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.”

Teaching the Heart of Wisdom and the Commentary on the Awakening Mind

Tokyo, Japan, 12 April 2015 - The weather was bright once more today and, being a Sunday morning, the streets were relatively empty as His Holiness the Dalai Lama drove across Tokyo to the Showa Joshi Women’s University. People waiting outside to enter the Memorial Hall that was the venue for the teachings were taken by surprise to see him arrive in a car. Many bowed and then waved.

His Holiness took his seat punctually at 9.30 before a capacity audience of 2100. They included 370 Koreans, 120 Mongolians and about 1000 Chinese, mostly from Taiwan with some from the mainland.

“Since most of us customarily recite the Heart of Wisdom Sutra, we’ll have recitations in your various languages,” he announced at the beginning. “Today, let’s have the Korean monks and tomorrow the Japanese.”

After the Korean recitation, His Holiness invited the Chinese to do the same and 1000 voices chanted in steady unison. He explained that at the beginning of teachings he likes to recite the verse of homage from the ‘Ornament for Clear Realization’, in praise of the Perfection of Wisdom. He follows this with the verse of homage from Nagarjuna’s’ ‘Fundamental Wisdom’ in praise of the Buddha and his explanation of dependent origination.

“I’m pleased to see Japanese, Koreans, Mongolians, Taiwanese and Chinese here for these two days of teachings. This hall is part of the Showa Joshi Women’s University, which seems an appropriate setting to explain Perfection of Wisdom teachings, since they are often referred to as the mother of all Buddhas. I also understand that these teachings are being broadcast over the internet and will be available in 39 cinema halls elsewhere in Japan. Welcome to those of you joining us there. The Buddhas teachings refer to phenomena as being like an illusion, so there’s a reminder of that as you pay attention to teachings from an illusion like image of me.”

His Holiness clarified that he would briefly explain the ‘Heart of Wisdom’ and the ‘Commentary on the Awakening Mind’ whose explicit meaning is wisdom. He pointed out that the Madhyamaka view of emptiness combined with the awakening mind of bodhichitta is the antidote to the obstructions to knowledge. He also expressed an intention to read the middle volume of Kamalashila’s ‘Stages of Meditation’, which is apt because it contains a complete survey of the path with special emphasis on concentration and special insight. He also mentioned that tomorrow he intends to give an empowerment and permission of Avalokiteshvara as well as an explanation of the ‘Three Essential Moments’.

Starting with his customary introduction to Buddhism His Holiness said:

“In this 21st century all of us 7 billion human beings are the same in wanting happiness and not wanting to be miserable. This is true of us all, whether we are religious or not. Many of the problems we face we make for ourselves, because we are self-centred and tend to see things from a narrow, short-sighted point of view, which only increases our frustration.”

He said that although there is a stress on education in today’s world, it tends to focus on materialistic goals, preparing students for a materialistic way of life in a materialistic culture. Society all but ignores the mind’s contribution to being happy. We are inclined to anger and frustration because we are not at peace within. What we need is a grounding in inner values. All religious traditions emphasize love and compassion the idea of brotherhood and sisterhood and they take different philosophical approaches to that goal.

Religious traditions are either theistic, stressing a belief in a creator god, or non-theistic, and believing in causality instead. Among the non-theistic traditions, only Buddhism advocates the absence of an independent, intrinsically existent self, asserting that there is no self separate from the body and mind. He said that within Buddhism there is the Pali tradition and the Sanskrit tradition. Both teach about the three trainings in ethics, concentration and wisdom, but differ on how wisdom is defined.

The ‘Unravelling of Thought Sutra’ explains the three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma. The first refers to the teachings recorded in the Pali tradition, while the second and third belong to the Sanskrit tradition. His Holiness clarified that during the first Turning of the Wheel, the Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths to do with suffering, its origin, its cessation and the path that are the foundation of his teaching. He went into some detail to explain their 16 characteristics, four characteristics of each truth. He focused particularly on understanding selflessness, the possibility of undermining ignorance and attaining a cessation of suffering. When an understanding of the 16 characteristics of the Four Noble Truths is applied in practice it gives rise to the 37 factors of enlightenment.

Coming back from lunch His Holiness explained that the Heart of Wisdom Sutra belongs to a collection of texts known as the Perfection of Wisdom teachings that in their most extensive form comprise the sutra of 100,000 lines in 12 volumes. In their briefest form they consist of one syllable, ‘ah’. The Heart of Wisdom is generally regarded as consisting of 25 lines. Their explicit meaning of the Perfection of Wisdom is emptiness of intrinsic existence and its implications for the truth of cessation.

“Nagarjuna describes the meaning of cessation as occurring when emptiness overcomes the destructive emotions.Khunu Lama Rinpoche on the other hand explained, and I prefer this, that the destructive emotions dissolve into emptiness. Whereas the Buddha expounded the meaning of emptiness during the second Turning of the Wheel, during the third, he introduced the clear light nature of the mind.”

