Explaining ‘The Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life’

Hamburg, Germany, 24 August 2014 - Emerging from his hotel into the sunlight falling through the trees, His Holiness the Dalai Lama took time to greet Tibetans and other well-wishers who had gathered to express their respect and support.

“Today there’ll be an explanation of the Buddhadharma according to the Nalanda tradition,” His Holiness began. “The Tibetan Buddhist tradition originated with the invitation to Tibet in the 8th century of the then leading scholar of Nalanda University, Shantarakshita, by the Tibetan Emperor, Trisong Detsen. Buddhism had been introduced to China some four centuries earlier, a tradition also linked to Nalanda by Hsuan Tsang who studied there with Dharmapala. The prevailing philosophical views belonged to the Mind Only and Middle Way Schools and whereas China predominantly followed Mind Only, Shantarakshita established the Middle Way view, the tradition following Nagarjuna, in Tibet.”

Describing himself as a minor student to the Nalanda tradition, His Holiness said he was happy to have the opportunity to discuss Shantideva’s ‘Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life’ and Thogme Sangpo’s ‘37 Practices of a Bodhisattva’. He pointed out the difficulty of explaining everything in four sessions, but encouraged his listeners to take the book away with them to read and study themselves.

He explained that Shantideva, who lived in the 8th century CE, composed two texts the ‘Compendium of Training’ and ‘Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life’, which complement each other. Shantideva followed the Consequentialist Middle Way view propounded by Chandrakirti that asserts that while things have no objective existence they nevertheless exist conventionally.

His Holiness paused to commend Kelsang Wangmo, a German nun assisting his German translator, Christof Spitz, as the first woman to be granted a Geshe-ma degree. Turning to the text, he read its title in Sanskrit and Tibetan, initiating a complex discussion of the word ‘bodhi’ or ‘chang-chub’, which is translated as enlightenment, but specifically refers to purifying or clearing away ignorance and to knowing. It implies that Buddhahood is attained by overcoming ignorance, clearing away the obstructions to knowledge by developing an understanding of emptiness, supported by the skilful means of bodhichitta. The Buddha made it clear that this is something we have to do for ourselves by following the path he revealed.

“Buddhas do not wash unwholesome deeds away with water,

Nor do they remove the sufferings of beings with their hands,

Neither do they transplant their own realization into others.

Teaching the truth of suchness they liberate (beings).”

His Holiness turned to Chapter Nine of the ‘Guide’, the wisdom chapter, saying that all the Buddha’s 84,000 teachings were taught in order that people could develop an understanding of reality such that they could purify their minds of all defilements. To overcome ignorance that is the basis of disturbing emotions like attachment we need to know things as they really are. His Holiness recalled the advice of American psychotherapist Aaron Beck that when we are angry or attached to something, about 90% of our anger or attachment is mental projection, a view that accords with Nagarjuna’s. We get caught up with how things appear to us instead of seeing them as they really are.

“Amongst human beings,” His Holiness remarked, “there are those who use their minds to investigate reality, who the text refers to as yogis, and those who simply follow their day to day lives. We could say that today, scientists are like yogis in that they attempt to see things as they really are. But even among yogis there are differences of understanding.”

His Holiness further commented that the different views of reality explained in Chapter Nine of the ‘Guide’ are complicated, but that analysing them is very helpful. The aim of such analysis is to uproot ignorance that is at the root of all disturbing emotions. He pointed out that it wasn’t until he was about 15 years old that he began to really take an interest in emptiness. In his 30s he really tried to study and put into practice what he understood.

“Only when you develop some understanding of emptiness do you become aware of the actual possibility of attaining Buddhahood. Although we all recite the verse for taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha and developing the awakening mind of bodhichitta, we generally don’t understand what it means. If you think closely about it, you can understand the process of transforming the mind into the mind of enlightenment.”

As the session broke for lunch, His Holiness advised:

“Ask yourself, who is this ‘I’ who eats lunch? Where is it? The ‘I’ is not the body and it isn’t the mind either. Where is it? Who is this hungry person? That way we can make lunch useful too.”

Meeting with members of the Tibet Centre Hamburg afterwards, His Holiness encouraged them to continue to make it a centre of learning, not only dedicated to Buddhism but to a wider knowledge of the workings of the mind. He mentioned the recent publication of a book in Tibetan containing science extracted from the Kangyur and Tengyur. He said that the English translation may be complete by the end of the year and requested the Centre to become involved in translating it into German. He also spoke to about 650 Tibetans resident in Europe. He noted that as refugees they have been in exile for 55 years. He praised the people in Tibet, whose spirit has remained unflinching despite the change of generations over the same period. He encouraged them to be careful to maintain Tibetans’ good reputation for gentleness and honesty.

