October 20-22, 1984 Los Angeles Gaden Shartse Thubten Dhargye Ling at Scottish Rite Auditorium
Part 1 (43:19 minutes) Summary (AI-generated):This installment of a larger series provides an introduction to the three principal aspects of the path to supreme enlightenment: the aspiration to escape cyclic existence, the altruistic intention to achieve Buddhahood, and the cultivation of correct view. Through an exploration of the structure of Buddhist philosophy and the intricacies of the mind, the explanation establishes a foundation for understanding how meditation and the recognition of the two truths facilitate spiritual progress.
Main Topics:
The Three Principal Aspects of the Path
The explanation begins by introducing the three core principles required for the path to supreme enlightenment. These consist of the determination to escape saṃsāra, the altruistic intention to become enlightened for the sake of all beings (bodhicitta), and the cultivation of correct view. The speaker notes that these principles serve as the essential foundation for any practitioner seeking to progress toward Buddhahood.
Classifications of Buddhist Thought and Practice
The recording clarifies the structural framework of Buddhist philosophy, distinguishing it from other religious systems by its rejection of a creator deity and the concept of a permanent soul. It outlines the various levels of teaching, from the Sutrayāna to the various stages of the Tantrayāna, including Yogatantra and Anuttarayogatantra. This section provides necessary context for understanding the breadth of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
The Nature and Methodology of Meditation
A significant portion of the explanation is dedicated to understanding meditation as a process of internal mental progress. The recording describes different modes of meditation, such as meditating on an object (like emptiness), cultivating specific emotional states (like compassion), or engaging in the practice of wishing (pranidhana) for the qualities of a Buddha. It emphasizes that because the primary work of meditation is mental, one must possess a precise understanding of the mind's layout.
The Composition of Consciousness and Mental Factors
The explanation delves into the intricate divisions of consciousness and mental factors (caitta). By comparing the mind to the biological functions of the brain, the speaker illustrates the necessity of distinguishing between "main minds" and the mental factors that accompany them. Referencing the system of fifty-one mental factors found in Asanga’s Abhidharmakośa, the recording explains how these factors act as the fundamental elements for conducting spiritual experiments within one's own mind.
Epistemology and the Two Truths
Finally, the recording addresses how one moves from incorrect perception to direct perception (pratyakṣa) through valid cognition and reasoning (anumāna). This progression leads to a realization of the two truths: conventional truth (saṃvṛti-satya) and ultimate truth (paramārtha-satya). The explanation links these concepts to the Middle Way teachings of Nāgārjuna, noting how the understanding of dependent origination provides the basis for the Four Noble Truths.
Part 2 (43:35 minutes) Summary (AI-generated):This recording provides an explanation of the foundational principles of the Four Noble Truths, emphasizing a practical approach where one recognizes suffering before investigating its causes. The discussion delves into the nature of the mind as prabhāśvara and the role of śūnyatā in achieving nirvāṇa. It also details the three principal aspects of the path—renunciation, bodhicitta, and correct view—and concludes with a rigorous examination of the ten essential qualifications a practitioner should look for in a qualified spiritual guide.
Main Topics:
The Practical Application of the Four Noble Truths
The explanation begins by addressing the logical order of the āryasatya, or the Four Noble Truths. Rather than presenting causes before effects, the Buddha presented the effects first to facilitate the mode of practice: one must first recognize the presence of suffering, identify its specific nature, and then investigate its origins. This section uses the analogy of a physician diagnosing a sickness to illustrate that one must first realize the state of faultiness and develop dissatisfaction with it before seeking an antidote to the contaminated karma and afflictive emotions produced by an untamed mind.
The Nature of Mind and the Realization of Emptiness
The recording transitions into a deeper exploration of the nature of the mind, describing it as prabhāśvara, or clear light. It distinguishes between two interpretations: the mind being empty of inherent existence and the mind's innate, luminous, and cognitive quality, a concept related to the tathāgatagarbha described in the Uttaratantra. Through the realization of śūnyatā (emptiness), the defilements are extinguished within the dharmadhātu (the sphere of reality), leading to various forms of nirvāṇa, including the non-abiding nirvāṇa.
