REFLECTIONS ON GURU DEVOTION

Transcription

1 Ornament for Clear Realization Perfection of Wisdom Studies Class May 16 Wednesday 1 Institute for Buddhist Dialectics, McLeod Ganj, India Teacher - GESHE KELSANG WANGMO [ANNOUNCEMENT: NO CLASS WAS HELD ON MONDAY, 5/14. Geshe- la needs to cancel Friday class on 5/18 in order to serve as translator for Denma Locho Rinpoche s Chenrezig initiation at Tushita.] I found out today Rinpoche is 86 years old. The initiation is for Nyun Nye retreats that will be held at Tushita in the beginning of Saka Dawa. It begins at 1:30 at Tushita. So I thought of rescheduling class till tomorrow but I need to prepare for the initiation, so we will resume classes on Monday. REFLECTIONS ON GURU DEVOTION Since we had this long break, just to remind you a little bit of what we ve done so far. Based on the text we re using now, Panchen Sonam Drakpa s General Meaning text, there was a definition given of the Buddha Jewel having eight qualities, e.g., having overcome any kind of obstructions, the Mental Consciousness of the Buddha being free of any kind of faults, qualities of Knowledge and Love. The Buddha Jewel is not easy, but the kayas of the Buddha come up over and over, and understanding qualities of Buddha is important for our own aspiration for that state as desirable or worthwhile; and also to engender trust in the Buddha to guide us there. Understanding those qualities just recently, I have received a lot of teachings from Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Just the idea of relying on the teacher is so important. To have the faith that this person is a Bodhisattva or a Buddha. For studying this, besides this class, there s a very nice book called Old Path White Clouds, Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha by Thich Nhat Hanh. Thich Nhat Hanh relying sutric accounts of the Buddha s life wrote them as stories. It is important to read these stories of Buddha. The way Buddha Shakyamuni appeared was as an ordinary person. We hear of the signs and marks, but not everyone had the pure karma to see those. Many people relied on the Buddha as a teacher who was extraordinary, but they couldn t see all his amazing qualities. Buddha lived with the monks and participated in their daily lives. It s hard not to think His Holiness is a Buddha. These teachers are so extraordinary. I heard that Lama Zopa Rinpoche doesn t sleep at night. Last night, something happened. There was Guru Puja up at Tushita. Someone requested some teachings, and around 11 p.m., I was told I could come along to the teaching. We sat down in Lama Zopa Rinpoche s place, and Rinpoche taught until 2:00. I didn t get tired or bored, because it was so special being in that room with Rinpoche. Then he said I really need to do my prayers. Can you come back at 5 in the morning? I ll continue the teachings then. So I came back to McLeod, had a shower, did my prayers, slept for an hour, and went back up. Rinpoche hadn t moved from his bed, and had just finished his prayers. Someone called us in at 5 and it went onto 8. It was so amazing and pure, unbelievable. 1 ROUGH DRAFT -

