Sutrayana Gateway Exam Summary Notes Andrew J. Vernon [email protected] March 6, 2009 HINAYANA Learning and Sitting Practice The way the lineage of practitioners has Two Wings of the Bird (Symbiosis) experienced study and practice (see also the next slide: the characteristics of a dharmic person are connected with how the Discipline of shamatha develops natural inquisitiveness forefathers in the Kagyu lineage practiced their discipline fully) Basic Instruction Intellectual understanding Intellectual A direct personal Learning improves meditation Sitting Practice understanding experience of study (e.g., 6-8-9) Three Stages: Sitting prepares the mind 1 Hearing the teachings to hear the teachings The Ten Traditional “Propagating Prajna” Definitions of Dharma An oral tradition • Thöpa (Tib.) = “hearing” • Becoming familiar by reading, listening, discussing 1. That which is knowable 2 2. The path Contemplating the teachings 3. Nirvana “Sharpening the Sword of Prajna” 4. An object of mind • Sampa (Tib.) = “thinking about” 5. Merit • Deepen the meaning 6. Lifespan Sitting increases 7. Scriptures 3 Meditating on the teachings understanding 8. Material objects 9. Rules (or ways of conduct) “Making Prajna Workable” 10. Doctrinal traditions • Gompa (Tib.) = “meditating on” Not the same as sitting as meditation • Letting the profound meaning penetrate (see also Slide 21: The Eight practice, but sitting is necessary for • “Taking into your heart completely” the meaning to penetrate Worldly Dharmas) The Teachers on the Three Paths Hinayana Mahayana Vajrayana Human being, but higher than you Human being, but more balanced Knows more than you “Spiritual Friend” The “General” Probably doesn’t want input or feedback CTR used the term “moderator” Directs and gives orders (Also see Slide 8) (Also see Slide 24) [3] The Three Aspects of Satdharma (aka The Three Codes of Discipline) The contents of all dharmas (all teachings) have these three parts Also known as The Three Trainings of the Path: Can transform emotion and they happen simultaneously and confusion and clear away the network of karmic patterns SHILA: Discipline SAMADHI: Meditative Absorption PRAJNA: Intellect The Ground The Path The Fruition • Developed through the practice of shamatha • Confronting habitual patterns Seeing the world clearly • Being a decent person • Seeing reality fully • Freeing ourselves from the heat of the kleshas • Meditation from which there is no break • Being fully there Clear-headedness • One-pointedness • Focused & calm, unscattered & undistracted The Three Gates of Discipline Everything has a sharpness The Path of Calming the Mind Body Going against our Sense of humor habitual patterns Overcoming Obstacles to sitting practice Discriminating awareness EMPHASIS Paying attention to Speech our language Overcoming Entertainments Realization Developing our cutting through subconscious mind Mind intrinsic awareness Hinayana The self does not exist Developing a State of Absorption 100% there: on the spot Mahayana Emptiness The Four Categories of Tsultrim Good It allows us to manifest in Seven Qualities of a Dharmic Person the best way How we can relate with ourselves in a dharmic context How our forefathers in the Kagyu lineage practiced their discipline fully Well-Thought It is regarded as the best 1 Passionlessness Experiencing boredom properly and fully Of 2 Contentment Some feeling that you don’t have to expand yourself It is our complete occupation 3 Preventing/Reducing Too Many Activities Cutting the entertainment mentality Action when we practice the dharma 4 Good Conduct Whatever you do, see it as an extension of sitting practice Binding Body and mind are in harmony 5 Awareness of the Teacher Be without shyness and be able to relate to the teacher Factor 6 Propagating Your Prajna Fully Find out and understand who you are and what you are made of Even though it is ground, path and fruition, all three trainings operate in varying degrees at every stage of the path. 7 Basic Attitude of Goodness Comes from your own practice and discipline [4] Shravakayana “healing the other wounded” HINAYANA Pratyekabuddhayana MAHAYANA Realization: Seeing through the Five Skandhas Realization: Understanding the Truth Once the permanent self is seen as false, one is The truth of the Mahayana is the most profound truth freed from the cycle of samsara VIEW “Emptiness”: The Self is not an Entity Emptiness: There is No Self and No Phenomena (a particular way of regarding something) regarding of way particular (a Phenomena is made up of irreducible particles They see their own involvement in samsara and they have empathy for the whole situation 2. Medium Motivation: Intent on liberation 3. Great Motivation: Intent on liberating all beings To Liberate Oneself from Samsara