Class October 13 - Wednesday

Transcription

1 Class October 13 - Wednesday Institute for Buddhist Dialectics, McLeod Ganj, India GESHE THUPTEN PELSANG ANSWERS QUESTION POSED BY STUDENTS Table of Contents VEN. KELSANG WANGMO TRANSLATES Track Is Bodhicitta a main mind or a mental factor, with explanation?... 1 Why does a negative mental state at the time of death trump a lifetime of virtuous living by good people?. 1 Track Four Binding Factors required to break a Bodhisattva Vow & timing of regret... 2 Practices, e.g., Vajrasattva, for purifying negative karma accumulated in past (lives)?... 2 Track Techniques to reduce attachment to the Self (i.e., ego)... 3 When a beginner is trying to generate Great Compassion, what kind of feelings indicate the practice is progressing?... 3 Track As so many have attained Buddhahood before now, why are sentient beings still suffering?... 4 Some tenet schools say that vows are a non-associated compositional factors, similarly, what is lineage?... 5 Track Are sentient beings actually limitless, infinite without end, as time is beginningless; or do sentient beings just number a very large amount?... 5 Will there be one particular time when all sentient beings have attained enlightenment?... 6 What about purifying negative acts committed without awareness of their negativity?... 6 Track Is there such a thing as compassionate anger, especially in the context of Wrathful deities?... 7 Track If we can t posit a time when sentient beings will all be enlightened, then how can we know, apart from scriptural sources, that all sentient beings will become Buddhas?... 8 If one mind stream is placed into Enlightenment, have an infinite number of sentient beings been saved?... 9 Track The role of emotions on the path? Specific suggestions for the practice of Tong-len to generate Bodhicitta? Track What are the definition, definiendum and an illustration of the Truth of Cessation? Track How can we become more aware of the Object of Negation of Emptiness in daily life?? Track Does a Buddha perceive Conventional Truth; and if so, directly or indirectly? Do all Conventional phenomena appear to sentient beings? How can beginners make the study of Buddhist philosophy a spiritual practice?... 16

2 Class 48 - October 13 - Ornament for Clear Realizations Chapter 1, Class 10 Ornament for Clear Realization Perfection of Wisdom Studies Class October 13 - Wednesday Institute for Buddhist Dialectics, McLeod Ganj, India GESHE THUPTEN PELSANG ANSWERS QUESTION POSED BY STUDENTS VEN. KELSANG WANGMO TRANSLATES 1 Geshe Thupten Pelsang is one of the most respected Tibetan Buddhist monastic scholarpractitioners of his generational cohort. Born 45 years ago in a Manang village in the Annapurna range of Nepal, he became a monk as a child and studied at Drepung Loseling Monastery in India. These days he resides at Tse Chok Ling Monastery in McLeod Ganj. Geshe-la has compiled a Rimey Lam Rim based entirely upon extracts from the words of the Buddha. 2 [Track 1] AL: Is Bodhicitta a main mind or a mental factor? GEN WANGMO TRANSLATES GESHE PALSANG S REPLY: It s a main mind. Do you want to know why? AL: [Indicates affirmative]. GEN WANGMO TRANSLATES GESHE PALSANG S REPLY: There is no specific reason why it s a main mind. Just as with other quotations, certain quotations are given regarding [unintelligible], likewise, the reason is that it is said to be the mind of awakening, so the mind in the sense of a main mind. For that reason it is posited to be a main mind. The main function does have the aspiration that is conjoined with Bodhicitta; that is the function. The main work is coming from the aspiration. DORIS: People say that in the last moments before you die, the state of your mind is very important in determining your next life. It s hard to imagine a person has lived a good life but in last moments, for instance, in a plane crash, they experience terror. Can Geshe-la explain the mind in the last moments of death... :0-9Ü0-&è,-0ë7Ü-<-/%+-`Ü-6ß9-{,-0+ë-/ â<-:0- Ü#Ê

