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Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism. The Myth and magic of Vajrayana. Three Turnings of the Wheel. First Turning: in Deer Park, Sarnath Teaching: 4 Noble Truths Basic Vehicle/Hinayana Practitioners: Shravakas (Listeners) and Pratyekabuddhas (Solitary Realizers ); Fruition: Arhat (“Foe-destroyer”)

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Tibetan Buddhism

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  1. Tibetan Buddhism The Myth and magic of Vajrayana

  2. Three Turnings of the Wheel • First Turning: in Deer Park, Sarnath Teaching: 4 Noble Truths Basic Vehicle/Hinayana Practitioners: Shravakas (Listeners) and Pratyekabuddhas (Solitary Realizers); Fruition: Arhat (“Foe-destroyer”) • Second Turning: at Vulture Peak Mountain, Rajgrih Teaching: Emptiness (shunyata) and compassion (bodhichitta) Great Vehicle/Mahayana Practitioners: Bodhisattvas; Fruition: Buddha • Third Turning: at various times and places Teaching: Mantra and buddha nature DiamondVehicle/Vajrayana “Result vehicle”: Taking the result as the path

  3. The Four Noble Truths • 1. The Truth of Suffering (dukha) Birth, old age, sickness, and death • 2. The Truth of the Origin of Suffering • Karma and ignorance (avidya, marigpa) • 3. The Truth of the Cessation of Suffering • 4. The Truth of the Path

  4. The Eightfold Noble Path 1. Right view 2. Right intention 3. Right speech 4. Right action 5. Right livelihood 6. Right effort 7. Right mindfulness 8. Right concentration

  5. Three Higher Trainings Ethics: refraining from 3 physical non-virtues: killing, stealing, sexual misconduct 4 verbal non-virtues: lying, divisiveness, harsh speech, meaningless chatter, 3 mental non-virtues: greed, wish to harm, and wrong view Concentration/meditation Shamatha (calm abiding): Analytical meditation and resting meditation Vipashyana (clear seeing) Wisdom (Skt. prajna, Tib. sherab)

  6. Tibetan Canon: “Kangyur” The Words of the Buddha

  7. Mahayana (Great Vehicle) Second turning of the wheel Key teachings: Shunyata (emptiness or openness) and bodhichitta (heart or mind of enlightenment) Practitioners: Bodhisattvas The path: The five paths and the ten levels (bhumis) Literature: Prajnaparamita (The Perfection of Wisdom) Fruition: Buddhahood

  8. Two Types of Obscurations and Identity • Emotional obscurations Identity of the individual selflessness of the person - Imputed self - Instinctive self • Cognitive obscurations Identity of phenomena (dharma) identitylessness of things

  9. Bodhichitta “The heart of awakened mind” Def: The wish to attain enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. AspirationalBodhichitta: The four immeasurables – love, compassion, joy, equanimity Engaged Bodhichitta: The six perfections: Generosity, discipline, patience, joyful diligence, meditation, wisdom

  10. Four Immeasurables Immeasurable love: wishing happiness and the causes of happiness - Antidote to enmity (and attachment) Immeasurable compassion: wishing freedom from suffering - Antidote to anger (and pity) Immeasurable joy: wishing all sentient beings never to be separated from happiness - Antidote to jealousy Immeasurable equanimity - Antidote to indifference and prejudice (and clinging)

  11. Samsara and Nirvana Samsara (Skt.; lit. “wandering”) = Cycle of rebirth Nirvana (Skt.; lit. “blowing out, extinguishing”)

  12. Spread of Vajrayana in Tibet • 3rd-11th century development of Tantra in India • Early transmission in Tibet: 7th cent. = Nyingma School • King SongtsenGampo (609-649?) • TrisongDetsen (754.797) • Ralpachen (815-836) • Second dissemination (from 978 onwards) • RinchenSangpo, Atisha, (founder of Kadampa) • = eventually Sarma (“New”) Schools

  13. Later Dissemination Ascent of Mongols in 12th century = priest-patron relationship with Sakya 1249 treaty Godan – Sakya Pandita 1st Compilation of Kangyur and Tengyur Tsongkhapa (1357-1419) 15th century: Gelukpa ascent to power 1578 Sonam Gyatso meets Altan Khan = establishment of Dalai Lama title 5th Dalai Lama (1617-1682), “Great Fifth,” First Dalai Lama to rule over a unified Tibet with Mongol protection

