Manjusri: "Noble sir, one who stays in the fixed determination
of the vision of the uncreated is not capable of conceiving the spirit of
unexcelled perfect enlightenment. However, one who lives among created things,
in the mines of passions, without seeing any truth, is indeed capable of
conceiving the spirit of unexcelled perfect enlightenment.
Noble sir, flowers like the blue lotus, the red lotus, the white lotus, the
water lily, and the moon lily do not grow on the dry ground in the wilderness,
but do grow in the swamps and mud banks. Just so, the Buddha-qualities do not
grow in living beings certainly destined for the uncreated but do grow in those
living beings who are like swamps and mud banks of passions. Likewise, as seeds
do not grow in the sky but do grow in the earth, so the Buddha-qualities do not
grow in those determined for the absolute but do grow in those who conceive the
spirit of enlightenment, after having produced a Sumeru-like mountain of
egoistic views.
Noble sir, through these considerations one can understand that all passions
constitute the family of the Tathágatas. For example, noble sir, without going
out into the great ocean, it is impossible to find precious, priceless pearls.
Likewise, without going into the ocean of passions, it is impossible to obtain
the mind of omniscience."-- Vimalakirti Sutra
Chapter One
The Free And Well-Favored Human Body, So Difficult To Obtain
(i.e. The success or not of your spiritual journey depends on these [four] foundations.
Appreciation of the value of the precious human rebirth; -- chapter 1
Understanding impermanence and death; -- chapter 2
Understanding the causes, conditions and results of positive and negative actions (karma); -- chapter 4
And understanding how all of cyclic existence is problematic and not free from suffering, -- chapter 3
Regardless of your station in life, these are the key important factors
which form the basis of the spiritual journey.
-- Lama Karma Samten Gyatso)
(i.e. "The four foundations are meditation on the precious human rebirth, on impermanence, on karma and on the faults of samsara. They are common to all levels of practice and all schools" -- Thrangu Rinpoche
Four foundations of meditation (Tib. tun mong gi ngon dro shi) These are the four thoughts that turn the mind. They are reflection on precious human birth, impermanence and the inevitability of death, karma and its effects, and the pervasiveness of suffering in samsara.
Four ordinary foundations (Tib. tün mong gi ngon dro shi) This is meditation on the four thoughts that turn the mind towards dharma which are the precious human birth, impermanence, samsara, and karma.
Four thoughts that turn the mind (Tib. blo do nam shi) These are realizing the preciousness of human birth, the impermanence of life, the faults of samsara, and realizing that pleasure and suffering result from good and bad actions.)
I. The free and well-favored human body, so difficult to obtain.
A. The general explanation of being free and well favored, so difficult to obtain.
(i.e. The precious, hard to get, human life with its freedoms, endowments and opportunity to learn the Dharma and to put it into practice. Everything else is a waste of time. If we waste this great opportunity we will end up in the three lower realms for very long. - - It is not a matter of getting something, or rejecting something. It is a matter of gradually purifying the body speech and mind by following the Dharma, gathering the two accumulations of merit and wisdom, and directly realizing the non-dual nature of our own mind and of everything. - - It may be hard at first, but the more we practice, the more we accumulate merit and virtues, and the more it become easy to do it. It is like developing a habit, a skill, but it is accumulation of karma in order to transcend all habits, all conditioning, all karma formation. That is why we need both method and wisdom all the time.)
Within the general topic there are
· 1. The summary of the essence
2. The extensive explanation of the nature
1. The summary of the essence
(The support of establishing enlightenment is being "well-favored". This teaching is for those with the precious human life and with the bodhicitta motivation. Urging us to take full benefit of this precious and rare opportunity for Enlightenment.)
Now from the explanation of the real body of the text, first, briefly, the support of establishing enlightenment is being "well-favored."
As for the details, here is the praise:
My friends, this body, the precious essence of freedom and favor,
Is very hard to gain within the six realms of beings,
Thus, like a blind man who has found a precious treasure,
With excellent joy, may good and benefit be accomplished.
Who has crossed over to enlightenment? This is the spiritual friend who has established enlightenment. The instruction is given to those with the good fortune of bodhicitta, the wish for enlightenment.
In regard to attaining the holy freedoms and favors, it is wonderful even for those who are not poor to attain what is supremely precious, let alone the poor. If those who are blind and helpless attain it, it is even more astonishingly wonderful than that.
As for praise of beings, who attain the free and well favored human body, while they are whirled about in the six lokas of samsara, The Sutra Teaching the Freedoms and Favors says:
It is like this: Like a blind person who finds a precious jewel among earth and stones, sentient beings wandering in samsara, blinded by cataracts of ignorance who find their real humanity are supremely joyful. And so we ought to practice the Dharma, which is always excellent.
2. The extensive explanation of the nature,
There are eight topics
a. The extensive explanation of the eighteen freedoms and favors
(8 freedoms, 10 endowments of the precious human life.
Without them we couldn't have access to and practice the dharma, no opportunity for Enlightenment)b. Not being steadfast, even if we have the freedoms and favors
(If we waste this great opportunity, we will end up in the three lower realms for a long time without even any knowledge of karma and its consequences. We will thus have no opportunity to get out of them except for one chance out of a billion-billion.)
c. The instruction to strive for the Dharma
(Now that we have come out of the three lower realms and have this very hard to find opportunity, we should rely on the dharma, gather the two accumulations of merit and wisdom, and completely go beyond samsara, so we will never go back to the lower realms. Death is inevitably approaching, and we don't know when. Nothing else makes sense.)
d. How we must work hard at this
(Now that we have come out of the three lower realms and have this very hard to find opportunity, there is no better time to try to escape the whole cycle of samsara. After losing this precious human life we will not be able to do it for a very long hard time.)
e. The suitability of this
(This is what we have to understand, to do to directly see while we can, and the final unborn uncaused result: All suffering and happiness are from our own mind with ignorance or without ignorance; but not from the mind-only. The is no absolute good and bad; nothing to accept or produce, nothing to reject or drop. But still nothing is un-caused, or without an effect. The problem is the belief in inherent existence, the fixation and grasping based on that. When the mind is purified, and the real non-dual nature of samsaric objects is directly seen, they naturally turn into inseparable kayas, wisdoms beyond conceptualization, and pure Buddha fields. Objects still appear, but they are seen as illusions. Then the Two Truths of dependent origination and emptiness are united. That is why the path is using both method skillful means upaya and wisdom prajña knowing the emptiness of all objects and means. This is in accord with the real non-dual nature of everything beyond the extremes of existence, non-existence, both, neither.)
f. The samsaric torments if we do not make an effort now
(So we need both together, this precious human life as the support, and the Dharma to practice. One without the other is totally useless)
g. The teaching of the freedoms and favors, which support the Dharma
(Once we have this precious human life as the support, the rain of Dharma naturally falls. And vice versa. To increase its benefits we need to practice it. This is like a self-amplifying virtuous process; each of these two elements support each other. Realizing this we practice with joy. That is the way good karma and favorable five aggregates are related: not separate or different, not the same.)
h. Why the freedoms and favors are difficult to obtain
(Once we have fallen into the three lower realms, this human life is extremely hard to get because, there, we are continually tormented, we have no leisure to learn the dharma, and even don't have any understanding of karma and its consequences. So, the probability to produce enough good karma to have a rebirth as a human is extremely infinitesimal. It is even harder to have both a human life and the actual ability and opportunity to practice the Dharma. So let's not waste it and fall back to the three lower realms.)
a) The extensive explanation of the eighteen freedoms and favors:
(i.e. eight freedoms, ten endowments of the precious human life. Without them we couldn't have access to and practice the dharma, no opportunity for Enlightenment.)
If you ask what are these freedoms and excellent favors [endowments],
We were not born in Hell [1], or yet among
hungry ghosts [2].
We are not beasts, [3] nor long-lived gods, [4]
nor vicious barbarians [5],
We were not reared in wrong views, nor in a time without Buddhas [6],
Nor have we been born as idiots without speech, [7]
We are completely free from all these eight non-freedoms.
We were born in the human realm, and in a central country.
Also we sound in all our faculties,
Not having done inexpiably wrong in deeds and actions,
We are properly faithful to the objects of faith.
Thus the five holy favors regarding oneself are complete.
The Buddha has appeared and he has taught the Dharma.
Moreover, at this time the teachings still remain.
So that they may continue, people still follow them,
And others are treating us with kindness and concern.
These five favors are those that exist in regard to others.
Those were the eighteen kinds of being free and well favored.
On this auspicious occasion they are complete within us.
So strive from the heart, that liberation may be accomplished.
(i.e. Precious - Basic conditions necessary to practice the Dharma
1. Freedom from rebirth as a hell being (from having killed with hatred; suffering heat and cold)
2. Freedom from rebirth as a hungry ghost (from greed; suffering from thirst and hunger, also heat, cold, fear, tiredness)
3. Freedom from rebirth as an animal (from stupidity and ignorance; suffering from stupidity and confusion, heat, cold, hunger, thirst, exploitation by men, the law of the jungle)
4. Freedom from rebirth as a long life god (from jealousy of the virtues of others, or pride; suffering from constant fighting, and long death ending in the three LR)
5. Freedom from rebirth in a place with no dharma (think you are smart enough to find it alone)
6. Freedom from rebirth in a time before a Buddha (same; thanks for His great kindness)
7. Freedom from rebirth with impaired senses of body or mind (have compassion for other)
8. Freedom from rebirth with wrong views (like rejection of the Law of Karma, the continuity of consciousness...) -- see the 16 wrong views bellow
Ten Endowments -- ten blessings which enable us to practice the Dharma
Five personal
1. Rebirth as a human being
2. Rebirth in a place with dharma
3. Rebirth with all sense powers and able to understand and practice dharma
4. Not having done one of the five bad deeds with immediate retribution (like killing mother, father, arhat, harming a Buddha, causing a schism in the Sangha) we have a karmic link with the dharma
5. Having faith in the three baskets (or three gems) and the Buddhist teachings as a whole.
1. Being born in a time where a Buddha has appeared
2. Being born in a time where a Buddha has taught (great kindness and compassion for us)
3. Being born in a time where the dharma is stable and flourishing (living tradition)
4. Being born in a time where there are dharma practitioners (available to anyone)
5. Being born in a time where there are kind benefactors (and Teachers)
So we have all the conditions amenable and necessary to practice the dharma.
We rejoice to have this precious human life and this potential (even though this body and mind is in the nature of suffering).
Still, these opportunities and these blessings are not permanently established. In fact, they could easily be destroyed and disappear.
Note: It is not a luck that I have this precious human life; it is due to our accumulated karma. So this precious human life has causes and conditions, and is functional, although everything is empty of inherent existence. It is both empty and dependently originated (functional: being both an effect and a cause).
In addition, we need The Three Confidences and they are:
1. Faith in the clear mind arises when we see the supreme qualities of the Three Jewels. We develop devotion for and interest in the Buddha as the teacher who shows the path, the Dharma, which becomes the path, and the Sangha, which guides one in order to accomplish the path.
2. Faith of desire, the wish to be enlightened, to study and practice the Dharma. Seeing what samsara is, we sincerely wish to escape, to reach enlightenment. Recognizing the assets of virtue, we wish to make them our own. Seeing the defects of non-virtue, we wish to avoid them. These wishes inspire the faith of desire.
3. Faith in the truth of karma (causes and effects), trusting that happiness is the fruit of virtuous causes and suffering is the fruit of non-virtuous causes.
One must have all the above qualities together to be freed from samsara.
-- Khenchen Konchog Gyaltsen Rinpoche
Eight Freedoms (Skt. ashtakshana, Tib. tel wa gye).
These are not living in hell realm, not living in the hungry ghost realm, not living in animal realm, not a long-living god, not having wrong views, not being born in a country without dharma, being mute, or being born in an age without Buddhas.
Assets, ten or ten endowments (Skt. dashasashpada, Tib. jor wa chu) These are the factors conducive to practice the dharma. They are being human, being born in a Buddhist place, having sound senses, being free from extreme evil, having faith in the dharma, a Buddha having appeared, a Buddha having taught, the flourishing of his teachings, people following the teachings, and having compassion towards others.
The four obstacles that hinder one from complete enlightenment: These are hostility or dislike of dharma, strong belief in self, fear of suffering so one doesn't enter the Mahayana, and lack of helping others.)
We should take this to heart. Why? The life of the king of Brahmins Drvkyi Kyeche says:
It is hard to find the opposites of the eight non-freedoms.
It is hard to find attainment of humanity.
It is hard to find the freedoms in purity and completeness.
It is hard to find the arising of a Buddha.
It is hard to find true powers that are without defect.
It is hard to listen to the teachings of a Buddha.
It is hard to find the friendship of any holy beings.
It is hard to meet with genuine spiritual friends.
If we are born as Hell beings, pretas, or animals; distracted by suffering, we have no freedom of body. The blind, who cannot associate verbal symbols with their meanings, have no freedom of speech. Those who are long-lived may never see the practice of Dharma. Buddhas may be absent, so that they arise in a dark kalpa without the appearance of the teachings. Even if Buddhas appear, people may be coarse barbarians with no idea of entering. Even those who want to enter, falling into extremes of exaggeration or denigration, may fall into the four wrong views. Such people have no freedom of mind. None of these have an opportunity to practice Dharma. They have been deprived of it by their own bad karma of the eight non-freedoms. By abandoning those eight, one always has the corresponding freedoms.