The Three Principal Aspects of the Path
The explanation outlines the three essential components of the path to enlightenment: the intention of renunciation, the generation of bodhicitta (altruistic intention), and the correct view of emptiness. It distinguishes between the small vehicle, which focuses on renunciation and the view, and the great vehicle, which incorporates the compassionate force of bodhicitta. Furthermore, it touches upon how tantric practices can facilitate a speedy achievement of the union between śamatha (calm abiding) and vipaśyanā (special insight).
The Essential Qualifications of a Spiritual Guide
Focusing on a text by Je Tsongkhapa, the recording emphasizes the necessity of relying on a qualified lama. It encourages students to investigate teachers with the same rigor a goldsmith uses to test gold, rather than accepting them blindly. The explanation details ten specific qualifications of a spiritual guide, such as being disciplined in ethics, possessing meditative stabilization, having realized suchness, and maintaining a nature of altruism and patience, all of which are necessary to facilitate the student's progress.
Part 3 (45:51 minutes) Summary (AI-generated):This recording provides an explanation of the initial stanzas of a text regarding the Three Principal Aspects of the Path, emphasizing the necessity of moving beyond theoretical knowledge to practical application. The teaching focuses on the foundational requirement of developing a resolute determination to depart from cyclic existence (saṃsāra). It explores the importance of utilizing the rare human life of leisure and fortune, the mechanics of karma and consciousness across lifetimes, and the various forms of suffering that necessitate liberation, ultimately leading toward the cultivation of bodhicitta.
Main Topics:
The Essential Qualities of a Practitioner
The recording begins by discussing the proper attitude required for receiving the teachings. It emphasizes that a practitioner must listen with an unbiased, objective mind, possessing great faith and a sincere seeking of the doctrine. Through discriminating intelligence, one should accept well-reasoned explanations while avoiding the imposition of personal prejudices, ensuring that the hearing of the explanation is a successful and meaningful endeavor.
The Determination to Leave Saṃsāra
A central focus is the necessity of generating the thought to definitely leave cyclic existence. This involves understanding the faults of attachment to pleasurable effects and recognizing how desire serves as the root of the entire cyclic process. The explanation details how this determination is cultivated and provides a measure for its success: the absence of admiration for cyclic prosperity and a constant, day-and-night aspiration for liberation.
The Value of Human Life and the Role of Karma
The teaching highlights the rarity and value of the human life support, characterized by leisure and fortune. By reflecting on the nature of impermanence and the uncertainty of death, practitioners are encouraged to avoid wasting this opportunity on superficial activities. This is linked to the mechanics of karma and the continuum of consciousness, which establish the connection between lifetimes and explain why one's future circumstances remain indefinite.
The Nature of Suffering and the Cultivation of Bodhicitta
The recording categorizes suffering into three types: physical and mental pain, the suffering of change, and the pervasive suffering of conditioning. Recognizing these sufferings serves as a motivation to move beyond personal liberation by cultivating bodhicitta, or the altruistic intention to become enlightened. This involves combining the aspiration for the welfare of all beings with the aspiration for one's own enlightenment and the eventual realization of emptiness.
Part 4 (43:38 minutes) Summary (AI-generated):This recording provides an explanation of the meditative techniques used to cultivate the altruistic intention to achieve Buddhahood. It explores the underlying causes of suffering within saṃsāra and details the systematic process of equalizing oneself with others and switching one's focus from self-interest to the welfare of all sentient beings.
Main Topics:
The Causality of Suffering in Saṃsāra
The recording begins by explaining the plight of sentient beings trapped in the cycle of saṃsāra. It details how the four currents of birth, aging, sickness, and death are driven by the bonds of karma and the thick darkness of ignorance. This ignorance is defined as the misconception of inherent existence, which serves as the basis for desire and hatred. By reflecting on this cycle of causation, the explanation suggests that one can generate both compassion for others and a personal desire for liberation.
