The FOUR MINDFULNESSES
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THE FOUR MINDFULNESSES On the basis of a poem by the Seventh Dalai Lama With commentary by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche Gelek Rimpoche ALSO BY GELEK RIMPOCHE Self and Selflessness Sem: The Nature of Mind Gom: A Course in Meditation Six Session Guru Yoga Books Solitary Hero Yamantaka: Teachings on the Generation Stage Good Life, Good Death Three Main Short Vajrayana Practices The Tara Box The Three Principles in a Short Commentary Transforming Negativity into Positive Living Transcripts Vajrayogini Teachings Cittamani Tara Ganden Lha Gyema: The Hundreds of Deities of the Land of Joy Forthcoming Transcripts Gateway to the Spiritual Path Compassion for Oneself and Others Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, volumes 1 - 8 Foundations of All Perfections Guru Devotion: How to Integrate the Primordial Mind Inner World of Mind Healing and Self-Healing Through Tara Lines of Experience Je Tsongkhapa’s Three Principles of the Path Mahamudra Karma: Actions and their Consequences Stages and Paths of Vajrayana Lam Rim Teachings, volumes 1 - 4 The Swift Path Lojong: Training of the Mind in Eight Verses Thirty Seven Wings of Enlightenment Lojong: Training of the Mind in Seven Points Wheel of Sharp Weapons Love and Compassion Wisdom Teachings Odyssey to Freedom: In Sixty-Four Steps The Perfection of Wisdom Mantra The Practice of Triumphant Ma THE FOUR MINDFULNESSES Gelek Rimpoche A Jewel Heart Transcript 2009 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This is the transcription of two teachings Gelek Rimpoche gave in Garrison, NY in 2005 and 2006, on the Seventh Dalai Lama’s Song of the Four Mindfulnesses. The first year Rimpoche based Gelek Rimpoche, The Four Noble Truths his teachings on a commentary by Kyabje Ling Rimpoche, the © 2009 Ngawang Gelek second year on a text by the First Panchen Lama. In this edition inserts from the teachings in The Netherlands 2007 are added. Jewel Heart Transcripts are lightly to moderately edited The Seventh Dalai Lama’s Song is inserted here in bold type transcriptions of the teachings of Kyabje Gelek Rinpoche italic; Kyabje Ling Rimpoche’s commentary in bold type. and others teachers who have taught at Jewel Heart. Their purpose is to provide Rimpoche’s students, as well as all The beauty of this transcript is that it carries the traditional com- others who are interested, with these extremely valuable mentary by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche – in bold type – as well as teachings in a way that gives one the feeling of being pres- the western translation of it by Gelek Rimpoche. The Question ent at the teachings. and Answer sections are very rich, providing the reader with fine information and solid advice for one’s own spiritual practice. JEWEL HEART Tibetan Buddhist Center Merging the teachings of both years into one smooth stream was PO Box 7933 not possible without cutting some of the flavor of the teachings. Ann Arbor, MI 48108 USA The reader will be confronted with a few overlaps as well as with the Tel: 734 994 3387 jumping back and forth that goes with an oral teaching tradition. Fax: 734 994 5577 www.jewelheart.org The headings do not function as real outlines; they are there just for easy reading. As a help to the reader notes are added. Transcription and initial editing was done by Hartmut Sagolla. Final editing and possible mistakes are on my account. Jewel Heart, January 2008 Marianne Soeter CONTENTS I. Source of This Teaching....................................... 7 II. Mindfulness of the Guru ................................... 35 III. Mindfulness of the Altruistic Aspiration to Enlightenment ................................................... 151 IV. Mindfulness of Your body as a Divine Body ..267 V. Mindfulness of the View of Emptiness ...........299 SONG OF THE FOUR MINDFULNESSES Root Text by the Seventh Dalai Lama U mai ta tri tren pa zhi ten gyi gur yang ngö drub char beb zhug so 1 thab she zung jug gyur mä kyi den teng na kyab kün ngo wo trin chen gyi la ma zhug pang tog dzog pai sang gye shig de na da kyön tog pang nä dag nang gi söl wa thob rang sem gya yän du ma jog mö gü kyi ngang du zhog dren pa jä me du shä ne mö gü kyi ngang du sung 2 kor wa thar me dug ngäl gyi tsön ra na de wai phong pai rig drug gi sem chen kyam drin gyi kyang pai pha ma nam de na da chag dang phang ne che dzin dang nying je gom rang sem gya yän du ma jog nying je yi ngang du zhog dren pa jä me du shä ne nying je yi ngang du zung Gelek Rimpoche The Four Mindfulnesses 3 kyi du tshor wa de chen gyi zhel ye na