Fri, 03 Sep 2010
The Highest Stages of the Path
The remainder of Jigten Sumgo's prayer describes the highest stages of the bodhisattva, which I can only talk about from an abstract and philosophical perspective.
Although some abide in the perfect meaning, they don't understand the interdependence of cause and effect. They are ignorant of the meaning of objects of knowledge. Please protect them, Omniscient Deity Mother.
The nature of space is free from elaboration. Nothing is different from that. Still practitioners and disciples don't realise this. Please protect them, Perfect Buddha Mother.
There is no higher truth than emptiness, nothing more to understand. So it would seem that the recognition of emptiness is the end of the path. But there is something further, one needs to integrate one's understanding of emptiness (ultimate truth) whith everyday experience (relative truth). With emptiness evertyhing is seen as a dream or illusion, but if one is going to help other people, one needs to function within this illusion and work with its rules, which means understanding cause and effect. One does not truly practice the six perfections until one understands emptiness. What makes them perfect is the understanding of emptiness. So one praactices generosity while seeing there is no giver, no gift, and no recipient. This understanding is called the threefold purity and all six perfections are made perfect because they are practiced with this attitude. This ability to integrate practical activity with an understanding of emptiness is called skillful means.
Beyond the integration of ultimate and relative truths is complete enlightenment, or buddhahood. This understanding is compared with space, which pervades everywhere and is unaffected by anything. This complete freedom of buddhahood is beyond any effort or elaboration and spontaneously perfect. This nature is in all beings from the beginning, yet they do not see it. Full enlightenment is copared to shattering a vase. The space inside the vase was always the same as the boundless space outside it. And there was never a differenc ebetween the two. Yest they seemed different until the vase was gone.
Thu, 02 Sep 2010
Non-Dual Mind
Continuing with my previous post, enlightenment isn't an all or nothing thing, like turning on a light switch, there are stages. And Jigten Sumgon's Prayer to Tara gives a good description of these stages. The next stanza talks abou the initial realization of emptiness:
Non-dual wisdom is the self-born mind. By the habits of grasping at duality, some are bound, no matter what they do. Please protect them, Deity of Non-Dual Wisdom.
It's important to distinguish between recognizing mind and realizing its emptiness. There is still a subtle dualism in recognizing mind and this dualism is a form of ignorance. As long as there is a sense of something experienced, something achieved, or something overcome there is dualism. Gradually one works through the dualism until it is eliminated. What this is like is way beyond my experience, so I can only quote Traga Rinpoche.
Ultimate truth is the original nature, which is the dharmadhatu, the suchness of phenomena. It is referred to as emptiness, mahamudra, or mahasandhi, the perfect nature. It is realized only by the noble ones. It is the self aware primordial wisdom. It is beyond the domain of thought, inexpressible, and incomprehensible. It cannot be expressed through speech, shown, pointed to, or demonstrated. The body cannot touch it, the speech express it, or mind think of it. It is known only by discerning the primordial wisdom. There is no duality of subject and object in it. It is inseparable appearance-emptiness. This emptiness is the dharmadhatu, the base of all phenomena. When it is realized, there are no concepts or kleshas. All impurities have been eliminated. But also there is no wisdom.
Milarepa was asked, "Is it true that in that state there is no wisdom?"
He replied, "I cannot say yes or no. You will have to see for yourself."
This primordial wisdom is beyond the duality of subject or object. It is free of all mental elaboration. It is seeing what cannot be seen. There is not so much as a single thing to be meditate on. But is not a nihilistic void. It is not straying from the natural state.
It's said that the recognition of mind comes and goes. It is unstable. But the realization of emptiness is stable and unchanging.
Here the description of Pagmodrupa's realization of emptiness, which is given its traditional scholastic name, "the path of seeing." Phagmodrupa had mistaken recognition of mind, which has qualities, with the realization of emptiness, which has none. So Gampopa set him straight.
