Dalai Lama Discusses Indian Wisdom

Vidyaloke Talk for All Citizens - Indian Wisdom and the Modern World

Bengaluru, India - This morning, His Holiness the Dalai Lama returned to the ballroom of the hotel where he is staying to address a packed audience of more than 1000. He was again given a traditional welcome, lit a lamp and paid his respects before the sacred images set up at the back of the stage. He scanned the faces of members of the audience and waved to them before he sat down. In his introduction Veer Singh referred to His Holiness as an extraordinary human being. He observed that when he hears people praise his simplicity, his joy, his childlike innocence, he reminds himself that His Holiness manifests these qualities because he is a spiritual practitioner.

“Good morning everybody, I hope you all got enough sleep so you won’t doze off and discourage me during my talk.” His Holiness teased the audience. “‘Ancient Wisdom in Modern India’ is one of my favourite subjects. Despite the material, technological and scientific developments we see around us, we are passing through an emotional crisis. I don’t think prayer alone is an effective way of stabilizing the community.

“More important is to bring about your own peace of mind. To do that requires knowledge of the workings of the mind and emotions and an understanding of reality. What’s crucial is training the mind, for just as we value physical hygiene, we ought also to appreciate emotional hygiene.

“We can do this in a secular context, without bias towards any particular religious tradition. I use the word secular in the way it is understood in India to imply respect for all spiritual traditions, and even for the views of those who have no faith. Some of my western friends feel that the term implies disrespect for religion. Be that as it may, my concern is to see how individuals can become peaceful, joyful people regardless of their religious allegiance. And in this connection I believe that many elements of ancient Indian wisdom can be applied in practical and realistic way.

“Since all religious traditions involve human beings, they all convey a message related to human values like love and compassion. Theistic traditions base these on faith in a creator God. However, in this country, India, three traditions emerged that don’t found their practice on belief in God—a branch of the Samkhya Tradition, Jainism and Buddhism. They deal with consciousness and accept a succession of lives.”

His Holiness suggested that the memories some people have of their previous lives suggests there is something to remember. He mentioned two girls he has met, one in Patiala and another in Kanpur, who had clear and vivid memories of their previous lives. They each identified their previous family. Another case he cited involved a boy born in Tibet, who insisted to his parents that he belonged in India. They brought him to Dharamsala where he told them that he had lived in South India. When they brought him to Ganden monastery he was able to show them his old house, pointing to a box where they would find his glasses. American psychiatrist Ian Stevenson researched and collated many such stories from different parts of the world.

His Holiness observed that, particularly since the discovery of neuroplasticity, the ability of the brain to change, brain specialists have begun to acknowledge that there may be more to consciousness than being a mere function of the brain. According to Dharmakirti something that is not consciousness cannot give rise to consciousness, but his explanation is quite rough compared to modern knowledge of the function of the brain. His Holiness recalled mentioning to a scientist that if you are quiet, you can give rise to different emotions simply on the basis of thought. He conceded that that seemed to be what was happening, but didn’t necessarily accept it.

There are said to be levels of consciousness that differ according to their subtlety. The coarsest level of consciousness is our normal waking state, filled with sensory awareness. Subtler than that are the dream state, deep sleep state and what happens when we faint. Subtlest is the consciousness that manifests at the time of death.

For non-Buddhists the self has an important role in rebirth, but Buddhism refutes the existence of a permanent, single, autonomous self, stating that the self is designated on the basis of the five psycho-physical aggregates.

The Vaibhasikas or Particularists, the most basic of the four main Buddhist schools of thought, speak of things coming into being, enduring, decaying and disintegrating. Other schools speak of things changing from moment to moment and refer to a substantial cause and cooperative conditions. In terms of consciousness, the substantial cause must be a previous moment of consciousness.

His Holiness explained that the Vaibhasikas and Sautrantikas, or Sutra Followers, only speak of the selflessness of persons. The Chittamatrin, or Mind Only School, also accept the selflessness of phenomena, but they assert that nothing exists externally. They also assert that visual consciousness and its object, for example, are non-dual. They say a visual object appears as a result of imprints on the mind. This may help counter attachment to external things, but does little to counter a disturbing emotion like hatred that is part of our inner world.

His Holiness went on to state the Madhyamaka, or Middle Way, view that whether or not things exist externally, the mind has no intrinsic existence. In explaining the Perfection of Wisdom teachings, Nagarjuna emphasised dependent arising. His Holiness cited two verses from ‘Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way’:

That which is dependent origination

Is explained to be emptiness.

