The Latest Buddhist Articles from The Berzin Archives

Daily Life and Practice of Western Buddhists

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 14:34:25 +0100

Are There Specific Difficulties in the Modern West for Practicing Buddhists?

I've been asked to speak about this topic: daily life and practice of Buddhism in the West. I think the first question that comes up is, is there anything special about the practice of Buddhism in the West that is different from the practice of Buddhism anywhere, at any time in history? Is there anything special about us? And, why would we be interested to know if there's something special about us, in the West, now? It could be...the best of reasons...that we face various difficulties and we would like to know are there some extra difficulties that we face that we need to work on and overcome? Or, for a much less noble reason, it could be because we are looking for an excuse to not have to practice as hard or...

The Voidness or Total Absence of an Impossible “Me” (Moscow, Russia, November 2005) – Part Four: Nothing Findable on the Side of “Me” Establishing “Me” as “Me”

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 14:26:58 +0100

We have been talking about the self or me, which is imputed onto the stream of continuity of our aggregate factors that make up each moment of our experience. That conventional me is what the word or label or concept of me refers to on the basis of these ever-changing aggregates that form continuity according to individual karma. When we talk about the voidness of a self of a person, we are talking about the absence of various impossible ways of existing that our minds, out of the habits of confusion, project onto that conventionally existent me. There are many levels of this and we need to refute, and stop thinking, stop projecting, or stop believing in these projections, step by step.

First, we need to refute, or get rid of, what is known as doctrinally based awareness, doctrinally...

The Voidness or Total Absence of an Impossible “Me” (Moscow, Russia, November 2005) – Part Three: Dependent Arising in Terms of Mental Labeling

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 14:18:08 +0100

Yesterday, we were speaking about voidness and we saw that voidness is a negation phenomenon, something that we know by negating or refuting something else. What we are refuting, when we know voidness, is impossible ways of existing with respect to everything: ourselves, others, and all objects in general. We started to look in terms of the person or me and the voidness of the person, and the relationship between a person or me and the aggregate factors that make up each moment of our experience, because when we first start to try to understand voidness, we start with trying to understand the voidness of the self, the person, because that is a bit easier to understand than the voidness of all phenomena, although voidness is the same with respect to both.

We saw that the self of a person...

The Voidness or Total Absence of an Impossible “Me” (Moscow, Russia, November 2005) – Part Two: Increasingly Subtler Levels of an Impossible “Me”

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 14:15:02 +0100

We were speaking about voidness and we saw that voidness is a negatingly known phenomenon, its a negation. We know it by negating something. If we put the word voidness into different terms, then we could say that it is an absence of something. There are many different types of absences. We could talk about the temporary absence of the dog from the room, in which case the dog could come back; its just not present here now. But voidness is not talking about that type of absence. We could talk about the absence of a monster in the room, in which case the monster is something that never existed and never was in the room and didnt go outside and is waiting to come back in. There was never a monster in the room and there never will be a monster in the room. So there is that type of absence....

The Voidness or Total Absence of an Impossible “Me” (Moscow, Russia, November 2005) – Part One: The Context for Understanding Voidness

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 14:11:37 +0100

This weekend Ive been asked to speak about the Buddhist teachings on voidness. Voidness is a very difficult topic, but a very essential topic. In order to approach it, we need to see where it fits into the general presentation of the Buddhist teachings. As we all know, Buddha taught his understanding, his realization in terms of what is known as the four noble truths. These are four facts, which are seen as true by any arya. An arya is somebody who has had nonconceptual cognition of voidness. So ordinary beings like us, we dont see these things as true. These facts are not so clear to us or obvious. But those who have actually seen reality straightforwardly, these aryas, have seen that these facts are true. So what are these four facts?

The first is the fact of suffering. When we speak...