One day, Gampopa said to the assembly, "I need to instruct the Khampa Geshe separately from the rest of you." When he went to see the lama he was asked, "What Dharma have you studied? What have you practiced?", and so he described the many pieces of advice he had received and how he had put them all into practice. To the question: "What experiences have you had?", he described the way nondiscursive wisdom, the path of seeing, had arisen. To: "Are you holding to that as the path of seeing?", he replied that he was, based on his understanding of The Vajra-Verses of Lamdre. To this, the lama said: "Really? You are holding to that as the path of seeing?" He replied that he was certain that he had realized it as it was introduced to him by Lord Sakyapa, who had used these words: "Uninterrupted continuity of the experience, the bliss, and the emptiness of the uncontrived nature of mind, the peak state of innate mind — this is the nondiscursive wisdom, the path of seeing, that which produces the fine distinctions of awareness." Gampopa then exclaimed, "How unfortunate! Are you holding to that from the bottom of your heart as the path of seeing?" He replied, "This is the path of seeing as realized by way of all sutra, tantra, quintessential instruction, and meditative experiences." To steer him away from this way of thinking, Gampopa squeezed his sen [barley dough] in his hand and replied, "I prefer this to your nice 'path of seeing'." Gampopa then said, "Take a walk to that hill over there in the east; later we will discuss all of the dharmas received from others to which you are attached."
Phagmodrupa went up the eastern hill and pondered all of this. A short time later, all of his former good experiences quickly disintegrated, falling away like chaff and husk, and he then genuinely realized the true face of authentic realization, that which is beyond rational mind, the mahamudra. At that moment, his mind became unobstructed, like space, and he gasped, "All those former lamas — what are they to me now?" He returned to Gampopa, who was aware of his realization and said to him: "I have nothing more than that to teach you."
So, I want emphasize the distinction between recognition of mind, which is what usually gets called "enlightenement" and realization of emptiness, which actually deserves the name enlightenment. And this is not the final stage! beond this lies the achievemnt of the omniscience of a buddha.
Sun, 29 Aug 2010
Stages of the Path
I'd like to wrap up what I was writing on enlightenment and move onto another topic. But first, I want to explain the stages of the path. The are many levels of understanding on the Buddhist path. Different levels all get labeled enlightenment and people get confused. I've met more than one person who thought they were a stream enterer or on the first bhumi after their experience. There are many different explanations of the levels of enlightenment. I'm using a poem by Jigten Sumgon that isn't explicitly about that, but does describe these stages. Here is the first part:
In the unborn Dharmadatu
abides the Reverend Mother, the deity Tara.
She bestows happiness on all sentient beings.
I request her to protect me from all fears.Through not understanding oneself as Dharmakaya,
one's mind is overpowered by kleshas.
Our mothers, sentient beings, wander in samsara.
Please protect them, Deity Mother.If the meaning of dharma is not born in one's heart,
one just follows the words of conventional meaning,
some are deceived by dogma.
Please protect them, Perfect Mother.It is difficult to realise one's mind.
Some realise, but do not practise.
Their minds wander to worldly activities.
Please protect them, Deity Mother of Recollection.
The first stanza is the introduction, The second stanza describes the problem of the ordinary person not interested in spiritual practice. Because they have not yet seen their mind as Buddha, they are overwhelmed by negative emotions. The solution is to take up the practice of dharma. The third stanza contrasts the practitioner who has understood the meaning through their own experience versus one who only understands it intellectually and for whom it is only a dogma and the living truth. So this stanza points out the need for practice to realize the truth. Even after realization, there are still many problems, as the fourth stanza describes. Though one has had a glimpse that the mind is Buddha, through force of habit one still acts in the old egotistical manner. One needs further practice to stabilize the understanding one has gained. When teachers behave badly it's because the teacher is still at this level, enlightened but not yet fully enlightened.
