V57

When Bodhisattvas non-conceptually contemplate
This excellent teaching, they will transcend
Conceptuality, so hard to overcome
And eventually reach the non-conceptual state

Bodhisattvas practice to avoid conceptual contemplations and in so doing, they achieve nirvana.

Bodhisattvas practice generosity and the 6 Perfections to purify the conceptual mind.


V58

Having ascertained through scripture
And through reasoning that phenomena
Are not produced nor inherently existence
Meditate without conceptuality

We need to put effort on study and reasoning to arrive at the stage where we know that nothing is produced through truly-existent causes & conditions nor do they inherently exist.

Meditate on that.

Through this we can achieve the wisdom of shunyata (emptiness).



V59

Having thus meditated on suchness
Eventually, after teaching “heat” and so forth,
The “very joyful” and the others are attained.
And before long, the enlightened state of Buddhahood.

Having meditated on emptiness as above, through training via meditation sessions and post-meditation sessions, with the help of genuine Mahayanic renunciation, we will be able to enter the 5 Paths (the Path of Accumulation, the Path of Preparation, the Path of seeing, the Path of Meditation and the Path of No More Learning).

We start with Path of Accumulation where one accumulates the first great aeon of merit (3 great aeons of merit are needed to become a Buddha).

From that point to 8th Ground, the 2nd aeon of merits is accumulated and the 3rd aeon of merits is gathered from the 8th to the 10th Ground).

Next we come to the Path of Preparation – there are 4 categories here – the “heat” is the 1st level of the Path of Preparation;

2nd level is called the “peak”,

the 3rd level is “patience” (this patience is not the patience referred to in the 6 Perfections),

4th level is “supreme Dharma”.

The “very joyful” refers to entry into the 3rd Path, the Path of Seeing where one sees emptiness directly (here the 1st of the 10 Grounds begin, where the realisation of emptiness becomes increasingly intense through the power of bodhicitta. The stronger the bodhicitta, the stronger the realisation of emptiness).

Soon, one will gain the Path of Meditation and the final Path of No More Learning which is Buddhahood.


V60

If you wish to create with tease
The collections for enlightenment
Through activities of pacification
Increase and so forth, gained by the power of mantra

Lama Atisha advises that if we regard 3 countless aeons of ascetic practices too long a period to accumulate the merit needed to attain enlightenment and we wish to expedite this, one should then engage into tantra practice.

There are 4 powers of mantra - pacification (purifying negativites), increase (one’s potential and merits) , controlling (controlling knowledge/abilities) and wrathfulness (overcome intense negativities, eliminate the 4 maras).

Reciting mantras activates these powers. Through tantra, one can gain the merits of 3countless aeons in a shorter time, even in this very lifetime.


V61

And also through the force of the eight
And other great attainments like the “good pot” –
If you want to practice secret mantra
As explained in the action and performance tantras.

In the Action and Performance tantras, it is explained that great attainments can be obtained including that of the “good pot” – which is a stage where having done retreat earnestly, by merely holding a pot with your mouth and expressing your wish, your wish can be fulfilled immediately.

Nyung Nay practice is also highly beneficial to enhance one’s practices.

Look at our Gurus, their pockets are empty yet they have huge Dharma projects which get actualised easily.

There was once an astrologer from Hong Kong, a Mr Hung I think, who upon receiving teaching from the late Geshe Lama Konchog gained renunciation and became a monk.

He wanted to offer a Japanese (Suzuki) jeep (in Nepal, Japanese cars are highly valued) but Geshe Lama Konchog (GLK) refused to accept it.

He came up with an idea to buy a car by saying it was for his own use when he visited Nepal and sent the money to buy the jeep.

Geshela and Ven Tenpa Choden tried to persuade GKL to accept the jeep but GLK refused.

Nevertheless we went ahead to purchase the jeep.

Due to that incident, I was forced to learn driving. When the jeep arrived, GLK stopped using Kopan jeep to go down to Boudha and walked to Boudha Stupa and for 1 year, I was the only one driving the jeep.

Finally, I requested Geshela to please sit in the jeep just once – he had many comments to make about my driving ! (laughter) and I got into an accident.

It was very costly to maintain the jeep.

Eventually, the jeep was sold and the proceeds used for Tara statues and for the building of the kitchen.

On another occasion, a devoted Indian family built the house for him but as he was leaving to go to the cave, he declined it but they begged him to stay in it.

GLK always held the view that consuming any offerings made to him without offering it to the Triple Gem was inappropriate.

Similarly with KLZR, outwardly a simple Lama, yet in truth a highly realised being who is a pure total bodhicitta practitioner.

This is just one example of how merits come about; how the great beings accumulate them.

Doing retreat is the main factor in enhancing one’s practice of Highest Yoga Tantra (HYT).

In the Yamantaka practice, doing the commitment retreat complete with fire puja is very important.

It is not about ritual. It’s a powerful yoga. It makes the practitioner’s life more complete, without which even though one receive the initiation, one remains fragile and insecure in utilising the practice.

A lot of obstacles may come when preparing for the Yamantaka retreat, hence the advice to do the Lama Tsongkhapa Guruyoga retreat beforehand.

After completing the Yamantaka retreat, self-initiation practice can be embarked upon and is a great enhancement of your tantric practice.

However, note that even if one completes 110,000 mantra, without the fire puja, one cannot do self-initiation.


V62


Then to receive the preceptor initiation
You must please an excellent spiritual teacher
Through service, valuable gift and the like
As well as through obedience

One should receive Initiations from a qualified master.

It is best if he is holding full ordination vows, is completely renounced, completely compassionate.

Initiation is the doorway to tantra.

Although one can get information from the Internet, there will not be much benefit because when one receives teachings from a qualified master, there is the blessing of the lineage, the vows, the teachings which are oral transmissions.

One should devote to the Guru through making offerings, performing service and following his advice which is Dharma.

It’s not about physical closeness and giving material things; it is about developing the mind and heart in accordance with Dharma and thereby please the Guru.

If you only relate to the Guru at physical level, when the Guru departs, you’re lost.

We cannot cultivate in this way.

Whatever happens, we must be able to carry on our practice in a stable way.

We should have non attachment to Guru at the physical level but merge one’s heart with the Guru in one’s effort towards Buddhahood.

Whether one’s Guru is present or not, one needs to be fully confident in one’s practice, as well as the increasing of one’s devotion to him.

We are very fortunate to have a Guru such as KLZR and to receive teachings from him.

If we are not careful about one’s physical closeness with the Guru, one will not be able to distinguish between desirous attachment towards the Guru and proper devotion to him with the aspiration towards enlightenment.

KLZR handles this in the best way by rarely appearing to us but when he is present, he fills our lives with Lam Rim and the entire Dharma and teaches us to be detached. Understand that each realisation we gain is an offering to one’s Guru.

When one has received a HYT Initiation, one can then engage in the two stages of the path = generation stage and completion stage practices.

Take for example the Yamantaka practice.

The Yamantaka long sadhana is a more detailed teaching on the generation and completion stage practices.

But this can only be done after one receives the Commentary on the Long Sadhana.

Otherwise, the Yamantaka retreat will not be complete.

So I encourage everyone to participate in the upcoming 2011 teachings from Dagri Rinpoche, who is the reincarnation of one of the 16 Arhats and Lama Serlingpa; who is totally devoted to HH Dalai Lama and closest to KLZR.

KLZR has previously advised that it is suitable for Dagri Rinpoche to give Yamantaka Initiation and related teachings.


V63


Through the full bestowing of the preceptor initiation
By a spiritual teacher who is pleased
You are purified of all wrong-doing
And become fit to gain powerful attainments

Pleasing the Guru (through abiding by the Dharma) is the greatest purification of negativity.

Make sure we don’t misunderstand this point.

Pleasing the Guru refers to one gaining realisations on the Path;

keeping the Guru in one’s heart is solely to inspire one to actualise one’s realisations on the Path.

If we do this, we are fit to gain powerful attainments.


Verse 64

Because the Great Tantra of the Primordial Buddha
Forbids it emphatically
Those observing pure conduct
Should not take the secret and wisdom initiation


Verse 65

Those observing the austere pracgice of pure conduct
Were to hold these initiations
Their vow of austerity would be impaired
Through doing that whish is proscribed.


Verse 66

This creates transgressions which are a defeat
For those observing discipline
Since they are certain to fall to a bad rebirth
They will never gain accomplishments.


In order to receive the full, 4 stages of initiations, fully ordained monks and nuns should not receive the stages of the secret and wisdom initiations because there are elements which can only be declared to non-ordained, ripened disciples.

If one is ordained with high realisations, then it would be possible to receive these particular secret and wisdom initiations.

These particular initiations affect the ordination vows.

Strictly speaking, an ordinary ordained person should offer back to the master the ordination vows during these 2 stages of initiation and take back the ordination vows after them.


