Bodhisattvacaryavatara, 28 June 1994, part 1

Let’s here start with meditation for a few minutes on kind thought in accordance with the mind of enlightenment. Try to generate a mind of enlightenment. I’ll start by thinking in this way. I must remove the sufferings of all beings who are as kind as my mother of this life and I must bring them excellent happiness. These two ways of thinking then become loving kindness and compassion towards others.

In order to remove all mother sentient beings’ sufferings and to bring happiness to them, firstly one oneself has to make oneself free of all sufferings and complete with all happiness. This involves that one oneself has to be free of all mental shortcomings and acquire all the excellent qualities. If one’s self is fallen in a swamp then it would not be possible for oneself to rescue others who are as well in the swamp. One needs to be away on safer ground and then it would be possible. Therefore, as a conclusion please think I must at any rate somehow try to achieve Buddhahood so that I can benefit others in the most effective way.

To attain enlightenment one needs to put the necessary practice which involves practice on wisdom and on method. To be able to do practice on them one firstly needs to know them. To know them it therefore involves first to study them. Due to such reason here in conclusion please think how important and necessary it is to study about these topics of the classes for one’s attaining of enlightenment to benefit others and as a result make a determination that I will, to the best of my ability, do study on the forthcoming topics. Now here at this point Śāntideva in the ninth chapter says the self is not part of the body such as it is not the waist and the hips and so forth.

In brief, so far we have been looking at the two kinds of emptinesses based on two references: the selflessness of person and selflessness of phenomena. So far briefly we finished looking into selflessness of person, how a person, the ego or I, does not inherently or independently exist. Now from tonight onward we look at how phenomena in general lack true identity, therefore we look at the selflessness of phenomena. Now in between the two selflessnesses, selflessness of person means the very basis of person, I, that itself, when proven to be not inherently or truly existing, is called selflessness of person. The second, selflessness of phenomena, by that it means the very basis upon, very basis with dependence on which the person is labeled, they are to be proven as not inherently or truly existing.

In that way the basis of person being proven as not inherently or truly there becomes selflessness of phenomena. What that to explain means is the basis with dependence on which the person is labeled are the five aggregates. Regarding the five aggregates they are what in the lines of the Heart Sūtra says: the form, feeling, recognition, karmic formation and consciousness. So accordingly the aggregate of form, aggregate of feeling, aggregate of recognition, aggregate of karmic formation, and aggregate of consciousness, these are the five bases upon which a person is designated as a person. Now when in the analysis of selflessness or emptiness when these are proven to be not inherently or truly existing then that becomes selflessness of phenomena.

Yet it would have to be very clearly kept in mind that although the two selflessnesses are classified as two selflessnesses, really with regards to emptiness or the selflessness of the two there is no difference at all. It is the same lack of inherent existence either in the case of person or in the case of phenomena. There is nothing different about the two lack of inherent existence. In that sense what is being proven either in case of person or in case of the aggregates is the same thing. Now that’s the point, yet there is in accordance with the explanation by Je Tsongkhapa the point that when it comes to realization of the two selflessnesses, the selflessness of person is easier to realize and selflessness of phenomena comparatively is slightly difficult to realize. For us either we are to achieve the state of omniscience knowing everything or we are to achieve liberation, in both cases we definitely need to realize the two selflessnesses. And this point that one must realize the true selflessness in order to achieve those two is the point raised as distinct to the system here, meaning the system of the Prāsaṇgika Madhyamaka, the ninth chapter being explained about. This then would imply if one has not realized the two selflessnesses then one will never, as long as that, one will never achieve liberation nor would one achieve omniscience. The reason why without having realized the two selflessnesses one would not attain the two goals is because one would still be hindered in achieving those two goals by the two obscurations, the afflictive obscurations and obscurations to omniscience.

