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12 Links in 2 Lifetimes

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12 Links in 2 Lifetimes Wheel of Life Gather up and cast away Engage in the Buddha’s teaching. Like a great elephant in a house of mud, Conquer the Lord of Death’s battalions. Whoever with great conscientiousness Practises this discipline of the Dharma, Abandoning the wheel of births, Will make an end to suffering. Reference text: Steps on the Path to Enlightenment by Geshe Lhundub Download the slides: http://www.fpmtabc.org/download/teaching/zmisc/ Wheel of Life Causes of cyclic existence - Three animals symbolising the three afflictions - White and black karma Environments that one can take rebirth in - Six types of transmigratory beings Manner in which one cycles in cyclic existence - Twelve links of dependent originations Ignorance ~ blind old man Comes from Latin word “ ignarus” which means Not Knowing • Conception that is contradictory and incompatible with wisdom • Not just ‘Not a friend’ but is your worst enemy • Looking at the body and mind then imputing a real, independent and substantial person • Arising the thoughts “mine” and “others” • Projecting a real, independent and substantial other phenomena • Causes affliction to arise: Attachment and Aversion • Afflictions: an inner mental event whose nature is to disturb or unsettle the mental state Ignorance Asanga’s Compendium of Knowledge : 2 types of Ignorance • Not knowing about cause and effect of karma and its result - non virtuous actions, lower rebirths • Not knowing reality, engage in virtuous actions motivated by an interest to gratify a self - higher rebirths Antidote : Wisdom realising selflessness Formative activity ~ potter making earthenware Actions that arises out of ignorance : Karma of body, speech and mind Karma is intention and intended action : mental Non virtuous karma • Ten non virtues e.g.. killing, stealing, lying • Lower rebirths e.g. hell, hungry ghost or animal Virtuous karma • Practicing giving, patience, ethical conduct • higher rebirths of desire realm e.g. human, desire realm devas • Immovable karma eg. cultivating meditative states such as single minded concentration • rebirths in form or formless realm e.g. devas of form and formless realm Formative activity Heaviness of karma depends on the action, motivation, object to which it is done and frequency. Formative activity refers to Projecting Karma which propels us to take rebirth in cyclic existence - seed Completing Karma or Actualising Karma is the supporting condition which brings the seed to fruition. Consciousness - casual ~monkey swinging from tree to tree Mental consciousness divided into two Casual consciousness - receives the impression deposited by a seeding action (nonvirtuous) - seed leaves a potential to experience suffering in future Resultant consciousness - first moment of casual consciousness when it ripens to produce a new unpleasant rebirth Name and form ~ people sitting in a boat Name - non- physical parts of mind-body - feeling, discrimination,compositional factors, consciousness - basis for naming Form - body, blood and semen Except for formless realm, all have 5 aggregates Name and form refers to the moment of conception when 5 aggregates come together and before the six sense organs developed - in tibetan there are 5 stages - resultant consciousness joins fertilised ovum - small soft mass - grows longer into oval shape - grows longer and harder and more substantial - develop limps and have 5 bumps Six Sense bases ~empty house with six windows Body organs fully developed - eye, ear, nose, tongue, tactile organs - empowering condition for the arising of the six consciousness Develops capability to experience an object through coming together of sense organs, object and consciousness Gradual development for beings born from womb, egg or warmth and moisture Miraculous birth e.g. devas and beings in intermediate state - sense faculties fully manifested at birth Contact ~ couple embracing Sense faculty, an object and a moment of consciousness meets - Object will be distinguished as attractive, unattractive or neutral Six kind of contacts - tactile, visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, mental Feeling ~ person whose eye is pierced by an arrow - pleasant, unpleasant or neutral feeling - when feeling has arisen, entire experience is complete - ripening of previous karmic seed - Eg. human being as an experiencer has 2 parts - physical and mental Form and formless realm beings - pleasant and peaceful feeling Lower realms - suffering feeling Humans and some other desire realm beings - mixed feeling Craving ~alcoholic Feeling + ignorance about the object = craving for pleasant feeling, aversion for unpleasant feeling - object perceived in a distorted way Not all craving or desire are bad e.g. desire of bodhisattva to liberate others - this desire is free of ignorance or other afflictions Once ignorance is cut out from its root e.g. arhat and buddha - blissful feeling but no craving Craving How the links operates as a chain Previous set of causes - ignorance, karma, etc culminates in feeling Carving starts a whole new set of cause and result - motivates action which produces karma Different type of craving : desire, form , formless realm Desire realm beings : attached to sense feeling Form realm beings : attached to the blissful feeling of meditation Formless realm beings: attached to the deep, peaceful feeling of meditation Cravings plays a key role in deciding our samsaric experiences Grasping ~monkey plucking fruit Intensified form of craving that has power to bring forth its result immediately 4 types of grasping Grasping out of desire, attachment to sensory objects - form, sound, smell, taste, touch Grasping for views - various types of wrong views e.g. no cause and effect Grasping for mistaken morality and ascetics - mistaken system of ethics or behaviour will lead to freedom e.g. animal sacrifices Grasping for a self - holding mental and physical aggregates as real I, view of transitory collections - all other afflictions arise from this e.g. attachment, pride, jealousy Karmic seeds are moistened by craving and grasping Arhat have dry karmic seeds - not moistened by craving and grasping Existence ~pregnant woman Seed planted in second link is moistened by craving and grasping ready to be fruit - just need warmth, Mental karma - refers to moment just before rebirth happens, the name Existence is given to the result Craving and grasping must be of the same level that you are going to be born. Example If you are going to be reborn in lower realm your last thought must be non virtuous. If you are going to be born in the first concentration of the formless realm, your afflictions must be of the first concentration Existence - Samsaric Rebirth Afflictions Karma Seeding Ignorance Formative Activity Mental thought Craving & Germination at time of Grasping Death Birth ~ newborn baby First moment when the consciousness enters its new body is “birth” - from womb, egg, heat and moisture, miraculous Hell beings, devas and intermediate stage beings - miraculous birth Hungry ghosts - miraculous and womb Humans and animals - all four types Aging and Death ~ person carrying a corpse on his back Second moment of birth - ageing starts all way till death Aging is the maturation of the aggregates, unstoppable change they undergo every moment Death is the cessation of the continuum of that identical set of aggregates, severe pain and sorrow Question For an object that has fluidity It can be experienced as water by human - neutral blood and pus by hungry ghosts - unattractive and nectar by gods - attractive Question: Are various modes of existence for the same object real for these beings in their respective realms? Example of eating durian mousse Condense Presentation Four types 1.Projecting factors - ignorance, formative activity, consciousness 2.Projected effects - name and form, six sense bases, contact, feeling 3.Actualising factors - craving, grasping, existence 4.Actualised effects - birth, aging and death Every life requires all six causes and includes all six results Minimum of how many lives to complete the 12 link? Condense Presentation Projected effects means they remain in a state of potentiality until they meet the actualising factors Projected effects become suffering factors at some point in future, maybe several life time later Actualised effects ripens immediately in the next life Every causal relationship requires a primary cause and a secondary actualising condition Two types of causes are necessary for cyclic existence Projected and actualised effects are “ mixed” together Condense Presentation Example Birth, Name and form starts at the same time When six sense bases, contact, feeling are operating, aging is happening too. Shows how different causes bring about different suffering effects Endless Chain - In this life experience the results of previous ignorance and karma but at the same time creating the cause for another rebirth. Example ~ Plant Example of farmer who plants a crop Causes Farmer ~ ignorance Seeds ~ formative activities Field ~ consciousness Does not mean the seed will grow e.g. seeds plant in winter will only grow in spring Craving ~ fertiliser Grasping ~ water Existence ~ warmth Effects Sprout ~ name and form Shoots ~ six sense bases Fully grown plant and flower ~ contact Fruit ~ birth Fruit starts to decay ~ aging and death Note: Name and form should happen at the same time as birth From the fruits, seeds are produced which produce more rounds of effects Completion of 12 links in 2 lifetimes Example of rebirth in lower realm Ignorance + Strong negative karma = imprint of non virtue
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