V67

There is no fault if one who has received
The preceptor initiation and has knowledge
Of suchness listens to or explains the tantras
And performs burnt offering rituals
Or makes offerings of gifts and so forth.


After receiving the Initiations from a qualified master and gaining the knowledge and ability, one should integrate it into one’s practice including retreat and concluding with the fire puja to accomplish the full aspect of the practice.


V68

I, the Elder Dipamkarashri, having seen it
Explained in sutra and in other teachings
Have made thus concise explanation
At the request of Jangchup Oe

Lama Atisha describes himself as Elder (fully ordained monk) Dipamkarashri and whatever teachings in this text is none other than the Buddha’s teachings that he has learned, that he has taught those teachings, no less and no more, with the pure preservation of the vows without any transgressions.



The End


Prepared by Ms.Yeo Puay Huei

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V35

Just as a bird with undeveloped
Wings cannot fly in the sky
Those without power of higher perception
Cannot work for the good of living beings.

Without clairvoyance, a Dharma practitioner will be like a bird with undeveloped wings, where flying becomes extremely difficult.

V36

The merit gained in a single day
By those who possess higher perception
Cannot be gained even in a hundred lifetimes
By one without such higher perception.

If one has clairvoyance, one will know how to accumulate merit in the most effective way.

Engaging in calm abiding meditation is one of the best methods to actualise clairvoyance.


V37

Those who want to swiftly to complete
The collections for full enlightenment
Will accomplish higher perception
Through effort, not through laziness.

Those who want to gain full enlightenment will accomplish clairvoyance through effort and not through laziness.

Effort here is not about forcing oneself, it is about joyous perseverance in practice.


V38

Without the attainment of calm abiding
Higher perception will not occur
Therefore make repeated effort
To accomplish calm abiding

In order for us to actualise clairvoyance, we need to achieve calm abiding (samatha).

Repeatedly put effort into calm abiding meditation through eliminating the 5 faults and the 8 antidotes.

The 8 antidotes are faith, aspiration, joyous perseverance, pliancy, recollection, vigilance application and equanimity.

The 5 faults are excitement, laziness/laxity, forgetting the meditation object, non application and over application.



V39

While the conditions for calm abiding
Are incomplete, meditative stabilisation
Will not be accomplished, even if one meditates
Strenuously for thousands of years

In order to be successful at samatha meditation, we must ensure that we have all the right conditions.

Otherwise, we will not achieve it even if we meditate for a 1000 years.

What are the right conditions?

HHDL outlines the 5 conditions as the meditator having

(1) the discipline of not being distracted by the 5 senses and live an ethical life

(2) have few needs and as few mundane activities as possible. Be contented.

(3) Have good understanding of all the key points and stages of the practice (e.g. know the 5 faults and the 8 antidotes; know the techniques and the 9 stages of calm abiding meditation).

(4)Adopt the appropriate diet and avoid excessive eating. Avoid heavy foods like meat and black foods which enhance laxity;

have nutritious food but not those which lead to the destruction of the body like being high in cholesterol, oil, sugar;

consume less food at night which helps to make one’s early morning meditation effective;

if one can maintain silence physically and avoid distracting thoughts, there will be amazing benefits from this, especially during retreats.

The great masters of the past have gained enlightenment through gathering such conditions.

Once successful in retreat, then we can consider doing the great retreat of 3 years, 3 months and 3 days.

Without cultivating the causes of preliminary practices and retreats, this would not be possible.


V40

Thus maintaining well the conditions mentioned
In the Collection for Meditative Stabilisation Chapter
Place the mind on any one
Virtuous focal object

Having gathered the conducive conditions, one should then place/focus the mind on any one virtuous object.

As a Mahayanic meditator, to actualise calm abiding, we must use a virtuous object e.g. Buddha’s holy body or is eye.

Having chosen the object, what we need to develop are the two mental abilities of stability on the object and clarity on the object of meditation.

We do this until we fully accomplish the physical and mental pliancy of the 9th stage, which includes clairvoyance, being able to travel without relying on external objects, having control over external elements, having full control over one’s mind and body, even if the entire world collapses.

Having achieved this, one will also gain the highest clairvoyance and then be able to bring benefit to oneself and other sentient beings.

We then need to gain intensity in the stability & clarity of the object of meditation.


V41

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

Even though one gains clairvoyance through samatha, this is not sufficient because one needs to practice the perfection of wisdom in order to gain special insight into emptiness (vipassana).

Any practitioner of the 3 scopes gaining clairvoyance will still not be free from the 2 obscurations, namely, the obscuration to liberation and the obscuration to omniscience, until one gains the wisdom realising emptiness (the selflessness of person and the selflessness of phenomena).

What are the obstruction to liberation and the obstruction to omniscience?

The obstruction to liberation (ngyondip) are the delusions and obstruction to omniscience (sheytip) are the subtle imprint of delusions.

These can be eliminated through the realisation of the selflessness of person (gangsar gyi dagme) and the realisation of the selflessness of phenomena (chokyi dagme) which includes the aggregates, events and outer existence.

The elimination of the obstruction to liberation results in nirvana; the elimination of obstruction to omniscience results in enlightenment.


V42


Thus to eliminate all obstructions
To liberation and omniscience
The practitioner should continually cultivate
The perfection of wisdom with skilful means

Skilful means refers to the Method teachings namely those on bodhicitta;

the Wisdom teachings refer to the emptiness teachings.

If we only cultivate the perfection of wisdom, we will attain only nirvana.

However, if we wish to attain enlightenment, we need to cultivate both bodhicitta and wisdom.


V43

Wisdom without skilful means
And skilful means too without wisdom
Are referred to as bondage
Therefore do not give up either

Wisdom without skilful means (bodhicitta) is referred to as the bondage of nirvana; skilful means without wisdom results in the bondage of samsara. Therefore we must not give up either. We need to cultivate both. We cannot practice partially.



V44

To eliminate doubts concerning
What is wisdom and what is skilful means
I shall make clear the difference
Between skilful means and wisdom

What is wisdom and what are the skilful means?

Buddha has taught the 6 Perfections which consist of the practices of wisdom and method which are Generosity, Morality, Patience, Perseverance, Concentration and Wisdom.

The first 5 Perfections are all Method and last of the Perfections is Wisdom.

We can distinguish between the activities the practices of method and wisdom in that way.

When we refer to engaging in the “method practices” it refers to those related to the first 5 Perfections.

When we refer to unifying method (thap) and wisdom (sherab), it refers to engaging in all 6.



V45

Apart from the perfection of wisdom
All virtuous practices such as
The perfection of giving are described
As skilful means by the Victorious Ones

Buddha defined all virtues which are apart from the category of the perfection of wisdom, as in the category of method.


V46

Whoever, under the influence of familiarity
With skilful means, cultivate wisdom
Will quickly attain enlightenment
Not just by meditating on sefllessness

Whoever practices the highest scope teachings (the Mahayana) with the motivation of bodhicitta and cultivates wisdom realising selflessness of person and of phenomena, will quickly attain enlightenment.


V47

Understanding emptiness of inherent existence
Through realising that the aggregates, constituents
And sources are not produced
Is described as wisdom

How should we describe the characteristics of wisdom?

It is understanding the emptiness of inherent existence through realising that the 5 aggregates, the 18 constituents and 12 sources are not produced by truly-existent causes and conditions, or in other words, are not produced by independently-existing causes and conditions.


V48

Something existence cannot be produced
Nor something non-existent, like a sky flower.
These errors are both absurd and thus
Both of the [other] two will not occur either.

This verse presents one form of logic which negates the production of existing and non-existent phenomena.

The analysis of emptiness that is able to refute the object to be negated begins with acknowledging that things are either existent or non-existent, that

(a) There is no such thing as the production of true existence
(b) there is no such thing as a production of non-existence;
(c) there is no production of both true existence and non-existence.



V49

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 identity

This is another statement of logic negating the production of existence.

Self and things are non truly existent by a truly existent self-cause, nor truly existent due to some other cause nor truly existent due to both.

Nothing is truly existent.

It can be also discovered through the 4th line of reasoning.

The self for instance, it either exists as one with the 5 aggregates or different from the 5 aggregates.

If the self is one with the aggregates, then 5 will be one (which cannot be);

and if the self is different from the aggregates [then if something injures our leg, we should not feel anything].

One should reflect on this and the contemplation can be exciting to the point that as you put your key into the door lock whilst engaging deeply into that contemplation, you discover that it is already the morning!


V50


Moreover, when all phenomena are examined
As to whether they are one or many
They are not seen to exist by way of their own entity
And thus are ascertained as not inherently existent.

The verse states that things exist conventionally (through cause and effect) but are ultimately lacking in inherent existence and are thus empty.

The two truths is referred to here and the 4 point analysis is referred to in this verse.


