PRAJNA: Sharp, Illuminating, and Rationale for the Compassionate Inquisitiveness Establishment of a Network of Contemplative Observatories by KARL BRUNNHOLZL by B. ALAN WALLACE This excerpt is taken from SINCE IHH I URN OF THE CENTURY, Karl Brunnholzl's The Heart a rapidly growing number of sci- Attack Sutra, a practical and entific studies have revealed the clear explanation of The health benefits of various kinds Heart Sutra, perhaps the of mindfulness-based meditation. most well-known of the core Brain scans, EEG measurements, Buddhist texts. behavioral studies, and question- naires have shown the influence of meditation on the brain and As .the basic inquisitiveness behavior, which in the minds of and curiosity of our mind, prajna many people lends some degree is both precise and playful at the ,«****■ of credibility to the practice of same time. Iconographically it is meditation. In the overwhelm- often depicted as a double-blad- ing majority of such studies, ed, flaming sword which is ex- those who conduct and report B. Alan Wallace with Mathieu Ricard tremely sharp. Such a sword ob- (Courtesy of Mind & Life Institute, viously needs to be handled with ...a worldwide network photo by Raphaele Demandre) great care, and mav even seem of contemplative ob- somewhat threatening. servatories linked by tion, and all discoveries pertain- Prajna is indeed threatening to way of the internet, and our ego and to our cherished be- ing to meditation are claimed by ; collaborating with each lief systems since it undermines our very solid-looking objective selves. Prajna means being found- the scientists, who in many cases our verv notion of reality and reality, but it also cuts through out bv ourselves, which first of all other, modeled after the have little or no meditative expe- the reference points upon which the subjective experiencer of such requires taking an honest look at Human Genome Project. rience. Consequently, whatever we build our world. Prajna ques- a reality. In this way, it is also that the games we play. discoveries about the nature of tions who we are and what we which makes us see through our Therefore, prajfiabecomeseven on the research are professionally the mind may have been made perceive. own ego trips and self-inflation. more important as we progress trained scientists, intent on apply- by the meditators themselves are Since this sword cuts both It takes some effort to continu- along the path because our ego ing objective measures to under- generally overlooked in scientific ways, it not only serves to slice up ously fool ourselves about our- trips just become more sophis- standing the nature and effects papers, presumably because they ticated. First, when we are not of meditation. In contrast, the are not deemed "objective" and spiritual, our ego just thinks, "I'm meditators are treated as subjects are therefore not "scientific." pretty good." But then, when we in these studies, similar to human This bias for objective, third- become spiritual, our ego thinks, and non-human subjects in other person evidence over subjective, "Now I'm also spiritual! Now I'm psychological and neuroscientific first-person experience is prob- 746 kinds of research. So their identi- on the path! Now I'm a Buddhist! lematic when it comes to under- STD ties are almost invariably ignored standing the nature of mental Now I can realize emptiness and NO. NY14851 in scientific reports on medita- (Continued on page 23) POSTAGE PAID (Continued on page 11) PRSRT U.S. PERMIT ITHACA, The most direct of Buddhist paths is here presented by best-selling author Anam Thubten with his trademark clarity. This excerpt is adapt- ed from his new book, Tlte Magic of Awareness. The practice of true devotion is devotion to life. It is not devotion to some grand idea of divine, but devotion to life itself. In that pro- cess the notion of "your life" and "my life" dissolves. There is only life. It's like sitting in the ocean. There is no my ocean. There is no my sky, my universe, or my cos- The Simple Path: Devotion to Life mos. There is only ocean. There is only sky. There is only cosmos. In by ANAM THUBTEN SPRING SALE! the same way, there is only life, Requested and life is already unfolding. live in the past because the past with total awareness and insight. 40% OFF How can we discover life? is already gone. Do not live in the Be in the present moment. This is Publications 14851 Most dharma stems and The path is very simple, utterly future because that is filled with the pure way to discover life that Service 6483. NY is none other than emptiness, di- expectations and it hasn't ar- Lion books from other publishers. simple. Buddha gave a sermon vine truth, and oneness." Box that he said summarized all of his rived. Be fully aware of whatever See page 37, other sermons. He said, "Do not is arising in this very moment Change PO Ithaca, Snow Check for availability!