Cultivating Equanimity and Recognizing Kindness
A significant portion of the explanation focuses on the meditative steps required to view all beings with equal importance. This involves first developing equanimity by recognizing that the distinctions between friends, enemies, and neutral parties are transient and unreliable over many lifetimes. The practice then progresses to recognizing all sentient beings as having been one's own mothers or best friends in the past, thereby developing a profound mindfulness of their kindness, even when that kindness is expressed through the service provided by an enemy.
The Method of Switching Self and Other
The recording describes the advanced practice of switching one's attitude from self-cherishing to the cherishing of others. This includes the visualization of taking on the suffering of others—imagining it as poison or weapons being absorbed into oneself—and simultaneously exhaling one's own happiness, resources, and virtue to benefit all beings. This process is designed to transform the practitioner's focus from personal welfare to a dedicated, altruistic resolve to relieve the suffering of all sentient beings.
The Necessity of Wisdom and Emptiness
Finally, the explanation emphasizes that the altruistic intention to become a Buddha must be conjoined with the wisdom of emptiness, or śūnyatā. It is noted that while the intention to achieve enlightenment is crucial, without the insight into the true nature of reality, the fundamental root of cyclic existence cannot be severed. Therefore, the development of Bodhicitta must be supported by the realization of how things truly are to ensure lasting liberation.
Part 5 (46:06 minutes) Summary (AI-generated):This recording provides an explanation of the essential commitments and mental preparations required for Buddhist practice, focusing heavily on the cultivation of altruistic intention, or bodhicitta. Within this portion of the teaching, the teacher discusses the importance of mantra recitation, the ethical foundations of practice, and the specific methods for generating and maintaining an aspiration to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings.
Main Topics:
Commitments and Mantra Vows
The explanation begins by discussing the various commitments a practitioner might undertake, such as the recitation of specific mantras and the practice of sādhana. The teacher notes that while different lengths of recitation are possible, the core requirement involves maintaining specific vows. It is emphasized that adhering to the fourteen mantra vows is essential for those taking these commitments.
The Ethical Foundation and Teacher Qualifications
A significant portion of the recording is dedicated to the importance of altruism as the fundamental basis for all spiritual practice. The teacher explains that without a genuine altruistic motivation, one is likely to commit ethical infractions. Furthermore, the explanation addresses the relationship between teacher and student, suggesting that those who lack the full qualifications of a lama should act as Dharma friends, while students should carefully investigate the qualities of a teacher before seeking guidance.
The Generation of Bodhicitta
The recording moves into the process of generating the aspirational intention to become enlightened, known as bodhicitta. The teacher describes the two main aspirations: seeking Buddhahood and seeking the welfare of all sentient beings. To prevent this intention from deteriorating, the explanation outlines several practices, including constant reflection on its benefits, regular repetition of the intention, and the cultivation of wholesome virtues.
The Sevenfold Path of Service
To support the accumulation of merit and wisdom, the explanation details the seven branches of practice. These include offering, confession of misdeeds, admiration of the virtuous actions of others, requesting the Buddhas to turn the Wheel of Dharma (dharmacakrapravartana), supplication to the Buddhas, and the dedication of merit. These practices are intended to firm up the practitioner's altruistic determination and ensure it bears fruit for the benefit of all beings.
Visualization and Taking Refuge
The final part of the explanation describes a visualization practice where the practitioner imagines themselves surrounded by the Buddha, great Indian paṇḍitas such as Nāgārjuna, Āryadeva, Dharmakīrti, Dignāga, and Candrakīrti, and various lineage masters. This visualization facilitates the formal process of taking refuge in the Three Jewels—the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha—all within the context of an altruistic motivation.
Part 6 (44:25 minutes) Summary (AI-generated):This recording provides an explanation of the process of generating bodhicitta and the subsequent necessity of developing profound wisdom to practice the path effectively. It covers the formal aspiration to achieve enlightenment for the sake of all beings, the methods Bodhisattvas use to gather and mature students, and a detailed philosophical investigation into śūnyatā. By comparing different Buddhist schools, the explanation clarifies how one must reconcile the understanding of emptiness with the reality of dependent arising and cause and effect.
