Deck One Flashcards
Why do we need to enter the Mahayana?
Only a Buddha’s mind is omniscient, directly understanding all objects of knowledge, and only Buddhas have abandoned all faults and attained all good qualities.
Although all living beings possess the seed of full enlightenment, this seed is brought to perfect fruition only through the complete practice of the Mahayana path.
From the point of view of our own welfare we need to enter the Mahayana path because it is only by attaining full enlightenment that we can fulfil all our own desires and realize the ultimate purpose of our human life. From the point of view of others’ welfare as well we need to enter the Mahayana path because it is only by becoming a Buddha that we become perfectly capable of helping all other living beings.
List the 10 benefits of bodhchitta and explain 2.
THE BENEFITS OF BODHICHITTA HAS 10 PARTS
1 We enter the gateway to the Mahayana
2 We become a Son or Daughter of the Buddhas
3 We surpass Hearers and Solitary Realizers
4 We become worthy to receive offerings and prostrations from humans and gods
5 We easily accumulate a vast amount of merit
6 We quickly destroy powerful negativities
7 We fulfill all our wishes
8 We are free from harm by spirits and so forth
9 We accomplish all the spiritual grounds and paths
10 We have a state of mind that is the source of peace and happiness for all beings
• We easily accumulate a vast amount of merit
With bodhichitta as our motivation, everything we do creates limitless merit because we engage in all our actions for the sake of limitless beings. Actions performed in this way are very powerful and they complete our collection of merit very quickly.
•We quickly destroy powerful negativities
Shantideva says that just as the fire that consumes the world at the end of an aeon is the hottest and most intense, so bodhichitta is the most powerful method for consuming our negativities. Even non-virtuous actions that cannot be purified by other methods are purified when we develop the realization of bodhichitta. When we generate great compassion and bodhichitta our karmic obstructions are quickly destroyed and we swiftly accomplish all good qualities and realizations.
List the 8 parts of the 7-Fold cause and effect and explain 2 of the following:
• Explain the section “Recognizing that all living beings are our mothers”
• Contemplating the benefits of affectionate love.
Training the mind in the sevenfold cause and effect has eight parts:
1 Developing equanimity
2 Recognizing that all living beings are our mothers
3 Remembering the kindness of all mother beings
4 Developing the wish to repay the kindness of all mother beings
5 Developing affectionate love
6 Developing great compassion
7 Developing superior intention
8 Developing bodhichitta
• Explain the section “Recognizing that all living beings are our mothers”.
Buddha said: I have not seen a single living being who has not been the mother of all the rest.
If we have faith in the infallible word of Buddha we can develop a realization of this just by meditating on its meaning. Otherwise we need to develop conviction by reasoning ‘It is definite that all living beings have been my mother because they have all been my mother in past lives.’ If someone asks ‘How is it possible that countless beings have been my mother?’ we can answer ‘Because our births have been countless, so we have had countless mothers.’ There is no method to prove that any living being has not been our mother.
We can correctly infer that we have taken countless rebirths because the continuum of our mind is beginningless and our body is impermanent.
• Contemplating the benefits of affectionate love.
Love is very beneficial even when it is mixed with desirous attachment.
In Precious Garland of Advice for the King, Nagarjuna says that there are eight main benefits of affectionate love:
(1) By meditating on love for just one moment we accumulate more merit than we do by offering food to all living beings three times every day. (2) We become someone loved by humans and gods. (3) We will be protected by humans and gods even in our sleep. (4) We will become happy. (5) We will experience physical comfort in the future. (6) By developing strong concentration on love we will be protected from harm by poison, weapons and other instruments of harm. ( 7) Our wishes will be easily fulfilled. (8) We will take rebirth in the realms of gods such as Brahma, and finally we will attain enlightenment.
One special benefit of developing affectionate love is that because affectionate love is the direct opponent to anger it eliminates all the pains and problems we bring upon ourself as a result of anger.
Explain the section on “Developing Great Compassion.”
DEVELOPING GREAT COMPASSION
Great compassion observes all living beings. Seeing that they all experience suffering it wishes all of them, without exception, to be free from their misery.
To generate great compassion we first develop affectionate love for all living beings and then meditate on the sufferings they experience. With the realization of affectionate love, whenever we see, remember or contemplate the sufferings of others we develop great compassion naturally and spontaneously. We will have no choice, just as a mother has no choice in feeling compassion for her child when she sees it in pain.