Back in the Congress Centre hall His Holiness received and answered several questions from the audience, among them a request for guidance on choosing a spiritual teacher. His advice was to consult the list of qualifications for such a teacher described in the scriptures and to examine the prospective teacher to see whether he or she fulfilled them, a process that could even take years. He recommended making a commitment to a teacher only when you feel confident about him or her.

Returning to his survey of Chapter Nine of the ‘Guide’, he explained that ignorance is eliminated by the wisdom understanding emptiness because ignorance and wisdom, like light and dark, cannot coexist together. And ignorance is weaker not being supported by knowledge. His Holiness said:

“The ninth chapter is very important because it is on the basis of a genuine insight into emptiness that we develop a sense that liberation from suffering is possible and that the disturbing emotions can be eliminated. From that understanding arises the desire to achieve such liberation. Then, considering the predicament of sentient beings we develop the awakening mind of bodhichitta and the wish to serve them.”

He went on to stress that Buddhists should aspire to be 21st century Buddhists, understanding what the Buddha is and that the Dharma is the true path and true cessation.

Looking back to Chapter One of the ‘Guide’ he said it explains the awakening mind of bodhichitta, the ultimate wish to help other beings. It involves an aspiration to achieve enlightenment that is not just wishful thinking but is based on knowing that being of real help to other beings is possible.

His Holiness brought the day’s teachings to an end saying he would go through the process of formally generating bodhichitta tomorrow. He joked that going through the text this way is a bit like an elderly person’s approach to food, picking only those bits that are easy to chew. He mentioned the short and long-term advantages of bodhichitta, including freedom from lower rebirth, achieving higher rebirth and ultimately enlightenment. But, he said, the corresponding process of transforming yourself takes time. He remembered when he used to garden in Dharamsala and because he wanted to see the flowers bloom soon he tried to encourage the process and in doing so damaged the seeds. He concluded:

“We need to give growth time.”

original link with photos http://www.dalailama.com/news/post/1160-explaining-the-guide-to-the-bodhisattvas-way-of-life

Dalai Lama: 'Hope for the Best - Prepare for the Worst'

Interview by Matthias von Hein

On the sidelines of his visit to Hamburg, the Dalai Lama talked exclusively to DW about his optimism for Tibet, the situation in Iraq and Syria, and the growing number of Tibetan Buddhists in China.


DW: Your Holiness, China is becoming more powerful, both economically and politically. Beijing is also using its power to increasingly isolate you – the face of the struggle for meaningful Tibetan autonomy. What do you think: If China had been that powerful already in 1989, would you have been awarded the Nobel peace prize?

Dalai Lama: I have completely retired from my political responsibilities since 2011. The nature of your question is rather political. However, since you ask that question: Yes, the People's Republic of China is gaining more strength economically and militarily. But, in the meantime, we can see that a number of Chinese very much support our basic rights because we are not seeking independence.
We decided as early as 1974 that we are not seeking independence. We just try to seek those rights that are mentioned in the constitution. These should be implemented. That's our request. So, therefore, a number of Chinese intellectuals fully support us – including Liu Xiaobo (awarded the Nobel peace prize in 2010 and currently serving an 11 year prison sentence).
During the last four years we noticed about 1000 articles in Chinese, some written by Chinese inside China, some outside, which fully support our 'middle way' approach. They are very critical about their own government's policy. So this is not our criticism. It is criticism within the Chinese community.
On top of that, there is quite a large Buddhist population in China. About three or four years ago, a Chinese university carried out a survey about how many Buddhists there are in mainland China. They came up with a figure of more than 300 million. Many of these Buddhists are educated people. And nowadays more and more Chinese Buddhists really show interest in Tibetan Buddhism. Even a number of Chinese Communist Party members, officials, even high officials are showing interest in Tibetan Buddhism.
Then on the practical level: The Chinese government is very much concerned about the image of China. The military, the economy alone cannot make a constructive contribution to world affairs. The People's Republic of China needs moral authority, more respect, more trust from the outside world. And the Chinese people themselves are very much concerned about the image of China, too. Many Chinese told me, that even though their country has over 1.3 billion inhabitants, it is lacking moral authority or moral power.
But now, President Xi Jinping is seriously tackling corruption. And also recently during his visit in Europe, in Paris, Xi openly stated, that Buddhism has a very important role for Chinese culture. So Buddhists should take more responsibility. For me this is something very unusual: A communist leader publicly praising or making a positive remark about Buddhism. So things are changing.

