Bodhisattvacaryavatara, 7 June 1994, part 2

As there is a difference with the ego grasping itself, one being gross distant and one being subtle, there then comes about difference in the attachment and hatred and host of all impure thoughts which arise from this ego grasping. Out of such there is the difference of the, not to put into perspective, ego grasping explained by lower tenets is very gross, very distant, therefore the attachment and hatred produced by them are gross and distant, and the host of other impure thoughts produced by that are very gross, and the ignorance based actions the karma created through these impure thoughts are also very gross. And consequently the aggregates which one assumes as a result of such karma and impure thought are also gross. So it’s gross therefore we then have a difference that due to the original ego grasping, one being subtle and one being gross, that there is a whole difference of the gross and the subtleness of the true suffering, the resultant true suffering itself. So put together the true origin and the true suffering, the first two truths explained four by the lower tenets are gross in that way.

And then in order to overcome such origin of suffering which is the second true origin of suffering, in order to overcome that there is difference of one method being subtle and one being gross, one being approximate. For instance, the ego grasping to be overcome in accordance to the Prāsaṇgika, the highest tenet is extremely subtle. Therefore just about normal strength of wisdom realization will not work to overcome it. The realization which is to work against that has to be equally subtle and profound in the sense of exactly matching, being of equal strength. So the method explained in the highest tenets one would have to be more subtle compared to the lower tenets and due to the difference in the subtleness and grossness of the method applied, the result which is the true termination or true cessation one attains also will be different in the the two cases.

So that’s the reason why Śāntideva earlier earlier told the lower tenets that the understanding and realization of the four truths in accordance with your system, the system of the lower tenets, such as the Vaibhāṣika, Sautrāntika, Cittamātra mind only, and Svatāntrika middle way or autonomous middle way, through that way the liberation you would attain would be gross liberation or just not the actual liberation. And therefore, through your way of realizing the four truths will not lead to the actual attaining of liberation. The reason why through that way of realizing the four truths which was the way of realizing by the lower tenets one would not attain liberation. The reason why that is so is because although one may have gained realization of the selflessness and through that way although one may have overcome ego grasping explained by the lower tenet, one still would not have yet overcome and gotten rid of the ego grasping as explained by the highest tenet which is the actual ego grasping. As well, one still would not have yet overcome or gotten rid of the craving which leads to continued rebirth, one would not have overcome that.

And as a result, it is inevitable one would choicelessly be again being reborn within saṃsāra, within the cycle of our miserable existence. So it is not possible to that way that one would attain actual liberation at all. And that’s what what so far Śāntideva explains to the lower tenets. To be able to attain liberation free from saṃsāra one has to realize realize the four truths and the 16 attributes of the four truth of its subtle most understanding. And then it is possible.

And then there are eight distinct characteristic or distinct features of the. And then there are eight distinct characteristic of the Prāsaṇgika called Prāsaṇgika Madhyamaka tenet. And it would be good if you it up pick this up as well. And these eight are alternatively as well called the eight major difficult points in the Prāsaṇgika school. First or one of the eight distinct feature is that in this tenet it asserts all phenomena do not exist by their own characteristics.

And then the second distinct point is that if one is an ārya then it entails one definitely has directly realized selflessness of phenomena. And then to interpret what ārya is Sanskrit, the English translation popular is superior. One who has appellation for one who has realized emptiness directly. And as a side remark, so that’s the second point, as a side remark regarding superior there are three types. The superior of each of the three vehicles, the hearer superior, the solitary realizer superior, and great vehicle superior.

Each of the three again classify well each into three. There are nine types of superiors or nine types of aryas. Anyway that’s the side remark. Going back to the second point, the second point is that if one is an aria then it entails that one definitely has directly realized the selflessness of phenomena. Point is true grasping is afflictive obscuration.

The third point, true grasping is afflictive obscuration. Now this would need clarification what is meant by true grasping or truth grasping. Well, the very ignorance which grasp onto the notion that phenomena exist inherently or phenomena exist by the own characteristic that is called truth grasping. Somehow in English literature of Buddhist translation, it has not been retained. But that’s what it actually means, truth grasping, and it’s a very freak frequently recurring phrase throughout the Middle Way scriptures.