Explain the section, “The basis for generating bodhichitta.”
Although bodhichitta can be generated by non-human beings such as gods and nagas who have the opportunity to receive Dharma, a human life with all the freedoms and endowments is the best basis for developing this special mind. Human beings can generate bodhichitta more powerfully because the human realm has more objects of compassion. There is much more suffering in the human realm and there is a greater opportunity to receive Dharma. Therefore human beings can more easily develop renunciation and compassion.
Recognizing that the opportunity we now have is the best one for studying and practising Mahayana paths, we should meditate: Since I have taken a perfect human rebirth and have now come into contact with pure Mahayana teachings there is no better time for me to generate bodhichitta. If I do not make use of the present opportunity, when will I ever find such an opportunity again? It is so rare. I must use it well while I can. Although these are degenerate times, for me they are fortunate because I have a wonderful opportunity that I have never had before
Explain either the two-fold division or the three-fold division of bodhichitta.
THE TWO-FOLD DIVISION
The many levels of bodhichitta are all included within the two: aspiring bodhichitta and engaging bodhichitta. Aspiring bodhichitta is any bodhichitta we generate before taking the Bodhisattva vows.
Engaging bodhichitta is the bodhichitta we generate after taking the Bodhisattva vows. By taking the Bodhisattva vows we have the commitment to follow the paths of a Bodhisattva, the paths to Buddhahood. In this way we transform our aspiring bodhichitta into engaging bodhichitta.
Explain the section “Equalizing self and others.”
We cannot immediately convert self-cherishing, the attitude of regarding ourself as most precious and important, into the opposite attitude of cherishing others, regarding them as most precious and important. Therefore we need to begin by equalizing ourself and others, learning to regard ourself and others as equally dear.
To do this we meditate: I myself do not have the slightest wish to experience suffering and I am not content with the happiness I enjoy, but this is equally true for everyone else. Therefore it is inappropriate for me to consider myself to be more important than everyone else. I want happiness, but so do others. I want freedom from misery, but so do others. Since we all want the same thing, I will regard others in the same way as I regard myself.
When this determination arises we should hold it in placement meditation to become thoroughly acquainted with it.
Explain either section on “Contemplating the disadvantages of self-cherishing,” or “Contemplating the advantages of cherishing others.”
Contemplating the advantages of cherishing others
In his Lamrim, Gyalwa Ensapa says that if we cherish others we will want to benefit them and with this motivation we will engage in positive actions and create the cause for future happiness.
Shantideva said that all the happiness of this world comes from the mind desiring others to be happy.
It is this wish for others to be happy that motivated us in the past to create the causes for a precious human life by practising the moral discipline of abandoning negative actions of body, speech and mind. The favourable conditions we enjoy as a human being also come from our past attitude of cherishing others, because this attitude is what motivated us to benefit others by practising giving, patience and other virtues. All the kindness we have received from our parents and all the help we have received in this life come as a result of cherishing others.
In Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life Shantideva says: But what need is there to speak at length? The childish work only for themselves, Whereas the Buddhas work only for others – Just look at the difference between them!
Since beginningless time we have been motivated by self-cherishing and we have received only suffering, whereas the Buddhas have been motivated by cherishing others and they have gained ultimate happiness.
Explain the sections “Why we need to exchange self with others”, “Recognizing that we can exchange self with others”, and “How to exchange self with others.”
• Recognizing why we need to exchange self with others
Shantideva said that we need to convert our self-cherishing into the attitude of cherishing others because if we do not there is no way we can attain enlightenment; and it is certainly necessary for us to attain enlightenment because there is no lasting happiness to be found anywhere in samsara. If we do not cherish others, even our wishes for this life will not be fulfilled, let alone our wishes for future lives.
• Recognizing that we can exchange self with others
In fact it is quite easy for us to change the object of our cherishing. Right now we are cherishing very dearly something that really belongs to others. What is it? Our own body. In reality, this body does not belong to us because it developed from the union of our father’s sperm and our mother’s ovum. Although our body was produced from the bodies of our parents and belongs to them, we still hold it as our own and cherish it. Why? Only because we are so familiar with it. It follows that when we become familiar with others we will cherish them just as dearly. We only need to change the object of our cherishing, and this is what we are doing all the time.
• How to exchange self with others
When we are actually in meditation we take all living beings as our object and develop a mind that cherishes all of them, but we need to meditate like this over and over again without expecting our attitude towards others to change in only a few sessions.