The Commentary on the Prajñápáramitá in Eight Thousand Lines says:
Beings in Hell, the pretas, and the animals;
The long-lived gods and those who are barbarians,
Those in an age without Buddhas and those who have wrong views,
These and the blind comprise the eight states of non-freedom.
The Spiritual Letter, says:
Those who grasp wrong views and animals,
The hungry ghosts and beings born in Hell,
Those without the word of Victory,
And those who are born as savage barbarians,
The blind, the feeble-minded, and the gods;
These possess the faults of the eight non-freedoms.
Those who have the freedoms from these eight
Should strive in eliminating further births.
As for being well-favored, the Moon in your Heart Sutra says:
Those for whom the ten qualities are complete
Are said to be the ones who are well-favored.
What are these ten qualities. The following have been listed:
1. We have left behind the lower realms of life.
2. We are not feeble-minded.
3. Our senses are not impaired.
4. We are born as vessels.
5. Our health is good.
6. We are not impoverished.
7. We are not enslaved.
8. We have the power to use words.
9. We have come within view of many noble beings.
That is many people's view of what they are.
But here they are as in the Sutra of the Twelve Perfections:
These are the five perfections pertaining to oneself
1. We have attained the human condition.
2. We are born in a country where there are noble ones.
3. Our powers are sound.
4. We have not performed extremely evil deeds.
5. We have faith in the proper topics of faith.These are the five perfections pertaining to others.
6. A Buddha has come.
7. The Dharma has been taught.
8. The holy Dharma still remains.
9. Others also practice it.
10. Others show kindness to those who practice the Dharma.
As for kindness to others, the spiritual friend apprehends us with compassion, and leads us to the Dharma.
As for there being twelve perfections, the two bases of distinction are also counted. [8]
A tantra commentary says:
A central human being with faculties that are sound,
Without extreme bad actions, but with faith in the objects of faith.
These are the five kinds of favor pertaining to oneself.
A Buddha has come and taught, and the teaching still remains.
The teaching still is followed and beings are kind to others.
These are the five kinds of favor pertaining to other beings. [9]
Here the freedoms are the essence and the favors are its particular dharmas. This is like the blue utpala lotus and its stalk and so forth.
The Middle Length Prajñápáramitá says:
If even becoming human is difficult to attain,
Why even speak of completing the view of the precious freedoms?
b) Not being steadfast, even if we have the freedoms and favors
(I.E. If we waste this great opportunity, we will end up in the three lower realms for a long time without even any knowledge of karma and its consequences. We will thus have no opportunity to get out of them except for one chance out of a billion billion.)
Even though we may have attained all of these freedoms, by craving samsaric happiness even a little:
If we accomplish no benefit within this life,
We may not hear later even the words "the higher realms."
Cycling again and again on the wheel of samsara
For a long time we will have to stay in the lower realms.
Having no knowledge of what we should accept and reject,
We will certainly go upon a mistaken path
Wandering in samsara, without beginning or end.
(I.E. Evaluation for our next rebirth
· Have we accumulated enough merit: love, compassion, wisdom, bodhicitta, six paramitas
· Have we purified all our bad karma and evil
· To be reborn in the three upper realms.
Now that we have the knowledge of karma and its consequences we should take this into account and act accordingly, because once we are in the three lower realms we loose the ability to distinguish between right and wrong actions, and thus keep accumulating the causes for more suffering, keep cycling in the three lower realms.)
If within this life, so good to obtain, we do not practice the beneficial holy Dharma, by the power of karma we will be born in the lower realms. There we shall not so much as hear the words "higher realms," to say nothing of going there.
The Bodhicaryavatara [10] says:
As for our behavior, which is of such a kind,
If we shall not even gain a human body,
It goes without saying we cannot go to higher realms.
For if we shall not even gain a human body,
We shall do only evil, and there can be no good.Now when there is a chance for excellent behavior,
If, even so, good actions are not what we perform,
What are you going to do when they have come for you
With the stupefying sufferings of the lower realms?
If we go to the lower realms, we shall not be liberated for a very long time.
The same text says:
Even in the course of a thousand million kalpas
I will not even hear the words, "the higher realms."
c) The instruction to strive for the Dharma
(i.e. Now that we have come out of the three lower realms and have this very hard to find opportunity, we should rely on the dharma, gather the two accumulations of merit and wisdom, and completely go beyond samsara, so we will never go back to the lower realms. Death is inevitably approaching, and we don't know when. Nothing else makes sense.)
An opportunity of liberation from the limitless depth of samsara is hard to find. So let us strive for the Dharma with all our hearts. That is the instruction.
Therefore, now when we still have the power to do so,
By auspicious conditions that accord with the proper path,
Relying on the inexhaustible wholesome dharmas
Gained by having gathered the two accumulations,
Let us pass beyond the city of samsara.
i.e. Conclusion:
We should feel afraid of losing this great opportunity (and for the suffering of the three Lower Realms) and do whatever it takes to recreate it or bring it to its fulfillment.
We should also have compassion for all other human beings who, without knowing it, are wasting their time and creating more of their suffering.
It is as if, in an eternity of suffering, we have a very brief moment of chance to escape. This kind of opportunity will not present itself for another eternity after that. All we have to do is to realize, using the gift of intelligence and heart we have, the true nature of reality. Anything else is a waste of time and opportunity. Any pleasure is negligible compared to an eternity of suffering. That is the only thing that gives life a meaning. And it is gone so fast.
So we should drop other attachments to temporary pleasures that create more suffering here now and in latter lives. Drop this illusion of a body and of a self. Cultivate renunciation and desire for Liberation for all -- Enlightenment. Study and practice Dharma.)
Keep in mind aging, becoming old and decrepit, and dying. Now while we still can, let us be guided by the path of liberation. If we do whatever goodness we can, we shall surely come forth from samsara.
The Sutra of the Vast Display says:
O monks, because death, aging and enfeeblement are non-existent, because by nourishing goodness, one's powers will be transformed, and because enlightenment will proliferate, strive to accumulate merit and wisdom. For you the three cities of samsara will be emptied. The gates to the lower realms will be cut off. The stairway to the higher realms will be established. The realm of liberation will be attained.
d) How we must work hard at this
(i.e. Now that we have come out of the three lower realms and have this very hard to find opportunity, there is no better time to try to escape the whole cycle of samsara. After losing this precious human life we will not be able to do it for a very long hard time.)
When the freedoms and favors of knowing about and establishing such benefit and goodness are accomplished by a guide who is our spiritual friend, extreme situations do not manifest. When this precious ship has been attained in the middle of the fearful, limitless ocean of samsara:
If we do not cross the limitless ocean of samsara
Now at the time of having attained this precious ship,
Then how can we do it at another time
When painful waves of the kleshas are always utterly raging?
If we have a great ship, which will serve our purpose, we should use it to cross the ocean. Similarly, having attained this ship of humanity, we should cross the great ocean of samsara, so fearful and unbearable, whose beginning and end are not apparent. Because of wandering in constant birth, old age, sickness, and death, samsaric situations are never bearable. Shantideva says in the Bodhicaryavatara:
Whoever with the support of this ship of human birth,
Can cross the great waters of the river of suffering,
Since later such a ship may be difficult to find,
Would be wrong to sleep at this time, because of stupidity.
e) The suitability of this, Mind
(i.e. This is what we have to understand, to do / to directly see while we can, and the final unborn / uncaused result: All suffering and happiness are from our own mind with ignorance or without ignorance; but not from the mind-only. There is no absolute good and bad; nothing to accept or produce, nothing to reject or drop. But still nothing is un-caused, or without an effect. The problem is the belief in inherent existence, the fixation and grasping based on that. When the mind is purified, and the real non-dual nature of samsaric objects is directly seen, they naturally turn into inseparable kayas, wisdoms beyond conceptualization, and pure Buddha-fields. Objects still appear, but they are seen as illusions. Then the Two Truths of dependent origination and emptiness are united. That is why the path is using both method skillful means upaya and wisdom prajña / knowing the emptiness of all objects and means. This is in accord with the real non-dual nature of everything beyond the extremes of existence, non-existence, both, neither.)
Because the freedoms and favors are so difficult to attain:
Therefore, quickly donning the armor of exertion
Clear the murk of mind and the events of mind,
And thus complete the path of spotless, luminous wisdom.
May the path of enlightenment be without obstacles.
When the turbulence of samsaric mind and mental events is pacified, the luminous wisdom of the nature of mind naturally rises. Becoming familiar with this is called the path of enlightenment. Try to practice it uninterruptedly day and night, abandoning sleep and tiredness. Just remain there.
(i.e. More on the Union of the Two Aspects of the real nature of the Mind:
The goal is to quickly realize the real nature of our own mind:
Emptiness
And clarity / luminosity / cognitive lucidity.
Like not existing, and not non-existing...the union of the two.
Like empty but still functional.
Like inseparability of appearances and emptiness, of wisdom and space.
Like inseparability of method / upaya / skillful means and wisdom / prajña /
emptiness.
Like the inseparability of the relative and the absolute, of samsara and
Nirvana.
Like the Union of the Two Truths: appearances dependently originated and
emptiness.
Union means non-duality: not one, not two. Not separate or different, not
the same. Interdependent.
Not realism / Eternalism, not idealism / nihilism, not dualism, not monism.
This real nature is beyond any description, beyond any conceptualization, but we use those concepts to say what it is not, thus eliminating the wrong views, and to point toward it.
Once the real nature of our body, speech and mind are seen for what they are, they are seen as the Buddha's Trikaya. Once the five poisons are seen for what they really are, they are transmuted into the five wisdoms. Once the real nature of all appearances are seen for what they are, they are self-liberating, and seen as pure Buddha-fields.)
i.e.
Clarity (Tib. selwa) also translated as luminosity. The nature of mind is that it is empty of inherent existence, but the mind is not just void-ness, completely empty because it has this clarity, which is awareness or the knowing of mind. So clarity is a characteristic of emptiness (shunyata) of mind.
Luminosity (Tib. selwa) In the third turning everything is void, but this void-ness is not completely empty because it has luminosity. Luminosity or clarity allows all phenomena to appear and is a characteristic of emptiness (Skt. shunyata).
Co-emergent wisdom (Skt. sahajajnana, Tib. lhen chik kye pay yeshe) The advanced realization of the inseparability of samsara and nirvana and how these arise simultaneously and together.
Eight mental fabrications or complications Not having the eight mental fabrications is to be without a beginning, without a cessation, without nihilism, without Eternalism, without going, without coming, not being separate, and not being non-separate.
Five poisons (Tib. dug) these are passion aggression, delusion, pride, and jealousy.
Five wisdoms (Tib. yeshe nga) Upon reaching enlightenment, the eight consciousnesses are transformed into the five wisdoms: the mirror-like wisdom, discriminating wisdom, the wisdom of equality, the all-accomplishing wisdom, and the Dharmadhatu wisdom.
Four extremes (Skt. catushkoti, Tib. mu shi) These are a belief in the existence of everything (also called "Eternalism"), a belief that nothing exists (also called "nihilism"), a belief that things exist and don't exist, and the brief reality is something other than existence and non-existence.
(i.e. Vast un-originated self-luminous wisdom space is the ground of being - the beginning and the end of confusion. The presence of awareness in the primordial state has no bias toward enlightenment or non-enlightenment. This ground of being which is known as pure or original mind is the source from which all phenomena arise. It is known as the great mother, as the womb of potentiality in which all things arise and dissolve in natural self-perfected-ness and absolute spontaneity. -- Dzogchen Practice in Everyday Life, HH Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche)
(i.e. Now, one can present Mahamudra in different ways. For example, it
can be presented as ground Mahamudra, path Mahamudra, and fruition Mahamudra.
When it is explained in even more detail, it can be explained as the Four Yogas
of Mahamudra, each of which has this threefold classification, thus yielding a
twelve-fold Mahamudra. Explanation of this twelve-fold classification seems
quite elaborate, but, generally speaking, the idea of ground Mahamudra is quite
similar to the Madhyamika explanation of relative and absolute truth. What
ground Mahamudra refers to is the luminous energy aspect of the mind that
is within every sentient being. Having understood the ground this way, one
listens to and contemplates the teachings and then applies them in meditation.
This is the path aspect of Mahamudra. Doing so, one becomes clearer about the
whole idea of luminosity and the experience of meditation progresses. Having
listened and contemplated, one gradually develops consistency in practice until
one eventually reaches the point of understanding the vipasyana experience,
which is learning to rest the mind in its natural state. In other words, through
long, consistent effort, one is actually maturing and ripening the basic
emptiness and luminosity of the mind.
Thus, the purpose of explaining the Mahamudra teachings is to
help everyone understand and realize their own innate nature not something new
or extra. In order to understand this innate nature, which has always been
within, one listens to and contemplates the teachings and applies them through
meditation, which brings about the realization that this quality has always been
there; one is not acquiring something new.
What one needs to do in order to realize this luminous wisdom
energy of the mind is to eliminate the obscurations, or kleshas, which
one has been accumulating from beginning-less time. Through eliminating these
obscurations, one comes to the fruition of realizing the luminous wisdom mind.
To eliminate or transform these kleshas is very difficult. Why? First of all, we
have become familiar with these conflicting emotions since beginning-less time.
In a sense, these kleshas have been friends of ours for a very long time. Since
they have been friends of ours for such a long time, it is very hard to abandon
or give them up immediately. Therefore, tremendous training is required to
transmute these kleshas.
