The Unborn Buddha-Mind replied by bohiruci @ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:42:08 +0800

bohiruci — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:42:08 +0800

Originally posted by Pegembara:

We humans tend to think that we are special. We like to think that we are apart from and can control nature.

We can never be other than nature itself and as such subjected to its laws of impermanence. There is no permanent unchanging self to be found anywhere. What is born must die. Aging, sickness, death and separation is our lot.

Unlike plants and animals we are capable of intelligent thoughts and creativity, of love, kindness and compassion but also of the great cruelty and horrors.

We create stories, concepts etc and believe them to be true. Imagine what happens if what we called "Earth" was to be struck by a giant comet tomorrow.

What then is the meaning of life? No one has the answer but know only this: All is impermanent, unsatisfacory and not self. Nothing is to be clung to as me, mine or myself.

wont you think what u say means we human are destined and no change of luck ?

thats fatalistic view my fren :)

The Unborn Buddha-Mind replied by Pegembara @ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:35:38 +0800

Pegembara — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:35:38 +0800

We humans tend to think that we are special. We like to think that we are apart from and can control nature.

We can never be other than nature itself and as such subjected to its laws of impermanence. There is no permanent unchanging self to be found anywhere. What is born must die. Aging, sickness, death and separation is our lot.

Unlike plants and animals we are capable of intelligent thoughts and creativity, of love, kindness and compassion but also of the great cruelty and horrors.

We create stories, concepts etc and believe them to be true. Imagine what happens if what we called "Earth" was to be struck by a giant comet tomorrow.

What then is the meaning of life? No one has the answer but know only this: All is impermanent, unsatisfacory and not self. Nothing is to be clung to as me, mine or myself.

Are Mahayana Sutras Taught by Buddha? replied by An Eternal Now @ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:40:48 +0800

An Eternal Now — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:40:48 +0800

Oh ya forgot to mention, only sutras are translated, mantras remain in sanskrit form.

Are Mahayana Sutras Taught by Buddha? replied by bohiruci @ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:50:20 +0800

bohiruci — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:50:20 +0800

Originally posted by Rooney9:

just curious, although sutras like ratana sutra and metta sutra are chanted in pali, but does Mahayana monks also chant ratana and metta sutra in sanskrit?

Yes ..Compassion Mantra is the equivalent of metta Sutra

Are Mahayana Sutras Taught by Buddha? replied by An Eternal Now @ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:51:17 +0800

An Eternal Now — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:51:17 +0800

No, we encourage translating to modern languages like Chinese and English so that normal people like you and me can understand.

what are the daily routines and life of a monk? replied by An Eternal Now @ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:31:00 +0800

An Eternal Now — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:31:00 +0800

The Pali Abhidhamma, contrary to some traditional views, is not taught by Buddha and wasn't recited and included at the First Buddhist Council but is something authored hundreds of years later and included into the canon in the Third Buddhist Council.

And, I believe you have posted at a totally wrong topic.

[edit] According to scholars

Many scholars generally believe that the Abhidharma emerged after the time of the Buddha, to around the third century BCE. Therefore the seven Abhidhamma works are generally claimed by scholars not to represent the words of the Buddha himself, but those of disciples and great scholars.^[1] Factors contributing to its development could have been the growth of monastic centers, the growing support for the Buddhist sangha and/or outside influences from other religious groups. Some scholars believe that the Abhidhamma represents an expansion of a set of teachings and categorisations that were employed during the earliest period of Buddhism and were then later developed and elaborated upon.

As the last major division of the canon, the Abhidhamma works have had a checkered history. They were not accepted as canonical by the Mahasanghika school^[1]^[5] and several other schools.^[6] Another school included most of the Khuddaka Nikaya within the Abhidhamma Pitaka.^[1] Also, the Pali version of the Abhidhamma is a strictly Theravada collection, and has little in common with the Abhidhamma works recognized by other Buddhist schools.^[7] The Theravadin Abhidhamma is in some respects rather skeletal, with the details not entirely fleshed out. According to Rupert Gethin however, obvious care and ingenuity have gone into its development.^[8]

The various Abhidhamma philosophies of the various early schools have no agreement on doctrine^[9] and belong to the period of 'Divided Buddhism'^[9] (as opposed to Undivided Buddhism). The earliest texts of the Pali Canon (the Sutta Nipata, parts of the Jatakas, and the first four Nikayas of the Suttapitaka) have no mention of (the texts of) the Abhidhamma Pitaka.^[10] The Abhidhamma is also not mentioned at the report of the First Buddhist Council, directly after the death of the Buddha. This report of the first council does mention the existence of the Vinaya and the five Nikayas (of the Suttapitaka).^[11]^[12]

How does Ghost and Devas look like? replied by An Eternal Now @ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:23:17 +0800

An Eternal Now — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:23:17 +0800

Ghosts do not look like human unless they want to appear to you in that form. They are actually much uglier than humans. Devas are much more beautiful than humans and do not resemble anything you can think of.

what are the daily routines and life of a monk? replied by Rooney9 @ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:18:45 +0800

Rooney9 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:18:45 +0800

Abhidhamma was taught to shariputra, who then transmitted to others. it was said that when the Buddha went to the heaven to teach his mother dhamma, the Buddha actually taught abhidhamma to his mother and the devas.

Buddhism - Ratana Sutta {Discourse Of thJewels} replied by Rooney9 @ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:13:10 +0800

Rooney9 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:13:10 +0800

Metta Sutta{The Discourse on Loving Kindness}

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ahAM-BpTSc&feature=related

Are Mahayana Sutras Taught by Buddha? replied by Rooney9 @ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:11:24 +0800

Rooney9 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:11:24 +0800

just curious, although sutras like ratana sutra and metta sutra are chanted in pali, but does Mahayana monks also chant ratana and metta sutra in sanskrit?