With this realization, whenever we see someone suffering we feel it is as unbearable as if it were our own suffering, and whenever we see someone without happiness we feel love, wishing them to enjoy happiness everlastingly.
Explain the meditation on taking.
This practice is motivated by compassion wishing to take the suffering, fear, unhappiness and faults of others. We can practise taking in two ways: either taking the sufferings of all beings collectively, or taking the sufferings of individuals or groups of individuals.
If we are practising in the first way we imagine that we are surrounded by all living beings who inhabit the six realms and we contemplate their sufferings. In this way we generate compassion, thinking ‘How wonderful it would be if all living beings were free from their sufferings right now. I myself will make this happen.’ Then we visualize all the sufferings of living beings in the form of black smoke which we draw into our heart where our self-cherishing mind is concentrated. As it dissolves into our heart this smoke consumes our self-cherishing. When we have taken all the black smoke of others’ suffering we think: ‘Now this black smoke has completely extinguished my self-cherishing and all other living beings are released from their suffering. Their bodies have become pure and their minds have transformed into uncontaminated great bliss.’ Then we do placement meditation on this feeling.
(Second way is six realms separately) (Or our own future suffering)
Explain the section, “Maintaining bodhichitta by means of ritual.”
Maintaining bodhichitta by means of ritual has two parts:
1 Maintaining the aspiring mind by means of ritual
2 Maintaining the engaging mind by means of ritual
Maintaining the aspiring mind by means of ritual
The way of maintaining aspiring bodhichitta by means of ritual is by taking the precepts of aspiring bodhichitta. To do this we first develop either artificial or spontaneous bodhichitta, and then in front of all the holy beings we make the promise never to give up the mind of bodhichitta. We can make this promise in front of a Spiritual Guide, or in front of a symbol or representation of Buddha, or by visualizing all the Buddhas in front of us. We begin by offering the prayer of seven limbs and a mandala. Then we go for refuge, generate bodhichitta and take the precepts with the following prayers:
I and all sentient beings, until we achieve enlightenment, Go for refuge to Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Through the virtues I collect by giving and other perfections, May I become a Buddha for the benefit of all. (3x) From this time forth until I become a Buddha, I shall keep even at the cost of my life A mind wishing to attain complete enlightenment To free all living beings from the fears of samsara and solitary peace. (3x)
When we have received the precepts we keep them as our daily practice. The eight precepts are: (1) To remember the benefits of bodhichitta six times a day
(2) To generate bodhichitta six times a day (3) Not to abandon any living being (4) To accumulate merit and wisdom (5) Not to cheat or deceive our Preceptors or Spiritual Guides (6) Not to criticize those who have entered the Mahayana (7) Not to cause others to regret their virtuous actions (8) Not to pretend to have good qualities or hide our faults without a special, pure intention
Maintaining the engaging mind by means of ritual
We maintain engaging bodhichitta by means of ritual by taking the actual Bodhisattva vows. Initially we need to receive these from a qualified Spiritual Guide. Once we have received them we can take them on our own again at any time and as often as we wish. When we do so, we visualize the Field for Accumulating Merit and repeat three times the promise to keep the moral discipline of a Bodhisattva, avoiding all downfalls by engaging in the practice of the six perfections. We can renew or strengthen this promise by reciting the following verse three times:
O Gurus, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas Please listen to what I now say. Just as all the previous Sugatas, the Buddhas, Generated the mind of enlightenment, bodhichitta, And accomplished all the stages Of the Bodhisattva’s training, So will I too for the sake of all beings Generate the mind of enlightenment And accomplish all the stages Of the Bodhisattva’s training.
Explain the section, “Giving material things.”
Giving material things is a virtuous thought to give our possessions, our enjoyments or our body. It is impossible to develop the wish to give our body to others if we cannot even develop the wish to give away our possessions and enjoyments. Therefore we need to train first in giving away our possessions.
Our practice of giving is the best insurance against future poverty.
There is no real benefit in holding tightly to possessions because they are all impermanent, subject to loss and decay. They gain meaning only in being given away. In themselves my possessions are valueless, but they become precious when I offer them to others. At that time they are the means of gaining lasting happiness.
When we give, our mind should be free from strong delusions such as pride, and we should have a good motivation. The best motivation is bodhichitta. With bodhichitta, if we give even the tiniest morsel to an insect, this is the perfection of giving.