His Holiness made clear that during his explanation of the Four Noble Truths, the Buddha referred to cessation and liberation in relation to an understanding of the selflessness of persons. One of the key points in the Heart of Wisdom is where it says:

‘Avalokiteshvara ... beheld those five aggregates also as empty of inherent nature.’

The key word also, which is absent from the Chinese translation, but is found in the Sanskrit original and its Tibetan translation, indicates the selflessness of phenomena in addition to the selflessness of persons. To say that persons and phenomena are empty of inherent existence is not to say they do not exist at all. The words in the sutra, ‘Form is empty’ refer to the ultimate reality of the object, while the words ‘emptiness is form’ refer to its conventional existence. This is reiterated by the statement: ‘Emptiness is not other than forms and forms are not other than emptiness.’

The reason for seeking an understanding of emptiness is, as Chandrakirti states in his ‘Entering into the Middle Way’, ‘All faults, shortcomings and disturbing emotions arise from the misconception of [an intrinsically existent] self.’ On the basis of such a misconception we grasp at the intrinsic existent of things and generate disturbing emotions towards them, which His Holiness quotes his friend, American psychiatrist, Aaron Beck as saying is 90% our own mental projection.

His Holiness quoted Nagarjuna saying that without understanding the selflessness of phenomena you can’t really understand the selflessness of persons. In conclusion he cited the Heart of Wisdom itself:

“All the Buddhas of the past, present and future have depended, do and will depend upon the perfection of wisdom. Thereby they became, are becoming and will become unsurpassably, perfectly and completely awakened Buddhas.’

Turning to Nagarjuna’s ‘Commentary on the Awakening Mind’, His Holiness gave a concise outline. In verses 4-9 the text refutes non-Buddhist points of view. Verses 10-24 repudiates the views of Buddhist lower schools of thought and verses 25-44 address the views of the Mind Only school. In verse 48 Nagarjuna shows that emptiness is the view that cuts off misconceptions at the root.

[48]
Therefore constantly meditate on emptiness:
The basis of all phenomena,
Tranquil and illusion-like,
Groundless and destroyer of cyclic existence.

From verse 63 there is an explanation of the Madhyamaka view, exemplified by verse 68:

[68]
The conventional is taught to be emptiness;
The emptiness itself is the conventional;
One does not occur without the other,
Just as [being] produced and impermanent.

From verse 72 the practice of generosity and the cultivation of the awakening mind of bodhichitta are described, showing how understanding of emptiness becomes a motive factor for developing bodhichitta. Then, from verses 76 - 85 is an account of how to develop the practice of exchanging self and others. At which point, His Holiness announced:

“That’s all for today. Good night. We’ll meet again tomorrow.

link to original article with photos http://dalailama.com/news/post/1264-teaching-the-heart-of-wisdom-and-the-commentary-on-the-awakening-mind

His Holiness the Dalai Lama is Given a Warm Welcome at Palpung Sherabling

Upper Bhattu, Himachal Pradesh, India, 11 March 2015 - Well-wishers, Tibetan and foreign were gathered outside the gate to His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s residence to see him off this morning. Other small groups were waiting see him as he drove down the bumpy Dharamsala roads. Outside Gyutö Tantric College more than 100 monks waited to greet him as he passed, white silk scarves and incense in their hands. At Gopalpur, the entire population of the TCV School, hundreds of children and staff lined the road for 200 metres or more, smiles on their faces and their hands folded together in respect.

More than 30 nuns greeted him near Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery, while at the end of the road to the Khampagar community at Tashi Jong, there were 2-300 monks, nuns and lay-people, young and old patiently waiting to see His Holiness pass. As the road wound up through the forest and he neared his destination at Palpung Sherabling, there were more people, welcome arches, clouds of incense and scattered flowers.

Tai Situ Rinpoche and Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche received His Holiness when he reached Sherabling. They escorted him into the covered courtyard, filled with more people, past the roaring snow lions that guard the steps and up to the assembly hall of the monastery. At the entrance he ceremoniously cut the ribbon and pushed the doors open. Inside the guests included past and serving Kalons, members of the Assembly of Tibetan People’s Deputies (ATPD), and officers of the Central Tibetan Administration, Lamas, monks and nuns of several nearby institutions besides those who belong to Sherabling.

Once His Holiness had taken his seat on the high throne before a colossal statue of Maitreya Buddha, prayers and praises were recited. Situ Rinpoche personally constructed a mandala of grains as the offering of the mandala of the universe was recited and offered it with the representations of the body, speech and mind of the enlightened ones.