3 Class 48 - October 13 - Ornament for Clear Realizations Chapter 1, Class 10 GEN WANGMO TRANSLATES GESHE PALSANG S REPLY: We talk about leading a very virtuous life not just from this life and other lives, it is very difficult to live a life only engaged in virtue or in non-virtue, so lives are usually a mix of virtuous and non-virtuous. Likewise at the time of death, the minds and mental factors that arise, whether virtuous or non-virtuous, that arise as assistant factors that are responsible for germinating a certain kind of karmic seed, to next rebirth. So at death it is important to have virtuous thoughts as they bring to germination even if you have not lived a purely virtuous life, then through this habit at the time of death, you re more likely to have virtuous thoughts arising. Likewise, negative thoughts are more likely to arise if you re habituated to those in life. [Track 2] JOONA: Generation of regret as one of the Four Binding Factors required to break a Bodhisattva Vow, what is Geshe-la s opinion regarding the time frame in which regret needs to be generated in order to not break a Bodhisattva vow? GEN WANGMO TRANSLATES GESHE PALSANG S REPLY: Geshe-la s opinion is that regarding the Four Binding Factors Let me give a brief explanation about the reason he s asking this. With regard to the Bodhisattva vows, a majority of the root Bodhisattva vows, a majority of the Bodhisattva vows, in order to break them you must have Four Binding Factors, one of which is regret. So the question is when do you need to have regret: as the action is occurring or after? So I asked Geshe-la. And Geshe-la s reply was: If you have engage in an action opposing any of the Bodhisattva vows, and then you have regret the next day, that is not sufficient (to prevent breakage of the vow). Either while in the act of doing it or immediately after doing it, if you have a mind of regret, then you wouldn t break the vow, i.e., you do not have the complete Four Binding Factors. Also, with respect to the Four Binding Factors: the first is to perceive the act as detrimental; the second is to wish to counteract this habituation, wish to counteract the habit of engaging in the action; the third is to delight in the action; and the fourth is to lack any sense of shame or consideration. Actually, Regret doesn t fit into those, but if it did, it would be the second: the wish to reverse the habit of that action. But Geshe-la says, if you look closely, that s not regret, rather, it is the wish that from now on, I won t do this again. There s a slight difference. It is not actually regregt. AL: What about Vajrasattva practice when you regret things you ve done earlier in this life or in past lives? Can Geshe-la speak generally about practices to purify completed actions?

4 Class 48 - October 13 - Ornament for Clear Realizations Chapter 1, Class 10 GEN WANGMO TRANSLATES GESHE PALSANG S REPLY: Geshe-la says basically in order to purify negative karma that one has accumulated, one factor would be regret, or the determination from now on, not to engage in it again, or meditating on compassion and love or any kind of virtuu. So, the fact that those counteract and purify Karma cannot be proven through reasoning; no reasoning can establish that; we need to rely on reliable scriptural quotations from the Buddha or one of the commentators. Similarly, it is said that when we generate a lot of anger, that anger can destroy a lot of our root virtues. So, what is the root virtue that is destroyed? The virtue we ve accumulated. Again, we can t establish that by reasoning but must rely on scriptural quotations. So Gen-la says: No matter whether the action is done with a virtuous or non-virtuous mind, afterwards, if you rejoice in it, that makes the action stronger. For example, if you naturally engage in virtue, or non-virtue, that is kind of a naturally arisen thought. But then the intellectually acquired, if you you reflect on it, conclude your activity was positive, that strengthens it whether it is negative or positive. In the case of a negative action, if we rejoice in that, it becomes stronger This logic also can be applied to regret. If instead of rejoicing in negativity you feel regret, that action would become weaker. [Track 3] REJANE: Attachment to ego is one of the main sources of suffering, so how can we work every day with this ego and with our attachment to it? GEN WANGMO TRANSLATES GESHE PALSANG S REPLY: The way I translated it, as attachment to the Self. Basically, attachment to the self as said in the scriptures to be the root or main cause of all our sufferings. What is the way to reduce this attachment to the self. First, one technique is to understand that that self, that object of focus, does not inherently exist in the way that it appear. That understanding is one way of reducing. Another way of reducing this attachment to Self is to focus on other sentient beings, on their problems, their happiness, and the wish to bring about their happiness and reduce their suffering. Doing that generates compassion and love for others. Boiled down comes to the two main practices, Wisdom and Bodhicitta. So basically, our natural inclination and the Buddha s way of thinking are totally opposite. Normally everyone likes the idea of cherishing others, being altruistic. But feel we will gain a disadvantage and troubles will arise from cherishing others. Whereas for a Buddha, if I don t cherish others there ll be troubles and disadvantages. Cherishing oneself is the root of all troubles and cherishing others needs to be applied. In the beginning that s quite difficult for us, that reasoning and attitude doesn t come naturally, but with habituation and constant reflection with the reasoning why this is the case, we habituate with that and eventually can put it into practice.

