Essence of Buddhism As
Related to the Four Noble Truths
Ideal Teacher! You love beings like your children,
giving valid sacred Teachings of shunyata and interdependence.
You have attained the ideal result, the Liberated state.
To that ideal Being, the Buddha, I bow my head.
Your eloquent teaching on emptiness and interdependence
is unexcelled and special; different from other teachers.
Who would disbelieve your teaching
that there is nothing that does not arise interdependently!
This is a system which follows scripture
by way of logic and reasoning; it is not for fools!
Persevering by investigating hundreds of perfect reasonings,
we are fortunate to enter the path of interdependence!
Though my butterfly wings can’t encompass
the extent of the sky of your Teachings
If there is something wrong with my writing this
to benefit some of less intelligence like myself, I beg forgiveness.
Thus, with utmost
reverence to our perfect Teacher, the fully enlightened Buddha, and strong
prayers of aspiration, my subject here is the very blessed Teachings of the
first of Buddha’s three wheels of Dharma; the root of Dharma, the Twelve Links
of Interdependence and the Four Noble Truths. Though Buddha is no longer
actually with us, we are extremely fortunate to be able to practice his
profound and vast Teachings still undiluted. If these Teachings decline, the
Teachings of Buddha decline. If these Teachings flourish, Buddha’s Teachings
flourish, without doubt!
Therefore, now when,
according to the Hierarchs, it is 2559 human years since Buddha kindly took
birth in our world, in memory of our kind Buddha, respectfully, I would like to
explain what I know to help beginners like myself. With this motivation I will
here write briefly about the Four Noble Truths, the Three Supreme Jewels, and
the Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination.
First I will give a brief introduction and then the main extensive
explanation.
A Brief Introduction
Buddhism continues to
gradually spread from Asia to many other countries of the world; that is really
something worthy of rejoicing. Indeed, from the time of Buddha’s paranirvana up
to the present time, Buddha’s teachings have spread like branches and leaves
from a single root. However, every country and region has their own traditions,
each monastery its own system, and they come to use different names and designations.
On one hand this is wonderful as everyone rejoices in their different
traditions and styles of Buddhist practice, and powerful auspiciousness spreads
everywhere on earth. In terms of practice, however, just as a branch from the
trunk of a tree and each successive branch and twig become smaller and smaller,
the teachings may become very narrow in scope. Like rivers meeting up to the
snow line, this Dharma lineage that we are practicing has its origins in the
108 volumes of the Kangyur, Buddha’s own words, and the two hundred and
thirteen volumes of the Tangyur, the Commentaries. If we never study any of
Buddha’s words yet supposedly practice a specific form of them, we may actually
be holding on to branches while throwing out the root. Sometimes, if we are not
careful, there is a danger that we may cling very tightly to our own tradition,
praising it most highly, while almost forgetting Buddha’s teachings and our
kind Buddha himself! Perhaps my worries are unfounded, however, like rabbit or
‘chicken little’ who thinks the sky is falling!
I myself also regard my
tradition and lamas as very important and practice, without fail, every day. It
is important to remember our lineage when we practice. However, when studying
we must definitely keep Buddha’s own teachings as the foundation and study all
traditions. Taking myself for example, I am an abbot in name only. I have not
been able to complete all the studies I would have wished. Yet I now continue
to study, contemplate, and meditate on all lineages of Tibetan Buddhism to the
best of my ability.
Furthermore, in 2006 I
went to Burma and studied in the Sthavira tradition for six months. I was
extremely moved by it. The Buddhist practice of Burma, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and
so forth, is like the essence of Buddha’s teachings. There are some who discriminate
between Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana traditions, but I feel that is unfortunate.
Hinayana and Mahayana should be differentiated only based on the scope of the
person practicing it, not by external terms and customs. In any case, we are
all very similar like leaves and branches from the same trunk. Since Buddha’s
teachings are very vast and profound we must study all its traditions. If you
think, I’m too old, too dull to study, that is not the case. It is never too
late to study.
In Sakya Eloquence, it is said,
Even if we will die tomorrow morning, study today.
If we don’t master it in this life,
In future lives we will be able to recover it
Like money we have deposited.
As said, even if we don’t become learned in this lifetime, the hearing,
contemplation, and meditation on Buddha’s teachings will never be wasted. It
will be like money in the bank in future lives.
Again, as long as we
are a follower of Buddha, even if we don’t study all of Buddha’s teachings, it
is indispensable to study them at least in a brief form. This will enable us to
understand the branch of Buddha’s teachings that we are practicing more easily;
plus we will have a greater appreciation of the other traditions; it will have
many benefits.
In particular, these
days, if lamas teach a view from their own tradition, for example, their
particular branch of Tibetan Buddhism, Mahamudra or Dzogchen, it may possibly
bring some temporary benefit to the mind of the disciple, but they will not
gain a comprehensive understanding of the whole of Buddha’s teachings.
Therefore I think it is extremely important to study and meditate on the
teachings that Buddha gave in the Sanskrit and Pali languages such as the Four
Noble Truths, the Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination, the Eight-fold
Noble Path, the Thirty-Seven Wings of Enlightenment, etc; we should definitely
study these.
In Tibetan Buddhism,
many lamas these days do not at all check the minds of disciples and confer
upon them initiations of Yidam Deities with impressive, fierce-sounding names.
Some hope that they may be instantly propelled to the state of Liberation by
the initiation. That depends upon the practice and realization of the lama
conferring the empowerment. No matter how many times empowerment is conferred,
if the lama cannot introduce the actual meaning of the empowerment to the mind
of the disciple, the disciple will just remain the same person that they were
before. Better than that, in the midst of our daily lives, if we can study well
and meditate on the Four Noble Truths, the Twelve Links, and so on, it will
definitely transform our lives. Some people regard these as easy subjects that
can be understood by studying them once or twice. If Buddha’s teachings could
be learned just by hearing them one time, there would probably not be all these
people wandering in samsara experiencing so much suffering! The reason for that
is, if you realize the true meaning of Dharma you can abandon all deluded
states of mind. If delusion is absent you will not accumulate negative karma.
Without the cause, the effect, that of wandering in samsaric suffering, will
not occur. This has been an explanation of some secondary points that came to
mind. Now we come to the main subject.
Extensive Explanation
I will write about 1)
the Four Noble Truths and 2) Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination. Then,
in connection with these subjects, I will give an explanation of 3) refuge and
4) a final summary of the essence of the meaning.
The
Four Noble Truths
The Four Noble Truths
has two parts: first a brief explanation by way of their natures or entities,
then an extensive explanation by way of their branches.
Brief Explanation of
Their Entities
The Brief Explanation
has five parts. The benefits of knowing the Four Noble Truths and the drawbacks
of not knowing them; how Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths with each of their
stages; the enumeration of the Four Truths; and how to practice them.
Benefits of Knowing the
Four Noble Truths and Drawbacks of Not Knowing Them
As for the benefits of
knowing the Four Noble Truths and the drawbacks of not knowing them, the Four
Noble Truths is a scripture that reveals the paths of nirvana and samsara
unmistakenly. Even if Buddha had not taught about samsara and suffering it is
readily apparent that it is actually the common condition of all living
creatures, all sentient beings of this world. Between the two abodes of samsara
and nirvana, we currently experience samsara. If we wish to escape samsara, by
practicing the Four Noble Truths in the correct order we can free ourselves
from the suffering of samsara from now on. To free ourselves from the suffering
of samsara we must first know the faults of samsara. The first two truths show
the stages by which we enter samsara, and the latter two reveal the Arya paths
and cessations. Therefore you must definitely understand the Four Noble Truths.
How Buddha Taught the
Four Noble Truths
Second, as for how
Buddha originally taught the Four Noble Truths, Buddha had practiced
austerities for six years at Bodhgaya, India. Finally he attained full enlightenment
one day in the early dawn. After seven weeks, having been requested by humans
and devas to teach, on the fourth day of the sixth Tibetan month Buddha gave
his first teaching, the Four Noble Truths, to the five human entourage and
eighty-thousand devas at Varanasi, India, on the banks of the Ganges River. At
that time there were many Brahmins of India who asserted that liberation could
be attained by physical exertions alone. Realizing that liberation could not be
attained by exertion of body and speech alone Buddha instituted a previously
non-existent special religious system called Buddhism — Nang-pay-chö in Tibetan
— an inner path of mental development. The word Nang-pa, a ‘Buddhist,’ has vast
significance. Between inner and outer, nang means the inner. Pa means that
which possesses it. Because it is a religious system which, for example,
regards inner ego-grasping ignorance as the enemy, it is an inner path.