2 Class 16 - May 16 Class Notes Draft Ornament For Clear Realizations Refuge So he really doesn t sleep. These people exist. Watching my own mind, I realize how different they are. Rinpoche thinks of others the whole time, while I m always thinking of I, me and mine. My point is, we need to study to understand what Buddha s qualities are, how they manifest, for example. Buddhas are all around us basically. How was Buddha Shakyamuni different in India? Teaching for the benefit of others. Then these words becomes so alive when we meet someone who is living them. STUDENT: Thank you. It s inspiring. GESHE WANGMO: Really, the teachers put the life into this. There are so many around, and they re oftentimes inconspicuous. Sometimes, like H.H. Dalai Lama, have fame to touch many people but others, may only have a five disciples. If there are countless Buddhas, presumably, they are around us teaching us. Sometimes, it can be easy to get trapped in the dry words, but they are juiced up when we have encounters with teachers, and Lama Zopa Rinpoche said things I have to think about: from the tantric perspective, Buddhas are everywhere, the subtle winds. Not that the Omniscient Mind is everywhere, but Buddhas are everywhere. So that is somewhat reassuring; we re not totally on our own. The other thing: I just watched my own mind thinking of faults in the internal dialogue, that s kind of funny what he does. I kept seeing faults. It is so hard to see this person as pure. Lama Zopa Rinpoche stresses this a lot, and it makes sense that he does, becaue otherwise we will see faults all the time. I do see faults all the time, and just those couple of days being around Lama Zopa Rinpoche I realized. I want to see faults. I have faults, so I see everything else as a reflection of that. Sometimes my mind goes crazy around Lama Zopa Rinpoche, worse than usual, because the guru puts a mirror in front of your mind so you can see how much more work there s to be done and not rest. Such a reflection, scary. To get back to the study, what are the kayas and qualities of the Buddha s mind. Then we understand that we do change. If you have been around the Dharma, you can tell that you ve changed. So our mind can purify like that, and it gives so much confidence. Now, back to the topic. TRACK 2 - REVIEW CLASS 15 CONVENTIONAL & ULTIMATE OBJECTS OF REFUGE. The importance of study, the importance of understanding what qualities we take Refuge in when we take Refuge in the Buddha Jewel. The point for the Buddha Jewel is understanding the Three Kāyas. The Dharma Jewel is slightly more difficult to understand because it refers to the Arya Path in the continuum of an Aryas plus their cessations. The Sangha Jewel refers to the Aryas themselves. But what we talked about last time, there s a difference between conventional Refuge and ultimate objects of Refuge. This is a new idea. Conventional and ultimate, you ve heard about. But conventional and ultimate Refuge are new.

3 2012 Class 16 - May 16 Class Notes Draft Ornament For Clear Realizations Refuge 3 VARIOUS CONTEXTUAL MEANINGS OF CONVENTIONAL & ULTIMATE - [HANDOUT 13] Conventional and ultimate are used in many different contexts. I don t know the exact reason these terms are used in different contexts with different meanings. But maybe so we look a little closer to see which meaning of being used. The word conventional, kun dzob (! ན % བ ): something that appears one way but exists in a different way. So conventional objects appear to our senses appear to exist objectively, from their own side, but they don t, so they re called conventional truths. Here, a Conventional Refuge appears to some people one way, but exists in another way. An example of conventional Refuge? Q & A THREE FINAL VEHICLES / ONE FINAL VEHICLE RIGDZIN: A Hearer or Solitary Realizer Arhat. GESHE WANGMO: Yes, it appears to be one thing, but exists in another way. What is the mistake in appearance versus AIDAN: It appears (to some philosophers) as a final goal. GESHE WANGMO: To some philosophers of the Vaibhāṣika 2 and Sautrāntika following Scripture, that appears to be a final goal. These philosophies were taught by Buddha to a specific group of people who found this explanation reassuring. Most people cannot be Buddhas, and those, once they go out of existence they totally... That teaching can help to counteract the self- grasping mind about a solid permanent I that goes from one- life- to next. Another reason, some people would feel relieved to learn that samsara will end. Some people say, When I die, I just want to go out of existence. Sometimes after a long day, and we re really exhausted, we just want to fall into the oblivion of sleep. For some people, that final goal may have been reassuring until they changed and were ready to follow the path to full Enlightenment. AMY: It seems easier to grasp than Omniscient Mind, and all the qualities of the Buddha. GESHE WANGMO: Yes, and the path to Enlightenment is so much work. This goal seems like a more possible attainment, a goal that is easier to imagine. RIGDZIN: A question on this HANDOUT 13, p. 2, there was a sentence talking about this: Therefore, there are only very few Buddhas who after having attained enlightenment teach others the methods to self- liberation or Buddhahood. However, when these Buddhas pass away their mental and physical continua are also severed and they go out of existence. 2 (! $ག & བ - bye brag smra ba Great Exposition)

