October 1, 1979 Berkeley, California Barrows Hall, University of California
52:07 minutes Summary (AI-generated):This recording provides a partial explanation of core Buddhist doctrines, focusing on the relationship between the two truths and the nature of reality. The speaker discusses how various religious traditions can serve the collective benefit of humankind and moves into a deep philosophical comparison between the Madhyamaka and Cittamatra systems to elucidate the concept of emptiness (śūnyatā) and the essential union of wisdom and compassionate method.
Main Topics:
The Role of Religion in Human Welfare
The speaker begins by reflecting on the intersection of diverse cultures and the shared goal of all religious traditions: the benefit of humanity. He suggests that different religions and philosophies act as various types of 'food for the mind,' catering to the different dispositions of individuals, and emphasizes that practitioners should focus on commonalities such as compassion and universal brotherhood rather than the divisive arguments that arise from focusing on differences.
The Two Truths and the Nature of Mind
The explanation transitions into the fundamental structural elements of Buddhism, focusing on the two truths—conventional truth (saṃvṛti-satya) and ultimate truth (paramārtha-satya)—and the two bodies of a Buddha (kāyadvaya). The recording describes the nature of the mind as a continuum of mere illumination and knowing, an entity that possesses the capacity to reflect various aspects but lacks a permanent, inherent beginning or end.
Comparative Perspectives on Emptiness
A significant portion of the recording is dedicated to comparing the Cittamatra (Yogācāra) and Madhyamaka systems. The explanation details how the Cittamatra view asserts that the consciousness perceiving an object is of the same entity as the object itself, whereas the Madhyamaka view, following the interpretation of Buddhapālita, argues that while phenomena appear to exist objectively, they are ultimately empty (śūnyatā) of inherent existence and cannot be found under rigorous analytical investigation.
The Union of Wisdom and Method
The recording concludes by discussing the necessity of uniting wisdom (prajñā) with method (upāya). It explains how the realization of emptiness helps to mitigate afflictive states of mind by viewing phenomena as illusory, and how Tantric practices, such as the visualization of a divine mandala, can be used to enhance this realization and facilitate the development of the two bodies of a Buddha.
