Tenets, 10 March 1994, part 1

Firstly, we briefly will do meditation on kind thought in line with the precious bodhicitta motivation. Please think in this way. I must remove sufferings of all sentient beings countless as the extent of the limitless space. And I must bring them to an excellent happiness and an unchanging happiness. To be able to do that, I will study, study, reflect and meditatively familiarize on the path through which I must attain the state free of all weaknesses of mind as ordinary being and attain all excellent qualities of the mind.

In essence the state of Buddhahood becoming a Buddha. For all this purpose, I will start here with meditation. So please meditate in that way. So from our previous Thursday evenings, looking into the topics we laid out the basic format of this lowest Buddhist tenet into three parts, the base part and the result. And in the base so far what was covered was the field the field in relation to what is object out there because base can be classified into two topics the the field which are object and the subject mind and the person having the mind.

So Base can be classified into two parts the object and the subject and to so far in the Thursday evenings the first lowest tenets understanding about base we had to do was about the object part such as within the objects there are two truths and then the five fields, the field of the appearing form, the field of the principal mind, the field of the secondary mind, the field of the unassociated uncompounded things phenomena and a field of uncompounded things. For example those five fields are something which comes within the classification called the object within the base topic because those five fields are something which are about the object things out there, nothing to do with the subject mind or the person. Therefore whatever covered was about the objects. Now from this evening we shall look into the second part within the base, the subject part. Part.

In the subject, there are three main classifications, person, consciousness, and sound. And these three are what is discussed or looked into in the topic called the subject part. Means for example humans, for example humans, preta beings, or the formless beings or for example animals or other species of sentient beings like those in the lowest realms, the Narakas, the hellish realms and such as those in the mentally anguished realm so-called hungry ghost interpretively translated and brief, by person, we would mean by person, it would mean being referred to a being, a sentient being. And then with regard no. With regards to the person itself, well, there needs to be a description.

What actually can make a qualification for a basis to be called as being and to look into that first let’s say here obviously it is the perspective according to the specific exponent school, the Vaibhāṣika, the lowest Buddhist tenets perspective and as we all know that this tenet can have as many subschools as 18 but in accordance to the present line of commentary instruction we are following here they all can be grouped into three principal sub schools which we did go over in couple of evenings, Thursdays ago and they were the Central Region tenets or the subschool of the Central Region and the subschool of the Western Region and the subschool surrounding the Central Region. Now without going to specific what’s called details which sub school believes what when it comes to a person briefly we can say in this low standard a person is defined in one theory as the five aggregates in another theory a person is defined as the congregation or the aggregate of the five aggregates. And then yet another theory within the school says the person is mind. So we can see already there are so much disagreements. Disagreements.

In essence, person is classified in the group of subject because by subject here the term needs to be understood as one which knows. For example, an example of person which is a subject is a human. Human is a subject because it knows about things. For example, a person can know what’s happening around, a person can know instructions in the scriptures, a person can know what is red color, what is blue color and can understand or know about things. So in that way a person is knower and in that sense it fits the qualification subject knowing and one which knows.

And earlier the object part which we went over in the previous evening by object it means something that has to be known so in the object of knowledge and subject is the one which knows the object, the field of what is to be known. So in that sense. Actually is a person or being is a topic of great complexity because already each Buddhist tenet explain what a person or being is in accordance to its own understanding. For example, here the Vibhashika, the lower school explains in by and large the aggregates, the five aggregates, whereas the discourse groups next higher explains a person is a mere continuity of consciousness. Mind only school explains a person is the only basis which to impute, means in mind only school they believe there is yet another part in the mind which is eternal, and it is ālaya, the all-basis.

It is basis for all imprints to be laid. So such all-basis is the person. And next up higher is the Svatāntrika or autonomous middle way school which explains that a person or being is the consciousness, the mind itself. And now the Prāsaṇgika Mādhyamika school, the Prāsaṇgika and the highest Buddhist tenet in it. In its perspective it says all these being explained by the lowest tenets or the lower tenets are not person.

In state it explains that on the basis of the five aggregates there is a merely labeled ego or I or identity. That merely labeled ego, identity or self is a person. So we can see that each Buddhist tenets explains differently. Therefore, in the Prāsaṇgika or Prāsaṇgika Mādhyamika’s perspective it would find that the person being defined by the lower Buddhist tenets are all wrong descriptions but then it also understands that if what each of the lower tenets explains a person is if it is not explained in that way then they end up in a circumstance or situation where they don’t find what a person is so because that’s the difficulty so it understands that that’s the reason why although it’s mistaken explanation but still they have something to say in what a person is. The lowest Buddhist tenet are specific exponent.

