How to Practice Dharma: Abandoning the Eight Worldly Dharmas
The Importance of Knowing What Dharma Is Happiness Starts When We Renounce This Life The Importance of Knowing What Dharma Is
Even though we don’t know any other subject, if we can clearly differentiate between what is Dharma and what is non-Dharma by recognizing the eight worldly dharmas, we are very fortunate. This is the essential point. Knowing this alone gives us a great chance to really put Dharma practice into our daily life and create however much merit we want to create.
Buddhism is a house full of treasures—practices for the happiness of future lives, for attaining liberation, for the supreme happiness of enlightenment—but this is the key that will open the door to those treasures. No matter how much we know about shunyata 9, the chakras or kundalini yoga 10, it is all pointless without this crucial understanding of how to practice Dharma, how to correct our actions. There are many people who spend much time thinking that they are practicing Dharma at a very high level, practicing tantra and other great subjects. They spend many lives like that but really never know the border between Dharma and non-Dharma.
It is very easy to do Dharma activities, such as reciting mantras, saying prayers, making offerings and things like that, with the thought of the eight worldly dharmas. This happens. But in reality, the holy Dharma, which includes all these activities, actually means renouncing this life, and therefore doing holy Dharma and doing worldly dharma can never happen together. Nobody can do these two things at the same time—renounce this life and seek the happiness of this life with the eight worldly dharmas. We can do one and then the other, but never together in one mind at the same time.
It’s Better To Practice Dharma
Whenever different benefactors wrote to Pabongka Dechen Nyingpo asking for advice, it seems that he always advised them to persuade other sentient beings to practice Dharma, especially lam-rim, as much as possible, by giving the very heart instructions on how to make their life most meaningful.
The eight worldly dharmas are the source of the whole of life’s problems, so therefore if Dharma practice means renouncing the source of the whole of life’s problems it means renouncing the eight worldly dharmas. “I’m practicing Dharma” really means “I’m renouncing all the suffering of this life and all the future lives, I’m renouncing the thought of the eight worldly dharmas.”
In previous times, Dromtönpa, Atisha’s close disciple and translator, saw an old man walking around the temple at Reting monastery. The old man thought he was practicing Dharma. So Dromtönpa said, “Circumambulating the temple is good, but isn’t it better to practice Dharma.” After hearing this, the old man gave up going around the temple and started reading the scriptures, thinking that was what practicing Dharma meant. Again Dromtönpa met him and, seeing the old man reading scriptures, mentioned, “Reading the scriptures is good, but isn’t it better to practice Dharma?” So, at that the old man gave up reading Dharma texts, and thinking maybe meditation was practicing Dharma, he sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes to meditate. As he was sitting like that, again the Dromtönpa came to him and said, “Sir, your meditating is good, but wouldn’t it be better to practice Dharma?”
The old man was confused. He couldn’t think of any other way to practice Dharma if it wasn’t circumambulating or reading scriptures or meditating, and so he asked Dromtönpa, “What do you mean by practicing Dharma?” Then Dromtönpa answered, “Renounce this life. Renounce it now, for if you do not renounce attachment to this life, whatever you do will not be the practice of Dharma, as you have not passed beyond the eight worldly concerns. Once you have renounced this life’s habitual thoughts and are no longer distracted by the eight worldly dharmas, whatever you do will advance you on the path of liberation.”
Dromtönpa advised the old man to renounce this life because without renouncing this life nobody can practice pure Dharma. With renunciation, however, there is pure Dharma practice, which brings happiness in this life and in all future lives. Renouncing this life doesn’t mean running away from home or from material possessions, it means running away from the cause of the suffering. That alone will cut our suffering. As long as we follow the eight worldly dharmas, whether we separate from this physical body or not, without question we will still suffer.
In a similar vein, when Lama Atisha 11 was about to pass away, one of his followers, a yogi called Naljor Chaktri Chok, (which means Yogi Meditator), who was Milarepa in a previous life, said to him, “After you have passed away I will dedicate myself to meditation.” Lama Atisha answered, “Give up anything that is a bad action!” Atisha did not say that it was good to meditate; he did not say, “Oh yes, that is very good!” Instead he said, “Give up anything that is a bad action!”
Naljor Chaktri Chok then said to Atisha, “In that case, sometimes I will explain Dharma and sometimes I will meditate.” Again Atisha gave the same answer. Naljor Chaktri Chok thought some more, then gave another suggestion. But no matter what he said, Atisha just kept on giving the same answer. Finally, Naljor Chaktri Chok asked, “Well, what should I do?” Lama Atisha answered, “Give up this life in your mind!”
Keeping this advice in his heart, Naljor Chaktri Chok lived in a juniper forest rear Reting monastery, no different from the way animals live in a forest. (This is not talking about his mind—just his body.) Living alone, not seeing even one other human face, he passed his life there.
Giving up this life—renouncing this life, as Dromtönpa says—doesn’t mean leaving everything behind and escaping from this world, this entire planet, and going somewhere else. Giving away all our possessions—even all the possessions that exist in the world—is not giving up this life. Taking our body away from our home or our country is not giving up this life. Even living in a cave with no possessions at all, with only the body, this is not giving up this life. Even separating from our body—as we do every time we die—is not giving up this worldly life. Giving up this life does not depend on physical things; it is a mental change.
The Difference Between the Eight Worldly Dharmas and Dharma
Without renouncing the thought of the eight worldly dharmas, any action—going round a stupa, meditating, reading Dharma books—is a negative action, a worldly action. It is not spiritual, it is not Dharma; it is the opposite of Dharma. So the action itself does not determine whether something is Dharma. Dromtönpa shows us clearly that practicing Dharma is nothing more than renouncing the evil thought of the eight worldly dharmas.
We need to be very clear about what defines Dharma and non-Dharma. We know that anger is negative, of course, but we aren’t angry all the time. What really wastes our precious life isn’t anger but attachment, being attached to the eight worldly dharmas.
If we don’t know the distinction between Dharma and non-Dharma, even though we try to practice Dharma our whole life, nothing becomes Dharma, because we are still doing things with the wrong motivation. It can happen. So the definition of non-Dharma is simply anything that is done for the happiness of this life alone. It is whatever we do motivated by the attachment to the eight worldly dharmas. The definition of Dharma is exactly the opposite; it is anything that is done for the happiness of beyond this life, whatever is unstained by attachment to the eight worldly dharmas. I repeat: whatever action we do with the thought of the eight worldly dharmas is not Dharma; whatever we do unstained by the thought of the eight worldly dharmas is Dharma. Every action we do from morning to night is either Dharma or non-Dharma depending on this.
When we see clearly the borderline between Dharma and non-Dharma, between a Dharma action and a worldly action, we are so fortunate. Until that point, despite all the suffering we’ve endured and all our attempts to stop it, we haven’t had any way to be really happy, but now we can start to do something about it. We have probably wanted to do many good things in the past, such as meditating, but from lack of this fundamental understanding, we’ve made so many mistakes. Even if we don’t come to understand any other Dharma subjects, just knowing this one thing is like opening a big eye.
Pure Dharma is any action that is a remedy for our delusions. Basically, practicing Dharma benefits future lives, unlike the meaningless activities of this life which might possibly bring some temporary happiness in this life. Achieving the happiness of this life is nothing special. Even animals or insects as tiny as ants can achieve the happiness of this life, and therefore being able to gain sense pleasures doesn’t make our life more special than that of an animal. No matter how expert we are, we aren’t fulfilling the potential we have as humans, especially with this perfect human rebirth, qualified by eight freedoms and ten richnesses.12 The special purposes of having a perfect human rebirth are to achieve the happiness of future lives, to achieve liberation from samsara and to achieve full enlightenment, and this is something we can do because we can create the causes even in each second.