Therefore one would be hindered. In order to remove these two obscurations, obscurations to liberation and omniscience, one needs to meditate on the two selflessnesses and apply the two selflessnesses as an antidote by which the two obscurations are removed. Afflictive obscuration means grasping through ignorance that a person exists from its own characteristics and the ignorance which grasps onto the phenomena as existing from their own characteristics. These two ego grasping or grasping onto concrete identity are what is referred as afflictive obscurations. The reason why they are called afflictive obscuration is because they bring afflictions or suffering to be in cycle not able to attain liberation. In a way then we can say these two types of obscurations hinder a person from attaining liberation.

What hinders a person from attaining omniscience? Well, it is the wisdom obscuration which is interpretively translated as obscuration to omniscience but literally wisdom obscuration. What does wisdom obscuration mean?

It refers to the imprints left by those two ego graspings. Ego grasping onto person and ego grasping onto phenomena. As long as a person has imprints of those two ego graspings they hinder a person from attaining omniscience, the state of enlightenment. That clearly would imply then in order to overcome wisdom obscuration one needs to effectively meditate on selflessness of person and selflessness of phenomena. Amongst the Buddhist tenets the highest are the middle way proponents, followers of the middle way, but within the followers of middle way the one highest is the Prāsaṇgika middle way, the consequentialist, and the present system of classifying the selflessness into selflessness of person and of phenomena is no doubt in accordance with the highest middle way. Yet the lower middle way which is the autonomous school or the Svatāntrika as well, the school below that, mind only, in their system as well it is asserted that there are two types of selflessness of person and of phenomena.

But the way selflessness of phenomena explained by those tenets apart from the highest tenets is quite different because in their case selflessness of phenomena simply means phenomena lacking gross entity as accumulation of partless particles because that is what exactly they explain as selflessness of phenomena, that phenomena does not exist as a gross mass of partless particles clustered together. This is the assertion of the schools below them. So that is what they explain as selflessness of phenomena. The two lowest Buddhist tenets, Vaibhāṣikas and the Sautrantikas, in their case they do not accept selflessness of phenomena because they accept phenomena and they explain the manner how phenomena exist truly is by way of many partless particles gathering together in gross mass. By that way of explanation they deny non-existence of phenomena at all. Instead they firmly assert that phenomena exist truly in that way and as such they deny selflessness of phenomena, they assert there is self or true identity of phenomena.

So what is so far explained, please keep well in your mind. The reason why here just I had suggested to keep what is now being explained in your mind is next Tuesday would be the last Tuesday of this term. As it will be the last Tuesday of the term then perhaps it could be possible in order to encourage putting more effort into future studies there may be an examination. But also it may be possible something else might happen. Yeah.

So meaning perhaps the examination may happen or may not. It won’t be difficult. Therefore, it won’t be difficult. All it will be is being asked to write answers or details about a particular topic, being asked to write about. Therefore you just write what you think is the subject and therefore you don’t need to be scared or nervous or whatever.

Already if you have done the study then examination in one way of function would work as an unveiling of darkness in the mind and you might become freshened up a bit later on after the examination. Also, in the examinations, because it involves thinking from the part of the participant, because one has to write after having thought about the topic, then that would mean it can help one to think more and get more ideas about the topic. Now here then coming to the context topic, we are on the selflessness of phenomena. Regarding selflessness of phenomena, the way how to meditate on it can alternatively in one way through meditating on the selflessness of phenomena by the mindfulness of body, second through mindfulness of feeling, third through mindfulness of mind, fourth through mindfulness of phenomena, and in brief through what is called the four mindfulnesses, how one does the meditation on and ascertaining of selflessness of phenomena. When it comes to the first, the mindfulness of body meditation, through that way of ascertaining and doing meditation on selflessness of phenomena, there it is done through three ways: by meditating on mindfulness of body in general, second by meditating on mindfulness of bodily parts, the limbs and so forth, the third through meditating on forsaking attachment to the body and through that way.