Generally speaking, it is very difficult to separate the nature of the mind from
the mind's own obscurations, because of how they bond together; it seems that
there is really no separation between the two. In order to understand the
difference, one needs to listen to many teachings. Getting the appropriate
information is required. One needs to listen and contemplate, to get enough
intellectual feedback, so to speak, to meditate upon that and, having really
understood it, to eliminate the confusion once one has grasped the actual
realization of wisdom itself. That is the ultimate perfection of realization,
free from obscuration, which is known as fruition.
The degree to which one individual can understand a teaching depends on his or
her depth of comprehension of this wisdom. Whether it is a Mahayana teaching or
a Madhyamaka teaching, the aim is to express the ultimate nature of Mahamudra.
If an individual lacks this depth of wisdom, then even if given the highest
teaching the individual will not grasp the meaning. Therefore, it is said that
there are no meaningless or senseless teachings of the Buddha. They all have
meaning and all make sense, if we can only comprehend them.
-- From: The Mahamudra prayer, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche - KTD -- See also)
(i.e. When the time comes that you can perceive simultaneously the
appearance of things without this causing their void-ness to be obscured to your
mind, and their void-ness without your mind ceasing to make their appearance
dawn, you have directly manifested the excellent pathway mind that perceives
everything from the single, integrated point of void-ness and dependent arising
being synonymous. The attainment of the resultant two unified Buddha bodies
comes from the unified practice of wisdom and method; this follows from the fact
that all objects have both void-ness and appearance [levels of truth].
-- The Main Road of the Triumphant Ones, The First Panchen Lama)
The Five Stages says:
All the complexities of mind and mental events
At the time when these are completely pacified
Arise as luminosity, the state of wisdom, (i.e. Transmutation of the five poisons into the five wisdoms)
This is without conceptions and has no center or limit. (i.e. Wisdoms beyond conceptualization, beyond mental fabrications.)
Here, "Mind," means exaggerated conceptions [11], which support the three realms. By the expressions of subsequent analysis [12] in terms of these there arise murky disturbances that obscure Such-ness. But when these conceptions are completely pacified, we enter into wisdom that is completely non-conceptualized. (i.e. Transmutation of the five poisons into the five wisdoms beyond conceptualization)
The Two Truths says:
Mind and mental contents [13] are merely conceptualization [14],
Exaggerated phenomena, the three realms of samsara(i.e. All merely imputed by the mind, mental fabrications -- dependent on the mind, not existent, but not from the mind-only and completely non-existent.)
Samsaric mind correlates with the generalized conception [15]
of "this," when an object is first seen [16].
"That's an utpala lotus" is the mind's consciousness [17]
of such a first moment. Then, as we discriminate [18]
various distinctions of that object, we make analytic demarcations of the
contents of mind. Here there are such conceptions as, "this utpala lotus is
blue in color, and round in shape. It has a blossom, stamens, and pistil."
(i.e. All based on the belief of inherent existence of something, or based on
the belief of some absolute, some impartially observed characteristics. We think
we are objectively perceiving the characteristics and objects, and thus simply
impartially being conscious of their presence. We are not aware that all
perceptions and consciousnesses are based on accumulated karma, dependent on the
actual five aggregates. So we believe in real impartial discrimination,
real classification, real recognition...)
The Center and Extremes says:
To see the object as "that" is consciousness.
Distinctions of that are objects of the mind.
The Abhidharmakosha [19] says:
There are conception and analytic discernment and these may be fine and coarse.
All who are bound in such conception and analytical discernment, bound by such habitual patterns of mind and mental events, are blocked from the level of Buddhahood. (i.e. It is because of this ignorance, the belief in inherent existence, the belief in real characteristics, real objects, real perception, real consciousnesses, that we develop attachment, fears, and all other defilements. Because of this there is cyclic karma formation and suffering.)
The Madhyamakavatara [20] says:
When all the dry firewood of knowable objects has been burned,
There is peace, the Dharmakaya of the victorious ones.
Then there is no arising, and also no cessation.
Cessation of mind brings manifestation of the kayas.When, within self-awareness wisdom, we become enmeshed in the net of the kleshas, because of the confusion of grasping and fixation, that is called "samsaric mind," the dim and dismal cellar of examination and analysis. Liberation from that is Buddhahood. The enlightened object and perceiver are free from the attachment to the examination and analysis of grasping and fixation.
(i.e. When those illusion-like appearances are directly seen for what they really are, when there is realization that there is no absolute / objectively perceived characteristics of any kind, then they are naturally "transmuted" into kayas, wisdoms, and Buddha-fields. If fact, they have always been pure, it was just a matter of perception with ignorance of their real nature. There has never been any real arising, duration and cessation of anything inherently existing.
-- There is apparent dependent origination / causality / perception / consciousness, but nothing is inherently existing in this ocean of interdependence. No absolute causes, effects or causality, but no complete absence of causality either. No real production, no complete absence of production either. The real nature of everything is beyond description, beyond any conceptualization, but, still, we can say that everything is not existent, not non-existent, not both, not neither.
-- Samsara and Nirvana are not different or separate, not the same.)
The Praise of the Vajra of Mind, says:
If we are enmeshed within the net of kleshas,
"Mind" is that which is expressible by speech.
If we should be separated from the kleshas,
This is the very thing that is known as Buddhahood.
The Abhisamayalankara says:
Having "big mind" is the jewel itself
Buddhahood is having "big mind," or the great wisdom. (i.e. The samsaric mind transmuted into Buddha mind by directly realizing its real nature: being aware of characteristics and objects, using skillful means, but at the same time, being fully aware of their real nature. That is the Union of The Two Truths as realized by the Buddhas. Inseparability of appearances and emptiness. -- So Nirvana is not different than samsara; it is not going somewhere else, not producing something new; not dropping something bad. It is knowing the real nature of the mind and of everything while using them. No absolute, only relative dependently arisen truths, only adapted skillful means. -- Samsara and Nirvana are not separate or different, not the same.)
The Sutra on the Array of Qualities, says:
The mind of sentient beings is that of false conception.
However, the great wisdom is the mind of Buddhahood.
Just like gold in mountains or in the banks of rivers,
Sometimes it is pure and sometimes it is not.(i.e. Nothing new created, it is more like "purifying" something already there: the Buddha-potential, the Buddha-nature.)
In Mantrayana big [21] mind and its big kleshas are said to be wisdom itself. It is like that:
The dimness that does not know that is purified of its blindness.
(i.e. The process of purification, or removing the ignorance of the real nature of the mind, and of everything. The gradual process of letting go of the defilements, the egoistic obsessions and passions. this letting go of attachments is not done actively by dropping them but the automatic consequential result of directly seeing their real nature.)
The unceasing desire of mind is stupidity. When we meditate, objects still appear within awareness, but awareness of concept and analysis ceases. (i.e. The problem is not pure or impure dharmas, nor their appearance, but the ignorance of their real nature. The problem is thinking that concepts represent real things, absolute characteristics and relations. The problem is the fixation and grasping based on the belief in inherent existence. Appearances will not disappear; only the belief in the inherent existence of dharmas and the consequential attachments and fears will be pacified.)
(i.e. When the time comes that you can perceive simultaneously the appearance of things without this causing their void-ness to be obscured to your mind, and their void-ness without your mind ceasing to make their appearance dawn, you have directly manifested the excellent pathway mind that perceives everything from the single, integrated point of void-ness and dependent arising being synonymous. The attainment of the resultant two unified Buddha bodies comes from the unified practice of wisdom and method; this follows from the fact that all objects have both void-ness and appearance [levels of truth]. -- The First Panchen Lama, The Main Road of the Triumphant Ones)
The Sutra on the Bases of Discipline says:
Within Dhyana O monks, though the motion of mind has ceased, objects still appear within the sense-consciousnesses. Objects whirl with the motions of samsara. But now they are like fleeting reflections in a still pond.
(i.e. Objects are still dependently arisen because not from the mind-only, not completely non-existent, but they are know to be empty of inherent existent, not really existing independently of the mind. That is the inseparability of appearances and mind, their non-duality: not one, not two. They are not separate or different, not the same.
-- And from the point of view of the discrimination between objects, since there is no real impartial absolute characteristics (they are all relative to the mind), then there is no real impartial absolute basis for discrimination, for identification of objects. That is why all dharmas are said to be "of one taste". That is their non-duality: they are not separate or different, but still not the same.
-- But it should be clear that the Middle Way is staying away from the four extremes of: realism/Eternalism, nihilism/idealism, dualism, and monism/oneness. These four extreme views are not the real nature of everything, even if they might be used as skillful means in particular situations in order to be used as antidotes to their apparent opposite until there is transcendence. The Middle Way is not accepting anything as absolute (all views are flawed, empty of inherent existence), but still not rejecting any views, not rejecting dependent origination, causality, as if they were completely non-existent, of from the mind-only, or un-caused, or non-functional.-- That is the main message of this whole great chariot: the real nature of reality: non-duality: not one, not two; not the same, not different or separate. That is the inseparability of appearances and emptiness; inseparability of dharmas and dharmata; inseparability of dependent origination and emptiness; inseparability of The Two Truths; inseparability of method/upaya and wisdom/prajña; luminous space; inseparability of the two kayas or of the Trikaya; "From the time they appear, their birth and such are nature-less"; "Within the appearance of mind there is no nature at all"; "the perfection of the paramitas is practicing them while knowing the emptiness of the three"; "Even though various images rise within a mirror, The surface of that mirror is really only one"; "Objects are uncertain, appearing in various ways. In the great impartiality, mind has no reference points." "Inseparable and primordial appearance and emptiness Simplicity without perception of either one or many. With neither bias or partiality, all is equal, Equal appearance and emptiness; equal in truth or falsehood. Existence is equal and non-existence is also equal. This is equality transcending all extremes, The single state of the space of primordial purity."; "Insight without fixation is the completeness of being, The nature of the great perfection, the natural state."; "Inseparable absolute and relative Is the great mandala of truth."; "inseparability of space and luminosity/wisdom"
-- All of these mean the same thing: we have to unite the two truths, to know the real nature of anything as it arise in dependence, as we use it. We have to combine method and wisdom all the time.
-- Note: Non-duality, as Nargarjuna’s tetralemma, are negation without affirmation. There is no view proposed here, no system, no absolute. This is equivalent to saying: "There is no absolute, only adapted skillful means. Even this is not an absolute, but jut another skillful means. And this ...")
The Ascertainment of Proper Reasoning says:
Even when the inner self rests motionless,
Visual forms arise in the mind of the visual sense.
Within the senses, apparent objects are not conceptualized. The same text says:
This is taught because sense-awareness is not samsaric.
(i.e. The problem is not the objects of the senses, or the perception itself. The problem is 'not knowing the real nature of everything' as we perceive everything. There is nothing to accept, nothing to reject. Everything is already pure when seen for what they are; everything is then self-liberating.
-- This precious human life is not the problem; we should not try to reject it, to drop everything. Instead we should try to use it the best we can. A stupid animal, a brainless chicken, or a rock, cannot get enlightened. Even though nothing is absolute, even though everything is empty of inherent existence, we should not think that everything is meaningless, causeless or non-functional. Emptiness doesn't deny dependent origination.)
In brief, conceptualization and analysis of objects produced due to
grasping and fixation are called samsaric mind and its mental objects.
Object and insight [22] when grasping and
fixation are completely pacified are kaya and wisdom.
(i.e. The problem is thinking that everything is inherently existing, not merely imputed by the mind. It is because of this ignorance that we are grasping at thing, that there is becoming and the consequent suffering. We then discriminate on this basis, thinking things and attributes are inherently existing, absolute.
-- When everything is seen as empty of inherent existence at the same time as they appear, then there is no more attachment and 'problems'. Once the body, speech and minds are seen for what they are, they are the inseparable non-dual unborn Trikaya. When defilements are seen for what they are, they are transmuted into wisdoms beyond the faults of conceptualization. When the environment objects are seen for what they are they are transmuted into Buddha fields. Everything is then pure; that is Nirvana.
-- Note: There is nothing wrong per se with conceptualization, or using models, or using skillful means. The problem is when we think that they represent real things, or that they are absolute theories. The problem is to base those on a belief in inherent existence of some things, some invariants, so objective perception, some absolute truths, some real characteristics. When we fully realize that there is no absolute characteristics, no real basis for discrimination, classification, identification, then we can still perceive the luminosity, but we know their real nature at the same time, and thus we are free from any attachments, ... Thus everything become peace and purity. Still appearing and functional, but empty of inherent existence.)
The Sutra of the Glorious Garland says:
Whenever there are distinctions of grasping and fixation that is re-provable.
Such conceptualization of objects is the mind of samsara.
Whenever grasping and fixation do not exist, object and insight are the wisdom of liberation.
By that it is established.
(i.e. Therefore, I think it's so worthwhile and so important that while we occupy these precious human bodies, with all our intelligence and where everything has come together, we use our ability to seek our inner nature and release ourselves from all the problems of mental defilement, which come from our ego. Everything we’ve done since the time we were born until now has come from our ego, but it's all been so transitory and our pleasure has been so small. -- Lama Thubten Yeshe, Give Your Ego the Wisdom Eye)
(i.e. "We have the opportunities afforded by the holy Dharma, the opportunity to understand the nature of reality and to help all sentient beings. We have the opportunity to reach enlightenment and liberate them from suffering." -- Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, In Search of a Meaningful Life)
f) The samsaric torments if we do not make an effort now.
(i.e. So we need both together, this precious human life as the support, and the Dharma to practice. One without the other is totally useless.)