Virtue and nonvirtue are defined on this basis. Every action done renouncing attachment to this life is virtue; every action done with attachment to this life is nonvirtue. If we renounce the attachment that clings to this life’s pleasure, our attitude becomes pure, and everything we do becomes Dharma. Nothing we do is done for this life.
As soon as we renounce the evil thought of the eight worldly dharmas there is peace. There is no need to wait until tomorrow or the day after. It is not as if we renounce the eight worldly dharmas today but we need to wait for a few years or the next life to receive happiness.
When we live with the pure thought that is not mixed with the thought of the worldly dharmas, then each single action becomes Dharma, our mind is living purely in the Dharma. The deeper we see the cause of our suffering, the more our wisdom grows and the more we can put Dharma into our everyday life. Then there is so much energy to make any action we do a Dharma action. Even if we live in a big family, with twenty children and many possessions, every action we do becomes the remedy to the delusions, and we are living in the renunciation of this life.
Nobody can tell from external appearances who has renounced this life and who hasn’t. Renunciation is a state of mind, and whether or not a person has lots of possessions is no indication at all. Even though someone is a king, with many servants, with stores of jewels and possessions and many rich apartments, that does not mean his mind is not living in renunciation. Renouncing this life is a mental action, not a physical action.
If it were only a question of not having anything, all the animals and insects who have no possessions, living in holes, without food to eat, should be regarded as highly renounced beings. At Lawudo retreat center near Everest there are many caves that used to be the homes of great yogis. When I went to see them, they had been used by yaks for sleeping, probably because they are warm, and they were full of kaka. If the definition of a yogi is someone who lives in a cave, perhaps we should consider the yaks great yogis!
Another way of defining Dharma is anything that does not accord with the actions of worldly people. If we do something that normal people don’t do, then it’s Dharma. If we do something that normal people do, then it’s not Dharma. This is how the great teacher Dromtönpa explained it to Potowa:
It is Dharma if it becomes an antidote to delusions; it is not Dharma if it does not. If all worldly people disagree with it, it is Dharma; if they agree with it, it is not Dharma.13
Most worldly people have an interpretation of what constitutes a good life based on attachment and filtered through the ego. And so more wealth, more success, more friends, more children, more cars—such things are seen as part of a good life. We measure our happiness by how many possessions we have, by our external development. Children, and then grandchildren, and then great-grandchildren, the more of everything we have the happier we are.
This is entirely the opposite of what a good life is in the view of Dharma wisdom, based on the fundamental understanding of karma and the lam-rim. What attachment doesn’t consider important in its view of a good life is having peace in the heart, having real satisfaction. Actually, this is what we are all looking for, but very few people, lacking Dharma education, know this and so very few people actually know how to achieve it.
The Importance of Motivation
When I once asked an abbot about the meaning of “worldly dharma”, he replied that it means gambling, working in the fields and so on—these are worldly activities. It is very common to think of worldly actions in this way, relating just to the action and not to the motivation, the attitude. If done with a pure motivation, however, such actions can become pure Dharma.
Dromtönpa’s example above is extremely important to keep in mind because it shows so clearly the border between Dharma and non-Dharma. It is easy to think of worldly actions as playing football, smoking, drinking, having sex or these kinds of things, but that’s not what defines a worldly action. We therefore need to become very aware of the motivation for all the actions we do in daily life to see what is and what is not Dharma.
If our motivation is worldly concern then the action becomes a worldly activity. It can’t be Dharma, even if the action is reciting prayers, meditating and so on. It can be like Dharma but not Dharma. And a person who “practices” Dharma but with a motivation of worldly concern is like a Dharma practitioner but not a real Dharma practitioner. There’s a big difference.
One time, someone gave me plastic ice cream. It looked exactly like ice cream and it even ran down the spoon like melting ice cream does. When Ueli, the director of the FPMT Mongolian projects, came to lunch I offered it to him and he was completely fooled. It was so well made. But of course it was completely inedible. And it’s the same thing with the person who practices Dharma but pollutes it with the mind clinging to this life. His activities might look exactly like Dharma—listening to teachings, reflecting, meditating, going on retreat, even teaching Dharma—but in fact they are not Dharma. He might look like a Dharma practitioner but in fact he is not a Dharma practitioner.
Since we are seeking liberation, this is the most important point to know. It’s like the dial of the radio that has the power to tune into all the different stations. Without this understanding of the distinction between Dharma and non-Dharma, no matter how many different spiritual actions we do, no matter how long we do things such as building monasteries, making prostrations and so on—even if we do them until we die—there is a real danger that our whole life will become filled with negative actions and cause us to be trapped in samsara, that they will be the causes of the bondage to suffering. Without this knowledge there is a great danger we will cheat ourselves.
By itself, no action can be defined as a worldly action. It can be either holy Dharma or worldly dharma, virtuous or nonvirtuous. It all depends on the motivation. Enjoying sense pleasures can be positive or negative; having wealth can be positive of negative. Two people can do exactly the same thing and one can be positive and the other negative.
So it all depends on our attitude. A politician with a good motivation can do a lot of good but if his motivation is the thought of the eight worldly dharmas—the wish for power, reputation, wealth and so on—then his politics become black politics that harm both himself and the people around him. Without the worldly mind, his politics become Dharma. And if the motivation is unstained by self-cherishing and is one of bodhicitta then those politics become pure Mahayana Dharma. It becomes only pure service for other sentient beings, and that becomes the cause to achieve enlightenment.
No matter how it looks on the surface, any action done without involvement in the eight worldly dharmas is a Dharma action. Whatever method we use to renounce the thought of the eight worldly dharmas is the method to stop the continuity of bad karma, which leads to escape from suffering and to enlightenment. This is the perfect, true method.
And so before we can start any Dharma practice, the most important thing is to cultivate a pure motivation. Just understanding this crucial point is so important. It opens our wisdom eye; it is the first thing we need to do to follow the path. Even if we can’t have pure motivation from the very beginning, just understanding what Dharma means and how it makes life meaningful is very beneficial. As we practice more, we can develop a better and purer motivation based on this understanding. Then we have the chance to do a correct action without mistake.
We can’t become like those great yogis of the past within a few days, or even a few months, but it is very beneficial just knowing how they made their life free and peaceful by practicing Dharma. This gives us some insight into how we can start to lead our life. We can watch that all our actions are as pure as possible, that they are not controlled by the thought of the eight worldly dharmas.
Notes
9 Skt: emptiness.
10 The completion stage practice in Highest Yoga Tantra for of bringing the vital energy (Skt: prana, Tib: lung) into the central channel. It is also a common yoga found in non-Tibetan traditions.
11 The first part of this section is also found in The Door to Satisfaction, p. 30.
12 The eight freedoms are freedom from: 1. being born in the hells (narak), 2. as a hungry spirit (preta), 3. as an animal, 4. as a long-life god (asura), 5. as a barbarian in an irreligious country, 6. deaf, 7.as a heretic, 8. born during a time when Buddha has not descended.
The ten richnesses are: 1. being born as a human being, 2. being born in the centre of a religious country, 3. being born with perfect organs, 4. avoidance of the five extreme negative actions (killing your mother, your father, an arhat, wounding a tathagata or causing disunity amongst the Sangha), 5. belief in the practice of Dharma, 6. being born during a non-dark period, 7. being shown the teachings of the Buddha or his followers, 8. the existence of experienced teachings, 9. following the path of the Buddha’s teaching. 10. receiving the kindness and compassion of others. Taken from The Wish-fulfilling Golden Sun. See also Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, pp. 308-311.
