by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
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Last annotated on July 25, 2015
Prologue: Universal Responsibility
The fundamental thing is that everyone wants a happy, successful life. Read more at location 211
an individual can manage to lead a meaningful life without religious faith, but you can’t be a happy person without the spirituality of basic human values. Read more at location 220
What are these basic human values? There are two levels. On one level, there is the sense of caring for one another, sharing with one another—the sense of oneness that comes from seeing all people as brothers and sisters in a single human family, bringing respect, tolerance and self-discipline. We even find some of these qualities in the animal kingdom. However, on another level, because of our human intelligence and understanding of far-reaching consequences, we can deliberately increase certain qualities and try to restrain others. In this way, humans are much more sophisticated than animals. Read more at location 222
no matter how powerful our sensory experiences might be, they cannot overwhelm our state of mind; mental experience is superior to physical. It is in this mental realm of happiness and suffering or pain and pleasure that the application of human intelligence plays a tremendously influential role. Read more at location 235
To have a happy life—happy days and happy nights—it is extremely important to combine our human intelligence with basic human values. If our minds are peaceful, open and calm during the day, our dreams will reflect these experiences and be happy. If during the day we experience fear, agitation and doubt, we will continue to encounter troubles in our dreams. Read more at location 244
The key factor in developing and increasing basic human values—the sense of caring for and sharing with one another—is human affection, a feeling of closeness with one another. Read more at location 253
According to some medical scientists, the unborn child can recognize its mother’s voice. This indicates that even then, the child feels close to and dear towards its mother. Once the child is born, he or she spontaneously sucks its mother’s milk. The mother also experiences a feeling of closeness to her child. Because of this, her milk flows freely. If either side lacked that feeling of intimacy, the child would not survive. Each of us started our life that way and without human affection would definitely not have survived. Medical science also teaches us that emotions play a very important role in health. Fear and hatred, for example, are very bad for us. Read more at location 255
One medical researcher presented data at a conference showing that people who frequently use words such as “I,” “me” and “mine” have a greater risk of heart attack. Read more at location 263
**** If we think of ourselves as very precious and absolute, our whole mental focus becomes very narrow and limited and even minor problems can seem unbearable. If, however, we can think more holistically and see our problems from a broader perspective, they will become insignificant. Read more at location 266
The actual beneficiary of the practice of compassion and caring for others is oneself. Read more at location 269
I am a sixty-four year old Buddhist monk and in a few days I will be sixty-five. The greater part of my life has not been happy. Most people already know about my difficult experiences. When I was fifteen I lost my freedom; at the age of twenty-four I lost my country. Now, forty-one years have passed since I became a refugee and news from my homeland is always very saddening. Yet inside, my mental state seems quite peaceful. Bad news tends to go in one ear and out the other; not much remains stuck within my mind. The result is that my peace of mind is not too disturbed. This is not because I’m some kind of special person. Read more at location 281
The reality is that I’m just a human being; a simple Buddhist monk. There are no differences between us, and according to my own experience, if we pay more attention to our inner world then our lives can be happier. Read more at location 289
Through training our minds we can become more peaceful. This will give us greater opportunities for creating the peaceful families and human communities that are the foundation of world peace. Read more at location 296
**** Non-violence does not mean passivity. We need to solve problems through dialogue in a spirit of reconciliation. This is the real meaning of non-violence and the source of world peace. Read more at location 298
Once we have developed a peaceful society in which problems are negotiated through dialogue, we can seriously think about demilitarization—first on the national level; then on the regional level; and finally, on the global level. However, it will be very difficult to achieve these things unless individuals themselves undergo a change within their own minds. Read more at location 301
Question and Answer Period
His Holiness. As I mentioned earlier, if you are calm and peaceful during the day, your dreams will also be calm and peaceful. By extension, if your day-to-day life is peaceful and friendly, so too will be your death. That’s the best preparation for a peaceful death. If your life is filled with cruelty, fear and hatred, you will find it very difficult to die in peace. As a Buddhist monk, I believe that there is a next life. Read more at location 338
in my daily practice, I meditate on my own death and rebirth repeatedly. This is supposed to prepare me for death, but I’m still not sure whether or not I’ll be equipped to handle it when it actually comes. Read more at location 342
Question. Your Holiness, with so many wars being declared in the name of religion, can you explain why Tibet has not taken a more violent approach towards attaining freedom? His Holiness. First, I believe that humans are basically kind and gentle and that the use of violence goes against our fundamental nature. Second, it is difficult to find in human history examples of military solutions leading to lasting resolution of whatever the problem was. Furthermore, these days, national boundaries are becoming less important; Read more at location 362
Things are highly interdependent. The very concepts of “we” and “they” are becoming irrelevant. War is out of date because our neighbors are part of ourselves. Read more at location 368
simple mantra one can say when first arising or something to focus on during the day to feel calm? Read more at location 385
getting up early, examine your daily life and some of the points that I have already mentioned. Examine and analyze. This is the proper way; I don’t know any simpler method. Furthermore, I’m very skeptical of those who claim that problems can be solved just by closing your eyes. Problems can be solved only through developing your mental attitude properly, which takes time and effort. Read more at location 388
1. General Introduction
I sometimes feel a little hesitant about giving Buddhist teachings in the West, because I think that it is better and safer for people to stay within their own religious tradition. But out of the millions of people who live in the West, naturally there will be some who find the Buddhist approach more effective or suitable. Read more at location 405
The teachings we are studying here are based on two texts: A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment [Tib: Jang-chub lam-gyi drön-ma] by the Indian master, Atisha Dipamkara Shrijnana, [1] and Lines of Experience [Tib: Lam-rim nyam-gur or Lam-rim nyam-len dor-du], by Lama Tsong Khapa. Read more at location 410
The essence of all these teachings is presented in such excellent treatises as Atisha’s Lamp for the Path, which presents the systematic approach of an individual on the path to enlightenment. With this as a basis, Lama Tsong Khapa composed three versions of lam-rim texts: an extensive version known as the Great Exposition of the Path to Enlightenment; [2] a medium-length version known as the Middling Exposition of the Stages of the Path; and the text we are studying here, the Short Exposition of the Stages of the Path, which is also called Lines of Experience or Songs of Spiritual Experience. Read more at location 414
Since the sufferings we all wish to avoid result from fundamentally mistaken ways of viewing the world, the way we eliminate them is by cultivating a correct understanding of the nature of reality. Read more at location 431
The purpose of Dharma practice
Practicing Dharma is a way of working out these problems, be they long-term or immediate. In other words, Dharma protects us from unwanted suffering. Read more at location 438
**** (Note: no self premise) we should realize that much of what we do not desire— unwanted events, unhappiness and suffering—actually comes about as a result of our mistaken way of viewing the world and our destructive thoughts and emotions. These negative minds create both immediate unhappiness and future suffering as well. Underlying all of this is a fundamental ignorance, a fundamentally flawed way of perceiving reality. In Buddhism, this is called “self-grasping,” or “grasping at self-existence.” Read more at location 441
when you make an effort in the realm of mental experience, it is important to first have a basic understanding of the nature of mind, thoughts and emotions, and also to take into account the complexity of the human physiological condition and how it interfaces with the surrounding environment. Read more at location 461
Intellectual and experiential understanding
two levels of understanding. One is the superficial, intellectual level, where on the basis of reading, studying or listening to teachings, we distinguish between negative and positive qualities of mind and recognize their nature and origin. The other is the deeper, experiential level, where we actually cultivate and generate positive qualities within ourselves. Read more at location 472