Liberation for the Benefit of All Sentient Beings particular way) particular The motivation is purely for oneself Vow to achieve their own enlightenment for the MOTIVATION benefit of all sentient beings (the reason for acting in a in acting for reason (the 1. Small Motivation: Happy and Content (in this lifetime) The Three Kinds of Motivation Small of the Small Not engaged in a spiritual path Medium of the Small Content with dharmic and worldly means Understand samsara; thinking about Great of the Small the next life [5] Describes the nature of all (also known as the “dharma seals”) compounded, conditioned things. The “Doctor” The Origin of Suffering Four Noble Truths Analogy The Three Marks of Existence (and their inter-relationship) Symptom Perspective #1: Ignorance 1 The Truth of Suffering Seeing samsara in its naked state 1 Impermanence Skandhas Contaminated by nature Are seen as a self The Four Divisions: 1 We see everything as permanent Appreciation: We cannot hold Karma Seeing a self causes karma Potential for Loss onto anything 2 We see everything as pleasurable Kleshas Karma causes kleshas 3 We believe we have ownership of it We cannot solidify “Klesha” is the short/pithy answer 4 We believe that a self exists experience Suffering Our experience of the kleshas Root Cause 2 The Origin of Suffering (of the illness) All compounded things have arisen in dependence on causes and conditions 1. Cause 2. Arising 3. Appearance 4. Condition Perspective #2: Emotions There is a 3 The Cessation of Suffering cure 2 Egolessness All things are without Constant flicker of passion Constant grasping or The end of struggle and confusion a self. pushing and aggression Impermanence ⇒ No Other The Path The Prescription Undesirable = Desired 4 Confusion That leads to the cessation of the causes of suffering Desirable = Undesired See also Slide 42 No Other ⇒ No Hold on Anything The Eightfold Path: The way to live in order to eliminate (worsens) the sources of suffering Emotional Six Root Afflictions Feel Cheated ⇒ Aggression Disturbances 1 Right View Understanding the four noble truths 2 Right Intent Suffering PRAJNA Resolved on renunciation Makes it 3 Suffering (dhuka) more real 3 Right Speech • Indestructible Eight Types of No lying, divisive/abusive speech, gossip Suffering • Self-existent Suffering has no root Three Types of Suffering Right Action 1. Birth 4 • Real SHILA The five precepts (1) Suffering of Suffering 2. Sickness Logic: Suffering does not exist Acute 3. Old Age 5 Right Livelihood Pain: hurts, immediately, directly Oppressive 4. Death Occupations that do not harm others 5. Having what you don’t want The logic fails ⇒ More pain 6. Being separate from what (2) Suffering of Change we want 6 Right Effort What feels good will not last 7. Not having what you want An attitude that supports the path 8. All-pervasive suffering 7 Right Mindfulness Enjoy (inheritance from neurosis) Suffering Alertness to phenomena affecting mind/body (3) All-Pervasive SAMADHI 8 Right Concentration Samsara Suffer in Suffering Underlying anxiety of non-existence Function in Also, the suffering of Why look at suffering? Suffering others is all around us We don’t ordinarily see our suffering (looking is a part of the path) [6] Samsara: Migrating the Three Realms The Desire Realm The Form Realm The Formless Realm • No body (only the first four skandhas) The Six Samten (Tib.) = Dhyana (Skr.) • Highly stabilized meditation Cause Realms • No longer using external objects of meditation God Generosity Samadhi 1 (devas) Level 1: Limitless Space (samten tango) Jealousy Jealous God All phenomena is nothing but space Samadhi 2 Envy (asuras) (samten nyipa) Increasing degree Nine Stages of meditative Level 2: Limitless Consciousness Human stabilization Discipline Samadhi 3 (manusyas) 1. Placing 2. Continual Placement (samten sumpa) All phenomena are consciousness 3. Repeated Placement Animal Ignorance 4. Close Placement Samadhi 4 (tiryaks) Level 3: Nothingness 5. Taming (samten shipa) 6. Pacifying Miserliness Hungry Ghost 7. Thoroughly Pacifying Absence of apprended and apprehender Stinginess (pretas) 8. One-Pointed Three and Four are 9. Evenness/Equalness supposedly reachable by Experiencing tongpanyi Mahayana practitioners (emptiness) Level 4: Peak of Existence Hatred Hell Beings Anger (narakas) Neither perception nor non-perception. The Seven Preparations Are these the four dhyanas? 1. Mental application of a mere beginner Birth depends on 2. Individual knowledge of the character The Nine Levels aka Levels of Existence (upapatti) the accumulation of 3. Arising from belief 4. Thorough isolation These are also realms of meditation gewa (virtue) and 1 Desire Realm migewa (non-virtue) 5. Withdrawing from joy and are thus called levels of 6. Mental application