Fri, 27 Aug 2010
American Buddhism
There's been some buzz on the Internet lately about how Tibetan Buddhism is unsuitable for Americans because it comes from a backwards and feudal society. What I think has happened is that Buddhism is getting more mature in this country. People think they know what it's all about and are becoming more vocal about saying so. Is this assessment accurate? Hard to say, I'm not in a position yo judge what Americans need. But as a corrective, let me quote Edward Conze from the introduction to his translation of the 8,000 Verse Perfection of Wisdom.
Asked what Buddhists should do to become more acceptable to Westerners, I used to enumerate with a smile a few concessions one might make repsectively to the feminist, democratic, hedonistic, primitivistic, and anti-intellectual tendencies of American society. Though in the end I invariably recovered my nerve and reminded my listeners that it is mot so much a matter of the Dharma adjusting itself to become adoptable to Americans, but of Americans changing and transforming themselves to become acceptable to the Lord Buddha.
Tue, 24 Aug 2010
Nairatmya Retreat
I spent last week at the retreat Chetsang Rinpoche held in Frederick, Maryland. Unless you are Drikung Kagyu you probably don't know who Chetsang Rinpoche is. He's one of two head lamas of the Drikung Kagyu. If you don't know the Drikung Kagyu, it's a subschool of one of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism and there's a history of the Drikung at the link. The other head lama is still in Tibet. Chetsang Rinpoche leads a monastery in Dehru Dun, India that focuses on training young lamas. During the retreat Chetsang Rinpoche gave the empowerment and taught how to practice the sadhana of Nairatmya. She is the consort of Hevajra, who is one of the main tantric deities in Highest Yoga Tantra (HYT). Since it was a HYT empowerment, it was very elaborate and took two days to perform. After the empowernent, Chetsang Rinpoche taught a short daily sadhana for Nairatmya and one of the khenpos (teachers) from his monastery taught on the meaning of the samaya vows (tantric commitments). I thought that explanation was very good, the most meaningful part of the retreat for me. All the teaching and practice was done very nicely and properly. The only thing I wish was done differently is that I would have liked more time to practice the sadhana. But there wasn't enough room in the schedule for that.
The retreat was held at Episcopalian center instead of the Tibetan Meditation Center, which would not have been able to handle the large number of people who came. It was a very nice place for the retreat. They served us a vegetarian lunch and the facilities were comfortable, which was nice, because it allowed us to concentrate on the retreat rather than our personal discomforts. I think everyone enjoyed it, except maybe the people who had to staff the retreat, who were overwhelmed at times with the large number of people they had to handle. You should read Kirby Moore's blog for the account of one of the staffers. The retreat drew long time committed Drikung practitioners from all over the country as well as curious beginners from the area. During the retreat I floated along on a cloud of bliss and peace. I had the same feeling with Chetsang Rinpoche as when I'm with Garchen Rinpoche. That's over now, of course, I'm back at work!
Nairatmya is not that well known a figure in the Tibetan pantheon. One of the reasons why Chetsang Rinpoche was teaching the sadhana was to prevent her practice from falling into oblivion. But there is one well known story about her in the life of Virupa, the Indian founder of the Sakya lineage. Virupa practiced tantra devotedly in his monastery for many years, but became disappointed in the lack of results. He decided to abandon his tantric practice and threw his mala down the outhouse. That night Nairatmya appeared to him in a dream and told him that he was on the verge of achieving enlightenment. So he retrieved his mala from the outhouse and continued his practice and soon achieved enlightenment. When the other monks at the monastery discovered he was breaking his monastic vows through his tantric practice, he was expelled, he took the name Virupa (Wicked One), and practiced as a siddha. So there is a tradition of Hevajra / Nairatmya that comes the Sakya school as well as the tradition that comes through the Kagyu.
Tue, 17 Aug 2010
Kensho Is Not Bullshit
Just so people don't think I've died and gone to Devachan, I've been attending Chetsang Rinpoche's seminar this week and that leaves littel time or energy for posting. I was not feeling well last week, which is why you didn't see anything then. Rinpoche is the head of the Drikung subschool of Kagyu Buddhism, and not so comon to have an opportunity like this. So nothing has been posted. But nothing engages the creative juices like responding to a stupid comment and I found one over at Hardcore Zen. Here's the original remark and my comment.
