The Seven Points of Mind Training of Atisha

by HH Shamar Rinpoche

Translated from the French titled, 'Lodjong' from Dhagpo Kagyu Ling

" Easy to explain, but very difficult to realize"

The Seven Points of Mind Training is at the heart of the Sutra and Tantra teachings in the Mahayana tradition; they are the skilful means of practice. The Indian sage, Atisha, composed the text later introduced in Tibet. There it spread widely and became the essential teaching practised by all the lamas. Whatever our practice is, this mind training consists of advice which will definitely deepen it. Whether we meditate in the tradition of Mahamudra, Dzogchen, or the yidam practice of Dorje Phagmo, or Khorlo Demchok – in fact all tantric practices at whatever tantric level (be it charya, kriya, yoga, or anuttarayoga), our practice does not have real significance without the mind training. Such training is essential for any tantric practice, since it ensures the removal of obstacles along the path.

What are the seven points?

I - The Preliminaries

The meaning of the preliminaries is to reflect on the Four Thoughts that turn the mind towards Enlightenment. No further elaboration is given here, as most of you are already very familiar with it.

II - Bodhicitta

There are two aspects to Bodhicitta. They are the ultimate and relative bodhicitta representing the union of wisdom and skilful means. To develop ultimate Bodhicitta, we have to meditate. Meditation comprises of three phases: the introduction, the body of the practice, and post-meditation.

Ultimate Bodhicitta - the introduction

In the introduction, first reflect that you are really in the presence of your Lama or the Deity of meditation. If you are in a temple, you will likely be facing Buddha statues on a shrine. Think that all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are appearing in front of you and offer them the Seven-Branch Prayer. Then straighten your body and sit in the seven-point posture. Let your mind rest on your breathing for twenty-one complete breaths so as to calm and stabilize the mind.

Ultimate Bodhicitta - the body of the practice

Think that all the events, manifestations, and movements of mind are illusory as in the nature of a dream, unreal and false. For example, when we are sleeping, our dream seems real to us when it is absolutely unreal: if it were real, then the dream would really be happening. In the same way, our world and the beings in it in all their diversities are but the illusive manifestations of mind. While the illusion is taking place, it is "real", but its essence is unreal like a dream. Therefore regard all phenomena as insignificant, similar to a dream, and rest your mind in this perspective in the moment.

Ask yourself, "is mind itself real, or not?" This is your own experiment to lead you to recognize mind. You have to meditate on the mind and ask yourself: What color is it? What is its form? Where does it come from? What is its purpose? Is it inside or outside of the body? What happens when it experiences heat or the cold? Reflect on the mind in this way. You may come to the conclusion that the mind defies any such determination and that is the essence of mind. You must meditate on this point.

When a thought arises, look at it directly and ask yourself, "What is its true nature?" Remain in the understanding that "it is nothing." It is said that all the thoughts are stored in the alaya. The alaya is the mind unconscious, the thinker of the mental confusions. It is the one who runs after the sounds, the forms, the odors, the tastes and the feelings. The mind is seen when one remains in a state free of running after something. For example, when one has work has to do, the mind is thus engaged and thinks, for example, "What will I cook today? or, "I will clean…",etc. When the mind is no longer carrying on with such thoughts, it is the alaya. The body of the practice is to remain in this kind of meditation for as long time as possible. In fact, it is a meditation similar to the way of Mahamudra.

Ultimate Bodhicitta - post-meditation

During your everyday life, exert yourself to recognize everything as illusory-like and unreal.

Freedom From the Four Attachments

This was a Lo Jong text given to the Sakya master Sachen Kunga Nyingpo by Manjushri when Sachen Kunga Nyingpo was twelve years old.

tshe 'di la zhen na chos pa min

,tshe 'di la zhen na chos pa min,
,khams gsum la zhen na nges 'byung min,
,bdag don la zhen na byang sems min,
,'dzin pa byung na lta ba min,


If you are attached to this life you are no practitioner.

If you are attached to the three worlds you have no renunciation.

If you are attached to getting what you want you are no bodhisattva.

If you grasp at self-existing things you have no correct world view.

(KHS)

Alternative:

,tshe 'di la zhen na chos pa min,
,'khor ba la zhen na nges 'byung min,
,bdag don la zhen na byang sems min,
,'dzin pa byung na lta ba min,

The one who clings to this life is no practitioner.

The one who clings to samsara has no renunciation.

The one who clings to selfish aims is no bodhisattva.

The one who clings at all has not the view.

(EPK)

Freedom From Four Attachments


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Drive All Blames Into One

By Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

A lot of people seem to get through this world and actually make quite a comfortable life by being compassionate and open - even seemingly compassionate and open. Yet although we share the same world, we ourselves get hit constantly... For instance, we could be sharing a room with a college mate, eating the same problematic food, sharing the same shitty house, having the same schedule and the same teachers. Our roommate manages to handle everything OK and find his or her freedom. We, on the other hand, are stuck with that memory and filled with resentment all the time. We would like to be revolutionary, to blow up the world. We could say the schoolteacher did it, that everybody hates us and they did it. But WHY do they hate us? That is a very interesting point
...

Everything is based on our own uptightness. We could blame the organization; we could blame the government; we could blame the food; we could blame the highways; we could blame out own motorcars, out own clothes; we could blame an infinite variety of things. But it is we who are not letting go, not developing enough warmth and sympathy - which makes us problematic. So we cannot blame anybody...This slogan applies whenever we complain about anything, even that our coffee is cold or our bathroom is dirty. It goes very far. Everything is due to our own uptightness, so to speak, which is known as ego holding, ego fixation. Since we are so uptight about ourselves, that makes us very vulnerable at the same time... We get hit, but nobody means to hit us - we are actually inviting the bullets.

...