As for their order, Buddha said in Sutra,
This is the noble truth of suffering.
This is the noble truth of its cause.
This is the noble truth of cessation.
This is the noble truth of the path.
In this way, explaining the entities of the Four Noble Truths, he gave
the first teaching.
Then he taught the actions to be undertaken in relation to each of the
four truths.
Suffering is to be understood.
Causes are to be abandoned.
Cessation is to be manifested.
Paths are for the mind to rely upon.
Finally he gave teachings on the results of the Four Noble Truths.
Suffering should be known but there is no knowing.
Causes should be abandoned but there is no abandoning.
Cessation should be manifested but there is no manifesting.
Paths should be meditated but there is no meditating.
In this way Buddha first identified the Four Noble Truths, then
explained what to do in relation to each of them. Finally he explained that the
Four Noble Truths and the actions undertaken in relation to each of them all
lack true existence; they are illusory in nature. There is suffering and
knowledge of it but both the suffering and the knowledge of it are illusory,
lacking true existence. There are causes of suffering and they must be abandoned,
but both the causes and their abandonment are illusory, lacking true existence.
There is cessation of suffering and it must be manifested but both the
cessation and its manifestation are illusory, lacking true existence. Paths to
cessation of suffering must be meditated upon, but the true path and meditation
on it are both illusory, lacking true existence. This realization of the
illusory, empty nature of the Four Noble Truths is the final result of meditating
on the Four Noble Truths.
When Buddha taught the
Four Noble Truths it was in the order of true sufferings, true causes, true
cessations, and true paths. The reason for that is of profound importance. Once
you have recognized suffering you may develop the wish to abandon its causes.
Having been introduced to emptiness and true cessations you develop the wish to
enter the true paths which bring their attainment. This is the purpose behind
the order. This will be explained extensively below under practice, so I won’t
elaborate further here.
Enumeration of the Four
Noble Truths
Each of the four truths is further subdivided into four making sixteen
when extensively explained. This number is definite. First, the four branches
of true sufferings are impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and selflessness.
Impermanence
This is the momentary production and cessation of things.
Suffering
This is the continual torment of the three root sufferings, the eight
branch sufferings and so forth.
Emptiness
Sufferings are empty because they do not exist by way of their own self
identity.
Selflessness
This is the non-inherent existence of the self of persons.
Second, the four branches of true causes are cause, source, condition,
and strong production.
Cause
This is the cause of samsara, the delusions and the negative karma
generated by them.
Source
This is the source of our experiencing true causes and true sufferings.
Condition
It is also the condition which conjoins our causal source of suffering
with its resultant suffering.
Strong Production
This is when strong waves of suffering are sometimes encountered.
Third, the four branches of true cessations are cessation, peace,
excellence, and definite deliverance.
Cessation
It is the cessation of the continuum of causes of suffering and
resultant suffering.
Peace
All karma and delusion is pacified without remainder.
Excellence
It is the source of immutable ultimate happiness.
Definite Deliverance
Liberated from samsara, never to return, a special bliss of nirvana is
attained.
Fourth, the four branches of true paths are path, awareness,
accomplishment, and definite liberation.
Path
This is from the state of an ordinary person up to the arya grounds.
Awareness
It is the transcendent wisdom insight awareness that acts as the
antidote to delusions.
Accomplishment
It is the accomplishment of perfect, unmistaken mind.
Definite Liberation
Freed from all faults you are led to the state of eternal happiness.
How to Practice the
Four Noble Truths
Unwanted suffering is
like an illness, causes are like the incorrect food or conduct which caused the
illness, cessation is like the pacification of the suffering of the illness,
and path is like the medicine that brings healing of the suffering.
As said in Uttaratantra,
The sickness is to be known, the cause to be abandoned,
Abiding in bliss is to be attained, and the medicine is to be relied
upon.
In general, when
commentary on karmic cause and effect is given, causes are explained first,
then afterwards the results they produce are explained. In the context of the
Four Noble Truths, however, the results are explained first. This is for a very
important purpose. If you want to abandon undesirable suffering you must first
be introduced to those sufferings. Buddha said first, ‘Suffering is to be
known,’ not, it’s causes are to be known. There is deep significance in that.
If we do not recognize the suffering we are currently experiencing as suffering
we will not develop the wish to abandon the delusions which are its cause. For
example, if a sick person who is being tormented by suffering of disease wants
to be free from the illness, the illness must first be precisely identified.
Then, by using a medicine that is an antidote to the disease they try to treat
it. Otherwise, like suddenly taking medicine without first identifying the
sickness, it will not be beneficial.
There is yet another
example. When shooting an arrow, if you don’t first have clear sight of the
target’s location, the arrow will not hit it. Similarly, to attain true cessation
free from suffering, you must first identify the suffering. Then when you check
to discover its cause you will find that delusions are the sole principal
cause. When you recognize delusions as your enemy, then you will develop a wish
to abandon them.
Second, as for true
paths and cessations, generally speaking, cessations are the result attained in
dependence upon their causes, true paths. Here, again, however, the cause is
not taught first; instead, resultant cessations are explained first. What is
the reason for that? If resultant true cessations, emptiness, its purpose and
benefits are first explained, then you will want to find the path leading to
realization of such a profound and vast emptiness. Finally, by understanding
that only true paths of sacred Dharma can accomplish that, you will want to
enter true paths. By persevering in Dharma and correctly practicing the cause
and effect of the Four Noble truths without the slightest laziness or
procrastination, like, for example, if an elegant lady’s hair catches on fire,
or a snake slithers into a meek person’s lap, (two examples of situations that
bring immediate reactions, thus pointing to the need for immediate Dharma
practice without procrastination) you may finally be victorious over the
delusions which have enslaved you for so many lifetimes.
In Sutra it is said,
You are your own protector, your own refuge.
Therefore, like a horse trader training a horse
you must subdue and train yourself.
Thus, you must accomplish your own welfare; it is primarily in your own
hands. That is the special unexcelled characteristic of practicing Dharma in
accordance with the Four Noble Truths.
Extensive Explanation
of Their Branches
Phenomena to be known
are of two types: those endowed with mind, which can have pleasant and
unpleasant feelings, and those lacking mind. We go through life always endowed
with, never separated from, mind. Types of sentient beings, their birthplaces
and living situations, etc, differ by the power of karma, but the fact that
sentient beings have mind is the same for everyone. Because we have mind, along
with that we naturally want happiness and don’t want suffering. Therefore, in
accordance with our wishes, based on a philosophy of interdependence, Buddha
showed us how to achieve happiness and stop suffering by means of this very
important teaching of the Four Noble Truths. If we really want to experience
happiness and be free of suffering the Four Noble Truths are essential for
that.
In brief, on the basis
of sentient beings wanting happiness and not wanting suffering, Buddha taught
the Four Noble Truths. Since desired happiness and undesired suffering are
changeable, they are impermanent. Since they are phenomena which are produced
by causes and conditions, thinking of that, Buddha taught the Twelve Links of
Interdependent Origination along with the Four Noble Truths.
True Sufferings
Well then, what is
Buddha talking about in the first truth of suffering? In general there are two
types of suffering; external and internal. External suffering is the environment
which is comprised of the four outer elements. Inner suffering is that of
sentient beings living in the environment, in particular, the person who has
the five aggregates. Suffering includes all of these. For example, by the power
of the mind within we develop attachment to outer objects, cling to them as
real, and fight to procure them for ourselves and to defeat others. This
condition leads to epidemics, war, and conflict. Wherever delusions develop by
the power of such dualistic perceptions they will be the cause of suffering.
There are three types
of internal suffering. First is the suffering of suffering. This is what we
currently directly experience as suffering, for instance, like a headache or
stomachache.
Second is the suffering
of change. It is the happiness that sentient beings now enjoy. Because of some
merely temporary pleasant feeling, suffering is not sensed directly, but as the
temporary happiness slowly loses its potency it gradually reverts to suffering.