Buddhism - Ratana Sutta {Discourse Of thJewels} replied by Rooney9 @ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:08:02 +0800

Rooney9 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:08:02 +0800

Ratana Sutra chanting in Pali

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoCgZ9yBIoU

How does Ghost and Devas look like? replied by Rooney9 @ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:04:01 +0800

Rooney9 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:04:01 +0800

do they have a form like humans? heard that ghost look exactly like humans isnt it.

what abt devas? heard that they wore ancient costumes as their clothing isnt it?

Emptiness / Buddhanature replied by An Eternal Now @ Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:46:30 +0800

An Eternal Now — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:46:30 +0800

http://www.thebuddhadharma.com/issues/2003/fall/emptinessandbuddhanature.html

Emptiness / Buddhanature

by Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche

The Buddhist schools are rich and varied in their perspectives, but these many points of view all advance the Buddhist concept of the middle view (madhya-drshti in Sanskrit and ume tawa in Tibetan).

The middle view avoids the extremes of eternalism and nihilism. Any view that does not fall into the parameters of the middle view—in other words, all views that fall into the extremes of eternalism or nihilism—are referred to as wrong views in Buddhist literature. The Buddha and his subsequent followers have called these wrong views because the nihilistic view minimizes what is there in reality, while the eternalistic view adds more to reality than what is really there.

Adherents of all Buddhist schools try to understand everything about themselves—their consciousness, the material world, sentient life, their karmic inheritance and its history, even rebirth or reincarnation—in terms of this middle view. In the Mahayana tradition, the establishment of the middle way is also an aspect of one’s own practice, because the Buddhist adherent steers a course between the two extremes to cultivate the two wisdoms: transcendental knowledge (Skt., prajna) and wisdom/gnosis (Skt., jnana).

The Madhyamaka and Yogacara Schools

With the emergence of Mahayana thought, this middle view was critically examined and taken to highly refined levels of philosophical sophistication. There were two major strands of Buddhist thought in the Mahayana: Madhyamaka and Yogacara. These two schools have had an enormous impact on the cultural, philosophical and religious landscape of Buddhist thinking in the whole of Asia, from India to Japan and beyond. Madhyamaka and Yogacara have produced original and somewhat different (although not necessarily incompatible) interpretations of the middle view. Their perspective on how enlightenment is to be attained is also different.

For the Madhyamikas (or Shunyatavadins), enlightenment is obtained by the practice of the two accumulations, merit and wisdom. In order to carry out this necessary but difficult task with minimal risk of deviations and diversions, the practitioner must engage in the six transcendental actions (Skt., paramitas). From the first four transcendental actions one accumulates merit, while the last two transcendental actions lead to the accumulation of wisdom (which includes both transcendental knowledge and wisdom/gnosis). The reason for practicing these accumulations is to reduce one’s negative karmic inheritance and delusional tendencies. As Nagarjuna, the founder of the Madhyamaka school, continually stated, it is only by developing the middle view that one can gain an understanding of emptiness (Skt., shunyata), which is ultimate reality itself. This understanding of emptiness is applied to the rest of the transcendental actions, so that even the merit that issues forth from one’s practice is seen to be empty of substance or inherent existence. In other words, it is through the realization of emptiness that one attains enlightenment.

The Yogacarins (or Vijnanavadins), on the other hand, advanced a slightly different perspective on how the two accumulations are to be realized. For Maitreya and Asanga, the founders of the Yogacara school, the main concern was establishing buddhanature (Skt., tathagatagarbha) as fact.

It was their firm belief that the reality of buddhanature was the foundation upon which all the Mahayana paths and stages were to be erected. They reasoned that if enlightenment were possible—not just in principle but as a realizable actuality—then each sentient creature must possess that enlightened nature. It is only due to the presence of ignorance that sentient creatures have not realized their “existentially intimate” and yet “experientially and cognitively distant” nature.

The key text that Maitreya and Asanga authored—which is widely used by followers of the Kagyü and Nyingma traditions of Tibetan Buddhism—is known as the Mahayanuttaratantra (in one of its shorter names). Its recurrent theme is the removability of the defilements. These defilements are all that obscure the innate purity of one’s inherent buddhanature, which exists in an uncorrupted and incorruptible fashion within the continuum of one’s being.

The difference between these two philosophical schools is that the Madhyamikas see the realization of emptiness as the one uniquely significant insight, whereas the Yogacarins see the realization of buddhanature as the very essence of awakening. In the Prajnaparamita sutras, the canonical Mahayana Buddhist sutras upon which Nagarjuna singularly relied, the subject matter is principally about emptiness. In them, shunyata is portrayed as the “Mother of all the buddhas,” because enlightenment arises from the realization of emptiness. According to the Yogacarins, the source of enlightenment is buddhanature, which is pure and untainted by defilements. However, it is the understanding of emptiness that allows one to realize this buddhanature.

There is very little evidence in Indian literature to suggest that there were any critical exchanges in India between these two prominent Buddhist philosophical schools. However, after the transplantation of Buddhism to Tibet, matters became wildly different. Rival schools of Tibetan Buddhist tradition, each claiming to be faithfully following the preceding Indian schools, engaged in a flurry of scholarly exchanges in which the concept of buddhanature was subjected to severe critical discussion.

These rival schools could not agree on the nature of buddhadharma and its status within the Mahayana teachings as a whole. Their disputes mainly came down to this: “Is buddhanature to be treated as a definitive teaching, or is it an interpretative teaching that relies on explanations to reveal itself?” Many latter-day Kagyü masters, for example, came to accept the teachings on buddhanature as belonging to the definitive class of Mahayana teachings. Those who followed strictly Madhyamaka interpretations of emptiness, on the other hand, did not accept this interpretation. For them, it had pedagogical value only, something that an individual grows out of as he or she develops a deeper understanding of emptiness. They argued that it is only through emptiness that all conceptual categories are deconstructed, and that these conceptual categories include the notion of buddhanature.

We can see, then, that the Yogacara teachings have had just as much influence on the development of Kagyü and Nyingma thought as the Madhyamaka ones, although no Kagyü or Nyingma teacher would consider him- or herself to be a Yogacarin. What the early and contemporary Kagyü teachers have done is combine the Yogacara teachings on buddhanature and the Madhyamaka teachings on emptiness.