Their explanation of the person that the person is the five aggregate is very approximate and very far away nowhere near the close explanation because if it says that the five aggregates are the person then let’s say the form aggregate then it would be extremely what’s called wrong thing to say because the time the person dies, the body is cremated. The form aggregate is gone. So it can’t be a sustainable theory. But still we we must what’s called see the we must see the what’s called marked difference compared to the non-Buddhist because after all even though say the explains the person is aggregate and within its sub schools some say it is the congregation of the aggregates but in basic uniform understanding all Buddhist tenets have this understanding that it is on the basis of being labeled that what a person is and on that very uniform basis that it is on the basis of being labeled on the five aggregates that some schools such as Vaibhāṣika, the lowest school explains it is the five aggregates which by which they mean it is labeled on the five aggregates and some sub schools mean by the congregation of the five aggregates they mean the mere congregation of the five aggregates on which the label is given as a person and the mind only school on the same understanding explains it is the only basis aspect of mind which is a person but they still have this uniform acceptance that it is a labeled thing So in that way, we can see it is like something acceptable.

It has its qualities. Well, we have this fact that the five aggregates are the basis on which the label as a person is given, but also we have this fact that the five aggregates are the are the basis basis on to which the person takes rebirth or life after life. Let’s say there are five aggregates and five aggregates which are the basis on which the rebirth is taken and one who the entity which takes the rebirth is an I or the ego or the self or identity and that is called as the person. For example that ego or self takes rebirth on the basis of the five aggregates and then in next rebirth again on the basis of the five aggregates, meaning the five aggregates are on to which the ego takes the residence. So in that sense takes the rebirth.

So it goes on in that way and this very fact indicates that indicates that there is a ground to say that person is separate from the aggregates And and in that way, we can see that the aggregates and the person should be separate entities. The person is the one who accumulates karma. And due to accumulation of karma, the person receives sorry. Person takes the person takes upon the aggregates and this is what is explained. Meaning, this is what is taught in the instructions about how the rebirth takes place.

What is labeled on the five aggregates and through that labeling or what notion one gets such as the notion I I I am going, I am I am doing this, I want to do that, so that whole becomes the consequence and that is the person and in that way briefly, a person is a ego or I or identity, so same meaning the term actually literally means I. So person is merely the I which is labeled on the basis of the five aggregates. In a way to investigate into what the I, the ego is and through that way to identify what the ego or self is can be beneficial thing because by identifying the self or the ego one can keep a check on its behavior by for example one can check whether it is engaging into attachment, hatred or into indifference of neglecting others benefit or welfare or one can check it is engaging into non virtuous actions or into virtuous actions so it can be a good thing. So to interpret the implication is it can be a good thing to do because keeping track of or by making the attempt to look into what the self or I is, one can as well find the whole realm of one’s meaningful destructive activities and through that way can have a guard on one’s state of mind and behaviors and so forth.

We accumulate all sorts of karma and so many karmas. All sorts of karma because we accumulate good karma meaning virtuous karma, we accumulate bad karma, non virtuous karma, we accumulate neutral karma. But karma itself, the action itself is a secondary mind, it’s an aspect of mind and it is impermanent in its nature therefore it is subject to momentary disintegration, momentary perish and because it is subject to momentary perish it is an entity which terminates but there will be question and there will be fact where then will will karma continuously remain valid through which the consequences and results will be issued. Well, although as answer, well, although karma perishes but it leaves its imprint and where it leaves its imprint is it leaves its imprints on mere mind, sorry, on the mere I, on the mere I and by the very fact that it is able to leave imprint on the mere I that it becomes possible for the karma to ripen and so forth. And analogy can be like the I, the mere I is like the paper, and imprint of karma is like this stamp, where the stamp if it’s put on the paper, the mark would be left there validly to be seen.