When we are very familiar with giving away our possessions we can practise giving away our body.
Explain the section, “The moral discipline of restraint.”
This is the moral discipline of abstaining from non-virtue. To practise this moral discipline we need to understand the dangers of committing negative actions, make a promise or vow to abandon them and then keep that promise or vow. Thus we cannot be said to be practising the moral discipline of restraint if we unknowingly avoid committing negative actions, since even babies can do this.
For a Bodhisattva the main object to be abandoned is the intention to work solely for one’s own sake. Bodhisattvas see clearly the dangers of self-cherishing and they realize that it is the principal obstacle to developing bodhichitta and to attaining enlightenment.
With the motivation of bodhichitta no action can be non-virtuous because bodhichitta eliminates self-cherishing, which is the root of all non-virtuous actions.
Explain the section, “The moral discipline of benefiting living beings.”
This is the moral discipline of helping others in whatever way we can. If we cannot offer practical help to someone, we can at least make prayers for them and maintain a continuous intention to give assistance when an opportunity arises. Arya Asanga explained that there are eleven main ways of helping others:
(1) Alleviating the suffering of others and offering them assistance in their work. (2) Teaching others skills when they do not know how to accomplish tasks. We can help others by teaching worldly skills such as how to read and write and by teaching spiritual skills such as how to meditate. (3) Returning the kindness we have received. If we cannot actually do anything we can at least remember the kindness we have received and pay due respect. (4) Removing dangers that threaten others, and eliminating whatever causes them fear. If we cannot do anything practical we can at least make prayers for them. (5) Consoling others when they are in grief. For example, when others are separated from their family, they lose their job or their hopes are not fulfilled, we can try to remove their unhappiness and offer them sound advice. (6) Giving material assistance to those who are destitute. (7) Helping those who experience problems that come when they have strong delusions such as anger or desirous attachment. (8) Helping others in a way that is appropriate to their own views and customs. In effect, Bodhisattvas will do whatever needs to be done to make someone else happy because when others are happy their minds are more open and receptive to advice and example. (9) Benefiting those who have entered correct spiritual paths by praising and encouraging them, paying due respect and helping them to continue their practice in whatever way we can. (10) Benefiting those who have entered wrong paths by helping them to see their error and by helping them to enter correct spiritual paths. We need to talk to people who hold mistaken views and try to help them gradually change their views into correct ones. (11) Helping others by using whatever miracle powers we possess.
Explain either the section, “The patience of not retaliating” or “The patience of voluntarily enduring suffering.”
The patience of not retaliating
To practise this type of patience we need to remain continuously mindful of the dangers of anger and the benefits of patient acceptance, and whenever anger is about to arise in our mind we need immediately to apply the methods for eliminating it. If we want to control our anger in all situations it is not enough just to remember its faults and the benefits of patient acceptance. We also need to have experience of putting into effect the methods we have learnt for eliminating our anger.
When we are meditating on patience we can use many different lines of reasoning. For example, in Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life Shantideva says that if someone hits us with a stick we do not get angry with the stick, because the stick is being wielded by the hands of our attacker and has no freedom; and we do not get angry with the hands, because they are not in control of their own movements. In the same way, we should feel no anger towards the person who is attacking us because he also has no choice. He is driven by anger and is not in charge of his own actions. If we are going to get angry with anything, we should get angry with anger itself.
Explain the section on the three types of laziness.
To generate effort we need to overcome laziness, which is its main opponent. There are three types of laziness:
(1) The laziness of procrastination (2) The laziness of attraction to what is meaningless or non-virtuous (3) The laziness of discouragement
The laziness of procrastination
This laziness is a reluctance or unwillingness to put effort into our spiritual practice right now. For example, if we are interested in Dharma, believe it to be worthwhile, and intend to practise it, but we think that the time to practise is some time in the future, we are suffering from the laziness of procrastination.
Meditations on this precious human life, and on death and impermanence, are powerful methods for overcoming the laziness of procrastination, because these meditations make us come to a firm decision to practise pure Dharma right now.
The laziness of attraction to what is meaningless or non-virtuous
Worldly enjoyments are like a flame and we are like moths. When a moth sees a flame it becomes so attracted, so fascinated, that it draws closer and closer, playing with it until it is killed. The moth sees the flame as a wonderful place to be. In fact, it is a place of destruction. In a similar way we become fascinated by worldly pursuits and enjoyments and want to become more and more closely involved with them, but they are strong claws that hold us within the Wheel of Life and condemn us to suffer. If we are to generate effort that overcomes the laziness of attraction to what is meaningless or non-virtuous we need to remember again and again how such activities waste our precious human life and destroy its essence.