The Rangtong and Shentong Distinction

Further complications regarding the understanding of buddhanature occurred in Tibet as a result of the marriage of these two streams of thought within the Kagyü and other Buddhist schools. This marriage led to the development of the distinctly Tibetan philosophical tradition called the Shentong (“emptiness of other”) school. The Shentongpas charged those schools that interpreted the teachings on emptiness as definitive with falling into the extreme of nihilism. These schools, known in this context as upholders of Rangtong (“emptiness of itself”), counter-charged the Shentongpas with falling into the extreme of eternalism.

It should be noted at this point that many great Kagyü and Nyingma masters have not arrived at the same conclusion as the Shentongpas regarding the concept of buddhanature. Rather, they have accepted the reality of buddhanature while maintaining the Rangtong view of emptiness of itself. Accepting the reality of buddhanature does not mean that one has to accept the Shentong interpretation of emptiness. Shentongpas regard the nature of mind as empty of defilements but not empty of its intrinsic nature. The notion of buddhanature, however, does not in itself imply that mind has any intrinsic nature. Many of the great Kagyü and Nyingma masters, in fact, have interpreted buddhanature to mean that mind is empty of both the defilements and any kind of inherent existence.

The Mahayanuttaratantra itself may yield a conclusion that is consistent with the Rangtong view of emptiness of itself. A true Shentongpa, if there is such a person, is seen by Rangtongpas as always being at risk of reifying buddhanature, thus falling into the extreme of eternalism—a Buddhist heresy. However, for our purposes, we need not be detained by these different interpretations. Suffice it to say that the appropriations and intermingling of the Madhyamaka and Yogacara traditions within Tibetan Buddhism has had a rather complicated and illustrious history. This is not the place to assess and evaluate the legitimacy of the claims and counter-claims, let alone defend this or that master’s favored interpretation. Rather, I would like to offer a general outline of buddhanature, with certain inspirations drawn from the teachings of the mainstream Kagyü tradition.

Teachings on Buddhanature

The Kagyüpas rely on the Mahayanuttaratantra as the main text on buddhanature. According to the Uttaratantra (its shorthand name) we all possess buddhanature. Our true nature is said to be untainted and not devalued by defilements, delusions, obscurations and other pollutants. However, buddhanature is obscured by those defilements, which have their origins in primordial ignorance. As such, these defilements and obscurations have to be removed. Their removal will lead to the realization of buddhanature, and the realization of buddhanature is equated with the attainment of true freedom or liberation.

Thus, freedom and determinism are not incompatible in the Buddhist philosophical tradition. In fact, according to the Buddhist teachings, freedom is contingent on understanding the prevailing and predetermined karmic causes and conditions in our lives. An act of freedom is not regarded as something that occurs in a miraculous fashion, as if our actions had no antecedent causal conditions. Only by understanding the governing causes and conditions—which have led to our present state of bondage in samsara—can we entertain the possibility of achieving true freedom. If we are to have any real chance of realizing ultimate freedom, we need to understand how such and such causes and conditions have contributed to our state of bondage, and we need to understand the factors that sustain the underlying mechanisms of samsaric imprisonment. According to the teachings on buddhanature, our state of ignorance and the obscurations that govern our current state of being are caused by distorted thoughts, conflicting emotions and unbridled instinctual feelings. However, because these things are a product of causes and conditions, they can be illuminated and renounced. Their potential removability, combined with the primordial presence of buddhanature, is what makes liberation possible. In the Uttaratantra, the following three reasons are given for this possibility of liberation:

The defilements are removable.

Owing to ignorance, we have unconsciously become afflicted by distorted thoughts, corrupted by conflicting emotions, and led astray by erroneous views and misunderstandings. These various states and tendencies of the mind supply the necessary materials for the formation of fairly stable and persistent character traits, personality structures, self-images and habit patterns. However, although these deluded states of mind—the source of all of one’s misery and anguish—are persistent, they are not permanent fixtures of one’s dispositional properties. Therefore, they are removable and can be jettisoned, provided one engages in the appropriate methods of training.

The remedial qualities and attributes that tend towards enlightenment are already present.

We have the ability to accomplish the difficult, although not impossible, task of eradicating undesirable, self-destructive and degrading states and habits of mind. This is due fundamentally to the wholesome states of the mind and traits that one can cultivate and develop by and within oneself. Therefore, we do not need to draw on divine inspiration in the form of grace. It is evident that liberation is attained through personal effort and not through the bestowal of salvation by an ultimate Other.

Buddhanature is not different from the nature of a fully enlightened being.

Our true nature is buddhanature and that buddhanature is the nature of all sentient beings. Therefore, it is not our nature that separates sentient beings such as ourselves from the fully enlightened beings—although there certainly is a temporal gap that separates the time before and the time after the onset of enlightenment. Since our true nature is the nature of the buddhas, the temporal divide that separates these two states can be narrowed for now and completely bridged in the future.

The Conditioned Nature of Mind

Heeding the authoritative nature of the Mahayanuttaratantra and other such texts, followers of Mahayana are counselled to become what they were portended to become in the first place. In a manner of speaking, buddhanature is the very purpose of one’s life, the destiny that one is almost necessarily propelled towards—the very raison d’être of one’s existence. The Uttaratantra, in fact, suggests that our sense of incompleteness and meaninglessness, our feelings of emptiness, dissatisfaction and disquiet, our experience of unhappiness and the litany of other samsaric misfortunes we have, are all indicators of the stirrings of buddhanature that we must heed and respond to.

Furthermore, the Uttaratantra elaborates upon the reasons why, as human beings, we fail to achieve our potential, to actualize our true nature. This temporary failing on our part—which is all that it is according to the Uttaratantra—is attributable to the conditioned nature of our minds. Although our own nature is buddhanature, our thoughts and actions spring not from this unconditioned state but from the deluded and conditioned nature of our minds. As such, every physical, verbal and mental act we perform leaves imprints on our body-mind complex.