Now with regards to our entity as a person, we have body and mind. And it is obvious that we do have body. If we have it then it is with us all the time and because of that it becomes relevant that we need to watch it, need to be mindful of its states and doing, and that’s why here there is this mindfulness of body meditation. As regards the mindfulness of body meditation it is a very skillful instruction taught by Buddha to all levels of practitioner, both of the lower vehicle and of the great vehicle. It is therefore a practice found commonly required in both parts but yet there is a point that the mindfulness taught in the great vehicle combines extra features making it distinct, making it distinct in the sense making it far more beneficial to one’s mind, therefore distinct or superior.

And that’s how it is. Mindfulness of body meditation can very starkly be seen and explained even in the discourses of great vehicles like the Heart Sūtra where the line says one should look at the five aggregates as by nature empty. So look at the five aggregates as by nature empty. There obviously is mentioned that the five aggregates should be meditated upon as inherently non-existent or by nature empty. That includes the meditation on mindfulness of body because if we look what are the five aggregates, well they list as form, feeling, recognition, karmic formation and consciousness.

And with form in the case of relating to oneself, form refers to one’s body. So that obviously would imply the instruction there implies that one should look at it or meditate on one’s body as not inherently existing, by nature as by nature empty, and that itself is very starkly an explicit explanation about need to meditate on mindfulness of body. The great teacher Vasubandhu in his text the Treasury of Manifest Knowledge says one should meditate on the mindfulness by applying two characteristics to body, mind, feeling and phenomena. Accordingly, when doing meditation on the four mindfulnesses, here starting with mindfulness of body, one needs to do that by applying the two characteristics. In the case of body what it means is one does the mindfulness of body meditation by looking at its individual characteristic and its general characteristics.

When one does the mindfulness of body meditation applying the individual characteristic of body, that meditation is done by understanding or awareness of how body is not independently existing, that it is comprised of the four elements and four element factors such as air, water, fire, and earth or cohesive element. And the four element factors are the five sense objects excluding sound. So that means form, smell, taste and touch. So the body, one thinks how it is made up of the four elements and these four element factors, and by the very reasoning that the body is made of these factors, that the body is subject not to last a moment, and by that way how it is impermanent. So in that the essence is to meditate on the impermanence of one’s body.

When the same meditation on mindfulness of body is done by practitioner of lower vehicle, there the practitioner aims the outcome of the practice to achieve liberation for oneself only. Not only that, in the course of the actual meditation when the selflessness of person is integrated there, the understanding of selflessness of person applied is only in accordance to the lower tenets understanding of selflessness of person, not that of the higher tenets. And we can then say that although it is the same thing being done, the motive and the quality of the understanding applied are different. A great vehicle practitioner approaches the whole practice with the motive of mind of enlightenment, considering others more important than oneself, by that way wishing to attain Buddhahood to benefit all others. And in the actual meditation itself the meditation on selflessness not only involves the meditation on selflessness of person but the selflessness of phenomena including the subtle selflessness of phenomena.

Although, of course, when doing mindfulness of body meditation it can be done in the form of walking meditation, it can be done that way and the obvious benefit and the reason in mindfulness of body meditation in the form of walking meditation would be that it very effectively stops all sorts of ideas, concepts disturbing one’s state of mind. So it stops all sorts of concepts and ideas arising in one’s mind because the form of meditation is something one very visibly can be watchful of and so forth. Due to this very reason, yes it is undeniable instruction that there is instruction advising such alternative method of doing the meditation while walking. But that meditation would be not dissimilar to the meditation on concentrating on one’s incoming and outgoing breath because in the case of meditation on incoming and outgoing breath, how it is done is one places one’s mindfulness on the outgoing air which goes out in the form of black light, that as the air being exhaled one concentrates on it, places one’s mindfulness of mind on it and thinks as it goes further and further, the outgoing air, thinking the black light goes out.

And as one inhales along with incoming air one places one’s mindfulness of mind on that and thinks a white light is entering into one’s nostril along with incoming air. So in that way when the mindfulness, the concentration of mind is placed only and solely on the two, it automatically stops all other concepts and thinking or the activities of mind. That is what happens and as a consequence there is a side benefit such as that very exercise helps one to have a very calm and relaxed state of mind.