SONG OF THE FOUR phung kham dag pa rang lü kyi lha ku zhug MINDFULNESSES ku sum yer me yi dam zhig de na da phal bar ma dzin nga gyal dang sel nang kyong rang sem ja yän du ma jog sab sel gyi ngang du shog dren pa je me du shä ne sab sel gyi ngang du Root Text by the Seventh Dalai Lama zung On the seat of the immutable union of method 4 nang zhing si pa she ja yi kyil khor na and wisdom chö nyi dön dam ö sel gyi nam khe kyab Sits the teacher who is the entity of all the refuge, jo drel dön gyi ne lu shi de na da A Buddha who has perfect abandonment and lob shä pang ne tong sang gi ngo wo tob wisdom is there. rang sem gya yän du ma jog chö nyi kyi ngang Forsaking thought of defects, make a petition du shog with pure perception, dren pa je me du shä ne chö nyi kyi ngang du Not letting your mind stray, place it within zung admiration and respect, 5 nang wa na tsog tsog dru gi zhi do na Making your attention unforgetful, zhi tsa drel wai nyi chö kyi sa si thong maintain it within admiration and respect. lu tri gyu mai tä mo zhi de na da In the prison of the suffering of limitless cyclic existence den no ma nyam tong nyi kyi ngo wo tob Wander the six types of sentient beings bereft of rang sem gya yän du ma jog nang tong gi ngang happiness; du shog Fathers and mothers who protected you with dren pa je me du shä ne nang tong gi ngang du kindness are there. zung Forsaking desire and hatred, meditate on endearment and compassion. 2 3 Gelek Rimpoche The Four Mindfulnesses Not letting your mind stray, place it within and the six consciousnesses compassion. is seen the confusion of the baseless phenomena of Making your attention unforgetful, maintain it duality. within compassion. The illusory spectacles of a deceiving magician In the Divine Mansion of great bliss, pleasant to are there. feel, abides the divine body, Not thinking they are true, look to their entity of Which is your own body of pure aggregates and emptiness. constituents. Not letting your mind stray, place it within A Deity with Three Bodies inseparable is there. appearance and emptiness. Not conceiving yourself to be ordinary, practice Making your attention unforgetful, maintain it divine pride and vivid appearance. within appearance and emptiness. Not letting your mind stray, place it within the profound and the manifest. Translation: J. Hopkins Making your attention unforgetful, maintain it within the profound and manifest. Throughout the circle of appearing and occurring objects of knowledge pervades the space of clear light which is reality, the ultimate. An inexpressible mode of being of objects is there. Forsaking mental fabrications, look to the entity of immaculate emptiness. Not letting your mind stray, place it within reality. Making your attention unforgetful, maintain it within reality. At the cross-roads of the varieties of appearance 4 5 Gelek Rimpoche I SOURCE OF THIS TEACHING Welcome everybody. When we decided to do this retreat, my thought was to share with you a teaching on the Four Mindfulnesses. Normally, when you hear about the Four Mindfulnesses, straight away you will think about the mindfulness of the body, mindfulness of feelings, mindfulness of mind and mindfulness of all existence1. Teachings on these Four Mindfulnesses, usually called the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, are available from many sources, including the Buddhist traditions coming out of South-East Asia. Manjushri - Buddha of Wisdom The Four Mindfulnesses I am going to talk about here, however, are different. These are four points to be mindful of always. It is a secret teaching given by Manjushri to Je Tsongkhapa. Those who are familiar with Buddhist terminology will know, but in general, the easiest way to tell you who Manjushri is, is that he is the Buddha of Wisdom. You can talk a lot about whether he is a buddha, a bodhisattva, a manifestation or an embodiment of wisdom or whatever, but let’s just stick with Buddha of Wisdom. Manjushri taught Je Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelug tradition in Tibet, who lived from 1357 to 1419. 6 Gelek Rimpoche The Four Mindfulnesses Tsongkhapa and Manjushri Tsongkhapa not to go to India but rather ask him directly. He told Tsongkhapa, During the earlier period of his study Tsongkhapa was not satisfied with the existing explanations on wisdom that were Before you can do this, you have to go into available in Tibet at that time. He wanted to go to India to retreat. Go to a quiet, remote area in the do some further study. But by that time, the great Indian mountains. You can’t take all your retinue there. I Buddhist universities had declined quite a lot.