5 Class 48 - October 13 - Ornament for Clear Realizations Chapter 1, Class 10 SAMMY: When a beginner is trying to understand Great Compassion, I see it as a feeling but I m really trying to understand Bodhicitta, but there aren t a lot of descriptions of feeling other than positive, negative and neutral. So are there signs to indicate that you re in the general area of Bodhicitta? And can you help me phrase the question? GEN WANGMO TRANSLATES GESHE PALSANG S REPLY: It s a little hard, using the word feeling. Basically Geshe-la says that the mind of Bodhicitta is actually a conglomeration of a number of different kinds of minds that must come together for Bodhicitta to actually arise. So the first is love described as the love of a mother for her child. Our focus is all sentient beings and loving them, so they are the focus of our love. But the actual love can be compared to the love of a mother for her child. And not just the love for a normal child, but for a child who is stupid, has a lot of problems, is not treated well or is humiliated by others this kind of child where the distress of the child requires urgent care and love from the mother. The second step from that love would be the wish to remove suffering of all sentient beings perceiving them as one s own child. There are different subtleties of suffering. It is also not just the wish for them to be from those different levels of suffering that is not enough. One must have the determination that, I myself will do something about it. Now if we think about that determination, and conclude, There s nothing we can do, then we will be upset and worried. But if we come to understand that by ourselves attaining enlightenment, we have the possibility of actually doing something for sentient beings at that moment we understand that, understanding what enlightenment means and how it would help, we can relax and work for the possibility of working for enlightenment. So this mind thinking (with all the preceding minds), Now I will work for the enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. So regarding the feeling: Think you have a friend, a dear friend, who has been sick for a long time, and you can t find any medicine that works. Then one day you find the medicine that will totally cure the disease. The joy and feeling you have when you are able to buy that medicine can be compared to the feeling of now being on a path to benefit sentient beings. [Track 4] PAUL: If you gain enlightenment, you can benefit all sentient beings, but Buddha became enlightened 2,400 years ago, and there were Buddhas before that, and so forth, and yet, still sentient beings are suffering. What is happening then as far as I think you understand.

6 Class 48 - October 13 - Ornament for Clear Realizations Chapter 1, Class 10 GEN WANGMO TRANSLATES GESHE PALSANG S REPLY: Well, basically, sentient beings are said to be limitless. Of those limitless, huge numbers of sentient beings, many have already reached enlightenment. A lot of sentient beings are reborn in states without any leisures and freedoms, reborn in the lower realms. The thoughts and disturbing emotions that cause rebirth in the lower realms come naturally. It is very hard to get out of those states. It is very, very easy to be reborn in states where you cannot practice any dharma, cannot engage in any dharma practice; moreover, it is very difficult to get out of those states of birth. If you are able to get out of those negative states, or states of suffering, to be reborn in higher realm, again, there are great dangers from very negative influences, negative friends, and our own disturbing emotions, delusions, are other hindrances to doing so. Those are the main factors. Actually, Geshe-la says (somewhat jokingly) that the reason sentient beings are still here is for us to see their suffering and therefore (be able) to generate compassion. SAM: Is lineage a thing. Lower schools say that vows are a non-associated compositional factors. Like that, is lineage a functioning thing. GEN WANGMO: Lineage has so many different meanings. In the lower school, the vows are form. Are you talking about the lineage of vows? SAM: The lineage from student to teacher all the way back to the Buddha is that lineage a thing, or is it just a teaching from teacher to student? GEN WANGMO TRANSLATES GESHE PALSANG S REPLY: Gen-la is saying that it is a thing. A thing is something that is impermanent. And there is the three-fold division of things into form, consciousness and non-associated compositional factors. Lineage is a nonassociated compositional factor. But of course, when we say, lineage, it is just imputed upon something specific. So it is a continuation of something, but that is not saying that teachings I gave him the example of teaching lineage that passes from one teacher to a student to the next student. Gen-la commented that it is not that the teaching of the lama actually changes into the teaching of the student. There s not that kind of continuity. Rather there s a name given. There s the teaching of the teacher. Then after some time, there s the teaching of the student. It s an imputed phenomenon that is called a continuation and it is a non-associated compositional factor. [Track 5] VEN. NORDRON : Are sentient beings actually limitless, infinite without end, as time is beginningless; or is just that sentient beings are a very large number? GEN WANGMO TRANSLATES GESHE PALSANG S REPLY: Gen-la is saying that basically, it is not just a great amount. It is saying there is no end to sentient beings. In the way we say that since beginningless, there s infinite rebirth. That is such a difficult idea. Likewise, in

7 Class 48 - October 13 - Ornament for Clear Realizations Chapter 1, Class 10 saying there s no end to sentient beings, that is also something very difficult to accept. So we accept the terminology, Oh, yes, there s no beginning. But if we really think about it, we find it goes beyond our capacity to understand, as we are used to setting limits on things. Therefore, it is very difficult to get the idea. But nevertheless, Gen-la is saying that there is no limit. VEN. NORDRON: In that case, although sentient beings will attain enlightenment, there won t be one particular time when all sentient beings have attained enlightenment; or will there? GEN WANGMO TRANSLATES GESHE PALSANG S REPLY: Therefore, he says, you can t posit a time when all sentient beings will be enlightened. AMY: A follow up to prior questions about karma and breaking vows: Many vows can be broken due to our cultural context. We grow up in an environment where we do harm to things, killing bugs, having our houses exterminated before we become aware that this is something we don t want to do. I understand this is similar to the karma of hell beings and animals, who kill because this is what they are used to doing in a certain sense. But on the other hand, is there something at this point that we could do to change that karma if it was not recognized as something that bad when done, and we rejoiced in doing it because we ve accomplished it, as we all have done before we came to the dharma. What can be done about it? GEN WANGMO: Your question is basically what can we do about all the negativity we accumulated while not knowing our actions are negative? Not knowing, yes, and is the karma of that different because we didn t know what we were doing was negative? GEN WANGMO TRANSLATES GESHE PALSANG S REPLY: Regarding non-virtue, if you know something is negative and naturally do it, and possibly rejoice, possibly intentionally think about it being a good thing to do even though you know it is negative. You ve accumulated it naturally, but you also know that it is negative, then the negativity is greater. Whereas, if you naturally engage in a negative act, but you don t know it is negative, the negative karmic result is less. Like the previous example of rejoicing or not. Gen-la is saying that of the two someone know that the act is negative and someone who does not know regarding the person who knows the act is negative, you can say there s an aspect of it being lighter and there s an aspect of it being heavier. Lighter in sense that there s some advantage to (that knowledge) and heavier in sense of a disadvantage. Basically, regarding the lighter aspect, knowing that it is negative, there s a change that regret may arise right after the action is accumulated. At the same time, one also knows