13 Quoted in Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand, p. 337.
Article Source: www.lamayeshe.com
--------------------------------------
Technorati: Buddhism Buddha Buddhist Dharma Compassion Wisdom Religion Meditation Zen Philosophy Spirituality Inspiration Peace Insight
Monday, July 26, 2010
Abandoning the Eight Worldly Dharmas
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Cultivating Service to Others
The purpose of a meditation center is to take care of the minds of others, to keep the mind in virtue as much as possible. This means keeping your own mind in virtue. You have to try. It is very good to try. If you can’t do that, you can’t help others. So your motivation should be to use your body, speech and mind to create even the smallest happiness in others. Many people in the world waste their lives. People try to climb mountains no matter what risk to their life. Some people use themselves as bullets, getting fired from cannons, and so forth, unbelievable things, putting their lives in danger to achieve such insignificant happiness in this life.
The Ornament of Sutra by Maitreya Buddha says, “The child of the victorious one who has stabilized the supreme perseverance of thoroughly ripening the multitude of sentient beings will work to have even one virtuous thought arise in a sentient being’s mind, even if it takes 10 million thousand eons, without getting upset.”
When you train the mind in positive virtue, especially a good heart trying to benefit others, it creates very good communication. There is no Great Wall of China or Germany between yourself and others. It brings so much happiness to you and others, and brings world peace.
Every sentient being has buddha nature. Even a mosquito can achieve enlightenment and liberation from the oceans of samsaric suffering if it practices Dharma. So especially for us who now have this precious human body with which can do so many things to liberate from any problem or circumstance that gives rise to problems, especially having a perfect human rebirth on top of buddha nature, we are able to achieve all the happiness for all future lives, even for insects, ants, cockroaches, spiders and snakes, even for a mouse. You can cause the mice and the ants to achieve all the happiness in future lives, and ultimate happiness, liberation from samsara and enlightenment. You are able to cause the four levels of happiness for all sentient beings, not only to liberate them from the oceans of suffering and bring them to enlightenment, but to do that as quickly as possible through tantric practice …
Taking refuge with renunciation to this life, with morality as the foundation (living in the ten virtues and abandoning the ten non-virtues), causes future good rebirth as a deva or human, especially perfect human rebirth with seven qualities, rebirth with the four Mahayana Dharma wheels, the eight ripening qualities or to be in a pure land.
Renunciation of samsara and living in the three special higher trainings causes liberation from the oceans of samsaric suffering. Then, with bodhichitta, taking bodhisattva vows and living in the six paramitas and the four methods of drawing in the sentient beings in order to achieve enlightenment.
Having taken initiation, living in the tantric vows, practicing pure appearance, generation and completion stages, causes one to achieve full enlightenment much quicker, within one brief lifetime of these degenerated times.
Contentment is not for others but with your own needs. Usually, we have attachment to so many different things, or to having many of a similar object (e.g., wife, husband, girlfriend or boyfriend, sexual relationships) and not content with one. Or wanting more money – when we have $1000, wanting $10,000, then a million, then a billion, it is endless. Then to get more, one engages in the ten non-virtues, cheats or even kills others. Then one gets into trouble and receives punishment, is sent to prison, becoming famous for negative mind – a bad reputation. Contentment means not needing more than you have or what you don’t have. You can understand better if you think of renunciation, it is similar, bringing peace in the heart by healing the mental sickness of attachment …
Virtuous actions and virtuous thoughts need to be developed until enlightenment is achieved. Always continuously develop completing the great works, as much as one can, like collecting merit, the cause of happiness, developing realizations, and achieving liberation and enlightenment. One should never be content regarding developing positive actions, virtue, which lead to one’s own and others’ ultimate happiness, enlightenment – always strive to do more. Apologize immediately if one did some mistake, harmed others, was disrespectful or said hurtful words. Forgive immediately if somebody gets angry, is disrespectful to you or harms you. Develop courage by thinking of the benefit to others, serving others. This is the best offering to the buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Excerpted from Letter to All Center Directors and Coordinators dictated by Lama Zopa Rinpoche to Ven. Roger Kunsang and Ven. Trisha Labdron, Nov 5, 2009, Dehradhun, India, and edited by Ven. Trisha Labdron. Lightly edited for FPMT eNews.
--------------------------------------
Technorati: Buddhism Buddha Buddhist Dharma Compassion Wisdom Religion Meditation Zen Philosophy Spirituality Inspiration Peace Insight
Friday, May 29, 2009
The Nature of Mind
Clearly perceiving objects is what defines the mind. The basic definition of mind is that which is clear and able to perceive objects. Clear doesn't necessarily mean that the way the mind sees an object accords with reality. Here clear means simply seeing an object clearly, whether rightly or wrongly. For example, from a distance somebody in a department store might see a store mannequin as a real person, because the shape and posture of the body are like those of a normal person. Somebody could look at a mannequin and think, "Oh, there's a person there!" They give the label "person" to the mannequin because it has the shape of a person, and they then believe in their label. The mannequin then appears to them as a real person, even though in reality there's no actual person there, from the top of the head down to the toes. It's simply a mannequin. An actual person doesn't exist there. First of all the person sees the base, the shape of a human body; because of that they label "person" and believe in that label. It then appears to them as a person. Even though that appearance is not true, it is a clear appearance to their mind.
Another example is someone with bile disease* seeing a white snow mountain as yellow in color. Even though the appearance of a yellow mountain is not true, it's clear to that hallucinated mind. It is similar with the effects of datura and other drugs. Because of the effect of a drug, someone can see the whole ground as crawling worms. Even though it is not true, what appears is clear to that hallucinated mind.
Here in the definition of mind, clear doesn't necessarily mean that the object you're seeing accords with reality. Whether it's a false object or a true one, it appears clearly to the mind.
Just as there's no such thing as objects appearing clearly to the body, there's no such thing as objects appearing clearly to rocks, trees, and other substantial things. Clear has to do with perception. Rocks, trees, and other substantial things don't have perception; nothing appears to them. Perception has to do with the mind. Appearance is a production, or creation, of the mind. The body and these other substantial things have only form; they don't have perception. The mind has perception; it is only to the mind that things appear.
As I've already said, the general definition of the characteristics of the mind is that which is clear and able to perceive objects. Clear means in the sense of seeing objects clearly, though not necessarily in accord with reality. Generally, the mind sees an object clearly, whether that object is appearing falsely or in accord with reality. So, that which is clear and able to perceive objects refers to both the hallucinated mind and the valid mind. This definition refers to both an ordinary sentient being's mind and to a fully enlightened being's mind, which is free from all hallucinations.
The nature of the mind is clear light. The mind doesn't exist from its own side. The mind that appears to exist from its own side is completely empty of existing from its own side. The mind that exists is simply the mind that is merely imputed by the mind in dependence upon the base to be labeled "mind." That base is not the body, but the shapeless, colorless phenomenon that is clear and able to perceive objects. In dependence upon that phenomenon "mind" is merely imputed by the mind. How does the mind exist? The mind exists in dependence upon that base, that phenomenon that has the qualities of being non-substantial and clear and able to perceive objects, and the thought that labels it. In dependence upon these two, the base and the thought, mind exists.
So, what is the mind? It is nothing other than what is merely imputed by thought in dependence upon this particular phenomenon with this nature and function. Since the mind is merely imputed by thought in dependence upon this base, the mind is completely empty of existing from its own side. This is the clear light nature of the mind.
It is the clear light nature of the mind that gives us the potential to achieve any happiness that we wish. It is the clear light nature of the mind that gives us every hope. It gives us the opportunity to be completely liberated from all problems, from true suffering and true causes of suffering, and to actualize the clear light nature of the mind. It is because of this clear light nature of the mind that we can achieve ultimate happiness, besides temporary peace and happiness in our daily life. This is what gives us the opportunity to end the entire suffering of samsara, the continuation of which did not have a beginning. It is the clear light nature of the mind that gives us the possibility of ending the continuation of suffering, of samsara, even though it does not have a beginning.