For instance, if poisonous food is eaten, pain of hunger will be alleviated temporarily
and there will be a sort of temporary happiness, but a little while later pain
from the poison will be experienced. Pleasure experienced on the basis of
visual forms, sounds, smells, tastes, and tactile sensations is only temporary.
For instance, someone who is cold will experience a facsimile of happiness by
getting into the sun, but if they stay too long it will naturally turn into
suffering.
Third is the suffering
of pervasive karmic formation. This is the aggregates of body and mind that are
taken up at birth by the force of delusion, which is the basis for the
suffering of suffering and the suffering of change, The reason it is called
suffering of pervasive karmic formation is that it pervades all unenlightened
beings. It is the basis for our current suffering and produces the many
sufferings of the future. In short, it is called pervasive suffering of karmic
formation because we have to experience it without choice as long as we are
under the power of delusions and karma, as long as we have the five aggregates
appropriated by delusion. Thus, the three types of suffering have been explained.
True Causes of
Suffering
Secondly, what is
included in true causes of suffering? It is the source, the cause that produces
the resultant sufferings of the three types explained above. It has two varieties:
karma-causes of suffering and delusion-causes of suffering. If you can
recognize the three above mentioned types of suffering, since such suffering is
a result, its production definitely must have a cause. If you check carefully,
suffering arises in dependence upon karmic causes. If you investigate further
you will gradually come to know that karma arises out of the causes of
delusion, attachment and aversion; and pursuing it further, out of
self-grasping ignorance. Therefore resultant true sufferings arise from their
cause, true causes of suffering.
First, as for
karma-causes of suffering, this word, karma, is Sanskrit. Its categories are
three-fold: non-virtuous karma, virtuous karma, and neutral karma. Non-virtuous
karma is karma that produces bad results or suffering, and is therefore to be
abandoned. There are ten non-virtuous karmas: physically killing, stealing, and
sexual misconduct; verbally lying, slandering, speaking abusively, and wasting
speech; and mentally, covetousness, malice, and propagating misguided
philosophies.
Then, with regard to good
or virtuous karma, it is karma that produces good results, or happiness. Since
it is good karma it is to be practiced and it transforms into ten virtues, that
of abandoning the ten non-virtues. For example, along with abandoning killing,
protecting animals and humble, meek people. Along with abandoning stealing, practicing
generosity. In addition to abandoning hurtful sexual activities, taking ordination
vows or vows of a lay practitioner. Along with abandoning lying, speaking the
truth to others. Along with abandoning slander and speaking divisively,
reconciling others who are at odds. Abandoning harsh speech, speak gently to
others. Abandoning meaningless speech, do meaningful recitations. Abandoning
covetousness, abide in contentment. Abandoning malice, meditate on love and
compassion. Abandoning spreading wrong views, practice seeing Buddha’s
teachings as valid. The ten virtues are found in the aftermath of abandoning
the ten non-virtues, not elsewhere.
Third, as for neutral
karma, it is karma that produces neutral, middling results, neither good nor
bad, neither happiness nor suffering, somewhere in the middle. Since such
actions have not been taught to be virtuous or non-virtuous they are neutral,
non-specified karma.
Second, as for
delusion-causes of suffering, in Sanskrit it is called klesha. In Tibetan it is
nyön-mong, delusion, a word that carries a sense of inauspiciousness or misfortune.
They are bad attitudes which disturb our mental peace. Such attitudes are naturally
perpetuated by attachment, aversion, and ignorance. There are multitudes of
other delusions as well, jealousy, pride, anger, etc, with various levels of
intensity from gross to subtle. In general, the principal cause of suffering is
the ignorance which grasps for self. This is clearly taught in the Buddhist
scriptures.
In Pramanavartika it says,
Once there is self, there is other.
From that, one becomes attached to self and averse to other.
It is in connection with this
That all faults and problems arise.
What this means is that we always have this mind thinking ‘I’ in the
continuum of our awareness. On that basis, when the thought, I or me, appears
to the mind, gradually, with habituation, we cling to it as independently
existing, as truly existent. To protect that seemingly self-existent I, we
cling to that which helps it as ‘my side’ and that which harms it as the ‘other
side.’
Thus, we categorize my
side and others’ side based on attachment and aversion. This all traces back to
the principal cause, self-grasping ignorance. When we divide things into my own
and others sides with the self-grasping thought of ‘I,’ we develop attachment
towards those perceived as friends and relatives because they benefit us, and
anger towards the other side, who we perceive as enemies by reason of their
harming us. In dependence upon these two harmful mental states we accumulate
various non-virtuous karmas such as the ten described above. Because of that
accumulation of karma there will be many painful results. If an action is
motivated by the three poisonous delusions the only result can be suffering.
Nagarjuna said,
Attachment, anger, ignorance;
That produced from those three is non-virtue.
Non-attachment, non-anger, non-ignorance;
That produced from those three is virtue.
True Cessations
Third, as for true cessations, they are a quality of ceasing or
abandoning all sorts of delusion, gross and subtle, in dependence upon true
paths which are their means of attainment. So, if we say that true cessation is
the abandonment of all causes of suffering, all delusions, is it really
possible to abandon all delusion completely? It is definitely possible to
abandon delusion. I will explain three reasons.
First Reason
As said in Pramanavartika,
The nature of mind is clear light.
Defilements are adventitious.
Accordingly, the mind is like a temple of clear light, not a filthy
abode filled with the three poisons. The Jewel Ornament of Liberation says,
Buddha is Dharmakaya
and Dharmakaya is shunyata. Since shunyata pervades all sentient beings; all
sentient beings have Buddha nature. Just as there is no division at the nature
of the foundational state, there is no difference between the suchness of
Buddha and the suchness of sentient beings. Neither is primordially better than
the other, larger or higher, etc. All sentient beings have the essence of
buddhahood.
Thus the nature of our
mind has always remained clear light unstained by delusions such as attachment
and aversion. Delusions, the minds of attachment and aversion, are temporary,
fleeting moments of consciousness; they are impermanent. The actual nature of
the mind is the sphere of the ultimate, never defiled by delusion. For example,
no matter how heavily and long clouds remain, they cannot become the nature of
the clear blue sky. In dependence upon this reason, deluded minds are only
temporary, and can be exhausted and abandoned.
Second Reason
The delusions such as
attachment and aversion in your mind are mistaken, deceived mental states which
engage objects in discordance with their actual nature. Such mistaken minds
have no valid support from another mind. Their remedial minds such as love and
wisdom realizing selflessness are perfect minds which are in accord with reality.
Therefore, the more we accustom ourselves to them, the more they have valid support
and perfect witnesses.
For example, suppose
someone kills another, in violation of the law of the country. Both the
criminal and their accusers have to go to court. With the jury, witnesses, the
judge, etc, it must be decided whether the criminal or the accuser is telling
the truth. They must examine and decide. Whoever has truth on their side will
prevail. Like that, a mind deceived by the sly delusions can never win;
transcendent wisdom awareness will eventually emerge victorious.
For example, in the
case of hot and cold, where there is hot, cold cannot remain; it is just the
nature of things. Where a powerful antidote is present, what it remedies is
not. It is like hot and cold which cannot possibly exist together on the same
basis.
Since the delusions in
the mind are impermanent they change. As long as something is changeable it is
deceptive, not true. Insight realizing selflessness is the direct antidote to
ignorance’s mode of perception and it has valid support. By familiarizing ourselves
with that awareness we will eventually be able to abandon delusion.
Third Reason
If we become accustomed
to positive states of mind, they are infinitely expandable, like the constant
yearly and monthly never-ending advance of technology, for example. If we
become accustomed to positive mental states, many positive qualities are
attained on that basis. As said in Bodhicaryavatara,
There is nothing that does not
become easier with familiarity.
Likewise, whatever we become accustomed to, whether good or bad, our
mind will follow. On the positive side, on the path of sacred Dharma, we
advance from the first to the tenth ground until all defilements are eliminated
from the mind.
If we well contemplate
these three reasons that delusions can be abandoned, as just explained, we can
reject defilement of delusions in dependence upon virtuous mental states such
as love and compassion, and finally, by developing wisdom realizing emptiness,
we can sever delusions from their very root. For these reasons, it is extremely
clear from scripture, logical reasoning, and pure awareness, that no matter how
much we examine it, the delusions in our minds are something fleeting which can
be abandoned. If delusions can be completely abandoned, it is natural that true
cessations can be attained.