8 Class 48 - October 13 - Ornament for Clear Realizations Chapter 1, Class 10 how to purify the act, is familiar with the action of purification. From that point of view, for someone who knows from a Buddhist perspective that an act is negative has an advantage. Whereas this is not the case for someone who does not know they re engaged in negative act, they may rejoice in the action, be happy about it, not knowing it s negative; and regret wouldn t arise and they wouldn t know how to do something about it. On the other side, the negative side is that there s a kind of aspect of not caring at all, carelessness. Someone who knows they re engaged in negative active, they almost have to have an aspect of carelessness. So this is a disadvantage for someone engaging in a negative act who knows that it is negative. Regarding the second part of the question, regarding purifying acts you ve already accumulated in this or previous lifetimes, the Sutra of the Four Dharmas, which basically is a sutra that teaches the four antidotes or four opposing factors. The first antidote, of course, is Regret. The second antidote is the promise to Refrain from the act again refraining could mean, taking the vows, which make the promise to refrain, that could be part of the second antidote. The third antidote is the power of Reliance, which is Bodhicitta and Refuge. The reason for those two is that Refuge if the actions were accumulated in relation to the Three Jewels, to purify those we need to take refuge. Bodhicitta practice of love and compassion is important in regard to sentient beings, the harm we ve done to sentient beings. Number four is the power of the act, the action itself. Any virtuous action done that goal, with that mind, of wanting to purify, and the other factors being complete, then any virtuous act can be a purification for previously accumulated negativity. Santideva s Compendium talks of six different factors, but, basically, these four are sufficient. [Track 6] UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Is there such a thing a compassionate anger, especially in the context of Wrathful deities? GEN WANGMO TRANSLATES GESHE PALSANG S REPLY: There s no compassionate anger. I translated your question as an anger that is related to or induced by compassion. Geshe-la says that there is no compassionate anger and no compassionate hatred. The meaning of words here: hatred is a very deep feeling of dislike. Anger is coming from the center of your body. Basically, anger and hatred can never be compassionate. But there is compassionate wrath, wrathfulness, showing the aspect of wrath. That is possible.

9 Class 48 - October 13 - Ornament for Clear Realizations Chapter 1, Class 10 There is a Tibetan story from the old days. Sometimes it happened that a teacher would beat his disciple. One time a teacher was beating his disciple, and in the process of student trying to run away, a trunk fell over and they both fell down. And the disciple went to the teacher and asked, Are you okay? Are you alright? And the teacher said, I m fine. And then asked the student, Are you okay?. The student said, Yeah, I m okay. And the teacher said, All right then, I can go on (with the beating). So that would be an example of compassionate wrath. There was definitely the aspect of showing wrath, this action of physically beating someone but with compassion. Gen-la says when he was very small and lived-in a monastery, they had that tradition of the teacher physically beating students. Over the years, this has been reduced, become less and less. But his own observation is that in those days, even though there was this physical punishment, nevertheless, there was a very great bond between teacher and student, great love between teacher and student. Now days, without with less physical punishment, it seems as though the bond is not the same any more. Even though there was physical punishment it was not done out of resentment. If it had been done out of resentment, it would not be a compassionate act. But these punishments were not done out of resentment but out of compassion. JOONA: A question came up in our Monday class about re why gods can t take Self- Liberation -Praktimoksha vows. GEN WANGMO TRANSLATES GESHE PALSANG S REPLY: He doesn t know the reason. [Track 7] AL: Following up on the question about infinite and timeless if we can t posit that there s a time when sentient beings will all be enlightened, then how can we know, apart from scriptural sources, that all sentient beings will? The wordwill is problematic. GEN WANGMO: He said there is no time that they can all become enlightened. AL: Yet we also think that all sentient beings will have, be enlightened. GEN WANGMO: Will, have, be. AL: Well, it s also a grammatical thing; isn t it? That will pointing to the future can t actually take into account all sentient beings and all time. So even in the use of the language, how can we have confidence that enlightenment is a trajectory for every sentient being being? GEN WANGMO : Let me just repeat to make sure I understand. You are asking in my own words, How can we say that every sentient being has the potential to become enlightened, if there will not be a time when all sentient beings will be.

