the profound path of peace - kccl.ca · page 8 jamgon kongtrul lodro thaye (1818 -1899) this issue...

THE PROFOUND PATH OF PEACE

INTERNATIONAL KAGYU SANGllA ASSOCIATION, Vll

This issue is dedicated to His Eminence

the Very Venerable Karma Rangjung Kunchap,

Khenpo Kalu Rinpoche

Page 1 I

The Profound Path of Peace

a magazine of the International Kagyu Sangha Association of Buddhist Monks and Nuns

Editor-in -Chief: Editor: Graphics:

LOOro Zangpo Thelma Habgood Molly Nudell

The International Kagyu SanghaAssociationofBuddhistMonks and Nuns (IKSA) was founded in 1981 by the Four Regents of the Karma Kagyu Lineage: H.E. Shamar Rinpoche, H.E. Tai Situ Rinpoche, H.E. Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche and H.E. Gyaltsap Rinpoche. Its main purpose is to increase the communication between the monastic Sangha and its centers and to further the education of the monks and nuns and their understanding of the monastic life.

The calligraphy on the cover page was contributed by H.E. Tai Situ Rinpoche. The letters in the flame say 'zhi wai lam sang' and mean "Profound Path of Peace" . The letters in the black bowl at the bottom say 'kon chog sum' and mean"Three Jewels".

Acknow ledgements: The biographical sketch and the picture ofKhenpo Karthar Rinpoche are provided with the permission of Den sal, the newsletter of Karma Triyana Dharmachakra, 352 Meads Mountain Road, Woodstock, New York 12498, USA. The short biography of Ladrb Thaye is taken from The Chariot for Travelling the Path to Freedom. The Life Story of Kalu Rinpoche, with the permission of Kenneth McLeod. The drawing is reproduced with the permission of Cynthia Moku. The Anecdote is printed with the permission of Erik Schmidt (Perna Kiinsang) from Rangjung Yeshe Publication, P.O. Box 1200, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Subscription rate for The Profound Path of Peace: 1 issue $ 7.00 Can (overseas $ 8.00 Can) 1 year (2 issues) $ 14.00 Can (overseas $ 16.00 Can) Please make your check or money order out to Ladro Zangpo and mail it to:

Ladro Zangpo, c/o Gampo Abbey, Pleasant Bay, N.S., Canada BOE2PO. Copyright IKSA

CONTENTS

Editorial Articles

Forum

News

Projects

Anecdotes

Portrait

Books Colophon

Pictures:

Issue No 7

-Jamgan Kongtriil Lodra Thaye (1818 - 1899) -'Dom Sum - the Three Vows', a seminar given by the

Ven. Thrangu Rinpoche in 1988 at Gampo Abbey - Talk 1: The Vows of the Three Yanas - Talk 2: The Vows of the Shravaka - Talk 3: The Vows of the Bodhisattvayana

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General Introduction to the Terms 'Rang stong' and 'gZhan stong' by Dr. Shenpen Hookham.

-Karma Kadjypa Skolen (Denmark) -Thrangu House, Oxford ( England)

Karma Migyur Ling. Torma Book of the Karma Kagyu Lineage.

The Real Thing.

Venerable Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche

, A': personal seal of the V. V. Kalu Rinpoche V. V. Kalu Rinpoche Lodra Thaye, drawing by Cynthia Moku Venerable Thrangu Rinpoche and monastic Sangha Venerable Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche H. H. the XVI th Gyalwa Karmapa, Rikpe Dorje, with H.E. Shamar Rinpoche, H. E. Tai Situ Rinpoche, H. E. Gyaltsap Rinpoche and Ven. Traleg Rinpoche in the front row and H. H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche in the back row. Photo by Desmond Doig

January 1989

EDITORIAL

We hereby offer you issue No. 7 of The Profound Path of Peace with the hope that it will be received as positively as issue No.6.

Although the responsibilities of publishing this magazine sometimes seem to be too big and the longing quite great for a wise 'babysitter' who shows us each step and in which direction to go, we appreciate the trust of our lineage holders that we have to develop western monasticism ourselves, though naturally under their guidance, which goes without saying.

In this issue we offer for the first time the section "Forum" with the hope that it will live up to its name as it is designed to offer the possibility to discuss basic philosophical views of Buddhism. If you can think of a beneficial contribution, please let us know.

Also, please consider whether you could help to bring about the torma book of the Karma Kagyu Lineage as suggested in the section "Projects". If the magazine could instigate projects which concern the wider Kagyu Sangha there would be a great potential for future important projects which are not that difficult to accomplish on the basis of a large audience.

We are sorry that we were unable to print in this issue the sojong text as promised. The text was ready for printing when we discovered several questions which, though minor, made us decide to wait for the next issue.

Last butnot least, we needyourfinancial support. As the Sangha member who previously helped us generously with printing the magazine in his prints hop sold his business just before we published the last issue, the production costs increased by 100 %. Also, as we would like to continue to send out the PPP to monks and nuns who really cannot afford it, it would be very helpful if you could send us your subscription now orif you find yourself in the position to help IKSA with a donation. There are also still a few issues of No.5 and 6 available.

If the bookstore in your center would be willing to distribute the PPP please let us know. (Terms: 10 % discount. IKSA covers the mailing costs but prepayment is required.)

We hope to produce many future issues and are looking forward to receiving your articles, news, anecdotes, etc. for the next issue.

With all best wishes,

Yours in the Dharma

Lodra Zan gpo

JAMGON KONGTRUL LODRO THAYE (1818 - 1899)

This issue of The Profound Path of Peace is dedicated to the Very Venerable Kalu Rinpoche who is the activity incarnation of J amgon Kongtrul Lodr6 Thaye, a short biography of whom we present here.

Born in Der-ge in Do-kham or Eastern Tibet, Jamgon Kongtrul was raised in the Bon tradition. In his childhood, he had numerous visions and dream experiences and yearned for teachings on the nature of mind, but no one around him fully understood what he sought.

Kongtrul's father was caught up in the political unrest of the period, and through his successful efforts to help him, Kongtrul found himself in the N yingma monastery ofZhechen in his late teens. Attracting attention because of his considerable intellectual and spiritual abilities, Kongtrul was taken to Palpung, the main Kagyu monastery of Eastern Tibet and seat of the Tai-Situ incarnations. There he made rapid progress, and by his mid-twenties he was a teacher of note and a language tutor to Karmapa Tekchok Dorje during the latter's tour of Kham. When he was thirty, Kongtrul gained permission from Situ Padma Nyinje to practise for three years in solitary retreat. Together they rediscovered the location of an old retreat center, and Kongtrul stayed there to meditate. Kongtrul always regarded these three years as the most fruitful period of his life and deeply wished that he had been able to continue. However, he had to resume his responsibilities atPalpung and spent the rest of his life writing, practicsng, and teaching. His achievements in any one of these areas are truly remarkable, let alone all three.

The precision, clarity, and conciseness of Kongtrul's writings make his work accessible, authoritative, and useful. His collected works came to be known as The Five Treasuries (T.: mDzod 19na) a name given by his close friend, student, and lama Khyentse Wangpo (1820 - 1892) when Kongtrul showed him the fIrst draft of his fIrst major work, The Treasury of All Knowledge ..

The Treasury of All Knowledge (T.: Shes bya kun khyab mdzod) is effectively a complete summary of Tibetan scholastic learning. Although it started as a treatise on the three ordinations, it came to include all aspects of Tibet's religious and cultural history and contains concise and beautiful presentations of the major systems of meditation practised in Tibet.

The Kagyu Treasury of Mantra (T.: bKa' brgyudsngags mdzod) is a collection of the key teachings of the Kagyu schools which originated with Marpa the Translator. When Khyentse Wangpo was in Central Tibet, he visited a contemplative who transmitted to him many rare teachings of the Marpa transmission. The contemplative said that he himself had no student capable of editing the material but that one of Khyentse Wangpo' s students would be able to. On his return, Khyentse

gave the teachings to Kongtrul and insisted that he write such a work. With the transmissions that he had already received from Tai-Situ Padma Nyinje and other teachers, Kongtrul compiled The Kagyu Treasury of Mantra.

The Treasury of Key Instructions (T.: Grub rgyu shing rta brgyad gdams ngag mdzod) is the most eloquent expression of Kongtrul's feeling that all traditions should be respected since they all provide sure means to liberation. This treasury contains the key empowerments and instructions for the eight great traditions of Buddhism in Tibet.

The Treasury of Precious Treasure Teachings (T.: Rin chen gter mdzod) is the largest of the Five Tresuries.ltcontains theempowerments, instructions, and rituals for the practice of the most important cycles of treasure teachings. The compilation and writing of the more than sixty volumes of this collection occupied Kongtrul for much of his life.

Finally, The Special Treasury of Advice (T.: Thun mong rna yin pa'i mdzod) contains all of Kongtrul' s miscellaneous writings - prayers and rituals for special occasions, letters, advice to his students, his own songs, and treatises on philosophy, astrology, grammar, Sanskrit, and other subjects.