Main Topics:
The Generation of Bodhicitta
The recording begins with an explanation of generating the altruistic intention to achieve enlightenment, known as bodhicitta. It describes a meditative process where one contemplates the pervasive suffering of sentient beings and realizes that achieving Buddhahood is the most effective way to help them. This section includes the formal aspiration to reach the essence of enlightenment and the determination to never abandon this altruistic resolve.
Bodhisattva Activities and the Perfections
Following the motivation, the explanation transitions into the practical methods used by Bodhisattvas to benefit others. This includes the four means of gathering students—giving material gifts, speaking pleasantly, teaching what to adopt or discard, and practicing what one teaches—as well as the necessity of cultivating the six pāramitās to increase one's own virtuous qualities.
The Relationship Between Concentration and Wisdom
The recording emphasizes the necessity of both meditative stabilization, or samādhi, and special insight, or vipaśyanā. It explains that to overcome dualistic appearances such as the distinction between subject and object, one must develop a powerful wisdom consciousness. This wisdom can only be stabilized through deep concentration, which serves as the foundation for realizing the true nature of reality.
Understanding Emptiness and the Absence of Inherent Existence
A central part of the explanation focuses on śūnyatā, or emptiness. It clarifies that realizing emptiness is not a matter of entering a neutral state, but rather developing a consciousness that recognizes the absence of svabhāva, or inherent existence. The explanation distinguishes between different levels of misconception, ranging from the gross belief in a permanent, independent self to the more subtle misconception of a self-established existence.
Philosophical Perspectives on Nominal Existence
The recording provides a philosophical comparison between the citta-mātra school and the prāsaṅgika madhyamaka view regarding the nature of objects. It explains that while objects appear to be external, they are actually nominally existent and exist only through the force of a conventional consciousness, rather than possessing any independent existence from their own side.
Reconciling Emptiness with Dependent Arising
Finally, the explanation addresses the importance of seeing the compatibility between emptiness and pratītyasamutpāda, or dependent arising. It warns that if a practitioner perceives emptiness and the law of cause and effect as contradictory, they have not yet truly understood the teachings of the Buddha. A correct view involves seeing cause and effect as infallible while simultaneously understanding that all phenomena are empty of inherent existence.
Part 7 (11:09 minutes) Summary (AI-generated):This recording provides an explanation of the profound relationship between dependent arising (pratītyasamutpāda) and emptiness (śūnyatā), specifically through the logic of Nāgārjuna. It details how observing the way phenomena depend on causes and conditions serves as a direct method for realizing their lack of inherent existence (svabhāva). The teaching further explores how this realization enables the practitioner to avoid the extremes of eternalism and nihilism, providing a stable foundation for a meaningful life and the eventual attainment of Buddhahood.
Main Topics:
The Identity of Dependent Arising and Emptiness
The explanation describes how dependent arising (pratītyasamutpāda) and emptiness (śūnyatā) are not two separate truths, but rather two sides of the same reality. Using the metaphor of a coin, the recording illustrates that while phenomena appear through their dependence on causes and conditions, they are simultaneously empty of independent existence. This realization allows the practitioner to see that emptiness is the very basis upon which all dependent phenomena occur.
Completing the Analysis of the View
The recording explains that a complete analysis of the view of emptiness is achieved when the recognition of dependent arising is so profound that it immediately induces an understanding of emptiness without the need for further conceptual reasoning. When these two realizations exist simultaneously and without alternation, the practitioner gains an infallible, definite knowledge that destroys the tendency to perceive phenomena as having inherent existence.
Avoiding the Extremes of Existence and Non-existence
A central part of the explanation focuses on how this view allows a practitioner to navigate the two philosophical extremes. By understanding that appearances are merely dependent, one avoids the extreme of inherent existence (svabhāva), or the over-reification of things. Conversely, by understanding emptiness, one avoids the extreme of non-existence or nihilism, ensuring a balanced view of reality.
Practical Application and the Path to Buddhahood
The teaching concludes by connecting these philosophical insights to the practical application of the path in daily life. It suggests that by implementing this understanding, one can live a more meaningful and useful life, which serves to improve one's circumstances across successive lifetimes and eventually leads to the attainment of Buddhahood.