A person who has the Dharma by the power of former goodness:
Whoever has the happy good fortune of the Dharma,
Becoming a vessel of that precious spotlessness,
Yet has no use for its cooling rain of Dharma-amrita,
Will be annihilated by the torments of samsara.The holy rain of the cooling waters of wisdom
From the banks of clouds of benefit and great bliss
Falls to cleanse the free and favored minds of beings.
Being a good vessel is like having the precious human body. When the rain of Dharma falls on us, if we are not vessels who can hold it, we will only exhaust oneself in suffering in the torments of samsara.
The Generation Born in an Iron House says:
Even though the free and favored vessel is gained,
Since no drops of Dharma are received within it,
We shall roast in Hellfire, so difficult to bear.
Long and excruciating pain will be our karma.
g) The teaching of the freedoms and favors, which support the Dharma.
(i.e. Once we have this precious human life as the support, the rain of Dharma naturally falls. And vice versa. To increase its benefits we need to practice it. This is like a self-amplifying virtuous process; each of these two elements support each other. Realizing this we practice with joy. That is the way good karma and favorable five aggregates are related: not separate or different, not the same.)
Supported by the freedoms that we have, the natural arising of Dharma is like this:
Therefore joyfully practice the Dharma from your heart.
That is the instruction.
The supreme teachings of the Buddha are the rain of Dharma.
The freedoms and favors are its support.
This rain naturally falls.
The Arrangement of the Vessel says:
Kye! O child of a noble family, for those with the freedoms and favors, the great rain of perfect Dharma will fall.
They will possess immeasurable benefits.
h) Why the freedoms and favors are difficult to obtain:
(i.e. Once we have fallen into the three lower realms, this human life is extremely hard to get because, there, we are continually tormented, we have no leisure to learn the dharma, and even don't have any understanding of karma and its consequences. So, the probability to produce enough good karma to have a rebirth as a human is extremely infinitesimal. It is even harder to have both a human life and the actual ability and opportunity to practice the Dharma. So let's not waste it and fall back to the three lower realms.)
It is harder for us to gain a human birth
Than for a tortoise to thrust its head into a yoke
That is tossed about in the middle of the ocean.
That is what the teacher of Gods and men has said.
Then why even speak of a free and well-favored body.
Let us be diligent in days that are to come.
(i.e. Rare and very hard to obtain)
a) Causes producing this very rare effect
Strict moral discipline
Complementary practices: Generosity, Patience...
Prayers with strong aspiration to be reborn with a precious human life
b) The turtle analogy
o The probability of having a rebirth with a precious human life from one of the three lower realms is almost negligible (see: turtle analogy)
c) By the numbers
o Number of hell beings is greater than Number of hungry ghosts is greater than Number of animals is greater than Number of humans is greater than Number of humans practicing dharma in a pure form.
From one of the three lower realms it is almost impossible to get a precious human life.
So we should have this urge not to waste any moment of it and take the full potential of it.)
Let us say that a turtle lives in an ocean for a hundred times a hundred years. Floating upon that ocean is a single yoke with a hole in it, blown by the wind so that it did not stay in one place for even a moment. It is very unlikely that the turtle's throat will be thrust into it. But obtaining a human body from within the lower realms of samsara is taught to be far more difficult.
The Spiritual Letter says:
It is harder to gain a human birth and the Dharma,
From the state of having been an animal,
Than for a turtle to put its head into a yoke
While both of them are lost in the vastness of the ocean.
Therefore with these faculties of human beings
By practicing holy Dharma let us reach its fruition.
The Bodhicaryavatara says:
This is the reason why the Bhagavan has taught
That attaining human birth is much more difficult
Than for a turtle to put its head into a yoke,
Tossed within the vastness of a limitless ocean.
As for the scripture they are speaking about, the Bunch of Flowers says:
It is difficult for the Buddha Bhagavats to enter into the world. But very much more difficult than that is attaining human birth. Let the reason for this be taught in an example. O Shariputra, let the great difficulty of the first be like an ocean. Within it let there be a yoke, having a single hole. Let there also be a decrepit turtle. In that great ocean the wind blows from above and blows from below, and as it blows these things about, that decrepit turtle rises out of the ocean once in a hundred times a hundred years. The difficulty of becoming human again after having fallen back is not equal to that of the throat of that decrepit turtle that rises once in a hundred times a hundred years quickly entering into the hole of that quickly moving yoke. For those who fall away like that, becoming human again is very much more difficult.
If even attaining the human body is so very difficult, why even speak of a body with the freedoms and favors, and the view that realizes the Dharma.
The Bodhicaryavatara says:
That a Tathágata has actually arisen,
That we have faith, and have attained a human body,
And that, in addition, we can practice goodness;
When will what is so rare ever be gained again?
The Request of The One with the Jewel in the Crown says:
To see a guide is something very hard to find.
To hear the teachings, the Dharma of peace, is very hard.
It is very hard to be born as a free and favored person.
Discipline and faith are always hard to find.
B. Now there is the second division of the general meaning: delineating the nature of the freedoms and favors
Recognition of being free and well favored
(i.e. The need to put the instructions of the Dharma into pure practice motivate by bodhicitta and not mixed with worldly concerns / dharmas. Only then will we progress quickly. After a while the merit and virtues gained will help to make the practice more and more easy and natural.)
There are six sections:
1. The explanation of merely attaining a human body
(Having a human body is not enough to be called precious. One has to encounter the dharma, to practice it, to live in it exclusively, and to encourage others to do so.)
a. Here is the explanation of the three divisions of those with a human body
(3 type of humans)b. What is said about the divisions
(Those who have no knowledge of right and wrong, none about karma and its consequences; the barbarians. They will fall into the three lower realms)2. The special human body
(Those who though may have heard the Dharma do not apply the teachings. They never, or not enough, acted on what they heard. They do not have enough faith, and have too many distractions. Their discipline is not pure enough. Their understanding of karma and its consequences is not perfect; they mix good and bad. They are slightly above the lower realms. They will fall into the three lower realms because of their negligence)
3. The Precious Human Body
(Those who are spotless vessels, the precious ones. They have heard and practiced the Dharma, tamed their mind, and are also exhorting others to goodness. They are not only conceptualizing it; they are living it 100% all the time, combining method and wisdom, producing union beyond conceptualization and dualities)
4. Why we should think about the Dharma
(Renunciation of the worldly concerns, motivated by bodhicitta, and thinking only about the Dharma, helps to make it less difficult to practice. The more you do it the more it becomes easy. Mixing it with worldly concerns makes it very difficult to understand and to practice. It is like starting from scratch all the time; like falling back to a bad habit while trying to go over it. Like trying to go over an addiction while living among people who are indulging in this addiction. Practicing only the Dharma is a self-amplifying good habit; it generates virtues that facilitate the practice. Wisdom and method are supporting each other. The reverse is like growing a bad habit that gets stronger and stronger and brings more and more suffering. That is the way the cycle of karma and the five aggregates are related: not separate or different, not the same.)
5. The benefit of contemplating the reason
(The benefit of renunciation, motivated by bodhicitta, and exerting ourselves in the Dharma alone, is going quickly beyond all conditioning, beyond all uncontrolled karma formation, beyond all suffering, to perfect peace; and more: Enlightenment.)
6. If the inhabitants of this earth practice, there will be great benefit
(So it is not enough to be humans; we have to live in goodness. Only fools would knowingly waste such great opportunity. We have to exert ourselves in the truth and goodness of Dharma alone, in order to gradually purify our mind and quickly attain the perfection of the Buddha qualities and be in a position to help all other sentient beings stuck with ignorance in this samsaric cycle of suffering. While we practice the virtuous actions, our virtues will increase and make it even more and more easier to live in virtues. There are also great short-term benefits for all.)
1. The explanation of merely attaining a human body
(i.e. Having a human body is not enough to be called precious. One has to encounter the dharma, to practice it, to live in it exclusively, and to encourage others to do so.)
a. Here is the explanation of the three divisions of those with a human body
(3 type of humans)
b. What is said about the divisions
(Those who have no knowledge of right and wrong, none about karma and its consequences; the barbarians. They will fall into the three lower realms)
What is a "precious human body?"
a. Here is the explanation of the three divisions of those with a human body:
(i.e. 3 type of humans:)
There are some who merely gain a human birth,
Some whose body is special,
and some whose birth is precious.
b. What is said about the divisions:
(i.e. i- Those who have no knowledge of right and wrong, none about karma and its consequences; the barbarians. They will fall into the three lower realms.)
Respectively these are persons who act improperly, °
Because they have no knowledge of what is right and wrong.
Even if their powers are sound, their birth is common.
They are barbarians even in the central realm.The Sutra of Precious Space says:
These are born in the human world because of former goodness, have senses that are completely sound, and always are born in a country where the Dharma is practiced. However, they still do not know about karma and it’s ripening.
Many of them will depend on the path of what is not good. It may be said that these have become human beings, but they will only be the worse for it. That is the last time they will be human, because they will fall without limit into the lower realms of death.
(i.e. Be Careful : Dangers In This Life)
(Eight lack of freedom plus Sixteen unfavorable conditions equals Twenty-Four situations which become hindrances to the practice of the Dharma) -- While we may have been able to avoid the eight gross negativities, there still remain the sixteen unfavorable conditions that we can be ensnared by, if indeed, this has not already occurred. Therefore, it is important to know what they are, so that we can maintain a vigilant mindfulness to remain free of them.
1. The upheaval of negative emotions
2. Coming under the influence of bad friends
3. Coming under the influence of false views and practices
4. Habit of laziness
5. Effects from previous bad actions
6. Falling under the control of another person
7. To practice the Dharma in the hopes of gaining more material comforts for yourself
8. To seek understanding of the Dharma merely to gain fame and reputation for yourself
9. Great attachment to wealth and to oneself
10. Having an overly aggressive and rude personality
11. Having no fear of the different sufferings
12. Insensitivity to the teachings
13. Having no appreciation of Dharma practice
14. Having the propensity for indulging in negativities
15. Having negative views about a solemn vow or aspiration one has made and then violating it
16. Breaking the samayas, the sacred commitments, one has with the teacher from whom one has received the sacred teachings and empowerments.
Guru, precious life, death, attachment, three LR, refuge, karma,
Living according to the law of cause and effect,
Un-satisfactoriness, renunciation, liberation,
Three higher trainings, loving our mothers, self-cherishing, emptiness, tantra
· Being desirous of gain and averse to loss
· Being desirous of receiving praise and averse to receiving blame
· Being desirous of receiving benefit and averse to receiving harm
Being desirous of the pleasant feeling that arises from a good reputation and being averse to the unpleasant feeling that arises from a bad reputation)
(i.e. Beings possessing a human body who haven't met Dharma, no matter how much wealth they have, no matter how may friends they have, no matter how much they appear to be enjoying their lives, in reality are only living with hallucination; they are living with wrong concepts, so many piles of wrong concepts. They are not aware of what is happening to them, they are not aware of their own life. They are not aware of the powers of their hallucination, the piles of wrong concepts that compel them to create the causes of samsara and the causes of the lower realms. They don't have the opportunity to plant the seed to be free from samsara, to cut the root of samsaric ignorance, because there is no understanding of emptiness, no opportunity to meditate on emptiness.
If a person has a good heart, a sincere mind, and gives some help to others without expecting any results, then maybe they create some pure Dharma -- and that's very rare; otherwise not. Usually people live the life only with a worldly mind, particularly attachment, clinging to this life. They use the whole human life, the precious human body and all their education just to create additional causes to go to the lower realms.
This is what is happening in every day life. For the entire life people act like a moth attracted to the flame, completely hallucinated, completely deceived, not knowing the flame will burn, that it is completely other than what it appears. Even though they get burned, while they still have the power to fly they will continue to go towards the flame.
It is exactly the same with a fish and a baited hook. The fish does not know that there is a hook that cheats, leading to death and unbelievable suffering. Having no idea of the danger, it is constantly being drawn with strong desire toward the hook baited with a piece of meat. The result that the fish experiences is completely other than what it expected. Once caught, there is no way to get away alive.
Following the dissatisfied mind, desire, the worldly mind, brings exactly the same result. Once sunk in the quagmire of the activities of this life, it is difficult to escape the hundreds of different problems, emotional pains of the mind and of the body that come from this one root, the dissatisfied mind, desire, attachment, clinging to this life. All we are doing is making samsara longer by creating karma; we are making a donation, a contribution to samsaric suffering, making it longer and longer. And then, of course, there are the sufferings of the lower realms, which are difficult to get out of.
It's the same with the way in which an elephant can be caught. A female elephant is used as a lure; the male elephant becomes crazy with desire and as a result, becomes trapped inside a cage. What was expected in the beginning was happiness, but what was received in the end was something else, something completely frightening.
All these examples show us the way in which samsara and the samsaric perfections cheat us that they are not to be trusted.
-- Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Advice from the Spiritual Friend: Remembering Death)
2. The special human body
(i.e. Those who, though may have heard the Dharma, do not apply the teachings. They never, or not enough, acted on what they heard. They do not have enough faith, and have too many distractions. Their discipline is not pure enough. Their understanding of karma and its consequences is not perfect; they mix good and bad. They are slightly above the lower realms. They will fall into the three lower realms because of their negligence.)
Those who do not apply the teachings are confused
They do not have proper faith about what is right and wrong.
Preoccupied with this life, distracted by its business,
Undisciplined and beguiled, neglecting what is to come,
With no interest in liberation, though they may hear the Dharma,
They do not have the best body, but only the middle kind.Occasionally their minds are drawn to something wholesome,
But mostly their mental vision is blocked by evil deeds.