It is worth pointing out that in Buddhism, mind does not refer to what we normally mean by consciousness, where consciousness is narrowly defined as that which is opposite to the material or corporeal, and thus of a totally different nature. In Buddhism, mind encompasses the working of any organism that has input/output functions and responds to stimuli. In other words, what is mental is the same as what is sentient. (The term sentient covers a broad range of living organisms, from the microscopic organisms of aquatic life to highly intelligent, fully realized human beings.) Nothing that sentient beings experience—either on the conscious sentient level or the unconscious level—vanishes. The resulting imprints influence, mold, shape and color the subsequent experiences of the individual.

The Mahayana teachings mention four different imprints, known as traces and dispositions:

Perceptual traces and dispositions: This means that if we perceive something through our sensory apparatuses, those experiences leave imprints on our brain/mind structure. If we perceive a visual object, even after we stop seeing it in our visual field, that object will continue to appear to our consciousness. For example, an item of clothing in a shop window that caught our eye will subsequently appear to the mind as a mental image. Similarly with audial perceptions, if we hear music that we enjoy, we will continue to hear that tune played over and over in our mind. Of course, these sensory experiences are not simply mentally registered; we respond to them in various ways because of our likes, dislikes, attractions, aversions and so on, thus inculcating ever more fixed predilections and propensities.

Traces and dispositions of apperception: This means that every experience we have is processed, organized and edited, as it were, by the self, although the subject may not be conscious of this process at the time. In other words, there is a self-referential element attached to most of our experiences, so that the experiences that we have through the self are given certain unique characteristics. In this way, they become dispositional properties of the self.

Traces and dispositions of conditioned existence: According to Buddhism, particularly Mahayana Buddhism, there are no physical or mental substances. There are only interacting, mutually interconnected networks of states and processes, brought about by causes and conditions. The causes and conditions themselves are not based in any kind of metaphysical ground. They simply constitute a network of interacting states and processes. The mind, with its conceptual categories and schemas, creates our dispositional properties—in conjunction with the neurochemical activities of the brain, other psychophysical states and processes, and external sensory stimuli.

Traces and dispositions of homogeneity: This last category simply means that our imprints will reflect our current state of mind, as will the future experiences these imprints bring about. For example, if one has the experience of anger, the imprint of anger will give rise to future experiences of anger. A similar process will operate with regard to the wholesome states.

The Four Renunciations

We can see, then, that to realize our buddhanature we have to deal with causes and conditions and work with our states of mind with ever-increasing vigilance, mindfulness and awareness. We have to become aware of what sort of likes and dislikes we have, what sort of thoughts we entertain most of the time, what kind of emotional conflicts we habitually perpetuate, and the manner in which we habitually respond to various circumstances, situations and events in life. Knowing more about our potential, on the one hand, and the states and propensities that prevent us from realizing that true potential, on the other, is what leads to the attainment of true freedom or enlightenment.

In order to realize our true potential, we have to engage in what are known as the four renunciations. One engages in these practices to attenuate the forces of habit, so that there will be a marked decrease in the unwholesome, non-virtuous, dispositional properties and a corresponding increase in the wholesome and virtuous dispositional properties.

The first two renunciations consist of thinking about one’s unwholesome states of mind, dispositional properties and habit patterns. Having done so, one should make a pledge to oneself, appealing to one’s own more noble nature by saying, “Whatever unwholesome states of mind, dispositions and propensities that have not yet arisen, I will do everything to make sure that they will not arise in the future.” By engaging in pre-emptive measures, such as the cultivation of mindfulness and awareness, one should also do whatever one can to reduce those unwholesome, non-virtuous states that have already arisen and in so doing attenuate their force.

The second two renunciations consist of the positive side. One must ensure that all of the wholesome states of mind and the virtuous dispositional states and habit patterns that have not yet arisen will arise in the future. One must also vow to do everything within one’s power to increase and inculcate those virtuous and wholesome dispositional properties and habit patterns that have already arisen. By the cultivation of virtues and wholesome qualities and the renunciation of vices and unwholesome qualities, one realizes buddhanature and thus attains buddhahood.

Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche is a lama in the Kagyü tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. He lives in Melbourne, Australia, where he founded the E-vam Institute. He also recently established the E-vam Institute in Hudson, New York.

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The iLLUminous Quality of Prostrating to 35 Buddhas replied by bohiruci @ Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:20:49 +0800

bohiruci — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:20:49 +0800

One will be receptive to the Path of Dharma

One will meet unexpected wealth to tide ones crisis

Homage to the 35 Superior Buddha

May ones sight extinguishes 85 million aeons of Karmic Offense

Pseudo-Zen, ‘Pure Awareness’,& the Wisdom of Differentiation replied by An Eternal Now @ Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:49:23 +0800

An Eternal Now — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:49:23 +0800

He never mentioned which ones.

Pseudo-Zen, ‘Pure Awareness’,& the Wisdom of Differentiation replied by Emanrohe @ Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:19:27 +0800

Emanrohe — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:19:27 +0800

I wonder which books were he refering to..

Pseudo-Zen, ‘Pure Awareness’,& the Wisdom of Differentiation replied by Emanrohe @ Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:15:06 +0800

Emanrohe — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:15:06 +0800

I wonder which books he is refering to...

Daily Buddhist Verses replied by An Eternal Now @ Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:00:08 +0800

An Eternal Now — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:00:08 +0800

A layman: Every time I clear a thought from my mind, another appears right away. Thoughts keep appearing like that without end. What can I do about them?

Bankei: Clearing thoughts from the mind as they arise is like washing away blood in blood. You may succeed in washing away the original blood, but you're still polluted by the blood you washed in. No matter how long you keep washing, the bloodstains never disappear. Since you don't know that your mind is originally unborn and undying and free of illusion, you think that your thoughts really exist, so you transmigrate in the wheel of existence. You have to realize that your thoughts are ephemeral and unreal and, without either clutching at them or rejecting them, just let them come and go of themselves. They're like images reflected in a mirror. A mirror is clear and bright and reflects whatever is placed before it. but the image doesn't remain in the mirror. The buddha-mind is ten thousand times brighter than any mirror and is marvelously illuminative besides. All thoughts vanish tracelessly into its light.