V51


The reasoning of the Seventy Stanzas on Emptiness
The Treatise on the Middle Way and so forth
Explain that the nature of all things
Is established as emptiness

The nature of all things is emptiness or shunyata.

The Seventy Stanzas was composed by Nagarjuna and there it stated that the nature of all things is emptiness.

Due to that, conventionally, there is the attainment of enlightenment.

To have full conviction that there is enlightenment is through understanding the two truths.

Until we have thorough understanding of these two, we may feel unsure that freedom from samsara and enlightenment is possible and thus genuine renunciation will be difficult.


V52

Since there are a great many passages
I have not cited them here
But have explained just their conclusions
For the purpose of meditation

Atisha explains that there are many sutras on emptiness but he has cited the above quotes in this text for purposes of meditation.


V53

Thus whatever is meditation
On selflessness, in that it does not observe
An inherent nature in phenomena
Is the cultivation of wisdom

When we talk about meditating on emptiness, it is about the inner realisation of the lack of inherent existence, including the very wisdom which realises emptiness.


V54


Just as wisdom does not see
An inherent nature in phenomena
Having analysed wisdom itself by reasoning
Non-conceptually meditate on that


How do we upgrade ourselves from a beginner meditator to a practitioner of the 10th Ground?

It is through meditating on the wisdom of emptiness but also meditating on the mind itself to the point of non conceptual mind;

realising the emptiness of the wisdom itself and remaining in that meditation will develop higher levels of wisdom realising emptiness and become increasingly effective tool to eliminate defilements including subtle defilements.

Upon entering the 3rd of the 5 Paths, namely the Path of Seeing, one enters the first of the 10 Grounds.

Within the 10 Grounds are 9 level of defilements with the corresponding antidotes.

The mind operating at those levels are non conceptual minds.

The intensity of wisdom during this period is divided into 9 stages – the more intense the wisdom, the more effective it will be to eliminate the subtle defilements.

How do we intensify the non conceptual mind?

Practice to the point where one realises there is no difference between the lack of inherent phenomena externally and that of one’s mind itself;

one realises that mind and the wisdom itself are empty.

When the wisdom realising emptiness analyses the subject and object, it cannot discover self existence in either of those or elsewhere.

It does not find self-existence in the wisdom of emptiness, ie. we realise the emptiness of even the wisdom of emptiness.


V55


The nature of this worldly existence
Which has come from conceptualisation
Is conceptuality. Thus the elimination of
Conceptuality is the highest state of nirvana.

Buddha says that superstition keeps us in samsara.

All forms of conceptual mind is superstition.

Other than the mind realising emptiness, is a superstitious mind.

So if we cling to the conceptual analysis of emptiness, that also becomes a cause of samsara.

The nature of worldly existence comes from conceptualisation/the superstitious mind.

If we can free ourselves from this, we are free from samsara.


V56

The great ignorance of conceptuality
Makes us fall into the ocean of cyclic existence
Resting in non-conceptual stabilisation
Space-like non-conceptuality manifests clearly

How to free oneself from conceptual perceptions?

Train to overcome them by dividing all our activities, thoughts, perceptions into two aspects –

(i) as a meditation on emptiness and

(ii) as a post-meditation.

During meditation, we should cultivate understanding that the self, aggregate and all phenomena exists in a manner similar to that which is empty like space e.g. you see something, yet you realises that there is nothing to grasp at.

During the post-meditation session, reflect and remind oneself that all activities and thoughts etc.. are in the manner of illusion.

They are not illusions but LIKE illusions. Everything is a dance of your mind.



TO BE CONTINUE..

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Verse 20

Those who maintain of the seven kinds
Of individual liberation vow
Have the ideal [prerequisite] for
The Bodhisattva vow, not others.

One of the key ways to actualise bodhicitta is the taking and engaging in the Bodhisattva vows.

The qualifying criteria to receive the Bodhisattva vows is for the person to have & maintain any one of the 7 kinds of individual liberation vows.

The 7 kinds are lay woman vows, layman vows, probationary nun vows, novice nun vows, novice monks vows, fully ordained nun’s vows and fully ordained monk’s vows.

Lay vows include refuge vows and the 5 lay vows.

Based on the Refuge vows, one can receive and cultivate one or more or all 5 of the lay vows.

This qualifies one to receive the Bodhisattva vows.

Anyone in a relationship should take the vow against sexual misconduct as that will secure one’s relationships in life. This is very powerful protection.

The force of negative emotions are powerful; our desirous attachments are almost more powerful than wisdom realising emptiness!

On top of that, if one feels it possible for one to undertake, there are 300+ probationary nun’s vows and one can try this for 1 or 2 months (without becoming a nun).

This is a very effective practice to show oneself how wild one is.

To obtain the actual novice nun or novice monk vows, that requires one to become a monk or nun.

Needless to say, full ordination requires more effort and discipline.

The 253 vows of a fully ordained monk are the same as that held by Guru Shakyamuni Buddha.

For this, one needs to be thoroughly matured in refuge, lay vows and novice vows to be qualified to take the full ordination vows.

One needs to be at least 20 years old before taking full ordination is possible.

Mentally, one must be committed to keep these vows for the rest of one’s life and to take it from a master who held the vows purely.

As a minimum, one can practice holding proper Refuge vows.

Verse 21

The Tathagata spoke of seven kinds
Of individual liberation vows
The best of these is the glorious pure conduct
Said to be the vow of a fully ordained person.

The highest individual liberation vow is that of the fully ordained monk of 253 vows, in the manner held by Shakyamuni Buddha.

Verse 22

According to the ritual described in
The chapter on discipline in the Bodhisattva Stages
Take the vow from a good
And well qualified spiritual teacher.

Atisha teaches the need for the Guru to grant the Bodhisattva vows and for us to actualise the Bodhisattva vows.

Even though aspirational bodhicitta can be obtained without reliance upon the guru, engaging Bodhisattva vows requires taking them from a qualified master/Guru.

Verse 23

Understand that a good spiritual teacher
Is one skilled in the vow ceremony
Who lives by the vow and has
The confidence and compassion to bestow it.

The criteria for a good spiritual teacher is one who not only knows the details of the vow granting ceremony but holds the Bodhisattva vows and lives a life in the practice of those vows which are vows to refrain from the 18 root downfalsl and the 46 secondary downfalls.

Finally the master must be infused with compassion and have full confidence in his practice of the Bodhisattva conduct to be able to grant the vows.


Verse 24

However, in case you try but cannot
Find such a spiritual teacher,
I shall explain another
Correct procedure for taking the vow.

If we cannot find such a qualified master, Atisha teaches an alternative solution to taking the Bodhisattva vows in a correct manner.

This method is set out in V26 – V31 below. However note that in the case of tantric vows, one needs to receive them from a qualified master.


Verse 25

I shall write here very clearly, as explained
In the Ornament of Manjushri’s Buddha Land Sutra
How long ago, when Manjusrhi was Ambaraja
He aroused the intention to become enlightened.

Lama Atisha explains what was written in Manushri’s Ornament of Manjushri’s Buddha Land Sutra i.e. about how Manjushri in a previous life as Ambaraja, gave rise to the bodhicitta intention.

The following verses - v26 to v31 – were quoted from Shantideva’s Compendium of Deeds.

V26


“In the presence of the protectors
I arouse the intention to gain full enlightenment
I invite all beings as my guests
And shall free them cyclic existence. “

In the presence of the Buddhas &Bodhisattvas, Ambaraja (Manjushri in a previous life) gave rise to the wish to attain full enlightenment for the benefit of numberless sentient beings’ enlightenment .

Both these aspects if wishing to attain enlightenment and for the benefit of sentient beings, need to be mentioned as they are causes to actualise correct bodhicitta.


V27

“From this moment onwards
Until I attain enlightenment
I shall not harbour harmful thoughts
Anger, avarice or envy”

This verse expresses the resolve to fully guard against any harmful thought like anger, attachment, jealousy, pride.


V28


“I shall cultivate pure conduct
Give up wrong-doing and desire
And with joy in the vow of discipline
Train myself to follow the Buddhas”

Here is the determination to cultivate pure conduct, take the Bodhisattva vows and undertake those disciplines joyfully.


V29

“I shall not be eager to reach
Enlightenment in the quickest way
But shall stay behind till the very end
For the sake of a single being”.

The quote goes on to advise that one should not be eager to reach enlightenment for oneself alone, in the quickest way and that even if it takes a long time, for the sake of even a single being, one will remain in samsara for the sake of that being until every single living being is fully enlightened.


V30


“I shall purify limitless
Inconceivable lands
And remain in the ten directions
For all those who call my name”

I shall make pure the impure realms of all sentient beings i.e. I shall eliminate ignorance m karma and delusion in every sentient being and also work for eliminating the external contaminated environmental conditions.