They only go through the motions, what good are they to anyone?
Whether they take the form of a householder or a monk,
Only because they are slightly above lower realms,
The Buddha has said that these have a special human body.
The Sutra of Precious Space says:
In the realm of sentient beings some do not dwell purely in the Dharma, even though they could, because their behavior mixes right and wrong, and they are preoccupied with worldly activities. Even if they are sincere, with undisciplined body, speech, and mind, they are easily seduced. Falling into the three lower realms, they have the karma of remaining there. However, since they have seen the sunlight of the Buddha's compassion, and have had seeds of liberation for a long time, they are said to have the special human body.
(i.e. eight worldly dharmas (Tib. jik ten chö gyé) These keep one from the path; they are attachment to gain, attachment to pleasure, attachment to praise, attachment to fame, aversion to loss, aversion to pain, aversion to blame, and aversion to a bad reputation.)
Because their behavior mixes vice and virtue and they give only lip service to devotion, they are not protected from the lower realms.
The Samadhiraja Sutra says:
Breaking their discipline, they go to the lower realms.
They are unprotected, no matter how great their learning.
The Nirvana Sutra says:
Kashyapa, the monk Devadatta had heard only the ordinary sutra vehicle of the burden of an elephant. Even though he grasped it, because of his non-virtue, he fell into the lower realms.
The Pair Sutra says:
Collection of Medicines, those sentient beings who wail so at the time of death are not among the ones who possess ripened karma of good deeds. If these are protected from karma, who would not be?
Also it says there:
Though the Tathágata has arisen and been seen,
And though the striking of the gandi has been heard,
Though they have heard the teachings of the holy Dharma,
Which take us to the peace which is called nirvana,
Nevertheless they never acted on what they heard.
People such as these are later going to say:I am a person with the mind of a perfect fool.
Having fallen under the power of bad companions,
By the desires which rose from confusion in my mind,
I produced the karma of many evil deeds.
By cultivating and going along with these desires
I have been a murderer of living beings.
By listening to the people who waste the goods of the Sangha
I had to know the unbearable fruit of doing that.I am destroying stupas by my harmful thoughts
By malicious words I punish everyone, even my mother.
Regarding this human body that I formerly made
Soon all my transgressions will be common knowledge.
My mind will then be summoned to the lowest Hells.
The births I see ahead are more than I can bear.
3. The Precious Human Body.
(i.e. Those who are spotless vessels, the precious ones. They have heard and practiced the Dharma, tamed their mind, and are also exhorting others to goodness. They are not only conceptualizing it; they are living it 100% all the time, combining method and wisdom, producing union beyond conceptualization and dualities.)
As for the third part:
Supremely excellent beings, spotless vessels of Dharma
Apply their powers to what they hear and contemplate.
Having tamed themselves, they establish others in goodness.
They are immovable in their practice, like Mount Meru.
All these straightforward sages, like banners of saintliness,
Whether they are householders or renunciates,
Are taught by the Teacher to have the precious human body.(i.e. Rinpoche Literally, "very precious" and is used as a term of respect for a Tibetan guru.)
After having tamed oneself by hearing, contemplating, and the yogic resting of meditation, one also exhorts others to goodness. That is the good gate of auspicious Dharma. Putting on the great armor of liberation one flourishes the great banner of the sages. Calling this badge or clothing a victory banner is not just a figure of speech. When we urge others to work for the good, whether one lives in a house or is a renunciate, this is called having the precious human body.
The Sutra of Glorious Secret says:
Glorious Secret, though many have heard this, their hearing is obstructed. The meaning is made into conceptualized thoughts.
But by meditating without kleshas, union is produced.
If one also urges others to do this, this produces the essence of the freedoms and favors, the most sublimely beautiful thing in this world including its gods.
Also the Middle Length Prajñápáramitá says:
Subhuti, bodhisattvas say, "I practice the good," to exhort others to do the same.
Producing the essence of the freedoms and favors, this is praised by all the Buddhas. I praise it. I honor it.
As to how others should be exhorted the Vast Play says:
All compounded things will quickly be destroyed.
Like lightening in the sky they cannot last for long.
As your time too is therefore drawing ever nearer,
The time has come for true repentance to manifest.
The master Chandrakirti says:
First for a little while all the listeners
Will certainly be joined to small talk and the like.
When they become good vessels, after that occurs,
That is the time to relate to them with deeper words.
That is how it should be done. What it is to be such a vessel generally depends on which of the vehicles one is concerned with. In particular, as for the freedoms and favors in the unsurpassable vessel, the Jewel of Space Sutra says:
The bodhisattva Akashagarbha asked, "Bhagavan, how should the freedoms and favors be viewed?"
This was the word of the Buddha: If it is divided by the discursive conceptions of mind, it is abused. This should be known as disturbing what one is engaged in. After discursive conceptions of mind have been pacified, resting within the nature is known as freedom. As for the favors, if the nature of mind, awareness, receives the wealth of what mind really is, that is being well favored.
4. Why we should think [only] about the Dharma.
(i.e. Renunciation of the worldly concerns, motivated by bodhicitta, and thinking only about the Dharma, helps to make it less difficult to practice. The more you do it the more it becomes easy. Mixing it with worldly concerns makes it very difficult to understand and to practice. It is like starting from scratch all the time; like falling back to a bad habit while trying to go over it. Like trying to go over an addiction while living among people who are indulging in this addiction. - - Practicing only the Dharma is a self-amplifying good habit; it generates virtues that facilitate the practice. Wisdom and method are supporting each other. - - The reverse is like growing a bad habit that gets stronger and stronger and brings more and more suffering. - - That is the way the cycle of karma and the five aggregates are related: not separate or different, not the same.)
Here is the reason why the person who has attained freedom and favor should think only of the Dharma:
Therefore, having heard the Dharma from holy beings,
To establish what is proper, abide within in the Dharma
Cultivate what is Dharmic, weed out what is not.
By practicing Dharma, we will abide within the Dharma.
That is the holy instruction. It is difficult to meet with a spiritual friend. To hear the Dharma and be able to practice it is difficult. Always to work hard is very difficult. When the Buddha was expounding the scriptures of the Vinaya at Vaishali, this was among the beneficial instructions given:
O monks, look on the beings of the lower realms. After going there, a material human form is very difficult to obtain. (i.e. starting from scratch)
Look on bad teachers. Meeting a genuine spiritual friend is very difficult.
Look on those who have broken their discipline, and how they have damaged discipline and liberation.
By dwelling in the goodness of renunciation, Dharma, which alone is good, will be practiced.
Therefore, joyfully dwell in forests or monasteries, and go beyond these others.
5. The benefit of contemplating the reason
(i.e. The benefit of renunciation, motivated by bodhicitta, and exerting ourselves in the Dharma alone, is going quickly beyond all conditioning, beyond all uncontrolled karma formation, beyond all suffering, to perfect peace; and more: Enlightenment.)
As for the benefit produced:
Procrastinate no longer. Cross over Samsára’s ocean.
Quickly go to the island of peace and pass beyond suffering. The Request of Devaputra Sutra says:Devaputra, Exerting ourselves in this alone, let us exert ourselves on the side of the good.
We shall quickly hold the benefits of complete, perfect enlightenment.
The Spiritual Letter says:
Having well attended an excellent spiritual friend,
We ought to make the attempt to behave in a decent way.
This is what was taught by the utterly perfect Sage.
Attend on holy beings, for having attended them,
There are very many who will attain to peace.
6. If the inhabitants of this earth practice, there will be great benefit.
(i.e. So it is not enough to be humans; we have to live in goodness. Only fools would knowingly waste such great opportunity. We have to exert ourselves in the truth and goodness of Dharma alone, in order to gradually purify our mind and quickly attain the perfection of the Buddha qualities and be in a position to help all other sentient beings stuck with ignorance in this samsaric cycle of suffering. While we practice the virtuous actions, our virtues will increase and make it even more and more easier to live in virtues. There are also great short term benefits for all.)
Beings who have been born as inhabitants of this earth, Jambuling, have established a portion of goodness. But if, having become human beings, they do not train in goodness, here is what is said:
There is no one who has a mind more foolish
Than those becoming human who do not live in goodness.
Like coming back empty-handed from a land of jewels,
They make no use of the freedom and favor of their lives.
So let us act in the way of the Dharma, which leads to peace.Though we may have attained these freedoms, if we do not practice the holy Dharma, then even though we have come to an island of precious jewels, we take none of them. Returning empty-handed, we are fools.
The Bodhicaryavatara says:
If even having attained the leisure of these freedoms
We do not train in what is wholesome and what is good,
There is no seduction that is greater than this.
There can be no fool who is greater than such a one.
After doing some insignificant bit of good, we shall not have complete attainment. But by exerting themselves in the truth and goodness of Dharma alone, many attain the perfection of the Buddha qualities.
The Precious Mala says:
Thus it is that if we always practice the Dharma,
We shall be the masters of all within the world.
Whoever transforms what is noxious into goodness,
In a little while will surely reach the peak.Because the good of Dharma will wake us from our sleep,
When we awake to goodness, we shall be purified.
Because the master within us is one who has no faults, (i.e. Buddha-nature)
Even in dreams we shall see what is virtuous and wholesome.If we have respectful devotion to our parents,
Attending on the principal persons of our family,
Committing ourselves with patience to virtuous behavior,
Speaking soft words of truth without any calumny,By such discipline over a single lifetime,
The powers of a god have actually been attained.
Once again at this time, we shall produce those powers,
We gradually will establish the state of Buddhahood.
After that:
As for the benefits, the fruition of such karma,
We shall act in accordance with what we have come to know. (i.e. A self-amplifying virtuous process.)
If we are always performing benefits for beings,
This itself will be of benefit to us.
While we do so, for this reason, there will be the wholesome merits of the Dharma.
C. True examination of the nature of the environment and inhabitants of
the phenomenal world
True analysis of the environment and inhabitants of the phenomenal world
(i.e. The perfection of this meditation: meditating on the precious hard to get human life with its freedoms, endowments and opportunity, while remembering the emptiness of the three, their non-duality, or interdependence. Using both method/upaya and wisdom/prajña, in accord with the goal, in accord with the non-dual nature of everything (not existence, not non-existence, not both, not neither). The fruit of this meditation: great joy and enthusiasm to practice day and night. The best support of all the vehicles. Better than a rebirth as a god.)
There are six sections:
1. The teaching of mind, the root of Dharma
(Emptiness, all merely imputed by the mind: Perfecting the meditation on the precious human life (and dependent origination) by joining wisdom to the method. Combining to this meditation (and dependent origination), a meditation on emptiness. Perfecting this meditation by seeing the real nature (emptiness, non-duality) of the elements of this meditation: the interdependence between the world and the mind, the inseparability of dependent origination and emptiness, the non-dual luminous space. - - First we understand this intellectually, then we try to see this directly observing our own mind in meditation, then to abide in this non-dual not-conceptual truth all the time. - - Since everything is dependent on the mind, since all problems and solutions come from the mind, we should turn inward, guard the mind and tame it, gradually purifying it. - - Since Liberation is gained by directly seeing the unborn non-dual nature of our own mind, and thus the real nature of everything, we have to first calm the body and mind with moral discipline, to tame the mind, to develop great peace and concentration, in order to be able to get insights and develop wisdom. Since the potential is already present, it is compared to a process of gradual purification of our body, speech and mind. When their real nature is directly seen, they are seen as the inseparable Trikaya and wisdoms.)
2. The Instruction that We Should Exert ourselves in Dharma Day and Night
(Dependent origination, not from the mind-only, not useless / meaningless: Meditating on the precious human life (and dependent origination) with its freedoms, endowments and opportunity, and the consequence of not taking full benefits of it, helps us to be motivated to practice purely day and night. It is a positive antidote against discouragement, depression, and nihilism. - - The practice is not useless even if everything is impermanent, unsatisfactory, and empty of inherent existence. - - Saying that everything is dependent on the mind, empty of inherent existence, doesn't mean that everything is from the mind-only, or completely non-existent. Emptiness doesn't mean that there is no precious human life, no karma consequences, that we should reject everything, that everything is meaningless, useless, a-causal or non-functional. Emptiness doesn't deny dependent origination. They are interdependent; one implies the other. They are not separate or different, not the same. The application is that if we do not use this opportunity to escape samsara we will be stuck in it and suffering for a long time. But if we use it fully, we can transcend all conditioning, and suffering. There is nothing better to do than to practice the dharma, to aim from transcendence of all impermanent empty conditioning.)
3. When the benefits have been explained, we arouse joy
(We are extremely fortunate to have this opportunity, this access to the dharma, and to be able to practice it purely. Repeating this meditation on our precious human life with its freedoms, endowments and opportunity brings great joy and helps us to be motivated to practice purely day and night. So this meditation is part of the virtuous actions that increase the virtues and make it less and less difficult to practice the Dharma. It is part of the self-amplifying virtuous cyclic process of wholesome actions and good conditions: good / white karma formation. And it reinforces the antidote against rejection, the extreme of nihilism / idealism. It reinforces the idea that "methods" are necessary in addition to wisdom.)
4. How we can attain superhuman goodness
(This precious human life, because it is unsatisfactory but still permits to seek the truth and to escape the whole cycle of samsara, is more precious than a rebirth as a god. Gods usually do not have the motivation to seek liberation from their conditions, or to seek Enlightenment. If they do, gods have too much pride to succeed. Therefore, we should rejoice in having this precious human life with its imperfections, freedoms, endowments and opportunity to learn the Dharma and practice it purely.)