Besides achieving liberation, ultimate happiness for self, we can completely cease even the subtle obscurations, the imprints left on our mental continuum by the ignorance holding the concept of true existence and other disturbing thoughts. In this way our mind can become completely pure, without any faults. It becomes omniscient mind, which can directly see all past, present, and future existence.
Because of this clear light nature of the mind, we have every hope of obtaining any happiness that we want. No matter how strong our ignorance, anger, desire, self-cherishing, and other delusions are and no matter how much heavy negative karma we have created, these things are not permanent; all these obscurations are temporary. Like fog in the sky, they are not permanent; they will not always be there. They are dependent arisings. In dependence upon causes and conditions, fog happens and obscures the sun or moon and the sky. Then, in dependence upon other causes and conditions, such as the karma of sentient beings and wind, the fog goes away.
It is the same with a dirty cloth. The dirt is temporary, not permanent. In dependence upon causes and conditions, the cloth becomes dirty, and then in dependence upon other causes and conditions, the cloth can become clean. In dependence upon soap and water, the dirt will go away.
In dependence upon causes and conditions, a mirror can be covered by dust, so that it can't give a clear reflection. But in dependence upon other causes and conditions, the dirt can be removed, so that the mirror can give a clear reflection. One small mirror can give a clear reflection of a whole city.
In a similar way, no matter how strong our delusions are or how much heavy negative karma we have created, like fog in the sky or dirt in a cloth or dust on a mirror, they are not permanent. Our mind is temporarily obscured, because the nature of our mind is not one, or mixed, with our delusions and negative karma. No matter how black with dirt a cloth is, because the cloth is not one with the dirt, it can always be cleaned. No matter how thick the dust on a mirror is, the mirror can always be cleaned. Like this, no matter how strong our delusions are and how heavy the negative karma we have created, since our mind is not one with them, there is always hope; there is always the potential for our mind to be separated from these obscurations. Our mind can become completely pure, free from all these obscurations, all these causes of suffering.
First, the ultimate nature of the mind is clear light; the mind is empty of existing from its own side. Because of this, the mind is not mixed with the obscurations, with the delusions and negative karmas. Second, realizing the ultimate nature of the I and of the mind eradicates ignorance, which is the basis of anger, attachment, and all the other disturbing thoughts. Realizing the ultimate nature of the mind ceases ignorance, the concept of a truly existent mind, and all the other delusions, all the other wrong conceptions, that are based on it. It then ceases the negative karmas produced by these delusions, as well as all the sufferings that arise from these delusions and negative karmas.
By developing method, or compassion, along with this wisdom realizing the nature of the I and the mind, you are able to completely cease even the subtle obscurations of the mind. In this way your mind becomes completely free from all faults and perfected in all realizations. Such a mind is a fully enlightened mind, a buddha's mind.
*Note: Tibetan medicine regards diseases as disturbances of the basic humors of wind, bile, and phlegm. Bile disorders are related to the liver.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave this teaching in Auckland, New Zealand, October 1990. Edited from the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive by Ailsa Cameron.
--------------------------------------
Technorati: Buddhism Buddha Buddhist Dharma Compassion Wisdom Religion Meditation Zen Philosophy Spirituality Lama Zopa Rinpoche Peace Insight
Friday, April 03, 2009
How to Make Light Offerings to Accumulate the Most Extensive Merit
by Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Light Offerings
The Benefits of Making Light Offerings
It is said in the Ten Wheel Sutra of the Essence of Earth (Kshitigarbha): "All comfort, happiness and peace in this world are received by making offerings to the Rare Sublime Ones (the Triple Gem), therefore those who like to have comfort, happiness and peace always attempt to make offerings to the Rare Sublime Ones."
In general, all the collections of goodness of samsara and nirvana are the result of having made offerings to the Triple Gem. In particular, one receives different benefits by doing service with each of the various individual offerings. Buddha, the Fourth Guide, whose holy mind is enriched with the ten powers, announced in the "Tune of Brahma" Sutra Clarifying Karma that there are ten benefits of making light offerings:
1. One becomes like the light in the world.
2. One achieves the clairvoyance of the pure flesh eye [as a human].
3. One achieves the devas' eye.
4. One receives the wisdom of knowing what is virtue and what is non-virtue.
5. One is able to eliminate the darkness of ignorance, the concept of inherent existence.
6. One receives the illumination of wisdom, even in samsara one never experiences darkness.
7. One receives great enjoyment wealth.
8. One is reborn in the deva or human realms.
9. One quickly becomes liberated.
10. One quickly attains enlightenment.
Those devas or humans who accumulate the merit of making one light offering, or just a handful of flowers, will see the fully enlightened Buddha Maitreya. It is said in the Sutra of Arya Maitreya: "Those who offer 1,000 lights, or 1,000 blue utpali flowers, or who make the pinnacle of a stupa, who make the holy form, will be reborn when Maitreya Buddha shows the deed of gaining enlightenment and receive his first Dharma Teaching." It is also said that even those who offer one flower, or who rejoice at the merit of others who offer, will achieve this Buddhahood. This means that even if one doesn't get enlightened during Shakyamuni's teaching, then during Maitreya Buddha's teaching one's mind will get ripened and liberated.
Offering light, in particular, is a special door of dependent arising to quickly complete the accumulation of merit and receive blessings. It is said in the Second Chapter of the Root Tantra of Chakrasamvara (who is the manifestation of Shakyamuni Buddha, "If you wish for sublime realization, offer hundreds of lights".
If one wishes to know in detail the results of making offerings to the holy objects or doing service to the Buddha and the holy objects, one should study the Sutra of the Compassionate-Eye Looking One (Avalokiteshvara), or the Sutra of Sang Gyal (i.e., the Sutra in which Buddha gave instruction to King Sang Gyal), or Konchog Thala. It says in the text, Immortal Drum Sound Mantra: "If one devotes to the Inconceivable One, then the result is also inconceivable". Similarly, it is said in the Sutra of the Compassionate-Eye Looking One: "Since the dharmas (i.e. qualities) of the Buddha Gone As It Is (Skt.Tathagatha) are limitless, making offering to the One Gone As It Is has limitless, infinite, inconceivable, incomparable, unimaginable and numberless benefits."
It says in the Sutra, The Small Quotation (Tib. lung ten tsek): "It is possible for the moon and stars to fall down to the earth, for the mountains and forests to rise up into the sky, and for the water in the great oceans to completely dry up, but it is not possible for the Great Sage (i.e. Buddha) to tell a lie." Keep this in your mind. Generate strong devotion and faith in the root of all happiness and goodness: actions and their results and the blessings of the Three Precious Rare Sublime Ones. Having this body and possessions, which are as though borrowed for a year, a month, or a few days, one should attend day and night, all the time, to the practice of taking the essence of this human life, which is of short duration like a lightning flash, by planting seeds as much as possible in the special Merit Field.
The actual practice: How to Make Light Offerings
Setting a good motivation before lighting the candles generate bodhicitta. Think:
"The purpose of my life is not only to obtain happiness and solve problems for myself, but to free each being from problems and lead them to happiness, especially to the state of full enlightenment. Therefore, I must achieve complete enlightenment. To do this, I must complete the two accumulations, the merit of fortune (method) and the merit of wisdom. Therefore, I am going to make charity with the light offerings and make offering to the Merit Field."
Also remember to motivate for the success of particular projects, for people who have passed away or who are sick, or for other particular purposes.
Reciting OM AH HUNG
As soon as you light the candles, or turn on the electricity, bless them by reciting om ah hung three times. If you don't immediately bless them, the spirit possession called Tsu Peu Chikpa enters into the offering and then , if you offer that light, it becomes an obstacle, it causes mental damage. In this case, it causes you to fall asleep without control when doing listening, reflection and meditation practices on the holy dharma. One should understand that it is the same thing with all the rest of the offerings, if one doesn't bless them there are different spirit possessions that enter into them and then the offering damages the mind and causes obstacles.