Buddhism has nothing, NOTHING to do with kensho or satori or shit like that.
Time for a little philosophizing. First, there needs to be a definition of kensho, or else we are arguing past each other. Here's how I define it: "the direct perception of the absence of self." I hope my definition isn't too controversial. If you think "kensho is bullshit" and have some other definition, please let me know what it is.
The definition has two parts. Direct perception means not an intellectual understanding of no self inferred by argument. (i.e., you have no self because your body is constantly changing.) And absence of self implies that this is not an experience with a positive content, even an ineffable, indescribable one. What is perceived is a simple absence. An analogy is thinking there is someone in a room but going in it and seeing it's only a radio playing. We think we have a self, but when we first stabilize our mind and then look at it, we see that what we took as a self was only a habit of taking at it that way.
I hope it's clear that this definition of kensho is completely consistent both with Buddhism and Zen and I'll spare myself the effort of tracking down the quotes that demonstrate this. Buddhism without the idea of enlightenment that sees the selflessness of phenomena is not Buddhism at all.
So why do we see so much rhetoric against kensho in Soto Zen? Here's how I understand it. Belief in a self is not just one thing, it's a series of related beliefs. And one cuts through them, starting with the coarsest and going to the more fine. The coarsest idea of self is that it is the owner of the body and mind, that there is an experiencer separate from our thoughts and emotions.
Behind that there are other notions, one which is that the self can achieve enlightenment, There is nothing to achieve, because our notion of achievement implies an achiever. This notion of no achievement gets related to the beginner, who gives it a nihilistic spin and thinks kensho is bullshit. From one perspective, it is, but this is not the beginner's perspective. As long as you are hugging tightly to your idea of self, you need to think in terms of dropping the self. From the perspective that there never was a self, there was never a need to get rid of it. But these are two different sides of the same mountain.
Sun, 08 Aug 2010
The Object of Meditation
Zen teacher Robert Aitken, who recently died, had some strong words to say on the subject of meditation:
If your teacher is not a fake, he or she will tell you to count your breaths. If he or she advises you to do something else at the outset of your practice, you have a fake teacher. Use this criterion and find somebody genuine.
There are many objects of meditation mentioned in the traditional texts. The Path of Purification lists 40 different objects and the mahamudra text "Eliminating the Darkness of Ignorance" gives concentrating on a stick or stone as the first exercise in shamatha meditation. There is no consensus view on the best object of meditation for a new practitioner and I think it's wrong to be dogmatic on the subject. But using the breath as an object of meditation is very popular in the West. I'd bet that 80% or more of new Buddhists are first taught to meditate using the breath.
So why is following the breath so popular? It has several advantages. First, the breath is clear and distinct. It's simple to explain and simple to do. Second, if you are counting the breath, it's easy to notice when your attention has wandered. Since mental wandering is the biggest problem new meditators face, this is a big advantage. Third, because the breath is so plain and ordinary, new practitioners don't project their fantasies on it the way they would if they were meditating on an image of the Buddha.
So are there disadvantages to meditating on the breath? Yes. First, new meditators need to be told to breathe naturally and not to hyperventilate. As your meditation gets better, your breath becomes smoother and harder to notice. In other forms of practice the object of meditation gets more distinct as you practice. And emphasis on the breath can lead to a one sided practice that ignores Buddhist teachings on love and compassion.