How to Meditate on a Precious Human Life

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:25:12 +0100

That brings us perhaps to the other topic that Id like to speak about this evening. A little bit about meditation itself. Since this topic and the topic of mental factors, and later on Saturday the topic of voidness applies to meditation, so we have to have some idea of what is meditation, what is the meditative process. Now, when we want to work on ourselves, which is what we are doing basically with meditation, we need to first of all calm down. And calming down, for many people, becomes the main activity, actually. They look to meditation as a means for calming down, gaining some sort of stability.

To give an example of that actually: Ive served occasionally as an interpreter to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and I went with him on his first trip to Czechoslovakia before it broke up...

Advice for Studying Voidness (Emptiness)

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 21:46:23 +0100

Tonight, were going to be speaking about voidness, which is one of the most important topics in the Buddha's teachings and one of the most difficult to understand. But, we shouldnt be afraid about voidness. As Shantideva, the great Indian master, said in his Engaging in Bodhisattva Behavior, if we are going to be afraid of anything, it should be our ignorance, our unawareness, which is causing us all our problems. We shouldn't be afraid of that thing, which, when we understand it, will get rid of the causes of our problems. It is like instead of being afraid of our enemies, such as thieves, bandits and murderers in the street, were afraid of our bodyguard. Like that, although voidness is not easy to understand, thats only natural. Why should it be easy to understand? If it were, then...

Self-Transformation through Attitude-Training

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 12:01:53 +0100

This evening I want to speak about self-transformation in or through attitude-training, or mind-training. This is the Tibetan tradition of lojong. I dont want to cover this in terms of a specific text this evening, but rather speak in general about the method thats used. In general, when we look at what Buddha taught, Buddha taught on a very practical level of how to overcome problems in our lives, and in fact, everything that he taught was aimed at this purpose.

We all have many, many different levels and types of problems. There are some that are very gross and hurt us very much, give us a lot of pain, either physical, or mental, or both. There are other problems that are a little bit more subtle, but are very painful nevertheless. We enjoy various things in life, but were frustrated,...

Self-Transformation through the Lam-rim Graded Stages (Morelia, Mexico, October 2008) – Part Seven: The Purity of the Mental Continuum and the Advanced Scope

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 12:39:08 +0100

In order to sincerely aim with the intermediate scope motivation for liberation from uncontrollably recurring samsara, it is necessary to be convinced that it is possible to attain this. Similarly on the advanced scope it's necessary, when we're aiming for enlightenment, to be convinced that it's possible to attain that as well. So since we don't have so much time, let me discuss these two issues together.

We established that each of us has an individual mental continuum with no beginning and no end. So we're going to have rebirth. And with no beginning, that mental continuum has been mixed with unawareness or, in simple language, confusion. So this is unawareness of behavioral cause and effects that unhappiness comes from destructive behavior; happiness comes from constructive...

Self-Transformation through the Lam-rim Graded Stages (Morelia, Mexico, October 2008) – Part Six: Review and What Is an Arhat

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 12:32:20 +0100

We have been discussing the lam-rim and the lam-rim is a scheme for organizing the basic sutra teachings. We have seen that it is referring to lam that's translated as path. It refers to states of mind which will act as a pathway for leading to a goal. And they are progressive like rungs in a ladder. Let me correct that; they're not like rungs of a ladder. They are like the stories of a building. A rung of a ladder, when you go to the next one you leave the lower one. So it's not like that. It's not progressive like rungs of a ladder, but rather these are progressive like stories of a building that each story of a building rests on the lower stories. So when you are on a higher story, let's say the third story, in fact you are on a foundation of the first, second and third stories. So we...

Self-Transformation through the Lam-rim Graded Stages (Morelia, Mexico, October 2008) – Part Five: The Different Realms of Existence and Karma

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 12:26:58 +0100

Before we get into our discussion of karma, there was one point in the initial scope teachings that I sort of skipped over quickly, as many people often do. This is the discussion of the sufferings of the three lower realms, three worse realms I prefer to call them. Actually the Tibetan word for it is the three bad realms. So, bad is a bit heavy to say, so I call them worse. There's no word there meaning lower realms. Let's not getting into a discussion of etymology. I will refrain

Now, some people like to make a Dharma-lite version of the lower realms the worst... now I said lower... of the worst realms and in fact make a Dharma-lite version of all the various six realms: We can accept that there are humans; we can accept that there are animals; some of us might accept that there are...