The text says "drive all blames into one". the reason you have to do that is because you have been cherishing yourself so much... Although sometimes you might say that you don't like yourself, even then in your heart of hearts you know that you like yourself so much that you're willing to throw everybody else down the drain, down the gutter. You are really willing to do that. You are really willing to let somebody else sacrifice his life, give himself away for you. And who are you, anyway?

From Training the Mind & Cultivating Loving-Kindness by Chogyam Trungpa ,
copyright 1993 by Diana Mukpo.

Official Chogyam Trungpa Website

Published by arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Inc., Boston.

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Tonglen

Sending and Taking Should Be Practiced Alternately. These Two Should Ride the Breath

By Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Sending and taking is a very important practice of the Boddhisattva path. It is called tonglen in Tibetan: 'tong' means 'sending out' or 'letting go' and 'len' means 'receiving' or 'accepting'. 'Tonglen' is a very important term; you should remember it. It is the main practice in the development of relative Bodhicitta.
...

The practice of tonglen is actually quite straightforward ; it is an actual sitting meditation practice. You give away your happiness, your pleasure, anything that feels good. All of that goes out with the outbreath. As you breathe in, you breathe in any resentments and problems, anything that feels bad. The whole point is to remove territoriality altogether.

The practice of tonglen is very simple. We do not first have to sort out our doctrinal definitions of goodness and evil. We simply breathe out any old good and breathe in any old bad. At first we may seem to be relating primarily to our IDEAS of good and bad. But as we go on, it becomes more real.

Sometimes we feel terrible that we are breathing in poison which might kill us and at the same time breathing out whatever little goodness we have. It seems to be completely impractical,. But once we begin to break through, we realize that we have even more goodness and we also have more things to breathe in. So the whole process becomes somewhat balanced...But tonglen should not be used as any kind of antidote. You do not do it and then wait for the effect - you just do it and drop it. It doesn't matter whether it works or not: if it works, you breathe that out; if it does not work, you breathe that in. So you do not possess anything. That is the point.

Usually you would like to hold on to your goodness. you would like to make a fence around yourself and put everything bad outside it: foreigners, your neighbors, or what have you. You don't want them to come in. You don't even want your neighbors to walk their dogs on your property because they might make a mess on your lawn. So in ordinary samsaric life. you don't send and receive at all. You try as much as possible to guard those pleasant little situations you have created for yourself. You try to put them in a vacuum, like fruit in a tin, completely purified and clean. You try to hold on to as much as you can, and anything outside of your territory is regarded as altogether problematic. You don't want to catch the local influenza or the local diarrhea attack that is going around. You are constantly trying to ward off as much as you can.

Eight Verses for Training the Mind - Verses

by Geshe Langri Tangpa (1054-1123 )

With the heartfelt desire and determination to attain enlightenment for the welfare of all living beings, who are more precious than a wish-fulfilling jewel for accomplishing the supreme goal, may I always cherish them and hold them dear.

Verse I - Cherishing and caring for others is the source of all happiness. Cherishing ourselves over others is the source of all suffering and negative conditions in this world. Therefore, our determination to attain enlightenment should always be motivated by our heartfelt desire to serve the welfare of all living beings. The attainment of enlightenment is the supreme goal. Our enlightenment comes from the cultivation of bodhichitta (the awakening mind of love, compassion, and wisdom). Bodhichitta arises from our deepest compassion. To develop this compassion and reach the supreme goal, we need others. In this way, all living beings are the principle source for our spiritual development and for accomplishing the supreme goal of enlightenment. In addition, at some time each of us has been, and will be, a source of great kindness and benefit for one another. The immense kindness of all living beings is integral to our own human existence. Considering this, we can understand how living beings are even more precious than a wish-fulfilling jewel and that we should always cherish them and hold them dear.

Whenever I am with others may I think of myself as the lowest of all and from the very depths of my heart may I respectfully hold others as supreme.

Verse 2 - This verse calls us to train the mind in proper humility, eliminating our habitual arrogance and pride by 'thinking of ourselves as the lowest of all.' This is certainly not suggesting we belittle ourselves; we should have self-esteem and self-confidence. Rather, a practice is being offered for taming our exaggerated sense of self-importance and for cultivating true humility and respect for others. The afflictions of arrogance, superiority, pride, and competitiveness create disharmony among people and prevent us from learning and evolving. Therefore, by respectfully holding others as supreme, we become more humble, gentle, and open. This naturally brings harmony and compassion into our relationships and helps us to achieve great qualities, virtues, and spiritual realizations.

In all actions, may I closely examine my state of mind, and the moment a disturbing emotion or negative attitude arises, since this may cause harm to myself and others, may I firmly face and avert it.

Verse 3 - This verse calls for the sincere practice of mindfulness, closely examining our state of mind throughout all our actions. Through this practice of mindfulness, the teachings encourage us to firmly face and avert any disturbing emotions or negative attitudes the very moment they arise. The reason for this is that our delusions, disturbing emotions, and negative attitudes can provoke us to think, speak, or act in nonvirtuous ways which may cause harm to ourselves and others. This behavior brings karmic consequences and perpetuates our delusion and suffering. Therefore, throughout the day, while working, driving, walking, studying, talking with others, and so forth, we should closely examine our state of mind and heart. By training our mind in this skillful way, we will be able to firmly face and avert disturbing emotions and negative attitudes as they arise and before they develop any further momentum or power.

Whenever I meet people of unpleasant character or those overwhelmed by negativity, pain or suffering, may I cherish and care for them as if I had found a rare and precious treasure difficult to find.

Verse 4 - When we encounter unpleasant people, or those overwhelmed by negativity, pain, or suffering, we often prefer to ignore or avoid them rather than cherish and care for them. We may consider ourselves to be more important or more evolved than such beings, and we usually turn from them, as we do not want to be bothered, hurt, or contaminated by their condition. This verse suggests reversing our usual self-cherishing attitude by learning to cherish and care for such people, being joyful and grateful as if we had found a rare and precious treasure. To overcome the delusion and egoism of our self-cherishing, we view this encounter as an opportunity to serve and bring happiness to others, rather than a nuisance to be avoided. In this way, our self-cherishing mind diminishes and our compassion deepens so as to embrace all living beings without exception.