In his words of welcome, Situ Rinpoche praised the Dalai Lamas’ bodhisattva deeds, starting with Gendun Drup and including the 5th Dalai Lama, who took responsibility for the welfare of the Tibetan people. He recalled a connection between his predecessor and the 13th Dalai Lama. He acknowledged that during recent difficult times, His Holiness the present Dalai Lama has upheld a non-sectarian approach as interest in Buddhism has spread across the world. Since 1959, tens of thousands of Tibetans have settled in India due to His Holiness’s vision and kindness with the kind support of the people and government of India. Later, he said, His Holiness’s and the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa’s views converged in the recognition of Orgyen Trinley Dorje as 17th Gyalwa Karmapa.

“In 1991, when we built this temple with its statue of Maitreya, we invited you to come and that wish is realised today,” Tai Situ Rinpoche concluded. “We offer you our deep thanks, request you to live long and ask you to keep us in your heart.”

Auspicious readings by Khenpo Jamyang Lodoe followed. Khenpo Gyaltsen Phuntsok gave an introduction to Palpung Monastery, in which he mentioned that both the 1st Karmapa and the 5th Dalai Lama made predictions about Situ Rinpoche and the founding of Palpung. After Palpung Monastery had been destroyed in Tibet, Sherabling was established. There is now a monastery, nunnery, college and retreat centre here and more than 180 related centres and branches around the world.

Lopon Karma Dakpa gave a presentation of the Sutra tradition. Ven Choeying Kunkyap spoke about the Tibetan medical tradition with its origins at the time of King Nyatri Tsenpo, the work in the 11th century CE of the Yuthoks and the previous Situ Rinpoche’s efforts to bring different Tibetan medical systems together. Ven Ngawang spoke about the Astrology tradition that is upheld here and Lama Sherab Dreme described the grammar traditions that came from the study of Sanskrit and the work of the 8th Situ, Situ Panchen who composed a grammar treatise that is regarded as a classic today. He was also instrumental in the founding of the Dergey printing press.

In his address, the Minister for Religion and Culture in the Central Tibetan Administration, Pema Chinjor, recalled His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaking at the first meeting of the Tibetan Youth Congress of the treasure Tibetans had to offer the world in their Buddhist traditions. He said that as a young man it did not mean much to him, but later he has come to understand how right His Holiness was. He emphasised the importance of ensuring that teachers are well qualified and that each Tibetan Buddhist tradition preserves its own unique features.

Penpa Tsering, Speaker of the ATPD said His Holiness’s presence at Sherabling was cause for celebration. He expressed the hope that progress in learning and spiritual practice should not decline, noting that quality is as important as numbers amongst monks and nuns.

In his address, His Holiness mentioned that the successive Situ Rinpoches have been of service to the Dharma and sentient beings. His establishment of this monastery, with its opportunities for study and practice are evidence of this. He said:

“When we think about Nalanda, what comes to mind is a centre of learning and study, not just a place where rituals were performed. Similarly, Tai Situ Rinpoche has taken practical steps to support the study of the 5 sciences here.

“Tibetan Buddhism may not be suitable for everyone as a spiritual tradition, but within Tibetan culture is knowledge, such as Tibetan medicine, with its medications made from natural substances, that has the potential to benefit many people.

“Buddhism is not just about blind faith. It’s about transforming the mind through training. And what is transformed and what does the transforming is the mind. The emotions that disturb our minds cannot be overcome by money; we have to understand how the mind works and how to achieve peace of mind. This is why increasing numbers of people today are interested in psychology, the science of mind and the Buddhist understanding of mind as revealed in the Nalanda tradition.”

He spoke of efforts that have been made to extract material from the Kangyur and Tengyur, the collections of the Buddha’s teachings and commentaries to them, that relates to philosophy, science and religious practice. He said that the philosophical and scientific material can be studied on an academic basis by anyone who is interested. He also mentioned the resonance between the Middle Way - Madhyamaka - School view, expressed by Chandrakirti, that while nothing exists independently, things do exist conventionally and the Quantum Physics’ view that nothing can be found objectively. Likewise the suggestion that observer and observed are of one substance relates to the Mind Only - Chittamatrin - view that rejects external existence. His Holiness said that it is on the basis of such comparisons that he is encouraging Dharma centres to become more like academic centres of learning.

On his way to the residence where he was offered lunch, His Holiness visited the Library on the floor above the assembly hall and above it the mandala hall, where he recited verses of consecration and scattered rice and flowers.

During the afternoon there were presentations of debate by groups of monks and nuns and discussions of language and grammar and the Perfection of Wisdom, which His Holiness listened to with interest. The session ended with words of thanks.

Tomorrow, His Holiness will offer a Long-Life Blessing and the transmission of Atisha’s ‘Lamp of the Path to Enlightenment’.

original link with photos http://www.dalailama.com/news/post/1243-his-holiness-the-dalai-lama-is-given-a-warm-welcome-at-palpung-sherabling