—No backorders. (Continued on page 17) Tulkus: Memories of Past Lives Beyond the Bardos by LAMA KUNSANG, LAMA PEMO, & MARIE AUBELE BODHISATTVAS CLEARLY SEE THE DIFFERENT BARDOS (intermediate states) that constitute the field of experiences of ordinary beings Why, since the thirteenth within the cycle of samsara. There are six types of bardo: the bar- century, in the Tibetan do of birth, awakening, dreaming, the moment of death, becom- tradition, has it been ing, and finally, meditation. necessary to find tulkus and This last state is the only one that can arise at the same time as rinpoches as quickly as possible? any of the others, whereas the state of awakening cannot overlap First and foremost, it is a ques- that of dreaming and so forth. It is for this reason that the great tion of memory. Not all tulkus bodhisattvas who have achieved realization through meditation have attained the high grounds remain untouched by the ordinary circumstances developed by of bodhisattvas, and the memory the five bardos; they remain continually in the space of medita- of their last lives is erased little by tion that transcends all others. little as they grow up. It is there- For this reason, bodhisattvas on the tenth ground, such as the fore essential to recognize such Karmapas, are not sullied by the so-called veil of the womb that tulkus while their memories are appears during the bardo of birth (or rebirth). For ordinary be- still intact because then they can ings and bodhisattvas on lower grounds, entry into the mother's womb creates a shock that "erases" the memories of previous When tenth-ground lives. However, once the bardo of meditation completely per- bodhisattvas enter the vades the,five others, the state of nonmeditation (Tib. gom me) womb, they do not suf- is attained, and there is nothing more than one lone, vast, lucid, fer any alteration of con- peaceful, and extraordinary experience of continued bliss. sciousness and can thus There is no more movement, no more back and forth from one life to another, no more loss or gain of anything. Thus there is effortlessly remember no place from which to depart and nowhere to go. It is for this ; most of their previous the greater the risk of loss. That is for other tulkus alive today. Some reason that we say the great bodhisattvas do not really leave, but * studies. why elaborate systems of recog- tulkus are capable of mastering from apparent death to apparent birth these bodhisattvas are said nition rapidly developed in Tibet. the path and developing the ex- merely to be "absent." this succession of reincarnations is also compared to a mala, a rosary, where the seeds are the different often give very precise indica- It was unthinkable to "lose" the periences of realization all alone. rinpoches, who are so "precious" This spontaneous way of practic- bodies supported by the same element, the string, which is like tions of their previous lives and the mind. At the level of great bodhisattvas, time and space are are still capable of recalling their for beings.... ing is not incompatible with the When tenth-ground bodhisat- traditional path, as it is held that no longer understood in the same way as ordinary beings under- previous studies. stand them. For them, a simple review of tvas enter the womb, they do not the dharma of realization is more the path and its practices is suf- suffer any alteration of conscious- important than the dharma of —Adapted from History of the Karmapas * ficient. The longer the time be- ness and can thus effortlessly re- study. Great bodhisattvas always tween rebirth and rediscovery, member most of their previous teach through their realization. A studies. They take up formal realized master does not teach in teaching, transmitted "from the a limited way as does a teacher HISTORY OF THE KARMAPAS: The Odyssey of the Tibetan Top photo: The 16th Karma-pa in the mouth of the master to the ear who has perfected only the dhar- Masters with the Black Crown 1940s or 1950s. Bottom: The third of the disciple," as Tibetans say, ma of study. Karmapa appearing in the moon, Jampey only to set an example for others by Lama Kunsang, Lama Pemo, and Marie Aubele Uwkang temple, Bumthang, Bhutan —Adapted from History of the (Photo by Lama Kunsang) and to maintain links with past Karrrmpas m 332 pp., 22 color photos, 4 b&w photos, 30 illus., paper. lives. Ultimately, they do not re- #HIKAOD $21.95, OUR PRICE $15.36 quire it. Likewise, they may experi- Masters of esoteric knowledge Buddha's Daughters ence a (re)introduction to the na- and miraculous practices, the lin- ■ eage of the Karmapas is the earli- II IS ! OK W mi by Kate Blickhahn ture of the mind—indispensable est of all the recognized incarnate KARMAPAS Historical fiction, Buddha's Daugh- along the path to realization—all linages and is said to descend from ■ ters presents the stories of fifty alone, without the help of an ex- the great Indian tantric master Tilo- Buddhist women and their spiri- ternal master, as was the case for pa through a chain that includes tual accomplishments dating from Wangchok Dorje (1860/62-1886), Naropa, Marpa, and Milarepa.