Whenever others, because of their jealousy, treat me badly with abuse, insult, slander, or in other unjust ways, may I accept this defeat myself and offer the victory to others.

Verse 5 - Learning to accept loss and defeat for ourselves and offering gain and victory to others is the very foundation of the bodhisattva practice. Although it may appear, at the worldly level, that we suffer loss by way of this practice, ultimately the practitioner receives the greatest benefits of spiritual wealth and virtue. In learning to accept harsh or unjust treatment, we should not allow ourselves to react with anger, behave in the same nonvirtuous ways in return, or to abandon others because of their actions toward us. This is the essence of accepting defeat and offering the victory, and the accomplishment of supreme patience and kindness. By accepting defeat and offering the victory to others, with the pure motivation of heartfelt compassion, we destroy the ignorance of our self-cherishing at its very roots.

When someone whom I have benefited or in whom I have placed great trust and hope, harms me or treats me in hurtful ways without reason, May I see that person as my precious teacher.

Verse 6 - When we are kind to people, helping them, giving them our trust and hope, we naturally expect to be treated kindly in return. When people repay our kindness and trust by harming us or treating us in hurtful ways, we often react with anger, hurt, or disappointment. After such an experience, we may find it difficult to give them our love and respect. This type of ordinary love is conditional and impure. As practitioners, we want to embrace a situation such as this with skillful wisdom, compassion, and unconditional love. Therefore, it is essential that we have a way to transform these difficult experiences into the actual path to enlightenment. To accomplish this, we learn to see a person who harms us or treats us in hurtful ways, as our precious teacher. This person becomes our precious teacher because of the priceless dharma lessons we receive. Through their kindness, we also receive the ripening and purification of our own negative karma, which is the inevitable result of our having done a similar thing to someone in the past. In this way, we can see how even our worst enemies can be our greatest benefactors and precious teachers.

In brief, may I offer both directly and indirectly all help, happiness and benefit to all beings, my mothers, and may I secretly take upon myself all of their harmful actions, pain and suffering.

Verse 7 - This verse refers to the essence of Tong-len practice (Giving and Taking). We are to offer, directly and indirectly, our help, happiness, benefit, skills, and resources in loving service to all beings who certainly, at some time in the past, have been our own mothers. In Tong-Ien practice, with strong compassion, we visualize taking on the obstacles, problems, illnesses, and suffering of others. We then visualize giving them all of our happiness, comfort, love, virtue, prosperity, and great insights. In this verse the word 'secretly' suggests this particular practice of compassion may not be suitable or may be too difficult for beginning practitioners. It also means that this practice should be done discreetly, and not openly displayed or spoken about so as to gain praise or recognition.

May I keep all of these practices undefiled by stains of the eight worldly concerns (gain/loss, pleasure/pain, praise/blame, fame/dishonor), and by recognizing the emptiness and illusory nature of all existing things, may I be liberated from the bondage of attachment and mistaken views of reality.

Verse 8 - It is essential that our spiritual practice not be defiled or stained by the eight worldly concerns. For example, engaging in these practices hoping to be recognized or praised as an excellent dharma practitioner is not the right motivation. Nor should we practice with expectations of gaining something special or pleasurable for ourselves. Our motivation for practice must not become polluted or obscured by worldly concerns and attachment. The right motivation is to act exclusively and compassionately for the benefit of other beings. Our mind training practice must also be unified with our direct perception of ultimate truth—emptiness. As we gain realization of ultimate truth, we understand the empty, illusory, and impermanent nature of all existing things. With this realization, grasping or clinging to external appearances, or being deceived by them, diminishes, and we gain liberation from the bondage of attachment and mistaken views of reality.

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SEE ALSO: Training the Mind By H.H. The Dalai Lama

Eight Verses for Training the Mind - Introduction

Training the Mind is a highly-revered text from the Mahayana Lojong (mind training) tradition. These instructions offer essential practices for cultivating the awakening mind of compassion, wisdom, and love. This eight-verse lojong enshrines the very heart of Dharma, revealing the true essence of the Mahayana path to liberation. Even a single line of this practice can be seen as encapsulating the entire teaching of the Buddha. For even a single statement of this mind training practice has the incredible power to help us subdue our self-oriented behavior and mental afflictions.

The fundamental theme of mind training practice is the profound reorientation of our basic attitude, both toward our own self and toward our fellow human beings, as well as toward the events around us. The goal of mind training practice is the radical transformation of our thoughts, attitudes, and habits. Presently, we tend to cherish the welfare of our own self at the expense of all others. However, the mind training teaching challenges us to reverse this process. This involves a deep understanding of others as true friends, and the recognition that our true enemy lies inside of ourselves, not outside.

As we practice these lojong teachings in daily life, we train the mind to embrace reality in a completely wholesome, wise, and compassionate way. These excellent practices help us purify our negativity and awaken the heart by giving us a way to transform adversity, conflict, and hardship into a direct opportunity for spiritual growth. In this way, rather than perceiving difficult people or adverse circumstances in our lives as an obstacle, tragedy, or punishment, we now meet these experiences with deep compassion, wisdom, and skill—using them as our actual practice on the path to enlightenment.

By way of these treasured practices we eliminate our competitive, selfish, and emotionally reactive nature, as well as our false and exaggerated concepts of self (also called self-grasping and self-cherishing). It is important to understand that the greed, jealousy, anger, pride, selfishness, and attachment, which cause us so much suffering, are actually misperceptions of reality, not inherent conditions of our mind. Therefore, these precious lojong practices can purify our misperceptions and delusions completely, revealing the natural radiance, clarity, wisdom, and compassion of our true nature.