Making Charity to the Beings of the Six Realms
Think that these offerings have been received due to the kindness of sentient beings. Think, "These are not mine."
Make charity to all the hell beings, preta beings, animals, humans, suras and asuras. We make charity of the offerings in order to oppose the thought of the light offerings belonging to us. Think that we and all other beings are together going to make offerings to the Buddha. Generate happiness at having accumulated infinite merit by thinking in this way.
Blessing the Offerings
Now bless the offering substances by reciting the mantra that allows each Buddha to receive inconceivable offerings, and by expressing the Power of the Truth:
Offering Prayer
I actually perform and mentally transform the offering substances of human beings and devas. May the whole sky be pervaded by Samanthabhadra clouds of offerings.
Mantra to Increase the Offerings
om namo bhagavate - bendze sarwaparma dana tathagataya -
arhate samyaksam buddhaya - tayata - om mendze bendze maha
bendze maha tadza bendze - maha bidya bendze maha bodhicitta bendze -
maha bodhi mendo pasam kramana bendze -
sarwa karma awarana bisho dana bendze soha (3X)
Power of the Truth
By the power of the truth of the Three Rare Sublime Ones, the blessings of all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, the great richness of having completed the two merits, and the inconceivable pure sphere of existence (the emptiness of existence), may it become only like that.
Making the Offerings
We make offering to all the holy objects, by visualizing that they are manifestations of our own root guru who is one with all other virtuous friends. Since the virtuous friend is the most powerful object in the Merit Field, offering in this way one accumulates the most extensive merit. It is said by the Savior Nagarjuna in the text of the Five Stages:
"Abandon making other offerings, purely attempt offering to the guru. By pleasing the guru, one will achieve the sublime wisdom omniscient mind." It is said by Guru Vajradhara in the Root Tantra text Buddhaya: "One pore of the spiritual master is more sublime than all the merit accumulated by offering to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the ten directions."
First, we offer to all the holy objects in our own room or temple by visualizing that these are manifestations of our own root guru who is one with all other virtuous friends.
Then, we make offering to all the holy objects in this country, thinking of them as manifestations of one's own virtuous friends. Then, we make offering to all the holy objects in India: principally Bodh Gaya Stupa, where the Buddha showed the holy deed of enlightenment, then all the rest of the holy objects (by thinking of them as one's own virtuous friend).
We make offering to all the holy objects in Tibet: in particular, the holy statue that Buddha himself blessed, then all the rest of the holy objects, by thinking of them as one's own virtuous friend.
Then, we offer to all the holy objects in Nepal: principally the most holy precious object, the great holy stupa at Boudhnath, then all the rest of the holy objects by thinking of them as the virtuous friend. Then, we offer to all the holy objects in all the remaining Buddhist countries by thinking of them as one's own virtuous friend.
We offer to all the Buddhas, Dharma and Sangha of the ten directions by thinking of them as one's own virtuous friend.
We offer to all the holy objects of the ten directions: statues, stupas, scriptures, etc. by thinking of them as one's own virtuous friend. There is also a special way of making light offerings according to highest secret mantra. In this way, great bliss is generated in all the holy minds.
The Actual Light Offering Prayer
Then recite the actual prayer of the light offerings five, 10 or 1,000 times, etc., depending on how many times one wishes to make the light offerings:
Light Offering Prayer
These actually performed and mentally performed light offerings, the manifestations of one's own innate awareness, Dharmakaya, these clouds of offerings equalling the infinite sky, I am offering to all the gurus and Three Sublime Ones, and to the statues, stupas and scriptures, which are the guru. We have accumulated infinite merit by having generated bodhicitta, by having made charity to the sentient beings, and by making the actual light offerings to the gurus, Triple Gem and holy objects of the ten directions.
Due to this merit, may whoever I promised to pray for and whoever prays to me, whose name I have received to pray for--principally servants, benefactors and disciples, then all the remainder migrator beings living and dead--may the rays of the light of the five wisdoms completely purify all their degenerate vows of samaya right now.
May all the sufferings of the evil gone realms be ceased right now.
May all the three realms of samsara be empty right now.
May all the impure minds and their obscurations be purified.
May all impure appearances be purified.
May the five holy bodies and wisdom spontaneously arise.
(Repeat as many times as you wish to offer the lights)
Dedication Prayers
Due to these infinite merits, may whatever sufferings sentient beings have ripen on me now. May whatever happiness and virtue I have accumulated (including all the realizations of the path and the highest goal enlightenment) be received by each hell being, preta being, animal, human being, sura and asura right now.
By this dedication one has accumulated infinite merit, so rejoice:
May the precious sublime thought of enlightenment, which is the source of all success and happiness for oneself and for all sentient beings, be generated without delaying for even a second. May whatever has been generated increase more and more without degeneration.
Due to all the three times' merits accumulated by me, by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and by sentient beings, which are empty from their own side, may the I, which is empty from its own side, achieve enlightenment, which is empty from its own side, and lead sentient beings, who are empty from their own side, to that Enlightenment by myself alone.
Whatever white virtues we have thus created we dedicate as causes Enabling us to uphold the holy Dharma of scriptures and insights and to fulfil without exception the prayers and deeds of all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the three times.
By the force of this merit in all our lives
May we never be parted from Mahayana's four spheres
And may we reach the end of our journey along the paths
Of renunciation, Bodhicitta, the pure view and the two stages
Special Mantra to Increase the Merit One Hundred Thousand Times
chom den de de zhin shek pa dra chom pa yang dak pa
dzog pa sang gye nam pa nang dze oe kyi gyal po la chag tsel lo (3x)
jang chub sem pa sem pa chen po kun tu zang po la chag tsel lo (3x)
om pentsa driwa awa boghi ne soha (7x)
om duru duru zaya mukhe soha (7x)
Final Dedication Prayers
May all the important pure wishes be completed due to the blessings of the eminent Victors and their Children (Buddhas and Bodhisattvas), due to the truth that dependent-arising is unbetrayed, and due to the power of my pure spiritual attitude.
May myself, family and all sentient beings in all lifetimes due to Lama Tsong Khapa being the direct guru, never be separated away, even for a second, from the pure complete path admired by the Victorious Ones.
Due to the merits of myself and others, may the victorious teachings of Losang Dragpa flourish for a long time. May all the centers and projects of the FPMT receive all the necessary conditions to preserve and spread the teachings of Lama Tsong Khapa immediately. May all obstacles be pacified, may the general organization and the individual meditation centers, all the activities to preserve and spread the Dharma, particularly Lama Tsong Khapa's teachings, cause the teachings to continue without degeneration and spread in the minds of all sentient beings. May all the necessary conditions be received immediately, without any obstacle, and the members who have sacrificed their life to benefit others throughout the organization have a long life, be healthy, may all their activities please the virtuous friend and in all their lives may they always be guided by a perfectly qualified Mahayana virtuous friend and all their wishes immediately succeed according to the Dharma.
This Light Offering Practice was composed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Taiwan, February, 1994. It was edited by Ven. Sarah Tresher for use by the students of Amitabha Buddhist Center, who on Rinpoche's advice wished to make light offerings at the Center.
Copyright (c) Wisdom Publications.
~End of Post~
--------------------------------------
Technorati: Buddhism Buddha Buddhist Dharma Compassion Wisdom Religion Meditation Zen Philosophy Spirituality Inspiration Peace Insight
Friday, March 20, 2009
The Arya Sanghata Sutra
The Sanghata Sutra is a direct record of a teaching that was given by Buddha Shakyamuni on Vulture's Peak in Rajagriha. This discourse of the Buddha, like all Mahayana sutras, was memorized by his disciples and later written down in Sanskrit. However, the Sanghata Sutra is unique in that it is a teaching that the Buddha himself had heard from a previous Buddha, and it is also unique in the scope of the effects it has on those who recite it.
