Guru devotion
• The meaning of Dharma 

Lecture 11(a)
Tara Commentary and Motivation

• The power of the Tara practice
• The power of Tara (no outside Yama)
• The power of Tara (victory of the maras)
• The power of Tara (the absolute guru)
• The meaning of the Tara mantra
• The benefits of the Tara practice  

Lecture 12

• The purpose of life
• Helping others
• The three scopes
• The three realms: the form realm
• The three realms: the formless realm
• The middle scope being

SECTION FOUR

Lecture 13

• The middle scope being (cont.)
• The middle scope being (not seeing samsara as a pleasure park)
• The five paths
• How to practice Dharma
• Pervasive compounding suffering
• The suffering of change
• Samsara is not a pleasure park
• The general sufferings of samsara
• The evolution of samsara
• Being yourself  

Lecture 14

• The eight Mahayana precepts
• The suffering of samsara
• An explanation of the precepts prayer
• An explanation of the precepts prayer (nonvirtue depends on motivation)
• An explanation of the precepts prayer (sitting on high thrones)
• An explanation of the precepts prayer (not eating at inappropriate times)
• Dedication
• The benefits of taking precepts
• Dedication  

Lecture 15

• The three scopes
• An overview of the Guru Puja
• The eight worldly dharmas
• Dealing with criticism (by remembering emptiness)
• Dealing with criticism (by generating compassion)
• Getsul Tsimbulwa’s story
• Asanga’s story
• The benefits of problems
• Letting go of attachment
• Letting go of expectations
• Compassion for the enemy
• Dedication  

Lecture 16

• The eight worldly dharmas
• The shortcomings of samsara
• Karma (experiencing the result similar to the cause)
• The eight worldly dharmas stops us practicing Dharma
• Remembering death

SECTION FIVE

Lecture 17

• The eight worldly dharmas bring all problems
• “It’s better to practice Dharma” (Dromtömpa’s story)
• Remembering impermanence and death
• Dedicating a cup of tea
• The appearance of true existence
• The importance of purification
• Practicing Dharma eliminates concern for this life
• Rinpoche’s life story: Rolwaling
• Rinpoche’s life story: after Tibet  

Lecture 18

• The three scopes
• The higher scope and bodhicitta
• We must train in the whole lamrim
• The nature of samsara
• The three types of worldly dharma
• The evolution of human beings
• The five degenerations
• The degeneration of life
• Virtue and nonvirtue depend on motivation
• Discriminating what is Dharma and what is not Dharma
• Remembering impermanence and death  

Lecture 19

• Renunciation
• Khunu Lama Rinpoche
• Seeing the body as dirty  

Lecture 20

• The suffering of samsara
• Karma: nothing is definite in samsara
• Karma: not seeing is no proof that karma doesn’t work
• Realizing how fortunate we are
• Rinpoche’s teaching style
• How to listen to the teachings
• Refuge
• Mahayana refuge
• Karma: good luck means good karma
• How to accumulate merit
• The fly on the cow dung
• Refuge: how it creates extensive merit
• Refuge protects from the lower realms
• Refuge leads to enlightenment
• The prostration mudra
• Taking refuge in the Triple Gem (the ceremony)
• Refuge precepts

SECTION SIX

Lecture 21

• Understanding the Dharma
• Dealing with anger
• Bodhicitta: the seven points of cause and effect
• The benefits of patience
• The importance of the three principal aspects of the path
• The importance of motivation
• The benefits of light offerings
• How to make light offerings
• The benefits of offering to the FPMT  

Lecture 22

• The dangers of clinging to this life
• The early days of the FPMT
• Zina
• The three principal aspects of the path are needed even for tantra  

Lecture 23

• Lama Yeshe’s story
• Kari Rinpoche
• Zina dies
• The three principal aspects of the path : your wisdom is your guide
• Understanding the lamrim is preferable to having clairvoyance
• There is no happiness in samsara
• The wheel-turning king
• How devotion can heal: Tony Wong’s story
• Only Dharma can help at the time of death
• The lamrim definitely leads to enlightenment
• Healing helps the symptoms; Dharma helps the cause
• Motivation for the oral transmission of the Essence of Nectar  

Lecture 24  

• Question and answer: how things exist
• Three ways of knowing
• Reincarnation
• The Buddha explained very hidden objects
• Why we can trust the Buddha

SECTION SEVEN

Lecture 25

• Asanga and the maggoty dog
• Getsul Tsimbulwa
• Renunciation
• The benefits of meditating on impermanence and death
• The meaning of “self-supporting”
• Impermanence and death: purifying negative karma
• The definition of negative karma
• Signs at death of future rebirth in the lower realms
• The sense of permanence tricks us
• Death can come at any time
• Dying with a good heart
• Renunciation
• We can trust the Dharma  

Lecture 26

• The cause of happiness
• The third path: “heat” and “tip”
• The third path: the Prasangika way of analysis
• The third path: heresy
• The third path: a good heart saves from the lower realms
• The third path: the kind of death experienced depends on the mind
• The four suffering results
• Guru devotion  

Lecture 27

• The mind qualified to take refuge
• Labeling
• Labeling long and short
• Labeling here and there
• Labeling me and other
• The importance of understanding emptiness
• Wisdom cuts delusions
• Refuge
• Suffering
• The suffering of taking an animal rebirth
• Bodhicitta  

Lecture 28

• Requesting prayers to the lineage lamas
• Manjushri’s advice to Lama Tsongkhapa
• Lamrim needs to be experienced in the heart
• Everything comes from the mind
• What is mind?
• Reincarnation stories
• Meditating on lamrim
• Perfect human rebirth
• Oral transmission
• The kindness of the guru
• Vajrasattva

SECTION EIGHT

Lecture 29

• The purpose of chanting
• What helps and hinders at the time of death
• The old monk and his butter tea
• Craving and grasping block a good rebirth
• Life without Dharma
• Training the mind in the lamrim
• Only tantra gives complete knowledge about the mind
• The importance of learning about death
• Thubten Sherab’s story
• Happiness and unhappiness
• Tibetans in Switzerland
• Helping the dying
• FPMT hospices
• Vajrasattva
• Dedication  

Lecture 30

• Everything comes from the mind
• Labeling the scarecrow as a person
• Labeling Kathmandu
• The I is not the aggregates
• Dependent arising
• A valid base is also needed
• The story of the man with no head
• Mind is not the brain
• Radio interviews in Adelaide
• The base, the label and the mind
• The parts of the table are not the table
• Labeling the “A”
• Labeling woman, table, car
• The object of refutation
• The valid base and the red light  

Lecture 31

• The mind as creator
• Labeling friend, enemy, good bad
• The view of the self-cherishing thought
• The view of bodhicitta
• Views creates appearances  

Lecture 32

• Dependent arising
• Searching for the formally labeled table
• The danger of nihilism
• Dependent arising
• Searching for the table
• Searching for the book
• The need to meditate on the lower realms
• Renunciation and reflecting on the sufferings of samsara
• Karma
• The hells

SECTION NINE

Lecture 33

• Tantric rituals are more than devotion
• The valid base
• The valid mind
• The obscuring mind  

Lecture 34

• How the Buddha and the Sangha guide
• The Buddha’s past lives
• The actions of the bodhisattvas
• How the Buddha guides
• Geshe Jampa Wangdu
• Thogme Zangpo and the thieves
• The Sangha as objects of refuge
• How negative karma increases