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The Ego and the Five Poisons

Our mind is fundamentally infinite. It is not limited by the constraints of an individual existence. There is no ego. Although it does not exist, we identify ourselves with this illusory ego. It is the center and the touchstone of all our relationships. Everything that confirms its existence and is favorable to it becomes an object of attachment. Everything that threatens its integrity becomes an enemy, a source of aversion. The presence of the ego itself conceals the true nature of our mind and of phenomena. It makes us unable to discriminate between the real and the illusory. In this sense, we are prisoners of mental dullness. The ego also engenders jealousy toward persons considered possible rivals in any possible area. Finally the ego wants to be superior to others. This is pride.

Attachment, aversion, mental dullness, jealousy, and pride are the five basic poisons produced by ego clinging.

They form irrevocable obstacles to inner peace, constantly creating worries, troubles, difficulties, anguish and suffering, not only for ourselves but also for others. It is obvious, for example, that anger results in suffering for oneself and when overcome by an opponent, curses and hurtful words, for the person toward whom it is directed.

Likewise, ego and the five poisons lead us to harm ourselves and others which leave imprints with negative karmic potential on our mind. The ripening of this karmic potential will be expressed in the form of future painful circumstances.

The ego and its entourage are our true enemy – not a visible enemy which can be defeated by weapons or material objects – but an invisible enemy which can only be defeated by meditation and following a spiritual path. Contemporary science has developed extremely powerful weapons, bombs that can kill hundreds of thousands of people. However, no bomb can annihilate the ego and the five poisons. In this domain the true atomic bomb is meditation.

From: Meditation - Advice for Beginners by Bokar Rinpoche

Lungta

Lungta རླུང་རྟ་, literally 'windhorse'. A mythical Tibetan creature symbolizing the inner air or wind of the body and related aspects of the Buddhist path.

The meaning of lungta (windhorse) can be described on several levels:

Outer – a mythical Tibetan creature

Inner – positive qualities such as ‘good luck’

Secret – the space element (one of the five elements)

Most secret – the inner air or wind within the body

Outer Level: Mythical Creature

On the outer level, the lungta is a mythical Tibetan creature from pre-Buddhist times that combines the speed of the wind and the strength of the horse to carry prayers from earth to the heavens.

Inner Level: Positive Qualities

Lungta is associated with positive energy or ‘life force’ and with ‘good luck’. It is both the subduer of evil and the vehicle of enlightenment.

The lungta symbol is often depicted on prayer flags, which are flown to generate merit and increase one's life force. Lungta prayer flags typically display a tiger, a snow lion, a garuda, and a dragon, (the four dignities) with a lungta in the center. Certain lungta prayers also refer to these four symbols.

The tiger, snow lion, garuda, and dragon are ancient symbols of the qualities of lungta that originate with pre-Buddhist Tibetan and Chinese astrological traditions. Generally, they symbolize the fearlessness and resilience of lungta. (See Shambhala: The Path of the Warrior)

Secret Level: The Space Element

At a deeper level, the lungta and the four dignities symbolize the play of the five elements, out of which all phenomena are formed. The lungta symbolizes space, the ground of all manifestation; in fact, in astrological texts lung ta is sometimes spelt ཀློང་རྟ་, longta, 'horse of space'. The tiger symbolizes the wind element; the snow lion, earth; the garuda, fire; and the dragon, water.

Traditionally, they are set out in the same configuration as the five-part mandala used for the five buddha families, as can be seen in lungta prayer flags.

Most Secret Level: The Inner Air or Wind

In Tibetan Buddhism, the mind is seen as being dependent on, or mounted on, the subtle energy or inner air or wind within the body. This subtle energy is therefore called the ‘windhorse’, in Tibetan lungta. Whether the wind-horse is strong or weak determines whether positive or negative tendencies dominate the mind. On an everyday level, the windhorse is also very much linked to what is commonly known as ‘good luck’.

Song of the Tricosmic Master

by Khaydrub Choje Gelek Palzangpo (1385-1438)

Written by Khaydrub Choje Gelek Palzang-po, who learned a great deal by sitting for many years at the lotus feet of Je Rinpoche.

O Je Tsongkhapa, master of the three worlds,
Who surpasses all others in compassion,
The eye through whom all beings
Can receive ultimate vision,
Peerless Refuge of liberation seekers,
To you, a supreme and incomparable Lama,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

In the very presence of the Victorious One
You entered the ways of enlightenment;
Here in this Land of Snow Mountains
You were renowned as Lobsang Drakpa;
Now in Tushita Pure Land you abide,
Famed as Wisdom Essence;
To you, mightiest of Bodhisattvas,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

By the force of ripening merits
You read the teachings and, without study,
Understood texts even in the language of mystics.
To you of naturally perfect excellence
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

From the time your sun-like body
Slipped radiantly from your mother’s cloud,
You ever shunned the dancing lights
Of the world and its vain fortunes;
To you I offer my spiritual aspirations.

From very youth you held no distaste
Toward the austerities of Buddhadharma
But secured yourself in perfect discipline.
To you who for countless lifetimes knew
The power of familiarity with meditation,
I offer my spiritual aspirations.

The 4 Vajrayana Schools

By H. H. The 14th Dalai Lama

From Nyingma to Gelug

In Tibetan Buddhism, there are four major traditions: Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu and Gelug.

From the point of view of practice, they are all Mahayanists following the unity of Sutrayana and Tantrayana on the basis of Hinayana. But they do not differ from the points of view of action or philosophy.

Their differences are due to the time of their coming to Tibet, the different lineage of Lamas who have introduced them, the different emphasis on the various aspects of practice and the terminologies by which their teachings are transmitted.

All four lead to Buddhahood. Therefore, it is absolutely wrong to say one is better than another, or to disparage any of them.