From his autobiography, it is clear that Kongtrul desired greatly to have more time for intensive practice and less involvement with temporal affairs and administration. Despite the demands made on him, he was able to gain experience in the practice of a vast range of yidams and many methods of the phase of completion. However, Kongtrul himself says that he found taking and sending and mahamudra the best practices to do when one was very busy.

As for teaching and other religious activities, Kongtrul was forever travelling from one monastery to another, giving empowerments and instructions, consecrating sites, and leading rituals and retreats for specific purposes. He established two retreat centers and discovered many treasure teachings. Among his students are the greatest teachers of the age: Karmapa Kachab Dorje, Tai-Situ Padma Wangchuk, Chokjur Dechen Lingpa, Khyentse Wangpo, and others.

With Khyentse and Dechen Lingpa, Kongtrul shaped the development of the Rime or All-Traditions movement. This movement sought to break down the prevalent sectarian tendencies and to re-establish personal practice as the basis of Dharma. According to these teachers, one should practise the tradition to which one feels closest and have faith and respect for the teachings of all traditions.

During his life, Kongtrul came to be regarded as an incarnation of three different mind-streams. The most important begins with Buddha Sakyamuni's cousin and student, Ananda, and includes Nagabodhi, Khyungpo Naljor, Sakya Pandita, Jonang Taranatha, and other teachers. Many scholars and masters felt that Kongtrul fulfilled prophecies which occurred in various sutras and treasure teachings. One example, from the Lankavatara Sutra, says:

In a later age There will come a great hero CalledLodro the Guide, A teacher of the five sciences.

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After Kongtrul's death, five incarnations were recognized, incarnations embodying enlightened form, speech, mind, capabilities, and activity. Kalu Rinpoche is regarded as the activity incarnation.

DOMSUM-THETHREEVOWS

A Seminar consisting of five talks by the Venerable Thrangu Rinpoche at Gampo Abbey in May 1988 and translated by Chojor Radha.

TALK 1: THE VOWS OF THE THREE YANAS

First, in order to develop bodhicitta, you should develop in your mind the idea that the purpose of practising Buddhism, the reason why you are here listening to the Dharma and receiving the profound teachings, is solely for the benefit of sentient beings limitless as the sky.

The subject of our talk is the three vows, dom-sum (T.: sdom gsum). But in order to understand fully the meaning of the three vows, we should frrst see the significance and auspiciousness of Trungpa Rinpoche who was not an ordinary being like ourselves but a special being. Special beings have the capacity to plan how they take birth and how they die, and how they spend the period between their birth and their death. Whatever plans they make they carry out to completion. We, as ordinary beings, also have the choice of planning our life, but unlike the special beings, we have no control of how we are born or how we die. This understanding of the higher beings and their buddha-activity is something we must bear in mind. For example, His Holiness the XVIth Karmapa chose the perfect time to be born, namely, when his teachers Situ Rinpoche, Perna Wangchuk Gyalpo, and J amgon Rinpoche, Palden Oser, were old enough to look after and transmit the sacred teachings. His Holiness also had the awareness that overwhelming changes would occur in Tibet and that it would be necessary to establish the Dharma in India and particularly in Europe and America. Therefore based on his omniscience, he chose to be reborn at a time when he would receive the complete transmissions from his teachers who themselves were elderly, and when he himself would be old enough to take on the full responsibility of cultivating the seed of the Dharma throughout the world. Ifwe look back, it seems as ifhereally planned these occurences due to his omniscience, although at that time we were not able to understand the reason for his actions. Also it would have been very difficult for his elderly teachers to come out of Tibet. Therefore they left their body and reincarnated in a new body in which they could again fulfill their functions for the future without having to go through the difficulties and hardships of escaping due to old age. These are the extraordinary qualities of the special beings. Moreover, His Holiness, having left Tibet, immediately established Rumtek monastery and passed on all the transmissions to the four Regents, and when he knew that they themselves were strong enough to take on the

responsibility in the East and West, His Holiness passed into nirvana. So His Holiness completed everything, and left nothing incomplete. All this seems completely planned, when to take rebirth, what activities to carry out, and, having completed the activities, when to leave. These are the buddha-activities of the special beings.

It is similar with Trungpa Rinpoche. Trungpa Rinpoche's main activity has been the cultivation of the buddhadharma on the soil of America. Everyone knows that he was an outstanding teacher, and because of his skill and wisdom, he learned the correct means of cultivating the teachings in the minds of westerners. He taught his students the buddhadharma starting with shamatha where one concentrates one's mind on the breath, and then gradually introducing the vajrayana practices including Vajrayogini, Cakrasamvara and Mahamudra. Having given his students enough education and all the requirements for the empowerments in the higher practices and knowing that his students have the capability to take on responsiblity, he died, leaving no part of his work incomplete. I believe that all of Trungpa Rinpoche's students are taking on that responsibility and are working according to his instructions and intentions. And through his skillfulness, he saw that it was necessary to es tablish a traditional monastery in America, and from that understanding, Gampo Abbey came into existence.

In Tibet, after Buddhism was introduced during the time of King Srong-tsen Gampo, it was not fIrmly established until fIve generations had gone by. Then Kbenpo Bodhisattva was invited to come to Tibet and in order to learn whether or not the Tibetans were really able to maintain and adjust to strict monastic discipline, the full ordination vows were given at fIrst to seven students as a test. Finding that these Tibetan monks were able to adjust to the rules and disciplines, the ordination was made widely available. So although in Tibet it took five generations to establish monasticism, here in America, Trungpa Rinpoche has achieved that within one lifetime.

So the vows are maintained by adjusting to the rule (T.: tsul) or discipline (T.: tsul-trims). The means to adjust to the discipline is knowing the three vows. Outwardly one adjusts to the shravaka vows, inwardly to the bodhisattva vows, and secretly one maintains the tantrayana orvajrayanadiscipline. It has to be very clear here that in order to maintain complete discipline, one must maintain all three vows, and this is known as 'sum-ten dorje dzin-pa' , "the vajra-holder who keeps the three vows" (T.: gsum, three; rten, possessing or keeping; rdo-rje, vajra; dzin-pa, holder). In regard to the external or outer discipline, the Vinaya rules, the Theravadins hold that Tibetan Buddhism does not maintain the Vinaya rules as strictly and as precisely as the Theravadins, for example in regard to the way of washing the begging bowl or the way of folding the dharma robe, to name just a few. It is true that in Tibetan Buddhism particular vows are not emphasized as much. Instead the

multitude of one's desires, one feels: "If I accomplish this one wish, I would feel quite satisfied". But rather than being satisfied when that wish has been accomplished, one becomes more desirous, more ambitious. Since there seems to be no end to the desires of the mind and no way to satisfy the mind, the Buddha said that one must discipline one's mind at the very beginning.

Among the Vinaya disciplines, there are Sojong (T.: gso-sbyong), Yarne (T.: gyar-gnas) and Gagye (T.: dgag-dbye). First the Sojong, 'so' means to renew and 'jong' means to purify or confess, so the significance of the Sojong ceremony is the renewing of the vows, a confession. But naturally this does not mean that one fIrst can carry out negative actions of body, speech and mind and then be absolved by the Sojong ceremony, the confession. Sojong is traditionally done twice a month, and during that period one tries to examine how mindful one has been in body, speech and mind. One rejoices if one fmds, on examination, that one has maintained all the disciplines of body, speech and mind, but if one finds that any of the disciplines have been broken, then such a breach is purified and the vows are renewed. When the Buddha was about to enter into Parinirvana, he told his monks that the Pratimokshasutra would be the sole liberator for them, meaning that if one applies the disciplines or vows according to the instruction given in the sutra, they are like a guide or a teacher that can liberate one after the Buddha's Parinirvana.

During the period of the summer retreat or Yarne (T.: gyar -gnas; gyar: summer; gnas: location) one examines one's feelings andreactions within the atmosphere of strict discipline. Immediately following Yarne is Gagye (T.: dgag-dbye: stopped) in which the discipline is loosened, and one examines oneself physically and mentally within the atmosphere of the loosened discipline.

The outer discipline of the shravaka leading to individual liberation (T.: so-sor tharpa) is the path of abandoning the defIlements or conflicting emotions of body and speech. Actions of body and speech assist or incite the kleshas, so when one's actions of body and speech are based on discipline, they do not arouse the defIlements, one remains free from the development of the kles has. In that sense one speaks of the vows of the shravaka as the path of abandoning the kleshas. In the inner discipline of the bodhisattvayana, the path consists of transforming the conflicting emotions or kleshas from negative to positive. In the secret discipline of the mantrayana, the klesha itself is regarded as the path towards experiencing wisdom. So by working with all three techniques, abandoning the kleshas, transforming the kleshas and taking the kleshas as path, one can realize the fruition of primordial wisdom, yeshe (T.: ye-shes, S.: jnana).

That's all for today. If you have any questions, you're welcome.