The laziness of discouragement
In these degenerate times there are many things that can make us feel discouraged with our spiritual practice. Since we cannot see with our own eyes living examples of enlightened beings, and since our spiritual progress is often much slower than we expect it to be, we may begin to doubt whether Buddhahood is possible, or we may conclude that it must be so rare that there is almost no hope of attaining it. We may also see faults in our Spiritual Guide and in those who are practising Dharma, and conclude that they have no realizations and that effort put into Dharma practice is wasted. If we find we are becoming discouraged in this way, we need to remember that every appearance to the minds of ordinary beings is mistaken because it is contaminated by ignorance. What appears to our mind does not actually exist in the way it appears. Appearances to our mind are like hallucinations – they are not true.
The internal cause of hallucination is self-grasping ignorance. This ignorance makes all phenomena appear to be truly existent when in fact they are not. As long as we have strong self-grasping we do not perceive things the way they are. Therefore, we need to consider ‘If I cannot see living examples of enlightened beings right now, that does not prove anything because I cannot expect to see Buddhas until I have purified my mind.’
Explain the four powers of effort.
There are four methods for increasing our effort, known as the ‘four powers’:
(1) The power of aspiration (2) The power of steadfastness (3) The power of joy (4) The power of relaxation
The power of aspiration
The power of aspiration is the wish to engage in virtue. If we are to exert effort in any virtuous practice we need to begin by having the aspiration to accomplish its aim. Strong aspiration induces strong effort.
We generate the aspiration to engage in virtuous actions by contemplating their benefits and the dangers of non-virtuous actions. Aspiration is said to be a power because it makes our effort powerful.
The power of steadfastness
Once we have generated effort we need to maintain it continuously.
It is far better to apply a small amount of effort consistently than to apply a huge amount of effort for only a few days. It is said that our effort should be like water in a wide river, gently flowing day and night, year after year.
As long as our effort is consistent there is no doubt that we will attain results.
The power of joy
When we put effort into our Dharma practice we need to have a calm and joyful mind. This joy is said to be a power because it enables us to accomplish our spiritual tasks quickly and easily. When we practise Dharma we should be like a child at play.
The power of relaxation
Timely relaxation maintains the constancy of our practice. If we neglect the need for rest we become overtired and we are not able to apply effort again with joy. Relaxation is said to be a power because it protects and supports our effort.
Explain the section on the Perfection of mental stabilization.
Mental stabilization, or concentration, is a mind whose nature is to be single-pointedly placed on a virtuous object and whose function is to prevent distraction. Mental stabilization practised with bodhichitta motivation is a perfection of mental stabilization.
For ordinary beings, concentration functions mainly by means of mental awareness.
Supramundane concentrations are motivated either by renunciation or bodhichitta. They are attained only by pure practitioners of Buddhadharma because only Buddhist scriptures contain correct and precise explanations of pervasive suffering, and we need to understand pervasive suffering in order to realize renunciation. If we know that our own appropriated aggregates are the very basis for all our suffering we will make a strong decision to cut the continuum of our appropriated aggregates. This decision is necessary if we are to attain supramundane concentrations.
There are three types of concentration from the point of view of their function: those that produce the bliss of mental and physical suppleness; those that help us to realize renunciation, bodhichitta and the correct view of emptiness; and those that provide us with the means of benefiting others.
Explain the section on the Perfection of wisdom.
Wisdom is a virtuous mind that functions mainly to dispel doubt and confusion by understanding its object thoroughly. Wisdom practised with bodhichitta motivation is a perfection of wisdom.
In fact it is impossible to perform any virtuous action without wisdom because wisdom distinguishes between what is virtuous and what is non-virtuous, discriminating the benefits of the one and the dangers of the other. Our wish to do what is virtuous arises in dependence upon this wisdom, and this wish in turn gives rise to all the effort we apply in our practice. The more wisdom we have, the stronger our practice will be. Therefore, all good qualities and spiritual realizations come from wisdom.
Wisdom can also be divided into wisdom arisen from listening, wisdom arisen from contemplation and wisdom arisen from meditation.
Explain the section “How to train the mind in tranquil abiding, the essence of concentration.”