That, being a dependent designation,

Is itself the middle way.

There does not exist anything

That is not dependently arisen.

Therefore there does not exist anything

That is not empty.

To say form is empty is not to deny physical existence. Nagarjuna says that someone who is able to see dependent arising can understand the Four Noble Truths - true suffering, cause, cessation and path.

His Holiness clarified that the Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths first and that the Perfection of Wisdom came later. Explained along with the Four Noble Truths were the Twelve Links of Dependent Arising, which outline how suffering and its causes arise and how they can be ended.

His Holiness cited another verse from Nagarjuna’s ‘Fundamental Wisdom’ that he compared to what American psychiatrist Aaron Beck told him. Experience treating people with problems to do with anger has taught Beck that when we are angry we see the object or focus of our anger as 100% negative, but 90% of that feeling is just mental projection.

Through the elimination of karma and mental afflictions there is Liberation;

Karma and mental afflictions come from conceptual thoughts and

These come from mental fabrications.

Fabrication ceases through emptiness

The misconceptions that give rise to karma and mental afflictions come from mental fabrication—and that is ended through emptiness.

In his ‘Entry into the Middle Way’ (Madhyamakavatara), Chandrakirti establishes that no part of a chariot by itself is the chariot. This does not mean that there is no chariot, it functions and exists on a conventional level.

“We need to practise using our intelligence to the full,” His Holiness advised. “Thinking about emptiness is of immense help in weakening our destructive emotions. The two books I’ve mentioned, ‘Fundamental Wisdom’ and Shantideva’s ‘Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life’ are powerful weapons with which to challenge the inner enemy of self-centredness and defeat our destructive emotions. Compared to these, all the visualizations of deities and so on are relatively ineffective.

“This life can become meaningful, guaranteeing that the next life will be fortunate too. Since the teacher has spent a great deal of time on this, you can’t expect to make great achievements in a short time. You have to study, analyse and meditate on what you have learned.”

The audience responded with applause. In the last few minutes of the session His Holiness answered several questions from them. He talked about cultivating compassion. He expressed his approval of organ donation and moves to encourage vegetarianism. Asked how to make everyone happy, he answered, “First, smile.”

He reminded his listeners that the Buddha had been born a prince, but after becoming a monk he lived like a beggar. He noted that despite his education as a lawyer, Mahatma Gandhi also lived like a humble, lowly person.

Finally, a schoolboy told His Holiness that he had had to play the role of Dalai Lama in a school exercise and had learned a lot about His Holiness. Nevertheless, he wanted to ask him directly if he actually practises compassion and if so, how he does it. His Holiness repeated advice he gave yesterday about the value of carefully studying Shantideva’s ‘Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life’.

“Read it and compare what it says to your own experience. And when you are acting as the Dalai Lama, don’t forget to smile and then smile some more.”

Dalai Lama on the Three Principal Aspects of the Path

Three Principal Aspects of the Path

Mundgod, Karnataka, India - An estimated eight thousand people, almost entirely Tibetans and people from the Himalayan regions, gathered to listen to His Holiness the Dalai Lama teach this morning. Monks filled the assembly halls of both Ganden Lachi and Ganden Shartse Monasteries, while the remainder of the crowd spilled out onto the yard outside. Large video displays and towers of loudspeakers allowed them to remain in touch with what was going on inside.

His Holiness took the stairs from his apartment down to the temple where he paid his respects before the enshrined images and greeted the distinguished Lamas before ascending the throne.

“Our original plans changed because I caught a cold,” His Holiness explained. “I was tired after the ordinations in Drepung, but today, after a day’s rest, I feel better.

“Ganden is the mother monastery of our tradition, founded by Je Tsongkhapa, which Gyalwa Gendun Drup described so well in his ‘Song of the Eastern Snow Mountain’.

Above the peaks of the eastern snow mountains
White clouds float high in the sky.
There comes to me a vision of my teachers.
Again and again am I reminded of their kindness,
Again and again am I moved by faith.

To the east of the drifting white clouds
Lies the illustrious Ganden Monastery, Hermitage of Joy.
There dwelled three precious ones difficult to describe
My spiritual father Lobsang Drakpa, and his two chief disciples.

Vast are your teachings on the profound Dharma,
On the yogas of the path's two stages.
To fortunate practitioners in this Land of Snows,
Your kindness, O masters, transcends thought.