The Unborn Buddha-Mind replied by An Eternal Now @ Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:59:28 +0800

An Eternal Now — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:59:28 +0800

A layman: Every time I clear a thought from my mind, another appears right away. Thoughts keep appearing like that without end. What can I do about them?

See the True Nature, then Let Go and Relax in That replied by An Eternal Now @ Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:53:04 +0800

An Eternal Now — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:53:04 +0800

http://www.thebuddhadharma.com/issues/2004/spring/khenpo_tsultrim.html

See the True Nature, then Let Go and Relax in That

An interview with Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche

Melvin McLeod: Rinpoche, you are one of the leading teachers of Mahamudra, the highest philosophy and practice of the Kagyü school of Tibetan Buddhism. Would you describe the Mahamudra view of the nature of mind?

Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche: In Mahamudra there are three traditions: sutra Mahamudra, mantra Mahamudra and essence Mahamudra.

The sutra tradition of Mahamudra encompasses both the second and third turnings of the wheel of dharma [the teachings on emptiness and buddhanature, respectively]. According to the second turning of the wheel, the true nature of mind is beyond conceptual fabrication. That means it cannot be described as being existent or nonexistent, as being something or nothing, or as being permanent or impermanent. Mind cannot be described or conceptualized in any of these ways: the nature of mind is beyond all conceptual fabrication. Then, according to the third turning of the wheel of dharma, which are the teachings on buddhanature such as the Uttaratantrashastra,[i] the true nature of mind is described as luminous clarity. This is the enlightened essence of the buddhanature, completely free from any stain, completely free from any imperfection or flaw. This luminosity is inseparable from emptiness. So the true nature of mind is described as the union of clarity and emptiness.

The mantra tradition of Mahamudra explains that the true nature of mind is bliss and emptiness inseparable. This is something that one meditates on after having received empowerments, abhishekas, to do so. By receiving the empowerments and putting the methods into practice, one can realize this bliss-emptiness, which is the true nature of mind.

Finally, there is the tradition of essence Mahamudra, in which the true nature of mind is called thamel gyi shepa, or ordinary mind. Ordinary mind means that one is taught that there is no need to change anything about the mind. One doesn't need to fix it in any way. One doesn't need to stop anything from happening or make anything new happen. The true nature of mind is beyond artifice and fabrication.

The essence tradition of Mahamudra does not depend on the scriptures or reasonings of sutra and mantra Mahamudra. In the essence tradition, the teacher points out the nature of the student’s mind, based on the student's own experience and how the student is relating to appearances at the time. It's a direct transmission. Just reading it in a book isn't enough. You have to have great faith in the teacher and then the teacher can point out the nature of mind. So if somebody wants to examine the nature of their mind and have it introduced to them, they should request instructions from a teacher in whom they have great faith. Then the lama will give them the pointing-out instruction, and it's possible that they'll recognize the nature of mind.

If the student develops certainty that the mind is free from coming and going, free from arising, abiding and ceasing, then the student is said to have recognized the nature of mind. That doesn't mean that the student has direct realization experience; in this context realization means to have certainty.

If people read the story of Milarepa's encounter with the shepherd boy, Repa Sangye Kyap [see page xx], they will have an idea of what the pointing out is like between the student and the teacher.

Besides direct transmission from teacher to student, what are the methods or meditations used to realize the nature of mind?

If people want to learn how to investigate the nature of their mind, they should understand that there are different ways to do it. For example, in the sutra tradition of Mahamudra, there is the way of investigating the nature of mind that is in harmony with the second turning of the wheel of dharma and the way that is in harmony with the third turning of the wheel.

If you wanted to learn about investigating the mind according to the second turning, then you should read The Sun of Wisdom.[ii] All of the methods for investigating emptiness that are taught in that book can be applied to the mind. The difference is that the meditation technique is in accord with Mahamudra. The investigations are the same, but the way you meditate once you've done the investigations is in accord with the Mahamudra instructions on how to meditate.

When you investigate according to the third turning of the wheel of dharma, what you determine is that the true nature of mind is luminous clarity, free from any stain. There is a verse in the Uttaratantrashastra, the treatise on the buddhanature, which says, "The true nature of mind that is luminous clarity is unchanging like space. There are fleeting stains, but these are only temporary and not existent in the essence of mind."

That's the whole key to the third turning—to see that the basic nature of mind is luminosity and emptiness, and that that is not made imperfect or obscured in its essence by anything. The only things that prevent us from seeing the true nature of mind are fleeting stains. They are not truly existent; the stains have no essence of their own and therefore they can be removed.

After analyzing according to either the second or third turning, the way to meditate is the same: that is, to rest and relax in your own basic nature. According to the second turning, you determine that the true nature of mind is free from conceptual fabrications and you just let go and relax within that. According to the third turning, you determine that the true nature of mind is luminosity and emptiness, and you just let go and relax within that.

That looks quite enjoyable, if Rinpoche's expression is any indication.

If it is enjoyable, there is still no attachment to that enjoyment. If there is relaxation, there is no attachment to that relaxation.

Many Western Buddhists of all traditions have read the songs of Milarepa. We've been inspired and fascinated by them, but do not necessarily see them as teachings that we can apply to our own practice. You teach extensively on the stories and songs of Milarepa; you've even had them retranslated and set to Western-style music. Among all the sources from the Tibetan tradition available to you, why do you emphasize the teachings of Milarepa?

Milarepa was the greatest siddha in Tibet. Out of all the realized masters who lived in Tibet, Milarepa was the greatest. He attained buddhahood in one life with one body: he purified the stains of nadi, prana and bindu[iii] and attained perfect enlightenment.

Milarepa was called the pandit, the learned one. What was he learned about? The definitive meaning, which he expressed in his songs. So when you use his songs as a basis for listening, reflecting and meditating, you have a profound and subtle support for developing your knowledge.