Question 1: Rinpoche, you said that it was very important to integrate all three of the vows, and you said that the shravaka discipline was abandoning the kleshas, the mahayana situation was transforming the kleshas, and the mantrayana was taking the kleshas as path. If we integrate these three and if we abandon the kleshas, what is there left to transform? Rinpoche: Unfortunately our kleshas are very strongly rooted within us and so it's not as easy as simply saying "I want to abandon my kleshas" and the kleshas are gone. Even though we want to abandon the kleshas, yet they remain with us, unfortunately. So in order to eliminate the kleshas completely, we must follow alternately from one method to another. Though we may want to transform the kleshas into wisdom, we are unable to do so. Or, when we wanttoregard thekleshas as the path to enlightenment, we find that we are not developed enough to do so. So since the kleshas are so deeply and powerfully rooted, we must apply the three different means one by one in order to achieve our goal. Question: Thank you, Rinpoche

Question 2: Do we apply the three methods simultaneously? Rinpoche: Generally, we really try to alternate the different methods of eliminating the kleshas. It is similar to when you are sick and you try different means, take medicine or try to apply other means to eliminate the disease or the pain. But you can also look at it like you are applying the methods simultaneously. Externally you are maintaining the Vinaya discipline, internally you are maintaining the bodhisattva vows, and you are practising the secret mantrayana. Are we doing it all at the same time? You could do it if you're careful.

Question 3: In the discussion so far we have talked about dealing with conflicting emotions, abandoning or transforming or taking the kleshas as path. Is it correct to view that as the same as abandoning the two-fold ego-clinging? In other words, if we can deal with the problem of the conflicting emotion or klesha, then the basic root issue of the ego process is also dealt with. Is that a correct understanding? Rinpoche: Ego-clinging is the root of all thekleshas, so one could safely say that the three vows are to abandon ego-clinging, to transform ego-clinging and to take egoclinging itself as path. Question: Could you say th at if you can deal with the kleshas particularly on the two levels of transforming them and using them as path, then at that advanced stage you would cut through the two obscurations, the obscuration of the kleshas and the obscuration of cognition? Rinpoche: As you become more skillful in applying the methods of abandoning the kleshas, transforming the kleshas and regarding the kleshas as path, you also develop wisdom which means that you are cutting through the two obscurations.

Question 4 : Rinpoche, it's easier to understand how the vows work with the kleshas of passion and aggression, but how do they work with ignorance? Rinpoche: Of all the kleshas, passion and aggression are very distinct and the most powerful ones. When we work with the pacifying of passion and aggression and when the incitement of these two kleshas is absent, then the mind experiences stability, clarity and goodness. Based on that, it becomes very simple to work towards the elimination of ignorance. For example, when you practise meditation, if you do not discipline your mind, if you let your mind become completely distracted, then you experience either intolerable agitation or tremendous drowsiness. But if, at the very beginning of your sitting meditation, you discipline your mind so that it does not become distracted, then you experience less of these two obstacles. Question: May I ask for further clarification? What is the klesha of ignorance actually? Sometimes it's considered to be one of the three root kleshas and sometimes it's considered to be the basic ignorance. Rinpoche: In Tibetan, there is ti-mug (T.: gti-mug) which is ignorance and there is ma-rig-pa (T.: ma-rig-pa) which is a blindness, the opposite of awareness. These are two terms used in the Abhidharma, the ftrs t being' mixed ignorance' and the second 'unmixed ignorance' . 'Mixed ignorance' is something that comes together with any of the other kleshas, such as passion or aggression. The moment your passion arises, the ignorance is there together with it. So this' mixed ignorance' is inseparable from the kleshas. The 'unmixed ignorance' is quite different. If you have no knowledge of meditation, no knowledge of cho-nyid (T.: chos-nyid), dharmadhatu or dharmata, that lack of knowledge, which is a state of confusion, is 'unmixed ignorance' . Question: May I ask a further question in that regard? There seems to be a distinction between meditation and post-meditation. In pos t -meditation, we seem to have the idea that things exist which probably is the ignorance of dharmata. Is there a possibility to overcome that ignorance in post-meditation, or is that only possible in meditation? Rinpoche: We must distinguish clearly between the meditation of an ordinary person and that of an exalted being. If we are an ordinary person, since we have not actually experienced dharmadhatu or dharmata, they are, for us, simply symbolic examples on which we meditate. Then in our post-meditation, we try to carry on whatever feeling or experience we have had in our meditation on the symbolic example. An exalted being, a bodhisattva on the ftrst bhumi, for example, having the actual realization of dharmadhatu or dharmata, does not have to dwell upon the symbolic examples and can maintain the feeling of the experience of dharmata in post-meditation with the certainty of mind. As a beginner, we refer back to whatever experience we have had in our meditation session, but as we develop, there comes to be no distinction between meditation and post-meditation; both experiences are the same.

Question 5 : Rinpoche was saying that since thekleshas are so powerfully rooted we need all three vows or disciplines and can practise them alternately or simultaneously . Would a Theravadin shravaka say that the kleshas could be uprooted just with the Vinaya and mindfulness? Rinpoche: The shravaka works with abandoning the kleshas. By strong discipline of body and speech, by not permitting body or speech to arouse or incite the kleshas, the latter are weakened and pacified and at the same time the shravaka's capacity to rest in the meditative state develops. Question: Would this be ground from a vajrayana point of view as opposed to fruition from the so-sor tharpa point of view, the Theravadin point of view? Rinpoche: In the Vajrayana practice, emphasis is also placed on maintaining the discipline of the shravaka because if the kleshas are pacified or weakened by means of the shravaka vows, then you are able to preserve in a very wholesome way whatever further precepts or vows you take, such as the bodhisattva vows or the vajrayana vows. You can achieve complete elimination of the kleshas by means of shravaka practice alone without the mahayana or vajrayana, but since you are applying only one method and not several, it will take longer and will be more difficult.

TALK 2: THE VOWS OF THE SHRA V AKA

As was explained yesterday, it is essential to cultivate a pure attitude both during practice and in ordinary every-day life. Therefore develop now this pure attitude and listen attentively to the teachings.

If an individual observes the three disciplines of the three yanas strictly that is very effective practice. But if one strictly and seriously practises and preserves the Va jrayana samayas (T.: dam tsig), that includes the precepts of the other two yanas.

Now we will go into more detail. The precepts of the shravaka are known in Sanskrit as pratimoksha, Tibetan, so-sor thar-pa. 'Thar-pa' means liberation and 'so-sor' means individual. So this liberation is not the ultimate liberation but through maintaining this discipline one liberates and separates oneself from temporary uncomfortable difficulties. When we consider this discipline from the ordinary point of view, it seems to be a hard task and to be burdensome, butthe truth of the matter is that if we do not maintain this discipline, we actually experience hardships over longer periods of time and more intensely. So by keeping the pratimoksha vows or the so-sor thar-pa precepts, we become free from these difficulties in life. If we can keep one precept, that eliminates one problem; if we can keep two, that eliminates two problems, and so on.

Sometimes it is thought that the pratimoksha vows are observed only by fullyordained monks and nuns, but this is not the case. The number of so-sor thar-pa precepts is sometimes considered to be five, but sometimes seven or eight. Five of them are included within the monastic vows of fully ordained monks and nuns and three of the precepts are included within the householder vows, the genyen (T.: dgebsnyen) vows. For the householder or lay practitioner, there are two categories of precepts, namely temporary, du-tim (T.: dus-khrims) and permanent, ten-tim (T: gtan-khrims). Whichever of the precepts the householder takes, if he or she undertakes to keep it for their entire life, that is the permanent vow. However, because the householders maintain their livelihood with a job and have a household and a family to look after, they do not have enough time to fully devote their life to practice. It is difficult for them to maintain permanent discipline, commitments. Therefore the householder attempts to accumulate merit by observing the genyen vows for one day, two days and so on. Keeping the vows very strictly during those periods is known as the commitments of time.

Similarly, the monastic ordinations are given in a step by step process with gradually increasing numbers of precepts. First there is the ordinary ordination, barma rabjung (T.: bar-rna rab-byung), then getsul or getsulma (T.: dge tsul), then

finally fully-ordained monk ornun, gelong or gelongma (T.: dge slong, dge slongrna).

The main idea, however, of the ordinations is the overcoming of the kleshas in a gradual way by developing mindfulness and alertness. One of the ways in which monastics train in mindfulness and alertness is through their clothes which are not designed to fit the body. The literal translation of the phrase is that the robes are "made in a square shape." For example, let's take the Dharma robe or chogo (T.: chos gos). Because it does not fitto the body it falls off very easily, so that you have to be constantly mindful not to let it slip off and hold onto an edge or comer of the robe all the time, and by doing so you constantly maintain mindfulness. Also the colour and shape of the robes are very different from that oflay people which again acts as a constant reminder to the monks and nuns that they are different from lay poeple in reference to having to preserve all the pratimoksha precepts. Again the purpose is to develop mindfulness and alertness. Another example of how mindfulness and alertness is developed in the life of the ordained monastic is the begging bowl. Sometimes you wonder why the begging bowl can't be made with a simple flat bottom [Rinpoche laughs] so that it would sit firmly on the table and be more practical for eating. But with a round bottom, the bowl constantly moves, and so mindfulness and alertness must be maintained at meal-times as well.