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Nyingma

Overview of the Nyingma Order

Originating from Guru Padmasambhava

The Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism traces its origin to the Indian adept, Guru Padmasambhava, who came to Tibet in 817 C.E. at the invitation of King Trisong Deutsan (742-797) in order to subdue the evil forces then impeding the spread of Buddhism.

Guru Rinpochey, as he is popularly known, bound all evil spirits by oath and transformed them into forces compatible with the spread of Buddhism.

In collaboration with the great Bodhisattva Abbott Shantarakshita, Guru Rinpochey then built Samyey monastery, which became a principal centre of learning and the site where many of the texts that would make up Tibet’s vast Buddhist literature were first translated into Tibetan.

Guru Rinpochey also gave widespread teachings from the highest classes of tantra and in particular to his twenty five principal disciples. These first Tibetan adepts are reknowned for their spiritual accomplishments, for example: Namkhe Nyingpo for his feat of traveling on beams of light, Khandro Yeshe Tsogyal for reviving the dead, Vairochana for his intuition, Nanam Yeshe for soaring in the sky, Kawa Peltseg for reading others’ thoughts and Jnana Kumara for his miraculous powers.

Contemporary Indian masters Vimalamitra, Buddhaguhya, Shantipa and the tantric adept, Dharmakirti, also came to Tibet to spread tantric teachings.

So although the study of logic and Buddhist philosophy was not yet prevalent, the practice of tantra in extreme secrecy was much favored. Even the work of translating such esoteric texts as Kun-byed rg yal-po, mDo-dongs-‘dus and the Mahamaya cycle of teachings by Vairochana, Nyag Jnana Kumara, Nubchen Sangye Yeshe and others, was carried out in great secrecy.

Seeing the disciples unripe and the time inappropriate for many of the other teachings he had to reveal, Guru Padmasambhava hid hundreds of Treasures in the forms of scriptures, images and ritual practices, with instructions for their revelations for the benefit of future generations. Subsequently, more than one hundred masters have revealed these Treasures and taught them to their disciples.

Taking Refuge

by Pabongka Rinpoche

The One Hundred and Fifty Verses of Praise says:

Take refuge in whomever
Has absolutely no shortcomings,
Absolutely no blindness, and in whom resides
Every aspect of all good qualities.
When you think of this,
Respect those who praise him
And abide by his teachings.

In other words, when you think of how to distinguish between what should be your refuge, and what should not, you will want to take refuge in the Buddha, the teacher of Buddhism, in his teachings, and in those who abide by his teachings. The average worldly person seeks refuge in worldly creatures – spirit kings, gods, nagas, spirits, and so forth. Non-Buddhists seek refuge in Brahma, Indra etc. but these themselves are beings in samsara so they are not fitting refuges.

Who then is a fitting refuge?

From The Seventy Verses on Taking Refuge:

Buddha, Dharma, Sangha
Are the refuge for seekers of liberation.

That is, the only refuge is the Three Jewels: Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. But if we do not identify these three properly, we will not take refuge purely. We are not critical and so pretend to be Mahayana knowledge-bearers, yet when things go wrong, sickness comes and so forth, or when we have some important work to do, we seek refuge in worldly Dharma protectors, in spirit kings, local gods etc: we perform smoke purifications or carry wood talismans under our armpits; we rush off to the shrine of any deity. All this external activity indicates our inner state. Buddhists should entrust themselves to the Three Jewels. We may have actually gained admittance to a Monastery, but we do not even qualify to be Buddhists, let alone Mahayana knowledge-bearers.

Nagas, spirit kings, and others do not have these three qualities: omniscience, love and ability. They don’t even know when they are going to die. Normally they are categorised as animals or hungry ghosts, and their rebirths are inferior to ours. There is no worse method we could use than to rely on them. What means could be worse than to seek refuge in them? So far from protecting us from samsara and the sufferings of the lower realms, or even giving us a little temporary help, they may do us great harm instead. Here is a story to illustrate this. A man with a goitre once went to a place haunted by flesh-eating spirits. A tax in flesh that these spirits paid to other creatures was due, so the spirits removed the man’s goitre. Another man with a goitre went to them and took refuge in them hoping for the same result, but the spirits did not destroy his goitre – they made it larger. Similarly, worldly gods and evil spirits are sometimes helpful, sometimes harmful; they can never be trusted.

Jonang Tradition

His Holiness the Dalai Lama's prayer for the Jonang Tradition

Having thoroughly meditated upon the altruistic mind for
Immeasurable eons,
The incomparable Shakyamuni, who is skilled at pouring down
The rain of holy Dharma to fulfill the aspiration of limitless beings,
To Him, I supplicate to protect these beings with the
Glory of virtuous goodness

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

The Doctrine of the Jonang School, a branch of multifarious doctrinal systems,
Stemmed from many scholar-adepts’ elaborations
On the thought of the Three Dharma Wheels
May the Doctrine of the Jonang School flourish

Amidst the lotus grove of the Victorious One’s Doctrine                                   
Hundreds of petals of the scriptural and meditative
Doctrinal aspects stemmed forth
Amongst them exists the Jonang School that emphasised
The thought of the Final Wheel
May the Doctrine of the Jonang School flourish

The Jonang Doctrine which has been authorised
To spread and preserve without being subject to deterioration
The Kalachakra transmission, the great chariot way that
Differs from the Expositions of other Sutras and Tantras
May the Doctrine of the Jonang School flourish

His Holiness Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa,

The Jonang School elaborates on the primordially existent ultimate
The permanent and stable Sugatagarbha which is the
Indivisibility of basis and fruit,
The meaning of Tathagatagarba Sutra and Nagarjuna’s texts
May the Doctrine of the Jonang School flourish

The Jonang School is endowed with the grand expositon on
Achieving the Truth Body,
Through the practice of the Six Yogas, the meaning of Tantras,
And the Middle Way of Other-emptiness, the view of Sutras
May the Doctrine of the Jonang School flourish

Through the blessing of the Victorious One and the Bodhisattvas,
The objects of refuge,
Through the power of the immutable ultimate reality,
And through the force of the virtuous deities and our faith
May this prayer be fulfilled accordingly

This prayer was composed by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso on November 23, 2001 in Dharmasala, Himachal Pradesh, upon the request of Khenpo Ngawang Dorjee and other Jonang followers for the spread of the Doctrine of the Jonnang School

His Holiness Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa is the head of the Jonang Tradition & spiritual leader of Mongolia.