Before we used to sing individual songs, but now we sing the songs together with their stories. We have about eleven or twelve chapters translated, and a lot of them are about Milarepa's encounters with his students, particularly his female students, who became realized themselves. These chapters are all wonderful aids for our practice. These days, people like to study and to meditate, but they also need teachings that are concise. The great thing about these chapters is that they each tell the complete story of Milarepa and one particular disciple or group of disciples. They give the whole path from beginning to end, from when the students first meet Milarepa, describing what their encounter is like, to what happens as they practice and as Milarepa gives them more and more instruction. So in each chapter there is a complete path. And the songs are so profound. Look at just one song, like "The Authentic Portrait of the Middle Way" [see page XX], and see how much is actually in there. It's amazing.

As we sang last night, "E ma, the phenomena of the three realms of samsara, while not existing they appear, how incredibly amazing." It's only two lines, but if you know the meaning of those two lines, their application is vast.

The translations of these songs and stories that we're generally familiar with are couched in high philosophical language. One of the things I find interesting—and effective—is that you've had them translated into straightforward, colloquial language. Because when you think about it, these songs were sung often to illiterate people and in the popular tunes of their day.

Yes, that's right. That's how Milarepa actually sang them, in words that were easy and that people could understand. And actually singing the songs gives special power, because Milarepa himself sang them. When we sing them we are relating to them in the same way that Milarepa and his own students did. That brings the power of blessing and the power of connection.

It seems to me that you are devoting yourself to trying to establish a genuine and complete Buddhist yogic tradition in the West. What is the essence of the path of the tantric yogi?

The essence of the yogic tradition is that disturbing emotions and suffering are not to be abandoned; rather, one should meditate on their true nature. In that way, they are self-liberated, because suffering and the disturbing emotions are self-arisen and self-liberated. Therefore, one needs to train in the understanding of what it means to be self-arisen and self-liberated, in the meditation that is self-arisen and self-liberated, and in the conduct that is self-arisen and self-liberated. That's the whole point. Do you understand?

No. [Laughter.] Well, the question then is how one trains in that.

To understand the principle of self-arisen and self-liberated, you must train in the profound view of Mahamudra, the profound meditation of Mahamudra, and then connect everything you do with that.

For example, if you are very tired and your mind is heavy and dark, you don't abandon that. Instead you sleep and you meditate on the true nature of sleep, which is luminosity. The great siddha Lavapa meditated by sleeping on the side of the road for twelve years, and in that way realized Mahamudra. The whole time he was sleeping he was actually meditating in luminous clarity.

If you have certainty in the profound view of Mahamudra, you'll know what self-arisen and self-liberated means, and you'll delight in meditating. When you gain direct experience, direct realization, then you are really a yogi or a yogini. Then you actually manifest as self-arisen and self-liberated.

So the principle is that there are specific techniques by which every state of mind can be meditated upon and brought to the path.

That's right. When you are skillful and use the methods, then all states of mind can be your friend. All states of mind can be your friend in realizing that the true nature of mind is self-arisen and self-liberated, that all states of mind are actually the same—self-arisen and self-liberated.

You place a strong emphasis on study, particularly on the reasonings of Nagarjuna and Chandrakirti and the other philosophers of Madhyamaka. How does that kind of thinking lead to realization that is ultimately non-conceptual?

One does not need to abandon thoughts. One does not need to make thoughts go away, because thoughts in their essence are self-arisen and self-liberated. According to the second turning of the wheel of dharma, just as thoughts arise, they are nothing other than the freedom from conceptual fabrications. Their true nature is beyond concept—as they appear and as they are liberated, their true nature is beyond concept. According to the third turning, as thoughts arise, they are the nature of luminous clarity. Just as they arise and just as they are liberated, they are of the nature of luminous clarity. And according to mantra Mahamudra, as thoughts arise, their nature is bliss-emptiness, and as they are liberated, their nature is bliss and emptiness.

The mistake comes when we hear the word "nonconceptual" and think there is some difference between conceptual and nonconceptual. Then you think you have to eliminate thoughts, but that's a mistake. The point is to realize the true nature of thoughts. The point is to bring thoughts to the path. Thoughts are the friend of your practice when you can meditate on their essential nature. If you can't do that you're in trouble, because you think you need to get into a nonconceptual state, but thoughts are going to keep arising.

The whole point of Mahamudra is to see the true nature of the thoughts. That's what Mahamudra is—it's nothing other than the true nature of thoughts. When you can see that, then thoughts are your friends.

Mahamudra is the practice of not abandoning thoughts, not abandoning appearances, not abandoning disturbing emotions, not abandoning suffering, but bringing all these to the path and realizing that their true nature is self-arisen and self-liberated.

When I trained in Tibet, I did so mostly in mountain retreats, in caves and in charnel grounds. What I practiced when I was in charnel grounds was bringing thoughts and appearances of demons to the path. Sometimes at night I had thoughts of demons and saw frightening demons, so I meditated on the true nature of that and that became my path. When I was living in the caves in the mountains, I trained in the self-liberation of all thoughts. I trained in recognizing the true nature of the meeting of appearance and mind. In that way, the meeting of appearance and mind becomes self-liberated.

What does "self-liberated" mean?

The analogy is often used of a wave coming up and dissolving back into the ocean. That's a good analogy, but how it actually is is something you have to experience for yourself. As Drogan Sombuyagada said, "When you see on a beautifully bright, clear ocean, with waves coming up and going back down into the ocean, don't you know that this is the lama teaching you that thoughts are dharmakaya?" Self-arisen and self-liberated means that when the thought arises, it's like a wave coming up from the ocean of luminous clarity. And it dissolves back into that luminous clarity. It never leaves being of the nature of luminous clarity, just like a wave never leaves the ocean.

That means, basically, that whatever appears is always luminosity. For example, your thoughts don't come from anywhere and they don't go anywhere. But, at the same time, they appear and they manifest. So that appearance, that arising, is called self-arising and self-liberation because it's nothing other than luminosity itself that's liberated.