10 Class 48 - October 13 - Ornament for Clear Realizations Chapter 1, Class 10 AL: No, that s not what I m saying. What I m asking, Gen-la, is not whether all sentient beings have the potential. We all have the potential. But some teachers say that absolutely every sentient being will be and some Nyingma teachers say even though they have potential, some sentient being will not be enlightened. GEN WANGMO : There s two views. AL: Yes, I d like to get Geshe-la s view on that. GEN WANGMO : I m just going to say, there s two views and ask his view on that. AL: Yes, please. GEN WANGMO TRANSLATES GESHE PALSANG S REPLY: Gen-la replies that basically there are those two views. The view that says there is no end is because there s this problem that there won t be any sentient beings left. That s kind of the idea. But basically what needs to be stressed is that any sentient being can become enlightened. And actually this is not a very good question, because this is something we should not think about so much. I m sorry; that was not a good way of putting it. No, no. I mean it is like, this is not something we should think about much. It s not that important. He said, some teachers actually scold the students when they ask this question, saying, what is the point to actually think about it? In the end it doesn t really matter that much. AL: I feel scolded. GEN WANGMO TRANSLATES GESHE PALSANG S REPLY: The reason Gen-la says that is not that he s actually scolding you. The reason is that there is a danger that if someone is told there s no end to sentient beings, there s a danger, you may think: Well, what s the point? Why did he say, all sentient beings? What s the point? He is saying, nevertheless, it doesn t matter, whichever way it is. If it is (the case that) there is no limit to sentient beings and there will never be a time when all sentient beings are enlightened let s take the example: in this room, there are so many sentient beings; and we can t lead them all to enlightenment, well, we don t just say, No, I m not going to do anything because I can t lead all of them. If you can lead just one, or two or three, that in itself makes it totally worth going through the effort to try to reach that goal even if it is not all sentient beings. VEN. NORDRON: If we have infinite span, no end to the birth of sentient beings, until they become enlightened, then if you save one sentient being or participate in saving one sentient being, you have saved infinite sentient beings. That s the thing about infinity. GEN WANGMO : Are you asking?

11 Class 48 - October 13 - Ornament for Clear Realizations Chapter 1, Class 10 VEN. NORDRON: Is it not logically true? If an infinite number of sentient beings arise on one mind stream, and there are infinite numbers of sentient beings on every mind stream, if one mind stream is put into enlightenment, then an infinite number or sentient beings have been saved? GESHE THUPTEN PALSANG: [NOds head] Ta ta re. Re, re. GEN WANGMO TRANSLATES GESHE PALSANG S REPLY: Gen-la is saying that basically when you benefit one sentient being in the short term, there s an immediate benefit and in the long term you work for the enlightenment of that sentient being. And also, if it is just one sentient being, if your motivation is to help all sentient beings, that act of helping one sentient being, the virtue increase is manifold due to the force of the wish that is behind that. [Track 8] UNIDENTIFIED MAN: We re often taught that emotion in general is something to be discarded, GEN WANGMO: What kind of emotion? UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Emotions in general, the full range of emotions. GEN WANGMO: Emotions in general? UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Well, let me just finish the question. GEN WANGMO: Sure. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Maybe it ll be clear what I m talking about. At least in the beginning, emotion is generally looked at as something that should not be extreme. You should try to avoid that; right? And it is seen as an obstacle to the cultivation of Bodhicitta. So in the context of that, also in tantra, some lamas teach about taking emotion as a path, or the path as the result, so how do you juxtapose those two? What do they mean by that? GEN WANGMO: Okay. What do they mean by that? GEN WANGMO TRANSLATES GESHE PALSANG S REPLY: Geshe-la says that unless he understands what you mean by emotion it is difficult to actually answer that question. So can you be more specific about emotion; is there anything that comes to mind? UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Well, in your practice, are you in other words, we all have emotions that are constantly arising, so when they arise what is the proper approach?