But, your Holiness, do you see any improvements on the ground in Tibet?

Our struggle is the struggle between the power of the gun and the power of truth. In the short run, the power of the gun is much stronger, very decisive. But in the long run, the power of truth is much stronger. I believe that. Already there are some signs that Chinese leaders or intellectuals now raise questions whether the existing policy is really helpful in the long run to the interest of the People's Republic of China. So things are changing.
But, up to now, my impression is that the Chinese leadership is still thinking that the way to deal with ethnic minorities in Tibet or in Xinjiang is repression and investment. That is their twofold approach.
Investment is good. But at the same time they should be seriously concerned about the environment. The use of force is often counterproductive no matter how sincere the motivation is. Look at the Iraq crisis and President Bush. I know that his motivation was very good: Democracy in Iraq. But the method was wrong. So, unexpected consequences happened. In China there is basically a similar situation.
Talking about Iraq, this brings me to a question that is troubling a lot of people in Germany right now. It is the question of how to deal with the "Islamic State."

You are loved and respected the world over because your approach is dialogue and tolerance. But now in Germany we are debating whether Germany should supply weapons to the Kurds in Northern Iraq to fight the "Islamic State" – which would be a breach with former policies. What do you do if dialogue fails or if the other is not ready for dialogue?

I am student of Buddhist psychology. And I am also a firm believer in the law of causality. There are these unthinkable, sad events: The killings of human beings, mercilessly, including children, women. I believe this is the result of certain causes. The Iraq crisis: If the American policy in order to topple Saddam Hussein had been carried out in a more non-violent way, I think, the situation today would probably be a little better. I believe this unthinkable crisis in the beginning of the 21st century is the result of the mistakes of previous centuries.

So, what would be your advice?

Basically I say: It is much better and safer not to use violence. But now the reality is: So many people are suffering. If the world remains indifferent, that would be also immoral, too. The best thing would be to try to talk. If that fails, according to the reality, according to circumstances…That´s very difficult to judge.
Coming back to Tibet, you sounded very optimistic about the prospects of positive change in Tibet through the Chinese government side. So are you optimistic yourself to be able to visit Tibet, see Lhasa and the Potala?

Watching China for more than 60 years, I describe four eras: the Mao Zedong era, the Deng Xiaoping era, the Jiang Zemin era and the Hu Jintao era. Within these four eras a lot of changes happened. The Mao Zedong era put very much emphasis on ideology. Then the Deng Xiaoping era:
He considered the economy, the living standard to be more important than just the ideology. So he did not hesitate to follow a more market-oriented economy, or even capitalism. Then Jiang Zemin: He discovered that because of the new reality, the Communist Party was no longer a party of working class people. So he created the concept of the "Three Represents." Wealthier people and intellectuals were admitted into the party.

In the Mao Zedong era that would have been unthinkable. Then came the Hu Jintao era. Because of the growing gap between rich and poor he emphasized the promotion of the "Harmonious Society". So, the same party, confronted with a new reality had the ability to take some new initiatives, develop a new thinking.

When Hu Jintao announced the "Harmonious Society," I fully supported that. But ten years passed and I think as far as "harmony" is concerned, things worsened. The goal, the motivation was good. But the method? They used force. The Chinese government's budget for internal security is bigger than the defense budget. I think there are about 200 nations on this planet. But I don't think any nation's budget for internal security is bigger than the defense budget.

But Xi Jinping, his policy, his actions, seem more realistic. As Deng Xiaoping stated: "Seek truth from facts." I think the new leadership follows that advice: seeking truth from facts. The late Hu Yaobang (reform-minded, liberal Communist Party general secretary 1980 – 1987) followed that approach. President Xi Jinping seems to be in favor of that approach.

When Hu Yaobang visited Lhasa in the early 1980's, his public speeches and comments were very realistic. At that time, everybody developed great hope. I still believe, if Hu Yaobang had remained in power for a longer time, the Tibet issue would have already been solved. Xi Jinping seems to follow that same sort of more realistic approach. So there is some hope. In any way: It is better to remain with hope and in the meantime better prepare for the worst.
Thank you very much your Holiness.

The interview was conducted by Matthias von Hein.


original link and photos: http://www.dw.de/dalai-lama-hope-for-the-best-prepare-for-the-worst/a-17877704