The Sanghata Sutra is one of a special set of sutras called dharma-paryayas, or 'transformative teachings' that function to transform those who hear or recite them in particular ways. One very powerful benefit is that at the time of death, any person who has recited the Sanghata Sutra will have visions of Buddhas who will come to comfort them during the death process. A further benefit is that wherever the Sanghata Sutra is established, the Buddhas are always present, as explained in the text itself. As such, the recitation can bestow a powerful blessing on the place where it is recited.
In general, the recitation of Mahayana sutras is one of the six virtuous
practices specifically recommended for purification, and the recitation of this sutra in particular has far-reaching karmic consequences that last for many lifetimes, as the Sanghata Sutra itself explains in detail. Within the sutra, the Buddha provides numerous descriptions of the ways in which the sutra works on those who recite it to clear away their seeds of suffering, and to assure their future happiness all the way up enlightenment. The sutra also includes some forceful teachings on death and impermanence, including a teaching on the physical and mental processes that occur at the time of death.
For many centuries, the Sanghata Sutra was among the most widely read and copied of all Mahayana sutras. In the 1930s, an archeological excavation conducted in northern Pakistan under British colonial rule unearthed a library of Buddhist texts. This archeological dig was extremely important for historians, in that it yielded a large cache of manuscripts written in the fifth century AD, a much earlier period than can be found anywhere in India itself. Among these many important manuscripts, the text of which we find the largest number of copies was the Sanghata Sutra, more even than the Lotus Sutra, the Diamond Cutter Sutra or the Perfection of Wisdom sutras that nowadays are more familiar to us. Although the Sanghata had been translated into many languages of early Mahayana Buddhism, including Chinese, Khotanese and Tibetan, until that excavation in the 1930s, the original Sanskrit had been lost.
In more recent times, after first encountering the Sanghata Sutra while staying at Geshe Sopa la's monastery in Madison, Lama Zopa Rinpoche decided to copy the sutra by hand in gold, and has asked his students to recite the text on numerous occasions. On the anniversary of September 11, Rinpoche requested that all his students worldwide recite the sutra as many times as possible in order to prevent further attacks.
While reading such a powerfully transformative sutra, which Buddha Shakyamuni taught in order to make the path to enlightenment as easy as possible, we can feel very palpably the Buddha's incredible kindness for us. At the same time, because this sutra contains the actual words spoken by the Buddha, by reproducing that speech ourselves during the recitation, we are offering our voices to serve as conduits for the presence of his teachings in the world. Thus in reciting the Sanghata Sutra, along with all the benefits we ourselves receive, we are acting in a very direct and powerful way to keep active the teachings of the Buddha, which are so urgently needed in order to alleviate the sufferings of all beings.
Part 1 ~ 18 (English Translation) Playlist
Benefits of Reciting the Arya Sanghata Sutra
~ Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Probably I don’t need to tell you what the text says about how much merit you collect each time you hear this sutra. Each time you hear it, how much merit do you collect? First of all, one buddha has completed the merit of wisdom and the merit of virtue – there is nothing more to collect…and then how many buddhas? The number of buddhas equaling the number of sands of grain in the Ganga River times twelve. And these sand grains are not ordinary grains of sand. It is explained in the teachings, in the great enlightened Pabongkha Rinpoche’s notes, that these grains are made of extremely subtle atoms. There are seven kinds of subtle atoms, water atoms, earth atoms, and so forth. These sand grains are much, much finer than what we usually think.
In addition to that, when it comes to talking about the benefits of bodhichitta, or the benefits of the Arya Sanghata Sutra, the Ganga does not refer to the Indian River Ganges. It refers to the Pacific Ocean. Now, that many numbers of buddhas times twelve. The merit of just one set of buddhas equaling the number of sand grains in the River Ganga, even just one set – how much merit that is…is beyond words, unimaginable. Even just the merit that one buddha has collected is beyond words. So, now, beyond that, the merit that you collect every time you hear the Arya Sanghata Sutra is equal to twelve times the merit of the number of buddhas as there are sand grains in the River Ganga.
So, that is just by hearing it. This means that anyone hearing it - animals, frogs, birds, so no question about pets like your beautiful cat, your darling cat, even spirits – collects that much merit. Can you imagine? It is like an impossible thing in the life that happens. When those animals, your cat and other animals, hear you recite Buddha’s teachings, it definitely makes them to receive higher rebirth and to meet Dharma.
The very minute you hear it, the five uninterrupted negative karmas - the extremely heavy negative karmas that right after death, immediately without interruption of another life, you get born into hell; you get reborn in the lowest hot hell, which has the heaviest suffering of the lower realms, of which the life span lasts for one intermediate eon – those get completely purified. This happens even for the sentient beings who hear the sutra, the minute they hear the sutra. Therefore, in the past, when I was in Washington, I played the CD in the car going on the way to go shopping, which is a 40-minute drive away. I was sitting in the front of the car, so I kept the window down. Sitting behind me there were two nuns, Holly and Chosang. It was not sunshine weather; it was a bit foggy and cold. The cold wind was going back through the window and making them cold. But if I had cared only for them, then all those people living in the houses along the road and all the cows and animals, they could not hear. There is a big difference. So, I kept the window down and played the CD very loud, like young people playing their music in the car – those young people, teenagers who have that strange hair that goes straight up onto their head or who have a lot of rings on their ears or on their face, around the eyes or whatever…just to be descriptive.
So, just going one way to shopping, you are liberating so many sentient beings on the way there – just one way. During that time there was one deer in the road, so the car stopped and then, they had the opportunity to hear a little bit. So, (if the five uninterrupted actions get purified), that means no question about the ten non-virtuous actions, they get purified also. So, I thought that was a great thing to do. But also, the people in the car get purified of all those negative karmas – collect that unbelievable merit. It is such an unbelievably easy way to make the life meaningful. You just put the CD in the car and you play it, that’s it. As long as you are not deaf and can hear, you don’t need to put much effort there. It’s the easiest way to purify negative karma, the easiest way to collect unimaginable extensive merit. That means it is the quickest easiest way to achieve liberation from samsara, to finish all the oceans of samsaric suffering that one has experienced over and over numberless times without beginning, from time without beginning. Not only the people in the car, but also for anyone who hears it – it is a quick way to achieve enlightenment. Also, more merit makes it easy and quick to realize the emptiness of the “I,” the aggregates, phenomena; it is a quick way to eliminate the root of samsara, ignorance, and a quick way to actualize bodhichitta. You need so much merit, unbelievable, unbelievable merit to actualize bodhichitta. If you have bodhichitta, you are a bodhisattva. In that second, you become the spiritual son of all the buddhas, you receive the name. You become the supreme object of offerings of all the sentient beings. They collect inconceivable merits when they make offerings to you. So when they see you, hear your voice, or you give something to them, or touch them. Even if some of the sentient beings harm you, after you have realization of bodhichitta, then from your side, you only benefit in return. You pray for good things to happen to that person. There is a saying with the bodhisattvas, “if you can’t make a good connection by doing good things, then by doing some harm, make a connection with the bodhisattva.”
What it means is – it is not saying you must harm a bodhisattva, but in the case that it happens – it is saying it is worthwhile. In return the bodhisattva only benefits, only prays, so in return that sentient being is guided by that bodhisattva from life to life. For example, the Buddha, during his time as a bodhisattva, sacrificed his blood for the five yakshas; they drank his blood. Then, due to that connection, in the next life, they became his disciples as human beings – they became the first five disciples and Buddha gave them teachings at Sarnath. That was the first turning of the Dharma Wheel. They drank his blood, but what the bodhisattva made as a prayer for them was in the next life for them to be his direct disciples and to be able to receive teachings, and so forth; and, of course they go forth to liberation and enlightenment. There is unbelievable benefit for sentient beings if one is a bodhisattva. Only with bodhichitta can you complete the two types of merits and achieve the two kayas. Without bodhichitta, even if you have wisdom directly perceiving emptiness, you cannot achieve the two kayas. The highest you can achieve is arhatship, liberation from samsara – ceasing the delusions and karma.