True Paths
Fourth, what are true
paths? They are paths which are the means of attaining true cessations; for
example, like the wisdom insight directly realizing selflessness or emptiness.
To understand this, you first need to know about your mind. In general, mind is
mere clarity and cognition. There are both perfect minds as well as mistaken
awareness. As for perfect mind or awareness, it is a mind which perceives its
object in a way that accords with fact; for example, like a mind which
perceives a white piece of paper non-mistakenly as white. A mistaken awareness
perceives its object in a way somehow discordant with fact. For example, a
person afflicted with jaundice may see white paper as yellow, not white as it
is in fact. In any case, there are both mistaken and unmistaken types of
awareness. Perfect or correct minds can see phenomena as they are without
mistake; for example, minds which realize suffering to be impermanent,
suffering, empty, and selfless. Minds which perceive suffering as permanent, as
happiness, not empty, truly existent, etc, have mistaken modes of apprehension.
The awareness which can see objects as they are can understand their natures
clearly, without confusion. When you realize the true nature of samsara you
generate actual renunciation, a real wish to attain Liberation.
If you develop perfect
renunciation in your mind, by entering the perfect path of sacred Dharma you
attain the path of accumulation. The
first two paths of accumulation and preparation are paths of ordinary beings,
whereas the paths of seeing, meditation, and no more training are arya paths,
beyond worldly paths. The five paths must be accompanied by practice of the
three trainings. These are the training in ethical discipline, the training in
samadhi, and the training in wisdom insight. Each of the three trainings and
five paths proceed in dependence upon the previous one. The path of preparation
is attained in dependence upon the path of accumulation and the path of seeing
is attained in dependence upon the path of preparation. When you attain the
path of seeing you see the true nature of reality just as it is; you become an
arya being. From there you ascend to the path of meditation, ridding your mind
of delusions, attaining successive levels of realization, until finally you
attain the great nirvana of a Buddha’s enlightenment.
In short, you must
first learn the Four Noble Truths. Among the four noble truths, true cessations
and true paths are the Jewel of Dharma; these you must understand precisely.
Arya arhats who have true paths and cessations are the Sangha Jewel. Sangha
Jewels who complete their meditation on the paths finally manifest the last of
the five paths, the ultimate path and cessation of ‘no more training’ called
non-abiding nirvana; at that time they become a Buddha Jewel. When you
understand how the Three Jewels arise in this way, it will induce certainty
that if you persevere solely in practice of the Four Noble Truths and five paths,
you will attain that state of great Liberation.
At that point when you
speak about the Three Jewels of Refuge you will not be practicing out of blind
faith. Because you understand the reasoning behind it you will develop
unshakable faith in true paths and the Three Jewels. You will feel great reverence
when you speak of the Three Jewels and your mind will draw closer to them. If
that happens you have attained faith in the Three Jewels based on logical
reasoning. Such faith is unfailing and irreversible. It is extremely important
to develop this kind of faith which does not just follow blindly.
The
Twelve Links of Dependent Origination
Secondly, the twelve
links of dependent origination has seven parts: the benefits of understanding
interdependence and the drawbacks of not understanding it; how the Buddha
taught interdependence; origin of the word; ascertainment of number; the nature
of each link; how the twelve links are included in various categories; and the
wheel of life which represents interdependence.
Benefits of
Understanding Interdependence and Drawbacks of Not Understanding It
As for the first, as said in Sutra,
O bikshus! One who sees interdependent origination sees the Dharma!
One who sees the Dharma sees the Tathagata, the Buddha.
And Je Tsongkhapa said in his Praise of Interdependent Origination,
By reason of seeing your peerless teaching
of interdependent origination
Certainty is developed in the validity
of your other teachings.
For many other purposes you explained it well.[1]
In following after you,
All degeneration fades far away
Because the root of all faults is stopped.
As said, the principal
cause for us to wander in samsara is ignorance. Ignorance is the root of all
the delusions. So, if it can be eliminated, all delusions are eliminated. For
example, if a tree is cut down from the root, its branches and leaves are also
naturally all cut down as well.
For this reason,
teachings on the forward and reverse order of the twelve links of dependent
origination as taught in the Shravaka scriptures have spread very widely. In
Thailand, Burma and elsewhere, the twelve links of dependent origination are
not only a subject of study; they meditate on them as the essence of their
practice. It is an extremely important topic.
All inner and outer
phenomena do not exist by way of their own independent entity, rather they are
interdependent in three ways: they exist in dependence upon causes, in
dependence upon their parts, and in dependence upon being designated by name.
For beginners, dependence upon cause and effect is easier to understand. If we
contemplate it well, there is no outer or inner phenomenon which exists without
depending upon cause and effect. Then gradually contemplate dependence upon
parts. For example, take the term, house. When it is new to the mind we just
think, this is a house, and think nothing else. If we examine it closely, the
house is made from a collection of many materials, earth, stone, metal, etc,
built by human beings who then call that collection of parts a house. That is
dependence upon parts. The same understanding can be applied to other phenomena
as well. Once your mind is familiar with that you will be convinced that
phenomena are also dependent upon being labelled by a term or name. First, understand
interdependence in terms of cause and effect: in dependence upon this cause,
this result occurs. For example, from a barley seed comes barley, not beans.
This is interdependence of cause and effect. Second, all phenomena exist in
dependence upon many parts. For example, a house is made of many materials,
earth, stone, metal which, when made into a certain shape, is labelled as a
house. Thirdly, phenomena that are dependent upon cause and effect and
dependent upon their parts in actuality are not inherently existent and exist
in dependence upon being labelled by a name. Thus you will be introduced to the
idea that phenomena are name only, not existent from their own side, or by
their own power.
In any case, if
something arises in cause and effect, it is dependent upon causes and
conditions and is empty of self. As said in Root Wisdom of the Middle Way,
All that arises in interdependence,
That is explained to be empty
Being labelled in dependence
Is itself the path of the Middle Way.
Because of this there is no phenomenon
which is not interdependent.
Because of this there is no phenomenon
which is not empty.
If you well understand the meaning of interdependence and emptiness you
will understand the entirety of Buddha’s teachings. The other teachings are
just branches of the teachings on interdependence and emptiness. When Je
Tsongkhapa offered praise to Buddha he did not praise specific qualities of
enlightened body, speech, or mind, but rather his teaching of interdependence
which is not taught by other teachers because it is the uncommon essence of
Buddha’s teachings. There is very deep significance in this.
How Buddha Taught
Interdependence
Second, as for how Buddha taught interdependence, as said in Sutra,
What is dependent origination?
By existence of this, that arises.
By production of this, that arises.
Thus, through the condition of ignorance, karma is created.
By condition of karmic formation, there arises consciousness (with the
karmic imprint).
By condition of consciousness arises name and form.
By condition of name and form arises the six sense bases.
By condition of the six sense bases arises contact.
By condition of contact arises feelings.
By condition of feelings arises craving.
By condition of craving arises grasping.
By condition of grasping arises becoming.
By condition of becoming arises birth.
By condition of birth arises old age and death,
cries of sorrow and misery,
Suffering and mental unhappiness,
and all kinds of disturbing experiences.
In this way there arises nothing
but a huge mass of suffering.
As for how the twelve
links of interdependence are stopped, by stopping ignorance, karmic formation
is stopped. By stopping karmic formation, consciousness is stopped. By stopping
consciousness, name and form is stopped. By stopping name and form, the six
sense bases are stopped. By stopping the six sense bases, contact is stopped.
By stopping contact, feeling is stopped. By stopping feeling, craving is
stopped. By stopping craving, grasping is stopped. By stopping grasping, becoming
is stopped. By stopping becoming, birth is stopped. And by stopping birth,
aging and death are stopped. Cries of sorrow and misery, suffering and mental
unhappiness, all disturbing experiences are stopped. Finally, even this mass of
suffering currently being experienced will be stopped.
Origin of the Term
Third, as for the origin
of the term, it is translated from the Sanskrit word, pratita, which means
base, relativity, and meeting. In terms of how it is applied, all phenomena are
said to be dependently originated. Taking the Sanskrit term pratita samudpata,
interdependent origination, in terms of results arising from causes, all
products are taught to be of dependent origination. This accords with both
Vaibashika and Sautantrika tenets. Madhyamaka and Cittamatra philosophies
explain it differently but, without elaborating further, this is sufficient for
now.