**** Experiential understanding is far more difficult to develop, since it comes about only as a result of sustained practice. At the experiential level, your understanding is also accompanied by a strong component of feeling; your understanding is essentially a felt experience. Read more at location 476
Emotion is an integral part of being human; without it, there would be no basis for life. However, we also know that many of our problems and conflicts are entangled with strong emotions. Read more at location 480
When we talk about transforming the mind, we are referring to the task of diminishing the force of destructive thoughts and emotions while developing the force of those that are constructive and beneficial. Read more at location 487
There are two bases for this. One is the fundamental law of impermanence; that all things and events are subject to transformation and change. If we examine this more deeply, we will realize that at every instant, everything that exists is going through a process of change. Read more at location 490
This transient and impermanent nature of reality is not to be understood in terms of something coming into being, remaining for a while and then ceasing to exist. That is not the meaning of impermanence at the subtle level. Subtle impermanence refers to the fact that the moment things and events come into existence, they are already impermanent in nature; the moment they arise, the process of their disintegration has already begun. Read more at location 499
Impermanence means that as soon as something comes into being, it has already started to decay. If you limit your understanding of impermanence to something’s continuum, you will comprehend only gross impermanence. Read more at location 503
**** At first you might feel that coming into being and coming to cessation are contradictory processes, but when you deepen your understanding of impermanence, you will realize that coming into being (birth) and cessation (death) are, in a sense, simultaneous. Thus, the fundamental law of impermanence (the transitory nature of all phenomena) gives us one basis for the possibility of transforming our minds. Read more at location 509
second premise for the possibility of transforming our minds is again one that we can perceive in the reality of the external physical world, where we see that certain things are in conflict with others. We can call this the law of contradiction. For example, heat and cold, darkness and light and so forth are opposing forces—enhancing one automatically diminishes the other. Read more at location 512
These two premises—the laws of impermanence and contradiction—allow us to see the possibility of bringing about transformation within ourselves. Read more at location 530
Investigating the nature of reality
Understanding the true nature of reality is crucial, as it is our perception of reality that lies at the heart of how we relate to the world. However, reality here means not just the immediate facts of our experience and environment but the entire expanse of reality, because many of our thoughts and emotions arise not only as a result of the immediate physical environment but also out of abstract ideas. Read more at location 535
When you are engaged in the Buddhist path of the exploration of the nature of reality, there are principally two faculties at work in your mind. One is the faculty of investigation, which subjects reality to analysis. In Buddhist language this is described as “wisdom,” or “insight.” Then there is the faculty of “method,” or “skillful means,” which is the faculty that allows you to deepen your courage and tolerance and generates the powerful motivational force that sustains you in your spiritual quest. Read more at location 546
When we speak about the nature of mind in a Buddhist context, we have to understand that it can be understood on two different levels—the ultimate level of reality, where the nature of mind is understood in terms of its emptiness of inherent existence, and the relative, or conventional, level, which refers to the mere quality of luminosity, knowing and experience. Read more at location 551
(Note: Emptiness refers not to nothingness, but rather to no inherent self-existence) if you are asking about the mind’s emptiness, then we need to consider that even though the mind’s emptiness is not a transient phenomenon—that is, not subject to causes and conditions—it cannot be posited independent of a given object. In other words, the emptiness of mind cannot exist independently of mind itself. The emptiness of mind is nothing other than its utter lack of intrinsic, or inherent, existence. Therefore, as different states of mind come and go, new instances of the emptiness of mind also occur. Read more at location 556
2. Features of the Lam-rim Teachings
Atisha’s Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment
A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment was composed in Tibet by the Indian master, Atisha Dipamkara Shrijnana. Read more at location 576
The meaning of the title
The Tibetan term for enlightenment is jang-chub, the two syllables of which refer to the two aspects of the Buddha’s enlightened qualities. Jang connotes the enlightened quality of having overcome all obstructions, negativities and limitations. Chub literally means “embodiment of all knowledge” and connotes the quality of Buddha’s realization and wisdom. Read more at location 582
The title, A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment, suggests that this text presents the method, or process, by which we can actualize this state of enlightenment. When we speak about enlightenment and the path leading to it, we are naturally speaking about a quality, or state, of mind. In the final analysis, enlightenment is nothing other than a perfected state of mind. Read more at location 587
**** (Note: reminiscent of Jesus metaphor) Enlightenment cannot be attained by external means, only through an internal process. As we develop and improve our states of mind, our knowledge, wisdom and realization gradually increase, culminating in our attainment of enlightenment. The metaphor of the lamp is used because just as a lamp dispels darkness, the teachings in this text dispel the darkness of misunderstanding with respect to the path to enlightenment. Read more at location 593
The objects of salutation
The Sanskrit term for jang-chub is bodhi, which conveys a sense of awakening—a state where all knowledge and realization have been perfected. Therefore, when explaining the meaning of awakening, or enlightenment, we can speak about both the process by which this awakening takes place and the state to which awakening brings us; in other words, the means and the fruition. Read more at location 599
(Note: State of enlightenment, kingdom of God) Natural nirvana refers to the fundamentally pure nature of reality, where all things and events are devoid of any inherent, intrinsic or independent reality. This is the fundamental ground. It is our misconception of this fundamental reality that gives rise to all the delusions and their derivative thoughts and emotions. Read more at location 610
The two truths
the two truths—the truths of conventional and ultimate reality. The concept of two levels of reality is not unique to Buddhism. It is a common epistemological approach in many of the ancient Indian schools. Read more at location 626
According to the Middle Way School of Buddhism, the ultimate truth, or the ultimate nature of reality, is the emptiness of all things and events. In trying to understand the meaning of this emptiness, we can turn to the teachings of the Indian master, Nagarjuna, who brought together all the various understandings of emptiness into the single statement that emptiness must be understood in terms of dependent origination. When we talk about emptiness, what we are negating or denying is the possibility of things or events having inherent existence. Read more at location 632
No thing or event possesses the reality of independence and is, therefore, thoroughly contingent, or dependent. The very existence of all phenomena depends upon other factors. Read more at location 640
The Four Noble Truths
When we further examine this dynamic, complex and diverse world that we experience, we find that phenomena can also be categorized in three ways:
1. The world of matter.
2. The world of consciousness, or subjective experience.
3. The world of abstract entities. Read more at location 649
The basic premise of the Four Noble Truths is recognition of the very fundamental nature we all share—the natural and instinctual desire to attain happiness and overcome suffering. Read more at location 662
Of the Four Noble Truths, the first two truths—suffering and its origin—relate to the causal process of the suffering that we all naturally wish to avoid. It is only by ensuring that the causes and conditions of suffering are not created or, if the cause has been created, that the conditions do not become complete, that we can prevent the consequences from ripening. Read more at location 667
The last two truths—cessation of suffering and the path to its cessation—relate to the experience of happiness to which we all naturally aspire. Cessation—the total pacification of suffering and its causes— refers to the highest form of happiness, which is neither a feeling nor an experience; the path—the methods and processes by which cessation is attained—is its cause. Therefore, the last two truths relate to the causal process of happiness. Read more at location 672
The Three Jewels: Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha
two principal origins of suffering—karma and the emotional and mental afflictions that underlie and motivate karmic actions. Karma is rooted in and motivated by mental defilements, or afflictions, which are the primary roots of our suffering and cyclic existence. Therefore, it is important for practitioners to cultivate three understandings:
1. The fundamental nature of consciousness is luminous and pure.
2. Afflictions can be purified—separated from the essential nature of mind.
3. There are powerful antidotes that can be applied to counter the defilements and afflictions. Read more at location 676
True cessation is what is meant by the Jewel of Dharma, the second of the Three Jewels. Dharma also refers to the path to the cessation of suffering—the direct realization of emptiness. Read more at location 682
In terms of an individual practitioner’s sequence of realization, first and foremost is the Jewel of Dharma. When you actualize Dharma within yourself, you become Sangha—an arya being. As you develop your realization of Dharma, you reach higher and higher levels of the path, culminating in the attainment of the full enlightenment or Buddhahood. Dharma is the true refuge, Sangha comes next, and finally Buddha. Read more at location 693
Lama Tsong Khapa’s Lines of Experience
The term lam-rim has great significance and suggests the importance of the following three points:
1. The practitioner has correct recognition and understanding of the nature of the path in which he or she is engaged.
2. All the key elements of the path and practices are complete.
3. The practitioner engages in all the elements of the practices in the correct sequence. Read more at location 708
let us take the example of bodhicitta, the altruistic intention. If you understand the altruistic intention to mean solely the aspiration to bring about the welfare of other sentient beings, your understanding of this particular aspect of the path is incomplete and inadequate. True bodhicitta is a non-simulated, spontaneous and natural experience of this altruistic intention. This is how you may mistake a mere intellectual understanding of bodhicitta for a true realization. Read more at location 712
The second point, that all the key elements of the path should be complete, is also critical. As I mentioned before, much of the suffering we experience arises from our complex psychological afflictions. These emotional and mental afflictions are so diverse that we need a wide diversity of antidotes. Read more at location 716
With respect to afflictions of the mind and flawed ways of perceiving and relating to the world, Buddhist texts speak of four principal false views:
1. The false view of perceiving impermanent phenomena as permanent.
2. The false view of perceiving events, our own existence and the various aggregates as desirable when they are not.
3. The false view of perceiving suffering experiences as happiness.
4. The false view of perceiving our own existence and the world as self-existent and independent when they are utterly devoid of self-existence and independence. Read more at location 722
The third point is that we’re not just accumulating material things and collecting them in a room; we’re trying to transform our mind. Read more at location 729
When we cultivate a path such as bodhicitta, gross levels of understanding, such as the simulated, deliberately cultivated ones, arise sooner than spontaneous, genuine experiences and realizations. Read more at location 731
The origin of the lam-rim teachings: the greatness of the authors
a unique tradition of presenting the Dharma to students developed— the skillful means of “the three purifications” or “the three pure factors”:
1. Ensuring that the teaching being given is pure.
2. Ensuring that the teacher giving the teaching is pure.
3. Ensuring that the students receiving the teaching are pure. Read more at location 741
if the teacher giving it lacks the necessary qualities and qualifications, there will be shortcomings in the presentation. Read more at location 745
the third pure factor means to ensure that the motivation of the listeners is pure. Read more at location 748
it is traditional first to present the greatness of the author in order to explain the validity and authenticity of the teaching and its lineage. Read more at location 772
Among Nagarjuna’s writings there is a collection of hymns along with a collection of what could be called an analytic corpus, such as his Fundamentals of the Middle Way. The analytic corpus deals directly with the teachings on emptiness as taught in the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras, whereas the hymns relate more to the Tathagatagarbha Sutras. The last line in this verse, “Your enlightened mind sees all knowables as they are,” presents the quality of the Buddha’s enlightened mind. The reference to “all knowables” refers to the entire expanse of reality, which encompasses both conventional and ultimate levels. The ability to directly realize both levels of reality within a single instant of thought is said to be the mark of an enlightened mind. Read more at location 810
Asanga was the progenitor of the path of skillful means and Nagarjuna was the progenitor of the path of the profound view of emptiness. Lama Tsong Khapa pays homage to these Indian masters as great revitalizers of the Buddha’s teachings. Historically, Nagarjuna came to earth around four hundred years after the death of the Buddha, and Asanga about two hundred years after the death of Nagarjuna. In light of this distance of time between them, the question immediately arises as to the continuum, or lineage, between the Buddha and Nagarjuna and Asanga. Read more at location 830
(Note: First is dualistic, second non dualistic?) it obviously raises questions about the status of the historical Buddha. In the Buddhist tradition, there are generally two perspectives on this. One views Shakyamuni Buddha in conventional terms. At the initial stage, he is seen as an ordinary being who, through meditation and practice, attained enlightenment in that very lifetime under the bodhi tree. From this point of view, the instant before his enlightenment, the Buddha was an unenlightened being. The other perspective, which is presented in Maitreya’s Uttaratantra, considers the twelve major deeds of the Buddha as actions of a fully enlightened being and the historical Buddha is seen as an emanation body.
...For this wisdom body to arise, however, there must be an underlying reality, which is the natural purity that I referred to before. Read more at location 844
Once when Lama Tsong Khapa was at Retreng, the monastery of Atisha’s most famous disciple, Dromtönpa, he engaged in the deep study and practice of Atisha’s Lamp for the Path. According to his biography, during this period he had vivid encounters with Atisha and Atisha’s two principal disciples, as if face-toface. This didn’t happen just once or twice but several times over a period of months. Read more at location 862
Lines of Experience: Verse 4 I bow to Dipamkara (Atisha), holder of a treasure of instructions (as seen in your Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment). All the complete, unmistaken points concerning the paths of profound view and vast action, transmitted intact from these two great forerunners, can be included within it. Read more at location 869
The greatness of the lam-rim teachings Lines of Experience: Verses 6 & 7 The stages of the path to enlightenment have been transmitted intact by those who have followed in order both from Nagarjuna and Asanga, those crowning jewels of all erudite masters of our Southern Continent and the banner of whose fame stands out above the masses. As (following these stages) can fulfill every desirable aim of all nine kinds of being, [16] they are a power-granting king of precious instruction. Because they collect the streams of thousands of excellent classics, they are indeed an ocean of illustrious, correct explanation. These teachings make it easy to understand how there is nothing contradictory in all the Buddha’s teachings and make every scriptural pronouncement without exception dawn on your mind as a personal instruction. They make it easy to discover what the Buddha intended and protect you as well from the abyss of the great error. Because of these (four benefits), what discriminating person among the erudite masters of India and Tibet would not have his or her mind be completely enraptured by these stages of the path (arranged) according to the three levels of motivation, the supreme instruction to which many fortunate ones have devoted themselves? Read more at location 933
(Note: Dubious claim? Multitude of schools suggests otherwise, like Christianity) Verse 6 explains the nature and lineage of the teaching, while Verse 7 explains its benefits. 1. There is nothing contradictory. One of the greatnesses of the lam-rim tradition is that these teachings enable you to recognize that there are no contradictions in any of the teachings of the Buddha. Read more at location 944
If you understand the significance of this diversity, however, you will understand that these teachings are contingent upon the different levels or capacities of the practitioners to whom they have been given. Read more at location 948
2. Every scriptural pronouncement without exception [will] dawn on your mind as a personal instruction. Read more at location 955
3. Easy to discover what the Buddha intended. Read more at location 962
4. Protect you…from the abyss of the great error. Read more at location 964
Practitioners sometimes harbor sectarian sentiments because of differences between the four Tibetan Buddhist traditions. If you can understand the unique features of each tradition—their methods of approach, teaching and various types of practices—you will appreciate the value and importance of this variety. It is, in fact, possible for a single individual to integrate all these diverse teachings into his or her personal practice. Read more at location 968