So the basic idea is to preserve the commitment of the four root vows and to learn not to be involved in the downfalls. In order to be effective in these two important sections of the vows one examines one's regular life very carefully to see whether one is breaking any of these vows by body, speech or mind or not. This is crucial for those who have received the commitment of these vows. In order to maintain such mindfulness and alertness, one has to be alert and careful that one is not indulging in the kleshas of passion, aggression, pride and so forth. As a sign of that commitment, whenever one talks to someone one must be mindful of what one is talking, how one is behaving physically. One has to be mindful of all actions of body, speech and mind. By the virtue of this mindfulness and alertness, the conflicting emotions decrease and weaken, and as a result, there are fewer obstacles in meditation, fewer obstacles and thoughts that hinder the samadhi. As a result of that, the developing stage and the accomplishing stage of meditation both become very clear, precise and uninterrupted and, in addition to that, a sense of relaxation is experienced. These are the fruition of observing tsultrim.

Traditionally itis said in the teachings that keeping the physical commitments of the discipline will lead to the ability to keep the verbal commitments. As a result of keeping the physical commitments, you indulge less in the negative actions of speech which automatically helps you to keep the verbal commitments. If you learn to keep the verbal commitments, that in tum helps you to learn to maintain the mental commitments. So by first concentrating on the physical aspects of the vows, you develop the verbal and then the mental aspects. By keeping all three aspects of

the vows, the gelong or gelongma will be led towards liberation. The Buddha taught the three learnings, namely, shila or tsultrim, samadhi and prajna, in wich shila or discipline is the ground for both discipline and meditative concentration. Because of tsultrim you experience peacefulness in addition to mindfulness and alertness. Tsultrim helps to bring samadhi from which prajna develops. This prajna is the realization of the selfless nature. Tsultrim alone is not sufficient to bring the realization of selfless nature, but discipline and samadhi together assist you to come to the fruition of prajna which experiences the selfless nature.

The group of practitioners who are practising tsultrim is known as the sangha. The commitments of the sangha are twofold. First, the sangha tries not to show disrespect to any of the Buddha's teachings, and second, the sangha tries to act in accordance with wholesome and harmonious behaviour. The sangha members are known as having "common taste", because they have all received the same precepts and are all committed to working towards the same goal of pacifying the kleshas. Because you have all taken the same commitments, if you commit disharmony in the sangha and are disrespectful to the sangha, it is a breach of the refuge vow.

Another aspect of tsultrim is the Four Trainings of Virtuous Dharma (T.: deg sbyong bzhi). The frrstofthesemay be translated as "Don'treturn anger with anger" (T.: khro kyang slar mi khro) which means that even if one of the sangha members should become aggressive or angry towards you, you must not react with anger but you should be tolerant and patient. It is important to realize that the aggressive and angry person has, in this circumstance, lost his mindfulness and alertness. If you maintain your own mindfulness and alertness and try to be kind and gentle, that will help the other person to regain his understanding of the importance of mindfulness and alertness and thus you have helped him not to indulge in conflicting emotions and you have reminded him of mindfulness and alertness.

The second training of virtuous dharma is "Don' treturn harsh words with harsh words" (T.: gshe kyang slar mi gshe) which means that if a sangha member speaks harshly to you and very critically in a disgraceful way, you should not become angry and return the harsh words, but you should try to be patient and maintain your mindfulness and alertness. As before, as a result of not reacting to the other person's rebuke, the other person's wish to harm decreases and your own kleshas decrease as well. So it is of tremendous benefit to self and others. This second training concerns direct speech.

The third training of virtuous dharma is similar to the second, but concerns indirect speech, which is offensive in a very subtle way, such as hinting criticism. So the title could be "Don't return criticism with criticism" (T.: mchan' bru yang slar mi 'bru), meaning not to return any offensive gesture or comment, but to retain mindfulness and alertness.

The fourth training of virtuous dharma is literally "Even strikes, dont strike back" (T.: brdeg kyang slar mi brdeg). Even if a person tries to harm you physically,

for example, beats you or strikes you, it is important not to retaliate, but to maintain mindfulness and alertness. In this way you actually subdue the klesha of anger by means of tolerance.

As you practise the disciplines, you must learn not to fall into the two extremes, the first being indulgence or luxury, the second asceticism. The extreme of indulgence means that you are so attached to name, fame, possessions and luxury that you are never satisfied with what you acquire. You needmore and more clothes, more and more possessions, and even when you have them, you still desire more. Your mind is never satisfied. You must learn to be content with whatever clothes, whatever wealth, whatever possessions you have. The extreme of asceticism or austerity means that, like some non-Buddhist practitioners, you believe that, by torturing the physical body by heat, cold, hunger or thirst, you can attain liberation or realization. The means by which realization can actually be experienced is by means of discipline, samadhi and wisdom.

However, if you can remain free from grasping and clinging, then even though you undertake the commitments of the vows, you can enjoy such things as living in a luxurious home, wearing clothes made of precious material, eating delicious food, and so on. You do not have to reject the availability of such things, if someone has provided them for you. If you can have all this abundance without having to work hard throughout your entire life, then you have the right to enjoy it, provided you do not cling to it. On the other hand, if such wealth, good food and lUXury is not within your reach, you must not crave for it. You must learn to live simply. When you have it, enjoy it; when you don't have it, do not long for it.

That's all for today. We will have some time now for questions and answers.

Question 1 : There are a number of cultural differences between East and West. Very often westerners see a situation such as the vows through their own cultural perspective. I wonder if Rinpoche could tell us how he informs his monks of the proper attitude to take when first taking the vows. Rinpoche: Yes, there is a difference in culture between the East and the West, but with respect to the practice, there is no difference between them. Both East and West must adopt the same practice. So when you are receiving the full ordination, the main point to bear in mind is that you are not doing it for someone else, you are doing it in order to subdue your own kleshas and in order to do so, it is necessary to develop mindfulness and awareness. By cultivating mindfulness and awareness or alertness, you learn not to crave, to be satisfied with what you have, and aim towards the development of samadhi which itself brings prajna. The pratimoksha vow of the shravaka differs from the pratimoksha vow of the Mahayana. As we have explained earlier, the goal of the pratimoksha vow of the shravaka is individual liberation. Having experienced the vicious state of samsara, you are practising the discipline

in order to liberate yourself from that pain and misery. On the other hand, in the pratimoksha vow of the Mahayana, you practise the discipline of mindfulness and awareness in order to become capable of benefiting other sentient beings in the future. Question: In undertaking the vows to become more mindful and more aware and thus more liberated, there might be attitudes peculiar to westerners that lead us astray from the possibility of mindfulness and awareness, for example the idea of discipline. Oftentimes when we speak of discipline we think of something imposed from the outside, whereas the Buddhist notion of discipline is that it is willingly undertaken. Rinpoche: It is really not very helpful to discuss individual viewpoints or cultural feelings. The Buddha himself did not command his disciples to obey the vows. Rather, he presented the reason for the vows and showed what sorts of suffering we experience if we do not keep the vow. Based on this reasoning, we learn that by keeping the vows we become free from suffering, and by not keeping it we are subject to the miseries of samsara. Understanding that, then we take the vow, so the vow should not be regarded as something compulsory, an order from some superior being. Receiving the ordination cannot be done without understanding and learning about the vows. All the high Tibetan teachers have always made it clear to their students that the precepts must be taken voluntarily with full knowledge. You must not regard the precepts as a burden, as a prison for your body and speech. Rather you must know that by keeping the precepts, suffering is eliminated and therefore it is a joy rather than a hardship to receive and maintain the commitments. This is the attitude you must develop before receiving the commitments. Question: Thank you, Rinpoche.

Question 2: Rinpoche, in speaking of the four virtuous dharmas or what to avoid, i.e. the four unvirtuous dharmas, I fmd it very difficult to work with anger because it is so fast. The other kleshas involve a little time for thinking whereas anger seems to come ou t and the harmful results appear immediately. How does one avoid saying harmful things? It seems that I have the intention to avoid it, but before I know it, it's there and the harm is done. Rinpoche: There are various methods to overcome anger, the Vajrayanamethod, the Mahayana method and the Hinayana method. Anger or aggression, as you say, is very fast and very powerful, and from the pratimoksha point of view, you really can't do very much at that very moment. But you can train yourself before-hand. During your daily life when you are not angry or offended, when you are not being criticized, when you are peaceful both physically and mentally, you can keep repeating in your mind "Even if! am offended or criticized, becoming angry is not positive." At the beginning, even though you have that fresh idea of the negative

aspect of your anger, you might lose your temper when the circumstance occurs that someone is criticizing you. But your anger may not be as strong as before. Maybe you still get angry, but your words will be less harsh than if you had never practised that. So the frrst time you may not be too successful, but the second time, the third time you improve, and that is how you gradually evolve. The most important thing is "Never give up" [Laughter]. The worst thing that you can do is to doubt that the practice can work for you and stop practising. So never give up. Keep on practising.