So, if you read the Arya Sanghata Sutra, there is far greater merit (than just hearing it); then, if you write it – much, much more. Remember the merit of the buddhas equaling the number of grains of sand in the Ganges River times twelve? The amount of merit if you write it is eight times that (e.g., 96 x one set of buddhas).
The last time that I went to Singapore, and Malaysia, because of my little advertisement about how much more merit there is if you write it, many people wrote it and have finished it already. This is unbelievable. The director of the Singapore center told me about when they recited it - incredible things happened. Each time they gave me a little bit from that. That happened already two times. Also, it happened in Malaysia. Somebody offered $100K for a school. In New Zealand, Bruce Farley just read it maybe one time. When he read it in the gompa, he thought, “Buddha wouldn’t lie,” and with that strong faith he read it. He won the lottery – a large house in Australia. He didn’t tell his wife or his parents. He invited his wife and his parents to Australia to see the house. He didn’t tell them about the house, he just invited them. He wanted it to be a surprise. His idea was to sell the house and to use the money for Dharma projects. Then, a lady in Istituto Lama Tsong Khapa (in Italy) who had been smoking her whole life - she has been translating Dharma texts for Dharmarucci Publishing. She was unable to stop smoking for so many years. When she read this the first time, she was able to stop smoking like that (finger snap). That means that, really, Buddha is working, blessing through this text. Buddha is really in action.
So, through this merit, how much you collect, then you are able to fulfill all the wishes of all the sentient beings. You should realize that - the numberless hell beings, you are able to liberate them; bring them to higher rebirth, and then liberation from samsara, and to enlightenment. Then, it is the same, you are able to help the numberless hungry ghosts, able to help the numberless animals, able to help the numberless humans, able to help the numberless sura beings, and able to help the numberless asura beings. Also, you are able to help all the numberless intermediate state beings. So, remember these things. These incredible advantages for yourself and for others you can offer from collecting so much merit – remember them each time you begin to recite the Sanghata Sutra….
Not only you, but so many people who have recited the Arya Sanghata Sutra have received so much benefit to their mind and to their heart, becoming more and more Dharma. So, also, every day to write even a few lines is extremely, unbelievably good. When you write it, of course you don’t finish many pages, it is quite slow, but when you write, also you read, so that is the benefit. The only thing is if you only read it, you can finish in that day, in those hours. Of course, one can do a few lines writing and then read the whole text. That also can be done. Like that then, gradually, you can finish writing. I am extremely happy that you enjoy so much. You see the benefit that is working for your mind and you see that it is an amazing sutra.
Colophon:
From letter dictated by Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Buddha Amitabha Pure Land, April 12
2006. Scribed and edited by Kendall Magnussen.
Download English Version of the Sanghata Sutra
Sanghata Sutra (A4) (Revised Jan. 2007)
Intro to text, Oct. 2005
Traceable Sanghata Sutra (A4) (Revised Sept. 2006)
Sanghata Sutra in Various Languages
~End of Post~
--------------------------------------
Technorati: Buddhism Buddha Buddhist Dharma Compassion Wisdom Religion Meditation Zen Philosophy Spirituality Inspiration Peace Insight
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Publishing the FPMT Lineage - A Five-Year Plan (2008-2012)
Dear Colin,
Last month we sent out the following message, and I thank most sincerely those who responded. For those who did not, as 2008 draws to a close, please kindly consider this important initiative for making much more Dharma available to all.
Here at the Archive we are on the brink of being able to make many, many more teachings available. But we need your help. Here's what happened:Direct Advice from Rinpoche to LYWA
Last year I received a strong written admonition from our precious guru, Lama Zopa Rinpoche, that we quickly publish more teachings from the FPMT lineage, basically Lama Yeshe's and his own (although Rinpoche was typically a bit low key on his own teachings). Some of the points Rinpoche made were:It is definitely a big loss that more material is not being published; this is a big loss in regards to the activities of the whole organization. Every day this doesn't happen it is a big loss for the organization.
The main activity of the FPMT organization is to be able to benefit sentient beings and it is through the teachings and advice that this is done. This is the main way to benefit others.
We need to change the old view of how to publish the teachings. We need to think differently about how to do it so things don't get held up, stuck. I can ask people to help; we need to think differently so material is made available quickly: all the talks, all the teachings from so many years.
All that is available needs to be published now; we need to start thinking differently quickly. Otherwise it is a great loss, and we need to publish in different languages. If it gets stuck in English, then it gets stuck in all the languages.
Please remember this is the major benefit of the organization. This is how the organization can benefit sentient beings, through the teachings and advices.
Naturally, this shook me up a bit and I started to think of new ways of doing things. What it really came down to was that we could no longer rely on volunteers to record, transcribe and edit but would have to pay, or at least support, people to do these various tasks.
5 Year Plan: Publishing the FPMT Lineage
So I came up with a five-year plan for doing this. It would cost $1 million. That seemed a little unrealistic, but it was the best I could do, and I presented this plan at a meeting at FPMT International Office, where we were discussing how to better include Lama Yeshe's and Lama Zopa Rinpoche's teachings in FPMT education programs.
Then, a month or so later, out of the blue, I was contacted by a benefactor wanting to help the Archive achieve its objectives. I showed her our plan and, amazingly, she offered a matching grant of $500,000. In other words, she would match each dollar we raised with a dollar of her own, up to a million. She suggested we go out to the FPMT to find matching funds.
Details of our plan may be found on our website. (click to view)
Progress so far:
We have engaged Ven. Kunsang to travel with Rinpoche to record all Rinpoche's teachings and send them to us immediately.
We have hired a full time transcriber, as our efforts to hire part-time sangha (as outlined in the plan) were not successful.
We have hired a managing editor to supervise and participate in the editing of all of Rinpoche's lam-rim (and probably other) teachings.
We have launched a new website which enables us to post teachings more quickly and makes them easier to find.
We have received a wonderful pledge of $50,000 a year for three years from Vajrayana Institute, Sydney.
What We Now Need
We need to raise $350,000 to match the rest of the grant so that we can hire another four editors for five years. Each dollar you give will become two; $100 becomes $200; $1,000 become $2,000, and so on. Donate to this project on our website, or send a check to the address below.
Thank you so much. By working together we can accomplish Rinpoche's advice, when he says, "The main activity of the FPMT organization is to be able to benefit sentient beings and it is through the teachings and advice that this is done. This is the main way to benefit others."
Please do not hesitate to contact me for more information.
Much love
Nick Ribush
Director
~End of Post~
--------------------------------------
Technorati: Buddhism Buddha Buddhist Dharma Compassion Wisdom Religion Meditation Zen Philosophy Spirituality Inspiration Peace Insight
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
How A Table Exists
How A Table Exists
by Lama Zopa Rinpoche
(Read also: Lama Zopa Rinpoche's Advice Book)
Things are empty of existing from their own side. To give a clearer idea of this, I often use the simple example of a table. Even though this way of analyzing is not the correct way to meditate on emptiness, it gives you an idea of the correct way to meditate. Especially if you're a beginner, it will give you some idea of how the table exists in reality, of what the table is.
When a person first enters this hall, they see that there is a table here in front of me. But what makes the person decide to give the name "table" to this particular object and not to the steps or to the throne? What makes the person decide to give this object the label "table"? There has to be a reason before deciding on the label "table." The reason is that the person sees, first of all, a material object that performs the function of supporting things, or of allowing things to be put on top of it. The person first seeing that becomes the reason to label "table." That is what makes the person decide, among the numberless labels, on this particular label, "table."