4 Class 16 - May 16 Class Notes Draft Ornament For Clear Realizations Refuge What Buddhas are they talking about? Foe Destroyers? GESHE WANGMO: This is the system of the philosophers who hold there are Three Final Vehicles. Then according to their systems, there are three final attainments: Hearer and Solitary Realizer Arhats and Buddha. Hearer and Solitary Realizer Arhats go out of existence when they die. The very few number of Buddhas are the Wheel Turning Buddhas, and when they die, their continua also go out of existence. The full quote from HANDOUT 13: The philosophers from whose perspective Hearer and Solitary Realizer Arhats are final attainments are the proponents of the Vaibashika School, the Sautantrika School Following Scripture, and the Chittamatra School Following Scripture. The reason for their assertion is that they accept three final vehicles. According to them, most beings who have reached the states of Hearer or Solitary Realizer Arhats do not continue to practice in order to become Buddhas. Indeed upon their death the mental and physical continua of these Arhats are severed and they cease to exist. Therefore, there are only very few Buddhas who after having attained enlightenment teach others the methods to self- liberation or Buddhahood. However, when these Buddhas pass away their mental and physical continua are also severed and they go out of existence. ASHISH: The word will in the HANDOUT sentence: They are not final attainments because these Arhats will eventually attain the state of a Buddha. Shouldn t that be may or could? GESHE WANGMO: No, will. In the highest school, according to the Tibetan tradition, everyone will become a Buddha. There are two systems: Not everyone will become a Buddha; and the other system, everyone will become Buddhas. It is debatable and should be debated. But per that system, there are no sentient beings that are better than others; we all have the same potential. Again, when we do our practice, it is so important to understand what we are doing. A lot of times, people think they have realized Emptiness when they haven t because they didn t understand what that means. They seriously think they have some kind of attainment conventional appears to be final state but isn t, so ultimate refers to the Buddha state So conventional Refuge means any object of Refuge so a Dharma or a Sangha not a Buddha, of course. So a Dharma or a Sangha which is not a final state; where there is something even higher to be attained. It may appear to be a final goal but it isn t. An ultimate Refuge is anything to do with a Buddha, anything that can t be further perfected. I think it is pretty clear. There s room for debate; I m presenting the idea given here. DEBATE ASSERTIONS BASED ON NAGARJUNA & ASANGA VERSES TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT. Then we have this whole debate, because I m not go into today. If you read through it, it makes sense.

5 2012 Class 16 - May 16 Class Notes Draft Ornament For Clear Realizations Refuge 5 Someone mistakenly takes a verse out of context from Fundamental Wisdom by Nagarjuna, and tries to prove something in conjunction with a verse by Asanga that uses similar terminology for a different meaning. Nagarjuna talked about Conventional Truth not Ultimate Truth. Whenever you read something in this debate manual, try to think: Why does the author talk about this now? Oftentimes, you will find the answer. Maybe it teaches you something new even if it is not directly related to Refuge. All Buddhist concepts are related. To see that relationship, in the context of Refuge, we see how they connect. Ultimate Truth and Conventional Truth, conventional and ultimate Refuge, there is a connection which requires a better understanding of the meaning of conventional. Conventional means that a phenomena appears to exist in a way but actually exists in another. The connection between Conventional Truth and Conventional Refuge is that they both (deceptively) appear to exist in a way but actually exist in another. Also that debate shows you will make a mistake by taking a verse out of context from a text because similar vocabulary can mean different things in different contexts. RUPAKAYAS BUDDHAS AS PERSONS So we have finished HANDOUT 14, p. 1, we finished through this passage: However, it is not correct to assert that a Buddha's two Rupakayas are conventional refuges because they are ultimate refuges. The two Rupakayas are ultimate refuges because they are genuinely final objects of refuge. So the Saṃbhogakāya, which is the actual emanation of the Buddha, which then emanates the Nirmāṇakāya, those two, are all there is to Buddhas as persons. A person Buddha is either a Saṃbhogakāya or a Nirmāṇakāya. Saṃbhogakāya means the actual person, Buddha, (we had the example of Kiko who is not here today) attaining enlightenment, in the form of Saṃbhogakāya. And upon reaching Saṃbhogakāya, he emanates Nirmāṇakāya everywhere as needed. These two persons of Buddha, the overarching term is Rupakāya. TRACK 3 QUESTIONS / ANSWERS STEVEN: Lama Zopa Rinpoche said Buddhas are everywhere in everything.? GESHE WANGMO: I didn t understand well. He said it doesn t mean in the sutric sense. He was talking about the subtle winds STEVEN: If you attained Buddhahood, then everything would transform, the pure nature of everything would be evident. GESHE WANGMO: For the Buddha s reality that would be the case. There s not a objective table, it s subjective. STEVEN: But it s not a personal reality. GESHE WANGMO: The Buddha has a personal reality. The Buddha s personal mind perceives reality and sentient beings faults.