Whoever sees me, touches me, scolds me, criticises me, even at the cost of my life, may I only be the cause of eradication of impurity and the cause of actualising purity up to enlightenment.


V31

“I shall purify all my body
And my verbal forms of activity
My mental activities too, I shall purify
And do nothing that is non-virtuous”

One should engage in the purification of negativities of body, speech and mind including all negative imprints.

So verses 27-31 set out how Manjushri in a previous life had raised the bodhicitta intention.

Now we go back to verse 26 to formulate for ourselves a daily practice by reflecting from V27 to 31.

Start by visualising the presence of the B&B (as in V26) and generate the thought to attain enlightenment and inviting all sentient beings as one’s guest to bring them to peerless happiness of full enlightenment and generate the thought to free them cyclic existence;

I shall not have any harmful thoughts towards sentient beings nor indulge in anger, attachment, jealousy (V27) etc..up to V31.


V32

When those observing the vow
Of the active altruistic intention have trained well
In the three forms of discipline, their respect
For these three forms of discipline grows
Which causes purify of body, speech and mind.

In order for those engaging in bodhicitta to be successful, we need to have the foundation of the 3 sets of vows – the pratimoksha vows (the 7 kinds of individual liberation vows mentioned earlier), Bodhisattva vows and tantric vows (upholding the pledges of the 5 Dhyani Buddhas).

This will enable us to attain the perfection of Body, Speech and Mind of the Buddha.

Just taking Refuge vow immediately enables one to be free from lower realm rebirth for immediate rebirth.

In order for us to obtain these 3 disciplines requires much merit, so we can begin by practice of generosity – of material possessions, protection and Dharma (keeping in mind always the sources of the teachings being the Buddha, Shantideva or Lama Tsongkhapa and such great beings).

We also need to be skilful to observe whether the person is ready to listen and if not, we need to find an alternative way of sharing the wisdom and if the person displays the small capability attitude, then one should speak accordingly).

The 3 moral disciplines can be interpreted in another way, namely refraining from negative actions;

accumulating virtues and working for the welfare of sentient beings (which includes serving the Centre to enable many people to benefit).

Mindfulness and carrying out these 3 disciplines also constitute our cultivating the Bodhisattva conduct.


V33

Therefore through effort in the vow made
By Bodhisattvas for pure, full enlightenment
The collections for complete enlightenment
Will be thoroughly accomplished.

We need to engage in the practice of patience and joyous effort to thoroughly accomplish the collections of merit and wisdom needed for enlightenment.


V34

All Buddhas say the cause for the completion
Of collections, whose nature is
Merit and exalted wisdom
Is the development of higher perception.

Training oneself to develop the training in the Method teachings through cultivating bodhicitta and training in Wisdom through developing one’s understanding and realisation of emptiness (i.e. the selflessness of person and of phenomena), are the two main causes which will lead us to gain higher perception in order for us to benefit sentient beings.

“Higher perception” refers to clairvoyance, which is needed to benefit sentient beings properly.

This is important in order for us to understand the different mental dispositions of sentient beings.

If someone is not matured enough to receive emptiness teachings and we give them emptiness teachings, we could cause them to develop wrong view and create the causes for hell;

but if they are ready for emptiness and tantra and you focus only on giving the small capability-being teachings, you could distract them from the Mahayana and lead them to the Hinayana path, which incurs heavy karma.

Cultivating compassion towards strangers or people far away is easier than cultivating compassion towards those nearby who irritate us, is this not so?

There is no need to ask the Guru about the level of one’s practice.

You can check that out for yourself –by asking, for instance, have I made my family happier?

Did I inspire them towards greater depth in their spiritual path or not?

We need to be serious about our practice but if a husband and wife are in Dharma but after spending a long time in Dharma, they still want to divorce, then their practice has failed.

One’s family members, especially those who are annoying, are like one’s Buddha training oneself. One can be a Sangha without becoming a monk or nun.



To Be Continue

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Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment by Lama Atisha

Commentary by Geshe Tenzin Zopa - 26 & 27 Nov 2010

Introduction

In order for us to get the blessing of realisations and continue to receive teachings on the Path, it requires the teacher who provides the commentary as well as the listener to have the altruistic motivation.

As stated in the Lines of Experience by Lama Tsongkhapa,
“Although there is much merit to be gained from reciting the text by Lama Atisha, which includes the essential points of all scriptures, you are certain to gain great waves of merit from studying the sacred Dharma which contains the profound Graduated Path to Enlightenment , therefore you should consider this point carefully”.

Whether this discourse will bring benefit and blessing or not, is dependent on one’s motivation. How does one set the altruistic motivation? It is establishing the state of mind, generating an expression of the thought which holds that

“May the study and receiving of these teachings and gaining realisations on the Path, just like Lama Atisha and ultimately attaining full enlightenment, be solely for the benefit of sentient beings. For this purpose, I must attain full enlightenment. To achieve this, I must gain the unmistaken understanding of the Path. Therefore I must listen attentively to the teaching and may I cultivate it to the point of my actualising it”.

In the tradition of the Buddha and the Nalanda tradition, for the full benefit to arise from this discourse requires 3 factors –

(1) ensuring that the teachings being given are pure
(2) ensuring that the teacher giving the teachings is pure
(3) ensuring the students receiving the teachings are pure.

Otherwise, although we may gain knowledge at an intellectual level, it may not become a blessing to one’s mind unless the 3 factors are present.

As for (1) ensuring that the teachings being given are pure, the Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment by Lama Atisha is derived from the lineage of Maitreya Buddha and his text titled “Ornament of Clear Realisations”, which is turn is based on the Prajnaparamita Sutra.

As for (2) The teacher – here, the teacher is Lama Atisha himself who came into this world in 982 AD after the Buddha’s passing and was born as a prince of a Bengali King, who from a young age had the inborn, great altruistic attitude and the clear wisdom understanding both the conventional and ultimate truths.

Later, even though he had the full opportunity to rule his kingdom but due to his past karmic imprints from the profound cultivation of Dharma, he was inspired to renounce at an early age and enter into Nalanda University.

He studied from great masters such as Dharmaraksita, Lama Serlingpa and his Gurus totalled 557 masters in all.

He obtained the entire, unbroken lineage of the Buddhadharma through his direct communication with Buddha Maitreya and Tara.

Bearing great hardship to receive and actualise the lineage of bodhicitta, including the Bodhisattva vows, from his master Lama Serlingpa, he accomplished this.

Lama Atisha was the crown jewel of Nalanda University and was the one chosen by Tibetan King Yeshe Oe, after thorough investigation, to be invited to Tibet to restore the Buddhadharma which had declined.

The rule of King Langdharma had destroyed the Dharma in Tibet. At that time in Tibet, there was the mistaken view that Sutrayana and Tantrayana were contradictory.

King Yeshe Oe wanted to personally invite Lama Atisha to Tibet but himself caught by a warlord, imprisoned and later executed. However, before this happened, King Yeshe Oe managed to instruct this nephew Jangchup Oe to journey to India with great offerings of gold to invite Lama Atisha to Tibet to teach the Dharma.

The gold offerings was the symbol of the preciousness of the Golden Dharma and Lama Atisha was invited to restore the Golden Buddhadharma in Tibet (not that the Lama required gold!).

Lama Atisha agreed and stayed in Tibet for 17 years. He travelled extensively, giving discourses on sutra and tantra.

At that time there was the wrong view that tantra was not part of the Mahayana teachings. Lama Atisha dispelled this view. Arising from this, Lama Atisha concluded that it would be highly beneficial to reveal the entire Buddhadharma in a discourse outlining the Path in graduated stages, thereby giving rise to the Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment (the first of the Lam Rim texts;

Lam Rim meaning “Graduated Path to Enlightenment”). So that is a short account of Lama Atisha, the teacher who is providing these instructions.

As for the discourse right this moment, the person conducting the talk is also required to be pure. We all know that I am not pure in realisations but despite my lack of wisdom and merit, through the blessings of having received these teachings from my Gurus HH Dalai Lama, Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the late Geshe Lama Konchog, Denma Lochoe Rinpoche – who are enlightened beings, whether I know how to explain or not, whether you hear fully or not, whether you feel bored or not, those masters attained realisations and I am the bridge for you to those great ones and their blessings.

As for (3) the listener of the teachings must be pure.

This means that the listener needs to be single-minded devotion to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha; be inspired to the Bodhisattva path and be free from damaged samayas through abiding by the advice of Gurus HH Dalai Lama and Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s advice.

If one practices the forbidden protector Shugden, that would damage one’s samaya and thus disenable one from receiving the blessings of these teachings. As most of you here are devoted to Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, you are qualified to receive these teachings.

Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment – Jangchup Lam Gyi Dronme.

Jangchup = enlightenment.

Jang = Buddha’s qualities in having overcome all the obstructions, negativities and limitations;

chup = connotes Buddha’s perfect knowledge and wisdom.