12 Class 48 - October 13 - Ornament for Clear Realizations Chapter 1, Class 10 GEN WANGMO: Can you give me an example of the emotions that arise? Can you just give me some examples? UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Well, it is sort of along the context of the question I asked before, because he said anger and hatred are obviously not part of the Path. But at the same time, we see these manifestations in wrathful form; or there can be a wrathful manifestation that is not inherently the emotion of anger. In other words, there can be a compassionate wrathful manifestation on the part of a teacher or a deity. How does that then jibe with the whole idea that should we just avoid all anger? Should we just kind of throw it all out the window? Or sometimes, can some of these quote-unquote negative emotions be sources of truth, enlightenment or Bodhicitta? GEN WANGMO: So you are talking about in tantra, transforming anger into the path? Are you saying that? Not just wrathfulness? UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Yes. GEN WANGMO TRANSLATES GESHE PALSANG S REPLY: So anger, Geshe-la says, anger cannot be transformed onto the path. But you can transform wrath, which is the force that comes along with anger. Not the harmful part of anger, but the force that comes along with anger, that kind of energy can be utilized. BIA: They also speak of transforming desire into the path. How does that work? GEN WANGMO TRANSLATES GESHE PALSANG S REPLY: Gen-la from talking merely from a sutric point of view, e.g., if you know you have desire for someone, and the only way right now for you to deal with that desire would be to means stay away from that person. However, staying away would mean that you would not be able to benefit that person. So actually in terms of you staying around this person or other people, if you are able to help them or able to benefit them, then you voluntarily almost take on that desire, even though you know it is there, you know it is negative, but there s nothing you can do about it right now. So you kind of take it on, but for the benefit of helping other sentient beings. Gen-la is differentiating anger and wrath. With anger in the situation discussed previously, if there is desire, but nevertheless, you are aware of it and you still work for benefit of sentient beings, that can work. However, with anger, there is always this sense of dislike for the other person, so then it is very difficult to benefit, to work for the benefit of that person at the same time you dislike the person. That would be contradictory. But with wrath, the feeling of wrath that comes is not the feeling of anger, of dislike, as such, but a feeling of wrath. This you could utilize, while it arises and you know it is there, at the same time you work for the benefit of the person. So you can utilize that wrath. So that is possible with desire and wrath, not anger.

13 Class 48 - October 13 - Ornament for Clear Realizations Chapter 1, Class 10 So basically, someone who works for the benefit of others, possibly sometimes may need to show action of wrath, scold, use harsh words. Sometimes the situation is such that this may be appropriate. But for someone who is a beginner with respect to the practice of Bodhicitta, for example, it is not appropriate for a beginning practitioner of Bodhicitta to actually engage in any wrathful actions. It is advised for such a beginner to totally refrain from wrathful actions even out of compassion because of the always present danger that the wrath will change into anger. So to be on the safe side, the advice is to always use gentle means instead of wrath. PEMA-KAREN: I have a question Tong-len and Bodhicitta. Does Geshe-la have any specific suggestions for the practice? A lot of time when someone is doing Tong-len they are working for a specific situation, and then how can the scope of that be opened up, like metta, going and going and going? I m asking him for any suggestions to take Tong-len on the path to Bodhicitta and be able to enlarge it. GEN WANGMO TRANSLATES GESHE PALSANG S REPLY: Basically, in terms of the usual description of the practice, one usually starts with a focus on a person one likes. The next step is to focus on someone you don t know that you feel neutral about. The next step is to take on someone you don t like, you don t like, you have resentment for. And the last step is to take on all sentient beings. Another way is to first focus on your family, then focus on your community, then focus on the state you live in, focus on the country you live in, focus on the world you live in, then focus on migrating beings in the different realms. That s another way to extend your practice. This is another technique of slowing enhancing or extending your practice. [Track 9] GEN WANGMO READS PRE-SUBMITTED QUESTIONS: The question that Todd is asking is, Could Geshe-la, please state the definition, definiendum and an illustration of cessation. Do you mean the Truth of Cessation, or just cessation? TODD: The Truth of Cessation. GEN WANGMO TRANSLATES GESHE PALSANG S REPLY: Analytical cessation is the definition of the Truth of Cessation, an individual analytical cessation. But then there s not much meaning that comes along with that. So like a analytical cessation 3 so Gen-la said, well, cessation basically he didn t say its definition. So the Truth of Cessation is an analytical cessation. So what does that