6 Class 16 - May 16 Class Notes Draft Ornament For Clear Realizations Refuge STEVEN: But the Buddha doesn t have a personal mind? GESHE WANGMO: One Buddha s mind stream that is not the same as another Buddha s mind stream. Being inseparable, or indistinguishable or of one nature refers to the qualities of a Buddha. Those terms do not mean there aren t different Buddhas with different mind streams. STEVEN: They re differentiated by point of reference? GESHE WANGMO: They are different continua, Buddha Shakyamuni and your future Buddha are different STEVEN: That Buddha s mind is a pure essential nature, indistinguishable from the pure nature of other s referential. But it is an embodiment of all human reality. That Buddha s mind is a pure essential nature; indistinguishable from the pure nature of other Buddhas. As an independent of mind stream, it is still a pure Buddha Nature? GESHE WANGMO: Not a Buddha Nature. Buddha Nature only exists in sentient beings your most important asset is your mental consciousness, the most important thing you possess. When it is fully purified, you given the terminological name, Buddha... STEVEN: When the Buddha dies? GESHE WANGMO: Buddhas don t die STEVEN: When the body dies? GESHE WANGMO: Which bodies? STEVEN: The parinirvana of Buddha Shakyamuni? GESHE WANGMO:. 2,600 years ago, when people were sufficiently ripened, Buddha Shakyamuni spontaneously emanated as a Supreme Nirmāṇakāya, which later absorbed back into the Mental Consciousness of the Saṃbhogakāya it appeared that Shakyamuni Buddha died, but wherever necessary Nirmāṇakāya emanations are sent out and do whatever needs to be done until the end of time. RIGZIN: Can you say whether it is like different Mental Consciousnesses with the same characteristics? GESHE WANGMO: Yes. You have 10 bottles of mineral water, the purest mineral water. They are indistinguishable but they are different. If you take refuge in one of those bottles, you take refuge in all of them; or admire one, you admire all of them. It s not like there s an ocean of bottles and you become one with the ocean of bottles. AMY: Regarding Buddhas being everywhere, one of the things that gets stuck for me is the inanimate Buddha, GESHE WANGMO: The emanation of the Buddha AMY: The one that is a bridge, or emanation as an inanimate object. I don t quite get what that means; how it can be possible? But also, when I think about it, I either think,

7 2012 Class 16 - May 16 Class Notes Draft Ornament For Clear Realizations Refuge 7 Oh, everything is there for me to learn from. But that s a very self- centered concept. I don t know what to do with that one. GESHE WANGMO: Me, neither. I also find that hard that someone can emanate a table. I ve accepted it, but is this a Buddha now? AIDAN: It s the same as emanating any kind of body. GESHE WANGMO: I agree, but it seems easier to think of emanating as a person than a bridge. DORIS: The reason I can accept it more easily, is it always done for the purpose of helping?... Or does is it just emanating? If it is just for a beneficial purpose. GESHE WANGMO: No, it is definitely for the benefit of others. How do you do that, emanate a bridge. I don t think that s the main point. This reminds me of something that Lama Zopa Rinpoche talked about. He had a recent audience with H.H. Dalai Lama, maybe a week ago, and they discussed this. The concept that the Buddhas must manifest with mistakes so that we can see them. These emanations must have faults so that sentient beings can perceive them. But still, the faults are a reflection of the sentient beings own minds. Basically, it comes down to our minds are too narrow. We re trying to put something vast into a very small vessel. We can only see a very small restricted reality because our sense of I, me and mine is so restrictive. So we can just get a sense, but always miss the mark to some degree. If you are around these incredible teachers, it s almost like your mind opens up, and the little gritty stupid things go into the background through the blessing of the teacher. And at least you get a sense that this is possible. Then you can think, Okay, emanations are possible; never mind. But it is a struggle. Honestly, I don t understand. AMY: I don t know how to learn from this kind of thinking that these are emanations to help me. Then the me gets bigger. What to do to keep the me from getting bigger from thinking, These are there to help me? GESHE WANGMO: That s good that you are aware. If you are aware of the I, me, mine, apply the antidote: Where is the I, me and mine? AMY: Oh, I see. STEVEN: My struggle is with an everlasting Buddha Shakyamuni. GESHE WANGMO: Not an everlasting Buddha Shakyamuni. STEVEN: But if his Saṃbhogakāya is still there. GESHE WANGMO: Buddha Shakyamuni was an emanation of the Saṃbhogakāya. STEVEN:. GESHE WANGMO: also according to the karmic connections made previously. Other Buddhas are emanating simultaneously all the time. STEVEN: Avalokiteshvara s Saṃbhogakāya