Question 3: Would Rinpoche clarify the difference between the terms used for the pratimoksha vows and the Vajrayana samaya? Rinpoche: In Tibetan, there are two terms, dam tsig (T.: dam tsig) and dom-pa (T.: sdom pa). Here 'dam' means "tight", 'tsig' means "word", and 'dom-pa' is a verb meaning "to bind". 'Dam' also has the connotation of sacredness. Rinpoche feels that the term 'dam-tsig' should be reserved for the Vajrayanasamaya. 'Dom-pa' can be thought of as the binding force of discipline. Question: My second question is about the lineage of the different vows. In terms of the pratimoksha, there are the usual five precepts for the lay person, the pancashila, plus the additional three making up the ashtashila, which include not wearing jewelry, not watching theatrical displays and not sleeping in a high bed. Then there are the dashashila, the ten wholesome actions of body, speech and mind mentioned by Gampopa in "The Jewel Ornament of Liberation" and by J amgon Kongtrul. I was wondering why the dashashila are not administered as vows. Rinpoche: As we discussed earlier, a lay person may take the precepts either permanently or for a given period of time. A householder is able to keep the five precepts or sometimes four on a permanent basis, which is called the permanent vows, but it is rather difficult for a lay person to keep the other precepts like not to wear precious jewelry, nottoindulge in singing and dancing, because those are ways of socializing in the lay community. But the lay person can maintain the five precepts, or the four, on a permanent basis. The temporary vow, which is given for a day or two can be strictly preserved by the lay person, because for a limited period of time, the householder is able to avoid wearing jewelry, singing and dancing, etc. These two classifications, the five or eight vows for the lay person, are all related to physical and verbal discipline, physical and verbal tsultrim. As for the ten unwholesome actions, they include, in addition, the mental disciplines of refraining from envy, harmful thought and heretical views. In respect to this, one is not sufficiently spiritually advanced on the shravaka level, that one can fully take these mental disciplines as avow. Therefore If you would take these three mental unwholesome actions as a vow, you would be bound to break them. That is why you would not take them as avow.

The aspect of refraining from unwholesome speech includes refraining from creating disharmony, refraining from indulgence in idle gossip and refraining from

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the use of harsh words. For a layperson it is often quite natural to participate in gossip, and within the family and other worldly activities one occasionally indulges in harsh words. So therefore these three are not regarded as commitments or vows. For the layperson, what is considered the vow of not to tell lies is simply not to tell lies. Question: Thank you. So the ten unwholesome actions from which to refrain are given, not as vows or precepts, but as a teaching so that people could have the aspiration to keep them. Rinpoche: Yes. The ten wholesome and ten unwholesome actions are taught so that the students will develop their knowledge and, by mindfulness and alertness, will avoid participating in all the unwholesome actions. The precepts are given as aroot or foundation, and beyond that foundation, the ten unwholesome actions are situations which one tries to learn to avoid simply through being mindful. If they were given as vows, it becomes very inconvenient because we experience them so often in lay life. Question: Thank you very much, Rinpoche.

Question 4: Rinpoche, in the ordination vows of barma rabjung are there five vows or seven or eight? And what is the difference betwen the barma rabjung and the getsul vows? Rinpoche: The real difference between the barmarabjung vows and the getsul vows is that in the former, you have not fully committed yourself to the vows. In a sense you are really examining and testing yourself to see whether you are able to commit yourself fully, but at the same time, although you have not officially committed yourself, you have made up your mind that you don't want to be a householder, so you are practising all the commitments without having received the official ordained commitments. So in the category ofbarmarabjung, you have the five basic vows. The other vows, which you haven't taken yet officially, 'You consider as mental training, or test for yourself. Therefore there is no transgression if you break the additional vows. However, in the category of getsul, you have actually received the ten vows and if you transgress the vows, it is quite severe. The ten vows are known as the four defeats and six confessions. Included in the ten vows are not drinking alcohol, not indulging in music and dancing, not wearing jewelry, not touching gold or wealth, and not taking meals after mid-day. In China and Tibet, the latter vow is not observed. Rinpoche explained the reason for this in his ftrst visit to Garnpo Abbey. Briefly, Theravadins observe the precept of not eating after midday because they live strictly on the food they receive when they go into the village or town on their morning alms-round and the afternoon is reserved for practising. If they had to beg from house-to-house in the village both in the morning and the afternoon, there would not be much time left for practice. In Tibet and China, the tradition of begging was not developed.

Question: IfRinpoche says that the barma rabjung vows are a test, does that mean that it is not a life-long commitment? Rinpoche: The getsul vows are somehow incomplete without having practised the barma rabjung vows which include the genyen pratimoksha vows. The barma rabjung vows are a test for oneself whether you are able to keep the vows for one's whole life, before one takes the getsul vows. But this does not mean that it is temporary like the nyen-ne (T.: bsnyen-gnas) vow, the one-day fasting vow which, after one day, is completed. When you have found that you are actually able to preserve all the vows, they are not given up. So in this sense they are not temporary. Question: Thank you.

Question 5: Rinpoche, I'm confused about the distinction between a vow and merely having an aspiration. There are many lay practitioners in our sangha who have accepted their meditation practice together with all the trainings as a basic part of their lives. Many of us feel that these aspirations are permanent, and if we are not living up to those aspirations, we try to correct that problem. In that sense it seems very much like taking a vow, the only difference being that it is not official; it does not have some correction given by someone else. Would Rinpoche say more about that? Rinpoche: The word "vow" may not convey the full meaning of the Tibetan word 'dom-pa'. The English language does not seem to have a term strong enough to communicate the meaning of 'dom-pa'. Rinpoche explains that the ten unwholesome actions are not regarded as an actual vow because if something is not within your control, you cannot make a commitment or take an oath that you will not do it. For example, promising not to steal can be regarded as a vow because you can say "I will never steal" in front of your guru or in front of the shrine of an enlightened being. Stealing is a physical activity that is within your control. If the thought of stealing occurs in your mind, you can remember that you have promised to your guru or the buddhas not to steal and not to indulge in the act of stealing. Thoughts, on the other hand, cannot be promised. For example, in the case of envy, you cannot promise, taking the guru as witness, that you will never develop any envious thoughts. The moment you see something very attractive, envious thoughts occur in the mind so rapidly that there is no control over them. Because there is no control over them you cannottake the vow. But we have to understand that when you do not have a vow, that does not mean that you are not practising to get rid of mental afflictions. As you develop samadhi, ting dzin, you gradually develop control over your mind and when you have control over your mind, then you can really eliminate envious feelings, harsh thoughts, and so on. If that is not the case, you cannot promise to haveno envious thoughts and therefore the vow is not given to the student by the teacher. Question: Rinpoche, when we sit a dathun, we take the five precepts each day. Often

it is explained to us that they mean more than the simple action, for example, that lying also covers gossip and malicious speech. It seems to me that those come under the category of things that we cannot control. Perhaps our interpretation of what is meant by the precepts is not clear, whether it's just the simple action or whether it extends to cover more subtle things also. Rinpoche: It's really quite obvious. When you say "I will not tell a lie", that's it, "I will not tell a lie." There's no further subtle meaning. Question: OK. Thank: you.

Question 6: First of all, I would like to clarify for Rinpoche that when the five precepts are presented in the context of a dathun, the precept oflying does not have anything to do with slander, gossip or idle talk. It simply refers to lying in terms of the five precepts. My ques tion has to do with how the precepts are kept and how they are broken. When we present the precepts, we encourage people to relate to them as an awareness discipline. For instance, in the case oflying, not only do we try not to mislead others verbally, but we are aware of the tendency or the motivation that arises in our mind that we are tempted to mislead or tell an untruth. So we are aware that on the level of the mind there is a non-virtuous motivation that is not straightforward. In terms of how the precepts are broken Trungpa Rinpoche made it very clear to us that the precepts cannot be broken on the mind level. They can only be broken when several factors are present, namely, when there is the deliberate intention and when the action is accomplished, in this case that the other person is actually misled. I wonder ifRinpoche would comment on how the precepts are kept as an awareness discipline and how they are broken, not by mind alone but on the level of accomplishment. Rinpoche: We misunderstand the nature of the precepts if we do not separate the precept itself from the mental training or practice involved in it. For example, in the mental training of not developing any thought intended to deceive others, we become familiar with the virtue of the absence of even the thought of telling a lie. This training is very wholesome, but it is not the precept. The precept itself is the action of lying. Four factors must be present for completely breaking the precept. First there must be the object, the recipient, the individual whom you want to deceive. This individual must be capable of understanding your lie. If it's an animal, no matter what words you use, it will not understand [Laughter], so your deception will not be fu1fllled. Secondly is the intention of wanting to deceive that particular object or recipient Thirdly is actualizing your intention by words or speech. Fourthly, the finalizing of the action, the individual hears your words. So if the recipient hears your deceptive words, whether or not he is actually deceived by them, you have broken the precept because you had the intention to deceive; the recipient was present and you have actualized your deceptive thought. But if you are staying alone under a tree in the jungle [Rinpoche laughs] and tell yourself a lie, you

are not breaking the vow at all [Laughter] because you are alone, there is no one who hears you. The four factors must be present for completly breaking the precept. Therefore the mental awareness training is different from taking the precepts. Question: Thank you. Rinpoche: That's all for today.