5. Praise of the freedoms and favors, the [best] support of all the vehicles
(This precious human life is the best support of all the vehicles. It permits to reach the goals of any vehicle: either simply a good rebirth, the complete Liberation from samsara for us alone, or the full Enlightenment of the Mahayana. It even permits to practice the quick path of the Tantra yana.)
6. Meditating on how difficult these are to obtain
(The actual meditation on this difficulty of obtaining a human body: Take refuge, arouse bodhicitta, visualize that we have this complete precious human body with the freedoms and endowments. And we fell great joy (no fear or discouragement or depression) because we have it. Ending with dedication.)
1. The teaching of mind, the root of Dharma.
(i.e. Emptiness, all merely imputed by the mind: Perfecting the meditation on the precious human life (and dependent origination) by joining wisdom to the method. Combining to this meditation (and dependent origination), a meditation on emptiness. Perfecting this meditation by seeing the real nature (emptiness, non-duality) of the elements of this meditation: the interdependence between the world and the mind, the inseparability of dependent origination and emptiness, the non-dual luminous space. - - First we understand this intellectually, then we try to see this directly observing our own mind in meditation, then to abide in this non-dual not-conceptual truth all the time. - - Since everything is dependent on the mind, since all problems and solutions come from the mind, we should turn inward, guard the mind and tame it, gradually purifying it. - - Since Liberation is gained by directly seeing the unborn non-dual nature of our own mind, and thus the real nature of everything, we have to first calm the body and mind with moral discipline, to tame the mind, to develop great peace and concentration, in order to be able to get insights and develop wisdom. Since the potential is already present, it is compared to a process of gradual purification of our body, speech and mind. When their real nature is directly seen, they are seen as the inseparable Trikaya and wisdoms.)
When we undertake to find the natures of the environment and inhabitants of the phenomenal world, they are truly analyzed as being one:
(i.e. The world and the mind are not separate or different. But, as we will also see in the next point, they are not the same either. They are interdependent. They are inseparable. They are not two, not one. They are non-dual. Everything is dependent on the mind (not existent independently or inherently), but not from the mind only (not completely non-existent), etc. (not both existent and non-existent, not neither existent nor non-existent).)
(i.e. "Today's world requires us to accept the oneness of humanity." -- HHDL speech, 1997; also)
Dharma depends on mind, and likewise mind in turn
Depends on the freedoms and favors, so both depend on them.
Now these many conditions and causes have come together.
The thing we chiefly need to do is tame our minds.(i.e. All problems and solutions come from the mind. So turn inward. To be free from the suffering of everything we have to seek and directly see the real nature of everything. To do that we have to turn inward, seek and directly see the real nature of our own mind. To be able to directly see the real nature of the mind, we have first to calm the body and mind greatly, to purify it from all the mud swirls that are constantly obscuring its true essence. And to be able to do that, we have to renounce worldly goals after seeing their impermanence and unsatisfactory nature.
-- Note: Total control of the mind is not the goal. The Middle Way is not letting the mind go wild, not trying to control it. The goal is to directly see its subtle non-dual unborn nature. So calming the body and mind, like renunciation, motivated by bodhicitta, are temporary adapted skillful means. Once we have directly seen the real nature of our own mind, and thus have directly seen the real nature of everything, then there is nothing to reject, and nothing to gain. Everything is already pure, inseparability of appearance and emptiness, self-liberating.)(i.e. Using both method and wisdom: Here the method of meditating on the precious human life with its freedoms and opportunity is mixed with the wisdom of realizing the real nature of everything including the mind: their emptiness of inherent existence, being merely imputed by the mind, while still being dependently arisen and functional. So we are using both method and wisdom together, increasing the two accumulations together, even with this first basic meditation.
-- The mind is empty, but still dependently arisen depending on conditions, and still functional in influencing the way we see the world. So the mind and the world are interdependent: not separate or different, not the same; not two, not one; they are inseparable, non-dual.
-- Everything is dependently arisen, dependent on the mind, and thus empty of inherent existence; not existent, not non-existent, not both, not neither.
-- Karma is dependent on the five aggregates, and the five aggregates are dependent on karma. They are not different or separate, not the same. The only control we can really have is on our own mind. The only direct experience we can have is with our own mind.)
All dharmas depend on mind. Mind depends on the free and well-favored human body. This is the interdependent arising of the environment and inhabitants of the phenomenal world. Mind is the realm of Dharma, the cause of all that is wholesome. As it is the companion necessary condition of the freedoms and favors, we must study exactly how to tame the mind.
(i.e. Interdependence of the world and the mind equals inseparability of dependent origination and emptiness, inseparability of appearances and emptiness; the inseparability of the two truths, ... This will be the recurring theme in this whole document. It is all based on the fact that the real nature of everything, even if beyond all description and beyond all conceptualization, is not existence, not non-existence, not both, not neither. That is why we cannot accept anything as absolute, nor reject anything as if completely non-existent. That is why we need to use both method and wisdom together all the time. That is why there is the two accumulations of merit and wisdom. -- Here it means that we need to realize that this precious human life, although empty of inherent existence, is still dependent on causes and conditions, and still functional, still efficient in gaining wisdom and transcendence from all conditioning.
-- Also since everything is coming from the mind, we need to understand this aspect and thus understand how suffering and happiness are caused by our own mind.)
The Spiritual Letter says:
The Bhagavan says we must tame our minds.
Mind is the root of Dharma, as is taught.
The All-creating King, says:
Without remainder all dharmas, however they appear,
Are emanated by mind, produced by the nature of mind.
The Lankavatara Sutra says:
Though reflections may appear within a mirror
They do not exist; and if we do not know
The appearances of mind as mere appearances,
The duality of conceptual thinking will arise.With the seeds of habitual patterns, what is completely pure
Arises as the variety of the mental contents.
Though for human beings these seem to be external,
Nevertheless the phenomenal world is only mind. (i.e. All merely imputed by the mind, dependent on the mind.)
Also it says there, in regard to mind that does not possess true reality:
For mind that is disturbed by seeds of habitual patterns
Within the completely real, appearances will arise.
The appearances of mind are like those of a dream. Arising merely from the viewpoint of confused mind, the variety of inner and outer arises as nothing at all. Such appearances arise from the seeds of confused habitual patterns. In reality they do not truly exist; but because they appear in the mind as if they did, mind is the root of all dharmas. Though mountains and so forth appear externally projected from the viewpoint of confused mind [23], there are really no mountains. They exist only in the mind.
If students have not guarded the mind before, they will not be able to guard it later. The Bodhicaryavatara says:
If this mind has not been guarded previously,
We will not be able to keep the disciplines.
Also it says there:
Aside from the kind of discipline that guards the mind,
What is the use of performing many disciplines?
Also it says there:
Thus it is that everything that frightens us,
And also all of our measureless pain and suffering,
Are only contents that have risen with the mind.
So it has been taught by the Speaker of Truth himself.Who was it that produced the multitude of weapons
For the use of sentient beings within the Hells?
Who was it that produced this ground of blazing iron?
From where do these multitudes of blazing flames arise [24]?Every one of them, and all such things as these,
Are the mind of the evildoer, so the Sage has said.
Thus it is that in the whole of this three-fold world,
there are no terrors that are other than the mind.
Also it says there:
If we ever succeed in taming the mind alone,
All these various things will likewise have been tamed.
Since all that is wholesome and unwholesome within samsara has arisen from mind, working to tame the mind is the root of all Dharmas. (i.e. All paths turn around "taming the mind", "directly seeing the real nature of the mind and thus of everything".)
The Sutra of the Clouds of the Three Jewels says:
When we have been instructed by our worldly mind,
This mind of ours will never see the actual mind.
All our virtuous karma and that which has no goodness
Are nothing but collections in that worldly mind.
Also it says there in the chapter called, "Guarding the light:"
Mind produces various karmas like a painter.
In manifesting all harm, it is like an external danger.
In producing all suffering, it is like an enemy.
The Dro Namje Sutra [25] says
The ground is made of iron, blazing hot,
And blazing tongues of flame are everywhere.
The justice of the sharpened iron saws
Divides a single body into eight.
Such things as these arise as mental contents,
From evil acts of body, speech, or mind.
Mind is the root of all our joys and sorrows.
Our only effort should be to tame the mind.
(i.e. All problems and solutions come from the mind.)
2. The Instruction that We Should Exert ourselves in Dharma Day and Night.
(i.e. Dependent origination, not from the mind-only, not useless / meaningless: Meditating on the precious human life (and dependent origination) with its freedoms, endowments and opportunity, and the consequence of not taking full benefits of it, helps us to be motivated to practice purely day and night. It is a positive antidote against discouragement, depression, and nihilism. - - The practice is not useless even if everything is impermanent, unsatisfactory, and empty of inherent existence. - - Saying that everything is dependent on the mind, empty of inherent existence, doesn't mean that everything is from the mind-only, or completely non-existent. Emptiness doesn't mean that there is no precious human life, no karma consequences, that we should reject everything, that everything is meaningless, useless, a-causal or non-functional. Emptiness doesn't deny dependent origination. They are interdependent; one implies the other. They are not separate or different, not the same. - - The application is that if we do not use this opportunity to escape samsara we will be stuck in it and suffering for a long time. But if we use it fully, we can transcend all conditioning, and suffering. There is nothing better to do than to practice the dharma, to aim from transcendence of all impermanent empty conditioning.)
When we are wandering in samsara, as successive distractions occurring time and time again, here is what should be done:
Being terrified of death, within our endless births,
With deprivation and suffering falling on us like rain,
Arises from making no use of being free and well-favored.
The result is a state of becoming radically disturbed.
The higher manifestations, the dharmas of truth and goodness
Arise from thinking how hard it is to be free and favored,
Enjoy such an effort unstintingly, working day and night.(i.e. Meditating on the precious human birth as an antidote to discouragement and depression. The opposite is the meditation about death and impermanence. We have to know which antidote to use with the proper situation in order to stay away from all extremes.)
The Gandavyuha Sutra says:
Kye! O son of noble family, wherever beings wander within samsara, the body adorned with the freedoms and favors, so hard to obtain, is not produced, due to manifestation of thoughts. Because of the bad company of non-spiritual friends, there are samsaric phenomena, and we are tormented in flames of suffering. Nevertheless, by contemplating the freedoms and favors, we shall be completely liberated from samsara.
3. When the benefits have been explained, we arouse joy
(i.e. We are extremely fortunate to have this opportunity, this access to the dharma, and to be able to practice it purely. Repeating this meditation on our precious human life with its freedoms, endowments and opportunity brings great joy and helps us to be motivated to practice purely day and night. So this meditation is part of the virtuous actions that increase the virtues and make it less and less difficult to practice the Dharma. It is part of the self-amplifying virtuous cyclic process of wholesome actions and good conditions: good / white karma formation. And it reinforces the antidote against rejection, the extreme of nihilism / idealism. It reinforces the idea that "methods" are necessary in addition to wisdom.)
Now there is the instruction to be joyful because of these benefits:
Here since it is useful to have seen a guide,
And it is of use to hear the Dharma and practice it,
Making use of this life and all its later fruits,
Arises from having gained this free and favored body.
Contemplate this again and again, with the highest joy.(i.e. Meditating on our precious human birth brings joy. A great antidote to sadness and difficulties.)
Having seen how Buddhas of former times were completely liberated, having the benefit of being well- favored day and night on the present occasion, and collecting the seeds of a later liberation--this is what we have, if we are among the fortunate. All this arises from contemplating the freedoms and favors, which are so hard to obtain.
The Closely Placed Mindfulness says:
Ánanda, how should the arising of what has been well seen and well heard by you from having contemplated the freedoms and favors be viewed? It is what establishes the happiness of beings, and whatever good dharmas there may be. That is how it should be viewed.
Therefore, let us meditate with heartfelt joy on having attained these freedoms.
4. How we can attain superhuman goodness
(i.e. This precious human life, because it is unsatisfactory but still permits to seek the truth and to escape the whole cycle of samsara, is more precious than a rebirth as a god. Gods usually do not have the motivation to seek liberation from their conditions, or to seek Enlightenment. If they do, gods have too much pride to succeed. Therefore, we should rejoice in having this precious human life with its imperfections, freedoms, endowments and opportunity to learn the Dharma and practice it purely.)
Now, moreover there is the explanation of how superhuman goodness is to be established:
Since having attained the deathless level of amrita
By the Lord of this world of beings, including the gods,
And his sons among the shravakas and Pratyekabuddhas,
Arose from having attained the precious human body,
The freedoms and favors are praised as better than being a god.
Therefore, rejoice in having attained this human body.
(i.e. Only this precious human birth can be used to gain Enlightenment. The other realms are either to miserable of too happy to be favorable environment for renunciation and turning inward in order to seek and directly see the real nature of our mind and thus of everything. In the other realms there is not enough opportunity or motivation to do it perfectly. So even the difficulties of this precious human birth condition should also be seen as favorable conditions for this. If everything was perfect as in heavens, we would not be inclined to question everything superficial and seek the truth.)
When the Sage, the Bhagavan, attained enlightenment, he became the chief of the human beings of Jambuling. Therefore, he was called better than the gods.
The Sutra of Complete Enlightenment says:
Enlightenment in the realm of the gods produces an exclusive pride, and truth is not completely realized.
It is seen only as a human being, for whom the freedoms and favors are complete.
Therefore, to the place of those who dress in yellow and white [26]. The Bodhicharyavatara says:This body, which is better than the body of a god...