Ascertainment of Number
Fourth, with regard to
the number of links, the Sakya master-scholar Omniscient Gorampa said,
Momentary interdependence,
Interdependence of being related,
Temporary interdependence,
Continual interdependence, and so forth,
there are many types of interdependence.
If we comment on each of them individually
It will be a collection of many words
So we’ll leave it here for now.
As taught in the Sutra
quoted above, there are two types: dependent arising on the side of the totally
deluded, and dependent arising on the side of the fully purified. As for
deluded interdependence there is both external interdependence and internal
interdependence. External interdependence is the objects perceived by the five
sense faculties: perception of visual forms by the sense faculty of the eyes,
perception of sounds by the ear sense faculties, and likewise the different
objects of the nose, tongue, and body sense faculties. The appearances of
objects to these perceptions are external interdependence.
As for internal
interdependence, it is as described before, from the condition of ignorance
giving rise to karmic formations, up to the condition of birth giving rise to aging
and death. Furthermore, internal interdependence refers to beings living in
dependence upon food, having good rebirth in dependence upon virtuous conduct,
having worse rebirths in dependence upon faulty conduct, and so forth,
including all the various experiences of suffering and happiness that arise in
dependence upon karmic causes; it is a vast subject.
As for fully purified
interdependence, there are, for instance, the five paths of Tantra: the path of
preparation arises in dependence upon the path of accumulation, the path of
seeing arises in dependence upon the path of preparation, the path of meditation
arises in dependence upon the path of seeing, and the path of no more training
arises in dependence upon the path of meditation. The ten grounds, the Arya
bhumis or levels taught in Sutra are another example: in dependence upon the
first bhumi, the Joyful, there arises the second bhumi, the Stainless, and so
on for all of the ten bhumis. The higher practices of a yogi or yogini must all
develop in dependence upon the lower practices in which they previously
engaged.
Fifth, The Individual
Natures of the Twelve Links of Interdependence
As Nagarjuna said,
1) Discordant with, or opposite of, transcendent
wisdom awareness, the ignorance which is
the root of samsara is the self-grasping ignorance that is obscured from
knowing the actual nature of phenomena.
2) Karmic formation is that which accumulates the
karma to be propelled into rebirth in any of the six realms of lifeforms.
3) Consciousness refers to the consciousness upon
which karma has been accumulated during the causal period.
4) As for name and form, name refers to the four
non-physical aggregates of feeling, perception, karmic formation, and
consciousness that were propelled by the karma; while form refers to the
physical form that develops in the womb from a soupy oblong shape, to an oval
shape, to a fleshy oblong shape, to a round harder shape, finally developing
into the shape with arms and legs.
5) Sense bases. As the embryo grows, the sense
bases such as that of the mouth and nose develop into the particular bodily
form.
6) Contact. Through the meeting of objects, sense
faculties, and consciousness, pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral objects are
contacted and known.
7) Feelings. In dependence upon contact, pleasant,
unpleasant, and neutral feelings are experienced.
8) Craving. In dependence upon those feelings
there develops a wish to not be separated from pleasant feelings, a wish to be
separated from unpleasant feelings, all in an aspect of liking samsara.
9) Grasping. The previous craving grows stronger
and becomes attachment. There is the primary cause of desire, the cause of
views, the cause of holding certain vowed moralities and conduct as supreme,
and the cause of viewing self.
10)Becoming.
The second link of karmic formation is catalyzed by the eighth link of craving,
and the ninth link of grasping. Through this the tenth link becomes the powerful
karma which will propel the next rebirth. It is a cause which is named after
its effect.
11)Birth.
This refers to the consciousness which makes connection with the place of rebirth
in the next lifetime.
12)Aging and
death. Aging begins from birth as the infant goes through changes. As for
death, it occurs when the aggregates are left behind and consciousness
separates from the body. Aging and death are counted as one link.
How the Twelve Links
Are Included in Various Categories
Sixth, the way the
twelve links can be categorized has three parts. First, there is a four-fold
categorization grouping them according to their basis: ignorance, karmic formation,
and consciousness are propelling links. The four links of name and form, sense
bases, contact, and feeling are links that have been propelled. Craving,
grasping, and becoming are links which cause actualization, while birth, aging
and death, are links that have been actualized. Second, is a three-fold
categorization. Ignorance, craving, and grasping are fully deluded-delusions.
Karmic formation, and becoming are fully deluded-karma, while the remaining
seven links are fully deluded-rebirth. Third, a two-fold grouping, ignorance,
karmic formation, craving, grasping, and becoming, are all included within true
causes of suffering. The remaining seven links are included within true sufferings.
The Wheel of Life
Seventh is an
explanation of the Wheel of Life which represents the twelve links of dependent
origination.
During Buddha’s lifetime
the story is that King Bimbisara of central India received a gift of a
priceless set of armor from the king renowned as Utrayana from a remote area.
King Bimbisara consulted with his friend the Buddha about what he could offer
in return. Buddha gave the king a picture of the Wheel of Life symbolizing the
Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination. The king sent
it to his friend King Utrayana. By just seeing it, King Utrayana, ministers,
subjects, anyone who saw it instantly understood the cause and effect nature of
happiness and suffering, samsara and nirvana, and attained the resultant state
of an Arhat.
Later Buddha told his
attendant Ananda to have painted next to the door of the Sangha’s meeting hall
this picture that represents the twelve links of dependent origination. Even up
to the present day you can see it next to the door of the temple at many
Buddhist monasteries.
Symbolism of the Wheel
of Life
This Wheel of Life is a
symbolic representation of samsara and nirvana. It shows how, from the first
link of ignorance up to the twelfth link of death, beings cycle in samsara
through the twelve links. Who cycles? By what cause? Where do they cycle? How
do they cycle? How long do they cycle? From when did they cycle?
1) Who Cycles
Sentient beings of the six realms[2]
controlled by karma and delusion.
2) By What Cause
They cycle by the first of the twelve links, ignorance, acting as the
cause and the three poisons acting as conditions.
3) Where Do They Cycle
They cycle through the domains of the six types of lifeforms.
4) How Do They Cycle
Under control of ignorance, the first of the twelve links of dependent
origination, they gradually accumulate karma. Consciousness provides the base.
In stages, like the turning wheel of a chariot or bees circling in a jar, they
cycle.
5) How Long Do They Cycle
They cycle until their karma and delusion are exhausted.
6) How Long Have They Cycled
They cycle ever since they have been propelled by ignorance.
The picture depicts each of the twelve links in turn. There is the
custom of giving an accompanying commentary for each of the twelve, but fearing
it become too much, this will suffice.
In brief, the Four
Noble Truths and Twelve Links of Dependent Origination are the pure essence of
Buddhism. As long as we are someone seeking Liberation we would be fully
qualified Buddhists if we could correctly learn, contemplate, and meditate on
them. If we have practiced the view and tenets of the Shravakas such as the
Four Noble Truths, Twelve Links, Eight-fold Noble Path, Four Close Placements
of Mindfulness, then we need to generate pure love and compassion for others
and pure renunciation wishing to liberate ourselves. We should persevere in
whatever practices we can.
Refuge
This has two parts: a
brief explanation of refuge and why we must by all means attain Liberation.
A Brief Explanation
The causes of refuge
are fear and faith. If there is no fear, faith will not develop. Without faith
there is no movement towards refuge. Without refuge you cannot get free of
samsara. If you can’t escape samsara you will not be happy. If you are not
happy the purpose of taking human birth has not been served. Thus, each of
these arises in dependence upon the previous, the first being faith, the cause
for refuge. Buddha said,
People who have no faith
Will not have virtuous Dharma.
It’s like a seed’s been burned by fire:
It will have no sprout.
As said, faith is very important.
Having understood that
there is no happiness and nothing but suffering of the three types wherever we
are born amongst the six realms of samsara, if we think about the suffering of
this and future lives in worse realms our body will shiver. The thought will
occur to us, I must learn the method to free myself from suffering now, in this
lifetime. We will feel a dread of those sufferings. When we feel that and check
to see who can protect us from those sufferings we will see that it is only
Buddha. If we wonder by what path Buddha became enlightened, he was like ourselves,
caught in samsara, experiencing its sufferings directly, and seeing others
experience them. Buddha was terrified and gave up his family and royal domain
to enter the path of holy Dharma and attain enlightenment for the sake of all
sentient beings. Buddhas, from their side, have attained the two purposes, have
expanded all qualities, fulfilling their own purpose through the Dharmakaya,
and are able to fulfill the purposes of others through Form Bodies, Rupakaya.