These teachings are like a lamp which enables one to see the entire stages of the Path, requiring the 3 aspects (a) the student to have a clear understanding of the Path (b) the students should have the complete points and practices of the Path (c) the practitioner should engage in the practice in the correct sequence.
The Actual Text






Verse 1


I pay homage with great respect
To all the Victorious Ones of the three times
To their teaching and to those who aspire to virtue
Urge by the good disciple Jangchup Oe
I shall illimunate the lamp for the path to enlightenment

Homage to the Youthful Manjushri. Before Atisha composed the text, in order to clear obstacles to doing so, he pays homage to the Victorious Ones of the past present and future, the Triple Gem, his teachers from whom he received all the instructions and also to disciple Jangchup Oe, who sincerely requested the teachings.

In the verse, Lama Atisha promises to reveal the entire stages of the Path to Enlightenment.

This text is divided into 4 divisions, beginning with instructions for beings of different-capabilities by giving the method and wisdom teachings and concludes with the ultimate resultant aspect of the Path by introducing tantra.


In order to actualise the teachings on the stages of the Path, it requires a great deal of merit and purification, as well as the undertaking of the preparatory practices.


Verse 2


Understand there are three kinds of persons
Because of their small, middling and supreme capabilities
I shall write clearly distinguishing
Their individual characteristics

Understand that there are 3 kinds of persons of varying capability i.e. small capability, middle capability and great capability.

When we study this text of Lamp on the Path, it will be noticed that there is a difference between this and other Lam Rim texts.

Here, the teachings are expressed in a plain and direct way.

Lama Atisha here outlines what he intends to teach, namely the paths of the 3 capability beings i.e. the small, middle and courageous supreme mental-capability beings and he will set out their distinguishing characteristics.


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 capability.

This verse covers the small capability being. Who is a small capability being? Someone who whilst acknowledging a future life, seeks samsaric happiness, is attached to contaminated happiness, attached to sensual pleasures and hoping that one’s next life will have such worldly happiness and wishes to avoid the lower realm.

Quite often, although outwardly one may claim to be a Mahayana practitioner and motivate towards liberation and enlightenment, our actual thinking and actions are those of the small capability being!

All 3 capability beings have their respective 3 principle aspects of the path.

For the small capability being, renunciation takes the form of renouncing rebirth in 3 lower realms and aspiring for higher rebirth; the path is that of Refuge, abstaining from negative actions and practising virtue in order to obtain higher rebirth or birth in wealthy family; the goal here is just to gain higher rebirth.

To determine what capability being we really are, we need to check motivation for practice and the manner of renunciation.


Verse 4

Those who seek peace for themselves alone,
Turning away from worldly pleasures
And avoiding destructive actions
Are said to be of middling capability

The definition of the middle capability being is someone who aspires for peace for himself alone.

Here one sees the intermediate renunciation i.e. renouncing the lower realms, renouncing higher rebirth (as that too has sufferings) i.e. renounce 6 realm/samsaric existence and to actualise the peace of nirvana for oneself only.

For such a person, the path is the 3 higher trainings of morality, concentration and wisdom and abiding by the teachings of the 4 Noble Truths and karma; the goal is to obtain liberation/nirvana.


Verse 5

Those who, through their personal suffering
Truly want to end completely
All the suffering of others
Are persons of supreme capacity.

The definition of the great capability being is someone who wants to end suffering of self and all beings.

When one has understood how karma operates and sees that all beings are the same by being completely dominated by delusion & karma and wishes all beings and oneself to be free from these, one is a Mahayanic practitioner.

The renunciation here is the great renunciation ie. renouncing samsaric existence and the causes for such an existence, in oneself and all beings; the path is bodhicitta and altruistic wisdom and the goal is full enlightenment.


Verse 6

For those excellent living beings
Who desire supreme enlightenment,
I shall explain the perfect methods
Taught by the spiritual teachers.

After introducing the 3 types of beings, Atisha states that he will explain the stages of practice for those who aspire to supreme enlightenment.


Verse 7

Facing paintings, statues and so forth
Of the completely enlightened one
Reliquaries and the excellent teaching
Offer flowers, incense – whatever you have

This verse explains the 6 preparatory practices –

(1) Cleaning the room where one is going to practice, as well as clean one’s mind i.e. rid oneself of deluded thoughts and unclear motivation in engaging in practice.

Even if your altar is very clean, one should still go through the motions of cleaning reciting “dul pang, timapang “ (which means that whilst one is outwardly cleaning dirt, internally one is cleaning one’s delusions)

(2) Arrange the holy objects like the Buddha statue, the Dharma text and the stupa. Know about their significance and reason for the placements of the holy objects.

If we do not have the physical holy objects, one can visualise and arrange them in one’s heart and remind oneself of one’s pure Buddha nature that is temporarily obscured by the clouds of delusion and negative karma.

Similarly, arrange the offerings to the Triple Gem beautifully.

Understanding that all things are merely-labelled, one mentally offers vast offerings with such an understanding of emptiness and this will bring about an immense amount of merit.

(3) Sitting in the right meditation posture – there is no need to force your body. Sit in a manner which will minimise distraction to your meditation and your generation of the altruistic mind which is determined to achieve enlightenment in order to be able to enlighten all sentient beings.

(4) Visualise the merit field – if you have a picture of the merit field, view the picture and have the conviction that all those Buddhas and masters there are personally present with you. Alternatively, visualise in your heart the presence of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

(5) Offering the practice of the 7-Limb prayer (see V8 of this text).

(6) Supplication to the Buddhas to remain with oneself until one achieves enlightenment in order to guide and to remind oneself of Dharma, to remind oneself of the right antidotes to apply when delusions arise.


Verse 8

With the seven part offering
From the [Prayer of] Noble Conduct
With the thought never to turn back
Till you gain ultimate enlightenment.

This refers to the 7 limb practice (which is the 5th of the preparatory practices).

The 7 limbs are –

(1) prostration - this is a great purification practice. Conventionally, it is very good for physical exercise too.

I did 3 month retreat on prostrations and became very thin despite eating a lot. Same thing with fat monks, they too lost weight at the end of 3 months.

(2) Making actual and mental offerings. This creates a vast amount of merits and yet we often forget to do this. We do not need to rely on physical possessions as offerings. If we see anything of beauty, we can mentally offer that as offerings to the Triple Gem;

if we see ordinary things, we can mentally transform them into wish-fulfilling jewels and offer those.

(3) Confession – even if we have completed 110,000 Vajrasattva mantras, that will still not be enough to purify all our accumulated negativities.

We need to continuously engage in confession and having done the confession, we have to have the conviction that we have completely purified negativities.

However, at the end of each session of confession, we need to generate this same conviction.

(4) Rejoice – if you see someone with a nice car or a big house or a great project, feel happy for them and not have a sour feeling in the heart.

Conventionally, that will create causes for us to have such good things too and ultimately, we accumulate great merit to gain enlightenment.

(5) Request the Gurus and Buddha to remain – this is an incredible method to accumulate merit. When you participate in Guru Puja and in Long Life Guru Puja and sincerely request the Buddhas and Gurus to remain, it has the effect of preserving one’s long life.

(6) Requesting to Turn the Wheel of Dharma – this will powerfully create the cause for each teaching of Dharma you encounter to strike at your ego and negativities.

Whether one meets one’s Guru often or not, one should make daily supplication for the Guru, Buddhas and Bodhisattva to turn the wheel of Dharma.

This will create the cause for one to have the enthusiasm to learn and practice Dharma. Right now, when we go to a party, we feel no body ache but when we come to class, our body aches (laughter).

(7) Dedication – whatever act of virtue – whether it a big or small act, remember to dedicate it towards the enlightenment of oneself and all living beings, so that our action will become a cause for enlightenment and not just to fulfil worldly aims.

By dedicating with bodhicitta, even worldly goals will be achieved easily.


Verse 9

And with strong faith in the Three Jewels,
Kneeling with one knee on the ground
And your hands pressed together,
First of all take refuge three times

This verse teaches one to take Refuge properly and in order to reinforce the protection of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, one should repeatedly take Refuge.


Verse 10

Next, beginning with an attitude of love for all living creatures
Consider beings, excluding none
Suffering in the three bad rebirths
Suffering birth, death and so forth.

Generate an attitude of unconditional love towards all living beings as one has seen sufferings including that of birth, aging sickness.


Verse 11

Then, since you want to free these beings
From the suffering of pain,
From suffering and the causes of suffering
Arouse immutably the resolve to attain enlightenment

Having seen and understood the sufferings of sentient beings and the causes of sufferings (karma and delusions and how they arise), one should then cultivate compassion by wishing all beings to be free from suffering and causes of suffering and attain peerless happiness.

For this, one should learn how to eliminate sufferings and the causes of suffering.


Verse 12

The qualities of developing
Such an aspiration are
Fully explained by
Maitreya in the Array of Trunks Sutra.