[JUMP TO ORIGINAL]

Eight Chariots and Four Lineages

The ‘Eight Chariots’ were the original eight major streams of vajrayana transmission flowing from India to Tibet. Each stream was, in itself, a confluence of tantras taught and translated by the great Indian and Tibetan masters of the eighth to twelfth centuries CE. Since then, historical, geographical and political factors have crystallised the Buddhism of Tibet into four major lineages: those of Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya and Gelug. All incorporate the fundamental teachings of the Buddha (hinayana). Equally, but with slight variations of interpretation or of style of presentation, they all preach his special teachings of the bodhisattva path (mahayana). Their real differences lie in the vajrayana traditions they perpetuate.

1. Nyingma

Its name means 'ancient', as it was the first Buddhist tradition to take root in Tibet, as described in some detail in the preceding pages. Established in magnificence in the eighth century, through the royal patronage of King Trisong Detsen, the wisdom of India's greatest scholar of the time, Santaraksita, and the might of its most powerful guru, Padmasambhava, it brought Buddhism to Tibet in a very dynamic and magnificent way. Padmasambhava taught many tantras, from the wealth of his knowledge of Indian vajrayana, and concealed many treasure-texts (terma) to be unearthed in later years. He established three major practice centres of Samye, Yerpa and Chuwori and had twenty-five outstanding disciples among his hundreds of gifted followers. Masters Vimalamitra and Vairocana also taught tantra in that seminal time.

The early glory of this tradition lasted for some sixty years, until the hostile (and probably insane) monarch Langdarma destroyed the majority of its vestiges. Although it did gradually re-establish its monasteries and sangha, it had to vie at first with the animist Bön religion for influence and then later with the new lineages (sarma) arising from the work of AtiÑa, Marpa and other eleventh century renovators. It was during that period that it became referred to as the ‘ancient’ (rnying.ma) school.

The Nyingma tradition views Buddhism as a whole as falling into nine distinctive trends and sees itself as the result of three streams of spiritual transmission:

• the ‘remote’ canonical lineage, transmitted by an uninterrupted line of humans
• the ‘close’ lineage of hidden spiritual treasures and
• the ‘profound’ lineage of pure vision.

The first of these is the traditional guru-to-disciple transmission of teachings, by empowerment, word of mouth and example, as found in other schools. The tantric speciality of the Nyingma focusses, in its formal stages of training, on primordial Buddha Samantabhadra, on the form of Guru Rinpoche and on the wrathful winged Vajrakila, among others. Beyond these, the formless zenith of its training is known as the Great Perfection. As these teachings date back to the Buddha, they are known as those of ‘remote’ origin.

The ‘close’ teachings are those hidden, along with sacred objects, by Padmasambhava and his consort, Yeshe Tsogyal, in rocks, caves, lakes, images, temple pillars and other extraordinary places, to be discovered and given to the world when the time was ripe. These are known as ‘treasures’ (terma) and the masters who find them are known as 'treasure-revealers’ (tertön). Most are considered reincarnations of one or another of the twenty-five main disciples, who had been initiated into the meaning of each teaching in their seminal life with Padmasambhava. Not all terma are physical. Sometimes they simply arise in the mind of the master. The third type of transmission comes through the pure vision of a tertön, who actually sees Guru Padmasambhava come to him and give teaching.

The Nyingma tradition fosters an inbuilt love of going as quickly as possible to the heart of the matter. Offering, for those who are ready, some of the deepest teachings on the nature of reality, it still maintains that ring of majesty and magic of its unique origins and has found a considerable following in the West.

The Nine Levels of Buddhism

1. Basic Buddhism for freeing the mind (sravakayana)

2. A special form of the above followed by solitary hermits (pratyekabuddhayana)

3. The way of the bodhisattva (bodhisattvayana)

4. The mantrayana practices based on positive and purifying acts of the kriya tantra

5. The mantrayana practices based on skilful means of the carya tantra

6. The vajrayana practices of inner yoga of the yoga tantra

7. The vajrayana practices of the 'greater' (maha) branch of higher yoga tantra

8. The vajrayana practices of the 'higher' (anu) branch of higher yoga tantra

9. The vajrayana practices of the ‘primordial’ branch (ati) of higher yoga tantra

Some of the most famous Nyingma monasteries were those of Katok, Dorjé Drak, Palyul, Mindroling, Dzogchen and Secchen. Among its greatest masters were Longchenpa (1308-1363), who made the first systematic compilation of their doctrine, Mingling Gyurdo (1646-1714), who preserved their canon, Jigme Lingpa (1729-17980, Patrul Rinpoche (1808-1887), Lama Mipham (1846-1912), Jamyang Chentse (1820-1892) and Jamgon Kongtrul (1813-1899).

Tong-len and the Four Immeasurable Thoughts

By Lama Zopa Rinpoche - August 2009

Rinpoche gave the following advice on how to do the preliminary practice of tong-len

Tong-len: This is the practice of taking and giving, the most brave practice of bodhicitta. One way of doing this practice is by reciting verse 95 in the Lama Chöpa:

Tong-len: Meditation on Taking and Giving

LC 95: And thus, venerable, compassionate gurus,

I seek your blessings that all karmic debts, obstacles, and sufferings of mother beings

May without exception ripen upon me right now,

And that I may give my happiness and virtue to others

And, thereby, invest all beings in bliss.