Some Mahayana practitioners make distinctions between the Lesser Vehicle and the Great Vehicle, tending to dismiss the Lesser Vehicle teachings, particularly the Theravada. Read more at location 973
however, the Pali tradition, from which the Theravada teachings arose, should be regarded as the source of the Mahayana as well, particularly the teachings on the Four Noble Truths and the thirty-seven aspects of the path to enlightenment. Read more at location 975
Question and answer period
(Note: Advaita) When Buddhism speaks of the luminous and fundamentally pure nature of mind, or consciousness, what is being suggested is that it is possible for the defilements to be removed from the basic mind, not that there is some kind of original, pure state that later became polluted by defilements. In fact, just as the continuum of our consciousness is without beginning, our delusions are also without beginning. Read more at location 985
(Note: Sleep? Tibetan contention that sleep is rather a form of subtle consciousness) The existence of the world of subjective experience and consciousness is a natural fact. There is consciousness. There is mind. There is no force that can bring about a cessation of your mental continuum. Read more at location 995
The universe evolves out of this subtlest level of physical reality, remains for a certain period of time, then comes to an end and dissolves. The whole process of evolution and dissolution arises from this subtlest level of physical reality. Read more at location 999
If defilements had a beginning, the question would arise, where did they come from? In the same way, Buddhism does not posit a beginning to consciousness itself, because to do so raises more questions about what led to its creation. Read more at location 1007
(Note: Genesis link) In both cases, the world of diverse consciousness and mental activity arises from a subtler level of clear light, which then goes through what is known as the “three stages of appearance.” Through this process, there is an understanding that everything arises from this basic nature of clear light mind and is then dissolved into it. Read more at location 1015
It is very important that a teacher’s motivation for teaching be the pure, altruistic aspiration to be of service and benefit to others. Read more at location 1040
we should take to heart the instructions of the Tibetan master, Dromtönpa, who said, “Even if the whole world venerates you by placing you on the crown of their head, always sit as low as possible and maintain humility.” In the Precious Garland, Nagarjuna makes aspirational prayers to be like the elements of earth, water, fire and wind, which can be enjoyed and utilized by all sentient beings. If you take such sentiments seriously, you will never think that you are better than others or to try to bring them under your control. Read more at location 1067
The great Kadampa masters used to say that if the gap between the Dharma and your mind is so big that a person can walk through it, your practice has not been successful. Make sure there’s not the slightest gap between the teachings and your mind. You need to integrate and unite the Dharma with your mind. Read more at location 1079
**** The Kadampa masters also used to say that the water of Dharma can moisten the earnest, fresh minds of beginners, no matter how undisciplined they are, but can never penetrate the minds of those hardened by knowledge. Read more at location 1084
The practice of reliance Lines of Experience: Verse 9 (Having taken refuge,) you should see that the root cause excellently propitious for as great a mass of good fortune as possible for this and future lives is proper devotion in thought and action to your sublime teacher who shows you the path (to enlightenment). Thus you should please your teacher by offering your practice of exactly what he or she says, which you would not forsake even at the cost of your life. I, the yogi, have practiced just that. You who also seek liberation, please cultivate yourself in the same way. Read more at location 1103
when it comes to spiritual transformation, although true experiences come through our own development of knowledge and practice, we again need an experienced teacher to show us the path. Read more at location 1114
The qualities of the spiritual teacher The qualifications of a suitable teacher can be found in texts from the vinaya all the way up to the Vajrayana. Since here we are discussing Mahayana teachings in general, we will consider the ten qualifications of the teacher as presented in Maitreya’s Ornament of the Mahayana Sutras:
1. A disciplined mind (referring to the quality of having mastered the higher training in ethical discipline).
2. A calmed mind (referring to the quality of having mastered the higher training in meditation and concentration).
3. A mind that is thoroughly calmed (referring to the quality of having mastered the higher training in wisdom, particularly the wisdom of no-self [Skt: anatman; Tib: dag-med]).
4. Knowledge exceeding that of the student in whatever subject is being taught.
5. Energy and enthusiasm for teaching the student.
6. Vast learning in order to have the resources from which to draw examples and citations.
7. Realization of emptiness—if possible, a genuine realization of emptiness, but at least a strong commitment to the practice of emptiness on the basis of deep admiration for the teachings on it.
8. Eloquence and skill in presenting the Dharma so that the teaching is effective.
9. Deep compassion and concern for the well-being of the student to whom the teaching is given (perhaps the most important quality of all).
10. The resilience to maintain enthusiasm for and commitment to the student, not becoming discouraged no matter how many times the teaching has to be repeated. Read more at location 1118
(Note: Akin to Jesus two great commandments) The point of all this is that a true Mahayana teacher should be someone who enjoys simplicity, yearns to be anonymous and, as Tibetans would say, hides in solitude like a wounded animal. The Tibetan tradition states that Mahayana teachers should have at least two basic qualities. First, from the depths of their heart, they should regard the future life as more important than this. Without this, nothing one does becomes Dharma. Second, teachers should regard the welfare of others as more important than their own. Read more at location 1174
The qualities of the student In his Great Exposition, Lama Tsong Khapa goes on to discuss the three principal qualifications of an ideal student:
1. An objective and open mind.
2.The intelligence to judge between right and wrong, appropriate and inappropriate.
3. Enthusiasm for and interest in the subject. Read more at location 1178
The sutras and Nagarjuna’s Precious Garland both emphasize this and describe four wrong ways of approaching and engaging in the Dharma:
1. Engaging in the Dharma out of attachment to a particular tradition or custom.
2. Engaging in the Dharma out of hatred or hostility.
3. Engaging in the Dharma to seek temporary relief from some actual or perceived threat.
4. Engaging in the Dharma out of ignorance. Read more at location 1183
The Mahayana has a long tradition of subjecting the Buddha’s words to detailed analysis and examination, following that with an interpretative approach to discriminate between teachings that can be taken at face value and those that require further interpretation. [21] This is necessary because there are certain scriptural teachings that, if taken literally, actually contradict reasoning and experience. Read more at location 1217
Establishing proper reliance
(Note: This is desire, no?) The initial scope teachings discuss the need to cultivate the yearning for a better rebirth and contain practices related to that aspiration. Read more at location 1233
The Indian Chakrasamvara master, Gandapa [Tib: Drilbupa], wrote that your spiritual teacher alone can lead you to liberation. However, commenting on this point, Lama Tsong Khapa said that the term “alone” here is not exclusive but rather an emphasis placed upon the importance of relying on your spiritual teacher in the context of Vajrayana. Read more at location 1248
Question and answer period
when you talk about enlightenment, you are not talking about something that can be attained within the next few years but about a spiritual aspiration that may, in some cases, take many lifetimes and eons. Read more at location 1272
If you understand the process of attaining buddhahood from the general Mahayana perspective, the attainment of buddhahood within the period of three countless eons is actually said to be the quick version. Some texts speak about forty countless eons! However, according to the general Vajrayana teachings, practitioners with high levels of realization can prolong their lifespan and attain Buddhahood within a single lifetime. The Highest Yoga Tantra teachings recognize that even within this short human lifetime, the possibility of full enlightenment exists. Read more at location 1287
when you cultivate deeply such powerful sentiments as those articulated in Shantideva’s prayer, For as long as space exists, For as long as sentient beings remain, Until then, may I too remain And dispel the miseries of the world, time is totally irrelevant; you are thinking in terms of infinity. Also, when you read in the Mahayana scriptures passages pertaining to the bodhisattva’s practice of what is called armor-like patience, again time has no significance. Read more at location 1293
To practice Dharma successfully, we need determination and courage. We can arouse these qualities within ourselves by reflecting upon the preciousness of our human existence in three ways:
1. Recognizing the opportunities our human existence affords us.
2. Appreciating the rarity of these opportunities.
3. Appreciating the great significance of these opportunities. Read more at location 1305
there are three main objectives that we seek:
1. The attainment of a higher rebirth in future lives.
2. The attainment of liberation from cyclic existence.
3. The attainment of full enlightenment. Read more at location 1310
(Note: Dharma 10 commandments) The main practice that fulfills the aspirations of the initial scope—avoiding the three lower realms and attaining a higher rebirth—is that of maintaining the ethical discipline of refraining from the ten non-virtuous actions: killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, divisive speech, harsh speech, meaningless gossip, covetousness, harmful intent and wrong views. This practice is undertaken on the basis of a clear recognition of the karmic law of cause and effect. Read more at location 1314
Lamp for the Path: Verse 3 Know that those who by whatever means Seek for themselves no more Than the pleasures of cyclic existence Are persons of the least capacity. Read more at location 1330
Developing faith in karma
in order to be deeply convinced of the truth of the law of karma, you need to have a deep conviction in the validity and efficacy of the Three Jewels of Refuge; Read more at location 1338
(Note: Agree with first part, second does not seem to necessarily follow) We are all familiar with the emotions, so as we relate the Buddha’s teachings on them to our own personal experience, we can gradually recognize the truth of the Buddha’s words. Similarly, all his teachings dealing with the ultimate goal of liberation—impermanence, the Four Noble Truths, emptiness and so forth—can also be understood through critical analysis. That analysis can then be extended to the scriptures dealing with the subtle workings of karma. We can thus conclude that if Buddha has not failed us in the most important area, the attainment of liberation, why should he fail us in his teachings on cause and effect? Read more at location 1344
(Note: Proposed as teaching from authority, something Siddhartha rejected) To summarize, once we develop a deep conviction in the validity of the Buddha’s teachings, we gain an admiration for and faith in the Buddha himself. Based on these considerations, we can recognize the validity of the Buddha’s teachings on karma. Read more at location 1350
The three levels of refuge
we should seek refuge in the Three Jewels: Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Read more at location 1355
All that actually lies between the present moment and the next life is simply the continuity of our breath. The moment we stop breathing, when we breathe out and don’t breathe in, the next life is right there in front of us. Read more at location 1359
(Note: Akin to ecclesiastes) The value and transient nature of human existence Lines of Experience: Verse 10 This human existence with its (eight) liberties [23] is much more precious than a wish-granting jewel. Obtained just this once, difficult to acquire and easily lost, (it passes in a flash) like lightning in the sky. Considering how (easily this can happen at any time) and realizing that all worldly activities are as (immaterial as) chaff, you must try to extract its essence at all times, day and night. I, the yogi, have practiced just that. You who also seek liberation, please cultivate yourself in the same way. Read more at location 1372
we should then reflect upon these three important facts:
1. Death is inevitable.
2. The time of death is unpredictable.
3. At the time of death, only spiritual practice will be of benefit. Read more at location 1380
Meditation: cultivating mental discipline
Meditation is a discipline whereby we cultivate familiarity with a chosen object. Our problem is that in normal day-today life, we allow ourselves to be dominated by afflictive emotions and deluded thoughts, totally overwhelming our mind with negative states that then perpetuate a whole cycle of problems, confusion and suffering. What we seek in spiritual practice, therefore, is a way of reversing this cycle so that we can finally take charge of our mind and prevent it from coming under the influence of such negative impulses. We do this by engaging in a constant discipline of cultivating familiarity with a chosen object, which, of course, must be a positive one. Read more at location 1390
**** if we are more habituated to positive thoughts and emotions, those are the ones that will naturally arise. We can observe this in our own personal experience, particularly when studying a new subject. At the beginning, we find it difficult and struggle to understand anything at all, but as we persevere, the clearer it becomes. Eventually we reach the point where understanding arises through merely directing our mind to the subject. This does not mean that the subject has suddenly become easy. All we have done is to enhance our understanding of it through constant engagement. Change is a gradual process. Therefore, when we are trying to dispel confusion with respect to reality, illumination dawns by degrees. Read more at location 1398
(Note: Similar to my experience toward nondualism) At the beginning, we may have a single-pointed perception of reality that is completely opposite to the way in which things really exist, but as we investigate the nature of reality with our analytical mind, we eventually reach the point where our misconceptions are undermined and we enter a state of uncertainty. We still tend more towards misconception, but our grasping at it has been loosened. As we continue deepening our understanding through our analysis, our indecisiveness gradually progresses into a state of equilibrium, where we begin to incline more towards the correct understanding of reality. As we further deepen our understanding through investigation and critical thinking, we reach the point where we have a clear intellectual understanding of reality, having convinced ourselves that this is the way in which things actually exist; that this is the true nature of reality. If we deepen our analysis even further, we gain even stronger conviction; a certainty derived from our own critical thinking. This is called “valid cognition”; a true ascertainment of a certain state of affairs. Read more at location 1403
Second, there is the stage of understanding derived not so much from learning and study, but from personal reflection and contemplation. Third, there is the level of understanding that derives from personal experience; from meditation. There are two principal approaches to the actual process of meditation. One is called “placement” or “absorptive meditation”; sometimes this is also called “calm abiding.” The other is “analytic” or “insight meditation.” Read more at location 1419
(Note: Meditation technique 101) When you engage in meditation on impermanence or no-self nature, you take impermanence or no-self as the object of your attention and focus on it, trying to deepen your understanding of it. Here again, you engage in analytic meditation by constantly reflecting upon the various reasons that led you to the conclusion that all phenomena are impermanent or not self-existent. When you arrive at the conclusion that everything is definitely impermanent or definitely lack self-existence, place your mind single-pointedly on that conclusion. Abide as long as you can in that state of absorptive meditation. Read more at location 1429
In summary, three factors contribute to a successful meditation practice:
1. Successful engagement in analytic and absorptive meditation.
2. Accumulation of merit and purification of negativity and karmic obscurations.
3. Engagement in specific meditation practices for particular purposes. Read more at location 1451
Death and rebirth
As spiritual practitioners, it is very important for us to constantly familiarize our thoughts and emotions with the idea of death so that it does not arrive as something completely unexpected. We need to accept death as a part of our lives. Read more at location 1472
One of the premises of the Buddha’s teachings on rebirth, therefore, is the continuity of consciousness. In his Pramanavarttika, Dharmakirti states that something that is not in the nature of consciousness cannot be turned into consciousness. His point is that in accounting for the nature and existence of consciousness, we have two choices. Either we posit that the continuum of consciousness has no beginning or that it does. If we posit a beginning to the continuum of consciousness, the question arises, when did that first instance of consciousness come into being and from where did it come? Then our choices are that the first moment of consciousness came from nowhere—from no cause—or that it was created by a cause that is permanent and eternal. From the Buddhist point of view, either answer gives rise to many inconsistencies. Read more at location 1479
from the Buddhist point of view, the idea of divine creation is completely unacceptable. If one accepts that some divine force created the entire universe, then the nature of this divine force has to be independent, unitary, uncaused and original, all of which are untenable within a philosophical outlook in which universal causation is the fundamental principle. It is on these grounds that Buddhists do not posit a beginning to the continuum of consciousness and explain its nature and existence purely in terms of the principle of causes and conditions. Read more at location 1487
**** (Note: Buddhist ontology relating karma to physical manifestation) Buddhists explain it in the following way. As I mentioned before, at the subtlest level of the physical world, there is an ever-present physical continuum of space particles. When this subtle physical continuum interacts with the karma of sentient beings, the karma acts as a condition that gives rise to various permutations of physical reality. Eventually there comes into being a macroscopic world that can actually have a direct effect upon sentient beings’ experience of pain, pleasure, suffering and happiness. It is along these lines that Buddhists explain the entire evolution and dissolution of the universe. Read more at location 1493
The twelve links
While we are experiencing the consequences of one set of twelve links, the ignorance and karmic action links of another cycle have already been set in motion. Thus, there are ever-rotating, interlocking chains of twelve links of dependent origination constantly keeping us bound to the wheel of life, which is how our evolution through cyclic existence is explained. Read more at location 1501
the Indian master Asanga identified three principal features: 1. Everything has its causes. In the Buddhist teachings on dependent origination, the notion of divine creation is rejected, because everything comes into being as a result of causes and conditions. 2. These causes are impermanent. Even the causes that set the whole cycle in motion are themselves subject to causes and conditions and are, therefore, impermanent. 3. Only compatible and corresponding causes give rise to the effects. Causation is not a random process; not everything can produce everything. Causes and effects must be compatible; only commensurate causes lead to corresponding results. Read more at location 1507
5. Refuge, Karma, and Precepts
Taking refuge Lines of Experience: Verse 11 After death, there is no guarantee that you will not be reborn in one of the three unfortunate realms. Nevertheless, it is certain that the Three Jewels of Refuge have the power to protect you from their terrors. For this reason, your taking of refuge should be extremely solid and you should follow its advice without ever letting (your commitments) weaken. Moreover, (your success in) so doing depends on your considering thoroughly which are the black or the white karmic actions together with their results and then living according to the guides of what is to be adopted or rejected. I, the yogi, have practiced just that. You who also seek liberation, please cultivate yourself in the same way. Read more at location 1517
Vasubandhu said that the strongest, or most dominant, karmic collection, will ripen first. Read more at location 1527
Observing the law of karma
Karmic acts involve multiple factors, such as initial motivation—the state of mind that impels an action—object of the action, execution of the act itself and state of mind on completion of the act. The nature of the karma created by an action differs depending upon whether these factors are virtuous, neutral or non-virtuous during the four stages. Read more at location 1564
What distinguishes the karmic law of cause and effect from the more general one is the involvement of sentient beings. The law of karma refers to a causal nexus within which a sentient being acts with intelligence and motivation. Read more at location 1568
there is the notion of karmic “propensities,” or “imprints,” which means that even though an act is over once it has been completed, its imprint, or potentiality, remains. There is much discussion in the Buddhist literature on the question of where this imprint is stored. Many Buddhist thinkers maintain that karmic propensities are stored and carried in the consciousness. Read more at location 1575
The eight favorable qualities, or conditions, include longevity, physical attractiveness, high family, great wealth and power, trustworthy speech, fame and strength of body and mind. The eighth favorable condition is birth as a male, but this needs to be understood in its proper context, because the ultimate aim of human existence is to attain full enlightenment with its omniscient wisdom. Should the opportunity to do this during a particular culture or era be greater as a female, this favorable condition would be reversed. Read more at location 1597
Purification of negative karma: the four opponent powers
the four opponent powers that should be used when practicing purification: 1. The power of regret, or repentance. 2. The power of reliance. 3. The power of virtuous activity. 4. The power of resolve. Read more at location 1611
Question and answer period
From the Buddhist point of view, it is important to distinguish between the act and the individual who commits it. You can totally reject the act but you must maintain compassion towards the individual who did it, always recognizing the person’s potential for transformation and correction. Read more at location 1639
6. Seeking Freedom from Cyclic Existence Renunciation
Lamp for the Path: Verse 4 Those who seek peace for themselves alone, Turning away from worldly pleasures And avoiding destructive actions Are said to be of middling capacity. Read more at location 1645
**** even things and events that are conventionally regarded as pleasurable are ultimately all dukkha, that is they are of the nature of suffering and dissatisfaction. Read more at location 1650
Understanding the nature of cyclic existence Lines of Experience: Verse 13 If you do not make an effort to think about true sufferings and their drawbacks, you will not properly develop a keen interest to work for liberation. If you do not consider the stages whereby (true) origins of all suffering place and keep you in cyclic existence, you will not know the means for cutting the root of this vicious circle. Therefore, you should cherish exuding total disgust and renunciation of such existence by knowing which factors bind you to its wheel. I, the yogi, have practiced just that. You who also seek liberation, please cultivate yourself in the same way. Read more at location 1667
**** (Note: second and especially third are poignantly phrased) the three levels of suffering. The first is the suffering of suffering—the obvious and evident painful experiences and sensations that we all experience. The second is the suffering of change; the third, the suffering of pervasive conditioning. Read more at location 1673
cultivating true renunciation, we are really looking at the third category—the suffering of pervasive conditioning, which refers to the simple fact that our existence is controlled by fundamental ignorance and the afflictions to which it gives rise. As long as we are bound by these afflictions, there’s no room for any lasting happiness. Read more at location 1675
the four “demons,” or obstructive forces [Skt: mara]:
1. The afflictions [Skt: klesha mara].
2. Death (caused by conditioned existence) [Skt: marana mara].
3. The five aggregates (conditioned existence itself) [Skt: skandha mara].
4. The obstacles to overcoming the previous three, the “divine youth demon” [Skt: devaputra mara]. Read more at location 1680
**** (Note: no self) Grasping at the self as an autonomous agent serves as a basis for other afflictions such as attachment and hostility, which can be eliminated, but true liberation can only occur by eradicating the subtlest grasping at self. Read more at location 1704
There are two key elements in the practice of renunciation—the cultivation of a sense of disillusionment with cyclic existence and an understanding of the causal mechanism of the origin of suffering. Read more at location 1708
**** (Note: kingdom of God for Jesus) When we think of liberation, we should not feel that it exists somewhere outside of us, like some physical domain. Liberation has to be understood in terms of our own state of mind. Read more at location 1724
************ (Note: philosophy first) What lies at the root of our unenlightened [37] existence is our fundamental misconception of the ultimate nature of reality. Read more at location 1728
The direct antidote to fundamental ignorance is the wisdom realizing no-self, the wisdom realizing emptiness. This does not refer to a mere cognition of emptiness but to a heightened realization where we can experience emptiness directly. To have such a direct and powerful experience of emptiness, we need single-pointed concentration. That’s why we need the higher training in concentration, or meditation. To progress in the higher training in concentration, we need to observe the ethical basis—the higher training in morality. Read more at location 1736
Question and answer period
(Note: Emotion and detachment) As we deepen our experience of emptiness, we get a powerful surge of emotion, which itself acts to counter the negative, or afflictive, emotions. We also find in Buddhist practice specific antidotes to specific problems. For example, we meditate on loving kindness to counter hatred and hostility, and on impermanence to counter strong attachment. In other words, the emotion of love is generated as an antidote to anger and the experience of impermanence as an antidote to attachment. Read more at location 1747
Question. Does love dilute pain and suffering in the same way that light dispels darkness? His Holiness. Perhaps the parallel is not that close, because light dispels dark directly and instantaneously; darkness vanishes the moment you switch on a light. The effect of love on pain and suffering is more complex and indirect. When we cultivate love and compassion, they promote within us strength and courage, allowing us to be more tolerant and able to bear hardship. Read more at location 1754
7. Cultivating the Altruistic Intention of Bodhicitta
Lamp for the Path: Verse 5 Those who, through their personal suffering, Truly want to end completely All the suffering of others Are persons of supreme capacity. Read more at location 1758
On the basis of compassion wishing others to be free of suffering and loving kindness wishing others to be happy, you then generate a sense of special responsibility. Your compassion does not remain simply at the level of a wish or aspiration. You generate a sense of commitment: “I myself shall liberate all beings from suffering.” Eventually, this extraordinary sense of responsibility leads to the realization of bodhicitta—the altruistic intention of one who aspires to attain buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. Read more at location 1769
(Note: Building up merit to what end? In what storehouse? No self, no heaven... emptiness at root) Lines of Experience: Verse 14 Ever-enhancing your enlightened motive of bodhicitta is the central axle of the Mahayana path. It is the basis and foundation for great waves of (enlightening) conduct. Like a gold-making elixir, (it turns) everything (you do) into the two collections, (building up) a treasure of merit gathered from infinitely collected virtues. Knowing this, bodhisattvas hold this supreme precious mind as their innermost practice. I, the yogi, have practiced just that. You who also seek liberation, please cultivate yourself in the same way. Read more at location 1777
(Note: Enlightenment is not permanent?) the moment you have realized bodhicitta, you have become a Mahayana practitioner and are on the path to complete enlightenment but the moment your bodhicitta degenerates, you fall outside the fold of the bodhisattvas. Read more at location 1783
**** The importance of bodhicitta The highest perfection of altruism, the ultimate altruism, is bodhicitta complemented by wisdom. Bodhicitta—the aspiration to bring about the welfare of all sentient beings and to attain buddhahood for their sake—is really the distilled essence, the squeezed juice, of all the Buddha’s teachings, because ultimately, the Buddha’s intention is to lead all sentient beings to perfect enlightenment, complete omniscience. Read more at location 1831
we should wish to be of service to and utilized by all other sentient beings, just as are the earth, mountains and trees. When we think about altruism in such depth, we will realize that independent self-interest, the interests of the individual I, are totally meaningless, Read more at location 1867
Generate within yourself a deep sense of joy and fulfillment mixed with sadness towards the suffering of other sentient beings. Along with all these emotions, generate the strong determination, “I shall never abandon this altruistic intention.” Read more at location 1887
8. The Ceremony for Generating Bodhicitta Introduction
Make this firm resolution: “As a Dharma practitioner, from now on, I must work for the benefit of all sentient beings. I will attain buddhahood for their sake, to liberate them from suffering and lead them to enlightenment,” Read more at location 1910
The seven-limb practice: Homage, Offering, Confessing, Rejoicing, Requesting, Beseeching, Dedication Read more at location 1959
The actual ceremony for generating bodhicitta
Repeat the following verses three times: With the wish to free all beings I shall always go for refuge To Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Until I reach full enlightenment, Inspired by wisdom and compassion, Today, in the Buddha’s presence, I generate the mind of full awakening For the benefit of all sentient beings. As long as space remains As long as sentient beings remain Until then may I too remain And dispel the miseries of the world. Read more at location 1967
9. Bodhisattva Outlook and Action Taking the bodhisattva vows
The perfection of generosity Lines of Experience: Verse 15 Generosity is the wish-granting jewel with which you can fulfill the hopes of sentient beings. It is the best weapon for cutting the knot of miserliness. It is the (altruistic) conduct that enhances your self-confidence and undaunted courage. It is the basis for your good reputation to be proclaimed in the ten directions. Knowing this, the wise have devoted themselves to the excellent path of completely giving away their body, belongings and merit. I, the yogi, have practiced just that. You who also seek liberation, please cultivate yourself in the same way. Read more at location 2060
The perfection of joyous effort
Lines of Experience: Verse 18 Once you wear the armor of resolute and irreversible joyous effort, your expertise in the scriptures and insights will increase like the waxing moon. You will make all your actions meaningful (for attaining enlightenment) and will bring whatever you undertake to its intended conclusion. Knowing this, the bodhisattvas have exerted great waves of joyous effort, washing away all laziness. I, the yogi, have practiced just that. You who also seek liberation, please cultivate yourself in the same way. Read more at location 2086
**** (Note: power of meditation) Lines of Experience: Verse 19 Meditative concentration is the king wielding power over the mind. If you fix it (on one point), it remains there, immovable like a mighty Mount Meru. If you apply it, it can engage fully with any virtuous object. It leads to the great exhilarating bliss of your body and mind being made serviceable. Knowing this, yogis who are proficient have devoted themselves continuously to single-pointed concentration, which overcomes the enemy of mental wandering. I, the yogi, have practiced just that. You who also seek liberation, please cultivate yourself in the same way. Read more at location 2120
if you want to engage in a concerted practice of cultivating calm abiding, first you must ensure that the following five conditions are present: 1. The sound basis of an ethically disciplined way of life. 2. Few personal needs or mundane chores to be done. 3. A good understanding of all the key elements and stages of the practice. 4. An appropriate diet and avoidance of excessive eating. 5. As few distractions as possible, with restriction of interactions with strangers or other people. Read more at location 2138
Regarding the object that you use for single-pointed meditation, the text presents many different categories of object. There are objects that are suited to the purification of negativity or elimination of afflictions, objects that are more suited to analytic temperaments and so forth. Three principal kinds of object are mentioned: 1. A pervasive object, which is one common to both calm abiding and penetrative insight. 2. Objects associated with your own past habits. 3. Objects that are more relevant to overcoming afflictions. Read more at location 2151
it is important to choose only one object and not keep changing it. The more new objects that you bring in as a focus of your meditation, the less progress you will make. Read more at location 2157
this is not what you use in your actual meditation. There, you focus on an image that you create in your mind and cultivate your single-pointed concentration on that. Read more at location 2162
The key to the development of calm abiding is mindfulness, which combines introspection and diligence. It is the continuous application of mindfulness that sustains your attention on your chosen object. This is the heart of placement meditation. Read more at location 2165