Tranquil abiding, therefore, is a mind that has pacified distractions and that remains single-pointedly on one object. The definition of tranquil abiding is a concentration that possesses the special bliss of physical and mental suppleness that is attained in dependence upon completing the nine mental abidings. Actual tranquil abiding is attained only by improving this mind until it induces the special bliss of suppleness.
We need to develop tranquil abiding both for our own sake and for the sake of others. Since we do not want to experience suffering we need to eliminate its root cause, self-grasping. To do this we need to realize emptiness directly, but we cannot realize emptiness directly unless we first attain tranquil abiding.
Before we develop concentration we feel some kind of mental and physical discomfort more or less all the time. Our state of mind quickly changes. For a short while we are happy, but then we are sad. Our physical condition also changes quickly. In the morning we may feel well, but by the evening we may be feeling sick. When we attain tranquil abiding we do not experience any mental or physical discomfort. Our mind becomes peaceful and we are always able to generate virtuous thoughts and feelings and create the causes for happiness.
Explain the section “The necessary conditions of attain tranquil abiding”; list the 6 branches and explain each of them.
To attain tranquil abiding all our conditions, external and internal, need to be right. There are six ‘branches’ or necessary conditions for attaining tranquil abiding: 1 A suitable place for retreat 2 Little desire 3 Contentment 4 No distracting activities 5 Pure moral discipline 6 No distracting conceptions
1 A suitable place for retreat
(1) It is a place where it is easy to obtain necessities such as food and clothing. (2) Buddhas and highly realized beings have blessed it or our Spiritual Guide has visited it. If we cannot find such a place we should at least find one where there has been no transgression of commitments and no disharmony amongst spiritual practitioners. If we do retreat in a place where spiritual practitioners have been in conflict we will find it hard to gain realizations. (3) The environment is healthy, the climate is good – neither too hot nor too cold – and the water supply is clean. (4) There are spiritual friends nearby to offer us their support. (5) It is quiet.
2 Little desire
If we cannot abandon attachment to objects of desire when we do retreat, it will be very difficult to abandon other distractions and it will be impossible to develop pure concentration. Therefore, one of the necessary conditions for doing tranquil abiding retreat is to reduce our attachment to objects of worldly concern such as wealth and reputation.
3 Contentment
During our retreat, if we are not content with what we have – the accommodation, the food and so forth – we will keep seeking to change and improve our external circumstances, and this will cause our distractions and conceptual thoughts to increase. These are the very enemies of concentration. Furthermore, if we are not content we will experience physical and mental discomfort and we will become discouraged and want to give up our retreat. To overcome our discontent we should repeatedly consider: It does not matter that for a few months or a few years my conditions are poor. My main goal is the attainment of liberation and enlightenment, and I can accomplish this goal only by attaining tranquil abiding.
4 No distracting activities
If we are to attain completely pure concentration we need to disengage from all worldly activities and discipline ourself to do only the things that will help us to develop and maintain a calm mind.
5 Pure moral discipline
In this context pure moral discipline means conscientiousness with regard to our actions of body, speech and mind. If we engage in reckless activities, distractions will naturally occur. Therefore we need to protect ourself against any tendency towards negative actions, and we need to guard against incorrect attitudes and defiled conceptions. (with mindfulness)
6 No distracting conceptions
During retreat on tranquil abiding we have to stop distracting conceptions such as recalling previous activities and worldly experiences, or thinking about and planning future activities.
Explain the section, “The five obstacles to attaining tranquil abiding.”
These are explained in Maitreya’s text Discrimination of the Middle and the Extremes . They are: 1 Laziness 2 Forgetfulness 3 Mental sinking and mental excitement 4 Non-application 5 Unnecessary application
1 Laziness
In general, laziness is a mind that is displeased to engage in virtuous actions. In this context it is a mind that is displeased to train in tranquil abiding.
There are many types of laziness. For example, attachment to worldly activities makes us reluctant to train in tranquil abiding and is therefore a type of laziness.
At the beginning of our practice, laziness is the greatest obstacle because it prevents us from exerting effort to attain tranquil abiding. While we are not happy to apply effort, the door of tranquil abiding remains closed.
2 Forgetfulness
This refers to forgetting our object while we are meditating or forgetting the instructions that we have received from our Spiritual Guide. Forgetfulness makes our meditation useless – we become like a rider who has fallen off his horse. While we are meditating we need to hold our object firmly in the reins of mindfulness.