8 Class 16 - May 16 Class Notes Draft Ornament For Clear Realizations Refuge GESHE WANGMO: Avalokiteshvara s Saṃbhogakāya is different. Take you as a Buddha, you can emanate out as anything, Avalokiteshvara s Saṃbhogakāya. STEVEN: I m hung up becomes back to some kind of identity of the Buddha, which is counter intuitive to the idea I get from the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras that there is no such thing as a self. GESHE WANGMO: There is a self. You exist. STEVEN: I m connected GESHE WANGMO: You can be connected to something else, the atoms, but you are still different. STEVEN: But in the absence of atoms and everything GESHE WANGMO: STEVEN: This being GESHE WANGMO: I think you are mixing up a lot of ideas here. Let s I don t want you to get too confused. ASHISH: My observation, regarding the percentage of brain we don t use when we talked about humans using only a small portion of our brain; and when you re around more teachers.. more GESHE WANGMO: They talk about the blessing of the teachers. I think of it like going into a supermarket where they offer you a little piece of cheese, and then you want to buy it. Some people may have a really strong sense of compassion, and then when they re not with the teacher, it s gone. Then they realize that is what I am aiming for. Or if one gets a feeling of spaciousness, that things are not so solid and one s problems recede. but it goes. I don t know what happens on a neurological level. TRACK 4 FOUR SYLLOGISMS RE: CONVENTIONAL & ULTIMATE OBJECTS OF REFUGE So let s go back to the text, HANDOUT 14: Having refuted this wrong assertion, Panchen Sonam Drakpa continues his explanation of conventional and ultimate objects of refuge by citing four syllogisms. These syllogisms are from Maitreya's Sublime Continuum (Uttaratantra) and present the reason for why particular objects of refuge are not ultimate refuges. Maitreya says in his Uttaratantra (Sublime Continuum): Because [the Dharma] is to be abandoned, deceptive, And an absence, and because [the Sangha] has fear, The two types of Dharma and the Arya Assembly Do not represent stable, foremost refuges.

9 2012 Class 16 - May 16 Class Notes Draft Ornament For Clear Realizations Refuge 9 So what are the four syllogisms? stating that This is not an ultimate refuge because. The first one is a lot of debate on. The four syllogisms are: SYLLOGISM 1: DHARMA OF SCRIPTURE, A CONVENTIONAL REFUGE, LIKE A RAFT ABANDONED AFTER CROSSING THE RIVER. i. The subject, the Dharma of scripture (i.e., the teachings of the Buddha) is not an ultimate object of refuge because even though it is something to be relied upon as a method to directly realize its meaning it is also of the type that, when attaining enlightenment, is to be abandoned like a boat [which is left behind once one has crossed the water]. The teachings of the Buddha, Dharma of Scripture, are not ultimate Refuge because upon attaining Buddhahood they are to be left behind. So in debate we could say upon enlightenment, we don t rely on the Buddha anymore. When we attain enlightenment we also abandon the Buddha like a boat. But we don t rely so much on the person, Buddha, we rely on the teachings. And something specific is meant here by Dharma of Scripture that is explained a bit later. The teachings of the Buddha are left behind upon becoming enlightened, so they are not a final Refuge. But there is a lot of debate on this. HANDOUT 14 page 2 SYLLOGISM 2: ARYA BODHISATTVA S DIRECT REALIZATION OF EMPTINESS, A CONVENTIONAL REFUGE, IS DECEPTIVE (DUE TO DEPENDENCE ON IGNORANCE S IMPRINTS). There s not as much debate on the second syllogism. ii. The subject, an Arya Bodhisattva's wisdom that directly realizes selflessness is not an ultimate refuge because it is a deceptive phenomenon due to depending on the imprints of ignorance. That is a conventional Refuge. IMPRINTS OF IGNORANCE This is a new concept: What does depending on the imprints of ignorance mean? Maybe I ve talked about it before. Bodhisattvas have an ordinary body until the Path of Seeing. Having seen Emptiness directly, when they pass they take on a special body. The cause of their rebirth is compassion and special prayers. But that is not the only cause. The causes for us having this body per the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination are: (1) Ignorance and then (2) Karma (a compositional factor). So from these two Links, we take rebirth. First there s Ignorance, and then all sorts of Delusions arise and then we act according to those and the leave Karmic imprints. When