14 Class 48 - October 13 - Ornament for Clear Realizations Chapter 1, Class 10 mean? It means that it is an elimination of the main object of elimination in a way in which it can never arise again. So that is the meaning of that: to eliminate or abandon a direct object of elimination in the sense that it cannot arise again, in the way in which it can never arise again. TODD: That is an analytical cessation? GEN WANGMO: That is the kind of meaning or definition if you like of [asks Geshe-la a short question and he responds positively]. That is the definition of an individually analytical cessation, an individual analytical cessation. GEN WANGMO TRANSLATES GESHE PALSANG S REPLY: A coarser kind of explanation of cessation would be, for example, to make something not to arise again; to cut the continuum of a phenomena. That s a coarse way of explaining it. But the way of bringing that about is through causes and conditions that need to precede that. So you have an antidote, for example, a mind that arises as an antidote, and that then reverses something, which means that you eliminate something and you have a cessation. So this seems to indicate that you have causes and conditions that bring about a cessation which therefore would make a cessation impermanent since it arises from causes and conditions. But that is not the case, because if a cessation was impermanent, it would not be incontrovertible. There would be that fault. It would be controvertible. In the lower tenets, the Great Exposition and Sutra Schools and so forth, as opposed to in the Middle Way-Consequentialist (Prasangika) system, there are different assertions regarding cessation. From the Middle Way-Prasangika point of view, a cessation is posited as the suchness that is free from stains. Suchness that is free from stains is held in the Prasangika school to be a positive cessation. Saying that the suchness that is free from stains is a cessation, well that would be helpful to determine that such a cessation is permanent, and that it is also an Ultimate Truth. However, now, to actually posit. as a cessation, a suchness that is free from stains is debatable. There is some debate regarding that. Previous Tibetan masters always debated this point. H.H. the Dalai Lama on numerous occasions, during his teachings, has said that the suchness that is free from stains is a Truth of Cessation. Whereas. Khyab-Je Ling Rinpoche, His Holiness Senior Tutor, said that a suchness that is the elimination of stains or that is free from stains is not a cessation.

15 Class 48 - October 13 - Ornament for Clear Realizations Chapter 1, Class 10 To actually determine whether or not the suchness that is free from stains is a cessation or whether there s a way in which the cessation can be explained in connection to suchness being from stains there is a lot of debate to be done and this would be beyond the scope of this session. But definitely thinking about this in this regard is very helpful for establishing that cessation is permanent and cessation, moreover, incontrovertible. [Track 10] GEN WANGMO READS PRE-SUBMITTED QUESTIONS: Can Geshe-la provide a little personal experience regarding the practice of recognizing and holding the object of negation? Beyond the basic instructions found within the Lam Rim and other texts, how can beginners become more aware of the object of negation within our daily lives? GEN WANGMO TRANSLATES GESHE PALSANG S REPLY: Geshe-la says he cannot do so from his own personal experience. But he has experience of the object of negation of Emptiness arising all of the time. For example, Yongdzin Yeshe Gyeltsen (Tse Chok Ling Rinpoche ), the tutor of the 8 th Dalai Lama, as well as Jamyang Gyalwa Lodro, who was the text book author for Drepung Loseling Monastery before Panchen Sonam Drakpa, these two masters of the past talked about an example: If you walk outside when it is dark, and you touch a pillar in the dark. There s not just the sense that there is a mind that apprehends the pillar, that this is the only thing that is happening. It is merely appearing to a mind. But there s a sense that there s real pillar. So this is the kind of example here, that there is really something there instead of that there is a mere appearance of a pillar. So Gen-la continued on to explain. For example, when we dream, we may dream of a dream elephant or dream horse. The dream elephant or dream horse appears to the mind and it does not exist as an elephant or a dream horse; but in our dream, we think that this is actually an elephant or this is a horse. But this dream elephant is only existent because of the dream. If there wasn t a mind dreaming, you couldn t have that dream elephant. Likewise, the phenomena that appear to us are because of the influence of the imprints of ignorance. The imprints of ignorance grasping at an inherently existent self. It is because of those imprints, it is like we are dreaming. It is like we are in the dream of the imprints of the ignorance, or the imprints that are influenced by the ignorance. We are under the influence of those imprints, basically. So therefore, anything that appears to us appears to us because of those imprints. If those imprints weren t there, we would not have this appearance. So anything appearing to us appears because of those imprints. So someone who has realized Emptiness is for example, sometimes in a dream, you know you are dreaming. Sometimes, it happens that you know you are actually dreaming, this is not real. Likewise, someone who has realized Emptiness may now become aware that it is only because of the influence of those imprints of ignorance that