Buddhas have perfected all qualities of abandonment and realization.
Dharma is the teachings
Buddha gave. It can be summarized as expression and that which is expressed.
The expression comes in the words of the scriptures, and that which is
expressed is the realization of the entire meaning of Dharma without exception.
Having a single-pointed
aspiration towards this sacred Dharma, those who strive with perseverance are
members of the Sangha. Sangha includes Stream Enterers, Once Returners, Never
Returners, Arhats, Bodhisattvas, etc, there are many types by factor of their
respective abandonments and realizations. We should understand that they have
attained Sangha qualities in dependence upon the path of holy Dharma and that
those of the Sangha will eventually become Buddhas.
It is in dependence
upon this path that the many Buddhas of the past have emerged, that future
Buddhas will become enlightened, and present Buddha Shakyamuni, etc, all the
thousand and two Buddhas of this fortunate aeon have attained enlightenment; we
can understand this directly. In dependence upon that we can understand that
Buddha is not something which comes from outside ourselves, but from within our
own being, and develop the courage to persevere in holy Dharma.
In brief, to give an
example for clarity, Buddha is like a skilled, compassionate doctor. Dharma is
like the medicine, and Sangha is like the nurses. We are like a seriously ill
patient. As important as it is for a patient to have a doctor, if they are to
be healed it is not one hundred percent in the hands of the doctor. The
patients themselves have to take the medicine at the times prescribed and to be
careful about their food and conduct. If they act thus they may be cured of
their illness. Like in that example, Buddha said,
I have shown you the liberating path
But understand that liberation depends on you.
There is good reasoning behind this.
Why We Must, By All
Means Attain Liberation
Just as we want
happiness and don’t want suffering, people, by nature, wish to stop all
suffering whenever it arises. The sufferings that we experience in this life,
can all be included in four: sufferings of birth, of aging, of sickness, and of
death. Branch sufferings are vast in number; the suffering of encountering
enemies, the suffering of being parted from beautiful friends, of meeting with
the unwanted, the suffering of not finding what you desire though you seek it,
and so on. We each have our own various sufferings. To get rid of these
sufferings we must sever them from the root. Having identified suffering, we
must gradually examine further. What is the basis of suffering? Where does this
basis come from?
The basis, or body, of
suffering is the base of the five aggregates that arise from delusion, our
current body. For example, whatever feeling we are now experiencing, joyful,
unpleasant, or neutral, from what did it arise? It arose through the force of
self-grasping ignorance. Self-grasping ignorance is a mind that is mistaken in
how it sees things. If you follow it, attachment or aversion will develop.
As said in Madhyamakavatara, Guide to the Middle Way,
First, comes the thought, I, and attachment to self.
Then the thought, mine, and attachment to things.
Like a water wheel, beings ceaselessly cycle up and down
without choice. Prostration to compassion for beings.
As said, first the
thought, I, occurs, and with that condition, attachment develops. Someone who
doesn’t fall on my desirable side is labelled as an enemy. With these attitudes
of attachment and aversion we cycle with no chance of escape. How do we cycle?
As Je Tsongkhapa says in his Three Principals of the Path,
Carried off by four strong
river currents,
Tightly bound by karma, hard to
stop,
Stuck in cages of
self-grasping’s bars
Enshrouded in dark fog of
ignorance
Continuously reborn in samsara,
Incessantly tormented by three
sufferings…
These words of the great master are very blessed and
powerful and carry vast meaning. To explain their meaning: our mind first takes
a mistaken path in the vast darkness of ignorance. That ignorance generates the
thought, I, and self-grasping that is very strong and forceful, like chains,
ties up all our limbs. By power of ignorance and self-grasping saying “I,”
attachment to my side and aversion to the other side develops and, tormented by
suffering, it is difficult to stop. By the power of bad karma, our body is
completely and tightly bound and tied up by karma. We’re then carried off by
great ocean waves of intense suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death, without
choice. Accumulating still more negative karma we are reborn endlessly,
continuously experiencing suffering of karmic conditioning, suffering of
change, suffering of pain, and so on.
Nagarjuna says in his Jewel
Garland,
As long as the aggregates are grasped,
That long will there be a
thought grasping, I.
Once I is grasped, karma is
again created.
Once there is karma, there is
birth.
As he said, as long as your aggregates are grasped as
truly existent, there persists a mistaken grasping of true, or inherent,
existence. By power of this grasping, delusions of attachment to my side and
aversion to the other side arrive. Through these delusions, bad karma
accumulates. It is through accumulation of such karma that we directly
experience karmic results. If we wish to cut it off from the root there is no
other method than to do analytical meditation on profound emptiness. Praying
for self-grasping to disappear will not help! Doing physical practices of
prostration and circumambulation cannot act as its direct antidote. What
diminishes and eliminates self-grasping ignorance? It is the view realizing
selflessness by which it can be overcome and conquered.
Nagarjuna said,
At the exhaustion of karma and
delusion,
the elaboration upon
elaboration
of concepts, karma, and
delusions
are all ceased by emptiness.
Thus, it is like that.
The root of wandering in samsara is this ignorance. It
arises because of awareness being deceived. You need to discover within
yourself an antidote that is directly opposed to this mistaken attitude which
grasps for true self-existence. This is solely the transcendent wisdom
awareness, the view of emptiness, of selflessness. To discover it, faith in the
guru, compassion for sentient beings, any kind of conventional physical or
verbal practice, other than having some benefit, by themselves cannot directly
undermine our current ignorance. What can ‘harm’ ignorance? You must find the
mind which is directly opposed to that wrong view of ignorance in its way of
seeing. This is only the correct view of selflessness, of emptiness. By
carefully meditating on the twelve links, if you do analytical meditation, you
will find the certainty in your own valid perception and be able to eliminate
ignorance forever.
Mipham in his Lamp of
Certainty, said,
Alas, the precious certainty
which engages
the profound ultimate nature;
When you are not there, this
world is caught
in a net of illusion, confused
and deluded.
Summarizing the Essence of This
Now, to conclude, I will give a brief explanation of how
to meditate on the twelve links of dependent origination.
As said in Sutra,
What does interdependent
origination mean?
It is like this: because this
exists, that arises.
Because this is born, that is
born.
Ignorance causes karmic
formation,
Karmic formation causes
consciousness imprinted with karma
…and so forth, each arising as
cause for the next, with unwanted results arising without choice. For this, the
six causal links are the first, ignorance; the second, karmic formation; the
third, consciousness; the eighth, craving; the ninth, grasping; and the tenth,
becoming. These six causal links give rise to the six resultant links. The six
resultant links are the fourth, name and form; the fifth, the sense bases; the
sixth, contact; the seventh, feeling; the eleventh, birth; and the twelfth,
aging and death.
When we repeatedly examine our ignorance, many will find
within the heart of themselves, Tashi, or whatever their name, a sense of I
looming up in the center of our heart. The stronger it arises the more it seems
to exist completely unrelated to the other aggregates. Such a mind of ignorance
arises. By power of that ignorance, delusions of attachment to ones own side and
aversion to the other side gradually develop. Finally, body, speech, and mind
all take a mistaken path under the power of delusion, propelling future rebirth
in samsara, again creating the second link of karmic formation, accumulating
causes of suffering and delusions, etc. That powerful karma is then catalyzed
by the eighth link, craving, and the ninth link, grasping, to become even more
powerful, creating the tenth link of becoming. By the strong power of the karma
of becoming, rebirth in samsara is once again propelled, causing that pervasive
suffering of karmic formation, the fourth link, this body of name and form, to
be conceived in the mother’s womb, growing each day. When nine months and ten
days arrives, birth takes place amidst pain and misery. Then the infant becomes
a youth, the youth an adult, then aged, then sick, finally arriving at death
once again. Our suffering in samsara is never ending. Even though we don’t want
it we now experience suffering of pain, suffering of change, and pervasive suffering
of karmic conditioning. The principal cause of the other two is the pervasive
suffering of karmic conditioning.