Fri, 06 Aug 2010
The Purpose of Meditation
So what usually gets called enlightenment is seeing our basic mind. What keeps us from seeing it is our false concepts about mind. Much of our self-talk is done in order to keep these false concepts going. In other words, it's just a form of self-hypnosis. There are gaps in these thoughts and during the gaps it's possible to get a glimpse of the basic mind. But usually, a glimpse is not enough, what usually happens is that we conceptualize it and turn it into a special experience. So the practice of meditation is usually necessary to see the basic mind. There are three aspects of meditation that make it effective. First, it is focused on what is real rather than how we hope things will be. Practices such as affirmations and visualizations may be helpful, but focusing on what is happening right now is essential to meditation aimed at enlightenment. Second, meditation calms the thoughts and emotions which disturb the mind. By lengthening the gaps between thoughts, one stands a better chance of seeing mind as it is. Third, one is left to find the truth on one's own. No one lays out a detailed road map, saying "this will happen and then that." This is deliberate as anticipation of results blocks us from seeing the truth. A meditation teacher is not going to hold your hand all the time. This is quite deliberate and an essential aspect of the practice.
Wed, 04 Aug 2010
The False Self
So our false self is a product of our thinking mind. Our usual idea of the mind is constructed on an analogy with the physical world. Just as our body is situated in the world, we think our mind is somewhere within the body. And just as our senses perceive the world, we think that our mind perceives our thoughts. This belief of the mind as within the body and separate from, but perceiving thought, is a deeply ingrained habit. Still, there are exepriences which call this habitual belief into question. For example, there are out of body experiences where you perceives your body from the outside. And their are mystical experiences, where the sense of separate self vanishes temporarily. The existence of these experiences shows us the arbitrary nature of how we understand the mind. But the goal is not to come up with a more accurate theory of mind. It's to drop the theories and conceptualizations altogether and just relax and let things be as they are. Since most people find this difficult, we have artificial practices like meditation, that allow us to train the mind to relax. When this ability to let go and relax reaches a certain level of development, we can catch a glimpse of our basic mind, or alaya. But this shouldn't be misunderstood as our ordinary way of seeing. It more of a being. It similar to how our finger touches itself, and yet has no sensation of itself. Similarly, mind sees mind, but there is no experience of mind.
Tue, 03 Aug 2010
Levels of Mind
Since enlightenment is seeing the mind as it is, to understand enlightenment, you have to understand a bit about what Buddhists think mind is. The ideas of Asanga have been influential, both in Tibetan Buddhism and in Zen, so I will explain his ideas. First, although I talk about mind, In Buddhism mind is more of an activity or a process than a thing. The best word would be mentation, I suppose. Mind is more streams of activities. There are three levels of mind. The first is the outer facing stream of perceptions and ideas. Behind that is the false self, what we normally take to be ourselves, but is actually nothing more than a pattern of thought, a habitual way of looking at ourselves and the world. And behind the false self is what's known as the warehouse consciousness (alaya). Normally we aren't aware of the alaya consciousness, so it's hard to describe. One analogy is that it's like the light bulb in a film projector. The film represents our constantly changing perceptions and thoughts, the alaya is like the relatively constant light that shines through it.
What gets called enlightenment, in both Buddhism and other religious traditions, is seeing this basic mind. It's a bit confusing when you try to correlate this with Buddhist scriptures and commentaries, because what's described there as enlightenment is a more advanced state. And I will have more to say about that later. The chief obstacle to seeing the alaya consciousness is our misconception of who we are (our false self) obscures it. Meditation helps by stilling our thoughts. When thoughts are stilled, so are our misconceptions, and what is really there stands out clearly. Meditation does not produce enlightenment, instead it allows us to get it. Strictly speaking, meditation is neither necessary or sufficient for enlightenment. But it is the surest route to it, but a long one, because it takes a good while to quiet our thoughts.
Sun, 01 Aug 2010
Enlightenment Howto Part Two
I'm resurrecting one of my old projects. It was going to be a short explanation of Buddhism for non-Buddhists or not yet Buddhists called the Enlightenment Howto. It never got beyond the first post. What made me want to revive it is that I've read the most amazing things on the Internet recently about enlightenment and wanted to respond. But responding in another person's forum didn't seem appropriate, so I'm going to put what I wanted to say here. I'm approaching the idea of enlightenment more from the theoretical than the experiential point of view for the obvious reason that I haven't got it, and more than likely, neither do you. But what my teachers and the Buddhist commentaries say is clear enough that I feel the project is worth while. So here goes.