16 Class 48 - October 13 - Ornament for Clear Realizations Chapter 1, Class 10 certain objects appear. For someone who has realized Emptiness, the appearance may still be there. However, they re totally aware of that falsity, that the only reason they are appearing is because of the dream of the imprints, basically. I mean it is not a dream but he uses the analogy of a dream with respect to the imprints that influence all our appearances. Many of Geshe-la s friends say this example doesn t hold, doesn t really work. You cannot really posit the object of negation on the basis of that. Gen-la says that nevertheless, he feels this is a good example because you can posit the existence of phenomena in that way. For example, in a dream, the dream elephant does not exist as an elephant, but the dream elephant, nevertheless, there is an existence to it. Likewise, when phenomena appear to exist in a certain way, they don t exist truly; they don t exist in that way; but the actual object that, nevertheless, exists. So Gen-la is saying that in this way you can establish that it doesn t exist truly, but you can say that the appearance, that is something; you can still posit the conventionally phenomena. Now, if you meditate on this and you end up losing your conviction in the law of cause and effect, lose your love and compassion, well, then, you will have actually fallen into the extreme of nihilism. But he thinks if this example doesn t lead you into the extreme of nihilism, this a good way of thinking about it. Gen Nyima, a great master often cited by H.H. the Dalai Lama, was an amazing recent master. He talked about something existing from the side of the mind, from the face of the mind, or something not existing from the face (or side) of the mind. He made that distinction. [Track 11] GEN WANGMO READS PRE-SUBMITTED QUESTIONS: Another question: Conventional Truth is often translated as truth for a concealer. Does a Buddha perceive Conventional Truth? If so, does Buddha perceive Conventional Truth directly or indirectly? GEN WANGMO TRANSLATES GESHE PALSANG S REPLY: So basically this is related to the previous question. Basically, we said that the phenomena, the Conventional Truth I had trouble putting that into Tibetan because Conventional Truth and truth for a concealer are translations of one Tibetan word. Basically, Conventional Truth is something like the dream object. Buddha is someone who has awakened from the dream. Therefore, the question arises: Do the dream objects not appear to a Buddha any more? Gen-la says, basically, this being the case if someone is dreaming and another person has clairvoyance, they re able, through their clairvoyance, to see another person s dream objects even though the clairvoyant is not dreaming. So Buddha works in a similar fashion. Even though the Buddha is not dreaming any more, is not under the influence of

17 Class 48 - October 13 - Ornament for Clear Realizations Chapter 1, Class 10 the imprints any more, the Buddha knows what sentient beings perceive, what people dream. In an indirect way, the Conventional Truth is perceived. A Buddha perceives the Conventional Truth perceived by sentient beings, and therefore, wee say that a Buddha perceives Conventional Truth. Now, if no one is dreaming, no one even a clairvoyant would have any perception of dream objects. If there were no sentient beings, Buddha would not perceive Conventional Truth. A Buddha would only perceive Ultimate Truth. A question then arises: Does all Conventional Truth, whatever Conventional Truth there is, must it all appear to sentient beings? Is there any Conventional Truth that would not appear to a sentient being? If you were to posit such, if there is something that a sentient being it seems like one doesn t feel comfortable with the thought that: There s nothing, no Conventional Truth that would not appear to a sentient being. That thought is a little uncomfortable. But Geshe-la says that when he debates this with friends, if they say, There must be something more, he says, Show it to me. Posit it. And then if they posit it, the next questions he asks is: Does it appear to your mind or not? At the moment you talk about it, it does appear to your mind. So there is really, you can t say that it is something that doesn t appear to your mind. If it doesn t appear, it doesn t work in that sense. His friends then usually reply. Well, all these particles in this table, for example, to whom, to which sentient being do they appear? Or all the rain drops, every single rain drop, to which sentient being do they appear? They say, Of all the countless phenomena there are, there aren t enough sentient beings to perceive all of them. This is the counter argument. We are coming towards the end of this session. I ll read one more question and if there s time, I can take one more question. GEN WANGMO READS PRE-SUBMITTED QUESTIONS: There s a danger that intensive philosophical study may become merely academic and intellectual. Can Geshe-la provide any personal experience regarding how beginners can make the study of Buddhist philosophy a spiritual practice? GEN WANGMO TRANSLATES GESHE PALSANG S REPLY: Well, one should use the Lam Rim Chen-Mo (Great Exposition of the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment) by Lama Tsong Khapa. There are three volumes in English, for those of smaller capacity, medium capacity and greater capacity. So taking the entire Lam Rim, and taking whatever one studies and trying to relate it to the topics of the Lam Rim. That is very important. Because the Lam Rim gives you instruction on how to practice. f you take anything you study and relate it back to that text, then you don t lose it. In the sense that there are so

18 Class 48 - October 13 - Ornament for Clear Realizations Chapter 1, Class 10 many topics to study; it s such a vast subject. So if you can t relate it to the Lam Rim Chen-Mo, you may lose it. It s like having many different foods in your kitchen, just sitting around that you never use to cook your food, on the shelf never utilized. This is not what one should be doing, so always relate everything back to the Lam Rim, then one is able to put into practice any kind of study one has done of Buddhist philosophy. From his own personal experience, he studied the Lam Rim. To actually study the Lam Rim, to really understand the different steps and then to relate everything back to that. He s been doing that with his own personal studies. And he also been reading a lot of Buddha s actual words, reading a lot of the sutras, themselves. Every time he read them, he was able to see where they appear in the Lam Rim, see they are what the Lam Rim was based on it. Physically, he is not so well, his physical health is not so good, but he feels that if he had more strength and the diligence to apply all of this, to take whatever he reads to take it as instruction in relation to the Lam Rim. Gen-la said, having spent time studying the Lam Rim, now anything you read there s a special taste to it that you can relate it back. Before studying the Lam Rim that doesn t necessarily happen, so it is really important to study, and then you have a taste of all the different instructions. We have to end now as there is a special puja in here tonight. I would like to thank everyone