You recite this verse according to the number you need to recite, and, at the same time, do the meditation. Each time you do this, you collect limitless skies of merit. It is an extremely powerful purification method, and you become closer to enlightenment.

This practice helps to develop bodhicitta. This is a most brave practice to generate bodhicitta.

Or, you can base the recitations on a verse from Nagarjuna’s teachings:

“Whatever sufferings there are, may they ripen on me; whatever happiness I have, may it ripen on sentient beings.”

With the first part, you do the practice of taking. With the second, you do the practice of giving. Then, you count on the mala (each time you recite the verse). I think you will be blissed out from this practice and sentient beings will be blissed out.

About the Preliminary Practice of Tong-len

This is a most powerful practice to do. (This is reciting the requesting prayer, together with the meditation of giving and taking.) Here, each time you take the sufferings and the causes of sufferings, including the negative imprints, take all sentient beings’ sufferings, including the delusions and karma, together with the negative imprints, and also the undesirable environments. For example, in hell, there is the ice fire, the ice mountain, the burning ground, the iron house; then, for the pretas, it is a very depressing place with no water, and is so hot and so cold; for human beings, it is a very dirty place full of thorn bushes. You take the environmental sufferings as well, those kinds of things, in the form of black pollution, and you give it to the ego and destroy the ego – one’s own worst enemy. This is the greatest demon that has interfered so far with your being able to achieve enlightenment. It hasn’t allowed you to achieve enlightenment so far, besides that, it hasn’t even allowed you to achieve liberation from samsara, and hasn’t allowed you to enlighten all sentient beings, not even one. In these ways, you can see that one’s own ego is somehow the enemy of all sentient beings, not only an enemy to you.

Masters of Mercy

Between 1854 and 1863, Japanese artist Kano Kazunobu (1816-1863) created a series of 100 paintings of the Buddha’s 500 disciples. Very early Buddhist sacred texts suggested that during one of the Buddha’s famous sermons, 500 followers received instant enlightenment. These disciples became known as “the worthy ones,” and fascination with them was a staple of Japanese Buddhist iconography. Kazunobu interpreted this ancient idea of “the worthy ones” and intertwined with it popular themes from his own era to create lively, richly colored, and highly detailed scenes of the disciples. His 19th century scroll paintings range from depictions of monastic life and duties to images of the disciples performing miracles, such as saving people from hell or relieving a drought. Watch our interview about Buddhism and Kazunobu’s paintings with James Ulak, senior curator of Japanese art at the Smithsonian Institution’s Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Masters of Mercy: Buddha’s Amazing Disciples is on display through July 8, 2012 at the Sackler Gallery in Washington, DC. Produced by Jonathan Stroshine and Lauren Talley. Interview by Lauren Talley. Edited by Lauren Talley and Fred Yi.

Watch Masters of Mercy on PBS. See more from Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly.

JAMES ULAK (Senior Curator of Japanese Art, Smithsonian Institution’s Freer and Sackler Galleries): These are the designated closest disciples of the living Buddha in the time in the fifth century before the Christian era when he preached his message in what is now northeast India.

These close followers who later received the canonical number of five hundred became known as the “worthy ones.” In Sanskrit, the language of the day in India, Sanskrit calls these people arhats. You hear different names applied to these five hundred. The point of Buddhist fascination with these five hundred followers is that they take the role of intercessors and messengers from the Buddha, teaching compassion, showing that the Buddha’s life can be lived on earth, and they take on the role of supermen. The idea was that they were enlightened but yet living among us. And so they were able to show us how to live but yet also conduct these intercessory miraculous acts to save us from our sufferings.

When We Eat Meat

By Bokar Rinpoche

Eating meat from a killed animal is a negative deed. It is better not to eat any meat at all.

If, however, because of circumstances, we cannot abstain from eating meat, at least we must avoid causing an animal to be killed for our consumption. We must not order a live animal to be killed for ourselves.

Meat bought at the butcher comes from animals killed for general consumption and not directly from an order we have given. Eating this meat is also a negative deed but it is less serious.

When we eat meat, we must direct our compassion toward the animal that was killed, recite the Names of the Buddhas, Chenrizig mantra, or other mantras, and blow on the meat. We wish at the same time that the animal be delivered from inferior realms and be born into the Land of Bliss.

Doing this not only brings help to the animal but also diminishes the strength of negative karma accumulated through eating meat.

From: The Day of a Buddhist Practitioner

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
For  a more thorough teaching on abstaing from meat in Buddhism and Dzogchen, see:
 

Food of Bodhisattvas: Buddhist Teachings on Abstaining from Meat 
 
By Shabkar
 
 
 
 
Also of related intrest: 

Shabkar.org is a non-sectarian website dedicated to vegetarianism as a way of life for Buddhists of all schools

Stress and Work

Questions and Answers

by Thich Nhat Hanh

Q: How do you maintain mindfulness in a busy work environment? At times it seems there is not even enough time to breathe mindfully.

A: This is not a personal problem only; this is a problem of the whole civilization. That is why we have to practice not only as individuals; we have to practice as a society. We have to make a revolution in the way we organize our society and our daily life, so we will be able to enjoy the work we do every day.

Meanwhile, we can incorporate a number of things that we have learned in this retreat in order to lessen our stress. When you drive around the city and come to a red light or a stop sign, you can just sit back and make use of these twenty or thirty seconds to relax-to breathe in, breathe out, and enjoy arriving in the present moment. There are many things like that we can do. Years ago I was in Montreal on the way to a retreat, and I noticed that the license plates said Je me souviens-"I remember." I did not know what they wanted to remember, but to me it means that I remember to breathe and to smile (laughter). So I told a friend who was driving the car that I had a gift for the sangha in Montreal: every time you see Je me souviens, you remember to breathe and smile and go back to the present moment. Many of our friends in the Montreal sangha have been practicing that for more than ten years.