“Je Rinpoche was one of the greatest personalities to serve Buddhism in the Land of Snow. A Japanese scholar once told me he felt that reading what Je Rinpoche wrote you can tell the kind of person he was.

“Having come here to Ganden I decided to give this teaching so I won’t have visited without doing anything constructive.

dre“Je Rinpoche’s teacher Jetsun Rendawa inspired a generation to take special interest in the Middle Way View—including Je Rinpoche. Rendawa’s vast intelligence was compared to the unobstructed expanse of space. Now when we read Je Rinpoche’s writings based on his reading of numerous Indian commentaries we can trace the steady evolution of his view. Likewise, his works on Guhyasamaja illustrate the way his understanding of the illusory body clarified.”

His Holiness remarked that the tradition of studying the classic texts and great treatises was upheld by all Tibetan Buddhist Traditions, each of which also engaged in the application of epistemology and logic. He noted that while the Nalanda Tradition was influential in both China and Tibet, Dignaga’s and Dharmakirti’s major works on logic are all available in Tibetan, whereas only one small text of Dharmakirti’s was translated into Chinese.

Early Sakya scholars Kunga Nyingpo, Drogon Chögyal Phagpa and Sakya Pandita paid particular attention to the rules and function of logic. Rendawa was an heir to that tradition. He was among several superb scholars who deeply influenced Je Rinpoche. Another was Lhodrak Namkha Gyaltsen who gave him instructions in Dzogchen. His Holiness commended Tsongkhapa not only for being learned in many fields, but for applying what he learned in practice. This pattern of study and practice was maintained at the Three Seats of Learning around Lhasa—Ganden, Sera and Drepung---and Tashi Lhunpo.

“Here in exile we have kept up this tradition and now nuns too have taken up rigorous studies. The determination of the people of Tibet serves as a constant source of encouragement. The tradition we uphold is the pure tradition of Nalanda—I urge all of you to continue to keep it up.

“Tsakho Ngawang Drakpa wrote to Tsongkhapa from Eastern Tibet asking how to practise the Dharma. He received this ‘Three Principal Aspects of the Path’ in reply and the reassurance, ‘If you follow my words, I’ll guide in all your lives and when I manifest enlightenment, I’ll teach you first.’

“I must have received transmission and explanation of this text from Tagdrag Rinpoche, as well as from Ling Rinpoche and Trijang Rinpoche”

His Holiness explained that this text begins with an appreciation of the difficulty of finding human life and the importance of turning away attraction to this life. He remarked that this is different from the approach of the ‘Foundation of All Excellence’ that more closely follows the pattern of Atisha’s ‘Lamp for the Path’.

He digressed to mention that 3 or 4 years ago a Chinese scholar from Columbia University told him that he had explored Chinese historical documents. They reveal the existence of three empires—Tibetan, Mongolian and Chinese—as well as the fact that from the T’ang to the Qing dynasty—the Manchus who ruled at the time of the 13th Dalai Lama—there was no mention at all of Tibet being a part of China. What is also clear is that after Shantarakshita helped set up Samye Monastery, there were Chinese monks in the Department of Unwavering Concentration. In due course, Kamalashila, Shantarakshita’s disciple, came to debate with them.

By the 11th century King Jangchub Ö was so concerned by the decline of Buddhist traditions in Tibet that he requested Atisha to compose a text to restore them. The result was the ‘Lamp for the Path’. His Holiness explained that that text, and other subsequent Stages of the Path texts, begin with the need to rely on a Guru or spiritual mentor. His Holiness feels strongly that it’s more appropriate now to follow the approach of ‘Ornament for Clear Realization’, which starts by introducing the Two Truths, the Four Noble Truths and the qualities of the Three Jewels.

The Four Noble Truths were taught on the basis of causality. All Buddhist schools teach them. However, only when we understand the third noble truth---cessation—will we begin to understand what the Buddha’s teaching was about. Related to understanding the origin of suffering are the Twelve Links of Dependent Arising—and the first link is ignorance, which is to misconceive reality. It can be countered by understanding emptiness. As Aryadeva recommends in his ‘400 Verses’:

First prevent the demeritorious,
Next prevent [ideas of a coarse] self;
Later prevent views of all kinds.
Whoever knows of this is wise.