TALK 3 : THE VOWS OF THE BODHISATTVAYANA

As before, please engender a pure motivation while listening attentively to the teachings. Pure motivation purifies the conduct of body, speech, and mind, and by maintaining that purity of heart or mind of the altruistic attitude, one develops vast and pure bodhicitta.

We have already talked about the so sor tharpa vow, which is regarded as the 'outer' (T.: phyi) vow, because it deals with the disciplines of body and speech. Today we will deal with the inner vow, the bodhisattva vow, called 'inner' because it concerns the discipline of mind. The so sor tharpa vow of the shravaka is easy to preserve, because it is concerned with our outer behaviour of body and speech which we can control by committing ourself to do such and such a thing physically or verbally. The outer discipline is a simple method to maintain our conduct, but if it is transgressed, it cannot be renewed. The great teachers of the past compared the outer discipline to a clay pot which is hard and firm, but if dropped and broken, cannot be repaired. On the other hand, the inner bodhisattva vow is more difficult to keep as it deals with the mind or mental attitude which is constantly changing, and with thoughts which arise instantly and without choice. Therefore the bodhisattva vow is easily broken. The inner bodhisattva vow is compared to a vase made of pure gold which can become dented and deformed with the slightest knock but also can be repaired back to its original condition.

The inner bodhisattva vow is concerned with the development of bodhicitta, enlightened mind, which is accompanied by pure motivation. In Tibet the vows of so sor tharpa were considered to be very important, but since the outer discipline was mainly concentrated on benefiting oneself, it was considered to be more effective to include the inner bodhisattva vow so that not only self was benefited but others were benefited as well. For that reason Tibetan Buddhism did not pay specific detailed attention to all the 252 vows of the fully ordained monk. Although the so sor tharpa vow is the ground or basis for all the other vows, in order that it be more fruitful, the inner bodhisattva vow is necessary. Likewise, one cannot commit oneself to the secret vajrayana vows without having practised the inner bodhisattva vows. In this way, the bodhisattva vows act as a channel for both the so sor tharpa and the mantrayana vows and are therefore regarded as most crucial and important.

The bodhisattva vows are taken with the attitude of developing bodhicitta. However, one should unders tand that one does nottake the vows with the notion that one has perfected bodhicitta and that from the moment of having taken the vows, one will never break them, because one's mind is constantly changing. Rather, one takes the bodhisattva vows with the aim of perfecting bodhicitta and therefore, as

one goes along the path, one rejoices on learning that one is able to maintain the attitude of a bodhisattva, and one tries to develop that attitude further. The bodhisattva vows are traditionally renewed as often as one wants, just as in the case of a white chOrten or stupa, the more coats of paint you apply the more strongly the paint stays on the chorten.

There are three types of tsultrim through which one tries to develop the bodhisattva vow. Thefrrst type abandons or cuts through unwholesome and harmful actions, the second gathers or accumulates virtuous and helpful dharmas, and the third benefits sentient beings.

The Buddha turned the wheel of the Dharma two times, sometimes it is said three times. In the ftrs t turning, he taught the Hinayana and in the second turning he taught the Mahayana which is concerned with shunyata, emptiness. Later the great master Nagarjuna (T.: kLu sgrub) ciarified the hidden meanings of the Buddha's teachings by commentaries. Also, thinking that some of the teachings of the Buddha were extremely elaborate and hard for ordinary people to understand, he wrote a very concise version of the teachings, simple to understand. The commentaries by Nagarjuna are known as The Profound Transmission of the View (T.: zab-mo lhapo'i brgyud-pa). Then later, the great master Asanga (T. Thogs-med), having the same intention of clarifying the hidden words of the Buddha, also condensed the more difficult teachings so that ordinary people could comprehend them. This became known as The Transmission of the Vast Conduct (T.: rgya chen spyod-pa' i brgyud-pa), which deals with emptiness, but also with the bhumis and the path of enlightenment. These two transmissions, that of Asanga and that of Nagarjuna, although differing slightly, are concerned with transforming conflicting emotions or kleshas into something positive by learning to develop a pure attitude of bodhicitta, loving kindness and compassion.

To illustrate such transformation Rinpoche would like to tell a story of one of the previous incarnations of Buddha who was born as the bodhisattva Ded dpon snying stobs chan. He went to sea on a big ship with five hundred merchants in search of jewels. On that ship was a cruel wicked man, Mi-nag mdud thud chan, who wanted to destroy the ftve hundred merchants by making a hole in the ship so that it would sink and all would be drowned. Knowing his evil thought, the bodhisattva killed him by hitting him on the head with an axe. Now we know that killing in general is not a positive action at all, but in this case 'killing' was based on the attitude of bodhicitta as it was done to save the lives of 500 people and to prevent the wicked man from accumulating a lot of negative karma. Therefore the action contributed, not to the accumulation of negative karma, but rather to accumulation of positive karma.

So with the frrst type of the bodhisattva vow, one abandons or cuts through unwholesome ornegative actions, even though such action might appear outwardly to be negative. If one is able to maintain inwardly a pure mind of love and

compassion, of bodhicitta, then one is able to transform evil conduct into positive action.

With the second type, the accumulating of virtuous dharmas, one practises the six paramitas or six perfections. One should understand that there is a difference between the ordinary practice and the transcendental practice of the six paramitas. One can practise all six of the perfections without the purity of heart, without bodhicitta, which would be the ordinary practice rather than the transcendental practice. By tuning oneself into the transcendental mode of practising the perfection, by having the pure attitude of bodhicitta, one develops wisdom, prajna (T.: shes-rab) and yes he (T.: ye-shes). So whether you are practising the tsultrim of cutting through all harmful actions or the tsultrim of accumulating wholesome dharmas, bodhicitta is absolutely essential. Just trying to avoid negative actions is not the discipline of cutting through, if bodhicitta is absent. Similarly, practising generosity without cultivating enlightened mind, bodhicitta, is just the ordinary form of giving, not bodhisattva accumulation of wholesome dharmas.

The third type is the skillful means of benefiting others, known as the Four Ways of Magnetizing sentient beings. The frrst of these four is giving what is needed. Of course whatever you give, it is a very generous act of a pure heart. Specifically in this case, one tries to analyze intellectually what is most helpful, most beneficial, to each and every individual, and one tries to provide that according to their needs. But here one must also learn not to become separated from bodhicitta. Not only does one please the other at that particular moment by providing what he or she needs, but also, by developing bodhicitta and praying, one applies the skillful means that can gradually turn his or her mind toward the Dharma. By giving what is needed, one not only frees the individual temporarily from the pain of not having what he or she needs but also one liberates him or her ultimately by providing the Dharma.

The second way of magnetizing is by uttering pleasant words. With the development ofbodhicitta, one pleases the other by speaking in a very gentle simple way that is helpful and soothing. In this regard, it is of utmost importance not to be deceptive or too intellectual.

The third way of magnetizing is known as acting in accordance with the world. To benefit sentient beings, one tries to provide them with the Dharma, and one must provide the Dharma according to the individual's capacity to understand. For a beginner who is new to the Dharma, it is not beneficial to him or her to give high teachings which they may not be ready to comprehend, therefore one should give them the simplest form of teachings. As he or she progresses, one should not provide them with the same level of teachings lest they become bored, but one must give advanced teachings to advanced students, and extremely advanced teaching to those whom one knows have the intellectual capacity to understand. It is the duty of the one who is providing the Dharma to adjust one's teachings to the individual's ability

which is known as acting in accordance with the world. The comparison or example is that of a mother who, when her child is an infant, does not give it solid food which the child cannot eat, but gives it milk. But as the child grows, she gives it food that is more and more solid, and when the child is really big she gives itreally solid food.

The fourth way of magnetizing is called acting in accordance with the disciple or "practise what you teach." Whatever one teaches the student one must show that one practises or has practised that same teaching. In this way the mind of the student becomes inspired. In the Tibetan tradition, the disease of leprosy is believed to be caused by the curse of the nag as, and so in order to avoid leprosy, people practised the Garuda sadhana and mantra. If you say that you practise the Garuda sadhana and mantra but you yourself have leprosy, it means that you have not practised it properly. [Laughter, Rinpoche laughs]. So one must really prove that one is practising whatever teachings that one is providing.

In order to benefit sentient beings, there are further means of making one's actions beneficial, namely mindfulness (T.: dren-pa), awareness (T.: shes-bzhinpa) and alertness (T.: bag-yod-pa). Mindfulness means that when one is trying to benefit others, one must be mindful that one is acting in accordance with bodhicitta. Awareness means that one examines oneself again and again, as many times as is possible, to see how strongly one is rooted in bodhicitta. Alertness means that one is very careful and cautious, alert not to go against bodhicitta. By means of these three, mindfulness, awareness and alertness, one becomes very skillful in actually providing whatever is necessary to benefit sentient beings.