If we sever the twelve links in reverse order, it comes
down to the ignorance which, in confusion,
grasps at the reality of appearances. Since this ignorance grasping true
existence arises with mistaken perception, it is not natural. The natural mind
of people is clarity and cognition, the buddha-nature. How can negative minds
of delusion such as ignorance be abandoned? They must be abandoned with the
support of emptiness, the view of selfless transcendent wisdom awareness; there
is no other way.
If we meditate on emptiness gradually, it is not
difficult to abandon the delusions. That is because ignorance has no valid
perceptions to support it. The nature of ignorance is that it is the root of
suffering. It is impermanent, the creator of karma, a lie, truth for the
obscured, changeable, fallible, momentary. Transcendent wisdom awareness is the
opposite, backed up by valid minds of love, of compassion and so on. It is the
root of happiness, permanent, immutable, unborn, true, unfailing, eternal, etc.
The stronger our wisdom awareness, the weaker our ignorance becomes. For
example, the brighter the light in a room, the more its opposite, darkness,
will naturally be completely absent. The more our wisdom awareness expands, the
more we can weaken its opposite, ignorance. If we can abandon ignorance we are
able to cut the root of samsara.
As said in Four Hundred Verses
on the Middle Way,
Just as body sense pervades the
body,
ignorance abides in all
delusions.
Therefore, all delusions
Are destroyed by ignorance
being destroyed.
As I said before, if you wish to get to the root of
ignorance you must definitely contemplate and meditate analytically on the Four
Noble Truths and the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination.
Shravaka bikshus place a corpse before themselves and
examine it. From where did these bones come? From death. Death arose from
sickness, aging, birth, and so on, in this way gradually meditating on the
twelve links in reverse order. It is very beneficial to the mind.
When meditating, finally recognizing self-grasping
ignorance for what it is, we meditate on emptiness, the view of selflessness,
its antidote. That is because, if we meditate having recognized and determined
that self-grasping ignorance is faulty, we can challenge the root of all the
delusions. Without recognizing the delusion which is the object to be refuted,
although we purport to practice Dharma as the antidote, it is like shooting an
arrow to the West when the target is in the East! If we wish to overcome delusion,
if we don’t understand what the delusion is, where it abides, how it persists,
and so on, we will not be able to eliminate it completely.
For example, when entering battle, the enemy is analyzed,
recognizing first of all who and what they are, how large are the enemy forces,
where they are on successive days, and finally, how should we engage them in
battle. If the battle is entered after all of this is known, the enemy can be
banished from the area and victory claimed.
Like this example, there is an unfortunate ‘general’ of
ignorance accompanying the five poisonous delusions in our minds, remaining
there and covering our mind. Moreover, its method of obscuring us is very
clever, hiding amidst the twelve links of dependent origination. By first
understanding the twelve links and identifying them one by one, finally we can
catch the enemy ignorance which grasps for true existence and, by relying on
wisdom insight realizing selflessness as the antidote, we must engage ignorance
and kill it. What is ignorance grasping for true existence, really? It is the
view which grasps for I, for self.
It is possible that some might think as follows. If we
must abandon the view of what is called self, must we abandon this person named
Tashi, or whatever, of whom we presently conceive? That is only because we are
conflating the present Tashi who is name only, with the self that is not
existent from its own side. They only seem to be arising from the same basis,
two mistaken to be one. If we think about it, however, it is a mistake to think
that this sense of self which seems to loom up so independently is the same as
that person comprised by the five aggregates who is merely labeled, only designated
by a name.
Wherever you search among the five aggregates for what
the mind thinks of as the I or self of the person named Tashi, etc, can you
find it? Think. For example, first search for the self of Tashi on the basis of
this body. This body is a collection of many atoms which is just labeled and
designated to be Tashi. If you wonder if the self exists within the body, this
body has a head, two legs, two arms, which each have their own different
branches and sub-branches; searching through these, self is not found. Checking
the parts of the limbs, cutting them into pieces, you can divide the body into
many particles, but you will not find self. The same goes for all the other
four aggregates as well: feeling, perception, karmic formation, and
consciousness. Although we search through all four of these we will not find
the I or self that is thought of as the person. Well then, does self abide in
consciousness? We must examine the continuum of consciousness from every angle.
There are various levels of consciousness, from coarse to subtle. If we wonder
whether the current mind is the self, the current mind also has past, future,
and present parts; in which part does self abide? If we say it abides in all
three, then just as your mind exists in the past, present, and future, so you
would have to have a past, present, and future self; there would have to be
three selves in a single person! If you say the self is this present mind, the
present mind has present, future, and past parts. By dividing present mind into
three parts this way, like the particles perceived in outer things, although
you seek the self in the inner mind, it is not found.
Is what we call self, then, primordially absent wherever
we seek it externally and internally? That also is not the case. There
definitely exists a self that is subject to benefit and harm, that acts and is
acted upon. How does it exist? We can say that the way self exists is conventionally,
in the body of five aggregates. It is merely designated by name by a
conventional mind that does not subject its object to ultimate analysis. You
can say that it is conventionally designated as existent for the worldly who
are deceived.
Another example: in a windowless corner of a room, in
flickering gloomy light, is a coiled rope that looks like a striped snake.
Someone sees it and thinks it is a snake, at the same time shouting to everyone
that there is a snake in the house. Until a thorough search of the house is
made, everyone will have the same thought: a rope mistakenly perceived as a
snake. To our mind which does not check or examine Tashi, etc, we are like the
rope perceived as a snake. Just as there is actually no snake in the house
there is absolutely no inherently existent self in the five aggregates.
What is important about Arya beings refutation of self?
They are not saying that this body of a precious human life which is rare and
difficult to find is bad. What is rejected is the truly existent self which we
cling to, which we grasp as inherently existent, as permanent. It is this wrong
awareness which cherishes ourselves most highly of all; it is this mind which
creates so much non-virtue through attachment and aversion. Because this
selfish mind is a mistaken awareness, it is something we should continually
seek to refute. Buddhist scriptures state that all mistaken minds are refuted.
The essence of Buddha’s teaching is summarized in the
Four Seals of Buddha’s teachings:
First, All Compounded Things Are Impermanent.
Second, All Contaminated Things Are Suffering
Third, All Phenomena Are Empty And Selfless
Fourth, Nirvana, Passing Beyond Sorrow, Is Peace
Although Buddha
says very clearly that all compounded things are impermanent, our minds cling
to compounded things, ourselves in particular, as permanent and truly existent.
On that basis we make our first mistake. Although Buddha says that all
contaminated things are suffering, we sentient beings cling to the contaminated
happiness of our five senses as pure, perfect happiness; thus comes our second
mistake. Although Buddha says that all phenomena are empty and selfless, we
sentient beings cling to all the external phenomena we perceive through our
senses as inherently, truly existent; thus comes our third mistake.
Finally Buddha
says that nirvana is peace. He is speaking about a mind that is unmistaken in
its way of seeing; not a mind that is mistaken. Therefore, this peace of
nirvana is something that has receded very far from us. This is because our
mind has gone in a mistaken direction. In any case, Buddha instructs us with a
mother’s love. Although Buddha clearly guides us to an unmistaken perfect path,
saying do this, on this path you will find happiness, and don’t do this, if you
do, it will bring you suffering, still we sentient beings insist on going in
mistaken directions.
When Buddha
teaches about impermanence and suffering it is possible that many people will
not want to listen. This is just a factual observation that accords with the
way things actually exist, not something that Buddha has made up for Buddhist
practice that is contrary to fact! Even if you do not accept Buddhism, people
are going to die. We see for ourselves and experience that people have to go
through unwanted suffering. We should accept Buddha’s teachings as true. Buddha
has commented on the reality of things just as they are.
Many people,
when they speak of selflessness, get the mistaken idea that the basis which
experiences happiness and sadness, this person named Tashi must be given up;
that is not at all the case. In all the Buddhist scriptures it is taught that
this body we have now is rare and difficult to find and very precious; and we
must take good care of it. It is not at all the idea that this body and life is
bad and that we must get rid of it. How else could we practice the Dharma?
The
non-inherently existent self and this body which bears the five aggregates are
different. The self that is refuted is a self that is clung to as inherently,
truly existent. As long as there is self-grasping ignorance, that will give
rise to delusions. If delusions develop, they harm us. That itself will cause
suffering. Because self-grasping ignorance is the root of all delusions,
thinking of that, Buddha taught the view of selflessness as the antidote.