And if it is a truth, truth grasping is afflictive obscuration. Regarding that part, normally obscurations are of two types of afflictive obscurations and wisdom obscuration what is popularly called obscuration to omniscience. Regarding the two, how these two are defined, the afflictive obscuration is the mental obscuration which principally hinders a person from attaining liberation. So that is afflictive obscuration and wisdom obscuration or obscuration to omniscience is defined as a mental obscuration which hinders principally a person from attaining omniscience. So that’s a side remark but the third point is, truth grasping is afflictive obscuration.

And then next point is, although things do not exist by their own characteristic, yet, externally phenomena exist. So to repeat, the the next point is although things do not exist by their own characteristic, yet things do exist externally. The next point is there is no self-sufficient reasoning. There’s no self-sufficient reasoning which to be interpretively put would be there’s no self-initiated reasoning. And the reason why that is so called is because in this tenet, it does not it does not accept a reasoning where the three modes of reasoning the three modes of reasoning are there by their own characteristic or there’s no truly existing three modes of reasoning.

That’s why there is no to be self initiated, to be of self continuum. So yeah, literally that’s how it is. There is no self continuum reasoning, which means there’s no self initiated reasoning. Next point is because things do not exist by their own characteristic, is as well no own knower, there is as well no own knower. Next point is because there is no phenomena existing by the own characteristic therefore there is as well no ālaya basis.

So regarding those two terms, own knower and ālaya basis, they are explaining the glossary and they are the specific scriptural terms having specific meanings. For example, about ālaya basis, it is a theory accepted by the Cittamātra mind only tenet where they say there is part of our mind which is the basis on which all or only on which all imprints, virtues or non virtues are laid upon it and it is the basis to put differently, it is the basis on which karmic deposits are laid and carried from one life to the next. The next point is because a product is a functioning thing, based on that understanding, this tenet presents exclusive exclusive explanation of past, present, and future the three terms. Because product is a functioning thing, this tenet explains presents an exclusive explanation about past, present, and future the three to three times. Or in another word, to put plainly, that point would be that that there is this very exclusive explanation regarding what are the three times by this tenant.

So that point on the last was not because product is a functioning thing, but because extinction is a product. So there’s exclusive explanation about what the three times are. Now what that means is regarding extinction, it is a mere it is a mere turnabout. It is a mere turnabout of a thing, that it is a functioning thing. So in another word extinction is a mere absence, a mere turnabout or mere absence of something.

But it doesn’t so according to this tenet it does not mean that it does not exist in any of the three times. So based on that concept, there is exclusive presentation about what the three times For example, we were first born and then we grew up and later on after older age when we die, then there is death. Now that death would be just a mere turn around, mere extinction of the person. So that is Also in a way that as explained in that way is a functioning thing. Because say in my case when I die then it is mere turnaround or mere the word actually is turn around literally, but it could be interpreted as mere going back, mere round of my existence of a person earlier.

So that’s in my case. So that being a mere turnaround of the previous existing state of the person is a functioning thing. Anyway, because of that, there is a special way how the three times past, present, and future are explained quite different when compared with the lower tenets. Anyway, this what are called the eight major difficult points of the Prāsaṇgika, the Prāsaṇgika tenet. And this evening we’ve been able to just go through the list what they are, and that perhaps would be enough for tonight.

Eight are based on the basic premises of the Prāsaṇgika where they where they do not accept anything existing by their own characteristic. So that very assertion that things do not exist by their own characteristic is the basis out of which the majority of these eight distinct assertions of this school come about. I will stop here for tonight. And if you have any questions, we shall have few minutes for that. Understanding, one can attain a direct realization.

Yet stories told of That would be because in great vehicle practitioners case, one would realize emptiness through applying many multitude of reasonings. The reason for that is great vehicle person or practitioner by nature is of a sharp intelligence, sharp faculty because it is generally what’s called generally a fact that practitioners come about of three mental faculties, sharp, medium, and dull. The practitioner of the hearer’s part are naturally of low faculty. And those of individual enlightener or the solitary realizer are naturally of medium intelligence, mental faculty, and those of the great vehicle are naturally of sharp faculty. And in the case of great vehicle practitioner who naturally here the word naturally is of course as you would know to interpret in Buddhist context who by previous life’s effort in this life has that talent.