5. Praise of the freedoms and favors, the best support of all the vehicles
(i.e. This precious human life is the best support of all the vehicles. It permits to reach the goals of any vehicle: simply a good rebirth, the complete Liberation from samsara for us alone, or the full Enlightenment of the Mahayana. It even permits to practice the quick path of the Tantrayana.)
The level of wisdom, that sees the truth without conception
Is easy to gain among gods and men as a human being.
Even the vajra vehicle, profoundest heart of the path,
Is easily gained as the fruit of attaining a human body.
It is taught that among the foundations of the Dharma,
Within both the greater and the lesser vehicles,
The free and well favored human body is best of all.
(i.e. Great Value - the three Superior Aims
1. Rebirth in one of the 3 upper realms: temporary goal
2. Complete Liberation from Samsara
3. Full Enlightenment: ultimate goal
by practicing the three superior trainings
by practicing the five principal causes : renunciation, bodhicitta, emptiness, generation stage and completion stage of the secret mantra
So we will take full advantage of this great opportunity and study the dharma.
And feel sorry at the taught of having wasted any moment of this opportunity.
Note: We could use our accumulated merit for temporary happiness or permanent cessation. And if we generate Bodhicitta, we accumulate much more merit and have deeper wisdom.)
The Abhidharmakosha says:
Thirdly, nothing higher than this is seen:
Within the valley of sadness of human beings
So that they might see its end this was composed.
Also the such-ness of the secret mantra is quickly established with the support of human birth.
The Tantra of Exhausting the Four Elements says:
This is the wondrously risen king of secret mantra.
If human beings exert themselves in gaining it,
Accomplishment occurs within this very life.
Why even speak of the siddhis of any other yogas?
Therefore, as the support of all the vehicles, the freedoms and favors have been praised.
6. Meditating on how difficult these are to obtain.
(i.e. The actual meditation on this difficulty of obtaining a human body: Take refuge, arouse bodhicitta, visualize that we have this complete precious human body with the freedoms and endowments. And we fell great joy (no fear or discouragement or depression) because we have it. Ending with dedication.)
To take this difficulty of obtaining a human body as an object of meditation, sit on a comfortable seat. Take refuge and arouse bodhicitta. Then we visualize our own bodies, adorned with the freedoms and favors:
As a poor man who has found a gem of the highest value,
Fearful and anxious that it was nothing but a dream,
Contemplate the freedoms and favors with joyful longing,
Since this will establish the holy benefits of the Dharma.
Like a poor man who finds the finest of gems, let us rejoice in having obtained these freedoms and favors. This is a Dharma that should be practiced exclusively. Thinking, "If only this is not a dream!" we are afraid and terrified. Since we have attained it, meditating in heartfelt joy, let us dedicate it to the ultimate benefit of sentient beings.
The Discrimination of Scripture says:
Maudgala, these freedoms alone should be contemplated. Remember them with joy.
D. The fourth section of the general meaning: Dedicating the Merit.
(i.e. Dedication of the merit of having taught this meditation. May all beings reach enlightenment by reading, taking to heart, and putting into practice these explanations and instructions. - -By following this dharma, the body speech and mind are pacified, the mind is tamed, Dhyana concentration is developed, the body speech and mind are gradually purified; the real nature of the mind and of everything is directly seen; the poisons are transmuted into wisdoms, all fixation and grasping are automatically dropped, all obsessions and fears calmed, everything is seen as inseparable Trikaya, wisdoms beyond conceptualization, and pure Buddha-fields. The Union of The Two Truths. Unborn non-dual luminous space.)
Now there is the dedication of the merit of having taught the freedoms and favors to sentient beings:
The futile agitation of beings is pacified,
By the precious amrita of this auspicious news.
Going into sweet solitude of pleasant forest retreats,
May Mind, worn out within this thicket of the kleshas,
Be freed this very day from all its weariness.
By looking at this explanation of the holy amrita of peace, adorned with a continuous stream of the flowers of truth, may all beings, exhausted by the agitations of this life, eliminate them. In a single joyful life, in the peaceful solitude of meditation, may their minds, long wearied by samsara, be released from that weariness.
This is the instruction on the particular topic of easing weariness. May the meaning of the whole chapter showing samsara and its sadness be instantly taken to heart.
There is also a dedication written after completing the chapter. May the further chapters also be known in that way:
In peaceful forests, caves, and joyful valleys of herbs,
Dancing with moving flowers, to the rush of waterfalls,
May this mind, which has been so long in complete exhaustion.
Producing the holy benefit of the freedoms and favors,
Come to rest in unmoving equality/equanimity.May no beings be seen who are not tamed by that.
With pacification of kleshas and the seven noble riches [27]
After leaving behind this body and this life,
May we reach the primordial level -- the King of Mind.
Guru Puja - Reviewing the Stages of the Path
Realizing how this body of liberties and endowments
Is found but once, is difficult to obtain and is easily lost,
We seek your blessings to partake of its essence, make it worthwhile
And not be distracted by the meaningless affairs of this life.The Mountain of Blessings, by Lama Tsong Khapa
Bless me first to realize
That the excellent life
Of leisure I've found
Just this once
Is ever so hard to find
And ever so valuable;
Grant me then
To wish, and never stop to wish,
That I could take
Its essence night and day."Three Principals of the Path" - Lama Tsong Khapa
Reverence to the Holy Gurus!
I will explain as best I can
The essential import of all the Victor's Teachings,
The path praised by all the holy Bodhisattvas.
Best entrance for those fortunate ones who seek freedom.Listen with clear minds, you lucky people,
Who aspire to the path that pleases Buddhas,
Who work to give meaning to leisure and opportunity,
Who are not addicted to the pleasures of cyclic life.
Lust for existence chains all corporeal beings-Addiction to the pleasures of the life-cycle
Is only cured by transcendent renunciation.
So seek transcendence first of all!Leisure and opportunity are hard to get,
And there is no time to life; keep thinking on this,
And you will turn off your interest in this life!
Contemplate the inexorability of evolutionary effects
And the sufferings of life-over and over again-
And you will turn off interest in future lives!By constant meditation, your mind will not entertain
A moment's wish even for the successes of life,
And you will aim for freedom all day and night-
Then you experience transcendent renunciation!Transcendence without the spirit of enlightenment
Cannot generate the supreme bliss
Of unexcelled enlightenment-therefore,
The Bodhisattva conceives the supreme spirit of enlightenment.Carried away on the currents of four mighty streams,
Tightly bound by the near-inescapable chains of evolution,
Trapped and imprisoned in the iron cage of self-concern,
Totally wrapped in the darkness of mis-knowledge,
Born and born again and again in endless life-cycles,
Uninterruptedly tormented by the three miseries-
Such is the state of all beings, all just your mothers-
From your natural feelings, conceive the highest spirit!Even though you experience transcendent renunciation
And cultivate the spirit of enlightenment,
Without the wisdom from the realization of emptiness,
You cannot cut off the root of the life-cycle-
So, you should strive to understand relativity.Who sees the inexorable causality of all things
Both of cyclic life and liberation
And destroys any sort of conviction of objectivity-
Thereby enters the path pleasing to Victors.Appearance as inevitably relative,
And emptiness as free of all assertions-
As long as these are understood apart,
The Victor's intent is not yet known.But, when they are simultaneous without alternation,
The mere sight of inevitable relativity
Becomes sure knowledge rid of objective habit-patterns,
And the investigation of authentic view is complete.Further, while appearance eliminates absolutism, (i.e. Further, [knowledge of the nature of] appearances [existing only nominally] excludes the extreme of existence)
Emptiness eliminates nihilism, (i.e. And [knowledge of the nature of] emptiness [as the absence of inherent existence] excludes the extreme of non-existence.)
And you know emptiness manifest as cause and effect-
Then, you will not be deprived by extremist views.When you realize the essentials
Of the three principles of the path,
Rely on solitude and powerful efforts,
And swiftly achieve the eternal goal, my son!Nargarjuna’s Aspiration
Prostration to the Triple Gem!
Through each of my lives in samsaric states
Until I achieve the state of patience toward phenomena,
May I never be born in the three lower realms;
May I be born in higher realms in a human birth.Having taken human birth in a higher realm,
May I not take birth as a sinful king or his minister.
May I not take birth as the leader of an army or an executioner.
May I not take birth as a profiteer, liquor seller, sesame seed grinder, thief, or male or female slave.May I not take birth as one who dominates Bhikshus,
A working monk, enforcer of evil rules,
Disciplinarian, sweeper monk, or challenger.
May I not take birth in any of these jobs.May I not take birth in the land of savages or barbarians.
As one dumb, blind, deaf, imbecilic, or jealous,
In the castes of heretics, or those with wrong view,
In the lower castes, or as a butcher.Until enlightenment is reached,
May I always take birth as a practitioner of the holy Dharma.
Having been born as a Dharma practitioner,
May I not be under the power of non-virtue.With a life unhindered by illness,
May I meet the Dharma soon after birth.
Having met the Dharma soon after birth,
May I train my mind in the wisdom of study, contemplation, and meditation.May my mind be able to remain in single-pointed concentration,
Six consciousnesses undistracted by objects,
Developing physical power without defective limbs,
Sense organs perfect, as the object of veneration in a higher birth.Able to accomplish all the Buddha's Dharma,
May I renounce the world as a youth and maintain morality,
Always relying on holy spiritual masters,
And gradually traverse the ten paths.May I reach the unsurpassable essence of enlightenment.
Having attained the unsurpassable essence of enlightenment,
For all six realms beings in samsara,
Through various actions of skillful means,
May I perform the benefit of beings through the four social gatherings.What It Means To Be Lucky
What It Means To Be Lucky:
The Excellent Path Laid With Precious GemsE ma ho!
Now you have got what's so hard to get
The precious freedoms and advantages
This one life alone means so little
So why be so obsessed with it?
If to do some good for yourself and others too
You listen to Dharma, and then reflect
Then you are so fortunate–
This is what it means to be lucky.This life is quite impermanent
It will definitely disappear
You think everything will stay just as it is–
How to come out from this confusion into the clear?
Cut the root of Samsára’s confused appearances
By meditating on the meaning of what you've heard
If you do this, you are so fortunate--
This is what it means to be lucky.If you do good, you'll be happy
If you do bad, you'll suffer pain.
Think well about how karma works
And you'll gain certainty that it's an unfailing law.
If then you act in a rightful way
Doing what you should do and giving up the rest
Then you are so fortunate–
This is what it means to be lucky.The nature of samsara is the three sufferings
When you know this in your heart, and it's not just something you say
And so you can free yourself and others from Samsára’s ocean
You cut off suffering right at the root
If you can do that, then you are so fortunate–
This is what it means to be lucky.Meditating on impermanence
Cuts off attachment to this life
Thinking over and over of Samsára’s suffering
Makes you realize how worthless samsara is
This gives you the determination
To strive for nirvana's liberation
If you do that, you are so fortunate--
This is what it means to be lucky.Knowing Samsára’s cause is belief in 'I'
You know its remedy to be selflessness
So if you apply scripture and reasoning
To gain certainty that there is no self
And if you meditate on selflessness, you're so fortunate–
This is what it means to be lucky.All beings have been your father and mother
Knowing this you train your mind in love and compassion
This makes you stop worrying so much
About your own comfort and happiness
When you give rise to supreme bodhicitta–
This is what it means to be lucky.Everything in samsara and nirvana,
Without exception, is neither one nor many
So all phenomena are empty of essence
And knowing that, if you meditate on profound emptiness
Then you are so fortunate–
This is what it means to be lucky.Meditating on emptiness cuts the root of existence
Love and compassion free you from the extreme of peace
When you bring together wisdom and means
That are stuck in neither existence nor peace's extremes
Then you are so fortunate–
This is what it means to be lucky.When you've made the Mahayana path your sturdy base
And you know so excellently
The way that the totality of appearance
Is an infinite expanse of purity
Then the four empowerments
Will ripen your continuum
When you practice profound creation and completion–
This is what it means to be lucky.The fruit of this creation and completion
Must ripen at the appropriate time
This depends on your pure vision
Of your vajra brothers and sisters--it must increase!
So if pure vision dawns in your mind–
This is what it means to be lucky.Another reason you might be lucky–
The freedoms and resources, this excellent base
Is hard to find, and what's harder than that
Is using it to practice Dharma correctly
So if you are on the path of correct practice–
This is what it means to be lucky.Knowing what it means to be lucky
Day and night, without distraction
In order to accomplish great benefit
For the teachings and for all beings
May all of us practice
The Dharma of the lucky ones.Wishing Prayer for the Attainment of the Ultimate Mahamudra, The Lord Protector Rangjung Dorje, The Third Gyalwa Karmapa
Namo Guru
You Lamas, Yidams and Protectors of the power circles,
You victorious Buddhas and your Bodhisattva sons of the ten directions and the three times,
Think lovingly of us and give your blessings
That our wishes may be fulfilled exactly as they are made.Arising from the snow mountain of the perfectly pure thoughts and actions of ourselves and all beings,
May the river of good deeds, unsullied by the concept of a separation into three,
Flow into the ocean of the four Buddha-states.Until that happens, may we, in all lifetimes, from one birth to the next,
Never once hear the sound of pain or suffering,
But instead experience oceans of radiant goodness and joy.Having attained a free and fully endowed birth,
A precious human life with confidence, diligence, and wisdom,
Relying upon a spiritual teacher and receiving his Essential instructions,
May we then practice the precious teachings without hindrance in this and all future lives.Hearing the teachings frees us from the veils of ignorance.