For example,
through the condition of self-grasping ignorance we develop attachment to
objects that we find pleasant. That object of attachment may be harmed by
others. Through conditions created by harsh speech, etc, unhappy states of mind
such as anger and jealousy arise at the same time. In any case, self-grasping
ignorance induces attachment to objects, and attachment breeds aversion.
Because that self-grasping is obscured ignorance, it naturally already includes
the root delusions of the three poisons. Any karma created with the three poisons
will be non-virtuous, no matter what.
Some might
possibly think self-grasping is indispensable for me and my family and friends
in order to protect us. Otherwise we will not make any profit in the world and
we will lose out. Therefore, there is no way we can give up self-grasping.
Although it is
possible from one point of view that there is some truth to this, in actuality,
it is a short-sighted view. For example, these days the main source of all
business and wealth depends on the hard work of people in society. For this,
some people are very greedy with no contentment and compete to win out over
others, mostly committing the ten non-virtues, bribing and deceiving others in
order to profit from their loss. That is not only devoid of Dharma, it is not
seen as good conduct in any human society.
Whatever the results of accumulating the ten non-virtues, they do
not create happiness temporarily, or in the long term. For example, if someone
tells a lie when there is profit in it for them, it is no different than any
other lie or theft. The wealth thus obtained gives them no real ease or peace
of mind. They must always be tormented by guilt and regret. Lying to others out
of self-concern, killing and so forth, even if you are victorious, is not the
conduct of a real hero. The real hero is someone who can banish the great demon
of self-grasping that has festered in their mind from beginningless time up to
the present.
Venerable Milarepa said,
These days
people harm the destitute by killing and stealing from them, and boast about
being courageous if they are victorious. But they are actually bowing down to
their own self-grasping ignorance. They are the real cowards, in fact. There is
no point in creating extra harm to poor sentient beings. They are already
drowning in the suffering of samsara. There is no need to kill them; so many
die naturally every day! I am the real hero! If you wonder why, it is because I
won’t bow my head at the feet of self-grasping ignorance. I fought with it,
finally gained victory, and banished it. Now, I remain nurturing my
parents-sentient beings with love. If you want to be a real hero, follow me!
Furthermore, the
essence of Mahayana Buddhism is cherishing others. When you speak of cherishing
others, many may think it means letting go of all profit and just accepting
defeat, but it is not really like that. When you give up self-cherishing and
think, even briefly, about the welfare of other sentient beings, that is the
beginning of finding your own true happiness. The main reason we have been
wandering in samsara from beginningless time up to the present is our
self-centered, self-cherishing mind. If we give up selfishness and willingly
cherish others from today onwards, we have taken the path of the Bodhisattvas
without mistake, going from happiness to happiness. As said in
Bodhicaryavatara, Guide to the Bodhisattva Conduct,
Whatever happiness living beings experience
Comes from wishing the happiness of others
Whatever suffering living beings experience
All comes from seeking their own happiness
What need is there to say much?
Childish beings seek their own happiness
Whereas Buddhas accomplish the welfare of others.
Just look at the difference between them!
In any case, as
said above, start with the Four Noble Truths, then by stages, go for refuge,
then contemplate the twelve links of dependent origination in forward and
reverse order. Finally develop heartfelt certainty in the meaning of
selflessness. If you search for what is called I or self every day in
analytical meditation you will gradually become familiar with the view of
selflessness, and finally develop certainty. His Holiness the Dalai Lama said
that he meditates on the meaning of selflessness at least fifteen times a day!
These days there
are many who meditate on the four close-placements of mindfulness and shamata,
mental-quiescence-meditation, but there are very few who meditate on the meaning
of selflessness. What makes us unhappy are delusions, gross attachment and
aversion. When we develop very strong attachment and aversion, if we take a
moment to question, where is the object of our delusion? Where is the
subjective mind that experiences it? Our attachment or aversion will diminish;
there will be this benefit. The more someone has attachment and aversion, the
less they will have any happiness. Eventually the source of all problems comes
down to clinging to I, to self.
Actually,
whatever happens to this current body, good, bad, pleasant, unpleasant, it is
all like last night’s dream. In our life we have two kinds of dreams, large and
small. Our large dream is the pleasant and unpleasant experiences we have in
this body. Our small dreams are those we have at night. Not many people realize
that our waking experience, the current situation of our body, is like a dream.
We grasp it as being so real and concrete. In any case, even if we can’t give
up all self-grasping ignorance, when negative circumstances arise, if we can
think that they are not real, like an illusion, like a dream, and likewise,
whatever worldly praise we receive, whatever good things happen, if we can
think of them as like an echo, like reflections in a mirror, like bubbles in
water, our mind will not be disturbed. We won’t develop pride, etc, there will
be many purposes served.
In any case,
knowing what is the real purpose of this brief human life, entering the path of
holy Dharma without mistaking what should be practiced and what should be
abandoned, we should practice in order to be able to proceed from happiness to
happiness in this and future lives. Not wasting our life in meaningless
distractions, if we take its essence by rightly persevering in the practice of
holy Dharma, great meaning will come into our hands. As long as we are someone
seeking Liberation, at this single occasion when we have attained this precious
human life of freedom and endowments that is so difficult to find, we must not
leave it empty handed, but persevere in the essence of sacred Dharma.
Anyone who wishes to take the path of happiness,
Who wishes to sever enemy delusions from the root,
Please practice the perfect teachings of holy Dharma
of the Four Noble Truths and Twelve Links of Interdependence.
These days beings who are proud of their meditation
Think of nothing at all. It is difficult for such
Placement meditation to act as the antidote to delusion.
How delightful it is to enter analysis of meaning!
Tsongkhapa, who is Manjushri in actuality, said,
If you don’t know the object that is to be negated,
Nothing will become the direct antidote to self-grasping.
I feel heartfelt faith in this eloquent teaching.
The cause of wandering in samsara is samsaric karma:
How do beings cycle? How long will they cycle?
How much do they cycle? Asking these successive questions,
Train in the excellent path taught in scriptures on the twelve
links.
Ignorance is the root of all delusions. Likewise,
the root of all phenomena is interdependence.
Therefore we are very fortunate to spend sessions of meditation
On the forward and reverse order of the Twelve Links of
Interdependence.
The different good and bad things, happiness and suffering of
this life,
Are not real, like illusions, like dreams and hallucinations,
Understanding this, bless us to develop deep conviction
in the view of selflessness.
May light of emptiness and interdependence
Completely clear away gloomy darkness of ignorance!
May it be auspicious that we realize all phenomena
are unreal and illusory, and attain eternal bliss of Buddhahood.
This brief
commentary on the Four Noble Truths was written for some of my aspiring disciples
on the 22nd of April, 2019 during a two-day teaching retreat on the Heart
Sutra. The entire subject of the Heart Sutra is selflessness so I thought if I
wrote a commentary on selflessness and it’s complementary supports, the Twelve
Links of Dependent Origination, the Four Noble Truths, etc, it would not be a
teaching specific to Tibetan Buddhism alone but the very essence of Buddha’s
teachings; so that it might fulfill a greater need for the general Buddhist
community’s understanding. As the teaching master of Manjushri Dharma Center,
respectfully, I, with the name of a Dharma teacher, Khenpo Karten, with great
joy, finished writing this on Mother’s Day, 12th of May, 2019, like something
that arose by itself without causes and conditions! Yet, it is very regrettable
that I cannot repay any of the kind care my deceased mother gave me in this
lifetime; so by making effort at this time to write this in her memory, I
dedicate its virtue to returning her kindness and, at the same time, as a cause
to benefit those of little intelligence like myself.
Sarva Mangalam
Tashi Delek
Translation by Jampa Tharchin
Edited with guidance of Khenpo Karten Rinpoche at Manjushri
Dharma Center September 9th, 2019
[1]
In explaining interdependence Buddha sought to eliminate impediments to
Liberation, ie. the belief that Liberation could be attained by physical and
verbal exertions alone or that one could be liberated by belief in a creator
god. Instead, he taught that one must liberate oneself, as he had, by realizing
selflessness which comes through understanding interdependence.
[2]
realms of gods, demigods, humans, animals, spirits, and hell beings.