So it is like that. As all virtuous karma or non virtuous karma are left in the form of imprint on the I therefore it is subject to continuous existence until it ripens due to meeting with conditions and so forth. This is so because the imprint being left on the I and being left on the I what happens is when the person dies the I leaves the aggregates and goes on in continuous flow to next rebirth and again it continuously flows on to next rebirth so the I is continuously flowing and because the I is continuously flowing the imprint left on the I also is continuously flowing until the imprint is ripened. Therefore we can say in this way that the imprint being left on the I indicates that it that it becomes valid for the karmic imprint to flow and the consequences and results to be experienced. We accumulate all sorts of karmas, virtues, non virtues, and and the imprint is left on the I.

Now if the karma are powerful then the results would ripen within this lifetime and if it is intermediate, if it is medium, if it is medium degree of karma then the results would be ripened in the next rebirth and how that happens is the karma leaves the imprint on the I and the time the I transmigrates to next rebirth, in next rebirth that medium degree medium degree of karma and if it is a lower intensity of karma then the imprint would be left on the eye but the experiencing and the ripening of the results will be much later than the next rebirth. But still because there is a continuous flow of the karmic imprint due to the continuous flow of the I, the experiencing becomes valid and from that point we can say if a person has been doing virtuous actions then happiness to be experienced can extend to long number of rebirth after rebirth and in the opposite case if a person has been doing non virtuous actions many number and of various degrees then the unhappiness, the suffering to be experienced as a result can extend to many rebirths. If the I terminates at the time of our death and it does not flow continuously thereafter then that would imply that whatever karma we accumulate would also terminate at that time there would be no continuous existence of karma and that would mean if we have been doing all our life with great deal of hard effort, spiritual practices through which we have been accumulating great merits then all those merits will be wasted at the time we die, the results would not ripen because there is no continuous flow of the imprints imprints and so forth and then similarly if a person or we have been doing non virtuous actions all through our life then it would imply we are not subject to experience the consequences and this whole thing would then mean that there is no point, no meaning in trying to not do or commit non virtuous actions and attempting best to do virtuous actions.

The whole spiritual practices and everything would become fruitless. But because the person as in the sense of the I does not terminate at the time of death, instead it continuously flows. Therefore it is valid, it becomes valid that the karmic imprint whether it is virtuous or non virtuous continuously flows. So in that way we can see it becomes meaningful for one to engage into those practices of not committing non virtuous actions and commit and trying to do virtuous actions and this then also would indicate that if one has been doing virtuous actions the happiness to be ripened would still remain valid to be experienced unless one has moments of anger which would negate, which cancel out the karmic virtuous karmic imprint. And similarly if one has committed non virtuous actions, if one has committed bad karma then the suffering to be experienced would continuously remain valid in that way.

So that’s the what’s called fact, and that’s how it is. That way. So We all do like happiness and we all dislike suffering. Therefore, we must engage in necessary practices and factors through which happiness can be acquired and not engage in factors which would bring about suffering. As to the factors and the practices through which one can acquire happiness are such as doing spiritual practices and engaging into formal meditative familiarization on virtuous aspects of mind and so forth.

If one does that then happiness can continuously be experienced in all future rebirths to come. And at the same time if one does not engage into non virtuous actions particularly which all can be included roughly into the 10 non virtuous actions then one has engaged in not acquiring the causes for suffering and because there’s no causes it automatically would mean that one would not have sufferings to be experienced to be experienced. So in that way one can have happiness in all future rebirths and not have suffering. And this this is true because if one has the causes of happiness then by way of cause and effect eventuality the happiness would issue and if one does not have the causes for suffering by the same eventuality we can say sufferings would not issue, would not be experienced and this very this very point would then give us the inspiration and encouragement, the conviction that really we must engage into the practices and courses through which happiness can be acquired and sufferings not to be acquired. In this way, if one understands the the features and the necessary information about what a person is, what a being, what a person is, then this would inspire one to this would give one the understanding who does the accumulation of karma, who commits karma, who creates karma, and also it would give understanding who experiences the results and consequences of karma.

And this understanding in turn would give one the inspiration to be active in one’s spiritual practice of doing virtuous actions and giving up the non virtuous actions. And this is a personal like opinion on this point that to speak in third person Rinpoche believes that there is this benefit. The next topic within the subject part is consciousness to be understood synonymous or same meaning with mind with mind. Consciousness is the very thing through which the person knows, understands, realizes, and does all other activities. For example, if the consciousness knows an object then the person that makes the person knows the object.

If the consciousness realizes then the person this leads to the person as well realizing. At the same time by that way if the consciousness if the consciousness behaves wrongly, then the person behaves wrongly. And in the same way, if the conscious