In the context of single-pointed concentration, the key is to develop mindfulness to such a degree that we can sustain it without an instant’s distraction. Read more at location 2169
**** (Note: meditation technique) even if we are capable of sustaining single-pointed mindfulness, our meditation may lack clarity, or there may be clarity without loss of focus on the object, but our mind lacks vitality. In general, the faults of meditation are distraction and mental dullness. Read more at location 2172
When you begin to cultivate calm abiding and single-pointed concentration, you have to learn how these complex processes unfold. In particular, it is essential that you discover sobering and uplifting techniques that work in your own meditation practice and the level of equilibrium that is right for you, but only through continued personal practice and experience, can you discover what these are. Your age and physical constitution can also make a difference, particularly your state of health. Read more at location 2187
10. The Perfection of Wisdom
The importance of the perfection of wisdom Lamp for the Path: Verse 41 When the practitioner has gained calm abiding, Higher perception will also be gained, But without practice of the perfection of wisdom, The obstructions will not come to an end. Read more at location 2198
(Note: Similar to Jesus teaching in Luke of single eye? (11.34?)) because emptiness is the fundamental nature of reality—ignorance of which is the root of cyclic existence—the wisdom realizing emptiness is the eye that allows us to see reality’s true nature. It is only by transcending the deluded perspective of ignorance and generating its opposite, the perspective of emptiness, that we can eliminate it. Read more at location 2225
The nature of wisdom
****** (Note: like Ecclesiastes) Lamp for the Path: Verse 47 Understanding emptiness of inherent existence Through realizing that the aggregates, constituents And sources are not produced [do not come into being] Is described as wisdom. Read more at location 2236
Emptiness according to different Buddhist schools
(Note: Self, similar to Vedanta in tying emptiness to origination) Among the Buddhist schools that accept the teachings on the selflessness of phenomena in addition to the selflessness of persons, the principal ones are the Cittamatra and the Madhyamaka; the explanation of selflessness here is from the perspective of the Madhyamaka. This perspective is clearly explained in Aryadeva’s Four Hundred Verses on the Middle Way, where he interprets the self that is to be negated in terms of the concept of independence, saying that Anything that comes into being dependently Lacks independent status. This absence of independence is emptiness. Therefore, the status of independence Is the self that is to be negated. Read more at location 2247
If you want to deepen your understanding of emptiness, it is very helpful to look at how the different Buddhist philosophical schools understand no-self. [42] To summarize, Vaibhashikas and Sautrantikas understand emptiness as self and person devoid of substantial reality. Cittamatrins, in addition to accepting the no-self of person, also accept the no-self of phenomena. They interpret the no-self of phenomena as the absence of duality between subject and object, and also through the notion that the referents of terms and concepts do not exist in some absolute, intrinsic manner. Madhyamaka Svatantrikas follow Nagarjuna’s teachings but present their own interpretation of emptiness, accepting a degree of intrinsic existence at the conventional level. Read more at location 2273
we can observe that when the thought, “I am,” arises in us, it does so on the basis of our physical or mental constituents; our aggregates underlie “I am.” We grasp at these aggregates, and it is on the basis of this grasping and the thought “I am” that we identify with them. This is how the grasping at phenomena serves as the basis for the grasping at the self of the person. Read more at location 2297
Dependent origination
**** His critics object that saying nothing possesses inherent nature is a descent into nihilism, because it rejects the existence of anything. Nagarjuna responds by saying that this objection is based upon a misunderstanding of what he means by emptiness. To paraphrase Nagarjuna, “If you just reflect on the fact that the premise upon which I argue for emptiness is dependent origination, that alone reveals that by emptiness I do not mean nothingness. Emptiness is not to be equated with mere nothingness; it is simply the absence of inherent, independent existence.” Read more at location 2302
When you reflect upon emptiness in terms of dependent origination, you can avoid the extremes of both nihilism—that nothing at all exists—and absolutism—that things possess independent existence. This is the meaning of the Middle Way. Read more at location 2312
**** (Note: selfless) When you think about your own self, you normally feel as if there is something that you can actually pinpoint and to which the term “person” refers. When you examine this in greater detail, however, you discover that there is actually no such unitary entity to which the term “person” refers and that this term is actually contingent upon the aggregation of many factors. When you arrive at this conclusion you realize that the person that you initially believed to exist inherently is actually devoid of inherent existence. This is the meaning of emptiness. Read more at location 2318
Establishing emptiness through reasoning
Lamp for the Path: Verses 48 through 50 48. Something existent cannot be produced Nor something non-existent, like a sky flower. These errors are both absurd and thus Both of the two will not occur either. 49. A thing is not produced from itself, Nor from another, also not from both, Nor causelessly either, thus it does not Exist inherently by way of its own entity. 50. Moreover, when all phenomena are examined As to whether they are one or many, They are seen not to exist by way of their own entity, And thus are ascertained as not inherently existent. Read more at location 2326
when we search for the inherent nature of everything that we experience and perceive, including our five aggregates and all phenomena relevant to our personal experiences of suffering and happiness, we will be unable to find it. The inherent nature of form or any other phenomenon cannot be found. This is why Buddha stated that form is emptiness. However, this does not mean that all phenomena are non-existent. It simply means that all phenomena are devoid of inherent existence. The existence of phenomena can be understood only in terms of their dependent nature. Read more at location 2379
Something is either dependent or independent; there is no third possibility. Nagarjuna brings this into focus in his Refutation of Objections (Vigrahavyavartani), where he states that if the absence of inherent existence is reversed, existence of inherent existence is automatically established. Things and events are either inherently existent or empty of inherent existence. Read more at location 2390
Masters such as Buddhapalita and Chandrakirti interpreted Nagarjuna’s teachings on emptiness in a unique and excellent way. When you subject their interpretations to critical analysis, you find that their particular reading of Nagarjuna’s teachings on emptiness is the one that is the most compatible with valid reasoning and personal experience. Read more at location 2405
Meditation on emptiness
you may ask yourself, does this mean that the self does not exist at all? But that cannot be the correct conclusion, because you know from personal experience that the self does things, is affected by the environment and so forth, all of which suggests that it possesses a certain degree of existence. However, this existence of the self can be understood only in terms of its dependent nature, that is, as a dependently originated phenomenon. Once you realize this, you can use your understanding of the dependent origination of the self as a premise to reflect upon its emptiness—that although the self exists, it does not possess inherent, intrinsic reality. This is how to use your understanding of dependent origination to arrive at an understanding of emptiness. Read more at location 2414
The non-conceptual understanding of emptiness
54. Just as wisdom does not see An inherent nature in phenomena, Having analyzed wisdom itself by reasoning Non-conceptually meditate on that. Read more at location 2444
The importance of meditating on emptiness is universal among the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Read more at location 2450
The union of calm abiding and penetrative insight
Lines of Experience: Verse 24 (Renunciation, an enlightened motive and correct view of emptiness) are necessary in common for (achieving) supreme paths through either of the two Mahayana vehicles of (practicing) causes (for enlightenment) or (simulating now) the results (you will achieve). Therefore, once you have properly developed like this these (three principal) paths, you should rely on the skillful captain (of a fully qualified tantric master) as your protector, and set out (on this latter, speedier vehicle) across the vast ocean of the (four) classes of tantra. Those who have (done so and) devoted themselves to his or her guideline instructions have made their attainment of (a human body with all) liberties and endowments fully meaningful (by attaining enlightenment in their very lives). I, the yogi, have practiced just that. You who also seek liberation, please cultivate yourself in the same way. Read more at location 2530
Question and answer period
when meditating on the lack of inherent existence of self, I become scared at the dawn of that understanding. Is this normal? Is there an antidote?
His Holiness. There are two possibilities. One is that perhaps your understanding of emptiness is not deep enough, in which case there is a danger of your sliding into a nihilistic interpretation of the meaning of emptiness, where emptiness almost becomes a concept of nothingness or non-existence. Read more at location 2539