That's all for today. Now we can have questions and answers.

Question 1 : Rinpoche, in regard to giving other people what they need, sometimes it seems that they need something that they don't want. It's difficult to be sure that what you're actually giving them is beneficial and does not come from some problem of your own that you have with the other person. Often in trying to help people cut through their neurosis, you may be really contributing your own neurosis to their situation. Would Rinpoche please say more about how we can give people what they need without causing harm at the same time? Rinpoche: In giving what others need, we must not give blindly. From our part, we must not be confused ourselves; wemust be quite clear when we are giving. Our first responsibility when we are performing generosity is to have a clear mind, not a vague one. Having a clear mind, then we can carefully analyze what this individual is asking for or needs, and whether what we are providing is beneficial or not. As explained earlier, the purpose of giving here is to please the other individual' s mind, that he or she can turn his or her mind to the Dharma. In that sense, generosity does not mean giving a great amount of things, but even a simple thing, a simple gesture, may be sufficient to please the other. However, in case you meet an extremely stubborn, difficult person of whom you don't fully know what he or she really needs,

then itis not proper to perform generosity because, in your own mind, the reason for giving is vague, not clear. So, if you have any doubt in your mind, it is betternotto do anything. Question: Thank you, sir.

Question 2: Rinpoche, we seem to have the habit that we want to cut one another's trips. Is it possible to be skillful without being critical? Rinpoche: It is our responsibility to examine ourselves carefully to see that our being critical of somebody is not for our own personal benefit, our own personal gain or fame, and so forth. We must examine our own mind to see that our main goal is to benefittheotherindividual, that our altruistic motive is concentrated on helping that person. Then also, we have to see whether being critical would be beneficial to the other person, to the whole community, in the long run, or whether being critical would develop more anger or hatred between you and the other or among the sangha. Having examined this carefully, if we see that it wouldn't cause resentment or hatred, that there would be no harm to the community, and that it is a proper thing to do, then we must approach this person, not in a harsh way, but very gently, and explain what we think is proper. Question: Thank you.

Question 3: Rinpoche, in regard to the altruistic attitude that you just spoke about, Trungpa Rinpoche taught us about idiot compassion. He encouraged us to examine our behaviour, our motives, our minds, as to how we help others. Would Rinpoche please comment on that? Rinpoche: Not only is there idiot compassion, but there is idiot loving kindness, idiot generosity, and idiot patience. [Laughter]. Gampopa, in The Jewel Ornament of Liberation, explains clearly that giving with a confused mind is idiot generosity and that one must abandon this and learn to practise pure generosity. In the case of compassion to other, sometimes the person who is receiving one's compassionate gesture may not appreciate it and reacts negatively. That means that one has not examined oneself properly before providing the gesture. Further, one should examine whether one's compassionate action is beneficial to one individual but harmful to somebody else. Therefore it is the practitioner's responsibility to examine very carefully to see that the compassion being provided is of tremendous benefit to that person but is not harmful to anyone. That is compassion without confusion.

Queestion 4: I have always had difficulty on the daily life level to find out in a definite way whether my actions were beneficial to others ornot, which resulted in some kind of hesitation to act on my part. But recently I studied the notion of faith

from the Shentong point of view which is based on the statement that mind already has buddha qualities in the ftrst place, which I found helpful. Would Rinpoche please present the Shentong view of bodhicitta? Rinpoche: Our talk today has given a general explanation of the importance of developing and practising bodhicitta. But we must understand the level which we are at actually. Many times other people have argued that Buddhism claims to beneftt others but apparently does not work for the beneftt of others, whereas other religions, such as Christianity, actually provide alms and charity, giving material support to the needy. They claim that Buddhists simply lock themselves up in solitary retreat, and how could that beofbenefttto others? This argument has existed for a long time. Now the idea ofbodhicitta is that we develop a very pure kind heart. But at present our compassion and wisdom is not sufftcient and we must train ourselves. Not having sufftcient wisdom and compassion, when we try to provide something for someone that we think would be ofbeneftt, later on we regret that we have given it because rather than helping someone, it was harmful. This is because we do not have enough wisdom to foresee the future of our action. Therefore, being at an ordinary level, not an advanced level, at the beginning we must develop our love, wisdom, and compassion by practising meditation. When we have developed sufftciently, we do not need to force ourselves to develop this kind heart, this pure attitude, rather, it becomes quite effortless.

With regard to the buddha qualities, the sugatagarbha within ourselves, some people are discouraged and do not have trust and faith in the sugatagarbha. They think: "I cannot attain enlightenment. I do not have that capacity." With that depressed attitude, they neglect their own potential to develop enlightenment and belittle themselves, and not only that, they become critical of the perfection of buddhahood and the whole idea of enlightenment. This is the result of lack of knowledge of the sugatagarbha within ourselves. The Shentong view teaches that every living being has buddha-nature and buddha qualities. Therefore each of us can achieve buddhahood if we exert ourselves. There is no need to belittle ourselves, to put ourselves down. Therefore Rinpoche feels that the Shentong view would be very inspiring to those who have no knowledge of the buddha qualities within oneself. Question: Thank you.

Question 5: It is taught that the discovery of shunyata brings genuine compassion. I wondered if Rinpoche would say something about that. Rinpoche: It's true that it is said "Emptiness is the essence of compassion." The reason for that is because through ignorance or confusion, we project something that does not exist, samsara. Having projected samsara, we experience happiness and sadness, suffering. Sometimes, when we are temporarily happy, we are uncomfortable, fearing that the bliss or happiness will cease. There is no complete happiness in the confused state of samsara. Others experience misery, very deep suffering in

samsara. So the nature of samsara itself is suffering. When you have realized shunyata, there is no more suffering, there is no fear that the happiness will cease. Therefore it is very natural that you become very compassionate to those who, still confused, are worried that their happiness will end. The analogy is that of a person who, while sleeping, has a nightmare in which he is being chased by fierce wild animals. Because the dream, the confused state of mind, is so real to him, the person who is sleeping actually experiences pain, suffering. But suppose there is a clairvoyant person who knows that this person is having a nightmare and is terrified by his dream, he would automatically have compassion for this person who is suffering because he takes the dream for reality. He would go to this sleeping individual and wake him up out of his confused state of dreams, saying: "There's nothing to be frightened of." The clairvoyant person is like someone who has realized shunyata, and the person who is dreaming is like someone in samsara.

That's all for today. Thank: you very much.

[Issue No.8 of The Profound Path of Peace will feature the last two talks of the Yen. Thrangu Rinpoche's seminar: Talk 4: The Vajrayana vows: Mahamudra and ordinary mind. Talk 5: The samayas of the guru's body, speech, and mind.]

FORUM

General Introduction to the terms 'Rang stong' and 'gZhan stong' by Dr. Shenpen Hookham

The terms' empty' end' emptiness' as used in English seem to be used in exact! y the same way as the equivalent terms in Sanskrit and Tibetan (shunya, shunyata, stong pa, stong pa nyid). Therefore, it is important to retain the words 'empty' (or 'void') and 'emptiness' (or 'voidness') as translations of shunya and shunyata (stong pa and stong pa nyid).

The terms are used in two ways. When one says that the contents of a dream or of various kinds of illusory appearance are empty, one is pointing out their unreality or lack of substance (though not necessarily lack of significance). Hence one speaks of empty lies, threats, promises etc .. The emptiness of dreams and illusions does not negate or deny the occurrence of the phenomena themselves but of their supposed reality. If there were no illusion of substance, there would be no point in commenting on its emptiness. In a general sort of way this is what rang stong means. It means literally self-empty, i.e. relative phenomena are empty of themselves. The Madhyamakavatara is quoted in J amgon Kongtrul the Great's Shes bya kun khyab (SKK) hum 31a.7 as follows:

"gang gyir de yi rang bzhin de yin phyir mig ni mig gis stong. de bzhin rna ba sna dang lee. Ius dang yid kyang bsnyad par bya."

Because that is that's nature, the eye is empty of eye and likewise the ear, nose, tongue, body and mind also are reported (?).

Relative dharmas in this context includes all things knowable (knowable in the sense that they can be mental objects). That means both existent and non-existent (bhava and abhava, dngos and dngos med) dharmas are included (see SKK hum 32b.2). SKK hum 31b.4;

stong pa'i gzhi ni chos can te shes bya la gang ji snyed cig srid pa'i chos thams cad do.

'That which is empty (the empty base) is the dharmin (holder of the quality) which is all the knowable things there are - all the dharmas of existence (i.e. samsara).'

and:

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mdo na blo'i yul du byarmi rung bamams Ita zhog. derrung ba'ichosji snyed pa thams cad rang rang gi ngo bos stong par.

'In short, let alone whatis not able to be the object of the mind, all dharmas whatsoever (that are the object of the mind) are each empty of their own nature (svabhava).'

When one speaks of an empty sky, on the other hand, one is not pointing out any kind of illusion, nor trying to correct one. One could be focusing on the positive qualities of spaciousness, unobstructedness and a feeling of unlimited possibilities. Think, for example, of an empty page, an empty house, an empty parking place. One might think of the vastness of space as the great emptiness. In these examples, emptiness suggests an absence of limiting factors that might have spoiled the situation, such as clouds in the sky, scribbles on a page, etc .. One is focusing on a ground, a base, or a place that is empty of something else that might have spoiled it.