It’s not implanted or whatever. So a great vehicle person by way of such being a naturally sharp faculty, sharp intelligence person would apply multitudes of reasoning through which emptiness is realized as quick as possible and with as much intensity and strength as possible. And in the case of intermediate faculty the individual enlightener in this case they would apply just a moderate number of reasonings and the hearers they would just realize emptiness by applying, being able to apply only one or two reasoning. So it would just we would say it’s a difference of difference in mental difficulty. That’s right.

The incident is about the classical period monk called Ārya Chudapanthaka. Small part. So what happened was he was an extremely low faculty person who could not learn alphabets and the scriptures no matter how much he was taught. How it started was, firstly, he remained a layperson until late age, and later on being very much troubled by the household life and so forth, and particularly by his children, he felt moved to become a monk. Yeah.

He felt moved to become a monk. And then he got ordained as a monk. And although being a monk, he didn’t have enough, even the slightest mental faculty to be able to learn the alphabet and the basic prayers and so forth. And not only that, the young monks continued to hassle him. So he felt extremely depressed thinking when I was a lay person, the kids used to hassle me.

And now as a old and still the kids are hassling me, in a sense, the younger ones. And my state of mind is so low that I don’t even I’m not even able to learn the basics. There’s not much there for me to look ahead or look forward to. So with such thought, he contemplated about taking his life. And in the process, he went towards the nearby river and went around to a tree where, as customary, he put on his yellow teaching robes, the Dharma robe onto the branch of the tree as a symbol of offering back the revered basis of vows and trainings and so forth.

Having done that with the imagination that he was facing towards the Buddha and addressing to the Buddha, he then offered three prostrations on the ground on the spot, and then and then mentally told the Buddha that it is not due to disrespect to the teaching that I’m doing this. And when he had not yet finished this sentence, the Buddha instantly appeared in front of him having come from a place far from there. So it was time during Buddha’s time. And then Buddha told him, you should not take that course of mind. You still have so much potential that it is possible for you to attain liberation and purity of mind and so forth.

So the Buddha then diverted his plan of taking life and was able to dissuade him from doing that and took him towards the monastery premises and it continues. Buddha, because of having all knowing mind, was able to respond and very skillfully able to dissuade the monk from that course. Later, having taken to the residence in the monastery, the monk spoke to the Buddha. The monk wasn’t still very positive about the whole thing. Instead, he was saying to the Buddha, well, I’ve been driven away with so much hassle by the kids and the younger monks, and even the older ones seem to not like my being here.

And now it seems that you, Buddha, also is planning to, what’s called, send me away from the place. So the Buddha told him to do the sweeping work around the main gathering hall during which time he was also asked to remember saying two lines, The particles are driven away. The impurities are driven away. But he was so dull, so thick. He was so thick that when he uttered the first part of the sentence, he forgot the second part.

And when he said the second part, he forgot the first part. So firstly, it began where he was advised by the Buddha to remember these lines and start with wiping and cleaning the monk’s shoes and sandals outside the gathering hall, this advice to do that part of the chore was given with the skillful means through which he, the monk, could relate about getting rid of impurities of mind. And after a certain period of repeated training, the monk was able at last to remember the true path line intact that he was able to say it properly, drive away the particles, drive away the impurities. Also, after a while, when he was able to remember the line intact, then he was promoted to do the work of sweeping the floor inside the gathering hall. But what happened was when he swept the floor of the gathering hall of the monks, from one side, the dust would go back to the other side, which you already swept.

And when when it started going back to swept that part, the dust would again go on the other part, which was swept earlier. And this happened due to deliberate deliberate force by Buddha’s blessing and that he had to sweep again and again. And it happened that there were times he had to sweep in the beginning whole day, the whole gathering, and still the dust would not be gone away. But it did help very effectively to overcome impurities of the mind. How we did effectively help to get rid of the impurities of his mind was because later on, when his mental faculty improved a little bit, then the Buddha twisted the wording of what he had to say by changing it into the phrase, it is not a particle of dust, attachment.

It is not the particle of dust, it is the particle of impure thoughts. It is not the particle of dust, it is the particle of hatred. In that way, relating to whole host of impure thoughts. And And he was able to relate it very well and later on gradually he understood and realized the four truths. He realized the 12 interdependent links of circling in saṃsāra through ignorance and so forth.

And finally, even achieved the state of foe-destroyer, the state of arhat where one overcome all impure thoughts. Very good. Yeah.