10 Class 16 - May 16 Class Notes Draft Ornament For Clear Realizations Refuge we die, the Links of Attachment and Grasping lead to certain seeds ripening. Certain actions are responsible for our next rebirth; although it is hard to determine which particular actions are responsible for our future rebirths. At the time of our death, due to our Attachment and Grasping, one of those seeds will be activated. So how do those four factors, i.e., karma, ignorance, attachment and grasping, work for someone who is a Bodhisattva on the Path of Seeing or above? Those four need to be replaced. The Ignorance is replaced by the Imprints of Ignorance. The ignorance, itself, doesn t arise for an Arya, doesn t leave even the karmic imprints left before the Path of Seeing cannot be activated. So the Arya s Imprints of ignorance plus the wish to be reborn for the benefit of sentient beings that replaces the ignorance that grasps after True Existence and karma. Then you need to germinate this, but instead of attachment and grasping, you have compassion (the wish to benefit) and pure prayers. There s still some imperfection for the Aryas. This is how it is taught. It makes more sense that the ignorance gives rise to X, but it is harder to understand how the imprints of ignorance work. How do you do something with the imprints of ignorance. The motivational wish to be reborn to benefit others makes more sense. When the time comes for a Bodhisattva to take on a new body, through motivation and pure prayers,. This is the explanation given in the texts. This is very hidden phenomenon this is how it is explained and why it is said that: The subject, an Arya Bodhisattva's wisdom that directly realizes selflessness is not an ultimate refuge because it is a deceptive phenomenon due to depending on the imprints of ignorance. This does not mean that there s something wrong with the Arya: that person is totally amazing. But even so is a deceptive phenomenon due to depending on the imprints of ignorance. Is because the Bodhisattva is still under the control of those imprints of ignorance. SYLLOGISM 3: HINAYANA NIRVANA WITHOUT REMAINDER, A CONVENTIONAL REFUGE, IS LIKE A MERE ABSENCE (OF THE TRUTHS OF SUFFERING AND ORIGIN). iii. The subject, the Hinayana Nirvana without remainder is not an ultimate refuge because it is merely an absence or elimination of the truth of suffering and the truth of origin The Mental Consciousness is what makes the person a new Arhat, but their body still has the faults so that body is called a C w/remainder. When the person s cessation of those faults.. TICA / GESHE WANGMO:

11 2012 Class 16 - May 16 Class Notes Draft Ornament For Clear Realizations Refuge 11 GESHE WANGMO: So a Hearer Arhat has merely eliminated the afflictive obstructions which are the Truth of Suffering and the Truth of Origin. Well, the Truth of Suffering are not actually afflictive obstructions, but when you get rid of the afflictive obstructions you get rid of suffering The 2 nd Syllogism points out how even Arya Bodhisattvas rely in imprints of ignorance. SYLLOGISM 4: HINAYANA ARHAT, A CONVENTIONAL REFUGE, HAS FEAR (OF COGNITIVE OBSTRUCTIONS). The fourth: iv. The subject, Hearer Arhats are not ultimate truths refuges because they have fear of the cognitive obstructions The struck- out word truths, above, is a typo; replace it with refuges. [New Handout 14 has replaced this on the Blog]. Therefore, the Dharma of scripture, the two types of Dharma (i.e., Arya paths and cessations) in the continua of sentient beings, and the Arya Assembly who have not attained enlightenment yet do not represent stable and foremost ultimate refuges. TRACK 5 - DELINEATION OF DHARMA OF SCRIPTURE THAT ARE ULTIMATE REFUGES OR ARE CONVENTIONAL REFUGES. Now it gets really difficult. However, here the Dharma of scripture, that according to the Sublime Continuum (Uttaratantra) is not an ultimate refuge, needs to be specified. Gyaltsab Je explains in his Commentary on the Uttaratantra that the Dharma of scripture, that is here described as not being an ultimate refuge, does not refer to the words that were actually spoken by the Buddha, or, literally, that "pertained to the Buddha's continuum" (because these are an ultimate refuge). Rather, the Dharma of scripture that is not an ultimate refuge refers to the teachings of the Buddha that appear to sentient beings ear or mental consciousness. An example for scriptural Dharma that is a conventional object of refuge is the Heart Sutra that appears to practitioners ear consciousnesses when it is recited before the teachings. WORDS SPOKEN BY THE BUDDHA ARE ULTIMATE REFUGES. WORDS WE HEAR OR READ ARE CONVENTIONAL REFUGES. The bold, highlighted not in the Handout text block quote above is a correction to a proofing mistake that omitted from the Handout. So there s a different between the words that were spoken by the Buddha and the words that we hear. So it is the words that we perceive that are not an Ultimate Refuge; those are what we have to leave behind upon Buddhahood like a raft. When we become a Buddha, final attainment. DOES THE TEACHING OF THE BUDDHA STILL EXIST? DO THE WORDS OF THE BUDDHA STILL EXIST? There s a lot of debate on that. Some people say, Yes. Some say, No. If you say, No, the actual words of the Buddha we can agree do not still exist. If I recite a sutra, were those

12 Class 16 - May 16 Class Notes Draft Ornament For Clear Realizations Refuge ASHISH: translated. GESHE WANGMO: If I recite it in Sanskrit. Did Buddha speak those words? ASHISH: We don t know; we weren t there. GESHE WANGMO: We can doubt everything. But let s assume they re accurate. There s something very special about the Buddha s words; they don t have to be spoken from the Buddha Shakyamuni s mouth. ASHISH: GESHE WANGMO: The words that were written down, the sounds of words coming out the Buddha Shakyamuni s mouth only existed for the brief moment it took to say them. AMY: I remember reading that Buddha Shakyamuni activated the * sutra for our time. He gave it a special, I don t know what, power or meaning. GESHE WANGMO: Blessed speech. STUDENT: Buddha is speaking during parts of the Sangh sutra. TICA: The Heart Sutra. GESHE WANGMO: That s a good example. Someone later wrote down what was remembered, so in that sense they are not actual words that came out of Buddha s lips, are not ultimate Refuge. DEBATE: REFUGES LEFT BEHIND UPON ATTAINING BUDDHAHOOD But you can debate. Like the example I gave previously, we basically leave our teachers, who are Buddhas, behind upon attaining Enlightenment. What does left behind really mean? So: Only part of this was read here However, here the Dharma of scripture, that according to the Sublime Continuum (Uttaratantra) is not an ultimate refuge, needs to be specified. Gyaltsab Je explains in his Commentary on the Uttaratantra that the Dharma of scripture, that is here described as not being an ultimate refuge, does not refer to the words that were actually spoken by the Buddha, or, literally, that "pertained to the Buddha's continuum" (because these are an ultimate refuge). Rather, the Dharma of scripture that is not an ultimate refuge refers to the teachings of the Buddha that appear to sentient beings ear or mental consciousness. An example for scriptural Dharma that is a conventional object of refuge is the Heart Sutra that appears to practitioners ear consciousnesses when it is recited before the teachings.