Self-Transformation through the Lam-rim Graded Stages (Morelia, Mexico, October 2008) – Part Four: Questions and Generating Concern for Future Lifetimes

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 12:12:44 +0100

[Let's begin our afternoon session with questions if any of you have any.] Yes?

Question: When we speak about rebirth are we talking about rebirth after death or rebirth in the sense that we are reborn in each moment?

Alex: We're speaking about after death. Of course, we get into a very important and difficult question which is, What reincarnates? What goes on from lifetime to lifetime. But that's not the topic for the moment.

Question: She's confused. If you could clarify a little bit for her about the difference between or relationship between clear light mind and the mental continuum.

Alex: When we look at the mental continuum, we need to specify something that is going to be present in every single moment without an end, without a beginning and without an end. So, if we think...

Self-Transformation through the Lam-rim Graded Stages (Morelia, Mexico, October 2008) – Part Three: Beginningless and Endless Mind

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 11:44:08 +0100

Okay, let's begin again. There is one more point that needs to be added in our discussion of Dharma-lite and real-thing Dharma. When we are working on the bodhisattva path, we are trying to overcome our selfish concern and have concern just for others. However, we're not going to overcome our disturbing emotions and attitudes until we become an arhat, a liberated being. Therefore, while practicing on the bodhisattva path before becoming an arhat, we're definitely going to still have selfish concern. So there is no question about it. We will have selfish concern. No need to feel guilty about that. But the point is that we are working on that selfish concern. We're trying to diminish it and trying to have our primary concern be with others. Therefore, we need to be realistic about this...

Self-Transformation through the Lam-rim Graded Stages (Morelia, Mexico, October 2008) – Part Two: Conviction in the Dharma

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 11:43:50 +0100

Yesterday we began our discussion of lam-rim and we saw that the Tibetan term lam-rim means the graded pathways of mind. Specifically the states of mind that act as a pathway for enabling us to reach enlightenment. And this is divided into three scopes of three types of persons. The initial, intermediate, and advanced scope. That structure was first formulated by a great Indian master called Atisha who was instrumental in the second bringing of the Dharma to Tibet from India. He wrote this in, or presented this, in the text called Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment. And from Atisha we then trace the Kadam tradition, which then had fragmented and was put back together and reformed by Tsongkhapa. It became the Gelug tradition. But this Kadam tradition influenced many of the other traditions...

Self-Transformation through the Lam-rim Graded Stages (Morelia, Mexico, October 2008) – Part One: Dharma-Lite

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 11:43:18 +0100

This weekend we're going to talk about lam-rim. We usually hear the Tibetan term translated as the graded path...the graded path to enlightenment. But it's not really talking about a path, like something you walk on. But rather this word translated as path actually means a state of mind that acts as a pathway that leads us somewhere, in this case to enlightenment. So I call it a pathway mind which are things that we want to develop. And in order to reach enlightenment we need to develop them in a certain graded order. And it's dealing with, or organized I should say, in terms of three large levels. Each of these levels of course has many subdivisions. And it really is talking about a whole, I'd say, state of mind. It is a very large, encompassing mental framework. It is enumerated in...

Vajrasattva Purification: The Basics

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:07:50 +0100

Introduction

Vajrasattva (rDo-rje sems-dpa) practice is a tantric meditation done for the purification of karma. As a Mahayana practice, it is undertaken with a bodhichitta aim to purify all our karma in order to reach enlightenment as quickly as possible in order to be best able to help all limited beings (sentient beings). On an ultimate level, Vajrasattva practice is nonconceptual meditation on voidness (emptiness). On a provisional level, it entails repeated recitation of a hundred-syllable mantra (yig-rgya), accompanied by opponent states of mind and complex visualizations.