His Holiness’s close reading of the text elaborated on the determination to be free, the advantages of developing the awakening mind of bodhichitta, as well as the disadvantages of not doing so. He pointed out that unless you train the mind to aspire for Buddhahood, you won’t achieve it. In touching on the disadvantages of a self-cherishing attitude and the advantages of cultivating concern for others he quoted Shantideva:

Whatever joy there is in this world
All comes from desiring others to be happy,
And whatever suffering there is in this world
All comes from desiring myself to be happy.

The crux of the correct view is that things do not exist the way they appear. Despite appearances things are empty of any intrinsic existence whatsoever. His Holiness quoted a verse from one of the 7th Dalai Lama’s songs of experience:

Just as a cloud disperses in the autumn sky,
In the vision of my mind as being inseparably one with emptiness
All experiences and perceptions dissolve;
I, an unborn yogi of space.

Coming to the end of the text, His Holiness clarified that the paradoxical lines of the penultimate verse,

Appearances refute the extreme of existence,
Emptiness refutes the extreme of nonexistence;

represent the Consequentialist Middle Way (Prasangika-Madhyamaka) view, which also asserts that things exist merely by way of designation. He concluded with the comment that this short text presents the very essence of the Buddha’s teaching. He recommended that his listeners build on it by carefully scrutinizing particularly what Je Rinpoche has to say in his treatises on the Middle Way View.

“I thought I would like to teach for an hour and a half, and now it’s been two and a half hours. I often tell people that once I start I can talk and talk. I’d like to thank everyone who has made this occasion possible. I’d also like to thank you all for your prayers for my good health.”

original link and photos: https://www.dalailama.com/news/2017/three-principal-aspects-of-the-path

Dalai Lama Teaches in Riga, Latvia

Riga, Latvia, 10 October 2016 - Yesterday, His Holiness the Dalai Lama flew from India to Latvia via Helsinki. This morning, with a chill wind blowing through the streets and parks of the capital Riga, he drove to the Skonto Hall where an audience of 4500 awaited him. Of 3000 or so who had come from Russia, roughly 500 were from Kalmykia, 3-400 from Buryatia and 100 from Tuva. As His Holiness stepped onto the stage, many surged forward to catch a closer glimpse as he greeted them. He took his seat before a huge reproduction of a painting of the 17 Masters of Nalanda and suggested that the ‘Heart Sutra’ be chanted first in Sanskrit and then in Latvian. His Holiness’s teachings, organized by Save Tibet Foundation (Moscow) and Saglabasim Tibetu (Riga), are being translated and webcast in English, Latvian, Estonian, Russian and Mongolian, as well as Tibetan.

“Here we are once again in Latvia,” His Holiness began, “and I’d like to thank the organizers for creating this opportunity for me to give some explanation of Buddhist teachings. Not so long ago when I was here to give an introduction to Buddhism, a Russian told me how difficult it is for many of his compatriots to travel to India because of economic constraints. He told me it would be much easier for them to come to Latvia. I said I would look into it and was pleased to find my friends here supported the idea—so here we are and a huge number of people have come.

“We human beings are all the same; there are essentially no differences between us. We are all born the same way and we all die the same way. We need to recognise this oneness of humanity—we all want to avoid suffering and find happiness. If we focus instead on differences between us, we soon see each other in terms of ‘us’ and ‘them’ and deeper divisions occur. If, on the other hand, the whole of humanity were at peace, we’d all be happy.”

His Holiness recalled that when he first came to Europe in 1973 he was struck by the realization that even where there was great material development, people were still unhappy. At the same time he recognised and admired the spirit of the EU in placing the good of the wider community above the interests of single nations. The result was that even if they couldn’t help each other, they would do each other no harm.

He observed that in general all religious traditions teach love and compassion. While in Syria and Iraq today there is conflict between Sunni and Shia, in India, the world’s most populous democracy, with its multitude of religions, inter-religious harmony prevails. All religions, he said, have a religious aspect, which involves the practice of love, compassion, tolerance and self-discipline. In their philosophical aspects there are a range of differences, but their purpose is to support and encourage the practice of love and compassion. Theistic traditions believe everything is created by God, often portrayed as infinite love or mercy, a spark of which is within us all.

Other traditions like Jainism and Buddhism don’t believe in a creator God, but teach that responsibility for pain and pleasure rests on our own shoulders. If we don’t want suffering we should avoid negative actions and if we want happiness we should do good.