I think we can enjoy the red light; we can also enjoy the stop sign. Every time we see it we profit: instead of being angry at the red light, of being burned by impatience, we just practice breathing in, breathing out, smiling. That helps a lot. And when you hear the telephone ringing you can consider it to be the sound of the mindfulness bell. You practice telephone meditation. Every time you hear the telephone ringing you stay exactly where you are (laughter). You breathe in and breathe out and enjoy your breathing. Listen, listen-this wonderful sound brings you back to your true home. Then when you hear the second ring you stand up and you go to the telephone with dignity (laughter). That means in the style of walking meditation (laughter). You know that you can afford to do that, because if the other person has something really important to tell you, she will not hang up before the third ring. That is what we call telephone meditation. We use the sound as the bell of mindfulness.

And waiting at the bus stop you might like to try mindful breathing, and waiting in line to go into a bank, you can always practice mindful breathing. Walking from one building to another building, why don't you use walking meditation, because that improves the quality of our life. That brings more peace and serenity, and the quality of the work we do will be improved just by that kind of practice. So it is possible to integrate the practice into our daily life. We just need a little bit of creative imagination to do so.

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Plum Village

Benefits of the Vajra Guru Mantra

And an Explanation of its Syllables

A Treasure Text Revealed by Tulku Karma Lingpa

I prostrate to the Guru, the Yidam and the Dakini.

I, the lowly woman Yeshe Tsogyal, made a great outer, inner and secret mandala offering and humbly asked:

 “O, Master Lotus Born, the work you have done for the welfare of all sentient beings here in Tibet, in this and in future lives, is vast. No one of such extreme kindness has ever come before, nor shall any come again. The practices you have given us are like essential nectar; though I am a lowly woman, of this I have no doubt. However, sentient beings in the future will have profuse thoughts and tremendous aggression; they will have wrong views towards the Holy Dharma, and in particular they will blaspheme the supreme teachings of the Secret Mantra. At that time, plague, famine and war will be widespread amongst sentient beings, and in particular, China, Tibet and Mongolia will be destroyed like ants’ nests, and a time of terrible suffering will befall the Tibetans.

“You have spoken of many ways to remedy these afflictions, but beings in the future will have no time to practice. Those who do have a slight inclination towards practice will be beset by powerful obstacles. Beings will not get along with one other; supplies and materials will be insufficient. Such terrible times as these will be extremely difficult to avert. In such times, Guru, what are the benefits of relying solely upon the practice of the Vajra Guru mantra? For the benefit of people of weak intellect in the future, I humbly entreat you to tell us.”

 The Master Lotus Born spoke thus:

 “O, Lady of Faith, what you say is absolutely true. In such future times, that practice will definitely be of short and long term benefit for sentient beings. Although I have concealed many earth treasures, water treasures, rock treasures, sky treasures and so on which contain unfathomable pith instructions and methods of practice, in the degenerate times it will be terribly difficult for fortunate beings to find the conditions and circumstances to meet with the teachings; this is a sign that beings’ merit is running out.

 “However, in such times as those, this essential Vajra Guru mantra—if recited with vast bodhicitta aspiration in great sacred places, in monasteries, on the peaks of high mountains and the shores of vast rivers, in places inhabited by gods, demons and evil spirits, at the heads of valleys, geophysical junctions and so on—by ngakpas with unbroken samaya, vow-holding monastics, faithful men, women of fine qualities, and the like, however many times—one hundred, one thousand, ten thousand, one hundred thousand, ten million, one hundred million, etc.—will bring inconceivable benefits and powers. Countries everywhere will be protected from all plague, famine, warfare, armed violence, poor harvests, bad omens and evil spells. Rain will fall on time, harvests and livestock will be excellent, and lands will prosper. In this life, future lives, and on the pathways of the bardo, fortunate practitioners will meet me again and again—at best in actuality, or else in visions, and at the very least in dreams. Having gradually perfected the levels and paths, there is no doubt that they will join the ranks of male and female Awareness Holders in Ngayab Ling.

 “Even one hundred recitations per day without interruption will make you attractive to others, and food, wealth and enjoyments will appear effortlessly. If you recite the mantra one thousand, ten thousand, or more times per day, you will bring others under your influence with your brilliance, and blessings and powers will be continuously and unobstructedly obtained. If you perform one hundred thousand, ten million or more recitations, the three worlds will come under your power, the three levels of existence will fall under your glorious sway, gods and spirits will be at your bidding, the four modes of enlightened activity will be accomplished without hindrance, and you will be able to bring immeasurable benefit to all sentient beings in whatever ways are needed. If you can do thirty million, seventy million or more recitations, you will never be separate from the Buddhas of the three times nor ever apart from me; thus, the eight classes of gods and spirits will obey your orders, praise your words, and accomplish whatever tasks you entrust to them.

 “At best, practitioners will attain the rainbow body; failing that, at the time of death, mother and child luminosities will meet; and at the very least, they will see me in the bardo and all their perceptions having been liberated into their essential nature, they will be reborn in Ngayab Ling and accomplish immeasurable benefit for sentient beings.”

 Thus he spoke.

 “Great Master, thank you for telling us about such infinite benefits and powers. You have been immensely kind. Although the explanation of the benefits and powers of the syllables of Guru Padma’s mantra is unfathomable, for the sake of sentient beings in the future, I humbly ask you to give us a brief description,” she asked.

 Then the Great Master spoke thus:

 “O, Noble Daughter, the Vajra Guru mantra is not only my essential mantra, it is the life-essence of the deities of the four classes of tantra, the nine vehicles, the 84,000 aspects of the Dharma, and so on. The heart essence of all the Buddhas of the three times, the lamas, deities, dakinis, Dharma protectors, and the like is encompassed by this mantra. The reason for this is as follows. Listen well and hold this in your heart. Recite the mantra. Write it. Tell it to sentient beings in the future.