Seeing this object that performs the function of supporting things is the reason in the mind of the person for applying the label "table." There has to be a reason before the label is applied, and the reason is seeing the basis for the label. You see the base first, then you apply the label, "It's a table." Therefore, this material object that you first see, which can perform the function of supporting things, is not table. This is the base. You see the base first, which is the reason to give the label "table." 
Otherwise, if seeing the base doesn't come first, you haven't got any reason to label "table." There's no reason in your mind for you to label this "table," that "steps," or that "throne." There's no reason to make you decide to give a particular label.
If the first thing you see is the table, if you see the table before giving the label "table," there would be no reason to label "table." Since it's already table, why would you label "table" on the table? There would be no reason to do that.
For example, when parents name their child Jeff, they label on something that is not Jeff. Labeling "Jeff" on something that is not Jeff has meaning. But if the base, the aggregates, were already Jeff, there would be no purpose in labeling "Jeff" on Jeff. You would then again have to label "Jeff" on Jeff; then you would again have to label "Jeff" on Jeff.... It would become endless.
This is one logical reasoning used in the four-point analysis.* The first of the four points is recognizing the object to be refuted. The second point is that of ascertaining the pervasion, that if anything exists it should exist either one with its base or separately from its base. If the I is truly existent, it has to exist either one with the aggregates or separately from the aggregates.
If the I is one with the aggregates, various mistakes arise. The I is the receiver and the aggregates, this body and mind, are what is received. So, the receiver and what is received would then become one. In other words, the I, the possessor, and the aggregates, the possession, would become one. So, there is no way that the possessor and the possession can be one. They have to be different.
Anyway, if you see the table first, what reason do you have to label it "table"? There's no reason to label "table" on that which is already table. It has no meaning, no purpose. Normally, you see the base and then say, "I see the table." In order to see the table, you have to see the base of the table first. Otherwise, there's no reason for you to say, "I see the table." By seeing the base, this object that you can put things on top of, you then label "I see the table" and believe in that label.
By seeing the base of these steps, you say, "I see the steps," and by seeing the base of this throne, you say, "I see the throne." By seeing a particular object and the particular function that it performs, you then label, "I see the table," "I see the steps" or "I see the throne."
Seeing the base has to come first. This thing that performs the function of supporting things is not the table. This thing that you climb up is not the steps. This thing that you sit on is not the throne. The thing that performs the function of supporting things is the base to be labeled "table." This is one point to meditate on to find out what the table is. Since you use this base as a reason to label "table," it's not the table, just as this is not the steps and this is not the throne.
Even from this analysis, you can see that the table and the base to be labeled "table," the steps and the base to be labeled "steps" and the throne and the base to be labeled "throne" are different. They don't exist in the way we normally think they do, which is that this concrete thing itself is the table and that is the steps and that is the throne.
Another point is that you talk about the parts of a table. When you say "the parts of the table," it means the parts of the table are not the table. This top is not the table, this leg is not the table, this leg is not the table, that leg is not the table, and that leg is not the table. Just from the language, you can tell that saying "the parts of the table" means they're not the table.
Even the whole group of all these parts gathered together is not the table. What is it? It is the base to be labeled "table." None of these parts is the table, and even the whole group of all the parts is not the table. This is clear.
Another point is that the table is nowhere on this. There's no table here or there or there. There's no table on this base.
The first point is that the base is not the table. When you come into the room, how do you come to apply labels to things? You can see that the reason you use to apply a label to something is not that thing. You use seeing the base of the table as the reason to label "table," but this object that can be used to put things on is not table. You apply the label "table" after seeing the base. It's clear that the base and the label are different.
The second point is that none of the parts of the table is the table. And even the whole group of all the parts is not the table. It is the base to be labeled "table." It now becomes clearer that the table is different from its base.
The third point is that you cannot find the table anywhere on this base. But that doesn't mean there's no table in this room; it doesn't mean the table doesn't exist. The table exists in this room--there are actually many tables here in this room. There's no table here on this, but there is a table in this room. This makes clear what the table is.
This is not the correct way to meditate on emptiness, since this way of searching for the table is related to the merely imputed table and leaves out the truly existent table. We haven't touched the object to be refuted, the truly existent table, which we are supposed to realize is empty. Therefore, according to Lama Tsongkhapa and many other great pundits, this is not the correct way of analyzing.
In this way of analyzing, when you search for the table among all its parts, you find that none of the parts is the table, and even the whole group of all the parts is not the table but the base to be labeled table. But it doesn't mean that the table doesn't exist. The table exists.
So, what is that table? Because we see this object that performs the function of allowing things to be put on top of it, we merely impute "table" and believe it is a table. Because this object is here in this room, we believe that there is a table in this room. By seeing this object, we believe, "I see a table." It is a concept. By seeing this object in this room, we merely impute, "There is a table." We leave it just at that; we are satisfied just by that. There's no table anywhere on this, but there is a table in this room.
You can see now that the way the table exists is extremely subtle. When you really analyze what the table is, it is extremely subtle. It is not that the table is nonexistent, but it is like it is nonexistent. It is not nonexistent because you can make the table, use the table, break the table. If you make this base, you believe, "I made a table"; you simply believe, "I made a table." If you use the table, you believe, "I'm using the table"; you simply believe, "I'm using the table." And if you break the table, you believe, "I broke the table." 
The table is not nonexistent, but it is not the concrete thing that we normally think it is. We normally think of the table as something concrete that is oneness with its base, undifferentiable from its base. We can't split the base and the label "table." There is something concrete there. So, that is not table. There's no table on this, but there is a table in this room.
You can now see how the table is completely empty. It has no existence from its own side. There's no real, concrete table from its own side. From this you can get an idea of how the table exists. It is extremely subtle.
After this analysis, you know that none of the parts is the table and even the whole group of the parts is not the table. There's no table anywhere here on this base, but there is a table in this room. By analyzing like this, you see that the way the table exists is extremely fine, extremely subtle, but when you check what is appearing to you, you find that a real, concrete table is left there, oneness with its base. This is what is called the object to be refuted. That real table appearing from its own side, that truly existent table, that independent table, is the object to be refuted. That concrete thing left there is the object to be refuted, and it is a hallucination. In reality it is completely empty.
This is the correct way to meditate on the emptiness of the table. By recognizing that the table appears to you to be independent, unlabeled, real from its own side, you then search for that table to see whether or not it exists. When you don't find it and you see that it's empty, at that time you're seeing the emptiness, or ultimate nature, of the table. By seeing the ultimate truth of the table, that it is completely empty of existing from its own side, as a result you then realize the conventional truth of the table, that the table exists in mere name, being merely imputed by the mind. This is subtle dependent arising.
The fourth of the four schools of Buddhist philosophy, the Madhyamaka, has two divisions, Svatantrika and Prasangika. This is the Prasangika view of the subtle dependent arising of the table, the conventional truth of the table: the table exists in mere name, being merely imputed by the mind
*Note: That is, if the I were one with the aggregates, labeling "I" would be superfluous. It would simply be one more name for the aggregates. The four points are (1) recognizing the object to be refuted, (2) ascertaining the pervasion of the two possibilities of oneness and difference, (3) ascertaining the lack of oneness of the I and the aggregates, and (4) ascertaining the lack of difference of the I and the aggregates.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave this teaching at the Great Enlightenment Temple, New York, in 1991. It appears in the forthcoming book How Things Exist, edited from the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive by Ven. Ailsa Cameron.
--------------------------------------
Technorati: Buddhism Buddha Buddhist Dharma Compassion Wisdom Religion Meditation Zen Philosophy Spirituality Inspiration Peace Insight