This kind of emptiness is synonymous with Dhatu, the Element, which is rather like the element space (see Ratnagotravibhanga [RGV] 1.52 and 1.64). It pervades everything and allows everything to occur, but is itself unaffected by anything. Empty space is what makes it possible for the six sense faculties to function. There has to be space for things to appear in, for sounds to travel in, for smells to pervade, etc. ( see RGV 2.27).

Thus, focusing on relative phenomena and seeing their empty nature has two facets, the experience of seeing dharmas as 'unreal' and the experience of spaciousness, limitlessness, changelessness and unobstructedness.

According to Thrangu Rinpoche, the term 'self-emptiness' implies both these aspects, but Dol po pa says that when the image of the sky is used, there is a difference in the way it applies to the relative and the Absolute.

It is important to notice a subtle shift in the Sutras from regarding emptiness as simply a truthful statement about relative phenomena to regarding it as the nature of Reality itself. Liebenthal in his translation of the 'Chao Lun' p. 138 has:

'The term shunyata therefore has two meanings, 'appreciating' if applied to Truth, and 'depreciating' if applied to illusion. This is difficult to grasp.

Finally, understanding Emptiness involves experiencing that Reality in such a way that experience and experiencer are no longer distinguishable. In this last case

Mind (citta, sems) and Emptiness both become synonyms for Absolute Reality. Reality is Mind and Emptiness inseparable (dbyer med, or zung 'jug, Skt. Yuganaddha - both at once) where 'inseparable' or 'both at once' means both are mere facets of one Reality, like the light and heat of a flame (see RGV 1.144).

In this kind of doctrine on Emptiness the inseparable Qualities are stressed. The Qualities are facets of that same Reality which is none other than these Qualities, like the heat and light of the sun (see RGV 1.93) where the sun is understood to be nothing other than the source of all heat and light. Thus 'Emptiness' comes to mean Reality complete with inseparable Qualities and empty of all 'imagined substance' (parikalpita), and in which dependently originated phenomena (paratantra) are seen to be absolutely non-existent.

It is like the sun unobscured by (or empty of) clouds (see RGV 2.3). The term 'empty' has to be stretched a bit here, since it is not a natural usage to say the sun is empty of clouds. gZhan stong pas use the term 'Empty of Other" (gZhan stong) for the sun-like Absolute Reality with its inseparable Qualities. It is the Clear Light Nature of Mind empty (in the sense of clear) of cloud-like veils. The non-conceptual (nisprapanca) nature of that Reality is stressed. It is Buddha Jnana in which experiencer and experience are indistinguishable (gzung 'dzin gnyis med ye shes, SKK hum 33.4), so that this Reality is empty of imagined and dependent characteristics' but not empty of itself (Le. it is not self-empty which would, according to gZhan stong pas, mean it did not exist at all). In the Tathagatagarbha Sutras the emptiness of the Dhatu shifts from being merely the spaciousness, etc. that pervades and supports all phenomena, to being the Clear Light Nature of Mind with its inseparable Qualities. Thrangu Rinpoche and my other gZhan stong informants consider the difference between Prajnapararnita and Tathagatagarbha doctrine to be merely a matter of emphasis. Prajnapararnita literature stresses the empty, spacious, primordially liberated nature of the Dhatu, while Tathagatagarbha literature stresses its Clear Light Nature and inseparable Qualities, etc. Again, Kong sprul (SKK a'280na) explains that the difference betweenRangstong andgZhan stong Madhyarnikas is in the way they formulate their views concerning the existence or nonexistence of the Dharmata and the non-dual Jnana. In respect to accepting the relative dharmas as self-empty and meditation (mnyam bzhag) as nisprapanca, they are the same.

Self-emptiness can be established by a non-affirming, non-implicative negation, i.e. one simply establishes that there are no real, independently existent entities because everything is dependently arising. In other words, it is used simply to remove the illusion of truly existent entities. Such a negation establishing selfemptiness can be expressed by means of a prasangika argument that simply negates the concept of entitiness without, thereby, implying non-entitiness. According to gZhan stong pas, although such a negation is fine for establishing the emptiness of the relative, when the Absolute is described as empty, it is an affirming negative

implying it is empty of what is non-existent, but not empty of what is. Thus, it is unlike the case of rang stong in that it does not mean dependently arising, it means whatis not dependently arising orimaginary, it is appropriate to call this' emptiness' because the qualities of emptiness, i.e. spaciousness, insubstantiality, etc., are present in the Absolute. Substance is a concept that arises in dependence on a concept of non-substance. Absolute Reality is beyond both these conceptual categories so it is defmitely not substantial, hence it is called Emptiness. It is very important, therefore, that the fact that it is called "Emptiness" should not confuse one into thinking it means the same as self-emptiness (SKK hum 33.3), a synonym for dependently arising, pratityasamutpada.

The Tantras develop the Emptiness of Other Tathagatagarbha doctrine of the Tathagatagarbha Sutras and explain in more detail the way in which the essence of every seemingly dependently arising phenomenon is in fact an inseparable Quality of Absolute Reality. Thus, each of the skandhas, each organ of the body and each perception, feeling, thought and moment of consciousness has to be purified, by Tantric techniques, of its impure, imagined and apparently dependently arising aspects and seen to be the inseparable Nature of Absolute Reality. The Tantras stress how each apparent phenomenon is Manifestation and Emptiness inseparable. When every Manifestation is recognized as an inseparable non-born Quality, it is 'experienced' as Bliss. This is the Bliss-Emptiness. According to my gZhan stong informants, although some Tantras emphasize the Manifestation-Emptiness (snang stong), some the Clarity-Emptines (gsal stong), some the Bliss-Emptiness (bde stong) and some Awareness-Emptiness (rig stong) in each caseitis the one Absolute Reality, Tathagatagarbha, Emptiness of Other that is being referred to.

[ This article is provided with the kind permission of Dr. Shenpen Hookham. It is an extract from her doctor thesis which will be published in the near future in revised form.]

NEWS: KARMA KADJYPA SKOLEN

H.E. Jamgon Kongtru1 will give the empowerments of the Kagyu Ngagdzod (T.: bKa' brgyudngags mdzod) at Karma TjoPhelLing, Denmark, from the 4th to the 25. of July, 1989. The Oral Transmissions will be given by the Venerable Tenga Rinpoche who also will supervise the construction of the elaborate sand mandalas.

The KagyuNgagdzOd is one of The Five Treasuries ofJ amgon KongtrulLodro Thaye in which he brought together all the Yidam practices that Marpa received from N aropa and Maitripa and a few from Rechungpa' s lineage.

H.E. Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche is giving these empowerments for the first time in his present life, and they will be given for the first time in the West.

The empowerments will be the following: 1. rNam-gyal-ma (Ushnishavijaya); 2. sGrol-ljang (Green Tara); 3. rDor-rje

sems-dpa' (Vajrasattva); 4. Kye-rdor-je (Hevajra); 5. Kye-rdor-lha-dgu (Hevajra with 9 Deities) 6. mKha' -'gro-ma-bca-lnga (Nairatma, 15 Dakinis); 7. Kye-rdor-je (Hevajra with 13 Deities); 8. bDe-mchog-lha-lnga(Chakrasamvara with 5 Deities); 9. Phagmo-lha-nga (Vajra Yogini, 5 Deities); 10. bDe-mchog-shi-ba (Sita Chakrasamvara); l1.bDe-mchog khor-10-sgyur-drug (Sat-Chakravarti-Mandala); 12. Sangs-rgyas-thod-pa (Buddhakapala); 13. rDo-rje-gdan-bzhi (Vajra Caturpitha); 14. sGyu-ma-chen-mo (Mahamaya); 15. gSang-ba-'dus-pa (Guhyasamaya); 16. 'J am-dpal-mtshan-brjod (ManjusriNamasamgiti); 17. gShin-rje-gshed-marpo (Rakta Yamantaka); 18. rDo-rje-'jigs-byed (Vajra Bhairava); 19. Phyag-na-rdo-rje-lhanga (Vajrapani with 5 Deities); 20. Phyag-na-rdo-rje-gtum-chung (Canda Vajrapani) 21. Tshe-dpag-med-grub-pa-rgyal-po (Amitayus Siddharaja); 22. sGrol-madkar-po (Sita Tara); 23. Mahakala with 2 arms [not Bemagchen]; 24. mGon-pophyags-bshi [Mahakala with 4 arms] (CaturbhujaMahakala). 25. Dud-sol-ma (Sri Devi with 4 arms); 26. Tshe-ring-ma; 27. rDo-rje-'chang (Vajradhara); 28. The 4 Seat Empowerment with 170 Deities; 29. Wisdom Power Initiation. For information please write to: KARMA KADJYIP A SKOLEN

Svanemollevej 56 DK 2100 Kobenhavn 0 Denmark

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