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Tibetan Buddhist Essentials: Volume Two / Venerable Tenzin Tharpa ---- Tibetan Buddhist Essentials: Volume Two / Venerable Tenzin Tharpa Tibetan Buddhist Essentials A Study Guide for the 21st Century Venerable Tenzin Tharpa Volume 2: The Buddha's Teachings Volume 1: Introduction, Origin, and Adaptation Volume 2: The Buddha's Teachings Volume 3: Engaging Buddhism These texts and other material are available for free download at: TenzinTharpa.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright Author: Venerable Tenzin Tharpa Editors: Nalini Ramesh and Halley Haruta Sera Jey Monastic University, Bylakuppe, India 1st Edition - 2018 Copyright © 2018 Venerable Tenzin Tharpa Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) CreativeCommons.org This material is free to all. It may be shared, copied, downloaded, and redistributed in any medium or format, including parts, sections, images, or graphics–although credit to the au- thor(s) must be given. Schools, dharma centers, and teachers are encouraged to share, copy, and upload this material freely to students and to include it as part of their study curriculum. This material may not be altered or built upon without formal permission from its author(s). This material may not be used for commercial purposes, including distributing or selling for profit. The copyright of this material may not be modified or additional restrictions added. [i] Tibetan Buddhist Essentials: Volume Two / Venerable Tenzin Tharpa About the Author Venerable Tenzin Tharpa A fully ordained American Buddhist monk in the Tibet- an Gelug Tradition, Venerable Tharpa is a teacher, au- thor, and philosopher with over two decades in Tibet- an Buddhist studies, half of which he has spent in Ti- betan Buddhist monasteries in India. Venerable Tharpa took full monastic ordination with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala India. Subsequent to ordination, Venerable Tharpa accepted an invitation to be the first West- erner to study at the renowned Gyudmed Tantric Monastic University in South India. Well known for his pragmatic, no-nonsense approach to the teachings, his ability to clarify complex philosophical points for all audiences, and his familiarity with all forms of Buddhist thought and non-Buddhist traditions as well, Venerable Tharpa is quickly becoming a valued teacher for our modern multicultural age. Currently, Venerable Tharpa resides at Sera Je Mon- astery in Bylakuppe, South India. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear reader, Thank you for your interest in this text. I hope it brings to you the clarity and insight that you seek. In my writing, I endeavor to make the Buddha's teachings available to a wide audience, while also striving to convey to the reader the positive, life-affirming joy that permeates the Buddha's teachings, yet is often lost or overlooked in dry translations. For when understood properly, every aspect of the Buddha's teachings pertains to freedom and liberation: freedom from our daily self-imposed suffering, and liberation from mundane and unsatisfactory exist- ence. In the spirit of the Buddha's vast generosity, all of my work, be it teaching or writing, is always free. If you enjoy this text and would like to see work of this nature continued, please consider lending your support. Thanks and prayers, Tenzin Tharpa Venerable Tenzin Tharpa Sera Jey Monastery - 2018 Bylakuppe, India [ii] Tibetan Buddhist Essentials: Volume Two / Venerable Tenzin Tharpa Texts by Venerable Tenzin Tharpa Tibetan Buddhist Essentials 1st edition 2018 - Free online texts Volume 1: Introduction, Origin, and Adaptation Volume 2: The Buddha's Teachings Volume 3: Engaging Buddhism Spoken Tibetan Basics A Tibetan language primer (for English speakers) 1st edition 2013 – A free online text Tibetan Conversation Text-1 A conversation method text for Tibetan language studies (for English speakers) 1st edition 2013 – A free online text Debate Text-1 / Foundations of Debate A method text for dialectic debate in the Tibetan language (for English speakers) 1st edition 2011 – A free online text English Conversation Text-1 A conversation method text for English language studies (for Tibetan speakers) 1st edition 2011 – A free online text English Conversation Text-2 A conversation method text for English language studies (for Tibetan speakers) 1st edition 2012 – A free online text These texts and other material are available for free download at: TenzinTharpa.com [iii] Tibetan Buddhist Essentials: Volume Two / Venerable Tenzin Tharpa Praise to Manjushri I bow down to you, O Manjushri. With the brilliance of your wisdom, O compassionate one, illuminate the darkness enclosing my mind. Enlighten my intelligence and wisdom so that I may gain insight into the