Lama Atisha introduces the following verses which express the qualities and benefits of developing bodhicitta .

Verse 13

Having learned about the infinite benefits
Of the intention to gain full enlightenment
By reading this sutra or listening to a teacher
Arouse it repeatedly to make it steadfast.

One should learn about Maitreya’s teachings in the Array of Trunks Sutra and reflect on your teachers’ instructions and teachings, as well as their life stories and those of the great pandits and Bodhisattvas, so that one’s bodhicitta mind will be steadfast.

Verse 14

The Sutra Requested by Virudatta
Fully explains the merit therein
At this point, in summary
I will cite just three verses.


The Sutra requested by Viradatta explains the merit of the altruistic intention/bodhicitta .

Verse 15

If it possessed physical form,
The merit of the altruistic intention
Would completely fill the whole of space
And exceed even that.

If the merit arising from bodhicitta were in solid form, it would exceed the space of the universe.


Verse 16

If someone were to fill with jewels
As many Buddha fields as there are grains
Of sand in the Ganges
To offer to the Protector of the World.

If someone were to fill the entire universe with jewels, that merit would not come close to the merit created by bodhicitta.


Verse 17

This would be surpassed by
The gift of folding one’s hands
And inclining one’s mind to enlightenment
For such is limitless.


The generation of bodhicitta is the greatest offering to the Buddhas and sentient beings and is an unsurpassed offering of limitless benefit.


Verse 18

Having developed the aspiration for enlightenment
Constantly enhance it thorugh concerted effort
To remember it in this and also in other lives
Keep the precepts properly as explained.


Verse 19
Without the vow of the engaged intention
Perfect aspiration will not grow
Make effort definitely to take it
Since you want the wish for enlightenment to grow.

These two verses speak of two types of bodhicitta = relative and absolute bodhicitta.

Within the category of relative bodhicitta, there is aspiring and engaging bodhicitta.

Aspiring bodhicitta means wishing to attain bodhicitta;

engaging bodhicitta is actually taking and implementing the Bodhisattva vows and 6 Perfection practices.

Without embarking upon engaging bodhicitta, one cannot attain bodhicitta (and finally enlightenment).

Re-setting the motivation for studying the Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment

Refresh one’s bodhicitta motivation and know with joy that one has accumulated merits in the past because without such merit, there would not be the karma nor opportunity to hear this golden Dharma teaching nor relate our lives to it;

there will not be any possibility for one to actualise realisation on the stages of the path to enlightenment and eliminate samsaric rebirth.


Therefore, there are hundreds of reasons to feel extremely happy and fortunate to have this opportunity to study this teach and not be interrupted by any inner, outer and secret obstacles to our placing this golden Dharma into one’s mindstream.

Think that due to oneself having the proper lineage and blessing of the complete path of this golden Dharma, from this day onwards, whatever virtue we practice, whether giving one grain of food to an animal or speaking a single word of Dharma to those struggling in darkness, may that be the complete cause of enlightenment.

May one live life in the most meaningful way.

We are so fortunate that not only are we Gelug practitioners but we should also rejoice that other Tibetan Buddhist traditions are also following the Nalanda tradition and Lama Atisha’s Lamp for the Path.

Whatever Lojong and Lam Rim teachings we receive, even if we have receive these from other Tibetan Buddhist traditions, it all flows from the kindness of Lama Atisha’s Lamp for the Path.

We should regard Lama Atisha as our root guru who is inseparable from the Gurus that one has received the precious Dharma from.

Whenever we meditate on the deities, make sure we remember Lama Atisha – this will make it possible for us to actualise the teachings & practices due to his blessings made from his great prayers and efforts to teach the entire Path.

In this way, even if death occurs at any moment, we would not have wasted our lives as we have put effort to study these teachings.

We should also meditate on the kindness and compassion of HH Dalai Lama, Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the late Geshe Lama Konchog and their gurus like Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, Kyabje Ling Rinpoche, Dagri Dorje Chang.

There was a time where it was very difficult to obtain teachings from this tradition but through the efforts of HH Dalai Lama, the teachings from our lineage Gurus and yogis were not lost but preserved.

It has been a critical time as we almost lost this lineage of learning.

So there are numerous reasons for us to be inspired to learn this teaching well.

Although one may have studied many other texts and commentaries, this text by Lama Atisha “ Lamp for the Path “ carries a very special blessing.

This text is divided into 3 broad stages = preliminary, the main body/causal stage practice of bodhicitta and the resultant stage of the path (tantra).



To Be Continue..

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云何应住 云何降伏其心？

金刚经念了一年多，
直到最近才发现到原来很多道理都明白了，都懂了，都理解了，
但却从来没有实践在日常生活上。
这和光说不练，没什么分别，佛法不离世间法，法法不离世间。

金刚经的开头很有意思，那似乎是在说着佛陀的生活作息，把每个步骤都描述得很清楚，
其实背后的含义是要告诉我们这些平常我们看得再平常不过的事情，也就是佛法之所在，
佛法不一定要深奥到你怎么听都听不明白，佛法其实就是这么简单，但讲是很容易，
你试看去做，就知道一点都不容易了。

佛陀的生活作息是充满觉知地进行每样事情，单单这觉知二字，就已经很不简单了，
试想想，我们活了这么久，有什么时候是真的静下心来，一心，一意，一念地做一件事情？
吃饭的时候吃饭，工作的时候工作，这道理谁不懂啊？但有谁又真的做到了？

就如鸟巢禅师当年告诉白居易的，
那些看似简单得三岁小孩都懂的道理，
八十岁的老翁也未必办得到。

须菩提尊者在经典里问了佛陀，那些决心发愿要成就无上正等正觉的善男子，善女人，
应当如何降服他们的心念，应当让他们的心念住在何处，
佛陀就说那些人应当发心灭度一切众生入无余涅磐，但即使将众生度至彼岸了，
也不应该有着任何一位众生为我所度的心理存在。
因为真正的菩萨是无我的，也就是无我相，无人相，无众生相，无寿者相。


看起来好玄的一段对话，但其实也可以以很简单的方式去理解，
对我而言，佛陀的意思是说，
如果一个人真的发心要脱离苦海，成就菩提正果，
就应当以慈悲心代替其他狂乱不已的心念，
真正的彼岸是清静无碍的，
所以这慈悲心也必须是无染著的，所以必须舍弃一切有我，或我所有的一切心念。

以无我的慈悲心滋养着自己的心念，也滋养着天地万物，
清静佛境界不就现前了吗？




我们一直都有一种很恶劣的心理。
我自己其实也是在过着这种生活，但了解后也在改进当中。

无论发生什么事情，我们都很喜欢说是对方惹我生气，
是什么东西害到我这样，
是谁弄到我这样伤心难过。

但我们从来没有仔细想过，那些谁谁谁，什么东西，
都是外在的因素，负责接收的是我们自己的那一颗心。
是因为你的心在接收的过程中，这么认为了，这么感觉了，
所以产生了那些负面的情绪。
所以归根究底，是谁害到你这样的？


如果你的心真的是清静的，你可以分别得很清楚，
到底是你的心在随着外面的境界转，
还是你自己对自己的心有个真正的主控权，主导它运心转境？

就好像一面镜子，完美无缺，光滑亮丽的话，
照出来的东西是很清楚的，看山是山，看水是水，

但是如果镜子上有很多灰尘，很多混浊不清的渣滓，
照出来的画面自然也是不清不楚，丑陋不堪的，

所以这时候你应该怪外面的那些东西丑陋不堪，
还是你自己的镜子不干净？

反求诸己，勿论人非，常思己过，
就是这个意思，
静思语有句话也是这么说的： 看别人不顺眼是自己的修养不足！

金刚经里的清静无我的慈悲心就像个清洁剂，
可以清除我们镜子上那些灰尘渣滓，
还我们一个清静明亮的世界，照破我们的愚痴昏蒙，寻得众生具足的妙明佛性。



祐益

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Folding your palm together

Folding your palm into a lotus form is the basic mudra (hand gesture) that we learned; I think for those who are from a Chinese traditional background, we learned and the mudra followed us since then. Not forgetting that the rosary that we wore on our hand, that proclaimed that it is a thing to do exorcism, and also something that will protect you, a typical perception by the society, well some wear 48 mani,, 72 manis, or 108 manis, it is all depends.

But what is the meaning behind this?

Venerable Master Xin Yun, the great monk from Taiwan that established Fo Guang Shan, has a story about the discussion between the fingers; the thumb said he can be the leader as his finger gesture indicate good, the second finger said he can lead all his siblings, because his finger gesture shows number 1, the middle finger said he wants to be the leader, because he is the longest one, the 4^th finger said that he is qualifies to be one, because people put important and precious jewels to his finger, while the last one are so extremely quiet, he waited everyone to finish their words, and then he said he don’t want to fight or become a leader, because he is must more closer to the Buddha, which is enough for him.