[Sings] "Thoughts don't come from anywhere and they don't go anywhere, so how could they be anything other than self-arisen and self-liberated? Just like waves on the ocean." That's how it is.

Milarepa said that the thoughts and appearances of demons are self-arisen and self-liberated. The way he said that was, "What appears as, is perceived as, and is thought of as a ghost—whenever these appear, from the yogi they appear, and whenever they dissolve, into the yogi they dissolve."

Fear arises in us all the time—it is a fundamental building block of samsara—yet fear is not often addressed as a spiritual issue. How do we work with our fear?

The way to work with fear is as follows: See that thoughts of fear neither come nor go. See that thoughts of fear neither arise nor cease. Then look at the essence beyond coming and going, beyond arising and ceasing; look at this essence and let go and relax. When I was sleeping in the charnel grounds and I was afraid of demons, I meditated on the true nature of that fear. Even now I send some students to the charnel grounds and I tell them to meditate like that. That's good.

If you don't realize its true nature, fear causes lots of problems. If you do realize its true nature, fear is great because it gives you a very sharp awareness of the self-arisen and self-liberated. It gives you a wonderful opportunity to meditate on the true nature of mind.

Anger is another one that is good, because anger is very strong and it gives your mind a lot of power. So if you meditate on the true nature of anger when it arises and recognize it as self-arisen and self-liberated, then your anger dissolves and you're left in the true nature of anger, which is bright and clear luminosity. That's great.

In Tibet, there were yogis and yoginis who lived together and they fought a lot with each other. On the outside it looked like they were fighting, but actually what they were doing was using their interaction as a method to meditate on the true nature of anger.

Many Western Buddhists are confused about how to react when they see their spiritual leaders fighting politically, or acting in other ways that don't seem to be in accord with the dharma. Your own Kagyü school has been riven by political struggle in recent years, but this is something no community or school of Buddhism is free of. How do students react to this so that their sense of devotion and faith is not weakened?

In that situation people should know that what appears is just that—it's just an appearance. It's not the way things really are. In the true nature of reality there is no conflict. The true nature of reality transcends conflict, and therefore what appears is a mere appearance—like a dream, like a rainbow, like a moon reflected in the water. That's what people should know.

The heads of the lineages in Tibetan Buddhism are emanations [tulkus]. In fact, such an emanation is one of the examples the Buddha gave for appearance and emptiness, because emanations are not truly existent. So we should especially keep that in mind—that an emanation is the very example of appearance and emptiness, of an empty form.

So therefore when the emanation lamas fight, or appear to fight [laughs], we should know that it's just a mere appearance. Because they are emanations, they don't truly exist; they are appearance and emptiness. Therefore the fighting is appearance and emptiness. It is not real; it is dependently-arisen mere appearance.

When the great lamas fight, since it is just a fight among emanations, know that it has no inherent nature. Know that it is a superficial, relative reality, just a dependently-arisen mere appearance. There's nothing else you need to think about it besides that.

Rinpoche, thank you very much. I thought I was going to do an interview, but I got a teaching on Mahamudra. Thank you.

Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche was born in eastern Tibet in 1934. After completing his early study of Mahayana texts he roamed the charnel grounds and caves of central Tibet for five years practicing Chöd. He received pointing-out instructions from the Sixteenth Karmapa and stayed in the caves around Tsurphu for a year, continuing his Chöd practice and receiving teachings from Dilyak Drupon Rinpoche, the retreat master of Tsurphu. Later, while he was in retreat south of Lhasa, a group of nuns asked for his help dealing with the Chinese. Subsequently he led the nuns to safety in India; many of them still study with him today.

In India, Khenpo Tsultrim received the khenpo degree from the Karmapa and the geshe lharampa degree from the Dalai Lama, recognizing his high attainment in debate and logic. In the late 1970's he traveled to Europe at the request of the Karmapa, and since then he has traveled and taught tirelessly, becoming renowned for his skill in debate, his spontaneous songs and his ability to present the most profound teachings of Vajrayana Buddhism in a clear, accessible, and lively way.

This interview was translated by Ari Goldfield.

^[i]One of the five treatises said to have been dictated to Asanga (circa fourth century C.E.) by the bodhisattva Maitreya, the Uttaratantrashastra is one of the main texts to lay out the understanding of buddhanature. In 2000, it was published with commentary by Jamgön Kongtrul the Great and Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso under the title Buddha Nature.

^[ii]The Sun of Wisdom, published in 2003, is Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso’s commentary on the classic second century Madhyamika text by Nagarjuna, the Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way. He uses Mipham the Great’s commentary as a guide.

^[iii] According to advanced yogic understanding, in the illusory body, mind-consciousness rides on the prana (literally means wind), which travels through pathways, nadi. The bindu (drop, as in dew-drop) is understood as mind’s nourishment. When these three are impure, it signifies that one is caught in the duality of subject and object. When they are purified, body, speech and mind are completely synchronized and emerge in their indestructible (vajra) nature.

From "See the True Nature, then Let Go and Relax in That," an interview with Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche. Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly, Spring 2004.