3 Mental sinking and mental excitement
Once we have begun our training in tranquil abiding, mental sinking and mental excitement are the two greatest obstacles that we encounter because they destroy perfect concentration. Perfect concentration has two characteristics: it remains on its object single-pointedly, and it perceives its object clearly, holding it firmly. Mental excitement destroys the single-pointedness of concentration because it occurs when distractions develop. Mental sinking destroys the clarity of concentration and its firm hold upon the object.
Mental excitement occurs when the mind wanders to an object of attachment.
Mindfulness is what keeps our hold on the object firm. If the power of our mindfulness decreases, our hold slackens. If subtle sinking develops and remains uncorrected we may lose the object entirely. When this happens we have developed gross sinking.
4 Non-application
We incur the fault of non-application when we fail to apply the correct remedies to mental excitement and mental sinking.
Since non-application can become a strong habit of mind we need to detect and abandon irrelevant thoughts as soon as they arise, and repeatedly return our attention to the object of concentration.
5 Unnecessary application
When we have attained the seventh or eighth mental abiding and overcome the obstacles of sinking and excitement, but nevertheless still continue to apply the remedies for these faults, this inappropriate application of remedies will disturb the single-pointedness of our concentration.
Explain the 1st five of the eight opponents to the five obstacles.
In Discrimination of the Middle and the Extremes Maitreya explains eight opponents to the five faults: 1 Faith 2 Aspiration 3 Effort 4 Suppleness 5 Mindfulness 6 Alertness 7 Application 8 Non-application
The first four are opponents to laziness; and the second four are opponents to forgetfulness, mental sinking and mental excitement, non-application, and unnecessary application respectively.
Faith and aspiration are indirect opponents to laziness, and effort and suppleness are direct opponents. Effort here refers specifically to a mind that delights in the practice of concentration, and whenever we apply it we are free from laziness. Suppleness is attained through effort, and when we develop complete suppleness we become completely free from laziness.
Faith here refers to faith in the attainment of tranquil abiding. We generate this faith by understanding the great benefits of tranquil abiding and the good things that can be accomplished in dependence upon it. With this faith we develop the aspiration to attain tranquil abiding, and with such an aspiration we naturally generate joyful effort in the practices that lead to our goal. In this way the indirect opponents, faith and aspiration, induce the direct opponents, effort and suppleness.
Mindfulness is the opponent to forgetfulness. Its nature is to remember and hold its object firmly, and its function is to overcome and prevent distractions. The object of mindfulness is one with which we are already familiar and which we have previously understood.
Explain the sections “The object of meditation” and “Objects for abandoning individual delusions.”
The object of meditation
Before we begin our retreat on tranquil abiding we need to decide what is to be our object of meditation, and then keep this as our sole object throughout the retreat. The object should be one best suited to us, and once we have chosen it we should familiarize ourself with it both during our meditation sessions and during our meditation breaks.
In Essence of the Middle Way it is said that we need to bind our elephant-like mind to the stake of our virtuous object with the strong rope of mindfulness and use the hook of alertness to subdue it. At present our mind is like a crazy wild elephant. Our delusions are strong, they drive us to commit many harmful actions, and we have been governed by them since beginningless time. Training in tranquil abiding is the method for taming and gaining control over our wild elephant-like mind, and our object of concentration is like a fixed stake to which we tie our mind. Without such a virtuous object our mind will not abide peacefully but will continue to wander to objects of delusion.
Objects for abandoning individual delusions
Objects for abandoning individual delusions are objects of concentration that are opponents to specific delusions. For example, repulsiveness is such an object for someone who has strong desirous attachment. By taking repulsiveness as their object of concentration they will attain tranquil abiding and eliminate desirous attachment at the same time. Impermanence is such an object for those who suffer from anxiety concerning the welfare of this life. By taking impermanence as their object they will attain tranquil abiding and overcome their anxiety at the same time. In a similar way, those whose main problem is anger can take love as their object; those who want to develop renunciation can take the sufferings of samsara as their object; those who want to attain enlightenment by entering the Mahayana can take great compassion or bodhichitta as their object; those who have many distractions can take their breath as their object; those who have received a Tantric empowerment can take their body generated as the body of a Deity as their object; and those who are practising completion stage can take seed-letters, channels, winds, drops and so forth as their object. (Can also meditate on form of a Buddha)