“Closer enough to Buddha” What a wise sentence~

The prediction had made 2500 years ago, informing us that the dharma will once disappear due to a lot of causes, one is because of people choose not to get close to Buddha anymore, so we should be grateful that we still have chance to see the face of Buddha, and imprinted the face of Him into our mind, keep remember him for his effort of bringing us the precious dharma to this samsaric world.

Folding palm is getting closer to the Buddha, the easier way to make you get closer to Him. As my sharing with my students back in my hometown, I asked where the Buddha is, they answered is everywhere, and in our heart, because we are potential to be one, I continue my question with where is the “closest location of the heart?” they answered in our heart.

When we folded our palm, it actually connected to our heart, directly; whatever you do, it will reflects to your heart, your heart represent the Buddha seed, your hand represent your heart, so whatever you do has to be something will do by the Buddha, all these equal to good deed.

With Metta, Tenzin Dorjie Tsering

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Refuge

A group of members yesterday had taken refuge from the Buddha Dharma and Sangha, and officially a follower of Buddha, and willing to learn all the Buddha-dharma, conducting good virtues, and become a friend and students of all the Sangha members. Yesterday was the previous day of Tsong-Kha-Pa, all of us are celebrating with joy, and we are all rejoice.

Seeing everyone fold the palm into a lotus form, offering our sincerity and humble to the sentient beings. The moment when everyone do prostration to the Gurus, Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, it is touched, and I truly believe that the powerful prostration has touched the heart of Buddha and Bodhisattva.

Geshe Tenzin Zopa, geshe for KDU Buddhism Club, who promised to guide us Lam Rin Chen Mo, the path to the enlightenment next year in 2011. It is the concentrated version of Buddha Dharma into 3 volumes by Lama Tsong Kha Pa, which is easier for us to learn. Buddhism Propagation Division of our club is searching for a English medium dharma class, and finally we found one, and it comes with a set – we are truly happy to have Geshe Tenzin Zopa as our teacher.

Geshe Yenzin Zopa grants us the new dharma names which is based on the great panditas, Dromton, Chekawa, and even one of us shared the same name with Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Tenzin Zopa, he is also Tenzin Zopa. I was wondering why we are so lucky to have pandita’ names as our new dharma name, then i concluded this rejoice moments with one explanation, all of us who took refuge actually is also the guru in the pass, or maybe the disciple that haven’t gain enlightenment, so we came back to get refuge again and with promise, we will practice on the path of Buddhahood and until the day of enlightenment, we will come back to this samsaric world to teach more people.

Our teacher grants us rosary, a very heavy rosary that has 108 mani pearl, and it is always the thing that I want since I practice Buddhism, but due to unstable financial, I have to give up of getting one for myself – reasoned me lazy to chant, also reason me always forgot the sila, metta and karuna. Now I have a white one, so do everyone who has a crystal clear one, or wooden one, all different but the aim of giving one to us is the same – always remember we are a Buddhist now and we should always remember to practice Buddhism, only prostrate to triple gems, because there are no others great guru other than Buddha, there are no wisdom teaching other than Buddha Dharma and also there are no great companion on the path of enlightenment, other than Sangha.

The ceremony was simple yet serious, everyone was knee down on the right, like the Buddha disciple when Buddha Sakyamuni still alive in this samsaric world, we all follow the words by the Guru, we read we follow, then we get the refuge card like other, and we sat down, then we are officially become a Buddhist, the metta practitioner.

Taking refuge wasn’t a complicated process, yet it is very very important for us as a lay person who wants to become Buddhist, but taking refuge is not about the process, or chanting, is the mindfulness heart that tight the bond between you and Buddha, your bond with the gurus, so when you do anything, you must always remember the Buddha, then when you want to do bad virtues, you will then stop and change; when you do good deeds, you will then multiply your good virtues, do it more.

For my fellow club members that taken refuge, use your dharma name wisely, wisely it shall be; never conduct bad virtues but good deeds are the thing we always need to do, when you able to do so and follow the words of Buddha, then the protection that you gained during the ceremony can multiply, and then the merit can be accumulated more, in the same time your merit can be shared with big group of sentient beings, directly you are doing more good deeds.

I, Kenn Yeap, Tenzin Dorjie Tsering are hereby congratulate you, and wishes you a happy learning path towards the door of Buddha Enlightenment!

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Buddha Nature by Geshe Tenzin Zopa, LDC 13 Nov 2010

Generally

Today’s session will be a brief introduction to Buddhism and we begin by discussing the Buddha Nature present in all living beings.

This subject of Buddha nature is a critical and complex topic, yet it is a matter of urgency for us to gain an understanding of it in order for us to have the faith and conviction that we have the potential to become a Buddha.

Until we discover that we have the Buddha nature within us, it will be quite difficult for us to be convinced that we can gain enlightenment.

The fundamental nature of our mind is pure and luminous with the capacity to know and see through the reality of life and events.

Even though we presently have many disturbing thoughts in our ordinary, samsaric life such as anger and attachment, this basic, pure nature of our mind is receptive to all positive information and imprints.

This continuum of mind will continue beyond death, life after life until our mind connects to the Buddha’s own mind, which has the same fundamental pure nature.

As the Buddha nature can be a complex subject, we need to rely on logic, reasoning and the truthful words of Buddha to attain a firm understanding on this topic.



Brief history of Buddhism

The Buddhadharma and its practices came into existence numberless aeons before.

The Buddhadharma did not suddenly appear nor was it created by Prince Siddartha, who later became the Buddha.

Dharma is the antidote/method/solution to delusions, that was cultivated by the Buddha.

Shakyamuni Buddha become enlightened and turned the wheel of Dharma 2600 years ago – but Buddhadharma did not start from that point; it started beginningless lifetimes ago.

Buddha existed beyond the time that we are able to count.

All Buddhas began like us ordinary beings. There is no Buddha that began as an “in-born” Buddha, as a Buddha from the beginning.

The great being we call Shakyamuni Buddha began as an ordinary, suffering being like us, who took rebirth by the force of karma and delusion, experienced lives like we have including previous rebirths as animal, god-realm being, human etc. just like us but cultivated the Path to liberation and to enlightenment.

The methods to gain liberation and enlightenment that we are studying today were received from Shakyamuni Buddha 2600 years ago.

Those teachings of the Buddha were then preserved by his disciples Shariputra, Maudgalyana, the Arhats, the Indian Nalanda Pandits starting from Nagarjuna and so on. Nagarjuna (whose image appears in LDC’s Nalanda Pandits’ Garden situated behind the bodhi tree; the one image with a few snakes behind him) came into this world 400 years after Shakyamuni Buddha passed away.

For the preservation and flourishing of the Buddhadharma, there was a great Buddhist institute of learning established after the Buddha passed away called Nalanda University, located near Bodhgaya.

The Nalanda Univversity scholars based all their studies on the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha.

The Buddhadharma focusing on the Four Noble Truths, the 8 Fold Path took root in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Pakistan, India, Nepal.

The Mahayana teachings based on the topics about but included the Bodhicitta (great compassion) found their way towards Tibet, China, Indonesia, even Malaysia which was on the route that the spread of Buddhism in Asia took.

The combined teachings of Mahayana Sutra and Tantra labelled as Vajrayana, spread to Korea, Japan, Mongolia and Tibet (note that there is Buddhist Tantra and Hindu Tantra which is entirely different). Buddhist Tantra is therefore part of Mahayana and not a creation of the Lamas.

The Vajrayana that we are connected to, have Tibetan lineage masters whose roots were primarily that of Indian and Mongolian masters.

The great Indian Pandits such as Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) also known as lotus born Buddha travelled to Tibet and later, Lama Atisha, who brought the Nalanda tradition of Dharma study to Tibet.

We regard Lama Atisha as the author of the teachings of Lam Rim (the graduated path to enlightenment) as he taught and wrote extensively on the entire Buddhadharma, enabling the practitioner to gain enlightenment by relying on those teachings.

Up till today, Lama Atisha’s works are relied upon by all the 4 schools within the Tibetan tradition – the 4 schools are - Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, Gelug.

Here at LDC, we follow the Gelug tradition established after great scholar Tsongkhapa gathered all the Buddha’s teachings together and founded the Gelug tradition. In short, we are Mahayana, Vajrayana, Gelug, Buddhist.



What is meant by Buddhist and non-Buddhist?

A Buddhist can be characterised by 2 features – (1) ethical action (2) correct view.

Put in another way, a Buddhist adopts a particular method and view in relation to one’s spiritual path.

What is meant by method? It is the aspect of our attitude which is consistent with compassion.

If we cannot benefit others, we should at least avoid harming any living being (not only humans). Some other faiths regard animals as having been created by God for humans to consume for subsistence e.g. fish, prawns are created by God for us to eat and thus it would not be wrong to kill and eat them.