13 2012 Class 16 - May 16 Class Notes Draft Ornament For Clear Realizations Refuge 13 BUDDHA JEWEL ENDOWED WITH THREE KAYAS IS ONLY ULTIMATE REFUGE Maitreya's Uttaratantra (Sublime Continuum) continues: In a true sense only the Buddha Is the refuge of migratory beings, Since the Conqueror possesses the Dharmakaya And since the Assembly also progresses towards the final goal [of attaining the Dharmakaya] DISTINGUISHING RESULTANT DHARMAKĀYA AND THE DHARMAKĀYA. There s a difference between the resultant Dharmakāya and just the Dharmakāya. The resultant Dharmakāya is impermanent, and refers to the Buddha s Mental Consciousness or Jñānakāya. The Dharmakāya that includes permanent phenomena is the over arching category of Dharmakāya. DORIS: Is the resultant Dharmakāya an aspiration? GESHE WANGMO: The over- arching Dharmakāya category. Then you have the Buddha s Mental Consciousness which is a Dharmakāya; the cessations which is a Dharmakāya; and Rupakāya. So the impermanent Dharmakāya, resultant Dharmakāya is the Jñānakāya. DORIS: Isn t it also the Wisdom Truth Body. GESHE WANGMO: {Speaks in Tibetan.} The word Dharmakāya appears in all of the Tibetan. So Jñānakāya and Resultant Dharmakāya are the same thing. RIGZIN: GESHE WANGMO: The nature of the Mental Consciousness of the Buddha is the Nature Body, that it lacks any imperfections and inherent existence. So the Mental Consciousness of the Buddha itself lacks certain qualities in order to exist as the Jñānakāya. We need to get rid of our negativities, imprints; so that lack of obstructions and lack of inherent existence are the nature of the Mental Consciousness. And those Lacks or Nature of the Mental Consciousness are called the Svabhāvikakāya. Hence, in a true sense only the Buddha Jewel, who is endowed with the three bodies, is the ultimate refuge of migratory beings, since the Conqueror, the Buddha, possesses the Dharmakaya and since the Arya Assembly also must progress towards the final goal of attaining the Dharmakaya. That is pretty straightforward. ETYMOLOGY & QUALITIES OF THE THREE JEWELS ( དཀ ན མཆ ག གས#མ ) Why do we say Jewel, Three Jewels. That s briefly explain here. 4. The meaning of the word 'Jewel' - དཀ ན མཆ ག

14 Class 16 - May 16 Class Notes Draft Ornament For Clear Realizations Refuge In Tibetan the word 'Jewel' or dkon mchog pronounced: koen chog literally means 'rare and foremost' (dkon = rare, mchog = foremost). It is derived from the term 'ratna' which is the Sanskrit term for Jewel. So we re explained the Tibetan term which is not actually Jewel. DR. KHANNA: Do you have a Tibetan word for jewel? GESHE WANGMO: Nor bu. DR. KHANNA: Why do you think that word wasn t used. GESHE WANGMO: I don t know. Koen chog sum ( དཀ ན མཆ ག གས#མ Three Jewels)is used for swearing in Tibetan. Therefore, this section of the text presents six reasons for why the three Jewels are named 'rare and foremost' through the analogy of wish- fulfilling gems. That s pretty straightforward. Often the etymology is explained. QUALITIES OF THREE JEWELS: 1) RARE, 2) FREE OF DEFILEMENT, 3) POWERFUL, 4) ORNAMENTS OF WORLD, 5) FOREMOST, 6) UNCHANGING Maitreya says in his Sublime Continuum (Uttaratantra): Their occurrence is rare, they are free from defilement, They possess power, they are ornaments Of the world, they are foremost, They do not change, hence they are [named] 'rare and foremost.' 1) QUALITY OF THREE JEWELS: RARITY I. Just as the occurrence of wish- fulfilling gems in this world is rare, the occurrence of the Three Jewels is rare. According to Gyaltsab Je's Commentary on the Uttaratantra, this teaches that countless sentient beings do not have the root virtue to encounter the Three Jewels. Therefore, having encountered the Three Jewels we should make a great effort to properly take refuge and practice the teachings. There s the time when the Buddha s teachings will not be available or when tantra will not be taught - which urges us not to waste time now. 2) QUALITY OF THREE JEWELS: FREE OF DEFILEMENTS SUCH AS DUST II. Just as wish- fulfilling gems are free from defilements such as dust, the Three Jewels are free from faults. It literally says dust

15 2012 Class 16 - May 16 Class Notes Draft Ornament For Clear Realizations Refuge 15 According to Gyaltsab Je's Commentary on the Uttaratantra, this teaches that the Three Jewels are the perfect refuge. Thus, we should not rely on other refuges such as worldly deities, etc. Let us take this to heart. It is easy to read and think I understand this; I understand that, but take it to heart; generate a feeling and let it affect you. To make rational scholarship have effect, you need to create a feeling. This is so rare, I shouldn t waste time they are so amazing End here, no class on Friday.