Contemplating the Oral instructions removes the darkness of doubt.
The light arising from meditation makes clear the nature of mind, exactly as it is.
May the light of these three wisdoms increase.May we receive the flawless teachings, the foundation of which are the two truths
Which are free from the extremes of Eternalism and nihilism,
And through the supreme path of the two accumulations, free from the extremes of negation and affirmation,
May we obtain the fruit which is free from the extremes of either,
Dwelling in the conditioned state or in the state of only peace.The basis of purification is the mind itself in its union of clarity and emptiness.
The method of purification is the great Mahamudra Diamond-practice.
What is to be purified are the transitory illusory impurities.
The fruit of the purification is the perfectly pure truth-state.
May this become realized.Overcoming doubts concerning the fundamental teaching gives trust in the view.
Protecting this view without distraction is the essence of meditation.
Correct meditation in itself is best behavior.
May we trust the view, the meditation and the conduct.All phenomena are projections of the mind.
Mind is not a mind; the mind is empty in essence.
Although empty, everything constantly arises in it.
Through the deepest examination of the mind may we find its innermost root.Self-manifestation, which has never existed as such, is erroneously seen as an object.
Through ignorance, self-awareness is mistakenly experienced as an I.
Through attachment to this duality we are caught in the conditioned world.
May the root of confusion be found.It is not existent for even the Buddhas do not see it.
It is not non-existent, being the basis for both samsara and nirvana.
It is not the opposites, nor both, nor something else, but rather their union - the middle way.
May we realize the true nature of mind, which is beyond extremes.It cannot be described by saying, it is.
It cannot be denied by saying it is not.
The incomprehensible absolute reality is not composite.
May we achieve certainty about the correctness of this ultimate meaning.As long as this is not recognized, the wheel of existence turns.
When this is understood, the state of Buddha is nothing other than that.
There is nothing that can be described as either existing or not existing.
May the nature of reality, the true nature of the Buddha mind, be recognized.Appearance is only mind, emptiness is only mind, enlightenment is only mind, and confusion is only one's own mind.
Arising is only mind; disappearance is only mind.
May every doubt and hesitation that concerns the mind be overcome.May we neither be sullied by forced intellectual meditation nor disturbed by the winds of everyday life.
May we skillfully hold onto our practice concerning the nature of mind.May the immovable ocean of meditative peace,
Where the waves of subtle and gross thoughts come to rest through their own power, and
Where the waters of the unmoving mind remain in themselves,
Unspotted by laziness, sleepiness or un-clarity, become stable.If again and again we examine the mind, which cannot be examined,
We see that which cannot be seen, with total clarity, just as it is.
May the faultless mind, freed from all doubts about being and not being, recognize itself.Through the examination of external objects we see the mind, not the objects.
Through the examination of the mind we see its empty essence, but not the mind.
Through the examination of both, attachment to duality disappears by itself.
May the clear light, the true essence of mind, be recognized.Being without intellectual concepts, it is called the Great Sign, or Mahamudra.
Being without extremes, it is called the Great Middle Way, or Madhyamika.
As it embraces everything, it is called the Great Perfection, or Maha-Ati.
May we have the confidence that the experience of one is the experience of the meaning of all.May we constantly and effortlessly experience the never-ending highest joy, which is without attachment,
The clear light that is without categories or veils of obscuration, and
The spontaneous, concept-free state that is beyond intellect.Attachment to pleasant experiences vanishes of its own accord.
Illusory and negative thoughts are in their essence pure, like space.
In that simple state of mind there is nothing that must be given up or developed, avoided or attained.
May the truth of the uncomplicated nature of reality be realized.Although the true nature of beings is always the Buddha essence,
Still we always wander in the ceaseless wheel of life, not understanding that.
May infinite compassion arise for the limitless suffering of all beings.Although this infinite compassion is strong and unceasing,
The truth of its empty nature arises nakedly the very moment it appears.
This union of emptiness and compassion is the highest faultless way.
May we meditate inseparable from it, the whole time, day and night.May we attain the state of Buddha through maturity, realization, and completion,
And develop beings through divine eyes and clear sight arising through the power of meditation.
May we realize the Buddha fields and fulfill the wishing prayer of the perfection of the Buddha qualities.You Buddhas and Bodhisattvas from the ten directions,
Through your compassion and through the power of all the pure and good that exists,
May the pure wishing prayers of ourselves and all beings be fulfilled,
Just as they were made.
Precious: eight freedoms, ten endowments
Great value for the three superior aims
Rare and very hard to obtain
Evaluation for our next rebirth; if we are not born as a human we would not be able to progress
We have this great opportunity but what should we do with it?
All the problems and all the solutions are inside, not outside.
So we should turn inward, developing the mind, knowing the mind -- instead of being slave to external impermanent goals
Turn to the Dharma, learn it, practice it
Conclusion:
Determination to take full advantage of this great opportunity immediately, without wasting any moment
Renunciation, compassion, determination, engagement
Depending on the level of our motivation we would chose the right path
Four resolutions of Lama Tsong Khapa
"I need to practice dharma.
I can practice dharma.
I need to practice dharma in this life.
I need to practice dharma now."Note: What is missing from those other texts is the clear union of both method and wisdom, the perfecting of this meditation by combining its practice with the meditation of the emptiness of its objects. That is the added value of the "Great Chariot". For this reason, it is much more profound, and more advanced.
This human life (with its freedoms, endowments and problems) is very precious, rare, hard to get, of great value for all three goals, and should not be wasted (death may come at any time).
And it is very important to put the teachings into practice.
The more we meditate on this precious human life and its fragility, the more we will develop compassion and strengthen our determination to practice now.
The Problem
We act as if life was a gift, as if it was free and eternal, as if our acquiring actions will have permanent effect, and as if our negative actions will have no effects at all beyond death. We act as if our precious human life was causeless and eternal. We are not aware that we are wasting a very precious, rare, hard to obtain commodity.
We are continually oscillating between Eternalism and nihilism, between existence and non-existence, depending on our mood. Continually jumping from one extreme to the other depending on the focus of our mind, on what we think is inherently existing. All of this without even noticing the contradiction and absurdity.
We are trying to give meaning to our life by pursuing external goals, accumulating things and knowledge, trying to control everything.
All of our discrimination, actions, are based on the assumption of inherent existence of things, ideas, and attributes. We believe in absolute characteristics, truths, and meanings.
But reality is not like that at all. So, necessarily, we have to pay for our own mistakes; and we suffer because of these.
Meditating on all of this brings:
Compassion for all sentient beings in the same situation,
Joy to have this opportunity to work for Enlightenment,
Determination to take full benefit of this great opportunity while it last
Antidote: Meditating on the precious human birth brings joy; it is an antidote to discouragement, torpor, depression, and nihilism. It opposite antidote is the meditation on death and impermanence.
Conditionality: this human life is a hard to get effect, and a precious great cause - we should not waste it.
Against Eternalism and Annihilationism. This precious human life is an effect, and a great cause. It is not eternal, causeless, nor meaningless. It is an introductory level teaching about karma, dependent origination.
This meditation is essentially anti-nihilism. It affirms the usefulness of conditionality (and karma) against the belief of no-retribution from previous acts or total nihilism.
So we should not go in life as if it was eternal, as if our actions are without consequences, as if we can get a life like this any time
We should think hard about the purpose of this life and see how futile are most external goals. We should stop, reevaluate everything and seek true permanent peace and happiness for everybody.
Stop taking this life for granted and wasting it. Stop pursuing meaningless goals.
How to take full advantage of it? Where to seek permanent peace?
Not wasting it. Abandoning meaningless goals.
Seeking the Truth, not outside or in ordinary knowledge, but inside.
All problems and solutions come from the mind. "All dharmas depend on mind." -- "Mind is the root of all our joys and sorrows. Our only effort should be to tame the mind." So turn inward, seek and directly see the real nature of the mind, and thus the real nature of everything.
The root cause of all suffering is the ignorance of the real nature of our mind, and of everything.
"Taming the mind."
"By meditating without kleshas, union is produced."
"Resting within the nature [of the mind] is known as freedom"
What we are trying to see: the real nature of our mind and of everything:
"The nature of mind is primordial luminosity, the essence of the Buddha realm. It is beyond the four extremes of existence, non-existence, Eternalism, and nihilism. It primordially pervades all sentient beings." -- "Though primordially pure wisdom exists within us, by not recognizing it, we wander here in samsara."
Inseparability of appearances and emptiness.
The Union of The Two Truths: The Union of Dependent Origination (conventional truths) and Emptiness (Ultimate / Sacred truth). The Union of Compassion and Emptiness.
The Middle Way: there is nothing to accept or to get or to produce, and nothing to reject or drop. Everything is already pure. It is just a matter of removing this ignorance. We should use a raft, a path, but also know that it is just a temporary raft, an adapted skillful means; not an absolute.
Non-duality: not discriminating, not non-discriminating; not acting, not non-acting
No absolute, only adapted skillful means used in order to stay away from all extremes.
The impermanence of external goals and knowledge. No absolute there.
This precious raft is not existent, not non-existent.
Nothing is inherently existing. But, still, nothing is uncaused or non-functional. No cause without an effect; no effect without a cause. No absolute causality, no total absence of causality. No absolute control, no total absence of control either.
Conclusion
Although this precious human life is empty of inherent existence, it is our rare precious raft to cross the ocean of samsara. It should not be accepted as it appears (hedonism), and should not be totally rejected either (nihilism). Emptiness doesn't deny conditionality, dependent origination. They are interdependent. One implies the other. We should use this raft, but at the same time try to see its real nature so we do not become slave to it. And to do this we have to turn inward, seek and directly see the real nature of our own mind. Then the Union will be realized.
This will counterbalance the effects of the meditations on death, impermanence and emptiness. No absolute, only adapted skillful means used in order to stay away from all extremes.
Here We Insist On The Positive Points Of Our Life
In opposition to the meditation on death and impermanence
Two opposite antidotes
Not Just As An Ordinary Human:
The precious human life is not just about getting rebirth as a human. It is also about having assembled the right causes and conditions to be able to seek the true peace and to practice the dharma. There is no point in being a human and living like a stupid ignorant animal.
Security And Peace Is In Knowing The Truth:
The best strategy is always to know reality for what it is. Being slave of illusions and dogmas is never wise. So now that we have this opportunity we should seek the true nature of everything, starting with ourselves.
The dharma is the path to know this truth, and this truth.
It consist of seeking and directly seeing the real nature of our own mind, and the real nature of everything.
Its opposite is falling for ordinary knowledge, to impermanent mental fabrications, to dogmas, to absolutes, to extremes.
Not Without Causes And Conditions:
We didn't get here by total luck, or through the will of a god. It is the result of certain causes and conditions. And if we want to keep having this precious human life we have to understand what were the causes and conditions and try to maintain them.
And we have to understand the causes and conditions of the three lower realms and try not to cause them.
By trying to find the right causes and conditions for perfect peace and happiness, we will come to understand the cycle of conditionality, the emptiness of causes and conditions, and then be able to transcend the whole cycle. So it is not a matter of finding the right primal cause, or to produce the right final effect, but instead to see the real non-dual nature of all of this.
Causes and conditions are empty of inherent existence, but, still, there is no effect without a cause, or no cause without an effect.
The Precious Opportunity We Have:
Through evolution and their body, animals are conditioned and cannot escape their conditioning. Humans are also conditioned by their body and through social conditioning. But they have the opportunity to understand themselves and transcend their conditioning.
We have to understand the essence of this great opportunity and take full benefit of it. The opportunity we are having, that is the continuity of this precious human life, is to be able to transcend all conditioning by directly seeing the real nature of our own mind, and thus of everything. We have the opportunity to understand the real cause of all suffering, and find the true way out of it. Other sentient beings cannot do this; we are the only one in this position.
What makes us different than animals is this capacity to reflect on our own conditioning and to seek other solutions than the usual ones. Instead of being slave to reactive behavior (acquired through natural selection, through evolutionary discrimination), we have the capacity to go beyond those and reflect on the whole process of conditioning (or evolution / becoming / karma) itself. We have this opportunity to turn inward, to be able to directly see our own mental conditioning in action, and to be able to generalize to all conditioning (karma / dependent origination / the Wheel of Life). And once we have directly seen the real nature of this conditioning in action we are free from all this conditioning, from all the illusions created. By directly seeing that everything is dependently arisen, we come to understand that everything is empty of inherent existence.
Not Permanent
So this precious human life, being an effect dependent on causes and conditions, is not permanent.
We have to work in order to try to maintain the right causes and condition, without thinking that we can reach total control
Knowing that it is impermanent and very hard to obtain we should try to get the most of this present situation; we should try to go even further than just trying to maintain the status quo. We aim at permanent peace.
Not Without Effect, Not Without Functionality:
Even though this human life is full of conditioning and suffering, we have enough freedom to seek the truth about suffering and conditioning. We should use all experiences as teachings. Our efforts are not meaningless. They can be used to maintain this great opportunity, and to even go further, and to be able to help all other sentient beings.
We have enough suffering to served as teachings and generate renunciation; gods have no motivation to seek the truth until the last moment where it is too late. And we have enough freedom, peace and mental capacity to analyze all of this and see the real nature of everything; hell beings have not enough peace of the body and mind to be able to concentrate on it.
All causes are effect and all effects are cause. There is no beginning and no end to conditionality / samsara. No first cause, no final effect.
Even though everything, including this life, is empty of inherent existence, it is not without cause or without functionality.