For Buddhists, in order to be a living being, that being’s life force must be accompanied/sustained/supported by mind or consciousness. Whether that being is form or formless, large or small, as long as it contains mind/consciousness, it is a living being.

What is meant by correct view?

This means knowing that things exist in a dependent manner and do not exist independently. For example, we need to understand that our life is dependent on karma (the law of cause & effect).

Our lives and experiences do not simply pop up without reason; or that our experiences are created by an external god who creates hell or heaven for us.

Everything is created by our own mind, which in turn gives rise to karma.

Good or bad, everything is dependent on causes.

We need to have the view which has an understanding of such dependent-arising. Dependent-arising can also been seen in this way – why is it we are able to refer to the north?

Because there is a south and an east etc.. Why is there such a thing as tall? Because there is the concept of “short “.

Suffering exists because we do negative acts; happiness rises because we do positive acts. In this way, all things dependent on karma and on our mind.

We need to have such a correct view and understanding. For instance, why is it my friend has high scores and I have low scores? There are causes – my friend studies 24 yours and I always party.

Or even though I try my best to study, somewhere in my past life, I indulged in heavily ignorant actions thereby affecting me in my present life.

By relating one’s situation to past causes and conditions, it enables one to accept experiences and results. We can think “ Since our situations are dependent on cause and effect, I have the hope and chance for something better by creating new causes for e.g. I have the opportunity to create the cause to get a better results, as that is a dependent-arising of my effort”.

Thus in order to be real Buddhists, we need to have these two foundation characteristics of the way we live our lives, namely having the method (of non-harm and helping others) and having the correct view (of dependent arising) and on top of that, taking Refuge in the Triple Gem.

Refuge means to feel from one’s heart that one’s protection and guidance will come from the Triple Gem and we pledge to follow their guidance. Whoever does not possess these, is not a Buddhist.



Buddha Nature

The fundamental nature of our mind is no different from that of the Buddha. The only difference between the Buddha’s mind and ours is like the clear sky and the cloudy sky in Indonesia these days, covered by Mr Merapi’s volcanic smoke!

Mind is like clear space - any event can manifest or be displayed on this clear space. Our mind though fundamentally a pure, “sky” is presently covered by clouds – what are these clouds? They are the afflicted emotions that arise due to delusions (ignorance, anger, attachment).

Although the sky over Jakarta is currently cloud-covered with volcanic dust, its nature is clear and has the potential to be totally clear again.

The clear sky is the Buddha nature; the clouded sky is our emotional states such as liking friends, disliking enemies, feeling jealous when others do well in studies and the like.

We can draw similarities between the eruption of a volcano and an eruption of our emotions. Why does a volcano erupt?

Within the earth, there is the fire element (similar to our anger), the water element (similar to clinging attachment) and the inbalance of the elements (similar to our ignorance).

Beyond this unstable formation of these different elements, everything is clear and luminous but within it, there can be ups and downs and breakage. Similarly, due to ignorance, anger and attachment, we are vulnerable to emotional eruptions which sometimes behave like volcanoes and tsunamis! (laughter).

We need to go back to nature, which is basically pure and stable. We need to practice conservation of our world. Due to our grasping habits such as demanding more electricity and more resources, these result in more pollution and more damage to the environment, giving rise to global warming etc.

Similarly, we often give way to our anger and attachment which arise due to ignorance and when we do not get what we want, we get unstable, we get upset and negative emotions arise.

These negative emotions act like the clouds covering the clear sky.

However, they are not permanent.

Since our basic nature of mind is luminous, the clouds of negative emotions come and go. Just as we can find scientific ways to keep the sky clear, likewise, we can keep our mind as completely clear and free of such negative emotions by developing more patience, kindness and by living ethically.

When we reach the stage where we have perfected all the qualities and good deeds which we started out to do (but were distracted by temporary delusions), we will awaken to our pure nature again and become a Buddha.

To become a Buddha, we do not need to travel to faraway places or take a long time to achieve it. We can become a Buddha right here on this very cushion but to do so, we need to understand what is to be adopted and what is to be abandoned such as cleansing our negative emotions, which would be like clearing the sky of the clouds which cover its clarity and brightness.

Based on Theravadan tradition, Buddha attained enlightenment 2600 year ago under the Bodhi tree.

According to Mahayana tradition however, Buddha gained enlightenment a long time ago but took a human rebirth to teach the Path through displaying the deeds of being born, renouncing the ordinary life, turning the wheel of Dharma for the sake of taming living beings and guiding them to enlightenment and lasting happiness.

At dawn, he destroyed the 4 Maras , namely the 4 Maras of death (physically Buddha faces death but mentally he was free from death); delusion; external factors activating our delusions; the aggregates (form, feeling, compositional factors, consciousness, discrimination/cognition).

Although Shakyamuni Buddha gained enlightenment when he was still healthy, he manifested physical death as a teaching on impermanence.

Becoming a Buddha is nothing about the physical body but about going back to one’s Buddha nature and remaining in that pure state without any distraction of the 4 Maras. If we tend to get angry for half the day, try to reduce it by one hour per day and engage in more virtue.

Construct a positive mind brick-by-brick with tolerance, kindness, compassion.




Q&A

I have a friend who wishes to take refuge but wants to study Hinduism. Is it possible?

Ans: He can be a Hindu philosopher but still be a Buddhist. He can learn about Hinduism but in terms of spiritual protection and guidance, he relies on the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

Once I was in Penang, where I met a free thinker accompanied by a Christian girl-friend. I somehow felt he was under pressure by his girlfriend to become a Christian although he seemed to wish to follow the Buddhist teachings on karma etc..

I told him I too am a free thinker. This shocked him as I am a Buddhist monk. I then asked him about his definition of a free thinker. He asked me for mine first.

So I said “My mind is open to any form of good advice and teachings from any religion. After all, Buddhists can learn from any source, especially if it relates to virtue and in that sense, one is “free” to learn all forms of virtue.

I am a Buddhist philosopher monk”. He then asked me what being a philosopher monk involved. In answer to his question, I went through all the key points of karma, refuge, bodhicitta. You see, one can study Buddhism and live a life according to those principles. It would not matter whether one calls oneself a Buddhist or not.


Q: But if that person takes Refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, will he become a Buddhist?

Ans: Of course, if from the heart, one takes Refuge in Buddha, Dharma and Sangha as the objects of spiritual guidance and protection, then that person is a Buddhist .

It will not matter what such a person calls himself.

Outwardly, he may remain Hindu and perform Hindu practices but inwardly, he will be a Buddhist.

A Buddhist can pay respects to other faiths and gods but in terms of actual guidance on the spiritual path, then a Buddhist would need to rely on only Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

Q: Is there any difference between 4 schools of Tibetan Buddhism?

Ans: Fundamentally, the teachings of all the 4 schools are the same.

The only difference is the way of presentation of the Dharma but the essence is still the same.

Certain people are naturally inclined towards the various traditions.

The Gelug tradition has more emphasis on the study of philosophy, on contemplation and meditation and less on ritual.


For the other schools, there is more involvement in rituals. As regards HH Dalai Lama, he is not only a Gelug but the embodiment of all the 4 traditions. Each tradition has its own lineage holders – for example, in the Gelug tradition, the lineage holder is the Gaden Throne Holder (or Ganden Tripa). HH Dalai Lama should be regarded as the root and the head of all the 4 schools of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

Politics is a separate matter. Politics is man made – some politicians say one thing in the morning and by the evening, it may change. But Dharma is not man made; it not changeable due to mere cultural factors.


End of Session

Prepared by Ms.Yeo Puay Huei

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Meditation Session

When Siddharta Gautama sit under the tree, he asked himself a lot of question, who helps him to understand all the knowledge? He himself.

When Buddha Sakyamuni meditate under the bodhi tree, he said He would not leave the place unless he understand the world, another statement which call this situation is - Enlightenment.

Buddha Sakyamuni said that all the sentient beings has the nature of becoming Buddha, why we can't achieve enlightenment now? As the reason our heart, mind are all covered by the dust - anxiety, vexation.

How we reduce? How we at least can move one more step towards the door of enlightenment?

Come to this meditation.

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Form for taking refuges

Our most respected Geshe-la has agreed and accepted to grand the refuge ceremony on 30th November at 7:30pm. in LDC. It is a very special day of Lama Tsongkapa and the day of merit multiplying 100 millions times!!! such an auspicious day to take refuge !!

6pm - 7:30pm centre will offer dinner to all public. All of you are invited.

After the 7:30pm - 9pm refuge ceremony, we will do light offerings , led by Geshe-la.

Name:
Contact Number
Email Address:
Had you taken refuges before with another master, teacher?	Yes No
If yes, please state down who is the master monk that you took refuges, from; and your name of refuges

Create a web form here

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