  14. The Wheel of Life: The 12 Links The 12 Links of Dependent Origination Metaphor 1. Ignorance 2. Karma/formations 3. Consciousness 4. Name and form 5. 6 senses 6. Contact 7. Feeling 8. Craving 9. Grasping 10. Becoming 11. Rebirth 12. Old age and death Blind man Potter Monkey Boat w/ 4 passengers House w/ 6 openings Couple kissing Man w/arrow in eye Man takes drink Man picks fruit Pregnant woman Childbirth Corpse

  15. 3 Kayas (Bodies) Dharmakaya (“Embodiment of Truth”) Ultimate state of nirvana; no form Sambhogakaya (“Embodiment of Enjoyment”) Form of light; not accessible to ordinary beings Nirmanakaya (“Embodiment of Manifestation”) Physical emanation

  16. 3 Types of Nirmanakaya (acc. to Ray) 1) Fully enlightened Buddha, e.g. Buddha Shakyamuni 2) Realized human being, e.g. tulkus 3) Created objects, e.g. stupa

  17. Philosophical system (tenet) Drubtha (grub mtha’) siddhanta “established/final conclusion”

  18. Three Prajnas (or Wisdom Tools) Wisdom of Listening Wisdom of Contemplation Wisdom of Meditation

  19. The Four Seals: What Makes You a Buddhist or Not a Buddhist 1. Everything compounded is impermanent. 2. Everything tainted is suffering. 3. All phenomena are empty and devoid of self. 4. Nirvana is peace.

  20. Four Buddhist Approaches

  21. The Two Truths “The doctrines that Buddha taught are based upon two truths: Worldly conventional truths and truths that are ultimate objects. Those who do not know the distinction between these two truths Do not know the profound suchness in Buddha’s teachings.” Nagarjuna, Treatise on the Middle Way Conventional truth (samvpti-satya, kundzobdenpa) Ultimate truth (paramarthasatya, döndamdenpa)

  22. The Two Truths for the Vaibharika “When objects are destroyed or mentally dissected, They can no longer be identified by the mind. Such things like pots or water, are relative; All else besides is ultimately existent.” Vasubandhu, Abhidharmakosha

  23. 5 Skandhas (Aggregates) = What constitutes a person Form - Outer form: E.g. five elements: wind, fire, etc. - Inner form: the body and its organs Perception: The sensory perceptions Feeling: Positive, negative, or neutral Formation: mainly thoughts/concepts (51 types) Consciousness: 6 consciousnesses of eye, ear, nose, tongue, touch, and mental perceptions

  24. The Two Truths of the Sautrantika “Here, what is genuinely able to perform a function Is what genuinely exists. Everything else is seemingly existent. These are explained as specifically characterized and generally characterized (chi dön) phenomena.” Dharmakirti, Commentary on Valid Cognition

  25. Sautrantika (Followers of Sutra) Relative truth: Generally characterized (concepts) Absolute truth: Specifically characterized (the objects we directly perceive) Concepts are not problematic in themselves – it is our confusion about them. We do not see concepts accurately, just as they are.

  26. Sautrantika Sautrantika following scripture Sautrantika following reasoning (Dharmakirti and Dignaga) Perception is a two-step process: In the first moment, the senses perceive the object directly, without any concepts. In the second moment, concepts enter in and we label.

  27. Direct Perception (acc to Sautrantika) as opposed to inference Sensory perception (non-conceptual) Sense consciousness Self-awareness Yogic perception

  28. Main Points (Sautrantika) Consciousness is self-aware (rang rig) and other-aware (shen rig) We perceive the external world indirectly through mental representations There is a clear distinction made between perception and concepts The three times are imputed.

  29. Four Buddhist Approaches

  30. Does the External World Exist? Vaibhashika: The partless particle is real and the momentless moment is real. Sautrantika: I perceive it, so it must exist. Chittamatra: Only mind exists, the external world is illusory like a dream. Madhyamaka: Conventionally, there is no argument with ordinary people. Ultimately, things are neither real nor unreal, but interdependent.