Buddha's words and the texts that explain them. Manjushri is the manifestation of the Buddha's wisdom and the deity that represents trans- cendent insight and discriminating awareness. It is tradition to start Tibetan Buddhist texts with prayers and praise to this eminent bodhisattva whose flaming sword symbolizes blazing en- lightened wisdom that cuts through ignorance, afflictions, and delusions. Most Tibetans start their day by reciting his mantra. It can be heard at the crack of dawn in every monastery and Tibetan community being recited by monks, nuns, and devoted lay people. Mantra of Manjushri: Om ah ra pa tsa na di [iv] Tibetan Buddhist Essentials: Volume Two / Venerable Tenzin Tharpa Dedication I dedicate this text to today’s progressive Buddhist masters, first and foremost my own teacher His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. _____________________________________________________________________ Additionally, I would like to dedicate this text to the monks of Sera Jey Ngari House Group. Sera Jey Ngari Khangtsen, Bylakuppe, South India. _____________________________________________________________________ Lastly, I dedicate this text to those who inspired this work and continue to inspire me: Venerable Lobsang Dorje, Venerable Tendhar, my big sister Nalini Ramesh, Mary Ann Chang, Linda Noble, the Mowat family, the Aieta family, Alex Hayes, Jewan Kaur, Sammy Squire, Elroy Fernandes, Suzanne Kanatsiz, Kris and Pete Barnes, Thomas Winzeler, Andrew Bresnen, Linus Hammarstrand, Rob Miller, and Dave Nagy. [v] Tibetan Buddhist Essentials: Volume Two / Venerable Tenzin Tharpa Table of Contents Preface vii Introduction x CHAPTER ONE: The Buddha's first teachings 1 The foundation of the Buddhist path - The three higher trainings 3 The four noble truths 4 Further understanding suffering 8 CHAPTER TWO: The Buddha's unique model of reality 12 Karma 13 Merit 20 Dependent origination 22 Emptiness 27 The two truths 32 CHAPTER THREE: The Buddha's teachings on no-self 38 No-self 39 What constitutes a person 39 The five aggregates 40 Mind and consciousness 41 The Buddha’s unique presentation of person 46 CHAPTER FOUR: Death and rebirth 59 Rebirth 60 Death and the death process 62 The twelve links of dependent origination 67 [vi] Tibetan Buddhist Essentials: Volume Two / Venerable Tenzin Tharpa CHAPTER FIVE: The true nature of reality 69 The true nature of reality according to Buddhism 70 Common existential questions 72 CHAPTER SIX: Enlightenment 74 Enlightenment and nirvana 75 Full enlightenment and buddhahood 81 Buddha pure lands 84 Buddha bodies 85 CHAPTER SEVEN: The path to enlightenment 89 The Mahayana path to buddhahood 90 The three principle aspects 90 The four vehicles for traversing the path 90 Ground, path, and fruition 91 The two collections 92 Abandonments along the path 93 Outline of the Mahayana path to buddhahood 93 Stages of the path: Grounds and paths 95 CHAPTER EIGHT: Buddhist cosmology 101 Buddhist cosmology/mythology 102 The cosmos according to Buddhist scripture 104 Beings within Buddhist cosmology 109 CHAPTER NINE: Benefits and misconceptions of the Buddhist view 114 Benefits of holding the Buddhist view 115 [vii] Tibetan Buddhist Essentials: Volume Two / Venerable Tenzin Tharpa Common misconceptions about the Buddhist view 116 Conclusion 120 APPENDIX 121 Buddhist symbols, ritual Implements, and paraphernalia 122 Foundational deities 130 Glossary of Buddhist terms 132 Recommended reading 172 Bibliography 176 [viii] Tibetan Buddhist Essentials: Volume Two / Venerable Tenzin Tharpa Preface In the winter of 2013, during a teaching at Sera Monastery in South India, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama expressed the wish for monastics to engage in and share a broader view of Bud- dhism: a view that celebrates the wealth of Buddhist thought as expressed through its many traditions; a view that values, and is knowledgeable of, the greater spiritual community at large. This text is the culmination of that wish. His Holiness continuously emphasizes that Tibetan Buddhists need to study diligently, be well- informed, and be grounded in facts, logic, and reason. They need to embrace a broader world view, cultivate an understanding that includes many disciplines of investigation, and utilize all the tools at one’s disposal, or in his own words: “We have to be 21st century Buddhists.” ~ The 14th Dalai Lama The importance of a broad view cannot be overstated. Not only is a broad view a more logical approach to study, by including many different sources of information leading to a more com- prehensive base of knowledge; a broad view also allows one to contrast and compare, resulting in a more holistic understanding and view which is essential in cultivating reliable
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