King of Samadhi sutra:Commentary by Khenchen Thangru rinpoch replied by syncopation_music @ Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:00:05 +0800

syncopation_music — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:00:05 +0800

The first, the precept of body, refers to the vow of physical conduct. Here the Buddha teaches that by observing the precepts of body, the results will be the achievement of the perfect form of a buddha, adorned with the marks of excellence. Among all the details of body precepts, the principal ones are to abandon the three negative actions, killing, taking what is not given, and engaging in sexual misconduct. However, the question arises," Should any action that appears to be negative be avoided in all cases?" The answer is no. There are some circumstances in which a negative action of body, when carried out intelligently, for the sake of others and without any selfishness whatsoever directly benefits other beings.
    A story from a past life of the Buddha illustrates this. It is the story about a shipload of five hundred merchants on a ship traveling from India to the islands off the coast laden with riches. Among the travelers was a murderer named "Spear-wielding Criminal" who intended to kill everyone aboard the ship to keep the riches. The bodhisattva "Prince Fortitude," who was the ship captain, knew about this intention and thought, "If I kill him first, I can save him from the negative karma, from killing five hundred people." So the bodhisattva killed the criminal. Instead of creating negative karma from this act, he accumulated a vast amount of merit. So this story illustrates that, by using discriminating knowledge and pure motivation, a negative action can become virtuous. If our motivation is utterly free from disturbing emotions, the action can be carried out if it relieves the suffering of others or benefits a vast number of beings. Having described the precepts of body, speech and mind, the Buddha then gives three hundred listed topics of instructions. According to some of the pith instructions, we should regard the aggregates as being like a mirage, the sense-base as being like magical illusions.
    When the Transcendent Perfect Conqueror expounded these Dharma teachings defining samadhi that fully reveals the equal nature of all things, a countless number of sentient beings formed the resolve to attain unexcelled true and complete enlightenment, and countless numbers attained non-regression from the state of true and complete enlightenment. The Buddha said: "The sentient beings who will hear these Dharma teachings on entering great compassion will achieve excellence. After hearing this samadhi that fully reveals the equal nature of all things, whoever writes it down, memorizes, retains, and reads it, comprehends, and practices it through non-emotional training, does so repeatedly, and as well, teaches it widely to others, will become the object of giving of all sentient beings."
    When the Transcendent Perfect Conqueror finished speaking, all in attendance, as well as the gods from this world and from the pure realms, rejoiced and praised the words.

http://www.rinpoche.com/samadisutra.html

Pseudo-Zen, ‘Pure Awareness’,& the Wisdom of Differentiation replied by An Eternal Now @ Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:31:11 +0800

An Eternal Now — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:31:11 +0800

I don't know what Buddha-Nature and Pure Awareness is, other than it IS.

And all experiences, thoughts, forms we experience, far from being a hindrance, is actually the vivid proof of Awareness.

The all-perceiving Awareness, not having a perceivable form of its own, nevertheless reveals and takes form as everything, as it is. In mountain just mountain. In music just music.

Pseudo-Zen, ‘Pure Awareness’,& the Wisdom of Differentiation replied by An Eternal Now @ Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:27:53 +0800

An Eternal Now — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:27:53 +0800

Pseudo-Zen, ‘Pure Awareness’, and the Wisdom of Differentiation

By Ted Biringer, on September 13th, 2009

I have observed pseudo-Zen teachers who claim that Zen practice and enlightenment is aimed only at realizing this condition, and learning to expand and sustain it… adherents of this practice are unable to advance and experience the true path of Zen.

Learned audience, many popular “Zen” books advocate the experience of the universal mirror prajna and the prajna of equality, but fail to acknowledge, much less encourage students to realize, the deeper levels of wisdom beyond these partial aspects of the enlightened mind… such books sometimes assert that progress on the path of Zen consists only in expanding the duration that the conditions of ‘oneness’ or ‘pure awareness’ can be sustained…

[but] failing to recognize the wisdom of differentiation, can effectively bar students from the true wisdom of the buddhas and Zen masters. The overall effect of practicing such teachings actually fosters a non-Buddhist disdain for the world of things and events. If such teachings were true, the highest realization of Zen would consist of nothing more than living in a detached state of pure awareness all the time. To become fixated on this aspect of the enlightened mind is to abstain from the zeal, the passion, the joy, and the heartache that gives life its flavor.

…there is much more to Zen Buddhism than experiences of oneness or pure awareness. The practice and enlightenment of Zen includes the wisdom of differentiation, infinite variety, and joyful participation in the world.

Becoming attached to or fixated on the blissful conditions of oneness, or pure awareness is a disease that causes practice and enlightenment to stagnate and become foul. The profound wisdom and skillful techniques of the buddhas and Zen ancestors are beyond the reach of practitioners that stop here. Failing to awaken to the wisdom beyond emptiness and equality, they remain powerless to help others in any truly meaningful way.

~The Flatbed Sutra of Louie Wing

What all the buddhas and all the patriarchs have received and retained, and transmitted one-to-one, is the eternal mirror. They1 have the same view and the same face, the same image and the same cast; they share the same state and realize the same experience. A foreigner appears, a foreigner is reflected—one hundred and eight thousand of them. A Chinese person appears, a Chinese person is reflected—for a moment and for ten thousand years. The past appears, the past is reflected; the present appears, the present is reflected; a buddha appears, a buddha is reflected; a patriarch appears, a patriarch is reflected.
~Dogen, Shobogenzo, Kokyo, Gudo Nishijima & Mike Cross

The vast, unnamable, fathomless void is imperceptible, formless, intangible, and unmoving; it was never born and can never die. Though it is not separate from the myriad things, the myriad things do not alter it; like a clear mirror, it adapts to all things while fundamentally remaining unchanged by them. Similarly, your own basic awareness is able to perfectly perceive all things, without becoming entangled with them. The unnamable true nature or your own mind is, at once, undifferentiated and able to differentiate all things. When the neighbor’s dog barks unexpectedly, your clear awareness spontaneously comprehends it; when a spider walks along the back of your neck, your luminous mind registers it. Who hears the dog? Who feels the spider?

~Louie Wing, ~The Flatbed Sutra of Louie Wing

Daily Buddhist Verses replied by An Eternal Now @ Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:17:33 +0800

An Eternal Now — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:17:33 +0800

Pseudo-Zen, ‘Pure Awareness’, and the Wisdom of Differentiation

By Ted Biringer, on September 13th, 2009

~The Flatbed Sutra of Louie Wing

Daily Buddhist Verses replied by An Eternal Now @ Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:16:42 +0800

An Eternal Now — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:16:42 +0800

~Louie Wing, ~The Flatbed Sutra of Louie Wing

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See the True Nature, then Let Go and Relax in That

King of Samadhi sutra:Commentary by Khenchen Thangru rinpoch replied by syncopation_music @ Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:00:05 +0800

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