  31. Something is ultimately real when it is Permanent (takpa) Singular (chikpu) Independent (rangwang)

  32. Mind Only “The … realms of existence are merely mind.” Buddha, in the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajnaparamita) in 8,000 Verses “The world is led by mind And drawn by mind. All phenomena are controlled By one phenomenon, mind.” Buddha, in the Collection of Related Teachings

  33. Refuting the Partless Particle “When six other particles are joined to it, The subtle particle will have six parts. If the six all simply converge together, Then even compounds will be infinitesimal.” Vasubandhu, Twenty Verses

  34. Eight Types of Consciousness 1-5) Five types of consciousness of the senses: • Consciousness of the eye • Consciousness of the ear • Consciousness of the nose • Consciousness of the tongue • Consciousness of the body 6) Mental consciousness 7) Afflicted consciousness or emotional mind: the subtle grasping which produces all the ignorance, destructive emotions and confusion of samsara. 8) Allground consciousness (alaya): it is neutral, neither positive nor negative.

  35. Main Points of Chittamatra No material objects can ultimately be established, only mind. There is no duality between perceiver and what is perceived. To establish all things as being the mind destroys the whole mechanism of samsara and thus leads to liberation.

  36. Three Natures (Chittamatra) Imputed nature (kun tag): the false, that which is labeled or projected, e.g. the self, “mine”, names, etc. e.g. Thinking Robert de Niro is really the Godfather Dependent nature (shenwang): mind and mental events of the beings in the three realms, the perception of the eight types of consciousnesses, sense objects e.g. The images, colors, movements on the screen Ultimate nature (yongdrup): the completely existent Self-awareness, nondual cognition devoid of object and subject e.g. The light bulb in the film projector that makes everything else appear

  37. Chittamatra’s Two Truths “Perceived objects and perceiving subjects’ duality is relative. Consciousness that is empty of duality is genuine. This is the presentation of the mind-only school.” JamgonKongtrul, Treasury of Knowledge

  38. “The whole purpose of Madhyamaka is to prove that everything we think is wrong.” DzongsarJamyang Khyentse Rinpoche

  39. No View, No Fault “If I had a position, Then I would be at fault, But because I have no position, I can only be without fault.” Nagarjuna, Refutation of Objections, Verse 29

  40. Ten Questions the Buddha Answered With Silence Is the universe eternal, not eternal, finite, or infinite? After death, does a Buddha continue to exist, not continue to exist, both, or neither? Are the body and the “self” the same entity, totally separate and different entities?

  41. Shunyata Def: emptiness of inherent existence Three fundamental principles to prove shunyata: a) Impermanence and change b) Lack of unitary existence (nothing is just one, self-contained entity, everything is composed of many parts and particles) c) Lack of independent existence (for example, things are defined in relation to each other)

  42. Beyond Existence and Non-existence “Existence” is the view of permanence, “Non-existence” is the view of extinction, Therefore, the wise do not abide Either in existence or in non-existence. Nagarjuna, Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way

  43. Wisdom “When real and unreal both Are absent from before the mind Nothing else remains for mind to do But rest in utter peace, from concepts free.” Shantideva, Way of the Bodhisattva

  44. The Five Great Madhyamika Arguments • The investigation of the essential nature: ‘neither one nor many’ • The investigation of causes: the diamond splinters (or vajra slivers) • The investigation of results: refuting existent or non-existent results • The investigation of both causes and results • The investigation of interdependence

  45. The Four Extremes “There is no existence nor non-existence, Neither both nor not both. Those who are free from the four extremes Are referred to as “Madhyamikas”.” Ornament of the Middle Way

  46. Interdependence “There is not a single thing That does not arise interdependently. Therefore there is not a single thing That is not emptiness.” Nagarjuna

  47. Arising: Examining the Cause If things truly exist, they have to be produced, or arise, either from themselves, from something other than themselves, from both of these, or Without a cause.

  48. Refutation “Not from self, not from other, Not from both and not from neither— Not from any entity at all anywhere, Is there ever any production.” Nagarjuna, Fundamental Verses of the Middle Way “Since things do no arise from self, other, both, nor without cause, They have no inherent nature at all.” Chandrakirti

  49. Shunyata = Possibilities “If emptiness is possible, Then everything is possible, But if emptiness is impossible, Then nothing else is possible either.” Nagarjuna, Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way

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