All religions also have a cultural aspect. At the time Mahavira founded Jainism in India there were widespread animal sacrifices with negative economic consequences. Mahavira taught strict non-violence and vegetarianism. Not long after the Buddha also emphasised non-harm and non-violence. Cultural aspects reflect the values of the day, therefore today the caste system in India is at odds with democracy and equal rights. His Holiness said he appeals to Indian spiritual leaders to point out these drawbacks and usher in change.

“The Buddha,” His Holiness explained, “was born into a royal family, renounced that comfortable life and engaged in austerities for six years. Eventually he sat under the Bodhi tree near the Niranjana River and attained enlightenment. Although he pondered whether anyone else would understand what he had realised, he found his former companions in austerities and explained to them the Four Noble Truths. These constitute the first Turning of the Wheel of Dharma and form the basis of both the Pali and Sanskrit traditions of Buddhism.

“The ‘Heart Sutra’ consists of a dialogue between Avalokiteshvara and Shariputra, a teaching attended by those with pure karma. Some say because they were not historically recorded that the Perfection of Wisdom teachings to which it belongs were not taught by the Buddha. Masters like Nagarjuna and Bhavaviveka have argued that they are the Buddha’s teachings. They explain selflessness or emptiness, that nothing has defining characteristics, that things have no intrinsic existence. Again Nagarjuna defended this.

“Also belonging to the Nalanda tradition, Dignaga and Dharmakirti wrote about logic and epistemology. The teaching we are going to go through today comes from Dharmakirti’s ‘Commentary on Dignaga's 'Compendium of Valid Cognition'’. Since I had heard that in the early 20th century a Russian scholar Fyodor Shcherbatskoy translated some of Dharmakirti’s works into Russian and English, when we were discussing what I should teach, we decided that the second chapter of Dharmakirti’s classic work on Valid Cognition'’ would be appropriate.”

His Holiness remarked that although Buddhism spread across the length and breadth of Tibet, those who actually studied it were few. Consequently, in the early days in exile he encouraged monasteries that had previously been occupied performing rituals to take up the study of the classic texts. He encouraged nunneries likewise to take up such studies with the result that later this year qualified nuns will be awarded a Geshe Degree.

His Holiness observed that an understanding of selflessness, which is unique to Buddhist teachings, enables us to reduce our exaggerated way of looking at things. He reported that American psychiatrist Aaron Beck had told him something similar, that when we are angry or attached to something or someone, they appear wholly negative or wholly attractive. In fact, Beck declared, this is 90% mental projection.

So, reflecting on emptiness along with the awakening mind of bodhichitta is a source of peace of mind. His Holiness said that such inner peace fosters health, well-being and longevity. Moreover, he added, if we follow the approach of the sharp-witted and apply reason in our studies, the Buddhist tradition will survive a long time.

His Holiness was joined for lunch by 15 parliamentarians from the Baltic States: two from Estonia, three from Lithuania and ten from Latvia, along with key supporters from each country.

Resuming his teachings after lunch, His Holiness first invited questions from the audience. In answering them he explained how much he appreciates vegetarianism and how it is now widely observed in the common kitchens of Tibetan Monasteries in India, despite his own inability, for medical reasons, to be fully vegetarian.

He advised Buddhists in St Petersburg to overcome sectarian differences by acknowledging that all Tibetan Buddhist traditions have roots in the Nalanda tradition. He suggested that since Buddhists in Moscow feel a need for a common building in which to meet, they could establish a learning centre that could also be a location for academic studies and inter-faith meetings.

Continuing his reading of the second chapter of ‘Commentary on Dignaga's 'Compendium of Valid Cognition'’ His Holiness touched on how the Buddha became a reliable guide, and how valid cognition, being an awareness that corresponds with reality, is undeceptive. His remarks also clarified that the substantial cause of consciousness must be consciousness.

He reiterated that in explaining dependent arising the Buddha taught us how to overcome distorted views. Such a wisdom is a powerful antidote to ignorance. Applying it we can remove ignorance from our mental continuums. Finally, he remarked that the Buddha did not teach about suffering to scare us, but to indicate reality, the possibility of its cessation by cultivating the path. He made clear that understanding the Four Noble Truths in the context of the Two Truths—conventional and ultimate truth—is the way to take refuge in the Three Jewels on the basis of reason.

His Holiness announced that in addition to continuing to read the text tomorrow he would offer the opportunity for members of the audience to generate the awakening mind of bodhichitta.

original link & photos http://dalailama.com/news/post/1467-his-holiness-the-dalai-lama-begins-to-teach-the-commentary-on-dignagas-compendium-of-valid-cognition