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..