Vajrasattva mantra recitation and visualization may be undertaken merely within the context of sutra practice, before beginning any practice of tantra. In such cases, it may be done either with or without...

A Letter of Practical Advice on Sutra and Tantra

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:03:23 +0100

Opening Remarks

Homage to Manjughosha. May I always be cared for by (you,) the foremost of the peerless (Dharma) expounders. Your flawless knowledge and wisdom are unimpeded even concerning the subtlest points. This is due to your familiarization, over a long time, with the methods of profound (voidness) and extensive (enlightening actions, gained) through many magnificent skillful means.

O my excellent spiritual mentor and friend, first you strove to hear and study many scriptural pronouncements. Then you spread the teachings with your excellent explanations. In the end, you made extended effort to actualize them. May your feet be firm throughout a long life!

I have received the perfectly delightful tree of your letter together with its tasteful fruit of your presents, which you...

Working with Emotions: How to Deal with Anger

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:56:01 +0100

Problems in Life

The topic we are discussing this evening is Working with Emotions: How to Deal with Anger. I suppose the reason we have come to discuss this issue is that almost every one of us feels that we have certain problems in our lives. We want to be happy. We dont want to have any problems, but we constantly have to face many different troubles. Sometimes we get depressed; we encounter difficulties and we feel frustrated in our work, frustrated with our social positions, our living conditions or family situations. We have problems of not getting what we want. We want to be successful. We want only good things to happen to our families and in our businesses, but this does not always happen. Then, when we have these problems, we become unhappy. Sometimes things happen to us that...

Feeding and Taming the Demon of Fear

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 14:07:35 +0100

This method has been inspired by the work of Tsultim Allione and modified to fit the structure of a fulfill and restore (bskang-gso) ritual of a Dharma-protector.

Try to identify what causes you the most fear and anxiety for instance, being alone and feeling that nobody loves me and imagine it taking the form of a demon who has been troubling you and causing you fear.

Imagine the demon emerges from you and stands before you. Ask it what it wants.

Imagine feeding the demon in the sense of giving it what it wants in this case, feeding it love and affection.

Bond with the demon and depute it to protect you in the future from the fear of no one loving you.

Recognizing that if you neglect to feed the demon regularly, it will attack you again, agree to propitiate it...

The Five Extrasensory Eyes and Six Types of Advanced Awareness

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:18:02 +0100

Through the power of achieving a stilled and settled state of mind (zhi-gnas, Skt. shamatha), practitioners attain a certain degree of three of the five extrasensory eyes (spyan-lnga) and five of the six types of advanced awareness (mngon-shes drug). These enable them, while still on the path, to benefit limited beings to a certain extent. Buddhas possess all five extrasensory eyes and all six types of advanced awareness to their full degree.

The Five Extrasensory Eyes

(1) The extrasensory flesh eye (shai spyan) the ability to see great distances without obstruction, to see through solid objects such as walls, to see in all directions at the same time, and so on. If we think this is impossible or ridiculous, we need to consider the case of vultures and eagles. Their vision is far...

Inspiration (“Blessings”) and Its Relation to Mantras and Oral Transmission

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 18:40:03 +0100

Question Concerning Inspiration in the Context of Guru-Yoga

Theo: It seems to me that the majority of Westerners who study Tibetan Buddhism still continue to use the extremely ambiguous term blessing. To me, and probably to a fair few of them too, there is no doubt that that term carries theistic connotations. It sounds as though an Almighty Being with omnipotent powers can bestow a realization to those individuals who have faith, regardless of the individuals networks of positive or negative force.

The term inspiration, as in the sense of an uplifting, makes sense to my Buddhist framework of understanding, as it doesnt conjure up any theistic connotations. However, I am still trying to understand the totality of all possibilities of what it refers to.

During a recent conversation...