The great religions of the world are divided into faith traditions and wisdom traditions. In the former, our problem is that we are not in the correct relationship with God and we need to bring ourselves into that. In the latter, the problem is ignorance or delusion and its solution is removing that. And the removal of ignorance and delusion is called enlightenment. Some wisdom traditions, such as Hinduism, refer to what is ultimately real as God. Others, such as Buddhism, do not. Even so, all wisdom traditions have a lot in common with each other.
The term enlightenment is obviously a metaphor. Ignorance is like darkness, and wisdom is like the light which removes darkness. So enlightenment is a kind of knowledge. So the first question is what kind of knowledge are we talking about. The answer Buddhism gives is pretty simple. Mind is aware of other phenomena, but can also be aware of itself. The knowledge we are talking about is mind seeing itself as it really is. The nature of the knowledge sought determines the manner in which we seek it. So the techniques we employ to gain this knowledge is inner focused and usually goes by the name of meditation. Meditation is not ust a single technique, it is a range of similar techniques.
So why is understanding the mind important? Because most of our problems are created by our minds. We are frustrated by a wish to control it but a seeming inability to do so. This frustration comes from a lack of understanding and with understanding the problem is solved.
Sat, 31 Jul 2010
Surrendering
When people hear about surrendering to the spiritual teacher , it sounds very scary and cultish. But surrendering rally means letting go of holding on. It doesn't matter who or what you surrender to, it's the letting go that's important. Holding on is the activity of ego. Ego is holding on.
Fri, 30 Jul 2010
Terma Empowerments
Lama Gursam has been visiting Baltimore this week, which doesn't leave much time for posting. He almost didn't make it to Baltimore. He was supposed to go with Lamchen Gyalpo to Tibet, but the visit got cancelled. I asked Lama about it an he told me that Lho Bongtrul Rinpoche has been looking for copies of the terma texts discovered by his predecessor. He has also been funding the restoration of his monastery in Nangchen, in Eastern Tibet. Both projects are finished and he wants to give the empowerments for the complete cycle of terma. So Lama Gursam, Lamchen Gyalpo Rinpoche, Lho Bongtrul Rinpoche, and Ontrul Rinpoche were going to travel to Nangchen and perform the empowerments, which would take about a month, But Ontrul Rinpoche could not get his visa in time. So the empowerment was not held this year, but will be held next.
I met Bongtrul Rinpoche when he visited Baltimore during the tour of the Drikung Lama Dancers. He stayed here for a week after the tour and I wish I had gotten more teachings from him. I have notes from a talk he gave on fivefold mahamudra at TMC. They're worth reading.
Sat, 24 Jul 2010
Simple Is Better
Here is a story that Lama Phurbu Tashi told, most recently during the Amitabha empowerment. It used to be on his website, but got lost in the meltdown. So I've resurrected it from memory.
Back during the time of the mahasiddhas in India, a king heard that a great siddha was dwelling in his kingdom. And being a pious Buddhist, he invited him to his palace to give an empowerement. The siddha came, but instead of performing the usual empowerment ceremony, he just opened his palm in front of the king. This was his way of telling the king that enlightenment is nothing more than releasing our grasping. But the king failed to understand, called the siddha a fraud, and threw him into his dungeon.
One of the siddha's disciples heard that he was imprisoned. In order to free him, he went to the king and offered to give him an empowerment. He performed an elaborate ceremony and then explained in detail how the king should perform the sadhana. The king quickly gained realization from his practice and in gratitude offered to grant the disciple's wish, whatever it was. The disciple asked to have the siddha set free. And the king, realizing the mistake he had made, freed the siddha and asked his forgiveness.
The moral of the story is, simple is better than elaborate, but not everyone can appreciate simplicity.
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